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CLIMATEWIRE | Widespread layoffs this week at the Department of Health and Human Services have effectively dismantled programs aimed at keeping Americans safe from extreme heat and other climate-driven weather.

Last year was the warmest on record. But layoffs at HHS include staff that administer grants that help state and local health departments prepare and respond to extreme weather events such as heat waves, as well as federal workers tasked with maintaining online tools that raise awareness about the dangers of heat and tell people how to protect themselves from fatal conditions such as heat stroke.

“This is really important, valuable work,” said Lori Freeman, CEO for the National Association of County and City Health Officials. “As entire departments are cut, we are concerned that it will decimate resources available to key state and local work.”

That includes the entire staff of a federal program that helps low-income households pay utility bills for air conditioning and heating.

Congress’ recently passed continuing resolution allocated $378 million to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. It provides support to some 6 million Americans.

But the staff who normally would process that money and send it to states where it can be spent to keep air conditioners running through summer heat waves are now all on administrative leave, and will be terminated June 2.

“There are over 6 million families that are helped through this program, and now there is a possibility that the administration won’t allocate them,” said Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, which represents states. “It’s deeply disturbing.”

Heat can be deadly when people don’t have access to air conditioning, as the majority of Americans who die from heat perish indoors. Cutting LIHEAP staff, and potentially preventing funds from reaching people in need, could cost lives, said Amneh Minkara, deputy director of the Sierra Club Building Electrification Campaign.

“The elimination of the staff administering LIHEAP could have dire, potentially deadly, impacts for folks who will not be able to safely cool their homes as we enter what is predicted to be another historically hot summer,” she said.

LIHEAP isn’t alone. At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly the entire staff for the Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice (DEHSP) has been axed, including those who worked in the climate and health program that provides grants to local and state health departments.

Currently, the climate program, which annually receives $10 million in congressional appropriations, is funding grants to 13 state and local health departments. Those grants are in their fourth of five years, and recipients next week are supposed to submit annual reviews of how they have used the funds before they can be allocated the last year of funds.

“The reports are just going to sit there because there is no one left to review them and approve their next year of funding,” said one employee who until this week worked in DEHSP’s climate and health program. The employee was granted anonymity for fear of reprisal.

Asked about the funds, HHS spokesperson Emily Hilliard said the agency “will continue to comply with statutory requirements, and as a result of the reorganization, will be better positioned to execute on Congress’ statutory intent.”

She did not respond to follow-up questions asking how HHS would allocate funds to states without help from staff members who have been laid off.

Asked about HHS layoffs more broadly during a POLITICO Live event, HHS special government employee Calley Means said, “it is insane for you to insinuate that the thing standing between us and better health is more government bureaucrats.”

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A trio of secretive Russian satellites launched earlier this year has released a mysterious object into orbit, sparking interest among space trackers and analysts.

The three satellites, designated Kosmos 2581, 2582, and 2583, launched on a Soyuz-2.1V rocket from Plesetsk cosmodrome early on Feb. 2 (GMT). Since then, the satellites, whose purpose is unknown, have displayed interesting behavior, while in a near-polar orbit roughly 364 miles (585 kilometers) above Earth.

In March, the satellites appeared to be conducting potential proximity operations, or maneuvering close to other objects in space, according to Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist and spaceflight activity tracker.

Following this, the U.S. Space Force cataloged a new object in orbit, which was possibly released by Kosmos 2581 on March 18.

Russia has provided no details about the satellites and their mission. Many Kosmos missions are classified.

The released object could be used for a number of objectives, including military experiments, such as satellite inspection or target practice, testing technology for docking or formation flying. It may also be a scientific payload or even the result of an unintentional fragmentation, though this would usually result in numerous pieces of debris.

The Kosmos (or Cosmos) designation has been used by the Soviet Union and later Russia for a very wide range of military and scientific satellites since 1962. The satellites have covered a range of apparent uses, some of which are experimental, secret, or part of military programs, including early ASAT (anti-satellite) tests and satellite inspection, reconnaissance and electronic intelligence.

