NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-28-2024 6AM EST

Episode Date: December 28, 2024

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Jiles Snyder. United Nations spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay says an Israeli attack and the forcible evacuation of one of the last functioning hospitals in northern Gaza underscores a need for a resolution to the conflict between Israel and Hamas. We continue to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. We continue to call for the protection of all medical facilities in Gaza, we continue to call for the protection of all medical facilities in Gaza. The Gaza Health Ministry says Israeli soldiers stormed and set fires in several parts of

the Kamal Adwan 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. The White House says Russia may be responsible for this week's crash in Kazakhstan of a passenger plane operated by Azerbaijan Airlines. A spokesman says early indications suggest it could have been brought down by Russian air defense systems.

An Azerbaijani official says the plane was subjected to what he called external interference. Russia is urging the public not to speculate until the investigation is complete. 38 people were killed in the crash. The World Health Organization says it has diagnosed a mystery disease that began circulating in October in a remote part of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

And Piers Carviela-Emmanuel has more. Nearly 900 people fell ill and 48 died. Symptoms include fever, weakness, coughing, and difficulty breathing. International health experts spent days getting to the far-flung villages to collect samples. Now, diagnostic tests have been run on 430 samples and the disease isn't a new one, but acute respiratory infections like influenza and COVID complicated by malaria and a severely malnourished population. Health authorities say there are ongoing efforts to support the health needs of

people in the remote area. Gabriella Emanuel, NPR News. Longtime television sportscaster Greg Gumbel has died at the age of 78. He'd been battling cancer. More from reporter Steve Futterman. For decades, Greg Gumbel was behind the microphone reporting on high-profile events. To the five, to the end zone, touchdown!

He called numerous sports, especially football and basketball. In 2001, he became the first black sportscaster to call a Super Bowl. Hi everyone, I'm Greg Gumbel along with Phil Simms. Welcome to Houston, welcome to the Super Bowl. Gumbel worked for ESPN, NBC and most recently CBS. He was the brother of former sportscaster Bryant Gumbel. For NPR News, I'm Steve Futterman in Los Angeles.

The Argentinian-born actress Olivia Hussey has also died. She was 73. She first gained fame in the 1968 film version of Romeo and Juliet. This is NPR. President-elect Donald Trump is 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.

TikTok 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. Trump tried to ban the app during his first term in office earlier this year, though. Trump said he still believed TikTok presents a national security issue, but that he now opposes the move. India held a state funeral today for former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Singh died Thursday at age 92. He was prime minister for 10 years, leaving office

in 2014 after his party was defeated by the nationalist party led by current prime minister Narendra Modi. Loneliness back to pre-pandemic levels in older adults and as NPR's Emily Kwong reports, a lot can be done to support lonely Americans this holiday season. Among older adults ages 50 to 80, one third say, yeah, I feel lonely at least some of the time. That's according to the national poll on healthy aging run by the University of Michigan.

And that has health risks. Chronic loneliness can lead to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and dementia. So steady author, Preeti Malani wants everyone to think of loneliness as a health problem that can be treated and prevented. We can all walk across the street. We can knock on people's doors.

We can make plans to visit. Actively cultivating human connection is its own kind of medicine. For NPR News, I'm Emily Kwong. This is NPR News.