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How Ryan Reynolds has been Blake Lively's 'rock' amid sexual harassment lawsuit against Justin Baldoni Have YOU got a story? Email tips@dailymail.com By SAMEER SURI and KIRSTEN MURRAY FOR MAILONLINE Published: 22:16 GMT, 24 December 2024 | Updated: 22:21 GMT, 24 December 2024 e-mail 9 shares View comments Ryan Reynolds has acted as a 'rock' for his wife Blake Lively amid her high-profile legal battle against Justin Baldoni. Lively sued Baldoni last week, accusing him of sexually harassing her and fostering a toxic work environment on the set of their movie It Ends With Us, in which he both directed her and acted with her . He has staunchly denied the allegations. In her complaint, Lively claimed Baldoni worked to tarnish her reputation with a team that included his publicist Jennifer Abel and crisis PR expert Melissa Nathan, who previously worked with Johnny Depp . Abel has denied waging a 'smear campaign.' Now it has emerged that Reynolds, whom she has been married to for over a decade, has been a sturdy source of support for her. The pair have emerged as one of Hollywood's foremost power couples and are parents to four children - James, 10, Inez, eight, Betty, five, and Olin, one. 'Ryan is always her rock. They have such a special relationship. He's very proud of her in so many ways,' a source informed People . Ryan Reynolds has broken his silence with a cryptic post as he hints at difficult time amid Blake Lively's sexual harassment lawsuit against Justin Baldoni Reynolds broke his Instagram silence on Monday, two days after Lively filed a lawsuit for sexual harassment against Justin Baldoni . The actor, 48, hinted at it being a difficult time as he took to social media to raise awareness for him and his wife's campaign with children's charity Sick Kids Hospital. Read More Justin Baldoni now sued by ex-publicist amid legal battle with It Ends With Us co-star Blake Lively Dressing up in his iconic Deadpool suit for the short clip, which also featured Wonder Woman star Lynda Carter , he admitted the campaign was filmed 'during a time I really didn't feel like putting the suit on.' The couple have promised they will match donations up to $500,000 until Christmas Eve. The whole caption read: 'It's almost Christmas Eve. Last day to donate to @sickkids. @blakelively and I are matching any donation to $500k. 'This organization is a sanctuary for so many kids and their parents traversing the unimaginable. 'Thank you @rowlandbb for directing this amazing little piece during a time I really didn't feel like putting the suit on. 'Thank you @reallyndacarter for your time, grace and talent. Thank you to my daughter for being such a good person despite your dad asking you to swear (for a good cause).' Reynolds, 48, hinted at it being a difficult time as he took to social media to raise awareness for him and his wife's campaign with children's charity Sick Kids Hospital (pictured Justin Baldoni) Dressing up in his iconic Deadpool suit for the short clip he admitted the campaign was filmed 'during a time I really didn't feel like putting the suit on' On Friday, December 20, Blake filed a lawsuit against Justin in the California Civil Rights Department, accusing him of sexual harassment and spearheading an alleged smear campaign as retaliation for her raising concerns about his inappropriate behaviour on set. The Gossip Girl star, 37, alleges that Justin, 40, created a toxic workplace environment during the film's production— a claim he has vehemently denied . And on Sunday it was reported that Ryan blocked Justin on Instagram, months before his wife filed the lawsuit. According to Page Six , Justin stated in a text to his publicist in May that Ryan had blocked him and his production company Wayfarer Studios on Instagram. Justin reportedly was 'worried' Blake might 'follow suit.' 'We should have a plan for IF she does the same when [the] movie comes out,' read Justin's text, per the outlet. 'Just want you guys to have a plan. Plans make me feel more at ease.' Taking to his Instagram Story the whole caption urged fans to donate The clip also featured Wonder Woman star Lynda Carter Kidpool also starred in the clip as she also wore a mini Deadpool suit Read More Read the text messages in Blake Lively's lawsuit as she sues Justin Baldoni for sexual harassment DailyMail.com has reached out to reps for Blake, Ryan and Justin for comment. While it appears Blake has not blocked Justin, as he still follows her on Instagram, she does not follow him back. Ryan and Justin, however, do not follow each other. The social media report comes after disturbing new details from the lawsuit have surfaced. Earlier reports included allegations that Justin showed Blake nude videos and images of other women, discussed his alleged porn addiction, and made inappropriate remarks about her weight, her late father, and other members of the cast and crew. Recently revealed details in the lawsuit allege even more egregious behavior, with court documents obtained by People claiming Justin 'improvised physical intimacy' during a scene without prior discussion or choreography. One incident reportedly involved Justin 'discreetly biting and sucking on Ms. Lively's lower lip' during multiple takes, allegedly insisting on reshooting the scene repeatedly despite Lively's clear discomfort. The lawsuit alleges Justin made sexual inquiries, including asking Blake if she and her husband experienced simultaneous climaxes— a question she found intrusive and refused to answer. On Friday, December 20, Blake filed a lawsuit against Justin in the California Civil Rights Department, accusing him of sexual harassment and spearheading an alleged smear campaign as retaliation for her raising concerns about his inappropriate behaviour on set Recently revealed details in the lawsuit allege even more egregious behaviour, with court documents obtained by People claiming Justin 'improvised physical intimacy' during a scene without prior discussion or choreography These new allegations add to the already