"The key with our portfolio of brands is they're going to be very differentiated," Hattersley said on "Closing Bell." "We don't see them competing with each other at all. In fact, we see it as complementary and a really strong portfolio."
Chicago-based Molson Coors on Tuesday announced its deal with Coca-Cola as the beverage behemoth forays into the booming U.S. hard seltzer market under its Topo Chico brand. Coca-Cola acquired the 125-year-old Topo Chico, known for its sparkling mineral water, in 2017.
Terms of the deal between Molson Coors and Coca-Cola were not announced. Molson Coors will conduct the marketing, sales and distribution of Topo Chico Hard Seltzer in the U.S. It is scheduled to launch in the U.S. in the first half of 2021.
"We'll start out in areas where the brand is particularly strong and well known, and that's in the south of the country," Hattersley said. "Then we'll have a very deliberate national expansion over time."
Topo Chico Hard Seltzer
Source: Coca-Cola
Molson Coors, which brews Miller Lite and Coors Light, also has two of its own hard seltzer brands. Vizzy launched in April, while Coors Seltzer launched this fall.
It also plans an additional alcoholic seltzer offering under the Proof Point brand next year, according to Hattersley. "All have very clearly defined places in the seltzer category," he said.
At the start of 2018, there were about 10 hard seltzer brands on the market, according to Nielsen, but it jumped to 26 at the beginning of 2019. As of June, there more than 65 brands on shelves, Nielsen said.
White Claw, which is produced by the maker of Mike's Hard Lemonade, and Boston Beer's Truly combined to own about three-quarters of the market share as of mid-June, according to Nielsen.
Molson Coors' embrace of the hard seltzer — which more than tripled in volume last year, according to IWSR — comes as the company works to expand beyond beer. Beginning in January, it dropped "Brewing" from its name, becoming known as Molson Coors Beverage Company.
Shares of Molson Coors closed Wednesday's session higher by 0.09% to $33.56 apiece. The stock has been under pressure this year, down 37.74% in 2020. It notched a 52-week low of $32.11 last week.
The stock traded at a 52-week high of $61.94 on Feb. 12, before the coronavirus pandemic intensified and rattled global financial markets.
CHICAGO, Sept. 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Natural Beverage Infusions ("NBI") announced today the expansion of Vrai, its Ready-to-Drink ("RTD") premium hard seltzer, in Asian markets through a Joint-Venture Licensing Agreement ("JVLA") with Capital Impetus Group ("CIG"). CIG will utilize its MTBL Global Fund, the first-ever alcohol sector-focused, open-end investment fund in Asia, to help expand Vrai's global distribution.
The JVLA gives NBI's portfolio of Vrai hard seltzers a gateway to the fastest growing consumer marketplace in the world, leveraging CIG's MTBL Global Fund's wholly owned and operated, on-and-off premise, retail channels to drive sales in the Asia-Pacific region. As part of the partnership, CIG's MTBL Global Fund and its operating subsidiaries will also build a new factory in Hainan, China to support local distribution.
"In addition to Vrai's current product mix, NBI will also launch a new line of Moutai Bulao-based premium hard seltzers infused with organic flavors tailored to the Asian consumer," said Nicholas Piekoszewski, CEO of Vrai.
In recent years, the Asian RTD alcoholic beverage industry has grown rapidly, fueled by the region's rising demand for healthier premium alcoholic cocktails over cheaper alternatives. This trend is especially strong among millennials, and especially among women. "We believe Vrai will be the hard seltzer of choice as a first-mover in the Asian markets," says Ryan Shuler, Managing Partner of Legendary Ventures, an investor in NBI.
"With our extensive owner-operator experience in the Pan-Asian beverage industry, we believe the next generation of consumers will make Vrai the market leader in the RTD premium hard seltzer space," said Jerry Chu, General Manager of CIG USA.
About Vrai Vrai is the first-and-only USDA Organic RTD Premium Hard Seltzer in the market today. Made with a mixed assortment of premium spirits infused with natural flavors, Vrai's portfolio of premium RTD alcoholic beverages delivers a taste experience that is unmatched by a cocktail bar. For more information, please visit www.drinkvrai.com
About Capital Impetus Group Capital Impetus Group Limited is a global financial holding group with a broad portfolio of commercial investments throughout the world, including Asia-Pacific and the Americas through Capital Impetus Asset Management LLC. For more information about the firm, or its funds, please visit www.cigasset.com
About Legendary Ventures Legendary Ventures is a venture capital firm that accelerates value creation for early-stage startups in the consumer, retail and technology industries. For more information about the firm, or its funds please visit https://legendary.vc
Public Relations Melissa Perlman
Vrai Public Relations [email protected]
October 01, 2020 at 05:31AM
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/natural-beverage-infusions-announces-international-expansion-of-its-vrai-hard-seltzers-301142409.html
Natural Beverage Infusions Announces International Expansion Of Its Vrai Hard Seltzers - PRNewswire
The stock market is bullish, but even before COVID-19 struck, those in the struggling middle class who didn’t have the luxury of investment portfolios found themselves in difficult straits. Sarah Colt and co-director Josh Gleason’s melancholy and moving documentary, “The Disrupted,” skillfully links the fortunes of three such salt-of-the-earth Americans who played by the rules and worked hard but still saw their efforts evaporate. Now they desperately search for a plan B — or C or D.
What could be more American than a Kansas farmer, the fifth-generation owner of 900 acres of prairie, growing crops and raising cattle. Donn Teske fits the image — 62, jowly, a cigar perpetually stuck in the corner of his mouth, contemplating with stoic wisdom the declining fortunes of his livelihood, which has been devastated by corporate farming and falling prices.
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But Teske is no passive victim. He’s vice president of the National Farmers Union and in one sequence changes his overalls for a suit and tie to testify before a congressional committee about the hardships faced by small farmers. But his own situation seems unsalvageable. Deeply in debt, he faces the prospect of selling at least some of his land. His hope is that one of his two sons, both of whom work at full-time jobs and have limited time to help their father, might take on ownership of the land to keep the farm in the family.
