Up First from NPR - Middle East Escalation, Senate Immigration Bill, Grammy Awards

Episode Date: February 5, 2024

The U.S. carried out more strikes on Iranian-backed groups as Secretary Antony Blinken heads to the Middle East to try and avoid further escalation. The Senate unveiled a $118 billion bipartisan Immigration bill meant to address national security at home and abroad, but House Republicans say it's dead on arrival. And, torrential rainfall in Los Angles, California didn't stop Taylor Swift from making history winning her 4th Album of the Year Grammy Award.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 Gerry Holmes, Sadie Babits, Bilal Qureshi and Mohamad El Bardicy.It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Ben Abrams and Ana Perez.We get engineering support from Arthur Laurent. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The U.S. carried out retaliatory strikes on Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria throughout the weekend and continued strikes in Yemen. But the Biden administration says it doesn't want a wider war. Will Secretary of State Antony Blinken's latest visit to the region calm things down? I'm Michelle Martin, that's Leila Fadl, and this is Up First from NPR News. After months of negotiations, a bipartisan trio of senators unveiled an immigration bill that would get aid to Ukraine and Israel. But is it already dead? If House Speaker Mike Johnson has his way, the answer is yes. Taylor Swift made history at the Grammys last night.

Mind blown. Thank you so much. It was an evening dominated by women, although some people are wondering how Beyonce still hasn't won album of the year. Stay with us. We'll give you 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.

President Biden says he wants to avoid a wider war in the Middle East. But over the weekend, the U.S. military carried out retaliatory airstrikes against militias in three countries, adding to fears of a broader conflict. This follows an attack that killed three U.S. soldiers in Jordan. Against this backdrop, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be crisscrossing the region again this week. For a closer look, we're joined by NPR's Greg Myrie in Tel Aviv. Hi, Greg. Hi, Leila. So, Greg, let's talk about the why here.

Why has the Israel-Hamas war really roiled the region and led to these armed groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen getting involved? Yeah, so whenever the Israeli-Palestinian conflict heats up, it inflames passions in the wider region. And inevitably, you see these various players act to show solidarity with the Palestinians in their quest to end the occupation and achieve statehood. So this has been building for months. In Yemen, the Houthi militia keeps firing on commercial ships in the Red Sea. In Iraq and Syria, militias have been firing at U.S. bases and killed these three

American soldiers we just mentioned. So despite Biden's reservation, these American deaths prompted him to order the airstrikes against the militias in Iraq and Syria on Friday and the Houthis in Yemen on Saturday. And once again, here we are. The U.S. is very much involved in a Middle East conflict. So the U.S. strikes in these three countries, will this escalate or de-escalate the current fighting? So the aim is to de-escalate. The message the U.S. is trying to send is that it will use serious firepower in an attempt to make these attacks stop. But that's not necessarily how the message will be received, especially in Iran, which supports all these militias we've just mentioned. I spoke about this with Paul Salem, who heads the

Middle East Institute in Washington. It's quite clear that Iranians are willing to fight to the last Arab. Their proxies get hit. That doesn't really affect them directly. I think Iran will continue in this medium level of on and off escalation. Okay, but what are the chances that we see direct confrontation between the U.S. and Iran if this continues? Yeah, Leila, that's certainly the big worry, the bright red line that neither the U.S. nor Iran is prepared to cross so far. The U.S. has not hit Iranian territory, even though the U.S. nor Iran is prepared to cross so far. The U.S. has not hit Iranian territory, even though the U.S. holds Iran responsible for providing these militias with weapons, money, and training. And Iran is calling these U.S. strikes a strategic mistake,

but it's not threatening to attack the U.S. at this point. So right now, the U.S. and Iran are being careful to avoid direct confrontation, but it's a very dangerous game. There's now this full-scale war in Gaza, four months old, and we have attacks taking place in six other countries now. Now, Israel and Hamas are discussing a possible ceasefire, maybe temporary hostages for prisoner swaps, the fighting stops. Would this lower the temperature in the wider region? You know, Paul Salem thinks so. Here he is again. I think the Biden administration is well aware that the best way to de-escalate wider conflict in the region is to get to a temporary and then eventually permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

Of course, getting to that ceasefire, even a temporary one, is far from certain. Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu says his goal is destroying Hamas. Hamas wants a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli troops. And I'll just end on a cautionary note from CIA Director Bill Burns, who just wrote an essay saying, quote, I have spent much of the last four decades working in and on the Middle East, and I've rarely seen it more tangled or explosive. Wow. NPR's Greg Myrie in Tel Aviv. Thanks, Greg. Sure thing, Leila. After months of talks, a bipartisan trio of Senate negotiators has released a $118 billion bill meant to address national security at home and abroad. The 370-page bill changes immigration laws to reduce the record numbers of migrants at the U.S. border with Mexico. It also includes money for two key allies at war, Israel and Ukraine.

But House Speaker Mike Johnson is already declaring the bill dead on arrival in the House. NPR congressional correspondent Deirdre Walsh joins us now to talk about the details. Good morning, Deirdre. Good morning. So what's in the deal? Well, this bill has some pretty major changes to border policies. It's not a comprehensive immigration bill. It focuses mainly on tamping down and managing the record number of migrants we've seen crossing the southwest border over recent months. It has a new requirement for the

president. He would be mandated to effectively shut down much of the southwest border to any new asylum claims once the number of migrants approaching the border hits 5,000 people or migrants on average per day over the course of the week. This proposal makes it harder for people to claim asylum. It does speed up the process for those going through the system. It also includes something that governors and mayors of cities like New York and Denver have really pushed for, work permits for those who do gain entry to the U.S. It has about $20 million to implement these new security law changes. Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy talked about the main goal in a call with reporters last night.

