costs more to fill up. 12 cents in a week. about 11% so far this year. we've never seen gas prices this high so early in the season. usually you see gas prices going up into the spring and summer driving season. never so high so early. what goes into a gallon of gas? here's the breakdown according to the way the government looks at it. 12% of the price of gasoline are the taxes that we pay. 6% goes to distribution and marketing. 6% is refining. look at that, kyra, 76% is crude oil. crude oil is a price that is set in the global market that is a lot of different head winds and cross winds and when crude oil prices, gasoline prices rise, crude oil is above $108 a barrel. mostly because of this fear factor about iran but also because of, you know, consistent global demand for energy and oil, kyra. >> so you've got the demand for oil, you've got the arab spring, you have the fact that -- look what's happening here in the united states with regard to the economy. all of that combined. it's not just one factor that's making this happen right now, correct? >> correct. and when you look at demand in the united states, demand for oil or gasoline is actually down a little bit. so that's got people scratching their heads and saying how much of this is speculation, investors, wealthy professional investors who look at all of the different factors and say, i'm going to buy oil futures because i think oil futures are going to continue to go up. i think oil is going to continue to be more expensive. the experts i've talked to say they figure about $10 for every barrel of crude oil is because of professional speculators in the market. so $10 a barrel, that's about 30 cents a gallon for your gas. there are a lot of factors all taken together. when you look at how quickly some other parts of the world are growing and their growing demand and hunger and thirst for oil out of the ground, you can see the world is really -- the world is really chasing after this resource still and when it starts to go up, it goes up quickly. >> christine, thanks. well, our president says that there's no quick fix so he's calling for a long range plan using alternate sources. he's already predicting pushback too. >> you can bet that since it's an election year, they're already dusting off their three point plan for $2 gas. i'll save you the suspense. step one is to drill and step two is to drill and then step three is to keep drilling. >> our political editor paul steinhauser joining us now. paul, what are the candidates saying about what the president said there in his energy policy speech yesterday? >> reporter: well, you know, kyra, the president's right, actually. it is an election year and those candidates are criticizing the president. it's kind of natural. take a listen to what newt gingrich and mitt romney said about the president and what he's doing about rising gas prices. >> on day one, for instance, i'm going to say to the department of energy and the department of the interior, i want you to grant licenses to drillers for oil and gas, miners for coal, take advantage of our resources right away. >> $2.50 gas, he represents 9 or $10 a gallon gas. i ask you, which of those two is going to be happier? >> reporter: gingrich, in fact, is putting up infomercials talking about his energy program with the $2.50 a gallon gas which is not probable. there's a lot of talk about gas prices in the spring and summer, in this case a little earlier. usually by november when people go to the polls gas prices are down and it's less of an issue. >> romney has a big jobs speech today at the uaw and also there's a protest that's planned. >> reporter: you got t. he's going to the detroit economic club. his campaign touting this is a big address. he's going to be talking about his tax policy and as you mentioned, yeah, the united auto workers, plan, guess what, a big protest. they'll highlight his opposition to the 2008 and 2009 bailouts of the auto industry which, of course, is centered in michigan in the detroit area. we have joe johns out there. we'll have live reports starting from him next hour. >> paul, thanks. you can join us tuesday night too for america's choice 2012. we'll be following the arizona and michigan primaries. the special edition of "john king u.s.a." at 6:00 eastern. special coverage of the results at 7:00 eastern with wolf blitzer and the best political team on television. just in case you thought winter was on vacation, this happens. winter storm hits the dakotas yesterday and it's working its way east. chicago could get eight or nine inches before it's over. o'hare international has canceled more than 350 flights so far and that could have a ripple effect across the country. in the northeast, they're getting snow too. take a look at hartford, connecticut. rob marciano has been watching the storm for us all morning. rob? >> it's a big storm. obviously it's affecting connecticut, chicago, the southern part of the storm has a hybrid winter spring scenario. we're getting all sorts of weather. most of which is the -- well, yesterday we had some high temperatures. this is the snow that we had across chicago. it's still snowing there. beginning to wind down. just outside of chicago anywhere from five to seven inches and still coming down. chicago proper, the ground's still pretty warm. we didn't see a ton of accumulation. maybe a couple of inches. you see how big the storm is. the back side is here. it's reaching into parts of boston. we had three to four inches of snow into hartford. the warmer air is beginning to work its way into the system across the northeast. we had warm air down across the south. record highs in the 70s and 80s. that instability is going to be tapped in the way of some severe weather. would he have a 20 hour watch box that's been issued just south of atlanta. that will be progressing eastward into the low country of the carolinas. moderate risk for severe weather. super cells with damaging winds but potentially tornadoes especially later on this evening through the overnight tonight. the other facet of this system is so big and strong is that on the front end eventually the back side we'll see tremendous amount of wind over a large area from the canadian border along the appalachians. tonight and tomorrow across parts of long island and eastern new england we'll see winds gusting to 60 miles an hour. kyra? >> rob, thanks so