Pete and Melissa Velez at Pete’s HVAC graduation.Sarah Colt Productions
Pete Velez, in Ohio, had been working for 12 years at the local 3M sponge factory, making $23 an hour. Now it has shut down, and on the last day he meets his fellow ex-employees and passes around a bottle of Crown Royal whiskey. His optimism is indomitable, but not contagious. He points out one of the workers who bought a $40,000 truck despite the pending layoffs. “Confidence,” he says. Someone replies, “That’s either bravery or stupidity.”
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Back home, his wife is less sanguine. Velez assures her that with unemployment benefits they’ll do fine until he earns a degree qualifying him to work in HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning). But their son is having problems at school, and Velez’s wife worries that her husband, who had served time in prison for drug offenses, might fall back into bad habits.
Cheryl Long sitting in cellphone waiting lot.Sarah Colt Productions
Cheryl Long of Tampa had been doing well in the mortgage industry, until the crash in 2008, but bounced back as a driver for Lyft and Uber. She made good money at the job and loved chatting with passengers. Recently, though, the companies have begun cutting drivers' rates. Now an 18-hour shift working for the billion-dollar corporations might bring in only $100, a pittance for someone with a family to support.
Like a modern-day Norma Rae, Long works on organizing a strike, forming a skimpy picket line with fellow drivers holding handmade placards at the airport parking lot. The movement fails to grow, and the companies cut their rates even more. Can Long adjust once again to an economic system that favors corporate wealth and denies those who work hard the fruits of their labor?
Colt and Gleason interweave these stories with subtlety and irony, catching the nuanced details of their subjects' lives and relationships, the cinematography evoking a mood of fading hope and dogged resistance. The final sequence, in which all three subjects and their families celebrate the 4th of July, the fireworks flashing in the waning light, seems less a celebration than a portent of hard times to come.
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“The Disrupted” can be streamed via the Coolidge Corner Theatre Virtual Screening Room, beginning on Oct. 2, followed by a Digital VOD release on Oct. 13.
“I think these innovations that we’ve seen, including hard seltzer, are a trend of the consumer looking for new things, and if we want to be consumer-centric … then that’s what’s taking us to this opportunity,” CEO James Quincey told CNBC. “We’re going to follow the consumer.”
Walt Disney’s parks chief Josh D’Amaro said Tuesday the company will be laying off 28,000 staff at its theme parks, the segment of the company hardest hit by the pandemic. The cuts will come at the executive, salaried and hourly level although the bulk of the hit — or 67% the company said — will fall on part-time workers.
In statement and memo to employees, D’Amaro called the move painful and said it’s one Disney had hoped to avoid, initially trying to keep as many employees in the fold as possible using furloughs and extended health benefits. But as the COVID crisis dragged on becoming more than a short-lived phenomenon, that became unsustainable, he said.
Parks worldwide shuttered in March. Many are open now but at reduced capacity, including Disney World in Orlando, which resumed most operations in July. Disneyland in Anaheim, California remains closed. A group of 18 California senators and assembly members issued a letter Monday asking California Governor to issue guidelines for parks to reopen. The state’s top health official Dr. Mark Ghaly said today that hard work is underway “to get that out in a responsible way as soon as possible” but didn’t give any hints.
D’Amaro said Disney “will be scheduling appointments with our affected salaried and non-union hourly employees over the next few days. Additionally, today we will begin the process of discussing next steps with unions.”
Parks have traditionally made up a third of Disney’s total revenue, with the lion’s share of that from U.S. locations. Disney took a $1 billion hit to its parks business in its fiscal second quarter ended in March. That expanded to a $3.5 billion operating downturn for the fiscal third quarter ended in June. The company has a September fiscal year.
Read D’Amaro’s statement and letter here:
STATEMENT FROM JOSH D’AMARO, CHAIRMAN, DISNEY PARKS, EXPERIENCES AND PRODUCTS (DPEP)
In light of the prolonged impact of COVID-19 on our business, including limited capacity due to physical distancing requirements and the continued uncertainty regarding the duration of the pandemic – exacerbated in California by the State’s unwillingness to lift restrictions that would allow Disneyland to reopen – we have made the very difficult decision to begin the process of reducing our workforce at our Parks, Experiences and Products segment at all levels, having kept non-working Cast Members on furlough since April, while paying healthcare benefits. Approximately 28,000 domestic employees will be affected, of which about 67% are part-time. We are talking with impacted employees as well as to the unions on next steps for union-represented Cast Members.
Over the past several months, we’ve been forced to make a number of necessary adjustments to our business, and as difficult as this decision is today, we believe that the steps we are taking will enable us to emerge a more effective and efficient operation when we return to normal. Our Cast Members have always been key to our success, playing a valued and important role in delivering a world-class experience, and we look forward to providing opportunities where we can for them to return.
LETTER TO EMPLOYEES FROM JOSH D’AMARO, CHAIRMAN, DISNEY PARKS, EXPERIENCES AND PRODUCTS (DPEP)
September 29, 2020
Team,
I write this note to you today to share some difficult decisions that we have had to make regarding our Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products organization.
Let me start with my belief that the heart and soul of our business is and always will be people. Just like all of you, I love what I do. I also love being surrounded by people who think about their roles as more than jobs, but as opportunities to be a part of something special, something different, and something truly magical.
Earlier this year, in response to the pandemic, we were forced to close our businesses around the world. Few of us could have imagined how significantly the pandemic would impact us — both at work and in our daily lives. We initially hoped that this situation would be short-lived, and that we would recover quickly and return to normal. Seven months later, we find that has not been the case. And, as a result, today we are now forced to reduce the size of our team across executive, salaried, and hourly roles.
As you can imagine, a decision of this magnitude is not easy. For the last several months, our management team has worked tirelessly to avoid having to separate anyone from the company. We’ve cut expenses, suspended capital projects, furloughed our cast members while still paying benefits, and modified our operations to run as efficiently as possible, however, we simply cannot responsibly stay fully staffed while operating at such limited capacity.
As heartbreaking as it is to take this action, this is the only feasible option we have in light of the prolonged impact of COVID-19 on our business, including limited capacity due to physical distancing requirements and the continued uncertainty regarding the duration of the pandemic.
Thank you for your dedication, patience and understanding during these difficult times. I know that these changes will be challenging. It will take time for all of us to process this information and its impact. We will be scheduling appointments with our affected salaried and non-union hourly employees over the next few days. Additionally, today we will begin the process of discussing next steps with unions. We encourage you to visit The Hub or the WDI Homepage for any support you may need.
