Merz says climate policy must not 'endanger' German industry

(The Center Square) – A majority of adults in the U.S. believe that the costs of data centers outweigh the benefits with 69% believing the costs are greater and 30% believing that the benefits are higher, according to a new national poll from the Marquette University Law School.

The results were an increase from the 62% who believed that the costs outweighed the benefits in January.

The results mirrored results from a survey of 850 registered voters in Wisconsin, when 69% of those voters said the costs outweigh the benefits.

Questions were asked of 982 voters nationwide between April 8-16.

Large-scale data center projects have popped up across the country in recent years with the tax incentives often hidden in tax increment districts and waiving sales tax on construction materials.

A recent Good Jobs First report showed that 14 states and scores of local governments fail to properly disclose how much revenue they are losing to data center tax breaks while a deeper look at just three states showed that they are losing more than $1 billion per year to data center tax breaks.

A Wisconsin waiver on sales tax on large-scale data center construction materials has led to that $70 million in forgone sales tax in its first two years, a number that is expected to multiply as data centers in Mount Pleasant, Verona, Beaver Dam and Port Washington have now been certified by the state to be eligible for the sales tax exemption.

The new Marquette Poll showed bipartisan opposition to data centers with 62% of Republicans, 76% of Democrats, and 73% of independents saying the costs are greater than the benefits. Those numbers all increased since a January poll.

After decades of struggling to find a way to treat pancreatic cancer, researchers have developed several promising new drugs that could offer rare hope to patients given this particularly deadly diagnosis.

Pancreatic cancer is notoriously aggressive, with only roughly one in 10 people surviving more than five years after being diagnosed, research has shown.

Rates of this cancer have also been surging worldwide, notably among young adults. It is projected to become the second deadliest cancer, after lung cancer, in developed countries in the coming years. 

Despite the scale of this scourge, there has not been "any medical progress for 40 years," Patrick Mehlen, a researcher at France's Leon Berard cancer centre, told AFP.

But more funding and interest over the last decade has finally been making a "real difference," he added.

While a cure is still a long way off for most patients, some of these new drugs could add precious months to their lifespan.

The most widely celebrated news came last week, when US pharma firm Revolution Medicines announced positive results for its experimental drug daraxonrasib.

The drug targets a protein called KRAS which is known to play an important role in tumour growth. 

Half of the patients taking the pill survived more than 13 months -- twice as long as a control group receiving chemotherapy.

This may not sound revolutionary, but for a cancer that kills so quickly, doubling the life expectancy of patients is unprecedented. 

- 'Heck of a lot better' -

One high-profile patient has spoken out about just what a difference the drug can make.

Ben Sasse, a former senator from the US state of Nebraska, started taking daraxonrasib after being diagnosed with metastasised, stage-four pancreatic cancer late last year.

"In mid-December I got a three-to-four month life expectancy," the 54-year-old told the New York Times.

After taking the drug, "I'm doing a heck of a lot better than I was doing at Christmas," Sasse said.

He added that it was "a nasty drug", pointing to severe side effects that left his face peeling and bloody.

Revolution Medicines has said it will soon apply for its treatment to be approved in the United States. More detailed results about the phase 3 trial will be presented at the ASCO cancer conference in Chicago next month.

Meanwhile, other researchers have been exploring alternative ways to extend the lives of pancreatic cancer patients.

Early trial results, published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, tested a treatment that is not designed to directly eradicate tumours.

Instead, it aims to prevent cancerous cells from starting a process that makes them resistant to other drugs -- including chemotherapy.

The NP137 antibody was tested on 43 patients receiving chemo whose cancer had spread through their pancreas, but not to other parts of their body.

Compared to normal survival rates, the patients lived several months longer, according to the phase 1b trial.

"We're giving people an average of six months more -- which is significant for this disease," said Mehlen, who supervised the research.

The team plans to conduct another trial with a larger sample size and a control group later this year.

Ultimately, Mehlen hopes his drug will not just extend the lives of people receiving chemotherapy, but also daraxonrasib.

- New cancer vaccine -

Promising early trial results were also announced over the weekend for an experimental pancreatic cancer vaccine. 

