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Suspected D.C. Shooter Charged, Trump vs. Harvard, SCOTUS Ruling On Agency Firings
Fri, 23 May 2025
The man suspected of killing two Israeli Embassy employees outside a Jewish museum in D.C. has been charged with two counts of murder, among other crimes. The Trump administration has revoked Harvard University's ability to enroll international students, sowing confusion for those who are already enrolled. Plus, the U.S. Supreme Court said President Trump can fire two members of independent agencies — for now.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 Krishnadev Calamur, Nicole Cohen, Russell Lewis, Ally Schweitzer and Alice Woelfle. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Zac Coleman and Josh Sauvagvau. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Chapter 1: What happened in the D.C. shooting incident?
The man suspected of fatally shooting two Israeli embassy employees in D.C. has been charged with murder. He could still face additional charges. Police are investigating the killings as a possible hate crime. Ami Martinez with Michelle Martin, and this is Up First from NPR News.
The Trump administration has opened a new front in its war against Harvard University by revoking the school's ability to sponsor international students. So how are current students affected? I think this moment is not just about visas.
It's about values. And independent agencies like the Federal Reserve are supposed to be insulated from political influence. But the Supreme Court says President Trump is allowed to fire members of those agencies, at least for now. Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.
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The man suspected of killing two Israeli embassy employees outside a Jewish museum in Washington, D.C., has been charged with two counts of murder, among other crimes.
Law enforcement officials say they're continuing to investigate the attack as a possible hate crime.
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Chapter 2: How are international students affected by Harvard's lawsuit?
Chapter 3: What are the implications of the SCOTUS ruling on agency firings?
Not with violence or shoutings or verbal abuse, but in diplomacy, with love, with intelligence.
Razine Batour says it is a painful irony that Milgram lost her life in this way.
Finally, Jennifer, very briefly, obviously something like this heightens people's fears, obviously for many Jewish people, but others as well. Are officials saying something about that? Absolutely. D.C.
's police chief says there's going to be more law enforcement officers around faith-based groups, schools, and places like the Jewish Community Center here.
That is NPR's Jennifer Ledin. Jennifer, thank you. Thank you.
Harvard University has sued the Trump administration for a second time. This comes less than 24 hours after the Department of Homeland Security revoked Harvard University's ability to enroll international students. Now, for students who are already enrolled, the move is sowing confusion. This kind of makes us all very uneasy and sort of fearful and angry, honestly.
The school, which has been in a month's long back and forth with the president, says the government's actions are unlawful. NPR's Alyssa Nadworny is covering the story. Alyssa, so what exactly did the Trump administration do?
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.
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Chapter 4: Who were the victims of the D.C. shooting?
Chapter 5: What details do we know about the shooter?
He described them as a martyr. And Pirro says investigators are going through massive amounts of evidence to learn what motivated him.
Violence against anyone based on their religion is an act of cowardice. It is not an act of a hero. It is the kind of case that we will vigorously pursue. And she says, look, there's going to be additional charges as the evidence warrants.
Tell us more about the two people who were killed. They were a young couple. They both worked at the Israeli embassy. What else can you tell us about them?
It's really quite sad, Michelle. Israel's ambassador to the U.S. said Yaron Lezhinsky had bought an engagement ring. He was planning to propose to Sarah Milgram next week. They were going to be on a trip to Jerusalem. Lischinsky was a German and Israeli citizen. Milgram was American. She grew up in a Kansas City suburb.
A friend of Milgram's, Israeli attorney Ayelet Razin Bedor, told me she took the embassy job after Hamas attacked Israel a year and a half ago. She was already sensing a rise in anti-Semitism and she wanted to combat that.
Not with violence or shoutings or verbal abuse, but in diplomacy, with love, with intelligence.
Razine Batour says it is a painful irony that Milgram lost her life in this way.
Finally, Jennifer, very briefly, obviously something like this heightens people's fears, obviously for many Jewish people, but others as well. Are officials saying something about that? Absolutely. D.C.
's police chief says there's going to be more law enforcement officers around faith-based groups, schools, and places like the Jewish Community Center here.
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Chapter 6: How is the community responding to the shooting?
Chapter 7: What legal actions is Harvard taking against the Trump administration?
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.
So what kind of an impact do you think this might have on Harvard and its student body?
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.
I'm very close to graduation. I thought, you know, dang it, if this is the reason that I'm not going to be able to graduate, like I really have no idea what I would do if I were to get deported or if I were unable to re-enroll in September here at Harvard.
Might this move, Alyssa, have implications beyond Harvard?
It could, A. I talked with Sean Carver about this. He's the executive director at International House at UC Berkeley.
I think Harvard is the canary in the coal mine as the administration kind of uses them to test what they can and cannot do to influence public and private institutions.
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