AP National News

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico has long had a problem with illegally imported cars, and now President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is pledging to legalize them all. The mainly U.S. cars are known in Mexico as “chocolate,” a play on the word “chueco,” or crooked. Mexicans can legally import later-model cars that meet pollution and

By FELICIA FONSECA Associated Press FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A jury in Arizona has convicted a U.S. Air Force airman in the murder of a Mennonite woman who was living in New Mexico. The jury reached its verdict Wednesday. Jurors heard closing arguments in the case Friday. Mark Gooch faces life in prison on the

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Interior Secretary Deb Haaland says the Biden administration will hold lease sales for up to seven offshore wind farms on the East and West coasts and in the Gulf of Mexico in the next four years. The projects are part of the administration’s plan to deploy 30

By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A former sheriff in South Carolina has reported to prison to serve a one-year sentence for using his power and office to pressure a personal assistant to have sex with him. Officials say ex-Greenville County Sheriff Will Lewis arrived at a state prison Wednesday, the day

By LARRY NEUMEISTER and TOM HAYS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A prosecutor has opened the trial of an associate of Rudy Giuliani by accusing him of trying to use up to $1 million from a Russian financier to infiltrate U.S. elections. The prosecutor made the allegation Wednesday in her opening statement at the

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A retired New York attorney is suing the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, saying its claim to have no records pertaining to the drugs it plans to use in upcoming executions “defies belief.” Fred Hodara filed the lawsuit on Tuesday in Oklahoma County District Court. He is asking the court to compel

By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A milestone energy bill that targets sharply reducing greenhouse gas emissions from North Carolina power plants has become law. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper signed the legislation on Wednesday. The directive aims to reduce carbon dioxide output of North Carolina energy producers 70 percent from 2005

By JOSEF FEDERMAN Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Senior Israeli and Sudanese officials have held a rare public meeting. Two Israeli Cabinet ministers posted photos of their meeting on Wednesday with Sudan’s justice minister. The Israeli participants said the meeting pledged to strengthen the nascent ties between the former adversaries. It took place in Abu

ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) — A large cat native to Africa is on the loose in a suburb north of Detroit after escaping from its owner. Authorities say the caracal was reported missing around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday in Royal Oak. The cat’s weight is estimated at 50 pounds. It was among four big cats held

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers Stock indexes are mostly higher in afternoon trading on Wall Street as investors review earnings and inflation data. The broader market started the day with gains, then shifted to slight losses before leveling off. The S&P 500 rose 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) — A wildfire raging through Southern California coastal mountains is a threat to ranches and rural homes and is keeping a major highway shut down. The Alisal Fire is covering more than 24 square miles in the Santa Ynez Mountains west of Santa Barbara. The number of firefighters has nearly doubled

By JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Participants at a Holocaust remembrance conference in Sweden have blamed social media for contributing to a global rise in antisemitism. Government and technology company representatives attending the International Forum on Holocaust Remembrance in Malmo vowed Wednesday to crack down on hate speech, disinformation and the

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials agreed at their last meeting that if the economy continued to improve, they could start reducing their monthly bond purchases as soon as next month and bring them to an end by the middle of 2022. The discussion was revealed in the minutes

By SUZAN FRASER Associated Press ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s state-run news agency says authorities have detained eight people, including two alleged Iranian agents, who attempted to abduct a former Iranian soldier and smuggle him back to Iran. The Anadolu Agency said the eight were caught in the eastern province of Van, which borders Iran,

By REBECCA BOONE Associated Press BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A former Idaho state lawmaker charged with rape has made his first appearance in the case in court. Aaron von Ehlinger was a Republican state representative from Lewiston when a 19-year-old legislative intern reported that he brought her to his apartment under false pretenses and raped

LEXINGTON, Va. (AP) — Authorities say a drunk driver was going 152 mph when he was pulled over in Rockbridge County over the weekend. According to a tweet Tuesday from Virginia State Police, the 29-year-old man was stopped on Interstate 81 on Sunday and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. Police say he

By MATTHEW LEE AP Diplomatic Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and Israel say they are exploring a “Plan B” for dealing with Iran if the Islamic Republic does not return in good faith to negotiations to salvage the languishing landmark 2015 nuclear deal. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israeli Foreign Minister Yair

By STEPHEN McGRATH Associated Press BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Doctors in Romania’s capital has issued an open letter titled “a cry of despair” as the country’s overwhelmed health care system copes with record coronavirus infections and deaths. The College of Physicians of Bucharest said Wednesday in a letter addressed to Romanians that the medical system

MADRID (AP) — Spanish rescuers have saved over 200 migrants on the perilous seaborne route from Africa to the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. Emergency services for the Canary Islands say that rescuers saved 90 migrants from two boats intercepted near the island of Gran Canaria. Another 55 people were pulled from a boat

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The great Brexit brawl is heading into its next standoff as European Union concessions to improve trade in Northern Ireland are likely to be deemed insufficient by the United Kingdom. The EU’s top Brexit official has proposed major changes in the customs system for Northern Ireland. It