If your Christmas wish is to become a multi-millionaire, you’ll have another chance.

Two little piggies will not become Christmas Eve roast pork thanks to a holiday pardon they received from a Florida mayor.

Moravian missionaries named the Pennsylvania city of Bethlehem after the biblical birthplace of Jesus on Christmas Eve in 1741.

Santa Claus is coming to town, and you can track him as he delivers gifts around the globe on Christmas Eve!

Deputies announced that a second victim of the Christmas Eve shooting in Lockhart that also injured three others has died.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has hailed the shooting down of two Russian fighter jets on Christmas Eve, saying “This Christmas sets the right mood for the entire year ahead.”.

Rain chances increase on Christmas Day.

The typically bustling biblical birthplace of Jesus looks like a ghost town on Christmas Eve, with celebrations in Bethlehem called off due to the Israel-Hamas war.

For those last-minute shoppers, you’re in luck: there will be plenty of shopping available on Christmas Eve this year.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Florida.

What's it going to be like on the big day?

Surfing Santas, the annual Christmas Eve event that draws thousands to Cocoa Beach, returns for its 15th year.

Space Coast and Beyond newsletter.

Space Coast and Beyond newsletter.

Space Coast and Beyond newsletter.

Space Coast & Beyond newsletter.

Space Coast & Beyond newsletter.

Santa Claus is coming to town, and you can track him as he delivers gifts around the globe on Christmas Eve!

After announcing last month that Surfing Santas 2023 would be moving locations, organizers have made a cutback and promised another wave of holiday fun on the event’s original beach.

Surfing Santas, the annual Christmas Eve tradition in Cocoa Beach, will have a new home in 2023.

A 23-year-old man was arrested in Puerto Rico after being accused of murdering his brother in Polk County on Christmas Eve, according to the sheriff's office.

A man awaiting trial in a domestic violence case was arrested again on Christmas after deputies said he fatally shot his wife in Polk County.

The Kissimmee Police Department is searching for two people involved in a burglary at the Salvation Army.

Port Canaveral says 52,000 people got on or off a cruise ship on Christmas Eve and that single day record won't last long because on New Year's Eve, the port says 57,000 people will pass through its terminals.

A man accused of stealing multiple packages from Hollywood residents was arrested on Christmas Eve, police say.

A sheriff’s deputy in the Florida Panhandle was fatally shot Christmas Eve during a standoff with a suspect who was being served a warrant.

Thousands of Duke Energy customers are without power in Orange and Seminole counties on Christmas Eve, according to an outage map on the company’s website.

Traditional surfing session held every Christmas Eve

It will be feeling festive for the holidays!

Secure your pets, pipes and people before the chilliest temps of the season hit this weekend.

Video from the Orange County Sheriff's Office shows a deputy singing a Christmas song as his car crashed with another on Christmas Eve.

Authorities have concluded that a great white shark killed a bodyboarder last Christmas Eve in central California.

After a brief, festive cool down right before Christmas Eve, the warmth has surged back into the Sunshine State.

Volusia County deputies are looking for witnesses in a crash that killed a motorcyclist on Christmas Eve.

Some drivers waited more than two hours to get a COVID-19 test at Barnett Park Sunday. The demand is so high, Orange County is reopening another drive-up testing site Monday.

Traffic on Interstate 95 northbound in Volusia County came to a halt as units responded to a crash that authorities said involved more than two vehicles and left at least several people injured.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the pair were heading westbound on SR-46 when they were hit by an SUV driver going eastbound after veering into their lane.

The staff is tired, the omicron variant is bearing down and the intensive care unit beds are filling fast at a hospital in the French city of Marseille.

Three people were shot on Christmas Eve, including a 6-year-old girl, according to investigators with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

Amid the surge of coronavirus cases across the U.S., numerous churches have canceled in-person Christmas services.

More than 100 Delta and United flights have been canceled on Christmas Eve due to the rise in omicron cases, the airlines announced Thursday.

After another cool start, temperatures will climb back into the mid-70s Christmas Eve afternoon.

From Bethlehem and Frankfurt to London and Boston, the surging coronavirus dampened Christmas Eve festivities for a second year.

An assembly line of holiday films to make the heart sing is the Hallmark Channel's blueprint, and it works every year like mistletoe or eggnog.

