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DHS shutdown may delay US terror response amid Iran conflict, expert warns

Jeffrey Halstead, retired Fort Worth police chief and former Phoenix police commander over Homeland Security, said US military actions can embolden ‘outlying or outlier terrorist entities’

By Landon Mion | Fox News

Published March 5, 2026 3:39am EST

Genasys spokesman Jeffrey Halstead warned that the conflict in Iran could elevate the mindset of people wishing to harm Americans and that the DHS shutdown could impact the federal government’s ability to address those threats.

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The partial government shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security could impact how the federal government is able to address potential terror threats in the U.S., a public safety expert said, warning that the escalating conflict with Iran could encourage those wishing to harm Americans.

Jeffrey Halstead, a retired police chief in Fort Worth, Texas, and a former commander for Homeland Security for Phoenix police, told Fox News Digital that U.S. military actions could “escalate the mindset of some of these outlying or outlier terrorist entities” wanting to take action.

“We’ve seen historically that any time there is a conflict, especially in the Middle East with escalating tensions, military action and now a declaration of war, there is a significant impact on the ability for us to work collectively to share intelligence and gather information in a timely manner from our federal partners,” Halstead said. “With the current Department of Homeland Security shutdown, if something were to occur here in the United States, there could be some significant delays because FEMA and other very, very critical divisions of the federal government are basically shut down.”

He specifically pointed out the terrorist attack in Austin, Texas, over the weekend, which left two people dead and 14 injured. The suspect, Ndiaga Diagne, a 53-year-old naturalized citizen born in Senegal, was also killed.

The partial government shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security could impact how the federal government is able to address potential terror threats in the U.S., a public safety expert warned.(David ‘Dee’ Delgado/Reuters)

Authorities said they are investigating the shooting, which took place at a bar at about 2 a.m. on Sunday, as a “potential nexus to terrorism” as Diagne appeared to wear a “Property of Allah” sweatshirt and an undershirt depicting the Iranian flag. A Quran was also later recovered from his vehicle, and an Iranian flag and images of regime leaders were found at his home.

That attack comes after U.S.-Israeli joint military strikes, which began against Iran on Saturday morning, killed the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other leaders, triggering a wider conflict in the Middle East.

Halstead, who is also the director of strategic accounts at Genasys, a communications hardware and software provider that helps communities during emergencies, warned that events in the U.S. later this year, such as World Cup soccer matches and America’s 250th anniversary, could make the U.S. an “escalated target” if the conflict in the Middle East remains active.

He also said anytime there is a government shutdown, there seems to be a “pretty significant distraction, both politically and administratively, in every facet of our federal government and the manner in which the government operates.”

“Sometimes there is reduced staffing in some of these critical agencies, and some of the agencies aren’t being funded at all,” he said. “This will delay and possibly impede some of that critical intelligence, which could be terroristic threat level intelligence, that needs to be in the hands of local police, so that the beat officers, the patrol officers, as well as all the supervisors, understand the latest and greatest threats, including high-profile targets that could be on the radar of some of these active cells in the United States.”

He added that the government shutdown has an impact on the ability to “get that intelligence as fast as possible into the hands of those that need it” and that delays could be “very, very catastrophic” if the information is ignored or not sent.

Halstead noted that he has not seen any evidence that the shooting in Austin is directly tied to the government shutdown.

Police secure the scene outside Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden in downtown Austin after a shooting that left three people dead and more than a dozen wounded.(Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman via AP; Obtained by Fox News)

“However, when there are military actions overseas, especially in a lot of these high-profile terrorist organizations or terrorist hosting countries, it elevates the mindset for other people to take actions against American citizens and institutions in America,” he explained. “That could be schools and religious sites, and it could be the way that we live our lives with freedom.”

“When these incidents overseas happen that are terror-related, it does instill in the mindset of some of these lone wolf-style actors to take action,” he continued. “And if you look at [the case in Austin], that is exactly what the FBI has profiled to date, that this was a lone wolf probably acting upon the military action that was taken against Iran, and then wearing a shirt, ‘Property of Allah,’ that speaks to his either religious belief and/or possibility of some terroristic ties.”

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said: “I am in direct coordination with our federal intelligence and law enforcement partners as we continue to closely monitor and thwart any potential threats to the homeland.”

DHS, President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill continue to place blame on Democrats for the shutdown. After the conflict with Iran began over the weekend, Democratic lawmakers remain unmoved, including those who voted to end the government shutdown in November.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., argued that DHS still has plenty of money left from Trump’s spending bill signed last year and that Democrats are not going to suddenly abandon their demands for reform. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, told The Hill that he sees no correlation between the funding negotiations and the ongoing war in Iran.

“I don’t think there’s any relationship between FEMA and Iran — or the Coast Guard, for that matter,” King said.

