Up First from NPR - Aid Enters Gaza, American Hostages Freed, Resilient American Economy

Episode Date: October 21, 2023

Trucks carrying aid entered the Egypt-Gaza border at Rafah on Saturday. The relative of two American hostages freed by Hamas says now is the time for their recovery. The U.S. economy remains very resilient, despite a sharp rise in interest rates, but what does that mean for consumers?Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

trucks carrying aid entered Gaza through the Egyptian border today. Palestinians there have been rationing food and drinking dirty water. So will this aid be enough? I'm Scott Simon. I'm Ayesha Roscoe, and this is Up First from NPR News. Two U.S. hostages held by Hamas are freed. When this news hit, it was like all the emotions that we had been holding while we were fighting for them just erupted. We speak to a relative who says it's now time for healing.

Back at home, the federal government keeps raising those interest rates. And the economy is plodding along as Americans keep spending. But what might that mean for mortgage rates? Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your weekend. Now, our change will honor 100 years of the Royal Canadian Air Force and their dedicated service to communities at home and abroad. From the skies to our change, this $2 commemorative circulation coin marks their storied past and promising future. Find the limited edition Royal Canadian Air Force $2 coin today. Two U.S. hostages, a mother and daughter, were released by Hamas on Friday.

And a trickle of desperately needed humanitarian aid finally crossed over into the Gaza Strip from Egypt today. And Pierce Peter Kenyon joins us from Jerusalem. Peter, thanks for being with us. Hi, Scott. Let's begin with the two hostages who were released. What do we know? They are Judith Renan and her 19-year-old daughter Natalie. They hail from Chicago. What do we know about any other efforts for the release of hostages? Well, this is what has so many other families worried. The Israeli goal militarily is to destroy Hamas's ability to carry out terror attacks like the one on October 7th, and there's certainly strong support for that goal in Israel.

I spoke with analyst Eyal Zisser at Tel Aviv University. Here's how he put it. You know, usually the Israeli calculation is we'll send forces. One of our soldiers might be killed, might be kidnapped. But after what happens? What does it matter? So I think there is more readiness in Israel to, yes, do whatever is needed. But Hamas appears to be using civilians, both Palestinians and Israeli hostages, as human shields. And I should add that so far there's been no official confirmation

that a widely expected Israeli ground operation will actually go ahead for sure. That's another thing people here will be watching out for. It would seem like an incredibly difficult mission to eliminate Hamas's ability to carry out terror attacks without a major loss of civilian life. Meanwhile, of course, there seems to be some movement on efforts to get trucks loaded with humanitarian aid from Egypt into Gaza. What's the latest on that, Peter? Well, not long ago, we saw the first reports of the aid trucks being led by a UN vehicle moving not only through the Egyptian side of the crossing, but onward toward the Gaza Strip.

Hamas statements said the aid they were bringing to Gaza includes food, medicine, and medical supplies. Crucially, no fuel, which Israel had questioned, but which Gaza hospitals need for emergency generators. And they also need it to run the desalination plants Gaza relies on to provide safe drinking water. A Palestinian Red Crescent worker called the aid very disappointing. And another point, in addition to what was left out, this just isn't nearly enough aid to care for more than two million Gazans. There are some 200 trucks waiting to cross. Hamas said this won't change the catastrophic medical conditions in Gaza, and the lack of fuel is exacerbating that. There is some hope, maybe the only hope, that they got one delivery across, and maybe that would clear the way for more in the future.

And at the same time, violence seems to be escalating beyond Gaza into the West Bank and at the northern border, including reports of rockets and fire from Hezbollah in Lebanon. What do we know about that? Israel says an IDF reservist was killed by an anti-tank missile near the Israeli-Lebanese border yesterday in Cairo, and international gatherings taking place to discuss ways of de-escalating the conflict, but neither Iran nor Israel is attending. I spoke with Israeli analyst and columnist Dalia Shendlin, who told me the Hezbollah attacks are very concerning because of the prospect of this widening into a broader regional war. She says at the moment she feels, quote,

closer to a regional war than we have ever been in her lifetime. And there's Peter Kenyon in Jerusalem. Thanks so much. Thanks, Scott. We now have more on the two hostages who were released by Hamas on Friday. Judith Ty Renan and her daughter, Natalie Shoshana Renan, from suburban Chicago, are reportedly waiting to be reunited with family. They were abducted while visiting Israel for the high holidays. Ben Renan is Natalie Renan's older brother. He joins us from Denver.

Thanks so much for being with us. Thank you for having me on. What do you know about how they happened to be released? It's an absurd situation. I first heard from a national news syndicate that texted me and said, hey, do you have any comment? That's how quickly it moved. We were anticipating today to be another day of very sad interviews, exhausting interviews, trying to get Natalie and Judith back home. But when this news hit, it was like all the emotions that we had been holding

while we were fighting for them just erupted. I gather they were in Israel for your grandmother's birthday. Do you know what happened? So when they were in Israel for my grandmother's birthday, as well as to celebrate the high holidays, at 7 a.m. American time, my father received a text about 13 days ago saying, Hey, I'm in the house. Just so you know, there's gunshots and explosions outside. I'm locking the door and I'm going to stay as quiet as possible. When the city was liberated about four or five hours later, they searched the house, which was empty, and they found glass on the inside of the house, meaning someone had broken in. A couple of days later, we had information from a neighbor that he had

