--:-- [Up First theme music plays]
--:-- Michelle Martin: Congress has the deadline of tonight to fund the federal government. Elon Musk and President-elect Trump instructed Republicans to kill a bipartisan plan. Then the House rejected Trump's preferred alternative. What now?
--:-- Steve Inskip: I'm Michelle Martin. That's Steve Inskip. And this is Up First from NPR News.
--:-- Michelle Martin: Russia's army has lost thousands of soldiers trying to capture a single Ukrainian town. Ukraine's army has defended against superior numbers and swarms of drones.
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--:-- Michelle Martin: We will listen as one of those drones is shot down. Also, a rebel group toppled Syria's government with surprising ease. Now it's their job to build a new government that includes everyone in a divided country. How could they do it? Stay with us.
--:-- [Up First theme music transitions to a sponsor segment]
--:-- Michelle Martin: We've got the news you need to start your day. This message comes from BetterHelp. It's only human to ask others for advice, like turning to your barista, hairdresser, or a taxi driver for life advice. But when you're looking for help about relationships, anxiety, depression, or other clinical issues, they may not have all the right answers. Instead, get guidance from a licensed therapist online with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com slash NPR for 10% off your first month.
--:-- [Up First theme music transitions to another sponsor segment]
--:-- Michelle Martin: This message comes from NPR sponsor AARP. Where do you see your career in 12 years? What are you doing now to help you get there? The sooner you start enhancing your skills, the sooner you'll be ready. That's why AARP has management, finance, and small business reskilling courses, all to help your income live as long as you do. Because the steps you choose to take today will help you love what you do in the future. Learn more at aarp.org slash skills.
--:-- [Up First theme music transitions to another sponsor segment]
--:-- Michelle Martin: This message comes from NPR sponsor, Adobe. Introducing the all-new Adobe Acrobat Studio, now with AI-powered PDF spaces. 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. Learn more at adobe.com slash do that with Acrobat.
--:-- [Up First theme music transitions to a news segment]
--:-- Michelle Martin: Federal agencies run out of money at midnight tonight. It is not clear how Congress will do one of the most basic parts of its job, which is to fund the daily operations of the federal government.
--:-- Steve Inskip: It's been a busy week, but that didn't get done, so let's review. Lawmakers were on track for a bipartisan bill to manage the next few months while a new administration takes charge. It added disaster assistance, farm subsidies, and some money for health care programs.
--:-- Michelle Martin: Then Elon Musk, the world's richest man, demanded that Congress kill the deal. President-elect Trump followed the lead of his close advisor, telling Republicans to turn against their plan.
--:-- Steve Inskip: House Speaker Mike Johnson came up with a Plan B, and that failed last night.
--:-- Michelle Martin: Just taking a breath. NPR congressional correspondent Deirdre Walsh has been covering all of this and is up early once again.
--:-- Deirdre Walsh: Hi there, Steve. Good morning, Steve. Why did Plan B fail?
--:-- Steve Inskip: It failed because a significant block of the Speaker's own Republican colleagues joined most Democrats and tanked it.
--:-- Deirdre Walsh: Even after President-elect Trump endorsed the deal, this Republican deal, and threatened primary challengers for any Republican lawmaker who voted no, most House conservatives who voted against this criticized the decision at Trump's insistence to add a two-year increase to the country's borrowing authority without any spending cuts.
--:-- Steve Inskip: Texas Republican Chip Roy was one of them and he chastised his Republican colleagues on the House floor To take this bill yesterday and congratulate yourself because it shorter in pages but increases the debt by five trillion dollars is asinine
--:-- Deirdre Walsh: Republicans were essentially daring Democrats to vote no on this latest plan and argued they were the ones who wanted to shut down. But Democrats opposed adding the debt limit and said provisions in the original bipartisan deal, things like lowering drug costs, funding children's cancer research, preventing China from getting access to U.S. technologies were dumped out because Elon Musk was advising Trump and was looking out for his own interests.
--:-- Steve Inskip: And Democrats took a swipe at the president-elect, suggesting someone else was actually calling the shots, and they call it Musk, President Musk.
--:-- Deirdre Walsh: I'm just thinking about pure numbers in the House of Representatives. They needed a two-thirds vote. So they needed Democrats to support this, right? They did. And so then they did this thing where they didn't even negotiate with Democrats. So you knew it was going to fail.
--:-- Steve Inskip: Then it didn't even get a majority because a lot of Republicans turned against it. So what's plan C?
--:-- Deirdre Walsh: There isn't one. You know, we have hours to go before the midnight deadline and a shutdown is much more likely. Late last night, House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters he's regrouping, coming up with a new solution. But he didn't say what that was.
--:-- Steve Inskip: It's hard to see what he can do to keep his own party together. And Democrats continue to say the only way out of this to avoid a shutdown is move something that can get bipartisan support.
--:-- Deirdre Walsh: So what does this mean if Republicans feel they need to obey President-elect Trump and or Elon Musk in saying no to things, but then they won't even say yes to things necessarily? What does this mean for next year? I mean, this is a good preview of Trump's unpredictable governing style.
