Israel Strikes Qatar, ICE In Chicago, MAHA and Kids

Summary

Up First (NPR) – September 10, 2025

Episode Title: Israel Strikes Qatar, ICE In Chicago, MAHA and Kids
Hosts: Leila Fadel, Michele Martin, Steve Inskeep
Length: ~10 minutes

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the day’s three biggest stories:

1. Israel’s unprecedented military strike on Hamas targets in Qatar’s capital, Doha.
2. The Trump administration’s surge of ICE agents into Chicago and its political aftermath.
3. New White House recommendations on children’s health, their scientific basis, and reactions from experts.

---

1. Israel’s Attack on Hamas in Doha, Qatar

Segment Start: [02:51]

Key Discussion Points

• The Incident:

  • Israel conducted airstrikes targeting senior Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar’s capital—a first-of-its-kind action against a key U.S. ally and major regional mediator.
  • The attack occurred just before 4pm local time; multiple blasts across several locations led to chaos in typically peaceful Doha.
  • Israel claimed Hamas leaders “directly responsible for the October 7th attack of 2023” were targeted, but no top officials were killed.

• Casualties:

  • 6 people died (per Hamas): the son of a Hamas official, the head of his office, three others with no titles, and a Qatari security officer.
  • No senior Hamas figures were reported killed.

• Qatar's Response:

  • Qatar’s Prime Minister labeled the attack “state terrorism” and said there was no forewarning.
  • He called Israel a “rogue player” sabotaging peace efforts, highlighting Qatar’s central role—at U.S. urging—in mediating between Israel and Hamas.

• Impact on Peace Talks:

  • The attack puts future Gaza ceasefire negotiations in jeopardy as Hamas’ negotiators were among the primary targets.
  • Ongoing talks, hostages’ releases, and potential future mediation roles are now highly uncertain.

Notable Quotes

• On the Atmosphere in Doha:

  “It was just before 4pm here when explosions rang out in the capital in several locations. Videos showed pedestrians screaming and running for cover on the street. … This was a stunning attack.”
  — Eya Batrawi, NPR ([03:23])

• On Israel’s Motive:

  “Israel's military claimed responsibility for it, saying it was targeting senior Hamas leaders who it says were, quote, directly responsible for the October 7th attack of 2023 on Israel.”
  — Eya Batrawi ([03:26])

• On Mediation Going Forward:

  “It is hard to see how Qatar might actually come and host Israel's top security brass here again after these attacks, or if Hamas would remain in Doha, especially given that Israel did not achieve its mission here.”
  — Eya Batrawi ([05:01])

• On Impact for Hostages & War:

  “For people in Gaza, their suffering, displacement, the killing of civilians every day continues with no end in sight. And the families of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza say the chance of bringing them back now faces greater uncertainty than ever before.”
  — Eya Batrawi ([06:00])

---

2. Trump Administration’s ICE Operation in Chicago

Segment Start: [06:41]

Key Discussion Points

• ICE Deployment:

  • The Trump administration launched “Midway Blitz,” surging up to 300 immigration agents to Chicago.
  • This move followed the President’s bluster on social media, referencing war movies and threatening federal troop deployment (which is legally restricted).

• Local Reaction:

  • Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker strongly opposed the operation, decrying its method and intent.
  • Pritzker criticized Trump’s strategy and legal maneuvering, worried about the impact on both documented and undocumented immigrants.

• Legal & Civil Rights Issues:

  • Recent Supreme Court rulings on agency conduct (regarding “racial profiling” in L.A.) muddy the waters on ICE’s authority.
  • Concerns raised about people with legal but incomplete documentation being harassed or detained.

