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The King and the Prime Minister have paid tribute to Jimmy Carter following the former US president’s death on Sunday aged 100. In a message to the American people, the King expressed “great sadness” at the news of Mr Carter’s death, describing him as “a committed public servant” who “devoted his life to promoting peace and human rights”. He added: “His dedication and humility served as an inspiration to many, and I remember with great fondness his visit to the United Kingdom in 1977. “My thoughts and prayers are with President Carter’s family and the American people at this time.” Mr Carter, a former peanut farmer, served one term in the White House between 1977 and 1981 and spent his post-presidency years as a global humanitarian, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Sir Keir Starmer said Mr Carter had “lived his values in the service of others to the very end” through “decades of selfless public service”. Praising a “lifelong dedication to peace” that saw him win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, Sir Keir added: “Motivated by his strong faith and values, President Carter redefined the post-presidency with a remarkable commitment to social justice and human rights at home and abroad.” Tributes to Mr Carter followed the announcement of his death by his family on Sunday, more than a year after he decided to enter hospice care. His son, Chip Carter, said: “My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights, and unselfish love.” US President Joe Biden, one of the first elected politicians to endorse Mr Carter’s bid for the presidency in 1976, said the world had “lost an extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian”. He said: “Over six decades, we had the honour of calling Jimmy Carter a dear friend. But, what’s extraordinary about Jimmy Carter, though, is that millions of people throughout America and the world who never met him thought of him as a dear friend as well. “With his compassion and moral clarity, he worked to eradicate disease, forge peace, advance civil rights and human rights, promote free and fair elections, house the homeless, and always advocate for the least among us.” Other UK politicians also paid tribute to Mr Carter. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said he was “an inspiration” who “led a truly remarkable life dedicated to public service with a genuine care for people”. Scottish First Minister John Swinney described the former president as “a good, decent, honest man who strove for peace in all that he did”, while Welsh First Minister said he was “a remarkable man” and “a humanitarian and scholar”. Former prime minister Sir Tony Blair said Mr Carter’s “life was a testament to public service”. He added: “I always had the greatest respect for him, his spirit and his dedication. He fundamentally cared and consistently toiled to help those in need.” Mr Carter is expected to receive a state funeral featuring public observances in Atlanta, Georgia, and Washington DC before being buried in his hometown of Plains, Georgia. A moderate democrat born in Plains in October 1924, Mr Carter’s political career took him from the Georgia state senate to the state governorship and, finally, the White House, where he took office as 39th president in the wake of the Watergate scandal and the Vietnam War. His presidency saw economic disruption amid volatile oil prices, along with social tensions at home and challenges abroad including the Iranian revolution that sparked a 444-day hostage crisis at the US embassy in Tehran. But he also brokered the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel, which led to a peace treaty between the two countries in 1979. After his defeat in the 1980 presidential election, he worked more than four decades leading The Carter Centre, which he and his late wife Rosalynn co-founded in 1982 to “wage peace, fight disease, and build hope”. Under his leadership, the Carter Center virtually eliminated Guinea Worm disease, which has gone from affecting 3.5 million people in Africa and Asia in 1986 to just 14 in 2023. Mrs Carter, who died last year aged 96, had played a more active role in her husband’s presidency than previous first ladies, with Mr Carter saying she had been “my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished”. Earlier this year, on his 100th birthday, Mr Carter received a private congratulatory message from the King, expressing admiration for his life of public serviceMy Boyfriend Gave Me a Brazilian Wax and It Was an ExperienceChristopher Nolan's Next Movie Revealed as Adaptation of Homer's “The Odyssey” with Huge A-List Cast

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Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) began his reelection campaign this week, expressing confidence he'll return for a third term in the Senate in the purple state. The North Carolina lawmaker planned a campaign launch reception and fundraiser Wednesday evening in Washington, D.C., where at least 20 Republican senators will join him as he seeks to defend one of the most competitive seats of the 2026 election cycle. However, Tillis's past votes on key cultural matters, such as enshrining protections for gay marriage and immigration, led the North Carolina GOP to censure him, and he is likely to face a primary challenge. Tillis, though, has backed his record and remains confident that he will convince North Carolinians to stand by him. MEET THE NEW CONGRESS: THE HOUSE AND SENATE FRESHMEN ELECTED TO SERVE NEXT YEAR "I think we've got a good story to tell and results