AMERICUS, Ga. — In a few days, Jimmy Carter will be celebrated in a towering cathedral in Washington by fellow American presidents, noted humanitarians and other world leaders. There, dignitaries will reflect on his rise to the heights of political influence and his globe-trotting mission to eradicate disease and protect democracy.

WASHINGTON — Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday won reelection to the top post in the House, salvaging his job in a dramatic last-minute turnabout by putting down a revolt from conservatives who initially voted to block his ascent.

NEW YORK — A New York judge Friday upheld President-elect Donald Trump’s felony conviction but signaled that he was inclined to spare him any punishment, a striking development in a case that had spotlighted an array of criminal acts and imperiled the former and future president’s freedom.

President Joe Biden is expected to permanently ban new oil and gas drilling in large sections of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, as well as other federal waters, in a way that could be difficult for the Trump administration to unwind, according to two people familiar with the plans.

A Texas man who expressed support for the Islamic State group before he drove into a crowd in New Orleans on New Year’s Day, killing 14 people, appears to have acted alone, an FBI official said Thursday, as the city reopened Bourbon Street after the attack and hosted thousands of fans for the Sugar Bowl.

Our species called this latest 366-day journey around the sun “2024” and packed into it a ton of astronomical and spaceflight excitement.

It was just after 3 a.m. Wednesday, and while much of the country had already gone to bed after toasting the new year, the party was still going — as it usually does — on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.