Mois : janvier 2025

Dick Capri, Catskills Comic Who Took His Shtick to Broadway, Dies at 93  The New York Times
source

(The Center Square) – Since the COVID-19 pandemic, domestic migration in Michigan has been driving rural population growth.
While urban counties and the state overall saw a decline in population in the midst and in the aftermath of the pandemic, rural counties saw an increase in population.
This is all according to a new report from the Michigan Center for Data and Analytics, which used U.S. Census Bureau data.
While only 16.5% of Michigan’s population lived in rural counties in 2020, rural counties comprised 40.8% of the state’s total population growth from 2020 to 2023.
The report stated that this is a “notable reversal of rural decline in the 2010s,” where rural counties saw decreasing populations nearly every year.
Across the state, 53 of its 83 counties are considered rural.
While the growth of 0.6% from 2020 to 2023 was not enough to offset the rural loss of the 2010s, it was enough to offset the natural population change (the difference between births and deaths) in those counties.
“Migration is especially important in rural counties since they are more likely to experience natural decrease than urban counties,” the report found. “The rate of natural decrease was -13.5 per 1,000 people for rural counties from 2020 to 2023, compared to -0.89 for urban counties.”
While the Michigan report only looked at data up to 2023, the U.S. Census Bureau also recently released data for 2024 looking at total population changes in the state.
According to that data, Michigan overall had a gain in population over the past year, which was driven by international migration.
This was good news for the state, which has been struggling with its population since the pandemic. It looked bleakest in 2021, when the state had a net loss of 31,000.
Since then though, the Bureau improved its methodology to better estimate the number of international migrants in the state. This year, it had a total gain of 57,000, with 67,608 international migrants.
While the pandemic was one potential factor in the rural growth, both in Michigan and across the nation, the Michigan report also pointed to high housing costs and increases in remote work as likely playing a role.
Experts are unsure if the trend towards rural migration in Michigan will continue in the coming years, which it would need to do if rural counties are to continue growing.
“Consistent with national trends, Michigan’s rural migration gains were slowing in 2023,” the report found. “Rural growth over a longer time horizon will be challenging as baby boomers age into their 70s and 80s and if births continue declining. Rural and urban areas alike will require continuous and higher levels of migration to offset this steepening natural decrease.”
Elyse Apel is an apprentice reporter with The Center Square, covering Georgia and North Carolina. She is a 2024 graduate of Hillsdale College.
Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.
We recommend switching to one of the following browsers:

source

Menu
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — South Kansas City, Mo., residents are angry after the latest illegal street race in their neighborhood ended with the deaths of two innocent people.
The crash happened Dec. 30th on Wornall Road at Carondelet Drive when one of two cars racing down Wornall Road slammed into a car turning from Wornall Road onto Carondelet Drive, police said.
The two people killed in the car were not involved in the illegal race.
Jennifer Winkler lives in the area of the crash site.
“Such a senseless loss that’s happened and it makes you a little angry,” Winkler said.
The double fatal crash happened around 10:30 am.
Police say a black Chrysler 300 and a silver Dodge Charger were racing south on Wornall Road from West 99th Street.
As the cars approached the intersection of Carondelet Drive and Wornall Road, a car made a left turn onto Carondelet. The Chrysler hit the Honda killing the driving and passenger.
“The two cars being able to make it to there from where they did, they went through four lights in that short space,” said Winkler. “So, like 99^th to approximately 105^th. They went through four lights and were at their fifth, I believe, when this happened.”
Winkler says vehicles speeding on the streets in her neighborhood is a daily occurrence.
She hopes the illegal street racing will end.
Winkler witnessed a crash happen earlier this year near the site of the this week’s double fatal crash.
“You can hear them go by kind of with some frequency, especially when you get to the weekends and in the evenings after dark,” Winkler said.
City leaders have been trying to tackle illegal street racing throughout the city.
Rumble strips and cameras have been installed in high crime areas.
Winkler wants to see some preventive measures in her neighborhood next.
“To have this going on at 10:30 in the morning is just kind of an escalation of what’s been happening for quite a while,” said Winkler. “They just seem to need some presence or some kind of deterrence.”
The driver of the Chrysler was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Police are still searching for the driver of the second car.
Report a typo

source

Official Hanukkah greetings issued by branches of the British and Irish governments were mocked online last week due to their backward Hebrew or odd transliterations of Hebrew.

