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Today's top stories
The flu season is off to a rough start this year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that at least 7.5 million people have been sickened, and more than 3,100 people have died from the flu this season. The surge in cases appears to be driven primarily by a new strain of the virus known as subclade K of influenza A(H3N2), which emerged over the summer in Australia.
- 🎧 The new strain doesn't seem to be more severe or dangerous than previous ones, NPR's Gabrielle Emanuel tells Up First. Instead, this year's flu vaccine appears to be mismatched against the virus because it was formulated before the strain emerged. Early data from the U.K. show that the vaccine remains effective at preventing hospitalization. Some health experts, however, have raised concerns that the federal government has failed to launch a strong flu vaccination campaign.
President Trump's critics say that a strike on a Venezuelan facility is dragging the U.S. even closer to a more dangerous conflict. This week, the president revealed new details about an attack against a Venezuelan dock allegedly used to load drugs onto boats. The latest operation marks the first known U.S. strike inside Venezuela — an escalation of Trump's campaign against Nicolás Maduro's government.
- 🎧 The strike is significant because it raises the risk of killing people who have nothing to do with narcotics trafficking, NPR's Franco Ordoñez says. Up until this strike, the U.S. was targeting some sanctioned oil tankers and boats suspected of trafficking drugs. Both of those operations have taken place in international waters.
Iran is experiencing its largest protests in years as thousands of people, unhappy with the state of the economy, flood the streets. Inflation in the country has skyrocketed, and the currency has plummeted to a record low. Public anger is growing over sanctions against the ruling government.
- 🎧 Months of anger and frustration over water and energy shortages, civil rights abuses and widespread corruption have fueled the current unrest, NPR's Jackie Northam says. These criticisms, combined with the economic protests, have the potential to spiral into something significantly larger. The 12-day war Iran had with Israel over the summer was costly. There is now a widespread belief that Israel will start another conflict with the country, which would add more economic uncertainty, Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, an economics professor at Virginia Tech, tells Northam.
Living better
Living Better is a special series about what it takes to stay healthy in America.
December is the busiest time of year for package deliveries and for the porch pirates who steal them. Package theft, however, can happen any time of year. In fact, the security research company SafeWise estimates that thieves steal about 250,000 packages every day. Sometimes, instead of a new iPad, the thief might swipe a mail order of medicine. Here's what you should do about it.
- 💊 Schedule deliveries for when you are home. Companies such as CVS Caremark offer customers package tracking.
- 💊 Having a delivery spot that's hidden or even a locker for your porch that doesn't lock can be a good deterrent.
- 💊 See if you can opt into requiring a signature upon delivery.
- 💊 Consider getting medicines delivered to a P.O. box.
Picture show
At the Plum Island Museum of Lost Toys & Curiosities, one-time treasures find a new home, bring back memories and warn of the permanence of plastic waste. The collection of items started when the museum's founder, Corinn Flaherty, spotted the head of a 1940s-era doll on a deserted beach in 2015. What began as a "hot mess" of stuff in her home evolved into an official museum in Amesbury, Mass., which opened its doors in 2021. The space is a kaleidoscope of color, with carefully curated displays on shelves made from driftwood. Take a look at the artfully arranged items inside the museum.
3 things to know before you go
- Tatiana Schlossberg, granddaughter of President John F. Kennedy and daughter of Caroline Kennedy, has died at age 35 following a battle with a rare blood cancer.
- FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Monday justified the high 2026 World Cup ticket prices by citing an unprecedented demand of over 150 million ticket requests.
- Many people celebrate the New Year by making resolutions, a concept that dates back centuries. The word "resolution" entered English from Latin in the late 14th century, originally meaning to reduce things into simpler forms. Here's how NPR's Word of the Week has evolved into a long-standing tradition.
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
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