Why did the Sydney Sweeney ad for American Eagle become such a national sensation that has lasted multiple weeks? 

What made this story unique is that it wasn’t the outrage that prolonged the story but the reaction to that outrage. It represented a win for normalcy after many years of abnormal hysteria. 

Sydney Sweeney has great jeans, proclaims the American Eagle ad released toward the end of July. The ad has been called racist, sexist and more. The controversy ostensibly stems from a pun. The accusation that the play on words, that Sweeney actually has good genes, means celebrating eugenics. 

In one video, Sweeney says, ‘Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My jeans are blue.’

Thousands of internet commenters weighed in angrily about the ad, both because of the pun and because they didn’t approve of Sweeney’s classic American blonde hair, blue eyed beauty. Vanity Fair called the ad a ‘very, very bad idea.’ Megan Graham at the Wall Street Journal called the ad ‘male-geared’ and quoted TikTok users who used the term ‘male gaze,’ a silly film term that alleges women are often portrayed only for the consumption of a male audience.

The New York Times took issue with Sweeney doing so many ads for different brands. ‘Why does an actress who has two Emmy Award nominations and has been featured in a number of films and TV shows — including the hit rom-com ‘Anyone But You,’ which brought in over $200 million worldwide — need to lend her face to so many brands?’ they wondered while closely inspecting her bank account.

The Sweeney ad didn’t just show a beautiful girl in tight jeans. It represented a shift in culture, the left felt it and it made them angry. But the real test of that shift is what came next. Nothing. 

It’s one thing for a brand to make what used to be considered a fairly safe ad featuring a pretty girl wearing the clothes in a provocative fashion. It’s another for that brand to stand by it amid backlash. American Eagle put out a short statement noting ‘it’s always been about the jeans.’ What would have been a groveling apology just a few years ago was suddenly a terse comment telling people, essentially, to get over it.

One of the top comments on their Instagram page noted ‘It’s giving ‘I’m sorry you feel that way” which is another way of saying it’s a non-apology. That’s exactly right. American Eagle isn’t sorry and they shouldn’t be. Sweeney hasn’t commented publicly about the non-controversy at all.

Sweeney has been the center of dumb internet storms before and it’s possible she learned some lessons. Three years ago, Sweeney posted photos from her mom’s 60th birthday and, in the blurry background of some of the photos, red hats in the style of the Trump campaign’s MAGA hats are visible. Her brother pointed out that the hats actually read ‘Make Sixty Great Again,’ which did little to assuage the mob. 

At first, Sweeney tried to brush it off, posting on her then-Twitter account that ‘An innocent celebration for my moms milestone 60th birthday has turned into an absurd political statement, which was not the intention. Please stop making assumptions.’

But it was 2022 and the mob had total control over the narrative. A year later, in an interview with Variety, Sweeney somewhat capitulated and noted, ‘The people in the pictures weren’t even my family.’ In that same interview, Variety described her bikini photo shoot with them as channeling ‘a ’90s-throwback magazine queen.’ Somehow she wasn’t catering to the male gaze then.

In the parsing of the American Eagle story, some outlets have pointed out that Sweeney posted a Black Lives Matters post in 2020, which feels particularly Soviet. Does this person really believe? Is their zeal real? Is she for us or against us? Then the news broke that Sweeney had registered as a Republican.

A few days ago, the president gave new life to the story when he was asked about it. President Donald Trump responded, ‘You’d be surprised at how many people are Republicans. That’s what I wouldn’t have known. But I’m glad you told me that. If Sydney Sweeney is a registered Republican, I think her ad is fantastic!’ The truth is, the ad is fantastic whether she’s a Republican or not. 

The larger win here is for giving people what they want. American Eagle wasn’t making a political statement, it was making a marketing one. Pretty girls wear our clothing and you should too. In May, American Eagle was forced to downgrade their outlook for the year after lackluster sales. Since the controversy, their stock price is up. 

If it’s true that they have good jeans, their growth will continue. They’ve done a service for the American people by standing their ground and focusing on their product.

As Japan marks the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings, the mayor of Nagasaki is warning that the world could see the same kind of devastating attack again.

Approximately 2,600 people, including representatives from 90 countries, attended the memorial event on Saturday at Nagasaki Peace Park, according to the Associated Press. At 11:02 a.m., the exact time the bomb exploded over the city, the attendees held a moment of silence. Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki, whose parents survived the 1945 attack, addressed the crowd and called for global action against nuclear weapons.

‘Conflicts around the world are intensifying in a vicious cycle of confrontation and fragmentation,’ Suzuki told a crowd on Saturday, according to a translation by The Mainichi. ‘If we continue on this trajectory, we will end up thrusting ourselves into a nuclear war. This existential crisis of humanity has become imminent to each and every one of us living on Earth.’

Mayors for Peace, which brings together mayors and city leaders from across the globe, is holding its 11th General Conference in Nagasaki this weekend as the city mourns the tragic day. The organization’s aim is to abolish nuclear weapons, a point Suzuki emphasized in his remarks.

‘In order to make Nagasaki the last atomic bombing site, it is essential to show a specific course of action for achieving the abolition of nuclear weapons. Procrastination can no longer be tolerated,’ Suzuki said, according to The Mainichi. 

The mayor also noted that the 2026 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) ‘will represent a crucial moment capable of swaying the fate of humanity.’

Every five years, world leaders meet to review the provisions of the NPT, which was opened for signature in 1968 and entered into force in 1970, 25 years after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The U.S. dropped two atomic bombs on Japan three days apart. The first was dropped on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, and the second was dropped on Nagasaki three days later, on Aug. 9. The bombs decimated both cities, leading to Japan’s surrender on Aug. 15, 1945, and later the end of World War II.

A bomb nicknamed ‘Little Boy,’ weighing approximately 9,000 pounds and producing an explosive force equivalent to 20,000 tons of TNT, detonated 1,800 feet over Hiroshima, causing massive devastation. ‘Fat Man,’ the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, weighed 10,000 pounds and detonated at approximately the same altitude as ‘Little Boy.’

‘I would like to express my deepest condolences for the lives claimed by the atomic bombings, and to all of the victims of war,’ Suzuki said, according to The Mainichi. ‘In marking 80 years from the atomic bombing, Nagasaki has resolved to continue our duty to relay, both inside Japan and overseas, the memories of the bombing, which are a common heritage to all humanity and should be passed down for generations throughout the world.’

He concluded with a declaration, which was also translated by The Mainichi: ‘I hereby declare that in order to make Nagasaki the last atomic bombing site now and forever, we will go hand-in-hand with global citizens and devote our utmost efforts towards the abolition of nuclear weapons and the realization of everlasting world peace.’

FBI Director Kash Patel took to social media on Saturday to celebrate the bureau’s successes in the first 200 days of the Trump administration. 

‘200 Days of Trump Admin, From Jan 20 to Present: FBI has arrested over 1,600 people for violent crimes against children, to include 270 arrests for human trafficking,’ Patel wrote on his official X account.

Patel added that 1,500 kilos of fentanyl – ‘enough lethal doses to kill 113,850,000 Americans’ – has also been seized in that time, which he said was a 25% increase from the same time last year, and the ‘most ever.’

He added, ‘We look forward to working with our @SecDef and DoD partners to getting after it even more, thanks @realDonaldTrump for the new authorities.’ 

In a third post, Patel said the FBI had identified and located 4,000 child victims. 

‘FBI investigations targeting Foreign Terrorist Organizations has resulted in 1,000 arrests of those wanting to harm our nation. Seized 6,300 Kilos of methamphetamines = lives saved,’ he wrote, adding the hashtag ‘#SummerHeat.’

The White House also posted an article on X on Saturday, touting ‘200 Days of American Renewal,’ including ‘historic border security to infrastructure revitalization.’ 

Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, who had considered resigning over the administration’s handling of the Epstein files earlier this summer, according to a source, reposted Patel’s post, writing, ‘This isn’t even the beginning of the beginning. More coming.’ 

Many in MAGA world have also been frustrated with the lack of transparency over the Epstein files. 

The U.S. Department of Justice has denied the existence of an Epstein client list, and President Trump defended Attorney General Pam Bondi last month, saying ‘she’s really done a very good job.’ 

President Donald Trump said Saturday he was nominating U.S. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce to become the next deputy representative to the United Nations. 

