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Scorching summer heat is curbing gasoline output and adding pain at the pump

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:31 GMT

By Lucia Kassai and Rachel Graham, Bloomberg NewsRecord-breaking summer heat is forcing fuelmakers to cut back operations, just as dwindling supplies are causing gasoline prices to surge around the world.The hottest-ever June and July prompted refiners to curtail oil processing by at least 2% globally as long stretches of triple-digit heat posed a threat to operations, according to Vikas Dwivedi, a global oil and gas strategist for Macquarie Group.Excessive heat, associated with deferred maintenance in the past, has spurred an unusual number of refinery breakdowns this year, when fuel stockpiles are already low. This has in part propelled gasoline prices in the U.S. to the highest level since November. High-temperature forecasts into August could keep U.S. gasoline makers from running all out for the last stretch of the summer driving season, dimming hopes for relief at the pump.U.S. refineries are struggling to return to the peak utilization rate of 95.8% seen in early June. Since ...

Exxon in talks with automakers on supplying lithium

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:31 GMT

Exxon Mobil Corp. is in talks with Tesla Inc., Ford Motor Co., Volkswagen AG and other automakers about supplying them with lithium as the oil giant works to build a business around the crucial battery metal, according to people familiar with the matter.Exxon is one of several oil and gas companies seeking to expand into lithium production to take advantage of surging demand for use in electric-vehicle batteries, and as a way of diversifying beyond fossil fuels. The talks with potential customers are still early stage, and the company has yet to lay out its plans for potential lithium operations. However, the discussions are the latest sign of Exxon’s growing interest in the lithium business.The company has also had conversations with battery giants Samsung and SK On Co., the people said, asking not to be named because the information is private. Exxon, SK On and Volkswagen declined to comment. Tesla, Ford and Samsung didn’t reply to messages seeking comment.The world will need near...

San Francisco prosecutors lay out murder case against consultant in death of Cash App’s Bob Lee

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:31 GMT

By JANIE HAR (Associated Press)SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — DNA from a bloody knife and video footage are crucial pieces of evidence against a tech consultant charged with murder in the stabbing death of Cash App founder Bob Lee, who was found bleeding on a deserted San Francisco street in April, prosecutors argued Monday.The San Francisco prosecutor’s office began laying out its case against Nima Momeni, 38, at a preliminary hearing in which a judge will decide if there’s enough evidence to go to trial.Prosecutors say Momeni planned the attack, drove Lee to a secluded spot and stabbed him three times after a dispute related to Momeni’s younger sister.They have not spelled out a motive, but previously offered a timeline in a case that has drawn outsized media attention, partly due to Lee’s status in the tech world. Lee created Cash App, a mobile payment service, and was the chief product officer of the cryptocurrency MobileCoin. Momeni, who has been in jail sin...

Angus Cloud from HBO's 'Euphoria' dies at 25

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:31 GMT

Angus Cloud, an actor best known for his role as the drug dealer as Fezco “Fez” O’Neill on HBO’s “Euphoria,” has died at 25.  The news was first reported by TMZ.“It is with the heaviest heart that we had to say goodbye to an incredible human today. As an artist, a friend, a brother and a son, Angus was special to all of us in so many ways,” the family said in a statement to the celebrity news and gossip site. Facebook settlement checks: Can you still get a payment if you deleted your account? “Angus was open about his battle with mental health and we hope that his passing can be a reminder to others that they are not alone and should not fight this on their own in silence. We hope the world remembers him for his humor, laughter and love for everyone. We ask for privacy at this time as we are still processing this devastating loss."Cloud died at his family's home in Oakland, California, TMZ reported.The family also shared that Cloud recently lost his father last week and that ...

Indian American engineer says he was fired by defense contractor after speaking Hindi at work

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:31 GMT

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — An Indian-American engineer says he was fired last year from his long-time job with a missile defense contractor’s Alabama office after he was heard speaking Hindi on a video call, according to a federal lawsuit he filed against the company. Anil Varshney, 78, filed a civil rights lawsuit in the Northern District of Alabama against Parsons Corporation and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin, whose department oversees the United States Missile Defense Agency, AL.com reported Monday. “This case arises out of Defendants’ intentional acts to end Mr. Varshney’s highly distinguished engineering career because he is a 78-year-old Indian American,” the lawsuit reads. “Defendants abruptly terminated Mr. Varshney after one of his white colleagues overheard him speaking Hindi to his dying brother-in-law in India and falsely reported him for a violation of ‘security regulations.’ ” Sharon L. Miller, an attorney representing the Virginia-based defense contractor,...

