Trump denies aid for Arkansas after deadly March tornadoes. What about Mississippi? – National & International News – THU 24Apr2025
Trump denies federal aid for Arkansas after deadly March tornadoes. What about Mississippi?
India, Pakistan inch closer to military confrontation after Kashmir attack.
Trump denies federal aid for Arkansas after deadly March tornadoes
On March 14th and 15th, severe storms moved through the South and Midwest, spawning dozens of tornadoes, killing about 40 people and destroying homes and businesses across the region. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, former press secretary to President Trump, was one of several state governors who requested federal disaster relief after her state saw tremendous destruction and three deaths. Sanders requested both public assistance funds for municipalities and individual assistance funds to go directly to those affected by the storms.
It has now been reported that Trump rejected Sanders’ request on April 11th. The reply to Sanders’ request stated that the administration had assessed that the damage was not so severe that it was “beyond the capabilities of the state, affected local governments, and voluntary agencies. Accordingly, we have determined that supplemental federal assistance is not necessary”.
Sanders and Arkansas’s Congressional delegation (all Republicans) are pleading with Trump to reconsider. In a letter addressed directly to Trump, Sanders wrote that the task of meeting recovery needs after the storm “exceed the capabilities of the state and affected local governments to respond adequately. As such, supplemental federal assistance is crucial”.
Trump has made it no secret that he wishes to dismantle the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem favor a disaster response system in which state, local, and volunteer organizations take the lead in disaster relief and recovery. However, the most severe storms are often spread across multiple states, as was the case here. Without federal assistance, many states do not have the resources to adequately respond to the full range of needs following such a disaster.
What about Mississippi?
Mississippi and Missouri were also heavily affected by the storms and have requested federal disaster aid. It is not clear yet whether those applications have been similarly denied.
In that same bout of storms, Mississippi saw 18 tornadoes in 25 counties, and seven were killed. On April 1, Gov. Tate Reeves requested individual and public FEMA assistance for 20 of those counties. Over 3 weeks later, Trump has yet to approve the request.
Gov. Reeves’ office did not respond to a request for comment from CNN.
Click here for the full story (opens in new tab).
Related:
Despite deadly weather, Trump admin seeks massive NOAA budget cuts.
India, Pakistan inch closer to military confrontation after Kashmir attack
Earlier this week, gunmen opened fire killing 26 tourists in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir. The gunmen, and their motivations, have not yet been identified. However, India’s Hindu nationalist government has not hesitated to place the blame on Pakistan, India’s Muslim-majority neighbor which also controls part of the Kashmir region. Kashmir has long been plagued by violence both from separatist groups, and armed groups who wish for all of Kashmir to join Pakistan.
India has now closed off its major border crossings with Pakistan and expelled Pakistani diplomats. Most dramatically, India has suspended its participation in a decades-old water sharing treaty that is vital to Pakistan’s agriculture.
Pakistan has responded by closing its airspace to Indian aircraft. Islamabad also warned Delhi that any interference in the supply of water will be considered an act of war, to which they would respond “with full force across the complete spectrum of national power”.
Dangerous brinksmanship
After a terrorist attack of this magnitude, it is likely that we will at least see border skirmishes across the “line of control” which separates the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir from the Pakistani side.
The same happened in 2019 when a Pakistani militant group attacked and killed 40 Indian police officers. In that conflict, which lasted about a month, there were also limited cross-border airstrikes. That conflict ended with a truce between then-Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
However, with both India and Pakistan possessing nuclear weapons, even a limited conflict poses a risk of miscalculation that could spiral dangerously out of control.
Click here for the full story (opens in new tab).
