Syria; Travis Timmerman; Donald Trump; Iran : NPR

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In the present day’s high tales

Iran’s capital has been in dismay after the sudden collapse of the Syrian regime. Iran, a longtime enemy of Israel and the U.S., relied on Syria as certainly one of its greatest allies in a bid for energy throughout the Center East. Iran propped up Syria’s now-ousted ruler, Bashar al-Assad. Syria supplied a connection to Iran’s proxies in close by Lebanon.

• 🎧 Syria allowed Iran to arrange a important land bridge to Lebanon to funnel weapons to Hezbollah for a few years, NPR’s Jackie Northam tells Up First. With the antigovernment rebels in charge of Syria, the strategic route is almost definitely off-limits to Iran, impacting its long-term targets within the area. Iran had two main agendas: to destroy Israel as a Jewish state and to counter any affect the U.S. has within the Center East. Iran’s regime may additionally be apprehensive a couple of menace of upheaval from its inhabitants as they see what is occurring in Syria, Northam says.

A number of U.S. faculties are advising worldwide college students planning to depart the nation for the vacation break to return earlier than Inauguration Day to keep away from points on the border. Universities, together with USC, the College of Pennsylvania and Cornell, have contacted college students as they put together for President-elect Donald Trump’s second time period.

• 🎧 Kirk Carapezza from NPR community station GBH says he believes this choice is being made as college directors and worldwide college students revisit Trump’s monitor report. Throughout his first time period, new international scholar enrollment dropped by 12%. Trump applied a journey ban concentrating on majority-Muslim nations and briefly prohibited worldwide college students from remaining within the U.S. in the event that they took solely on-line courses through the pandemic. Trump is now promising stricter insurance policies, however there aren’t any concrete proposals. Carapezza says that behind closed doorways, directors and college students are anxious.

For weeks, New Jersey residents have reported seeing dozens of drones flying within the night time skies. Officers have few concrete explanations about the place the drones are coming from, who’s flying them and why. The White Home says there is not any proof that the drones pose a safety menace or have any international ties, which has left many residents and officers with extra questions.

• 🎧 The FBI and different federal businesses say there may be an lively investigation into the matter, Giulia Heyward of NPR community station WNYC says. The federal authorities is sending specialised radar know-how to native police departments within the state to assist decide what is occurring. Native New Jersey lawmakers have expressed concern over how secure individuals actually are, a distinction to federal and state officers who’ve mentioned residents ought to stay calm and the drones pose no threats. The drones are beginning to pop up in different states, together with Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland and Connecticut.

Deep dive

Scientists have recognized two varieties of mind cells within the stomach that seem to manage totally different features of digestion.

inkoly/Getty Photos/iStockphoto

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inkoly/Getty Photos/iStockphoto

Scientists have recognized two varieties of neurons within the stomach that seem to manage elements of digestion. The discovering, reported within the journal Nature, helps clarify how clusters of neurons within the physique play a key position within the gut-brain connection. Identical to within the mind, it provides proof that neurons within the physique can tackle specialised features.

• 🧠 Though the analysis concerned mice, Yuki Oka, one of many examine’s authors, says human digestive tracts are related and possibly include the same system.
• 🧠 The examine targeted on the sympathetic nervous system, a subset of the peripheral nervous system that turns into extra lively when the mind detects hazard. In consequence, your adrenaline goes up, and glucose ranges within the blood rise.
• 🧠 The analysis helps scientific views that specialised neurons within the physique play an necessary position within the gut-brain connection, which impacts every little thing from starvation to temper.
• 🧠 Specialised neurons provide potential targets to deal with hypertension, melancholy, irritable bowel syndrome and extra.

Weekend picks

Try what NPR is watching, studying and listening to this weekend:

🍿 Films: The horror-comedy Get Away follows the Smith household, who embark on a vacation to a fictional Swedish Island the place nobody appears blissful to see them. Oh, and by the tip there is a sort of slash-fest.

📺 TV: Jamie Foxx not solely brings laughter in his new Netflix particular What Had Occurred Was, he explains the “medical emergency” that landed him within the hospital final 12 months.

📚 Books: NPR’s annual year-end guide information, Books We Love, had an urge for food for nice meals. Listed below are 11 cookbooks with an array of recipes.

🎵 Music: Uncover 10 of the most effective classical albums of 2024 and an honorable point out — all of which NPR Music’s Tom Huizenga says introduced him pleasure, introspection and hope.

❓ Quiz: The final quiz of the 12 months is all about testing your information of how a lot you bear in mind from 2024. Apparently I bear in mind much more than I assumed. Do you assume you will get a passing rating like me? Take a look at your luck.

3 issues to know earlier than you go

India’s grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju reacts after successful in opposition to China’s chess grandmaster Ding Liren in sport 14 of the 2024 FIDE World Championship in Singapore on Thursday.

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Simon Lim/AFP by way of Getty Photos

1. Gukesh Dommaraju has change into the brand new world chess champion. The 18-year-old chess prodigy from India is now the youngest world champion of all time.
2. An American man who recognized himself as Pete Travis Timmerman was discovered wandering the Syrian capital of Damascus yesterday. He was final seen in Budapest, Hungary, in June.
3. Stanley is recalling about 2.6 million of its journey mugs attributable to a problem with the lids. The corporate is providing free alternative lids.

This text was edited by Suzanne…