The United Kingdom’s Attorney General’s Office issued a Hanukkah message last Wednesday with a seven-branched menorah wishing celebrants a transliterated “chag Hanukkah sameach” but the corresponding Hebrew script was written from left to right.

“Chamish Hakunach gach!” wrote the Attorney general’s office, before the post was deleted.

The Irish Foreign Ministry wrote in a social media post on Thursday that it wished a “very happy Hanukkah to all members of the Jewish Community in Ireland, and all who celebrate.”

“Cheag Sameach,” said the ministry, in a Hebrew transliteration mocked by X users.

The social media post was poorly received not only because it was seen as late for being published on the second day of Hanukkah, but also because the statement had come from the Foreign Ministry. Commentators questioned if the Irish government saw Irish Jews as foreigners.

A very happy #Hanukkah to all members of the Jewish Community in Ireland, and all who celebrate. Cheag Sameach. Hanukkah Shona Daoibh.

— Irish Foreign Ministry (@dfatirl) December 26, 2024

A very happy #Hanukkah to all members of the Jewish Community in Ireland, and all who celebrate. Cheag Sameach. Hanukkah Shona Daoibh.
Hostility toward the Irish holiday greeting was fueled by ongoing diplomatic troubles between Israel and Ireland.

On December 15, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar decided to close the Israeli Embassy to Ireland in response to the Irish government’s positions on the Israel-Hamas War, including its intervention in South Africa’s International Court of Justice genocide case against Israel, in which Ireland called for the broadening of the definition of genocide.

Social media users argued last Thursday that the holiday greeting was a failed overture to the Jewish community during the diplomatic crisis.

source

Editions:
En/lifestyle/us-news/personal-finance
What benefits can you get?
Navigating healthcare during pregnancy can be overwhelming, especially for low-income families. Fortunately, Medicaid for Pregnant Women offers comprehensive health coverage tailored to ensure you and your baby receive the care you need.
Medicaid, a government-sponsored health insurance program, provides coverage for pregnant women with low income or inadequate insurance. It ensures prenatal, delivery, and postpartum care, giving you access to essential health services without the financial stress.
Eligibility depends on factors like income and state-specific guidelines. If your income falls at or below 133% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), you’re likely to qualify under the “categorically needy” group. For example, a family of three earning up to $4,261 monthly in Texas might qualify for Medicaid. If you earn slightly more but face significant medical costs, you might still qualify under the “medically needy” category, often called expanded eligibility.
Pregnancy Medicaid covers a wide range of services, including:
Some states also offer “presumptive eligibility,” allowing you to start prenatal care immediately, even before formal approval.
For women who don’t qualify for Medicaid and lack other health insurance, CHIP Perinatal provides limited coverage. It includes prenatal visits, labor and delivery, and two postpartum checkups within 60 days of delivery. However, Medicaid is the more comprehensive option, covering all pregnancy-related needs.
To apply, you’ll need documents like proof of pregnancy, income, and citizenship or residency status. Processing typically takes 2-4 weeks, but you can request a temporary card for urgent care.
“Medicaid is about ensuring every mom and baby have access to the care they deserve,” says healthcare advocate Karen Wright. Contact your local Medicaid office or visit their website to explore your options. Whether it’s Medicaid or CHIP Perinatal, these programs are designed to prioritize your health and your baby’s future.
© Unidad Editorial Información Deportiva, S.L.U. All rights reserved.
Follow us

