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gold fish casino facebook PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Newly married and sworn as a Naval officer, Jimmy Carter left his tiny hometown in 1946 hoping to climb the ranks and see the world. Less than a decade later, the death of his father and namesake, a merchant farmer and local politician who went by “Mr. Earl,” prompted the submariner and his wife, Rosalynn, to return to the rural life of Plains, Georgia, they thought they’d escaped. The lieutenant never would be an admiral. Instead, he became commander in chief. Years after his presidency ended in humbling defeat, he would add a Nobel Peace Prize, awarded not for his White House accomplishments but “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” The life of James Earl Carter Jr., the 39th and longest-lived U.S. president, ended Sunday at the age of 100 where it began: Plains, the town of 600 that fueled his political rise, welcomed him after his fall and sustained him during 40 years of service that redefined what it means to be a former president. With the stubborn confidence of an engineer and an optimism rooted in his Baptist faith, Carter described his motivations in politics and beyond in the same way: an almost missionary zeal to solve problems and improve lives. Carter was raised amid racism, abject poverty and hard rural living — realities that shaped both his deliberate politics and emphasis on human rights. “He always felt a responsibility to help people,” said Jill Stuckey, a longtime friend of Carter's in Plains. “And when he couldn’t make change wherever he was, he decided he had to go higher.” Carter's path, a mix of happenstance and calculation , pitted moral imperatives against political pragmatism; and it defied typical labels of American politics, especially caricatures of one-term presidents as failures. “We shouldn’t judge presidents by how popular they are in their day. That's a very narrow way of assessing them," Carter biographer Jonathan Alter told the Associated Press. “We should judge them by how they changed the country and the world for the better. On that score, Jimmy Carter is not in the first rank of American presidents, but he stands up quite well.” Later in life, Carter conceded that many Americans, even those too young to remember his tenure, judged him ineffective for failing to contain inflation or interest rates, end the energy crisis or quickly bring home American hostages in Iran. He gained admirers instead for his work at The Carter Center — advocating globally for public health, human rights and democracy since 1982 — and the decades he and Rosalynn wore hardhats and swung hammers with Habitat for Humanity. Yet the common view that he was better after the Oval Office than in it annoyed Carter, and his allies relished him living long enough to see historians reassess his presidency. “He doesn’t quite fit in today’s terms” of a left-right, red-blue scoreboard, said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who visited the former president multiple times during his own White House bid. At various points in his political career, Carter labeled himself “progressive” or “conservative” — sometimes both at once. His most ambitious health care bill failed — perhaps one of his biggest legislative disappointments — because it didn’t go far enough to suit liberals. Republicans, especially after his 1980 defeat, cast him as a left-wing cartoon. It would be easiest to classify Carter as a centrist, Buttigieg said, “but there’s also something radical about the depth of his commitment to looking after those who are left out of society and out of the economy.” Indeed, Carter’s legacy is stitched with complexities, contradictions and evolutions — personal and political. The self-styled peacemaker was a war-trained Naval Academy graduate who promised Democratic challenger Ted Kennedy that he’d “kick his ass.” But he campaigned with a call to treat everyone with “respect and compassion and with love.” Carter vowed to restore America’s virtue after the shame of Vietnam and Watergate, and his technocratic, good-government approach didn't suit Republicans who tagged government itself as the problem. It also sometimes put Carter at odds with fellow Democrats. The result still was a notable legislative record, with wins on the environment, education, and mental health care. He dramatically expanded federally protected lands, began deregulating air travel, railroads and trucking, and he put human rights at the center of U.S. foreign policy. As a fiscal hawk, Carter added a relative pittance to the national debt, unlike successors from both parties. Carter nonetheless struggled to make his achievements resonate with the electorate he charmed in 1976. Quoting Bob Dylan and grinning enthusiastically, he had promised voters he would “never tell a lie.” Once in Washington, though, he led like a joyless engineer, insisting his ideas would become reality and he'd be rewarded politically if only he could convince enough people with facts and logic. This served him well at Camp David, where he brokered peace between Israel’s Menachem Begin and Epypt’s Anwar Sadat, an experience that later sparked the idea of The Carter Center in Atlanta. Carter's tenacity helped the center grow to a global force that monitored elections across five continents, enabled his freelance diplomacy and sent public health experts across the developing world. The center’s wins were personal for Carter, who hoped to outlive the last Guinea worm parasite, and nearly did. As president, though, the approach fell short when he urged consumers beleaguered by energy costs to turn down their thermostats. Or when he tried to be the nation’s cheerleader, beseeching Americans to overcome a collective “crisis of confidence.” Republican Ronald Reagan exploited Carter's lecturing tone with a belittling quip in their lone 1980 debate. “There you go again,” the former Hollywood actor said in response to a wonky answer from the sitting president. “The Great Communicator” outpaced Carter in all but six states. Carter later suggested he “tried to do too much, too soon” and mused that he was incompatible with Washington culture: media figures, lobbyists and Georgetown social elites who looked down on the Georgians and their inner circle as “country come to town.” Carter carefully navigated divides on race and class on his way to the Oval Office. Born Oct. 1, 1924 , Carter was raised in the mostly Black community of Archery, just outside Plains, by a progressive mother and white supremacist father. Their home had no running water or electricity but the future president still grew up with the relative advantages of a locally prominent, land-owning family in a system of Jim Crow segregation. He wrote of President Franklin Roosevelt’s towering presence and his family’s Democratic Party roots, but his father soured on FDR, and Jimmy Carter never campaigned or governed as a New Deal liberal. He offered himself as a small-town peanut farmer with an understated style, carrying his own luggage, bunking with supporters during his first presidential campaign and always using his nickname. And he began his political career in a whites-only Democratic Party. As private citizens, he and Rosalynn supported integration as early as the 1950s and believed it inevitable. Carter