NPR News 2011-12-25 加文本

NPR News 2011-12-25

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Louise Schiavone.

Amid continued turmoil, the President of Yemen Ali Abdullah Saleh says he will travel to the United States. He wouldn't say when, but speaking to reporters, he said he does not expect to stay in power and will leave to give his country time to set up an interim government. Its comments came after forces commanded by his son and nephew opened fire on thousands of protesters.

In Syria, there are reports that the city of Homs is under siege by the Syrian army. The reports come as huge crowds in Damascus turned out for funerals of more than 50 people killed in a suicide bomb attack in the capital. NPR’s Deborah Amos reports from Beirut.

The shelling and shooting is nearly constant. The electricity has been cut for more than 24 hours, says a businessman reached by phone. According to activists and residents, the Syrian army has stepped up an assault in the city, storming and burning Homs in one neighborhood that's been the center of protests. Syrian dissidents in exile raised the alarm with the secretary-general of the Arab League. Arab League monitors are expected to arrive in Damascus on Monday. Dissidents called on the monitors to make Homs the first stop. Deborah Amos, NPR News, Beirut.

Kim Jong-un, the son of North Korea’s late ruler Kim Jong-il, has now been acclaimed the nation’s new supreme commander. Meanwhile, the South Korean government says it will send a delegate from South Korea to the memorial service with the North’s late leader. Former first lady and Hyundai carmaker Chairwoman Lee Hee-ho will represent her nation.

The GOP primary ballot in the state of Virginia will not bear the names of either former House Speaker Newt Gingrich or Taxes Governor Rick Perry. NPR’s Laura Sullivan explains what happened.

Virginia’s primary falls on March 6th, and it’s one of important first Super Tuesday votes in the Republican primary. Failure to be listed on the ballot could be a major setback for both Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry’s campaigns. Perry campaign spokesman Ray Sullivan issued a statement yesterday saying despite aggressive efforts collecting thousands of Virginia signatures, they were notified last night a falling short of the 10,000 signatures needed. The Gingrich campaign says Virginia has a failed system. Of the seven GOP candidates, only Mitt Romney and Ron Paul have qualified to have their names appear on Virginia’s ballot. Laura Sullivan, NPR News.

In the Holy Land as Christmas Eve, the sun was out in Bethlehem today, and bells rang out as throngs prepared to remember the birth of Jesus. The main event will be Midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity. In Rome, in couple of hours, Pope Benedict will celebrate Christmas Midnight Mass a couple of hours early. Midnight is late for the 84-year-old benedict. He is also due Christmas Day to deliver a traditional speech reflecting on the state of the world.

This is NPR News in Washington.

On average, Americans are paying 3.23 a gallon for regular gasoline this season, the American Automobile Association reports. Troy Green of the AAA says that's not stopping them from driving.

“Ninty-one percent of all holiday travelers will do so by automobile. That equates to all the 83.5 million Americans who travel by car.”

Gasoline costs about 20 cents a gallon more than it did this time last year.

Not clear what fuel Santa uses. But at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, NORAD Santa trackers are bracing for the annual journey of the Christmas pop icon. General Chuck Jacoby is NORAD commander.

“We got them wired pretty well. We’re tracking them closely.”

Last year, volunteers at NORAD answered 80,000 phone, Christmas Eve calls and 7,000 emails.

Santa Claus plays an important part of the holidays for many Americans. NPR’s Allison Keyes has more.

“Santa Claus is coming to town.”

The fat little elf in a bright red suit and with a twinkle in his eye remains popular, with 2/3 of parents with kids under 18 telling AP-GfK pollsters that he is an important part of their seasonal celebrations, and half of non-Christian adults say Santa is important to their holidays as well. The poll also finds that 84 % of American adults used to believe in Santa when they were small. But as any little kid will tell you, those who have stopped believing are just wrong. Allison Keyes, NPR News.

National Retail Federation forecast a 3.8% increase in Christmas sales over last year.

I'm Louise Schiavone, NPR News, Washington.