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**Following a closed-door briefing today, some Democratic members of the Senate Armed Services Committee are raising concerns about the cost and technical feasibility of the Golden Dome missile shield **— although one Republican lawmaker said the $175 billion cost estimate previously given by President Donald Trump has stayed steady. Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein, director for the Golden Dome, held a classified briefing today with SASC members on the initial architecture for the sprawling, ambitious system — his first interaction with the committee since being tapped to lead the effort in May. While members were broadly positive about Guetlein’s leadership of the program and the flow of information now coming from the Pentagon, several Democrats coming out of the meeting voiced continued anxieties about whether the project is a wise use of taxpayer funding.

Arizona Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly, a former Navy fighter pilot who is the ranking Democrat on SASC’s tactical air and land subcommittee, said he continues to have “reservations” about the program, as the system will need to prove a high rate of reliability just to meet the basic requirements. “This is an incredibly expensive system. It’s complicated. The physics are really hard, and you’ve got to build something with very high reliability to be effective, and having some experience at this stuff, I’m very skeptical,” he said. “We need a lot more information before we make decisions to spend hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars.” Sen Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said his anxieties on the program’s cost, timeline and feasibility were not new, noting that independent experts have put out their own estimates that are significantly longer and more expensive than the Pentagon’s projections. “My impression is that we are receiving more information [from the Pentagon], but still additional facts are absolutely necessary to assess the Golden Dome completely and accurately,” he said. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va, said the program is progressing but Guetlein faced “vigorous and challenging” questions, particularly about the program’s price tag. “I think everybody on both sides of the aisle is still really trying to get their head around that, whether the numbers that have been publicly floated are sufficient,” he said.

Few details have emerged about Golden Dome apart from the vision bestowed by the president earlier this year — that of a comprehensive homeland defense system capable of intercepting cruise, ballistic and hypersonic missiles, which would be operational by the end of the Trump administration. Besides a $25 billion down payment for the effort made in the reconciliation bill, a budget plan for the program has not been made public — although there are signs that industry will have to pony up internal research funding in order to take part. In a statement, a Pentagon official said that the department met its deadline to develop an initial architecture, which is currently under review. “No additional information is available at this time, keeping operational security top of mind,” the official stated. “We continue doing our part to meet the President’s vision as Golden Dome for America remains a strategic imperative to protect our Homeland.”

Lawmakers repeatedly declined to share specifics about the timeline, cost and technologies associated with the Golden Dome effort gleaned from today’s briefing, noting its classification. But asked whether the cost estimate for the effort still coincides with the $175 billion figure shared by Trump, Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., who leads SASC’s tactical air and land subcommittee, responded that “it does.” Not all lawmakers raised concerns with the program’s cost. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Ala., said he pressed Guetlein on the testing schedule for Golden Dome. Sullivan wanted to see a marked departure in approach from the Missile Defense Agency, which he said had a “risk averse culture” that relies predominantly on simulated tests rather than live demonstrations. “I was very, very satisfied with his answer. I think their goal, and it’s a big one, is to be super aggressive on live testing, real testing, not just simulations,” he said, adding that SASC’s version of the fiscal 2026 defense policy bill includes a live fire requirement for Golden Dome. “We say at least once a year; I think he’s going to be way more aggressive than that.”

Bulgaria's long-awaited introduction of the F-16 Block 70 fighter jets has been overshadowed by technical setbacks and logistical delays. The country, which has faced years of postponements in its acquisition program, finally received its first aircraft in April 2024, a two-seat trainer variant. But shortly after arrival, the jet suffered a failure in an unspecified electronic component, grounding it and exposing the country's lack of spare parts. The issue might have been manageable with adequate logistical planning, yet Sofia had not procured a sufficient supply of backup components. This meant the Bulgarian Air Force was forced to wait until the necessary replacement part could be shipped, delaying the aircraft's operational readiness. But even once that obstacle was addressed, another problem surfaced.

According to Bulgarian media reports, including the national news agency BTA, the same aircraft later developed a fuel leak. The problem was confirmed by the Ministry of Defense in response to a parliamentary inquiry. Technicians identified the source within the fuel system, but the repair required extensive work beyond the capabilities of local crews. After consultations with Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer agreed to send a specialist to Bulgaria to address the fault. At present, Bulgaria has received two F-16 jets, the two-seat aircraft with tail number 301 and a single-seat variant (313) delivered in June 2024. Neither has yet been formally accepted into service. The repeated malfunctions of aircraft 301 have already prompted some commentary in local media suggesting the jet is "cursed". However, such difficulties are not unusual in the early stages of operating new platforms, particularly when a country is still learning to integrate advanced systems.

