Ingested Articles

The New York Philharmonic and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts are accelerating the reconstruction of Geffen Hall because of the novel coronavirus pandemic and plan to reopen the auditorium in fall of 2022, about 1 1/2 years ahead of the original schedule. Rather than rebuild in phased segments arounds seasons, the Philharmonic will relocate for the 2021-22 season and split concerts that year between Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall and Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater. Philharmonic President Deborah Borda said a full season will be announced in late May or early June to start in late September. 

They were an unlikely group of trailblazing diplomats, including the 15-year-old who knew only that China was a big country filled with communists — and really good pingpong players. Tossed into the middle of a potential thawing in U.S. relations with China, though, Judy Bochenski and her American table tennis teammates helped deliver one of the great diplomatic coups of their time. Their hastily arranged trip 50 years ago for exhibitions in three Chinese cities played a role in parting the Red Curtain and opening the way to a new world order that included China.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish authorities on Monday detained 10 retired admirals after a group of more than 100 former top navy officers declared their commitment to an international shipping treaty, a statement that government officials tied to Turkey’s history…

Myanmar’s ruling junta has stepped up its campaign against celebrities who support nationwide protests against its February seizure of power, publishing illustrated wanted lists in the state press and warning against using their work. The move follows weeks of escalating violence by security forces in breaking up street protests against the Feb. 1 coup that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. At least 570 protesters and bystanders, including 47 children, have been killed since the takeover. Some 60 actors, actresses, musicians and social media influencers have been charged with “spreading news to affect state stability” and could face up to three years in prison.

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal by Infowars host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in a defamation lawsuit brought by relatives of some of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The court issued its decision without comment Monday. Jones was challenging sanctions imposed on him by a Connecticut judge in 2019 for an angry outburst on his web show against an attorney for the Sandy Hook families. The families are suing Jones and his show over claims that the school shooting was a hoax. A gunman killed 20 students, six educators and himself in 2012 at the Newtown, Connecticut, school.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law allowing him to potentially hold power until 2036, a move that formalizes constitutional changes endorsed in last year’s popular vote. The July 1 constitutional vote included a provision that reset Putin’s previous terms, allowing him to run for president two more times. The change was rubber-stamped by the Kremlin-controlled legislature and Putin signed it into law Monday. The 68-year-old Russian president has been in power for more than two decades. That's longer than any other Kremlin leader since Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. Putin said he would decide later whether to run again in 2024 when his current six-year term ends. 

More Americans disapprove than approve of how President Joe Biden is handling the sharply increasing number of unaccompanied migrant children arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border, and approval of his efforts on larger immigration policy falls short of other top issues. That suggests it could be a weak point for the new administration. A new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows 40% of Americans disapprove of Biden’s handling of children reaching the nation’s southern border without their parents. That's compared with just 24% who approve. At the same time, 59% say providing safe treatment of unaccompanied children when they are apprehended should be a high priority.

LEMBATA, Indonesia (AP) — Rescuers were hampered by damaged bridges and roads and a lack of heavy equipment Monday after torrential rains caused multiple disasters on remote eastern Indonesian islands as well as in East Timor. At least 133 people…

U.S. Soccer, Major League Soccer and the National Women’s Soccer League are joining a trial program to address concussions. Teams will be allowed two additional substitutes for head injuries in each match. The International Football Association Board, which sets the rules for the game, approved the trial for concussion substitutes last December. It is expected to run through August 2022. FIFA is considering whether the concussion rule will be used at the Tokyo Olympics this summer. 

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. services sector, which employs most Americans, recorded record growth in March as the easing of coronavirus restrictions released pent-up consumer demand. The Institute for Supply Management, an association of purchasing managers, reported Monday that its…

The Supreme Court is siding with Google in an $8 billion copyright dispute with Oracle. The justices sided with Google 6-2 on Monday. The case has to do with Google’s creation of the Android operating system now used on the vast majority of smartphones worldwide. To create Android, which was released in 2007, Google wrote millions of lines of new computer code. But it also used 11,330 lines of code and an organization that’s part of Oracle’s Java platform. Google says what it did is long-settled, common practice in the industry, a practice that has been good for technical progress, and the Supreme Court agreed.

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (AP) — A Malaysian court on Monday began hearing an appeal by ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak to overturn his conviction and 12-year jail sentence linked to the massive looting of the 1MDB state investment fund that brought down…

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is thanking naturalized Americans for “choosing us” in his official video message to the nation's newest citizens. In the brief remarks, Biden references the “courage” of immigrants coming to the U.S. and his own…

Haiti does not have a single vaccine to offer its more than 11 million people more than a year after the pandemic began. For now, Haiti is slated to receive only 756,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine through the World Health Organization’s COVAX program as officials tout a low number of confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths. The situation is of concern to health experts who worry Haitians' well-being is being pushed aside as the country’s violence and political instability deepen. Many also wonder how any vaccine would be administered as people increasingly fear leaving their homes.

A reboot of the 1972 series “Kung Fu” debuts this week on The CW with Olivia Liang in the starring role that was originally played by David Carradine. The show has a cast of mostly actors of Asian descent and its showrunner, Christina M. Kim, is also Asian American. Half of her writing staff is of Asian background and half is women, which was also important to her. The series comes at a crucial time as hate crimes against Asian Americans are on the rise. The Asian American community is also paying attention, not only to see their stories on TV but to see how they’re told. 

Celebrity birthdays for the week of April 11-17 April 11: Actor Joel Grey is 89. Actor Louise Lasser is 82. Actor Peter Riegart (“Animal House”) is 74. Actor Bill Irwin (“Law and Order: SVU”) is 71. Singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale is…