jimmy carter's, but it is. i think it's a moment to think about, as megan was saying, that we have when joe biden was inaugurated, there were five former presidents alive, and in a couple of years, just based on actuarial estimates, we don't i'm not exactly we will probably not have more than 1 or 2 former presidents around. and it's this interesting thing about the sort of former presidents of the united states, the special club that they're in, the way that sometimes they have built up relationships with each other that are unexpected. jimmy carter and gerald ford became close. george w bush or george h.w. bush, and bill clinton became close. so even former rivals that happened with. and so it's just a moment all of this to think about what it is this institution of the presidency and a reminder about the increasingly older presidents that we're electing. >> all right. thank you so much to all of you for joining us.

i'm paula reid. cnn news central starts right now. >> the world is mourning and honoring former president jimmy carter, who has died at 100 years old. he served just one term in the white house, but redefined what the post-presidency life could be. we're looking at his legacy and his impact around the globe, plus new details in the investigation into the deadliest aviation disaster for south korea in nearly 30 years. >> what we've now learned happened moments before a jet crash landed, and the pilot's final words to the control tower. and today, millions of people heading home from holiday trips. but winter storms and staffing shortages, well, that could cause some delays. rahel solomon here with omar jimenez, sara, john and kate are out today. this is cnn news central.

>> this morning, remembering the life and legacy of the longest living u.s. president, jimmy carter. as the nation now prepares to honor him with a state funeral. now, overnight, president biden declaring january 9th as a national day of mourning. as of this hour, flags at the white house and across the state of georgia are flying at half staff in honor of the peanut farmer who became a president and lived a life of great service and great love. carter died peacefully at the age of 100 yesterday afternoon, surrounded by his family at his home in plains, georgia, as mourners left tributes outside the carter center in atlanta. world leaders in all five living u.s. presidents paid their respects to the man who once said, i have one life and one chance to make it count for something. my faith demands that i do whatever i can, wherever i can, whenever i can, for as long as i can. cnn's ryan young is live in plains, georgia, this

morning. good morning. ryan. what is the sense in jimmy carter's hometown? there? >> yeah, omar, you get a sense of love and appreciation for a man who fought so hard for so many. you've got to think about the state of georgia. it's really tied to agriculture. so to have a peanut farmer become the president of the united states still stands as something that a lot of people have a lot of pride in. and of course, as we moved our way through the state last night just to be here for this live shot, a lot of the way people were talking about him out loud and talking about the things they remember. we talk about habitat for humanity, for instance, and all the people who have been served by that. even in atlanta, you saw people coming out to the carter center to show their respect for a man who grew larger than his town. when you come into this plains, georgia, you realize how just small this community is. and so many people have been touched by his life. listen to the mayor talk about the love that he had for a man who stood as a giant in this country. >> i've known him since i was a child. he was not only my friend, he's a friend of

everybody in town, and we've lost not not just a president, but a friend. and a person that never forgot the people here, regardless of what a position he held. and also he's going to be buried here. and it's a very deliberate move to keep people coming back to visit. on his part, even in death, he hadn't forgot the town. >> now, omar, there are so many questions about what happens next. we know people have been planning to see what would happen, and so far the family has not released what the next steps are. we know there's going to be a long mourning period. there will be remembrances in atlanta and d.c., but right now i think there's just a general shock. i mean, look, obviously he was 100 years old. he's the longest living president. but there's this idea that he just survived over and over again. we know he's been in hospice care for quite some time, but this is a community in a state and an area that just loves jimmy carter. so it'll be interesting to see as first light comes up in this small town, how people start to

remember the former president. >> yeah, we've been talking about how he's being remembered on the global stage. but of course, as you point out there in georgia, you can't go far without seeing his influence. all of it stemming from right there in plains, his hometown. ryan young really appreciate it. also this morning, president biden is honoring jimmy carter as a remarkable leader and a dear friend. cnn's julia benbrook joins us now from saint croix, where the president is vacationing. and, julia, what is biden saying about his longtime friend? >> well, president joe biden delivered very personal remarks about former president jimmy carter last night here in saint croix. he's calling him an extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian, as well as a dear friend. now, these two have a long standing relationship, one that spans about 50 years. >> america and the world, in my view. lost a remarkable leader. he was a statesman, a

