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lucky calico tv One of the standout features of this season is the introduction of the new game mode, Time Warp. In Time Warp, players will find themselves thrust into a chaotic battlefield where time and space are constantly shifting. With unpredictable events and challenges at every turn, Time Warp promises to test the skills and teamwork of even the most seasoned players. Whether you're a casual player looking for some fast-paced action or a competitive player seeking new challenges, Time Warp has something for everyone.Surprising twist in fate of bankrupt Big Lots and Party City READ MORE: Big Lots begins epic 'going out of business' sales By DANIEL JONES, CONSUMER EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM Published: 00:38, 30 December 2024 | Updated: 00:38, 30 December 2024 e-mail View comments Big Lots and Party City could both be saved from closure. The two retailers have no connection other than both being in the news this month after saying - within two days of each other - they were going out of business. But they could also now become sister companies if retail mogul Mitch Modell has his way. The founder of the Modell's sporting goods chain has bold plans to rescue the two struggling brands. Last Friday (December 20), Party City bosses shocked staff by telling them it was going out of business and would shut all of its remaining 700 stores by February. The next day the company filed for bankruptcy. It was the second announcement of a high profile retailer shutting down in as many days. Big Lots announced on December 19 that it was beginning 'going out of business' sales at all its 963 remaining locations across the US, after a buyer fell through. It had filed for bankruptcy in September and had hoped to keep going once it restructured. In an exclusive interview with The Real Deal, Modell revealed that he plans to submit formal bids for both companies by the end of the week. Party City is shutting down all its stores immediately, putting an end to nearly four decades of business Big Lots is beginning 'going out of business' sales at all its stores across the US, as it prepares to close its remaining locations Mitch Modell - the founder of the Modell's sporting goods chain - has bold plans to rescue Big Lots and Party City Although Modell has not yet reached out to either company or enlisted legal counsel, he made it clear he is determined to revive both brands. 'We're gonna get the deal,' Modell confidently stated in the interview. To spearhead the effort, Modell has enlisted a seasoned team, including Demos Parneros, former CEO of Barnes & Noble, and Larry Meyer, former CFO of Forever 21. Modell plans to appoint Parneros as CEO and Meyer as CFO of the new venture. Meyer would also take on the role of executive vice president. Modell, who previously shut down his own 141-store sporting goods chain in 2020, says he expects to have financing secured by the end of the week but declined to provide specifics on his funding sources. Both Party City and Big Lots have been in financial turmoil for months. Party City, which employs approximately 12,000 people, recently informed its workers that it plans to close its doors by February. With around 700 stores nationwide, the company has struggled with declining sales, ballooning debt, and increased competition. Big Lots is also in a similar position, currently in the process of closing about 970 locations and liquidating its remaining inventory. Despite these bleak circumstances, Big Lots CEO Bruce Thorn has expressed hopes of finding a buyer, and Modell sees an opening to step in and 'save' both brands. 'We want to save every job in the 1,600 stores,' he said, referring to the combined total of Party City and Big Lots locations. Modell's vision for the two companies involves a dramatic shift in focus. While Party City would retain its core business of party supplies, Modell envisions Big Lots pivoting toward affordable apparel and sporting goods. He also plans to introduce low-cost footwear - priced at just $20 - and fresh produce. The revamped Big Lots would also cut back on certain product categories, including furniture, recliners, and electronics over $10. Instead, Modell wants to focus on offering 'closeouts' and 'special deals' sourced directly from liquidators. 'We're going to make it a treasure hunt on steroids,' Modell explained, adding that most items would be priced at $10 or less. To keep costs down, Modell plans to source goods directly from factories and farms. With 75 warehouses stocked with goods ready to ship, Modell is already gearing up for the next phase of his retail comeback. He aims to have a prototype store open by mid-January. 'Everyone - lenders, creditors, bankers, investors - who doubted me is going to see what a store looks like and the excitement it brings,' he said. Party City was also in the news this week when it emerged the final nail in its the coffin was self-inflicted . The chain's troubles began with an appraisal conducted by retail consultants Hilco Global, which Party City hired in September. The firm was tasked with assessing the value of Party City's inventory - the products stocked in its stores and warehouses - as part of a plan to secure more financing. Bosses had hoped to use a generous appraisal of the value of inventory – from costumes to party hats – would allow the retailer to borrow more money to shore up its finances. However, in mid-November, Hilco's preliminary report dealt a crushing blow to the business. It said that the value of Party City's inventory had been 'dramatically' slashed compared to previous appraisals. 'This basically means the appraisers thoughts that the various products on store shelves and piled up in warehouses was worthless tat,' a retail expert told DailyMail.com. Since the expert has consulted with Party City, they asked not to be named. This revelation over the plunge in value of stock was shared by Party City lawyer Christopher Hopkins during a US Bankruptcy Court hearing in Houston on Monday. After the initial low valuation, Party City's creditors, owed around $162 million, demanded the retailer set aside $50 million in reserve to cover loans. This pushed the company closer to the brink, court papers show. The group of creditors took over the business when it first filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2023. When the group were unwilling to plough in more investment and the company could not raise any more external funds the company had to take more drastic action. This included stopping new inventory orders, delaying rent and vendor payments ceasing new inventory orders and delaying rent and vendor payments, according to court documents. Although Party City managed to exit bankruptcy in September last year, by December 10 this year its cash pile had fallen below the $50 million reserve its lenders wanted, and it again filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Lenders 'considered it essential to commence store closing sales before the Christmas and New Year's selling season to maximize the proceeds of such sales for the benefit of all stakeholders,' Party City Chief Restructuring Officer Deborah Rieger-Paganis said in a sworn statement to the bankruptcy court. It is a bleak time for US retailers as non-essential spending plummets due to soaring living costs. America's top department store Macy's will close 65 stores within weeks . Retail experts warn this could be just the beginning, with 2024 shaping up to see the highest number of store closures since the pandemic. So far this year, US retailers have shut 7,300 stores - up nearly 60 percent from 2023. The final nail in the Party City coffin appears to have been self-inflicted The chain's troubles began with an appraisal conducted by retail consultants Hilco Global The New Jersey-based party supply giant is folding under financial pressure Despite being saved from bankruptcy in 2023, the retailer never recovered Read More Downfall of America's most famous retailer hits new low as it's left clinging on in only four states Party City, which was the largest party supply retailer in the U.S., employed around 6,400 full-time and 10,100 part-time workers as of 2021. When Litwin took the helm in August he promised to strengthen Party City's finances. A cloud of uncertainty has hung over Party City since the company first filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2023. It only exited in September. The company had wiped out $1 billion of its $1.7 billion debt. It also managed to keep the majority of its 800-plus stores open, though over 80 locations were shuttered between late 2022 and August 2024. Party City - based in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey - underwent a restructuring as lenders, including Monarch Alternative Capital and Silver Point Capital, took over and managed to clear around $1 billion of its debts, allowing about 850 shops to remain open. Although some stores were saved, more than 60 had to close their doors, including five in Topeka, Kansas , Salina, New York, Joplin , Missouri and Owensboro, Kentucky , and most recently in Staten Island. But the remaining $800 million debt proved too much. Party City was successfully expanding before the pandemic and had sales of $2.35 billion in 2019, according to Forbes. Overnight, its main customers - those hosting or attending parties - had no reason to shop at the store as social distancing was implemented. As it emerged from the lockdowns it was plagued by supply chain issues, rampant inflation and increased competition. New Jersey Kentucky CNN Kansas Walmart Share or comment on this article: Surprising twist in fate of bankrupt Big Lots and Party City e-mail

