New Orleans Answers, House Speaker Vote, Golan Heights Tensions

0:01The music is back on Bourbon Street. Just let them know that the love is still out here. People resume their lives as the FBI says a New Year's morning attacker acted alone. What's their reading of the evidence? I'm Steve Inskeep with Layla Faddle, and this is Up First from NPR News. Members of the House of Representatives meet today. Republicans are to elect a speaker, and Mike Johnson will need every vote he can get. A very small number of holdouts would have the power to block him. So what happens if he falls short? Also, Israel moved into a UN-monitored buffer zone when the government collapsed in neighboring Syria.

0:37Our correspondent visited the Golan Heights. How are residents describing what Israeli troops are doing? Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day.

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2:13Federal investigators have clarified their understanding of what happened in New Orleans on New Year's morning. Most notably, the FBI backed off of a vague statement that the driver of a pickup truck was not solely responsible for an attack on people on Bourbon Street. Now they confirm that, as they understand it now, Shamsa Deen Jabbar, an Army veteran from Texas, acted alone. NPR's Debbie Elliott is in New Orleans with this and other developments. Good morning, Debbie. Hi, good morning. So why did the FBI first suggest a broader conspiracy and then back off? Well, another day of chasing down leads, and I think in particular, a closer look at hundreds of hours of surveillance video.

2:55You know, it shows Jabbar placing two explosive devices concealed in coolers in the French Quarter just a few blocks from the crash site. And as the investigation was unfolding, agents initially indicated that other people might have helped him plant those. But after looking at all that video, it turned out to just be curious passers by who had stopped to check out the coolers on a street corner, right? FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raya, who's with the counterterrorism division at the agency, is urging those people to now call the FBI with whatever they saw. Raya had more information about Jabbar's motivation.

3:34The FBI says investigators have pieced together his activities leading up to the attack, including that he posted several online videos proclaiming his support for ISIS and previewing the violence that was to come. So it's been a couple days now. Bourbon Street is open again. What's life like there in New Orleans? Just hyper heightened security like I have never seen before. And I've covered this city for something like 30 years now. The college football playoff game between Georgia and Notre Dame was postponed by a day, was played in the Sugar Bowl without incident yesterday. Officers are posted everywhere you look, including military police from the Louisiana National Guard.

4:16Roads are blocked off around the Superdome. Also in the French Quarter where Bourbon Street, like you say, is back open. When I first went out there after it opened, there was still water fresh on the street from where the crime scene had been cleaned up. And already makeshift memorials, long-stemmed yellow roses for the 14 victims, people adding to that throughout the day. There seems to be this determination not to let a terrorist sap the city's culture. Darnell Sims is a drummer with the One Wave Brass Band, and he told me it was important just to bring the street music back. Just out here spreading peace and love and happiness to the people that we had lost out here on Bourbon on New Year's after the tragic terror attack.

4:59Just let them know that the love is still out here. He wasn't the only one trying to spread the love as the band was playing on Bourbon. A man jogged down the street with a handmade flag that said love hoisted up on a fish pole. So after a mass killing, mass violence like this, what are you hearing from people in New Orleans about how they're going to move forward? Certainly people are shaken up, sadness, shock, and questions about why local officials haven't done more to make Bourbon Street less vulnerable to an attack like this. Kenzie Falk is a proline vendor who was pushing his cart along Canal.

5:34He says he's just trying to keep things going despite the uncertainty. As of right now, everything is at a standstill. You know, everybody's like up in arms and like on their toes and trying to figure out what's next. And what next are two more major national events, the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras here in New Orleans. And here's Debbie Elliott in New Orleans. Thank you, Debbie. You're welcome.

6:04A new Congress is to be sworn in today, and the first order of business in the House is to elect a speaker. Republicans have an even narrower majority than in the last Congress, which means they have to be close to unanimous to choose a leader. Speaker Mike Johnson has the endorsement of President-elect Trump and also faces a challenge from some Republican holdouts. Joining us now is NPR's congressional correspondent, Claudia Grisaldis. Hi, Claudia. Hey, Layla. All right. So Mike Johnson was elected speaker after his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, was ousted from the job during a chaotic time and several other candidates lost bids to replace him.

6:40What is Johnson facing this time around? Well, potentially more chaos. House Republicans are taking control of the lower chamber for this second Congress in a row. And as we saw, the last couple of years brought us some good clues on how today could play out. And as you mentioned, job one for the House today is to elect a new speaker. And there will virtually be no House business until that gets done. No new members sworn in, no legislative business. And we already heard from House Republicans at the end of last year who said they were not so sure they would reelect Johnson to the speakership, even as he recently earned Trump's endorsement.

7:20And as you mentioned, it's key, but it may not be enough. But why not? I mean, this is an incoming Republican White House with Trump at the helm. And Johnson held the position as Speaker for the last 14 months. Well, first of all, Johnson is coming into this new House with even tighter margins than we saw in the last couple of years when former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, for example, ran for his position. He could only lose two years ago a handful of Republicans to get that gavel in the 2023 election. And he still had to go 15 rounds of ballots, days of intraparty fighting on the floor before he won that gavel.

