Latest news with #MarkSchiefelbein
Toronto Sun
a day ago
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
Trump's Golden Dome creates opening for Space Force to gain relevance
Published Jun 09, 2025 • 5 minute read Posters for the proposed Golden Dome for America missile defense shield are displayed before an event with President Donald Trump in the Roosevelt Room at the White House, Monday, May 12, 2025, in Washington. Photo by Mark Schiefelbein / AP (Bloomberg) — Five years after its formation during President Donald Trump's first administration prompted jokes about the Star Trek-style logo and inspired a Netflix Inc. sitcom with Steve Carell, the U.S. Space Force is still looking for respect. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account 'Many people don't even understand the Space Force is real,' General Michael Guetlein, the agency's vice chief of space operations, told a Washington area conference in March. 'That was a luxury that we had when space wasn't contested. We no longer enjoy that luxury.' America's foes are racing to develop strategic footholds in space, from China's satellite 'dogfighting' operations to Russia's development of nuclear anti-satellite weapons, but the Space Force's supporters say the youngest and smallest U.S. military branch hasn't received the money it needs to counter those threats in the new military space age. The Rodney Dangerfield of the US military seemed to be getting its moment in the spotlight last month, with Trump on May 20 naming Guetlein to be the leader of Golden Dome, the proposed space-based missile defence shield. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The complex project could generate billions of dollars for defence giants and space startups, with the Congressional Budget Office saying the US may have to spend as much as $542 billion over 20 years to develop and launch a network of space-based interceptors. Guetlein is 'a very talented man,' said Trump, who noted his own role in creating the Space Force. The branch, he added, 'has turned out to be a tremendous success.' Trump's missile shield could be the force's ticket to greater relevance, said Peter Hays, professorial lecturer at George Washington University's Space Policy Institute, who likens the force to the puppet Pinocchio aching to outgrow his second-tier status. Golden Dome offers 'a natural war-fighting mission which would make the Space Force a real boy,' Hays said. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. However, just a week and a half after the Guetlein announcement, the administration released the president's budget request, which proposed about $26.3 billion for the Space Force, down from $29.6 billion that former President Joe Biden requested last year. The numbers and allocations for the Space Force could change as the budget process continues to be reviewed in Congress. The force's top military officer has said that tight budgets have hindered the Space Force. 'Despite the dramatic rise in space threats and the increasing importance of space over the last few budget cycles, the Space Force has experienced shrinking resources,' General Chance Saltzman, the force's chief of space operations, told a House subcommittee on May 6. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. As the budget battle intensifies, he may have allies on both sides of the aisle. The Space Force's funding is 'totally inadequate,' Maine Senator Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Senate Democrats, said at the May 20 hearing. Republican Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, expressed concern about 'our ability to fight and win in space' at a hearing on June 5, adding that the upcoming budget 'may not adequately fund the Space Force.' Tensions with China create another opportunity to get more money. In March, before his confirmation as Air Force Secretary (which includes responsibility for the Space Force), Troy Meink warned senators about 'the rapidly evolving threat from China' and said Space Force 'may require a significant increase in funding and manning' to address it. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The Space Force provided a detailed account of its vision with the April 17 publication of a report, 'Space Warfighting: A Framework for Planners,' that 'underscores the critical importance of space superiority,' the force said. Under the framework, the Space Force has the twin goals of making space superiority the service's 'raison d'etre' and making control of space the central foundation of US military power, according to Nayef Al-Rodhan, director of the Geopolitics and Global Futures Department at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. These 'new bold, game-changing missions' will challenge other space powers to respond, he said. The assertion that space is a 'warfighting domain' has critics worried that the US is fueling an arms race. 'We're quickly sliding into a new era in space that is frightening,' said Jessica West, senior researcher at Project Ploughshares, a peace and security research institute in Waterloo, Ontario. The Pentagon is 'definitely shedding any sense of restraint in outer space.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Elaborating on the strategy to fight wars beyond Earth may raise alarms overseas but could help the Space Force at home, said Victoria Samson, chief director for space security and stability at the Secure World Foundation, a think tank in Washington. 'From a DoD perspective, calling something a warfighting domain opens up resources and programs and capabilities and strategies,' she said. Budget constraints, advocates say, undermine the Space Force's ability to create a unified backbone of America's strategic interests in orbit, including satellite tracking, missile warning and GPS networks. RECOMMENDED VIDEO 'Other services have individual bases — you know, single units — that have greater populations than the entire United States Space Force,' said David Deptula, dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. The budget 'should be probably twice to three times what it currently is.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. With the Trump administration firing everyone from NASA scientists to foreign aid workers, getting a significant increase won't be easy but Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has said that space deserves more resources. 'The next and the most important domain of warfare will be the space domain,' he said in March at a gathering of Space Force and Air Force leaders at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. 'So, you're going to see far more investment from this administration into that domain, both offensively and defensively.' Even after his recent feud with Trump, SpaceX Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk may still be in line to benefit from increased Space Force spending. In April, for instance, SpaceX landed a contract worth an estimated $5.9 billion to launch national security missions. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Other space companies like Northrop Grumman Corp. and Rocket Lab should benefit as Space Force looks for faster and cheaper launches. Startups are in the mix, too, said Even Rogers, CEO of True Anomaly, a designer of spacecraft and software systems that raised $260 million in April. 'We really aligned our product road map and our investment strategy as a business to the most pressing needs of the Space Force,' he said. Guetlein's appointment suggests that the Space Force is likely to play an essential role in Golden Dome, according to Clayton Swope, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. 'We're going to look a lot to how Space Force buys things and operates them,' he said. Trump's pick of the Space Force general indicates 'that will be the first amongst the different pieces that will have to fit together for Golden Dome to work.' —With assistance from Courtney McBride.
