Here's a look at today's local headlines

OFFICER SHOT HIMSELF? At least that's what the attorney for the suspect in last week's assault says. Antonio Riley Jr. is accused of getting into a fight with Officer Kelly A. Stewart late Tuesday morning when the officer stopped the Nissan 300Z Riley was driving in a parking lot at the Forest Pointe Apartments on Forest Road. Find out what Riley's attorney says happened next in our story.

COW RENOVATION STALLED: Long before these colorful cows popped up around town to benefit the NC Children's Hospital, a lone bovine stood watch over Chapel Hill Road. Over the years, though, the cow began to show its age. Now the cow is getting a makeover, at least as soon as it warms up a little.

MLK SPEAKER ANNOUNCED: The Rev. William C. Turner, a 1971 Duke University graduate and a member of one of the first integrated classes, will give the keynote speech Jan. 20 at the university’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration.

We'd show you Turner's photo and provide links to these stories but we're having a technical problem today. You can find all these stories and more (and a kinda neat pic I took during "Christmas in the Carolinas" last weekend at Bennett Place) in today's Durham News, now reaching 70,000 homes every Sunday (and 68,000 Wednesdays).

Merry Christmas, and thanks for reading,
Mark