Federal Independent Agencies
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Networks Keeping NASA's Artemis II Mission Connected
PASADENA, California, Jan. 29 (TNSres) -- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory issued the following news:
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Networks Keeping NASA's Artemis II Mission Connected
Artemis missions rely on both the Near Space Network, managed by NASA Goddard, and the Deep Space Network, managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
NASA's Artemis II mission will transport four astronauts around the Moon, bringing the agency one step closer to sending the first astronauts to Mars. Throughout Artemis II, astronaut voice, images, video, and vital mission data must traverse thousands of miles, carried on signals from NASA's
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PASADENA, California, Jan. 29 (TNSres) -- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory issued the following news:
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Networks Keeping NASA's Artemis II Mission Connected
Artemis missions rely on both the Near Space Network, managed by NASA Goddard, and the Deep Space Network, managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
NASA's Artemis II mission will transport four astronauts around the Moon, bringing the agency one step closer to sending the first astronauts to Mars. Throughout Artemis II, astronaut voice, images, video, and vital mission data must traverse thousands of miles, carried on signals from NASA'scommunications systems.
Through Artemis, NASA is establishing an enduring presence in space and exploring more of the Moon than ever before. To achieve this, Artemis missions rely on both the Near Space Network and the Deep Space Network. These networks, with oversight by NASA's SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) Program office, use global infrastructure and relay satellites to ensure seamless communications and tracking as Orion launches, orbits Earth, travels to the Moon, and returns home.
"Robust space communications aren't optional; they're the essential link that unites the crew and the exploration team on Earth to ensure safety and mission success, as I learned firsthand living and working aboard the International Space Station," said Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate at the agency's headquarters in Washington. "From real-time conversations with mission controllers, to the data that drives critical decisions and research, and even calls home -- space communications keep astronauts connected to mission managers, technical experts, loved ones, and everyone on Earth who wants to share in the excitement of our exploration missions. As we push farther into deep space, reliable communications links will enable more challenging missions and maximize the benefit for all of us on Earth."
Specialists will operate its networks in tandem to enable data exchange between spacecraft and mission controllers on Earth. NASA's Mission Control Center at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston will track the Space Launch System rocket, Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage, and Orion spacecraft through coordinated handoffs between the networks' multiple assets on Earth and in space for the duration of the mission.
Using ground stations around the globe and a fleet of relay satellites, the Near Space Networkwill provide communications and navigation services during multiple stages of the Artemis II mission operations. The network, managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, has a long legacy of supporting human spaceflight missions near Earth.
After Orion's translunar injection burn, which will set the spacecraft on its planned orbit around the Moon, primary communications support will transition to the Deep Space Network, managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. The network's international array of giant radio antennas, located in California, Spain, and Australia, provides a near-continuous connection to Orion and its crew.
"Reliable communications are the lifeline of human spaceflight," said Kevin Coggins, deputy associate administrator for the SCaN Program at NASA Headquarters. "Our networks help make missions like Artemis II possible and set the stage for even more ambitious space exploration in the years ahead. These achievements are driven not only by NASA's infrastructure but also by strong collaboration with our commercial partners, who play a critical role in advancing the capabilities and resilience of space communications."
In addition to traditional radio network support, the spacecraft will host the Orion Artemis II Optical Communications System, a laser communications terminal that will transmit real science and crew data over laser links. Demonstrations like the recent Deep Space Optical Communications payload have proven laser communications systems can send more than 100 times more data than comparable radio networks, even millions of miles away from Earth. While laser communications will not be on Artemis III, the Orion Artemis II Optical Communications System could pave the way for future laser communications systems at the Moon and Mars.
The Orion Artemis II Optical Communications System payload is only one piece of NASA's larger mission to improve lunar and deep space communications. Orion will experience a planned communications blackout lasting approximately 41 minutes. The blackout will occur as the spacecraft passes behind the Moon, blocking radio frequency signals to and from Earth. Similar blackouts occurred during the Apollo-era missions and are expected when using an Earth-based network infrastructure. When Orion reemerges from behind the Moon, the Deep Space Network will quickly reacquire Orion's signal and restore communications with mission control. These planned blackouts remain an aspect of all missions operating on or around the Moon's far side.
