NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-29-2024 9PM EST

Episode Date: December 30, 2024

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Herbst. Tributes to former President Jimmy Carter are coming in from across the country and around the world. After nearly two years in home hospice care, Carter died today at the age of 100. In Georgia, many are remembering Carter not only as the 39th president, but also a native son. Sam Greenglass from member station WABE has more. Before the White House and a prolific post-presidency,

Carter cut his teeth in Georgia politics, on his local school board, in the state legislature, and as governor. After running for that office as a conservative Democrat, he surprised his supporters when he declared that the time for racial discrimination is over. Democratic U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock is remembering Carter as a moral powerhouse who moved us closer toward our highest ideals.

Republican Governor Brian Kemp said the former president showed the world the impact our state and its people have on the country. Carter will be laid to rest in his southwest Georgia hometown of Plains, near the home he shared with former First Lady Rosalynn Carter for more than six decades. For NPR News, I'm Sam Greenglass. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office says he underwent successful prostate surgery today to remove a benign growth. This is Israel continues to grapple with the fallout of its war in Gaza. It means Netanyahu has had to cancel testimony he was supposed to give this week in a corruption trial against him.

MPs Emily Fang has more. This is not the first time the Prime Minister has had health problems while Israel is fighting on multiple fronts. In Gaza, against Houthi militants in Yemen and in Syria, where Israeli troops have occupied more territory. Netanyahu also is in the middle of testifying in his own corruption trial. A Jerusalem court agreed he could postpone several days of testimony this coming week due to surgery. At 75 years old, Netanyahu was among the more senior end of world leaders. He was fitted with a pacemaker last year and earlier this spring had surgery for a hernia.

Emily Fang and Peer News News Tel Aviv, Israel. Wall Street is headed into another quiet week closing out what's been a great 2024 for stocks, and Piers Rafael-Nam reports. There are only two trading sessions left of the year, and already investors are sitting on some big gains. The S&P is up 25% so far this year. A big reason is that stocks tied to artificial intelligence have continued to do well. Chip company Nvidia, for example, has seen its share price more than double in 2024. The economy has also remained healthy under President

Biden. And since November, stocks have gained even more because of hopes that Donald Trump will be good to Wall Street when he returns to the White House. Those stocks have lost some momentum in December. Rafael Nam, NPR News. You as futures contracts are trading flat at this hour. You're listening to NPR News. In South Korea, the country's acting president has ordered an emergency safety inspection of the country's entire airline operating system following the fiery crash of a passenger jet last night that killed 179 people. Two people survived. Officials say they think the plane's landing gear malfunctioned and video showed the plane

sliding on its belly before crashing into a barrier and bursting into fire. Broadway's no stranger to star casting with the likes of Nicole Scherzinger, Jim Parsons, and Robert Downey Jr. headlining shows earlier this year. The musical Anne Juliet took a different approach, casting TikTok influencer Charlie D'Amelio not in a lead role, but in the ensemble, as NPR's Ava Pukac reports.

With more than 155 million followers, Charli D'Amelio has the second most followed account on TikTok. And this fall, fans got to follow her journey online as she made her Broadway debut in the ensemble of the musical Ann Juliette. Hi, I'm Charli D'Amelio, and I want to take all of you behind the scenes to an Ann Juliet rehearsal. Let's go. While some Broadway shows

have struggled to find audiences post-pandemic, Ann Juliet sales have increased compared to the rest of the year since D'Amelio joined the show in October. And the show's social media accounts have seen a large boost in followers and engagement Eva Pugac and PR news Asian markets are trading in mixed territory at this hour

The Hang Seng is down a fraction the Nikkei in Japan ups extensive or down six tenths of a percent You're listening to NPR news