For those who will be affected by this decision, I want to thank you for all that you have done for our company and our guests. While we don’t know when the pandemic will be behind us, we are confident in our resilience, and hope to welcome back Cast Members and employees when we can.
September 29, 2020 at 05:00PM
https://www.post-gazette.com/life/food/2020/09/29/Duquesne-grocery-store-Save-A-Lot-closing-closure-resisident-food-challenge-desert/stories/202009280101
Duquesne residents lament loss of grocery store: 'It's going to be hard for us' - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The launch of the hard seltzer will be Coke's first foray into alcoholic beverages in its home market for the first time since it sold its Wine Spectrum business in 1983. The Miller Lite brewer, on the other hand, already counts two hard seltzer brands in its portfolio, including Coors Seltzer. Molson Coors has been trying to move beyond beer as consumption has fallen and even dropped "Brewing" from its name at the start of the year.
Hard seltzer's popularity has surged in recent years, thanks to market leader White Claw, which is owned by Mike's Hard Lemonade brewer Mark Anthony Brands. In 2019, hard seltzer's volume more than tripled, helping reverse the trend of declining global alcohol consumption, according to IWSR.
Molson Coors will handle marketing, sales and distribution of Topo Chico Hard Seltzer in the U.S. The U.S. launch of the product will prioritize the markets where the brand is best known. The sparkling mineral water is a cult favorite among Texans, but Coke has been expanding its distribution since its acquisition in 2017.
The drink will be sold in a 12-pack of its four flavors: Tangy Lemon Lime, Exotic Pineapple, Strawberry Guava and Tropical Mango. A third party will initially handle the production and packaging of the product.
Before they battled major coronavirus outbreaks, Imperial County’s nursing homes had track records riddled with infection control issues, inadequate staffing and low facility ratings.
Some violations were more dire: In 2016, staff at Imperial Heights Healthcare and Wellness Centre in Brawley waited 12 hours to inform a hospital that one of its transported residents may have ingested hand sanitizer.
The 82-year-old woman died of acute ethanol intoxication. The facility was fined $6,000.
Now, as COVID-19 sweeps across the U.S. and devastates nursing homes, studies are finding correlations between the severity of facilities’ outbreaks and their quality of care.
A September report found the majority of California’s 25 worst nursing home outbreaks occurred at facilities with poor inspection records.
“We found that their average federal star rating was lower. We found that they had more infection control violations. We found that they had less staffing, particularly less registered nurse staffing,” said Anthony Chicotel, an attorney with the San Francisco-based California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform.
“So, yeah, we’re less surprised that bad facilities have had worse COVID-19 outbreaks,” Chicotel said.
More than 200,000 people in the U.S. have died from the virus. In California’s nursing homes, it’s killed more than 4,400 residents and roughly 150 employees.
The three skilled nursing facilities in Imperial County, a region that quickly became a hotspot during the pandemic, were no exception.
As of late September, residents and health care workers at the nursing homes are linked to 214 cases and at least 26 deaths, with the state’s most recent public health data reporting two of the homes still with active cases.
None of the facilities, which are all operated by for-profit businesses, responded to inquiries from inewsource.
Infection control, low staffing among citations
The number of citations at some of the county’s nursing homes had already surpassed state and federal averages when COVID-19 began to spread.
Many citations were minor and considered to have carried minimal potential harm at the facility. But some came with financial penalties — and severe consequences for residents.
Last year, Valley Convalescent Center in El Centro was ordered to pay $2,000 after a 96-year-old resident fell near her bed and broke bones in her leg. The injuries resulted in an amputation below the knee.
An inspection later found staff didn’t follow the woman’s care plan and failed to provide mats on both sides of her bed to help prevent injuries.
Valley Convalescent, a two-star facility under the federal government’s quality rating system, was hit with 19 citations in its health inspection last year. The statewide average is about 13 — compared to eight nationwide.
Imperial Heights also was fined $2,000 after officials concluded two employees last year failed to report a resident’s allegation of abuse to management. The three-star facility received 22 citations in its last health inspection.
The county’s third nursing home, Imperial Manor, doesn’t yet have a federal star rating. Its most recent health inspection, conducted in March 2019, found 11 deficiencies.
Each facility has been cited in the past 18 months for infection-control rules:
– In September 2019, inspectors at Valley Convalescent found oral hygiene products in a shared restroom were unlabeled, and the facility didn’t follow its own hand hygiene policy.
– Imperial Heights didn’t use a hamper to handle soiled laundry and bed linens, and a staff member didn’t use gloves when removing trash, according to a December report.
– Imperial Manor was cited in March 2019 after a federal inspector observed “a soiled incontinence brief” lying in the middle of a resident’s unmade bed. It should have been disposed of immediately to prevent cross-contamination, the report said.
Infection prevention is the most common citation for nursing homes. A Kaiser Health News analysis in March found that 63% of skilled nursing facilities, including those with top ratings, have been cited for deficiencies in recent years.
Infections are common in nursing homes: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 1 million to 3 million serious infections occur annually in long-term care facilities.
“Prior to COVID-19, we would see a couple of infection control deficiencies and say, ‘Well, everyone gets those, not a big deal.’ Even though we know that it is a big deal,” said Chicotel with the nonprofit that advocates for nursing home reform. “And there’s lots of statistics that say even pre-COVID-19, there were a lot of preventable deaths from infectious disease in nursing homes that we were just willing to accept.”
He expects the pandemic will bring more stringent penalties for infection-control issues.
Hit hard by virus
Already suffering from high poverty, poor health indicators and high unemployment, Imperial County has had one of the highest hospitalization rates in the state for COVID-19. Its hospital system became so overwhelmed that officials were forced to divert patients elsewhere in May.
Each nursing home has reported cases among residents and employees. Seventeen residents at Valley Convalescent and nine at Imperial Heights have died.
One of the county’s assisted living facilities, Blossom Valley Inn in Holtville, also has reported fewer than 11 COVID-19 deaths. The actual number is not public because the state doesn’t provide exact numbers if a facility has fewer than 11 cases.
