Walgreens to close 1,200 US stores as chain attempts to steady operations at home
Walgreens plans to close about 1,200 locations over the next three years as the drugstore chain seeks to turnaround its struggling U.S. business. The company said Tuesday that about 500 store closures will happen in its current fiscal year and should immediately help adjusted earnings and free cash flow. Walgreens leaders said in late June that they were finalizing a turnaround plan for its U.S. business, and that push could result in the closing of hundreds of underperforming stores. The company has been struggling for years with tight reimbursement for the prescriptions it sells as well as other challenges.
A Hong Kong zoo seeks answers after 9 monkeys die in 2 days
HONG KONG (AP) -- Hong Kong's oldest zoo is seeking answers in a monkey medical mystery after nine animals died in two days, including three members of a critically endangered species. Part of the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens has been sealed off and disinfected, and experts have been called in to conduct necropsies and toxicological tests, Hong Kong leader John Lee said in his weekly press briefing Tuesday. Eight monkeys were found dead on Sunday, and another died Monday after displaying unusual behavior. The deceased animals were a De Brazza's monkey, a common squirrel monkey, four white-faced sakis and three cotton-top tamarins -- a species listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
50 well-preserved Viking Age skeletons unearthed in Denmark
AASUM, Denmark (AP) -- Archaeologists in Denmark have unearthed a Viking Age burial ground containing some 50 "exceptionally well-preserved" skeletons. The question is now: who are they? Not warriors, it seems. They were preserved thanks to favorable soil chemistry, particularly chalk and high water levels. The burial site was discovered last year during a routine survey, ahead of infrastructure work on the outskirts of Odense, Denmark's third-largest city. Experts hope to conduct special DNA analyses and maybe reconstruct detailed life histories as well as looking into social patterns in Viking Age, such as kinship, migration patterns and more. They'll now start putting pieces of the puzzle together.
Allen and Bills overcome Rodgers' Hail Mary and beat Jets 23-20 to take control in AFC East
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills overcame a Hail Mary touchdown throw by Aaron Rodgers as the first half ended to beat the New York Jets 23-20 and take control of the AFC East. Allen threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score and Tyler Bass made up for an earlier miss by kicking a go-ahead 22-yard field goal with 3:43 left to help the Bills snap a two-game skid. The loss was the third in a row for the Jets, who capped a tumultuous week during which coach Robert Saleh was fired, defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich replaced him as the interim coach and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett was demoted from play-calling duties in favor of Todd Downing.
Bath & Body Works pulls candle packaging that some said evoked Ku Klux Klan
Bath & Body Works is apologizing for selling a candle that had packaging that some people said looked like Ku Klux Klan hoods. The 3-wick candle was called "Snowed In" and briefly appeared on the company's website for purchase. It was quickly pulled off of the website once the issue was brought to Bath & Body Works attention.
After 67 days adrift, a Russian man was rescued but his brother and nephew are dead
MOSCOW (AP) -- A Russian man has been rescued in the Sea of Okhotsk after surviving for two months in an inflatable boat that lost its engine, but his brother and nephew have died. The prosecutor's office in the far east of Russia said that the man was rescued Monday by a fishing vessel off the Kamchatka Peninsula. Russian news reports identified the survivor as 46-year-old Mikhail Pichugin, who in early August set on a journey to watch whales in the Sea of Okhotsk together with his brother and nephew. Their bodies were reportedly found in the boat when the fishing vessel rescued Pichugin. He didn't immediately say how he managed to survive and how his brother and nephew died.
Pandas arrive in the US. Next stop is the National Zoo
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The National Zoo's long dark panda drought is coming to an end. Eleven months after the zoo sent its three wildly popular pandas -- Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and their cub Xiao Qi Ji -- back to China, a new pair of bears is set to arrive. A pair of three-year old giant pandas, named Bao Li and Qing Bao, have left a research facility in the southwestern Chinese city of Dujiangyan and will be flown to Washington, according to a statement by the China Wildlife Conservation Association. Pandas have become one of the unofficial symbols of the nation's capital, dating back to 1972 when Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing were sent as a gift from China following President Richard Nixon's historic diplomatic visit there.
Pumpkin weighing 2,471 pounds wins California contest
HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (AP) -- A Minnesota horticulture teacher has remained the reigning champion of an annual pumpkin-weighing contest in Northern California. Travis Gienger's massive gourds have won the top prize four years in a row. He beat his closest competitor Monday by 6 pounds to clinch the victory at the 51st World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay. His winning gourd came in at 2,471 pounds. He set a world record last year with a gourd weighing 2,749 pounds. He said the giant pumpkin's next stop will be in Southern California, where a team of professional carvers will do a 3D carve on it.
Ricky Pearsall returns to the 49ers practice for the first time since shooting
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -- San Francisco 49ers rookie receiver Ricky Pearsall returned to the field for practice for the first time since he was shot in the chest during an attempted robbery nine days before the season opener. The 49ers opened a window for Pearsall to begin practicing with the team on Monday while he remains on the non-football injury list. The team has three weeks to decide when to activate him. Coach Kyle Shanahan said last week there is no timeline for when Pearsall will be ready to play in games.
NASA spacecraft rockets toward Jupiter's moon Europa in search of the right conditions for life
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- A NASA spacecraft has blasted off on a quest to explore Jupiter's moon Europa and reveal whether its hidden ocean might hold the keys to life. SpaceX launched the Europa Clipper on Monday from Florida's Kennedy Space Center. It will take 5 1/2 years for Clipper to reach Jupiter. Once there, the spacecraft will orbit the giant gas planet, sneaking close to Europa during dozens of flybys. The $5.2 billion mission won't search for life but rather the conditions necessary for it. Scientists are almost certain a vast, deep ocean exists beneath Europa's icy crust.