The Biden administration on Saturday issued a final rule aimed at reducing methane emissions, targeting the U.S. oil and natural gas industry for its role in global warming, as President Joe Biden seeks to advance his climate legacy.

The Environmental Protection Agency said the rule will sharply reduce methane and other harmful air pollutants generated by the oil and gas industry, promote use of cutting-edge methane detection technologies and deliver significant public health benefits in the form of reduced hospital visits, lost school days and even deaths. Air pollution from oil and gas operations can cause cancer, harm the nervous and respiratory systems and contribute to birth defects.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan and White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi announced the final rule at the U.N. climate conference in the United Arab Emirates. Separately, the president of the climate summit announced Saturday that 50 oil companies, representing nearly half of global production, have pledged to reach near-zero methane emissions and end routine flaring in their operations by 2030.

Oil and gas operations are the largest industrial source of methane, the main component in natural gas and far more potent than carbon dioxide in the short term. It is responsible for about one-third of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. Sharp cuts in methane emissions are a global priority to slow the rate of climate change and are a major topic at the conference, known as COP28.

Smaller wells included

The methane rule finalizes a proposal Biden made at a UN climate conference in Scotland in 2021 and expanded a year later at a climate conference in Egypt. It targets emissions from existing oil and gas wells nationwide, rather than focusing only on new wells, as previous EPA regulations have done. It also regulates smaller wells that will be required to find and plug methane leaks. Such wells currently are subject to an initial inspection but are rarely checked again for leaks.

Studies have found that smaller wells produce 6% of the nation’s oil and gas but account for up to half the methane emissions from well sites.

The plan also will phase in a requirement for energy companies to eliminate routine flaring of natural gas that is produced by new oil wells.

The new methane rule will help ensure that the United States meets a goal set by more than 100 nations to cut methane emissions by 30% from 2020 levels by 2030, Regan said.

The new rule will be coordinated with a methane fee approved in the 2022 climate law. The fee, set to take effect next year, will charge energy producers that exceed a certain level of methane emissions as much as $1,500 per metric ton of methane. The plan marks the first time the U.S. government has directly imposed a fee, or tax, on greenhouse gas emissions.

The law allows exemptions for companies that comply with the EPA’s standards or fall below a certain emissions threshold. It also includes $1.5 billon in grants and other spending to help companies and local communities improve monitoring and data collection and find and repair natural gas leaks.

Reaction positive

Harold Wimmer, president and CEO of the American Lung Association, called the new rule a victory for public health.

“EPA heeded the urgent guidance of health experts across the country and finalized a strong methane rule that, when fully implemented, will significantly reduce hazardous air pollutants and climate-warming methane pollution from the oil and gas industry,” he said in a statement.

Methane has been shown to leak into the atmosphere during every stage of oil and gas production, Wimmer said, and “people who live near oil and gas wells are especially vulnerable to these exposure risks. This rule [is] vital to advancing environmental justice commitments.”

David Doniger, a climate expert at the Natural Resources Defense Council, called methane a “super-polluter.” He said in an interview that the Biden plan “takes a very solid whack at climate pollution. I wish this had happened 10 years ago, but I’m really happy it’s happening now.”

The oil industry has generally welcomed direct federal regulation of methane emissions, preferring a single national standard to a hodgepodge of state rules. Even so, energy companies have asked the EPA to exempt hundreds of thousands of the nation’s smallest wells from the pending methane rules.
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U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday laid out broad American objectives for when the Israel-Hamas conflict ends and stressed that the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank should ultimately be reunified under one governing entity.

Harris made a series of appearances at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, after being asked by U.S. President Joe Biden to take his seat at the table as he focuses on the Israel-Hamas war.

In talks with President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt, Harris said that “under no circumstances will the United States permit the forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank, the besiegement of Gaza, or the redrawing of the borders of Gaza,” the White House said in a statement.

She also said that once the war ends, efforts to rebuild should be pursued “in the context of a clear political horizon for the Palestinian people towards a state of their own led by a revitalized Palestinian Authority and have significant support from the international community and the countries of the region,” the statement said.

“The vice president made clear that Hamas cannot control Gaza, which is untenable for Israel’s security, the well-being of the Palestinian people, and regional security,” the White House said.

The Western-backed Palestinian Authority governs parts of the occupied West Bank. Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007 from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ mainstream Fatah party and has ruled the enclave ever since.

Harris’s role in the administration is coming under increased scrutiny as Biden, 81, runs for a second term. She has been tasked with helping to resolve a series of major challenges, from migration to abortion and voting rights at home. How post-conflict Gaza should realistically be managed is an issue that has confounded regional leaders and Middle East experts.

Palestinian Authority future

U.S. officials have discussed bolstering the Palestinian Authority so it can widen its reach to include Gaza, but no firm plan has been agreed upon.

Some U.S. officials have privately expressed doubts about the Palestinian Authority’s ability to govern Gaza post-war.

Critics have accused the P.A. of corruption and mismanagement, and polls have shown its credibility low with the Palestinian people.

Harris also met Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the United Arab Emirates, and had a call with the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who has been instrumental in negotiating the release of hostages from Gaza.

In remarks later Saturday, Harris will express the U.S. desire to see a pause in the Israel-Hamas fighting restored to extract more hostages from Gaza and to get a steady flow of humanitarian assistance back in.
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International students who wish to study at a school in the United States must apply to the U.S. State Department for an F-1 visa, which allows them to live in the U.S. while studying. A July 2023 report from an alliance of higher education leaders found, however, that African students are denied these visas at a higher rate than those from other continents. Robin Guess reports. Camera: Matt Dibble.
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U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will tackle two delicate tasks this weekend in Dubai: She’ll try to demonstrate U.S. environmental leadership despite President Joe Biden’s absence from an annual summit on climate change and she’ll work to nudge forward fragile efforts to shape the next phase of the war between Israel and Hamas.

A White House official, who insisted on anonymity to preview Harris’ meetings, said she would sit down with regional leaders and outline proposals to “put Palestinian voices at the center” of planning the next steps for the Gaza Strip after the conflict.

The goal, the official said, is to have “a clear political horizon for the Palestinian people” that will ultimately bring together Gaza and the West Bank under unified leadership. Hamas runs the Gaza Strip while the Palestinian Authority administers semi-autonomous areas of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Biden and other administration officials have increasingly emphasized the need for an eventual two-state solution, with Israel and a Palestinian nation coexisting, as the war continues. The White House has faced criticism at home and abroad for its steadfast support for Israel despite the rising death toll among civilians in the Gaza Strip.

Administration officials have defended Biden’s approach, saying that he’s relied on his closeness with Israeli leadership to successfully advocate for more humanitarian aid for Palestinians and a truce that lasted several days, enabling the release of some hostages held by Hamas. The pause in fighting ended on Friday.

Slated to appear at COP28

Harris has a narrow opportunity to accomplish her goals while she’s in the United Arab Emirates. She left Washington on Friday and is scheduled to appear only briefly at the United Nations conference known as COP28. The White House official said she would deliver remarks and participate in a meeting on renewable energy with other leaders on Saturday.

Like most vice presidents, Harris is expected to hew tightly to administration talking points on controversial issues where any divergence could ricochet around the globe. Her public remarks, however limited, will be closely scrutinized.

Activists are eager for any boost in the fight against climate change, which experts warn is lagging behind what’s needed to prevent damaging global warming. And Harris will be the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit an Arab nation since the outbreak of war in the Middle East, where anti-American sentiment has been inflamed by Washington’s support for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

Details on Harris’ schedule remain scarce, and the trip appears to have been hastily arranged. As recently as last week, the vice president’s staff said she had no plans to attend the climate conference. White House officials have not explained the change in plans.

Biden attended the last two United Nations summits, which were held in Scotland and Egypt, but disappointed some environmental activists by deciding to skip this one.

Although Biden has faced some criticism for missing COP28, Robert Stavins, a Harvard University professor who regularly attends climate conferences, said his absence won’t have a substantive impact.

“The meat of the negotiations” have already taken place, he said, and all that’s left for leaders is “essentially to participate in a photo opportunity.”

U.S. officials said they’re confident in the progress that has been made under Biden, particularly last year’s signing of the Inflation Reduction Act, which included hundreds of millions of dollars in financial incentives for clean energy.

Harris scheduled to announce initiatives

The vice president is set to announce several initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as support multi-nation adaptation of plans and efforts to boost climate resilience, senior administration officials said. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, special envoy John Kerry and climate adviser Ali Zaidi are attending as well.

The administration still faces some criticism. A report by the activist Center for Biological Diversity said that while new initiatives in the Inflation Reduction Act would reduce nearly 1 billion metric tons of carbon emissions by 2030, 17 different oil and gas projects the administration has approved would add 1.6 billion metric tons of emissions.

Administration officials said they’ve been required by law to approve the fossil fuel projects, which are tied to leases held by energy companies.

Harris’s trip comes at a key moment as fighting resumed, ending a fragile truce that had held for a week while Hamas released hostages it was holding in Gaza since its October 7 attack on Israel. U.S. diplomats had been engaged in efforts to extend the pause in fighting to extract additional hostages, including Americans.
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So many migrants are crossing from Mexico into the United States around remote Lukeville, Arizona, that U.S. officials say they will close the port of entry there so that the operations officials who watch over vehicle and pedestrian traffic going both ways can help Border Patrol agents arrest and process the new arrivals.

Customs and Border Protection announced Friday that the temporary closure of the crossing will start Monday as officials grapple with changing migration routes that have overwhelmed Border Patrol agents stationed there. Arizona’s U.S. senators and governor called planned closure “unacceptable.”

Customs and Border Protection said it is “surging all available resources to expeditiously and safely process migrants” and will “continue to prioritize our border security mission as necessary in response to this evolving situation.”

The area around the desert crossing has become a major migration route in recent months, with smugglers dropping off people from countries as diverse as Senegal, India and China. Most of them are walking into the U.S. west of Lukeville through gaps in the wall, then head east toward the official border crossing to surrender to the first agents they see in hopes for a chance at asylum.

The Border Patrol made 17,500 arrests for illegal crossings during the past week in the agency’s Tucson sector, John Modlin, the sector chief, said Friday, That translates to a daily average of 2,500, well above its daily average of 1,700 in September, when Tucson was already the busiest corridor for illegal crossings by far along U.S.-Mexico border.

Customs and Border Protection blamed the hundreds of people arriving daily around Lukeville on “smugglers peddling disinformation to prey on vulnerable individuals.”

It was unclear how long the crossing would be shut.

Although it is remote, the Lukeville border crossing is the one regularly used to travel from Arizona to Puerto Peñasco, or Rocky Point, a resort area in the Mexican state of Sonora on the Sea of Cortez. Americans also drive through the crossing to visit the border community of Sonoyta for a meal, shop or to get less expensive dental and medical care.

Some Mexican children ride a northbound bus across the border every day to go to school.

Arizona Senators Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema, along with Gov. Katie Hobbs, blasted the planned closure and demanded better solutions from President Joe Biden’s administration.

“This is an an unacceptable outcome that further destabilizes our border, risks the safety of our communities, and damages our economy by disrupting trade and tourism,” they said in a joint statement. “The federal government must act swiftly to maintain port of entry operations, get the border under control, keep Arizona communities safe, and ensure the humane treatment of migrants.”

Kelly and Hobbs, both Democrats, and Sinema, an independent who was elected as a Democrat, also criticized “partisan politicians who parrot talking points while watching the border further deteriorate.”

They said those politicians should instead “reject the echo chamber and work with us to get something done and keep our communities safe.”

An average of 3,140 people in vehicles and 184 pedestrians entered the U.S. daily in Lukeville during October, according to the U.S. Transportation Department’s latest figures.

Travelers will still be able to cross into or out of the United States through Nogales, Arizona, a three-hour drive to the east, or San Luis, Arizona, a two-hour drive to the west.

Customs and Border Protection earlier this week began limiting traffic at the Lukeville port. The agency on Monday also closed one of two bridges to vehicles in Eagle Pass, Texas, a town of about 30,000 people that, for a while last year, was the busiest corridor for illegal crossings. 
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From underwater drones to electronic warfare, the U.S. is expanding its high-tech military cooperation with Australia and the United Kingdom as part of a broader effort to counter China’s rapidly growing influence in the Indo-Pacific.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with defense chiefs from Australia and the United Kingdom at the U.S. military’s defense technology hub in Silicon Valley on Friday to forge a new agreement to increase technology cooperation and information sharing. The goal, according to a joint statement, is to be able to better address global security challenges, ensure each can defend against rapidly evolving threats and to “contribute to stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.”

