NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Monday, December 30, 2024

Episode Date: December 31, 2024

State funeral for former President Carter set for Jan. 9; Behind Carter's pivotal role in the Camp David Accords; Black boxes recovered from plane that crashed in South Korea, killing 179; and more on tonight’s broadcast. 

Tonight, the new plans just in for the state funeral of Jimmy Carter as the nation honors its 39th president. The tributes tonight for the peanut farmer, the president, the peacemaker. Remembering Jimmy Carter's life and legacy from his unlikely rise to the White House and his impact on the Middle East to his work as a champion for human rights. Mr. Carter dying at the age of 100 in the home he shared with his wife of 77 years and just revealed the official schedule when the public is invited to pay respects in both Georgia and Washington and the national day of mourning before his final journey home. Also tonight, new details in the plane crash that killed nearly 180 people in South Korea. One of the two

survivors now awake and speaking what he's saying to doctors. And the growing questions now after landing gear issues on a second plane operated by the same airline. The new blow for President-elect Trump in his push to overturn his $5 million sexual abuse and defamation civil verdict. The security concerns in the final countdown to 2025 inside the NYPD's final preparations to protect Times Square. And the president and the pulpit, Jimmy Carter, in his own words on the faith that guided him for a century. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening. I'm Hallie Jackson in for Lester Holt. Good evening. I'm Hallie Jackson in for Lester.

We are coming on the air tonight with the details just into us on how the nation will pause to remember Jimmy Carter. As you can see, memorials to the 39th president growing in Atlanta and in his hometown of Plains, Georgia. A live look there at flags flying at half staff across the country. The former president's state funeral proceedings will begin Saturday in Georgia. Then Mr. Carter will make one final trip to Washington to lie in state at the Capitol before a funeral service next Thursday at the National Cathedral. A moment when the nation's leaders will come together, united by grief, to honor and celebrate the former president. And a day when the federal government will largely shut down for what President Biden has named a national day of mourning.

We have team coverage tonight, starting with our Kelly O'Donnell. His century of life will be honored by days of events into the new year to remember a modest man who defied expectations. My name is Jimmy Carter and I'm running for president. Released tonight, new details. Tributes beginning in his beloved hometown of Plains, Georgia. On Saturday, his final journey back to his boyhood home. Then on to the Carter Center in Atlanta, where he will lie in repose.

Open to mourners to pay their respects. Some visited today. Compassion, kindness, decency. Jimmy Carter, he was just a great humanitarian. Signs of respect from Washington, D.C. to the United Kingdom and the United Nations. January 7th, the late president will return to the Capitol Rotunda to lie in state until the national funeral January 9th. Jimmy Carter stands up as a model of what it means to live a life of meaning and purpose. At the 2013 Obama inaugural, he recalled his own. Did a moment like this evoke memories of your own time? Well, it did. The difference was it was six degrees and the wind was blowing when I was inaugurated, but it seemed

warmer that day than it did today. From that rural boyhood to a career as a naval officer, later running the family peanut business led to local office and a long shot run for the White House as the outsider who loved God and Southern rock and roll when the country was weary after Watergate and the Vietnam War. Had it not been for America's dissatisfaction with Washington and things that are happening here, I would not have been elected. Carter strided into the presidency in 1977, Rosalind always by his side, together promising change. We want to be proud

again. We just want the truth again. It's time for the people to run the government and not the other way around. His presidency both consequential and complicated. Crises from inflation to Americans held hostage in Iran. Defeat denied him a second term. So I can't stand here tonight and say it doesn't hurt. But out of that disappointment, an unparalleled chapter of service, using his influence and his bare hands. Around the world, his work defended democracy and helped eradicate disease, leading to a Nobel Prize for Peace.

We can choose to alleviate suffering. and helped eradicate disease, leading to a Nobel Prize for Peace. We can choose to alleviate suffering. We can choose to work together for peace. We can make these changes. And we must. Kelly O'Donnell is joining us now. And Kelly, while so many of these funeral proceedings will involve dignitaries or family members, there are also a lot of ways that everyday Americans can pay their respects to former President Carter, too.

Yes, the Carter family is inviting those who want to show their honor for President Carter to line the streets of the motorcade routes or attend visitation in Atlanta and at the U.S. Capitol. President Carter's final resting place will be back in Plains, buried next to Rosalyn, his wife of 77 years. Hallie. Kelly O'Donnell, thank you. One of Jimmy Carter's biggest achievements in the White House, the Camp David Accords, brokered between Israel and Egypt. Andrea Mitchell takes a look at how the former president managed to bring adversaries together in a region that's seen conflict for decades. Tonight, the horrific war in Gaza still raging, with peace in the region elusive. But nearly five decades ago, Jimmy Carter brought two age-old enemies to Camp David to bridge their grievances.

