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  • Bodies of at least 11 people found in hidden graves in western Mexico

    The skeletal remains of at least 11 people were found in hidden graves in western Mexico, local authorities said Thursday.

    The graves were found in a rural lot in Ixtlahuacan, a suburb of Guadalajara, in the state of Jalisco, the local prosecutor’s office said.

    Meanwhile, another 12 bags containing human remains were found at a construction site in nearby Tlajomulco, said Blanca Trujillo, the deputy prosecutor for missing persons, during a press conference.

    She said the total number of victims from both sites is still unknown, adding that in both cases, the remains appear to be from a long time ago, without specifying a timeframe.

    The discovery of the grave site adds to dozens of similar cases in Jalisco, the state hardest hit by the crisis of missing persons affecting Mexico and where one of the country’s most violent and powerful drug cartels operates.

    According to official figures, Mexico has more than 130,000 missing persons, most of them in the last two decades amid drug-related violence.

    Jalisco has more than 15,900 cases of missing persons, a toll that experts attribute to the activities of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, official data shows.

    The cartel has been accused of using fake job advertisements to lure new members and of torturing and killing recruits who resist.

    One of the largest mass graves in Mexico was reported in 2017 when more than 250 skulls were found in what appeared to be a drug cartel mass burial ground on the outskirts of the city of Veracruz.

    Most recently, in October 2025, as many as 48 bags containing human remains were found in a vacant lot in Zapopan, a vast outlying municipality in the Guadalajara metropolitan area.

    Guadalajara, the state’s capital city, is one of the three Mexican cities hosting 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup matches this summer.

  • Attacks on Middle East energy sites deepen threat to US economy, analysts say

    The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran set off a surge in gasoline prices as fighting clogged a critical waterway for global oil delivery. Shoppers held out hope, however, for a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a relatively speedy recovery.

    Tit-for-tat attacks on oil and gas sites across the Middle East in recent days have all but foreclosed that glide path, since repairs could stretch on for months and diminish fuel supply in the meantime, industry analysts told ABC News.

    The prospect of a prolonged oil shock ratchets up the risk faced by the U.S. economy, they added, threatening a blow for households already bedeviled by elevated inflation and a near-frozen labor market.

    “Both sides have taken the gloves off when it comes to attacks on infrastructure — and that’s just bad news for everyone,” Severin Borenstein, a professor of business administration and public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, told ABC News.

    Iran launched a series of retaliatory strikes against vital energy infrastructure in nearby Gulf states after Israel hit its largest gas field a day earlier.

    Among the retaliatory strikes, Iran hit the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at Ras Laffan in Qatar — the most serious attack on the country’s energy facilities since the start of the war.

    In an effort to lower oil prices, the Trump administration has announced a release from the strategic oil reserve, eased sanctions on Russian oil and suspended a key regulation of domestic oil transport, among other measures.

    The recent attacks on energy sites pushed global crude prices as high as $119 a barrel on Thursday, before oil shed some of those gains, hovering around $109 a barrel by Friday afternoon. Even after their dip, oil prices marked a staggering rise of more than 50% over the past month.

    U.S. gasoline prices stand at $3.91, jumping 98 cents since a month earlier, AAA data shows.

    A rapid rise in diesel prices, meanwhile, threatens to raise costs for groceries, apparel and just about every other product, since diesel makes up the lifeblood of the U.S. supply chain.

  • Gas tops $4 a gallon. Will it go higher?

    The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up more than 1,000 points on Tuesday after President Donald Trump appeared to suggest the U.S. may end the Iran war without reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

    The Dow closed up 1,125 points, or 2.4%, while the S&P 500 climbed 2.9%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq increased 3.8%.

    In a post on social media, Trump indicated that the task of reopening the strait may fall to other countries, urging them to “go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT.”

    Since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began on Feb. 28, Trump has voiced mixed messages about the expected duration of the war. On several occasions, markets have climbed after traders interpreted comments from Trump as a potential off-ramp from the Middle East conflict.

    The war prompted Iranian closure of the strait, a maritime trading route that facilitates the transport of about one-fifth of the global oil supply. A potential U.S. exit from the war without ensuring that the strait is open could leave uncertain the path to a resumption of normal tanker traffic and a resulting remedy for the current global oil shortage.

    Global oil prices surged more than 5% on Tuesday, exceeding $118 a barrel, just shy of its highest price since 2022.

    Gas prices in the United States topped $4 per gallon on average Tuesday, underscoring the link between rising oil prices and strained consumers.

  • Mortgage rates hit highest level since September as Iran war rattles financial markets

    Mortgage rates have climbed to their highest level since September as fallout from the Iran war ripples through financial markets, Freddie Mac data on Thursday showed.

    The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage jumped to 6.46%, continuing a weeks-long surge since the war began on Feb. 28, during which time mortgage rates have increased nearly half a percentage point.

    Mortgage rates remain slightly lower than this time a year ago, when the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage stood at 6.64%.

    The recent spike in borrowing costs risks further strain on U.S. households as they weather elevated gasoline prices.

    The rise in mortgage rates owes to a jump in U.S. Treasury yields as investors fear a bout of inflation in response to the Middle East conflict.

    High bond yields make borrowing more expensive for average Americans, since 10-year Treasury rates influence the rates offered for a variety of loans, including mortgages and credit cards.

    Since bonds pay a given investor a fixed amount each year, the specter of inflation risks higher consumer prices that would eat away at those annual payouts. In turn, bonds often become less attractive in response to economic turmoil. When demand falls, bond yields rise.

    The yield on a 10-year Treasury bond, meaning the amount paid to a bondholder annually, stands at about 4.31%, about 0.35 percentage points higher than pre-war levels.

    “Mortgage rates have risen as bond market yields have sought to price in the risk of higher inflation in the future,” Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate, previously told ABC News.

  • Tesla owners approved to use self-driving features in Netherlands, a first for Europe

    Tesla owners in the Netherlands can now use their cars’ self-driving feature — with some conditions — making it the first European country to approve the feature.

    The country’s RDW agency for roadworthiness certifications said Friday that Tesla’s driver assistance system can now be used in the Netherlands “with possible future expansion to all member states of the European Union.” The agency said drivers would need to be in the vehicle and keep a watchful eye on it.

    The move aligns the Netherlands with what is allowed in the United States, where Tesla owners can already use the Full Self-Driving (Supervised) function in the cars.

    “This driver controlled assistance system has been extensively examined and tested for more than one and a half years on our test track and on public roads,” the agency said in a statement. “Safety is RDW’s top priority. Using this driver assistance system correctly makes a positive contribution to road safety.”

    The function hands over driving to the Tesla’s computer system, including steering, braking, route navigation and parking, all under the active supervision of the driver, who remains at the controls ready to take over if needed.

    The European subsidiary of Tesla, the electric-vehicle company run by the world’s richest person, Elon Musk, hailed the Netherlands’ move.

    “FSD Supervised has been approved in the Netherlands & will begin rolling out in the country shortly!” it said on X. “No other vehicle can do this. We’re excited to bring FSD Supervised to more European countries soon.”