Stefon Diggs attends the 2025 CFDA Awards at The American Museum of Natural History on November 03, 2025 in New York City. The Hapa Blonde/GC Images
(FOXBOROUGH, Mass.) — New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs is facing strangulation and assault charges, according to court records.
The charges stem from an alleged incident on Dec. 2, records show, one day after the Patriots beat the New York Giants 33-15.
Details of the alleged incident have not been released.
The Patriots are standing behind Diggs, saying in a statement, “Stefon has informed the organization that he categorically denies the allegations.”
“We support Stefon,” the team said. “We will continue to gather information and will cooperate fully with the appropriate authorities and the NFL as necessary.”
The NFL said in statement, “We are aware of the matter and have been in contact with the club.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Signage outside the Center for Disease Control (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, US, on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. Megan Varner/Bloomberg via Getty Images
(ATLANTA) — Flu activity is rising sharply across the United States, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC estimates there have been at least 7.5 million million illnesses, 81,000 hospitalizations and 3,100 deaths from flu so far this season. Fivemore pediatric deaths were reported this week, bringing the total to eightthis season.
At least 20 states are now seeing “very high” respiratory illness activity including Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Meanwhile, nine states are seeing “high” activity including Alabama, California, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Nevada, Texas and Virginia.
Experts expect flu-like illnesses to continue to climb in the coming weeks after holiday gatherings and colder weather.
New York health officials recently announced that the state saw the highest number of flu cases ever recorded in a single week.
The mutations seen in the new variant result in a mismatch with this season’s flu vaccine composition, the CDC says. Experts still believe that the flu vaccine will help reduce the risk of severe illness, including hospitalization and death.
Doctors are urging everyone who is eligible for a flu shot to get one this season, emphasizing it’s not too late.
Last season, 288 children died from the flu and nearly all were unvaccinated, according to a CDC study. This was the same number of kids who died from the virus during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic and the highest number of deaths ever recorded since tracking pediatric deaths became mandatory in 2004.
Public health experts say other ways to slow the spread of respiratory illnesses include good hand washing, staying home if you’re sick or avoiding people who are sick, covering a cough or sneeze with a tissue that is thrown immediately in the trash and cleaning or disinfecting objects or surfaces that are frequently touched.
Prince William County police seal the street in front of the home of suspected Jan. 6, 2021, pipe bomber on Dec. 4, 2025, in Woodbridge, Virginia. (Andrew Leyden/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Attorneys for the Virginia man charged with planting pipe bombs outside of the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee headquarters the night before the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol are urging a judge to release him pending trial, arguing the government has presented no evidence that shows he poses a danger to the general public.
In a late-night filing on Monday, suspect Brian Cole Jr.’s attorneys said the “government-induced excitement” around Cole’s arrest earlier this month is both premature and potentially in violation of local court rules.
The filing came ahead of Cole’s scheduled court appearance on Tuesday afternoon for a detention hearing.
Cole, of Virginia, was arrested by federal authorities earlier this month following a massive probe that had stymied investigators for almost five years. He appeared in court on Dec. 5, where a judge detailed the two charges he currently faces. The charges carry a maximum sentence of up to 30 years if he is convicted.
Cole, who has not entered a plea, allegedly told investigators in a lengthy confession that he wasn’t targeting the joint session of Congress that was convening to certify former President Joe Biden’s election win, according to previous court filing from the Department of Justice.
After Cole saw himself on the news in videos released by the FBI seeking tips on his identity, he said in the interview that he discarded all of his bomb-making materials at a nearby dump and said he never told anyone about his actions in the nearly five years since Jan. 6, according to the filing. The filing also notes that over the past years he appeared to wipe data from his personal cellphone “nearly one thousand times.”
Prosecutors included the alleged details of Cole’s confession in a filing urging a judge to keep him detained pending trial, arguing his alleged actions and choice of the DNC and RNC as targets “demonstrates the extreme and deeply dangerous nature of his conduct.”
In their Monday filing, Cole’s attorneys specifically pointed to statements made by D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro in an exclusive interview with ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas following their client’s arrest in which they argue she improperly commented on the merits of the government’s case.
They further claim that the government’s inclusion of Cole’s alleged confession to planting the bombs in their detention memo Sunday may have also violated his rights.
While Cole’s attorneys didn’t specifically deny any of the allegations put forward by the government about Cole’s conduct, they used their filing Monday to dispute that prosecutors have made any clear showing he presents a danger to the public.
