>> gio: good morning, america. major winter blast. 47 million people across 14 states under winter storm alerts as a major storm sweeps across the country with snow and ice forecast from the plains to the east and the frigid forecast to follow. our weather team tracking it all. >> whit: suspect's past. what we're learning about the man accused in the deadly bourbon street attack.

his trip to egypt. was he radicalized there? the fbi's new warning as we hear from a survivor injured in the attack on that crowded street. >> janai: final farewell. services and ceremonies beginning for former president jimmy carter ahead of his state funeral. how the public can pay their respects. >> gio: menendez meeting. more than 20 of lyle and erik's family members press l.a.'s new district attorney to resentence the brothers for killing their parents. could they be closer to freedom? >> whit: quad-demic. what people online are calling the rise in flu, covid, rsv and norovirus cases. an emergency medicine physician joins us to review the symptoms and when to head to the hospital. >> janai: nfl matchups. the final weekend of the regular season. ♪ you better get moving ♪ >> janai: and get ready for a blockbuster bonanza. we have what you've been waiting

for. >> you want me? come and get me. >> janai: and never want to end. >> i need you to trust me. >> janai: on the big and small screens. >> welcome to the white lotus in thailand. >> janai: your must sees of the new year. >> gio: and we do say good morning, america on this saturday. a good saturday because it's someone's birthday. >> janai: ah, because whit saw "wicked" this week, it is my birthday. thank you for telling america just like you told everybody behind the scenes here. >> whit: i was going to keep it quiet for awhile. >> gio: you have an announcement coming up later in the show. that's a little tease. we're looking forward to that. but we do have a lot to get to this morning including the latest on the investigation into the suspect behind the truck explosion outside president-elect trump's las vegas hotel. >> whit: we'll be live in georgia for the start of six days of events celebrating the life of former president jimmy carter.

carter's final journey beginning at phoebe sumter medical center in americus this morning. the funeral procession also passing through his hometown before making its way to the state capitol in atlanta. >> janai: it certainly is a busy morning with a lot to get to. we begin with what so many are feeling at home, that massive winter storm that's forming through the middle of the country right now. a 1,500-mile stretch of snow and ice on the way. somara theodore is here with the very latest tracking it all. somara, good morning to you. >> somara: good morning, janai. this winter storm getting under way today. you can see where it's dissecting the lower 48 from the midwest to the mid-atlantic. there's also this component of severe weather that will be impacting the south on sunday. more on that in a moment. let's go ahead and time this out. who sees what when. all right, saturday, 9:00 p.m. central time, notice how kansas city is getting the brunt of the icing. i-80 through nebraska into northern missouri north of i-70 is where we see the snow. by 7:00 a.m., the second half of your weekend, a lot of that ice

is just south of i-70 in missouri down into carbondale along i-55 just south of louisville and we're talking about three-quarters of an inch of ice, significant paralyzing icing that could be occurring. by the monday morning commute, the mid-atlantic will be expecting snow places like washington, d.c., the delmarva peninsula down to richmond and this comes off the heels of the snow they just saw before it moves out by monday. gio? >> gio: a truly massive storm, somara. thank you so much. we're going to turn now to the new fbi warning following the deadly rampage in new orleans early new year's day. abc's christiane cordero joins us now from new orleans with the latest. good morning, christiane. >> reporter: gio, good morning. the re-opening of bourbon and the sugar bowl are both examples that this community is trying to get back to normal, but there is still a tension in the air and a lot of unanswered

questions. this morning, investigators are combing through the physical and digital footprints of shamsud-din jabbar, the man suspected of killing 14 people in new orleans french quarter on new year's day. his half brother abdur tells abc news, jabbar traveled to egypt for about a month in 2023 telling his family he was going because it was cheap and beautiful. these are some of the items his brother says he brought back, jewelry, tea, and other gifts, sources tell abc news investigators are looking into whether the trip has anything to do with his radicalization. >> what i can tell you right now is that he was 100% inspired by isis. >> reporter: on friday in new orleans, the atf returned to the house that jabbar rented ahead of the attack, concluding he tried to set a small fire in the hallway in his effort to destroy it and other evidence of his crime, but officials said evidence has been recovered including bomb-making material. investigators say that the unexploded ieds recovered from two coolers in the french quarter were made with a very rare explosive compound that also contained a remote detonation capability. the fbi now warning every law enforcement agency in the

country of potential copycat attacks as the fbi sifts through the evidence and interviews witnesses. we're learning more about the survivors. 22-year-old brandon whitsett was out celebrating new year's eve with friends when he saw the white truck swerving towards him. >> i didn't know the purpose. >> reporter: his family hasn't left his side. >> we didn't know what the status was. >> reporter: the former football player tells us he hasn't tried walking yet but vows to get back on his feet step by step. >> it's really going to take a minute to get back to where i was. >> reporter: as the french quarter inches back to normalcy flowers, candles and crosses line the entrance to bourbon street where people pause to reflect on the victims including 21-year-old hubert gauthreaux. his family visiting this memorial telling abc news he was someone who loved deeply, gave generously, and brought joy to everyone who knew him. president biden says he has spoken with the families of the victims. he and the first lady are