Each Artemis mission will build upon existing capabilities, including data processing and handling. For the Artemis II flight test, data from Orion will be compressed after it reaches Earth to manage the large amount of information. Data compression will reduce image and video quality and give priority to crew communications and mission data.
Looking ahead, NASA's Lunar Communications Relay and Navigation Systems project is collaborating with industry to eliminate blackouts and support precise navigation by placing relay satellites around the Moon. This network of orbiting satellites will deliver persistent, high-bandwidth communications and navigation services for astronauts, landers, and orbiters on and around the lunar surface. In 2024, NASA selected Intuitive Machines to develop the first set of lunar relays for demonstration during the Artemis III lunar surface mission.
From liftoff to splashdown, NASA's evolving networks will serve as the crew's link home, ensuring that humanity's return to the Moon stays connected every step of the way.
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Original text here: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/networks-keeping-nasas-artemis-ii-mission-connected/
National Museum of Asian Art Returns Three Bronze Sculptures to the Government of India Following the Museum's Comprehensive Provenance Research
WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 -- The Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Asian Art issued the following news release on Jan. 28, 2026:
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National Museum of Asian Art Returns Three Bronze Sculptures to the Government of India Following the Museum's Comprehensive Provenance Research
One Sculpture Is to Remain on Long-Term Loan, Enabling the Museum To Share Its Complete History With the Public
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The Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art announced today its plans to return three sculptures to the Government of India, following rigorous provenance research that documented that the sculptures
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 -- The Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Asian Art issued the following news release on Jan. 28, 2026:
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National Museum of Asian Art Returns Three Bronze Sculptures to the Government of India Following the Museum's Comprehensive Provenance Research
One Sculpture Is to Remain on Long-Term Loan, Enabling the Museum To Share Its Complete History With the Public
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The Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art announced today its plans to return three sculptures to the Government of India, following rigorous provenance research that documented that the sculptureshad been removed illegally from temple settings. The Government of India has agreed to place one of the sculptures on long-term loan. This arrangement will allow the museum to publicly share the full story of the object's origins, removal and return, and to underscore the museum's commitment to provenance research.
The sculptures "Shiva Nataraja" (Chola period, ca. 990), "Somaskanda" (Chola period, 12th century) and "Saint Sundarar with Paravai" (Vijayanagar period, 16th century) exemplify the rich artistry of South Indian bronze casting. These sculptures were originally sacred objects traditionally carried in temple processions. The "Shiva Nataraja," which is to be placed on long-term loan, will be on view as part of the exhibition "The Art of Knowing in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas."
As part of a systematic review of its South Asian collections, the National Museum of Asian Art undertook a detailed investigation into the provenance of the three sculptures, scrutinizing each work's transaction history. In 2023, in collaboration with the Photo Archives of the French Institute of Pondicherry, museum researchers confirmed that the bronzes had been photographed in temples in Tamil Nadu, India, between 1956 and 1959. The Archaeological Survey of India subsequently reviewed these findings and affirmed that the sculptures had been removed in violation of Indian laws.
"The National Museum of Asian Art is committed to stewarding cultural heritage responsibly and advancing transparency in our collection," said Chase F. Robinson, the museum's director. "Because we aim to understand the objects in our collection in their full complexity, we carry out a robust program of research that seeks to trace not just how they came to the museum, but the history of their origins and movements across time. We are establishing field-defining practices for research on Asian art provenance and object histories, expanding our network of global partners and assembling a range of research resources. The return of these sculptures, the result of rigorous research, shows our commitment to ethical museum practice. We are profoundly appreciative to the Indian government for enabling us to continue exhibiting the long-admired Shiva Nataraja for the benefit of our visitors."
The museum and the Embassy of India are in close contact, finalizing arrangements to mark the agreement. The return was made possible by the National Museum of Asian Art's dedicated provenance team and curators of South and Southeast Asian Art, with support from the Photo Archives of the French Institute of Pondicherry and numerous organizations and individuals around the world.
Details About the Objects and Their Histories
The "Shiva Nataraja" belonged to the Sri Bhava Aushadesvara Temple in Tirutturaippundi Taluk, Tanjavur District, Tamil Nadu, India, where it was photographed in 1957. The bronze sculpture was later acquired by the National Museum of Asian Art from Doris Wiener Gallery in New York in 2002. In addition to photographic evidence confirming the sculpture's presence in the temple in 1957, a provenance researcher at the museum determined that the Doris Wiener Gallery had provided falsified documentation to facilitate the sale to the museum.
