TIME is reporting that President Donald Trump said this week he is seeking to cancel almost $1 billion in federal funding, sidestepping congressional approval and drawing blowback from lawmakers in both parties. It said Trump wants to nullify $810 million that Congress had approved for programs largely serving immigrants, minorities and children, using a controversial maneuver known as a "pocket rescission."
The Trump Administration said rescinding the funds is consistent with its goal of ending the use of federal taxpayer dollars to support non-citizens and of putting Americans first, TIME reported. It said the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office and lawmakers from both parties have asserted the move illegally sidesteps the constitutionally protected separation of powers, chiefly Congress's power of the purse.
TIME said the Administration invoked the 1974 Impoundment Control Act, which allows the president to propose spending cancellations and gives Congress 45 days to approve them or see the funds released. It said the Administration submitted its request just five days before the fiscal year ends Sept. 30, all but ensuring the funds expire without congressional approval.
Separately, TIME is reporting that Chinese President Xi Jinping announced during his state visit to the United States that two giant pandas from a research base in Chengdu would be lent to Zoo Atlanta in Georgia. It said it is unclear whether so-called "panda diplomacy" remains as welcome in the U.S. as it has been since the 1970s. Conservationists and animal advocates have argued against using pandas as geopolitical pawns, and Ja Ian Chong, an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore, told TIME that "deep reservoirs of reservations remain" regarding American affinity toward China. TIME said a recent Chicago Council on Global Affairs survey showed 63% of MAGA Republicans favor limiting the growth of Chinese power.
TIME also reported on how climate change affects extreme weather such as nor'easters, which typically bring rain or snow to the eastern coast of the U.S. and Canada and are most common between September and April. It said some instances are becoming more extreme, bringing more rainfall and stronger winds that can lead to more storm surges, coastal flooding and wind damage. Mathew Barlow, a professor of climate science at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, told TIME that not every storm is becoming more intense, but that the intense storms are becoming more intense.
In addition, TIME reported that group singing is on the rise and offers mental and physical health benefits. It said recent studies show singing together bolsters social cohesion and provides physical benefits including lower blood pressure and cortisol levels and improved lung health. Frank Russo, a psychology professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, told TIME that singing together can change how people experience themselves in relation to larger forces around them.
TIME also reported that an early-season nor'easter is battering the U.S. East Coast, with impacts expected through Monday. It said wind gusts exceeded 60 mph on Long Island, while coastal flooding inundated streets and homes along the Jersey Shore.