
Forthright and fearless, the Nobel Prize winner took pot-shots at former prime minister Tony Blair and ex-US president George W Bush among others. His death came after repeated bouts of illness in which images of the increasingly frail former president failed to erase memories of his fierce spirit. Democrat James Earl “Jimmy” Carter Jr swept to power in 1977 with his Trust Me campaign helping to beat Republican president Gerald Ford. Serving as 39th US president from 1977 to 1981, he sought to make government “competent and compassionate” but was ousted by the unstoppable Hollywood appeal of a certain Ronald Reagan. A skilled sportsman, Mr Carter left his home of Plains, Georgia, to join the US Navy, returning later to run his family’s peanut business. A stint in the Georgia senate lit the touchpaper on his political career and he rose to the top of the Democratic movement. But he will also be remembered for a bizarre encounter with a deeply disgruntled opponent. The president was enjoying a relaxing fishing trip near his home town in 1979 when his craft was attacked by a furious swamp rabbit which reportedly swam up to the boat hissing wildly. The press had a field day, with one paper bearing the headline President Attacked By Rabbit. Away from encounters with belligerent bunnies, Mr Carter’s willingness to address politically uncomfortable topics did not diminish with age. He recently said that he would be willing to travel to North Korea for peace talks on behalf of US President Donald Trump. He also famously mounted a ferocious and personal attack on Tony Blair over the Iraq war, weeks before the prime minister left office in June 2007. Mr Carter, who had already denounced George W Bush’s presidency as “the worst in history”, used an interview on BBC radio to condemn Mr Blair for his tight relations with Mr Bush, particularly concerning the Iraq War. Asked how he would characterise Mr Blair’s relationship with Mr Bush, Mr Carter replied: “Abominable. Loyal, blind, apparently subservient. “I think that the almost undeviating support by Great Britain for the ill-advised policies of President Bush in Iraq have been a major tragedy for the world.” Mr Carter was also voluble over the Rhodesia crisis, which was about to end during his presidency. His support for Robert Mugabe at the time generated widespread criticism. He was said to have ignored the warnings of many prominent Zimbabweans, black and white, about what sort of leader Mugabe would be. This was seen by Mr Carter’s critics as “deserving a prominent place among the outrages of the Carter years”. Mr Carter has since said he and his administration had spent more effort and worry on Rhodesia than on the Middle East. He admitted he had supported two revolutionaries in Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo, and with hindsight said later that Mugabe had been “a good leader gone bad”, having at first been “a very enlightened president”. One US commentator wrote: “History will not look kindly on those in the West who insisted on bringing the avowed Marxist Mugabe into the government. “In particular, the Jimmy Carter foreign policy... bears some responsibility for the fate of a small African country with scant connection to American national interests.” In recent years Mr Carter developed a reputation as an international peace negotiator. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his commitment to finding peaceful solutions to international conflicts, his work with human rights and democracy initiatives, and his promotion of economic and social programmes. Mr Carter was dispatched to North Korea in August 2008 to secure the release of US citizen Aijalon Mahli Gomes, who had been sentenced to eight years of hard labour after being found guilty of illegally entering North Korea. He successfully secured the release of Mr Gomes. In 2010 he returned to the White House to greet President Barack Obama and discuss international affairs amid rising tensions on the Korean peninsula. Proving politics runs in the family, in 2013 his grandson Jason, a state senator, announced his bid to become governor in Georgia, where his famous grandfather governed before becoming president. He eventually lost to incumbent Republican Nathan Deal. Fears that Mr Carter’s health was deteriorating were sparked in 2015 when he cut short an election observation visit in Guyana because he was “not feeling well”. It would have been Mr Carter’s 39th trip to personally observe an international election. Three months later, on August 12, he revealed he had cancer which had been diagnosed after he underwent surgery to remove a small mass in his liver. Mr Obama was among the well-wishers hoping for Mr Carter’s full recovery after it was confirmed the cancer had spread widely. Melanoma had been found in his brain and liver, and Mr Carter underwent immunotherapy and radiation therapy, before announcing in March the following year that he no longer needed any treatment. In 2017, Mr Carter was taken to hospital as a precaution, after he became dehydrated at a home-building project in Canada. He was admitted to hospital on multiple occasions in 2019 having had a series of falls, suffering a brain bleed and a broken pelvis, as well as a stint to be treated for a urinary tract infection. Mr Carter spent much of the coronavirus pandemic largely at his home in Georgia, and did not attend Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration in 2021, but extended his “best wishes”. Former first lady Rosalynn Carter, the closest adviser to Mr Carter during his term as US president, died in November 2023. She had been living with dementia and suffering many months of declining health. “Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” Mr Carter said in a statement following her death. “She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.”