The European Union and Britain are back to quarreling less than a year after finalizing Brexit.

U.S. defense officials say the Pentagon has decided to keep a Navy aircraft carrier in the Middle East to provide protection for the more than 10,000 American and coalition troops withdrawing from Afghanistan in coming weeks.

Two people have been arrested in connection with the murder of Tyler McCoullough in Palm Bay on Christmas Eve, according to the Palm Bay Police Department. Police took into custody 23-year-old Toby Gamble and 17-year old Hunter Oswiecinski, who were both charged with 1st-degree premeditated murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. McCoullough, 33, was found shot multiple times in the area of Forest Knoll Drive and Tree Ridge Lane on Christmas Eve and later died at a hospital.

A 33-year-old Titusville man suspected of killing his mother during a dispute -- the ninth case of homicide for the Space Coast since Christmas Eve -- is being held without bond at the Brevard County Jail Complex. Sheriff’s investigators said Main battered his mother at a home on La Grange Road north of Titusville. Deputies determined that a domestic dispute had taken place, leading Main to attack his mother. A public defender was appointed for Main, court records show. A court hearing for Main has been scheduled for March 11 at the Titusville Historic Court House.

ORLANDO, Fla. – There won’t be much sunshine Saturday, but it will still be unseasonably warm. Even with mostly cloudy skies by the afternoon, highs jump into record territory again. Highs climb back into the low-to-mid 80s Saturday afternoon. While temperatures will be falling again next week, this cold front won’t be nearly as dramatic as the Christmas Eve front. By Monday afternoon, temperatures only climb into the mid 60s.

UK chief trade negotiator David Frost looks on as Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson signs the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement at 10 Downing Street, London Wednesday Dec. 30, 2020. (Leon Neal/Pool via AP)BRUSSELS – Britain’s Parliament voted resoundingly on Wednesday to approve a trade deal with the European Union, paving the way for an orderly break with the bloc that will finally complete the U.K.’s long and divisive Brexit journey. With just a day to spare, lawmakers in the House of Commons voted 521-73 in favor of the agreement sealed between the U.K. government and the EU last week. She noted that the deal protected trade in goods but did not cover services, which account for 80% of Britain's economy. “We have a deal in trade, which benefits the EU, but not a deal in services, which would have benefitted the U.K.," May said.

SARASOTA, Fla. – A city official in Florida was involved in a fight outside a bar on Christmas Eve, a newspaper reported Monday. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports Sarasota Commissioner cwas attacked by multiple men after a verbal dispute. A photo later shows him lying on the sidewalk with his arms by his side. In a written statement to police, Battie, said he was walking back into a restaurant when he saw his friend in an argument with one of the suspects. Battie told an officer that was all he remembered of the altercation.

TAMPA, Fla. – A man who barricaded himself inside a Florida motel room exchanged gunfire with police officers in a standoff that stretched from Christmas Eve into Christmas Day. The standoff started Thursday afternoon after two men got into a fight at the the motel near Interstate 4, and Bucklon fired a gun, authorities said. The other man called police officers, who found Bucklon barricaded in a motel room when they arrived. They tried, unsuccessfully, to convince him to leave the room, leading to the standoff, authorities said. Later, police unsuccessfully tried to flush Bucklon out of the motel room by sending in a chemical irritant.

I will spend Christmas at home alone because I don't have anyone to spend them with. “I don’t feel like celebrating anything,” Otero said as she sat down to eat a plate of salmon with potatoes. “We have missed one another these Christmas holidays,” Cano said. I am one of the last ones left. I will spend Christmas at home alone because I don’t have anyone to spend it with.”___AP writer Joseph Wilson contributed to this report.

A man was shot and killed in Palm Bay on Christmas Eve, according to the police department. BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A man was shot and killed in Palm Bay on Christmas Eve, according to the police department. The Palm Bay Police Department said officers responded to the area of Forest Knoll Drive and Tree Ridge Lane after receiving reports of shots fired. This area is just west of State Road 507 and a half-mile south of Palm Bay Road. Officers said they are searching for a suspect but they have not released a motive for the shooting.

