AP News Summary at 1:14 pm EDT

Voter distrust taxes front line of US election integrity

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — As complaints about elections, many of them unfounded, pile up around the country, investigators tasked with dealing with them find themselves on the front line of defending the integrity of elections. In blue states like Oregon and red states like Idaho, elections officials say investigating the complaints is critical for maintaining voter confidence. An Oregon complaints log obtained through a public records request says at least 204 accusations have been filed this year. The complaints included accusations of campaign finance violations, public employees campaigning while on the job, and someone yelling about signs on lawns.

US employers are hiring briskly even in the face of rate hikes

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s employers kept hiring vigorously in October, adding 261,000 positions, a sign that as Election Day nears, the economy remains a picture of solid job growth and painful inflation. Hiring was brisk across industries, though the overall gain declined from 315,000 in September. The unemployment rate rose from a five-decade low of 3.5% to a still-healthy 3.7%. The government also said average hourly pay, on average, rose 4.7% from a year ago, a smaller year-over-year gain than in September. A strong job market is deepening the challenges the Federal Reserve faces as it raises interest rates at the fastest pace since the 1980s to try to bring inflation down from near a 40-hear high.

Ukraine’s president accuses Russia of ‘energy terrorism’

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of “energy terrorism,” with Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy network leaving millions of people without power. Zelenskyy said 4.5 million people were without electricity. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Friday that 450,000 apartments were without power in the capital alone. The mayor appealed to Kyiv residents to save electricity as much as possible, saying that the “situation remains difficult.” State grid operator Ukrenergo says emergency blackouts will be taking place across Kyiv. Russia has carried out intense missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian power facilities. Zelenskyy’s office said Friday at least nine civilians were killed and 16 wounded by attacks in Ukraine over the past 24 hours.

Trump ally Tom Barrack acknowledged foreign agent charges

NEW YORK (AP) — A Donald Trump loyalist has been acquitted at a federal trial in which he was accused of using his access to the former president to secretly promote the interests of the United Arab Emirates. A jury in Brooklyn deliberated three days before finding Tom Barrack not guilty Friday of acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government, obstruction of justice and making false statements. Barrack is a longtime friend of Trump and is a California billionaire who chaired Trump’s inaugural committee. His acquittal is the latest setback for the Justice Department in its recent efforts to enforce laws governing foreign lobbying.

Oath Keepers head testifies he’s patriot, not revolutionary

WASHINGTON (AP) — Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes told jurors he is a patriotic American as he took the witness stand to defend himself against charges in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol. Rhodes is trying to counter allegations of his far-right extremist group planning an armed rebellion to stop the transfer of presidential power. Rhodes began testing Friday after prosecutors spent weeks laying out their case against him and four others accused of a violent plot to keep Joe Biden out of the White House. Rhodes’ decision to testify carries will open him to intense cross-examination from prosecutors, who will get a chance to question him when the trial resumes next week.

Widespread Twitter layoffs begin a week after Musk takeover

NEW YORK (AP) — Twitter began widespread layoffs Friday as new owner Elon Musk overhauls the social platform. The company had told employees by email that they would find out by 9 am PDT (noon EDT) if they had been laid off. The email did not say how many would lose their jobs. Musk didn’t confirm or correct investor Ron Baron at a conference stage in New York on Friday when he asked Musk how much money the billionaire Tesla CEO would save after he “fired half of Twitter” earlier in the day. Twitter’s roughly 7,500 employees have been expecting layoffs since Musk took helm of the company. Already, Musk has fired top executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal.

Death in CRISPR gene therapy study sparks search for answers

The lone volunteer in a unique study involving a gene-editing technique has died, and those behind the trial are now trying to figure out what killed him. Terry Horgan, a 27-year-old who had Duchenne muscular dystrophy, died last month, according to Cure Rare Disease, a Connecticut-based nonprofit founded by his brother, Rich, to try and save him. Although it’s still unclear what killed him, his death is raising questions about the experiment and the overall prospect of what one ethicist calls designer genetic therapies. The hope for this study was to use a gene-editing tool called CRISPR to treat Horgan’s particular form of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Supreme Court more diverse than lawyers who argue before it

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court looks more like America than it ever has. The lawyers who argue at the nation’s highest court? Not that much. The current two-week session of arguments features 25 men and just two women, an imbalance so strong the Biden administration’s top Supreme Court lawyer made a point of it in her defense of race-conscious college admissions Monday. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argued to the court extreme racial or gender disparities between certain groups “can cause people to wonder whether the path to leadership is open.” The month before wasn’t much different. Eighteen men and four women argued eight cases. There are four women, two African-Americans and a Latina among the nine justices.

Giant, sustainable rainforest fish is now fashionable in America

TRES RIOS, Brazil (AP) — Until recently, the skin of the pirarucu, the largest fish in the Amazon, had no commercial value. The meat was being fished sustainably, but the skin was discarded. But a new technique and the fact that the fish are sustainably harvested has delighted boot manufacturers and the fashion industry. Rihanna in her pregnancy shoot for Vogue magazine wore a red fish scale jacket open at her belly. The new trade is a circle of good because the livelihood is helping local people preserve the Amazon rainforest.

EXPLAINER: How impoverished N. Korea finances testing spree

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea’s recent barrage of missile tests, including Wednesday’s record of at least 23 launches, is raising an important question about its weapons program: How does the impoverished country pay for the seemingly endless tests? While some experts say each North Korean launch could cost $2 million to $10 million, others say there is no way to estimate accurately given the North’s extremely secretive nature. They say North Korea likely manufactures weapons at a much cheaper cost than other countries because of free labor and possible clandestine Chinese and Russian support. Whichever is correct, there are no signs that North Korea’s economic hardships are slowing its weapons tests.