According to a UN report published last year, there are 138 million children in child labor. In this article, we look at what this estimate exactly captures.<br><br><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/138-million-children-are-in-child-labor-what-does-this-actually-mean"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/cdn-cgi/imagedelivery/qLq-8BTgXU8yG0N6HnOy8g/564b02f9-4455-4334-12ce-94a4583fde00/w=1024"/></a>
A veteran born in Oshkosh is suing the state over a law that limits when transgender and intersex people can change the sex on their birth certificates.
The primary is tomorrow and many voters are anxious to see if their chosen candidates are going to be successful Tuesday. WPR talked to voters in Milwaukee and Wausau about what they’re hoping for.
Milwaukee Water Works has cut the amount of fluoride it’s adding to drinking water in half due to supply chain constraints as water utilities nationwide have faced a shortage this year.
The new rule, which was included in Republicans' "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" last year, provides exemptions for a number of groups, including people who are pregnant, have children under age 19 who live with them and people with a recognized disability.
Former DOA Secretary Joel Brennan, who is running in the Democratic primary for governor, speaks with State Superintendent Jill Underly at the Wisconsin Public Education Network summit in Superior. Underly told the Wisconsin Examiner that school voucher programs are a “drain on our public education system,” but cannot be shut down overnight. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)
Amy Starzecki, administrator of the Superior school district in northern Wisconsin, detailed the financial difficulties her district has faced in recent years to a roomful of public education advocates gathered in the auditorium of Superior High School at the end of July.
Starzecki’s district had to transfer $6 million from its general fund to cover special education expenses that aren’t reimbursed by the state, she said, while at the same time coping with a 40% increase in healthcare costs. She said she was grateful that the community passed a referendum two years ago to help with costs, but it expires in 2029.
“I’m very nervous about whether we continue to push forward another referendum or whether it will pass, recognizing there’s fatigue in all of our communities and our families are experiencing the same inflation,” Starzecki said, adding that the school has taken steps to cut costs by closing a middle school and reducing administrative overhead.
“We feel very strongly that we need to be looking at the funding formula and making sure that we are addressing the increased inflationary costs and increasing the revenue tied to that so that we don’t have to go to referendum and close that gap,” Starzecki said. “We need to have a significant change in our special education reimbursement to stop from pulling from our operating budget in order to cover the cost of those expenses that those students need.”
Public education advocates have for years called on the Republican-led Legislature to significantly boost state aid to public schools.
The calls have gone unanswered by lawmakers, including this year when schools received no increase in their general aid from the state. But advocates see an opening for change with voters choosing both a new governor and electing candidates who will determine which party controls the state Senate and Assembly next year, along with a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state’s school funding formula. A favorable decision for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit could require an overhaul of the formula by the Legislature and the new governor.
Democrats competing in the primary for governor, including Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan, state Sen. Kelda Roys and state Rep. Francesca Hong, participated in a forum in Superior during the annual Wisconsin Public Education Network summer summit at the end of July. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who is also running, did not take part, nor did Republican candidates U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany and Andy Manske.
All the Democratic candidates for governor have said they support increasing funding for the state’s public schools, raising the amount the state pays for special education and restoring the state’s guarantee to cover two-thirds of school costs. (Crowley, Hong and Roys have promised to work toward a 90% special education reimbursement rate from the state, while Brennan has said that 60% is the “the most reasonable” rate for the state to adopt immediately.)
Tiffany has also said he would increase school funding, including for special education, while cutting property taxes, including by overturning Evers’ 400-year veto of a measure capping school districts’ ability to raise revenue from local property taxpayers. He has not laid out a specific plan for both increasing funding for schools and cutting taxes. Tiffany has also supported school choice programs, including the Trump administration’s federal tax credit program rewarding people who donate money to school choice programs.
Manske recently said on social media that he supports universal school choice because he doesn’t “like parents/kids being robbed of choices for education” but that he is also interested in reforms to ensure all schools follow the same rules.
The Democrats diverge on how they say they will handle Wisconsin’s school choice programs, which allow students to attend private schools and independent charter schools using taxpayer funds.
Brennan and Crowley want focus on public growth, not cutting vouchers
Brennan and Crowley have said they want additional transparency and accountability measures put in place for voucher schools, but have not proposed any plans to sunset the programs
Crowley has argued that the state first needs to strengthen public schools before considering whether the voucher system should change. He has said he would not expand or shrink the programs, including the Milwaukee and statewide choice programs.
Public education advocates have for years called on the Republican-led Legislature to significantly boost state aid to public schools. Democratic candidates for governor attended the WPEN summit in July. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley was absent, along with Republican candidates Tom Tiffany and Andy Manske. Summit organizers put place cards by their empty chairs. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)
Instead, his campaign says, he will focus on investing in and improving the state’s public schools. His campaign told the Wisconsin Examiner that “his priority is ensuring public schools are fully funded and prepared to serve every student, including if and when the state’s voucher programs eventually sunset.”
