Remember that airline commercial that asks “Want to get away?” from those embarrassing moments in life? In the Internet age, there is no getting away when somebody comes up with a truly dumb, ridiculous or just plain bad idea.
Oil hits $110 per barrel
1| Rumors of a pipeline blast
The details: Crude oil prices hit $110 per barrel this week after a report on Iranian TV that a pipeline in Saudi Arabia had exploded. A Saudi government official denied the report.
India weakens Iranian sanctions
2| Keeps importing Iranian oil
The details: India, Iran’s second-largest oil importer, is resisting international calls to stop importing Iranian oil in keeping with the financial sanctions designed to convince Iran to end its nuclear program.
Real inflation
3| It’s worse than you think
The details: A new study by the American Institute for Economic Research finds that despite low official inflation number of 3.1 percent, the daily staples of American life became pricier by a shocking 8 percent over the last year. The official numbers ignore gas prices and are skewed by large purchases.
The next Solyndra?
4| Abound Solar lays of 280
The details: Abound Solar, financed in part through a $400 million loan guarantee from the Department of Energy and by a major Democratic donor, announced the layoffs of 280 employees while the company retools a Colorado factory.
Obama not trying to lower gas prices
5| Energy secretary explains policy goal
The Details: Energy Secretary Steven Chu said, “No,” President Obama’s energy policy goal is not to lower gas prices. “No, the overall goal is to decrease our dependency on oil, to build and strengthen our economy,” Chu told Congress this week.
Transit crime
6| Metro more dangerous than most
The details: Metro passengers have a higher chance of becoming crime victims than their counterparts in most big cities, including New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Los Angeles.
One City, one bill
7| Taxpayers pay for summit
The details: Although D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray initially said that most of the costs of his Feb. 11 One City Summit would be covered by donations, only $51,000 was raised from private donors. Taxpayers had to pick up the rest of the tab: $556,603.79.
Millionaire’s tax
8| If at first you don’t succeed …
The details: Maryland’s last “millionaire’s tax” resulted in less revenue as high-income earners fled the state. Undaunted, more than two dozen Democratic legislators are proposing another state income tax hike on Maryland’s remaining millionaires.
Algebra-challenged
9| Math scores plunge in Va.
The details: Only 49.2 percent of Virginia students who took the Algebra I Standards of Learning test passed it last fall, compared with 84.1 percent in 2010. State officials blame the dramatic drop in scores on a more challenging test.
Gov. Whatsisname
10| Obama forgets O’Malley’s first name
The details: Although the chairman of the Democratic Governors Association has been to White House dinners half a dozen times, President Obama still couldn’t remember the first name of Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, whom he mistakenly referred to as “Jack.”
