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FILE – Former first lady Michelle Obama takes part in a featured session and taping of her new podcast, IMO, with her brother Craig Robinson, not pictured, at the Austin Convention Center during the South by Southwest Conference and Festival on Thursday, March 13, 2025, in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP, File)
The Associated Press
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I’d be lying if I said that ‘Jellycat Black Friday’ isn’t one of my regular Google searches come Cyber Week. The goal? To bag a Christmas gift that’ll secure me the title of ‘best aunt’ for yet another year.
Yep, just like the rest of Gen X, my five nieces and nephews are obsessed with the personality-packed plushies, designed to look like our favourite fruits, hobbies and classic cuddlies (bears and bunnies), all finished with a signature sweet smile. Is it any surprise, then, that GLAMOUR editors regularly weave Jellycat into our gift guides when suggesting options for a newborn or a one-year-old?
For context, the brand took TikTok by storm back in 2023 and has continued to be in high demand ever since — evident in the permanent pop-ups Harrods and Selfridges have now added to their London stores.
While the brand doesn’t actually do a big Black Friday sale, there are still discounts to be had, sometimes via Amazon, other times Selfridges or Fenwick. But to save you time scrolling, our shopping editors have tracked down the very best early Jellycat Black Friday deals to make the most of right now. And, for future festive inspo, they’ve shared their working Jellycat wishlists too. Enjoy!
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Whether you’re shopping for yourself or a novelty stocking filler, we’ve tracked down the best seasonal and not-so Jellycat, now up to 13% off.
Save when you shop the best early Jellycat Black Friday deals with these Amazon discount codes.
I’ll be the first to admit that tracking down the best Christmas gifts for everyone on your list is a challenge. I should know — I’ve been a gift guide writer for almost three years. One thing bound to impress, though? A plushie in the form of their favourite food or hobby. Or how about a festive friend that will remind them of you every December?
Like Beanie Babies were to millennials, Jellycat is the ultimate collectable for Gen Alpha, all plushies finished with a sweet but not-too-enthusiastic smile. Here are the styles — from ring rattles to soother blankets and musical toys — we’re convinced will quickly become any new baby’s regular source of comfort.
Save when you shop the best early Jellycat Black Friday deals with these Selfridges discount codes.
Edging ever closer. This year, Black Friday falls on Friday, 28th November — AKA the fourth Thursday of the month and the day after America’s Thanksgiving holiday. Cyber Monday follows close behind, on Monday, 1st December.
For those in need of a refresh, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are international shopping mega-events, with thousands of brands discounting their stock both in-store and online to their lowest prices of the year. These deals extend across all categories, including must-have fashion, viral beauty, high-quality homeware, including mattresses and sofas, as well as sexual wellness (AKA sex toys).
While the brand is yet to reveal whether it’s jumping on the Black Friday bandwagon, here’s hoping they reward us for our brand loyalty with some discounts. We should mention that last year, there was no mention of Cyber Week on the official Jellycat site. However, here’s a quick reminder that the plushies are also shippable at Selfridges, Harrods, Fenwick and Amazon, all of which offer discounts across all categories — fashion, beauty and homeware — too.
It’s easy to get swept up in the cut-price chaos, adding impulse buys and additional items to your basket to qualify for free delivery. In a bid to stop splashing your entire fun fund, here are our top tips for shopping sustainably:
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Sophie Donovan
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WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — For a generation of young Americans, choosing where to go to college — or whether to go at all — has become a complex calculation of costs and benefits that often revolves around a single question: Is the degree worth its price?
Public confidence in higher education has plummeted in recent years amid high tuition prices, skyrocketing student loans and a dismal job market — plus ideological concerns from conservatives. Now, colleges are scrambling to prove their value to students.
Borrowed from the business world, the term “return on investment” has been plastered on college advertisements across the U.S. A battery of new rankings grade campuses on the financial benefits they deliver. States such as Colorado have started publishing yearly reports on the monetary payoff of college, and Texas now factors it into calculations for how much taxpayer money goes to community colleges.
“Students are becoming more aware of the times when college doesn’t pay off,” said Preston Cooper, who has studied college ROI at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. “It’s front of mind for universities today in a way that it was not necessarily 15, 20 years ago.”
A wide body of research indicates a bachelor’s degree still pays off, at least on average and in the long run. Yet there’s growing recognition that not all degrees lead to a good salary, and even some that seem like a good bet are becoming riskier as graduates face one of the toughest job markets in years.
A new analysis released Thursday by the Strada Education Foundation finds 70% of recent public university graduates can expect a positive return within 10 years — meaning their earnings over a decade will exceed that of a typical high school graduate by an amount greater than the cost of their degree. Yet it varies by state, from 53% in North Dakota to 82% in Washington, D.C. States where college is more affordable have fared better, the report says.
It’s a critical issue for families who wonder how college tuition prices could ever pay off, said Emilia Mattucci, a high school counselor at East Allegheny schools, near Pittsburgh. More than two-thirds of her school’s students come from low-income families, and many aren’t willing to take on the level of debt that past generations accepted.
Instead, more are heading to technical schools or the trades and passing on four-year universities, she said.
“A lot of families are just saying they can’t afford it, or they don’t want to go into debt for years and years and years,” she said.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon has been among those questioning the need for a four-year degree. Speaking at the Reagan Institute think tank in September, McMahon praised programs that prepare students for careers right out of high school.
“I’m not saying kids shouldn’t go to college,” she said. “I’m just saying all kids don’t have to go in order to be successful.”
American higher education has been grappling with both sides of the ROI equation — tuition costs and graduate earnings. It’s becoming even more important as colleges compete for decreasing numbers of college-age students as a result of falling birth rates.
Tuition rates have stayed flat on many campuses in recent years to address affordability concerns, and many private colleges have lowered their sticker prices in an effort to better reflect the cost most students actually pay after factoring in financial aid.
The other part of the equation — making sure graduates land good jobs — is more complicated.
A group of college presidents recently met at Gallup’s Washington headquarters to study public polling on higher education. One of the chief reasons for flagging confidence is a perception that colleges aren’t giving graduates the skills employers need, said Kevin Guskiewicz, president of Michigan State University, one of the leaders at the meeting.
“We’re trying to get out in front of that,” he said.
The issue has been a priority for Guskiewicz since he arrived on campus last year. He gathered a council of Michigan business leaders to identify skills that graduates will need for jobs, from agriculture to banking. The goal is to mold degree programs to the job market’s needs and to get students internships and work experience that can lead to a job.