Crowley has explained this stance by saying that the state’s public schools would not be prepared for the influx of students that would arrive if voucher schools shut down immediately. He recently said on an episode of Pod Save America that candidates who say they will end the programs are not “being honest or realistic about the situation.”
“This is going to upend, not just these children’s learning, their families, but what will this actually do to the public school system?” Crowley said. “We just did a $250 million referendum to make sure we have enough resources for [Milwaukee public schools] students. How are we going to send 30,000 [additional] students to the public schools?”
According to the Department of Public Instruction, the state’s school voucher system, which includes the Milwaukee, Racine, statewide and special needs programs, cost over $700 million in taxpayer dollars this year, with more than 60,000 students participating.
About 30,000 students use vouchers through the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program to attend private schools or independent charter schools. The cost of the Milwaukee program, which is paid for through state general purpose revenue, has grown to over $300 million. When the Milwaukee program launched as a small pilot program in 1990, it cost $700,000.
Crowley’s campaign told the Examiner that he would make increasing funding for public education his top priority “by directing available state resources toward K-12 education before pursuing additional tax cuts or other spending priorities.”
“David does not see this as a choice between maintaining the current voucher system and strengthening public schools,” a campaign spokesperson said. “Rather than expanding voucher programs, he would prioritize new education investments in public schools, including increased general school aid and higher special education reimbursement, while maintaining the current voucher programs without expansion.”
Brennan has also made the argument that it’s not feasible to suddenly end Wisconsin’s school voucher programs, especially in Milwaukee. During the only televised debate in the primary he said he supports capping enrollment in the programs and disclosing the cost of private voucher schools on taxpayers’ property tax bills.
“There are representatives in Milwaukee… for whom more than half the people who live there are sending their kids to private schools. We have to live in the real world. This is dividing Democrats,” Brennan said at the debate. “I wouldn’t put legislators in a position where they’re going to have to tell parents that they can’t send their kids to their schools of their choice.”
Colleston Morgan, the executive director of the City Forward Collective, a Milwaukee-based education advocacy group that supports school choice, has called for Democrats to embrace school vouchers and private-school choice.
Morgan noted that, especially in Milwaukee many Black and Latino families rely on school vouchers, saying it’s too late to backtrack.
The Milwaukee program, Morgan said in an interview with the Examiner, has been championed by Black public officials, including former Milwaukee Superintendent Howard Fuller and Polly Williams, a Democratic state lawmaker, and was designed to serve Black and Hispanic families seeking an alternative to the Milwaukee Public Schools. Fuller has expressed reservations about the program’s expansion, however, saying he does not support universal school choice.
“I think we have forgotten that history in the current political moment, but I also think we have forgotten the reality that when you say we’re going to end vouchers or we’re going to put forward budget amendments that exclude the voucher program from these increases — what you’re saying is you’re defunding or underfunding one-fourth of the students in the state’s largest city,” Morgan said. “That it is a position — it’s incompatible to me with our values as Democrats.”
Morgan’s organization has not endorsed a candidate, but was complimentary of Evers, who has overseen the largest boost in funding for school choice programs in Wisconsin state history while negotiating budgets with Republicans.
“I would like to see leadership in the governor’s office that continues that legacy,” Morgan said.
Hong and Roys propose sunsetting vouchers
Hong and Roys both support sunsetting the state’s voucher programs, but have proposed different timelines for phasing them out.
Advocates have acknowledged that the phase-out would likely not be quick, including Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Jill Underly. She said the voucher programs are a “drain on our public education system,” but cannot be shut down overnight.
“We don’t want to disrupt kids’ lives, so you come up with a responsible plan,” Underly said. She noted that the state has ended programs before, including Chapter 220 in Milwaukee, a program that allowed Black students in the city to attend suburban schools as part of an integration an effort. The program was phased out in 2015.
Underly, a Democrat who hasn’t endorsed a candidate in the gubernatorial primary and noted that her office is nominally nonpartisan, has said she will be prepared to knock on doors for pro-public school candidates after the primary.
Underly also said she plans to “swing for the fences” with her agency’s request in the next state budget. In its 2024 request, DPI requested at least $3 billion in additional spending for Wisconsin schools. Underly said she saw each candidate explaining “how they would re-prioritize public education within the revenue that they have.”
“We do have a limited amount of money or revenue, but it’s about priorities,” Underly said.
Holly Sweeney, a school board member from Elk Mound, said she is concerned about the amount of money that goes to vouchers in her area — about $120,000 — which, she said, “doesn’t sound like a lot, but for our little school district, that’s a lot.” (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)
Roys and Hong, who are both Madison-area state lawmakers, have campaigned on the pledge that they will direct public money to public schools.
Roys, who calls herself the “public education candidate” and has said if elected, she would dedicate the state’s entire projected budget surplus to public schools and seek to sunset the state’s voucher program.
