BEIJING (AP) — President Xi Jinping is asking former CEO Howard Schultz of Starbucks to help repair U.S.-Chinese relations that have plunged to their lowest level in decades amid a tariff war and...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz says he's no longer considering an independent presidential bid.

Schultz said Friday in a letter posted on his website, "I have...

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz launched a heartland tour in reliably GOP Kansas on Tuesday, saying he can win the presidential race as an independent candidate by...

SEATTLE (AP) — A Florida woman is suing former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz after she says she and others on the national do-not-call list got automated text messages promoting his book tour....

The Latest on the 2020 campaign season (all times Eastern):

7:40 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidates are making it clear that there are new voices competing for voters'...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Multiple Democratic presidential candidates said Thursday that they won't attend the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual conference in Washington next...

Starbucks President and CEO Kevin Johnson wants his company to move faster.

In China, Starbucks is opening a store every 15 hours as it tries to stay ahead of cheaper competitors.

SEATTLE (AP) — Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who is considering an independent bid for president, is apologizing for saying he had likely spent more time with the military than the other...

MIAMI (AP) — Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz on Wednesday offered his vision for what an independent presidency could look like, even though he still hasn't decided whether to enter the White...

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz acknowledged the manager of one of the company's shops in Philadelphia where two black men were arrested last year might not have called authorities if the two men had been white.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is blasting President Donald Trump as he considers an independent bid to replace him, telling students Thursday at Purdue University that Trump "must not serve a second term."

DETROIT (AP) — DETROIT (AP) — In a story on Feb. 1 about former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz considering a run for president, The Associated Press misidentified who was threatening to organize a boycott against the company. It was Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress, not the center itself.

A corrected version of the story is below:

Starbucks faces tricky time as ex-CEO mulls presidential run

SEATTLE (AP) — "Grande ego. Venti mistake": That was the message protesters had for former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz as he returned to his hometown of Seattle after announcing that he's mulling an independent run for president.

SEATTLE (AP) — "Grande ego. Venti mistake": That was the message protesters had for former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz as he returned to his hometown of Seattle on Thursday after announcing that he's mulling an independent run for president.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Elizabeth Warren seized on criticism Tuesday from two potential presidential rivals who are billionaires to highlight her proposal to raise taxes on top earners.

NEW YORK (AP) — Some of the most influential forces in Democratic politics revolted Monday against former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz's prospective presidential bid, insisting that an independent run would unintentionally help President Donald Trump win another four years in office.

SEATTLE (AP) — For a businessman who grew a small coffee roaster into an inescapable global chain, who ensured that even his part-time workers had benefits and who has given about $150,000 to Democratic campaigns, former Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz is generating tepid — or even hostile — responses within the party as he weighs a presidential bid in 2020.

MILAN (AP) — Will the country that gave us espresso embrace the company that gave us grande Frappucinos?

Starbucks is about to find out as it opens its first store in Italy on Friday. Residents of Milan, the city whose coffee bars inspired Howard Schultz's vision for the chain decades ago, have mostly greeted the news with a shrug.

NEW YORK (AP) — Starbucks Corp.'s Howard Schultz is stepping down as executive chairman of the coffee company he helped transform into a global brand, and says public service may be in his future.

Schultz, 64, says he is considering many possibilities. He had endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton before the last presidential election and had sometimes deflected questions about whether he would run for office.

NEW YORK (AP) — Starbucks, mocked three years ago for suggesting employees discuss racial issues with customers, asked workers to talk about race with each other.

NEW YORK (AP) — Starbucks, mocked three years ago for suggesting employees discuss racial issues with customers, asked workers Tuesday to talk about race with each other.

NEW YORK (AP) — Starbucks has told employees to let anyone use the restroom, even if they haven't bought anything, as it reviews its policies and tries to restore its reputation after the arrest of two black men at a coffee shop in Philadelphia.

SEATTLE (AP) — Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz says the events surrounding a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend have put the "moral fiber" of the country in question.

Schultz said at an employee forum in Seattle on Tuesday that he has "profound concern about the lack of character, morality, humanity," displayed at the rally, according to a recap of the meeting posted on Starbucks' website.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Muslim groups in Malaysia and Indonesia have called for a boycott of Starbucks because of the coffee chain's support for LGBT rights.

Malaysian group Perkasa, which supports a hard-line form of Islam and nationalism, this week called on its more than 500,000 members to stay away from Starbucks coffee shops. This week and last, leaders of Indonesia's second largest mainstream Muslim group, Muhammadiyah, with an estimated 29 million members, denounced the chain.

NEW YORK (AP) — Starbucks is pointing to the Unicorn Frappuccino as an example of its digital savvy, and ability to ride out of its sales slump.

The coffee chain reported disappointing U.S. sales growth for the first three months of the year on Thursday as customer traffic stalled, and it tempered its profit forecast for the year. Its shares fell nearly 5 percent in after-hours trading.

NEW YORK (AP) — Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz presided over his last annual shareholder meeting as head of the company Wednesday by standing by its pledge to hire refugees and expanding on previously announced goals to hire veterans and at-risk youth.

The moves underscored the progressive image Schultz has helped cultivate for Starbucks as he prepares to cede the CEO job next month to Starbucks President Kevin Johnson.

MILAN (AP) — Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz's vision for the chain was largely inspired by the coffee bars he saw on his first trip to Milan more than three decades ago. But it took the company growing to about 26,000 stores in 75 countries to win the credibility he felt necessary to make the leap into the country that gave espresso to the world.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Starbucks says it will hire 10,000 refugees over the next five years, a response to President Donald Trump's indefinite suspension of Syrian refugees and temporary travel bans that apply to six other Muslim-majority nations.

NEW YORK (AP) — Not everyone is willing to wait in a line for a Starbucks fix.

The coffee chain reported disappointing sales growth on Thursday and partly blamed the "congestion" in its stores for prompting some people to leave without buying anything. Starbucks said the popularity of its mobile order-and-pay option, which was supposed to make getting a drink easier, has caused bottlenecks at the areas where people pick up their drinks.

NEW YORK (AP) — Starbucks, looking to the future as its longtime CEO moves to other projects, plans to open 12,000 new locations within five years to boost its number of coffee shops worldwide by almost 50 percent.

NEW YORK (AP) — Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz is stepping down as CEO of the coffee chain he joined more than 30 years ago and transformed into a globally known brand.

Schultz will become executive chairman in April to focus on innovation such as high-end shops and social impact activities, the Seattle-based chain announced Thursday. Kevin Johnson, who was named president and chief operating officer last year, will be chief executive as of April 3.

NEW YORK (AP) — Snowflakes, Santa Claus and reindeer are returning to Starbucks' holiday cups this year, after last year's more subdued red cups caused an uproar from critics who said the chain was part of a so-called war on Christmas.

In all, 13 different cups will hit stores around the world Thursday. Eleven of them will be available in U.S. shops. The cups were designed by customers who uploaded pictures of their designs on Instagram last year, the company said Wednesday.