The retrial of the "Yang Niu Hua Case" has once again shed light on the issue of human trafficking in society and the need for justice and accountability. It serves as a reminder that the fight against human trafficking is an ongoing battle that requires vigilance, determination, and a commitment to protecting the rights and well-being of all individuals.The Onion's bid for Alex Jones' Infowars hangs in the balance as judge orders new hearing

Trump sides with Musk in right-wing row over worker visasHerro leads Heat over Rockets in game marred by fight and ejections in final minute HOUSTON (AP) — Tyler Herro scored 27 points before being one of six people ejected after a fight in the final minute of the Miami Heat's 104-100 victory over the Houston Rockets on Sunday night. Canadian Press Dec 29, 2024 7:01 PM Dec 29, 2024 7:05 PM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (14) shoots a three-point shot as Houston Rockets center Steven Adams (12) and forward Amen Thompson, center, look on during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke) HOUSTON (AP) — Tyler Herro scored 27 points before being one of six people ejected after a fight in the final minute of the Miami Heat's 104-100 victory over the Houston Rockets on Sunday night. Herro was thrown to the ground by the Rockets' Amen Thompson with 35 seconds left and the Heat leading 99-94. Players and coaches from both benches then came onto the court. Both players were thrown out along with Rockets guard Jalen Green, coach Ime Udoka and assistant coach Ben Sullivan. Terry Rozier was also ejected for Miami. Houston led 92-85 after Fred VanVleet's layup with 8:10 to play, but the Rockets missed their next 11 shots, allowing Miami to tie the game when Herro found Haywood Highsmith for a 3-pointer with 4:47 to play. Herro’s jumper with 1:56 to play put the Heat on top for good. Takeaways Heat: Playing the second night of a back-to-back and missing Jimmy Butler for a fifth straight game, Nikola Jovic finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, and six assists for the Heat. Highsmith added 15 points. Rockets: After blowing a 15-point, fourth-quarter lead against the Wolves, Houston struggled offensively in the fourth quarter, shooting just 6 for 24 from the field. Dillon Brooks scored 22 points after missing the last three games with a right ankle effusion. Key moment Jovic’s 3 with 47 seconds left put Miami up 98-94. Key Stat Miami outscored Houston, the NBA’s best offensive rebounding team, 15-9 in second-chance points. Up Next The Rockets host Dallas on Wednesday and the Heat host New Orleans on Wednesday. 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 Get your daily Victoria news briefing Email Sign Up More Basketball Thunder rout short-handed Grizzlies 130-106 for their 11th straight victory Dec 29, 2024 6:49 PM Trae Young leads Hawks past Raptors 136-107; Toronto has season-high 31 turnovers Dec 29, 2024 5:52 PM Young scores 34 as Hawks beat Raptors 136-107, hand Raptors 10th consecutive loss Dec 29, 2024 5:43 PM

Adams has 19 as CSU Northridge defeats Denver 89-60

The positive changes resulting from this dual drive approach are becoming increasingly evident in various countries around the world. For instance, in China, the government's emphasis on promoting domestic consumption and encouraging investment in strategic industries has led to a surge in economic growth and prosperity. Similarly, in India, the focus on infrastructure development and innovation has helped fuel a vibrant economy that is attracting investments from around the globe.Seibert misses an extra point late as the Commanders lose their 3rd in a row, 34-26 to the CowboysStorm in Ottawa: Secretive Letter Unveils Trudeau’s Uncertain Political FutureENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — What's stoking the Denver Broncos' surprising surge is the growing connection between rookie quarterback Bo Nix and veteran wide receiver Courtland Sutton. Whenever the Broncos (7-5) need a clutch catch, a key flag or a timely touchdown, Sutton is usually the one delivering it like he did Sunday when he caught eight passes on 10 targets for 97 yards and a pair of touchdowns that sparked the Broncos' come-from-behind 29-19 win at Las Vegas. “Courtland played tremendous,” coach Sean Payton said. Again. “He’s just reliable,” Nix said. “He's just always there when you need him.” Sutton's size (6-foot-4 and 216 pounds) and experience (he's in his seventh NFL season) make him an ideal target and safety valve for the rookie QB whose confidence is growing by the week. “He’s smart. He’s savvy. He makes plays when the ball’s in the air,” Nix said. “You can trust him. When it’s up in the air, it’s his or nobody’s. It’s not going to be a pick.” Nix's first touchdown toss to Sutton was an 18-yarder that allowed the QB to break Marlin Briscoe's 1968 Denver rookie record of 14 TD passes, and the two connected again with 5:30 left to make it a two-score game. The Broncos trailed 13-9 at halftime and Nix said they knew they had to get the ball into Sutton's hands more in the second half after he had caught the only pass thrown his way in the first half (for 17 yards). “Didn’t target him (much) in the first half,” Nix said. “We come out and say, ‘Look, Courtland, this is your half.’ We take over the game. He goes for two touchdowns. That just kind of speaks for what he means to our team.” Sutton has been on a tear after since he wasn't targeted a single time in Denver's 33-10 win at New Orleans on Oct. 17. (Payton mentioned as recently as last week what an anomaly that game was because there was a heavy diet of plays for Sutton that just didn't pan out for various reasons.) In his six games before that goose egg, Sutton had 21 catches on 49 targets for 277 yards and a touchdown. In the five games since, he's caught 36 of the 48 balls thrown his way for 467 yards and three TDs. Plus, he threw a touchdown pass to Nix on a “Philly Special” at Baltimore in Week 9. “I think we're just scratching the surface,” Sutton said. Thanks in part to the chemistry between Nix and Sutton, the Broncos are in position for the seventh and final playoff spot entering December. The passing game, thanks to the Nix-Sutton connection. The running game. Javonte Williams had just 2 yards on eight carries and Audric Estime ran three times for 15 yards against the Raiders' run-heavy fronts and a steady diet of blitzes. Jaleel McLaughlin saved the day with seven carries for 44 yards. OLB Nik Bonitto. His 10 sacks make him the first Denver defender with double-digit sacks since 2018, when Von Miller did it. Once again, the Broncos' special teams, with the exception of K Wil Lutz, who hasn't missed a field goal attempt or extra point since his protection unit cratered at Kansas City three weeks ago and allowed the Chiefs to block what would have been the game-winning kick as time expired. On Sunday, the Raiders had a successful fake punt and a 59-yard kickoff return. Payton isn't saying much about the injuries to DE Zach Allen (heel) and CB Riley Moss (knee) except that to him they're not serious setbacks for either player. 2 — The Broncos are two games above .500 for the first time since starting the 2021 season with three wins. The Broncos host Cleveland (3-8) on Monday night ahead of their bye week. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

ATLANTA — 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 said in posting about his death on the social media platform X. It added in a statement that he died peacefully, surrounded by his family. 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. Carter John Amis, Associated Press 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. FILE - From left, President Barack Obama, former President Jimmy Carter, first lady Michelle Obama and former President Bill Clinton wave from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington during a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. spoke, Aug. 28, 2013. 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.” FILE - Jimmy Carter gives his acceptance speech after accepting the Democratic nomination for president on the convention floor, July 15, 1976, at New York's Madison Square Garden. 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. FILE - President Jimmy Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter are pictured with their daughter Amy at the first of seven inaugural balls in Washington, Jan. 20, 1977, at the Pension Building. Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | SoundStack | All Of Our Podcasts 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. FILE - President Jimmy Carter leans across the roof of his car to shake hands along the parade route through Bardstown, Ky., July 31, 1979. The president climbed on top of the car as the parade moved toward the high school gym, where a town meeting was held. 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. FILE - Former President Jimmy Carter uses a hand saw to even an edge as he works on a Habitat for Humanity home in Pikeville, Ky., June 16, 1997. 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. FILE - President-elect Jimmy Carter waves to the crowd as he and his wife Rosalynn arrive at the Plains Baptist Church to attend services in Plains, Ga., Nov. 22, 1976. 