A young couple in Arkansas has been accused of attempting to sell their 2-month-old baby for a six-pack of beer and money, according to court documents.
On Sept. 21, the Benton County Sheriff's Office received a tip from a caller that the parents of an infant had offered to exchange the baby for a six-pack of beer as well as cash, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in the case. The call reportedly was made from the manager’s office at the Beaver Lake Hide-A-Way Campground in Rogers.
'Disclaimer: After signing this there will be no changing y'all two’s minds and to never contact again.'
Shalene Ehlers, 20, approached another couple’s camper and asked them for beer — which was a regular occurrence, according to the affidavit. The couple reportedly declined, but a man named Ricky Crawford allegedly offered beers in exchange for watching the baby overnight. Ehlers and the child's father — 21-year-old Darien Urban — accepted the offer and gave Crawford a diaper bag, according to court documents.
When interviewed by a detective, Crawford allegedly said he was concerned about the baby’s welfare and wanted to get the child away from the parents. The affidavit noted that Crawford was in a "heavily intoxicated state" when questioned by police.
A detective wrote in the affidavit, "Based on the totality of the investigation, it is believed both Urban and Ehlers created a substantial risk of death or serious physical injury by abandoning their minor child initially with an obviously intoxicated male and ultimately with someone they did not know."
Crawford allegedly brought the infant to another camper where Cody Nathaniel Martin was staying.
The mother and father met with Martin, according to court documents.
The trio reportedly drew up a "contract" to sell the baby to Martin for $1,000.
“I Darien Urban and Shalene Ehlers are signing our rights over to Cody Nathaniel Martin of our baby boy [redacted] for $1,000 on 09/21/2024,” the document reads.
The "contract" had a stipulation: “Disclaimer: After signing this there will be no changing y'all two’s minds and to never contact again.”
Multiple people reportedly witnessed the contract signing, and it also was recorded on cellphone video.
Law & Crime reported that the affidavit reads: "They stated they offered to surrender the baby to Martin in exchange for $1,000 in cash. They stated Martin created an agreement that they videotaped to ensure it was legal, and they planned to 'legalize' it on Monday. They both stated they then left on the understanding the baby was given to Martin in exchange for $1,000 to be collected on Monday."
Martin claimed he asked the mother why she was willing to sell her baby.
“Martin stated she said it was not working having three dogs and a baby,” the affidavit reads.
The campground's owner learned of the transaction and called 911, according to the sheriff's office.
Urban and Ehlers were arrested and both given a $50,000 bail.
They both were charged with endangering the welfare of a minor and attempting to accept consideration for relinquishing a minor for adoption, according to Benton County court records. Both charges are felonies.
According to Benton County Sheriff’s Office records, Urban was released, while Ehlers was still in custody.
Another camper, who had seen the baby and changed the baby's diaper, reportedly told investigators that the baby had "bad ammonia and fecal odor" and that there was a "heavy rash, blisters, and swelling on the baby's buttocks and genitals."
The baby boy was taken to a hospital.
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“We should thank God for beer,” said G.K. Chesterton, a bon vivant always ready to practice what he preached over a pint or two. For Chesterton, there was something profoundly ungrateful and unnatural about abusing this divine gift: "Never drink because you need it, for this is rational drinking, and the way to death and hell. But drink because you do not need it, for this is irrational drinking, and the ancient health of the world."
The 1977 Burt Reynolds' classic “Smokey and the Bandit” is a kind of paean to beer and its irrational consumption. Big Enos Burdette could surely afford to ply his party guests with a truckload of any number of domestic or imported brews. Instead, he insists on hiring Reynolds and Jerry Reed to smuggle in 400 cases of the one brand he can't legally get east of the Mississippi: Coors Banquet.
'In the Yabba ... pounding pints of the local lager is the townsfolk's main diversion. Well, that and the various activities one gets up to after a beer or ten, including drunken fistfights, drunken kangaroo hunts, and drunken fistfights with kangaroos.'
The idea for the movie was born when a friend shipped stuntman Hal Needham a case of Coors while he was shooting "Gator" in Georgia. Technically, the beer was contraband; because it was unpasteurized, it was difficult to ship long distance, and the Colorado-based Coors didn't have a license to distribute it east of the Mississippi. This didn't deter high-profile fans like President Gerald Ford and Paul Newman from getting their hands on it.
Needham thought it would make a good story and wrote up a script. He showed it to his friend Reynolds, who hated the dialogue but loved the primal conflict it explored: Man vs. Thirst.
And those are the only stakes you need for one of the great American car chase movies. As Big Enos says, sometimes you just want to “celebrate in style.”
