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NEW YORK (AP) -- Gasoline prices hit a new record at the pump on Monday, but gas futures prices fell on concerns that $3 gas will crimp demand. Oil prices, meanwhile, rose on reports of refinery problems in the U.S. and abroad.

(AP) Carmen Gonzalez plucks one of the 50 frogs from the aquarium at her bus stop restaurant, bangs it against tiles to kill it and then makes two incisions along its belly and peels off the skin as if husking corn.

Mild winter weather has something to do with it. So does heavy selling by financial funds. But a largely overlooked factor in the recent plunge in oil prices may portend an end to the multiyear rise in crude: For the first time in years, the developed world is burning less of it. Fresh data from the International Energy Agency show oil consumption in the 30 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development fell 0.6% in 2006. Though the decline appears small, it marks the first annual drop in more than 20 years among the OECD countries, which...

SULAIMANIYA, Iraq: The Kurdish security contractor placed the black plastic box on the table. Inside was a new Glock 19, one of the nine-milimeter pistols that the United States issued by the tens of thousands to the Iraqi Army and police force. This pistol was no longer in the custody of Iraqi Army or police officers. It had been stolen or sold, and it found its way to an open-air grocery stand that does a lively black-market business in police and infantry arms. The contractor bought it there. He displayed other purchases, including a short-barreled Kalashnikov assault rifle with a...

ALBANY, N.Y. - Considered a political albatross in 2000, former President Clinton is arguably the most sought-after Democratic campaigner in the final days of the midterm elections. Jetting into New York's state capital on Thursday, Clinton plans to pump up the congressional candidacy of Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand and probably drop a good word or two about his wife, the state's junior senator. It'll be a short visit before Clinton takes wing again, off to another competitive race as his party tries to take back Congress and capture statehouses across the country. He has the frequent-flier miles to prove it: _On...

SINGAPORE (AP) - Oil prices fell in Asian trading Tuesday after losing nearly US$2 a barrel in the previous session amid easing concerns about the possibility of more production cuts by OPEC members. The contract dropped 3 per cent overnight in New York as traders discounted threats of output cuts and focused on high U.S. oil product inventories. Despite reduced refinery runs, traders were expecting to see a build in U.S. gasoline and distillate stocks in weekly petroleum supply data released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Energy. Light, sweet crude for November delivery dropped 11 cents to US$60.92 a...

Syrians demand military action to reclaim Golan Heights By Patrick Bishop in Beirut (Filed: 18/08/2006) Bashar al-Assad praised Hizbollah's 'victory' Pressure is mounting on Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, to follow Hizbollah's example and consider force to eject Israel from Syrian land that it has occupied for nearly 40 years. The public appetite for action is just one of the uncomfortable consequences regional rulers are facing, as Arabs compare their leaders' performances over Israel with the Lebanese "resistance". Mr Assad, who supports Hizbollah, was quick to praise the militia's "victory" in a post-conflict speech and to bathe in its reflected...

Angry MPs demand recall of parliament Discontent over UK's Lebanon policy Patrick Wintour, Ewen MacAskill and Oliver Burkeman in New York Wednesday August 9, 2006 The Guardian (UK) Up to 100 MPs, most of them Labour, are to demand an immediate recall of parliament to debate the crisis in Lebanon because of growing fears about the government's strategy. The call is expected to come in the next 48 hours and its organisers have been in discussion with the Liberal Democrat and Scottish Nationalist parties. Negotiations are also under way with campaign groups backing the call for an immediate ceasefire that...

A coalition of American Muslim leaders gathered Friday on the steps of Los Angeles City Hall and angrily called on Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to represent all residents on the Israel-Lebanon crisis, not just those who support Israel. The mayor, they said, has expressed strong support for Israel while ignoring repeated invitations to attend interfaith vigils for victims of both sides of the conflict. They noted that Beirut, the scene of heavy shelling, is one of Los Angeles' newest sister cities. "The mayor serves all Angelenos, and his public appearances should reflect that," said Edina Lekovic, spokeswoman...

A record-setting thirst for power during the heat wave that has scorched the state this month caught Department of Water and Power officials by surprise, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday. Before this week, the utility's highest peak energy use was recorded at 5,661 megawatts. A stretch of 100-plus temperatures this week, however, created a demand that set a new all-time high of 6,165 megawatts - shocking DWP officials who predicted power usage wouldn't top 6,100 megawatts for four years. "They didn't even believe our customers could ever put such a load on our system - that we could even...

