NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-28-2024 7AM EST

Episode Date: December 28, 2024

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Support for this podcast and the following message come from Autograph Collection Hotels, with over 300 independent hotels around the world, each exactly like nothing else. Autograph Collection is part of the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio of hotel brands. Find the unforgettable at autographcollection.com. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Giles Snyder. The Health Ministry in Gaza says Israel's army has detained the director of one of the last functioning hospitals in northern Gaza. The announcement comes after the Israeli military shut down the hospital, saying it was being

used as an operating base for Hamas fighters. The hospital denies this, as NPR's Emily Fang reports. 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 Amoukayed, 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. President-elect Donald Trump's allies in Silicon Valley have been clashing with his base over H-1B visas for highly skilled workers. The issue bubbled up online this week after far-right activist Trash Trump's choice to add a high-tech entrepreneur from India to his team. NPR's Stephen Fowler reports on the response from Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk.

They both defended the visa program on X, which Musk also owns. Both of them kind of kick the hornet's nest with this. Musk said there aren't quote super motivated and super talented engineers in the US. And Ramaswamy posted this very long response that said among other things that quote our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence and he said that kind of culture would not produce the best engineers that did not go over well. The H1B visa program allows foreign workers into the US to work for an extended period of time in fields like tech and medicine. The government out with a new report showing the US homeless population has grown by 18%

in the past year. Here's MPR Sandhya Dirks. People of color are significantly overrepresented among individuals experiencing homelessness, according to the report. Almost 70% of people without homes in America are people of color. Black Americans and indigenous people are the groups most disproportionately impacted. For example, while black people make up almost 14% of the U.S. population, they make up 32% of the homeless population.

And that disparity also holds true for the growing number of homeless families with children under 18. 38% of those are black families. While those in families experiencing homelessness are more likely to be women and girls, overall, more than two-thirds of the homeless population identified as men. This is NPR. The cause of this week's deadly plane crash in Kazakhstan remains under investigation, but the White House says early indications suggest it could have been brought down by

Russian air defense systems. Survivors say they heard floods and explosions outside the aircraft during the flight. 38 people were killed. Severe weather across the southern U.S. causing damage and disrupting holiday travel. Matt Bloom with member station WWNO has more. Storms Thursday night cancelled or delayed hundreds of flights out of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, and tornadoes damaged an RV park north of Houston and several homes across southeast Texas and Louisiana.

As that system moves east, officials are preparing for another round of severe weather to hit the south on Saturday. Joe Ruah with the National Weather Service says parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama could see more tornadoes and flash flooding. The threat for severe weather will shift farther east on Sunday in parts of Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, and parts of North Carolina that were hit hard by Hurricane Helene in September. Fran Pirani is a map loom in New Orleans.

President-elect Donald Trump asking the US Supreme Court to hold off on deciding the future of the popular short video sharing app TikTok. The app could be banned in a few weeks, but Trump has formally asked the court for a delay so he can try to negotiate a resolution after he takes office. The Supreme Court is to hear arguments in the case early next month. A lottery ticket worth more than $1.2 billion was sold in California. The winning numbers were drawn last night. After the Mega Millions lottery went three months without a jackpot winner.

I'm Giles Snyder, NPR News.