News Wrap: At least 38 dead after Azerbaijan Airlines crash in Kazakhstan

William Brangham:

Welcome to the "News Hour."

Our coverage tonight begins overseas in Kazakstan, where at least 38 people are dead after the crash of an Azerbaijani airplane. The passenger jet carrying 67 people was en route from Baku, the nation's capital, to the Russian city of Grozny this morning. The airline said it diverted and tried to make an emergency landing in the Kazakh city Aktau.

That's where an eyewitness caught this video of the Embraer jet rapidly descending. Rescuers rushed to the scene of the crash,where they found at least 29 survivors, some seen walking away from the wreckage on foot. Azerbaijan's president has sent a commission to investigate the cause of the crash.

Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan (through translator): The reasons for the crash are not yet known to us. There are various theories, but I believe it is premature to discuss them. The matter must be thoroughly investigated. The Azerbaijani public will be regularly informed about the results of the commission's work.

William Brangham:

He also said Azerbaijan's prosecutor general's office launched a criminal case regarding the crash, but did not provide further details.

Turning to Ukraine, officials say Russia launched an extensive missile and drone attack on the country's energy infrastructure, disrupting heat services for 500,000 people in the country's north and east. It sent residents in the capital, Kyiv, underground to shelter in metro stations. Ukrainian officials say most of the missiles and drones were shot down or jammed, but one person is dead in Dnipro.

Meanwhile, in Russia, an official says debris from a Ukrainian drone started a fire in a shopping mall, which killed one woman.

President Biden signed scores of new bills into law just before Christmas as he pushes forward with his final priorities with just a few weeks left in office. Among the 50 bills he signed, the creation of the first federal anti-hazing standard for college campuses, also a bill supported by reality TV star Paris Hilton which is aimed at addressing child abuse in institutional facilities that care for at-risk youth, and another new law that makes the bald eagle the national bird of the U.S.

As we reported on this program, that had actually not been done before, but now it's official.

Scientists in Siberia have unearthed what they say may be the best preserved body of a woolly mammoth ever found. The 50,000-year-old remains of the female baby mammoth are complete with flesh, skin, and bones. She's believed to have been just a-year-old when she died. They found her in the melting permafrost, which has been accelerated by climate change.

That's led to more prehistoric discoveries in recent weeks, including the 35,000-year-old mummified body of a saber-toothed kitten, also in Siberia. It was so well-preserved, a lead researcher said its fur was — quote — "surprisingly soft."

And for the first time in almost 20 years, Christmas and the first night of Hanukkah fall on the same day. Some have given it the nickname Chrismukkah. Both holidays always fall on the 25th, but they use different calendars. Christmas uses the Gregorian calendar, while Hanukkah is in the month of Kislev in the Jewish calendar, which follows the moon cycles.

Today's a true rarity. Only four times since 1900 have the first night of Hanukkah and Christmas coincided.