Gaza Aid Violence, Harvard On Trial, Congress Redistricting

Summary

Up First from NPR – July 21, 2025

Hosts: Steve Inskeep, Sascha Pfeiffer, and others

In today’s episode of NPR’s Up First, host Steve Inskeep, along with Sascha Pfeiffer and contributors, delve into three major stories shaping the day: escalating violence in Gaza amidst humanitarian crises, Harvard University’s legal battle against the Trump administration, and the Texas Legislature’s controversial redistricting efforts aimed at influencing congressional elections.

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1. Gaza Aid Violence Escalates Amid Humanitarian Crisis

Timestamp: [00:02 - 04:31]

The episode opens with a harrowing account of the violence in Gaza, where Palestinians report that Israeli forces have killed over 100 individuals attempting to collect essential supplies like flour. Sascha Pfeiffer sets the stage by highlighting the dire situation:

"Palestinians say Israeli fire killed people as they tried to grab sacks of flour." [00:02]

Local officials in Gaza have tallied more than 100 deaths across multiple incidents, a figure contested by Israeli authorities who assert that the fatalities are exaggerated. The Israeli side maintains that the armed response was in the form of warning shots aimed at dispersed crowds:

"They are questioning the death toll reported by Gaza health officials." [01:01]

NPR correspondent Daniel Estrin, reporting from Tel Aviv, provides a detailed narrative of the day's events. He describes the specific incident in northern Gaza where a United Nations World Food Program convoy carrying flour and food was attacked by Israeli tanks and troops. Estrin emphasizes the desperation driving civilians to approach aid trucks despite the lethal risks:

"People are coming in with severe malnutrition. A 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." – Dr. Noor Sharaf, American doctor at Shifa Hospital [03:07]

The episode further personalizes the tragedy by recounting the story of Hassan Abu Mahrassa, a man in his 50s wounded while attempting to feed his children amid rampant hunger:

"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." [03:30]

Despite ongoing ceasefire negotiations, Daniel Estrin notes the bleak outlook as hunger and desperation continue to plague Gaza:

"There is 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." [04:00]

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2. Harvard University Sues Trump Administration Over Frozen Funds

Timestamp: [04:40 - 08:08]

Shifting focus to higher education, Sascha Pfeiffer introduces the legal clash between Harvard University and the Trump administration. Harvard is contesting the federal government's decision to freeze over $2 billion in grants and contracts, citing violations of civil rights laws related to anti-Semitism on campus.

"Harvard is suing the federal government over its freeze of more than $2 billion in grants and contracts." [04:40]

Steve Inskeep elaborates on the significance of the funds, with insights from Harvard President Alan Garber:

"There are so many discoveries that have come from Harvard and other research universities. Advances in cancer, in treatments of cancer of all kinds of this is a huge part of what we do. Everybody benefits from the research work of universities like ours." [04:56]

NPR’s Alyssa Nadworny from Cambridge provides a deep dive into the legal arguments. Harvard’s attorneys argue that the government’s demands—such as changes in hiring practices and access to student files—impose undue restrictions infringing on First Amendment rights and academic freedom:

"Harvard's attorneys argue that is evidence that the government is violating the First Amendment and academic freedom." [05:30]

Conversely, the Trump administration maintains that the freeze is a response to Harvard's failure to comply with federal civil rights laws:

"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." [06:16]

Legal experts like Jessica Levinson from Loyola Law School acknowledge the federal government's authority but question the administration's execution:

"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?" [06:32]

The potential implications of this lawsuit extend beyond Harvard, with representatives like Jodi Farish and NPR’s Anas Bhabha highlighting concerns among other universities about federal overreach and the precedent it sets:

"The same things would apply, right?" – Anas Bhabha [06:59]

The hearing is expected to be closely watched, with possible appeals that could escalate the issue to the Supreme Court:

"Which is the request. We'll see what happens and where the appeal goes." [07:56]

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3. Texas Legislature Enters Special Session to Redistrict for GOP Advantage

Timestamp: [08:16 - 11:46]

The final segment addresses the Texas Legislature's special session aimed at redrawing congressional districts to favor Republican candidates. Sascha Pfeiffer reports on the motivations behind this move:

"The state Republican Party said redistricting is, quote, an essential step to preserving GOP control of Congress." [08:30]

NPR’s Hansi Lo Wang explains that Texas is conducting redistricting five years early, bypassing the typical decade-long cycle post-census. This strategic timing is influenced by ongoing court challenges to the previous maps:

"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." [08:56]

Governor Greg Abbott cites a Justice Department letter claiming the 2021 map was unconstitutional, although many legal experts doubt the administration's reasoning:

"President Trump has been vocalized. You heard about wanting a new map that he thinks can get Republicans five more seats in Texas." [09:15]

The effort to redraw districts mid-decade is seen as a tactical move in an increasingly polarized political environment. Michael Kang from Northwestern University warns of the long-term consequences:

"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." [11:23]

Additionally, recent Supreme Court decisions have weakened protections against racial discrimination in redistricting, emboldening state lawmakers to pursue partisan maps with potentially significant impacts on congressional control:

"The Supreme Court has struck down some key protections against racial discrimination and redistricting under the Voting Rights act." [11:31]

Hansi Lo Wang concludes by emphasizing the high stakes involved, as changes in voting districts could determine which party holds sway in the narrowly divided House of Representatives:

"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." [10:12]

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Conclusion

Today's Up First episode thoroughly examines the escalating violence in Gaza and its profound humanitarian impact, the high-stakes legal battle between Harvard University and the Trump administration over federal funding and civil rights compliance, and the Texas Legislature’s aggressive redistricting efforts aimed at bolstering Republican dominance in Congress. Through comprehensive reporting, firsthand accounts, and expert analysis, NPR provides listeners with a nuanced understanding of these critical issues shaping the national and international landscape.

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Produced by: Hannah Block, Steve Drummond, Ben Swayze, Janaya Williams, and Alice Wolfley

Engineering Support: Stacey Abbott

Technical Director: Carly Strange

Contributors:

• Daniel Estrin – NPR Reporter in Tel Aviv
• Alyssa Nadworny – NPR Legislative Correspondent, Cambridge, MA
• Hansi Lo Wang – NPR Political Analyst

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For more in-depth coverage, subscribe to NPR’s Up First+ for sponsor-free listening and support your local NPR station at donate.npr.org.

Transcript

[Sascha Pfeiffer]

Palestinians say Israeli fire killed people as they tried to grab sacks of flour.

[Steve Inskeep]

Local officials count more than 100 dead in multiple incidents, a number that Israel disputes. So what are the facts?

[Sascha Pfeiffer]

I'm Sascha Pfeiffer with Steve Inskeep, and this is up first from NPR News. Lawyers for Harvard are in court today as they sue the Trump administration. Other universities are watching.

[Anas Bhabha]

There is nothing different about Harvard University than there is about some Midwestern, smaller private college. The same things would apply, right?

[Sascha Pfeiffer]

What is Harvard asking a judge to do?

[Steve Inskeep]

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. This story underlines how desperate people in Gaza have become for food.

[Sascha Pfeiffer]

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.

[Steve Inskeep]

NPR's Daniel Estrin is on the line from Tel Aviv. He's been covering this whole war from the beginning. Daniel, welcome.

[Daniel Estrin]

Thank you, Steve.

[Steve Inskeep]

How did the day unfold?

[Daniel Estrin]

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 and posing a threat to forces, which is why the army opened fire. They are questioning the death toll reported by Gaza health officials.

[Steve Inskeep]

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 Bhabha, who's been covering the war since the beginning. What did he see yesterday?

[Daniel Estrin]

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 UN aid 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.

[Dr. Noor Sharaf]

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. A 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.

[Daniel Estrin]

Anas Baba also met a man in his 50s, Hassan Abu Mahrassa, 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.

[Steve Inskeep]

Given all that, what are the prospects for a ceasefire?

[Daniel Estrin]

I 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.

[Steve Inskeep]

NPR's Daniel Estrin is in Tel Aviv. Daniel, thanks as always for your reporting.

