1. “Winter solstice 2016”

2. Today marks the first day of astronomical winter -- otherwise known as the winter solstice. Winter officially starts at 4:44 a.m. CST Wednesday, Dec. 21. Here are a few things to know:
1. It's the shortest day of the year -- sort of. Well, not the shortest day -- today will have 24 hours just like any other. But today will have the least amount of daylight. The days will begin to lengthen again after the solstice, culminating with the summer solstice on June 20, 2017.
2. The winter solstice usually happens on Dec. 21 or but not always. The winter solstice can happen on Dec. 20, 21, 22 or 23, but solstices on Dec. 20 and 23 are rare.
3. "Solstice" comes from Latin words for "sun" and "to stand still." The solstice occurs at the moment the Earth's tilt away from the sun is at a maximum. 4. Although the solstice marks the shortest day, it's usually not the coldest day. For at least half of the U.S. the coldest weather of the year generally follows a few weeks after the solstice. That's because even though the minutes of daylight begin to increase after the solstice, the Earth's surface continues to lose more energy than it receives from the sun.

3. In Other News
Police are searching for a Tunisian man in his early 20s in connection with the Berlin Christmas market attack. The suspect's identity papers were found inside the cabin of the truck used in the attack. Authorities on Tuesday released another man who was arrested shortly after the truck smashed into the market, saying there was no evidence to connect him to the attack.
Firefighters battled a fire at a Peddler's Village business in Bucks County. Firefighters were called to the Buckingham Township shopping district shortly before 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Arriving crews found The Nut Kettle store fully engulfed with flames. The fire was placed under control around 7 p.m.
A survivor identified imprisoned former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez as the person who shot and killed two men inside the same car in which he was riding. Prosecutors allege that an accidental dance floor bump and a spilled drink at a Boston club in July 2012 agitated Hernandez, causing him to follow the car carrying the victims and open fire at a stoplight. Hernandez, who is serving a life sentence after being convicted of the 2013 killing of semipro football player Odin Lloyd, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Daniel de Abreau and Safiro Furtado.