source

source

Comic Books Reviews X-Men
Comic Books Reviews
Comic Books Reviews
Comic Books Reviews
Comic Books Reviews
Comic Books Reviews
Comic Books Reviews
Comic Books Reviews
Comic Books Reviews
Comic Books Reviews X-Men
A new mission, a new love interest, and most importantly, a new outlook on his character.
By
on
If you ask a dozen comic readers who their favorite member of the X-Men is, you’ll likely get a dozen different answers. Some people might be drawn to the icons like Wolverine or Storm. Others would pick lesser known mutants like Sunspot or Cannonball. I’m personally a Kitty Pryde fan, myself. But one character who hasn’t really entered the favorites list is Nathan Summers, the time-traveling mutant soldier known as Cable. David Pepose and Mike Henderson aim to change that with Cable: Love and Chrome #1.
Love and Chrome begins when Cable is on a mission to stop time travel technology from being weaponized by a doomsday cult. But an attack from a mysterious figure leaves him stranded in a war-torn future. To make matters worse, most of the world’s population is infected by the Techno-Organic Virus – the same virus that gives Cable his metal arm, and the one enemy he’s waged an eternal war against.
Peopose has a gift for digging deep into his characters’ mindset, whether it’s his work on the new Punisher or Space Ghost, and that continues with Love and Chrome. When battlling the doomsday cult, his newfound enemy, or the people who would threaten the residents of Salvation Bay, Cable is able to strategically use his psychic powers (and his big honking guns) to turn the tide. But above all else, Peopose cements Cable as someone who will meet his end without fear. “If I’m destined to die alone…I’ll do it standing up,” he says in one panel.

Marvel

Marvel
Henderson doesn’t let up for a minute on the artwork, making each battle feel big (but not overwhelming) and distinct. In the opening, he showcases how Cable makes good use of his telekinisis (summoning one of his weapons) and telepathy (convincing a doomsday warrior to trigger his grenades) – resulting in a spectacular explosion. Later, another battle sends Cable tumbling into the timestream, which Henderson renders as a malestrom of lightning and fire. I also love how he draws Cable’s metal arm; it’s depicted as a collection of metal bolts and sheets, further signifying the struggle that Nathan maintains against the virus coursing through his veins.
Rounding out the art team are Arif Prianto and Joe Sabino, who bring a unique flair to the post-apocalypse. Prianto lights up the backgrounds with plenty of reddish-orange whenever there’s an explosion, and colors Cable’s uniform the same blue that’s been a standard in every one of his costumes. Prianto and Sabino also come up with a unique take on Cable’s powers; red lettering indicates when he’s using his telekinesis, while blue lettering is reserved for his AI Belle.
The most unique thing Love and Chrome does is to give Cable a match in the form of soldier Avery Ryder. From the jump, she shares a lot with him: she’s been fighting a seemingly endless war, she’s been dealing with the Techno-Organic Virus, and she’s resolved to keep fighting no matter what. It’s no wonder the two are drawn toward each other, and it’s the most interesting part of the book. Up to this point, the only stable relationships Cable has had is with the members of X-Force or his adoptive daughter Hope; seeing him connect with another person highlights the “Love” in the series’ title.
Cable: Love and Chrome #1 gives Nathan Summers a new mission, a new love interest – and most importantly, it’ll give readers a new outlook on his character. If you’re looking for an entry point into the world of X-Men, or you dig time-travel romances, start the New Year off with this comic.

‘Cable: Love and Chrome’ #1 will change how you view Nathan Summers

Cable: Love and Chrome #1

Cable: Love and Chrome #1 gives Nathan Summers a new mission, a new love interest – and most importantly, it’ll give readers a new outlook on his character.

Reader Rating0 Votes

0

Nathan Summers has a new mission – and a new love interest, which adds a new dynamic to his character.

Pepose’s script highlights the war that Cable is fighting – both against evil and against time itself.

Henderson makes each fight scene big, yet visually distinct.

Prianto and Sabino work in tandem with the background effects, while also highlighting Cable’s powers in a unique way.

8.5

Great

Buy Now

Amazon

EXCLUSIVE Marvel Preview: Ultimates #8

Comic Books

Revealed: The Ultimate Guardians of the Galaxy includes Ultimate America

Comic Books

DC Preview: JSA #3

Comic Books

X-Men Monday #280 – 2024 Reader Survey Results

Comic Books

© 2011 – 2024 AIPT, LLC. All rights reserved.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

source

The $250,000 Smarty Jones Stakes Saturday at Oaklawn Park is the first of four Road to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve races to be run at the Hot Springs, Ark., track, and the 1 1/16-mile event will start to tell us which talented 3-year-olds are worthy of participating in subsequent races. The next prep race in the series will be the Southwest Stakes on Jan. 25, followed by the Rebel Stakes on Feb. 22 and finally the Arkansas Derby on March 29.
Friday, Jan. 3: 3-6 p.m. on FS2; post time varies on FanDuel TV
Saturday, Jan. 4: 3-6 p.m. on FS2; post time varies on FanDuel TV
Sunday, Jan. 5: 3-6 p.m. on FS1; post time varies on FanDuel TV
Among the eight horses entered in this year’s Smarty Jones, two have already won stakes races. Coal Battle won the Springboard Mile Stakes at Remington Park on Dec. 13 and Kale’s Angel won the Advent Stakes at Oaklawn on Dec. 6. Among the rest, Curvino, Hot Property and Optical enter the race off wins in route races (a mile or more) and could be competitive at this level. Mo Quality exits a winning effort in a sprint but could also continue his pattern of improvement as he finished second in his debut before the recent victory. Bon Temps stretches out to two turns for the first time but has not won a race yet and has not been competitive in either of his two starts to date. Hot Gunner won in his debut last July but has finished no better than third in five races since then.
Top contenders:
Kale’s Angel appears to be the horse to catch, and to beat, in this year’s Smarty Jones Stakes by virtue of having drawn the rail post position and having shown excellent tactical speed in his most recent race. After he shipped in from trainer Peter Miller’s base in California to contest the Advent Stakes four weeks ago, Kale’s Angel drew the outside post position among six horses running the much shorter distance of 5 ½ furlongs. From that post, jockey Ramon Vasquez, who was riding Kale’s Angel for the first time and who rides again in this race, took up a stalking trip in second position for the opening half-mile before giving the colt his cue. Kale’s Angel responded and opened up by 2 ½ lengths with an eighth of a mile to run. He extended his margin with powerful strides and passed the finish line 5 ¾ lengths in front of the next horse. In addition, the second-place finisher in the Advent, Innovator, flattered Kale’s Angel by winning his next race. The Equibase Speed Figure earned by Kale’s Angel was 109, extremely strong for a 2-year-old even in the latter part of the year. That figure was also higher than any of the last four winners of the Smarty Jones. In case there are any doubts about this horse stretching out from a sprint to a route and winning back-to-back in stakes races, a Race Lens query reveals trainer Miller pulled off this same feat in the fall of 2022 with the juvenile filly And Tell Me Nolies, who won the Del Mar Debutante followed by the Chandelier Stakes. As such, Kale’s Angel could be a standout in this field.

Coal Battle has won two stakes races in a row, the most recent being the Springboard Mile on Dec. 13, which was held around two turns. Prior to that he won the Jean Laffite Stakes at the distance of 6 ½ furlongs. However, because of the configuration of the track at Delta Downs, the Jean Lafitte was also contested around two turns. He improved from an 87 figure in the Jean Lafitte to a 96 figure in the Springboard Mile, and based on that, we can project an improvement to about 105 for this race, within range of the 109 figure Kale’s Angel earned in the Advent Stakes. Coal Battle began positioned eighth of 12 runners in the Springboard Mile and rallied strongly to win under jockey Juan Vargas, who has been in the saddle for all three of this colt’s victories. Considering how well he has run in his last two races, Coal Battle should be a strong contender in this field, particularly if the early pace is faster than average.
Trainer Brad Cox, who saddles Hot Property, has won the Smarty Jones Stakes three times in the past four years. Last year he managed Smarty Jones winner Catching Freedom, who had finished fourth in his previous start. In 2021 Cox saddled Caddo River to victory off a strong win at a mile, and that pattern is similar to Hot Property’s, who won his only start on Nov. 24 at this mile and one-sixteenth distance. Hot Property’s Equibase Speed Figure was 85, so the colt would need to improve quite a bit to get to the 100+ level that’s usually required to win the Smarty Jones. However, it is likely Hot Property is much more mature than he was in November. Additionally, his half-sister is Actress, who earned nearly $600,000 including wins in the 2017 Comely Stakes and Black Eyed Susan Stakes, so we cannot rule out the possibility of Hot Property making the necessary improvement necessary to win this year’s Smarty Jones Stakes.
The rest of the field, with their best Equibase Speed Figures, is Bon Temps (75), Curvino (85), Hot Gunner (73), Optical (92) and Mo Quality (89).
Win contenders, in preference/probability order:
Kale’s Angel
Coal Battle
Hot Property
Buckpasser: The Hall of Fame Racehorse With a Nonchalant Attitude
Charles H. Strub: The Man Called ‘Mr. Santa Anita’
Horse Racing’s History on Sports Illustrated Covers
SLIDESHOW: U.S. Triple Crown Winners from Sir Barton to Justify
Regret: The Filly Who Made the Kentucky Derby
Buckpasser: The Hall of Fame Racehorse With a Nonchalant Attitude
2021 Kentucky Derby Cheat Sheet
Preakness Quick Sheet: Get to Know the 2021 Preakness Horses
Get to Know All 13 U.S. Triple Crown Winners
2025 Smarty Jones Stakes at a Glance
Where to Watch/Listen: Horse Racing Coverage Jan. 1-5
Where to Watch/Listen: Horse Racing Coverage Dec. 26-29
2024 Malibu Stakes at a Glance
Follow Us on Social Media
Stay up-to-date with the best from America’s Best Racing!