Imperial Manor has yet to comply with a federal requirement to submit coronavirus numbers, but state data shows it has reported zero deaths.
Dr. Stephen Munday, the county’s health officer, said during a June news conference that officials saw earlier outbreaks at nursing homes elsewhere and began to target the local nursing homes for intervention.
The county provided personal protective equipment, made appointments a priority for nursing home staff at public testing sites and processed some of the facilities’ tests in its own lab. Officials are continuing to conduct site visits as needed and are regularly in contact with the homes for any updates.
Each of the county’s nursing homes submitted mitigation plans to the state, and the facilities were found in recent state surveys to be in compliance with infection control regulations and federal COVID-19 recommendations. The county’s request in August to the state to reopen some businesses said the nursing homes had adequate supplies of personal protective equipment.
Chicotel said the pandemic has reinforced many concerns that his nonprofit already had.
“In the best of times, nursing homes don’t do particularly well,” he said. “But with COVID-19, the burden of that really exposed these weaknesses in the system and preyed on it so that we had this huge number of deaths in them.”
inewsource investigative data reporter Jill Castellano contributed to this story.
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Santa Ana winds are sweeping through parts of San Diego County as temperatures heat up amid low humidity, significantly raising the risk of wildfires throughout the region. Plus, Former aide to City Council President Georgette Gómez, Kelvin Barrios, is ending his campaign for her seat. Also, before they battled major coronavirus outbreaks, Imperial County’s skilled nursing facilities already had histories ... Read more →
I know you referred to him as Money Mason, but seriously... Mason Crosby was 7-of-7 on his kicks including two FGs 49 yards or longer and the Packers needed each and every one of them. I know he gets a lot of love in the II, but you can't over-appreciate that kind of dependability. Was there any recognition for Crosby from the coaches after the game?
I wasn't in the locker room but there's always recognition for Crosby. It's why he's a team captain and there's no doubt he's in a groove right now. More on that next Monday.
Thomas from Cedar Rapids, IA
It was easy to see the stars of the game Sunday – Rodgers, Lazard, Za'Darius Smith, Robert Tonyan, Aaron Jones, but we had some nice performances from unexpected sources. Kingsley Keke, Summers, Jonathan Garvin were in on a lot of plays. And did you notice Tyler Lancaster on Kamara's long TD was down there at the goal line? Great hustle! And it is almost something we have come to expect but thank goodness for Mason Crosby! The guy is rock steady.
Lancaster's second effort was the lone positive on that run. If you ever wanted to know how hot the fire burns inside Lancaster, put on the film of that play. Keke and Garvin gave the Packers good minutes, too. Keke showed what he offers as a pass rusher, particularly in that second quarter, while Garvin played with his hair on fire late. He's raw but the energy was there.
Jake from Athens, GA
Wes, I hope you heard Mike Tirico refer to Tonyan as "Big Bob" a couple of times on the national broadcast. What a performance by him and so many other undrafted guys. If you ask me, Gutekunst can draft as many first-round QBs as he wants, as long as he keep signing gems like Tonyan, Lazard, Chandon Sullivan, and Krys Barnes. Every one of them contributed in a big way this week. Pedigree =/= potential!
I can't claim ownership of the nickname like Michael Cohen can of "TBLS," but I am happy to play a small role in bringing "Big Bob" to the mainstream with that profile we posted on him two years ago.
Guilherme from Lins, Brazil
After the "run the table," "we've got a defense" and so many more warning statements from Rodgers, is "I feel so much more comfortable in the offense this year" the one for this season?
Either that one or "I noticed something from a clip from 2010 actually." How meta would it be if at the end of the year, after the Packers raise the Lombardi, Rodgers is asked once more what he saw on tape? To which the now-three-time MVP plainly replies, "My smile."
Will from Fayetteville, AR
Say what you want about this defense, but looking at the pass to No. 17 at the 1:20ish mark in the third quarter, where Kevin King makes the heads up play to try and knock the ball out if the receiver gets careless when he is not yet down. That's a heads-up play, and that's smart football. I don't think they're that far off.
The defense started with a three-and-out before falling into a lull. Za'Darius Smith forcing Hill to fumble was arguably the biggest play of the evening. The Packers' defense settled down after that takeaway and contained New Orleans to a three-and-out on its next possession to seal the win.
Sean from Portland, NE
I remember a few years ago Ty Montgomery jumped his feet out of bounds to touch a kickoff that was near the pylon and GB was given the ball at the 40. Very heads-up play. My question is for the spinning onside kick, could a receiving member do this before the ball goes 10 yards if it is close enough to the sideline? Would it immediately be a dead ball when touched and given to the receiving team?
It's my understanding the penalty would be the same regardless of whether it spun out of bounds or Sternberger steps out of bounds and grabs the ball. The Packers got the best of both worlds and didn't have to worry about an accidental fumble.
Scott from Wausau, WI
Seems as though Matt LaFleur is reluctant to use Rodgers for a quarterback sneak. Why not have a play where a sure-handed receiver comes under center to take the snap in a quick manor?
Because taking a snap and carrying the ball is different than catching a pass. Taysom Hill is a quarterback by trade and you saw Sunday night what can happen when the ball isn't properly secured.
Kevin from Indy, IN
Across the league scoring is up from last year so far, and Rodgers has been fantastic with the hard count. Do you think fans should take away from this an affirmed belief in our ability to affect a game, particularly at home? I would imagine that, while the circumstances leading to limited fans is horrible for everyone, the NFL has to like the thought of fans feeling like important contributors from a ticket sales standpoint.
The relationship between the NFL and its fans is special. I already knew that, but this setup has still taught me a thing or two about how essential crowds are to the game, both strategically and from a game-presentation standpoint. The home opener against the Lions was flat-out weird.
LEIDEN, Netherlands (AP) — This is not the student life Iris Raats had hoped for when she was accepted at Leiden University to study law.
With the coronavirus pandemic casting its long shadow over education in the Netherlands and around the world, most of her lectures are online and the vibrant social life in the country’s oldest university city has been reined in to contain the spread of the pandemic.
Instead, socializing happens predominantly within the four walls of the house that the 19-year-old shares with 13 other students close to the city’s central railway station.
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“I’m very glad that I found ... a room in Leiden and that I can experience living with students and have parties here in the kitchen,” she said. “But it’s not like real student life.”
