By BILL BARROW, Associated Press ATLANTA (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. 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.

Unrivaled, the new 3-on-3 women's basketball league launching this winter, signed LSU star guard Flau'jae Johnson to a name, image and likeness deal. Johnson is the second college player to ink an agreement with Unrivaled, following UConn's Paige Bueckers. They won't be participating in the upcoming inaugural season, but Johnson and Bueckers will have equity stakes in the league. Unrivaled dropped a video on social media Thursday showing Johnson -- who also has a burgeoning rap career -- performing a song while wearing a shirt that reads, "The Future is Unrivaled." The deal will see Johnson create additional promotional content for the league. Johnson, 21, was a freshman on the LSU team that won the 2023 national championship. Now in her junior year, Johnson is averaging career highs of 22.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game through 10 games for the No. 5 Tigers (10-0). She ranks eighth in Division I in scoring. Johnson has career averages of 14.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in 82 career appearances (80 starts) for LSU. --Field Level Media

MILAN, Italy (AP) — Atalanta went to the top of Serie A when Ademola Lookman scored with three minutes remaining to beat AC Milan 2-1 on Friday. Atalanta’s ninth win in a row was a fitting gift to coach Gian Piero Gasperini, who was awarded the coach of the month award earlier in the day for guiding his team to a perfect record in November. Charles De Ketelaere put the home side ahead with a towering header after 11 minutes only for Milan to level 11 minutes later. Theo Hernández released Rafael Leão on the right wing and his inviting cross was converted by Álvaro Morata. Milan, which lost Christian Pulišić to a knock before halftime, looked set to end Atalanta’s impressive run but Lookman nipped in at the back post to nod home a corner in the dying moments. Atalanta has 34 points, two more than Napoli, which has a game in hand against Lazio on Sunday. Milan was in seventh place. Serie A champion Inter defeated Parma 3-1 and extended the Milan club’s unbeaten run to 13 games. Federico Dimarco put the home side ahead five minutes before halftime when he worked a neat one-two with Henrikh Mkhitaryan and fired a low shot past Zion Suzuki. Nicolò Barella made it two eight minutes into the second half when he finished a fast counterattack with aplomb. Marcos Thuram's 10th goal of the season made it 3-0 in the 66th. A Matteo Darmian own goal gave some late consolation for Parma. AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccerMatchday 18 of Premier League saw VAR and refereeing decisions spark controversy, from Jhon Duran’s red card to Joao Pedro escaping punishment, leaving fans and pundits questioning consistency. New Delhi: Matchday 18 produced some top tier drama not just in terms of results, but also a few turn of events that made many people question the referees and VAR decisions. In the game against Aston Villa and Newcastle, the Villans went 1-0 down in just the second mintue of the game when Anthony Gordon scored a stunning goal for the home side. However, Unai Emery’s side suffered yet another blow in the 32nd minute of the game when they were down to 10 men after their young star Jhon Duran was given a controversial red card. The young forward saw red after VAR provided their conclusion after judging the tussle between Duran and Newcastle’s Fabian Schar. Anthony Taylor didn’t even take a look at the replay, he decided to issue a red card to Duran that only made matters worse for the Villans. However, the internet saw fans putting up their opinions that the forward didn’t deserve to be booked after he appeared to stamp on the defender during their tussle, which led to his dismissal. The pundits also claimed that due to the momentum in which he was running, there was n oway he could have stopped himself from not making the contact with the Swiss defender. Something bizzare happened in the Premier League meeting between Brighton and Brentford that saw the Seagulls’ striker Joao Pedro not being booked after a VAR check on his aggresive swing of elbow that just missed the Brentford player Yegor Yarmolyuk. Although it could have been a lot worse, Pedro certainly deserved atleast a yellow card for that aggressive behaviour according to some fans on social media. However, the striker survived it as no card was issued to him. What Premier League had to say and other’s thoughts on this Have the Premier League referees lost the credibility? Recently it has been confirmed that Aston Villa’s appeal for Jhon Duran’s red card was rejected by Football Association which has left the club in shock. Unai Emery blasted the referees for the call, claiming it ended the match as Newcastle easily defeated a 10-man opposition 3-0. The manager of Villa, who has previously supported the use of video assistance referee technology, was baffled that it did not step in at St. James’ Park. “The red card was clear for the referee straight away, he was the only person in the stadium who couldn’t take his time,” Emery claimed. “He has to be intelligent to take time and get the right decision. “In this case you have to use the VAR. He has to be smart, and calm. It has to be like that.” It was pretty clear that the VAR was very much needed in this situation that brewed up and Anthony Taylor decided to take the matters in his own hands and issuing a straight red that left the visitors frustrated. Unai Emery also claimed that this was the turning point in the game when their star forward was sent off which led to Newcastle scoring two more goals and ending the game 3-0 to their liking. Meanwhile, according to many it was a baffling decision by the VAR when they decided not to issue a card to Joao Pedro, who’s actions seemed like he deserved atleast a yellow card. This raises a big question that are the Premier League referees losing their credibility? Click for more latest Football news . Also get top headlines and latest news from India and around the world at News9. Upamanyu Sanyal has been a sports content writer for a while now. He is a sports enthusiast and a dedicated sports writer working under News9. He has been following football since 2009 and has written a numerous analytical as well as factual pieces on the beautiful game. He himself has played football at a very high level and he loves to write, report and debate about football stories.

