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So mark your calendars and get ready to witness the return of the mischievous demon child as he once again takes center stage in "Ne Zha 2: Resurrection," coming to theaters this Chinese New Year's Day. Get ready to be dazzled, delighted, and inspired as Ne Zha gears up for another epic battle and proves that he truly is a hero for the ages.
Some of Blake Lively's co-stars from It Ends With Us are standing with the actress amid her sexual harassment lawsuit against Justin Baldoni . On Friday, Dec. 20, the actress filed a lawsuit against Justin and accused him of misconduct on set such as sexual harassment . She also accused the actor of a smear campaign against her on social media after the film's release to tarnish her reputation. She claimed that Justin's behavior caused her and her family "severe emotional harm." Justin Baldoni denied the allegations with his lawyer calling the lawsuit "shameful" and full of "categorically false accusations." Two of her co-stars —Brandon Sklenar and Jenny Slate — have spoken out recently following her lawsuit, adding to the string of support The Gossip Girl alum has garnered . Justin Baldoni loses award from women’s organization after Blake Lively sexual harassment lawsuit Blake Lively's past co-stars praise her for 'fighting back' at Justin Baldoni's 'vindictive efforts' Brandon on his Instagram Story on Monday, December 23, posted a screenshot of the New York Times article that was Blake's legal complaint with the words, "For the love of god read this." In those words, he also linked the article and tagged Blake with a red heart emoji by her name. Jenny shared her support for Blake in an statement to TODAY on December 23. She said: "As Blake Lively’s castmate and friend, I voice my support as she takes action against those reported to have planned and carried out an attack on her reputation. Blake is a leader, loyal friend and a trusted source of emotional support for me and so many who know and love her." She added: "What has been revealed about the attack on Blake is terribly dark, disturbing, and wholly threatening. I commend my friend, I admire her bravery, and I stand by her side." Brandon played Atlas Corrigan, the childhood love of Blake's character, in It Ends With Us. While Jenny portrayed Allysa Kincaid who is the sister of Ryle Kincaid and the sister-in-law of Blake's Lily Bloom. Justin played the Ryle Kincaid, Lily's abusive husband, and directed the film as well. The film is based on Colleen Hoover's book of the same name. The author also recently threw her support at Blake in an Instagram Story on Saturday, December 21. She posted a photo of the two hugging, along with the words: "@blakelively you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met. Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt." She additionally added a link to a New York Times article titled We Can Bury Anyone: Inside A Hollywood Smear Machine. The article takes a detailed look inside alleged smear campaign against Blake by Justin and his team. DAILY NEWSLETTER: Sign up here to get the latest news and updates from the Mirror US straight to your inbox with our FREE newsletter.
Ex-DePaul guard leads N. Illinois against Chris Holtmann's Blue Demons
Amidst the envy and admiration, there was also a sense of curiosity and wonder surrounding the choices and aspirations of Li Xiang and Wang Shilong. What drives them to pursue such opulence and ambition? How do they navigate the challenges and responsibilities that come with their status and goals? These questions lingered in the minds of fans, adding a layer of intrigue and fascination to the already captivating story of a mother and daughter living the high life.Manson Market, known for its clandestine platform offering a wide range of illegal services and products, has long been a thorn in the side of authorities. The marketplace served as a hub for hackers, data breaches, malware, and other cyber-related criminal activities, providing a haven for cybercriminals to conduct illicit transactions anonymously.
In the coming months, as talks between Barcelona and Fati's camp progress, fans will be eagerly awaiting news of a resolution. Whether Fati remains at the club, signs a new contract, or explores other opportunities, the young forward's future is sure to be a topic of intense speculation and debate. Whatever the outcome, it is clear that Ansu Fati's talent and potential make him a player worth investing in, and Barcelona will undoubtedly do everything in their power to secure his future at the club.6. Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea) - The German defender has been a rock at the back for Chelsea in recent years. Talks of a contract extension have been ongoing, but negotiations have yet to reach a resolution.
Ghana counts ballots after tight presidential raceAs the world looks on in awe at China's table tennis dominance, it is clear that the Chinese national team's legacy of success is built on a foundation of hard work, perseverance, and a relentless pursuit of greatness. Their unwavering commitment to excellence serves as an inspiration to aspiring table tennis players everywhere, encouraging them to push their limits, hone their skills, and strive for their own moments of glory on the international stage.
My Single Biggest Regret As A REIT InvestorThe challenge involved tasks such as waking up at 5 AM every day, maintaining a strict diet, exercising regularly, and abstaining from alcohol and smoking. Participants were required to record their daily progress and submit it to the organizers for evaluation.
No. 6 Purdue routs Marshall
Jimmy Carter, a peanut farmer and little-known Georgia governor who became the 39th president of the United States, promising “honest and decent” government to Watergate-weary Americans, and later returned to the world stage as an influential human rights advocate and Nobel Peace Prize winner, has died. He was 100. When his turbulent presidency ended after a stinging reelection loss in 1980, Carter retreated to Plains, his political career over. Over the four decades that followed, though, he forged a legacy of public service, building homes for the needy, monitoring elections around the globe and emerging as a fearless and sometimes controversial critic of governments that mistreated their citizens. He lived longer than any U.S. president in history and was still regularly teaching Bible classes at his hometown Maranatha Baptist Church well into his 90s. During his post-presidency, he also wrote more than 30 books, including fiction, poetry, deeply personal reflections on his faith, and commentaries on Middle East strife. Though slowed by battles with brain and liver cancer and a series of falls and hip replacement in recent years, he returned again and again to his charity work and continued to offer occasional political commentary, including in support of mail-in voting ahead of the 2020 presidential election. Carter was in his first term as Georgia governor when he launched his campaign to unseat President Gerald Ford in the 1976 election. At the time, the nation was still shaken by President Richard Nixon’s resignation in the Watergate scandal and by the messy end of the Vietnam War. As a moderate Southern Democrat, a standard-bearer of what was then regarded as a more racially tolerant “new South,” Carter promised a government “as good and honest and decent and competent and compassionate and as filled with love as are the American people.” But some of the traits that had helped get Carter elected — his willingness to take on the Washington establishment and his preference for practicality over ideology — didn’t serve him as well in the White House. He showed a deep understanding of policy, and a refreshing modesty and disregard for the ceremonial trappings of the office, but he was unable to make the legislative deals expected of a president. Even though his Democratic Party had a majority in Congress throughout his presidency, he was impatient with the legislative give-and-take and struggled to mobilize party leaders behind his policy initiatives. His presidency also was buffeted by domestic crises — rampant inflation and high unemployment, as well as interminable lines at gas stations triggered by a decline in the global oil supply exacerbated by Iran’s Islamic Revolution. “Looking back, I am struck by how many unpopular objectives we pursued,” Carter acknowledged in his 2010 book, “White House Diary.” “I was sometimes accused of ‘micromanaging’ the affairs of government and being excessively autocratic,” he continued, “and I must admit that my critics probably had a valid point.” Carter’s signature achievements as president were primarily on the international front, and included personally brokering the Camp David peace accords between Egypt and Israel, which have endured for more than 40 years. But it was another international crisis — the storming of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran by Iranian revolutionaries and the government’s inability to win the release of 52 Americans taken hostage — that would cast a long shadow on his presidency and his bid for reelection. Carter authorized a secret military mission to rescue the hostages in April 1980, but it was aborted at the desert staging area; during the withdrawal, eight servicemen were killed when a helicopter crashed into a transport aircraft. The hostages were held for 444 days, a period that spanned Carter’s final 15 months in the White House. They were finally freed the day his successor, Ronald Reagan, took the oath of office. Near the end of Carter’s presidency, one poll put his job approval rating at 21% — lower than Nixon’s when he resigned in disgrace and among the lowest of any White House occupant since World War II. In a rarity for an incumbent president, Carter faced a formidable primary challenge in 1980 from Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, a favorite of the Democratic Party’s liberal wing. Although Carter prevailed, his nomination was in doubt until the party’s August convention. The enmity between Carter and Kennedy, two of the most important Democratic