NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-28-2024 5AM EST

Episode Date: December 28, 2024

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Giles Snyder. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby says Russia may be responsible for this week's crash in Kazakhstan, a passenger plane operated by Azerbaijan Airlines. 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 system. Kirby's remarks came on the same day that an Azerbaijani official said the plane was subjected to what he called external interference.

Russian officials say a drone attack was underway in the region the plane was flying to, and they're urging the public not to speculate until the investigation is complete. Thirty-eight people were killed in the crash. President-elect Donald Trump asking the Supreme Court to delay the law that requires a ban in the U.S. on the short video-sharing app TikTok. Trump has filed a brief with the court, saying he wants to pursue a political resolution after he takes office. Trump and the Biden administration have filed opposing briefs to the court ahead

of oral arguments set for early next month on whether the ban violates free speech rights, as MPR's Bobby Allen reports. First Amendment groups are urging the Supreme Court to strike down a pending TikTok ban. In a brief supporting TikTok groups, including Columbia University's Knight First Amendment Institute, compare the TikTok ban to China's Great Firewall, which makes popular news sites and social media services like X, Instagram and YouTube inaccessible. But the Department of Justice says TikTok poses a unique national security threat because its corporate parent company is based in Beijing and thus Americans are vulnerable to foreign manipulation.

TikTok says it has cordoned off the American version of TikTok from Chinese influence. President-elect Donald Trump has at times voiced support for saving TikTok, and the law would grant Trump leeway to interpret its enforcement. Bobby Allen, NPR News. New details emerging about a Louisiana resident who was recently hospitalized with bird flu. A report from the CDC indicates the virus gained some mutations after the person was infected. Here's MPUR's Will Stone.

This is the first instance of a person falling severely ill from bird flu in the U.S. during the current outbreak. The patient was infected after being exposed to backyard flocks. The CDC's analysis showed the virus acquired mutations, affecting a protein on its surface. This is what allows the virus to latch on to receptors and infect a cell. Changes in this protein are seen as a key step if the virus were to evolve to better infect humans. The CDC says it appears the mutations emerged while the person was sick and there's no evidence they went on to infect anyone else. The finding underscores the need to track bird flu and

contain outbreaks given its potential to mutate. Will Stone, NPR News. The Mega Millions lottery says a winning ticket for last night's estimated $1.2 billion jackpot was sold in California, the jackpot the game's fifth highest ever. This is NPR. Palestinian health officials say Israeli soldiers have forcibly evacuated one of the last functioning hospitals in northern Gaza. The health ministry says Israeli soldiers stormed and set fires in several parts of

the Kamaad One hospital. The Israeli military says the facility was being used by Hamas but did not provide evidence. The medical aid group Doctors Without Borders accused Israel last week of systematically attacking Gaza's healthcare system. Stocks ended a very quiet holiday week with mild gains despite falling on Friday. Empress Rafael Nam reports a period between Christmas and the start of the new year is traditionally a good one. Many investors are off during the holidays and those who remain are mainly paying attention to whether markets will experience the Santa Claus rally.

Stocks have usually done well in the last 5 trading sessions of the year and the first 2 of the new year, but so far the picture is mixed on whether we'll see a Santa Claus rally this year. Although markets started the week strongly, they lost momentum as the week ended, mainly as technology stocks retreated. But the main indexes still rose for the week, with the Dow Jones ending a three-week losing streak. Rafael Nam, NPR News.

Longtime sportscaster Greg Gumbel has died of cancer. He was 78. His family announced Gumbel's death in a statement released by CBS Sports. In March, Gumbel missed his first NCAA basketball tournament since 1997 due to what he said at the time were family health issues. I'm Trial Snyder, NPR News.