Report: ACC allowing Miami to keep $14M CFP payout

The Atlantic Coast Conference is giving Miami the entirety of the College Football Playoff prize money it earned so far, according to Front Office Sports.

While the conference is entitled to keep a portion of the winnings, the ACC is electing not to do so due to its success initiatives model which went into effect for the 2024-25 academic year.

That allows Miami to keep its entire prize pool, which currently sits at $14 million after the 10th-seeded Hurricanes beat No. 2 Ohio State 24-14 in the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 31.

The Hurricanes didn't make the ACC championship game due to two conference losses and a tiebreaker they lost to Duke, but made the CFP as an at-large team.

To date, Miami (12-2) has made $4 million for making the 12-team CFP, $4 more million for winning its first-round game and $6 million for winning its quarterfinal.

With a win over No. 6 seed Ole Miss (13-1) in the CFP semifinals at the Fiesta Bowl Jan. 8, the Hurricanes would earn $6 million in additional money, bringing their potential haul to $20 million in addition to $3 million in travel expenses for each round they play in.

--Field Level Media

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Report: ACC allowing Miami to keep $14M CFP payout

The Atlantic Coast Conference is giving Miami the entirety of the College Football Playoff prize money it earned so fa...

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NFL Week 18 scenarios: Who can clinch what? How can they do it? And who's playing starters?

There's alotleft to be decided in Week 18 of the NFL regular season, including:

• Four division titles (AFC North, AFC South, NFC South and NFC West)

• No. 1 seed in the AFC

• No. 1 seed in the NFC

• No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft

• Numerous playoff seedings

Here's your rundown of what's at stake each game, and how seriously each team is taking it.

Panthers at Buccaneers|Seahawks at 49ers|Colts at Texans|Titans at Jaguars|Cowboys at Giants|Browns at Bengals|Packers at Vikings|Saints at Falcons|Dolphins at Patriots|Chargers at Broncos|Commanders at Eagles|Lions at Bears|Jets at Bills|Cardinals at Rams|Chiefs at Raiders|Ravens at Steelers

Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

What's at stake for Panthers:If the Panthers win or tie, the NFC South and the No. 4 seed are theirs no matter what. If they lose, then they need help detailed below.

What's at stake for Buccaneers:If the Buccaneers win, they still need the Falcons to lose or tie Sunday against the Saints to clinch the NFC South and the No. 4 seed. If the Bucs and Falcons both win, then there's a three-way tie atop the NFC South at 8-9, and the tiebreaker goes to the Panthers.

Are both teams going for it?You better believe it.

Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers

What's at stake for Seahawks:If the Seahawks win or tie, they clinch the NFC West and the No. 1 seed.

What's at stake for 49ers:If the 49ers win, they clinch the NFC West and the No. 1 seed.

Are both teams going for it?Thesetwo teams vs. each other? With allthison the line? Book it.

Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans

What's at stake for Colts:Nothing except the chance to ruin a rival's shot at the division title. Even Indianapolis' first-round draft pick, which is currently 18th, goes to the Jets next spring thanks to the Sauce Gardner trade.

What's at stake for Texans:If the Texans win and the Jaguars lose, the Texans win the AFC South.

Are both teams going for it?The Texans sure will. As for the Colts, the biggest player news isrookie sixth-round quarterback Riley Leonard will startover Philip Rivers, while several othersincluding Sauce Gardnerwon't play. But otherwise the Colts will have their full complement.

Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars

What's at stake for Titans:Just the chance to play spoiler, and alsopotentially clinch the No. 2 pick in the draftwith a loss and wins by the Giants, Jets and Cardinals.

What's at stake for Jaguars:A lot. If the Jaguars win or tie, they'll win the AFC South no matter what. They can also win it with a Texans loss or tie. Jacksonville also has a shot at the No. 1 seed in the AFC, which would require a win plus losses by the Broncos and Patriots.

Are both teams going for it?The Jaguars definitely are. The Titans haven't indicated they'll sit anyone yet.

Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants

What's at stake for Cowboys:Draft positioning in the mid-first round and the chance to springboard into a more hopeful 2026.

What's at stake for Giants:There's still achance the Giants can get the No. 1 overall pickin the draft. They would have to lose, the Raiders would have to win, and at least two of the following teams would also have to win: Seahawks, Falcons, Browns and Bears. It's also one last chance for interim head coach Mike Kafka to make his case to be the permanent head coach.