Austin met with Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles and Grant Shapps, the British secretary of state for defense, at the Defense Innovation Unit headquarters.

Speaking at a news conference after the meeting, Austin said the effort will, for example, rapidly accelerate the sophistication of the drone systems, and prove that “we are stronger together.”

The new technology agreement is the next step in a widening military cooperation with Australia that was first announced in 2021. The three nations have laid out plans for the so-called AUKUS partnership to help equip Australia with a fleet of eight nuclear-powered submarines. AUKUS is an acronym for Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Under the deal, Australia will buy three Virginia-class submarines from the United States and build five of a new AUKUS-class submarine in cooperation with Britain. The subs, powered by U.S. nuclear technology, would not carry nuclear weapons and would be built in Adelaide, Australia with the first one finished around 2040.

Marles said there has been an enormous amount of progress in the submarine program. He added that as an island nation, Australia has a need for improved maritime drones and precision strike capabilities.

And Shapps said that with China “undermining the freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific, we’ve never had a greater need for more innovation.” He said that open navigation of the seas, including in the Pacific and the South China Sea is critical.

According to officials, Australian Navy officers have already started to go through nuclear power training at U.S. military schools.

Also, earlier this year the U.S. announced it would expand its military industrial base by helping Australia manufacture guided missiles and rockets for both countries within two years. Under that agreement, they would cooperate on Australia’s production of Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems by 2025.

The enhanced cooperation between the nations has been driven by growing concerns about China’s burgeoning defense spending and rapidly expanding military presence in the region. Last year Beijing signed a security pact with Solomon Islands and raised the prospect of a Chinese naval base being established there.

The U.S. has increased U.S. troop presence, military exercises and other activities in the region. U.S. relations with China have been strained in recent years, over trade, U.S. support for self-governing Taiwan, Beijing’s military buildup on a series of manmade islands, and a numbers of aggressive aircraft and ship encounters.

High-tech demonstrations were set up across a large parking area at DIU and inside the headquarters, allowing Austin to take a few minutes before the start of the meeting to see a number of projects being developed, including a virtual training device that will help Ukrainian pilots learn to fly F-16 fighter jets and swarming drones being developed for warfighters. The projects aren’t tied to the Australian agreement, but reflect the ongoing effort by the three nations to improve technology — an area where China often has the lead.

As Austin walked through the exhibits, he was able to watch a swarm of five drones lift off from the pavement and hover over the onlookers — all controlled by a single worker with a small handheld module. The short range reconnaissance drones — called the Skydio X2D — are already in use in combat, but the swarming technology and ability to control them all from a single device is still in development, said Skydio CEO Adam Bry.

Inside the DIU offices, Air Force Maj. Alex Horn demonstrated a new portable, pilot training module that will allow instructors in the United States to remotely coach trainees overseas using a virtual reality headset. Four of the so-called “Immersive Training Devices” will be delivered to Morris Air National Guard Base in Arizona next month and will be used to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s.

Horn said the devices, which are cheaper than other systems, will help accelerate the training for Ukrainian pilots who are used to flying Soviet aircraft and need schooling on F-16 basics before moving to cockpit training.
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To Beijing and the Chinese Communist Party, Henry Kissinger was “a most valued old friend” for his role in reestablishing ties with the U.S. after 20 years of postwar hostility.

But after his death this week at 100, Chinese people online expressed mixed feelings about the American who, with then-Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai and U.S. President Richard Nixon in 1972, cleared a path for the impoverished nation to become an economic rival to the U.S.

Some said they will always remember him as China’s “last old friend,” while others criticized Kissinger for giving in to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

As of Friday, the hashtag #KissingerDeath# on Weibo, China’s biggest but heavily censored social media site, topped the hot search list with nearly 600 million readers. Netizens left condolence comments like “Kissinger, the Chinese people will always remember you,” “Kissinger is the only American respected by Chinese people” and “My grandma knew who Kissinger was and she was born in 1912 and had bound feet.”

In announcing his death at home in the U.S. state of Connecticut on Wednesday, Kissinger’s official website mentioned “China” 11 times.

Kissinger visited China more than 100 times since 1971. He claimed in a speech in October in New York that “I’ve spent literally half of my life working on U.S.-China relations.”

On his last visit to China, in July 2023, Kissinger was received by Chinese President Xi Jinping, who belatedly celebrated the visitor’s 100th birthday with a lavish dinner in the room where Kissinger met Zhou Enlai in 1971.

On Thursday, Xi sent a message of condolence to U.S. President Joe Biden, saying “Kissinger’s name will always be associated with China-U.S. relations. Dr. Kissinger will always be remembered and missed by the Chinese people.”

Official media published articles under headlines such as “Farewell, old friend Kissinger!” and “The American who knows the most about China.” Photos of Kissinger smiling and shaking hands with senior CCP officials, visiting the terra cotta warriors, enjoying Chinese cuisine with his family and chatting with farmers accompanied the commemorative articles.

But some online opinion leaders said the Chinese people should be wary of Kissinger’s appearance of friendliness and his emphasis on his American and Jewish identity. The influencers said Kissinger’s actions ultimately only served U.S. national interests.

A Weibo user with the handle Master Li Wuwei and more than 400,000 followers said that no matter how many times Kissinger came to China, he was not China’s benefactor, but a force for U.S. interests.

“China is Kissinger’s benefactor, not the other way around,” said Master Li Wuwei. “It is precisely because of the special mission in the special historical period of China-US relations, Kissinger could always be mentioned by the Chinese for decades.”

Diverse thoughts on Kissinger’s legacy also have come from overseas Chinese including Zhou Fengsuo, who, in 1989, was a student leader who helped organize the pro-democracy movement in Tiananmen Square.

“On the day of June 4 massacre in 1989, when interviewed by ABC News, Kissinger opposed all sanctions against the Chinese Communist Party,” Zhou wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“He did not disclose that he had already partnered with the state-owned company CITIC to set up a fund ‘China Ventures.’ Judged with current standards, is it not that Kissinger should have been registered as an agent of the CCP?”

Zhou is now executive director of the nongovernmental organization Human Rights in China, in the U.S.

Former Chinese private entrepreneur, Hu Liren, a Christian who now lives in the U.S., said on X that “Kissinger has created the biggest devil (CCP) in human history. This devil has brought huge disasters to the world and will cause endless troubles in the future. He is a sinner in history and is not worth remembering.”

