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Giles Snyder
Live from NPR News. In Washington, I'm Giles Snyder. North Carolina's largest city is now the latest to be targeted by a surge in federal immigration agents. The Homeland Security Department confirmed the surge in Charlotte last night and agents been seen making arrests. A crackdown has sparked protests. Vanessa Javier was among the demonstrators.
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Vanessa Javier
Every corner, every area that I saw today is like somewhere my family does tend to go, like for their groceries, for the restaurants that they want to go eat and stuff like that. But so yeah, it was definitely nerve wracking and scary for me and for my parents.
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Giles Snyder
The Homeland Security Department says the surge is aimed at ensuring public safety, but Charlotte's Democratic mayor says it's causing unnecessary fear. Mortgage experts are skeptical about the Trump administration's plan to offer home buyers a 50 year mortgage. And Bureau's Bill Chappell reports.
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Bill Chappell
Backers of the 50 year mortgage say it would help buyers get into a home they might not otherwise afford. But Bruce Marks, the CEO of the nonprofit Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, says the longer loan would take decades to build equity.
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Giles Snyder
The 30 year term has always been.
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Chris Hendricks
The sweet spot in this country, but.
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Bill Chappell
The affordability crisis is real, Mark says. And in Kansas City, Missouri, Chris Hendricks of NBKC bank agrees.
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Chris Hendricks
What el is staggering is the median age for that first time home buyer is 40 years old right now.
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Bill Chappell
Hendricks says he wants the government to find ways to boost housing supply and help first time home buyers. Bill Chappell, NPR News.
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Giles Snyder
The season's first heavy rainfall is pounding Gaza this weekend. It's flooding tents and hampering recovery after two years of war. With winter approaching, the UN says the need of refugees is immense. NPR's Lauren Frayer has more.
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Lauren Frayer
Wind and rain are hampering efforts to stay warm and dry in places like Al Muwasi, where up to half a million displaced Palestinians are staying, mostly in temporary tents. A spokesperson for Gaza's Civil Defense Agency, Mahmoud Basal, says rain has inundated those makeshift shelters. In a statement, Hamas decried what it called Israel's continued obstruction of humanitarian aid into the Strip. Israel says it opened a border crossing this week into northern Gaza, where the UN Declared a famine last summer. The UN now says, quote, from full and sustained opening of existing and additional crossings is required and that the transport of aid within Gaza remains limited and highly congested. Lauren Frayer, NPR News, Tel Aviv.
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Giles Snyder
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine is working to resume prisoner exchanges with Russia. Zelensky made the announcement in a social media video a day after his national security chief announced progress in negotiations for the release of 1200 Ukrainians. Meanwhile, Zelensky is promising an overhaul of state owned energy companies following a corruption scandal. And you're listening to NPR News. Southern California remains on alert for the potential for high water and mud and rock slides following heavy rain from an atmospheric river storm. The drenching rain prompted flood warnings in areas of coastal Los Angeles that were scarred by those January wildfires. Voters in Chile are going to the polls today in the first round of a presidential election in which crime and immigration are among top concerns. And in Ecuador, voters are deciding today whether to once again allow foreign military bases as part of the fight against drug trafficking. Critics cite sovereignty concerns. Disability rights activist Alice Wong has died. According to her friend and fellow activist Sandy Ho, Wong died Friday in San Francisco from an infection. She was 51 and a winner of the MacArthur genius grant. NPR's Chloe Veltman reports.
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Chloe Veltman
Alice Wong was best known as the founder of the Disability Visibility Project. The group highlighted disabled people and disability culture through storytelling projects, social media and other channels. Wong also received acclaim for her 2022 memoir, Year of the An Activist's Life, edited several works on disability and wrote a column for Teen Vogue. Disability justice organiser Yomi Sachiko Young spoke about Wong in an interview earlier this year with NPR member station kqed.
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Yomi Sachiko Young
Alice is my comrade in political struggle. She is my friend. She's a foodie. She's an artist. She's a bit bougie, which I love.
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Chloe Veltman
Alice Wong was born in Indiana in 1974 to immigrant parents from Hong Kong. She was diagnosed at birth with muscular dystrophy, a progressive neuromuscular disease. Chloe Veltman, NPR News.
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Giles Snyder
And you're listening to NPR News.
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