NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-25-2024 5AM EST

Episode Date: December 25, 2024

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Noor Rahm. Support for this podcast and the following message come from Autograph Collection Hotels, with over 300 independent hotels around the world, each exactly like nothing else. Autograph Collection is part of the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio of hotel brands. Find the unforgettable at autographcollection.com. Noor Rahm. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Noor Rahm. It's a quieter than usual Christmas day in Bethlehem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank,

where Christians believe that Jesus was born. The war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas is now in its second year. In Paris, Notre Dame Cathedral held its Christmas Eve Mass, more than five years after being nearly destroyed in a fire. American tourist Ali Bennett was impressed by the renovation. They did such an amazing job. It looks beautiful. I saw it once before many, many years ago, and so it was just really special to be back and just see all the hard work that's gone back into it.

It was really nice. It blew us away. It was a really special night. It's a really nice thing to be a part of. The cathedral was reopened on December 7th. A passenger plane with 67 people on board crashed in Kazakhstan today. Authorities say 28 people survived but is feared the rest perished. The Azerbaijan Airlines jet was on a flight from Azerbaijan to Russia. Protesters in Panama yesterday burned an image of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, following his threat that control of the country's inter-oceanic canal be returned to Washington. It was built by the U.S. but handed to Panama in 1999.

The BBC's Hugh Morgan reports. Viva la soberania de Panamá! Dozens of noisy demonstrators gathered outside the U.S. Embassy in Panama City on Tuesday, chanting that President Trump should leave the canal alone. Some held banners describing him as a public enemy of Panama. On Sunday, Mr. Trump complained about what he considers unfair fees paid by US ships, which are the waterways main customer. Panama's president, Jose Raul Molino, has insisted his country's control of the canal was non-negotiable. The BBC's Hugh Morgan. Civil rights groups are praising President Biden for commuting some prison and death row sentences. The NAACP

wants more. NPR's Sandhya Dirks reports. The policies of the war on drugs and the 1994 crime bill left a legacy of mass incarceration that disproportionately impacted black people, says the NAACP's Patrice Willoughby. One example she says, longer harsher sentences for the possession of crack cocaine than for powdered cocaine. She says that sentencing disparity was fixed, but it wasn't retroactive. That population is still in prison. As a matter of justice, we're asking the president to give clemency to that population. Willoughby says it's an opportunity to address systemic racism, which is one major reason

that Black people, who make up 14% of the U.S. population, comprise 40% of the federal prison population. Sandhya Dirk's NPR News. This is NPR News. In Haiti, armed men opened fire at the reopening of a hospital in Port-au-Prince yesterday. The Haitian Association of Journalists says two reporters were killed and several others were wounded. A police officer was also killed.

Armed gangs are in near control of the Haitian capital. Netflix is airing two NFL Christmas Day games today, with Beyoncé set to perform at halftime of the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans game. As NPR's Ava Pukash reports, this is the first of a three-year contract for Netflix to carry NFL Christmas Day Games. This season Netflix is paying the NFL $150 million to air the Steelers Chiefs and Ravens Texans games. In Beyoncé's halftime show, in her hometown of Houston, will be the first time the singer has performed songs off her latest album, Cowboy Carter. The streaming giant says it's made adjustments to avoid technical problems during

the broadcast. Many viewers reported long buffering times during Netflix's previous live broadcast of the Jake Paul Mike Tyson fight last month. Netflix says the NFL games will be available for replay for three hours after the livestream ends. Ava Pukac and PR News. The Associated Press has named basketball star Caitlin Clark as its Female Athlete of the Year, saying she's raised the profile of women's basketball to unprecedented levels for both college and the WNBA. Clark led Iowa to the national championship game and was Rookie of the Year when she turned pro.

I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News.