The "Somaskanda" and "Saint Sundarar with Paravai" entered the collection of the National Museum of Asian Art as part of a gift of 1,000 objects from Arthur M. Sackler in 1987. Research led by the museum's team at the Photo Archives of the French Institute of Pondicherry confirmed that the "Somaskanda" was photographed at the Visvanatha Temple in Alattur village, Mannarkudi taluk, Tamil Nadu in 1959, and the "Saint Sundarar with Paravai" at the Shiva Temple in Veerasolapuram village, Kallakuruchchi Taluk, Tamil Nadu in 1956.
About Provenance Research and Object History at the National Museum of Asian Art
Provenance research involves close examination of an object's physical characteristics alongside documentary evidence that together inform an understanding of an object's ownership and movement over time. Researchers identify and inspect information from sources as varied as export licenses, dealer records, inventories, curatorial files, ship manifests, genealogical records, historical photographs, correspondence and many more to construct as robust an ownership history as possible. This research aims to uncover and tell the complex histories of individual objects and the networks of people who have interacted with them over time.
The National Museum of Asian Art has led the field of Asian art provenance research since the early 2000s, refining methodologies, advancing scholarship, building global partnerships and networks and making research findings publicly accessible through its Provenance Program.
In 2011, the museum began publishing provenance information on object web pages and in its galleries. Since 2020, it has collaborated with the Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz (SPK, Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation) to co-host six webinars attended by over 2,500 specialists from around the world, fostering knowledge exchange and advancing standardized approaches to provenance research. In 2023, in partnership with SPK, the museum organized the largest open symposium on the provenance of Asian art. In April 2025, it appointed Nancy Karrels, who holds a doctorate in art history and a J.D., as the associate director of provenance research and object histories. This appointment reinforces the museum's commitment to ethical stewardship and leadership in provenance research and expands its provenance team to four full-time members, which include a curator of provenance research and object histories and two provenance research technicians. In 2026, the museum will co-host a second international provenance symposium with SPK in Berlin.
The museum's provenance research has been publicly shared on its website since 2011 and, beginning in 2023, through informational panels in its South Asian galleries. In December 2025, under the Smithsonian's Shared Stewardship and Ethical Returns Policy, the museum announced its first ethical return of three sculptures to the Kingdom of Cambodia, with one of those cultural treasures to remain on display in the museum on long-term loan.
Learn more about the National Museum of Asian Art's Provenance Program and the provenance of objects in the museum's collections online.
About the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art
The Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art is committed to preserving, exhibiting, researching and interpreting art in ways that deepen the public and scholarly understandings of Asia and the world. The museum opened in 1923 as America's first national art museum and the first Asian art museum in the United States. It now stewards one of the world's most important collections of Asian art, with works dating from antiquity to the present from China, Japan, Korea, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the pre-Islamic Near East and the Islamic world (inclusive of Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa). The museum also stewards an important collection of 19th- and early 20th-century American art.
Today, the National Museum of Asian Art is emerging as a leading national and global resource for understanding the arts, cultures and societies of Asia, especially at their intersection with America. Guided by the belief that the future of art museums lies in collaboration, increased access and transparency, the museum is fostering new ways to engage with its audiences while maintaining its commitment to excellence.
Located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the museum is free and open 364 days a year (closed Dec. 25). The Smithsonian, which is the world's largest museum, education and research complex, welcomes 20-30 million visitors yearly. For more information about the National Museum of Asian Art, visit asia.si.edu.
