By TY ONEIL, Associated Press

WRIGHTWOOD, Calif. (AP) — A strong storm system that brought relentless winds, rain and snowfall to California this week was expected to ease Friday, but there was still a risk of high surf along the coast, flash flooding near Los Angeles and avalanches in the Sierra Nevada.

A car is buried in mud after a series of storms Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Waves near the San Francisco Bay Area could reach up to 25 feet Friday, parts of Southern California were at risk of flooding, and avalanches could hit the Lake Tahoe area, officials warned. Residents were told to be ready to evacuate the mountain town of Wrightwood about 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles because of mudslides.

Atmospheric rivers carried massive plumes of moisture from the tropics during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year. The storms were blamed for at least two deaths earlier in the week.

The system brought the wettest Christmas season to downtown Los Angeles in 54 years, the National Weather Service said.

Roads in the 5,000-resident town of Wrightwood were covered in rocks, debris and thick mud on Thursday. With power out, a gas station and coffee shop running on generators were serving as hubs for residents and visitors.

A car is flipped over along a storm-damaged road after a series of storms on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, near Phelan, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

“It’s really a crazy Christmas,” said Jill Jenkins, who was spending the holiday with her 13-year-old grandson, Hunter Lopiccolo.

Lopiccolo said the family almost evacuated the previous day, when water washed away a chunk of their backyard. But they decided to stay and still celebrated the holiday. Lopiccolo got a new snowboard and e-bike.

“We just played card games all night with candles and flashlights,” he said.

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Davey Schneider hiked a mile and a half through rain and floodwater up to his shins from his Wrightwood residence Wednesday to rescue cats from his grandfather’s house.

“I wanted to help them out because I wasn’t confident that they were going to live,” Schneider said Thursday. “Fortunately, they all lived. They’re all okay — just a little bit scared.”

Arlene Corte said roads in town turned into rivers, but her house was not damaged.

“It could be a whole lot worse,” she said. “We’re here talking.”

With more rain on the way, more than 150 firefighters were stationed in the area, said San Bernardino County Fire spokesman Shawn Millerick.

“We’re ready,” he said. “It’s all hands on deck at this point.”

A falling tree killed a San Diego man Wednesday, news outlets reported. Farther north, a Sacramento sheriff’s deputy died in what appeared to be a weather-related crash.

Areas along the coast, including Malibu, were under a flood watch until Friday afternoon, and wind and flood advisories were issued for much of the Sacramento Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Southern California typically gets half an inch to 1 inch of rain this time of year, but this week many areas could see between 4 and 8 inches, with even more in the mountains, National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Wofford said.

More wind and heavy snow was expected in the Sierra Nevada, where gusts created “near white-out conditions” and made mountain pass travel treacherous.

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared emergencies in six counties to allow state assistance.

The state deployed resources and first responders to several coastal and Southern California counties, and the California National Guard was on standby.

Associated Press writers Sophie Austin in Oakland, California, and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City contributed.

By WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that the U.S. launched a “powerful and deadly” strike against Islamic State forces in Nigeria, after spending weeks accusing the West African country’s government of failing to rein in the persecution of Christians.

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In a Christmas evening post on his social media site, Trump did not provide details or mention the extent of the damage caused by the strikes in Sokoto state.

A Defense Department official, who insisted on anonymity to discuss details not made public, said the U.S. worked with Nigeria to carry out the strikes, and that they’d been approved by that country’s government.

Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the cooperation included exchange of intelligence and strategic coordination in ways “consistent with international law, mutual respect for sovereignty and shared commitments to regional and global security.”

Trump said the airstrikes were launched against Islamic State militants “who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians.” Residents and security analysts have said Nigeria’s security crisis affects both Christians, predominant in the south, and Muslims, who are the majority in the north.

“Terrorist violence in any form, whether directed at Christians, Muslims or other communities, remains an affront to Nigeria’s values and to international peace and security,” Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Nigeria is battling multiple armed groups, including at least two affiliated with the Islamic State — an offshoot of the Boko Haram extremist group known as the Islamic State West Africa Province in the northeast, and the less-known Lakurawa group prominent in the northwestern states like Sokoto where the gangs use large swathes of forests connecting states as hideouts.

Security analysts said the target of the U.S. strikes could be the Lakurawa group, which in the last year has increasingly become lethal in the region, often targeting remote communities and security forces.

“Lakurawa is a group that is actually controlling territories in Nigeria, in Sokoto state and in other states like Kebbi,” said Malik Samuel, a Nigerian security researcher at Good Governance Africa. “In the northwest, there has been the incursion of violent extremist groups that are ideologically driven,” he said, blaming the incursion on the near absence of the state and security forces in hot spots.

Nigeria’s government has previously said in response to Trump’s criticisms that people of many faiths, not just Christians, have suffered attacks at the hands of extremists groups.

Trump ordered the Pentagon last month to begin planning for potential military action in Nigeria to try and curb the so-called Christian persecution. The State Department recently announced it would restrict visas for Nigerians and their family members involved in killing Christians there.

And the U.S. recently designated Nigeria a “country of particular concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act.

Trump said the U.S. defense officials had “executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing” and added that “our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper.”

Nigeria’s population of 220 million is split almost equally between Christians and Muslims. The country has long faced insecurity from various fronts including the Boko Haram extremist group, which seeks to establish its radical interpretation of Islamic law and has also targeted Muslims it deems not Muslim enough.

But attacks in Nigeria often have varying motives. There are religiously motivated ones targeting both Christians and Muslims, clashes between farmers and herders over dwindling resources, communal rivalries, secessionist groups and ethnic clashes.