Houses packed with students in Dutch university cities are seen as a worrying source of infections as the Netherlands has been hit by a strong resurgence of coronavirus in recent weeks. Infections have soared among people aged 20-30.
“It’s very complicated for students if there are 14 of you living in a house with shared kitchen, shared bathroom,” Dutch Education Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven told The Associated Press. “What we see now is that students are working with one another to work out how to make those houses safe.”
That is happening at the house in Leiden, where students are packed into communal spaces almost as tightly as their bicycles in racks in the front yard. The residents have made up their own rules to keep the virus out, largely sealing themselves off from the outside world by strictly limiting the number of visitors.
Students with a cough or runny nose are supposed to self-isolate in their rooms, although the housemates concede it’s hard to rigidly enforce that rule. At the height of the outbreak earlier this year, residents were allowed just one guest, a rule that allowed partners to visit.
When a room is vacated, meetings between housemates and potential new residents — thought to be a source of spreading infections — now happen largely online or in the house’s back garden.
So far, it’s worked for Iris and her housemates. Nobody has tested positive for COVID-19, even as Dutch infections are spiking and the government is introducing tougher measures to rein in its spread.
Students squeeze in and out of the cramped kitchen and sit talking around a small table cluttered with newspapers, books, cups and glasses. Iris cooks eggs and fiscal law student Gerard Velthuijs makes coffee.
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In a hall, at the bottom of a steep flight of stairs, beer crates are stacked up and empty bottles collected in boxes. A single face mask hangs out of a student’s mail collection rack on the wall.
So far, about 100,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the Netherlands and around 6,300 have died, although the true toll is higher because of limited testing, missed cases and other factors.
Student housing is not just a problem in the Netherlands.
In Britain, outbreaks at universities in cities including Glasgow, Edinburgh and Manchester have seen thousands of students confined to their residence halls. Security guards at some schools prevent young people from leaving their buildings.
The clampdown has angered students and parents, who say government and universities should have been better prepared, with clearer social distancing rules and routine virus testing for students.
Confining students to dorms also has not stopped them from socializing. Police were called to a residence at Edinburgh University last week to break up multiple student parties.
In the United States, dozens of universities have emerged as virus hot spots. Although students are being spaced apart in classrooms and dining halls, the virus has continued to spread in cramped dorms and through off-campus parties that have been blamed for thousands of cases.
In Leiden, second-year physics student David Hintzen is spending way more time than he would like in his bedroom on the house’s third floor. His days are spent peering at his laptop on the table next to his bed, although he must sometimes go to a university lab to carry out experiments.
“Most of our colleges are online through the website, so … everything I do is basically here,” he said. “I do study with friends sometimes, but that’s also through the laptop.”
Not all students in Leiden have been able to resist the temptation to party. Police intervened earlier this month to halt one late-night gathering of students in a Leiden park where people failed to social distance.
“It doesn’t always go well,” Van Engelhoven said. “That was — and they’ve said this themselves — stupid and irresponsible and we have to make sure we prevent that.”
For the students, the one upside of the restrictions is more time to focus on their education.
“You can’t get out to ... party,” said Velthuijs. “Normally we used to party quite a bit together in the town but that’s all stopped, so it’s kind of boring. But you can concentrate on your studies now, so that’s okay.”
When Coca-Cola Co. enters the U.S. alcohol market next year for the first time in three decades, it won’t be going in alone. The soda giant has struck a deal with Molson Coors to manufacture, market and distribute Topo Chico Hard Seltzer beginning in the first half of 2021.
The drink, which Coca-Cola first announced in July, is an alcoholic version of Topo Chico sparkling water, a fast-rising brand the company acquired in 2017. The deal with Molson Coors gives the brewer another seltzer brand to compete in an increasingly competitive segment, while offering Coke a way to quickly penetrate retail stores using the brewer’s network of distributors.
“In bringing Topo Chico Hard Seltzer to market, our focus is speed, quality and efficiency. Our relationship with Molson Coors Beverage Company allows Topo Chico Hard Seltzer to launch with scale, at an accelerated pace, delivering a product that consumers will love,” Dan White, VP of strategic initiatives for Coca-Cola Co. said in a press release.
Molson Coors CEO Gavin Hattersley added that “this is another significant step in growing our above premium portfolio and becoming a major competitor in the rapidly-growing hard seltzer segment—both key components of our revitalization plan.”
Representatives for the brewer did not immediately confirm which agency will be used for Topo Chico Seltzer, although the deal could bring a new opportunity to its roster of agencies, which includes DDB, Leo Burnett and Johannes Leonardo.
Johannes Leonardo already works on another Molson Coors hard seltzer—Vizzy, which the brewer touts as having acerola cherry, a “superfruit” high in the antioxidant vitamin C. Molson Coors also recently introduced Coors Seltzer.
Topo Chico Hard Seltzer blends purified sparkling water, a gluten-free alcohol base and natural flavors, with minerals added for taste, according to the press release. Flavors will include Tangy Lemon Lime, Exotic Pineapple, Strawberry Guava and Tropical Mango. It will be available in a four-flavor 12-pack variety pack in slim cans.
LEIDEN, Netherlands -- This is not the student life Iris Raats had hoped for when she was accepted at Leiden University to study law.
With the coronavirus pandemic casting its long shadow over education in the Netherlands and around the world, most of her lectures are online and the vibrant social life in the country's oldest university city has been reined in to contain the spread of the pandemic.
Instead, socializing happens predominantly within the four walls of the house that the 19-year-old shares with 13 other students close to the city's central railway station.
“I’m very glad that I found ... a room in Leiden and that I can experience living with students and have parties here in the kitchen,” she said. “But it’s not like real student life.”
Houses packed with students in Dutch university cities are seen as a worrying source of infections as the Netherlands has been hit by a strong resurgence of coronavirus in recent weeks. Infections have soared among people aged 20-30.
“It’s very complicated for students if there are 14 of you living in a house with shared kitchen, shared bathroom,” Dutch Education Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven told The Associated Press. “What we see now is that students are working with one another to work out how to make those houses safe.”
