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CBC
9 minutes ago
- CBC
Trump's NASA cuts will 'compromise human safety,' hundreds of employees say in letter
NASA scientists say pending cuts to the space agency could compromise mission safety and pave the way for another tragedy like the 1986 Challenger disaster. "When you're talking about cuts that appear unstrategic and unthoroughly researched and not motivated by actual improvements in mission safety, then you start to get people worried," Kyle Helson, a research scientist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the University of Maryland, told As It Happens guest host Megan Williams. Helson is one of 362 current and former NASA employees who have signed an open letter sounding the alarm about "recent policies that have or threaten to waste public resources, compromise human safety, weaken national security, and undermine the core NASA mission." In an email to CBC, NASA spokesperson Bethany Stevens dismissed those concerns. "NASA will never compromise on safety. Any reductions — including our current voluntary reduction — will be designed to protect safety-critical roles," she said. $6B US in proposed cuts U.S. President Donald Trump is seeking a 25 per cent, or roughly $6 billion US ($8.22 billion Cdn), budget cut for NASA as a whole, and 50 per cent cut for the scientific research division. "President Trump has proposed billions of dollars for NASA science, demonstrating an ongoing commitment to communicating our scientific achievements," Stevens said. Helson says that's technically true, but wildly disingenuous. "That's like saying your bicycle is missing one wheel, but don't worry, you've still got another wheel," he said. Trump's cuts have yet to be approved by Congress, which holds NASA's purse strings. But in leaked audio from a NASA town hall meeting last month, several high-ranking officials said they will be moving ahead with them anyway. Zoe Lofgren and Valerie P. Foushee, the top Democrats on a House committee overseeing NASA's budget, have said implementing the cuts prematurely would be "flatly illegal" and "offensive to our constitutional system." The bipartisan committee has called on NASA not to implement the cuts. Fears of reprisal The open letter, called The Voyager Declaration, is addressed to Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, who Trump appointed interim NASA administrator earlier this month. Duffy's office directed calls for comment to NASA. The declaration specifically cites concerns that, if NASA continues along this path, existing missions will be cancelled, valuable scientific data will be lost, international partners will be abandoned, development programs will be nixed, staffing will be gutted and safety measures will be scaled back. It follows similar open letters by workers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the latter of which suspended 144 employees who signed. NASA workers fear a similar retribution. Roughly half of those who signed the letter did so anonymously, and only four signatories who currently work with NASA are willing to speak out on record, according to Stand Up For Science, the organization that helped organize this letter, and those at NIH and EPA. Helson is one of those four, and says he's only comfortable speaking because his work with NASA is in co-operation with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, a position he says gives him more academic freedom than those employed directly by NASA. "A lot of my coworkers who are civil servants are very afraid right now, and so I want to use what I perceive to be my advantages in my position to speak out on their behalf," he said. "People are afraid that they're going to lose their job." NASA did not respond to questions from CBC about whether it would retaliate against the letter's signatories. The letter is framed an act of "Formal Dissent," a reference to a NASA policy that empowers employees to speak up against decisions they believe are "not in the best interest of NASA." According to the New York Times, the policy was put in place after the deadly 1986 Challenger and 2003 Columbia space shuttle disasters, when the concerns of some engineers were brushed aside. The Challenger broke up seconds into its flight on Jan. 28, 1986, killing all seven astronauts on board. The Columbia disintegrated upon re-entry on Feb. 1, 2003, killing its crew of seven. The letter's signatories say they're worried that other policies designed to prevent those kinds of tragedies will be impacted by the cuts. "The culture of organizational silence promoted at NASA over the last six months already represents a dangerous turn away from the lessons learned following the Columbia disaster," the letter reads.
