The Night Note: 1/6/10

News you need to know.

The following stories are brought to you by the fine folks on the News4 assignment desk.

SIDEWALK SMOKERS MAY GET BURNED
With another smoking bill expected to be passed by the D.C. Council, District smokers soon may need a map to plot out where they can fire up a square. Council members voted unanimously Tuesday to support a bill allowing business owners to post signs outside of their establishments that say “no smoking." Mayor Adrian Fenty spoke to NBC4's Tom Sherwood at a school groundbreaking and said he felt the bill struck a good balance. (NBC Washington)

GAY AND LESBIAN BOOKSTORE EGGED
The owner of pioneering D.C. gay and lesbian bookstore Lambda Rising, Deacon Maccubbin, announced his impending retirement late last year. Since then, messages on the store's Facebook page have estimated a final closing date of Jan. 17, just a couple weeks from now, and 35 years since it first opened. With emotions running high, it's not difficult to understand why employees overseeing the final clearance push weren't thrilled to discover Wednesday that the Connecticut Ave. storefront had been egged overnight. (DCist)

WORST WINTER IN 25 YEARS?
Nearly the entire eastern half of the United States is enduring bitterly cold temperatures not experienced since 1985. Even Florida, which has been hovering around freezing levels overnight recently, is also feeling the almost-nationwide chill. "It'll be like the great winters of the '60s and '70s," said AccuWeather.com Chief Meteorologist and Expert Long Range Forecaster Joe Bastardi.(Accuweather)

FAMILY: FUNERAL HOME SENT BRAIN HOME IN BAG
Members of a family are suing a funeral home, claiming their mother's brain was sent home in a bag of personal effects given to them after her death. The lawsuit filed on behalf of four family members in state District Court in Albuquerque says the discovery was made the day after interment, when relatives smelled a foul odor coming from a bag they received from DeVargas Funeral Home and Crematory of the Espanola Valley. (MSNBC)

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