political figures of their generation, continued throughout their lives. In Kennedy’s memoir, published shortly after his death in 2009, he called Carter petty and guilty of “a failure to listen.” While promoting the publication of “White House Diary,” Carter said Kennedy had “deliberately” blocked Carter’s comprehensive healthcare proposals in the late 1970s in hopes of defeating the president in the primary. In the 1980 general election, Carter faced Reagan, then 69, who campaigned on a promise to increase military spending and rescue the economy by cutting taxes and decreasing regulation. Carter lost in a 51% to 41% thumping — he won just six states and the District of Columbia — that devastated the man known for his toothy smile and sent him back to his hometown, an ex-president at 56. A year later, he and Rosalynn founded the Carter Center, which pressed for peaceful solutions to world conflicts, promoted human rights and worked to eradicate disease in the poorest nations. The center, based in Atlanta, launched a new phase of Carter’s public life, one that would move the same historians who called Carter a weak president to label him one of America’s greatest former leaders. His post-presidential years were both “historic and polarizing,” as Princeton University historian Julian E. Zelizer put it in a 2010 biography of Carter. Zelizer said Carter “refused to be constrained politically when pursuing his international agenda” as an ex-president, and became “an enormously powerful figure on the international stage.” When Carter appeared on “The Colbert Report” in 2014, host Stephen Colbert asked him, “You invented the idea of the post-presidency. What inspired you to do that?” “I didn’t have anything else to do,” Carter replied. He traveled widely to mediate conflicts and monitor elections around the world, joined Habitat for Humanity to promote “sweat equity” for low-income homeownership, and became a blunt critic of human rights abuses. He angered conservatives and some liberals by advocating negotiations with autocrats — and his criticism of Israeli leaders and support for Palestinian self-determination angered many Jews. A prolific author, Carter covered a range of topics, including the Middle East crisis and the virtues of aging and religion. He penned a memoir on growing up in the rural South as well as a book of poems, and he was the first president to write a novel — “The Hornet’s Nest,” about the South during the Revolutionary War. He won three Grammy Awards as well for best spoken-word album, most recently in 2019 for “Faith: A Journey For All.” As with many former presidents, Carter’s popularity rose in the years after he left office. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for “decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts” and to advance democracy and human rights. By then, two-thirds of Americans said they approved of his presidency. “Jimmy Carter may never be rated a great president,” wrote Charles O. Jones, a University of Wisconsin political scientist, in his chronicle of the Carter presidency. “Yet it will be difficult in the long run to sustain censure of a president motivated to do what is right.” :::: The journey for James Earl Carter Jr. began on Oct. 1, 1924, in the tiny Sumter County, Georgia, town of Plains, home to fewer than 600 people in 2020. He was the first president born in a hospital, but he lived in a house without electricity or indoor plumbing until he was a teenager. His ancestors had been in Georgia for more than two centuries, and he was the fifth generation to own and farm the same land. His father, James Earl Carter Sr., known as Mr. Earl, was a strict disciplinarian and a conservative businessman of some means. His mother, known as Miss Lillian, had more liberal views — she was known for her charity work and for taking in transients and treating Black residents with kindness. (At the age of 70, she joined the Peace Corps, working in India.) Inspired by an uncle who was in the Navy, Carter decided as a first-grader that he wanted to go to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. He became the first member of his family to finish high school, then attended Georgia Tech before heading for the academy, where he studied engineering and graduated in 1946, 59th in a class of 820. Before his last year in Annapolis, while home for the summer, he met Eleanor Rosalynn Smith, a friend of his sister Ruth’s. He and a friend invited the two young women to the movies, and when he returned home that night, he told his mother he had met “the girl I want to marry.” He proposed that Christmas, but Rosalynn declined because she felt she was too young (she was 18 and a sophomore in college). Several weeks later, while she was visiting Carter at the academy, he asked again. This time she said yes. Carter applied to America’s new nuclear-powered submarine program under the command of the icy and demanding Capt. (later Adm.) Hyman Rickover. During Carter’s interview, Rickover asked whether he had done his best at Annapolis. “I started to say, ‘Yes, sir,’ but ... I recalled several of the many times at the Academy when I could have learned more about our allies, our enemies, weapons, strategy and so forth,” Carter wrote in his autobiography. “... I finally gulped and said, ‘No, sir, I didn’t always do my best.’” To which Rickover replied: “Why not?” Carter got the job, and would later make “Why not the best?” his campaign slogan. The Carters had three sons, who all go by nicknames — John William “Jack,” James Earl “Chip” and Donnel Jeffrey “Jeff.” Carter and Rosalynn had wanted to have more children, but an obstetrician said that surgery Rosalynn had to remove a tumor on her uterus would make that impossible. Fifteen years after Jeffrey was born, the Carters had a daughter, Amy, who “made us young again,” Carter would later write. While in the Navy, Carter took graduate courses in nuclear physics and served as a submariner on the USS Pomfret. But his military career was cut short when his father died, and he moved back to Georgia in 1953 to help run the family business, which was in disarray. In his first year back on the farm, Carter turned a profit of less than $200, the equivalent of about $2,200 today. But with Rosalynn’s help, he expanded the business. In addition to farming 3,100 acres, the family soon operated a seed and fertilizer business, warehouses, a peanut-shelling plant and a cotton gin. By the time he began his campaign for the White House 20 years later, Carter had a net worth of about $800,000, and the revenue from his enterprises was more than $2 million a year. Carter entered electoral politics in 1962, and asked voters to call him “Jimmy.” He ran for a seat in the Georgia Senate against an incumbent backed by a local political boss who stuffed the ballot box. Trailing by 139 votes after the primary, Carter waged a furious legal battle, which he described years later in his book “Turning Point.” Carter got a recount, the primary result was reversed, and he went on to win the general election. The victory was a defining moment for Carter, the outsider committed to fairness and honesty who had successfully battled establishment politicians corrupted by their ties to special interests. In two terms in the Georgia Senate, Carter established a legislative record that was socially progressive and fiscally conservative. He first ran for governor in 1966, but finished third in the primary. Over the next four years, he made 1,800 speeches and shook hands with an estimated 600,000 people — a style of campaigning that paid off in the 1970 gubernatorial election and later in his bid for the White House. In his inaugural address as governor in 1971, Carter made national news by declaring that “the time for racial discrimination is over.” He had a portrait of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. hung in a hall at the Capitol in Atlanta. But when Carter launched his official campaign for the White House in December 1974, he was still so little-known outside Georgia that a celebrity panel on the TV show “What’s My Line?” couldn’t identify him. In the beginning, many scoffed at the temerity of a peanut farmer and one-term governor running for the highest office in the land. After Carter met with House Speaker Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill Jr., the speaker was asked whom he had been talking to. “Some fellow named Jimmy Carter from Georgia. Says he’s running for president,” O’Neill replied. In a meeting with editors of the Los Angeles Times in 1975, Carter said he planned to gain the presidency by building a network of supporters and by giving his candidacy an early boost by winning the Iowa caucuses. Until then, Iowa had been a bit player in the nominating process, mostly ignored by strategists. But Carter’s victory there vaulted him to front-runner status — and Iowa into a major role in presidential nominations. His emergence from the pack of Democratic hopefuls was helped by the release of his well-reviewed autobiography “Why Not the Best?” in which he described his upbringing on the farm and his traditional moral values. On the campaign trail, Carter came across as refreshingly candid and even innocent — an antidote to the atmosphere of scandal that had eroded confidence in public officials since the events leading to Nixon’s resignation on Aug. 9, 1974. A Baptist Sunday school teacher, Carter was among the first presidential candidates to embrace the label of born-again Christian. That was underscored when, in an interview with Playboy magazine, he made headlines by admitting, “I’ve looked on many women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times. God knows I will do this and forgives me.” Carter had emerged from the Democratic National Convention in July with a wide lead over Ford, Nixon’s vice president and successor, but by the time of the Playboy interview in September, his numbers were tumbling. By election day, the contest was a dead heat. Carter, running on a ticket with Walter F. Mondale for his vice president, eked out a victory with one of the narrower margins in U.S. presidential history, winning 50.1% to 48% of the popular