Injured Aussie Exum returns after missing 48 NBA games
Injured Aussie Exum returns after missing 48 NBA games
*********** guard Dante Exum has returned from wrist surgery after sitting out Dallas Mavericks’ first 48 games of the NBA season.
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Q4 2024 Eastman Chemical Co Earnings Call
Q4 2024 Eastman Chemical Co Earnings Call
Gregory Riddle; Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications; Eastman Chemical Co
William Mclain; Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President; Eastman Chemical Co
Jeff Zekauskas; Analyst; J.P. Morgan
Good day, everyone, and welcome to the fourth-quarter and full year 2024 Eastman conference call. Today’s conference is being recorded. This call is being broadcast live on the Eastman website, www.eastman.com.We will now turn it over to Mr. Greg Riddle, Eastman, Investor Relations. Please go ahead, sir.
Thank you, Harry, and good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us. On the call with me today are Mark Costa, Board Chair and CEO; ******* McLain, Executive Vice President and CFO; and Jake LaRoe and Emily Alexander from the Investor Relations team.Yesterday, after market closed, we posted our fourth quarter and full year 2024 financial results news release and SEC 8-K filing, our slides and the related prepared remarks in the Investors section of our website, eastman.com.Before we begin, I’ll cover two items. First, during this presentation, you will hear certain forward-looking statements, including our plans and expectations. Actual events or results could differ materially. Certain factors related to our future expectations are or will be detailed in our fourth quarter and full year 2024 financial results news release during this call in the preceding slides and prepared remarks and in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Form 10-K filed for full year 2023 and the Form 10-K to be filed for full year 2024.Second, earnings referenced in this presentation exclude certain noncore and unusual items. Reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures and other associated disclosures, including a description of the excluded and adjusted items are available in the fourth quarter and full year 2024 financial results news release. As we posted the slides and accompanying prepared remarks on our website last night, we will now go straight into Q&A.Harry, please let’s start with our first question.
Operator
Josh Spector, UBS.
James Canon
This is James Cannon on for Josh. I just wanted to jump in on the AM guidance. I think between the overall segment and what you’re assuming for the Kingsport contribution. It seems like you’re assuming a decline in the base business. And I just was wondering if you could unpack some of the moving pieces there.
Mark Costa
Yes, sure. First of all, AM’s had a good success in recovering earnings from a challenging environment in ’23 through ’24. And it really is an impressive recovery of the actual core business and Advanced Materials in ’24, as we fell short on sort of our circular earnings goals in that year. So the macro economy is certainly challenging right now, as we all know.And lack of destocking certainly helped last year as we move into this year, you really got a more stable flat market without that tailwind. So you have to create all of your own growth this year, which we’re doing. So when you look at the growth that we’re going to deliver in the circular platform is pretty substantial with that $75 million to $100 million guide for the company with $50 million of it being in Advanced Materials.When you look at the innovation that we’re creating that drove growth last year and will continue to drive growth this year through our innovation in our core business in a very flat market, I think, is, again, a testament to the power of our strategy and the value of the segment. But there are headwinds in the core business that sort of mitigate some of that volume growth within the core to your question.So we’ve got increasing natural gas prices across the company, and a good portion of that, which is up in Advanced Materials. You’ve got currency being a headwind and that a good portion of that shows up in Advanced Materials. So that’s good portion of the 50 in natural gas and the 30 in currency. So that offset some of that volume and mix growth and sort of levels out the core earnings.But we still expect the segment overall to have very strong performance. And I think it’s really well positioned when you think about the strength of that stability in the core, building with innovation on top of it and then how that then levers into more growth in 2026.I would also say that cost management is going to help this segment as well. So it’s a combination of things that sort of flatten out the earnings growth in the core due to these new headwinds. But I don’t think there’s anything to be concerned about long term.
James Canon
Okay. Got it. And then could you just frame for us what the Kingsport contribution look like in 4Q and maybe what you’re assuming in 1Q?
William Mclain
Yes. So as we look at how we ended the year, we came in modestly below the low end of the range that we gave for 2024. We continue to work through the higher cost associated with reduced uptime from earlier in the year. But in the fourth quarter, we demonstrated continual operational improvement and we’ve run well since we saw each of you in November.We’re at 85% DMP yield since our fall turnaround and uptime continues to improve. We continue setting new production levels since that last shutdown, and we’re well positioned for strong operating leverage and in 2025 from both higher production and reduced operational spend.
Mark Costa
I would add that all the success in this plant is a tremendous testament to the teams, the operators, the engineers, everyone who surrounded and built this plant and got it up and running. It’s just extraordinary amount of effort that this team has invested to get such a complicated plant to do something so extraordinary to take basically garbage and turn it into high-quality virgin polymer is a real proof point for how Eastman can build extraordinarily advantaged technologies and build a long-term competitive advantage that I think will be very difficult for anyone to replicate. And the only reason that happens is all the people who’ve done such great work.
James Canon
Great. Thank you.
Operator
David Begleiter, Deutsche Bank.
David Begleiter
Thank you. Good morning, Mark, a couple of questions related to the new administration. First, on the Texas project, any concerns or thoughts on the DOE funding going forward and could that be a risk here?
Mark Costa
Sure, David. Thanks for the question. Obviously, we’re paying very close attention to the new administration. First, our projects under contract with the DOE, and we’ve already received our first funds from the program, and so we feel like we’re on a good track there.To back up for a moment, I want to sort of recognize and say, I really appreciate President Trump’s focus on growing US manufacturing. I think it’s incredibly important. I think a lot of us forget that you don’t really actually have an economy without an industrial base, and that includes vertical integration to key raw materials.And that’s really both not just for an economic reason, but also for our security, national security reason. And so if we reflect on where we are today in America, we’re really at risk of losing American competitiveness that we’ve built over the last eight years. In a while sort of US consumption went up a lot over the last two decades, US manufacturing has declined.So the idea of driving and supporting US manufacturing, I think, is an incredibly important priority. And when you think about our circular economy project, I think it fits perfectly with his agenda and what he’s trying to accomplish on three different reasons.First, the circular investment is about building infrastructure in America and reshoring jobs and building supply chain resiliency. When you think about the products that come off of this facility for food packaging, medical and a variety of other vital consumer durables, we need to have that sort of resiliency in this country, and we’re onshoring jobs basically from Asia to Texas.We’re also going to create a lot of jobs downstream of this as people sort of want to lever into reshoring manufacturing and supplying raw materials to them, and importantly, upstream of us. So as we make this investment, we create jobs and revenue for recycling infrastructure that feeds into this kind of facility and the others that need to be built in this country. And that creates a sustainable growth, not just in Texas, but across the country.The second factor is it actually creates energy independence. Plastic waste is basically oil sitting above ground and landfill. So you’re using it as feedstock with a world scale advantage process and we have an advantaged cost position, if oil is above $60, so it’s value creating in a meaningful way.And the third factor, of course, is the circular economy will create a long-term US competitive advantage because the circular economy is, by definition, defined as taking local plastic waste as feedstock from the local environment.Imports obviously shouldn’t count as recycled content because that’s solving someone else’s waste problem, not ours. And whether you’re a Republican in or a Democrat, no one likes plastic waste. They all want it solved. Even Trump signed Save our Seas Act in the first term, showing that marine debris and impacts the environment are important to him on this topic. So I think that it fits his agenda well. We’re very excited to be sort of doing this. I think, Eastman, frankly, as a company, fits his agenda well given how large of a US manufacturer.
David Begleiter
No, very good. And just on the similar point, you are a large US exporter. What are your thoughts and concerns over potential as Trump raises tariffs potentially, potential retaliatory tariffs on US exports?
Mark Costa
Yes. So I’m just building on, I guess, on the last answer, David. I do think that trade is an important topic back to that US manufacturing point I just made. I think strategic trade actions, along with addressing sort of overwhelming regulations, having pro-growth tax policy, workforce development, et cetera, were all critical to sort of driving and growing US manufacturing, which will certainly benefit Eastman in the long term and many other companies.When I look back at the last time there was a sort of trade event in 2019, Eastman actually managed that from a direct impact really quite well. And the only impact we really had was there was a slowdown in the short term, therefore, economic activity and sort of we felt that.And when I reflect back on that time frame, we don’t really face that much ******** competition in North America. So it didn’t have a lot of relevance to us to see the trade benefits. But obviously, a lot of US manufacturing did, and that helped stabilize the economy in some other areas that sort of helps as we sort of go through that trade friction.Today is different though. So when you look at where we are today versus then the economy was actually relatively strong going into that event. The economy in global manufacturing now is incredibly weak across the globe.So I think the rate at which people can get aggressive, if they’re focused on stabilizing and growing their economy will be limited, given those weaker positions that many countries have. And we’re also in a pretty challenging economic time. So it’s not clear to me how much more negative impact tariffs can have on top of the manufacturing recession we’re already in.So I think that this, while it sounds really dramatic because there are so many different countries being discussed around what might have some tariff actions in it, and that is certainly a wider factor than 2019. I think that there’s pros and cons to this and I think so far, we have seen some careful thought being deployed the administration about what’s appropriate and not acting yet until they have a clear plan.So we’ll see. There’s no way for me to estimate the impacts at this stage. Given everything I just said, we’re going to need to see specific actions to really have an informed point of view. But I will say that our forecast does not include any significant impact from the trade actions.
