President Barack Obama on Monday, just days ahead of his Mideast trip, met with about 10 leaders of Arab-American groups who encouraged him to deliver a message of hope to the Palestinian people even if he is unable to immediately deliver a peace plan with Israel.

Obama met with the officials Monday, four days after meeting with Jewish leaders as part of his preparation for the visit.

It wasn't too long ago that America had a love affair with soda. Now, an old flame has the country's heart.

As New York City grapples with the legality of a ban on the sale of large cups of soda and other sugary drinks at some businesses, one thing is clear: soda's run as the nation's beverage of choice has fizzled.

Macedonia on Monday marked the 70th anniversary of the deportation of nearly its entire Jewish community to a Nazi death camp during World War II, while a U.S.-based diaspora group called on neighbor Bulgaria to apologize for its role in the Holocaust.

Culture Minister Elizabeta Milevska led the memorial to honor the 7,144 people who were deported. Only about 50 of them survived.

A defense lawyer says prosecutors are not seeking jail time for actor Stephen Baldwin, who's accused of not paying his New York income taxes for three years.

There's a court conference Monday in the case against Baldwin, the youngest of the four acting Baldwin brothers.

Alibaba Group, one of the world's biggest e-commerce companies, said Monday its executive vice president will succeed founder Jack Ma as chief executive.

Ma, 48, announced in January he was stepping down as CEO to make way for younger leaders. He stayed on as chairman.

Novak Djokovic extended his winning streak to 19 matches with a 6-0, 5-7, 6-2 victory over Fabio Fognini in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday.

Djokovic held serve for a 5-2 lead in the final set, then had a pair of match points after a crisp forehand to the corner.

Mario Chalmers scored 26 points and Chris Bosh added 24 as the Miami Heat won their 18th straight game, easily beating the Indiana Pacers 105-91 on Sunday night.

The 18-game streak equals the seventh longest in NBA history, and is the league's best since the Boston Celtics won 19 straight during the 2008-09 season. Miami will try for No. 19 when it hosts Atlanta on Tuesday night.

Chelsea staged a second-half comeback at Manchester United to earn 2-2 draw in the FA Cup on Sunday and force a replay to determine which team advances to a semifinal against Manchester City.

Javier Hernandez and Wayne Rooney put United ahead 2-0 after just 11 minutes, but substitute Eden Hazard began Chelsea's comeback in the 59th and Ramires equalized seven minutes later.

Faced with a 2-0 deficit against AC Milan, Barcelona must achieve the one feat that has eluded it throughout its unprecedented run of titles — the major comeback.

Barcelona's bid for a fourth Champions League title in eight years will be in the balance Tuesday when it hosts Milan in the second leg of the last 16.

Japan marked the second anniversary on Monday of a devastating earthquake and tsunami that left nearly 19,000 people dead or missing and more than 300,000 people still displaced.

At memorial observances in Tokyo and in barren towns along the northeastern coast, those gathered bowed their heads in a moment of silence marking the moment, at 2:46 p.m. on March 11, 2011, when the magnitude 9.0 earthquake — the strongest recorded in Japan’s history — struck off the coast.