scheduled to visit new orleans on monday. guys? >> gio: so much heartache. christiane, thank you so much. whit, i know you spent the past week basically there in new orleans. you spoke with these survivors, these relatives of the victims, as well. i mean, what were they telling you? how are they moving on? >> whit: yeah, gio, i've got to say, this is the first mass casualty event i've ever covered where the crime scene was cleaned up and re-opened within 36 hours. >> janai: wow. >> whit: and people in new orleans, the families, the people i spoke with, this is part of the toughness and resilience of that city there. we heard jazz music playing on bourbon street a day later. they are mourning the lives lost, but they are also celebrating the lives that they lived, and this is a big part of the spirit and the culture of new orleans. so, i think for an outsider, it was -- i was taken aback a little bit at first at how quickly the atmosphere changed, but for the people who live there, it was very important that they don't let terror prevent them from living their way of life. >> janai: right, because that's

the goal of terror, and we appreciate that you were able to take the time away to go cover the story and then be back here and share what you've talked about. >> whit: a very difficult story. of course, our hearts go out to all the people in new orleans. we have other stories to cover so we're going to turn now to the drama playing out in washington. speaker mike johnson pulling out a victory at the last minute and retaining the gavel, but only by a razor-thin margin, and it required a big assist from president-elect donald trump. abc's jay o'brien joins us now. jay, good morning to you. give us the play-by-play here. >> reporter: good morning, whit. yeah, this puts on display that razor-thin majority that mike johnson is now going to have to work with holding onto his job only after an hour or so standstill on the house floor and a personal appeal to the hold-out votes by president-elect donald trump. this morning, mike johnson celebrating after a dramatic bid to hold on to the speaker's gavel including a personal appeal to hold-out votes by president-elect donald trump. >> working together we have the

potential to be one of the most consequential congresses in the history of this great nation. >> reporter: facing a razor-thin majority, johnson could only afford to lose one vote, and one republican congressman, thomas massie, a long-time johnson critic made it clear he was a firm no. johnson though walking onto the floor confident. >> what does it says if you lose on the first ballot? >> it says nothing, part of the process but i expect we'll get it done. >> reporter: but two other republican hold-outs, ralph norman of south carolina and keith self of texas joining massie voting against johnson. >> i would do it all over again. >> reporter: johnson then pulling the two off the floor and into a private room before the vote was officially closed and getting on the phone with president-elect donald trump. norman and self ultimately returning and changing their votes, putting johnson over the goal line. [ applause ] >> was trump upset in those conversations on the phone? >> he asked why. i knew we needed to impress on mike johnson that we are serious about budget.

we're serious about the border. we're serious, and is he going to fight? >> reporter: without a speaker, the house floor would have been paralyzed. no other votes allowed including a constitutionally required ceremony planned for monday where congress will certify trump's electoral victory, and this morning, trump posting that johnson had unprecedented support from his fellow republicans, but the speaker is far from out of the woods yet. he still has that razor-thin house majority, which as we saw yesterday, can be thrown into chaos by just a couple of members. janai? >> janai: jay, thank you. in other news now, the judge in president-elect trump's criminal hush money trial has ordered trump to face sentencing on january 10th, and jail time appears now to be off the table. abc's white house correspondent maryalice parks explains the details now. maryalice, good morning. >> reporter: yeah, janai, good morning. the judge decided to uphold the jury's conviction, which means that president-elect trump will likely be the first president to enter office as a felon. the judge ordered trump to

appear on january 10th next week either in person in a new york courtroom or virtually just ten days before his inauguration to be sentenced. trump was convicted in may of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment to porn star stormy daniels before the 2016 presidential election. the judge calling it premeditated and continuous this is an abc news special report celebrating jimmy carter. >> good morning, i'm mary bruce. we're interrupting regular programing because services honoring the late president jimmy carter are underway in georgia. the 39th president of the united states passed away on sunday at his home in plains, surrounded by his family. he was 100 years old, our longest lived president. but we are about to see. this morning is the beginning of the state funeral services, which will conclude with president carter's burial

in his beloved hometown of plains, georgia, on thursday. this morning, the carter family will arrive at the phoebe sumter medical center in americus, georgia. current and former special agents in charge from the secret service will also be there. they were invited by the carter family, and they will carry the former president's casket to the hearse and walk alongside as the former president's remains depart the medical center. from here, the motorcade will travel through plains to his boyhood farm in archery, georgia, where it will pause for a bell ringing ceremony. after the brief ceremony, the motorcade then sets off for atlanta. after arriving in the city, the motorcade will again pause, this time at the georgia state capitol. in recognition of carter's service as governor of georgia and as a state senator. the motorcade will then travel to the carter presidential center in atlanta. the former president will lie in repose from 7:00 tonight until early tuesday morning. he will then be flown to washington, where he will lie in state at the u.s. capitol before the funeral on thursday at the national cathedral. jimmy carter, the 39th president of the united