David Begleiter
Thank you.
Operator
Mike Sison, Wells Fargo.
Mike Sison
Hey, guys. Nice end of the year. I had a question on AFP. The adjusted EBIT came in a lot stronger in the fourth quarter versus the third quarter relative to your guidance. You talked about a couple of things in the transcript. But can you give us a little bit of color on why that segment did so well sequentially when normally, it takes a little bit of a dip?
Mark Costa
Yes. So first, AFP had a great year as well as a great quarter. And frankly, the whole company had a great year. We’re really excited about it, but on the earnings we delivered and the strength of cash flow that we generated. So, and AFP was a strong contributor to both the earnings and the cash flow. So it was great.When it came to sort of how it came in better than expected, it was on both fronts. So volume mix came in a bit more, it came in a bit better than we expected. We expected a certain amount of destocking that might have gone beyond normal destocking. And we came in a little bit better than our original thought on that side.And then raw material flow through was also better across a number of different products and that combination of those two things out, we even got some more fills in HTS than we expected. And as part of that, and all those came together in a way that made the outcome better.And then I’d say that’s sort of the story for the year for AM and for the company. We didn’t have a market that gave us a lot of tailwinds outside of a lack of destocking. So the 23% earnings growth, ASP’s contribution in it is about pulling lever we got, defending every bit of volume we had with customers, finding innovation everywhere we can, spending price incredibly well, which is a true testament to the sustainability of our value proposition through our innovation and good management on costs, et cetera. So this was a tough year that was delivered by actions, small little actions taken by everyone across the company to deliver it.
Mike Sison
Got it. And then just a quick one on Fibers. It looks like this will be the third year in a row of really good margins, pricing. The guidance looks pretty good in that 400-plus level. When you think about that business going forward, how sustainable do you think these pricing levels are? You saw some destocking here. I think there’s some new capacity coming on as well. And just given that it’s been such a big improvement from 2002, 2021 levels.
Mark Costa
So certainly, [Fibers] has improved significantly back to where it was back in the sort of 2013, ’14 time frame. So it’s not like these are new levels. We were at them in our history.In the short term, what I’d say is, based on everything customers are telling us, you’ve got a set of actions that are happening that are causing earnings to sort of normalize. Inventory management is certainly the key driver of the volume being adjusted. You have to remember that tow is 2% of the price of a **********. And the ********** margins for our customers are greater than 60% in gross margins.So they really don’t want to miss the *****. So security supply is phenomenally important to them when the markets are very tight. And so they built a lot of safety stock as a result of the ’21, ’22 time frame to make sure they were never shorting a customer.So I think that is what’s going on right now. And we still have, as we look through 2026, greater than 80% of our customers under volume commitments. But there’s a band of volume that they can hit inside these contracts and so that destocking is showing up with some customers. And we do expect the prices to be higher. But the ******* overall question is just what’s the supply, demand dynamics in this context.And first, demand is not changing. So when it comes to volume adjustments here, we’re not seeing any sort of material change in the demand from the end market. We still expect it to be a modest 1% to 2% decline. Cigarettes are declining fast than that, but it’s being offset by the high growth of the heat not burn products that still use tow and, in some cases, more tow than a **********. So market, end-market stability, I think, still is in place there.There is some new capacity that’s been added in China, which is roughly sort of 5% of market demand. So when you compare this back to 2015, the amount of change in demand in 2015 was significantly higher than this kind of modest market decline, because the ******** have massively overbuilt inventory through their retail channel, and we’re destocking it in a pretty aggressive way.And the capacity that was added in China also back in that time frame was significant. It makes this current capacity adds look very small in comparison to the backward integration that they did in that 2013, ’14 time frame.So these conditions now are a lot more modest. And when you put them together for now, we’re going from a very tight market condition to probably utilizations in the low 90s. So while we certainly see some adjustments going on, we think of, this sort of current dynamic being a lot more stable than what occurred in the past.And also historically, we’ve seen companies in this industry adjust high-cost capacity to align their low-cost capacity to serve the existing market as it adjusts the volume. So, and there’s still a high-cost asset out there. So we’ll see how this plays out, but we think this business is still going to normalize at a very attractive level for the company and for investor.Of course, we’re also not just sitting around waiting for the market. We’re taking cost reduction actions across the company, and significant amount of that also applies into this area over the next couple of years and as a way to continue to manage our cost competitiveness.And we haven’t been sitting on our laurels on this one either, right? We’ve known that a diverse portfolio of ways to grow from the cellulosic chain as we talked about the deep dive is incredibly important. So lot of growth opportunities in Naia, a lot of growth opportunities in Aventa and some other products to drive the stream and keep it growing. So we feel good about where we’re at and all the innovation investments we’ve made to make this whole stream vital going forward.
Mike Sison
Great. Thank you.
Operator
Aleksey Yefremov, KeyBanc Capital Markets
Aleksey Yefremov
Thanks. Good morning, everyone. Reading about your rapid (inaudible) last night was quite a blessing. I wanted to ask you a question about Advanced Materials outlook this year. You’re discussing that there’s higher costs in the first half that could pinch margins and then you’ll be raising your prices was a lag. So should we think of that dynamic as you first half earnings in Advanced Materials are somewhat under the run rate at which they’ll be exiting the year?
Mark Costa
Yes. So look, there’s a lot of dynamics going on, and it’s a little more complicated this year than most. So in the first quarter, you’ve got roughly $25 million of costs that’s moving out of corporate other and going into Advanced Materials in Q1.So on a year-over-year basis, obviously, that’s a headwind. And it’s impressive that we’re delivering the earnings in our forecast for Q1 offsetting that with volume mix growth as well as maintaining good price discipline and starting to (technical difficulty) some cost reduction actions for the year, which will start, which we started in December and November and into this year. So you’re going to see some of that benefit, but that will definitely fill through the year.So as you look through the year, you’ve got the cost benefits coming in through the year that are helpful. You’ve got the circular economy that’s going to definitely be back half loaded and how it helps earnings in the back half relative to the first half of sales ramp up and utilization ramps up.Offsetting that, you’ve got natural gas energy costs that they’re a good portion of that $50 million I mentioned earlier, flows into the segment, and that flows in as a headwind through the year as those costs go into inventory and then flow out of inventory with increasing energy costs. So there are a lot of moving parts. I think the segment overall is well positioned to deliver very attractive results for the year, but it’s, there’s a lot of pluses and minuses as you look first half, back half.
Aleksey Yefremov
Thanks, Mark. And I also wanted to follow up on the filter tow. So in the past, you used to go through your annual contract negotiations right about now. So I wanted to ask you if you gained any visibility in your portfolio of contracts here beyond 2026 in terms of prices, margins, volumes, et cetera, kind of a–
Mark Costa
So we switched from an annual contracting process to a multiyear process with a number of customers, not all, but a number of them, especially the big ones, And to provide that stability, we’ve talked a lot about that to all of you over the past quarters. And that process is still in place where we have, as I said, about 80% of the volume contracted in 2026.We probably have 60% contracted in 2027, probably it’s actually higher than that, but it’s closer to 70%. So we feel good about sort of this multiyear contracting that we have in place and how that adds a certain amount of volumes stability and price stability to this business. But we also have to respect that our customers have to manage their inventory and make sure it’s at the right levels to demand and working with them on how to make those adjustments this year.
Aleksey Yefremov
Thanks a lot.
Operator
Vincent Andrews, Morgan Stanley.
