By DEE-ANN DURBIN

The debate over whether Coca-Cola should use high-fructose corn syrup or cane sugar in its signature soda obscures an important fact: Consumers are increasingly looking for Coke with no sugar at all.

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Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, which was introduced in 2017, uses both the artificial sweetener aspartame and the natural sweetener stevia in its recipe. It’s one of Coke’s fastest-growing products, with global case volumes up 14% in the first quarter of the year. By comparison, the company’s total case volumes were up 2%.

PepsiCo also noted Thursday that 60% of its sales volumes in major markets in the second quarter came from low- or no-sugar drinks.

“When you look at colas, the percentage of growth coming from zero sugar is significant,” said Duane Stanford, the editor and publisher of Beverage Digest.

Coca-Cola Co. hasn’t confirmed a presidential pronouncement

The scrutiny over Coke’s sweeteners began Wednesday, when President Donald Trump announced that Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co. had agreed to switch to using cane sugar in the regular version of its beverage manufactured in the U.S.

“I have been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so,” Trump wrote on his social media site. “I’d like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola. This will be a very good move by them — You’ll see. It’s just better!”

FILE – Former President Donald Trump drinks a Diet Coke during the ProAm of the LIV Golf Team Championship at Trump National Doral Golf Club, Oct. 27, 2022, in Doral, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

Coca-Cola didn’t confirm the change. In a statement, the company said it appreciated Trump’s enthusiasm and would share details on new offerings soon.

Stanford said he doubts Coca-Cola will fully shift away from high fructose corn syrup, which has sweetened Coke in the U.S. since the 1980s. There would be tremendous supply chain and logistics headaches, he said, and the U.S. doesn’t make enough sugar for Coke’s needs.

He expects the Atlanta-based company will offer a cane sugar-sweetened version in the U.S. just like its rival Pepsi has been doing since 2009. He noted that Coke has indulged U.S. fans by importing Mexican Coke, which is made with cane sugar, since 2005. Coke positions Mexican Coke as an upscale alternative and sells it in glass bottles.

A rush to defend high fructose corn syrup

The corn industry wasn’t happy with the speculation. In a statement Wednesday, Corn Refiners Association President and CEO John Bode said replacing high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar makes no sense and would cost thousands of American manufacturing jobs.

Shares in ADM, a maker of high fructose corn syrup, dipped nearly 2% Thursday after Trump’s announcement.

In a message on X, Coca-Cola defended high fructose corn syrup, saying it’s no more likely to contribute to obesity than table sugar or other full-calorie sweeteners.

“It’s safe; it has about the same number of calories per serving as table sugar and is metabolized in a similar way by your body,” the company said. “Please be assured that Coca-Cola brand soft drinks do not contain any harmful substances.”

The Food and Drug Administration also says there is no evidence of any difference in safety among foods sweetened with high fructose corn syrup and those that sugar, honey or other traditional sweeteners.

US consumers are seeking more options

Soft drink preferences are highly subjective, as anyone who has been in a Pepsi vs. Coke or 7-Up vs. Sprite debate knows. But recent trends indicate that Coke and other drink makers need to focus on the kinds of low- and no-sugar drinks that a growing number of consumers are seeking, according to Stanford.

He said his data shows original Coke was the top seller by volume in the U.S. last year, with 19% market share, while Coke Zero Sugar was seventh and had a 4% market share. But Coke Zero Sugar’s share grew 10%, while original Coke’s share was flat.

Paige Leyden, the associate director of food service, flavors and ingredients reports at the market research company Mintel, said drinks with a health halo like Olipop — which has 1 gram of sugars compared to original Coke’s 65 grams — are also pressuring legacy soda makers. Mintel expects full-sugar sodas will see a 3.4% rise in U.S. sales this year, while diet sodas will see 11.8% growth.

Still, nutritionists suggest avoiding added sugars, no matter the form, since they provide empty calories with no nutrients. The 2020 U.S. dietary guidelines advise people to limit foods and beverages higher in added sugars, and say children under 2 should not be fed them at all.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, whose nutrition views often diverge from mainstream nutrition science, has spoken out against sugar. His agency is expected to release updated nutrition guidelines later this year.

“There’s things we’ll never be able to eliminate, like sugar,” Kennedy said at an April news conference. “And sugar is poison, and Americans need to know that.”

Aspartame and other artificial sweeteners are also named as a concern in a government report Kennedy issued in May.

AP Health and Science Editor Jonathan Poet contributed from Philadelphia.

By MATTHEW LEE

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department says its destruction of 500 metric tons of emergency food aid that was stored in a warehouse in the Middle East was required because it had expired and that the move will not affect the distribution of similar assistance moving forward.

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The high energy biscuits — used primarily to provide immediate nutritional needs for children in crisis situations — had been stored in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to respond to emergencies and could no longer be safely sent to potential recipients, so it was destroyed, department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters Thursday.

The issue, first reported by The Atlantic, has been raised repeatedly in congressional hearings this week, with Democratic lawmakers accusing the Trump administration of creating a crisis and ignoring urgent humanitarian needs by suspending most foreign assistance in its first month in office.

The administration already has dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development, the nation’s main agency for distributing food aid abroad, and is currently trying to rescind billions of dollars in foreign assistance. It comes as 319 million people around the world are facing acute hunger, and people in places like Gaza, Sudan, South Sudan, Mali and Haiti are teetering on the brink of starvation, according to the U.N. World Food Program.

