Authorities are investigating the motives of an armed man who they say tried to breach the FBI’s Cincinnati office, fled, and was shot and died hours later in a rural standoff with law enforcement. The case Thursday unfolded as the FBI warns its agents to take extra precautions amid an increase in social media threats to bureau personnel and facilities following a search of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. A law enforcement official briefed on the Cincinnati matter says federal investigators are examining whether the suspect in that case, identified as 42-year-old Ricky Shiffer, may have had ties to far-right extremist groups, including the Proud Boys.

Organizations in Alaska have gotten creative in trying to help voters understand how to cast their ballot in the state's first ranked voting election on Aug. 16. Those efforts have included mock elections featuring drag performers and videos detailing how the system works. Leaders of various outreach efforts see their work as critical to getting voters comfortable with ranked voting and to helping them avoid errors in casting their ballots. The first ranked voting election under a suite of elections changes approved by Alaska voters in 2020 will be the Aug. 16 special U.S. House election featuring Republicans Sarah Palin and Nick Begich and Democrat Mary Peltola.

New Mexico prosecutors are amassing evidence they hope will convince a judge that the Afghan refugee suspected of killing four Muslim men should remain jailed pending his trial. Muhammad Syed is due in court Monday and a state judge will decide if he's enough of a danger to the community to deny him bond. Syed is charged with two killings and authorities say he the primary suspect in the other two. He has denied the allegations. Muslim community leaders say they're working with law enforcement to push for Syed's continued detention. They cite previous accusations of domestic violence against him and a 2020 tire slashing incident outside the local mosque.

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants taxpayers to foot his legal bills to defend himself against a sexual harassment claim brought by one of his state trooper bodyguards. The Democrat sued Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday, arguing that James violated state law by denying him public assistance for his defense. The unnamed trooper filed the lawsuit earlier this year in a federal court in Manhattan asserting that Cuomo and others on his staff violated her civil rights. The suit says the allegations stem from a time when Cuomo "was acting within the scope of his employment or duties."