• Political Strategy:

  • Pritzker is wary about engaging directly with the President:

    “Asking for any kind of help or having that conversation with him will become evidence in a case that I was asking for help, and therefore he's gonna send in military troops.”
    ([09:52])

Notable Quotes

• On Trump’s Approach:

  “It's almost like he's bipolar because on one hand, he is attacking Chicago and announces that this is Shipocalypse and he wants to make it like Apocalypse now and attack our city. On the other hand … maybe I'll go somewhere else.”
  — Gov. J.B. Pritzker ([07:28])

• On Legal Concerns:

  “I'm deeply concerned, particularly for people who have partial documentation who are here legally, but they may not be U.S. citizens. ... nothing that they will carry will be good enough for ICE.”
  — Gov. J.B. Pritzker ([09:16])

---

3. The White House’s “Make Our Children Healthy Again” (MAHA) Recommendations

Segment Start: [10:38]

Key Discussion Points

• Scope of the Report:

  • Over 100 recommendations—ranging from reinstating the presidential fitness test to promoting breastfeeding and focusing on nutrition.

• Controversial Aspects:

  • Heavy emphasis on “addressing vaccine injuries” and crafting a “new vaccine framework.”
  • Secretary RFK Jr.’s known skepticism is reflected; report calls for studying root causes of autism and reviews to the vaccine schedule.

• Expert Reactions:

  • Dr. Peter Hotez (Baylor):

    “‘Addressing vaccine injuries.’ That has become their euphemism for saying vaccines cause autism or neurodevelopmental disabilities. So it’s more the same RFK pseudoscience.” ([11:45])

  • Maria Godoy notes decades of research have debunked the vaccines-autism link.

• Nutrition:

  • Strong focus on diet and physical activity gets praise from public health experts (e.g., Dariush Mozaffarian, Tufts).
  • Praised proposals: closing the “generally recognized as safe” food additive loophole.
  • Criticism: Not enough action against ultra-processed foods.
  • Joel Berg (Hunger Free America) notes a disconnect—administration canceled a successful fresh-produce-in-schools program.

• Gaps in the Report:

  • Almost silent on chemical exposures—despite previous administration reports highlighting them.
  • Dr. Philip Landrigan (Boston College):

    “The report says nothing about controlling or reducing children's exposures to those chemicals that are known to be hazards.” ([13:54])

Notable Quotes

• On Nutrition and Safety Loopholes:

  “Another action item that Mazaffarian applauded from the report was a call to close what's called the generally recognized as safe loophole. It's basically allows food companies to use ingredients that have not undergone a formal safety review by doing their own research to declare it safe.”
  — Maria Godoy ([12:22])

• On Missed Chemical Safety:

  “We know full well that many of the chemicals to which children are exposed are already damaging health. ... Unfortunately, this report says nothing about controlling or reducing children's exposures to those chemicals that are known to be hazards.”
  — Dr. Philip Landrigan ([13:47–13:54])

---

Memorable Moments & Soundbites

• “This was a stunning attack … Israel missed its target. It did not kill any senior Hamas officials.”
  — Eya Batrawi ([03:23], [03:39])

• “Nothing that they will carry will be good enough for ICE.”
  — Gov. J.B. Pritzker ([09:16])

• “That has become their euphemism for saying vaccines cause autism or neurodevelopmental disabilities. So it's more the same RFK pseudoscience.”
  — Dr. Peter Hotez ([11:45])

• “Unfortunately, this report says nothing about controlling or reducing children's exposures to those chemicals that are known to be hazards.”
  — Dr. Philip Landrigan ([13:54])

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Topic | Timestamp | |----------------------------------------|------------| | Israel attacks Hamas figures in Qatar | [02:51] | | Fallout & diplomatic impact | [03:09–06:28] | | Chicago ICE operation & reactions | [06:41] | | Legal and civil rights concerns | [08:42–09:52] | | Children’s health recommendations | [10:38] | | Expert critiques & nutrition policy | [12:22–13:32] | | Missed issues: chemical exposures | [13:34–14:00] |

---

Conclusion

This episode underscores (1) escalating Middle East conflict and diplomatic realignments, (2) the polarized use of federal power in immigration enforcement, and (3) contentious efforts to shape children’s health policy—against a backdrop of science and political perspectives. Throughout, the hosts and guests offer clear explanations, expert critique, and an exploration of the real-life impacts for listeners.

---

For further detail: listen to the full episode or access extended coverage on NPR.org.

Transcript

[Layla Faldil]

Israel tried to kill Hamas leaders in an attack on Qatar's capital.

[Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker]

We got to get the hostages back, but I was very unhappy about the way that went down.

