Major credit card companies are reclassifying purchases at gun stores and ammunition shops — a change that could pull back the curtain on gun purchases.

Visa, American Express, and Mastercard will start implementing the plan, separating gun and ammunition purchases from other kinds of shopping for the first time. They had previously been classified as general merchandise.

The move comes as gun sales keep climbing.

"The sales have definitely increased over the last several years compared to probably the last five," said Vincent Vasquez, a gun store manager in Arizona.

The FBI reports having done 78,571,988 background checks for gun purchases in the last two years. That's more than in any two-year stretch since record-keeping started in 1998.

Cyndi Starr is among the many buying a firearm for the first time.

"I came to that decision after months of going back and forth," Starr said. "I would never want to ever harm anybody, never, but I've been close enough to certain violent or potentially violent situations that I had that split second where it's like, 'What's my backup?'"

Gun violence prevention activists hope the new classification for credit card purchases will help differentiate people like Starr from those intending to use a gun to harm people, helping banks see and report suspicious activity.

But, of course, not everyone's on board.

Over the weekend, the NRA said the move was about creating a "national registry of gun owners."

The policy is intended only to separately categorize purchases at gun and ammunition stores, not specifically what was purchased. It's a simple label change advocates hope will help curb gun violence.

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WASHINGTON —

President Joe Biden's son Hunter has been charged with failing to pay federal income tax and illegally possessing a weapon and has reached an agreement with the Justice Department, according to a letter filed in U.S. District Court in Delaware.

Related video above: The Justice Department is nearing a decision on whether to prosecute Hunter Biden for tax crimes

As part of the agreement, made public Tuesday, Hunter Biden will plead guilty to misdemeanor tax offenses and is expected to reach an agreement with prosecutors on the felony charge of illegally possessing a firearm as a drug user. It is somewhat unusual to resolve a federal criminal case at the same time the charges are filed in court, though it is not totally unheard of.

The deal ends a long-running Justice Department investigation into Biden's second son, who has acknowledged struggling with addiction following the 2015 death of his brother Beau Biden. It also averts a trial that would have generated days or weeks or distracting headlines for a White House that has strenuously sought to keep its distance from the Justice Department.

The news comes as congressional Republicans pursue their own investigations into nearly every facet of Hunter Biden's business dealings, including examining foreign payments and other aspects of his finances. It also comes days after a 37-count indictment came down against former President Donald Trump for mishandling classified documents on his Florida estate, another case with even more dramatic political implications.

Joe Biden has also faced questions about his son's business dealings and drug addiction.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

SANTA FE, N.M. —

Discussions of workplace safety are now front and center after the fatal 'Rust' movie set shooting at Bonanza Creek Ranch.

On Oct. 21, Santa Fe County deputies said Alec Baldwin, the actor and co-producer of the film, discharged a prop gun that misfired. The weapon fatally wounded cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza.

Questions also remain, like how live rounds showed up on the set.

The lawyer for the film's armorer, 24-year-old Hannah Gutierrez, released a statement Friday.

Jason Bowles said Gutierrez had no idea where the live rounds came from and added that the guns were locked up every night.

The incident has been a big concern for many people, including Baldwin.

On Saturday, Baldwin briefly spoke with reporters in Vermont, where he and his family have been laying low since the shooting.

"An ongoing effort to limit the use of firearms on film sets is something I’m extremely interested in," Baldwin said.

The actor added safety measures are needed when it comes to guns on movie sets.

"We have to realize that when it does go wrong, and it’s this horrible, catastrophic thing, some new measures have to take place," Baldwin said. "Whatever other people decide is the best way to go in terms of protecting people’s safety on film sets."

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said the state may take action to address those concerns.

Her office provided the following statement to sister station KOAT:

"Workplace safety in any and every industry in New Mexico is absolutely paramount. A workplace death is never acceptable and must compel an analysis of what can and should be done better. My full expectation is that the film and television industry will, at the conclusion of the investigation into this tragic incident and once all the facts are in hand, bring forward comprehensive new safety protocols to ensure this kind of incident never, ever happens again. If that sort of comprehensive new approach does not materialize, the state of New Mexico will take immediate action, throughout whatever means are available to us, to ensure the safety of all personnel on all film and television sets here in our state. This industry is important to us economically and to so many workers throughout New Mexico, and I look forward to a full accounting of how this could have possibly happened, and we will determine our next steps from there."

The investigation is still ongoing and no charges have been filed.

Production on the movie 'Rust' has since halted.

The U.N. atomic agency says North Korea appears to have restarted the operation of its main nuclear reactor used to produce weapons fuels.

The annual report by the International Atomic Energy Agency comes as North Korea openly threatens to enlarge its nuclear arsenal amid long-dormant nuclear diplomacy with the United States.

The report refers to a 5-megawatt reactor at the North's main nuclear complex in Yongbyon, north of Pyongyang. The reactor produces plutonium, one of the two key ingredients to build nuclear weapons along with highly enriched uranium.

"Since early July 2021, there have been indications, including the discharge of cooling water, consistent with the operation of the reactor," said the IAEA report dated Friday.

The agency uses satellite imagery and open-source information to monitor developments in North Korea's nuclear program.

"(North Korea's) nuclear activities continue to be a cause for serious concern. Furthermore, the new indications of the operation of the 5-megawatt reactor and the radiochemical laboratory are deeply troubling," the IAEA said.

According to the Associated Press, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offered to dismantle the nuclear complex in a 2019 summit with President Donald Trump if the U.S. agreed to lift some sanctions on the country. The Americans ultimately rejected the offer because it would only be a partial surrender of North Korea's nuclear capability.