NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-24-2024 5PM EST

Episode Date: December 24, 2024

NPR News: 12-24-2024 5PM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. The city of Bethlehem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is the biblical birthplace of Jesus. Christmas was canceled last year because of the war in Gaza there, but it will be celebrated this year. As NPR's Emily Fang reports from Bethlehem, the mood is somber. The West Bank's economy has shrunk by about a fifth this year, mostly because Israel froze work permits for tens of thousands of Palestinians living here. And both Christian and Muslim residents of Bethlehem, most of whom are Palestinian, say they cannot fully celebrate Christmas while the war in Gaza is ongoing.

And at least 45,000 Palestinians there have been killed. Caroline Eliyateen lives nearby Bethlehem and baits a whore, what's called Shepard's Field, because in the Bible, shepherds there receive news of Jesus Christ's birth. She says people used to come here and pray during the holidays. Now there is no one. It is an area of ghosts. Emily Fang and Pierre News, Bethlehem, The West Bank. One of the busier travel days of the holiday season got off to a rough start after American Airlines was forced to ground flights nationwide due to a technical glitch. And while it was not a lengthy outage, thousands of flights were delayed as a result, with some canceled.

American says the problem was fixed within about an hour, with the FAA ending a national ground stop. Bad weather in some parts of the country is also leading to canceled and delayed fights on this Christmas Eve and the first night of Hanukkah. As he prepares to take office again, President-elect Donald Trump is threatening a wide range of tariffs. He represents an about face in the Republican Party, which was once known for boosting free trade. MPR's Daniel Kurzleben reports. For decades, GOP party leaders boosted free

trade, saying it promoted economic growth and international peace. Trump, however, has threatened blanket tariffs, plus additional tariffs on China and even allies Canada and Mexico. While elites long loved free trade, voters were more ambivalent, says Diana Mutts, political science professor at UPenn. She says Trump appealed to voters by making trade into a fight. Trade was emphasized by Trump as a means of dominating other countries, as a means of becoming the winner and them the losers. One big question next year is how many Republicans in Congress go along with him. Danielle Kurzleben, NPR News.

A new survey of small business owners finds many are upbeat about the state of the economy following the election. National Federation of Independent Businesses Small Business Optimism Index, up eight points last month, to its highest reading since June of 2021. Group's chief economist says one reason for the rise is now that the election has been decided, many small business owners say they're less worried about business conditions going forward. In abbreviated trading ahead of Christmas Eve today, stocks closed higher on Wall Street, the Dow up 390 points, the Nasdaq closed up 266 points today. You're listening to NPR.

A major storm continues to pound the California coast with flooding and high surf. The storm is also being blamed for fatally trapping a man beneath debris on a beach and partially collapsing a pier, throwing three people into the Pacific Ocean Monday. Storm brought heavy surf and high winds to the coast yesterday, forcing evacuations of some beachfront homes and hotels. Think-billed parrots aren't endangered species, now only wild in Mexico Sierra Madre, but their numbers may be growing. Empire's Regina Barber reports on how the birds are beating the odds.

Thick-billed parrots sound like they're laughing. They're green little birds with specks of red and orange, and they used to be seen in the southwest U.S. all the way down to Venezuela. Forest fires, parrot smuggling, and deforestation have reduced their population. Over the last three decades, nonprofit organizations in Mexico and the U.S. have worked on a conservation project to save these birds. The efforts seem to be working. This year a census showed a 10% increase over 12 years. Scientists hope this trend continues as organizations resume working with the local community dependent on the forest, putting up artificial nesting boxes, and studying the birds with tiny solar backpacks.

Regina Barber, NPR News. A portrait of eight angels painted at a historic Boston church in the early 18th century have now been uncovered. The angels at Boston's Old North Church were apparently painted over in 1912 as part of a renovation, but were painstakingly uncovered in the sanctuary. The church over its long histories counted Paul Revere as a bell ringer and played a pivotal role in Revolutionary War history. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.