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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.
The U.S. Supreme Court is weighing today's arguments on a conflict between church and state, and there are indications conservatives on the court are open to approving religious charter schools. NPR's Nina Totenberg says the test case from Oklahoma could transform public education. On one side of the case are two Catholic dioceses in Oklahoma. Representing them is lawyer James Campbell. You can't create a public program and then just simply say that no religious organization can apply.
On the other side is the state's Republican Attorney General, Gentner Drummond. Religious liberty is really the freedom to worship. It is not taxpayer-funded, state-sponsored religious indoctrination. A decision in the case is expected by summer. Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington.
Mohsen Madawi is free on bail after a federal court in Vermont ordered the Columbia University student released from immigration enforcement custody. Madawi says the judge's decision today is a light of hope. He had made a very brave decision to let me out, and this is what justice is. And for anybody who's doubting justice, this is a light of hope. Madawi is a legal resident, but he was detained during his naturalization interview earlier this month.
The 34-year-old was among the organizers of pro-Palestinian protests demanding an end to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The Trump administration accuses Madawi of advocating anti-Semitic acts of violence and warned his presence in the U.S. would have adverse foreign policy consequences. Madawi denies he promotes violence.
Hospitals and clinics in Gaza reporting high levels of children suffering from hunger and malnutrition. Doctors say they're seeing the most severe cases they've ever encountered during the more than 18-month-long war with Israel. And Pia Zanisbaba has more from Gaza City.
Inside the patient's friend's hospital, the cries of hungry children echo through the corridors. It's the only hospital in northern Gaza still treating severe malnutrition, and it's running out of supplies. Mothers arrive carrying babies with sunken cheeks and frail bodies. Some infants weigh half of what they should.
Half of Gaza's residents now rely entirely on local charity kitchens for a single daily meal. But many have closed and the remaining say they have just days before food runs out. Israel has blocked all aid into Gaza for the past two months. Israel says Hamas steals it, but the UN says it keeps control and warns that the risk of famine is imminent. Anas Baba, NPR News, Gaza.
President Trump is seeking to distance himself from data that shows the U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter. He told his cabinet today that's Biden, not him. The economy shrank three-tenths of a percent from January to March. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down more than 200 points, or roughly half a percent. This is NPR News.
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