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Today's top stories
In an effort to crack down on student activists who support Palestinians, the U.S. has revoked hundreds of visas, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said yesterday at a press conference. He is delivering on President Trump's promise to deport noncitizens whose activism he claims supports Hamas terrorism and is antisemitic. This week, over a thousand people outside of Boston took to the streets to call on the government to free Tufts University PhD student Rumeysa Ozturk. Federal agents in plain clothes and face masks arrested her. The agents plan to deport her.
- ๐ง Ozturk published an op-ed last year in the student paper criticizing her school's leaders for not condemning the war in Gaza as part of her pro-Palestinian activism, NPR's Adrian Florido tells Up First. The Department of Homeland Security said that Ozturk "engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization." Her lawyers say the allegations are baseless. Because Rubio revoked hundreds of these activists' visas, they became immediately deportable.
The Trump administration announced yesterday that it is planning a major restructuring of the Department of Health and Human Services, including cutting 20,000 employees. HHS includes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Medicare and Medicaid, the National Institutes of Health, and other smaller divisions. HHS states that the job cuts will save $1.8 billion.
- ๐ง NPR's Selena Simmons-Duffin says her inbox was flooded with shocked responses to the news yesterday from Democratic lawmakers, nurses groups, public health groups and more. "They say this isn't an overhaul; it's a wrecking ball." The hardest hit agencies will be the CDC, FDA and the Administration for Community Living, which helps seniors and people with disabilities live independently. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said they have two goals with the restructuring: saving taxpayers' money and improving their quality of service.
Trump announced yesterday he was pulling his nomination of Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., to be ambassador to the United Nations. Stefanik was Trump's last pick set to appear in front of the Senate for approval. Her nomination was expected to clear the Senate easily, but Republicans are concerned about holding on to their thin majority in the House, where Trump has asked her to stay.
- ๐ง The Republican party can only afford to lose one or two votes on most bills, so Stefanik's departure would make things harder, NPR's Elena Moore says. Trump wrote on social media yesterday that the party needed to maintain every seat it could. Since the fall, two other Republicans have left office: former Congressmen Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz, both from Florida. Special elections are currently underway for their seats. Waltz's seat is shaping up to be more competitive than expected, and Republicans don't want to risk any more potential races.
Deep dive
An Israeli strike on a Gaza apartment building killed 132 members of the Abu Naser family on Oct. 29, 2024. It is one of the deadliest Israeli attacks of the war in Gaza. After the strike, the Israeli military said it was targeting an "enemy spotter" but declined to release visual evidence. The few survivors documented the dead, writing down the names and ages on two pages of paper. NPR wanted to go beyond the numbers, so our reporters worked with journalists in Gaza to convert the handwritten lists into a database detailing the four generations of the family. The team developed a visual investigation using photos, videos, maps, satellite imagery, drone footage and a mapped-out family tree. As you scroll through the story, you'll get more immersed and learn about the family members. Check your inboxes for Sunday's Up First newsletter this weekend to hear from two of the journalists who worked on this project as they take us through their work.
Weekend picks
Check out what NPR is watching, reading and listening to this weekend:
๐ฟ Movies: A roadkill unicorn, a family of greedy pharmaceutical moguls and an innocent teenager are the key elements in Death of a Unicorn, starring Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega. This horror comedy and more are hitting theaters today.
๐บ TV: Dope Thief stars Brian Tyree Henry as a man who robs small-time drug dealers by posing as a DEA agent. His luck runs out when he messes with the wrong house. Listen to why Pop Culture Happy Hour says the crime thriller series stands out.
๐ Books: Amanda Knox's memoir Free: My Search for Meaning goes beyond the events of her trial, imprisonment and eventual exoneration for the murder of her roommate and explores how she rebuilt her life. Knox's book is just one of the new releases this week. Here are four other reads to add to your list.
๐ต Music: British soul singer Cleo Sol made her long-awaited New York City debut, guiding fans in a spiritual healing. NPR's Sidney Madden says Sol is a rarity because she rejects the current business model in the music industry and instead focuses on art as a message of higher power. Listen to some of her music here.
๐ฎ Gaming: From cooperative platformers to historical epics, NPR staff and contributors have rounded up the latest from the best and biggest games of 2025 so far.
3 things to know before you go
- The Sundance Film Festival will move to Boulder, Colo., in 2027. It has been in Utah for over 40 years.
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection said this week that seizures of raw eggs have risen 48% at the borders compared to last year. The egg seizures are outpacing border officials' interception of fentanyl.
- South Korea has admitted its agencies mishandled adoptions after an investigation sparked by hundreds of complaints from adoptees. It has been one of the top countries sending babies abroad for adoption for decades.
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
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