"It could be worse," shrugs Clarence "Doc" Tydon (Donald Pleasance), the sole medical practitioner in the tiny Australian outback mining town of Bundanyabba. "The beer supply could run out."
He's talking to the protagonist of the 1971 cult film "Wake in Fright," a young schoolteacher named John Grant (Gary Bond), who after only a short time in the Yabba has discovered that pounding pints of the local lager is the townsfolk's main diversion. Well, that and the various activities one gets up to after a beer or ten, including drunken fistfights, drunken kangaroo hunts, and drunken fistfights with kangaroos.
Grant's just in town to catch a flight to Sydney, but when a bad bet leaves him broke and stranded, he starts to mingle with the natives, despite his contempt for their backwards ways.
Thus begins the kind of weekend that makes many a man swear off the booze for good. "Wake in Fright" depicts its characters trying to blow off steam in a place offering no escape from the searing heat. The sweat-soaked, dust-caked atmosphere it creates is so effective you may find yourself craving a cold one, while simultaneously wondering if maybe a nice glass of water wouldn't be a better choice.
The liberal media has once again launched a concerted campaign to besmirch the name of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and cast doubt on his impartiality in the forthcoming Jan. 6 cases. So far, this campaign — which has given fellow conservative Justice Clarence Thomas a respite from the media's usual attacks — has been as brazenly partisan as it has been toothless.
Having failed last week to land a decisive blow against the 74-year-old justice, critics scrutinized Alito's investment decisions Monday, seizing upon one in particular. While leftists believe they have found something "suspicious," it appears they have instead discovered a sound investment decision that might resonate with everyday Americans.
Last week, Obama hagiographer Jodi Kantor of the New York Times concern-mongered about a "'Stop the Steal' Symbol" allegedly displayed at Justice Alito's house after the 2020 election. By "'Stop the Steal' Symbol," Kantor apparently meant an American flag suspended upside down, which historically has signified distress in instances of threats to life or property.
According to the report, the offending symbol was briefly flown by Alito's wife, Martha-Ann Alito, "in response to a neighbor's use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs."
'The flag was a clear violation of ethics rules ... and could sow doubt about Justice Alito's impartiality in cases related to the election and Capitol riot.'
Alito told the host of "Fox News Sunday," Shannon Bream, that a neighbor had a "F*** Trump" sign within 50 feet of where children await the school bus. When the justice's wife expressed concern about the sign, the neighbor allegedly "engaged in vulgar language, 'including the c-word.'"
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Citing so-called "experts," Kantor suggested that "the flag was a clear violation of ethics rules ... and could sow doubt about Justice Alito's impartiality in cases related to the election and Capitol riot."
Despite Alito telling the Times he had nothing to do with the flying of the flag and relaying his wife's rationale, Kantor leaned on a nameless neighbor's politicized interpretation and the insights of antagonistic "experts" to suggest that the justice's involvement in Jan. 6 cases may impact confidence in the court.
Democrats immediately seized upon the story, effectively confirming its ultimate purpose.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said, "Justice Alito should recuse himself immediately from cases related to the 2020 election and the January 6th insurrection, including the question of the former President's immunity in U.S. v. Donald Trump, which the Supreme Court is currently considering."
Apparently following the same template, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said in a statement, "Samuel Alito should apologize immediately for disrespecting the American flag and sympathizing with right-wing violent insurrectionists. He must recuse himself from cases involving the 2020 election and former President Donald Trump."
The Times followed up its flag piece on Friday, this time with former Marshall Project activist Abbie VanSickle aiding Kantor in the hit.
Extra to building on the suggestion that Alito should recuse himself, the Times slammed Justice Thomas for not recusing himself from the Jan. 6 cases.
While Slate and other leftist blogs worked diligently over the weekend to transform the interpretation by one of Justice Alito's neighbors into a bench-clearing scandal, they did not appear to be any closer to prompting Alito to budge.
On Monday, Law Dork did its part to keep the campaign alive, publishing a blog post entitled, "Justice Alito sold Bud Light stock amidst anti-trans boycott effort."
CNBC and other mainstream outfits similarly carried the story, recycling the insight that Justice Alito allegedly ditched shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev after months of Americans boycotting Bud Light over its collaboration with a transvestic activist.The Daily Beast, like the New Republic, flagged the sale as "suspicious."
Citing a periodic transaction report in the Federal Judicial Financial Disclosure Reports database, Law Dork indicated Alito "sold at least some of his stock in Anheuser-Busch and bought stock in Molson Coors on Monday, August 14, 2023."