troubling claims against Justin, who has continued to deny all accusations. The lawsuit claims that before filming began, Justin 'inserted improvised gratuitous sexual content and/or scenes involving nudity into the film (including for an underage character) in highly unsettling ways.' Among the alleged changes were a 'scene in which Blake was to orgasm on-camera' and a 'detailed scene' depicting Lily Bloom, the younger version of Blake's character, losing her virginity—neither of which appeared in the original novel. According to the complaint, these additions were made without Blake's consent after she had already committed to the project. When Blake raised objections, Justin allegedly defended the changes by claiming they were added because he was crafting the story 'through the female gaze.' While he ultimately agreed to remove most of the scenes, he reportedly fought to retain one depicting Lily and Ryle Kincaid, his character, climaxing together on their wedding night, stating it was 'important to him because he and his partner climax simultaneously during intercourse.' The allegations extend to the film's producer, Jamey Heath, who is accused of compounding the toxic environment. The lawsuit claims Heath pressured Blake to simulate nudity during a childbirth scene, despite prior agreements that no nudity was required. Bombshell text messages included in Blake's lawsuit against her It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin show how his crisis management team allegedly launched an smear campaign against her The scene allegedly lacked standard industry protections, leaving Blake 'mostly nude with her legs spread wide in stirrups and only a small piece of fabric covering her genitalia.' Heath is also accused of showing Blake and her assistant a graphic, fully nude video of his wife giving birth, which Blake initially mistook for pornography. Additionally, both Justin and Heath allegedly entered Blake's trailer unannounced on multiple occasions while she was undressed, breastfeeding, or otherwise vulnerable. The complaint details an incident where Heath entered Blake's makeup trailer uninvited while she was topless. Although Blake requested he wait until she was clothed, Heath allegedly stared at her despite her explicit request that he avert his eyes. Another unsettling claim involves Justin improvising an intimate moment during a slow-dance scene. According to the lawsuit, Justin leaned in as himself, not in character, and 'slowly dragged his lips from her ear to her neck' saying, 'It smells so good.' When Blake objected to his actions, Justin allegedly retorted, 'I'm not even attracted to you.' Following a meeting in January 2024 between Blake, Justin, producers, and Ryan, Wayfarer Studios reportedly agreed to have an intimacy coordinator on set for all scenes involving nudity or simulated sex. The studio also assured that no further improvised kissing or physical intimacy would occur. Meanwhile, bombshell text messages how how Justin's crisis management team allegedly launched an smear campaign against Blake. Blake's team say messages included as part of the legal complaint reveal, 'a multi-tiered plan that Justin and his team described as 'social manipulation' designed to 'destroy' Blake's reputation', which they say began after she raised concerns about conditions on set. Rumors of a rift between the movie's leads began to swirl amid its press run, after eagle-eyed fans noted a frostiness between the pair on the red carpet. But Blake was wary of Justin even prior to filming according to her legal complaint and claims they clashed over him trying to add 'gratuitous' nudity and sex scenes to the movie . Many of the messages included in the complaint show exchanges between publicist Jennifer Abel and crisis management expert Melissa Nathan Relations soured even further during filming, and culminated in a HR meeting where various conditions were agreed to by Justin and his Wayfarer studio before Blake would consider resuming filming after the writers' strike, the filings state. Then sometime before August 2, Justin hired crisis management expert Melissa Nathan, whose previous clients have included Jonny Depp, as part of his PR team which also included publicist Jennifer Abel. Many of the messages in the lawsuit, obtained by a subpoena, are between the women, including one exchange in which Nathan states that she can 'bury anyone'. The message was sent in reply to Abel's text which says that Justin, 'wants to feel like she [Blake] can be buried'. 'Of course - but you know when we send over documents we can't send over the work we will or could do because that could get us in a lot of trouble,' Nathan responds, adding, 'We can't write we will destroy her'. She followed up the message with another which reads, 'Imagine if a document saying all the things that he wants ends up in the wrong hands. 'You know we can bury anyone but I can't write that to him. I will be very tough.' Another back and forth on August 2 appears to show Nathan joking about murdering Blake. 'I also sent you a present. Don't worry, I didn't kill her and send her in a box to your house. It's a congratulations present,' the message from Nathan reads, to which Abel responds: 'DAMNIT'. Later that same day, Abel wrote that she is, 'having reckless thoughts of wanting to plant pieces this week about how horrible Blake is to work with'. Meanwhile, Justin appears to have suggested that it would be beneficial if they could orchestrate a targeted social media campaign. He sent a message showing a screenshot of a Twitter thread about allegations of bullying against Hailey Bieber with the caption: 'This is what we would need'. When reports began to emerge of tensions between Blake and Justin, it was suggested that the differences were merely creative. The Gossip Girl star claims Justin fostered a toxic workplace environment during filming which included sexual harassment She claims that she was subjected to a smear campaign after she raised her concerns with Justin and his studio. This exchange appears to show Abel and Nathan joking about killing Blake Justin wanted to market the movie by spotlighting the domestic abuse which forms the heart of the story, while Blake felt it should be more hopeful and uplifting. Blake was subsequently criticized for the 'tone deaf' way she promoted the film after she failed to mention domestic abuse in several interviews. It is unclear if this reaction was engineered, but Justin's messages appear to show he was at least ready to capitalize on the negative press. 