ABC World News Tonight with David Muir Full Broadcast - Dec. 31, 2025

David Muir, ABC's World News Tonight, America's. most watched newscast. Now streaming same day with all the breaking news of. the day on Disney plus. Most watched, most trusted now on Disney plus every night. Tonight, Americans getting ready to ring in the new. year amid snow, brutal cold and tight security. 2026 just hours away, but the. final moments of this year going out with snow and. freezing temperatures from Minnesota to New York. to Maine.

Nearly one million people expected to. pack into Times Square in the heart of Manhattan to. watch the famous ball drop live on ABC. The crowd braving wind chills in. the twenties, the coldest New Year's Eve in nearly a. decade. Lee Goldberg timing this all out. Law enforcement on high alert across the country. Thousands of officers on duty in New York City, on the. ground, in the air, and on the water for the famous ball. drop in Times Square. In New Orleans, steel barricades and the National. Guard deployed one year after the deadly terror attack in.

the French Quarter. Late today, the Trump administration. revealing a new series of deadly strikes targeting. three alleged drug boats. Military officials report multiple survivors. jumped overboard. A search and rescue operation now underway. Tonight, a stunning move from the Department of. Health and Human Services. New restrictions on billions of dollars in federal. child care funds for every state in the U.S. What's behind the sudden move? The new requirements before the funds will be released.

The New Year health crisis. More than 20 million Americans will see their health care costs. double, triple, or possibly quadruple beginning tomorrow. For the second time this week, a player for the. New England Patriots facing criminal charges. Head coach Mike Vrabel pressed about the allegations. involving both players. And the major change coming to the U.S. Postal Service, how it could affect what. you drop in the mail, including your mail-in ballot. for the midterm elections. [MUSIC].

>> From ABC News World Headquarters in New. York, this is World News Tonight with David Muir. Good evening, I'm Wade Johnson and for David tonight, we. begin this New Year's Eve with millions bracing for. snow, rain and brutal cold. At this hour, Times Square in the heart of Manhattan is. filling up with what's expected to be a crowd of nearly 1. million people braving wind chills in the 20s to watch the. famous ball drop live on ABC. Several feet of snow piling up around the Great.

Lakes, two feet of snow falling around Syracuse, New York in just one day. Alarming video showing a semi truck jumping over a highway. barrier into oncoming traffic in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The new year starting as 2025 ends with millions bracing for. another round of snow and cold. Chief meteorologist Lee Goldberg from our New York. station WABC leads us off. Tonight, snow and brutal cold are bringing more. treacherous travel to millions ahead of the new year. And authorities are warning everyone to slow down.

New dash cam video shows just how dangerous the roads can. be. Watch as we slow it down. You're barely able to hold that 18 wheeler as it slides toward. oncoming traffic in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Monday, the Ohio State Patrol sharing this body. camera video showing a truck. And then a pickup. Sliding on black ice. Meanwhile in upstate New York, the lake effect snow machine. is in full force tonight.

The sound of snow blowers echoing all over Syracuse, still snowing after they got more than 2 feet. of snow in a single day. Areas around Buffalo bracing for up to 2 feet of additional. snow by the new year. And barely a week after mudslides engulfed homes, new. evacuation warnings are in place in areas around Los Angeles. New aerials show just how bad the damage is. This section of Angeles Crest Highway. completely washed away. Let's get right to meteorologist Lee Goldberg with the forecast.

And Lee, that blast of snow and brutal cold to. kick off the new year. With both coming right here to New York, I can already. feel the gusty winds. It's a New Year's Eve clipper. There's snow from the Great Lakes going into the northeast. It's a New Year's Eve clipper. There's snow from the Great Lakes going into the northeast. There's snow from the Great Lakes going into the northeast. by the end of the week, Lake Effect Snow is 1-2 feet south. of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Look at the wind chills tomorrow. Single digits in Teens, I-95, Corridors Sub-Zero. in Burlington, Vermont. In the west, more rain overspreading Southern. California. The heaviest will be tomorrow morning from.

about 2-8 in the morning. An additional inch or two of rainfall, more. snow in the Sierra. Rest of the country actually fairly quiet, moderating. temperatures in the plains all the way into the southeast, but it's cold and brutal in the northeast. And before we get to tomorrow, it's midnight in Times Square. at 32 and a side of snowflakes with that confetti. Witt? Plenty of layers required. Lee Goldberg, we appreciate it. And on this New Year's Eve, authorities across. the U.S. are on high alert. Here in New York City, thousands of police officers are. descending on Times Square and the National Guard deployed. in New Orleans one year after a deadly terror attack in the.

