Retail industry
FILE - Haruyuki Takahashi, then executive board member of the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games arrives at Tokyo 2020 Executive Board Meeting in Tokyo, Japan on March 30, 2020. Prosecutors searched the home of former Tokyo Olympic organizing committee executive board member Takahashi on Tuesday, July 26, 2022, in connection with payments made to him by an Olympic sponsor of the Tokyo Games, the Japanese news agency Kyodo reported. (Issei Kato/Pool Photo via AP, File)
Report: Tokyo Olympic board member under investigation

Jul. 26, 2022 01:45 AM EDT

A COVID-19 patient is admitted to a hospital in Johannesburg, Wednesday, June 23, 2021. South Africa's third wave of COVID-19 infections is overwhelming the health system in Gauteng, the country's most populous province that is now running out of beds to treat patients. (AP Photo)
South Africa tightens restrictions to fight resurgent virus

By Mogomotsi Magome And Andrew Meldrum Jun. 27, 2021 03:47 PM EDT

Croatia's Luka Modric, right, celebrates, after Croatia's Ivan Perisic, left, scored during the Euro 2020 soccer championship group D match between Croatia and Scotland at the Hampden Park Stadium in Glasgow, Tuesday, June 22, 2021.(AP Photo/Petr David Josek, Pool)
The Latest: South Africa resumes restrictions to fight surge

By The Associated Press Jun. 27, 2021 05:40 AM EDT

Top Democratic lawmaker nixes Baker's sales-tax free plan

By Steve Leblanc Jun. 25, 2021 03:54 PM EDT
BOSTON (AP) — The top Democrat in the Massachusetts Senate on Friday dismissed a proposal by Republican Gov. Charlie Baker to expand the state’s annual two-day...

Allina Health makes flu shot for employees mandatory

Jun. 25, 2021 07:57 AM EDT
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Allina Health says the flu shot will be mandatory for all employees, starting this flu season. The new policy will also...

Point Roberts residents want border restrictions lifted

By Tom Banse Jun. 24, 2021 08:33 AM EDT
POINT ROBERTS, Wash. (AP) — The owner of the only grocery store in the exclave of Point Roberts said she is tapped out and will have to close around July 15...

Baker files legislation proposing 2-month sales tax holiday

Jun. 23, 2021 03:57 PM EDT
BOSTON (AP) — Gov. Charlie Baker on Wednesday proposed expanding the state's annual two-day sales tax holiday to a two-month event this year in an effort to...

A medical worker wearing protective gear escorts a man, suspected of having coronavirus, at a hospital in Kommunarka, outside Moscow, Russia, Monday, June 21, 2021. Russia's national coronavirus taskforce on Saturday reported 17,378 new infection cases, more than double the daily tally from early June - more than half of them in Moscow, where the infection numbers have tripled this month. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
As infections soar, Siberian region imposes 2-week lockdown

Jun. 23, 2021 12:36 PM EDT

FILE - In this Friday, June 18, 2021, file photo, journalist Katie Couric attends a screening during the 20th Tribeca Festival at The Waterfront Plaza at Brookfield Place, in New York. Little, Brown and Company and Live Nation announced Monday, June 21, 2021, that Couric will embark on an 11-city in-person promotional tour for her book “Going There,” beginning with an appearance at Boston’s Orpheum Theatre on Oct. 28.(Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP, File)
Couric book tour this fall will be in-person, in theaters

By Hillel Italie Jun. 21, 2021 05:03 AM EDT

An employee of the beverage maker Suntory receives a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine shot at their office building as the company began its workplace vaccination Monday, June 21, 2021, in Tokyo. Thousands of Japanese companies began distributing COVID-19 vaccines to workers and their families Monday in an employer-led drive reaching more than 13 million people that aims to rev up the nation's slow vaccine rollout. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Companies give vaccines to workers, boosting Japan's rollout

By Yuri Kageyama Jun. 21, 2021 01:25 AM EDT

FILE - In this Dec. 26, 2013 file photo, a family leaves a local Walmart in Mexico City. Walmart de Mexico, the country’s biggest retailer, announced the week of June 18, 2021, that its grocery store baggers wouldn’t be allowed back, as the coronavirus pandemic and changing consumer habits threaten to put an end to a decades-old practice of allowing elderly people in Mexico to earn extra income as baggers. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)
Mexican elderly lose work as grocery baggers, protest

