By BRIAN SLODYSKO and MICHAEL BIESECKER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — As commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick oversees the U.S. government’s vast efforts to monitor and predict the weather.

The billionaire also ran a financial firm, which he recently left in the control of his adult sons, that stands to benefit if President Donald Trump’s administration follows through on a decade-long Republican effort to privatize government weather forecasting.

Deadly weekend flooding in central Texas has drawn a spotlight to budget cuts and staff reductions at the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, two agencies housed within the Commerce Department that provide the public with free climate and weather data that can be crucial during natural disasters.

FILE – The National Weather Service monitoring station is seen in Brownville, Texas, May 23, 2014. (Valley Morning Star/Valley Morning Star via AP, File)

What’s drawn less attention is how the downsizing appears to be part of an effort to privatize the work of such agencies. In several instances, the companies poised to step into the void have deep ties to people tapped by Trump to run weather-related agencies.

Privatization would diminish a central role the federal government has played in weather forecasting since the 1800s, which experts say poses a particular harm for those facing financial strain who may not be able to afford commercial weather data.

The effort also reveals the difficulty that uber wealthy members of Trump’s Cabinet have in freeing themselves from conflicts, even if they have met the letter of federal ethics law.

“It’s the most insidious aspect of this: Are we really talking about making weather products available only to those who can afford it?” said Rick Spinrad, who served as NOAA administrator under President Joe Biden, a Democrat. “Basically turning the weather service into a subscription streaming service? As a taxpayer, I don’t want to be in the position of saying, ‘I get a better weather forecast because I’m willing to pay for it.’”

The White House referred requests for comment to the Commerce Department, which said in a statement that Lutnick has “fully complied with the terms of his ethics agreement with respect to divesture and recusals and will continue to do so.”

Trump nominees have ties to weather-related industries

Privatizing weather agencies has long been an aim of Republicans. During Trump’s first presidency, he signed a bill that utilized more private weather data. And Project 2025, a proposed blueprint for Trump’s second presidency that was co-authored by his budget director, calls for the NOAA to be broken up and for the weather service to “fully commercialize its forecasting operations.”

Lutnick is not the only one Trump nominated for a key post with close relationships to companies involved in the gathering of vital weather data.

Trump’s pick to lead the NOAA, Neil Jacobs, was chief atmospheric scientist for Panasonic Weather Solutions and has been a vocal proponent of privatization. The president’s nominee for another top NOAA post, Taylor Jordan, is a lobbyist with a roster of weather-related clients.

“If confirmed, Dr. Jacobs and Mr. Jordan will follow the law and rely on the advice of the Department’s ethics counsel in addressing matters involving former clients,” the Commerce Department said in its statement.

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, who spent more than $250 million to help elect Trump, owns a controlling interest in SpaceX and its satellite subsidiary Starlink. Both are regulated by the NOAA’s Office of Space Commerce, which lost about one-third of its staff in February layoffs facilitated by the Department of Government Efficiency, which Musk helped create.

SpaceX also stands to gain through a new generation of private and federally funded weather satellites that would be carried into orbit on its rockets.

Though Musk has now departed Washington and had a very public falling out with Trump, the DOGE staffers he hired and the cuts he pushed for have largely remained in place.

Emails seeking comment sent to a lawyer who has represented Musk, as well as to media contacts at his companies X and SpaceX, received no response.

While Musk is focusing on his companies, others with potential conflicts remain immersed in government work.

Lutnick ran Cantor Fitzgerald

Lutnick resigned as CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, an investing behemoth, upon taking office and began the arduous task of divesting his interests, as required by law.

President Donald Trump, left, listens as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick speaks with reporters before boarding Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, N.J., Sunday, July 6, 2025, en route to Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

His two 20-something sons were given the reins of his financial empire. Brandon Lutnick was named chairman of Cantor, while Kyle Lutnick was tapped to be executive vice chairman. But his most recent ethics filing from June 19 stated that he was still selling his holdings in the firm.

An ethics plan submitted in February states Lutnick would request a waiver allowing him to participate in matters that would have a “direct and predictable effect” on his family’s business while he was still divesting. Securities and Exchange Commission filings, meanwhile, show Lutnick has agreements to transfer his shares in the Cantor companies and a family trust to his son Brandon.