vote and 297 electoral votes, 27 more than needed. Many of Carter’s supporters hoped he would usher in a new era of liberal policies. But he saw his role as more of a problem-solver than a politician, and as an outsider who promised to shake things up in Washington, he often acted unilaterally. A few weeks into his term, Carter announced that he was cutting off federal funding to 18 water projects around the country to save money and protect the environment. Lawmakers, surprised by the assault on their pet projects, were livid. He ultimately backed down on some of the cuts. But his relationship with Congress never fully healed. Members often complained that they couldn’t get in to see him, and that when they did he was in a rush to show them the door. His relationship with the media, as he acknowledged later in life, was similarly fraught. Carter’s image as a reformer also took a hit early in his presidency after he appointed Bert Lance, a longtime confidant, to head the Office of Management and Budget. Within months of the appointment, questions were raised about Lance’s personal financial affairs as a Georgia banker. Adamant that Lance had done nothing wrong, Carter dug in his heels and publicly told his friend, “Bert, I’m proud of you.” Still, Lance resigned under pressure, and although he was later acquitted of criminal charges, the damage to Carter had been done. As Mondale later put it: “It made people realize that we were no different than anybody else.” When Carter did score legislative victories, the cost was high. In 1978, he pushed the Senate to ratify the Panama Canal treaties to eventually hand control of the canal over to Panama. But conservatives criticized the move as a diminution of U.S. strength, and even the Democratic National Committee declined to endorse it. Carter’s most significant foreign policy accomplishment was the 1978 Camp David agreement, a peace pact between Israel and Egypt. But he followed that with several unpopular moves, including his decree that the United States would not participate in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, as a protest against the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan. It was the only time in Olympic history that the United States had boycotted an Olympics; the Soviets responded by boycotting the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Carter had taken a series of largely symbolic steps to dispel the imperial image of the presidency. After he took the oath of office on a wintry day, he and the new first lady emerged from their motorcade and walked part of the way from the Capitol to the White House. He ended chauffeur-driven cars for top staff members, sold the presidential yacht, went to the White House mess hall for lunch with the staff and conducted town meetings around the country. He suspended the playing of “Hail to the Chief” whenever he arrived at an event, though he later allowed the practice to resume. On the domestic front, he was saddled with a country in crisis. Inflation galloped at rates up to 14%, and global gasoline shortages closed service stations and created high prices and long lines. Interest rates for home mortgages soared above 14%. In his first televised fireside chat, he wore a cardigan sweater and encouraged Americans to conserve energy during the winter by keeping their thermostats at 65 degrees in the daytime and 55 degrees at night. He also proposed a string of legislative initiatives to deal with the crisis, but many were blocked by Congress. In what would become a seminal moment in his presidency, Carter addressed the nation — and a television audience of more than 60 million — on a Sunday evening in 1979, saying the country had been seized by a “crisis of confidence ... that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will.” He outlined a series of proposals to develop new sources of energy. The address, widely known as the “malaise speech” even though Carter never used that word, was generally well-received at the time, though some bristled at the implication that Americans were to blame for the country’s problems. Any positive glow disappeared two days later, when Carter fired five of his top officials, including the Energy, Treasury and Transportation secretaries and his attorney general. The value of the dollar sank and the stock market tumbled. Sensing that Carter was politically vulnerable, Kennedy moved to present himself as an alternative for the 1980 Democratic nomination, publicly criticizing the president’s agenda. But Kennedy damaged his own candidacy in a prime-time interview with CBS’ Roger Mudd: Asked why he was running for president, Kennedy fumbled his answer, and critics cited it as evidence that the senator didn’t want the job so much as he felt obligated to seek it. A few months after the malaise speech, in late 1979, revolutionaries loyal to Iran’s spiritual leader, the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking 52 Americans hostage. Weeks stretched into months, with Iran refusing all efforts to negotiate a hostage release. In April 1980, Carter approved Operation Eagle Claw, a secret Delta Force rescue mission. But it ended in disaster — mechanical trouble sidelined three helicopters and, after the mission was aborted, one of the remaining helicopters collided with a transport plane on the ground, killing eight soldiers. Secretary of State Cyrus R. Vance resigned before the mission, believing the plan too risky. Negotiations to free the hostages resumed, and Carter desperately tried to win their release before the November election. But the Iranians prolonged the talks and the hostages weren’t released until Jan. 20, 1981, moments after Carter watched Reagan being sworn in. The journey home for Carter was painful. Of those who voted for Reagan in 1980, nearly 1 in 4 said they were primarily motivated by their dissatisfaction with Carter. :::: Carter faced “an altogether new, unwanted and potentially empty life,” as he later put it. He sold the family farm-supply business, which had been placed in a blind trust during his presidency and was by then deeply in debt. Then, as Rosalynn later recalled, Carter awoke one night with an idea to build not just a presidential library but a place to resolve global conflicts. Together, they founded the nonprofit, nonpartisan Carter Center. His skill as a mediator made Carter a ready choice for future presidents seeking envoys to navigate crises. Republican President George H.W. Bush sent him on peace missions to Ethiopia and Sudan, and President Bill Clinton, a fellow Democrat, dispatched him to North Korea, Haiti and what then was Yugoslavia. Carter described his relationship with President Barack Obama as chilly, however, in part because he had openly criticized the administration’s policies toward Israel. He felt Obama did not strongly enough support a separate Palestinian state. “Every president has been a very powerful factor here in advocating this two-state solution,” Carter told the New York Times in 2012. “That is now not apparent.” As an election observer, he called them as he saw them. After monitoring presidential voting in Panama in 1989, he declared that Manuel Noriega had rigged the election. He also began building houses worldwide for Habitat for Humanity, and he wrote prodigiously. The Nobel committee awarded Carter the Peace Prize in 2002, more than two decades after he left the White House, praising him for standing by “the principles that conflicts must as far as possible be resolved through mediation and international cooperation.” During his 70s, 80s and even into his 90s, the former president showed an energy that never failed to impress those around him. In his 1998 book “The Virtues of Aging,” he urged retirees to remain active and engaged, and he followed his own advice, continuing to jog, play tennis and go fly-fishing well into his 80s. When his “White House Diary” was published in 2010, he embarked on a nationwide book tour at 85, as he did in 2015 with the publication of “A Full Life: Reflections at 90.” When he told America he had cancer that had spread to his liver and brain, it was vintage Carter. Wearing a coat and tie and a pair of blue jeans, he stared into the television cameras and was unflinchingly blunt about his prognosis. “Hope for the best; accept what comes,” he said. “I think I have been as blessed as any human being in the world.” Former Times staff writers Jack Nelson, Robert Shogan and Johanna Neuman contributed to this report. ©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Farage: Badenoch must apologise for ‘crazy conspiracy theory’ on Reform numbers
PLAINS, Ga. — Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States and a Nobel Peace Prize winner whose post-White House life was steeped in fighting for human rights and personally helping build homes through Habitat for Humanity, has died. He was 100. Carter passed away Sunday afternoon in Plains, Georgia, The Carter Center announced . The organization shared in Feb. 2023 that the former president had entered home hospice care. A few months later, the family shared that former first lady Rosalynn Carter was diagnosed with dementia. She passed away in November 2023. While family members have since shared they didn’t expect the former president to go on much longer after Rosalynn’s death, Carter defied expectations and on Oct. 1 became the first U.S. president to live a full century. James Earl Carter, Jr. was born in Plains, Georgia, on Oct. 1, 1924. Peanut farming and devotion to the Baptist Church were mainstays of his upbringing. After graduating from the Naval Academy in 1946, Carter went on to marry Rosalynn Smith. After he served seven years as a naval officer, Carter returned to Plains. He first entered the political world in 1962, serving two terms in the Georgia state senate. Eight years later, Carter was elected governor of Georgia, and held that office from 1971 to 1975. Carter was the Democratic nominee for president in 1976 and went on to defeat incumbent Pres. Gerald Ford in the general election, 297 electoral votes to 240. Carter is the last Democratic presidential nominee to win the states of Alabama, Mississippi and