Some big companies are reconsidering self-checkout, House prevents a government shutdown, and more top news of the week

LONDON — Police in England arrested a man Tuesday on suspicion of manslaughter in the death of American ice hockey player Adam Johnson, whose neck was cut by a skate during a game.

Johnson, 29, was playing for the Nottingham Panthers against the Sheffield Steelers on Oct. 28 when he was struck by an opponent's skate blade in the Elite Ice Hockey League game at Sheffield's Utilita Arena.

South Yorkshire Police did not name the suspect or provide his age. He was in police custody.

Matt Petgrave, 31, who plays for Sheffield, was the other player involved in the grisly incident that reverberated around the hockey community and led to moments of silence in the NHL.

Video of the incident shows Johnson skating with the puck toward the Steelers net. Petgrave skates toward Johnson and collides with another Panthers player. Petgrave's left skate kicks up as he begins to fall and the blade hits Johnson in the neck.

Both players land on the ice. Petgrave immediately got to his feet. Johnson rose more slowly and as he is helped off the ice, his jersey is covered in blood. He later died at a local hospital.

"Our investigation launched immediately following this tragedy and we have been carrying out extensive inquiries ever since to piece together the events which led to the loss of Adam in these unprecedented circumstances," Detective Chief Superintendent Becs Horsfall said.

Fans had a moment of silence for Johnson at the Steelers next game and gave Petgrave, who didn't play in that game, a standing ovation.

Johnson was a Minnesota native who appeared in a total of 13 NHL games with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.

The English Ice Hockey Association, which governs the sport below the Elite League, reacted to Johnson's death by requiring all players in England to wear neck guards from the start of 2024.

Messages sent to Johnson's agent and a friend of the family seeking comment were not immediately returned.

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AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno in Washington contributed.

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WASHINGTON — The last time Congress tried to fund the government to prevent a federal shutdown, it cost House Speaker Kevin McCarthy his job.

This time, new Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., appears on track for a better outcome Tuesday as the House prepares to vote on a stopgap package to keep the government running into the new year. If approved, the Senate would act next, ahead of Friday's shutdown deadline.

The new Republican leader faces the same political problem that led to McCarthy's ouster, and is unlikely to win enough support from his Republican majority to pass the bill on its own. Instead, Johnson will be forced to rely on Democrats to ensure passage to keep the federal government running.

Johnson has called it a "necessary bill" that he hoped would put House Republicans "in the best position to fight" for their conservative priorities in the new year.

Under his proposal, Johnson is putting forward a unique — critics say bizarre — two-part process that temporarily funds some federal agencies to Jan. 19 and others to Feb. 2. It's a continuing resolution, or CR, that comes without any of the deep cuts conservatives are demanding. It also fails to include President Joe Biden's request for nearly $106 billion for Ukraine, Israel, border security and other supplemental funds.

"I think it's a very big mistake," said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a member of the hard-right Freedom Caucus.

Roy said there's "a whole lot of opposition" among House Republicans to partnering with Democrats to pass the bill.

The Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said his party is "carefully evaluating" the proposal from the Republican leadership before giving approval.

"We remain concerned," he said about the two-part approach. Veteran lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have called it cumbersome, unusual and unworkable.

But Jeffries in a letter to Democratic colleagues noted that the GOP package met the Democratic demands to keep funding at current levels without steep reductions or divisive Republican policy priorities.

"We have articulated that we will not accept any extreme right-wing policy provisions in connection with funding the government," Jeffries wrote.

With the House narrowly divided, Johnson cannot afford many defections from Republicans, which is forcing him into the arms of Democrats.

Winning bipartisan approval of a continuing resolution is the same move that led McCarthy's hard-right flank to oust him in October, days after the Sept. 30 vote to avert a federal shutdown. For now, Johnson appears to be benefiting from a political honeymoon in one of his first big tests on the job.

"Look, we're going to trust the speaker's move here," said Rep. Drew Ferguson, R-Ga.

The Senate, where Democrats have a slim majority, has also signaled its willingness to accept Johnson's package ahead of Friday's deadline to fund the government.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said the House GOP package "will keep the lights on," and he will support it.

But McConnell, R-Ky., noted that Congress still has work to do toward Biden's request to provide U.S. military aid for Ukraine, Israel and other needs. Senators are trying to devise a separate package to fund U.S. supplies for the overseas wars and bolster border security, but it remains a work in progress.

If approved, passage of another continuing resolution would be a stunning capstone to the House GOP's first year in the majority. The Republicans have worked tirelessly to cut federal government spending only to find their own GOP colleagues are unwilling to go along with the most conservative priorities. Two of the Republican bills collapsed last week as moderates revolted.

Instead, the Republicans are left funding the government essentially on autopilot at the levels that were set in bipartisan fashion at the end of 2022, when Democrats had control of Congress but two parties came together to agree on budget terms.

All that could change in the new year when 1% cuts across the board to all departments would be triggered if Congress fails to agree to new budget terms and pass the traditional appropriation bills to fund the government by springtime.

The 1% automatic cuts, which would take hold in April, are despised by all sides — Republicans say they are not enough, Democrats say they are too steep and many lawmakers prefer to boost defense funds. But they are part of the debt deal McCarthy and Biden struck earlier this year. The idea was to push Congress to do better.

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Associated Press writers Kevin Freking, Stephen Groves and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.

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CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire’s secretary of state on Wednesday scheduled the state’s presidential primaries for Jan. 23, 2024, extending its century-old streak of going first despite national Democrats’ efforts to overhaul the nominating calendar.

State law requires New Hampshire’s Republican and Democratic primaries to be held at least seven days before any similar contest and gives the secretary of state sole authority to set the date. Like his predecessor did for decades, Secretary of State David Scanlan, a Republican, waited for the dust to settle in other states before announcing his decision.