Satellite trios flying in formation in orbit is not unusual. Both the United States (for example, the Naval Ocean Surveillance System) and China (Yaogan) have launched numerous sets of satellite triplets, many of which are thought to be for electronic intelligence purposes, along with other satellite series.

However, it remains to be seen what the three Kosmos satellites and their new companion will get up to in orbit.

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The Russian Aerospace Forces successfully launched a Soyuz-2.1v light-class carrier rocket with spacecraft for the Russian Defence Ministry in February 2025 from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region. Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (CC BY 4.0)

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Are kids really better for dads in heterosexual relationships—or one parent, more generally? 

Some dads on social media think so, and a TikToker has some rather direct words for them. According to the TikToker, some fathers claim it’s because they’re way better at enforcing boundaries, and she 20/10 has a different idea.

“For most of us, it’s not the case,” says Jenna, who posts as @ifitwerentfunny on TikTok and has more than 57K followers. “The real reason is because you’re not that child’s emotional well. The mother is.”

The mom gets very blunt in the video. Does she have a point, though?

“I do think that in two-parent—or more—households, one parent is seen by each child to be the emotional anchor—the person with which they have the strongest emotional bond,” explains Crystal Britt, LCSW, a therapist and co-host of the Time to Lean podcast. “This puts a lot of weight onto that parent if the other parent isn’t mindful of trying to participate in this emotional work as well. The result is one parent thinking kids are ‘easy,’ and the other parent is ‘lazy’ or ‘soft on boundaries.’”

Experts dig deeper into the truth and what parents can do to even the load.

The Idea That Kids Are ‘Easier’ for Dads

Jenna was inspired by other videos posted by fathers, claiming, “When we’re with the kids, and they’re gone, it’s easy as hell.”

The fathers have a theory: They’re better with boundaries than their wives. Jenna has another one, saying, “You’re just not the person that the child has been literally and figuratively tethered to their entire life.”

Jenna is speaking to a specific audience of cis-heterosexual couples. But that’s not to say it can’t apply more broadly to couples whose child has been figuratively—emotionally—tethered to one parent. Regardless of your situation, Jenna suggests testing it if you feel this applies to you.

She suggests asking yourself: When your partner walks into the door, does your child run over and scream “Mommy, mommy?” (Or whatever they commonly call your partner.)

Do the vibes change when that “emotional well” of a parent walks through the door? “That’s because their person just walked into the room, and we’re hardest on our people,” Jenna says.

Instead of asking, “Why are my kids so much easier for me?” Jenna recommends people ask, “What can I do to meet the emotional needs of my kids so I can take some of that off my partner’s plate?”

Of course, this isn’t the case in every heterosexual household.

“While this is not the case in every family, in many families, mothers report that they take on the bulk of the parenting load,” says Emily Guarnotta, PsyD, PMH-C, a psychologist specializing in perinatal mental health and co-founder of Phoenix Health.

Why Kids May Seem ‘Worse’ for One Parent

Zishan Khan, MD, is aware of reports that children act differently with one parent, and that mothers often bear the brunt of less desirable behaviors. He concedes it’s frustrating but explains there is a psychological reason for it. 

“Children tend to show their full range of emotions with the person they feel most secure with because they trust that this person will love them unconditionally, no matter how they behave,” says Dr. Khan, a board-certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist with Mindpath Health. “Therefore, mothers, who often take on the role of the primary caregiver, naturally become the emotional regulators for their children.”

Young kids, in particular, lack the ability to process and regulate emotions fully.1

“Therefore, they ‘offload’ their stress, frustrations, and anxieties onto the parent they’re most emotionally connected to,” Dr. Khan says. “This isn’t a sign that something is wrong—it’s a sign of a strong attachment.”

In other words, Jenna has a point—and, weirdly, it’s a compliment.

“Parents should remember that if their child acts out more with one of the parents, they should try and take it as a sign of deep trust, not failure,” Dr. Khan says, adding, “This doesn’t change the fact that it can make parenting feel disproportionately difficult for the parent in that role.”

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