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The Trump administration this week escalated its efforts against renewable energy when it announced the cancellation of $7.56 billion in funding for projects in 16 states, including California.

The U.S. Department of Energy said the 223 canceled projects — all of which are in states that favored Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election — were terminated because they “did not adequately advance the nation’s energy needs, were not economically viable, and would not provide a positive return on investment of taxpayer dollars.”

But while the cuts took aim at blue states, they will affect Trump’s base as well: The terminated projects span districts represented by 108 Democratic members of Congress and 28 Republicans. In California, that includes large swaths of the Central Valley and Inland Empire, which largely leaned toward Trump in 2024.

Russell Vought, director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget and a top Trump administration official, said in a post on X that the canceled projects were using “Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left’s climate agenda.”

The biggest cut was $1.2 billion for California’s ambitious project to develop clean hydrogen known as the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems, or ARCHES. It was awarded by the Biden administration as part of a competitive nationwide effort to develop hydrogen projects. The idea is that the hydrogen, which burns at a very high temperature, will be able to replace planet-warming fossil fuels in some industry and transportation uses.

The ARCHES project is a public-private partnership that would create at least 10 hydrogen production sites around the state, primarily in the Central Valley. It would also help transition two large gas-fired power plants — Scattergood in Los Angeles and the Lodi Energy Center in San Joaquin County — to 100% renewable hydrogen, and develop more than 60 hydrogen fueling stations in areas including Fresno, Riverside, Orange and San Joaquin counties.

In all, it would deliver an estimated 220,000 jobs, including 130,000 construction jobs and 90,000 permanent jobs, according to the state. California is pursuing hydrogen in addition to renewables such as offshore wind, solar power and geothermal energy to help diversify its supply, meet growing demand driven by artificial intelligence data centers, and reach its target of 100% carbon neutrality by 2045.

The Trump administration said terminating the clean energy projects will save taxpayers money.

One district with a project that’s been cut is the northern San Joaquin Valley, represented by Tom McClintock (R-Elk Grove). McClintock said he strongly supports the Energy Department’s decision.

“$7.5 billion comes out to about $60 taken from the average earnings of every family in America,” McClintock said. “Call me old fashioned, but I think that companies should make their money by pleasing their customers and not by using government to take money that families have earned.”

The Times also reached out to Reps. Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield), Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale), Keven Kiley (R-Rocklin), Ken Calvert (R-Corona), Young Kim (R-Anaheim Hills) and Jay Obernolte (R-Big Bear Lake), whose districts are touched by the ARCHES hub and other terminated projects.

A representative for Fong said his office was dealing with issues related to the U.S. government shutdown and so was unable to comment. None of the others responded.

Jesse Lee, senior advisor with the nonprofit group Climate Power, said the cancellations may not save taxpayers money, but cost them. The administration this year has canceled a $7 billion program to help low-income households install solar panels on their homes and halted the development of off-shore wind projects, among other efforts.

“Having these projects come to fruition is really the only chance we have at insulating people from skyrocketing utility bills year after year,” Lee said — particularly in the face of energy-thirsty AI. “The only way to have a prayer of meeting that demand is through these kinds of clean energy projects.”

Lee believes the actions could come back to haunt the party in the midterm elections. Since Trump took office in January, at least 142 clean energy projects have been canceled affecting what his group estimates is at least 80,500 jobs — not including the latest round of cuts announced this week. About 47% of those jobs were in congressional districts represented by Republicans, according to Clean Power’s energy project tracker.

Democratic officials in California said the Energy Department’s latest cuts amount to political retaliation. They were announced on the first day of the shutdown, which the administration blames on Democrats.

“The cancellation of ARCHES is vindictive, shortsighted, and proof that this Administration is not serious about American energy dominance,” California Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla wrote in a joint letter to Energy Secretary Chris Wright dated Thursday, in which they urged him to restore its funding.

“The cancellation of this award threatens the future promise of hydrogen energy, leaving us behind the rest of the world,” the senators said. “The ARCHES hub is a key strategic investment into American energy dominance, energy technology prominence, manufacturing job growth, and lowering energy costs for American families.”

The cuts come as the Trump administrations eases the path for production of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal, including this week’s announcement that it will open 13 million acres of federal lands for coal mining and provide $625 million to recommission or modernize coal-fired power plants. Coal has become increasingly uncompetitive with either natural gas or solar power.

Large-scale renewable energy and carbon capture projects in red states such as Wyoming, Ohio, Texas, Louisiana and North Dakota that received funding from the Energy Department were not subject to the cuts.

Other canceled awards in California include $630 million to the California Energy Commission for grid resilience upgrades; $500 million to the National Cement Company of California for a carbon-neutral cement production facility; $87 million to Redwood Coast Energy Authority for grid updates benefiting tribal communities; $50 million to Southern California Edison for a battery energy storage project; and $18 million to the Imperial Irrigation District to modernize its electrical grid, bolster resiliency against power outages and catalyze renewable energy usage.

“We are disappointed as we did a great deal of work to win the $18.3 million matching grant from the DOE to help modernize our electrical grid and enhance reliability for our customers,” said Robert Schettler, a spokesman for the Imperial Irrigation District located in southeastern California. “Despite this setback, we will reevaluate the scope as the project is a necessity.”

Officials with ARCHES called the administration’s decision a “short-sighted move that abandons America’s opportunity to lead the global clean energy transition.” They said they hope to keep the project moving forward even without the federal grant; ARCHES has also secured more than $10 billion in private funding agreements.

“Despite the loss of federal funding, we will press forward with our state, private, and international partners to build the infrastructure, train the workforce, and establish the supply chains that will power a modern, resilient energy economy,” ARCHES board chair Theresa Maldonado said in a statement.

