Ragbag Headliners

Libya Crisis Sends U.S. Gas Prices Up 33 Cents In Two Weeks

U.S. gasoline prices increased nearly 33 cents in two weeks, the second-biggest two-week jump in the history of the gasoline market, according to a new survey of filling stations.

The latest Lundberg Survey of cities in the continental United States was conducted Friday. It showed the national average for a price of self-serve unleaded gasoline at $3.51, an increase of 32.7 cents from the last survey two weeks earlier, survey publisher Trilby Lundberg said.

The jump was the biggest since a 38-cent hike between August and September 2005. At the time, the price increase was driven by damage caused by Hurricane Katrina.

"This time around, the spike comes not from nature, but from people," Lundberg said. "The armed struggle in Libya has shocked international oil markets and here it is at the pump."

As the fighting between opposition forces and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's troops begins to look more like a civil war, expect prices to continue to rise, she said.

Prices have risen nearly 82 cents since September 2010, the survey found.

While Libya is not among the top suppliers of U.S. oil, and only 3% of Libyan oil exports head to the United States, global economics link the events there to the pumps at home.

Libya produces a light, high-gravity crude oil that is most in demand by less complex refineries around the world, Lundberg said. As this oil becomes unavailable, it forces buyers of crude to substitute crude with similar properties from other oil producers, thereby increasing demand and starting a chain reaction that raises prices of crude and gasoline in the United States.

The current average price of $3.51 is 61 cents below the all-time high price recorded in July 2008. Today's price is 78 cents higher than a year ago, Lundberg said.

On a side note, Lundberg noted that the rising gas prices could dampen the nation's economic recovery. Gas demand -- one of the reflections of the American economy -- has been growing at a rate of 1%, she said.

"Higher prices today are certainly capable of halting that gasoline demand growth, which would reflect bad news in the economy," she said.

The Lundberg Survey sampled prices at about 2,500 gas stations. Of the cities surveyed, the highest average price in the continental United States was in San Diego at $3.87 per gallon. The lowest price was in Billings, Montana, at $3.15.

California has garnered headlines lately for its high gas prices, though the average price in the state remained below $4, at $3.83 per gallon for regular gas. The average California price for premium does break that barrier, at $4.04 per gallon. –CNN Travel 

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Federal Judge Stays Ruling Tossing Out Health Care Reform Law

A federal judge in Florida issued a stay Thursday of his recent ruling that the sweeping health care reform law championed by President Obama is unconstitutional.

Judge Roger Vinson also ordered the administration to expedite an appeal into whether current parts of the law can remain temporarily in effect.

Vinson ruled January 31 that the "individual mandate" -- a key provision requiring most Americans to purchase health insurance or face financial penalties -- was unconstitutional. He then tossed out the entire law.

The Obama administration sought specific guidance, claiming confusion over its mandate to enforce parts of the law now currently being implemented. Some states said they would refuse to recognize the law in the wake of that decision.

"While I believe that my order was as clear and unambiguous as it could be," wrote Vinson, "it is possible that the defendants (the government) may have perhaps been confused or misunderstood its import."

The Justice Department now has one week to file a notice of appeal with the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said the state did not welcome the stay of Vinson's decision, but noted the order will ensure "that there will be no more stalling from the federal government."

"While we are disappointed that the stay was granted, we are satisfied that (the Department of Justice) now has only seven days to file their appeal and seek expedited review or they will lose the stay," Bondi said in a statement issued by her office.

Vinson, a 1983 Reagan appointee, criticized the administration for moving less than swiftly to appeal, and noted the urgency of getting the issue settled with finality, a task he said only one court can accomplish.

"The sooner this issue is finally decided by the Supreme Court, the better off the nation will be," he wrote in his 20-page order. "And yet, it has been more than one month from the entry of my order and still the defendants have not filed their notice of appeal."

The original court ruling was a victory for Florida and 25 states that had challenged the law. Officials from some of those states have since stated they believe they do not have to obey the law any more. The administration, meanwhile, has continued to enforce parts of it.