The vaccine, which uses the messenger RNA technology that came to prominence during the Covid-19 pandemic, was developed by pharma firms BioNTech and Genentech.

During the phase 1 trial, 16 patients who already had pancreatic cancer were given the shot.

It promoted immune cells to target cancerous cells in eight of the patients, seven of whom were still alive six years later. 

Out of the eight patients whose immune systems did not respond to the vaccine, just two survived that long.

Phase 1 trials are designed to determine whether drugs are safe, not demonstrate they are effective, so more research is planned.

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(The Center Square) – In a closely watched congressional race in southwest Washington’s 3rd District, where Republicans hope to flip a seat, campaign dollars are pouring in for both candidates, with a large portion of those donations coming from out of state for the incumbent.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez raised $1.3 million in the first three months of this year per filings with the Federal Election Commission. 

This is more than three times the amount brought in by the leading Republican challenger, Sen. John Braun, R Centralia.

The redrawn 3rd district was marginally more favorable for Republicans ahead of redistricting in 2020. The district voted for Trump in 2020 by a margin of 4.2%, as opposed to the old district's 3.7%. Gluesenkamp Perez narrowly defeated Republican nominee Joe Kent by 2,629 votes in 2022. She beat him again in 2024, but Republicans believe she is vulnerable.

“She talks about not taking money from corporations, but if you look at her FEC filing, you have a particularly large bundle – over $600,000-from financiers in New York City,” said Braun in an interview with The Center Square. “You know, this strikes me as a Congresswoman who is bought and paid for by the Democratic machine in DC and the East Coast.”

When looking at her total fundraising for the quarter, only about 7.8% of the donations to the Congresswoman’s campaign came from within the state of Washington.

As reported by the Federalist, Republicans have also criticized Gluesenkamp Perez for financial backing she received from a Super PAC funded by billionaire Reid Hoffman, ($48,000), whose past associations with Jeffrey Epstein have come under scrutiny.

A spokesperson for the Gluesekamp Perez campaign declined an interview request, but emailed a statement refuting the suggestion that her donors are primarily from out of state.

"Congresswoman Gluesenkamp Perez is focused on working people in her district and doing everything in her power to represent them as an independent voice. She's committed to fixing what's broken in this country and is working hard in D.C. to lower taxes on Washington families,” wrote the spokesperson.

The incumbent’s campaign also noted that Braun is getting funding from wealthy donors as well.

“Our average Washington contribution was $130. Braun's was $868. Braun is spreading lies that are easily disproven by public filings, to distract from his own weak campaign,” wrote the campaign spokesperson.

Braun, who is the Republican Senate minority leader, received Trump’s endorsement last week. According to FERC filings, in the first quarter of this year, he brought in $356,000. He reported just under $1 million on hand at the end of March.

“We’re working hard and whether you like it or not, funding is part of politics, particularly at the congressional level,” said Braun. “We're one of the top fundraisers for challengers in the country, and the thing I'm most proud of is that almost all that money is coming from the state of Washington. Most of it comes from the 3rd congressional district. Put that in contrast with my opponent, when you look at where that money comes from, only about 7% is coming from in the state. The rest is coming from the DC crowd.”

Braun said on the campaign trail, Washingtonians in the southwest Washington district are extremely concerned about the lack of affordability and the new income tax signed into law by Gov. Bob Ferguson last month.

“The top issue people bring up is the state's income tax and we haven't heard a peep from my opponent on this tax, and what she thinks about it, and whether she's willing to push back with her colleagues in the Democratic Party and say this is wrong for the state of Washington,” Braun said.

Upon declining our request for an interview, The Center Square just two topics for the Gluesenkamp Perez campaign and quotes from Braun to respond to: one about campaign donations and the other about the income tax.

The Center Square did not receive a response from the Gluesenkamp Perez campaign to our request for comments about the new millionaire’s tax.

“I can tell you, overwhelmingly, this is very unpopular,” said Braun. “Nobody believes that it's going to stay on high earners. Everybody understands that this is the first step and the next step is to reduce the deduction so that everybody pays this in the future.

