Associated Press stories, Page 2218

“Star Wars” has faced criticism for having a lack of female directors, but the popular franchise is making an effort to place more women in the prominent role starting with the new series “The Mandalorian.” The Disney Plus series, which airs Fridays, broke new ground for “Star Wars” when Deborah...

NEWARK, N.J. — Three men were charged with running a cryptocurrency mining operation that officials labeled a “high-tech Ponzi scheme” that bilked investors out of $722 million, federal officials announced Tuesday. Matthew Goettsche, 37, was arrested Tuesday in Colorado, while Jobadiah Weeks, 38, was taken into custody in Florida and...

Students who are cheated by their colleges will receive full loan forgiveness only if they end up earning far less than their peers, while others will receive relief between 25% and 75% of their debt under new rules unveiled Tuesday by the U.S. Education Department. The policy is a departure...

NEW YORK — Here’s one poll position no team might want: Louisville is the latest No. 1-and-done in an upset-crazed college basketball season. Davide Moretti scored 18 points and hit successive 3-pointers that helped Texas Tech knock off undefeated No. 1 Louisville, 70-57, on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden....

ELKLAND — A Pennsylvania state trooper was shot and wounded Tuesday afternoon at a home in a rural area near the border with New York state, prompting a standoff with the barricaded gunman that lasted into the evening, authorities said. Troopers were conducting a welfare check at the home in...

NEW YORK — The host of a Fox Nation streaming service program sued Fox News and her former co-host Tuesday, alleging he sent her sexually explicit text messages as he harassed her. The Manhattan federal court lawsuit claimed Fox News retaliated against Britt McHenry after she complained by shunning her...

HARRISBURG — Hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians stand to lose food stamps or see their benefits reduced under three sets of changes to the program being advanced by the Trump administration, state officials said Tuesday. Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration opposes all three changes, saying that the federal government is simply...

MELBOURNE, Australia — This might be the end of that “Captain America” business. If it wasn’t his finger-pointing interview after the Ryder Cup in France, a few swipes of sand in the Bahamas should make it a little more clear. Patrick Reed is not doing or saying the things that...

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick said neither he nor his coaching staff has watched any video footage shot by an in-house production team at the center of an NFL investigation for inappropriately filming the Cincinnati Bengals’ sideline at a recent game. Belichick said during a conference...

COLUMBIA, Tenn. — An exotic red stag owned by country music singer Luke Bryan was shot and killed on his private property outside of Nashville last week, Tennessee wildlife officials confirmed. Investigators think the deer was shot from the road, state Wildlife Resources Agency spokesman Barry Cross told The Tennessean...

HELSINKI — Finland became the country with the world’s youngest sitting head of government Tuesday when the Nordic country’s parliament chose a 34-year-old woman who is a prolific user of social media and a keen advocate for environmental issues as prime minister. Lawmakers in the 200-seat Eduskunta voted 99-70 to...

ORLANDO, Fla. — A lawsuit over women’s right to enter strip clubs unaccompanied by men is making Florida cities and counties worry about the future of their local civil-rights laws. An Orlando area strip club denied two Alabama women access because its policy required women to enter with men to...

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court appeared likely Tuesday to rule that insurance companies can collect $12 billion from the federal government to cover their losses in the early years of the health care law championed by President Barack Obama. Several justices indicated their agreement with arguments from the insurers that...

WENDELL, N.C. — George J. Laurer, whose invention of the Universal Product Code at IBM transformed retail and other industries around the world, has died. He was 94. A funeral was held on Monday for Laurer, who died Thursday at his home in Wendell, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh....

SANTIAGO, Chile — Searchers using planes, ships and satellites were combing Antarctic seas on Tuesday, hunting for a Chilean Air Force transport plane carrying 38 people that vanished en route to a base on the frozen continent. Seven hours after contact was cut off, the Air Force declared the plane...

SAN DIEGO — Eleven Chinese migrants were discovered hiding in furniture and appliances inside a truck stopped by agents as it entered the U.S. from Mexico at a Southern California border crossing, federal officials said. At least one person was crammed inside a washing machine and another was curled up...