French Quarter. Here's ABC's Reena Roy. Happy New Year! Tonight, New Year's celebrations already. underway around the globe. And here in the U.S., law enforcement taking no. chances despite no known or credible threats, according to a threat assessment obtained by ABC News. In New Orleans, steel barricades up in the French Quarter, and the National Guard patrolling after that. deadly car ramming attack on Bourbon Street. last year.

In New York City, the entire police department on. the job tonight. These revelers bundling up ahead of Dick. Clark's 20th annual New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest. It's cold. It's cold, but I'm surviving so far. Before the show, Ryan Seacrest and Jay. of Dick Clark Productions. both producers of Rockin. bell at the Nasdaq and he. with Mariah Carey, Post M on that main stage there.

it's gonna be a really fu year with 90 songs being. artists with Marina Roy. is on Dick Clark's new ye Ryan Seacrest begins toni. here on abc. We turn now t today. The U. S. Military. on three alleged drug boa least six survivors now u.

command says the vessels were in a convoy traveling. in international waters. At least three people were killed. Military officials say the survivors jumped overboard. after the first vessel was hit. Tonight a stunning move by the Trump administration. The Department of Health and Human Services. says it will place new restrictions on billions. of dollars in federal child care funds for. every state in the U.S. The sweeping decision comes amid allegations. of fraud in Minnesota.

Tonight, the Trump administration abruptly. announcing new restrictions on billions of dollars. in child care funding for all states in response to. what officials allege is widespread fraud in Minnesota. We believe the state of Minnesota has allowed. scammers and fake daycares to siphon millions of taxpayer. dollars over the past decade. The Department of Health and Human Services saying all of the. more than $12 billion in child care grants distributed coast. to coast by the Administration for Children and Families will.

now require a justification and a receipt or photo evidence. before being distributed. According to HHS, nearly 20,000 children affected. in Minnesota alone. There are a lot of very scared and confused both families. and providers right now. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz accusing President Trump of. politicizing the issue to defund programs that help Minnesotans. Also writing, "We've spent years cracking down on fraudsters.". Trump calling Walz a crooked governor. State authorities and lawmakers have investigated. fraud in Minnesota daycares for years, dating.

back to at least 2019. But Republican leaders, including. the president, now seizing on a new viral video where a. self-proclaimed independent journalist claims. several Minnesota daycares receiving public funding are. not actually providing child care, particularly targeting. the state's Somali community. But some Minnesota officials have questions about the videos. When were the videos taken? Were they during times that the center was scheduled to be. open? None of the centers have been. accused of fraud by authorities. And Witt, Minnesota officials say they take allegations.

of fraud seriously, that they visited the daycares mentioned. in that video this week. But this video setting off a firestorm despite the fact that. it focuses on an issue that's been scrutinized repeatedly in. Minnesota and now because of it, new restrictions on child. care funding across the country. Witt. J. O'Brien for us tonight. Thank you. And the decision to freeze federal child care funds comes. just as the cost of health care is about to skyrocket for more. than 20 million Americans. Tax subsidies expiring at midnight.

Congress going on break without reaching a deal. That means millions will now see their health care premiums. double, triple, or surge even higher beginning tomorrow. Here's ABC's Selena Wang. hours, more than 20 mill their health care costs s. Care Act subsidies expir of midnight. Premiums exp 114% on average for those. to the Kaiser Family Foun at the center of the long.

in history. Democrats dem demanding an extension, left for the holidays wit It's all a stark reality. 63 year old Georgia grand. My total premium is suppo Can you afford that? I ha mean picking up a little.

bit of part time work. It will mean expanding my garden so. that I can grow more of my own food. Doug Bouchard and his wife, who has ALS, expects. their monthly costs to soar. Her premium went up. From $603 a month. To $1396 a month, our deductible went. from $500 a year. To $8600 a year, Bouchard from Illinois.

says he retired early as a mechanic. to care for his wife. We do have money saved, but but that's supposed to last. A lot longer than a year or two with. the House is expected to vote in January on a bill. to extend these subsidies by three. years, but it's unclear if the. Senate will follow. Many Republicans have long been critical of the Affordable. Care Act, arguing that it gives too much money to. insurance companies. But they haven't come up with a viable alternative.