Bridging the gap to the job market has been a persistent struggle for U.S. colleges, said Matt Sigelman, president of the Burning Glass Institute, a think tank that studies the workforce. Last year the institute, partnering with Strada researchers, found 52% of recent college graduates were in jobs that didn’t require a degree. Even higher-demand fields, such as education and nursing, had large numbers of graduates in that situation.
“No programs are immune, and no schools are immune,” Sigelman said.
The federal government has been trying to fix the problem for decades, going back to President Barack Obama’s administration. A federal rule first established in 2011 aimed to cut federal money to college programs that leave graduates with low earnings, though it primarily targeted for-profit colleges.
A Republican reconciliation bill passed this year takes a wider view, requiring most colleges to hit earnings standards to be eligible for federal funding. The goal is to make sure college graduates end up earning more than those without a degree.
Others see transparency as a key solution.
For decades, students had little way to know whether graduates of specific degree programs were landing good jobs after college. That started to change with the College Scorecard in 2015, a federal website that shares broad earnings outcomes for college programs. More recently, bipartisan legislation in Congress has sought to give the public even more detailed data.
Lawmakers in North Carolina ordered a 2023 study on the financial return for degrees across the state’s public universities. It found that 93% produced a positive return, meaning graduates were expected to earn more over their lives than someone without a similar degree.
The data is available to the public, showing, for example, that undergraduate degrees in applied math and business tend to have high returns at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, while graduate degrees in psychology and foreign languages often don’t.
Colleges are belatedly realizing how important that kind of data is to students and their families, said Lee Roberts, chancellor of UNC-Chapel Hill, in an interview.
“In uncertain times, students are even more focused — I would say rightly so — on what their job prospects are going to be,” he added. “So I think colleges and universities really owe students and their families this data.”
___
The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
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WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — For a generation of young Americans, choosing where to go to college — or whether to go at all — has become a complex calculation of costs and benefits that often revolves around a single question: Is the degree worth its price?
Public confidence in higher education has plummeted in recent years amid high tuition prices, skyrocketing student loans and a dismal job market — plus ideological concerns from conservatives. Now, colleges are scrambling to prove their value to students.
Borrowed from the business world, the term “return on investment” has been plastered on college advertisements across the U.S. A battery of new rankings grade campuses on the financial benefits they deliver. States such as Colorado have started publishing yearly reports on the monetary payoff of college, and Texas now factors it into calculations for how much taxpayer money goes to community colleges.
“Students are becoming more aware of the times when college doesn’t pay off,” said Preston Cooper, who has studied college ROI at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. “It’s front of mind for universities today in a way that it was not necessarily 15, 20 years ago.”
A wide body of research indicates a bachelor’s degree still pays off, at least on average and in the long run. Yet there’s growing recognition that not all degrees lead to a good salary, and even some that seem like a good bet are becoming riskier as graduates face one of the toughest job markets in years.
A new analysis released Thursday by the Strada Education Foundation finds 70% of recent public university graduates can expect a positive return within 10 years — meaning their earnings over a decade will exceed that of a typical high school graduate by an amount greater than the cost of their degree. Yet it varies by state, from 53% in North Dakota to 82% in Washington, D.C. States where college is more affordable have fared better, the report says.
It’s a critical issue for families who wonder how college tuition prices could ever pay off, said Emilia Mattucci, a high school counselor at East Allegheny schools, near Pittsburgh. More than two-thirds of her school’s students come from low-income families, and many aren’t willing to take on the level of debt that past generations accepted.
Instead, more are heading to technical schools or the trades and passing on four-year universities, she said.
“A lot of families are just saying they can’t afford it, or they don’t want to go into debt for years and years and years,” she said.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon has been among those questioning the need for a four-year degree. Speaking at the Reagan Institute think tank in September, McMahon praised programs that prepare students for careers right out of high school.
“I’m not saying kids shouldn’t go to college,” she said. “I’m just saying all kids don’t have to go in order to be successful.”
American higher education has been grappling with both sides of the ROI equation — tuition costs and graduate earnings. It’s becoming even more important as colleges compete for decreasing numbers of college-age students as a result of falling birth rates.
Tuition rates have stayed flat on many campuses in recent years to address affordability concerns, and many private colleges have lowered their sticker prices in an effort to better reflect the cost most students actually pay after factoring in financial aid.
The other part of the equation — making sure graduates land good jobs — is more complicated.
A group of college presidents recently met at Gallup’s Washington headquarters to study public polling on higher education. One of the chief reasons for flagging confidence is a perception that colleges aren’t giving graduates the skills employers need, said Kevin Guskiewicz, president of Michigan State University, one of the leaders at the meeting.
“We’re trying to get out in front of that,” he said.
The issue has been a priority for Guskiewicz since he arrived on campus last year. He gathered a council of Michigan business leaders to identify skills that graduates will need for jobs, from agriculture to banking. The goal is to mold degree programs to the job market’s needs and to get students internships and work experience that can lead to a job.
Bridging the gap to the job market has been a persistent struggle for U.S. colleges, said Matt Sigelman, president of the Burning Glass Institute, a think tank that studies the workforce. Last year the institute, partnering with Strada researchers, found 52% of recent college graduates were in jobs that didn’t require a degree. Even higher-demand fields, such as education and nursing, had large numbers of graduates in that situation.
“No programs are immune, and no schools are immune,” Sigelman said.
The federal government has been trying to fix the problem for decades, going back to President Barack Obama’s administration. A federal rule first established in 2011 aimed to cut federal money to college programs that leave graduates with low earnings, though it primarily targeted for-profit colleges.
A Republican reconciliation bill passed this year takes a wider view, requiring most colleges to hit earnings standards to be eligible for federal funding. The goal is to make sure college graduates end up earning more than those without a degree.
Others see transparency as a key solution.
For decades, students had little way to know whether graduates of specific degree programs were landing good jobs after college. That started to change with the College Scorecard in 2015, a federal website that shares broad earnings outcomes for college programs. More recently, bipartisan legislation in Congress has sought to give the public even more detailed data.
Lawmakers in North Carolina ordered a 2023 study on the financial return for degrees across the state’s public universities. It found that 93% produced a positive return, meaning graduates were expected to earn more over their lives than someone without a similar degree.
The data is available to the public, showing, for example, that undergraduate degrees in applied math and business tend to have high returns at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, while graduate degrees in psychology and foreign languages often don’t.
Colleges are belatedly realizing how important that kind of data is to students and their families, said Lee Roberts, chancellor of UNC-Chapel Hill, in an interview.
“In uncertain times, students are even more focused — I would say rightly so — on what their job prospects are going to be,” he added. “So I think colleges and universities really owe students and their families this data.”
