National News Stories for Wednesday, December 21st

Here are some of the top national stories from Fox News:

Police in North Carolina have charged an elderly woman with murder. They say 85-year-old Janey Brittain admitted to fatally shooting her 88-year-old husband, Robert, while he was sitting in their bed -- after years of alleged emotional abuse. Police have released the woman's 911 call from last night's murder. In it, she's frantically telling dispatchers she has killed someone. Brittain is due in court today.

A veteran sportswriter and columnist for "The Philadelphia Daily News" faces sexual abuse allegations. Seventy-seven-year-old Bill Conlin is accused of molesting several young girls and a boy in the 1970's. Among them...is his neice. Conlin has stepped down from his long-time position at the paper. His attorney says Conlin wants the newspaper left out of the scandal. Authorities are unable to charge Conlin, due to the statute of limitations.

The Ohio State University football team...slapped with NCAA sanctions. The Buckeyes are now banned from bowl games for one year and have been placed on three years' probation. There are new scholarship limitations and a host of restrictions for former Coach Jim Tressel over the next five years. It's all punishment for players accepting goods and services in exchange for Buckeyes memorabilia.

Oakland, California, is taking action to prevent future "Occupy" protests from disrupting activity at the city port again. The City Council is considering a resolution, allowing officials to use whatever tools are available to prevent future shutdowns. It comes after two massive demonstrations at the Port of Oakland in as many months, both causing serious disruptions to port activity. The shutdown at the Port earlier this month cost the waterfront about $4-million.

By plane, train or automobile...millions of Americans will be heading out of town for the holidays. Steve Lott with "Airlines for America" says fewer people will be traveling by air this year. He says 43.3-million air travelers sounds like a lot, but it's a dip. He says the drop is likely due to the down economy, but also means airlines need to rework their operations to avoid losses, like too many empty seats on each flight. Lott says airlines have pulled down seat capacity, so flights will still look full...despite carrying fewer passengers.