Chinese pro-democracy activist Wei Jingsheng wrote on X, “From the American point of view, he cracked the Communist camp that led to the final collapse of the China-Soviet relationship. From the Chinese perspective, he saved and benefited from Mao’s regime. And he continued to support the tyranny of the CCP to this day.”

Wei lives in the U.S. and works with the Wei Jingsheng Foundation in Washington.
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Spanish police said Friday that they had arrested a Spaniard wanted by U.S. officials for working with an American to provide cryptocurrency and blockchain technology services to North Korea in violation of U.S. sanctions against the rogue state.

In a statement, Spanish police said they had arrested Alejandro Cao de Benos, 48, in Madrid on Thursday as he got off a train from Barcelona. He appeared before a judge Friday and was then released, pending the formal extradition process.

The U.S. Justice Department, in April of last year, indicted Cao de Benos along with British citizen Christopher Emms, then 30, accusing them of conspiring with a third man, U.S. cryptocurrency expert Virgil Griffith, to provide North Korea with training in the technology — in violation of U.S. sanctions.

Griffith was arrested and pleaded guilty to the charges. He was sentenced to 63 months in prison in April 2022. Emms remains at large.

According to a Justice Department statement following the indictments, Emms allegedly told North Korean officials the cryptocurrency technology they were offering to advise them on would have “made it ‘possible to transfer money across any country in the world, regardless of what sanctions or any penalties’ ” might be in place. In effect, they could evade U.S. sanctions.

If tried and convicted, Cao de Benos could face 20 years in prison. The extradition process, which the Justice Department must initiate and Spanish courts and officials must approve, could take months to complete.

Some information for this report came from Reuters and Agence France-Presse. 
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The U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a warning for a strong geomagnetic storm Saturday, saying power and communications systems could be affected in the Northern Hemisphere after a significant solar flare was observed on the sun. 

In a statement on its website, the agency said G3, or strong geomagnetic storm conditions, were observed from 0900 to 1200 UTC Friday.  

A geometric storm, the agency says, is “a stronger disturbance in the Earth’s magnetic field, often varying in intensity over the course of some hours.” 

The agency said the increase in geomagnetic activity was primarily caused by a coronal mass ejection (CME) from the sun associated with a moderate solar flare observed Tuesday, which joined several other lesser CMEs that were already headed toward Earth. 

CMEs are powerful eruptions on the sun’s surface that send tons of superheated gas and radiation into space. 

These often head toward Earth, and while harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth’s atmosphere to physically affect humans, if the flare is strong enough, it can disturb the layer in the atmosphere where GPS and other communication signals travel. 

The agency said it has alerted infrastructure operators, such as power companies, to take precautions to mitigate any possible effects. 

The strong geomagnetic storm warning is valid through late Friday, with G1, or minor geomagnetic storms expected through Saturday.  

The effect from the geomagnetic storm most noticeable to the general public could be the aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights. 

The Washington Post said Friday that colorful auroras were reported at least as far south as the southwestern state of Arizona in the United States, with vibrant displays reported at higher latitudes.  

Reports of auroras from Australia were posted on social media as well. 
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For only the sixth time in its history, the U.S. House of Representatives has expelled one of its members. Enough of the majority Republicans joined most of the minority Democrats on Friday morning to oust George Santos, a first-term Republican from New York.

The House Ethics Committee recently issued a report finding there was substantial evidence that Santos broke the law. Federal investigators have charged Santos with fraud, money laundering, stealing campaign donors’ identities, falsifying campaign finance reports and more.

Santos has pleaded not guilty to all of the 23 federal charges he is facing. He came under intense scrutiny and ridicule after it was revealed he had embellished his education, career and family background.

With a rap of the gavel, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson officially announced Santos’ ouster — 311 members voted for his expulsion. All 114 lawmakers who voted against his removal were Republicans. Two Democrats recorded their vote as present.

“Two-third voting in the affirmative, the resolution is adopted,” Johnson, a Republican, informed the House. “The clerk will notify the governor of the state of New York of the action of the House. Under clause 5-D of rule 20, the chair announces to the House in light of the expulsion of the gentleman from New York, Mr. Santos, the whole number of the House is now 434.”

There was then a smattering of applause after the historical event.

Santos muttered to a reporter “to hell with this place,” after he walked off the House floor for the final time.

“It shouldn’t have come to this,” Representative Anthony D’Esposito, a New York Republican who backed Santos’ removal, said as he left the chamber. “George Santos should have held himself accountable. He should have resigned.”

Representative Nick Lalota, also a New York Republican, told reporters, “It’s time to move on from George Santos.”

Santos had become the subject of comedians’ jokes across the country. He provided them a lot of material after it was revealed he had made numerous wild and false claims, including that he was a college volleyball star on a championship team, that he had worked at top-tier investment banks and amassed wealth and that his mother had been in the World Trade Center during the 9/11 terror attacks. He had also claimed to be a descendant of Holocaust survivors, another falsehood that especially angered voters in a district that is 20% Jewish.

Santos later tried to qualify that fib, explaining he was “Jew-ish,” if not actually Jewish.

That only prompted additional disgust and amplified calls for him to quit.

“This is a massive victory for New York 3rd District residents who are finally free from a lying lawmaker cheating the system to pad his own pockets and his closet,” said Rahna Epting, executive director of the progressive MoveOn political action group, which had pushed for the congressman to resign or be expelled.

With Santos’ removal from Congress, the Republican Party retains a slim four-seat majority in the House with the next general election 11 months away. A special election is expected to be held early next year in Santos’ district to replace him.

Democrats are vowing to flip New York’s 3rd congressional district seat to their side. President Joe Biden in 2020 won the district by more than 10 percentage points.
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Developers at the University of Maryland are using a holographic camera to capture people’s movements in three dimensions for what could be high-impact training, education and entertainment. It is technology with the power to transform how we learn and entertain ourselves. VOA’s Julie Taboh has more. VOA footage by Adam Greenbaum.
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Japan’s top government spokesperson expressed concern on Friday that the U.S. military is continuing to fly Osprey aircraft in the country without providing adequate information about a fatal crash this week in southwestern Japan despite repeated requests that it do so.

One crew member was killed and seven others are missing, along with the aircraft. The cause of Wednesday’s crash, which occurred during a training mission, is still under investigation. Search operations widened Friday with additional U.S. military personnel joining the effort, while Japanese coast guard and military ships focused on an undersea search using sonar.

