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A massive snowfall that blankets the world in white and cancels everything for a day (or a few) can be magical — especially for kids. But for homeowners, snowstorms can be stressful. That stress doesn’t end when the snowfall stops — and not just due to the thought of having to clear all that snow.

Hopefully, you safely endured the massive snowstorms that whipped across the U.S. in recent weeks, freezing cities in their tracks as they went. HomeServe shares six important steps to make sure your home weathered the storm, too.

What to Do After a Blizzard: Some Steps to Consider

The first thing you’ll probably want to do after a major storm is rush out to survey the damage and restock supplies. These can be good steps to take in the wake of an arctic blast, polar vortex or bomb cyclone, as long as you’re also taking necessary precautions. Here are a few more things you’ll want to do after a snowstorm passes.

Check Your Detectors

Check your carbon monoxide and smoke detectors. This is especially important if you’ve lost power due to the winter weather. Using generators, gas, logs or other heat sources to heat your home can create safety issues such as excessive carbon monoxide or smoke. The use of candles and other open flames during and after power outages also increases the risk of fire.

Heavy snow can cover outdoor furnace exhaust vents, which could cause dangerous gases to back up into your house, increasing the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. If it is safe to go outside, ensure these are clear of snow and ice.

Inspect the Plumbing

When blizzards blow through, they can bring extremely cold temperatures. So, hopefully, you left your faucet dripping to prevent frozen pipes. But if you didn’t, look high and low for broken pipes and other plumbing issues. Severe cold weather can wreak havoc on plumbing, leading to burst or cracked pipes. Check interior areas as you run water to ensure nothing is leaking. When it’s safe to do so, go outside and uncover external pipes to do the same. Also, make sure to check appliances, hoses and vent pipes. In extreme cases, the water inside appliances like washing machines can freeze.

If you discover any issues, turn off your water at the main shutoff and contact a professional to help you address the problem.

Look for Roof Damage

Eyeball your roof safely from the ground to avoid injuring yourself in what are likely to be icy or otherwise slick conditions. Walk around your house and inspect the roof and gutters from below, or put your smartphone on a selfie stick while recording a video to see the hidden areas. Heavy snowfall and winds during blizzards can damage roofs, causing leaks and even collapses. If you suspect a leak or other damage, contact a roof repair company promptly.

Check for Other Exterior Damage

Look for downed trees, damaged siding and broken windows. In some instances, you may need help removing the trees or fixing the damage they caused. But as these services may be delayed due to increased demand by othe

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Drawing on platform data, on-the-ground insight from a global community of advisors and partners, and a dash of intuition, Fora Travel’s fourth annual Hot List forecast offers a clear look at the emerging travel trends set to shape where—and how—people will be exploring next.

Note: All Fora data compares December 2024 through November 2025 vs. the previous 12 months.

Destinations

Mexico City

Soccer fans know CDMX is one of the host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Others know it as an exciting food city. All the while, though, Mexico City has been expanding its imprint on the global art world.

Art travel has become what food tourism was a decade ago—the reason people choose their next destination. Mexico City boasts more than 150 museums, including the home of Frida Kahlo, also known as Casa Azul, and a museum dedicated to Diego Rivera’s murals. Museo Jumex houses more than 2,000 works by big-name contemporary artists such as Jeff Koons and Olafur Eliasson, as well as Mexican creators Abraham Cruzvillegas and Mario García Torres. And Museo Soumaya is home to the largest collection of Rodin’s work outside France.

Young gallerists, innovative architects, and art fairs are also painting their influences across Mexico City. Among the newer galleries are JO-HS, an exquisite residency and project space founded by a fashion-forward Danish curator, and Pequod Co., which regularly collaborates with artists showing works at major shows such as the Whitney Biennial. And don’t miss Zona Maco, Latin America’s largest contemporary art fair, which happens in the capital each February.

