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Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter Dead at 100; Grieving Families at Muan Airport Wait for Information; Israeli Raid Shuts Northern Gaza's Last Functioning Hospital. Five People Charged In Connection With Liam Payne's Death; Appeals Court Upholds $5 Million Verdict Against Trump; Teargas In Nairobi Amid Protests Over Alleged Abductions. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired December 30, 2024 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:16]
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN HOST: The United States paying tribute to Jimmy Carter. The former president's state funeral will be held on January 9th.
South Korea will inspect all Boeing 737 800 planes after Sunday's fatal crash.
And in the driver's seat: How London's underground is preparing for New Year's Eve.
Live from New York. It is Monday, December 30th. I'm Julia Chatterley and this is CNN NEWSROOM.
Good evening once more.
And tonight, former US President Jimmy Carter's state funeral is set for January the 9th. President Biden declaring it a National Day of Mourning.
And the nation is reflecting on Carter's life and legacy. He died in his hometown of Plains, Georgia on Sunday at the age of 100.
His presidency from 1977 to 1981 was beset by crises at home and abroad, but the work he did after leaving the White House, however, has been widely praised.
Biden highlighted that legacy in his remarks over the weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Jimmy Carter lived a life measured not by words, but by his deeds. Just look at his life -- his life's work. He worked to eradicate disease, not just at home, but around the world.
He forged peace, advanced civil rights, human rights. He promoted free and fair elections around the world. He built housing and homes for the homeless with his own hands and his compassion and moral clarity lifted people up and changed lives and saved lives all over the globe.
Stephen Collinson is with me.
Stephen, a presidency remembered, perhaps for deep blows to the American economy, to her standing abroad during that time as well. But he did define, I think, post-presidential service in many spheres.
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Certainly, and Carter had decades after he left office at a comparatively young age, to reshape how Americans will remember him.
He did basically reinvent the post-presidency. Before he came along, presidents generally were not active or key global figures, but he was a statesman. He won the Nobel Prize after leaving the White House.
I think you can credibly argue that in 1994, he was instrumental as a presidential envoy in preventing a war between North Korea and the United States, or at least the serious threat of one. He helped forestall a US invasion of Haiti.
He went to the developing world scores of times, even into his 90s, to moderate elections, to further the cause of democracy.
So I think although he did some pretty significant things during his presidency, not least the Camp David Peace Accords between Israel and Egypt, without which the violence of recent years in the Middle East would no doubt have been much worse.
He will be remembered for that post-presidential service, which showed that presidents can still be a force after they leave office.
CHATTERLEY: And another piece of his legacy, I think, and that was defined by the decades of service, to your point, post his presidency was his 77-year marriage to his wife, Rosalynn, who obviously died in November of last year, and the support that she, too, provided throughout his life.
COLLINSON: Certainly and they were inseparable pretty much ever since they met back in the 1940s.
Carter and Rosalynn were a team in the White House. She didn't quite redefine the role of the First Lady as Hillary Clinton did some years later, but she was a hugely significant figure in his life and in his post-presidency, and it was very poignant last year when Carter showed up to her funeral in a wheelchair and America got their last look at him in public.
What are we going to see in the next few days and the next few weeks is an extraordinary confluence of America mourning one president and preparing to inaugurate another one, Donald Trump, and I think in a lot of the eulogies that we've seen from Carter, and this will emerge in the coming days when Democrats talk about the honor and decency of Jimmy Carter and his service, they're making a veiled criticism towards Donald Trump.
So perhaps the feeling of broad bipartisan goodwill that was engendered by his passing may become a little bit more fragile in the days ahead, but it is going to be an extraordinary few weeks in Washington.
[16:05:10]
CHATTERLEY: Yes, it is. And he promised never to lie to people, didn't he, when he entered office and he followed that through to presidents as well.
To your point, he warned against the re-election of Donald Trump back in 2019. He frustrated the likes of Bill Clinton and Obama with some of his comments. He criticized the former policies of W. Bush and Barack Obama himself as well, and at times, US allies like Israel.
He didn't hold back post-presidency on giving and sharing his views.
COLLINSON: He certainly didn't, and there were great tensions between Jimmy Carter and most of his successors, actually, although they've all talked about today and yesterday about what a great man he was and have praised his legacy.
When they were in office, there was a great deal of tension. But at the same time, this is an exclusive group of people who knew what it was like to sit in the Oval Office. Trump, the president-elect made that point specifically in his tribute to Carter.
One of the most poignant things, I think, in the coming days is that a one-term Democratic president who had a difficult presidency on the economy will be eulogized in one of his last acts as president by President Joe Biden, who has very much a similar experience.
