LISA DESJARDINS: Welcome to the "News Hour."

Millions across the country will ring in the new year tonight with bubbly drinks, loved ones and the warmest clothes they can find.

That's because arctic temperatures and heavy snow are sweeping across large parts of the U.S.

Plows in Upstate New York have been working to clear roadways for New Year's travelers, as forecasters warn of squalls across the region.

In New York City, the estimated one million people who are expected to gather in Times Square tonight are facing the coldest ball drop in nearly a decade.

And a dose of arctic air is keeping temperatures low from the Midwest to the Appalachians.

Meantime, on the West Coast, California is bracing for heavy rains and the risk of flooding just days after a Christmas week storm soaked many parts of the state.

In many parts of the world, of course, it is already 2026.

Auckland, New Zealand, was the first major city to ring in the new year with a fireworks display a full 18 hours before it strikes midnight on the U.S.

East Coast.

Australia followed a few hours later.

Celebrations in Sydney were mixed with mourning of the 15 lives lost in this month's Bondi Beach shooting.

Before the fireworks, the city held a candlelit moment of silence.

And a change in Hong Kong's celebration.

The city held a light show, canceling its renowned fireworks display over the harbor after a massive building fire killed at least 161 people there last month.

President Trump says he's removing National Guard troops from Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, at least for now.

In a social media post, Trump - - quote -- wrote: "We will come back, perhaps in a much different and stronger form, when crime begins to soar again, only a question of time."

Troops had already left Los Angeles after a judge's ruling blocked their deployment earlier this month.

And while forces had been sent to Chicago and Portland, they were largely kept off the streets as legal challenges play out.

President Trump has issued his first vetoes since returning to office, rejecting two bills that passed Congress unanimously.

Critics say both were vetoes about revenge.

One bill supported a water pipeline in Colorado.

Mr.

Trump said it was a drain on federal taxpayers.

But Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert and the state's two Democratic senators questioned that, saying Trump retaliated for disputes related to Jeffrey Epstein and election denier Tina Peters.

The other bill would give Native Americans in Florida with one tribe more land control.

The president has blamed that tribe for not backing his immigration policies.

It will largely be up to Republican leaders in Congress to decide if they want to override those vetoes.

Newly released transcripts and videos show that former special counsel Jack Smith told lawmakers that the January 6 riot -- quote -- "does not happen without President Trump."

That's from a closed-door hearing earlier this month with the House Judiciary Committee.

Lawmakers grilled Smith for eight hours earlier this month over two criminal investigations he launched into Trump.

One focused on the president's role in trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election, while the other related to classified documents after Trump's first term ended.

Here's Smith in his opening statement.

JACK SMITH, Former Special Counsel: The decision to bring charges against President Trump was mine.

But the basis for those charges rests entirely with President Trump and his actions, as alleged in the indictments returned by grand juries in two different districts.

LISA DESJARDINS: Smith faced questions about his decision to gather phone records of other Republican members of Congress as part of the investigation.

Republicans decried that as weaponization of the justice system against Trump and his allies.

Here's an exchange with Smith about that.

MAN: To the extent members of Congress and senators are up in arms that this happened to them and they're seeking accountability, who should be held accountable for answering these questions?

JACK SMITH: Well, I think who should be accountable for this is Donald Trump.

These records are people, in the case of the senators, Donald Trump directed his co-conspirators to call these people to further delay the proceedings.

He chose to do that.

LISA DESJARDINS: The release of the video and transcript comes after Smith had initially asked that his hearing be done in public.

A Trump-appointed judge dismissed the classified documents case in 2024 and the 2020 election case was dropped after he won the election.

In Iowa, a win for Democrats in a holiday special election for the state's Senate.

Renee Hardman's victory in a suburban Des Moines district blocks Republicans from regaining a supermajority in that chamber.

That means Republican Governor Kim Reynolds will need some Democratic support to approve appointees.

Hardman's victory also makes her the first Black woman to be elected to the Iowa State Senate.

Another brazen heist in Europe, this one in Western Germany involving tens of millions of dollars in cash and property stolen from a savings bank.

Police in the city of Gelsenkirchen released a photo showing where the suspects drilled through a basement wall to access thousands of safety deposit boxes.

The bank estimates that more than 95 percent of its boxes were broken into.

As news of the heist broke out, hundreds of concerned customers flooded the scene.

As of earlier today, no arrests have been made.

Wall Street posted a lackluster day to end what was otherwise a banner year for stocks.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped about 300 points.

The Nasdaq lost more than 170 points.

The S&P 500 fell for a fourth straight session, but it was up more than 16 percent for the year.

Former U.S.

Senator and Colorado Congressman Ben Nighthorse Campbell has died.

A member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, Campbell was the only Native American in the House when he served there, and also the only one in the Senate during his two terms there.

He was known as a fiscal conservative and a social liberal, who started as a Democrat, but switched parties in 1995.

Campbell led a multifaceted life, previously working as a Teamster, a jeweler, and a rancher.

He even competed in the 1964 Olympics in judo.

His family says Campbell died of natural causes.

Ben Nighthorse Campbell was 92 years old.

And actor Isiah Whitlock Jr., best known for playing the corrupt politician Clay Davis on HBO's "The Wire," has died.

ISIAH WHITLOCK JR., Actor: The people know what I have done for West Baltimore and this city as a whole.

They know these charges ain't nothing but B.S.

LISA DESJARDINS: Whitlock's character was a fan favorite, known for his frequent usage of a profanity starting with S-H.

Fans would often approach him on the street to mimic his drawn-out delivery.

That was one of more than 120 acting credits, which included a recurring role on the political satire "Veep," plus multiple films with director Spike Lee, like "25th Hour" and "BlacKkKlansman."

Whitlock's manager announced his death on social media, citing a short illness.

Isiah Whitlock Jr.

was 71 years old.

Still to come on the "News Hour": an unprecedented flood of misinformation prompts the editors of PolitiFact to dub 2025 the year of the lies; photojournalists who covered the most important stories of the year reflect on capturing some of 2025's most impactful images; and a social worker gives her Brief But Spectacular take on building hope and better futures for foster kids.