AP-National

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s government statistics agency says it had to pay gangs to enter some towns to do census work last year. The assistant director of the National Statistics Institute told a congressional committee that workers also were forced to hire criminals in order to carry out census interviews. Susana Pérez Cadena said

By JAMIE STENGLE Associated Press DALLAS (AP) — The combat boots and dog tags Alan Alda wore while playing the wisecracking surgeon Hawkeye on the beloved television series “M-A-S-H” sold at auction Friday for $125,000. Alda held onto the boots and dog tags for more than 40 years after the show ended but decided to

By MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has repeatedly said he is “fine” since he froze up midsentence during a press conference on Wednesday. And now his office is trying to tamp down speculation that he might not fill out his term as leader because of his health.

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press OCEAN CITY, N.J. (AP) — Opponents of offshore wind projects are suing New Jersey and the Danish wind energy developer Orsted over a lucrative tax break the state approved for the company. They say the law is illegal because it was written to benefit only one entity. Protect Our Coast

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank says the banking sector could withstand a severe economic downturn without depleting their financial buffers against losses. A survey of 98 large and medium-sized banks showed Friday that even in the most adverse scenario, banks would still have enough capital to cover losses and then some. Banks

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer GENEVA (AP) — The IOC has assured Ukrainian fencer Olga Kharlan that she will have a place at the Paris Olympics next year after she was disqualified from a key ranking event for refusing to shake hands with a Russian she had beaten. International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Flashing a thumbs-up to his well-wishers, a police officer who was critically wounded while responding to a mass shooting at a Louisville bank in April was discharged from the hospital on Friday after enduring multiple surgeries and intensive therapy. Louisville Metro Police Officer Nickolas Wilt still

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — In an effort to cut down on food waste and help eco-conscious consumers, a Geneva nonprofit is ramping up its rollout of street-side, free-access public refrigerators that restaurateurs, at-home cooks and others can use to give away food that’s about to go bad.It’s part of a bigger

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Nine senior Senate Democrats and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders are urging the Biden administration to withhold about a quarter of the United States’ more than $1 billion in annual military aid to Egypt for a third year. Friday’s joint letter from lawmakers calls the step important to

BERLIN (AP) — Two people died on Friday after jumping from a building in Berlin to escape a fire on an upper floor, authorities said. An apartment on the 12th floor of a 15th-story residential building was ablaze when firefighters arrived, and they could see two people at the window with flames behind them, fire

By JULHAS ALAM Associated Press DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Thousands of supporters of Bangladesh’s governing and opposition parties have held separate rallies over who should oversee the next general election, expected to be held early next year. Despite huge crowds, both rallies were peaceful, with a large security presence. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina says the

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — The International Monetary Fund says it reached an agreement with Argentina that would open the door for the cash-strapped South American country to receive $7.5 billion over the next few months. The agreement still needs approval from the IMF Executive Board, which is scheduled to meet in the second half

By FABIOLA SÁNCHEZ Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s navy has located the boat of a missing American sailor off its southern coast. But the Maryland man who had been sailing it solo was not found. Authorities said Friday that Donald Lawson’s capsized trimaran was found Thursday night by a patrol boat involved in

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Federal regulators have approved plans to load radioactive fuel into a second new nuclear reactor in Georgia. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Friday that Georgia Power Co. and its co-owners can begin loading fuel into unit 4 at Plant Vogtle, southeast of Augusta. It’s a key step

YORK, S.C. (AP) — A fatal boat crash believed to have spun the downfall of Alex Murdaugh has resulted in a $15 million settlement in a lawsuit against a convenience store that sold beer to the disgraced attorney’s underage son. A judge on Thursday approved the deal between the victim’s family and Parker’s Kitchen, according

PEMBINA, N.D. (AP) — Canadian officials say border agents seized nearly 140 pounds of cocaine worth $6 million from a commercial truck seeking to cross into the country from northeastern North Dakota. The Canada Border Services Agency and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a joint statement Thursday that the haul was found July

CHICAGO (AP) — Officers searching the apartment of a Chicago man accused of fatally stabbing a man on a restaurant’s roof discovered the body of a young woman in his refrigerator earlier this month, authorities said. Brandon Sanders, 33, has not been charged in the death of Iman Al-Sarraj, 18, whose beaten body was found

By RIAZAT BUTT Associated Press Afghan women protesting a beauty salon ban say the Taliban used stun guns, fire hoses and gun shots into the air to break up their demonstration. The closure of beauty salons earlier this month is the latest curb on the rights of women and girls, following edicts barring them from