Local:
- Police in the East Bay city of Brentwood shot and killed a man whom they pulled over under suspicion of driving under the influence on Christmas Eve. Police say the man resisted arrest and reached for a high-powered rifle before they shot him. [KTVU]
- Local health officials warn that infections from a new variant of the flu are steadily rising in Bay Area children. The variant, known as “H3N2 Flu A subclade K,” jumped from 4.9% on December 6 to 9% a week later. [Mountain View Voice]
- The university of Santa Cruz’s historic Lick Observatory is temporarily closed after winds of up to 114 miles per hour damaged part of the Great Refractor dome. [NBC Bay Area]
National:
- Ashlee Buzzard, the mother of 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard, whose body was found December 6 in rural Utah two months after she was reported missing in Southern California, was arraigned Friday on first-degree murder with special allegation. [NBC News]
- Around 1,800 US flights have been canceled and over 22,000 delayed due to severe weather, with more than half taking place at New York’s John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports, and New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport. [Reuters]
- One lucky winner scored the entire $1.817 billion Powerball jackpot on Christmas Eve at a gas station outside Little Rock, Arkansas, but they haven't come forward to claim it yet. [Associated Press]
Video of the Day:
- Following his big Thanksgiving feast, Bay Area TV Man delighted a new batch of unsuspecting BART passengers on Christmas Day when he transformed a train into the "Polar Express," placing a festive tree by the car’s doors and hanging up lights and garland throughout the train. He then handed out gifts to passengers on the train and at Civic Center, Daly City, and Lake Merritt stations.
Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist
