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Jimmy Carter funeral latest: Former president lies in state at US Capitol Rotunda

Dignitaries, including Supreme Court justices and members of Congress, take part in lying-in-state ceremony at Capitol Rotunda

Gustaf Kilander
in Washington, D.C.
Tuesday 07 January 2025 17:50 EST
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Jimmy Carter, former US president, dies aged 100

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Vice President Kamala Harris spoke during a memorial service for former President Jimmy Carter on Tuesday in Washington DC, remembering him as a head of state who was "ahead of his time" and deeply empathetic to the needs of the people he represented.

Carter, the 39th President of the United States, died on December 29, at the age of 100.

Harris praised Carter for leaving the world "better than he found it," and praised the former president for his progressive actions, including appointing more Black Americans to the federal bench than all of his predecessors combined. He also appointed five times as many women, Harris noted.

The vice president also praised Carter's commitment to diplomacy, noting the success of the Camp David Accords in 1978.

She did not just praise his time as president; Harris said Carter "established a new model for what it means to be a former president and leave an extraordinary post-presidential legacy."

Harris praised his Carter Center, his public health workers, and his "tireless advocacy for peace and democracy" around the world.

The vice president called Carter a "rare example" of a "gifted man who also walks with humility, modesty, and grace," and said it was clear that he "loved our country."

"He lived his faith, he served the people, and he left the world a better place than he found it," she said.

PHOTOS: Carter’s casket arrives at Joint Base Andrews as crowds gather at U.S. Naval Memorial

The flag-draped casket of former US President Jimmy Carter is tranfered to a hearse during an arrival ceremony in Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on January 7, 2025
The flag-draped casket of former US President Jimmy Carter is tranfered to a hearse during an arrival ceremony in Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on January 7, 2025 (AFP via Getty Images)
The hearse carrying the flag-draped casket of former President Jimmy Carter prepares to depart Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on January 7, 2025.
The hearse carrying the flag-draped casket of former President Jimmy Carter prepares to depart Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on January 7, 2025. (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Members of the military salute as an honor cordon transfers the flag-draped casket of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to a hearse during an arrival ceremony on January 07, 2025 in Joint Base Andrews, Maryland
Members of the military salute as an honor cordon transfers the flag-draped casket of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to a hearse during an arrival ceremony on January 07, 2025 in Joint Base Andrews, Maryland (Getty Images)
Spectators wait for the casket of former President Jimmy Carter to arrive at the U.S. Navy Memorial before traveling on to the Capitol on January 7, 2025 in Washington, DC
Spectators wait for the casket of former President Jimmy Carter to arrive at the U.S. Navy Memorial before traveling on to the Capitol on January 7, 2025 in Washington, DC (Getty Images)
Gustaf Kilander7 January 2025 20:06

Carter reflected on 1980 Olympic boycott: ‘A bad decision’

It was a decision that robbed hundreds of athletes of their once-in-a-lifetime chance at Olympic glory, and for more than four decades, it weighed heavily on the man who made it — Jimmy Carter.

Carter’s passing Sunday has unearthed memories from his 1977-1981 presidency. Somewhere between his greatest foreign-policy success (the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt) and his greatest failure (the Iran hostage crisis) sits the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Olympics in Moscow.

It was Carter who called for that boycott — a Cold War power play intended to express America’s disdain for the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. In his 1980 State of the Union Address, Carter said the invasion “could pose the most serious threat to world peace since the second World War.”

Read more:

Carter reflected on 1980 Olympic boycott: ‘A bad decision’

It was a decision that robbed hundreds of athletes of their once-in-a-lifetime chance at Olympic glory

Eddie Pells7 January 2025 20:00

PHOTOS: Carter’s casket takes off for Washington D.C.

A hearse carrying the casket of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is greeted by a military honor cordon as it is transferred to Washington, DC from Dobbins Air Reserve Base on January 7, 2025 in Marietta, Georgia
A hearse carrying the casket of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is greeted by a military honor cordon as it is transferred to Washington, DC from Dobbins Air Reserve Base on January 7, 2025 in Marietta, Georgia (Getty Images)
Amy Carter and Jeff Carter watch as the flag-draped casket of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is placed on Special Air Mission 39 at Dobbins Air Reserve Base on January 7, 2025 in Marietta, Georgia
Amy Carter and Jeff Carter watch as the flag-draped casket of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is placed on Special Air Mission 39 at Dobbins Air Reserve Base on January 7, 2025 in Marietta, Georgia (Getty Images)
Civil engineers clear the tarmac before the arrival ceremony for the remains of U.S. President Jimmy Carter at Joint Base Andrews on January 07, 2025 in Joint Base Andrews, Maryland
Civil engineers clear the tarmac before the arrival ceremony for the remains of U.S. President Jimmy Carter at Joint Base Andrews on January 07, 2025 in Joint Base Andrews, Maryland (Getty Images)
Gustaf Kilander7 January 2025 19:30

Sunday school class with Jimmy Carter: What it was like

It never got old.

