Your Feb. 26 Pre-Trip: Trucking company owner convicted in murder-for-hire case
Feb. 26, 2016
Here are five things worth knowing today: 1. The operator of an oil trucking company in North Dakota has been convicted of orchestrating the killings of two business rivals, the Daily Globe reports. James Henrikson has been convicted of hiring a man to kill Kristopher Clarke in February 2012 and Douglas Carlile in December 2013, according to the report. Clarke and Carlile were Henrikson’s business rivals in North Dakota’s Bakken Oil Patch. Henrikson faces the possibility of life in prison when he is sentenced on May 24. The Daily Globe has more.2. According to AAA, drowsy driving causes about 328,000 crashes annually, and nearly 87% of U.S. drivers engage in at least one risky behavior behind the wheel, the East Valley Tribune reports. According to the report, at least one in three drivers say they’ve driven while tired in the last month; nearly half of drivers report speeding over 15 mph on highways; and more than two in five drivers report reading text or email in the past 30 days.3. A federal judge has instructed Volkswagen AG to fix nearly 600,000 diesel-powered vehicles on U.S. roads violating pollution laws within the next month, Nasdaq reports. Judge Breyer gave the company until no later than March 24 to give him a detailed update on how the automaker intends to fix the vehicles. Nasdaq has more.4. According to a Phys Org report, driverless vehicles could increase reliance on roadways. According to the report, a study led by a University of Leeds researcher finds that driverless vehicles could intensify car use, reducing or eliminating promised energy savings and environmental benefits. Phys Org has more.5. Gas prices in Southern California could jump 37 cents per gallon this weekend, San Jose Mercury News reports. The state average was $2.31 on Thursday, according to the report, but several stations in San Jose bumped prices 3 cents or more from a day earlier. Mercury News has more.