People walk through snow in Manhattan on December 26, 2025 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Heavy snow fell from southern Connecticut through the Hudson Valley and into parts of upstate New York on Friday as most of Long Island saw anywhere from 2 to 6 inches of snow.
Meanwhile, the New York City area accumulated just short of 3 inches of snow as difficult travel conditions are expected through Saturday morning while crews work to clean up this wintry mess.
The winter storm is beginning to wrap up, but some lingering light snow and wintry mix will stick around through Saturday along the I-95 corridor as an additional inch of snow and a light glaze of ice will be possible across the region.
Meanwhile, low temperatures across the Northeast from Washington, D.C. and Pittsburgh to the North and East will be near or below freezing on Saturday night, allowing for refreezing of any slush or snow that’s still on the ground.
Another system will move through the region late Sunday into Monday but will be mostly rain, though some wintry mix will be possible into higher elevations.
This weekend, a storm system will move from across the country and bring more snow to the inner mountain West on Saturday and eventually rain to the east on Sunday.
On Saturday, the Rocky Mountains will get snow from Idaho and Montana through Wyoming and Colorado. On Sunday, some snow may linger in the Colorado Rockies and into northern New Mexico.
Most of these mountain areas will see up to a foot of snow, but some areas could see up to 18 inches.
On Sunday, rain will pick up across the Midwest from Kansas and Missouri through Ohio and Pennsylvania while scattered thunderstorms are possible from Arkansas up to Ohio, with some possibly strong enough to bring gusty winds and maybe an isolated tornado.
This system is expected to continue to move through the East late Sunday through Monday, bringing rain for most and freezing rain for some in northern New England.
Next week is expected to start off wet for the East on Monday and will bring mostly rain to the East Coast, with some snow and wintry mix possible for the Great Lakes.
Most of the country should see dry and quiet weather leading up to New Year’s Eve, with the West seasonably warm and the East seasonably cooler.
After New Year’s, a new weather pattern will stick around for the start of 2026 as warmer temperatures should stick around for most of the West and reach down into parts of the South.
Meanwhile, the Upper Midwest and Northeast will be on the cooler side with an active pattern of quick-moving systems possible.
Tourist boats on the River Thames in London, UK, on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. UK businesses ended 2025 feeling more upbeat about the economy’s prospects after they were spared much of the tax pain at last month’s budget. (Carlos Jasso/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — The River Thames winds 215 miles through England, carving out the curves and bends that define much of the geography, including London’s. For centuries, the river has been called “monster soup” and the “dirty old river.”
For thirty years, Lubos Grajciarik, known online as Urban Angler Lou, has stood on its banks with a fishing rod in hand.
“Originally, I came from Slovakia… and I have fished most of my life,” he told ABC News.
He has witnessed firsthand the river’s slow transformation, from Canary Wharf’s rise to the quieter stretches upstream at Richmond and at the weir Teddington Lock.
“Yes, there is improvement,” he said. “Water is still polluted. But it is significantly lower than in previous years.”
Further improvement, and the hope for an even cleaner future, now rests on a monumental infrastructure project beneath London: the £4.5 billion, or about $6 billion, Tideway Tunnel, also known as the “super sewer.” The 25-km tunnel — the largest upgrade to London’s sewers in 150 years — is, according to its designers, intended to intercept overflows and capture waste before it reaches the river.
Four of the tunnel’s 21 gates, which are valves that are designed to stop the waste before it enters the Thames, are operational, with more to open in the coming months.
“The newly completed Tideway Tunnel will reduce the volume of discharges entering the tidal Thames in a typical year by 95%,” said a spokesperson for Thames Water, the company responsible for London’s wastewater.
Optimism from those along the riverbank appears to be supported by science. For more than half a century, the City of London Corporation has collaborated with anglers and ecologists in a citizen science project to track fish populations.
Scientists estimate that more than 100 species now inhabit the Thames, a river once declared biologically dead. In 2024, volunteers caught 122 fish across five species — bass, flounder, eel, pouting and dab.