refused to join the White Citizens Council in Plains and spoke out in his Baptist church against denying Black people access to worship services. “This is not my house; this is not your house,” he said in a churchwide meeting, reminding fellow parishioners their sanctuary belonged to God. Yet as the appointed chairman of Sumter County schools he never pushed to desegregate, thinking it impractical after the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board decision. And while presidential candidate Carter would hail the 1965 Voting Rights Act, signed by fellow Democrat Lyndon Johnson when Carter was a state senator, there is no record of Carter publicly supporting it at the time. Carter overcame a ballot-stuffing opponent to win his legislative seat, then lost the 1966 governor's race to an arch-segregationist. He won four years later by avoiding explicit mentions of race and campaigning to the right of his rival, who he mocked as “Cufflinks Carl” — the insult of an ascendant politician who never saw himself as part the establishment. Carter’s rural and small-town coalition in 1970 would match any victorious Republican electoral map in 2024. Once elected, though, Carter shocked his white conservative supporters — and landed on the cover of Time magazine — by declaring that “the time for racial discrimination is over.” Before making the jump to Washington, Carter befriended the family of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., whom he’d never sought out as he eyed the governor’s office. Carter lamented his foot-dragging on school integration as a “mistake.” But he also met, conspicuously, with Alabama's segregationist Gov. George Wallace to accept his primary rival's endorsement ahead of the 1976 Democratic convention. “He very shrewdly took advantage of his own Southerness,” said Amber Roessner, a University of Tennessee professor and expert on Carter’s campaigns. A coalition of Black voters and white moderate Democrats ultimately made Carter the last Democratic presidential nominee to sweep the Deep South. Then, just as he did in Georgia, he used his power in office to appoint more non-whites than all his predecessors had, combined. He once acknowledged “the secret shame” of white Americans who didn’t fight segregation. But he also told Alter that doing more would have sacrificed his political viability – and thus everything he accomplished in office and after. King's daughter, Bernice King, described Carter as wisely “strategic” in winning higher offices to enact change. “He was a leader of conscience,” she said in an interview. Rosalynn Carter, who died on Nov. 19 at the age of 96, was identified by both husband and wife as the “more political” of the pair; she sat in on Cabinet meetings and urged him to postpone certain priorities, like pressing the Senate to relinquish control of the Panama Canal. “Let that go until the second term,” she would sometimes say. The president, recalled her former aide Kathy Cade, retorted that he was “going to do what’s right” even if “it might cut short the time I have.” Rosalynn held firm, Cade said: “She’d remind him you have to win to govern.” Carter also was the first president to appoint multiple women as Cabinet officers. Yet by his own telling, his career sprouted from chauvinism in the Carters' early marriage: He did not consult Rosalynn when deciding to move back to Plains in 1953 or before launching his state Senate bid a decade later. Many years later, he called it “inconceivable” that he didn’t confer with the woman he described as his “full partner,” at home, in government and at The Carter Center. “We developed a partnership when we were working in the farm supply business, and it continued when Jimmy got involved in politics,” Rosalynn Carter told AP in 2021. So deep was their trust that when Carter remained tethered to the White House in 1980 as 52 Americans were held hostage in Tehran, it was Rosalynn who campaigned on her husband’s behalf. “I just loved it,” she said, despite the bitterness of defeat. Fair or not, the label of a disastrous presidency had leading Democrats keep their distance, at least publicly, for many years, but Carter managed to remain relevant, writing books and weighing in on societal challenges. He lamented widening wealth gaps and the influence of money in politics. He voted for democratic socialist Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton in 2016, and later declared that America had devolved from fully functioning democracy to “oligarchy.” Yet looking ahead to 2020, with Sanders running again, Carter warned Democrats not to “move to a very liberal program,” lest they help re-elect President Donald Trump. Carter scolded the Republican for his serial lies and threats to democracy, and chided the U.S. establishment for misunderstanding Trump’s populist appeal. He delighted in yearly convocations with Emory University freshmen, often asking them to guess how much he’d raised in his two general election campaigns. “Zero,” he’d gesture with a smile, explaining the public financing system candidates now avoid so they can raise billions. Carter still remained quite practical in partnering with wealthy corporations and foundations to advance Carter Center programs. Carter recognized that economic woes and the Iran crisis doomed his presidency, but offered no apologies for appointing Paul Volcker as the Federal Reserve chairman whose interest rate hikes would not curb inflation until Reagan's presidency. He was proud of getting all the hostages home without starting a shooting war, even though Tehran would not free them until Reagan's Inauguration Day. “Carter didn’t look at it” as a failure, Alter emphasized. “He said, ‘They came home safely.’ And that’s what he wanted.” Well into their 90s, the Carters greeted visitors at Plains’ Maranatha Baptist Church, where he taught Sunday School and where he will have his last funeral before being buried on family property alongside Rosalynn . Carter, who made the congregation’s collection plates in his woodworking shop, still garnered headlines there, calling for women’s rights within religious institutions, many of which, he said, “subjugate” women in church and society. Carter was not one to dwell on regrets. “I am at peace with the accomplishments, regret the unrealized goals and utilize my former political position to enhance everything we do,” he wrote around his 90th birthday. The politician who had supposedly hated Washington politics also enjoyed hosting Democratic presidential contenders as public pilgrimages to Plains became advantageous again. Carter sat with Buttigieg for the final time March 1, 2020, hours before the Indiana mayor ended his campaign and endorsed eventual winner Joe Biden. “He asked me how I thought the campaign was going,” Buttigieg said, recalling that Carter flashed his signature grin and nodded along as the young candidate, born a year after Carter left office, “put the best face” on the walloping he endured the day before in South Carolina. Never breaking his smile, the 95-year-old host fired back, “I think you ought to drop out.” “So matter of fact,” Buttigieg said with a laugh. “It was somehow encouraging.” Carter had lived enough, won plenty and lost enough to take the long view. “He talked a lot about coming from nowhere,” Buttigieg said, not just to attain the