Gasoline prices jump
Gasoline prices jump
CAMARILLO, Calif.
The average price of gasoline has jumped by 8 cents over the past three weeks to $2.18 a gallon for regular grade.
Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said Sunday that the increase is partly due to crude oil prices edging up. The price at the pump has gone up 41 cents over the past nine weeks.
Lundberg says that trend will likely continue as refiners make higher-cost summer blend gasoline in compliance with federal regulations.
Obama pushes for global trade deals
HANNOVER, GERMANY
President Barack Obama mounted a strong defense of international trade deals Sunday in the face of domestic and foreign opposition, saying it’s “indisputable” that such agreements strengthen the economy and make U.S. businesses more competitive worldwide. But he acknowledged that the clock is ticking on his faltering trade agenda.
Obama, on a farewell visit to Germany as president, is trying to light a fire under stalled talks about a trans-Atlantic trade deal, a massive pact that would rewrite the rules for the billions in trade and investment between the European Union and the U.S.
Dispute in church ends in shooting death
NORTH WALES, Pa.
Authorities say a dispute between two members of a suburban Philadelphia church during a Sunday worship service ended with one person shooting and killing the other.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said the disagreement escalated from an 11 a.m. “disturbance” at Keystone Fellowship Church in North Wales. Authorities didn’t say what the disturbance was or describe the crux of the disagreement.
Police were called and found Robert Braxton, 27, of Montgomeryville, with a gunshot wound to the chest. He was rushed to Abington Lansdale Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after noon. An autopsy was scheduled for today.
Steele said the other man involved, who was treated at a hospital, was cooperating with police but was not in custody as investigators determine whether charges are warranted.
Tweeting jurors could face fines
SAN FRANCISCO
Jurors who threaten to derail trials by researching them on Google or posting comments about them on Twitter are often dismissed with nothing more than a tongue-lashing from a judge.
But that may soon change in California. Legislation supported by state court officials would authorize judges in some counties to fine jurors up to $1,500 for social media and Internet use violations, which have led to mistrials and overturned convictions around the country.
As jurors and judges have become more technology savvy, the perils of jurors playing with their smartphones have become a mounting concern, particularly in technology-rich California. A 2011 state law made improper electronic or wireless communication or research by a juror punishable by contempt.
Early results: Pro-EU populists win vote
BELGRADE, SERBIA
The incumbent pro-European Union populists swept Serbia’s parliamentary election in a landslide Sunday, leaving pro-Russia nationalists far behind, according to preliminary unofficial results.
The triumph by Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic’s Progressive Party means Serbia will continue on its path toward EU membership despite opposition from right-wing parties, which seek close ties with traditional Slavic ally Russia instead.
Associated Press