While the individual mandate would not go into effect for three more years at least, other parts of the health reform law are currently being administered, including small business tax credits, federal grants, and consumer protection measures. The federal government wanted to know whether these provisions can continue while the issue is under appeal, particularly in the 26 states that filed this lawsuit. Oklahoma and Virginia have filed separate legal challenges.

The sweeping law has about 450 individual components.

In a separate move, the U.S. House of Representatives last month voted to bar any federal agency from spending money on implementing the new health care law for the remainder of the current fiscal year. The vote was part of a larger spending cut measure promoted by the Republican majority.

Vinson, while dismissing the health care reform law -- known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act -- did not issue a formal injunction to block either parts of or the entire law from going into effect. But the government never sought an immediate "stay" of his ruling, seeking instead the "clarification," a process that took more than a month to be resolved. Asking for a stay might have limited the federal government's enforcement options.

Vinson in his ruling offered some support for various parts of the health care law. But he concluded that since the minimum coverage provision is invalid, no part of the 2,700-page law could be enforced.

Two federal judges have ruled the health care act to be constitutional, while two others have concluded the opposite. That sets up what is likely to be a Supreme Court showdown, perhaps as early as next year.

The case is State of Florida v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (3:10-cv-91). –CNN U.S. 

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How The Human Penis Lost Its Spines

You've read the headline, and it probably made you giggle. Go ahead. Get it out of your system. Then take a deep breath and consider how evolution affected a few specific body parts, and why.

Humans and chimpanzees share more than 97% of DNA, but there are some fairly obvious differences in appearance, behavior and intellect. Now, scientists are learning more than ever about what makes us uniquely human.

We know that humans have larger brains and, within the brain, a larger angular gyrus, a region associated with abstract concepts. Also, male chimpanzees have smaller penises than humans, and their penises have spines. Not like porcupine needles or anything, but small pointy projections on the surface that basically make the organ bumpy.

Gill Bejerano, a biologist at Stanford University School of Medicine, and colleagues wanted to further investigate why humans and chimpanzees have such differences. They analyzed the genomes of humans and closely related primates and discovered more than 500 regulatory regions -- sequences in the genome responsible for controlling genes -- that chimpanzees and other mammals have, but humans do not. In other words, they are making a list of DNA that has been lost from the human genome during millions of years of evolution. Results from their study are published in the journal Nature.

Think of it like light bulbs and their switches, where the light bulbs are genes and the switches are these controlling DNA sequences. If there's no bulb, the switch can't turn the light on. Now imagine there's one bulb and five switches to turn it on at different times in different places. If you take one of the switches away, the bulb still works in the four other contexts, but not in the fifth.

This study looks at two particular switches. Bejerano and colleagues took the switch information from a chimpanzee's genome and essentially "hooked it up" to a reporter gene, a gene whose effects scientists can track as an organism develops. They injected the reporter gene in a mouse egg to see what the switch would do. –Read more at CNN Health 

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Unrest In The Middle East And Africa -- Country By Country
Demonstrations have spread across a swath of the Middle East and Africa. Here are the latest developments, including the roots of the unrest:

Wednesday's developments:

LIBYA

An opposition figure told CNN that a pilot who had been ordered to bomb oil fields southwest of Benghazi refused to do so and instead ejected from the plane. Citing military sources, the Libyan newspaper Quryna reported that the two people aboard -- the pilot and co-pilot -- parachuted out and that the plane then crashed into an uninhabited area west of Ajdabiya, 160 kilometers (100 miles) southwest of Benghazi.

The Swedish tabloid Expressen reported that Libya's former justice minister has accused Moammar Gadhafi of ordering the 1988 bombing of a jet over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270 people.

Various nations worked to evacuate their citizens for Libya.

Roots of unrest:

Protests in Libya began in January when demonstrators, fed up with delays, broke into a housing project the government was building and occupied it. Gadhafi's government, which has ruled since a 1969 coup, responded with a $24 billion fund for housing and development. A month later, more demonstrations were sparked when police detained relatives of those killed in an alleged 1996 massacre at the Abu Salim prison, according to Human Rights Watch. High unemployment has also fueled the protests.