Roys has laid out a three-step approach to sunsetting the private school voucher system. Those steps include putting in place additional transparency and accountability measures, ending the statewide program in the next state budget and slowly phasing out the Milwaukee and Racine programs by allowing current students and their siblings to continue their education through the program. No other students would be allowed to enroll after that.
“We know that having a stable school environment is important for them,” Roys said. “Over time, as these kids… graduate, you are gradually reducing the number of kids who are enrolling in voucher programs. At the same time, you’re increasing the capacity and the quality of the public schools, so that more and more Milwaukee parents will feel excited about their kids attending the public schools in their district.”
Roys was endorsed early on by Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), the state’s largest teacher’s union.
Hong has not laid out a detailed plan for sunsetting the programs, but recently said on Pod Save America that the Milwaukee program would be the last program phased out.
“Sunsetting that program for Milwaukee, we’re looking at at least the second or third session, so that would be around 2030,” Hong said. “But again, we want to make sure that [Milwaukee Public Schools] is a partner with us and that the families who are in the program, that the education is not disrupted.”
Morgan questioned whether gradual plans could be nondisruptive.
“I wonder how you practically pull it off, like for all the same reasons that school consolidations in the public school context are really tricky,” Morgan said. “Those schools are not going to stay open. They’re going to hit a tipping point and not be able to operate anymore… It doesn’t work.”
Public schools advocates expressed concern about the amount of money being funneled out of the public schools by private school choice.
State Rep. Christian Phelps (D-Eau Claire), who is seeking his second term in office this year, told the Examiner that he is running for reelection this year on a “pro-public education platform.”
“If you drive around Eau Claire, the signs that remain year-round say ‘we love Roosevelt School,’” Phelps said, referring to a school that has faced possible closure. “I don’t know how much longer people can get away with, like sprinkling some crumbs on special ed and doing nothing else in a budget and saying that was a historic increase.”
Phelps said voters should pay more attention to legislative races because of the Legislature’s role in determining how much the state invests in public schools. Evers has proposed that the state spend more than $7 billion on education, but those calls were rejected by the Republican-led Legislature.
“We have seen that if the Legislature doesn’t deliver that kind of budget, the governor’s only option is to sign or veto,” Phelps said.
Holly Sweeney, an Elk Mound School Board member, told the Examiner that her small rural district is doing OK in part because of open enrollment, which allows students who live in neighboring districts including Eau Claire to attend schools in a different district. Sweeney said she is concerned about the amount of money that goes to vouchers in her area — about $120,000 — which, she said, “doesn’t sound like a lot, but for our little school district, that’s a lot.”
“Our neighboring school district, Chippewa Falls… they have over $3 million going from their schools to voucher schools,” Sweeney said. “That’s something that we’re really concerned about.”
Madison's east side responded to the police shooting of Corey Ruiz with a vigil Thursday evening. (Photo by Henry Redman/Wisconsin Examiner)
While Madison attempts to respond to the police killing of Corey Ruiz on July 22, a dispute has emerged within city government over the authority of the city’s independent police monitor to subpoena materials related to the incident from the police department and the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
In the weeks since Ruiz was killed, the city has seen the occupation of a major intersection, standoffs with police as the city moved to reclaim the occupied area, a marathon common council meeting and continued tensions between elected officials and the people they’ve empowered to oversee the city’s cops.
Aeiramique Glass, the city’s independent police monitor, has drawn criticism for getting into an altercation with police officers while they worked to clear the intersection of Williamson and South Baldwin Streets early Tuesday morning and later saying in a now-deleted video posted to social media that she would “burn this city down.”
Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said “it’s disturbing anytime a city employee is calling for violence,” while reiterating the independence of Glass’ office. William Sulton, a Milwaukee-based civil rights attorney hired by Glass to represent the office, said she was making a “figurative, idiomatic expression.”
Glass’ position was established by the common council in 2020 as part of the city’s response to the widespread police reform protests that summer. The Office of the Independent Monitor and the Police Civilian Oversight Board were established and given independence from the mayor’s office and council.
Madison is the only city in the state with such a civilian oversight system, and this is the first time the system has had to respond to a police killing, meaning that as the board and office work to investigate Ruiz’s death, they’re testing the limits of the ordinance granting them those powers for the first time.
Within the ordinance establishing the OIM, the city gave the office complete access to MPD documents and the authority to issue subpoenas — so long as those provisions don’t conflict with other laws.
“The OIM shall, to the extent permitted by law, have unfettered access to all MPD records, policies, Standard Operating Procedures, data, computer databases, and other information necessary to fulfill the duties of the OIM,” the ordinance states. “The Monitor may, to the extent permitted by law, issue subpoenas for the purpose of compelling testimony or receiving documents necessary to fulfill the duties of the OIM.”
