game changer
President-elect Donald Trump’s lawyers urge judge to toss his hush money convictionScotland Tonight, Aoife’s story: ‘I was targeted by an online predator aged 15, I didn’t know where to turn’
From wealth and success to murder suspect, the life of Luigi Mangione took a hard turnIllinois St. 84, UAB 83
GRAIL Announces Inducement Grants Under NASDAQ Listing Rule 5635(c)(4)Innovative AstroRad Vest Poised to Safeguard Astronauts from Space RadiationPresident Yoon Suk Yeol spread fear and confusion through South Korea overnight by issuing his sudden edict late Tuesday, the first martial law declaration since more than four decades ago when the country was controlled by a dictatorship. The declaration, the rushed vote by lawmakers to overturn it and the president's lifting of martial law soon afterward were moments of high drama for an unpopular leader who has struggled with political deadlock in an opposition-dominated parliament and scandals involving him and his wife. While there was no direct evidence presented, Yoon raised the specter of North Korea as a destabilizing force. Yoon has long maintained that a hard line against the North is the only way to stop Pyongyang from following through on its nuclear threats against Seoul. Amid the surreal scenes of troops massing around parliament, here are some things to know as this story unfolds: Immediately after Yoon's declaration the military chief called in key commanders for talks. South Korean troops set up barricades and then made their way into parliament. The leader of the main opposition, which controls parliament, ordered lawmakers to return to the building, where they eventually voted to lift the declaration of martial law. Yoon lifted the martial law decree around 4:30 a.m. during a Cabinet meeting. Yoon's declaration had been accompanied by an accusation that the opposition was engaged in “anti-state activities plotting rebellion.” But he did not explain what that means, and provided no specific evidence. The vague statement is reminiscent of the heavy-handed tactics of the South Korean dictatorships that ended in the late 1980s. A series of strongmen repeatedly invoked North Korea when struggling to control domestic dissidents and political opponents. The opposition lambasted Yoon's move as un-democratic. Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, who narrowly lost to Yoon in the 2022 presidential election, called Yoon’s announcement “illegal and unconstitutional.” But the sudden declaration was also opposed by the leader of Yoon's own conservative party, Han Dong-hoon, who called the decision “wrong” and vowed to “stop it with the people.” “The people will block the president’s anti-constitutional step. The military must be on the side of the public in any case. Let’s resolutely oppose it,” Kim Dong Yeon, the opposition party governor of Gyeonggi province, which surrounds Seoul, wrote on X. Average South Koreans were in shock. Social media was flooded with messages expressing surprise and worry over Yoon’s announcement. “Martial law? I thought it was deepfake content, but is it really a martial law decree?,” one X user wrote. “I first thought about a war with North Korea when he said he would impose a martial law,” another X user wrote. There were quick claims that the emergency declaration was linked to Yoon’s political struggles. His approval rating has dropped, and he has had little success in getting his policies adopted by a parliament that has been controlled by the opposition since he took over in 2022. Conservatives have said the opposition moves are political revenge for investigations into the opposition leader, who is seen as the favorite for the next presidential election in 2027. Just this month, Yoon denied wrongdoing in an influence-peddling scandal involving him and his wife. The claims have battered his approval ratings and fueled attacks by his rivals. The scandal centers on claims that Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee exerted inappropriate influence on the conservative ruling People Power Party to pick a certain candidate to run for a parliamentary by-election in 2022 at the request of Myung Tae-kyun, an election broker and founder of a polling agency who conducted free opinion surveys for Yoon before he became president . Yoon has said he did nothing inappropriate. South Korea became a democracy only in the late 1980s, and military intervention in civilian affairs is still a touchy subject. During the dictatorships that emerged as the country rebuilt from the destruction of the 1950-53 Korean War, leaders occasionally proclaimed martial law that allowed them to station combat soldiers, tanks and armored vehicles on streets or in public places to prevent anti-government demonstrations. Such scenes are unimaginable for many today. The dictator Park Chung-hee, who ruled South Korea for nearly 20 years before he was assassinated by his spy chief in 1979, led several thousand troops into Seoul in the early hours of May 16, 1961, in the country’s first successful coup. During his rule, he occasionally proclaimed martial law to crack down on protests and jail critics. Less than two months after Park Chung-hee’s death, Maj. Gen. Chun Doo-hwan led tanks and troops into Seoul in December 1979 in the country’s second successful coup. The next year, he orchestrated a brutal military crackdown on a pro-democracy uprising in the southern city of Gwangju, killing at least 200 people. In the summer of 1987, massive street protests forced Chun’s government to accept direct presidential elections. His army buddy Roh Tae-woo, who had joined Chun’s 1979 coup, won the election held later in 1987 thanks largely to divided votes among liberal opposition candidates. AP writers Kim Tong-hyung and Hyung-jin Kim contributed to this story.
