Associated Press stories, Page 1378

HONG KONG — Hong Kong authorities said Tuesday that they will kill about 2,000 small animals, including hamsters, after several tested positive for the coronavirus at a pet store where an employee was also infected. The city will also stop the sale of hamsters and the import of small mammals,...

OAKLAND, Calif. — A decaying, 122-year-old Victorian marketed as “the worst house on the best block” of San Francisco has sold for nearly $2 million — an eye-catching price that the realtor said was the outcome of overbidding in an auction. A developer’s $1.97 million cash offer for the 2,158-square-foot...

Joe Biden’s long arc in public life has always had one final ambition: to sit behind the Resolute Desk of the Oval Office. He achieved it — albeit, at 78, as the oldest person to assume the presidency. After the turbulence and chaos of his predecessor, Donald Trump, Biden was...

DETROIT — A Michigan professor who was suspended after making a profanity-filled video for his students is threatening to file a lawsuit if Ferris State University doesn’t quickly lift the sanction. An attorney for Barry Mehler warned the school in a letter Tuesday, saying the history teacher is protected by...

NEW ORLEANS — A federal appeals court on Monday steered a decision about Texas’ strict abortion law to the state’s Republican-majority Supreme Court, dealing opponents another defeat and raising their concerns that the near-total ban on abortions will remain intact for the foreseeable future. The Texas law that bans abortion...

BELGRADE, Serbia — Novak Djokovic returned home Monday after being thwarted from defending his Australian Open title only to face a new predicament: He could be barred from the French Open this year, too, if he’s still not vaccinated against covid-19. A plane carrying the No. 1-ranked player touched down...

The Las Vegas Raiders fired general manager Mike Mayock after three seasons and will begin a search for a coach and GM following their second playoff berth in the past 19 seasons. The Raiders announced the move to get rid of Mayock on Monday, two days after losing their wild-card...

CINCINNATI — After the Bengals won a playoff game for the first time in three decades last Saturday, coach Zac Taylor and a few players delivered game balls to three Cincinnati sports bars as a way of thanking fans who stuck with them through the bad times. “I think the...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Auction house Sotheby’s Dubai has unveiled a diamond that’s literally from out of this world. Sotheby’s calls the 555.55-carat black diamond — believed to have come from outer space — “The Enigma.” The rare gem was shown off on Monday to journalists as part of...

SANTA FE, N.M. — Alec Baldwin has surrendered his cellphone to authorities as part of the investigation into a fatal shooting on a New Mexico film set last fall, a law enforcement official said. Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Juan Rios said Baldwin’s phone was turned over Friday to...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs had to learn to dink and dunk their way through this entire season, contrary to every instinct of go-for-broke quarterback Patrick Mahomes, as opposing defenses simply refused to let themselves get beaten deep. You can bet they relished the opportunity to open...

South Carolina remained the No. 1 team in The Associated Press women’s college basketball poll released Monday. The Gamecocks received 28 of the 30 first-place votes from a national media panel after beating Texas A&M and Arkansas last week. South Carolina is off until hosting Vanderbilt next Monday. There was...

A wild week of upsets led to big changes in the AP Top 25. Amid the chaos, a familiar team returned to the top. Preseason No. 1 Gonzaga climbed back to the top of The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll released Monday, ending Baylor’s five-week run. The Bulldogs had...

AMSTERDAM — A cold case team that combed through evidence for five years in a bid to unravel one of World War II’s enduring mysteries has reached what it calls the “most likely scenario” of who betrayed Jewish teenage diarist Anne Frank and her family. Their answer, outlined in a...

ATLANTA — The U.S. economy “has never worked fairly for Black Americans — or, really, for any American of color,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a speech delivered Monday, one of many by national leaders acknowledging unmet needs for racial equality on Martin Luther King Day. Major events for...

ATHENS, Greece — Greece imposed a vaccination mandate Monday for people 60 and older, as the country’s vaccination rate remains below the European Union average and a spike in infections has put sustained pressure on Greek hospitals. Older people failing to get vaccinated will face penalties, starting at a 50-euro...

PORTLAND, Maine — China is showing no signs of slowing its demand for American lobster this year despite disruption to the supply chain and international trade caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Chinese demand for the crustaceans grew dramatically during the 2010s in part because of the expansion of the country’s...

MOSCOW — Russia’s top diplomat on Monday angrily rejected the U.S. allegations that it was preparing a pretext to invade Ukraine as Russian troops have remained concentrated near the border. The White House said Friday that U.S. intelligence officials had concluded that Russia had already deployed operatives to rebel-controlled eastern...