• TARGETING SCIENCETrump’s Second Term Is Reshaping U.S. Science with Unprecedented Cuts and Destabilizing Policy Changes

    By Kenneth M. Evans

    President Donald Trump is far from the first president to be deeply skeptical of the academic research community. But his relentless attempts to overhaul the federal support system for research and development have set a new precedent for the level of mutual distrust and its consequences for scientists.

  • INFRASTRUCTUREBridge, Building Maintenance Backlogs Will Hit State Budgets as Federal Aid Declines

    By Kevin Hardy

    The growing backlog of bridges and public buildings in need of repair or replacement poses an increasing threat to state finances, but tracking of maintenance liabilities varies wildly across the states. A new analysis estimates $1T in deferred projects.

  • TERRORISMFederal Judge Extends Order on NYC Anti-Terrorism Funds

    By Chris Wade, The Center Square

    The Trump administration has been given another week to make its case to withhold more than $33 million in counter-terrorism funds for New York City’s transit system. U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan has extended a temporary restraining order blocking the Department of Homeland Security from clawing back the grant funding approved by Congress for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority until at least Oct. 22.

  • CYBERSECURITYFederal Shutdown Deals Blow to Already Hobbled Cybersecurity Agency

    By Richard Forno

    Unfortunately, adversaries do not reduce their attacks against the U.S. based on available federal cyber defense funding or the status of cybersecurity laws. In fact, malicious hackers often strike when their target’s guard is down.

  • RISKS TO SCIENCE & PUBLIC HEALTHFunding Cuts, Policy Shifts, and the Erosion of U.S. Scientific and Public Health Capacity

    The U.S. continues to face mounting threats to its health, scientific enterprise, and national security. A recent report warns that proposed FY 2026 budget cuts to the National Science Foundation (NSF) could reduce its funding by more than half – from $9 billion in FY 2025 to under $4 billion. If passed by Congress, these cuts would result in an estimated ~$11 billion in economic losses.

  • How Federal Research Support Has Helped Create Life-Changing Medicines

    The Trump administration is proposing a nearly 40 percent budget reduction to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which sponsors a significant portion of biomedical research. A new study finds that over 50 percent of small-molecule drug patents this century cite at least one piece of NIH-backed research which would likely be vulnerable to that potential level of funding change.

  • ENERGY SECURITYStates Fast-Track Wind, Solar Permits and Contracts to Beat Trump’s Deadline

    By Alex Brown

    Since taking office, the Trump administration has pursued a number of policies aimed at dismantling support for renewable energy, particularly targeting wind and solar power, which President Trump described as a “scam.” Federal tax credits have brought project costs down 30-50%, advocates say.

  • TARGETING SCIENCEThe True Cost of Abandoning Science

    By Steven R. Furlanetto

    “We now face a choice: to remain at the vanguard of scientific inquiry through sound investment, or to cede our leadership and watch others answer the big questions that have confounded humanity for millennia —and reap the rewards.”

  • ASSAULT ON SCIENCEFoundation for U.S. Breakthroughs Feels Shakier to Researchers

    By Max Larkin

    With each dollar of its grants, the National Institutes of Health —the world’s largest funder of biomedical research —generates, on average, $2.56 worth of economic activity across all 50 states. NIH grants also support more than 400,000 U.S. jobs, and have been a central force in establishing the country’s dominance in medical research. Waves of funding cuts and grant terminations under the second Trump administration are a threat to the U.S. status as driver of scientific progress, and to the nation’s economy.

  • ENERGY SOURCESTrump’s Bid to Support Coal Could Cost Ratepayers Billions: Report

    By Alex Brown

    The market has spoken: Across the country, coal plants have phased out as they’ve been unable to compete with cheaper renewables and natural gas. A recent report found that 99% of existing U.S. coal plants “are more expensive to run than replacement by local wind, solar, and energy storage resources.” Mandates from the Trump administration to subsidize aging, uncompetitive coal plants would cause taxpayers billions and lead to a massive spike in energy costs.

  • EUROPEAN DEFENSEEurope Is Significantly Boosting Its Defense Spending. Can the Continent Become a Military Superpower?

    By Tanner Stening

    Military spending across the European Union is ramping up in what observers have noted is a significant and “extraordinary” pivot from the comparatively placid postwar decades. Mai’a Cross thinks Europe’s shift toward an “era of rearmament” will be in its long-term interest.

  • HOBBLING U.S. INNOVATION Attacks on the U.S. Innovation Ecosystem Are an Attack on a Wellspring of American Prosperity

    By Neera Tanden, Ryan Mulholland, and Adam Conner

    The Trump administration’s attacks on the country’s science and innovation ecosystem — its cuts to federally funded R&D; its war on higher education; and its aggression toward immigrants, including skilled immigrants — are dismantling America’s science and technology advantage—putting the country’s future prosperity at risk. This frontal assault on the key source of U.S. industry’s competitive advantage is not a recipe for American greatness; it is a recipe for long-term decline.

  • HOBBLING U.S. INNOVATIONWhy the U.S. Is Letting China Win on Energy Innovation

    By Stephen Lezak

    The frontiers of global technology have pivoted to AI and next generation energy. In AI, the U.S. has far outpaced any other nation, but in energy, the U.S. has just tied its shoelaces together. The reason isn’t technology, economics or, despite the administration’s misleading official line, even national security. Rather, it is politics. The fact is, the U.S. does not have an energy security problem. It does, however, have an energy cost problem combined with a growing climate change crisis. These issues will only be made worse by Trump’s enthusiasm for fossil fuels.

  • CHEMICAL HAZARDSFeds Move to Eliminate Petrochemical Watchdog, Putting Texans and Others at Risk

    By Elena Bruess, Capital & Main

    Amid increasingly intense weather, the Chemical Safety Board is the lone independent agency watching over the Gulf Coast’s petrochemical corridor.

  • ENERGY SECURITYWill New Interior Department Rules Shackle Wind and Solar? Insiders Are Divided.

    By Rebecca Egan McCarthy

    Some Republicans felt that the massive budget bill that President Trump signed into law earlier this month did not go far enough in discouraging the growth of wind and solar power. So we know new Interior Department rules will slow wind and solar development — but we don’t yet know how much.