Texas. “I would hope that the nations of the world might say that we had built a lasting peace, based not on weapons of war, but on international policies that reflect our own most precious values,” Carter said in his inaugural address. Among his accomplishments in the Oval Office, Carter helped calm tensions in the Middle East as he facilitated the Camp David Accords, signed by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in 1978. Carter also created two new cabinet-level departments – the Department of Energy and the Department of Education. But there were controversies, particularly in the final 14 months of his presidency. The Iran Hostage Crisis saw 66 American diplomats and citizens held hostage in the U.S. Embassy in Iran. In an attempt to free the hostages, Carter ordered a military operation that failed, killing eight American servicemen. After 444 days, the hostages were freed on January 20, 1981 -- the day Carter's successor, Ronald Reagan, took office. Carter also ordered a U.S. boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympic Games in Moscow to protest the Soviet Union invading Afghanistan. Sixty other nations also boycotted. The Soviets would return the gesture by boycotting the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Carter lost a bid for a second term to Reagan in what was both an electoral vote and popular vote landslide . After leaving Washington, Carter’s spent his time advancing human rights around the world. In 1982, he established The Carter Center in Atlanta. “I’ve been humbled to get to know people around the world and to see that, in effect, all people on earth are the same in the eyes of God, and should be the same in the eyes of each other – worthy of respect, care and love,” Carter said. His work abroad won him the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize. Carter also continued to give back at home through his involvement with Habitat for Humanity. He also taught Sunday school and was a deacon at the Maranatha Baptist Church of Plains. "We can choose to alleviate suffering. We can choose to work together for peace. We can make these changes — and we must," Carter once said. Carter holds the distinction of living longer than any other former president. He and wife, Rosalynn, also hold the record of the longest-married couple in presidential history – with the couple celebrating their 77th wedding anniversary on July 7, 2023. Carter is survived by three sons, one daughter, 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
HORSE RACING: Prat sets single-year jockey stakes record with winning ride aboard Poster in G2 Remsen
Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli have one of the most promising young coaches in football with Matthias Jaissle at the helm. The 36-year-old German has built a strong reputation as a forward-thinking and dynamic manager with a bright future ahead of him. Jaissle is currently 17 months into his Al-Ahli tenure, having left Salzburg to move to Jeddah in the summer of 2023. He won two Austrian Bundesliga titles there and, at 33, became one of the youngest coaches to qualify for the Champions League group stage when Salzburg beat Brondby in the 2020 play-offs. Al-Ahli are one of four PIF-owned clubs in Saudi Arabia and boast the likes of Ivan Toney, Roberto Firmino, Riyad Mahrez and Franck Kessie. Yet when Jaissle initially took charge, he was inheriting a side that had only just gained promotion from the Saudi second tier and there was work to be done to put in place a football philosophy and infrastructure. “It was a huge opportunity at an ambitious club,” Jaissle told GIVEMESPORT. “I had two really successful seasons with Salzburg, and I was fully prepared for a third. Then Al-Ahli made a sudden approach. The timing wasn't great, but I grabbed the chance with both hands. It all happened very fast, so it was a tough couple of days as I made my final decision to leave Salzburg. “Al-Ahli set out a clear and long-term vision. They want to win titles. There was also the appeal of getting to know a new culture and league. And, I have to be honest, the money was a factor as well." "I also wanted to coach top stars, and I was lucky enough to manage some talented players at Salzburg as well. I think to be a good coach and leader you need to work with big names and know how to manage different egos. "The Al-Ahli role is complex and wide-ranging. We had just got promotion back to the Saudi Pro League when I joined, so it was about building a plan at all levels of the club – from the youth team to the first team. I was hired to implement a philosophy and I saw this job as the natural next step in my career.” Rangnick, Tuchel and Klopp Influence Jaissle Jaissle’s move into management so young was certainly not planned. He instead had aspirations as a player to represent Germany, having come through Stuttgart’s youth system under Thomas Tuchel before joining Ralf Rangnick's Hoffenheim in 2007. By February 2009, the highly-rated centre-back had won his first and only Germany Under-21 cap against the Republic of Ireland. But just a month later, and with Germany assistant Hansi Flick watching from the stands, Jaissle ruptured his knee ligaments against Hannover. Sadly, the injury proved to be the beginning of the end of his playing career, and after several setbacks, he eventually retired in 2014. “My knee injury was a shock,” said Jaissle, who made 68 appearances for Hoffenheim. “Probably the only advantage of it was that I could start management earlier. I am still young for a coach but have quite good experience already. I would still love to be playing, even at 36. I kick every ball when given the chance in training! I like to think I'd be in my last season now as a player if I was fit, but that’s life, and I am grateful for the next chapter and the opportunities I have had so far.” Rangnick was one of the first people to reach out to Jaissle after he hung up his boots. The former Manchester United interim manager was sporting director at Red Bull at the time and would set Jaissle on a path to management by enrolling him as a trainee in Red Bull's youth development programme, starting with a stint with Leipzig's Under-16s. Jaissle would go on to become assistant to Alexander Zorniger at Brondby, having befriended him when he was in charge at Leipzig, before returning to Red Bull to manage Salzburg’s Under-18s. He next moved to Liefering in January 2021, guiding the Austrian side to an impressive second-place finish in his half-season in charge. That feat didn't go unnoticed at Salzburg, who hired Jaissle in July 2021 to succeed Jesse Marsch. Jaissle went on to win back-to-back Austrian Bundesliga titles as well as the 2022 Austrian Cup before leaving for Al-Ahli. “I have had quite a unique coaching path, eventually leading me here to the Al-Ahli job in Saudi Arabia,” said Jaissle. “I have always tried to be authentic as a coach and find my own way. Of course, I have influences. Ralf Rangnick played a big part in developing my ideas because I played under him for most of my playing career. And in my youth, I had Thomas Tuchel, so I have followed his principles and career. "Then there's Jurgen Klopp – I often looked at the transitions he put in place with Liverpool. In possession, I like how Pep Guardiola finds structure and balance. And there's a lot to take from Roberto De Zerbi’s build-up as well. It’s a constant learning process. And in the next few years, I'm sure there will be a different coach to draw inspiration from. It’s not about copying other coaches, it’s just about being inspired by them. "Due to my past at both Salzburg and Leipzig, I have this identity in my blood to put stress on the opponent as high up the pitch as possible. I want my teams to play in a really intense and aggressive way. And I want to score goals from offensive transitions." "I am always refining my style, but essentially, and I know it’s easy to say, we want dominance in all phases of the game. So firstly, controlling the transition phases is important, but you also need to find good solutions in possession, especially now we are often facing a low block. "When our opponents ‘park the bus’, it’s about being creative and disciplined and finding a good structure to create as many chances as possible without being wild on the pitch. It's a never-ending process because you always need to develop your ideas as a coach without abandoning your roots. "At Salzburg, I played a 4-4-2 with a diamond midfield. At Al-Ahli, we use a 4-2-3-1 system. You have to adjust to the squad you have as well as the circumstances. For example, the temperature can be a factor. This was a learning process for me, to adapt without losing my principles. I don’t worry too much about the exact formation. It's fluid. "For instance, Bobby [Firmino] can be a No.10, a false nine or a second striker, and the way our wingers attack full-backs, it’s almost like the eights in a diamond midfield. So there are some small differences in positions compared to my team at Salzburg, at least on paper, but the principles remain the same." GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Matthias Jaissle has won 128 of his 189 matches in management, suffering just 28 defeats along the way Al-Ahli Targeting AFC Champions League Glory Al-Ahli are currently fifth in the Saudi Pro League, 13 points behind leaders Al-Ittihad with a winter break now ongoing. Jaissle has navigated a challenging start to the season following three losses in the opening six league games, and Al-Ahli suffered a shock exit to second-tier side Al-Jandal in the King Cup. As a result, Jaissle was under growing pressure heading into the Jeddah Derby, which Al-Ahli also lost 1-0 to Al-Ittihad. Al-Ahli's board chose to avoid any knee-jerk reactions and backed Jaissle to turn form around, a decision that has now paid off. Since that defeat to Jeddah rivals Al-Ittihad in late October, Al-Ahli have recorded four consecutive Saudi Pro League victories, including coming from 2-0 down at Al-Taawoun last time out to eventually win 4-2. “I was under some pressure,” admitted Jaissle. “It was a tough start to the season off the back of a difficult transfer window over the summer. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get our needs met in the market, and it has taken some time to find a solution. Thankfully, we have turned our form around after the Jeddah Derby. After that bad result against Al-Ittihad, even though it was only a tight loss, we have had a strong few months. "After the Jeddah Derby, we analysed everything in detail – on and off the pitch. We had a lot of internal talks and gave clear communication to the players. We stressed we must maintain unity. That was our main focus, and it's helped us get back on track. All credit to the players. We stuck together as a team and showed we can deal with adversity. As a coach, I am really proud of this. “In our last game, to come from 2-0 down against Al-Taawoun and win, that's a good example of the progress we have made. The two goals we conceded came out of nothing, and they shook us, but we kept our focus and stuck together. There was no bad body language, only pure belief we could come back and get three points. And to close the year in this way, it gives us momentum for when the league starts up again in January.” Al-Ahli are likely not title contenders this season, but they have high hopes of a deep run in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League – a tournament they finished runners-up in back in 2012. Al-Ahli qualified after finishing third in the Saudi Pro League in 2023/24 and have already qualified for the last 16 after winning their opening five group stage games, setting a new club-record in the process. “We are taking the AFC Champions League very seriously,” said Jaissle. “We are looking to stay in the tournament for as long as possible. The clear goal of Al-Ahli is to win silverware. That’s what we are working towards. In the short-term, it’s just all about improving, but in the medium- to long-term we want trophies. "We need to be realistic in the Saudi Pro League this season, and just climb up the table, but the AFC Champions League is a one-off cup competition and with the talent we have got, I think anything is possible in the knockout stage.” Toney Acclimatising and Dreaming of England Selection Al-Ahli already had an accomplished squad heading into last summer. Four-time Premier League winner Mahrez joined from Manchester City in 2023, and scored 12 goals last season, while club captain Firmino, highly-rated Spanish midfielder Gabri Veiga, ex-Roma defender Roger Ibanez, former Barcelona midfielder Franck Kessie, Turkish centre-back Merih Demiral and ex-Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy all arrived in Jaissle's first window in charge. Last summer proved far quieter. With Saudi Deadline Day approaching, only 21-year-old midfielder Alexsander had signed from Fluminense for around £8m. All that changed on a dramatic British Deadline Day, though, when Ivan Toney switched from Brentford for around £40m on a four-year contract. Toney had only returned to action in January this year following an eight-month ban for breaches of The FA’s betting rules, but in his last full season for Brentford he scored 20 Premier League goals in 2022/23. It was a frantic close to the window for Al-Ahli as dealmakers simultaneously negotiated for Toney and Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, knowing only one of the two was possible unless a high-profile player left or was deregistered because Saudi Pro League clubs can only field eight foreigners over the age of 21. Toney is currently Al-Ahli’s joint-top scorer alongside Mahrez with six goals, but Jaissle believes the best is yet to come from the England striker. “We had the possibility to go for Ivan and add more goals, and hopefully we’ll have a lot of success with him,” said Jaissle. “The final few days of the summer window were a bit hectic as the club decided which targets they were going to go for. There was a lot of speculation, and it was a bit of a mad rush. “Ivan has already said how it’s always difficult to adapt to a new culture, country, league and playing style. It takes a bit of time. He's working hard, and we all hope he'll find consistency and his best performances in order to deliver the expectations we have for him.” Toney is still only 28 and was called up to England’s Euro 2024 squad. He came off the bench as England lost 2-1 to Spain in the final, and also scored a no-look penalty in the quarter-final shoot-out victory over Switzerland. Making Tuchel’s squad for the 2026 World Cup is by no means guaranteed, even if he scores freely in Saudi Arabia, but Toney is not giving up on selection just yet. "If people see me coming here as damaging my England chances, I can't really change that," Toney told GIVEMESPORT in October. "All I can do is focus on myself and play well, and who knows what could happen. If I was to get back involved in the mix on the international stage, then I'm ready for it. If not, it is what it is. "Of course, I'm targeting the 2026 World Cup. I've got to aim for those kinds of tournaments. This league is tough. Everyone has their opinion about it, but it doesn't mean it's always factual. Whatever will be, will be." “I don’t know how Thomas [Tuchel] sees it,” added Jaissle. “He didn’t reach out so far to me and ask about Ivan. Let’s see if he does. That’s something I’ll leave to Thomas. It's entirely up to him. My focus is just on getting the best out of Ivan. The only way to get picked for England is to score regularly for Al-Ahli. If he plays well for us, he’ll at least give Thomas a decision to make.” Al-Ahli Aim to Bolster Three Positions in January Despite Toney’s high-profile arrival, Jaissle was disappointed with Al-Ahli’s summer business and believes further reinforcements are required in January. The most pressing task is to replace Allan Saint-Maximin, who left for Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce over the summer. Jaissle also wants to sign a midfielder and full-back. “Our needs were clearly communicated over the summer,” said Jaissle, who has ex-Chelsea head of scouting Lee Congerton as his sporting director. "We wanted a left-winger, to fill the void left by Allan Saint-Maximin, a holding six and left full-back. That's still the case now. "Of course, we welcome Ivan, and the goals he brings, and also Alexsander, but overall it was not the best transfer window. The last two, in fact, in terms of improving the squad in the way I wanted, have not been ideal. It’s never easy in January, but we will do the best we can to address key areas in order to find squad depth and balance.” Three Saudi clubs are interested in signing Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford in the January transfer window. GIVEMESPORT understands that Al-Ahli are one of the clubs considering a move for Marcus Rashford, but won’t move unless the Manchester United winger makes it clear he is open to relocating to Saudi Arabia. Rashford has to decide whether a 2025 switch to the Saudi Pro League might hamper his chances of England selection ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Al-Ahli’s fans, meanwhile, are calling for 2024 African Ballon d’Or winner Ademola Lookman – an ambitious target, and one who is not expected to leave Serie A leaders Atalanta in January. Firmino could potentially be a high-profile outgoing next month, but despite links with Fenerbahce, Jaissle is delighted with his captain. The ex-Liverpool playmaker struggled last season, scoring just nine goals in all competitions, three of which came on his debut against Al-Hazem. However, this campaign, the Brazilian already has six goals in 19 games. "Bobby has responded very well," said Jaissle. "It wasn't easy for him in the beginning. My door is always open, and I try to stay close to the players and find solutions both for and with them. I am happy with how Bobby handled a tough period last year. I put him on the bench a couple of times and he responded really professionally. Now he’s so important for us, on and off the pitch. "And for me, it's been a learning experience trying to get the best out of a big star like Bobby. All players, regardless of their stature, just have to understand my principles and know they have the freedom to be flexible and creative within them. It comes down to open communication, respect and trust. "I think it’s about building a bond. But big stars or not, footballers are really not too different once they have the ball at their feet, so in that respect, it was perhaps easier than expected dealing with this kind of situation, especially with a player like Bobby who is just a top professional." Al-Ahli are also expected to tap into the Saudi market in January. The club already has several Saudi national team players. Firas Al-Buraikan is one of the Kingdom's most decorated footballers, having won 47 caps for his country. He even got an assist for Saleh Al-Shehri's equaliser against Argentina as Saudi Arabia stunned the eventual champions 2-1 in the 2022 World Cup group stage. In the absence of a Saint-Maximin replacement, the 24-year-old is currently playing as a left-winger but could move into a more advanced or central position in the second half of the season. Goalkeeper Adbulrahman Al-Sanbi, 23, and 22-year-old defender Rayan Hamed have both received recent call-ups this year, and midfielder Ali Al-Asmari – who has been at Al-Ahli since 2017 – has won five caps for Saudi Arabia. For Jaissle, the job isn’t just about managing foreign players, but developing Saudi talent. “We are definitely not solely looking for, or reliant on, players from abroad,” said Jaissle. “We have plenty of Saudi players on our wish list, and we count on our Academy. This is the vision of both the club and the country – to raise the level of Saudi talent. “The top-notch foreign players can also help young Saudi players grow. Working with Academy talent, and trying to support their career path, is something I'm used to from my time at Salzburg. Along with a few established internationals like Firas, we also have a couple of Saudi Under-21 national team players in our squad – like Mohammed Sulaiman and Abdulkarim Darisi – and it’s exciting for me to watch how fast they are developing. The standard of Saudi