'What is the TikTok strategy?' Justin writes in one message. 'I'd like you guys to start posting me ONLY talking about domestic violence and clips and why this movie is so important'. But as the controversy around the film raged on, some of the more nefarious allegations Blake had privately levelled at Justin began to appear in the press. They included that he made inappropriate comments about her weight and 'lingered' too long during kissing scenes. The texts show how the crisis management team scrambled to try and 'shift the narrative' by reverting coverage back onto Blake . On August 11, Abel sent Justin a message reassuring him that the stories were not a threat. The duo starred opposite each other in the hotly-anticipated adaptation of the popular Coleen Hoover novel by the same name earlier this year Justin also appears to wade in at times and suggest his own tactics to discredit Blake The messages show the publicists celebrating after they manage to minimize reports about Blake's allegations in the press 'Very little pick up. Fans remain supportive of you and believe the issue of the 'feud' is because she took control of the movie,' she wrote. The day before, Nathan remarked to Abel that: 'The majority of socials are pro Justin and I don't even agree with half of them lol'. In another, Nathan revels in the 'genius' strategy. 'Jen this went so well I am f***king dying. I have to call you in a bit bit and tel you how this went. It was genius.' Further allegations about Justin's unwelcome behaviour are included in the legal complaint. They include claims that Justin showed Blake an explicit video of his wife, barged into the star's trailer while she was nude or breastfeeding, openly discussed his alleged porn addiction and made her and other female staffers uncomfortable with overtly sexual comments. The issues were dealt with during a January meeting between Blake, Justin and several studio representatives where several changes were agreed including the addition of an intimacy coordinator on set. 'Although our perspective differs in many aspects, ensuring a safe environment for all is paramount,' Wayfarer acknowledges, according to the legal complaint. However, a media strategy document apparently from the crisis management team also included in the legal complaint outlines how the team plans to protect Justin's reputation, along with that of lead producer Jamey Heath and Wayfarer. The document outlines several possible talking points to boost Justin, but also discredit Blake. One of the alleged strategies was to suggest that Blake had created a 'imbalance of power' on set by involving her husband Ryan Reynolds They include her, 'less than favorable reputation in the industry', how she involved her husband Ryan Reynolds to 'create an imbalance of power'. In post-production, Blake brought in her own editor to recut a version of the film which was the one ultimately chosen for distribution. In another message, Justin appears to suggest capitalizing on Reynolds' involvement as another means of targeting Blake. 'My partner asked about flipping the narrative from this leak this AM about Ryan saying script was a disaster and he saved the movie,' the message reads before suggesting, 'using their own words against them'. The document also suggests some crew members allegedly lost their jobs due to Blake's insistence on creative control. Justin has refuted the claims through his lawyer Brian Freedman. 'It is shameful that Ms. Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorically false accusations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives, as yet another desperate attempt to 'fix' her negative reputation which was garnered from her own remarks and actions during the campaign for the film,' he said. 'Interviews and press activities that were observed publicly, in real time and unedited, which allowed for the internet to generate their own views and opinions. In her lawsuit, Blake claims Justin showed her nude images and videos of women, talked about an alleged previous porn addiction and made sexual comments about the cast and crew The messages show Justin suggesting how they might 'flip the narrative' as more stories emerge about the controversy surrounding the film Others show the publicists celebrating when their efforts pay off 'These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media. 'Wayfarer Studios made the decision to proactively hire a crisis manager prior to the marketing campaign of the film, to work alongside their own representative with Jonesworks employed by Stephanie Jones, due to the multiple demands and threats made by Ms. Lively during production which included her threatening to not showing up to set, threatening to not promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release, if her demands were not met. 'It was also discovered that Ms. Lively enlisted her own representative, Leslie Sloan with Vision PR, who also represents Mr. Reynolds, to plant negative and completely fabricated and false stories with media, even prior to any marketing had commenced for the film, which was another reason why Wayfarer Studios made the decision to hire a crisis professional to commence internal scenario planning in the case they needed to address. 'The representatives of Wayfarer Studios still did nothing proactive nor retaliated, and only responded to incoming media inquiries to ensure balanced and factual reporting and monitored social activity. 'What is pointedly missing from the cherry-picked correspondence is the evidence that there were no proactive measures taken with media or otherwise; just internal scenario planning and private correspondence to strategize which is standard operating procedure with public relations professionals,' Freedman added. Blake denied planting false or negative stories about her co-star or his company. 'I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted,' she said. Ryan Reynolds Justin Baldoni Share or comment on this article: How Ryan Reynolds has been Blake Lively's 'rock' amid sexual harassment lawsuit against Justin Baldoni e-mail 9 shares Add comment

