Up First from NPR - BRICS Summit in India, Amazon Air Plane Crash, Federal Film Tax Bill

Episode Date: September 12, 2026

India hosts the 18th BRICS summit in New Delhi this weekend. The crash of an Amazon cargo jet in Miami is raising concerns about the safety culture at the retail giant's air operations. Congress weighs in on potential federal tax incentives to keep film production in the United States.Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

President Trump travels to Ireland for a little diplomacy and a whole lot of golf. At the same time, India hosts a summit meeting in some of the world's largest economies. I'm Ayesha Roscoe. And I'm Scott Simon, and this is up first from NPR News. The summit includes some of the U.S.'s biggest rivals, Iran, China, and Russia, but also crucial allies like Saudi Arabia. We'll tell you what this means. Also the latest into the investigations of a cargo plane crash in Miami that killed five people. And for years, some of Hollywood's biggest hits have been produced outside of the United States.

Now, Congress wants to change that. So stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your weekend. Today in New Delhi, some of the world's largest economies gather for a high-stake summit. The grouping is called bricks, and it represents about half of the world's population. China, Russia, and India lead the group, but Iran is also invited this time, along with a crucial U.S. ally in the Middle East. And here's international correspondent, Dia Hadid, is covering all this from New Delhi. Dia, thanks for being with us. Thank you, Scott. What's the summit about? Well, Bricks is effectively a forum for emerging economies. It's aimed at countering longstanding

Western dominance. And there's leaders from more than a dozen countries who've turned up. And, Scott, It's quite the gathering. China's president, Jijan Ping and Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, are here. But for now, the attention is on those involved in the latest Middle East War because the Iranian president is here, and Iran has been striking Gulf countries that are also at the summit, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

And that's because Iran accuses them of backing the United States. And just to set the scene a bit, the summit today, comes just a day after Iranian-back fighters in Yemen, they're known as the Houthis, appeared to consolidate control over another shipping route called Babel Mandib. That route was emerging as an alternative for some Gulf oil exports through the Strait of Ramos. You might recall that straight has been largely blocked since the Middle East War began in February. Dramatic ingredients for a meeting. How has it played out so far?

So far, the Iranian president, Masawud Pazashkian, has told audience here that Iran and Oman have agreed on a joint route through the Strait of Hormuz, and they'll sign a deal on Monday. Now, we're seeking confirmation from Gulf states and also a response from President Trump because he's previously threatened to bomb Oman. It's the other country that overlooks the Strait of Ramos because President Trump is demanding the unconditional reopening of the strait. The Iranian president said something else that may well enrage the president as well. What did he say? He's called on BRICS countries to build an alternative to the international payment system, basically ditch the dollar.

And this part was broadcast by the Indian outlet A&I. The Senate Republic of Iran believes that economic resilience is not possible without diversifying trade partners, sources of financing and payment channels. The key words they Scott are diversifying payment channels. channels. And help us translate what that means. It doesn't sound that exciting, but basically the bulk of all global trade presently is done in dollars, and that allows the United States to impose punishing sanctions, like on Russia and Iran. So these two countries, alongside other members of BRICS, have long called for the development of payment systems that bypass the dollar, and that would diminish American influence. During last year's BRIC summit, President Trump threatened extra

tariffs on countries that he said aligned with the anti-American policies of Bricks. Is it even a realistic proposition to replace the dollar in international transactions? Experts say that's unlikely for now, if only because of conflicts between Bricks nations themselves, like United Arab Emirates, for instance, which recently halted all trade with Iran. But these nations do represent about a third of all global trade. Christopher Walker, the Vice President at the Think Tank, the Center for European Policy Analysis, warns against complacency because he says America's biggest rival, China, is assuming a dominant role in Bricks.

They now see the grouping more as a geopolitical counterweight to the U.S. This is certainly one of the Chinese leadership's ambitions to flex its muscles. We absolutely should be concerned. And with China hosting the summit next year, we can expect more of these muscular assertions of independence from the United States. And there's Dia Hadid in New Delhi. Thanks so much. You're welcome, Scott. The crash of an Amazon cargo plane earlier this week in Miami left five people dead.

The accident is raising concerns about the little-known carrier that operated the flight. The company's name is 21 Air, and former employees there have been warning about its safety practices years before this week's crash. NPR's Joel Rose has been following the story. Joel, thanks for being with us. Hey, Scott. Before we start, we ought to note that Amazon is a financial supporter of NPR and pays to distribute some of our content. What do we know about the crash so far? Investigators have not given a probable cause yet, but they have released some evidence from the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder. And that picture looks bad for the pilots. One pilot told the other that they were going too fast.

there were multiple automatic warnings in the cockpit, but the pilots went ahead with this landing anyway, hurtling about 1,300 feet past the end of the runway, crashing into two vehicles on the ground. Five people were killed, five more were injured. What do other pilots say? I talked to Ross Amor. He's a former airline captain for United Airlines,

now an aviation industry consultant. Here's some of what he told me. In my 60 years of flying, I've never seen such a terrible, performance from a crew member. It was a very, very unstable approach from the beginning from get-go. Amor says that pilots in this situation are trained to go around and attempt the landing again, and he does not understand why the pilots in this case did not do that.

Though it could be a case of inexperience, the captain was certified on the Boeing 767 for less than five months, the first officer for only a year and a half. Amor says that cargo airlines like 21 Air, in this case, can be a stepping. for pilots who are on their way to other airlines. But typically an inexperienced pilot would be paired with a more experienced one. Phil, you talked to a former pilot at 21 Air. What did he have to say? Yes, I talked to Carl Serring. He's a veteran pilot and the former president of 21 Air's pilot union. Surring said that the carrier had trouble attracting good pilots because it did not

pay as much as other carriers. My perspective on that is if we want to get experienced pilots here, we have to willing to compensate them. And then unfortunately, you know, when that was lower than standard, then guys would simply go elsewhere with opportunities that look more promising. Serring, I should know, was fired in 2022. He says in retaliation for raising concerns about safety. He has now filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the company. As part of that case, several other former employees say they too were concerned and that the company discouraged them from reporting their safety concerns.