states, served just one term from 1977 to 1981. during his presidency, carter, of course, helped to broker the camp david accords between egypt and israel. he returned to the panama canal to panama, and brokered an arms treaty with the soviet union. he was also an early environmentalist. he put solar panels on the white house. he greatly expanded national parks and wildlife refuge refuges in alaska, but his term was largely overshadowed by inflation, the energy crisis, and the iran hostage crisis. but carter may be best remembered for his four decades long post-presidency. he founded the carter center and worked to eradicate disease and poverty, and he traveled the world to try and resolve various conflicts. he and his beloved wife, rosalynn, helped to build thousands of homes for charity through habitat for humanity, and in 2002, jimmy carter was awarded the nobel peace prize for his efforts to promote human rights and peace around the world. and here we see the motorcade now coming up to the phoebe sumter medical center. it is carrying his family. it is a

large, close knit family. we are joined now by by our contributors and our team here with me. i want to go to steve osunsami. steve, you are there at the carter center. but i want you to talk a bit about the phoebe sumter medical center, what it means to this family, what it meant to the carters as we now see them arriving there, because this is where he received much of his treatment quietly, in those last years. >> good morning to you, mary. it is a very cold day here in georgia, but the sun is shining upon all of us, and, of course, upon the carter family and the motorcade, as you see in phoebe sumter, as you were explaining, this was a very important hospital to the carter family. it essentially was their emergency room, about 15 minutes from their home. much of the health care that the carters received, especially the former president, was at emory healthcare, the premier medical facility here in atlanta. but

when they would get sick, when there would be a crisis, they would go to phoebe sumter. and one of the amazing things that would happen is none of us would hear about it. the doctors and nurses, the staff, it was kept quiet. we would sometimes find out weeks, months later that either of the carters ever visited this facility because much like so much of this part of georgia, this was carter country. these were people who took care of the former president and former first lady who protected them, who honored them. it was very much a community and a family. for the former president and former first lady. >> thank you steve. our faith abubey is there on the ground as well. and faith, the family now arriving. >> yeah, the family has called

for people to come here to show their final respects. and we've seen people gather here well over an hour before the family was scheduled to arrive. we've seen toddlers who are wrapped in blankets, senior citizens who were here traveled a long way just to be here to pay their final respects. i've spoken to some of the people gathered here, and they tell me they could not miss this moment in history. this was very important for them, each of them with their own story of why they ended up here. i spoke with a woman who came all the way from north carolina, drove nine hours in the middle of the night just to witness this moment. she says that she doesn't think that she's ever actually heard of a president who has given so much back, especially after his time in office, as jimmy carter has done with his life. i spoke with another gentleman who met the carters at a walmart here in this community back in the 1990s. they brought their daughter here just to witness this moment as well. people are here watching in quiet

reverence. it's finally settling in that the former president is no longer here in this community. and just to add to what steve was saying about this hospital, this is a hospital that means so much to the carters. in fact, back in 2007, the only hospital that was in this area, in americus, there was a tornado that actually destroyed the hospital. and carter, with his influence with his power, was able to help secure funding for the building of this hospital here behind me, where all of this is happening right now. so as we watch, as the family pulls up in front of the medical center, we will see those pallbearers bring the hearse or bring the casket into the hearse. >> thank you. faith, we are now seeing the hearse there, getting into position. shortly we will see the former president's casket being carried out. the pallbearers. an interesting choice made. one made by the carter family. they wanted to use this opportunity to note the incredible work that is done by

the members of the secret service, those who spent so much time protecting the carters and their family. these are people that protected the former president for more than 40 years, forming close bonds. they traveled the world together. they spent time with the carters personally while jimmy carter was out fly fishing or skiing, spending time with famil hobbier special agent who we're going to sehere actually accompanied carter to over 140 countries. it became a running buddy of his. and so this in choosing them to be the pallbearers, this was really a chance for the carters to show the great appreciation that they have for their work, for the sacrifices they made in their own lives to protect the carters. and it was important for them to honor their work in this first public moment of the memorial events, i believe we are now seeing some members of the family there joining as well, arriving for today's services. and mary jordan, our abc news contributor and associate editor for the washington post, you have covered the carters, the carter

family for many years. and it does strike me that so much of what we are about to see unfold today and in the coming days was meticulously planned by the family. >> yes. and of course, there have been the minute you leave the white house, you start planning a presidential funeral. but in the last ten years, in talking to several of them, amy carter, of course, many people remember she was only nine when she was in the white house, and his son, chip james the third, was with him. so many mornings he would say that the best time for my dad is at 5 a.m. that's when we can talk. that's when he's most alert. and jason carter, his grandson, who will be speaking at the funeral, he said, you know, i just had a feeling. and so i went there a couple days before he died, right around christmas. and there he was, still on his recliner, the brown recliner in his living room. so he was still getting up right up until the time he died on the 29th of