A general view of Tehran with smoke visible in the distance after explosions were reported in the city, on March 2, 2026, in Tehran, Iran.(Contributor/Getty Images)

Republicans contend that the conflict makes DHS funding even more necessary, with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., writing on X: “Following the successful strikes on Iran and the FBI’s warning of elevated threats here at home, it is dangerous for Democrats in Washington to keep the Department of Homeland Security shut down.”

Halstead said the funding fight “looks like all the other shutdowns that we’ve seen,” adding that it “becomes one side against the other, and then they will make some strong allegations and statements and then publicly the other side will make retaliation.”

“This is probably some of the worst infighting I think I’ve seen in almost 40 years,” he said.

Related Article

DHS shutdown leaves local emergency responders on their own amid extreme weather, expert warns

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The one big takeaway for Democrats and Republicans out of Texas

2026-03-05T10:00:33.958Z / CNN

A version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here.

The first primaries of the 2026 midterms are in the books, and they offered some very interesting storylines.

Texas Democrats opted for the White seminarian preaching unity over the Black firebrand promising to stand up to Trump.

Texas Republicans get another chance to choose between an old bull of the Senate and a MAGA-aligned attorney general who led the charge against the 2020 election results on Trump’s behalf. Will Trump weigh in on the race?

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An incumbent House Republican lost, and two incumbent Democrats are on the ropes.

I talked to CNN’s Washington Bureau Chief and political director David Chalian to hear how he’s reading these results. Our conversation, with my questions paraphrased, is below:

What’s the main takeaway for Democrats?

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CHALIAN:First, first and foremost, from 30,000 feet, the record-setting Democratic midterm primary turnout in Texas should not be overlooked. Not because I think it signals that Texas is going to flip blue in November, but because it fits a pattern over the last year — of special elections, the off-year elections in Virginia, New Jersey of this Trump 2.0 era. Democrats are really, really fired up to participate in this midterm year, more so than Republicans.

More Texas voters participated in the Democratic primary yesterday than participated in the Republican primary. That just hasn’t happened in a very long time, and that’s just not the norm.

What’s the main takeaway for Republicans?

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CHALIAN: The Donald Trump factor coming up in this Texas runoff between Cornyn and Paxton is the story that is on the must-watch list for these next 12 weeks now that this runoff is scheduled. That, to me, is the big forward-looking storyline. Does Donald Trump now get off the sidelines of this race? Ken Paxton is fully MAGA-aligned, cut in the model of Donald Trump. He has been impeached, has been indicted, has fought back it all, much like President Trump, and has a lot of fans from Trump’s base. And yet the Republican establishment believes, if Paxton emerges as the nominee in 12 weeks, that will create, for the party … a very expensive headache. I think that what Trump does here is going to be consequential, because if he does get in for one of them, he is likely to shut down runoff in a pretty substantial way.

(On Wednesday, after the primary, Trump said on social media that he would soon make an endorsement and ask the other person to drop out.)

CHALIAN: He wasn’t in for Paxton because he understands the political conundrum. Remember, some of his closest political advisers — his 2024 campaign manager, Chris LaCivita; pollster Tony Fabrizio — they’re working for Cornyn. There are people who have Trump’s ear and can make real political arguments to Trump in private that were successful, probably, at keeping him on the sidelines. Now they have the mission of convincing him to get in for Cornyn even though it is so against the grain of him wanting to reward his most faithful in the one-way loyalty test that Donald Trump constantly demands. Ken Paxton has always passed that test.

CHALIAN: Talarico has been running a very successful campaign in terms of his operation on the ground. He significantly outspent Crockett, and just the basic blocking and tackling of campaigning was on display on a daily basis in the way that it was not for Crockett.

Crockett, who got in late, had all of this energy and enthusiasm around her firebrand style of taking it to Trump. It’s a calling card. Democratic primary voters clearly were telling us that they were eager to see that kind of fighting. She just never was able to convert that opportunity and enthusiasm for her style into a truly robust and effective campaign operation.

I don’t know that we can walk away from this saying Democrats learned they’ve got to just put white, male, religious-values-based candidates to run in redder places. I don’t think it’s that simple, because I do think campaigns matter.

But I do think Talarico, in his wearing his faith on his sleeve, in his preaching of a renewed sense of love and community, did provide a new kind of profile for Democrats that has engendered a lot of interest from donors, from grassroots, from some of the pieces of Trump’s coalition from ‘24.

Winning Latinos back and trying to get independents and even some Trump voters who may have grown a little soft on Trump into the fold — that’s been part of his mission.

But I think this whole equation about how real Texas may be really depends on the outcome of that Republican runoff.

The question after primaries is whether the party can unite behind the winning candidate. What’s the evidence so far in Texas?

---

CHALIAN:Out of the gate today, Crockett called Talarico, congratulated him on his victory, and is urging unity behind his candidacy across the party. But this is Talarico’s main message point. He does not believe it’s a left-right dynamic he’s trying to sell both the Democratic primary voters and to Texas voters broadly. He frames the narrative as, it’s top versus bottom. And I think you’ll see that from a lot of Democrats, with the affordability crisis in America that is top of mind for voters, no matter what other things are happening in the news.

