Honolulu:
Call it a holiday gift from Pele.
Lava from the mountain believed to be home to the Hawaiian volcano goddess has stalled on its slow creep toward a Big Island shopping center.
Civil defense administrator Darryl Oliveira said on Tuesday that the lava flow's leading edge has stopped about 700 yards (640 meters) from Pahoa Marketplace, which contains a supermarket, gas station and other stores.
He says the lava front appears to have hardened and hasn't advanced at all since Monday.
But Oliveira says it's unclear whether the molten rock has stopped or just stalled.
A new branch of lava that emerged from the massive flow about 300 yards (274.22 meters)upslope is still active. Oliveira says it could eventually surpass the stalled rock and become the new front.