Up First from NPR – August 28, 2025

Hosts: Michelle Martin & Layla Fadel
Episode Focus:
The episode covers three urgent stories: a mass shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school, the abrupt firing of the CDC director and senior resignations, and exclusive reporting on U.S. policy debates over humanitarian aid to Gaza.

1. Minneapolis Mass Shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church

Main points:

• Incident Recap (03:53):

  • Heavily armed 23-year-old former student Robin Westman shot through stained glass windows into Annunciation Catholic Church during a school mass.
  • Two children, aged 8 and 10, were killed, and 14 more children and 3 adults wounded.

• Victims & Community Response:

  • The community held vigils in response to the tragedy (03:06).
  • Victims included children as well as parishioners in their 80s.

• Eyewitness Accounts:

  • 10-year-old Weston Halsney recounted:

    "I just ran under the pew and then I covered my head. My friend Victor like saved me though because he laid on top of me but he got hit." (03:48)

  • Victor survived a gunshot wound.

• First Responders & Support:

  • Local resident Pat Scallen described confusion at first:

    "I thought at first that the gunshots were a roofing crew with pneumatic nail guns, but I realized quickly that it was rifle fire." (05:16)

  • Scallen helped wounded children until ambulances arrived.

• Suspect & Police Response:

  • Robin Westman fired from outside and died of a self-inflicted gunshot (06:04).
  • All weapons were legally purchased.
  • Westman scheduled a disturbing video to post at the time of the attack; the FBI had it removed from YouTube (06:04).

• Community & Leadership Response:

  • Vigils planned; Archbishop Hebda read a condolence message from Pope Leo XIV:

    "[The Pope was] profoundly saddened to learn of the loss of life and injuries in the shooting. He sends his heartfelt condolences to everyone affected." (06:42)

2. CDC Director Fired amid Senior Staff Exodus

Main points:

• Firing & Confusion:

  • HHS announced the firing of CDC Director Susan Menares, less than a month after her swearing-in (07:30).
  • Menares’s attorneys insisted she had not resigned and hadn’t been notified of her firing by the White House (07:30).

• Background:

  • Menares is a microbiologist and federal career scientist, Trump's second choice for the post (07:58).
  • The CDC had recently faced significant budget cuts and even a violent incident where a gunman attacked the agency, killing a police officer (07:58).

• Senior Leadership Resignations:

  • Multiple high-ranking CDC officials resigned the same day, including the chief medical officer and immunization chief (08:53).
  • Dimitri Deskalakis (Director, Immunizations & Respiratory Diseases) wrote:

    "Having to retrofit analyses and policy actions to match inadequately thought out announcements in poorly scripted videos or page long ex posts should not be how organizations responsible for the health of people should function." (09:32)

  • Deskalakis also noted experts were not allowed to brief Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

• Legal Dispute:

  • Susan Menares’s lawyer, Mark Zaid, declared:

    "[Only] the president himself can fire her... we reject notification that Dr. Minares has received as legally deficient and she remains as CDC director." (09:48)

• Underlying Causes:

  • NPR’s source said tensions with HHS leadership at a recent meeting likely led to this abrupt shakeup:

    “It leaves CDC without a director and without really senior staff leaders at a time when the agency is really struggling.” (10:18)

3. Exclusive: Inside Biden Administration’s Contentious Policy on Gaza Aid

Main points:

• NPR Investigation:

  • Based on conversations with over two dozen former senior officials directly involved in U.S. policy toward Israel’s war in Gaza (11:03).
  • The crisis approaches two years; severe humanitarian crisis for Gaza’s 2 million residents (11:03).

• Internal Debates:

  • Many officials say the administration’s interventions “prevented famine,” but none claim the U.S. “did enough.”

    "Nobody can say we did enough. You can say we made a difference. It could have been worse. But others argued that's not the standard by which to measure success here." (11:36, paraphrased)

• Arguments Inside the Administration:

  • There were heated debates about using U.S. leverage (such as withholding weapons) to press Israel to allow more aid, versus giving Israel operational space following the October 7 attacks (12:27).
  • U.S. officials, including President Biden, personally pressured Israeli counterparts on aid specifics.

• Challenges on the Ground:

  • Alicia Ewers, former U.S. official:

    "The situation on the ground was so dire that you were always playing catch up. You were always trying to get ahead of the problem when in fact you were very far behind." (13:28)

• Current State under the Trump Administration:

  • The U.S. is now “largely allowing Israel to do what it wants” (13:46).
  • Aid organizations state the U.S. no longer exerts the same pressure on Israel to allow aid into Gaza.

• Quote on Repercussions:

  • Former senior U.S. official:

    "It's a stain which everyone in the world sees, even if we don't." (14:12)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Weston Halsney (witness, age 10):

  "I just ran under the pew and then I covered my head. My friend Victor like saved me though because he laid on top of me but he got hit." (03:48)

• Dimitri Deskalakis (CDC official):

  "Having to retrofit analyses and policy actions to match inadequately thought out announcements... should not be how organizations responsible for the health of people should function." (09:32)

• Alicia Ewers (former U.S. official):

  "The situation on the ground was so dire that you were always playing catch up." (13:28)

• Former senior U.S. official on Gaza crisis:

  "It's a stain which everyone in the world sees, even if we don't." (14:12)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• Mass Shooting in Minneapolis: 02:53 – 07:11
• CDC Director Fired: 07:24 – 10:37
• Biden Administration & Gaza Aid: 10:49 – 14:24

This episode delivers a sobering look at a community in grief, federal turmoil at the CDC, and the complex moral and policy dilemmas shaping U.S. global standing and humanitarian action.