You hear from Talarico the argument that the way … to make sure you are casting as wide a net as possible is to be on the side of a populism-style economic appeal: that those at the top have been corruptly adversely impacting your personal economic situation. And that is the way that you’re going to see a lot of Democrats try to stitch together the pieces of the party.

CHALIAN: Redistricting, no doubt, played a role in ousting the first Republican incumbent defeat that we’ve seen in this kickoff to the 2026 midterm season. Rep. Dan Crenshaw wasn’t running against another incumbent in his Texas district. And on the flip side of someone like Ken Paxton, he got real crosswise with the MAGA base. Trump refused to endorse him. (Sen. Ted) Cruz was campaigning against him. But part of what happened there too is that his district was redrawn, and the state legislator that defeated him in the primary yesterday — a big part of his district was drawn into that congressional district.

In the Democratic Houston area seat in Texas 18, there were two incumbents running. Christian Menefee has only been in office for a few weeks. It’s not a long-term incumbency. That seat, after the death of the former occupant, was held open for nearly a year. Al Green is a long-entrenched incumbent now running for that seat after the redistricting. He thought that maybe he’d be able to rely on that. But this is going to a runoff, and it’s not at all certain that Green is going to emerge victorious.

And so you know, playing in a different district when these lines get redrawn means, even for longtime power players, they have to introduce themselves to new voters. And that is not the easiest task for folks that have been there a long time. (Menefee got under 2,000 more votes than Green on primary day; the race now heads to a runoff.)

CHALIAN: If you look at the turnout in some Latino precincts in South Texas, in Texas 34, a district that Trump won but is held by a Democrat — it’s exactly the kind of district that if you are the Republicans trying to save your majority, you need to flip that one to start protecting against some of your vulnerable members. And yet we saw big Latino turnout in the Democratic primary that may suggest when Texas Republicans redrew maps, counting on Republicans maintaining or increasing the inroads that Trump made with Latinos in ‘24 may not have been the smartest bet. And then we’ve seen it all throughout ‘25 among that that bloc of the electorate, the Latino vote.

Whenever you do redistricting, it never goes exactly as the computer maps it out. Undoubtedly, there will be some head-scratching in November looking at the results of some districts that perhaps, depending on which state it is, Republicans or Democrats may have drawn thinking it was a clear winner, and it didn’t prove to be that way.

GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales also faces a runoff. Between him and Paxton, can we assume personal issues will dominate the runoff season?

---

(Gonzales has been accused of having an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide. Paxton has been through a messy and public divorce from his wife, who is a state lawmaker.)

CHALIAN:The morning after getting into the runoff, we all find out that Gonzales is going to be under an ethics investigation in the House. So this will be the dominant thing that hangs over his runoff. Whether it will be the determinant or not, we’ll have to see. I don’t know if it’s quite like Paxton, though, because Paxton, yes, his divorce, lots of dirty laundry got aired, but he also went through an impeachment, went through an indictment and beat back both of those. Gonzalez is facing this as he’s facing voters, not something he’s proved to be able to beat back yet.

CHALIAN:We saw an enthusiastic Democratic primary electorate there as well, even though it was really not a contest. (Former Gov.) Roy Cooper was going to be the nominee. But we still saw, you know, much more Democratic primary participation than on the Republican side in the Senate race. But I’m not sure we learned a whole ton, because there may be more money spent on that Senate race than maybe any other Senate race. It will be a colossal battle.

Democrats, really ever since Barack Obama won North Carolina in 2008 and then lost it in 2012, have been trying to find a way back. And having a former popular Democratic governor who has won statewide there was a huge recruiting success for them. But it’s still a reddish-leaning state. There is no path to the Senate majority for Democrats if they don’t flip that North Carolina seat.

CHALIAN: I’m a little bummed because the Texas story was so good, which is kind of rare for primary season. But there are some big moments to watch for coming up in a couple of weeks. There’s a very competitive Democratic primary for the US Senate to replace Dick Durbin, and given the fact that (Illinois Gov.) JB Pritzker is thinking about running for president, he’s put his weight behind his lieutenant governor (Juliana Stratton). We’ll see if he gets a political win there as he’s considering a presidential run.

You are going to see in Kentucky in May a fascinating Republican primary to replace Mitch McConnell with three candidates who all worked for McConnell at some point and now are trying to run completely away from him … to curry favor with Trump’s MAGA base. That’s a real story of the change in the Republican Party in the Trump era. I don’t think Illinois or Kentucky will end up being what we discuss in November, but they will be telling about certain dynamics within the party.

We are also going to continue to see what we saw last night in North Carolina, in a House district with Democrats in a rematch from a couple of years ago. The challenger (Bernie Sanders-endorsed Nida Allam) is more of that liberal, progressive, anti-Israel, anti-AIPAC wing of the party. We saw this in the New Jersey special Democratic primary to replace Mikie Sherrill a few weeks ago. Is that wing ascendant inside these Democratic primaries? The one in North Carolina last night still hasn’t been projected. It looks like the incumbent, (Rep. Valerie Foushee) the more establishment candidate, may hang on there, but I think we’re going to continue to see that storyline play out, especially now, given what’s happening with the war in Iran. The US alliance with Israel will continue to be a real undercurrent inside domestic politics, within each party.

