--:-- [Theme music fades out]
--:-- Scott Simon: Some Democratic lawmakers say it's time to go, Joe. But others say they will continue to support his re-election. Divisions within President Biden's party as he continues to campaign.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: I'm Aisha Roscoe, and this is Up First from NPR News.
--:-- Scott Simon: Last night at a rally in Detroit, the president pushed back hard against the idea that his campaign is floundering.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: I'm Scott Simon.
--:-- Scott Simon: I learned a long time ago that when you get knocked down, you get back up.
--:-- [Sound effects: crowd cheering]
--:-- Scott Simon: We'll have analysis in a moment from NPR's Ron Elving.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Also, Hezbollah keeps its eyes on renewed ceasefire talks in the war in Gaza.
--:-- Scott Simon: And it's a big weekend for soccer fans. We'll have a preview of the final matches in the European Championship and Copa America.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Go! Stay with us. We have the news you need to start your weekend.
--:-- [Sound effects: theme music fades back in]
--:-- Scott Simon: This message comes from NPR sponsor, Adobe. Introducing the all-new Adobe Acrobat Studio, now with AI-powered PDF spaces.
--:-- [Sound effects: commercial music plays]
--:-- Scott Simon: Need to turn 100 pages of market research into five insights with a click? Templates for a sales proposal that'll close that deal? Or an AI specialist to tailor the tone of your market report? You can do all that with the all-new Adobe Acrobat Studio.
--:-- [Sound effects: commercial music continues]
--:-- Scott Simon: Learn more at adobe.com slash do that with Acrobat.
--:-- [Sound effects: commercial music fades out]
--:-- Scott Simon: Nielsen says that more than 24 million people watched a press conference about NATO on Thursday.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: And it wasn't necessarily concerned about the future of the alliance that drew so many viewers. It was curiosity.
--:-- Scott Simon: How would President Biden do amid scrutiny over whether he's fit to serve a second term? How is his performance reassured or perhaps worried Democrats?
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: We're joined out by NPR senior editor and correspondent Ron Elving.
--:-- Ron Elving: Ron, thanks for being with us.
--:-- Scott Simon: Good to be with you, Scott.
--:-- Ron Elving: The president gave strong and detailed answers about complicated foreign policy questions, even as he did mix up a couple of names.
--:-- Scott Simon: Three more Democratic members of Congress asked him to end his re-election campaign. Why?
--:-- Ron Elving: In all likelihood, those statements were written before the NATO press conference and set up to be issued soon after.
--:-- Scott Simon: That may have created the impression they were reactions to the news conference more than they probably were.
--:-- Ron Elving: What was striking, though, was that news reports had suggested far larger numbers of members had prepared statements just like those, and they were ready to be released after the news conference based on previous fears about Biden, and we did not hear or see those statements.
--:-- Scott Simon: Now, we don't know what those 24 million people thought about that news conference, and of course, he was far from perfect, but at least it was a strong reiteration of Joe Biden.
--:-- Ron Elving: It was hard to escape the feeling that he and his advisors had finally gotten him ready to debate Donald Trump two weeks after the debate.
--:-- Scott Simon: There is still a deep well of affection for Joe Biden among Democrats in Congress.
--:-- Ron Elving: So even if many want the president to quit, they want him to do it without their having to come out against him in public.
--:-- Scott Simon: The president was reminded of that press conference that in 2020, he'd refer to himself as a bridge to the next generation of leaders, and then he was asked why he didn't step back and let Vice President Harris lead the ticket.
--:-- Ron Elving: He said she was prepared to step into his shoes in case something happened, but added, the consideration is that I think I'm the most qualified person to run for president.
--:-- Scott Simon: I beat him once, and I will beat him again.
--:-- Ron Elving: How do you read that answer?
--:-- Scott Simon: Two ways you could interpret that, either as an answer to the generic question about being a bridge to a new generation, or as a more specific comeback on Vice President Kamala Harris in particular.
--:-- Ron Elving: What he said was he better positioned to be Trump than anyone else in the party and that would include Harris.
--:-- Scott Simon: No specific disrespect there but he didn't make an exception for her either.
--:-- Ron Elving: Let's remember that incumbents usually do have a certain advantage.
--:-- Scott Simon: The previous three incumbents before Trump all ran for re-election and won.
