News Wrap: Judge rules White House unlawfully blocked Harvard’s research grants

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• Geoff Bennett:

  We start the day's other headlines with the Trump administration's ongoing battle with Harvard University.

  A federal judge has ruled that officials unlawfully terminated about $2.2 billion in research grants amid claims of antisemitism on campus. U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs found that the cuts amounted to illegal retaliation for Harvard's refusal to give in to White House demands over how it operates.

  It's a major victory for Harvard, which has been working to cut a deal with the Trump administration after months of legal wrangling. President Trump has said previously that his administration would appeal any such rulings from Judge Burroughs.

  Florida is moving to become the first state to eliminate all vaccine mandates, including those for children to attend school. During a press conference today, State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo called such requirements immoral and even compared them to a form of slavery.

  It's unclear how exactly Florida would eliminate the requirements. Some would require action by state lawmakers. Meantime, the governors of California, Oregon and Washington are forming an alliance to coordinate their immunization policies. They want to provide guidance based on hard data and guard against what they view as political interference in science.

  It comes as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. moves to undercut longstanding federal guidance on vaccines.

  Republicans in Congress are welcoming Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser's decision to continue collaborating with President Trump's federal forces. Bowser issued an order yesterday to keep an emergency operation center open indefinitely. The move, which the president says is aimed at combating crime, allows local officials to coordinate directly with the federal agencies he has ordered into the city.

  House Republicans told reporters today that other cities should follow suit.

• Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA):

  Mayor Bowser, who is a Democrat, as you know, signed an executive order just yesterday welcoming federal law enforcement in D.C. indefinitely, OK? I hope my Democrat colleagues here will wake up and realize that crime is not a partisan issue.

• Geoff Bennett:

  House Democrats, though, say the intervention goes too far and that President Trump's plans to send federal forces to other cities are a mistake.

• Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL):

  Whether it's Chicago, whether it's Baltimore, D.C., California, or New York, we're not going to watch this wannabe king attempt to occupy Democratic cities because he wants to.

• Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL):

  The National Guard, who is comprised of good, honorable people who are being pulled from their everyday lives, cannot be used as the president's paramilitary force.

• Geoff Bennett:

  Today, President Trump floated the idea of sending troops to New Orleans to address crime there. The city is run by a Democratic mayor in an otherwise mostly Trump-supporting state.

  In Israel, protesters held what they called a day of disruption to voice anger over the call-up of tens of thousands of reservists for the military's offensive in Gaza City. Demonstrators accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of prolonging the war for political reasons, rather than seeking a cease-fire with Hamas.

  Meantime, health officials in Gaza say airstrikes and ground forces killed at least 31 people across the territory. In a statement today, the Israeli military said it would continue to operate against terrorist organizations to remove any threat posed to Israel.

  President Trump is defending yesterday's military strike on a boat in the Caribbean, saying it'll prevent further attempts to bring drugs into the country. Last night, he posted video of this boat, which was allegedly transporting illegal drugs. Mr. Trump said the U.S. military had identified the crew as members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and chose to strike the vessel, rather than capture it. He said 11 people were killed.

  At the White House today, before meeting with the president of Poland, Mr. Trump provided few details about the strike, but insisted the move will deter future smugglers.

  Donald Trump, President of the United States: It was massive amounts of drugs coming into our country to kill a lot of people. And they were hit, obviously. They won't be doing it again. And I think a lot of other people won't be doing it again.

• Geoff Bennett:

  The Pentagon has not released details about the vessel, but Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told FOX News this morning that military operations against cartels — quote — "won't stop with just this strike." And Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that stopping such boats isn't effective, but it does work to blow them up.

  In Minneapolis, the family of a 10-year-old survivor of last week's school shooting says he underwent surgery today after doctors discovered shrapnel lodged in his neck. Weston Halsne was interviewed by TV news crews just minutes after the attack at Annunciation Catholic School. Millions watched his account of the terror of that day when two schoolchildren were killed.

  But what he initially brushed off is gunpowder scraping his neck turned out to be a bullet fragment dangerously close to his carotid artery. Weston's family said the operation went well and they expect him to make a full physical recovery.

  In Northern California, a wave of lightning strikes sparked fast-moving wildfires that are burning across mostly rugged terrain. One of the fires burned homes in an historic gold rush town. Its roughly 100 residents were evacuated. And a main highway linking San Francisco to Yosemite National Park was temporarily closed. Authorities say at least 22 fires have burned more than 19 square miles across multiple counties. There have been no reports of injuries so far.

  On Wall Street today, stocks ended mixed. The Dow Jones industrial average slipped around 25 points. The Nasdaq rose more than 200 points on the day. The S&P 500 also ended higher.

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