CTV News
38 minutes ago
- CTV News
Vaughan denies permit for event of ‘MAGA superstar'
Christian musician Sean Feucht of California sings to the crowd during a rally at the National Mall in Washington, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020. (Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo) The City of Vaughan says it has denied a permit for a music event this weekend with a U.S.-based Christian musician who's been described as a 'MAGA superstar.' Singer Sean Feucht was supposed to hold a 'worship' event at Dufferin District Park on Sunday, but the city told CTV News Toronto it rejected the Special Event Permit application 'on the basis of health and safety as well as community standards and well-being.' Feucht describes himself as a musician, missionary, author, and activist. He has spoken out against 'gender ideology,' abortion, and the LGBTQ+ community, and his religious and political views have grabbed the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration. The Atlantic magazine, based in Washington, D.C., recently described Feucht as a Christian nationalist who has become a 'MAGA superstar.' 'Between praising President Donald Trump as God's chosen one and suggesting that abortion supporters are 'demons,' Feucht has repeatedly advocated for the fusion of Church and state,' the article reads. In a statement shared with CTV News Toronto, Feucht said, 'If I had shown up with purple hair and a dress, claiming to be a woman, the government wouldn't have said a thing. But to publicly profess deeply held Christian beliefs is to be labeled an extremist and to have free worship events classified as 'public safety risks.'' Feucht added that his 'Let Us Worship movement' began in response to 'authoritarian COVID-19 lockdown policies' and accused Canada's response of being among the 'most oppressive.' Feucht's team also said he is trying to reschedule and secure new venues for his Canadian shows that have been banned or cancelled. Earlier this week, scheduled events in the Maritimes and Quebec were cancelled for similar reasons the City of Vaughan cited. With files from The Canadian Press
CTV News
38 minutes ago
- CTV News
Democrats and advocates criticize Trump's executive order on homelessness
Tents are set up along a freeway in a homeless encampment, May 12, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File) SAN FRANCISCO — Leading Democrats and advocates for homeless people are criticizing an executive order President Donald Trump signed this week aimed at removing people from the streets, possibly by committing them for mental health or drug treatment without their consent. Trump directed some of his Cabinet heads to prioritize funding to cities that crack down on open drug use and street camping, with the goal of making people feel safer. It's not compassionate to do nothing, the order states. 'Shifting these individuals into long-term institutional settings for humane treatment is the most proven way to restore public order,' the order reads. Homelessness has become a bigger problem in recent years as the cost of housing increases, especially in states such as California where there aren't enough homes to meet demand. At the same time, drug addiction and overdoses have soared with the availability of cheap and potent fentanyl. The president's order might be aimed at liberal cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York, which Trump views as too lax about conditions on their streets. But many of the concepts have already been proposed or tested in California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic mayors have worked for years to get people off the streets and into treatment. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court made it easier for cities to clear encampments even if the people living in them have nowhere else to go. Still, advocates say Trump's new order is vague, punitive and won't effectively end homelessness. Newsom has directed cities to clean up homeless encampments and he's funneled more money into programs to treat addiction and mental health disorders. His office said Friday that Trump's order relies on harmful stereotypes and focuses more on 'creating distracting headlines and settling old scores.' 'But, his imitation (even poorly executed) is the highest form of flattery,' spokesperson Tara Gallegos said in a statement, referring to the president calling for strategies already in use in California. San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has also emphasized the importance of clean and orderly streets in banning homeless people from living in RVs and urging people to accept the city's offers of shelter. In Silicon Valley, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan recently pushed a policy change that makes a person eligible for jail if they reject three offers of shelter. Trump's executive order tasks Attorney General Pam Bondi and the secretaries for health, housing and transportation to prioritize grants to states and local governments that enforce bans on open drug use and street camping. Devon Kurtz, the public safety policy director at the Cicero Institute, a conservative policy group that has advocated for several of the provisions of the executive order, said the organization is 'delighted' by the order. He acknowledged that California has already been moving to ban encampments since the Supreme Court's decision. But he said Trump's order adds teeth to that shift, Kurtz said. 'It's a clear message to these communities that were still sort of uncomfortable because it was such a big change in policy,' Kurtz said. But Steve Berg, chief policy officer at the National Alliance to End Homelessness, called parts of the order vague. He said the U.S. abandoned forced institutionalization decades ago because it was too expensive and raised moral and legal concerns. 'What is problematic about this executive order is not so much that law enforcement is involved — it's what it calls on law enforcement to do, which is to forcibly lock people up,' Berg said. 'That's not the right approach to dealing with homelessness.' The mayor of California's most populous city, Los Angeles, is at odds with the Newsom and Trump administrations on homelessness. Mayor Karen Bass, a Democrat, opposes punishing sweeps and says the city has reduced street homelessness by working with homeless people to get them into shelter or housing. 'Moving people from one street to the next or from the street to jail and back again will not solve this problem,' she said in a statement. ___ Kramon reported from Atlanta. She is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Janie Har And Charlotte Kramon, The Associated Press