Grajciarik said his catches reflect that resurgence. “There is a mixture of both species,” he said. “Freshwater pike and perch coexist with occasional mullets, sea bus, sea route.” The Thames, where saltwater meets fresh, has become a rare brackish habitat — alive again, yet still fragile.
But beneath the river’s revival, a darker current still runs.
“In many ways, the Thames is a much healthier ecosystem than it was. Though there are other pressures, like pharmaceuticals, chemicals, [micro]plastics, in the sewage now, against heavy metals several decades ago,” said Dr. Alexander Lipp, an Earth and environmental scientist who created Sewage Map, a platform that tracks sewage overflows in real time.
“Only 6% of the rivers and streams in the Thames basin are classed as in ‘good ecological health’ by the Environment Agency,” a spokesperson for Thames21, an environmental charity working to revive rivers in the Thames Basin, told ABC News. “The primary culprit is physical modifications (straightening, deepening or even paving over rivers), followed by sewage pollution.”
Thames Water saw serious pollution incidents more than double in 2024 — to 33 from 14 a year earlier — according to the Environment Agency’s latest report, which was released before the new “super sewer” began opening. Out of nine water companies assessed, Thames Water alone earned a one-star rating, the lowest possible.
Officials at the Environment Agency — a government agency responsible to protect and improve the environment in the U.K. — attributed the decline in the rating to a mix of factors: unusually wet and stormy weather, years of underinvestment, poor infrastructure maintenance and more rigorous monitoring.
Thames Water said that “all discharges of untreated sewage are unacceptable” in a 2023 statement.
Addressing the low ratings, a company spokesperson said in an emailed response to ABC News, that “in 2024-25, Thames Water also made a record capital investment of £2.225 billion. We know we need to further improve for our customers, community, and the environment, which is why we have embarked on the largest ever investment programme, delivering the biggest upgrade to our network in 150 years.”
Yet those promises are shadowed by debt — nearly £17 billion, or about $22.3 billion, as of March 2025 — amid the growing pressure of climate change. The company said this month that its debt had grown to nearly £20 billion and that it was negotiating with its creditors.
“Any sewage discharged into the Thames negatively affects the river, increasing nutrient loading, bacteria, and plastic pollution,” the Thames21 spokesperson said.
“Climate change is something that’s going to make this worse,” Lipp said. He explained that London’s combined sewage system, where stormwater and wastewater share the same pipes, is easily overwhelmed by heavy rain. With more intense downpours expected, spills will likely become even more frequent.
Still, Lipp noted, “I would say that Thames is better than other companies when it comes to data transparency.”
The company says long-term recovery will take patience. “Transforming Thames is a major programme of work that will take time; it will take at least a decade to achieve the scale of change required,” a spokesperson said.
“I can see the people taking more responsibility for our waters,” said Grajciarik, the fisherman. He often reports oil from nearby boats or sewage spills to the U.K.’s Environment Agency’s hotline number.
But whether the massive investments and new infrastructure will be enough remains uncertain.
(NEW YORK) — A major winter storm is making post-Christmas road travel extremely dangerous in parts of the Northeast, and bringing snow and ice to the New York City area.
The storm is also impacting flights. More than 1,500 flights were canceled on Friday, with New York City’s three airports and the Philadelphia International Airport hit the hardest.
More than 500 flights were canceled on Saturday.
New Jersey and New York were under state of emergencies.
“Please continue to monitor your local forecast, avoid unnecessary travel and if you must travel, take all necessary precautions to ensure you arrive safely,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement.
Heavy snow is expected to hit parts of New York, eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, western Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
The heaviest snow began moving into the tristate area Friday afternoon and will continue through the night, making travel difficult from Philadelphia to New York City to Albany, New York.
The snow began reaching New York City around 5 p.m. Friday and was expected to continue overnight, ending around 7 a.m. Earlier, New York City was forecast to get about 7 inches of snow — which would have been the most snow in nearly four years.
However, the National Weather Service later revised its forecast saying the mix of precipitation had shifted further northeast, lowering the expected snowfall totals around New York City and northeast New Jersey.
