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Crude oil rose almost $2 to close at more than $73 a barrel Wednesday, a three-week high, following a Department of Energy report that showed oil and gasoline inventories fell more than expected, Bloomberg reported.

Federal officials next month are set to unveil a requirement that automakers install side air bags by the early part of the next decade, the Detroit News reported.

The worst part of the seemingly never-ending saga of the attempt to bring the antiquated hours-of-service rules somewhere close to the realities of 21st century trucking is the uncertainty brought on by the current game of legislative and judicial ping-pong being played in slow motion.

MINNEAPOLIS — Some of the nation’s best truck drivers arrived here last week ahead of the 70th annual National Truck Driving Championships to discuss the importance of safety on the nation’s highways and to express their sympathies as the city recovers from the deadly bridge collapse earlier this month.

Berkshire Hathaway boosted its stake in Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., the second-largest U.S. freight railroad, to 15%, Bloomberg reported.

American Trucking Associations said it is taking this week to extend a national “pat on the back” to the 3.4 million U.S. professional truck drivers.

U.S. consumer confidence in August fell by the most since the period immediately following Hurricane Katrina, the New York-based Conference Board said Tuesday.

FedEx Corp. has launched a new direct express delivery service from its Memphis, Tenn. hub to Manchester, England.

Existing homes sales fell in July for a fifth straight month, the National Association of Realtors said Monday.