TDOT will Halt Construction to Ease Traffic on July 4th

Road construction

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) will halt all construction on July 4th to ease traffic for travelers during Independence Day.

“With so many people traveling on and around the Fourth of July, we want to do all we can to ensure they reach their destinations safely and without necessary delays,” said Deputy Governor and TDOT Commissioner Butch Eley in a news release. “We are doing so by suspending lane closures during this busy holiday travel time. Be mindful that our HELP Trucks will be on patrol and drivers must obey the law by moving over and slowing down for all emergency vehicles on the side of the road.”

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Elevated Gas Prices Poised to Rise More This Summer

Pumping Gas

Gas prices have been elevated in recent months heading into summer, when prices are expected to rise even more.

According to AAA, the average national price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is $3.65 per gallon, up from $3.59 a month ago. The prices have fluctuated in recent days and are lower than the all-time high of $5.02 in the summer of 2022. However, prices overall have risen significantly this year and are on pace to rise more in the summer months.

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International Money Fund Warns on U.S. Debt ‘Something Will Have to Give’

Congress Spending

The International Monetary Fund warned the United States that government spending and increasing national debt are not sustainable and could hurt the global economy.

The Washington, D.C.-based group that represents 190 member countries also called the U.S. economy “overheated.” The debt warning follows several other high-profile calls to address growing U.S. debt.

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Gas Prices Creeping Higher Again as Election Cycle Heats Up

Pumping Gas

The national average cost of a gallon of gas at the pump jumped by 20 cents over the past month, according to AAA.

Currently, Americans are paying about $3.55 per gallon on average, up from about $3.35 a month ago, according to AAA’s data. Goldman Sachs, one of the largest financial institutions in the U.S., has recently cautioned that prices could surge above $4 per gallon by May, according to Yahoo Finance.

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TDOT Will Halt Construction for Easter Weekend

Road construction

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) will halt interstate construction beginning Thursday as travelers head to their Easter destinations. 

“TDOT crews and contractors will stop all road construction work that requires lane closures beginning Thursday, March 28, at 6:00 p.m. through Monday, April 1 at 6:00 a.m.,” a release from the department says. “This will provide maximum roadway capacity to motorists expected to travel across the state this upcoming holiday weekend.”

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Heat Wave Causing Refinery Outages and Contributing to Gas Price Surge, Analyst Says

Last week, gas prices reached an 8-month high in the U.S. at $3.714 per gallon, following a high volume of production cuts from OPEC. That number has since increased, which an analyst pinned directly on the ongoing heat wave taking place throughout the country.

On Monday, gas averaged $3.757 per gallon, up more than 16 cents from a week ago, according to AAA. Patrick De Haan, the lead petroleum analyst at the fuel savings site GasBuddy, explained how the heat wave contributed to this uptick.

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Despite Slight Uptick, Gas Prices in Tennessee Are 7.42 Percent Lower than Last Month

Despite a slight uptick in the past day, gas prices in Tennessee are still lower than they were a month ago.

According to data from AAA, the average price per gallon was $3.193 per gallon, up slightly from the day before, which was $3.186. That’s still 7.42% cheaper than the average price in the Volunteer State was a month earlier at $3.449 per gallon.

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Gas Prices Rise for First Time Since June

Following nearly 100 days of declines, gas prices rose slightly Wednesday, and are forecasted to change little in the near future.

The national average price rose by about a cent to $3.68, snapping a 98-day streak of declines since prices peaked at $5.02 in mid-June, according to data from the American Automobile Association (AAA). A slight increase was expected to occur soon after prices fell only four cents last week, the smallest decrease in months, which the AAA attributed to the impacts of “war, COVID, economic recession, and hurricane season,” in a statement Monday.

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Gas Prices Continue Decline, Still Much Higher Than Last Year

Gas prices have continued a steady decline in recent weeks, coming down from record-high gas prices this summer, but the Congressional Budget Office says natural gas prices may see an increase from the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act.

According to AAA, the current national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is $3.78, down from $4.08 a month ago and down significantly from earlier this summer when prices surpassed $5 per gallon. Prices have dropped about a nickel in the past week.

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Virginia Gas Prices Trend Downward, Now Below $4

As global and national gasoline prices continue to trend downward, the average cost for a gallon of gas in Virginia has fallen below $4.

As of Aug. 2, the average gallon of gas costs about $3.97, according to numbers provided by AAA. For a gallon of diesel, the average cost is dipping closer to $5 per gallon, but still sits at about $5.16. This is much lower than gas prices one month ago, which were about $4.63 for a gallon of regular gas and more than $5.70 for diesel.

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Governor Kemp Extends Gas Tax Suspension, Supply Chain State of Emergency

Governor Brian Kemp (R) signed two executive orders on Wednesday that extended the gas tax suspension and renewed the state of emergency for supply chain disruptions. These executive orders will be effective through September 12th.

“I have extended the temporary suspension of the state’s motor fuel tax to alleviate the financial burden placed on Georgians due to the federal government’s gross mishandling of inflation,” Gov. Kemp said. 

