NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
_ 1 Turnpike slayings: A retired Pennsylvania state trooper killed a turnpike toll collector and a guard in a holdup attempt Sunday at a toll plaza and then was shot dead by troopers while trying to escape, authorities said. Clarence Briggs shot toll collector Danny Crouse and security guard Ronald Heist in Fort Littleton, about 65 miles west of Harrisburg, police said. He was then killed in an exchange of gunfire with arriving troopers. Crouse had been on the job for less than three months.
2 Paint acquisition: SherwinWilliams is buying rival Valspar for about $ 9 billion in a move that it says will expand its reach in Asia and Europe. Sherwin- Williams said Sunday that it is paying $ 113 a share in cash, a 35 percent premium to the closing price of Valspar’s stock Friday. The combined company would employ 58,000 people and would have had revenue of $ 15.6 billion last year. Sherwin- Williams will remain headquartered in Cleveland but said the combined companies will maintain a “significant presence” in Minneapolis, where Valspar Corp. is based.
3 Pump prices: The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline has jumped by 17 cents over the past two weeks, to $ 2.02, industry analyst Trilby Lundberg reported Sunday. The hike is because of growing demand for gasoline across the nation and higher crude oil prices. The highest average price of regular gas among the cities surveyed was $ 2.72 in Los Angeles, while the lowest was $ 1.66 in Newark, N. J.
Marine killed: The Department of Defense on Sunday identified the service member killed the day before by enemy fire in northern Iraq as Marine Staff Sgt. Louis Cardin of Temecula ( Riverside County). Cardin died from wounds suffered when his unit was hit by rocket fire. A U. S. official said the attack occurred at the Makhmour base outside the Islamic State- held city of Mosul.
Triple shooting: Los Angeles County authorities are searching for suspects in a car- to- car shooting Sunday that killed one man and left two other men wounded in Hawthorne. Sheriff’s officials say the shooting happened around 2 a. m. as the victims were returning from a church function in Torrance. Their car was stopped at a red light when another vehicle pulled alongside and someone inside opened fire. The driver was killed. Two male passengers were hospitalized in unknown condition. Another passenger, a woman, was uninjured. Investigators did not identify a motive or release suspect descriptions.
Theft foiled: A job interview was in progress Saturday at a Popeyes Famous Fried Chicken outlet in New Orleans when a thief grabbed cash from the till and bolted for the door. The manager conducting the interview blocked the exit, and the applicant grabbed the thief’s arms. Devin Washington, 18, got the robber — and the job. Police said 50year- old Pablo Ciscart was arrested on a simple robbery charge.