NEW YORK (AP) — The Biden administration eased some of the restrictions on banking giant Wells Fargo, saying the bank has sufficiently fixed its toxic culture after years of scandals.  The news sent Wells Fargo’s stock up sharply Thursday as investors speculated that the bank, which has been kept under a tight leash by regulators […]

NEW YORK (AP) — The National Rifle Association and its ex-CEO were caught “with their hands in the cookie jar,” a lawyer with the New York Attorney General’s Office said Thursday, at the conclusion of a civil trial accusing the gun rights group’s executives of wildly misspending millions of dollars on private flights, vacations and […]

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese automaker Daihatsu on Tuesday named a veteran at its parent company Toyota to replace its president as it tries to repair the damage from a scandal over cheating on vehicle safety tests. The troubles at Daihatsu Motor Co. surfaced after a whistleblower reported the cheating. A third-party review found violations, such […]

ATLANTA (AP) — The Republican leading a specially-appointed Georgia state Senate committee that’s supposed to investigate whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis committed misconduct proclaimed repeatedly Friday during the panel’s first meeting that he seeks just the facts, but the lead Democrat begrudgingly serving on the panel said she doubts the group can overcome […]

The CIA this week terminated a woman whose whistleblower account of being assaulted in a stairwell at the spy agency’s headquarters prompted a flood of colleagues to come forward with their own complaints of sexual misconduct. The woman’s attorney called the action a brazen retaliation. While the CIA said that accusation was “factually inaccurate,” it […]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The campaign team behind Philadelphia’s embattled sheriff acknowledged Monday that a series of positive “news” stories posted to their site were generated by ChatGPT.  Sheriff Rochelle Bilal’s campaign removed more than 30 stories created by a consultant using the generative AI chatbot. The move came after a Philadelphia Inquirer story on Monday […]

Sexual predators. Addictive features. Suicide and eating disorders. Unrealistic beauty standards. Bullying. These are just some of the issues young people are dealing with on social media — and children’s advocates and lawmakers say companies are not doing enough to protect them. On Wednesday, the CEOs of Meta, TikTok, X and other social media companies […]

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to temporarily halt state Attorney General Ken Paxton’s scheduled testimony in a whistleblower lawsuit that was at the heart of the impeachment charges brought against him in 2023, delaying what could have been the Republican’s first sworn statements on corruption allegations. Paxton had urged […]

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese transport officials raided a Toyota-affiliated plant Tuesday after the company admitted to cheating on engine testing, as Toyota Motor Corp. reported it sold over 11 million vehicles in 2023 to retain its status as the world’s top car manufacturer.  Hours after the probe began at Toyota Industries Corp.’s plant in Hekinan, […]

TOKYO (AP) — Toyota chief Koji Sato apologized Monday to customers, suppliers and dealers for flawed testing at a group company, following a series of similar problems in recent years.The apology came a day before Chairman Akio Toyoda is to announce a “global vision” for the Toyota Motor Corp. group. The latest woes at Japan’s […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former contractor for the Internal Revenue Service who pleaded guilty to leaking tax information to news outlets about former President Donald Trump and thousands of the country’s wealthiest people was sentenced to five years in prison Monday. Charles Edward Littlejohn, 38, of Washington, D.C., had pleaded guilty to one count of […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — When IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel met privately with senators recently, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee asked for his assessment of a startling report: A whistleblower estimated that 95% of claims now being made by businesses for a COVID-era tax break were fraudulent. “He looked at his shoes and he basically […]