Fugitive dog gains fame in New Orleans eluding dart guns and nets
Pro Picks is a weekly column where AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi shares his picks for upcoming games. For all previous Pro Picks, head here .Analysis: If Jets don't want Rodgers, others will
Democrats 'Ignored the Needs of My Community': Florida State Rep Susan Valdes Joins Republican PartyTikTok has reportedly sought advice from Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of the competing social media platform, X (formerly Twitter), and a close associate of President-elect Donald Trump, as it navigates challenges in the United States. Shou Chew, TikTok’s CEO, is said to have reached out to Musk in recent weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. Leadership at TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, a Chinese tech firm, views Musk as a potential intermediary to the incoming administration. This comes as the app faces mounting pressure over national security concerns, including the possibility of a US ban. The US administration, under outgoing President Joe Biden, had been raising alarms that TikTok could be compelled to share user data with the Chinese government. The company denies this claim. The issue has gathered more steam with the passage of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, signed into law by Biden in April this year. Under the law, ByteDance must divest its US operations of TikTok by January 19, 2025, or face an outright ban. The legislation aims to limit risks associated with foreign-controlled apps, which lawmakers say could endanger American users’ privacy and national security. TikTok has responded by suing the federal government. The company’s legal challenge, TikTok v. Garland, argues that the divestiture mandate violates its First Amendment rights, as well as those of its users. A court ruling is expected before the deadline January deadline. Trump’s politics around TikTok has shifted. The Republican, who previously sought to ban the app during his first term, has signalled opposition to the looming ban, according to advisers. Trump now cites the platform’s popularity and potential economic benefits as reasons to reconsider. President-elect Trump is set to be sworn into office on January 20. Just a day after the ban deadline. TikTok is likely betting on Musk’s mediation to avoid, or possibly reverse this potential ban when the next administration comes into power. With inputs from agenciesGuido Mieth Introduction The First Citizens BancShares is a holding company that provides exposure to the First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company, a 125-year-old bank, which is today, amongst the largest 15 banks in America (by assets). Interested parties have the option of pursuing Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
Will the U.S. ever elect a woman president? I first considered this question in a column I wrote in August of 2016. Hillary Clinton, Yale-educated lawyer, former first lady, former senator from New York and former secretary of state, was running for president. Her opponent was a guy named Donald Trump, a reality TV star and a businessman of indifferent success who had a reputation for stiffing contractors, skirting the rules and getting in trouble for declining to rent to Black renters. Trump was also known for infidelity, divorce and a long series of demeaning remarks about women. In fact, a couple of months after I wrote my column, Trump was caught on tape bragging about being able to commit sexual assault with impunity if you’re a celebrity. In short, Hillary Clinton’s chances for becoming the first woman president looked good; America chose Trump. But my column wasn’t necessarily in support of Clinton herself; I wondered if women could bring something to the White House from which the country could benefit. I tried to avoid thorny questions about innate differences between men and women, but I suggested that boys and girls are socialized differently, which might mean that girls grow up with values and qualities that are different from boys’ and that could be valuable in our nation’s highest office. For example, it’s difficult to imagine a woman whose favorite movie is “Patton” and who would watch it obsessively, as Richard Nixon did while he was pursuing a misguided war in Vietnam, bombing civilians and invading Cambodia. It’s hard to imagine a woman so infatuated with the mythical qualities of Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie that she could say, as Lyndon Johnson once did about Vietnam, “Hell, it’s just like the Alamo.” And what woman would say “Bring ‘em on” to people whom she believes are intent on killing us, as George W. Bush challenged Iraqi insurgents to do. In 2016, I suggested that this is the sort of swaggering, tough-guy bravado that’s learned by boys on the playing fields of their elementary