The Department of Commerce referred questions about Lutnick’s ties to Satellogic, a satellite company that offers natural disaster imagery, to his former firm.

Cantor spokesperson Erica Chase said that since Lutnick’s resignation from the company, he has not made any decisions with respect to the company’s investments or customer positions, or other operational matters.

“Cantor and its subsidiaries operate in heavily regulated industries, and maintain robust compliance programs to ensure compliance with all applicable laws,” Chase said.

Federal officials are barred from making decisions that benefit the business holdings of themselves or their spouses, but that prohibition does not extend to assets held by their adult children, according to Richard Painter, who served as the chief White House ethics lawyer during Republican George W. Bush’s administration.

Among its legion of disparate businesses, Cantor has interests in weather and climate. It owns a controlling interest in BGC Group, which operates a weather derivatives marketplace that essentially allows investors to bet on climate risk and where hurricanes will make landfall.

Lutnick also played a pivotal role in cultivating Satellogic. He helped raise the capital to take the company public and held a seat on its board until Trump nominated him. Cantor holds a roughly 13% stake in Satellogic, according to a March SEC filing.

The company now bills itself as an emerging federal contractor that can offer crisp images of natural disasters and weather events in real time, which in 2021 Lutnick said makes it “uniquely positioned to dominate the Earth Observation industry.”

While Lutnick was still in charge of Cantor, it paid a $6.75 million fine to the SEC after it was accused of making misleading statements to investors about Satellogic and another company. The White House’s 2026 spending plan, developed by Trump’s budget director and primary Project 2025 architect Russell Vought, proposes $8 billion in cuts for future NOAA satellites, which capture imagery of the planet provided to the public.

Satellogic stands to benefit if the government retreats from operating climate-monitoring satellites.

2 Trump nominees have ties to weather companies

Jacobs, Trump’s pick to lead the NOAA, led the same agency on an acting basis during Trump’s first term.

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He is scheduled to appear Wednesday before a Senate committee weighing his nomination. Jacobs has long advocated for a greater role for the private sector in government weather forecasting. During a 2023 hearing focused on the future of the NOAA, he argued that the agency needed to be “relying more heavily on the commercial sector.”

He also has expressed concerns about what happens to commercial data purchased by the government. “They give it away to the rest of the planet for free,” he testified before Congress in 2023.

He was a consultant at the time for Spire Global and Lynker, both of which have millions of dollars in weather data contracts with the NOAA, according to records including his most recent financial disclosure.

Jordan, Trump’s pick for another top NOAA post, has similarly close relationships. His financial disclosure lists more than a dozen weather-related lobbying clients, including Spire and Lynker. He also represented AccuWeather, a commercial forecast provider, before Congress and in meetings with the Commerce Department on “issues related to private sector weather forecast improvement,” according to lobbying disclosures.

Though his nomination is pending before the Republican-controlled Senate, disclosure reports show he still represents weather and space companies and is still listed as a principal employee at a Washington lobbying firm.

By MONIKA PRONCZUK, Associated Press

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump is hosting five West African leaders on Wednesday for a “multilateral lunch” at the White House as the region reels from the impact of U.S. aid cuts.

The leaders of Liberia, Senegal, Gabon, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau are expected to discuss key areas of cooperation, including economic development, security, infrastructure and democracy, according to a statement from the Liberian presidency. The White House has not provided further details.

The surprise meeting comes as the Trump administration has taken radical steps it said are meant to reshape the U.S. relationship with Africa.

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Earlier this month, U.S. authorities dissolved theU.S. Agency for International Development, and said it was no longer following what they called “a charity-based foreign aid model” and will instead focus on partnership with nations that show “both the ability and willingness to help themselves.”

The U.S. African Affairs senior bureau official Troy Fitrell earlier this year said that Trump administration wants to focus on eliminating trade deficits with Africa.

“Assistance involves a donor and a recipient, but commerce is an exchange between equals,” he said.

Critics say that the abrupt shift will result in millions of deaths.

A study published in the Lancet medical journal late last month projected that USAID’s dismantling and deep funding cuts would lead to more than 14 million additional deaths globally by 2030, including 4.5 million children.

West African countries are among the hardest hit by the dissolution of the USAID. The U.S. support in Liberia amounted to 2.6% of the country’s gross national income, the highest percentage anywhere in the world, according to the Center for Global Development.

