David Coote will not appeal against the termination of his contract by referees’ body PGMOL, the PA news agency understands. Coote was sacked earlier this month after the emergence of a video in which he made derogatory remarks about Liverpool and their former manager Jurgen Klopp. Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) said that a thorough investigation had concluded he was “in serious breach of the provisions of his employment contract, with his position deemed untenable”. “Supporting David Coote continues to be important to us and we remain committed to his welfare,” PGMOL’s statement on December 9 added. Coote had the right to appeal against the decision but PA understands the Nottinghamshire referee has decided not to. The video which triggered PGMOL’s investigation into Coote’s conduct first came to public attention on November 11. In it, Coote is asked for his views on a Liverpool match where he has just been fourth official, and describes them as “s***”. He then describes Klopp as a “c***”, and, asked why he felt that way, Coote says the German had “a right pop at me when I reffed them against Burnley in lockdown” and had accused him of lying. “I have got no interest in speaking to someone who’s f****** arrogant, so I do my best not to speak to him,” Coote said. Later in the video, Coote again refers to Klopp, this time as a “German c***”. The Football Association opened its own investigation into that video, understood to be centred on that last comment and whether Coote’s reference to Klopp’s nationality constituted an aggravated breach of its misconduct rules. The investigation by PGMOL which led to Coote’s contract being terminated is also understood to have looked at another video which appeared to show Coote snorting a white powder, purportedly during Euro 2024 where he was one of the assistant VARs for the tournament. European football’s governing body UEFA also appointed an ethics investigator to look into the matter.

Coote was sacked earlier this month after the emergence of a video in which he made derogatory remarks about Liverpool and their former manager Jurgen Klopp. Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) said that a thorough investigation had concluded he was “in serious breach of the provisions of his employment contract, with his position deemed untenable”. “Supporting David Coote continues to be important to us and we remain committed to his welfare,” PGMOL’s statement on December 9 added. Coote had the right to appeal against the decision but PA understands the Nottinghamshire referee has decided not to. The video which triggered PGMOL’s investigation into Coote’s conduct first came to public attention on November 11. In it, Coote is asked for his views on a Liverpool match where he has just been fourth official, and describes them as “s***”. He then describes Klopp as a “c***”, and, asked why he felt that way, Coote says the German had “a right pop at me when I reffed them against Burnley in lockdown” and had accused him of lying. “I have got no interest in speaking to someone who’s f****** arrogant, so I do my best not to speak to him,” Coote said. Later in the video, Coote again refers to Klopp, this time as a “German c***”. The Football Association opened its own investigation into that video, understood to be centred on that last comment and whether Coote’s reference to Klopp’s nationality constituted an aggravated breach of its misconduct rules. The investigation by PGMOL which led to Coote’s contract being terminated is also understood to have looked at another video which appeared to show Coote snorting a white powder, purportedly during Euro 2024 where he was one of the assistant VARs for the tournament. European football’s governing body UEFA also appointed an ethics investigator to look into the matter.

Rivals focus on different chips

The Darnold-Jefferson connection is thriving for the surging VikingsWisconsin officer grabbing Donovan Raiola's arm a 'misunderstanding,' UW police say

Minneapolis Plastic Surgeon Details Accelerated Healing Process After Quick Recovery® Breast AugmentationImage credit: Prospects Quiz As we’ve done the past few years, we’ve selected some prospect reports from over the years to see if you can guess who we were talking about. The names have been removed, but no other info has been tweaked. We’ll start easy and keep ramping up the difficulty. 2023 Holiday Prospects Quiz 2022 Holiday Prospects Quiz You’ll find the answer key listed at the very bottom of this page. So, unless you want to be spoiled, don’t go scrolling too far until you have you answers! Ready? Go! 40-Grade Tier: The Easy Ones Ok, we’re easing you into this with a few warmups. These are more recent players, so even casual baseball fans should have a good idea who we’re talking about. Player A has been expected near the top of the 2019 draft class for years thanks to his size, speed and power. Last summer, he showed excellent power potential but also raised questions about his hit tool as he showed more swing-and-miss than evaluators would have liked. This spring, admittedly against lesser competition, Player A has shown a better approach and more bat-to-ball skills. He’s using the entire field more and staying more balanced at the plate, where in the past he showed a tendency to get a little pull happy and collapse his backside during his swing. Player A shows a solid awareness of the strike zone—when he got into trouble last summer it was because he was swinging and missing at pitches in the zone rather than expanding it. He has plus power that projects for 20-plus home runs at the big league level and potentially