NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-27-2024 10AM EST

Episode Date: December 27, 2024

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korva Coleman. The new Syrian government has appointed a man sanctioned by the UN for his involvement in terror organizations, including al-Qaeda. And Piers Hadil Al-Shilchi reports. Anas Hassan Khattab was involved in the formation of al-Nusra Front, according to the United Nations. And today, he's the new Syrian Minister of General Intelligence appointed by President Ahmed al-Sharif.

Khattab was sanctioned by the UN in 2014 for a number of activities including helping to facilitate financing and support for the militant Nusra Front. The group that swept to power in Syria, Heyat Tahrir al-Sham or HTS had ties to al-Qaeda but broke them off years ago. HTS is a designated terrorist organization by the United States and Shar'a its leader remains a designated terrorist. The United United States, and Shara, its leader, remains a designated terrorist. The United States, however, did recently lift a $10 million bounty on the head of Shara. Hadeel Alshalchi, NPR News, Damascus. Azerbaijan Airlines has suspended flights to several Russian cities.

This comes after the Christmas Day crash that killed dozens of passengers. Today, the airline said that plane experienced experienced quote, physical and technical external interference. There have been questions about whether Russia was involved. Russia denies this. Retired airline pilot, John Cox, leads an aviation consulting firm. He says the plane's debris will help investigators figure out what happened.

When you have a wreckage that has indications that it was near an explosion and there are appearances of puncture wounds in the fuselage and tail similar to what we saw with Malaysia Flight 17 that was shot down by the Russians, those things make the investigators begin to look in greater depth for the possibility that this was actually shot down. He spoke to NPR's Morning Edition. Financial turnaround expert Richard Parsons has died at the age of 76.

He held top positions at Time Warner and Citigroup. NPR's Rafael Nam reports he was widely known as Dick Parsons and he will be remembered as a troubleshooter who helped fix problematic companies. Known for his affable personality, Parsons is remembered as one of the business world's most prominent black leaders. Born in New York, Parsons started his career in law and then joined Dime Savings Bank of New York during the late 1980s. That was his first fix-it job, helping the lender emerge from a savings and loans crisis. His bigger turnaround jobs came next. Parsons was a time warner when

he was sold to AOL. To this day, it's seen as one of the worst corporate deals ever, but Parsons was credited with helping save Time Warner. He had another major fix-it job at Citigroup, steering the bank in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Parsons also had a turn around jobs at the Los Angeles Clippers, cementing his reputation as the ultimate troubleshooter. Rafale Nam, NPR News. You're listening to NPR. South Korea's parliament has impeached the country's acting president, who had been on

the job for less than two weeks Opposition lawmakers say he was trying to shield president yong song y'all who was also impeached this month That was after you botched attempt to declare martial law South Korea's finance minister chae song mak has now become the country's newest acting prime minister. In the U.S., health officials are warning pets could be at risk of contracting bird flu if they consume raw milk or raw pet food. NPR's Will Stone tells us there have been reports of some cats falling ill and dying. Raw pet food made with turkey or poultry can harbor the virus. A brand based in Portland, Oregon called Northwest Naturals recently issued a recall after a

house cat died from bird flu. A brand based in Portland, Oregon called Northwest Naturals recently issued a recall after a house cat died from bird flu. Health officials confirmed the cat had contracted the virus from the brand's frozen turkey offering. In Los Angeles, several cats have also caught bird flu and died after consuming raw milk. Kristen Coleman at the University of Maryland has reviewed the evidence on bird flu in felines. She says sometimes cats will have respiratory symptoms, but recently it's presented differently. It seems more neurological.

It often mimics rabies. She advises keeping your cat or pets away from wild birds to minimize the risk. Will Stone, NPR News. NASA says its Parker Solar Probe appears to be safe. The probe has transmitted a beacon tone back to Earth. On Tuesday, it skimmed less than four million miles away from the surface of the sun without burning up.

That's the closest a human-made object has ever come to the sun. The probe is studying the sun's atmosphere. I'm Corva Coleman, NPR News.