Thursday, December 26, 2024
It is Thursday, December 26, 2024. Here are today’s top stories.
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20-year-anniversary of deadly tsunami
Today is the 20th anniversary of the tsunami that struck Thailand, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka in 2004 and killed about 230,000 people. The tsunami was caused by a major undersea earthquake that shifted the sea floor, which caused massive amounts of ocean water to bulge and travel hundreds of miles towards coasts. Many people impacted were on vacation at various resorts near the ocean, but the majority of those affected were residents who had their livelihoods wiped out. There are many videos on YouTube or on various television shows or documentaries that show how the tsunami was like a quickly-rising flood coming from the ocean, the water just kept on flowing into land.
Tragically, many children were orphaned and had to mature quickly. Many communities were devastated and had to completely rebuild. Today there were many vigils and ceremonies across countries in Asia to mark the day.
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Hanukkah started on Christmas Day
This year, the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah had their first night happening on the same day as Christmas for the first time since 2005. CBS News explained that Hanukkah’s start date varies year by year because it is based on the Jewish calendar, which follows the cycles of the moon and the sun. This year’s Hanukkah holiday will continue through Jan. 2, 2025. The next times that Christmas and Hanukkah will happen on the same day/night is in 2035 and 2054.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hanukkah-christmas-december-25-2024-same-day/
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Bird flu kills 20 big cats at sanctuary
An animal sanctuary in Washington state that was the home of exotic, big cats said it’s seen 20 of them die in the past several weeks from bird flu. The cats included a Bengal tiger, four cougars, a lynx and four bobcats. The sanctuary said animal health officials confirmed that bird flu was present among its animals. The virus’ name is HPAI, short for highly pathogenic avian influenza. It is not known how the virus got into the sanctuary and the place is currently taking quarantine and disinfecting measures. The Guardian said there have been reports of bird flu across western U.S. states.
A house cat in Oregon died after eating pet food that tested positive for bird flu and the pet food company, Northwest Naturals, said it is recalling one of its products. One person in Louisiana became seriously ill from bird flu.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/25/twenty-big-cats-die-bird-flu
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Passenger plane crashes in Kazakhstan
A passenger plane with 67 people on it crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday. There were 38 deaths but 29 people survived, including two children. The plane was operated by Azerbaijan Airlines. There are different stories out there on what caused the crash. A local official said the plane hit a flock of birds and was trying to make an emergency landing, but Reuters said the plane was downed by a Russian air defense system. Pictures of the plane showed that it had several holes on its tail section, which could have come from some kind of a bomb. Before the crash, several Ukrainian drones attacked southern Russia not far from the crash site, so this could be a mistaken target from Russia’s military.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/25/world/asia/kazakhstan-plane-crash.html
https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/26/asia/kazakhstan-plane-crash-questions-intl/index.html
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Dead body found in wheel well of plane landing in Hawaii
A dead body was found in the wheel well of a United Airlines flight that traveled from Chicago to Maui, Hawaii on Christmas Eve. United said the wheel well is only accessible from outside of the aircraft and it’s not yet known how or when the person, a male, went inside.
There have been incidents in the past where people tried to be a stowaway by hiding in wheel wells, but it is extremely dangerous because when the planes go into the sky, there are low oxygen levels and extremely cold temperatures. One man survived a flight in a wheel well from Guatemala to Miami in 2021 but in 2019, one man died after falling from the wheel well in a flight from Kenya to the U.K. and his body was found in the backyard of a house in London.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/2024/12/25/dead-body-found-plane-wheel-well/77212968007/
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/25/us/body-found-united-airlines-wheel-well-maui-hawaii.html
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Netflix’s Christmas NFL show goes smoothly
Netflix broadcast two NFL games on Christmas Day and it went smoothly without the major glitches that affected the Mike Tyson / Jake Paul fight in November. The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers and then the Baltimore Ravens defeated the Houston Texans in yesterday’s games. Beyonce gave a halftime performance. One cool thing about Netflix is that because it’s a global service, those around the world could tune in to watch it.
Netflix signed a three-year, $150 million contract to broadcast Christmas Day games so there will be at least two more Christmases like this.
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That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.