Broncos hope to continue playoff push when they meet the banged-up RaidersPHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jalen Hurts is still in the NFL's concussion protocol, forcing the Philadelphia Eagles to play against Dallas without their star quarterback. The Eagles will turn to backup Kenny Pickett on Sunday because Hurts is still dealing with the lingering effects of a concussion suffered against Washington. Hurts was injured early at Washington after his head slammed against the ground on one run and he was hit in the helmet by Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu at the end of another. Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said the Eagles would lean on the medical staff on a daily basis to know where Hurts — who threw two touchdown passes and ran for a pair of scores in the first meeting against Dallas in November — was in his recovery from the head injury. The 26-year-old Hurts did not practice this week, leaving Pickett — who suffered a rib injury in relief action against the Commanders — in line for his first start as an Eagle. Pickett was 14 of 24 for 143 yards against the Commanders, throwing a touchdown pass to A.J. Brown and an interception. Pickett is from New Jersey and said when he was acquired from Pittsburgh that he had “great memories” of going to games at Lincoln Financial Field with his dad and grandfather since he was 5. The chance to run out of the home team tunnel — which he could get Sunday if he’s the starting QB — left him absolutely delighted. “It's a big opportunity,” Pickett said this week. “I've been working hard to stay ready. I felt like I was in a good position last game with my preparation. Now, having a week to practice, I'll feel even better going into the stadium.” Pickett, a first-round pick out of Pitt in 2022, went 14-10 as a starter for the Steelers. The Eagles will bump third-stringer Tanner McKee to the backup spot. The Eagles also signed QB Ian Book this week to the practice squad. There has been recent precedent for quarterbacks to play a week after entering the league’s concussion protocol. Jacksonville's Trevor Lawrence sustained a head injury while scrambling up the middle on the team’s final drive in Week 15 loss to Baltimore last season. Lawrence misfired on seven of his final eight passes after the hit, a stretch that raised concerns on the sideline about his health. Lawrence reported symptoms after the game. He entered the protocol but was cleared in time to start the next game at Tampa Bay. The Eagles (12-3) could decide to play it safe and rest Hurts with the team needing a win against Dallas or the New York Giants to clinch the NFC East and the No. 2 seed in the NFC. Hurts shook off a sluggish start over the first four games and has thrown 18 touchdowns against just five interceptions to turn the Eagles into Super Bowl contenders. Thanks in large part to the tush push, Hurts has 14 rushing touchdowns this season. The Eagles won the Super Bowl for the 2017 season behind backup QB Nick Foles when starter Carson Wentz went down with a late-season injury. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
ATLANTA — Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who won the presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, endured humbling defeat after one tumultuous term and then redefined life after the White House as a global humanitarian, has died. He was 100 years old. The longest-lived American president died on Sunday, more than a year after entering hospice care , at his home in the small town of Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died at 96 in November 2023 , spent most of their lives, The Carter Center said. “Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia,” the 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. In this Nov. 3, 2019, file photo, former President Jimmy Carter teaches Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Ga. 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. FILE - President-elect Jimmy Carter waves to the crowd as he and his wife Rosalynn arrive at the Plains Baptist Church to attend services in Plains, Ga., Nov. 22, 1976. 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.” FILE - Jimmy Carter gives his acceptance speech after accepting the Democratic nomination for president on the convention floor, July 15, 1976, at New York's Madison Square Garden. 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. FILE - President Jimmy Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter are pictured with their daughter Amy at the first of seven inaugural balls in Washington, Jan. 20, 1977, at the Pension Building. 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. FILE - President Jimmy Carter leans across the roof of his car to shake hands along the parade route through Bardstown, Ky., July 31, 1979. The president climbed on top of the car as the parade moved toward the high school gym, where a town meeting was held. 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. FILE - From left, President Barack Obama, former President Jimmy Carter, first lady Michelle Obama and former President Bill Clinton wave from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington during a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. spoke, Aug. 28, 2013. 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. Jimmy Carter is shown at age 6, with his sister, Gloria, 4, in 1931 in Plains, Georgia. (AP Photo) This is a 1932 photo of Jimmy Carter at age 7 in Plains, Ga. (AP Photo) Lt. Jimmy Carter peers at instruments on submarine USS K-1 in a 1952 photo. Directly in front of Carter, smoking a cigar, is Don Dickson. He had forgotten he ever served with Carter until he came upon the photo during Christmas, 1977. A friend got it to the White House where Carter wrote: "To my friend Donald Dickson - Jimmy Carter, USS K-1 to White House." (AP Photo) FILE - In this Sept. 15, 1966 file photo, then Georgia State Sen. Jimmy Carter hugs his wife, Rosalynn, at his Atlanta campaign headquarters. Jimmy Carter, winner in Georgia's runoff primary in the Democratic Party to determine the party's candidate for the November election for governor, 1970. (AP Photo) Former State Sen. Jimmy Carter listens to applause at the Capitol in Atlanta on April 3, 1970, after announcing his candidacy or governor. In background, his wife Rosalyn holds two-year-old daughter Amy who joined in the applause. Carter, 45, of Plains, Ga., finished third in the 1966 Democratic Primary behind Gov. Lester Maddox and Ellis Arnall. (AP Photo/Charles Kelly) Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn clutch the microphones as he claims victory in a runoff election at campaign headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, September 24, 1970. Carter beat former Georgia Governor Carl Sanders for the nomination and will face Republican candidate Hal Suit, veteran television newsman, in the general election Nov. 3, 1970. (AP Photo/Charles Kelly) Former state Sen. Jimmy Carter breaks into a broad smile after early returns gave him a lead of almost 2-1 in the Democratic runoff against former Gov. Carl Sanders, Sept. 23, 1970, in Atlanta, Ga. The winner will meet the Republic Hal Suit for the governorship of Georgia on the Nov. 3 general election. (AP Photo/Charles Kelly) Governor-elect Jimmy Carter and his daughter Amy, 3, walk about the grounds by the fountain at the Governor's Mansion in Atlanta, Ga., Jan. 10, 1971, as they get to know the place where they will live for the next four years. Carter will be sworn in as governor of Georgia Tuesday. (AP Photo) Judge Robert H. Jordan administers the oath of office to Gov. Jimmy Carter during ceremonies at the state capitol in Atlanta. Ga., Jan. 12, 1971. Next to the judge is former Gov. Lester Maddox, who will take over as lieutenant governer of Georgia. (AP Photo) Jimmy Carter of Georgia, seen here Feb. 6, 1971, already described as a symbol of a new breed of moderate southern politician, says that the race question has ceased to be a major issue "between or among candidates" running for office in the old confederacy. (AP Photo) Jimmy Carter, Governor of Georgia, is shown at his desk in Atlanta, on February 19, 1971. (AP Photo) Georgia's Gov. Jimmy Carter reaches for pen February 25, 1972 to sign a Georgia Senate House resolution opposing forced busing to achieve integration in the classrooms of the United States. Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter joins a half-dozen Rockettes in a high kick, September 21, 1973, at Radio City Music Hall in New York, while visiting backstage before an afternoon performance. Carter is in New York to induce the film industry to make pictures in his state. (AP Photo/stf) Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter, right, and Delaware Gov. Sherman Tribbitt say hello to Atlanta Braves Hank Aaron, left, following a rain canceled game with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Thursday, Sept. 27, 1973, Atlanta, Ga. The cancellation slowed Aaron’s opportunity to tie or break Babe Ruth’s home run record. (AP Photo) Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter spoke to 18,000 messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention on Thursday, June 13, 1974 in Dallas, Texas. He urged Baptists to use their personal and political influence to return the nation to ideals of stronger commitment and higher ethics. He said "there is no natural division between a man's Christian life and his political life." (AP Photo/Greg Smith) Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter tells a gathering, Saturday, Oct. 5, 1974 at the National Press Club in Washington about his ideas concerning energy conservation. (AP Photo) In this Thursday, Aug. 14, 1975 file photo, former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter announces in Washington that he qualified for federal matching funds to help finance his campaign for the 1976 Democratic presidential nomination. Former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter, right, drew about 5,000 people to Youngstown's Federal Plaza in Youngstown, Ohio, in his quest for support in Tuesday's Ohio Democratic primary, June 7, 1976. The presidential hopeful waded into the crowd, shaking hands and signing autographs. Carter, speaking to the largest crowd to assemble during his Ohio campaign, said 1976 would be a Democratic year because of the Watergate aftermath and other national ills. (AP Photo) In this Monday, Aug. 23, 1976 file photo, Democratic presidential candidate Jimmy Carter gives an informal press conference in Los Angeles during a campaign tour through the West and Midwest. On Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2015. (AP Photo) Democratic Presidential nominee Jimmy Carter, left, eats some freshly roasted barbecue chicken with his brother Billy Carter at Billy's gas station, Sept 11, 1976, Plains, Ga. The nominee had returned the night before from a week of campaigning, and planned to hold an impromptu press conference at the gas station. (AP Photo/Jeff Taylor) Democratic presidential nominee, Jimmy Carter, is all smiles as he talks with his brother Billy at the Carter Family Peanut warehouse, September 18, 1976. (AP Photo) Jimmy Carter stands in a large mound of peanuts at the Carter Peanut Warehouse in Plains, Ga., September 22, 1976. The Democratic party presidential nominee took an early morning walk through the warehouse to inspect some of the harvest. (AP Photo) FILE - In this Oct. 6, 1976 file photo with his wife Rosalynn Carter looking on at center, Democratic presidential candidate Jimmy Carter, center left, shakes hands with President Gerald Ford at the conclusion of their debate at the Palace of Fine Arts Theater in San Francisco, Calif. (AP Photo, File) Jimmy Carter, Democratic candidate for president, is joined by his daughter, Amy, as he waves from the rostrum at Fort Worth Convention Center, Texas, Sunday, Nov. 1, 1976. Carter and his family have been campaigning Texas, making a last minute bid for the state's 26 electoral votes. The others are not identified. (AP Photo) U.S. President-elect Jimmy Carter waves to supporters as he is surrounded by family members at a hotel in Atlanta, Ga., on Nov. 3, 1976. Carter won the presidential election by 297 electoral votes to 241 for Ford. Standing next to him is his wife, Rosalynn, and their daughter Amy Lynn, far right. The others are unidentified. (AP Photo) President-elect Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn wipe tears from their eyes after returning to their home town in Plains, Ga., Nov. 3, 1976. The Carter family was greeted by local residents after returning from Atlanta. (AP Photo) President-elect Jimmy Carter leans over to shake hands with some of the people riding the "Peanut Special" to Washington D.C., Jan. 19, 1977. They will travel all night, arriving in Washington in time for Carter's inauguration as President tomorrow. (AP Photo) Jimmy Carter takes the oath of office as the nation's 39th president during inauguration ceremonies in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 1977. Carter's wife, Rosalynn, holds the Bible used in the first inauguration by George Washington as U.S. Chief Justice Warren Burger administers the oath. Looking on at left are, Happy Rockefeller, Betty Ford, Joan Mondale, Amy Carter, and outgoing President Gerald Ford. Behind Carter is Vice President Walter Mondale. At far right is former Vice President Nelson Rockefeller. (AP Photo) Rosalynn Carter, left, looks up at her husband Jimmy Carter as he takes the oath of office as the 39th President of the United States at the Capitol, Thursday, Jan. 20, 1977, Washington, D.C. Mrs. Carter held a family Bible for her husband. (AP Photo) Jimmy Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter walk down Pennsylvania Avenue after Carter was sworn in as the nations 39th President, Jan. 20, 1977, Washington, D.C. (AP Photo) FILE - In this Thursday, Jan. 20, 1977 file photo, President Jimmy Carter waves to the crowd while walking with his wife, Rosalynn, and their daughter, Amy, along Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House following his inauguration in Washington. (AP Photo/Suzanne Vlamis) In this Jan. 24, 1977 file photo, President Jimmy Carter is interviewed in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. In this file photo dated May 1977, U.S. President Jimmy Carter, right, and Britain's Queen Elizabeth II with French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing, at Buckingham Palace in London. In this Feb. 20, 1978, file photo, President Jimmy Carter listens to Sen. Joseph R. Biden, D-Del., as they wait to speak at fund raising reception at Padua Academy in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Barry Thumma, File) President Jimmy Carter tucks his thumbs into his jeans and laughs as he prepares to head down the Salmon River in Idaho August 1978 for a three