- Making News: State Probe Finds No Gas Price Fixing
The recent, jumps in gasoline and natural gas prices were not the result of illegal manipulation, according to investigations ordered by Governor Davis last month when the average price for unleaded regular hit a record of $2.15 a gallon. William Keese, who chairs the state Energy Commission, attributes the increase to higher crude oil prices and lower output as refineries shut down for seasonal maintenance. - Reporter's Notebook:A Taste of Combat at County-USC
Victims of warfare can be shot, stabbed, beaten or subjected to other forms of trauma-causing violence. Doctors once learned on the battlefield, but since Vietnam, there have been no big wars, except in American cities. So, for duty in the war in Iraq, the US Navy is training doctors at the County-USC Hospital in Los Angeles where Peter Rhee is director of the Navy Trauma Training Center. (This segment was originally broadcast earlier today on To the Point.)
Defense Industry, Others Benefit from War Contracts
Though defense contracts are no longer be the engine of Southern California-s economy, the Southland is still the national center for new weapons development. After the 1991 Gulf War, there was a big spurt in arms sales worldwide, so it-s no surprise that there-s a lot at stake after this conflict, too. That potential has defense contractors watching the war in Iraq very closely to see how new weapons systems perform. The war in Iraq is moving taking new weapons systems out of testing facilities and onto the battlefield, and saturation news coverage on cable TV is providing a marketing tool that money can-t buy. We hear which weapons are getting the most attention and what it means for the Southland from a defense industry reporter for the Washington Post and a UCLA economist.