And just because he is leaving office at the age of 82, he will not have the years and the decades that Carter had to refashion his legacy and the way that Americans see him. And I think it is going to be quite poignant to see Biden, who was one of the first key politicians in Washington to endorse Carter in 1976.
Closing this chapter, after all, Carter and Biden are probably the only active politicians and political figures who are still around from the late 1970s. So it is really closing a chapter in American political history.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, some marked parallels to your point on the economic legacy and history. One heck of a 43-year retirement, I think, in the form of President Carter's case.
Stephen Collinson, great to get your insights. Thank you for that.
COLLINSON: Thanks.
CHATTERLEY: Now mourners are placing flowers and candles at the Carter Center in Atlanta.
The former president established the nonprofit back in 1982. The center's mission is to advance human rights and ease suffering around the world. It is one of Carter's major accomplishments after leaving the White House.
Rafael Romo is at the Carter Center for us, and a lot of people there, I am sure paying their respects for an incredible legacy, as we were just discussing there, former President Carter.
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's an excellent way of describing that legacy. Excellent. And we've been discussing the many accomplishments of the former president that when he was at the White House and in later years, when he led this institution behind me, the Carter Center, and he would fight around the world for the cause of democracy, human rights, he would seek international peace, also to cure diseases.
But we haven't heard a lot about how the president behind-the-scenes helped a lot of people, not only around the world, but also here in his native state of Georgia.
Earlier, I had an opportunity to talk to Laura Newman. She is a senior adviser for peace programs here at the Carter Center. And yes, she spoke about the many accomplishments of the president and what a principled man he was.
But she also wanted to share a personal story with us. She said that when she was struggling to complete the adoption of her daughter from Guatemala, the president got personally involved and made it happen. This is how she described it to us just a couple of hours ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA NEWMAN, SENIOR ADVISER FOR PEACE PROGRAMS, CARTER CENTER: He was my reference and he helped me bring my daughter home from Guatemala. So I think, you know, like you will hear from everybody, President Carter was many, many things, but he was absolutely what you saw.
There was no pretense to President Carter and he had courage of his conviction and we learned that every day at the Carter Center.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMO: And Julia, President Carter, or I should say that Newman also said how President Carter would challenge and question staff here at the Carter Center, just to make sure that everybody was doing their best, giving their all to the causes that he believed in.
He just wanted to make sure that everybody was just as committed as he was.
Julia, now back to you.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, an incredible legacy.
Rafael, good to have you with us. Thank you. Rafael Romo there.
Now, South Koreans are mourning after the deaths of nearly 200 people in Sunday's plane crash in the country's worst air disaster in decades. Friends and family members of the victims are in anguish at the airport, waiting to hear if their loved ones have been found.
[16:10:10]
They've been camping out in tents as they demand more information and action from officials.
Mike Valerio has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It is the unmistakable outcry of grief heard throughout South Korea's Muan International Airport.
Families unable to absorb the anguish of the Jeju Air catastrophe. Hundreds of relatives huddling in the departure hall, waiting for news of whether their loved one's remains are found.
A friend of a couple killed in the crash said he came here to confirm for himself, his friends of 30 years are simply gone.
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)
VALERIO (voice over): "I have nothing to say, but it is tragic," he told us. "I watched the news all day and for now, they say bird strike could be the cause. I'm so shocked and hurt, I cannot even put it into words."
VALERIO (on camera): Now, so many people have chosen to stay. They are not going anywhere and that is seen, evidenced by all of these tents that go from here pretty much to the end of the terminal. They go back three tents to the edge of the check in counters.
You see food deliveries throughout the day. Let's keep going this way -- and the echoes of grief.
VALERIO (voice over): The scenes inside are just a short drive from the cataclysmic crash site. The tale of the doomed airliner still jutting above the field, a mountain in the middle of the debris.
More than a thousand people now mobilized to sift through pieces of the plane.
VALERIO (on camera): The crash scene is absolutely harrowing. Just a few steps away, you can see where the doomed Jeju Air jetliner careened through the embankment and burst into flames.
And more than a day later, you can still see forensics teams in their white suits combing through the debris, along with members of the police force as well as members of the South Korean military.
Now, to my right, you can see soldiers looking through the fields and around them, to give you an idea of the force of this crash, a full football field away from where we are standing, you can see mangled, twisted chairs thrown from the jetliner.
VALERIO (voice over): A representative of the victims' families urging an even larger response.
PARK HAN-SHIN, REPRESENTATIVE OF JEJU AIR CRASH VICTIMS' FAMILIES (through translator): What I want to request from the government is to increase the manpower so that the recovery can be carried out more swiftly.
I hope my siblings, my family, can be recovered and returned to us, even if only 80 percent intact.
