American Scene

CALIFORNIA

Gas prices up by 2.86 cents

CAMARILLO | The average price of regular gasoline in the United States has jumped 2.86 cents over a two-week period to $2.68.

That’s according to the national Lundberg Survey of fuel prices released Sunday.

Analyst Trilby Lundberg said the average price for a gallon of midgrade was $2.81. Premium was at $2.93.

Tucson, Ariz., had the lowest average price among cities surveyed at $2.36 a gallon for regular. Anchorage, Alaska, was the highest at $3.30.

In California, prices were down slightly. A gallon of regular cost an average of $2.96.

Fresno had the state’s least expensive gas at $2.83 a gallon. San Francisco remained the steepest at $3.04.

COLORADO

Man arrested in bar shootings

VAIL | A 63-year-old man suspected of fatally shooting one man and wounding three others in a Vail bar has been arrested in what authorities say was an apparently random shooting.

Longtime Vail resident Richard Moreau is accused of firing several shots outside and in the Sandbar Sports Grill in the mountain ski resort town. Police say he was arrested Saturday at the scene on suspicion of first-degree homicide.

Police said Gary Bruce Kitching, 70, of Carbondale, was fatally shot. The other victims, whose names have not been released, are from Vail, and they include a 29-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his arm and 25-year-old man who was treated for injuries to his leg and released.

ILLINOIS

Prosecutors seek students’ grades

CHICAGO | A Northwestern University professor and journalism students who spent three years trying to show that the wrong man was convicted in the 1978 killing of a security guard may now have to defend themselves.

Cook County prosecutors have issued subpoenas to professor David Protess for his students’ grades, his syllabus and their e-mails. Prosecutors say the students may have been under pressure to prove the case to get a good grade.

Mr. Protess and his investigative reporting students have helped free 11 innocent men from prison, including death row, since 1996.

But Mr. Protess said that in two other cases, students found compelling evidence of prisoners’ guilt and received A’s. He says students are rewarded for finding the truth, not getting convictions overturned.

MASSACHUSETTS

Father of boy in cancer case dies

SALEM | The father of an autistic Massachusetts boy who died after his mother allegedly withheld cancer medication has died from injuries suffered in a motorcycle crash.

Eric Fraser died Thursday after being taken off life support earlier in the week. The 38-year-old and another biker collided in Malden on Oct. 25. The other rider died that night.

Mr. Fraser’s son, Jeremy Fraser, 9, died of leukemia in March. The child’s mother, Kristen LaBrie of Salem, has been charged with attempted murder and child endangerment. She is accused of failing to give needed chemotherapy medications to her son and missing his medical appointments.

Mr. Fraser and Ms. LaBrie had undergone a contentious divorce, and he wasn’t part of his son’s life as his illness advanced. But Mr. Fraser lived with his son during his son’s final days.

NEW MEXICO

Funeral services for Catholic nun

GALLUP | A slain Catholic nun who lived and worked on the Navajo Indian reservation was remembered Saturday for her passion for the poor at funeral services.

A tearful, standing-room only crowd attended a funeral Mass for 64-year-old Sister Marguerite Bartz at Gallup’s Sacred Heart Cathedral. Sister Bartz was laid to rest later Saturday just across the state line in St. Michaels, Ariz., on a rocky hillside overlooking the reservation, where she lived for the last decade.

Sister Bartz’s body was discovered a week ago in her home on St. Berard’s property.

Authorities announced Friday the arrest of Reehahlio Carroll. The 18-year-old allegedly broke into Sister Bartz’s trailer home in search of cash or valuable items and has been charged with the “unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought.”

Sister Bartz was dedicated to working with the poor, and her duties included giving advice on raising children, running religious education classes and traveling to the homes of Navajo elders on remote parts of the reservation.

NEW YORK

Stock volatility seen as a positive

NEW YORK | Stock market volatility is back, a signal to some specialists that the powerful rally that started in early March may be coming to an end.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose or fell more than 100 points in seven of the past 12 trading days, capped by a 205-point advance Thursday that left the index almost 53 percent higher than its closing level March 9.

The Dow’s muted 17-point gain on Friday masked the fact that it swung nearly 108 points throughout the day after the government reported the unemployment rate rose to 10.2 percent in October.

The latest volatility surge comes after a calm stretch. Over the preceding two months, there were just eight days where the daily Dow change exceeded 100 points.

While the volatility brings back memories of last fall’s financial crisis, few analysts are predicting a huge downdraft is coming. Instead, they say it’s not uncommon to see choppy trading patterns when investors begin to fret that a bull market is running out of steam.

OHIO

Onlookers flock to site of killings

CLEVELAND | The street corner opposite the home dubbed Cleveland’s “House of Horrors” buzzes with visits from mourners, well-wishers, politicians and the curious.

Some came because they knew one of the victims; others because they live in the neighborhood and want to show their respect.

Others are just curious, like the group of three motorcyclists who decided Saturday to ride to the house wrapped in police tape on Imperial Avenue.

Police discovered the first two bodies and a freshly dug grave Oct. 29 at the house on the city’s east side. By Oct. 31, six bodies had been identified. The number grew 11 by Nov. 3.

A memorial board that went up Wednesday held a dozen fliers of the missing one day later, and the number continues to grow.

PENNSYLVANIA

No new talks in transit strike

PHILADELPHIA | No new talks are scheduled as the strike by Philadelphia bus drivers, subway and trolley conductors and mechanics enters its second work week after the collapse of a proposed deal.

The largest union of Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) workers wants an independent audit of pension funds. The union is also rejecting language that could reopen the contract if SEPTA’s costs increasebecause of national health care reform.

Gov. Edward G. Rendell had been brokering the talks until they broke off Saturday evening. He wants union members to vote on the contract proposal Monday. Transport Workers Local 234 President Willie Brown said the union’s constitution would not permit that.

A 2005 SEPTA strike lasted seven days, while a 1998 transit strike lasted for 40 days.

SEPTA averages more than 928,000 trips each weekday.

WASHINGTON

Suspect identified in police killing

SEATTLE | Police described a suspect in the shooting death of a Seattle policeman as a “lone domestic terrorist” and said he was also suspected of firebombing four police vehicles.

At a news conference, Seattle Assistant Police Chief Jim Pugel identified Christopher Monfort, 41, as the man shot by police Friday as he was sought in connection with the Halloween killing of Officer Timothy Brenton. Mr. Pugel also said investigators found improvised explosive devices at Mr. Monfort’s apartment.

Police evacuated part of Mr. Monfort’s apartment complex Saturday evening after finding what was described as a “potential hazard,” Seattle’s KING 5 News reported.

Officer Brenton was sitting in a car Oct. 31 with rookie Officer Britt Sweeney after a traffic stop when shots were fired. Officer Sweeney was grazed in the neck.

On Saturday morning, Mr. Monfort was in serious condition in the intensive care unit at Harborview Medical Center, said hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg-Hanson. He underwent hours of surgery Friday night and arrived at the hospital in critical condition with “multiple injuries.”

From wire dispatches and staff reports