ORRVILLE, Ohio , Dec. 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The J.M. Smucker Co. (NYSE: SJM) ("Company") announced today the closing of the transaction to divest the Voortman ® business to Second Nature Brands. The Company previously announced the signing of a definitive agreement for the transaction on October 22, 2024 . The all-cash transaction is valued at approximately $305 million , subject to a working capital adjustment, and reflects the Company's continued commitment to optimizing its portfolio and reallocating resources to its core growth brands. The transaction includes all Voortman ® trademarks and the Company's leased manufacturing facility in Burlington, Ontario, Canada . In addition, approximately 300 employees will transition with the business. The Company updated its full-year fiscal 2025 net sales guidance to reflect the impact of the divested business. Net sales is anticipated to increase 7.5 to 8.5 percent compared to the prior year. The updated net sales guidance reflects the removal of approximately $65 million of divested net sales in fiscal 2025, with the estimated net sales impact evenly distributed throughout the remainder of the fiscal year. On a comparable basis, net sales is expected to increase 1.0 to 2.0 percent, which excludes noncomparable sales in the current year from the acquisition of Hostess Brands and noncomparable sales in the prior year related to the divestitures of the Voortman ® , Canada condiment, and Sahale Snacks ® businesses. The Company maintains its fiscal 2025 adjusted earnings per share, free cash flow, capital expenditures, and adjusted effective income tax rate outlook as communicated in its most recent quarterly earnings announcement on November 26, 2024 . The J.M. Smucker Co. Forward Looking Statements This press release ("Release") includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws. The forward-looking statements may include statements concerning our current expectations, estimates, assumptions and beliefs concerning future events, conditions, plans and strategies that are not historical fact. Any statement that is not historical in nature is a forward-looking statement and may be identified by the use of words and phrases such as "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "intend," "will," "plan," "strive" and similar phrases. Federal securities laws provide a safe harbor for forward-looking statements to encourage companies to provide prospective information. We are providing this cautionary statement in connection with the safe harbor provisions. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made, when evaluating the information presented in this Release, as such statements are by nature subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside of our control and could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements and from our historical results and experience. We do not undertake any obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements to reflect new events or circumstances. The risks, uncertainties, important factors, and assumptions listed and discussed in this press release, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed, include: the Company's ability to successfully integrate Hostess Brands' operations and employees and to implement plans and achieve financial forecasts with respect to the Hostess Brands' business; disruptions or inefficiencies in the Company's operations or supply chain, including any impact caused by product recalls, political instability, terrorism, geopolitical conflicts (including the ongoing conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Hamas), extreme weather conditions, natural disasters, pandemics, work stoppages or labor shortages (including potential strikes along the U.S. East and Gulf coast ports and potential impacts related to the duration of a recent strike at the Company's Buffalo, New York manufacturing facility), or other calamities; risks related to the availability of, and cost inflation in, supply chain inputs, including labor, raw materials, commodities, packaging, and transportation; the impact of food security concerns involving either the Company's products or its competitors' products, including changes in consumer preference, consumer litigation, actions by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or other agencies, and product recalls; a disruption, failure, or security breach of the Company or its suppliers' information technology systems, including, but not limited to, ransomware attacks; and risks related to other factors described under "Risk Factors" in other reports and statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K. About The J.M. Smucker Co. At The J.M. Smucker Co., it is our privilege to make food people and pets love by offering a diverse family of brands available across North America . We are proud to lead in the coffee, peanut butter, fruit spreads, frozen handheld, sweet baked goods, dog snacks, and cat food categories by offering brands consumers trust for themselves and their families each day, including Folgers ® , Dunkin ' ® , Café Bustelo ® , Jif ® , Uncrustables ® , Smucker's ® , Hostess ® , Milk-Bone ® , and Meow Mix ® . Through our unwavering commitment to producing quality products, operating responsibly and ethically, and delivering on our Purpose, we will continue to grow our business while making a positive impact on society. For more information, please visit jmsmucker.com . The J.M. Smucker Co. is the owner of all trademarks referenced herein, except for Dunkin ' ® , which is a trademark of DD IP Holder LLC. The Dunkin ' ® brand is licensed to The J.M. Smucker Co. for packaged coffee products sold in retail channels such as grocery stores, mass merchandisers, club stores, e-commerce and drug stores, and in certain away from home channels. This information does not pertain to products for sale in Dunkin ' ® restaurants. View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-jm-smucker-co-completes-the-divestiture-of-voortman-brand-to-second-nature-brands-and-updates-fiscal-year-2025-net-sales-outlook-302319978.html SOURCE The J.M. Smucker Co.