watched them be escorted out of the house at gunpoint by Hamas. What have these days been like for you? Have you been able to talk to them? I have not been able to speak with them since my father briefly was on the phone with Natalie when she was released. And apparently her spirits are high, which is wonderful. You know, she seemed very composed. But these days have just been a nightmare. You know, it's 13 days, but it feels like 13 years trying to keep composure because you know that getting emotional isn't going to solve anything. And it seems surreal that suddenly, I won't even say it's over, we're on to the next journey of what this is, which is their recovery. May I ask, were you

calling congressional offices, the White House, the UN? Yeah, we've been in touch with all authorities. We spoke with President Biden about a week ago, and then my father spoke again with President Biden today, who made a very deep commitment to all American hostages, but really hostages of every nation and people on both sides. And letting us know that he was doing everything in his power to help return family members. Do your emotions, let me put it this way, are your emotions tempered by the fact that, you know, your sister and stepmother are still in a zone of conflict and there are other hostages still being held? I mean, we're a very peaceful family, and that's what has made this whole situation so absurd that Natalie and Judith aren't politicians. They aren't soldiers. They're people who love people. And so our family is grieving in this moment of elation. We're grieving for all the families that are still being kept

hostage. We're grieving for innocent Israelis and Palestinians who are caught in the middle of this horrid humanitarian crisis. Ben Renan in Denver, and he is the brother of Natalie Shoshana Renan, who along with her mother Judith Ty Renan were released from custody by Hamas Friday night. Mr. Renan, thank you so much for being with us. Thank you for having me. For a while now, the Federal Reserve has been trying to put the brakes on inflation with higher interest rates. But the U.S. economy is still doing okay. A GDP report out this coming week is expected to show strong economic growth during July, August, and September. NPR's Scott Horsley joins us for more. Thanks so much for being with us. Good to be with you. Higher interest rates are supposed to tamp down spending,

but I feel like every time I talk to you, you're telling me Americans are still spending pretty freely. So what is going on? Yeah, that's still the story. Retail sales rose more than expected last month, easily outpacing inflation. People are spending a lot of money on restaurants and live entertainment. Retailers had a good back-to-school season. You and I talked about that. If you look around my neighborhood right now, it seems like people shout out a lot for Halloween decorations. Spending around the Christmas holidays is also

projected to be up about 5% from last year. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told the Economic Club of New York this week the economy is resilient, even with the sharp rise in interest rates. If you think back a year, many forecasts called for the U.S. economy to be in recession this year. Not only has that not happened, growth is now running for this year above its longer run trend. So that's been a surprise, driven largely by consumer spending, driven by a very strong job market. And we've also had inflation coming down. So that's all good news.

You know, unemployment's been under 4% for 20 straight months. Wages are now climbing faster than prices, so paychecks are stretching further than they used to. The one potential downside, though, is if the economy stays this strong, inflation, which has come down a lot, might stop coming down and plateau somewhere above the Federal Reserve's 2% target. If that were to happen, then the central bank might have to push interest rates even higher. So one casualty of rising interest rates is the housing market. What is happening there? Yeah, mortgage rates are way up and home sales are down. Freddie Mac says the average rate

on a 30-year fixed home loan now tops 7.6%. And those high rates are cutting into both supply and demand for housing. They're hitting supply because most people who already own a home have a mortgage with a much lower interest rate, so they're reluctant to sell. And then the higher rates are also pricing a lot of would-be buyers out of the market. So you've got fewer buyers, fewer sellers. Turnover in the housing market last month was the lowest it's been in more than a dozen years. Even so, there are so few homes on the market, prices are staying elevated. The average home is selling in about three weeks, and more than one out of four sells for more than its asking price. So if you're one of the people heading out to an open house this weekend, good

luck. Oh my goodness. So higher interest rates are also contributing to a growing federal deficit. So what can you tell us about that? Well, the Treasury Department just closed the books on the federal government's fiscal year and the annual deficit soared to nearly $1.7 trillion, 23% more than a year ago. The government actually spent a little bit less this past year, 2% less, but tax collections fell by 9%. So the budget gap widened. And at the same time, you've got rising interest rates on a huge $33 trillion federal debt. So the interest payments jumped to $879 billion. That's more than we spend on defense. Chairman Powell doesn't like to kibitz about tax and spending decisions that Congress makes, but he did say this is not a good look.

It's not a secret. We know that we're on an unsustainable path fiscally. It's not that the level of the debt is unsustainable. It's not. It's that where the path we're on is unsustainable, and we'll have to get off that path sooner rather than later. Right now, though, we are just still running headlong down that path. This week, the White House asked for another $106 billion in spending for Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, and things like border security. Whatever the merits of that spending, it does add to the growing pressure on the debt. NPR's Scott Horsley, thank you so much for joining us. You're welcome. And that's Up First for Saturday, October 21st, 2023.

I'm Scott Simon. And I'm Ayesha Roscoe. Tomorrow on The Sunday Story, a report on how our bodies are responding to technology and if we're adapting to meet the demands of the information age. This Saturday version of the podcast was produced by Danny Hensel and Hiba Ahmad. Our editors are Hadil Al-Shaouchi, Tara Neal, Don Clyde, Emily Kopp, and Raphael Nam. Our directors are Michael Radcliffe and Andrew Craig, with engineering support from Hannah Glovna. Evie Stone is our senior supervising editor. Sarah Lucy Oliver is our executive producer. And Jim Kane, our deputy managing editor. And thanks to all those

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