schools and reinforced on the football field, in boot camp and, in George Bush’s case, jet pilot school. Many men get over it, but many don’t. And when the ones who don’t make their way into high public office, our foreign policy can become hyper-aggressive and heavy-handed, a blustery macho test of who blinks first. Women leaders, of course, can be strong and resolute, as well — Margaret Thatcher and Golda Meir come to mind. But after growing up with less physical strength, women may be less likely to turn to force as the first resort; they may be willing to talk rather than bluff or bluster, to negotiate rather than fight. This isn’t weakness so much as it is wisdom. Or so I naively speculated in the innocent days of 2016. Now a woman has again lost the presidency to man — in fact, the same man! If anything, that man embodies more bullying machismo than he did eight years ago. In the meantime, he’s been adjudged liable for sexual assault and for defaming a particular woman while he continues to defame others. Trump has nominated a few women for roles in his administration, but they tend to reflect his version of manly values: Linda McMahon founded the WWE, and Kristi Noem is best known for bragging about shooting a dog that seemed, to her, untrainable. And the men coming into power? J.D. Vance’s views on women aren’t exactly enlightened. Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Defense, says that women have no place in combat. (I look forward to watching him rationalize that position to war hero Sen. Tammy Duckworth.) Even Hegseth’s mother once called him a man who “belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego.” At least Trump’s mother never said that aloud. Alas, our slow, fitful progress toward electing a woman president has gone into reverse. My 8-year-old hopes for a new paradigm that favors negotiation over power, community over conflict and maternalism over machismo seem quaint or naïve and, for the present at least, increasingly elusive.SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — At this point the past two seasons, the San Francisco 49ers were fighting for playoff positioning rather than their playoff lives. After snapping a three-game losing streak with a lopsided win , the Niners head into a Thursday night division showdown against the Los Angeles Rams hoping to play with the same kind of desperation in a game they almost certainly need to win to get to the postseason. “I think just across the board as a team, everybody had just a bit more of sense of urgency and I think we executed and played together as a team, and we didn’t let off,” quarterback Brock Purdy said. “Really liked that. But, that was last week so now it’s on to this week and how can we do that again?” After getting outscored by 53 points in losses at and , the 49ers (6-7) played their most complete game of the season to keep their . While some credited a feeling of desperation or speeches from players such as Purdy and Deommodore Lenoir for the turnaround, linebacker Fred Warner said it was more about execution than anything else. “We didn’t go out there in Green Bay, we didn’t go out there in Buffalo saying, ‘Let’s just hope that we win.’ Trust me, I felt desperate as hell going into both those games,” he said. “It just didn’t work out. ... It didn’t happen because last week we decided we wanted to. This was weeks in the making.” Whatever the reason, the results were obvious to anyone watching, including the Rams (7-6), who had their own signature performance to boost their playoff chances. to remain one game behind Seattle in the NFC West race and a game ahead of the 49ers and Arizona in the tightly packed division. Coach Sean McVay knows his team will need a similar performance to beat San Francisco and earn a season sweep. “I saw they certainly had a very dominant performance,” he said. “If there’s anything that you do know, it’s a week-to-week league. Humility is only a week away. They have excellent coaches, excellent personnel and really good schemes. No matter what’s really happened in terms of the trajectory of the injuries, they’re going to be ready to go.” Puka power Puka Nacua is in dominant form with 33 catches for 458 yards and three TDs in the Rams’ past four games, highlighted by a 162-yard performance last week against Buffalo in which he also scored his first rushing TD. Nacua was injured for these clubs’ first meeting this season — but last year, he broke the NFL’s single-game rookie receptions record with 15 in his first game against San Francisco, and he set the NFL rookie season records for catches and yards receiving during his visit to Santa Clara last January. “He’s a tough football player,” 49ers defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen said. “Some guys are just competitive. He’s got size, he doesn’t go down easy. Some things you can’t measure and he’s just got it.” Deebo’s