Politics and views in the United States.

NOAA nominee says he supports cutting the agency's budget. Many question why Ukraine's weapons aid was paused. And farmers worry how the budget megabill will impact this year's Farm Bill.

TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to 2025 Talks, where we're following our democracy in historic times.

If confirmed, I will ensure staffing the Weather Service offices is its top priority.

It's really important for the people to be there because they have relationships with the people in the local community.

They're a trusted source.

Neil Jacobs, the nominee to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is pledging to add staff to the National Weather Service, but he's also telling senators he favors cutting jobs at other parts of NOAA.

The administration plans to slash $2 billion from the agency and wants to stop its work related to climate change.

The Weather Service office in New Braunfels, Texas had an emergency surge in staffing before catastrophic flooding there, but the funding reduction is likely to end research in multiple areas, including better predicting flash floods and understanding the worsening hurricanes.

A federal judge is blocking President Donald Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship.

The Supreme Court has dramatically limited court's ability to stop presidential orders, but the New Hampshire judge is responding to a class action lawsuit, which still allows for a nationwide injunction.

That suit aligns with what has been the common view for a century — that the 14th Amendment means nearly every child born in the country automatically gets citizenship.

The White House says new peace talks between Russia and Ukraine are coming, although the Kremlin continues to order its heaviest bombardments of the war.

Trump has expressed frustration with Moscow and has restarted paused arms shipments to Kiev.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is defending the shifting policy, as driven by the needs of U.S. forces.

That frankly is something that is logical that you would do, especially after an extended engagement that we saw both in defense of Israel and in defense of our own bases.

And so it was a very limited review of certain types of munitions to ensure that we had sufficient stockpiles.

According to an analysis done for the Joint Chiefs, the munitions sent to Ukraine did not threaten readiness.

The administration says Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth alone was responsible for stopping the aid and did so without notifying the envoy to Kiev, the State Department, or the president.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says the incident proves being the host of a talk radio show doesn't qualify a person to be Secretary of Defense.

Pause of weapons to Ukraine is at best a dangerous breakdown in communications and at worst a sign that Secretary Hegseth is more interested in helping Putin than helping Ukraine.

And what are U.S. allies supposed to make of this weapons pause?

Farmers say fluctuating trade policies are making it harder for their businesses.

New tariffs on Brazil, Japan, South Korea and looming import taxes on nearly all other trading partners are likely to impact the prices of agricultural products, threatening a bright spot for American exports.

And Walter Schweitzer with the Montana Farmers Union says the just-passed budget mega-bill casts a shadow on the long-overdue farm bill.

They put some pretty strict parameters around what can and can't be in the farm bill.

And utilizing a reconciliation process to craft and pass a farm bill scares the bejesus out of me.

He notes the new budget bill wasn't all bad news for farmers.

Schweitzer says it raises reference prices for crops, enabling a better safety net if prices fall below new thresholds. says it radically changed SNAP and nutrition supports normally included in the Ag Bill.

I'm Edwin J. Vieira for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.