Q&A: ‘People want cars that are more rewarding’How major US stock indexes fared Tuesday, 12/24/2024On the table, unconscious and stretched out on a pillow, Joe Mangy looks deceptively peaceful. The koala's watery, red-rimmed eyes are the only sign of the disease at war with his body. Tubes snarl out of a mask covering his face as a vet tech listens to his chest with a stethoscope. He is not healing as well as they had hoped. Eight days earlier, Joe Mangy – who is about two years old – was found wandering in the middle of a suburban road. Dazed and confused, eyes nearly glued shut with mucus, he was rushed here, to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary's hospital. Enveloped by rainforest on Queensland's Gold Coast, the park is full of koalas like this. Outside the clinic, in a "Koala Rehab Centre" faintly perfumed by eucalyptus leaves, is a three-year-old recovering from a hysterectomy. "It saved her life... but she can't reproduce," the head vet Michael Payne says. Another male koala stares blankly through narrowed slits. His left tear duct is so inflamed his eyeball is barely visible. This hospital is ground zero of a grim chlamydia epidemic which is killing thousands of koalas and making even more sterile, pushing the national icons to the brink of extinction. But it's also at the core of desperate bid to save them with a vaccine – frustrated efforts which, after over a decade, are still tied up in regulation and running out of both time and money. Even a few decades ago, spotting a koala snuggled in a backyard tree was nothing out of the ordinary. They were plentiful on the country's populous east coast. But in recent times the species has been in dramatic decline – in some places plummeting by 80% in just 10 years. Land clearing and urbanisation are leaving the marsupials hungry and homeless, while natural disasters are drowning or cooking them en masse. "[But] it's the chlamydia that shot up tremendously - almost exponentially," says Dr Payne, who has run the Currumbin clinic for more than 20 years. "You get days where you're euthanising heaps of koalas that just come in completely ravaged." Estimates vary greatly – koalas are famously difficult to count – but some groups say as few as 50,000 of the animals are left in the wild and the species is officially listed as endangered on most of the eastern seaboard. There are now fears the animals will be extinct in some states within a generation. Dr Payne wistfully recounts "the early days" when his hospital only saw a handful of koalas a year. They now see 400. So many come through the door that the team has started giving them two names, a vet nurse says, cradling Joe Mangy as he wakes from the anaesthetic. His last name is a nod to the state of his eyes when he first arrived, she explains. Of the top reasons koalas are brought into wildlife hospitals – vehicle strikes, pet attacks and chlamydia – the bacterial infection is the biggest and deadliest. It results in conjunctivitis for koalas like Joe Mangy, but presents as an infection of the genitals and urinary system for others. Particularly unlucky animals, get both at the same time. At its worst, the ocular form can be so bad koalas are blinded and starve to death, while the urogenital infection produces giant fluid-filled cysts so "nasty" everyday bodily functions like passing urine make the animals cry out in pain. "Their reproductive system falls apart," Dr Payne explains. If caught early enough, treatment is an option, but that in itself is a potentially fatal "nightmare" as the antibiotics destroy the gut bacteria which allow koalas to digest otherwise toxic eucalyptus leaves – their main food source. On a species level though, the disease, which spreads through bodily fluids, causes even greater ruin. Chlamydia is not uncommon in other animals – koalas are suspected to have first caught it from livestock – but the spread and intensity of the disease amongst the marsupials is unmatched. Experts estimate around half of koalas in Queensland and New South Wales could be infected, but just a suburb away from Currumbin, in Elanora, that has climbed beyond 80%. It is the most diseased population in the region and numbers have been "falling off a cliff", Dr Payne says. "It's a disaster." Enter the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and their vaccine, which aims to prevent and treat chlamydia in koalas and has been almost two decades in the making. Alongside Currumbin, they're trying to save the Elanora koalas from oblivion: capturing 30 youngsters and vaccinating them, before recatching them at intervals over three years to track their health. So far only three of the vaccinated koalas in this research trial have contracted the disease, though all recovered, and encouragingly, more than two dozen joeys have been born - bucking the infertility trend. "There's generations of koalas now that have come through. We've got grand joeys," Dr Payne says excitedly. Currumbin has also been vaccinating every koala which comes through their hospital, and have reached about 400 koalas this way. But treating and vaccinating each koala with chlamydia costs them about A$7,000 (£3,500, $4,500). Capturing, jabbing, and tracking each wild Elanora koala is basically double that. Two hours away, researchers at the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) are doing their best to flatten the wave of disease too, with a separate vaccine. They inoculate about 2,000 koalas a year through wildlife hospital trials and tack themselves onto development projects or research studies in the region that involve their capture. They've just wrapped a decade's-worth of those projects into one study of more than 600 animals – the largest and longest of its kind. Incredibly, deaths dropped by two thirds among vaccinated koalas. Molecular biologist Samuel Phillips tells the BBC about one local koala population they studied which was at risk of extinction. Authorities are now looking at translocating some animals so they don't overpopulate the area. "It turned it around completely." And crucially, the study found that the koalas that did contract chlamydia were doing so later in life, after their peak breeding years had begun. Dr Phillips and his research partner Peter Timms have now submitted their vaccine to the federal regulator for approval but say they're keeping their hopes in check. "There'll be hurdles," Dr Timms explains. In the meantime, for their small, overstretched team, dividing time and funding is an impossible balance. Do they involve themselves in as many trials as possible to help small groups of koalas now, or do they devote their efforts to advancing the tedious research and approval process which could help a huge cohort of them down the track? "People come to us semi-regularly and say, 'Can we vaccinate more koalas?' And the answer at some point is 'No', because otherwise we're just spending all our time and energy doing [that]," Dr Timms says. It has now been a decade since these two research teams first started seeing results, and there is still no real timeline on when a jab will be ready. And even when it is, there are huge barriers to any roll out. While making the vaccine isn't that costly, finding, capturing, and vaccinating wild koalas is extraordinarily expensive and time-consuming. Dr Phillips says they would have to strategically target select populations, though they're not yet sure how many koalas in each they'd need to treat to reverse decline. That challenge will be doubly complicated with the QUT vaccine, though, because it requires two doses, as opposed to UniSC's single-shot formula. The QUT team has been developing an implant – inspired by a human contraceptive device – that dissolves after four weeks to provide the booster. It will be trialled on Currumbin's captive koalas next year. Then there is the question of funding, which has been, and continues to be, fickle. Both vaccine developers provide their shots to wildlife hospitals and research trials for free, relying on individual donors, generosity from their universities, and the unpredictable whims of election cycles. State and federal governments are the biggest financial backers of the vaccine projects – last year Canberra gave QUT and UniSC A$750,000 each. "No-one wants to imagine an Australia without koalas," Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said at the time. But government contributions are random, and never quite enough. "I cannot believe somebody will not come along tomorrow and say 'You need to vaccinate? Here's my cheque to cover the next 10 years'. But we can't find them," Dr Timms says. However, the biggest barrier is the mountain of red tape researchers are yet to cut through. Both groups have conservation charities and wildlife hospitals knocking down the door, desperate for access, but until they go through the "painful" approval process, their hands are largely tied. "[It's] a critical step that is just taking too long. It kills me," Dr Payne says. "We've kind of passed it being urgent. It was urgent probably 10 years ago." Adding to their despondency, is a fact all involved stress repeatedly: the vaccine is simply not enough to save the species. And so even the lucky koalas like Joe Mangy, who dodge death by chlamydia and return to the wild, still must face off against a myriad of other mortal threats. "It's death by a thousand cuts, right?" Dr Timms says.TORONTO, Dec. 24, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fredonia Mining Inc. (“ Fredonia ” or the “ Company ”) (TSXV:FRED) announces that it has filed a technical report for its wholly-owned El Dorado Monserrat (“EDM”) Gold & Silver Project, Santa Cruz province, Argentina (the " Technical Report ") pursuant to National Instrument 43-101 "Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects" (" NI 43-101 "). The Technical Report supports the disclosure made by the Company in its November 11, 2024 news release announcing the Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate at El Dorado Monserrat Project, Argentina. The Technical Report is titled “Maiden Mineral Resources Estimate on the El Dorado Monserrat Property, Gold and Silver Project Santa Cruz Province, Argentina” with an effective date of November 8, 2024, and was prepared by Mr. Mario Alfaro Cortés, Qualified Person (QP) as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101, Chilean Mining Commission; and Mr. Ganem Fernando, Qualified Person (QP) as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101, member of the American Institute of Professional Geologists. Estanislao Auriemma, CEO stated: “With the filing of the technical report and maiden mineral resource estimate for the North and South deposit, we are planning a new phase of diamond drilling to expand the high-grade gold and silver resources and then move the Project through a Pre- Feasibility study. As the maiden mineral resource estimate covers only a fraction of the Project, we believe we have established the baseline for significant shareholder value, and, with our now deeper understanding of the Project's geology, we plan to continue to significantly grow the size and quality of the mineral resource as we address the broader Project area that demonstrates mineralization, similar to the neighboring Cerro VanGuardia mine. The upcoming drill campaign is focused on demonstrating that higher grade mineralization exists at depth consistent with the results of our deeper drill holes we completed at Herradura Hill showing increasing grade.” Highlights significant potential for the Project; at a 0.40 g/t cut-off gold grade, the maiden mineral resource estimate totals: • In Pit Measured & Indicated Mineral Resource: 81.348 million tonnes grading 0.61 g/t gold and 18.76 g/t silver (0.86 g/t gold equivalent*6), containing an estimated 1.593 million ounces of gold and 49.067 million ounces of silver (2.248 million ounces of gold equivalent*6); plus limited Inferred Mineral Resource. • The estimate produces in- pit resources for the Northern Monserrat Sector and Southern Mineralized Corridor deposits, spaced just 5.0 km apart. • Mineralization remains open in all directions and below the base of drilling at both the North and South sectors, showing clear scope for further drilling to increase the size of this initial mineral resource estimate. • The resource estimate is based on 40,472.68 meters of drilling and 5,305.43 meters of trenches, intersecting the resource solids. These drillings are divided into 164 holes for a total of 27,504.22 meters for Northern Monserrat Sector and 55 holes for a total of 12,968.46 meters for Southern Mineralized Corridor (including only Herradura Hill target). Gold and silver grades for both sector, have been interpolated independently. MINERAL RESOURCE ESTIMATE STATEMENT (1-6) (1) Mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The estimate of mineral resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues. It is noted that no specific issues have been identified as yet. (2) The quantity and grade of reported Inferred mineral resources in this estimation are uncertain in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define these Inferred mineral resources as an Indicated or Measured mineral resources and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in upgrading them to an Indicated or Measured mineral resource category. (3) Mineral Resources were estimated utilizing S-Gems and Rec-Min software and conventional block modeling within 3D wireframes defined on a 0.40% gold cut-off, capped composites and inverse distance grade interpolation. (4) The mineral resources in this report were estimated using the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM), CIM Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves, Definitions and Guidelines prepared by the CIM Standing Committee on Reserve Definitions and adopted by the CIM Council. (5) The 0.40% gold resource cut-off grade was derived from long term average Gold price of US$1,800/oz, 90.0% process recovery, 4.5% royalties, US$ 7.0/t process cost, US$ 5.0/t transportation & refining and US$ 4.0/t G&A cost. An optimized pit shell was utilized for resource reporting that utilized a US$ 2.0/t mining cost and 45 degree pit slopes. (6) Gold grade equivalent (Au Eq) is derived from gold metal price US$1,800/oz, and silver metal price US$24/oz. Au Eq assume Au and Ag recoveries of 90.0%. The limited metallurgical studies by Fredonia (selective Bottle rolls from Main Veins material) have indicated high (>90%) recovery of gold in oxide material. The Cerro Vanguardia mine to the east of EDM with similar mineralization reports recoveries in the high 90% for Au. Accordingly, the formula used for gold grade equivalent (Au Eq) is: Au Eq (g/t) = Au (g/t) + [Ag (g/t) x (24/1,800) x (0.9/0.9)] SUMMARY OF SENSITIVITY RESULTS FOR GOLD CUT-OFF GRADE Notes: the base case estimate presented above is subject to the same assumptions and qualifications described in Notes 1-6 of Table 1 above. Figure 1. Plan view of the north and south deposits (resource area in green) and their proximity in relation to the Cerro Vanguardia Mine. Figure 2. Plan view of the north and south deposit at El Dorado Monserrat. (Blue measured, green indicated, red inferred). Figure 3. Gold grade Shell with a view to the West. Long Section of the MRE at Northern Monserrat Sector. Figure 4. Gold grade Shell with a view to the west. Cross Section of the MRE at Southern Mineralized Corridor (included only Herradura Hill). Preparation of Mineral Resource