And Now the News with Kandy Korrespondent.

As the average price of gas rose to $3.80 nationally, Congress made further attempts to placate their angry constituents. Also on Tuesday, the House of Representatives approved legislation that will allow the Department of Justice to sue the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for conspiring to restrict supplies and/or drive up prices. It goes without saying that such legislation is mainly symbolic. Even if the DOJ were to sue OPEC, there would be no way to enforce any ruling upon the countries.

On Wednesday, with oil at a record-breaking $134/barrel, congress summoned oil executives to the Hill and demanded answers.

The executives responded that they were doing all they could to aid renewable energy and help the country through the current crisis.

It should be noted that, ConocoPillips executive John Lowe received cash compensation of $5.7 million in 2007. Peter Robertson of Chevron received $14.2 million. Exxon Mobil exec Stephen Simon received $12.5 million. Yet, as Robertson stated, “I’m a regular person.”

Robertson also argued that, “We’re investing all we can”. The House committee on global warming distributed a report during the meeting which stated quite the opposite.

Last year, Exxon Mobil made $40 billion in profit repurchased $31.8 billion in stock, gave out $7.6 billion in stock dividends, paid its top five executives a total of $76 million and then invested $10 million in renewable energy.
For more info check out Dana Milbank’s story in the Washington Post.

In Other News:

According to a Human Rights Watch paper released this past Wednesday, as of May 12th, the US military is detaining 513 Iraqi children as “imperative threats to security.” Since the beginning of the war in 2003, 2,400 children have been detained, some as young as 10 years old. According to HRW, the military is denying the children due process.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon is touring Myanmar this weekin an effort to personally lobby the military junta government to allow more international aid into the country. On Wednesday the government refused to allow aid to be delivered by the American, British and French navel vessels waiting offshore. The leader of the junta, Senior General Than Shwe has refused to take the Secretary General’s calls. The official death toll from Cyclone Nargis has now reached 78,000 with nearly 56,000 still missing.

Also this past week, a federal appeals court ruled that the United States discriminates against the blind because it’s paper currency is the same size and texture regardless of the bill’s value. Judge Judith W. Rogers stated in her opinion that,

“A large majority of other currency systems have accommodated the visually impaired, and the secretary does not explain why U.S. currency should be any different.”

The government has 90 days to send the case to the Supreme Court for review.

And Now for Something Completely Different

An African parrot has been returned to his family in Nagareyama, Japan after going missing two weeks ago. Yosuke the parrot did exactly what one should do when one is lost—tell the authorities your name and full address. He also added in a few songs for good measures.

That’s the News! See you Monday!