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The long history of bourbon production at Buffalo Trace Distillery has been connected to the Kentucky River summed up as a blessing and curse by a plaque on the grounds. In the 1800s, long before the Buffalo Trace name was attached to the distillery, the river served as a floating highway to bring in grain and other production essentials and to transport barrels of whiskey to markets along the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Even today, river water cools down production equipment. But the river flowing past the distillery flashed its destructive side in April. A massive flood, caused by days of unrelenting rain, sent the Kentucky River surging over its banks, inundating most of the 200-plus-acre distillery grounds on its main campus in Frankfort. Nearly every phase of production was impacted, as were several warehouses where whiskey is aged. It was just something that was hard to process, but we knew we couldnt take too much time to process it,” said Tyler Adams, a distillery general manager. He said they had much to do to recover from the reservoir of murky water that swamped the bourbon-making campus. Whiskey production bounces back Five months later, production at the distillery is back to normal, including some of the most sought-after bourbons. Its lineup includes the namesake flagship brand, Buffalo Trace, as well as Eagle Rare, W.L. Weller, and Blanton’s. Pappy Van Winkle bourbons are distilled and aged at Buffalo Trace while the Van Winkle family remains in control of the coveted brand. The distillery recently filled its 9 millionth barrel of bourbon since Prohibition, just two and a half years since filling the 8 millionth barrel. It has also introduced new whiskeys to its catalogue and is renovating a campus building into a cafe and events center. The cleanup enlisted hundreds of plant employees and contract workers. Buffalo Trace fans swamped the distillery with offers to pitch in, Adams said. The distillery politely declined and suggested they might assist area residents instead. Crews removed debris, sanitized equipment and pumped out what was left after floodwaters receded. Bourbon barrels swept into the parking lot caught some attention, Adams said. No chance for sneak samples, though the barrels were empty. Few visible reminders remain of that mud-caked, debris-strewn mess. Some filled whiskey barrels touched by floodwaters were still being cleaned and tested, but the meticulous task of examining thousands of barrels was nearly complete, the distillery said. Quality control assessments found only small amounts of aging whiskey were impacted. High water marks are etched into some buildings and tour guides casually remind visitors of the epic event. Danny Kahn, a master distiller for Buffalo Trace’s parent company, says he still experiences “a little PTSD when recalling those frantic days. River flooding has been a sporadic part of the distillery’s history including big ones in 1937 and 1978, but in early April, the floodwaters surged to previously unseen heights. Buffalo Trace had also just completed a decade-long, $1.2 billion expansion to double distilling capacity. It actually looked kind of calm, but I knew that it was not calm because we could see buildings were under 10 feet (3 meters) of water,” Kahn said. “It was really quite overwhelming. Activating their flood plans, workers shut down the distillery and did what they could to safeguard equipment. After that, all they could do was watch and wait. Distillery officials observed the devastation from higher ground and via drone footage. Once the river crested, it took a few days for the floodwaters to fully recede, but operations gradually sprung back to life. Finished whiskey shipped out the day after the rain stopped. Bottling soon resumed and a makeshift gift shop opened until the visitors’ center was repaired. Tours eventually resumed. But bourbon production halted for about a month as the cost for cleanup and repairs surpassed $30 million. Several storage tanks shifted off their foundation. Some were repaired, others replaced. Dozens of electrical control panels were destroyed. About three-fourths of gift shop inventory was lost. It was just defeating to watch all this flooding and to realize that were going to be down for a while,” Kahn said. Just the apprehension of how much work this is going to be to fix. And when we finally got it done, it was really a sigh of relief and we get back to business as normal.” Hard times in the whiskey sector For the American whiskey industry as a whole, it’s been anything but business as usual. After years of growth, prospects turned sour for the sector amid sluggish sales and trade uncertainties as President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs. In 2024, American whiskey sales in the U.S. fell nearly 2%, the first such drop in supplier sales in more than 20 years, the Distilled Spirits Council said. Initial data for the first half of 2025 showed a continued decline, it said. American whiskey exports dropped more than 13% through July of this year compared to the year-ago period, it said. The American whiskey category includes bourbon, Tennessee whiskey and rye whiskey. Lower domestic sales stem from a mix of market challenges, including supply chain disruptions and changes in consumer purchasing trends, said Chris Swonger, the council’s CEO. While theres ongoing debate about whether these are temporary headwinds or signs of a more fundamental