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Russia downs 4,300 Ukrainian drones in December, setting new record, Moscow claims

January 1, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — December saw a new record number of Ukrainian long-range drones shot down by Russian forces, according to statistics published by the Russian Defense Ministry and analyzed by ABC News, with Moscow claiming to have destroyed more than 4,300 over the course of the month.

Through December, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed to have shot down 4,379 Ukrainian long-range drones, at a rate of around 141 each day.

ABC News cannot independently verify the data released by either Russia or Ukraine. It is possible that both sides may seek to exaggerate the effectiveness of their air defenses, or to amplify the attacks against them as proof that their enemies are not interested in pursuing a peace deal.

The total number of Ukrainian drones being reported as shot down by Moscow is still significantly less than the number of munitions launched into Ukraine by Russian forces, as detailed in the daily after-action reports from the Ukrainian air force.

But the gap between the two figures appeared to have narrowed in December compared to recent months, according to data released by both sides and analyzed by ABC News.

In December, Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched a total of 5,307 long-range munitions — 5,131 drones and 176 missiles. Of the drones, nearly 81% were shot down or suppressed, while around 64% of missiles were also defeated, the air force said.

The scale of Russia’s attacks on Ukraine through December were similar to previous months, all of which were slightly down on the record-breaking month of July.

Over the course of July, Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 6,443 munitions — 6,245 drones and 198 missiles — into the country.

This year has seen an exponential increase in the scale of long-range cross-border strikes by both Russia and Ukraine, according to data released by each side, as the combatants try to destabilize their opponent’s economy and sap their ability to marshal military and financial resources to fight the ongoing war.

Neither side provides detailed data on the scale of their own attacks or their targets, though often release statements describing the targets as military, energy or industrial sites. Both sides accuse the other of intentionally attacking civilian targets.

Both Kyiv and Moscow do offer limited information on their day-to-day air defensive actions.

Ukraine’s air force publishes what it says is a daily tally of Russian drone and missile strikes, including information as to how many munitions were intercepted and how many hit targets. Russia’s Defense Ministry only publishes figures of Ukrainian drones it claims were shot down.

The last month of the year saw the reported number of Ukrainian drones surpass even the most intense months of 2025, which has seen the largest barrages of the war, according to data published by both Ukraine and Russia.

The days on which Russia reported the highest number of drones shot down this year were on Dec. 24, when 387 drones were reported destroyed, and on Dec. 11, when 336 drones were recorded as having been intercepted.

Until December, the largest number of Ukrainian drones reported having been downed by Russian forces was in October, when Moscow said it destroyed 3,641 drones at a rate of over 117 per day.

In November, Russia reported downing 3,392 Ukrainian drones at a rate of 113 per day. December saw a 29% increase in reported Ukrainian drones shot down versus November, according to Russian data.

It is unlikely that Russian data offers a full picture of Ukraine’s offensive drone activities. But the numbers appear indicative of Kyiv’s efforts to grow its drone and missile arsenals, the reach of those munitions and the intensity with which it can attack targets inside Russia.

Ukraine’s military confirms the targets of some long-range strikes. When Kyiv does describe the targets, officials say they’re military sites or industrial energy facilities. Over the past year, Ukraine has adopted a special focus on attacking Russian oil refining and transport facilities.

Among the targets claimed struck by Ukraine’s military in December were oil refineries, oil tankers, oil rigs and pipeline infrastructure.

Ukrainian officials have been clear on the value they place on Kyiv’s long-range strike capabilities — and on their intention to further expand their drone and missile arsenals to reach deeper into Russia. To date, the majority of Ukrainian strikes are believed to have been conducted using relatively cheap, Ukrainian-made drones.

“Our production potential for drones and missiles alone will reach $35 billion next year,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in October. “Despite all the difficulties, Ukrainians are creating their national defense product that, in certain parameters, already surpasses many others in the world.”

“Never before in history has Ukrainian defense been so long-range and so felt by Russia,’ Zelenskyy said. “We must make the cost of war absolutely unacceptable for the aggressor — and we will.”

Russian officials have broadly sought to downplay the Ukrainian attacks, with most reports of damage or casualties attributed to falling debris from intercepted drones, rather than craft that found their mark.

But plentiful publicly available information — including video footage and photographs of the attacks — indicate that a significant number of Ukrainian drones do get through Russian air defenses and impact at sensitive military and industrial sites.

Jack Smith says ‘no historical analog’ for Trump’s actions around 2020 election, denies political influence

January 1, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(Washington) Former special counsel Jack Smith defended his decision to bring charges twice against President Donald Trump — telling lawmakers in a closed-door deposition earlier this month that his team “had proof beyond reasonable doubt in both cases” that Trump was guilty of the charges in the 2020 election interference and classified documents cases.

And Smith fervently denied that there was any political influence behind his decision — contrary to what the Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee, who requested the testimony, alleged — such as pressure from then-President Joe Biden or Attorney General Merrick Garland.

“No,” Smith responded continuously.

Just over an hour before the closed testimony on Dec. 17, the Department of Justice sent an email to Smith’s lawyers preventing him from discussing the classified documents case, according to the 255-page transcript of the deposition, released Wednesday by the Judiciary Committee along with a video of the hearing.

This meant Smith was unable to answer most questions on that case and the deposition — intended to ask questions about the alleged weaponization of the DOJ against Trump and his allies — mainly focused on the 2020 election case instead.

Smith’s counsel said the DOJ also refused to send a lawyer to advise Smith on whether his statements were in line with their determination of what he could or could not say regarding the cases, according to the deposition. Smith did say, however, that Trump “obstructed” the classified documents investigation “to conceal his continued retention of those documents.”

Trump repeatedly denied the allegations in both felony cases, which were unprecedented against an American president, and decried them as part of a “witch hunt.” Smith, one of Trump’s frequent targets on social media, ultimately dropped the cases after Trump’s reelection because he said that he was constitutionally prohibited from prosecuting a sitting president.

Smith asserted in his final report that “but for Mr. Trump’s election and imminent return to the Presidency, the Office assessed that the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial.”

During the deposition, Smith argued, as he had in the past, that Trump “President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power.”

When asked if Trump was responsible for the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, Smith said “Our view of the evidence was that he caused it and that he exploited it and that it was foreseeable to him.”

Smith argued that Trump’s claims that he won the 2020 election were not protected free speech because they were intended to target a government function.

“There is no historical analog for what President Trump did in this case. As we said in the indictment, he was free to say that he thought he won the election. He was even free to say falsely that he won the election,” Smith said. “But what he was not free to do was violate Federal law and use knowing — knowingly false statements about election fraud to target a lawful government function. That he was not allowed to do. And that differentiates this case from any past history.”

And Smith said Trump wrote a tweet that “without question in my mind endangered the life of his own Vice President” during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Smith said several witnesses who said they voted or campaigned for Trump — including the Speaker of the House in Arizona and Speaker of the House in Michigan — were the foundation of the case.

“We had an elector in Pennsylvania who is a former Congressman who was going to be an elector for President Trump who said that what they were trying to do was an attempt to overthrow the government and illegal. Our case was built on, frankly, Republicans who put their allegiance to the country before the party,” Smith said.

Asked why Smith did not charge any of the alleged co-conspirators, Smith said “As we stated in the final report, we analyzed the evidence against different co-conspirators. We — my staff determined that we did have evidence to charge people at a certain point in time. I had not made final determinations about that at the time that President Trump won reelection, meaning that our office was going to be closed down.”

Smith said he had evidence that Trump ordered the alleged co-conspirators to place phone calls to senators the night of Jan. 6 to try and delay the certification vote.

The committee pressed Smith why he did not speak with Trump allies Steve Bannon, Roger Stone or Peter Navarro as part of their investigation.

“We pursued the investigative routes that we thought were the most fruitful,” Smith argued. “I didn’t think it would be fruitful to try to question them.”

And they pressed him on seizing phones of members of Congress. Smith said only Scott Perry had his phone seized and no senators did.

“I don’t recall that,” Smith said when asked if he wanted a search warrant for the content of any text messages from members of Congress.

Smith said he just wanted toll records and confirmed that he approved the subpoenas.

“If Donald Trump had chosen to call a number of Democratic Senators, we would have gotten toll records for Democratic Senators. So responsibility for why these records, why we collected them, that’s — that lies with Donald Trump,” Smith said.

Smith recalled that Jim Jordan, the Judiciary Committee chair, was in direct contact with White House on Jan. 6, according to an interview his team conducted with Mark Meadows.

