The new storm will bring widespread rain and mountain snow starting New Year’s Eve and continuing through the end of the week.
An excessive rainfall risk level of 2 out of 4 is in place in the Los Angeles and Santa Barbara areas on Wednesday and Thursday.
Through Friday, 2 to 4 inches of rain is possible at higher elevations, and 1 to 2 inches at lower elevations like downtown Los Angeles.
In the Northeast, another cold front is moving through on Wednesday and Thursday, which brings the slight chance for a few snow flurries to mix in with confetti as the ball drops in Times Square. But no measurable snow accumulation is expected and the flurries will be gone by sunrise on Thursday.
The only part of the Northeast to get intense snow is the Great Lakes, where lake effect snow will continue through the week. A winter storm warning is in place in Orchard Park, New York, home of the Buffalo Bills, where residents could see up to 3 feet of snow by the end of New Year’s Day.
The rest of the country will be dry, with above average temperatures through the Plains and much of the South on New Year’s Day.
Law enforcement on the scene after two people were shot and killed in Simi Valley, Calif., Dec. 1, 2025. KABC.
(SIMI VALLEY, Calif.) — A California doctor and his wife were shot and killed in their Simi Valley home in a targeted attack, not a random incident, according to police.
Dr. Eric Cordes and wife, Vicki, were shot multiple times in their open garage on Sunday. The couple was taken to a local hospital and later died of their injuries, the Simi Valley Police Department told ABC News.
Simi Valley Police said they’re actively investigating the murders and they believe there is no threat to the community.
Police would not reveal any information on possible suspects or the motive for the attack.
Dr. Cordes worked with Focus Medical Imaging for several years before his killing, the radiology clinic told ABC News.”
Dr. Eric Cordes was a brilliant, hard working doctor, and a respected colleague. He served the Simi Valley community and surrounding areas throughout his entire 30 plus year career. His tragic passing will leave a huge hole that will take a long time to fill,” Focus Medical Imaging said.
Adventist Health Simi Valley, where he also worked, called the couple’s killing a “shocking loss.”
“The Adventist Health Simi Valley community is heartbroken by the tragic deaths of our longtime colleague, Dr. Eric Cordes, and his wife, Vicki. Dr. Cordes was a highly respected, board-certified radiologist and beloved physician who served this community with compassion and excellence for nearly 30 years,” the hospital told ABC News in a statement.
The seal of the Department of Justice is seen before a news conference with Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday, December 4, 2025, announcing the arrest of Brian Cole Jr., who allegedly placed pipe bombs near the Republican and Democratic National Committee offices on January 6, 2021. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
(FLORIDA) — A federal judge in Florida has granted the Trump administration’s motion to unseal grand jury transcripts from the initial federal investigation of Jeffrey Epstein in the mid-2000s. The order also grants the government’s request to modify any protective orders in place that would inhibit public disclosure.
U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith – a Trump appointee – determined that the language of the recently-enacted Epstein Transparency Act “overrides” federal rules prohibiting the public disclosure of grand jury materials.
“The Act applies to unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials that relate to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell,” Smith wrote in an order Friday. “Consequently, the later-enacted and specific language of the Act trumps Rule 6’s prohibition on disclosure. Accordingly, it is ORDERED that United States’ Expedited Motion to Unseal Grand Jury Transcripts and Modify Protective Order…is GRANTED.”
Smith is one of three federal judges asked by the DOJ to unseal grand jury materials in cases involving Epstein and his convicted co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell. Smith is the first to rule. Two judges in New York are expected to issue their decisions next week.
This is the second time the DOJ has gone to those courts asking for the grand jury materials to be unsealed. Those earlier attempts – before the Epstein Transparency Act was passed, requiring the disclosure of materials related to Epstein’s cases within 30 days with certain exceptions — were rejected by each court.
Smith’s order does not address redactions to the records to protect the privacy interests of Epstein’s victims. It will be up to the DOJ to make those redactions, as administration officials have promised to do before disclosing records to the public.
Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida used two separate grand juries during their initial probes in the mid-2000s of Epstein’s alleged sex-trafficking of minors. Neither grand jury was asked to indict Epstein, and there was never a federal criminal prosecution of Epstein in Florida. Instead, Epstein and federal prosecutors negotiated a non-prosecution agreement which resulted in Epstein’s guilty pleas in state court.