december. but you know, of course, who's missing. there are his siblings. jimmy carter had three siblings. all of them, remarkably, died of pancreatic cancer. they were 51, 53 and 63. so he outlived his siblings, you know, by more than 40 years. billy. many people remember billy, his brother. there was billy beer and his beloved sister ruth and gloria. but there's still a massive carter family. and it's a big day, like you said, that they've planned for a long time. >> and the family, of course, extends not just beyond his his immediate family, but also to this community. and so much of today is about plains, georgia, about this rural community. the phoebe sumter medical center, where he is starting today. but this is where he was formed, where his his life began and where he now will be, what will now be his final resting place. and it just it strikes me in seeing those images that i was talking to, of members of the

community who have come to gather that that they in many ways felt like family to, you know, plains has 573 people according to the 2020 census. >> look at how big that building is. you know, nothing was left to chance. jimmy carter wanted people to see that large medical center, because rural health was one of the things very important to him. >> and we are now seeing, of course, the family coming up and gathering mary. you know them well. who do we see here? >> it's amy carter and amy carter's husband, who seems to be in a wheelchair there, and we see he has four children, 11 grandchildren. he had 12. he he outlived one of his own grandchildren and, of course, 14 great grandchildren there. and he was very proud of that medical center. and he thought that one of the reasons that small towns across america were dying was they didn't have good

medical care. and he loved that place. >> it does appear that we are now seeing the pallbearers coming out. can we just listen in for a minute and pause and recognize this moment? again? you are seeing here members of the carter protective division. their families also invited a chance for the carters to highlight the important work that these men did, as well their service and sacrifice to protect jimmy carter and his family. so this.

>> is. >> jimmy carter's casket now being carried to the hearse out of the phoebe sumter medical center, which has served as carter's temporary resting place since he passed. it also, of course, played a role in his care in these final years of life. >> looking all right. >> i want to bring in jonathan karl, our chief washington correspondent, because, john, the fact that he chose to have members of his protective division play this important role today really does tell you a lot about the relationships that jimmy carter formed and the

kind of man he was. >> and think about how much time he spent with with these men. mary. i mean, you think about the carter presidency. it was a single term. it was just four years, a troubled four years in many ways, as you talked about. and then think about the 44 years that he was a former president that marked so much of his life and legacy and was so groundbreaking. and these, you know, of course, a former president maintains secret service protection for, for the rest of, of, of their life. and so he he was with these these individuals, these secret service agents for many of them for decades. and i think it's fitting to think about to see this hearse drive to, to his boyhood home. so much about carter that makes him different

from from so many other presidents. in addition to the remarkable post-presidency he had is the humility, roots we've had certainly presidents with humble roots. but think about jimmy carter's his boyhood home, which we'll see shortly, was a place that he lived, had no running water. it had no electricity, as he pointed out. it had no insulation either. the only sources of heat were the oven in the kitchen and a couple of a fireplaces. and we're about to see that again. the humble beginnings of jimmy carter's life. >> jimmy carter's casket has now been placed in the hearse. thank you john, and we'll begin to make the very long journey through these several days of services and memorials to his final resting place. the family, as we've noted, is gathered there, standing outside the phoebe sumter medical center. the hearse and the casket will

then turn turn west down route 280, driving about 20 miles to carter's boyhood home. and as john was mentioning today, in the beginning of these remembrances, really is in many ways about the people and mostly the place that most shaped jimmy carter and steve osunsami. i want to go back to you because in so many ways, plains, georgia defines jimmy carter and jimmy carter defines plains, georgia. >> it does. it's a rural community. plains americus, about three hours south of the big city. it is especially back in jimmy carter's youth, and we're really mostly farmland, farm country. there is a there's a connectivity to that part of georgia. and jimmy and rosalynn

carter were absolutely at the center of this. this is a as john described, you know, his his boyhood home. i've been inside that home. it is tiny. you they they've kept it looking like it like it, like it, it has for, for some time. it's a you walk on the floors and you, you, you hear the creaks. the room that he slept in was small. it was, you know, you don't look at that home and imagine that a that a president was, was, came from, came from this small, tiny place that remains small, that remains rural. and it i a little different than other places. jimmy carter was a man from rural america, not the big city. and he, john, underlined

something that i think you're going to see over these next few days that people appreciated about this man is how humble he was, how humble he lived. we talk about these secret service agents who you're seeing right now. they built a they you know, every president has secret service agents who, who, who follow that president for life. they needed to build a sort of center to work from near his home. and it sits along the country road above his home. and jimmy carter's home is was is a is a very small one. he never, never wanted anything big or large or extravagant. and the even though the secret service agents needed a bigger facility to house all their suvs, he