struggles The least productive sent the frustrated wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers to social media. In a now-deleted post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Samuel said the reason he gained only 97 yards from scrimmage the past four games was not that he was struggling but that he wasn’t getting the ball. His teammates and coaches believe he will get back to his All-Pro form soon. “I want to get Deebo the ball every play if I could,” Purdy said. “I want to have him break all the records as best as possible. I want Deebo to do Deebo things.” Defense declining The Rams defense got shredded twice in the past three weeks by Saquon Barkley’s Eagles and Josh Allen’s Bills, dropping the unit to 27th in total defense. LA’s vaunted young pass rush led by rookie Jared Verse has no sacks in its past two games and just three in the past four games. Considering Purdy drove the Niners to 425 yards in the teams’ first meeting this season without Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle or Samuel, the Rams’ offense might need yet another prolific game to overcome its defense’s weaknesses. Under pressure With Nick Bosa sidelined the past three games, the 49ers have had to generate pass rushes from different sources. They had a season-high seven sacks last week with Yetur Gross-Matos getting three and Leonard Floyd two. The 32-year-old Floyd has 5 1/2 sacks in his past four games. “Leonard’s just an Energizer bunny,” Shanahan said. “It’s crazy with him being one of the older guys and stuff and how many different teams he’s been to, but I’ve played against him enough and felt that.” Bosa has a chance to return this week and is listed as questionable. ___ AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham in Los Angeles contributed to this report ___ AP NFL:
Bristol Myers Squibb Announces Dividend IncreaseFugitive dog gains fame in New Orleans eluding dart guns and netsA massive $895 billion defense spending bill cleared the House of Representatives on Wednesday with provisions that would ban transgender medical treatments for minors and raise military pay. The must-pass legislation to fund the military for the next fiscal year passed in bipartisan 281-140 vote, with 200 Republicans and 81 Democrats supporting the measure. The bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), faces an end-of-month deadline to clear Congress and be signed into law by President Biden. Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) indicated that the defense spending package may be taken up for a vote in the upper chamber early next week . The House-passed measure authorizes a 1% increase in defense spending and 14.5% pay raises for junior enlisted service members, or about half of US troops. Other enlisted service members would be eligible for a 4.5% bump in pay. The NDAA bill also includes funding for US joint military exercises with Israel and would prohibit the Pentagon from citing casualty numbers tabulated by the Hamas terror group. It also appropriates new funds for child care and housing for US troops. “No service member should have to live in squalid conditions and no military family should have to rely on food stamps to feed their children, but that’s exactly what many of our service members are experiencing, especially the junior enlisted,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, (R-Ala.) said. “This bill goes a long way to fixing that.” Several Democratic lawmakers bristled at the inclusion of a measure that would bar TRICARE, the military’s health care program, from covering transgender medical procedures for the children of active-duty members. Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee, voted against the bill over the transgender treatment provision. “These treatments changed their lives and in many cases saved their lives,” Smith said of puberty blockers and hormone therapy for children. “And in this bill, we decided we’re going to bar servicemembers’ children from having access to that.” Smith argued that the ban “taints an otherwise excellent piece of legislation.” Meanwhile, conservative lawmakers, such as Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), celebrated the ban. “I think these questions need to be pulled out of the debate of defense, so we can get back to the business of defending the United States of America without having to deal with social engineering debates,” Roy said. The NDAA also includes a provision that would ban the teaching of critical race theory in the military. “In this year’s NDAA, we will end CRT by stripping funding for its teaching and promotion within our military!” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) wrote on X. “I have fought hard to get rid of it,” the congresswoman added. “CRT is a harmful ideology that spreads racial divides in our country. Our service members do not need this NONSENSE.”