OVIEDO, Fla. – With online shipping deadlines in the rearview mirror, shoppers crowded into stores across Central Florida to buy last-minute gifts in time for Christmas. “Yes, I am cutting it close, but this is almost like a tradition for me,” Kurt Shoup said. With more people shopping online this year, there has also been an increase in shipping delays. “There was one item that’s not going to come in,” Shoup said. The National Retail Federation expects holiday sales this year to increase between 3.6 and 5.2 percent over 2019.

In this photo provided by Maitrise Notre-Dame de Paris soprani singer Julie Fuchs and the Notre Dame Cathedral choir recording a Christmas concert on Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020, inside Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. The concert will be broadcasted on French television on Christmas. (MSNDP/Musique Sacree Notre-Dame de Paris via AP)PARIS – Wearing hard hats and protective suits, members of the choir of Notre Dame Cathedral sang inside the medieval Paris landmark for the first time since last year’s devastating fire for a special Christmas Eve concert. The public was not allowed and isn’t expected to see the insides of Notre Dame until at least 2024. The Notre Dame choir used to give 60 concerts a year inside the cathedral but has been itinerant ever since, moving among other Paris churches.

Few people were there to greet them as the coronavirus pandemic and a strict lockdown dampened Christmas Eve celebrations. The Philippines prohibited mass gatherings and barred extended families from holding traditional Christmas Eve dinners. On Christmas Eve in Italy, church bells rang earlier than usual. In Athens, Christmas Eve was eerily silent. The schedule for Christmas Eve and Christmas day included Masses in English and Spanish, and a bilingual jazz vespers service.

ORLANDO, Fla. – We are starting off mild across Central Florida this Christmas Eve morning. “Gangsta’s Paradise” was the number one song on the Billboard year-end singles list the last time it was this cold on Christmas. #flwx pic.twitter.com/hr3EPZRy3r — Jonathan Kegges (@JonathanKegges) December 24, 2020[LIVE RADAR: Here’s when you can expect storms on Christmas Eve]Temperatures will warm all the way to 82 degrees ahead of a cold front on Christmas Eve. Expect a cold front to bring strong storms after 7 p.m. through about 11 p.m. across Central Florida. Expect temperatures in the 30s and 40s on Christmas morning with highs only in the 50s Christmas afternoon.

(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)BEIJING — Authorities in China’s northeastern port city of Dalian are testing millions of residents after seven new coronavirus cases were reported there in the last 24 hours. It has a deal to secure up to 100 million doses of the potential vaccine produced by AstraZeneca. Koca said the first shipment of three million doses of CoronaVac would be shipped to Turkey on Sunday and arrive Monday. He said Turkey could get 4.5 million doses until the end of March and would have the option buy up to 30 million doses. Indonesia has reported nearly 700,000 COVID-19 cases, the largest caseload in Southeast Asia and second in Asia only to India’s 10.1 million confirmed cases.

It took more than three years of wrangling before Britain left the bloc’s political structures last January. If Britain were to quit the EU with no agreement governing trade, the two sides would reinstate tariffs on each other's goods. Even with a trade deal, goods and people will no longer be able to move freely between the U.K. and its continental neighbors without border restrictions. ”“And the difference that a trade deal makes is not going to be obvious to most people from that,” he said. ___Follow all AP stories on the Brexit trade talks at https://apnews.com/Brexit

Stocks are ticking higher on Wall Street Wednesday, Dec. 23, following a mixed set of reports on the economy. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)Stocks closed slightly higher on Christmas Eve, as investors went into the holiday weekend not bothered by President Donald Trump’s threat not to sign a major economic stimulus package approved by Congress this week. Relatively safe investments like utilities and real estate were among the biggest gainers, while energy stocks fell. Trump has asked for higher individual payments to Americans, something Democrats support but which is unlikely to get a vote in the Republican-held Senate. Consumers pulled back on their spending by more last month than economists expected, mainly because of a drop in income.

Airports also recorded around 1 million travelers on each of the five days between last Friday and Tuesday. It took 292 days to reach 1 million cases on Nov. 11. California, the most populous state, has recorded more than 23,000 COVID-19 deaths. Nurses are exhausted, terrified of what’s next and angry at those who ignore pleas to stay home and stay safe. Associated Press writers Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Missouri, and Shelley Adler in Fairfax, Virginia, contributed to this story.