Soon after Ruiz was killed, Glass opened her own investigation and issued a subpoena to the police department demanding all records related to the shooting be handed over to her office by July 31.
However, under state law, when a police officer kills someone, the investigation must be conducted by an outside agency. In this case, the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation is handling the review. DCI’s investigative report will be turned over to Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne, who will determine if the officer who killed Ruiz should be charged with a crime.
Glass, members of the oversight board and activists in the community have argued that the ordinance establishing OIM granting “unfettered access” to police department materials and subpoena authority means that the department should hand over its materials related to the shooting — including dash cam videos, 911 call recordings, a list of officers on duty and communications with the chief of police.
“We have a mandate and an ordinance that says we are to have unfettered access to all of MPD’s records, databases, video footage, everything,” Glass told the Examiner. “There’s no limit to what we are able to and should have access to.”
But the city attorney’s office, MPD and city officials say that limits on the office’s subpoena authority are set under state law. Once the independent investigation started, all of those materials, initially under the purview of the department, are now controlled by DOJ and state law prevents the release of evidence and materials pertaining to an open criminal investigation.
Because DOJ is investigating a government employee, state law also prevents the release of “information relating to the current investigation of a possible criminal offense or possible misconduct connected with employment by an employee prior to disposition of the investigation.”
“I think the case is clearly made [that] we can’t interfere with a criminal investigation,” Madison Alder Tag Evers told the Examiner. “The concern is the release of that information could compromise the ongoing investigation and if it’s determined prosecution is warranted, complicate or interfere with the prosecution of a crime.”
A spokesperson for DOJ did not respond to a request for comment.
The argument over the limits of the Madison independent monitor’s subpoena power have resulted in dueling FAQ pages on the city’s website in which the mayor’s office says it is limited in what can be released and Glass accuses the city attorney and mayor of helping the police department obstruct her investigation.
This dispute was explicitly predicted when the common council drafted the ordinance in 2020. In a pair of memos to the council, City Attorney Michael Haas wrote that giving the independent monitor subpoena power without explicitly outlining its limits could lead to legal challenges.
“It is the opinion of our Office that the Council may enact an ordinance providing subpoena authority to the Independent Monitor,” the memo states. “Where there is no contrary statutory provision or contractual right, we would expect such subpoenas to be enforceable. It is less clear that a subpoena issued in the course of an investigation, or in a case which could lead to a disciplinary decision by the Police Chief or PFC, would be held to be enforceable if challenged.”
Haas’ memo also directly addresses the question of officer-involved shooting investigations.
“It may also be useful to note that, under [the statute], all officer-involved shooting deaths are investigated in the first instance by an outside law enforcement agency rather than by MPD, and that the Monitor would not be entitled to participate in such investigations,” the memo states.
At a meeting of the Police Civilian Oversight Board Executive Subcommittee on Wednesday, Haas and board members continued to debate the issue.
“People cannot deny that the words ‘to the extent permitted by law,’ are in the ordinances, and I think that has been consistently overlooked when people simply talk about unfettered access and subpoena authority,” said Haas, whose office is working to release an official opinion on the issue. “Those words were intentionally put in the ordinances, and that means we have to look to existing Wisconsin law.”
But members of the board and independent monitor staff suggested that Haas’ office should seek outside legal opinions on the matter and charged that the city attorney’s office has a conflict of interest in the matter. Glass has asserted several times that the ordinance’s grant of independence to her office means that the city attorney doesn’t represent the office — a claim that city officials also dispute.
“There’s an inherent structural conflict of interest between city attorney offices and police oversight agencies,” the independent monitor’s data analyst Greg Gelembiuk said at the Wednesday meeting. “You can see this play out again and again and again across cities in the U.S. City attorney’s offices are very enmeshed with police departments, and of course, the mayor’s office. They have a primary role of risk management. Police oversight agencies have a primary role of investigating police, exposing the truth. Those roles are in conflict, and because of that, you have a universal pattern where you cannot rely on the opinions of the city attorney’s office to be accurate and valid.”
Glass has hired an outside attorney, Milwaukee-based William Sulton, to represent the office, telling the Examiner that she has “the ability to take full legal action that is available to us.” Sulton did not respond to a request for comment.
Glass has previously threatened to sue the city over the limits of her authority, a legal action that itself is in dispute because even though the ordinance grants the office independence, it is still a city department and a city can’t sue itself.
“The basic law in Wisconsin is that one city agency cannot sue another city agency. City agencies are all part of the same organization and one arm cannot sue another arm,” Haas told the Madison alternative newspaper Isthmus during the previous episode. “City agencies have the authority delegated to them in the ordinances and cannot file lawsuits independent of the city.”
President Donald Trump delivers remarks on Sept. 11, 2025, in the courtyard of the Pentagon to mark the 24th anniversary of 9/11. Trump has proposed a massive Pentagon spending increase for fiscal 2027. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — Congress is considering a hike of hundreds of billions in dollars in defense spending, which would represent a surge in military funding not seen since World War II.
