Oil, Gas Prices Rising But U.S. Keeps Pedal to Metal

Oil closed at a record high above $75 a barrel Wednesday on strong U.S. demand and ongoing tensions over Iran’s nuclear program…

Gasoline futures rose on forecasts that U.S. demand increased last week ahead of the Independence Day holiday weekend…

European motorists have adjusted their habits as prices soar, however…”The large European countries, for the first half of this year, the consumption of motor fuels has declined,” [one expert said].

Oil also rose as geopolitical tension heightened after North Korea, labeled by President George W. Bush as part of an “axis of evil,” launched a series of missiles into the Japan Sea.

Law Does Not Apply to Rush Limbaugh

Rush Limbaugh will not face charges in Palm Beach County for the bottle of Viagra found in his luggage that appeared to have been prescribed to someone else, prosecutors said Wednesday…

Charges in the Viagra case could have nullified a deal Limbaugh reached with prosecutors last month in which a single “doctor shopping” charge was deferred for 18 months, so long as Limbaugh does not get arrested for any reason.

Black Republicans Could Find Recruiting Tougher

African-Americans’ share of U.S. national income has narrowed in recent years as a weak job market helped unwind earlier strides, according to a report published on Wednesday.

A black family’s median income was 62 percent of the earnings of their white counterparts, down from 63.5 percent in 2000, the Economic Policy Institute said.

“The racial gap widened by 2004 as a result of the recession and the jobless recovery that followed,” said Jared Bernstein, economist at the Washington think-tank.