VALERIO (on camera): For now, Muan remains the epicenter of a nation in mourning, the weight of unspoken farewells and quiet desperation made unbearable by an absence of answers.
Mike Valerio, CNN, Muan, South Korea.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: South Korea says it will inspect every Boeing 737 800 in the country. That's the model involved in the crash.
About 100 of them are used by six South Korean airlines. Experts described the model as a safe and reliable workhorse.
Boeing shares closed down more than two percent lower in New York in the wake of this latest incident. It has been a pretty tough year for Boeing, starting with the door plug blowout and now ending with this tragedy.
I want to bring in Peter Goelz. He is a CNN aviation analyst and a former managing director of the US National Transportation Safety Board.
Peter, good to have you with us.
PETER GOELZ, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Thank you for having me.
CHATTERLEY: Firstly, we have to wait for the investigation, for the analysis of the black boxes. We have to wait for flight safety and data records, of course, due to be analyzed. But what should we understand today just on a basic level about this Boeing plane specifically?
GOELZ: Well, it is a very perplexing accident for a couple of reasons.
The first is we now know that the aircraft did have a bird strike on its first attempt to land it. Now, that in and of itself should not be a catastrophic event for a 737 800. They are designed to withstand these kinds of events. Pilots train to respond to them even during the challenging takeoff and landing periods.
But when they turned around to circle in to come down the second time to land, things did not appear to be correct. If you looked at the first video of the engine ingesting the bird, it looked like there were flaps extended.
By the time the plane landed, the flaps that would slow the aircraft were not extended, and of course the landing gear was not down. That could show a profound confusion in the cockpit. They were under a great deal of pressure. They may have missed something in their checklist because the landing gear can be set manually.
[16:15:10]
You pull an emergency lever, gravity takes over and the landing gear comes down. It was clear it had not been released, and on top of it, the plane was going very fast for a landing.
It was far too quick, which is why they overran the end of the runway and had the catastrophic impact with the concrete barrier.
CHATTERLEY: I mean, what you're describing, as you're suggesting from the video observations, and again, I will reiterate that we really have to wait for the full investigation to understand this, but the pilot appeared to be without the two main means of slowing the plane down, given the speed that we were watching it as it approached that landing, and the first is, the reverse thrusters with the engine, and then the second is the landing gear, including brakes there and no wing flaps activated.
What you're suggesting in your first answer is based on what we know from perhaps the bird impact, there had to be something else going on. And obviously, the time was very short and the decision making time was very short.
GOELZ: That's right.
I mean, you know, an accident like this is always a chain of events, and if you can break the chain at some point, then perhaps the accident doesn't occur.
In this case, we are going to be looking very carefully at the voice recorder to exactly -- be able to exactly interpret what the pilots were facing and how they were responding. Were they using the checklists? The emergency checklists? Did they understand what was demanded of them?
And at the same time, we will look at the data recorder and see how the plane was responding.
Was the engine down? Were there other damage occurred to the aircraft? We will have a pretty good picture in the near future.
The Korean Safety Board is very well respected. The United States has worked with them in the past. It will be a transparent investigation and results will come out within the coming weeks.
CHATTERLEY: And very quickly, Peter, obviously, this is an enormous tragedy for the nation, for the families and friends of those involved, but we did have and we have got two survivors. I think looking at the images of what we saw, its extraordinary to believe that anyone survived this.
What are your observations on perhaps how they survived? GOELZ: Well, they were sitting obviously in the back of the aircraft, the very, you know, in the jump seats at the very end. They were sitting with what they call three-point harnesses. So it was a stronger seat belt than the normal passenger has.
And I think it is just a matter of that and some luck that got them through.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. Peter, good to get your insights, sir. Thank you so much. Peter Goelz there.
GOELZ: Thank you.
CHATTERLEY: All right, we are going to take a quick break here.
Coming up for us, a form of collective punishment. That's how one humanitarian organization describes the dire situation in Gaza. We will speak to the chief of Doctors Without Borders, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:20:49]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM.
A hospital director in Northern Gaza has been detained after an Israeli raid on his facility. This video appears to show Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, walking towards an Israeli tank on Friday. He is apparently being held at a military base that doubles as a detention facility, that's according to recently released detainees.
The Israeli military suspects the doctor of being a "Hamas terrorist operative." They also claimed the hospital was being used by Hamas.
An Israeli raid severely damaged the hospital on Friday. It was the last functioning hospital in Northern Gaza, and it has since been evacuated and shut down.
Medecins Sans Frontieres or Doctors Without Borders accuses Israel of destroying the health system in Gaza.
In a recent report, the humanitarian group says attacks on civilians, the dismantling of the health care system, the deprivation of food, water, and supplies are a form of collective punishment inflicted by the Israeli authorities on the people of Gaza.