‘I am pleased to announce that I am nominating Tammy Bruce, a Great Patriot, Television Personality, and Bestselling Author, as our next Deputy Representative of the United States to the United Nations, with the rank of Ambassador,’ the president wrote on social media.

‘Since the beginning of my Second Term, Tammy has been serving with distinction as Spokesperson of the State Department, where she did a fantastic job. Tammy Bruce will represent our Country brilliantly at the United Nations. Congratulations Tammy!’

Bruce has defended the Trump administration’s immigration policies and its position on the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. 

Last week, she warned Russia on Fox News that it needs to take Trump ‘seriously’ on his deadline for a ceasefire. 

Bruce has been with the administration since Trump took office. 

Before Trump tapped her as State Department spokesperson, she was a longtime conservative commentator and contributor to Fox News. 

When Trump chose her for the State Department, he described her as a ‘highly respected political analyst who understood the power and importance of ‘MAGA’ early on.’

‘As one of the longest-serving News Contributors, Tammy has brought TRUTH to the American People for over two decades,’ Trump added. ‘I know she will bring that same strength of conviction and fearless spirit to her new position as State Department Spokesperson.’ 

Dorothy Shea, who served as deputy ambassador last year, is the current acting ambassador. 

Trump’s nominee for U.N. ambassador, Mike Waltz, is still awaiting confirmation.

The White House, faced with an ongoing and growing tsunami of murderous attacks by Islamic State-allied groups against Christians in sub-Saharan Africa, is now working closely with the State Department to find ways to stop the killing.

Last week, the White House told Fox News Digital, ‘The Trump administration condemns in the strongest terms this horrific violence against Christians,’ after the U.N. reported 49 Christians were butchered with machetes on July 27 in and around a church in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), while Catholic worshipers were praying for peace. Authorities say the killers were Islamist militants from the Allied Democratic Forces, also known as Islamic State DRC.

In neighboring Nigeria last month, 27 Christians were reported killed by Islamist Fulani tribesmen in the village of Bindi Ta-hoss, where residents are predominantly Christian. Eyewitness Solomon Sunday said, ‘I advised my family to seek refuge in the church, which seemed the safest place at the time. I lost my wife and second daughter in the attack; they were burned [alive] by Fulani militias.’ 

Local youth leader D’Young Mangut, who helped retrieve the bodies, added, ‘People are being killed like chickens, and nothing is being done.’

‘Such grisly proceedings have become commonplace in central Nigeria,’ John Eibner, president of Christian human rights organization Christian Solidarity International, told Fox News Digital. ‘It is part of a longstanding process of violent Islamization, of ethno-religious cleansing. Last Palm Sunday, 50 Christians were similarly slaughtered in nearby Bassa. Over 165 Christians have been killed in the last 4 months in Plateau State (one of Nigeria’s provinces) alone,’ he added.

‘Massacres of the sort that happen in central Nigeria are also happening with increasing frequency in predominately Christian places like Congo and Mozambique. There is no simple solution.’

The U.K. division of Open Doors, a global Christian charity which supports and speaks up for Christians persecuted for their faith, told Fox News Digital, ‘The crisis facing large areas of sub-Saharan Africa is hard to overstate. It is potentially existential for the future peace and stability of several nations in the region, not least Nigeria.’

‘Around 150,000 people have been killed in Jihadist violence over the last ten years. Over 16 million Christians have been driven from their homes and their land across the region.’

The Trump administration appears to be preparing for action. This week, a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, ‘The Department of State is working closely with the White House to identify opportunities to further the cause of religious freedom around the world.’

The spokesperson added, ‘Religious freedom for all people worldwide is a moral and national security imperative and a U.S. foreign policy priority.  As President Trump has stated, the United States will vigorously promote this freedom.’

Nigeria is among the most dangerous places in the world to be a Christian. Recent Open Doors research shows that more Christians are killed for their faith in Nigeria than the rest of the world combined. Local bishop Wilfred Anagbe was threatened, and some 20 of his parishioners killed, after he spoke out against the killings to a Congressional Committee in March. 