shift in consumer behavior, large and small distilleries across the country are under pressure, Swonger said in a statement. Kentucky distilleries producing such prominent brands as Buffalo Trace, Jim Beam, Makers Mark, Woodford Reserve, Wild Turkey and Four Roses can weather downturns better than small producers. Heaven Hill Brands, another large producer, recently celebrated its new $200 million distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky, taking a long view of market prospects by significantly boosting bourbon capacity. As an independent, family-owned company, we dont have to chase quarterly trends; were building for the next generation,” said Kate Latts, co-president of Heaven Hill Brands, whose brands include Evan Williams and Elijah Craig. This distillery reflects that philosophy. At Buffalo Trace, its future is entrenched alongside the Kentucky River, realizing that more floods could come in the years ahead. The distillery learned lessons to be even better prepared next time. This area being a National Historic Landmark, being right on the river, theres only so much you can do to hold back that water,” Adams said. “Your best bet is to prepare for it, do what you can. But holding back that water? Its really inevitable its going to make it into some spaces. Bruce Schreiner, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
If youre a fan of Amazon Fresh, the e-commerce giant’s chain of cashier-less of grocery stores, 2025 is turning out to be a pretty rough year for youand the brand. After closing some Amazon Fresh locations in the United States earlier this year, Amazon announced that it expects to close all Amazon Fresh locations in the United Kingdom. Heres what you need to know about the Amazon Fresh closures. Amazon moves to close UK grocery stores Today, Amazon abruptly announced that it launched a consultation with employees for the proposed closure of all Amazon Fresh locations in the United Kingdom. (UK laws require consultation periods in cases of large layoffs.) The company currently has 19 UK Amazon Fresh stores. In a blog post, Amazon states that the proposed closures are the result of an evaluation of its business operations, as well as the very substantial growth opportunities in online delivery. However, the post doesn’t make clear if the move is definite. Rather, the company states: In case of closure [emphasis added], our goal is to offer redeployment opportunities to as many affected employees as possible. The company continues, As part of the Fresh Stores closure proposal, in addition to expanding online grocery services, were also proposing to convert five Amazon Fresh locations to Whole Foods Market. Fast Company has reached out to Amazon for clarification on whether the decision to close the stores has been made. Under the proposed closure, 14 Amazon Fresh stores in the UK would cease to operate entirely, and the remaining five Amazon Fresh stores would be rebranded and turned into Whole Foods stores, the U.S. grocery chain that Amazon bought back in 2017. It should be noted that whether or not all Amazon Fresh stores close in the UK, the company will still operate its Amazon Fresh grocery delivery service in the country. Proposed UK closures follow U.S. store shutterings The closure of Amazon Fresh stores in the UK wont be the first locations to close in 2025. The majority of Amazon Fresh stores operate inside the United States, and this year, Amazon has closed at least three U.S. locations. In March, GroceryDive reported that Amazon was in the process of shuttering two Fresh stores. The Amazon Fresh store in Manassas, Virginia, closed on March 16, and the Thousand Oaks, California, store closed on April 27. We remain committed to Amazon Fresh and our broader grocery strategy, and will continue to refine our portfolio of stores as we learn which locations and features resonate most with customers, an Amazon spokesperson told the publication at the time of the report. Then, in June, GeekWire reported that Amazon closed its Amazon Fresh location in Federal Way, Washington. Certain store locations work better than others, and after an assessment of our offering weve decided to close our Amazon Fresh store in Federal Way, an Amazon spokesperson said at the time. Amazon still has more than 60 U.S. locations Despite the earlier U.S. closures, the company still has more than 60 locations within the United States. Amazon Freshs store locator tool shows that the company currently operates 64 grocery stores across nine states, with California having the most stores by far: California (27) Illinois (10) Maryland (5) New Jersey (4) New York (3) Pennsylvania (6) Virginia (5) Washington (3) Tennessee (1) After announcing the proposed closure of all of its Amazon Fresh UK locations, Amazons stock (Nasdaq: AMZN) is currently down about 2.2% in morning trading. However, the extent to which the proposed closures are related to Amazons stock price drop is debatable. As of the time of this writing, many Big Tech stocks are currently flat or trading down slightly for the day. Besides Amazons 64 Fresh locations, the company currently operates more than 500 Whole Foods Markets locations around the world. Amazon’s move comes as brick-and-mortar retailers on both sides of the Atlantic are struggling with headwinds from rising operating costs, more price-conscious consumers, tariff uncertainty, and other factors. In January, the Guardian reported that the UK lost 13,500 shops in 2024, a 28% increase over the year before.
