Morning Roundup: Fa la la la la edition

Good morning, Houston. It's November now, and you know what that means: We're at the beginning of nearly two straight months of Christmas. Retailers put their holiday decorations up early in hopes that shoppers will see them and get in the buying mood — but will it work? Not necessarily, if most shoppers are like Sharon Baker, who the Chron found at Macy's downtown. "I do like Christmas, but I need time to celebrate Thanksgiving first," she said. "I'll be thankful to have the money to buy Christmas presents — after Thanksgiving."

>> Looking for the truth about Baby Grace: It's been a week since the body of a young girl in a box washed ashore at Galveston Bay — and though police have gotten leads from across the country as to her identity, they haven't yet figured out who she is. Several tipsters said the believe the body is that of Madeleine McCann, a 4-year-old British girl who disappeared from a Portugese resort in May, but authorities say the evidence doesn't seem to point that way: "Based on the totality of the circumstances, we do not believe it's [Madeleine]," Galveston County Sheriff's Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo told the AP. For now, officers are working their way through missing persons reports from across the country, checking with other law enforcement agencies to see if any details match. "We're sorting through a lot of leads," Tuttoilmondo said. "Nothing has hit a home run yet."

>> Confession, evidence tossed in Nowak case: A judge in Florida agreed Friday to throw out evidence against Lisa Nowak, the former astronaut accused of making a cross-country drive earlier this year to confront a romantic rival. Orange County Circuit Judge Marc L. Lubet said investigators took advantage of Nowak, who hadn't slept in more than a day when she gave information in a long interview after being arrested, so her confession shouldn't be considered. He also granted a defense motion to drop a number of now-infamous pieces of evidence in the case, including diapers Nowak allegedly wore while driving from Houston to Florida. Though Orlando police detective Chris Becton said Nowak wasn't confused and sleep-deprived when he interviewed her, Lubet said Becton didn't read Nowak her Miranda rights and wrongly promised to talk to prosecutors on her behalf if she cooperated. "He made threats and used coercive psychological techniques," the judge wrote in his decision.

>> This week's weather: Cooler temperatures and clearer skies will return this week after a cool front passes through the area late tonight — but it still won't be cold. Expect a foggy morning today giving way to a partly sunny afternoon with a high of 84; tonight, showers could develop after midnight as the temperature drops into the lower 60s ahead of the front.

Now, how about some headlines?