[Michelle Martin]

Can the talks over the war in Gaza continue after this attack?

[Layla Faldil]

I'm Layla Faldil. That's Michelle Martin. And this is up first from NPR News. Immigration agents are in Chicago as part of a new operation by the Trump administration.

[Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker]

He is attacking Chicago and announces that this is Shipocalypse and he wants to make it like Apocalypse now and attack our city.

[Layla Faldil]

Illinois Governor JP Pritzker told our co host Steve Inskeep what that means for people in his state.

[Michelle Martin]

And the White House releases new health recommendations for children. How much of it is based on science? Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day.

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[Michelle Martin]

Fisher Investments is a fiduciary and I think one of the very important roles we have here as a fiduciary is to help expand people's thinking about what this money is needed to do for them.

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[Michelle Martin]

Qatar's capital, Doha, were rocked with explosions yesterday after Israel bombed Hamas's office and its residences there.

[Layla Faldil]

It marks the first attack of its kind by Israel on Qatar, a US Ally that's been hosting Hamas leaders in exile and is a mediator in the war in Gaza.

[Michelle Martin]

Here to tell us more about the attack and the fallout is NPR international correspondent Eya Batrawi, who is in Doha this morning. Eha, good morning. Thanks for joining us.

[Eya Batrawi]

Good morning, Michelle.

[Michelle Martin]

So could you just start with explaining what exactly happened in Qatar yesterday?

[Eya Batrawi]

Sure. So it was just before 4pm here when explosions rang out in the capital in several locations. Videos showed pedestrians screaming and running for cover on the street. And Doha is a city where the last FIFA World cup was played. It's a major international travel hub. And this is where Trump came in May and lavished praise on the leadership here, but because it hosts thousands of U.S. troops. So this was a stunning attack. And Israel's military claimed responsibility for it, saying it was targeting senior Hamas leaders who it says were, quote, directly responsible for the October 7th attack of 2023 on Israel. Now, one of the bombings targeted Hamas's office here in Doha. This is where I and other reporters have sat in interviews with the group's political leaders, some of whom say the decision to attack Israel actually came from its military wing Inside Gaza on October 7, not from them that they did not have prior knowledge of it. Either way, Israel missed its target. It did not kill any senior Hamas officials. Instead, it killed six people, according to Hamas, among them Hamas officials son, the head of his office, three others with no titles with Hamas, and a Qatari security officer.

[Michelle Martin]

And what is Qatar saying about this attack?

[Eya Batrawi]

Well, Qatar's prime minister describes this as state terrorism, and Qataris say they had no forewarning of the attack. So speaking from a podium last night, Qatar's prime minister said the attack on Qatar's soil is a message to the region that Israel is a rogue player and that this attack is proof that Israel has worked to sabotage every attempt to achieve peace. And here I'll note that Qatar says its role as mediator and as host of Hamas's political leaders in exile has long been at the behest of successive US Administrations. And also keep in mind that for nearly two years now, Qatar and Egypt have served as mediators between Israel and Hamas, hosting both sides in talks, some of them here at hotels in Doha, where mediators shuffle between floors to deliver messages between the two sides. And they've successfully mediated during Israel's war in Gaza, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees, though a deal to end the war remains out of reach. Now it is hard to see how Qatar might actually come and host Israel's top security brass here again after these attacks, or if Hamas would remain in Doha, especially given that Israel did not achieve its mission here.

[Michelle Martin]

So as we understand this, Israel just tried to kill the Hamas officials who are responsible for negotiating ceasefire proposals, if I have that right. So how might this attack affect those efforts to end the war in Gaza?

[Eya Batrawi]

That is correct, yeah. And this was a unilateral Israeli decision, according to President Trump. He spoke with Qatar Zamir after the attack yesterday and said the US Was not on board with it. Now, what we're hearing from Israeli officials like the defense minister and others is they are calling this now a, quote, message. They say Israel will continue to pursue Hamas and that if the group does not surrender, they and Gaza will be annihilated. So what this means for the war is that for people in Gaza, their suffering, displacement, the killing of civilians every day continues with no end in sight. And the families of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza say the chance of bringing them back now faces greater uncertainty than ever before.