___
The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
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Buying a home is the only major purchase in modern life that still feels like stepping into a maze designed to keep you lost. We can buy a car online, invest with a few taps or file taxes on an app, but in real estate, you’re still funneled through layers of middlemen, jargon and rules you don’t even know exist—until they cost you money. That’s not an accident. Complexity isn’t a bug in the system; it is the system. And for decades, the industry has normalized this as “just the way it works.”
This culture of confusion plays out every single day. Buyers and sellers are handed a process that’s outdated, fragmented and opaque, and then told to trust it blindly. Property data is locked behind gatekept multiple listing service (MLS) systems. Costs are buried in ways that even experienced buyers don’t fully grasp. And instead of simplifying the experience, the industry has spent decades adding more layers on top of old ones, like stacking fragile scaffolding on a crumbling foundation.
Real estate’s lack of transparency isn’t accidental. It’s structural. Historically, MLS data, the lifeblood of the housing market, has been tightly controlled by brokerages and associations. To access basic information, you’ve had to go through agents, who in turn pay dues to local associations, which feed national organizations. Consumers have never had true, unfiltered access.
This structure has been incredibly lucratiive. When only a select few control information, they also control the pace, the pricing and the terms of every transaction. The less the average person understands about the process, the more reliant they become on insiders—and the harder it becomes to question what they’re being charged for.
This model may have made sense decades ago, when data was literally stored in filing cabinets, but in 2025 it’s indefensible. We live in a world where consumers can track their packages in real time, invest in startups from their phones and get instant transparency into almost any service they use. Yet when it comes to buying a home, one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives, people are still operating in the dark.
Look at almost any other major sector and you’ll see how technology has transformed information asymmetry. Retail embraced e-commerce, allowing anyone compare prices, read reviews and make informed decisions. Finance was democratized by fintech: companies like Stripe, Robinhood and Wise made transactions, trading and payments simple and visible to everyone. Travel went from depending on opaque travel agents to platforms where consumers can book flights, hotels and experiences directly and easily.
These shifts didn’t just happen because technology appeared; they happened because the industries realized that consumer trust is good for business. Once transparency became table stakes, those who resisted it lost relevance fast.
Real estate has been the outlier. It has adopted technology superficially, like sleek websites, digital listings and A.I. buzzwords, but the business model has barely budged. Underneath the shiny surface, the same closed MLS systems, commission structures and gatekeeping practices remain intact. Transparency hasn’t disrupted the core; it’s just been layered on top like paint over cracked plaster.
This lack of transparency isn’t just annoying, it’s expensive. In many markets, buyers and sellers are still on the hook for large commissions baked into transactions, often without fully understanding why or how those fees are structured. Hidden costs and unclear responsibilities routinely push first-time buyers to their limits. Sellers often discover too late that they’ve overpaid for services that should be standardized or automated.
Even basic property searches are shaped by these dynamics. Consumers don’t see the entire inventory of homes because listings can be held back, delayed or marketed selectively. Exclusive listings, pocket deals and other opaque practices are used to maintain control. Buyers think they’re getting a full picture, when in reality they’re looking through a keyhole.
Platforms like Zillow were supposed to blow the doors open. Instead, they’ve made an already complicated industry even more confusing. Zillow and similar platforms gave consumers a glossy interface and more data than before, but they didn’t truly democratize access, they monetized it. These platforms sit between consumers and MLS data, prioritizing lead generation for agents over clarity for buyers and sellers.
Rather than simplifying the journey, they’ve added another middle layer. For many buyers, the experience of scrolling through Zillow isn’t fundamentally different from working with an agent, it just feels modern. The same structural opacity remains underneath.
The next generation of proptech has a chance to fix that, but only if it goes beyond aesthetics. Real transparency means opening MLS data, standardizing costs and giving buyers and sellers the ability to navigate transactions without gatekeepers. It means putting consumers at the center of the experience, not as leads to be sold, but as participants in a clear, navigable system.
Real estate is standing at the same crossroads that travel, retail and finance once faced. It can continue to defend a system built on gatekeeping and opacity, or it can modernize and rebuild trust through transparency. The industry’s cultural resistance to change has lasted longer than most, but cultural tides don’t stop forever.
Consumers are no longer passive. They expect real-time updates, honest pricing and the ability to understand the systems they’re navigating. As regulatory scrutiny increases and tech entrepreneurs push for open systems, the industry can either lead the shift or get dragged into it.
If real estate wants to stay relevant, and not end up like the travel agents who refused to adapt, it needs to treat transparency not as a threat, but as the foundation for the next era of growth.
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Blake O’Shaughnessy
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The J.M. Smucker Co. is suing Trader Joe’s, alleging the grocery chain’s new frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are too similar to Smucker’s Uncrustables in their design and packaging.
In the lawsuit, which was filed Monday in federal court in Ohio, Smucker said the round, crustless sandwiches Trader Joe’s sells have the same pie-like crimp markings on their edges that Uncrustables do. Smucker said the design violates its trademarks.
Smucker also asserted that the boxes Trader Joe’s sandwiches come in violate the Orrville, Ohio-based company’s trademarks because they are the same blue color it uses for the lettering on “Uncrustables” packages.
Trader Joe’s boxes also show a sandwich with a bite mark taken out of it, which is similar to the Uncrustables design, Smucker said.
“Smucker does not take issue with others in the marketplace selling prepackaged, frozen, thaw-and-eat crustless sandwiches. But it cannot allow others to use Smucker’s valuable intellectual property to make such sales,” the company said in its lawsuit.
A message seeking comment was left with Trader Joe’s, which is based in Monrovia, California.
Uncrustables were invented by two friends who began producing them in 1996 in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Smucker bought their company in 1998 and secured patents for a “sealed, crustless sandwich” in 1999.
But it wasn’t easy to mass produce them. In the lawsuit, Smucker said it has spent more than $1 billion developing the Uncrustables brand over the last 20 years. Smucker spent years trying to perfect Uncrustables’ stretchy bread and developing new flavors like chocolate and hazelnut.
Smucker said Trader Joe’s sandwiches are so similar to Uncrustables that they were already confusing customers. In the lawsuit, Smucker showed a social media photo of a person claiming that Trader Joe’s is contracting with Smucker to make the sandwiches under its own private label.
This isn’t the first time Smucker has taken legal action to protect its Uncrustables brand. In 2022, it sent a cease and desist letter to a Minnesota company called Gallant Tiger, which was making upscale versions of crustless peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with crimped edges.
Smucker’s lawsuit comes a few months after a similar lawsuit filed against the Aldi by Mondelez International, which claimed that Aldi’s store-brand cookies and crackers have packaging that is too similar to Mondelez brands like Chips Ahoy, Wheat Thins and Oreos.