day rubber raft float. (AP Photo) United States President Jimmy Carter, on a visit to West Germany in 1978, rides with Chancellor Helmut Schmidt during a review of United States Forces at a base near Frankfurt. (AP Photo) Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, left, U.S. President Jimmy Carter, center, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin clasp hands on the north lawn of the White House after signing the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel on March 26, 1979. (AP Photo/ Bob Daugherty) President Jimmy Carter, left, and Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev, right, sign the documents of the SALT II Treaty in the Vienna Imperial Hofburg Palace, Monday, June 18, 1979, Vienna, Austria. President Jimmy Carter leans across the roof of his car to shake hands along the parade route through Bardstown, Ky., Tuesday afternoon, July 31, 1979. The president climbed on top of the car as the parade moved toward the high school gym, where a town meeting was held. (AP Photo/Bob Daugherty) In this April 25, 1980 file photo, President Jimmy Carter prepares to make a national television address from the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, on the failed mission to rescue the Iran hostages. President Jimmy Carter applauds as Sen. Edward Kennedy waves to cheering crowds of the Democratic National Convention in New York's Madison Square Garden, Aug. 14, 1980. (AP Photo/Bob Daugherty) President Jimmy Carter raises a clenched fist during his address to the Democratic Convention, August 15, 1980, in New York's Madison Square Garden where he accepted his party's nomination to face Republican Ronald Reagan in the general election. (AP Photo/stf) Massachusetts Senator Edward M. Kennedy greets President Jimmy Carter after he landed at Boston's Logan Airport, Aug. 21, 1980. President Carter is in Boston to address the American Legion Convention being held in Boston. (AP Photo) President Jimmy Carter, left, and Gov. Bill Clinton of Arkansas enjoy a chuckle during a rally for Carter in Texarkana, Texas, Oct. 22, 1980. Texarkana was the last stop for Carter on a three-city one-day campaign swing through Texas. (AP Photo/John Duricka) In this Oct. 28, 1980 file photo, President Jimmy Carter shakes hands with Republican Presidential candidate Ronald Reagan after debating in the Cleveland Music Hall in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Madeline Drexler, File) Former US President Jimmy Carter, who had negotiated for the hostages release right up to the last hours of his Presidency, lifts his arm to the crowd, while putting his other hand around the shoulders of a former hostage in Iran, believed to be Bruce Laingen, at US AIR Force Hospital in Wiesbaden, Germany, Wednesday, January 21, 1981. Former Pres. Jimmy Carter, center, is joined by his wife Rosalynn and his brother Billy Carter during session of the Democratic National Convention, Tuesday, July 19, 1988, Atlanta, Ga. Billy had been recently diagnosed with cancer. (AP Photo/Bob Daugherty) Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter speaks to newsmen as PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, right, looks on after the two men met in Paris Wednesday, April 4, 1990. Carter said he felt some leaders did not represent the region's yearning for peace. (AP Photo/Pierre Gieizes) Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, center, introduces his wife Rosalynn, right, to Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Jiang Zemin, April 14, 1991 in Beijing. (AP Photo/Mark Avery) Former President Jimmy Carter gestures at a United Nations news conference in New York, April 23, 1993 about the world conference on Human Rights to be held by the United Nations in Vienna June 14-25. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) Former Presidents George Bush, left, and Jimmy Carter, right, stand with President Clinton and wave to volunteers during a kick-off rally for the President's Volunteer Summit at Marcus Foster Stadium in Philladelphia, PA., Sunday morning April 27, 1997. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia) President Bill Clinton presents former President Jimmy Carter, right, with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, during a ceremony at the Carter Center in Atlanta Monday, Aug. 9, 1999. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter adjusts his glasses during a press conference in Managua, Nicaragua, Thursday, July 6, 2006. The former president and 2002 Nobel Peace Prize winner is heading a delegation from the democracy-promoting Carter Center, based at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, to observe preparations for Nicaragua's Nov. 5 presidential election. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) In this Friday, Dec. 8, 2006 file photo, former President Jimmy Carter signs copies of his book "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid" at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ric Feld) Former President George H.W. Bush, left, watches as Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton chat during a dedication ceremony for the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, May 31, 2007. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) Former President Jimmy Carter poses for a portrait during the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, Monday, Sept. 10, 2007. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Former President Jimmy Carter poses on the red carpet for the documentary film, "Jimmy Carter: Man From Plains" during the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, Monday, Sept. 10, 2007. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Former President Jimmy Carter, right, and his wife Rosalynn wave to the audience at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Monday, Aug. 25, 2008. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) Former President Jimmy Carter, right, and former first lady Rosalynn Carter are seen on stage at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Monday, Aug. 25, 2008. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) Former President Jimmy Carter waves to the crowd as he goes on stage at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Monday, Aug. 25, 2008.(AP Photo/Paul Sancya) Former President Jimmy Carter, right, is seen with Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) President-elect Barack Obama is welcomed by President George W. Bush for a meeting at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009, with former presidents, from left, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) In this photo taken Saturday, May 29, 2010, former South Africa president Nelson Mandela, right, reacts with former US president Jimmy Carter, during a reunion with The Elders, three years after he launched the group, in Johannesburg, South Africa. (AP Photo/Jeff Moore, Pool) Former US President Jimmy Carter, center, one of the delegates of the Elders group of retired prominent world figures, holds a Palestinian child during a visit to the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010. (AP Photo/Menahem Kahana, Pool) Former President Jimmy Carter, 86, leads Habitat for Humanity volunteers to help build and repair houses in Washington's Ivy City neighborhood, Monday, Oct. 4, 2010. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) FILE - In this Friday, Oct. 22, 2010 file photo, former president of Ireland, Mary Robinson, background right, looks at former U.S. president, Jimmy Carter, center, while visiting a weekly protest in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. The protest was organized by groups supporting Palestinians evicted from their homes in east Jerusalem by Israeli authorities. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, his wife, Rosalynn, and former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan conclude a visit to a polling center the southern capital of Juba Sunday, Jan. 9, 2011. (AP Photo/Pete Muller) Former President Jimmy Carter signs his name in the guest book at the Jewish Community center in Havana, Cuba, Monday March 28, 2011. Carter arrived in Cuba to discuss economic policies and ways to improve Washington-Havana relations, which are even more tense than usual over the imprisonment of Alan Gross, a U.S. contractor, on the island. C (AP Photo/Adalberto Roque, Pool) Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter pauses during an interview as he and his wife Rosalynn visit a Habitat for Humanity project in Leogane, Haiti, Monday Nov. 7, 2011. The Carters joined volunteers from around the world to build 100 homes in partnership with earthquake-affected families in Haiti during a week-long Habitat for Humanity housing project. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa) Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, sits prior to a meeting with Israel's President Shimon Peres at the President's residence in Jerusalem, Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012. Peres met two of 'The Elders', a group composed of eminent global leaders brought together by Nelson Mandela. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner) Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter watches baseball players work out before Game 2 of the National League Division Series between the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Friday, Oct. 4, 2013, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Dave Martin) Former President Jimmy Carter speaks during a forum at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014. Among other topics, Carter discussed his new book, "A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power." (AP Photo/Elise Amendola) President Jimmy Carter, left, and Rosalynn Carter arrive at the 2015 MusiCares Person of the Year event at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Friday, Feb. 6, 2015 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP) In this July 10, 2015, file photo, former President Jimmy Carter is seen in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File) In a Sunday, Aug. 23, 2015 file photo, former President Jimmy Carter teaches Sunday School class at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown, in Plains, Ga. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File) Former President Jimmy Carter answers questions during a news conference at a Habitat for Humanity building site Monday, Nov. 2, 2015, in Memphis, Tenn. Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, have volunteered a week of their time annually to Habitat for Humanity since 1984, events dubbed "Carter work projects" that draw thousands of volunteers and take months of planning. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Former President Bill Clinton, left, and former president Jimmy Carter shake hands after speaking at a Clinton Global Initiative meeting Tuesday, June 14, 2016, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter holds a morning devotion in Memphis, Tenn., on Monday, Aug. 22, 2016, before he and his wife Rosalynn help build a home for Habitat for Humanity. (AP Photo/Alex Sanz) Former president Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter arrive during the 58th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) In this Feb. 8, 2017, file photo, former President Jimmy Carter speaks during a ribbon cutting ceremony for a solar panel project on farmland he owns in his hometown of Plains, Ga. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File) Former President George W. Bush, center, speaks as fellow former Presidents from right, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter look on during a hurricanes relief concert in College Station, Texas, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017. All five living former U.S. presidents joined to support a Texas concert raising money for relief efforts from Hurricane Harvey, Irma and Maria's devastation in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. (AP Photo/LM Otero) Former President Jimmy Carter, 93, sits for an interview about his new book "Faith: A Journey For All" which will debut at no. 7 on the New York Times best sellers list, pictured before a book signing Wednesday, April 11, 2018, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Amis) Former President Jimmy Carter speaks as Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams listens during a news conference to announce Abrams' rural health care plan Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2018, in Plains, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) Former President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter are seen ahead of an NFL football game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Sept. 30, 2018, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) Former President Jimmy Carter takes questions submitted by students during an annual Carter Town Hall held at Emory University Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Amis) Democratic presidential candidate former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, left, meets with former President Jimmy Carter, center, at Buffalo Cafe in Plains, Ga., Sunday, March 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) Former President Jimmy Carter reacts as his wife Rosalynn Carter speaks during a reception to celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary on July 10, 2021, in Plains, Ga. In this Nov. 3, 2019, file photo, former President Jimmy Carter teaches Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Ga. FILE - Former President Jimmy Carter teaches Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church, in Plains, Ga., Nov. 3, 2019. Well-wishes and fond remembrances for the former president continued to roll in Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023, a day after he entered hospice care at his home in Georgia. (AP Photo/John Amis, File) Former President Jimmy Carter arrives for the funeral service for his wife, former first lady Rosalynn Carter at Maranatha Baptist Church, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023, in Plains, Ga. The former first lady died on Nov. 19. She was 96. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) A sign wishing former President Jimmy Carter a happy 100th birthday sits on the North Lawn of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) Former President Jimmy Carter, arrives to attend a tribute service for his wife and former first lady Rosalynn Carter, at Glenn Memorial Church, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Suspected gang members opened fire on journalists in Haiti's capital on Tuesday as they were covering the attempted reopening of the country's largest hospital, wounding or killing an unknown number of people. Haiti's interim president, Leslie Voltaire, said in an address to the nation that journalists and police were among the victims of the vicious Christmas Eve attack. He did not specify how many casualties there were, or give a breakdown for the dead or wounded. “I send my sympathies to the people who were victims, the national police and the journalists,” Voltaire said, pledging “this crime is not going to go unpunished.” There were concerns there could be fatalities — a video posted online by the reporters trapped inside the hospital showed what appeared to be two lifeless bodies of men on stretchers, their clothes bloodied. One of the men had a lanyard with a press credential around his neck. Radio Télé Métronome initially reported that seven journalists and two police officers were wounded. Police and officials did not immediately respond to calls for information on the attack. Street gangs have taken over an estimated 85% of Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince. They forced the closure of the General Hospital early this year during violence that also targeted the main international airport and Haiti’s two largest prisons. Authorities had pledged to reopen the facility Tuesday but as journalists gathered to cover the event, suspected gang members opened fire. Video posted online earlier showed reporters inside the building and at least three lying on the floor, apparently wounded. That video could also not be immediately verified. Johnson “Izo” André, considered Haiti’s most powerful gang leader and part of a gang coalition known as Viv Ansanm that has taken control of much of Port-au-Prince , posted a video on social media claiming responsibility for the attack. The video said the gang coalition had not authorized the hospital's reopening. Haiti has seen journalists targeted before. In 2023, two local journalists were killed in the space of a couple of weeks — radio reporter Dumesky Kersaint was fatally shot in mid-April that year, while journalist Ricot Jean was found dead later that month. In July, former Prime Minister Garry Conille visited the Hospital of the State University of Haiti, more widely known as the General Hospital, after authorities regained control of it from gangs. The hospital had been left ravaged and strewn with debris. Walls and nearby buildings were riddled with bullet holes, signaling fights between police and gangs. The hospital is across the street from the national palace, the scene of several battles in recent months. Gang attacks have pushed Haiti’s health system to the brink of collapse with looting, setting fires, and destroying medical institutions and pharmacies in the capital. The violence has created a surge in patients and a shortage of resources to treat them. Haiti’s health care system faces additional challenges during the rainy season, which is likely to increase the risk of water-borne diseases. Poor conditions in camps and makeshift settlements have heightened the risk of diseases like cholera, with over 84,000 suspected cases in the country, according to UNICEF. ___ Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
New Delhi, Dec 26: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the architect of India’s economic reforms, died here Thursday night. He was 92. Singh’s death was announced by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, where he was admitted to the emergency ward around 8:30 pm in a critical condition. An AIIMS bulletin said: “He was treated for age-related medical conditions and had a sudden loss of consciousness at home” on December 26. “Resuscitative measures were started immediately at home. He was brought to a medical emergency at AIIMS Delhi at 8:06 pm. Despite all efforts, he could not be revived and was declared dead at 9:51 pm,” the bulletin said. Singh, who was Prime Minister for two terms in the Congress-led UPA government from 2004 to 2014, had been in poor health for the last few months. He is survived by his wife Gurcharan Singh and three daughters. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and her mother Sonia Gandhi reached the hospital as soon as the news of his hospitalisation became known. Soon after the news of Singh’s death, President of India Droupadi Murmu posted on microblogging site X: “Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh Ji was one of those rare politicians who also straddled the worlds of academia and administration with equal ease. In his various roles in public offices, he made critical contributions to reforming the Indian economy. He will always be remembered for his service to the nation, his unblemished political life and his utmost humility. His passing is a great loss to all of us. I pay my respectful homage to one of the greatest sons of Bharat and convey my heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and admirers.” Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar also condoled the death of the former PM, saying he transformed India’s economic landscape. “A Padma Vibhushan awardee and architect of India’s economic liberalisation in 1991, Singh boldly steered our nation through a critical transition, opening new pathways for growth and prosperity,” the Vice President Secretariat said, quoting Dhankhar, who is also chairperson of the Rajya Sabha. He said in Singh’s passing, India lost a leader of towering intellect and a statesman par excellence. “His legacy will forever guide India’s growth trajectory. My heartfelt condolences to his family and countless admirers in this difficult hour,” Dhankhar said. He recalled that as the vice president, he had the privilege to engage in meaningful, insightful interactions with Singh at his residence. “His profound understanding of the economy, gentle demeanour and unwavering commitment to India’s progress will forever be etched in my memory,” Dhankhar said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also condoled the former PM’s demise and posted on X: “India mourns the loss of one of its most distinguished leaders, Dr Manmohan Singh Ji. Rising from humble origins, he rose to become a respected economist. He served in various government positions as well, including as Finance Minister, leaving a strong imprint on our economic policy over the years. His interventions in Parliament were also insightful. As our Prime Minister, he made extensive efforts to improve people’s lives. Dr Manmohan Singh Ji and I interacted regularly when he was PM and I was the CM of Gujarat. We would have extensive deliberations on various subjects relating to governance. His wisdom and humility were always visible. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the family of Dr. Manmohan Singh Ji, his friends and countless admirers. Om Shanti.” Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge condoled Singh’s demise and posted on X: “Undoubtedly, history shall judge you kindly, Dr Manmohan Singh ji! With the passing of the former Prime Minister, India has lost a visionary statesman, a leader of unimpeachable integrity, and an economist of unparalleled stature. His policy of economic liberalisation and rights-based welfare paradigm profoundly transformed the lives of crores of Indians, virtually creating a middle class in India and lifting crores out of poverty. I mourn the loss of a lifelong senior colleague, a gentle intellectual and a humble soul who embodied the aspirations of India, having risen through the ranks with unwavering dedication. I am proud to have been a part of his cabinet as Labour Minister, Railway Minister and Social Welfare Minister. A man of action rather than words, his immense contribution to nation-building will forever be etched in the annals of Indian history. In this moment of sorrow, I extend my deepest and heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, and countless admirers. May they get the strength to overcome this huge loss. His enduring legacy of ushering in India’s growth, welfare, and policies of inclusivity will forever be cherished. May his soul rest in eternal peace.” Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed profound sorrow and grief over the demise of the former PM. In his condolence message, the CM described Singh as a towering statesman and the architect of India’s economic reforms in the early 1990s, which transformed the nation’s economy. “Dr Singh’s visionary leadership and path-breaking reforms laid the foundation for India’s economic boom, liberalizing markets and elevating the country to new heights of growth and development,” CM Omar said. Recalling Singh’s tenure as PM, the CM highlighted his relentless efforts to uplift millions of Indians out of poverty through inclusive policies. He also expressed gratitude for Singh’s significant contributions to J&K. “Dr Manmohan Singh’s deep concern for the development of Jammu and Kashmir was evident throughout his tenure. His initiatives, including the extension of rail connectivity to the Kashmir Valley, brought new opportunities for the region and its people,” CM Omar said. He also remembered Singh’s keen interest in fostering peace and development in J&K. “His efforts to engage with the people of Jammu and Kashmir, along with his unwavering support for dialogue and reconciliation, reflected his deep commitment to the welfare of the region,” the CM said. “Dr Manmohan Singh’s humility, intellect and dedication to the nation will always be remembered. His loss is an irreparable one for the country,” he said, offering his heartfelt condolences to Singh’s family, friends, and admirers during this difficult time. CM Omar prayed for eternal peace to the departed soul and strength for the bereaved family to bear this loss. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also condoled the demise of the former PM and said he remained steadfast in his commitment to serve the nation despite being subjected to unfair and deeply personal attacks by his opponents. “Few people in politics inspire the kind of respect that Sardar Manmohan Singh Ji did. His honesty will always be an inspiration for us and he will forever stand tall among those who truly love this country as someone who remained steadfast in his commitment to serve the nation despite being subjected to unfair and deeply personal attacks by his opponents,” Priyanka said in a post on X. “He was genuinely egalitarian, wise, strong-willed and courageous until the end. A uniquely dignified gentleman in the rough world of politics,” she said. Political leaders in Jammu and Kashmir cutting across party lines also condoled the death of the former PM and lauded his humility and his standing as an economist and statesman. In a statement, the National Conference (NC) President and three-time chief minister Farooq Abdullah expressed profound grief over the demise of the former PM. He hailed Singh’s immense contributions to India, remembering him as a statesman, economist, and pillar of integrity who led the nation with wisdom and humility. Conveying condolences to the bereaved family, he prayed for eternal peace to the departed soul and strength to his loved ones in this hour of loss. People’s Democratic Party President and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said Singh worked tirelessly to advance the peace process and usher in a new era of development in J&K. “I had the privilege of meeting Dr Manmohan Singh and I am certain that he was one of the most humble and gentle souls I have encountered – an extremely rare trait in politicians today. His humility and kindness were evident even during his double tenure as prime minister when he would personally return calls,” Mehbooba said in a post on X. She said Singh was a man of few words whose welfare schemes brought relief to millions of Indians cutting across caste, creed, and religion. Singh’s former cabinet colleague and former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said he was deeply saddened by Singh’s demise. “Deeply saddened by the passing of Dr Manmohan Singh Ji, a visionary leader and one of India’s most respected statesmen. As someone who had the privilege of serving in his cabinet twice, I witnessed firsthand his extraordinary humility, wisdom, and grace,” Azad said. He said Singh empowered his teams to function with independence and trust, fostering an environment of collaboration and excellence. “He provided India with much-needed economic leadership, global recognition, stability, and unity during challenging times,” the former union minister said. Azad said that the former PM’s contributions as an economist and statesman would forever be etched in the history of a rising India. “Dr Manmohan Singh’s legacy is one of transformative leadership, inspiring countless individuals across generations. My heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones,” he said. Other political leaders cutting across the divide also condoled the demise of the former PM. Singh, who was finance minister under the then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao, was the architect and the brainchild of economic reforms in 1991 that pulled India from the brink of bankruptcy and ushered in an era of economic liberalisation that is widely believed to have changed the course of India’s economic trajectory. Singh died as the Congress party concluded its Congress Working Committee meeting at Belagavi in Karnataka, where all top party leaders were present. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi are on their way to Delhi from Belagavi. Manmohan Singh – A Profile Singh twice served as the PM of India from May 22, 2004 to May 26, 2014. India’s 14th PM, Singh was acclaimed as a thinker and a scholar. He was well regarded for his diligence and his academic approach to work, as well as his accessibility and his unassuming demeanour. Singh was born on September 26, 1932, in a village in the Punjab province of undivided India. He completed his Matriculation examinations from the Punjab University in 1948. His academic career took him from Punjab to the University of Cambridge, UK, where he earned a First Class Honours degree in Economics in 1957. Singh followed this with a D Phil in Economics from Nuffield College at Oxford University in 1962. His book, ‘India’s Export Trends and Prospects for Self-Sustained Growth’ (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1964) was an early critique of India’s inward-oriented trade policy. Singh’s academic credentials were burnished by the years he spent on the faculty of Punjab University and the prestigious Delhi School of Economics. He had a brief stint at the UNCTAD Secretariat as well, during these years. This presaged a subsequent appointment as Secretary General of the South Commission in Geneva between 1987 and 1990. In 1971, Singh joined the Government of India as an Economic Advisor in the Commerce Ministry. This was soon followed by his appointment as Chief Economic Advisor in the Ministry of Finance in 1972. Among the many governmental positions that Singh occupied were Secretary in the Ministry of