California Flooding, UPS Crash, Ukraine Conflict, and Wall Street Update

California's Wettest Holiday Season

• 🌧️ Relentless rains have caused widespread flooding in California, with over 85 million people under flood alerts.
• 🏠 In hard-hit mountain areas northeast of Los Angeles, residents returned to find homes buried in mud after nearly a foot of rain in three days.
• 🤝 Locals emphasize the community's strong tradition of pulling together and helping each other during natural disasters like floods and fires.

National and International News

• ✈️ A 15th person has died as a result of a recent UPS plane crash at Louisville International Airport, where initial reports indicate cracks were found where the engine connected to the wings.
• 🇺🇦 Ukrainian President Zelenskyy plans to discuss security guarantees with President Trump, with a 20-point plan reportedly 90% ready, though territorial issues with Russia remain unresolved.
• 💥 Russia conducted strikes, including one on Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, resulting in at least two deaths and six injuries.
• 🇮🇱 In northern Israel, a Palestinian man from the West Bank killed at least two Israelis and injured two more in what authorities described as a "rolling terror attack."

Economic and Cultural Highlights

• 📉 Wall Street stocks closed slightly lower to end the holiday-shortened week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and NASDAQ both slipping 20 points.
• 🎬 The broadcast also teased upcoming segments on events of 2025, film critics' best movie choices of the year, and a British pantomime blending holiday tradition with Muslim culture.