Vincent Andrews
Thank you and good morning everyone. It sounds like the methanolysis plant is running well, still, which is great. So maybe you could talk a little bit about the volume sales side of the equation. I think last year, the sales were a little bit below what you expected.And I think some of it had to do with just sort of not being able to run the plant as well as you wanted to early in the year when the consumer products companies tend to introduce innovation and maybe miss some opportunities to be in those lines.So could you talk about how you’re seeing the order book at this point in the year from that perspective as well as then some sort of high-profile backing off from some of the consumer brands on some of their recycled plastic targets. So just where are we in all that and your view on sales for this year?
Mark Costa
That’s a great question, Vince. And as you might guess, I spend a lot of my personal time with the team on this topic and all things circular. First of all, I think that we covered this topic fairly well at the deep dive and our perspective on sort of the market conditions both this year and beyond have not changed. So nothing has substantially changed.But to re-hit the sort of key points that we discussed back then, I mean, first, we have to recognize that the macroeconomic conditions that we’re in right now are not helpful, right? So when you’ve got an economy that is challenged and weak demand combined with inflation at the same time that our customers are trying to manage through and what they’re buying as well as consumers’ attitude about all these brands and the prices.They’re having to make choices. And so I think that has reduced the pace at which some of the brands are converting to ramp up their orders. But we see a solid funnel that has developed. And I believe we’re sort of on track across all the different markets we’re serving.It’s a bit different depending on which market you look at. When you look at the durable side, we already have over 100 customers who have committed to renew and they’re already paying premiums for those products. So there’s not a lack of interest in the product, but there’s a moderated pace. They want to really focus their efforts around product, new launches where they can sort of do something in the market and see a way to grow share and create their own growth in a weak underlying market just like we are doing, and where we can help them do that.But less interest in cannibalize something that’s been on the shelf where they don’t necessarily see an immediate improvement in their demand and that kind of upgrade, because I need the splash of the new products. So I think that’s pretty aligned and pretty sensible, and we still see a lot of growth happening for us as a result of that.On the consumer packaging side, you have to remember that the first plant we built here is not really aimed at recycled ****. We are converting a line over to be able to make recycle **** by the summer, where we will sell some **** in the back half of the year with a number of different customers and we believe that will be successful.I think that on the broader question that you asked, Vincent, are people sort of changing their sort of commitment to sort of recycled content? I don’t think there’s any signs from a long-term point of view where we see people backing off at the brand level and the need to change. I mean the reality is the brands are very focused on the brand equity and consumers’ engagement around their products.And consumers really don’t like plastic waste. It’s an invisible, tangible issue to them in their lives every day. I can’t tell you how much it comes up in every ********* session or dinner party I go to. And everyone’s debating climate right now, including President Trump.But I’m not sure anyone’s really debating plastic waste. I’m not seeing that. And it’s an issue that people feel like they can do something about now that doesn’t have a big sacrifice for them and what products they want to support compared to some of the climate implied choices they have to make. And it’s bipartisan.I mean, as I said, President Trump even signed a Save your Seas Act. So I think that there’s economic reasons brands are moving a bit slower. But I’m not sure that, I don’t think it’s a lack of issue. The NGOs, the media are still very much going after plastic waste.I’d say, in the, in many states, they’re more committed post-election to driving this agenda with what choices they can make at the state level. And regulations are certainly coming out in Europe that are driving and forcing change as well as in multiple states in the US. So I don’t think that context is changing. I think it’s moderated to be reasonable in the economic environment we’re in.
Vincent Andrews
Okay. And if I could just follow up separately, the prepared remarks talked about there being some volume in the fourth quarter that was customers sort of preparing around tariffs and things like that. But it doesn’t look like that’s coming out of your first quarter or is having a negative impact on your guidance. So was that particular material in any of the segments or sort of loading?And I guess sort of correlated to that question is just if it’s not coming back out in the first quarter, is that just a function of customers, they just don’t have a lot of inventory?
William Mclain
Thanks for the question. And yes, I definitely agree. It was a modest impact on our volume mix, be it, in Q4 and we’re entering the year with order books that are strong, that fully support the year-over-year growth that we see in Q1.We’re expecting volume mix growth as well as price, cost in the specialties in Q1. And along with the absence of the start-up cost, that’s going to be more than offsetting the Fibers inventory destock. So right now, we’re good visibility.
Operator
Frank Mitsch, Fermium Research.
Hi guys. Good morning. It’s Aziza on for Frank. My first question was on the $50 million of net cost reduction for 2025. Can you elaborate on the regions or segments where the majority of that is expected to occur?
William Mclain
Thanks, Aziza. We are definitely focused on improving our cost structure, and this is to compete in the challenging environment. Our comprehensive plan to improve operating cost goes beyond our usual focus on setting inflation. I would highlight that success and innovation has driven complexity in our operations. And we’re optimizing our products and operations to maximize gross margin realization, and that’s key to success long term.This was going to be meaningful yield improvements, optimizing our contractors and the usage of those. And right now, also, there’s significant MRO purchasing opportunities in this weak manufacturing environment.We also have some opportunities to optimize our global asset base, and we did some of that in 2024 with the shutdown of our interlayers resin operations line. And with rising natural gas prices, as you would expect, the drive on energy efficiency will be key.As we think about operating segments, it will be across all four operating segments. To stay competitive in this global environment, that $50 million will be key. And we’re not standing still. We’re moving forward aggressively on this plan.
Thank you. And in your conversations with your auto customers, I was curious what are their expectations in terms of a recovery on auto builds in the US and Europe?
Mark Costa
So on the auto sector, I think our expectations are pretty in line with what I’ve been hearing in the marketplace so far where automotive demand in the ’25 versus ’24 are probably going to be globally sort of slightly in and down. I think it’s likely that Europe might be up a bit given how low it already is, both American being more flattish and China maybe being a bit lower given, especially given the strong sales they had in the Q4.I would note that this business is been very successful in creating its own growth, right? So if you look at 2024, we delivered high single-digit growth in a market that was slightly down, largely for mix improvement as opposed to just absolute volume.We have quite a wide range of products here from our standard interlayers to our acoustic interlayers to our heads-up display or color and special gradient, solar rejection, all kinds of different features. The price points are quite vastly different as well as the margins across that product slate.So as we’re dramatically growing in the upper end of the market in this functionality, there’s a huge mix lift from these sales. And our addressable market is actually growing before you even layer on that mix growth. So there’s a lot of things where we’re seeing more territory growth per car, right? So they’re moving from windshields to side lamination.With EVs, even the sunroof has to be laminated because their sunroof is so big to help the drivers not feel so claustrophobic as they’re sitting on 6 inches of battery. So there’s a lot of territory we’re getting. And it’s not limited to EVs. It’s including ICE cars that are moving to the side lamps and ******* sunroofs.We also are just getting more value per product, as I said, with these higher value products are being installed in these windows. So you got levered volume growth as well as mix upgrade associated with basically a flat market. So we continue finding ways to sort of create our own growth.
Thank you.
Operator
Jeff Zekauskas, J.P. Morgan.
Jeff Zekauskas
Thanks very much. I think your forecast for operating cash flow in 2025 is $1.3 billion, which is flat with ’24. Why isn’t the operating cash flow growing?
William Mclain
Good morning, Jeff. Thanks for the question. Obviously, the largest driver for operating cash improvement this year is EBITDA growth. That’s largely being offset in our base plan due to higher cash taxes. Right now, our baseline expectation is that our cash conversion cycle for working capital will stay flat with the last couple of years, which is around 85 days.Obviously, at Eastman, the entire global team is focused on delivering cash and cash flow. And our challenge is to deliver that and then as the environment unfolds, deliver as much upside to that as possible. So we’re focused on cash. There’s no change in that commitment, but there will be higher cash taxes in 2025.
Jeff Zekauskas
Secondly, historically, Chemical Intermediates tended to move in operating income with Advanced Materials and AFP. In other words, you’d make a lot in Chemical Intermediates and then you’d make a lot in Advanced Materials and AFP. And then conversely, they would move together, not perfectly, but in general. Whereas in 2024, Chemical Intermediates went down and the other two businesses went up, and you see that in the fourth quarter.And I get it, there have been divestitures in Chemical Intermediates. In general, should those income levels be correlated? Should we expect the three divisions to move in the same direction? Or has something changed about Eastman that they don’t move in the same direction?