Are both teams going for it?Dallas is going to play its starters including Dak Prescott, butJerry Jones hinted Tuesdaythat Prescott might not play much. TheCowboys also just released cornerback Trevon Diggs, so they seem to be getting a head start on offseason moves. TheGiants, meanwhile, plan to play their starterstoo.

Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals

What's at stake for Browns:TheBrowns can get the No. 2 pick in the draftwith a loss plus wins by the Giants, Jets, Titans and Cardinals. They currently hold the No. 6 pick. Myles Garrett is also aiming for the single-season sack record. He's a half-sack away from the record books.

What's at stake for Bengals:Cincinnati will pick either in the back half of the top 10 or early in the teens no matter what.

Are both teams going for it?So far, both the Bengals and Browns have indicated their starters will play Week 18 if healthy, including one last look at Shedeur Sanders.

Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings

What's at stake for Packers:Nothing. The Packers are locked into the NFC's seventh seed and a wild-card trip to either Chicago or Philadelphia.

What's at stake for Vikings:Mid-first round draft positioning. The Vikings will be picking in the teens or early 20s.

Are both teams going for it?The Packers might play some starters, though quarterback Jordan Love won't be one of them. Head coach Matt LaFleur said he'd sit out despite being out of concussion protocol and rest up for the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Vikings haven't indicated their plans yet.

New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons

What's at stake for Saints:Tyler Shough's Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign and some optimism heading into 2026. Shough has been pretty good since becoming the starter, and the Saints are on a four-game win streak to close Kellen Moore's first season in charge. They're locked into a late top 10 or early teens first-round draft pick.

What's at stake for Falcons:For the Falcons themselves? Very little, with their first-round draft pick this year going to the Rams thanks to the James Pearce Jr. trade last spring. But for the NFC South? That's where things go full sicko mode.

If the Buccaneers beat the Panthers on Saturday, then the fate of the NFC South rests in the Falcons' hands. If they win, the Panthers are division champions anyway, since the top three teams would be tied at 8-9 and the Panthers own the tiebreaker. If the Falcons lose, the Buccaneers would win the division.Yes ... ha ha ha ...YES!

Are both teams going for it?TheSaints will be without star wideout Chris Olave, whileseveral others starters didn't practiceWednesday or Thursday. The Falcons, meanwhile, appear set to play their starters.

Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots

What's at stake for Dolphins:The chance to deny the Patriots the No. 1 seed in the AFC with a win. Mike McDaniel's last chance to state his case to be head coach in 2026. Draft positioning too, since the pick could fall anywhere in the late top 10 to the teens.

What's at stake for Patriots:There are two scenarios that would land the Patriots the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Either they win and the Broncos lose or tie, or they tie and the Broncos lose.

Are both teams going for it?Expect the Patriots to, with the Broncos playing at the same time Sunday. Meanwhile the Dolphins haven't indicated they're going to sit anybody, and likely want one more look at rookie seventh-round QB Quinn Ewers.

Los Angeles Chargers at Denver Broncos

What's at stake for Chargers:Strap in. Out of64 possible AFC playoff seeding scenarios, 18 end with the Chargers in the fifth seed (28%), 30 end with the Chargers in the sixth seed (47%), and 16 end with the Chargers in the seventh seed (25%). Fun!

What's at stake for Broncos:Win and they're the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Beyond that, they can still clinch the No. 1 seed with a tie and a Patriots loss or tie. They can also get it with a loss, as long as the Patriots lose and the Jaguars lose or tie.

Are both teams going for it?The Broncos almost certainly will, withhead coach Sean Paytondescribing Sunday as "like a playoff game" and stressing the importance of the No. 1 seed historically. TheChargers, meanwhile, are resting quarterback Justin Herbert, who fractured his non-throwing hand in Week 13. A number of starters have beenlimited in practice, too, so the plan may be to rest them.

Washington Commanders at Philadelphia Eagles

What's at stake for Commanders:There's still asmall chance the Commanders secure the No. 2 overall pickin the draft. They'd need to lose, and they'd need the Giants, Jets, Titans, Cardinals and Browns to all win. Unlikely. But maybe!