humanitarian. and jill and i lost a dear friend. i've been hanging out with jimmy carter for over 50 years. it dawned on me. jimmy carter stands as a model of what it means to live a life of meaning and purpose, a life of principle, of faith and humility. he his life dedicated to others. >> biden was one of the first u.s. senators to endorse carter back in his 1976 presidential bid. in fact, biden says one of his fondest memories with carter was when carter grabbed him by the arm and said, i want you to help me with my campaign. now, carter was not able to attend biden's inauguration four years ago due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the two of them spoke on the phone and biden thanked carter for his lifetime of public service. during that speech in 2021, on biden's 100th day in office, the current president and first lady traveled to georgia and met with the carters there. now, he said that he has

spoken. biden said that he's spoken with members of carter's family and wants to ensure that he is remembered appropriately. >> and julia, we're also learning that former president carter's secret service detail has been privately reflecting and sharing stories about their time protecting the carter family. obviously, you know, it's a very personal relationship on top of the professional that they do so well. i mean, how are they preparing for the days ahead? >> and this is one of the longest serving protective details in the history of the secret service. and of course, this group has witnessed some intimate moments throughout the years protecting carter, a law enforcement official, has told our team that they're sharing stories and really reflecting. they also said that they've been planning for this day for a while now. we know that they knew that at some point this would be coming, but still described this as a gut punch, going on to say dozens and

dozens of secret service agents had the honor of a lifetime to serve. the carters were coming to grips with the fact that the era is now ending. now, the official noted that their work is not finished yet as they work to prepare for memorial services and then, of course, getting carter back to his final resting place in georgia. >> yeah, julia pembroke really appreciate the reporting. rahel solomon. >> all right. and with us now is someone who knew president carter very well, his personal friend and former lawyer, terry adams, and terry, welcome. good morning. a lot has been said about president carter. as good morning as a president and as a humanitarian. but you knew him as a friend. what was he like? >> well, i've known him 62 years. and of course, like many friendships, it formed over time. it started out as an acquaintance and it had many other forms. i had the privilege of serving in his administration at the justice department, and then i had the

privilege of being retained for a particular matter by him and rosie. uh, just after he left the white house, and then continued on to serve as an attorney for the family, and then, uh, which became a friend, a real friend and a counselor, uh, for the rest of his life. so, you know, i, i feel i've been a blessed person. >> yeah. and you just mentioned rosie there. we, of course, know her as the former first lady. rosalynn. what more can you share with us about their love story? an incredible 77 year marriage. >> well, it was it was incredible. and it was. they were together on everything. uh, in his public life. uh, i first met her when i was a newspaper reporter for the atlanta constitution. is covering his, uh, 1970 gubernatorial campaign. and i knew immediately that she occupied a very special place in his life.

i didn't know exactly what it how much it occupied until much later. uh, but clearly they were an incredible duo. and and whatever he accomplished, she accomplished. and whatever he accomplished, she accomplished. but i was also gratified that in her funeral last year, uh, which we all, of course, mourned and celebrated her life, she got her own due as an individual, not just as a spouse, but as an individual who held beliefs and followed through with them and was deeply committed to causes. not only his, but her own. >> and speaking of deeply committed, i mean, having had such a rich life himself, jimmy carter. terry, how do you think he would want to be remembered? is that something that he ever shared with you? >> he was asked that many times. i heard him answer the question, uh, and he wanted to

be remembered as a peacemaker, largely and dedicated to human rights. uh, you know, but the fact of the matter is, uh, we have a whole lifetime of observance. when he was president. he was relatively new on the political scene, and perhaps people didn't know him as well as they came to know him after he was president. and in those many years after he was president, he tried to live up to the standards and values in which he articulated as president. and i think people got to know him better. and and as a result and as a result of history itself, uh, came to appreciate more of the qualities he brought to the presidency itself by the life he, he and rosalynn lived thereafter. >> and talk to us a little bit more in terms of his values. i mean, a lot has been said about how, um, how important his faith was to him. but what i thought was really interesting is that as devout as he was in his religion, he was also a

