• A man was found dead inside a vehicle that had been set on fire in East Oakland early Wednesday. The death is being investigated as a homicide, and is the city's third in the first five days of the new year. [East Bay Times]
• At-home COVID testing has been helping Bay Area school districts as they return from winter breaks, keeping those students and teachers who test positive away from schools. Oakland Unified, for instanced, reported 472 positive cases on Tuesday — 396 among students, 64 among staff and 12 among family members — via at-home testing. [East Bay Times]
• One homeowner in SF's Cow Hollow neighborhood says that garage burglars aren't even wearing masks or worrying about surveillance cameras anymore, because they don't think they're going to face any consequences. [CBS SF]
• Ticket prices were soaring — with some as high as $14,000 — for Sunday's Chase Center game between the Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers, because coach Steve Kerr has said it's possible Klay Thompson could return to the court for the first time in two and a half years. [Chronicle]
• Satellite images show Lake Tahoe surrounded by snow, compared to late November when things were still mostly green. [Chronicle]
• There is emerging evidence that simple cloth masks do not protect against the spread of COVID, and even surgical masks do a better job. [ABC7]
• In a new poll, over half of Americans — 57% — say they believe there will be a repeat of the January 6th insurrection in the next few years. [The Hill]

Top image: Klay Thompson #11 of the Golden State Warriors looks on before the preseason game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center on October 04, 2021 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)