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. Jimmy Carter is shown at age 6, with his sister, Gloria, 4, in 1931 in Plains, Georgia. (AP Photo) ASSOCIATED PRESS This is a 1932 photo of Jimmy Carter at age 7 in Plains, Ga. (AP Photo) ASSOCIATED PRESS Lt. Jimmy Carter peers at instruments on submarine USS K-1 in a 1952 photo. Directly in front of Carter, smoking a cigar, is Don Dickson. He had forgotten he ever served with Carter until he came upon the photo during Christmas, 1977. A friend got it to the White House where Carter wrote: "To my friend Donald Dickson - Jimmy Carter, USS K-1 to White House." (AP Photo) ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE - In this Sept. 15, 1966 file photo, then Georgia State Sen. Jimmy Carter hugs his wife, Rosalynn, at his Atlanta campaign headquarters. Horace Cort Jimmy Carter, winner in Georgia's runoff primary in the Democratic Party to determine the party's candidate for the November election for governor, 1970. (AP Photo) Anonymous Former State Sen. Jimmy Carter listens to applause at the Capitol in Atlanta on April 3, 1970, after announcing his candidacy or governor. In background, his wife Rosalyn holds two-year-old daughter Amy who joined in the applause. Carter, 45, of Plains, Ga., finished third in the 1966 Democratic Primary behind Gov. Lester Maddox and Ellis Arnall. (AP Photo/Charles Kelly) CHARLES KELLY Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn clutch the microphones as he claims victory in a runoff election at campaign headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, September 24, 1970. Carter beat former Georgia Governor Carl Sanders for the nomination and will face Republican candidate Hal Suit, veteran television newsman, in the general election Nov. 3, 1970. (AP Photo/Charles Kelly) Charles Kelly Former state Sen. Jimmy Carter breaks into a broad smile after early returns gave him a lead of almost 2-1 in the Democratic runoff against former Gov. Carl Sanders, Sept. 23, 1970, in Atlanta, Ga. The winner will meet the Republic Hal Suit for the governorship of Georgia on the Nov. 3 general election. (AP Photo/Charles Kelly) Charles Kelly Governor-elect Jimmy Carter and his daughter Amy, 3, walk about the grounds by the fountain at the Governor's Mansion in Atlanta, Ga., Jan. 10, 1971, as they get to know the place where they will live for the next four years. Carter will be sworn in as governor of Georgia Tuesday. (AP Photo) UNCREDITED Judge Robert H. Jordan administers the oath of office to Gov. Jimmy Carter during ceremonies at the state capitol in Atlanta. Ga., Jan. 12, 1971. Next to the judge is former Gov. Lester Maddox, who will take over as lieutenant governer of Georgia. (AP Photo) Anonymous Jimmy Carter of Georgia, seen here Feb. 6, 1971, already described as a symbol of a new breed of moderate southern politician, says that the race question has ceased to be a major issue "between or among candidates" running for office in the old confederacy. (AP Photo) ASSOCIATED PRESS Jimmy Carter, Governor of Georgia, is shown at his desk in Atlanta, on February 19, 1971. (AP Photo) ASSOCIATED PRESS Georgia's Gov. Jimmy Carter reaches for pen February 25, 1972 to sign a Georgia Senate House resolution opposing forced busing to achieve integration in the classrooms of the United States. Anonymous Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter joins a half-dozen Rockettes in a high kick, September 21, 1973, at Radio City Music Hall in New York, while visiting backstage before an afternoon performance. Carter is in New York to induce the film industry to make pictures in his state. (AP Photo/stf) ASSOCIATED PRESS Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter, right, and Delaware Gov. Sherman Tribbitt say hello to Atlanta Braves Hank Aaron, left, following a rain canceled game with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Thursday, Sept. 27, 1973, Atlanta, Ga. The cancellation slowed Aaron’s opportunity to tie or break Babe Ruth’s home run record. (AP Photo) Anonymous Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter spoke to 18,000 messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention on Thursday, June 13, 1974 in Dallas, Texas. He urged Baptists to use their personal and political influence to return the nation to ideals of stronger commitment and higher ethics. He said "there is no natural division between a man's Christian life and his political life." (AP Photo/Greg Smith) GREG SMITH Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter tells a gathering, Saturday, Oct. 5, 1974 at the National Press Club in Washington about his ideas concerning energy conservation. (AP Photo) AP In this Thursday, Aug. 14, 1975 file photo, former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter announces in Washington that he qualified for federal matching funds to help finance his campaign for the 1976 Democratic presidential nomination. BJ Former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter, right, drew about 5,000 people to Youngstown's Federal Plaza in Youngstown, Ohio, in his quest for support in Tuesday's Ohio Democratic primary, June 7, 1976. The presidential hopeful waded into the crowd, shaking hands and signing autographs. Carter, speaking to the largest crowd to assemble during his Ohio campaign, said 1976 would be a Democratic year because of the Watergate aftermath and other national ills. (AP Photo) UNCREDITED In this Monday, Aug. 23, 1976 file photo, Democratic presidential candidate Jimmy Carter gives an informal press conference in Los Angeles during a campaign tour through the West and Midwest. On Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2015. (AP Photo) STF Democratic Presidential nominee Jimmy Carter, left, eats some freshly roasted barbecue chicken with his brother Billy Carter at Billy's gas station, Sept 11, 1976, Plains, Ga. The nominee had returned the night before from a week of campaigning, and planned to hold an impromptu press conference at the gas station. (AP Photo/Jeff Taylor) JEFF TAYLOR Democratic presidential nominee, Jimmy Carter, is all smiles as he talks with his brother Billy at the Carter Family Peanut warehouse, September 18, 1976. (AP Photo) AP Jimmy Carter stands in a large mound of peanuts at the Carter Peanut Warehouse in Plains, Ga., September 22, 1976. The Democratic party presidential nominee took an early morning walk through the warehouse to inspect some of the harvest. (AP Photo) AP FILE - In this Oct. 6, 1976 file photo with his wife Rosalynn Carter looking on at center, Democratic presidential candidate Jimmy Carter, center left, shakes hands with President Gerald Ford at the conclusion of their debate at the Palace of Fine Arts Theater in San Francisco, Calif. (AP Photo, File) Anonymous Jimmy Carter, Democratic candidate for president, is joined by his daughter, Amy, as he waves from the rostrum at Fort Worth Convention Center, Texas, Sunday, Nov. 1, 1976. Carter and his family have been campaigning Texas, making a last minute bid for the state's 26 electoral votes. The others are not identified. (AP Photo) AP U.S. President-elect Jimmy Carter waves to supporters as he is surrounded by family members at a hotel in Atlanta, Ga., on Nov. 3, 1976. Carter won the presidential election by 297 electoral votes to 241 for Ford. Standing next to him is his wife, Rosalynn, and their daughter Amy Lynn, far right. The others are unidentified. (AP Photo) AP President-elect Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn wipe tears from their eyes after returning to their home town in Plains, Ga., Nov. 3, 1976. The Carter family was greeted by local residents after returning from Atlanta. (AP Photo) UNCREDITED President-elect Jimmy Carter leans over to shake hands with some of the people riding the "Peanut Special" to Washington D.C., Jan. 19, 1977. They will travel all night, arriving in Washington in time for Carter's inauguration as President tomorrow. (AP Photo) Anonymous Jimmy Carter takes the oath of office as the nation's 39th president during inauguration ceremonies in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 1977. Carter's wife, Rosalynn, holds the Bible used in the first inauguration by George Washington as U.S. Chief Justice Warren Burger administers the oath. Looking on at left are, Happy Rockefeller, Betty Ford, Joan Mondale, Amy Carter, and outgoing President Gerald Ford. Behind Carter is Vice President Walter Mondale. At far right is former Vice President Nelson Rockefeller. (AP Photo) ASSOCIATED PRESS Rosalynn Carter, left, looks up at her husband Jimmy Carter as he takes the oath of office as the 39th President of the United States at the Capitol, Thursday, Jan. 20, 1977, Washington, D.C. Mrs. Carter held a family Bible for her husband. (AP Photo) Anonymous Jimmy Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter walk down Pennsylvania Avenue after Carter was sworn in as the nations 39th President, Jan. 20, 1977, Washington, D.C. (AP Photo) AP FILE - In this Thursday, Jan. 20, 1977 file photo, President Jimmy Carter waves to the crowd while walking with his wife, Rosalynn, and their daughter, Amy, along Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House following his inauguration in Washington. (AP Photo/Suzanne Vlamis) Suzanne Vlamis In this Jan. 24, 1977 file photo, President Jimmy Carter is interviewed in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. STF In this file photo dated May 1977, U.S. President Jimmy Carter, right, and Britain's Queen Elizabeth II with French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing, at Buckingham Palace in London. Anonymous In this Feb. 20, 1978, file photo, President Jimmy Carter listens to Sen. Joseph R. Biden, D-Del., as they wait to speak at fund raising reception at Padua Academy in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Barry Thumma, File) Barry Thumma President Jimmy Carter tucks his thumbs into his jeans and laughs as he prepares to head down the Salmon River in Idaho August 1978 for a three day rubber raft float. (AP Photo) AP United States President Jimmy Carter, on a visit to West Germany in 1978, rides with Chancellor Helmut Schmidt during a review of United States Forces at a base near Frankfurt. (AP Photo) ASSOCIATED PRESS Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, left, U.S. President Jimmy Carter, center, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin clasp hands on the north lawn of the White House after signing the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel on March 26, 1979. (AP Photo/ Bob Daugherty) BOB DAUGHERTY President Jimmy Carter, left, and Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev, right, sign the documents of the SALT II Treaty in the Vienna Imperial Hofburg Palace, Monday, June 18, 1979, Vienna, Austria. Anonymous President Jimmy Carter leans across the roof of his car to shake hands along the parade route through Bardstown, Ky., Tuesday afternoon, July 31, 1979. The president climbed on top of the car as the parade moved toward the high school gym, where a town meeting was held. (AP Photo/Bob Daugherty) BOB DAUGHERTY In this April 25, 1980 file photo, President Jimmy Carter prepares to make a national television address from the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, on the failed mission to rescue the Iran hostages. STF President Jimmy Carter applauds as Sen. Edward Kennedy waves to cheering crowds of the Democratic National Convention in New York's Madison Square Garden, Aug. 14, 1980. (AP Photo/Bob Daugherty) Bob Daugherty President Jimmy Carter raises a clenched fist during his address to the Democratic Convention, August 15, 1980, in New York's Madison Square Garden where he accepted his party's nomination to face Republican Ronald Reagan in the general election. (AP Photo/stf) ASSOCIATED PRESS Massachusetts Senator Edward M. Kennedy greets President Jimmy Carter after he landed at Boston's Logan Airport, Aug. 21, 1980. President Carter is in Boston to address the American Legion Convention being held in Boston. (AP Photo) Anonymous President Jimmy Carter, left, and Gov. Bill Clinton of Arkansas enjoy a chuckle during a rally for Carter in Texarkana, Texas, Oct. 22, 1980. Texarkana was the last stop for Carter on a three-city one-day campaign swing through Texas. (AP Photo/John Duricka) John Duricka In this Oct. 28, 1980 file photo, President Jimmy Carter shakes hands with Republican Presidential candidate Ronald Reagan after debating in the Cleveland Music Hall in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Madeline Drexler, File) Madeline Drexler Former US President Jimmy Carter, who had negotiated for the hostages release right up to the last hours of his Presidency, lifts his arm to the crowd, while putting his other hand around the shoulders of a former hostage in Iran, believed to be Bruce Laingen, at US AIR Force Hospital in Wiesbaden, Germany, Wednesday, January 21, 1981. AP FILE Former Pres. Jimmy Carter, center, is joined by his wife Rosalynn and his brother Billy Carter during session of the Democratic National Convention, Tuesday, July 19, 1988, Atlanta, Ga. Billy had been recently diagnosed with cancer. (AP Photo/Bob Daugherty) Bob Daugherty Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter speaks to newsmen as PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, right, looks on after the two men met in Paris Wednesday, April 4, 1990. Carter said he felt some leaders did not represent the region's yearning for peace. (AP Photo/Pierre Gieizes) AP Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, center, introduces his wife Rosalynn, right, to Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Jiang Zemin, April 14, 1991 in Beijing. (AP Photo/Mark Avery) Mark Avery Former President Jimmy Carter gestures at a United Nations news conference in New York, April 23, 1993 about the world conference on Human Rights to be held by the United Nations in Vienna June 14-25. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) Richard Drew Former Presidents George Bush, left, and Jimmy Carter, right, stand with President Clinton and wave to volunteers during a kick-off rally for the President's Volunteer Summit at Marcus Foster Stadium in Philladelphia, PA., Sunday morning April 27, 1997. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia) STEPHAN SAVOIA President Bill Clinton presents former President Jimmy Carter, right, with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, during a ceremony at the Carter Center in Atlanta Monday, Aug. 9, 1999. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) JOHN BAZEMORE Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter adjusts his glasses during a press conference in Managua, Nicaragua, Thursday, July 6, 2006. The former president and 2002 Nobel Peace Prize winner is heading a delegation from the democracy-promoting Carter Center, based at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, to observe preparations for Nicaragua's Nov. 5 presidential election. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) ESTEBAN FELIX In this Friday, Dec. 8, 2006 file photo, former President Jimmy Carter signs copies of his book "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid" at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ric Feld) Ric Feld Former President George H.W. Bush, left, watches as Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton chat during a dedication ceremony for the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, May 31, 2007. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) Gerry Broome Former President Jimmy Carter poses for a portrait during the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, Monday, Sept. 10, 2007. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Carolyn Kaster Former President Jimmy Carter poses on the red carpet for the documentary film, "Jimmy Carter: Man From Plains" during the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, Monday, Sept. 10, 2007. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Carolyn Kaster Former President Jimmy Carter, right, and his wife Rosalynn wave to the audience at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Monday, Aug. 25, 2008. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) Jae C. Hong Former President Jimmy Carter, right, and former first lady Rosalynn Carter are seen on stage at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Monday, Aug. 25, 2008. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) Paul Sancya Former President Jimmy Carter waves to the crowd as he goes on stage at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Monday, Aug. 25, 2008.(AP Photo/Paul Sancya) Paul Sancya Former President Jimmy Carter, right, is seen with Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) Paul Sancya President-elect Barack Obama is welcomed by President George W. Bush for a meeting at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009, with former presidents, from left, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) J. Scott Applewhite In this photo taken Saturday, May 29, 2010, former South Africa president Nelson Mandela, right, reacts with former US president Jimmy Carter, during a reunion with The Elders, three years after he launched the group, in Johannesburg, South Africa. (AP Photo/Jeff Moore, Pool) Jeff Moore Former US President Jimmy Carter, center, one of the delegates of the Elders group of retired prominent world figures, holds a Palestinian child during a visit to the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010. (AP Photo/Menahem Kahana, Pool) Menahem Kahana Former President Jimmy Carter, 86, leads Habitat for Humanity volunteers to help build and repair houses in Washington's Ivy City neighborhood, Monday, Oct. 4, 2010. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) J. Scott Applewhite FILE - In this Friday, Oct. 22, 2010 file photo, former president of Ireland, Mary Robinson, background right, looks at former U.S. president, Jimmy Carter, center, while visiting a weekly protest in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. The protest was organized by groups supporting Palestinians evicted from their homes in east Jerusalem by Israeli authorities. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) Bernat Armangue Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, his wife, Rosalynn, and former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan conclude a visit to a polling center the southern capital of Juba Sunday, Jan. 9, 2011. (AP Photo/Pete Muller) Pete Muller Former President Jimmy Carter signs his name in the guest book at the Jewish Community center in Havana, Cuba, Monday March 28, 2011. Carter arrived in Cuba to discuss economic policies and ways to improve Washington-Havana relations, which are even more tense than usual over the imprisonment of Alan Gross, a U.S. contractor, on the island. C (AP Photo/Adalberto Roque, Pool) ADALBERTO ROQUE Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter pauses during an interview as he and his wife Rosalynn visit a Habitat for Humanity project in Leogane, Haiti, Monday Nov. 7, 2011. The Carters joined volunteers from around the world to build 100 homes in partnership with earthquake-affected families in Haiti during a week-long Habitat for Humanity housing project. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa) Ramon Espinosa Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, sits prior to a meeting with Israel's President Shimon Peres at the President's residence in Jerusalem, Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012. Peres met two of 'The Elders', a group composed of eminent global leaders brought together by Nelson Mandela. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner) Sebastian Scheiner Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter watches baseball players work out before Game 2 of the National League Division Series between the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Friday, Oct. 4, 2013, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Dave Martin) Dave Martin Former President Jimmy Carter speaks during a forum at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014. Among other topics, Carter discussed his new book, "A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power." (AP Photo/Elise Amendola) Elise Amendola President Jimmy Carter, left, and Rosalynn Carter arrive at the 2015 MusiCares Person of the Year event at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Friday, Feb. 6, 2015 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP) Richard Shotwell In this July 10, 2015, file photo, former President Jimmy Carter is seen in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File) Matt Rourke In a Sunday, Aug. 23, 2015 file photo, former President Jimmy Carter teaches Sunday School class at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown, in Plains, Ga. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File) David Goldman Former President Jimmy Carter answers questions during a news conference at a Habitat for Humanity building site Monday, Nov. 2, 2015, in Memphis, Tenn. Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, have volunteered a week of their time annually to Habitat for Humanity since 1984, events dubbed "Carter work projects" that draw thousands of volunteers and take months of planning. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Mark Humphrey Former President Bill Clinton, left, and former president Jimmy Carter shake hands after speaking at a Clinton Global Initiative meeting Tuesday, June 14, 2016, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) John Bazemore Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter holds a morning devotion in Memphis, Tenn., on Monday, Aug. 22, 2016, before he and his wife Rosalynn help build a home for Habitat for Humanity. (AP Photo/Alex Sanz) Alex Sanz Former president Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter arrive during the 58th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Andrew Harnik In this Feb. 8, 2017, file photo, former President Jimmy Carter speaks during a ribbon cutting ceremony for a solar panel project on farmland he owns in his hometown of Plains, Ga. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File) David Goldman Former President George W. Bush, center, speaks as fellow former Presidents from right, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter look on during a hurricanes relief concert in College Station, Texas, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017. All five living former U.S. presidents joined to support a Texas concert raising money for relief efforts from Hurricane Harvey, Irma and Maria's devastation in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. (AP Photo/LM Otero) LM Otero Former President Jimmy Carter, 93, sits for an interview about his new book "Faith: A Journey For All" which will debut at no. 7 on the New York Times best sellers list, pictured before a book signing Wednesday, April 11, 2018, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Amis) John Amis Former President Jimmy Carter speaks as Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams listens during a news conference to announce Abrams' rural health care plan Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2018, in Plains, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) John Bazemore Former President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter are seen ahead of an NFL football game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Sept. 30, 2018, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) John Bazemore Former President Jimmy Carter takes questions submitted by students during an annual Carter Town Hall held at Emory University Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Amis) John Amis Democratic presidential candidate former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, left, meets with former President Jimmy Carter, center, at Buffalo Cafe in Plains, Ga., Sunday, March 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) Matt Rourke Former President Jimmy Carter reacts as his wife Rosalynn Carter speaks during a reception to celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary on July 10, 2021, in Plains, Ga. John Bazemore, Associated Press Carter John Amis, Associated Press Former President Jimmy Carter, arrives to attend a tribute service for his wife and former first lady Rosalynn Carter, at Glenn Memorial Church, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Andrew Harnik A sign wishing former President Jimmy Carter a happy 100th birthday sits on the North Lawn of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) Susan Walsh FILE - Former President Jimmy Carter teaches Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church, in Plains, Ga., Nov. 3, 2019. Well-wishes and fond remembrances for the former president continued to roll in Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023, a day after he entered hospice care at his home in Georgia. (AP Photo/John Amis, File) John Amis Former President Jimmy Carter arrives for the funeral service for his wife, former first lady Rosalynn Carter at Maranatha Baptist Church, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023, in Plains, Ga. The former first lady died on Nov. 19. She was 96. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) John BazemoreLegacy education sees purchase of common stock worth $6,830 by Robert DeRose

UND men's basketball team rolls in final tune-up before Summit League playBy now, Nvidia 's (NASDAQ: NVDA) business has been booming for so long that it's getting boring. As of the time of writing, shares are down by around 3% despite better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and a buoyant market for artificial intelligence (AI) hardware. But how much longer can the momentum last? Let's dig deeper into what the next three years could have in store. Are You Missing The Morning Scoop? Breakfast News delivers it all in a quick, Foolish, and free daily newsletter. Sign Up For Free » How good were earnings? Despite being the largest company in the world with a market cap of $3.6 trillion, Nvidia's business is still growing like a start-up. Third-quarter revenue soared 94% year over year to $35.1 billion, beating analysts' expectations of $33.2 billion. And the momentum was driven by its data center business, where it sells advanced graphics processing units (GPUs) for running and trailing AI algorithms. Nvidia also has tremendous pricing power, with a gross margin of around 75%, which suggests it is keeping the competition at bay. Management plans to maintain growth through new product releases, such as its Blackwell-based AI chips, which are expected to provide significant performance improvements over the previous generation of GPUs. However, while the results were great, investors should note that Nvidia's growth is decelerating. Over the previous three quarters, sales rose 122%, 262%, and 265%, respectively. This slowdown will probably continue as the company faces more difficult comps over the next three years. The AI industry remains highly speculative Analysts remain optimistic about the future of the AI industry, with Bain & Co. expecting it to generate revenues of $990 billion by 2027 -- up from just $185 billion last year. They believe businesses are moving out of the experimental phase to begin scaling AI tech into their operations, and huge demand could strain supply chains and cause shortages. If this plays out, Nvidia's already huge margins could get even higher. That said, analysts made similar predictions during the dot-com bubble in the early 2000s. And while the internet turned out to be a world-changing success, widespread adoption didn't come as quickly as expected. There are growing signs that a similar thing could happen to AI. According to The Economist , the disparity between investor enthusiasm about AI and reality might be untenable. They report that only 5% of U.S. businesses say they use AI in their products and services, and few AI start-ups are turning a profit. Most notably, OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, expects to lose around $5 billion this year because of huge outflows for employee salaries and the massive energy costs associated with running large language models (LLMs). In the best-case scenario, Nvidia can continue to make newer, more efficient chips that can perform more computational work with less energy requirements. This could bring down the costs of training and running AI models. But there are still many other variables like competition between LLMs, which could keep the software side of the industry unprofitable, even if operational costs begin to fall. All in all , the AI opportunity looks much more speculative and uncertain than the more optimistic analysts are letting on. Where will Nvidia stock be in three years? Over the next three years, investors should expect Nvidia's growth and margins to fall as investors become more realistic about the timelines needed to bring AI technology into the mainstream. That said, the stock's valuation seems to already price in this headwind. With a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) of 37, the company's shares look reasonable compared to its explosive growth rate, so the potential downside is limited. Should you invest $1,000 in Nvidia right now? Before you buy stock in Nvidia, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now... and Nvidia wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $869,885 !* Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of November 25, 2024 Will Ebiefung has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . Where Will Nvidia Stock Be in 3 Years? was originally published by The Motley Fool

