HONOLULU

Lava expected to reach gas station in week or so

Officials say lava from a volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island is on course to reach a shopping center with a gas station in seven to 10 days.

Hawaii County Civil Defense Director Darryl Oliveira said Monday the lava is about 1 mile from the shopping center in the small town of Pahoa.

Oliveira said if it has to evacuate, the gas station would sell its remaining fuel and pump out what’s left over. It would then fill its tanks with water and firefighting foam.

In October, the lava stalled just before Pahoa’s main road. It later started flowing from a different spot.

ALBANY, N.Y.

New law prohibits tattooing, piercing companion animals

It will soon be a crime to pierce or tattoo your companion animal anywhere in New York.

The law signed Monday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo takes effect in 120 days.

There’s an exception for markings done under a veterinarian’s supervision for a medical reason or identification.

Penalties include up to 15 days in jail and fines up to $250.

SPRINGFIELD, Ore.

Police: Driver hit man, fled for 11 blocks with him on car

Police in Springfield believe a driver hit a pedestrian and fled with him on top of her car, carrying the man for 11 blocks before removing him and leaving him in the street to die.

The Register-Guard reported that Isabel Gloria McDaniel of Veneta was arrested Saturday.

She’s accused of driving the car that struck Daniel Ortiz-Reynaga on Thursday, flipping him on top of the vehicle.

WASHINGTON

Russian mogul ID’d as buyer of Nobel medal for $4 million

The richest man in Russia, Alisher Usmanov – owner of the London soccer club Arsenal – was the person who this month paid $4.1 million at auction for James Watson’s Nobel Prize medal for the discovery of DNA. The Russian mogul, 61, said he plans to return the 23-karat gold prize to Watson.

Watson, 86, who along with two others won the Nobel in 1962 for the discovery of DNA’s double-helix shape, had said he was selling the medal – even though no living recipient has done so – because he’d been shunned from most academic circles and lost income as a result. He blames his ostracism on a 2007 interview in which he said that some races are less intelligent than others.

DES MOINES, Iowa

Monopoly Millionaires Club ending over low ticket sales

Because of low ticket sales, officials have suspended a multistate lottery game aimed at giving out $1 million prizes.

Terry Rich, president of the North American Lottery Group, said officials on Monday decided to suspend future ticket sales of the Monopoly Millionaires’ Club game, just two months after it launched in 23 states. Tickets will be suspended shortly before its last weekly drawing Dec. 26.

Monopoly Millionaires’ Club was advertised as a move away from the large jackpots of Powerball and Mega Millions. The game’s top prize was capped at $25 million, and it was designed for players to win more $1 million prizes.