You heard of Santa Claus… but what about Santa Paws?A local nonprofit organization is making sure all K-9 officers serving Northeast Florida communities have a very merry Christmas.

Adults and children with special needs got a jolly greeting from Old St. Nick this Sunday at a meet and greet at the Avenues Mall.

Beloved cartoon characters like Snoopy and SpongeBob SquarePants are taking to the skies above New York City in the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

As the temperature drops (in many places), the holiday TV calendar is heating up with a variety of festive options.

A bunch of Santa lookalikes have taken to the ski slopes once again to spread some holiday cheer.

Santa Claus had special interactions Sunday with guests at The Avenues Mall through the Caring Santa program, which allows families with special needs children and adults to book private session with the big guy.

Overall World Cup champion Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States claimed a slalom event for a sweep of the two season-opening races.

On Monday, patients at Wolfson Children’s Hospital got a personal visit from Jolly Old St. Nick himself.

Spain will end a mandate to wear masks outdoors next week, reversing a late December order against an unprecedented surge of coronavirus infections fueled by a highly contagious mutation.

Marines on snowmobiles helped Santa this month while delivering toys to boys and girls in Alaska’s Arctic.

Rest assured, kids of all ages: Santa’s coming this Christmas Eve, and a second holiday with COVID-19 won’t stop him.

One recent study found that one in seven women may experience postpartum depression in the year after giving birth. There are ways to help make the transition smoother for first-time moms.

South Africa's government says the country will donate just over 2 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to other African countries to boost the continent’s vaccine drive.

It all began with an elf named Fisbee.

A Roman Catholic diocese in Sicily has apologized to outraged parents after its bishop told a group of children that Santa Claus doesn’t exist.

Santa Claus is back in town! But, is it safe to visit with the big guy this year with COVID-19 circulating?

We’re used to seeing Santa at the mall, or better yet, on his sleigh delivering toys to children around the world, but you don’t see Santa (let alone hundreds of him) skiing or snowboarding down a mountain.

Britain’s government has tightened travel restrictions amid concerns about the spread of the omicron coronavirus variant.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will return to its pre-pandemic form this year, with its route restored through Manhattan, high-flying helium balloons once again pulled by handlers and crowds welcomed back to cheer them on.

Thursday marks 72 days until Christmas, but already Santa Claus is out of work due to COVID-19 vaccine requirements.

A man who entered a guilty plea in a Clay County crash that killed an infant in 2018 was sentenced Thursday to a total of 14 years in prison.

Visitors to a mall with a monster themed festival wears masks to protect from the coronavirus in Beijing Saturday, Dec. 26, 2020. Beijing is conducting testing on a limited scale in the neighborhoods and workplaces where the cases were found. Japan had 3,823 new cases Friday for a national total of 213,547, with 3,155 deaths, the health ministry said. — South Korea has reported another 1,132 coronavirus cases as the resurgence worsened over the Christmas week, putting pressure on the government to enforce stricter social distancing controls. On Saturday morning, 110 new coronavirus cases were reported, bringing Thailand’s total to 6,020.

The National Weather Service earlier this week warned that South Florida could experience the coldest Christmas Day in 21 years. Morning lows on Saturday could drop into the low 30s and 40s degrees Fahrenheit, the weather service said. Much colder temps expected for Christmas," the National Weather Service in Miami tweeted earlier this week. A squall line with severe storms and fast-moving winds also was headed for north Florida on Christmas Eve. The pandemic also was impacting a Space Coast tradition — Surfing Santa Day, which takes place the day before Christmas.

In this photo provided by the California Highway Patrol, a man dressed as Santa Claus who was flying on a powered parachute on his way to deliver candy canes to children is seen stuck on power lines in Rio Linda, Calif., on Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020. The incident happened shortly after the man took off near a school in Rio Linda and then hit and became suspended in power lines, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman told KCRA-TV. (California Highway Patrol via AP)RIO LINDA, Calif. – Santa found himself a little more tied up than usual this time of year. A Northern California man impersonating Santa Claus and flying on a powered parachute was rescued Sunday after he became entangled in power lines, authorities said. He flew into a maze of power lines and wound up suspended in them, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman told KCRA-TV.