The Pentagon said Thursday that U.S. Ospreys continue to operate in Japan, and Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said she was not aware of an official request from Japan to ground them.

“We are concerned about the continuing Osprey flights despite our repeated requests and the absence of a sufficient explanation about their safety” from the U.S. military, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said Friday.

The U.S.-made Osprey is a hybrid aircraft that takes off and lands like a helicopter but can rotate its propellers forward and cruise much faster, like an airplane, during flight.

Ospreys have had a number of crashes, including in Japan, where they are used at U.S. and Japanese military bases, and the latest crash rekindled safety concerns.

Japanese officials say they asked the U.S. military to halt Osprey flights in Japan except for those involved in the search operations.

Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said he met with the commander of U.S. Forces Japan, Lt. Gen. Ricky Rupp, on Thursday afternoon and repeated his request that flights be allowed only after the aircraft’s safety is confirmed. He acknowledged that he did not specifically use the words “grounding” or “suspension.”

Kihara said he asked Rupp to explain what measures are being taken for Osprey flights in Japan in response to the crash.

On Thursday, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa met with U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel and asked the United States “to promptly provide information to the Japanese side.”

U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command said the CV-22B Osprey that crashed was one of six deployed at Yokota Air Base, home to U.S. Forces Japan and the Fifth Air Force, and was assigned to the 353rd Special Operations Wing.

The aircraft had departed from the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi prefecture and crashed on its way to Kadena Air Base on Okinawa, Japanese officials said.

A total of 44 Ospreys have been deployed at U.S. and Japanese military bases in Japan. In Okinawa, where about half of the 50,000 American troops in Japan are based, Gov. Denny Tamaki called on Japan’s defense and foreign ministries to request the U.S. military to suspend all Osprey flights in Japan, including in search operations.

“It is extremely regrettable that Ospreys are still flying in Okinawa,” Tamaki said in a statement Thursday. “I have serious doubts about Osprey safety even for their search and rescue operations.”
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US lawmakers warned Thursday that the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to spread disinformation will only increase ahead of the 2024 elections in the United States. As VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports, social media giant TikTok is lawmakers’ top concern.
Camera: Saqib Ui Islam
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Lawyer Isabel Lazo’s jobs are being systematically canceled by Nicaragua’s increasingly repressive government.

Lazo worked at a university before the government of President Daniel Ortega closed it. She now is employed at a nongovernmental organization that she fears will soon be shuttered too.

Nicaragua’s poisonous mix of economic decline and repression has led to about half of the country’s population of 6.2 million saying they want to leave their homeland, according to a new study, and 23% saying they had contemplated the possibility deeply enough to consider themselves “very prepared” to emigrate.

“A large proportion of them have already taken concrete steps to try to get out,” said Elizabeth Zechmeister, the director of the AmericasBarometer study “The Pulse of Democracy in the Americas.”

The study, which was released on Wednesday, shows that the number of Nicaraguans wanting to leave rose from 35% five years ago to almost half today, and that about 32% of people in 26 Latin American countries surveyed say they want to migrate.

Lazo, 42, and her husband Guillermo Lazo, 52, a systems engineer, both taught at the University of Northern Nicaragua until the Ortega government shut it down in April. It was one of 26 universities that closed because Ortega accused them of being centers of revolt, or failing to register or pay special taxes to the government, which has feuded with the Roman Catholic church, as well.

The couple lives in the northern city of Somoto, where Isabel Lazo now works for a European-backed NGO. Ortega’s government has outlawed or closed more than 3,000 civic groups and NGOs.

In May, the government ordered the Nicaraguan Red Cross shut down, accusing it of “attacks on peace and stability” during anti-government demonstrations in 2018. The local Red Cross says it just helped treat injured protesters.

Lazo said Thursday she is worried that it’s only a matter of time for the group where she now works.

“This will be ending soon,” she said dispiritedly, The couple is now awaiting a decision on a U.S. application for “humanitarian parole,” a program under which up to 30,000 people are being allowed each month to enter the U.S. from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

Until then, there are few prospects for them, even though they are among Nicaragua’s educated elite.

“We were left without jobs from one day to the next,” Lazo said. “And even though we have graduate degrees and master’s degrees, we haven’t found decent jobs. You can kill yourself studying here and it’s worth nothing.”

Thousands have already fled into exile since Nicaraguan security forces violently put down mass anti-government protests in 2018. Ortega says the protests were an attempted coup with foreign backing, aiming for his overthrow.

Rosemary Miranda is another educated Nicaraguan who wants to leave. A psychologist, she graduated from the Jesuit-run University of Central America, also closed and confiscated by the government.

Miranda, 24, works for a microfinancing firm at an office in Managua, the capital, but the $402 per month she earns there doesn’t even cover the cost of commuting, meals and clothing.

“In this country, the majority of people work just to eat. They can’t buy clothing or shoes without waiting a month between purchases,” Miranda said.

She has wanted to emigrate for some time, but she helps her family by giving them some of what little money she earns. With the purchasing power of wages falling, she is now rethinking her decision to stay.

“The situation here is very difficult. Every month the price of food, electricity, water and transportation rises,” she said. “What have I gotten in return for studying so much and graduating?”
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The House passed a bipartisan measure Thursday that would block Iran from accessing the $6 billion transferred by the U.S. in a prisoner swap, a step Republicans pushed in response to the nation’s alleged role in the deadly attacks last month by Hamas on Israel. 

The measure — titled the No Funds for Iranian Terrorism Act — passed 307-119 as Republicans sought to hold the Biden administration accountable for what they call its complicity in funding Iranian-backed terrorism in the Middle East. 

“With such instability in the region, the last thing we need to do is to give access to $6 billion to be diverted to more Iranian-sponsored terrorism,” Representative Michael McCaul, the Republican chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said during a debate. 

Administration officials have rebuffed this criticism, noting that none of the funds has been made available to Iran and insisting that when it is, it can be used only for humanitarian needs. 

Republican critics like McCaul say that despite the money being restricted to aid, it is fungible and could free up other funds for Tehran to provide support to Hamas. 

The U.S. and Iran reached the tentative agreement in August that eventually saw the release of five detained Americans in Tehran and an unknown number of Iranians imprisoned in the U.S. after billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets were transferred from banks in South Korea to Qatar. But days after the October 7 attack by Hamas, the U.S. and Qatar agreed that Iran would not be able to access the money in the meantime, with officials stopping short of a full refreezing of the funds. 