The incumbent has a new Democratic challenger heading into the primary. In early April, progressive candidate Brent Hennrich joined the race. He ran for the seat in 2022 but pulled out just ahead of the primary, citing concerns about dividing the Democratic ticket. He had just under $40,000 in his campaign war-chest as of April 1.

Braun also has a challenger on the Republican side. Antony Barran is running on the Cascade Party ticket and had about $5,000 on hand at the end of the first quarter campaign filing.

The August 4 primary election is a top two primary, meaning  the top two vote-getters, regardless of party ,will advance to the November general election.

(The Center Square) — President Donald Trump has weighed in on a New York GOP primary race to replace outgoing Rep. Elise Stefanik, endorsing a political newcomer over the candidate backed by the state's Republican Party.

Trump announced over social media Tuesday that he’s backing Republican Anthony Constantino over state Assemblyman Robert Smullen — who is backed by the New York GOP and the state Conservative Party — in the wide-open race to fill the upstate congressional seat in the fall midterms.

“It is my Great Honor to endorse America First Patriot, Anthony Constantino, who is running to represent the fantastic people of New York’s 21st Congressional District," Trump posted on Truth Social Tuesday. "HE IS A GREAT GUY WHO WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!" 

Constantino said Trump called him to "jovially" announce that he was endorsing his candidacy and said the president also "acknowledged" his boxing career during the conversation. 

"His words were better than I expected," Constantino said in a statement. "It is uncommon for a CEO to box professionally, but I did, and it taught me to fight, fight, fight, which I will do in Congress to make President Trump and everyone who supported me proud." 

The president's endorsement in the congressional race is viewed as a snub to NY GOP chairman Ed Cox, who threw the party's support behind Smullen's bid for the seat last month, calling him "a fearless champion for conservative principles and for the people of Upstate New York. 

"He has stood up to one-party rule, defended our constitutional freedoms, backed law enforcement, and fought for the rural communities that are too often ignored by New York’s political establishment," Cox said in a statement at the time. "I’m proud to endorse him and look forward to helping send him to Washington." 

Smullen, a retired Marine colonel, jumped into the race for New York's 21st congressional district shortly after Stefanik announced that she was bowing out of the GOP race for governor and leaving Congress. He has described himself as the only “Trump-appointed conservative” in the race.

In a statement, Smullen said he still supports Trump but thinks the president "made a mistake" by endorsing his political rival in the race. He called Constantino "mentally unfit" to serve in Congress. 

Stefanik's decision to step down from Congress came after Trump turned her down for an ambassadorship job he had previously dangled. The president also later endorsed Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman for governor, prompting her to bow out of the gubernatorial race.

Constantino, a former Democrat, is seeking the GOP nomination in the June 23 state primary by running as an outsider with endorsements from Trump allies, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, political operative Roger Stone, and other MAGA-world conservatives. 

As the CEO of Sticker Mule, a custom apparel company, he gained notoriety for a court fight with local zoning officials over a “Vote for Trump” billboard he had installed on the rooftop of his business in the Albany region. 

"Anthony has been such a Great Supporter that he actually put up a somewhat ‘controversial’ sign, against strong opposition, in my honor," Trump said in his endorsement statement. "The sign is still there!”

South Africa risks thousands of premature deaths if the phase-out of coal plants is delayed due to the government's updated decommissioning dates, climate rights groups said in a report Wednesday.

Coal provides 80 percent of South Africa's power, according to the OECD, and the country ranks among the world's largest greenhouse gas emitters.

It is also a cornerstone of the country's economy, employing more than 90,000 people, making decommissioning plans a divisive issue.

Last year, the government approved the extension of operating dates for its 14 coal-fired power plants across the country, with two set to continue operating until 2050.

The new report by Greenpeace, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air and the South Africa-based climate NGO GroundWork said continued delays could cause up to "32,000 preventable deaths" between 2026 and 2050.

Gauteng province -- home to the capital Pretoria and financial hub Johannesburg -- and with no state-owned coal plants, is projected to bear the largest burden from the extension, with 15,000 deaths forecast over the same period.

In January, authorities attributed elevated sulphur pollution levels in Gauteng to transboundary pollution from neighbouring Mpumalanga, South Africa's most polluted industrial zone.

