Up First from NPR - Gaza Cease-Fire Talks, Violent Online Rhetoric, Chicago Migrant Crisis

Episode Date: December 22, 2023

In the U.N. Security Council, negotiators try to win U.S. support for a resolution in Gaza. Violet rhetoric swirls online after Trump ballot decision in Colorado. Leaders in Michigan say Chicago is experiencing a migrant crisis.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 Cheryl Corley, Ally Schweitzer, Michael Sullivan, Andrew Sussman, and Alice Woelfle. It was produced by Claire Murashima, David West and Kaity Kline. We get engineering support from Robert Rodriguez and Phil Edfors, and our technical director is Zac Coleman.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Three days of negotiation and still no agreement for a ceasefire in Gaza. Diplomats continue to search for a resolution that the U.S. won't veto. There could be a vote today as the death toll in Gaza tops 20,000. I'm Leila Faldin with A. Martinez and this is Up First from NPR News. Talk of civil war is cropping up in some places online after Colorado's high court blocked Donald Trump from the state's ballot. Watchdogs say their worried violent rhetoric is being normalized. We're seeing the mainstreaming of this extremism and this encouragement of violence in right-wing media. And leaders in Chicago say they're struggling with a migrant crisis.

Almost 14,000 are housed there in temporary shelters. We'll hear from a Venezuelan woman who says conditions are deplorable. Stay with us. We've got all the news you need to start your day. 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. The death toll in Gaza has topped 20,000, according to the health ministry there.

There had been proposals at the U.N. Security Council to call for a ceasefire and to let the U.N. inspect aid trucks to speed up food and fuel destined for Gaza. But under the threat of a possible U.S. veto, the council has been deadlocked for three days and those ideas seem to be losing steam. Yet there could be a vote on something today. NPR diplomatic correspondent Michelle Kellerman has been following all this. Michelle, three days, three days of negotiation. What's making it so difficult for the council to get a vote?

So the United Arab Emirates, which is on the Security Council, has been working with other Arab states to push for a humanitarian ceasefire, and they want to speed up aid. And the first draft resolution they put out called for the United Nations to inspect the trucks going into Gaza rather than Israel, which has Gaza under blockade. You know, right now, Israel inspects all the trucks to make sure there are no weapons being smuggled in for Hamas. And the U.S. has been working really hard to get Israel to speed that up. The Biden administration really didn't want a UN resolution to further complicate an already complicated situation, but they also

didn't want to be in a position of vetoing yet another Security Council resolution as UN officials warn of famine and as health officials in Gaza report that the death toll has topped 20,000. What might they be able to pass at the Security Council? So last night, the United States ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas Greenfield, told reporters that there is a new text and she seemed to be satisfied with the changes in it. Take a listen. We have worked hard and diligently over the course of the past week with the Emiratis, with others, with Egypt, to come up with a resolution that we can support. And we do have that resolution now. We're ready to vote on it. She didn't say how the U.S. would vote, whether it would support it,

say yes, or abstain. But the goal of all these changes, A, is to make sure that the U.S. is not going to veto the resolution as it has done with others and not look as isolated. So for that to happen, how much of that draft resolution had to be watered down? Well, it doesn't call for a new inspection regime. Instead, it asked the U.N. Secretary General to appoint an aid coordinator for Gaza. It calls for urgent steps to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access, but it drops a call for an urgent cessation of hostilities. It simply calls for creating the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities. Thomas Greenfield says that the draft remains, in her words, very strong. She said it gives Arab countries what they think they need to get more aid into Gaza.

The U.N. and Israel have really been going at each other over Gaza since the Israeli offensive began. So how does all that play into this? Well, there's a lot of mistrust, and I think that was behind all these tough negotiations. 135 U.N. workers have been killed in Gaza, and the UN has been warning of mass hunger as Israel continues to press its campaign against Hamas. And Israel often accuses the UN of being biased against Israel. That's been a longtime complaint, but particularly in the wake of the attack by Hamas on October 7th. Israel says the UN just

hasn't done enough to condemn Hamas for that. That's NPR diplomatic correspondent Michelle Kellerman. Michelle, thanks. Thank you. Violent rhetoric is raging in some corners of the internet after this week's historic ruling from the Colorado Supreme Court. Yeah, after judges barred Donald Trump from the state's primary ballot, some supporters of the former president are fuming over the decision, and people online have begun circulating personal information about Colorado Supreme Court justices who ruled against Trump. Some are even calling for civil war. NPR domestic extremism correspondent Odette Youssef is here to tell us more.