日本商业航天公司小型火箭发射第三度失败 | 联合早报

发布/2026年3月5日 17:27

3月5日，日本“太空一号”公司的小型火箭“凯洛斯”三号从位于和歌山县的纪伊太空发射场发射升空。 （法新社）

日本商业航天公司“太空一号”再度尝试发射小型火箭“凯洛斯”三号，不过火箭在上升过程中飞行中断。这是继2024年两发两败后，这一系列火箭第三次发射失败。

继星期三（3月4日）发射临时中止后，“太空一号”公司（Space One）于当地时间星期四（5日）11时10分（新加坡时间10时10分）从位于和歌山县（Wakayama Prefecture）的纪伊太空发射场发射“凯洛斯”三号。

直播画面显示，火箭升空后很快出现飞行姿态不稳，飞行轨迹异常。“太空一号”公司判断火箭难以完成送卫星入轨的任务，遂决定采取飞行中断措施。

新华社报道，“凯洛斯”三号搭载五颗超小型卫星，最初定于今年2月进行发射，但因为天气等原因多次推迟。星期三上午，火箭发射前因安全系统被触发，导致发射紧急停止。

“凯洛斯”（Kairos）火箭采用四级串联构型，全长约18米，直径约1.35米，重约23吨。它的近地轨道运载能力为250千克，太阳同步轨道运载能力为150千克。“太空一号”公司原先希望把这款火箭打造成全球范围内，从签约到发射所需时间最短的航天运载工具。

“凯洛斯”火箭曾于2024年3月和12月两次尝试运载卫星上天，均以失败告终。“凯洛斯”一号升空数秒后在空中爆炸解体，二号在发射后不久便飞行中断。

伊朗击中美油轮 指美国将为开创国际水域袭击先例“后悔”

发布/2026年3月5日 17:08

3月4日，一艘船只驶离斯里兰卡加勒（Galle）海岸。此前，伊朗护卫舰德纳号在斯里兰卡附近海域遭到潜艇袭击。 （路透社）

据伊朗媒体报道，伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队说，伊朗海军战斗机星期四（3月5日）清晨在波斯湾北部击中了一艘美国油轮，“油轮目前正在燃烧”。

另据新华社引述伊朗外交部长阿拉格齐说，美国在国际水域突袭伊朗军舰，“终将为它开创的先例深感后悔”。

阿拉格齐在社交媒体上说，伊朗护卫舰德纳号（IRIS Dena）是“印度海军的客人”，舰上载有约130人，在距伊朗海岸2000英里（约合3218公里）的国际水域遭袭，事先没有任何警告。

阿拉格齐写道：“记住我的话：美国终将为它开创的先例深感后悔。”

有报道说，德纳号护卫舰刚完成印度组织的国际海军演习，遭袭时正在返航途中。

美国战争部长赫格塞思4日说，美军潜艇3日在印度洋用鱼雷击沉一艘“自认为在国际水域安全”航行的伊朗军舰，导致船上人员“安静死亡”。

赫格塞思2日曾公开放言，“不再遵守愚蠢的交战规则”，“不打政治正确的战争”，“我们为胜利而战，我们不浪费时间或生命”。

‘Soulless hotel conference space’: Trump’s East Wing ballroom is poised for approval despite scathing public feedback

PUBLISHED Mar 5, 2026, 6:00 AM ET / UPDATED 37 min ago

By Betsy Klein, Sunlen Serfaty, Casey Tolan

Work continues on the construction of the ballroom at the White House, Wednesday, February 4, 2026, in Washington, where the East Wing once stood.

Rod Lamkey/AP

President Donald Trump’s massive East Wing ballroom project is poised to get its final approval from a government commission that oversees planning for federal buildings and land in the nation’s capital, despite receiving over 32,000 comments from the public overwhelmingly opposing the construction.

The National Capital Planning Commission is expected to take a final vote to approve plans for the ballroom on Thursday, marking the latest clearance for the project in a process that has been on a fast track since Trump suddenly demolished the East Wing last October.

Some 9,000 pages of public comments to the NCPC released ahead of the meeting detailed major objections from Americans who expressed concerns about the project’s size and scope, cost and destruction of history, among other complaints.

According to a CNN analysis using AI and human verification, more than 97% of the public feedback was against the construction, with the most scathing criticisms likening the proposed ballroom’s aesthetic to a “brothel” or “Vegas casino.”

Objections centering around the “Trumpification” of the White House and fears that the ballroom represented “authoritarian self-aggrandizement” were a common theme among the tens of thousands of comments urging the commission to reject the plan. The much smaller number of comments in support of the construction cited the need for a larger and more modern space as reason for backing it.