staunch supporter of the separation of church and state and religious freedom. >> indeed, he was. and he thought that was the essence of of america. and our democracy is the separation of church and state. but religion guided almost everything he did. he was deeply devout, and he was he was deeply religious, and a lot of his values that we came to know in terms of the secular world arose from religion, human rights, uh, the right to medical care, the right to women, the right of women to be equal, the right of races to be equal. uh, what he was able to accomplish in a lifetime of living, that example is relatively rare. incredible among our former presidents. >> yeah. he was, um, a supporter of of civil rights before it was necessarily politically advantageous for him to do so, at least early in his political career. um, terry adamson, we appreciate your

time today. thank you thank you. all right. and coming up for us. cnn is live at the scene of that deadly plane crash in south korea with new details on why the pilot issued a mayday call moments before this disaster. and another celebrity athlete targeted in a high profile burglary. $30,000 worth of jewelry stolen from the home of this nba star and a 1980s soda with a major kick is making a comeback with even more caffeine. we'll be right back. >> can't fool myself. >> it was the most exciting time in the world. >> his life had extremely joyful moments and some really difficult moments. >> you only come across an artist like luther vandross once in a lifetime. >> luther. never too much new year's day on. >> here's to getting better with age. >> here's to beating these two every thursday. >> help fuel today with boost high protein complete nutrition. you need and the

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don't want right through the app, and it can even help you try and get a refund do you want these things? >> yeah, it sounds fun. this looks wild. i went to this last year, the winter classic outdoors wrigley field, new year's eve party at wrigley field. >> december 31st blues, blackhawks on tnt and streaming on max. >> welcome back. this morning, families are mourning their loved ones as new information comes to light about the deadliest air accident in south korea in decades. officials have confirmed now that the pilot of the inbound flight from bangkok made a mayday call due to a bird strike before attempting an emergency landing. now, two people survived the accident, but 179 did not. the two people who survived are crew members who were in the tail section of the plane. the ntsb, now leading a team of u.s. investigators to assist south korean authorities. south korea's acting president has declared seven days of national mourning as the early phases of investigating begin. let's get to cnn's mike valerio, who is

live at the crash site in muan, south korea. mike, bring us up to speed. what's the latest there? >> well, we're getting a better sense of just how expansive this debris field is, and we're able to get so close to the epicenter of this disaster zone. so we're going to zoom in and you can see a few yards behind us. that is the nexus point. the tail of the aircraft, the 737 800 that careened through the embankment and was engulfed in flames 15 yards tall and right underneath that tail hill. that is where the two survivors were found, pulled out of the wreckage. and they're now in two seoul hospitals, about 3.5 hours north of here, to the left, you can see the yellow crane that's just beyond those contractor lights that is helping to move pieces of the wreckage. and then let's see if we can tilt slightly lower just beyond that yellow caution tape. you can see pieces of the aircraft that were jettisoned

beyond the cinderblock wall that forms the perimeter of the airport. and i will tell you, you know, it was striking. let's see if we can pan a little further to my right. just getting a sense of how far pieces of debris were hurled. it's difficult to see at night. but beyond that, barbed wire, we were looking at tray tables, yellow flotation devices that were inflated pieces of seats that were mangled. so getting a better sense of these mangled pieces of the wreckage will certainly be key for investigators that are coming here from the united states, the ntsb, they're due to begin their work to usher in the next phase of the investigation, because why this matters beyond the borders of south korea is to see whether or not what happened, the landing gear not coming down after perhaps a bird strike. investigators are going to try to see if that is a problem.