even more in the current overheated major league power environment. At shortstop, Player A is the top defender in the class and a future plus defender with elite hands, quick feet and a plus arm. He shows the ability to throw from multiple arm slots and make plays going to both his right and left with excellent throwing accuracy. He’s a plus runner who can impact the game on the bases. Scouts have long raved about his makeup and several said that his work ethic and drive will help him get the most out of his considerable tools. Player A will turn 19 years old right after the draft, so he is older for the class. He is seen as both a high-floor player as well as someone with one of the highest ceilings in the class because of his well-rounded toolset and strong odds of sticking at shortstop. If he is even a .230 or .240 hitter, he should have a lengthy big league career because of his defensive ability at shortstop, speed and power. If he proves to be an average or better hitter, he could become a franchise-caliber player. Player B was a generational talent in college at Oregon State, leading the Beavers to the College World Series title as a sophomore in 2018 and winning the Golden Spikes Award in 2019 . . . The switch-hitting Player B rebuilt his swing in college to gear for more power and consistency. He continues to find ways to refine and make his swing more efficient as he learns the professional game. He went through an adjustment period at the Bowie camp after the coronavirus shutdown period halted most of his work, but he quickly revealed the all-fields power and consistent hard contact that give him potential to be a plus-plus hitter with plus-plus power at his peak. He ended the summer as the best performer at the camp. His offensive production is aided by advanced plate discipline. Player B is clear in which pitches he’s able to drive and which he should lay off. He’ll likely see increased benefit from that when pitchers are around the strike zone more and umpires improve at the higher levels of the minors. Player B’s above-average pop times and advanced receiving skills behind the plate give him the physical tools to be a plus major league catcher. Player B is the game’s best catching prospect and one of the most exciting minor leaguers in all of baseball. The Blue Jays had Player C, the son of the 2004 American League MVP, in their Dominican complex for the first time when he was 14, seeing a pudgy, immature body and precocious power. The Blue Jays traded prospects Chase DeJong and Tim Locastro to pick up extra bonus pool room and signed Player C for $3.9 million, the second-largest bonus in franchise history. Where his father was wiry and an untamed athlete with premium power, Player C is thick-bodied, with a corner profile. He stands out for his bat control, bat speed, hand strength and hand-eye coordination that could make him a bad-ball hitter and power plan like his father, who hit 449 home runs in the majors. Ostensibly a left fielder when he signed, the Jays tried him at third base in instructional league after asking Player C what his favorite position was. His arm strength, fringy in the outfield, improved to average with the shorter arm stroke. He may outgrow third, but the club will send him out at that position in 2016, believing his hands are suited for the spot even if his range is short. One club official compared Player C’s overall package to a bigger version of 1989 National League MVP Kevin Mitchell, who played infield early in his career but was ultimately a bat-first left fielder. Player C fits a similar profile and may wind up at first base or DH. The Jays will be OK with that if his power pans out as they hope. He should start 2016 in Rookie ball, either in the Gulf Coast or Appalachian leagues. 50-Grade Tier: Maybe You Have To Think A Little We’re upping the difficulty level, but if you’re the kind of person spending time on the Baseball America website during the holidays, you should get these. Player D, 22, almost bypassed the Southern League this season. He had a sensational spring and was one of the White Sox’ last cuts when they broke camp. Instead of sulking about being sent down, Player D went to Birmingham and went to work on league pitchers. His .545 slugging percentage and .476 on-base percentage (on the strength of 112 walks in 109 games) made it easy for the White Sox to call him up in early August. “He can hit for average, power and is good at getting on base,” Birmingham manager Ken Berry said. “He still needs to work hard on his defense, baserunning and situational play, but those are things that come with experience.” Player E was recruited out of high school by Florida State to play shortstop, and he started all 65 games there for the Seminoles as a freshman. Following the 2006 season, however, Player E was asked to move behind the plate and catch for the first time in his life. He took to it naturally and two seasons later is considered the top catching prospect, both defensively and offensively, in the country. His offensive numbers this season, including a .471 average, put him among the national leaders in several categories. His receiving, footwork and release are all advanced, and his athleticism is apparent. Player D’s arm strength (he reaches 94 mph off the mound) and accuracy are pluses as well. At the plate, Player E has above-average bat speed and makes consistent contact. He has power to all fields but will probably be known more for his batting average than home runs. Player E is regarded as one of the safest picks in this year’s draft. His projection as an offensive catcher with Gold Glove-caliber defense has boosted Player D’s draft stock as much as anyone’s over the weeks leading up to the draft. 