
St. Paul-based Bremer Bank to be acquired in $1.4 billion merger with Old National Bank
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'In Regular Touch With Both Israel, Iran': EAM Jaishankar Affirms India's Commitment Towards A Peaceful Resolution
European markets set to open lower as French political upheaval drags onInjury-hit St Kilda midfielder Brad Crouch is expected to announce his retirement this week – just a few days after being rookie-listed by the Saints. Crouch was the club’s sole rookie pick last Friday in a decision that had Saints supporters scratching their heads. The 30-year-old is already working in commercial real estate at Essendon Fields. On its website his employer lists him as a sales executive. Crouch has also been appointed non-playing assistant coach of suburban powerhouse Noble Park next season. He is expected to call a close to his 161-game AFL career this week, freeing up a position on St Kilda’s list. Crouch’s career is expected to come to an end. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images It’s unclear why he did not simply retire at some stage after the season rather than be moved off the primary list. St Kilda is yet to clarify his position as the club works through a potential payout but coach Ross Lyon flagged his departure recently at a club function. “We have made some hard decisions and there have been some tough things occur ... unfortunately (Crouch) had a degenerative knee and we would have loved to have him but we lost him and those losses have enabled the salary cap to be freed up,” Lyon said. The decision to move him onto the rookie list meant St Kilda had another selection in the national draft as it secured exciting prospects Alix Tauru and Toby Travaglia as top-ten selections then pick 32 James Barrat, pick 45 Hugh Boxshall, and pick 53 Alex Dodson then pick 60 Patrick Said. Dodson was seen as the draft’s most accomplished ruckman but drifted back in the order at a club that needs ruck support for Rowan Marshall. The Herald Sun reported earlier this month the Saints had interest in SANFL Magarey Medallist Harry Boyd. The Saint has already taken a role working in commercial real estate. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images St Kilda announced a few weeks ago that it had delisted Crouch but was committed to taking him in the rookie draft. But there are more list lodgements ahead so the Saints could still move him off their list and clear a position for a train-on player who could be taken as a summer rookie. Crouch signed a four-year deal with St Kilda as a restricted free agent when he joined it from Adelaide in 2021. He played 65 games in his first three years at Moorabbin but only one this year. Crouch was seen five times at VFL level for St Kilda affiliate Sandringham. The Saints publicly announced 12 months ago that they would take a Sandringham-listed player as a rookie, strengthening the alignment between the clubs. But they did not go through with the arrangement, believing the Zebras did not have a player capable of going onto the list. Clubs were surprised that the club did not select NGA academy defender Adrian Cole after a solid Coates League season, especially after the club’s complaints about northern states academies. More Coverage The List Manager: Proven beyond doubt – Saints aren’t good enough Jon Ralph AFL Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News. Join the conversation Add your comment to this story To join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? Register Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout More related stories AFL News The Bevo rule? AFL rethinks post-game media access After the loss to Sydney last year, Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge used the Herald Sun’s Ed Bourke to send a message. Now, with the media policy again in the spotlight, change could be coming. Read more AFL New Bomber’s vow to ‘not waste’ family’s remarkable sacrifice Isaac Kako has paid tribute to his family’s sacrifice in order to give him and his siblings a better life, as the small forward becomes the only current AFL player of Iraqi heritage. Read moreWake up the ghosts! Texas, Texas A&M rivalry that dates to 1894 is reborn
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Known across the globe as the stuck astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams hit the six-month mark in space Thursday with two more to go. The pair rocketed into orbit on June 5, the first to ride Boeing's new Starliner crew capsule on what was supposed to be a weeklong test flight. They arrived at the International Space Station the next day, only after overcoming a cascade of thruster failures and helium leaks. NASA deemed the capsule too risky for a return flight, so it will be February before their long and trying mission comes to a close. While NASA managers bristle at calling them stuck or stranded, the two retired Navy captains shrug off the description of their plight. They insist they're fine and accepting of their fate. Wilmore views it as a detour of sorts: "We're just on a different path." "I like everything about being up here," Williams told students Wednesday from an elementary school named for her in Needham, Massachusetts, her hometown. "Just living in space is super fun." Both astronauts lived up there before, so they quickly became full-fledged members of the crew, helping with science experiments and chores like fixing a broken toilet, vacuuming the air vents and watering the plants. Williams took over as station commander in September. "Mindset does go a long way," Wilmore said in response to a question from Nashville first graders in October. He's from Mount Juliet, Tennessee. "I don't look at these situations in life as being downers." Boeing flew its Starliner capsule home empty in September, and NASA moved Wilmore and Williams to a SpaceX flight not due back until late February. Two other astronauts were bumped to make room and to keep to a six-month schedule for crew rotations. Like other station crews, Wilmore and Williams trained for spacewalks and any unexpected situations that might arise. "When the crews go up, they know they could be there for up to a year," NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free said. NASA astronaut Frank Rubio found that out the hard way when the Russian Space Agency had to rush up a replacement capsule for him and two cosmonauts in 2023, pushing their six-month mission to just past a year. Boeing said this week that input from Wilmore and Williams was "invaluable" in the ongoing inquiry of what went wrong. The company said it is preparing for Starliner's next flight but declined to comment on when it might launch again. NASA also has high praise for the pair. "Whether it was luck or whether it was selection, they were great folks to have for this mission," NASA's chief health and medical officer, Dr. JD Polk, said during an interview with The Associated Press. On top of everything else, Williams, 59, had to deal with "rumors," as she calls them, of serious weight loss. She insists her weight is the same as it was on launch day, which Polk confirms. During Wednesday's student chat, Williams said she didn't have much of an appetite when she first arrived in space. But now she's "super hungry" and eating three meals a day plus snacks, while logging the required two hours of daily exercise. Williams, a distance runner, uses the space station treadmill to support races in her home state. She competed in Cape Cod's 7-mile Falmouth Road Race in August. She ran the 2007 Boston Marathon up there as well. She has a New England Patriots shirt with her for game days, as well as a Red Sox spring training shirt. "Hopefully I'll be home before that happens — but you never know," she said in November. Husband Michael Williams, a retired federal marshal and former Navy aviator, is caring for their dogs back home in Houston. As for Wilmore, 61, he's missing his younger daughter's senior year in high school and his older daughter's theater productions in college. "We can't deny that being unexpectedly separated, especially during the holidays when the entire family gets together, brings increased yearnings to share the time and events together," his wife, Deanna Wilmore, told the AP in a text this week. Her husband "has it worse than us" since he's confined to the space station and can only connect via video for short periods. "We are certainly looking forward to February!!" she wrote.