that was pilot error specific to this aircraft, or perhaps a problem that the wider fleet needs to worry about. of these boeing 737/802. and right now, all of those answers are unclear. we're uncertain what, if anything, a potential bird strike would have to do with the landing gear of this plane not going down, but just so arresting and breathtaking to see this up close. it's going to be months before this is all cleared. rahel solomon. >> yeah. i mean, when you when you describe the wreckage there and the fact that the only thing that appears intact is the tail, it really is incredible. mike valerio live from the scene there in muan, south korea. mike. thank you. omar. >> and this morning we're learning about new details about another landing incident in canada over the weekend. thankfully one with no injuries. an air canada express flight quote experienced a suspected landing gear issue upon arrival in nova scotia

from saint john's, newfoundland. now, the transportation safety board of canada says the plane skidded down the runway for a decent distance as it was described, and passengers saw flames on the aircraft's left side. now, the cause of the landing gear failure is still unknown right now, but an investigation is underway to determine that cause. all right. health experts are issuing a warning over how the u.s. is tackling an outbreak of bird flu among cattle and wild birds, but why they're increasingly worried about human transmission. that's next. and the holiday rush continues. how severe weather could impact your travel plans for the new year? we'll break it down. coming up. >> and it has been one wild year. >> i know that whole new live stream was crazy. >> what you have been following actual news, right? oh, boy. >> new year's eve live with anderson and andy tomorrow at eight on cnn and streaming live on muhammad action. >> louie, louie. got mud on her

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relief that's into the community. the chef is in. >> i want to be the greatest player that i could possibly become. hurry up. >> hurry welcome back. >> this morning, health experts are concerned that the u.s. isn't acting fast enough to contain the bird flu outbreak in wild birds, poultry and dairy cattle. the cdc says samples from a patient hospitalized with bird flu show a quote concerning mutation that potentially could make the virus more transmissible among humans. cnn health reporter jacqueline howard joins us now. so, jacqueline, i mean, bottom line, what is the risk to the public right now, omar, even though there are concerns, bottom line, the risk to the general public is still low. >> that's partly because we have not seen human to human

transmission yet. there have been 66 confirmed human cases, but those cases have been tied to exposures to infected animals. about 40 of those cases have been tied to exposures to infected dairy cattle. about 23 have been tied to poultry farms. there's one case that has been tied to another type of animal, and there are two cases where the exposure is still unknown. but overall, the reason why there are concerns is if we continue to see more cases, if we continue to see certain mutations happen, or a process called reassortment where someone may be infected with bird flu and infected with the seasonal flu at the same time, we could see this risk of human to human spread developing. and that's why health experts say we really need to keep a close eye on this. >> okay, so no human to human transmission at this point, but i guess what are health experts saying should be done at this point? >> experts say we need to do

more testing. they're really calling for more widespread testing, especially among farm workers who do have frequent exposures to animals. but omar, the cdc has pushed back on that. in a statement, the agency said that despite asymptomatic infections being rare, cdc changed its recommendations back in november to widen the testing net to include testing asymptomatic people with high risk exposures. and the cdc also said it has partnerships with commercial labs and bird flu. tests are available at doctors offices. but again, omar, health experts say these steps that have been taken are good, but we need even more steps to really monitor this because there is this overall worry about the possible risk of seeing human to human spread develop. >> definitely something to keep an eye on. jacqueline howard, really appreciate it. rahel. >> all right. omar, one of the final busiest travel days of the year. how weather could snarl those plans. and still

ahead, new details on the plans for honoring former president jimmy carter on his death at the age of 100. among those remembering him, ordinary americans who had the privilege of hosting him when he was president in 1977 after he took office, carter continued to practice. he adopted on the campaign trail, staying in the homes of americans when he was on the road on a west coast trip, the carter administration handpicked portland, oregon, couple janet and paul olson, and they say they remember the night clearly. take a listen would you be open to having the president spend the night at your house? >> and, you know, so it was an unusual request that was stunning. >> a motorcade pulls up in front. >> president carter took his tie and his shoes off. and he just relaxed. and, you know, just like having sort of an old friend come in and visit, i kept thinking, oh, my gosh, the president of the united states is sleeping in the room next

