From the Wires
Nigeria Strike Drags On Without Sign Of Stopping
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — As a nationwide strike over fuel prices enters its fifth day in Nigeria, people are beginning to ask how long it can last.
Organizers say they want to keep the indefinite strike and growing demonstrations going as long as the government refuses to bring gas prices down.
But ATMs are already starting to run out of money in Africa’s most populous nation, and gangs of young men have taken over some highways and overpasses.
The strike began Monday after the country’s government decided earlier this month to abandon subsidies that had kept gasoline prices lower for consumers. Fuel prices doubled overnight, and the costs of food and transportation also have skyrocketed. Tens of thousands have marched across the country in protest.
Drivers see scarf-wearing pig on Pittsburgh road
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Motorists have reported a sharp-dressed pig running loose on a highway just outside of Pittsburgh. State troopers also spotted the animal but failed to catch it before it scurried off into the woods.
The pig is wearing a scarf. The sightings were reported between 8:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. Wednesday just west of the city on Interstate 376, known locally as the Parkway West.
State troopers from the nearby barracks in Findlay Township spotted the pig, but couldn’t catch up to it.
Police say the pig appeared to be a baby and confirmed it was wearing a scarf. Police don’t know why that is or who may own the animal.
Funeral next week for Bee Gees star Robin Gibb
LONDON (AP) — A private funeral service for Bee Gees star Robin Gibb will take place next week, with a public memorial service planned for later in the year.
In a statement issued Wednesday on behalf of Gibb’s family, his relatives confirmed that a service for “close family and friends” would take place on June 8.
No details about the location of the funeral have been disclosed.
The Gibb family requested that mourners offer donations, rather than flowers, to two children’s charities on the Isle of Man, where Gibb was born.
Gibb, a founder of the Bee Gees with his two late brothers, died on May 20 after a long battle with cancer at the age of 62.
Plans have not yet been confirmed for a planned public memorial service.
Andie MacDowell starring in Hallmark’s 1st series
NEW YORK (AP) — Andie MacDowell will be a pioneer for the Hallmark Channel, starring in the network’s first prime-time series.
Hallmark said Wednesday that MacDowell will portray municipal court Judge Olivia Lockhart in “Cedar Grove.” It will start with a two-hour movie airing later this year and continue with a 13-episode series early in 2013.
The new series is based on books by author Debbie Macomber. Movie adaptations of Macomber’s books have been among the top-rated programs that Hallmark has shown over the past three years.
MacDowell’s movie credits include “sex, lies and videotape,” ”Groundhog Day” and “Four Weddings and a Funeral.”
Sales contracts for US homes dropped in April
WASHINGTON (AP) — A gauge of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes fell in April from nearly a two-year high in the previous month.
The decline was the biggest in a year. Still, sales are well ahead of last year’s level for the same month, suggesting the housing market is improving slowly.
The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that its index of sales agreements dropped to 95.5, down from March’s reading of 101.1.
A reading of 100 is considered healthy. One year ago, the level was 83.5.
Continue Reading CloseForest wildfire becomes largest in NM history
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A massive wildfire in southwestern New Mexico’s Gila National Forest is now the largest fire in state history.
Fire officials said Wednesday the erratic fire has grown to more than 170,000 acres, surpassing a blaze last year that burned 156,593 acres in New Mexico and threatened the nation’s premier nuclear facility.
The Gila forest fire is also the largest currently burning in the country.
Fire information officer Jerry Perry says about 1,200 firefighters from around the state were in the isolated region to battle the growing blaze. He says they face low humidity and shifting winds in their firefighting efforts.
Perry says parts of southern New Mexico could expect to see smoke from the fire, which has destroyed a dozen homes.
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