Renée Victor, the voice of no-nonsense Abuelita in ‘Coco,’ dies at 86

posted in: All news | 0

By JOCELYN NOVECK

Renée Victor, who voiced the no-nonsense, sandal-throwing Abuelita in Disney’s animated hit “Coco” and played the wisecracking Lupita on Showtime’s “Weeds,” has died. She was 86.

Related Articles


Top 10 summer movies: ‘Fantastic Four,’ meet ‘Jurassic Park 7’ and the new man from Krypton


Theater review: The Hmong women are tough and funny in Jungle Theater’s powerful ‘Sixpack’


Column: How ‘Jaws’ changed our chumminess with swimming 50 years ago this summer


Here are five ways to celebrate Pride month, from Pee-wee Herman to F1rst Wrestling


Russell Brand pleads not guilty to charges of rape and sexual assault in London court

Victor’s death was confirmed on Monday by a representative, Julie Smith, who said the actor had lymphoma for several years. She died Friday at her home in Sherman Oaks, California, Smith said, with family by her side.

A post on the Instagram feed of Pixar, which produced “Coco,” said: “We are heartbroken to hear of the passing of Renée Victor, the voice (of) Abuelita in ‘Coco’ and an incredible part of the Pixar family. We will always remember you.”

Victor appeared in 22 episodes of “Weeds” as sassy housekeeper Lupita between 2005 and 2012, among many other TV credits including “ER,” “Matlock” and “The Addams Family.” But she was perhaps best known for what she called the chancla-throwing grandmother in “Coco,” the 2017 family-friendly movie that explored death through the journey of a young Mexican boy to the land of the dead.

“I play the part of ‘Abuelita,’ the chancla throwing grandma that preaches ‘No Music!’” she wrote on Instagram, looking back several years ago. “Enjoy ‘Coco’ with your family this Dia de los Muertos and forever more!”

FILE – Renee Victor appears at the premiere of “Coco” in Los Angeles on Nov. 8, 2017. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

She also looked back at “The Apostle,” the 1997 movie that Robert Duvall wrote, directed and starred in. “He took a chance on me with this film,” Victor wrote on Instagram. “This is where I got my nickname ‘one take Renée,’” she said, adding laughter emojis. “I had a small role but what a great one! Can somebody give me an amen?!”

Born in San Antonio, Texas, on July 25, 1938, Victor began her performing career as a singer and dancer. She moved to Los Angeles in the 1960s, according to biography material provided by her representatives, where she launched her career singing with prominent big band leaders Xavier Cugat and Pérez Prado. She also taught Latin dancing, including the salsa and tango.

She met her future husband, Ray, during that period, and from 1963 to 1973, they performed together as “Ray & Renée,” a variety show took them around the world — including Australia, where “they enjoyed particular fame,” the materials said.

In the 1970s, Victor hosted the “Pacesetters” public affairs show on KTLA, her representatives said, and by the ’80s had moved into TV and film work.

Her film credits, other than “The Apostle,” included the 2014 horror film “Paranormal Activity 5: The Marked Ones,” “The Doctor” with William Hurt (1991), and “A Night in Old Mexico” (2013), also with Duvall. In 2004, she had a recurring role as Florina Lopez on TV’s “ER,” and the following year was cast in “Weeds.” Other series credits included “Snowpiercer” (2020-2021), “Mayans M.C.” (2022), “Dead to Me” (2020-2022), and Amazon’s “With Love” (2021-2023).

Victor is survived by her daughters, Raquel and Margo Victor, Smith said.

Campbell’s Co. says sales rise as more Americans cook meals at home

posted in: All news | 0

By DEE-ANN DURBIN

The Campbell’s Co. said Monday it saw stronger sales of broth and condensed soup in its latest quarter as more Americans cooked their meals at home.

Related Articles


Federal student loan rates soften for 2025-26, making borrowing slightly more affordable


China says US moves on computer chips and student visas ‘seriously violate’ tariffs truce


Wall Street drifts as oil prices jump and US manufacturing slumps


Business People: Catherine Penkert named chief of staff at Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity


Real World Economics: Bond primer part 1: Understanding the market

“Consumers continue to cook at home and focus their spending on products that help them stretch their food budgets, and they’re increasingly intentional about their discretionary snack purchases,” Campbell’s President and CEO Mick Beekhuizen said during a conference call with investors.

Beekhuizen said Campbell’s saw the highest level of meals cooked at home since early 2020 in its fiscal third quarter, which ended April 27. Campbell’s noted sales of its broths rose 15% during the quarter while sales of its Rao’s pasta sauces were up 2%.

But Campbell’s said sales of its snacks, including Goldfish crackers and Cape Cod potato chips, fell 4% during the quarter.

