WORLD

Gas prices have risen to above $4 per gallon in many parts of the United States, sending economists into a tizzy about its impact on consumer spending, consumer confidence and the effects it will have on the housing market.

Following a tightening of sanctions by U.S. and international institutions meant to hurt the ruling coalition there, the Iranian economy is feeling the bite. While reporting by Western news agencies is severely curtailed in the country, and official government statistics on economic growth are widely believed to be fictional, anecdotal reports from sources inside Iran talk of a populace that is financially strained and very worried.

Shirley Sherrod, the U.S. Agriculture Departure official who was forced to leave her job after an edited video of remarks she made to the NAACP that was posted by conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart that painted her as racist, took the high road Thursday after learning of Breitbart's death.

Andrew Breitbart's cause of death was likely a heart attack, as the conservative journalist said he had a history of cardiac problems, according to a friend.

Iran, faced with global trade embargoes and a possible attack by Israel on its nuclear installations, has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.S. economy is strengthening, but its long-term sustainability is questionable, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart said Thursday .

Thursday's statement marks the first by the Security Council relating to Syria in seven months, after previous efforts were blocked by Russia and China.

The First Dog, Bo Obama, of President Barack Obama starred in the video for the White House's Easter Egg Roll ticket lottery wearing floppy pink and white bunny ears.

Despite international pressure against the deal, Pakistan said it would honor a 2010 agreement to build a natural gas pipeline that will eventually send 8.7 billion cubic meters of Iranian gas to Pakistan annually.

Now that Breitbart is dead, what happens to the lawsuit?

For several months, the Iranian people have been living under economic hardship brought on by sanctions imposed by the U.S. and European Union over their government's nuclear energy program, which some believe is a cover for producing nuclear weapons. The sanctions, designed to prevent money-laundering that could fund nuclear research and development, have hampered the country's foreign trade and frozen Iranian firms out of the global banking system.

Orson Bean, Andrew Breitbart's father-in-law, has said that Andrew Breitbart's unexpected death on Thursday looks like a heart attack.

Charles and David Koch, wealthy conservative advocates, want greater stake in The Cato Institute, a renowned libertarian think tank.

Greece has taken all the legal action needed to secure a second bailout from the euro zone countries, Eurogroup Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker said on Thursday, and ministers are now waiting for the completion of the private second bond swap.

Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD), the No. 2 maker of microprocessors, said it plans to acquire SeaMicro, a private developer of low-power microservers, for $334 million.

The 16 American pro-democracy workers in Egypt, including the son of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, flew home on Thursday.

North Korea has agreed with the United States to suspend major elements of its atomic weapons programme in a surprise breakthrough that could pave the way for the resumption of long-stalled nuclear disarmament talks with the secretive state.

Military options tabled by the Joint Chiefs of Staff range from supplying the Israeli Air Force with tankers for mid-air refueling, to using the Air Force's 30,000 pound bunker-buster bombs to penetrate fortifications at Iran's Fordo uranium-enrichment facility.

The Republican presidential primary could grind on for months before the GOP anoints a candidate, but the Obama re-election campaign is not standing idly by.

Elderly Wade, 85, gained 34.8 percent of the vote, failing to secure an outright majority in Sunday's presidential elections

Russia, along with China, has stymied efforts by the West and the United Nations to condemn violence perpetrated by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, a longtime Moscow ally.

Chevron executives met this week with Russian government representatives about possible oil exploration by the U.S. company in Russia's Arctic.

Turkey is maintaining the façade of good relations with Iran, while a larger power struggle for domination of the Middle East is brewing between Ankara and Tehran

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly does not want to force a repeal vote before the November elections in order to boost the re-election chances of Senate Republicans.

China and Russia, who have presented themselves as stubborn holdouts against the United States and the rest of the world on international diplomatic issues (most recently sanctions against the murderous Syrian government), have reportedly welcomed the news that North Korea will be halting its nuclear weapons testing and development programs.

The Los Angeles Coroner said via exclusive e-mail Thursday that a toxicology report may be necessary to determine conservative journalist Andrew Breitbart's cause of death.

Another 26 states and the District of Columbia have requested a federal waiver from parts of the No Child Left Behind law, bringing the total number of exemption-seekers to 38 and underscoring the widespread view that the landmark 2001 education overhaul has been a failure.

Democrats have made deceit and dishonesty in government a science. They are excellent practitioners of vile, wicked behavior. My biggest concern for America is that they very rarely pay any political prices for their misdeeds.

India's exporters have begun receiving the first rupee payments from Iran, Indian government and trade sources said on Thursday, kicking off a mechanism to skirt Western sanctions which have made doing business with Tehran tougher.