Mark Costa
Hey, Jeff, good to hear from you. And no, it’s actually the opposite. So they tend to move in opposite directions. So if you look at, if you go back to ’21, ’22 when inflation was really tight and demand was really high, you saw a blowout in commodity margins in the whole industry, including us, where those earnings went up pretty dramatically.We were certainly benefiting the specialties by strong volume mix growth in that time frame. But a lot of that value was being offset by prices chasing the increasing pace of raw materials going up. And so when you have very strong demand, you certainly have the volume growth, but you don’t, but it’s mitigated by sort of chasing the prices. So there’s actually a bit of a natural hedge between how the CI segment operates versus the specialties.And in addition to innovation being the center of our strategy and how we create a lot of growth and stability in our portfolio compared to the market, this portfolio diversity does the same thing, where a small part of Chemical Intermediates relative to a big part of specialty products actually sort balances out some of the volatility.
Jeff Zekauskas
Great, thanks so much
Operator
Patrick Cunningham, Citigroup.
Hi, good morning. This is [Eric Zango] on for Patrick. In AM, the prepared remarks issued a higher RM cost base on 4Q (inaudible) inventory benefit. And CI, the 1Q ’25 guides for higher raw material and MP costs. Which raw materials do you anticipate to be inflationary in 1Q?
William Mclain
Yes. I would say, as we think about transitioning between years, obviously, we’ve had the NGLs. So the propane has been higher. Also we have got the forecast for natural gas. Those are the key things. As it relates to Q4, it was primarily the benefit of (inaudible) that declined as we went through the quarter and that decline was a little bit better than we expected.
Got it. Thank you. And then in AFP, the prepared comments, you mentioned the new business wins and cost reductions, mitigated a project $3 million headwind. Could you provide some more insight on the strategy and execution.
Mark Costa
Sure. So on the growth side, the great thing about the AFP businesses, it serves a lot of very stable markets that went back to sort of having a modest growth last year versus ’23, and expected that sort of stable, modest growth to continue this year. And so that gives a nice core foundation. When you’re, you’ve got ag, you’ve got pharma applications, water treatment, aviation, there’s a certain amount of stability that you get, that you’ve seen in that.And the volume growth is going to moderate relative to last year because we don’t have destocking, but those drivers will continue. And then on top of that, they have innovation driving their own growth, too. So we’ve got some great high-purity solvents that are experiencing growth in semiconductors, for example, progress we’re making and winning all new set of applications in LNG that helps provide some stability for heat transfer fluids, which is more of a ’26 benefit than ’25, but we continue to make some sort of wins on that front.We’ve got a series of (inaudible) products that we’re driving forward that we talked to you about at the time. So there’s innovation there. It’s not quite as big as Advanced Materials, but it has the benefit of not facing as much discretionary market exposure than Advanced Materials has.We’ve also just done a phenomenal managing commercial excellence and price and the value of the products and benefiting from some spread expansion last year, and I’d say more stability this year as we go into this year and, of course, they get their benefit of the cost reduction program that we’re rolling across the segment to also help it up. So that’s why you get that continued earnings improvement this year on top of what was an extraordinary performance last year.
Patrick Cunningham
Thank you.
Operator
Salvator Tiano, Bank of America.
Salvator Tiano
Good morning. So firstly, I want to go back a little bit to Kingsport methanolysis. And you did mention that most of the improvement in AM earnings will come in the second half. But I’m wondering how much of that is something that’s already happening, and you have, or you have already line of sight, meaning that you have already found the customers that they just may not, but they may need the volume in the second half or how much of your targeted operating rates have reached right now as of January? So essentially, what’s already in the books of that (inaudible)
Mark Costa
Yes. So there’s a lot of detail that we provide in the deep dive that you can reference in answering this question, and it’s still pretty much the same view today as it was back then. But there is quite a bit, as you’ll see in those charts that existing business, that 100-plus customers I mentioned that are continuing to grow and launch products this year. And so that’s a good portion of the demand.And then there is a lot of business we’re still closing. It’s what we do every year. It’s not just unique to the circular platform of closing businesses through the year and getting orders. The good news about this business is the orders show up pretty fast in a lot of these applications where the products are already well established and how to use it. And so, call it, half, half in what is building on existing business versus business that we’re closing.
Salvator Tiano
Okay, thank you. And just wanted to go a little bit to capital allocation. Out of the $700 million to $800 million in CapEx, how much is the long view expansion? And with regard to the buybacks that you mentioned, despite making more money, you are spending, you are allocating less. So is this a number that has upside? Are you thinking about leaving some capital free for bolt-on M&A? Or is there no way that you would go above $200 million in 2025 buybacks ?
William Mclain
What I would say on CapEx first is, just as a reminder, our base CapEx is around that $350 million mark. So as you think about ultimately keeping our plants running and running reliably, as we think about growth programs, yes, you would expect our commitments in Texas to ramp up through the year, but there’s also other growth projects like our Tritan expansions, et cetera, that we will be, including as well.I would expect the Longview, Texas site to be the single largest growth project for the year in the $700 million to $800 million range. And that range is net of our expected DOE grant receipts.On the capital allocation front, as I think about, again, we’ve increased our dividend for the 15th year. On top of that, we went to the high end of share repurchases in 2024. And what I would say is we’re not going to let cash sit idle. So we’re going to use cash and our net debt to EBITDA is in a great situation. So we have financial flexibility, and we’ll leverage that to maximize value for shareholders.
Salvator Tiano
Okay. Perfect. Sir, just mentioned the DOE grant that’s essentially included in CapEx. How much is that? Thank you very much.
William Mclain
We’re not going to be specific to the amount, but I will just highlight that we received $10 million in 2024.
Salvator Tiano
Thank you.
Operator
Michael Leithead, Barclays.
Michael Leithead
Great. Thank you. Good morning guys. First, in Fibers, it seems like you had a fairly profitable product or some EBIT that you’re now not selling in ’25. So can you just provide a bit more context there?
Mark Costa
So we, in this particular case, we can’t talk about this customers’ products and the details of what it is. But it was a good high-value product. They made a design change in their offering to the marketplace and the need for this was discontinued. We just provided that detail so you understand, there are multiple drivers of how we’re normalizing.Part of it is destocking. Part of it is product. Part of it’s energy. Being a headwind in this segment as CPTs catch up. And part of it is currency, right? So there’s multiple levels of sort of what’s in that guide from what was a very strong performance in 2024 to a very, very good performance in ’25.
Michael Leithead
Great. That’s helpful. And then, Mark, post election, it seems like there’s been a bit of a pause to review on a lot of the green spending. I know you mentioned earlier your comfort in receiving your DOE funding. But just, has the broader regulatory and funding uncertainty created a pause or delay just in your broader customer conversations about taking recycled product or committing to such a contract?
Mark Costa
We’ve not seen any impact at this stage. As I said, we’re certainly seeing an impact of a weak economic environment and inflation causing companies to be careful where they spend money on and as everyone is trying to drive cost reduction programs to improve earnings in a weak environment, right?So that’s just sort of natural economic behavior. But I don’t see any sort of change with customers where they’re like. We don’t think plastic waste is something I need to manage in my consumer packaging. That’s just no longer matters.Climate is a very different topic then everyone doesn’t like waste in their environment and the impact it’s having. So I don’t think that we’ve seen any sort of significant shift on that front. I mean I do think, there’s a lot of confusion right now with all the different activity going on in the administration and everyone’s trying to interpret what it means. But we feel good about the long-term value of circular platform.
Michael Leithead
Thank you.
Operator
Arun Vishwanathan, RBC.
Mark Costa
Arun, we can’t hear you.
Operator
(multiple speakers) Oh, my apologies, please go ahead.
Arun Vishwanathan
Great. Thanks. Thanks for taking my question. Congrats on the results here. So I guess maybe just two questions. So first off, what are you hearing from your customers as far as the circular efforts go? I know that you’ve had maybe some, still some higher cost there, maybe some diminished interest?And then secondly, Q1, it doesn’t seem like you’re being impacted as much by the slowdown or winter weather or anything like that. But your outlook appears a little bit stronger than some of your peers. So maybe you can just comment on those two items. Thanks.
Mark Costa
Sure. So I think I’ve already addressed the first question in a couple of other answers. We’re seeing economic moderation of ace volume build but not a lack of engagement.When it comes to the second question around sort of Chemical Intermediates, I think is where you were going with that question. We certainly see the challenges in the competitive environment right now in Chemical Intermediates in both acetyls and olefin products and feel some of that competitive pressure.Our outlook for the year on that front is relative stability, because while we recognize that’s going to impact our business, we have made a lot of great reliability investments in our facilities last year. So we’re on track to have a lot more volume to sell this year.A lot of that will be export sales. So it’s moderate in its value because we’re still waiting for local markets to grow, but certainly helping offset the spread. And again, they get a slice of the cost benefits in the cost reduction plan that we have in place, and they don’t have much currency exposure at all in CI.That’s more in AM and Fibers is where all the currency exposure sits. So that’s not a headwind here or in AFP for that matter. So that helps it have some stability in how it moves forward is having that additional volume and the cost actions. (multiple speakers).