Whatever the exact level of spending ultimately flows to military installations and defense contractors, some states will likely benefit far more than others, a States Newsroom analysis of federal defense data shows. Just a handful of states makes up a core of military production, topping the lists of federal defense spending, the data shows.
President Donald Trump has requested a total Pentagon budget of $1.5 trillion, an unprecedented increase of 42% over the previous year. While that full sum is unlikely to pass Congress, it lays out his vision for defense.
The House and Senate are considering their own versions of the National Defense Authorization Act, which sets national defense policy. Both chambers propose boosting total base spending to $1.15 trillion, with Trump’s even bigger increases potentially targeted to come through the budget reconciliation process.
Here’s where in the country a new round of defense funding may end up, and where it won’t, given historic spending patterns.
Where is defense spending typically concentrated?
According to Defense Department data from fiscal years 2020 through 2024, three states have consistently reaped the most federal funding: Texas, California and Virginia.
Each has received nearly $50 billion or more annually since the 2020 fiscal year. While other states such as Florida, Maryland and Connecticut rank in the top states by funding, none has cracked more than 10% of total Pentagon spending — which Texas, California and Virginia regularly reach.
Matt Borron, executive director of the Association of Defense Communities, said that many communities with military installations will stand to benefit from a spending increase. But he said that funding often doesn’t prioritize infrastructure or maintenance issues, which he described as “low on the totem pole.”
“A lot of times our communities are worried about the infrastructure that supports the mission, and even the installation itself,” he said. “The facilities on base, are they up to speed? Are they being maintained? Is the housing still adequate?”
He said that, with the defense bill’s focus on building up the military’s industrial capabilities and workforce, many communities will likely see benefits from the funding.
Borron, whose organization lobbies for communities with defense installations, said that it is important to invest in the right places. More money doesn’t necessarily mean a better product or faster product, he said.
“National security starts at home,” he said. “You need these communities to be this innovation hub. You need it to have great quality of life, so servicemembers and their families want to live there.”
Virginia, Connecticut lead per capita
When accounting for population, a handful of states receive a bigger share than others.
Virginia, which neighbors the nation’s capital and is home to the Pentagon, and Connecticut, which houses several large shipbuilding and Navy facilities, received the most defense spending per resident in both 2020 and 2024, along with sitting near the top of the pile when it comes to overall DOD funding.
Maryland, which also neighbors the capital, Alaska and Hawaii also ranked highly in per capita spending.
Even within states, spending is often concentrated in specific counties that contain major installations.
In Texas, Tarrant County — home to Fort Worth — alone received more than $120 billion in defense spending from fiscal years 2020 through 2024, nearly 50% higher than the next highest amount.
Some states often don’t come out on top, however.
Many Pacific Northwest and Northern states, including Idaho, Oregon, Montana and Minnesota, routinely rank toward the bottom of both per capita and total military spending.
In the 2024 fiscal year, defense spending made up just a half percent of total GDP in both Oregon and Minnesota.
The economic impact
For many communities with military installations or manufacturing facilities, national defense is their primary industry.
Military installations can spur hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars to flow to local economies. According to a recent report from the Texas state comptroller, defense installations in 2025 added almost $150 billion to the Texas economy and supported about 628,000 jobs.
Many states have embraced their identity as centers of military activity.
In a 2023 op-ed in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., wrote that a strong defense industry and reliable state economy “come as a package deal.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said on July 10 that military installations each provide “tremendous value” to communities across his state.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., despite voting against the defense policy bill in committee due to its overall size, said provisions of the bill that would support the state’s defense manufacturers and installations enhance “Connecticut’s vital role as an arsenal of democracy.”
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth signs a panel of the Dive-LD autonomous submarine made by employees at Anduril Industries at Quonset Point during his tour of the factory floor on Feb. 9, 2026. (Photo by Laura Paton/Rhode Island Current)
But some experts say the economic benefits can often be overstated.
Julia Gledhill, an analyst at the Stimson Center, a nonprofit think tank that studies global peace and international security issues, said federal defense spending should not be used as a tool for economic development.
In fiscal year 2024, according to DOD data, defense spending made up less than 2% of gross domestic product in a majority of states. Just eight states relied on defense spending for more than 5% of their GDP.
While defense spending has a significant impact for many communities, she said, if an economic boost is the goal, there’s better places to put the money. Sectors like education or healthcare both have higher returns on investment, she added.
“The purpose of the military is not job creation,” she said. “The purpose of military spending is not economic development.”
Instead, Gledhill said the defense budget should reflect only what is needed.
Military readiness
Speaking to reporters during a cabinet meeting at Camp David in July, Trump described the increasing spending as an “unprecedented investment in the United States armed forces.”
Buying more for the sake of buying more is not necessarily going to improve the military’s overall operational readiness, Gledhill added.