players, and of the league overall, has definitely improved even in the relatively short time I have been here. It’s impressive how fast the Saudi Pro League is evolving.” Jaissle's West Ham Links and Long-Term Future Jaissle remains committed to Al-Ahli, but with his stock continuing to rise, it’s no surprise to see him linked with other vacancies. He has recently been discussed by West Ham United in case the Hammers choose to part ways with head coach Julen Lopetegui. Jaissle is viewed by West Ham technical director Tim Steidten as a potential fit, although no approach has been made to date. GIVEMESPORT also understands Jaissle is a possibility for Stuttgart if Sebastian Hoeness leaves this summer. “Being mentioned in relation to West Ham or any high-profile job is obviously flattering,” said Jaissle. “It makes me proud to be linked with top clubs. But I don’t focus on rumours like this. I have an agent who deals with any opportunities, should they arise, and my full focus is on Al-Ahli. This is the only job I can currently control and influence. I am committed to Al-Ahli, and I want to achieve something great here. “I do often think about my own development, and sometimes talk to my agent about the possible next steps and what I dream of. But I always reflect on my playing career, and how I made all these future plans, then suddenly the injury came and I had to cancel all my dreams. That's when I decided to stay in the present." "I am putting all my energy into doing the best job I possibly can with Al-Ahli. It's a big and special club, and it deserves 100 percent of my attention. Since arriving, I have really felt the love for football here. When you walk through Jeddah, you see how much Al-Ahli means to the fans. I hope I can bring titles and trophies here." Jaissle is clearly driven and highly intelligent but, above all, he is refreshingly humble and grounded. His ability to get the best out of both young and established names clearly makes him well-positioned to win Al-Ahli their first piece of major silverware since 2016. The belief in the industry is that Jaissle has the potential to be an elite coach for many years to come. And given his unique football upbringing and success to date, it's natural some of Europe's best clubs already have Jaissle on their radar. All statistics courtesy of Sofascore - correct as of 27/12/2024Article content ATLANTA — Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who won the presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, endured humbling defeat after one tumultuous term and then redefined life after the White House as a global humanitarian, has died. He was 100 years old. The longest-lived American president died on Sunday, more than a year after entering hospice care, at his home in the small town of Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died at 96 in November 2023, spent most of their lives, The Carter Center said. “Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia,” the centre said in posting about his death on the social media platform X. It added in a statement that he died peacefully, surrounded by his family. Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia. pic.twitter.com/aqYmcE9tXi Businessman, Navy officer, evangelist, politician, negotiator, author, woodworker, citizen of the world — Carter forged a path that still challenges political assumptions and stands out among the 45 men who reached the nation’s highest office. The 39th president leveraged his ambition with a keen intellect, deep religious faith and prodigious work ethic, conducting diplomatic missions into his 80s and building houses for the poor well into his 90s. “My faith demands — this is not optional — my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can, with whatever I have to try to make a difference,” Carter once said. A president from Plains A moderate Democrat, Carter entered the 1976 presidential race as a little-known Georgia governor with a broad smile, outspoken Baptist mores and technocratic plans reflecting his education as an engineer. His no-frills campaign depended on public financing, and his promise not to deceive the American people resonated after Richard Nixon’s disgrace and U.S. defeat in southeast Asia. “If I ever lie to you, if I ever make a misleading statement, don’t vote for me. I would not deserve to be your president,” Carter repeated before narrowly beating Republican incumbent Gerald Ford, who had lost popularity pardoning Nixon. Carter governed amid Cold War pressures, turbulent oil markets and social upheaval over racism, women’s rights and America’s global role. His most acclaimed achievement in office was a Mideast peace deal that he brokered by keeping Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at the bargaining table for 13 days in 1978. That Camp David experience inspired the post-presidential centre where Carter would establish so much of his legacy. Yet Carter’s electoral coalition splintered under double-digit inflation, gasoline lines and the 444-day hostage crisis in Iran. His bleakest hour came when eight Americans died in a failed hostage rescue in April 1980, helping to ensure his landslide defeat to Republican Ronald Reagan. Carter acknowledged in his 2020 “White House Diary” that he could be “micromanaging” and “excessively autocratic,” complicating dealings with Congress and the federal bureaucracy. He also turned a cold shoulder to Washington’s news media and lobbyists, not fully appreciating their influence on his political fortunes. “It didn’t take us long to realize that the underestimation existed, but by that time we were not able to repair the mistake,” Carter told historians in 1982, suggesting that he had “an inherent incompatibility” with Washington insiders. Carter insisted his overall approach was sound and that he achieved his primary objectives — to “protect our nation’s security and interests peacefully” and “enhance human rights here and abroad” — even if he fell spectacularly short of a second term. President Jimmy Carter’s leadership, intellect, and moral example ennobled our country, during and ever since his presidency. And then, the world Ignominious defeat, though, allowed for renewal. The Carters founded The Carter Center in 1982 as a first-of-its-kind base of operations, asserting themselves as international peacemakers and champions of democracy, public health and human rights. “I was not interested in just building a museum or storing my White House records and memorabilia,” Carter wrote in a memoir published after his 90th birthday. “I wanted a place where we could work.” That work included easing nuclear tensions in North and South Korea, helping to avert a U.S. invasion of Haiti and negotiating cease-fires in Bosnia and Sudan. By 2022, The Carter Center had declared at least 113 elections in Latin America, Asia and Africa to be free or fraudulent. Recently, the centre began monitoring U.S. elections as well. Carter’s stubborn self-assuredness and even self-righteousness proved effective once he was unencumbered by the Washington order, sometimes to the point of frustrating his successors. He went “where others are not treading,” he said, to places like Ethiopia, Liberia and North Korea, where he secured the release of an American who had wandered across the border in 2010. “I can say what I like. I can meet whom I want. I can take on projects that please me and reject the ones that don’t,” Carter said. He announced an arms-reduction-for-aid deal with North Korea without clearing the details with Bill Clinton’s White House. He openly criticized President George W. Bush for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He also criticized America’s approach to Israel with his 2006 book “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.” And he repeatedly countered U.S. administrations by insisting North Korea should be included in international affairs, a position that most aligned Carter with Republican President Donald Trump. Among the centre’s many public health initiatives, Carter vowed to eradicate the guinea worm parasite during his lifetime, and nearly achieved it: Cases dropped from millions in the 1980s to nearly a handful. With hardhats and hammers, the Carters also built homes with Habitat for Humanity. The Nobel committee’s 2002 Peace Prize cites his “untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” Carter should have won it alongside Sadat and Begin in 1978, the chairman added. Carter accepted the recognition saying there was more work to be done. “The world is now, in many ways, a more dangerous place,” he said. “The greater ease of travel and communication has not been matched by equal understanding and mutual respect.” ‘An epic American life’ Carter’s globetrotting took him to remote villages where he met little “Jimmy Carters,” so named by admiring parents. But he spent most of his days in the same one-story Plains house — expanded and guarded by Secret Service agents — where they lived before he became governor. He regularly taught Sunday School lessons at Maranatha Baptist Church until his mobility declined and the coronavirus pandemic raged. Those sessions drew visitors from around the world to the small sanctuary where Carter will receive his final send-off after a state funeral at Washington’s National Cathedral. The common assessment that he was a better ex-president than president rankled Carter and his allies. His prolific post-presidency gave him a brand above politics, particularly for Americans too young to witness him in office. But Carter also lived long enough to see biographers and historians reassess his White House years more generously. His record includes the deregulation of key industries, reduction of U.S. dependence on foreign oil, cautious management of the national debt and notable legislation on the environment, education and mental health. He focused on human rights in foreign policy, pressuring dictators to release thousands of political prisoners. He acknowledged America’s historical imperialism, pardoned Vietnam War draft evaders and relinquished control of the Panama Canal. He normalized relations with China. “I am not nominating Jimmy Carter