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on max america. >> we're glad to have you all back. >> this morning the world is remembering former president jimmy carter and honoring his legacy. chinese leader xi jinping saying he is deeply saddened by carter's death. the chinese government crediting carter as a, quote, key promoter in the establishment of diplomacy between the two countries. german chancellor olaf scholz, remembering carter as a great mediator for peace. and king charles the third, calling carter an inspiration to many for his devotion to peace and public service. during his one term in the white house, carter faced many high profile global challenges, including soviet aggression, a hostage crisis in iran, and the cold war. post-presidency. his support for human rights became a key part of his life's work. cnn's nic robertson looks back at his global impact i, jimmy carter, do solemnly swear. >> jimmy carter's presidency lived in the shadow of america's cold war with the soviet union, but he refused to

be constrained by east west communist versus capitalist tensions we expect that normalization will help to move us together toward a world of diversity and of peace. >> he improved relations with china and tried for the same with the soviets in his foreign policies. he pushed for nuclear nonproliferation, democratic values, and human rights. he cut off military supplies to chilean dictator augusto pinochet and dialed back support for other latin american leaders in nicaragua, argentina and brazil. one of his signature white house legacies was the torrijos-carter treaties that returned the panama canal to panama in 1999. he also calmed mid-east tensions, brought together israeli and arab leaders at camp david, opening the door to

the israeli egypt camp david accords. he normalized relations with china, weakened u.s. ties to taiwan in a vain hope beijing would weaken ties with moscow. but after the soviet union invaded afghanistan in december 1979, the last year of his presidency, he toughened his soviet stance, backed the afghan mujahideen in a war against the red army. the same year, 1979 islamic revolution in neighboring iran dealt carter a double domestic blow. spiked oil prices, and led to a humiliating failed raid. operation eagle claw. in april 1980 to rescue americans captured by the theocratic revolutionaries in tehran. >> i can't stand here tonight and say it doesn't hurt. >> events overseas contributed to his 1980

election loss. >> the people of the united states have made their choice. and of course, i accept that decision. >> but out of office and the limelight, his global peacemaking grew. in 1994, he was the first former u.s. president to visit north korea, met kim il sung, the grandfather of today's leader kim jong un, at a time of u.s. north korean tensions, won concessions on north korea's nuclear program, dialing back tensions for a decade. but 1994 was his big year of high profile peacemaking. in september, he went to haiti. raoul cedras, the caribbean nations unpopular leader, was holed up in port au prince. carter convinced him to step down quite literally, as the u.s. 82nd airborne troops were inbound aboard blackhawk helicopters ready to remove cedras by

force. carter won the day. save lives. the u.s. troops landed as de facto peacekeepers. and later that year, carter went to the dark heart of bosnia's violent ethnic civil war, met the nationalist serbs in their mountain stronghold. parlay tried to stop their bloody, murderous siege and shelling of the capital, sarajevo, bring an end to the killing that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives during horrific ethnic cleansing. success came slowly in steps. carter helped initiate a short christmas ceasefire and by his presence, pushed the horrific conflict toward greater international attention. >> we have work to do. >> we have to go back to it now. >> thank you very much. >> less than a year later, another u.s. diplomat, richard holbrooke, parlayed carter's brief calm into the war, ending

dayton peace accords. 1994 marked a peak in carter's peacemaking, but far from the end of it. he helped found a group of seasoned international diplomats known as the elders, whose work spanned the mideast and far beyond. he helped the charity habitat for humanity change lives, building affordable homes, often showing up to help with construction. himself. in 2002, he was awarded a nobel peace prize for decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development. it was a path he'd picked, a post-presidency with meaning, and he followed it right up to his death.

nic robertson, cnn, london. >> all right. for more on carter's legacy. with me now is john foley, former u.s. ambassador to panama and cnn national security analyst peter bergen. ambassador, i want to go to you first because you were there at the signing of the panama canal treaties as a young staffer, if i'm not mistaken. but can you can you take us back to the environment around that signing, and why was it seen as such a controversial move at the time? >> absolutely, omar. now, let me just stipulate i was there at the actual handover in 99. i may be old, but i'm not that old. however, the mood in panama in 1999 was absolutely jubilant and amazingly, it was not sort of defeatist by the united states. it was a genuine mutual celebration of the culmination of a 22 year period. let's not forget these. these treaties were signed by jimmy carter in