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PARIS (AP) — When Olivier Baroin moved into an apartment in Montmartre about 15 years ago, it felt like he was living in a village in the heart of Paris. Not anymore.
Stores for residents are disappearing, along with the friendly atmosphere, he says. In their place are hordes of people taking selfies, shops selling tourist trinkets, and cafés whose seating spills into the narrow, cobbled streets as overtourism takes its toll.
Baroin has had enough. He put his apartment up for sale after local streets were designated pedestrian-only while accommodating the growing number of visitors.
“I told myself that I had no other choice but to leave since, as I have a disability, it’s even more complicated when you can no longer take your car, when you have to call a taxi from morning to night,” he told The Associated Press.
AP AUDIO: Paris residents fight overtourism and ‘Disneyfication’ of beloved Montmartre neighborhood
AP correspondent Mimmi Montgomery reports on mass tourism affecting the Montmartre district in Paris.
From Venice to Barcelona to Amsterdam, European cities are struggling to absorb surging numbers of tourists.
Some residents in one of Paris’ most popular tourist neighborhoods are now pushing back. A black banner strung between two balconies in Montmartre reads, in English: “Behind the postcard: locals mistreated by the Mayor.” Another, in French, says: “Montmartre residents resisting.”
Atop the hill where the Basilica of Sacré-Cœur crowns the city’s skyline, residents lament what they call the “Disneyfication” of the once-bohemian slice of Paris. The basilica says it now attracts up to 11 million people a year — even more than the Eiffel Tower — while daily life in the neighborhood has been overtaken by tuk-tuks, tour groups, photo queues and short-term rentals.
“Now, there are no more shops at all, there are no more food shops, so everything must be delivered,” said 56-year-old Baroin, a member of a residents’ protest group called Vivre a Montmartre, or Living in Montmartre.
The unrest echoes tensions across town at the Louvre Museum, where staff in June staged a brief wildcat strike over chronic overcrowding, understaffing and deteriorating conditions. The Louvre logged 8.7 million visitors in 2024, more than double what its infrastructure was designed to handle.
Paris, a city of just over 2 million residents if you count its sprawling suburbs, welcomed 48.7 million tourists in 2024, a 2% increase from the previous year.
Sacré-Cœur, the most visited monument in France in 2024, and the surrounding Montmartre neighborhood have turned into what some locals call an open-air theme park.
Local staples like butchers, bakeries and grocers are vanishing, replaced by ice-cream stalls, bubble-tea vendors and souvenir T-shirt stands.
Paris authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Visitors seemed largely to be enjoying the packed streets on a sunny Tuesday this week.
“For the most part, all of Paris has been pretty busy, but full of life, for sure,” said American tourist Adam Davidson. “Coming from Washington, D.C., which is a lively city as well, I would say this is definitely full of life to a different degree for sure.”
In Barcelona, thousands have taken to the streets this year, some wielding water pistols, demanding limits on cruise ships and short-term tourist rentals. Venice now charges an entry fee for day-trippers and caps visitor numbers. And in Athens, authorities are imposing a daily limit on visitors to the Acropolis, to protect the ancient monument from record-breaking tourist crowds.
Urban planners warn that historic neighborhoods risk becoming what some critics call “zombie cities” — picturesque but lifeless, their residents displaced by short-term visitors.
Paris is trying to mitigate the problems by cracking down on short-term rentals and unlicensed properties.
But tourism pressures are growing. By 2050, the world’s population is projected to reach nearly 10 billion, according to United Nations estimates. With the global middle class expanding, low-cost flights booming and digital platforms guiding travelers to the same viral landmarks, many more visitors are expected in iconic cities like Paris.
The question now, residents say, is whether any space is left for those who call it home.
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DIXON, Calif. (AP) — The owners of a giant Northern California corn maze once crowned the world’s largest want visitors to remember that there is fun in getting lost.
“It is confusing. It’s exciting, and in a world of GPS and constant signage, you always know where you are, where you’re going,” said Tayler Cooley, whose family owns Cool Patch Pumpkins. “When you’re in the corn, everything looks the same until you pop up on a bridge and you’re like, ‘Oh wait, I’m all the way over here. I thought I was over there.’”
The pumpkin patch and corn maze along Interstate 80 between Sacramento and San Francisco are open once again for the fall season through Halloween. Back in 2007 and again in 2014, Cool Patch Pumpkins earned a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest corn maze.
The maze — spread out over 40 acres (16.2 hectares) — typically takes at least 45 minutes to complete and features five different bridges that allow maze-goers to rise above the stalks. It is also known for the elaborate designs the team creates in the maze that can be seen from overhead. This year’s maze celebrates farmers. Previous seasons honored veterans and first responders with giant murals included in the maze design.
“Everything is done by hand,” Cooley said. “We want to communicate something fun and exciting, and then we build our pathways around that.”
On a recent afternoon, visitors from near and far wound their way through the maze.
“I have no sense of direction, and we could spend all day here. That’s fine. We have water. We’ll survive, three days,” said Ryan Moore, who was visiting from Hawaii.
Likewise, Shelley Tang from Redwood City, California, joked there is always corn to eat if they get lost.
“My children have a better sense of direction than me, so I’ll be following them,” she said.
A corn maze in Quebec, Canada, as well as those in Minnesota and Illinois, also boast record-breaking mazes, either by acreage or mileage.
Beyond the maze, Cool Patch features a corn bath for toddlers full of 150,000 pounds (68 kilograms) of dried corn.
___
This story has been corrected to show that Cooley’s first name is spelled Tayler, not Taylor, to show that Tang’s first name is spelled Shelley, not Shelly, and to remove the incorrect pronoun “his” in the fourth paragraph. It also clarifies that Cooley is part of the family that owns Cool Patch Pumpkins, not the sole owner.
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Laufey, the Grammy-winning artist, is creating a children’s story inspired by her mascot-alias, Mei Mei The Bunny
NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — She’s won a Grammy, collaborated with Barbra Streisand and performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Now Laufey is taking on a new challenge: creating a children’s story inspired by her mascot-alias, Mei Mei The Bunny.
Penguin Workshop announced Tuesday that Laufey’s picture book, “Mei Mei The Bunny,” will be published April 21. Illustrated by Lauren O’Hara, the book tells of Mei Mei’s determination to become a professional musician even as she encounters some initial struggles.
“I’m so excited to now share Mei Mei The Bunny in storybook form!” Laufey said in a statement. “Mei Mei has been a part of my life for over the last few years and opening up the world around her has been the most beautiful exploration. I hope that anyone at any age can find something in Mei Mei’s story that inspires them and connects them to the people in their lives.”
