‘Dark Knight’ tops box office mark

Batman’s joust with the Joker has set another box office record.

Stoked by fan fever over the manic performance of the late Heath Ledger as the Joker, “The Dark Knight” set a one-day box office record with $66.4 million on opening day, Warner Bros. head of distribution Dan Fellman said Saturday.

The movie’s Friday haul surpassed the previous record of $59.8 million set last year by “Spider-Man 3.”  “The Dark Knight” might break the opening-weekend record of $151.1 million, also held by “Spider-Man 3.”

“The Dark Knight” began with a record $18.5 million from midnight screenings, topping the previous high of $16.9 million for “Star Wars: Episode III – The Revenge of the Sith.”

“We’ve really never seen anything like this,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. “The death of a fine actor taken in his prime, a legendary performance, and a movie that lives up to all the hype. That all combined to create these record-breaking numbers.”

Hempstead, Texas

Murder suspect slips through vent

A man charged with murder escaped from jail early Saturday by climbing through an air conditioner vent, authorities said.

The vent was less than a foot wide, and authorities said Darryl Layne Norris had been losing weight since arriving at the Waller County Jail in April.

“We just found out he’s been slimming down a lot recently,” Waller County Sheriff Randy Smith said.

The jail noticed the 6-foot, 160-pound man was missing after performing a routine head count.

Norris, 26, and another man are charged with murder in connection with an April 17 convenience store robbery. Smith did not know if Norris was armed but considered him dangerous.

“He could be anywhere right now,” Smith said. “We just don’t know.”

San Francisco

Prostitution measure on ballot

A measure that aims to keep prostitutes from facing criminal charges has qualified for the November ballot in San Francisco.

The measure would bar authorities from spending money to investigate or prosecute people for engaging in prostitution.

The measure, which qualified Friday, would also end a local program that allows those caught soliciting a prostitute for the first time to avoid charges if they attend a class and pay a fine.

The Erotic Service Providers Union recently gathered the 12,000 signatures necessary to put the measure on the ballot.

Mayor Gavin Newsom says the measure would hurt the city’s ability to investigate and prosecute sex-trafficking crimes.