Instead, the New York City area was expected to see between 2 to 5 inches with some spots seeing 6 inches especially to the north. A “glaze of ice” from freezing rain was also expected.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams called it a “significant snow event” and said plows would be hitting the streets later Friday night.
Six to 10 inches of snow is possible from upstate New York to Long Island.
Philadelphia can expect 1 to 3 inches of snow along with a glaze of ice, making travel challenging on Friday night.
On Friday morning, the freezing rain moved into Pennsylvania and covered roads across the state with dangerous ice. An ice storm warning is in place in parts of western Pennsylvania, where numerous power outages and downed trees are possible.
Fabolous and fellow cohosts of the Let’s Rap About It podcast made light of 50 Cent‘s recent diss. In a new freestyle called “Squatters,” he addresses 50’s past relationship with ex Daphne Joy, who has been referenced in a lawsuit involving Diddy. Rapping over G-Unit‘s “Rider, Pt. 2,” Fab takes jabs at 50, rapping, in part, “You know I got power/ Your shorty got hot showered/ Catch her trying to leave like Tasha shot LaLa.”
Podcast cohosts Maino, Jim Jones and Dave East also appear on the freestyle, contributing their own subliminal shots. The freestyle follows claims by 50 that the group were “squatters” who hadn’t paid rent for the studio where they film their podcast. His remarks came in response to the hosts criticizing him for producing the Netflix documentary about Diddy, which they argued was unnecessary.
Tyler, The Creator also surprised fans on Christmas with the “Sag Harbor” freestyle, named after a village in the Hamptons in Long Island, New York. In it, he reflected on accomplishments in the past year, rapping, “Son got his fourth No. 1 in a row, I’m a champion/ Don’t tap the glassy, rather tap the pedal on the chassi.” He shared that he’s “on the road to doin’ stadiums” and thanked fans for a great 2025.
Lizzo is not surprised by Nicki Minaj‘s support of the current administration. When asked about it on her social media, she said, “Celebrities’ opinions of other celebrities [do] not matter.” She then added, “You’re about to see an influx of people who see that it is more profitable and more beneficial to join that side. You’re going to see it. It already started, and it’s going to continue.”
The new movie Song Sung Blue has an unexpected connection to Eddie Vedder.
The film is a biopic about Lightning & Thunder, a Neil Diamond tribute duo made up of couple Mike Sardina and Claire Sardina, played by Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, respectively. In the movie, Lightning & Thunder get their big break when they’re invited to open for Pearl Jam.
“This is true,” Song Sung Blue director Craig Brewer tells Entertainment Weekly. “Eddie Vedder is the MVP of Lightning & Thunder.”
Pearl Jam posted footage from the concert to their Facebook, which was previously used in a 2008 documentary about Lightning & Thunder also called Song Sung Blue.
As Brewer tells it, the doc was almost blocked by Diamond’s publishing company. However, Vedder personally appealed to Diamond, who told his team to stand down upon seeing it.
“Eddie … even to this day, has been such a support in telling the story of Lightning & Thunder, even to the extent of — we wanted to use the song ‘Alive’ off of his first album [Pearl Jam’s Ten],” Brewer says. “They have never licensed that song, ever. It’s always been an automatic no. And he gave it to us.”
Olivia Dean just received a belated Christmas present: a #1 hit on a Billboard chart.
The British star has topped the publication’s Pop Airplay chart with “Man I Need,” her first song to ever make that chart. She’s the third new artist to hit #1 on Pop Airplay in 2025 to date, following fellow Brit Lola Young, who topped the chart with “Messy” in May and HUNTR/X from KPop Demon Hunters, who reached #1 with “Golden” in November.
Olivia also holds the final position on the chart, as her song “So Easy (To Fall in Love)” debuts at #40. Both songs are from her top-five album The Art of Loving.
Meanwhile, Olivia will compete for the best new artist Grammy in February, facing off against Lola Young, Alex Warren, sombr, Addison Rae, Leon Thomas III, KATSEYE and The Marías.
