Up First from NPR
Canada's New Leader, ICE Arrest Columbia Student, Congress and The Budget
Mon, 10 Mar 2025
Canada's ruling Liberal Party has a new leader, Mark Carney, a former central banker who now faces the challenge of steering the country through economic turmoil and a tense trade relationship with the United States. Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student and pro-Palestinian activist, has been arrested by ICE agents. And, House Republicans unveil a stopgap funding bill to keep the government running through September, but with Democrats opposing it, passing the bill will require almost every GOP vote.Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today's episode of Up First was edited by Tara Neill, Kevin Drew, Krishnadev Calamur, Alice Woelfle and Mohamad ElBardicy.It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Chris Thomas.We get engineering support from Arthur Laurent, and our technical director is David Greenburg.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Chapter 1: Who is Canada's new Prime Minister and what challenges does he face?
Canada's new prime minister says he's ready for conflict with its neighbour and up to now closest ally.
We didn't ask for this fight. The Canadians are always ready when someone else drops the gloves. What does Mark Carney plan to do?
I'm Steve Inskeep with A. Martinez and this is Up First from NPR News. Immigration authorities arrested a Columbia graduate student who led protests over Gaza. His lawyer says agents gave no reason.
I demanded to see a warrant and the agent hung up the phone on me.
What due process, if any, does the government owe a legal permanent resident?
Also, Congress has just days to avoid a government shutdown. House Speaker Mike Johnson wants to do it without negotiating with Democrats. What would it take for almost every Republican to agree? Stay with us. We've got all the news you need to start your day.
Hi, it's Terry Gross, host of Fresh Air. I just talked to comic Bill Burr. He's known for his anger-fueled humor, which he connects to his upbringing. Let's talk a little bit about your childhood.
Oh, Jesus. People are driving to work here. You know, let's try to give them something uplifting.
He was hilarious and introspective in the interview, and it was a wild ride. You can hear a special extended version of this interview on the Fresh Air podcast from NPR and WHYY.
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Chapter 2: Why was a Columbia student arrested by ICE?
Chapter 3: How is Congress addressing the upcoming budget deadline?
Hi, it's Terry Gross, host of Fresh Air. I just talked to comic Bill Burr. He's known for his anger-fueled humor, which he connects to his upbringing. Let's talk a little bit about your childhood.
Oh, Jesus. People are driving to work here. You know, let's try to give them something uplifting.
He was hilarious and introspective in the interview, and it was a wild ride. You can hear a special extended version of this interview on the Fresh Air podcast from NPR and WHYY.
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Neuroscientist Ethan Cross says you may think it's healthy to vent about what's bothering you, but... The problem is you often leave that conversation feeling really good about the person you just communicated with, but all the negative feelings are still there. Sometimes they're even more activated.
Tools for managing our emotions. That's on the TED Radio Hour podcast from NPR.
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Chapter 4: What are Mark Carney's plans as the leader of Canada's Liberal Party?
People gathered at an arena in Canada's capital and heard the results of a vote for the leader of the governing party.
In first place, the next Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney, with 131,674 votes resulting in...
Mark Carney won a kind of mini-election among Liberal Party members, and his landslide win means he will now replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who's leaving office just as Canada faces a confrontation with the United States.
NPR's international affairs correspondent Jackie Northam has been following the story. So a new chapter in Canadian politics. What can you tell us about Mark Carney?
Well, up until a few months ago, not a lot of Canadians knew who Mark Carney was. He was considered a political outsider. It was only after Justin Trudeau announced that he was stepping aside in January that Carney threw his hat into the ring for the Liberal Party's leadership race. But Carney, who's 59 years old, does have a reputation internationally.
He comes from the world of finance and has spent time on Wall Street and was a head of the Bank of England where he helped navigate the post-Brexit turbulence. And he also headed up the Bank of Canada.
So that experience could be critical as he becomes prime minister, both to tackle Canada's economic challenges right now, but certainly to deal with President Trump's trade policies towards Canada, which frankly are seen by many in Canada as economic warfare.
Yeah. Relations between the two have grown contentious since Donald Trump returned to office. So is there any sense of how Carney will approach President Trump and his policies?
Well, I suspect it'll be a much different dynamic between Carney and Trump than it was with the president and Prime Minister Trudeau. They didn't get along. And in fact, over the past few weeks, relations between the two men were really fraying. You know, Trump calling Trudeau governor and Trudeau calling the president Donald and quoting an editorial saying the tariffs were a very dumb idea.
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Chapter 5: What are the implications of Mahmoud Khalil's arrest?
And A, if President Trump goes ahead with these steep tariffs on Canadian products, and that's expected in April, it could drive Canada's economy into a recession.
And here's the thing. I mean, Carney might not even be prime minister that long. I mean, there are general elections coming up this year. So when are those?
Well, they need to be held by the end of October. You know, the Liberals have bounced back in a big way in the polls, thanks largely to Trump. And his treatment of Canada has created this wave of enthusiasm, you know, both for the Liberal Party, you know, and just sort of nationalism. And Carney could grab on to that enthusiasm and call an election soon.
The opposition could also launch a non-confidence vote when Parliament resumes later this month. That, too, could trigger an early election. But, you know, as it stands right now, once Carney is sworn in as Canada's new prime minister, and that could happen later this week, he'll lead the country.
All right, that's NPR's international affairs correspondent, Jackie Northam. Jackie, thanks.
Thanks very much.
Immigration agents have arrested an activist who helped lead pro-Palestinian student protests at Columbia University.
His name is Mahmoud Khalil. His lawyer tells NPR that officers from ICE, that's Immigration and Customs Enforcement, picked him up at his university apartment. They told him his green card had been revoked. Green card. He was a lawful permanent resident. President Trump had promised to deport students who protested against Israel during the war in Gaza.
NPR's Adrian Florido is here with us now. So tell us who Mahmoud Khalil is and what happened to him.
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