presidency but to leverage “all of the instruments you have in life” and “make the world more peaceful.” In his farewell address as president, Carter said as much to the country that had embraced and rejected him. “The struggle for human rights overrides all differences of color, nation or language,” he declared. “Those who hunger for freedom, who thirst for human dignity and who suffer for the sake of justice — they are the patriots of this cause.” Carter pledged to remain engaged with and for them as he returned “home to the South where I was born and raised,” home to Plains, where that young lieutenant had indeed become “a fellow citizen of the world.” —- Bill Barrow, based in Atlanta, has covered national politics including multiple presidential campaigns for the AP since 2012.he Indonesian proverb “lepas mulut harimau, masuk mulut buaya” (literally, out of a tiger’s mouth, into a crocodile’s mouth) or its English equivalent “out of the frying pan into the fire” will very likely apply to the 25 million people of Syria, after the rebels forced president Bashar al-Assad to flee on Dec. 8. The world, including Indonesia, must help the Syrians not to fall into this trap. For 53 years, Bashar al-Assad and his father Hafez ruled Syria with an iron fist, devastated the economy, slaughtered millions of innocents and let outsiders interfere in Syria’s internal affairs because it was the easiest way for the ruthless dynasty to maintain power. Indonesia also had a bitter experience with dictatorship, but the nation got back on its own feet. Indonesia cannot participate in the economic domain, but we have enormous soft potential to contribute meaningfully to the failed state. The rich Arab countries, the European Union, the United States, and multilateral organizations, and other industrialized nations have the resources to help rebuild Syria’s economy. Democracy is Indonesia’s most substantial offer. A contribution that no Arab country is likely to be able to provide, as shown by the results of the failed “Arab Spring”. Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation but not an Islamic state, has proved that Islam is compatible with democracy, including its most modern form. Despite its shortcomings, Indonesia is now the world’s third-largest democracy after India and the US. There are views that Indonesia’s transition from a dictatorship to a fully fledged democracy is not a model for the countries of the Arab Spring, including Tunisia and Egypt, because although there are similarities, there are also huge differences. Whether you're looking to broaden your horizons or stay informed on the latest developments, "Viewpoint" is the perfect source for anyone seeking to engage with the issues that matter most. By registering, you agree with 's Please check your email for your newsletter subscription. One of Indonesia’s most evident factors is the determination to choose a de-facto secular system since independence. Islamist parties almost never dominate domestic politics, as nationalist and secular parties have won nearly all elections, both rigged and genuine ones. From time to time there are attempts by small, but often noisy and sometimes violent, Islamist organizations, to turn Indonesia into an Islamic nation, but they have never received any significant support. This is very different from the situation faced by Arab nations. We call on President to organize a special team led by Foreign Minister Sugiono to prepare a mission involving multiple parties, including civil society organizations. It may be a nearly impossible mission because the situation in Syria is so complex that it could need decades for recovery. But Indonesia also has good experience in democratic diplomacy, including promoting the role of women in the development of Afghanistan, although this collapsed after the Taliban took over that government in 2021. In the last 10 years, the Foreign Ministry, under the leadership of Retno LP Marsudi, was quite active in the soft-power mission to Islamic nations. We do not preach but share our experience and invite them to Indonesia to interact with grassroots organizations, including Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah. It is up to them to decide, but at least they see good examples of democracy from Indonesian Muslims. A people power movement forced Soeharto to end his 32-year dictatorship in May 1998. Just a year later, the nation held an internationally recognized general election. Since 2004, Indonesia has held five direct presidential elections, a popular-based vote, without any meaningful problems. Since 2005, the country has adopted direct regional head elections at all levels. Soeharto brought its economy to the brink, and Indonesia became indebted to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 1997. However, it was able to pay off all of its loans to the global agency in 2006. Look at Syria now. According to the United Nations Population Agency (UNPA), 16.7 million people need humanitarian assistance, the highest number since the civil war erupted in 2011. Meanwhile, more than 6 million Syrian refugees remain displaced in neighboring countries. Indonesia should play its role in helping the Syrians to fully regain their rights, including democracy. This is a good opportunity for President Prabowo to help the SyriansNorth Carolina interviews Bill Belichick for head coaching job, AP sources say North Carolina has interviewed former New England Patriots coach and six-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick for its head coaching position. That's according to two people who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the school isn’t commenting publicly on its search. Belichick's interview was first reported by Inside Carolina. It comes a week after the school fired its winningest all-time coach in 73-year-old Mack Brown. The 72-year-old Belichick completed a 24-season run with the Patriots after last season and has been linked to NFL jobs. Blackhawks fire coach Luke Richardson in his 3rd season after league-worst start CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Blackhawks have fired coach Luke Richardson, signaling their frustration with the state of the franchise’s rebuilding project. Chicago has dropped four in a row to fall to an NHL-worst 8-16-2 on the season. It was outscored 41-27 while going 3-9-1 in its last 13 games. Anders Sorensen was elevated to interim coach. Sorensen had been coaching the team’s top minor league affiliate in Rockford. Messi and Inter Miami to open Club World Cup against Egyptian club Al Ahly MIAMI (AP) — Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will open the Club World Cup against Egyptian club Al Ahly, with Palmeiras and Porto also part of that group for the tournament that will take place in the U.S. next year. The draw was held Thursday in Miami, with the 32 teams finally finding out their first three opponents in the newly expanded event. The tournament will be held in the U.S. from June 15 to July 13, using 12 stadiums in 11 different cities. The final will be at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the same stadium that will play host to the 2026 World Cup final. The draw for FIFA’s revamped Club World Cup is coming up. Here’s what to know GENEVA (AP) — Soccer’s biggest ever global club tournament comes to the United States