Jimmy Carter brought a brief moment of national unity to a divided America Thursday as five US presidents gathered for the solemn state funeral of the 39th commander-in-chief in Washington’s National Cathedral.In historic scenes just 11 days before the inauguration of Donald Trump for what promises to be a turbulent second term, the incoming president and outgoing President Joe Biden set aside their bitter rivalry to mourn Carter together.Former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton also sat with them for the somber ceremony to honor Carter, who died on December 29 at the age of 100 in his home state of Georgia.Democrat Carter was widely perceived as naive and weak during his single term from 1977 to 1981, but a more nuanced view has emerged as the years passed, focusing on his decency and foreign policy achievements.Carter’s flag-draped coffin was transported from the US Capitol, where it had been lying in state, and brought into the immense cathedral by an honor guard of service members in ceremonial uniforms.His grandson Joshua Carter gave the first homily to the last president of the “Greatest Generation.”- ‘Decent man’ -President Joe Biden will deliver the eulogy for his fellow Democrat at the neo-Gothic cathedral, a traditional venue for send-offs of US presidents, from Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan to George H.W. Bush.Biden, who leaves the White House on January 20 after his own single term in office, has said that Carter asked him to do so when the pair — long-standing friends — met for the last time four years ago.”Carter was a decent man. I think Carter looked at the world not from here but from here, where everybody else lives,” Biden said as he gestured from above his head towards his heart.The funeral comes just days before another moment of profound change for the United States, with the return of Trump to the Oval Office.Obama shook hands and chatted with the billionaire Republican. There was also a brief moment of reconciliation for Trump and his former vice president Mike Pence, as they met and shook hands for what is believed to be the first time since the 2021 US Capitol riots when Pence refused to back Trump’s false claims to have won the 2020 election.The five presidents joined around 3,000 mourners at the service, and Thursday has been designated a national day of mourning, with federal offices closed.Carter, who served a single term before a crushing election loss to Reagan in 1980, suffered in the dog-eat-dog world of Washington politics and a hostage crisis involving Americans held in Tehran after Iran’s Islamic revolution finally sealed his fate.But history has led to a reassessment, focusing on his brokering of a peace deal between Israel and Egypt. He also received high praise for his post-presidential humanitarian efforts, and a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.- ‘Thirst for justice’ -The first president to reach triple digits, he had been in hospice care since February 2023 in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, where he died and will be buried next to his late wife, former first lady Rosalynn Carter.Mourners began paying their respects on Saturday, as the carefully choreographed six-day farewell got underway with US flags flying at half-staff around the country.A black hearse bearing Carter’s remains paused at his boyhood family peanut farm in Plains, where a bell was rung 39 times and staff stood in silent tribute.Crowds gathered along the roadside to say their goodbyes, snap photographs or salute as the motorcade rolled slowly past.Carter’s casket arrived at Washington’s snow-covered US Capitol on Tuesday atop a gun carriage.It was accompanied by hundreds of service members, with military pallbearers carrying Carter to the Rotunda to lie in state ahead of Thursday’s ceremony — the first presidential funeral since Bush Senior died in 2018.Chuck Schumer, the leader of the Democrats in the Senate, described Carter as “one of the most decent and humble public servants we have ever seen.” “President Carter was a living embodiment of leadership through service, compassion, and a thirst for justice for all,” he said.