wouldn't let them build a bigger home than his. that was the type of man he was, and i think he is respected and admired and beloved by so many people because of that sort of stubborn humbleness that he had. you know, there is no question that jimmy carter is a is a is a legendary figure here in georgia. you're going to see lots of people who will be waving goodbye to pay their respects these next few days. but what makes so many people in rural georgia and across this state so proud is how much that humble figure from small town georgia is recognized across the world. >> that humbleness, that famous frugality that you are referencing there. these are members of the carter protective

division, those secret service agents who spent so much time with him here, protecting him by his side to quite literally, the very end, the carter family choosing to bestow upon them this honor really, in many ways, is a final thank you for their service and dedication to jimmy carter, to rosalynn carter, to the family throughout so many years. and now there they are, walking alongside the hearse and his casket as it exits phoebe sumter medical center. they're going to be walking by the family. the members of the large carter extended family, and members of the community family who have gathered there as well, to see jimmy carter one last time. we've been talking about plains, georgia, and how important it was to jimmy carter, how important the values that he formed in this rural community were to him. and i want to bring in mark up to grove presidential historian. and mark, it strikes me that over and over again at every

turning point, really, in jimmy carter's life, he always returned to plains. it centered him. >> you're absolutely right, mary. of course. he was born there in 1924. and archie, we're going to see the boyhood home in a moment in sort of this huck finn kind of existence. he was barefoot most of the time in his in his boyhood, he wrote a wonderful memoir about that called an hour before daylight. it was a it was nominated for the pulitzer prize. he was so proud of those years that he spent in plains. and then he went off to college and on to annapolis, to the naval college there, and pursued a very promising naval career, both in hawaii and then upstate new york, but chose to return to plains after his father died in the early 1950s. rosalynn carter, his partner of 77 years. then they were then newlyweds. she didn't want to go back to plains, but jimmy carter had seen the great mark that his father had made, the pillar of a

community that both his mother and father were, and he wanted to return to plains to be that kind of figure in plains, to make that kind of difference, kind of an atticus finch of plains, georgia. and of course, he returned to plains again after leaving the presidency in 1981. it's almost as though the soil from that part of the country pulsated through jimmy. >> and there we see the crowds who have gathered, perhaps some locals, perhaps some in from out of town, coming to pay their final respects to the former president. for many, there may be their former neighbor as well. the motorcade will now turn west down route 80. it's going to drive through downtown plains, and it may seem funny to even refer to it as downtown plains because, as we were discussing, this is a very small town, about 600 people. it's about 150 miles south of atlanta. and this town, really,

in and of itself, is a celebration of the life of jimmy carter. the general store there is known for its peanut butter ice cream, of course, a nod to the former peanut farmer, who went on to become the 39th president of the united states. and the town is such a focal point of his life. his family had a farm there since 1833. it's where his values were formed that no fuss way of life where that was rooted. and mary jordan, you spent a lot of time covering the carter family, but also spending time with the carters there in their home during their final years. >> in fact, when i'm looking at that crowd, i'm thinking about how this is really republican country. you know, many people there are republican, and it is not a time for partizan politics, no matter what political party you were, you admired carter. maybe you didn't like his policies, but you really admired what he did. and last year, on the eve of his

99th birthday, i was standing at downtown plains. there was a crowd like this that we're seeing on the in, you know, lining the streets because it was the peanut festival and all of a sudden a secret service vehicle turns the corner and jimmy carter and rosalynn are in the back seat and the crowd goes crazy. this is just last year. he turned 99 on october 1st. i'm standing there and all of a sudden people started singing happy birthday, mr. president. and when i was talking to those people, it was stunning how many people were republican because it's been so partizan. and they said, hey, you know, it doesn't matter if i, you know, liked what he did on taxes or that he did this in education. but wow, you got to give the guy credit. he built homes. he really cared about health. and you know, he wasn't. his famous line was, this is a good country and there's good people in it. and i

think we deserve good government. this is jimmy talking, and i want to be good. what a story. >> what a moment. and you know, i do what you're talking about. i want to bring that to our terry moran. because terry, you know, so much has been made and will be made of his post-presidency and the tremendous work he did after he left the white house. but to mary jordan's point, so much of what jimmy carter did really transcended politics. and that's a pretty remarkable thing, given what a divided nation we are right now. >> no question about that, mary. considering how divided we are, he does have this ability, as we say goodbye to him, to bring the country together in some ways. and i think that's because he led this extraordinary american life right from plains, georgia, to the white house to the world, a global figure. but that extraordinary life was undergirded, structured by the old, ordinary american values. he was born in plains. he died in plains. he'll be buried in

plains. at a time when small towns are emptying out around the country. he stands in contrast to that. he was married for 77 years. he taught sunday school until he couldn't anymore. people recognize in jimmy carter's personal life a commitment to a kind of way of living as an american that many people fear has, is leaving the country. whatever they thought of his politics or his presidency. he struggled in the presidency, no question about that. and i know we'll talk about that. his personal life, which also structured that extraordinary effort around the world to eradicate disease, to bring peace, those were undergirded by that sincere faith he had. and those old american values. >> and john karl, our chief washington correspondent, as terry mentioned there, his administration, certainly his time in washington, not without challenges. >> it was a deeply troubling time in the united states. but