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More Every week — sometimes every day—a new state-of-the-art AI model is born to the world. As we move into 2025, the pace at which new models are being released is dizzying, if not exhausting. The curve of the rollercoaster is continuing to grow exponentially, and fatigue and wonder have become constant companions. Each release highlights why this particular model is better than all others, with endless collections of benchmarks and bar charts filling our feeds as we scramble to keep up. Eighteen months ago, the vast majority of developers and businesses were using a single AI model . Today, the opposite is true. It is rare to find a business of significant scale that is confining itself to the capabilities of a single model. Companies are wary of vendor lock-in, particularly for a technology which has quickly become a core part of both long-term corporate strategy and short-term bottom-line revenue. It is increasingly risky for teams to put all their bets on a single large language model (LLM). But despite this fragmentation, many model providers still champion the view that AI will be a winner-takes-all market. They claim that the expertise and compute required to train best-in-class models is scarce, defensible and self-reinforcing. From their perspective, the hype bubble for building AI models will eventually collapse, leaving behind a single, giant artificial general intelligence (AGI) model that will be used for anything and everything. To exclusively own such a model would mean to be the most powerful company in the world. The size of this prize has kicked off an arms race for more and more GPUs, with a new zero added to the number of training parameters every few months. We believe this view is mistaken. There will be no single model that will rule the universe, neither next year nor next decade. Instead, the future of AI will be multi-model. Language models are fuzzy commodities The Oxford Dictionary of Economics defines a commodity as a “standardized good which is bought and sold at scale and whose units are interchangeable.” Language models are commodities in two important senses: But while language models are commoditizing, they are doing so unevenly. There is a large core of capabilities for which any model, from GPT-4 all the way down to Mistral Small, is perfectly suited to handle. At the same time, as we move towards the margins and edge cases, we see greater and greater differentiation, with some model providers explicitly specializing in code generation, reasoning, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) or math. This leads to endless handwringing, reddit-searching, evaluation and fine-tuning to find the right model for each job. And so while language models are commodities, they are more accurately described as fuzzy commodities . For many use cases, AI models will be nearly interchangeable, with metrics like price and latency determining which model to use. But at the edge of capabilities, the opposite will happen: Models will continue to specialize, becoming more and more differentiated. As an example, Deepseek-V2.5 is stronger than GPT-4o on coding in C#, despite being a fraction of the size and 50 times cheaper. Both of these dynamics — commoditization and specialization — uproot the thesis that a single model will be best-suited to handle every possible use case. Rather, they point towards a progressively fragmented landscape for AI. Multi-modal orchestration and routing There is an apt analogy for the market dynamics of language models: The human brain. The structure of our brains has remained unchanged for 100,000 years, and brains are far more similar than they are dissimilar. For the vast majority of our time on Earth, most people learned the same things and had similar capabilities. But then something changed. We developed the ability to communicate in language — first in speech, then in writing. Communication protocols facilitate networks, and as humans began to network with each other, we also began to specialize to greater and greater degrees. We became freed from the burden of needing to be generalists across all domains, to be self-sufficient islands. Paradoxically, the collective riches of specialization have also meant that the average human today is a far stronger generalist than any of our ancestors. On a sufficiently wide enough input space, the universe always tends towards specialization. This is true all the way from molecular chemistry, to biology, to human society. Given sufficient variety, distributed systems will always be more computationally efficient than monoliths. We believe the same will be true of AI. The more we can leverage the strengths of multiple models instead of relying on just one, the more those models can specialize, expanding the frontier for capabilities. An increasingly important pattern for leveraging the strengths of diverse models is routing — dynamically sending queries to the best-suited model, while also leveraging cheaper, faster models when doing so doesn’t degrade quality. Routing allows us to take advantage of all the benefits of specialization — higher accuracy with lower costs and latency — without giving up any of the robustness of generalization. A simple demonstration of the power of routing can be seen in the fact that most of the world’s top models are themselves routers: They are built using Mixture of Expert architectures that route each next-token generation to a few dozen expert sub-models. If it’s true that LLMs are exponentially proliferating fuzzy commodities, then routing must become an essential part of every AI stack. There is a view that LLMs will plateau as they reach human intelligence — that as we fully saturate capabilities, we will coalesce around a single general model in the same way that we have coalesced around AWS, or the iPhone. Neither of those platforms (or their competitors) have 10X’d their capabilities in the past couple years — so we might as well get comfortable in their ecosystems. We believe, however, that AI will not stop at human-level intelligence; it will carry on far past any limits we might even imagine. As it does so, it will become increasingly fragmented and specialized, just as any other natural system would. We cannot overstate how much AI model fragmentation is a very good thing. Fragmented markets are efficient markets: They give power to buyers, maximize innovation and minimize costs. And to the extent that we can leverage networks of smaller, more specialized models rather than send everything through the internals of a single giant model, we move towards a much safer, more interpretable and more steerable future for AI. The greatest inventions have no owners. Ben Franklin’s heirs do not own electricity. Turing’s estate does not own all computers. AI is undoubtedly one of humanity’s greatest inventions; we believe its future will be — and should be — multi-model. Zack Kass is the former head of go-to-market at OpenAI . Tomás Hernando Kofman is the co-Founder and CEO of Not Diamond . DataDecisionMakers Welcome to the VentureBeat community! DataDecisionMakers is where experts, including the technical people doing data work, can share data-related insights and innovation. If you want to read about cutting-edge ideas and up-to-date information, best practices, and the future of data and data tech, join us at DataDecisionMakers. You might even consider contributing an article of your own! Read More From DataDecisionMakersALL it took was three words: “Howay the lads!” for Britain to fall in love with President Jimmy Carter. He was in Newcastle when he won over a crowd of 20,000 with the Toon Army’s most famous chant. But it took the rest of the world many more years to appreciate the greatness of the longest-living US leader ever, who has died aged 100. In the wake of the Watergate scandal which saw Republican President Richard Nixon resign from office in disgrace, Carter the Democrat candidate was expected to narrowly win against Tricky Dicky’s replacement former Vice President Gerald Ford. But in an attempt to portray himself as a Washington outsider and man of the people Carter gave an interview to soft-porn magazine, Playboy, where he admitted that he had “committed adultery in his heart many times.” Carter’s reference to sex became all anyone could talk about. The interview shifted the entire dynamic of the election — and helped get the Republicans back on track. Many evangelical Christians in Carter’s southern heartland turned against him. Despite the setback, Carter won the 1976 election to become 39 th United States President at the age of 52. In his inaugural address the following January he told the American people: “Your strength can compensate for my weakness, and your wisdom can help to minimize my mistakes. But his one term in the White House was notorious for fiascos ranging from a self-inflicted 444-day hostage crisis to an incident when he managed to get attacked in a pond by a swimming rabbit. It was seen as not only humiliating for the former peanut farmer, but for the entire United States. However, after losing office, he redefined what it meant to be an ex-President, becoming one of history’s great peacemakers. In fact the Nobel Peace Prize winner became one of the finest presidents in American history — after he left the White House. James Earl Carter Jr was born on October 1, 1924, in the one-street town of Plains, Georgia , in America’s Deep South. He grew up on his father’s peanut farm and worked on it from the time he was able to carry buckets of water. Jimmy set his sights on a career with the US Navy, in order to receive free college education to study engineering. And it was while at the Naval Academy that he fell in love with a former neighbour, Rosalynn, his sister’s best friend. They married on July 7, 1946, when he was 21 and she was 18, and they were together for the next 77 years until Rosalynn’s death last November, age 96. Marking their 75th wedding anniversary in 2021, Carter said: “I love her more now than I did to begin with — which is saying a lot, because I loved her a lot.” He vowed to stay alive so that Rosalynn would never have to live alone. Carter