You know, I was reading some of this, Odette, and I thought, oh, I've seen all this before. And then I thought to myself, that's not good. Yeah, I mean, A, on some of these far-right platforms, this kind of talk is everyday stuff. But when there are events that affect Trump adversely, whether it's an indictment or, say, the search of his property at Mar-a-Lago, it spikes. And so this time, you know, we're seeing claims online that this is a Democratic Party conspiracy to interfere in the election. We're seeing calls to arm up or to hurt or even kill perceived political foes. You know, so far, people monitoring these spaces say they're not seeing indications of a credible or imminent threat, but they also caution that this doesn't mean it should be ignored. So, yeah, authorities still want to be watchful then. Of course. I mean,

you may recall, A, that after the Mar-a-Lago search, for example, online rhetoric heated up and there was an individual who attacked an FBI field office in Cincinnati. So it is important to understand how the baseline threat level is evolving. You know, one person I spoke to who's been keeping an eye on this online activity is Daniel J. Jones. He's with the nonpartisan nonprofit Advanced Democracy. He says he's not just watching the uptick in violent language. I think it's equally concerning that we're not seeing pushback against this language. We're not seeing pushback against dehumanizing language from presumptive Republican nominee. We're not seeing pushback from language from political leaders on the right. We're seeing

the mainstreaming of this extremism and this encouragement of violence in right-wing media. And I hear this across the board when I speak to extremism researchers, you know, what they are concerned about is violence from the right. And they say that if high profile figures would just clearly disavow that violence that some are calling for, it could really help bring the temperature down. But when it comes to this ruling in Colorado, I mean, many are expecting that the ruling from that court may not be the final word on this. So any acknowledgement of that? Yes. In fact, I spoke with Catherine Keneally of another organization, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, and she said she noticed this. We did also see a large number of people post statements that they weren't

concerned because they believe that the U.S. Supreme Court is going to shoot it down anyways. So a common refrain that I started seeing was the use of nothing burger. So there's no predicting, of course, A, you know, where this trajectory will go. But people like Kennealy and Jones are saying it's critical to stay aware because we are in an environment where the baseline threat is alarmingly high right now. And there are fears that, you know, a lone actor or a small group could take some kind of action. And I also want to add that even absent violence, you know, this is still very concerning to people who care about democracy, right? Because, you know, even when threats of violence against judges, voters, really anyone participating in civic life

become normal, that can have a chilling effect. That's NPR's Odette Youssef. Thanks a lot. Thank you. Leaders say they need federal help to deal with a migrant crisis in Chicago. Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Tuesday said his state flew 120 migrants from the southern border to Chicago. It's an escalation of the Republicans' push against Biden administration immigration policies. Texas has already delivered at least 600 buses filled with new arrivals to Chicago and other cities. And some migrants say the conditions they're facing now are worse than back home.

Michael Puente is with us now. He's a reporter with member station WBEZ in Chicago. Michael, do Chicago and Cook County have the capacity, the ability to care for these new arrivals? Well, yes and no. I mean, right now the city is sheltering nearly 14,000 new arrivals at 27 temporary shelters. Living conditions are not great in those shelters, but it may be better than being outdoors in tents during the winter months in Chicago. The city is no longer housing migrants in local police stations,

but that could change if the numbers continue to climb. Earlier this week at one shelter, five-year-old Giancarlos Martinez Rivero died. The exact cause of death has yet to be determined, but health officials say it does not appear that he died of an infectious disease. But migrant advocates are calling for the city to do better and for the state and federal governments to do more. What were the conditions? What were they like where he was housed? Cramped, more than 2,000 people, about half of them children are in

that shelter where the young boy died at the sort of converted warehouse. They have cots right next to each other, a leaky roof, unsanitary conditions, no milk for children. You know, reporters cannot go inside, but I've received several photos and videos from at least two women who are living there. They describe it as terrible, like a prison. It's so bad that the women told me they regret coming to the United States. Here's what one woman named Gott regret coming to the United States. Here's what one woman named Gotteman had to say to me. And by the way, we're not using her full name because she fears retaliation from shelter officials. She's saying that she's experiencing more hunger

and need, that her family doesn't have medical care and her kids are effectively in prison because they can't play or move freely. She says right now she's very sorry she left her country. Now, there are other shelters. So are conditions any better in those places? Well, it all depends where they're at. Some are in converted hotels. None of these places are for long-term stays. In fact, the city is now limiting how long migrants can stay. Some places only 60 days. So it's hard to get information out of these places, but we rely on migrants coming forward to talk to us reporters, but many of them feel scared to do so. Any word on what's going to be done now? Well, Mayor Johnson says the buses can come to Chicago, but they are limited in what time they

can drop off migrants. And that's what's causing this recent rift between Chicago and Texas. Some of the buses have been arriving after midnight, violating a city ordinance. The city has impounded one bus. That's what angered Governor Abbott, who is now sending migrants by airplane. That's Michael Puente with member station WBEZ in Chicago. Michael, thanks. You're welcome. And that's Up First for Friday, December 22nd. I'm Ian Martinez. And I'm Leila Faldil. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Cheryl Corley, Michael Sullivan, Andrew Sussman,

Allie Schweitzer, and Alice Wolfley. Our producers are Claire Marashima, David West, and Katie Klein. We get engineering support from Phil Edfors and Robert Rodriguez. And our technical director is Zach Coleman. Our executive producer is Erica Aguilar. And don't forget, Up First airs on Saturday, too. Ayesha Roscoe and Scott Simon have the news. Find it wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you.