Five nations whose leaders are meeting Trump represent a small fraction of the U.S-Africa trade, but they possess untapped natural resources. Senegal and Mauritania are important transit and origin countries when it comes to migration, and along Guinea Bissau are struggling to contain drug trafficking, both issues of concern for the Trump administration.

Liberia’s President Joseph Nyuma Boakai in a statement “expressed optimism about the outcomes of the summit, reaffirming Liberia’s commitment to regional stability, democratic governance, and inclusive economic growth.”

Gabon, Liberia, Mauritania and Senegal are among 36 countries which might be included in the possible expansion of Trump’s travel ban.

By CHRISTINE FERNANDO, Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — A son of notorious Mexican drug kingpin “El Chapo” is expected to plead guilty to U.S. drug trafficking charges at a Wednesday hearing. He would be the first of El Chapo’s sons facing similar charges in the U.S. to enter a plea deal.

Prosecutors allege Ovidio Guzman Lopez and his brother, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, ran a faction of the Sinaloa cartel. They became known locally as the “Chapitos,” or little Chapos, and federal authorities in 2023 described the operation as a massive effort to send “staggering” quantities of fentanyl into the U.S.

Ovidio Guzman Lopez previously pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking, money laundering and firearms charges tied to his leadership role in the cartel. Online court records indicate he is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday to change his plea as part of a deal with prosecutors.

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Speculation about a deal has been percolating for months, as behind-the-scenes negotiations have quietly progressed.

Ovidio Guzman Lopez’s father, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, is serving a life sentence after being convicted in 2019 for his role as the former leader of the Sinaloa cartel, having smuggled mountains of cocaine and other drugs into the United States over 25 years. The brothers allegedly assumed their father’s former role as leaders of the cartel.

Ovidio Guzman Lopez was arrested in Mexico in 2023 and extradited to the United States. He initially pleaded not guilty but has signaled in recent months his intent to change his plea.

Joaquin Guzman Lopez and another longtime Sinaloa leader, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, were arrested in July 2024 in Texas after they landed in the U.S. on a private plane. Both men have pleaded not guilty to multiple charges. Their dramatic capture prompted a surge in violence in Mexico’s northern state of Sinaloa as two factions of the Sinaloa cartel clashed.

Longtime Chicago mob attorney Joe “The Shark” Lopez, who has represented Chicago mobsters Mario “The Arm” Rainone and Anthony “Tough Tony” Calabrese, said he expects both of El Chapo’s sons to pursue plea deals and avoid trials.

He estimated that Ovidio Guzman Lopez still may face about 20 to 25 years in prison based on the charges.

“This is an international drug case,” Lopez said. “These cases are usually very solid, almost unbeatable. There is no upside to them going to trial because they can’t win. And he saw what happened when his dad went to trial.”

Laurie Levenson, law professor at Loyola Law School and a former assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, added that a plea can be strategic to avoid a revealing trial, full of testimony about cartel operations and the actions of both sons and their father.

“For Chapo, I don’t think he’d want to get into the details on his family’s conduct,” she said.

Last week, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum expressed skepticism about the possibility of Ovidio Guzman Lopez reaching a plea deal. She reminded people that Mexican soldiers died in the operation to apprehend him.

Ten soldiers and 19 alleged members of the cartel died during the Jan. 5, 2023, operation.

“What did the United States government call organized crime groups in Mexico?” Sheinbaum asked during her daily press briefing last week. To which, those assembled called out “terrorist organizations.”

She suggested that by negotiating with Guzman Lopez, Washington was doing one of the things President Donald Trump’s administration has said not to do.

Associated Press writer Fabiola Sánchez in Mexico City contributed to this report.

By MORIAH BALINGIT, Associated Press Education Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The impact of the massive spending bill that President Donald Trump signed into law on Independence Day is expected to filter down to infants and toddlers — a segment of the population that is particularly vulnerable to cuts to the federal social safety net.

Many middle-class and wealthy families will see benefits from the new legislation, but programs that help low-income families keep babies healthy have been cut back. While state money funds public schools and preschool in some cases, programs supporting the youngest children are largely backed by the federal government.

The law extends tax cuts that Trump passed during his first term in office and pours billions more into border security as the president seeks to broaden his crackdown on immigration. To pay for these initiatives, the law cuts Medicaid and food stamps — programs relied upon by poor households with children — by more than $1 trillion.