Another reason visiting the city is a goal for travelers in 2026? A slew of luxury and boutique hotel brands are debuting new properties in CDMX this year, including Pendry, Park Hyatt, Hyde, The Standard, SO/, Mama Shelter, and El Cortés (Namron Hospitality), plus the Four Seasons Hotel will be finishing up a major renovation in the spring and Rosewood is opening in Mexico City in 2027.

Finally, don’t forget about the FIFA World Cup—Estadio Banorte (a.k.a. Estadio Azteca) will host the opening match on June 11, making it the first stadium to host matches during three World Cup tournaments. Concerts, museum exhibitions, and a festival in the historic Zócalo are among the many events surrounding the tournament.

150%

Increase in bookings to Mexico City in the past year

Lesser-known Japan

Skip the lines and crowds in Kyoto and Tokyo for more peaceful experiences in Japan that promise excellent cuisine, even better accommodations, and—most importantly—the feeling of being among the first to discover them.

For years, these roads-less-traveled only had business hotels on offer. Not anymore. High-end properties showcasing the best of Japan’s food, culture, design, and access (to sites and traditions) are b

NYCStock // Shutterstock

During the week starting Jan. 26, a massive winter storm swept across much of the United States, blanketing regions from Texas to the Northeast with heavy snow, sleet, freezing rain, and ice, often exceeding 12 inches of precipitation. High snowfall can cause a variety of productivity disruptions, from the closing of schools and workplaces to costly interventions to clear infrastructure — especially in places unaccustomed to snowfall. Slippery roads and visual impairment or otherwise unsafe conditions can also cause accidents, which in some unfortunate cases can lead to injury or even death.

With this in mind, SmartAsset ranked U.S. counties based on the historical highest recorded snowfall in one day.

Key Findings

• U.S. snowfall record is 70 inches in Pierce County, Washington. On Nov. 26, 1955, Pierce County recorded 70 inches of snow, the most ever recorded nationwide. The second-place record belongs to El Dorado County, California, where 67 inches of snow was recorded on Jan. 5, 1982. Alpine County, California, had the third-highest historical one-day snowfall at 65 inches on March 31, 1982.
• In 2025, 73 counties set a new snowfall record. The highest new records set last winter were in Kansas: Jefferson County (16.4 inches), Geary County (16 inches), and Washington County (15 inches) on Jan. 6. Southern states that don’t generally get snow also set a handful of records last year, including Escambia County, Florida (10 inches) and Santa Rosa County, Florida (9 inches), as well as 21 counties in Georgia.
• The largest recorded multiday snowfall in the U.S. was 147 inches. Chugach, Alaska, holds the record for the highest two-day and three-day snowfalls, which occurred in late December 1955. On day one, 62 inches accumulated. By day two, 120.6 inches had fallen, and by day three, the record reached 147 inches.
• The highest snowfall record in New York City is 27.3 inches. On Jan. 23, 2016, over 2 feet of snow fell in Manhattan. The record for Queens was also set on this day at 30.3 inches. Staten Island (Richmond County) followed a day later with 19.5 inches recorded on Jan. 24, 2016. In the Bronx, the one-day record sits at 19 inches on Feb. 12, 2006. Brooklyn’s (Kings County) record was set very early: 27 inches on Dec. 27, 1872.

SmartAsset

Top 50 Counties With the Highest Snowfall Records

Counties are ranked based on the one-day record for snowfall over 125 years. Snowfall is measured in inches.

1. Pierce County, Washington

• Snowfall record over 1 day: 70
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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - Back-to-back videos of one, possibly two, recent mountain lion visits to neighborhoods in Samarkand are making the rounds in Santa Barbara.

Darren Moody shared his video with Your News Channel.

"My wife called and she said, "Oh my god!" And I was like, "What??" She said, "Have you seen the camera?"

Courtesy: Darren Moody

Moody said when he look at the family's security footage last Friday morning, he was just as shocked as his wife. The camera perched on their home on Romaine Drive captured what appeared to be a large, full-size cougar.

Moody said the startling thing about the mountain lion visit was the time -- it was 7:00 a.m. last Friday morning, in broad daylight. The family lives roughly a mile from Oak Park.

