Here’s the daily ‘Pain at the Pump’ index:

Guess what? Gas prices are up again this morning. You’re shocked, I know.

AAA reports prices jumped another 2 cents overnight. The average price of regular gas in the five-county Philly region is now $3.87; diesel stands at $4.83. Both of course are all-time highs.

AAA reported yesterday that for the first time in their memory, surveys indicate the number of drivers planning to stray more than 50 miles from home this Memorial Day weekend is down. The survey says the numbers are off 2.5 percent.

Don’t look for any relief soon. The price of crude rocketed over $135 a barrel for the first time yesterday.

Apparently, the word has finally made its way to Washington, D.C.

Our pal Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., may have discovered the public is a tad more interested in gas prices than the much-ballyhooed “Spy-Gate” involving the New England Patriots’ taping habits in the NFL.

Specter was one of a group of senators who dragged oil company executives over the coals yesterday at a hearing focusing on prices at the pump, and oil company profits.

Specter was seeking some simple answers. He wanted to know “why profits have gone up so high when the consumer is suffering so much.”

He didn’t get much in the way of a reply. Big Oil basically defended their profits.

And if you’re thinking of flying as a way to avoid the high cost of driving, think again.

American Airlines yesterday said it would begin charging its customers an extra $15 for the first checked bag. This among other cost-cutting measures such as slashing domestic flights and laying off workers.

Guess what? They’re blaming high fuel prices for their problems as well.

Happy Memorial Day. Maybe we should just walk or bike wherever we need to go this weekend.