Alyssa Nadworny

The majority of abortions in the U.S. use medication. And telehealth has been a big reason the number of abortions in the U.S. has increased. since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade two years ago. Online providers, including Aid Access, Hey Jane, and WISP, all tell NPR they've seen surges in orders for abortion pills since the presidential election.

Orders for birth control and emergency contraception are also up. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to veto any federal abortion ban, but he can still try to use executive powers to limit access to the medications. That's what many anti-abortion groups hope for. Alyssa Nadworny, NPR News.

The Trump administration's demands included reporting foreign students who commit conduct violations to federal authorities, giving students and faculty less power in university affairs, and having an outside party oversee academic departments for what the administration calls viewpoint diversities.

The changes stem from a federal investigation of Harvard and dozens of other schools over diversity efforts and alleged anti-Semitism on campus. Alyssa Nadwani, NPR News.

Really glad to see that it's scheduled and that, you know, they're holding public comment and

And of course, this also is sending a very clear message from the government that if you speak in a way that the administration disagrees with, you face the potential of punishment.

On Monday, the nation's wealthiest university became the first college to say it would not comply with a list of demands from the federal government, saying they were unlawful. in exchange for federal funds.

The letter, signed by Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, says the administration is terminating Harvard's student exchange certification. That prevents Harvard from enrolling new students and pulls the rug out from under currently enrolled international students.

In a statement, Noem says the administration is holding Harvard accountable for, quote, fostering violence, anti-Semitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party. Harvard says the government's actions are, quote, unlawful. The university has nearly 7,000 international students, roughly one-fourth of the student body. More than a million international students study at U.S.

colleges and universities, contributing more than $43 billion to the U.S. economy. Alyssa Nadwarni, NPR News.

Alyssa Nadworny, NPR News.

My tenacious and proactive approach resulted in numerous important contract wins.

My tenacious and proactive approach resulted in numerous important contract wins.

The lawsuit comes just a few days after President Trump signed an executive order directing the Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, to, quote, take all steps necessary to facilitate the closure of the department.

Trump later announced that the Health and Human Services Department would oversee nutrition programs and special education services, and that the Small Business Administration would take over the federal student loan portfolio, which amounts to about $1.6 trillion in debt. The Education Department was formally created by Congress in 1979. And it cannot be closed without Congress's consent.

So the lawsuit accuses a New York doctor of violating Texas law by providing the two drugs used in an abortion to a pregnant patient living in the state. And the suit says this 20-year-old woman who received the pills ended up in a hospital with complications. There aren't any criminal charges involved. It's a civil suit.

But it seeks up to $250,000 and aims to stop the doctor from continuing to provide abortion medications to patients in Texas. In a statement, Ken Paxton, the Texas AG, said, quote, in Texas, we treasure the health and lives of the mothers and babies. And this is why out-of-state doctors may not illegally and dangerously prescribe abortion-inducing drugs to Texas residents.

So at least eight Democrat-controlled states have enacted these shield laws, like the one in New York. They give abortion providers some protection from criminal prosecution, civil claims, extradition, things like that. But the laws have yet to be tested, so...

This case essentially pits a state with a near total abortion ban against a state with laws that not just protect abortion rights, but specifically protect doctors in the state from prescribing pills to people in other states through telehealth.

So Texas is essentially trying to test what the state of New York is going to do with respect to defending the actions of this doctor who was providing legal care in the state of New York.

Well, the New York Attorney General released a statement saying that New York will, quote, protect our providers from unjust attempts to punish them for doing their job. The governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, who signed the state's shield law, said in a statement she will do everything in her power to enforce the laws of New York State.

David Cohen, a law professor at Drexel University who helped craft that New York law, talked to me yesterday. Here's his take on the legal wrangling between the states.

And yet, despite that, anti-abortion groups are already celebrating the legal challenge.

So the New York doctor is one of the founders of an organization called Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine. They help pass shield laws and offer support for providers doing telehealth abortions. In a statement, they said that the Texas Attorney General was, quote, "...prioritizing his anti-abortion agenda over the health and well-being of women."

Now, Scott, it's worth noting that telehealth has made it much easier for people to access abortion medication. Like even after the Supreme Court stopped decision, which struck down Roe v. Wade, the number of abortions in the U.S. has gone up about a fifth or now via telehealth.

And then you break that down further, medication sent by shield law providers now accounts for as many as 12,000 prescriptions a month.

Well, you know, long-term worry for abortion rights supporters is that this case ends up in federal court and it has the possibility of making it harder for women in states with bans to get abortion pills by mail. But for now, nothing changes. I talked to Angel Foster about this. She runs the Massachusetts Medication Abortion Access Project. They call it the MAP, to be more discreet.

They operate under Massachusetts shield law. They have four OBGYNs that prescribe abortion medication to people no matter which state they live in.