Japan Today
5 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Today
U.S. hits International Criminal Court judges with sanctions over investigation into Israel
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks at the American Compass's The New World Gala in Washington, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) By MATTHEW LEE and MOLLY QUELL The Trump administration is slapping sanctions on four judges at the International Criminal Court over the tribunal's investigation into alleged war crimes by Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza and in the West Bank. The State Department said Thursday that it would freeze any assets that the ICC judges, who come from Benin, Peru, Slovenia and Uganda, have in U.S. jurisdictions. The move is just the latest step that the administration has taken to punish the ICC and its officials for investigations undertaken against Israel and the United States. 'As ICC judges, these four individuals have actively engaged in the ICC's illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America or our close ally, Israel,' Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. 'The ICC is politicized and falsely claims unfettered discretion to investigate, charge, and prosecute nationals of the United States and our allies,' Rubio said. 'This dangerous assertion and abuse of power infringes upon the sovereignty and national security of the United States and our allies, including Israel.' In February, The Hague-based court's chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, was placed on Washington's list of 'Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons,' barring him from doing business with Americans and placing restrictions on his entry into the U.S. Khan stepped aside last month pending an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct. Within minutes of the administration's announcement, the court condemned its actions. 'These measures are a clear attempt to undermine the independence of an international judicial institution,' ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah said in a statement. The new sanctions target ICC Judge Reine Alapini-Gansou, who is from the West African country of Benin and was part of the pre-trial chamber of judges who issued the arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last year. She also served on the bench that originally greenlit the investigation into alleged Israeli crimes in the Palestinian territories in 2021. The 69-year-old was also part of the panel of judges who issued the arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2023. Last year, a court in Moscow issued a warrant for her arrest. From Slovenia, Beti Hohler was elected as a judge in 2023. She previously worked in the prosecutor's office at the court, leading Israel to object to her participation in the proceedings involving Israeli officials. Hohler said in a statement last year that she had never worked on the Palestinian territories investigation during her eight years as a prosecutor. Bouth Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza, from Peru, and Solomy Balungi Bossa, from Uganda, are appeals judges at the ICC. Each woman has worked on cases involving Israel. Neither the U.S. nor Israel is a member of and neither recognizes the legitimacy of the court, which has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu for alleged war crimes over his military response in Gaza after the Hamas attack against Israel in October 2023. Israel strongly denies the allegations. During his first term in office, Trump targeted the ICC with sanctions, voicing displeasure with probes into Israel and complaints about alleged war crimes said to have been committed by U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Those sanctions were rescinded by President Joe Biden's administration in early 2021. Rubio said the U.S. would continue to take action to protect its and Israel's interests at the court. 'The United States will take whatever actions we deem necessary to protect our sovereignty, that of Israel, and any other U.S. ally from illegitimate actions by the ICC,' he said. Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch, said the Trump administration's sanctions 'aim to deter the ICC from seeking accountability amid grave crimes committed in Israel and Palestine, and as Israeli atrocities mount in Gaza, including with U.S. complicity.' 'U.S. sanctions on ICC judges are a flagrant attack on the rule of law at the same time as President Trump is working to undercut it at home,' Evenson said in a statement. 'Sanctions are meant to put a stop to human rights violations, not to punish those seeking justice for the worst crimes.' © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Toronto Sun
6 days ago
- Business
- Toronto Sun
Trump's big bill will cut taxes by $3.7T and add $2.4T to deficit, budget office says
Published Jun 04, 2025 • 3 minute read President Donald Trump speaks during an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Washington. Photo by Mark Schiefelbein / AP WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's big bill making its way through Congress will cut taxes by $3.7 trillion but also increase deficits by $2.4 trillion over the next decade, according to an analysis released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The CBO also estimates an increase of 10.9 million people without health insurance under the bill, including 1.4 million who are in the country without legal status in state-funded programs. The package would reduce federal outlays, or spending, by $1.3 trillion over that period, the budget office said. The analysis comes at a crucial moment in the legislative process as Trump is pushing Congress to have the final product on his desk to sign into law by Fourth of July. The work of the CBO, which for decades has served as the official scorekeeper of legislation in Congress, will be weighed by lawmakers and others seeking to understand the budgetary impacts of the sprawling 1,000-page plus package. Ahead of CBO's release, the White House and Republican leaders criticized the budget office in a pre-emptive campaign designed to sow doubt in its findings. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said CBO has been 'historically wrong' and Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the CBO was 'flat wrong' because it underestimated the potential revenue from Trump's first round of tax breaks in 2017. The CBO last year said receipts were $1.5 trillion or 5.6% greater than predicted, in large part because of the 'burst of inflation' during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. Leavitt also suggested that CBO's employees are biased, even though certain budget office workers face strict ethical rules _ including restrictions on campaign donations and political activity _ to ensure objectivity and impartiality. Alongside the costs of the bill, the CBO had previously estimated that 8.6 million people would no longer have health care and 4 million fewer would have food stamps each month due to the legislation's proposed changes to Medicaid and other programs. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The bill, called the 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' after the president's own catch phrase, is grinding its way through Congress, as the top priority of Republicans, who control both the House and Senate — and face stiff opposition from Democrats at every step in the process. Democrats call it Trump's 'big, ugly bill.' All told, the package seeks to extend the individual income tax breaks that had been approved in 2017, but will expire in December if Congress fails to act, while adding new ones, including no taxes on tips. It also includes a massive buildup of $350 billion for border security, deportations and national security. To help cover the lost revenue, Republicans want to slash some federal spending. They propose phasing out green energy tax breaks put in place during Democrat Joe Biden's presidency. New work requirements for some adults up to age 65 on Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, would begin in December 2026 and is expected to result in less spending on those programs. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The package also would provide a $4 trillion increase to the nation's debt limit, which is now $36 trillion, to allow more borrowing. The Treasury projects the debt limit will need to be raised this summer to pay the nation's already accrued bills. Now in its 50th year, the CBO was established by law after Congress sought to assert its control, as outlined in the constitution, over the budget process, in part by setting up the new office as an alternative to the White House's Office of Management and Budget. Staffed by some 275 economists, analysts and other employees, the CBO says it seeks to provide the Congress with objective, impartial information about budgetary and economic issues. Its current director, Phillip Swagel, a former Treasury Department official in Republican President George W. Bush's administration, was reappointed to a four-year term in 2023. Celebrity Columnists Crime Sunshine Girls World
Forbes
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
Applications Are Up: Tracking The Growth Of Private School Choice Programs
Supporters of charter schools rally outside of the Supreme Court on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in ... More Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) Across the country, private school choice programs are processing applications for next school year. Some application windows have closed and some remain open, but one fact is clear, private school choice is growing. Private school choice programs take several forms. Traditionally, states created voucher programs, which provide a state-funded scholarship for students to attend private school. States also instituted tuition tax credit scholarship programs that give taxpayers a credit for donations to private organizations that grant scholarships to students to attend private schools. More recently, states have created education savings account programs that put state funding into flexible use spending accounts that families can use on educational expenses like private school tuition, tutoring, therapies for students with special needs, and more. This spring, multiple states have created new private school choice programs. Most notably, Texas passed Senate Bill 2, creating a $1 billion education savings account program. But Texas was not alone. Idaho passed a refundable tax credit program to give families $5,000 per child towards qualifying educational expenses. Tennessee passed the Education Freedom Act, creating education savings accounts worth $7,000 per student per year. Applications for the 2025-26 school year opened last week and the state reported that 33,000 families applied for the program on the first day. In fact, applications are up all across the country. Last year, Louisiana created the Louisiana Giving All True Opportunity to Rise Scholarship Program (yes, that makes the acronym LA GATOR). The application period for the 2025-26 school year was open from March 1st to April 15th. According to the state department of education, 39,189 students applied and 34,848 were deemed eligible to participate. Of those, 81% came from families at or below 250% of the federal poverty level and nearly 3,000 were students with disabilities. Considering that Louisiana's existing voucher program, which has been on the books