Budget

Trump Is Fast-Tracking New Coal Mines — Even When They Don’t Make Economic Sense
In Appalachian Tennessee, mines shut down and couldn’t pay their debts. Now a new one is opening under the guise of an “energy emergency.”
- Read more
Cuts to Early Warning Systems Are Leaving the U.S. Unprepared for Summer Floods
The extreme costs and death toll of recent floodings across Texas, New Mexico, and the Northeast have put into question the future of the United States’ emergency preparedness amid major budget and staffing cuts to critical risk-reduction agencies and programs.
- Read more

Factories First: Winning the Drone War Before It Starts
Wars are won by factories before they are won on the battlefield,Martin C. Feldmann writes, noting that the United States lacks the manufacturing depth for the coming drone age. Rectifying this situation “will take far more than procurement tweaks,” Feldmann writes. “It demands a national-level, wartime-scale industrial mobilization.”
- Read more
Forensic Crime Labs Are Buckling as New Technology Increases Demand
Across the country, state and local crime labs are drowning in evidence. From rape kits to drug samples to vials of blood, delays in forensic testing are stalling prosecutions, stretching court calendars. A major federal funding cut could make labs’ struggles worse.
- Read more

Will Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful’ Defense Spending Last?
Trump’s signature legislation will push defense spending past $1 trillion, with new funding for innovation and other capabilities. But those investments are at risk of becoming one-off acquisitions without sustained follow-on funding.
- Read more
FDA Layoffs Could Compromise Safety of Medications Made at Foreign Factories, Inspectors Say
Beyond staff cuts, the departures of some longtime investigators in recent months have left less experienced people tasked with rooting out dangerous manufacturing practices.
- Read more

Actions from Federal Government Needed to Alleviate Air Traffic Controller Staffing Shortages at Many Facilities: Report
The current shortage of staff at air traffic control facilities is attributable to past hiring constraints and a misallocated workforce, the effects of which may be exacerbated by current inefficiencies in shift scheduling, says a new report.
- Read more
ACIP Draft Agenda Revives Anti-Vaccine Boilerplate Topics
RFK Jr. replaced scientists on the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) with anti-vaxx activists. On Wednesday, true to form, the new ACIP members issued a draft meeting agenda which contains topics which have become common talking points of vaccine-efficacy deniers.
- Read more

NIH Terminates GoF Research; OMB Proposes 54% Cut to CDC Budget in FY 2026
HHS announced it would terminate funding for gain-of-function (GoF), while OMB proposed budget includes 54% cut to CDC budget in FY 2026. The cuts include a $1.4 billion cut to chronic disease prevention and $794 million in cuts to HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, STD, and TB prevention.
- Read more
Federal R&D Funding Boosts Productivity for the Whole Economy − Making Big Cuts to Such Government Spending Unwise
Large cuts to government-funded research and development can endanger American innovation – and the vital productivity gains it supports. If the government were to abandon its long-standing practice of investing in R&D, it would significantly slow the pace of U.S. innovation and economic growth.
- Read more

National Academy of Sciences President Says U.S. Science Is Facing ‘Pessimistic’ Future, Urges Changes to Regain Leadership in Science
National Academy of Sciences President Marcia McNutt says there is a goal shared by all Americans. “Everyone, whether scientists or non-scientists alike, wants U.S. science to be the world leader.” She added: “The elephant in the room right now is whether the drastic reductions in research budgets and new research policies across the federal agencies will allow us to remain a research and development powerhouse.”
- Read more
“The Bethesda Declaration”: Sounding the Alarm on the Growing Chaos at NIH
More than 300 officials and scientists from all of the NIH’s 27 institutes and centers, have signed and sent a letter to Jay Bhattacharya, the Trump-nominated director of NIH, harshly criticizing the sweeping changes which have plunged the agency into chaos.
- Read more

Economic Impact Report Warns of Setbacks to Public Health Progress Amid Federal Budget Cuts
A new report details the far-reaching impacts of 2025 federal funding cuts on public health infrastructure, research institutions, workforce development, and the broader US economy. The report provides the first comprehensive look at how widespread grant freezes, budget reductions, and agency restructurings are destabilizing academic public health institutions nationwide.
- Read more
Street-Level Violence Prevention Programs Have Been Decimated by Trump Just Ahead of Summer
Community-based violence intervention programs nationwide have long worked alongside law enforcement officers to deescalate conflict, prevent retaliatory shootings and, in some cases, arrive at crime scenes before police do. And a growing body of research has found a correlation between temperature spikes and violent crime.
- Read more
A Brief History of Federal Funding for Basic Science
Biomedical science in the United States is at a crossroads. For 75 years, the federal government has partnered with academic institutions, fueling discoveries that have transformed medicine and saved lives. Recent moves by the Trump administration — including funding cuts and proposed changes to how research support is allocated — now threaten this legacy.
- Read more

More headlines