As the nation mourns the passing of James Earl Carter, Jr., its 39th president and the longest-serving ex-president in U.S. history, there is something poignant, and perhaps even emblematic, about a moment in history almost half a century ago, when the term “evangelical” was barely a blip on the radar screen. “I often say that when Jimmy Carter declared that he was a born-again Christian at this campaign event in North Carolina, he sent every journalist in New York to his or her Rolodex to find someone to tell them what in the world he was talking about,” says Randall Balmer, author of “Redeemer: The Life of Jimmy Carter.” Mr. Carter told journalists he prayed “about 25 times a day, maybe more” and ended each day reading the Bible. “It’s like breathing,” he said of his faith. After decades of appraisals of Mr. Carter’s presidency, there has been something of a general consensus about his place: President Carter was a middling, one-term U.S. president. But Mr. Carter, who died at age 100, would go on to become the most accomplished former officeholder in U.S. history by far, historians say. Asked about his place in history, he told reporters at a Monitor Breakfast in 2005 , “I can’t deny that I am a better ex-president than I was a president. I would like to be remembered as someone who promoted peace and human rights.” On a March evening in 1976, when Jimmy Carter was mingling in the living room of a political supporter in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, someone at the small campaign event asked the former Georgia governor a point-blank question: “Are you a born again Christian?” It startled him that moment, but it was really as natural a question as any for the one-time peanut farmer from the heart of the rural South. He’d been open about his devout Baptist faith during his long-shot campaign to become president of the United States, so he simply answered, “Yes.” He just assumed, as he later explained, “that all devout Christians were born again, of the Holy Spirit.” It was just a few days before North Carolina’s make-or-break primary, but after acknowledging he was a “born again” Christian, all political hell broke loose, as many observers noted at the time. As the nation mourns the passing of James Earl Carter, Jr., its 39th president and the longest-serving ex-president in U.S. history, there is something poignant about that moment in history almost half a century ago. At that time, the term “evangelical” was barely a blip on the radar screens of those in the media and “born again Christian” hardly registered for those steeped in the arts of making policy and garnering votes. “When I recount the story, I often say that when Jimmy Carter declared that he was a born again Christian at this campaign event in North Carolina, he sent every journalist in New York to his or her Rolodex to find someone to tell them what in the world he was talking about,” says Randall Balmer, historian of American religion at Dartmouth College and the author of “Redeemer: The Life of Jimmy Carter.” The election in 1976 in many ways marked the reemergence of this subgroup of American Protestants who had consciously retreated from public life after the “modernist” controversies of the early 20th century, including the Scopes Trial and battle against the teaching of evolution in public schools. Throughout his life, which spanned a century, President Carter himself would define his evangelical faith as “inextricably entwined with the political principles I have adopted.” It would infuse the decisions he made at every stage of his career as a public servant and define his life in ways both good and bad, historians say. “As president he spoke openly of his Christian faith and all it entailed: daily prayers, abhorrence of violence, the belief that the meek shall inherit the earth, the courage to champion the underdog,” wrote the presidential historian David Brinkley in 1998. “Most of all, his faith taught him that a clear conscience was always preferable to Machiavellian expediency – a pretty healthy attitude that proved both Carter’s greatest strength and his bane.” Governor Carter embraced what was then becoming a controversial identity. His stump speech was distinct from the other Democratic candidates, and he peppered it with appeals to “godly values,” using explicit Christian entreaties for “tenderness” and “healing” and “love.” “At least part of the stir over Carter’s shirtsleeve religiosity is that he seems to practice what he preaches,” Newsweek magazine mused a few days after the “born again” question made headlines across the country. “Kennedy went to Mass and Richard Nixon spoke affectionately of his Quaker mother, but neither appeared to be truly religious.” With his toothy smile and soft-spoken drawl, Governor Carter had been campaigning as a Washington outsider, too, emphasizing his simple roots as a peanut farmer from a place called Plains, the farming hamlet where he and his wife, Rosalynn, had both been born and raised. That’s just how they talked about their Christian faith in those parts. Mr. Carter told journalists he prayed “about 25 times a day, maybe more” and ended each day reading the Bible. “It’s like breathing,” he said in describing his faith to reporters who began to ask more pointed questions. “I’ve wondered whether to talk about it at all. But I feel I have a duty to the country – and maybe to God – not to say ‘no comment.’” Now, for the first time, Gallup began to ask voters if they were “born again.” They found that nearly 