NoneFrp holdings director Stein sells $160,000 in stock
ABILENE, Texas (AP) — Sam Hicks scored on a 53-yard run in the fourth quarter and finished with 171 yards on the ground to lead Abilene Christian to a 24-0 victory over Northern Arizona on Saturday in the first round of the FCS playoffs. The Wildcats (9-4), ranked No. 15 in the FCS coaches poll and seeded 15th, qualified for the playoffs for the first time and will travel to play No. 2 seed and nine-time champion North Dakota State (10-2) on Saturday at the Fargo Dome. The Bison had a first-round bye. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.Sam Hicks, defense lead Abilene Christian over Northern Arizona 24-0 to extend 1st trip to playoffsPresident Trump will enter office at a very interesting time for U.S. stock markets. America is absolutely torching the rest of the world. Today American companies make up a whopping 75% of the MSCI World Index. The MSCI World Index contains shares of the largest stocks from Europe, Canada, Singapore, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Israel, and the United States. Source: Albert Edwards on X This index is a very important one, as it forms the basis of large ETFs and other investment vehicles. Today it’s utterly dominated by American companies. Over recent history, American stocks have dramatically outperformed the rest of the world, especially Europe. Here’s a chart to demonstrate. U.S. stocks have returned almost 4x more than European ones over the last 14 years! It’s been a historic winning spree. Now the question is... Can It Last? Take a look at that first chart again. Notice that in the late 1980s, Japan made up over 50% of the MSCI World Index. It was bigger than the U.S.! A tiny country with around 126 million people had a majority of the World Index. And now it’s less than 7%. We can see that during the period of Japanese exceptionalism (it peaked in 1989), the U.S. dropped from about 70% to 30% of the MSCI World Index. Times do change, eventually. I believe we’re nearing another peak of U.S. market exceptionalism. I’m not saying it’s going to be immediate, but make no mistake, stocks can’t go up like this forever. U.S. stocks have reached ridiculous valuation levels. Take a look at a simple stock like Walmart (WMT) . The retail giant is currently trading at 38x earnings (a 38 P/E), while growing revenue at 5%. That’s rich. A great company, no doubt. But a very expensive valuation, especially considering the upcoming changes to American tariffs. We’re in serious bubble territory across the board. The S&P 500 has an average price/book of over 5.2x . The top 10 stocks in the US trade at about 49x earnings on average. Big Changes Coming In about 45 days, President Trump will take office. Markets are (validly) excited about this prospect. But we should tamper our expectations given the pre-existing bubbly conditions. Voters have charged him with bringing about the most ambitious reforms the country has seen in decades if not a century. Trade policy will be overhauled. Immigration policy will change dramatically. Immigration and trade alone have the potential to reshape the American workforce and economy. Add in better energy policy (drill baby, drill), lower taxes, and RFK Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, and we have a recipe for fireworks. Trump will also enter office at a time in which U.S. tech companies are beginning to face serious foreign (mostly Chinese) competition. Take a look at Apple iPhone sales in China, which are finally facing major challengers such as Huawei And Xiaomi. In social media, companies such as TikTok parent Bytedance are cutting in on a previously US-dominated market. And in electric vehicles, Tesla is losing out to rising giants like BYD. Oh yeah, and as I’ve already mentioned, we are also in the middle of a massive stock bubble. It’s going to be an incredibly disruptive next few years. Good, great, bad, and ugly. We’re going to see it all. Investors face a daunting task preparing for such conditions. This period promises to be wild and unlike anything we’ve seen for decades. Market crashes, real reform, political clashes, buying opportunities, the deep state strikes back. All of that. Stay tuned.