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jwolf A surprise revelation that nobody was expecting was revealed in the jungle on ITV's I'm a Celebrity tonight. The campmates were agog by Coleen Rooney's story about the time she met Donald Trump. Although used to rubbing shoulders with the stars of sport and entertainment, Coleen recalled the time both she and her former Manchester United star husband, Wayne Rooney , were invited to the White House. In 2018 and 2019, Coleen and her family were living state-side when Wayne played for US soccer team DC United. Coleen shared with the camp: "When we lived in America, we were invited to the White House for Christmas , and we went in to meet Donald Trump. And we walked in and we got to get the official photograph taken in front of the Christmas tree. READ MORE: ITV I'm A Celebrity star seals 'first elimination' as he 'shows true colours' "So Donald Trump said to my son 'see? Told ya, all the soccer players get the good looking girls.' And I told my mum, I was like 'dirty b*****d'." Coleen then disclosed to the camp how Trump "wanted Wayne to go over to teach his son to play football." When Danny quizzed Coleen about Donald Trump, asking "Is he that orange?" Coleen replied: "He was very orange". Reacting to Coleen's revelation, viewers of the show took to X (formerly Twitter ). One viewer said: "Calling Trump a dirty b*****d wasn’t what I expected from this series but it just confirms she’s a smart cookie! #ImACeleb". A second viewer posted: "I absolutely love Coleen on this. She's one of those women you can imagine instantly being friends with. #ImACeleb". A third viewer posted: "the fact that Coleen also called Trump a dirty b*****d under her breath. What a queen #ImACeleb". On Saturday night, Coleen's husband Wayne Rooney stunned the stars of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here's spin-off show when he dropped a bombshell about appearing in the jungle himself as wife Coleen takes part in the current series. The former Manchester United and England star appeared on I'm A Celebrity: Unpacked on Saturday night (November 23) to chat about Coleen's I'm a Celeb adventure so far but went as far to admit that he would be up for doing the hit ITV reality show next. His comments came after he encouraged I'm A Celeb viewers to vote for his wife to do a Bushtucker Trial as he feels she would want to "put herself to the test". The 39-year-old said he was "proud" of how Coleen was doing in the Australian jungle in a post on social media ahead of Saturday's show. Join our WhatsApp Top Stories and, Breaking News group by clicking this linkI visited UK’s strictest pub... there’s a no phone policy & coats go on a hook – but one rule went too far

My garden’s power of resilience was tested to the extreme on Jan. 12, 2024, when the temperature plummeted to minus 12 C. It was so cold that my hummingbird feeders froze in spite of the heat lamps underneath. I feared the worst, especially for some of the plants that had been in the garden since I started tending it fifteen years ago. My old rosemary bush had already lost several of its limbs in the freezes of previous years, on top of which its condition had been aversely affected by the teeter-tottering of warm-cold-warm-cold in a recent winter and spring. One of its limbs looked so miserable that I decided it would be an act of mercy to remove it entirely. Then I noticed something interesting. The limb had been trailing along the driveway for a few years, and in the blanket of leaves that I always keep around and under the bush, it had made lots of roots. They looked desiccated, but they were roots all the same. I decided to find out if they could be put to work and keep the amputated limb of rosemary alive. The limb was an awkward shape, like a sickle with the rooted part longer than the other, but I found a space for it along one side of a new garden bed in the front yard. Close by was a young rosemary, brought home from a nursery. I’m persuaded plants communicate (in ways we can’t yet fathom) and I hoped the old, gnarled limb and the young plant would somehow bond. I feel sure they tried their best, but a Coreopsis Grandiflora had grown between them. It must have been a seed, dropped by a bird, which hadn’t yet revealed its true nature when I planted the little rosemary. By summer, when the young rosemary was trying to soak up the sunlight, the Coreopsis had become exuberant (from the Latin exuberare , grow luxuriously). The rosemary didn’t have a chance, and today, at the start of winter, it looks stunted and its leaves are sparse. But the old, gnarled limb fared better. It grew as exuberantly as the Coreopsis over the summer and even made a few flowers. In another bed in the front yard I’d planted two more young rosemaries. They, too, are showing exuberance. Their stems have grown strong, increased in number, and are thickly clad with leaves. I’d panicked at the beginning of 2024 because I thought my grand old rosemary bush was doomed and I wanted to make sure there were successors. So now, unless we’re served another onslaught of violent, freezing weather, the garden should be well stocked with this herb. Its flowers are beloved by bees, hummingbirds and all other pollinators that visit. Hot lips sage had become a favourite of mine ever since I saw the immense bush dotted with red and white flowers that grew in a neighbour’s backyard. She gave me a cutting and it did well. But it didn’t survive past its second year. Still, I was determined not to give up. This spring I bought two young plants to grow in a new garden bed laid out in a location chosen especially for them. To begin with, the young hot lips bided their time. I worried and added other plants behind and around them. Maybe that spurred them on. By late summer they’d stretched so far upwards and sideways that they managed to obscure all traces of the plants I’d added a couple of months earlier. They ended up making masses of flowers and, to my amazement, have continued to bloom past the winter solstice, over a month longer than is normal. In 2023 I grew Matucana sweet peas for the first time. They’re an heirloom variety noted for their stunning deep violet and red colours and their intoxicating scent. They didn’t last as long as I would have liked and didn’t grow as tall as promised, but I was drawn to their colours and scent and saved the seeds. I ended up with so many Matucana seeds that this year I decided to spread them throughout the garden. The ones growing at the designated sweet pea trellis didn’t fare well (partly thanks to inquisitive squirrels), but the ones that grew in other spots performed beyond all expectations. I’d planted several to climb up the mesh on the exterior of the outdoor garden room that my handyman David had built in the backyard. The garden room is dedicated to Pomona, the Roman goddess of gardens, who must have developed a special feeling for the Matucana sweet peas because they are still, at the end of December, putting out new flowers! I’ve never seen anything like it! Now I’m bidding Pomona to let her beneficial influence extend beyond the walls of the garden room. So what’s my garden’s final report card for 2024? Well, it’s hard to imagine that it could be any more glowing. Sabine Eiche is a local writer and art historian with a PhD from Princeton University. Her passions are writing for children and protecting nature. Her columns deal with a broad range of topics and often include etymology in order to shed extra light on the subject. 📣 Got an opinion on this story or any others in Richmond? Send us a letter or email your thoughts or story tips to [email protected] . 📲 To stay updated on Richmond news, sign up for our daily headline newsletter . 💬 Words missing in article? Your adblocker might be preventing hyperlinked text from appearing.‘Disgraceful’: Labor points fingers as clock ticks down