That is happening at the house in Leiden, where students are packed into communal spaces almost as tightly as their bicycles in racks in the front yard. The residents have made up their own rules to keep the virus out, largely sealing themselves off from the outside world by strictly limiting the number of visitors.
Students with a cough or runny nose are supposed to self-isolate in their rooms, although the housemates concede it’s hard to rigidly enforce that rule. At the height of the outbreak earlier this year, residents were allowed just one guest, a rule that allowed partners to visit.
When a room is vacated, meetings between housemates and potential new residents — thought to be a source of spreading infections — now happen largely online or in the house’s back garden.
So far, it’s worked for Iris and her housemates. Nobody has tested positive for COVID-19, even as Dutch infections are spiking and the government is introducing tougher measures to rein in its spread.
Students squeeze in and out of the cramped kitchen and sit talking around a small table cluttered with newspapers, books, cups and glasses. Iris cooks eggs and fiscal law student Gerard Velthuijs makes coffee.
In a hall, at the bottom of a steep flight of stairs, beer crates are stacked up and empty bottles collected in boxes. A single face mask hangs out of a student's mail collection rack on the wall.
So far, about 100,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the Netherlands and around 6,300 have died, although the true toll is higher because of limited testing, missed cases and other factors.
Student housing is not just a problem in the Netherlands.
In Britain, outbreaks at universities in cities including Glasgow, Edinburgh and Manchester have seen thousands of students confined to their residence halls. Security guards at some schools prevent young people from leaving their buildings.
The clampdown has angered students and parents, who say government and universities should have been better prepared, with clearer social distancing rules and routine virus testing for students.
Confining students to dorms also has not stopped them from socializing. Police were called to a residence at Edinburgh University last week to break up multiple student parties.
In the United States, dozens of universities have emerged as virus hot spots. Although students are being spaced apart in classrooms and dining halls, the virus has continued to spread in cramped dorms and through off-campus parties that have been blamed for thousands of cases.
In Leiden, second-year physics student David Hintzen is spending way more time than he would like in his bedroom on the house’s third floor. His days are spent peering at his laptop on the table next to his bed, although he must sometimes go to a university lab to carry out experiments.
“Most of our colleges are online through the website, so … everything I do is basically here,” he said. “I do study with friends sometimes, but that’s also through the laptop.”
Not all students in Leiden have been able to resist the temptation to party. Police intervened earlier this month to halt one late-night gathering of students in a Leiden park where people failed to social distance.
“It doesn’t always go well,” Van Engelhoven said. “That was — and they’ve said this themselves — stupid and irresponsible and we have to make sure we prevent that.”
For the students, the one upside of the restrictions is more time to focus on their education.
“You can’t get out to ... party," said Velthuijs. "Normally we used to party quite a bit together in the town but that’s all stopped, so it’s kind of boring. But you can concentrate on your studies now, so that’s okay.”
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Follow AP’s pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
Gerry McCarthy left a piece of his brain and all of his peace of mind in Vietnam. He struggled mightily with mental illness for years, eventually finding acceptance, love, and even redemption as he battled the demons who returned from combat with him.
Vietnam veteran Gerry McCarthy, with his brother Dennis at his side, belatedly received his Purple Heart in 2008. McCarthy, who was shot in the head during his military service, died Saturday at the age of 74.John Tlumacki/Globe Staff
Gerry McCarthy was 19 years old when he left Dorchester for Parris Island, S.C.
The Marines handed him a rifle and Gerry went to Vietnam.
In 1967, he was on his third tour, on a foot patrol, his best friend walking in front of him, when a round fired by the Viet Cong blew his friend’s head off. The same bullet went into Gerry’s forehead, destroying a chunk of his frontal lobe. At the field hospital, they dug the bullet out, stitched him up, then, two days later, sent him back to his unit.
Somehow, he survived the last three weeks of that third tour, but the Gerry McCarthy who came back to Dorchester was a different guy.
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The city and the country were in upheaval. The Boston Police Department was hiring veterans, so Gerry got on the job. But the demons in his head followed him home from Vietnam and it quickly became obvious he couldn’t remain a police officer. The cops found him in a park, holding his service revolver. He told them he was lying in wait for the enemy, the VC.
There were many rough years. He had psychotic breaks. His longtime lawyer and guardian, Betty Dew, met him at the Shattuck Hospital, after he got kicked out of the VA hospital for being disruptive. By the mid-1990s, improvements in medication made Gerry stable enough to move into a group home in Dorchester.
He became a fixture at St. Mark’s on Dorchester Avenue. If there were no altar servers, the pastor, Father Dan Finn, would give the signal and Gerry would join him on the altar. When there was a funeral, Gerry put his police training to good use, directing cars on Dot Ave like a seasoned traffic cop.
Dew recalls that Gerry was always broke because he gave away what little money he had to homeless people.
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While Gerry sometimes was profane, and could occasionally be very difficult, Judy Greeley, the parish secretary at St. Mark’s, believed he was someone who should be held in the highest esteem.
“Gerry gave his life, a normal life, for his country,” Greeley told me. “He couldn’t have a relationship, or kids. He couldn’t hold a job.”
Gerry did odd jobs at various bars along Dot Ave. The Irish immigrant patrons of the Centre Bar loved him and were protective of him. He’d sweep out the Tara, then mosey down to the Ashmont Grill.
“He’d read the paper, have a ginger ale, then move on,” Greeley said. “Everybody knew he was Gerry, the Vietnam vet who got shot in the head, so they looked after him. Once a lot of those bars started closing, he had no place to go.”
But there was always St. Mark’s.
“Gerry did not have a filter, at least with adults,” Greeley said. “In the rectory or the kitchen, he’d say the most outrageous things. But he never swore around children. He was always kind and gentle to children. Even though part of his brain was missing, part of his heart knew what to do around kids.”
Gerry used to buy crayons for the kids at the parish mother and toddlers group. He’d sit in the corner and the kids would go over to him, fascinated by this big, unkempt old man with the omnipresent Red Sox cap. The mothers asked him to play Santa Claus at the kids Christmas party. Greeley bought him a Santa outfit.
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When the party ended, Gerry wouldn’t take the costume off. He wore it home, yelling “Ho! Ho! Ho!” as he walked up Dot Ave.
