Month: March 2025

Mahmoud , an activist who led pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, will remain in an ICE detention facility in Louisiana after his first court hearing on Wednesday.  Khalili is fighting potential deportation by the Trump administration after federal authorities took him into custody Saturday at his campus apartment, and sent him to a detention center in Jena, La. His deportation was temporarily stopped Monday by a federal judge ahead of Wednesday’s hearing.

DOJ attorney Brandon Waterman told a court that Khalil, 30, is not in immediate danger of deportation while the immigration proceedings take place.  Khalil’s attorneys said they have been unable to have privileged communications with him since he was taken into custody, however, Judge Jesse Furman said he would grant a request by Khalil’s lawyers allowing them to have privileged phone calls with Khalil on Wednesday and Thursday to prepare for future court appearances after his lawyers expressed dissatisfaction over access to their client.

Khalil has been accused of making supportive statements for Hamas, but has not been publicly accused of providing material backing to the Iran-backed terror syndicate. His attorneys say he’s being punished for exercising his protected speech, and filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus that alleges his arrest and ICE detention, based on Khalil’s perceived free speech and activism, violates the Due Process Clause and the First Amendment.

Khalil, a Palestinian refugee raised in Syria, is married to an American citizen who is eight months pregnant, and is a green card and student visa holder. n December, he graduated with a masters degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. He was the lead student negotiator of an encampment at the Manhattan campus in 2024 when Columbia was the center of nationwide student protests held against Israel’s war in Gaza, which ultimately lead to the resignation of Columbia president Nemat “Minouche” Shafik after months of protests that disrupted campus.

Ramzi Kassem, an attorney for Khalil, said: “he was taken by U.S. government agents in retaliation, essentially, for exercising his First Amendment rights, for speaking up in defense of Palestinians in Gaza and beyond, for being critical of the US government and of the Israeli government.”

The Trump administration announced last week that it was revoking $400 million in federal grants to Columbia University, alleging it failed to fight anti-Semitism on its campus. Later in a social media post, President Trump said that Khalil’s arrest was the “first arrest of many to come” and that his administration will “find, apprehend, and deport” those considered “terrorist sympathizers.”

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On Wednesday, Canada announced $21 billion in new retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, in response to President Donald Trump’s new 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum.

Trump’s 25% tariff increase on all steel and aluminum imports officially took effect on Wednesday, the latest move in the administration’s plans to reshape global trade norms in favor of U.S. manufacturing. (Canada is the biggest foreign supplier of steel and aluminum to the U.S.).

Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said: “Today, I am announcing that the government of Canada, following a dollar-for-dollar approach, will be imposing, as of 12:01 a.m. tomorrow, March 13, 2025, 25% reciprocal tariffs on an additional $29.8 billion of imports from the United States. This includes steel products worth $12.6 billion and aluminum products worth $3 billion as well as additional imported U.S. goods worth $14.2 billion. The list of additional products affected by counter-tariffs includes computers, sports equipment, and cast iron products as examples. We will not stand idly by while our iconic steel and aluminum industries are being unfairly targeted/”

The latest action from Trump also prompted retaliation from the European Commission, which announced shortly after Trump’s tariffs took effect that it would impose counter tariffs on the equivalent of $28 billion worth of U.S. goods –, including beef, motorcycles and whiskey alongside American-made steel and aluminum — starting next month.  The Commission said in a statement: “we regret the unjustified US 25% tariff on steel and aluminium imports. The EU will protect its consumers and businesses. We are launching swift, proportionate countermeasures worth up to ($28 billion), matching the economic impact of the US tariffs.”

The countries most affected by the tariffs are Canada, Brazil; Mexico; and South Korea, which all have enjoyed some level of exemptions or quotas. Most U.S.-Canada trade remains duty-free under the USMCA trade deal that Trump signed in 2020.

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Following peace talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, officials for Ukraine and the United States have proposed a 30-day cease-fire and await a response from Russia. The agreement came after more than eight hours of negotiations between Ukrainian officials and a U.S. delegation led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in  Jeddah.

Representatives of the two nations said in a joint statement on Tuesday released by the State Department: “Ukraine expressed readiness to accept the U.S. proposal to enact an immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire, which can be extended by mutual agreement of the parties, and which is subject to acceptance and concurrent implementation by the Russian Federation. The United States will communicate to Russia that Russian reciprocity is the key to achieving peace.”

The U.S. and Ukrainian delegations said the interim, month-long cease-fire “can be extended by mutual agreement of the parties, and that the United States will communicate to Russia that Russian reciprocity is the key to achieving peace.”  The two delegations “also discussed the importance of humanitarian relief efforts as part of the peace process, particularly during the above-mentioned ceasefire, including the exchange of prisoners of war, the release of civilian detainees, and the return of forcibly transferred Ukrainian children.”

Rubio said: “Today, we made an offer that the Ukrainians have accepted, which is to enter into a cease-fire and into immediate negotiations to end this conflict in a way that’s enduring and sustainable and accounts for their interests, their security, their ability to prosper as a nation. And hopefully we’ll take this offer now to the Russians, and we hope that they’ll say yes, that they’ll say yes to peace. The ball is now in their court. The president’s objective here is, number one, above everything else, he wants the war to end, and I think today Ukraine has taken a concrete step in that regard. We hope the Russians will reciprocate.”

Rubio led the U.S. delegation to Saudi Arabia, supported by Witkoff and national security adviser Mike Waltz. Zelenskyy was visiting Saudi Arabia at the time of the talks, but did not participate. A senior Ukrainian official said ahead of the talks that Kyiv was ready to make a peace deal with Russia.  Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, said his delegation’s central message was that “Ukrainians want peace,” and that Ukraine was “ready to go to work toward that goal  It is very important, because we want that never, this aggression, [is] never repeated in the future again. Of course, it’s very important. But now we think it’s necessary to discuss, [with] the most importance, how to start this process.”

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