The deal, announced on Tuesday night, will see hostilities between Israel and Iran-backed militants Hezbollah suspended for 60 days, with both sides withdrawing from southern Lebanon. Brokered by the US and France, the agreement is designed to provide a permanent end to the conflict, US President Joe Biden said following the announcement. But Israeli ministers insisted it would resume strikes on Lebanon if Hezbollah breached the terms of the ceasefire, while the deal does not affect Israel’s continuing war with Hamas in Gaza. In a statement, Sir Keir Starmer described the deal as “long overdue”, saying it would “provide some measure of relief to the civilian populations of Lebanon and northern Israel, who have suffered unimaginable consequences during the last few months of devastating conflict and bloodshed”. He said: “Now, this deal must be turned into a lasting political solution in Lebanon, based on Security Council Resolution 1701, that will allow civilians to return permanently to their homes and for communities on both sides of the border to rebuild. “The UK and its allies will continue to be at the forefront of efforts to break the ongoing cycle of violence in pursuit of a long-term, sustainable peace in the Middle East. My statement on the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese Hizbollah. pic.twitter.com/ZAxApKpJIT — Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) November 26, 2024 “We must see immediate progress towards a ceasefire deal in Gaza, the release of all hostages and the removal of restrictions on desperately needed humanitarian aid.” The announcement of the deal follows a day of intense Israeli air strikes in Beirut, with local authorities saying at least 24 people were killed in the bombardment while Hezbollah continued to fire rockets into northern Israel. Recommending the ceasefire to his cabinet, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the deal would isolate Hamas in Gaza and allow Israel to focus more on Iran, which supports both Hamas and Hezbollah and has staged attacks on Israel in recent months. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the announcement offered “hope” and must become “a turning point that builds momentum towards a lasting peace across the Middle East”. He said: “The UK was the first G7 country to call for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah in September and we have worked relentlessly since with our allies and partners to apply pressure to end this conflict since. “We strongly urge all parties to use this agreement to open a pathway to a lasting peace.” While aid organisations have welcomed the ceasefire, they have also called for it to be made permanent and extended to the conflict in Gaza. Amelia Whitworth, head of policy, campaigns and youth at the children’s charity Plan International UK, welcomed news of the deal. She said: “It is essential that all parties respect this ceasefire so that vital humanitarian aid can be delivered to the children and families that desperately need it.” Ms Whitworth added: “Today’s agreement must act as a vital step towards a sustained, permanent ceasefire – both in Lebanon and across Gaza and the wider Middle East region. “The horror must stop immediately, all children deserve to enjoy their childhood free from the threat of violence.” Paras Tamang, global humanitarian director at ActionAid, echoed her comments, saying the ceasefire would provide “temporary relief” for civilians but was “not an acceptable long-term solution to the crisis”. Mr Tamang said: “Whilst air strikes may stop for a while, the fallout from these attacks will continue to be felt for years to come. “More humanitarian aid is needed to help the hundreds of thousands of people who have lost everything.” According to the UN, more than 3,700 people, including 240 children, have been killed in Lebanon since the latest round of fighting began in October 2023, while around 900,000 have been displaced.Online auction of confiscated booze features hard-to-find bottles of Kentucky bourbonsNone

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — Mustapha Amzil scored 14 points as New Mexico beat Colorado State 76-68 on Saturday. Amzil added five rebounds for the Lobos (10-3, 2-0 Mountain West Conference). Donovan Dent added 14 points while going 7 of 16 from the field while they also had six assists. C.J. Noland had 11 points and finished 5 of 7 from the field. Nique Clifford led the way for the Rams (7-6, 1-1) with 17 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals. Jaylen Crocker-Johnson added 13 points and nine rebounds for Colorado State. Kyan Evans also had 10 points. New Mexico took the lead with 8:53 to go in the first half and did not relinquish it. The score was 41-25 at halftime, with Filip Borovicanin racking up 10 points. New Mexico was outscored by Colorado State in the second half by eight points, with Amzil scoring a team-high six points in the final half. Both teams next play Tuesday. New Mexico visits Fresno State and Colorado State goes on the road to play San Jose State. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .In this podcast, Motley Fool analyst Nick Sciple and host Ricky Mulvey discuss: Highlights from Walmart 's quarter. What shoppers want from mac and cheese. Why nicotine pouches may be "the biggest consumer product story this decade." Then, Motley Fool personal finance expert Robert Brokamp kicks off a two-part series with Christine Benz, Morningstar 's director of personal finance and the author of How to Retire: 20 Lessons for a Happy, Successful, and Wealthy Retirement . Go to breakfast.fool.com to sign up to wake up daily to the latest market news, company insights, and a bit of Foolish fun -- all wrapped up in one quick, easy-to-read email called Breakfast News. To catch full episodes of all The Motley Fool's free podcasts, check out our podcast center . To get started investing, check out our beginner's guide to investing in stocks . A full transcript follows the video. This video was recorded on Nov. 19, 2024. Ricky Mulvey: Shoppers are trading up and down. It's the middle that gets stuck. You're listening to Motley Fool Money. I'm Ricky Mulvey. Joined today by our returning champion, Nick Sciple. Nick, it's good to have you back. How have you been? Nick Sciple: Been great, Ricky. I've been out on parental leave the past