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Tuesday, March 8, 2011 – Daily News – 5A WORLD BRIEFING Libya warplanes strike rebels RAS LANOUF, Libya (AP) — Repeated airstrikes by Libyan warplanes on Monday illustrated the edge Moammar Gadhafi holds in his fight against rebel forces marching toward the capital: He controls the air. After pleading from the uprising’s leaders, Britain and France began drafting a U.N. reso- lution for a no-fly zone in Libya that could balance the scales. President Barack Obama warned that the U.S. and its NATO allies are still consid- ering military options to stop what he called ‘‘unac- ceptable’’ violence by Gad- hafi’s regime. NATO decid- ed to boost flights of AWACs surveillance planes over Libya from 10 to 24 hours a day, the U.S. Ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder said. ‘‘I want to send a very clear message to those who are around Colonel Gadhafi. It is their choice to make how they operate moving forward. And they will be held accountable for what- ever violence continues to take place,’’ Obama said during remarks in the Oval Office Monday. Libyan warplanes launched multiple airstrikes Monday on opposition fighters regrouping at the oil port of Ras Lanouf on the Mediterranean coast a day after they were driven back by a heavy government counteroffensive aimed at stopping the rebel drive toward Tripoli, Gadhafi’s stronghold. One strike hit near a gas station in Ras Lanouf, blast- ing two large craters in the road and wounding at least two people in a pick up truck. Before the big sign changes at your gas station, oil and a host of other factors in play When Jay Ricker, owner of the BP gas station off Interstate 70 in Plainfield, Ind., set the price of unlead- ed gasoline at $3.44 per gal- lon on Monday of last week, it was 4 cents higher than the Friday before. That alone might have been irritating to drivers paying the highest gas prices in more than two years. It was even more so because it happened on a day when the price of crude oil, which is used to make gasoline, fell almost $1 a barrel. ‘‘It’s up 20 cents one day, down 10 cents the next day,’’ says Oscar Elmore, a couri- er who was filling up his Ford Taurus at a RaceTrac service station in Dallas recently. ‘‘It sounds kinda fishy to me.’’ Gas prices rise when oil prices rise, and fall when oil prices fall — except when they don’t. What you pay at your gas station depends on an array of factors, from what happens on an exchange in New York to what the competition is charging. This can rankle drivers, especially these days. Gas reached a national average of $3.51 a gallon on Mon- day. That’s up 14 cents, or 4 percent, over the past week. The week before, the aver- age rose 20 cents, the steep- est increase since September 2008. Awinter weather walloping MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — A fierce winter storm was blanketing north- ern New England and upstate New York with up to 30 inches of snow Monday, while western Connecticut was deluged with so much rain that parts of homes and cars floated down a swollen river. As of 1 p.m., 23.3 inches of snow had fallen at Burlington International Airport — the biggest March snowfall there on record— and it wasn’t fin- ished yet. At Aubuchon Hardware in downtown Montpelier, the most popular types of snow shovels were sold out, the grass seed was on dis- play and store were ready- ing shelves for more spring- time wares. ‘‘Smile, folks — it’s coming,’’ Tom Walbridge said of the spring season scheduled to start in just two weeks. Outside told a differ- ent story. The storm helped push the winter of 2010-11 up the record list. Even before the snow stopped, it became the fourth-snowiest winter on record in Burlington, at 121.4 inches, and the storm appeared potent enough to challenge the famous Valen- tine’s Day blitz in 2007 that COMPLETE AUTO REPAIR All makes and models. We perform dealer recommened 30K, 60K, 90K SERVICES AT LOWER PRICES Smog Check starting at $ (most cars and pick-ups) 2595 EXPERTISE IS STANDING BY. MAKE AN APPOINTMENT, TODAY. ©2010 HRB Tax Group, Inc. 1315 Solano St, Corning, CA 96021 530-824-7999 120 Bell Mill Road, Red Bluff, CA 96080 530-527-7515 Mon-Fri 9 am to 7 pm + cert. Pass or FREE retest 527-9841 • 195 S. Main St. dumped 25.7 inches on Burlington, Taber said. Did a NASA scientist find signs of alien bacteria in meteorite? Colleagues doubt it WASHINGTON (AP) — NASA and its top scien- tists are distancing them- selves from a space agency researcher who concludes that he found alien bacterial life in meteorites that were collected many decades ago. Richard Hoover of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., claims that he found fossils that look like the remnants of