• San Francisco nurses say that the Omicron picture in hospitals is looking worse, and the variant seems especially brutal on children. More kids are reportedly showing up in city hospitals in this wave. [KRON4]
• 33 former janitors at Parkmerced are being awarded back-pay amounts of $17,000 and higher, with interest, following a state Supreme Court ruling in their favor. The janitors were laid off in 2015 when the complex contracted with a new service, but state law protects janitors and guarantees them 60 to 90 days pay in such scenarios. [Chronicle]
• As experts say that cloth masks are no longer effective protection against the Omicron variant, N95 and KN95 masks are increasingly hard to find around the Bay. [CBS SF]
• Bed Bath & Beyond just revealed the locations of 37 of the approximately 200 stores it plans to close by the end of this year, and two of them are in the South Bay — Milpitas and Campbell. [CNN]
• This year's mayoral race in San Jose is shaping up to be the most expensive in the city's history. [Mercury News]
• The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) kicked off Wednesday in Las Vegas, undeterred by Omicron, but a number of notable Silicon Valley companies are participating only virtually. [KTVU]
• A winning Powerball ticket for Wednesday night's $630 jackpot was sold at a 7-11 in Sacramento — but a second winning ticket was also sold in Wisconsin, with the winning numbers 6-14-25-33-46-Power-17. [KTVU]
• President Joe Biden used today's anniversary of the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol to deliver scathing remarks about former President Trump, saying that he and his allies are holding "a dagger at the throat of America." [New York Times]

Photo: Markus Winkler