60-Grade Tier: Difficult, But Doable Feeling confident? These are reports with enough hints to make them very solvable for baseball fans with a solid grasp of the Baseball America era. Since signing, Player F has lived up to, and arguably exceeded, expectations. As one of the youngest players in the low Class A Midwest League in 2013, he finished third in batting (.320) and top five in on-base percentage (.405) while leading league shortstops in fielding percentage (.973) and finishing second in total chances (551). He also participated in the Futures Game, where he was the exhibition’s youngest player. Player F combines exceptional tools and outstanding knowledge and feel for the game. Some scouts worry that he’ll have to move to third base eventually because of his size and speed. He’s an average runner at best right now and likely will slow down. At 6-foot-4 and pushing 200 pounds, he’s already one of the bigger shortstops around. But others note that Player F makes all the plays expected of a front-line shortstop. He can make plays in the hole thanks in part to a 70 arm, and he also goes to his left well. Player F is more sure-handed than most young shortstops, with soft hands and a refined internal clock that lets him know when to charge a ball, when to stay back and when to put the ball in his back pocket. At the plate, he should hit for above-average power and average. He has the bat speed to rip fastballs, but his advanced pitch recognition means he also has excellent plate coverage and lays off breaking balls out of the zone . . . Though he hit just nine home runs in his first full season, he has 20-25 potential. Player F is one of those rare players who could hit in the middle of the lineup while playing a solid shortstop. The Twins, with the first pick in the 1999 Rule 5 draft, acquired Player G in a pre-arranged trade with the Marlins in December. He must make the Twins’ Opening Day roster or be offered back to the Astros, his former organization. It might be a longshot for him to stick because he has no experience above the low Class A Midwest League. Player G has a loose, live arm and a fastball that ranges anywhere from 88-94 mph. He throws a good curveball with a wide, sweeping break and an advanced changeup for his age. Player G’s command of the strike zone and his success in winter ball in Venezuela improve his chances of sticking in Minnesota. The history of the Rule 5 draft is littered with pitchers who couldn’t make the jump from low Class A to the big leagues, or whose careers were harmed by the attempt. Player G must handle the big league environment and the possible inactivity. Unless Player G fails in spring training, the Twins have committed themselves to carrying him as the third reliever in the bullpen behind Eddie Guardado and Travis Miller. Player H hit a growth spurt that saw him grow 8 inches during his high school senior year. He touched 100 mph that spring. Four years later, he’s the hardest throwing college pitcher ever. Player H touched 105 mph on multiple occasions this year and topped out at 105.5. He sat at 101 mph with a four-seamer that proved hittable at the lower end of his velocity range. His plus-plus slider may be a better pitch than his plus-plus fastball. It’s already hard (83-86 mph) with plenty of sweep. Only two batters put the slider in play during the regular season, although it’s currently a chase pitch he doesn’t throw for strikes. With two of the best pitches in the class, he’s probably the most famous pitcher not expected to go in the first round. Nova Southeastern had four players drafted in 2009. The Astros had a strong report on Player I thanks to area scout Greg Brown, who since has become the Fort Lauderdale based NAIA school’s head coach. Player I signed for $30,000 as a 20th-round pick, then won the short-season New York-Penn League batting title (.326) in his pro debut. He won the South Atlantic League MVP award after leading the league in hitting (.362), on-base percentage (.433) and slugging (.598), and he ranked second overall in the minors in hits (183) while reaching Double-A. A late bloomer physically, Player I has added 20 pounds since signing, gaining strength for his unorthodox swing. He gets his front foot down early, lays the bat back and then unloads with good natural timing. Despite the front-foot approach, he recognizes pitches, stays back on breaking balls and squares up good pitches. His flat swing path means much of his power is to the gaps, and he projects to hit 35-40 doubles and 15-20 homers annually. Player J has been a living contradiction at North Carolina State. He has been a three-year starting quarterback and an all-Atlantic Coast Conference choice in football and a platoon player in baseball, even though he is going to play baseball professionally. He passed for 3,288 yards and 26 touchdowns in the 2010 regular season as N.C. State went 8-4. On the diamond last spring, however, he made just 25 starts at second base and the outfield, playing almost exclusively against lefthanders. Player J was drafted by the Orioles out of high school in the 41st round in 2007, when he turned down six-figure overtures from other clubs. He signed as a fourth-round pick for $200,000 last summer, with the Rockies allowing him to return to quarterback N.C. State. He has the athleticism and aptitude that gave scouts reason to believe he could be a quality infielder. He has game-changing speed but has to learn the subtleties that will allow him to turn it into an asset. He understands the offensive game, hitting