50 million Americans said they were. In October, Newsweek declared 1976 to be “The Year of the Evangelical.” Journalists and political scientists were now trying to parse the particulars of evangelical theology and how it might affect how people would vote. “Evangelicals suddenly find themselves number one on the North American religious scene,” proclaimed the evangelical magazine Christianity Today a month before the election, noting the impact of Carter’s candidacy. “After being ignored by much of the rest of society for decades, they are now coming into prominence. ... Evangelical recovery has taken fifty years.” But there was also a certain irony as Americans put the experiences of Vietnam and Watergate behind them and found themselves drawn to the pious optimism of Jimmy Carter and elected him president of the United States. “America desperately needed a Jimmy Carter in 1976,” says Barbara Perry, director of presidential studies at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center. “And so for him to come out of almost from nowhere to earn the nomination by sheer shoe leather in Iowa and New Hampshire, and to be the person outside of the establishment and to say, I’m not from Washington, I will never lie to you, I’m a born again Christian – what I say is that, he really did bring a close to the Watergate period.” In just four years, however, American Evangelicals would decisively turn away from Carter – who won the votes of about half of white Evangelicals in 1976, scholars estimate – as well as his Democratic Party. Not only would born-again Christians galvanize around the candidacy of Ronald Reagan, they would also soon become the most potent and reliable political force in the Republican Party, if not the country, for decades to come. As Dr. Balmer alludes in the epigraph of his presidential biography, a quote from the Gospel of St. John: “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” In July of 1979, exactly three years from the day that he accepted the Democratic nomination for president, President Carter was getting ready to give one of the most important speeches of his now increasingly unpopular presidency. Just a year earlier, the president had demonstrated what historians would later call one the most deft and subtle acts of shuttle diplomacy in the nation’s history, achieving a peace accord between Israel and Egypt at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland. As it turned out, this peace agreement would hold, unbroken, for the rest of his life and to this day. But now with a 25% approval rating, the lowest since Harry Truman, President Carter had planned to deliver a major address on the nation’s energy crisis on the Fourth of July. He canceled it at the last minute, however, and retreated to Camp David for 10 days – fueling speculation that the president was ill. The energy crisis was punctuated by an oil embargo from mostly Middle Eastern countries angered at U.S. support for Israel. There were gas shortages, filling newscasts with images of Americans waiting in lines stretching down the block to fill their tank. Inflation stood at 13%, and sky-high interest rates and unemployment were bogging down the economy. At the same time, NASA’s Skylab space station was about to crash out of its orbit, and no one quite knew where it would land. So, in front of a national television audience, President Carter delivered an address titled, “ A Crisis in Confidence ,” in which he characterized the nation as mostly “confronted with a moral and a spiritual crisis.” “In a nation that was proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities, and our faith in God, too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption,” he said. “Human identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what one owns. But we’ve discovered that owning things and consuming things does not satisfy our longing for meaning. We’ve learned that piling up material goods cannot fill the emptiness of lives which have no confidence or purpose.” Two days after delivering this speech, President Carter fired four of his Cabinet secretaries and demanded the resignations of dozens of government officials. This purge, immediately following a national address that would become known, infamously, as the “malaise” speech, gave the impression of an administration that was unsure, unsteady, and in fact falling apart. In some ways, his sense of conscience and spiritual rectitude could have indeed become a bane within his presidential decision making, historians say. “He was a bit of a contrarian, and he is just a very stubborn man,” says Mr. Balmer. “There’s no question about his sense of moral rectitude, which a lot of people find insufferable. His attitude was: I’m going to do the right thing, damn the torpedoes, sort of thing. That didn’t help him either.” And then, just a few months later, a group of Iranian militants stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran and took 52 Americans hostage for what would span 444 days and dominate the last year of Mr. Carter’s presidency. It was yet another crisis, and his effort to rescue the hostages with a daring commando mission in the desert ended in disaster after a helicopter crashed into a transport aircraft, killing eight U.S. service members. President Carter’s inability to rescue the hostages in the U.S. Embassy in Tehran remains one of the most lasting blights on his presidential legacy, but historians also note there were significant accomplishments. He was one of the most consequential U.S. presidents in terms of environmental policy, passing numerous new laws to clean up and protect the environment. He also instituted lasting policies to diversify the nation’s energy sources. “He also implemented an official affirmative action policy for judicial appointments at the federal level when a lot of people didn’t think in those terms,” says Dr. Perry at the Miller Center. When Mr. Carter took office, only eight women and 31 people of color had ever been appointed a federal judge. In his four years as president, Mr. Carter successfully nominated 40 women, including eight women of color, and a total of 57 non-white justices. “As part of that, he named Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the D.C. Circuit, which was her jumping off point, her proving ground to end up on the Supreme Court,” Dr. Perry says. “That in itself is quite a legacy.” President Carter also brought a certain moral vision to U.S. foreign policy, a sustained focus that led to mixed results, many historians say. “I think one accomplishment was to introduce and to insist on the centrality of human rights in American foreign policy, doing away with the kind of reflexive dualism of the Cold War era,” says Mr. Balmer. “One example is that, one of the first things he did was to press for the revision and ratification of the new Panama Canal treaty.” “A lot of people told him, including his wife Rosalynn, wait till your second term,” he says. “But he was just determined, ‘No, this is the right thing to do, and I’m going to do it’. He recognized that if the United States is going to have any meaningful relationship with Latin America ... we needed to get out of the colonial business there." "He expended a great deal of political capital early in his administration, and he just didn’t get it back in many ways,” Mr. Balmer says. After losing his bid for a second term to Republican Ronald Reagan, Mr. and Mrs. Carter returned to their long-time home in Plains, Georgia, the small ranch house on Woodland Drive they purchased in 1961. The Carters would live there for the rest of their lives. The two were married for 77 years – the longest presidential marriage in history – before Rosalynn Carter’s death in November 2023. “Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” Mr. Carter said in a statement after her passing . “She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.” Beyond her powerful role as an adviser, during his presidency she emerged on the national stage as an advocate for mental health and for equal rights for women. The 1980 election was a crushing defeat, and it was not lost on Mr. Carter that Evangelicals and born-again Christians had voted overwhelmingly for the former governor of California. “When I asked him about it, he acknowledged that he took the evangelical vote for granted going into the 1980 campaign,” says Mr. Balmer. “He was blindsided by their support for Reagan.” Having left office at 56, Mr. Carter began to see his post-presidency as his second term. “He said that had he won a second term, it’s likely that he would not have been so energetic and ambitious as he was in activities after he left the White House,” Mr. Balmer says. After decades of appraisals of Mr. Carter’s presidency, there has been something of a general consensus about his place: President Carter was a middling, one-term U.S. president buffeted by a “malaise” of problems at home and abroad. But he would go on to become the most accomplished former officeholder in U.S. history by far, historians say. “I always think that’s the supreme irony of the Carter presidency,” says Dr. Perry. “He got the nomination and won the election because he was not a Washington insider, and that’s exactly what we needed as a country at the time. The pendulum swung as far as it could from Richard Nixon and Watergate. And yet, he wasn’t the best person, perhaps, to govern and be president of the United States at that time. “But then that ties together his post presidency,” she continues. “Because then he goes back to his essence of morality and good deeds and his born-again Christian faith, which he then carried throughout the world.” Reemerging in public life in 1982, Mr. and Mrs. Carter founded The Carter Center in partnership with Emory University in Atlanta. They aimed to champion causes important to them during their time in the White House, including human rights and democracy, public health, and helping to resolve conflicts around the globe. The center has been successful, helping to develop village-based health care centers in Africa. It has also assisted in monitoring elections across the world. One if it's most remarkable achievements, however, is leading a coalition that would virtually eradicate the Guinea worm. There were 3.5 million cases of the parasite in the mid-1980s, when The Carter Center began its efforts. "I'd like for the last Guinea worm to die before I do," Mr. Carter said at a press conference in 2015. In 2023, there were 13 known cases. In 2024, and as of this publishing, there have been zero Guinea worm cases reported around the globe. With one of his lasting legacies being the Camp David peace accords, Mr. Carter continued to serve as a kind of freelance ambassador and roving peace maker. He helped the Miskito Indians in Nicaragua return to their homes after long conflicts with the Sandinista government. He traveled to Ethiopia to help mediate a conflict with Eritrea. And he continued to assist the State Department in sensitive negotiations with dictators such as Kim Il Sung of North Korea and Muammar Qaddafi of Libya. As a public figure, the former president also championed Habitat for Humanity International, often holding a hammer and wearing a hardhat as he helped build homes for people in need. In 2002, Mr. Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. For nearly 40 years, too, Mr. Carter would take his turn to teach Sunday School at his longtime congregation, Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, and he would continue to invoke “a religious faith based on kindness toward each other” and rooted in a commitment to peace. “I have a commitment to worship the Prince of Peace, not the prince of preemptive war,” Mr. Carter said at a Monitor Breakfast in 2005 , criticizing the decision to invade Iraq. “I believe Christ taught us to give special attention to the plight of the poor.” Asked about his place in history, he later told the gathering, “I can’t deny that I am a better ex-president than I was a president. I would like to be remembered as someone who promoted peace and human rights.”