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E-Commerce
President Donald Trump on Monday used the platform of the presidency to promote unproven and in some cases discredited ties between Tylenol, vaccines and autism as his administration announced a wide-ranging effort to study the causes of the complex brain disorder.“Don’t take Tylenol,” Trump instructed pregnant women around a dozen times during the unwieldy White House news conference, also urging mothers not to give their infants the drug, known by the generic name acetaminophen in the U.S. or paracetamol in most other countries. He also fueled long-debunked claims that ingredients in vaccines or timing shots close together could contribute to rising rates of autism in the U.S., without providing any medical evidence.The rambling announcement, which appeared to rely on existing studies rather than significant new research, comes as the Make America Healthy Again movement has been pushing for answers on the causes of autism. The diverse coalition of supporters of Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. includes several anti-vaccine activists who have long spread debunked claims that immunizations are responsible.The announcement also sheds light on Trump’s own long-held fascination with autism and his trepidation about the childhood vaccine schedule, even as the president has taken pride in his work to disseminate COVID-19 vaccines during his first term.Medical experts said Trump’s remarks were irresponsible. New York University bioethicist Art Caplan said it was “the saddest display of a lack of evidence, rumors, recycling old myths, lousy advice, outright lies, and dangerous advice I have ever witnessed by anyone in authority.”Trump announced during the event that the Food and Drug Administration would begin notifying doctors that the use of acetaminophen “can be associated” with an increased risk of autism, but did not immediately provide justification for the new recommendation.Evidence for potential link between Tylenol and autism is not conclusiveSome studies have raised the possibility that taking acetaminophen during pregnancy might increase the risk of autism but many others haven’t found that concern, said autism expert David Mandell of the University of Pennsylvania.One challenge is that it’s hard to disentangle the effects of Tylenol use from the effects of high fevers during pregnancy. Fevers, especially in the first trimester, can increase the risk for miscarriages, preterm birth and other problems, according to the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.Trump also urged not giving Tylenol to young children, but scientists say that research indicates autism develops in the fetal brain.Responding to Trump’s warnings, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine said they still recommend Tylenol as an appropriate option to treat fever and pain during pregnancy. The president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said Monday that suggestions that Tylenol use in pregnancy causes autism are “irresponsible when considering the harmful and confusing message they send to pregnant patients.”Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Monday evening that the administration “does not believe popping more pills is always the answer for better health” and that it “will not be deterred in these efforts as we know millions across America are grateful.”Tylenol maker Kenvue disputed any link between the drug and autism on Monday and said in a statement that if pregnant mothers don’t use Tylenol when in need, they could face a dangerous choice between suffering fevers or using riskier painkiller alternatives. Shares of Kenvue Inc. fell 7.5% in trading Monday, reducing the company’s market value by about $2.6 billion.Kennedy announced during the news conference that at Trump’s urging, he was launching a new all-agency effort to uncover all the factors that could be contributing to autism, a question scientists have been researching for decades. Trump administration explores the potential role of folate FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary also took the stage to announce it was taking the first steps to try to approve a folic acid metabolite called leucovorin as a treatment option for patients believed to have low levels of folate in the brain. That may include some people with autism.Leucovorin is used to counteract the side effects of various prescription drugs, including chemotherapy and other high-dose medications that can negatively impact the immune system. It works by boosting folate levels, a form of vitamin B that’s critical to the body’s production of healthy red blood cells.Women already are told to take folic acid before conception and during pregnancy because it reduces the chances of certain birth defects known as neural tube defects.In recent years a handful of studies have suggested positive results when high-dose folic acid is used to treat children with autism, with researchers in China and other countries reporting improvements in social skills and other metrics. Those small studies have been quickly embraced by some parts of the autism community online.The theory is that some, not all, children with autism may not properly metabolize folate, Mandell said. But the recent studies “are really tiny,” he said. To prove an effect, “we would need an independent, large, rigorously controlled randomized trial.” Decades of studies show no link between vaccines and autism During the press conference, Trump said he’s a believer in vaccines but claimed without evidence that giving vaccinations close together at the recommended ages has a link to autism. Spacing out shots as he suggests can lead to an increased risk that children become infected with a vaccine-preventable disease before returning for another visit.Though anti-vaccine activists, including Kennedy, have long suggested a link between vaccines and autism, widespread scientific consensus and decades of studies have firmly concluded there isn’t one.Autism is not a disease but a complex developmental condition that affects different people in different ways. It can include delays in language, learning or social and emotional skills. For some people, profound autism means being nonverbal and having intellectual disabilities, but the vast majority of people with autism experience far milder effects.The disorder affects 1 in 31 U.S. children today, a sharp rise from just a few years ago, according to the CDC. Experts say the increase is mainly due to a new definition for the disorder that now includes mild cases on a “spectrum” and better diagnoses. They say there is no single cause to the disorder and say the rhetoric appears to ignore and undermine decades of science into the genetic and environmental factors that can play a role.The announcement is the latest step the administration, driven by Kennedy and his supporters, has taken to reshape America’s public health landscape.Beyond cutbacks at federal health agencies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been roiled by disagreements over Kennedy’s vaccine policies. An influential immunization panel stocked by Kennedy with figures who have been citical of vaccines last week changed shot guidance for COVID-19 and other diseases.Swenson reported from New York. Associated Press writers Matthew Perrone and Laura Ungar contributed to this report. Ali Swenson and Lauran Neergaard, Associated Press
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