Former President Jimmy Carter is remembered for peacemaking and humanitarian causes. A high-ranking Syrian official makes unprecedented comments about relations with Israel to NPR. Families seek answers after a fiery airliner crash in South Korea. Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Anna Yukhananov, Andrew Sussman, Ryland Barton, Jan Johnson and Alice Woelfle. It was produced by Kaity Kline, Nia Dumas and Julie Depenbrock.. We get engineering support from Arthur Laurent. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

In our last episode of 2024, we go for a walk. Earlier this year, NPR's immigration reporter Jasmine Garsd and Code Switch producer Xavier Lopez spent a day in one of their favorite places in the world: Flushing Meadows Park in Queens, New York. It's a place they share with one of the most diverse communities in the world, a place where immigrants from around the globe gather to relax, recharge, and reconnect. Today on The Sunday Story, you'll hear an excerpt of an episode from NPR's Code Switch podcast. You can listen to the full episode here. And finally, we have a question for you. What's a place that you visit regularly–a place that lifts you up? We'd love to hear you tell us about it. You can send us a 2-3 minute voice memo at upfirstsunday@npr.org. Bonus points if you include sounds from the space you're in. Make sure to tell us your name and where you're speaking to us from, and we might share it in an episode in 2025. Thanks for spending your Sundays with us this year. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy