Despite deadly weather, Trump admin proposes NOAA budget cuts – National & International News – FRI 11Apr2025

Despite deadly weather, Trump admin proposes NOAA budget cuts 

Louisiana judge rules Mahmoud Khalil’s deportation can proceed.

Amid canal spat, US troops heading to Panama.

 

 

Despite deadly weather, Trump admin proposes NOAA budget cuts 

Just in the last few weeks, a series of deadly storms across the South and Midwest have killed dozens of people. When preparing residents for bad weather, local weather forecasters depend heavily on the work of the National Weather Service, based in Norman, OK, which is a service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Despite NOAA’s life-saving work, which is becoming ever more crucial as weather patterns change and become more severe, the Trump administration has already fired hundreds of its employees. Now, the administration is proposing to slash the agency’s budget by more than 25% from its current level of $6 billion. According to Craig McLean, a former director of NOAA’s Oceanic and Atmospheric Research office, the proposed drastic cuts would “take us back to the 1950s in terms of our scientific footing and the American people”.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), who sits on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, said the cuts would “leave NOAA hollowed out and unable to perform its life-saving work”.

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Louisiana judge rules Mahmoud Khalil’s deportation can proceed 

Earlier this week, Louisiana immigration judge James Comans demanded that the Trump administration provide evidence supporting their claim that Palestinian Columbia grad student Mahmoud Khalil’s presence in the US had an “adverse effect on US foreign policy”. Yesterday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio submitted a two page memo asserting that Khalil’s participation in pro-Palestinian protests at a Columbia last year harmed the US foreign policy priority of combating “antisemitism”. 

Today, Judge Comans ruled that Rubio’s argument was “facially reasonable” and that the government could therefore continue its efforts to deport Khalil. Khalil’s attorneys have until April 23 to appeal the decision. A judge in New Jersey, where Khalil’s attorneys filed a separate action contesting the legality of Khalil’s arrest, has already ordered that Khalil not be deported while his case moves through the courts. 

Due process?

Comans made clear that she did not believe she had the power to overrule the State Department on matters of foreign policy. Foreign policy is typically the exclusive province of the executive branch. However, many legal experts have argued that the government has failed to make even a prima facie case that Khalil’s presence in the United States is harmful to foreign policy. Khalil has never been charged with any crime. He is a green card holder married to an American citizen who will soon give birth to his child. 

Following Coman’s ruling, Khalil was allowed to address the court. He reminded the judge that she had stated during the hearing earlier this week that “‘there’s nothing that’s more important to this court than due process and fundamental fairness'”. Kahlil continued, “clearly what we witness today neither of these principles were present today or in this whole process. This is exactly why the Trump administration has sent me to this court, 1,000 miles away from my family”. He also expressed the hope that the hundreds of other students who have been detained without hearings for months would also have their day in court.

What does the administration mean by antisemitism?

The term antisemitism typically refers to a hatred for Jews. However, pro-Israel organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) have increasingly co-opted the term antisemitism to include any criticism of the state of Israel. For the past 18 months, Israel has engaged in a military assault of the Gaza Strip, during which they have been accused of a multitude of war crimes, including potentially genocide of the Palestinians living in the Strip. 

The Trump administration has itself largely adopted this corrupted meaning of the term antisemitism. In recent months, the administration has weaponized the charge of antisemitism to target activists who have advocated for Palestinian rights, even when these activists have not expressed any hatred towards Jews. Many thousands of American Jews do not support Israel and have taken part in these pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

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Amid canal spat, US troops heading to Panama 

In early February, President Trump stated his ambition to “take back” control of the Panama Canal. The canal is a crucial maritime corridor through which 5% of global trade flows annually, amounting to about $270 billion. This includes about 40% of all US container traffic. The US remains the canal’s single largest user.

Although the canal was completed by the US in 1914, control of the canal zone was returned to Panama in 1999. President Trump now proposes to wind back the clock by increasing US military presence in Panama. There, troops will participate in training exercises and “other activities”.

Previously, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had proposed “reviving” American military bases in Panama which the US largely abandoned years ago. This is not what is taking place. Instead, US troops will be working from Panamanian facilities.

This move is being taken by agreement with the Panamanian government. However, the Spanish and English language versions of this agreement have a significant and telling difference. In the Spanish version, the US “recognized the leadership and the inalienable sovereignty of Panama over the Panama Canal and its adjacent areas”; The English language version does not contain any such statement. 

Consequently, the move to increase US military presence in Panama is seen by some as a challenge to Panama’s sovereignty.

US history with Panama Canal 

Construction of the canal was begun by France in 1881, but this venture had floundered by 1890. The US then resumed construction in 1904 and completed it in 1914. The treaty under which the US recommenced construction on the canal was ratified by the US Congress, but without any Panamanian signature or participation. This one-sided arrangement would breed resentment and violence in the canal zone for decades. 

Nevertheless, the canal zone remained under US occupation until 1977, when then-President Jimmy Carter signed a treaty initiating a handover to the Panamanian government, which was completed in 1999. Despite the decades of unrest and strained diplomatic relations which preceded it, Carter’s decision to hand the canal back to Panama was unpopular even at the time. 

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