Gerry was awarded a Purple Heart in Vietnam but never managed to pick it up, so Dew went to Senator Ted Kennedy, and his staff cut through the red tape. In 2008, 41 years after taking a bullet in the head, Gerry McCarthy got his medal. They had a time for Gerry at the Harp & Bard, where his dad used to bring him for a soda when he was a boy. The kids from St. Mark’s made cards for him and showed up at his party with their mothers. Gerry stood next to his brother Dennis, beaming.
Senator Kennedy, who a month before had been diagnosed with brain cancer, sent Gerry a note that Gerry treasured.
“America owes you a debt we can never repay,” Ted Kennedy wrote.
The Sunday after he got his medal, Gerry walked into Mass and the entire congregation at St. Mark’s rose to give him a standing ovation.
Gerry’s mental health deteriorated dramatically right after the high of receiving his Purple Heart. Dew said the voices in his head were unrelenting.
About five years ago, Gerry finally found peace in the Berkshires. He got a placement in the Berkshire Rehabilitation & Skilled Care Center in tiny Sandisfield, where he grew less cantankerous and more at peace. The staff were very kind to him, Dew said.
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Father Dan and Judy Greeley kept in touch, sometimes making the long ride out on the Pike.
Father Dan drove out to see him a little more than a week ago.
“He was in bed, sleeping,” Father Dan said. “Eventually, he opened his eyes and spoke a word or two, but I couldn’t understand what he was saying.”
Father Dan’s gaze drifted above Gerry’s bed, noticing that Gerry had put up a sign that said, “With God, all things are possible.”
On the drive home, Father Dan thought about all the gifts Gerry McCarthy gave those who knew him.
“He made us more compassionate, more empathetic, more patient,” Father Dan said. “More loving.”
Gerry died peacefully Saturday. He was 74.
On Wednesday, Father Dan will say a funeral Mass at St. Mark’s for the repose of the soul of his old friend, in a place where Gerry McCarthy found acceptance, love, and, in that bright red Santa suit, a measure of redemptive joy.
Enlarge/ Whoever wins this case will get a llama full of prizes.
Federal District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers heard arguments this morning regarding Epic's request for a temporary injunction in its case against Apple. That injunction would force Apple to put Fortnite back on the iOS App Store during the trial, following the game's removal last month over Epic's skirting of Apple's in-app purchase rules.
The hearing gave the clearest indication yet of both parties' best arguments in the matter and of which positions seem most likely to hold sway with Rogers as the case heads toward a full trial.
When is a monopolist not a monopolist?
A central issue in the case is Epic's contention that Apple's exclusive control over the iOS App Store constitutes an illegal monopoly that hinders competition. Today's discussion of Epic's claim centered heavily on what market, exactly, Apple is allegedly monopolizing.
Apple argued that iOS is just one of many platforms in the wider competitive market for video games like Fortnite. There, Apple faces competition from console makers, PC-based stores like Steam and GOG, and Google's Android platform to name just a few. In this market, Rogers herself noted that most of the competing platforms charge the same 30 percent fee to developers as Apple, suggesting iOS lacks any harmful market-controlling power.
Epic's lawyer Gary Bornstein argued in response that the market in question should not simply be viewed as "all the ways someone can reach a user to play a video game." Where Apple holds the monopoly, he said, is in the market for developers to distribute their game to iOS users, specifically.
"In order for Apple to face competitive discipline [from the market], it would mean there would need to be a meaningful number of developers who would give up the platform if Apple raises its price," Bornstein argued. "We know that's not the case. They're not going to give up the opportunity to reach a billion users."
Enlarge/ Apple argues that Fortnite's availability on platforms like the Switch shows it doesn't have monopoly control over the mobile gaming market.
That's an important distinction for Epic to make, legally. There's some existing case law to suggest a company can have monopoly control over a secondary market (in this case, app downloads) even if it faces competition in a wider market (in this case, video game and/or smartphone hardware). Proving that case is an uphill battle, though, that usually requires showing that customers are unfairly "locked in" to that secondary market after making the primary purchase.
63 percent vs. 10 percent
In the hearing, Bornstein noted that "63 percent of iOS users who play Fortnite play only on iOS." Those players aren't technically "locked in" to iOS—they could switch to another platform, and many do. But they also don't necessarily have multiple devices to play on and might not be able to afford separate hardware to access Fortnite, he said.
Even if iOS player do have access to other hardware, Bornstein said the situations are not always analogous. "That's like saying there is not a [monopoly] market for ride-sharing and taxis if people can also walk or bike or get a friend to drive them or access public transit," he said. "You can't play an Xbox when you're on a bus." (Though you can play a Switch, as Judge Rogers noted in response).
Apple lawyer Richard Doren said the number of iOS Fortnite players who don't use other platforms is immaterial. Instead, he cited Epic co-founder and CEO Tim Sweeney's assertion that less than 10 percent of Fortnite's daily average users played on iOS. That shows "Epic itself uses the [alternative] options in the marketplace available to it," he said, and that Apple can't exert monopoly control over Epic's Fortnite business.
"Fortnite is not entitled access to everyone on the globe," Doren said. "They just need alternatives [to iOS] available, and they have that in spades."
In her statements, Judge Rogers seemed more inclined to Apple's view of its position in the wider video game market. "If we look at this plaintiff and industry, walled gardens have existed for decades," she noted. "Nintendo has had a walled garden. Sony has had a walled garden. Microsoft has had a walled garden... In this particular industry, what Apple is doing is not much different... It's hard to ignore the economics of the industry, which is what [Epic is] asking me to do."
Fortnite aside, though, Judge Rogers also said she was inclined to agree with Epic's assertion that "there is an uproar in the marketplace about the lack of competition for [distribution of] iPhone apps. You read the papers, I read the papers, it's there." That said, Judge Rogers also suggested this specific case might not be the right one to make that argument, "given the amount of competition for mobile games."
Tie this on for size
Epic's monopoly argument also extends to Apple's in-app purchase system, which Epic says it is illegally tying to the market for App Store downloads more generally. Even if Apple maintains control of the App Store, Epic argued it should allow developers and users to make use of their own systems for the separate decision to make in-app purchases.