Health rethink needed as aging escalates Canada's costs significantly: report
Luigi Nicholas Mangione, the suspect in the fatal shooting of a healthcare executive in New York City , apparently was living a charmed life: the grandson of a wealthy real estate developer, valedictorian of his elite Baltimore prep school and with degrees from one of the nation's top private universities. Friends at an exclusive co-living space at the edge of touristy Waikiki in Hawaii where the 26-year-old Mangione once lived widely considered him a “great guy,” and pictures on his social media accounts show a fit, smiling, handsome young man on beaches and at parties. Now, investigators in New York and Pennsylvania are working to piece together why Mangione may have diverged from this path to make the violent and radical decision to gun down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in a brazen attack on a Manhattan street. The killing sparked widespread discussions about corporate greed, unfairness in the medical insurance industry and even inspired folk-hero sentiment toward his killer. But Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro sharply refuted that perception after Mangione's arrest on Monday when a customer at a McDonald's restaurant in Pennsylvania spotted Mangione eating and noticed he resembled the shooting suspect in security-camera photos released by New York police. “In some dark corners, this killer is being hailed as a hero. Hear me on this, he is no hero,” Shapiro said. “The real hero in this story is the person who called 911 at McDonald’s this morning.” Mangione's family and upbringing Mangione comes from a prominent Maryland family. His grandfather, Nick Mangione, who died in 2008, was a successful real estate developer. One of his best-known projects was Turf Valley Resort, a sprawling luxury retreat and conference center outside Baltimore that he purchased in 1978. The Mangione family also purchased Hayfields Country Club north of Baltimore in 1986. On Monday, Baltimore County police officers blocked off an entrance to the property, which public records link to Luigi Mangione’s parents. Reporters and photographers gathered outside the entrance. The father of 10 children, Nick Mangione prepared his five sons — including Luigi Mangione’s father, Louis Mangione — to help manage the family business, according to a 2003 Washington Post report. Nick Mangione had 37 grandchildren, including Luigi, according to the grandfather's obituary. Luigi Mangione’s grandparents donated to charities through the Mangione Family Foundation, according to a statement from Loyola University commemorating Nick Mangione’s wife’s death in 2023. They donated to various causes, including Catholic organizations, colleges and the arts. One of Luigi Mangione’s cousins is Republican Maryland state legislator Nino Mangione, a spokesman for the lawmaker’s office confirmed. “Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest,” Mangione’s family said in a statement posted on social media by Nino Mangione. “We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved.” Mangione's education and work history Mangione, who was valedictorian of his elite Maryland prep school, earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer science in 2020 from the University of Pennsylvania, a university spokesman told The Associated Press. He learned to code in high school and helped start a club at Penn for people interested in gaming and game design, according to a 2018 story in Penn Today, a campus publication. His social media posts suggest he belonged to the fraternity Phi Kappa Psi. They also show him taking part in a 2019 program at Stanford University, and in photos with family and friends at the Jersey Shore and in Hawaii, San Diego, Puerto Rico, and other destinations. The Gilman School, from which Mangione graduated in 2016, is one of Baltimore’s elite prep schools. The children of some of the city’s wealthiest and most prominent residents, including Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr., have attended the school. Its alumni include sportswriter Frank Deford and former Arizona Gov. Fife Symington. In his valedictory speech, Luigi Mangione described his classmates’ “incredible courage to explore the unknown and try new things.” Mangione took a software programming internship after high school at Maryland-based video game studio Firaxis, where he fixed bugs on the hit strategy game Civilization 6, according to a LinkedIn profile. Firaxis' parent company, Take-Two Interactive, said it would not comment on former employees. He more recently worked at the car-buying website TrueCar, but has not worked there since 2023, the head of the Santa Monica, California-based company confirmed to the AP . Time in Hawaii and reports of back pain From January to June 2022, Mangione lived at Surfbreak, a “co-living” space at