In this socially distant holiday season, Santa Claus is still coming to towns (and shopping malls) across America but with a few 2020 rules in effect. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)Santa Claus is coming to town and you may be wondering if it’s safe to visit with the big guy this year, especially as coronavirus cases continue to rise. “I don’t think you can do that safely, even if Santa is wearing a mask and you’re wearing a mask because obviously you’re not six feet away.”Dr. Robinson said there are still ways to visit with Santa but it’ll definitely be different than what you’re used to. “I think that is a great option because we’ve all gotten so used to doing that with family and friends,” said Dr. Robinson. And if you see people standing around without masks or in big groups, you may want to come back another day.

A spat has erupted over competing claims that the prime minister and his main rival broke the spirit of pandemic restrictions that have renewed financial hardship for many voters. Conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was photographed last weekend posing with his mountain bike, without a mask, alongside five motocross riders on a hillside trail outside Athens. Greece's lockdown rules exempt people who've gone outdoors for exercise, including cycling, from the obligation to wear a mask. Greece’s pandemic death toll reached close to 3,100 on Monday, with most deaths occurring after Nov. 1. The current lockdown was launched on Nov. 7 and initially planned to last for three weeks.

Putting hundreds of kids daily onto Santa's lap to talk into his face — that's not happening for most. Santas conducting in-person visits are using some combination of masks, the outdoors, barriers and distance for safety. The virus has many Santas and parents turning to virtual visits, which are booked through each Santa's personal website or agencies like Allen's. “You get a different energy,” Saunders said of the virtual visits. That's gone, so he's doing virtual visits and five days with a historic railroad in Pennsylvania.

(AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)SEATTLE — Health officials in Washington state said the number of people who were hospitalized to receive treatment for the coronavirus has reached a record high. The director of the state health department urged residents to cancel indoor Thanksgiving plans and those that involve large groups of family and friends. Authorities are strictly enforcing a lockdown and nightly curfew after a recent surge in COVID-19 cases. Health authorities announced 1,498 new coronavirus cases Sunday, along with 103 deaths, five less than the daily record set Saturday. Italy added 28,337 confirmed cases, raising to 1,408,868, the country’s total in the pandemic.

FILE - In this Dec. 23, 2019, file photo a playbook sits next to a telephone set up in the NORAD Tracks Santa center at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo. The North American Aerospace Defense Command has announced that NORAD will track Santa on December 24, just as it has done for 65 years. 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. Besides the call center, the NORAD Tracks Santa website — noradsanta.org — as well as social media pages, Amazon Alexa, Onstar and a new mobile app will still be available with up-to-the-minute details on Santa's location.

A buyer shouted out with glee that they would pay $368,000 for the Rudolph and Santa Claus figures used in the perennially beloved Christmas special “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.”Bidding for the figures soared past the projected sale price of between $150,000 and $200,000 on Friday at the Icons & Legends of Hollywood Auction held in Los Angeles by Profiles in History. The 6-inch-tall Rudolph and 11-inch-tall Santa were made in Tokyo of wood, wire, cloth and leather, and are still malleable. Other highlights from the two-day auction include Marilyn Monroe's tiger-striped gown from “The Seven Year Itch,” which sold for a whopping $593,750. Another Monroe gown that she wore when she met Queen Elizabeth II at a London film premiere went for $294,400. A Scarlett O'Hara dress that Vivien Leigh wore in “Gone With the Wind” and Gene Kelly's rain suit from “Singin' in the Rain” sold for $150,000 apiece.

Santa Claus is coming to the mall just don't try to sit on his lap. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)NEW YORK – Santa Claus is coming to the mall — just don’t try to sit on his lap. Kids will instead tell Santa what they want for Christmas from six feet away, and sometimes from behind a sheet of plexiglass. Santa and his visitors may need to wear a face mask, even while posing for photos. And Brookfield teamed up with virtual Santa company JingleRing, giving people a way to chat with Santa from home.

FILE - Santa Claus waves during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Nov. 28, 2019, in New York. Macy's said Santa Claus won't be greeting kids at its flagship New York store this year due to the coronavirus, interrupting a holiday tradition started nearly 160 years ago. However, Macy's said the jolly old man will still appear at the end of the televised Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. But he will still appear at the end of the televised Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, the company said. Macy's has been using Santa Claus to draw crowds to its New York store since the early 1860s, calling itself “The Home of Santa Claus" for decades.