According to the filing, Cole has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder as well as obsessive compulsive disorder and has no criminal history.
His attorneys said he would submit to house arrest and wearing an ankle monitor if required, though they argue the government hasn’t proven he poses any risk of fleeing prosecution.
The new storm will bring widespread rain and mountain snow starting New Year’s Eve and continuing through the end of the week.
An excessive rainfall risk level of 2 out of 4 is in place in the Los Angeles and Santa Barbara areas on Wednesday and Thursday.
Through Friday, 2 to 4 inches of rain is possible at higher elevations, and 1 to 2 inches at lower elevations like downtown Los Angeles.
In the Northeast, another cold front is moving through on Wednesday and Thursday, which brings the slight chance for a few snow flurries to mix in with confetti as the ball drops in Times Square. But no measurable snow accumulation is expected and the flurries will be gone by sunrise on Thursday.
The only part of the Northeast to get intense snow is the Great Lakes, where lake effect snow will continue through the week. A winter storm warning is in place in Orchard Park, New York, home of the Buffalo Bills, where residents could see up to 3 feet of snow by the end of New Year’s Day.
The rest of the country will be dry, with above average temperatures through the Plains and much of the South on New Year’s Day.
(NEW YORK) — The Federal Bureau of Investigation said fraudsters in 2025 bilked Americans out of more than $333 million with ruses perpetrated using bitcoin ATM machines, a marked uptick over previous years as the popularity of cryptocurrencies continues to grow.
The new FBI statistics, which document fraudulent transactions using cryptocurrency kiosks, reflect a “clear and constant rise” that is “not slowing down,” a bureau spokesperson told ABC News.
In 2024, scammers caused roughly $250 million in losses, more than double the figure from the previous year. From January through November 2025, that figure was $333.5 million, the bureau said.
There are more than 45,000 bitcoin ATMs nationwide that allow users to insert cash and send it to a digital wallet anywhere in the world. It takes only a few minutes, and once the transaction is executed, experts say, the money can be nearly impossible to recover — making it an attractive method for prospective fraudsters.
“Requesting crypto is now the No. 1 preferred method of criminals,” Amy Nofziger, AARP’s director of fraud victim support, told ABC News in October. “It is a huge problem.”
Authorities have taken notice. In September, the Washington, D.C., attorney general’s office sued Athena Bitcoin, one of the largest bitcoin ATM machine purveyors in the country, accusing it of “pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars in undisclosed fees on the backs of scam victims.”
The lawsuit claims 93% of the transactions on Athena’s devices in the district “are the product of outright fraud,” and that “the median age of victims was 71 years.”
Athena forcefully denied those allegations in a statement to ABC News, asserting in part that it maintains “strong safeguards against fraud including transparent instructions, prominent warnings and consumer education.”
“Just as a bank isn’t held responsible if someone willingly sends funds to someone else, Athena does not control users’ decisions,” the statement said.
AARP has advocated for more stringent regulations to protect Americans from scams on bitcoin ATMs, like capping the amount of money a user can deposit in one day. At least 17 states have passed legislation in recent years regulating the machines, and some municipalities have moved to ban them outright.
(SAN ANTONIO) — Newly obtained dashboard camera video may show a Texas teenage girl right when she went missing on Christmas Eve, authorities said.
Camila Mendoza Olmos, 19, has been missing since Wednesday morning, according to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators previously released security footage showing a person they said they believe to be Mendoza Olmos searching her car in her driveway around 7 a.m. Wednesday.
Now, investigators have a dash cam video from someone who was driving to work on Wednesday morning and passed a woman walking by herself, and that person may be Mendoza Olmos, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said at a news conference on Monday.
The video was taken a few blocks from her home, he said.
The sheriff added that he couldn’t say with 100% certainty that Mendoza Olmos was in the video, but he said the clothing description matches up.
Salazar said authorities are releasing that footage “in hopes that somebody may have collected similar video.”
“This was the best direction of flight that we were able to develop,” he said.
Salazar told ABC News on Sunday that sheriff’s deputies and volunteers have been searching around the clock for Mendoza Olmos.
“Camila’s mother stated that Camila normally goes for a morning walk; however, she became concerned when Camila did not return within a reasonable period of time,” according to the sheriff’s office.
Multiple agencies have joined the search, including the FBI, which is providing technical assistance, and the Department of Homeland Security, which is monitoring border crossings and international travel, Salazar said.
“We definitely don’t want to miss anything,” Salazar said. “… We’re also not ruling out that this case may take us outside the borders of the continental United States.”