but think of how it started. one of the notable things about about jimmy carter is he was elected as in some sense as an antidote to the crises of the vietnam war and watergate. he was this one term governor out of georgia who seemed to come out of nowhere to capture the democratic nomination. a evangelical christian with the kind of personal life that terry just described seemed as exactly what america needed at that point. but no sooner did he get into the white house that you had a series of crises, both at home and abroad, you had an energy crisis brought on by an oil embargo that resulted in high gasoline prices, gas lines. i remember as a, you know, as an elementary school kid, you know, the family would have to go and wait on line on on the appointed

day to get gas. you'd sometimes, you know, you know, be online for more than an hour in your car waiting to get gas. inflation was high. they called it stagflation because not only do you have high inflation, but you had no economic growth. you had high unemployment. a term that was used back then was the misery index. it was actually something that jimmy carter had used during his campaign against gerald ford to talk about the economically challenging times under the ford administration. but it got worse, significantly worse, with jimmy carter as president. and then you had major crises abroad. you know, the most significant and overwhelming in 1979, when the u.s. embassy in tehran was taken over by, by by iranian fundamentalists and our our personnel were held hostage, held hostage until the end of his presidency for over a year, you had the russians invading

afghanistan. also in 1979. and jimmy carter responded to that by imposing a grain embargo on, on on american grain shipped and sold to the soviet union that angered farmers in the united states. that created more hardship for them and already in an economic time. and then he made the very controversial decision to boycott the olympics, which were held in russia, held in moscow that year. and, you know, that created, you know, a backlash among, you know, so many were looking forward to the to the olympics. so, so carter dealt with a series of real major crises. he did have a significant accomplishments as president. as president, the peace deal between israel and egypt, which still stands today. but but his accomplishments very

much so overshadowed by those challenges that led to a really decisive victory for ronald reagan in 1980, landslide loss for jimmy carter. and it's significant that we will talk as much as we should about the four years of the carter presidency as we do, you know, about about his incredible post-presidency, where his accomplishments are truly beyond question. >> and he did go on then to really redefine the post-presidency. what you are seeing right there is the honor guard getting into place at his childhood, boyhood family home there in archery, georgia. he is now the motorcade making its way through plains, georgia, to his childhood home. jimmy carter was just four years old when he moved there, and he lived there until he left for college in 1941. he grew up in a home with no electricity, no running

water, something that i think he certainly the last president who we can say will grow up like that. the boyhood farm is now a part of the jimmy carter national historical park. and as we see everyone gathering there to begin for that part of the ceremony, i want to go back to mark updegrove, presidential historian, because so much of what we're discussing today just really reminds you of the improbable journey that was jimmy carter's life. and mark, you wrote recently about how he just defied the odds, really, at every step along the way throughout his life. >> mary, it can't be overstated. jimmy carter was never intimidated by these enormous challenges before them. the very fact that he got into politics and was elected as a state senator was was defying the odds. he had to actually contest the results of the election, which had been rigged by the local political boss in southwest georgia. he won,

became a state senator, ran for governor in 1966, was defeated, came back in 1971, served one term in office, and then improbably ran for the presidency. and it was so improbable that his hometown newspaper, the atlanta journal-constitution, had a headline that that read jimmy, who is running for what? he had very little name recognition and yet ran a very successful campaign against some very well-established inside the beltway. democratic candidates won the nomination and then won the presidency, taking the presidency from the incumbent, gerald ford. and i think it can't be, again, overstated enough that the fact that he resurrected his reputation and his post-presidency for 44 years had the longest post-presidency, but also, importantly, the most eventful, becoming the only former president in history to

win the nobel peace prize. >> mary, just a remarkable trajectory, a remarkable life, so well lived and a remarkable example for so many and really in many ways, redefining the playbook for other future former presidents, the president, the former presidents, the motorcade, his hearse and casket are now making its way through his beloved plains, georgia. and i want to go back to our steve osunsami, who has spent so many years closely covering the carters. because, steve, one thing that we haven't discussed yet is faith. and it seems to me you simply cannot discuss jimmy carter, you can't discuss the role he played in that community without discussing his deep religious beliefs. >> well, mary, he's he's arguably one of the world's most famous christians. he was a sunday school teacher. his faith was very important to both he and his wife. they famously attended church near their hometown, the. he held sunday

school services that were so popular that people would line up around the block in his later years to hear jimmy carter deliver a sunday school service. faith was very important to this couple. and they they they read the bible together. they told me in 2021 on most nights. that was one of the things that they enjoyed doing together was reading the bible. there is it's very it's well known that he was an active figure in his baptist church. and i think that, you know, it was part of that faith that that drove jimmy carter in his later life, post-presidency, to do some of the great works that he did. we all we all know of the famous photos of jimmy carter, with the, with with the black. i still building houses for the poor, with the hammer in