Meadows stated that Jordan was scared. “I’ve never seen Jim Jordan scared of anything,” Meadows said, according to Smith.

Smith said he is “eyes wide open” that he believes Trump will seek retribution against him.

“I came here. I was asked to come here,” he added.

US strikes 3 alleged drug vessels and leaves survivors — now a search-and-rescue operation

January 1, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — U.S. Southern Command said it targeted three vessels traveling in a convoy in undisclosed international waters — leaving “narco-terrorists” as survivors after they jumped overboard, according to a social media statement.

The strikes occurred on Dec. 30, according to the post on X.

“Three narco-terrorists aboard the first vessel were killed in the first engagement,” the statement said. “The remaining narco-terrorists abandoned the other two vessels, jumping overboard and distancing themselves before follow-on engagements sank their respective vessels.”

At least six people survived the Dec. 30 strikes, which took place in the Eastern Pacific, according to a U.S. official.

The U.S. Coast Guard was notified to begin searching for the survivors in a search and rescue operation, the statement said.

The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed that a search-and-rescue operation was underway, and that Coast Guard C-130 aircraft had been deployed for the operation. The Coast Guard has put out a signal to other mariners for the survivors in distress.

In a statement shared with ABC News, the Coast Guard said, “on December 30th, the U.S. Coast Guard was notified by the Department of War of mariners in distress in the Pacific Ocean.”

“The U.S. Coast Guard is coordinating search and rescue operations with vessels in the area, and a Coast Guard C-130 aircraft is en route to provide further search coverage,” it said.

Several hours after announcing the Dec. 30 strikes, Southern Command posted on social media that another series of strikes — carried out on New Year’s Eve — had targeted two more vessels alleged to be engaged in drug trafficking. The post did not specify where the strike took place.

A total of five people were killed — three in the first vessel and two in the second, according to the post.

There have now been at least 34 strikes — and at least 115 people killed — in the U.S. military campaign in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific targeting alleged drug traffickers since September.

In the posts about the strikes, the military said the vessels targeted were operated by designated terrorist organizations and that intelligence confirmed the vessel were “were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and engaged in narco-trafficking.”

The U.S. campaign targeting alleged drug boats came under scrutiny last month after the Trump administration acknowledged survivors of an initial series of strikes on an alleged drug vessel on Sept. 2 were killed in a follow-up series of strikes.

In another attack in the Caribbean in October, two survivors of a strike on a submarine suspected of carrying drugs were later returned to the countries of origin — Ecuador and Colombia — to be detained and prosecuted, President Donald Trump said.

On Oct. 27, a mariner, now presumed dead, also survived U.S. strikes.

Snow, bitter cold temperatures ring in 2026 in the Northeast while Southern California under flood threat

January 1, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(New York) New Year’s Day was met with snow and cold temperatures from the Northeast to the Great Lakes while much of California braces for heavy rains.

Rochester and Buffalo received six inches of snow while Pittsburgh received four inches and Cleveland up to two inches.

A snow squall quickly moved through the Northeast and parts of the I-95 corridor earlier this morning, bringing heavy snow and gusty winds that briefly reduced visibility down to a quarter mile.

While the clipper system has mostly moved out, coastal New England from Cape Cod up to Bangor, Maine, could see snow continuing into this afternoon.

An additional inch of snow is possible for Cape Cod up to Boston, while parts of southern Maine could get an additional three inches to nine inches through this afternoon.

Behind the snow squall is a blast of arctic air that will sweep through and bring blustery conditions. It will be in the teens in New York City and around the mid-20s for Washington, D.C.

Detroit, Michigan, is expecting a windchill of 7 degrees and in Alpena, in northern Michigan, a windchill of 2 degrees.

Single digit to near zero wind chills are expected further north tomorrow.

Lake-effect snow is expected to briefly slow down Thursday morning but pick back up later in the afternoon and continue through the rest of week.

Through Friday, Oswego and Watertown in upstate New York could see between 12 inches and 24 inches. Buffalo and Erie, Pennsylvania, could see six inches to 12 inches and Bangor, Maine, could see three inches to six inches.

Cold weather is also expected to hit the south with temperatures in the 30s possible Thursday morning from the Florida Panhandle into southern Georgia.