OpenAI's legal battle with Elon Musk reveals internal turmoil over avoiding AI 'dictatorship'In a post to Instagram on Thursday the singer, 36, explained that he went to hospital after feeling “really unwell” and added that he needed “a lot more tests” to determine “what surgery I will need to get me back on my feet.” Updating his fans, George posted a video from his hospital bed on Friday, and said he “had a bit of a rough day”. A post shared by Max George (@maxgeorge) He added: “My heart rate dropped a bit this morning, which was, it was a little bit scary. “But everyone here is amazing, so wanted to get it back up a little bit and get it stable again, which is great. “Reason I’m not... like a lot of friends and family are asking why I’m not just going in and having anything (like surgery) done yet, because there’s so many tests that need to be done before we do anything. “So I just need to get through till, I guess, next week. Get all the tests done, and then they’ll know exactly what to do, because otherwise, obviously, they’ll be able to do something, but it’ll be better doing it with all the information that they need. “But, yeah, it’s shit, but still here and staying positive. “And thanks everyone as well for all the lovely messages and any friends and family and that that have messaged that I haven’t got back to. “I see you all and yeah, means a lot. Much love and have a nice Friday night.” George rose to fame in the 2010s with The Wanted, who had a number of hit songs including All Time Low, Glad You Came and Heart Vacancy. His bandmate Tom Parker died in 2022 at the age of 33 after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour. George, who helped carry Parker’s coffin at his funeral alongside fellow bandmates Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness and Nathan Sykes, previously said on This Morning that he continued to message his late bandmate following his death as it brought him “a bit of comfort”. He also appeared in the US musical series Glee as Clint and in his band’s reality series The Wanted Life. Over the years, he has competed in a number of competition series including Strictly Come Dancing in 2020, Bear Grylls: Mission Survive and Richard Osman’s House Of Games. George’s girlfriend is former EastEnders star Maisie Smith, who appeared on BBC One dancing competition series Strictly Come Dancing in 2020 at the same time as George, though they have previously said that romantic sparks only began to fly in 2022. He was due to appear on a MasterChef Christmas special before the BBC pulled the show from its festive schedule amid allegations about the conduct of judge Gregg Wallace across a range of shows.

Dublin woman tapped by Trump to lead the US Department of Justice's antitrust divisionCHATHAM, N.J. — That buzzing coming out of New Jersey? It’s unclear if it’s drones or something else, but for sure the nighttime sightings are producing tons of talk, a raft of conspiracy theories and craned necks looking skyward. Cropping up on local news and social media sites around Thanksgiving, the saga of the drones reported over New Jersey has reached incredible heights. This week seems to have begun a new, higher-profile chapter: Lawmakers are demanding (but so far not getting) explanations from federal and state authorities about what’s behind them. Gov. Phil Murphy wrote to President Joe Biden asking for answers. New Jersey’s new senator, Andy Kim, spent Thursday night on a drone hunt in rural northern New Jersey, and posted about it on X. But perhaps the most fantastic development is the dizzying proliferation of conspiracies — none of which has been confirmed or suggested by federal and state officials who say they’re looking into what’s happening. It has become shorthand to refer to the flying machines as drones, but there are questions about whether what people are seeing are unmanned aircraft or something else. Some theorize the drones came from an Iranian mothership. Others think they are the Secret Service making sure President-elect Donald Trump’s Bedminster property is secure. Others worry about China. The deep state. And on. In the face of uncertainty, people have done what they do in 2024: Create a social media group. The Facebook page, New Jersey Mystery Drones — let’s solve it , has nearly 44,000 members, up from 39,000 late Thursday. People are posting their photo and video sightings, and the online commenters take it from there. One video shows a whitish light flying in a darkened sky, and one commenter concludes it’s otherworldly. “Straight up orbs,” the person says. Others weigh in to say it’s a plane or maybe a satellite. Another group called for hunting the drones literally, shooting them down like turkeys. (Do not shoot at anything in the sky, experts warn.) Trisha Bushey, 48, of Lebanon Township, New Jersey, lives near Round Valley Reservoir where there have been numerous sightings. She said she first posted photos online last month wondering what the objects were and became convinced they were drones when she saw how they moved and when her son showed her on a flight tracking site that no planes were around. Now she’s glued to the Mystery Drones page, she said. “I find myself — instead of Christmas shopping or cleaning my house — checking it,” she said. She doesn’t buy what the governor said, that the drones aren’t a risk to public safety. Murphy told Biden on Friday that residents need answers. The federal Homeland Security Department and FBI also said in a joint statement they have no evidence that the sightings pose “a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus.” “How can you say it’s not posing a threat if you don’t know what it is?” she said. “I think that’s why so many people are uneasy.” Then there’s the notion that people could misunderstand what they’re seeing. William Austin is the president of Warren County Community College, which has a drone technology degree program, and is coincidentally located in one of the sighting hotspots. Austin says he has looked at videos of purported drones and that airplanes are being misidentified as drones. He cited an optical effect called parallax, which is the apparent shift of an object when viewed from different perspectives. Austin encouraged people to download flight and drone tracker apps so they can better understand what they’re looking at. Nonetheless, people continue to come up with their own theories. “It represents the United States of America in 2024,” Austin said. “We’ve lost trust in our institutions, and we need it.” Federal officials echo Austin’s view that many of the sightings are piloted aircraft such as planes and helicopters being mistaken for drones, according to lawmakers and Murphy. That’s not really convincing for many, though, who are homing in on the sightings beyond just New Jersey and the East Coast, where others have reported seeing the objects. For Seph Divine, 34, another member of the drone hunting group who lives in Eugene, Oregon, it feels as if it’s up to citizen sleuths to solve the mystery. He said he tries to be a voice of reason, encouraging people to fact check their information, while also asking probing questions. “My main goal is I don’t want people to be caught up in the hysteria and I also want people to not just ignore it at the same time,” he said. “Whether or not it’s foreign military or some secret access program or something otherworldly, whatever it is, all I’m saying is it’s alarming that this is happening so suddenly and so consistently for hours at a time,” he added. Golden reported form Seattle. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.Loo-less town's battle illustrates national problem