few months trying to wrangle two under two. It's been fun, but it's great to be back in the adult world here with you. Lots to talk about maybe talking about one of the places I pick up diapers. More often than not. Ricky Mulvey: What a different conversation to come into versus two under two. Stocks are down today as tensions between Russia and Ukraine increase. I think it's worth mentioning at the top, Nick, but we don't have anything smart to say here, other than, we hope this isn't. I don't want to look at gold and be like, traders are going to gold. But I got nothing smart to say other than we hope this isn't really bad. Nick Sciple: Certainly scary headlines, nuclear saber rattling by Russia is going to continue more of these same growing tensions, I would say, between Russia and the West, just like this is one of those risks Warren Buffett has talked about in the past. You can't control, you have to live with as an investor. The world is always uncertain. This is the cost of doing business. If these threats end up to anything in the real world, no advice we can give you will protect you from this sort of thing. But unlikely that these words will lead to actions, but certainly something to pay attention to. Ricky Mulvey: Let's go from the bottom up with Walmart earnings, focusing on the business. They reported this morning, Nick, I think the biggest highlight to me is that comp sales number for Walmart, more people are going to their stores, including Sam's Club. Walmart proper, more than 5%. Same-store sales increase. Sam's Club 7% from the year prior. This tells me that the inflation story is not over as shoppers continue to look for value, but what stood out to you from the quarter? Nick Sciple: For me, really across the board, strong numbers for Walmart, you mentioned those comp store numbers, that's with inventory declining 1% during the quarter. So just classic what you look for out of a high-quality retailer, you look below the top line, 42% marketplace growth, 28% advertising growth, 22% membership income growth, really working across the board. If you think about what's driving all those sorts of things, marketplace growth, really leveraging Walmart's infrastructure to be attractive to sellers and really getting the right assortment to be attractive to buyers, companies cited over 20% growth in beauty, toys, hardlines, and home. My wife has called out the Walmart's apparel has made a big comeback. The more the folks you bring to that marketplace, that gives you opportunities to sell ads and direct purchase behavior. Also, the more folks that are buying on that marketplace, you can sell them membership opportunities. All that drives the flywheel, folks back to Walmart, and all those revenue streams that I mentioned are high margins. This is really a company that's firing on all cylinders. All the flywheels are spinning, and it's really a beautiful thing. Ricky Mulvey: The e-commerce growth impressive, especially internationally for Walmart. There's also a consumer trend going on. It's the trade-down. Doug McMillon highlighting that "Households earning more than $100,000 a year made up for 75% of our share gains." You have folks going from the higher-priced grocery stores, going back to Walmart. If you're a long-term holder of Walmart shares, you have to believe that those shoppers are going to be sticking around for years and years to come. What needs to happen for Walmart to hold onto these customers for the next 3-5-10 years? Nick Sciple: I think the real key is convenience, and the company understands that as well. You got the words convenience or convenient mentioned 16 times on the call. Walmart's really always going to win on price, where it hasn't traditionally been able to have advantages is just the convenience. It's something that Doug McMillon also called out on the call is if you have higher discretionary income, these are folks that are more likely to pay up to save time, pay for those memberships, participate in pickup and delivery. If Walmart can continue to provide the value that it's always been able to deliver as a business and at a convenience level that other companies can't match, I think it can hold on to those high-income customers, and it looks like they're doing the things necessary to do that so far. Ricky Mulvey: What do you think about Walmart's valuation, the price tag on this stock? We talked about price to earnings, the price tag for Walmart on this previous weekend's show. Walmart's at 45 times earnings, 45. That's a lot for a grocery store that in a lot of ways, yes, it's getting more efficient, yes, it's getting more sales. Functions like a utility for a lot of people, that's putting it in the same weight class as Costco now. Do these multiples deserve to be in the same weight class? Yes, Costco is a little bit high. Nick Sciple: I think both those multiples, when you list them out to me, sound pretty high. But I do think Costco and Walmart are in a category of these dominant retailers from the 20th century that can really survive the competitive threats that we're seeing in today's 21st-century retail landscape, arguably, both expensive here, but both are growing their moot. Where I'm really worried about, if I look at retail today is what are the companies that are getting left behind. You look at the dollar stores this year, Dollar General and Dollar Tree , both down over 50%. Compare that to Walmart, almost two-thirds this year, 66%. Some of these companies might be getting left behind as Walmart becomes more convenient and can capture some of those areas of the market. I'd be more inclined to be worried about some of these other segments of retail that Walmart is capturing than I am concerned about Walmart itself. Although, is it going to be trading at 45 times earnings five years from now? Probably not, but I think there's a decent chance the stock is higher. Ricky Mulvey: There's also something happening at Walmart that doesn't really impact it as much, but a phenomenon happening at the grocery stores. There was an article in Bloomberg about it today, and that's that these brands that are in the center are getting cut out by shoppers. Basically, the example they use is mac and cheese. More people are buying store-brand cheap mac and cheese. Then you have your healthy-ish, allegedly healthy options that are the higher end that more people are gravitating to. In the middle, you have your Kraft Mac & Cheese, which is seeing sales declines. But you as a shopper you're going around the Tennessee grocery stores. Have you noticed this yourself or you gravitating up or down the value chain as a shopper? Nick Sciple: For me, I've always been the store brand guy. I think it's a trend along, millennials as a whole, but I was just raised that way to always get the store brand milk and the store brand cream cheese and that thing. For me, it's a habit I've always grown into. I have noticed more in my household, the willing to pay up for more of "The healthier versions of snacks," so you don't get the goldfish. You get the organic version of goldfish, that sort of thing. With the protein added