What's at stake for Eagles:TheEagles get the No. 2 seed in 25% (16 out of 64)of the Week 18 NFC scenarios. All of them require an Eagles win and a Bears loss. Otherwise they're the No. 3 seed, since the Bears own the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Are both teams going for it?QB Tanner McKee will start, giving Jalen Hurts rest before wild-card weekend.Head coach Nick Siriannihinted that he'd rest some starters Monday. The Commanders will start Josh Johnson at QB and are expected to play their starters, withhead coach Dan Quinn hintinginjuries are the only thing that would keep players out.

Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears

What's at stake for Lions:Only the chance to help deny the Bears and their former offensive coordinator the No. 2 seed in the NFC. The Lions will pick in the teens in the first round of the NFL Draft.

What's at stake for Bears:If the Bears win, they're theNo. 2 seed in the NFC no matter whatby virtue of a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Eagles. If the Bears lose, they can still clinch the No. 2 seed with an Eagles loss to the Commanders.

Are both teams going for it?Lions head coach Dan Campbell has indicatedhis starters will play,including Amon-Ra St. Brown but not Penei Sewell, as long as they're not risking long-term injury, plus it fits the franchise's ethos to do so.Bears head coach Ben Johnson, meanwhile, said Monday "we're playing to win this week." So it sounds like Chicago will be going for the No. 2 seed.

New York Jets at Buffalo Bills

What's at stake for Jets:TheJets can get the No. 2 pickwith a loss and a Giants win. It also might not hurt head coach Aaron Glenn to finish the season with a good performance after some ugly losses this season, despite team ownership indicating he'll be back.

What's at stake for Bills:The Bills can move up to the fifth or sixth seed in37.5% of the remaining scenarios, so they'll have to win and let the other results fall where they may.

Are both teams going for it?Head coach Sean McDermott saidJosh Allen should be "good to go"for Sunday despite being limited in practice, though it remains to be seen if Allen or other starters will play. As for the Jets, well, they're in full-blown find-out-who-wants-to-be-here-next-season mode, so in some sense, you could say they're "going for it."

Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams

What's at stake for Cardinals:TheCardinals can still get the No. 2 pickwith a loss and wins by the Giants, Jets and Titans. Arizona hasshut down wideout Marvin Harrison Jr., who has had a disappointing sophomore season.

What's at stake for Rams:The Rams need to win (and need the Seahawks to win) to have any shot at the No. 5 seed, which they'd get in25% of the remaining NFC scenarios.Otherwise they'll be the sixth seed.

Are both teams going for it?Rams head coach Sean McVay saidhe won't rest starters in Week 18, which makes sense given how messy his team has looked in recent weeks. However, if the 49ers win Saturday and the Rams are locked into the sixth seed, it's a good bet the Rams' starters won't play the full game. The Cardinals, meanwhile, have given no indication they'll sit anyone yet.

Kansas City Chiefs at Las Vegas Raiders

What's at stake for Chiefs:The Chiefs can lock up a top-10 pick with a loss. It might be Travis Kelce's last career game, and he'll want to go out with a win. Otherwise, not much else in a rare lost season for Kansas City.

What's at stake for Raiders:If the Raiders lose, they'll clinch the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. If they win it gets dicier, but there are stillseveral scenarios that land them the top pick.

Are both teams going for it?Andy Reid has indicatedhis starters will play. As for the Raiders, well, it's trickier. Pete Carroll hasn't directly said starters won't play this weekend. Then again,Maxx Crosby seems a little defiantover being shut down due to a knee injury, whileBrock Bowers was placed on injured reservewith a knee injury he's battled all season. So at the very least, the Raiders are giving the outward appearance of being ready to close up shop on this campaign. Which, of course, would be good for their draft status.

Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers

What's at stake for Ravens:If the Ravens win, they're the AFC North champion and the No. 4 seed. If they lose or tie, they're out of the playoff race.

What's at stake for Steelers:If the Steelers win or tie, they're the AFC North champion and the No. 4 seed. If they lose, they're out of the playoff hunt.

Are both teams going for it?Hell, yes. There's a reason this is Game 272. AndLamar Jackson says he'll be back from injury.

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NFL Week 18 scenarios: Who can clinch what? How can they do it? And who's playing starters?

There's alotleft to be decided in Week 18 of the NFL regular season, including: Four division titles (AFC No...

