NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-29-2024 7PM EST

Episode Date: December 30, 2024

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Herbst. After nearly two years in home hospice care, former President Jimmy Carter died today in Plains, Georgia. He was 100 years old. Impier's Ron Elving reports Carter was the American president who lived the longest and also lived the longest after leaving office. Ron Elving, The New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times,

New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New Jimmy Carter left the White House in defeat in January 1981, handing the keys to the man who had defeated him, Ronald Reagan. But in a post-presidential career that spanned nearly four decades, Carter set a new standard for achievement by a former chief executive. He founded the nonprofit Carter Center in 1982, and oversaw its many peacekeeping and hunger relief missions in more than 80 countries. Among his international accolades, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

He remained active while fighting liver and brain cancer in his later years, still teaching Sunday school classes and building houses with Habitat for Humanity in his 90s. Ron Elving, NPR News, Washington. And President Biden called Carter a man of great character and courage, hope, and optimism and says he knows Jimmy and his late wife Rosalynn are together once again. President-elect Trump says he and Melania are thinking warmly of the Carter family at this difficult time. Syria's new leader says holding elections could take up to four years. And Piers deahadid has more.

Ahmad al-Sharah spoke to Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya to lay out his vision for the country, barely three weeks after his rebels overran Damascus earlier this month, forcing the former leader Bashar al-Assad to flee. Shara said elections would take time because the country had not had a proper census in years and because Syria needs a new constitution. Sharaa says he hopes to hold a national conference with Syrian representatives who can set the agenda. He says at the conference he'll dismantle the group he leads, HTS or Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Sharaa also told Arabia that the time of the Syrian revolution was over and the time of

nation building had begun. Dear Hadid, NPR News, Damascus. Wall Street is headed into another quiet week and Piers Rafael Naam reports. There are only two trading sessions left of the year and already investors are sitting on some big gains. The S&P is up 25% so far this year. A big reason is that stocks tied to artificial intelligence have continued to do well. Chip company Nvidia, for example, has seen its share price more than double in 2024.

The economy has also remained healthy under President Biden. And since November, stocks have gained even more because of hopes that Donald Trump will be good to Wall Street when he returns to the White House. Those stocks have lost some momentum in December. Rafal Nam, NPR News. This is NPR News. Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev says the Azerbaijani airliner that crashed last week was shot down by Russia, albeit unintentionally.

He told state TV today that the aircraft was hit by fire from the ground over Russia and rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare. He accused Russia of trying to quote, hush up the issue for several days. Wednesday's crash killed 38 of the 67 people on board. Russia's president Vladimir Putin apologized yesterday for what he called a tragic incident, but he stopped short of acknowledging Moscow's responsibility. Scientists are now paying more attention to tiny plastic particles known as microplastics. As Ampere's Will Stone reports, a new study shows these

particles are being detected in many different organs and tissues in the human body. The authors conclude that microplastics are suspected to harm reproductive, digestive, and respiratory health, with a possible link to colon and lung cancer. While scientists know these plastic particles are accumulating inside of us, proving a direct link to health conditions remains challenging. The review did include several studies that showed associations with concentrations of microplastics and birth weight, also chronic sinusitis. Tracy Woodruff, a UCSF researcher, says much of the data in their review came from animal

studies, which can be hard to extrapolate from, but... I just want to say in the field of environmental health, when we have concerning signals, we should be concerned. It's already known that some chemicals in plastic can be hazardous to human health. Will Stone, NPR News. And I'm Janene Hurst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington.