Another year in the books and there was no shortage of stories to report in 2022.
Here's a look back at the top five most-searched stories in 2022 on NBC Bay Area.
Women’s free skate ends in tears and drama after shocking Valieva upset
The Winter Olympics earlier this year were full of talent, excitement and quite some drama.
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Russian skater Kamila Valieva was close to first place in the final competition, but her dream was crushed after falls and stumbles left her out.
The 15-year-old, however, was on the spotlight for more than one reason during those winter months.
She had a positive doping test for trimetazidine, a drug typically prescribed to older patients with heart conditions. According to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) she was allowed to compete due to "exceptional circumstances' linked to her status as a minor.
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Needles to say, the decision caused severe backlash.
Here's NBC Bay Area's coverage of Kamila Valieva.
Two new COVID-19 variants gain ground across the globe
Although COVID first touched down in the U.S. in 2020, the virus has unfortunately stuck around long enough to evolve into further variants.
BA.4.6 and BA.2.75 became variants of concern and were detected all across the world including the Bay Area.
“It seems that cases for the first time in a couple weeks are starting to go down, but we’re still in the plateau phase,” said Dr. Luis Rubio, infectious disease expert at UCSF. “BA.4.6 is probably the one that is detected more in the United States, compared to BA.2.75 but it’s still in low proportion compared to the dominant variant which is BA.5 still.”
Here's NBC Bay Area's coverage on the two COVID-19 variants.
Mega Millions ticket worth $629K sold in Northern California
There were plenty of Mega Millions tickets sold across the state, and plenty of us wishing we could've won such a prize.
But there was only one lucky player holding a 5/5 ticket worth $629,000.
The ticket matching the first five numbers but not the Mega number in the $555 million draw was sold in Turlock, a city in Stanislaus County about 100 miles east of San Francisco.
Let's hope for better luck this upcoming year.
Here's NBC Bay Area's coverage on the lucky $629K Mega Millions ticket sold.
Jurors see new text messages between Sunny Balwani and Elizabeth Holmes
Disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes was still making headlines this year, and will probably continue to do so when she serves her sentence for crimes committed.
But what also made headlines and caught the eyes of many, were the text messages between her and ex-Theranos executive Sunny Balwani.
"...this business...that's why the universe brought us together," read one of Balwani's texts to Holmes.
Here's NBC Bay Area's coverage on text messages between Sunny Balwani and Elizabeth Holmes.
Multiple fatalities reported after planes collide midair at Watsonville airport
Several accidents took place during the year, but one in Santa Cruz County shocked many.
Multiple fatalities were reported after two planes collided midair and crashed at Watsonville Municipal Airport.
Photos and videos posted on social media showed the wreckage of one small plane in a grassy field by the airport, and neighbors recounted what they saw and heard when the crash happened.
Here's NBC Bay Area's coverage on the fatal plane collision at Watsonville Airport.