Arun Vishwanathan
I just wanted to clarify, apologies if I missed this before. But was there a pull forward in Q4? And does that kind of impact your Q1 outlook as well as it relates to whether prebuying ahead of tariffs or any other dynamics? Thanks.
Mark Costa
Yes, we addressed that question earlier and it was modest part of the volume beat.
Arun Vishwanathan
Thanks.
Gregory Riddle
I think the next question is our last, please?
Operator
John Roberts, Mizuho.
John Roberts
Yeah. Thank you. Is the solar heat transfer fluid, the thermal fluid opportunity now dead? We’ve had several delays on projects. And I would guess the current administration is not helpful to that business.
Mark Costa
Hey, John. How you doing? I didn’t see the solar question coming. So we don’t do that much in the solar business anymore to your point, John. We’ve actually made a phenomenally good progress on diversifying our application base in heat transfer fluids. So it used to be very tied to **** and solar as two businesses, which in today’s current economic environment are pretty challenged, especially ****.But we’ve really diversified pretty significantly into energy, especially LNG. So these LNG facilities actually require quite a bit of heat transfer fluid. And in many cases, it’s a very high-value version of heat transfer fluid for those facilities and that’s been a great diversification.And as we, because of capital delays, we’re not expecting much of a tailwind this year relative to last year in (inaudible) because projects are just getting delayed. But certainly in ’26 and beyond, there’s a number of these big sort of LNG fills that we’ve won that will help build earnings growth as we go forward.
John Roberts
Thank you.
Gregory Riddle
Thanks again, everyone, for joining us. We appreciate your interest in Eastman. And I hope everybody has a great weekend. Thanks, again.
Operator
This concludes today’s call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.
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Elon Musk Shuts Out Senior Government Workers in Latest DOGE Takeover – The Daily Beast
Elon Musk Shuts Out Senior Government Workers in Latest DOGE Takeover – The Daily Beast
Elon Musk Shuts Out Senior Government Workers in Latest DOGE Takeover The Daily BeastSome government employees dismayed after Musk jokes about buyout offer ABC NewsElon Musk’s Next Target: Government Buildings The New York TimesMusk team’s push to gut federal workforce bypassed key Trump officials The Washington Post
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Unfavourable surf means Pipe Pro remains on hold
Unfavourable surf means Pipe Pro remains on hold
The Pipe Pro remains on hold for at least one more day because of unfavourable surfing conditions at Hawaii’s North Shore.
There has been no competition since Thursday (AEDT), with a storm forecast putting the event on hold for two days.
Organisers then announced on Saturday that the surfers will have to cool their heels for at least one more day, with optimism for improved conditions early next week.
With 10 Australians in action, only Molly Picklum missed the chance to hit the water on day one of the season-opening event.
The 2024 Olympian is in one of the two remaining women’s first-round heats.
Once the men’s competition resumes, Australians Ryan Callinan, Joel Vaughan and Liam O’Brien are in the elimination round.
Organisers will make their next call early on Monday morning (AEDT).
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Columbus police fire probationary officer with ties to former officer guilty on federal charges
Columbus police fire probationary officer with ties to former officer guilty on federal charges
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A Columbus Division of Police probationary officer with ties to a former Columbus police officer who recently pleaded guilty to criminal charges, has been fired.
According to personnel records obtained by NBC4, probationary officer Amber Blackburn was terminated after reports of her alleged involvement in a bar fight surfaced earlier this week.
A request for probationary termination was received on Jan. 27 after it was reported that the night prior Blackburn got into a fight at the TownHall bar on North High Street in the Short North neighborhood, just north of Downtown, Columbus.
Columbus police arrest 19-year-old in connection to father’s fatal shooting
The termination letter states that CPD officers working special duty at the bar were alerted by an employee that a woman needed to be removed. Two officers reported that on Jan. 26 at around 1:50 a.m. they observed Blackburn, 34, throwing punches at the head of another woman, who was attempting to walk away from the altercation.
The officers said they asked the victim if she “was good” and the woman replied, “I just got mauled by a girl, but I’m good”. The officers reportedly approached Blackburn, who they said was behaving erratically while being restrained by another man. The officers asked both to leave the bar, but they allegedly refused. Attempts to remove them physically were met with resistance, the report said.
Amber Blackburn (Courtesy/Columbus Division of Police)
One of the special duty officers interviewed Blackburn and reported that Blackburn said the other woman ***** in her face and that she “beat that (expletive’s) ****”. The officer reported that Blackburn appeared highly intoxicated and was acting belligerent and dismissive towards him. Blackburn then reportedly left the bar without further incident.
While the report states that the officers were not wearing their CPD issued body cameras due to low batteries, video surveillance from the TownHall bar reportedly showed Blackburn assaulting three separate people. Two of the assaults, police say, occurred while officers were attempting to restrain and remove her from the bar.
Blackburn’s personnel records indicate she was hired in August 2023 as a probationary police officer, or a new police officer who is in training and being evaluated before becoming a full-time police officer. Her probationary ******* was through March 2025.
Fraternal Order of Police president Brian Steel told NBC4 that disciplinary action against probationary officers can be terminated for just cause without a review process. Steel said if she wants to file a grievance, they will fulfil their legal duty, but not through arbitration.
“When they found out that she was an officer, one of their own, they immediately reported that to the supervisor,” Steel said. “So sometimes this false notion that we cover up the officer’s actions. That’s simply not the truth. These officers were put in a bad situation.”
In a statement CPD Sgt. James Fuqua said, “Probationary Officer Blackburn’s employment was terminated during her probationary status as a result of her involvement in an off-duty incident. The Columbus Division of Police holds our officers to the highest standards and anyone who violates their oath will be held accountable.”
Westerville cannabis proposal mirrors Ohio law, would limit businesses near schools
Personnel records also state that Blackburn was hired under the name Amber Duty before changing her last name to Blackburn. Steel and Fuqua confirmed that Blackburn was married to former officer Nicholas Duty, who just last week pleaded guilty to falsifying records in connection with multiple ******* encounters with women in 2023 and 2024.
Documents confirm that Blackburn changed her name in April 2024, days after Duty’s arrest, and Steel said that Blackburn and Duty were no longer together when Nicholas Duty was indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2024.
No charges have been filed against Blackburn for last weekend’s incident.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV.
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Deciphering Ancient Indus Valley Script Could Earn You $1 Million
Deciphering Ancient Indus Valley Script Could Earn You $1 Million
It is a riddle that has confounded scholars for over a century. And now it carries a handsome cash prize: $1 million for anyone who can decipher the script of the ancient Indus Valley civilization.
Relatively little is known about the creators of the script, who built a sprawling urban system about 5,000 years ago across what is modern-day India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Excavations at more than 2,000 sites have unearthed a wealth of artifacts. But until the civilization’s script can be read, its language, culture and religion, as well as the history of its rise and fall, will remain shrouded in mystery.
The prize, announced by M.K. Stalin, the chief minister of the southern state of Tamil Nadu, is intended to renew efforts to decipher the script. The push, however, is not merely about historical scholarship. It is the latest front in a cultural war over India’s ancient past.
The country’s ascendant Hindu nationalists argue that the Aryan race, which brought the Vedic religion of Hinduism to India, represents the original Indian people. The claim is central to the concept of Hindutva, the ideology of Hindu supremacy promoted by the party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Mr. Stalin’s party, and many others, hold a different view. They say that the Dravidians of southern India are the country’s indigenous people, and that the Aryans of northern India were invaders from Europe. (In reality, the distinction between Aryans and Dravidians is itself not clear-cut.)
Deciphering the script, the debate’s partisans believe, could help settle the question.
In Hindu nationalists’ conception of the past, the Indus script most likely has links to Sanskrit, a classical language of India and the one in which the Hindu scriptures were written.
In the minds of Mr. Stalin and others, the script most likely has Tamil roots. (Tamil, a Dravidian language, is another classical language of India.) That, in turn, would cement the Dravidian claim to being the original inhabitants of India.
It is not for a lack of trying that the script has remained undeciphered. Archaeologists, technology experts and linguists the world over have been endeavoring to unlock the script for years, Mr. Stalin said while announcing the $1 million prize.
Asko Parpola, a Finnish Indologist who has studied the Indus script since 1964, said that deciphering it could put the Indus Valley civilization in the realm of history rather than prehistory, giving new perspective to India’s cultural evolution.