Christopher Lockyear is the secretary general of MSF and he joins us now.
Christopher, good to have you with us. This report is devastating in detail, and it is terribly bleak about the future, too even if the conflict ends today.
Just describe the level of suffering that you and your people are seeing there, and what you describe as a situation being worsened by "shameful, deliberate attempts to limit humanitarian aid." CHRISTOPHER LOCKYEAR IS THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES: Well, what our teams are witnessing is almost impossible to describe, which is why we've gone into the detail that we have in this report and in this report, what we are really saying is, I mean, with the release of this report, we are really saying two things in a nutshell.
What we are saying is in the north of Gaza, as you were just referencing then, we are seeing a population which is being forcibly displaced, trapped, and bombed, and we are therefore seeing clear signs of ethnic cleansing in the north of Gaza.
And what we are saying more broadly than that in the Gaza strip as a whole, and what we've been illustrating with this report, is that what our medical teams are seeing on the ground is consistent with what a growing number of legal experts and organizations are saying is indicative of genocide happening in the Gaza Strip.
Now, as a medical humanitarian organization, we have teams on the ground, but we are not legal in the sense of being able to determine intent, which is a clear pillar of genocide being carried out. However, looking at the forced displacement, looking at the mass and often indiscriminate killing of people, looking at the harm, the physical and mental harm to tens of thousands of people, not even speaking of the excess deaths which are going to be caused by the attacks on healthcare, the forced displacement and the consequences of a restriction of aid, which has been going on for months.
All of these, all of these factors are undeniable.
CHATTERLEY: As you say in the report, you don't have the legal authority to label what you're seeing, nor as you point out and I will reiterate it to determine intentionality. But I think your point is, the impact on human life is the same and the way you describe it is Palestinian life is being wiped out.
How do you want people to respond to this report?
LOCKYEAR: Well, I think there are there are several ways. I mean, firstly, what we would say in terms of the offensive that is going on, we would like an immediate and sustained ceasefire and this applies to both parties of the conflict and their allies and their supporters. This is urgent, as it has been for months.
We would like an unrestricted supply of aid and I would point out that, you know, trucks crossing the border into Gaza Strip does not mean -- equate to people being treated. So that means that we need to be able to have staff on the ground to be able to treat patients.
And we'd also like safe access into the north of the Gaza Strip in particular, where there has been a minuscule amount of aid being getting in over the last few months.
[16:25:04]
CHATTERLEY: I think one of the other statistics that we should pull out from this, and obviously we can't verify the data that comes from Gaza's Ministry of Health, but they have said now 44,000 Palestinians have died or more, more than 105,000 wounded. But what you quote also is "The Lancet," who suggested that as a result of what we were mentioning in the introduction, the health care collapse -- disease, malnutrition -- multiple more thousands, and we are talking in their case, up to 186,000 more people could die as a result of what follows.
So, Chris, it is not just about the loss of life due to the direct impact of violence and war, it is now the humanitarian crisis that is taking place afterwards and at the same time --
LOCKYEAR: Yes, I mean, that's absolutely right. I mean, yes, absolutely. And you know, we've treated over 27,000 people for violence related injuries, that doesn't go to speak to the diarrhea, the increasing rates of malnutrition, the cold setting in in the Gaza Strip at the moment, nor does it go to speak to the generations here that are going to be facing physical trauma and physical disabilities from their direct war wounds, but also mental trauma.
I mean, everybody in the Gaza -- the Gaza Strip has been catastrophically affected by what has been happening. Many people have been displaced multiple, multiple times, up to 12 times at a time when the healthcare system itself has been decimated.
There are fewer than half of the 36 hospitals that were present in the Gaza Strip are even partially operational at the moment. So at a time when we've seen the medical and health needs go through the roof, the medical services have gone through the floor.
CHATTERLEY: Christopher, I know also your own staff have endured, as you say in the report, 41 attacks, eight colleagues and many families have been killed and injured, too. So I want to thank you and your team for all the work that they're doing there as well, and it is a frightening report.
Christopher Lockyear, sir, thank you for your time.
Okay, coming up for us, Jimmy Carter's presidency was beset by crises both in the United States and abroad. His chief domestic policy adviser says his legacy is viewed incorrectly.
Stuart Eizenstat will join us next to explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:30:31]
CHATTERLEY: Hello. I'm Julia Chatterley and we'll have more on President Jimmy Carter's legacy in just a moment. But before that, the headlines this hour.
Argentinian prosecutors have charged five people in connection with the death of Liam Payne, the former One Direction star died in October after falling from the balcony of his hotel room in Buenos Aires. Three people have been charged with manslaughter, including Paine's manager. Two others have been charged with supplying Paine with cocaine during his hotel stay.