Born Laufey Lín Bing Jónsdóttir in Iceland, the 26-year-old Laufey is known for her distinctive blend of pop, classical and jazz. Her release from 2023, “Bewitched,” won a Grammy for best traditional pop vocal album. Earlier this year, she released the album “A Matter of Time.”
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SEATTLE – As the Seattle Mariners are set to play Games 3 and 4 of the American League Championship Series at T-Mobile Park, the team introduced several new food items for fans to enjoy at the game.
The ballpark will soon have four more food options, available on Wednesday for Game 3 against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Here’s a look at what’s new on the Mariners menu:
Hook, Line & Sinker Sandwich (Seattle Mariners)
Fried pollock filet on a buttered brioche bun, layered with shredded lettuce and American cheese, and finished with caviar-tartar sauce (Available at Section 249)
Washington Raised Beef from Snake River Farms and chili beans simmered with Northwest spices, served in a sourdough bread bowl, topped with Beecher’s cheddar and rosemary sour cream (Sec. 136, 243 & 313)
Full rack of slow-smoked pork ribs glazed with huckleberry BBQ sauce, paired with apple-cabbage slaw, beer-braised baked beans and cornbread (Sec. 313)
Crispy rosemary-scented cannoli filled with huckleberry sweet cream, finished with toasted hazelnuts and drizzled smoked huckleberry caramel (Coffee Stands)
Big picture view:
These new menu options come just after the Mariners unveiled five other postseason food items, including the PNW Pretzel, Pacific Pitmaster Potato and Claws & Caviar.
“We’re happy to keep adding to baseball’s best ballpark menu this Postseason,” said Mariners Vice President of Fan Experience Malcolm Rogel. “Our team is always looking for ways to improve the fan experience at T-Mobile Park and having a best-in-class food menu is something Mariners fans look forward to every time they come to the ballpark.”
Additionally, T-Mobile Park began selling new food and beverages for the 2025 MLB season. Highlights include the Nakagawa Poke Bowl, What Up Corn Dog, Ichi Wings and Lil’ Dumpers.
SEA Airport won’t play Homeland Security video blaming Democrats for shutdown
Teen arrested after hit-and-run crash on West Seattle Bridge
Black Lives Matter mural vandalized in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood
Nearly 1,000 Starbucks workers in Seattle, Kent to be laid off
Suspected DUI driver crashes into Pierce County deputy, arrested
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The Source: Information in this story came from the Seattle Mariners and MLB.
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Will.Wixey@fox.com (Will Wixey)
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Longevity is a lifestyle practice, according to 100-year-old Ruth Lemay, who has gone viral for sharing her vibrant energy and fitness routine.
Lemay, who lives in Virginia Beach, was featured in a video while pedaling on a recumbent exercise bike at the gym, which was posted by the health brand evry.day club (@evrydayclub) on Instagram.
The centenarian was asked what she does to stay so fit and “look so great” for her age, as she was wrapping up three miles on the bike after 30 minutes.
7 STEPS TO ‘SUPER-AGING’ ARE KEY TO LIVING A LONGER, MORE FULFILLING LIFE, EXPERTS SAY
“Then I’ll do 30 more minutes,” she commented. “And I walk — [I’ll] do a mile.”
Lemay shared her “secret to longevity” — the fact that she started walking four miles every day after she retired.
“That’s just what keeps you going,” she said. “A lot of exercise. Plenty of sleep. I go to bed at 9:30 at night and I eat a lot of vegetables — trying to keep healthy.”
TWO KEY HEART HEALTH METRICS COULD DETERMINE HOW LONG YOU’LL LIVE
Lemay said that she and her 78-year-old daughter attend the gym three times per week, where they typically do individual workouts.
Her sessions include riding the recumbent bike, which is reclined to support the lower back, for two 30-minute stints, reaching about three miles both times.
ONE OVERLOOKED DAILY HABIT COULD SLOW THE AGING PROCESS, RESEARCHERS SAY
That is followed by a 1.4-mile walk, as Lemay is currently working toward reaching a mile and a half.
“When I don’t go to the recreation center, I still try and walk from one end of my house to the other,” she told Women’s Health. “It’s 170 steps, 40 times, which is 6,800 steps (3.22 miles).”
Ruth Lemay, 100, bikes and walks every day to keep healthy. (Instagram/@evrydayclub; iStock)
In an interview with TODAY.com, Lemay said she lives in her own home, enjoys cooking and drove a car until she was 98.
“I’ve always exercised,” she said. “I feel fine. I might be a little bit tired after riding the bicycle and the walk, but that’s OK. I don’t expect not to feel tired.”
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According to Lemay, her late husband of 56 years would encourage her to walk after work.
“He said, ‘You just take the dog and go for a walk and I’ll fix dinner,’” she recalled. “It was wonderful.”
Lemay’s late husband always encouraged her to walk when she got home from work. (Lemays not pictured) (iStock)
Lemay’s daughter, Annette Parker, shared with TODAY that her mother has “always been very conscious of her diet.”
This includes non-fat yogurt, walnuts, oatmeal with banana and milk, or a scrambled egg with toast in the mornings. For protein, Lemay sticks with chicken, turkey or seafood.
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Lemay’s diet also includes red grapes, blueberries and many vegetables.
“I love vegetables. I grew up in the country, and my dad grew all kinds of vegetables, and they were wonderful for you,” she said.
Maintaining social relationships and good mental health have been shown to promote longevity. (iStock)
Lemay, who has never smoked and doesn’t drink alcohol, added, “I’m in pretty good health for my age.”
While genetics may impact longevity, Lemay shared with TODAY that she doesn’t know anyone in her family who has lived as long as her. Her mother died of colon cancer at 65 and her father died from a heart condition at 74.
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Other than one heart valve replacement, the great-grandmother has avoided major health complications.
In addition to paying attention to nutrition and fitness, Lemay and Parker said that maintaining good mental health and keeping a vibrant social life have been key longevity factors.
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MIAMI — The Miami Seaquarium, an old-Florida style tourist attraction that gained international attention as the filming location for the 1960s television series “Flipper” and thrilled generations of tourists with trained dolphin and orca shows, has closed its doors.
Sunday’s closure of the park that opened in 1955 was celebrated by animal rights activists who had lobbied for decades to free the marine mammals inside. Located across a causeway from downtown Miami and overlooking Biscayne Bay, the park was beloved by those who grew up visiting the landmark, but plagued by persistent animal welfare complaints.
Last year, the aquarium’s parent company received an eviction notice for the waterfront property it leases from Miami-Dade County. Local cited a “long and troubling history of violations.” The action followed a series of federal inspections that found multiple problems, including unsafe and structurally deficient buildings.
