Mideast Ceasefire Continues, Irish Elections, Texas Politics

0:02Thousands of displaced Lebanese citizens return to their homes in the southern part of the country. as the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon continues into its fourth day. I'm Scott Simon. And I'm Eric Deggans. And this is Up First from NPR News. In many cases, the homes the refugees are headed to are no longer there. We'll have more on that story. Plus, Ireland is counting the votes from an election that revolved largely around housing. It's very difficult to get the home in Ireland. All of my mates live at home with their parents, even the ones in good jobs. And we'll check in on Texas Republicans who have strengthened their majority in the statehouse.

0:41Stay with us. We have the news you need to start your weekend.

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1:49Get a new Dell PC at dell.com slash AI dash PC. The Israeli military has ordered Lebanese refugees to keep away from the southern part of the country for now, But many of them are traveling there anyway, despite the security risks. And here's Lauren Freyer is in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatea. Lauren, thanks for being with us. Thanks for having me, Scott. What do you see? I'm in a village called Kafar Tibnit on a hill across from a crusader castle. This area has lots of history. Every building has been damaged. Most of them have no windows. The balconies have been blown off. There's a car that's burned on the road right next to me.

2:29There's a 250-year-old mosque that was hit by an Israeli airstrike. I'm looking at this white stone minaret toppled on its side. Loudspeakers that normally broadcast the call to prayer are bent and twisted. I met a man whose home was destroyed in the last Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006. Hezbollah paid to rebuild his house. Now it's been destroyed again. He's confident that same Hezbollah agent with a clipboard will show up, survey the damage, and give him a check. But the pace of rebuilding could be a lot slower this time because the damage is just orders of magnitude greater. What do you hear from people who are heading south?

3:08There was jubilation when this ceasefire was announced, but a lot of people are still trying to get home because Israeli troops have cordoned off huge areas of southern Lebanon. They have 60 days to withdraw and they've published maps with a list of villages where people are not allowed to return. They're under curfew. And so people are in limbo. The Hezbollah leader gave a speech last night declaring this as a divine victory. But it doesn't feel like that for people who can't get home. Israeli troops are still operating in a sort of area of olive groves between where I am and this crusader castle in the distance.

3:43It's a strategic vantage point. How does the truth seem to be holding? I mean, both sides say it is holding, but there have been several Israeli airstrikes. There's been artillery fire. There's been gunfire. Israel says it's detected violations by Hezbollah and is acting to enforce this ceasefire. Lebanese officials accuse Israel of breaking it. They say returnees with cars loaded up with belongings are being mistaken for militants. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave his one of his first interviews since the ceasefire took effect. He spoke to Israeli media saying this ceasefire may well be very short and that Israel is prepared for an intensive war if Hezbollah violates its terms.

4:25Lauren, let me ask you about the renewed fighting this week in Syria, because rebels say they now control much of Aleppo. What do you know about this? Yeah, so this is the latest chapter in fighting that really began with Syria's civil war in 2011 and has continued on and off ever since. Opposition forces have been battling their way toward Aleppo, Syria's second largest city, for days. And now they've entered the city. And that's the first time that they have attacked Aleppo with such strength since 2016, when opposition forces insurgents were ousted from Aleppo by government forces. It might sound like an unrelated matter, but the Syrian government forces are backed by Iran.

5:07And so is Hezbollah. So the idea is that while Iran and its proxies, Hezbollah, have been so preoccupied with Lebanon and the war here, they've lost real ground elsewhere, their other interests in the region. And Paris-Lauren Freyer in southern Lebanon, thanks so much. You're welcome, Scott.

5:31Exit polls in Ireland show a tight race between the top three political parties. At least two of them will likely have to form a coalition to win a majority in the country's parliament. NPR's Fatima Al-Kassab joins us from Dublin. Thanks for being with us. Thanks, Scott. What do we know about the results so far? So we've got the exit poll, which came out last night just as the polls closed, and that's given us an indication of the vote share. And then vote counting began this morning. The initial suggestion from the exit poll is that Sinn Féin, This is the party that used to be the political wing of the Irish Republican Army, the IRA, has a narrow lead over the two big centre parties.

6:09That's Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. But it is pretty tight between all three. Turnout also looks to be down on last time. Yesterday was really quite wet and windy. And from the exit poll data, it does look like that affected how many people turned out. And I know you've spoken with voters. What did they tell you that was on their minds? Yeah, so I spoke to voters yesterday outside a polling station in Dublin, and they pretty much all said that the biggest issue for them was housing, no matter their age or background. Here's Valerie Shields. Housing is the main issue. And there's a lot of families with small children living in guest houses and hotels.

6:47And 24-year-old Owen McNeill said the same. Housing, like, I have no hope of, like, I mean, well, not no hope, but it's very difficult to get, like, the home in Ireland. Like all of my mates basically live at home with their parents, even the ones in good jobs. Ireland is actually a very rich country. It's generated a huge income from corporation taxes, which has made it one of the richest in Europe. But people aren't really feeling it. The high cost of living was actually the second biggest issue for voters, according to the exit poll. And did any of the parties in particular campaign on lowering housing prices?

