New Year celebrations are in full swing around the globe. College football's championship hopefuls are ready for another round of the playoffs. And new laws are going into effect come tomorrow. |
👋 Howdy, y'all! Laura Davis here, and I've got a bit of news to share here in the italic section. First of all, Happy New Year! I hope your 2025 is healthy, happy, safe and prosperous. 🥰 Now, with the new year comes a new position for little old me. It is an exciting change for yours truly, but for you, it means that I won't be writing this newsletter anymore after this week. Hold the waterworks! But please have no fear, y'all – I have a great friend named Rebecca Morin who will be taking the helm of this thing to keep you informed even better than ever. Finally, the newsletter is taking a New Year's Day break tomorrow, but I'll be back Thursday to bring you your regularly scheduled news! |
Now that we've got that housekeeping out of the way, let's get to what's been going on today: Tuesday's news. Let's boogie! |
But first: Look up! 👀 Fireworks won't be the only entertainment in the sky on New Year's Eve. The northern lights are predicted to make an appearance to close out the year. Here's where they could appear. |
✨ Manifesting an amazing year |
Everyone wants to bring in a bit of luck during the new year. Whether it's to accomplish all those resolutions or just have a prosperous 2025, every culture has its New Year's traditions, but some might stand out more than others. |
Collards and cornbread: For example, in my family on New Year's Eve, we eat collard greens for green money, and black-eyed peas for good luck. And cornbread because ... it's delicious? I can't remember why we do that one. Maybe so we get to eat more cornbread all year long. In any case, make sure the chores are done by New Year's Eve: No cleaning, laundry, or lawn-mowing on New Year's Day, or else you'll spend all year doing it. No thanks! 🔮 Want to make sure your year is awesome? See our list of things to eat, do and avoid. |
Ringing in the new year: Final preparations for the iconic ball drop event in New York City's Times Square took place Monday as organizers conducted a test run by illuminating the ball and sending it up the 139-foot pole atop One Times Square. 🪩 How to watch the ball drop. |
A rockin' good time: "New Year's Rockin' Eve" is a tradition broadcast from several places, including New York, where the iconic ball drop occurs on Times Square. This year, longtime host Ryan Seacrest will share emcee duties with pop star Rita Ora. The show will include performances from Carrie Underwood, Lenny Kravitz, TLC and more. 📺 Here's how to watch. | The ball for the upcoming New Year's Eve celebration is seen during a drop test in New York City's Times Square on Monday. Eduardo Munoz |
Gearing up for more College Football Playoffs |
And the final day of the year is for college football, too. The quarterfinal round of the new 12-team College Football Playoff begins Tuesday night, New Year's Eve, with No. 3 Boise State taking on No. 6 Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. EST at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The winner advances to the CFP semifinals, along with the victors from three more quarterfinal games on New Year's Day. 🏈 How to watch: Our updated College Football Playoff bracket. | Electrifying running back Ashton Jeanty will lead the Boise State against Penn State in Tuesday night's Fiesta Bowl, a College Football Playoff quarterfinal game. Troy Babbitt, Imagn Images |
As violent crime rates appear to be falling after a pandemic-related spike, gun violence continues to plague communities around the U.S. In 2024, there have been nearly 500 mass shootings, according to a database maintained by Gun Violence America. Steps have been taken at the federal level aimed at reducing gun violence, including the Biden administration's passing of the most significant gun safety legislation in nearly 30 years. But more work is needed. By and large, the state laws related to gun safety taking effect in 2025 enforce gun safety. 🔎 We break down some laws going into effect on Jan. 1. | | | | Officials are investigating the death of Robert Brooks, an inmate who died after he was brutally pummeled by corrections officers in New York. | | | | A chartered plane reportedly carrying the Gonzaga men's basketball team nearly crossed a runway where another flight was taking off. | | | | Officials identified the woman who was burned to death inside a New York City subway train on Dec. 22 as 57-year-old Debrina Kawam. | | | | Kate Beckinsale said she has "47 million stories" about being mistreated in Hollywood, including an instance of assault. | | | | Eli Manning is at the forefront of the debate for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2025 class, but expect more fiery opinions about the selections. | | | | Officials said two men from Venezuela and one from Colombia were arrested. The Mexican migration officer's name was not immediately released. | | | | Aaron Brown, a longtime anchor for both ABC and CNN died Sunday at 76, the latter network reports. He was most famed for his live reporting on 9/11. | | | | A shooting at a convenience store in the Bronx Monday left six people injured including a mother and her 12-year-old daughter, police say. | | | | From rap beefs to "Tortured poets," these are USA TODAY's biggest moments in pop culture from 2024. | | | | 'Wicked' is set to be available for purchase on several streaming platforms, including Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV. | | | | | | | Brighten your day with one of our games. | | | | | |
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