The company disputed those allegations in testimony for the case. 21Ayer did not respond to our requests for comment, but they did give a statement to the Wall Street Journal. Quote, our entire organization has focused on deploying the right training, protocols, and procedures in all aspects of operational safety, unquote. The company also said it would evaluate the findings of the investigators in this case. Joel, how much does Amazon rely on companies like 21Air? So Amazon has a network of contract carriers at the moment. there are nine of them with more than 100 jets, according to the aviation analytics company, Sirium. And that includes some pretty familiar names, Alaska and Allegiant Airlines, among them.

Critics, though, wonder why the company is using some of these smaller carriers, including 21 Air, which Captain Ross Amor called a, quote, fly-by-night operation. Amazon vigorously disputed that description in a statement the company said that this is standard practice across the aviation industry, and that Amazon contracts with carriers that are certified by safety regulators at the Federal Aviation Administration. And Amazon spokesperson said, quote, nothing is more important to us than safety, unquote. What's the next step for the investigation into the Miami crash? Amazon and 21A. both say that they are cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board. The chair, Jennifer Homandy, says investigators are seeking to understand how these two companies work together, what sort of safety policies are in place.

Hamondy said this week that she was not familiar with the safety complaints about 21 air, but she did urge anyone with anything relevant to share to get in touch. Typically, the NTSB releases a preliminary report within about a month of an accident. And P.S. Joel Rose, thanks so much. You're welcome. For years now, many of America's biggest films and TV shows have been produced outside the United States. Tax cuts and rebates have lured Hollywood abroad. But lawmakers are taking notes.

Congress is now set to debate a federal tax credit bill to entice productions to remain in the United States. NPR's culture correspondent Mandelite Del Barco joins me now from Los Angeles. Hi, Mandelaide. Hello. So tell us what's in this bill. Yes, so it's designed to offer tax credits, possibly 20 to 30 percent of a production's cost to production companies and studios that make their films, TV shows, and other entertainment inside the U.S. that would be in addition to tax credits or rebates already being offered in states like Georgia, Texas, and more recently California.

You know, I spoke to Congresswoman Laura Friedman, who represents Los Angeles. For 20 years, she was an independent film producer and also worked at Paramount and HBO. I can tell you, as someone who moved across the country to follow that dream of being in the entertainment industry, it's very aspirational. It employs people across a wide sector of crafts. and occupations. It's creative. And we're losing that in this country. And that's on us. I want this country to choose to be the world's leader in entertainment and content. You know, Friedman is one of the authors of a bipartisan bill that's being introduced to Congress soon. She says this really is a jobs bill for an industry that employs almost two and a half

million people and supports thousands of small businesses across the country. How big a deal is this issue of productions? being made elsewhere. Well, for people who work in film and TV production, this is a huge deal on top of so many other changes in the industry, including fewer and fewer of film and TV production jobs in Los Angeles, which for so long was the entertainment capital. I spoke with Joel Doherty. He's a sound re-recordist for a lot of big movies, and he told me there's so little work in L.A. now that some of his colleagues have quit the business. Others have to constantly travel or relocate their families for work. Or if they can't do that,

they're replaced in countries where producers are cutting costs. I have no idea what will actually bring the jobs back. I think it's worth trying to level the playing field, but I don't know what will stop the people from just trying to find the cheapest thing they can find rather than the best thing they can find. Now, Doherty says he's hopeful about the federal tax credit adding to the new state incentives such as a new bill in California for post-productions that's headed to the governor to sign. But the National Bill supporters emphasize this is not just a Hollywood thing, and it's not just for the expensive movie stars.

How did this all start with productions going to other countries? Well, it's known in the business as runaway production. Film and TV shows have been offshoring ever since Canada began offering tax credits in the mid-1990s. Then producers began chasing after incentives, rebates, and grants in Australia, the UK and other countries around the world. Friedman says the U.S. is actually late in offering federal incentives. President Trump has endorsed the idea of a federal tax credit. What can you tell us about that? Yeah, so last year, Trump named three A-listers to be as Hollywood ambassadors, Sylvester Stallone, Mel Gibson, and John Voight. Well, Voigt and his associates have met up with the president a few times.

After their first meetup, Trump posted on his social media website, Truth Social, he'd impose a 100% tariff. on movies made outside the U.S. That led to a lot of confusion, and ultimately it went nowhere. But now Trump is supporting the proposed legislation, which has a very long name, the Motion Picture Television and Entertainment Revitalization Act. Many people in the industry hope that leads to a comeback for Hollywood. We'll see. That's NPR's Mandelit Dale Barko in Los Angeles.

Thank you so much. Thank you. And that's up first for Saturday, September 12th. 26, I'm Scott Simon. And I'm Aisha Roscoe. Dave Mistich produced today's podcast with help from Cabe O'Connor and Ryan Bink. Our editor was Fernando Naro, along with Vincent Nye, Jennifer Portman, Russell Lewis, and Melissa Gray. Our director is Andy Craig.

Our technical director is Jay Sizz, assisted by Simon Laslow Jansson, Zauvinhoven, and Stacey Abbott. Our deputy managing editor is Catherine Laidlaw. Our executive producer is E.V. Stone. and Shannon Rhodes is our senior supervising editor. Tomorrow on the Sunday story, what the trial of Lindsay Clancy showed us about the way we look at maternal mental health. Thank you for listening and for supporting your local NPR station.

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