📌 Jimmy Carter, Jet Bursts Into Flames, More

Former President Jimmy Carter, who redefined post-presidential service, died Sunday at the age of 100.

The Carter Center said the 39th president died in Plains, Georgia, surrounded by his family. Carter had been in home hospice care since February 2023 after a series of short hospital stays.

Many cite the Camp David Accords as Carter’s most significant achievement as president. It was reached after exhaustive negotiations between Egypt and Israel that peaked at the presidential retreat in Maryland. It was the first peace deal between the Jewish state and one of its Arab enemies.

The devout Southern Baptist’s life’s work was only just beginning when he limped out of the White House, humiliated by Reagan’s 1980 Republican landslide, in which the incumbent won only six states and the District of Columbia.

“As one of the youngest of former presidents, I expected to have many useful years ahead of me,” Carter wrote in his 1982 memoir, “Keeping Faith.” He proved as good as his word, going on to become a humanitarian icon, perhaps more popular outside the US than he was at home.

His efforts on behalf of his Carter Center, founded to “wage peace, fight disease and build hope,” yielded a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

A jetliner skidded off a runway into a concrete fence and burst into flames in South Korea after its landing gear failed to deploy.

All but two of the 181 people aboard were killed in one of the country’s worst aviation disasters, officials said. The Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air plane arrived from Bangkok and crashed while attempting to land in the town of Muan, about 180 miles south of Seoul.

The chief of the Muan fire station, Lee Jeong-hyeon, told a televised briefing that the plane was completely destroyed, with only the tail assembly still recognizable in the wreckage. Officials were investigating the cause of the crash, including whether the aircraft was struck by birds, Lee said.

The control tower issued a warning about birds to the plane shortly before it intended to land and gave the crew permission to land in a different area, Transport Ministry officials said. The crew sent out a distress signal shortly before the crash, officials said.

Investigators retrieved the jet’s flight data and cockpit voice recorders, said senior Transport Ministry official Joo Jong-wan. He said it may take months to complete the probe into the crash. The runway will be closed until Jan. 1, the ministry said.

Video of the crash indicated the pilots did not deploy flaps or slats to slow the aircraft, suggesting a possible hydraulic failure, and they did not manually lower the landing gear, suggesting they did not have time, said John Cox, a retired airline pilot and CEO of Safety Operating Systems in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Dr. Leana Wen, a former health commissioner, said the federal government needs to be more proactive in bird flu testing.

"We should be having rapid tests, home tests, available to all farm workers, to their families, for the clinicians taking care of them, so that we aren't waiting for public labs and CDC labs to tell us what's bird flu or not,” she said.

The CDC reported the first severe US case of bird flu in Louisiana, adding to 61 human cases in the country. Another severe case of H5N1 has been reported in a teen in British Columbia, Canada.

The CDC said the mutations found in humans seemed to develop as the virus adapted to its host. The genetic changes in the H5N1 samples from the infected human were not present in the samples from the backyard poultry flock that infected the patient, suggesting that the concerning mutations had not developed until after the transmission of the virus.

Federal health officials in the report said that spread between close contacts is more likely when these changes develop during the clinical course of human infection. The current number of H5N1 cases in the US is likely underreported due to insufficient testing.

Wen on Sunday urged the Biden administration to approve the H5N1 vaccine, which is already developed and contracted with manufacturers to make almost five million doses but awaits FDA authorization — a key difference from the beginning stages of Covid.

A record 3.4 million young Chinese flocked to the civil service exam this year

They have been lured by the prospect of lifetime job security and perks, including subsidized housing, as an economic slowdown batters the private sector and youth unemployment remains high.

Applicant numbers, which surged by over 400,000 from last year and have tripled since 2014, reflect the huge demand for stability from disillusioned Gen Z Chinese and the lack of attractive options in the private sector even though local governments are struggling to pay wages due to a fiscal crisis.

Layoffs are rare in China's civil service, earning it the "iron rice bowl" moniker, though individuals can be dismissed for disciplinary violations.

Most civil service openings have an age limit of 35 and offer subsidized housing and social insurance, a major attraction for graduates disillusioned by the paucity of private sector job opportunities.

Youth unemployment rates, which fell slightly in recent months, remain elevated compared to pre-pandemic figures as China's economy struggles to recover amid a prolonged property sector crisis and frail consumption.

A Penn State study found parents with financially difficult childhoods gave less money for their children's education.

Regardless of current socioeconomic status, the parents with more disadvantages as children gave their kids $2,200 less on average.

Author Kent Cheng said his study did not analyze motivation or willingness to support children’s educational needs but on whether money transfers take place, what discrepancies may appear based on the parents’ childhoods, and whether parents’ current socioeconomic status matters.

He concluded that parents who grew up in worse financial circumstances still gave less money for their children’s education even if their socioeconomic status was now higher.

“Childhood really does leave an indelible mark on one’s ability to provide money to their kids later in life,” Cheng said.

Jay Leno denied at a comedy show he was beaten up over a mob gambling debt, sporting facial injuries.

The late-night television legend’s condition led some to speculate that there was something sinister behind the 74-year-old’s eye patch, facial bruises, and broken ribs, which he said were the result of falling down a hill while trying to take a shortcut near the hotel he was staying at in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Leno scoffed at the conspiracy theories during his sit-down with fellow comic Bill Maher on the latest edition of the HBO host’s “Club Random” podcast. “It’s a conspiracy theory since you’ve had three accidents that you have gambling debts and you’re being beaten up by the mob,” Maher told his guest as they laughed it off.

“I love the idea that the mob would drive to Greenberg, Pennsylvania, wait outside the Hampton Inn in kind of a sleety, kind of rainy day to throw me down a hill,” the accident-prone Leno cracked.

He had previously suffered injuries two years ago when he accidentally set his face on fire while working on one of his classic cars, and then months later in a motorcycle mishap when he suffered injuries including a broken collarbone, broken ribs, and cracked kneecaps.

Easter Sunday is in four months, falling on April 20, but chocolate eggs and hot cross buns have been spotted for sale in UK shops.

A bemused shopper, Joseph Robinson, saw themed Kit-Kat and Kinder Surprise products at his local shop on December 27. "It's funny as they've not even managed to shift the Christmas chocolates off the shelves yet, and they're already stocking for Easter," the 35-year-old admin support worker said.

“I wish supermarkets weren't so blatantly consumerist-driven and would allow customers and staff time to decompress during Christmas.” A social media user shared an image of Malteser Bunnies in a supermarket on Christmas Eve and pointed out: “Jesus hasn't even been born yet.”

Marketing consultant Andrew Wallis, 54, admitted he was surprised to see Easter eggs in his local supermarket but added it also illustrates "forward-thinking" from big businesses. “While planning ahead is important, it's also essential to be mindful of consumer sentiment.

"Some might feel it's too early for seasonal products like this, but others might see it as a sign of forward-thinking. Striking the right balance is key to keeping customers happy.”