Oil rises toward $108 a barrel after Obama speech

BANGKOK The price of oil rose Wednesday, a day after President Barack Obama said he asked U.S. lawmakers to postpone a vote authorizing the use of military force against Syria.

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Obama, in a televised speech to the nation late Tuesday, said he wanted to give Syria a chance to turn over its chemical weapons before he asks Congress for consent to intervene in the country's civil war.

Oil prices have been at elevated levels for two weeks following Obama's call for action against the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad in retaliation for what the White House says was a deadly chemical weapons attack against civilians last month.

Syria's surprise announcement Tuesday that it would accept a Russian plan to turn over its chemical weapons stockpile raised the possibility of a resolution to the standoff between Obama and Assad and lowered tensions in oil markets.

Prices edged off a recent two-year high as the likelihood of a Syrian strike diminished, but analysts said prices would remain elevated for the time being.

"Although recent political events have decreased the probability of an international military intervention in Syria, we still see the risks to oil prices as skewed to the upside over the next several months," said analysts at Goldman Sachs in an email commentary.

Syria is not a major oil producer, but oil traders say the possibility of a wider conflict could interrupt production and shipping routes in the Middle East and cause prices to rise.

Benchmark oil for October delivery rose 50 cents to $107.89 per barrel at late afternoon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $2.13, or 1.9 percent, to close at $107.39 a barrel on the Nymex on Tuesday.

Brent, the benchmark for international crudes, rose $1.21 to $112.46 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

In other energy futures trading on Nymex:

-- Wholesale gasoline rose 1.8 cents to $2.7535 per gallon.

-- Natural gas rose nearly 0.1 cent to $3.59 per 1,000 cubic feet.

-- Heating oil rose 2.6 cents to $3.0927 per gallon.

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Local NAACP group heads to D.C. to hear Obama's speech

Local NAACP group heads to D.C. to hear Obama's speech

While the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, D.C., will draw an estimated hundreds of thousands from around the globe Saturday, it's hardly being billed as a celebratory event.

The Kankakee County Branch of the NAACP is sponsoring a bus trip to the nation's capitol, and a group of about 50 riders will depart from Kankakee this afternoon. Theodis Pace, president of the local NAACP chapter, said there is a specific purpose behind the venture.

"Our focus is it's a continuation of what happened on Aug. 28, 1963," Pace said.

On that date, acclaimed civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream'' speech, which expressed his hope that racial equality would one day be reality in America.

Pace said that day has yet to arrive.

"Fifty years later, voting rights are being challenged, jobs are an issue and there is racial profiling,'' he said.

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On 50th anniversary of MLK's speech, locals excited about trip to D.C.

On 50th anniversary of MLK's speech, locals excited about trip to D.C.

Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School sixth-grader Malik Washington left Kankakeeon Friday afternoon with 53 others to join a 50th anniversary pilgrimage to Washington, D.C., in remembrance of MLK's famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

Malik said his own dream today is "to be successful." But he was going to Washington "to march for justice ... for Trayvon ... jobs ... I have a dream." Though just 11, he said he thinks racial relations have improved because "we communicate with each other better."

His grandmother, Shawn Love, of Kankakee, said she was making the trip "to take my grandson to this historic moment and to march on Washington for justice. I want to teach my grandson you have to take the positive way to do things in life."

She planned to meet in Washington with two other grandsons from Maryland and her brother, Kankakee native Angelo Bailey, of D.

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Video: MTV VMAs 2013: Taylor Swift calls out ex during acceptance speech

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MTV VMAs 2013: Timberlake accepts video of the year for "Mirrors"During his acceptance speech for video of the year for his hit "Mirrors"at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, Justin Timberlake spoke about his grandparents, who were the inspiration for the video. Timberlake's grandfather died in December.

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On 50th anniversary of MLK's speech, locals excited about trip to D.C.

On 50th anniversary of MLK's speech, locals excited about trip to D.C.

Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School sixth-grader Malik Washington left Kankakeeon Friday afternoon with 53 others to join a 50th anniversary pilgrimage to Washington, D.C., in remembrance of MLK's famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

Malik said his own dream today is "to be successful." But he was going to Washington "to march for justice ... for Trayvon ... jobs ... I have a dream." Though just 11, he said he thinks racial relations have improved because "we communicate with each other better."

His grandmother, Shawn Love, of Kankakee, said she was making the trip "to take my grandson to this historic moment and to march on Washington for justice. I want to teach my grandson you have to take the positive way to do things in life."

She planned to meet in Washington with two other grandsons from Maryland and her brother, Kankakee native Angelo Bailey, of D.

View the original article here

Video: MTV VMAs 2013: Taylor Swift calls out ex during acceptance speech

MTV VMAs 2013: Timberlake accepts video of the year for "Mirrors" 0:38 August 25, 2013

MTV VMAs 2013: Timberlake accepts video of the year for "Mirrors"During his acceptance speech for video of the year for his hit "Mirrors"at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, Justin Timberlake spoke about his grandparents, who were the inspiration for the video. Timberlake's grandfather died in December.

View the original article here

Local NAACP group heads to D.C. to hear Obama's speech

Local NAACP group heads to D.C. to hear Obama's speech

While the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, D.C., will draw an estimated hundreds of thousands from around the globe Saturday, it's hardly being billed as a celebratory event.

The Kankakee County Branch of the NAACP is sponsoring a bus trip to the nation's capitol, and a group of about 50 riders will depart from Kankakee this afternoon. Theodis Pace, president of the local NAACP chapter, said there is a specific purpose behind the venture.

"Our focus is it's a continuation of what happened on Aug. 28, 1963," Pace said.

On that date, acclaimed civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream'' speech, which expressed his hope that racial equality would one day be reality in America.

Pace said that day has yet to arrive.

"Fifty years later, voting rights are being challenged, jobs are an issue and there is racial profiling,'' he said.

View the original article here