NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-27-2024 2PM EST

Episode Date: December 27, 2024

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. North Korean troops are suffering major losses in Russia's war against Ukraine. NPR's Michelle Kellerman reports that, according to the Biden administration, which has been watching their involvement closely. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby says that 1,000 North Korean troops have been killed or wounded in the past week alone. Security Council spokesman John Kirby says that 1,000 North Korean troops have been killed or wounded in the past week alone. He says Russia treats them as expendable.

He's also raising doubts about Russian President Vladimir Putin's latest comments about possible peace talks with Ukraine. I mean, just over Christmas days, launching waves of missiles and drones against Ukrainian infrastructure. This is not a man who anyone should take seriously when it comes to saying he's ready for a negotiated settlement. He has proven quite the contrary in almost every single possible way. Kirby says the Biden administration

is trying to put Ukraine in a stronger position ahead of any potential peace talks. Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, Washington. NATO says it's stepping up its presence in the Baltic Sea after power cables between Finland and Estonia were damaged this week. Terry Schultz reports authorities in Finland are treating it as a case of sabotage. Finnish President Alexander Stubbe says NATO has already responded to his call for backup in the Baltic Sea.

The Finnish and Estonian governments called on the Alliance for Reinforcements after four cables were destroyed or damaged around the same time as a vessel which left a Russian port a day earlier crossed over them. Finland seized the ship and Stubb says the crew is cooperating with investigators. It's too soon to draw conclusions yet why this happened, we know who did it. Although sailing under a flag from the Cook Islands, the ship is believed to be among those used by Russia to transport oil in contravention of international sanctions imposed for its war on Ukraine. For NPR News, I'm Terry Schultz in Brussels. A hospital serving more than a million

people in Sudan has shut down after attacks by a paramilitary group that's been at war with Sudan's army since last year. NPR's Emmanuel Akinwatu reports local groups say the hospital was deliberately targeted which would be a war crime. The Saudi hospital was the only hospital functioning in al-Fashr city but doctors there say it's been forced to close after being hit with constant artillery shells and drone attacks by the Rapid Support Forces or RSF. The attacks on the hospital are an extension of a wider siege since May on El Fasher, the last major city in the western region of Darfur not yet taken by the RSF since the war erupted last year. Earlier this month, nine people were killed and 20 injured in a drone attack on the hospital. Thousands of people have fled

to nearby refugee camps that have also been shelled. Emanuel Akimoto, NPR News, Lagos. This is NPR News. A new law in New York will allow the state to fine major emitters of greenhouse gases and use the money to address the effects of climate change. New York has been hit with numerous weather disasters this year that have cost the state billions of dollars. The law is likely to be challenged in court. Zep-Bound, a popular obesity medication, is now the first and only drug approved to treat

some people with sleep apnea. NPR's Cindy Lepkin reports the FDA's approval of the medication could also help expand insurance coverage of the drug. The Food and Drug Administration has approved Eli Lilly's Zepbond as a treatment for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea in patients who have obesity. Obstructive sleep apnea is a condition in which someone temporarily pauses breathing in their sleep because their upper airway collapses. It can happen to anyone but is more common among people who have obesity.

Zepbound was originally approved as an obesity drug in November 2023. This is its second approval. The new approval could expand ZipBound's insurance coverage for people on Medicare and Medicaid, which are not required to cover drugs approved for weight loss. But the programs would have to cover a drug for sleep apnea. Sydney Lepkin, NPR News. NASA is updating the status of its Parker Solar probe, the agency had feared it may have been damaged when it passed the sun this week closer than any object made by humans.

But scientists say they received a signal late last night and it's operating normally. I'm Windsor Johnston, NPR News in Washington.