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Arsenal defender Gabriel kept Viktor Gyokeres quiet — then had the audacity to steal the in-demand Sporting Lisbon striker's trademark goal celebration. After heading in Arsenal's third first-half goal in the Champions League on Tuesday, Gabriel linked the fingers of his hands and placed them over his eyes, before laughing with his teammates. It was most likely a dig at Gyokeres, the Sweden striker who has quickly become one of European soccer's hottest properties . Because that is how Gyokeres celebrates his goals. “It's fun that he likes my celebration,” Gyokeres told Viaplay after the match. “He can steal it if he cannot come up with his own.” Gyokeres has scored 24 goals for Sporting in all competitions and was coming off netting four for Sweden in a Nations League match against Azerbaijan. Earlier in the first half, Gabriel had enjoyed tackling and dispossessing Gyokeres near the Arsenal area — waving both his arms in a gesture to the crowd. Gabriel's goal made it 3-0 to Arsenal at halftime and the English team went on to win 5-1, with Gyokeres failing to score. He did hit the post with a shot late in the game, however — after Gabriel had gone off with an injury. “Today he wasn't that dangerous,” Arsenal striker Kai Havertz said of Gyokeres, “but I think it's because we defended very well.” AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Penn St. 85, Fordham 66Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis slated to make season debut on Monday night vs LA Clippers
With a $364 billion market cap and an asset base (as of Sept. 30) that totals a gargantuan $3.3 trillion, Bank of America ( BAC -0.54% ) is a leader in the financial services industry. It has its hands in numerous areas, from consumer and commercial banking to capital markets and asset management. Shares of this large financial stock have produced a fantastic 62% return just in the past 12 months. Does this strong momentum add fuel to the argument that Bank of America is a smart buy right now? It's all about staying power Warren Buffett-led Berkshire Hathaway owns just under 10% of Bank of America, which gives the average investor a vote of confidence that this is a worthy business to consider owning. The Oracle of Omaha looks for companies that have staying power, a description fitting for Bank of America. The world will likely always need financial services providers that facilitate money movement between savers and borrowers and that conduct various capital market activities, among other things. I don't think that's a bold statement. Bank of America has durable competitive advantages that support its industry position, both from existing rivals and newer entrants like fintech entities. The company's distribution capabilities, via a powerful digital presence and sprawling branch network, help it grow its low-cost deposit base and find new customers, creating revenue-generating opportunities. And Bank of America's tremendous scale means that it can leverage its expense base to produce consistent profits. The brand's strength also resonates with current and future customers. Bank of America, like its peers, isn't immune to the whims of the broader economic cycle. Recessionary times are inevitable. But the fact that they are unpredictable definitely adds risk and uncertainty to the equation. For what it's worth, Bank of America has historically been able to navigate whatever macro challenges have been thrown its way, which should give prospective investors confidence. Practice patience In the past year, Bank of America shares have crushed the S&P 500 . Investors in the massive financial institution would've seen their capital almost double the return of the broader index in just 12 short months. It's hard to argue with this type of gain that can draw in investors who have been on the sidelines. And with the prospects of lower interest rates and a regulatory-friendly administration entering the White House, you might think the good times will keep rolling. I, however, take a different view. Smart investors will be critical of where a company's returns will come from. Since this is a very mature business, it's unlikely that there will be outsized growth. Indeed, diluted earnings per share rose at an annualized pace of 1.6% in the past five years. That isn't anything to get excited about. Shareholders can bank on the 2.19% dividend yield, as well as the fact that the management team continues to shrink the outstanding share count . But these alone aren't enough to drive superior investment returns that outperform the broader market. The final piece of the puzzle is the valuation. Note that in the past 12 months, Bank of America's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio jumped 107%, from 8.3 to 17.3 as of this writing. This more than offset falling earnings during the period. It looks like the market's optimism toward Bank of America overshot to the upside, perhaps in anticipation of a lower-interest rate environment that could provide a favorable backdrop. As things stand right now, though, I think shares are richly valued. The current P/E multiple represents a 43% premium to the trailing-five-year average. Bank of America is a dominant financial services enterprise with staying power. But I don't believe it's a smart buy. Investors should instead add the business to their watch lists and wait for a more attractive valuation.