source

The dawn of a new year brings with it a host of fresh series to stream, with several already earmarked as potential sleeper hits.
Apple TV has carved out a niche for unveiling underrated and overlooked treasures. A number of their returning series were featured in Rotten Tomatoes’ best shows of 2024, including Pachinko, Silo, Shrinking and Slow Horses, which clinched the top spot.
They also launched several new series that scored at least 90% on the website, such as Sunny, Criminal Record and Where’s Wanda.
The streaming giant looks set to continue this trend in 2025, kicking off with the highly anticipated return of Severance in January. Beyond this, there are five brand new series poised to be the next hidden gems and must-watch shows of the year.
Now that Apple TV+ is available as an add-on subscription via the Amazon Prime Video app, television enthusiasts have no reason to miss these exciting offerings. Here are five Apple TV+ series debuting in 2025 that you won’t want to miss, reports the Mirror Don’t miss…
Series dubbed ‘absolute junk TV’ could be next Netflix hit [LATEST]
‘Must see’ thriller compared to Yellowstone available to stream now [LATEST]
Dope Thief.
Adapted from Dennis Tafoya’s 2009 novel of the same name, Dope Thief centres on long-time friends who concoct the perfect scam. Posing as DEA agents, they plan to rob a rural house.
However, their scheme spirals into a life-or-death predicament when they inadvertently expose one of the region’s largest drug rings.
Renowned Gladiator director Ridley Scott has taken the reins for at least one episode of Dope Thief, while also serving as executive producer. The crime drama, led by Atlanta star Brian Tyree Henry and featuring Ving Rhames, will be available on Apple TV+ from March 14.
The Studio
This comedy series sees Seth Rogen stepping into the shoes of a newly appointed head of movie studio Continental. In a bid to win over celebrities, he and his team must balance corporate pressures with artistic aspirations to keep cinema alive and relevant.
The show kicks off with a two-episode premiere on Apple TV+ on March 26, followed by weekly episodes. The cast includes Catherine O’Hara and Kathryn Hahn, with Rogen also contributing to three episodes alongside long-time partner Evan Goldberg.
Guest stars include Bryan Cranston, Paul Dano, Zach Efron, Zoe Kravitz, Anthony Mackie, Steve Buschemi and Martin Scorsese. The Studio will be streaming on Apple TV+ from March 26.Side Quest
A spin-off from another Apple TV comedy series, Mythic Quest, is set to be accessible for new viewers. It’s slated for release a few months after the fourth season of the main show, courtesy of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia co-creator Rob McElhenney.
Side Quest, an anthology series set in the same universe as Mythic Quest, will delve into the lives of employees, players and fans influenced by the game. Previously known as Mere Mortals, the show boasts a writing team including Ashly Burch, John Howell Harris and Katie McElhenney. Burch also stars as Rachel in Mythic Quest. Further casting details for Side Quest remain under wraps. Side Quest will be available on Apple TV+ from March 26.
Your Friends and Neighbours.
A new drama from the creator of Banshee and Warrior is on the horizon, featuring Jon Hamm and Olivia Munn. Hamm portrays a hedge fund manager who, after losing his job, resorts to burgling his affluent neighbours to uphold his family’s lifestyle.
In doing so, he uncovers hidden secrets among the town’s wealthy families, leading to potential peril.
Although the premiere isn’t until April, the series has already been greenlit for a second season. Following the trend of other shows, it will debut with two episodes before transitioning to a weekly release schedule, with the finale slated for May 30.
Your Friends and Neighbours will be streaming on Apple TV+ from April 11.
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our Privacy Policy
Government Cheese.
Set against the backdrop of 1969, this comedic drama features British actor David Oyelowo as Hampton Chambers. Upon his release from prison, Hampton is thrust into an unexpected family reunion as he discovers his wife and sons have moved on during his incarceration.
His homecoming soon spirals their lives into turmoil as echoes from his past and apparent divine interferences persistently surface.
The series is the brainchild of Paul Hunter, a renowned music video director who also directed Bulletproof Monk in 2003. The initial four episodes are set to premiere on April 16, with the remaining six instalments released weekly thereafter.
SEARCH
CONNECT WITH US
TODAY’S PAPER
See today’s front and back pages, download the newspaper, order back issues and use the historic Daily Express newspaper archive.
EXPRESS.CO.UK
Would you like to receive news notifications from Daily Express?

