DETROIT (AP) — So a university has decided, without holding a presser, about a dozen words and phrases are problematic and should be banned. And there are no plans to walk it back even if the announcement breaks the Internet.

Still, everyone can be a stakeholder and join the conversation.

Northern Michigan’s Lake Superior State University on Thursday released its 41st annual List of Words Banished from the Queen’s English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness.

The tongue-in-cheek wish-list comes from suggestions submitted to the Sault Ste. Marie school. The list includes starting an answer with the word “So,” using “presser” instead of press conference, “problematic,” ”walk it back” and “break the Internet.” Others are “stakeholder,” ”join the conversation,” ”physicality,” ”price point,” ”secret sauce” and “manspreading.”

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A budget shortfall that forced lawmakers to approve sales and cigarette taxes has been named the top Kansas story of 2015 by Associated Press reporters and editors.

The Kansas City Royals’ first World Series championship since 1985 came in second, followed by Kansas gradually extending rights to gay couples after a series of court rulings.

Coming in fourth was a judge sentencing an avowed anti-Semite to death for the fatal shootings of three people in April 2014 at Jewish sites in suburban Kansas City.

Rounding out the top five, the Kansas Supreme Court in December unanimously struck down a law meant to reduce its administrative influence over lower courts. That set up a showdown with lawmakers who threatened to defund the state’s entire judiciary system if the law was overturned.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals’ first World Series championship since 1985 has been named the top Missouri story of 2015 by Associated Press reporters and editors.

Protests at the University of Missouri over the administration’s handling of racial bias and hostility on campus came in second.

Coming in third was a Department of Justice report that found Ferguson operated a profit-driven system that heightened tensions among black residents for years before the fatal shooting of Michael Brown. That story was followed by Missouri State Auditor Tom Schweich committing suicide in his Clayton home amid reports of dirty politics in his bid for governor.

Rounding out the top five was a sex scandal that rocked the statehouse in Jefferson City, with two lawmakers accused of inappropriate behavior with interns resigning.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Crews are undertaking an annual effort to monitor changes in groundwater levels in western and central Kansas.

The Kansas Geological Survey will measure nearly 570 wells beginning early next month. The Kansas Department of Agriculture’s Division of Water Resources will measure about 830 additional wells.

Ninety percent of the wells to be measured draw water from the massive High Plains aquifer system, which consists largely of the Ogallala aquifer. The remaining 10 percent are drilled into the Dakota aquifer and other deeper systems or shallow alluvial aquifers along creeks and rivers.

The data are used by landowners, state and federal agencies, local groundwater management districts, private entities and the general public.

Water levels in the 1,400-well network declined an average of 0.87 feet during 2014.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Humane Society of Missouri has opened emergency centers for pets in two St. Louis-area locations where flooding is causing significant damage.

The centers will board pets of people who have been forced to evacuate after record flooding in the region. One is in Arnold, the other in Ballwin. Both are close to the Meramec River, where record crests are being recorded after more than 10 inches of rain fell during a three-day period.

Evacuees can also take pets to the Humane Society’s headquarters in St. Louis for boarding.

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City officials say some 6,000 police will be on duty tonight during the New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square.

People usually begin filling the square and adjoining blocks before sundown, and everyone arriving will be screened for weapons with a metal-detecting wand.

Tonight’s party begins with musical performances, including Luke Bryan, Demi Lovato and Carrie Underwood, and ends with fireworks and the descent of a glittering crystal ball from a rooftop flagpole.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Lawrence Memorial Hospital officials say the three insurance companies managing Kansas’ Medicaid system routinely turn down legitimate claims to hold down costs.

The three contractors for the state’s privatized Medicaid system, known as KanCare, deny the accusation. The Lawrence Journal-World reports other hospitals have made such accusations in the past.

Taryn Schraad, who deals with insurance claims appeals at the Lawrence hospital, told a state legislative panel Tuesday that the facility frequently gets denial notices, often with no explanation given. Officials from the three companies that manage the system insisted they don’t send out such notices without an explanation.

The committee encouraged Lawrence hospital officials to return to the next meeting with examples of claim denials they found were unreasonable or unexplained.

SHANNON COUNTY, Mo. (AP) — The state Conservation Department is investigating a dead bull elk that was found mutilated in southeastern Missouri.

The agency said Wednesday in a statement that the male was one of about 130 animals that are a part of the department’s efforts to restore the elk population.

The Conservation Department says the elk appears to have been shot. Its skull plate and antlers were removed with a chain saw.

A hiker who saw the animal in an area along the Current River notified conservation agents Tuesday.

The carcass now is in an agency research center in Columbia. The Conservation Department is seeking additional information.

LEVITTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A Philadelphia puppy is getting back to his bouncy self after two plastic squeaky toys were removed from his stomach.

Doctors at Veterinary Specialty & Emergency Center in Levittown say the only sign that 6-month-old Jasper was having problems was he couldn’t keep food down. He otherwise seemed energetically normal.

They say X-rays showed the two balls were taking up most of the space in the Cane Corso’s stomach.

Dr. Scott Joudrey, who surgically removed the red-and-green balls on Saturday, says “dogs eat crazy things.”

In the last year, the suburban Philadelphia practice treated a bulldog named Elvis that ate three pacifiers and a mixed-breed dog that scarfed down a pair of calf-high boots.

Jasper’s owner, Michael Ehrlich, of Philadelphia, says he thinks the dog swallowed the toys weeks ago.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer people signed contracts to purchase homes in November, as the real estate market appears to have cooled after sales gains for much of 2015.

The National Association of Realtors says its seasonally adjusted pending home sales index fell 0.9 percent to 106.9 last month. It was the lowest reading in 10 months. Still, the index has risen 2.7 percent from a year ago.

Steady hiring and low mortgage rates lifted home sales for much of this year. But the pace of buying slowed after the end of the summer, with inventories tight and home values rising faster than incomes.

Pending sales are a barometer of future purchases. A lag of a month or two usually exists between a contract and a completed sale.