Justice Alito allegedly sold between $1,000 and $15,000 of AB InBev stock shortly after the company announced a 10% quarterly drop in sales in the U.S. and a sell-off of beer brands and after a sustained boycott of Bud Light over its celebration of Dylan Mulvaney's "365 Days of Girlhood."
The greater surprise might be that Alito held on as long as he did. After all, in previous months, Bud Light had ceased to be America's best-selling beer and even fell out of the top 10 ranking; analysts at global asset management firm Bernstein warned that Anheuser-Busch InBev should expect a "permanent 15% haircut"; and companies linked to Anheuser-Busch began to close down.
Despite the innocuity of this revelation, CNBC framed it thusly: "The transactions have bred fresh accusations that Alito, one of the high court's six conservatives, is engaging in or aligning with partisan politics, despite a recently adopted code of conduct that directs the justices to 'refrain from political activity.'"
Again, activists framed as experts were summoned to support the campaign.
Gabe Roth, executive director of leftist activist outfit Fix the Court, told CNBC, "This sale, given the timing and much like an upside-down flag, can be construed as a political statement."
"If the sale was in response to the Bud Light controversy last year, he might have an appearance-of-bias problem when it comes to future court cases related to trans rights," added Roth.
Democrats and their allies in the media have long attempted to neutralize Alito in the high court.
Weeks ahead of Alito dumping Anheuser-Busch InBev stock, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee sent Chief Justice John Roberts a letter demanding that Alito recuse himself from Moore v. United States, a tax case on the Supreme Court's docket for the upcoming term.
Alito responded, "Recusal is a personal decision for each Justice, and when there is no sound reason for a Justice to recuse, the Justice has a duty to sit."
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A bill in the Tennessee legislature could see a ban on cold beer being sold in stores statewide in an effort to prevent drunk driving accidents.
State Senator Paul Rose and Rep. Ron Gant, both Republicans, have advanced SB 2636, which "prohibits a beer permittee from selling at retail refrigerated or cold beer."
The bill has passed two votes in the state Senate and was referred to a committee at the time of this writing.
Rep. Gant said that the new law would serve as a deterrent to those who want to drink while behind the wheel.
"We see the evidence in many accidents where alcohol is found in the car, beer cans and beer bottles. And we see it on the side of the road in many of our roads; across the state and every county, you see the many beer bottles, beer cans that litter our highways," Gant said, according to WREG Memphis.
As OutKick reported, the Tennessee Department of Transportation has revealed that one in three fatal crashes in the state stemmed from a DUI. Additionally, one in every seven crashes that resulted in serious injury involved a DUI, with half of DUI-related car crashes causing death.
The accidents predominantly affected those ages 20-34, and 74% of those involved in DUI-related crashes were men.
However, with businesses such as grocery stores, gas stations, and convenience stores the most likely to be affected, operators have raised concerns with the possible legislation.
The bill "would be very detrimental to our brewery and the beer business in general," said Andy Ashby, co-owner of Memphis Made Brewing.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the temperature of beer in convenience and grocery stores greatly affects sales.
"There’s a saying in beer sales: Cold is gold," Ashby added.
Another beer retailer said that cold beer makes up 90% of sales.
"There’s only a handful of accounts that put our beer on a warm shelf," according to Drew Barton, head brewer at Memphis Made. "It would have a huge impact, huge. Package sales are somewhere around 40%-% of our sales, and 90% of that is cold."
The brewer said that he planned to collaborate with the Tennessee Brewers Guild to form an action plan. While the retailers said that they do not condone drunk driving, they would still like to find a way to legally operate around any new proposed laws that could have such a significant impact on their sales.
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Molson Coors brewing company made a gigantic turnaround in the last year as "significant shifts" in consumer habits catapulted the company's earnings forward.
The beer giant reported a very strong fourth quarter compared to the year prior, taking in $103.3 million for the end of 2023. This equated to a nearly $700 million turnaround when compared to a loss of $590.5 million for Q4 2022. That's a difference of 48 cents per share added to start 2024 versus losing $2.73 per share the year prior.
The company's market share gains come as consumers shifted away from Bud Light, CNBC reported, with the company claiming that the purchasing shifts will become permanent.
"The gains we’ve seen in our core brands have been consistent for over nine months," CEO Gavin Hattersley reportedly said. “We’re growing in every region, every channel, with every major customer in the United States, and at this point, we believe that the shifts in the U.S. beer industry are permanent," he continued.
Net sales grew 9.3% in the quarter while underlying income increased 36.9% before taxes, the company's report stated.
