Ingested Articles

Coke sales rebound as vaccinations roll out and venues open

Coca-Cola Co. says its sales are steadily improving as vaccination rates increase and restaurants and offices reopen around the world. The company said its sales rose 5% in the January-March period this year, helped by strong growth in China and India. But the recovery is uneven. Case volumes declined in North America and Europe, where many dining rooms and other venues remain closed. Atlanta-based Coke said its net income dropped 19% to $2.2 billion in the first quarter. Excluding one-time items, the company earned 55 cents per share. That exceeded Wall Street’s forecast. Coke’s revenue rose 5% to $9.0 billion.

'Downton Abbey' cast returns for sequel opening in December

The original principal cast of “Downton Abbey” are returning for a second film that will arrive in theaters December 22 this year. Focus Features says Monday that “Downton Abbey” creator Julian Fellowes has written the screenplay, and Simon Curtis (“My Week With Marilyn”) is directing. Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery and 86-year-old Maggie Smith will all be back, along with some new faces, including Hugh Dancy, Laura Haddock, Nathalie Baye and Dominic West. Production began last week on “Downton Abbey 2.” Producer Gareth Neame says the “Downton” reunion will be a “huge comfort” to fans after a challenging year. The 2019 film came three years years after the series ended.

Radical Islamist party frees 11 Pakistani police hostages

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — An outlawed Pakistani Islamist political group freed 11 police a day after taking them hostage in the eastern city of Lahore amid violent clashes with security forces, the country’s interior minister said Monday. Supporters of the…

New SUV models star at China auto show under virus controls

SHANGHAI (AP) — Volkswagen, Ford and Chinese brands unveiled new SUVs for China on Monday at the Shanghai auto show, the industry’s biggest marketing event in a year overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic. Automakers are looking to China, the biggest…

Memorabilia from Springsteen to 'Phantom' set for auction

NEW YORK (AP) — Bruce Springsteen, Hugh Jackman, Elton John, Bette Midler, Christine Baranski, Steve Martin and Tina Fey have all raided their closets to offer up personal items for a charity online auction, with one prize being a key…

High court won't hear Tennessee prisoners' hepatitis C case

The Supreme Court is leaving in place an appeals court decision that upheld Tennessee’s rationing of life-saving hepatitis C drugs to prisoners as constitutional. The high court on Monday said it would not take the case. As is typical, the court did not comment in turning away the case. The 2-1 appeals court decision last August found that officials did not act with deliberate indifference to prisoners’ medical needs and it was reasonable to prioritize the sickest patients for treatment given the Tennessee Department of Correction’s limited resources. In a dissent, U.S. Circuit Judge Ronald Lee Gilman wrote that officials may not refuse to treat a patient with a serious medical need “merely to avoid paying the bill.”

Myanmar junta cracks down on celebrations of new shadow govt

Security forces in Myanmar have used violence against demonstrators who sought to celebrate last week’s formation of a shadow government to serve as an alternative to the military junta that has held power since a February coup. Myanmar media and posts on social networks say the violence was especially intense in Myingyan, a town in central Myanmar, where they reported at least one person was killed Sunday. Unconfirmed reports on social media said at least one more person was killed there Monday. Marches were held in Mandalay and elsewhere to show support for the “National Unity Government” announced Friday by protest leaders. Security forces reportedly broke up a march at dawn in Mandalay that included Buddhist monks.

Greens bid for German chancellery as Merkel's bloc squabbles

Germany’s environmentalist Greens have chosen co-leader Annalena Baerbock to make the party’s first bid for the chancellery in the country’s September election. Monday's announcement came as Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right bloc tried to resolve a power struggle. The Sept. 26 parliamentary election is unpredictable, in part because the popular incumbent isn’t seeking re-election. Merkel vowed in 2018 not to seek a fifth four-year term. Recent polls have shown the Greens running second behind Merkel's Union bloc. Baerbock, a 40-year-old lawmaker, says she stands for renewal while others stand for the status quo. In Merkel’s bloc, the governors of Germany’s two most populous states, Armin Laschet and Markus Soeder, battling for the nomination to run for chancellor.

1 dead, 100,000 displaced as typhoon blows near Philippines

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — An approaching powerful typhoon has left at least one person dead, another missing and prompted the evacuation of more than 100,000 people as a precaution in the eastern and central Philippines, although the unusual summer storm…

EXPLAINER: Jerusalem dispute could derail Palestinian vote

JERUSALEM (AP) — A dispute over voting in east Jerusalem is threatening to cancel or delay the first Palestinian elections in more than 15 years. While President Mahmoud Abbas is vowing to hold the vote, Israeli restrictions on Palestinian voters…

'Britcoin' digital currency being considered by UK

LONDON (AP) — British authorities are exploring the possibility of creating a new digital currency that Treasury chief Rishi Sunak touted as "Britcoin." The Bank of England and the Treasury said Monday that they will work together to assess the…

Rwanda report blames France for 'enabling' the 1994 genocide

A report commissioned by the Rwandan government concludes that the French government bears “significant” responsibility for “enabling a foreseeable genocide" that left more than 800,000 dead in 1994. The report, that The Associated Press was able to read, comes amid efforts by Rwanda to document the role of French authorities before, during, and after the genocide, as France’s President Emmanuel Macron has tried to improve relations with the central African country. It is to be made public later on Monday after its formal presentation to Rwanda’s Cabinet. It concludes that in years prior to the genocide, former French President Francois Mitterrand and his administration had knowledge of preparations for the massacres — yet kept supporting Rwanda’s government.

