according to triple-a the average price for gallon of regular unleaded gas in california is $3.88. in the bay area, prices in oakland are $3.86. san jose, is $3.87. san francisco drivers paying $3.97. >>> fewer people bought new homes last month. the latest sign that the struggling housing market is resisting rebound. they say new home sales fell 2% in pay. housing remains the weakest part of the economy. sales of new home have fallen 18% in two years since recession ended. >>> still ahead, an old school criminal is finally caught. federal agents use at new strategy to catch a former mob boss who was on the run for 16 years. >> the popular plan to run bart trains later on a friday night raises some new problems. honey...? [ mom ] yes. honey, i can't find my internet cord. oh, i'll borrow hailey's. you're downloading movies. fast! from here? where is her cord?! we switched to at&t high speed internet and got wireless access. no more cords. wireless, okay, honestly, can i just get a cord, please? dad, the cord's invisible. [ female announcer ] call at&t today to get high speed intern

according to triple-a the average price for gallon of regular unleaded gas in california is $3.88. in the bay area, prices in oakland are $3.86. san jose, is $3.87. san francisco drivers paying $3.97. >>> fewer people bought new homes last month. the latest sign that the struggling housing market is resisting rebound. they say new home sales fell 2% in pay. housing remains the weakest part of the economy. sales of new home have fallen 18% in two years since recession ended. >>> still ahead, an old school criminal is finally caught. federal agents use at new strategy to catch a former mob boss who was on the run for 16 years. >> the popular plan to run bart trains later on a friday night raises some new problems.  >>> one of the f.b.i. most wanted criminals will make a court appearance today after a tip led to capture of whitey bulger. the 81-year-old had been on the run since 1990s. many thought he would never be found but monday authorities launched a new tactic. they focussed attention on his long-time girlfriend kathryn. it worked. yesterday a tip came in

the national average of unleaded has already dropped from $3.98 on may 4, to $3.62 a gallon today. now experts say the price could drop another 10 to 15 cents a gallon, giving more money back to consumers and businesses. by releasing 2 million barrels a day for 30 days and suggesting it could do so again and again, one effect has been to drive speculators out of the market. speculate fors of course who helped drive up the price of oil. >> this was a head turner today, for more on what went into it, we go to david gregory moderator of "meet the press" from our washington bureau. the war, katrina, they were emergencies, back when they said they were going to do this because of the economy, they didn't. you have been asking about this on "meet the press" and then comes word today. >> the president back in march said this is on the table but we don't think it's enough of a disruption. now they're saying quite the opposite. i talked to white house officials today, they're saying, you're talking katrina, you're talking about three times more of a disruption in terms of the oil market bec

the national average price for regular unleaded is $3.58 a gallon.hat's down seven cents from a week ago. but it's still 83 cents a gallon higher than it was this time last year. high gas prices are just one challenge we're living with in these difficult economic times. but for one town, the greagr ecession and lackluster rebound have led to the end of the line. the town of empire, nevada, in the remote nevada desert no longer exists becau the company that created it in 1923 has left.ec here's nbc's mary thompson. >> reporter: 100 miles northeast of reno, the newest addition to empire, nevada, is a three-mile fence surrounding its 130 acres. the fence will keep out cattle and squatters who might wander into this modern day ghost town. a town that lost its 350 residents when its drywall plant shut down. >> we've got the weeds in the lawns to take care of. >> reporter: lonnie dike is a plant manager for drywall manufacturer, usg. the company that owns empire. >> there were a lot of emotional outbursts when it happened. you know, it's a frustrating thin

we have 4.02 for unleaded .hat is 30 cents per gallon less than a month ago. >> if you are headed to the beach, you may have new help in against the sun rays. there are new labeling rules to show how much protection you are getting. sunscreens that protect against skin cancer must prove they shield against ultraviolet a and b and otherwise they only prevent sunburn. fda said more than 68,000 people in the u.s. were diagnosed with mela noma. >> and sunscreens will not be identified as sun block. we don't want to give the protection that complete sun protection is provided. they cannot make chames of protection for more than two hours without giving approval for that claim. >> new labels must be on all sunscreens. but manufacturers can use them immediately if they so wish. >> if you are overweight and do you make more money or less than thinner co-workers. it depends on your gender. the study said for women, the skinnier you are more money you make. but for men, it is the opposite. they earned more than 16,000 or