Warmer temperatures are expected to return slowly this weekend for the Southeast and by Monday temperatures should be back above average.

Meanwhile, in Southern California, more than 17 million Americans are under a flood watch through Thursday night due to heavy rains.

In the Los Angeles area, heavy rain showers are expected between 3 a.m. and 10 a.m., with a possibility of flash flooding. No flash flood alerts have been issued so far.

The 137th annual Rose Parade in Pasadena — California’s famed New Year’s Day tradition known for its flower-covered floats — will see rain Thursday morning for the first time since 2006.

A flood watch is also in place in northern and central California over the weekend.

Rain will spread inland and north over much of the western U.S. on Thursday with mountain snow falling across the southern Sierra Nevada into parts of the southern Rockies.

The National Weather Service said excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations.

ABC News’ Kenton Gewecke and Dan Peck contributed to this report.

DOJ seeks to enlist 400 attorneys to review more than 5M pages of Epstein records: Sources

December 31, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Justice is asking for help reviewing 5.2 million pages of unreviewed documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, seeking to enlist 400 lawyers total from its criminal and national security divisions along with the U.S. attorneys’ offices in Florida and New York, according to people familiar with the matter.

As Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas in an interview earlier this month, the DOJ already had nearly 200 lawyers working to review the files.

But in recent days, department leadership has made clear to the workforce that more help is needed.

The New York Times was first to report the development.

The review of the documents is expected to take much of January, the sources said.

The reorienting of resources from both the criminal and national security divisions has already raised concerns among current and former DOJ officials given the department has already diverted many of those resources towards immigration enforcement, according to sources familiar with the matter.

At this point, the next release of documents is not expected until the end of next month, according to the sources.

Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November mandating the release of the DOJ’s files on Epstein. The measure required the DOJ to release all of the documents, with certain exceptions like protecting victim privacy and ongoing investigations, by Friday, Dec. 19. Missing the deadline, the DOJ said it has been delayed by the vetting process to protect victims.

It’s not immediately clear why the Department of Justice is only now claiming that it has just discovered upward of 5 million pages of documents from its investigations into Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 in his jail cell awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

In February, Attorney General Pam Bondi admonished the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York after she said they had only just alerted her to the existence of hundreds of thousands of documents that they had not previously provided to her office. It’s not clear why they are only now claiming to be alerted to this vast volume of alleged unreviewed material.

Trump issues 1st vetoes of 2nd term, including bipartisan Colorado water act, drawing accusations of ‘partisan games’

December 31, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump issued vetoes for the first bills of his second term, including a bipartisan bill intended to provide funding for a water infrastructure project in Colorado, a measure that passed the House and Senate unanimously.

The Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act was set to provide clean water to rural parts of Colorado.

“Enough is enough. My administration is committed to preventing American taxpayers from funding expensive and unreliable policies,” Trump wrote in a veto letter sent to Congress. “Ending the massive cost of taxpayer handouts and restoring fiscal sanity is vital to economic growth and the fiscal health of the nation.”

Trump also vetoed the Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendment Act, a bipartisan bill that aimed in part to optimize water flow into part of Everglades National Park designated for the Miccosukee Native American tribe and to incorporate the Osceola Camp into the Miccosukee Reserved Area to improve the governing structure of the tribe.

“[D]espite seeking funding and special treatment from the Federal Government, the Miccosukee Tribe has actively sought to obstruct reasonable immigration policies that the American people decisively voted for when I was elected,” Trump wrote in his veto. “My Administration is committed to preventing American taxpayers from funding projects for special interests, especially those that are unaligned with my Administration’s policy of removing violent criminal illegal aliens from the country.”

The Miccosukee tribe was part of the opposition to the construction of the so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” migrant detention facility in the Everglades.

Trump’s veto of the bipartisan bill supporting the Colorado project comes at a time when he has fractious relations with some of the state’s political leaders.

The bill was co-sponsored by House Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, who defied the Trump administration by signing onto the Epstein discharge petition that forced a vote on a measure to compel the DOJ to release the files. The pipeline would provide water to residents of Boebert’s district.

“This isn’t over,” Boebert said on social media on Tuesday, responding to the White House’s veto announcement.

Democrats also are responding to the bill’s veto, with Colorado’s Democratic Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper lambasting Trump on social media, with both accusing him of playing partisan politics.