1977. it wasn't until 1999 that the canal zone and the canal were completely reverted. so both countries gave themselves a lot of time, but it was jubilant, and it was almost the sort of thing where everybody looked around and said, yeah, this is the right thing to do. >> and, peter, i want to bring you in on that too, because, i mean, what do you see as the impact of the treaty and the handover? and we've seen the canal now mentioned by president-elect trump, who says he's going to demand it be returned fully to, to the united states, to quote in full, quickly and without question. i mean, what would the impact of that be? are you surprised that president-elect trump seems to be interested in it? >> well, i think the likelihood of that happening is close to zero, because after all, the panamanians have a say in all this. and, you know, the history of this is that the united states expropriated the property, essentially from colombia to make the canal. and 63 years later, the panamanians said they wanted, you know,

american control to be loosened and then ended. as ambassador feeley points out. and, you know, carter did that against a lot of opposition. i mean, a politician called ronald reagan was very vocal saying, you shouldn't give away this territory. and reagan, you know, carter took really some political risks to go through with this. most americans didn't want the canal to be handed back to the panamanians, either. so. but you know, carter, you know, that anti-americanism in central america was a real thing. and this was a way of sort of righting an historic wrong ambassador, just on that point, i know you believe turning over the canal, in hindsight, may have been one of the wisest foreign policy decisions in latin america and modern time. >> at least, those are the notes i had before this interview. correct me if i'm wrong, but. but what do you believe the impact of of potentially pursuing it again

would or wouldn't be? >> oh, it's absolutely ludicrous right now. i mean, given the historical context, you know, omar, let's go back. jimmy carter turned to cities on his head. remember, thucydides once said, the strong do what they will. the weak do what they must. well, after 2000 years from the greeks, he flipped that around. the asymmetry of power between the united states and panama is undeniable. nobody in panama questions it. but by returning the canal. and let's not forget, jimmy carter wasn't the only one who thought it was a good idea. no one less than henry kissinger in 1975 told then-president nixon, if we don't return this canal, we're going to lose in every international forum. we're going to have riots all over latin america. carter simply read correctly the decolonization moment, capitalized on it, and then as, as as peter just said, he paid the political price for that. but it was a principled move.

and to attempt to take it back today, i'd like to ask you go find the maga constituency that's going to support another foreign war, because that is what it would take to get the canal back. >> and, you know, part of why we started and focused so much on this canal here is, of course, ambassador, former ambassador to panama. but it's a small aspect as far as the canal goes. and i guess one aspect, i should say in jimmy carter's legacy from his time as commander in chief and beyond, as well, and, peter, i guess both of you are very well informed, very well read, have had seen many of these events play out firsthand in again, the decades after, uh, after carter's presidency. but, peter, for you, i guess as people look to remember the former president, what do you see? what comes to mind for you in regards to the enduring legacy from his time as commander in chief? >> well, the most successful peace treaty in, you know, decades, camp david. i

mean, egypt and israel had fought three wars against each other and through sheer force of personality and deep knowledge of the issues, president carter forged a lasting peace between egypt and israel, which is now almost half a century old. so that, you know, and it goes to his bigger legacy, which, you know, he gave a speech at notre dame university early in his career, and he emphasized human rights and human rights. that emphasis actually helped to undermine the soviets. he famously wrote a letter to andrei sakharov, who was a leading soviet dissident early in his presidency. of course, the soviets weren't happy about that, but that that had the effect of really bolstering the soviet dissident movement and keeping their cause on the world stage. so i would say it's bringing human rights. he was first american president, really, to bring human rights to the foreground of american foreign policy. >> and, ambassador, i'll ask you the same question as far as enduring legacy from his time as commander in chief. but i also just want to pick up on that point because, you know,

former president carter did say he wanted to be remembered as a champion for human rights in all of this. and he's got extensive resume on that front. do you believe he succeeded? that that will be likely his most enduring legacy of what he's been able to accomplish. >> undeniably, undeniably, omar, you know, the carter center, which he and rosalynn established is in latin america, in a place where i spent my career and still spend a good bit of time. it is undeniably the gold standard for monitoring free and fair elections. if we just look around in venezuela. the carter center was president, was present during the election. after the election, it's latin american leader, doctor jenny lincoln pronounced that election as unfair and nontransparent. so carter's legacy lives on in the practical effects of the carter center, as well as in

