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Crude oil prices hit record highs of more than $70 a barrel. At the end of trading Tuesday, the price settled at $71.60 -- a 95-cent increase over Monday's record close. President Bush, saying he is concerned about higher gas prices, promised the government would stop any price gouging.

The band R.E.M. has released its first album in four years, Accelerate. Critics have been describing the disc as a "comeback," saying it's the band's best album in ages. Michael Stipe, Peter Buck and Mike Mills join Terry Gross for a conversation.

It's the latest move in a sweeping government crackdown that began following a failed coup attempt in July. The government also reportedly closed 15 media outlets over the weekend.

A well-respected consumer advocacy organization in Germany claims that Ritter Sport's popular chocolate product contains synthetic aroma. It has ignited a fierce court battle. But Ritter Sport says the aroma is natural, extracted from plants like dill or vanilla.

In an extreme example of resistance to progressive prosecutors, a St. Louis police officer is refusing to testify in murder cases he investigated, even though he believes the defendants are guilty.

David Greene talks to ESPN's Jeff Passan about Kyler Murray, a top-draft pick by baseball's Oakland A's. After a Heisman Trophy-winning year as a college quarterback, he's entered the NFL draft too.

The temblor caused severe damage to roads, bursting water mains and setting fires across the prefecture. Crumbling concrete walls killed two people, while another was struck by a bookshelf.

Receipts left behind in Timbuktu show how the terrorist network tracks its expenses, The Associated Press reports. From minor amounts spent on food to much more spent on meetings, al-Qaida records expenses much like a multinational corporation would, the wire service says.

Banned during the Cultural Revolution, China's ancient funeral practices are re-emerging — but with new twists. One of China's most famous professional mourners creates modern funerals with Chinese characteristics — burning paper money, wailing and prostrating, karaoke eulogies and strobe lights.

Accused of committing genocide against Palestinians, Israel defended its war in Gaza at the United Nations' highest court Friday.