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Jimmy Carter set the standard for the modern post-presidencyTicket to Ride launched and won the Spiel de Jahres 20 years ago. Along with Catan and Carcassonne , it is widely considered to have helped push the popularity of modern board gaming. The original title is really easy to pick up, just as easy to teach , and it has enough direct competition for routes to keep it interesting. But, after 20 years, you’re probably a bit sick of trying to get routes into Miami and Las Vegas. Fortunately, since its launch, Ticket to Ride has spawned an absolute ton of map packs and variants, most of which bring new game mechanics as well as alternative maps. Below are the 10 that we feel are the best. Note that the map collection sets below do require you to have either the original Ticket to Ride or Ticket to Ride: Europe to play them as you need the train cards and trains from one of these games. 1. Ticket to Ride: Rails & Sails Ticket to Ride is a game all about trains. Except when it isn’t. As the name suggests, Rails & Sails combines trains with boats. First, you can choose from the Great Lakes or the whole world map on the double-sided board. Then, once you’ve picked your destination cards, you split your transportation stock between trains and ships, and you can’t change your mind later. Substantial bonuses and penalties are awarded in this game, and while the original can be considered a bit light, Rails & Sails ’ complexity may put some people off. It also lasts longer, with a game taking around 90 minutes. 2. Ticket to Ride: Europe Ticket to Ride: Europe was one of the first standalone variants of the game and it introduced ferries and tunnels as well as stations. The European map is excellent and the new mechanics do add an extra layer but without over-complicating matters. This is still easy enough for beginners to grasp, although the original title remains the best teaching game of the bunch, and you can always add the Europa 1912 expansion for even more depth. 3. Ticket to Ride Map Collection 7: Japan & Italy Map Collection 7: Japan & Italy includes a double-sided board. In Japan, certain routes are reserved for the Bullet Train. Once a single player claims the Bullet Train route, all players contribute to the shared project. At the end of the game, points are awarded to players according to how much they contributed. There is also a separate inlay for routes that involve the Tokyo subway system. Italy has regions with bonuses for connecting more regions. There are also ferry routes, which require the use of ferry cards as well as standard train cards. 4. Ticket to Ride Map Collection 5: UK & Pennsylvania The UK side of the UK & Pennsylvania map pack adds a whole new mechanic of technology. Initially, players won’t be able to build many routes but, as the game progresses and more technology is researched, many options open up. Pennsylvania is similar to the original titles except it incorporates stocks and shares for some light investment action. 5. Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries is a standalone game that is similar to the original but does add a couple of location-specific mechanics – tunnels and ferries. To use a tunnel, the player flips the top 3 train cards from the deck. If one of these trains matches the color of the tunnel, the player has to pay extra or forego building the route. Ferries require the payment of a set number of wild cards to establish the route. 6. Ticket to Ride Map Collection 6: France & Old West The France board doesn’t have routes between cities. Instead, players turn cards and the routes could benefit anybody at the table. It ramps up the luck element of the game, which some people will appreciate. The Old West map is the one we prefer here, with players having a starting city. Routes must be built outwards from that starting point rather than anywhere on the board. 7. Ticket to Ride Map Collection 4: Nederland Nederland is a unique Ticket to Ride map because it incorporates money into the game. When a bridge route is first claimed, the player pays a toll to the bank. If another player claims that route, the first player receives the toll fee. Bonuses are awarded according to how many toll tokens players have at the end of the game. 8. Ticket to Ride: London Ticket to Ride: London is a standalone variant of the game that is especially popular for its brevity with a single game taking around 20 minutes to complete. In London, players are building bus routes rather than train routes, to complete destination tickets, connect districts, and, of course, get the most points by the end of the game. 9. Ticket to Ride: First Journey Ticket to Ride: First Journey is almost identical to the original Ticket to Ride , except it scores differently. Rather than adding up routes and calculating the longest contiguous route lengths, the winner of Ticket to Ride: First Journey or Ticket to Ride: First Journey (Europe) is the first player to complete six destination tickets. It’s a simpler system and is designed to keep the attention of younger players. 10. Ticket to Ride There’s a reason so many variants and expansions of the original have launched, and that’s because Ticket to Ride was and still is a brilliant game. Despite having a collection comprising some of the latest, greatest, and meatiest board games available, we still reach for Ticket to Ride when we want a simple, enjoyable, chilled family game. If you want to get into titles with greater complexity or added mechanics, Ticket to Ride is the best place to start, and if you want to play the map packs you will need one of the base games so you can use the trains and other elements of the game. And, in a lot of cases, if you have Ticket to Ride , you likely won’t need the versions aimed at children, unless they are very young.