source

Sign In
Register
PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Before reaching the 1978 peace deal between Egypt’s Anwar Sadat and Israel’s Menachem Begin, Jimmy Carter managed months of intense preparation, high-stakes negotiations at Camp David and a field trip to the Gettysburg battlefield to demonstrate the consequences of war.
But looking back on his most celebrated foreign policy achievement, the 39th president said intricate diplomacy ultimately wasn’t the deciding factor.
“We finally got an agreement because we all shared faith in the same God,” Carter told biographer Jonathan Alter, as he traced his Christianity, Begin’s Judaism and Sadat’s Islam to their common ancestor in each religion’s sacred texts. “We all considered ourselves the sons of Abraham.”
Carter, who died Sunday at 100, was widely known as a man of faith, especially after his long post-presidency became defined by images of the Baptist Sunday School teacher building homes for low-income people and fighting diseases across the developing world.
Yet beyond piety and service, the Georgia Democrat stood out from his earliest days on the national stage with unusually prolific, nuanced explanations of his beliefs. Carter quoted Jesus and famous theologians and connected it all to his policy pursuits, living out his own definition of what it means to be a self-professed Christian in American politics.
“Most people go to Washington in search of their own power,” said David Gergen, a White House adviser to four presidents. “Carter went to Washington in search of our national soul. That doesn’t mean those others didn’t have good intentions, but for Jimmy Carter it just seemed like a different purpose.”
What happened when Carter described his faith to ‘Playboy’ magazine
As a candidate in 1976, Carter described himself as a “born-again Christian.” Based on the New Testament, the reference is routine for many Protestants in the South who believe following Jesus means adopting a new version of oneself. To national media and voters unfamiliar with evangelical lexicon, it made Carter a curiosity.
“We saw ourselves as being very much cultural outcasts” as evangelicals in the mid-1970s, said Dartmouth College professor Randall Balmer, who has written extensively on Carter’s faith. The evangelical movement had not yet become a political force mostly aligned with Republicans, and “to have someone use our language to describe himself and still be taken seriously as a presidential candidate,” Balmer said, “was startling, really.”
Carter used the presidency to elevate human rights in U.S. foreign policy, champion environmental conservation and resist military conflict. He criticized American greed and consumerism. He proselytized to other world leaders.
Carter continued the approach for decades thereafter through The Carter Center and its global efforts on peace, democracy and public health. Into his 90s, Carter criticized American militarism and noted one of Jesus’s Biblical monikers: “Prince of Peace.”
“He carried his faith with him every minute of every day, and he put it to use every single minute of every single day,” said Jill Stuckey, a Plains resident and longtime friend of Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, who died in November 2023 at 96.
Carter’s faith insisted on public service above politics
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg attended some of Carter’s church lessons in Plains, Georgia, and sought the former president’s counsel during his own campaign in 2020. He said Carter elevated faith beyond partisan divisions.
“There are a lot of conservatives who seem to use the Bible almost as a weapon or a cudgel, and there are a lot of liberals who seem to use faith mostly as a way to desperately signal that they’re not bad people,” Buttigieg told The Associated Press. “President Carter demonstrated a third thing — faith that calls you to make yourself useful to others.”
Carter’s unabashed evangelism was an outlier in a Democratic Party that grew more secular and pluralistic during his public life. Yet Carter advocated “absolute and total separation of church and state” and opposed public money for religious schools. He admired the Rev. Billy Graham personally, but called it “inappropriate” to invite the nation’s leading evangelical to lead White House prayer services, as Graham did for previous administrations.
Carter further distinguished himself from many evangelicals by criticizing Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and taking liberal stances on race relations, women’s rights and, as he grew older, LGBTQ rights. He once described feeling shocked when a “high official” in the Southern Baptist Convention told him in the Oval Office that “we are praying, Mr. President, that you will abandon your secular humanism as your religion.”
By his later years, Carter “was happy with the label of ‘progressive evangelical,’” Balmer said.
How did Carter come to define his faith?
Carter grew up as the son of a deacon in the Southern Baptist Convention, a conservative denomination founded before the Civil War as a regional splinter group that supported slavery. He did not openly question his father’s segregationist views or the white supremacist origins of his denomination, and he didn’t yet consider himself an evangelical as a young man. But he had exposure to Black evangelical traditions by occasionally visiting St. Mark AME Church, the congregation of the tenant farming families that worked his father’s land.
