NPR 2008-06-23

Gasoline prices have risen another ten cents a gallon over the past two weeks to a national average of $4.10 for self-service regular. Industry analyst 1 Trilby Lundberg says, though, that some areas have higher gas prices than others. “Los Angeles, the biggest market, is the highest price---$4.59 per gallon. And at the other end, Tulsa, Oklahoma at $3.76.”

At an emergency energy summit in Saudi Arabia today, there was a sharp difference of opinion about the cause of the run-up in oil prices. Saudi officials blamed speculators, but US and British officials said demand for oil is simply rising faster than supply. Larry Miller 2 has the story.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told the meeting increased production is necessary to ease price uncertainty 3 and volatility 4. He insisted oil producers need to plough some of the petrodollars back into Britain and other countries in alternative energy investments such as wind farms and nuclear power. “This gives oil producers the chance to hedge their future production by investing in the alternative energy sources that will be the bedrock of  future low-carbon economies." US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said demand, especially from China and India, was  growing faster than supply. Bodman warned without action, the situation will remain unsustainable. For NPR News, I’m Larry Miller in London.

The Mississippi River has crested 5 at a number of points north of St. Louis, prompting officials to say the worst of the flooding in the region appears to be over. But in other areas, the water is still rising. Andy Binder 6 with the Lincoln County, Missouri Sheriff`s department says crews are adding more sandbags along the river near the town of Foley, Missouri. "Bringing in a lot of water, it's overtopping, that's concerning us. So, we've sent our missions up there of volunteer firefighters to that area to try to bolster 7 and rise and secure our levees." And NPR's Carrie Kahn says residents in Mark Twain's hometown of Hannibal, Missouri remained on alert. “The earthen levee(s), about half a mile long right at the historic point of the town，is holding. But the river did rise a little bit more than they had expected. But people are just waiting and watching the river, hoping that it will go down and that the levees will hold as this last surge comes through southern Missouri.” NPR’s Carrie Kahn reporting from Hannibal, Missouri.

More than 500 wildfires sparked by lightning are burning across Northern California today. One of the largest blazes has spread over nearly six square miles in the heart of the state’s Wine Country. Wayne Connor with the California Department of Forestry 8 and Fire Protection says fire crews are using aircraft in battling that blaze. "We’ve activated 9 a DC-10, which is our flagship tanker 10. It dropped 12,000 gallons of retardant to the town." Connor says firefighters are having to cope with the sweltering heat and rugged 11 terrain 12 as they try to contain the wildfires.

This is NPR news.

Zimbabwe's opposition 13 leader Morgan Tsvangirai is pulling out of this week's presidential run-off election because he says his supporters would face the possibility of being killed by government troops if they voted for him. The US and Britain are pushing to have the UN Security Council discuss the situation in Zimbabwe.

Some three hundred Anglican bishops 15 are meeting in Jerusalem this week to map out a future path for conservative Anglicans. The meeting could mark a major step toward splitting from the worldwide Anglican Communion. NPR's Barbara Bradley Hagerty has the story.

After the United States consecrated 16 an openly gay man, Gene 17 Robinson, to be bishop 14 of New Hampshire five years ago, the Communion has been fraying 18 at the edges. The conservatives say they are weary of fighting over homosexuality and the authority of the Bible. And so, the Bishops who come from  Africa, Asia and Latin America will be meeting in Jerusalem to plot strategy. They represent about two-thirds of the practising Anglicans worldwide , which is why some consider the planning session to be a concrete step toward breaking away. On top of that, the bishops of Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda are boycotting 19 the so called “Lambeth Conference”. Every ten years, Anglican bishops from around the world  meet in England to set loose policy on issues of  faith, things like gay clergy 20 and blessing 21 same-sex unions. Barbara Bradley Hagerty, NPR News.

An online charity auction 22 gets underway this evening for the right to have lunch with famed investor 23 and Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffet 24. The auction benefits the Glide 25 Foundation, which provides social services to the poor and homeless in San Francisco. The bidding on eBay starts at $25,000. Last year, two investors 26 paid a total of just over $650,000 for lunch with Buffet.