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(CNN Student News) — April 25, 2008
Gold for Gas - Hear how some people are trading in their teeth for gas money.
Olympic Torch Down Under - See what happened when the Olympic torch touched down in Australia.
Before We Go - Find out why one young woman is offering others free prom dresses.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: Welcome to Friday. The week’s last broadcast of CNN Student News. We’re glad to have you along. From the CNN Center, I’m Carl Azuz.
First Up: Gas Prices Up
AZUZ: First up, Americans are paying record rates at the pump, as the cost of gas shoots sky high. Now let’s put this in context. A year ago, the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded was $2.85. A month ago, it was $3.26. Yesterday: $3.55 per gallon! That number’s gone up 14 cents in just the last week! Part of the reason is a change over from winter-grade gasoline to more expensive summer supplies.
AZUZ: Once that transition gets wrapped up, some experts do think the price increases will slow down, but they don’t expect them to stop. And that means shelling out big bucks if we want to keep cruising around town. Some people are already digging deep to keep their cars on the road, and not just in their wallets.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: In his 2006 State of the Union speech, President Bush said it.
U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: America is addicted to oil.
AZUZ: Since then, that addiction has gotten a lot more expensive, and some Americans are taking extreme measures to pay for it, turning wearable gold into liquid gold. Welcome to Capitol City Pawn shop in Topeka, Kansas, where cash-strapped customers have found a new way to get gas money.

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OK, let’s get one thing cleared up before we start the recap of the show…
YES, Joanne did bungle and let the pre-taping cat out of the bag last week. She said “Sunday” (the day she and the ladies actually taped their performances), then quickly attempted to cover it with “I mean, Wednesday” (referring to the day the show was broadcast.)
YES, as confirmed by my behind-the-scenes AI contact, the performance shows at this point in the competition ARE pre-taped. Currently, the boys are singing for their supper on Saturday, the girls on Sunday. Do I think some transparency of this fact would have been appreciated by the general populus before Joanne’s tongue trippage?
Of course. But then, I’m a big fan of the truthiness.
I suppose it shouldn’t be surprising, given the current number of contestants and the extreme amount of work to be done between shows: Picking songs, rehearsals, Vommercials, hair, make-up, photo shoots, interview packages, schooling for the young ‘uns, you name it. Oh yeah, they try to sleep a little too.
Does it take a little of the excitement away from Tuesday and Wednesday nights right now? I think so. And according to all the emails I have received from AI fans asking if the pre-taping rumor is true, they do too.

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