Egypt's Anwar Sadat and Israel's Menachem Begin. It was a bold plan built on little more than hope and Jimmy Carter's confidence in his own powers of persuasion. The members of all three delegations have spent endless hours, day and night, talking, negotiating, grappling with problems that have divided their people for 30 years. There had been shouting matches and threatened walkouts, Carter even blocking the door at one point so they couldn't leave. Three of us, very good. Six months later, a signing ceremony at the White House.

Carter's persistence had paid off. I'm so proud of all of you. But Carter's broader vision of a regional peace was not to be then or now. Eight months later, Iranian revolutionaries stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran, taking more than 50 Americans hostage. Israel expanded Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Palestinian leaders couldn't prevent terrorist attacks. The same issues leaders are confronting today.

How was President Carter able to get two bitter enemies to make peace? What made Jimmy Carter special as a negotiator was that he was trusted by the others. They might not have always agreed with him or liked him, but he was trusted. Back in 2014, I asked Carter what kept him going. Promoting peace, enhancing democracy. It's unpredictable. It's adventurous. And I have to say, it's gratifying and exciting for us still to do that. Tonight, both President Biden and President-elect Trump are pressing Israel and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire before the inaugural with time running out. Hallie.

Andrea Mitchell, thank you. In South Korea tonight, the first words from one of only two survivors of that horrific plane crash that killed 179 people. Steve Patterson is not far from that wreckage tonight. And Steve, this is a disaster that has consumed that country. It is, Hallie. And one of the most striking things about being on scene here is this smell. You can still smell that jet fuel. Days later, investigators combing through the wreckage over my right shoulder, searching for the dead. Meanwhile, this is still a nation in mourning. New Year celebrations canceled here across the country. Tonight, investigators digging through the remnants of that crashed Jeju Air jet, now recovering both black boxes. That Boeing 737-800 skidding down the runway, slamming into a wall, bursting into flames.

175 passengers and four crew members dead. Miraculously, two crew members survived, including a 33-year-old flight attendant who reportedly asked doctors, what happened and why am I here? The flight was traveling from Bangkok, Thailand to Muon when South Korean authorities say the pilots were warned of a potential bird strike. But aviation experts are questioning why the aircraft's flaps were likely never deployed to slow down the plane or the landing gear itself. Bird strikes don't bring down airplanes like this, nor do they prevent landing gear from extending. This while officials confirmed Monday a second Jeju Air flight

where the pilot reported a landing gear problem, forcing the plane to turn back, landing safely. Meanwhile, Muon International Airport transformed. This is right inside the departures terminal. It's very early in the morning. People are sleeping. You can see these makeshift shelters set up all over here. People do not want to leave their family members. This is

part of this agonizing identification process that could take the next few days, weeks, even months. Lee Dong-sook's aunt and uncle are among the dead, telling us he thinks the government should be focused on quickly working to identify his family, an act of grief marred by an exercise in frustration. And those black boxes, troves of information, but they could take anywhere from weeks to months to sort through, to parse through. Meanwhile, investigators say they are making progress identifying the dead. Now, 164 identified out of 179. That's just since Sunday. Hallie. Steve Patterson live for us tonight in South Korea. Thank you. Here in New York today, a legal defeat for now for President-elect Trump.

A federal appeals court is upholding a $5 million jury verdict against Mr. Trump for the case in which a jury found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation against writer E. Jean Carroll. Mr. Trump denies the allegations. And today, a spokesperson called the case a hoax and pledged to appeal. And as we all get ready to turn the page to 2025, millions of people are preparing for Times Square's iconic ball drop. And that includes the police. NBC's Emily Akeda is there. And Emily, there's already a lot of security in place even tonight, right? Yeah, that's right, Hallie. Good to be with you. You can see and probably hear the excitement

building ahead of tomorrow. More than a million people are expected to crowd and pack into Times Square here. But first, they will have to go through counterterrorism checkpoints, just one of a sweeping security effort by the NYPD deploying officers in and out of uniforms, canines, an aviation unit, drones, concrete blockades, and sand trucks. Those trucks are meant to prevent bad actors from plowing into crowds like what we saw at a Christmas market in Germany earlier this month. Now, law enforcement at all levels here are focused and they remain concerned about potential targeting of threats. But they say at this time, the good news, there is no specific threats at this time, Hallie.

Emily Akeda, live for us there in Midtown Manhattan. Thank you. Coming up, why more and more Gen Zers are picking up wrenches and blowtorches instead of college degrees. The Big Shift, next. Turning now to something so many families struggle with, the rising costs of college. Maggie Vespa explains why more members of Gen Z are swapping college now for the trades. This minus this. For teens across the country weighing colleges and careers, a path on which many had long cooled is suddenly white hot once again as more of America's youngest workers take to the trades.

At Wisconsin School of Technologies and Trades at Madison College, recent high school grads are filling classes and wait lists in construction, electric, plumbing and welding. Nationwide, the number of 20 to 24-year-olds entering the trades is soaring, doubling among electricians and HVAC mechanics in the last decade. Some have called Gen Z the tool belt generation. Does that ring true to you guys? Yeah, I would say so. You almost fall in love with it. 18-year-old welding students Ethan Dahlhoff and Grayson Chambas had both been accepted to four-year schools but changed course. I just decided, like, I want to work. I don't want to be in debt. You don't want to be in debt. Measure out an inch.