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Original text here: https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/national-museum-asian-art-returns-three-bronze-sculptures-government-india
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine: National Institutes of Health Need Agencywide Strategy to Prioritize and Fund Pediatric Research, Says New Report
WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 (TNSrep) -- The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine issued the following news release:
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National Institutes of Health Need Agencywide Strategy to Prioritize and Fund Pediatric Research, Says New Report
A new congressionally mandated report (https://nap.nationalacademies.org/29346) from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine calls for the National Institutes of Health to implement a unified, agencywide approach that prioritizes pediatric health research and funding. The report says incidences of chronic disease and poor mental,
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 (TNSrep) -- The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine issued the following news release:
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National Institutes of Health Need Agencywide Strategy to Prioritize and Fund Pediatric Research, Says New Report
A new congressionally mandated report (https://nap.nationalacademies.org/29346) from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine calls for the National Institutes of Health to implement a unified, agencywide approach that prioritizes pediatric health research and funding. The report says incidences of chronic disease and poor mental,emotional, and behavioral health are on the rise, and American children are experiencing worse health outcomes than their peers in other developed nations -- and calls for changes that will enable the agency to improve health outcomes through childhood and beyond.
As the world's largest public funder of biomedical research, NIH has made the United States a global leader in scientific discovery and medical breakthroughs, and it has supported numerous advances in pediatric research. However, the recent worsening of pediatric health outcomes in the U.S. indicate that more should be done to address this multifaceted issue.
"We want to give today's children the chance to grow into tomorrow's leaders free of chronic disease and illness," said Frederick P. Rivara, vice chair for academic affairs and professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine and Seattle Children's and co-chair of the committee that wrote the report. "Pediatric research has made incredible strides over the last decades, but making structural and programmatic changes at NIH can advance this progress even further."
"NIH is uniquely positioned to lead the efforts in advancing children's health research," said Phyllis A. Dennery, Sylvia Kay Hassenfeld Professor and chair of pediatrics at Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, pediatrician-in-chief at Rhode Island Hospital, medical director at Hasbro Children's Hospital, and co-chair of the committee that wrote the report. "The important discoveries and insights can lead us to realizing a brighter future for America's children."
Challenges to Conducting Pediatric Research
The report emphasizes that children should be protected through research, rather than from research, but the committee recognized that in addition to scientific and methodological challenges, unique regulatory and legal requirements and ethical considerations impact research involving children. The report says the NIH Pediatric Research Consortium (N-PeRC) is a leader in facilitating and coordinating pediatric research within NIH and recommends N-PeRC receive enhanced institutional prominence and dedicated funding and resources. N-PeRC also should coordinate with initiatives across NIH to develop guidance and strategies for pediatric research, promote transparency and trust with the public, and ensure the deliberate and ethical inclusion of children in research.
Financial challenges posed by the grant application and review processes are another obstacle to advancing pediatric research. To address this, NIH should allow for more flexibility with budgets, timelines, and supplemental funding opportunities for researchers engaged in pediatric research, the report says.
Other recommendations include maintaining current levels of pediatric research at the NIH Clinical Center and improving the Research, Condition, and Disease Categorization system to better assess funding levels.
Vision for the Future
The committee envisions the United States as a global leader in promoting child health and developed a set of four goals to ensure all children can thrive through adolescence into adulthood. The four goals are:
* Integrating pediatric research throughout NIH programs and initiatives
* Expanding NIH initiatives and programs to address unmet research needs in child health
* Strengthening the impact of pediatric health research by optimizing translation of research into practice
* Building trust through effective communication of pediatric health research findings
Pediatric Prioritization and Inclusion
The report finds that though all NIH institutes and centers support pediatric research, few strategic plans specify how progress or success toward their goals will be measured or monitored. The report urges the directors of all institutes and centers that fund pediatric research explicitly incorporate pediatric health into their strategic plans, and include metrics to measure success in meeting those goals. To better facilitate this integration of pediatric research priorities across the agency, NIH should also adopt a consistent, agencywide definition of pediatric research.
The study -- undertaken by the Committee on Strategies to Enhance Pediatric Health Research Funded by NIH -- was sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.
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The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are private, nonprofit institutions that provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions related to science, engineering, and medicine. They operate under an 1863 congressional charter to the National Academy of Sciences, signed by President Lincoln.