“Trump just vetoed my Arkansas Valley Conduit bill — passed unanimously to deliver clean, affordable water to Southeast Colorado,” Bennet said. “This isn’t governing. It’s a revenge tour.”

“Donald Trump is playing partisan games and punishing Colorado by making rural communities suffer without clean drinking water,” Hickenlooper said, adding that Congress should overturn Trump’s veto.

Since the bill cleared both chambers unanimously, Congress could overturn Trump’s veto. Doing so would require passing the measure by a two-thirds vote in both chambers. Trump vetoed ten bills total during his first administration, only one of which — the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 — was overridden by Congress.

Trump’s veto also comes two weeks after he attacked Colorado Gov. Jared Polis for refusing to release former Mesa County, Colorado, clerk Tina Peters from prison following her receiving a presidential pardon.

Peters was convicted on state charges for a scheme to tamper with voting systems driven by false claims about the 2020 election. Trump’s pardon power does not extend to state crimes.

“The poorly run state of Colorado with a governor whose incompetent and frankly, with a governor that won’t allow our wonderful Tina to come out of a jail, in a high intensity jail because she caught people cheating on an election and they said she was cheating,” Trump said on Dec. 15.

He added, “She wasn’t cheating. She went over, she looked at one of the election scams going on. And because she did that, they put her in jail for nine years.”

What did holiday shopping reveal about the US economy?

December 31, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Holiday shopping season sets forth an annual gut check for the U.S. economy, prompting buyers to splurge in a show of optimism or cut back out of fear of what next year holds.

In 2025, shoppers opened their wallets with gusto, though consumers appeared to favor low-cost options and discounts, according to spending data shared with ABC News.

The performance defied concerns overhanging the economy for months, as hiring slowed and inflation ticked higher. Seemingly undeterred, shoppers flexed their strength at the close of this year, offering some reassurance for the wider economy. Consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. economic activity.

Holiday sales climbed 3.9% compared to last year, Mastercard SpendingPulse data showed, tracking online and in-store payments from the start of November to Christmas Eve. The data leaves out car sales and does not account for inflation.

The season-long buying spree followed a strong showing early on, as consumers revved up at the outset of the holiday season.

Digital spending on Thanksgiving jumped 5% from a year earlier, totaling $6.4 billion and exceeding expectations, Adobe Analytics data showed. On Black Friday, shoppers topped the previous day’s pace, as spending soared about 9% compared to 2024, adding up to $11.8 billion, Adobe found.

Adobe attributed the strong performance to better-than-anticipated discounts, especially for electronics. Discounts also touched an array of products from furniture to appliances to toys.

The search for price-savings marked a trend that would continue over the coming weeks.

While overall spending jumped, the largest uptick could be found in low-cost categories, according to Placer.ai, a data firm.

For instance, thrift shops and off-price retailers topped the apparel market with traffic up 11.7% and 6.6% respectively, compared to last year, Placer.ai said. Luxury chains and department stores, by comparison, posted meager gains of 1.8%, the data showed.

“Bifurcation has been a defining trend of consumer behavior in 2025 and continued to shape shopping patterns during the holiday season,” said Shira Petrack, head of content at Placer.ai.

Consumer spending among middle- and low-income Americans slowed earlier this year, triggering warnings from restaurant giants such as McDonald’s and Chipotle. A report this month showed consumer sentiment has fallen to its lowest point since a peak of pandemic-era inflation in 2022, University of Michigan data showed.

As of October, roughly half of buyers planned to use a by-now-pay-later plan for holiday shopping as a means of managing their budget, PayPal said.

Still, consumers have continued to power economic growth, even as they have balked at prices.

In the fall, shoppers helped propel the fastest quarterly U.S. economic growth in two years, federal government data last week showed.

The economy grew at a robust annualized rate of 4.3% in the third quarter in the government’s initial estimate, marking an acceleration from 3.8% growth recorded in the previous quarter, the U.S. Commerce Department said.

“Just as they have for several years now, the U.S. consumer continues to carry the baton for the economy,” Bret Kenwell, U.S. investment analyst at eToro, told ABC News in a statement.

