Tuesday, December 30, 2025

Arctic weather marches south

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The Daily Briefing

YOUR MORNING NEWS ROUNDUP

Tue Dec 30 2025

Jane Onyanga-Omara
Audience Editor

Hi there! Welcome to the Daily Briefing. Here's what's breaking this morning:

•	A viral video alleging day care fraud in Minnesota drew a response from the FBI.
•	The U.S. offered Ukraine a 15-year security guarantee in a potential peace settlement with Russia, Zelenskyy says.
•	Beyoncé is now a billionaire, according to Forbes.

Jane Onyanga-Omara here, bringing you the news to know on Tuesday, from winter weather havoc to the country's safest cities and how Fernando Mendoza rose to college football's top spot. 😎And make sure you have your 2026 New Year's glasses.

Blizzard warnings as snowstorm barrels across northern US

Temperatures are set to plunge from the Plains to the East Coast and Gulf Coast, along with snow in the Midwest and Northeast, AccuWeather forecasts. Tens of millions of people were under blizzard and winter storm warnings on Monday, from Minnesota and Iowa to Michigan, New York and Maine. As snow piles up across the northern U.S., the Arctic air will also march southward, breaking a days-long heat spell that brought record warm temperatures to several cities.

•	Thousands are without power in Michigan due to the 'bomb cyclone.'

More news to know now

•	Will the Gaza peace plan move forward? Trump says Hamas must disarm.
•	What are America's safest cities? When Mayor Frank Picozzi learned Warwick, Rhode Island, had topped a list of the safest cities in the United States, here's why he wasn't surprised.
•	Drops at midnight. Meet the famous New Year's Eve ball up close (you can even touch it if you're willing to pay for a deluxe ticket).

Take a look

From 1,249th to 1st in the nation

Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza wins the Heisman Trophy earlier this month.

Todd Van Emst/Heisman Trust via Imagn Images

Fernando Mendoza is both the first Indiana University Hoosier and first Cuban-American to ever win the Heisman Trophy, college football's highest honor. Mendoza's coming of age in Miami would be marked by a cultural changing of the guard, when tackle football was becoming increasingly popular among Cuban-Americans, who had traditionally focused on baseball.

Things to talk about

All the places you'll go (in 2026)

If there's one thing the USA TODAY Travel team never gets tired of, it's chasing moments that remind us why travel matters. Over the past year, our team crossed the globe by plane, ship and the occasional winding back road, uncovering places that surprised, inspired and stayed with us long after we unpacked. From laid-back coastal hideaways to buzzing cities, here's where we suggest traveling in 2026.

Before you go

•	Let's get some matcha.
•	Britney Spears lashed out at family for celebrating Christmas without her.
•	NFL power rankings Week 18: Who's No. 1 as playoffs near?

Have feedback on the Daily Briefing? Email NFallert@usatoday.com.

Body found on California coast identified as missing triathlete

A group of people stand near a sea lion that kept swimming to shore at the Lovers Point Beach in Pacific Grove, Calif, on Tuesday, May 26, 2020.

Erica Fox's husband says she was still in her wetsuit and wearing a "shark band" designed to deter attacks when her body was recovered from the ocean.

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