Instructors say that's a driving force, with more than half of American college students today graduating with debt close to $29,000 on average. Like the salary to debt ratio between me and people my age, I mean, we can have what they owe. We can have what they owe. Yeah. Welding program director Tony Studi says this track is an easy sell. You want to make $50,000? Can you afford to borrow $6,000 to come here for a year? Do you just see their little teenage eyes light up? Oh, yeah. And the parents, too. Yeah, what do parents say?

Yeah, they're like, that's more than I make. That reality drawing more women and people of color. Today. Many on social media, where trades influencers showcase a hands-on career more alluring than classroom learning to even top students. Historically, there's been a bit of a stigma attached to jobs in the trades. Maybe kids that were getting into trouble or didn't have a good academic record. Now that's not necessarily the case.

It's not looked down upon as a career path. An old path made new again by a generation forging their own future. Maggie Vespa, NBC News, Madison, Wisconsin. And coming up, our original reporting from inside Gaza as the war and winter converge with heart-wrenching consequences. Stay with us. They were born into war and now dying in the cold. Newborns in Gaza are struggling to survive the winter temperatures. Erin McLaughlin has tonight's original reporting with a warning.

Some of the images are very tough to see. At the Al-Mawasi refugee camp in southern Gaza, Mahmoud Al-Fasih gently cradles the body of his 20-day-old baby girl. He's bringing Sila to the doctor, not for a checkup, but to confirm her cause of death. Mahmoud says he found Sila early in the morning, her body frozen and blue. The doctor quickly confirms what the family already knew.

She was in the tents due to severe hypothermia. Unfortunately, she was arrested and died. Baby Sila froze to death. Her mother, Neriman, weeps arrested and died. Baby Sila froze to death. Her mother, Neriman, weeps at her burial. I swear we are dying from the cold, she says. It's freezing.

Inside the family's makeshift tent, there's no heating. Neriman says she fears for her two surviving children. All I want is a good tent, she says, clothes for the children, something to make them warm. Fear echoed across Gaza's encampments as the biting cold has claimed the lives of at least five Palestinian children within the last week, according to the Gaza health ministry. The UNRWA commissioner general is pointing to the lack of shelter, with blankets, mattresses and other winter supplies stuck in the region for months, waiting for approval to get into Gaza.

In a statement to NBC News, the Israeli military says it has allowed in 24,000 tons of winter supplies since the beginning of the war. Yahya Albatron says he only had one electric blanket for his twins. Born a month premature, each day he'd go to a nearby hospital for electricity to charge it, all for just three hours of warmth for his boys. It wasn't enough. Baby Juma died yesterday. My children are dying in front of my eyes, he says.

Juma's twin brother, Ali, is being treated for hypothermia. Doctors say he's unlikely to survive. He ran away from the north from the bombing, he says, only to die from cold and starvation. Aaron McLaughlin, NBC News. We'll take a break. And coming up, how Jimmy Carter's abiding faith guided him from the White House to Sunday school. Next. Tonight, Jimmy Carter is being remembered not just for his decades-long career in public service, but also as a man whose faith informed his life until the very end.

Far from his most well-known title, it may be among his most personal. Not president, but teacher at Sunday school. Ohio. Ohio. California. Just in the middle. school. Ohio. Ohio. California. Just in the middle. D.C. D.C. I used to live there.

Jimmy Carter drawing the faithful on a kind of pilgrimage to Plains for ministry at Maranatha. I'm just trusting in God to take care of me. And I've been really appreciative of all the good wishes I've had. Because although the country at times lost faith in Carter, he held tight to his. Are there days you question your faith? Not anymore. Carter believed in the separation of church and state, saying the government ought to stay out of the prayer business. But his beliefs built the foundation for who he was as a person and a president.

I think it came before a lot of decisions that he had to make, whether it be family or political or doing something. He depended on his faith for everything. That included after his cancer diagnosis in 2015. I do have deep religious faith, which I'm very grateful for. And I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't go into an attitude of despair or anger. Carter himself would acknowledge he's no saint, once memorably telling Playboy he's committed adultery in his heart many times. But he spoke

often and plainly about what he believed and what it meant to him. We believe in, are supposed to believe in humility and service of others. His own acts of service involving humanitarian work around the world. What you saw was who he was. Kim Carter Fuller remembering her Uncle Jimmy. He's with people that he loved so much, and he's probably up there bossing them around, telling them how to teach Sunday school. Keeping the faith and the legacy that lives on. I don't have any doubt that God answers all the prayers. Sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes the answer is no. And sometimes the answer is you got to be kidding.

Jimmy Carter in his own words. That's nightly news for this Monday. For all of us here at NBC, I'm Hallie Jackson. Thanks for watching and have a great night.