She says the only impact to her organization is that they're going to talk to their lawyers more. Just yesterday, they mailed about 150 pills to people all across the country. The largest number went to Texas. And they predict they'll end up sending about 3,000 pills to people, mainly in states with bans, this month alone.

You bet.

Syrian rebels are gaining momentum as they push their way towards the city of Homs. Government forces were unable to stop the insurgents from taking five towns in less than two weeks. I'm Alyssa Nadwarny. And I'm Ayesha Roscoe, and this is Up First from NPR News. Syrian forces are battling to keep insurgents out of the strategically crucial city of Homs.

We'll have the latest developments on this story. Plus, in South Korea, political chaos after the president declared martial law. He's now facing calls to resign as lawmakers fight over whether to impeach him. We'll have the latest from Seoul. Plus, Pope Francis promotes 21 men to the Catholic Church's College of Cardinals. Stay with us. We have the news you need to start your weekend.

There's unprecedented political upheaval in South Korea this week, which started with the president declaring martial law.

Pope Francis is carrying out a major batch of promotions. He's created 21 new cardinals. But who are these new cardinals and how will they help shape or reshape the Catholic Church under Pope Francis?

They haven't faced much opposition from government forces until today, as they fight to make their way to the city of Homs, less than 90 miles away from the capital Damascus.

Jay Ciz is our technical director, with engineering support from Zach Coleman, David Greenberg, and Arthur Holliday-Lorentz.

And for more news, interviews, sports and music, you can tune in to Weekend Edition on your radio. Go to stations.npr.org to find your local NPR station.

While lawyers from Harvard and the Trump administration were in a packed courtroom in Boston on Thursday, the federal judge, Alison D. Burroughs, voiced concerns that the government was attempting to prevent foreign students from enrolling despite her earlier order blocking the administration's planned actions.

The Trump administration argues that Harvard has violated students' civil rights, including failing to protect Jewish students on campus and using racial discrimination in admissions, and that banning the school from enrolling international students is warranted.

After the judge's order, the White House told NPR that the Trump administration, not judges, should decide if universities can issue student visas. Now, Harvard argues that the administration's actions are retribution, that President Trump is singling out Harvard and violating its First Amendment rights. And... So the case is ongoing for now. Nothing changes for Harvard's international students.

Well, Harvard has nearly 7,000 international students. It's about a quarter of the entire student body. Many of them were at Harvard's graduation ceremony, which was actually happening at the same time as the hearing yesterday. During the commencement, President Alan Garber addressed the graduates with a nod to the ongoing lawsuit.

Now, the audience gave him a standing ovation for that line. I've been in touch with Ella Rickett. She's a first-year student from Canada studying at Harvard, and she's hesitant to call this order a victory.

Exactly. You know, there are more than a million international students enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities, from community college to regional publics to Ivy League. India sends the most students to the U.S., followed by China. And, Steve, these students bring about $43 billion to the U.S. economy every year. Wow. University leaders are worried, obviously.

And a lot have told me that international applications are down compared to last year.

So Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the department would work to, quote, aggressively revoke visas of Chinese students, including those with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

Now, Steve, it is worth reminding listeners that in Trump's first administration back in 2020, officials canceled visas of more than a thousand Chinese graduate students and researchers because they had direct ties to military universities in China. So it's a familiar move in the Trump foreign policy playbook.

So on Thursday, Kristi Noem, the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, sent a letter to Harvard saying the administration is terminating Harvard student exchange certification, which means the school can no longer sponsor student visas. That prevents Harvard from enrolling new students and pulls the rug out from under currently enrolled students.

In a statement, Noem says the administration is holding Harvard accountable for, quote, fostering violence and anti-Semitism and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party. She encouraged current students to transfer.

So they were swift in filing a new lawsuit. In it, they accused the Trump administration of retaliating against Harvard for exercising its First Amendment rights. In a letter to campus, Harvard's president, Alan Garber, called the action unwarranted and said it imperils the future of thousands of scholars.

Harvard is already suing the Trump administration over research funding cuts related to accusations of anti-Semitism on campus. That trial is set to start in July.

Well, the university has nearly 7,000 international students, roughly one-fourth of the student body. We spoke to several of them. One senior from Canada told us she's worried about whether she'll be able to graduate next week. The students we talked to asked not to be named because they fear retaliation from the U.S. government for speaking out.

Another student at Harvard, a third-year undergrad from Europe, told us he came to the U.S. to study to be a professor.

It could, A. I talked with Sean Carver about this. He's the executive director at International House at UC Berkeley.

So it could just be that the administration is having a spat with Harvard, but Carver says other institutions are fearful. This isn't the first time that international students have been a target of the administration. Earlier this semester, the government revoked hundreds of student visas, but then reversed that decision.

You know, more than a million international students study at U.S. colleges and universities. And Carver says international student applications are way down. And he says it's likely because students are looking at Europe, Asia, and Canada for college. And that could ultimately have a big impact on the U.S. economy.

One report found last year international students contributed more than $43 billion.

You bet.