No matter how many times one crammed into the modest sanctuary at Maranatha Baptist Church, there was always some wisdom to be gleaned from the measured, Bible-inspired words of Jimmy Carter.

This was another side of the 39th president, a down-to-earth man of steadfast faith who somehow found time to teach Sunday school classes when he wasn’t building homes for the needy, or advocating for fair elections, or helping eradicate awful diseases.

For young and old, straight and gay, believers and nonbelievers, Black and white and brown, Maranatha was a far-off-the-beaten path destination in southwest Georgia where Carter, well into his 90s, stayed connected with his fellow citizens of the world.

Read more:

Paul Newberry7 January 2025 19:00

VIDEO: Carter’s casket leaves Carter Center for U.S. Capitol

Gustaf Kilander7 January 2025 18:30

Who are Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter’s children?

When Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter entered the White House in 1977, they became the first couple since John F Kennedy to raise their children in the executive mansion on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Over the years, their family continued to grow in size, with nearly two dozen grandchildren and great-grandchildren added to the Carter clan.

“We have a big family now. We have 22 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, 38 of us in all,” Carter told CNN in 2015.

“So, we try to hold our family together and just enjoy the family life.”

Read more:

Who are Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter’s children?

‘We have a big family now. We have 22 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, 38 of us in all,’ Carter told CNN in 2015

Gustaf Kilander, Amelia Neath7 January 2025 18:00

Trump bashes Carter over Panama Canal

Gustaf Kilander7 January 2025 17:30

PHOTOS: Carter motorcade heads to Dobbins Air Reserve Base for departure to Washington D.C.

The motorcade with the hearse carrying the casket of former US President Jimmy Carter drives through Atlanta, Georgia on its way to Dobbins Air Reserve Base on January 7, 2025
The motorcade with the hearse carrying the casket of former US President Jimmy Carter drives through Atlanta, Georgia on its way to Dobbins Air Reserve Base on January 7, 2025 (AFP via Getty Images)
The hearse carrying the casket of former President Jimmy Carter passes through Atlanta on its way to Dobbins Air Reserve Base on January 7, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia
The hearse carrying the casket of former President Jimmy Carter passes through Atlanta on its way to Dobbins Air Reserve Base on January 7, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia (Getty Images)
The motorcade with the hearse carrying the casket of former US President Jimmy Carter drives through Atlanta, Georgia on its way to Dobbins Air Reserve Base on January 7, 2025
The motorcade with the hearse carrying the casket of former US President Jimmy Carter drives through Atlanta, Georgia on its way to Dobbins Air Reserve Base on January 7, 2025 (AFP via Getty Images)
Members of a military honor guard await the arrival of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter's casket as it is transported to Washington, DC at Dobbins Air Reserve Base on January 7, 2025 in Marietta, Georgia
Members of a military honor guard await the arrival of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter's casket as it is transported to Washington, DC at Dobbins Air Reserve Base on January 7, 2025 in Marietta, Georgia (Getty Images)
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (L) and others await the arrival of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter's casket as it is transported to Washington, DC at Dobbins Air Reserve Base on January 7, 2025 in Marietta, Georgia
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (L) and others await the arrival of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter's casket as it is transported to Washington, DC at Dobbins Air Reserve Base on January 7, 2025 in Marietta, Georgia (Getty Images)
Gustaf Kilander7 January 2025 17:13

‘We give money, we don’t take it’: Where might former president Jimmy Carter’s savings go after he dies?

He lived on a property in Plains, Georgia — where he died on December 29 at age 100 — that was worth a fraction of the average U.S. house price, he shopped at budget stores, and he did not fly privately.

The least expensive former president for the U.S. government, Carter and his wife Rosalynnwho died in 2023 — lived a surprisingly average life after his term ended in 1981.

While the Carters lived a public life, they were nothing if not generous with their money.

Read more:

Where might former president Jimmy Carter’s money go after he dies?

The former president reportedly lived in a $167,000 house and flew commercial

Katie Hawkinson7 January 2025 17:00

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter left behind enduring nonprofits as part of their legacy of giving back

President Jimmy Carter ‘s legacy of giving back endures in several nonprofits he and his wife, Rosalynn Carter, supported for the almost 50 years after they left the White House.

In Los Angeles on Monday, members of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles signed wooden two-by-fours that will be used in a new house as a tribute to the former president, who died at age 100 on Dec. 29. In Houston, they are planning to let members of the community sign a door and wall in a new house to remember the thousands of homes the Carters helped build. They will do the same in Tallahassee, Florida, and numerous other communities, in preparation for Carter’s state funeral on Jan. 9.

The tributes to his dedication to providing affordable housing show how the Carters’ work will continue.

Read more:

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter left behind enduring nonprofits as part of their legacy of giving back

President Jimmy Carter’s legacy of giving back endures in several nonprofits through which he and his wife, Rosalynn Carter, worked in the almost 50 years after they left the White House

Thalia Beaty7 January 2025 16:30

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