the ball the other way and incorporating the bunt into his game, and scouts have long liked his fairly compact swing. Player J shows plus range with good hands and a solid arm but needs reps in the infield and will have to adjust to the speed of the game. He did get into 32 games at short-season Tri-City last summer before returning to college and will play in low Class A this year. While the Rockies are counting on 2010 being his final football season–and N.C. State honored him on its senior day, even though he is a junior in football eligibility–it remains possible that he could return for another season of football. He has expressed a desire to reach the major leagues in both sports. Coming out of high school in 2015, Player K was considered one of the best two-sport stars coming out of Texas in years. He has a familial history with both football and baseball. Player K’s father, —, was a star quarterback at Texas A&M in the early 1980s, while his uncle, —, was a big league outfielder with multiple teams. Player K would have been a potential late first-round pick out of high school if teams had thought he was signable, but as a two-sport star he told teams not to draft him because he was headed to Texas A&M. Player K has covered a lot of ground since then. He was supposed to be Johnny Manziel”s replacement for the Aggies, but he transferred to Oklahoma after starting three games and playing in eight as a freshman. That made Player K eligible to play his redshirt freshman season with the Sooners baseball team in 2017, but his rust was apparent. He hit .122 with no extra-base hits while struggling defensively in left field. Player K went to the Cape Cod League briefly last summer and, after serving as NFL No. 1 pick Baker Mayfield’s backup last season (he threw 21 passes), he showed significant strides in his second season with the Sooners baseball team. Player K looked much more comfortable in center field this year than he did in the corners last year, as the easier reads of center allowed him to take more decisive routes and let his plus speed play. There’s still a ton of projection involved with Player K because scouts know they aren’t seeing him at his best. He has spent much of the spring splitting time between baseball and spring football practice, where he was battling for the Sooners’ starting quarterback job. Scouts have generally seen more above-average than plus run times from him, but many believe that’s because he’s worn out. Similarly, he shows a 30 arm right now, but he doesn’t get to work on his throwing arm for baseball because he is muscled up for football. At the plate, Player K’s development this season has impressed evaluators. He is showing much more advanced pitch recognition and plate coverage, impressing with his ability to battle to deep counts. He has 20-25 home run potential down the road, with the bat speed that gives him a chance to develop into at least an average hitter as well. Player K’s signability is going to be a tricky puzzle for teams. 70-Grade Tier: Getting Into Rarified Air We promise, everyone included here is a prominent player. We just made sure to pick scouting reports from very early in their careers. The difficulty level is getting much tougher, so you’ll really start to impress us if you get these correct. After spending most of 2006 in the Ogden outfield, Player L joined Lucas May in converting to catcher during instructional league following that season. Like Dodgers all-star Russell Martin, who moved from third base, May and Player L are both athletes with agility and flexibility, which bodes well for their longterm futures behind the plate. Player L’s bat is behind May’s, but he’s a better receiver and projects as a better all-around defender. He has good hands and quick lateral movement, with a real knack for blocking balls. Player L has a plus arm and clean release, helping him erase 38 percent of basestealers in his first season behind the dish. An Arizona prep product, Player M was a recruiting find for Seattle, which returned to Division I play in 2010. The team’s ace as a freshman, he was 13-5 with a 2.86 ERA and 118 strikeouts in 126 innings halfway through his college career before injuring his elbow midway through the 2016 season, requiring Tommy John surgery. At his best pre-injury, Player M presented scouts with a physical 6-foot-3, 218-pound lefty with a plus fastball. He pitched at 90-94 mph and touched 95 last spring, complemented by a fringy breaking ball and changeup. Player M had returned to the mound to throw bullpens by late April and was working out for scouts but was not slated to return to Seattle. He could take a redshirt and return as a junior next year but was expected to be signable. Player N started his senior season of high school strong and appeared to be pitching himself into the first round. His momentum was halted, however, when he got injured four starts into the season and required Tommy John surgery in March. The Nationals, who have not shied away from drafting prominent pitchers with health concerns, made the Miami commit the 94th overall pick and signed him for $1.4 million, happy to add another premium arm to their system. Player N first stood out as an underclassman for his pitchability and offspeed stuff. But in 2016, before his injury, he showed improved velocity, running his fastball up to 97 mph. He more typically threw the pitch in the low 90s with good sinking action. He has a good feel for his changeup, which projects as a plus pitch, and shows multiple looks with his breaking ball. He commands his whole arsenal well, and has an advanced understanding of his craft. The