NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-25-2024 8PM EST

Episode Date: December 26, 2024

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JANINE HERPST. Christians in Syria are celebrating their first Christmas after the fall of the Assad regime. Empires Diye Hadid reports, for many, it's a time of uncertainty. The pews were barely half full in one of Syria's most important churches. It wasn't clear if worshippers were staying away out of fear or whether the bare pews simply reflected a years-long exodus of Christians from Syria amid nearly a decade and a half of war. Syria's war ended abruptly earlier in December

after Muslim rebels led by group HTS overran Damascus. The group's leader and Syria's interim ruler, Ahmad al-Sharah, says that Syria's large minorities, including Christians, will be safe and protected. But Christians worry that extremists among the rebels will target them and their churches. Diyya Hadid, NPR News, Damascus. D.L. At least 38 people are dead after an Azerbaijani airplane with 67 people on board crashed near the Kazakhstan city of Akto. Officials say of the 29 survivors, at least two were children. The plane was en route from the Azerbaijani capital to the Russian city of Grozny when

it was diverted and attempted an emergency landing near the city of Akto. Azerbaijan's president says the cause isn't known, but that weather forced the plane to change from its planned course. Russia's civil aviation authority says preliminary information shows the pilots diverted after a bird strike led to an emergency on board. More than two months after Hurricane Helene hit North Carolina, the state is investing millions of dollars in mental health recovery efforts. In Piers, Katie Riddle has more. Some of the people most in need of mental health services here are children. Thousands of students are at a crucial point in their recovery and need help processing their traumatic experiences in order to avoid

developing post-traumatic stress disorder. Pacovia Levitt works for the North Carolina schools. She says helping students in a situation like this there's just not that much precedent. I would love for there to be a nice blueprint and be able to really pull out the pieces that you need, but it's very hard to find. Levitt says mountain communities are seeking help and advice from people in coastal North Carolina. That part of the state is more prepared for hurricanes. Katie Ar Riddle, NPR News, Asheville, North Carolina.

President-elect Donald Trump is nominating a Florida County commissioner to serve as ambassador to Panama. Kevin Moreno Cabrero worked for the Trump campaign in 2020 and was a Republican Florida state director this year. This just days after Trump suggested that the U.S. could demand the return of the Panama Canal if the country didn't reduce the fees it charges American ships for using it. Panama owns the canal and its president says that's not changing. You're listening to NPR News. The National Monorail Lighting took place near the White House today marking the first night of Hanukkah. The 46th annual National Monorah Lighting took place near the White House today, marking the first night of Hanukkah. The 46th annual National Monorah Lighting is sponsored privately by the Orthodox Jewish movement Chabad. New research suggests that showing kindness and goodwill to others

is good for one's own health. NPR's Maria Godoy has more. A growing body of research has linked kindness in the form of things like volunteering or helping a neighbor, for example, to living healthier as we age. Tara Grunewald of Chapman University says studies have linked such contributing behaviors to benefits like improved balance and mobility and better brain health in older adults. And then much of the work that I'm interested in others is also showing that folks live longer. So there is that ultimate benefit of longevity from giving and contributing to others. Other research has linked routine volunteering to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

Maria Godoy, NPR News. A great gray owl and a snowy owl are being treated by experts after being rescued in northern Minnesota. Annabel Wheelan says she found the first owl this week in Duluth and brought him to a wildlife rehabilitation center which sent him to a raptor rescue. Hours later she helped save a second owl that was stuck in the grille of a car. She brought that bird too to the wildlife center which also sent it to the rapture Rescue after treating it. Rescue officials say people should call for help when they see an injured animal because they are usually afraid of people. I'm Janene Herbst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington.

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