What to know about Zohran Mamdani’s historic inauguration as New York City mayor

December 31, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Zohran Mamdani, the state assemblyman and democratic socialist who catapulted to national attention during the 2025 race for New York City mayor, is set to be inaugurated on New Year’s Day 2026 in a ceremony that will usher in historic leadership for America’s largest city, as Mamdani becomes the city’s first Muslim mayor and first mayor of South Asian descent.

“I think this is an important day for New Yorkers and even for the United States. The Mamdani inaugural on Jan. 1 is going to attract a global audience,” Mitchell Moss, a professor of urban policy at New York University, told ABC News.

Mamdani will be formally sworn in during a private ceremony by New York Attorney General Letitia James at midnight Thursday. That will take place in the now-decommissioned original City Hall subway station, which is known for its ornate arches and tiled ceiling.

Mamdani will be sworn in during the midnight ceremony on a centuries-old Qur’an from the New York Public Library’s collections, the library said Wednesday.

Laura Tamman, a political science professor at Pace University, said she sees both historical and practical significance in that location.

It is “acknowledging the history of the city,” she said. “It also, honestly, is a secure location … It was such a divisive campaign.”

Mamdani faced death and car bomb threats during his campaign, which included threats that targeted his Muslim faith.

“Whenever you have someone who’s making history like this — I’m sure that there are more security concerns than there were for, say, [former Mayor] Bill de Blasio’s swearing-in,” Tamman said.

At his public inauguration ceremony, set for 1 p.m. ET on the steps of New York City Hall on Thursday, Mamdani will be sworn in by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Brooklyn-born independent and fellow democratic socialist who has been an ideological ally.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a fellow democratic socialist who represents a swath of the Bronx, will also deliver remarks.

Moss said that having Sanders be a part of the inauguration makes a statement “that this is a national event … so I think that [Mamdani is] identifying his ideological roots and his connection to national politics.”

Tamman, meanwhile, said that “Ocasio-Cortez was, similarly to [Mamdani], really underestimated by the Democratic establishment, and has gone on to become a really important leader in the party.”

Mamdani’s transition team has also said that Cornelius Eady, a prolific poet and a National Book Award finalist, will read a new poem at Mamdani’s inauguration, and that the inauguration will include a block party open to the public.

Mamdani triumphed over independent candidate former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa after campaigning largely on making the city more affordable, although he often faced questions over his relative lack of political experience and feasibility of his proposals. His campaign promises included a rent freeze for rent-stabilized apartments, free bus fares and free childcare for children aged 6 weeks to 5 years.

During the campaign, he took stances on policing and public safety more moderate than how he had spoken about policing previously, and committed during his campaign to keeping on New York City’s current police commissioner, Jessica Tisch.

Mamdani will also face the challenge of translating his campaign promises into reality, which will include working with the state government, which controls taxes, and the city council on various city proposals.

At an event on Tuesday with reporters, Mamdani focused largely on administration appointments and the road ahead.

“I will demand excellence from my team, from myself, and also, I will ensure that we create the conditions where that excellence is possible to deliver on,” he said while responding to questions about the city’s Law Department.

Moss said that “no one expects a new mayor to do everything they promise, but they have to be making progress on their promises.”

“So Mamdani has to have some wins this year, which lay the ground for bigger wins in the future. And I think the key part is that he has identified what he wants,” Moss said.

The new mayor will also have to navigate the liberal-leaning city’s relationship with the Republican-controlled federal government. In November, Mamdani met with President Donald Trump in what was widely expected to be a contentious meeting, but ended up being very cordial.

During the meeting, Trump and Mamdani said they agreed on many things, after they had criticized each other for months during the campaign.

“I think you’re going to have, hopefully, a really great mayor; and the better he does, the happier I am,” Trump said at the time.

Neera Tanden, president of the liberal-leaning Center for American Progress, said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that Mamdani “has to get the rents down. He has to make sure the city runs well.”

“But I think a lot of people look at the fact that he was able to get Donald Trump to basically compliment him,” she added.

ABC News’ Ivan Pereira contributed to this report.

New Year’s 2026: Celebrations around the world

December 31, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — Countries across the globe are beginning to usher in 2026.

The Pacific island nation of Kiribati was the first to ring in the new year, while Alaska and Hawaii will be among the last places to say goodbye to 2025.

New Zealand

At 6 a.m. ET, New Zealand was one of the first countries to reach 2026, ringing in the new year with a fireworks display.