Republicans will kick off the nominating process with the Iowa caucus on Jan. 15, 2024. New Hampshire’s primary eight days later will be a crucial opportunity for GOP candidates to show they can remain competitive against former President Donald Trump, the early front-runner for their party’s presidential nomination. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in particular has put New Hampshire at the center of his strategy.

Iowa’s Democrats also will caucus on Jan. 15, 2024, but not release the presidential results immediately to comply with new party rules sought by President Joe Biden, who argued Black and other minority voters should play a larger, earlier role. Iowa and New Hampshire are each more than 90% white.

The Democratic National Committee approved a new calendar with South Carolina’s primary on Feb. 3, 2024, followed three days later by Nevada. The schedule also moves Michigan into the group of early states voting before Super Tuesday on March 5, 2024, when most of the rest of the country holds primaries.

Biden won’t appear on the New Hampshire ballot and isn’t planning to campaign there, though some of the state’s top Democrats are organizing a write-in campaign backing his reelection bid.

The Republican field has begun to consolidate since former Vice President Mike Pence and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott dropped out. Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are vying to emerge as the chief Trump opponent.

LAS VEGAS — Eight Las Vegas high school students between the ages of 13 and 17 years old were arrested on murder charges in the beating death of a schoolmate that was captured on cellphone video and widely share across social media.

Jonathan Lewis Jr., 17, was hospitalized with severe head trauma and other injuries after the Nov. 1 attack and died a week later, according to police.

The fight appeared to be over a pair of headphones and a vape pen, police said, and the students had agreed to walk to an alleyway around the corner from campus to fight after classes ended for the day at Rancho High School in eastern Las Vegas.

Here's what to know about the case:

WHAT'S NEW IN THE INVESTIGATION?

Authorities arrested the eight students Tuesday on suspicion of murder. But they believe at least 10 students took part in the beating.

Police on Wednesday released images of two students taken from cellphone video of the fight and asked for the public's help in identifying them. Homicide Lt. Jason Johansson said the two will also face murder charges.

A police spokesperson said Thursday morning that there were no updates on additional arrests.

WILL THE TEENAGERS BE CHARGED AS ADULTS?

In Nevada, a teenager accused of murder can be charged as an adult if they were 13 or older at the time of the alleged crime.

By law, teenagers 16 or older accused in a killing are automatically transferred to the adult court system. That's why a family court judge on Wednesday transferred the cases of four of the eight students, who are all 16 or 17.

None of the students who were arrested have been formally charged, and The Associated Press is not naming them.

WHO DECIDES IF THE TEENS ARE CHARGED AS ADULTS?

Hearings known as certification proceedings will be held at later dates to determine if the students under 16 will be charged as adults.

David Tanenhaus, history and law professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said this case highlights the importance of having a process in place for handling homicide cases involving young defendants.

"The certification hearing is an adversarial setting," he said. "The juvenile will have an attorney, who will make the argument that this kid is amenable to reform and that they belong in the juvenile justice system."

Tanenhaus, whose research includes juvenile justice, said the case of the 13-year-old student is the least likely to be transferred to the adult court system by a judge.

At that age, he said, the decision-making part of the brain — which is responsible for controlling impulses, thinking about consequences and solving problems — is still developing.

"Imagine that you're in a car that has a really good accelerator but it has terrible brakes," he said. "That's a way to think about adolescence."

WHAT HAPPENED ON THE DAY OF THE ATTACK?

The fight broke out after school let out that day. Police said they believe a pair of wireless headphones and vape pen had been stolen from the victim's friend earlier in the week, which resulted in the students agreeing to meet in the alleyway to fight.

Detectives think the victim wasn't originally supposed to be involved in the brawl, but he walked to the alleyway with his friend after school, Johansson said.

The victim's father, Jonathan Lewis Sr., said on a fundraising page created to help with funeral and medical costs that his son was attacked while standing up for his friend.

The video of the fight shows the victim taking off his shirt to prepare for the fight, and then the 10 students "immediately swarm him, pull him to the ground and begin kicking, punching and stomping on him," Johansson said.

He called the video "very void of humanity" and said the victim was not defending himself as he was being attacked.

After the brawl, a person in the area found the victim badly beaten and unconscious and carried him back to campus, where school staff called 911, Johansson said.

Homicide detectives were called on the day of the attack to lead the investigation due to the severity of the victim's injuries, he said.

WHAT IS HAPPENING AT THE SCHOOL NOW?

Rancho High School's principal, Darlin Delgado, said in a letter to parents this week that support and resources were available for students and staff members, as the beating death "has and will continue to impact our school community."

Two weeks after the brawl, a small memorial with flowers and candles still sat against a fence in the alleyway where Lewis was attacked.

On Wednesday, there was a visible police presence at the school and around the campus as classes ended for the day, with marked school district police vehicles and uniformed officers patrolling the area.

The Clark County School District — the fifth largest in the nation, with about 300,000 students — has its own police department that has nearly 200 officers.

The district's police chief, Mike Blackeye, said his agency has been partnering with police in Las Vegas and neighboring North Las Vegas to provide increased police coverage at the school in the morning, lunchtime and after school, which is when he said fights typically break out.

DOES THE SCHOOL HAVE RESOURCE OFFICERS?

Blackeye said there are two resource officers assigned to Rancho High School, both of whom were on duty that day. He said they didn't hear about the prearranged fight before it happened.

At a news conference Tuesday, he said fights have broken out in the same alleyway before, but he stopped short of calling it a problem area, pointing out that fights have happened "all around that school, in parks and neighborhoods."

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