Five Things to Know Today, Oct. 9

Welcome to Wednesday. Here are some things to know today.

The weather: There's a 30 percent chance of rain after 1 p.m., but the high will be a pleasant 72 degrees. The low tonight will be about 46 degrees, the National Weather Service says.

Gas prices: A gallon of regular is $3.20 on average in Georgia, and U.S.-wide, it's $3.414, just a tad higher than yesterday, according to AAA. Prices reported to www.georgiagasprices.com for Lilburn in the past 24 hours ranged from $3.21 (at Marathon, 505 Pleasant Hill Road at Burns Road) to $3.39 at Texaco (4785 Lawrenceville Hwy at Indian Trail Lilburn Road).

This is a test. You know those monthly tests you hear on the radio of the emergency broadcasting system? Today there will be the first ever national test of the system, with a 30 second alert at 2 p.m. Eastern time on all radio, broadcast TV and cable networks. It's an effort headed by FEMA to see how well the nationwide network works, not just the statewide and local ones you hear once a month.

Night of Broken Glass: This day in 1938 marked the start of a two-day rampage by Nazis  in Germany and Austria against their Jewish fellow citizens. Businesses, homes and synagogues were stormed and some 30,000 Jewish men were arrested, many of them only to be released if they promised to leave Germany. It became known as the Kristallnacht, or Night of Broken Glass, for all the shattered windows and marked a sharp escalation of the Nazi persecution of Jews that culminated in the Holocaust.

Cosmic birthday. The late, great astronomer Carl Sagan http://www.carlsagan.com/ was born on this day in 1934.Can you say "billions and billions"?