Gas prices fall 25 cents per gallon
CAMARILLO, Calif. — The average price of regular gasoline nationwide has dropped another 25 cents a gallon in the past two weeks, to $2.47.
Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said Sunday that prices will likely keep falling.
Lundberg says the average price of regular gasoline is the lowest it’s been in more than five years.
She says lower crude oil prices are driving prices down, along with an abundant oil supply and the rising value of the U.S. dollar.
The highest-priced gas in the Lower 48 states was found in Long Island, N.Y., at $2.82 a gallon. The lowest was in Tulsa, Okla., at $2.06 a gallon.
The average price for midgrade gas in the U.S. is $2.71. For premium it’s $2.87.
‘Hobbit’ finale debuts on top
NEW YORK — Peter Jackson’s “Hobbit” finale went out on top at the box office, debuting with $56.2 million over the weekend and taking in $90.6 million since opening Wednesday, according to studio estimates Sunday.
“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” cut its usual swath through the multiplexes, dominating the pre-Christmas frame. Though the weakest opening of Jackson’s six J.R.R. Tolkien adventures, the film was still one of the season’s biggest releases.
Opening in a distant second place was “Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb,” another final installment. The Fox comedy took in $17.3 million, well off the pace of previous franchise entries.
Sony, which is reeling from its cancellation of “The Interview” amid hacking attacks, unveiled its other holiday option. The studio’s “Annie” remake opened with $16.3 million.
Driver slams into passers-by in France
PARIS — French authorities say a driver deliberately slammed into passers-by in several spots around the eastern city of Dijon, injuring several people and raising national concern.
The government said the driver’s motives were unclear. But the strange incident Sunday evening came a day after an attack on police in another French town that counterterrorist police are investigating, and amid general concern after several threats by Islamic extremist groups calling for attacks against France.
The Interior Ministry says the driver in Sunday’s attack, a 40-year-old driving a Renault Clio, was arrested.
Police union official Michel Bonnet said that some witnesses apparently heard the driver say “Allahu Akbar,” or “God Is Great,” and refer to the “children of Palestine.”
Arrests made in Taliban school attack
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s interior minister says authorities have made arrests in the case of the Taliban school attack that killed 148 in the northwestern city of Peshawar.
Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan says Sunday the authorities have picked up several people suspected of involvement in the attack, although he did not disclose their identities or say how many they were.
Seven Taliban gunmen wearing explosives belts stunned the world on Tuesday by storming into the military run school and slaughtering 148 people, including 132 students.
The group claims it fights to establish a ruling system based on its own harsh brand of Islam. It has killed thousands over nearly a decade.
The Associated Press