For years, families hoping to make cherished memories at the attraction have had to weave around the animal rights protestors stationed on the sidewalk outside, equipped with signs, bullhorns, rosary beads and incense.
In recent years, activists focused on the fate of Lolita, an orca whale held captive in a shallow pool for more than a half-century. She died just as caregivers were preparing to move her to a natural sea pen in the Pacific Northwest.
Efforts to redevelop the Seaquarium site are already in the works, with plans for a new “accredited aquarium” with no marine mammals, as well as a research center, shops, restaurants and a publicly accessible baywalk.
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I’ve spent months trying to track down the best travel backpacks, and trust me, not all are created equal. Between city breaks, long-haul flights, and spontaneous weekend getaways, I’ve learned the right backpack can make or break your trip — and yes, it’s totally worth the investment.
As spacious as a suitcase but with all the added benefits of one of the best laptop backpacks, i.e. somewhere to store your devices safely and neatly, travel rucksacks are – without a doubt – a frequent jet-setter’s idea of heaven.
Forget what you thought you knew; travel backpacks are no longer reserved for those who are off to find themselves on their gap year (though, if that’s you, no judgement), but are actually a savvier way of packing everything you could possibly need into way less luggage.
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If you’re looking for a travel backpack that’ll fit under your seat, we can’t recommend Antler’s Discovery design enough. It’s stylish and compact, with a 16.5” laptop pocket, internal divider pockets, water bottle compartment and room enough for clothes and shoes inside. If you need something big enough for a few days but small enough to go in the overhead locker, Eastpak’s Travelpack is the one. It can be carried on your back or as a holdall/weekend bag, is water-resistant and comes with a 30-year warranty (!).
It’s unlikely you’ll find a 35L backpack that’ll fit under an airplane seat, as, according to airline policy, any personal items stowed beneath seats should not exceed 18 inches x 14 inches x 8 inches – and a 35L bag would usually be bigger.
From designs that render your favourite four-wheel hard-shell case entirely redundant, to sleek cabin-sized styles that’ll see you through a long weekend away, we’ve found the best women’s travel backpacks to buy in 2025. See them all below.
To find the best travel backpacks, we put a range of styles through their paces — from sleek city-friendly laptop backpacks to carry-ons suitable for weekend trips. A selection of these bags were tested and reviewed for comfort, capacity, and clever design details, like easy-access pockets, padded laptop sleeves, and supportive straps that don’t dig in during long days of travel. We also considered durability (can it handle being thrown into an overhead bin?) and style, because looking chic in our airport outfits is half the fun.
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Georgia Trodd, Mayola Fernandes
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A new Pokémon game and Danielle Deadwyler starring in the apocalyptic thriller “40 Acres” are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you.
Also among the streaming offerings worth your time this week, as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: Rapper Gucci Mane returns with a new full-length titled “Episodes,” an animated Roald Dahl adaptation and Keri Russell’s political drama “The Diplomat” premieres its third season.
— An animated adaptation of Roald Dahl’s “The Twits” is coming to Netflix on Friday, Oct. 17. The mean, hateful couple are voiced by Johnny Vegas and Margo Martindale, in this film about their rise to power in the city and the group of children who team up to fight for goodness. Animation veteran Phil Johnson (“Wreck-It Ralph,” “Zootopia”) directed and co-wrote the film, which features a starry voice cast including Natalie Portman, Emilia Clarke and Jason Mantzoukas. David Byrne also contributed some new songs, with Paramore’s Hayley Williams.
— Danielle Deadwyler stars in the apocalyptic thriller “40 Acres” about a family, the Freemans, surviving on a farm while the rest of society has collapsed in the wake of plagues and wars. But their survivalist existence is put in jeopardy when her eldest son meets a woman outside of their property. It will be on Hulu starting Friday, Oct. 17.
— Two standout Sundance documentaries are also worth checking out. “The Alabama Solution,” about horrifying conditions in the Alabama prison system, is already streaming on HBO Max. The Associated Press has written extensively about the problems in the state’s prison system, including high rates of violence, low staffing, a plummeting parole rate and the use of pandemic funds to build a new supersized prison. Also coming on Friday, Oct. 17, to Netflix, “The Perfect Neighbor” from Geeta Gandbhir uses police bodycam footage to reconstruct a neighborhood dispute in Florida that turns deadly. It’s a riveting real life look at the state’s “stand your ground laws.”
— The rapper Gucci Mane returns with a new full-length, “Episodes,” two months after his Gangsta Grillz mixtape “Greatest of All Trappers” dropped. What more would you expect from one of the most prolific trap stars of the last few decades?
— The influence of Australian psychedelic musician Kevin Parker, aka Tame Impala, is hard to undersell – there’s a reason some of the biggest names in the business have been running to work with him, a list that recently includes Dua Lipa for her “Radical Optimism” album. On Friday, he’ll release his fifth album, “Deadbeat,” his first full-length in five years. It’s as dreamy as ever.
— In independent music circles IRL and URL, the subgenre shoegaze (marked by distortion, feedback, loud guitar pedal effects as popularized by the Jesus and Mary Chain ) has experienced a revival. In the modern era, those familiar-to-some sounds are meshed with other indie rock styles. No band has been simultaneously influential and underrated for said impact than Philadelphia’s They Are Gutting A Body of Water. That may change on Friday with the release of their next album, “LOTTO” their first for ATO Records and their best to date. For those who like their bands fuzzy, freaky and future-seeking.
— AP Music Writer Maria Sherman
— Alex Murdaugh, the disbarred South Carolina attorney convicted of murdering his wife and son along with committing financial crimes, is serving a life sentence in prison. The story is told in a new true crime dramatization for Hulu called “Murdaugh: Death in the Family,” premiering Wednesday. It stars Jason Clarke as Alex and Patricia Arquette as his wife, Maggie. The series is based on the reporting by South Carolina journalist and podcaster, Mandy Matney, whose investigative work was pivotal in the coverage of Murdaugh. Matney is also an executive producer and Brittany Snow plays her in the series.
— If you need a palette cleanser, the delightful comedy “Loot” returns to Apple TV+ Wednesday for its third season. Maya Rudolph stars as a billionaire who finds her purpose in philanthropy after her tech-bro husband divorces her. It also stars Nat Faxon, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Joel Kim Booster and Ron Funches.
— Keri Russell’s political drama “The Diplomat” premieres its third season Thursday on Netflix. Allison Janney also returns as a series regular alongside… wait for it… her old buddy from “The West Wing,” Bradley Whitford. He plays her husband.
