Five Things to Know Today, Sept. 23

Welcome to Friday and the first day of fall and the beginning of the weekend. Here are some things to know as you head into them.

The weather: There's a 60 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms today, with a high of 80 degrees. The sun will be back on Saturday and Sunday, though, with highs in the 80s. You call that fall?

Gas prices are still headed down, at $3.556 on average in the U.S. for a gallon of regular gas and $3.414 in Georgia, according to AAA. In Lilburn, prices reported to www.georgiagasprices.com in the past 24 hours ranged from $3.29 (at Shell, 4032 Hwy 78 West at Bethany Church Road) to $3.39 at Texaco (4090 Five Forks Trickum Road at Killian Hill Road).

As the World Turns: Today marks the autumnal equinox, when for a moment the Earth is perfectly balanced with both poles in equal distance from the sun. That moment is at 5:05 Eastern Time this morning, according to Sea and Sky. After that, those of us on the northern half of the planet start slowly tilting awaaaaaaay from the sun. Can you feel it? Happy fall!

Follow the birdie: Fall means you need an indoor sport, right? Just up Jimmy Carter Boulevard across I-85 is Best Friend Park, which hosts badminton every Friday night from 5-8 p.m. All skill levels are welcome and Gwinnett residents pay just $2. Call the park's desk at 770.417.2210 or check under "Recreation Groups" on the Gwinnett County Parks page for ongoing activities http://bit.ly/rcVyUB

Brad Pitt, some tough guys and a dolphin in need. This weekend's big new movies include Moneyball, with Pitt as the Oakland A's general manager who flouts major league baseball with a low-cost team. Look for Brett Martin's video review later this morning on Patch. Killer Elite, in which Jason Statham again takes up guns, this time with Robert DeNiro and Clive Owen; and family-targeting Dolphin Tale about some good folks in Florida who help a wounded dolphin get a new one (tail, that is), with Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman and Kris Kristofferson. Click here to see all new movies.