8:00So walk us through that process of how the House elects a new speaker. What should we be watching for? Well, Johnson will need a simple majority of a 435-member House, so 218 votes. and Republicans just have 219 members. So not a lot of breathing room at all, particularly since Democrats are not expected to help Johnson or any other Republican get over the line. So we already know of one GOP member who says he will vote no on Johnson and it's possible others could follow. Who are those possible no's? Well, we know Kentucky Republican Thomas Massey has been pretty vocal. He will vote against Johnson.

8:39So that could open the floodgates for other House Republicans who want to vote no on Johnson as well. Some Republicans will use this time for attention in the media or other potential spoilers may look at this as an opportunity to make a favorable deal with Johnson before they can get flipped to a yes. So they will hold a lot of leverage in this moment. So what, if anything, does this moment tell us about the new Congress? Well, it's clearly a test for this new membership, especially House Republicans, and whether they will face the same dysfunction, the same intraparty fighting that dominated the last Congress.

9:20And it's also a test of the influence Trump will exert over these members. In his endorsement of Johnson, he noted that this should get done quickly so Republicans can also quickly get to the work on a very long to-do list. NPR's Claudia Grisales. Thank you, Claudia. Thank you.

9:44In the Golan Heights in southwest Syria, residents say Israeli troops are raiding their homes and villages, and they ask if this is the start of a land grab. Here's what we know so far. Since the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last month, Israel has conducted near-daily airstrikes across Syria and Israeli forces seized more territory in the Golan Heights. We say more territory because Israel actually captured much of the Golan decades ago and didn't give it back. Now they're moving into a buffer zone that is monitored by the United Nations. Israel says the strikes and troop movements are all aimed at keeping their border secure.

10:23NPR's Hadil al-Shalchi is just back from the Golan Heights and joins us now. Good morning. Good morning. So what did you find? Well, the Golan Heights is a swath of land about 40 miles away from the capital, Damascus. The land is hilly, dotted with olive groves and grazing cows. It's also surrounded by these beautiful snow-capped mountains. I visited the province of Al-Qunaitra. It's part of which lies in this buffer zone that the Israelis entered a month ago. Residents said the troops set up checkpoints, regularly entering their villages and searching homes for weapons. The Israeli military has said they're protecting itself, and it coordinates its operations with the local populations.

11:00Troops have set up in areas of a village called Al-Hamadiya, for example. I was on its edge yesterday and saw a tank at a nuke checkpoint on the main road. And also, wherever you go, there are these tank tracks all over the roads. And what did people say about what it's like to live with Israeli troops coming into their villages? I heard a lot of fear in a village called Al-Ba 'ath. I spoke to one Syrian resident, Mohamed Farouk, who lived maybe 300 yards away from where the Israelis had set up a checkpoint. He said tanks roll into his village constantly.

11:35Farouk says his small daughter now wakes up at night shouting, a tank, a tank, out of fear. In another village I went to, Jabhat al-Khashab, the mayor told me he met with Israeli troops and they told him they wanted to enter their homes to search for weapons. So to keep the troops out, the mayor went back to his community, rounded up any weapons they had, and handed them over to the Israeli military. I also met with one displaced Syrian family who said Israeli troops moved into their village and forced them out of their homes, demolishing buildings along the way. And what's the Israeli military saying about all this?

12:04Well, we asked the Israeli military for comment about all those incidents. We're waiting for their response. And there's also been reports of anti-Israeli protests in various villages. In Suesa, for example, I met two young men who were injured when they said Israeli troops shot into the crowd. We're waiting on Israeli comment on that incident also. And what are Syrians saying about this seizure of land? Right. So, well, for context, Israel seized and occupied the Golan Heights from Syria during the Arab-Israeli War of 67. And then they began settling the land. The settlements are considered illegal under international law, although Israel disputes that.

12:39And in 74, the two countries agreed to create this buffer zone in part of the Golan Heights. And that's the area that the Israeli military entered yesterday. So all of this is making Syrians worry that the move may mean more annexation, more displacement, and probably more settlements. And what have the new leaders of Syria, the rebel group Hayat Tahrid Hashem or HTS and Israel said about the situation? I mean, Israel has been adamant. A couple of weeks ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the seized buffer zone and said, quote, we will stay until another arrangement ensures Israel security.

13:12And for HDS, not a lot. The residents of the villages I visited said they hadn't heard much from them and HDS hadn't sent any forces to even protect them. NPR's Hadil El-Shalchi in Damascus, thank you. You're welcome. Again, we have requested comment from the Israeli military about these village raids and what residents told us. They haven't gotten back to us. If they do, we will note their response in additional reporting. And that's up first for this Friday, January 3rd. I'm Layla Foddle, it says. You are, Steve. I would love to be. You know, I'd be a distinguished foreign correspondent dashing about the world and host of a major program.

13:54I guess it's true. Wait a second. Hold on. Wait a minute. And that's up first for this Friday, January 3rd. I'm Steve Inskey. And I'm Layla Foddle. Don't forget, Up First airs on the weekend, too. Aisha Roscoe and Scott Simon have the news here or wherever you get your podcasts. Today's Up First was edited by Russell Lewis. Martin Patience, who has an awesome name, wouldn't you agree? Kelsey Snell, also an awesome name, if you ask me. Jan Johnson, nice name. Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Katie Klein, Nia Dumas, and Julie Deppenbrock. We get engineering support from Nisha Hines, and our technical director is Carly Strange.

14:29Join us Monday. What about my name? Your name is amazing. All these names. Carly Strange. That is so great.

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