Watch a livestream of Times Square ball drop, other New Year's events

It's almost 2026, and thousands of people have flocked to Times Square in New York City to watch the annual ball drop to ring in the New Year.

Read on to see a livestream from USA TODAY of New Year's Eve events around the worl, or learn how to watch the Times Square ball drop live on television.

8 p.m. to 4 a.m., will have, along with the ball drop, music performances. Diana Ross is slated to headline, and various artists are to appear in New York, Las Vegas, Chicago, Puerto Rico and more. Seacrest and Rita Ora will co-host.

CNN's scheduled "New Year's Eve Live" will be hosted by Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen starting at 8 p.m. "They’re counting down to midnight from the heart of Times Square where they’ll play games, chat with celebrity guests, recap the year," CNN said.

In the Lower Hudson Valley region, NBC and CBS affiliates typically broadcast New Year's Eve specials that include coverage of the ball drop. 

Live TV streaming services: Hulu + Live TV, Fubo, YouTube TV, and DirecTV Stream offer access to ABC, CNN, and other local channels, according to the Times Square website. People can also stream using the ABC app or CNN go (with provider login).

The Times Square website has a live webcast.
 

Arch Manning stats today: How Texas QB performed vs Michigan in Citrus Bowl

 

Texas quarterback Arch Manning ended his first season as the Longhorns' full-time starter with a bang against Michigan on Wednesday, Dec. 31.

Manning led Texas to a 41-27 win over the Wolverines in the Citrus Bowl, scoring four total touchdowns with nearly 400 yards of offense in the high-scoring affair. The redshirt sophomore quarterback outplayed fellow former five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood, who completed 23 of 40 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns to three interceptions in the loss.

Manning, the nephew of Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning, entered the season as one of the most hyped players in recent college football history due to his family ties and background as a five-star recruit. He struggled at first but ultimately ended the regular season with 2,942 passing yards and 24 touchdowns to seven interceptions, also rushing for 244 yards and eight scores.

Should the Packers sign Trevon Diggs? The case for and against

 

Trevon Diggs is available after being released by the Dallas Cowboys, and the conversations have already begun over whether the Green Bay Packers should add the former All-Pro cornerback to help their postseason push.

Diggs is close friends with Micah Parsons, who moved from Dallas to Green Bay earlier this year, and now shares the same agent after signing with David Mulugheta upon his release by the Cowboys, adding fuel to the fire that the Packers could be a logical landing spot.

Would signing Diggs make sense for Green Bay? Let’s weigh the pros and cons.

Assuming he is not claimed on waivers, which would mean a team picking up his pre-existing contract with the Cowboys, he could be a fairly cheap addition, and in that sense, Diggs would represent a low risk, but potentially high reward signing.

Illinois star runs over official in key play, leads team to Music City Bowl win

Illinois Fighting Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer had an incredible night against the Tennessee Volunteers in a Music City Bowl win, but a play in the third quarter caught the eyes of college football fans.

The Fighting Illini were up three points in the third quarter and had the ball on first down from the Volunteers’ 41-yard line. Altmyer took the snap and dropped back to pass. He faked a pass to his right and took the ball up the middle of the field.

Tennessee did put on a mean comeback. DeSean Bishop scored a 12-yard rushing touchdown early in the frame and the team took the lead on a Joakim Dodson 94-yard kick return touchdown.

Altmyer came back and put on a 13-play, 65-yard drive to set up a David Olano go-ahead field goal for the 30-28 win.

Altmyer was 20-of-33 with 196 passing yards and a touchdown pass. He had 54 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown as well.

Illinois posted the first back-to-back nine-win seasons in program history.

"We don’t have to read about other years anymore," head coach Bret Bielema said after the game. "I think people usually either read about history or write history, and this group’s writing history and I think we’ll continue to do that."

Trump administration freezes Minnesota childcare funds over fraud claims

 

United States President Donald Trump’s government has frozen childcare payments to the state of Minnesota and launched audits of immigration cases involving Somali Americans, intensifying a campaign that critics say uses fraud investigations to target immigrant communities.

The Department of Health and Human Services announced the freeze in funds on Tuesday in response to allegations by conservative YouTuber Nick Shirley, who claimed daycare centres operated by Somali Americans in the city of Minneapolis had committed up to $100m in fraud.