Calculation The mineral resource estimate was prepared by independent QP Mario Alfaro Cortés of Chile, commissioned by Fredonia Mining, and is calculated for two deposits, North and South. The estimate was prepared according to NI 43-101 standards and the CIM Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves: Definitions and Guidelines (CIM 2014). Qualified Person Mr. Fernando Ganem, is a QP as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Ganem visited the property and has read and approved the technical contents of this release. GRANT OF COMPANY OPTIONS The Company also announces that it has granted stock options (the “ Options ”) to directors and officers of the Company in the amounts described in the table below. Each Option is exercisable to purchase one common share of the Company (a “ Common Share ”) at a price of $0.40 per Common Share, representing a significant premium to the market price of the Common Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange, for a period five years from the grant date. The Options have been granted in accordance with the terms of the Company’s stock option plan and have been granted to the directors and offices in lieu of accrued cash amounts payable for compensation for acting in those positions. The Company intends to pay cash compensation to officers and directors in the future in accordance with historical practices. About Fredonia Fredonia holds gold and silver license areas totaling approximately 18,300 ha. in the prolific Deseado Massif geological region in the Province of Santa Cruz, Argentina, including the following principal areas: its flagship - the advanced El Dorado-Monserrat project (approx. 6,200 ha.) located close to AngloGold Ashanti’s 300,000 oz./yr Au-Ag Cerro Vanguardia mine, the El Aguila project (approx. 9,100 ha.), and the Petrificados project (approx. 3,000 ha). For further information: Please visit the Company’s website at www.fredoniamanagement.com or contact: Estanislao Auriemma, Chief Executive Officer, Direct +54 91 149 980 623, Email: estanislao.auriemma@gmail.com . Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains certain “Forward-Looking Statements” within the meaning of applicable securities legislation relating to the Company and the EDM project, including statements regarding the prospectivity of the EDM project for gold and silver mineralization, including the potential for metal recoveries from any mineral processing activity, the mineral resource estimate at the Project, the prospectivity for mineralization at the EDM Project similar to mineralization at the Cerro Vanguardia mine, and the Company’s future exploration plans. Words such as “might”, “will”, “should”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “expect”, “believe”, “estimate”, “forecast” and similar terminology are used to identify forward looking statements and forward-looking information. Such statements and information are based on assumptions, estimates, opinions and analysis made by the Company considering its experience, current conditions and its expectations of future developments as well as other factors which it believes to be reasonable and relevant. Forward-looking statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including, without limitation, the factors described in the Company’s filing statement dated June 22, 2021 available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com under the heading “Risk Factors” that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements and information and accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on such statements and information and the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. The statements in this press release are made as of the date of this release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements made herein, or comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third parties in respect of the Company or its securities, other than as required by law. Photos accompanying this announcement are available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6b7d0578-fad8-4174-ade5-7d45157b5454 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/73969a7c-54ee-4833-bc60-ca7ffc4aead5 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8857eefe-cf49-4125-a627-5eb21b737577 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/19d9b257-4303-4706-897b-3b806d7d3ee4ng slot 。

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My sister and I have a VERY controversial relationship most would disapprove of A New Zealand mum shared a secret about her sister Read more: I bought three spring outfits from Kmart Australia for under $100 By CARINA STATHIS FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA Published: 23:48 EST, 29 December 2024 | Updated: 23:48 EST, 29 December 2024 e-mail View comments Two sisters have caused a stir after revealing a controversial secret about their relationship. Mum-of-two Timara , from New Zealand , admitted her sister is dating her ex-husband - the father of her children. It's a situation most wouldn't approve of, but Timara has decided to look past it after finding out about her sister's relationship with her ex. 