Just how much is it costing you to sit in Houston traffic?

Plus: Houstonians are feeling lucky. TCU vs. Georgia. UTMB awarded $13M to create vaccines.

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View in browser NEW YEAR SALE: Get 3 Months of the Local News Source You Need for Only 99¢. Subscribe Today. J.R. Gonzales Senior Digital Production Editor john.gonzales@chron.com Library scofflaws, take note. If you've been sweating it out all these decades for not returning that copy of "Lonesome Dove" to the library, relax. Houston City Council on Wednesday will consider canceling all past fines for users of the Houston Public Library and eliminating future late fees to encourage more residents to borrow books from the system. After reading Yilun Cheng's article, I was surprised to find out that the maximum fine for an overdue book is capped at $10 per book.  This move, if approved, will cut the revenue the library system receives through late fines. But the folks at the library believe the benefits outweigh the cost. The bigger question is, does this put the library cop out of a job? After literally sweating it out over the weekend thanks to temperatures in the 80s, this current cooldown is nice. Expect intermittent clouds today with highs in the low 70s.   Today's top story   Photo: Jon Shapley, Staff Photographer The cost of sitting in Houston traffic went up by $360 last year. The typical Houston driver wasted 74 hours in traffic last year, up 16 hours, but still less than before the COVID pandemic.   Five other stories to read today   UTMB is awarded $13M to create vaccines for Ebola and other viruses. The money covers a three-year period to develop mRNA vaccines for Ebola, Sudan, Marbug and Lassa viruses, all of which are part of the same family of viruses associated with severe fever, hemorrhaging and high mortality rates.   $1.1 billion Mega Millions jackpot has Houstonians feeling lucky. Millions of ticket-buyers across 45 states will be watching -- and dreaming -- as the next Mega Millions drawing happens at 10 p.m.   Yes, football is a violent sport. But it's a choice. [Opinion] Letters: Did Lovie Smith get fired by the Houston Texans because he sometimes lost, or because he actually sometimes won?   TCU suffers blowout loss to Georgia in CFP title game. Georgia became the first repeat champion since Alabama in 2011 and 2012.   A cancer treatment helped a Cypress runner resume marathon training. After being diagnosed with prostate cancer, Cypress resident Jesse Sarabia opted for brachytherapy, or internal radiation, to help him make a quick recovery and minimize side effects.   One last thing ...   A bit late to the party here, but did you catch Joe Holley's column from last week? In it, he wrote about Bigfoot. No, not that Bigfoot. The one buried at the state cemetery in Austin. Finally, if you're like me, you just saw all the vegetation that grew back (or planted) after the big freeze of 2021 die off in last month's freeze. So now you're probably thinking of replacing some of those plants, if it's possible. Well, if you're in that situation and you live in Fort Bend, then you might want to check this out. – J.R.                 GET 3 MONTHS OF THE LOCAL NEWS SOURCE YOU NEED. Unlimited Digital Access for Only 99¢ Act Now No Commitment | Cancel Anytime Unsubscribe  |  Manage Preferences  |  Privacy Notice Houston Chronicle 4747 Southwest Freeway, Houston, TX 77027 © 2023 Hearst Communications