Crazy Gasoline Prices

The biggest U.S. gasoline price surge in years is running out of steam just in time for the start of the summer driving season.
Heading into Memorial Day weekend, the national average for gas prices is coming off the year’s high and sitting just above $2.80 per gallon, CNBC’s Tom DiChristopher reports. The national average has climbed 67 cents a gallon from the start of the year through May 4, when pump prices peaked, according to price-tracking firm GasBuddy. That’s the second biggest jump on record for the start of a year.

Gas prices shot up in 2019 as oil prices rallied roughly 40% through last month, bolstered by tighter supply and better-than-expected demand. Oil accounts for 50% to 60% of gas prices. Drivers also found themselves paying more due to disruptions at the nation’s refineries.
Oil prices posted their worst week of the year, as the U.S.-China trade war adds to concerns about economic growth and demand for fuel. But with Middle East tensions still simmering and threatening to push up crude costs, the national average gasoline price is likely to stay near $2.80 per gallon, according to Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates.

Kate Rooney | CNBC Markets Reporter

North Korea: Worse drought in a century

South Korea Vows to Quickly Send Aid to Drought-Hit North Korea

<?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = "[default] http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" NS = "http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" />

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (L) and South Korean President Moon Jae-in (R) walk on a bridge during the Inter-Korean Summit in Panmunjom, South Korea on April 27, 2018.

Korea Summit Press Pool/Getty Images

BY ASSOCIATED PRESS

UPDATED: MAY 20, 2019 4:31 AM ET

(SEOUL, South Korea) — South Korea vowed Monday to move quickly on its plans to provide $8 million worth of humanitarian aid to North Korea while it also considers sending food to the country that says it’s suffering its worst drought in decades.

Lee Sang-min, spokesman of Seoul’s Unification Ministry, said the government will discuss its plans with the World Food Program and the United Nations Children’s Fund, through which the aid would be provided, so it reaches North Korean children and pregnant women quickly. South Korea is also trying to build public and political support for providing food aid to the North, either directly or through an international organization.

North Korea’s state media said last week that the country was suffering its worst drought in more than a century amid reported food shortages.

“The government will first discuss with international organizations over the provision of aid and take measures so that the support arrives (in the North) quickly,” Lee said. “On the matter of direct aid, we will consider the matter while sufficiently garnering the opinions of our citizens.”

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has expressed hopes that aid will help revive diplomacy and engagement with Pyongyang, which tapered off following a high-stakes nuclear summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump in February that broke down over mismatched demands in sanctions relief and disarmament.

But Moon’s government has yet to decide on concrete plans amid growing public frustration over North Korea, which resumed short-range missile tests recently that were apparently aimed at pressuring Washington and Seoul.

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said last Wednesday that an average of 54.4 millimeters (2.1 inches) of rain fell in North Korea from January to early May in 2019, which it said represented the lowest level since 1982. That was two days before the state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper said the average precipitation of 56.3 millimeters (2.2 inches) from January to May 15 was the country’s lowest since 1917.

U.N. food agencies said earlier this month that about 10 million people were facing “severe food shortages” after one of the North’s worst harvests in a decade.

North Korean state media are currently campaigning to urge farmers to do their best with what they have, to grow as much as possible this year. The Rodong Sinmun on Saturday urged North Korean farmers to meet state goals in food production in face of “hostile forces who don’t want us to become prosperous and … are seeking to make our people undergo shortage of food, bring to collapse their faith in socialism.”

“At our farm, we got an announcement about the dry weather conditions from our party and our state authorities, so we have taken advance measures to save water, like preparing the fields earlier than before, because we have to save water as much as we can,” said Kim Chang Jun, vice chairman of a cooperative farm in the village of Sambong, just outside the capital.

The last time South Korea provided humanitarian aid to North Korea through an international agency was in 2015, when it gave $800,000 to the U.N. Population Fund project to evaluate North Korean public health conditions.

The South has not provided direct food aid to the North since 2010.

Moon’s government first proposed providing $8 million to the WFP and UNICEF to help North Korean children and pregnant women in 2017, but the plans were halted amid a torrid run in North Korean weapons tests that year. An abrupt turn toward diplomacy in 2018 saw Kim meet with Trump twice and three times with Moon.

