was ronounced dead. drivers in california are dealing with a severe case of sticker shock. the average price of gas tied an all-time state record of $4.61 set back in 2008 that is up 12 cents from yesterday s average. those are the top stories, uma. back to you. prices keep going up up. thank you very much. defense contractors are facing a dilemma with half billion worth of cuts. should they warn the employees or listen to the obama administration and not issue a 60 day notice. here s more. nice to see you. law called the warren act. ahead of lay offs notices should be issued 60 days to. lay off notices should go out right before the election day. but the white house office of management and budget said contractors should not send
12 cents to $4.61 a gallon that is the highest in the country. a vatican tribunal convicted the pope s former butler and sentenced him to 18 months in jail. he was found guilty of stealing pope benedict s private papers and leaking them to a reporter. and some of the jurors who convicted jerry sandusky said they plan to attend his sentencing on tuesday. and they tell the associated press they hope he ll be sent away for the rest of his life. the 68-year-old sandusky was convicted of child sexual abuse. for both presidential candidates, they are the most sought after votes. those would be the ballots of the undecided. a large group of that up in the air voting block sat down in colorado to watch the debate a few miles from the university of denver where it took place. nbc s ron allen sat down with them, and got their reaction in this report. reporter: who do you think won? when wednesday night s debate was over, a registered independent who voted for
color lock technology. exclusively from your benjamin moore retailer. find your perfect color with a buy one, get one pint offer. visit benjaminmoore.com/promo. it s a nice day outside here at 30 rock. new today a dramatic jump in california gas prices while residents were sleeping the state-wide average is now $4.61 which is an all-time high for the state. the price jumped 12 cents overnight. near los angeles lines of cars snaked through this gas station spilling out onto the street there. drivers were flocking to stations selling gas below the state average. many stations shut down this week after running out of fuel.
fun. maria molina, great to see you, thanks. heather: temperatures in california are still in the 60s and 70s. gregg: let s go to california oh, no look at the gasoline prices. heather: unless you have to drive. california drivers, they are facing all-time high gas prices. the average for a gallon of regular, $4.61. excite coming after a temporary the spike coming after a temporary reduction in supply triggered by a power outage in a refinery and a explosion in august. aaa says today s price beat the record by less than a tenth of a penny. the previous high was back in june of 2008. gregg: it is like $4.99 in some places. heather: crazy. gregg: wild. heather: back to the cooler temperatures. you are happy about that story. you like that. gregg: i am? well, i m looking forward to winter and a little skiing, you know? heather: take your daughter skiing. gregg: wax up and edge your skis, everybody, get ready.
now that our three big money headlines, wall street rally. the west coast gas crisis, and what is going on with american airlines? joining me now, a retail and economic analyst. with a good morning to you. good morning, alex. first to the wall street highest numbers. highest in the last five years. dow closed yesterday at 13,610.15. the highest, as i said in five years. 35 points up. and also the blue chip stocks. talking about heinz, general motors. those blue chip stocks were up, the index up 69 points. that s pretty great. how about these gas prices which is anything but great in california. these new highs, terrible. alex, from the moment i did my notes last night to this morning, gas prices went up. so the average price now in california is $4.61 a gallon. that was up 12 cents just from last night. while you slept? while we were sleeping last night. how long is that going to