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US stocks rise after oil prices ease and SpaceX soars in debut

Local Business

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks rose Friday after oil prices fell again, and SpaceX soared in its highly anticipated debut on Wall Street. The S&P 500 added 0.5% to close out its 10th winning week in the last 11. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 353 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.3%. Stocks got a lift from a 3.4% drop for the price of Brent crude oil to $87.33 per barrel, deepening its loss for the week. Oil prices have come down since President Donald Trump on Thursday called off his threat to launch strikes on Iran and said a potential deal with Iran may be ...

FDA: Fruity vapes not better than tobacco flavors

Local Business

WASHINGTON — Fruit-flavored e-cigarettes recently authorized by the Food and Drug Administration were not significantly better at helping smokers quit than tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes, according to a new memo that’s likely to stir more questions about the agency’s decision. The FDA last month gave its first OK to fruit-flavored vapes — essentially endorsing them as a less-harmful alternative to traditional cigarettes. The decision came despite the agency’s longstanding position that such flavors appeal to children and must show extra health benefits to warrant approval for ...

Disaster drills helped prevent more deaths when powerful quake hit the southern Philippines

International News

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine officials said Friday that years of disaster-preparedness drills helped prevent a larger casualty toll when one of the strongest earthquakes in 50 years struck the south and left 46 people dead with 38 others missing. The 7.8 magnitude offshore quake, which struck Monday off Sarangani province, injured at least 688 people and displaced more than 45,000 people, about half them still in emergency shelters, after the quake damaged more than 12,600 houses across farming towns and cities. The numbers of dead and missing were considerably lowered after ...

Suspect in Midland, Texas, shooting had fired at a police officer days earlier, officials say

National News

A man who opened fire in the West Texas city of Midland in an attack Friday morning that left one person dead and 10 injured had shot at a police officer just days earlier during a chase, authorities said. The suspect, 45-year-old Victor Mata Villarreal, already was being sought by authorities when he began firing at police and bystanders in Midland on Friday before barricading himself in an abandoned veterinary clinic, where he was eventually found dead, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Police have provided limited details about how the shooting unfolded. Police ...

US, Iran agree to wording of deal to end war

International News

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s prime minister said Friday the United States and Iran have agreed to wording of an agreement aimed at ending their war in the Middle East and that mediators were working with both sides to finalize a deal. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the U.S. and Iran have reached a “final, agreed upon text.” He said Pakistan, which has taken the lead in mediation efforts, was working with the warring countries on next steps. “Peace has never been this close as it is now,” Sharif said in a X post. The apparent breakthrough in negotiations comes after Iran ...