[Daniel Estrin]

You're welcome.

[Steve Inskeep]

In this country. Lawyers for Harvard University and the Trump administration are back in federal court today in Boston.

[Sascha Pfeiffer]

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.

[Daniel Estrin]

There are so many discoveries that have come from Harvard and other research universities. Advances in cancer, in treatments of cancer of all kinds of this is a huge part of what we do. Everybody benefits from the research work of universities like ours.

[Sascha Pfeiffer]

The Trump administration says it froze those funds because Harvard violated civil rights law involving anti Semitism on campus.

[Steve Inskeep]

NPR's Alyssa Nadworny joins us now from Cambridge, Massachusetts. Alyssa, good morning.

[Alyssa Nadworny]

Good morning.

[Steve Inskeep]

What case will Harvard be making today?

[Alyssa Nadworny]

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, 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 and that violates the Administrative Procedure Act. That's what they argue.

[Steve Inskeep]

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 to be a reason. There has to be some, some justice to it. What is the administration's case?

[Alyssa Nadworny]

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. Here's how Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, put it.

[Daniel Estrin]

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 think that power is there, but the question is how the Trump administration went about using the power.

[Alyssa Nadworny]

I talked with Jodi Farish, is a lawyer who represents several Midwest colleges and universities about how a lot of colleges are watching to see what precedent this case sets.

[Anas Bhabha]

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. The same things would apply. Right.

[Alyssa Nadworny]

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 US So how.

[Steve Inskeep]

Is the court going to resolve this?

[Alyssa Nadworny]

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.

[Steve Inskeep]

Asking for a summary judgment. So essentially asking the judge to say this case is obvious. We don't even need to hear anymore.

[Alyssa Nadworny]

Give us something quick.

[Steve Inskeep]

Yeah, that's the request. We'll see what happens and where the appeal goes. NPR's Alyssa Nadweary in Cambridge, thanks so much.

[Alyssa Nadworny]

You bet.

[Sascha Pfeiffer]

State lawmakers in Texas began a special session today.

[Steve Inskeep]

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.

[Sascha Pfeiffer]

The state Republican Party said redistricting is, quote, an essential step to preserving GOP control of Congress. President Trump favors the idea.

[Steve Inskeep]

Just a very simple redrawing. We pick up five seats, but we.

[Daniel Estrin]

Have a couple of other states where.

[Steve Inskeep]

We'Ll pick up seats also. NPR's Hansi Lo Wang is with us now. Hansi, good morning.

[Hansi Lo Wang]

Good morning, Steve.

[Steve Inskeep]

Okay, so normally a state redistricts every 10 years with the census. Why is Texas doing it five years early?

[Hansi Lo Wang]

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.

[Steve Inskeep]

And what was his reasoning for doing this?

[Hansi Lo Wang]

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. A lot of legal experts are skeptical of the letter's reasoning, though, because President Trump has been vocalized. You heard about wanting a new map that he thinks can get Republicans five more seats in Texas.

[Steve Inskeep]

How likely is it that they'll get what they want?

[Hansi Lo Wang]

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 map makers 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. That's a long time for a state that's changing demographically as much as Texas is.

[Steve Inskeep]

Okay, we mentioned other states. What other states might this happen in?

[Hansi Lo Wang]

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 of 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.

[Steve Inskeep]

I feel that I have heard of states sometimes doing a mid decade redistricting before. How unusual is this?

[Hansi Lo Wang]

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, and then, unless they violate any laws, be left alone.

[Michael Kang]

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.

[Hansi Lo Wang]

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.

[Steve Inskeep]

NPR's Hansi Lo Wang, thanks so much.

[Hansi Lo Wang]

You're welcome, Steve.

[Steve Inskeep]

And that's up first for this Monday, July 21st. I'm Steve Inske.

[Sascha Pfeiffer]

And I'm Sacha 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.

[Steve Inskeep]

Until you hear these credits. Today's UP first was edited by Hannah Block, Steve Drummond, Ben Swayze, Janaya Williams and Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Ziad Vaj, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. And our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us tomorrow.

[Michael Kang]

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