Australia

In Australia, fireworks over the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge went along as planned, but law enforcement presence was ramped up in Sydney in the wake of this month’s mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach.

Earlier in the night, people gathered at the bridge to honor the Bondi Beach victims.

Japan

In Tokyo, Japan, revelers rang in 2026 at 10 a.m. ET.

South Korea

In Seoul, South Korea, fireworks were lit over the massive Lotte World Tower.

China

In Beijing, China, people gathered at one of the most famous sections of the Great Wall.

Wildfires, floods and extreme heat: These are the biggest weather stories of 2025

December 31, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Devastating wildfires, flooding and extreme heat events took place over the past year, several resulting in mass fatalities, with experts linking some of the worst events to human-amplified climate change.

These are the biggest weather stories of the year:

Los Angeles wildfires

Multiple wildfires that sparked in Los Angeles at the beginning of the year spread quickly and burned for weeks, destroying more than 16,000 structures and killing dozens of people.

Fueled by severe drought conditions and Santa Ana winds, the Palisades and Eaton fires both erupted on Jan. 7, eventually spreading more than 37,000 acres over the course of 24 days.

At one point, five wildfires — including the Hurst, Woodley and Lidia fires — were burning through Ventura and Los Angeles counties, according to officials.

Hydroclimate whiplash — the rapid shift between wet and dry conditions — likely contributed to the severity of the wildfires burning in Southern California.

In recent years, parts of the state shifted from a major drought to an extended period of above-average precipitation that allowed for abundant vegetation growth. After that, a stretch of intense, record-breaking heat dried out much of that vegetation and provided ample fuel for large and fast-growing wildfires.

Once the fires were sparked, an exceptionally strong mountain wave wind event, with northerly 80 to 100 mph gusts, spread the fires rapidly through densely populated neighborhoods in Los Angeles.

Among the neighborhoods heavily impacted were the Pacific Palisades, Topanga, Malibu and Altadena.

Celebrities including Billy Crystal, Paris Hilton, Mandy Moore and Eugene Levy were among the residents who lost their homes in the wildfires.

While wildfires are a natural and necessary part of Earth’s cycle, climate change and other more direct human influences have increased their likelihood, research shows.

Texas floods

Extreme flooding that occurred this year in a region in Texas known as “Flash Flood Alley” quickly turned to tragedy when it inundated a popular campground site.

In the early morning hours of July 3, torrential rains turned the Guadalupe River in Kerr County into a raging wall of water, causing the river to rise 26 feet in less than an hour. In some spots, rainfall rates of 2 to 4 inches per hour were measured.

Campsites along the river were filled with campers for the 4th of July weekend, including Camp Mystic, one of the hardest-hit sites.

The flash flooding killed more than 130 people, 36 of whom were children, according to officials.

Texas Hill Country is often colloquially referred to as “Flash Flood Alley” because the weather and landscape in the south-central Texas region have a tendency to produce rapid flood events, according to the Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI). The “alley” stretches from Dallas to San Antonio and encompasses the Colorado and Guadalupe River basins.

The region’s steep terrain, shallow soil and repeated high rainfall events make it one of the most flood-prone regions in the country.

Drought also played a role in the severity of the event. Severe to exceptional drought conditions were prevalent for much of south-central Texas when the downpours came, making areas more susceptible to flash flooding because the soil could not absorb rainfall as efficiently.

Climate change is likely to make extreme weather events, like the flash flooding in Texas, occur more intensely and frequently, climate scientists told ABC News in July in the aftermath of the floods.

Deadly tornado outbreak in the South

Tornado outbreaks in Kentucky, Missouri and Virginia in mid-May killed at least 28 people, according to officials.

Strong supercell storms spurred tornado activity, tearing roofs off homes and causing several buildings to collapse.

In Missouri, St. Louis was particularly hard hit when an EF-3 tornado with 140 mph winds ripped through neighborhoods.

The first EF-5 tornado in the U.S. in over a decade also occurred this year.

On June 20, a monster tornado with peak winds topping 210 mph hit Enderlin, North Dakota, tipping several fully-loaded grain hopper cars and lofting tanker cars, including one empty tanker car that was tossed more than 475 feet, according to the National Weather Service.

