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Winter Storm Warnings, Massive Fraud Investigation & Double NYE Ball Drop - Monday, December 29, 2025
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Today is Monday, December 29th. We'll tell you how winter weather is putting millions of Americans on alert, including those trying to get home after the holidays, and why President Trump says peace in Ukraine could be closer than ever. Also, we're explaining a new FBI investigation into what could be a massive fraud scheme in Minnesota. Plus, how are stores changing the rules for gift returns? How common is AI slop, really? And why is the Times Square ball dropping twice this New Year's Eve? Those stories and even more news to know coming up. Welcome to the Newsworthy. All the day's news in less than 15 minutes. I'm Erica. Mandy, thanks so much for being here. Let's do this. Weather alerts now cover two thirds of the country, putting millions of Americans in the path of serious winter storms. As of this morning, the upper Midwest and Great Lakes are getting the brunt of it with heavy snow and strong winds creating whiteout conditions. Parts of the region could see up to two feet of snow. The Northeast is also getting freezing. Rain and ice could build up in parts of New England and New York State. At the same time, strong thunderstorms are in the forecast for the South. Of course, all of this is happening as people across the US Are returning home from a long holiday weekend. Reports of crashes have been piling up on highways and interstates, and thousands of flights have been delayed or canceled so far. Even where the skies are clear, abrupt shifts are happening. For example, in Dallas, Texas, temperatures were in the 80s yesterday, but today highs are forecast to be in the 40s. Meanwhile, out west, people have been dealing with rain that even forced some evacuations on Christmas. But that part of the country is now expected to get drier, calmer weather in the coming days. Ukraine and Russia are closer than ever to a peace deal, at least that's according to President Trump. He met again with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over the weekend, who echoed Trump's optimism, saying the peace plan is 90% agreed upon. Trump also spoke over the phone for two and a half hours with Russian President Vladimir Putin. After the call, Trump said he believed Putin still wants peace, even though Russia was launching massive new attacks on Ukraine as Zelenskyy was traveling to the US as for a timeline, Trump says the best case scenario would be a deal reached in a few weeks. But he also acknowledged the negotiations are complex and could still break down. One of the biggest issues is still whether Russia can hold onto Ukrainian territory. Zelenskyy says he expects some intensive. Iran's president now says his country is in a full scale war with the U.S. europe, and Israel. And he says it's even more complicated and more difficult than Iran's war with Iraq in the 1980s that caused more than a million casualties on both sides. Of course, tensions with the US have been high for a while. As we told you before, President Trump has promised to stop Iran's efforts in obtaining a nuclear weapon, even though Iran claims it's just experimenting with nuclear enrichment. A few months ago, the US And Israel attacked Iran's nuclear facilities. And over the course of 12 days, about 1,100 Iranians, including senior leaders, were killed by American and Israeli strikes. Since then, Iran has reportedly been rebuilding. Then just yesterday, the country announced it sent three satellites into orbit from Russia. The US has already sanctioned Iran's space program over its alleged links to a ballistic missiles program. But so far, the Trump administration has not given a comment about the latest launch. Today, President Trump has a meeting planned with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Iran is expected to be a key topic in those talks. They're also set to talk about the next steps for Gaza. Stay tuned. American forces launched Christmas Day strikes in West Africa. The Trump administration says the targets were ISIS terrorists in Nigeria who have been violently attacking Christians. Independent analysts say the violence is not simply religious. Multiple militant groups are involved, including ISIS affiliates, and both Muslim and Christian civilians have been targeted. They say overall, tens of thousands of civilians have been killed in recent years, and the US has been working with the Nigerian government to target the extremist groups responsible. The US Military strike against ISIS in Nigeria actually came just days after American strikes against ISIS in Syria. And Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says there will be more to come. Minnesota is now accused of letting what some claim is the largest fraud in US History to go unchecked. The claim comes from an online video gaining a lot of traction since independent journalist Nick Shirley posted it on Friday. It shows him approaching a supposed daycare that had received $4 million in taxpayer funds. The sign outside was misspelled and no children were inside. Now the FBI says it's just the tip of a very large iceberg. The bureau's director, Kash Patel, says investigators were already in Minnesota tackling fraud even before that story went viral. And other schemes have apparently been busted, including one that allegedly stole federal food aid meant for children. Many Republicans say the blame falls to Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, who was Vice President Kamala Harris's running mate last year. Yesterday, the governor's office said that's not true, that Walz has actually been trying to crack down on fraud for years and has already launched his own investigations recently. Most people charged in major fraud cases in Minnesota have been of Somali descent, and President Trump has called it an example of why the country needs stricter immigration controls. As for Walls, he has said it doesn't matter where people come from, but that quote, if you're committing fraud, you are going to j White House spokesperson Caroline Levitt made a big announcement over the weekend. She's expecting her second child in the spring. That makes her the first pregnant press secretary in the history of the White House, and she'll stay on the job. This isn't the first time Lovett has made history