Architect Shalom Baranes shows elevation drawings for a new $400 million ballroom at the White House to members of the National Capital Planning Commission on January 8, 2026, in Washington, DC.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Since returning to office, the president has stacked the 12-member commission with loyalists, and earlier this week, the NCPC executive director published a recommendation to “(approve) the preliminary and final site and building plans for the East Wing Modernization Project located on the grounds of the White House,” all but guaranteeing that the project will move forward.

That expected approval would come weeks after the Commission of Fine Arts, another federal agency where Trump installed political allies, voted to approve the design and days after a federal judge rejected the nation’s top historic preservation group’s attempt to block it.

Approval by the NCPC on Thursday would mean that any further attempt to halt construction would require intervention from the courts.

The most serious legal challenge comes from a case brought by historical preservationists, who argue that Trump needs congressional approval to carry out the construction. And there are already questions about the validity of Thursday’s NCPC vote.

The remarkable speed with which the multi-million-dollar project has progressed has underscored an emboldened Trump’s personal interest in unveiling a finished ballroom before the end of his second term, part of a broader effort to remake the White House and Washington to suit his style and taste.

The former real estate developer has been intimately involved in the plans – even referencing it at length, unprompted, this week at a Medal of Honor ceremony that marked his first public comments after launching war with Iran. Administration officials have previously said that above-ground construction will begin as soon as next month.

‘Gaudy’ and ‘vulgar’: Public comments reveal serious misgivings

Part of the NCPC’s review process requires a public comment period, and more than 32,000 people wrote in from around the country with digital or handwritten notes to express their opinions. These comments revealed deep unease and astonishment about Trump’s ballroom plans.

Again and again, harsh terms like “gaudy,” “garish,” “ostentatious,” “glitzy,” “obscene,” “hideous,” “disgusting,” “vulgar,” “cheap,” “low class” and a “soulless hotel conference space” showed up in the feedback.

There were many concerns about how the plans run counter to what America’s founders had envisioned for a humble, modest White House.

A commenter who identified herself as a longtime Washington, DC-area resident, warned that Trump’s ballroom would be a “replica of his ‘gold plated lifestyle.’”

The scale of the new addition “not only demeans the building’s balance but also creates an imbalance in the presentation of what America is about, undermining principles of equality and humility established by the founding fathers,” a commenter said. Another described the plans as “more reminiscent of a monarchical folly than a genuine conception of The People’s House.”

Rendering of the public view of from Pennsylvania Avenue in documents for the East Wing ballroom construction proposal.

National Capital Planning Commission

Many people with relevant expertise – architects, historians and preservationists – wrote in with concerns.

Kate Schwennsen, former national president of the American Institute of Architects, said: “If any of my previous students had submitted the proposed Ballroom addition to the White House as currently designed, I would have given them a failing grade.”

Schwennsen, who is the former director of the Clemson University School of Architecture, outlined issues with the project’s scale as “inappropriate for its context and site.”

CNN used artificial intelligence to evaluate the submitted comments and categorize whether each supported or objected to the East Wing ballroom project by identifying explicit sentiments expressed by the writers. Ambiguous or neutral comments were evaluated as unclear.

Reporters manually checked a random sample of 2% of the results – over 640 comments – and found that the AI classification was 99% accurate for that sample.

Visitors to the Washington Monument look toward the White House and the continuing work on the construction of the ballroom, Wednesday, February 4, 2026, in Washington, where the East Wing once stood.

Rod Lamkey/AP

Many commenters urged the commission to require Trump to rebuild the East Wing to the same dimensions it was before the demolition, or encouraged action against the Trump administration for destroying the East Wing, though the NCPC has repeatedly said it does not have authority over demolitions.

More than 8,000 comments included a suggested form statement that had spread on social media: “I oppose the spending of $300 million on this project, which was initiated without the proper authorization, permits, or design review.”

Asked for comment on the breadth of public opposition to the project, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt lambasted what she described as “Trump deranged liberals” lacking taste.

“These nasty comments are clearly stemming from an organized campaign of Trump deranged liberals who clearly have no style or taste. It’s a shame that some people in this country are so debilitated with Trump Derangement Syndrome, they can’t even recognize or respect beauty when they see it,” Leavitt said in a statement to CNN, going on to describe the planned ballroom as “extraordinary” and emphasizing that it is being privately funded.

Legal challenges ahead

Following the Commission of Fine Arts’ February approval and NCPC’s expected Thursday green light, the only potential remaining roadblocks for the project would be through litigation.

The Trump administration notched a temporary win last week after a lawsuit from the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s attempting to block ballroom construction was rejected. US District Judge Richard Leon’s ruled that the Trust’s choice to use the Administrative Procedure Act to challenge the project was not the appropriate argument for the suit.

The Trust filed a new lawsuit this week, now arguing that the administration is violating the separation of powers by proceeding with the project without Congressional authorization.

President Trump’s East Wing Ballroom construction is reflected in a mirror on the West Wing of the White House on Tuesday, January 13, 2026.

