- Parties are being planned, sports bars are stocking up, and fan excitement is reaching a fever pitch over the 49ers' Saturday evening playoff game against the Green Bay Packers. This season is the Niners' best chest to win a sixth Super Bowl in a while, and "they better take it," says sports columnist Dieter Kurtenbach. [KTVU / Mercury News]
- More details have emerged regarding a homicide in Santa Clara this week. The suspect, Liren Chen, who’s facing murder charges for allegedly killing his wife, was identified as a Google software engineer, the department said Friday. [Chronicle]
- San Francisco might have to pay out up to $7 million in claims from local residents and businesses related to damages caused by the giant sinkhole that opened up in San Francisco's Union Street shopping district in September. The incident, which flooded properties and closed roads, has brought about 47 separate claims from local residents and business owners. [Standard]
- SFMTA will make some Muni service changes starting Saturday, January 20, along about a dozen routes to address crowding, including for school travel times. See which ones are affected here.
- SF Public Works is handing out sandbags for residents ahead of this weekend’s rain. You can grab them Saturday morning until 2 p.m. at the agency’s Ops Yard on Kansas and Marin Street. [KRON4]
- SF Mayor London Breed is staunchly refusing to sign the Board of Supervisors' Gaza ceasefire resolution. [KTVU]
- Freezing weather and snow across the country have resulted in over 50 reported deaths as freezing temperatures persist across traditionally warm regions like Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. [KNTV]
- A preliminary 2.8-magnitude earthquake hit Sonoma County around 8:30 a.m. Saturday, centered around 14 miles southwest of the City of Clearlake. [KNTV]
Top image: Fans are seen during a game between the San Francisco 49ers and the s at FedExField on December 31, 2023 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