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Original text here: https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/national-institutes-of-health-need-agencywide-strategy-to-prioritize-and-fund-pediatric-research-says-new-report
The Egyptian Government's Escalation Against Religious Minorities Reinforces USCIRF's Recommendation for Placement on the Special Watch List
WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 -- The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom issued the following news release:
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The Egyptian Government's Escalation Against Religious Minorities Reinforces USCIRF's Recommendation for Placement on the Special Watch List
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Washington, DC - The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom ( USCIRF ) reiterates its call for the Trump administration to include Egypt on the Special Watch List. Earlier this month, an Egyptian court sentenced a Christian man, Augustin Samaan, to five years' imprisonment for 'contempt of religion,' based on Egypt's
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 -- The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom issued the following news release:
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The Egyptian Government's Escalation Against Religious Minorities Reinforces USCIRF's Recommendation for Placement on the Special Watch List
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Washington, DC - The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom ( USCIRF ) reiterates its call for the Trump administration to include Egypt on the Special Watch List. Earlier this month, an Egyptian court sentenced a Christian man, Augustin Samaan, to five years' imprisonment for 'contempt of religion,' based on Egypt'sblasphemy law. Furthermore, new reports indicate that 14 members of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light (Ahmadis) detained since March 2025 have been pressured by Sheikhs from the state-backed Al-Azhar religious authority to renounce their faith.
" The Egyptian government's efforts to quash Egyptians' right to religious freedom by detaining religious minorities, like Christian convert Said Abdelrazeq and non-believers Maged Zakaria Abdel Rahman and Sherif Gaber, is a violation of its obligations under international law," said USCIRF Chair Vicky Hartzler. " USCIRF urges the State Department to include Egypt on the Special Watch List for ongoing and systematic violations of FoRB."
Egypt is systematically enforcing laws, policies, and judicial decisions that repress non-Muslim religious life for those who have expressed religious beliefs that deviate from the state's endorsed interpretation of Islam. In recent months, Egyptian state security has escalated detentions, particularly against Christians and non-believers for purported violation of Egypt's blasphemy law.
" USCIRF has previously commended the Egyptian government for various efforts, particularly the release of prisoners unjustly detained on religious charges, " said USCIRF Commissioner Mohamed Elsanousi. " Now it is time to go to the root of the problem. The U.S. government should work with Egyptian authorities to repeal its blasphemy provision, Article 98(f), of its Criminal Code."
USCIRF's 2025 Factsheet and 2025 Spotlight episode provide an overview of the Egyptian government's continued repression of religious minorities. In its 2025 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State designate Egypt as a SWL country for engaging in systematic and ongoing violations of religious freedom.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at media@USCIRF.gov.
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Original text here: https://www.uscirf.gov/news-room/releases-statements/egyptian-governments-escalation-against-religious-minorities
SBA Suspends Over 1,000 8(a) Firms from Program Following December Document Request
WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 -- The Small Business Administration posted the following news release:
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SBA Suspends Over 1,000 8(a) Firms from Program Following December Document Request
Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the suspension of 1,091 firms from the 8(a) Business Development Program - representing about 25% of all firms registered to participate in the federal government contracting program. The suspension comes after the firms failed to meet the agency's January 19th deadline to submit three years' worth of financial documents. In December, the SBA ordered all
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 -- The Small Business Administration posted the following news release:
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SBA Suspends Over 1,000 8(a) Firms from Program Following December Document Request
Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the suspension of 1,091 firms from the 8(a) Business Development Program - representing about 25% of all firms registered to participate in the federal government contracting program. The suspension comes after the firms failed to meet the agency's January 19th deadline to submit three years' worth of financial documents. In December, the SBA ordered all4,300 firms to submit basic documentation to prove their legitimacy as part of the Trump SBA's longstanding effort to root out small business contracting abuse by pass-through and shell companies that proliferated across the program during the Biden Administration.
Of the 1,091 suspended firms, about half have received some form of payment for contracted work with the federal government since 2021. Collectively, they have received payments of over $5 billion in the last four years.
"The 8(a) Program was abused during the Biden Administration to benefit favored minority groups at the expense of every other legitimate small business owner in America, including white Americans," said SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler. "The Trump Administration has acted from Day One to dismantle the discriminatory agenda that put white small business owners at a disadvantage, and to crack down on the fraud and corruption that proliferates within DEI programs. Today, we are suspending over 1,000 8(a) firms who have refused to provide basic documents that every legitimate business should have on-hand. As we continue to eliminate bad actors from this program, we also look forward to introducing robust reforms in the coming weeks to bring total integrity back to federal contracting."
Since January of last year, the Trump SBA has worked to end discrimination and crack down on fraud within the 8(a) Program for "socially and economically disadvantaged" small businesses, which dramatically expanded under the Biden Administration as a vehicle for DEI favoritism in the federal contracting marketplace. While the Biden Administration accepted over 2,200 new 8(a) firms into the Program over its four-year term, the Trump SBA accepted just 65 last year.
On Day One, the agency reduced the "Small Disadvantaged Business" contracting goal for the federal government from 15% to its statutory 5%. The Trump SBA also ended the practice of accepting firms into the 8(a) Program based solely on unsubstantiated claims and Biden-era narratives of racial discrimination. As the agency reiterated last week, it does not deny applicants admission to the 8(a) Program simply because they are white - and will not consider any applicant to be "socially disadvantaged" simply because they are a member of a minority group.
In addition to the SBA's work to end unlawful discrimination within the 8(a) Program, the agency has also taken unprecedented action to crack down on fraud and abuse. In 2025, the Trump SBA launched the first audit of the 8(a) Program in its nearly 50-year history and issued numerous suspensions.
The Trump SBA has taken the following actions to scale back the 8(a) Program and crack down on widespread fraud and abuse:
* In February 2025, on the first day of Administrator Loeffler's term, the Trump SBA cut the Small Disadvantaged Business contracting goal back to its statutory 5% and ended the practice of approving firms based solely on unsubstantiated claims of racial discrimination.
* In June 2025, SBA launched the first-ever audit of the 8(a) Program in its nearly 50-year history - initiating an investigation into all high-dollar and limited-competition contracts going back over a period of fifteen years.
* In July 2025, the agency rescinded the independent 8(a) contracting authority of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) after a DOJ investigation uncovered a $550 million bribery scheme involving several 8(a) contractors.
* That same month, SBA issued a letter of warning to all federal contracting officers, outlining the penalties for failing to report suspected fraud, waste, and abuse within the 8(a) Program.
* In October 2025, SBA suspended Link is external numerous 8(a) contractors following allegations of fraud involving more than $253 million in previously issued contract awards.
* In November 2025, SBA cleared the Biden-era backlog of 2,700 Veteran Small Business Certification (VetCert) applications, which accumulated after the prior Administration diverted all resources away from VetCert to increase certification approvals for the 8(a) Program.
* In December 2025, SBA ordered all 4,300 8(a) contractors to produce three years' worth of financial documents for review by the agency in the effort to root out pass-through abuse and fraud by shell companies.
* In January 2026, SBA suspended over 1,000 contractors from participation in the 8(a) Program after they failed to submit the documents SBA requested in December.
* Additionally, the U.S. Department of War Link is external (DOW) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury Link is external have also each launched their own independent audits of the 8(a) Program.
About the 8(a) Business Development Program
The SBA certifies small businesses considered to be socially and economically disadvantaged under its nine-year 8(a) Business Development Program. The 8(a) program helps these firms develop and grow their businesses through one-to-one counseling, training workshops and management and technical guidance. It also provides access to government contracting opportunities, allowing them to become solid competitors in the federal marketplace.
About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of entrepreneurship. As the leading voice for small businesses within the federal government, the SBA empowers job creators with the resources and support they need to start, grow, and expand their businesses or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.
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Original text here: https://www.sba.gov/article/2026/01/28/sba-suspends-over-1000-8a-firms-program-following-december-document-request
NASA's Juno Measures Thickness of Europa's Ice Shell
PASADENA, California, Jan. 28 (TNSres) -- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory issued the following news:
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NASA's Juno Measures Thickness of Europa's Ice Shell
Results from the solar-powered spacecraft provide a new measurement of the thickness of the ice shell encasing the Jovian moon's ocean.
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Data from NASA's Juno mission has provided new insights into the thickness and subsurface structure of the icy shell encasing Jupiter's moon Europa. Using the spacecraft's Microwave Radiometer (MWR), mission scientists determined that the shell averages about 18 miles (29 kilometers) thick in the region
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PASADENA, California, Jan. 28 (TNSres) -- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory issued the following news:
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NASA's Juno Measures Thickness of Europa's Ice Shell
Results from the solar-powered spacecraft provide a new measurement of the thickness of the ice shell encasing the Jovian moon's ocean.
