The Evening: Jimmy Carter’s legacy

Plus, the latest on the Jeju Air crash

View in browser|nytimes.com December 30, 2024 By Jonathan Wolfe Good evening. Here's the latest at the end of Monday. Jimmy Carter's legacy The Jeju Air crash Plus, predictions for 2025 Damon Winter/The New York Times Honoring Jimmy Carter Former President Jimmy Carter's state funeral will be held on Jan. 9 at the Washington National Cathedral. It'll feature a eulogy by President Biden and culminate more than a week of ceremonies and remembrances. Carter, who died at his home in Plains, Ga., at 100 on Sunday, will lie in repose this weekend in Atlanta at the Carter Center, home of his post-presidential humanitarian work. He will then be flown on Monday to Washington, where he will lie in state at the Capitol. Thousands of people are expected to file through the Rotunda to pay their respects. Carter rose from Georgia farmland to become the 39th U.S. president on a promise of healing the nation after the wounds of Watergate and Vietnam. He then lost the White House while dealing with economic turmoil at home and a hostage crisis in Iran. Holding the "title of citizen," Carter redefined what a former president can do. While others generally held their tongues out of deference to the occupant of the Oval Office of the time, Carter rarely stood on ceremony and was a thorn in the side of many of his successors. For more: In a never-before-seen interview with The Times in 2006, Carter reflected on his life and work. Other presidents were more celebrated for their on-screen presences, but Carter turned TV into a pulpit. Carter amassed a compilation of observations on death that amounted to a candid, cleareyed and evolving exploration of the end. Here's a look at how his legacy changed after his term, and how he made jeans presidential. A memorial for those killed in the plane crash at Muan International Airport in South Korea. Chang W. Lee/The New York Times The four minutes before the South Korean plane crash As officials race to investigate the crash of a jet in South Korea on Sunday that killed 179 people, analysts are focusing on a four-minute period between the pilot's report of a bird strike and when the plane, a Jeju Air flight, crashed. They believe it could be key to unraveling one of the world's worst aviation disasters in years. Officials recovered the plane's "black box," which contains flight data, but were careful not to make any pre-emptive declarations on questions arising from the crash, including about whether both of the plane's engines were out when it was landing. Analysts are looking at the location and composition of a concrete structure that the plane slammed into. Speaker Mike Johnson. Kenny Holston/The New York Times Trump endorsed Mike Johnson to continue as speaker President-elect Donald Trump endorsed Mike Johnson for another term as House speaker today, roughly two weeks after Trump helped put his chances in jeopardy by sinking a bipartisan spending bill that Johnson had negotiated to avert a government shutdown. The announcement ended days of private discussions by Trump and his allies about whether to try to save Johnson or find another option, as some conservatives have been agitating for. The House is set to choose a speaker on Friday. Given Republicans' slim margin of control, his re-election is no sure thing. Ahmed al-Shara in Damascus, Syria. Ali Haj Suleiman/Getty Images Syria's rebel leader hinted at a timetable for potential elections Syria's de facto new leader said it could take up to four years to draft a constitution and hold elections, offering the first potential timetable for a transition of power after the overthrow of the country's longtime ruler, President Bashar al-Assad. Ahmed al-Shara, who has been setting up an administration in Damascus after leading the rebel offensive that toppled al-Assad, reiterated that committees would be formed and specialized experts would be consulted. But he did not offer much clarity on what the electoral process would look like. More top news U.S.: A state-sponsored actor in China hacked the Treasury Department, gaining access to the workstations of government employees and unclassified documents, officials said. Diplomacy: Russia and Ukraine announced that they had exchanged more than 300 prisoners of war in a deal brokered by the United Arab Emirates. Trump: The president-elect failed to overturn a $5 million judgment that he sexually abused the writer E. Jean Carroll and later defamed her. Gaza: Five babies have died from the cold in the past week as falling temperatures worsened the toll on the Palestinian enclave's population. Russia: Desperate for soldiers, the Kremlin is pressing chronic debtors, detained suspects, corrupt officials and recent immigrants into service. Ukraine: The Biden administration released $2.5 billion in security assistance to Kyiv, as well as $3.4 billion in additional budget aid. Tech: A Times investigation found a network of men, many convicted of sex crimes or accused of pedophilia, who use Instagram to groom child influencers. Music: Five people were indicted in connection with the death of Liam Payne, the former One Direction singer who fell from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires in October. TIME TO UNWIND Photo illustration by Amy Li for The New York Times Predictions for life in 2025 What will we wear, eat, buy, believe and desire in 2025? No one knows for sure, but our Styles desk has some hypotheses. They predict that whimsy will drown out quiet luxury, wrinkles will be embraced, and pandan, also known as screw pine leaf, will become a star cooking ingredient. Check out their other potential 2025 trends here. Simon Simard for The New York Times Dungeons & Dragons rolls the dice with identity Dungeons & Dragons recently had its first significant rule changes in a decade, including tweaks that try to make the role-playing game more inclusive. "Races" are now "species," some character traits have been divorced from biological identity, and the game's publisher has endorsed a trend in which players are empowered to halt the proceedings if they feel uncomfortable. The changes have exposed a rift among players, becoming part of the broader cultural debate about how to balance inclusivity with history and tradition. Dinner table topics Clockwise from left, Demi Moore in "The Substance," Julianne Moore in "The Room Next Door" and Cynthia Erivo in "Wicked." Christine Tamalet/Mubi, Iglesias Más, via El Deseo, via Sony Pictures Classics, Universal Pictures Vivid contenders: The palettes of this year's potential Oscar contenders can be summed up in one word: Bold. Post-prison concerts: Vybz Kartel served more than a decade of a murder sentence before his conviction was overturned. Despite imprisonment, his influence has grown. Courtside suits: Fashion among basketball coaches has been decidedly casual of late, but a handful of college coaches are still dressed for success. Safe travels? Despite urgent warnings by their governments, there is a small vanguard of venturesome tourists making their way to Afghanistan. WHAT TO DO TONIGHT Christopher Testani for The New York Times Cook: These crab-stuffed mushrooms are easy to make using canned crab meat. Watch: Looking for random, but great, movies to stream? Try Pluto TV. Read: Check out these 20 books coming in January. Resolve: Try these 10 tips to eat healthier in the new year. Ski: Palisades Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada is known for its challenging terrain and a long history. Dream: Check out these $4 million homes in California. Play: Today's Spelling Bee, Wordle and Mini Crossword. For more, find all our games here. ONE LAST THING Mariano Pascual The good tech awards In a year when tech companies fought bitterly with regulators and a revanchist "founder mode" movement led to a culture of micromanagement, a few tech projects stood out for their clear benefits to humanity. My colleague Kevin Roose rounded up some of those projects in his annual "good tech" awards. This year's winners include Epoch AI, for giving us reliable data on the A.I. boom; the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, for keeping our oldest space traveler alive; and Bluesky, for making social media feeds interesting again. Check out his full list here. Have a constructive evening. Thanks for reading. See you tomorrow. — Jonathan Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at evening@nytimes.com. And follow The New York Times on Instagram, Threads, Facebook and TikTok at @nytimes. Writer: Matthew Cullen Editors: Carole Landry, Whet Moser, Justin Porter, Jonathan Wolfe Need help? 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