NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-28-2024 8PM EST

Episode Date: December 29, 2024

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Herbst. Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to the leader of Azerbaijan today after the deadly Azerbaijani airline jet crash in Kazakhstan, but he didn't take responsibility for it. In a statement, the Kremlin says it was responding to a Ukrainian drone strike in Chechnya. And Piers' Alaina 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 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. Six months ago, the Supreme Court made it easier for cities to crack down on homelessness. Since then, more than 100 places around the country have banned people from sleeping outside,

even if they have nowhere else to go. NPR's Jennifer Ludden has more. Dozens of the new camping bans are in California, home to about half of the quarter of a million people living outside. San Joaquin County Commissioner Tom Patty says the new ordinance there forces people to move at least 300 feet every hour. Letting them stay in place is cruel. We want to prompt them to come to a better place. Like a number of cities, San Joaquin County imposes a steep fine and jail time on those who violate the ban, though Patty says enforcement is discretionary. Advocates for the unhoused worry all the focus on clearing out encampments will distract from the real problem driving homelessness,

a severe shortage of affordable housing. Jennifer Ludden, NPR News. During the busy holiday shopping season, people spent 3.8 percent more in stores and online as compared to last year. That's according to early results from MasterCard, which tracks payment transactions. In Piers Alina Seljuk reports. Holiday spending is roughly in line with what economists had expected, and it's largely surpassing inflation, meaning people are actually buying more things this year, not just paying higher prices for the same amount of stuff. This is particularly true about restaurant meals.

MasterCard's data shows spending at restaurants growing more than 6% this year compared to last year. Shoppers did pay particular attention to deals and discounts. Surveys suggest this was one of the reasons the holiday shopping season was quite busy, because people were hoping and waiting to snag things on sale. In fact, MasterCard says people waited a lot with the last five days before Christmas, accounting for 10% of all holiday season spending. Alina Seluch, NPR News. And you're listening to NPR News from Washington.

Severe weather in the South has left at least one person dead in the Houston area as several apparent tornadoes touched down in that area. Homes and buildings were damaged and cars flipped. The storm system has moved east, and the National Weather Service has issued tornado warnings and severe thunderstorm warnings for parts of Mississippi. Golf ball-sized hail is also possible. Some 100,000 customers are without power in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Archaeologists have unearthed an astonishingly

well-preserved sixth-century sword from an Anglo-Saxon cemetery near Canterbury in southeast England. Imperial's Chloe Veltman reports experts have also found other historically significant objects at that site. The weapon has an intricately decorated silver and gilt hilt. Its blade is embossed with runic script. Parts of the sword's scabbard, which is made of leather and wood, is lined with beaver fur. Historian Irina Menea spoke about the find this week on her YouTube channel about Viking

and Nordic history. Truly an elite object shaping the identity and prestige of the person bearing it. Other treasures discovered nearby include a golden pendant inscribed with a serpent or dragon. Archaeologists have excavated 12 early medieval graves in the area so far and believe many more exist. The BBC plans to feature the sword in an upcoming episode of the series Digging for Britain in January. Chloe Valtman, NPR News. The winning ticket for the $1.2 billion Mega Millions lottery jackpot was sold in California.

It was Mega Millions' fifth-highest one. This is NPR News.