Above is from:  http://time.com/5591918/south-korea-aid-north-korea/

US Base at Diego Garcia may change ownership

Chagos Islands dispute: UN backs end to UK control

• 5 hours ago

• Share this with Facebook
• Share this with Messenger
• Share this with Twitter
• Share this with Email
• Share

Image copyrightSCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARYImage captionOne of the Chagos Islands - Diego Garcia - is home to a US military base

The UN has passed a resolution demanding the UK return control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

In the non-binding vote in the General Assembly in New York, 116 states were in favour and only six against, a major diplomatic blow to the UK.

Fifty-six states, including France and Germany, abstained.

Mauritius says it was forced to give up the Indian Ocean group - now a British overseas territory - in 1965 in exchange for independence.

In a statement to the BBC, the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said Britain did not recognise Mauritius' claim to sovereignty, but would stand by an earlier commitment to hand over control of the islands to Mauritius when they were no longer needed for defence purposes.

• Mauritius country profile
• UK 'threats' over Indian Ocean islands
• UK defeated in UN vote on Chagos Islands

The US, Hungary, Israel, Australia and the Maldives were the states voting with the UK against the resolution.

It comes months after the UN's high court advised that the UK should leave the islands "as rapidly as possible".

UK warns of setting precedent

Nada Tawfik, BBC News, New York

The fundamental question before the General Assembly was whether the decades-long dispute was at its heart a matter of decolonisation, or a bilateral sovereignty issue to be worked out between the UK and Mauritius alone.

The vote was decisive, with 115 countries standing with Mauritius.

Former colonies were also clear in their position. India said support for decolonisation was one of the most significant contributions that the UN had made towards the promotion of fundamental human rights.

UK Ambassador to the UN Karen Pierce, along with the United States, warned that the vote would set a precedent that should be of concern to all member states with their own sovereignty disputes.

Britain purchased the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965 for £3m, creating a region known as the British Indian Ocean Territory.

Between 1967 and 1973, it evicted the islands' entire population to make way for a joint military base with the US, which is still in place on Diego Garcia.

US planes have been sent from the base to bomb Afghanistan and Iraq. The facility was also reportedly used as a "black site" by the CIA to interrogate terrorism suspects. In 2016, the lease for the base was extended until 2036.

"The joint UK-US defence facility on the British Indian Ocean Territory helps to keep people in Britain and around the world safe from terrorism, organised crime and piracy," the FCO said.

Before Wednesday's vote, Mauritian Prime Minister Pravid Kumar Jug-Nauth told the General Assembly the forcible eviction of Chagossians was akin to a crime against humanity.

However, he said Mauritius would allow the military base to continue operating "in accordance with international law", if it were given control of the islands.

Mr Jug-Nauth said this would give the facility a "higher degree of legal certainty" for the future.

The UK has maintained that Mauritius gave up the territory freely in return for a range of benefits.

Ambassador Pierce has insisted that the issue should be resolved only by the countries involved.

Above is from:  https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-48371388

Five things to know about Morehouse donor Robert F. Smith

Education

Five things to know about Morehouse donor Robert F. Smith

By Rachel Siegel
The Washington Post

Updated5/20/2019 9:30 AM

• 
  


• Billionaire philanthropist Robert Smith is pictured in 2016. Washington Post

Billionaire Robert F. Smith woke up the crowd at Morehouse College commencement ceremony Sunday when he veered off script to share a surprise: He'd be paying off all the student loans for the Class of 2019′s nearly 400 graduates.

There was a moment of stunned silence before the grads and their families burst into a joyous applause. Within minutes, praise for Smith spread beyond Morehouse and turned into one of the weekend's most inspiring stories.

The billionaire tech executive and philanthropist has kept under the radar much of his career, even in Austin, where he lives and works. He rarely grants interviews and is so low-profile that when the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture put a call out for major donors in 2013, the museum's directors wondered, "Who is this Robert F. Smith?" They got their answer in spectacular fashion.