Bruce said the amount destroyed was less than 1% of the 1 million metric tons of food assistance that the United States supplies each year and suggested that the destroyed stockpile would be replaced. But she could not say if the Trump administration would continue to provide the 1 million metric tons going forward.

“If something is expired, we will destroy it,” Bruce said, brushing aside appeals for the administration to either distribute the assistance itself or give it to aid agencies who could do so. “It’s a matter of whether or not it’s safe to distribute.”

Bruce said destroying expired stockpiled food — which is generally stored in warehouses near regions or countries at risk for drought, famine and other disasters — are not unprecedented and have occurred under previous administrations that have not pursued draconian cuts in foreign assistance.

The top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Jeanne Shaheen, asked Deputy Secretary of State for Management Michael Rigas on Wednesday about the destruction of the food.

The New Hampshire senator secured a commitment from Rigas to produce an inventory of current food aid stockpiles and a pledge from the administration to try to distribute warehoused assistance before it expires.

“If the State Department doesn’t have the officials to distribute it, let’s give it to other aid organizations so that they can distribute it, so it’s not going to waste and that people are getting the benefit of not only what American taxpayers pay for, but the people who are truly desperate,” Shaheen said.

She noted there are stocks of cooking oil sitting in a Houston port and food aid stored in Djibouti that may soon expire.

Rigas said the administration’s intention was not to deliberately allow food aid to expire and go to waste.

A 13-year-old Amur Tiger and mother to six cubs was euthanized last week, the Minnesota Zoo announced Thursday.

Sundari, also known as “Dari,” was euthanized due to mesothelioma, an aggressive and incurable form of cancer, the zoo said in a release. She passed peacefully and under expert care.

Born in 2012 at the Apple Valley zoo, Dari gave birth to six cubs: Vera, Brosno, Vostok, Yana, and last spring welcomed Amaliya and Andrei.

In May 2024, two Amur tiger cubs, Andrei (male) and Amaliya (female) were born at the Minnesota Zoo to Dari, fathered by Luka. (Courtesy of the Minnesota Zoo)

“Dari was more than a tiger — she was a powerful ambassador for her species,” said Minnesota Zoo Director John Frawley, in the release. “Her legacy lives on in her cubs and in the hearts she touched.”

An endangered species due to poaching, Amur Tigers hovered near the brink of extinction around the 1930s with an estimated population between 20 and 30, according to the zoo.

Since opening in 1978, 46 Amur tiger cubs have been born at the Minnesota Zoo. Of the 46 cubs, 21 have gone on to produce litters of their own, resulting in another 86 cubs to bolster the population, per the release.

The Minnesota Zoo is also active in several Species Survival Plans, including tigers and Japanese and lion-tailed macaques, that serve as a “genetic insurance policy” against extinction by coordinating with experts to guide breeding decisions and animal transfers.

“Through her life, Dari gave the SSP program what it needed most — consistency, maternal excellence and critical genetic contribution. She nurtured her cubs with extraordinary love and helped guide a new generation of care for tiger mothers,” said Trista Fischer, Minnesota Zoo zoologist and coordinator of the Amur Tiger Species Survival Plan, in the release.

To honor Dari, well wishers are invited to support the Tiger Conservation Fund, donate to the Minnesota Zoo Foundation or visit Dari’s offspring at the Minnesota Zoo, located at 13000 Zoo Boulevard in Apple Valley.

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By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Maryland man was arrested Thursday on charges that he made threatening calls to the Georgia offices of Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

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Seth Jason, 64, repeatedly threatened to assault and kill Greene and her family during several calls to her district offices in between October 2023 and January 2025, according to his four-count indictment. Jason also threatened Greene’s staff members and their families, authorities said.

Jason worked for Voice of America and made threatening calls using phone lines connected to studios and control rooms at the news agency’s headquarters in Washington, according to U.S. Capitol Police.

Jason, of Edgewater, Maryland, also volunteered as a reserve officer for the Anne Arundel County Police Department in Maryland. The department said in a statement that Jason had served as a volunteer since 2016.

“Anne Arundel County Reserve Officers are unarmed and have no police authority. Mr. Jason is no longer affiliated with the Anne Arundel County Police Department,” the statement said.

A lawyer for Jason did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

A grand jury indicted Jason on charges of influencing a federal official by threat, influencing a federal official by threatening a family member, interstate communications with a threat to kidnap or injure and anonymous telecommunications harassment.

Jason was expected to make his initial court appearance in Washington on Thursday.

“No one should have to live their life looking over their shoulder every day and wondering if those threats are about to be fulfilled and about to come true,” acting U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said at a news conference.

Pirro read aloud some of the statements that Jason is accused of making during the calls to Greene’s offices.

“I am looking forward to your book signing. We are all armed and ready to take care of you,” Jason said, according to Pirro.

Threats against members of Congress and other public officials have surged as the nation’s political landscape has become increasingly divisive.

During the news conference, Capitol Police Chief Michael Sullivan alluded to the June 14 shootings in Minnesota by a man charged with killing the Democratic leader in the state House and her husband after wounding another lawmaker and his wife.

“This has got to stop,” Sullivan said. “This has changed since Minnesota. We are going to work very, very hard to hold you accountable if you make these threats.”