President Donald Trump's administration has cut or frozen up to $177 billion in federal grants since he took office for his second term, according to a tracking tool released Wednesday by a pro-democracy nonprofit and a group of researchers and scientists.
Plus, polling on data centers' environmental impact and Trump stumps for his Senate pick in North Carolina. |
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President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before boarding Air Force One at Shannon Airport, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Shannon, Ireland. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) |
Trump administration has cut or frozen $177 billion in grants across every state, analysis shows — By Mike Catalini
The cuts affected all 50 states and the District of Columbia, with health, nutrition, the environment and disaster relief making up the largest share of cuts, the States United Democracy Center and Grant Witness organization found.
Among the grants that were eliminated, frozen or delayed were ones related to maternal health in Michigan, education research in Mississippi and assistance to minority farmers in Iowa, the researchers found. California, Texas, New York, Illinois and North Carolina saw the highest amounts of interrupted grant money. The tracking tool is called Lost Funds. The $177 billion finding represents nearly 10% of federal discretionary spending, the groups said.
The tracker’s organizers said the disrupted grants were beyond the kind of cuts that typically happen when administrations change. In some cases, courts have ruled against the administration’s grant funding cuts.
The new tool, which is being made available for public use, relies on data from USASpending.gov, an open data source of federal spending information, according to the groups’ methodology. They said the tracker would be updated regularly as the administration takes new action and lawsuits move through the courts. Read more from Catalini about Trump's second-term grant cuts. |
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Trump heads to North Carolina for Senate nominee Michael Whatley |
Michael Whatley, North Carolina senatorial candidate, greets delegates as he takes the stage at the Republican convention in Dallas, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez) |
Trump to campaign in North Carolina rally with his handpicked Senate nominee Michael Whatley — By Bill Barrow Trump will travel to North Carolina on Wednesday to campaign with Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley as the former national party chairman tries to shore up his campaign against Democratic former Gov. Roy Cooper. The trip marks Trump’s first campaign rally since his unusual midterm convention in Dallas. The president, despite voter frustrations over the Iran war and his economic leadership, has promised dozens more trips ahead of Election Day.
Trump's involvement creates a balancing act for Republicans like Whatley, who will depend on the president’s core supporters to turn out while also trying to appeal to moderates and disaffected conservatives unhappy with the direction of the country.
Whatley was the president’s pick for the Senate race and Trump’s pick to lead the Republican National Committee before that. Republicans viewed him as a strong recruit to hold the seat being left open by Sen. Thom Tillis, who decided to retire after clashing with the president last year.
But Whatley, who is making his first bid for public office, has trailed Cooper in fundraising in recent months and polling from over the summer showed Cooper with at least a slight lead.
Trump has acknowledged the challenging landscape but believes his presence will be a clear boost.
Read more from Barrow about Trump's North Carolina campaign trip. |
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The latest AP-NORC Poll: Worries grow about environmental impact of AI |
Cars drive past data centers, July 16, 2023, in Ashburn, Va. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey) |
Americans are increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of AI, new poll finds — By Adithi Ramakrishnan and Linley Sanders
Americans have grown more concerned about the environmental impacts of artificial intelligence over the last year, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago.
The survey data say about half, 53%, of Americans are “extremely” or “very” concerned about artificial intelligence's environmental impacts. That is up from 41% last year.
Democrats are driving much of the increase in environmental concern, but the poll also reveals broader worries about the local impact of data centers, which power AI and cloud computing.
There are thousands of data centers in the U.S. with construction planned for more. Those include smaller, conventional centers that have been around for decades, as well as larger hyperscale ones that are being built to serve artificial intelligence’s added processing needs.
A recent United Nations University report predicted that data centers' environmental footprint, which already rivals some of the world's largest countries, will grow rapidly as AI is more widely adopted.
Read more on the data center poll from Ramakrishnan and Sanders.
View the AP-NORC Polling tracker. |
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U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche takes questions during a news briefing in the Rose Garden of the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) |
Handing it off to Washington-based photo journalist Jacquelyn Martin, who took this photo in the Rose Garden during a unique moment:
"On Tuesday, we were surprised to see that the weekly press briefing would be held outside, in the newly renovated Rose Garden, rather than indoors in the usual packed Briefing Room. We were told the setup would be identical to the indoors, and that U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche would be speaking to the press.
I set up in the 'head on' shot, where you can get the speaker and some interaction with the press. Besides it being outdoors, the main difference was that this set up included a center aisle. This gave the opportunity to make an image with a low vantage point, so I sat cross legged on the granite to try for something with the reporters hands in the blue sky, including in the frame the new white granite floor and the iconic Mar-a-Lago-style white and yellow chairs.
I was happy to get a moment with the attorney general pointing into the crowd of reporters as they raised their hands high, hoping to be called on. The ornate lettering saying 'The Oval Office' over his head adds an additional element to show our location. Though the president was steps away, we did not see him, but I’ll keep this image in mind for possible future Rose Garden Press Briefings when the president might appear.." Explore more of Martin's extraordinary work covering the White House and politics. |
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