NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-31-2024 6AM EST

Episode Date: December 31, 2024

NPR News: 12-31-2024 6AM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Support for this podcast and the following message come from Autograph Collection Hotels, with over 300 independent hotels around the world, each exactly like nothing else. Autograph Collection is part of the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio of hotel brands. Find the unforgettable at autographcollection.com. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korova Coleman. Funeral plans for former President Jimmy Carter are coming together. Services will span nearly a week and happen in Georgia and in Washington, D.C. NPR Stephen Fowler reports Carter died on Sunday at the age of 100. Carter's body will leave his home in southwest Georgia Saturday morning the 4th and travel

to Atlanta for a moment of silence at the state capitol before lying in repose at the Carter Center. Members of the public will be able to pay respects at the Carter Center until Tuesday morning, when the casket will be transported to Washington, D.C., where Carter will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol. The 39th President's State Funeral will be Thursday, January 9th, at the Washington National Cathedral before a private ceremony at Carter's Maranatha Baptist Church and private interment at the family home in Plains. Steven Fowler, NPR News, Atlanta. The day of Carter's state funeral, January 9th, is the day that President Biden has declared as a national day of mourning. All federal agencies will be closed that day. U.S. flags

are already being flown at half-staff at public buildings for a month. Similarly, the U.S. flags are already being flown at half-staff at public buildings for a month. Similarly, the U.S. stock market will be closed on January 9th to honor Carter and the U.S. bond market will close early that day. A team of U.S. aviation experts led by the National Transportation Safety Board has arrived in South Korea. As NPR's Marie Andrusiewicz reports, they're helping investigate the deadly crash at South Korea's Muwon International Airport. The NTSB says they sent three investigators with specialties in operational factors and aircraft performance.

They're joined by advisors from the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing. CFM International, the maker of the engines on the plane that crashed, is also assisting with the investigation from off-site. The NTSB says additional staff are standing by to help as needed, including specialists in recorders, power plants, and survival factors. Earlier, South Korea's Transport Ministry announced plans to inspect all Boeing 737-800 planes operated by South Korean airlines. 179 people were killed in the deadliest plane crash on South Korean soil. Marie Andrusiewicz, NPR News, Washington.

Philadelphia is getting ready for its annual New Year's Day Mummers Parade. It's a huge folk parade that features people dressed in colorful and flamboyant costumes who walk, twirl and sashay down city streets. Comedians, musicians and actors join them, and the Mummers Parade lasts for much of the day. Philadelphia Deputy Police Commissioner Mike Cramm says security is in place for the Mummers

Parade. There's things that you won't see, that are there as another layer of protection and security, but just come out and have a good time. Groups compete for top honors in the Philadelphia Mummers Parade. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. The Eastern European nation of Moldova is facing an energy crisis. Tomorrow, Russia is expected to stop shipping its natural gas to Europe. That's because a deal to keep Russian gas flowing to Europe is expiring. Other nations are finding some

workarounds for energy. People in the small nation of Moldova are concerned they'll lose power and heat as winter sets in. In Ukraine during this hard holiday season there are frequent power cuts and missile strikes. Many Ukrainian families are turning to the American film Home Alone for comfort. The movie has been a holiday staple in Ukraine for decades. NPR's Brian Mann reports from Kyiv. The tale of Kevin, a little boy mistakenly left home by his parents, first caught on in Ukraine in the 90s, and it's broadcast every year here. Anna Bondarenko, a longtime fan of the movie, says Ukrainians love it. Because it's really a small kid, it's a universal language.

Her son Sasha, who's 10, says the film is hilarious, especially when Kevin gets the best of bungling burglars. When the robber gets into this door for dogs or cats, and he has like shotgun or something. The film was so popular, there was a knockoff version made by a Ukrainian production company. One of its stars was Volodymyr Zelensky, then a popular actor, now the wartime president of Ukraine. Brian Mann, NPR News, Kyiv. In the U.S., weather forecasters say a stream of Arctic air will blanket much of the country this week.

The frigid temperatures will stretch from the northern Rockies to the East Coast. I'm Korva Kuhlman, NPR News in Washington.