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In Pakistan, a controversial Muslim cleric has been shaking up the political scene.

Dr. Tahir-ul-Qadri returned to his home country late last year, after spending eight years in Canada. Since coming back, he has ignited a disgruntled electorate and has left many people wondering what exactly his plans are.

On a recent day, a lively drum band wandered among a crowd of about 15,000 Pakistanis gathered in the eastern city of Faisalabad for a rally organized by Qadri.

The slight, 61-year-old cleric, wearing his trademark blue pin-striped cloak and shiny white religious cap, captivated the crowd with a long and fiery speech.

Qadri says Pakistan's oppressed and destitute are with him in his fight against inequality and corruption. His speech touches a nerve for many in the crowd.

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If you've been behind the wheel recently, you already know gasoline prices are up.

The national average price for regular gas rose to nearly $3.75 a gallon Tuesday, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report.

"Retail prices have gone up for each of the last 33 or so days — dating back to about Jan. 17," says Denton Cinquegrana, executive editor at the Oil Price Information Service.

He estimates prices will rise a bit more in coming weeks, but he doesn't expect them to go above $4 a gallon like they did in the summer of 2008.

Cinquegrana says prices rise near the end of winter every year. As refineries switch to summer blends to reduce smog, they shut down units and work on maintenance. Traders worry there won't be enough supply, so they start bidding up prices.

Cinquegrana says this time around it's happening a few weeks earlier than typical. One reason is refiners are catching up on maintenance and repair work they weren't able to do late last year because of Superstorm Sandy.

At an Exxon station just outside Philadelphia, regular gas is selling for nearly $3.78 per gallon.

"I've been looking around for the past four stations, and this was the cheapest one," Billy Boylan says while filling up his white sedan.

A few pumps over, Nicole Cornwell fondly remembers when the price was $1.50 a gallon. Actually, winter of 2003 was the last time gas hovered around that cost, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Economy

With Gasoline Prices Rising, Consumers Are Having A Tough Year

By now, it's widely accepted that indiscriminate spending cuts in defense and domestic programs due to start March 1 are likely to occur due to the failure of President Obama and the Republican-led House to reach an agreement to avoid the budgetary cleaver.

So now, the contest boils down to each side scampering for the higher ground of moral indignation.

For weeks, the president has alleged that the ideological extremism of congressional Republicans is to blame for the impasse. A fresh example of that came Tuesday at a White House photo op at which the president, with men and women in uniform as his backdrop, warned that such first responders would be impacted if the cuts — $1.2 trillion over 10 years — were allowed to happen:

"So now Republicans in Congress face a simple choice: Are they willing to compromise to protect vital investments in education and health care and national security and all the jobs that depend on them? Or would they rather put hundreds of thousands of jobs and our entire economy at risk just to protect a few special interest tax loopholes that benefit only the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations? That's the choice."