NPR News: 12-25-2024 8PM EST
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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst. Christians in Syria are celebrating their first Christmas after the fall of the Assad regime, and Pirzia Hadid reports, for many, it's a time of uncertainty.
The pews were barely half full in one of Syria's most important churches. It wasn't clear if worshippers were staying away out of fear or whether the bare pews simply reflected a years-long exodus of Christians from Syria amid nearly a decade and a half of war. Syria's war ended abruptly earlier in December after Muslim rebels led by Group HTS overran Damascus. The group's leader and Syria's interim ruler, Ahmed al-Shara, says that Syria's large minorities, including Christians, will be safe and protected. But Christians worry that extremists among the rebels will target them and their churches. Diya Hadid, NPR News, Damascus.
At least 38 people are dead after an Azerbaijani airplane with 67 people on board crashed near the Kazakhstani city of Akto. Officials say of the 29 survivors, at least two were children. The plane was en route from the Azerbaijani capital to the Russian city of Grozny when it was diverted and attempted an emergency landing near the city of Akto. Azerbaijan's president says the cause isn't known, but that weather forced the plane to change from its planned course. Russia's Civil Aviation Authority says preliminary information shows the pilots diverted after a bird strike led to an emergency on board. More than two months after Hurricane Helene hit North Carolina, the state is investing millions of dollars in mental health recovery efforts. NPR's Katia Riddle has more.
Some of the people most in need of mental health services here are children. Thousands of students are at a crucial point in their recovery and need help processing their traumatic experiences in order to avoid developing post-traumatic stress disorder. Pacovia-Levitt works for the North Carolina schools. She says helping students in a situation like this, there's just not that much precedent.
I would love for there to be a nice blueprint and be able to really pull out the pieces that you need, but it's very hard to find.
Levitt says mountain communities are seeking help and advice from people in coastal North Carolina. That part of the state is more prepared for hurricanes. Katie Riddle, NPR News, Asheville, North Carolina.
President-elect Donald Trump is nominating a Florida county commissioner to serve as ambassador to Panama. Kevin Marino Cabrera worked for the Trump campaign in 2020. and was a Republican Florida state director this year. This just days after Trump suggested that the U.S. could demand the return of the Panama Canal if the country didn't reduce the fees it charges American ships for using it. Panama owns the canal, and its president says that's not changing. You're listening to NPR News. The National Menorah lighting took place near the White House today, marking the first night of Hanukkah. The 46th annual National Menorah lighting is sponsored privately by the Orthodox Jewish movement Chabad.
New research suggests that showing kindness and goodwill to others is good for one's own health. NPR's Maria Godoy has more.
A growing body of research has linked kindness in the form of things like volunteering or helping a neighbor, for example, to living healthier as we age. Tara Grunewald of Chapman University says studies have linked such contributing behaviors to benefits like improved balance and mobility and better brain health in older adults. And then much of the work that I'm interested in and others is also showing that folks live longer. So there is that ultimate benefit of longevity from giving and contributing to others. Other research has linked routine volunteering to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. Maria Godoy, NPR News.
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