5 things you need to know this weekend
Watch out for wintry weather: Massive ice storm to cripple Central U.S.
An ice storm will unload dangerous amounts of freezing rain from the central Plains to the Mid-Atlantic this weekend. Ice accumulations of up to an inch will coat trees and power lines, likely triggering widespread power outages. Extensive flight delays or cancellations are possible at airports in cities such as St. Louis and Oklahoma City. Driving on icy roads and highways will also be difficult if not impossible, especially in much of Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri.
What we learned in Detroit this week: Americans love a good car show
As the hoopla surrounding the big auto show in Detroit proves, Americans still care a lot about what they drive. And that simple fact helps explain the fascination with new model debuts and announcements at the North American International Auto Show, which opens to the public this weekend. Some highlights from the show so far; the revised F-150 pickup, the redone Volkswagen Tiguan and Toyota's redesigned Camry (which is either sexy, or really sexy.) Oh, and Honda's new Odyssey minivan has "magic slide" seats. Check out all the hot vehicles unveiled this week.
Lindsey Vonn returns to racing
Champion skier Lindsey Vonn is making a return to the World Cup circuit this weekend in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria,following the "hardest recovery" of her career. Vonn broke her right upper arm and suffered nerve damage in a training crash Nov. 10 on Copper Mountain, Colo. At the time of that crash, she was still recovering from a left knee injury that ended her last season prematurely. Vonn has 76 World Cup wins and is just 10 shy of the all-time record held by Ingemar Stenmark.
Credit card bills for your Christmas shopping coming in? Read on
Now that the holiday lights are fading and the joy of gift-giving has dimmed, there’s a chance you’re facing a December credit card balance you just can’t quite pay off in full. If getting your financial life in order was one of your resolutions for 2017, start taking control as you pay bills this weekend. Some bad habits you'll want to break include only paying the minimum on your credit cards. Even if you can’t pay your card off for a few months, set a goal for when you’ll get back on track and work toward it. To help you figure out how long this may take, consider using this credit card payoff calculator tool.
Eight teams continue path to Super Bowl
In the opinion of many, the NFL's divisional playoff round is the best football weekend on the calendar. In addition to striving for berths in the conference championship games, four teams will be seeking revenge after losing to their upcoming opponent in the regular season. Here's what's on tap this weekend as the trek to the Super Bowl rolls along:
Saturday divisional playoff games:
• Seattle Seahawks at Atlanta Falcons: Seattle faces a massive test for a secondary that is still trying to figure out how to play without its star free safety Earl Thomas (4:35 p.m. ET, FOX).
• Houston Texans at New England Patriots: These teams have met each of the past two seasons with New England sweeping to a 2-0 record by a combined score of 54-6 (8:15 p.m. ET, CBS).
Sunday divisional playoff games:
• Pittsburgh Steelers at Kansas City Chiefs: The Chiefs have lost their past four home playoff games and haven't won in front of their faithful fans in postseason since the 1993 season. But Pittsburgh's offense tends to be far less effective on the road (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC).
• Green Bay Packers at Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys cruised — relatively easily — to the best record in the NFC. However, they enter the playoffs with some unknowns (4:40 p.m. ET, FOX).
And the essentials:
Weekend TV: We're watching The Simpsons and Homeland, which kicks off its sixth season.
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