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CARL AZUZ: Hi, I'm Carl Azuz.
We're glad you're hanging ten with us today.
In the stock market, crude oil is sold by the barrel.
One barrel contains 42 gallons of oil,
and the price of oil per barrel just hit $95 on Monday.
It was the first time, in eight years, it was that expensive.
And this is expected to have ripple effects
that drive up prices across many of the things we buy.
Crude oil prices are the biggest factor in the cost of gasoline.
You hear a lot about electric cars,
but they only account for a small percentage, less than 5%
of the US car market.
The vast majority of vehicles depend
on gasoline to get around.
And when those prices go up, it becomes more expensive,
both to drive and to transport the goods and groceries we use.
Rising oil prices are also associated
with rising inflation the overall increase in costs
was at 7 and 1/2% last month, over January 20, 2001,
and that was inflation's highest level since 1982.
So things could get worse there as well.
Why is this happening?
One big reason is uncertainty about the situation
in Ukraine, which we discussed on yesterday's show.
On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
said Russia was expected to attack
his country on February 16.
But after that, one of his advisors
said, he spoke, quote, "with irony," so questions there.
Either way, though, the United States
announced it was closing its embassy in
the Ukrainian capital of Kiev.
The American Stock market fell while oil prices climbed.
And what remains to be seen is whether things
will stay that way or normalize in the days ahead.
- Add gas prices to the list of surging costs
weighing on Americans' wallets.
- The price has been a little bit more each time.
- The national average now around 3.44 a gallon,
up more than $1 from a year ago, and the highest since 2014.
And it's only getting worse, approaching
the record national average of $4.11.
Do you think we could hit that record in the months ahead?
- I think we have a very good chance.
- It's an issue of supply and demand,
dating back to the start of COVID.
Just look at this roller coaster chart of US gas prices
over time.
In March 2020, prices plummeted.
Americans weren't on the road.
Oil producers, including OPEC, cut back
on investments and operations.
They had nowhere to store extra oil.
HELIMA CROFT: They laid off employees.
They didn't work their rigs.
- Demand for fuel skyrocketed more than experts expected,
and the oil industry didn't have the supply.
They're still playing catch up.
MIKE SOMMERS: You can't just turn on a spigot.
These are long cycle projects.
- So gas prices have been surging
for 14 months, only briefly dipping during Omicron.
Demand is back at pre-pandemic levels.
Even AAA can't explain that.
ANDREW GROSS: They're trying to figure it out right now.
- And the conflict on the Ukrainian border
is adding a new strain.
Russia is the world's second largest oil producer.
If the crisis escalates, JPMorgan says oil prices could
soar from $91 a barrel to 120.
HELIMA CROFT: If we were to see Russia potentially withhold
energy exports, the question would
be, who could make up for that?
JOE BIDEN: I'm going to work like the devil
to bring gas prices down.
- It's a huge political problem for the Biden administration,
which says it's now engaging with oil producing countries
to increase production, preparing to go after firms
that manipulate prices, and considering
dipping back into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
In November, they announced the release of 50 million barrels
from that supply.
PATRICK DE HAAN: That it resulted in very little--
more like negligible impact.
HELIMA CROFT: At this price point,
you'll start to see more production come back,
but there's still a gap that needs to be filled.
- But as of now, oil prices are expected
to keep rising for months, adding fuel to inflation
on everything from groceries to store goods,
and driving price hikes at the pump.
- It's not just my car.
Every single aspect of my life is impacted by gas prices.
CARL AZUZ: 10-second trivia.
What nation, whose capital is Muscat, borders Saudi
Arabia and the Arabian sea--
Oman, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, or Yemen?
Oman, a nation of 3.6 million, is a monarchy
bordering the Arabian Sea.
Rugged mountains rise in the northern and southern parts
of Oman, according to the US Central Intelligence Agency,
and that's where most of the population lives.
The middle part of the country, which is hot and dry,
is sparsely populated.
But with such varied topography, mountains, plains, cliffs,
and coasts, Oman is a nation rich in biodiversity,
and that's why a professor from another continent
entirely is working in Oman to conserve its natural features.
ERIKA CUELLAR SOTO: When you start working in arid lands,
the first thing you imagine is emptiness.
But you would be amazed of the diversity hidden.
My name is Erika Cuellar Soto.
I am originally from Bolivia, but I am here in Oman,
working as a professor, teaching conservation, desert
biology, and biodiversity.
So together with mangrove, we have a species like this,
and they depend on the mangrove formation.
I am here at the Sultan Qaboos University.
I have students from different parts of the country.
And for me, this is very strategic
because when they finish the university,
they are fresh biologists, and they will go back
to their areas in the country.
We are developing a very, very interesting
cooperation with the Natural History Museum in Muscat.
We are developing projects with the students
in order to contribute with samples for the museum
to represent the diversity of the country.
Oh, it's beautiful Look at this.
Here, as you may see--
Young generations are very interested in technology,
so it's a challenge for me to just attract them to see
the nature in a different way.
What is the difference?
We just want to take a sample of this, OK?
We want to see if it's sediment or oil.
They are mainly desert people.
To be inside the forest, it's so refreshing.
It's so different to what they used to see.
Have you been in another place like this?
You would be in love when you go inside the mangrove.
I take the students to different environments,
and mangroves are something that really attracts them.
Conservation in the Middle East is important
as in any place in the world.
We are facing a very difficult time in terms
of health of our planet.
I am hopeful, but at the same time,
I want them to be realistic.
I want them to understand that we
need to invest in gaining knowledge
and advancing in science.
I believe that this region deserves attention.
It's a very rich area, and we shouldn't ignore it.
And we shouldn't ignore any arid lands.
CARL AZUZ: Most pilots will generally
tell you that a helicopter is harder to fly than an airplane.
So would you let a computer do it?
This is the inside of a military Black Hawk helicopter.
As you can see, it has two pilots available,
but they ain't flying it.
This chopper is getting ready to fly itself.
And this is apparently the first time that's ever happened.
The first autonomous Blackhawk flight reportedly went well.
It took off, avoided an obstacle, and landed.
And while the pilots were there to monitor it,
they did not actively control it.
The technology to do this was designed by the Lockheed
Martin Aerospace Company.
It was added to an existing helicopter, not one that was
redesigned from the ground up.
The US military says it's looking
at using this autonomous technology in the future.
Mischa the tiger apparently knew all along that the LA
Rams would win the Super Bowl.
Oh, you think she would have picked the Cincinnati Bengals,
but Mischa herself is not a Bengal.
She's an Amour or Siberian Tiger,
and she went against her own family.
When we say that, we mean she licked the glass
under the Rams logo instead of the Bengals one,
even though they had the same scent.
The animals that this Iowa zoo have reportedly picked
the winner 8 out of 11 games.
But would she have done the same thing for the Panthers
or the Jaguars?
Then, you could say cats got her tongue.
And in the circus of NFL mascots,
she could pick from Lions or Bengals or Bears.
Oh, my.
So will she be quick to lick, pick, or make
stick to 2023 game winner?
That could depend on who has the purrfect season, who
has the best claws to win, who's the stalk of the town,
and whether Mishca's Super Bowl is filled with meat.
I'm Carl Azuz.
Today's shoutout takes us to Romeoville, Illinois,
where we are thrilled to see the students
of Romeoville High School.
Come on back tomorrow for more CNN.