--:-- Ron Elving: That's been the pattern through our history.
--:-- Scott Simon: And as for the vice president, many in the party remember her own campaign for the nomination that Biden won.
--:-- Ron Elving: She had some strong moments in the early debates, but after that she faded and didn't even make it to the first round of caucus and primary voting.
--:-- Scott Simon: Later on, of course, as part of the ticket, she broadened Biden's appeal in the November contest against Trump.
--:-- Ron Elving: She helped with women, younger voters, people of color, and she has been poised to play that role again in the current cycle with a special new focus on the issue of abortion rights.
--:-- Scott Simon: Ron, a few times this week I've heard the president reject calls for him to step aside as the work of elites, pundits, big donors, celebrities, who he feels have always underestimated him as a working-class son of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
--:-- Ron Elving: Has the criticism he's been under been rubbing something personal?
--:-- Scott Simon: He has long felt much, as you described, disrespected by elements of the party and intellectuals on campus and in government and in the media.
--:-- Ron Elving: And surely we would include in this the Hollywood creatives who have become major fundraisers and influencers over the past 30 years.
--:-- Scott Simon: These categories taken together have become a powerful force in the party.
--:-- Ron Elving: Some call them the Brahmin left, signifying their elevated cultural standing and power.
--:-- Scott Simon: Biden never liked, well, let's put it this way. He never felt like he was one of them.
--:-- Ron Elving: He wasn't a candidate, a Clinton or an Obama.
--:-- Scott Simon: And he has doubtless felt put down at times, even as other glamorous candidates turned to him to help them win blue-collar voters.
--:-- Ron Elving: And by the way, on that note, Scott, last night, Biden was on that theme big time in Detroit, reminding everyone he had walked the picket line, not just as a candidate, but as a president.
--:-- Scott Simon: NPR's Ron Elving, thanks so much.
--:-- Ron Elving: Particularly good to speak with you, well, any week, but certainly this week.
--:-- Scott Simon: Thanks so much.
--:-- Ron Elving: Always good to be with you, Scott.
--:-- Scott Simon: Thank you.
--:-- [Sound effects: theme music plays]
--:-- Scott Simon: There was a restart of ceasefire negotiations in the war in Gaza this week. Talks are taking place in Qatar and Egypt.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant and political group, is closely watching these negotiations.
--:-- Scott Simon: And a spokesman for the group, Ibrahim al-Moussaoui, has told NPR the only way to avert the threat of an all-out war on the border between Israel and Lebanon is to end the war in Gaza.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: He spoke at length with NPR's Jane Araf, who joins us now from Beirut.
--:-- Jane Araf: Thanks for being with us.
--:-- Scott Simon: What do the spokesman say about the risks of a wider war?
--:-- Jane Araf: Well, Scott, he didn't discount it, but basically he said that because everyone, Lebanon, Israel, the United States, understands the tremendous risks. It's less likely to happen on purpose.
--:-- Scott Simon: Let's listen.
--:-- Jane Araf: Everybody knows now that Hezbollah has only used 5% of its military capabilities and might against Israel. Why didn't we start an all-out war? Because we don't want that.
--:-- Scott Simon: He said if war did start, it wouldn't be contained just to Israel and Lebanon.
--:-- Jane Araf: It's going to be the war of the axis, of the whole axis. It will start. They can never control. They cannot monopolize. They cannot know the domain effect where it reaches.
--:-- Scott Simon: And that whole axis includes Iran, which al-Musui says supplies and supports Hezbollah.
--:-- Jane Araf: And Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq and Yemen, which have also been attacking Israel.
--:-- Scott Simon: How powerful is Hezbollah right now?
--:-- Jane Araf: Well, it's a lot more powerful than the Lebanese military.
--:-- Scott Simon: It was founded, for that reason really, to fight Israel after Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982.
--:-- Jane Araf: It's classified in the United States as a terrorist organization but in addition to its fighters it also a key player in the Lebanese parliament and in government.
--:-- Scott Simon: Musaoui the spokesman is himself a member of parliament.
--:-- Jane Araf: The important thing, Scott, is that Hezbollah in 2024 is much more powerful and much better equipped than it was almost two decades ago when Israel invaded again and Hezbollah fought them to a standstill.
--:-- Scott Simon: How is Hezbollah more powerful today?
--:-- Jane Araf: They have more sophisticated weapons.
--:-- Scott Simon: Hezbollah has drones that have penetrated Israel's air defenses.
--:-- Jane Araf: They have huge stockpiles of rockets that can reach most of Israel.
--:-- Scott Simon: They have an extremely committed fighting force in the largely Shia south of Lebanon.
--:-- Jane Araf: I spoke with former intelligence analyst Harrison Mann.
--:-- Scott Simon: He resigned from the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency to protest what he sees as a deeply flawed U.S. policy in Gaza.
--:-- Jane Araf: He says Hezbollah's defensive capabilities are as good as any military in the region.
--:-- Scott Simon: He said until the Gaza war started in October, Israel and Hezbollah were conducting tit-for-tat attacks designed not to escalate.
--:-- Jane Araf: But after that...
--:-- Scott Simon: What's different now, of course, is that Hezbollah feels it cannot let up until there's a ceasefire in Gaza.
--:-- Jane Araf: As an organization founded to resist Israel, they feel like they can't totally stand down until the Gaza issue is resolved.
--:-- Scott Simon: And he says that puts Israel in a position of feeling they can't stop either.
--:-- Jane Araf: What would stop this?
--:-- Scott Simon: Here's al-Musui on that subject.
--:-- Jane Araf: First, the doorway to start all of this is stop the killing in Gaza to reach a ceasefire, and then the whole front would stop.
--:-- Scott Simon: Israel and Hamas have been holding indirect negotiations.
--:-- Jane Araf: Hamas had insisted on a permanent ceasefire, but has now said it will accept an initial temporary one.
--:-- Scott Simon: Al-Musawi said either way, Hezbollah would follow the lead of Hamas.
--:-- Jane Araf: And Paris Jain Araf speaking with us from Beirut. Thanks so much.
--:-- Scott Simon: Thank you.
--:-- [Sound effects: theme music plays]
--:-- Scott Simon: Soccer fans, are you ready?
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Sunday, Sunday might be the biggest day in international soccer until the 2026 World Cup.
--:-- Scott Simon: England will take on Spain in the final match of the European Championship.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: And here in the U.S., Colombia will play Argentina in the Copa America final in what could be the last major tournament match for the all-time great Lionel Messi.
--:-- Scott Simon: NPR sports correspondent Becky Sullivan joins me now with a preview.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: Hi, Becky.
--:-- Scott Simon: Good morning.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: Yes, Sunday is going to be an excellent day for soccer.
--:-- Scott Simon: However, when it comes to national teams, these two tournaments are second only to the World Cup.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: So this is a huge deal.
--:-- Scott Simon: COPA is South America's tournament.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: This year, they invited some North American teams to join, too, including the USA.
--:-- Scott Simon: As you said, it's hosted here in the U.S. The final is Sunday night in Miami.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: So that's going to be a big deal.
--:-- Scott Simon: And then the Euros, of course, this is like all the European national teams.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: That final is being hosted Sunday in Berlin.
--:-- Scott Simon: And so between these two tournaments, we have gotten to watch many of just the very best teams in the world.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: And, of course, the very best players in the world.
--:-- Scott Simon: Some of them, like Messi, as you mentioned, at the end of their career, some who are just beginning to shine.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: So we're going to get to see all of that in Sunday's matches.
--:-- Scott Simon: I'm very excited.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: Okay, so let's talk about the Euro final between England and Spain.
--:-- Scott Simon: What are you watching for?
--:-- Becky Sullivan: The big narrative, for England at least, is that they are trying to end this very famous, infamous, even, long drought that they have gone without having won a major international tournament.
--:-- Scott Simon: It's been almost 60, six zero years.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: So they're going to try to reverse that.
--:-- Scott Simon: But however, they're going to run into a big challenge in Spain.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: Spain is extremely good.
--:-- Scott Simon: Just to give you like a little sense of this, they have had nine different players score a goal in this tournament, meaning the threat can sort of come from anywhere on the field.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: They've won every game they've played in this tournament so far.
--:-- Scott Simon: So Spain will be the favorites.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: England on the other hand keeps kind of getting through at the last minute a little sort of like last minute magic late game goals penalty kicks.
