Resolution of Non-Compliance with the NYSE RulesInfuSystem CEO Richard DiIorio sells $364,465 in stockTechnology stocks helped pull stocks lower on Wall Street Wednesday, handing the market its first loss in more than a week. The S&P 500 fell 0.4%, even though more stocks in the index notched gains than ended lower. The loss snapped a seven-day winning streak for the benchmark index. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%, its first loss after five gains. The Dow and S&P 500 remain near the all-time highs they set on Tuesday. The Nasdaq composite, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, fell 0.6%. Losses for tech heavyweights like Nvidia, Microsoft and Broadcom were the drag on the market. Semiconductor giant Nvidia fell 1.2%. Its huge value gives it outsized influence on market indexes. Microsoft fell 1.2% and Broadcom finished 3.1% lower. Several personal computer makers also helped pull the market lower following their latest earnings reports. HP sank 11.4% after giving investors a weaker-than-expected earnings forecast for its current quarter. Dell slid 12.2% after its latest quarterly revenue fell short of Wall Street forecasts. Gains for financial and health care companies helped temper the market's losses. Berkshire Hathaway rose 0.9% and Merck & Co. added 1.5%. All told, the S&P 500 fell 22.89 points to 5,998.74, while the Dow dropped 138.25 points to 44,722.06. The Nasdaq fell 115.10 points to 19,060.48. Traders also had their eye on new reports on the economy and inflation Wednesday. The U.S. economy expanded at a healthy 2.8% annual pace from July through September, according to the Commerce Department, leaving its original estimate of third-quarter growth unchanged. The growth was driven by strong consumer spending and a surge in exports. The update followed a report on Tuesday from the Conference Board that said confidence among U.S. consumers improved in November, but not by as much as economists expected. Consumers have been driving economic growth, but the latest round of earnings reports from retailers shows a mixed and more cautious picture. Department store operator Nordstrom fell 8.1% after warning investors about a trend toward weakening sales that started in late October. Clothing retailer Urban Outfitters jumped 18.3% after beating analysts' third-quarter financial forecasts. Weeks earlier, retail giant Target gave investors a discouraging forecast for the holiday season, while Walmart provided a more encouraging forecast. Consumers, though resilient, are still facing pressure from inflation. The latest update from the U.S. government shows that inflation accelerated last month. The personal consumption expenditures index, or PCE, rose to 2.3% in October from 2.1% in September. Overall, the rate of inflation has been falling broadly since it peaked more than two years ago. The PCE, which is the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation, was just below 7.3% in June of 2022. Another measure of inflation, the consumer price index, peaked at 9.1% at the same time. The latest inflation data, though, is a sign that the rate of inflation seems to be stalling as it falls to within range of the Fed's target of 2%. The central bank started raising its benchmark interest rate from near-zero in early 2022 to a two-decade high by the middle of 2023 and held it there in order to tame inflation. The Fed started cutting its benchmark interest rate in September, followed by a second cut in November. Wall Street expects a similar quarter-point cut at the central bank's upcoming meeting in December. "Today's data shouldn't change views of the likely path for disinflation, however bumpy," said David Alcaly, lead macroeconomic strategist at Lazard Asset Management. "But a lot of observers, probably including some at the Fed, are looking for reasons to get more hawkish on the outlook given the potential for inflationary policy change like new tariffs." President-elect Donald Trump has said he plans to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China when he takes office in January. That could shock the economy by raising prices on a wide range of goods and accelerating the rate of inflation. Such a shift could prompt the Fed to rethink future cuts to interest rates. Treasury yields slipped in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.25% from 4.30% late Tuesday. The yield on the two-year Treasury, which more closely follows expected actions by the Fed, fell to 4.22% from 4.25% late Tuesday. U.S. markets will be closed Thursday for Thanksgiving, and will reopen for a half day on Friday.