WASHINGTON – He’s not done. U.S. Ambassador to Japan and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is in the mix for Democratic National Committee chair and, if there are vacancies, governor and senator. He told the Sun-Times he is weighing his options about the next “best way to serve.” Emanuel told me in a text, “First come home second talk and listen to folks at home about best way to serve and build what we care about.” Emanuel ponders his future from Tokyo as Democrats are at a low point, reeling from Donald Trump taking the White House again and bringing with him a Republican Senate and House. I’ve talked to people who know about some of the conversations Emanuel is having and what is clear is, I’m told, he is interested in another political role. Emanuel’s been a House member, White House chief of staff, mayor and winding up a stint as an ambassador. Emanuel, who turns 65 on Nov. 29, is not about to retire. He is exploring opportunities that may be available in the 2026 cycle. But it’s not all up to him. Gov. JB Pritzker, 59, has to decide if running for a third term in 2026 makes him, if he wins re-election, a stronger contender in his expected entry into the 2028 Democratic presidential primary. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who turned 80 on Thursday, and first elected to the Senate in 1997, has yet to announce if he will be seek a sixth term. The 2022 elections were snoozers in Illinois. There were no statewide contests to fight over. The Illinois political landscape will likely be much different in 2026. There could be big primary brawls if Pritzker and Durbin don’t run again. There is a lot of pent-up demand among Democrats — and I’m talking about every statewide official and some members of Congress — wanting to move up. Let’s break this down: Emanuel and the race for Democratic National Committee Chair The race is already on for the next chair of the Democratic National Committee. DNC chair Jamie Harrison is not expected to seek a second term. This is an inside election, where the chair is voted on by committee members. Announced candidates so far are Ken Martin, the Minnesota Democratic chairman and Martin O’Malley, the former Maryland governor. Other names mentioned include Ben Wikler, the Wisconsin Democratic chairman and Michael Blake, a former DNC vice chair and ex-New York State Assembly member. I got to know Blake in 2007 when he was in Iowa as an early volunteer for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Democratic strategist David Axelrod, Emanuel’s longtime friend, floated Emanuel’s name on his “Hacks on Tap” podcast earlier this month. “If they said, ‘Well, what should we do? Who should lead the party?’ I would take Ambassador Rahm Emanuel.” There is some interest in Emanuel, I’m told, among elements of the party who see him as a leader able to figure out how to revive the Democrats after the 2024 debacle. He’s a strong strategist, extraordinary fundraiser and an effective messenger. But Emanuel has his detractors. As Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, said on X about Emanuel running for DNC chair, “The DNC needs an organizer who gets people. Not someone who sends fish heads in the mail.” That’s a reference to a famous story about Emanuel once sending a political enemy a dead fish. Emanuel’s next step may depend on if Pritzker, Durbin seek re-election It’s not clear where Emanuel’s interests lie. Seems senator or governor would fit better, in my analysis, than DNC chair. Pritzker is more likely to stay put than Durbin. Durbin, I’m told, is getting annoyed with people asking him if he is going to retire. I get it. As he considers running again, he also has to reckon with a Senate under Republican control come January and Trump in the White House. Durbin is the number two leader in the Senate, elected to the “whip” post for every session since 2005. He’s also the Senate Judiciary Committee Chair, busy these past days in getting judges confirmed before time runs out. But he is 80. Durbin would be 86 at the end of this term. Voters just went through dealing with an aging President Joe Biden. Before Durbin goes public with his decision about running again — he’s got another election coming up, an internal vote among the Democratic senators in December for their leadership spots. Durbin wants to stay as the Democratic whip. And as the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. Emanuel is making calls. He’s talking about more than one thing. He’s exploring. He’s not done.