Aaron Schwartz/Sipa USA/AP

Separately, a watchdog group, Public Citizen, is questioning the validity of Thursday’s NCPC vote. In a new report, the group alleges that Trump’s installation of a trio of top allies to the commission – staff secretary Will Scharf as chair, Office of Management and Budget associate director Stuart Levenbach as vice-chair, and deputy chief of staff James Blair as a commissioner, violates the law. The three White House staffers, the report says, “fail to have any of the ‘experience in city or regional planning’ the law requires appointees to have.”

Thursday’s NCPC meeting is likely to be a lengthy one, and though it begins at 10:00 a.m. EST, discussions about the ballroom aren’t expected to begin until at least 1:00 p.m. EST.

More than 100 people are registered to speak about the ballroom plans, including National Trust for Historic Preservation president and CEO Carol Quillen, historic preservationist and former NCPC member Bryan Clark Green, and DC Preservation League executive director Rebecca Miller.

The commission normally meets in-person, but Thursday’s events will be online-only, which, it says, is “due to the anticipated agenda length.” Protesters assembled outside the NCPC’s most recent meetings and are expected to gather again on Thursday.

The commission is expected to take a final vote on the site and building plans before the meeting concludes.

CNN’s Devan Cole contributed to this report.

日本商业航天公司小型火箭发射第三度失败

发布/2026年3月5日 17:27

日本商业航天公司“太空一号”再度尝试发射小型火箭“凯洛斯”三号，不过火箭在上升过程中飞行中断。这是继2024年两发两败后，这一系列火箭第三次发射失败。

继星期三（3月4日）发射临时中止后，“太空一号”公司（Space One）于当地时间星期四（5日）11时10分（新加坡时间10时10分）从位于和歌山县（Wakayama Prefecture）的纪伊太空发射场发射“凯洛斯”三号。

直播画面显示，火箭升空后很快出现飞行姿态不稳，飞行轨迹异常。“太空一号”公司判断火箭难以完成送卫星入轨的任务，遂决定采取飞行中断措施。

新华社报道，“凯洛斯”三号搭载五颗超小型卫星，最初定于今年2月进行发射，但因为天气等原因多次推迟。星期三上午，火箭发射前因安全系统被触发，导致发射紧急停止。

“凯洛斯”（Kairos）火箭采用四级串联构型，全长约18米，直径约1.35米，重约23吨。它的近地轨道运载能力为250千克，太阳同步轨道运载能力为150千克。“太空一号”公司原先希望把这款火箭打造成全球范围内，从签约到发射所需时间最短的航天运载工具。

“凯洛斯”火箭曾于2024年3月和12月两次尝试运载卫星上天，均以失败告终。“凯洛斯”一号升空数秒后在空中爆炸解体，二号在发射后不久便飞行中断。

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison faced a barrage of tough questions from Republicans during a Wednesday House hearing on the massive fraud scandal in the state, with most of the questions focused on one key theme: What did they know, and when did they know it?

Walz and Ellison were asked multiple times for specifics regarding when they were first made aware of the fraud problems and faced sharp rebukes from Republican members, including Rep. Virginia Foxx.

“You did not do your job, you did not do your job,” Foxx told Walz. “You did not protect taxpayer dollars. You allowed massive fraud. You and Mr. Ellison allowed massive fraud to go on in the state of Minnesota. It is unfortunate, as somebody said, that you can’t be held personally responsible at this stage in the game.”

An exchange between GOP Rep. Jim Jordan and Walz sparked immediate pushback from conservatives on social media.

“Why didn’t you tell the truth about why you restarted the payments?” Jordan asked during a House Oversight Committee hearing on Minnesota fraud on Wednesday.

The exchange centered on Walz’s past public statements that a judge ordered the Minnesota Department of Education to continue reimbursements in April 2021 after the agency had halted payments over fraud concerns.

Jordan pointed to a 2022 court-authorized news release from then-Ramsey County District Court Judge John H. Guthmann that disputed the governor’s characterization of the events.

“So either you’re lying or the court’s lying. And I’m just asking you which one is it?” Jordan said.

One of the most contentious exchanges came during questioning from GOP Rep. Nancy Mace when she pressed Walz for specific numbers on how many children are in his state, the massive increase in autism care spending and why that occurred without getting specific numbers back from Walz.

“Ok, so your excuse before — that you didn’t know what the 2017 autism numbers were — because you were not governor, and today you can’t answer the numbers about 2024 as governor, and you still said you prepared for this hearing today. It’s unbelievable.”

Walz shot back that he wouldn’t be a “prop” for Mace, and she eventually said, “I expect you to know this information. Thank God you’re not vice president of the United States.”

GOP Rep. Clay Higgins confronted Ellison in another heated moment asking him to say he was “leading” the fight against rooting out corruption without getting the specific answer he was looking for, prompting him to call for Ellison’s resignation.