already. Levitt was the youngest ever press secretary when she took the job in January at 27 years old. In her post sharing the news, the press secretary thanked President Trump and the White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, for a pro family work environment. The last time she was pregnant, Lovett served as the Trump campaign's press secretary ahead of the 2024 election. She returned to work three days after giving birth. Lovett has made it clear that was her choice. We have more news for you still ahead, but first, a quick thanks to our sponsor. When I think about the gifts I use all year long, one that always comes to mind is my Quince Carry on suitcase. I've taken it on so many trips now. It's sleek, lightweight, it rolls really smoothly and it has convenient compression me fit everything I need without feeling bulky. And then there's the beautiful delicate diamond bracelet from Quince that my friends gifted me this year. I wear it almost every day. And most recently, I got myself a cashmere sweater from Quince that I'm loving. It is so soft. That's what's great about Quince. They have something for everyone. And it all feels intentionally designed and at prices that actually make sense. Whether it's their travel pieces, their Mongolian cashmere, their washable silk, tailored denim or outerwear, it's made with premium materials from trusted factories, but without the luxury markup other brands charge. Find gifts so good you'll want to keep them with quince. Go to quince.comnewsworthy for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q-U-I-N c e.comnewsworthy to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.comnewsworthy now back to the news. A couple of the most recognizable tennis players in the world recreated an iconic match from more than 50 years ago we're talking about the battle of the sexes. The original pitted Billie Jean King against Bobby Riggs in the midst of King trying to start a women's tour and get equal pay in tennis. King famously won it in straight sets. This time it was the men's player, Nick Kyrgios, whom beat top ranked women's player Aryna Sabalenka, though neither of them really took the match seriously. There were some modified rules, underhand serves and even some dancing to keep the crowd entertained. The match also stirred up criticism, with some saying it trivialized women's tennis and its progress toward equality. There were also some questions about why Kyrgios was chosen for the men's side, since he has previously opposed equal pay initiatives. Now, both players say they'd like to face off again. An icon of French cinema has passed away Brigitte Bardot is known for being one of the first actresses to ever embody liberated female sexuality and self empowerment in the 1950s and 60s, and she's credited for having a lasting cultural influence. Bardot retired from acting in 1973 to become an animal rights activist. Later in life, she was known for some other controversial views. Bardot was fined multiple times for inciting racial hatred, mostly while speaking out against Muslims and Jewish people. She also stirred up controversy for criticizing the MeToo movement, calling it hypocritical and ridiculous, among other things, saying many actresses who claimed they were harassed were just seeking attention. She died at her home this week at 91 years old. As a tribute, French President Emmanuel Macron called her a symbol of freedom, saying France had lost a legend of the century. New research has found more than 20% of videos on YouTube can now qualify as AI slump. That's the term meaning low quality content generated by artificial intelligence to farm views. The video editing company Kapwing surveyed 15,000 of the world's most popular YouTube channels. It found nearly 300 of them include only AI slop. Many more had it mixed in with other content. Then researchers made a new YouTube account and found more than 100 of the first 500 videos recommended to its feed were AI slop. Of course, AI slop is not confined to YouTube. Other research has found more than 50% of new written content is also AI generated and cheaply made. Critics say all this AI slop makes it harder to find reliable, original work with genuine creativity. But there are many defenders of it who say slop has always been around, even before AI, from spam online to filler articles in newspapers. And they say even if the content is only somewhat entertaining it has value for the first time in its long history, the Times Square Ball is scheduled to drop twice this New Year's Eve. First, the crystal ball will make its usual descent at midnight to signal the start of the new year. Then the ball will be relit with a patriotic design and at around 12:04am there will be a second drop, complete with confetti and pyrotechnics meant to kick off months of celebration for America's upcoming 250th birthday. The ball will also drop again on July 3, just before midnight for Independence Day, marking the first time in history it goes down on a day other than New Year's Eve. Hundreds of other events and programs are also scheduled throughout 2026 to mark the signing of the Declaration of independence in 1776. Well, that's it for the news. So now it's time for Money Monday when we talk about one interesting Money related news story. Now that the holiday shopping season is behind us, the holiday return season has arrived and it's a busy one. The national retail Federation estimates 17% of items purchased for the holidays will be taken back this year. That adds up to tens of billions of dollars worth of unwanted gifts. As Axios reports, the most returned items are typically clothing and shoes, accessories and electronics. But this year, many retailers have stricter return policies. For some, that means shorter return windows. It usually depends on when the gift was bought, but most of the time at most stores you have at least a couple more weeks. For others, customers have to pay a fee. At Best buy, it's a $45 return fee for products that require activation, like smartphones and tablets. Elsewhere like at J. Crew, JCPenney, DSW, Marshalls and TJ Maxx, it's free to return items in store, but returns by mail will cost extra. And keep in mind, many retailers have a list of things you cannot return, like gift cards. Well, thank you so much for listening today. We hope you had a wonderful holiday and we'll be back with even more news to know tomorrow. For now, have a great day.