News bites: Chesapeake confirms federal probe, GM seeks battery breakthrough, and more

The Wall Street Journal reports on “lingering mistrust” haunting the merger of utility powerhouses Duke Energy and Progress Energy.

Natural-gas giant Chesapeake Energy confirms it’s facing a federal probe over “possible criminal antitrust violations related to the purchase and lease of oil and gas properties in Michigan,” Reuters reports.

Oil prices slide after rising sharply days ago, Bloomberg reports.

The Associated Press reports that the fire at a Chrevron refinery in California is sending West Coast gasoline prices upwards.

The Indianapolis Star reports that a GM-backed battery company is working toward a breakthrough that “could power an electric car 100 or even 200 miles on a single charge in the next two to four years.”