BAHRAIN

Bahrain has released about 25 high-profile political detainees, following an order by the king to free those he described as "prisoners of conscience" and halt proceedings against others, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights said Wednesday.

Among those released were the prominent blogger and human rights activist Ali Abdulemam, who runs bahrainonline.org; Abdul-Ghani Khanjar, a member of Committee for the Victims of Torture; and Mohammed Saeed, who works with the Bahrain Center for Human Rights.

Roots of unrest:

Protesters initially took to the streets of Manama last week to demand reform and the introduction of a constitutional monarchy. But some are now calling for the removal of the royal family, which has led the Persian Gulf state since the 18th century. Young members of the country's Shiite Muslim majority have staged protests in recent years to complain about discrimination, unemployment and corruption, issues they say the country's Sunni rulers have done little to address. The Bahrain Center for Human Rights said authorities launched a clampdown on dissent in late 2010. It accused the government of torturing some human rights activists.

CAMEROON

Opposition groups in Cameroon are planning "Egypt-like" protests Wednesday to call for the president's ouster after almost three decades in power. Organizers said the protests are planned in Douala and the capital, Yaounde.

Roots of unrest

President Paul Biya, who is running for re-election this year, has led the country for 28 years. "People yearn to see a change in government," said Kah Walla, a protest organizer. Cameroonians sought reforms long before the North Africa uprisings. In 2008, they took to the streets to demand lower food and fuel prices. The protests later grew to include Biya's plan to change the Constitution to lengthen his term.

YEMEN

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh is calling for an end to the protests in that country and said he supports the creation of a national unity government to oversee upcoming parliamentary elections, the state-run news service Saba reported Wednesday.

Undeterred by the attack on their sit-in a day earlier, anti-government protesters gathered at Sanaa University again on Wednesday to demand that Saleh step down.

Roots of unrest:

Protesters have called for the ouster of Saleh, who has ruled Yemen since 1978. The country has been wracked by a Shiite Muslim uprising, a U.S.-aided crackdown on al Qaeda operatives and a looming shortage of water. High unemployment fuels much of the anger among a growing young population steeped in poverty. The protesters also cite government corruption and a lack of political freedom. Saleh has promised not to run for president in the next round of elections.

EGYPT

An Interior Ministry compound in Egypt was burning Wednesday as smoke billowed into the sky over Cairo. Witnesses said the fire was started by protesters upset about labor issues and the blaze could have been ignited by Molotov cocktails.

There have been about 1,300 official complaints against former Egyptian ministers and government officials, state-run media reported Wednesday. Interior Minister Mahmoud Wagdi said he ordered investigations into all the complaints, many of them about government waste and corruption, the state-run EgyNews website said.

Roots of unrest:

Complaints about police corruption and abuses were among the top grievances of demonstrators who forced President Hosni Mubarak from office. Demonstrators were also angry about Mubarak's 30-year rule, a lack of free elections and economic issues such as high food prices, low wages and high unemployment.

Some key recent events related to unrest in the Middle East and Africa:

UNITED NATIONS

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has been in "continuous contact" with regional leaders in Northern Africa and the Middle East. Ban is concerned about the attacks during pro-reform demonstrations, the office said, adding: "This is the time for broad-based dialogue and for genuine social and political reform."

Ban had an "extensive discussion" with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi on Monday, the United Nations said. Ban "expressed deep concern at the escalating scale of violence and emphasized that it must stop immediately," according to the statement.

ALGERIA

Protesters have demanded government reform, prompting authorities to lift a state of emergency imposed in 1992. The rule was used to clamp down on Islamist groups, but critics say the insurgency has long since diminished and the law exists only to muzzle government critics.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced this month that he would soon lift the emergency declaration, a move analysts said was aimed at getting ahead of a protest movement that has grown since January.