Another factor is the production shift. Bulgaria's F-16 jets are being assembled at Lockheed Martin's new facility in Greenville, South Carolina, rather than the company's main production line in Fort Worth, Texas. Transferring manufacturing to a new site is rarely seamless, and teething problems are to be expected as the facility builds up experience. On the positive side, Bulgaria benefits from Lockheed Martin's after-sales support, which is critical at this stage. Since the aircraft have not yet been formally accepted into the Bulgarian Air Force, repairs and deficiencies remain covered by the manufacturer. This ensures that local forces are not left without technical solutions to the problems that arise.

Looking ahead, Sofia still expects delivery of the full first batch of eight F-16 Block 70 jets by the end of the year. The deal, valued at $1.2 billion, was signed in 2019 but initially scheduled for 2023-2024. Delivery timelines remain uncertain, however, partly due to the U.S. Air Force tanker availability for transatlantic ferry flights. Meanwhile, a second order for another eight aircraft, worth $1.3 billion, has been placed and will follow in later years. For now, however, Bulgaria's airspace continues to be defended by aging Soviet-designed MiG-29 aircraft. The arrival of the F-16 jets was meant to mark a major leap into NATO-standard capabilities. Instead, the transition illustrates the challenges of procurement, logistics, and production that even well-established Western platforms can encounter.

For the first time since being elected in May, Pope Leo XIV waded into U.S. politics, criticizing those who say they're against abortion but support the death penalty, saying that's "not really pro-life."

Leo, a Chicago native, was asked late Tuesday about plans by Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich to give a lifetime achievement award to Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin for his work helping immigrants. The plans drew objection from some conservative U.S. bishops, given the powerful Democratic senator's support for abortion rights.

Leo called first of all for respect for both sides, but he also pointed out the seeming contradiction in such debates.

"Someone who says 'I'm against abortion but says I am in favor of the death penalty' is not really pro-life," Leo told reporters. "Someone who says that 'I'm against abortion, but I'm in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States,' I don't know if that's pro-life."

Leo, whose words echoed a common Catholic argument often made in discussions about abortion, spoke hours before Cupich announced that Durbin had declined the award.

"I am not terribly familiar with the particular case. I think it's important to look at the overall work that a senator has done during, if I'm not mistaken, in 40 years of service in the United States Senate," the pope told reporters on Tuesday in response to a question from EWTN News.

In his comments about the Illinois dispute, Leo made no mention of President Trump, whose administration has carried out a surge of immigration enforcement in the Chicago area.

Still, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt weighed in and disputed concerns raised by Pope Leo about the treatment of immigrants, saying that she "would reject there is inhumane treatment of illegal immigrants in the United States under this administration."

The administration, Leavitt said, "is trying to enforce our nation's laws in the most humane way possible."

Church teaching forbids abortion, but it also opposes capital punishment as "inadmissible" under all circumstances. U.S. bishops and the Vatican have strongly called for humane treatment of migrants, citing the Biblical command to "welcome the stranger."

Responding to a question in English from the U.S. Catholic broadcaster EWTN News, the pope said there were many ethical issues that constitute the teaching of the Catholic Church.

"I don't know if anyone has all the truth on them but I would ask first and foremost that there be greater respect for one another and that we search together both as human beings, in that case as American citizens or citizens of the state of Illinois, as well as Catholics to say we need to you know really look closely at all of these ethical issues and to find the way forward in this church. Church teaching on each one of those issues is very clear," he said.

Cupich was a close adviser to Pope Francis, who strongly upheld church teaching opposing abortion but also criticized the politicizing of the abortion debate by U.S. bishops. Some bishops had called for denying Communion to Catholic politicians who supported abortion rights, including former President Joe Biden.

Biden met on several occasions with Francis and told reporters in 2021 that Francis had told him to continue receiving Communion. During a visit to Rome that year, he received the sacrament during Mass at a church in Francis' diocese.

Durbin was barred from receiving Communion in his home diocese of Springfield in 2004. Springfield Bishop Thomas Paprocki has continued the prohibition and was one of the U.S. bishops who strongly objected to Cupich's decision to honor the senator. Cupich claims Durbin as a member of the Chicago Archdiocese, where Durbin also has a home.

In his statement announcing that Durbin would decline the award, Cupich lamented that the polarization in the U.S. has created a situation where U.S. Catholics "find themselves politically homeless" since neither the Republican nor the Democratic party fully encapsulates the breadth of Catholic teaching.

He defended honoring Durbin for his pro-immigration stance, and said the planned Nov. 3 award ceremony could have been an occasion to engage him and other political leaders with the hope of pressing the church's view on other issues, including abortion.

"It could be an invitation to Catholics who tirelessly promote the dignity of the unborn, the elderly, and the sick to extend the circle of protection to immigrants facing in this present moment an existential threat to their lives and the lives of their families," Cupich wrote.

Paprocki, for his part, thanked Durbin for declining the award. "I ask that all Catholics continue to pray for our church, our country, and for the human dignity of all people to be respected in all stages of life, including the unborn and immigrants," Paprocki said in a Facebook post.