Former US president Jimmy Carter dies
Former US president Jimmy Carter has died aged 100.
The Carter Center said its founder, who was the oldest living former US president, died peacefully at his home in Plains, the town where he was born in Georgia, on Sunday afternoon.
He was surrounded by his family, a statement said, adding: “He was 100, the longest-lived president in US history.”
Mr Carter, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who was president between 1977 and 1981, is survived by his children Jack, Chip, Jeff, and Amy, 11 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren.
His son Chip Carter said: “My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights, and unselfish love.
“My brothers, sister, and I shared him with the rest of the world through these common beliefs. The world is our family because of the way he brought people together, and we thank you for honouring his memory by continuing to live these shared beliefs.”
Pic: The Carter Center
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Tributes to ‘extraordinary leader‘
In February last year it was revealed Mr Carter was receiving hospice care and would “spend his remaining time at home with his family”.
He had decided against “additional medical intervention” following a series of brief hospital stays, the Carter Center said in a statement at the time.
Jimmy Carter in downtown Philadelphia in 1976. File pic: AP
The 39th US president
Mr Carter, a Democrat, became the 39th US president when he defeated former president Gerald Ford in 1976.
The Georgia native and former peanut farmer served a single term as president and was defeated by Republican Ronald Reagan in 1980.
The final year of his administration was dominated by a hostage crisis in Iran, when 52 Americans were taken captive at the US embassy in November 1979.
On the day he left office, 20 January 1981, the hostages were released. Carter had continued negotiations behind the scenes, even after his election defeat.
In 2002, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to avoid conflict around the world.
Mr Carter conducted diplomatic missions into his 80s and was involved in 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,” Mr Carter once said.
When his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn Carter, died aged 96, in November 2023, the former president went to the memorial service held in her honour in Atlanta, Georgia.
He wore a blue and white blanket which was embroidered with her face.
Earlier this year, on his 100th birthday, Mr Carter received a private congratulatory message from the King, expressing admiration for his life of public service.
File pic: AP
‘An extraordinary leader’
The Carter Center said there will be opportunities for the public to pay their respects in Atlanta, Georgia, and Washington DC before a private interment in Plains, while final arrangements for his state funeral are still being made.
Former president Bill Clinton and his wife, the ex-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, led tributes to Mr Carter, who they first met during his campaign in 1975, giving “thanks for his long, good life”.
“Guided by his faith, President Carter lived to serve others – until the very end,” they said in a statement.
White House incumbent Joe Biden said: “Today, America and the world lost an extraordinary leader, statesman, and humanitarian.”
President-elect Donald Trump said the challenges Mr Carter faced as president “came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans”.
“For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude,” he said in a statement.
World leaders also paid tribute, including French President Emmanuel Macron, who wrote: “Jimmy Carter defended the rights of the most vulnerable people and tirelessly led the fight for peace.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “I was very sorry to hear of President Carter’s passing and I would like to pay tribute to his decades of selfless public service.”
Former US president Joe Biden has prostate cancer, his office has said.
The statement said Mr Biden, who left the White House in January, is reviewing options for treatment with his physicians.
It read: “Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms.
“On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterised by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management.
“The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
File pic: Reuters
According to Cancer Research UK, a Gleason score of 9 means the cancerous cells “look very abnormal” and the disease is “likely to grow quickly”.
A source familiar with Mr Biden and his family’s thinking has told Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, that the former president is considering “multiple treatment options” – including hormone treatment for the cancer.
They added he is at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, and that as of now, it is unclear where the former president will be treated.
Mr Biden, 82, was the oldest person to ever serve as president, with concerns about his health raised regularly during his campaign for re-election last year.
After a poor debate against Donald Trump in June, he withdrew from the 2024 election and endorsed his vice president Kamala Harris.
In February 2023, he had a skin lesion removed from his chest that was a basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer.
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A Mexican navy ship has hit the Brooklyn Bridge during a promotional tour in New York City.
The New York Fire Department said authorities were responding to injuries but had no details about how many people might have been hurt or whether they were on the vessel or on the bridge.
Sky’s US partner network NBC News reports that at least three people were seriously injured in the incident.
The Mexican navy said in a post on X that the Cuauhtemoc, an academy training vessel, was damaged in the accident, which has prevented it from continuing its voyage.
Eyewitness video of the collision posted online showed the mast of the ship, which was flying a large Mexican flag, scraping the underneath of the bridge.
Pic: AP
The vessel then drifted toward the edge of the river as onlookers scrambled away from shore.
The Mexican navy said the status of personnel and material was under review by naval and local authorities, which were providing assistance.
The Cuauhtemoc is about 297ft long and 40ft wide, according to the Mexican navy. It sailed for the first time in 1982.
Pic: AP
Each year, it sets out at the end of classes at the naval military school to finish cadets’ training.
It left the Mexican port of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, on 6 April with 277 people onboard, the navy said at the time.
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One person has died in a bomb explosion near a reproductive health clinic in California, authorities have said.
The incident took place in Palm Springs, a city two hours east of Los Angeles, and is being investigated as a possible car explosion.
The city’s mayor Ron DeHarte said one person died in the blast, adding that the bomb was “either in or near” a vehicle. The deceased’s identity is not known, Palm Springs police said.
Dr Maher Abdallah, who runs the American Reproductive Centers clinic, told the Associated Press his facility was damaged but all staff were safe and accounted for.
The explosion damaged the office space where the practice conducts patient consultations, but the IVF lab and stored embryos were unharmed, he added.
“I really have no clue what happened,” he said. “Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.”
Debris covers the ground after the explosion. Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
In a statement posted on Facebook the clinic said it was “heartbroken” to learn someone died in the explosion and added: “Our deepest condolences go out to the individuals and families affected.”
It continued: “Our mission has always been to help build families, and in times like these, we are reminded of just how fragile and precious life is.
“In the face of this tragedy, we remain committed to creating hope – because we believe that healing begins with community, compassion, and care.
The clinic will be fully operational on Monday, it added.
“This moment has shaken us – but it has not stopped us. We will continue to serve with strength, love, and the hope that brings new life into the world,” the statement concluded.
Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
The Palm Springs city government said in a post on Facebook that the explosion happened on North Indian Canyon Drive, near East Tachevah Drive, before 11am local time (6pm GMT).
A burned-out car can be seen in a parking lot behind the building in aerial footage.
The blast caved in the clinic’s roof and blew debris across four lanes of the road.
Another person said he was inside a cannabis dispensary nearby when he felt a massive explosion.
Nima Tabrizi said: “The building just shook, and we go outside and there’s massive cloud smoke.”
Investigators from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are travelling to the scene to help assess what happened.
California governor Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the explosion, his press office said.
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