NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-29-2024 10AM EST

Episode Date: December 29, 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. South Korea's government has declared a seven-day period of national mourning following the deadly crash of a passenger plane. Officials say all 181 passengers and crew are now accounted for.

179 people were killed. Emergency workers were able to pull two people to safety. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Seoul on one of South Korea's worst ever aviation disasters. Video shot by eyewitnesses show the airplane skidding fast down the runway on its fuselage, its landing gear still up. It slammed into a concrete fence and exploded into flames. Firemen and soldiers combed through the wreckage in search of survivors and victims.

Authorities say all but the two who were rescued are presumed to have been killed. The Boeing 737-800 crashed at Muan International Airport in South Chala province, about 180 miles from Seoul. The budget carrier Jeju Air flight was returning from Bangkok, Thailand. Two passengers were Thai nationals, the rest were South Koreans. Jeju Air CEO publicly apologized for the crash. The cause of the disaster is under investigation. Anthony Kuhn, PR News, Seoul. President of Azerbaijan is accusing Russian officials of initially trying to cover up

the cause of Wednesday's plane crash in which 38 people were killed. Ilham Aliyev said it was clear that the Azerbaijan Airlines flight came under fire over Russian territory. Here's the BBC's Grant Farad. President Aliyev said absurd theories had been put forward by official bodies in Russia in the days after the plane crash. As well as sustaining damage to the plane by fire from the ground, he said the pilots had had to deal with the electronic jamming of its control systems.

Azerbaijan's leader said there was no suggestion that Russia's actions were deliberate, but added that a prompt admission and apology would have been the correct response. On Saturday, Vladimir Putin called President Aliyev to apologize for what he called a tragic incident. He did not explicitly admit that Russia shot down the plane. Voters in Croatia going to the polls in the first round of her presidential election today, eight contenders in the running, including the incumbent who is often compared to Donald Trump. He is an outspoken critic of Western military support for Ukraine. Nearly 40% of adults

say they are stressed about the possibility of political discussions coming up this holiday season. Here's Katie Ariddle reports. A recent report shows that most Americans plan to avoid political discussions over the holidays. Dr. Vale Wright is with the American Psychological Association. That's the group that conducted this survey. She says not talking about hard stuff at these moments is understandable. It's not selfish and it doesn't mean you don't care about the issues. Possibly to evade these uncomfortable conversations, nearly 40% of adults said they were avoiding family members they disagree with this holiday season altogether. Katie O'Rettle, NPR News.

And you're listening to NPR News. Tens of thousands of customers remain without power from Texas to North Carolina as severe storms move east today. The storms that swept through the region yesterday damaged homes and flipped vehicles. Several tornadoes were reported to have touched down in the Houston area, including at least one south of the city near the Vizoria County town of Alvin. Emily Trevino was there. It really didn't stick around. It was just like so sudden and shocking.

At least two people were killed in the tornado outbreak and six others injured. Authorities in Florida are investigating a crash involving a fire truck that was split in two by an oncoming high-speed passenger train. Authorities say three firefighters are in stable condition and that a dozen train passengers were injured. The television show House of the Dragon was popular this year among pirates. NPR's Nettie Ulubi reports the series was one of the most illegally downloaded in 2024.

It was the most illegally torrented show by far in 2024. Torrenting is not as widespread as it was before the rise of streaming, but pirates still use the protocol to download and distribute very large files, like ones filled with stories about dragons. Your family has dragons. House of the Dragon is a prequel to HBO's Game of Thrones. According to the website TorrentFreak, it was the number one pirated show, followed by the series The Boys, Shogun, and Arcane. It came as something of a surprise, the website said, that the series Lord of the Rings, The

Rings of Power did not even crack the top ten most-pirated list this year. Nettie Ulubi, NPR News. And I'm Giles Snyder in Washington.