NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-28-2024 3PM EST

Episode Date: December 28, 2024

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Noor Ram live from NPR News in Washington. I'm Noor Ram. Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to the leader of Azerbaijan today following the deadly plane crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan bound for the Russian Republic of Chechnya this week. The Kremlin said in a statement that air defense systems were responding to Ukrainian drone strike in Chechnya's regional capital. But Putin did not take responsibility for the crash. NPR's Elena Moore reports. In a Kremlin readout of the call, Putin characterized the crash, which killed 38 people, as a tragic incident, apologizing that it happened in Russian airspace.

It comes a day after White House national security spokesman John Kirby addressed Russia's potential involvement. 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 added that an investigation conducted by Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan is ongoing and the U.S. has offered its assistance. Elena Moore, NPR News. Severe weather is disrupting holiday travel. FlightAware says more than 5,600 flights have been delayed in the U.S. so far today.

NPR's Kristin Wright reports much of Louisiana is under a tornado watch. Baton Rouge and Shreveport, Louisiana, Mobile and Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Jackson, Mississippi are among cities under serious threat. National Weather Service meteorologist Frank Pereira says destructive long-range tornadoes could cause major damage in the South. It would be long, long-track tornadoes, meaning they'd stay on the ground for quite a while and it could be very strong tornadoes, EF3, which is really significant. Large hail and damaging winds are also creating adverse conditions, as many set out in cars and planes to ring in the new year soon. Kristin Wright, NPR News. Meanwhile, in the western U.S., a high surf advisory is in effect

through tomorrow in California. Meteorologists at the National Weather Service are warning people, stay out of the water and even off the beach. Waves could reach 30 feet high. The Department of Health and Human Services is considering whether healthcare providers should be required to do more to prevent cyber attacks.

Anne Newberger is the U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor for Cybersecurity. She says huge numbers of Americans have been affected by breaches of health information. In the last five years, there's been an alarming growth, 1,002% in the number of Americans affected by large breaches of health care information, over 167 million individuals in 2023 alone.

The proposed rule would require health care providers to add new cybersecurity measures and improve those now in place. This is NPR News. Pro-Russian hackers are taking responsibility for a cyber attack in Italy today. Italy's cybersecurity agency says 10 official websites were hit, including the foreign ministry. It says it acted promptly to mitigate the effects of the attack in a few hours. Starting today, all small and medium-sized electronics sold in the European Union must be compatible with USB-C charging

ports. From Brussels, Terry Schultz reports. A two-year transition period is over, and now the Common Charger Directive applies across the EU's 27 member countries. Everything from mobile phones to GPS systems to video game consoles must be able to charge with a USB-C connection. Consumers may also opt out of buying chargers when they purchase a new device. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, started working on standardizing chargers already 15 years ago to reduce hassles for consumers and

the environmental impact of constant replacements. In 2020 it was estimated that buyers spent 2.4 billion euros annually on standalone chargers and that some 11,000 tons of electronic waste was created every year. The rules will also apply to laptops starting in April 2026. For NPR News, I'm Terri Schulz in Brussels. Hong Kong held its first pyrotechnics drone show today with a thousand drones, some with fireworks, flying over the city's Victoria Harbor. It's part of a campaign to raise support for the conservation of pandas and to celebrate

the arrival of two more pandas from China. During the spectacle, hundreds of drones formed a three-dimensional panda that slowly rotated in the sky. I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News.