--:-- Steve Inskip: I covered the last time Trump was in the White House and Republicans had control of the House and the Senate. And Trump frequently blew up deals cut by Republicans then.
--:-- Deirdre Walsh: I talked to Nebraska Republican colleague Don Bacon. He said he was troubled that Musk was putting out false information about the original deal. He backed this new plan, but said Trump added a new demand late in the process.
--:-- Steve Inskip: What we took away from the president is the debt ceilings as number one priority. We've been hopeful to know that two or three, four weeks ago.
--:-- Deirdre Walsh: This whole episode weakened Speaker Mike Johnson as he faces another vote in January to stay speaker. And this all just shows how hard it's going to be for Republicans to move their agenda through when they're so divided on this.
--:-- Steve Inskip: And Piers Deidre Walsh covered the last Trump administration and will be covering Congress in this one. Thanks so much.
--:-- Deirdre Walsh: Thanks, Steve.
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--:-- Steve Inskip: We have a closer look this morning at the battle for one Ukrainian city. The city is called Pokrovsk. It's not very large, but it's a transportation hub and a coal mining center.
--:-- Brian Mann: Hi there, Steve. Good morning, Steve. Why does this city matter?
--:-- Steve Inskip: Well, you mentioned Pukovsk is important for its coal and its rail and road connections. They're vital to Ukraine's army, but it held Russia back from cutting into the heartland of Ukraine. If Pukovsk falls, cities like Dnipro, home to nearly a million people, will be far more vulnerable.
--:-- Brian Mann: So everyone I met yesterday said this battle is crucial and the fighting is grim.
--:-- Steve Inskip: Okay, so what did you see when you visited that embattled city?
--:-- Brian Mann: This was a city of 60,000 people. Yesterday, I saw empty gray streets, houses and shops and hotels just shattered by Russian bombs.
--:-- Steve Inskip: I met Ukrainian soldiers deeply weary, worn thin by this fighting One man who would only give his first name Vitaly had just come back from the front lines in an American Bradley fighting vehicle that had been heavily damaged by a landmine The situation pretty bad Vitaly told me
--:-- Brian Mann: The Russian drones are the worst. He actually used a curse word to describe the hovering machines that rain bombs from the sky.
--:-- Steve Inskip: I asked if he thinks Ukraine can hold out in Pokrovsk, and he said if it doesn't work, we at least have to try.
--:-- Brian Mann: Most military analysts, Steve, say the reality is Russia's army is simply much larger. They have more men, more artillery, and more shells.
--:-- Steve Inskip: I appreciate this description. Somebody was pointing out to me the other day that this war is like World War I trench warfare, except with drones overhead all the time and other things that make it more horrifying.
--:-- Brian Mann: Now, you suggested a moment ago that a lot of civilians seem to have left this city that's mostly empty, but are all civilians out of harm's way?
--:-- Steve Inskip: They're not. One of the hardest things I saw yesterday was people still in the streets. Vukhovska, frightening place. There are Russian drones everywhere. They pummel the city with grenades and larger bombs.
--:-- Brian Mann: But officials say they think roughly 11,000 Ukrainians are still hunkered down under the threat of this violence without gasps or heat or running water.
--:-- Steve Inskip: I met one elderly man who called himself Sergei, who had turned up yesterday at one of the evacuation points. I didn't want to go because this is my hometown, Sergei told me. I was born here, but now I have to leave.
--:-- Brian Mann: Well, how have Ukrainian forces been able to hold out against superior Russian numbers?
--:-- Steve Inskip: Well, they're getting creative, in part by also using attack drones.
--:-- Brian Mann: I was taken last night to a secret Ukrainian drone command center where the military let me watch in real time as their drones hunted and killed Russian soldiers.
--:-- Steve Inskip: I was speaking to one Ukrainian technician named Yuri at the chilling moment when a Ukrainian drone stopped a Russian attack. Yeah, there's no Russian anymore. I think it doesn't feel very well.
--:-- Brian Mann: So what we just saw was actively a bomb dropped from that device and struck near that Russian. Yeah, it's all the time here. They have constant assaults. Unfortunately, sometimes it happens, they reach our position. And when there's just overwhelming force, we have to move back.
--:-- Steve Inskip: So what I saw yesterday was Ukrainians being as ruthless as they can trying to hold Povrovsk. They're making Russians pay a terrible price.
--:-- Brian Mann: But Ukrainian soldiers also acknowledge they're facing assaults by larger units that never seem to end. We've seen Russia slowly advance. And if they do finally take this city, it'll be Russia's biggest, most significant victory in months.
--:-- Steve Inskip: And Pyrrhus, Brian Mann, who's been on the front lines near Povrovsk, Ukraine. Thanks.
--:-- Brian Mann: Thank you, Steve.
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--:-- Steve Inskip: The rebels who deposed Syria's government now face the challenge of replacing it. Yes, they've set up an interim government since Syria's military collapsed and President Bashar al-Assad fled.
--:-- Adil El-Shalchi: Hi there. Good morning. What is the rebels' vision for Syria?