Finance; Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission; Governor of the Reserve Bank of India; Advisor of the Prime Minister; and Chairman of the University Grants Commission. In what was to become the turning point in the economic history of independent India, Singh spent five years between 1991 and 1996 as India’s Finance Minister. His role in ushering in a comprehensive policy of economic reforms is now recognised worldwide. In the popular view of those years in India, that period is inextricably associated with the persona of Singh. Among the many awards and honours conferred upon Singh in his public career, the most prominent are India’s second highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan (1987); the Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Award of the Indian Science Congress (1995); the Asia Money Award for Finance Minister of the Year (1993 and 1994); the Euro Money Award for Finance Minister of the Year (1993), the Adam Smith Prize of the University of Cambridge (1956); and the Wright’s Prize for Distinguished Performance at St John’s College in Cambridge (1955). He has also been honoured by several other associations including the Japanese Nihon Keizai Shimbun. Singh is a recipient of honorary degrees from many universities including the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford. He represented India at many international conferences and in several international organisations. Singh led Indian delegations to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Cyprus (1993) and the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993. In his political career, Singh was a Member of India’s Upper House of Parliament (the Rajya Sabha) from 1991, where he was Leader of the Opposition between 1998 and 2004. He was sworn in as Prime Minister on May 22 after the 2004 general elections and took the oath of office for a second term on May 22, 2009. Singh is survived by his wife Gursharan Kaur and three daughters.In the business world, there are few areas that artificial intelligence hasn't touched. Many industries are rushing to adopt AI, and the technology is changing how employees collaborate and complete tasks. Generative AI is a major buzzword for business leaders. But actually integrating AI can be a different story. "A lot of our clients have dozens of AI pilots everywhere," Jack Azagury, the group chief executive for consulting at Accenture, said at one Workforce Innovation roundtable. "Very few have a coherent business case and a true reinvention and transformation." How do companies move forward as the novelty of AI wears off? Business Insider's Julia Hood asked members of the Workforce Innovation board how they transitioned their AI pilots into real-world use cases. Board members shared five major ways their companies were moving AI from theory to operations. "Before we go and tell our clients to embark on AI fully, we want to be an AI-first organization," said Anant Adya, an executive vice president, service-offering head, and head of Americas delivery at Infosys. "We want to show our clients we are using AI, whether it is in HR when it comes to driving better employee experience or when it comes to recruitment." Members also highlighted employee training and peer-to-peer learning opportunities. The roundtable participants were: Identify early adopters, like human resources Because we provide these platforms and solutions to clients, we are usually client zero. We implemented AI across our business and multiple functions, and one of the first things we did was our AskHR product, which I think answered over 94% of questions employees had. HR employees now spend time doing higher-order work and partnerships with business units instead of answering basic questions that a virtual assistant can answer. I think that's when you start seeing a lot of the benefits of it. HR has been leading the way in terms of embedding AI to enhance the employee experience end to end, right before you hire somebody all the way to after they leave the organization. There are tons of opportunities to improve performance and productivity and provide greater personalization. Invest in ongoing training There are certain AI certifications and courses that everybody has to take to be knowledgeable about AI. So we are driving education in terms of what is the impact of AI, what is gen AI, what are LLMs, and how you look at use cases. And certainly educating everybody that it's not about job losses but about amplifying your potential to do more. We have hands-on skill building. This past year we posted over 20 AI workshops helping teams integrate AI into their work. We really encourage our staff to participate. We have a product we're using behind our firewall, so they can engage and play with it. We're just telling them go ahead and try to break it, so they can give us feedback on what's working. There was a team of people who said we want to see how you could use AI with PowerPoint or Excel. And they're finding, well, it's not so good in those things. But as it continues to grow, they'll be ready for that, and they'll know what it was able to do and what it wasn't. I think it's just making it fun, and that way it's not so scary. Our internal large language model is now a widget on everybody's dashboard that is accessible on your landing page. Training is super important here to make people comfortable with it. Even if it's just an online module, you have to get people comfortable. We've also done companywide upskilling. We had two Watsonx challenges. Watsonx is our AI data platform. This is one of the ways we've upskilled a majority of the organization. The outcome of that is there are some great ideas that employees actually ideated, and they're now implementing those ideas and solutions in different functions. Employees want to use AI, and I think they're eager to learn how to use AI to augment their jobs. For that, we built a three-tiered learning approach. One is democratizing access for everybody and building general knowledge of AI. The second tier is much more role-specific. How do we drive new ways of working by having people in different roles embrace AI tools? Software engineering, consulting, sales — you name it. And then something we definitely want to build for the future is thinking proactively about how you re-skill people whose roles may be impacted by AI so they can become more comfortable doing high-level tasks or can shift to a different type of role that is emerging within the organization. The other piece is where we're seeing the greatest demand internally, which is for knowledge management. It's gathering information from a lot of different sources in a very easy way. Another job family that is very eager to get their hands on new AI technology is software engineering. We have taken a very measured approach in deploying coding assistants within the software-engineering community. This year we did a pilot with a subset of them using coding assistants. The idea is to just learn and, based on our learning, scale more broadly across our software-engineering community in 2025. One of the really interesting learnings from this pilot was that the software engineers who were using the coding assistants probably the best were people who had received training. What we're learning is that before you start rolling out all of these technologies or AI-specific platforms for different job families, you have got to be really intentional about incorporating