Gaza Aid Violence, Harvard On Trial, Congress Redistricting

0:02Palestinians say Israeli fire killed people as they tried to grab sacks of flour. Local officials count more than 100 dead in multiple incidents, a number that Israel disputes. So what are the facts? I'm Sasha Pfeiffer with Stephen's Keep, and this is Up First from NPR News.

0:21Lawyers for Harvard are in court today as they sue the Trump administration. Other universities are watching. There is nothing different about Harvard University than there is about some Midwestern, smaller, private college. The same things would apply, right? What is Harvard asking a judge to do? Also, the Texas legislature meets in special session. Republicans are considering an explicit plan to skew the next election in their favor. So how would it work? Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.

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2:22Visit schwab.com to learn more. This story underlines how desperate people in Gaza have become for food. People continue trying to pick up flour and other supplies at designated locations, even though many are being killed. In multiple incidents Sunday, Palestinians say Israelis opened fire. They count more than 100 dead. That's the deadliest day yet for people attempting to collect basic supplies. Israelis dispute the number and contend they fired, quote, warning shots at people. NPR's Daniel Estrin is on the line from Tel Aviv. He's been covering this whole war from the beginning. Daniel, welcome.

2:57Thank you, Steve. How did the day unfold? Well, Gaza health officials say Palestinians were seeking food throughout Gaza and were killed by Israeli fire at various points in Gaza, but the majority were killed in one single incident. And that was in northern Gaza, as the United Nations World Food Program had a convoy of trucks crossing into Gaza carrying flour and food. The WFP says large crowds of people were desperate to get that food, and they approached the trucks, and they came under fire by Israeli tanks and troops. The Israeli army says thousands of Palestinians were gathering, imposing a threat to forces, which is why the army opened fire.

3:35They are questioning the death toll reported by Gaza health officials. I want to acknowledge the uncertainties here of any given incident, Daniel. Sometimes we don't know for sure the specific facts, and the specific facts are disputed, but we also have here an eyewitness account of what's going on in Gaza. It comes from our NPR colleague Anas Baba, who's been covering the war since the beginning. What did he see yesterday? Well, he's been talking about very little food to be found anywhere in Gaza. He visited Gaza City's main hospital, Shifa Hospital, as it was dealing with a rush of casualties and the wounded being coming in from that Israeli shooting I was describing near the U.N.

4:12aid trucks. He filmed the body of a 15-year-old boy with braces on his teeth, killed while trying to get food. He filmed a 13-year-old boy wounded there in the hospital, and he spoke with an American doctor, Dr. Noor Sharaf, who is working at the hospital with the World Health Organization. Let's listen to some of his conversation with her. I saw you today once I entered the hospital in the ER, and I saw you freeze. I think I was in shock. I've never seen anything like this in my entire life. Lots of young children have come in with gunshot wounds to the head and to the abdomen, chest. People are coming in with severe malnutrition.

4:50A lot of the times I see these young kids and I think that they are way younger than they actually are because they're very small. Everyone is skin and bones. Anas Baba also met a man in his 50s, Hassan Abu Marasa, who was wounded in his head and leg from Israeli tank fire. Hunger makes you desperate, he's crying there. I have no food at home. I went out to feed my kids and this is what happened to me, he said. And this is not just Israeli military shootings, Steve. It's also malnutrition. Gaza health officials say at least 18 Palestinians died of extreme hunger over the past day. Given all that, what are the prospects for a ceasefire?

5:29I spoke with a person in Israel who is briefed on the ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel, not authorized to speak publicly, but told me that there's optimism among some Israeli officials that a deal could be reached in a matter of days. That deal would see a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza. It would be a 60-day ceasefire, a hostage prisoner exchange. But we see no breakthrough yet, and we are seeing hunger and desperation for civilians in Gaza. NPR's Daniel Estrin is in Tel Aviv. Daniel, thanks as always for your reporting. You're welcome.

6:08In this country, lawyers for Harvard University and the Trump administration are back in federal court today in Boston. Harvard is suing the federal government over its freeze of more than$2 billion in grants and contracts. Steve spoke with Harvard President Alan Garber in May about where that money goes. There are so many discoveries that have come from Harvard and other research universities. Advances in cancer, in treatments of cancer of all kinds. This is a huge part of what we do. Everybody benefits from the research work of universities like ours. The Trump administration says it froze those funds because Harvard violated civil rights law involving anti-Semitism on campus.

6:51NPR's Alyssa Nadwarni joins us now from Cambridge, Massachusetts. It's Alyssa, good morning. Good morning. What case will Harvard be making today? Well, in exchange for getting those funds back, the government has said that Harvard has to change things like how to hire, how to admit students, and has demanded access to student files without subpoenas. Harvard's attorneys argue that is evidence that the government is violating the First Amendment and academic freedom. And while Harvard says they have made mistakes in allowing anti-Semitism on campus, they've said they've made changes to protect Jewish students, and they argue that the administration didn't go through proper procedures before they pulled those funds.