next year and the 32-team group stage is drawn Thursday. FIFA relaunched the Club World Cup to be played every four years. A new generation of stars plays in the 11 U.S. cities from June 15 to July 13. One year later they plan to return for the 2026 World Cup. Real Madrid has Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior and Jude Bellingham. Manchester City has Erling Haaland. Missing out are superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski because Al-Nassr and Barcelona failed to qualify. FIFA ensured an entry for Lionel Messi's Inter Miami. Scottie Scheffler has new putting grip and trails Cameron Young by 3 in Bahamas NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Scottie Scheffler has a new putting grip, and it helped him shoot a 5-under 67 in the first round of the Hero World Challenge. He trails Cameron Young by three shots in the 20-man invitational hosted by Tiger Woods. Young was playing for the first time since the BMW Championship more than three months ago and found great success on and around the greens of Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas. He made four birdie putts from 15 feet or longer for his 64. Justin Thomas was two shots back. Thomas and his wife welcomed a daughter a few weeks ago. Pride, bragging rights and more than $115M at stake when final college playoff rankings come out INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — There’s more than just school pride and bragging rights to all that bellyaching over who might be in and who might be out of college football’s first 12-team playoff. Try the more than $115 million that will be spread across the conferences at the end of the season, all depending on who gets in and which teams go the farthest. When it's all said and done, the teams that make the title game will bring $20 million to their conferences, all of which distribute that money, along with billions in TV revenue and other sources, in different ways. George Russell accuses Max Verstappen of bullying and threatening behavior as F1 feud deepens ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Mercedes driver George Russell has accused Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen of bullying and threatening behavior as a dispute between the two at last week’s race in Qatar deepened. Russell says that “someone needs to stand up to a bully like this” in comments broadcast by Sky Sports. Verstappen said Sunday he had “lost all respect” for Russell over an incident in qualifying for last week's Qatar Grand Prix that saw the Red Bull driver dropped behind Russell on the grid. Luis Severino and Athletics agree to $67 million, 3-year contract, AP sources say Two people familiar with the negotiations tell The Associated Press that right-hander Luis Severino and the Athletics have agreed to a $67 million, three-year contract. Severino can opt out and become a free agent after the 2026 season. Severino’s deal is the largest for the low-budget franchise, topping a $66 million contract for third baseman Eric Chavez covering 2005-10. Severino, who turns 31 on Feb. 20, was a free agent for the second straight offseason after going 11-7 with a 3.91 ERA in his only season with the New York Mets. Olympics leader Bach talks up working with President-elect Trump toward 2028 Los Angeles Games GENEVA (AP) — IOC president Thomas Bach says Olympic leaders are “very confident and relaxed” about working with the incoming Trump administration ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has talked up his own role helping get the games for LA in 2017 but a White House meeting during that campaign with an Olympic delegation including Bach was not a success. The two men could meet again Saturday in the 2024 Olympics host city Paris. They should attend the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral. U.S. federal support is needed for securing the LA Olympics and issuing visas. Tottenham joins list of top Premier League teams to lose at Bournemouth as fans jeer Postecoglou Manchester City, Arsenal and now Tottenham. The list of top Premier League teams beaten at Bournemouth this season is growing. Dean Huijsen took advantage of Tottenham’s weakness at set pieces to head home a 17th-minute winner in Bournemouth’s 1-0 victory. Some Spurs fans appeared to vent their frustration at manager Ange Postecoglou when he went over to them after his team’s insipid display. Bournemouth climbed into ninth, a point and a place above Tottenham. Title contenders Man City and Arsenal both slipped to their first losses of the campaign at Bournemouth's Vitality Stadium. Alex Iwobi scored goals early and late to lead Fulham to a 3-1 win over Brighton in the other game. Fulham climbed to sixth place.In the wake of a successful effort to kill a year-end spending bill and replace it with more limited legislation to keep the government open, Elon Musk declared victory on X (formerly Twitter), the social media platform he owns: “Your actions turned a bill that weighed pounds into a bill that weighed ounces!” he crowed. “You are the media now. VOX POPULI VOX DEI.” The stopgap funding measure will largely delay major spending decisions until after Donald Trump’s inauguration, keep the government open through the holidays and at least temporarily delay the most indefensible spending that was crammed into the scale-tipping bill. But those who believe the indefensible spending won’t end up back in the budget are endearingly optimistic. The most interesting political takeaway from the drama is that the Republican Party now has two masters with different goals. Musk’s stated mission was to impose fiscal restraint and greater efficiency on government (though his unstated motives are a matter of speculation). Trump’s objective was to avoid the hassles of a debate over raising the government borrowing limit early in his term, freeing him to rack up more debt through spending and tax cuts. Based purely on the political result, Musk won and Trump lost. While the bill does spend less than the earlier version, it does not raise the debt ceiling. A case can be made for both goals. I think Musk is indisputably correct about the need to cut spending. And although I don’t want Trump to be able to amass more debt, fights over the borrowing limit are reckless because they put the full faith and credit of the United States in doubt. The challenge for Republican legislators is that they are caught between the agendas of two figures who are very popular on the right, and those agendas — and perhaps others — are in conflict. We’ll have to wait to see how the politics play out. In the meantime, I want to address the more philosophical problems with Musk’s position. First of all, literally weighing the value or profligacy of a piece of legislation by the ounce, as Musk proposes, is not exactly logical. The National Industrial Recovery Act — the foundational legislation of the New Deal — comes in at an economical 18 pages, but that hardly gives one a sense of its massive impact on the economy. Then there’s the idea that Musk’s minor budget victory proves his X followers are “the media now.” Huh? The standard conservative complaint about traditional national media is that they mislead the public in the service of an ideological or self-serving agenda. Musk rallied his virtual mob with a host of false claims about the