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ByPanPylas The Associated Press LONDON Oil prices slumped to multi-year lows on Tuesday after Saudi Ara- bia cut the price of oil sold to the U.S., a move that is shaking an already volatile market but will likely give the world economy an un- expected stimulus. The 25 percent or so slide in oil prices since the sum- mer could boost consumer spending and business in- vestment in many econo- mies around the world as fuel bills fall. But not everyone's a win- ner. Oil producing countries like Russia and Venezuela, which have high extraction costs and whose budgets rely on assumptions of relatively high energy prices, stand to lose out. And lower prices could eventually slow down booming production in the U.S., offsetting the benefit of lower energy costs for con- sumers and businesses. U.S. oil dropped an- other 2 percent Tuesday to $77.19, at one point falling to $75.84, the lowest level since October 2011. It was trading at $100 a barrel as recently as July. Brent, the international benchmark, declined 2.3 percent, to $82.82, having earlier fallen to $82.08, its lowest level in just over four years. Adam Slater, senior econ- omist at Oxford Econom- ics, reckons the recent fall in oil prices, if sustained, could add around 0.4 per- cent to GDP in the U.S. in two years, and a little less in Europe. China, which is the second-largest oil consumer and on track to become the largest net importer of oil, could see GDP 0.8 percent higher than it otherwise would have been. "This is similar to a sur- prise stimulus," said Slater. Though a drop in de- mand is a factor in the cur- rent slump amid concerns over global growth, Slater says supply-side factors are having a much bigger im- pact than back in 2008, when demand plummeted as the global economy tanked. The rise of frack- ing in the U.S., the return of oil output from Iraq and Libya and Saudi Arabia's willingness to resist pro- duction cuts have combined to weigh on prices. On Monday, Saudi Ara- bia, OPEC's largest oil pro- ducer, cut prices for cus- tomers in the U.S. The move has been interpreted as an attempt by the country to maintain its market share in the world's largest econ- omy against supplies from the likes of Canada, Mex- ico and Venezuela and U.S. shale oil producers. Phil Flynn, senior mar- ket analyst for the Price Futures Group, said Saudi Arabia's move was directly aimed at those U.S. produc- ers, who have boosted U.S. oil output to the highest level in decades. As a result, U.S. imports of crude oil from Saudi Arabia dropped to 894,000 barrels a day in August, down from 1.3 mil- lion barrels a day in the same month a year ago. VOLATILE MARKET Oi l pr ic es t um bl e on Saudi discount move By Jennifer Sinco Kelleher The Associated Press HONOLULU As slow-mov- ing lava approached a ceme- tery in a rural Hawaii town, Aiko Sato placed flowers at the headstone of the fam- ily plot she's tended to over the years, thinking it would be the last time she would see it. "I made peace with my- self," Sato said Monday of visiting the Pahoa Japa- nese Cemetery on Oct. 23. A few days later, lava smoth- ered part of the cemetery and the family believed the headstone had been buried. But a photo taken Oct. 28 by a scientist documenting the lava's progress showed the headstone engraved with the Sato name stand- ing in a sea of black lava. "I feel like it's a miracle," said Sato, 63. "I know sub- sequent breakouts could cover the grave, but at least I know it survived like a first round." The lava's flow front stalled over the week- end and early Monday re- mained about 480 feet from Pahoa Village Road, which goes through downtown. A breakout of the flow re- mained about 100 yards from a house. Residents in the area have left or are pre- paring to leave. President Barack Obama signed a disaster declara- tion for the lava Monday, allowing for federal emer- gency help with issues such as repairs and restoration, Gov. Neil Abercrombie's of- fice said. Sato's aunt, Eiko Ka- jiyama, 83, said she was heartbroken when she heard lava covered the cem- etery. When she got the photo from the scientist, she hugged and thanked him, she recalled. The Hawaii Volcano Ob- servatory wouldn't nor- mally release such pho- tos out of respect for the family of the deceased but provided the Sato family with a copy after a chance encounter between the family and an obser- vatory scientist, spokes- woman Janet Babb said in a statement. "During their conversa- tion, the scientist recalled that he had just seen the family headstone the night before and was able to pro- vide information about its status," the statement said. "Days later, while looking through HVO's photos, he realized that this particular image showed the Sato head- stone and offered to provide a copy to the family." Kajiyama said it feels like Pele, the Hawaiian volcano goddess, spared the head- stone. "We're so thankful we know the tomb is still there." 'A MIRACLE' Lava spares family headstone THEASSOCIATEDPRESS This photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey with the permission of the Sato family, shows the Sato headstone still standing in a sea of black lava in a cemetery in Pahoa, Hawaii. By Robert Burns The Associated Press WASHINGTON The Air Force has fired or disci- plined at least 16 nuclear missile commanders or se- nior officers for misconduct and other failings over the past year and a half, reflect- ing turmoil in arguably the military's most sensitive mission. Another who quit of his own accord lamented upon leaving, "We let the Amer- ican people down on my watch." The latest to be dismissed this week: a colonel accused of "cruelty and maltreat- ment" of a subordinate and a missile squadron com- mander found to have ille- gally discriminated against women under his command. In addition to those actions Monday, another senior of- ficer was administratively disciplined but not removed from command. This string of leadership lapses has beset a force that remains central to Ameri- can defense strategy but in some respects has been ne- glected. The force of 450 Minuteman 3 nuclear mis- siles is primed to unleash nuclear devastation on a moment's notice. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is expected soon to announce the results of an independent review of prob- lems in the nuclear force. In ordering the review last winter, Hagel said, "Per- sonnel failures within this force threaten to jeopar- dize the trust the American people have placed in us to keep our nuclear weapons safe and secure." On Monday the Air Force confirmed to The Associ- ated Press that it had re- moved Col. Carl Jones as vice commander of the 90th Missile Wing at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming, in charge of 150 Minuteman 3 missiles. He was dismissed "for a loss of trust and confi- dence in his leadership abil- ities," and has been reas- signed as a special assistant to the wing commander. The actions were dis- closed in response to an AP inquiry about an inter- nal Air Force investigation of two commanders at the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force Base, North Da- kota. Lt. Col. John Sheets, spokesman for Air Force Global Strike Command, said that as a result of the Minot investigation a missile squadron commander, Lt. Col. Jimmy "Keith" Brown, was relieved of command Monday "because of a loss of confidence in Brown's ability to lead his squadron." Sheets said the inves- tigation was directed by Maj. Gen. Jack Weinstein, commander of the 20th Air Force, and "substanti- ated that Brown engaged in unlawful discrimination or harassment." The probe found that Brown "made statements to subordinates that created a perception within his squadron that pregnancy would negatively affect a woman's career." AIR FORCE Di sc ip li na ry ac ts a ga in st nu cl ea r offi ce rs t op pe d 16 CHARLIE RIEDEL — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE An ICBM launch site is located among fields and farms in the countryside outside Minot, N.D. PAID ADVERTISEMENT | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2014 6 C