. >> reporter: the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded is $3.93.drivers say it is too high. >> i am tired of paying a lot for gas. >> reporter: president barack obama authorized the release of 30 million barrels of oil from the oil reserve in concert with 60 million more barrels to be released from foreign government over the next month. the move comes in the wake of the turmoil in libya that kept more than a million barrels a day off of the market. democrats applaud the president's move reducing oil speculation and keep the prices in check. >> i am very pleased the president has taken this action. >> reporter: on the roads, drivers opinions were mixed. angela powell says higher gas prices are making it harder for her to go out on job interviews. >> $60 a week. yes. >> can you afford $60? >> no. i am unemployed right now. [ laughter ] >> reporter: he says his vintage rv gets 9 miles to the gallon. he welcomes the lower gas prices he is as it may not have been the wisest way. >> i did get the sense that prices were going down already. i am not sure

know, i think it's due to higher -- the surge in oil prices, i think $4 for a gallon of regular unleaded is pretty scary for people. and i think they saw that in early may, and that makes them nervous. the japanese quake effects on the u.s. manufacturing sector, which has been very important to job creation in the last year i think have been important. and the recent house price declines. more foreclosed property or going to distressed sell, and that's pushing downward pressure on house prices. all those things have come together to weigh on growth. more or less, those are temporary factors, and i think the economy will start to gain traction again as we make our way to the fall. >> housing numbers we got out this week still not pointing to any kind of a recovery to speak of here. i guess if you don't have job growth, you're not going to have a housing recovery, right? >> yeah. and the key problem at the moment the mountain of foreclosed property. by my data, there are roughly -- a little over three million first mortgage loans that are in foreclosure or are pretty close. they're now goi

regular unleaded could fall to $3.40 a gallon. because of decision to tap in reserves.sts say the drop may be short-lived because of unrest in the middle east. at the new york stock exchange, i'm jane king with the bloomberg business report. >>> authorities say a south san francisco man who took a woman's dog from the arms last week will not be prosecuted because the dog belonged to a man at one point. an investigation revealed that the dog was the man's lost pet from a year ago. it had turned up in an animal shelter where cynthia adopted it and nursed it to health. the man will have to pursue a zil case to -- civil case to reclaim the dog. san francisco d.a. will refile hate crime in two suspects in an attack against a transgender woman. it happened april 1. two men are accused of robbing the victim of her cell phone and then after learning of the victim's sexual orientation, viciously attacking her. according to gascon, the suspects made homophobic remarks during and after the attack. >> we believe that we have shown if it was not involving a transgender woman, we bel

prices at the pump have dipped slightly over the past two week, a new industry survey shows regular unleaded.63 a gallon, nation wide which is down about 11 cents, i know that california is a little higher, though. analysts say that prices could drop even more as the u.s. and other countries release oil from their emergency reserves. and volkswagen says hey, leave the driving to us. seriously. the automaker debut add new feature that lets vehicles drive themselves at speeds up to 80 miles an hour in the city on the highway, it says it can use both. it uses sensors, laser scanners, video cameras and electronic horizon that lets the vehicle react. real time to road condition, even passing cars on the highway. unlike google driverless car it says it is production ready. i don't know if i want to be the if irs one to test it. >> you and me both. yes. i absolutely. too scary. >> you can kind of like, you know channel your inner night rider. it's not a musttang. for those fans out there. >> nicole, thank you very much. the streets of san francisco look different from what they did over the weekend

. >> reporter: the price for regular unleaded at this redwood city shell station, just 3.71 a gallon.a lot. i'm used to paying 4 or 4.25 off marsh road. >> reporter: david larr is a student and has a job. that means a lot of driving around the peninsula. he says a drop of 54 cents per gallon in the last month has helped his and a lot of other drivers' bottom lines. >> people are happy that they're going down. i am especially. >> reporter: aaa of northern california says a number of factors have come into play including a strengthening dollar which has speculators buying less oil. the price of oil per barrel hovers around $93. drivers are exerting their force driving less sending a message to speculators and sending prices down. to that their buying behavior is perceived impacts on supply and demand. >> reporter: the good news should continue the next few weeks. aaa is predicting gas prices should continue to creep down at least in the near term. even though drivers are getting some relief at the pump we are still paying about 80 cents more per gallon than this time last year. >>> the