the edge of touristy Waikiki in Honolulu. Like other residents of the shared penthouse catering to remote workers, Mangione underwent a background check, said Josiah Ryan, a spokesperson for owner and founder R.J. Martin. “Luigi was just widely considered to be a great guy. There were no complaints,” Ryan said. “There was no sign that might point to these alleged crimes they’re saying he committed.” At Surfbreak, Martin learned Mangione had severe back pain from childhood that interfered with many aspects of his life, including surfing, Ryan said. “He went surfing with R.J. once but it didn’t work out because of his back,” Ryan said, but noted that Mangione and Martin often went together to a rock-climbing gym. Mangione left Surfbreak to get surgery on the mainland, Ryan said, then later returned to Honolulu and rented an apartment. An image posted to a social media account linked to Mangione showed what appeared to be an X-ray of a metal rod and multiple screws inserted into someone's lower spine. Martin stopped hearing from Mangione six months to a year ago. An X account linked to Mangione includes recent posts about the negative impact of smartphones on children; healthy eating and exercise habits; psychological theories; and a quote from Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti about the dangers of becoming “well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” Police report a darker turn Mangione likely was motivated by his anger at what he called “parasitic” health insurance companies and a disdain for corporate greed, according to a law enforcement bulletin obtained by AP. He wrote that the U.S. has the most expensive healthcare system in the world and that the profits of major corporations continue to rise while “our life expectancy” does not, according to the bulletin, based on a review of the suspect’s handwritten notes and social media posts. He appeared to view the targeted killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO as a symbolic takedown, asserting in his note that he is the “first to face it with such brutal honesty,” the bulletin said. Mangione called “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski a “political revolutionary” and may have found inspiration from the man who carried out a series of bombings while railing against modern society and technology, the document said. ___ Associated Press reporters Lea Skene in Baltimore; Jen Kelleher in Honolulu; Maryclaire Dale in Philadelphia; John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; and Michael Kunzelman in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.
WesBanco, Inc. and Premier Financial Corp. Announce Shareholder Approvals of Merger Agreement
WHEELING, W.Va. , Dec. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- WesBanco, Inc. ("WesBanco") (Nasdaq: WSBC) and Premier Financial Corp. ("Premier") (Nasdaq: PFC) today announced that WesBanco's shareholders and Premier's shareholders have each voted overwhelmingly to adopt and approve, as applicable, all proposals relating to the previously announced merger agreement for WesBanco to acquire Premier. The votes were held at the respective special meetings of WesBanco's shareholders and Premier's shareholders today. Approximately 85% of the votes cast at WesBanco's special meeting voted to approve the merger and to approve the proposal to issue shares of WesBanco common stock as described in the joint proxy statement/prospectus for the special meeting, and approximately 68% of the outstanding shares of Premier common stock voted to approve the proposal to adopt the merger agreement. "Shareholder approval is a key milestone that reflects strong confidence in the opportunities this merger creates for our communities, customers, employees and shareholders," said Jeff Jackson , President and Chief Executive Officer of WesBanco. "With this step complete, we look forward to receiving the required regulatory approvals and then scheduling the closing of the merger, so we can bring our community commitment and the resources of a stronger organization to all of our communities." With the completion of this critical milestone, the companies believe the merger is on track to close during the first quarter of 2025. The transaction remains subject to the completion of customary closing conditions, including the receipt of required regulatory approvals. The merger will create a regional financial services institution with approximately $27 billion in assets, significant economies of scale, and strong pro forma profitability metrics. With complementary and contiguous geographic footprints, the combined company would be the 8th largest bank in Ohio , based on deposit market share, have increased presence in Indiana , and serve customers in nine states. About WesBanco, Inc. With over 150 years as a community-focused, regional financial services