But a politically motivated effort, he warned, could decide the results in advance and try to find evidence to justify them.
The Indus Valley civilization, also called the Harappan civilization, is seen by experts as on a par with the better-known ones of Egypt, Mesopotamia and China.
One of the earliest, it flourished on the banks of the Indus and Saraswati Rivers during the Bronze Age. It had planned townships, water management and drainage systems, huge fortified walls and exquisite pottery and terra cotta artistry.
Since the Archaeological Survey of India announced the first findings on the civilization in 1924, around 5,000 inscriptions have been excavated.
They are engraved in stone or metal, or stamped onto fired clay. The brevity of the inscriptions, along with the absence of a Rosetta Stone-like text showing its symbols in translation, are among the reasons the script has not been deciphered, scholars say.
Mr. Parpola postulates that the signs found on the clay tablets were pictures that should be read as complete words. They could also be read phonetically, for homophones, he argues.
He believes that his research offers proof of the script’s Dravidian roots. The fish signs found in many inscriptions, he theorizes, were pictograms that could also mean “star” — the Dravidian word for fish, “meen,” was a homophone for star.
Bahata Ansumali Mukhopadhyay, a researcher who has tried to decipher the script for 10 years, differs with Mr. Parpola on the fish hypothesis.
She argues that the fish signs were used to signify categories of shiny commodities like gemstones and polished copper and bronze items. Calling the Indus script a “mercantile script,” Ms. Mukhopadhyay said that examples in which fish signs were used consecutively represented the names of related commodities, and that the excavated clay tablets were tax stamps.
The script is meant to be read as symbols, not phonetically, Ms. Mukhopadhyay said. “To show ivory, for example, they simply used a tusk-like sign,” she said.
Mr. Parpola, who is working on the sixth volume of “Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions,” a database of all available material culture on the Indus civilization, said he had received a lot of mail over the years from enthusiasts and researchers claiming to have cracked the script or found new inscriptions.
Aziz Kingrani, an academic in Pakistan, shared on social media one such bit of correspondence. Mr. Parpola congratulated Mr. Kingrani on a book he had written, but expressed regret that his findings had not substantially advanced the deciphering of the script.
“Please do keep on searching,” Mr. Parpola wrote.
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Why Is Violence Flaring Up in Mineral-Rich Congo?
Why Is Violence Flaring Up in Mineral-Rich Congo?
Rebels backed by Rwanda are seizing huge tracts of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The rebels, known as M23, say they are protecting ethnic Tutsis, the ********* group massacred in a 1994 genocide. But experts say the real reason is Congo’s rare minerals, which power our phones and devices. Ruth Maclean, New York Times West Africa bureau chief, explains how the rebels and their patrons in Rwanda are profiting from the conflict.
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The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross is collaborating with Tower of God once again
The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross is collaborating with Tower of God once again
The 7DS: Grand Cross x Tower of God collab runs until February 20th
Two new characters make their debut
Several themed events to take part in
Netmarble has just announced that The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross is once again joining forces with Tower of God in a special collaboration update. The 7DS X Tower of God Encore event is set to introduce two new collaboration heroes and bring back several fan-favourite characters. The update also includes special missions, limited-time events, and rewards available until February 20th.
Whenever Tower of God comes to 7DS: Grand Cross, there’s always a bunch of PvP and PvE-themed content. The latest event expands the roster with [Free Spirit] Urek Mazino and [Red Flame Princess] Yihwa Yeon making their debuts, while [Slayer Candidate] Jue Viole Grace, [Princess of Zahard] Ha Yuri Zahard, and [Secret Floor] Data Zahard return.
To celebrate the event, several activities are available to help you earn rewards. The 7DS X Tower of God Encore Pick-up Draw gives you a shot at both new and returning collaboration heroes, with guaranteed SSR heroes at 300 mileage and a Collab Hero of your choice at 600 mileage. Clear special missions to unlock Jue Voile Grace, draw tickets, and growth materials.
The Tower of Trials introduces three towers with ten floors each, rewarding you with Collab Holy Relic Materials, Diamonds, and a Full Awakening Token. A check-in event grants up to 70 Diamonds and 30 draw tickets just for logging in over two weeks. Other activities, like the Roulette Event and Hawk’s Treasure Box, offer Collab Gift Boxes, SSR hero tickets, and various upgrade materials.
And if you want some more rewards, then be sure to redeem these 7DS Grand Cross codes for free diamonds and tickets!
Expand your roster by participating in The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross and Tower of God collaboration event, available until February 20th. Download the game now by clicking on your preferred link below. Visit the official website for more information.
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Midnight strike looming for unionized Costco workers in Washington, five other states – KATU
Midnight strike looming for unionized Costco workers in Washington, five other states – KATU
Midnight strike looming for unionized Costco workers in Washington, five other states KATUClock ticking toward possible Costco strike Saturday CNNCostco workers could strike starting Saturday CBS NewsCostco Raises Pay To Over $30 An Hour For Non-Union Employees, Leaving 18,000 Union Members Waiting Forbes
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DJI launch their first travel drone with foldable, full-coverage propeller guards
DJI launch their first travel drone with foldable, full-coverage propeller guards
Mogens Johansen takes flight with DJI’s latest compact drone with foldable, full-coverage propeller guards
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For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]
Watch Jeannie Mai Become Upset as She Discovers ‘Damaged’ Boxes at Jeezy’s Home: Bodycam Video
Watch Jeannie Mai Become Upset as She Discovers ‘Damaged’ Boxes at Jeezy’s Home: Bodycam Video
Jeannie Mai became frustrated after discovering her personal property was stored in damaged boxes by her ex-husband Jeezy and In Touch has the exclusive bodycam footage of the incident.
In Touch obtained bodycam footage of Jeannie’s encounter with police on December 9, 2024.
Jeannie, 46, arrived at Jeezy’s home in Georgia to pick up her items, including her clothing, Emmy and photos that she left behind after they split. She showed up with her assistant and had a moving truck on the way.
Jeannie called the police after Jeezy, 47, instructed his team to not allow her inside the home.
She claimed the court order allowed her to do a walk through to check for any items, but Jeezy did not want her inside the property.
Jeannie Mai
The rapper filed an emergency motion requesting the court order that allowed Jeannie to pick up her items be modified to restrict her from entering. However, Jeannie showed up at the home before the judge ruled on his request.
Jeezy, who was not home, did allow his team to walk Jeannie to the garage, where he had her boxes stored. Jeannie was not happy when Jeezy’s house manager finally allowed her into the garage.
The house manager had Jeezy’s lawyer on speaker phone during the exchange. In the bodycam footage, Jeannie can be heard asking the house manager, “This is my stuff right here? Like this?”
Jeannie told Jeezy’s lawyer, “I just want you to know as I’m looking through some of the boxes are damaged with the clothing completely exposed . It’s damp in here. I just want you to be aware of that.”
The police walked out of the garage while Jeannie and the lawyer continued their back and forth.
Jeannie Mai
Jeannie can be heard telling Jeezy’s lawyer, “The box is damaged. The clothing is exposed. The garage is damp. That’s what I wanted to tell you.”
Jeannie could be heard telling the house manager and Jeezy’s lawyer, “Let’s like make sure … make sure about having respect for a woman’s belongings.” Jeannie said she always showed Jeezy’s property respect.
The police took a report of the dispute for Jeannie, but were unable to force Jeezy or his team to allow her inside the home. In court documents, Jeannie described the state she found her boxes.
“The boxes were wet, with water having soaked through the boxes, damaging personal items. There were mouse traps set in the garage, presumably set for mice which had eaten through some of the boxes,” Jeannie’s lawyer wrote. “Many of [Jeannie’s] awards were broken and scratched.”
Jeezy’s lawyer told Jeannie that they would have to resolve the matter in court.
Jeannie Mai
As In Touch first reported, in his emergency motion, Jeezy claimed he did not “feel safe” with his ex-wife being allowed to roam around his home.
“[Jeezy] does not feel safe having [Jeannie] in his home. Given [Jeannie’s] history of attempting to destroy [Jeezy’s] career with misleading information, [Jeezy] would have no way of knowing if [Jeannie] is planting listening devices or cameras in his home,” his lawyer said.
Jeezy’s lawyer added, “[Jeannie] is angry about the parties divorce and she is revengeful. In addition, the mere presence of [Jeannie] inside [Jeezy’s] home and personal space, after the highly contested nature of the divorce case, would absolutely destroy [Jeezy’s] peace and tranquility, as well as invade his privacy.”