products, I think those have had some success in capturing segments of the market. I think if you look at some of these big consumer package good companies, your Krafts, your Procter & Gamble s, they were really super efficient, built for the traditional retail model where you had the eye level shelf space, and that's how you attracted consumers. They're having to transition just like everybody else to this new purchasing model. I think those companies are still going to have to adapt. I do think long term, though, these businesses have such scale and are so sophisticated, even if they're getting attacked by some of these new emergent, healthy or other brands. Long term, these are acquisition targets for the big CPG companies. These aren't companies that I think are going to take down the big mammoth. Ricky Mulvey: Yeah, and in some cases, the store brand is the brand now. Kirkland is beloved. I love me some Kirkland coffee. I've got my Kirkland laundry pods. I'm happy with it. You mentioned it as an acquisition target. I'm going to dig into the numbers a little bit more. So Craft, year over year 6% decline in mac and cheese. Their stock has been basically flat over the past five years, as well. The store box mac and cheese, Bloomberg reporting, that's a 6% bump. The trade is pretty direct there. There's also this higher end option called Goodles, which is the protein added one that you were talking about. You also mentioned Procter & Gamble, Kraft Heinz , these consumer packaged goods companies, when we talk about this trend where the middle is getting cut out, is this a temporary thing? Is this an investing we like to say? It's a dark cloud that can be seen through or is this a long-term problem for these companies? Nick Sciple: It's not a dark cloud that I would say that I can see through today. It's not the area of the market that I would be aggressively looking for opportunities. I think these are sophisticated businesses with talented management that can adapt over time, but I don't think the vision of the future for these companies is ultra clear that Kraft Mac & Cheese is going to be as relevant five or 10 years from now as it is today. For me, I would be more comfortable looking at segments of the market that customers are moving toward that are growing segments, we might talk about one here in a second. Those are the areas I'd be looking for in consumer goods as opposed to trying to catch the falling knife. Ricky Mulvey: Let's get there because there is a surprising consumer product that has had a heck of a year, and that's nicotine. Altria and Philip Morris are both up almost 40%. These are mature companies that pay very healthy dividends. Altria, I think, pays over a 7% dividend right now. This is for outside observers, may be surprising. It's at a time where fewer people are smoking cigarettes. You shared an article with me that even Sweden is going smoke free. There is a move to pouches, but man, this move must be big. What's happening with the nicotine industry in 2024? Nick Sciple: You mentioned the nicotine pouches really has been the big story this year, and I think it's going to be the biggest consumer product story this decade. Smoking has been declining for quite a while. I think pouches are what's going to really drive growth in nicotine consumption. The global market for nicotine pouches is expected to grow from $7.4 billion in 2023 to $25.2 billion in 2028. That's according to EuroMotor and that's on top of really triple digit growth [inaudible] we've seen over the past several years. This is a segment of the market just doesn't get talked about that much because of the nicotine tobacco stigma. I think it's probably the first time this year. It's getting talked about on Motley Fool Money. I understand why the smoking causes cancer. It kills people. Certainly it's been a big public health consciousness drive over the past 50 plus years to spread that. Smoking is predominantly how people have consumed nicotine throughout history. Back from the 1500s, people smoked pipes, then cigars became popular in the late 19th century, cigarettes became popular, still become popular. Today, along the way, governments have taxed, punish, tried to ban nicotine use, but it's still persisted today, I think, likely to continue in the form of these nicotine pouches, other reduced risk products that have opportunity to deliver nicotine with fewer harmful chemicals. You mentioned Sweden as a market where you're really seeing smoking decline, and part of that is because Sweden is the market where nicotine pouches really first gained prominence. Launched there in 2008, descended from traditional Swedish noose tobacco it's been used hundreds of years. Last week, Sweden announced it became the first country in the world to reach smoke free status. That's with less than 5% of your adult consumers. Smoking at 16 years ahead of EU targets and really has been driven by policy that's made these products more attractive than cigarettes and education that's focused around tobacco harm reduction as opposed to just totally eliminating nicotine use. You see it in, health statistics for the country. Sweden has the lowest percentage of tobacco related diseases in Europe and 41% lower incidence of cancer than other countries. It's the second biggest market for nicotine pouches, the US is number 1, and there's been rapid growth. We can talk about some of the brands. Ricky, let's do it. Ricky Mulvey: I'm going to go back on something you said. We haven't talked about it and why we haven't talked about it? I programmed some of the show. Maybe we should have. Especially if you think it's the biggest consumer product story of the next decade. Ultimately, I think, our job on the show is not to tell you what to invest in what not to invest in based on our moral inclinations. I think the farthest I will go on that is you get started investing we encourage you at the Motley Fool to find maybe one company or one industry that you will never invest in, no matter how well it does, because it goes against what you believe in morally, it doesn't agree with your beliefs. We talk about alcohol. We'll also talk about cigarettes sometimes, and it's up to you what you want to do with that information. Let's talk. Now, about the nicotine pouches, Philip Morris, which owns ZYN that is the most popular nicotine pouch. There's a story about it in the New York Times a few weeks ago, giving it what I will generously describe as mixed coverage. But what it talks about is they don't really market this product. Philip Morris has not really been marketing ZYN but it has this online legion of fans, and it's become the number 1 brand in the US. How has ZYN specifically gotten so popular? Nick Sciple: So a few things. I think nicotine pouches in general are a good product relative to traditional nicotine delivery systems. It's discrete. You don't smell bad like you do smoking tobacco. Unlike traditional smokeless tobacco, dip and the like, you don't have to spit. It's a better product for those reasons. But ZYN was the first of the market in the US. In 2014, Swedish match was just the owner of ZYN until Swedish Match was acquired by Philip Morris. 