AP National News

PHOENIX (AP) — An Ohio man has been charged in federal court for making a series of threats to an Arizona state election official. The U.S. Justice Department says a grand jury in Phoenix on Wednesday indicted 44-year-old Joshua Russell of Bucyrus. He is charged with three counts each of making a threatening interstate communication

BY DREW COSTLEY AP Science Writer A California law that prohibits new oil and gas wells from being drilled near homes, schools and hospitals could face a referendum in the 2024 election. Stop the Energy Shutdown, a campaign organized by oil and gas industry groups, said Tuesday it has collected enough signatures for a referendum

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Records obtained by The Washington Post show the office of Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton this summer sought data on how many people had changed the gender information on their driver’s license. Records obtained by the newspaper do not indicate why Paxton’s office made the request to the Texas Department

By SOPHIE AUSTIN and JANIE HAR Associated Press/Report for America OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — After more than a year delving into history and studies to make its case for reparations to California descendants of enslaved Black people, a first-in-the-nation task force began deliberations Wednesday to quantify how financial compensation might be calculated and what might

By FRANK BAJAK AP Technology Writer BOSTON (AP) — A hacker claims to have posed as the CEO of a financial institution to obtain access to the more than 80,000-member database of InfraGard. That’s an FBI-run outreach program that shares sensitive information on national security and cybersecurity threats with public officials and private sector individuals

CHANDLER, Ariz. (AP) — Police say a person with a gun shot and wounded a contract worker outside an Amazon delivery station in Arizona before a second worker who was armed fatally shot the suspect. Authorities said the second contract worker possibly stopped an active shooter situation Wednesday at the delivery hub in the Phoenix

By AMANDA SEITZ Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has proposed a ban on misleading ads for Medicare Advantage plans that have targeted older Americans and, in some cases, convinced them to sign up for plans that don’t cover their doctors or prescriptions. The rule was proposed by the Centers for Medicare and

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (AP) — A man who pleaded guilty to killing two women in Pennsylvania has been extradited to Michigan to face a first-degree murder charge in the slaying of a pregnant woman who disappeared more than 17 years ago. Harold David Haulman III was charged Wednesday in Calhoun County District Court in the

BOSTON (AP) — A Berklee College of Music student and citizen of China has been arrested for allegedly threatening an individual who posted a flyer in support of democracy in China. Federal investigators say 25-year-old Xiaolei Wu was charged with one count of stalking. Investigators say an individual posted a flyer on Oct. 22 near

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer AL KHOR, Qatar (AP) — Kylian Mbappé vs. Lionel Messi. Soccer’s latest superstar against perhaps the sport’s greatest player in the World Cup final just about everyone was hoping for. France and Mbappé are headed back to the biggest game in soccer, and to a much-anticipated matchup with Argentina,

NEW YORK (AP) — Eddie Murphy will receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 80th Golden Globes. The honorary award for the comedian and actor adds to a broadcast that’s taking shape after two years of scandal and backlash tarnished the Globes. After taking the previous Globes off the air, NBC will telecast the

By KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Rapper Gunna has pleaded guilty in Atlanta to a racketeering conspiracy charge. He was arrested earlier this year along with fellow rapper Young Thug and more than two dozen other people. Fulton County prosecutors in May obtained the sprawling 88-page indictment that said members of the Young

BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Federal civil rights prosecutors say a Southern California city has agreed to end a discriminatory housing program aimed at evicting criminals. The settlement announced Wednesday says Hesperia, San Bernardino County and its sheriff’s department violated the Fair Housing Act by engaging in a pattern and practice of

By JOSH FUNK AP Business Writer OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Railroad workers who are fed up with their demanding work schedules and disappointed in the contract they received aired their frustrations this week at rallies across the country and in a leadership vote at one of the biggest unions. Workers gathered in Washington D.C. and

By GENE JOHNSON Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — A Washington state man who is already in federal custody on weapons and hate crime charges has been indicted in a series of arsons at Jehovah’s Witness kingdom halls. Seattle U.S. Attorney Nick Brown said in a news release Wednesday that the new charges against 50-year-old Mikey

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — For decades, Roger Deakins’ eye has been one of the keenest in movies. It’s not easy to pinpoint what makes a film’s cinematography identifiably Deakins’ work, but, at the same time, it’s obvious. Deakins’ latest is Sam Mendes’ “Empire of Light,” starring Olivia Colman and

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The government on Wednesday charged eight men of earning more than $100 million in illicit stock market profits by manipulating their novice-investor followers on social media. The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission said that from early 2020 to around April of this year

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer It was the eyes that did it. Filmmaker Jerzy Skolimowski had decided some years ago that his next film was going to be about an animal. He and his wife and co-writer, Ewa Piaskowska, had been getting bored of traditional movie structure and dialogue and wanted to do something

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ and STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The man accused of attacking the husband of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said there was “evil in Washington” and he was looking to harm Pelosi because she is second in line for the presidency, a San Francisco police investigator testified Wednesday.

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve reinforced its inflation fight Wednesday by raising its key interest rate for the seventh time this year and signaling more hikes to come. But it announced a smaller hike than it had in its past four meetings at a time when inflation is