Shell-shocked Los Angeles residents on Thursday surveyed the devastation from wind-whipped fires that have engulfed entire neighborhoods and claimed at least five lives, as forecasters warned of further dangerous conditions.Several blazes were still burning out of control, with zero percent containment of fires in upscale Pacific Palisade and the northern suburb of Altadena — which have both been incinerated.”Altadena is just devastated,” said Judy Chu, the US congresswoman representing the region, who visited an evacuation center where 1,000 displaced residents sought shelter.”They are numb. They don’t know what they will return to once this fire is contained,” she told local news KTLA.Over 130,000 people across the western US metropolis remained under evacuation orders as meteorologists warned that “critical” windy and dry conditions, though abated, were not over.”Significant fire growth remains likely with ongoing or new fires” throughout Thursday and into Friday, said a National Weather Service bulletin.But there was some good news for Hollywood, the historic home of the movie industry.Residents were sent scrambling Wednesday night when a fire broke out in the adjacent hills.But evacuation orders were lifted Thursday morning, after emergency workers succeeded in dousing the so-called Sunset Fire.”Fortunately, the Sunset Fire is under control,” said Margaret Stewart, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles City Fire Department.”We had multiple helicopters continuously dropping (water). And within an hour, a bulk of the fire had been knocked down,” she said.- Multi-million dollar homes -Fast-moving flames fanned by powerful winds have leveled more than 2,000 structures, many of them multi-million dollar homes in a tragedy that the US media describe as the worst in the city’s history.Millions of Angelenos have watched in horror as blazes have erupted around America’s second biggest city, sparking panic and fear.Winds with gusts up to 100 miles (160 kilometers) an hour spread the fire around the ritzy Pacific Palisades neighborhood with lightning speed.At least 17,000 acres (6,900 hectares) burned there, with 1,000 homes and businesses razed.A separate 10,600-acre (4,300-hectare) fire was burning around Altadena, north of the city, where flames tore through suburban streets.Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said five people were known to have perished, with more deaths feared.- Lost everything -Among those who died was 66-year-old Victor Shaw, whose sister said he had ignored pleas to leave as the fire swept through Altendena because he wanted to protect their home.”When I went back in and yelled out his name, he didn’t reply back,” Shari Shaw said.”I had to get out because the embers were so big and flying like a firestorm that I had to save myself.”Shaw’s body was found by a friend on the driveway of his razed home, a garden hose in his hand.William Gonzales got out alive, but his Altadena home was gone.”We have lost practically everything; the flames have consumed all our dreams,” he told AFP.Ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft are offering evacuating residents free rides to shelter locations.Pasadena fire chief Chad Augustin hailed the bravery of first responders.”Our death count today would be significantly higher without their heroic actions,” Augustin told reporters.President Joe Biden canceled a trip to Italy this week to focus on the federal response to the fires, and is due to address the nation later Thursday.His incoming successor Donald Trump blamed the California governor Gavin Newsom for the devastation, calling on him to resign. “This is all his fault,” Trump said on his Truth social platform. – Climate crisis -Wildfires are part of life in the US West and play a vital role in nature.But scientists say human-caused climate change is altering weather patterns.Southern California had two decades of drought that were followed by two exceptionally wet years, which sparked furious vegetative growth — leaving the region packed with fuel and primed to burn — and then has had no significant rain for eight months.

Wildfires across Los Angeles have claimed at least five lives and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes. Some blazes are threatening to engulf parts of Hollywood.Here is what we know about the disaster.- Record damage -The two main outbreaks, Palisades and Eaton, have already destroyed 1,000 buildings each.That makes them the two most destructive in the history of Los Angeles County, according to data from the California Fire Department.- Causes of the fires -Last year’s El Nino weather system brought heavy rains that fuelled excessive vegetation growth in the first half of 2024. Then in the second half of the year there was drought across southern California, with only 4 mm (0.15 inches) of rain in central LA.Those dry conditions combined with strong winds, which fanned the five outbreaks ravaging Los Angeles.In addition, the temperature — around 20 degrees Celsius (68 Fahrenheit) in the Californian megacity in the middle of the day — is high for the start of winter. “We see these fires spread when it is hot and dry and windy, and right now all of those conditions are in place in southern California,” Kristina Dahl, vice president for science at Climate Central, told AFP.- The toll so far -The fires have killed five people, but the city authorities fear they will find more bodies in the charred debris. Compared to other fires that have ravaged California in recent years, which sometimes extended over several thousand square kilometres, the current outbreaks are small: nearly 120 square kilometres (close to 30 acres). What sets them apart from previous wildfires is how destructive they have been, despite being located in residential areas.They have around 2,000 houses or buildings since Tuesday, forcing the evacuation of more than 100,000 Los Angeles residents, including in the historic Hollywood district, whose famous Boulevard is threatened by flames. The flames have destroyed a hundred luxury residences costing millions of dollars, which means it the fire could be the costliest ever recorded: damage was estimated at $57 billion (55 billion euros) by AccuWeather.- Disruption -On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden was in Los Angeles, where he had been expected to announce the creation of two new national monuments.Strong winds forced the cancellation of that announcement, and several other scheduled events were either cancelled or postponed due to the wildfires.These included the annual Critics Choice Awards gala, a televised Hollywood ceremony that had been set for the weekend normally attended by many A-list stars.Next week’s unveiling of the Oscar nominations was also pushed back, to January 19.Filming of LA-based shows such as “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Hacks” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live” has also been paused, and the Universal Studios theme park has closed.Biden cancelled his upcoming trip to Italy, which would probably have been his final overseas trip as president, to focus instead on the federal response to the fires.