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CFP predictions: Picking winners for Peach Bowl and Fiesta Bowl semifinals

The College Football Playoff semifinals are set,with a few surprises heading into the next round.

Fresh off a historic slaughter of Alabama in the Rose Bowl,Indianawill be in Atlanta to play Oregon in the Peach Bowl in a Big Ten rematch. Miami, meanwhile, will play Mississippi in the Fiesta Bowl in a game between two teams many were stunned to see advance.

Hayes:Lane Kiffin's foolish pride blinded him to what he had at Ole Miss

Miami-Mississippi will be Thursday, Jan. 8, whereas Indiana-Oregon will take place Friday, Jan. 9. The games are for a spot in the national championship, to be played at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Jan. 19. In that sense, theHurricaneshave a chance to play a home game for a national championship.

The Hoosiers were a well-oiled machine in their win over the Crimson Tide, with Fernando Mendoza completing 14-of-16 passes for three touchdowns and the defense completely stymying any attempts byAlabamato move the ball. Oregon's defense was similarly staunch again Texas Tech, with Dante Moore playing a similarly efficient game, albeit with less scoring.

Miami jumped out to an early lead on New Year's Eve against Ohio State, and ultimately held on in the face of a comeback attempt by theBuckeyes. Once again, defense was the hallmark of the semifinalists, with Julian Sayin feeling pressure all night. Mississippi and Georgia played in an instant classic in the Sugar Bowl, with the Rebels holding on for a 39-34 win.

Whose season will end and who will advance for a shot at immortality? USA TODAY makes its picks for the CFP semifinals.

CFP semifinals predictions

Odds for all games are courtesy ofBetMGMas of Friday, Jan. 2

Fiesta Bowl: No. 6Ole Missvs No. 10 Miami

Ole Miss vs Miami odds

• Spread: Miami -3

• Over/under: 51.5 points

• Moneyline: Miami -150 | Ole Miss +130

Ole Miss vs Miami predictions

Ole Miss 31, Miami 24:The Hurricanes' pass rush put Julian Sayin in a blender in the Cotton Bowl. Trinidad Chambliss' mobility and whirling dervish style should give the Rebels' offense a chance the Buckeyes never had. On the other side of the ball, I trust Pete Golding to scheme up a defense that forces Carson Beck to have to win the game. Beck hasn't thrown for more than 150 yards in either of Miami's CFP wins, while the Rebels have proven you'll need to score more than 24 points to beat them – heck you may have to score 40. -Matt Glenesk, USA TODAY

Ole Miss 23, Miami 7:Miami has come out and exceeded all expectations, and that should be recognized. Beating Texas A&M and Ohio State in back to back weeks is huge for a program that backed into the CFP at the last moment. But Pete Golding proved his mettle as a coach going toe-to-toe against an SEC behemoth in Georgia, and he should find a way to make Carson Beck's life difficult. Combine that with how difficult it is to contain Trinidad Chambliss, despite the utterly elite pass rushers Miami has, and it's a tough matchup for Miami. To its credit, the past two have been tough as well. But the buck stops in Glendale. -Kevin Skiver, USA TODAY

Miami 27, Ole Miss 23:At some point —and this may just be stubbornly holding on to a weeks-old opinion — the inherent instability and awkwardness of the Rebels' situation is going to be a factor, though it obviously hasn't through two games in the playoff. Trinidad Chambliss is mesmerizing, but he hasn't faced a pass rush quite as ferocious as Miami's and the Hurricanes' offense will do just enough to keep their run going all the way to the title game. The prospect of a turnover-filled dud for Carson Beck only makes me so confident in this pick, though. -Craig Meyer, USA TODAY

Peach Bowl: No. 1 Indiana vs No. 5 Oregon

Indiana vs Oregon odds

• Spread: Indiana -4

• Over/under: 47.5 points

• Moneyline: Indiana -185 | Oregon +150

Indiana vs Oregon predictions

Indiana 35, Oregon 21:The Hoosiers' 30-20 win over theDucksin Eugene in October started to convert IU doubters into believers. Indiana's Rose Bowl demolition of Alabama proselytized even the most ardent skeptics (cough, Paul Finebaum). The Hoosiers' defense sacked Dante Moore six times and picked off the Ducks QB twice in the first meeting. And while Oregon shut out a piddling Texas Tech offense in the Orange Bowl, Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza leads one of the nation's most balanced attacks. It sounds unbelievable to say, but Indiana football will play for the national championship. -Matt Glenesk, USA TODAY