The GOP-backed resolution, which now goes to the Senate where it is unlikely to be supported by the Democratic majority, would impose new sanctions on the funds to prevent the transfer of any monies to Iran. It also threatens to sanction any government or individual involved in processing the transfer of the funds. 

Several Democrats who opposed the measure defended the Biden administration’s decision to transfer the money in exchange for American hostages, especially in light of the American hostages now being kept by Hamas in Gaza. 

“Iran, of course, as Hamas, is a murderous and corrupt regime. They’re not pleasant. And this isn’t easy,” Representative Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said during the floor debate. “But thanks to this agreement, five American families are now home again.” 

He added, “And Iran has lost the leverage of holding these American hostages.” 

High-ranking U.S. officials have sought to defend the decision to negotiate with Iran despite its track record of supporting terrorism against the U.S. and its allies. But officials have also conceded that Iran’s influence over the various militant groups is undeniable.
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A New York appeals court on Thursday reinstated a gag order that barred Donald Trump from commenting about court personnel after the former president repeatedly disparaged a law clerk in his New York civil fraud trial. 

The one-sentence decision came two weeks after an individual appellate judge put the gag order on hold while the appeals process played out. 

Trial judge Arthur Engoron, who imposed the restriction, said he now planned to enforce it “rigorously and vigorously.” 

Trump attorney Christopher Kise called it “a tragic day for the rule of law.” Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, complained that the gag order was “nothing but attempted election interference, which is failing terribly.” 

Engoron imposed the gag order on October 3 after Trump posted a derogatory comment about the judge’s law clerk to social media. The post, which included a baseless allegation about the clerk’s personal life, came on the second day of the trial in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit. 

James’ lawsuit alleges Trump exaggerated his wealth on financial statements used to secure loans and make deals. Trump denies any wrongdoing. The Republican 2024 front-runner contends the lawsuit is a political attack instigated by James and furthered by Engoron, both Democrats. 

Over the trial’s first few weeks, Engoron fined Trump $15,000 for violating the gag order. The judge expanded the order — which initially covered only parties in the case — to include lawyers after Trump’s attorneys questioned clerk Allison Greenfield’s prominent role on the bench. She sits alongside the judge, exchanging notes and advising him during testimony. 

Trump’s lawyers sued Engoron, challenging his gag order as an abuse of power. 

State lawyers supported the restriction, saying it was a reasonable step to protect Engoron’s staff. An attorney for the court system tied Trump’s comments to an increase in nasty calls and messages directed at the judge and law clerk. 

A court security captain wrote in a sworn statement last week that Greenfield has been receiving 20 to 30 calls per day to her personal cellphone and 30 to 50 messages per day on social media, LinkedIn and two personal email addresses. 

The captain reported that Greenfield received enough harassing voicemails to fill a transcript of 275 single-spaced pages, and that about half the harassing and disparaging messages to her were antisemitic. 

Trump’s lawyers then argued that while messages and calls were “vile and reprehensible,” he shouldn’t be muzzled because of other people’s bad behavior. Trump never called for violence against Greenfield, nor did he or his lawyers ever encourage or condone harassment and threats, the attorneys wrote in a court filing. 

They argued that the gag order infringed on his free-speech rights. 

“As the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and as a citizen on trial, President Trump is well within his rights to comment on what he perceives as bias,” Trump’s lawyers wrote. 

While the gag order was suspended, Trump posted about Greenfield as recently as Wednesday, referring to the judge’s “very disturbed and angry law clerk.” 

In recent days, Trump also assailed the judge’s family, citing critical social media posts about him that he asserted came from Engoron’s wife. Court system spokesperson Al Baker said Thursday that they did not. 

Engoron ruled before the trial that Trump and other defendants engaged in fraud, and he ordered that a receiver take control of some of Trump’s properties, putting their future oversight in question. An appeals court has put that order on hold for now. 

The trial concerns remaining claims of conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsifying business records. James is seeking more than $300 million in penalties and a ban on Trump doing business in New York. 

Trump is due to testify, for a second time, on December 11. All testimony is expected to wrap up shortly afterward. 

The verdict in the nonjury case will be up to Engoron, who said he hoped to reach a decision by the end of January.
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Emilio Gutierrez Soto came to the National Press Club on Wednesday with a message of gratitude. Press freedom advocates came with a call to action.

The 60-year-old journalist fled with his son to the U.S.-Mexico border in 2008 seeking asylum after receiving death threats because of his reporting on Mexican military corruption.

After 15 years, the Board of Immigration Appeals ruled in favor of Gutierrez Soto.

He still needs to go in front of an immigration judge in March 2024 to receive his asylum papers, but his immigration lawyer said his case has been resolved. 

At an event in Washington to highlight his case, Gutierrez Soto was smiling, shaking hands with other journalists, and at times holding back tears as he thanked the people who helped him along the way. 

“These fifteen years have been terrible. … I feel profoundly grateful for everyone here,” Gutierrez Soto said. 

The ruling was a win for the National Press Club and more than 20 other journalism organizations who joined his legal fight.

Press freedom advocates and first amendment lawyers say Gutierrez Soto’s journey offers a case study in how press freedom cases are often overlooked as a priority in the United States.

And they want better protections for at-risk journalists who have to come to the U.S. for safety reasons.

Press freedom advocates recommend sending court watchers to immigration asylum hearings, creating a legal taskforce of First Amendment experts willing to take on the asylum cases of journalists, and producing a database of these experts around the country so at-risk reporters can easily connect with them.

“These experts should be all over the country because they know the system of various judges, immigration judges and federal judges,” said Rutgers University law professor Penny Venetis, who was also one of Gutierrez Soto’s attorneys. 

They also said more media attention on cases of journalists at risk is needed.

“Publicize all cases. I think a big part of this [win] was that it was constantly in the press,” Venetis said. 

Experts involved in Gutierrez Soto’s case on Wednesday talked about ideas to develop a team of experts that can file amicus briefs in every single immigration case involving a journalist and to require immigration judges to be trained in specific subject areas so that they can process immigration cases faster. 

“[Gutierrez Soto’s] case was pending for 15 years. It should not have been. It was a slam dunk case. There should be a group of immigration judges that only handle cases related to journalists,” Venetis said. 

According to Kathy Kiely, National Press Club freedom fellow and the Lee Hills chair in free-press studies at University of Missouri, one of the ways to support at-risk journalists is by advocating for a special visa for human rights workers and journalists. 

“This is in place in Canada. They started with 250 [visas] and they’ve now doubled it to 500 special visas a year. And it gives people at least a three-year runway, so they know they have legal status, they can work,” she said. 

The U.S. does not have a humanitarian visa category. 

Gutierrez Soto’s case

Gutierrez Soto and his son, Oscar, came to the U.S.-Mexico border in 2008 requesting asylum.

At that time, he had been working as a journalist, writing articles about the military forces robbing and extorting people in Chihuahua, which borders New Mexico and part of Texas.

Gutierrez Soto said he received death threats because of those articles and feared being targeted if he stayed in Mexico.

Following their arrival, father and son, who was then 15, were separated. His son went on to stay with relatives in the U.S. while Gutierrez Soto remained in immigration detention for several months. After he was released, he settled in New Mexico where he and his son lived for nine years while his asylum process wound through immigration courts. 

But in 2017 that asylum claim was denied by immigration Judge Robert Hough who ruled Gutierrez Soto did not present sufficient evidence to prove he was targeted for his journalistic work or that his life would be in danger if he returned to Mexico. 

Hough seemed unconvinced that he was a journalist. He denied the asylum claim and ruled that Gutierrez Soto could be removed from the United States.

The Press Club and immigration advocates stepped in to help in 2017 and were able to stop his deportation. 

Shortly after that, Gutierrez Soto received the John Aubuchon award, the club’s highest honor for press freedom. 

Years went by as his case went through the U.S. immigration courts. Then, on September 5, a three-judge appeals panel said Gutierrez Soto had a reasonable and well-founded fear of returning to Mexico because of his articles exposing the corruption of the Mexican military.

They also said the initial judge in his case twice had ruled in error to deport Gutierrez Soto.

The Mexican journalist was working on a Michigan farm when he first learned that his asylum request was finally approved. 

Kiely hopes his case helps to grow support and advocacy for other at-risk journalists and protect freedom of the press. 

“We need to really, collectively as a profession, begin to point out to policymakers, how much you lose when you waste time, resources and money on a case like Emilio’s that should have been decided years ago and how much we can gain if we enabled the journalists to do their jobs,” Kiely said.  
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Iranian-backed proxies launched a rocket assault against U.S. forces in the Middle East, bringing the total number of attacks on U.S. and coalition troops in Iraq and Syria to 74 since October 17.

A U.S. defense official told VOA a single rocket was launched overnight against Mission Support Site Euphrates in eastern Syria, causing no casualties or damage.

U.S. naval forces in the Middle East continue to counter threats at sea as well. On Wednesday, while in the southern Red Sea, the USS Carney missile destroyer shot down an Iranian-produced drone launched from areas of Yemen controlled by Iranian-backed Houthi militants.

“Although its intentions are not known, the UAV [drone] was heading toward the warship. At the time of the shootdown, the USS Carney was escorting the USNS Supply [oiler] and another U.S.-flagged and -crewed ship carrying military equipment to the region,” U.S. Central Command said.

There were no injuries or damage to any of the vessels during the incident.

On Sunday, two ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen in the direction of the USS Mason, a destroyer, as it came to the aid of a commercial vessel that was dealing with an apparent pirate attack.

The Pentagon has officially said that it doesn’t believe the USS Mason was the missiles’ target, but two defense officials have since told VOA they disagree with that assessment.

U.S. has countered attacks in Iraq, Syria

Last week, U.S. forces carried out three strikes within 24 hours against Iranian-backed forces and their facilities in what the military said was a “direct response to attacks against U.S. and coalition forces by Iran and Iran-backed groups.”

Two of the U.S. strikes targeted an operations center and a command-and-control node used by the Iranian-backed militant group Kataib Hezbollah near Al Anbar and Jurf al-Saqr in Iraq, a defense official told VOA. Kataib Hezbollah forces were present at the two facilities, which the defense official said had supported recent attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria.

Early assessments pointed to at least six militants killed in the two strikes, the defense official said.

A third U.S. attack struck and killed Iranian-backed proxies who earlier had launched a close-range ballistic missile against al-Asad air base in Iraq.

It was the first time a ballistic missile had been launched against U.S. forces in the Middle East since the surge in attacks began on October 17. Ballistic missiles can be much more powerful and carry much more destructive payloads than the rockets and drones used in previous attacks. 

U.S. Central Command said the ballistic missile attack caused eight injuries to U.S. personnel and minor damage to infrastructure. 

Prior to last week’s attacks, U.S. fighter jets had carried out three rounds of strikes targeting four facilities in Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and their proxy groups since October 17.

Most attacks disrupted

Most of the 74 attacks since October 17 were disrupted by the U.S. military or failed to reach their targets, causing no casualties or damage to infrastructure, according to the military. But a handful of attacks have injured dozens of U.S. military personnel. Some suffered shrapnel wounds or perforated eardrums, while a few suffered traumatic brain injuries.

One U.S. contractor at al-Asad Air Base in Iraq suffered a cardiac episode and died while sheltering in place during a false alarm for an air attack. 

Since U.S. President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, Iranian-backed proxies have attacked U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria more than 160 times.

A spate of attacks from Iranian-backed militants in March killed a U.S. contractor in Syria, caused traumatic brain injuries in 23 military personnel and wounded 25 U.S. military personnel, according to the Pentagon. 

The Pentagon responded with air strikes against Iranian-backed facilities in Syria, much like the strikes carried out by U.S. forces in recent weeks. 

The last time Iran or Iranian-backed proxies used ballistic missiles against U.S. forces in Iraq was in 2020 following a U.S. attack in Iraq that killed Iranian Quds force leader Qassem Soleimani.
…

World leaders reacted to the death of Henry Kissinger, a former U.S. secretary of state who influenced geopolitics under two presidents.

Kissinger died Wednesday at 100.

“Deeply shocked and saddened to learn of Dr. Kissinger’s passing at 100,” Xie Feng, China’s ambassador to the United States said in a post on X, formerly known as twitter. “My deepest condolences go to Nancy (Kissinger’s wife) and her family. It is a tremendous loss for both our countries and the world. The history will remember what the centenarian had contributed to China-U.S. relations, and he will always remain alive in the hearts of the Chinese people as a most valued old friend.”

Kissinger made two trips to China before accompanying U.S. President Richard Nixon on his groundbreaking visit to Beijing in 1972 to meet with China’s Communist Party chairman, Mao Zedong. During the visit, the United States and China formalized diplomatic relations after a break of 23 years.

