CNN 2011-03-09

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Hi, I'm Carl Azuz, welcoming all of you to CNN Student News on this International Women's Day, March 8th. It's the reason why March was picked to be Women's History Month, and we are commemorating¹ it all month long here on CNN Student News. Today though, we're starting with gas prices.

It's difficult to tell this story without using the word "ouch," because so many of us are feeling the pain at the pump. If you or your parents have filled up the gas tank recently, you know why this headline is so big today. Gas prices are way up. And according to AAA, they've gone up every day for the past 13 days in a row. The total jump over that time: almost 34 cents!

Take a look at this here now. Yesterday, the national average for a gallon of regular was just over $3.50. And the state with the highest average overall? That would be California, at nearly $3.90. The state with the lowest average overall is Montana, at around $3.19.

Now, you see gas prices are different from state to state because part of the price comes from local tax rates. The reason prices are up around the country is because the cost of crude oil -- the biggest part of gas prices -- is on the rise, too. One expert told CNN that he expects gas prices to keep going up, so not much relief in sight.

This is not oil. It's lava², and it's shooting out of a volcano in Hawaii. Scientists say Kilauea was shooting lava as high as 80 feet into the air on Sunday. The state is no stranger to volcanic³ eruptions⁵. That's how the Hawaiian Islands are believed to have been formed in the first place. The islands are the tops of a chain of volcanic mountains like this. Kilauea is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. Since 1952, it's erupted 34 times. And this lava you see here, it started flowing over the weekend: It's part of an ongoing⁶ eruption⁴ that started in 1983. It's happening in a remote area, so no people or homes are threatened.