Indiana 20, Oregon 17:Going with the old Vegas trick of laying three points on the favorite in a coin flip of a game. Oregon is an incredibly good team, and as Curt Cignetti said after the Rose Bowl, it's tough to beat a good team twice. But it's tougher to beat a great team once, and Indiana is a great team. Ultimately, Fernando Mendoza vs Dante Moore isn't the matchup here. It's in the trenches, where Indiana is among the best in the country, and weapons vs weapons. Stars matter, but Indiana is comprised of under-recruited guys with a chip on their shoulders. With that in mind, Indiana wins a grimy game in a low-scoring affair against Dan Lanning, turning the coach's "no one believes in us" motivating tactic on its head (of course, the irony of not believing in Oregon here is not lost on me). -Kevin Skiver, USA TODAY

Indiana 24, Oregon 20:The old adage about how it's hard to beat a team twice in a season has its merits, but it can occasionally belie a deeper truth — sometimes, one team is simply better than another. Whatever fans may think of Indiana football based on the program's mostly putrid history, the Hoosiers are the best and most complete team in the sport this season, as they showed in a Rose Bowl demolition of Alabama. They'll stymie a Ducks offense that had difficulties against Texas Tech's front seven and Fernando Mendoza will continue to dazzle while leading Indiana to a once-unimaginable destination. -Craig Meyer, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:CFP semifinal picks: Picking winners of Miami-Ole Miss, Indiana-Oregon

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CFP predictions: Picking winners for Peach Bowl and Fiesta Bowl semifinals

The College Football Playoff semifinals are set,with a few surprises heading into the next round. Fresh off a hi...

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California ban on openly carrying guns is unconstitutional, court rules

By Nate Raymond

Jan 2 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday ruled that California's ban on openly carrying firearms in most parts of the state was unconstitutional.

A panel of the ​San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided 2-1 with a gun owner in ‌ruling that the state's prohibition against open carry in counties with more than 200,000 people violated U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment right ‌to keep and bear arms.

About 95% of the population in California, which has had some of the nation's strictest gun-control laws, live in counties of that size.

U.S. Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke, who was appointed by Republican President Donald Trump, said the Democratic-led state's law could not stand under the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 landmark gun ⁠rights ruling.

That decision, New York State Rifle & ‌Pistol Association v Bruen, was issued by the court's 6-3 conservative super-majority and established a new legal test for firearms restrictions. The test said they must be "consistent ‍with this nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation."

VanDyke, whose opinion on Friday was joined by another Trump appointee, said the latest case "unquestionably involves a historical practice — open carry — that predates ratification of the Bill of Rights in 1791."

He noted ​that more than 30 states generally allow open carry. California itself allowed citizens to carry handguns openly ‌and holstered for self-defense without penalty until 2012, he said.

"The historical record makes unmistakably plain that open carry is part of this Nation's history and tradition," VanDyke said.

The ruling partially reversed a 2023 decision by a lower-court judge who had rejected a 2019 challenge to the law by gun owner Mark Baird.

While the appeals court largely sided with Baird, it rejected his related challenge to California's licensing requirements in counties ⁠with fewer than 200,000 residents, which may issue open-carry permits.

Senior ​U.S. Circuit Judge N. Randy Smith, who was appointed by ​Republican former President George W. Bush, dissented, saying his colleagues "got this case half right" as all of California's restrictions complied with the Supreme Court's ruling.

Baird's lawyer had no immediate ‍comment. Spokespeople for California Attorney ⁠General Rob Bonta, whose office defended the state's ban, did not respond to a request for comment.

The 2022 Supreme Court ruling has prompted court cases nationwide challenging modern firearm restrictions, including in ⁠California.

A 9th Circuit panel in September 2024 upheld a California law that prohibits people with concealed-carry permits from carrying firearms ‌at several categories of "sensitive places" like bars, parks, zoos, stadiums and museums.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond ‌in Boston, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Cynthia Osterman)

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California ban on openly carrying guns is unconstitutional, court rules

By Nate Raymond Jan 2 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday ruled that California's ban on openly carry...

