CAPITOL HILL – Exxon Mobil ((XOM) chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson says oil companies do not get together and illegally manipulate oil prices. He tells NBC’s “Today” show that he understands gas prices are causing difficulties for people, but the alternative of no gas or long lines isn’t attractive either. …

VIENNA, Austria – U.S., Russian, Chinese and European officials plan to sign off this week on a package of incentives and penalties meant to reward Iran if it gives up uranium enrichment — and punish it if it doesn’t, diplomats said Monday. Agreement by the five permanent members of the …

The percentage of kids who have their first alcoholic drink before turning 13 has shrunk in recent decades, new research shows. But underage drinking is “clearly a continuing and critical problem,” writes Vivian Faden, PhD, in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. Faden reviewed three large, national studies on …

WASHINGTON – U.S. retail gas prices declined 2.5 cents over the last week to $2.87 a gallon, the lowest level in six weeks, the U.S. government said on Wednesday. The pump price for regular unleaded gasoline is still 77 cents higher than a year ago, based on the Energy Information …

WASHINGTON – LOL:) Look who’s podcasting! No, it’s not your teenager. It’s your senator. Veteran politicians more familiar with turntables and typewriters are enlisting twenty-something computer whiz kids to help them brave the digital world of blogs, podcasts and the Web as they look to connect directly with voters. The …

NEW ORLEANS, La. – For the next two days, the city will test new evacuation plans and emergency response strategies meant to prevent the widespread confusion, especially among the poor, that accompanied the approach of Hurricane Katrina last year. The 2006 hurricane season begins next week. Forecasters say the season, …

DOHA, Qatar – Olympic champion. World champion. Now, Justin Gatlin is the world record holder, too. The American sprinter broke the 100-meter record Friday with a time of 9.76 seconds at the Qatar Grand Prix. He shaved one-hundredth of a second off the mark of 9.77 seconds set by Jamaica’s …

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The high price of diesel fuel for school buses meant children in one Tennessee school system got a holiday Monday — their second in a row. Some 3,800 youngsters got Friday and Monday off because of the action taken by Dallas Smith, superintendent of Rhea County schools …

PARIS – Edouard Michelin, the joint managing director of Michelin, the French tire maker, has died in a boating accident, the company said on Friday. The French group added in a statement that Michel Rollier, who had been joint managing partner along with Edouard Michelin, would “assure the continuity of …

BAGHDAD, Iraq – A bomb planted in a motorcycle parked in the courtyard of a Shiite mosque killed 11 people and wounded nine Tuesday, part of mostly sectarian violence across Iraq that left 41 dead. The mosque attack came in the mixed Tunis neighborhood of northern Baghdad near the Sunni …