The Trump administration has announced that it is freezing child care funds to Minnesota after a series of fraud schemes in recent years. Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Jim O’Neill said on the social platform X on Tuesday that the move is in response to “blatant fraud that appears to be rampant in Minnesota and across the country.” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz says the state has spent years cracking down on fraudsters but that Trump is “politicizing the issue to defund programs that help Minnesotans.” The announcement comes after years of investigation. It included a $300 million scheme for which 57 defendants in Minnesota have been convicted.

Zohran Mamdani will become mayor of New York City as the clock ticks over into 2026 — but the celebrations are set to last through New Year’s Day. The Democrat’s team is planning two separate swearing-in ceremonies Thursday. First, there will be a small ceremony at midnight at the historic, decommissioned old City Hall subway station. Then in the afternoon there's a bigger public event on the steps of City Hall, as well as a block party to commemorate the start of Mamdani's term. His office expects thousands of people to attend the block party and says there will be performances, music and interfaith elements at the public inauguration.

Actor Isiah Whitlock Jr. has died at age 71. His manager confirmed he passed away Tuesday in New York after a short illness. Whitlock played the corrupt state Sen. Clay Davis on “The Wire." He also appeared in several Spike Lee films, including “25th Hour” and “BlacKkKlansman.” Whitlock played Secretary of Defense George Maddox on “Veep.” Originally from South Bend, Indiana, he studied theater after a football injury and began his acting career in San Francisco. He began appearing in small television guest roles on shows including “Cagney and Lacy” in the late 1980s. He went on to appear in five of Lee’s films.

Nearly a year after a New Year's Day truck attack on Bourbon Street left 14 dead, New Orleans officials are still seeking permanent security solutions. Ahead of the anniversary of the rampage, officials are ramping up security measures. Some 350 National Guard members arrived Tuesday. The attack happened when a man plowed a truck into revelers before police shot and killed him. The rampage revealed security vulnerabilities surrounding a famous street that is densely populated by bars and pedestrians. A police captain has urged the city to install permanent security gates to prevent future attacks.

New England Patriots star wide receiver Stefon Diggs is facing strangulation and other criminal charges in connection with a dispute with his former private chef. News of the charges emerged after a court hearing Tuesday in Dedham, Massachusetts. Diggs’ lawyer said in an emailed statement that Diggs “categorically denies these allegations.” According to police, the chef told investigators that Diggs hit her and tried to choke her during a discussion about money. The 32-year-old NFL veteran joined New England this season after a trade from Houston. Diggs has been a standout player for the Patriots this season, helping his team clinch the AFC East title.

Forty-thousand oysters, lobster worth $400,000 and a cache of crabmeat all were stolen in separate recent incidents in New England. The first seafood heist took place Nov. 22 in Falmouth, Maine, where authorities suspect someone stole 14 cages full of oysters from an aquaculture site in Casco Bay. The other two thefts happened in Taunton, Massachusetts. First, a load of crab disappeared after leaving the Lineage Logistics warehouse on Dec. 2. Then, on Dec. 12, according to a broker, lobster meat destined for Costco stores in Illinois and Minnesota was stolen by a fraudulent trucking company.

A newly unsealed order in the criminal case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia reveals that high level Justice Department officials pushed for his indictment only after he was mistakenly deported and then ordered returned to the U.S. Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty to charges of human smuggling. He is seeking to have the case dismissed on the grounds that the prosecution is vindictive. The newly unsealed order sheds new light on the decision to prosecute. It reveals emails from top DOJ officials calling the criminal case a “top priority” in April. That was after the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the administration to work to bring Abrego Garcia back from El Salvador.