“Deep consensus” in Israel that genocide in Gaza is “justified”

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Unlike scores of people who for the blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy to lose weight in recent years, Danielle Griffin had no trouble getting them. The 38-year-old information technology worker from New Mexico had a prescription. Her pharmacy had the drugs in stock. And her covered all but $25 to $50 of the monthly cost. For Griffin, the hardest part of using the new drugs wasn’t access. It was finding out that the didn’t really work for her. “I have been on Wegovy for a year and a half and have only lost 13 pounds,” said Griffin, who watches her diet, drinks plenty of water and exercises regularly. “I’ve done everything right with no success. It’s discouraging.” In clinical trials, most participants taking Wegovy or Mounjaro to treat obesity lost an average of 15% to 22% of their body weight — up to 50 pounds or more in many cases. But roughly 10% to 15% of patients in those trials were “nonresponders” who lost less than 5% of their body weight. Now that millions of people have used the drugs, several obesity experts told The Associated Press that perhaps 20% of patients — as many as 1 in 5 — may not respond well to the medications. It’s a little-known consequence of the obesity drug boom, according to doctors who caution eager patients not to expect one-size-fits-all results. “It’s all about explaining that different people have different responses,” said Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity expert at Massachusetts General Hospital The drugs are known as GLP-1 receptor agonists because they mimic a hormone in the body known as glucagon-like peptide 1. Genetics, hormones and variability in how the brain regulates energy can all influence weight — and a person’s response to the drugs, Stanford said. Medical conditions such as sleep apnea can prevent weight loss, as can certain common medications, such as antidepressants, steroids and contraceptives. “This is a disease that stems from the brain,” said Stanford. “The dysfunction may not be the same” from patient to patient. Despite such cautions, patients are often upset when they start getting the weekly injections but the numbers on the scale barely budge. “It can be devastating,” said Dr. Katherine Saunders, an obesity expert at Weill Cornell Medicine and co-founder of the obesity treatment company FlyteHealth. “With such high expectations, there’s so much room for disappointment.” That was the case for Griffin, who has battled obesity since childhood and hoped to shed 70 pounds using Wegovy. The drug helped reduce her appetite and lowered her risk of diabetes, but she saw little change in weight. “It’s an emotional roller coaster,” she said. “You want it to work like it does for everybody else.” The medications are along with eating behavior and lifestyle changes. It’s usually clear within weeks whether someone will respond to the drugs, said Dr. Jody Dushay, an endocrine specialist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Weight loss typically begins right away and continues as the dosage increases. For some patients, that just doesn’t happen. For others, side effects such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea force them to halt the medications, Dushay said. In such situations, patients who were counting on the new drugs to pare pounds may think they’re out of options. “I tell them: It’s not game over,” Dushay said. Trying a different version of the new class of drugs may help. Griffin, who didn’t respond well to Wegovy, has started using Zepbound, which targets an additional hormone pathway in the body. After three months of using the drug, she has lost 7 pounds. “I’m hoping it’s slow and steady,” she said. Other people respond well to older drugs, the experts said. Changing diet, exercise, sleep and stress habits can also have profound effects. Figuring out what works typically requires a doctor trained to treat obesity, Saunders noted. “Obesity is such a complex disease that really needs to be treated very comprehensively,” she said. “If what we’re prescribing doesn’t work, we always have a backup plan.” ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Jonel Aleccia, The Associated PressCHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews Rage Against The Regime: Iran on BBC2: Beaten, gunned down - the women willing to die for democracy in Iran

skynesher/E+ via Getty Images Starwood Property Trust, Inc. ( NYSE: STWD ) is a well-managed mortgage real estate investment trust with a wide range of investments that provides passive income investors with a covered 10% dividend yield. In the third quarter, Starwood Property Trust Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of STWD either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. 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.None

