Shares of UnitedHealth Group dove after the health care giant said it was under a Department of Justice investigation. The company says it has started complying with both criminal and civil requests from federal investigators, and it was working cooperatively with them.

Earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal said federal officials had launched a civil fraud investigation into how the company records diagnoses that lead to extra payments for its Medicare Advantage, or MA, plans. Those are privately run versions of the government’s Medicare coverage program, mostly for people ages 65 and over.

Here's the latest:

UnitedHealth stocks dip

The stock price dropped 2%, or $6.13, to $286.50 on Thursday morning. Company shares have mostly shed value since December, when UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot in midtown Manhattan on his way to the company’s annual investor meeting.

What to know about UnitedHealth Group

The company’s business covers more than 8 million people as the nation’s largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans. The business has been under pressure in recent quarters due to rising care use and rate cuts.

UnitedHealth also runs one of the nation’s largest health insurance and pharmacy benefits management businesses. It also operates a growing Optum business that provides care and technology support.

UnitedHealth says it is under a federal investigation and cooperating

Shares of UnitedHealth Group dove early Thursday after the health care giant said it was under a Department of Justice investigation.

The company said it has started complying with both criminal and civil requests from federal investigators and it was working cooperatively with them.

“(UnitedHealth) has a long record of responsible conduct and effective compliance,” the company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal said federal officials had launched a civil fraud investigation into how the company records diagnoses that lead to extra payments for its Medicare Advantage, or MA, plans. Those are privately run versions of the government’s Medicare coverage program mostly for people ages 65 and over.

▶ Read more about the UnitedHealth federal investigation

RNC Chair Michael Whatley plans to run for an open Senate seat in North Carolina

That’s according to two people familiar with his thinking, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t permitted to speak on the record.

President Trump, according to one of the people, asked him to make the run after Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, mulled the seat.

Politico first reported news of Whatley’s plans.

Democrats see North Carolina as their top pickup opportunity next year after Sen. Thom Tillis announced his surprise retirement after clashing with Trump.

While Lara Trump had been seen as having the right of first refusal, Whatley is considered by national Republicans to be a strong contender for the seat, thanks, in part, to the large fundraising network he’s cultivated as RNC chair and his perceived loyalty to the president. He’s a well-known name in the state, having served as GOP chair there, and has no voting record that could be used against him by Democrats.

— Jill Colvin

Trump’s trip to Scotland highlights his complex relationship with his mother’s homeland

President Trump’s trip to Scotland this week will be a homecoming of sorts, but he’s likely to get a mixed reception.

Trump has had a long and at times rocky relationship with the country where his mother grew up in a humble house on a windswept isle.

He’ll be met by both political leaders and protesters during the visit, which begins Friday and takes in his two Scottish golf resorts. It comes two months before King Charles III is due to welcome him on a formal state visit to the U.K.

“I’m not proud that he (has) Scottish heritage,” said Patricia Sloan, who says she stopped visiting the Turnberry resort on Scotland’s west coast after Trump bought it in 2014. “All countries have good and bad that come out of them, and if he’s going to kind of wave the flag of having Scottish heritage, that’s the bad part, I think.”

▶ Read more about Trump’s relationship with Scotland

Trump’s schedule, according to the White House

3 p.m. ET — Trump will sign executive orders

4 p.m. — Trump will visit the Federal Reserve

Man accused of attempting to assassinate Trump returns to court and hopes to represent himself

The man charged with attempting to assassinate Trump last year at his Florida golf course will return to court Thursday to once again explain why he wants to fire his court-appointed lawyers and represent himself.

Ryan Routh previously made the request earlier this month during a hearing in Fort Pierce before U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon. She didn’t rule during the hearing but said she would issue a written order later. But now Routh, 59, is set to be back in front of Cannon, a day after his court-appointed federal public defenders asked to be taken off the case.

Routh is scheduled to stand trial in September, a year after prosecutors say a U.S. Secret Service agent thwarted his attempt to shoot Trump as he played golf. Routh has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and several firearm violations.

▶ Read more about the assassination attempt case