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English and Spanish are the official languages on the island and the adoption of one over the other has been a touchy subject.

France may be in the middle of an economic crisis, but politicians seem more interested in talking about halal meat and religious dietary rules. It all began when National Front Party presidential candidate Marine Le Pen said that non-Muslims in Paris were unwittingly eating halal meat.

Gasoline costs about 50 cents more per gallon than it did in January. Motorists dread the trip to the pump and wonder why prices are so high — and when they'll go back down. But growing world demand could mean oil prices will continue to rise in coming years.

New, tougher sanctions on Iran and its banking sector appear to be making it difficult for Tehran to carry out international transactions, while forcing ordinary Iranians into activities such as smuggling hard currency out. But India and China are still doing business with Iran.

Barbers and beauticians are splitting hairs over an iconic image: the swirling red, white and blue striped pole that often stands outside a barber shop. Barbers in several states are proposing legislation to prevent shops without a licensed barber from using the striped pole.

As gas prices rise, more people who need to get around rural areas are boarding local transit buses and vans. Many of the low-income riders can't afford to drive. But the cost of transporting the riders is bursting town budgets.

President Obama honored Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron at an elegant state dinner Wednesday night but there was a touch of Downton Abbey there. The patriarch of the award-winning TV series played by Hugh Bonneville was there. Along with his American heiress wife actress Elizabeth McGovern.

Police near Washington, D.C. raided the home of a drug dealer, and found cocaine and nearly 20 large bottles of Tide. Thieves love to steal the detergent because it is easily sold on the black market.

At 351,000, they remain near a four-year low. The day's other economic news: wholesale prices rose 0.4 percent in February.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is in Afghanistan on a long-planned trip that has turned into something of a fence-mending mission. A U.S. soldier is accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians. That attack is the latest in a series of negative events involving U.S. forces.