The Powerball jackpot has climbed to an estimated $1.09 billion after no one matched the latest numbers.

Illinois will usher in 320 new laws on New Year’s Day.

The New Year is almost upon us.

The world population grew by 75 million people over the past year and on New Year’s Day it will stand at more than 8 billion people.

Airports and highways are expected to be busier this Christmas season than they were a year ago.

The Serbian mother of a Massachusetts woman who has been missing since New Year’s Day and whose husband is charged with murder will ask the United States for official information about her daughter’s disappearance.

The first baby of the New Year has arrived in San Antonio!

Always remember to tip your server, if you know what’s good for you.

The City of San Antonio has officially welcomed its first baby of the New Year!

Ready to try your luck for $500 million? If so, you may want to snag a Powerball jackpot ticket.

French authorities have announced that children six and older will have to wear masks in indoor places open to the public as new cases of the highly contagious omicron variant surge past 200.000 for the fourth consecutive day.

But a strong cold front could is around the corner...

FILE- A medical staff exits the COVID-19 intensive care unit (ICU) on New Year's Day at the United Memorial Medical Center on January 1, 2021 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Go Nakamura/Getty Images)AUSTIN, Texas – The number of people with COVID-19 who have died in Texas is edging close to 50,000, the third-highest death toll in the nation, researchers reported Tuesday. Johns Hopkins University researchers said 48,140 people with COVID-19 have died in Texas during the past year. State health officials on Tuesday reported 109 new deaths, along with 3,980 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases. State health officials said that 3,161 people with COVID-19 required hospitalization as of Monday, the latest total available.

Texas also set new state highs with nearly 14,000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, and 393 newly reported deaths. Texas joins a handful of states with at least one known case of the new variant of the virus that causes COVID-19. It was first identified in the United Kingdom and appears to spread more easily from person to person. But state health officials say there is no evidence it causes more severe disease, and say current vaccines are expected to still be effective. “The fact that this person had no travel history suggests this variant is already circulating in Texas,” state health Commissioner Dr. John Hellerstedt said.

A medical staff exits the COVID-19 intensive care unit (ICU) on New Year's Day at the United Memorial Medical Center on January 1, 2021 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Go Nakamura/Getty Images)AUSTIN, Texas – Coronavirus cases are exhausting the availability of intensive-care unit beds in parts of Texas as hospitalizations with COVID-19 continue to soar to record levels, state health statistics showed on Tuesday. In all, the state estimated 314,465 COVID-19 cases were active. All ICU beds at hospitals in the Abilene and Bryan-College Station areas are full, while only two are available in the Laredo area with three in the Paris-Texarkana area. For seven days in a row, COVID-19 patients have filled in 15% of the Houston region's hospital beds, according to state health statistics.

“He was very protective and real caring,” said Bianca Valdez, his aunt. “I can’t even imagine what life is going to be without him,” Bianca Valdez said. “He had a lot of plans growing up,” Bianca Valdez said. “He was so selfless, so whenever they told us he has a strong heart, lungs, liver and kidneys, we thought, ‘What would Marky want us to do?’” Bianca Valdez said. They had this to say to the two men still at large:“Be a man,” Bianca Valdez said.

NHL players have balked at changing the collective bargaining agreement and the league is preparing to open the season Jan. 13 after starting training camp on New Year's Day, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Tuesday. “We are certainly continuing to work through all the issues we would need to resolve to start a season,” Deputy NHL Commissioner Bill Daly said. The league and union agreed to a CBA over the summer that included a 10% salary deferral for the 2021 season and a cap on money left in escrow. Players, however, did not want to renegotiate a deal that’s only a few months old. The league is planning to play between 50 and 60 games in the regular season before beginning the playoffs.

FILE - In this Jan. 1, 2020, file photo a 2020 Rose Parade float is seen at the start of the route at the 131st Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif. The 2021 Rose Parade is canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, but viewers will still get a show with a two-hour television special on New Year's Day, organizers said. (AP Photo/Michael Owen Baker, File)PASADENA, Calif. – The 2021 Rose Parade is canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, but viewers will still get a show with a two-hour television special on New Year’s Day, organizers said. The Tournament of Roses Association said in a Thursday news release that the TV special will include “live-to-tape musical and marching band performances, heartwarming segments related to the Rose Parade, celebrity guest appearances," and highlights from past Rose Bowl football games. The Rose Bowl college football game that traditionally follows the parade is still scheduled for New Year's Day.