for a place on Mount Rushmore,” Stuart Eizenstat, Carter’s domestic policy director, wrote in a 2018 book. “He was not a great president” but also not the “hapless and weak” caricature voters rejected in 1980, Eizenstat said. Rather, Carter was “good and productive” and “delivered results, many of which were realized only after he left office.” Madeleine Albright, a national security staffer for Carter and Clinton’s secretary of state, wrote in Eizenstat’s forward that Carter was “consequential and successful” and expressed hope that “perceptions will continue to evolve” about his presidency. “Our country was lucky to have him as our leader,” said Albright, who died in 2022. Jonathan Alter, who penned a comprehensive Carter biography published in 2020, said in an interview that Carter should be remembered for “an epic American life” spanning from a humble start in a home with no electricity or indoor plumbing through decades on the world stage across two centuries. “He will likely go down as one of the most misunderstood and underestimated figures in American history,” Alter told The Associated Press. A small-town start James Earl Carter Jr. was born Oct. 1, 1924, in Plains and spent his early years in nearby Archery. His family was a minority in the mostly Black community, decades before the civil rights movement played out at the dawn of Carter’s political career. Carter, who campaigned as a moderate on race relations but governed more progressively, talked often of the influence of his Black caregivers and playmates but also noted his advantages: His land-owning father sat atop Archery’s tenant-farming system and owned a main street grocery. His mother, Lillian, would become a staple of his political campaigns. Seeking to broaden his world beyond Plains and its population of fewer than 1,000 — then and now — Carter won an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating in 1946. That same year he married Rosalynn Smith, another Plains native, a decision he considered more important than any he made as head of state. She shared his desire to see the world, sacrificing college to support his Navy career. Carter climbed in rank to lieutenant, but then his father was diagnosed with cancer, so the submarine officer set aside his ambitions of admiralty and moved the family back to Plains. His decision angered Rosalynn, even as she dived into the peanut business alongside her husband. Carter again failed to talk with his wife before his first run for office — he later called it “inconceivable” not to have consulted her on such major life decisions — but this time, she was on board. “My wife is much more political,” Carter told the AP in 2021. He won a state Senate seat in 1962 but wasn’t long for the General Assembly and its back-slapping, deal-cutting ways. He ran for governor in 1966 — losing to arch-segregationist Lester Maddox _ and then immediately focused on the next campaign. Carter had spoken out against church segregation as a Baptist deacon and opposed racist “Dixiecrats” as a state senator. Yet as a local school board leader in the 1950s he had not pushed to end school segregation even after the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision, despite his private support for integration. And in 1970, Carter ran for governor again as the more conservative Democrat against Carl Sanders, a wealthy businessman Carter mocked as “Cufflinks Carl.” Sanders never forgave him for anonymous, race-baiting flyers, which Carter disavowed. Ultimately, Carter won his races by attracting both Black voters and culturally conservative whites. Once in office, he was more direct. “I say to you quite frankly that the time for racial discrimination is over,” he declared in his 1971 inaugural address, setting a new standard for Southern governors that landed him on the cover of Time magazine. ‘Jimmy Who?’ His statehouse initiatives included environmental protection, boosting rural education and overhauling antiquated executive branch structures. He proclaimed Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the slain civil rights leader’s home state. And he decided, as he received presidential candidates in 1972, that they were no more talented than he was. In 1974, he ran Democrats’ national campaign arm. Then he declared his own candidacy for 1976. An Atlanta newspaper responded with the headline: “Jimmy Who?” The Carters and a “Peanut Brigade” of family members and Georgia supporters camped out in Iowa and New Hampshire, establishing both states as presidential proving grounds. His first Senate endorsement: a young first-termer from Delaware named Joe Biden. Yet it was Carter’s ability to navigate America’s complex racial and rural politics that cemented the nomination. He swept the Deep South that November, the last Democrat to do so, as many white Southerners shifted to Republicans in response to civil rights initiatives. A self-declared “born-again Christian,” Carter drew snickers by referring to Scripture in a Playboy magazine interview, saying he “had looked on many women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times.” The remarks gave Ford a new foothold and television comedians pounced — including NBC’s new “Saturday Night Live” show. But voters weary of cynicism in politics found it endearing. Carter chose Minnesota Sen. Walter “Fritz” Mondale as his running mate on a “Grits and Fritz” ticket. In office, he elevated the vice presidency and the first lady’s office. Mondale’s governing partnership was a model for influential successors Al Gore, Dick Cheney and Biden. Rosalynn Carter was one of the most involved presidential spouses in history, welcomed into Cabinet meetings and huddles with lawmakers and top aides. The Carters presided with uncommon informality: He used his nickname “Jimmy” even when taking the oath of office, carried his own luggage and tried to silence the Marine Band’s “Hail to the Chief.” They bought their clothes off the rack. Carter wore a cardigan for a White House address, urging Americans to conserve energy by turning down their thermostats. Amy, the youngest of four children, attended District of Columbia public school. Washington’s social and media elite scorned their style. But the larger concern was that “he hated politics,” according to Eizenstat, leaving him nowhere to turn politically once economic turmoil and foreign policy challenges took their toll. Accomplishments, and ‘malaise’ Carter partially deregulated the airline, railroad and trucking industries and established the departments of Education and Energy, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He designated millions of acres of Alaska as national parks or wildlife refuges. He appointed a then-record number of women and nonwhite people to federal posts. He never had a Supreme Court nomination, but he elevated civil rights attorney Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the nation’s second highest court, positioning her for a promotion in 1993. He appointed Paul Volker, the Federal Reserve chairman whose policies would help the economy boom in the 1980s — after Carter left office. He built on Nixon’s opening with China, and though he tolerated autocrats in Asia, pushed Latin America from dictatorships to democracy. But he couldn’t immediately tame inflation or the related energy crisis. And then came Iran. After he admitted the exiled Shah of Iran to the U.S. for medical treatment, the American Embassy in Tehran was overrun in 1979 by followers of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Negotiations to free the hostages broke down repeatedly ahead of the failed rescue attempt. The same year, Carter signed SALT II, the new strategic arms treaty with Leonid Brezhnev of the Soviet Union, only to pull it back, impose trade sanctions and order a U.S. boycott of the Moscow Olympics after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. Hoping to instill optimism, he delivered what the media dubbed his “malaise” speech, although he didn’t use that word. He declared the nation was suffering “a crisis of confidence.” By then, many Americans had lost confidence in the president, not themselves. Carter campaigned sparingly for reelection because of the hostage crisis, instead sending Rosalynn as Sen. Edward M. Kennedy challenged him for the Democratic nomination. Carter famously said he’d “kick his ass,” but was hobbled by Kennedy as Reagan rallied a broad coalition with “make America great again” appeals and asking voters whether they were “better off than you were four years ago.” Reagan further capitalized on Carter’s lecturing tone, eviscerating him in their lone fall debate with the quip: “There you go again.” Carter lost all but six states and Republicans rolled to a new Senate majority. Carter successfully negotiated the hostages’ freedom after the election, but in one final, bitter turn of events, Tehran waited until hours after Carter left office to let them walk free. ‘A wonderful life’ At 56, Carter returned to Georgia with “no idea what I would do with the rest of my life.” Four decades after launching The Carter Center, he still talked of unfinished business. “I thought when we got into politics we would have resolved everything,” Carter told the AP in 2021. “But it’s turned out to be much more long-lasting and insidious than I had thought it was. I think in general, the world itself is much more divided than in previous years.” Still, he affirmed what he said when he underwent treatment for a cancer diagnosis in his 10th decade of life. “I’m perfectly at ease with whatever comes,” he said in 2015. “I’ve had a wonderful life. I’ve had thousands of friends, I’ve had an exciting, adventurous and gratifying existence.” — Former Associated Press journalist Alex Sanz contributed to this report.The controversy surrounding the Boly-Bailey incident further fueled discussions about the subjectivity of refereeing decisions and the role of technology in modern football. While VAR was introduced to minimize errors and enhance the accuracy of officiating, instances like these raised questions about the level of autonomy given to on-field officials and the necessity of stricter guidelines for VAR intervention.
