The Headlines - Jimmy Carter Dies at 100, and Questions Surround South Korean Plane Crash

Episode Date: December 30, 2024

Plus, why coffee prices are soaring. Tune in every weekday morning. To get our full audio journalism and storytelling experience, download the New York Times Audio app — available to Times news subscribers on iOS — and sign up for our weekly newsletter. Tell us what you think at: [e-mail]. On Today’s Episode:Jimmy Carter, Peacemaking President Amid Crises, Is Dead at 100, by Peter Baker and Roy ReedVideo Offers Clues to Cause of Plane Crash, but No Immediate Answers, by Niraj ChokshiAzerbaijan Blames Russia for Plane Crash and Rebukes Kremlin, by Anatoly KurmanaevTrump Weighs In on Immigrant Visa Debate but Offers Little Clarity, by Ken BensingerThe Number of Murders Kept Falling This Year, but Fear of Crime Persists, by Isabelle Taft and Kate SeligWhy Coffee Prices Are Soaring (Again), by Santul Nerkar

From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Monday, December 30th. Here's what we're covering. Jimmy Carter, the longest living president in American history, has died after nearly two years in hospice care. He was 100 years old. World leaders and others are remembering Carter this morning as a dedicated humanitarian and a global statesman who pushed for peace and democracy during his four years in the White House and long afterward. Jimmy Carter from Georgia. I hope to be your next president. Carter's path to the presidency began on a peanut farm in Georgia where he was raised

with no electricity or running water. He served in the Navy and as governor of his home state before launching his campaign for the White House. He was elected in 1976, just two years after President Richard Nixon resigned in a maelstrom of scandal. I came along at a time when Americans still remembered painfully the lies told and the debacle of Watergate. In 2006, Carter spoke with the Times about his presidency and the national mood when he took office in footage that was released after his death.

I brought a fresh face of a peanut farmer, a working man, who's for never to tell a lie or make a misleading statement. Carter went into his presidency hoping he could be a breath of fresh air in American politics. But he faced a tumultuous landscape navigating a domestic energy crisis, soaring inflation. Abroad, he negotiated a nuclear agreement with Russia and he brokered peace between Egypt and Israel. But the chaos of the Iran hostage crisis defined the end of his presidency. Militants stormed the American embassy in Tehran, and dozens of hostages weren't released

until hours after Carter left office. He served only one term and went out as one of the most unpopular presidents in modern times. But his long career after his presidency reshaped his legacy. He and his wife Rosalynn Carter, who died last year, were huge proponents of Habitat for Humanity. They were often seen outbuilding houses. He continued to help mediate conflicts around the world and pushed for human rights. He went on to earn the Nobel Peace Prize. In his

interview with the Times, Carter laid out his hope for what America could become. I would like to see our country be the champion of human rights. And every American embassy looked upon as a haven for those who suffer from human rights abuse. I'd like to see our country be the most generous on Earth. A state funeral for Carter will be held next week at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. For more on Carter's presidency and legacy, listen to today's episode of The Daily with The Times chief White House correspondent Peter Baker. In South Korea, investigators are looking into what caused the fatal plane crash there

yesterday. All but two of the 181 people on board were killed when the plane, which took off from Thailand, crashed at the airport in the city of Muang. Video of the crash shows the plane barreling down the runway without its landing gear down. The plane then hit a concrete barrier bursting into flames. For some experts in crash investigations, the footage raises more questions than it answers. The pilots should have received an alert that the landing gear wasn't down, and that model of plane, a Boeing 737-800, has a backup system that allows the pilots to manually release the wheels if needed.

Experts say the footage raises other questions. A reverse thruster used to slow planes down during landing appears to only be in use on one engine, and the flaps and slats on the plane's wings, which are also used to slow it down, do not appear to be extended. Officials in South Korea are looking at multiple factors for the crash, including weather, potential maintenance issues, and if birds hit the jet. Investigators say they've recovered the plane's black boxes, which could shed light on the pilot's actions in the final moments and whether any systems were malfunctioning. But they say it will likely take months to determine the official cause of the crash. Meanwhile, officials in Azerbaijan are blaming Russia for a deadly plane crash on Christmas.

An Azerbaijan Airlines jet bound for southern Russia crashed, killing 38 people. Azerbaijani and U.S. officials, as well as aviation experts, have said they believe the plane was most likely shot down by a Russian air defense missile. The Kremlin remained silent about the crash for three days before Russian President Vladimir Putin called the president of Azerbaijan and apologized without acknowledging responsibility. Russia has said its air defense systems were fending off an attack by Ukrainian drones near the airport where the plane was supposed to land. But Azerbaijan's president says Russia needs to publicly admit it caused the crash and

compensate the victims' families. With less than a month until Donald Trump takes office, a fiery debate has kicked off among some of his prominent supporters about immigration policy. Specifically, H-1B visas, which let skilled foreign workers like software engineers enter the U.S. The tech industry in particular has long relied on the visas. Last week, Laura Loomer, a right-wing activist, attacked the program on social media, saying the visas are a threat to American workers and a national security risk. Elon Musk, who's been working closely with Trump, shot back, arguing that the expertise

U.S. companies need, quote, simply does not exist in America in sufficient quantity. Musk himself had an H-1B visa before he became a U.S. citizen. And his company, Tesla, has brought in more than 700 workers under the program this year. Then, another of Trump's allies, Steve Bannon, also jumped into the argument. The H-1B visa program is a total and complete scam concocted by the lords of easy money on Wall Street in the oligarchs in Silicon Valley. Bannon echoed Loomer and claimed the H-1B program, along with other visas for immigrant workers, drive down wages for Americans while increasing profits for companies.

We're not going to take the temperature down. Oh no, oh no, oh no. It's no retreat. It's fixed bayonets and it's advanced. Over the weekend, Trump was asked where he stands. He called himself a, quote, believer in H-1B. But it's not clear what position his administration will officially take on the program. New data shows that the number of murders in the U.S. this year has dropped. Major cities including Chicago, Detroit, and San Francisco have all seen a decline in homicides,

according to information collected by the FBI, the cities, and researchers. The data is preliminary and doesn't cover the full year yet, but it suggests that the murder rate, which spiked during the pandemic, is continuing to go down. Local officials say that targeted efforts, like violence intervention programs in areas with frequent shootings, have helped drive down the numbers. Apart from homicides, some other crimes have also declined, including car thefts and aggravated assaults. Still, some Americans may not be feeling safer. According to a Gallup poll from October,

about a quarter of Americans say crime is an extremely serious problem. Criminal justice experts say that what people see on the streets, like shoplifting and public drug use, is contributing to a disconnect between how safe Americans are and how safe they feel. And finally, coffee drinkers, brace yourself for prices to soar. Wholesale coffee prices are trading near a 50-year high. One factor is extreme weather.

Coffee beans can only be grown under very specific circumstances. The plants need misty, humid, tropical climates. Two of the world's biggest bean exporters, Brazil and Vietnam, have been dealing with droughts. Vietnam then also had intense rain. But even as the crops have been threatened, demand has been going up, partly because of how much China

has jumped into the coffee market. China's coffee consumption has increased more than 60% in the past five years, creating a huge demand. Customers are gonna feel the results. Nestle, the world's largest coffee maker, announced that it's planning to raise prices and shrink the size of its products next year. Those are the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.