BRICS Summit in India, Amazon Air Plane Crash, Federal Film Tax Bill

0:02President Trump travels to Ireland for a little diplomacy and a whole lot of golf. At the same time, India hosts a summit meeting in some of the world's largest economies. I'm Ayesha Rascoe. And I'm Scott Simon, and this is Up First from NPR News. The summit includes some of the U.S.'s biggest rivals, Iran, China, and Russia, but also crucial allies like Saudi Arabia. We'll 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.

0:43So stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your weekend.

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1:38I was doing all of these things that were pretty straightforward to implement. I just needed to spend my time doing them. Betterment automates the same practices so that I know I'm doing portfolio management and goal-based planning without me having to spend hours of my life doing it. Learn more at Betterment.com. Investing involves risk, performance not guaranteed. Today in New Delhi, some of the world's largest economies gather for a high-stakes summit. The grouping is called BRICS, 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 a crucial U.S.

2:16ally in the Middle East. And here's international correspondent, Dia Hadid, is covering all this from New Delhi. Dia, thanks for being with us. Thank you, Scott. What's the summit about? Well, BRICS 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've turned up. And Scott, it's quite the gathering. China's President Xi Jinping and Russia's President Vladimir Putin are here. But for now, the attention is on those involved in the latest Mideast war because the Iranian president is here.

2:50And Iran has been striking Gulf 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 back fighters in Yemen, they're known as the Houthis, appeared to consolidate control over another shipping route called Baab al-Mandeb. That route was emerging as an alternative for some Gulf oil exports through the Strait of Ramuz. You might recall that strait has been largely blocked since the Middle East War began in February.

3:27Dramatic ingredients for a meeting. How has it played out so far? So far, the Iranian president, Masaud Pezashkian, has told audiences here that Iran and Oman have agreed on a joint route through the Strait of Hamuz and they'll sign a deal on Monday. Now, we're seeking confirmation from Gulf states and also a response from President Trump because he's previously threatened to bomb Oman. it's the other country that overlooks the Strait of Hormuz because President Trump is demanding the unconditional reopening of the strait. The Iranian president said something else that may well enrage the president as well.

4:03What did he say? He's called on BRICS countries to build an alternative to the international payment system, basically ditch the dollar. And this part was broadcast by the Indian outlet ANI. The Republic of Iran believes that economic resilience is not possible without diversifying trade partners, sources of financing and payment channels. The key words there, Scott, are diversifying payment channels. And help us translate what that means. It doesn't sound that exciting, but basically the bulk of all global trade presently is done in dollars. And that allows the United States to impose punishing sanctions like on Russia and Iran.

4:47So these two countries, alongside other members of BRICS, have long called for the development of payment systems that bypass the dollar. And that would diminish American influence. During last year's BRICS summit, President Trump threatened extra tariffs on countries that he said aligned with the anti-American policies of BRICS. Is it even a realistic proposition to replace the dollar in international transactions? Experts say that's unlikely for now, if only because of conflicts between BRICS nations themselves, like the United Arab Emirates, for instance, which recently halted all trade with Iran.

5:22But 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 BRICS. 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.

6:02And here's Dia Hadid in New Delhi. Thanks so much. You're welcome, Scott.

6:14The 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. The company's name is 21 Air, and former employees there have been warning about its safety practices years before this week's crash. NPR's Joel Rose has been following the 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.

6:57And 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 do other pilots say? I talked to Ross Amer. 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, I've never seen such a terrible performance from a crew member.

7:34It was a very, very unstable approach from the beginning, from get-go. Amor 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. Though 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. Amher says that cargo airlines like 21AIR, in this case, can be a stepping stone for pilots who are on their way to other airlines. But typically, an inexperienced pilot would be paired with a more experienced one.

8:10Joel, you talked to a former pilot at 21AIR. What did he have to say? Yes, I talked to Carl Suring. He's a veteran pilot and the former president of 21AIR's 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 be willing 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. Sering, I should note, was fired in 2022. He says in retaliation for raising concerns about safety.

8:49He 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. 21Aire 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.

9:25Joel, how much does Amazon rely on companies like 21AIR? 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 21Air, which Captain Ross Amor called a, quote, fly-by-night operation. Amazon vigorously disputed that description. In a 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.

10:06An Amazon spokesperson said, quote, nothing is more important to us than safety, unquote. What's the next step for the investigation into the Miami crash? Amazon and 21AIR both say that they are cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board. The chair, Jennifer Homendy, says investigators are seeking to understand how these two companies work together, what sort of safety policies are in place. Homendy said this week that she was not familiar with the safety complaints about 21AIR, but she did urge anyone with anything relevant to share to get in touch. Typically, the NTSB releases a preliminary report within about a month of an accident.

10:41And Paris Joel Rose, thanks so much. You're welcome.

10:54For years now, many of America's biggest films and TV shows have been produced outside the United States. Tax cuts and rebates have lured Hollywood abroad. But lawmakers are taking note. Congress is now set to debate a federal tax credit bill to entice productions to remain in the United States. NPR's culture correspondent Mandelit Del Barco joins me now from Los Angeles. Hi, Mandelit. Hello. So tell us, what's in this bill? Yes, it's designed to offer tax credits, possibly 20 to 30 percent of a production's cost, to production companies and studios that make their films, TV shows, and other entertainment inside the U.S.

11:35That 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.

12:17You 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 two and a half 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 Dougherty.

12:52He's a sound re-recordist for a lot of big movies. And he told me there's so little work in L.A. 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, Doherty says he's hopeful about the federal tax credit adding to the new state incentives, such as a new bill in California for post-productions that's headed to the governor to sign.

13:34But the national bill's supporters emphasize this is not just a Hollywood thing, and it's not just for the expensive 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 offshoring ever since Canada began offering tax credits in the mid-1990s. Then producers began chasing after incentives, rebates and grants in Australia, the U.K., 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.

14:12What can you tell us about that? Yeah, so last year, Trump named three A-listers to be his Hollywood ambassadors, Sylvester Stallone, Mel Gibson, and John Voight. Well, Voight and his associates have met up with the president a few times. After their first meetup, 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.

14:50We'll see. That's NPR's Mandelit Del Barco in Los Angeles. Thank you so much. Thank you.

15:00And that's up first for Saturday, September 12th, 2026. I'm Scott Simon. And I'm Aisha Roscoe. Dave Mistich produced today's podcast with help from Dave O 'Connor and Ryan Bink. Our editor was Fernando Naro, along with Vincent Nee, Jennifer Portman, Russell Lewis, and Melissa Gray. Our director is Andy Craig. Our technical director is Jay Sizz, assisted by Simon Laszlo Jansen, Zovankenhoven, and Stacey Abbott. Our deputy managing editor is Catherine Laidlaw. Our executive producer is Evie Stone. And Shannon Rhodes is our senior supervising editor. Tomorrow on the Sunday story, the trial of Lindsay Clancy showed us about the way we look at maternal mental health.

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