'There wasn't really a conversation, I just noticed they were together and that was that,' Timara, 37, told FEMAIL. 'I'm okay with it because everybody deserves love and happiness. My focus is on my own life, my little family and making sure I'm there for my daughter mentally and emotionally because she's the only one that matters in the situation.' The confession shocked thousands online and left a sour taste in the mouths of some who couldn't fathom their sister dating an ex-partner. But others admired the mother's strength to continue the relationship with her sister. 'It's keeping it in the family. Yep it's weird but I choose to not be bothered by it,' Timara captioned a now-viral video. While Timara and her ex-husband were married for ten years they separated after the first year. They didn't get a divorce until earlier this year. Mum-of-two Timara, from New Zealand , admitted her sister is dating her ex-husband and the father of her children It's a situation most wouldn't approve of, but Timara has decided to look past it after finding out about her sister's relationship with her ex (Timara, right, pictured with her sister, left) The confession shocked thousands online and left a sour taste in the mouths of some who couldn't fathom their sister dating an ex-partner. But others admired the mother's strength to continue the relationship with her sister 'Eight billion people in this world sis and you decide you want your brother in-law. Goodness me,' one wrote The video posted across social media swiftly caught the attention of the masses but wasn't phased by any negative comments. 'Eight billion people in this world sis and you decide you want your brother in-law. Goodness me,' one wrote. 'So if they have babies your babies will be siblings and first cousins,' another pointed out. Read More EXCLUSIVE I'm 34, a CEO and a great catch... and my girlfriend is an AI chatbot: Here's what my family thinks 'Well you definitely learnt to share your toys growing up or give them to the less fortunate,' a third joked. Another woman said the reality of their relationship is 'gross on all levels' and the sister settled for 'sloppy seconds'. Someone else said she wouldn't speak to her sister again if she did the same thing. However, others didn't judge the sisters or their family. 'Good on you. I know what I be doing to my sis if that was us. Left, right, goodnight,' one said. 'You're a better woman then me cause I could never,' another wrote. 'Love this so much not cause it's something I'd do but because you aren't about to let a man come between you and your sister,' a third added. 'We listen, we don't judge,' someone else wrote. New Zealand Share or comment on this article: My sister and I have a VERY controversial relationship most would disapprove of e-mail Add comment

Kavelashvili inaugurated as president, complicating path toward EUMiami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has been downgraded from questionable to doubtful for Sunday's road game against the Cleveland Browns because of a hip injury. Tagovailoa, 26, has been limited at practice all week but is still hoping to play, according to media reports on Saturday. The Dolphins (7-8) are fighting to stay in playoff contention and need a win against the Browns (3-12) to stay in the mix. If Tagovailoa doesn't play, Tyler Huntley would get his fourth start of the season. The Dolphins also elevated quarterback Skylar Thompson from the practice squad to the active roster on Saturday. Tagovailoa injured his hip against the Houston Texans on Dec. 15 and absorbed another hit against the San Francisco 49ers last Sunday. He has already missed four games this season because of a concussion while starting the other 11. He is 291 of 399 (league-best 72.9 percent) for 2,867 yards, 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Miami selected him with the fifth overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Alabama. He has completed 68.1 percent of his passes in his career for 15,506 yards and 100 TDs along with 44 interceptions in 64 games (62 starts). Huntley, 26, has started three games this season for the Dolphins while Tagovailoa was out before suffering a shoulder injury. Huntley was 39 of 66 (59.1 percent) for 377 yards, one TD and one pick. He also ran 16 times for 67 yards and a score. He played in 20 games (nine starts) for the Baltimore Ravens from 2020-23, passing for 1,957 yards, eight TDs and seven interceptions. He also rushed 115 times for 509 yards and three TDs. --Field Level MediaAutry scores 16 as George Washington downs Illinois State 72-64

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‘Baby Driver’ Star Remembered at Memorial Service After Death at 16

FILE – Former President Jimmy Carter poses for a portrait during the Toronto International Film Festival, Sept. 10, 2007, in Toronto. Watch a clip from his interview with Larry King years ago in the video above. | (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File) 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. “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. To remove this article -UK ministers warned housing crisis puts plans for NHS and economy at risk