• The jury in the Elizabeth Holmes trial went home Thursday without a verdict, and they'll now return to continue deliberations on Monday. The jurors today also asked to re-listen to audio exhibits, which included recordings of a phone call Holmes had with potential investors trying to convince them to invest in Theranos. [CNBC / CBS SF]
• United Airlines canceled over 165 flights Christmas Eve due to Omicron. The company says that the widespread COVID surge has "had a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who run our operation." Delta has also canceled over 100 flights. [CNN / KRON4]
• We'll have a brief reprieve from the rain Friday morning, but more heavy rain moves in later in the day on Christmas Eve, and into Saturday. Also, rain impacts include a rockslide on Highway 1 in Big Sur, and a crack in a dam in Tuolomne County. [Chronicle]
• A body found in the Napa River is believed to be that of 37-year-old Crystal McCarthy, who went missing on December 13 during a rainstorm. [KRON4]
• The proliferation of at-home COVID tests means that state data on cases in the coming weeks will be far from reality — with only a segment of cases getting official PCR testing. [East Bay Times]
• Multiple eucalyptus trees fell into the roadway of northbound Highway 13 in Oakland, blocking traffic until they could be chopped up and removed. [Bay Area News Group]
• Venerated prose stylist and acclaimed writer of both fiction and nonfiction, Joan Didion, who was not a Bay Area writer but who did grow up in Sacramento and go to UC Berkeley, has died at age 87. [New York Times / Chronicle]

Photo: Chris Leipelt