|
(Continued from page 25)
• The U.S. as of Thursday will penalize banks that do oil deals with Iran, while European nations will embargo imports of Iranian oil starting Sunday.
• These measures were announced in December and January, but lawmakers gave countries and the oil markets until this week to adjust.
• Iran initially responded by threatening to block key oil routes. Oil soared over $100 per barrel as traders imagined an oil market straining to meet growing demand from China while only getting a trickle of oil from the world's third largest exporter.
• Those fears have evaporated.
• ___
Motorists drive tanks, crush cars, at Minnesota park for wannabe Rambos
• KASOTA, Minn. (AP) -- For anyone who ever has been stuck in traffic, it's a tempting fantasy: If only you were driving a tank and could roll over everything in your path.
• Some drivers are now flocking to an out-of-the-way spot in southern Minnesota to turn that vision into metal-crunching reality.
• A business named Drive-a-Tank offers drivers the chance to pilot surplus military tanks and other armored vehicles around an old limestone quarry and smash junk cars like an action movie hero.
• The ride is loud, grinding, hot and dirty -- ideal for satisfying one's inner Rambo.
• "It was awesome. I mean, controlling that machine, it's incredible," said Jacob Ostling, 19, of New Canaan, Conn., among the customers who took a turn under the turret on a recent Saturday and flattened a car in an explosion of glass.
• ___
Coney Island's Cyclone roller coaster marks 85 years of thrills, chills and inspections
• NEW YORK (AP) -- The ride begins with two train cars, filled with as many as 24 passengers, cautiously trekking up a hill of wooden tracks. The rattle of the ascent slowly grows louder. As the cars reach the coaster's 85-foot peak, there's a short pause -- followed by a swift 60-mph plunge to the bottom that has made stomachs churn and eyes water since Calvin Coolidge was in the White House.
• Such a timeworn ride requires a great deal of attention to ensure the safety of its passengers, say workers responsible for the Cyclone, the 85-year-old New York City landmark and international amusement icon that will be feted Saturday with a (Continued on page 27)
|
|