A federal appeals court is denying Donald Trump's bid for a new trial in the civil sex assault case against him. The court upheld the $5 million judgment finding that Trump's sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s. A Trump spokesperson is promising an appeal.
Police in Kenya fired tear gas at protesters angry over the alleged disappearance of government critics. President William Ruto promised this weekend to stop the abductions. He previously described the story as, "fake news." At least 82 critics have allegedly gone missing since the protest movement erupted back in June.
A Finnish investigator suspect a vessel linked to Russia dragged its anchor 60 kilometers along the bed of the Baltic Sea. The ship was seized before they discovered the anchor mark. The investigation is looking into how the S-link two power cable went down on Christmas Day. The underwater transmission line links Finland to Estonia.
The small town of Plains in Georgia is mourning a hometown hero. Planes entered the national spotlight when Jimmy Carter ran for president. He famously worked on his own Peanut Farm there before entering politics. Carter returned to plains after he left the White House where he taught Sunday school in a local church. Admirers from around the world would visit the former president every week and to this day, Plains has a population of just 600 people.
Carter's term in office was marked by World shifting events. His crowning achievement was the peace treaty he brokered between Israel and Egypt, but the Iranian hostage crisis and a tough economic situation with high inflation at home doomed his reelection bid. Once he was out of office, he would sometimes criticize his successes in the way other ex-presidents refused to do. Here's a look back. It cut his mark on the American presidency.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY CARTER, 39TH UNITED STATES PRESIDENT: I intend to give our new president my support, and I intend to work as a citizen. As I've worked here in this office as president for the values this nation was founded to secure.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): For Jimmy Carter, a farewell address to the presidency that planted the seeds to a legacy reshaping four decades.
CARTER: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Focused in his work at the namesake Carter Center, fighting diseases in developing countries and monitoring more than 100 international elections. But enhanced by his unofficial role as roving ambassador to the world. And unappointed and at times, in the view of his Oval Office successors, unwelcome cause, one that put him face to face with dictators and rewrote the book for a former president as only the original political outsider could.
A role he never seemed to shed, even within the most exclusive club in the world, but one Carter seemed to embrace, if not relish, as he offered advice and at times pointed criticism. This administration has been the worst in his -- worst in history.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: During George W. Bush's presidency, Carter was especially vocal in his opposition to the Iraq war.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: You believe the United States under this administration has used torture?
CARTER: I don't -- I don't think it. I know it certainly.
BLITZER: So, is the president lying.
CARTER: The President is self-defining what we have done and authorized in the torture of prisons. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Carter's 1994 trip to North Korea during a period of tension over their nuclear program, put the Clinton administration in a difficult spot.
CARTER: The words that I used with President Kimball's song was that, in my opinion, the sanctions effort was being held in abeyance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Carter cutting a deal with North Korea and then talking to CNN before President Bill Clinton.
BILL CLINTON, 42ND UNITED STATES PRESIDENT: I don't know what he said, and I don't know that you know what he said. All I know is what I said, and what I said is the policy of the United States of America,
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): And yet, while Clinton was angry at the time, years later, he awarded Carter the Medal of Freedom.
[16:35:06]
CLINTON: Grateful nation says, thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Carter once candidly responded to a question about whether President Barack Obama called him for advice.
CARTER: Unfortunately, the answer is no. President Obama doesn't but previous presidents have called on me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): And Carter's relationship with President Donald Trump deteriorated after this comment about the 2016 election.
CARTER: He lost the election and he was put into office because the Russians interfere on his behalf.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So do you believe President Trump is an illegitimate president?
CARTER: Based on what I just said, which I can't retract.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CHATTERLEY: President Carter was faced with high unemployment and soaring consumer prices. Inflation reached nearly 15 percent by the summer of 1980. Carter worked to lower prices and boost the economy by though, by reducing regulations. He cut red tape in aviation tracking and telecommunications, helping pave the way for future growth. Carter's other domestic achievements include presidential ethics reform, expanded education programs and championing civil rights.
Stuart Eizenstat was the chief domestic policy adviser for President Carter, and he argues that history views Carter's legacy unfairly. Stuart, good to have you on the show, sir. I'm sorry for your loss, and it is a personal one. I want to talk about his legacy and perhaps some misperceptions. But what are your observations today, and what should we know about President Carter as somebody that actually spent time with him?
STUART EIZENSTAT, FORMER CHIEF WHITE HOUSE DOMESTIC POLICY ADVISER, CARTER ADMINISTRATION: Well, first on the personal side, he was as close as we've had in modern times to being a renaissance man in the Oval Office. And by that, I mean, he was astonishingly skilled at an incredible number of things. He was a patriot who served as an officer in the nuclear submarine force.