2022 was really the first on the market. Also, if you look at the quality of the product relative to some others on the market, just higher quality product. Altria sells the on nicotine pouch product. British American Tobacco sells Velo, both of those products similar to ZYN, but end up having a lot more quality control issues than ZYN has, just a better product. Also, just for whatever reason, historically, nicotine products have always had a super high brand affinity and a concentrated market leader. You'd see it with Marlboro and cigarettes. You'd see it traditionally in the type of pipes and things like that that people smoke. For several reasons, the quality of the product, being the first to market. The virality that you get as more and more people use the product. Just the natural way nicotine products end up being concentrated ZYN has become the market leader. Today, over 73% share in the category by retail value in the most recent quarter, 149 million cans shipped last quarter alone, that's up 40% year over year, triple what it had shipped in the first quarter of 2022. That's in an environment where, sales were restricted because the product was stocking out in retail stores across the country. This is an environment where they're raising price as well. ZYN isn't the only product that's seeing growth. I mentioned, the on product from Altria. That had 46% growth in the most recent quarter, British American tobaccos product, growing 48% in the first half of 2024. Really across the board massive growth. You're seeing similar patterns to what you've seen in traditional nicotine products, and again, growth not likely to slow down anytime soon. Ricky Mulvey: You've also got a celebrity endorsement recently with Josh Brolin admitting on the WTF podcast with Mark Marron that he has a ZYN in a pouch in his lip 24 hours a day, emphasizing that he's not lying about that. As we wrap up here, anything else on tobacco is comeback that you want to hit? Nick Sciple: Well, you talked about celebrity endorsements. Tucker Carlson also getting into the Nicotine pouch game, which I think is interesting. ZYN, obviously, the leader in the market, don't have to be the market leader to be successful with a market category. It's as big and fast growing as we're seeing in nicotine pouches. It really doesn't take that much to be successful. Nick Sciple: In the market. You mentioned earlier comparisons with alcohol and things like that. I think about celebrities getting involved in nicotine pouches in the same way that George Clooney getting involved, selling Tequila or Ryan Reynolds getting involved, selling Aviation, Jane, you don't have to take down Jack Daniels or Jose Cuervo to be really significant in the market. The reason I mentioned the Tucker product, his part publicly traded company that we've recommended in Canada in the past, Turning Point Brands , is a billion dollar company. It takes lots and lots of sales for these products to be impactful for a company like Philip Morris or Altria, not the same for a company like Turning Point Brands has really built a business around being a small going after small, profitable segments of the tobacco industry, whether that's chewing tobacco or others in nicotine pouches, they're already showing success with their free brand. They've tripled sales year over year. That stocks over 130% this year. Whether you're looking for these big established companies with reliable dividends that have been around for a long time. Or looking for small cap businesses that there's lots of ways to get involved in this trend. If you can open your mind to the idea that nicotine can persist as a product while health outcomes for use and continue to improve, I think this is a category that you should consider investing in. Ricky Mulvey: Sometimes, products that hit that steamy button for the user, these can turn out to be good long term investments. We'll see. I'm going to keep an eye on it. Appreciate you bringing it to my attention, Nick Sciple. Thank you for your time and your insight. Thanks for being here. Nick Sciple: Thanks, Ricky. Anytime. Ricky Mulvey: Today's show is brought to you by public.com. Heads up, folks, interest rates are falling, but you can still lock in a 6% or higher yield with a bond account at public.com. That's a pretty big deal because when rates drop, so can the interest you earn on your investment. A bond account allows you to lock in a 6% or higher yield with a diversified portfolio of high yield and investment grade corporate bonds. While other people are watching their returns shrink, you can sit back with regular interest payments, but you might want to act fast because your yield is not locked in until you invest. The good news, it only takes a couple of minutes to sign up at public.com. Lock in a 6% or higher yield with a bond account. Only at public.com/motlefoolpublic.com/motleyfool. Brought to you by public Investing member FINRA and SIPC, as of 92624, the average annualized yield to worst across the bond account is greater than 6%. Yield to worst is not guaranteed, not an investment recommendation. All investing involves risk, visit public.com/disclosures/bond-account for more info. As we wrap up that segment, just a quick note, Turning Point brands and Turning Point USA are completely separate entities. Up next, Robert Brokamp kicks off a two part interview series with Christine Benz, Morningstar's director of Personal Finance and the author of How to Retire 20 Lessons for a happy, successful, and wealthy retirement. In today's conversation, they talk about distributions and why retirees may need less in stocks than they think. Robert Brokamp: Let's start with research on withdrawal rates in retirement, because it attempts to answer a key question. How much can I spend and be reasonably sure my money is going to last as long as I do? Plus, you could then use that to back into how much you have to have saved before you retire. Christine Benz: Right. Robert Brokamp: This year marks the 30th anniversary of the research report that established 4% as the safe withdrawal rate, written by a financial planner named Bill Bengen. Since 1994, all studies have come out, many saying that 4% is too low, some saying it's too high. Morningstar jumped into the game a few years ago. The most recent publicly available report was published toward the end of last year, and it brought us back full circle to 4%. What's your take on how someone should choose the right withdrawal rate for them when they retire? Christine Benz: Yeah, this whole thing about safe withdrawal rates, in a way, Robert, when I think about it rests on what I think of as a straw man. The formula that we use to even do our research, our base case, safe spending research at Morningstar, is that we assume someone's looking for Social Security equivalent or paycheck equivalent in retirement. They're going to take the same amount out every year, inflation adjusts that dollar amount, so they'll take a little bit more if inflation's up, maybe take a lower inflation adjustment if it's not