Environmental journalist Tatiana Schlossberg, the granddaughter of the late President John F. Kennedy, has died. Her family disclosed her death in a statement released Tuesday by the John. F. Kennedy Library Foundation. Schlossberg was 35. The daughter of Kennedy’s daughter, Caroline Kennedy, and Edwin Schlossberg, the journalist revealed she had terminal cancer in a November 2025 essay in The New Yorker. She was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in May 2024 at age 34 after the birth of her second child. In the essay, “A Battle with my Blood,” Schlossberg recounted rounds of chemotherapy, stem cell transplants and clinical trials.

The surge of federal officers this week in Minnesota follows new allegations of fraud by day care centers run by Somali residents. President Donald Trump has previously linked his administration’s immigration crackdown against Minnesota’s large Somali community to a series of fraud cases involving government programs in which most of the defendants have roots in the east African country. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel both announced an increase in operations in Minnesota this week. The move comes after a right-wing influencer posted a video in which he claimed that day care centers had committed up to $100 million in fraud.

The year’s first supermoon and meteor shower will compete for dominance in January skies. The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks Friday night into Saturday morning, but fewer than 10 meteors will be visible per hour due to light from Saturday's supermoon. To spot the Quadrantids, venture out in the early evening away from city lights and glimpse the fireballs before the moon crashes the party. Wait for your eyes to get used to the darkness, and don’t look at your phone. Saturday's supermoon ends a four-month streak that started in October. There won’t be another until the end of 2026.

Tributes have been paid after the crash that injured British former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and killed two close associates. There were also growing concerns about Nigeria’s roads following the deadly crash near Lagos on Monday. Joshua was under “observation” while recovering from minor injuries following the crash, his promoter said. The high-profile accident has prompted serious concerns about road safety on Nigerian highways, where accidents are common. Experts say a combination of factors including a network of dilapidated roads, lax enforcement of traffic laws, and indiscipline by drivers, produces the grim statistics.

They’re ready to embark on 2026. Three more dog breeds joined the American Kennel Club’s roster of recognized breeds on Tuesday. One of the newcomers is the Teddy Roosevelt terrier, named for the former U.S. president. Another is the Russian tsvetnaya bolonka (zviht-NEYE’-ah boh-LON’-kah). It's a lapdog developed in Soviet-era Russia. The third is a centuries-old French hunting hound called the basset fauve de Bretagne (bah-SAY’ fohve deh breh-TAHN’-yeh). The AKC now recognizes 205 breeds. Recognition means eligibility for many U.S. dog shows and can increase a breed’s visibility to the pet-loving public.

Dozens of places across the U.S. will ring in 2026 by dropping a quirky assortment of fruits, vegetables, sea creatures and balls of all shapes and sizes. There’s the chile pepper drop in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and the cheese wedge drop in Plymouth, Wisconsin. Key West, Florida, has its conch shell drop and Mobile, Alabama, celebrates with the MoonPie drop. It’s all a nod to the famed New Year’s Eve ball drop in New York City’s Times Square. That tradition dates back to 1907. Now there are New Year’s ball drops and cherry drops and pickle drops from coast to coast.

Power problems and a stuck train have interrupted rail traffic through the Channel Tunnel connecting the U.K. to continental Europe. Eurostar has indefinitely suspended its services to and from London during the busy holiday period. The company blames overhead power supply issues and a failed train operated by LeShuttle. Eurotunnel, the Channel Tunnel's operator, says the power problem began overnight Monday, affecting both passenger and vehicle travel. Traffic is expected to resume gradually on Tuesday afternoon. Teams are working to restore the situation as quickly as possible. Passengers are advised to rebook their journeys.

The big story of the upcoming midterm elections will be the fight over which party will control the U.S. House of Representatives during the last half of President Donald Trump's second term in office. But there's a related issue that is potentially just as important — whether the Trump administration will try to interfere with the way the elections are held. Democrats point to a number of developments over the past year as warning signs. Trump has issued executive orders on voting and targeted groups that organize and fund Democratic campaigns. His Justice Department has sued mostly Democratic-controlled states for detailed voter information. And the administration has sent the military into Democratic-run cities.