NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-18-2025 11AM EDT

Episode Date: March 18, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington on Kurova Coleman, Israel says it's continuing its airstrikes in Gaza. Health authorities in Gaza say more than 400 Palestinians have been killed. NPR's Kat Lonsdorf reports the airstrikes started overnight. Suleiman Greger says he was asleep with his wife in their home outside of Gaza City when they awoke to the sound of the house next door being hit by a strike. He says he thought it was a bad dream at first. He told NPR's Anas Baba that he was buried under the rubble, but was pulled out.

They spoke at the Al-Akhli hospital. I was expecting the ceasefire to continue and for things to get better, he says. We need the world to intervene. Israel says it launched the surprise attacks to pressure Hamas to release more Israeli hostages. Hamas has said it would release more hostages, but not under a new ceasefire agreement

that Israel, along with the U.S., has been pushing. Kat Lonsdorf, MPR News, Tel Aviv. In the U.S., a federal judge has set a deadline for one hour from now for the Justice Department. By then, agency officials are supposed to provide U.S. District Judge James Boasberg with a sworn written statement. This is supposed to offer details about U.S. flights over the weekend that deported hundreds of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador.

The judge had initially given a verbal order for the planes to be turned around. But NPR's Franco Ortonius reports that didn't happen. The controversy is whether the U.S. government defied a legal court order, which would be a potential breakdown between the executive branch and the judicial branch. And many legal experts say this would create a major constitutional crisis. Now the White House says they did not ignore the court and they're painting this as a counterterrorism operation. NPR's Franco Ordonia is reporting.

Meanwhile, President Trump has excoriated a federal judge this morning, writing online Trump blasted an unnamed judge, saying the judge should be impeached. The post appears to be directed at Judge Boesberg. The U.S. Surgeon General's Office has taken down a Biden-era advisory. It called gun violence a public health crisis. NPR's Martin Costey reports gun rights groups are welcoming the move. Last year, President Biden's Surgeon General declared gun violence a public health crisis, angering gun rights groups who saw this as an attempt to pathologize gun ownership.

Now the government has taken down the advisory and related websites in response to a February executive order by President Trump. Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, welcomes the change. Gun ownership is not a communicable disease. It's not a health issue. That's what bothers us. It's intellectual dishonesty. But gun control groups such as Gifford say guns do pose a risk to public health given that shootings have become the leading cause of death for

American kids ages 1 through 17. Martin Kasti, NPR News. On Wall Street the Dow is now down more than 300 points. This is NPR. The Texas Attorney General says authorities have arrested two people and accused them of illegally providing abortions. One of those arrested is a midwife in the Houston area. The other is her employee. The pair are charged with violating Texas's near total ban on abortions. This is the first time the state statute has been used to charge people. Harvard University is offering free tuition to more undergraduate students who may not otherwise be able to afford the Ivy League school.

NPR's Kristen Wright reports the university says it's aiming to bring together students from many different backgrounds. Harvard announced students whose families earn $200,000 or less will get free tuition starting this fall. Students with family incomes of $100,000 or below will get a full free ride, including housing and health insurance. This comes as some colleges and universities

try to figure out how to balance campus diversity goals and the Supreme Court's 2023 decision banning race-conscious admissions programs at colleges and universities. Harvard was at the center of the pivotal case. After the ruling, black and Hispanic student enrollment fell at Harvard and other schools. Harvard costs about $82,000 a year, including room and board. That's more than the median household income in the U.S.

Kristen Wright, NPR News. The National Weather Service is warning fire conditions exist from New Mexico into Oklahoma today. There are powerful winds and exceptionally dry weather. Wildfires in Oklahoma have already killed at least four people. The city of Stillwater says at least 74 homes and other structures have been destroyed by wildfires. I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News.