All right, Selena Wang, our thanks to you. Next tonight, a second player for the New England Patriots. is now facing criminal charges. Defensive tackle Christian Barmore is accused. of domestic assault. It comes one day after star wide receiver Stefan Diggs. was accused of attacking his personal chef. Today for the first time the Patriots. head coach pressed about the allegations involving. both players. Here's ABC's Ike Ajaci. Christian Barmore, the team's rising. defensive tackle, is charged with domestic assault.

from an alleged incident back in August. After an argument about the air. conditioning temperature and food, court documents. say Barmore grabbed his then girlfriend's phone, threw. her to the floor as she tried to leave. On the other side of the ball, Stephon Diggs, the team's top receiver, was charged with felony strangulation and misdemeanor. assault and battery. According to a police report, a woman said she was. working as a private chef at Diggs' Dedham, Massachusetts. home. On December 2nd, the woman said Diggs.

slapped her and tried to choke her during a dispute. over money. In a statement, Diggs' attorney says in part. he categorically denies these allegations. Patriots coach Mike Vrabel pressed about the. allegations involving his two players. "Let the process take its toll.". WIC coach Vrabel says he hasn't heard anything that would keep. either player from the game against Miami on Sunday. Stephon Diggs is scheduled to be arraigned on January 23rd. As for Barmore, his case is set for February 3rd, five.

days before Super Bowl 60. Whit. Hi Kajachi, thanks so much. Now to President Trump abandoning his push to. deploy National Guard troops in Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland as part of his crackdown on immigration. Facing multiple legal setbacks, the President says he's. removing the National Guard from all three cities, but. warning, we will come back if there's a rise in crime. The Supreme Court blocked the Trump administration. from deploying troops in Chicago earlier this. month. When we come back, bank robbers.

pull off an elaborate heist. Hear how they broke into a vault and hauled away a fortune. Plus, changes on the way for the postmarks on your mail. What this could mean for your bills and tax returns. Next tonight, thieves pull off a brazen multi-million dollar. bank heist in Western Germany. Please share this image where they say the robbers drilled. into a wall to make a huge hole wide enough to crawl through. Once inside, the thieves broke into thousands of safety deposit.

boxes, their haul reportedly worth up to $105 million. Still ahead, changes on the way for the postmarks on your. mail, how this could impact your bills, ballots and more. To the index now, a wallaby is back home after busting. out of a petting zoo and wandering through New Jersey. Three-year-old Rex hopped out of his enclosure at a petting. zoo in Williamstown on Monday. Several people saw the wayward wallaby bouncing around. a pond and a parking lot. Zoo workers eventually were able to capture Rex outside.

of a Walmart last night. The U.S. Postal Service is rolling out changes for. postmarks in the new year. For decades, postmarks helped people meet deadlines for bills, ballots, tax returns and more. Soon the postmark will no longer reflect the day. a letter was submitted. USPS clarified its rules saying postmarks will be added when. an envelope is processed, potentially days after. it was dropped off. When we come back, David is here with his New Year's message. and a personal look behind the scenes here at ABC News.

And finally tonight here from atop the Disney ABC headquarters. here in New York City, the Robert Iger building. I have a personal note I wanted to share with. all of you at home. We do this every year, but I think it's so important. First of all, I just wanted to thank all of you at home. for tuning into the news every night, even when it's. difficult to watch. We are grateful to have you with us each and every evening. I also wanted to thank the people behind the scenes here. at ABC who make this broadcast possible every night.

They're my friends, they're my family here at work, and they. are as caring and as committed as you could imagine. I am grateful for them and I'm grateful for all of you at home. Happy New Year. I'm David Muir from all of us at ABC News. Thank you for watching and I'll see you next year. Good night. [Music].

Should old acquaintance be forgot and never thought upon? The flames of love extinguished and fully passed and gone. For auld lang syne, my joe, for auld lang syne. We'll take a cup of kindness yet for auld lang syne.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never. brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot and auld lang syne? For auld lang syne, my joe, for auld lang syne.

We'll take a cup of kindness yet for auld lang syne. [Music].

Should old acquaintance be forgot and never thought upon?

The flames of love extinguished and fully passed and gone. For Auld Lang Syne, my Joe, for Auld Lang Syne. We'll take a cup of kindness yet for Auld Lang Syne. [MUSIC PLAYING].

Should all acquaintance be forgot and never. brought to mind? Should all acquaintance be forgot and all laying sign? For all laying sign, my Joe, for all laying sign. We'll take a couple kindness yet for all laying sign.

[Music].

David Muir, the most watched newscast in America. And now, ABC's World News Tonight has won the Emmy for. Best Live News Program for the third year in a row. [Music].