increase in rockets launched against the green zone where the embassies are located. and, constant assassination attempts on top of that, all in all, not a great picture, bill? what about these contractors in iraq and what kind of forms of abuse are in the report? overcharging the government as you said, the report singles out one company, based in northern virginia and the subcontractors, the report says the government was charged $900 for a control switch, valued at $7.05. and $75 for a piece of plumbing equipment, valued at $1.41. and, $4500 for a circuit breaker that you could buy for $183.30. and, there has been no official response to the charges from the company and, susan collins, senator from maine, weighed in on this saying the state department refused to provide documentation to help the inspector general in its investigation and she calls all of this absolutely unacceptable. bill? indeed.
constant assassination attempts. the report claims government contractors have bilked u.s. taxpayers. the government was charged $900 by a contractor named anhenllv for a control switch valued at $7. $80 for a piece of equipment valled at $1.41. and $40 for a circuit breaker you and i could buy for $8. the contractor says the charges are false and without legal or federal justification. senator susan colins of maine says the state department has refused to provide documents to help the inspector general s investigation and calls the situation absolutely unacceptable. shannon: two american hikers charged with spying on iran will not be released today but you will soon learn their fate. the trial wrapped up in tehran today, two years exactly since the day they were arrested.
this is getting ridiculous. reporter: down the road, with the national average expected to hit $4 a gallon, in are rethinking driving. i could stand to lose a few pounds. so maybe i could walk a little bit more. reporter: the pinch at the pump, painful at in senior resource outside denver. free rides for the elderly so they can see a doctor or get food could be in jeopardy. the gas budget here is running on empty. there is a limit to what we can do and as a last resort, it would be a matter of scaling back. reporter: americans scaling back as gas prices continue to climb. the cheapest gas in the country, tucson, arizona, $3.41 a gallon. that would be a bargain here and just about anywhere else in the country. contessa? miguel almaguer, thank you. former massachusetts governor mitt romney is taking a formal step toward a 2012 presidential run. yesterday, he announced he s forming a exploratory committee.
may not be a whole lot better. the average nationwide price of se self-serve gas has topped $3.50. it s risen at a break-neck pace. almost 34 senlts in two weeks according to aaa. that s the fastest, highest increase since right after hurricane katrina. if this rate keeps up, not that it necessarily will, we will set a new record for the price of gasoline inside of a month from now. the highest average gas price to date is $4.11. you can see it there in the middle of the charge. $4.11, that was july of 2008. remember, averages are made from extremes, which means that the $3.51 average looks pretty good right now to our friends in san diego. they re looking at about $3.92 a gallon. seattle is $3.65, $3.71 in chicago, houston $3.38, $3.47 in boston, $3.41 in atlanta.
barbara, california, where drivers are forking over $3.41 a gallon. for some it s crossed the threshold where we begin to make sacrifices elsewhere. well, maybe i don t go out tonight because i have to spend money on gas. reporter: some experts are comparing today s prices to hies elly 1 oy s prices to gasoline by the end of 2012, which they also fear could trigger another recession. all food that s delivered by truck, by plane, by train becomes more expensive. reporter: and then they re the question of egypt. oil industry speculators notoriously hate uncertainty, so instability in egypt, which controls the suez canal, isn t helping. some analysts believe we could be looking at $5 a gallon gasoline by the end of 2012, which they also fear could trigger another recession. rob and vinita? an investigation is already under way following a huge fire at a petroleum plant outside of