Teacher:In this task, you are given a text of many news articles seperated by special token "|||||". Your task is to summarize them.
Teacher: Now, understand the problem? Solve this instance: Published: Nov. 5, 2012 at 7:30 AM 
  
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 WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- Washington said it took additional steps to help U.S. East Coast residents deal with a shortage of diesel fuel in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. 
  
 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it was waiving federal clean diesel fuel requirements in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York City so highway vehicles and off-road vehicles could use home heating oil for emergency response purposes. 
  
 Regional gasoline shortages were "getting better," though New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said last weekend that it might be a "couple of days" before the shortage was resolved. The EPA last week waived some gasoline mandates to help cope with the shortage. 
  
 Power outages and distribution issues after Hurricane Sandy have created long lines of customers at gasoline stations. 
  
 The U.S. Energy Department said it was working with the Defense Department and National Guard to get emergency generators to gas stations that lost power in the storm. 
  
 Sandy, a Category 1 hurricane, battered the East Coast last week, causing at least 110 deaths. More than 182,000 residents of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have applied for federal disaster assistance. ||||| NEW YORK | 
  
 NEW YORK (Reuters) - The average U.S. price for a gallon of regular gasoline took its biggest drop since 2008 in the past two weeks, due to lower crude oil prices, a big price drop in pump prices in California and Hurricane Sandy, according to a widely followed survey released on Sunday. 
  
 Gasoline prices averaged $3.5454 per gallon on November 2, down 20.75 cents from October 19 when drivers were paying $3.7529 at the pump, Lundberg said. 
  
 The decline was the biggest two-week price drop since the survey recorded a 21.9 cents price decline December 5, 2008 due to a crash in petroleum demand during the global recession. 
  
 Even though many people had to line up for gasoline for hours after Sandy devastated much of the Northeast coast, the storm played a part in the price decline as many would-be consumers were not able to travel as a result, according Trilby Lundberg, editor of the Lundberg Survey. 
  
 Lundberg also cited the seasonal dip in demand that typically comes after August. 
  
 While demand appeared to be very high for gasoline in New York and New Jersey after the storm, Lundberg said that purchases were down because many people could not get to fuel. 
  
 However, supply shortages were not causing an increase in the average price of gasoline, according Lundberg. 
  
 "There is a fear among retailers that they will be accused and prosecuted for price gouging if they raise prices enough to prevent running out," she said, adding that the problems would be unlikely to end soon. 
  
 "It's going to be a long and hard recovery for infrastructure and fuel supply but also for fuel demand," Lundberg said. 
  
 Another reason for the total U.S. price decline in the latest survey is California, the biggest state consumer, where pump prices fell 49 cents in past two weeks after an extreme price increase a month ago because of refinery problems. 
  
 The November 2 survey shows that gas prices have fallen a total of 29.21 cents in the last month, Lundberg said. 
  
 The highest prices for regular gasoline recorded in the November 2 survey were in San Francisco at $4.05 a gallon, while drivers in Memphis, Tennessee were paying the least at $3.11 per gallon. 
  
 (Reporting By Sinead Carew; Editing by Marguerita Choy) ||||| NEW YORK Nov 5 New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on Monday launched an investigation into post-Sandy price gouging after receiving hundreds of complaints from consumers across the state. 
  
 Schneiderman said his office has received complaints from consumers from areas of the state hit hardest when the massive storm struck one week ago - New York City, the Hudson Valley and Long Island. 
  
 The largest number of complaints are related to increased gasoline prices, he said in a statement, but consumers also have reported possible gouging for emergency supplies like generators, hotels raising rates due to "high demand," as well as increased prices for food and water. |||||
Student:
More steps in the effort to ease the post-Hurricane Sandy fuel crisis: UPI reports that the EPA lifted clean diesel regulations in the New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and NYC area, allowing vehicles to use heating oil for emergency response purposes, while the Energy Department said it was working with the Pentagon to deploy emergency generators to gas stations. But the area's gas woes stand in contrast to what the country as a whole is experiencing: a dramatic drop in gas prices. Between Oct. 19 and Nov. 2 they fell from an average of $3.7529 to $3.5454, the most sizable two-week decrease since 2008, Reuters reports. In other gas-related news, New York's attorney general opened an investigation into alleged price gouging in the wake of Sandy after receiving hundreds of complaints, Eric Schneiderman's office announced today. Those complaints covered a host of products, including emergency supplies, food, water, and even hotel space, but the majority centered around gas, Reuters reports.