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Think You're Cold? Alaska's Minus 50s Would Like A Word

Do you think that Alaska is cold during winter? Think again, it's beyond cold there. How about having consecutive days of temperatures colder than 40 degrees below zero!

This is true for much of the Alaskan interior, particularly near Fairbanks and in between the Alaska and Brooks mountain ranges.

Over the last three days in Fairbanks, temperatures have struggled to reach 40 degrees below zero, with organizers in Fairbanks even postponing their annual New Year's Eve fireworks show due to the extreme cold.

The temperature in the final few minutes of 2025 in Fairbanks was43 degrees below zero.

In other words, conditions are unbearably and dangerously cold, even by local standards in Central Alaska.

In Chicken, Alaska, located near the Canadian Border, temperatures dropped as low as 62 degrees below zero! Numerous other locations in the eastern Alaskan Interior have seen temperatures between 50 and 60 degrees below zero.

On top of bringing dangerously cold minimum temperatures, this most recent cold snap has also been more prolonged than usual.

Temperatures in much of Alaska have been largely colder than usual since aboutDecember 5th, 2025

Some regions of Far-Eastern Alaska and the neighboring Yukon Territory in Canada have seen combined December temperaturesup to 30 degreesbelow the climatological average.

For reference, the average December temperature in Fairbanks from 1904 to 2025 is 22 degrees below zero with much of central Alaska having similarly cold December temperatures on average. Fairbanks, in particular, has seen a temperature departure of 18.5 degrees below average for December 2025, ranking as the 8th coldest December on record.

This means that much of East-Central Alaska has been stuck between 40 and 50 degrees below for nearly an entire month!

While many factors affect the severity of winters in Alaska, one notable statistic is the unusually high snowfall in portions of Alaska this past December. Fairbanks saw more than double its usual snowfall for the month of December.

Juneau, Alaska's capital, located in far-southeast Alaska, has seen nearly its entire annual snowfall in December alone, atover 80 inches.

Snowfall promotes cold temperatures by reflecting light from the sun back to space. In Alaska, there is already very little sunlight during the winter due to its positioning on and near the Arctic Circle.

What little sunlight snow-covered portions of Alaska have seen has been quickly reflected back to space by the unusually heavy snowpack.

In Central Alaska, located between the Alaska and Brooks ranges, the heavy snowpack, lack of sunlight, and lack of transport of air from warmer locations have led to the development of an arctic high pressure system, leading to stable conditions and light winds. These conditions cause the land to rapidly lose heat, becoming even colder. As long as this arctic high pressure is in place, Central Alaska will remain brutally cold (see forecast for next 3 days).

Fortunately, this pattern will break down as we approach mid-January. A more active storm track from the Pacific is poised to bring wetter and warmer conditions to portions of Alaska, especially towards the middle to second half of the month. While this wetter pattern means snow for most, temperatures will improve, being far more bearable than the current temperatures in the 40 to 50 degree below zero range.

Hayden Marshall is a meteorologist intern and First-Year-Master's Student at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He has been following weather content over the past three years as a Storm Spotter and weather enthusiast. He can be found onInstagramandLinkedin.

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Think You're Cold? Alaska's Minus 50s Would Like A Word

Do you think that Alaska is cold during winter? Think again, it's beyond cold there. How about having consecutive day...

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Swiss bar fire started by sparklers, investigators say, amid efforts to ID victims

Crans-Montana, Switzerland —Investigators said Friday that the deadly fire thattore through a popular barin the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana early on New Year's Day was caused by sparklers on Champagne bottles, which ignited the bar's ceiling.

Police have said about 40 people were killed and dozens were badly injured. Most of the victims were just teenagers celebrating the holiday, and the intensity of the deadly fire has left authorities with grim work to identify badly burned remains, which they say may take days, as desperate families are left to wait for word of their missing loved ones.

Swiss authorities said Friday that 113 out of the 119 people injured had been identified.

Beatrice Pilloud, the attorney general for Switzerland's Valais Canton, said authorities have interviewed two bar managers to help them understand the internal configuration of the venue and its capacity. She said the investigation was still ongoing.

Video has emerged that shows the moment a man tried but failed to snuff the first flames in the basement of the Le Constellation bar with a white cloth. The fire swept upward, to the upper level of the building.