Other big companies, including McDonald’s, have also noted that Americans are increasingly eating at home as uncertainty over the economy grows. Grocery prices have also moderated. In 2024, prices for food eaten at home rose 1.2%, while prices for food away from home rose 4.1%, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Snack makers like PepsiCo, which makes Frito Lay chips, and General Mills, which makes Bugles chips and Golden Grahams, have also noted lower demand for snacks in recent quarters.

Campbell’s net sales rose 4% to $2.5 billion for the fiscal third quarter, which was in line with Wall Street’s expectations, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

Judge blocks administration from revoking protected status for small subset of Venezuelans

posted in: All news | 0

By JANIE HAR

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — An estimated 5,000 Venezuelans granted temporary protected status can continue to work and live in the U.S. despite a Supreme Court ruling revoking protections while their lawsuit against the Trump administration is pending.

Related Articles


Trump asks the Supreme Court to clear the way for federal downsizing plans


China says US moves on computer chips and student visas ‘seriously violate’ tariffs truce


Supreme Court will consider reviving Republican challenge to Illinois law on mail ballots


RFK Jr. says autism ‘destroys’ families. Here’s what those families want you to know


List of ‘sanctuary jurisdictions’ removed from US government website following criticism

U.S. District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco ruled Friday that Venezuelans whose Temporary Protected Status was extended to October 2026 are not affected by the Supreme Court’s order and are not eligible for deportation.

The Supreme Court last month gave the go-ahead for the Republican administration to strip TPS from an estimated 350,000 Venezuelans that would have expired in April. In doing so, the court put on hold Chen’s order blocking the administration from revoking protections granted under President Joe Biden.

The justices provided no rationale, which is common in emergency appeals. But they singled out applicants who had received work authorization and other paperwork with new expiration dates of Oct. 2, 2026.

Chen said at a hearing Friday that the justices could have stayed silent as to that subset of people, but didn’t. His court continues to hear the underlying claim that the revocations by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem were unlawful.

TPS allows people already in the United States to live and work legally because their native countries are deemed unsafe for return due to natural disaster or civil strife.

President Donald Trump promised on the campaign trail to deport millions of people, and in office has sought to dismantle Biden administration policies that expanded paths for migrants to live legally in the U.S.

Police to start new search near where toddler Madeleine McCann disappeared in 2007

posted in: All news | 0

By SYLVIA HUI

LONDON (AP) — Police investigating the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann will carry out fresh searches near the Portuguese holiday resort she was last seen 18 years ago, authorities said on Monday.

Related Articles


UN, Iran and Egypt meet to discuss Iran’s nuclear program as enrichment continues


Britain gets a defense boost aimed at sending a message to Russia, and to Trump


China says US moves on computer chips and student visas ‘seriously violate’ tariffs truce


Israeli forces open fire a kilometer away from Gaza aid site, killing 3, health officials say


Watch: Sicily’s Mount Etna erupts in a fiery show of smoke and ash miles high

The 3-year-old disappeared from her bed while on vacation with her family in the Praia da Luz resort, in southern Portugal, on May 3, 2007. She has not been seen since.

Detectives acting on a request from a German public prosecutor will carry out “a broad range” of searches this week in the area of Lagos, in southern Portugal, a Portuguese police statement said.

The main suspect in the case is a German national identified by media as Christian Brueckner, who is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for raping a 72-year-old woman in Portugal in 2005.

He is under investigation on suspicion of murder in the McCann case but hasn’t been charged. He spent many years in Portugal, including in Praia da Luz, around the time of the child’s disappearance. Brueckner has denied any involvement in her disappearance.

Prosecutors in Braunschweig, Germany, who are responsible for the investigation, didn’t give details of the “judicial measures” taking place in Portugal, according to Germany’s dpa news agency. They said the measures are being carried out by Portuguese authorities with support from officers from Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office.

Britain’s Metropolitan Police said it was “aware of the searches being carried by the BKA (German federal police) in Portugal as part of their investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.”

“The Metropolitan Police Service is not present at the search, we will support our international colleagues where necessary,” the force added, without giving more details.

The McCann case received worldwide interest for several years, with reports of sightings of her stretching as far away as Australia as well as books and television documentaries about her disappearance.

Almost two decades on, investigators in the U.K., Portugal and Germany are still piecing together what happened on the night she disappeared. She was in the same room as her brother and sister — 2-year-old twins — while their parents, Kate and Gerry, had dinner with friends at a nearby restaurant.

The last time police resumed searches in the case was in 2023, when detectives from the three countries took part in an operation searching near a dam and a reservoir about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the Praia da Luz resort.

Madeleine’s family marked the 18th anniversary of her disappearance last month, and expressed their determination to keep searching.

Barry Hatton in Lisbon and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed.