Exxon profit surges, just not enough By DAVID KOENIG, AP Business Writer DALLAS (AP) — Rising oil prices pushed second-quarter profit at Exxon Mobil Corp. up 18 percent to $3.95 billion, but the results Friday fell short of Wall Street expectations, and the shares fell in morning trading. The price of benchmark international crude is up more than 50 percent from …

Oil prices spike after Saudi halts shipments after attack By DAVID RISING, Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Oil prices rose to a 10-day high Thursday after Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company announced it was temporarily halting crude shipments through a strategic Red Sea shipping lane after Yemen’s Shiite rebels attacked two tankers in the strait the previous day. …

Mexico’s president-elect will propose amnesty law By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN, Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — The security advisers for President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Friday that amnesty legislation aimed at lessening violence will be developed with the input of crime victims and presented to Mexico’s congress. Alfonso Durazo, proposed as the new administration’s public security minister, said the amnesty law …

Drug spoon sculpture placed outside drugmaker headquarters STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) — An 800-pound, nearly 11-foot-long steel sculpture of a bent and burned drug spoon was placed Friday in front of the Connecticut headquarters of drugmaker Purdue Pharma as part of an art protest against the opioid crisis. Artist Domenic Esposito and art gallery owner Fernando Alvarez dropped the sculpture at …

#MeToo cases in the spotlight as Southern Baptists convention By DAVID CRARY and RYAN TARINELLI, Associated Press DALLAS (AP) — The Southern Baptist Convention opened its annual national meeting Tuesday in an anxious mood as the denomination’s all-male leadership grapples with the fallout of multiple sexual misconduct cases. One order of business is a draft resolution co-signed by dozens of SBC …

Justices side with Colorado baker on same-sex wedding cake By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled Monday for a Colorado baker who wouldn’t make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple in a limited decision that leaves for another day the larger issue of whether a business can invoke religious objections to refuse service to gay …

US oil prices top $70 a barrel for the first time since 2014 By DAVID KOENIG, AP Business Writer DALLAS (AP) — U.S. oil prices crashed through the $70-a-barrel mark on Monday for the first time since late 2014, foreshadowing costlier gasoline and consumer goods. It’s not clear that pricey crude will slow down the economy, however. The stock market closed …

Again the question: Could armed teachers stop shootings? By CAROLYN THOMPSON, Associated Press In the aftermath of yet another mass school shooting, President Donald Trump says that if one of the victims, a football coach, had been armed “he would have shot and that would have been the end of it.” Revisiting an idea he raised in his campaign, Trump’s comments …

Trump endorses raising minimum age to 21 for more weapons By CATHERINE LUCEY and MATTHEW DALY, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump endorsed stricter gun-control measures Thursday, including raising the minimum age to 21 for possessing a broader range of weapons than at present. He tweeted his strongest stance as president one day after an emotional White House session …

Students: Shooting suspect harassed peers, bragged about gun PARKLAND, Fla. (AP) — Students and neighbors describe the suspect in the deadly rampage at a Florida high school as a troubled teenager who threatened and harassed peers, talked about killing animals, posed with guns in disturbing photos on social media, and bragged about target practice in his backyard with a pellet …