Transcript of Opposition Forces in Syria, Crypto's Milestone Week, New York City's Housing Plan

Syrian opposition forces swept into another government stronghold as the Syrian army withdrew. This puts the fighters closer to their goal

of taking Damascus. Can they topple the Syrian regime?

I'm Leila Faudel. That's Michelle Martin, and this is Up First from NPR News. The value of a single Bitcoin hit $100,000 for the first time ever this week.

This will create a short term boom over the next couple of years, but it's gonna be a sugar high.

Will the momentum behind crypto last?

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The greatest city in the world has just passed the greatest housing legislation in our history.

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Syrian opposition forces are storming ahead with their largest offensive in years against the government of Bashar al Assad.

The rebel push started last week when fierce fighting led to the stunning capture of Syria's 2nd largest city, Aleppo. Then as of yesterday, they swept into the city of Hama, a major government stronghold on the road south to Damascus.

NPR's Hadil El Shalji is with us now with more. Good morning, Hadil.

Good morning.

So where does this rebel advance stand now? They seem to be moving so fast.

They really are. I mean, it's been a week of violent fighting between the rebel forces and pro government factions, which are backed by Russia and Iran. Army troops withdrew yesterday from the fringes of the city of Hama, and the opposition forces were seen celebrating in the city center. We do know that Syrian groups have said that more than a 100 civilians have been killed in the fighting.

I understand that Hama has been considered a key city since before the Syrian civil war that broke out in 2,011. Could you just remind us of what makes it important?

Yeah. So Hama has been a notorious city since president Bashar al Assad's father, Hafez al Assad, ruled the country. In 1982, government security forces massacred thousands of people in an uprising led by the Muslim Brotherhood at the time. And last night, a video online showed people toppling over a statue of Hafez al Assad. I mean, we couldn't verify the video independently.

And Hama has regional significance. The city is a main supply route that Iran uses to move weapons to its Lebanese ally, Hezbollah, who's fighting a war with Israel right now. The Israeli military said that it conducted strikes on what they are calling weapons smuggling routes used by Hezbollah at the Syrian Lebanese border last night.

Haadev, remind us who is leading this offensive.

Right. So the main group is called Hayat HaHari r Hashem. It's also known as HTS. HTS used to be affiliated with Al Qaeda but broke off years ago, but the US and other western countries still designated a terrorist group. So, Michelle, for years, they've sort of moved away from a jihadist ideology.

And while it's still a fundamentalist and not a democratic group by any stretch, they've become a bit more pragmatic focusing on civilian rule, you know, setting up services, running a stronger economy in areas they control. HTS's leader, Mohammed Ali, told CNN in an interview today that, quote, the revolution has evolved from chaos and randomness into a state of order, both militarily and civilian matters. But there are questions whether this HTS branding is real or just a PR campaign.

Given their background, do we have a sense of what civilians in Aleppo City and Houma have been saying?

For sure. So the main sentiment has been cautious optimism. Syrians living under government control have long complained about severe oppression. Some people I spoke to in Aleppo said the rebel forces were able to restore order back to the city as soon as they took it over. Video circulating online showed fighters and civilians celebrating in the streets and Giuliani driving through being greeted with joy.

There's also been images of prisoners being released from Hama's jails where dozens of people were detained for anti government activities. But then there are also thousands of people fleeing Hama, afraid. Kurds who hold their own rival territory in the northeast and many Alawites, They're the sect that Assad family comes from.

What are we going to be looking at next?

Our sights are all on the next big city, Homs, where there are reports that there's fighting on the outskirts already. The regime has also tried to destroy strategic bridges leading to Homs. We're on the road to Damascus. And if the rebels keep up this momentum, they'll be inching closer to the Syrian government's seat of power.

That is NPR's Hadil Al Shafi. Hadil, thank you.

You're welcome.

President-elect Trump has announced a White House AI and cryptozar.

Longtime Silicon Valley venture capitalist David Sacks will take up the role and is tasked with guiding the administration's policies towards the technologies. This comes after the value of a single Bitcoin hit $100,000 this week for the first time in its young history.

On this milestone week for digital currency, we thought this would be a good time to call NPR senior business editor Rafael Nam. Rafael, good morning.

Good morning, Michelle.

So so much momentum behind crypto this week. What's going on?

It's really this excitement of what Trump could mean for cryptocurrencies. He has promised to make the US the crypto capital of the planet, and he's promised to nominate regulators who are friendly to the industry. So a very different approach from the Biden administration. David Sachs, like you just mentioned, Michelle, for example. He was a top executive at PayPal and is known to be close with Elon Musk.