was relishing being part of the Navy’s brand-new nuclear submarine program in New York when his father died in 1953 changing the whole course of his life The 28-year-old felt duty-bound to quit the Navy and return to Plains with Rosalynn and their three sons to take over the family business. As a leading member of the evangelical Baptist Church, he quickly became a pillar of the community — until a ruling by the Supreme Court changed everything. Most spectacularly, he began trying to revive the Middle East peace process — and succeeded In 1954, judges declared racial segregation of schools unconstitutional and the South went into uproar. In Plains a White Citizens’ Council was set up and Carter was the only white man in town who refused to join. There was a boycott of the peanut business, and banishment from the country club. The attendant at the petrol station even refused to fill his car. But Jimmy Carter had not gone into politics — politics had come to him. The following year he joined the county’s school board and gradually became more outspoken on race . Then in 1962 he ran for Georgia’s state senate as a Democrat. After his senate stint, in 1970 he became Governor, declaring in his inaugural speech: “The time of racial discrimination is over.” By late 1974 he had become known for compassion and competency, in a United States despairing over crooked ex-President Richard Nixon and the Vietnam War. Still, he did not seem the White House type. Years later Carter recalled: “When I told my mother I was running for president, she said, ‘President of what?’” And when he announced his candidacy for the 1976 election, the reaction was: “Jimmy who?” With the reputation of Washington insiders at an all-time low, the outsider captured the public imagination It turned out to be a gift. With the reputation of Washington insiders at an all-time low, the outsider captured the public imagination. He was sworn as President on January 20, 1977, and things started well. One of his first acts was to declare an amnesty for Vietnam War draft evaders. He also installed solar panels on the White House and established the United States’ first federal Department of Education. Most spectacularly, he began trying to revive the Middle East peace process — and succeeded. Patient negotiations led to a secret summit in September 1978 between the leaders of warring Israel and Egypt at Camp David, the presidential retreat. It was meant to last three days and ended up taking 12. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli PM Menachem Begin started out refusing to even be in the same room. By the end, they were watching movies together and had the framework for a treaty that ended the war. It remains the only meaningful peace in the Middle East. But Carter’s standing tended to be higher abroad than at home. Especially in Newcastle. The President had come to London for a summit in May 1977, and Labour PM Jim Callaghan asked if there was any where he would like to visit. Carter said he would love to see Laugharne in Carmarthenshire, where his favourite poet Dylan Thomas had lived. But wily Callaghan confided that choosing Tyneside instead would be helpful in shoring up Labour support. Air Force One headed north. On the drive to the city centre, Carter noticed a newspaper poster reading “Howay Jimmy”, and another one referring to “the lads”. He asked what all this meant and got a history of Newcastle United’s call to arms. By the time he took to the stage outside the Civic Centre, he had decided on his opening words. The Sun reported that the President’s “Howay the lads!” was greeted with “the sort of roar you get for a five-goal win at Newcastle’s St James’ Park”. Carter would later say: “The expected friendly and polite welcome became a love fest. “This was one of the high points of my first year as president.” That UK visit also had an unlikely impact at Westminster Abbey. Because he could not get to Laugharne, Carter visited the Abbey to see Dylan Thomas’s memorial in Poets’ Corner. But when the President asked an archdeacon to point out the stone, he was told: “We couldn’t have Dylan Thomas commemorated here — you know he was a drunkard.” Carter replied: “Well look, there’s Lord Byron who was gay. There’s Edgar Allan Poe, who was a drug addict.” Still fuming, back home he wrote a letter outlining the poet’s case. In 1982 a memorial was finally unveiled. But in the US, inflation and a petrol shortage were uppermost in voters’ minds. Carter appeared weak, summed up in September 1979, when he collapsed gasping for air into the arms of minders half-way through a six-mile jog. But worse was to come in October that year when in a misguided humanitarian gesture, Carter invited the embattled Shah of Iran to have cancer treatment in the US. Iranians who had been trying to overthrow the royal’s rule and establish a republic were enraged. On November 4, 1979 students stormed the US Embassy in Tehran, taking those inside hostage. Fifty-two Americans would be held for the next 444 days. Carter’s inability to win their release scuppered his reputation for negotiation. A rescue mission also failed, and Carter refused popular calls to simply bomb Tehran. He was awarded 2002’s Nobel Peace Prize – the only US President to ever get the honour after leaving office All this unfolded in the run-up to the November 1980 election, with macho Republican challenger Ronald Reagan branding Carter a “wimp”. The President lost to Reagan in a landslide. Minutes after the new President was sworn in, the hostages in Iran were released. Meanwhile Carter and Rosalynn, along with 13-year-old daughter Amy, moved back to the bungalow in Plains that the family had built in 1961. The political outcast announced that he would not take jobs on corporate boards or pile up money on the lecture circuit. Instead, he went back to teaching Sunday school, and quietly set about changing the world. In 1986 he announced his life goal was to help eradicate Guinea worm disease, which was striking 3.5million people in Africa each year. In 2021, that was down to 14 cases. It is on track to being only the second human disease in history to be eradicated after smallpox. Then in 1994, when it seemed war was about to erupt between North and South Korea , President Bill Clinton remembered Carter’s magical touch with the Middle East. Carter flew in to meet with leader Kim Il Sung, and got on so well they ended up hugging. The intervention helped to seal a nuclear disarmament agreement that lasted nearly a decade. He was awarded 2002’s Nobel Peace Prize – the only US President to ever get the honour after leaving office. Despite his age he carried on building homes for the poor – often working on them himself but the Secret Service banned him from going on the roof because he was at risk of assassination by snipers. And at home in their two-bedroom bungalow, he and Rosalynn read a chapter of the Bible to each other each night, as they had done for more than 40 years. During the day the couple rode around on three-wheeled scooter the former president said "gives you a workout all the way from your ankles up to your shoulders" — for up to 2.5 miles a day. In accordance with his wishes, President Carter will be buried in front of his smallholding worth £150,000 – less than the value of the Secret Service car that always parked outside for his protection. He explained: “Plains is where our hearts have always been.” JIMMY CARTER did not always have the best luck — but it was never worse than one day in April 1979 when he went out fishing on a boat and got attacked by a swimming rabbit. News reports quoted a witness as saying the animal was “hissing menacingly, its teeth flashing and nostrils flared, and making straight for the President.” The Washington Post’s front-page headline was “Rabbit attacks President”. The Associated Press went with “Carter Fights ‘Killer Rabbit’ with Paddle on Fishing Trip”. Carter later insisted that what actually happened that day on a pond in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, was that “a rabbit was being chased by hounds and he jumped in the water and swam towards my boat. When he got almost there, I splashed some water with a paddle and the rabbit turned.” But his press secretary Jody Powell always swore that the animal was “enraged” and “perhaps beserk” and “intent upon climbing into the presidential boat”. He ((OK, he)) said it was also far larger than normal rabbits so the President was frightened, with good reason. Cartoons and novelty songs followed, and political enemies who wanted to paint Carter as ridiculous and hapless had a field day. For the rest of his time in office, Carter avoided being photographed with the Easter Bunny.EASTON, Pa. (AP) — Louie Semona scored 15 points off of the bench to lead Stonehill over Lafayette 70-65 on Sunday. Semona had six rebounds for the Skyhawks (8-7). Hermann Koffi scored 13 points, shooting 4 for 8 (2 for 5 from 3-point range) and 3 of 4 from the free-throw line. Josh Morgan had 13 points and shot 4 of 9 from the field, including 1 for 3 from 3-point range, and went 4 for 4 from the line. The Leopards (5-8) were led by Caleb Williams, who recorded 15 points. Lafayette also got 14 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks from Justin Vander Baan. Alex Chaikin also recorded 12 points, two steals and two blocks. Stonehill went into the half leading Lafayette 28-27. Semona put up seven points in the half. Stonehill used a 7-0 second-half run erase a five-point deficit and take the lead at 47-45 with 11:20 remaining in the half before finishing off the victory. Todd Brogna scored nine second-half points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by and data from . The Associated Press

