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NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are solidly higher, but trading has been quiet this Easter Monday. One analyst says the Good Friday release of the government's March employment data, when the market was closed, gave traders a couple of days to put the numbers in perspective. The report showed employers added just 126,000 jobs. But analysts say the disappointing numbers also could persuade the Federal Reserve to put off raising interest rates.
NEW YORK (AP) — The price of crude oil has surged higher today. Benchmark U.S. crude was up more than $2.50 this afternoon, nearing $52 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The gains are helping push energy-sector stocks higher, with Chevron, Exxon Mobil and drilling rig operator Transocean all seeing gains.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Rolling Stone magazine has some more legal expenses ahead. The fraternity at the center of a now-discredited rape article says it's pursuing legal action against the magazine. Phi Kappa Psi calls the story defamatory and reckless, saying it led to members being ostracized and vandalism of their University of Virginia fraternity house. A Columbia Journalism School report says the article was rife with bad journalistic practice.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Drought conditions are expanding from California to the Great Plains. The National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska says nearly 37 of the contiguous United States experienced moderate drought conditions or worse last month. In the Midwest, 22 percent of the U.S. corn production area and 18 percent of the soybean area were in some degree of drought, up sharply from early March when just 6 percent of the corn growing area and 5 percent of the soybean region were in drought conditions.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Two more Minnesota turkey flocks have been infected with the highly pathogenic H5N2 strain of bird flu. Minnesota's state veterinarian says he's confident farmers' security precautions will prevent farm-to-farm flu transmission, but he says it will be tough to stop wild, migratory waterfowl from the bird flu to more turkey farms. The latest infected flocks had about 100,000 turkeys between them. Surviving birds are being killed and both sites have been quarantined.
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