President Trump travels to Ireland for a little diplomacy and a whole lot of ...
At the same time, India hosts a summit meeting in some of the world's largest economies. Amai Sharasko. And I'm Scott Simon, and this is up first from NPR News. The summit includes some of the US's biggest rivals, Iran, China, and Russia.
But also crucial allies like Saudi Arabia will tell you what this means.
Also the latest into the investigations of a cargo plane crash in Miami that killed five people. And for years, some of Hollywood's biggest hits have been produced outside of the United States. Now Congress wants to change that.
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The grouping is called Bricks, and it represents about half of the world's population. China, Russia, and India lead the group.
“But Iran is also invited this time, along with the crucial US ally in the Middle East.”
And here's your national correspondent, D. Hadid, is covering all this from New Delhi. D.A., thanks for being with us. Thank you, Scott. What's the summit about? Well, Bricks is effectively a forum for emerging economies. It's aimed at countering longstanding Western dominance.
And there's leaders from more than a dozen countries who have turned up. And Scott, it's quite the gathering. China's president, Xi Jinping, and Russia's president Vladimir Putinahia. But for now, the attention is on those involved in the latest medieval swall, because the Iranian president is here.
And Iran has been striking off countries that are also at the summit. The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. And that's because Iran accuses them of backing the United States. And just to set the scene a bit, the summit today comes just a day after Iranian backfighters in Yemen. They're known as the Houthis, appear to consolidate control over another shipping route called Babel Mandib.
That route was emerging as an alternative for some Gulf oil exports through the Strait of Rumours. You might recall that Strait has been largely blocked since the medieval swall began in February. Dramatic ingredients for a meeting. How is it played out so far?
So far, the Iranian president, Masoad Pazesh Kehan, has told audiences here that Iran and Amman have agreed on a joint route through the Strait of Rumours, and they'll sign a deal on Monday. Now, we're seeking confirmation from Gulf states and also a response from President Trump because his previously threatened to bomb Amman. It's the other country that overlooks Australia from Moors, because President Trump is demanding
the unconditional reopening of the Strait. That Iran in President said something else that may well enraged the President as well. What did he say? He's called on bricks countries to build an alternative to the international payment system,
basically ditched the dollar, and this part was broadcast by the Indian outlet A&I.
To sign a public of Iran believes that economic resilience is not possible without diversifying trade partners, sources of financing and payment channels.
“The key words they've got are diversifying payment channels.”
And help us translate the touch means. It doesn't sound that exciting, but basically the bulk of all global trade presently is done in dollars, and that allows United States to impose punishing sanctions like on Russia and Iran. So these two countries, alongside other members of bricks, have long called for the development
of payment systems that bypass the dollar, and that would diminish American influence.
During last year's Brick Summit, President Trump threatened extra tariffs on ...
that he said aligned with the anti-American policies of bricks.
“You said even a realistic proposition to replace the dollar in international transactions?”
Experts say that's unlikely for now, if only because of conflicts between bricks, nations themselves, like United Arab Emirates, for instance, which recently halted all trade with Iran.
But these nations do represent about a third of all global trade.
Christopher Walker, the Vice President at the Think Tank, the Center for European Policy Analysis warns against complacency, because he says America's biggest rival China is assuming a dominant role in bricks. They now see the grouping more as a geopolitical counterweight to the U.S. This is certainly one of the Chinese leadership's ambitions to flex its muscles.
We absolutely should be concerned. And with China hosting the summit next year, we can expect more of these muscular assertions of independence from the United States. And here's Dia Hadid in New Delhi. Thanks so much.
You're welcome, Scott.
“The crash of an Amazon cargo plane earlier this week in Miami left five people dead.”
The accident is raising concerns about the little-known carrier that operated the flight.
Somebody's name is 21 Air, and former employees there have been warning about its safety practices years before this week's crash. And here's Joel Rose has been following this story. Joel, thanks for being with us. Hey, Scott.
Before we start, we ought to note that Amazon is a financial supporter of NPR and pays to distribute some of our content. What do we know about the crash so far? Investigators have not given a probable cause yet, but they have released some evidence from the cockpit, voice recorder, and the flight data recorder.
And that picture looks bad for the pilots. One pilot told the other that they were going too fast. There were multiple automatic warnings in the cockpit.
“But the pilots went ahead with this landing anyway, hurtling about 1,300 feet past the end”
of the runway, crashing into two vehicles on the ground. Five people were killed, five more were injured. What are other pilots say? I talked to Ross Amir, he's a former airline captain for United Airlines, now an aviation industry consultant.
Here's some of what he told me.
In my 60 years of flying up, never seen such a terrible performance from a crew member.
It was a very, very unstable approach from the beginning from get-go. Amir says that pilots in this situation are trained to go around and attempt the landing again, and he does not understand why the pilots in this case did not do that. So it could be a case of inexperience. The captain was certified on the Boeing 767 for less than five months.
The first officer for only a year and a half. Amir says that cargo airlines like 21 air in this case can be a stepping stone for pilots who are on their way to other airlines. But typically an inexperience pilot would be paired with a more experienced one. Rachel, did you talk to a former pilot at 21 air?