The bill reforms the asylum approval process and system so the claims are heard in six months, not 10 years, as is often the case today. And what about money for Ukraine and Israel? Right. This bill has about $60 billion for Ukraine. That's what President Biden requested last year. Republicans insisted any new money for Ukraine had to be linked to border security. There's also about $14 billion in security aid for Israel and $10 billion for humanitarian relief for civilians affected by both wars. Okay, so the big question is, does this have enough bipartisan support to move forward in the Senate? It's unclear right now. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is teeing up a test vote for this Wednesday. But in the hours since the bill came out last night, there's really been a lot of criticism from both the left and the right. Some outside immigration advocates are saying that some of the proposals to expedite asylum are positive, but they oppose this mandatory trigger to shut down much of the border.

A series of Senate Republicans have already declared they're going to vote no. We've heard from some progressives saying the bill is too punitive. They need about 60 votes to advance this bill in the Senate. Well, on top of all that, it's an election year. It's rare for major bills on policies as complicated as immigration to get through. What are the prospects? Not great. I mean, President Biden did say last night, get this bill to his desk and he will sign it. We've seen recent polls showing Biden's handling of the border is really a weak spot politically for him.

And he's increasingly been leaning into much tougher border policies. But former President Trump, the likely 2024 Republican nominee, really wants to wield this issue against the president. He's been urging Republicans to derail the bill. House Speaker Mike Johnson said it's dead on arrival. NPR's Deirdre Walsh. Thanks, Deirdre. Thank you. In the midst of flash flood warnings and a vast storm system,

the Grammys were handed out in downtown Los Angeles last night. And their big winner was Taylor Swift. The Grammy ceremony was dominated by women artists. And joining us to talk about all this is another woman, NPR's Mondeleet Del Barco. Hi, Mondeleet. Hey, Leila. Okay, so Taylor Swift taking a lot of Grammys home. Tell us about that. Yeah, well, Taylor Swift actually made history by becoming the first artist ever to win the Grammy for Album of the Year four times. And in doing that, she surpassed Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon, and Stevie Wonder. All I want to do is keep doing this. So thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to do what I love so much.

Mind blown. Thank you so much. Mind blown. And, you know, she also surprised all her fans, the Swifties, by announcing her next album is dropping on April 19th. But, you know, Layla, in addition to Taylor Swift, it was a really big year for female artists who won in all nine of the big categories handed out during the televised ceremony. Miley Cyrus, she gave a fabulous mic-dropping performance on stage,

and she won two Grammys, Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance of the Year. Then Billie Eilish and her brother Phineas O'Connor picked up the Song of the Year for What Was I Made For from the Barbie soundtrack. And other winners included R&B singer SZA, Colombian singer Carol G, and R&B star Victoria Monet, who won for Best New Artist. So the Grammys are known for their live performances. What were the big highlights? Well, there were some really poignant performances by legends, including Billy Joel making a comeback on the piano, and Joni Mitchell, who at age 80 had never before performed at the Grammys. Annie Lennox sang in tribute to the late Sinead O'Connor, and afterwards she made a call for

peace and a ceasefire in Gaza. You know, another live performance that was really a highlight was when Tracy Chapman took the stage with country singer Luke Combs to sing. Beautiful. So some amazing performances, women sweeping at the Grammys, but there are always strange and unusual moments. What were they last night? Yeah, well, during the pre-televised ceremony when most of the Grammys are handed out, Atlanta rapper Killer Mike won three awards and then he was handcuffed and arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault. He was released last night

and I'm sure we're going to get more details today. But you know, another thing that happened on stage during the televised ceremony, one speech went in a really unexpected direction. When Jay-Z accepted the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award, he called out the Grammys for neglecting to honor some Black musicians, specifically his wife, Beyonce. Let's hear what he said. We love y'all. We want y'all to get it right, at least get it close to right. Obviously, it's subjective because, you know, it's music and it's opinion based. But, you know, some things, you know, I don't want to embarrass this young lady, but she has more Grammys than everyone and never won album of the year. So even by your own metrics, that doesn't work.

You know, last year, Beyonce lost to Harry Styles in that top category. And Jay-Z really questioned the Recording Academy while he still accepted his trophy. All right, Mendeley, thanks so much for that. Sure. In California, millions of people are under flash flood warnings, and the National Weather Service is urging people to stay home. That's in the face of a life-threatening storm that's bringing torrential rain and snow. The governor, Gavin Newsom, has declared a state of emergency,

and we're watching and reporting as the storm moves across the state. You can get updates by tuning into our radio show, Morning Edition, or by visiting us at npr.org. And that's Up First for Monday, February 5th. I'm Laila Faldin. And I'm Michelle Martin. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Jerry Holmes, Sadie Babbitts, Bilal Qureshi, and Mohamed El-Bardisi. It was produced by Ziad Bunch, Ben Abrams, and Julie Deppenbrock.

We get engineering support from Arthur Laurent, and our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us again tomorrow. And thanks for listening to Up First. You can find more in-depth coverage of the stories we talked about today and lots more on NPR's Morning Edition, the radio show that Steve Inskeep, A. Martinez, Michelle, and I host. Find Morning Edition on your local NPR station at stations.npr.org.