This week, the bishop spoke exclusively to Fox News Digital, declaring that ‘the attackers form part of the larger Islamic- Jihadists family headed in Nigeria by the likes of Boko Haram, ISIS West Africa and similar groups. Nigeria has had a long history with Islamic fundamentalism. (But) the violence, killing and displacements without consequences suggests a new pattern where the Islamists have resorted to use their control of official government and apparatus to continue this jihad.

‘There is a strong tendency by fundamentalist Muslims in Nigeria to turn the whole or part of Nigeria (in)to an Islamic State.’

‘This is what the Nazis did to the Jews,’ David Onyillokwu Idah, director of the International Human Rights Commission, told Open Doors, adding, ‘It’s ethnic cleansing, step by step.’

John Samuel, legal expert for Open Doors, told Fox News Digital that where the Islamist groups are operating, if Christians gather for ‘a prayer meeting, let’s say, or go to a church, (it) could be a one-way ticket, or something very deadly.’

‘If you’re a Christian, you either convert to Islam or die.’

Samuel gives an example of a Nigerian Christian who was ambushed by Boko Haram fighters. According to his widow, ‘he was asked to deny his faith and say an Islamic prayer. He refused and he was killed instantly. You are a target. You are a target by the mere fact that you identify with Christ.’

Across the region, it’s claimed the Islamist attackers want the land belonging to the Christians they attack. Lawyer Jabez Musa fights in court in Nigeria to get this land back. He told Fox News Digital the displaced Christians ‘want their land restored back to them for their livelihood. The cry is always I have been dispossessed of what belongs to me, my house, the food, foodstuff, the land. As we speak, over 64 communities in Plateau State have been dispossessed and taken over by the Fulani militants.’

‘Only Christians are targeted, they’re killed, displaced, and their lands are taken over.’

Henrietta Blyth, CEO of Open Doors U.K. and Ireland, told Fox News Digital that ‘African governments must urgently provide three things: justice – because very few of these perpetrators are ever held to account, and this impunity emboldens them.  Restoration – people want their lives back, an opportunity to rebuild their homes, send their kids to school, have a future together.  And protection – the state must protect them from these attacks.  The security forces need to get out of their barracks and be deployed around the most vulnerable.

‘For too long, nobody has been talking about the horrific wholesale slaughter of Christians and moderate Muslims in Africa. The Western world needs to wake up and be outraged,’ she said.

One grieving relative told reporters after the massacre in Nigeria’s Bindi Ta-hoss this past month, ‘We are tired of condolences and statements. What we need is real security, not sympathy.’ 

Fox News Digital reached out to the governments of both Nigeria and the DRC but received no response.

Lawyer Jabez Musa pleaded ‘I urge the American government, especially President Trump personally … to come to the help of Christians.’

China’s bid to strangle the world’s supply of heavy rare-earth elements was about to hit a wall. Vietnamese entrepreneur Luu Anh Tuan had lined up U.S. backing for a technology that could break Beijing’s chokehold on the critical minerals behind everything from smartphones to missile-guidance systems.

Tuan and his family had fled Vietnam for the U.S. to escape Beijing’s tightening grip over Hanoi, where the Chinese Communist Party exerts a heavy influence on domestic governance.

In July 2023, he signed a technology transfer agreement, seen by Fox News Digital, to bring the heavy rare earth separation technology he was using at his Vietnam-based company, Vietnam Rare Earth (VTRE) to VTRU Corporation, a company registered in Nevada. VTRE had also signed a series of memoranda of understanding (MOU) agreements with Western companies. 

‘He had a bad sense of insecurity about being in Vietnam. He was determined to transfer his technology to the US as quickly as possible,’ a source familiar with the rare earth industry, granted anonymity to speak without fear of retribution, told Fox News Digital. 

At the time, the world was entirely dependent on Chinese companies to separate their heavy rare earth metals.

‘China has been really working for the better part of over 20 years now on building this dominance,’ Gracelin Baskaran, director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said in an interview. 

And while companies like U.S.-based MP Materials and Australia-based Lynas are in the process of developing their own separation technologies, China still controls up to 90% of the rare earths separation and refining capacity and over half of mining output. 

In October 2023, Tuan, then a U.S. permanent resident and green card holder in the process of becoming a citizen, was back in his Hanoi office when Vietnamese authorities raided the building, seizing all laptops and records. Seventeen employees were arrested, according to Tuan’s American business partner, Richard Dunham, and all but one, Do Hanh Huong, Tuan’s sister-in-law and COO of VTRE, have since been released.