. >> reporter: the price for regular unleaded at this redwood city shell station, just 3.71 a gallon.it's going down a lot. i'm used to paying 4 or 4.25 off marsh road. >> reporter: david larr is a student and has a job. that means a lot of driving around the peninsula. he says a drop of 54 cents per gallon in the last month has helped his and a lot of other drivers' bottom lines. >> people are happy that they're going down. i am especially. >> reporter: aaa of northern california says a number of factors have come into play including a strengthening dollar which has speculators buying less oil. the price of oil per barrel hovers around $93. drivers are exerting their force driving less sending a message to speculators and sending prices down. to that their buying behavior is perceived impacts on supply and demand. >> reporter: the good news should continue the next few weeks. aaa is predicting gas prices should continue to creep down at least in the near term. even though drivers are getting some relief at the pump we are still paying about 80 cents more per gallon than this time las

reports the gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is $3.76.stomer comes first or the customer is always right. nowadays it seems more like your call is very important to us, please continue to hold. a new study by "consumer reports" shows americans are growing more frustrated with poor customer service. 64% of us walking out of stores because we can't get help. and two thirds of us hanging up on companies because we can't get in touch with real humans. that's our biggest complaint. followed by rude sales persons. too many steps to go through on the phone. a long holding time. and unhelpful solution once we do get ahold of any company representative. the survey also rated the best and worst of each type of store. rating dillards department store as having the best customer service for big box stores. k-mart, sam's club and wal-mart tied for the worst. u.s. cellular rates the most helpful phone company. at&t is the least helpful. southwest airlines took home top honors in that category with u.s. airways rated the worst. apple beats everyone in t

according to aaa the current national average for a gallon of regular unleaded dropped to $3.70. >>> morning" will be back after a quick break. we're going to be talking with 2012 presidential candidate, former senator rick santorum. continue to go down. down the hill? man: all right. we were actually thinking, maybe... we're going to hike up here, so we'll catch up with you guys. [ indistinct talking and laughter ] whew! i think it's worth it. working with a partner you can trust is always a good decision. massmutual. let our financial professionals help you reach your goals. >>> good monday morning. we're crossing the half hour. >>> there are new compromising photos of new york congressman anthony weiner over the weekend. tmz publishing these pictures taken by weiner of himself shirtless in the house gym and allegedly sent to an unidentified woman. democratic leaders want him to resign, the calls growing over the weekend. weiner says he will not. he has requested a leave of absence to he get professional help. >>> a series of thfrp hit near christchurch, new zealand. more than 180

this morning, the national average for a price of unleaded gasoline if you fill it yourself $3.77.at decline is good for the economy. and finally home sales that's what started the bad news last week, there hasn't been much reason for optimism here but look a little deeper and there is a glimmer of hope. take a look at this graph and this is based on data compiled by lps applied an lytics. this is the number of delinquencies for homes. it shows a 16% drop in the last year in the number of home loans that are at least one month past due. a decrease. seriously delinquent loans, those that are 90 days overdue or already in foreclosure, those are down 11% over the last year. you combine the decrease in delinquencies in foreclosures with low home prices and record low mortgage rates and this continues to be an ideal time in some parts of the country to buy a house. >>> seven republican presidential hopefuls are ready to go head to head in new hampshire in a live nationally televised debate. it's a week from tonight right here on cnn. but it's one potential candidate who hasn't even decl

keep in mind -- gasoline, the average gallon of unleaded gasoline had reached a point awhile back in spring of $3.98 per gallon. now, it is down more like $3.70 per gallon. it is good. it is a nice start, but remember -- it is $1 per gallon more than last year at this time. even though the recent trend has been good, people are still really hurting. it is kind of funny when the labor department puts out these cpi numbers. there is something they call the core inflation that excludes volatile prices like food and energy. that rate is not so bad. it is showing up as 1.5%. most people are buying gasolines and groceries. when you put in the food and kill, the anticipation of the kill rate is 3.6%. things that people really by and feel and that it impacts their lives is what it costs to get groceries and put gas in the tank. psychologically, it is hard on consumers when they see how much more they are spending. what we saw yesterday -- there was some clapping in retail sales. people are putting money into their gas tanks instead of going to the store to buy bank close -- to buy clothing.