At least 91 Palestinian people were killed on Saturday in relentless Israeli attacks throughout the Gaza Strip, including at least 45 in Gaza City, as the military intensified its widely criticised ground invasion.

Gaza’s Government Media Office slammed Israel for misleading the Palestinian people with threats to evacuate to the central and southern governorates by portraying them as “safe humanitarian zones”, while continuing to strike those same areas.

According to a statement issued on Saturday, 1,903 people have been killed in 133 attacks on central and southern Gaza since the forced displacement from Gaza City began on August 11, some 46 percent of all reported deaths across the enclave during that period.

The office said that this shows civilians are being directly targeted, despite being told to move south, and called on the international community to intervene, warning that continued global inaction amounts to a “green light” for further massacres.

Reporting from central Gaza, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud said that since the early hours of Saturday, Israeli attacks have increased in Gaza City and more casualties have been arriving at al-Shifa Hospital.

“Just in the past few minutes, we had confirmation of a family evacuating on a road inside a vehicle when it was struck by a drone missile. Four people were reported killed on the spot,” he said.

“Hundreds of others have been on the move as Israeli drones and fighter jets chase them from one place to another,” he added.

Hospitals attacked

Some hospitals in Gaza City have shut down as Israeli attacks escalate, with plans to seize the city and displace more people each day.

Earlier on Saturday, people in one of the city’s main hospitals, the Jordan Field Hospital, were forced to evacuate all 107 patients and their entire staff after facing heavy bombardment.

Hospitals in Gaza have long been on the brink of collapse amid relentless Israeli strikes. Most are operating in horrific conditions, unable to provide even basic medical supplies, such as anaesthesia and antibiotics, while the doctors, who are going hungry themselves, struggle to treat starving patients.

The few hospitals still partially functioning in central Gaza have become overwhelmed with wounded and sick people fleeing bombardment in the north. Many arrive in need of urgent medical care that cannot be provided.

“Displacement has worsened the situation inside hospitals in the south,” a displaced Palestinian told Al Jazeera. “Now you can see that instead of one patient in one bed, medical staff tried to fit two patients in one bed.”

Dr Khalil Digran, who works at Al-Aqsa Hospital, said that Israeli forces deliberately attacked al-Rantisi Paediatric Hospital in Gaza City, the Strip’s only specialised medical facility for children.

“Gaza City and the north are left with just two health facilities that are barely functioning: al-Shifa and al-Ahli Hospital,” Digran told Al Jazeera.

“As for the remaining health facilities in central and southern Gaza, Israeli actions are already adding more pressure on these facilities and threatening to bring their service to a total halt.”

Mohammad Khoudary, a displaced Palestinian, told Al Jazeera: “Ever since we became displaced, my father has been impacted and has become very sad.

“This has affected his health; he has become dehydrated. I am hoping they will be able to transfer him to Al-Aqsa Hospital.”

Hamas says has not seen ceasefire plan

Meanwhile, on the global stage, protests calling for a ceasefire took place Saturday in Berlin, Germany, Liverpool in the United Kingdom, and elsewhere.

Hamas has said that it has not received United States President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan, even as Trump this week repeatedly expressed optimism that a deal is close.

In comments to reporters on Friday, Trump said, “It’s looking like we have a deal on Gaza.” He offered no details and gave no timetable. Israel has not yet made any public response to Trump’s comments.

A Hamas official who spoke to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity said the Palestinian group “has not been presented with any plan”.

Trump is due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, whose hard-right governing coalition is opposed to ending the Gaza war until Hamas is destroyed.

Cruise passengers have been warned to check certain items in their cabins before they start settling into their holiday – and it will only take a few minutes

When you board a cruise, it’s natural to want to ditch your bags and head straight to the pool or buffet, and get the holiday started as soon as possible.

However, insiders have suggested that before you head out, you should get settled in your cabin properly. That includes doing a quick sweep of the “high traffic areas” which previous passengers may have been touching, which may not fall into the crew’s list of deep cleaning priorities.

Unpacking your bags, getting your bearings and joining the safety drills before the ship sails are all on most people’s radars already, but according to industry experts, there are approximately seven items that you may want to sanitise before you can truly settle in.

When sharing their advice on the first things to do when you board a cruise, the team at Cruise Critic explained: “We’re not suggesting that your cabin steward isn’t doing a proper job at cleaning your room. But a little extra precaution never hurt anyone, and it will just take a few minutes to sanitise (or re-sanitise) certain areas of your cabin.”

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The seven “high-traffic areas” in your cabin which you may want to check are the “doorknob, deadbolt, TV remote, light switches, bathroom faucets, thermostat, safe keypad”, as well as other items you think might have been picked up a lot by previous passengers. (We know, it’s not nice to think someone else has been in the room before you but of course that’s the reality!). The experts added: “If you want to go the extra mile, rewash the bar glasses if your cabin has them.”

Before the ship sails off, you may also want to check your phone, or you may end up facing some hefty bills when you get home. In fact, there’s a costly mistake which quite a lot of passengers make with their phones onboard the ship.

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You may not be getting any signal at sea, but that doesn’t mean that data roaming charges won’t apply. Most people assume that because they are unable to connect to the internet unless they opt for a cruise line’s Wi-Fi package, then their phone won’t be incurring data charges. However, even at sea your phone may intermittently connect to maritime networks and satellites – and you’ll be hit with the fees that come alongside this.

Opting for a Wi-Fi package can be an easy way to avoid these types of costs, but of course these can be quite expensive. If you’re sticking to a budget or you’re quite happy to ditch your social media feeds and emails for a few days, then one of the easiest ways to avoid the potentially high costs is to switch off data roaming, or at least put your phone on airplane mode.

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