7:27And that violates the Administrative Procedure Act. That's what they argue. Yeah, which is an important law that's applied again and again and again. It says the government can't do things that are arbitrary and capricious. There has to be a process. There has to be a reason. There has to be some justice to it. What is the administration's case? Well, the government argues that Harvard didn't follow federal civil rights law. And as a result, the government has deemed that Harvard is not entitled to these research dollars. In statements, the White House says federal funds are a privilege, not an entitlement.

7:56Here's how Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, put it. Does the federal government have the power in the abstract to say we're going to cut off federal funding to a private institution like Harvard? I do think that power's there, but the question is how the Trump administration went about using the power. I talked with Jodi Fareesh, she's a lawyer who represents several Midwest colleges and universities, about how a lot of colleges are watching to see what precedent this case sets. I think that everyone is watching and worrying about the extent to which the federal government is seeking to control the higher education sector, because there is nothing different about Harvard University than there is about some Midwestern, smaller private college.

8:48The same things would apply, right? So the impact of all of this is going to have ripple effects for jobs at universities, for families getting experimental treatments all over the U.S. So how is the court going to resolve this? Well, it's just a one-day hearing, and Harvard is asking the judge for a summary judgment in hopes of moving this issue along faster. But there's no indication when we'll actually get that ruling. And while several legal experts told me that Harvard has a really strong case, whichever side loses in Boston will likely immediately appeal. And so, Steve, this may end up all the way at the Supreme Court.

9:25Asking for a summary judgment. So essentially asking the judge to say, this case is obvious. We don't even need to hear any more. Give us something quick. Yeah, that's the request. We'll see what happens and where the appeal goes. NPR's Alyssa Nadwerny in Cambridge. Thanks so much. You bet.

9:44State lawmakers in Texas began a special session today. Republicans who dominate the Texas legislature want to redraw voting districts for Congress. Their explicit partisan purpose is to skew the results so that Republicans win more seats. The state Republican Party said redistricting is, quote, an essential step to preserving GOP control of Congress. President Trump favors the idea. Just a very simple redrawing. We pick up five seats. But we have a couple of other states where we'll pick up seats also. NPR's Hansi Lo Wong is with us now. Hansi, good morning. Good morning, Steve. OK, so normally a state redistricts every 10 years with the census.

10:23Why is Texas doing it five years early? Well, as you heard in their own words, this is pure hard politics. Texas first passed a congressional map like most states after the 2020 census results came out. And that map was challenged in court by voting rights advocates. And while those lawsuits are still playing out, the Republican governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, announced this special session. And what was his reasoning for doing this? Abbott pointed to a letter he received this month from the Justice Department under the Trump administration. And that letter claims the map that Republican lawmakers passed back in 2021 is unconstitutional.

10:57You know, a lot of legal experts are skeptical of the letter's reasoning, though, because President Trump has been vocal, as you heard, about wanting a new map that he thinks can get Republicans five more seats in Texas. How likely is it that they'll get what they want? Well, Republicans, like you said, control both the legislature and the governor's office in Texas. So in theory, they can pass a map that they want. But there is a risk of overreaching here because mapmakers in this special session may be making some out-of-date assumptions about where voters are and how they vote. Any new map would be based on census data from five years ago.

11:33That's a long time for a state that's changing demographically as much as Texas is. OK, we mentioned other states. What other states might this happen in? Well, Ohio has to draw a new map because of a state law. There are a handful of states in the South, plus Utah and Wisconsin, with maps that are still in the middle of lawsuits. And depending on what courts decide in their timing, those states may not have to draw new maps and use existing ones. But what is true for all of these states is that the House representatives has been narrowly divided for years. So any changes with the voting districts could make a big difference in whether Republicans keep control of the House or lose it to the Democrats.

12:09I feel that I have heard of states sometimes doing a mid-decade redistricting before. How unusual is this? I talked to Michael Kang, a redistricting expert at Northwestern University's law school. Some states have done mid-decade redistricting. It's usually in the context of lawsuits that drag on for years. But what Kang says is unusual and notable this time around is that we are an increasingly polarized political climate. And that means in states where one political party controls map drawing, like in Texas, you're going to see strategies to squeeze out every possible advantage. And Kang thinks voting maps should be drawn once at the beginning of a decade after census.

12:49And then unless they violate any laws, be left alone. When you can adjust the districts to make your side safer and the other side more vulnerable multiple times over a decade, it becomes hard to hold these guys accountable. You know, I should also note that the Supreme Court has struck down some key protections against racial discrimination and redistricting under the Voting Rights Act. And that has unleashed some state lawmakers to try to draw maps in ways that courts may not have allowed in the past. NPR's Hansi Lo Wong, thanks so much. You're welcome, Steve.

13:20And that's Up First for this Monday, July 21st. I'm Steve Inskeep. And I'm Sasha Pfeiffer. Your next listen is Consider This. We here at Up First give you the three big stories of the day. The team at Consider This takes a different approach. They dive into a single news story and what it means to you. Learn about a big story of the day in less than 15 minutes. Listen now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. But not until you hear these credits. Today's Up First was edited by Hannah Block, Steve Drummond, Ben Swayze, Jenea Williams, and Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Ziad Batch, Nia Dumas, and Christopher Thomas.

13:52We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott, and our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us tomorrow.

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