Roots of unrest:

Protests began in January over escalating food prices, high unemployment and housing issues. They started in Algiers, but spread to other cities as more people joined and demonstrators toppled regimes in Tunisia and later Egypt. Bouteflika announced that he would lift the state of emergency law in what analysts called an attempt to head off a similar revolt.

DJIBOUTI

Thousands of people have marched in protest through Djibouti. On Friday, riot police charged the crowd after the call to evening prayers, shooting canisters of tear gas at the demonstrators, according to Aly Verjee, director of the international election observation mission to Djibouti, who witnessed the event.

Djibouti is home to Camp Lemonnier, the only U.S. military base on the African continent.

Roots of unrest:

Protesters have called for President Ismail Omar Guelleh -- whose family has ruled the country since its independence from France in 1977 -- to step down ahead of elections scheduled in April. Guelleh has held the post since 1999 and is seeking a third term. Economic stagnation is also a source of anger among the people.

IRAN

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Wednesday urged Middle Eastern leaders to listen to the voices of citizens who have taken to the streets in masses to demand a change in government -- though such protests in his own country have been crushed with brute force since Feb. 14.

In Tehran, thousands of security officers patrolled Revolution Square, at times striking at throngs of protesters with batons and rushing others on motorcycles. Opposition websites reported that security forces opened fire on protesters in Hafteh Tir Square, killing one person. Several were reported injured and detained. In Isfahan, protesters were met with batons and pepper spray in one square, while another peaceful march took place elsewhere under the watch of security agents.

Roots of unrest:

Opposition to the ruling clerics has simmered since the 2009 election, when hundreds of thousands of people filled Tehran streets to denounce the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as fraudulent.

IRAQ

Iraqi activists and a gamut of groups ranging from intellectuals to unemployed workers to widows are preparing for large demonstrations Friday in Tahrir Square in central Baghdad, along with large protests in most of Iraq's provinces.

Demonstrators in Iraq have clashed with Kurdish security forces in Sulaimaniya in northern Iraq. Most of the demonstrators oppose Kurdistan regional president Massoud Barzani and the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party.

Roots of unrest:

Demonstrations in Iraq have usually not targeted the national government. Instead, the protesters are angry over corruption, the quality of basic services, a crumbling infrastructure and high unemployment, particularly on a local level. They want an end to frequent power outages and food shortages.

JORDAN

Protesters in Jordan have called for reforms and for abolishing the peace treaty between Jordan and Israel. On Friday, about 200 people clashed with pro-government demonstrators in Amman. Several people were reported injured. Anti-government protesters who participated in Friday's demonstration included leftists and independent activists demanding political and economic reforms.

Roots of unrest:

Jordan's economy has been hit hard by the global economic downturn and rising commodity prices, and youth unemployment is high, as it is in Egypt. Officials close to the palace have told CNN that King Abdullah II is trying to turn a regional upheaval into an opportunity for reform. He swore in a new government following anti-government protests. The new government has a mandate for political reform and is headed by a former general, with opposition and media figures among its ranks.

KUWAIT

Protesters in Kuwait have clashed with authorities on at least two occasions. Hundreds of protesters are demanding greater rights for longtime residents who are not citizens of the country. They also demanded the release of people arrested in demonstrations. Saturday, the protesters attacked the security forces, who managed to disperse the people and make arrests. The forces used tear gas on the demonstration involving between 200 and 400 protesters.

Roots of unrest:

Protesters are seeking greater rights for longtime residents who are not Kuwaiti citizens, an issue the country has been grappling with for decades. According to the CIA World Factbook, Kuwait has a population of 2.7 million, with 1.3 million resident registered as "non-nationals."

SUDAN

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has decided not to run for another term in 2015, a senior member of Sudan's ruling National Congress Party announced Monday. Al-Bashir has ruled since a military coup in 1989. He won another five-year term in a 2010 vote opposition parties boycotted over complaints of fraud. He also faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in the region of Darfur.