In a groundbreaking moment for the Chinese cosmetics industry, MaoGeping, a leading domestic beauty brand, made its debut on the stock market with a remarkable 60% surge in its share price on the first day of trading. This significant leap not only solidified MaoGeping's position in the market but also marked a new milestone for the burgeoning national beauty sector.By DAVID A. LIEB Artificial intelligence. Abortion. Guns. Marijuana. Minimum wages. Name a hot topic, and chances are good there’s a new law about it taking effect in 2025 in one state or another. Many of the laws launching in January are a result of legislation passed this year. Others stem from ballot measures approved by voters. Some face legal challenges. Here’s a look at some of the most notable state laws taking effect: Hollywood stars and child influencers California, home to Hollywood and some of the largest technology companies, is seeking to rein in the artificial intelligence industry and put some parameters around social media stars. New laws seek to prevent the use of digital replicas of Hollywood actors and performers without permission and allow the estates of dead performers to sue over unauthorized AI use. Parents who profit from social media posts featuring their children will be required to set aside some earnings for their young influencers. A new law also allows children to sue their parents for failing to do so. Social media limits New social media restrictions in several states face court challenges. Related Articles National Politics | Court rules Georgia lawmakers can subpoena Fani Willis for information related to her Trump case National Politics | Trump has pressed for voting changes. GOP majorities in Congress will try to make that happen National Politics | Exhausted by political news? TV ratings and new poll say you’re not alone National Politics | Trump vows to pursue executions after Biden commutes most of federal death row National Politics | Elon Musk’s preschool is the next step in his anti-woke education dreams A Florida law bans children under 14 from having social media accounts and requires parental consent for ages 14 and 15. But enforcement is being delayed because of a lawsuit filed by two associations for online companies, with a hearing scheduled for late February. A new Tennessee law also requires parental consent for minors to open accounts on social media. NetChoice, an industry group for online businesses, is challenging the law. Another new state law requires porn websites to verify that visitors are at least 18 years old. But the Free Speech Coalition, a trade association for the adult entertainment industry, has filed a challenge. Several new California measures aimed at combating political deepfakes are also being challenged, including one requiring large social media platforms to remove deceptive content related to elections and another allowing any individual to sue for damages over the use of AI to create fabricated images or videos in political ads . School rules on gender In a first nationally, California will start enforcing a law prohibiting school districts from adopting policies that require staff to notify parents if their children change their gender identification . The law was a priority for Democratic lawmakers who wanted to halt such policies passed by several districts. Abortion coverage Many states have passed laws limiting or protecting abortion rights since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a nationwide right to the procedure in 2022. One of the latest is the Democratic-led state of Delaware. A law there will require the state employee health plan and Medicaid plans for lower-income residents to cover abortions with no deductible , copayments or other cost-sharing requirements. Gun control A new Minnesota law prohibits guns with “binary triggers” that allow for more rapid fire, causing a weapon to fire one round when the trigger is pulled and another when it is released. In Delaware, a law adds colleges and universities to a list of school zones where guns are prohibited, with exceptions for those working in their official capacity such as law officers and commissioned security guards. Medical marijuana Kentucky is becoming the latest state to let people use marijuana for medical purposes . To apply for a state medical cannabis card, people must get written certification from a medical provider of a qualifying condition, such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, epilepsy, chronic nausea or post-traumatic stress disorder. Nearly four-fifths of U.S. states have now legalized medical marijuana. Minimum wages Minimum wage workers in more than 20 states are due to receive raises in January. The highest minimum wages will be in Washington, California and Connecticut, all of which will top $16 an hour after modest increases. The largest increases are scheduled in Delaware, where the minimum wage will rise by $1.75 to $15 an hour, and in Nebraska, where a ballot measure approved by voters in 2022 will add $1.50 to the current minimum of $12 an hour. Twenty other states still follow the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. Safer traveling In Oregon, using drugs on public transit will be considered a misdemeanor crime of interfering with public transportation. While the measure worked its way through the legislature, multiple transportation officials said drug use on buses and trains, and at transit stops and stations, was making passengers and drivers feel less safe. In Missouri, law enforcement officers have spent the past 16 months issuing warnings to motorists that handheld cellphone use is illegal. Starting with the new year, penalties will kick in: a $150 fine for the first violation, progressing to $500 for third and subsequent offenses and up to 15 years imprisonment if a driver using a cellphone cause an injury or death. But police must notice a primary violation, such as speeding or weaving across lanes, to cite motorists for violating the cellphone law. Montana is the only state that hasn’t banned texting while driving , according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Tax breaks Tenants in Arizona will no longer have to pay tax on their monthly rent , thanks to the repeal of a law that had allowed cities and towns to impose such taxes. While a victory for renters, the new law is a financial loss for governments. An analysis by Arizona’s nonpartisan Joint Legislative Budget Committee estimated that $230 million would be lost in municipal tax revenue during the first full fiscal year of implementation. Meanwhile Alabama will offer tax credits to businesses that help employees with child care costs. Kansas is eliminating its 2% sales tax on groceries. It also is cutting individual income taxes by dropping the top tax rate, increasing a credit for child care expenses and exempting all Social Security income from taxes, among other things. Taxpayers are expected to save about $320 million a year going forward. Voting rights An Oklahoma law expands voting privileges to people who have been convicted of felonies but had their sentences discharged or commuted, including commutations for crimes that have been reclassified from felonies to misdemeanors. Former state Sen. George Young, an Oklahoma City Democrat, carried the bill in the Senate. “I think it’s very important that people who have gone through trials and tribulations in their life, that we have a system that brings them back and allows them to participate as contributing citizens,” Young said. Associated Press writers Trân Nguyễn in Sacramento, California; Kate Payne in Tallahassee, Florida; Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee; Randall Chase in Dover, Delaware; Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis; Bruce Schreiner in Frankfort, Kentucky; Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon; Summer Ballentine in Jefferson City, Missouri; Gabriel Sandoval in Phoenix; Kim Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama; John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas; and Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City contributed.