Salazar confirmed that Mendoza Olmos was not detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, despite her being a U.S. citizen.
“That was a personal concern. So, I had it checked to make sure that there were no stops, no detentions, and that she’s not somewhere in a federal detention facility. That is something we needed to check,” Salazar said.
The only items she took with her were her car keys and possibly her driver’s license, authorities said.
Salazar noted that it was unusual for Mendoza Olmos to leave her phone at home, saying she leads an active lifestyle and it’s “highly unusual” that she hasn’t returned.
“That’s why we’re working basically around the clock on this case,” Salazar said.
He said Mendoza Olmos recently went through a romantic breakup, but authorities said the breakup was mutual and don’t suspect anything “nefarious” was involved, saying everyone close to her is cooperating.
While Salazar would not disclose some details of Mendoza Olmos’s disappearance, he said there was enough information to suggest she is in “imminent danger.”
Salazar requested help from the community in the search, asking neighbors of Mendoza Olmos to check their surveillance cameras for any footage of the teenagers.
She was last seen wearing a baby-blue and black hoodie, baby-blue pajama bottoms and white shoes. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office at (210)335-6000 or the BCSO Missing Persons Unit via missingpersons@bexar.org.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and James Holt are seen after the swimming finals at swimming pool Het Hofbad during the Invictus Games on April 19, 2022, in The Hague, Netherlands. Patrick Van Katwijk/Getty Images
Holt’s departure comes weeks after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced the rebrand of the Archewell Foundation to Archewell Philanthropies.
Harry and Meghan’s longtime aide, who originally worked with Harry at Kensington Palace, and moved out to Los Angeles with the couple when they stepped back from their roles as working members of the royal family in 2020, announced his departure from the couple’s foundation in a statement on Monday.
“Working with Prince Harry and Meghan has been one of the great privileges of my career,” Holt began.
He went on, “From my first project with Prince Harry eight years ago to improve mental health support for soldiers in the British military, to our recent work helping injured children in Gaza, he has consistently challenged me to think bigger about how we can make a difference.”
Holt added that when he first met Meghan, “I recognized a kindred spirit – someone who finds joy even in difficult moments and connects authentically with people regardless of circumstance.”
“Above everything else, the work we’ve done together to support families affected by online harm will remain the most meaningful of my professional life. These families are extraordinary, and they inspire me every day,” he continued.
He ended his note saying that after five years in LA, “It’s time for my family to return to London. When I pass the baton to the team leading Archewell Philanthropies in the coming months, I’ll do so with immense pride and optimism for what lies ahead.”
“I’ll miss my colleagues deeply, and I’m grateful to Harry and Meghan for everything they’ve done – for me, and for the countless people we’ve worked to support,” he said.
In response to Holt’s statement, Harry and Meghan shared a statement of their own and called Holt a “stellar support for us for nearly ten years.”
“His enthusiasm and talent in overseeing our philanthropic endeavours have been extraordinary,” they continued. “As James moves his young family back to the UK, we are proud that he will continue to guide various humanitarian trips for us overseas through Archewell Philanthropies.”
A spokesman to Harry and Meghan clarified that Holt will remain a senior philanthropic advisor to the couple and Archewell Philanthropies and support the couple’s humanitarian overseas trips in 2026.
Archewell Philanthropies is home to the charitable work of Harry and Meghan. The couple shared why they were switching the name of their foundation in a statement on their website.
“After five beautiful years, the Archewell Foundation is becoming Archewell Philanthropies,” according to the Archewell Philanthropies website. “This charitable entity allows the couple and their children to expand upon their global philanthropic endeavors as a family.”
Harry and Meghan announced their nonprofit venture in April 2020 after completing their final engagements as working members of the royal family and relocating to LA.
Stock photo of two vintage mandolins (Joby Sessions/Guitarist Magazine/Future via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — In a sobering decision, one drunk thief apparently changed his tune and returned two mandolins that he had previously stolen, according to the owner of a New Jersey vintage guitar store.
In a social media post Friday, Lark Street Music said that two previously stolen mandolins – a small, guitar-like instrument in the lute family – had been returned to the store, along with a handwritten note partly in all caps that read, “SORRY, I BEEN DRUNK, MERRY CHRISTMAS You are good man.”
Buzzy Levine, who has owned the store since 1981, told ABC News that he was shocked when the instruments were returned.
“I couldn’t believe it. I said, ‘this is insane.’ This is like, some kind of weird movie that has a happy ending or something,” Levine said.