Lopetegui came into the game under pressure following some poor displays from the Hammers in recent weeks but they earned a hard-fought victory to end the Magpies’ three-game winning spell. Despite a promising opening from the hosts, Tomas Soucek headed West Ham in front before Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s first goal for the club after the break wrapped up victory. Lopetegui was pleased with his side’s display following a “tough match”. He said: “I am happy for the three points and am very happy against a good team like Newcastle, who have good players and a fantastic coach. “I think today was a tough match and we were able to compete as a team. “I think we deserved to win. Today they had many moments in the first half, but I think the second half we deserved to win and we are happy because you have to do these kind of matches against this type of team if you want to overcome them.” Newcastle started brightly and had plenty of chances in the first half especially, but the visitors responded after the break by retaining possession well. The win eases the pressure on Lopetegui, whose West Ham side face Arsenal on Saturday, and he believes the victory is an important feeling for his players. He said: “I think the only thing that is under our control is to play football, to improve, to defend well, to convince the players we are able to do better. “Today we did, but I think the only thing we can do is to do the things that are under our control, not today but every day. “So we had to keep with this mentality, but above all let me say we are happy for the players because they need this kind of feeling as a team to believe that we are able to do well as a team, to put the best for each player of the team.” Newcastle boss Eddie Howe admitted defeat was a missed opportunity for his side. The Magpies missed a series of chances in the first half, including efforts from Joe Willock and Sean Longstaff, before Alexander Isak blasted a chance off target. Anthony Gordon also rolled an effort just wide of the post after the break and Isak headed wide of goal. Three points could have seen Newcastle move into the top six and Howe admitted his side need to learn from the match. “Yes, massive because the league is so tight that a couple of wins and the whole picture looks very different,” Howe said. “We’ll kick ourselves tonight because we knew the opportunity we had, a home game, Monday night, a great moment for us potentially in our season, so we have to learn from that and come back stronger.”
NoneKosovo arrested several suspects Saturday after an explosion at a key canal feeding two of its main power plants, while neighbouring Serbia rejected accusations of staging the blast. The explosion Friday near the town of Zubin Potok, which sits in an ethnic Serb-dominated area in Kosovo's troubled north, damaged a canal that supplies water to hundreds of thousands of people and cooling systems at two coal-fired power plants that generate most of Kosovo's electricity. As security forces swarmed the area around the canal, whose concrete walls were left with a gaping hole gushing water, Prime Minister Albin Kurti visited the site and announced authorities had arrested several people. Law enforcement "carried out searches" and "collected testimony and evidence, and the criminals and terrorists will have to face justice and the law," he said. The arrests follow a security meeting late Friday, when Kurti pointed the finger at Serbia. "The attack was carried out by professionals. We believe it comes from gangs directed by Serbia," he told a press conference, without providing evidence. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic hit back Saturday, denying the "irresponsible" and "baseless accusations". "Such unfounded claims are aimed to tarnish Serbia's reputation, as well as to undermine efforts to promote peace and stability in the region," he said in a statement to AFP. Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric had earlier suggested on X that the Kosovar "regime" could itself be behind the blast, calling for an international investigation. The main political party representing Serbs in Kosovo, Serb List, also condemned the attack "in the strongest possible terms". AFP journalists at the scene saw water leaking heavily from one side of the reinforced canal, which runs from the Serb-majority north of Kosovo to the capital, Pristina. However, electricity supplies to consumers were running smoothly on Saturday morning, with authorities having found an alternative method to cool the plants, said Kosovo's Economy Minister Artane Rizvanolli. Repair work was ongoing, authorities said, while Kurti confirmed workers had managed to restore water flows to 25 percent capacity. The United States strongly condemned the "attack on critical infrastructure in Kosovo", the US embassy in Pristina said in a statement on Facebook. "We are monitoring the situation closely... and have offered our full support to the government of Kosovo to ensure that those responsible for this criminal attack are identified and held accountable." Turkey's foreign ministry also condemned the attack, adding: "We call on all parties to exercise restraint to avoid escalation in the region." The NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping mission for Kosovo joined the calls for restraint. "It is important that facts are established and that those responsible are held accountable and brought to justice," it said in a statement. The force is providing security in the surrounding area and has offered logistical, explosives removal and engineering support to the Kosovo authorities, it added. The European Union's ambassador to Kosovo, Aivo Orav, joined the international condemnation, saying on X: "The incident needs to be investigated and those responsible brought to justice." Animosity between ethnic Albanian-majority Kosovo and Serbia has persisted since the end of the war between Serbian forces and ethnic Albanian insurgents in the late 1990s. Kosovo declared independence in 2008, a move that Serbia has refused to acknowledge. Kurti's government has for months sought to dismantle a parallel system of social services and political offices backed by Belgrade to serve Kosovo's Serbs. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama on Saturday denounced "the act of sabotage on the critical water supply infrastructure in the Iber-Lepenc Canal" in comments on X, calling it "a serious crime that endangers the lives of Kosovo's citizens and undermines the process of normalizing relations in our region." Friday's attack came after a series of violent incidents in northern Kosovo, including the hurling of hand grenades at a municipal building and a police station earlier this week. ih/ach/giv/jhb/sbk
Will Australia’s ban on under-16s using social media work?None