Monday, August 24, 2015
Reid throws support behind Iran deal
WASHINGTON
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid on Sunday threw his full support behind President Barack Obama’s nuclear agreement with Iran, saying “it is the best path to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.”
“I strongly support the historic agreement and will do everything in my power to ensure that it stands,” said Reid, D-Nev., in a news release.
Reid is the 27th Senate Democrat to back the deal and the highest ranking in the Senate. His support will make it difficult for opponents to muster the veto-proof numbers needed in the Senate, and therefore, in Congress to scuttle the agreement.
Survey: US gasoline price holds steady
CAMARILLO, Calif.
The average price of gasoline has remained steady over the past two weeks, holding at $2.71 a gallon.
Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said Sunday that though the average remains unchanged, many Midwest cities saw prices jump due to a partial shutdown of an Indiana refinery. Many West Coast cities experienced price drops.
The cheapest price recorded in the continental United States was Charleston, S.C., at $2.10. The highest was $3.67 a gallon in Los Angeles.
Asian shares plunge
TOKYO
Shares fell in early trading in Asia as investors shaken by the sell-off Friday on Wall Street unloaded shares in many sectors.
The Shanghai composite index tumbled 6.2 percent this morning to 3,289.53 in early trading; Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 4.2 percent to 21,475.15 and Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index dropped 2.5 percent to 18,956.67. Australia slid 2.5 percent to 5,084.30, while South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.5 percent.
Friday’s wave of selling culminated with the S&P 500 losing nearly 6 percent for the week in its worst weekly slump since 2011.
That followed fresh signs of a slowdown in the Chinese economy, with a gauge of manufacturing showing that key sectors are continuing to contract.
Trooper shot in head
LAKE CHARLES, La.
A Louisiana state trooper was shot in the head and critically injured Sunday afternoon during a struggle with a man whose pickup truck had run into a ditch after being reported as driving erratically, Louisiana State Police said.
Other drivers stopped to help Master Trooper Steven Vincent, a 13-year state- police veteran in southwest Louisiana and member of a law-enforcement family, said Col. Michael Edmonson, head of state police.
“Thank God for several civilians who pulled over,” he said in a telephone interview. “They jumped out, they subdued him, grabbed the trooper’s handcuffs and put them on the suspect. And they rendered first aid” to Vincent, 43.
Edmonson said the arrested man, Kevin Daigle, 54, of Lake Charles, had a number of previous arrests, though he did not know details. He said he did not know all the charges that Daigle will face, but they will include attempted murder of a police officer.
Day 3 of Korea talks
PYONGYANG, North Korea
South Korea’s president says anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts will continue unless North Korea apologizes for planting land mines that Seoul says maimed two South Korean soldiers.
The comments by Park Geun-hye came as marathon negotiations by senior officials from the Koreas stretched into a third day today.
South Korea’s military, meanwhile, said North Korea continued to prepare for a fight, moving unusual numbers of troops and submarines to the border.
Associated Press