[Michelle Martin]

That is NPR international correspondent Aya Bertrawi. Aya, thank you.

[Eya Batrawi]

Thank you, Michelle.

[Michelle Martin]

Illinois Governor J.B. pritzker is criticizing the Trump administration's surge of federal agents into Chicago.

[Layla Faldil]

The administration has not sent in National Guard troops as threatened in recent days. It has instead sent federal immigration agents in an operation that it's calling Midway Blitz.

[Michelle Martin]

As the operation got underway, the governor spoke with Steve Inskeep, who is in Chicago, and he's with us now. Good morning, Steve.

[Steve Inskeep]

Good morning, Michelle.

[Michelle Martin]

So what are the president's latest moves in Chicago and how is the governor responding?

[Steve Inskeep]

Well, the president sent two big signals in recent days. One was a social media meme that played off a war movie and showed choppers moving in on Chicago. He later denied he was going to war. And the other is announcing the immigration surge. Here's how the Democratic Governor Pritzker described it to me.

[Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker]

It's almost like he's bipolar because on one hand, he is attacking Chicago and announces that this is shipocalypse and he wants to make it like Apocalypse now and attack our city. On the other hand, he says, well, maybe I'll go somewhere else. Maybe we'll go to Portland or maybe we'll go to New Orleans. So it's really hard to tell what's evolving at the White House.

[Steve Inskeep]

But do you think that what's happened is that perhaps he's realized that he cannot legally send the National Guard without your request, and so he perhaps needs to lean more on immigration authorities, which he can send in.

[Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker]

I don't know. Donald Trump doesn't seem to follow the law all that much or listen to people who would tell him what's legal and what's not. I hope so, though, because it's not legal for him to send military troops into the city of Chicago.

[Steve Inskeep]

But Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are here. Local officials think up to 300 people operating out of a naval station north of the city, and they do not need Pritzker's permission to be here. Michelle, the government says they're conducting this operation in honor of an Illinois woman who was killed in a drunk driving incident by a driver who was in the country without legal status.

[Michelle Martin]

And.

[Steve Inskeep]

And local officials have been tracking arrests in various parts of the city, and.

[Michelle Martin]

ICE may have more leeway to question people. The Supreme Court ruled on what agents can do on the street. How does that affect what's going on in Chicago?

[Steve Inskeep]

Michelle? It's not clear because the court gave no explanation for its ruling at all. We do know that this involved what was called racial profiling in Los Angeles, and the ruling seems to say that agents may question people who work in day labor or who don't speak English well or have a certain ethnicity. And Governor Pritzker said he was dismayed that many people will now need to carry proof of their status.

[Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker]

Look, I'm deeply concerned, particularly for people who have partial documentation who are here legally, but they may not be U.S. citizens. Right. They've got permission to be here. I'm particularly worried for them because nothing that they will carry will be good enough for ice.

[Michelle Martin]

So, Steve, do we have a sense from your reporting there where this is all going?

[Steve Inskeep]

Well, I do think it's not about to end. The president keeps saying he wants Pritzker to call him and ask for troops to help with crime. Pritzker hasn't says he's not. But I asked if he might call the president anyway to invite some other cooperation or accommodation, and he said no.

[Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker]

Asking for any kind of help or having that conversation with him will become evidence in a case that I was asking for help, and therefore he's gonna send in military troops. That's the challenge in this, Mom. But, look, he has been conversing with me by standing up in front of television cameras. I am conversing with him by standing up in front of television cameras.

[Steve Inskeep]

This was a video interview that we were doing Michelle. Now, Pritzker did express confidence that the immigration surge will subside eventually because he thinks before long agents will have to be deployed in some other city.

[Michelle Martin]

Our co host, Steve Inskeep in Chicago. You can watch his full interview with Governor [e-mail] Steve, thank you.

[Steve Inskeep]

You're welcome.

[Michelle Martin]

The Trump administration has released more than 100 recommendations it says should be taken to improve children's health.

[Layla Faldil]

The new Make Our Children Healthy Again strategy is a follow up to a May report that outlined what it identified as the drivers of chronic health conditions affecting children.

