very rare interview. >> all right. later in "the skinny," charlie sheen has been fired from his hit cbs sitcom. >> what? >> shocking. i'm stunned. hear how and why the production company dismissed him from "two and a half men," but he's not hurting for cash or publicity these days. >> isn't that the truth. first, let's get you those increasing gas prices and the impact on the fragile economy. >> right now the average price per gallon is $3.52. that's a record for this time of year. that is up 39 cents per gallon in just the past four weeks. steve osunsami reports. on how drivers are now coping. >> reporter: outside chicago, autumn geis-lombardo says it's unreal. in the past two weeks she's watched gas jump up 45 cents a gallon, and she nearly fell over when it cost her $64 to fill up. we went with her as she and her children made all of their trips in one drive, spending as little time on the road as possible. >> i was really shocked when it didn't stop till $68.04. >> reporter: outside atlanta when they do go shopping, mark, and lisa mcintire told us they buy much more in bulk and they drive to the store slowly to