the effects that it had on all of us, a generation of young diplomats who were inspired to take human rights and put it into the formulation of our foreign policy that historically, again, since the greeks had just been based on national interest, we had a higher calling. and jimmy carter actually showed us how to make it part of our foreign policy making. >> yeah. john, you said you weren't that old, but you're citing ancient greeks and henry kissinger ahead of jimmy carter. so jury's still out on that one. but john feeley, peter bergen, thank you both for your expertise. really appreciate it. >> thank you. >> rahel. >> all right. omar. well, today is expected to be one of the busiest travel days of the holiday season. over the weekend, hundreds of flights were canceled and thousands more delayed as severe weather moved across the southeast and east coast, bringing damaging winds, large hail, tornadoes. at least four people were

killed as a result of the storms, and crews are still assessing the damage left by the devastating tornadoes that touched down from texas through alabama. let's get to cnn's whitney wild, who is at chicago's o'hare international airport with the latest on the travel situation there. so, whitney, it is still early, but how are things looking? >> oh, it's busy. it is very busy. take a look behind me here at o'hare. i mean, it is practically shoulder to shoulder in some spots. although i will say the security numbers, the time to get through security is still pretty low. ten minutes, five minutes, 15 minutes. so when you consider how packed it is here, that is looking pretty good. uh, as you said, this is going to be a really busy travel season between o'hare and midway. the chicago department of aviation thinks they're going to. process around 3 million passengers. it's a 7.8% increase over last year, and that's the time period from about mid-december through january 2nd. so here we are, kind of at the tail end of

this major travel season. let me give you the tsa numbers nationwide. they are processing more passengers this year than last year. just just yesterday they processed 2.79 million passengers. in 2023, they processed 2.116 million passengers. obviously a major increase. that has been the story of this entire travel season. i was out here at thanksgiving. it was very busy. millions of passengers coming through over those very busy weekends. i will say, rahel, compared with what it looked like thanksgiving when i was here, this is a lot busier, so people certainly taking advantage of this opportunity to fly, to travel, to be with their friends, their family, maybe take a vacation. so again, definitely very busy. as you had said before, there's some weather impacts. so when i was looking at that flightaware misery map, at last check between 4 a.m. and eight, excuse me. throughout the entire united states, into and

out of the u.s. and then within, there were around 663 delays, just 68 cancellations. so not terrible, not great. if you're on one of those flights that was delayed or canceled. but for the most part, here at o'hare, things are looking very smooth. again, ten minutes through security. on a busy day. you can't get much better than that. rahel. >> yeah, here's hoping it stays that way. whitney wild. thank you. live at chicago o'hare. all right, coming up for us. they have struck again. luka doncic. now, the latest victim in a string of burglaries targeting professional athletes. what police say thieves took from the home of the dallas mavericks player. and a controversial soda from the 80s with twice as much caffeine as a coke or pepsi making a comeback. how it compares to the energy drinks consumed today. we'll be right back.

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>> you're wet, disheveled. there's debris hitting you. we need to be ready for new year's eve. >> maybe you are ready. >> new year's eve live with anderson and andy tomorrow at eight on cnn. >> welcome back. linda. linda lavin, tony award winning broadway actor and star of the sitcom alice, has died. a spokesperson says lavin died sunday of complications from recently discovered lung cancer. she started on broadway in the 1960s but became a star in the 70s when she landed the lead role on the cbs show alice. she worked constantly for the rest of her career, acting, directing, and teaching. her most recent performance was in the netflix show no good deed. lavin was 87 years old. nba star luka doncic's dallas mansion is the latest target in a string of burglaries of athletes homes. police say thieves broke into doncic's house and stole $30,000 worth of jewelry friday. the dallas mavericks guard was on a road trip in recent months. other nba stars

homes have been robbed, and in october, the homes of kansas city chiefs patrick mahomes and travis kelce were broken into. the fbi believes the robberies may be the work of south american theft rings that study game schedules and social media to strike when athletes are away, and jolt cola, the 80s drink that promised all the sugar and twice the caffeine, is making a comeback in 2025, and this time around, it will have even more caffeine. because why not? sports nutrition brand redcon one plans to market it as an energy drink to compete with red bull and monster. each 16 ounce can will have 200mg of caffeine, triple its original kick. the reboot will target nostalgic gen xers and younger energy drink fans. good luck. >> well, omar, that has your name written all over it. >> no, thanks. >> thank you omar. well, more information this morning is coming to light this morning in the deadly jeju airline crash that left 179 people dead in

