Up First from NPR - Israel Strikes Back, Columbia Student Protests, Trump Jury Picked

Episode Date: April 19, 2024

Less than a week after Iran launched air strikes into Israel, Israel appears to have responded. New York City police raided a college campus and arrested more than 100 students protesting the war in Gaza. And 12 New York City residents now hold Donald Trump's fate in their hands.Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today's episode of Up First was edited by Mark Katkov, Larry Kaplow, Dana Farrington and Ben Adler. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Ben Abrams and Nina Kravinsky. We get engineering support from Arthur Laurent, and our technical director is Zac Coleman.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Hey, it's A. Martinez. Just wanted to let you know that today's Up First was recorded at 5 a.m. Eastern Time. Events in the Middle East may have changed by that time when you hear this. You can get the latest on the NPR app or by listening to your local NPR station. Less than a week after Iran launched airstrikes into Israel, Israel appears to have responded. The scale of the attack and the location will send a signal that we do not want escalation. So is this it for now? I'm E. Martinez, that's Leila Fadl, and this is Up First from NPR News. New York City police raided a college campus and arrested more than 100 student protesters.

Today was a dark day for freedom of speech on Columbia's campus. They were demonstrating against the war in Gaza. And Donald Trump has his jury. You know, the whole world is watching this New York scam. Twelve people will decide if the former president is guilty or not guilty. How'd they get picked? Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day. For days, the international community urged restraint after Iran attacked Israel.

Earlier this week, they warned a military response could lead to an all-out regional war. But overnight, it appeared Israel had responded. Iran said it shot down, quote, an unknown object. And at this hour, what exactly happened is unclear. NPR's Rob Schmitz joins us now from Tel Aviv to parse all this out. Good morning, Rob. Good morning. So I know that we're learning more every hour, and there's a lot we still need to understand and learn. But at this point, what can we say about what happened overnight? Well, we know that a senior U.S. military official told NPR that Israel launched missiles at Iran overnight. But there's no evidence we've seen yet that confirms this. NPR has reached out to

Israel's military and Prime Minister's office for comment. But as of yet, they haven't responded. Sources in Iran, however, paint a slightly different picture. Iran's state news agency, IRNA reported this morning that according to an Iranian Brigadier General Mihan Dost, loud booms were heard east of the city of Isfahan, where the sounds of Iranian air defense is intercepting what he called an unknown object. And there were also no signs of casualties or damage to report, he reported. We've seen reports from other state media outlets of Iranian air defense shooting down drones flying over Isfahan, but we've not been able to confirm these reports. But for context here, Leila, this is apparently the latest escalation in what has

been a tense tit-for-tat that began when an airstrike, which Iran blamed on Israel, killed two Iranian commanders in the country's embassy compound in Syria, April 1st, which was then followed by an unprecedented missile and drone attack that Iran launched on Israel last weekend, which was largely intercepted and caused little damage. Okay, you mentioned Israel's government has yet to weigh in on this incident, but what's been the reaction in the region this morning? Well, here in Israel, it's been fairly muted. Commercial flights continue in and out of

Israel's largest airport. And the country's home front command system that's responsible for issuing threat alerts to civilians during these tense times didn't change its threat level. Over in Iran, flights were temporarily grounded this morning, but just a couple hours later were resumed. So it seems that life has returned to a semblance of normalcy there, too. But there has been a reaction from political insiders. NPR spoke to Meir Litvak, director of the Alliance Center for Iranian Studies. And he said, what's interesting about Isfahan as a target is that it's home to part of Iran's nuclear program. And by the way, the International Atomic Energy Agency says there's no damage to Iran's nuclear sites today.