Mountan bikers have replaced skiers in early August as a record-breaking ski season comes to a slushy end on August 6, 2023, in Mammoth Lakes, California. After a series of winter atmospheric rivers slammed into this high elevation Sierra Nevada resort, dropping 900 inches of snow at the top of Mammoth Mountain and nearly 700 inches in the village, the ski season was pushed into August for only the third time in Mammoth’s history. (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)
(CALIFORNIA) — Two ski patrollers performing avalanche mitigation work at a California ski resort were injured in an avalanche on Friday, the resort operator said.
The avalanche occurred at Mammoth Mountain at approximately 7:30 a.m. local time, prior to ski area operations. The two patrollers got caught in a slide and were transported to an area hospital, the resort said.
One person sustained serious injuries and was being transported out of the area for further care, while the other was evaluated for possible broken bones, the resort said.
The ski area was closed for the remainder of the day amid high avalanche danger, the resort said.
Mammoth Mountain, which is located in Mammoth Lakes in the Sierra Nevada mountains, has received more than 5 feet of snow since Tuesday, the resort said.
The White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks at the White House press briefing room in Washington DC, United States, on December 11, 2025. (Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on Friday that she is pregnant with her second child.
“The greatest Christmas gift we could ever ask for – a baby girl coming in May 2026,” Leavitt wrote in a post to Instagram.
“My husband and I are thrilled to grow our family and can’t wait to watch our son become a big brother. My heart is overflowing with gratitude to God for the blessing of motherhood, which I truly believe is the closest thing to Heaven on Earth,” she wrote.
“I am also extremely grateful to President Trump and our Chief of Staff Susie Wiles for their support, and for fostering a pro-family environment in the White House. 2026 is going to be a great year and I am so excited to be a girl mom!” Leavitt added in the social media post.
Leavitt is 28 years old and is the youngest person to serve as White House press secretary. She previously worked in the press office during President Donald Trump’s first term and also served as the press secretary for his 2024 campaign.
Leavitt ran a failed bid for Congress in New Hampshire, her home state, in 2022.
She and her husband, Nicholas Riccio, welcomed their first child, Nicholas “Niko” Robert Riccio, in 2024.
Lainey Wilson performs the halftime show during the game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium on December 25, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
The show was part of Snoop Dogg‘s Holiday Halftime Party, which took place during the Lions/Vikings game, streamed live on Netflix’s NFL Christmas Gameday. In addition to Lainey and Snoop, the show featured the voices of the KPop Demon Hunters group HUNTR/X as well as opera legend Andrea Bocelli and his son, Matteo Bocelli.
Dressed in white, Lainey made her entrance on a white sleigh driven across the field. Riding along in the back was her fiancé, former NFL player Devlin “Duck” Hodges, wearing a Santa suit with a cowboy hat. Wilson then performed “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” with a little help from Snoop.
On Instagram, Lainey called the experience “a Christmas we’ll never forget.” You can find multiple behind-the-scenes photos of Lainey, Duck, Snoop and all the other performers in her Instagram post.
Elton John performs at the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, November 8, 2025 (Kevin Kane/Getty Images for RRHOF)
Elton John and Brandi Carlile released their Grammy-nominated joint album, Who Believe In Angels?, in 2025, but 2026 may bring us some Elton John solo music — and maybe even more than expected.
In a holiday video message to members of his Rocket Club fan club, Elton said, “I’ll be going to the studio next April to make a record. But I’ve already made one, which is fantastic. So I’m teasing you with that one.”
It’s not clear which projects Elton is referring to. In November, he told Variety, “I just can’t wait to go into the studio now and write some new songs and go from there.” He also mentioned he had “seven new lyrics” from Bernie Taupin to write music for.
Despite his retirement from touring, Elton revealed in his message that he has continued performing. “I’ve done 11 private shows this year,” he said, adding that he’s in “great voice and I enjoy playing with the band and on my own.” He also made a plug for his headlining appearance at the Rock in Rio festival in September. “Who would’ve thought?” he asked.
