phmacao com login Hurry! $80 off this awesome Star Wars Lightsaber this Cyber Monday but stocks are running lowLumentum Appoints New Board Member

Shoppers praise Dollar Tree’s top-rated Christmas door decoration for just $1.25 – and it comes in three optionsTurkiye's foreign minister discussed with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday the need to act in cooperation with the new Syrian administration to ensure the completion of the transition period in an orderly manner, the ministry said. In a phone call, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Blinken that Ankara would not allow Kurdish YPG militia to take shelter in Syria, the ministry spokesperson said. During the call, Blinken emphasised the need to support a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process that "upholds human rights and prioritises an inclusive and representative government," according to a statement from the US State Department. Blinken and Fidan also discussed preventing terrorism from endangering the security of Turkey and Syria, the statement said. Meanwhile, Lebanon expelled around 70 Syrian officers and soldiers Saturday, returning them to Syria after they crossed into the country illegally via informal routes, a Lebanese security official and a war monitor said. Many senior Syrian officials and people close to the former ruling family of Bashar al-Assad fled the country to neighbouring Lebanon after Assad's regime was toppled on Dec 8. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a London-based organisation with sources in Syria, and the Lebanese security official said Syrian military personnel of various ranks had been sent back via Lebanon's northern Arida crossing. The new administration has been undertaking a major security crackdown in recent days on what they say are "remnants" of the Assad regime. The Lebanese security official said the Syrian officers and soldiers were found in a truck in the northern coastal city of Jbeil after an inspection by local officials. Reuters reported on Friday that Rifaat al-Assad, an uncle of Assad charged in Switzerland with war crimes over the bloody suppression of a revolt in 1982, had flown out of Beirut to Dubai recently, as had "many members" of the Assad family. Earlier this month, Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said top Assad adviser Bouthaina Shaaban had flown out of Beirut after entering Lebanon legally. Related Story Qatar prioritises humanitarian aid to Syria: Mofa spokesman Qatar Charity sends 24 trucks of relief supplies to Syria

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson reacted to the mysterious drones appearing over New Jersey in recent weeks by wondering if they were part of a "fake alien invasion" being staged to "steal Trump's swagger." Beginning late last month, large drones — some as large as six feet in diameter — have been seen nightly across New Jersey from dusk until nearly midnight. According to the state lawmakers briefed on the matter this week, the sightings have ranged from four to 180 per night. Even though the state's governor says there's no public safety threat, the appearance of the drones continues to raise alarms in the state, especially since local officials have said that the flying objects have eluded radar detection and quickly fly away when approached by police helicopters. Concerns that the drones appear to be surveilling the state's infrastructure have caused some members of Congress to worry that a foreign adversary may be involved. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) told Fox News on Wednesday morning that he believed the drones were from an Iranian... Justin BaragonaGreen Bay (9-4) at Seattle (8-5) Sunday, 8:20 p.m. EST, NBC BetMGM NFL Odds: Packers by 3 Against the spread: Green Bay 7-6, Seattle 6-6-1 Series record: Green Bay leads 15-9 Last meeting: Nov. 14, 2021, Packers win 17-0 at Lambeau Field. Last week: Packers lost 34-31 to the Detroit Lions. Seahawks beat the Arizona Cardinals 30-18. Packers offense: overall (6), rush (5), pass (11), scoring (7) Packers defense: overall (13), rush (9), pass (21), scoring (9) Seahawks offense: overall (13), rush (27), pass (3), scoring (15) Seahawks defense: overall (18), rush (21), pass (10), scoring (11) Turnover differential: Seattle -0.3 (22) Packers player to watch Josh Jacobs, who signed a four-year, $48 million deal with the Packers in the offseason, looks to be matching his 2022 All-Pro form. That year he rushed for 1,653 yards with 12 TDs for the Raiders. This season he’s run for 1,053 yards and 11 scores. He’s on a roll, with three-touchdown games in two of his past three and he’s scored eight times total over four games. Seahawks player to watch Zach Charbonnet had a career-high 134 yards rushing and two touchdowns in the victory over the Cardinals last week. Carbonnet was pressed into starting duty with Kenneth Walker sidelined by ankle and calf issues. Charbonnet needs 63 yards rushing to surpass his total last year (462) as a rookie. He needs three more rushing scores to become the first Seahawks player with at least 10 since Marshawn Lynch in 2014. Key matchup The Packers offense overall appears to have the upper hand with the steady leadership of quarterback Jordan Love, so Seattle’s chances may hinge on how Green Bay’s pass defense holds up against Geno Smith and the Seahawks passing offense, ranked third in the league. Smith has thrown for 3,474 yards and 14 touchdowns this season, but he’s also got 12 interceptions. Key injuries Packers tight end Luke Musgrave participated in individual drills this week. CB Jaire Alexander (knee), who has missed the past three games, and WR Romeo Doubs (concussion), who has missed the past two, practiced this week and appear close to returning. LB Edgerrin Cooper (hamstring), who missed the past three games, also returned to practice this week. Seattle’s Kenneth Walker III missed the game against the Cardinals because of an ankle/calf injury. He’s run for a team-best 542 yards and seven TDs this season. He was listed as questionable for the game. Cornerback Tre Brown, who was inactive against the Cardinals because of a hamstring injury, is also questionable. Series notes The Seahawks have won the past three at home, but the Packers have won four of the past five since 2015. Three of those victories came at Lambeau Field, including the latest one on Nov. 14, 2021. Green Bay blanked Seattle 17-0. The Packers have not visited Seattle since 2018. Stats and stuff The Seahawks, coming off a 30-18 road win over Arizona, have won four straight and are atop the tight NFC West. ... The Packers can technically clinch a playoff berth this weekend but it involves two unlikely scenarios. According to the NFL, the Packers can clinch with a win in Seattle, a loss or tie by the Atlanta Falcons and a tie between the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers. ... The Packers’ most recent win in the series against the Seahawks was 17-0 at Lambeau Field in 2021. That’s the only shutout during coach Matt LaFleur’s six-year tenure. ... LaFleur has won 10 in a row against the NFC West. ... Over the course of a four-game winning streak heading into Sunday night’s game, the Seahawks have allowed an average of just 15.5 points a game. ... The Packers are No. 1 with 97 points off turnovers while Seattle has the eighth-most giveaways. ... Green Bay’s 34-31 loss to Detroit last Thursday night averaged 17.29 million viewers, making it the most-streamed NFL regular-season game in history and Amazon Prime Video’s most-watched game since exclusively taking over the prime-time package in 2022. ... Seattle receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba needs 89 yards for his first career 1,000-yard season. ... The Packers have won 10 consecutive regular-season games against NFC West foes. ... The Packers have won seven of their past nine games. ... Seattle QB Geno Smith needs one 300-yard game to tie Russell Wilson for single-season franchise record with five. ... Green Bay has two wins against teams with winning records: the Texans (8-5) and Rams (7-6), both of which were reeling from injuries, while losses have come against Detroit (12-1; twice), Minnesota (11-2) and Philadelphia (11-2). Fantasy tip Seattle receiver Tyler Lockett didn’t have a reception against the Cardinals — his first game without a catch since Dec. 2, 2019, against Minnesota. Lockett could be fueled by the end of his streak. He remains two touchdowns away from passing Marshawn Lynch for third place on Seattle’s touchdowns list with 67. ___ AP NFL:

