Top News Stories: #4 Gas prices

Cars wait in long lines at a Sunoco gas station on the Garden State Parkway in Montvale, New Jersey November 1, 2012. Lines formed at gas stations amid fuel shortages around the U.S. Northeast and emergency utility crews struggled to reach the worst hit areas and restore power to millions of people affected by Hurricane Sandy.(REUTERS/Mike Segar)

As politicians offered their positions on the economy (or, at least, who was to blame for its slow recovery), voters kept a wary eye on gas prices. By December, prices at the pump dropped slightly, and the month began with a national average of $3.40. Even if that marked a month-over-month decline, it continued the streak of highest-on-record days that began in late August.