"Pollution does not stay where it is made, it travels," said Cynthia Moyo, a climate campaigner at Greenpeace.

The delay will also place a heavy burden on children's health, resulting in 41,000 pre-term births, 17,000 new cases of childhood asthma, and 370 deaths among children under five, the report said.

"Coal's true cost is being hidden in hospitals and in early graves," Moyo told AFP in a phone interview, dismissing the government's argument that the delay is for economic reasons.

- 'A pandemic' -

Residents of Middelburg, in Mpumalanga, present at the report's launch, recounted the effects of air pollution they have experienced, including early-onset asthma in children, skin diseases, and other respiratory flare-ups.

"It is a pandemic for us," said 30-year-old mother Sharon Mbonani, who was forced to separate from her one-year-old son and send him to another province after doctors linked his respiratory problems to environmental factors.

The report estimates the cost of the delay to the South African economy at 721 billion rand ($38 billion), including lost working days and increased pressure on the public healthcare system.

Coal-rich but energy-starved South Africa -- the continent's most industrialised nation -- became the first country in the world to sign a Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) deal with wealthy nations in 2021, worth $8.5 billion, to shift away from coal-fired power generation.

But last year the United States withdrew its multi-million dollar deal with Pretoria as part of the Trump administration's pullback from global climate commitments.

The transition to green energy has been mired with infighting among the government, which has a long history of support from labour unions representing mine workers.

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Lebanese town official Sharif Badreddine begged his youngest son not to leave to fight for Hezbollah against Israel in the country's south, but as the tearful father buried his child he could not hide a sense of pride.

In the face of a government push to disarm the movement, its supporters call on a long-held enmity with Israel, deep religious beliefs and backing from Iran to justify their sons' sacrifice in the group's latest war that has killed thousands in Lebanon. 

"Before he left, I told him, 'Don't go, the situation is bad,'" Badreddine, 67, told AFP.

But his son Ahmad, who was in his twenties with two children, insisted, leaving his father no choice but to accept his death as a necessary sacrifice for his homeland, where Israel has launched several invasions since the 1970s.

"I am proud of him. He was martyred on the front lines. This is an honour for me," said the grieving father, who last saw his son six weeks ago.

"He was defending me, all of southern Lebanon, and all of Lebanon."

As the father buried his son alongside 13 others, including two rescuers, in southern Lebanon's Kfar Sir, a 10-day truce agreed between Israel and Lebanon that began on Friday had brought some calm to the area.

Israel conducted huge strikes across Lebanon, including Kfar Sir, and invaded the south after Hezbollah entered the Middle East war in support of its backer Iran on March 2, killing more than 2,400 people according to Lebanese authorities.

The ceasefire allowed displaced residents of the town, which sits 15 kilometres (nine miles) north of Israel's border, to return and mourn the 14 men, some killed in Israeli strikes and others in clashes with invading troops.

"These young men did us proud. They forced the Israelis to retreat. The Israelis were unable to achieve their goals," said father-of-five Badreddine, one of the few who remained in the town.

If his other son decided to fight, he said he would hold his head "high thanks to him too".

- 'The last inch' -

Faces in the crowd were filled with gloom and sadness as mourners waited for the Hezbollah-organised ceremony to begin.

The men's pictures were hung around the town, and when their coffins draped in Hezbollah's yellow flags reached its square, women in black ululated, wept and threw roses and rice from balconies.

Amena al-Shami stood looking at her son Hassain Sheaito's coffin, weeping while women hugged her.

"He defended our pride, our dignity, and our honour. He sacrificed himself and offered himself up on the border," she said while holding up his picture. 

"I still have two young men to offer as well."

The scene showed the entrenched support of Hezbollah that remains in southern towns despite the government banning the group's military activities at the beginning of March, shortly after the start of the war.

Hezbollah has not officially mourned the fighters it lost in more than six weeks of war, but mass funerals have been held by relatives in southern towns like Kfar Sir.

The truce came after unprecedented direct talks between Lebanon and Israel in Washington ahead of future negotiations, which Hezbollah and its supporters are strongly opposed to.

Shami called the talks "cowardice" and said the group's fighters remained unbowed despite being squeezed by the government and Israel.