partner, WesBanco Inc. (NASDAQ: WSBC) and its subsidiaries build lasting prosperity through relationships and solutions that empower our customers for success in their financial journeys. Customers across our eight-state footprint choose WesBanco for the comprehensive range and personalized delivery of our retail and commercial banking solutions, as well as trust, brokerage, wealth management and insurance services, all designed to advance their financial goals. Through the strength of our teams, we leverage large bank capabilities and local focus to help make every community we serve a better place for people and businesses to thrive. Headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia , WesBanco has $18.5 billion in total assets, with our Trust and Investment Services holding $6.1 billion of assets under management and securities account values (including annuities) of $1.9 billion through our broker/dealer, as of September 30, 2024 . Learn more at www.wesbanco.com and follow @WesBanco on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram. About Premier Financial Corp. Premier Financial Corp. (Nasdaq: PFC), headquartered in Defiance, Ohio , is the holding company for Premier Bank. Premier Bank, headquartered in Youngstown, Ohio , operates 73 branches and nine loan offices in Ohio , Michigan , Indiana and Pennsylvania and also serves clients through a team of wealth professionals dedicated to each community banking branch. For more information, visit Premier's website at www.PremierFinCorp.com . Matters set forth in this press release contain certain forward-looking statements, including certain plans, expectations, goals, and projections, and including statements about the benefits of the proposed Merger between WesBanco and Premier, that are subject to numerous assumptions, risks, and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements in this press release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results could differ materially from those contained or implied by such statements for a variety of factors including: the effects of changing regional and national economic conditions, changes in interest rates, spreads on earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities, and associated interest rate sensitivity; sources of liquidity available to WesBanco and its related subsidiary operations; potential future credit losses and the credit risk of commercial, real estate, and consumer loan customers and their borrowing activities; actions of the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Institution Regulatory Authority, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, the Securities Investors Protection Corporation, and other regulatory bodies; potential legislative and federal and state regulatory actions and reform, including, without limitation, the impact of the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act; adverse decisions of federal and state courts; fraud , scams and schemes of third parties; cyber-security breaches; competitive conditions in the financial services industry; rapidly changing technology affecting financial services; marketability of debt instruments and corresponding impact on fair value adjustments; and/or other external developments materially impacting WesBanco's operational and financial performance, the businesses of the WesBanco and Premier may not be integrated successfully or such integration may take longer to accomplish than expected; the expected cost savings and any revenue synergies from the proposed Merger may not be fully realized within the expected timeframes; disruption from the proposed Merger may make it more difficult to maintain relationships with clients, associates, or suppliers; the required governmental approvals of the proposed Merger may not be obtained on the expected terms and schedule; changes in economic conditions; movements in interest rates; competitive pressures on product pricing and services; success and timing of other business strategies; the nature, extent, and timing of governmental actions and reforms; and extended disruption of vital infrastructure; and other factors described in WesBanco's 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K, Premier's 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K, and documents subsequently filed by WesBanco and Premier with the SEC. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are based on information available at the time of the release. Neither WesBanco nor Premier assumes any obligation to update any forward-looking statement. View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wesbanco-inc-and-premier-financial-corp-announce-shareholder-approvals-of-merger-agreement-302329433.html SOURCE WesBanco, Inc.NO. 25 ILLINOIS 87, MARYLAND-EASTERN SHORE 40Suspended Bev Priestman makes first public comments in wake of drone-spying scandal