AP National Business

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An aspiring actor has pleaded guilty to running a massive Ponzi scheme that raised at least $650 million from investors in phony Hollywood film licensing deals. Zachary Horwitz pleaded guilty Monday in Los Angeles to federal securities fraud. Prosecutors say Horwitz secured loans for his film company by falsely claiming the

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal jury in Los Angeles has awarded $6.3 million to actor Shannen Doherty in a lawsuit alleging that State Farm failed to pay for damage to her house in a 2018 California wildfire. The jury found State Farm’s failure to pay benefits for Doherty’s Malibu home were “unreasonable and without

By CEDAR ATTANASIO Associated Press / Report for America SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is thanking attendees of the New Mexico Oil And Gas Association’s annual meeting for their contributions to the economy. Fossil fuel mining is the state’s largest government revenue source and directly funds education. Lujan Grisham

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — An independent investigator will look into whether Federal Reserve officials broke the law with financial trades last year that have come under congressional scrutiny and sharp criticism from outside the central bank. The Fed said its independent Office of the Inspector General will investigate whether the

DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airlines has become the latest U.S. airline to say that it will require its employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The Dallas-based company said its workers must be fully vaccinated by Dec. 8 in order to continue working at the airline. Employees can seek approval to skip the shots due to

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A regulatory commission in Mexico has fined three manufacturers of tampons and diapers just over $15 million for allegedly conspiring to fix prices for the products. Mexico’s Commission on Economic Competition said Monday the price-fixing probably cost consumers about $73 million in artificially inflated prices. The three companies did not respond

By MARK GILLISPIE Associated Press CLEVELAND (AP) — Jurors have heard opening statements in a federal court trial to determine whether retail pharmacy chains created a public nuisance in how they dispensed addictive painkillers in two Ohio counties. Lake and Trumbull counties outside Cleveland say the cost of abating the ongoing crisis is $1 billion

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The International Monetary Fund says its board of directors has been briefed by attorneys from the law firm whose investigation found thatcurrent IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva pressured World Bank employees to alter data affecting the business rankings of China and other nations. The IMF said

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer Film and television production in North America is in jeopardy of coming to a standstill after its behind-the-scenes workers overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike for the first time in its 128-year history. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees said Monday that of nearly 99% of registered members

By PAUL WISEMAN and MARCY GORDON AP Business Writers WASHINGTON (AP) — Calls are growing for an end to the financial secrecy and shell companies that have allowed many of the world’s richest and most powerful people to hide their wealth from tax collectors. The outcry came after a report published Sunday revealed the way

By TERRY TANG and MICHELLE A. MONROE Associated Press Authorities say a Drug Enforcement Administration special agent was killed when a passenger opened fire as officers were doing a routine inspection for illegal contraband on an Amtrak train in Tucson, Arizona. A second agent and a Tucson police officer were also wounded the shooting Monday.

By BARBARA ORTUTAY AP Technology Writer Facebook is asking a federal court to dismiss a revised complaint against it by the Federal Trade Commission. It is arguing that the agency did not provide enough evidence that the company is a monopoly. In a motion filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia,

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers Stocks closed lower Monday as big technology companies such as Apple and Microsoft take losses. The S&P 500 fell 1.3% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 2.1%. Meanwhile, the price of U.S. oil rose to $77.62 per barrel, the highest close since 2014. OPEC and allied

By ED WHITE Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — Canada is getting deeply involved in a dispute over an oil pipeline in Michigan. Canada informed a judge that it is invoking a 1977 treaty with the United States. That step should suspend a lawsuit by Michigan to shut down the pipeline. Line 5 is operated by

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is reversing a ban on abortion referrals by federally funded family planning clinics. Monday’s action by the Department of Health and Human Services lifts a Trump-era restriction as political and legal battles over abortion grow sharper from Texas to the U.S. Supreme Court. Groups

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes Monday: Nu Skin, Pacira Biosciences fall; Veoneer, Tesla rise.

By TERRY TANG and MICHELLE A. MONROE Associated Press Police say one person is in custody after someone opened fire aboard an Amtrak train in Tucson, Arizona. The shooting happened Monday just after 8 a.m. on a train parked at the downtown station. Authorities say there is no more threat. An Amtrak spokesman says there

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers Stocks are closing lower Monday as big technology companies such as Apple and Microsoft take losses. The S&P 500 fell 1.3% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 2.1%. Meanwhile, the price of U.S. oil rose to $77.62 per barrel, the highest close since 2014, as OPEC

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s bourbon industry is showing that it’s increasingly bullish on its future. The industry has reached new production heights despite the COVID-19 pandemic and trade disputes in key European markets. Bluegrass State bourbon producers filled nearly 2.5 million barrels in 2020, setting a new production record.

By AMY TAXIN and CHRISTOPHER WEBER Associated Press HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Officials investigating one of California’s largest oil spills are looking into whether a ship’s anchor may have struck a pipeline on the ocean floor, causing a major leak of crude. The head of the company that operates the pipeline said Monday that