--:-- Scott Simon: We see if that can carry them through for one more match to get them that trophy that England has craved for so long.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: Okay, so how about the Copa final?
--:-- Scott Simon: So Argentina is the big dog in the Copa.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: They won the World Cup in 2022.
--:-- Scott Simon: And then in the history of the Copa, they have won 15 times, including the most recent one in 2021.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: Won.
--:-- Scott Simon: Colombia, by contrast, has only won once.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: But in this tournament, they have maybe looked a little better, I might say.
--:-- Scott Simon: They especially were impressive in this semifinal match against Uruguay, in which they had a player sent off with a second yellow card just before halftime, meaning they had to play the second half down a man against Uruguay.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: Won anyway, so that's a big deal.
--:-- Scott Simon: That performance ended up being, I would say, maybe overshadowed by this ugly brawl in the stands afterward.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: Hopefully that doesn't happen tonight.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: But they'll be a fierce challenger to Argentina, which, as you said, is led by the great Lionel Messi.
--:-- Scott Simon: They've honestly kind of coasted a little bit to reach this final.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: Messi hasn't played his very best.
--:-- Scott Simon: But as you say, this might be his last major tournament match.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: So hopefully they'll turn it on for all the spectators.
--:-- Scott Simon: Okay, well, speaking of Messi, a series of photos of him as a young man has gone viral this week.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: In a good way.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: So back in 2007, Messi was 20 years old.
--:-- Scott Simon: He was this like budding superstar at FC Barcelona.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: The team did this like calendar photo shoot for charity in which Messi and a bunch of other players, you know, took part.
--:-- Scott Simon: But Messi's photos in particular, he gave this bath to like a six month old baby with like the baby's mom there.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: And sort of like in an unbelievable happenstance, insane coincidence, that baby is Lamine Yamal, who is the superlative young winger for Spain.
--:-- Scott Simon: Who is one of the very best young players in the game today.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: He just turned 17 Saturday.
--:-- Scott Simon: And his family had held on to the photos all these years to sort of like avoid any unwanted comparison to Messi.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: But Yamal has been amazing in this tournament.
--:-- Scott Simon: He had like this divine goal against France in the semifinal that made him the youngest goal scorer in the history of the tournament.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: And now with Spain on the precipice of winning the Euros, his family decided now is an okay time to put these photos out and they have just charmed the entire soccer world.
--:-- Scott Simon: Wow, maybe something rubbed off in the bath.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: It is crazy.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: So NPR sports correspondent Becky Sullivan, thanks so much for joining us.
--:-- Scott Simon: You're so welcome.
--:-- [Sound effects: theme music plays]
--:-- Scott Simon: And that's up first for Saturday, July 13, 2024.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: I'm Aisha Roscoe.
--:-- Scott Simon: And I'm Scott Simon.
--:-- Danny Hensel: Produced today's episode with help from Martin Patience, Gabe O'Connor, and Andrew Craig, who also did double duty as the director of this podcast.
--:-- Scott Simon: Our editors were Matthew Sherman, James Heider, Catherine Laidlaw, Fernando Naro, and Melissa Gray.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Nisha Hines is our technical director with engineering help from a constellation of all-stars, Ted Meebane, Arthur Halliday-Lorent, Stacey Abbott and Andy Huther.
--:-- Scott Simon: Evie Stone is our senior supervising editor.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: She's fabulous.
--:-- Scott Simon: Sarah Lucy Oliver is our wonderful executive producer.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: And Tony Cabin is our deputy managing editor.
--:-- Scott Simon: So watch your language.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Tomorrow on the Sunday Story podcast, I talk with Whoopi Goldberg about her memoir, Bits and Pieces, about loss and about her relationship with her mother and brother who shaped who she is today.
--:-- Scott Simon: You can listen to more news, interviews, sports all weekend long on your NPR station.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: You can find it and happiness by going to stations.npr.org.
--:-- Scott Simon: Happiness in a bottle is Weekend Edition.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Kind of bottle.
--:-- Scott Simon: A medicine bottle.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: A medicine bottle.
--:-- Scott Simon: Or, you know.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: I was thinking of, well, right.
--:-- Scott Simon: Thank you.
--:-- [Theme music fades out]