Nigerian leader has announced economic measures to ease hardship as labor unions threaten protests

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:31 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu on Monday announced economic measures to ease growing hardship in Africa’s most populous country as labor unions threatened protests to demand more action.Several government policies introduced by Tinubu since he took office in May have further squeezed millions of Nigerians. The government ended decades-long gasoline subsidies that Tinubu said favored the rich, but the decision has more than doubled the price of gas, causing a sharp spike in prices of food and other essential commodities.In a state broadcast late Monday, the Nigerian leader said he understands that Nigeria’s economy is going through a “tough patch” but added the government has saved more than one trillion naira ($1.16 billion) since the subsidy was scrapped in late May. Past funds for the subsidies were “being funneled into the deep pockets and lavish bank accounts of a selected group of individuals,” he added.“What I can offer immediately is to reduce the...

Memphis, Tennessee, police shoot suspect after he fired shots outside Jewish school

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:31 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Memphis police on Monday said officers shot a suspect after he attempted to enter a Jewish school with a gun and fired shots after he couldn’t get into the building.Assistant Police Chief Don Crowe said the suspect, whose identity has not been released, approached Margolin Hebrew Academy-Feinstone Yeshiva of the South around 12:20 p.m. He fired several shots and then left in a maroon truck. “Thankfully, that school had a great safety procedure and process in place and avoided anyone being harmed or injured at that scene,” Crowe said. Officers soon found the suspect’s vehicle “shortly after that,” Crowe said, adding that officers then shot the suspect after he exited the truck with a firearm in hand. The suspect was sent to a hospital, where he is in critical condition. It was not immediately clear if school was in session. When asked if law enforcement believe the shooting was a hate crime, Crowe said officers were still on the scene and collecting ...

Trump attempt to derail Georgia election investigation rejected by judge

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:31 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — A judge on Monday rejected an attempt by former President Donald Trump to keep a Georgia district attorney from prosecuting him and from using certain evidence gathered in her investigation into potential illegal meddling in the 2020 election in the state.Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney didn’t mince words in his nine-page ruling, which said Trump lacked the legal grounds to bring the challenge before any indictment has been filed in the case. Any harm alleged by Trump and by Cathy Latham, a Republican fake elector from Georgia who had joined his motion, is “either insufficient or else speculative and unrealized,” the judge wrote.The alleged harms “are insufficient because, while being the subject (or even target) of a highly publicized criminal investigation is likely an unwelcome and unpleasant experience, no court ever has held that that status alone provides a basis for the courts to interfere with or halt the investigation,” McBurney wrote...

Angus Cloud, breakout star of ‘Euphoria,’ is dead at 25

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:31 GMT

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (AP) — Angus Cloud, the actor who starred as the drug dealer Fezco “Fez” O’Neill on the HBO series “Euphoria,” has died. He was 25.Cloud’s publicist, Cait Bailey, said McCloud died Monday at his family home in Oakland, California. No cause of death was given.In a statement, McCloud’s family said goodbye to “an artist, a friend, a brother and a son.”“Last week he buried his father and intensely struggled with this loss,” the family said. “The only comfort we have is knowing Angus is now reunited with his dad, who was his best friend. Angus was open about his battle with mental health and we hope that his passing can be a reminder to others that they are not alone and should not fight this on their own in silence.”“We hope the world remembers him for his humor, laughter and love for everyone,” his family added.Cloud hadn’t acted before he was cast in “Euphoria.” He was walking down the street in New York when casting director Jennifer Vendit...

Minnesota trooper fatally shoots Black driver fleeing traffic stop on freeway

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:31 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota State Patrol trooper shot and killed a driver early Monday who tried to flee a traffic stop, and the resulting investigation kept a busy interstate closed for more than seven hours in Minneapolis throughout the morning rush hour.Authorities did not identify the driver, but family members told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that the driver was 33-year-old Ricky Cobb II, of Spring Lake Park, who was Black.The Minnesota State Patrol said in a statement that the driver was stopped shortly before 2 a.m. on Interstate 94 because the taillights on the Ford Fusion he was driving were out. After the driver stopped, troopers learned he was wanted in connection with a felony in Ramsey County.But the State Patrol said the driver refused to exit the car and when troopers tried to remove him he drove away. At that point, a trooper fired his gun and shot the driver.Emergency aid was provided, but the driver died.The State Patrol promised to quickly release body camera ...