What did he have to say? Yes, I talked to Carl Suring, he's a veteran pilot, and the former president of 21 air is pilot union. Suring said that the carrier had trouble attracting good pilots because it did not pay as much as other carriers.
My perspective on that is if we want to get experienced pilots here, we have to go to compensate them. And then unfortunately, you know, when that was lower than standard, then guys would simply go elsewhere with opportunities that look more promising. Suring, I should know it was fired in 2022, he says in retaliation for raising concerns
about safety. He has now filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the company. As part of that case, several other former employees say they too were concerned and that the company discouraged them from reporting their safety concerns. The company disputed those allegations in testimony for the case.
21 air did not respond to our requests for comment, but they did give a statement to the Wall Street Journal, quote, "Our entire organization has focused on deploying the right training protocols and procedures in all aspects of operational safety." Unquote, the company also said it would evaluate the findings of the investigators in this case.
How much is Amazon rely on companies like 21 air? So Amazon has a network of contract carriers at the moment. There are nine of them with more than 100 jets, according to the aviation analytics company Sirium. And that includes some pretty familiar names, Alaska and Allegiant Airlines.
Among them, critics, though wonder why the company is using some of these smaller carriers including 21 air, which Captain Ross Amir called a "fly-by-night operation." Amazon vigorously disputed that description and the statement the company said that this is standard practice across the aviation industry and that Amazon contracts with carriers
That are certified by safety regulators at the Federal Aviation Administration.
And Amazon spokesperson said, "Nothing is more important to us than safety," unquote.
“What's the next step for the investigation into the Miami crash?”
Amazon and 21 air both say that they are cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board. The Chair, Jennifer Hammondy, says investigators are seeking to understand how these two companies work together, what sort of safety policies are in place. Hammondy said this week that she was not familiar with the safety complaints about 21
air, but she did urge anyone with anything relevant to share. You get in touch, typically the NTSB releases a preliminary report within about a month of an accident. And Perestrole Rose, thanks so much, you're welcome. For years now, many of America's biggest films and TV shows have been produced outside
the United States. Tax cuts and rebates have learned Hollywood abroad. But lawmakers are taking note, Congress's now set to debate a federal tax credit bill to entice productions to remain in the United States.
“In Perestrole's culture correspondent, Mandelite Del Barco joins me now from Los Angeles.”
Hi, Mandelite. Hello. So, tell us what's in this bill?
Yes, it's a design to offer tax credits, possibly 20 to 30 percent of our productions
cost, to production companies and studios that make their films TV shows and other entertainment inside the U.S. that would be in addition to tax credits or rebates already being offered in states like Georgia, Texas, and more recently, California. You know, I spoke to Congresswoman Laura Friedman, who represents Los Angeles. For 20 years, she was an independent film producer and also worked at Paramount and HBO.
I can tell you as someone who moved across the country to follow that dream of being in the entertainment industry, it's very aspirational. It employs people across a wide sector of crafts and occupations. It's creative. And we're losing that in this country.
And that's on us. I want this country to choose to be the world's leader in entertainment and content. You know, Friedman is one of the authors of the bipartisan bill that's being introduced to Congress soon.
She says this really is a jobs bill for an industry that employs almost 2.5 million people
and supports thousands of small businesses across the country. How big a deal is this issue of productions being made elsewhere? Well for people who work in film and TV production, this is a huge deal on top of so many other changes in the industry, including fewer and fewer film and TV production jobs in Los Angeles, which for so long was the entertainment capital.
I spoke with Joel Dockerty. He's a sound re-recordedist for a lot of big movies, and he told me there's so little work in LA now that some of his colleagues have quit the business. Others have to constantly travel or relocate their families for work. Or if they can't do that, they're replaced in countries where producers are cutting costs.
I have no idea what will actually bring the jobs back. I think it's worth trying to level the playing field, but I don't know what will stop the
“people from just trying to find the cheapest thing they can find rather than the best thing”
they can find. Now Dockerty says he's hopeful about the federal tax credit adding to the new state incentives such as a new bill in California for post-production that's headed to the governor to sign. But the National Bill supporters emphasize this is not just a Hollywood thing, and it's
not just for the expense of movie stars. How did this all start with productions going to other countries? Well, it's known in the business as runaway production, film and TV shows have been off-shoring ever since Canada began offering tax credits in the mid-1990s, then producers began chasing after incentives, rebates and grants in Australia, the UK, and other countries around the
world. Friedman says the U.S. is actually late in offering federal incentives. President Trump has endorsed the idea of a federal tax credit, what can you tell us about that? Yeah, so last year, Trump named three A-Listers to be as Hollywood ambassadors.
So Vester Stallone, Mel Gibson, and John Voide. Well, Voide and his associates have met up with the president a few times.
After their first meet-up Trump posted on his social media website truth social, he'd impose
a 100% tariffs on movies made outside the U.S. That led to a lot of confusion, and ultimately it went nowhere. But now Trump is supporting the proposed legislation, which has a very long name. The motion picture television and entertainment revitalization act. Many people in the industry hope that leads to a comeback for Hollywood.
We'll see. That's in PR's Mandelite, Dale Barco, and Los Angeles. Thank you so much. Thank you. And that's up first for Saturday, September 12th, 2026.
I'm Scott Simon.
And I'm Ayy Sharasko.
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