Oil prices plunge, gas prices follow

Oil falls close to $63 per barrel; gasoline costs less than last year for the first time Crude tumbled Friday and the price for a gallon of gasoline fell below year-ago levels for the first time in 2008, even as OPEC announced a huge production cut in an attempt to halt the declines. Crude prices have now [...] "eliotcobb.com"

Seve Ballesteros’ brain tumor is cancerous and he will undergo another operation to relieve pressure caused by swelling and bleeding that have recently developed. The remaining parts of the malignant tumor, located in a very deep part of the brain, will be removed in Friday’s procedure. La Paz Hospital said Thursday that the surgery is “of great [...] "eliotcobb.com"

Al Qaeda has shown no signs it plans to attack the United States during the presidential election, but the government must keep guard during the 2-1/2-month transition to a new president, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said on Thursday. Chertoff added the global economic turmoil had yet to cause any visible change in al Qaeda’s strategy, [...] "eliotcobb.com"

Ali is a highly trained German shepherd that spent eight years on narcotics patrol with the New Jersey police force, hunting down drug smugglers at airports and drug dealers on inner-city streets. Post-retirement, he’s working in the private sector, sniffing teenagers’ bedrooms. Ali and his handler are now working for a new company in New Jersey [...] "eliotcobb.com"

After his own personal mini-meltdown caused him to sell some of his shareholdings in CBS and Viacom, Sumner Redstone said this week that the situation is under control and that he won’t be selling any more. Meanwhile, media wags are still handicapping whether one or both of the companies he controls might end up in play. But [...] "eliotcobb.com"

The New York Times Co. reported a steep drop in third-quarter profits on Thursday, the latest gloomy earnings report in an industry battered by online competition and falling print advertising revenue. The New York Times Co. said net profit fell by 51.4 percent in the third quarter to 6.5 million dollars, or five cents per share, [...] "eliotcobb.com"

An emergency OPEC meeting on Friday reached swift agreement to chop production by 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) in an effort to halt a deep oil price slide. International benchmark U.S. crude has slumped by close to 60 percent from a record high of $147.27 hit in July. On Friday, it fell again to below [...] "eliotcobb.com"

The New York Times endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for U.S. president on Thursday, saying he had “met challenge after challenge, growing as a leader and putting real flesh on his early promises of hope and change.” The Times posted its endorsement on its Internet site on Thursday evening and was to publish it in Friday editions [...] "eliotcobb.com"