that I'm proud of," Tillis told the Washington Examiner. Political experts, though, warned that grassroots Republicans aren't going to easily roll over after spending years viewing Tillis with suspicion. "It's gonna be complicated even before we get (to a general election) because he's got to get through a primary first, and the so-called grassroots of the Republican Party has made it very clear that they plan to have a significant primary challenger to him, who that is we don't know," said Western Carolina professor Chris Cooper. Controversial Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R-NC) cast doubt on Tillis's reelection bid in multiple social media posts. "Thom is toast," Robinson wrote on X after asking his followers if Tillis should be the nominee. Robinson lost last month's gubernatorial election in the Tarheel State to Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein after media reports of his past comments on pornographic websites. "Mark Robinson is damaged goods, to say the least," said J. Miles Coleman, associate editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics. "But as far as primary challenges, I wouldn't rule anything out, per se." Lara Trump, President-elect Donald Trump's daughter-in-law, is among one of the contenders who could challenge Tillis in the primary. However, she has also been seen as a leading contender for Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) to tap to replace Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who will likely get confirmed as the president-elect's secretary of state. "If she were to get Rubio's seat, I think Tom Tillis is going to breathe a little bit of a sigh of relief because that would have been a primary challenge that would have been extraordinarily difficult to go against," said Cooper. A poll from Victory Insights showed Lara Trump beating Tillis in a GOP primary 65% to 11%, with 25% undecided. Tillis's first two Senate campaigns saw him win by less than two points. He won by just 1.8 points in 2020 and 1.7 points in 2014. His third campaign is expected to be just as close. Should he survive a primary challenge, he could still face an even tougher battle if popular Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) decided to run for the Senate. Cooper has not announced a Senate run, but he told a local reporter last week, "I love public service. I want to keep helping North Carolina and our country. I haven't made that decision yet, but it's on the table." The Victory Insights poll also showed in a head-to-head matchup between the two men, Cooper narrowly leads 45.1% to Tillis's 44.1%, and 11% are undecided. WHAT MAGA AND THE GOP WILL LOOK LIKE IN A POST-TRUMP ERA Coleman said Donald Trump's endorsement of Tillis would essentially end a primary challenge. "I think that would basically make him hard to beat," he said. "Sen. Tillis can just about guarantee his primary victory by once again earning Trump's endorsement, as he did early in the 2020 primary," added David Capen, president of Capen Consulting. However, "securing that endorsement may hinge on his votes for Trump’s Cabinet nominations." The North Carolina senior senator appeared confident that Donald Trump would eventually back him. "President Trump endorsed me in ‘20 I would expect he'll endorse me again. I hope that he does," Tillis said. The Trump team did not respond to a request for comment on whether the president-elect backs the senator. With certain Republicans itching to remove Tillis, much attention will be focused on whether he votes to confirm Donald Trump's Senate nominees, including the embattled Pete Hegseth, who is up for defense secretary. "I voted for every single Trump nominee in the prior administration," Tillis said in reference to past support for Donald Trump. "I've got a great relationship with the transition team, and President Trump knows where I want things that matter most to him, and so I feel like I'll continue to enjoy a great relationship." Tillis quipped that the only thing that keeps him up at night is "caffeine" rather than worry about a primary challenge or pressure to vote to confirm the president-elect's nominees. After losing key Senate races in Pennsylvania, Montana, and West Virginia, a Democratic path to flipping control of the Senate includes winning North Carolina, one of the top battleground states of the presidential election. The math favors the GOP even though the party is defending 22 seats. Out of those 22 seats, only one seat, currently held by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), is in a state that Donald Trump didn't win in 2024. Democrats would need to win Tillis's seat, along with Collins's and other races in Ohio, Texas, Iowa, Florida, and Alaska, in order to flip the Senate. The state and national Democratic Party will likely invest millions of dollars in the Senate race, given North Carolina's status as a consistent purple state. Other vulnerable senators up for reelection include Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Collins, and Bill Cassidy (R-LA). DEMOCRATS WEIGH CHANGE IN STRATEGY TO AVOID MIDTERM AND 2028 DEFEATS Cooper, the North Carolina professor, warned, "If Tillis [is] too far right and too far pro-Trump, that might help him in the primary, but it might hurt him in the general." "He's really in a tough spot, and that every Pete Hegseth-like vote can cut both ways," he added. However, Coleman suggested that after a spring primary, "he does have some time there to sort of work on maybe appealing to voters in the middle" before the November election. Marisa Schultz contributed to this report.