
A brewery is looking to open its first pub in York in 2025. The move follows a dramatic 2024, which saw the Ainsty Ales brewery gain new owners under a new company structure at the end of last January. The brewery at Acaster Malbis had been formed in 2014 by Andy Herrington, but like many breweries in the industry, had suffered financial difficulties following the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis. A new consortium of owners took over the operations including local business owners Nick Ivel, Jon Greenwood, Sean Wilkinson, Ian Walker and Dave Smith. Managing the business, and also becoming shareholders, were husband and wife team and long-serving publicans Stuart and Lyndsay Weston, who previously ran the Inn on the Green in Acomb, and before that, the Knavesmire in Albemarle Road. Jon Greenwood told the Press: “We are just local lads trying to save a local brewery.” However, Jon, a former racing driver and former director of commercial services at the University of York, admits it has been “a big learning curve.” The initial plan was Andy Herrington would stay with the brewery but after a few months, he left to work for the Eboracum security company in marketing and business development. The consortium, who invested six-figures to take over Ainsty Ales, from the liquidators, say they found they inherited bills to pay to ‘keep good faith’ with suppliers. This meant they had to make a second cash injection to “keep us ahead,” Jon explained. “We kept all of our customers and with some we have expanded. We have picked up more business from Thor’s Tipi, who are based over the road in Acaster Malbis.” Pubs remained on board with the new owners and new company and the Golden Ball in York returned to stock its ales. Over nine months the consortium managed to ‘take control’ of the business, streamlining processes and “got costs down,” Jon explained. Stuart continued as Head Brewer and Jon praised him, saying: “He’s fantastic. He’s supermotivated.” Jon admits that wasn’t a real ale drinker at first, originally preferring Guiness, but as a convert to the joys of real ale, says “our beers are great.” Other staff stayed with the business as did the ales, with a special beer also launched for Christmas. Looking ahead to 2025, Jon says the brewery plans to open its first pub in York next year. He said: “We have put a bid in for one and a tender for the other. We will get one or the other in York. It will be our first direct to customer outlet, a tap room to sell direct - the profitable part of the industry.” This will add to the existing tap sessions at the brewery in Acaster Malbis, which take place all-year-round, every Friday from 3pm to 9pm. “Our directors turn up and meet and greet customers. We always have food. It’s a good craic.” Jon says the business has now ‘stabilised’ and for the first time in years has achieved break-even and it has renewed its lease on the Acaster Malbis premises. He added: “Everything has come around but it’s taken a lot of time and patience. We look forward with optimism to 2025.”
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By MICHELLE L. PRICE NEW YORK (AP) — Chad Chronister, Donald Trump’s pick to run the Drug Enforcement Administration, said Tuesday he was withdrawing his name from consideration, becoming the second person selected by the president-elect to bow out quickly after being nominated for a position requiring Senate confirmation. Sheriff Chronister, the top law enforcement officer in Hillsborough County, Florida, said in a post on X that he was backing away from the opportunity, which he called “the honor of a lifetime.” “Over the past several days, as the gravity of this very important responsibility set in, I’ve concluded that I must respectfully withdraw from consideration,” Chronister wrote. He did not elaborate, and Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Chronister follows former Republican congressman Matt Gaetz , Trump’s first pick to serve as attorney general, in withdrawing his name for a post in the administration. Gaetz withdrew following scrutiny over a federal sex trafficking investigation that cast doubt on his ability to be confirmed as the nation’s chief federal law enforcement officer. Trump’s pick of Chronister for the DEA job drew backlash from conservatives, who raised concerns over his actions during the COVID-19 pandemic and his saying that his office “does not engage in federal immigration enforcement activities.” In March 2020, Chronister arrested the pastor of a megachurch who held services with hundreds of people and violated a safer-at-home order in place aimed at limiting the spread of the Covid virus. “Shame on this pastor, their legal staff and the leaders of this staff for forcing us to do our job. That’s not what we wanted to do during a declared state of emergency,” Chronister said at the time. “We are hopeful that this will be a wakeup call.” U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky, was among those airing public complaints, saying Chronister should be “disqualified” for the arrest. Others flagged comments Chronister made in a video about Florida’s immigration laws that he released in 2023 that circulated again online after Trump named him last weekend. Related Articles National Politics | Trump team signs agreement to allow Justice to conduct background checks on nominees, staff National Politics | President-elect Donald Trump’s lawyers urge judge to toss his hush money conviction National Politics | Democrats stick with Schumer as leader, their strategy for countering Trump is far less certain National Politics | Trump vows to block Japanese steelmaker from buying US Steel, pledges tax incentives and tariffs National Politics | Democrats’ outgoing chair says Trump’s win forces party to reassess how it reaches voters In the video, Chronister praised the “rich diversity” of his community and called it “a place where people from all walks of life come together.” He said it was important to note his office “does not engage in federal immigration enforcement activities. We do not target individuals based on their immigration status. That’s the authority of federal agencies.” Trump has made a sweeping crackdown on immigration a central focus of his campaign and his aims for his coming administration. Associated Press writer Adriana Gomez Licon in Fort Lauderdale, Florida contributed to this report."Is that Kartik Aaryan?": boAt founder Aman Gupta slams 'arrogant actor' who pretended to be 'humble'; netizens turn detective