his hand. because in his book that's what jesus would do. jimmy carter and his wife both did that. that kind of work here at the carter center, they've made it their mission to help eradicate diseases. so heal the sick, feed the poor, that those were words that the carters lived by. and so, yes, he was a very spiritual man from a very spiritual family. >> and terry moran, one of the things that always strikes me about jimmy carter is how so many americans felt they knew him, how accessible he was, in part because for so many, they actually had a chance to go and attend one of those sunday school services to interact with jimmy carter. so many people felt like jimmy carter was was their friend. they knew him. and sunday school was was really a part of that for him. >> it sure was. and that was part of the secret of his political success. he came out

of nowhere and he did seem approachable. he seemed humble. he seemed that that winning grin that he had, i think, appealed to people and that faith as well, especially in an era where most americans belonged to a church, 70%, almost of americans in those years identified the church that they belonged to, just as he and rosalynn did until the end of their lives. that's changed somewhat, but still for millions and millions of americans. in some ways, that what steve just told us, the story that that they would read the bible together every night, that that resonates with all kinds of people. he is a political figure from another time. but but he does still touch some of the deeper currents of american life and that faith that going to his sunday school lessons, that was kind of a thing for a lot of people, a lot of people who disagreed with him deeply about

politics. i talked to a pastor once who was very much opposed to many things that jimmy carter did, and yet he wanted to go and thank jimmy carter for his work around the world. and so he went to one of the sunday school lessons. i think it was it was a hot ticket for a lot of people in this country. >> mary jordan, i see you here nodding yes. >> many times i lined up with all those people who would come at 5 a.m. in the dark to see if they could get in and into that little church to hear him speak. now, i was thinking about the secret service protection detail you see there. imagine guarding him as opposed to the other ex-presidents, right? he's on a site with hundreds of people with hammers, you know, building homes. other ex-presidents don't go commercial and want to walk up and down and talk to every single person. when i was chatting with some of the secret service people, they were like,

well, planes is not exactly new york city. you know, where some of the other ex-presidents, because the same secret service agent would have like a stint with one ex-president and the other, and then they'd come back to plains and it was a whole different thing, you know, it was like, roll up your sleeves and start helping people. and jimmy would walk everywhere. even into his 90s. he was walking up and down the main street in plains, georgia. i walked with him. it was at least half a mile when he was 94, you know, it was just a different experience for the secret service to redefining not just the work of the post-presidency, but also the lifestyle and certainly what it meant for the secret service as well. >> we are seeing, i believe these are images of the motorcade now rolling through plains, georgia. our faith abubey has been spending time down there, and faith we've been talking about how jimmy carter really defined plains, but also how so many people come to visit the plains to remember jimmy

carter, maybe some to attend those sunday school services to, to hopefully meet him years ago. oh, what comes next for plains, georgia? how will they honor jimmy carter going forward? >> and mary, you know, this community which has held carter up for 100 years, they are contemplating that at this moment, trying to figure out what is next. there are a lot of businesses that are built here in this community around the carters, not just the history, but also his legacy. and of course, as you mentioned, people come here to try to catch a glimpse of him. and so right now there are questions about what happens next. we know that the family is planning to turn over the home that the carters built, the home that they've been in for years and years, and turn it over to the national park service so they can turn it into an attraction where people can continue to come and hold up this community of about 600 people and still be part of this economy and keeping this city, this small town, alive. we know

carter himself as a builder. he built some of the furniture in that home, the couch that they had in that home, the bed they slept in. and there is a plan right now to try to recreate some of that so that the originals can go to the family, and the replicas could stay in that home so people can visit and look at what carter built with his own hands, but also how the carters lived and how frugal they were, how modest they were. and that's something that came up over and over again as i was speaking to people in the community. and one of the things they loved about the carters is that despite the fact that he's known around the world, he's a big figure. he was the most powerful person in this country and in the world at one point. but here in this community, he was just mr. jimmy, someone who they would see around when they would go grocery shopping, someone who would invite them to the peanut festival. and now they are really trying to come to grips with the fact that that will no longer happen. of course, his health was declining

for quite some time and they hadn't seen him, but of course they knew that he was just down the street there in that home. and that final journey to his resting place has now begun. and they're getting the first chance to pay tribute to him. >> mary and the carter family certainly wanted to highlight and pay tribute to plains, georgia, and the places that shaped jimmy carter and his early life, as we now do begin these services, remembering him and honoring him the first day that the public now has a chance to be a part of this and to say their final goodbye, there we are seeing, of course, so many coming out, lining the streets, waving flags there. one young man with a salute to the former president. the motorcade is now making its way to jimmy carter's boyhood home. this is now part of the jimmy carter national historical park. the home, a very modest farmhouse, has actually been restored and returned to the way it was when jimmy carter was a boy. a house with no running water, no electricity. there you are seeing members of the park service, those who help maintain