The arrest came shortly after President Joe Biden visited Vietnam and signed cooperation agreements on rare earth minerals. 

In December, China banned rare earth extraction and separation, in what the industry saw as another effort to maintain its monopoly on the market. 

‘When China put in these restrictions, it really made countries like the U.S. and Australia realize that they didn’t actually even have the technical know-how to do it themselves,’ said Baskaran. 

‘The process itself is just very labor-intensive and very toxic,’ said Josh Birenbaum, a minerals expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, adding China cornered the market through state subsidies and lax environmental concerns. 

While the U.S. has one major rare earths mine, MP Materials’ Mountain Pass, until this year, the company was exporting those rare earths to China for separation. The trade war and export controls that followed prompted the U.S. to stockpile its rare earths until separation capacity was up to scale at home. 

Tuan was accused of forging a value-added tax receipt while trading rare earths with Thai Duong Group, which operates a mine in the northern Vietnamese province of Yen Bai. 

VTRE had partnered with Australian mining companies Australian Strategic Materials and Blackstone Minerals Ltd. Tuan and Dunham had also met with officials from the state of Nevada and the Department of Energy to discuss plans to bring the separation technology to the U.S. through VTRE. Both were ‘enthusiastic’ about the proposal, which ultimately led to the signing of the transfer agreement, according to Dunham.

The arrest also came as Vietnam prepared to auction the Dong Pao mine. VTRE, backed by Western partners, was the only qualified bidder, according to Dunham.

This year, Tuan pleaded guilty in exchange for a lighter sentence. He’ll spend 16 years in prison with a fine of $10 million, but his advocates say he was ‘coerced.’ Huong was sentenced to six years in prison. 

‘We believe these charges to be manipulated, charges that were founded by Vietnamese state actors who have realigned themselves with China,’ said Dunham. ‘He was tortured to obtain a guilty plea.’ 

Fox News Digital could not independently verify this claim. The State Department documents credible reports of arbitrary arrests, torture and inhumane treatment by authorities, affecting both political detainees and others in custody.  Medical neglect and forced confessions are frequently reported.

Tuan’s advocates say the company he was purchasing ore from, Thai Duong, refused to provide invoices at the actual rate VTRE was paying for ore. It only provided invoices that claimed it was selling ore at a lower rate, reducing its taxable income. 

According to Dunham, Thai Duong refused to issue invoices reflecting the actual sale price to VTRE, allegedly to avoid environmental, natural resource and corporate income taxes, obligations that fell on Thai Duong, not Tuan.

Tuan was faced with a choice: accept the lower-rate invoices and make up the tax discrepancies with his own money or allow his state-funded minerals project, and in turn, his business, to collapse, per Dunham. 

Though Tuan was convicted on criminal charges, Dunham said the violation of accounting regulations lacks evidence of criminal intent. 

‘Even if he were guilty of an accounting issue, it’s not something that is criminally liable for what they’re trying to do. No place in Vietnam has there ever been an issue with this type of sentencing. It’s totally unheard of. Typically you would pay a fine and that’s it.’

‘He is the only individual outside of China that has a fully integrated rare earth company that’s from mining to metallization; in other words, from digging it out of the ground to the manufacturing of magnets.’

Tuan was also convicted of smuggling rare earth materials, but customs documents show clearance of 63 shipments of heavy rare earth oxide mixtures under tax code 2846, which corresponds to rare earth compounds. The court misclassified the exports under tax code 2530 (raw ore), to falsely claim they were illegal, according to Dunham. 

The Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security’s investigation concluded that customs officers who signed the 63 export declarations for VTRE verified Tuan’s compliance.

China’s crackdown since then has only accelerated. Minerals experts have been ordered to surrender their passports to prevent them from sharing any technology outside the country. Beijing has tightened controls on exports of rare earths, prompting major concerns from within the U.S. defense industry. While China allowed them to flow again during trade negotiations with the Trump administration, they remain banned for defense purposes. 

According to Dunham, VTRE has developed the technology to produce heavy rare earth oxides from xenotime, monazite and ion-absorption clay at a purity of 95% through a solvent extraction system. The technology was capable of processing diverse ore types and recycling NdFeB magnets.

