7.7-magnitude quake hits off Indonesia

7.7-magnitude quake hits off Indonesia

JAKARTA, Indonesia

A powerful earthquake hit off western Indonesia late Monday, briefly triggering a tsunami warning that sent thousands of panicked residents fleeing to high ground. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The 7.7-magnitude temblor struck at a depth of 13 miles off Sumatra island, said the U.S. Geological Survey.

At least five towns in the provinces of Bengkulu and West Sumatra were badly jolted, officials and witnesses said, as were the nearby Mentawai islands.

Fuel efficiency

WASHINGTON

Future generations of semi-trucks, school buses and large pickups will need to cut fuel consumption and emissions by 10 percent to 20 percent under first-ever fuel-efficiency rules for trucks announced Monday by the Obama administration.

For the first time, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Transportation Department released proposed fuel-economy requirements and reductions in tailpipe emissions for medium- and heavy-duty trucks, beginning with those sold in the 2014 model year and into the 2018 model year.

The proposal, which is expected to be finalized next summer, seeks a 20 percent reduction in carbon-dioxide emissions and fuel consumption from big-rig combination tractors by 2018. Large tractor-trailers tend to be driven up to 150,000 miles a year, making them prime candidates for improved fuel efficiency.

Feds search home of ex-Raytheon worker

BOSTON

Federal agents on Monday searched and removed materials from a suburban home owned by a missile-systems expert who worked for the U.S. defense contractor Raytheon.

The home is owned by Richard M. Lloyd, the former Raytheon Co. employee, and Lori Lloyd, public records show. Agents from the FBI and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau removed several boxes of items from the home and placed them in a van.

U.S. attorney’s office spokeswoman Christina DiIorio-Sterling wouldn’t comment on the reason for the search of the home in Melrose, a city of about 30,000 residents just north of Boston, but said there was “no immediate threat to the community.”

‘Hiccup girl’ faces charge of murder

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.

An uncontrollable case of the hiccups brought an odd sort of fame to Jennifer Mee, who was 15 when she appeared on television morning shows trying to find a cure for her mysterious affliction.

Five weeks later they stopped, and the media attention mostly disappeared — until this week, when Mee, now 19, was charged with first-degree murder after police said she met a 22-year-old man online and lured him to a vacant home where two of her friends robbed and shot him.

It’s hard to say whether Mee sought the spotlight, or whether she was just trying to make the hiccups stop.

Now she’s in jail.

France: Strikes cost $557 million per day

PARIS

France’s massive strikes opposing changes in the country’s pension system showed some signs of weakening Monday when Marseille garbage collectors and workers at three oil refineries voted to end their walkouts.

But the French finance minister announced that the strikes are costing the national economy up to $557 million each day, as workers continued to block other oil refineries and some trash incinerators to protest the plan to raise the retirement age to 62.

Associated Press