prompt training. Unlock peer-to-peer learning We have idea pitch competitions and a year-round idea pipeline program where people can put in ideas on how to use AI and share what they've learned. It sparks a lot of peer learning and creativity on our digital-first capabilities to help us with our digital transformation. Then we collaborate through community. We have a generative-AI community of practice. This is somewhat like how companies have employee resource groups; we have communities of practice as well. They give employees a space to share their techniques and learn from each other and stay ahead of evolving trends. They meet monthly, they have an executive sponsor, and they have all kinds of activities and learning opportunities. As we monitored AI use and what sort of questions were being asked, we identified super users across all departments — so the people who were capable of developing the most evolved prompts. I suppose those prompts are now appearing in pull-down menus to help people who maybe aren't as advanced in their use of it, because prompting is a really important part of this. And so the super users are driving everybody else to show them what's possible across the organization. Find customer pain points to solve One of the use cases that drives not only knowledge management but also efficiencies is around customer support. Customer support is probably one of the areas that has been leading the way. We have a customer onboarding process that can be very lengthy, very technical, involving hundreds of pages of documentation and reference materials. It was our first use case for a chat-based assistant that we processed in terms of streamlining and creating greater efficiency and a much better customer experience. Reinforce responsible leadership We want our leaders, people leaders particularly, to guide employees to use AI effectively and responsibly. We want to make sure they're emphasizing privacy, policy, and efficiency. So we encourage managers to point the staff toward training that we offer, and we offer quite a bit of training. Read the original article on
Former Kentucky wide receiver Dane Key, one of the top offensive players in the transfer portal, announced on social media Tuesday that he will transfer to Nebraska. Key posted a photo of himself in a Nebraska uniform wearing the No. 6 he wore at Kentucky. The simple post contained the letters "GBR," short for "Go Big Red," with an emoji heart. Key led Kentucky this past season with 47 receptions for 715 yards and two touchdowns in 12 games as the Wildcats finished 4-8. In three seasons, the 6-foot-3, 210-pounder has 126 receptions for 1,870 yards and 14 TDs in 38 games (35 starts). Key has one season of eligibility remaining after he was a four-star recruit in the class of 2022. --Field Level MediaMerry Christmas everyone. This is my final newsletter of 2024, marking the end of my first full year with The Herald since joining half-way through 2023. It has been a busy, but very enjoyable, twelve months. We’ve got a full ‘review of the year’ to come next weekend in which I look back over the biggest stories and developments of 2024 – through our coverage of teacher cuts and a marking ‘fiasco’, three separate in-depth series, and quite a bit more – but there are a few more I’d like to highlight too. Most of the work on these was done by my colleague Garrett Stell, who formally joined the team right at the start of the year. The first story concerns a new campaign in the Highlands, where parents from Farr, Gairloch, Kinlochbervie and Ullapool told Garrett that teacher shortages are putting their schools, and therefore their whole communities, at risk. Save Our Rural Schools submitted an open letter to both the education secretary Jenny Gilruth and Highland Council calling for staffing policies to be changed and protections for their schools introduced. All four schools are small: Ullapool is the largest with around 180 pupils, while Kinlochbervie is the smallest with fewer than 30. Parent councils say that an inappropriate staffing formula is leaving these schools unable to offer as full a curriculum as their children deserve. They also say that the use of part-time contracts within that framework means that schools have to choose between the range of subjects on offer and the levels at which those subjects can be studied. The concern, as articulated by one pupil, is that this causes a slow but ultimately disastrous trickle of students away from these schools, and in many cases that will also mean the movement of families away from these areas. Schools are essential to communities, and if the former is undermined or neglected, the latter inevitably suffers the consequences. It's hugely serious stuff, which is why campaigners were so unhappy with the ‘stock responses’ they received. They warned that schools are at ‘breaking point’ and called for a ‘system-wide change in the approach to how education is resourced in small schools’. There are obvious parallels between this issue and our reporting from south-west Scotland, where parents in Dalry successfully campaigned to prevent Dumfries and Galloway Council from mothballing their local secondary school. Towards the end of the year, a story with similar undercurrents started to emerge from the Isle of Mull. The island currently has a single secondary school, but it is not a school for the whole community, because the location in Tobermory means that it is too far away for young people from the south of the island to travel back and forth each day. As a result, they currently have to go to Oban, where they board through the week. But now, a new school is to be built, and many people living in communities around the island are asking if this might be an opportunity to build something new that better serves the whole of Mull. The clear solution here is to build the new secondary school somewhere like Craignure. This would allow every single young person from the island to complete their education in their own community, and could play a major part in attempts to attract more families to the parts of Mull that some might not currently consider to be viable options. But of course it’s not that simple, because this is a country that is largely run by and for the central belt, and the rules around these sorts of construction projects are not immune from that sad reality. In very simple terms, the council wants to use a government-funded scheme to help finance the school, but that programme is predicated on the assumption that all projects are ‘like for like’ replacements. The trouble is, that’s not the case on Mull, because the current high school is actually part of a larger entity that includes early years and primary provision, and it doesn’t make any sort of sense to move those services miles outside of Tobermory. Another way to think of ‘like for like’ is ‘status quo’, and that is clearly not what Mull requires – what the island needs and deserves is something better than what it has right now. Will that be possible? Jenny Gilruth told the Scottish Parliament that the scheme “could potentially” fund a split site, but that the council would have to cover the extra costs. Which, just as in Dalry, Farr, Kinlochbervie, Ullapool and Gairloch, raises questions of fairness and the government – arguably even much of Scotland’s – commitment to the sort of places that are all too often labelled, and dismissed, as ‘remote’.Wabtec: Time To Blow Off Some Steam