since 2008, had only 5,415 students participating in it, this represents massive growth. Arkansas saw more applications in the first day of this year's application window than total participants in last year's program. It has blown well past last year's numbers since then. There were 16,386 total applications the first day, and according to the state, there have been 41,568 applications in total for the 2025-26 school year. In West Virginia, where 10,805 Hope Scholarship applications were approved for 2024-25, officials are projecting more than 19,000 participants for this school year. In Florida, some of the state's private school choice programs' application windows have closed and some are still open. When statistics were reported at the end of March, the state saw more than 120,000 student applications in the first weekend and more than 425,000 in total, with more expected. Of those 425,000, 340,000 were renewing scholarships and 85,000 were applying for the first time. It is worth lingering for a moment on the large-scale trend line in private school choice enrollment. Total enrollment in private school choice programs doubled from 2020 to 2025, going from approximately 540,000 to 1.2 million students. With the passage of Texas' new program, roughly half of American schoolchildren will be eligible for a voucher, tax credit scholarship, or education savings account. (Not all would be able to attend though, as while several states' programs have universal eligibility, they have funding caps in place that limit total participation.) And, this is happening while public school enrollment is decreasing. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, overall enrollment in US public schools decreased by 2.5 percent from 2019 to 2023. It does not appear to be rebounding. Some of that is due to a long running baby bust, but families with children are also opting out of the public system in increasing numbers. A recent Los Angeles Times story quoted Stanford University's Tom Dee, who has looked more closely at these numbers than possibly anyone in the county. His conclusion? 'The public school enrollment losses also reflect an enduring increase in private and home-school enrollment…The combination of private and home-school enrollment is over 4% higher than it was at the beginning of the pandemic.' If current trends continue, and public school enrollment declines while publicly financed private enrollment grows, we could see a major reworking of our nation's education system in a relatively short number of years.
Toronto Sun
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
Trump's 'Golden Dome' missile defence plan was inspired by Israel's multitiered defences
Published May 21, 2025 • 2 minute read Posters for the proposed Golden Dome for America missile defense shield are displayed before an event with President Donald Trump in the Roosevelt Room at the White House, Monday, May 12, 2025, in Washington. Photo by Mark Schiefelbein / AP JERUSALEM (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump's plan for a 'Golden Dome' to protect the United States from long-range missiles was at least partly inspired by Israel's multitiered missile defences. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Trump announced the $175 billion concept in the Oval Office on Tuesday, saying it would put U.S. weapons in space for the first time and be would be 'fully operational' by the end of his term in early 2029, though a U.S. official familiar with the program said it could take longer. Israel's multilayered defences, often collectively referred to as the 'Iron Dome,' have played a key role in defending it from rocket and missile fire from Iran and allied militant groups in the conflict unleashed by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack. The sophisticated system, developed over decades with considerable U.S. support, is capable of detecting incoming fire and deploying only if the projectile is headed toward a population center or sensitive military or civilian infrastructure. Israeli leaders say the system isn't 100% guaranteed, but credit it with preventing serious damage and countless casualties. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Here's a closer look at Israel's multilayered air-defence system: The Arrow This system developed with the U.S. is designed to intercept long-range missiles. The Arrow, which operates outside the atmosphere, has been used to intercept long-range missiles launched by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and by Iran itself during two direct exchanges of fire last year. David's Sling Also developed with the U.S., David's Sling is meant to intercept medium-range missiles, such as those possessed by Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group. It was deployed on multiple occasions throughout the war with Hezbollah, which ended with a ceasefire last year. Iron Dome This system, developed by Israel with U.S. backing, specializes in shooting down short-range rockets. It has intercepted thousands of rockets since it was activated early last decade _ including volleys launched by Hamas and Hezbollah. Israel says it has a success rate of over 90%. Iron Beam Israel is developing a new system to intercept incoming threats with laser technology. Israel has said this system will be a game changer because it would be much cheaper to operate than existing systems. According to Israeli media reports, the cost of a single Iron Dome interception is about $50,000, while the other systems can run more than $2 million per missile. Iron Beam interceptions, by contrast, would cost a few dollars apiece, according to Israeli officials — but the system is not yet operational. Columnists Sunshine Girls Sunshine Girls Toronto Maple Leafs Basketball
