News In Brief

HERE, HOW DOES THIS SOUND?

To some music lovers, the twang of, say, Travis Tritt is pure delight. But to Henry Nelson Jr. and Jon Driggers, it's punishment. Literally. They admitted violating a Rapides Parish, La., ordinance by blasting "loud and offensive" music from their cars. So the judge found out which tunes they like least - country - and ordered them to a "music appreciation" session. They'll have to sit for three hours listening to the likes of Tritt or Tammy Wynette. Said his honor: "If they want all that bass, we're gonna give it to them."

AND I'D DO IT AGAIN IF I COULD

First, he broke out of captivity. Then he was caught shoplifting from a grocery store. Only, the culprit wasn't a criminal; he's a police dog. Nutz fled a New Berlin, Wis., kennel while his owner, a cop, was on vacation, wandered into the market and browsed until he reached the meat counter, where he helped himself to a hunk of prime rib. "We will," said a lieutenant "have to question him."

Gas-tax report finds states charge from 7.5 to 32 cents

To try to ease the impact of sky-high oil prices on consumers, the US Senate is planning to vote soon on temporarily repealing 4.3 cents of the federal tax on each gallon of gasoline. But even if it's repealed, which looks questionable, a 14.1-cent federal tax would remain. Plus, each state levies its own tax at the pump - as detailed by the Small Business Survival Committee, an advocacy group based in Washington, using data from the American Petroleum Institute. States that collect the most and least in gas taxes (in cents):

Highest

Connecticut 32.00

New York 30.06

Rhode Island 28.00

Montana 27.75

Wisconsin 25.80

Lowest

Georgia 7.5

Alaska 8.0

Pennsylvania 12.0

Florida 13.3

Wyoming 14.0

- Associated Press, Reuters

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