The U.S. security footprint has diminished in Africa, where military partnerships have either been scaled down or canceled. U.S. forces likely would have to be drawn from other parts of the world for any larger-scale military intervention in Nigeria.

Trump has nonetheless kept up the pressure as Nigeria faced a series of attacks on schools and churches in violence that experts and residents say targets both Christians and Muslims.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted Thursday night on X: “The President was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere) must end.”

Hegseth said that U.S. military forces are “always ready, so ISIS found out tonight — on Christmas” and added, “More to come…Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation” before signing off, “Merry Christmas!”

Associated Press writer Konstantin Toropin contributed from Washington, and Chinedu Asadu from Abuja, Nigeria.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump will happen “in the near future,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday, signaling progress in talks to end the nearly four-year war between Russia and Ukraine.

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“We are not losing a single day. We have agreed on a meeting at the highest level – with President Trump in the near future,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.

“A lot can be decided before the New Year,” he added.

Zelenskyy’s announcement came after he said Thursday he had a “good conversation” with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Trump has unleashed a diplomatic push to end the war, but his efforts have run into sharply conflicting demands by Moscow and Kyiv.

Zelenskyy said Tuesday he would be willing to withdraw troops from the country’s eastern industrial heartland as part of a plan to end the war, if Moscow also pulls back and the area becomes a demilitarized zone monitored by international forces.

Though Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday that there had been “slow but steady progress” in the peace talks, Russia has given no indication that it will agree to any kind of withdrawal from land it has seized.

In fact, Moscow has insisted that Ukraine relinquish the remaining territory it still holds in the Donbas — an ultimatum that Ukraine has rejected. Russia has captured most of Luhansk and about 70% of Donetsk — the two areas that make up the Donbas.

On the ground, one person was killed and three others wounded when a guided aerial bomb hit a house in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, while six people were wounded in a missile strike on the city of Uman, local officials said Friday.

Russian drone attacks on the city of Mykolaiv and its suburbs overnight into Friday left part of the city without power. Energy and port infrastructure were damaged by drones in the city of Odesa on the Black Sea.

Meanwhile, Ukraine said it struck a major Russian oil refinery Thursday using British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles.

Ukraine’s General Staff said its forces hit the Novoshakhtinsk refinery in Russia’s Rostov region. “Multiple explosions were recorded. The target was hit,” it wrote on Telegram.

Rostov regional Gov. Yuri Slyusar said a firefighter was wounded when extinguishing the fire.

Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes on Russian refineries aim to deprive Moscow of the oil export revenue it needs to pursue its full-scale invasion. Russia wants to cripple the Ukrainian power grid, seeking to deny civilians access to heat, light and running water in what Kyiv officials say is an attempt to “weaponize winter.”

Steelers at Browns (+3½)

Pittsburgh’s D.K. Metcalf could lose as much as $45 million in contractual guarantees after being suspended for smacking a blue-haired Lions fan during last Sunday’s game. The only way you could lose that much money more quickly would be by purchasing $TRUMP meme coins.
Pick: Steelers by 7

Patriots at Jets (+13½)

New England rallied past Baltimore last week and kept alive its hopes of getting the No. 1 seed and hosting the AFC championship game. That contest will air next month on CBS unless it’s pulled at the last second by Bari Weiss.
Pick: Patriots by 24

Jaguars at Colts (+6½)

The ageless Philip Rivers played well again, but Indianapolis lost again Monday night and destroyed its playoff hopes. The sudden demise of a team that started 7-1 is due to the fact the rest of the Colts have been playing like they are 44 years old.
Pick: Jaguars by 7

Seahawks at Panthers (+7½)

Carolina is battling equally unimpressive Tampa Bay for first place in the motley NFC South. That division is going to produce the most pathetic winner of 2026, at least until the Minnesota governor’s race.
Pick: Seahawks by 7

Bears at 49ers (-2½)

The 49ers are as hot as anyone and have a decent shot at playing in Super Bowl LX on their home field in Santa Clara. That would give them a ringside seat for the halftime spectacular when ICE agents try to haul away Bad Bunny fans.
Pick: 49ers by 3

Eagles at Bills (-1½)

The Bills’ Josh Allen gifted his offensive linemen “a quarter of a cow” worth of beef for a Christmas gift. Fortunately for the players who live in Buffalo, they will be able to store the holiday beef outside their homes until late April.
Pick: Bills by 3

Rams at Falcons (+7½)

The Rams lost in Seattle on an unbelievable backward-lateral call on a key two-point conversion by the Seahawks. The uproar from Los Angeles fans only grew after the officials’ explanation for the controversial call was redacted by the Justice Department.
Pick: Rams by 3

Giants at Raiders (-1½)

The NFL’s bottom dwellers, both 2-13, are likely playing for the right to draft the No. 1 pick this spring. Either way the game turns out, the big loser will likely be Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
Pick: Raiders by 4

Buccaneers at Dolphins (+5½)

Third-year running back De’Von Achane, who’s third in the league with 1,267 rushing yards, learned Monday that he’s the only Miami player selected for the Pro Bowl Games. NFL insiders report that nobody’s interested, and nobody cares.
Pick: Buccaneers by 7

OTHER GAMES

Cardinals at Bengals (-7½)
Pick: Bengals by 3

Saints at Titans (+2½)
Pick: Saints by 7

RECORD

Week 15
8-8 straight up
7-9 vs. spread

Season
145-94-1 straight up (.607)
116-124 vs. spread (.483)

All-time (2003-25)
3964-2195-15 straight up (.644)
3027-3003-145 vs spread (.502)

You can hear Kevin Cusick on Thursdays on Bob Sansevere’s “BS Show” podcast on iTunes. You can follow Kevin on X– @theloopnow. He can be reached at kcusick@pioneerpress.com.

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