In videos posted on social media, people can be heard screaming as dozens raced to try and escape through narrow exits. Many suffered horrific burns and smoke inhalation, and dozens remained hospitalized on Friday across the country, as well as in neighboring France, Italy and Germany.

Some 36 hours after the disaster, which authorities say appears to have been accidental, at least two dozen people were still missing.

The facade of the bar was hidden on Friday behind a white barricade.

One survivor said bar staff had inadvertently sparked the inferno.

"One woman climbed onto another woman's shoulders with two bottles and birthday sparklers were going off," said 16-year-old French visitor Axel Cavalier. "She waved them too high, they hit the ceiling and it caught fire."

Lucas Rebot, 24, told CBS News he and his girlfriend tried to get into Le Constellation at 1 a.m., about 30 minutes before the fire started, but were told the venue was full and were turned away. He said he had been at the bar a few days earlier and noticed at the time that the ceiling was covered in foam insulation, "like a music studio."

CBS News' partner network BBC News and France's BFM TV published photos Friday that they said showed the moment the sound insulation on the ceiling was set alight just above people holding sparklers, as described by the witnesses.

Other witnesses have relayed similar information. Authorities said early on in the investigation that there was no indication of an attack or explosion.

"At no moment is there a question of any kind of attack," Pilloud said Thursday, adding later that it was unclear how many people had been in the bar at the time of the fire, but that its maximum capacity would be one of the factors looked at as part of the investigation.

"For the time being, we don't have any suspects," she said when asked if anyone had been arrested. "An investigation has been opened, not against anyone, but to better understand the circumstances of this dramatic fire."

Forensic experts, meanwhile, have begun using dental and DNA records to identify the dead.

Clavier said one of his friends had died in the fire and two or three more were among those still listed as missing.

"The first objective is to assign names to all the bodies," Crans-Montana's mayor Nicolas Feraud said Thursday, adding that it could take days.

Mathias Reynard, who heads the regional Valais government, said it was essential to carry out the work "because the information is so terrible and sensitive that nothing can be told to the families unless we are 100 percent sure."

One of the first victims identified was a promising young Italian golfer Emanuele Galeppini, who was mourned by the Italian Golf Federation ina statementissued Thursday as "a young athlete who embodied passion and authentic values."

Crans-Montana is a popular destination for skiing, but is also an international golf resort in the warmer months.

Italian outlet SportMediasaidGaleppini, originally from Genoa, was 16 years old. It said his father was in Crans-Montana and had spent much of Thursday searching for information about his missing son.

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Swiss bar fire started by sparklers, investigators say, amid efforts to ID victims

Crans-Montana, Switzerland —Investigators said Friday that the deadly fire thattore through a popular barin the Swiss ski...

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Olympic medalist Katharina Liensberger suffers serious knee injuries in training crash

ST. MICHAEL, Austria (AP) — Olympic slalom silver medalist Katharina Liensberger of Austria sustained serious knee injuries in a crash in training that effectively ends her season, skiing's governing body said on Friday.

The International Ski and Snowboard Federation said the 28-year-old slalom specialist sustained a fracture of the tibial plateau — where the shin bone meets the knee — along with a meniscus tear and a medial collateral ligament injury in her right knee.

It said the fall occurred during a giant slalom training in St. Michael, Austria ahead of the weekend's World Cup races in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia.

FIS said Liensberger was due to undergo surgery on Friday and wished her a successful recovery from the injuries that rule her out of theWinter Olympicsin Italy next month, where she won two world titles five years ago.

It leaves Mikaela Shiffrin without one of her main rivals in slalom at the Milan Cortina Winter Games, and is the latest training crash involving a top skier.

Three of Switzerland's reigning Olympic champions have also been injured in training recently;Michelle Gisin,Lara Gut-BehramiandCorinne Suter.

At the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, Liensberger won gold in the team event for Austria and individual silver in the slalom. She became the world slalom and parallel event champion the previous year in Cortina D'Ampezzo.

She finished fourth in her last World Cup slalom in Semmering, Austria on Sunday.

AP Olympics:https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

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Olympic medalist Katharina Liensberger suffers serious knee injuries in training crash

ST. MICHAEL, Austria (AP) — Olympic slalom silver medalist Katharina Liensberger of Austria sustained serious knee injuri...

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