Nation, world briefs 1/7/16

Gun buyer in attack pleads not guilty

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- The man who bought the rifles used in the San Bernardino attack pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges in a federal indictment accusing him of conspiring with one of the shooters and providing material support to terrorists. Enrique Marquez Jr., 24, appeared in federal court in Riverside with his hands and feet shackled. He answered "not guilty" when asked to enter his plea to the five-count indictment. A jury trial was scheduled for Feb. 23. Marquez could be sent to prison for as long as 50 years if he's convicted.

Mining deaths hit all-time low in 2015

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Federal officials said U.S. mining industry deaths reached an all-time low in 2015. Preliminary data from the Department of Labor state 28 miners were killed on the job, down from 45 in 2014, a 37 percent reduction. There were 11 deaths in coal mines, another all-time low mark. The leading fatal cause in metal and non-metal mining was attributed to machinery accidents, with five, while powered haulage and machinery accidents killed six in coal mines. U.S. Mine Health and Safety Administration chief Joe Main said coal-mine closures had some effect on the low coal-mine total, but his agency also put an increased focus on safety in recent years.

Killings drop Mexico male life expectancy

MEXICO CITY -- A new study suggests Mexico's drug violence was so bad at its peak, it caused the nation's male life expectancy to drop by several months. Experts said the violence from 2005 to 2010 partly reversed decades of steady gains, noting homicide rates increased from 9.5 homicides per 100,000 people in 2005 to more than 22 in 2010. That declined to about 16 per 100,000 in 2014. The study published Tuesday in the American journal Health Affairs said "the increase in homicides is at the heart" of the phenomenon, though deaths because diabetes also may have played a role. "The unprecedented rise in homicides after 2005 led to a reversal in life expectancy increases among males and a slowdown among females in most states," according to the study, published by Jose Manuel Aburto of the European Doctoral School of Demography, UCLA's Hiram Beltran-Sanchez and two other authors.

Iraq may mediate Saudi Arabia, Iran

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iraq on Wednesday offered to mediate between Saudi Arabia and Iran after tensions soared following the kingdom's execution of a Shiite cleric and attacks on two Saudi diplomatic posts in the Islamic Republic. The standoff has seen Saudi Arabia sever diplomatic ties with its regional rival and could hinder efforts to resolve the conflicts in Syria and Yemen, where Riyadh and Tehran back opposite sides, as well as affect the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal. Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari proposed mediation during a news conference in Tehran but also referred to the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr as a "crime." Saudi Arabia and its allies said al-Nimr was found guilty of terrorism charges, and condemnations of the execution amount to meddling in Riyadh's internal affairs.

-- From wire reports