He was an engineer, a farmer, a poet. He was an author of 32 books. He was a world class wood maker. He was a fly fisherman, and he was a great -- a great -- really expert on music. He once told me that even when he was in the Naval Academy, he could listen to different records of the same symphony being recorded and tell who was actually the soloist. And his passion went not only from classical music, but it went to country and western.
And it served a very important political purpose. When he was running as an unknown in 1976 the Almond Brothers, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, all flocked to him, and they were very useful in terms of raising money. Andy Warhol did a wonderful painting that was sold. So, he had this eclectic capacity across lines. Now that's just on the personal side. In terms of being president, I think it's one of the most underrated presidents that we've had in American history.
And that he was indeed one of the most consequential that we've had in one term. And I say that for the following reasons. First, at home, the energy security we enjoy in the United States today, as the number one producer of oil and natural gas came from his energy bills. All the ethics legislation that we have was his. The Department of Education, he created. He was a great environmentalist, I think, the greatest since Theodore Roosevelt.
Doubling the size of the national park system through the Alaska lands bill. And you mentioned in your intro even Senator Graham, conservative senator from Texas, said at his 100th birthday in the op ed on Wall Street Journal, what I have said for many years, which is his deregulation was transformative for the entire American economy. He deregulated airlines and made air travel affordable for the middle class. He regulated railroads, he regulated trucks and he regulated telecommunications which is what's made CNN possible because of the regulation.
CHATTERLEY: Stuart --
(CROSSTALK)
EIZENSTAT: And on civil rights --
CHATTERLEY: Stuart?
EIZENSTAT: Yes.
CHATTERLEY: Stuart, forgive me, I just want to -- I just want to hone in on a couple of those points as well, because I do think, and we've certainly seen it with President Biden as well, how painful inflation and that memory, certainly during that period is for him. But I know you also point how he created 10 million jobs during that period too and ensured there was an inflation Hawk like Paul Volcker in the Federal Reserve.
Did the painful job of raising interest rates as well. But I did want to hone in on the energy angle that you mentioned because I know he did a lot to deregulate natural gas, crude oil. He subsidized shale, of course, critical for today, but he also installed solar panels, I believe, on the White House roof, which is something that I didn't know until I read your notes.
[16:40:12]
EIZENSTAT: Yes. And beyond solar panels, he put in the first tax credits for solar energy. But but his Achilles heel domestically was -- I would say, three issues. Number one, I call it the three I's. Inner party warfare with the liberal wing of the party. Ted Kennedy ran against him, divided the party and never reconciled. Inflation. Just as Joe Biden has been a victim, we were the victim with much higher inflation.
Largely due to the fact of the Iranian cut off of oil from the revolution. But here's an important story and it shows how courageous he was, and how he viewed politics as secondary to doing the right thing, as he could say. July 1979, inflation is roaring and he decides he's going to appoint, over everyone's objection, Paul Volcker, the head the Fed. And Volcker said to him in the Oval Office, Mr. President, I want you to understand, if I take this job, I'm going to have to choke inflation out of the economy.
And they have to do things that would be very painful politically. And you're going into a reelection year and the President said, I don't want my legacy to be high inflation. I want you to do what you need to do on the economy. I'll take care of the politics. Well, the fact is, inflation did drop like a rock because of the high interest rates, but only in the first two years of Reagan, well after we had lost the election. CHATTERLEY: It's fascinating that they even had that discussion, Stuart, to your point, but it was policies, I guess, and people before politics because you know that doing that perhaps is going to bring inflation down, but it's certainly not going to win you votes which I think is your point.
EIZENSTAT: We often told each other that the worst way to convince President Carter of taking our recommendation on something was to tell him it would help him politically.
CHATTERLEY: Yes.
EIZENSTAT: He really -- yes and this is very interesting because he was a ferocious retail politician. After all, he came from Jimmy who at one percent to win the nomination by talking retail politics 100 days in Iowa alone. And yet, when he came to the Oval Office, he parked politics at the Oval Office door. And I've said that that had a value at a (INAUDIBLE) tackle issues like the Middle East, like energy, like the Panama Canal which were very politically unpopular.
But it neglects the fact that a president is not only commander in chief. He has to be politician in chief. He has to tend the flock. He has to keep his constituency happy. And Carter felt, if I do the right thing, I'll be rewarded in the end.
CHATTERLEY: I think that perhaps also helped him become a brilliant peacemaker, sir, to your point, and a change maker in the years that followed.
EIZENSTAT: Yes. Let me give you an anecdote for Camp David.