much. >> you bet. well, there is a lot going on in syria right now. cnn has learned that rebel forces might be getting weapons from other arab countries now. meantime, the city of homs is enduring its 21st straight day of shelling. syria's opposition says that government forces are now shelling other cities as well. at least 42 people reportedly have been killed across the country today. many of them in homs. now an opposition source is telling reuters that syrian exiles are getting light weapons to the rebels now. they're trying to smuggle in bigger hardware like anti-aircraft weapons. in two nearby yeah they're working on a plan to try to get things like food and medicine into sir yeah they're giving syria's opposition a boost. cnn's zain verjee following that story out of london. zain? >> hi there, kyra. the kind of boost that they want to give the syrian opposition is to recognize that they exist and that they really want to support them. the other major issue is humanitarian aid. what they want to do is put pressure on the al-assad regime and hope for a break through. what they really want is to allow things like food, medicine, water, things like that to be able to get through, kyra, to some of the people that really, really need it. let me give you an idea of what the international headlines are saying today. this is from the independent in britain. they say this. if we can't intervene, at least we can isolate syria. it says there's no point in talking to a regime that has lost all credibility. the tune nis gathering needs to make clear to the syrian people more than anyone else is that assad's day is over, that the country's neighbors and international community at large no longer recognizes it. then check out gulf news, kyra. it says this. the safety of the syrian people is paramount. it says, the ground reality in syria is that the conflict has gone beyond the forces of the government and that of the opposition. it is now a bigger game that involves both regional and international players. and the u.s. secretary of state at that meeting also had predicted that the opposition would be willing to find any kind of means or sources to supply them with the kind of weapons that they really need to fight the bashar al-assad regime. one other point, kyra, it's not necessarily who's there, but also who is not there. and that is russia and china. they didn't show up. kyra? >> zain verjee out of london. thanks. in afghanistan, what started as a peaceful day of muslim prayer escalated into anti-american protest. it's all over that burning of some of the korans earlier this week. the president of the united states actually issued an apology directly to afghan president hamid karzai. in kabul the protests got pretty ugly with the folks there lighting vehicles on fire. afghan officials say at least seven people were killed. 20 others were wounded. mostly in the harak province. so far no casualty among nato troops. anything payton walsh joining us. what do you think? >> kyra, increasingly serious. we're in the fourth straight day of violent protests. worst in the western country, in harat. the u.s. consulate was surrounded by angry protesters who clashed with police. we understand a number of people killed there. total of six in harat province while an instant in the north where it appears protesters moved towards another base. no isaf casualties. there appears to not have been the restraint that was called for by afghan authorities but we also heard today how the nato commander here, general john allen, went to visit troops who yesterday lost two of their americans to a man in afghan army uniform who shot at them while protests at this koran burning raged. let's listen to his empassioned plea. >> there will be moments like this when you're searching for the meaning of this loss. there will be moments like this when you're motions are governed by anger and the desire to strike back. these are the moments when you reach down inside and you grip the discipline that makes you the united states soldier and you gut through the pain and you gut through the anger and you remember why we are here. we're here for our friends. >> reporter: i think you can see really in general john allen's eyes there some of the frustration that isaf forces must be feeling. this was unintentional, they say. they're trying investigate it. they're apologizing but the impact on security in the country is simply not -- it's just continuing day after day, these violent protests. deep concerns, i'm sure, amongst isaf. they're trying to convince them that it's safe enough to go home. they're seeing these continuing protests. >> out of kabul. thanks. still ahead, same-sex marriage gets approved by lawmakers in maryland but not necessarily a done deal. the nypd under fire for secretly monitoring muslim groups. >> the job of our law enforcement is to make sure that they prevent things. >> this tactic actually creates more hatred. >> now a call for a federal probe. that's next. 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[ female announcer ] only from aveeno. the trial of former rutgers university student da rum ran by begin. he used the web cam to spy on his roommate who later committed suicide after discovering he was being watched. he could get ten years in prison if convicted. maryland lawmakers have agreed to legalize same-sex marriage. he says he will sign the civil marriage protection act. opponents are pushing for the issue to be decided in a referendum in november. take a look at this video carefully. pickup truck slams into a massachusetts convenience store. three customers were standing in line. the driver apparently lost control as he was pulling into a parking lot. police say it was an accident. the customers are okay. well, there's more backlash this morning to a story we first reported earlier this week. the new york police department secretly monitoring muslim students and businesses. now a number of people are calling for a federal probe into that police force. susan candiotti reports. >> reporter: for six months starting in late 2006 new york police scanned open access websites of muslim student organizations at several universities in the northeast, including yale, columbia, syracuse, and the university of pennsylvania looking for any signs that might lead to terror plots. a senior law enforcement official tells cnn as first reported by the