and educate visitors about the family farm. and carter has really described those young years as full and enjoyable. he wrote that they were isolated but not lonely, that he felt close to nature, close to members of his family and close to god during those early years. it is where he helped out on the farm. it is where he also would simply run around in the woods with his friends and where he certainly, i suspect, formed that frugal nature of his for which he became so well known. steve osunsami what do you think of when you reflect on the early years of jimmy carter's life? >> you know, i've, i've, i've been at the boyhood home. and just to give you some geography, the boyhood home where the procession is right now, they have to actually pass by the carter's current home to get to

that boyhood home. it's a national park now. you can see that it was a farm and you see how small it was. and in this small town, you know, it's this little town and this little community, and the boyhood home sits at the end of that road, not too far from where the carters lived. i'm struck by a few things. one of the things we haven't really talked about as much is that, you know, a tent, this this was in this was in georgia. this was in georgia at a time where black americans did not enjoy the same freedoms as white americans. but carter, as a boy, saw this as an injustice. and he worked alongside black families and black children at his boyhood home. in this community. and you'll you'll in

the coming days, we will tell many stories about how that experience shaped him as a person, as and also as a policy maker. while he was governor of georgia and also as, as as a president. and one point, i want to also underline mary, too. you're seeing people come from all over the world to stand along these roads and say goodbye to jimmy carter, and now we are seeing the motorcade arriving there at his boyhood home. >> when the motorcade arrives, they're going to pause and cut the engines. and that's intentional, so that we will all have a moment to sort of hear the silence and the sounds of nature that jimmy carter used to hear and enjoy as a boy the sounds, the crowing of a rooster, the sounds of the goats, the wind, the birds, all

of the things that jimmy carter grew to love and enjoy and has said as much about his time growing up there. and then we're going to see a bell ringing ceremony. and this is the bell that a young jimmy carter woke up to every morning as a boy. it actually inspired his book an hour before daylight, those childhood memories of it ringing every day to wake the family and to start their day on the farm. mary jordan, an out back from the boyhood farm, is a pond. >> and in 2018, when i was talking to the carters, there was they were having dinner and they said, we just went fishing out back. and rosalynn said, and i caught the bigger fish. >> making a point to say that. let's pause for a moment and listen in. as jimmy carter now makes one final return to his boyhood home.

and there you hear those birds chirping the moment, as the carters had hoped it would be. standing there to ring the bell is randy carter. excuse me, randy dillard. he is a lifelong resident of south georgia. he worked previously as a park ranger at this very site. he now manages the jimmy carter national historical park and also karen barry, the administrative officer for the carter national historical park. they're going to ring the bell 39 times in honor of the 39th president.

this is the very same bell that woke a young jimmy carter. every morning, an hour before daylight, as he wrote, rousing the family for yet another day of work on the farm. and there we see randy dillard, park ranger at the site, now manages the jimmy carter

national historical park and so many of those other national park service employees, people who i suspect also spent a fair amount of time with the carter family and also maintaining the family home, which, as we've said, is now back in its as close to its original form as possible. mark updegrove, you've written about how his time on the family farm, of course, didn't just shape who jimmy carter was, it didn't just shape his values, but also so much of what he loved in life fishing, being outdoors, bird watching, all of those hobbies and that aspect of his life also formed here as well. >> you're absolutely right. this is so much a part of him in so many different ways, including those hobbies that you mentioned. he was an avid fly fisherman. he loved to bird watch. he was a woodworker, as was discussed before. i was once in his bedroom after church and with with him and rosalynn and my wife and she said, i thank

god i made the bed. and he patted the bed and said, yeah, but i made the bed. he had literally made the bed on which they slept. so i think the other thing that should be mentioned is the black community, which was which was talked about earlier, but in archery georgia, it was principally comprised by black families. there were 50 plus black families that lived there. the carters were one of the only white families in archery. so jimmy carter grew up among black playmates and relatively free of the racial prejudice that was so, so endemic to that part of the world, partly because his mother, his mother, rejected that jim crow segregation, and it would inform his stance. as governor, he ushered in a new breed of southern governors and the new south by saying at his inauguration, when he was when he was went into the governorship in 1971. i say to you frankly that the time for

segregation is over. >> and jon karl, you know, it strikes me that he certainly had this simple upbringing, and he carried that throughout his whole life as we were discussing, even in his post-presidency. you know, unlike so many others, jimmy carter didn't go on to give fancy speeches. he didn't join big boards. you know, being rich was never an ambition for him. he returned in many ways to this simple life from which he was raised. >> yeah. there's a model for ex-presidents that we've seen time and time again. and that is you leave the presidency, you can command hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions of dollars for a single speech. i joined corporate boards. you can have a quite lavish and high profile existence as a former president. we saw that before jimmy carter. we certainly have seen it after jimmy carter. but jimmy carter didn't really do any of that and