[Michelle Martin]

Here to tell us more is NPR health correspondent Maria Godoy. Maria, good morning.

[Maria Godoy]

Good morning.

[Michelle Martin]

So give us the overview.

[Maria Godoy]

So this report serves up a smorgasbord of action items that the administration says should be implemented to increase the health of children, you know, from reinstating the presidential fitness test in schools to promoting breastfeeding. Now, I'd say a hefty portion of the recommendations deal with nutrition research and education for kids, but it also calls for studying the root causes of autism and for creating what he calls a new vaccine framework.

[Michelle Martin]

Now, Secretary RFK Jr. Is a well known vaccine skeptic. Does this report call for outright changes in vaccine policy?

[Maria Godoy]

It calls for making sure that America has, quote, the best childhood vaccine schedule. And it also calls for, quote, addressing vaccine injuries. I spoke with Dr. Peter Hotez with Baylor College of Medicine. Here's what he said.

[Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker]

Addressing vaccine injuries.

[Michelle Martin]

That has become their euphemism for saying.

[Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker]

Vaccines cause autism or neurodevelopmental disabilities. So it's more the same RFK pseudoscience.

[Maria Godoy]

In the past, Kennedy has made statements linking autism with vaccines, even though dozens of studies have thoroughly debunked that claim.

[Michelle Martin]

Maria, you mentioned earlier that nutrition is a big focus of this report. And I do have to mention that when former first lady Michelle Obama tried to call attention to diet and exercise for school kids, some conservatives ridiculed her for it. So what does RFK's report call for?

[Maria Godoy]

Well, overall, it puts a big emphasis on physical activity and especially diet in determining the health of kids. And that's something every public health expert I spoke with said was indeed the right place to focus. Dr. Dariush Mazaffarian is at Tufts University. He praised the report's broad focus on nutrition. Another action item that Mazaffarian applauded from the report was a call to close what's called the generally recognized as safe loophole. It's basically allows food companies to use ingredients that have not undergone a formal safety review by doing their own research to declare it safe.

[Michelle Martin]

So that's a really, really big deal. Again, overturning, you know, 35 years of basically open door policy for food industry to do whatever it wants with food additives.

[Maria Godoy]

But, you know, other public health advocates say that the report is overall light on specific details and does not actually crack down on ultra processed foods, something that Kennedy has called for repeatedly. And they say that in the big picture, the administration has taken other moves that undermine nutrition. Joel Berg is the CEO of Hunger Free America. He notes that the report calls for serving fresh local produce in schools, but the administration canceled a program that did that.

[Michelle Martin]

What didn't we get in this report?

[Maria Godoy]

Well, the first MAHA report identified chemical exposures as a driver of chronic illness in kids. But Dr. Philip Landrigan with Boston College said this one was basically silent on those issues.

[Michelle Martin]

We know full well that many of.

[Steve Inskeep]

The chemicals to which children are exposed.

[Michelle Martin]

Are already damaging health.

[Steve Inskeep]

And unfortunately, this report says nothing about.

[Michelle Martin]

Controlling or reducing children's exposures to those chemicals that are known to be hazards.

[Maria Godoy]

He says the report does not present a comprehensive blueprint for improving the health of America's Children.

[Michelle Martin]

That is NPR's Maria Kojoy. Maria, thank you.

[Maria Godoy]

My pleasure.

[Michelle Martin]

And that's up first for Wednesday, September 10th. I'm Michelle Martin.

[Layla Faldil]

And I'm Layla Falden. Thanks for listening to up first. You can find in depth coverage of the stories we talked about today along with other news on NPR's Morning Edition, the radio show that Michelle Martin, Steve Inskeep, a Martinez and I host. Find MORNING EDITION on your local NPR station@stations npr.org or on the NPR app.

[Michelle Martin]

Today's episode of Up first was edited by Miguel Macias, Rina Advani, Giselle Grayson, Mohamed El Bardisi and Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Ziad Butch, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Damien Herring and our technical directors, Carly Strange. We hope you'll join us again tomorrow.

[Judy Abrams / Fisher Investments Announcer]

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