south korea. officials now say that the pilot made a mayday call reporting a bird strike just before the emergency landing at muan airport. south korea's acting president ordered an emergency safety inspection of the entire country's airline operation system. let's bring in now, aviation attorney justin green, who joins me here to discuss. justin, great to have you in the studio this morning. thanks for having me. you have been a part of litigation with crashes in the past like this. i'm curious, sort of your first top line reactions when you see that pretty horrific video? >> well, i think the first thing my heart goes out to the families, 179 families now are suffering and looking for answers, and they're going to find that the answers are relatively slow in coming. the second issue is we kind of know what happened. you know, we have video of what happened. the airplane did a belly up landing. they did it fast. they ran off the runway. they they hit a wall. they burst into flames. the big issue is, you know why it happened. and the the investigation is going to look at every single factors.

but the key pieces of evidence are going to be the black boxes, the digital flight data recorder, the cockpit voice recorder and then the actual wreckage. you know, the wreckage, most of it burned up, but the engines are really the key pieces. and the mayday call about a bird strike. they're going to look at both engines and try to determine what caused what looks like a loss of power. >> yeah. and say more about that because as we hear about possible causes, bird strike, as you just pointed out, we're now hearing that the pilot made that mayday call. obviously, the landing gear, clearly there was an issue with the landing gear that malfunctioned. but multiple aviation safety experts that i spoke to yesterday on our air said those are independent issues. one should not impact the other. and i'm just sort of curious if you think that maybe more than one factor was at play here. >> well, almost every major accident nowadays there is more than one factor. a single point failure is not supposed to happen. aviation safety is based on redundancy. so they have two engines. they have multiple hydraulic systems.

they have backup systems. so in here you have a confluence of factors that most likely caused it which may include problems you know. the bird strike is seems to be the initiating factor. but what happened to the systems after the bird strike and how the pilots handled it? that's going to be the focus of the investigation. and answers are going to come out relatively soon. once the data from the black boxes are downloaded. >> is that the type of information that you would expect to be also released publicly relatively soon? because i imagine you have 179 people who didn't live. there is a chance that there could be litigation following this. >> there almost certainly will be litigation. the airline, under the international law, owes a responsibility to the family to to compensate them for their losses. but the focus really has to be on aviation safety. and one of the reasons that they want to let out information early on is to let the whole aviation community kind of know what's happening. so if this is a bird strike incident, every other operator, at least probably of any

airplane, but certainly of the next gen 737 is going to want to know what the data is. so when the ntsb investigates, this accident is going to be investigated by the south koreans. well, when the ntsb investigates an accident, they'll release a preliminary report pretty soon after the accident to give the basic facts. and i expect that we will soon learn basic facts about this accident. >> how much does it differ in this plane crash compared to some of the others, including some that you have been associated with? how different is it that we have the black box recorders, that we have two survivors, two crew members who perhaps have an even more sophisticated understanding of what was happening just before this crash. how rare is that? >> it's it's not rare. remember, malaysia 370, they lost the airplane, so they never got the black boxes. so there, you know, we all speculate and we have pretty informed ideas of what happened there. but we don't know what happened because the black boxes were not available. almost every accident, even if it crashes into the ocean,

they'll eventually find the black boxes, bring them up and download them. so this is it's not rare we're going to have we have plenty of evidence. we have video evidence. we got air traffic control communications. we're going to have the black boxes. this is not going to be a mystery for long. >> and then just talk to me. i mean, having worked with the victims of, you know, those who have perished in plane crashes before, i mean, what that process is like now for for all of those families, it's really, really horrible. >> and i've lived with the families through this process. they, um, they want their loved ones back with them. you know, obviously they know their past, but right now they're not even getting the the remains. and probably a lot of the families are being visited to get dna swabs from children to get, you know, go to actually take brushes and get get hair out of the brushes so they can go identify the bodies, the, the