• The Nutcracker Ticket Contest

  

• Cosmically-curious crowd packs bar in San Francisco's Mission District for astronomy event

  

• Rantanen's shootout winner, Oettinger's 27 saves lift Stars over Penguins 3-2

  

• Pistons capture rare win over Bucks, 124-112

  

• Kalamazoo woman wins $3 million Mega Millions prize

  

• 3 costly mortgage mistakes to avoid after a December Fed rate cut

  

• Ticket for Michael Jordan's first home game with the Bulls fetches over $7,600

  

• Book excerpt: "The Colonel and the King" by Peter Guralnick