Here are five things you need to know about Robert F. Smith:

A knack for computers led to his fortune

As a junior in high school, Smith landed an internship at Bell Labs -- by calling the company every week for five months until he got a slot. Smith tinkered with computers during his summer and Christmas breaks, and went on study chemical engineering at Cornell. He earned an MBA from Columbia, followed by an investment banking job at Goldman Sachs. After advising billion-dollar mergers for tech companies like Microsoft and Apple, he left Goldman to found Vista Equity Partners 2000. He is still the chairman and CEO.

The firm invests in software and data companies and now has more than $46 billion in assets, according to Forbes. As of Monday, Forbes put Smith's net worth at $5 billion. He is the nation's richest black man.

Major donor to the National Museum of African American History and Culture

Before the museum opened, Smith pledged a $20 million gift (behind Oprah's $21 million pledge). In an exclusive interview with The Washington Post in 2016, Smith said he had become afraid of escalating racial tensions that threatened the very opportunities once sought by him and his parents. Smith specifically pointed to protests in Ferguson, Missouri, after the 2014 fatal shooting of Michael Brown and the unrest after Freddie Gray's funeral in Baltimore.

"The vision I was sold as a kid is unraveling. I see the little tears in the fabric of society every day. This cannot be," Smith told The Post.

Smith's donation to the African American history museum was earmarked to digitize photographs, videos and music -- and help foster an interactive experience for a 21st-century museum. The gift also allows the museum to act as a hub to archive photographs from other institutions, like museums, funeral homes or personal collections.

"We wanted it to be a living, interactive museum where we tell our own stories of ourselves our way," Smith said at the time.

Other major donations

Before Sunday's graduation speech, Smith had donated $1.5 million to Morehouse for scholarships and a new park. In 2016, he gifted $50 million to Cornell University for its chemical and biomolecular engineering school, and to support black and female engineering students. (Cornell renamed the school after Smith.)

In 2017, Smith also put his name on The Giving Pledge -- a commitment by the world's wealthiest individuals and families to donate most of their wealth.

A musical upbringing

Smith grew up in a mostly black neighborhood in Denver. Both of his parents had doctorates in education and insisted that the house be filled with music -- be it a live show on the house's piano or Leontyne Price's arias on the stereo. Smith brought that early musical influence to his eventual tech career.

"A beautifully written software code is a lyrical concerto," he told The Post in 2016.

Smith was also the first African American to be named chairman of Carnegie Hall in New York in 2016.

An under-the-radar personal life ... in some ways

Though Smith has largely stayed out of the spotlight, he lives it up in other ways. In 2015, during his nuptials to actress and former Playboy model Hope Dworaczyk on the Amalfi Coast, the wedding singers included John Legend, Seal and Brian McKnight.

His love of music is reflected in the names of two of his sons, Hendrix and Legend -- an homage to music icons Jimi Hendrix and John Legend.

Smith reportedly owns one of Elton John's old pianos.

Above is from:  https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20190520/five-things-to-know-about-morehouse-donor-robert-f-smith

Civic Federation says Pritzker budget plan is ‘workable’

By Doug Finke
State Capitol Bureau

Posted May 16, 2019 at 12:01 AMUpdated May 16, 2019 at 3:02 PM

The Civic Federation said Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s budget plan for next year “represents a workable short-term plan to move Illinois forward” in a report that will be issued Thursday.

The budget watchdog group said, however, it still has “significant concerns” the fiscal year 2020 spending plan relies on aggressive estimates for revenues and also may not adequately provide a long-term solution to the state’s bill backlog and pension funding.

“As proposed, the budget represents a relatively rickety financial bridge, though it has been significantly strengthened in recent days,” said Civic Federation President Laurence Msall in a statement. “The General Assembly is approaching the deadline to pass several components upon which this budget and the governor’s long-term plan rely and revenue projections attached to many of the proposals remain uncertain.”

Consequently, the federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability, which prepared the budget analysis, suggested Pritzker and lawmakers have a backup plan ready that doesn’t short the pensions or further run up the bill backlog.

The federation gave Pritzker credit for using a projected increase in state tax collections next year to pay down pension debt. Pritzker’s original budget plan called for the state to extend the payment schedule to the pension systems by seven years, shorting the systems by hundreds of millions of dollars. The federation said it couldn’t support that idea “because it would have further jeopardized the financial condition of Illinois’ severely underfunded retirement systems.”