associated press. new york police also took photos of mosques and muslim owned businesses, including dollar stores and restaurants in nearby newark, new jersey. after finding out new jersey's governor was fuming. he says he's all about helping another jurisdiction but. >> it's got to be coordinated. the nypd has at times developed a reputation of, you know, asking forgiveness rather than permission in certain areas of coming into other states and doing things. >> governor christie and new york mayor cory booker want an investigation of the nypd. in a statement booker said, if the new york police had no specific reason to single out muslims, it's, quote, deeply disturbing adding, to put large segments of a religious community under surveillance with no legitimate cause or provocation clearly crosses a line. but new york's mayor michael bloomberg is unapologetic in defending his police department. >> the job of our law enforcement is to make sure that they prevent things and you only do that to -- by being proactive. you have to respect people's right to privacy. >> an nypd spokesman tells cnn it was mapping out places where terror suspects from other countries may try to blend in to avoid detection. the surveillance shouldn't shock anyone saying newark police were briefed and even escorted the nypd. still, muslim students are livid. >> this tactic actually creates more hatred. a better approach would be to take a proactive em proech and engage the muslim youth at a large level. >> i disagree with the way this was implemented, with the way that they went about trying to find terrorist activities. >> reporter: are muslim students being singled out without hard evidence or are police doing what they're supposed to do, protect public safety? susan candiotti, cnn, new york. well, incomparable beauty that until now most of us would never see. we're taking you on a virtual dive into the great barrier reef next. using social media to pick an airline seat? yeah, we're talking about a growing trend for making friends on a flight. at we have here is the multi-point inspection. every time a vehicle com into a ford dealership you'll be presented with one of these. we check the belts, hoses... tires and the pressures... battery, all your fluids... exhaust system, transmission... we inspect your air filter... it gets done,it gets done quickly and it gets done correctly. the works. oil change, tire rotation and more: $29.95 or less after rebate - at your ford dealer. you're a doctor... you're a car doctor. maybe a car doctor... and the family car to do an experiment. we put a week of her family's smelly stuff all in at once to prove that new febreze car vent clips could eliminate the odor. then we brought her family to our test facility to see if it worked. [ woman ] take a deep breath. tell me what you smell. something fresh. a beach. a clean house. my new car. [ woman ] go ahead and take your blindfolds off. oh! [ laughs ] look at all this garbage! [ male announcer ] introducing new febreze car. eliminates odors for continuous freshness so you can breathe happy. exploring the wonders of the great barrier reef without ever leaving home or getting wet because zain hates it when her hair frizzs and her mascara runs. >> reporter: oh, gosh. it's the worst thing ever, kyra. my goodness. so i can have a mani, pedi. >> eat bonbons and go explore what's underwater at the great barrier reef. thankfully helping me out are world famous scientists and google, thanks a lot. they teemed up to give us a virtual sight of these fabulous photographs that you're looking at under the great barrier reef. all of this incredible natural beauty underwater. what they've done, kyra, is they've stitched together tens of thousands of pictures to be able to give us this crystal clear virtual view. one of the things that the scientists are saying, and many australian officials, is this will be a really good thing. it will actually draw attention to climate change. they hope that a lot of people are going to sit there at home on their computers and watch because they'll be able to see all this natural beauty and admire it but also hopefully it will galvanize them to do stuff and understand more about climate change. kyra, do you scuba dive? >> i don't. i get claustrophobic. i tried a couple of times. but i snorkel. >> yeah, me too. me too. i only snorkle. >> no, you know what would make this even more cool? if it were in 3-d. >> reporter: i know. this is only high definition. it's not in 3-d. hopefully at some point down the road they will work on that. one of the things they're saying, even though it's not in 3-d they hope they'll study along with the scientists some of the natural beauty, measure things that scientists need help with. i don't know how well the average person would do with that. >> it's interactive. >> reporter: yeah. it's absolutely gorgeous. we should take a trip down there. >> you got it. let's plan it. i could use a break. thanks, zain. >> reporter: me too. all right. so what drives you more crazy on an airplane, a gum smacker, loud eater, a chatter box? according to alison kosik when it comes to annoying passengers, we actually might have some new options. >> all of the above annoy me, yes. okay. so what i'm about to tell you about is what's known as social seating. it could become the trend. dutch air lain, kln, it began testing this program meet and seat. with this program if you're a passenger on a plain you can volunteer to upload details and use similar data that others have entered. you can have a little control over who sits next to you. you can actually make the choice. now "the new york times" reports malaysia airlines also introduced something similar last year. you know what, it could be pretty good for people who travel alone, like to network or professionals who may be heading to the same trade show or conference. one sticking point here for kln service, you can't hit the reject button on who's chosen to sit next to you. your only option is to try to get your seat changed to completely escape the situation. you know what, i think it's probably going to be a while before the u.s. carriers pick up this idea. i think most people, especially in the u.s., they like to sit in peace and quiet on an airline and just get from point a to point b. are you a real sociable person, kyra, on a flight? >> i just like to relax and i guess unless t