“We’re spending more and more, and we’re buying more and more, and it’s actually hurting military readiness rates, in direct contrast to what we’re hearing from the likes of Secretary Hegseth,” she said, referring to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
She pointed to a recent report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, a federal agency watchdog, that found that the F-35 fighter jet, the Defense Department’s most expensive weapons system, has increased in sustainment costs while declining in performance.
F-35B Lighting II’s prepare to take off from the flight deck of Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8) in the Pacific Ocean on July 28, 2026. The F-35 is the Defense Department’s most expensive weapons system. (Photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Tomas Zuelke/U.S. Navy)
That report found that the F-35’s mission capable rate — which is the percentage of the time it is able to carry out an assigned mission — decreased from 67% to 44% from fiscal years 2021 to 2025. The percentage of time that it is capable of completing all assigned missions, or the full mission capable rate, similarly decreased from 38% to just 25%, according to the GAO.
In the president’s 2027 defense budget request, the number of desired F-35s increased from 47 purchased in 2026 to 85 — a total spending increase of more than $8 billion.
And increasing military spending at such a significant rate, without a clear reason, Gledhill said, will have an impact on the rest of the federal government, citing cuts in Republicans’ 2025 tax and spending cut law to Medicaid and nutrition programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
She added that, despite continually rising defense spending, veterans and military families continue to struggle and face high food insecurity.
“I think that we can take care of people if we were a bit more judicious about the weapons that we procured,” she said. “That would actually strengthen the military.”
Reporting for this project was supported by the Dow Jones News Fund.
A view of mining operations at Eagle Summit Resources in Charleston, West Virginia, as seen on March 12, 2026. (Photo by James Pinsky/USDA)
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Friday the federal government will fund $180 million in grants for mining schools across the county as part of his administration’s goal of rebuilding the U.S. coal industry.
The grants will include $100 million from the Department of Energy spread across the 14 accredited mining schools in the U.S., while the Department of Defense will dedicate just over $80 million for three major schools of mining and metallurgy: the Colorado School of Mines, the South Dakota School of Mines and Johns Hopkins University.
The Johns Hopkins University grant will help to create a new “multi-material recycling innovation hub,” while the South Dakota School of Mines’ funding will go toward establishing a consortium of workforce development programs alongside the University of Kentucky and Missouri S&T University.
Trump framed the announcement as part of his ongoing effort to rebuild the U.S. coal industry and reopen mines, a central pillar of his energy policy. He has previously sought to shorten the regulation process for new mines and limit the impact of environmental regulations.
Trump stressed the national importance of funding mining programs, given that other countries, such as China, graduate students at a far higher rate. Accredited mining programs at U.S. educational institutions graduate less than 170 mining engineers each year, he said, while China graduates more than 3,000 annually.
“We’re not doing you favors,” Trump told a crowd, including miners and many of the schools’ representatives, at a ceremony at the State Department building in Washington. “We’re doing ourselves favors. We need your industry.”
Half of the U.S. mining workforce is set to retire within the next three years, he added.
“That’s why my administration is making an unprecedented financial commitment to our nation’s mining schools,” Trump said. “It’s going to keep us nice and young and vibrant.”
In addition to increasing support for mining education, Trump announced more than $2 billion worth of new mining contracts and projects.
Those investments include $150 million for Minnesota-based Niron Magnetics to develop rare-earth-free magnets that are domestically produced to support the defense industrial base and $1.4 billion for Sila Nanotechnologies, a California-based firm, to “expand production of silicon-carbon battery anodes and build out a lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing facility to strengthen the supply chains of satellite operations, unmanned aerial systems, and munitions,” according to a White House fact sheet.
Several of the speakers during the ceremony Friday, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, highlighted the national security benefits of increasing U.S. mine production.
“At the core of this is our industrial strength,” Rubio said. “But also our national sovereignty — that we never depend on other countries for things we need to prosper and to defend ourselves as a people.”
The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 25, 2025. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate adjourned for its summer recess early Saturday after approving a stopgap spending bill but declining to advance legislation that would require photo ID for voting.
In a rare overnight session that began on Friday, senators trudged through a slew of measures, confirmed President Donald Trump’s nomination of Todd Blanche as attorney general and then departed the nation’s capital for the coveted August recess. The chamber is not expected to return to regular session until after Labor Day.
The Senate passed, 86-11, a major effort first proposed by the late GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina that would impose sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin, along with the country’s oligarchs and military leaders.
A bipartisan education bill — championed by GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado — served as the vehicle for the Russia sanctions package.
Collins’ and Bennet’s bill would ensure that “early childhood educators can claim the same federal tax credit for out-of-pocket classroom supply purchases that is currently available to K-12 teachers,” per a press release.
Averting a shutdown
The Senate also passed a bipartisan measure on a 90-6 vote that would keep the federal government funded through Dec. 11. The House has passed a different version so the two would have to be reconciled.
