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By STAN CHOE, AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are pulling away from their record heights on Monday. The S&P 500 slipped 0.3% in midday trading, though it remains within 0.6% of its all-time high set in October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 122 points, or 0.3%, as of 11:30 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% lower. Berkshire Hathaway was a heavy weight on the market and fell 2.2% after announcing a shake-up of some of its top leadership. Todd Combs, who had been CEO of the company’s GEICO insurance business, is leaving for…

By GLENN GAMBOA Michael R. Bloomberg has believed mayors have plenty to teach each other since he was mayor of New York City and supported the effort to share good municipal ideas through his nonprofit Bloomberg Philanthropies since he left office in 2013. However, as more nations get bogged down in what the media entrepreneur and philanthropist calls “ideological battles and finger-pointing,” Bloomberg says mayors can do even more. He is expanding his support for them internationally, with the Bloomberg LSE European City Leadership Initiative, a collaboration with the London School of Economics and Political Science and the Hertie School…

ZURICH (AP) — FIFA says it will include three-minute hydration breaks in each half of every game at next year’s World Cup, not just those played in hot weather. The referee will stop the game 22 minutes into each half for players to take drinks, regardless of the temperature, the host country — the United States, Canada or Mexico — or whether the stadium has a roof and air conditioning. The change may also be a hit with broadcasters, since it makes the game schedule more predictable. FIFA said it was first announced when the governing body’s chief tournament officer for…

Tractor Supply stores in California will host pet adoption events from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 13. The company said all 29 Tractor Supply stores in California are participating, featuring adoptable pets from Wagging Tails Rescue Ranch, Katy Cat Lady Rescue and K&A Ranch Rescue. “Caring for pets and serving the Riverside community are at the core of what we do,” said Christina Madrigal, manager of the Riverside store. “Home for the Holidays lets us celebrate our customers and connect more animals with families ready to love them.” To help new pet owners with supplies, each adoption completed during…

By MARK SHERMAN WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration’s push to expand control over independent federal agencies comes before a sympathetic Supreme Court that could overturn a 90-year-old decision limiting when presidents can fire board members. Lawyers for the administration are defending President Donald Trump’s decision to fire Federal Trade Commission member Rebecca Slaughter without cause and calling on the court to jettison the unanimous 1935 decision in Humphrey’s Executor. Arguments are taking place Monday. The court’s six conservative justices already have signaled strong support for the administration’s position, over the objection of their three liberal colleagues, by allowing Slaughter…

Salve Regina, a small Division III university of just under 3,000 students, accomplished a feat that had felt unthinkable in the years before Bob Chesney arrived. Eight consecutive losing seasons. Little hope. Chesney turned the page. Salve Regina finished 2010 with a 6-4 record, and Chesney, then 34, was hunting for a new offensive coordinator. Kevin Gilmartin, fit in a suit and tie, sat at a meager circular table in the office that’s now his own and stared at Chesney, who was at his first stop creating success where victory seemed unlikely, 15 years before becoming the 20th coach in…

It’s officially economic forecast season. As punctual as any holiday tradition, all the gurus polish their crystal balls to reveal their glossy business outlooks for the coming year. Their work is curiously detailed, with seemingly exacting projections for numerous economic variables. These estimates look and feel authoritative, whether in fancy printed or digital form, especially when the outlook’s data includes multiple decimal places. But for all that effort, the consensus usually goes like this: mild chance of bumpiness and otherwise a modest uptick – with a dash of blame for government on top. Yet no degree in economics, a trusty…

By the third hour in chains, Adan Caceres’ head was pounding and his lips were cracking from thirst. Shackled at the wrists, ankles and waist, the Orange County wedding photographer sat pinned in his seat on a government plane, listening as the guards mocked the men around him as “criminals.” When one man begged to use the bathroom, he was refused, he said. So the stranger slid his shackled hands down, unzipped his pants and urinated into the same plastic water bottle he’d been given to drink from. “I avoided drinking water because I didn’t want to have to go,”…

NUUK, Greenland (AP) — Greenland is hosting meetings with American officials at the end of a year in which U.S. President Donald Trump ramped up talk of a U.S. takeover of the mineral-rich island, which is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark. The meetings Monday and Tuesday include those of a “joint committee” between Greenland and American officials, and a “permanent committee” that involves the Danish government, Greenland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Science said. Similar meetings were held last year in the United States. Vivian Motzfeldt, who heads the ministry, said in a statement before the meetings that Greenland was “pleased” to host the…

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN, Associated Press Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Paramount has gone hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, challenging Netflix which reached a $72 billion takeover deal with the company just days ago. Paramount said Monday that it going straight to Warner Bros. shareholders with a $30 per share in cash offer for the entirety of Warner Bros. Discovery, including its Global Networks segment, asking them to reject the deal with Netflix. That is the same bid that Warner Brothers rejected in favor of the offer from Netflix in a merger that would alter the U.S. entertainment landscape. Paramount criticized…