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Today’s top stories

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 one of its biggest allies in a bid for power across the Middle East. Iran propped up Syria’s now-ousted ruler, Bashar al-Assad. Syria offered a connection to Iran’s proxies in nearby Lebanon.

Syrian residents in Turkey wave Syrian opposition flags as they celebrate the President Bashar al-Assad’s rule in Syria after rebel fighters took control of Damascus overnight, at the Fatih Mosque, in Istanbul, on December 8, 2024.

Yasin Akgul/Getty Images/AFP

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Yasin Akgul/Getty Images/AFP

• 🎧 Syria allowed Iran to set up a critical land bridge to Lebanon to funnel weapons to Hezbollah for many years, NPR’s Jackie Northam tells Up First. With the antigovernment rebels in control of Syria, the strategic route is most likely off-limits to Iran, impacting its long-term goals in the region. Iran had two primary agendas: to destroy Israel as a Jewish state and to counter any influence the U.S. has in the Middle East. Iran’s regime may also be worried about a threat of upheaval from its population as they see what is happening in Syria, Northam says.

Several U.S. colleges are advising international students planning to leave the country for the holiday break to return before Inauguration Day to avoid issues at the border. Universities, including USC, the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell, have contacted students as they prepare for President-elect Donald Trump’s second term.

• 🎧 Kirk Carapezza from NPR network station GBH says he believes this decision is being made as school administrators and international students revisit Trump’s track record. During his first term, new foreign student enrollment dropped by 12%. Trump implemented a travel ban targeting majority-Muslim countries and briefly prohibited international students from remaining in the U.S. if they took only online classes during the pandemic. Trump is now promising stricter policies, but there are no concrete proposals. Carapezza says that behind closed doors, administrators and students are anxious.

For weeks, New Jersey residents have reported seeing dozens of drones flying in the night skies. Officials have few concrete explanations about where the drones are coming from, who’s flying them and why. The White House says there’s no evidence that the drones pose a security threat or have any foreign ties, which has left many residents and officials with more questions.

• 🎧 The FBI and other federal agencies say there is an active investigation into the matter, Giulia Heyward of NPR network station WNYC says. The federal government is sending specialized radar technology to local police departments in the state to help determine what is happening. Local New Jersey lawmakers have expressed concern over how safe people really are, a contrast to federal and state officials who have said residents should remain calm and the drones pose no threats. The drones are starting to pop up in other states, including Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland and Connecticut.

Deep dive

Scientists have identified two types of brain cells in the abdomen that appear to control different aspects of digestion.

inkoly/Getty Images/iStockphoto

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inkoly/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Scientists have identified two types of neurons in the abdomen that appear to control parts of digestion. The finding, reported in the journal Nature, helps explain how clusters of neurons in the body play a key role in the gut-brain connection. Just like in the brain, it adds evidence that neurons in the body can take on specialized functions.

• 🧠 Although the research involved mice, Yuki Oka, one of the study’s authors, says human digestive tracts are similar and probably contain a similar system.
• 🧠 The study focused on the sympathetic nervous system, a subset of the peripheral nervous system that becomes more active when the brain detects danger. As a result, your adrenaline goes up, and glucose levels in the blood rise.
• 🧠 The research supports scientific views that specialized neurons in the body play an important role in the gut-brain connection, which impacts everything from hunger to mood.
• 🧠 Specialized neurons offer potential targets to treat high blood pressure, depression, irritable bowel syndrome and more.

Weekend picks

Check out what NPR is watching, reading and listening to this weekend:

🍿 Movies: The horror-comedy Get Away follows the Smith family, who embark on a holiday to a fictional Swedish Island where no one seems happy to see them. Oh, and by the end there’s a kind of slash-fest.

📺 TV: Jamie Foxx not only brings laughter in his new Netflix special What Had Happened Was, he explains the “medical emergency” that landed him in the hospital last year.

📚 Books: NPR’s annual year-end book guide, Books We Love, had an appetite for great food. Here are 11 cookbooks with an array of recipes.

🎵 Music: Discover 10 of the best classical albums of 2024 and an honorable mention — all of which NPR Music’s Tom Huizenga says brought him joy, introspection and hope.

❓ Quiz: The last quiz of the year is all about testing your knowledge of how much you remember from 2024. Apparently I remember a lot more than I thought. Do you think you can get a passing score like me? Test your luck.

3 things to know before you go

India’s grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju reacts after winning against China’s chess grandmaster Ding Liren in game 14 of the 2024 FIDE World Championship in Singapore on Thursday.

Simon Lim/AFP via Getty Images

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Simon Lim/AFP via Getty Images

1. Gukesh Dommaraju has become the 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 identified himself as Pete Travis Timmerman was found wandering the Syrian capital of Damascus yesterday. He was last seen in Budapest, Hungary, in June.
3. Stanley is recalling about 2.6 million of its travel mugs due to an issue with the lids. The company is offering free replacement lids.

This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.