Racing Optics® Introduces Game-Changing Twilight Tearoff to Enhance Visibility in Low-Light Racing ConditionsPer the Fifth Circuit, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) exceeded the plain language of its statutory authority when it sanctioned Tornado Cash, a popular cryptocurrency mixing service, for allegedly facilitating money laundering for malicious actors, including North Korea. While recognizing that bad actors may take advantage of Tornado Cash for malicious cyber activities, the court held that the immutable “smart contracts” at issue do not constitute “property” under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) because they are not capable of being owned and because no one can exclude others from using them. On Nov. 26, 2024, in what has been deemed a win for open-source technology, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed the district court’s ruling in Van Loon v. United States Dep’t of the Treasury , holding that OFAC overstepped its authority under IEEPA when it sanctioned Tornado Cash in 2022. Applying the U. S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Loper Bright v. Raimondo , which abolished the longstanding Chevron doctrine, the Fifth Circuit held that the district court erred in giving “heightened deference” to OFAC’s definition of “property” and in finding that immutable smart contracts met that definition. The court analyzed IEEPA’s statutory text to determine that the “ordinary” or “plain meaning” of “property” is that “[it] is capable of being owned.” The panel noted one of the most essential rights associated with “property” is “the right to exclude others.” Citing to Tornado Cash’s “trusted setup ceremony” where over 1,000 volunteers irrevocably removed the option for others to update, remove, or otherwise control the smart contracts’ lines of code, the Fifth Circuit concluded that no one had the ability to “exclude” anyone – even the targeted North Korean wrongdoers – from using the smart contracts. The Fifth Circuit highlighted that its inquiry under Loper Bright could have ended with the conclusion that the plain meaning of “property” in IEEPA does not support the sanctions designation, but it went a step further to conclude that the smart contracts would not be subject to sanction even under OFAC’s own broad regulatory definition of “property,” because the immutable smart contracts are not ownable, and they do not qualify as true “contracts” or “services” as those terms are used in the regulations. Background In August 2022, the OFAC sanctioned Tornado Cash, an open-source crypto-transaction software protocol that allows customers to obscure the original source of virtual currency transactions by mixing multiple transactions and then redistributing them. Citing the protocol’s alleged role in laundering virtual currency for North Korean cyber criminals and others that threaten U.S. national security, OFAC added Tornado Cash to its list of Specially Designated National and Blocked Persons (SDN), prohibiting all U.S. persons from engaging with Tornado Cash, directly or indirectly, or dealing in “property” in which Tornado Cash has an interest. OFAC, which generally interprets the definition and scope of “property” broadly, in this instance interpreted “property” to include open-source computer code known as “smart contracts.” Smart contracts are computer programs stored on a blockchain network that do not require validators and automatically perform tasks – such as executing transactions and transferring cryptocurrency assets – when prompted by a user. A smart contract is considered “immutable” if it cannot be altered or removed from the blockchain. Six Tornado Cash users sued OFAC in the Western District of Texas, claiming that Tornado Cash’s inclusion on the SDN list exceeded OFAC’s statutory authority under IEEPA. The district court granted summary judgment in OFAC’s favor and the users appealed. Takeaways The panel’s opinion reflects judicial reluctance to regulate emerging technologies by stretching a pre-internet-era statute to fit a contemporary framework, even where there may be persuasive policy reasons for doing so. The Fifth Circuit acknowledged the “real-world downsides” of certain uncontrollable technologies that would fall outside of OFAC’s sanctioning authority and recognized that bad actors may take advantage of immutable “smart contracts” for malicious cyber activities. Ultimately, the court shifted the burden onto Congress to update potentially outdated legislation. It remains to be seen whether Congress takes up the court’s invitation to consider extending IEEPA to target modern technologies specifically created to prevent them from being controlled. It is also unclear how the executive branch may adapt its enforcement strategies to try to address the potential for criminal misuse of immutable smart contracts, especially by actors located outside the United States.