But Litvak says the message to Iran earlier this morning was clear. We have the intelligence, the capability, and the will to attack Iran's most sensitive strategic assets if necessary. At the same time, the scale of the attack and the location will send us a signal that we do not want escalation. That what we want is to end the current round of the T-40 and we don't want escalation. And while that may have been the message from Israel, there's at least one member of Israel's cabinet that feels differently, Israel National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gavir posted in a social media reaction to the attack using the Hebrew slang term for weak. And there's been ongoing debate inside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's war cabinet over the proper response to Iran's attack. And far-right politicians like

Ben-Gavir are pressing for a bigger one. So is it possible, Rob, that this is the end of all this? Well, you know, anything's possible now. We simply don't know at this stage. What's clear is that the United States has warned Israel to do as little as possible to further escalate tensions in the region. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made it clear all along that he will do what he thinks is the right thing to defend Israel.

Whether this is the extent of it remains to be seen. NPR's Rob Schmitz in Tel Aviv. Thank you, Rob. Thank you. The latest flashpoint on U.S. college campuses over the Israel-Hamas war erupted yesterday at Columbia University. It is right to rebel! It is right to rebel! Columbia, go to hell! Columbia, go to hell!

New York City police officers were allowed on campus where they arrested more than 100 people for setting up a protest encampment against the Gaza war on the campus lawn. The protesters are demanding that the university divest from companies that support Israel. Gwen Hogan is a reporter with the local news website, The City. She covered yesterday's demonstration and she joins us now. Hi, Gwen. Hey there. So these scenes at a college campus, I mean, they're quite unusual. City police being allowed on a university campus to break up a protest. What happened? Students set up camp early Wednesday morning, and by the second day of their demonstration, Columbia University President Manoush Shafiq called in the NYPD, saying the encampment presented a clear and present danger to the substantial functioning of the university.

Anyone participating would be suspended from school. And that's when dozens of police officers entered the gated campus in riot gear, arresting students one by one for trespassing. All told, 108 people were arrested by late last night. 108 people arrested. What did the university say about why it took this step to bring in police? President Shafiq said students got multiple warnings to disperse and were in violation of campus protocol

that require advanced notice of demonstrations, among other rules. It should be said there's no indication there was any type of physical violence or altercation leading up to this crackdown. New York City Mayor Eric Adams was asked why the police got involved, and he acknowledged while this was a peaceful demonstration, it was happening on private property, hence the trespassing arrests. So what did you hear from students after this encampment was broken up? As the first crop of protesters were arrested, hundreds more were looking on. They were chanting and marching around the perimeter of the green. I spoke to some who said they were disgusted by

the university's choice to call in police for a non-violent demonstration. And pretty soon they'd taken over a second section of the lawn, vowing to keep the occupation going. Here's Leila Saliba, a social works grad student, speaking at a press conference after the arrests. Today was a dark day for freedom of speech on Columbia's campus because Columbia is showing that if you say something or do something that the university does not agree with, that they are willing to use violence towards you. Now, this is one protest on one campus, but Gwen, we're seeing protests upend college campuses across the country since the war in Gaza began over six months ago, right? That's right. This ongoing war in Gaza has been roiling college campuses for months.

Muslim students and Jewish students have said that they feel targeted at Columbia when I was talking to them yesterday. And universities all across the country are struggling to strike a balance where students are safe and where free speech is protected. In fact, the arrest came just one day after Columbia's president was grilled in Congress over anti-Semitism on campus. Very quickly, how do they strike that balance? I mean, I've seen a lot of concern over what happened at Colombia yesterday from free speech advocates worried that this is a suppression. Organizers I talked to know that Columbia University sets a tone for so many other institutions, both what leadership does and what students do. And they are looking back at historic protests during the Vietnam War, for example. There was a days-long occupation in 1968.

