Ingested Articles

TOKYO (AP) — A closely watched economic survey by the Bank of Japan shows growing optimism as the world’s third-largest economy grapples with the damage from the coronavirus pandemic. The quarterly “tankan” survey’s headline index for big manufacturers’ sentiment stood…

Linus Ullmark stopped 31 shots and the Buffalo Sabres snapped an 18-game skid with a 6-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin was the first off the bench as the final horn sounded and led a line of Sabres players high-fiving Ullmark in an arena without fans. It was the first win for Buffalo since a 4-1 victory at New Jersey on Feb. 23, and ended an 0-15-3 streak. The slump was tied for the league’s 14th longest, and worst since the Pittsburgh Penguins had a 0-17-1 stretch during the 2003-04 season.

Kyrie Irving had 31 points and a season-high 12 assists, and the Brooklyn Nets overcame the loss of James Harden to beat the Houston Rockets 120-108 and move into first place in the Eastern Conference. Harden sat out the fourth quarter against his former team with right hamstring tightness, finishing with 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists. The Nets put together the pivotal run without him, scoring 12 straight midway through the final period to turn a six-point deficit into a 107-101 lead, winning a game they trailed by 18 points. 

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Opponents of Myanmar’s military government declared the country’s 2008 constitution void and put forward an interim replacement charter late Wednesday in a major political challenge to the ruling junta. The moves, while more symbolic than practical,…

Jurors have been watching police body camera footage showing how an initial confrontation over an alleged counterfeit $20 bill last year spiraled into an encounter that left George Floyd begging for his life underneath the knee of a police officer as two other officers held him down. Experts on policing have questioned whether the Black man needed to be arrested at all, and say the officers should have at least questioned Floyd on whether he knew the bill was fake. They also wondered why the officers appeared to not follow standard de-escalation techniques to calm Floyd and the situation. Fired Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin is on trial, charged with murder and manslaughter in Floyd's death.

Microsoft won a nearly $22 billion contract to supply U.S. Army combat troops with its virtual reality headsets. Microsoft and the Army separately announced the deal Wednesday. The technology is based on Microsoft’s HoloLens headsets, which can superimpose virtual imagery over real scenery. Tech companies originally designed such goggles for the video game and entertainment industries but have increasingly pitched other uses for them. Military officials have described the futuristic technology — which the Army calls its Integrated Visual Augmentation System — as a way of boosting soldiers’ awareness of their surroundings and their ability to spot targets and dangers.

Lucas Giolito, Max Fried and Jack Flaherty were teammates nine years ago at Harvard-Westlake, a prestigious prep school in Los Angeles. On Thursday, all three will be opening day starting pitchers in the major leagues. And they didn’t even win a California state title the year they all played together. Giolito will throw the season's first pitch for the Chicago White Sox, Flaherty for the St. Louis Cardinals and Fried for the Atlanta Braves.

Georgia lawmakers have given final passage to a bill to repeal the state’s citizen’s arrest law, which the governor has promised to sign into law. Wednesday's final legislative approval came little more than a year after the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man pursued by white men who said they suspected him of a crime. The state House voted 169-0 on Wednesday to approve Senate changes to the bill and sent it to Gov. Brian Kemp for his expected signature. Arbery was fatally shot while running through a neighborhood near Brunswick on the Georgia coast in February 2020. 

SAO PAULO (AP) — Key members of Brazil's government on Wednesday celebrated the anniversary of the country's 1964 military coup, which launched a 21-year dictatorship that saw hundreds of people killed and thousands tortured. President Jair Bolsonaro, a former army…

From Fenway Park to Petco Park, ballparks will again be buzzing with real fans, rather than pumped-in crowd noise, as Fernando Tatis Jr., Juan Soto and MVPs José Abreu and Freddie Freeman step to the plate on opening day. All 30 teams are scheduled to be in action on Thursday, with Gerrit Cole set to throw the first pitch of the season against Toronto at Yankee Stadium. Clayton Kershaw and the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers start in Colorado. A year after no fans were allowed during the virus-shortened 60-game season, every stadium is open, in varying degrees as teams adhere to coronavirus protocols.

Johnson & Johnson says a batch of its COVID-19 vaccine failed quality standards and can’t be used. The drug giant on Wednesday evening issued a statement saying a vaccine ingredient made by Emergent BioSolutions failed a quality check. That's one of about 10 contract companies that Johnson & Johnson is using to speed up manufacturing of its recently approved vaccine. It was unclear how the failed batch would affect future deliveries of the recently approved vaccine in the U.S., at a time when new COVID-19 cases are rising again. 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Even before President Joe Biden unveiled his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan Wednesday, congressional committees were laying the groundwork for a major public works investment with the goal of passage over the summer. They've held hearings to listen…

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The makers of “United States of Al” are keenly aware they're treading on sensitive ground with the new CBS series about two survivors of war. Riley is a combat veteran back from the Mideast, camped in…

Some of Georgia’s most prominent corporate leaders are beginning to more forcefully criticize the state’s sweeping new election law. They're acknowledging the concerns of civil rights activists and Black business executives who say the law targets non-white voters and threatens the democratic process. The chief executives of Delta Air Lines and Coca-Cola have now called the law “unacceptable.” Their criticism is opening an unusual rift with Republican leaders who championed the restrictions and typically enjoy a cozy relationship with Georgia’s business community. The Major League Baseball Players Association also has raised the idea of moving the summer All-Star Game from the Atlanta Braves' home stadium.

President Joe Biden’s son Hunter has detailed his lifelong struggle with alcoholism and drug abuse in a memoir titled “Beautiful Things.” The book is due out next Tuesday. He explains how in just the last five years, his first marriage ended, he had a gun pointed at him and he spent many nights in cheap motels. He says his descent into substance addiction worsened after his older brother, Beau, died of brain cancer in 2015. Hunter Biden credits his second wife and the love from his father and late brother with helping him sober up in 2019.