From the Associated Press:
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says his administration will suspend a federal rule that bars higher levels of ethanol in gasoline during the summer. The move is intended to tamp down prices at the pump that have spiked during Russia’s war with Ukraine. Most gasoline sold in the U.S. is blended with 10% ethanol. At Biden’s direction, the Environmental Protection Agency will issue an emergency waiver to allow widespread sale of 15% ethanol blend that is usually prohibited between June 1 and Sept. 15 because of concerns that it adds to smog in high temperatures. Officials said the move would save drivers up to 10 cents per gallon at 2,300 gas stations that sell E15, as the high-blend ethanol is known.
LE MARS, Iowa (AP) — A former Plymouth County Sheriff’s deputy has pleaded guilty to 11 charges alleging he stole drugs from homes, the department and from pharmacies. Forty-three-year-old Aaron Leusink, of Le Mars, pleaded guilty as his trial was scheduled to start on Tuesday. Investigators alleged Leusink stole prescription drugs from homes while he was enforcing search warrants and took pills that were collected as evidence. He also was accused of committing several burglaries at five Plymouth County pharmacies dating back to 2017. The investigation began after video from Leusink’s body camera showed him taking prescription drugs from a rural Le Mars home. He will be sentenced June 10.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A state court judge has concluded that Democrat Abby Finkenauer cannot appear on the June 7 primary ballot for U.S. Senate because she didn’t gather enough petition signatures, knocking off the candidate considered by many to be the party’s best chance to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley. Judge Scott Beattie filed a ruling Sunday that overturned a decision by a three-member panel of state elected officials. The panel concluded last week that Finkenauer’s campaign had substantially complied with Iowa law requiring at least 100 signatures from at least 19 counties. But Beattie said the law requires each signature be accompanied by the date and some of Finkenauer’s petition signatures didn’t comply. Finkenauer might appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Democrat Abby Finkenauer’s hopes of running against Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley this fall may hinge on a state Supreme Court ruling on three petition signatures. Finkenauer’s campaign was thrown into turmoil this week after a judge ruled she had not met the requirements to qualify for the ballot. Finkenauer, a former one-term congresswoman, called the ruling “deeply partisan” and appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court. The court, under pressure to rule quickly to meet deadlines to mail ballots to Iowa residents who live out of the country, will hear arguments Wednesday and likely will issue a decision within days. The state’s primary is June 7.
MENLO, Iowa (AP) — President Joe Biden has journeyed to corn-rich Iowa to announce he’s suspending federal rules that restrict ethanol in gasoline, aiming to strike at least a small blow against surging inflation. He said Tuesday at a biofuel plant that the action should trim about a dime a gallon at a limited number of stations — about 2,300 of the nation’s more than 100,000. Biden is intensifying efforts to lower prices at the pump that have spiked during Russia’s war with Ukraine. The Environmental Protection Agency will issue an emergency waiver to allow widespread sale of a higher ethanol blend that’s usually prohibited between June 1 and Sept. 15 because of concerns it adds to smog in high temperatures.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Police say a man arrested in a fatal shooting inside a crowded Iowa nightclub was seen on the club’s surveillance video shooting “intentionally and indiscriminately” into the crowd. Police arrested 32-year-old Timothy Ladell Rush on Monday, and he appeared in court Tuesday on charges of second-degree murder, willful injury and three weapons-related felonies. The shooting early Sunday at the Taboo Nightclub and Lounge in Cedar Rapids during a birthday party killed 25-year-old Michael Valentine and 35-year-old Nicole Owens, both of Cedar Rapids. Ten other people also were injured in the shooting. Police say Rush is seen in the business’ video firing a 9 mm handgun, killing Owens and seriously wounding a man. Police say a handgun found in Rush’s home was used in the shootings.