Jeannie scoffed at Jeezy’s claims. She denied being revengeful or angry about the split. Her lawyer wrote, “The only party that seems to be angry or revengeful is [Jeezy].” The case is ongoing.
A source close to Jeannie tells In Touch, “[Jeannie] been trying to get her stuff for over a year. She wants this to be over with and he won’t resolve.”
Jeannie and Jeezy wed in 2021. They split in September 2023 and their divorce was finalized in June 2024.
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Trump Officials Release Water That Experts Say Will Serve Little Use – The New York Times
Trump Officials Release Water That Experts Say Will Serve Little Use – The New York Times
Trump Officials Release Water That Experts Say Will Serve Little Use The New York TimesDecision to dump water from Tulare County lakes altered after sending locals into a mad scramble SJV WaterTrump administration orders ‘alarming’ water releases in California Yahoo! Voices
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Buckingham helps Australia A demolish England Lions
Buckingham helps Australia A demolish England Lions
South *********** quick Jordan Buckingham has starred with four wickets to help Australia A secure a thumping innings and 10-run win against the England Lions.
Australia’s decision to go with a bowler-heavy line-up paid off, running through the Lions twice in a day and a half at Cricket Central in Sydney to end the match on day three.
After being skittled for just 116 in 37.3 overs on Friday, England showed more resistance in their second innings.
Lions opener Ben McKinney posted a brilliant run-a-ball 110 to halt Australia’s momentum.
But McKinney received little help, with Matty Hurst (35), Alex Davies (28) and Rocky Flintoff (21) the only other batters to reach double figures.
After going wicketless in the first innings, Buckingham took the new ball with Queensland quick Xavier Bartlett and finished with figures of 4-41.
Allrounders Aaron Hardie (3-25) and Will Sutherland (2-32) also had productive stints with the ball.
Australia opted to pick just five specialist batters, but it mattered little as they made 9-373 after being sent in to bat on Thursday.
Former Test batter Kurtis Patterson further pressed his claim for an international comeback after hitting a superb 137.
Facing Test players Shoaib Bashir and Josh Tongue, No.3 Patterson arrived at the crease in the first over of the game after opener Tim Ward fell for a duck.
It has been a remarkable turnaround for 31-year-old Patterson, who began the summer playing grade cricket for St George after being dropped and stripped of the NSW captaincy.
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The Seven Deadly Sins: Idle Adventure adds the hilariously named Guardian of the Fairies Old Fart King to the RPG
The Seven Deadly Sins: Idle Adventure adds the hilariously named Guardian of the Fairies Old Fart King to the RPG
The second version of King steps into the picture
Rate-up chances for a limited time
Updates to the awakening system and more
Netmarble is kicking off the new month with a fresh character joining the fray, offering fans of The Seven Deadly Sins: Idle Adventure another way to switch up their roster. In particular, the idle RPG will introduce Guardian of the Fairies Old Fart King, which, despite the hilarious name, can be an invaluable addition to any lineup being an INT-attributed DPS.
In the latest update to The Seven Deadly Sins: Idle Adventure, you can look forward to welcoming the second version of King into your team, which you can score from the Rate Up Summon Tickets. This will run until February 11th, so it does seem like there’s enough time to keep rollin’ until you strike gold in the summons pool. Thousand Ashes Gelda will be part of the rate-up banner too.
Now, you’ll no doubt want to give your new characters a go – thankfully, the new “Ranking Competition Event” will let you do just that in exchange for cool goodies, from coveted Diamonds to even more Rate Up Summon Tickets.
All these come with updates to Constellations, Sacred Treasures and Stages as well, along with the new “Super Awakening” feature to help you maximise your team’s combat power.
Does all that sound fab to you? Why not take a look at our Seven Deadly Sins Idle codes for more freebies?
In the meantime, if you’re eager to join in on all the fun, you can do so by downloading it from the App Store and on Google Play. It’s free-to-play with in-app purchases.
You can also join the community of followers on the official Facebook page to stay updated on all the latest developments, visit the official website, or take a little peek at the embedded clip above to get a feel of the vibes and visuals.
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Palisades Fire has ‘human origins,’ Los Angeles Times reports
Palisades Fire has ‘human origins,’ Los Angeles Times reports
As the investigation into the devastating Palisades Fire continues, early indications show the blaze was probably not natural in origin.
Two leading theories have emerged, the Los Angeles Times reports. Investigators believe an 8-acre blaze that was extinguished in the same area on New Year’s Day somehow “reignited and spread because of intense winds,” or a new fire was started nearby.
Either way, “sources have told The Times the blaze appears to have human origins,” the newspaper reports.
The New Year’s Day fire, the Lachman Fire, may have been started by fireworks at about 12:15 a.m., though officials believed it was put out that same day.
On Jan. 7, fire officials confirmed that they were responding to that same area for the Palisades Fire.
Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley has promised that if the Lachman Fire somehow reignited despite firefighters’ efforts to confirm it was out, the public will be informed.
“We won’t leave a fire that has any hot spots. But with that, I will tell you that the investigation, the team that we have on board right now, will be able to determine whether or not that did indeed happen,” Crowley told residents during a forum. ”I can look you in the eye and tell you that full disclosure if that indeed is what they find out, we will tell you that.”
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
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Here Are All the Performers and Presenters at the 2025 Grammy Awards – Billboard
Here Are All the Performers and Presenters at the 2025 Grammy Awards – Billboard
Here Are All the Performers and Presenters at the 2025 Grammy Awards BillboardGrammy Predictions, From Beyoncé to Kendrick Lamar: Who Will Win? Who Should Win? VarietyBeyoncé has the most nominations at the Grammys: Here’s every award she’s up for in 2025 USA TODAYOfficial 2025 GRAMMYs Merch Is Here: Shop The Exclusive Collection Now The GRAMMYs
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#Performers #Presenters #Grammy #Awards #Billboard
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Professor Scolyer’s huge announcement a year after declaring he is *******-free
Professor Scolyer’s huge announcement a year after declaring he is *******-free
Professor Richard Scolyer, the renowned scientist co-named *********** of the Year, has made a huge announcement about his future at the Melanoma Institute of Australia.
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#Professor #Scolyers #huge #announcement #year #declaring #cancerfree
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Air ambulance carrying pediatric patient crashes in fiery explosion in busy Philadelphia neighborhood
Air ambulance carrying pediatric patient crashes in fiery explosion in busy Philadelphia neighborhood
An air ambulance carrying six people, including a child, crashed in a fireball near a mall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Friday.
Harrowing footage of the incident, from multiple angles, showed an enormous, billowing explosion after the twin-engine Learjet 55 came down in a “high traffic” residential neighborhood in the northeast section of the city.
Eyewitnesses said the sky was “lit up” by the explosion, which was later declared a “major incident” by the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management.
According to the FAA, the plane departed from Northeast Philadelphia Airport at 6:30 p.m. local time, en route to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri. It was reportedly airborne for only about 40 seconds, reaching an altitude of just 1,600 feet.
It reportedly fell from the sky at around 11,000 feet per minute.
An air ambulance carrying six people, including a child, has crashed near a mall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Reuters)
Six people were on board when the ****** occurred, the FAA said.
A pediatric patient was on board, along with an adult carer, and four crew members, according to the company operating the plane, Jet Rescue Air Ambulance.
“At this time, we cannot confirm any survivors,” the company said in a statement. “No names are being released at this time until family members have been notified.”
“Our immediate concern is for the patient’s family, our personnel, their families and other victims that may have been hurt on the ground,” the company added.
At a brief press conference Friday evening, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker said that “several dwellings and vehicles” were impacted in the ******.
“An aircraft went down in the vicinity of Roosevelt Mall … this occurred shortly after 6 p.m. this evening,” Parker told reporters.
“As of right now we have no reports on the number of fatalities, so … we’re just asking for prayers … [and] we are urging you to please stay away from the scene,” Parker added.
A jet plane has crashed near a mall in Philadelphia, with multiple casualties expected (Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management)
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said in a statement on X that he had spoken with Parker and local law enforcement, and is offering all Commonwealth resources as the emergency response unfolds.
President Donald Trump said he was aware of the ******, posting on his social media platform Truth Social: “So sad to see the plane go down in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. More innocent souls lost.”
He added: “Our people are totally engaged. First Responders are already being given credit for doing a great job. More to follow. God Bless you all.“
A witness told ABC6of the ******: “It was just horrific. I was just driving down the street … and I just saw a plane basically hit the building and it exploded. The sky lit up and I pulled over and … it was just real bad around here.”
