Mayor, Biden share a moment President speaks with Arulampalam family from White House By Stephen Underwood Hartford Courant image source:linkedin Before Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam headed to the U.S. Conference of Mayors at the White House last month, he dusted off a beloved wool coat that had belonged to his grandfather to bring a piece of his family with him. The coat sparked an emotional exchange with the president of the United States. “My grandfather bought the coat when we left Sri Lanka and moved to England. When he passed away, my grandmother gave it to me,” Arulampalam said Wednesday. “I was thinking about that when I was in the Blue Room of the White House and started to be overcome with emotions.” Arulampalam’s family fled Sri Lanka in 1983 at the start of the Sri Lankan Civil War and moved to England before settling in Zimbabwe. Arulampalam relocated with ...

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Gas prices skyrocket as the global energy crisis worsens –CNN https://edition.cnn.com/2021/10/11/business/gas-prices-oil-opec/index.html   By Matt Egan, CNN Business New York (CNN Business) The cost of energy was dirt cheap in the spring of 2020 as roads and airports sat nearly empty during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Energy demand is back today as the world economy reopens — but supply simply hasn’t kept up. That’s why US oil prices have skyrocketed $120 since crashing to negative $40 a barrel in April 2020. US oil prices finished above $80 a barrel on Monday for the first time in nearly seven years. Crude gained 1.5% to end the day at $80.52. The last time oil closed above $80 was October 31, 2014. Gas prices are at 7-year highs, and Biden can’t do much about it All of this is leading to sticker shock for many Americans filling up at the pump — at a time of the year when ...

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