Prices topped $3.50 for a gallon of regular gasoline. At supermarkets and food warehouses, there were steeply higher prices for rice, flour and other food staples. As the nation sank deeper into recession territory, consumer confidence fell for a third straight month in April to its weakest level in almost three decades, according to the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers. Growing worries over inflation were a major factor. "We have a national emergency right now," Sanders told Fox News in an interview about record-high gas prices. "This is a crisis situation and, frankly, the White House has done virtually nothing about it," Sanders told Vermont Public Radio. "Neither," he added, "has Congress." That could change in the coming week. While Exxon-Mobile and other oil companies chalk up huge profits, the Senate is expected to take up proposals by Sanders and others to address the gas price crisis. Also this past week, the collapse of the middle class, tax breaks for billionaires, and "dribble down" economics were all discussed during a guest appearance by Sanders on a nationwide interview program with a savvy young audience.

Gas Prices Outrageously high oil and gas prices that Vermonters and Americans are paying constitute a national emergency that requires a bold response from the White House and Congress, Sanders said at a Capitol Hill press conference on Thursday. "It is clearly unacceptable that with gas at the pump at $3.50 a gallon and home heating oil outrageously high that the big oil companies like Exxon-Mobil are raking in record-breaking profits and hedge fund managers are making billions speculating on oil futures." Sanders and other senators demanded that Saudi Arabia and other OPEC countries increase oil production to lower prices. Sanders outlined other steps to bring down gasoline pump prices. "Washington has got to step up to the plate and begin protecting American consumers," he said. To read more, click here. To read a Rutland Herald article on Sanders' proposals, click here.

Food Prices Energy costs also have an impact on the rest of the economy, Sanders noted, including rising food prices. Three-quarters of those surveyed by Gallup for USA Today cited higher grocery bills as a concern. Half said inflated food prices caused hardship for their households. Sam's Club warehouse, meanwhile, announced on Wednesday that it was limiting sales rice "due to recent supply and demand trends." Increased demand and poor crop yields have driven up the price of rice by 70 percent so far this year. Wholesalers also reported increased demand for flour and other staples.

Earth Day "The American people are ahead of Congress," Senator Bernie Sanders said on the 38th anniversary of Earth Day. "They understand how important it is for us to move vigilantly forward, not only in dealing with greenhouse gas emissions and global warming, but in dealing with environmental issues in general." To read more, click here.

Comedy Central A guest on The Colbert Report on Monday, Sanders "pulled off a successful appearance," according to the Valley News. "How did he do it? By playing Bernie Sanders, ever-persistent on his theme of tax-the-rich for the social good, while doing so with a good-natured smile…Sanders won frequent applause, including when he railed against tax breaks for billionaires." To watch the show, click here.