“It lit up the whole sky,” he added.
The FAA and NTSB will investigate the ******. The NTSB will lead the probe and will provide all updates.
The incident comes as the NTSB continues to investigate the deadly collision Wednesday night between a passenger plane and a military helicopter in Washington, D.C. that killed 67 people.
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How To Watch The 2025 Grammy Awards — Cable, Streaming And Free Options – Forbes
How To Watch The 2025 Grammy Awards — Cable, Streaming And Free Options – Forbes
How To Watch The 2025 Grammy Awards — Cable, Streaming And Free Options ForbesGrammy Predictions, From Beyoncé to Kendrick Lamar: Who Will Win? Who Should Win? VarietyBeyoncé has the most nominations at the Grammys: Here’s every award she’s up for in 2025 USA TODAYOfficial 2025 GRAMMYs Merch Is Here: Shop The Exclusive Collection Now The GRAMMYs
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#Watch #Grammy #Awards #Cable #Streaming #Free #Options #Forbes
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Issy Wong: England mishandled fast bowler, says Mark Robinson
Issy Wong: England mishandled fast bowler, says Mark Robinson
World Cup-winning coach Mark Robinson believes England need to learn from the poor management of young fast bowler Issy Wong.
Wong made her debut in all three formats as a 20-year-old in 2022 and with her pace and aggression, was seen as one of England’s most exciting prospects.
She has since fallen out of favour after a slump in form since 2023 and Robinson says all of the hype and marketing of her did not help at such a young age.
“We thrust her forward without the foundations to cope,” Robinson, who won the World Cup with England in 2017, told **** Sports.
“She was the pin-up girl of the ECB as a youngster, as a baby, and then when things got a bit difficult she didn’t have the tools to survive.”
Wong has been given a development contract from the ECB for 2024-25 and most recently played in the white-ball series against Ireland last September, when most of the first XI were preparing for the T20 World Cup.
During the Ashes series of 2023, Wong featured prominently in England’s advertising campaigns but eventually did not play a single game as she struggled for consistency.
A difficult Hundred competition with Birmingham Phoenix followed where she was dropped from their side because of issues with her run-up.
She then surprisingly made her one England appearance of that year against Sri Lanka, and conceded 24 runs from two overs with three front foot no-******.
Wong will play for Warwickshire in 2025 as part of the new professional domestic set-up, where Robinson coaches the men’s side.
“Issy is doing really well and working hard – she’s still young at 22 and she’s quick, so her time will come again,” Robinson added.
“That’s something to learn – how to handle players when we expose them and when to take them out, when to protect them.
“It’s not just from the game, but to protect them from the media as well who sometimes want a piece of them.”
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Badung Regency Government secures land of Sari Club in Kuta to honour *********** victims of Bali bomings
Badung Regency Government secures land of Sari Club in Kuta to honour *********** victims of Bali bomings
A peace park dedicated to those lost in the 2002 Bali bombings and 2005 terror attack will be built on the site of the former Sari Club.
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#Badung #Regency #Government #secures #land #Sari #Club #Kuta #honour #*********** #victims #Bali #bomings
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A fisherman caught an unusual shark off RI. Now researchers ask if more are moving here.
A fisherman caught an unusual shark off RI. Now researchers ask if more are moving here.
SOUTH KINGSTOWN – A young shark whose species is normally found in southern waters has raised questions for researchers after its discovery off Charlestown in September of 2024.
The 24-inch spinner shark had a partially healed umbilical cord, indicating that it was less than a year old. Could it have been born nearby? Did the youngster make a long trek north into Rhode Island waters?
Spinner sharks are common in waters off the southeastern United States coast but have rarely been seen near Southern New England, according to Jon Dodd, executive director of the Atlantic Shark Institute in Wakefield.
The spinner shark was measured, videotaped and returned to the water.
Joshua Moyer, resident research scientist at the institute and a lecturer at Yale University, said, “According to the literature, most documented nursery habitat for spinners range from the Carolinas to Florida. But here we have a small shark with a partially healed umbilical wound, supporting its designation as a young-of-the-year shark, in Rhode Island.”
Was it a ‘rare stray’ or born nearby?
Still, the researchers say it’s too soon to determine whether the shark was “a rare stray,” or the nursery habitat for spinner sharks is shifting northward because of warming waters caused by climate change. “A single shark does not constitute proof of a nursery,” Dodd said in a press release.
The young shark’s presence in Rhode Island led to the publication of a paper in the Journal of Fish Biology. It was written by Moyer, Dodd and Stephen Kajiura, a professor at Florida Atlantic University and member of the Atlantic Shark Institute’s research advisory board.
“The most fascinating thing about the paper is the size of the spinner shark,” Dodd said. “With a range that focuses on the southern U.S., a mom giving birth here in Rhode Island is unique and opens up a range of questions.”
“Our oceans are changing, known habitats are changing, and what we knew to be the case only 10 years ago may no longer be accurate,” Dodd said. “That is both exciting and disconcerting.”
Most of the world’s oceans have seen a temperature rise, an average rate of 0.14°F per decade from 1901 through 2023, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. However, sea surface temperatures have cooled in some areas, including parts of the North Atlantic, according to the EPA.
The spinner shark was caught by Capt. Carl Granquist on Sept. 1, 2024, while he was fishing on the Estrella Domar “just south” of Charlestown, according to Dodd. Granquist wasn’t sure of the species, but he and his mate, Bryce Biggs, measured it and took video of it before returning it to the water, Dodd said. Granquist sent the video to the Atlantic Shark Institute.
“Less than an hour after he (Granquist) released the shark, I received the video, and I was reallysurprised at the size and potential species of the shark,” Dodd said. “I knew it was one of two species of shark and either one would be a pretty unique find here in Rhode Island waters, particularly at only 24 inches in length.”
While spinner sharks closely resemble blacktip sharks, Dodd, Moyer and Kajiura ultimately concluded it was a spinner shark. In 2020, Dodd was also surprised when he spotted a blacktip shark in Rhode Island waters. They also typically live in southern waters.
Spinner sharks live up to their name
The Florida Museum of Natural History describes spinner sharks as “a slender, gray-bronze shark named for its distinctive aerial ‘spinning’ behavior at the surface.”
“When feeding, spinner sharks will often swim through schools of bait fish, spinning along their longitudinal axis, snapping at fish as they move through the water toward the surface,” the museum says. “When they breach the surface, they can be seen spinning in the air – sometimes as much as 20 feet above the water surface.”
Spinner sharks grow to an average of about 6.4 feet and have been blamed for 16 unprovoked attacks on humans, although none have been fatal, according to the museum’s International Shark Attack File. Their “teeth are adapted for seizing small prey rather than tearing at large prey and therefore usually result in relatively minor injuries,” according to the museum.
Though unusual, it’s not the first time spinner sharks have been detected in Southern New England. The Atlantic Shark Institute managed to tag three spinner sharks in the summer of 2022 and is monitoring their movements since the tags send signals when the sharks pass close to acoustic receivers along the East Coast.
Since they were tagged, those spinner sharks have been detected more than 75 times along the East Coast, according to Kimmie Lavoie, a research analyst at the Atlantic Shark Institute.
“Interestingly, we have had no detections further north than North Carolina,” Dodd said. “These sharks love warmer water and more moderate temperatures. A couple have visited Florida, but their home base has been North Carolina.”
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Researchers study whether southern sharks are moving to Rhode Island
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AP photos capture a day of wrenching emotion as Israel and ****** release hostages and prisoners – The Associated Press
AP photos capture a day of wrenching emotion as Israel and ****** release hostages and prisoners – The Associated Press
AP photos capture a day of wrenching emotion as Israel and ****** release hostages and prisoners The Associated PressThree Israeli hostages set to be released in latest Gaza exchange ReutersNetanyahu furious about chaotic handover of Israeli hostages from ****** Fox NewsA chaotic hostage release in Gaza underscores high stakes of ceasefire The Washington Post
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#photos #capture #day #wrenching #emotion #Israel #****** #release #hostages #prisoners #Press
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WA Labor promises $14.1 million for upgrades to Hillarys Boat Harbour at closed Great Escape site
WA Labor promises $14.1 million for upgrades to Hillarys Boat Harbour at closed Great Escape site
Premier Roger Cook said the plan would give families in Perth’s northern suburbs a place to gather and teenagers a place to ‘hang out with their mates’.
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#Labor #promises #million #upgrades #Hillarys #Boat #Harbour #closed #Great #Escape #site
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