NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-29-2024 2AM 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, I'm Dale Willman. At least 120 people have died after a plane with malfunctioning landing gear crashed at an airport in South Korea on Saturday. The plane was returning from Bangkok when it tried to land at an airport in the southern

part of the country. It veered off the runway and hit a fence before it caught fire. Israel has detained the director and almost 240 people who were at the last functioning hospital in North Gaza. Those detained are suspected by the Israeli military of being involved in terrorist activity. Earlier this week, the Israeli military shut down the hospital, despite the insistence by medical staff that some of their patients could die if moved. NPR's Emily Fang reports.

Kamal Adwan Hospital had been the target of deadly Israeli strikes and shelling at or near the hospital for nearly three months. And on Friday, Israel's military closed it down. 240 people out of the approximately 350 doctors, patients and their families at the hospital were taken in for questioning because they were suspected of terrorism. That is an accusation the hospital's director vehemently denied.

That director, Hussam Abu Safiyah, had been one of only a handful of doctors left at Kamal Adwan Hospital after a previous Israeli raid in October led to dozens of medical staff being arrested. This week, five of his staff were killed in an Israeli strike. Emily Fang and Pyr News, Tel Aviv, Israel. Three firefighters and a dozen passengers were injured in Florida on Saturday morning after a fire truck drove past barriers and into the path of a high-speed train.

Emmanuel Amaral was in Delray Beach eating breakfast when he heard the crash and drove to the scene. The most traumatic thing was when all those police officers were like 400 feet away from me and they were doing the CPR and there were so many firefighters and police officers around the firefighters that were laying on the grass. I guess the ones that needed the most attention.

Officials say the fire truck was torn in two from the impact of three injured firefighters are listed now in stable condition. 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 reports. 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. I'm Dale Willman and you're listening to NPR News. Russia's president apologized Saturday to his counterpart in Azerbaijan for what Vladimir Putin called a tragic accident following the crash of Azerbaijani jetliner in Kazakhstan this week 38 people died in the crash Putin However, did not say that Russia was responsible for it The Kremlin though says Russian air defense systems were firing at the same time. The plane was flying over Russian airspace

UNICEF says more than 473 million children live in areas affected by conflicts. That's a record high number. The conflicts span the globe from Haiti to Lebanon and Myanmar. MPR's Gabriela Emanuel has more. UNICEF says there are more conflicts now than at any point since World War II. And since the world's population has more than tripled since then, the total number of kids affected is at an all-time high.

Joe English is with UNICEF. Everywhere where we have data, the numbers are worse than they have ever been. Growing up in a conflict zone makes a child more likely to be out of school and malnourished, he says. And there are often long-lasting impacts on a child's mental health. Gabrielle Emanuel, NPR News. Nebraska built an 18-point lead, then held on to beat Boston College on Saturday 20-15. It was Nebraska's first bowl win since 2015.

Number 18 Iowa State, meanwhile, capped the best season in school history with a 42-41 win over Miami and Orlando. UConn beat North Carolina 27 to 14. Miami of Ohio overwhelmed Colorado State 43 to 17. TCU dominated Louisiana 34 to 3. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News.