Associated Press stories, Page 1403

The NHL is beginning a leaguewide shutdown Wednesday amid a rise in positive covid-19 test results among players, and with 10 of the league’s 32 teams’ schedules already paused and their facilities closed. The league announced Monday night that it will open its annual holiday break two days earlier than...

SACRAMENTO — Retail giant Walmart illegally dumps more than 1 million batteries, aerosol cans of insect killer and other products, toxic cleaning supplies, electronic waste, latex paints and other hazardous waste into California landfills each year, state prosecutors alleged Monday in a lawsuit that the company labeled “unjustified.” “As we...

WASHINGTON — The House panel investigating the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection requested an interview and documents from Republican Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania on Monday, marking the first time the committee publicly sought to sit down with a sitting member of Congress. The latest request launches a new phase...

NEW YORK — Omicron has raced ahead of other variants and is now the dominant version of the coronavirus in the United States, accounting for 73% of new infections last week, federal health officials said Monday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention numbers showed nearly a six-fold increase in...

A man who joined a mob in one of the most violent attacks on police during the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol was sentenced on Monday to nearly four years in prison. Devlyn Thompson, 28, wrote an apology letter to the officer whom he assaulted during a melee...

WASHINGTON — Warning that extremism in the ranks is increasing, Pentagon officials are issuing detailed new rules prohibiting service members from actively engaging in extremist activities. The new guidelines come nearly a year after some current and former service members participated in the riot at the U.S. Capitol, triggering a...

UConn’s record 16-year run in the top 10 is over. The Huskies fell four spots to No. 11 in The Associated Press women’s college basketball poll Monday after losing to Louisville a day earlier. UConn had been ranked among the first 10 teams in the poll for 313 straight weeks...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs took care of their business with a thrilling come-from-behind overtime victory over the Los Angeles Chargers last Thursday, avenging an earlier loss to their AFC West rival and taking a two-game lead in the division. Then the Chiefs sat back and watched...

Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate fell for the ninth straight month and payrolls grew again in November, according to new state figures, but the labor force shrank, as did the workforce participation rate. Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate dropped three-tenths of a percentage point to 5.7% from October’s rate, according to state Department of...

The Hubble Space Telescope’s successor is a time-traveling wonder capable of peering back to within a hair’s breadth of the dawn of the universe. And it’s finally on the brink of flight. It will be the biggest and most powerful astronomical observatory ever to leave the planet, elaborate in its...

Defending national champion Baylor maintained its top spot in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll, though not without ceding a No. 1 vote to Arizona, while the six remaining unbeatens continued their rise on Monday. The Bears ended a four-week streak of turnover atop the poll by taking care...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A judge on Monday temporarily blocked public charter schools from being implemented in West Virginia. Kanawha County Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey granted a preliminary injunction sought by parents in a lawsuit filed against Gov. Jim Justice and leaders of the House of Delegates and state Senate, news...

NEW YORK — Starbucks says it will negotiate in good faith with workers at the first store to unionize in the company’s 50-year history. In a letter sent to all U.S. employees Rossann Williams, an executive vice president, said Starbucks never favored unionization and still prefers to speak directly to...

WASHINGTON — In a major step to fight climate change, the Biden administration is raising vehicle mileage standards to significantly reduce emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases. A final rule being issued Monday would raise mileage standards starting in the 2023 model year, reaching a projected industry-wide target of 40 miles...

CLEVELAND — Baker Mayfield ran out of time. The Browns quarterback didn’t test negative for covid-19 on Monday and will watch Cleveland’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders from home as his teammates try to keep their postseason hopes strong. With both Mayfield and his backup, Case Keenum, out, third-stringer...

NEW YORK — Stocks on Wall Street added to their recent string of losses Monday, joining a worldwide slump by financial markets amid worries about how badly the omicron variant, inflation and other forces will hit the economy. The S&P 500 fell 1.1% for its third straight drop. The decline...

NEW YORK — There is no mention of holiday or Christmas in lyrics to the song, “White Winter Hymnal.” Or winter, for that matter. There is a reference to snow, turned “red as strawberries in the summertime” — presumably, by blood. Nonetheless, the song has become a modern holiday standard,...

Biogen is slashing the price of its Alzheimer’s treatment in half months after it debuted to widespread criticism for an initial cost that could reach $56,000 annually. The drugmaker said Monday that it will cut the wholesale acquisition cost of the drug by about 50% next month. That means the...

More than a quarter of NHL teams have been shut down through at least the weekend, after the Columbus Blue Jackets and Montreal Canadiens became the eighth and ninth to have activities paused because of several positive covid-19 test results among players. The Blue Jackets had games scheduled for Monday...

NEW YORK — Emarilis Velazquez is paying higher prices on everything from food to clothing. Her monthly grocery bill has ballooned from $650 to almost $850 in recent months. To save money, she looks for less expensive cuts of meat and has switched to a cheaper detergent. She also clips...