In Japan, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida spoke of Kissinger’s role in Asia, saying he was responsible for “significant contributions” to peace and stability, in a post on X.

Kishida mentioned Kissinger’s work in China and added, “I’d like to express my most sincere respect to the great achievements he made. I also would like to offer my condolences.”

European Council President Charles Michel called Kissinger a “strategist with attention to the smallest detail,” in another post on X. He declared him “A kind human and a brilliant mind who, over 100 years, shaped the [destinies] of some of the most important events of the century.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin called Kissinger “a wise and farsighted statesman,” in a telegram to Kissinger’s widow, Nancy, according to Reuters.

Some information in this report came from Reuters, Agence France-Presse and The Associated Press.
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Henry Kissinger, the former National Security Advisor and Secretary of State whose global influence long outlasted his time in office under former President Richard Nixon, has died at age 100, at his home in Connecticut. His death was announced by his consulting firm and no cause was given. Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports on the life and legacy of a controversial and celebrated American statesman.
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President Joe Biden on Wednesday touted his Bidenomics agenda in Colorado, contrasting his economic vision with that of the so-called MAGA Republicans as he gears up for his 2024 reelection bid. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports.
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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads back to Israel on Thursday, where he says he will work to help prolong a cease-fire so more hostages can be released and more humanitarian aid can be delivered to Gaza. At the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels, Blinken tried to reassure allies of continued U.S. support for Ukraine as Kyiv prepares for another winter of fighting. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports.
…

U.S. President Joe Biden will not be attending the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP 28. But U.S. diplomats will be there, interested in getting access to the critical mineral exports necessary to transition to green energy. VOA’s Jessica Stone reports.
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With her frail husband as a silent witness, Rosalynn Carter was celebrated by her family and closest friends Wednesday at her funeral in the same tiny town where she and Jimmy Carter were born, forever their home base as they climbed to the White House and traveled the world for humanitarian causes. 

The former first lady, who died November 19 at the age of 96, had her intimate funeral at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, where she and her husband spent decades welcoming guests and where a wooden cross Jimmy Carter fashioned in his woodshop is displayed. Earlier tributes were held in nearby Americus and in Atlanta. 

The former president was in attendance in his wheelchair, with her one last time in his life. 

Maranatha Pastor Tony Lowden opened the service with a tribute to “the life and legacy of the greatest first lady.” 

Rosalynn Carter wasn’t “just the first lady of the White House,” he told the gathering. “She served every nation around the world.” 

The pastor, describing her competitive streak, spoke to the mourners in what he imagined to be the voice of Rosalynn Carter: “She would say to you today, ‘don’t grieve for me, for now I’m free. … Jimmy tried to beat me here. I got here first. I won the prize. Tell him I beat him and I’m waiting on him.'” 

“But,” Lowden continued, “she would say ‘don’t stop. There’s too many homeless people in the world. There’s still too many people who don’t have equal rights.’ … She would tell you don’t stop. Become that virtuous woman. And men, if you’re listening, make room for the virtuous woman.” 

She will be buried in a plot she will one day share with her husband of 77 years. The former president, now 99, left home hospice care to attend Tuesday’s memorial, where two other presidents and all the living first ladies joined the extended Carter family, as well as Wednesday’s more intimate hometown funeral.

Vernita Sampson, a school bus driver and Plains native, drove a group of area high school students, all wearing Future Farmer of America jackets, to downtown Plains to pay tribute to the former first lady and soak up the history of the day.

“They were people you could relate to, not this high standard where they were up here and, you know, we’re all down there,” said Sampson, 58. “We never get used to death, no matter who we are or how long you have lived,” but she said she and the students came “to celebrate that she did live a long life, a very happy and productive life, that gives you joy.”

At the service, the mourning came with affectionate stories of life with Rosalynn Carter and some laughs.

“It occurs to me that dad got used to mom disagreeing with him because she was really good at it,” son Jack Carter said. “And she became a partner in the true sense of the word, where they had equal footing.”

Jimmy Carter met his future wife only a few days after her mother delivered her.

“She was born just a few years after women got the right to vote in this small town in the South where people were still plowing their fields behind mules,” grandson Jason Carter said during the memorial service Tuesday at Atlanta’s Glenn Memorial Church. 

Coming from that town of about 600 — then and now — Rosalynn Carter changed lives across America and the developing world, her grandson said. Jimmy Carter’s closest political adviser and a political force in her own right, she advocated for better mental health care and underappreciated caregivers in millions of U.S. households. Traveling overseas, she fought disease, famine, and the abuse of women and girls.

The Atlanta events reflected the grandest chapters of Rosalynn Carter’s life. Mourners viewed her casket steps from The Carter Center she and her husband co-founded after leaving the White House, then she was honored at a service filled with the music of a symphony chorus, a majestic pipe organ and fellow Habitat for Humanity ambassadors Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood. President Joe Biden, former President Bill Clinton and the first ladies joined Jimmy Carter and their four children in the front row, in front of more than 1,000 congregants in suits, ties and dresses.

Church members, who were included in the invitation-only ceremony, rarely talk of “President Carter” or “Mrs. Carter.” They are supporting “Mr. Jimmy” as he grieves for “Ms. Rosalynn.”

Lowden, the Carters’ longtime friend and personal minister, also officiated Tuesday, emphasizing that Rosalynn Carter’s work, from the Georgia statehouse when Jimmy Carter was governor to the 120-plus countries that she visited, was an extension of her faith.

After the funeral, her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren walked alongside an SUV carrying Jimmy Carter as Rosalynn Carter was carried from Marantha for the last time through the town where she lived for more than 80 of her 96 years.

The motorcade passed holiday lights and decorations including a photo collage in front of the downtown tree featuring the “First Lady of Plains.” 

The route also included the old high school where she was valedictorian during World War II, Plains Baptist Church where she and the former president were once outliers arguing for racial integration, the commercial district where she became Jimmy’s indispensable partner in their peanut business, the old train depot where she helped run the winning 1976 presidential campaign, and Plains Methodist Church, where as an 18-year-old in 1946, she married young Navy Lt. Jimmy Carter.

The route ends in what locals call “the Carter compound,” property that includes their one-story ranch house, the pond where she fished, and security outposts for the Secret Service agents who protected her for 47 years.

She will be buried in view of the front porch of the home where the 39th American president still lives. 
…