CHATTERLEY: You have to be very quick, sir, because I'm running out of time.
EIZENSTAT: (INAUDIBLE)
CHATTERLEY: Quick anecdote.
EIZENSTAT: OK. But Begin calls -- comes to him at the end of 13 days and says, I'm ready to go home. I can't make any more compromises. Carter realizes this can collapse the whole thing. He gets a picture made with eight copies of -- and endorses it to each of Begin's eight grandchildren. Walks over to Begin's (INAUDIBLE) has begin read each name with peace. Hopes for Jimmy Carter.
He sees Begin's eyes tear, his lips begin to quiver. He -- suitcase down and says, Mr. President, for your -- for my grandchildren I'll keep at this. And that's what made Camp David possible at the end.
CHATTERLEY: Wow. He made it personal.
EIZENSTAT: He made it personal.
CHATTERLEY: A personal president. Stuart, great to have your insights. Thank you so much. We wish you well.
EIZENSTAT: Thank you.
CHATTERLEY: Thank you. Now the New York Stock Exchange had a moment of silence this morning for President Carter too. It was observed 10 minutes before markets opened and the stock exchange will be closed on January 9th for the Day of Mourning declared by President Biden.
As for trading today, while the major indices fell as the year's rally continued to lose steam. The Dow falling more than 400 points and the S&P and the NASDAQ, also closing lower. Wall Street still had a banner year in 2024. The U.S. economy remaining strong despite, as we were just discussing higher interest rates. The rally accelerated after Donald Trump's election victory, and in recent weeks, though, the major indices have lost a bit of ground.
That's after the Fed released a more hawkish outlook for 2025. Clare Duffy is with me now. We've also got year end rebalancing taking place over these days. And liquidity is like because it's holidays, it has been a great year for investors.
[16:45:04]
CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Yes, Julia. I think that's really -- the point here is, has been a really remarkable year for U.S. stocks. The S&P 100 is set to end the year up 20 percent that's after it ended up 23 percent last year. And those back-to-back 20 percent gains are really rare. The last time that happened was in 1997 and 98. And look, I think this is all, as you said, thanks to the really strong economic fundamentals that we've seen this year.
We saw inflation cooling, the Fed starting to cut rates. We saw really strong consumer spending. A solid job market, as you said, the stock market, of course, also reacted positively to the reelection of Donald Trump and this expectation that we would see a more business-friendly administration taking the White House next year. And then, of course, we have the stunning gains that we saw for tech stocks on the back of all of this hype around artificial intelligence.
That really largely drove markets this year. There are some risks, I think, heading into 2025 especially as you look at the market's reliance on those tech stocks. But largely, analysts are expecting this to -- this rally is going to continue into next year, because that economic picture continues to look pretty bright heading into 2025.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. The Federal Reserve's behavior notwithstanding, if we have policy, perhaps pronouncements that impact inflation or prices going forward. Clare, what's expected to do well, in terms of assets next year? I know there's certainly a lot of excitement, and has been this year too, in crypto in particular, but there's more out there. I guess tech investors also optimistic.
DUFFY: Yes. I mean, I think we can't talk about this year's market rally or the expectations for 2025 without talking about the Magnificent 7. Those big tech stocks, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla. These are the companies that are really driving the market rally. They made up about 50 percent of the S&P 500 gains this year. Together, they're worth $18 trillion. I mean, that's just massive.
And I think the expectation is that these things are going to the stocks are going to continue to grow. Investors continue to be really optimistic about their investments in artificial intelligence, and the idea that these are the companies that are really going to be the leaders in this tech revolution that is expected to change almost everything about the ways that we live and work. You also mentioned crypto. We've seen Bitcoin really rally this year.
Just a few weeks ago, passed $100,000. It has since come back a little bit, but that is so far ahead of where it was at its lower point just two years ago around $16,000. And that, again, is because crypto investors are expecting the Trump White House to be really crypto friendly. Perhaps we're going to see more policies that are going to normalize this as less of a speculative investment.
And again, I do think there are some risks around the concentration of the power of these tech stocks, but for now, expectations continue to be really high into the new year.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. Happy 2025 apparently, for investors, at least at this stage, don't keep our fingers crossed. Clare Duffy, thank you so much for that.
Now this just in the U.S., Treasury Department has notified lawmakers that a China state sponsored actor infiltrated Treasury workstations. The department describing it as a "major incident." An official says a stolen key was used to remotely access workstations and unclassified documents. A Treasury spokesperson says the compromise service has been taken offline.
Now, Azerbaijan's president is blaming Russia for the Christmas Day plane crash in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people. President Ilham Aliyev accuses the Kremlin of unintentionally shooting down an Azerbaijan Airlines jet as it was approaching the Russian city of Grozny, and then trying to cover up the cause. Clare Sebastian has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From the wreckage of Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 an unwelcome diplomatic spat is emerging from Moscow.