US greenhouse gas emissions barely decreased in 2024, leaving the world’s largest economy off track to achieve its climate goals, according to an analysis released Thursday, as the incoming Trump administration looks set to double down on fossil fuels.The preliminary estimate by the Rhodium Group, an independent research organization, found a net fall of just 0.2 percent in economy-wide emissions.Lower manufacturing output drove the modest decline, but it was undercut by increased air and road travel and higher electricity demand.Study co-author Ben King told AFP the small drop came despite the US economy expanding last year by 2.7 percent, “a continuation of a trend that we’ve seen where there’s a decoupling between economic growth and greenhouse gas emissions.”Overall, emissions remain below pre-pandemic levels and about 20 percent below 2005 levels, the benchmark year for US commitments under the Paris Agreement. The accord aims to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, to avert the worst catastrophes of planet-wide heating.But with 2024 effectively static, decarbonization must accelerate across all sectors. “To meet its Paris Agreement target of a 50-52 percent reduction in emissions by 2030, the US must sustain an ambitious 7.6 percent annual drop in emissions from 2025 to 2030,” the report said — an unprecedented pace outside of a recession.What’s more, Trump has signaled plans to roll back President Joe Biden’s green policies, including rules that require sweeping cuts from fossil fuel power plants and provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act, which channels hundreds of billions of dollars into clean energy. Should these plans materialize, the US would likely achieve only a 24–40 percent emissions reduction by 2035, the report concluded.- Off track -Even under Biden, the US has logged more tepid reductions compared to some other major emitters.German greenhouse gas emissions fell by three percent in 2024, following a 10 percent year-on-year drop the previous year, according to Agora Energiewende. The European Union’s emissions are forecast to have dropped by 3.8 percent in 2024, according to Carbon Brief, a UK-based analysis site.Such predictions precede official government data and only represent estimates, meaning final figures can vary significantly. US emissions have been trending downward in bumpy fashion since they peaked in 2004. They fell 3.3 percent in 2023 but rose 1.3 percent in 2022 and 6.3 percent in 2021 amid a post-pandemic rebound.”When we looked at the Inflation Reduction Act a couple of years ago… we would have expected slightly lower emissions today than we’re seeing right now,” said King. Still, these investments may just need more time to pay off: with the report finding clean energy and transportation spending reached a record $71 billion in last year’s third quarter.”It’s kind of a mixed bag from my perspective,” King said.- Air conditioning demand -Positives in the report include a bigger share of green energy in the grid — solar and wind combined surpassed coal for the first time — and a drop in methane emissions from reduced coal use and cleaner oil and gas production.Climate scientist Michael Mann of the University of Pennsylvania told AFP he welcomed the continued decoupling of growth and emissions.But “emissions aren’t coming down anywhere near the rate they need to, yet at least,” he added.”Simply flatlining emissions puts the United States even farther off track from meeting its climate commitments,” warned Debbie Weyl, US Acting Director for the World Resources Institute.Rachel Cleetus, policy director with the climate and energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, called the findings “sobering,” noting the increased electricity demand came from residential buildings requiring more air conditioning.”Now that’s a reality, as we see year upon year of the temperature records being broken,” she told AFP, as 2024 is set to be named the hottest year on record.