bacteria in at least two meteorites. His research paper, published online Friday in the Journal of Cosmology, concludes these must have come from outer space. But his claim has been roundly disputed by other scientists. ‘‘There has been no one in the scientific community, certainly no one in the mete- orite analysis community, that has supported these Tehama Family Fitness Center wants to inspire you to get Healthy • Fit • Strong • and Happy! Compete, support or just attend one, or all four of these events this March. Shape Up Tehama March 5th Free Nutrition Open House & Shape up Registration 11:00-2:00 Free tasting provided by the Riverside Healthy Side Program at TFFC Free Lecture on Happiness March 12th 3:00-4:30 at TFFC Dave Mobilio Bench Press Championships March 19th 5:00pm at TFFC Dog Island 5K Run March 26th 8:30am at Dog Island Park Tehama Family Fitness Center 2498 South Main St • Red Bluff 528-8656 www.tehamafamilyfitness.com Better Built Windows REMEMBER US FOR ALL YOUR DOOR & MOLDING NEEDS. We’re not just for contractors 1040 B Monroe St., Red Bluff (530) 527-7962 LIC#659256 conclusions,’’ NASA Astro- biology Institute Director Carl Pilcher told The Asso- ciated Press Monday. ‘‘The simplest explanation for Mr. Hoover’s measurements is that he’s measuring microbes from Earth. They’re contamination.’’ In the paper, Hoover states that chemical analysis makes it unlikely to be cont- amination. Instead, he wrote they are ‘‘indigenous fos- sils’’ from outer space rather than something found on Earth. Prosecutors seek mental exam for Tucson suspect PHOENIX (AP) — Prosecutors have asked a judge to commit the suspect in the shooting rampage that wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords to a federal facility where he can be evaluated by psychologists to deter- mine whether he suffers from a mental defect that makes him incompetent to stand trial. Prosecutors on Monday said 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner made several menacing Internet postings in the months before the attack that suggest he has mental issues. They say Loughner is believed to be the hooded person in a THE Locally owned & operated Keep the 5A>6 air out & the WARM air in with ENERGY EFFICIENT WINDOWS YouTube video who is wearing garbage bags on the lower part of his body and burning an American flag. The video is titled ‘‘America: Your Last Mem- ory In A Terrorist Country!’’ and features a heavy metal song that repeatedly con- tains the lyrics ‘‘Let the bod- ies hit the floor.’’ Sen. Ensign won’t seek re-election LAS VEGAS (AP) — Republican Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, damaged politically and facing a Sen- ate ethics investigation over an extramarital affair, said Monday he won’t seek re- election next year. His decision to retire could set off a free-for-all to fill the seat coveted by Democrats and become a key to what will be a signif- icantly reconstituted U.S. Senate, where eight mem- bers have now said they won’t run again. More than a dozen family members and supporters flanked Ensign during his brief announcement. His wife Darlene Ensign stood next to him, reassuringly patting his back at moments. Ensign, 52, said he had fully intended to run until last week. “I just came to the con- clusion that I just couldn’t put my family though it,” he said. In recent months, Ensign had been adamant that he would seek re-election. He said Monday it was difficult to give up the job he loved, but ‘‘I have learned through the mistakes I have made that there are consequences to sin.’’ Elected to the House in 1994, the former veterinari- an preached family values, Christian fellowship and fis- cal responsibility during his years in office. Ensign acknowledged in June 2009 that he had an extramarital affair with Cynthia Hamp- ton, a former member of his campaign staff, and that he had helped her husband, Doug Hampton, a member of his congressional staff, obtain lobbying work with a Nevada company. Ensign, however, insisted the investigation by the Sen- ate Ethics Committee didn’t affect his decision to retire, and he again denied he broke the law or ethics rules. ‘‘It had zero effect,’’ the senator said. ‘‘If I was con- cerned about that, I would resign. That would make the most sense, because then it would go away.’’ Ensign also acknowl- edged in recent months that he was prepared for a tough election campaign, in which he was expected to face Rep. Dean Heller or Nevada Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki in the GOP primary. He also could have faced an equally brutal general election fight. 1010 Jefferson St., Red Bluff 527-7800 Complete Dental Care • Cosmetic Dentistry • Adults And Children • New Patients Warmly Welcomed! www.MooreandPascarella.com