Demonstrators have clashed with authorities on recent occasions in Sudan. Human Rights Watch has said that "authorities used excessive force during largely peaceful protests on January 30 and 31 in Khartoum and other northern cities." Witnesses said several people were arrested, including 20 who remain missing.

Roots of unrest:

Demonstrators seek an end to NCP rule and government-imposed price increases, according to Human Rights Watch. It accuses the government of being heavy-handed in its response to demonstrations, and using pipes, sticks and tear gas to disperse protesters.

SYRIA

As protests heated up around the region, the Syrian government pulled back from a plan to withdraw some subsidies that keep the cost of living down in the country. President Bashar al-Assad also gave a rare interview to Western media, telling The Wall Street Journal last month that he planned reforms that would allow local elections and included a new media law and more power for private organizations. A planned "Day of Rage" that was being organized on Facebook against the al-Assad government failed to materialize, The New York Times reported.

Roots of unrest:

Opponents of the al-Assad government allege massive human rights abuses, and an emergency law has been in effect since 1963.

MOROCCO

Protesters have taken to the streets in cities across Morocco to call for political reform. Labor unions, youth organizations and human rights groups demonstrated in at least six cities on Sunday. Police stayed away from the demonstrations, most of which were peaceful, Human Rights Watch reported.

Roots of unrest

Protesters in Morocco are calling for political reform. Government officials say such protests are not unusual and that the protesters' demands are on the agenda of most political parties.

TUNISIA

An uprising in Tunisia prompted autocratic President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to leave the country on January 14 after weeks of demonstrations. Those demonstrations sparked protests around North Africa and the Middle East.

Roots of unrest:The revolt was triggered when an unemployed college graduate set himself ablaze after police confiscated his fruit cart, cutting off his source of income. Protesters complained about high unemployment, corruption, rising prices and political repression.

PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES

Hundreds of Palestinians rallied for unity in Ramallah Thursday, calling on Hamas, Fatah and other Palestinian political factions to heal their rifts amid arguments over elections scheduled for September in the Palestinian territories. "Division generates corruption" was one of several slogans on banners held up by the demonstrators, who flooded the streets after calls went out on social-networking sites as well as schools and university campuses.

Roots of unrest:

The Palestinian territories have not seen the kind of demonstrations as in many Arab countries, but the Fatah leaders of the Palestinian Authority have been under criticism since Al-Jazeera published secret papers claiming to reveal that Palestinian officials were prepared to make wide-ranging concessions in negotiations with Israel. Negotiations toward a resolution of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict have since collapsed. Palestinian protests, largely in support of Egypt and Tunisia, were generally small and poorly attended, and in some cases the Hamas rulers of Gaza and the Palestinian Authority rulers of the West Bank actively tried to stifle protests. The split between Hamas and Fatah hampers internal change in the territories, although calls for political change are growing louder among Palestinians. Large-scale protests have failed to materialize as many Palestinians believe their problem remains Israel.

PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES

Hundreds of Palestinians rallied for unity in Ramallah Thursday, calling on Hamas, Fatah and other Palestinian political factions to heal their rifts amid arguments over elections scheduled for September in the Palestinian territories. "Division generates corruption" was one of several slogans on banners held up by the demonstrators, who flooded the streets after calls went out on social-networking sites as well as schools and university campuses.

Roots of unrest:

The Palestinian territories have not seen the kind of demonstrations as in many Arab countries, but the Fatah leaders of the Palestinian Authority have been under criticism since Al-Jazeera published secret papers claiming to reveal that Palestinian officials were prepared to make wide-ranging concessions in negotiations with Israel. Negotiations toward a resolution of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict have since collapsed. Palestinian protests, largely in support of Egypt and Tunisia, were generally small and poorly attended, and in some cases the Hamas rulers of Gaza and the Palestinian Authority rulers of the West Bank actively tried to stifle protests. The split between Hamas and Fatah hampers internal change in the territories, although calls for political change are growing louder among Palestinians. Large-scale protests have failed to materialize as many Palestinians believe their problem remains Israel. –CNN World