Rape allegation against Jay-Z will not affect NFL relationship, says chief
ATLANTA (AP) — Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who tried to restore virtue to the White House after the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, then rebounded from a landslide defeat to become a global advocate of human rights and democracy, has died. He was 100 years old . The Carter Center said the 39th president died Sunday afternoon, more than a year after entering hospice care , at his home in Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died in November 2023, lived most of their lives. The center said he died peacefully, surrounded by his family. A moderate Democrat, Carter ran for president in 1976 as a little-known Georgia governor with a broad grin, effusive Baptist faith and technocratic plans for efficient government. His promise to never 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 said. Carter’s victory over Republican Gerald Ford, whose fortunes fell after pardoning Nixon, came amid Cold War pressures, turbulent oil markets and social upheaval over race, women’s rights and America’s role in the world. His achievements included brokering Mideast peace by keeping Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at Camp David for 13 days in 1978. But his coalition splintered under double-digit inflation and the 444-day hostage crisis in Iran. His negotiations ultimately brought all the hostages home alive, but in a final insult, Iran didn’t release them until the inauguration of Ronald Reagan, who had trounced him in the 1980 election. Humbled and back home in Georgia, Carter said his faith demanded that he keep doing whatever he could, for as long as he could, to try to make a difference. He and Rosalynn co-founded The Carter Center in 1982 and spent the next 40 years traveling the world as peacemakers, human rights advocates and champions of democracy and public health. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, Carter helped ease nuclear tensions in North and South Korea, avert a U.S. invasion of Haiti and negotiate cease-fires in Bosnia and Sudan. By 2022, the center had monitored at least 113 elections around the world. Carter was determined to eradicate guinea worm infections as one of many health initiatives. Swinging hammers into their 90s, the Carters built homes with Habitat for Humanity. The common observation that he was better as an ex-president rankled Carter. His allies were pleased that he lived long enough to see biographers and historians revisit his presidency and declare it more impactful than many understood at the time. Propelled in 1976 by voters in Iowa and then across the South, Carter ran a no-frills campaign. Americans were captivated by the earnest engineer, and while an election-year Playboy interview drew snickers when he said he “had looked on many women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times,” voters tired of political cynicism found it endearing. The first family set an informal tone in the White House, carrying their own luggage, trying to silence the Marine Band’s traditional “Hail to the Chief" and enrolling daughter, Amy, in public schools. Carter was lampooned for wearing a cardigan and urging Americans to turn down their thermostats. But Carter set the stage for an economic revival and sharply reduced America's dependence on foreign oil by deregulating the energy industry along with airlines, trains and trucking. He established the departments of Energy and Education, appointed record numbers of women and nonwhites to federal posts, preserved millions of acres of Alaskan wilderness and pardoned most Vietnam draft evaders. Emphasizing human rights , he ended most support for military dictators and took on bribery by multinational corporations by signing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He persuaded the Senate to ratify the Panama Canal treaties and normalized relations with China, an outgrowth of Nixon’s outreach to Beijing. But crippling turns in foreign affairs took their toll. When OPEC hiked crude prices, making drivers line up for gasoline as inflation spiked to 11%, Carter tried to encourage Americans to overcome “a crisis of confidence.” Many voters lost confidence in Carter instead after the infamous address that media dubbed his “malaise" speech, even though he never used that word. After Carter reluctantly agreed to admit the exiled Shah of Iran to the U.S. for medical treatment, the American Embassy in Tehran was overrun in 1979. Negotiations to quickly free the hostages broke down, and then eight Americans died when a top-secret military rescue attempt failed. Carter also had to reverse course on the SALT II nuclear arms treaty after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979. Though historians would later credit Carter's diplomatic efforts for hastening the end of the Cold war, Republicans labeled his soft power weak. Reagan’s “make America great again” appeals resonated, and he beat Carter in all but six states. Born Oct. 1, 1924, James Earl Carter Jr. married fellow Plains native Rosalynn Smith in 1946, the year he graduated from the Naval Academy. He brought his young family back to Plains after his father died, abandoning his Navy career, and they soon turned their ambitions to politics . Carter reached the state Senate in 1962. After rural white and Black voters elected him governor in 1970, he drew national attention by declaring that “the time for racial discrimination is over.” Carter published more than 30 books and remained influential as his center turned its democracy advocacy onto U.S. politics, monitoring an audit of Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results. After a 2015 cancer diagnosis, Carter said he felt “perfectly at ease with whatever comes.” “I’ve had a wonderful life,” he said. “I’ve had thousands of friends, I’ve had an exciting, adventurous and gratifying