And now he's expected to be part of that friendlier approach to crypto. And earlier this week, Trump nominated a former financial regulator, Paul Adkins, as the new chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Adkins is also a public advocate of cryptocurrencies, and he's in line now to become the next Wall Street cop.

So it seems as though the US government is gonna become a big supporter of crypto now.

Well, that's certainly the hope for crypto investors, and it's kind of incredible because let's remember here the history of Bitcoin and what it actually is. It's only over 15 years old and it's basically a digital currency made up of computer coding. It was created by somebody or maybe a group of people going by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto. And to this day, we don't know who Satoshi is. Bitcoin was created around the global financial crisis and Satoshi's idea was to create a currency for the people.

A currency that's not controlled by 1 country or 1 central bank. That's not how it's turned out. You can't really use Bitcoin today to go buy a cup of coffee, for example.

So what do people use it for?

Well, Bitcoin may have been intended as a currency. And yes, there are some businesses and even some cities like Detroit that are starting to accept cryptocurrencies. But really, it's become a speculative investment for people on Wall Street and for average people too. A way to make money essentially. The thing is cryptocurrencies are incredibly volatile and they've created a lot of financial pain.

So critics like Dennis Kelleher from advocacy group Better Markets are concerned that this latest rally could end really badly.

This will create a short term boom over the next couple of years, but it's gonna be a sugar high. And the clock will start ticking on a coming catastrophic financial crash that in my view will be much worse than 2,008, and it's only a matter of time.

Worse than the global financial crisis. And if that prediction does come true, it would be ironic given that Bitcoin was created in part as a response to the crisis.

And and isn't Bitcoin associated with all kinds of shady activities?

Indeed. Cryptocurrencies have become widely used by all kinds of illegal actors, from hackers looking for ransomware to drug dealers. So, yes, there is a lot of excitement about Bitcoin, but there's also a lot of people who are alarmed.

That is NPL's Rafael Nam. Rafael, thank you.

Thank you, Michelle.

New York City has more than 3a half 1000000 homes, but finding 1 to rent or buy, well, that's a challenge.

Yeah. Most are occupied, and prices outpace nearly every other place in the country. Officials have taken a step toward addressing the city's housing crisis by approving a housing plan that could pave the way for 80,000 new homes over the next 15 years.

Here to tell us more about it is reporter David Brand from member station WNYC. Good morning, David.

Good morning.

So first, walk us through the plan.

The plan is called City of Yes, and it would increase the amount of housing that could be built in every part of the city. Now when people think in New York City, they may picture the skyscrapers of Manhattan, but the landscape here is really diverse. Big sections look more like suburbs and many neighborhoods are made up of 3 to 4 story apartment buildings. This plan has tweaks that will permit more housing in pretty much all of them. Some homeowners will be able to add extra units on their properties.

Developers can build bigger buildings near subway stations. And the rules will make it easier to convert empty offices into condos and apartments.

I I think 1 of the things that's really become clear is that a lot of places around the country have a housing shortage, David. But is is the feeling that this will solve the problem in New York City?

No. This is significant, but it's not gonna solve New York City's housing shortage, especially for the lowest income New Yorkers. That's been a big concern for the lot of the council members who voted on this plan. City council speaker Adrienne Adams says zoning alone doesn't automatically create affordable housing, so she got the mayor to commit more funding for rental assistance and low income housing.

People needed to know that they would have places that they could afford, not just market rate, anything. We have that already. We had to go farther than zoning.

Rents and home prices are soaring, and homelessness here is at a record high.

And, David, I think people might remember that New York City's mayor Eric Adams was indicted in September on federal corruption charges. He is running for reelection. What does this mean for him? Does this change the narrative for him?

Yeah. He's touting it as a signature achievement.

The greatest city in the world has just passed the greatest housing legislation in our history.

You're right that this has been a perilous political time for Adams. He's facing criminal charges for allegedly accepting illegal campaign contributions and doing favors for foreign benefactors. Many of his top aids and even top police officials have been tied up in a series of separate state and federal investigations. So this is definitely a win and, like you said, a chance to change the narrative. But New York City is not exactly a national leader on bold moves to address housing shortages.

California already permits property owners to add an extra unit on their lots. Columbus, Ohio, Minneapolis, and Austin have all approved major changes to fuel more development. And those are far more ambitious plans than the 1 that New York City just passed.

Even having said that though, when will New Yorkers start to see construction on all these new units?

Well, housing takes a long time to build, and this is a 15 year plan. So, you know, developers and property owners need to submit plans. They need to get permits, and construction takes years to complete. So I don't think we're gonna be seeing cranes going up on, on our blocks tomorrow, but in the near future.

That is David Brand of member station WNYC. David, thank you.

Thanks for having me.

And that's up first for Friday, December 6th. I'm Michelle Martin.

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