The store had previously posted surveillance video online depicting the alleged thief stuffing the instruments beneath his parka and leaving the store on Monday, Dec. 22, and asking for help in identifying the culprit.
“How to steal 2 mandolins at the same time! Be on the lookout for this criminal and the Gibson F-12 #A2985 and a Weber Yellowstone #9360302. This thief has a Montenegrin accent,” the post read.
Levine told ABC News that the mandolins were valued at $3,500 and $4,250, respectively.
Levine said in his online post that he saw the alleged thief “surreptitiously” open the store’s front door and return the mandolins in two shopping bags.
“An instant later, I wanted to see who did it, and so I went outside, and I saw the guy sort of trotting down the street. And I took chase, probably not the smartest thing to do, and he was he took off. He was running really fast and kept looking back to see if I was catching up or he was gaining ground, and then he took a turn – and then I lost them,” Levine said, adding that he then called 911.
Christopher Kurschner, captain of investigations for the Teaneck Police Department, told ABC News that they’re investigating the crime but haven’t made arrests. Anyone with information can call the Teaneck Police Department at 201-837-2600.
Authorities and investigators work the scene where police are securing wreckage following an inflight collision involving an Enstrom 280C helicopter and an Enstrom F-28A helicopter in Hammonton, New Jersey, United States on Sunday, December 28, 2025. Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images
(HAMMONTON, N.J.) — The second pilot has died after two helicopters collided midair and crashed in New Jersey on Sunday, authorities announced.
The pilot of the model 280C helicopter, identified as 71-year-old Michael Greenberg, of Sewell, New Jersey, died at the scene, according to the Hammonton Police Department.
The pilot of the model F-28A helicopter, 65-year-old Kenneth L. Kirsch of Carney’s Point, New Jersey, was rushed to a hospital where he died from his injuries, police said.
The crash occurred around 12:25 p.m. Sunday in Hammonton, about 35 miles southeast of Philadelphia, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The FAA said an Enstrom F-28A helicopter and an Enstrom 280C helicopter “collided in midair” near the Hammonton Municipal Airport.
After colliding, both helicopters plummeted to the ground, landing near the 100 block of Basin Road, according to police. One of the helicopters became “engulfed in flames,” according to the Hammonton Police Department.
Police officers and EMS workers extinguished the flames, authorities said.
Witness Brian Sherr said he was outside of a nearby store when he heard a woman nearby “screaming, ‘Oh my God, oh my God.'”
“I did hear a metal clank, but there’s a lot of vehicles around, so I didn’t really pay much attention,” Sherr told ABC News.
He said that as he looked up to the sky, he saw one of the helicopters “slowly descending in a rotating motion, almost as if the rudder and the tail had lost control.”
“I thought that was the only one at first, and then I see a second one come down with the same issue behind it,” Sherr said, adding he saw smoke rise after the second helicopter impacted the ground, prompting him to call 911.
Police said the helicopters were seen flying close together before the crash.
An ABC News graphic shows the weather forecast for Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (ABC News)
(NEW YORK) — A new winter storm is moving east on Monday, bringing dangerous wind, snow and ice to millions.
Wind gusts up to 45 mph are possible in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland.
Gusts up to 65 mph are possible in Cleveland, Ohio, Michigan and parts of Pennsylvania, where high wind warnings are in effect.
A blizzard warning is in effect across parts of Iowa, Wisconsin and the upper peninsula of Michigan. Heavy snow and wind gusts up to 50 mph are creating whiteout conditions. Minneapolis was under a winter weather advisory Monday morning due to the blowing snow.
Marquette, Michigan, has reported a foot of snowfall, and parts of Minnesota already reported 6 inches as the snow continues to fall Monday morning.
In Northeast, the main danger Monday morning is ice.
An ice storm warning is in effect from New York through much of Vermont, where 4 to 7 tenths of an inch of ice is possible. This amount of ice makes travel extremely dangerous and can down trees and powerlines.
By noon on Monday, the snow will be moving east, impacting Michigan, Ohio, western Pennsylvania and western New York.
Rain will be impacting Boston to Maine on Monday afternoon as the icing continues in upstate New York and Vermont.
By 6 p.m. Monday, the rain will be ending in Boston and the lake effect snow will kick off across northeast Ohio, northeast Pennsylvania and upstate New York.
That lake effect snow machine will continue through much of this week.
Places like Orchard Park, New York, outside of Buffalo, could see 1 to 3 feet of snow this week, and wind gusts up to 65 mph could create whiteout conditions at times.