existence.” Contributors include former AP staffer Alex Sanz in Atlanta.ENDEAVOR Witnessing Pope Francis place the red hat on newly consecrated Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David – only the 10th Filipino to receive the honor – prompted me to reflect on the challenge of promoting more vocations in our predominantly Christian nation. Last month, while participating in a meeting of the Don Bosco School of Theology (DBST) board of trustees, I became more keenly aware of the problem of declining vocations. Fr. Francis Gustilo, SDB, who serves as DBST president, highlighted the urgency of meeting the challenge, as he pointed out that the current crop of senior professors needs substantial augmentation. Radio Veritas Asia reports in its website that last April, there were 852 participants in a vocation congress organized by the Apostolic Vicariate of Calapan in Mindoro island province. The outcome was heartwarming: “(A)t the end of the daylong event, themed ‘Kalampag ng Pagtawag sa Hapag’ (#Kalap,Kaisa, KaMisa), which is after the vicariate's core program that emphasizes gathering, unity, and the Eucharist, about 20 young people stood up when asked who would enter the religious life.” Zooming out into the Asian scenario, I gathered from an internet search some salient features of the vocation landscape: “The Philippines has about 8,700 priests, but the Catholic Church needs about 25,000 to serve its 85 million Catholics. The ratio of priests to parishioners is currently 1:15,000, but the ideal ratio is 1:2,000 or 1:5,000.” Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Myanmar, whose early schooling was in a Salesian-run boarding school in Mandalay, wrote a comprehensive essay on “The Challenge of Holy Orders and Religious Vocations – An Asian Perspective” that was published by Licas News, an arm of the Roman Catholic Mission of Bangkok. He echoed two questions that resonate among bishops, religious superiors and vocations directors and promoters: “‘Why is there a decline in vocations to the priestly and religious life?’ and ‘What can we do to promote and increase the same?’” He analyzed five causes underlying the decline of vocations: first, rapid economic development; second, changes in family structure; third, technological and ideological impact; fourth, poverty and migration; and fifth, lack of role models. “Religiosity tends to decline with economic development.” With ever-increasing prosperity, there is likely to be further diminution of vocations, as young people aspire to become entrepreneurs and business owners. Manifestations of changes in family structure include “fertility decline (low birth rates), increasing divorce rates, the rising average age of marriage, single-parent families, and absent-parent syndrome (where parents are away for work and children are brought up by grandparents or relatives).” Previously, a call to vocation was associated with the concept of the “sincere gift of self.” Ironically, post-modern culture has flipped this into a focus on developing oneself as an autonomous individual. This has raised the hurdles to vocations that impel a selfless commitment to follow Christ by taking on Holy Orders. The fourth factor, poverty and migration, provides the macroeconomic perspective. The World Bank estimates more than 320 million Asians living in extreme poverty that is rooted in economic inequality. The primary imperative is survival or “getting out of the vicious cycle of poverty,” a scenario that is not conducive to fostering vocations. Cardinal Bo responds to the fifth challenge: “Promoting vocations calls us toward creating spaces for young men and women to imagine and experience this way of life. Part of this includes those of us who are already in this way of life, setting an example with a spirit of humility and witnessing what it is to follow Christ daily and faithfully witness to the faith in these changing times.” I recall that in grade school, I was a member of the Knights of the Altar, the group that served as sacristan or acolytes, assisting the priest at mass. Early on, I memorized the Latin prayers, such as Dominus Vobiscum/Et cum spiritu tuo (The Lord be with you, and with your spirit); as well as Pater Noster, the Latin translation of The Lord’s Prayer. In our grade school yearbook, my ambition read: “To be a Salesian priest.” Two of my classmates, Andrew Wong and Francis Gustilo went on to become aspirants, then novices, on their way to become full-fledged Salesians of Don Bosco. I passed up the opportunity to start preparing for the priesthood as early as in first year high school, and did not pursue the vocation. Andrew and Francis went on to become the highest ranked Salesians in the Philippines and in Asia. If memory serves, Andrew is part of the Rome-based governing council of the order. Vocation comes from the Latin word vocare, which means to call. A vocation is a calling from God that starts at baptism. It is nurtured and fostered as a person matures and discerns such calling while going through the phases of adolescence and adulthood. Nestor David, elder brother of the new prelate, shared in a media interview: “After class, during his elementary years, he would pass by, himself, over the church and then say a prayer. It’s like, sabi niya, ‘I was conversing with Jesus.’ Probably ‘yun ang signs na ang vocation niya talaga ay priesthood.’” Interviewed by TV Maria, Cardinal David said: “Ang ibig sabihin para sa akin ng pagiging Kardinal ay humihingi ng tulong ang ating Santo Papa na alalayan siya, suportahan siya sa kanyang gawain bilang Pontifex Maximus na ang ibig sabihin ay Supreme Bridge Builder, ang taga-tayo ng mga tulay na nag-uugnay sa particular church at universal church.” (I discern that in appointing me, the Pope wants me to assist in carrying out his work in being a Supreme Bridge Builder, who creates linkages that will unify people of all faiths.) Truly, this is a blessed season for Filipinos, a timely opportunity for affirming and living their Christian faith. Comments may be sent to [email protected]
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Alabama faces a tougher roadblock than it might appear in its quest to maintain positioning for the College Football Playoff. Sure, Oklahoma has struggled in its first Southeastern Conference season. The Sooners (5-5, 1-5 SEC) have lost four straight conference games. The Sooners have fired their offensive coordinator and they have the worst offense in the league. But they have a tough defense, too. Linebacker Danny Stutsman, a midseason AP All-American, anchors a nasty unit that has kept the Sooners competitive in losses at Ole Miss and Missouri. He ranks second in the SEC with 96 tackles. Defensive back Billy Bowman Jr. has scored four defensive touchdowns since the start of the 2023 season, tied for the most nationally. Defensive end R Mason Thomas has seven sacks, with six coming in the fourth quarter of close games. Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer is paying attention. “It’s going to take a great week of preparation,” DeBoer said. “A physical football team all around. Their defense is, I think, an extremely tough defense in all ways — just what they do with their scheme and then with their personnel, the way they fly around.” Plus, Oklahoma is motivated. It’s Senior Day for a program that would become bowl eligible with a win. Beating the seventh-ranked Crimson Tide could cure a lot of ills for the Sooners. “I think they know they could be a great example for what fight and what belief and what finishing and what improving and what proving people wrong looks like,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said. “And I think this is a group of guys that are committed to doing that.” Alabama (8-2, 4-2) has more answers than most. Jalen Milroe has passed for 15 touchdowns and rushed for 17. Freshman receiver Ryan Williams has 40 catches for 767 yards and eight touchdowns. “Yeah, incredibly explosive, and they have great playmakers everywhere," Venables said. “Certainly, it starts — everything goes through the quarterback.” There has been much talk about what a third loss would do to Alabama's playoff hopes. DeBoer said his team isn't focused on that. “I think we're really honed in and the guys really believe on and have understood the significance of really focusing on where we’re at right now,” he said. “We talk about the next play is the most important play, the next game is the most important game. We haven’t thought about anything beyond Oklahoma.” Milroe is only the fourth SEC quarterback since 2007 to have at least 15 passing touchdowns and 17 rushing touchdowns in a single season. The others won the Heisman Trophy during their seasons — Florida's Tim Tebow in 2007, Auburn's Cam Newton in 2010 and Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel in 2012. “I think it just starts with doing what’s best for the team, and that’s what Jalen is all about," DeBoer said. Since returning to the lineup early against South Carolina four games ago, Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold has completed 70 of 112 passes for 705 yards with five touchdowns with no interceptions. Still, his fumble that was returned for a touchdown in the final minute against Missouri was the difference in a 30-23 loss. Arnold has dealt with significant criticism all season. “That goes along with that position at a place like the University of Oklahoma,” Venables said. “That’s a position that’s a little bit ... it’s a bit like the head coach position. There’s a different type of microscope and there’s a different type of focus and that’s okay he’s got broad shoulders to handle that.” Oklahoma running back Jovantae Barnes ran for career highs of 203 yards and three touchdowns against Maine two weeks ago, then he sat out last week's loss to Missouri. He's listed as questionable on this week's injury report. He leads the Sooners with 577 yards rushing this season. Venables is impressed with what DeBoer has done in his first year at Alabama since taking over for Nick Saban. “One of Kalen’s strengths as a football coach — a very successful coach — is he takes a group of players that he has, and their staff figures out what they can do,” Venables said. “They major in that, put them in position to be successful based on the players’ strengths. They’ve done a nice job of doing that throughout the course of the season.” Oklahoma beat heavily favored Alabama 45-31 in the Sugar Bowl to cap the 2013 season, a game that helped pump energy into the Sooner program under Bob Stoops. Alabama got revenge in 2018, beating the Sooners 45-34 in the College Football Playoff. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up . AP college football: andRape allegation against Jay-Z will not affect NFL relationship, says chief
A plan to replace the Omand Park pedestrian bridge could soon be on the way, as city staff warn the deteriorating structure could fail at any time. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * A plan to replace the Omand Park pedestrian bridge could soon be on the way, as city staff warn the deteriorating structure could fail at any time. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? A plan to replace the Omand Park pedestrian bridge could soon be on the way, as city staff warn the deteriorating structure could fail at any time. A report seeks city council approval to plan and design a replacement bridge for construction “no later than 2029.” The path over Omand’s Creek, connecting the park to Wolseley, is in poor condition and at risk of closure, the report notes. Ruth Bonneville / Free Press files The Omand Park pedestrian bridge is in poor condition and at risk of closure, a municipal report states. “It may be permanently closed at any time without warning when it is no longer considered safe for public use,” writes Brad Neirinck, the city’s manager of engineering. A new bridge would be about 2.8 metres higher than the existing one to avoid seasonal flooding and is expected to cost between $3 million and $5 million, which could potentially be funded through a city reserve. Preventing further funding is deemed key to the project. “In addition to age-related deterioration, the bridge is also frequently closed due to flood,” it states. The city says the bridge has been covered in water for more than 600 days over the last 10 years and doesn’t meet current accessibility standards. Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of council’s public works committee, said she supports the study, since the bridge is part of a key active transportation route. “This is a key link and it’s a beautiful area, a beautiful park. It’s very well used,” said Lukes (Waverley West). Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. The councillor said raising the height of the bridge is necessary to address flooding but could also significantly change the park’s appearance. “This will be interesting because in order to raise the bridge so it doesn’t flood, it will fundamentally have a major effect on the park. It will change the look of the park,” said Lukes. The public works committee will debate the idea on Nov. 29. joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca X: @joyanne_pursaga Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the before joining the in early 2020. . Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the ‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about , and . Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider . Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support. Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the before joining the in early 2020. . Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the ‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about , and . Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider . Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support. Advertisement Advertisement
A heavy spell of snow brought an end to prolonged dry spell in plains of Kashmir. The sight of each flake of snow dancing down from the sky brought smiles to people, however their joy was short-lived! Snowfall brought life to a standstill in Kashmir as essential services were disrupted. Amid snowfall, there was a lukewarm response from authorities to clear roads and footpaths. With snow-covered roads, commuters faced a tough time navigating slippery roads. There were several accidents as cars skidded off the roads. Snow was not cleared on most of the roads in J&K’s summer capital Srinagar. Situation in rural areas was the worst. As Srinagar city is getting a makeover into a Smart City with generous funding by Government of India, response to natural phenomena like snowfall has to be prompt. Imagine JCB machines, which are used for excavation of soil, being pressed into service for snow clearance at Srinagar’s commercial hub Lal Chowk! The hi-tech snow clearance machines were nowhere visible as snow draped Kashmir. Even snow was not cleared on most of the footpaths especially in Srinagar posing serious risk to pedestrians as they had to walk on roads. Despite the forecast of snowfall, no mock drill or meeting was conducted to effectively conduct snow clearance and maintain essential services. Accumulation of snow on major roads and flyovers caused massive traffic jams. Authorities could not deal with 8 to 12 inches of snowfall and were caught off-guard. With more snowfall forecast in the first week of January, it is going to be a challenging task for people. Owing to its unique topography, J&K is a multi-hazard region prone to natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, landslides, avalanches, high velocity winds, and snowstorms. Most parts of the region fall under the high seismic Zones IV and V making it highly vulnerable to earthquakes. For the last several years, J&K has been witnessing erratic weather patterns. From dry and warm winters to drought and flood-like situations, the union territory is facing the brunt of climate change and vandalisation of forests, water bodies and wetlands. As per weather experts, Kashmir will witness harsh winter this season. And the prediction came true as Kashmir reeled under freezing temperatures and Srinagar shivered with minus 8.5 degree Celsius on December 20—the third-coldest since 1891. Srinagar’s all-time low for December is minus 12.8 degrees Celsius, recorded on December 13, 1934. The situation took a dangerous turn with freezing of drinking water pipes and erratic power supply. Taking serious note of the situation, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah cancelled all his engagements in Jammu and decided to stay in Srinagar to oversee the functioning of the power department and other essential services. “In light of the severe cold spell in the Kashmir valley & the resultant difficulties with water & electricity supply, I have decided to cancel my forthcoming programmes in Jammu & station myself in Srinagar for the next week to personally monitor the functioning of the Power department & other important departments,” the chief minister said in a post on X. Omar chaired a high-level meeting at the civil secretariat in Srinagar and directed for providing seamless services during winter and ensuring connectivity besides providing relief and essential supplies to the people. Officers told the CM that a sufficient number of hi-tech snow clearance machines have been deployed by the R&B Department, SMC, MED, BRO, and NHAI, with additional machines on standby to handle heavy snowfall. The CM emphasised the need for a robust mechanism to minimise public inconvenience during severe weather conditions. He instructed the concerned authorities to focus on clearing key routes, including inter-district highways and roads leading to hospitals, power grids, water supply systems, and fire and emergency services. It is praiseworthy that the CM showed seriousness and passed required directions but the problem is with implementation. There has to be a proactive approach by officers on the ground to deal with winter vagaries. Proper planning is needed to deal with snowfall, rains or floods. Concerned Deputy Commissioners have an important part to play to ensure timely and effective responses to deal with weather-related challenges in their respective districts. The problem is we don’t learn lessons from disasters. We act only after the disasters. Its glaring example is the devastating floods of 2014. J&K needs effective disaster management mechanisms from village to colony levels. Though we have beautifully composed comprehensive disaster management plans, the question is about its proper implementation on the ground. This can only happen when there is coordination between different departments, roles of each officer are defined and importantly accountability is fixed to complete tasks. Where there is a will, there is a way! Despite limited resources, our ancestors effectively braved challenges and dealt with severe winter vagaries. We have resources, machines and technology but no will! Author is Executive Editor, Greater KashmirDyskinetic Cerebral Palsy: A Closer Look at Symptoms, Diagnosis and Clinical Research Underway
Libra Daily Horoscope Today, Nov 26, 2024 predicts good newsATLANTA (AP) — 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 center 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. 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 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 center 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. 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 center 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 center’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.” 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.Tafara Gapare throws down 19 points and a highlight dunk, and Maryland beats Bucknell 91-67
When the Hero World Challenge takes place Dec. 5-8 in the Bahamas, tournament host Tiger Woods will not be part of the field. Still recovering from his latest surgery, on his back last September, Woods had the option of joining the 20-player field in the exhibition event but announced Monday he would not do so. "I am disappointed that I will not be able to compete this year at the Hero World Challenge," Woods wrote on social media, going on to announce Justin Thomas, Jason Day of Australia and Nick Dunlap as exemptions into the field. The 15-time major champion played in the tournament at Albany Golf Club last year and finished 18th of 20. Woods' sixth back surgery was done to repair a nerve impingement in his lower back, about two months after his last competitive start at The Open. "The surgery went smoothly, and I'm hopeful this will help alleviate the back spasms and pain I was experiencing throughout most of the 2024 season," Woods said in a statement at the time. "I look forward to tackling this rehab and preparing myself to get back to normal life activities, including golf." It is unclear when Woods will compete again. He has played the PNC Championship, a family team event, with his son Charlie each December for the last four years. This article first appeared on Field Level Media and was syndicated with permission.
PHOENIX — Attorney General Kris Mayes is going to court with a largely untested legal theory to force a Saudi company to stop “excessively pumping groundwater’’ at its western Arizona alfalfa operations and require it to set aside funds to compensate neighbors it has damaged. The lawsuit filed Wednesday claims that Fondomonte LLC, the Arizona subsidiary of the company, has created a “public nuisance” by pumping so much water it has dried up nearby wells and resulted in subsidence of the land around Vicksburg in La Paz County. It also says the damage is threatening sediment buildup that reduces water quality and damages appliances, pumps and pipes. None of that pumping violates state water laws, Mayes acknowledged. Portions of the state are within “active management areas’’ where pumping of groundwater is regulated. Pumping pretty much everywhere else — including where Fondomonte operates — is ungoverned. Discussions at the state Capitol about imposing new rules on these areas have broken down. Mayes blames the problem here on “legislative failure to address a water crisis with catastrophic effects on the groundwater level in the Ranegras Basin’’ of La Paz County. She said that’s the reason Fondomonte came here to grow alfalfa to feed dairy cattle in Saudi Arabia, where such farming is banned. “Fondomonte is taking advantage of Arizona’s failure to protect its precious groundwater resources,’’ Mayes said. Mayes wants a Maricopa County judge to rule that Fondomonte’s pumping violates the “public nuisance’’ provision of the state criminal code. “Dangerous precedent,” company says Fondomonte is gearing up to fight the use of the nuisance law to curb what it says are its legal operations. “We believe the attorney general is setting a dangerous precedent attempting to penalize farming and the wider agricultural industry within the state of Arizona,’’ said company spokesman Barrett Marson. “The company complies with all state and local regulations.’’ Mayes isn’t disputing that. Her claim is that Fondomonte’s operations are harming its neighbors and, under Arizona law, creating a nuisance. “Arizona law is clear on this point: No company has the right to endanger an entire community’s health and safety for its own gain,’’ Mayes said. Marson, however, said the allegations are “totally unfounded’’ and the company will fight the litigation. Arizona’s nuisance law has two methods of enforcement. One makes it a Class 2 felony to maintain a public nuisance. In this case, since the defendant is a limited liability company, jail time is off the table. That would leave a fine of $750, which would make no difference in a case like this. The other method, though, allows the Attorney General’s Office to ask a court to enjoin the activity. That is the order Mayes seeks, as well as a requirement for Fondomonte to set up an “abatement fund’’ to reimburse others who have been affected. It will be up to a judge to decide whether the nuisance law fits what is happening here. There really is no precedent. The only known use of the law in a situation like this came earlier in Mayes’ tenure, when she used it to go after a company’s plan to mine rock and gravel on a 25-acre parcel it owned in a neighborhood in a rural area near Chino Valley. The site was within 100 feet of homes. State Mine Inspector Paul Marsh said at the time he had no choice under existing law but to approve the mining plan. So Mayes, claiming nuisance, got a court to issue a preliminary injunction. But there never was a final ruling on whether the mine was a nuisance, or whether the nuisance law applies: The lawsuit went away after the company abandoned its plan after someone else bought it. Land sinking In this case, Mayes said there is clear evidence of the effects of Fondomonte’s operations. Operating in the Ranegras Basin since 2014, the company has multiple wells, each capable of pumping up to 4,000 gallons of water per minute. She said in 2023 alone, Fondomonte used about 31,196 acre-feet of groundwater within the basin. That is considered enough to serve about 93,000 single-family homes. But the attorney general said there are more immediate and visible consequences. Mayes said a well less than a mile from Fondomonte’s properties went dry about five years ago. And in late 2017, the same happened to a well for the Friendship Baptist Church about 1.8 miles away. “The land is literally sinking in La Paz County with as much as 9.8 inches of subsidence documented in the immediate vicinity of Fondomonte’s farms,’’ she said. Mayes said she is not arguing that the growing of alfalfa itself is a nuisance, acknowledging it is grown throughout the state by others — and that much of it is shipped overseas, including to China. She said the future of growing the water-intensive crop here “is a question for the Legislature.’’ But she said there is no excuse for lawmakers. “They have been completely AWOL when it comes to addressing rural Arizona’s water needs and these situations where people are being harmed,’’ she said. The attorney general isn’t the only one. La Paz County Supervisor Holly Irwin decried the lack action by state lawmakers to place any restrictions on water use in her area. “That is why we are seeing foreign companies come over to these areas, purchase land and pump water out so that they can supplement their alfalfa and send it back home,’’ said Holly. “Attorney General Kris Mayes is the first one who has stepped up and done anything about it,’’ the Republican supervisor said of the Democratic prosecutor. “I know my constituents will be thrilled that somebody’s actually paying attention to the real problems here, which are wells that are going dry, the land subsidence that we’ve seen, and the concern that we have for the future of our basin.’’ Agricultural wins at Legislature Efforts to address the problem have been stalled at the Capitol amid a dispute over not just whether regulation is needed but who should determine any restrictions. Irwin and other rural supervisors want both monitoring and conservation of groundwater, pointing out that farms don’t even have to report how much they are pumping. But that has bumped up against agricultural interests who argue that, in many cases, they were here first and, even with the current targets being out-of-state and foreign firms, they fear any potential state interference on their own operations. So far, the agricultural interests have won out. In fact, lawmakers have carved out special protections. For example, there is a state statute that says agricultural operations that were around before surrounding residential development “are presumed to be reasonable and do not constitute a nuisance.’’ Mayes, however, said that doesn’t apply, and not only because residents were there long before Fondomonte started farming alfalfa and pumping groundwater in 2014. She also pointed out that same law does not apply if “the agricultural operation has a substantial adverse effect on public health and safety.’’ Mayes, in her lawsuit, spoke to the exception, calling the excessive pumping “injurious to health’’ and even “indecent’’ because it interferes with the ability of people to enjoy their property. Republican lawmakers, anticipating what Mayes was going to do, tried to undermine her ability to sue. Sen. Sine Kerr, R-Buckeye, added a provision to HB 2124 last year dealing with agricultural water use, to strip the attorney general of the right to bring any sort of nuisance action, regardless of the reason. That bill was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs. She said lawmakers need to address water issues “in a holistic manner’’ rather than tinkering with water laws on a piece-meal basis. If Mayes’ new lawsuit succeeds, she already has her next target in mind: Riverview Dairy’s pumping in the Willcox Basin of Cochise County. Howard Fischer is a veteran journalist who has been reporting since 1970 and covering state politics and the Legislature since 1982. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, Bluesky , and Threads at @azcapmedia or email azcapmedia@gmail.com . Respond: Write a letter to the editor | Write a guest opinion Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.Jimmy Carter, the 39th US president, has died at 100RA Capital Management Announces Close of $1.4 Billion Acquisition of Aliada Therapeutics by AbbVie