7:25Yeah, housing is the issue that's really helped propel Sinn Féin. In fact, commentators here this morning were saying we can even look at the vote for Sinn Féin as a housing vote, a single issue vote. And that's especially true among young voters. Sinn Féin has a lot of support among younger voters. And the party has made big gains in recent years because of its promises on housing. Whatever happens in the next couple of days, it's clear that the days of two parties dominating Irish politics are over. Sinn Féin was on the up in the last election in 2020 when it surprised everyone and it won the popular vote.

7:56And this time around, it looks like it's confirmed its place at the top with the two traditional parties. When do you think we might get a full picture of the vote? So we're in for a long weekend of counting votes. It's a system of proportional representation, so it could take some time. Full results are expected by the end of the weekend, but it might not be until next week, potentially even in the new year, until we get a government formed. And that's because there needs to be negotiations about forming a coalition. And that can take some time. The most likely scenario is that even if Sinn Féin wins the most votes, that's what happened last time, the two big parties, these are the traditional parties that have governed Ireland for over a century, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, will go into coalition again.

8:40Although this time the exit poll suggests that their vote share is down, so it might actually be harder for them to cobble together a majority. NPR is Fatima Al-Qasab from Dublin. Thanks so much for being with us. Thanks, Scott.

8:59Immigration enforcement, private school vouchers, and anti-abortion measures. Those are some of the priorities for Texas state lawmakers for the coming year. Blaise Ganey is the state capitol reporter for the Texas Newsroom and joins us from Austin. Good morning, Blaise. Good morning. Thanks for having me. Sure. So let's start with the big one, border and immigration. One of Trump's campaign promises is to deport millions of undocumented immigrants. Texas is a border state. They clearly have to play a part in that. How do they plan to do it? Well, they already have a program going called Operation Lone Star.

9:31They've spent$11 billion on that program. It was created in March of 2021 by Governor Greg Abbott to respond to the rise in illegal immigration because he said President Biden's administration wasn't doing enough. He's bussed tens of thousands of migrants to blue states, deployed miles of razor wire along the border and extended a floating buoy barrier in the Rio Grande. And Abbott was recently on Fox News. Here's what he had to say on immigration. We just want to make sure that the Trump administration understands we are here to help, whether it be to deny illegal entry, whether it be to arrest those who are here illegally, whether it be to assist in the deportation process.

10:10So if Trump increases border patrols, then that could free up Texas from having to invest so much of its own resources. Okay, well, it sounds like they're eager to pitch in. Yeah, exactly. Another way we might see that play out, though, is the state's general land office offered the incoming Trump administration more than 1 ,400 acres of South Texas borderland to, quote, construct deportation facilities. But there's already been a lot of pushback on mass deportation, not only from immigrant advocates, but business leaders as well. They say it could be dangerous for the economy and workforce. Okay, well, another big issue, vouchers that give parents taxpayer money to pay for private schools.

10:50Now, last month, voters in Kentucky, Colorado, and Nebraska rejected ballot questions on this issue, but Texas leaders say it's a top priority for this legislative session. Tell us more. Yeah, I mean, vouchers have been a big ticket item in several states. There's already 16 states with a program so far. Texas is not one of them. The governor has been trying to pass a bill since 2023 with no luck. He even called three special sessions for it, but it never got passed. But this election cycle, he was successful in getting several of the rural Republicans that voted against it out of office. We'll have to wait and see, but at the time, it does look like he has the votes.

11:29Okay, well, what else are you hearing might be a priority? Yeah, so making a return from 2017 session is the bathroom bill. It'd restrict the use of public restrooms and locker rooms to be used only by a person whose sex on their birth certificate matches what's on the sign. And this would only apply to government-owned buildings. And another bill that's been filed focuses on stopping people from getting medications associated with abortions. The goal is to prevent people from ordering these pills online. So, Blaze, Texas lawmakers don't go into session for another month, but they've already filed a lot of bills.

12:03Why are they doing this? Yeah, I mean, they filed nearly 2 ,000 bills so far, but it should be noted that not a lot of bills actually passed. Last session, 8 ,000 bills were filed and less than 1 ,300 of those were passed and signed by the governor. So the lawmakers can brag about introducing legislation or this or that, but those bills probably don't stand a chance. And, you know, the saying better late than never. Well, with bills, it's better early than late because the earlier the bills get filed, the more time you have to bring all sides to the table to discuss any issues the bill might have.

12:38And then you can get amendments tackled on to fix them. Better early than late. That sounds like a good model for journalists, too. I agree. Blaze Ganey is the state capitol reporter for the Texas Newsroom. Blaze, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you.

12:56And that's up first for Saturday, November 30th, 2024. I'm Scott Simon. And I'm Eric Deggans. Our producer is Fernando Naro with help from Chris Thomas. Our director is Michael Radcliffe. Our editors are Deedee Skanky, Miguel Macias, Acacia Squires, and Matthew Sherman. Hannah Glovna is our technical director, with engineering support from Nisha Hines, Andy Huther, and Arthur Halliday-Lorett. Evie Stone is our senior supervising editor. Sarah Lucy Oliver is our executive producer. And Jim Cain is our deputy managing editor. That's what he does. Tomorrow on the Sunday Story from Up First, host of Isha Roscoe speaks with Montana Public Radio's Nick Mott about the Endangered Species Act that was passed more than half a century ago.

13:41And for more news, interviews, sports, and music, you can tune in to Weekend Edition on your radio. Go to stations.npr.org to find your local NPR station. And I'll be listening to you tomorrow morning, Eric. All righty.

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