“I’m not talking about Medicaid fraud, don’t hide behind that,” Higgins said, interrupting Ellison. “You have the authority to prosecute anything criminally that the governor asks you to, and this thing is big. I’m giving you an opportunity sir, are you leading the criminal investigative effort into this massive fraud across the board…or not?” Higgins pressed.

“We are following the law,” Ellison said before Higgins cut him off again.

“You are not leading, I’m going to say, Mr. Chairman, that the attorney general of the state of Minnesota should resign,” Higgins said.

At the close of the hearing, things became tense again when GOP Rep. Nick Langworthy suggested that Walz, who is still serving as governor despite dropping out of his re-election bid due to the fraud scandal, should be impeached for “malfeasance,” citing Minnesota’s own state Constitution.

Fox News Digital’s Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.

Some US medical schools to teach nutrition under government deal

March 5, 2026 11:06 AM UTC / Reuters

• Summary

• Deal part of Trump’s Make America Healthy Again agenda
• Fifty-two medical schools to offer 40 hours of nutrition education
• Trump administration will not dictate curriculum, says federal official

WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) – About a fourth of U.S. medical schools will ‌expand their nutrition education offerings this autumn as part of a deal with the administration of President Donald Trump, according to a senior official with the Department of Health and Human Services.

Health ​Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Education Secretary Linda McMahon have pursued ​the deal as part of Trump’s Make America Healthy Again agenda, which promotes healthy ⁠eating and has also underpinned Kennedy’s actions to overhaul federal vaccine policy.

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Under the voluntary ​commitment, 52 medical schools will administer 40 hours of nutrition education or a ​40-hour competency equivalent starting in autumn 2026, said the official. The Trump administration will not dictate the curriculum, the official said.

Kennedy has said such nutrition education is necessary to better equip doctors ​to advise patients on diet-related chronic disease.

There are about 200 accredited medical schools ​in the U.S., roughly 160 of which offer doctor of medicine degrees. The remainder offer ‌doctor of ⁠osteopathic medicine degrees.

The majority of the schools joining the voluntary commitment are MD-granting institutions, said the official, without elaborating on the breakdown.

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Speaking in Washington last week, Kennedy described working with medical schools, exam administrators and accreditors to design the agreement.

He ​said some medical schools ​hesitated because they ⁠perceived the deal to be partisan. The Trump administration has made efforts to influence higher education, like threatening to cut federal funding ​to universities over diversity programs and policies for transgender students, raising ​concerns about ⁠free speech and academic freedom.

“A lot of them didn’t want to do it because they thought it was a Trump program,” Kennedy said on February 24 at a ⁠conference held ​by the National Association of Counties.

“We’ve been able ​to convince them that there’s no such thing as Republican children or Democratic children. We all want ​our kids to be healthy.”

Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

卡尼吁加澳携手合作 加强对抗霸权 | 联合早报

发布/2026年3月5日 18:03

（堪培拉综合电）加拿大总理卡尼星期四提出，加拿大与澳大利亚应成为战略伙伴而非竞争对手，两国携手合作将加强与包括美国在内的超级大国谈判的实力。

卡尼星期四（3月5日）访问澳洲期间向澳洲国会发表演讲，这是自2007年以来加拿大领导人首次在澳洲国会发言。

卡尼说，他此次来访是为了在全球架构因接连不断的危机而分崩离析之际，重申渥太华与堪培拉的同盟关系。他指出，加澳虽然在地理上相隔遥远，但理应成为“战略表亲”。

他说：“在旧世界……我们倾向于把彼此视为竞争对手。在新世界，我们应该成为战略合作伙伴，在提升战略自主性的同时，加大投资、加快技术合作，增强供应链韧性，以及扩大国内加工能力。”

卡尼说，在大国竞争的世界中，中等强国面临的选择是：要么争取大国青睐，要么联合起来增强实力。他认为，中等强国的当务之急是制定规范，并参与制定新规则，以共同应对日益被霸权大国主导的世界格局。

他强调：“中等强国不能仅仅筑起更高的墙，并退到墙后。我们必须共同合作。”

澳洲总理阿尔巴尼斯星期四在国会致辞时也说，卡尼来访反映了加澳在世界舞台上发挥更大作用的共同抱负。

阿尔巴尼斯说：“澳洲和加拿大是正在变化的世界中的中等强国。我们无法逆转变革，但可以支持自己与我们的公民，同时互相支持。”

卡尼指出，两国可以合作发展战略优势的领域包括关键矿物、人工智能（AI）、贸易，以及无人机和卫星等防御设备。

他也宣布，加澳当天早些时候签订了一系列与关键矿产有关的新协议，包括澳洲加入七国集团（G7）矿产联盟。

这个联盟由加拿大主导，是全球拥有主要矿产储备的民主国家组成的最大集团，旨在促进全球关键矿产的多样化，并保障生产和供应。加拿大和澳洲共生产全球约三分之一的锂和铀，以及超过40%的铁矿石。

澳洲是卡尼亚太之行的第二站。他此前已访问印度，星期五（6日）离开澳洲后将续程前往日本。

Kennedy’s new US autism panel to examine potential causes

March 5, 2026 11:08 AM UTC / Reuters

U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. discusses the findings of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) latest Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network survey, during a press conference at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., U.S.,… Read more

• Summary

• New panel includes vaccine skeptics, raising concerns among autism experts
• Panel could explore controversial vaccine links
• Outside experts warn focus on vaccines may divert funds from other autism research

WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) – A U.S. autism advisory board remade by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to include vaccine skeptics aims to steer federal research spending toward investigating causes of the condition, as well as other issues ​like co-occurring medical disorders, according to some new panel members.

Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has suggested the inoculations cause autism, contrary to scientific evidence, reset the Interagency Autism Coordinating ‌Committee in January with 21 new public members. More than a third of the new committee members have also promoted the debunked link between vaccines and autism.

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Some autism experts, including former committee members, have said the new members could undermine federal autism research. This week, some former members created their own alternative advisory board, the latest in a series of similar efforts by public health experts concerned about Kennedy’s overhaul of federal vaccine policy and what they see as misinformation coming from agencies he ​oversees.

No rigorous studies have found links between autism and vaccines or medications. Autism experts attribute rising rates of the condition largely to more inclusive diagnosis criteria.

The committee, due to first meet ​on March 19, will provide non-binding guidance to Kennedy on federal autism research priorities, including recommendations on allocating hundreds of millions of dollars in research spending.

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Kennedy ⁠has promised President Donald Trump he will identify the cause of autism, which most researchers suggest is linked in part to genetics and exposure in utero to pollutants or harmful contaminants. Many of Kennedy’s supporters in ​the Make America Healthy Again movement – some of whom were named to the committee – also believe vaccines can cause autism and advocate for fewer childhood vaccinations.

Committee chair Sylvia Fogel, a psychiatrist and instructor at Harvard Medical ​School, told Reuters the committee will address gaps in autism research like causal triggers in an effort to better serve people with profound autism and their families.

“Autism is not monolithic. Federal strategy should reflect that complexity rather than flatten it,” Fogel said.

Department of Health and Human Services spokesman Andrew Nixon said the new committee is meant to unite a range of voices and that “expanding perspectives on the panel does not change the fact that federal research is grounded in rigorous ​science.”

SOME MEMBERS LINK VACCINES AND AUTISM

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Until January’s overhaul, major autism groups like the Simons Foundation and Autism Speaks, and researchers from universities including Johns Hopkins and Tufts accounted for most of the committee’s 21 members ​from the public.

That panel recommended further research into co-occurring physical and behavioral health conditions, like epilepsy, gastrointestinal issues and anxiety disorders, according to a draft 2024 report.

David Sitcovsky, vice president of advocacy at Autism Speaks, said in a ‌statement that broader ⁠representation would strengthen the committee, but that its impact would depend on retaining a grounding in science.

The new panel contains more activists, just three autistic self-advocates – the minimum required by law – down from seven, and few representatives from research universities. At least eight have tied vaccination to autism or are connected to organizations that support those claims, including several who say their children developed autism after being vaccinated, according to a Reuters review of their public statements and affiliations.

Panel member Ginger Taylor, who created a website called “How Do Vaccines Cause Autism?”, wrote in a Substack post that her top priority for the committee is investigating the link ​between vaccines and autism.

John Gilmore, a new panel ​member and co-founder of the Autism Action Network ⁠who says his 26-year-old son developed autism after being vaccinated, said he wants to steer more research toward rising autism rates.

“A lot of the voices that are on the (committee) now have been deliberately excluded for 20-odd years,” he said.

Several, including Gilmore and Fogel, appeared on panels at a September autism event hosted by ​the MAHA Institute, whose president, Mark Gorton, is an anti-vaccine activist and was a significant funder of Kennedy’s 2024 presidential campaign.

Asked how some members’ views ​on vaccines will affect the ⁠committee’s work, Fogel said studies of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and thimerosal-containing vaccines have not shown a causal link to autism.

“That body of available evidence is substantial and must be acknowledged,” Fogel said.

Still, research should examine how various exposures, including immune or inflammatory stress, might affect autism outcomes, she said.

EXPERT CONCERNS

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On Tuesday, a dozen autism advocates, researchers and several former committee members formed the Independent Autism Coordination Committee to create its own strategic plan for autism ⁠research.

Alison Singer, ​president of the Autism Science Foundation and a prior government committee member, said investing federal dollars into researching a link between ​vaccines and autism, which most experts consider settled science, would cut into funding for other research opportunities, like autism’s heritability or link to environmental exposures.

“There’s not a bottomless pit of money at the NIH that can be used to fund research,” Singer said. “If ​we devote our very limited resources towards reinvestigating vaccines, we won’t have money to look at actual potential causes of autism.”

Reporting by Leah Douglas and Ahmed Aboulenein in Washington; Editing by Caroline Humer and Bill Berkrot

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.