Molson Coors' analysts said that the company was well positioned to benefit from "significant shifts in consumer purchasing habits, largely in the U.S. premium segment" in 2023. This increased demand and grew Coors Light, Miller Lite, and Coors Banquet brands significantly.
The company also flexed its muscles by spending more than $21 million on a Super Bowl commercial that featured hip-hop legend LL Cool J and smartly stayed away from any political statements.
The company also benefited from some massive brand loyalty from spokesman and Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Mahomes was seen drinking Coors Light all over the internet during his team's victory parade, including in high-profile image licensing banks.
In a video posted to X, Mahomes was even seen rejecting a fan's offer of a different beer, opting to pass it off to a teammate.
Pat Mahomes was like \u201cNah, that ain\u2019t Coors Light.\u201d What a snag by the \ud83d\udc10 tho— (@)
"We plan to build on this momentum in 2024, with strong commercial plans, a powerful and supportive distributor network, and the financial flexibility to reinvest in our business," CEO Hattersley added in the report.
Meanwhile, analysts like TD Cowen's Robert Moskow said the company will "hold on to the majority of the share they picked up from the Bud Light boycotts."
However, perhaps revealing a bit more reality, Ariel Investments' Tim Fidler said that Molson Coors' core brands were "growing dollar share even before the Bud Light controversy."
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Mark Zuckerberg said that he is raising cattle on the Hawaiian island of Kauai with the objective of making some of the best beef on earth. He noted that the animals will be raised consuming beer and macadamia meal.
"Started raising cattle at Ko'olau Ranch on Kauai, and my goal is to create some of the highest quality beef in the world. The cattle are wagyu and angus, and they'll grow up eating macadamia meal and drinking beer that we grow and produce here on the ranch. We want the whole process to be local and vertically integrated," he noted on social media.
"Each cow eats 5,000-10,000 pounds of food each year, so that's a lot of acres of macadamia trees. My daughters help plant the mac trees and take care of our different animals. We're still early in the journey and it's fun improving on it every season. Of all my projects, this is the most delicious," he wrote
Zuckerberg, the uber-wealthy founder, chairman, and CEO of Big Tech behemoth Meta, was also involved in fighting, but announced last year that he had undergone surgery after tearing his ACL.
"Tore my ACL sparring and just got out of surgery to replace it. Grateful for the doctors and team taking care of me. I was training for a competitive MMA fight early next year, but now that's delayed a bit. Still looking forward to doing it after I recover," he posted in November.
In a post earlier this week, Zuckerberg shared a video of a catapult launching an object. "Always be building #7386. Catapult competition, round 2," he wrote.
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The UFC and Anheuser-Busch have announced a partnership that will involve significant promotion of the Bud Light beer brand.
"UFC®, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization and part of TKO Group Holdings ... together with Anheuser-Busch ... today announced a new multiyear marketing partnership. Effective January 1, 2024, the brewer will become the exclusive 'Official Beer Partner of UFC.' With this sponsorship, in the U.S., Bud Light will bring easy enjoyment to 21+ fans with 360-degree programming, including custom social and digital content, broadcast integration, on-site presence, and more," a press release states.
"AB InBev, the world's leading brewer and global parent company of Anheuser-Busch, will be UFC's Official Global Beer Partner and will receive a deep level of integration into key UFC assets, ranging from live events, including broadcast features and in-arena promotion, to original content distributed through UFC's popular digital and social channels," the press release notes.
The embattled Bud Light brand has been the target of significant public backlash since it enlisted transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, a man who identifies as a woman, to promote the beverage.
"I'm proud to announce we are back in business together. There are many reasons why I chose to go with Anheuser-Busch and Bud Light, most importantly because I feel we are very aligned when it comes to our core values and what the UFC brand stands for. I'm looking forward to all of the incredible things we will do in the years ahead," UFC CEO Dana White said, according to the press release.
The UFC is embracing the tarnished brand, as the partnership will include broad promotion of Bud Light.
"Among the more notable integrations, in the U.S. Bud Light will receive prominent branding inside the most recognizable setting in all of sports, the world-famous Octagon®, at every UFC event including all Pay-Per-Views and Fight Nights, DANA WHITE'S CONTENDER SERIES, THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER reality series, and ROAD TO UFC, a win-and-advance tournament for Asia's top MMA prospects," the press release notes.
"Bud Light will also be integrated into custom broadcast features in all U.S. UFC Pay-Per-Views, with their popular 'Easy to Enjoy' and 'Easy to Celebrate' fan campaigns highlighted in the segments," the press relase states. "In addition, UFC and Bud Light will collaborate on original content that will be distributed through UFC’s popular digital and social channels, which reach more than 243 million users worldwide."
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