The federation said it is opposed to Pritzker’s idea of borrowing $2 billion to put into pensions because it will have a minimal effect on the pension debt while exposing the state to interest rate risk.

Pritzker deserves credit for introducing new revenues, the federation said, while also sounding a note of caution. Pritzker is banking on revenue from recreational marijuana and legalized sports betting to help balance next year’s budget. However, with just two weeks left in the spring session, both of those proposals remain works in progress that could be difficult to pass.

Pritzker has also put a lot of reliance on approval of a graduated income tax as a long-term solution to the state’s financial problems. However, the earliest that could be implemented is 2021, assuming voters approve the idea during the 2020 election.

The federation said the governor and legislature might be better off focusing on passing a budget by the end of May and leaving a capital plan — and the tax hikes to pay for it — until another time.

As it has before, the federation repeated its suggestions for the state to finally resolve its financial problems, including limiting spending growth, expanding the sales tax to some services and taxing the same retirement income that is subject to federal taxation. Pritzker has said he’s opposed to taxing retirement income.

Contact Doug Finke: doug.finke@sj-r.com, 788-1527, twitter.com/dougfinkesjr.

Above is from:  https://www.sj-r.com/news/20190516/civic-federation-says-pritzker-budget-plan-is-workable?rssfeed=true

Prostitution sting causes Sandwich Mayor to resign

Update: Sandwich Mayor to resign in wake of prostitution sting

Informant worked with LaSalle County deputies in operation; charged include public defender, hospital executive

By Derek Barichello

OTTAWA – The La Salle County Sheriff's office used a female informant posing as a prostitute named "Nicky" in a sting operation that led to charges against nine men, some of them high-profile community members, court records show.

Those who have been issued notices to appear in court on charges of solicitation of a sex act include the mayor of Sandwich, a Putnam County public defender and a Peru hospital administrator.

The men charged were not arrested immediately during the operation, so there are no police booking photos available. Investigators interviewed the men afterward and then sent them on their way, according to a press release issued by the La Salle County Sheriff's Office. The nine men on Friday were mailed notices to appear in court on solicitation of sex charges, according to documents. None have entered a plea. They are to appear for a first court appearance on May 31.

Solicitation of a sexual act is punishable by probation or up to a year in jail, and a maximum fine of $2,500.

According to court documents, Sandwich Mayor Richard A. "Rick" Olson, 66, was among those accused of offering money to a woman who went by "Nicky" on March 14 in exchange for sex.

James G. Schaefer, 53, of Peru, also is charged with solicitation, police said. He is the vice president of operations and physician services at Illinois Valley Community Hospital.

The encounters that led to most of the charges occurred on March 14, in Ottawa and Peru hotels. The hotel operators cooperated with authorities, so those locations were not being released by police. Putnam County public defender Roger C. Bolin, 65, of Hennepin, was charged in connection with an incident that occurred on April 4.

"Nicky" was involved in encounters that led to charges against eight of the nine people accused. A ninth man was charged through the work of agent Sherry Barto, according to court documents.

Websites were used to set up meetings at the hotels. Police declined to say what websites were used.

In addition to a soliciting charge, Bolin, 65, of Hennepin, also was charged with battery. Police say in court records that Bolin grabbed Nicky's shoulder and tried to pull her toward him, according to court documents.

Bolin also is said to have made phone calls with Nicky to discuss rates for various sexual acts, records show.

Others charged with solicitation of a sexual act in the operation include: Raul Barajas, 40, Peru; Dustin A. Meredith, 29, Streator; Joseph P. Hanley, 57, Earlville; Wiley M. Sawyer, 18, Waterman; Richard Peradotti, 55, Peru; Alphonso T. Thompson, 33, Streator.

Mayor to resign, other fallout from charges

Sandwich officials on Monday confirmed Olson, who was the city's police chief for 16 years before becoming mayor in 2013, plans to resign. He is two years into his second term as mayor, which expires in 2021.

Sandwich City Clerk Denise Ii said her office had received a resignation letter from Olson.

“However, it is not compliant in that it is not notarized,” Ii said.

Ii said that if the clerk's office receives a notarized letter in time, it will be read at the Sandwich City Council meeting at 7 p.m. Monday.