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Data from NASA's Juno mission has provided new insights into the thickness and subsurface structure of the icy shell encasing Jupiter's moon Europa. Using the spacecraft's Microwave Radiometer (MWR), mission scientists determined that the shell averages about 18 miles (29 kilometers) thick in the regionobserved during Juno's 2022 flyby of Europa. The Juno measurement is the first to discriminate between thin and thick shell models that have suggested the ice shell is anywhere from less than half a mile to tens of miles thick.
Slightly smaller than Earth's moon, Europa is one of the solar system's highest-priority science targets for investigating habitability. Evidence suggests that the ingredients for life may exist in the saltwater ocean that lies beneath its ice shell. Uncovering a variety of characteristics of the ice shell, including its thickness, provides crucial pieces of the puzzle for understanding the moon's internal workings and the potential for the existence of a habitable environment.
The new estimate on the ice thickness in the near-surface icy crust was published on Dec. 17 in the journal Nature Astronomy.
Catching waves
Although the MWR instrument was designed to investigate Jupiter's atmosphere below the cloud tops, the novel instrument has proven valuable for studying the gas giant's icy and volcanic moons as well.
On Sept. 29, 2022, Juno came within about 220 miles (360 kilometers) of Europa's frozen surface. During the flyby, MWR collected data on about half the moon's surface, peering beneath the ice to measure its temperatures at various depths.
"The 18-mile estimate relates to the cold, rigid, conductive outer-layer of a pure water ice shell," said Steve Levin, Juno project scientist and co-investigator from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which manages the mission. "If an inner, slightly warmer convective layer also exists, which is possible, the total ice shell thickness would be even greater. If the ice shell contains a modest amount of dissolved salt, as suggested by some models, then our estimate of the shell thickness would be reduced by about 3 miles."
The thick shell, as suggested by the MWR data, implies a longer route that oxygen and nutrients would have to travel to connect Europa's surface with its subsurface ocean. Understanding this process may be relevant to future studies of Europa's habitability.
Cracks, pores
The MWR data also provides new insights into the makeup of the ice just below Europa's surface. The instrument revealed the presence of "scatterers" -- irregularities in the near-surface ice such as cracks, pores, and voids that scatter the instrument's microwaves reflecting off the ice (similar to how visible light is scattered in ice cubes). These scatterers are estimated to be no bigger than a few inches in diameter and appear to extend to depths of hundreds of feet below Europa's surface.
The small size and shallow depth of these features, as modeled in this study, suggest they are unlikely to be a significant pathway for oxygen and nutrients to travel from Europa's surface to its salty ocean.
"How thick the ice shell is and the existence of cracks or pores within the ice shell are part of the complex puzzle for understanding Europa's potential habitability," said Scott Bolton, principal investigator of Juno from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. "They provide critical context for NASA's Europa Clipper and the ESA (European Space Agency) Juice (JUpiter ICy moons Explorer) spacecraft -- both of which are on their way to the Jovian system." Europa Clipper will arrive there in 2030, while Juice will arrive the year after.
Juno will carry out its 81st flyby of Jupiter on Feb. 25.
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More about Juno
A division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, JPL manages the Juno mission for the principal investigator, Scott Bolton, of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. Juno is part of NASA's New Frontiers Program, managed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
To learn more about Juno, go to: https://www.nasa.gov/juno
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Original text here: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-juno-measures-thickness-of-europas-ice-shell/
EPA Advances Cooperative Federalism to Improve Air Quality by Taking an Important Step to Reconsider Biden-era "Good Neighbor Plan"
WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
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EPA Advances Cooperative Federalism to Improve Air Quality by Taking an Important Step to Reconsider Biden-era "Good Neighbor Plan"
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Agency Proposes to Approve State Implementation Plans for Eight States
WASHINGTON - On January 27, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed phase 1 of its reconsideration of the deeply flawed Biden-era "Good Neighbor Plan." Under phase 1, the agency is proposing to approve eight states' State Implementation Plans (SIPs) pertaining to the
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
* * *
EPA Advances Cooperative Federalism to Improve Air Quality by Taking an Important Step to Reconsider Biden-era "Good Neighbor Plan"
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Agency Proposes to Approve State Implementation Plans for Eight States
WASHINGTON - On January 27, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed phase 1 of its reconsideration of the deeply flawed Biden-era "Good Neighbor Plan." Under phase 1, the agency is proposing to approve eight states' State Implementation Plans (SIPs) pertaining to the2015 eight-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). If finalized, Alabama, Arizona, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, and Tennessee would no longer need to worry about another "Good Neighbor Plan" and could implement the remainder of their SIPs.