up so much. But that's how we assume that someone marches along for however long their retirement is. The baseline assumption that we use for our research is 30 years. When we look at the research on this, it's not really how people spend that people do tend to spend less throughout their retirement life cycle. Sometimes for reasons of uninsured long term care costs, mainly, we see healthcare spending flare up later in life. Then that inflates the averages for everyone, even though it's a fairly small segment of our population that has that catastrophic term care spending need. Anyway, it doesn't really factor in real world spending. Another thing that we know when we look at this problem is that ideally you would pay a little bit of attention to what's going on in your portfolio. In a good year, you can take more. In a good year like 2024, in a bad year like 2022, you'd probably want to take a little bit less. The basic intuition there is that you're preserving funds in a downturn, you're preserving funds that will be available to recover when the market eventually does. I definitely prefer that people think about flexibility if they possibly can and one thing I liked in the book is that Jon Guyton, who's a financial planner and has also done some work in this realm of retirement withdrawal rights. He notes that it's like a rare thing where our behavioral instincts, which is to spend less when our portfolios are down, actually align with what's good for our portfolios. In many cases, that's not the case. We feel like selling oftentimes out of our portfolios when the market's up, spending more feels better than spending less. This is a time where actually those two things are in alignment. Robert Brokamp: One of the points made by Jonathan Guyton and at least one other person that you interviewed in the book is that 4% is a worst case scenario. It's survived the worst conditions we've seen since the 1920s. In most situations, someone who fled the 4% rule would actually die with more money than they started with at retirement. Some of the suggestions from the experts, as well as the research from Morningstars, like you could, for example, instead of assuming that you just take an inflation adjustment every year, whenever your portfolio is down, you just don't take an inflation adjustment, and that adds 0.4-0.5% to the SAFE withdrawal rate. Or if you use the actual spending of retirees, which tends to go down over time, the actual beginning SAFE withdrawal rate could be 5%, especially if you are willing to cut back during times when your portfolio is down. Christine Benz: No, it's absolutely right that this is particularly important for people with tight financial plans, where there are real quality of life issues in underspending that if they wed themselves to this 4% guideline in many market environments that would prevail over the subsequent 25 or 30 year period or shorter period, perhaps, that would be too low. Ideally you would revisit this. You'd think about how your portfolio has performed. You'd be willing to be a little bit flexible. I think another factor that has gotten underrated that we're addressing in the 2024 retirement income research that we're working on is that most people have other sources of cash flow in addition to their portfolios, so most of us will come into retirement with the stabilizer of Social Security. That's going to make me more comfortable making those adjustments. My portfolio isn't my sole source of spending. If I'm able to look at Social Security as providing my baseline living expenses, I probably am willing to tolerate a bit of volatility in my portfolio cash flows, or at least that's how I think about it. Robert Brokamp: We'll get to Social Security a little bit later. But one of the other benefits of the research on safe withdrawal rates is that it gives an indication of what asset allocation seems to best enhance portfolio longevity, it depends on your assumptions and, frankly, which withdrawal rate strategy you're going to follow. But the research seems to indicate that there's like this Goldilocks amount of stock you should aim for, not too much, not too little. What's your general idea in terms of a range of a reasonable asset allocation based on the research you've done on safe withdrawal rates? Christine Benz: Yeah, it's more balanced, I think, than many people might think. I frequently run into retirees who say, you know what? I just own dividend paying stocks, forget your bonds, I own maybe a little bit of cash, and I call it a day. When we look at the research with our base case, where again, we're assuming someone wants that fixed real withdrawal throughout their retirement years, it very much points to the value of balance. In fact, when we did the 2023 research, in light of the fact that yields had gone up pretty decently on cash and on bonds, our model, because we're asking it to provide this fairly stable stream of cash flows, our model was basically saying back to us, I see that here today, and it's mainly in fixed income securities. The recommendation, like the highest safe withdrawal rate, somewhat counter-intuitively to all of us until we took a step back and thought about it, pointed to a 20-40% equity allocation, which is pretty light for most retirees. I think many especially investor type retirees have more ample equity ratings. I think the reason our model gravitated to that is because we are basically saying we want to lock down our cash flows, and we don't want a lot of volatility in those cash flows from year to year in light of higher yields, the money Carlo simulations that we run gravitated to that more conservative asset mix. If you're looking at a more flexible strategy where you are going to make changes to your spending on an ongoing basis and you're up for that. Then if you look at something like the guardrails strategy, which is Jonathan Guyton's strategy for dynamic withdrawals, it points to a higher equity mix, but still on the realm of balance, not 90, 10 equity versus fixed income. It's more sort of 60, 40 that delivers the highest spending rate with a guardrail strategy. Robert Brokamp: That's generally consistent with many of the other studies that have looked at historical returns as opposed to your study, which is more prospective, and that you don't want to go too much over 60 or 70% when it comes to stocks. Christine Benz: The reason is pretty intuitive, you don't have to be a market guru to understand the importance of if you're going to be spending from this portfolio, you basically want to and this gets to the bucket thing that I often talk about. But you want to lock down a stream of cash flows that you could pull from without disturbing equities. If you happen to be super unlucky, retire headlong into a market environment that you know where stocks immediately drop, you would want to be able to withdraw from safer assets and leave those equity assets to recover. Robert Brokamp: With your bucket strategy, you've often talked about three buckets. That's one super safe bucket, about two years of retirement income in cash, maybe years 2-8, corporate bonds, maybe some safer stocks, and then years 10 and beyond our stocks. When you're working, you're probably going to be mostly in stocks but at some point, you have to de risk. At what point do you think people really have to start taking that seriously? Is it 10 years from retirement, five years from retirement? Do you have any particular suggestions for how they should do that? Christine Benz: For sure, within a five year window, I would be thinking seriously about de risk. I think sometimes people hear de risk and think that we're saying, you're going to flee equities entirely. No, it's just that you probably have been neglecting safer assets in your portfolio. You might have that emergency fund, and if you're using some sort of all in one fund like a target date fund, it's tipping you into more bonds. But if you haven't been paying close attention, well, we've had a great equity market. Your equities are probably hogging a bigger share of your portfolio. I think the best way to address that is to perhaps turn your new contributions onto fixed income, that's probably the simplest, most painless way to approach it, where new contributions into your company retirement plan or maybe into your IRA, if you're building an IRA would go into fixed income assets, and then within I would say, probably a couple of years of retirement, then you would want to start building out that cash position. But there's definitely an opportunity cost to having too much in cash too early, even though inflation has moderated a little bit. I think you want to be careful about the peace of mind that you get with cash because there really is a significant opportunity cost over time with inflation, just taking a bite out of that purchasing power. Robert Brokamp: Yeah, one of the points one of your experts made, Fritz Gilbert, that we talk about series of withdrawal risk often in retirement and that's often conceived of the series of returns you get in retirement, but that sequence of returns risk actually starts before retirement because you don't want to get three years from retirement, and then the market drops 50% and then your plans have changed. Christine Benz: Yeah, I love that point that sequence risk, I think, is, something that we understand to be like this some big market drop right after you retire. But Fritz is absolutely right that it's important if you encounter that just before retirement, you want to build a bulwark against having to come in. You want to let your portfolio fully recover. I also think that inflation risk is maybe an under discussed aspect of sequence risk. It comes up in the book a little bit, but I think Wade Pfau talks about it where if inflation's really high in your early years of retirement, that's meaningful too. Because I don't imagine that we'll be going back to 2021, prices on cereal and hotels and all that stuff. We're probably here to stay, even though we will see the inflation rate moderate a little bit. You need to be thinking about sequence of inflation risk too. Robert Brokamp: Yeah, because it raises basically the floor of your spending for the rest of your retirement. Christine Benz: Right, exactly. Ricky Mulvey: As always, people on the program may have interests in the stocks they talk about, and the Motley Fool may have formal recommendations for or against, so don't buy or sell anything based solely on what you hear. All personal finance content follows Motley Fool editorial standards and are not approved by advertisers, The Motley Fool only picks products that it would personally recommend to friends like you. I'm Ricky Mulvey. Thanks for listening. We'll be back tomorrow.

Mayor hosts touching send-off as Manawanui crew visit home portWhat does it mean to police a community as diverse as Squamish? How can law enforcement better connect with Indigenous communities to build trust and respect? For Const. Kelly Dean of the Integrated First Nations Policing Unit (IFNU), these questions aren’t just theoretical—they’re at the heart of his everyday work. “In my role, it’s different,” Dean shared during an interview with The Squamish Chief. “I have a heart connection with the community. When something happens, it’s not just a call—I see how it impacts families. The community feels like my extended family.” Established in 2008, the Integrated First Nations Policing Unit (IFNU) serves the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, covering Squamish, North Vancouver, and West Vancouver. Based on the North Shore, IFNU is “focused on providing enhanced policing services that are culturally sensitive and responsive to the First Nations,” reads the website. IFNU collaborates with First Nations leadership and departments to address community concerns, provide investigative support, and ensure emergency responses align with the priorities outlined in the Integrated First Nations Policing Agreement. “We’re not frontline officers responding to every 911 call,” Dean said. “Our job is to connect general duty officers with the community in culturally appropriate ways.” According to a 2022 Statistics Canada report, one in five Indigenous individuals expressed a lack of confidence in the police, a much higher proportion than non-Indigenous populations. Another 2020/2021 Statistics Canada report also revealed that Indigenous people are incarcerated at a rate 8.4 times higher than non-Indigenous individuals. According to Dean, one way the IFNU fosters trust is through intentional, trauma-aware practices. “We don’t wear the RCMP’s yellow-striped pants or grey shirts,” Dean said. “Our vehicles don’t display the standard buffalo logo, which can be a trauma trigger. Instead, we use artwork by Squamish artist Rick Harry. These choices are intentional—to reduce trauma and build trust.” Dean’s traditional name, s7íl̓chi (pronounced eeth-chay), given to him in a ceremony in 2021, reflects this responsibility. Meaning “The Bowman,” it symbolizes a protector in the canoe. “It’s a lot of responsibility,” he said. “I don’t take for granted the amount of trust the community places in me, and I reciprocate that trust.” Dean’s role extends across almost 6,700 square kilometres, including reserve lands and unoccupied areas like fee-simple properties being returned to the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation). A ‘fee simple property’ is a real estate property that is owned outright, without limitations, and with the highest form of ownership. The growing popularity of the Squamish Valley for recreation has added new complexities to his work. “During COVID, there was a massive influx of people coming to the valley,” he said. “We’ve had to enforce Section 58 closures to prevent people from driving or camping in sensitive areas like riverbeds. These measures aim to protect salmon habitats and address declining fish stocks—issues that are deeply important to the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Nation.” Increased recreation has also brought safety risks. “A few years ago, a wildfire started because someone was target shooting on Crown land,” Dean said. “Sparks from their rounds ignited a fire. Now, certain areas have signs prohibiting target shooting, though hunting is still permitted.” Dean acknowledged the challenges of managing such a vast territory alone. “It’s a lot for one person, and adding another officer to support the community would make a significant difference,” he said. For Dean, policing is about more than enforcement—it’s about connection. “I spend time with Elders, drum and sing, and even learn the language,” he said. “I’m a self-taught language learner, with guidance from mentors. It’s a challenge, but it’s so rewarding.” Dean also participates in community initiatives like youth camps and canoe journeys. He’s part of the Sema7maka canoe family and supports Tribal Journeys by ensuring safety on the water. “One of the best things I can do is support culture and language,” he said. “It’s fulfilling for me and helps grow understanding within the broader community.” Dean’s mixed ancestry—Danish, Scottish, and Blackfoot—gives him a personal perspective on Indigenous identity. “My grandmother married a non-Nation person, and her Indian status was revoked,” he said. “Status is 100% a colonial construct. Indigenous identity is about much more than a government-issued number.” Dean highlighted the complexities of the Indian Act, which can impact community members’ rights to hunting, fishing, and other cultural practices. “Conservation officers might determine someone’s rights based on their status number,” he said. “But you can have direct Sḵwx̱wú7mesh lineage and still not meet the government’s criteria for status. It’s a complicated and often unfair system.” Dean also works to address misconceptions about law enforcement, particularly those influenced by United States media. “In the U.S., every police show seems to involve a shootout,” he said. “That’s just not reflective of the Canadian perspective. Most officers I’ve worked with are compassionate people who genuinely want to help.” Dean emphasized the importance of highlighting the positive work being done by Indigenous officers across B.C. “Every year, I meet with around 160 Indigenous police officers to discuss these issues,” he said. “It’s important to share what’s working and support one another.” While the IFNU has made strides in fostering trust and cultural understanding, Dean sees room for growth. “We’re involved in initiatives that go beyond traditional policing to benefit the community,” he said. “But with the size of our territory and the volume of calls we handle, adding another officer would make a significant difference, especially for recreation-related issues.” “I don’t do anything performatively—it’s the opposite,” he said. “I’m passionate about showing that being a police officer doesn’t have to be authoritarian.” Bhagyashree Chatterjee is The Squamish Chief’s Indigenous affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Andrej Jakimovski converted an off-balance layup with 8 seconds left, and Colorado handed No. 2 UConn its second loss in two days at the Maui Invitational, beating the two-time defending national champion 73-72 on Tuesday. A day after to Memphis that left about the officiating, UConn (4-2) couldn't shake the unranked Buffaloes (5-1), who shot 62.5% in the second half. With Colorado trailing 72-71 in the closing seconds, Jakimovski drove to his right and absorbed contact from UConn’s Liam McNeeley. He tossed the ball toward the glass and the shot was good as he fell to the floor. Hassan Diarra missed a 3-pointer just ahead of the buzzer for UConn. Elijah Malone and Julian Hammond III scored 16 points each for Colorado, and Jakimovski had 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Huskies led 40-32 at halftime and by nine points early in the second half, but Colorado quickly closed that gap. McNeeley led UConn with 20 points. UConn: Hurley's squad is facing its first adversity in quite a while. The Huskies arrived on Maui with a 17-game winning streak that dated to February. Colorado: The Buffaloes were held to season lows in points (56) and field goal percentage (37%) in a 16-point loss to Michigan State on Monday but shot 51.1% overall and 56.3% (9 of 16) from 3-point range against the Huskies. Hurley called timeout to set up the Huskies' final possession, but the Buffs forced them to take a contested 3. Colorado had a 28-26 rebounding advantage after being out-rebounded 42-29 by Michigan State. Colorado will play the Iowa-Dayton winner in the fifth-place game on Wednesday. UConn will play the loser of that matchup in the seventh-place game. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up . AP college basketball: and .Eagles WR DeVonta Smith (hamstring) ruled out vs. Rams

Take it to the people, says Merriwa over 'treasured' Gumman Place Hostel

Article content As 2024 fades into the history books, now’s a good time to take stock of our government so we can look forward to a new year that brings change and stability. The dying days of the old year brought chaos to Parliament Hill, caused by the resignation of Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland and procedural wrangling over the government’s refusal to hand over documents related to a green slush fund. Sustainable Development Technology Canada was supposed to help innovative environmental companies. About $400 million was handed out in questionable grants and when MPs asked to see documentation for who received the money, the Liberals balked. House Speaker Greg Fergus has said no other business can proceed until the Liberals produce the documents, so Parliament has ground to a halt. This shows a shocking disregard for parliamentary privilege; MPs have the right to ask for and get vital documents such as this. It shows an unmitigated arrogance on the part of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that he won’t cough them up. It is, however, consistent with Trudeau’s track record. He shows disdain for Opposition politicians and the people they represent. Those who cross him — be it his former attorney-general Jody Wilson-Raybould or Freeland — are summarily fired. In Freeland’s case, her resignation letter threw the government into even more turmoil. Trudeau has stumbled from one scandal to another — yet he hangs tough. In 2017, then-ethics commissioner Mary Dawson found he’d breached the rules in connection to a 2016 vacation trip to the Aga Khan’s private island. In 2020, his government was probed over almost $1 billion in controversial contracts to family friends in the WE charity. The ethics commissioner ruled Trudeau hadn’t breached conflict of interest rules, but his then-finance minister, Bill Morneau, had put himself in a position of conflict of interest. Morneau later quit politics. RECOMMENDED VIDEO Then there’s ArriveCAN, where about $54 million was spent on an app that should have cost a fraction of that and which only 4% of travellers now use. After each gaffe, Trudeau says he’ll do better. He doesn’t. He rolls along to the next embarrassing gaffe. We’re told he’s contemplating his future over the holidays. He shouldn’t have to. His party should give him the boot before he can do more damage.STOCK MARKET SNAPSHOT FOR 27/11/2024