Apple argued that in-app purchases are not a separate product from the App Store, though. Instead, Doren said they are better seen as just "a way of collecting commissions" for App Store content, which isn't marketed or sold separately from the App Store itself. In-app purchases can't be separated out because they are an "essential ingredient of Apple's formula for success" that has "been there since the beginning as an integrated part of Apple's offerings." Maintaining that integration is important for security and parental control reasons too, Doren said.
Apple also said there has been no demand for alternatives to its own IAP system. Here, Epic's Bornstein countered with evidence from Fortnite's own attempt to circumvent the process. In the hours after Epic's Direct Payment option was offered last month, 50 percent of users opted for that option instead of Apple's IAP system, he said. Yes, Epic's option undercut Apple's on price, but Bornstein said that just shows the room for competition to lower costs.
Enlarge/ Epic argues the success of its Fortnite Direct Payment option shows the demand for alternatives to Apple's in-app purchase monopoly.
Kate Cox
Bornstein also noted a double standard of sorts from Apple when it comes to other types of apps. A ride-sharing app like Uber can charge its customers directly for its services without using Apple's in-app purchase systems, he said. Epic is just seeking the same opportunity for its games.
While both sides cited competing precedents that they said were applicable to their position, Judge Rogers seemed inclined to side with Apple. "I just don't see this as a separate and distinct product," see said. "I see it as a very creative way [by Epic] to get at the 30 percent [developer cut that Apple charges]."
Moving forward
That was all something of preamble to the core point of the hearing, which was whether Rogers would extend or amend her current temporary restraining orders in the case into an injunction that will last at least through the rest of the trial. Epic says it needs emergency relief from the harm the Apple monopoly is currently causing its Fortnite business by barring it from the App Store. Apple says Epic can undo that harm right now just by coming back into compliance with its original contract regarding in-app purchases
Rogers' strongest words of the hearing were reserved for Epic, which she continued to admonish for bringing its current problems on itself. "You were not forthright," she told Epic's counsel. "You were told you couldn't do [your own in-app purchasing option] and you did... You can try all you want, but you're not going to convince anybody that you tried to have Apple approve of it. It's self-harm.
"You lied about it by omission," Rogers continued, "by not being forthcoming. That's the security issue... As you say, it's not malware, but let's not debate a point. There are plenty of people in the public who consider you guys heroes for what you did, but it's still not honest."
Epic's strongest response to this was that its Direct Payments hotfix was needed as a "proof of concept" to show that there was, indeed, demand for a separate in-app purchase option in Fortnite. "We had it for six hours, but they were an important six hours," Epic lawyer Katherine Forrest said. "It showed consumers want the choice, want lower prices. We did the hotfix because we had to."
Enlarge/ Apple says its ready to restore Fortnite to the App Store as soon as Epic reverts the game to its pre-hotfix state, without "Epic Direct Payments."
Rogers allowed that this was "good evidence," but in the same breath said it didn't provide any reason why Epic couldn't go back into compliance with Apple's in-app purchase system now, while the trial was ongoing. "There is no right to make billions of dollars," Rogers said of Epic's request for emergency relief. "Epic made a calculated decision here."
Rogers seemed reluctant to impose her will to force Fortnite back onto the App Store in this case. "In general, federal courts don't issue injunctions on contractual dispute, and that's what this is," she said. The only exceptions generally are when the status quo threatens to put the company involved out of business, something that is not a risk with Epic and Fortnite, where "the iOS share of the pie is pretty small."
At the same time, Rogers seemed inclined to leave in place an order protecting Unreal Engine development from retaliation related to the Fortnite situation. Development of the engine takes place under a separate contract, she said, and the "harm to the public" (i.e., other iOS app developers) would be "incredibly high" if Unreal Engine development was halted during the trial, Rogers said.
Epic also pushed back hard on Apple's assertion that Unreal Engine could serve as a sort of Trojan horse for further end-runs around Apple's contracts and security systems. Rogers agreed that Apple's "sky-is-falling-down rhetoric on this topic is overblown" and that there's little evidence that "everything is going to explode because the Unreal Engine is allowed to operate."
Rogers should issue a written decision on the matters discussed here in the coming days. Going forward, though, Rogers said that she felt "this case should be tried to a jury... I think it's important enough to understand what real people think. Do these security issues concern people or not? Are the concerns of the developers incredibly important? I think many people would feel it is. I do think that this is something for which jury insights would be important. Otherwise it's just one more judge."
Deatrich Wise played one of his best games in four seasons against the Raiders on Sunday afternoon, capped off by Wise scoring his first-ever touchdown at any level of football.
"Yes I did I keep the ball, it's in my locker right now," said Wise with a wide grin, still basking in the afterglow of the big play. "It's going to have a nice home in a glass case somewhere on a mantle or something, next to a picture."
Wise was a disruptive force in the game. After an offseason spent adding some weight, he's putting the extra pounds to good use and was a handful for the Raiders blockers all game long.
"I thought [Deatrich] played well," said Bill Belichick on Monday afternoon via WebEx. "I think his run defense has improved, he's given us a lot of solid play there and of course, we knew he could rush the passer, but he's done a good job of mixing in edge moves and rush techniques with some power.
"He's got a good complement and a good repertoire, where he's got three or four different pitches he can throw. I think the big thing, he's really worked hard on this run defense. When you combine it all, he's given us three real good weeks of play here."
With that expanded repertoire of pass rush moves, Wise was able to make the final big play of the game, which was never in doubt in his mind.
"I knew immediately it was a touchdown because as Shilique and I were tackling him I saw the ball come out," recalled Wise, "as the ball was coming out I picked it up and my first thing was, just prove that I have the ball. I wanted to prove to everybody I had the ball in my hand."
"We didn't even know he had the ball," said safety Adrian Phillips, who had an up-close look at the play. "I'm sitting back there and I see the D-line just collapse on the pocket and then you see Derek [Carr] about to go down and then you realize he's in the end zone so it's a safety.
"Then you see D-wise come getting out, sprinting with the ball, high knees... We're like 'oh wait, did he score?'"
The play was a great early-season moment for a defense that has now forced seven turnovers in their first three games and is showing a knack for game-changing plays.
"Once we saw we scored on defense, it made everybody even more hyped," said Phillips.
Wise, who doesn't seem like he's stopped smiling since then, agreed.
"To celebrate with my teammates was the best part."
