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

Episode Date: December 28, 2024

NPR News: 12-27-2024 10PM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Herbst. President-elect Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to pause a law that would ban TikTok in January. As NPR's Bobbi Allen reports, the high court is set to hear oral arguments over TikTok's future in two weeks. President-elect Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to pause enforcement of a law that bans TikTok nationwide on January 19th, the day before Inauguration Day, that shortly after the High Court is set to hear oral arguments over whether the ban is constitutional. It was possible the Supreme Court would have stayed the start date even before the request

to allow for time for a decision, but Trump's filing claims he possesses the consummate dealmaking expertise to negotiate a way to save TikTok while dealing with the national security concerns. Trump did not take a position on the legal questions facing TikTok, which the court will hear arguments over on January 10th. The Justice Department is pushing for the ban, saying TikTok's China-based owner makes it a national security risk. Bobbi Allen in PR News.

Gaza's health ministry says Israeli troops burned one of the last functioning hospitals in the northern part of the enclave after forcibly removing staff and patients. The hospital has been hit several times over the past three months by Israeli troops looking for Hamas fighters in surrounding neighborhoods. Israel says it was conducting operations against Hamas infrastructure and militants in the area without going into detail. Investigators are learning more about the passenger jet that crashed in Kazakhstan this week, killing at least 38 people. And Pierce Bryan Mann reports Russian weapons may have hit the plane. The Azerbaijani jetliner crashed in Kazakhstan while en route to a city in Russia Wednesday with 67 passengers and crew on board.

29 people survived. During a briefing with reporters, U.S. National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby said it's possible Russian weapons hit the civilian plane. We do have, have seen some early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that this jet was brought down by Russian air defense systems. Kirby emphasized the probe into the fiery crash is still underway. Azerbaijan Airlines officials said in a statement it appears external interference impacted the plane. The airline has suspended flights to airports inside Russia. Brian Mann, NPR News, Kyiv. There was a dramatic increase in homelessness this year fueled mostly by a lack of affordable

housing, devastating natural disasters, and a surge of migrants in several areas. The Department of Housing and Urban Development, called HUD, says homelessness rose 18.1 percent with more than 700,000 people counted as unhoused, many facing homelessness for the first time. That's on top of a 12 percent increase in 2023. There was a 40 percent increase in the number of unhoused families. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. A top White House official says a ninth U.S. telecoms firm was hacked as part of a sprawling

Chinese espionage campaign that gave officials in Beijing access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans. Deputy National Security Adviser Ann Neuberger says the ninth victim was identified after the administration released guidance to companies about how to hunt for Chinese culprits in their networks. The Broadway revival of Gypsy starring six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald has canceled its performance this evening, the fifth performance of the show to be canceled during the lucrative holiday season. Producers cite illness in the company. Jeff Ludden has more. GYPSY opened on December 19th.

And everything was coming up roses. The reviews were raves, audiences were flocking to see GYPSY on Broadway, and then on December 22nd Audra McDonald posted a picture of herself on Instagram breathing through a humidifier mask, asking audiences to be understanding, as a bug was making its way through the cast and crew. The next night, the show canceled its performance and hasn't played since. It comes at a critical time, as the week between Christmas and New Year's is the highest-grossing one every year, when tickets are sold at a premium for holiday theatergoers. For NPR News, I'm Jeff London in New York.

J.W. Wall Street was sharply lower by the closing bell. I'm Janene Herbst, NPR News in Washington.