ORLANDO, Fla. – The coldest air Central Florida has felt in almost three years will be ushered in by a strong cold front Christmas Eve. While the coldest of the air doesn’t settle in until Saturday morning, the chill will blast in late Christmas Eve. By dinner Christmas Eve, a line of thunderstorms will be approaching the I-75 corridor. Scattered rain and storms will be possible through the predawn hours of Christmas Day. Sunshine returns for all later Christmas morning, but it will be windy and very cold.

After resolving a few remaining fair-competition issues, negotiators tussled over EU fishing rights in U.K. waters as they worked right into Christmas Eve to secure a provisional deal for a post-Brexit relationship after nine months of talks. A trade deal would avert the imposition of tariffs and duties that could cost both sides billions in trade and hundreds of thousands of jobs. Johnson has always insisted the U.K. will “prosper mightily” even if no deal is reached and the U.K. has to trade with the EU on World Trade Organization terms from Jan. 1. Rumors of a pre-Christmas trade deal surfaced in recent days based on progress on the main outstanding issues, other than fishing. On Wednesday, brokering on quotas and transition times for EU vessels to continue fishing in U.K. waters was in full swing, with progress reported from several sides.

All most people wanted for Christmas after this year of pandemic was some cheer and togetherness. Instead many are heading into a season of isolation, grieving lost loved ones, worried about their jobs or confronting the fear of a new potentially more contagious virus variant. Peruvians won't be allowed to drive their cars over Christmas and New Year to discourage visits even with nearby family and friends. South Africans won’t be able to go to the beach on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or New Year’s Day. There are no nationwide travel restrictions in the United States, but health officials have urged people to stay home and limit gatherings.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Central Florida is enjoying a clear start with cool temperatures in the 40s and 50s. Temperatures will be in the mid-70s on Wednesday and in the upper 70s by Christmas Eve day. A new front will bring a 40% chance for rain on Christmas Eve and a big cool down by Christmas Day. Expect morning lows on Christmas in the 30s and high temperatures only in the 50s. The record high for Dec. 22 is 86 set in 2013.

SEOUL – South Korea will prohibit private social gatherings of five or more people and shut down ski resorts and major tourist spots nationwide starting from Christmas Eve as it contends with surging coronavirus infections. The capital area has been at the center of a viral resurgence in past weeks that has overwhelmed hospitals and increased death tolls and raised questions to how the government is handling the outbreak. Forty-eight COVID-19 patients have died in the past 48 hours, the deadliest two days since the emergence of the pandemic. The viral resurgence has put pressure on the government to raise social distancing restrictions to maximum levels, something policymakers have resisted for weeks out of economic concerns. The mass outbreak in Samut Sakhon was revealed over the weekend when authorities reported more than 500 new cases, the country’s biggest single-day increase by far.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Now that the front is moving through Central Florida we can expect clearing skies after a wet morning. Rain overnight led to wet roadways for this first day of winter. The record high for yesterday was 86 set in 1924. Sunday Orlando had a rain total in Orlando .40 inches putting our surplus at 3.22 inches since Jan. 1. The record high for Dec. 21 is 87 degrees set in 2013.

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – As we wait for the first shipment of a COVID-19 to arrive in Central Florida, Seminole County leaders are already making plans to start vaccinating its most vulnerable residents, possibly as soon as Christmas Eve. Seminole County Emergency Manager Alan Harris said he is preparing for when Seminole County will receive its first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. Harris said the second shipment could arrive in Florida in just a matter of days. Harris said Seminole County is expected to receive between 8,000 to 10,000 doses in the second shipment. “It may be a Christmas Eve, Christmas present where we’re going in and providing vaccinations to individuals in long term care facilities,” Harris said.

The season of giving is nearly upon us and McDonald’s is preparing to give away free food with its new meal deal starting Monday and running through Christmas Eve. | Intruders cut woman’s hair, leave]That includes things like medium fries for Rudolph and coffee for Scrooge, just to name a couple. To get the deal, you have to make a $1 minimum purchase and place the order through the McDonald’s app. On Christmas Eve, McDonald’s is giving away free chocolate chip cookies in honor of Santa, without the $1 minimum purchase. Free daily deals schedule is as follows:Dec. 14 - The Griswolds: Free Double CheeseburgerDec. 15 - The Abominable Snow Monster: Free Big MacDec. 16 - The Grinch: Free Egg McMuffinDec. 17 - John McClane: Free McDoubleDec. 18 - Rudolph: Free Medium FriesDec. 19 - Gizmo: Free 6 piece McNuggetsDec. 20 - Buddy the Elf: Free HotcakesDec. 21 - Scrooge: Free any size hot or iced coffeeDec. 22 - Frosty the Snowman: Free any size McFlurryDec. 23 - Frank Costanza and the rest of us: Free bakery itemDec. 24 - Santa Claus: free 2 pack or 3 pack chocolate chip cookies