--:-- Steve Inskip: So the leader of HTS, which is short for Heya Tahrir al-Sham, is Ahmad al-Shar'a, formerly known by his nom de guerre, Abu Muhammad al-Jolani.
--:-- Adil El-Shalchi: And at least publicly, he's been making all the right noises. This week, he said that all rebel factions that helped overthrow Bashar al-Assad will be disbanded and absorbed into the Ministry of Defense, and that everyone will be subject to the rule of law.
--:-- Steve Inskip: He said it's time to move on from war to civilian life. He's even stopped wearing his fatigues.
--:-- Adil El-Shalchi: But Syria is a very diverse country. So HTS needs to find a way to reunite it And so many cities have been destroyed in the war So rebuilding the infrastructure is going to be something they need to tackle
--:-- Steve Inskip: And HTS has roots in Al It has told Syrians it won turn the country into another Afghanistan But a lot of Syrians are worried will they end up imposing a very stringent form of Islamic rule that'll upend their lives?
--:-- Adil El-Shalchi: Okay, they're saying they're not going to do that stringent rule, but how do their public comments stack up with what they're doing so far?
--:-- Steve Inskip: Sure. So HTS has been using former Assad regime bureaucrats to get things up and running. They have to. These rebels just don't have the expertise needed to run a country.
--:-- Adil El-Shalchi: So students did go back to school this week. ATMs are working again. And even the first domestic flight took off from Damascus International Airport.
--:-- Steve Inskip: And then I went to a protest last night, probably the first mass gathering in more than a decade. The site was unimaginable just a couple of weeks ago.
--:-- Adil El-Shalchi: People chanting for a secular state, against an Islamist state, even some anti-HTS slogans. There were some HTS forces guarding the area also, but they pretty much left the protesters alone.
--:-- Steve Inskip: I met Sana Mustafa at the protest, and she was exiled for 11 years for being a Syrian activist. This was her first time back, and she said, yes, she feels fear and is cautious, but there was a lot of fight in her voice.
--:-- Adil El-Shalchi: There's a lot of courage and strength within me, as long as I am with my people. If we were able to topple the 53-year-old dictatorship, then I'm definitely not worried about those guys.
--:-- Steve Inskip: So they inherit now this country that is very isolated in the world, all kinds of international sanctions and everything else.
--:-- Adil El-Shalchi: Do you get the impression that the new rulers are wanting to engage with the world and that the world is ready to engage with them?
--:-- Steve Inskip: Right. So we already know that countries like Qatar and Turkey have opened up their embassies. And then even though the French embassy is still closed, it raised its flag there over the past week.
--:-- Adil El-Shalchi: The French foreign ministry said it was a show of solidarity with the Syrian people in this time of, quote, transition.
--:-- Steve Inskip: And seniors U.S. diplomats are now in Damascus, the first official diplomatic delegation to enter the capital since its severed ties in 2012.
--:-- Adil El-Shalchi: They're meeting with HTS and want to make it clear that they're pushing for an inclusive and democratic Syria.
--:-- Steve Inskip: Now, they are designated a terrorist organization and they are desperate for the U.S. to drop that so that it can get aid, desperate aid to rebuild the country.
--:-- Adil El-Shalchi: Also with the delegation is the U.S.'s top hostage negotiator and he's going to be pressing for any more information about the missing American journalist, Austin Tice.
--:-- Steve Inskip: We've got a couple seconds left, so I just want to ask you, you're walking around Damascus. Are things still relatively calm day by day?
--:-- Adil El-Shalchi: You know, it's not so bad. The traffic is pretty bad. But I saw yesterday a couple of traffic controllers. There's just a few of them, but they're really trying very hard.
--:-- Steve Inskip: I went to the main market in the Old City, and it was buzzing with people. You could see that people were just very happy, you know, taking selfies.
--:-- Adil El-Shalchi: And telling me also that this was their first time in the souk. So, yeah, it's pretty cool. It's good if you can get back to worrying about traffic.
--:-- Steve Inskip: NPR's Adil El-Shalchi, thanks so much.
--:-- Adil El-Shalchi: You're welcome, Steve.
--:-- [Up First theme music plays]
--:-- Michelle Martin: And that's Up First for this Friday, December 20th. I'm Steve Inskeep. And I'm Michelle Martin. We here at Up First give you the three big stories of the day. Our Consider This colleagues take a different approach. They dive into a single news story and what it means to you in just 15 minutes. Listen now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
--:-- Michelle Martin: I want you to know the names of some of our colleagues who bring you up first in this holiday season. Today's episode was edited by Kelsey Snell, Carrie Kahn, Ryland Barton, H.J. Mai, and Olivia Hampton.
--:-- Steve Inskip: It was produced by Ziad Butch, Nia DeMoss, and Katie Kline.
--:-- Michelle Martin: We get engineering support from the ever-supportive Stacey Abbott.
--:-- Steve Inskip: And our technical director is Carly Strange.
--:-- Michelle Martin: And our executive producer is Kelly Dickens.
--:-- Steve Inskip: Join us tomorrow. Thank you.