Requests for assistance from the U.S. government have not been fruitful, according to Tuan’s advocates. 

Tuan is essentially cut off from his family and lawyers. He’s seen family members around five times since his arrest nearly two years ago. 

‘We are deeply concerned about his physical and mental well-being,’ the source said. ‘He is mentally resilient. He continues to believe the truth will eventually come to light.’

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House, State Department, Chinese Embassy and Vietnamese Embassy for comment. 

Amid significant budget cuts, NASA is fast-tracking the development of nuclear reactors on the moon and next-generation space stations with one clear objective: beating U.S. adversaries in the new space race.

Two new memos signed by interim NASA chief and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy outline a bold strategy to secure strategic ground on the moon. The centerpiece of this effort is a lunar nuclear reactor, a renewable and stable power source to support long-term exploration.

‘The goal is to power everything,’ a senior NASA official told Fox News Digital. ‘Our systems, habitats, rovers, robotic equipment, even future mining operations — everything we want to do on the moon depends on this.’

The moon’s environment makes this a necessity. Its month-long day cycle — two weeks of daylight followed by two weeks of darknessc — renders solar power unreliable. A reactor would allow missions to function around the clock.

China and Russia set sights on the moon

NASA officials warn that China and Russia have publicly announced plans for a joint lunar nuclear project by the mid-2030s. If they succeed first, they could establish exclusive control over the moon’s most valuable areas, locations with the most light and access to water and ice.

‘They could set up a ‘keep-out zone’ in the prime locations,’ the NASA official cautioned.

Despite financial constraints, Duffy’s leadership signals a renewed priority to lunar and Martian exploration. 

‘China has already landed on the far side of the moon. We never have,’ the official added. ‘They’re moving on a steady path to dominate this domain.’

New contract structure for nuclear reactor development

The new directive solicits proposals for a 100-kilowatt nuclear reactor — enough to power about 80 homes — with a target launch date of 2030. It also requires NASA to appoint a dedicated program leader.

Today, many robotic spacecraft operate at just a few watts, the equivalent of a couple of light bulbs, which severely limits scientific capabilities. While the ISS uses solar panels, that model doesn’t work on the moon or Mars, where sunlight is too weak or unreliable.

Replacing the ISS: Commercial stations on the horizon

The second memo shifts focus to replacing the aging and leaking International Space Station (ISS), which is scheduled to be retired in 2030. Without a successor, China would become the only country with a permanently crewed station in orbit.

NASA now plans to select two commercial partners within six months of issuing new requests for proposals. Under Duffy’s direction, the agency is moving away from traditional fixed-price contracts and will instead use flexible Space Act Agreements, which give companies more freedom in how they build stations while saving time and money.

‘We’re telling companies what we need,’ a senior NASA official said. ‘But we’re not prescribing how they must do it. That flexibility saves us both time and resources.’

NASA wants the new station to be cheaper and easier to maintain than the ISS. Originally, it envisioned a platform that could host two astronauts for six months. But, under the revised plan, the minimum requirement is four astronauts for just one month.

Background: The Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destination program

NASA’s Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destination (CLD) initiative, launched in 2021, was structured in two phases:

• Phase 1: Fund companies — like Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman — to design private space stations.
• Phase 2: Award contracts for building and certifying selected stations.

Duffy’s directive calls for skipping fixed-price contracts in Phase 2 and continuing with Space Act Agreements, in line with tightening budget constraints.

Budget cuts reshape NASA’s future

According to the Trump administration’s fiscal 2026 budget proposal, NASA’s overall budget would drop from $24.8 billion to $18.8 billion, a 25% cut. The Science Mission Directorate, which oversees research in planetary science, astrophysics, Earth observation and heliophysics, would face a nearly 50% reduction. However, human spaceflight programs are slated for increased funding.

NASA has also confirmed that nearly 4,000 employees — about 20% of its workforce — have taken voluntary buyouts in recent months.

Despite these setbacks, agency officials remain optimistic. 

‘Multiple companies tell us they can deliver a station within two years,’ one senior official said. ‘Timelines are always challenging, but we believe we can meet these goals — even on a leaner budget.’