Witnesses express concerns about privacy in New York cases
In the New York cases, the courts have received input and objections from witnesses, victims and others expressing concerns about personal privacy, redaction of victim information and the potential impacts the court’s rulings could have on public disclosure of the Epstein files.
Annie Farmer – a witness who testified against Maxwell at her criminal trial in 2021 – urged the judges to make “abundantly clear” that any decision they make about the DOJ’s motions “does not affect the Department of Justice’s ability to release documents subject to the [Epstein] Transparency Act,” including materials contained in the 300 gigabytes of data the government has said it has in its possession.
“While Ms. Farmer remains hopeful that the instant motions reflect a bona fide desire by the Government to provide greater transparency into Epstein’s crimes, she is wary of the possibility that any denial of the motions may be used by others as a pretext or excuse for continuing to withhold crucial information concerning Epstein’s crimes,” wrote Sigrid McCawley, counsel for Farmer and other Epstein and Maxwell accusers.
The Epstein Transparency Act contains a number of exceptions that could allow the DOJ to withhold or redact certain records, including records that could result in victim identification or a “clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.” There is also an exception for records related to any “active federal investigation or ongoing prosecution.”
The DOJ faces a Dec. 19 deadline to comply with the law’s provisions.
U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer – who will decide the DOJ’s motion on the Maxwell docket – also received letters from attorneys for two men; one a potential witness at the Maxwell trial who wasn’t called and another whose name had been contained in court files in civil litigation against Maxwell but who had successfully argued for his name to be redacted when those records were unsealed.
“I submit that all personally identifiable information regarding my client is within the ambit of the Act’s permitted withholdings and that this information must be redacted pursuant to the Act, because that disclosure without redaction would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of my client’s personal privacy,” wrote Avrom Robin, an attorney for the witness who wasn’t called.
The attorneys for both men argued that the language of the Epstein Transparency Act contains no specific mention of grand jury materials and that the government’s motion to unseal those records should be denied. Absent such a ruling, they argue that the names of their clients should be redacted or remain under seal.
The Department of Justice has been ordered by the courts to respond to the concerns raised in the letters by Monday.
(SONOMA COUNTY, Calif.) — Foragers are being warned of what could be the largest toxic mushroom outbreak in California history, which state health officials say has caused three deaths and sickened more than 30 people who ingested the poisonous fungi.
Recent heavy rains have caused death cap mushrooms to flourish in the wild, including one of the deadliest fungi, the Western destroying angel mushroom, according to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).
“Early rains and a mild fall have led to profusion of the toxic death cap mushroom in Northern California,” Dr. Michael Stacey, the interim health officer for Sonoma County, said in a statement after the most recent poison mushroom-linked death occurred.
A Sonoma County resident died on Jan. 4 after unwittingly consuming death cap mushrooms, health officials said.
“Eating wild mushrooms gathered without expert identification can be unsafe,” Stacey said. “Some harmful varieties closely resemble edible mushrooms, even to experienced foragers.”
The problem of state residents consuming poisonous mushrooms has persisted despite the CDPH issuing its first warning on Dec. 5 after the California Poison Control System identified 21 people who had sought medical attention since mid-November after consuming death cap mushrooms, also known by the scientific name Amanita phalloides.
Stacey said in his statement that between Nov. 18 and Jan. 4, 35 mushroom poisoning cases, including the three deaths, were reported to state officials. Three of those poisoned individuals, including a child, were sickened to the point they required liver transplants, officials said.
Fewer than five mushroom poisoning cases are reported statewide in an average year, according to California health officials.
The recent poisoning incidents have been reported in the Northern California counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Monterey, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sonoma, according to the CDPH.
“This is probably the largest outbreak in California history; 35 total cases, including three fatalities and three liver transplants,” Rais Vohra, a medical director for the California Poison Control System, told ABC San Francisco television station KGO.
Vohra said the effects of mushroom poisoning aren’t evident until six to 24 hours after consumption.
Early symptoms of mushroom poisoning typically include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain, according to the CDPH.
Laura Marcelino of Salinas told KGO that she and her husband, Carlos, recently became ill after cooking and eating wild mushrooms they gathered during a family hike in November. While she recovered, she said her husband needed a liver transplant, from which he’s now recovering.
State health officials are advising people to avoid foraging for wild mushrooms and to be cautious when buying them from street vendors and at farmers’ markets.