bigger-spending bill. Now he is suggesting that misleading the public in the service of the agenda of the owner of a media platform is a glorious triumph. It’s certainly a triumph for if-you-can’t-beat-them-join-them hypocrisy. Lastly, Musk’s oft-repeated motto “Vox populi, vox dei” — “The voice of the people is the voice of God” — is theological nonsense. Its use by British Whigs to challenge monarchical power in the 18th century was politically defensible, but it doesn’t take a divinity degree to understand that, taken literally, the phrase argues that God is subservient to the passions and vicissitudes of public opinion. It’s very difficult to find anything in the Old or New Testament to back up that idea. If a poll were all it took to change God’s mind, Sodom and Gomorrah would have been fine, Noah wouldn’t have needed a boat, and Jesus wouldn’t have had to ask God to “forgive them, for they know not what they do.” One of the earliest mentions of the Latin phrase is found in the writings of Alcuin of York, an adviser to Charlemagne. Alcuin told the first holy Roman emperor to ignore such declarations of public godliness “since the riotousness of the crowd is always very close to madness.” Musk started using the phrase “Vox populi, vox dei” to validate the verdicts of his own Twitter polls. When users voted to reinstate Trump’s account two years ago, Musk declared that the result he clearly wanted amounted to a divine statement. We can only guess what this says about Musk’s God complex and its compatibility with his role as Trump’s Alcuin. But my main objection to Musk’s assertion is that it’s a dangerous lie. The idea that the largest mob has God on its side is even more pernicious than the notion that legislation should be measured in pounds. Jonah Goldberg is editor-in-chief of The Dispatch and the host of The Remnant podcast.

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — If Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi has any definite ideas about who'll play quarterback for New Orleans against Washington on Sunday, he's not ready to share that information. Rizzi maintained on Wednesday that there's still a chance that Derek Carr could clear the concussion protocol and function well enough with his injured, non-throwing left hand to return against the Commanders. Meanwhile, reserve QBs Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler split first-team snaps during Wednesday's practice, which Carr missed, Rizzi said. “We're not going to name a starter right now,” said Rizzi, who also made a point of noting that Carr would not be placed on the club's injured reserve list and would not need surgery. “We're going to see how that progression plays out, first with Derek and then obviously with Jake and Spencer.” Carr, whose latest injury occurred when he tried to dive for a first down during Sunday's 14-11 victory over the New York Giants , has already missed three starts this season because of a separate, oblique injury. New Orleans lost all three of those games, with Rattler, a rookie, starting and Haener, a second-year pro, serving as the backup. In his three starts, Rattler completed 59 of 99 passes (59.6%) for 571 yards, one TD and two interceptions. Haener has gotten sporadic work this season in relief of both Carr and Rattler, completing 14 of 29 passes (48.3%) for 177 yards and one TD without an interception. Rizzi said he finds the 6-foot-1 Haener and 6-foot Rattler “very similar in a lot of ways," adding that whichever of those two might play “doesn't change a whole bunch" in terms of game-planning. “They're both similar-size guys. Their athletic ability is very similar,” Rizzi said. “They're similar-style quarterbacks. We're not dealing with opposites on the spectrum.” The Saints also signed another QB this week — Ben DiNucci — to help take scout team snaps at practice, now that Rattler and Haener are not as available to do that while competing to possibly start if Carr is indeed unable to play. The Saints (5-8) have won three of four games since Rizzi took over following the firing of coach Dennis Allen. That allowed New Orleans to remain alive in the NFC South Division, currently led by Tampa Bay (7-6). Rizzi said Carr has not had any setbacks this week in terms of progressing through the NFL's concussion protocol. “By the end of the week, if's he's not able to get any reps in any form or fashion, then obviously we'll go with one of the other guys,” Rizzi said. NOTES: RB Alvin Kamara did not practice on Wednesday because of an illness. ... WR Chris Olave, who is out indefinitely because of concussions this season, has returned to meetings at Saints headquarters. He as not, however, made plans to return to practice yet because he still plans to meet first with neurological specialists to try to assess the risks of returning to action during what's left of this season. Rizzi said the possibility of Olave playing again this season remains “on the table” for now. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL Brett Martel, The Associated Press

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'Raygun: The Musical' pulled after viral breakdancer calls in lawyersThe Trump and Biden teams insist they're working hand in glove on foreign crisesPartnering with hummel and Northwell Health, the new kit honors the club's iconic local roots. WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. , Nov. 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Westchester Soccer Club (WSC) – the first homegrown professional sports club to call New York's most populous suburb home – debuted the team's inaugural home kit last week at an event with Northwell Health, its front of kit sponsor and official health partner. See images of the new kit here and the video reveal. Through an exciting partnership with hummel, a leading global sportswear brand, and with sponsorship from Northwell Health, the home kit builds on the excitement of WSC's iconic homegrown brand unveiled earlier this summer. The White, Gold, and Blue "Zee" Kit represents the next step in WSC's campaign to deepen community engagement as it prepares for the 2025 season in the United Soccer League One (USL). Earlier this year, USL announced that Westchester County, N.Y. has been granted the rights to a USL League One franchise, with WSC to kick off in 2025 as the host of home matches at the newly renovated Memorial Field in Mount Vernon, N.Y. "Our new kits proudly showcase the defining spirit of our community. At its core, the jersey is a celebration of our heritage, with the "Infinity W" mark (found in our badge and side-striping) and the Tappan Zee Bridge representing the connection between our players, fans, and our hometown communities," said Mitch Baruchowitz, majority owner of WSC. "Northwell Health is very proud to be the front-of-kit sponsor and official health partner of Westchester Soccer Club. This partnership reflects our shared commitment to fostering a healthier, more connected community," said Dr. Debbie Salas-Lopez of Northwell Health. "The new jerseys symbolize the strength of this collaboration, and we are excited to stand alongside WSC in uniting and inspiring Westchester through the power of soccer." Designed with the vibrant spirit of the NY suburban landscape in mind, the jerseys embody the pride and identity of WSC as a uniter of families and communities