Earlier in the day, senators had advanced the legislation, known as a continuing resolution, toward a final vote on another strongly bipartisan vote of 91-6.
Senators did not vote on a proposed blueprint that would unlock the complex budget reconciliation process and allow Republicans to move ahead on their third party-line bill.
Attorney general vote
The upper chamber also confirmed Blanche, the acting attorney general, to be the next U.S. attorney general.
Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana marked the determinative vote amid GOP opposition from Collins and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska over Blanche’s bid, as well as the absence of Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who’s recovering from a health issue.
The Senate confirmed a batch of nominees earlier Friday, including Cameron Hamilton to serve as the next administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 51-47.
Voting and photo ID
The Senate failed to advance on a 52-46 vote a bill that would require a photo ID to vote in an election to federal office.
Related to the separate SAVE America Act, it was sponsored by Republican Sen. Jon Husted of Ohio. Sixty votes were required to move ahead on the measure, which was opposed by all Democrats voting.
Democrats have said in the past such a requirement would make it more difficult for all Americans to vote.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, a proponent of photo ID and the SAVE America Act who at one point had said he would hold up adjournment to obtain action, vowed afterward to continue pushing for it. “This fight’s not over. We’re just getting started,” he said.
Trump is an intense proponent of the SAVE America Act and urged the Senate to stay in town to pass it though Republican leaders have said repeatedly there are not 60 votes to do so. The SAVE America Act would require voters to show proof of citizenship when they register and a photo ID when they vote. Noncitizens are already barred from voting in state, federal and almost all local elections.
College sports
The Senate did not take a procedural vote before leaving town on a sweeping bipartisan bill that would set national standards for college athletes’ compensation.
GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington state — the top members of the Senate Commerce panel, which has jurisdiction over the matter — introduced the bill, with GOP Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri and Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware as original co-sponsors.
The bill underwent several changes after it was passed by the Commerce panel in June, and was able to ultimately garner the support of the formidable Big Ten and Southeastern conferences.
But the Congressional Black Caucus opposed the legislation in a statement earlier this week, noting that “at the very moment that Black political representation is under attack across the country, we will not be complicit in efforts to further exclude the interests of Black people by advancing legislation that will determine the economic future of Black athletes, their families, and their communities without their meaningful participation and engagement.”
President Donald Trump, who’s thrown his support behind the measure, urged the Senate earlier Friday evening to stay in town until the bill passes.
“Stop grandstanding, and try getting this done,” he wrote in a social media post.
Industry conferences are gearing up for the fall season, and agendas are being released with the latest and greatest information for student transportation professionals who are heading back to work for the new school year.
The National Association for Pupil Transportation’s 49th Annual Conference and Trade Show, NAPT ACTS 2026, will take place Oct. 3–7, 2026, in Louisville, Kentucky. This year’s theme, “Building Leaders for the Route Ahead,” emphasizes leadership development, professional learning and stronger connections across the student transportation community.
The five-day program is designed for transportation directors, fleet and maintenance professionals, trainers, routers, safety specialists and other school transportation leaders. It includes more than 40 sessions and workshops, over 10 NAPT Professional Development Series courses, and four certification pathways. Topics cover operational safety, crisis communication, data-driven decision-making, strategic and facility planning, student behavior, transporting students with disabilities, workforce retention, preventive maintenance, regulatory compliance and transportation technology.
Specialized programming includes workshops for new directors and maintenance teams, a national transportation briefing, recertification sessions and a Transportation Directors Executive Forum.
The trade show takes place Oct. 5, where attendees can explore school transportation products, technology and services and connect directly with industry suppliers.
Networking is built throughout the event through a first timers’ breakfast, marketplace sessions, receptions, regional assemblies, social events and sponsor demonstrations. The keynote, “Achieving Rock Star Status in Your Profession,” will be delivered by drummer and leadership speaker Kenny Aronoff, drawing lessons from high-performance music environments about teamwork, communication, creativity and collaboration.
Nearly a month later, the Transporting Students with Disabilities and Special Needs Conference kicks off, hosting a Transportation Director Summit for the first time. Hosted by School Transportation News, the event will take place Nov. 4–10, 2026, in Frisco, Texas, and brings together school transportation and special-education professionals from across the country to improve the safety, accessibility and quality of transportation provided to students with disabilities and preschool-age children.
The conference is intended for transportation directors, fleet managers, driver trainers, school bus drivers, aides and monitors, special-education professionals, Head Start and childcare staff, superintendents, executives, manufacturers and industry suppliers. Its program combines educational sessions, hands-on training, product demonstrations and networking opportunities focused specifically on the operational and legal challenges of specialized student transportation.