Nationals have had success helping young pitchers through Tommy John rehab, including Lucas Giolito, Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann. Player N will look to follow in their footsteps and should be ready to make his pro debut when the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League opens in 2017. Acquired from the Astros at the Winter Meetings, Player O immediately bolted to the head of the class. He didn’t come cheap: Lost was Eddie Taubensee, a lefthanded-hitting catcher who probably would be among the top five prospects on this list were he still in the organization. But in Player O the Indians believe they have someone who can out-Alex Cole Alex Cole. Player O is faster, much better defensively, a better bunter and younger than Cole. “We kept reading through our reports and asking people about him, and we couldn’t find anyone who would say anything negative,” Indians manager Mike Hargrove said. A prototype leadoff hitter and center fielder, Player O will get ample opportunity to unseat Cole in spring training. With 168 stolen bases in four professional seasons, Player O knows how to run. But he also knows how to get caught: his 55 percent success rate is unbecoming of one so swift. There is also a contact question. In the minor leagues, Player O has struck out once every 5.3 at-bats, a distressing figure for a leadoff hitter. But Indians officials can live with Player O’s growing pains, given the organization’s casual approach to the present. 80-Grade Tier: As Tough As It Gets If you know these, you are among the elite. You’ve retained knowledge of thousands of players. Everyone here is someone who was a prominent player at some point, but the clues are designed to be difficult. Player P had quite an eventful 2009. In March, he was the starting catcher for the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic and helped seal a 3-2 upset of the Dominican Republic by throwing out Willy Taveras trying to steal third base in the ninth inning. By November, was the talk of the Arizona Fall League–as a reliever. In five seasons as a catcher, Player P batted .229/.311/.337 and played just eight games above Class A. It was decided to utilize his cannon arm on the mound in late July and by the time he got to the AFL, he was routinely throwing his fastball at 95 mph and occasionally getting it to 98. A career .227 hitter, Player S was on the verge of being released by the Reds after the 1990 season. He was spared only be Jim Lett, his manager at low Class A Charleston, who suggested that Player S be given one last chance–as a pitcher. Voila! Player S always had terrific arm strength, but the Reds never envisioned he would adapt to pitching almost overnight. He showed rare command for someone who hadn’t pitched in years, consistently throwing first-pitch strikes and dominating hitters at low Class A Cedar Rapids with a fastball clocked up to 95 mph. Player S has progressed so fast that some in the organization believe he has a chance to crack the big league staff in a setup role out of spring training. How does a 13th-round selection two seasons out of junior college emerge as the best prospect in a Double-A league? With hard work and a near-insatiable thirst for the game. “Coaching third base, you get a chance to talk to him, get inside his head a little bit,” Harrisburg manager Mike Quade said. “He’s always talking about situations. He’s fearless at the plate, and he has a good idea of what he wants to do up there.” “He hits well, and even though he doesn’t run real well, he’s got a quick first step at third base,” said New Britain manager Gary Allenson. “He’s a line-drive hitter who has power potential, and he has a great mental outlook.” “He’s turned into a plus defensive player,” said Player T’s own manager, Ken Bolek of Canton-Akron. “Offensively he’s capable of hitting for a high average with power. He’s going to improve his home run totals, and he has outstanding makeup. He’s a gamer.” Player T didn’t turn 21 until after his promotion. He had little trouble playing third base at sometimes tricky Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium, showing a willingness to give up his body to make a play. So how did you do? The answers are below, but you have to scroll a while to avoid spoiling your guesses. . . . . . . . Don’t go past here unless you want to see the answers. . . . . Last chance to turn around and keep guessing. . . . . Seriously, don’t scroll any further until you are done! . . . . . . . . . . ANSWERS Player A: Bobby Witt Jr. Player B: Adley Rutschman Player C: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Player D: Frank Thomas Player E: Buster Posey Player F: Carlos Correa Player G: Johan Santana Player H: Ben Joyce Player I: J.D. Martinez Player J: Russell Wilson Player K: Kyler Murray Player L: Carlos Santana Player M: Tarik Skubal Player N: Jesus Luzardo Player O: Kenny Lofton Player P: Kenley Jansen Player S: Trevor Hoffman Player T: Jim Thome

