NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-29-2024 6PM EST

Episode Date: December 29, 2024

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Herbst. Former President Jimmy Carter has died. He died today at his home in Plains, Georgia at the age of 100. As NPR's Don Gagne reports, Carter was a little-known governor when he began his bid for the White House. Few took Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter seriously when he jumped into the race for president. The former peanut farmer announced his candidacy almost two years before election day. There was a major headline on the editorial page of the Atlanta Constitution that said Jimmy Carter is running for what? Carter was an outsider, capitalizing on distrust of Washington in the immediate aftermath of

the Watergate scandal. We lost Carter! We lost money! We lost money! After emerging from a crowded Democratic primary field, he narrowly defeated President Gerald Ford in the general election, only to lose to another Washington outsider named Ronald Reagan four years later. Don Gagne, NPR News. The president of Azerbaijan says Russian anti-aircraft weapons hit the Azerbaijani airliner that

crashed last week, killing 38. Speaking on Azerbaijan TV, Ilham Aliyev criticized Russian officials for initially denying involvement, as NPR's Brian Mann reports. President Aliyev said in the interview, we can say with complete clarity the plane was shot down by Russia. He added there's no evidence Russia struck the passenger liner intentionally. But Aliyev accused Russia of trying to hush up the incident by giving what he described as delirious versions of the crash. He called for Russia to prosecute those involved and pay compensation.

The plane was en route from Azerbaijan's capital Baku to Grozny, a city in Russia, when it began to fly erratically, eventually crashing in nearby Kazakhstan. 29 people survived. In a statement, Aliyev's office said he has spoken a second time with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the downed plane. The statement offered no details about their exchange. Brian Mann, NPR News, Keefe. Residents in the southeastern U.S. are assessing the damage today after a strong storm system swept

through the area. The National Weather Service says it's investigating around 40 tornado reports from southeastern Texas to Alabama. Holly Hallman is a spokesperson for Athens, Alabama. She says a suspected tornado came through there yesterday. I heard like a roaring sound, like everybody says they hear. Come through downtown and saw sparks flying and got here. We had HVAC units off some of the merchant buildings in the road, roofing in the road, a lot of the Christmas decorations blown. The bookstore, the roof is completely gone, trees down.

At least two people were killed when tornadoes touched down in Texas and Mississippi. The storm system is now heading east. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. In the coming year, analysts see big gains for one specific type of energy across the world – geothermal energy. And here's Julia Simon has more. Deep down in the Earth's crust, it is hot. Tap into that heat and the steam can turn a turbine that makes reliable electricity.

This technology is called geothermal energy. Analysts at the International Energy Agency, or IEA, say it's now becoming a lot cheaper to make. Tools from the oil and gas industry like fracking are enabling companies to access geothermal energy even deeper underground. And unlike other energy sources from underground, like oil, gas, and coal, geothermal energy generates a lot less planet-heating carbon dioxide and methane gas. The IEA says geothermal could meet up to 15 percent of global electricity demand growth between now and 2050 in the United States. Julia Simon and Pure News. Big Lots reached a deal that will keep hundreds of its stores open. The discount chain says it will be sold to Gordon Brothers Retail Partners, which specializes

in distressed companies. Gordon Brothers will then transfer Big Lots stores to other retailers. Variety Wholesalers, which owns more than 400 U.S. discount stores, plans to acquire between 200 and 400 Big Lots stores and operate them under the Big Lots brand. Big Lots filed for operate them under the Big Lots brand. Big Lots filed for bankruptcy protection in September. And repeating our top story, former president Jimmy Carter died today at his home in Plains, Georgia at the age of 100. I'm Janene Herbst, NPR News in Washington.