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Tennessee Gas Prices Hit All Time High, Expected to Keep Climbing

Gas prices reached another all-time high in Tennessee Friday, and according to the American Automobile Association (AAA), they are only expected to continue rising. “While drivers might have seen a small break in pump price increases this holiday weekend, we could be looking at the calm before the storm for gas prices,” Megan Cooper, a spokeswoman for AAA, reportedly said. The average price for a gallon of gas in Tennessee was $4.39 on Friday, the highest ever recorded in the state. That price jump represents a 12-cent increase over the past week alone, and a 48-cent jump over the past month. A year ago, the average cost of a gallon of gas was $2.88. Nashville has been hit the hardest, where on Friday, the average cost of a gallon of gas was $4.44, five cents higher than the state’s average. Clarksville clocked in at $4.43 per gallon on average, just behind the state’s capital city. “A dip in gasoline demand provided drivers with a bit of stability at the pump, as the national average for a gallon rose less than three cents over the past week to reach $4.62. But this respite could be brief,” AAA said in a news…

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Kemp Extends Gas Tax Holiday as Prices Continue to Rise

Georgia’s governor Thursday extended the state’s gas tax holiday amid record-high prices at the pump.

“While President Biden continues to enforce an out-of-touch agenda with damaging effects, we’re responding to record-high inflation and addressing supply chain issues by empowering Georgians to keep their money in their own pockets and keep goods flowing,” Gov. Brian Kemp said on Twitter.

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Gas Prices Hit Record High Every Day for Past Two Weeks

Gas prices have soared to new heights this month with the price of unleaded regular gas hitting a record high every day for the past two weeks. With Memorial Day weekend approaching, motorists face steep costs if they plan to travel.

According to AAA, the national average regular unleaded gas price Tuesday came in at $4.60, a record high. Diesel gasoline is at $5.55 per gallon, just below the record set last week.

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Gas Prices Reach $5 Per Gallon for First Time in Phoenix

Phoenix residents are feeling the effects of the highest gasoline prices in American history, as Tuesday marked the first day that the city’s average price for a gallon per gas was $5. 

According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), the average price per gallon of gas in Phoenix Tuesday was exactly $5, an 11 cent jump from Monday’s average of $4.89, and a 28 cent jump from last Tuesday’s average of $4.72. A month ago, the average price of a gallon of gas in the city was $4.56. 

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Florida Gas Prices Hit New Record

According to AAA-The Auto Club Group, the Florida average price for gasoline reached a new record high of $4.49 per gallon on Sunday.

The latest price beats the previous record of $4.38 per gallon set back in March soon after Russia invaded Ukraine. Before this year, the record high was $4.08 per gallon, which was set back in 2008.

Florida’s average price jumped about 30 cents in the past week. The state average is now $1.60 per gallon more than a year ago. It now costs $67 for a full 15-gallon tank of gas. That’s $24 more than what drivers paid this time last year.

Based on the gasolinemiserindex.com website, Florida consumers are paying $889 more annually on gasoline when compared to spending last year. The is approximately 21% higher than the $735 the average American family is spending this year.

“Drivers are dealing with unprecedented pain at the pump and things could soon get worse before they get better,” said Mark Jenkins, spokesman, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “We saw more big gains in the gasoline futures market late last week, which could trickle down to yet another 10-20 cent jump at the pump in the near future.”

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Ohio’s Gas Prices Remain Higher Than $4 Per Gallon

Nearly a month after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, for which Democrats blame skyrocketing gas prices nationwide, gas in Ohio remains at more than $4.00 per gallon on average. 

According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), the average price for a gallon of gas in Ohio has climbed three cents in the past week, from $4.01 per gallon to $4.04 per gallon. That’s only about 10 cents less than the state’s record high of $4.15 per gallon, recording in May of 2015. 

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Connecticut AG Warns Against Price Gouging as Gas Prices Approach Record Highs

As gas prices near record highs in Connecticut, the state’s Attorney General is warning gas distributors against price gouging. 

“Gas prices fluctuate constantly, and price changes and price increases are normal. But what we have seen this past week is not typical, and we can expect even more volatility due to the unprovoked and unconscionable Russian invasion of Ukraine,” Attorney General William Tong (D) said in a Monday statement. 

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Gas Prices Set to Surge Again, Industry Analysis Shows

The price of gasoline is set to increase to $4 per gallon or more within five months, according to an industry analysis released Tuesday.

The gas price surge is forecasted to take place by Memorial Day in late May, according to the report from GasBuddy, an app that tracks pump prices, and shared with CNN. But the analysis said the average cost of gasoline at pumps nationwide would then fall throughout the summer and fall of 2022, declining below current prices.

“We could see a national average that flirts with, or in a worst-case scenario, potentially exceeds $4 a gallon,” Patrick De Haan, the director of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told CNN.

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Oil Prices Hit a Seven-Year High as Industry Feud with Biden Administration Continues

Oil prices hit a 7-year high this week as American oil and gas companies continue to fight the Biden administration over policies restricting production.

As the economy began to reopen this year and the demand for fuel increased, President Joe Biden, through executive order, halted and restricted oil and gas leases on federal lands, stopped construction of the Keystone Pipeline, and redirected U.S. policy to import more oil from Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia (OPEC+) instead of bolstering American oil and gas exploration and production.

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Florida Braces for Booming, Banging Return to July 4th ‘Normal’

fireworks

Independence Day 2020 was a lackluster affair for many, made all the sadder by attempts to celebrate July 4 amid pandemic-induced isolation without the parades, public firework shows and other communal and family gatherings that traditionally accompany the summer holiday.

The city of Miami and others staged “virtual fireworks displays” and at least 60 Florida communities made attempts to stage public events, including socially distanced parades, but with about 80% of traditional observations canceled, July 4, 2020, was nothing to celebrate.

Not so for July 4, 2021.

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