USA

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal jury convicted a Hong Kong businessman Wednesday of bribing the presidents of two African nations to secure oil rights for a Chinese energy conglomerate, a case that stretched from the halls of the United Nations and highlighted the often blurry line between nongovernmental organizations and private enterprise.

Dr. Chi Ping Patrick Ho was found guilty of seven of eight counts, including conspiracy, money laundering and violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in a case that involved several former presidents of the United Nations General Assembly.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The recent beating of a young man and his father at their Salt Lake City tire shop by an attacker who told police he targeted them because they were Mexican is renewing criticism of the state’s hate crime law, which one prosecutor is calling unusable.

Rather than protecting specific groups, the 1990s-era measure speaks generally about crimes that block people from freely exercising their constitutional rights.

DALLAS (AP) — A U.S. Border Patrol agent who confessed to killing four sex workers told investigators he wanted to “clean up the streets” of his Texas border hometown, a prosecutor said Wednesday while announcing that a grand jury had indicted the man for capital murder.

Webb County District Attorney Isidro Alaniz said he will seek the death penalty for the September slayings and that evidence presented to the grand jury showed Juan David Ortiz killed the women “in a cold, callous and calculating way.”

5 Dec 2018; AFP: Two key US Republican senators said a Tuesday briefing by the CIA's director only strengthened their conviction that Saudi Arabia's crown prince directed the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The explosive new declarations by members of President Donald Trump's own party run counter to the White House narrative downplaying possible links between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the October killing of journalist and palace critic Khashoggi at the kingdom's Istanbul consulate.

5 Dec 2018; AFP: Global emissions of carbon dioxide mainly from fossil fuel burning will rise 2.7 percent in 2018, scientists said Wednesday, signalling a world "completely off course" in the fight against climate change.

Last year, CO2 pollution increased by 1.6 percent after a three-year hiatus that raised hopes manmade greenhouse gas emissions had finally peaked despite an expanding world economy.

GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Police say a Pennsylvania man released from jail immediately stole a car from its parking lot.

Westmoreland County Prison officials say that moments after 36-year-old Thomas Lee Williams was released, he attacked a woman in the parking lot Tuesday evening and stole her car with the victim’s 1-year-old in the back seat. The Tribune-Review reports Williams crashed about 15 minutes later and ran into the woods, where he was apprehended.

WASHINGTON (AP) — After several years of little growth, global emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide experienced their largest jump in seven years, discouraging scientists.

NEW YORK (AP) — More U.S. beef is being recalled because it may be contaminated with salmonella.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says a unit of Brazil’s JBS is now recalling a total of more than 12 million pounds of raw beef that was shipped around the country. JBS Tolleson in Arizona already recalled about 7 million pounds of beef in October.

WASHINGTON (AP) — CIA Director Gina Haspel briefed Senate leaders on the slaying of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi Tuesday as senators weighed punishing the longtime Middle East ally over the killing.

The CIA director met with a small group of senators, including the chairmen and ranking senators on the key national security committees.

Senators from both parties were angry last week that Haspel didn’t attend a closed-door session with top administration officials about Khashoggi’s killing and the U.S. response, which many senators have said is lacking.

4 Nov 2018; AL: A rally in oil prices after a two-month slide indicates traders are betting that OPEC and its allies including Russia will agree to produce less crude.

Representatives of oil-producing nations will hold a highly anticipated meeting Thursday in Vienna, with analysts predicting that they will agree on a cut of at least 1 million barrels a day in an effort to bolster prices.