"It came up right through this area (below backyard) and then went up the driveway," said Moody. "And, thank goodness for the security camera. Anybody that has these cameras knows it's not uncommon to see a opossum or a raccoon something like that but this in particular was startling cuz of the size of the cat!"

Moody shared his video with neighbors, who posted it on Nextdoor.

"It seemed really comfortable so that was the disturbing part to me. Hopefully we don't see it again but it's definitely exciting!"

A half mile away, a second video taken by a different home security camera shows another large mountain lion sauntering along Vernon Road near Santa Anita Road. Vernon Road parallels Mission Creek, where the De La Vina Bridge Project is taking place.

Your News Channel has not spoken to that resident but it appears that image was taken about 2:00 a.m. It is unclear what day and if it's the same cougar.

Video of another mountain lion was captured walking along Vernon Road in 2021.

The post Large Mountain Lion Spotted in Samarkand Neighborhood in Broad Daylight appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

By Lauren del Valle, Nicki Brown, CNN

(CNN) — A Virginia jury on Monday convicted Brendan Banfield of aggravated murder for the killings of his wife and another man nearly three years ago.

Prosecutors argued Banfield plotted for months with the family’s au pair – with whom he was having an extramarital affair – to murder his wife, Christine Banfield, and frame the other man, Joseph Ryan, for her death.

Brendan Banfield was convicted of two counts of aggravated murder, a firearms offense and child endangerment. His daughter, who was 4 at the time, was in the home at the time of the killings, prosecutors said.

Banfield appeared stoic as the Fairfax County jury’s verdict was read aloud in court. The panel got the case midday Friday and deliberated much of Monday.

He is expected to be sentenced to life in prison, the mandatory penalty for the highest murder charge in Virginia. Sentencing is scheduled for May 8.

Banfield was in love with the au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, and plotted to get rid of his wife so they could be together, prosecutors said. Together they created fake accounts to pose as his wife on a fetish website to lure Ryan to the home under the guise of a consensual but violent sexual encounter with Christine, the au pair testified.

Prosecutors say Banfield fatally stabbed his wife and shot Ryan when he intervened in the encounter between Ryan and his wife and then staged the crime scene to make Ryan’s killing appear to be an act of self-defense.

The trial began January 12. Prosecutors called about 20 witnesses in its case over four days and another two witnesses in a short rebuttal case.

The defense called several law enforcement witnesses to bolster its claims of a flawed investigation that led prosecutors to manipulate evidence to make a case against Banfield. The defense also put on a digital forensics analyst who said data recovered from Christine Banfield’s devices suggests there could not have been a catfishing scheme as prosecutors asserted.

The defendant took the stand

Banfield, who’s maintained his innocence, took the stand in his own defense, acknowledging the affair with Peres Magalhães that started in August 2022 but denying any plans to kill his wife.

He testified that he loved his wife despite them both having affairs throughout their nearly 20-year relationship and said his latest dalliance with the nanny wasn’t going to change his marriage.

Banfield also said he and Peres Magalhães had broken up at different times in their affair and were not actively in a relationship the day of the killings.

The prosecution’s case relied heavily on the au pair’s testimony detailing the scheme she says she helped Banfield execute to “get rid” of his wife. According to the au pair, she watched Banfield fatally stab his wife and stage the crime scene to frame Ryan before they called 911.

Peres Magalhães was arrested for Ryan’s murder in October 2023, and a year later agreed to cooperate with prosecutors against Banfield in exchange for a recommendation that she be sentenced to time served.

Banfield was not arrested and charged with murder for his wife’s and Ryan’s deaths until September 2024.

For jury, a question of credibility

Banfield testified that on February 24, 2023, he’d left for the day in anticipation of an important work meeting when Peres Magalhães called him to say she saw a strange man enter the family’s home. Banfield said he thought his wife might’ve been having an affair and drove home from a nearby McDonald’s to investigate.

He said Peres Magalhães followed him into the home and up the stairs, leaving his 4-year-old daugh