There was also extensive tree damage throughout the entire Maple River valley, with only stubs of large branches or large trunks remaining and debarking with a “sandpapering” effect prevalent, officials said.

While the EF-5 tornado mostly struck a rural area, three people died as a result, according to the NWS.

No hurricanes made landfall in the US

The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season proved to be consequential, even though no hurricanes made landfall in the U.S for the first time since 2015.

Three Category 5 hurricanes formed during this past hurricane season, the second-most on record in the Atlantic basin. The only other season with more Category 5 storms was in 2005, when there were four Category 5 storms.

A combination of favorable conditions and a bit of luck helped the U.S. avoid a landfalling hurricane.

Prevailing winds and weather patterns steered storms away from the coast, and many variables aligned at the right times, keeping hurricanes from making landfall. Persistent dry air and other unfavorable atmospheric conditions hindered storm development during a historically busy timeframe.

Many of the storms that did form followed a similar path, curving away from the U.S. coastline and toward Bermuda. An unusually persistent upper-level trough, or area of lower pressure, sat over the Eastern U.S. throughout much of the season, bringing seasonably mild temperatures by late summer. The recurring trough frequently pushed the jet stream south, helping curve storms northward parallel to the East Coast and then out to sea, following the prevailing west to east wind pattern.

The trough also weakened the western side of the Bermuda High; the dominant high-pressure system located over the Atlantic Ocean that usually helps steer weather systems. When the Bermuda High is strong, storms are pushed farther west toward the East Coast and the Gulf. However, when it is weaker, they tend to turn northward earlier. This season, the weakened Bermuda High, combined with a dip in the jet stream, deflected storms away from land.

The Fujiwhara effect, a rare occurrence in the Atlantic basin, also helped keep Hurricanes Imelda and Humberto away from the U.S. as they were churning through the Western Atlantic at the same time. The Fujiwhara effect occurs when two tropical cyclones within several hundred miles of each other begin to interact and rotate around a common midpoint

Although no hurricanes made landfall in the U.S. in 2025, Hurricane Melissa became one of the most powerful hurricanes on record to make landfall in the Atlantic basin, ranking with Hurricane Dorian (2019) and the “Labor Day” hurricane (1935) for the strongest sustained winds at landfall.

Hurricane Melissa devastated the island of Jamaica, destroying entire communities, and killed dozens of people.

Human-amplified climate change is expected to influence tropical activity in the coming decades. While the total number of tropical cyclones is expected to remain steady or even decrease slightly, the storms that do form are likely to be more intense, according to climate scientists.

Global warming has led to substantial ocean warming, which fuels hurricane intensification. More than 90% of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gases has been absorbed by the oceans, creating conditions that favor rapid intensification and stronger peak winds. As a result, more storms are reaching major hurricane strength compared to past decades, the latest research shows.

The changing climate is also amplifying the indirect effects of tropical systems that remain well offshore, making coastal areas more vulnerable. Sea level rise and more intense storms increase the risks of flooding, erosion, and shoreline change, according to the federal government’s Fifth National Climate Assessment.

Record heat in Europe

Major heat waves across southern Europe over the summer pushed temperatures passed triple digits in many major cities.

Severe heat waves were recorded in Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal at the end of June and beginning of July.

The heat was so severe that outdoor work activities were banned in several regions in Italy. On July 1, the Eiffel Tower in Paris was closed as temperatures topped 101 degrees Fahrenheit.

In Portugal, where two-thirds of the country was on alert for high heat and wildfires, temperatures reached 107 degrees Fahrenheit. Similar temperatures were recorded in Seville, Spain.

In Athens, a large wildfire broke out and was fueled by strong winds, forcing evacuations and road closures near the ancient Temple of Poseidon.

Multiple fatalities occurred, and tourists were advised by local governments to alter their plans as a result of the heat.

Climate scientists warn that extreme heat will become more commonplace across southern Europe as a result of global warming.

Europe is fastest-warming continent on planet, heating up twice as much as the global average since the 1980s, according to a 2023 report by Copernicus, European Union’s climate change service, and the World Meteorological Organization.

There is high confidence in the connection between human-amplified climate change and extreme heat events, research has shown. The attribution of climate change to extreme heat has the strongest connection and highest confidence compared to all other weather events.

ABC News’ Weather and Climate Unit contributed to this report.

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