Here's a look at top and trending news stories for today, Dec. 21:
Franco Harris
Franco Harris, the Hall of Fame running back whose heads-up thinking authored “The Immaculate Reception,” considered the most iconic play in NFL history, has died. He was 72.
Harris' son Dok told The Associated Press his father passed away overnight. No cause of death was given.
His death comes two days before the 50th anniversary of the play that provided the jolt that helped transform the Steelers from also-rans into the NFL's elite and three days before Pittsburgh is scheduled to retire his No. 32 during a ceremony at halftime of its game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Harris ran for 12,120 yards and won four Super Bowl rings with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970s, a dynasty that began in earnest when Harris decided to keep running during a last-second heave by Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw in a playoff game against Oakland in 1972.
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Jan. 6 report
An 800-page report set to be released Thursday by House investigators will conclude that then-President Donald Trump criminally plotted to overturn his 2020 election defeat and “provoked his supporters to violence” at the Capitol with false claims of widespread voter fraud.
The resulting Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection of Trump's followers threatened democracy with “horrific” brutality toward law enforcement and “put the lives of American lawmakers at risk,” according to the report's executive summary.
“The central cause of January 6th was one man, former President Donald Trump, who many others followed,” reads the report from the House Jan. 6 committee, which is expected to be released in full on Thursday. “None of the events of January 6th would have happened without him.”
Ahead of the report’s release, the committee on Wednesday evening released 34 transcripts from the 1,000 interviews it conducted over the last 18 months.
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A major winter storm and cold blast will impact nearly every state and bring what the National Weather Service is calling a "once in a generation type event" that will cripple travel on some of the busiest travel days of the year.
Blizzard warning
A major winter storm and cold blast will impact nearly every state and bring what the National Weather Service is calling a "once in a generation type event" that will cripple travel on some of the busiest travel days of the year.
The strengthening storm will bring more than a foot of snow and possible blizzard conditions to the Midwest, as the weather service warns of "life-threatening" wind chills for millions.
More than 90 million people are under winter weather alerts and more than 87 million are under wind chill alerts. The alerts stretch across 37 states, dipping as far south as the Texas/Mexico border.
The number of people under winter alerts and wind chill alerts has grown to over 100 million people, or roughly a third of the US population, according to the National Weather Service.
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Get more of today's trending topics here:
Winter solstice
Zelenskyy's visit
'Emily in Paris'
This morning's top headlines: Wednesday, Dec. 21
Franco Harris, the Hall of Fame running back whose heads-up thinking authored "The Immaculate Reception," considered the most iconic play in NFL history, has died.
