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Anheuser-Busch downplays Bud Light controversy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:00:19 GMT

ST. LOUIS — Anheuser-Busch is now telling customers and investors that a recent marketing controversy is just a tempest in a pint glass.In a letter to wholesalers that was forwarded to local bars and restaurants around Missouri, the brewery addressed the backlash to a marketing campaign featuring transgender social-media influencer Dylan Mulvaney, which led to a steep decline in Bud Light sales over the last month.“This was one single can given to one social media influencer,” the letter states. “It was not made for production or sale to the general public. This can is not a formal campaign or advertisement.”Anheuser-Busch InBev CEO Michel Doukeris repeated the stance on Thursday in a call with investors.“This was one can, one influencer, one post and not a campaign,” he said.Mulvaney, 26, posted a video on TikTok showing a can of Bud Light with her face on it that was given to her to celebrate her 365th day of girlhood. The video also showed her ...

What series of San Diego-area earthquakes mean for 'big one' likelihood

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:00:19 GMT

SAN DIEGO – After a series of small earthquakes rattled the eastern San Diego region last weekend, many residents might be asking themselves why there were so many shocks all of a sudden or if something bigger is on the horizon.Experts say that the back-to-back shocks are something that residents should be aware of, but not all too concerned about for forecasting the future likelihood of a major earthquake.The earthquakes that hit the region last week are part of what scientists call a “swarm,” which is a series of dozens of smaller earthquakes within a span of a couple days up to several weeks. Where will the next ‘big one’ be in California? Seismologists name faults of top concern In the last week, there were a few different areas nearby San Diego that had a swarm event, according to the U.S. Geological Survey: Ocotillo Wells in San Diego County and the two Imperial County towns, Niland and Heber. Niland is located just south of the Salton Sea and the tail of the San Andrea...

Two Niagara Ice Dogs players banned, GM suspended 2 years as part of OHL sanctions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:00:19 GMT

The Ontario Hockey League announced Thursday that two players on the Niagara IceDogs, including team captain Landon Cato, have been kicked out of the league, and the team’s general manager has been suspended for two years for violating league policies.The sanctions were handed down after findings from an independent third-party investigation.The OHL has announced sanctions against the Niagara IceDogs Hockey Club resulting from breaches of the League's Maltreatment, Bullying and Harassment Protection and Prevention Policy as well as the OHL Code of Conduct.— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) May 4, 2023The OHL had received allegations that “certain Niagara IceDog players” had violated the OHL’s maltreatment, bullying and harassment prevention policy and its code of conduct.The investigation found Cato and goaltender Joshua Rosenzweig participated in “serious” violations of both policies, “including but not limited to physical maltr...

Colorado man stunned while handcuffed sues sheriff’s office

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:00:19 GMT

DENVER (AP) — A man who says he was repeatedly stunned with a Taser while handcuffed, including once in the face, is suing a Colorado sheriff’s department, alleging excessive force by two deputies and also a failure by leaders to train and discipline their employees. Kenneth Espinoza was arrested Nov. 29, 2022, after he stopped to wait when Deputy Mikhail Noel of the Las Animas County Sheriff’s Office pulled over his son, whom he had been following to a car appointment. According to the lawsuit filed in federal court this week, Lt. Henry Trujillo and then Noel ordered Espinoza to leave, saying he should not be near a traffic stop. After initially refusing, Espinoza then started to drive away but Noel pointed his handgun and ordered him to stop.The suit alleges that Noel used a Taser to stun Espinoza directly on his body while he was in his truck, calling them “drive stuns.” Body camera video then shows Espinoza being pulled from the truck, handcuffed and squeezed into the back...

Former California college student arrested in 3 stabbings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:00:19 GMT

DAVIS, Calif. (AP) — A 21-year-old who was a student at the University of California, Davis, until last week was arrested for allegedly committing three recent stabbings, including two that were fatal, city police said. Davis Police Chief Darren Pytel said Thursday that Carlos Dominguez was taken into custody Wednesday after 15 people called in reports of a person who matched the description of the suspect in a local park. Pytel says that Dominguez had a large knife in his backpack. He was wearing the same clothes described by witnesses who saw the third stabbing.Pytel says police believe Dominguez is responsible for all three stabbings. It wasn’t immediately clear if Dominguez had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.NBC affiliate KCRA-TV in Sacramento, California, reported it captured aerial footage of police Wednesday afternoon speaking with a person near a downtown park where the second victim, a 20-year-old student at the University of California, Davis, was killed.O...