"We will continue on this path to liberate the last inch of Lebanon," she said.

- 'Honoured' -

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah told AFP on Monday that thousands of young men are "demanding to join the ranks" of the group to fight Israel's invasion, indicative of the fierce belief among its supporters.

Following the ceasefire, the Israeli army said it had established a "yellow line" in southern Lebanon.

It encompasses dozens of villages and is reminiscent of Israel's occupation of a 20-kilometre-deep strip of land along the border until 2000.

Hezbollah has vowed to break the line through "resistance".

Sitting on a chair in Kfar Sir's square, teary-eyed Haydar Sbeiti, 68, talks about his engineer son, Mahmoud, killed by Israel in the war.

"We have been on this path for a long time," he said. "He chose this path from a young age, and I encouraged him. I am honoured to be the father of a martyr."

He said he had three other sons who were defiant and ready to join the fight against Israel. 

"We are all ready to sacrifice ourselves for Lebanon, its people, and the resistance."

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Germany's Friedrich Merz addressed a major climate policy gathering on Wednesday by stressing the need to unshackle industry from harmful regulations, including by reworking the EU's carbon trading scheme.

"Climate protection must not endanger the industrial base in Germany and in our countries," the German chancellor told the Petersburg Climate Dialogue in Berlin.

"A transformation that leads to deindustrialisation will not find acceptance among the people. And it will eventually hamper innovation," Merz added.

Merz, a conservative, has prioritised boosting Germany's stagnant economy and protecting the country's large industrial base since taking office last year.

Merz has repeatedly stressed that Germany will stick to its climate targets -- including achieving carbon neutrality by 2045 -- though his government has come under fire from environmental groups for dialing back green energy policies.

The annual Petersburg Climate Dialogue is aimed at spurring international climate policy negotiations ahead of the annual UN Climate Change Conference (COP). COP31 will be held in November in Turkey.

On Wednesday, Merz contended that for climate policy "real progress depends on a strong partnership with industry -- it is there where the innovations and new technologies shaping our future are created".

Merz and several other EU leaders have demanded an overhaul to Europe's flagship ETS carbon market scheme that would reduce costs for industry.

An update to the ETS rules "with a clear focus on maintaining competitiveness" is needed to make the scheme "fit for the future", Merz said Wednesday.

Established in 2005 and intended to address climate change, the ETS system caps greenhouse-gas emissions but creates a market for companies to trade allowances -- a system that requires heavy polluters to buy permits.

Critics, including many German industrial leaders, argue that the system drives up energy costs and makes it harder for European companies to compete on global markets.

Countries still heavily reliant on fossil fuels, such as Poland and the Czech Republic, have long been leading this opposition.

In February, Germany, France and Italy called for an ETS reform, arguing that it would boost the EU's industrial competitiveness.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni even called for its suspension in early March, citing the shock to energy prices from the US-Israeli war on Iran.

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Workers streamed into the British capital by foot, bike and bus Wednesday as strike action on the London Underground train network disrupted services.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) walked out from 12:00pm (1100GMT) on Tuesday for 24 hours over plans by Transport for London (TfL) to condense the working week into four days.

They will strike again for 24 hours from midday on Thursday, causing disruption to services for the rest of the week.

The strike resulted in services on London Underground being suspended or part suspended with severe delays on other parts of the network, according to TfL.

Services on airport links such as the Gatwick Express and Heathrow Express were not affected, the operators said on their websites.

Eurostar services to France, Belgium and The Netherlands were also operating as normal.

The RMT union says TfL bosses informed it last week that it would go ahead with the four-day week despite drivers rejecting the working arrangement in two referendums.

Other issues include shift length and changes to annual leave were also in dispute, said RMT official Jared Wood.

Claire Mann, TfL's chief operating officer, however, said the changes to the working week were not being imposed.

"The changes would be voluntary, there would be no reduction in contractual hours and those who wish to continue a five-day working week pattern would be able to do so," she said.

har/jkb

Silhouetted against the light on stage in 1990, David Bowie belts out a deafening rendition of "Rebel Rebel" as a rapturous audience claps along with arms raised.

Rewind to 1973 and the iconic star is on stage at London's Hammersmith Odeon singing "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" in his last show as Ziggy Stardust.