Educational topics include individualized education and transportation plan development, funding amid the U.S. Department of Education moving IDEA to Health and Human Services, student-data protection, positive behavior support, transporting medically fragile students, wheelchair securement, school bus aide and monitor training, updated national specifications, and the use of artificial intelligence in transportation operations. The program also includes American Sign Language training, child-passenger safety instruction and sessions addressing accessibility and inclusive transportation practices.
A major component of the event is its specialized training. Attendees can participate in a national course on child-passenger safety aboard school buses, including hands-on practice with child safety restraint systems for preschoolers and students with disabilities. Other experiences include wheelchair-securement training, a special-needs transportation roadeo and workshops that allow participants to practice procedures rather than learning exclusively through classroom presentations.
New for 2026 is the two-day Transportation Director Summit, held Nov. 4–5. This limited-capacity program is designed for qualified transportation directors and fleet leaders and focuses on leadership, trust, innovation, peer problem-solving and collaboration with manufacturers and suppliers. Participants will take part in expert presentations, small-group discussions and structured networking before the main conference begins.
The TSD Trade Show will feature dozens of exhibitors presenting specialized buses, wheelchair and occupant-restraint equipment, safety systems, fleet software, video technology and other products developed for transporting students with additional needs. A trade-show reception provides attendees with an informal setting to meet suppliers, examine equipment and discuss potential solutions for their local operations.
Later that week, the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services Annual Conference kicks off, Nov. 14-17 at The Ritz-Carlton, in Arlington, Virginia. The members-only event brings together state pupil transportation directors, state agency staff, transportation association leaders, federal officials, manufacturers, suppliers and other industry professionals.
The conference focuses on policy, regulation, safety and operational issues affecting school transportation at the state and national levels. Its location near Washington, D.C., gives attendees the opportunity to hear directly from federal transportation and safety partners. Invited agencies include the National Transportation Safety Board, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and Transportation Security Administration.
Educational sessions address training, transportation for students with special needs, school bus crash investigations and emerging trends in pupil transportation. State directors will also lead discussions about the most significant challenges facing school transportation programs, allowing attendees to compare policies, share practices and examine how different states are responding to common safety and operational concerns.
The event also includes keynote presentations, group meals and networking opportunities intended to strengthen collaboration among government agencies, state transportation leaders and private-sector partners. Unlike a traditional trade show, NASDPTS hosts a smaller Supplier Showcase and Networking Session, scheduled for Nov. 15. The tabletop format allows suppliers to present products, services and industry innovations while meeting directly with state directors and other transportation decision-makers.
More than 60,000 years ago, humans in southern Africa were engraving ostrich eggshells with intricate geometric patterns that appear far more organized than previously realized. Researchers found recurring grids, parallel lines, right angles, and repeated shapes, suggesting the designs followed deliberate rules rather than being improvised. The engravers may even have planned entire patterns in their minds before carving them.
A study tracking more than 340,000 adults for over a decade found that heavy drinking increased the risk of death regardless of beverage type. At lower levels, however, the picture became more surprising: beer, cider, and spirits were linked to higher mortality, while wine was associated with lower risk. Moderate wine drinkers had a 21% lower risk of cardiovascular death compared with people who rarely or never drank.
Frequent cannabis users may wake up with unusually high levels of the stress hormone cortisol, suggesting their daily stress rhythms could be disrupted. Researchers say the finding raises questions about whether using cannabis for stress relief might, over time, interfere with the very system that helps the body handle stress.
Full-fat dairy may be healthier than conventional advice has suggested. In a 12-week study, adults who ate three servings a day showed no meaningful increases in weight, body fat, cholesterol, or insulin resistance. They also experienced improved blood pressure and consumed more calcium, protein, and vitamin D. The findings suggest dairy’s complex structure may matter more than its saturated fat content alone.
Atomically thin semiconductors could enable dramatically smaller and more efficient chips, but a stubborn problem at the boundary between materials has limited their performance. Researchers have now engineered that atomic interface to protect electron flow while still allowing extremely thin insulating layers. The resulting transistors delivered an unusually strong combination of electrical control and performance.
An intensive seven-day meditation retreat triggered striking changes across the brain and body, including shifts tied to neuroplasticity, immunity, metabolism, and natural pain relief. Participants also showed brain connectivity patterns resembling those associated with psychedelic experiences, suggesting that powerful altered states may be achievable without drugs.
Stress may literally scramble the brain’s internal GPS. Researchers found that cortisol, a hormone released during stress, made people significantly worse at navigating a virtual environment and disrupted the precise activity of grid cells, specialized brain cells that help us understand where we are in space. When landmarks were missing, this navigation system nearly stopped functioning, while another brain region appeared to step in and compensate.
Deep underground, bacteria may be capable of doing something remarkable: trapping toxic uranium before it spreads. When researchers fed microbes in uranium-contaminated mine water with glycerol, about 95% of the dissolved uranium disappeared within 130 days. The bacteria helped convert it into an unusually stable uranium compound that had rarely been observed before.
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