Flu cases; Venezuela-U.S. tensions; Iran protests : NPR

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The flu season is off to a bad start this year. Estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that at least 7.5 million people have been sickened and more than 3,100 people have died from the flu this season. The increase in cases appears to be mainly due to a new strain of the virus known as influenza A(H3N2) subclade K, which emerged over the summer in Australia.

There have been at least 7.5 million illnesses and 3,100 deaths from the flu this season, according to CDC data. And flu cases are expected to increase significantly in the coming weeks.

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• 🎧 The new strain does not appear to be more serious or more dangerous than previous onestells NPR’s Gabrielle Emanuel First. Instead, this year’s flu vaccine appears to mismatch the virus because it was formulated before the strain emerged. Initial UK data shows the vaccine remains effective in preventing hospitalizations. Some health experts, however, have expressed concerns that the federal government has failed to launch a flu vaccination campaign.

Critics of President Trump say strike on Venezuelan facility drags U.S. down even closer to a more dangerous conflict. This week, the president revealed new details about an attack on a Venezuelan dock that was allegedly used to load drug boats. This latest operation marks the first known US strike in Venezuela – an escalation of Trump’s campaign against the government of Nicolas Maduro.

• 🎧 The strike is important because it increases the risk to kill people who have nothing to do with drug trafficking, says NPR’s Franco Ordoñez. Until this strike, the United States targeted certain sanctioned tankers and boats suspected of drug trafficking. Both operations took place in international waters.

Iran is seeing its biggest protests in years as thousands of people, unhappy with the state of the economy, take to the streets. Inflation in the country soared and the currency fell to a record low. Public anger is growing over sanctions against the ruling government.

• 🎧 Months of anger and frustration over water and energy shortagesCivil rights violations and widespread corruption have fueled the current unrest, says NPR’s Jackie Northam. These criticisms, combined with economic protests, could potentially escalate into something much larger. Iran’s 12-day war against Israel over the summer was costly. There is now a widespread belief that Israel will trigger another conflict with the country, which would add even more economic uncertainty, Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, an economics professor at Virginia Tech, told Northam.

Live better

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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 the porch pirates who steal them. However, package theft can happen at any time of the year. In fact, security research firm SafeWise estimates that thieves steal about 250,000 packages every day. Sometimes, instead of a new iPad, the thief may steal a mail order for medication. Here’s what you should do about it.

• 💊 Schedule deliveries when you’re home. Companies like CVS Caremark offer package tracking to their customers.
• 💊 Having a hidden delivery point or even a locker for your porch that doesn’t lock can be a good deterrent.
• 💊 Check if you can choose to require a signature on delivery.
• 💊 Consider having your medications delivered to a post office box.

Image exhibition

At the Plum Island Museum of Lost Toys and Curiosities, unique treasures find new homes, bring back memories and warn of the permanence of plastic waste. The collection of objects began when museum founder Corinn Flaherty spotted the head of a 1940s doll on a deserted beach in 2015. What began as a “burning mess” of things in her home evolved into an official museum in Amesbury, Massachusetts, which opened in 2021. The space is a kaleidoscope of colors, with exhibits carefully curated on driftwood shelves. Take a look at the artfully arranged objects inside the museum.

3 things to know before you leave

Tatiana Schlossberg is pictured at her book signing in 2019 in Richmond, California. Schlossberg says she suffers from a rare form of cancer.

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Amber De Vos/Getty Images for Goop

1. Tatiana Schlossberg, granddaughter of President John F. Kennedy and daughter of Caroline Kennedy, died at age 35 following a battle with a rare blood cancer.
2. FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Monday justified the high ticket prices for the 2026 World Cup by citing unprecedented demand of more than 150 million ticket requests.
3. 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 to simpler forms. Here’s how NPR’s Word of the Week became a long-standing tradition.

This newsletter was published by Suzanne Nuyen.