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EPA allows gasoline with higher ethanol blend during summer

DES MOINES, Iowa — Fuel stations throughout the country will be able to sell gasoline blended with 15% ethanol during the summer under an emergency waiver issued Friday by the Environmental Protection Agency in a move that could reduce prices at the pump and boost demand for the Midwest-based ethanol industry. The EPA framed its decision as a way to reduce gasoline prices at a time of market supply uncertainty because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The agency said its action also encourages U.S. energy independence and supports American agriculture and ...

Biden commutes sentences of 31 convicted of drug crimes

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has commuted the sentences of 31 people convicted of nonviolent drug crimes who were serving time in home confinement, the White House announced Friday. Many would have gotten a lower sentence if they were charged today with the same offense because of changes in the laws. A commuted sentence means they’ll spend less time in home confinement. The commutations came as the White House announced a set of policy actions across 20 different agencies meant to improve the criminal justice system, which disproportionately affects Black and other non-white ...

My boyfriend’s vacation arrangements make me seasick

Dear Annie: I read your column on a regular basis and completely agree with all of your advice. I am 62, and my boyfriend is 60. Recently, he asked me to go on a cruise for several days and share a stateroom with his mother. I have never been on a cruise before, and they have. My emotional reaction was no. I feel strange about sharing a room with them. His mother is wonderful, and I do love them both, yet the close quarters would cause me anxiety. Later, I encouraged him to go with only her and that I could stay back and take care of our pets. I also encouraged him to make the cruise ...

Don’t leave valuables in the car

Dear Heloise: I’m also writing in regards to the letter from Mary, in Texas, about ladies leaving their purses in cars. I agree that women should carry only small amounts of cash and credit cards when shopping. It’s harder for a potential thief to get into your pockets than it is to grab a purse. When locking your purse, laptop or other valuables in the car, put them in the trunk. -- Tom Boardman, in Ohio BOOKMARK SOUND OFF Dear Heloise: Greetings! I enjoy reading your column in the Journal Gazette in Fort Wayne, Indiana. As a school librarian, I have to disagree with some ...

2,500 hopeful sheep cross Idaho highway

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Why did 2,500 sheep cross the road? Because the grass was greener on the other side. In Idaho, it’s not unusual to see ranchers moving a bleating herd of sheep up to higher elevation at this time of year. But the sight of 2,500 wooly beasts trotting across a highway earlier this week brought a crowd about 300 people. It was the largest turnout that Steve Stuebner, spokesperson for the Idaho Rangeland Resources Commission, has seen in 15 years. “It’s a novelty. Maybe they’ve never seen anything like that before, but it’s real typical in Idaho,” ...

Fed faults Silicon Valley Bank execs, itself in bank failure

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve blamed last month’s collapse of Silicon Valley Bank on poor management, watered-down regulations and lax oversight by its own staffers, and said the industry needs stricter policing on multiple fronts to prevent future bank failures. The Fed was highly critical of its own role in the bank’s failure in a report compiled by Michael Barr, the Fed’s chief regulator, and released Friday. As Silicon Valley Bank grew rapidly beginning in 2018, banking supervisors were slow to recognize problems that eventually contributed to the bank’s downfall, ...