Gas inching closer to $5

Even by recent standards, the numbers are eye-popping. The average price for regular in the L.A. area shot up more than 15 cents a gallon, to $4.209. It places Socal near the top of the pricing chart – San Francisco is higher at $4.24, but Chicago is at $4.17, Denver $3.88, and Houston $3.80. Remember, those are the average prices. A little relief could be near, what with the price of oil falling about $8 a barrel from its all-time high, though it was up 41 cents in today's trading. (EIA, Bloomberg)