The record will show that tight end Trey McBride had a great season, Marvin Harrison Jr. has a promising future, the Cardinals’ defense played over its head for much of the year and Arizona was almost a good football team in 2024. Key word — almost. A frustrating stretch continued on Saturday when the Cardinals (7-9) lost 13-9 to the host Los Angeles Rams . Arizona was pushing for a go-ahead touchdown in the final minute, but Kyler Murray’s pass took an unlucky bounce off McBride’s helmet and LA’s Ahkello Witherspoon made a spectacular grab for the interception, snagging the ball just before it hit the turf. “I think we can compete with anybody, but again, that doesn’t count,” second-year coach Jonathan Gannon said. “It’s about winning and losing, you what I mean? I just got to do a better job, but I know they’re doing the right things.” The Cardinals did a lot of things right against the Rams. Despite being eliminated from the postseason, Arizona competed hard. Murray completed 33 of 48 passes for 321 yards and a touchdown — but also had two interceptions. McBride caught 12 passes for 123 yards, including his first TD catch of the year. Harrison had one of his best games with six catches for 96 yards. “I’m going to choose to be positive about it,” Murray said. “I see a light at the end of that tunnel. I think we’re a couple plays away, a couple of plays away from being a 10-win team or right where we want to be, going to the playoffs or winning the division.” The Cardinals’ defense played well for most of the game, limiting the Rams to 257 yards. But in the end, it was another loss. The Cardinals have dropped five of six after starting 6-4. “I know we’re close, man, and I know it’s hard to see that,” Gannon said. “For me, that’s hard to take on the chin but we’ll get better from it. We’ll get better.” What’s working The Murray-to-Harrison connection was much better on Saturday, producing several big plays. Gannon challenged Harrison to be more physical against opposing defensive backs last week, and the receiver responded, looking much more like the player the Cardinals expected when they selected him with the No. 4 overall pick. “I think the physicality of it, coming from college to the league, guys don’t realize how physical you can be when you get to the league,” Murray said. “He’s going to be big time.” What needs help After doing a great job of taking care of the ball over the first 11 games, Murray has thrown seven interceptions over the past five. A few of those came in late-game situations when he had to take a chance and force a pass, but it’s still not a good trend. Stock up McBride had his third 100-yard game of the season, showing sure hands and fighting through contact for extra yards. The third-year player has 1,081 yards receiving this season, becoming just the second tight end in franchise history to exceed 1,000 yards. The other was Hall of Famer Jackie Smith, who had 1,205 yards in 1967. He has 104 catches and is just the 10th tight end in NFL history to top 100 in a season. Stock down Arizona’s special teams have been very good for most of the year, but Los Angeles’ block of an extra point attempt by Chad Ryland in the third quarter proved costly. If the Cardinals had trailed by three points on the final drive instead of four, they would have had the option of kicking a tying field goal in the final minute. Injuries RB James Conner tried to battle through a knee injury against the Rams, but gained just 4 yards on the ground. His status for the season’s final game is uncertain. LB Joey Blount (ribs) and CB Elijah Jones (ankle) were inactive. Key number 822 — Harrison’s receiving yards on the season. That ranks third for a rookie in franchise history behind Anquan Boldin (1,377 in 2003) and Frank Sanders (883 in 1995). Next steps Arizona’s final game will be at home on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, who are also eliminated from the playoff race. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
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Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. ( NASDAQ:MPWR – Get Free Report ) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, December 13th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of 1.25 per share by the semiconductor company on Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Monolithic Power Systems has increased its dividend payment by an average of 26.0% per year over the last three years. Monolithic Power Systems has a dividend payout ratio of 30.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Monolithic Power Systems to earn $13.34 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 37.5%. Monolithic Power Systems Trading Down 1.2 % NASDAQ:MPWR opened at $612.70 on Friday. Monolithic Power Systems has a 1-year low of $546.71 and a 1-year high of $959.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.08, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $668.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $797.50. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth MPWR has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Monolithic Power Systems from $1,100.00 to $975.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $900.00 target price on shares of Monolithic Power Systems in a report on Monday, November 11th. Loop Capital raised Monolithic Power Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $660.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Monolithic Power Systems from $1,000.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Monolithic Power Systems from $950.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $828.67. Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Monolithic Power Systems Insiders Place Their Bets In related news, EVP Deming Xiao sold 866 shares of Monolithic Power Systems stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $765.14, for a total value of $662,611.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 162,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,135,548.46. The trade was a 0.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website . Also, CFO Theodore Blegen sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,066,400. This trade represents a 4.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders sold a total of 20,100 shares of company stock valued at $17,153,021 in the last quarter. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Monolithic Power Systems Company Profile ( Get Free Report ) Monolithic Power Systems, Inc engages in the design, development, marketing, and sale of semiconductor-based power electronics solutions for the storage and computing, automotive, enterprise data, consumer, communications, and industrial markets. The company provides direct current (DC) to DC integrated circuits (ICs) that are used to convert and control voltages of various electronic systems, such as cloud-based CPU servers, server artificial intelligence applications, storage applications, commercial notebooks, digital cockpit, power sources, home appliances, 4G and 5G infrastructure, and satellite communications applications. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Monolithic Power Systems Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Monolithic Power Systems and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .
The Louisville Cardinals host a ranked team for the second time this week when the No. 9 Duke Blue Devils pay a visit on Sunday, and the Cardinals hope for a better outcome in the teams' Atlantic Coast Conference opener. Louisville (5-3) has lost two straight, including an 86-63 thrashing at home by No. 23 Ole Miss in the SEC/ACC Challenge on Tuesday. The visiting Rebels shot 56.7 percent and dominated inside with a 48-26 edge on points in the paint. Tuesday's game was the first for coach Pat Kelsey's team without Kasean Pryor, who suffered a season-ending knee injury against Oklahoma in the Battle 4 Atlantis championship game. The 6-foot-10 senior wing, a transfer from South Florida, was a key player early on for Louisville, averaging 12 points and 6.1 rebounds per game and blocking eight shots in seven games. Pryor is the latest Cardinals player to go down with an injury. Before the season started, the school announced center Aly Khalifa and guard Kobe Rodgers would redshirt due to injuries. Then just two games into the season, Aboubacar Traore broke his arm and Koren Johnson injured his shoulder. Traore is expected back this season, but Johnson announced earlier this week that he would also redshirt this season and undergo surgery. Besides the injuries, the Cardinals are also struggling to hit 3-point shots, a key facet to Kelsey's offense. Louisville entered Saturday 340th nationally in 3-point shooting percentage at 27.3 percent and seventh nationally averaging 31.6 attempts per game. Despite the woes, Kelsey told reporters after the Ole Miss loss that he doesn't plan to change his offense, adding that he believes in his players. "The percentages even themselves out," he said. "This has happened before. I just don't want our guys to lose confidence, because I really, really believe in them. They'll bounce back and be better on Sunday." The Blue Devils (6-2) won their SEC/ACC Challenge game on Wednesday, beating No. 2 Auburn 84-78 in Durham. Duke overcame a 13-2 deficit to get the Quadrant 1 victory on its resume. Coach Jon Scheyer's team shot 50 percent from the field and committed just four turnovers. It was just the 14th time in program history the Blue Devils had four or fewer turnovers in a game. Freshman Cooper Flagg, a preseason All-American and a contender for national player of the year awards, leads the Blue Devils in scoring (16.6 ppg), rebounding (8.6 rpg), assists (4.1 apg) and blocked shots (1.4 per game). He scored 22, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out four assists in the win against the Tigers, but it was another freshman who stole the show. Isaiah Evans came off the bench to score 18 points and hit 6 of 8 3-point shots. The guard averages 9.4 points per game but has only played in five games and has yet to play more than 17 minutes in a contest. Scheyer told reporters after the win that Evans provided a "special moment" when his team needed a lift. "To have that amazing courage to come into this game and do what he did -- I'm not sure if I've ever been a part of something like that in my years here," Scheyer said. --Field Level MediaNoneRescue animals treated to huge donation from Wallingford residents
ORONO, Maine (AP) — Caleb Mead ran for 113 yards and a touchdown and New Hampshire beat Maine 27-9 on Saturday in a season-ending contest for both teams. The Wildcats (8-4, 6-2 Coastal Athletic Association) spotted Maine to a 9-0 lead when Joey Bryson kicked a 39-yard field and Carter Peevy threw an 8-yard touchdown to Montigo Moss, all in the first quarter. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.