As 2024 comes to a close, British American Tobacco's ( BTI 0.05% ) stock is sitting on a roughly 25% year-to-date price gain. That's a pretty rapid advance, particularly for a company that is largely viewed as an income investment, with most of the rally happening over a six-month period, between April and September. Is this cigarette maker worth buying after the price advance, or is there now even more reason to avoid the stock? Here's a look at four key issues you need to consider when making your call. One big reason to like British American Tobacco The one thing that has likely drawn most investors to British American Tobacco is still the biggest reason to like the stock: its dividend yield . Even after this year's price advance, the yield is still 8%, which is far better than the S&P 500 index's 1.2% or the average consumer staples stock's yield of about 2.5% (based on the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF as a proxy for the industry). Clearly, if you are looking to generate as much income as possible from your investments, British American Tobacco is a consumer staples business worth looking at. Also notable on this front, the British company shifted to paying dividends quarterly in 2018 and has, since that point, increased its annual payment every year (in British pounds). With this stock, it would be difficult to find anything to complain about when it comes to the income stream it produces. One big reason to dislike British American Tobacco The dividend, however, must be juxtaposed against the company's business, which is largely selling cigarettes. Its core tobacco business has not been performing well. To be fair, no cigarette maker has been doing all that well lately. But it is important to understand what is going on. In the first half of 2024, British American Tobacco sold 6.8% fewer cigarettes than it did in the same period of 2023. In 2023, cigarette volumes declined by 5.3%. And in 2022, they witnessed a 5.1% volume drop. So it's no surprise that the stock had taken a beating in in 2022 and 2023 with the market cap decline more than 40% at one point. This is not the type of trend you see from a healthy business. British American Tobacco, like its peers, has offset its volume declines with price increases, resulting in increased profits this year and a corresponding stock rally. Given the addictive nature of nicotine, smokers are a fairly loyal and reliable customer group. But at some point, it seems likely that those price increases will exacerbate the volume declines. The big question for investors is whether or not a high yield today is worth the risk of buying into a business that is facing a steady decline in demand for its core products. A second reason to be worried about British American Tobacco Before dismissing this issue, it is worth taking a step back in time to the end of 2023. That was when British American Tobacco changed the way it accounted for its U.S. business. Historically, the company had based part of its accounting on the premise that its U.S. brands would have value forever. At the end of 2023, management came to the conclusion that those brands would end up worthless in 25 to 30 years. It took a large write-off, to the tune of 23.0 billion GBP ($29.4 billion), based on that decision. That onetime charge made its 2023 earnings look terrible, but the bigger takeaway was that British American Tobacco basically admitted that its U.S. cigarette operations are in terminal decline. Although it operates a global portfolio, it doesn't bode well for the company that one of its most important markets looks like it is slowly going away. A second reason to like British American Tobacco That said, British American Tobacco clearly isn't ignoring the problem. The fact that it changed its accounting method for the U.S. business clearly indicates that it sees it. So, too, do the company's efforts to build up what it calls its "new categories" business division. This group sells things like vapes and pouches. The division's performance has been a bit of a mixed bag. However, the modern oral pouches product line witnessed volume growth of 50% in the first half of 2024. BTI data by YCharts . The new categories business only accounted for around 16.5% of revenues in the first half of 2024. But the company's efforts in it, notably in its growing modern pouches line, show that it could have a long-term opportunity. That might provide some hope for investors that British American Tobacco can find a way to offset the ongoing declines in its core cigarette operations. Big trade-offs to consider with British American Tobacco Every investment decision requires considering both the positive and negative attributes of the potential purchase. However, the risks are particularly large for British American Tobacco, which is facing a long downtrend in its most important business. While its high-yielding dividend is attractive, this is not a stock you can buy and ignore. In fact, most conservative income investors would probably be better off avoiding it. And if you are brave enough to own British American Tobacco, you'll want to pay close attention to the progress it makes in dealing with the ongoing volume declines in cigarettes. If it can't offset those declines, it likely won't be able to keep supporting its dividend at current levels over the long term.