NEW YORK – Christmas is still a few weeks away, but Mariah Carey is already orchestrating her dinner menu. 1 hits really going to sweat over a hot stove? “Magical Christmas Special” is another example of diverse, family-friendly holiday programming that hasn’t always been allotted by Hollywood. “As a kid, if I had to select one holiday, of course I’m going with Christmas. And while the pandemic has halted a number of projects, 2020 has been busy for Carey: In September she released her candid memoir “The Meaning of Mariah Carey,” which debuted at No.

(AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)BRUSSELS – Please leave a chair empty at this year's family Christmas dinner as a precaution, or face the possibility of having that chair empty forever. That's the stark dilemma Belgium's prime minister has set to urge smaller festive family gatherings, as Europeans battle with containing the surging COVID-19 pandemic over the holiday season. Britain, with the continent's highest death rate at 57,031 yet a Christmas tradition unlike few others, could not resist the temptation of relaxation. Like Belgium, Italy, where the pandemic initially struck hard in Europe, is taking a hard line at Christmas. In Oberndorf, home of the world's most famous Christmas carol, they hope its lyrics will not be taken too literally.

The global pandemic won't stop them from tracking Santa Claus' progress as he delivers gifts around the globe on Christmas Eve. The North American Aerospace Defense Command has announced that NORAD will track Santa on Dec. 24, just as it has done for 65 years. “We understand this is a time-honored tradition, and we know undoubtedly there is going to be some disappointment,” said NORAD spokesman Preston Schlachter. Schlachter said NORAD will largely be limiting volunteers to people who already work there and their immediate families. The tracking Santa apps will soon be available on Google Play and the Apple App Store.

The Heisman Trophy will be presented Jan. 5, but without the usual ceremony held in New York City, and the finalists will be revealed on Christmas Eve. The deadline for Heisman voters to submit their ballots is now Dec. 21, two days after the conference championship games are scheduled to be played. Before college football schedules were revised because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Heisman was set to be handed out Dec. 12. Now it will be awarded during the 10 days between the College Football Playoff semifinals on Jan. 1 and the championship game on Jan. 11. ___More AP college football coverage: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

DeLAND, Fla. – Multiple pets were killed but no people were injured when a home caught on fire Christmas Eve, according to the Volusia County Fire Rescue. The fire was reported around 5 p.m. on Wilmhurt Lane in DeLand, according to investigators. Photos and videos from the scene show a white home with charring near at least two of the windows. First responders said foul play is not suspected.

Most only recorded a dusting in extreme cases across Central Florida. In north Florida, however, 1-3 inches of snow accumulated. The track of this system put Central Florida and much of the Southeast in prime position to pickup this rare snowfall. The heaviest snow falls north and west of the center of low pressurePOST-SNOW CHILLAfter the light snow ended, Arctic air settled in. Central Florida woke up to actual-air temperatures in the teens and 20s on Dec. 24.

Last-minute shoppers can rejoice as some Central Florida malls and outlets have decided to extend their hours and in turn, the shopping season. Here’s a list of major malls across Central Florida and their hours for Dec. 23 and Christmas Eve. Mall at MilleniaDec. 23: 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.Dec. 24: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.Florida MallDec. 23: 9 a.m. - 10 p.m.Dec. 24: 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.Orlando International Premium OutletsDec. 23: 9 a.m. - 11 p.m.Dec. 24: 9 a.m. - 8 p.m.Altamonte MallDec. 23: 8 a.m. - 11 p.m.Dec. 24: 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.Seminole Towne CenterDec. 23: 8 a.m. - 10 p.m.Dec. 24: 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.Oviedo MallDec. 23: 8 a.m. - 11 p.m.Dec. 24: 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.Tanger OutletsDec. 23: 9 a.m. - 9 p.m.Dec. 24: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.Volusia MallDec. 23: 9 a.m. - 10 p.m.Dec. 24: 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.