The NRL will not allow Ezra Mam to serve part of his proposed nine-game ban in the pre-season All-Stars clash, meaning the entire suspension must be taken with Brisbane. Mam was sent an NRL breach notice on Monday for bringing both the game and Broncos into disrepute, after his high-profile driving charges in October. AAP has been told that part of the breach notice rules Mam out for the first third of the NRL season. He has five business days to respond, meaning he can wait until the new year to decide if he wants to challenge the suspension. Players can ordinarily apply to have representative matches counted towards bans, including the pre-season All-Stars fixture. Both Latrell Mitchell and Josh Addo-Carr currently have applications in with the NRL to do precisely that, as a result of their current bans relating to off-field matters. Mam would ordinarily be eligible to play in the All-Stars match, as one of the game's highest-profile Indigenous players. But it is understood he will not have the ability to count the game to his ban, with the five-eighth having never previously featured in the representative fixture. It means that if he does accept the ban, Mam will be unable to return for Brisbane's Magic Round clash with Penrith. Instead, he will have to wait another week to come back against South Sydney in round 10 on May 9 at Accor Stadium. Mam's ban looms as his most significant punishment for crossing onto the wrong side of the road and causing a head-on crash in October, while driving unlicensed on a cocktail of drugs. The 22-year-old was subsequently fined $850 in Brisbane Magistrates Court last Monday, and had his license suspended for nine months. Mam's legal punishment has been heavily criticised as too lenient, with Queensland's deputy premier labelling it as "a slap on the wrist". On the field, the playmaker's looming ban increased the importance of Ben Hunt's signing at the Broncos. Hunt will now likely partner Adam Reynolds in the halves for the opening two months of the season. It is then possible he could revert to hooker after that, if both Reynolds and Mam are fit, sharing the dummy-half duties with Billy Walters. Mam's absence does loom as a blow to Brisbane as they attempt to return to their best under Michael Maguire. The No.6 was the Dally M five-eighth of the year in 2023, with his hat-trick in that year's grand final marking one of the greatest ever performances in a losing team. But like the rest of the Broncos team he was unable to recapture his best on a consistent basis in 2024, as Brisbane slumped to 12th on the ladder and coach Kevin Walters was axed. Mam has since issued a public apology over the driving charges, which have headlined an unsavoury off-season at the club.Jimmy Carter, the 39th US president, has died at 100 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 Bill Barrow, The Associated Press Dec 29, 2024 1:32 PM Dec 29, 2024 1:35 PM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message FILE - President Jimmy Carter is interviewed in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Jan. 24, 1977. (AP Photo, 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 simply said in posting about Carter's death on the social media platform X. Businessman, Navy officer, evangelist, politician, negotiator, author, woodworker, citizen of the world — Carter forged a path that still challenges political assumptions and stands out among the 45 men who reached the nation’s highest office. The 39th president leveraged his ambition with a keen intellect, deep religious faith and prodigious work ethic, conducting diplomatic missions into his 80s and building houses for the poor well into his 90s. “My faith demands — this is not optional — my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can, with whatever I have to try to make a difference,” Carter once said. A president from Plains A moderate Democrat, Carter entered the 1976 presidential race as a little-known Georgia governor with a broad smile, outspoken Baptist mores and technocratic plans reflecting his education as an engineer. His no-frills campaign depended on public financing, and his promise not to deceive the American people resonated after Richard Nixon’s disgrace and U.S. defeat in southeast Asia. “If I ever lie to you, if I ever make a misleading statement, don’t vote for me. I would not deserve to be your president,” Carter repeated before narrowly beating Republican incumbent Gerald Ford, who had lost popularity pardoning Nixon. Carter governed amid Cold War pressures, turbulent oil markets and social upheaval over racism, women’s rights and America’s global role. His most acclaimed achievement in office was a Mideast peace deal that he brokered by keeping Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at the bargaining table for 13 days in 1978. That Camp David experience inspired the post-presidential 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. And then, the world Ignominious defeat, though, allowed for renewal. The Carters founded The Carter Center in 1982 as a first-of-its-kind base of operations, asserting themselves as international peacemakers and champions of democracy, public health and human rights. “I was not interested in just building a museum or storing my White House records and memorabilia,” Carter wrote in a memoir published after his 90th birthday. “I wanted a place where we could work.” That work included easing nuclear tensions in North and South Korea, helping to avert a U.S. invasion of Haiti and negotiating cease-fires in Bosnia and Sudan. By 2022, The Carter Center had declared at least 113 elections in Latin America, Asia and Africa to be free or fraudulent. Recently, the 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.” ‘An epic American life’ Carter’s globetrotting took him to remote villages where he met little “Jimmy Carters,” so named by admiring parents. But he spent most of his days in the same one-story Plains house — expanded and guarded by Secret Service agents — where they lived before he became governor. He regularly taught Sunday School lessons at Maranatha Baptist Church until his mobility declined and the coronavirus pandemic raged. Those sessions drew visitors from around the world to the small sanctuary where Carter will receive his final send-off after a state funeral at Washington’s National Cathedral. The common assessment that he was a better ex-president than president rankled Carter and his allies. His prolific post-presidency gave him a brand above politics, particularly for Americans too young to witness him in office. But Carter also lived long enough to see biographers and historians reassess his White House years more generously. His record includes the deregulation of key industries, reduction of U.S. dependence on foreign oil, cautious management of the national debt and notable legislation on the environment, education and mental health. He focused on human rights in foreign policy, pressuring dictators to release thousands of political prisoners . He acknowledged America’s historical imperialism, pardoned Vietnam War draft evaders and relinquished control of the Panama Canal. He normalized relations with China. “I am not nominating Jimmy Carter for a place on Mount Rushmore,” Stuart Eizenstat, Carter’s domestic policy director, wrote in a 2018 book. “He was not a great president” but also not the “hapless and weak” caricature voters rejected in 1980, Eizenstat said. Rather, Carter was “good and productive” and “delivered results, many of which were realized only after he left office.” Madeleine Albright, a national security staffer for Carter and Clinton’s secretary of state, wrote in Eizenstat’s forward that Carter was “consequential and successful” and expressed hope that “perceptions will continue to evolve” about his presidency. “Our country was lucky to have him as our leader,” said Albright, who died in 2022. Jonathan Alter, who penned a comprehensive Carter biography published in 2020, said in an interview that Carter should be remembered for “an epic American life” spanning from a humble start in a home with no electricity or indoor plumbing through decades on the world stage across two centuries. “He will likely go down as one of the most misunderstood and underestimated figures in American history,” Alter told The Associated Press. A small-town start James Earl Carter Jr. was born Oct. 1, 1924, in Plains and spent his early years in nearby Archery. His family was a minority in the mostly Black community, decades before the civil rights movement played out at the dawn of Carter’s political career. Carter, who campaigned as a moderate on race relations but governed more progressively, talked often of the influence of his Black caregivers and playmates but also noted his advantages: His land-owning father sat atop Archery’s tenant-farming system and owned a main street grocery. His mother, Lillian , would become a staple of his political campaigns. Seeking to broaden his world beyond Plains and its population of fewer than 1,000 — then and now — Carter won an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating in 1946. That same year he married Rosalynn Smith, another Plains native, a decision he considered more important than any he made as head of state. She shared his desire to see the world, sacrificing college to support his Navy career. Carter climbed in rank to lieutenant, but then his father was diagnosed with cancer, so the submarine officer set aside his ambitions of admiralty and moved the family back to Plains. His decision angered Rosalynn, even as she dived into the peanut business alongside her husband. Carter again failed to talk with his wife before his first run for office — he later called it “inconceivable” not to have consulted her on such major life decisions — but this time, she was on board. “My wife is much more political,” Carter told the AP in 2021. He won a state Senate seat in 1962 but wasn’t long for the General Assembly and its back-slapping, deal-cutting ways. He ran for governor in 1966 — losing to arch-segregationist Lester Maddox — and then immediately focused on the next campaign. Carter had spoken out against church segregation as a Baptist deacon and opposed racist “Dixiecrats” as a state senator. Yet as a local school board leader in the 1950s he had not pushed to end school segregation even after the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision, despite his private support for integration. And in 1970, Carter ran for governor again as the more conservative Democrat against Carl Sanders, a wealthy businessman Carter mocked as “Cufflinks Carl.” Sanders never forgave him for anonymous, race-baiting flyers, which Carter disavowed. Ultimately, Carter won his races by attracting both Black voters and culturally conservative whites. Once in office, he was more direct. “I say to you quite frankly that the time for racial discrimination is over,” he declared in his 1971 inaugural address, setting a new standard for Southern governors that landed him on the cover of Time magazine. 'Jimmy Who?' His statehouse initiatives included environmental protection, boosting rural education and overhauling antiquated executive branch structures. He proclaimed Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the slain civil rights leader’s home state. And he decided, as he received presidential candidates in 1972, that they were no more talented than he was. In 1974, he ran Democrats’ national campaign arm. Then he declared his own candidacy for 1976. An Atlanta newspaper responded with the headline: “Jimmy Who?” The Carters and a “Peanut Brigade” of family members and Georgia supporters camped out in Iowa and New Hampshire, establishing both states as presidential proving grounds. His first Senate endorsement: a young first-termer from Delaware named Joe Biden. Yet it was Carter’s ability to navigate America’s complex racial and rural politics that cemented the