Nigeria, Brazil sign MoU to boost agribusiness in 774 local government areasSurprising twist in fate of bankrupt Big Lots and Party City READ MORE: Big Lots begins epic 'going out of business' sales By DANIEL JONES, CONSUMER EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM Published: 00:38, 30 December 2024 | Updated: 00:38, 30 December 2024 e-mail View comments Big Lots and Party City could both be saved from closure. The two retailers have no connection other than both being in the news this month after saying - within two days of each other - they were going out of business. But they could also now become sister companies if retail mogul Mitch Modell has his way. The founder of the Modell's sporting goods chain has bold plans to rescue the two struggling brands. Last Friday (December 20), Party City bosses shocked staff by telling them it was going out of business and would shut all of its remaining 700 stores by February. The next day the company filed for bankruptcy. It was the second announcement of a high profile retailer shutting down in as many days. Big Lots announced on December 19 that it was beginning 'going out of business' sales at all its 963 remaining locations across the US, after a buyer fell through. It had filed for bankruptcy in September and had hoped to keep going once it restructured. In an exclusive interview with The Real Deal, Modell revealed that he plans to submit formal bids for both companies by the end of the week. Party City is shutting down all its stores immediately, putting an end to nearly four decades of business Big Lots is beginning 'going out of business' sales at all its stores across the US, as it prepares to close its remaining locations Mitch Modell - the founder of the Modell's sporting goods chain - has bold plans to rescue Big Lots and Party City Although Modell has not yet reached out to either company or enlisted legal counsel, he made it clear he is determined to revive both brands. 'We're gonna get the deal,' Modell confidently stated in the interview. To spearhead the effort, Modell has enlisted a seasoned team, including Demos Parneros, former CEO of Barnes & Noble, and Larry Meyer, former CFO of Forever 21. Modell plans to appoint Parneros as CEO and Meyer as CFO of the new venture. Meyer would also take on the role of executive vice president. Modell, who previously shut down his own 141-store sporting goods chain in 2020, says he expects to have financing secured by the end of the week but declined to provide specifics on his funding sources. Both Party City and Big Lots have been in financial turmoil for months. Party City, which employs approximately 12,000 people, recently informed its workers that it plans to close its doors by February. With around 700 stores nationwide, the company has struggled with declining sales, ballooning debt, and increased competition. Big Lots is also in a similar position, currently in the process of closing about 970 locations and liquidating its remaining inventory. Despite these bleak circumstances, Big Lots CEO Bruce Thorn has expressed hopes of finding a buyer, and Modell sees an opening to step in and 'save' both brands. 'We want to save every job in the 1,600 stores,' he said, referring to the combined total of Party City and Big Lots locations. Modell's vision for the two companies involves a dramatic shift in focus. While Party City would retain its core business of party supplies, Modell envisions Big Lots pivoting toward affordable apparel and sporting goods. He also plans to introduce low-cost footwear - priced at just $20 - and fresh produce. The revamped Big Lots would also cut back on certain product categories, including furniture, recliners, and electronics over $10. Instead, Modell wants to focus on offering 'closeouts' and 'special deals' sourced directly from liquidators. 'We're going to make it a treasure hunt on steroids,' Modell explained, adding that most items would be priced at $10 or less. To keep costs down, Modell plans to source goods directly from factories and farms. With 75 warehouses stocked with goods ready to ship, Modell is already gearing up for the next phase of his retail comeback. He aims to have a prototype store open by mid-January. 'Everyone - lenders, creditors, bankers, investors - who doubted me is going to see what a store looks like and the excitement it brings,' he said. Party City was also in the news this week when it emerged the final nail in its the coffin was self-inflicted . The chain's troubles began with an appraisal conducted by retail consultants Hilco Global, which Party City hired in September. The firm was tasked with assessing the value of Party City's inventory - the products stocked in its stores and warehouses - as part of a plan to secure more financing. Bosses had hoped to use a generous appraisal of the value of inventory – from costumes to party hats – would allow the retailer to borrow more money to shore up its finances. However, in mid-November, Hilco's preliminary report dealt a crushing blow to the business. It said that the value of Party City's inventory had been 'dramatically' slashed compared to previous appraisals. 'This basically means the appraisers thoughts that the various products on store shelves and piled up in warehouses was worthless tat,' a retail expert told DailyMail.com. Since the expert has consulted with Party City, they asked not to be named. This revelation over the plunge in value of stock was shared by Party City lawyer Christopher Hopkins during a US Bankruptcy Court hearing in Houston on Monday. After the initial low valuation, Party City's creditors, owed around $162 million, demanded the retailer set aside $50 million in reserve to cover loans. This pushed the company closer to the brink, court papers show. The group of creditors took over the business when it first filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2023. When the group were unwilling to plough in more investment and the company could not raise any more external funds the company had to take more drastic action. This included stopping new inventory orders, delaying rent and vendor payments ceasing new inventory orders and delaying rent and vendor payments, according to court documents. Although Party City managed to exit bankruptcy in September last year, by December 10 this year its cash pile had fallen below the $50 million reserve its lenders wanted, and it again filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Lenders 'considered it essential to commence store closing sales before the Christmas and New Year's selling season to maximize the proceeds of such sales for the benefit of all stakeholders,' Party City Chief Restructuring Officer Deborah Rieger-Paganis said in a sworn statement to the bankruptcy court. It is a bleak time for US retailers as non-essential spending plummets due to soaring living costs. America's top department store Macy's will close 65 stores within weeks . Retail experts warn this could be just the beginning, with 2024 shaping up to see the highest number of store closures since the pandemic. So far this year, US retailers have shut 7,300 stores - up nearly 60 percent from 2023. The final nail in the Party City coffin appears to have been self-inflicted The chain's troubles began with an appraisal conducted by retail consultants Hilco Global The New Jersey-based party supply giant is folding under financial pressure Despite being saved from bankruptcy in 2023, the retailer never recovered Read More Downfall of America's most famous retailer hits new low as it's left clinging on in only four states Party City, which was the largest party supply retailer in the U.S., employed around 6,400 full-time and 10,100 part-time workers as of 2021. When Litwin took the helm in August he promised to strengthen Party City's finances. A cloud of uncertainty has hung over Party City since the company first filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2023. It only exited in September. The company had wiped out $1 billion of its $1.7 billion debt. It also managed to keep the majority of its 800-plus stores open, though over 80 locations were shuttered between late 2022 and August 2024. Party City - based in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey - underwent a restructuring as lenders, including Monarch Alternative Capital and Silver Point Capital, took over and managed to clear around $1 billion of its debts, allowing about 850 shops to remain open. Although some stores were saved, more than 60 had to close their doors, including five in Topeka, Kansas , Salina, New York, Joplin , Missouri and Owensboro, Kentucky , and most recently in Staten Island. But the remaining $800 million debt proved too much. Party City was successfully expanding before the pandemic and had sales of $2.35 billion in 2019, according to Forbes. Overnight, its main customers - those hosting or attending parties - had no reason to shop at the store as social distancing was implemented. As it emerged from the lockdowns it was plagued by supply chain issues, rampant inflation and increased competition. New Jersey Kentucky CNN Kansas Walmart Share or comment on this article: Surprising twist in fate of bankrupt Big Lots and Party City e-mail

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In conclusion, the unfolding developments in South Korea underscore the fragility of democratic governance and the importance of upholding the principles of civilian control over the military. The Defense Ministry's assertion of the military's allegiance to the Constitution and Defense Minister Suh Wook's leadership signals a commitment to stability and continuity amidst a backdrop of political uncertainty and turmoil. Whether South Korea can weather the storm and emerge stronger from this crisis remains to be seen, but the resilience of its democratic institutions and the dedication of its military to upholding the rule of law will be critical in shaping the country's future.