MONTERREY, Mexico

Bus, freight train collide killing at least 16 people

A passenger bus and a freight train collided at a crossing in northern Mexico, killing at least 16 people and injuring 22, a Mexican official said.

The official said the accident occurred Friday in the town of Anahuac, which is Tamaulipas state near the border city of Nuevo Laredo, across from Laredo, Texas.

The train’s operator, Kansas City Southern de Mexico, issued a statement confirming there had been “a lamentable accident” between one of its trains and a passenger bus at about 5:25 p.m.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand

About 140 pilot whales die after stranding themselves

About 140 pilot whales that stranded themselves on a remote stretch of New Zealand beach have died, but conservation workers and volunteers are hoping the remaining 60 or so will survive after they managed to get them refloated, an official said Saturday.

Whales regularly become stranded on Farewell Spit on the South Island. The stranding Friday was one of the largest in recent years.

SAN FRANCISCO

Obama sending labor chief to settle dockworker dispute

President Obama is sending his labor secretary to California to meet with both sides in a contract dispute that has affected the flow of goods from Asia into West Coast ports.

A White House spokesman, Eric Schultz, said the president is getting Secretary Tom Perez involved because of concerns about the economic consequences of further delays.

Perez’s mission is to meet with the parties and press them to quickly settle their differences.

The waters off Los Angeles, Oakland and Puget Sound have become parking lots for dozens of ships awaiting space at the docks.

Employers are locking out dockworkers who man the cranes that lift cargo on and off ships, saying they have slowed work as a bargaining tactic.

– From news service reports

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