Kevin Kelleher, Ward 2 alderman for Sandwich, said he wasn't sure whether Olson has officially resigned.

"I know he said he's going to," Kelleher said. Kelleher declined to comment about his personal reaction on the matter.

Olson did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday.

Ward 1 Alderman Les Redden said had spoken to Olson in the wake of the news, though he declined to say what they had talked about. He said he expects the matter will be addressed at the Sandwich City Council meeting tonight.

"It's kind of the elephant in the room," Redden said.

Redden said the City Council doesn't officially have an appointed mayor pro tem listed, nor does the city have a vice mayor.

He said he recalls Olson being absent from council meetings only twice, with Alderman Rich Robinson usually acting in that role whenever Olson was gone. "We've done it on an individual basis," Redden said.

Robinson could not be reached for comment.

Bolin, a Putnam County public defender, is a partner in the Hennepin law firm of Boyle & Bolin. According to the Better Government Association, Bolin made $29,547 in his public role in 2017.

Bolin's office was contacted Monday but had made no statement as of Monday afternoon concerning the charges.

The Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission of the Supreme Court of Illinois is the governing body overseeing Illinois' attorneys. According to the commission's office, Bolin is currently in good standing with no complaints against him.

If a complaint were filed, Bolin's conduct would be reviewed, and he could face discipline including censure, probation, suspension or disbarment.

A spokeswoman for Illinois Valley Community Hospital declined to comment Monday regarding the solicitation charge against Schaefer, or say whether Schaefer still is employed at the hospital, citing a policy not to comment on personnel matters.

• Shaw Media news reporters Katie Finlon out of Record Newspapers and Dave Cook out of the Bureau County Republican contributed to this story.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Above is from:  https://www.daily-chronicle.com/2019/05/13/update-sandwich-mayor-to-resign-in-wake-of-prostitution-sting/ako1is0/

Belvidere Police sued over 2018 incident

Belvidere man sues city police officer, alleges false arrest, excessive force

By Ken DeCoster
Staff writer

Posted May 9, 2019 at 5:34 PMUpdated May 9, 2019 at 9:02 PM

BELVIDERE — A Belvidere man has filed a federal lawsuit alleging a city police officer arrested him under false pretenses and used excessive force in doing so.

The lawsuit stems from a Father’s Day 2018 incident at the home of Paul Ainley and involves a custody dispute between Ainley’s daughter and the father of Ainley’s 5-year-old grandson.

According to the complaint, Belvidere police officer Matthew Korn demanded that Ainley hand over his grandson to the boy’s father, despite the fact the father’s custody rights were revoked the previous month. Ainley asked police to get a search warrant and went back inside his house.

The complaint states Korn dragged Ainley out of his house by his shirt, shoved Ainley to the ground, jumped on his back and repeatedly struck him in the face.

Ainley, who was hospitalized for his injuries, was charged with battery and resisting arrest.

“Despite convincing evidence of false arrest and excessive force, Boone County law enforcement is prosecuting Mr. Ainley instead of investigating Officer Korn,” Chicago Attorney Christopher R. Smith said in a news release. “I invite the Boone County prosecutor to do the right thing, investigate Matthew Korn, and make sure that police officers know how to conduct a proper arrest.”

The lawsuit states that Ainley suffered injuries including pain and suffering, emotional distress and mental anguish as a result of Korn’s actions.

“Instead of protecting child welfare, defendant Korn put a whole family in danger,” Smith said. “If the Boone County State’s Attorney cannot address the issue themselves, they should appoint a special prosecutor to investigate.”

Boone County State’s Attorney Tricia Smith said she would not comment because the criminal charges against Ainley are still pending in court.

Belvidere city attorney Mike Drella and Police Chief Shane Woody were unavailable for comment Thursday.

Ken DeCoster: 815-987-1391; kdecoster@rrstar.com; @DeCosterKen

Above is from: https://www.rrstar.com/news/20190509/belvidere-man-sues-city-police-officer-alleges-false-arrest-excessive-force?utm_source=SFMC&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=GHM_Daily_NL%20-%20Pre%20Fix&utm_content=GTDT_RRS&utm_term=051119