The university called in police who arrested more than 700 students. And then in the 1980s, student protesters called for the university to divest from South Africa during apartheid. So now they're vowing to keep demonstrating, despite the threats of arrest and suspension. Gwen Hogan is a reporter for the local New York City news website, The City. Gwen, thank you. Thank you. Twelve New York City residents now hold Donald Trump's fate in their hands. As his New York criminal trial nears the end of its first

week, the judge and lawyers have selected his jury. Today, they'll continue looking for alternate jurors just in case. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts related to payments made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels. He spoke briefly with reporters outside the courtroom yesterday. Justice is on trial. You know, the whole world is watching this New York scam. NPR political reporter Ximena Bustillo has been at the courthouse this week, joins us now from New York. Ximena, so what can you tell us about the jurors who have been selected? Well, there are 12 jurors and one alternate already chosen, but they do need five more alternates. More than 190 people have been questioned so far, and 100 more

are coming in today, this morning. One thing that has been really interesting is seeing the diverse swath of New Yorkers share details about themselves with some lighthearted moments ahead of a very serious trial. One juror, when asked if she knew any lawyers, she said that she dated one and the relationship ended, quote, fine. Another insisted that he used a flip phone. So he doesn't watch podcasts. And yes, he said watch. Some lamented their lack of hobbies as well when asked about them. All right, so fun at a felony trial, I guess.

Now, the goal, though, is to seat a fair and impartial jury. So how are they doing that? Well, the first thing that the judge has been asking is for them to raise their hands if they believe that they cannot be fair and impartial jury. So how are they doing that? Well, the first thing that the judge has been asking is for them to raise their hands if they believe that they cannot be fair and impartial. Nearly 100 people this week raised their hands and were immediately excused. The next question is if they cannot serve for any other reason. And without question, a few others are then dismissed. Then begins the process of reading 42 questions from an agreed upon questionnaire. What kind of questions? Well, aside from their hobbies, they're being asked about their education, their occupations, their potential connections to Trump,

such as attending a campaign event. And lawyers are asking additional questions, too. The Trump legal team has definitely done their research on these jurors. On Tuesday, there were some prospective jurors who were dismissed because of their social media history. One was dismissed after a discussion of her husband's posts about Trump dating back to 2016 that were critical of the former president. And yesterday, a different juror was brought back in to read out loud her social media posts that called Trump a narcissist, also from 2016, and she was ultimately not

selected. And Trump's just right there, right? Yes, he is right in front of them. When the jurors walk in, they do see him and they answer these questions in front of him. Now, Trump's just right there, right? Yes, he is right in front of them. When the jurors walk in, they do see him and they answer these questions in front of him. Now, Trump's recent civil trials, he's sometimes have gotten rebuked by the judges. What's he been like here so far? Here, he's actually been pretty quiet. Throughout this process, Trump will turn around to look at the jurors as they answer questions. He's often leaning over to talk to his lawyers too, but you have to remember, he's not really happy to be here. He has been arguing that this trial

is interfering with his ability to campaign. He is running for the 2024 presidential race, and he's required to be here in court when it is in session four days a week. But he did have a campaign event after court in Harlem on Tuesday at a bodega, and he has a rally in North Carolina on Saturday night. Apart from the scheduling conflicts, it's also just an uncomfortable environment. This is a pretty dingy Manhattan courthouse. It was cold, which Trump himself complained about, as did many jurors, and the judge noted it. It's confined, and we do have many weeks to go. It's expected that this trial will last at least six weeks.

All right. Bring a sweater. That's NPR's Ximena Bustillo. Thanks a lot. Thank you. And that's Up First for Friday, April 19th. I'm Leila Faldel. And I'm E. Martinez. For more reporting and analysis on Donald Trump's legal battles, check out the NPR podcast, Trump's Trials. We'll have updates throughout the New York City trial and keep tabs on his other cases from Washington, D.C. to Georgia. That's Trump's Trials. Listen now. Dana Farrington and Ben Adler. It was produced by Ziad Butch, Ben Abrams and Nina Kravinsky. We get engineering support from Arthur Lorenz and our technical director is Zach Coleman. And don't forget Up First airs on Saturday too. Aisha Roscoe and Scott Simon have the news. Listen here in this feed. And we'll be back on Monday with the news you need to start your week.