Gasoline demand falls in first half of 2006 API: lofty crude prices hurt demand, gasoline imports at a record By Myra P. Saefong, MarketWatch Last Update: 10:00 AM ET Jul 19, 2006 SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Record prices for crude oil contributed to lower U.S. gasoline demand in the first half of this year, but the nation imported the fuel at a record pace, according to the American Petroleum Institute Wednesday. U.S. gasoline demand fell by 0.4% in the second quarter of 2006, compared with an increase of 0.5% in the first quarter, the API said in its June statistical...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California's power grid could post a new electricity demand record by Monday as air conditioners across the state battle a powerful heat wave, the California Independent System Operator said on Thursday. The Cal ISO manages the power grid that connects major power lines in the state. The grid operator called on Californians to conserve electricity by calling a "power watch" from Friday to Monday, said Stephanie McCorkle, spokeswoman for the ISO. As of midday Thursday, there had been no weather-related outages, McCorkle said. "New temperature data (are) indicating a warm air mass is pushing up temperatures...

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil surged to a record high near $76 on Thursday on renewed worries over supply from major exporter Nigeria and as conflict between Israel and Hizbollah in Lebanon heightened international tensions. Prices also rose as the Iran nuclear row appeared to be heading to the U.N. Security Council, North Korea walked out of talks with South Korea and crude inventories in top oil consumer the United States fell more than expected. "Geopolitical risk is out of control," said Tony Nunan, a risk manager at Mitsubishi Corp. "There's a pipeline attack in Nigeria, Israel is taking a strong...

SINGAPORE - Crude oil prices retreated Monday as traders took profits following recent gains and amid easing worries about Iran's nuclear dispute after the country's top nuclear negotiator expressed optimism that the standoff can be resolved peacefully. Light, sweet crude for August delivery fell 37 cents to $73.72 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The drop came after oil prices had climbed for most of the last two weeks, reaching an intraday record of $75.78 a barrel on Friday before settling back at $74.09. The Brent crude contract for August fell 27 cents to...

Freely excerpting: "The real truth is that we don't know enough to relieve global warming, and -- barring major technological breakthroughs -- we can't do much about it. This was obvious nine years ago; it's still obvious." ... "Having postulated a crash energy diet, the IEA [International Energy Agency] simulates five scenarios with differing rates of technological change. In each, greenhouse emissions in 2050 are higher than today. The increases vary from 6 percent to 27 percent." ... "No government will adopt the draconian restrictions on economic growth and personal freedom (limits on electricity usage, driving and travel) that might...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil fell almost 1 percent to below $70 a barrel on Tuesday, pausing to watch the season's first Atlantic storm as it weakened along a route that will take it well clear of U.S. energy installations. Iran's reluctance to give up its atomic program, unrelenting violence in Iraq and strong demand signals from China all lent the market support, keeping prices up 15 percent this year and within sight of their record high of $75.35. U.S. light sweet crude for July fell 69 cents to $69.67 a barrel by 0746 GMT, extending Monday's $1.27 slump. London Brent...

The American Council on Education is a coordinating body for higher education. Recently it released some interesting statistics - interesting to people who care about higher education, non-profit and fopro alike. Just one in six of the undergraduates in college are the "typical" 18-year-old who lives on campus and gets a BA by cramming 4 years into five. Students who are 25 years old and up account for almost 40 percent of undergraduates. More than half of all the older students attend a community college - 29 percent are in private schools, and 12 percent attend fopros. Most of the...

With so many adult students, opinions are flying everywhere on how they might be served best and what is needed most. Gary Berg, author of Lessons From the Edge, offers up these four main pressures: 1. Diminishing financial support 2. The call to serve adult learners and first-generation college students 3. A need to balance liberal-arts and applied curricula 4. A subsequent necessity of maintaing an evolving institutional mission. Fopros are in a position to address these pressures. Like them or love them, many experts credit the University of Phoenix with being the most innovative of the higher-education bunch. UoP...

India is by far the largest outsourcing market with a predicted 169,000 offshore call center staff by 2010-- nearly double the present number of 95,000. But call centers in Eastern Europe are expected to triple in that same amount of time from 3,700 to more than 10,000. Growth in North Africa is also expected to triple from 7,800 to over 23,000-- mostly driven by Egypt. The major concerns are the high turnover rate in India and the instability in the latter players. Still, India has to be looking west, AND while doing so, looking back over its shoulder at China....

SINGAPORE -- Oil prices jumped Monday in reaction to a threat by Iran's supreme leader that his nation could jeopardize the world's oil supply if the West punished Tehran over its nuclear program. Light, sweet crude for July delivery rose $1.02 to $73.35 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, midafternoon in Singapore. The contract rose Friday to $72.33 following the kidnapping of eight foreigners working on a drilling rig off the coast of Nigeria. The workers were released Sunday. July Brent crude futures on London's ICE Futures rose $1.03 to $72.06 per barrel. Iran's...