The legislation Republicans called Trump’s “big beautiful bill” is set to deliver some gains for families with children. It increases tax credits, including one that now allows parents to deduct up to $2,200 per child from their tax bills. And it introduces investment accounts for newborns dubbed “Trump Accounts,” each seeded with $1,000 from the government.

Still, advocates say they do not make up for what children are likely to lose under the new law. And they fear what comes next, as the next Trump budget proposes more cuts to programs that help parents and babies.

Medicaid cuts could add to strains on families

Over 10 million Americans rely on Medicaid for health care. About 40% of births are covered by Medicaid. Newborns, too, qualify for it when their mothers have it.

The new law doesn’t take little kids or their parents off Medicaid. It institutes Medicaid work requirements for childless adults and adults with children over the age of 13. But pediatricians warn the cuts will be felt broadly, even by those who do not use Medicaid.

President Donald Trump signs his signature bill of tax breaks and spending cuts at the White House, Friday, July 4, 2025, in Washington, surrounded by members of Congress. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The Medicaid cuts are expected to put a financial strain on health care providers, forcing them to cut their least profitable services. That’s often pediatrics, where young patients are more likely to use Medicaid, said Lisa Costello, a West Virginia pediatrician who chairs the federal policy committee for the American Association of Pediatrics.

The ripple effects could exacerbate an existing shortage of pediatricians and hospital beds for children.

“Any cuts to that program are going to trickle down and impact children, whether that’s pediatric practices who depend on Medicaid to be able to stay open or children’s hospitals,” Costello said.

States also use Medicaid to pay for programs that go beyond conventional medical care, including therapies for young children with disabilities. Under the new law, states will foot a greater portion of the bill for Medicaid, meaning optional programs are at risk of getting cut.

Advocates worry that if an adult loses Medicaid coverage, it could ratchet up household stress and make it more difficult for parents to make ends meet, both of which can negatively impact youngsters. And parents who lose their health insurance are less likely to take their children to the doctor.

“When parents lose their health insurance, they often think that their children also are no longer eligible, even if that’s not the case,” said Cynthia Osborne, a professor of early education and the executive director of the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center at Vanderbilt University.

The law increases tax credits for parents who qualify

The law increases the child tax credit to $2,200 per child, up from $2,000. But parents who don’t earn enough to pay income tax will still not see the benefit, and many will only see a partial benefit.

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The measure also contains two provisions intended to help families pay for child care, which in many places costs more than a mortgage. First, it boosts the tax credit parents receive for spending money on child care. The bill also expands a program that gives companies tax credits for providing child care for their employees.

Both measures have faced criticism for generally benefiting larger companies and wealthier households.

“It’s a corporate business tax break,” said Bruce Lesley, president of the advocacy group First Focus on Children. “It makes their child care dependent upon working for an employer who has the credit.”

‘Trump Accounts’ will be opened with $1,000 for newborns

The law launches a program that creates investment accounts for newborn children. The “Trump Accounts” are to be seeded with $1,000 from the government, and children will be able to use the money when they become adults to start a new business, put the money toward a house or go to school.

Unlike other baby bond programs, which generally target disadvantaged groups, the federal program will be available to families of all incomes.

The program’s backers have pitched the accounts as a way to give young people a boost as they reach adulthood and teach them about the benefits of investing. Critics have argued that families in poverty have more immediate needs and that their children should receive a larger endowment if the goal is to help level the playing field.

A food assistance program faces cuts

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) faces the largest cut in its history under the law. It will, for the first time, require parents to work to qualify for the benefit if their children are 14 or older. But even households with younger children could feel the impact.

The law kicks some immigrants — including those with legal status — off food assistance. It makes it more difficult for individuals to qualify by changing how it considers their utility bills.

SNAP has historically been funded by the federal government, but under the new law, states will have to shoulder some of the financial burden. Cash-strapped governments could decide to implement new requirements that would make it more difficult for people to qualify, said Katie Bergh, a senior policy analyst with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Some states may decide to exit the program altogether.

“When young children lose access to that healthy nutrition, it impacts them for the rest of their lives,” Bergh said. “This bill fundamentally walks away from a long-standing nationwide commitment to making sure that low-income children in every state can receive the food assistance that they need.”

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.