NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-26-2024 4AM EST

Episode Date: December 26, 2024

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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. Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. Japan Airlines says it came under a cyberattack Thursday that affected some domestic and international flights. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports that the source of the attack remains under investigation.

Japan's National Airlines said that its luggage check-in system came under attack Thursday morning local time. Some two dozen domestic flights were delayed for up to an hour, and some international flights were also affected, mostly at Tokyo's Haneda Airport. The incident prompted JAL to halt domestic and international ticket sales for the rest of the day, but tickets already bought could still be used. The airline said it shut down part of the system that was affected by the attack, but added that the attack could have a larger impact on its flights.

JAL said no customer information was leaked or stolen in the attack, and no other domestic airlines were affected. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Seoul. Syria's new Interior Ministry says 14 members of its forces have been killed and 10 others injured in clashes with supporters loyal to the ousted president Bashar al-Assad. They took place in an al-Await area near the port city of Tardis. We have details from the BBC's Peter Hyatt. The Interior Ministry said its forces suffered casualties in what is called an ambush by

remnants of the Assad regime while they were performing their tasks of maintaining security and safety. One report says the violence erupted when security forces tried to arrest a man suspected of links to the notorious Sadnaya prison. This is thought to be the first major clash since the fall of the Assad regime between the Alawites who used to run Syria and the Sunni former rebels who are now in charge. There have also been protests in several cities after a video showed an attack on an Alawite shrine. That's the BBC's Peter Hyatt reporting. A NASA spacecraft has set a new record for the closest encounter with the sun by a human-made

object. The Parker Solar Probe endured extreme heat and radiation in doing so, but it will take days for scientists to know if the spacecraft survived the flight. MPR's Julianna Kim has more. The Parker Solar Probe came within 4 million miles of the Sun's surface on Christmas Eve. To put it in perspective, that's 10 times closer than the orbit of Mercury, the closest planet to the home star. As the spacecraft flew around the Sun, it also set a record for being the fastest human-made object, traveling so fast it could have gone from New York to Tokyo in less

than a minute. Now the question is whether the spacecraft survived. NASA says scientists won't know the answer until Friday. The purpose of this mission is to better understand the sun, like how to predict its solar storms. If all goes well, the spacecraft will start sending back data from this recent close encounter at the end of January. Juliana Kim, NPR News. Asian markets were mostly high on Thursday and quiet post-Christmas trading. Japan's Nikkei surged 1.1% on strong gains in retailer and tourism related stocks. You're listening to NPR News.

President-elect Donald Trump Wednesday announced that he wants Marino Cabrera to be his ambassador to Panama. Cabrera is a county commissioner in Florida. He worked for the Trump campaign in 2020. Trump made the announcement on social media. Congress this month passed a major bill to help military veteran caregivers. As NPR's Quill Lawrence reports, the bill will cost about a billion dollars over the next decade. Named for Senator and military family caregiver Elizabeth Dole, the act vastly expands caregiver benefits, especially for elderly or sick veterans who prefer getting help at home.

Advocates say loved ones can often do a better job than hospitals or nursing homes. Work done by military family home caregivers is estimated to save the VA tens of millions of dollars each year. In recognition of the relentless nature of the work, the Act also adds services for the caregivers themselves, including mental health support. The measure had been held up since last spring because it also expands access for veterans to get reimbursed for private medical care outside VA. In the incoming Trump administration, use of private care outside the VA system is expected to increase. Quill Lawrence, NPR News. The main party of Kosovo's ethnic Serb minority says it will be fielding 48 candidates in the upcoming parliamentary elections there. The party had been banned from participating,

but an appeals panel ruled Wednesday that the party has fulfilled the political terms that were needed to be certified. The Parliament holds a total of 120 members. Ten seats are reserved for the Serb minority. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News.