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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.
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Chapter 2: How are Christians in Syria celebrating Christmas?
A great gray owl and a snowy owl are being treated by experts after being rescued in northern Minnesota. Annabelle Whelan says she found the first owl this week in Duluth and brought him to a wildlife rehabilitation center, which sent him to a raptor rescue. Hours later, she helped save a second owl that was stuck in the grill of a car.
She brought that bird, too, to the Wildlife Center, which also sent it to the Rapture Rescue after treating it. Rescue officials say people should call for help when they see an injured animal because they are usually afraid of people. I'm Janine Herbst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington.
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