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ATLANTA (AP) — Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who tried to restore virtue to the White House after the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, then rebounded from a landslide defeat to become a global advocate of human rights and democracy, has died. He was 100 years old . The Carter Center said the 39th president died Sunday afternoon, more than a year after entering hospice care , at his home in Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died in November 2023, lived most of their lives. The center said he died peacefully, surrounded by his family. A moderate Democrat, Carter ran for president in 1976 as a little-known Georgia governor with a broad grin, effusive Baptist faith and technocratic plans for efficient government. His promise to never 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 said. Carter’s victory over Republican Gerald Ford, whose fortunes fell after pardoning Nixon, came amid Cold War pressures, turbulent oil markets and social upheaval over race, women’s rights and America’s role in the world. His achievements included brokering Mideast peace by keeping Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at Camp David for 13 days in 1978. But his coalition splintered under double-digit inflation and the 444-day hostage crisis in Iran. His negotiations ultimately brought all the hostages home alive, but in a final insult, Iran didn’t release them until the inauguration of Ronald Reagan, who had trounced him in the 1980 election. Humbled and back home in Georgia, Carter said his faith demanded that he keep doing whatever he could, for as long as he could, to try to make a difference. He and Rosalynn co-founded The Carter Center in 1982 and spent the next 40 years traveling the world as peacemakers, human rights advocates and champions of democracy and public health. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, Carter helped ease nuclear tensions in North and South Korea, avert a U.S. invasion of Haiti and negotiate cease-fires in Bosnia and Sudan. By 2022, the center had monitored at least 113 elections around the world. Carter was determined to eradicate guinea worm infections as one of many health initiatives. Swinging hammers into their 90s, the Carters built homes with Habitat for Humanity. The common observation that he was better as an ex-president rankled Carter. His allies were pleased that he lived long enough to see biographers and historians revisit his presidency and declare it more impactful than many understood at the time. Propelled in 1976 by voters in Iowa and then across the South, Carter ran a no-frills campaign. Americans were captivated by the earnest engineer, and while an election-year Playboy interview drew snickers when he said he “had looked on many women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times,” voters tired of political cynicism found it endearing. The first family set an informal tone in the White House, carrying their own luggage, trying to silence the Marine Band’s traditional “Hail to the Chief" and enrolling daughter, Amy, in public schools. Carter was lampooned for wearing a cardigan and urging Americans to turn down their thermostats. But Carter set the stage for an economic revival and sharply reduced America's dependence on foreign oil by deregulating the energy industry along with airlines, trains and trucking. He established the departments of Energy and Education, appointed record numbers of women and nonwhites to federal posts, preserved millions of acres of Alaskan wilderness and pardoned most Vietnam draft evaders. Emphasizing human rights , he ended most support for military dictators and took on bribery by multinational corporations by signing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He persuaded the Senate to ratify the Panama Canal treaties and normalized relations with China, an outgrowth of Nixon’s outreach to Beijing. But crippling turns in foreign affairs took their toll. When OPEC hiked crude prices, making drivers line up for gasoline as inflation spiked to 11%, Carter tried to encourage Americans to overcome “a crisis of confidence.” Many voters lost confidence in Carter instead after the infamous address that media dubbed his “malaise" speech, even though he never used that word. After Carter reluctantly agreed to admit the exiled Shah of Iran to the U.S. for medical treatment, the American Embassy in Tehran was overrun in 1979. Negotiations to quickly free the hostages broke down, and then eight Americans died when a top-secret military rescue attempt failed. Carter also had to reverse course on the SALT II nuclear arms treaty after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979. Though historians would later credit Carter's diplomatic efforts for hastening the end of the Cold war, Republicans labeled his soft power weak. Reagan’s “make America great again” appeals resonated, and he beat Carter in all but six states. Born Oct. 1, 1924, James Earl Carter Jr. married fellow Plains native Rosalynn Smith in 1946, the year he graduated from the Naval Academy. He brought his young family back to Plains after his father died, abandoning his Navy career, and they soon turned their ambitions to politics . Carter reached the state Senate in 1962. After rural white and Black voters elected him governor in 1970, he drew national attention by declaring that “the time for racial discrimination is over.” Carter published more than 30 books and remained influential as his center turned its democracy advocacy onto U.S. politics, monitoring an audit of Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results. After a 2015 cancer diagnosis, Carter said he felt “perfectly at ease with whatever comes.” “I’ve had a wonderful life,” he said. “I’ve had thousands of friends, I’ve had an exciting, adventurous and gratifying existence.” Contributors include former AP staffer Alex Sanz in Atlanta.