in the greater Westchester Region. The distinctive home kits resonate with the club's unique identity and aim to bring fans together and feature one of the region's iconic landmarks. In addition to the introduction of the new kits, WSC is also excited to announce the availability of season ticket deposits for the upcoming League One season. A deposit includes exclusive access to club information, announcements, invitations to events and more, providing fans the opportunity to secure their seats for an exciting season ahead, further solidifying their connection to the club. The new jerseys, and other items in a brand-new line of merchandise, are now available online at WSC's website for ensuring that fans can proudly display their support for the club ahead of the season. For more information about the new jerseys, season ticket options, and upcoming events, please visit: https://www.westchestersc.com/ . About Westchester Soccer Club Westchester Soccer Club, Westchester's first homegrown professional sports team, will join USL One in the 2025 season. The club is dedicated to celebrating the region's profound love for soccer through exciting game experiences and community-focused events. With a strong commitment to nurturing local talent, WSC aims to build a world-class developmental pipeline for both boys and girls in Westchester. For more information and updates, follow WSC on social media: Twitter/X: @westchestersc • Instagram: @westchestersc • Facebook: @westchestersc Sign up for email updates at www.westchestersc.com Media Contact: Josh Vlasto josh@joshvlasto.com View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/westchester-soccer-club-debuts-new-home-kit-to-kick-off-upcoming-season-302317028.html SOURCE Westchester Soccer Club © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

A large magnitude 7 earthquake hit off a sparsely populated stretch of northern California coast on Dec 5, prompting coastal towns to evacuate low-lying areas amid a tsunami warning that was later cancelled. No deaths or injuries were reported. The National Weather Service said that the tsunami warning that extended along 800km of the California and Oregon coasts was called off about 90 minutes after the earthquake struck at 10.44am Pacific Time (2.44am on Dec 6 in Singapore). The quake, which hit at a shallow depth of 10km, was centred about 60km west of the town of Ferndale, a sparsely populated portion of the northern California coast, the US Geological Survey said. READ MORE HERE France’s Emmanuel Macron said he will serve out the remainder of his presidential term as he seeks to quickly stymie the political turmoil in France after Marine Le Pen’s far-right party allied with leftist lawmakers to topple his government. “The mandate you gave me democratically is for five years and I will exercise it fully to its term,” Mr Macron, whose term ends in 2027, said in a televised speech on the evening of Dec 5. He said he will appoint in the coming days a new premier, who will be tasked with forming a government of general interest representing all the political forces committed to not censuring it. READ MORE HERE Ukraine’s foreign minister called Russia’s top diplomat Sergei Lavrov a “war criminal” on Dec 5 as they both attended an international meeting in Malta, the latter’s first visit to a European Union country since the 2022 invasion. Ukraine’s Andriy Sybiha also accused Moscow of being “the biggest threat to our common security” as both ministers sat at the same huge table for a meeting of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The ministers from Poland and Latvia and half a dozen other delegates walked out when Mr Lavrov addressed the meeting in Ta’Qali, near Malta, according to a diplomatic source. READ MORE HERE Muhammad was the most popular name for baby boys in England and Wales in 2023, topping the annual rankings for the first time, the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) said Dec 5. The name, which has been in the top 10 for newly-named boys in England and Wales since 2016, leapfrogged Noah as the top choice after being the second most popular in 2022. There were 4,661 boys named Muhammad in the two nations in 2023, according to the ONS. READ MORE HERE Premier League champions Manchester City were drawn on Dec 5 with Juventus, Wydad AC and Al Ain in Group G for next year’s Fifa Club World Cup in the United States. Lionel Messi and Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami are in Group A and will face Al Ahly in the opening match of the expanded 32-team tournament before games against Porto and Palmeiras. The tournament, featuring top teams from around the world, will be held in 12 stadiums around the country from June 15-July 13 and serve as a dress rehearsal for the 2026 World Cup co-hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada. READ MORE HERE

Bendigo and central Victorian VCE students have started receiving their VCE results. or signup to continue reading Tens of thousands of nervous students across the state will have found their VCE results and Australian Tertiary Admission Rankings (ATARs) from 7am today for students if they registered online at . Deputy Premier and Minister for Education Ben Carroll today congratulated the 61,998 students who will graduate this year with their VCE, including 8,250 VCE Vocational Major graduates who gained practical experience in one or more industries through VET studies. More than 22,700 VCE graduates have received study scores of 40 or higher, more than 688 have received the maximum study score of 50, and 3,160 students have been awarded the VCE Baccalaureate. The overall VCE completion rate in Victoria was 97.4 per cent and Year 12 students across the state will now make the choice to go to university, TAFE, start an apprenticeship or traineeship, start working or take some time off. Additionally, more than 1,100 students received the Victorian Pathways Certificate (VPC) - a pathway that prepares students for future studies or entry into the workforce. Students with questions about their results can call the Post Results and ATAR Service on 9637 3877 or 1800 653 080. DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. WEEKDAYS Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation. WEEKLY The latest news, results & expert analysis. WEEKDAYS Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening. WEEKLY Get the editor's insights: what's happening & why it matters. WEEKLY Love footy? We've got all the action covered. WEEKLY Every Saturday and Tuesday, explore destinations deals, tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe. WEEKLY Going out or staying in? Find out what's on. WEEKDAYS Sharp. Close to the ground. Digging deep. Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs, politics and more. TWICE WEEKLY Your essential national news digest: all the big issues on Wednesday and great reading every Saturday. WEEKLY Get news, reviews and expert insights every Thursday from CarExpert, ACM's exclusive motoring partner. TWICE WEEKLY Get real, Australia! Let the ACM network's editors and journalists bring you news and views from all over. AS IT HAPPENS Be the first to know when news breaks. DAILY Your digital replica of Today's Paper. Ready to read from 5am! DAILY Test your skills with interactive crosswords, sudoku & trivia. Fresh daily!

