A have a look at Jimmy Carter’s legacy. And, guidelines for regifting undesirable presents

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At the moment’s prime tales

Jimmy Carter’s life will likely be remembered with greater than every week of occasions. The thirty ninth president of the USA died in his hometown of Plains, Ga., yesterday at age 100. In an deal with to the nation, President Biden mentioned his predecessor “lived a life measured not by words, but by his deeds.” Carter’s single time period within the White Home was remembered for inflation, worldwide unrest and the seizure of American hostages in Iran. After leaving workplace, he based the Carter Heart, which promoted well being care and monitored elections internationally.

• 🎧 Carter will obtain a state funeral and Biden has set Jan. 9 as a nationwide day of mourning, NPR’s Stephen Fowler tells Up First. Carter’s journey to the nationwide stage included his becoming a member of the Navy, leaving the service to run his household’s peanut farm, turning into a state senator after which governor of Georgia. His presidential inauguration got here after the Vietnam Conflict and the Watergate scandal. Fowler says Carter’s post-presidential life will likely be remembered for its influence greater than his time in workplace. He successfully eradicated the Guinea worm, a crippling parasitic illness in Africa. He additionally was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his work forging peaceable options to worldwide battle.
• ➡️ Carter served as president from 1977 to 1981 with a deal with human rights-centered politics. Take a look at pictures from his time in workplace.
• ➡️ Carter wrote books about his life and beliefs, as did different writers and historians who re-examined his influence. Listed below are 10 of the best-known titles by or about him.

A high-ranking Syrian official advised NPR he needs his nation to have cordial ties with Israel and needs the U.S. to assist facilitate them. This isn’t generally heard from an Arab-led authorities, particularly one made up of rebels who as soon as had ties to al-Qaida. The assertion made by the newly appointed governor of Damascus, Maher Marwan, despatched shockwaves all through the area.

• 🎧 Within the interview with NPR’s Hadeel Al-Shalchi, Marwan mentioned it was pure that when insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham took energy Israel felt some concern. Marwan continued by saying Syria could not be an opponent to Israel and wished co-existence. The U.S. has relayed the message to Israel. The Israeli overseas ministry mentioned it rejected any overture from HTS. Syria and Israel have been in a state of battle since Israel’s creation in 1948 and have by no means had diplomatic ties. Marwan has since issued a video distancing himself from the feedback he made to NPR.

South Korea has begun a week-long interval of mourning after one of many worst aviation disasters for a Korean airline. A aircraft’s touchdown gear didn’t deploy, leading to it skidding off a runway and crashing right into a wall. Solely two of the 181 folks on board the aircraft emerged alive.

• 🎧 NPR’s Anthony Kuhn says sobs, wails and cries of grief echo by way of the halls of the Muan Worldwide Airport. The primary concern from members of the family is reclaiming their family members’ our bodies. At present, about 146 of the 179 victims have been recognized. The issue is that solely 5 of the our bodies are comparatively intact. Investigators are trying into the reason for the lethal crash, accumulating management tower knowledge and recovering black packing containers.

Life recommendation

Consumers stroll alongside Fifth Avenue on Nov. 29 in New York Metropolis.

Heather Khalifa/AP

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Heather Khalifa/AP

It’s the season of giving… and returning. The Nationwide Retail Federation stories that returns will whole $890 billion this 12 months. Returns occur year-round, however tick up through the vacation season. Etiquette specialists say there’s a delicate artwork to returning and even regifting undesirable presents. Right here are some things to contemplate earlier than heading to the shop:

• 🎁 As a substitute of claiming you did not like a gift, present a cause for the return that’s out of your management. The sizing wasn’t proper or receiving a really related reward.
• 🎁 To keep away from attainable awkwardness in relation to exchanges, it’s recommended that gift-givers present a present receipt.
• 🎁 When regifting, make sure the reward is new, utterly unused and in its authentic packaging.
• 🎁 Keep away from giving the reward to somebody in the identical social circle. Do not give the sweater your aunt gave you to one in every of your cousins.

Take a look at the full checklist of ideas for reward returns and regifting this vacation season.

Image present

Vezo ‘ocean displays’ dive on a coral reef in Madagascar’s Barren Isles. The information they gather is used to judge ocean well being and enhance conservation selections.

Julie Bourdin

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Julie Bourdin

Fishermen referred to as Madagascar’s “sea nomads” use their distinctive diving abilities to protect each sea life and their livelihood. The group is from the Vezo tribe, who work to survey the well being of the coral reef within the Barren Isles, figuring out sediments and crops on the ocean ground, and noting marine species encountered. Their day by day dives are a part of a conservation effort to guard the Barren Isles. Over the previous twenty years, Vezo folks have migrated there from components of Madagascar, after overfishing and local weather change began to threaten their conventional lifestyle. Now, the Vezo are frightened concerning the decline in fish numbers within the Barren Isles.

3 issues to know earlier than you go

This picture supplied by the Metro Richmond Zoo exhibits a child pygmy hippo throughout a vet examination on Dec. 14, 2024, in Moseley, Va.

Metro Richmond Zoo/AP

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Metro Richmond Zoo/AP

1. A child pygmy hippo born earlier this month wants a reputation – and you may assist. The Metro Richmond Zoo is holding a ballot that ends tomorrow afternoon to resolve what its title will likely be.
2. The our bodies of two Oregon males in search of Sasquatch have been discovered in a forest in Washington state following a three-day search for them, state officers introduced Saturday.
3. A number of folks have fallen significantly ailing in North America attributable to chook flu, and fears {that a} pressure of the flu might unleash a pandemic return many years. Here is what the most recent analysis says about defending your self and your pets.

This text was edited by Obed Manuel.