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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed legislation to crack down on catalytic converter theft in the state, the latest in a series of moves by state lawmakers to help residents combat what has become a nationwide problem.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Senate voted March 2 to make it harder for thieves to sell stolen catalytic converters, a crime that has skyrocketed across the country in recent years.

Legislation aimed at reducing the theft of catalytic converters was introduced in the U.S. Senate this month.

Labor Day weekend has become a more popular target for cargo thieves — especially during the pandemic era — with loaded trailers sitting idle for an extended stretch proving increasingly tempting.

Trucking company owner Orlinte Cruz was sentenced for bribing a state trooper for inspection decals. The judge sentenced him to a year in custody, with six months to be served in home confinement because she felt he could share "life lessons" with his community.

A tractor-trailer fire on Interstate 10 in Florida led to the arrest of a Georgia man who had allegedly stolen the trailer.

Crooks on March 12 stole about C$500,000 worth of beer, pepperoni and dried beef in a theft from a warehouse in Boucherville on Montreal’s South Shore. Police report the thieves are attempting to sell the haul to businesses across two Canadian provinces.

A man who climbed a huge gantry crane at the Port of Los Angeles after he jumped from a stolen SUV at the end of a lengthy police chase fell to his death late Aug. 16.

Forget Blackbeard and the Amazon River pirates. Some of the most fearsome and efficient New World predators these days navigate the asphalt.