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Chapter 1: Who is Aisha Harris and what is NPR Plus?
Hey, it's Aisha Harris from Pop Culture Happy Hour. If you love NPR podcasts, you'll want the new NPR Plus podcast bundle. Enjoy an all you can eat selection of NPR Plus podcasts with sponsor free listening and bonus episodes. Plus, you'll be supporting public radio. Check it out at plus.npr.org.
Chapter 2: What is the case of Kilmar Abrego-Garcia about?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. A federal court in Maryland will hold a hearing today in the case of a man who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador last month. NPR's Franco Ordonez reports the Trump administration was ordered to help facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego-Garcia, but the White House says it can't comply.
Chapter 3: What are the Trump administration's claims regarding Abrego Garcia?
The Trump team is downplaying this as a paperwork issue. They insist Abrego Garcia has ties to the MS-13 gang. Again, his lawyer says he's not a member.
Chapter 4: Why is Harvard University facing a freeze on federal grants?
NPR's Franco Ardoñez, despite a Supreme Court ruling directing the White House to facilitate his return, El Salvador maintains custody of Abrego Garcia. The man's family continues to push for his release, stressing his lack of criminal history and the dangers he faces in El Salvador. The Trump administration is freezing $2 billion in federal grants to Harvard University.
NPR's Alyssa Nadworny reports the withholding of funds follows the university's refusal to comply with the list of demands from the administration.
Chapter 5: What demands did the Trump administration make to Harvard University?
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.
Chapter 6: How has Harvard University responded to the federal government's demands?
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.
Chapter 7: What public comments has President Trump made about Harvard's funding?
In a post on social media today, President Trump suggested that Harvard University should lose its tax-exempt status. It's the first public comment from the president since the administration froze federal funding. A vaccine advisory committee for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is holding its first public meeting of the Trump administration today.
NPR's Ping Huang reports this meeting was postponed from February.
Chapter 8: What is the CDC vaccine advisory committee meeting about?
In the two-day public meeting, CDC staff will present data and updates on a range of vaccines to a panel of independent advisors, who will then discuss and vote on recommendations for some of them, including RSV and chikungunya. Claire Hannon, head of the Association of Immunization Managers, says she's reassured by the meeting's agenda.
Really glad to see that it's scheduled and that, you know, they're holding public comment and
The committee's advice shapes access and insurance coverage for vaccines. Vaccine advocates have been concerned that Trump administration officials would interfere with this committee by removing members. That has not happened yet. Ping Huang, NPR News.
On Wall Street, the Dow was up 138 points. This is NPR. A graduate student from Tufts University is waiting to hear if she'll be released from immigration detention or have her case transferred following a hearing in federal court in Vermont on Monday. Turkish student Ruzmeza Ozturk is being held at a detention center in Louisiana. Jessie Rossman is with the ACLU of Massachusetts.
She says the detainment sends a chilling message.
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.
Without evidence, the Trump administration accuses Ozturk of supporting Hamas. The recipients of the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship have been announced this morning in New York City. NPR's Netta Ulaby reports fellowships are going to nearly 200 scholars, scientists, and artists across four dozen fields.
This is the 100th class of Guggenheim Fellows. They range from a paleontologist studying evolutionary responses to climate change to the best-selling novelist Miranda July. She talked to WHYY's Fresh Air last year about writing all fours, a book hailed as perhaps the first great perimenopause novel. Like if you're hiding the place where you're actually at, then it's hard to get to the next place.
Other Guggenheim fellows include the novelist Jonathan Lethem and artist Theaster Gates, known for making abandoned old houses and buildings his medium. On average, grants range from $40,000 to $55,000. Netta Ulibi, NPR News.
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