Monday, December 30, 2024
Hello, it is Monday, December 30, 2024. Hope your weekend went well because it was the last weekend of 2024. It will be New Year’s Eve tomorrow. I’m sure you’re excited. What will you do? Go to a party? Stay home for the ball drop? It’s an exciting day tomorrow and the end of 2024. Ready for today’s top stories?
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Jimmy Carter dies at 100
Former President Jimmy Carter died on Sunday at his home in Plains, Georgia at the age of 100.
He was the longest-lived president in American history and the first to live to 100.
When Carter was a young man, he served in the Navy and worked in submarines. He then worked on his family’s peanut farm. He became involved in politics and opposed racial segregation and supported the civil rights movement.
He was elected governor of Georgia in 1970. Carter ran for the presidency in 1976 and was known for making a promise to never lie to the American public, which was especially important after the Nixon and the Vietnam war eras.
His accomplishments as president include making peace between Israel and Egypt, pardoning Vietnam War draft dodgers, and creating the Department of Education and Energy.
Carter’s popularity declined largely because of the Iran hostage crisis and the oil crisis that saw Americans deal with a short supply of gas and long lines.
Carter lost his re-election bid to Ronald Reagan.
Carter’s legacy is more known for his public work after he left the White House, which includes building homes with Habitat for Humanity, and leading organizations that worked to resolve conflicts and diseases around the world.
Jimmy was married to his wife, Rosalyn, for 77 years. She passed away in 2023. He will have a state funeral at the Washington National Cathedral on January 9.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/12/29/us/jimmy-carter
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Deadly plane crash in South Korea
On Sunday morning in South Korea, a passenger jet with 181 people on it crashed during a belly landing attempt and blew up, tragically killing all but two. Videos of the incident are circulating on social media. It is the deadliest plane crash in South Korea’s history.
The plane was a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800. It took off from an airport in Thailand in the early morning. A few hours later, when the plane was descending towards the airport in South Korea, the pilot said there was a bird strike and an emergency. The plane went back up in the air, did a turn, and tried to land again in the opposite direction on its belly without the landing gear lowered, and it skidded on the runway and crashed into a wall. It is not clear why the landing gear did not engage.
The two survivors were a man and a woman who were among the six crew members on the plane. They are recovering at separate hospitals in Seoul. News reports said they didn’t have any life-threatening injuries and they woke up with no recollection of what happened after they heard a blast during the landing.
Crews have identified most of the bodies through their fingerprints or DNA. Sadly, there were five children under 10 years old on the flight. Most of the passengers were visiting Thailand for a Christmas vacation and were returning home.
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Deadly storms hit U.S. south
The southern U.S. was hit by multiple severe storms and tornadoes over the weekend. Two people were killed in Mississippi and one person was killed in North Carolina. A suspected tornado struck south of Houston, Texas and killed one person and caused damage to over 300 structures.
https://www.axios.com/2024/12/30/storms-tornadoes-us-south-deaths
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Court upholds $5M award against Trump in E. Jean Carroll case
AP News said a federal appeals court upheld a jury’s finding that Donald Trump sexually abused E. Jean Carroll, a columnist, in the 1990s and then defamed her by calling her a liar when she came forward. The jury ordered Trump to pay $5 million and this ruling was upheld when the appeals court found that there were no major issues in the original case.
There is a separate case where a jury ordered Trump to pay $83 million for continuing to defame Carroll. That case is currently on appeal.
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5059810-federal-appeals-court-panel-upholds-verdict/
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Luka Doncic’s home burglarized
Burglars broke into the home of Luka Doncic, an NBA star player on the Dallas Mavericks, and stole around $30,000 worth of jewelry on Friday. Police said the thieves broke into Luka’s master bedroom window. There was nobody at home at the time. His home is now the latest in a string of robberies targeting prominent NFL and NBA players.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/29/us/dallas-mavericks-luka-doncic-home-burglarized/index.html
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Dispute over jeans in elite chess competition
Top-ranked chess player Magnus Carlsen walked out of an elite chess tournament in New York because he did not agree with a rule that prohibited players from wearing jeans. He showed up to an event on Friday wearing jeans and he was fined $200 and was told to change, and after he refused, he was not allowed to participate. The dispute led to chess officials deciding to modify the rules to allow “appropriate jeans” with a jacket. That was good enough for Magnus, who plans to play today.
https://apnews.com/article/world-rapid-chess-jeans-dress-code-b96b1ad1b8eafe69f914f7a8eccd9e0b
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That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.