*By Christian Smith*
Bud might seem like the new brew, with so many beer companies [investing in cannabis](https://cheddar.com/videos/corona-brewer-adds-cannabis-to-its-booze-business-in-4-billion-deal) and making THC-infused beverages. But Heineken's future, like its long history, lies in beer.
"We believe that core growth still remains in the beer category itself," Jonnie Cahill, Heineken USA's chief marketing officer said in an interview with Cheddar. "For sure there will be some overlap between the categories, but we know over time beer is a staple of young people and everybody's life."
Constellation, the company behind Corona and Modelo, announced a $4 billion investment Wednesday in the Canadian cannabis company Canopy Growth. The news excited consumers, but caused a sell-off in Constellation's stock over concerns the beverage conglomerate paid too much for a 38 percent stake in a company valued around $5 billion.
Heineken has its own entrant in the cannabis-beer crossover market. The company has a 50 percent stake in Lagunitas, which launched in June its first cannabis-infused drink, HiFi Hops. It's an alcohol-free beverage that tastes like beer but with the high-flying effects of THC.
No matter the products, Cahill said, Heineken's strategy for reaching new customers remains the same.
"It's about making people smile, improving their weekends, bringing people together, and socializing."
For full interview, [click here] (https://cms.cheddar.com/videos/VmlkZW8tMjIyMTQ=).
Joe Cecela, Dream Exchange CEO, explains how they are aiming to form the first minority-controlled company to operate an exchange in U.S. history. Watch!
A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters and ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring weather arrives. Genesee County Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart. The judge also wants to reward shoppers with free car washes. Clothier says he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars this spring. Clothier says he will be washing cars alongside them when the time comes.
The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration after reports emerged about a potential $400 million purchase. A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk was the only one that expressed interest back in May 2024. The deal with Tesla was only in its planning phases but it was forecast to be the largest contract of the year. It shows how some of his wealth has come and was still expected to come from taxpayers.
At 100 years old, the Goodyear Blimp is an ageless star in the sky. The 246-foot-long airship will be in the background of the Daytona 500 — flying roughly 1,500 feet above Daytona International Speedway, actually — to celebrate its greatest anniversary tour. Even though remote camera technologies are improving regularly and changing the landscape of aerial footage, the blimp continues to carve out a niche. At Daytona, with the usual 40-car field racing around a 2½-mile superspeedway, views from the blimp aptly provide the scope of the event.
