NEW YORK (AP) — Target says it is discounting thousands of products throughout its stores, sending its stock down and dragging most of the retail sector with it.

Retailers in general have struggled to compete with Amazon.com and the countless shopping options available online.

However, Target did report last quarter that its online sales jumped 32 percent and its revenue beat Wall Street expectations.

The Minneapolis-based retailer is spending billions to remodel stores and strengthen its online business. It said Friday it will continue “to offer additional savings on the right products at the right times.”

Shares in Target Corp. are down more than 3 percent in afternoon trading. Shares in Sears, Wal-Mart, Dollar General and Costco all fell more than 2 percent after Target’s announcement.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri’s Republican House Speaker Todd Richardson says he’s not running for state auditor.

Richardson said in a statement dated Wednesday that he’ll instead focus on work leading the House.

Richardson had said he was considering a 2018 bid for the office now held by Democratic Auditor Nicole Galloway.

Galloway now is the only Democratic statewide elected official in Jefferson City. Former Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon appointed her to the position after former Republican Auditor Tom Schweich killed himself in 2015.

Jefferson County Chief Deputy Auditor Kristy Apprill now is the only Republican who has opened a campaign committee to seek the statewide auditor’s seat.

NEOSHO, Mo. (AP) — The city of Neosho has transferred ownership of park land where a religious cross is located to a nonprofit corporation.

The move announced Thursday by the council comes after a secular group, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, asked in May that the cross be removed after some Neosho residents complained its location in a public park violated the Constitution.

The Joplin Globe reports city officials refused to remove the cross.

The nonprofit group that now owns the park land was created this summer. Councilman Richard Davidson is the registered agent for the Save Our Heritage Foundation. Davidson says the purpose is to maintain and protect the historical value of the cross and other culturally significant properties while removing a possible legal conflict.

TESCOTT, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas homicide victim’s Australian shepherd has been found in California where it had been adopted out by an animal shelter.

The Salina Journal reports that the dog, named Zeus, and a pickup truck were missing when a family member found Matthew Schoshke’s body at his rural home on Aug. 12.

Thirty-four-year-old Robert Colson, of Bucksport, Maine, is charged with second-degree intentional murder in the killing. He was arrested about two weeks after the killing in Martinez, California. He had been injured while trying to escape from an Amtrak train after a person was stabbed.

Meanwhile, Schoshke’s family took to social media to search for Zeus. They posted this week that Zeus had been located. The newspaper reports that the dog will be reunited soon with Schoshke’s family.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Pennsylvania man has pleaded guilty in Kansas to felony charges of selling unregistered securities that cost investors $800,000.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that 51-year-old Kevin Brown pleaded to four charges Tuesday in Shawnee County District Court.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accused Brown in 2015 of participating in a collection of companies tied to three multimillion-dollar frauds between 2008 and 2014, including a Ponzi scheme. Brown’s misconduct in Kansas occurred from 2011 to 2013.

His case was originally investigated by the Kansas Securities Commission before being passed to Attorney General Derek Schmidt under authority granted by the 2017 Legislature.

Brown’s sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 19.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A federal judge in St. Louis has ordered a Virginia man and his companies to pay $32.4 million in damages for improper robo calls promoting a movie.

U.S. District Judge E. Richard Webber says in the ruling Thursday that Gabriel Joseph III and his companies violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by making calls to more than 3.2 million recipients without their consent.

The calls made in 2012 promoted the movie “Last Ounce of Courage.” Former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee narrated the calls but was dismissed from the lawsuit.

The attorney for the St. Louis County couple who filed suit on behalf of all call recipients says an appeal will seek the $500 per call penalty allowed by the law — in this case, $1.6 billion.

OZARK, Mo. (AP) — A southwest Missouri man is facing a felony charge after a woman’s political bumper stickers made him so angry that he allegedly pointed a gun at her, causing a wreck.

Edward Burns of Ozark is charged with unlawful use of a weapon after the Aug. 24 confrontation near Ozark.

The Springfield News-Leader reports officials determined road rage caused the accident involving Burns and Laura Umphenour, who supports liberal policies.

Court records say both drivers exchanged “offensive hand gestures” before Burns pulled a .380 handgun and pointed it at Umphenour. She lost control of her vehicle, hit Burns’ car and slid into a guardrail.

Burns pleaded not guilty. He reportedly said Umphenour’s political decals were “stupid” and he pointed the gun at Umphenour because he was angry over her obscene gesture.