( JTA ) Most of the time, as the senior rabbi of Temple Beth-El in San Antonio, Rabbi Mara Nathan’s focus is on Jewish families. But this week, she’s finding herself thinking about Christian ones, too. That’s because Texas is poised to adopt a public school curriculum that refers to Jesus as “the Messiah,” asks kindergartners to study the Sermon on the Mount and presents the Crusades in a positive light. The curriculum, Nathan said, “gives Christian children the sense that their family’s religion is the only true religion, which is not appropriate for public school education, at the very least.” Nathan is among the many Texans raising concerns about the proposed reading curriculum as it nears final approval. Earlier this week, the Texas State Board of Education narrowly voted to proceed with the curriculum, called Bluebonnet Learning. A final vote is set for Friday. The critics, who include Jewish parents and organizations as well as interfaith and education advocacy groups, say Bluebonnet — which will be optional but which schools would be paid to adopt — inappropriately centers on Christian theology and ideas. They have been lobbying for revisions since it was first proposed in May, offering detailed feedback. “The first round of the curriculum that we saw honestly had a lot of offensive content in it, and was proselytizing, and did not represent Jewish people well,” said Lisa Epstein, the director of San Antonio’s Jewish Community Relations Council. Now those critics say most of their specific suggestions have been accepted but they remain concerned. “Looking at the revision, we still feel that the curriculum is not balanced and it introduces a lot of Christian concepts at a very young age, like resurrection and the blood of Christ and the Messiah, when kids are just really too young to understand and they don’t really have a grasp yet completely of their own religion,” she added. Epstein, who testified at a hearing on the proposal in Austin on Monday, has a child in high school and two others who graduated from Texas public schools. The Texas vote comes as advocates of inserting Christianity into public education are ascendant across the country. Political conservatives are in power at the national level and the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority has demonstrated openness to blurring church-state separation. President-elect Donald Trump has signaled support for numerous initiatives to reintroduce Christian doctrine into public schools , from supporting school prayer to endorsing legislation that would require public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments. (One such measure in Louisiana was recently blocked by a federal judge .) In Texas, Bluebonnet’s advocates say the curriculum would elevate students’ learning while also exposing them to essential elements of cultural literacy. They note that the curriculum includes references to a wide range of cultures, including ancient religions, and that the religious references make up only a small fraction of the material. “They’ll elevate the quality of education being offered to all Texas students by giving them a well-rounded understanding of important texts and their impact on the world,” Megan Benton, a strategic policy associate at Texas Values, which says its mission is “to stand for biblical, Judeo-Christian values,” said during the hearing on Monday, Education Week reported . Texas Values called criticism of the proposed curriculum an “ attack on the Bible .” The Texas Education Authority solicited the proposed curriculum, which would join a menu of approved options, as part of a pandemic-era effort that waived some transparency laws, meaning that its authors are not fully known. But The 74, an education news organization, reported this week that a publishing company co-founded by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee contributed content to the curriculum. Trump tapped Huckabee, a pastor and evangelical favorite, last week to become his ambassador to Israel . For some in Texas and beyond, Bluebonnet represents a concrete example of how the national climate could ripple out into local changes. “A lot of things, we think they’re outside of our community, or outside of our scope, like we hear these things, but are they really going to impact us?” said a Jewish assistant principal in the Richardson Independent School District north of Dallas who asked to remain anonymous. “But I think now that it’s becoming a potential reality, a friend was asking me, would Richardson adopt this? Is this something that is really going to happen in our community?” While the Supreme Court has ruled that public schools can teach about religion, they cannot prioritize one religion over another in that instruction. So Bluebonnet’s inclusion of Christian and Bible stories in lesson plans drew scrutiny from the start — which grew after the Texas Tribune reported that a panel required to vet all curriculum proposals included Christian proponents of incorporating religion in public education. In September, The Texas Education Authority’s curriculum review board published hundreds of pages of emails from members of the public along with whether the critiques had resulted in changes. Some did, the board noted, but many others were rejected. A coalition of Jewish groups submitted 37 requested changes to the initial curriculum proposal. Epstein said the San Antonio JCRC had specifically objected to language in some lessons that evoked “antisemitic tropes” and textual inaccuracies in referencing the story of Queen Esther, as well as offensive references to the Crusades and language that explained the birth of Jesus as the messiah. One passage had invited students to imagine “if you were a Crusader,” Epstein said, referring to the Christian knights of the Middle Ages who sought to conquer the Holy Land, massacred communities of Jews and are venerated by some on the Christian right . In the case of the Esther lesson, the original curriculum had recreated an aspect of the Purim story in which Haman drew lots to determine when to kill Jews in the Persian Empire — as a way to teach probability. Nathan called that particular lesson “subversively antisemitic.” “In ancient Persia [drawing lots] was a way of helping someone make a decision, and the game was called Purim,” the initial text read. “Ask students to choose a number from 1 to 6. Roll a die and ask the students to raise their hand if their number was rolled.” “This is shocking, offensive and just plain wrong,” Sharyn Vane, a Jewish parent of two Texas public school graduates, said at a September hearing, according to the New York Times . “Do we ask elementary students