ILHAM ALIYEV, PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN (through translator): The Russian side must apologize to Azerbaijan. Secondly, it must acknowledge its guilt. Thirdly, those responsible must be punished, brought to criminal responsibility, and compensation must be paid to the Azerbaijani state to the injured passengers and crew members.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Of those three demands, Russia's investigative committee did promise to find those responsible and punish them. Azerbaijan state news agency reported Monday. A U.S. official and international experts believe a Russian air defense missile may have brought down the plane, killing 38 passengers. And there was an apology of sorts. Vladimir Putin apologized for the tragic incident that occurred in Russian air space. Came the carefully worded Kremlin readout of Putin's call Saturday with Azerbaijan's president.
It also noted that as the plane tried to land and Grozny, Russian air defenses had been working to avert a Ukrainian drone attack.
But to Azerbaijan's president, Aliyev attended a funeral for the pilots and a crew member killed in the Christmas Day crash Sunday, still no admission from Russia that its air defense forces may have been responsible.
[16:50:08]
ALIYEV (through translator): The facts indicate civilian plane was damaged from the outside over Russian territory near the city of Grozny and almost lost control. We also know that the use of electronic warfare put our plane out of control.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Just over four months ago, it was all hugs and smiles with President Aliyev as Putin visited Baku to talk business. Russia needs its former Soviet ally more than ever as a buyer of its oil and gas and key transport route to Iran, an increasingly strategic partner.
WILLIAM B. TAYLOR, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: President Putin has had some bad times in the past couple weeks. He's lost Syria. He's had this problem. He's had ships sink in the Mediterranean. He's had a general kill in Moscow. So President Putin is really on the defensive. Maybe he's looking for a way out. I don't think he's in the -- in the in the mood now to accept responsibility that his military is so accomplished.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Over the weekend, more funerals, this for a 13-year-old victim of the crash. As the Kremlin's P.R. challenge deepens.
Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: Now all around the world, cities are preparing to ring in the new year. We'll take a look at how London is Getting ready straight after this. Stay with us.
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CHATTERLEY: And welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. 2025 is within touching distance, and New Year's Eve. preparations are well underway from New Zealand to New York. In fact, the confetti drop was tested out in Times Square over the weekend. That looks like it's working. New York City expecting one million people to attend the real event, but inclement weather could put a damper on celebrations around the world. An annual torchlight procession in Edinburgh known as Hogmanay.
[16:55:02]
Scotland has already been canceled due to high winds and huge crowds are expected to fill London this New Year's Eve too and pack the tube once the party is over. Anna Stewart looks at the plan to get everybody home safe and sound.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): From parties on the tube to scenes like this. The struggle to get home. New Year's Eve is a big night and a major challenge for transport, for London. Time to see how it all works. I'm so excited from the driver's seat.
STEWART (on camera): Do you get nervous like going into the platform and seeing huge crowds?
STEFAN YOUNG, DRIVER, TRANSPORT FOR LONDON: Takes a certain individual to become a driver for you to have, like, nerves of steel. You're coming in a platform, you can't be too jittery, you can't be too jumpy, you can't be too shaky. You just got to come in knowing that in your mind, everything's fine.
STEWART (voice-over): Fortunately for Stefan, there are many more eyeballs on platforms on the night.
RALPH DAVISON, NETWORK RESILIENCE STRATEGY MANAGER, TRANSPORT FOR LONDON: So, we have additional staff, all over the combine we have additional staff and we ask them to keep an eye out on absolutely everyone.
STEWART (voice-over): The team here starts planning for New Year's Eve in July, and then they manage the crowds by watching it all unfold live from this control center.
DAVISON: Your safety is our priority.
STEWART (voice-over): To prevent overcrowding, you may have to queue outside stations for well, quite a while.
And once you've made it onto a tube, the party may continue, giving drivers like Stefan some light relief.
YOUNG: It gives me something to do. Look at, have a little gig or two to myself, because obviously, everyone's been out having a good time enjoying New Year's Eve, and I've been stuck in my little office.
STEWART (voice-over): Of course, the little office does come with a perk, the power to chat to the passengers.
YOUNG: Almost again, mind the gap between the train and the platform.
STEWART (on-camera): This is Anna Stewart from CNN. Happy New Year and please mind the gap.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: I've definitely seen bigger gaps in the States. But anyway, CNN will have special coverage of New Years' Eve across the globe and you can follow the festivities starting at noon London time. And I will see you there.
That to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Julia Chatterley. Wolf Blitzer is in the Situation Room next.
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