Celebrity birthdays for the week of April 25-May 1

Celebrity birthdays for the week of April 25-May 1: April 25: Actor Al Pacino is 81. “Dancing With the Stars” judge Len Goodman is 77. Bassist Stu Cook of Creedence Clearwater Revisited is 76. Singer Bjorn Ulvaeus of ABBA is…

UN experts slam UK report for repackaging 'racist tropes'

LONDON (AP) — A body of experts that advises the United Nations on human rights concerns has slammed a widely criticized British government-backed report that concluded there was no systemic racism in the country. The U.N. Working Group of Experts…

Leadership shakeup continues at GameStop, CEO to depart

The overhaul in the top ranks of GameStop continues with the announced departure of CEO George Sherman at the end of July. Company shares rose more than 8% before the opening bell Monday. Less than two weeks ago the Texas company announced the nomination of Chewy founder Ryan Cohen as chairman of the board, a major investor in the floundering video game retailer.  Cohen had been buying huge stakes in the company and pushing for a digital transformation. GameStop has suffered as more gamers turn to digital downloads rather than the discs the chain sells on its shelves.

India's capital to lock down amid devastating virus surge

New Delhi has imposed a weeklong lockdown as an explosive surge in coronavirus cases to prevent the collapse of the Indian capital’s health system. Authorities said Monday that hospitals have been pushed to their limit. In scenes familiar from surges elsewhere, ambulances catapulted from one hospital to another, trying to find an empty bed over the weekend, while patients lined up outside waiting to be let in. Ambulances also idled outside of crematoriums, carrying half a dozen dead bodies each. Just months after India thought it had seen the worst of the pandemic, an expert said the virus is now spreading at a rate faster than at any other time.

Will Japanese Olympians be vaccinated ahead of the public?

The vaccine rollout in Japan has been very slow with less than 1% vaccinated. This is spilling over to concerns about the postponed Tokyo Olympics that are scheduled to open in just over three months. The minister in charge of the vaccine rollout said last week that even if the Olympics go on it’s possible the venues will be empty. Fans from abroad are already banned from the Olympics and it’s hard to imagine venues even half-filled with mostly unvaccinated fans. Many non-Japanese entering Japan are expected to be vaccinated. Japanese athletes so far are not vaccinated.

Australia reverses decision to withhold medals from veterans

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s government on Monday reversed a decision to strip soldiers of unit citations due to war crime allegations in Afghanistan and announced an inquiry into suicides among veterans and serving members of the military. Australian Defense…

ABN AMRO pays multimillion fine in money laundering probe

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — ABN AMRO has agreed to pay 480 million euros ($574 million) as part of a settlement with prosecutors who accused the Dutch state-owned bank of “serious shortcomings” in tackling money laundering, prosecutors and the bank…

Super League clubs tell FIFA legal action already started

The 12 European clubs pursuing a Super League have told the leaders FIFA and UEFA that legal action is already being pursued to stop them from action intended to thwart the launch of the breakaway competition. A letter has been sent by the group of English, Spanish and Italian clubs to FIFA President Gianni Infantino and UEFA counterpart Aleksander Ceferin saying the Super League has already been underwritten by a grant of 4 billion euros ($5.5 billion) from a financial institution. UEFA warned the Super League clubs, including Barcelona, Juventus and Manchester United, after leaks of their plans on Sunday that legal action would be taken against rebel clubs and saying they would barred from existing domestic competitions.

Bitter experience helps French ICUs crest latest virus wave

A renewed crush of COVID-19 cases is again forcing intensive care units across France to grapple with the macabre mathematics of how to make space for thousands of  critically ill patients. Having learned from the bitter experience of the early months of the pandemic, French hospitals now fight relentlessly to keep patients awake and off mechanical ventilators, if at all possible. Instead, ICU teams are using persuasion to convince patients to stick as long as possible with less-invasive breathing masks and nose tubes. While mechanical ventilation is unavoidable for some patients, it’s a step taken less systematically now than at the start of the pandemic. Doctors say it can be traumatic and carries risks.

Intensity up as Dodgers, Padres start season series

The Dodgers and Padres weren’t about to pace themselves. The NL West rivals have 19 games scheduled against each other this season, and if the first three were any indication, that should be a treat. The Dodgers took two of three — and there was no shortage of entertainment in this pulsating series that featured star power and hostility. Los Angeles won the first game in extra innings and the second on an incredible catch by Mookie Betts. San Diego salvaged the third with three runs in its last at-bat.

LEADING OFF: Patriots' Day at Fenway, Twins still on pause

The Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox begin at 11:05 a.m. at Fenway Park in the annual Patriots’ Day game. The event usually coincides with the Boston Marathon -- in past years, fans in the Green Monster seats would turn around to catch a glimpse of the leaders while others headed over after the final out to cheer on the runners in Kenmore Square, about a mile from the finish line. This year, the famous race has been moved to Oct. 11 due to coronavirus concerns. Chicago ace Lucas Giolito is slated to start the series finale against Nathan Eovaldi.