“I could see spirit, sincerity and fervor in their worship services that we lacked in our church in Plains,” Carter once wrote.
Decades later, during the Civil Rights Movement, Carter urged his Plains congregation to allow integrated worship, but he and Rosalynn stood virtually alone. Carter was a state senator by then, and notably did not offer such explicit integration advocacy beyond church walls.
After his failed bid for governor in 1966, Carter was “disillusioned with politics and life in general,” he wrote. His sister Ruth, a well-known evangelist and faith healer, persuaded him to go on “pioneer missions.” The future president knocked on doors to share the gospel in Pennsylvania and in Spanish-speaking neighborhoods of Massachusetts. He came to see these sojourns as a catalyst to “apply my Christian faith much more regularly to my secular life.”
Carter spread his gospel to folksingers and communist leaders
Carter even got to share his Christianity with Bob Dylan, in a one-on-one session the iconic folksinger sought with the Georgia governor in 1971.
In 1977, during his first foreign trip as president, Carter was invited by Edward Gierek, Poland’s top leader under Moscow’s Soviet control, to speak without their aides present, Carter later recalled. Gierek was “somewhat ill at ease” while explaining that he was an atheist in conformity with the Kremlin, but wanted to learn about Christianity. So Carter shared some Christian principles, and “asked him if he would consider accepting Jesus Christ as his personal savior.”
Gierek replied that he could not make a public declaration, and “I never knew what his decision was,” Carter later wrote. But in 1979, Gierek rebuffed Moscow’s orders by allowing newly elected Pope John Paul II to visit his native Poland. The Kremlin deposed Gierek in 1980, but that visit became a seminal moment in John Paul’s papacy and his efforts to break the Soviet Union.
At a White House dinner, Carter pressed Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping to allow freedom of worship and Bible ownership and admit American missionaries. Xiaoping allowed the first two but not the latter. Carter in 2018 noted projections that China, by 2025, will have more Protestants than America.
And at Camp David, Carter prayed often and talked openly of faith with Begin and Sadat, unpacking ancient animosities between their religions.
Carter evolved on equal rights and gay marriage
When the Carters left the White House in 1981, having had enough of the lingering racial tensions at Plains Baptist Church, they transferred to nearby Maranatha Baptist Church, Balmer said. Carter’s hometown funeral will take place there after his state service at Washington’s National Cathedral.
Carter disaffiliated from Southern Baptists two decades later, at the age of 76, because the denomination’s leadership, he said, demeaned women as subservient to men in the home, church and wider society. Carter remained at Maranatha, noting that the congregation’s deacons were divided about evenly between the sexes.
“There is one incontrovertible act concerning the relationship between Jesus Christ and women,” Carter explained in his final book, “Faith,” published in 2018. “He treated them as equal to men, which was dramatically different from the prevailing custom of the times.”
Carter had a slower shift on LGBTQ matters. In a 1976 campaign interview with Playboy magazine, he said he considered sexual relations outside of marriage a sin and, thus, could not easily reconcile homosexuality. The answer did not contemplate same-sex marriage as a legitimate civil or religious institution.
Carter asked: ‘What would Jesus do?’
As his 75th wedding anniversary approached in 2021, however, Carter had a different view on government- and church-sanctioned marriage for same-sex couples. “I don’t have any opposition it,” he told AP, declaring himself “very liberal” on any issue “that relates to human rights.” Sexuality “will continue to be divisive” within Christianity, he predicted, “but the church is evolving.”
Buttigieg, an Episcopalian whose same-sex marriage is recognized by his church, said Carter’s willingness to be open about his faith, in all its complexity, provides a “tremendous example” for “a generation of Christians who don’t believe that God belongs to any political party.”
The Rev. Bernice King, the daughter of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., praised Carter as a “man of peace and compassion” and argued that for all his books and expositions and Sunday School lessons, the Baptist from Plains hewed to a simple faith.
“He looked at the life of Jesus Christ and how Christ interfaced and interacted with people,” King said. “He wrestled with that as a leader. I think he took serious: ‘What would Jesus do? … What would somebody that is love-centered do?’”
___
This last name of a former Chinese leader has been corrected to Deng Xiaoping. It was spelled incorrectly in previous versions as Xioaping and Xiaping.
Bill Barrow, The Associated Press

 
Give to the Times Colonist Christmas Fund to help those in need.
Donate now
© 2025 Times Colonist

source