American Scene

CALIFORNIA

Bus driver held in fatal crash

WILLIAMS | Police say the driver of a casino-bound charter bus that crashed and killed eight people is in critical condition and faces charges of driving under the influence.

The California Highway Patrol is identifying the driver as Quintin Watts, 52, of Stockton.

Officers say they’re investigating whether prescription or nonprescription drugs, or alcohol, were involved in Sunday’s crash. They said it could be a combination.

Mr. Watts was arrested based on observations a witness made before the crash.

The bus did not have seat belts, the patrol said.

Officers are trying to determine the bus owner, but said based on a preliminary investigation, they’re looking into a company called Cobbs Bus Service.

PENNSYLVANIA

Mars, Wrigley close $23 billion deal

HARRISBURG | Mars Inc. has closed a $23 billion deal to purchase chewing-gum giant Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co., the companies said Monday, making the combined business the world’s largest candy maker.

The deal brings together household names: Wrigley, a landmark in Chicago where the company began in 1891, and Mars, the privately held maker of Snickers and Skittles and M&Ms - the candy-coated chocolates that are the world’s best-selling chocolate candy brand.

At the end of Monday, Wrigley’s stock ceased trading publicly as the owner of one of the world’s most popular chewing-gum brands, Orbit, becomes a subsidiary of Mars.

Its headquarters will remain in Chicago, and it will take over Mars’ sugar candy brands, including Skittles and Starburst, as well as production facilities in Australia, the Czech Republic and Mexico.

The merger combines companies that have worldwide footprints and are powerhouses in separate parts of the confectionery sector, Wrigley in gum and Mars in chocolate candy. Combined, they will bump Britain’s Cadbury PLC from the top candy-making slot.

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