Jun. 18, 2021 10:54 AM EDT

Gas price is seen at a Mobil gas station in Vernon Hills, Ill., Friday, June 11, 2021. The rising cost of gasoline is being felt across the U.S., as the national average price has gone up from $2 per gallon last year to $3 per gallon as of June 9, according to data from the American Automobile Association. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Republicans point to inflation in bid to retake Congress

By Will Weissert And Josh Boak Jun. 18, 2021 10:33 AM EDT

FILE - In this Monday, June 14, 2021 file photo, people sit at outdoor tables at a restaurant in Soho, in London. Retail sales in Britain slipped back in May as people ventured out to spend money at restaurants and pubs following the easing of coronavirus lockdown restrictions, official figures showed Friday, June 18. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
UK retail sales dip as lockdown easing allows socializing

By Urooba Jamal Jun. 18, 2021 10:14 AM EDT

Iowa to shutter state-run coronavirus Test Iowa in July

By David Pitt Jun. 16, 2021 06:03 PM EDT
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The state of Iowa is ending its coronavirus testing program next month saying demand has fallen for testing at the state-funded drive...

FILE - This May 7, 2020 file photo shows a closed Neiman Marcus store at the Garden State Plaza mall in Paramus, N.J. Neiman Marcus is hoping to capitalize on rebounding luxury sales by investing more than $500 million over the next three years in refreshing stores, speeding up deliveries and acquiring new technology. The plan, unveiled Tuesday, June 15, 2021, includes a pact to purchase Stylyze Inc., a startup that recommends outfits for customers based on past purchases and browsing history. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Neiman Marcus to spend $500M on new investments amid rebound

By Anne D'innocenzio Jun. 15, 2021 03:57 PM EDT

FILE — In this Monday, March 29, 2021 file photo South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, right, heads a government delegation on a visit to ASPEN Pharmaceuticals in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The country's COVID-19 vaccine rollout has been hit by further delays as it will have to discard at least 2 million Johnson & Johnson vaccines produced in the country.. (AP Photo,file)
Fighting COVID-19 surge, South Africa increases restrictions

By Mogomotsi Magome Jun. 15, 2021 03:40 PM EDT

US retail sales fell 1.3% in May, chip shortage dings autos

By Joseph Pisani Jun. 15, 2021 08:54 AM EDT
NEW YORK (AP) — Retail sales fell in May, dragged down by a decline in auto sales, likely due to fewer cars being made amid a pandemic-related shortage of...

A woman wearing a protective mask walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 and New York Dow indexes at a securities firm Wednesday, June 16, 2021, in Tokyo. Asian shares were mixed in quiet trading Wednesday ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting that may give clues on what lies ahead with its massive support for markets. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Asian shares mixed in quiet trading ahead of US Fed decision

By Yuri Kageyama Jun. 15, 2021 01:06 AM EDT

FILE - In this May 18, 2021 file photo, fifth graders wear face masks are seated at proper social distancing spacing during a music class at the Milton Elementary School in Rye, N.Y. As more children go back to the physical classroom, families are expected to spend robustly on a wide range of items, particularly trendy clothing for the critical back-to-school season, according to one key spending measure. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
As children return to classrooms, stores expect strong sales

By Anne D'innocenzio Jun. 10, 2021 09:00 AM EDT

FILE - In this photo taken Dec. 7, 2015, a worker cleans a display case at the Ganja Goddess Cannabis Store in Seattle. On Monday, June 7, 2021, Washington state officials announced that the state's nearly 500 licensed marijuana retailers could begin hosting COVID-19 vaccine clinics and offering a single, free pre-rolled marijuana cigarette to any adult over 21 who receives a shot on-site, but due to federal law and other complications, it's not clear if any of the state's legal pot shops will participate. A current manager at Ganja Goddess said that they would not be participating because they do not have space to host a clinic. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Washington's 'joints for jabs' vaccine program falling flat

By Gene Johnson Jun. 09, 2021 08:41 PM EDT