nomination. He swept the Deep South that November, the last Democrat to do so, as many white Southerners shifted to Republicans in response to civil rights initiatives. A self-declared “born-again Christian,” Carter drew snickers by referring to Scripture in a Playboy magazine interview, saying he “had looked on many women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times.” The remarks gave Ford a new foothold and television comedians pounced — including NBC’s new “Saturday Night Live” show. But voters weary of cynicism in politics found it endearing. Carter chose Minnesota Sen. Walter “Fritz” Mondale as his running mate on a “Grits and Fritz” ticket. In office, he elevated the vice presidency and the first lady’s office. Mondale’s governing partnership was a model for influential successors Al Gore, Dick Cheney and Biden. Rosalynn Carter was one of the most involved presidential spouses in history, welcomed into Cabinet meetings and huddles with lawmakers and top aides. The Carters presided with uncommon informality: He used his nickname “Jimmy” even when taking the oath of office, carried his own luggage and tried to silence the Marine Band’s “Hail to the Chief.” They bought their clothes off the rack. Carter wore a cardigan for a White House address, urging Americans to conserve energy by turning down their thermostats. Amy, the youngest of four children, attended District of Columbia public school. Washington’s social and media elite scorned their style. But the larger concern was that “he hated politics,” according to Eizenstat, leaving him nowhere to turn politically once economic turmoil and foreign policy challenges took their toll. Accomplishments, and ‘malaise’ Carter partially deregulated the airline, railroad and trucking industries and established the departments of Education and Energy, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He designated millions of acres of Alaska as national parks or wildlife refuges. He appointed a then-record number of women and nonwhite people to federal posts. He never had a Supreme Court nomination, but he elevated civil rights attorney Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the nation’s second highest court, positioning her for a promotion in 1993. He appointed Paul Volker, the Federal Reserve chairman whose policies would help the economy boom in the 1980s — after Carter left office. He built on Nixon’s opening with China, and though he tolerated autocrats in Asia, pushed Latin America from dictatorships to democracy. But he couldn’t immediately tame inflation or the related energy crisis. And then came Iran. After he admitted the exiled Shah of Iran to the U.S. for medical treatment, the American Embassy in Tehran was overrun in 1979 by followers of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Negotiations to free the hostages broke down repeatedly ahead of the failed rescue attempt. The same year, Carter signed SALT II, the new strategic arms treaty with Leonid Brezhnev of the Soviet Union, only to pull it back, impose trade sanctions and order a U.S. boycott of the Moscow Olympics after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. Hoping to instill optimism, he delivered what the media dubbed his “malaise” speech, although he didn’t use that word. He declared the nation was suffering “a crisis of confidence.” By then, many Americans had lost confidence in the president, not themselves. Carter campaigned sparingly for reelection because of the hostage crisis, instead sending Rosalynn as Sen. Edward M. Kennedy challenged him for the Democratic nomination. Carter famously said he’d “kick his ass,” but was hobbled by Kennedy as Reagan rallied a broad coalition with “make America great again” appeals and asking voters whether they were “better off than you were four years ago.” Reagan further capitalized on Carter’s lecturing tone, eviscerating him in their lone fall debate with the quip: “There you go again.” Carter lost all but six states and Republicans rolled to a new Senate majority. Carter successfully negotiated the hostages’ freedom after the election, but in one final, bitter turn of events, Tehran waited until hours after Carter left office to let them walk free. 'A wonderful life' At 56, Carter returned to Georgia with “no idea what I would do with the rest of my life.” Four decades after launching The Carter Center, he still talked of unfinished business. “I thought when we got into politics we would have resolved everything,” Carter told the AP in 2021. “But it’s turned out to be much more long-lasting and insidious than I had thought it was. I think in general, the world itself is much more divided than in previous years.” Still, he affirmed what he said when he underwent treatment for a cancer diagnosis in his 10th decade of life. “I’m perfectly at ease with whatever comes,” he said in 2015 . “I’ve had a wonderful life. I’ve had thousands of friends, I’ve had an exciting, adventurous and gratifying existence.” ___ Former Associated Press journalist Alex Sanz contributed to this report. Bill Barrow, The Associated Press See a typo/mistake? Have a story/tip? This has been shared 0 times 0 Shares Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message More World News Jimmy Carter, 39th US president, Nobel winner, dies at 100 Dec 29, 2024 1:31 PM Israeli hospital says Netanyahu has undergone successful prostate surgery Dec 29, 2024 1:11 PM Jetliner skids off runway and bursts into flames while landing in South Korea, killing 179 Dec 29, 2024 1:02 PM Featured FlyerJimmy Carter, the 39th president and a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, has died at 100