April-2025

US News Headlines April 17th 2025

Nick Ras

— 1 min read

University Protests and Trump Administration's Demands

  • University protests against the Trump administration's demands for limiting activism on campus continue across the country.
  • Harvard University was the first to openly defy the Trump administration, with students, faculty, and staff rallying in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  • The university frames the government's demands as a threat to its autonomy and the Supreme Court's long-granted rights to American universities.

Immigration and Deportation Issues

  • The Trump administration has faced criticism for its handling of international students and scholars who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations or criticized Israel.
  • More than 1,000 international students have had their visas or statuses revoked in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System this year.
  • A federal judge ruled that "probable cause exists" to hold Trump administration officials in criminal contempt for violating his orders on deportation flights.

Federal Funding Cuts

  • The Trump administration has announced plans to cut roughly one-third of the federal health budget, with a memo stating that tens of billions of dollars will be slashed from the Department of Health and Human Services.
  • The National Institutes of Health's budget would also be reduced by more than 40%.
  • Programs on gun violence prevention, chronic disease prevention, and domestic HIV/AIDS prevention would be eliminated entirely.

Other News

  • The Trump administration has frozen $2.2 billion in federal grants at Harvard University in response to the school's refusal to comply with its demands.
  • The IRS is reportedly considering revoking Harvard's tax-exempt status.
  • President Donald Trump has extended the federal hiring freeze through July 15, as part of his efforts to cut spending within the federal government.
  • Ukraine has signed a memorandum with the US as a step toward a proposed minerals deal between the two countries.

Protests and Demonstrations

  • Protests against Israel's assault on Gaza continue across the world, including in Pakistan, Germany, and the Netherlands.
  • Palestinian solidarity protesters were violently arrested by police in Berlin.
  • Activists protested on the roof of a factory that supplies hardware to Israel's biggest weapons producer, Elbit Systems.

Other Developments

  • The Trump administration is planning to sell the Washington, DC, headquarters of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
  • A Justice Department attorney said that Attorney General Pam Bondi could potentially take "criminal action" against states that count mail ballots that arrive at election offices after Election Day.

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