NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-27-2024 9PM EST

Episode Date: December 28, 2024

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Herbst. The White House says it's monitoring the investigation into the Azerbaijani passenger plane that crashed in Kazakhstan Wednesday. Ampere's Windsor Johnston says preliminary reports show the jet went down because of quote physical and technical external interference. The passenger jet was traveling from the Azerbaijani capital to Chechnya, Russia, when it was diverted. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby says it's possible that Russian weapons hit the plane. We have seen some early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that this jet was brought down by Russian air defense system.

That said, we have offered our assistance to that investigation. Should they need it? Should they want it? Images of the plane's tail show damage consistent with explosives. Azerbaijan Airlines has suspended flights to airports inside of Russia. Moscow has denied any wrongdoing. Windsor-Johnston and PR News, Washington. The Israeli military shut down the last functioning hospital in North Gaza, saying it was being used as an operating base for Hamas fighters. The hospital staff denied this but were forced to evacuate today. And Piers Emily Fang has

more. For weeks the staff of Kamal Adwan Hospital in North Gaza refused to evacuate despite orders from the Israeli army. The hospital's director For weeks, the staff of Kamal Adwan Hospital in North Gaza refused to evacuate, despite orders from the Israeli army. The hospital's director insisted that some of his patients would die if moved. But on Friday, after weeks of intense shelling and deadly strikes near the hospital, the Israeli military forcibly shut it down. The Gaza health authorities at parts of the hospital were later burned down. This is Noor Amuqayed, a nurse in the hospital's ICU unit.

She said in a voice note shared by her sister with NPR that the Israeli military first set fire to buildings surrounding the hospital before shelling sections of the hospital itself. Emily Fang, NPR News, Tel Aviv, Israel. A popular obesity drug is now the first and only drug approved to treat some people with sleep apnea. And peer Sydney Lepkin reports the FDA's approval could also help expand insurance coverage of the drug.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved Eli Lilly's Zep Bound 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 ZipBounds 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. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. Greg Gumbel, the longtime sports announcer and host for CBS and NBC, has died from cancer, according to a statement from CBS Sports. His family says he died peacefully at the age of 78. CBS Sports president David Burson called Gumbel a tremendous broadcaster and gifted storyteller who will be dearly missed. He was the brother of Brian Gumbel, former Today Show host on NBC. NASA's Parker Solar Probe has survived its closest-ever approach to the sun.

And Pierce Jonathan Lambert has more on how the flyby could help scientists better understand the sun. The Parker Solar Probe barreled towards the sun on December 24, getting closer than any human-made object has ever gotten to a star, about 3.8 million miles. After getting cut off from communication, the mission team received a message from the probe just before midnight Eastern Standard Time on December 26th, indicating the probe survived.

The team expects more detailed data from the flyby on January 1st. Measurements taken so close to the sun's surface will help scientists study questions including how matter in this region gets heated to millions of degrees and how solar wind forms. Jonathan Lambert, NPR News. There's another billion dollar plus lottery jackpot in the U.S. This time it's the Mega Millions lottery and the drawing is tonight. The estimated jackpot is $1.2 billion. No one's won the grand prize in the last 30 drawings, and MegaMillion says the odds of winning are high, one in 302,575,350.

I'm Janene Hurst, NPR News in Washington. This message comes from Wwise, the app for doing things in other currencies. Send, spend, or receive money internationally, and always get the real-time mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees. Download the Wyse app today or visit wyse.com, tease and seize apply.