COMPASS acquires @properties and Christie’s International Real Estate

Hilliard Police Alert: Be Wary of Courier Scams Trickling Residents Out of Thousands

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The Mexican government wants to make living in a corruption-free environment a constitutionally enshrined human right. Senator Javier Corral, a lawmaker with the ruling Morena party and a former governor of Chihuahua, said last week that in the coming months, he would present an initiative to create a General Law for the Investigation and Punishment of Acts of Corruption. Speaking in the state of Morelos at an annual meeting of Mexico’s anti-corruption prosecutor’s offices, Corral said that President Claudia Sheinbaum had entrusted him with the task of examining the best ways that corruption can be combated. While governor of Chihuahua, he made bringing his predecessor César Duarte to justice on corruption charges a central aim of his government. The proposed law Corral is slated to present to Congress would enshrine in the constitution a new human right: the right to live in a corruption-free environment and to enjoy responsible and lawful public administration by Mexican authorities. According to the newspaper El País and a statement from Mexico’s Senate that summarized Corral’s remarks last week , the law would: Former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador made combatting corruption a central aim of his administration, and less than a year into his six-year term declared that there was “zero corruption” in the federal government as a result of his dedication to “sweeping away” what had developed over the previous 30 years. But Sheinbaum believes there is more work to do, such as disbanding a number of autonomous government agencies. She recently said that the elimination of seven such agencies — as approved by the Senate last week — would lead to “more transparency” in government and help to eliminate corruption. Corruption has long been a problem in Mexico, with various scandals plaguing the 2012-18 government of former president Enrique Peña Nieto. Despite López Obrador’s determination to eliminate corruption — and his declarations that he had achieved his goal — his administration also faced accusations of corruption, including ones related to Mexico’s food security agency Segalmex and the Youths Building the Future apprenticeship scheme . While corruption is common in Mexico, so too is impunity for that crime — and various others. Even if a person is convicted of corruption and serves jail time, the money and/or assets they obtained as a result of their crime are not “normally” recovered, El País reported. As mentioned above, one of the objectives of the proposed General Law for the Investigation and Punishment of Acts of Corruption is to change that situation. In Morelos last week, Corral — who was affiliated with the National Action Party until joining Morena this year — described corruption as a “social cancer” that weakens Mexico’s democratic institutions and the rule of law. According to the statement issued by the Senate last Wednesday, he also said that his proposed law would seek to stop Mexico’s “culture of impunity” from being an incentive for the proliferation of corruption. Corral noted that Mexico’s anti-corruption prosecutor’s offices have a central role in the fight against corruption and in restoring citizens’ confidence in Mexico’s institutions. “But let’s not fool ourselves,” he added. “Combating corruption is not and never will be a simple task.” With reports from El País

Bamanga Usman Jada, Nigeria, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA), was appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on October 13, 2023. A seasoned administrator with a robust educational background in economics and oil and gas operations management, Jada has significantly impacted Nigeria’s oil and gas sector. Under his leadership, OGFZA established two major oil and gas free zones in 2024: the 50,000 MT LPG Notore Oil and Gas Free Zone Facility in Onne, Rivers State, projected to attract over $5 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) and create approximately 15,000 jobs; and a 20,000 MT LPG facility in Akwa Ibom State, expected to generate over $10 billion in investments and more than 7,000 jobs. These initiatives underscore Jada’s commitment to enhancing Nigeria’s economic landscape to attract strategic foreign direct investments. Jada’s tenure has also been marked by the attraction of over $24 billion in FDI to OGFZA. His efforts have not gone unnoticed; OGFZA received the Best Federal MDA for Ease of Doing Business Automation award from the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), in recognition of his leadership in transforming OGFZA into a model for digital governance within Nigeria’s public sector. Educated at Federal University of Technology Yola and the University of Central Lancashire, Jada’s career spans various roles in finance and project management within Nigeria’s energy sector. His affiliations with professional institutions reflect his dedication to continuous improvement and governance excellence. Born on March 2, 1983, in Jada Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Jada is married with children and remains committed to public service and national development.