A decade after Bowie died in 2016 in New York at the age of 69, these are just some of the spellbinding moments captured in a new immersive, multi-media feature at London's Lightroom venue which opened Wednesday.

The show features Bowie performing live, including previously unseen footage, alongside rarely heard interviews.

It is the latest project dedicated to the singer, widely considered one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.

At the "cathedral-like" Lightroom, images and footage are projected on to 11-metre (36-feet) high screens on all four walls as well as the floor.

Combined with a 360-degree sound system it's ideal for conveying Bowie's "genius as a live performer" and creating a sense of being there in the audience, according to writer and director Mark Grimmer.

"It's a social event. It's a crowd of people, you're there with other human beings," Grimmer told AFP.

For the show, Grimmer and co-director Tom Wexler ploughed through countless hours of footage in the vast Bowie archive.

Highlights of "David Bowie: You're Not Alone" include the star's Hammersmith Odeon performance.

The concert famously featured in the DA Pennebaker film "Ziggy Stardust: The Motion Picture" (1983) which saw Bowie kill off the Ziggy persona.

- Icon and human being - 

Another highlight is a 1978 performance of "Heroes" at London's Earl's Court when Bowie "was really at the peak of his power," Grimmer said. 

Other footage includes Bowie at Live Aid in 1985 and performing "Starman" on the BBC chart programme Top of the Pops in 1972 dressed in a typically outlandish rainbow jumpsuit and boots.

Intercut with the footage is plenty of Bowie in his own words.

The singer, who had his first major hit with "Space Oddity" in 1969, describes the bleakness of his London childhood and his search for "colour, exhilaration" and a "way out".

"I think one of the things that we wanted to do is to give an insight into Bowie the human being, as well as Bowie the icon," said Grimmer.

After listening to some of the many interviews he gave, what emerged was a "very humorous and self-deprecating" character, he added.

Bowie laughs as he describes himself as an "unlikely" rock star, compares himself to an "emperor penguin" and admits to a burning curiosity about everything in life "except country and western (music), of course".

Grimmer also focuses on Bowie's creative process which saw him endlessly reinvent himself.

- 'Float on life' -

Essentially a "shy person", Bowie, whose birth name was David Jones, struggled with performing on stage in the early years.

To overcome his inhibitions he would immerse himself in the characters he created such as the androgynous alien rock star Ziggy Stardust sent to Earth before an apocalypse.

When all the "theatrics" were removed, Bowie said he was basically a writer who gravitated towards the isolated and freakish "not regular guys".

"I'm a writer, that's what I do," he said.

The hour-long show, which runs until at least October, features some 40 tracks by Bowie who sold at least 100 million records worldwide during his lifetime.

Reflecting on the ageing process, it draws to a close with him talking about his belief in an "energy form".

"You float on life when you get older, you're not quite sure which way up it all is, which is not uncomfortable."

"I'm quite happy in chaos," he added, concluding that "life and the universe" was "really untidy".

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(The Center Square) – The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, ruled in favor of an injured service member who sued a military contractor for negligence in a war zone. 

The case, Hencley v. Fluor Corporation, focuses on service member Winston Hencley, who was injured in a 2016 suicide bombing in Afghanistan. The bomber was an Afghan worker under the Fluor Corporation, a military contractor. 

Hencley argued the Fluor Corporation neglected to uphold its duties by allowing the bomber to be employed by the corporation. Lawyers for the Fluor argued that it could be sued due to its responsibility to the federal government as a military contractor. 

The justices rejected the military contractor's arguments. Justice Clarence Thomas, in the court's majority opinion, said the Constitution did not support the military contractor's arguments. 

"Although the Constitution gives Congress and the President broad war powers, that assignment has never been understood to bar all war-related tort suits," Thomas wrote in the court's majority opinion. 

Justices Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh and Chief Justice John Roberts dissented from the majority opinion. The justices argued that state court judges should not be afforded the opportunity to decide litigation against contractors involved in a war zone situation. 

"This state-law tort case is preempted by the Constitution’s grant of war powers exclusively to the Federal Government," Alito wrote in the court's dissenting opinion.