His video garnered 127 million views on X and received extensive coverage on Fox News.

Jim O’Neill, deputy secretary of health and human services, said the move addressed “serious allegations that the state of Minnesota has funnelled millions of taxpayer dollars to fraudulent daycare centres across Minnesota over the past decade”.

“We have turned off the money spigot and we are finding the fraud,” O’Neill said.

Minnesota has the largest Somali population in the US, and the $185m in frozen federal funds subsidise childcare for low-income families across the state.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz immediately denounced the freeze as politically motivated.

“This is Trump’s long game. We’ve spent years cracking down on fraudsters. It’s a serious issue – but this has been his plan all along,” he wrote on X.

“He’s politicising the issue to defund programmes that help Minnesotans.”

Police report details assault allegations against Patriots’ Stefon Diggs, NFL star denies claims

 

The charges reportedly include felony strangulation or suffocation and misdemeanor assault and battery. The charges stem from a Dec. 2 incident. 

In a statement obtained by Fox News Digital, David Meier, one of the attorneys of record for Diggs, confirmed that the veteran NFL wide receiver categorically denies the claims brought against him and added the dispute was between an employer and an employee.

Stefon Diggs categorically denies these allegations. They are unsubstantiated, uncorroborated, and were never investigated — because they did not occur. The timing and motivation for making the allegations is crystal clear: they are the direct result of an employee-employer financial dispute that was not resolved to the employee’s satisfaction. Stefon looks forward to establishing the truth in a court of law."

Teyana Taylor and Aaron Pierre Are Reportedly No Longer Dating

Teyana Taylor and Aaron Pierre are reportedly done after less than a year of dating.

The exes sparked a romantic buzz after Pierre starred as a love interest in Taylor's Escape Room visual album, with both later confirming that they were dating, although their relationship wasn't defined. From 2016 to 2023, Taylor was married to former NBA player Iman Shumpert, with whom she shares two daughters. While Pierre's dating history isn't publicly known, the actor revealed in September that he has a son from a previous relationship.

As sources told Page Six, the entertainers broke up after going public in June, as the two have not been spotted together during media events ahead of awards season. Taylor starred in the Paul Thomas Anderson-directed One Battle After Another, which has gained Oscar buzz, and last month, she received her first Grammy nomination. Pierre was in attendance for both the London premiere of One Battle After Another along with the private listening event for Escape Room, but their public sightings together have since dissipated.

 

TELEVISION 'Stranger Things' Season 5 finale. When does last episode come out?

 

The countdown is on: the final episode of "Stranger Things" Season 5 is rapidly approaching.

This season marks the conclusion of Netflix’s acclaimed sci-fi series, set in the fall of 1987 as Hawkins, Indiana, faces its most perilous chapter yet.

Expect intense action, dramatic twists, and a climactic showdown that determines the fate of Hawkins—and beyond.

Season 5 debuted with Volume 1 on Nov. 26, featuring four episodes. Volume 2 followed on Dec. 25 with three additional episodes, leading up to the highly anticipated finale.

Here's what to know about the release of the hit-Netflix show "Stranger Things" finale:

Watch it here: Stream your favorite shows, the biggest blockbusters and more.

Detroit Pistons depth charges rout of LA Lakers to finish road trip

 

LOS ANGELES — The Detroit Pistons dominated the Los Angeles Lakers in the second half, using a 26-8 run to finish their West Coast road swing with a commanding 128-106 win at Crypto.com Arena.

Marcus Sasser played a season-high 24 minutes and delivered 19 points off of the bench on Tuesday, Dec. 30, and Cade Cunningham led the way with 27 points and 11 assists. The Pistons went on a 35-15 run after the Lakers tied the game at 79 midway through the third quarter, then rode a big night from the bench, which contributed 67 points.

Detroit's reserves stepped up as several key players battled foul trouble — Ausar Thompson, Isaiah Stewart and Ron Holland all had four fouls, and Cunningham had three. Stewart (15 points), Jalen Duren (14 points and eight rebounds) and Ron Holland (11 points) also scored in double figures. Luka Doncic led the Lakers with 30 points and 11 assists, and LeBron James added 17 points on his 41st birthday.