• The myriad fires consuming the Los Angeles area have now consumed 45 square miles, which is nearly the size of the whole city of San Francisco. The death toll now stands at seven victims from the combined Palisades Fire, Eaton Fire, Hurst Fire, Kenneth Fire, and Sunset Fire, and high winds are expected to make Thursday night terrible, as winds won’t die down until Friday. Oh, but those social media images showing the “Hollywood” sign on fire are completely fake. [Chronicle]
• The most infamous anti-LGBTQ hatemonger of the 1970s Anita Bryant — who notoriously had a pie thrown in her face by gay activist Tom Higgins at a 1977 press conference — has died. She was 84. Bryant actually died on December 16, though her family just announced it today, and we’ll remind you that Bryant’s granddaughter Sarah Green came out and married another woman in 2021. [Guardian]  
• After today’s big SF Walgreens closure news, chain store retailer Kohl’s also announced they’re closing five Bay Area stores. The Kohl’s stores that are closing are in Fremont, Mountain View, Napa, Pleasanton, and San Rafael. [SF Business Times]
• On Thursday, Oakland City Council discussed putting a new sales tax measure on the April ballot to stave off the city’s $130 million deficit, and the council approved the ballot measure. [@Oak_Observer via Twitter]
• This is deeply fucking unethical: Trump has been personally calling Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito urging him to block Trump’s sentencing in the hush-money case. [NY Times]
• The 2016 “Pizzagate” shooter Edgar Maddison Welch has served his four years in prison, but was shot and killed this weekend when he pulled his gun on police during a routine traffic stop. [NY Times]
• And hey, SFist is now on Bluesky, and you can follow us here! [@sfist.bsky.social]

Image: Des Moines: Entertainer-evangelist Anita Bryant, her face covered with banana cream pie, stares in disbelief during a news conference where a man posing as a reporter jumped up and hit her in the face with a pie he brought to the conference. At left is Miss Bryant's husband, Robert Green. She is in Des Moines for a religious concert. Green said no charges would be filed, and the pie-thrower was allowed to leave the news conference. (Getty Images)