— Another one for the true crime fans: a new limited-series on Peacock is about the serial killer John Wayne Gacy.“Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy,” premieres Thursday, and dramatizes the time period in 1978 when police begin to suspect Gacy for the murder of a young man in Des Plaines, Illinois. As they conduct surveillance 24/7, Gacy seems to at first enjoy the attention but his behavior becomes more and more erratic over time and leads to his arrest.
— Pokémon Legends: Z-A brings a major change to Nintendo’s 30-year-old franchise: For the first time, the creatures are competing in real-time fights rather than turn-based battles. That means more of a focus on timing and reflexes, though it will also give your monster the ability to dodge enemy attacks. The story takes place in Lumiose City, a Paris-like metropolis that turns into a battle zone when the sun goes down. Plenty of old favorites like Pikachu and Charizard are on the roster, and if your Pokémon scores enough hits it may undergo “Mega Evolution” to become truly fearsome. You can start trying to catch ’em all Thursday on Switch.
— Keeper is another bizarre concoction from Double Fine Productions, the studio that gave us the trippy Psychonauts. This time, you are a long dormant lighthouse that breaks free of its foundation and gains four legs. Joined by a curious seabird, you wander inland, passing through surrealistic, unpopulated villages as you make your way toward a looming mountain peak. There are no words — just a series of puzzles that look like they were conjured up by Salvador Dalí. The hike begins Friday, Oct. 17 on Xbox X/S and PC.
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The Toronto Blue Jays have advanced to the American League Championship Series for the first time in nearly a decade, and the bandwagon is officially rolling.
But those new to the sport might need a primer on how exactly it works, from the sequence of the playoffs to the rules of the game.
Below, we parse through the basics.
WHAT’S THE STRUCTURE OF THE POST-SEASON?
Major League Baseball’s post-season has four rounds. MLB actually used to be two organizations, the National League and the American League, but they have been jointly holding the World Series since 1903 and were formally merged in 1999. Both leagues follow the same playoff format. The Blue Jays are in the American League.
The post-season starts with wild-card rounds, which are a best-of-three series of games played between the four lowest-ranked teams that qualified for each league’s playoffs.
The Blue Jays won the American League East division title during the regular season, so they got to skip the wild-card round.
After the wild cards, the teams play in the Division Series, where the first team to win three games advances to the Championship Series, which is best-of-seven.
The championships are played between teams of the same league.
Then, the winner of each league’s championship advances to the World Series, which is also a best-of-seven matchup. The Blue Jays have only won the World Series twice: in 1992 and 1993.
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WHY ARE THE BLUE JAYS IN THE AMERICAN LEAGUE WHEN THEY’RE A CANADIAN TEAM?
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In the 1970s, the American League wanted to create a geographical rival team to the Montreal Expos, which were part of the National League, so the Blue Jays were born.
The Montreal Expos were relocated to Washington, D.C., in 2004, leaving the Blue Jays as Canada’s only team.
WHAT ARE THE RULES OF THE GAME?
If you want to know all the details, you can read Major League Baseball’s 192-page rule book. But here are the basics.
Each game consists of nine innings. Each team has a turn at bat during an inning, starting with the visiting team. The defensive team includes the pitcher, catcher, infielders and outfielders.
The offensive team consists of a lineup of nine batters.
The pitcher throws the ball to the catcher, and if the ball passes through the “strike zone,” the hitter can try to swing for it.
The strike zone is the area from the batter’s knees to their shoulders, over home base.
If the ball passes through the strike zone three times and the batter fails to hit it, either because they didn’t swing or because they miss the ball, they’re out. If the pitcher throws the ball and misses the strike zone four times, and the batter doesn’t swing, the batter gets to “walk” to first base.
That’s one of nine ways a batter can become a “runner” and advance to first base. The main way, however, is for the batter to hit the ball into the field.
Once the batter hits a fair ball, he becomes a runner and makes his way to first base. If a fielder catches the ball before it hits the ground, the runner is out. If the ball touches the ground before it’s caught, the person who catches it can try to get a runner out by touching the runner with the ball before they advance to the next base. In some cases they only need to touch the base the runner is headed to.
Each time a runner reaches home base after touching all three other bases, they receive a point, called a “run.”
Once three players on the offensive team are out, that team’s turn at bat is over.
HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE ON EACH TEAM?
During the post-season, each team has a roster of 26 players.
There are nine players from each team in the batting lineup, and nine on the field. That’s eight players who are both fielders and hitters, one player who is a dedicated pitcher, and one player who is the pitcher’s substitute when their team is at bat.
Other players on the roster can be substituted into the batting order. Likewise, pitchers who are in the bullpen can be substituted in for the starting pitcher.
Deciding when to substitute players is part of the strategy of the game.
THE PLAYERS SEEM TO SPIT A LOT. WHY?
Historically, players used to chew tobacco during the game and they’d spit out the excess saliva from chewing. That’s changed over the decades, and now they chew sunflower seeds.
Some players will also chew gum while they’re in the dugout, not playing, or pull pranks on each other. It’s all part of the fun of the game.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 12, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
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“If you really care about your health – and the specifics of it – then Field Doctor is well worth trying. They’re a new player in the meal prep services arena, aiming to create amazing food that feeds your health. And by that, I don’t just mean food to help you lose weight or build muscle. Field Doctor lets you choose your meals to manage allergies and intolerances, reduce inflammation, improve gut health, optimise menopause or peri-menopause… the list goes on. Their website is incredibly thorough, which encouraged me to put huge amounts of trust into what they have created.
“Everything on my tailor-made plan (centred around eating more plants and reducing inflammation) sounded delicious. Chickpea masala curry, Italian meatballs, Malaysian tofu curry and red pesto and roasted vegetable penne were just some of the concoctions it threw up to me.
“When my meals arrived, although totally not important when it came to the meals themselves, the first thing I noticed was the branding. It appeals to the minimalist in me, with meals boxed up in Tiffany-blue packaging. Very chic.
“Inside, the meals included 100% whole ingredients – nothing processed round these parts – and they came frozen for freshness. I was a little worried about whether I’d need to defrost them before cooking, but you can actually reheat them from frozen – mostly in around five minutes.
“I sometimes find that frozen meals can go a tad water-y when you reheat them – which can lead to them losing some flavour. And sadly, this was the case with some of the Field Doctor meals I tried. They were all still delicious, don’t get me wrong, but just a bit less flavourful than other services I’ve tried.
“That aside, I would order from them again. You can pick a regular delivery day, there’s loads of choice, and they’re a great healthy option to ensure you avoid too many takeaways.”
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Sophie Cockett, Mayola Fernandes
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The Great American Beer Festival welcomed drinkers to Denver over the weekend to experience the best in craft beer and cider, and it turns out Colorado residents don’t have to travel far to sip the best suds the industry has to offer.
The festival’s prestigious awards, which took place Saturday, are a testament to that. Colorado breweries and cideries made a phenomenal showing, collecting a total of 40 medals, 19 of which were gold. That is down slightly from last year’s haul of 41 medals, but the straight numbers don’t tell the full story.
In 2025, three different producers were honored as “brewery of the year” in their respective size categories – a huge honor considering more than 1,500 breweries and cidermakers entered this year’s competition. (The Denver Post did not include these accolades in the total medal count.)
“It was a great showing for Colorado’s craft breweries at the GABF awards ceremony. With three brewery of the year awards and 16 gold (beer) medals, Colorado craft breweries continue to prove that they consistently brew some of the best beers in the country,” Shawnee Adelson, executive director of the Colorado Brewer Guild, said in a statement. “The diversity of styles shows that breweries in Colorado can make exceptional beer for all types of palates.”
Westbound & Down Brewing Co. was the biggest company to earn the “brewery of the year” title, in the 5,001 to 15,000-barrel category, and it did so with six medals awarded to its IPAs and lagers. That includes three gold medals, one of which was in the West Coast IPA category, the competition’s second-most competitive. The brewery’s How the West Was Won IPA beat out 299 other entries to take the top of the podium.
As added icing on the cake, the company’s subsidiary Aspen Brewing Co. also garnered gold in the brand-new Mexican-style pale lager category with a beer called Casa Bonita. It doesn’t get more Colorado than that.
Denver’s River North Brewery was named “brewery of the year” in the 1,001 to 2,000-barrel size range after it collected two medals, both of them gold. And Cannonball Creek Brewing Co. in Golden, a mainstay at the GABF awards, took home the title in the 501 to 1,000-barrel size category with three total accolades.
Other notable standouts include Denver Beer Co. winning silver for its non-alcoholic Tangerine Cream ale; Our Mutual Friend Brewing Co. grabbing silver in the American-style IPA category; and Fritz Family Brewers landing atop the podium in the Pro-Am competition for a collaboration with homebrewer Christopher Owens of Longmont. Interesting, the now-defunct Banded Oak Brewing Co. in Denver also took home one bronze medal.
Local cideries Haykin Family Cider and Snow Capped Cider also made a commendable showing with a total of seven medals. They collectively swept the single-varietal cider category with Haykin Family Cider earning gold and bronze and Snow Capped Cider taking home silver.
This year, the Brewers Association gave out awards for the best beer packaging and branding. While Colorado didn’t officially win, we thought River North’s Squirrels Just Want to Have Fun, which won a gold medal in the coffee beer category, deserved an honorable mention.
See the full list of award-winning local beers below. You can find all the competition results at greatamericanbeerfestival.com.
American-Style Pale Ale – Parallel Pale, Westbound & Down Brewing Co., Lafayette
Belgian-Style or French-Style Specialty Ale – River North White, River North Brewery, Denver
Coffee Beer – Squirrels Just Want to Have Fun, River North Brewery, Denver
Dortmunder or German-Style Oktoberfest – Festbier, Glenwood Canyon Brewing Co., Glenwood Springs
English Ale – Dale’s Pale Ale, Oskar Blues Brewery, Longmont
Experimental, Barrel-Aged or Specialty Cider – Calville Blanc D’Hiver Ice Cider, Haykin Family Cider, Aurora
Fruit Wheat Beer – Key Lime Pie in the Sky, Sandlot Brewery at Coors Field, Denver
German-Style Schwarzbier – Prost Schwarzbier, Prost Brewing Co., Northglenn
Historical Beer – 1554, New Belgium Brewing Co., Fort Collins
Italian-Style Pilsener – Westbound Italian Pils, Westbound & Down Brewing Co., Lafayette
Mexican-Style Pale Lager – Casa Bonita, Aspen Brewing Co., Aspen
Oatmeal Stout – Backside Stout, Steamworks Brewing Co., Durango
Old Ale or Strong Ale or Barley Wine – Breakfast in Barrels, Left Hand Brewing Co., Longmont
Pro-Am Competition – Christopher’s Bier, Fritz Family Brewers and homebrewer Christopher Owens, Longmont
Single Varietal Cider – Mountain Rose, Haykin Family Cider, Aurora
Specialty Non-Alcoholic Beer – NA Tangerine Cream, Denver Beer Co., Denver
Vienna-Style Lager – Prost Vienna Lager, Prost Brewing Co., Northglenn
West Coast IPA – How the West Was Won, Westbound & Down Brewing Co., Idaho Springs
Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout – Vladislav, Diebolt Brewing Co., Denver
American-Style IPA – Time’s Arrow, Our Mutual Friend Brewing Co., Denver
American-Style Light Lager – Neon Lite, Cerebral Brewing Co., Aurora
American-Style Strong Pale Ale – Mindbender, Cannonball Creek Brewing Co., Golden
Botanical or Spiced Cider – Plum & Lemongrass, Snow Capped Cider, Austin
Honey Beer – Animals Strike Curious Poses, Emporium Brewing Co., Denver
Hoppy Lager – Infinity Pils, Westbound & Down Brewing Co., Lafayette
Session India Pale Ale – Scenic Route, Westbound & Down Brewing Co., Lafayette
Single Varietal Cider – Gravenstien, Snow Capped Cider, Austin
American-Belgo-Style Ale – Dear You, Ratio Beerworks, Denver
American Fruit Beer – Black Razz Blonde, Joyride Brewing Co., Edgewater
American-Style Strong Pale Ale – Westbound IPA, Westbound & Down Brewing Co., Lafayette
Belgian-Style Witbier – Suntrip, New Terrain Brewing Co., Golden
Brett Beer – Thinking of You, Long Table Brewhouse, Denver
Contemporary American-Style Lager – Manny’s Way Mexican Lager, Banded Oak Brewing Co., Denver
Experimental Beer – Naughtea, Avery Brewing Co., Boulder
Experimental, Barrel-Aged or Specialty Cider – Santiam Cherry Apples in Garryana Oak, Haykin Family Cider, Aurora
International-Style Pale Ale – Deer Pallet, Cannonball Creek Brewing Co., Golden
Session India Pale Ale – Trump Hands, Cannonball Creek Brewing Co., Golden
Single Varietal Cider – Niedzwetzkyana, Haykin Family Cider, Aurora
Tannic Cider – Kingston Black, Snow Capped Cider, Austin
Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer – Moroccan Christmas, Wild Blue Yonder Brewing Co., Castle Rock
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