Unrivaled, the new 3-on-3 women's basketball league launching this winter, signed LSU star guard Flau'jae Johnson to a name, image and likeness deal. Johnson is the second college player to ink an agreement with Unrivaled, following UConn's Paige Bueckers. They won't be participating in the upcoming inaugural season, but Johnson and Bueckers will have equity stakes in the league. Unrivaled dropped a video on social media Thursday showing Johnson -- who also has a burgeoning rap career -- performing a song while wearing a shirt that reads, "The Future is Unrivaled." The deal will see Johnson create additional promotional content for the league. Johnson, 21, was a freshman on the LSU team that won the 2023 national championship. Now in her junior year, Johnson is averaging career highs of 22.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game through 10 games for the No. 5 Tigers (10-0). She ranks eighth in Division I in scoring. Johnson has career averages of 14.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in 82 career appearances (80 starts) for LSU. --Field Level MediaPrince Harry and Meghan Markle have certainly been the talk of the town in 2024, as they've kept a professional distance that's had everyone gossiping. With 2025 on the horizon, the spotlight is firmly on the Sussexes' next steps, especially since their solo ventures this year have left many scratching their heads. Harry has dedicated himself to philanthropic efforts, while Meghan pursued her business interests, although they did team up for two tours reminiscent of Royal visits in 2024. However, aside from these joint excursions, sightings of the pair together have been rare, with the two often found on opposite sides of the globe during official events—a stark contrast to the tight-knit image they once presented. Known for their playful banter and public displays of affection, these moments seem to have dwindled lately. Read more: Michelle Keegan announces pregnancy - she's expecting her first child with husband Mark Wright Read more: Brendan O'Carroll says marriage is different second time around and feels lucky to have wife Jenny At one point, an absence of 85 days without a public appearance together set the rumour mill into overdrive, compelling Harry to address the speculation. Body language expert Judi James spoke with the Mirror, indicating that the Sussexes' new approach signifies a significant shift for the once inseparable "salt and pepper" couple, who "move together". She observed, "The year did start well in body language terms, with two 'royal' tours that saw the glittering couple looking tactile and bonded and even one rather passionate kissing display during a salsa class that kept their branding as both a professional and a romantic duo very much alive.", reports the Mirror . "Since then, though, fans have been shown a professional parting of the ways that appears to have been building slowly but carefully recently. We now go months without seeing Harry and Meghan appearing in public together, creating an emotional drought in terms of all that romantic signalling the couple are known for and which has always been essential to their narrative of having given so much up for love and to be together." "Their tactile rituals, their adoring glances and their verbal gush about each other seemed to dissolve from public view once they became an 'either-or' professional double act in later 2024, rather than an inseparable professional duo. Working apart does seem to show up some differences in their approach, too. Harry has been seen looking relaxed and playful, immersing himself in those conversation with young children he is so good at or turning on the performer charm doing comic turns on TV shows." "Meghan's solo appearances have shown her looking more vulnerable and even coy, 'limpet clinging' to friends as though missing the comfort of her body language with Harry. Harry and Meghan might shine apart but together their body language sets off Gamma rays." Two of Harry and Meghan's most high-profile joint appearances together came in May when they visited Nigeria and then again in August on their trip to Colombia. And Judi said these trips threw up some interesting moves. She elaborated: "Their earlier trip to Nigeria showed them in familiar form in body language terms, an evolved 'royal' couple in love taking part in royal-looking engagements while holding hands, throwing flirtatious, loving glances and Meghan employing that now signature hand on her husband's knee to signal protective ownership and dominance." "Their visit to Columbia looked equally Royal but it also produced one of the most passionate PDAs from the couple to date as they took to the dance floor to salsa and stopped for an intimate mouth kiss followed by a sweetly affectionate kiss on the head from Harry while Meghan clasped her hands and tilted her head in a 'swoon' gesture." "Since that breathtaking non-verbal statement of passionate love though came separate public appearances with neither ever really being a huge enough presence to fill the gap left by the other." The couple's solo appearances have seen Harry jet-setting around the globe, visiting places like New York, London, Southern Africa and Vancouver, where the 2025 Invictus Games will be held. Meanwhile, Meghan has kept closer to their California home, making several appearances at high-profile events. Judi commented: "Harry's solo visit to Canada for the Invictus project might have shown him at his upbeat, show-boating, performative best, a nostalgic return to the days when he was the most popular and glamorous prince back in the UK, but fans would still have been waiting for the cameras to pan back to show a besotted Meghan completing the body language double act." She continued: "Ditto for Meghan's red-carpet appearance for the LA children's hospital. Meghan even wore a red dress she had famously worn with Harry but it was missing two vital components: the red matching train and Harry himself. Meghan's body language signalled coy vulnerability at this outing. She rushed back to pose with friend Kelly and when she did she partly hid behind her, like a shy teen." Judi further added: "Harry clearly adores a spot of acting and show-boating, like his 'tattoo' stunt and his appearance on the Jimmy Fallon show. He can display as something of a 'regular bloke', swearing, pranking and generally unleashing his comedy turn side and this is a side that is not a strength for Meghan." She concluded: "One of her recent solo outings for a haircare launch showed Meghan in what looked like party mood, snuggling into her friend as they posed on the red carpet and looking like a relaxed, fun celebrity at the event." Judi noted a significant change in the couple's dynamic during their recent collaboration to record a video message on child online safety. She observed: "The romantic thirst trap the couple create makes the moments when they do pair up professionally even more important for the fans. Which is why their public, professional re-meet in November to film a video for one of their joint campaigns would have created a bit of a fan frenzy. Sadly though, their body language looked stilted and rather formal, especially Harry's."

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