Gail Slater, a native of Dalkey in Dublin, is US President-elect Donald Trump's choice to become the next Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division at the US Department of Justice. Trump, who beat Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in the US Presidential election on November 5, announced Slater as his pick in a statement on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, December 4. "I am pleased to nominate Gail Slater as Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division at the Department of Justice," Trump said in the post. "Big Tech has run wild for years, stifling competition in our most innovative sector and, as we all know, using its market power to crack down on the rights of so many Americans, as well as those of Little Tech! "I was proud to fight these abuses in my First Term, and our Department of Justice's antitrust team will continue that work under Gail's leadership. "Gail previously served at the FTC, in my National Economic Council and, most recently, advising Vice President-Elect JD Vance in his Senate office. "Gail has also worked in the private sector, in Media at FOX, and in the Tech sector at Roku. "In her new role, Gail will help ensure that our competition laws are enforced, both vigorously and FAIRLY, with clear rules that facilitate, rather than stifle, the ingenuity of our greatest companies. "Congratulations Gail - Together, we will Make America Competitive Again!" Slater will be need to confirmed by the US Senate to officially take up the role. Sign up to IrishCentral's newsletter to stay up-to-date with everything Irish! Abigail 'Gail' Slater, nee Conlon, graduated from the Loreto Abbey in Dublin in 1989 and continued her education at University College Dublin and Oxford University. The Irish woman began her career in London with the law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, which often sent her on trips to the US where she eventually met her now-husband Lindsay Slater. The Irish woman made the move to the US in 2003 and she and Lindsay got married in Dublin in 2004. She now holds dual Irish - US citizenship. After moving to the US, Slater took up a role with the Federal Trade Commission, where she worked through August 2014. In September 2014, Slater began her role as general counsel at the Internet Association. Slater made her White House debut in February 2018 when she became the Special Assistant to The President for Technology, Telecommunications & Cyber Security Policy. She is believed to have been the only Irish-born member of staff in the first Trump White House. During her tenure in the White House, Slater received the Leadership in Government Award at The Ireland Funds National Gala in Washington, DC in March 2019. Accepting her award, she expressed her gratitude to Irish Americans: "When I was growing up in Ireland, the Irish Americans seemed always to be there for us from afar. To us, you were a cross between a big brother and a guardian angel." In April 2019, Slater exited the White House to take up the role of Senior Vice President For Policy and Strategy at Fox Corporation. In February 2022, Slater was named Vice President at Roku Inc. Two years later, she was selected to be an economic policy advisor for Senator JD Vance, who is now the Vice President-elect. The Business Post reported in 2019 that Slater had previously said of Trump: “I’ve always appreciated how decisive he is. "Like any chief executive, you want someone who will make a decision, [and] he will make a decision. “The other thing I really appreciate – and this is something I don’t think everyone else gets— is that he wants to know what everyone in the room thinks.”A Las Vegas judge increased bail on Tuesday for a 72-year-old former Palo Verde High School teacher and coach facing child sexual abuse charges. Michael “Luke” Atwell was indicted this month on 17 counts of lewdness with a child under 14, six counts of sexual assault against a child under 14, two counts of battery with the intent to commit sexual assault against a child under 16, open or gross lewdness in the presence of a child or vulnerable person, and two counts of child abuse. His bail was previously set at $300,000. His defense attorney, Jess Marchese, filed a motion for a judge to decrease the bail, while prosecutors filed a countermotion to raise it to $1 million. District Judge Eric Johnson sided with prosecutors on Tuesday and raised Atwell’s bail to $500,000, Marchese said. Marchese said he was surprised the judge raised the bail, given his client’s military history and lack of criminal record. Atwell has been accused of sexually assaulting multiple victims when they were children: a boy when he was between 11 and 14 years old; a woman who is now an adult in her 30s; that woman’s daughter; another former student who is now in her 30s; and that woman’s son. However, Atwell was only indicted on charges related to two of the alleged victims who are still children. Prosecutors have said that the statute of limitations affected some charges that were dropped. A police report indicated that officials were unable to charge Atwell in relation to an alleged previous sexual relationship with a student because a law banning such relationships was not yet active. Prosecutors argued in the motion to increase Atwell’s bail that one of the victims was abused “hundreds” of times, and that the judge should find that Atwell is “an extreme danger to the community as a sexual predator.” According to the motion, one victim met Atwell when the child and her mother moved into his house, and another victim knew Atwell from his neighborhood and from church. Atwell previously taught history, criminal justice and social studies and coached boys cross country and girls softball at Palo Verde. State records indicate he also taught at Becker Middle School between 1999 and 2003. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1971 and then transferred to the Air Force, which he retired from in 1997 as a lieutenant colonel. A jury trial for Atwell is scheduled for May 5.