Today's proposal demonstrates the Trump EPA's commitment to advance cooperative federalism and recognizes the important responsibility EPA shares with our state air agency partners to ensure clean air for all Americans. In stark contrast, the Biden EPA disapproved the 2015 eight-hour ozone NAAQS SIPs for Alabama, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, and Nevada; proposed to disapprove portions of the SIPs for Arizona, New Mexico, and Tennessee, and proposed error corrections on previous SIP approvals for Iowa and Kansas, claiming the states did not include sufficient provisions to control ozone emissions that travel across state lines. These decisions were made despite these states properly using EPA-supported modeling and thresholds to demonstrate they were not interfering with the attainment of the NAAQS in other states. The Biden-Harris administration took it a step further by improperly finalizing the "Good Neighbor Plan," which mandated strict emission controls for power plants, natural gas pipelines, cement and cement product manufacturing, iron and steel mills and ferroalloy manufacturing, glass and glass product manufacturing, metal ore mining, basic chemical manufacturing, petroleum and coal products manufacturing, pulp, paper, and paperboard mills, and solid waste combustors or incinerators across 20 states, including six of the states mentioned in today's action. This was despite 21 states demonstrating they did not need to address emissions activity within the state in order to not interfere with other states' ability to meet CAA standards. In June 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court stayed the rule, finding that it was likely unreasonable and irrational in key respects. Additionally, two other federal courts vacated EPA's SIP disapprovals for Kentucky and Mississippi.
"The Trump EPA has shown that when we advance cooperative federalism, we are better able to protect human health and the environment," said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. "Today, we are taking an important step to undo a Biden Administration rule that treated our state partners unfairly. If the SIPs are approved as proposed, these states will be able to advance cleaner air now for their communities, instead of waiting for overly burdensome federal requirements years from now."
If finalized, EPA's proposal will be a key step in addressing the Biden-era heavy-handed, one-size-fits-all, federal mandate, resolving the "interstate transport" obligations for the 2015 eight-hour ozone NAAQS, and restoring the rule of law. The "interstate transport" provision requires that each state's SIP contain provisions to prohibit emissions within the state from significantly contributing to nonattainment or interfering with maintenance of the NAAQS in other states. As proposed in this rule, EPA finds that the eight SIPs have adequate data demonstrating these states are not interfering with ozone attainment for the 2015 eight-hour ozone NAAQS in other states. This action also indicates EPA's intent to withdraw the proposed error correction from approval to partial disapproval of two additional states' SIP submissions.
EPA is committed to providing clean air for all Americans. In the near future, EPA intends to take a separate action, consistent with this proposal, to address "interstate transport" obligations for the remaining states covered in the final "Good Neighbor Plan," including areas of Indian Country located within the geographic bounds of the covered states.
EPA will hold a 30-day public comment period on the proposal following publication in the Federal Register. Read the proposal.
Background
On October 1, 2015, EPA promulgated a new 8-hour ozone NAAQS of 70 ppb. The CAA requires states to develop and send to EPA for review SIP submissions containing adequate provisions prohibiting significant contribution to nonattainment or interference with maintenance of the NAAQS in other states.
In June 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court stayed enforcement of the "Good Neighbor Plan" pending judicial review ( Ohio v. EPA. 144 S. Ct. 2040 (2024)). EPA has taken administrative action to stay the "Good Neighbor" Plan in its entirety in all 23 states.
On March 12, 2025, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the agency is tackling the troubled "Good Neighbor Plan." This announcement followed a declaration EPA filed with the D.C. Circuit on March 10, 2025, indicating it would reconsider the scope of states, the scope of sources, and the definition of significant contribution for the "Good Neighbor Plan". Since the spring of 2025, litigation over the "Good Neighbor Plan" and 2023 SIP disapproval has been put into abeyance pending EPA's reconsideration decisions.
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Original text here: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-advances-cooperative-federalism-improve-air-quality-taking-important-step