Nathalie Stutzmann, contralto now conductor, to debut at Met

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:00:19 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — While singing on the world’s great stages, Nathalie Stutzmann thought about blond lager.“In Europe it’s very common to have the conductor getting a beer right backstage. I was so thirsty when I came offstage after a performance, I was always dreaming: It would be nice to be a conductor and get them,” she said with a laugh.Minutes after a successful New York Philharmonic podium debut in February, Stutzmann had a beer in hand even before reaching her dressing room.“That’s the best beer ever, the one you get as a conductor right after the performance,” she said.Stutzmann gave up a quarter-century career as a contralto to become a conductor. She took over as music director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra last fall and makes her Metropolitan Opera debut in a new production of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” on Friday night, a day before her 58th birthday. On July 28 she becomes only the second woman to conduct at the Richard Wagner Festival in Bayreuth, Germany.“She deals perso...

ACLU sues amid Missouri GOP spat over abortion measure cost

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:00:19 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri ACLU on Thursday sued statewide officials for stonewalling a constitutional amendment to restore abortion rights as the attorney general pushes for a price tag on the proposal that is 1 million times higher than what the state auditor has estimated. At issue is a power struggle between two Republican statewide officials — Attorney General Andrew Bailey and Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick — that has delayed supporters from collecting required voter signatures on the ballot measure. The proposed constitutional amendment would protect abortion rights and pregnant women, as well as access to birth control. Currently, most abortions are outlawed in the state. There are exceptions for medical emergencies, but not for cases of rape or incest.Because Bailey, a gubernatorial appointee who took office in January, disagrees with Fitzpatrick’s cost estimate and won’t give what has traditionally been considered perfunctory approval, Republican Secret...

Drug plant explosion leaves worker missing at destroyed site

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:00:19 GMT

NEWBURYPORT, Mass. (AP) — A powerful explosion Thursday at a pharmaceutical chemical plant in Massachusetts left one worker missing and prompted U.S. Sen. Edward Markey to demand greater accountability from the troubled facility.Authorities said there was no threat to the local population or to homes near the Newburyport building, but fire officials told employees who work in the industrial park where the facility lies to stay away. One woman who didn’t get the message said she could taste chemicals on her lips.The explosion happened around 1 a.m. at the Sequens/PCI Synthesis plant, officials said. Video showed most of the roof torn off a building, and the blast blew a vat from the building 30 feet into a parking lot, acting Fire Chief Stephen Bradbury III said in a news release.Markey said the company needs to provide answers, given the facility’s history of accidents and violations.“Today’s chemical explosion in Newburyport is devastating,” the Massachusetts Democrat said in...

Indiana governor signs bills targeting LGBTQ students

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:00:19 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana’s governor on Thursday signed a bill that will require schools to notify a parent if a student requests a name or pronoun change at school, one of the final bills approved in a legislative session that had targeted LGBTQ+ people in the state, especially students.Critics worry the law could out transgender children to their families and erode trust between students and teachers while supporters have contested the legislation keeps parents empowered and informed about their children when at school.Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb’s approval of the legislation comes in a year when GOP-led legislatures around the country are seeking to curb LGBTQ+ rights, specifically targeting trans people’s participation in sports, workplaces and schools, as well as their access to health care.Recently, Florida Republicans on Wednesday also approved a bill that would prevent students and teachers from being required to use pronouns that don’t correspond to som...

NC lawmakers pass 12-week abortion ban; governor vows veto

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:00:19 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina lawmakers on Thursday approved a ban on nearly all abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy, down from the current 20 weeks, in response to last year’s overturning of Roe v. Wade at the U.S. Supreme Court.The ban is one of the least onerous of a slew of bills Republican-led assemblies have pushed through in recent months since the high court stripped away women’s constitutional protections for abortion. Other states have banned the procedure nearly completely or throughout pregnancy.Nonetheless, the 29-20 vote by the Senate was met with loud cries of “Abortion rights now!” from about 100 observers who had crowded into the gallery to watch the debate. Police quickly cleared the area, but protesters could still be heard yelling “Shame!” from outside the closed doors. While perhaps less restrictive, North Carolina’s bill has far-reaching consequences. Before its passage, many women from nearby states with restrictive laws had traveled to the state...