to pretend to be Hitler?” ( Historical simulations have widely been rejected by educators for all grades .) Both of the lessons were revised after feedback from Jewish groups and others, but Epstein and Nathan said the changes were not adequate. A new prompt asks students to describe “the journey of a Crusader” in the third-person, but it still sanitizes the murder of many Jews and Christians during the Christian quest to conquer Jerusalem, Epstein charged. And while the Purim lots activity was dropped, Epstein noted that a specific lesson plan about Esther — a beloved figure among evangelical Christians — also includes a reference to God, which the Megillah, the Jewish text telling the Purim story, famously does not do. She said that inaccuracy was not addressed in the revisions. In a statement, San Antonio’s Jewish federation, under which the JCRC operates, also acknowledged the changes that were made after its feedback but expressed concern over what it called “an almost solely Christian-based” perspective with “inaccuracies” and content that is inappropriate for elementary school students. “We are not against teaching a broad range of religious beliefs to children in an age-appropriate way that clearly distinguishes between ‘beliefs’ and ‘facts,’ and gives appropriate time and respect to acknowledging many different religions,” the federation said. “Public schools should be places where children of all religious backgrounds feel welcomed and accepted.” The newer version of the curriculum also did not address the federation’s concerns about language referring to Jesus as “the Messiah,” written with a capital “M,” and references to “the Bible,” rather than “the Christian Bible” specifically, as the federation had urged the curriculum’s creators to adopt. The Austin branch of the Anti-Defamation League, which was also involved in the efforts, also applauded the revisions that had been made thus far but said it still “reject[s] the current version of the proposed curriculum.” “We agree that students should learn the historical contributions of various religious traditions, but ADL’s analysis of the originally proposed curriculum found that a narrow view of Christianity was overwhelmingly emphasized, there were few mentions of other faiths and the curriculum baselessly credited Christianity with improved societal morality,” the group said in a statement. “Although improvements have been made, the materials still appear to cross the line into teaching religion instead of teaching about religion.” Criticism to the curriculum goes far beyond the Jewish community. Texas AFT, the state’s outpost of the American Federation of Teachers, a leading teachers’ union, also opposes the proposal. “Texas AFT believes that not only do these materials violate the separation of church and state and the academic freedom of our classroom, but also the sanctity of the teaching profession,” the union said in a statement . Some Republicans on the Texas Board of Education expressed reservations about the curriculum’s quality and age-appropriateness, separate from its religious content. And nonpartisan and interfaith groups like Texas Impact and Texas Freedom Network have also been involved in efforts to oppose the curriculum, as has the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. Epstein said a Sikh parent also testified at one of the hearings, asking for her faith’s traditions to be incorporated into lesson plans to provide more religious perspectives. Nathan said that when she testified against the proposal at a September hearing, her allies were diverse. “Some of the people who were against it were not Jewish, and just were [against] the way that the curriculum was being put together pedagogically,” she said. “But there were both Jewish and non-Jewish people there, and also some Christian folks who were there who were opposed to such an overtly Christian curriculum.” Marian Neleson, who has a 14-year-old daughter and a 12-year-old son in the Frisco Independent School District, said it has never been easy to be a Jewish family in her area. “There’s always concerns as a parent when there’s just a handful of other Jewish children in a majority Christian school,” said Neleson, who is active in her local interfaith alliance. “From how the school celebrates, how they do their calendars. Do they remember that there is a Jewish holiday, and then they schedule major school functions on High Holy Days?” Now, she’s worried that her own district could face pressure to adopt the new curriculum, if it is approved. “These kind of curriculums are promoting one interpretation, one religion’s view, and I feel like that’s not very respectful of people who come from different backgrounds and different faiths and different religions,” Neleson said. She added, “I do think that the Frisco school district particularly does try to be inclusive and try to recognize the diversity of the community, but I know that there’s always pressure from groups who are trying to promote one agenda in the schools.” The Richardson assistant principal said she saw in the financial incentive to adopt the curriculum — districts that do so will get up to $60 per student — an inappropriate assertion of support by the state. Many Texas districts are cash-strapped after legislators declined to substantially increase school funding last year. “There is such a push in education for high-quality instructional materials,” said the assistant principal, who has three elementary school-aged children. “They’re pushing this so hard, and even potentially putting up funding for it if you adopt it, but it’s not a truly high-quality curriculum.” In a Facebook post after Tuesday’s preliminary vote, Vane encouraged parents to reach out to members of the state’s education board to urge them to oppose the curriculum. “It’s not over yet,” she wrote. Nathan said she’s not sure how much opponents of the curriculum can do if it’s approved, but she stressed the importance of local advocacy — especially since the curriculum is not required. “I think reaching out to your local school board and communicating with local teachers in your community is going to be key,” she said. “If this occurs, what do I need to do in my local school district to make sure that there’s programming that balances the perspective?” But she signaled that the intensity of the proposed curriculum would undercut any counter-programming by representatives of other faiths. “It’s not presented as, ‘Here’s what Christians believe,’” Nathan said about Bluebonnet. “It’s presented as, ‘Here is the truth.’ There’s a difference.”Walmart’s DEI rollback signals a profound shift in the wake of Trump’s election victory