What to know now:
1. Winter storm's coming: Millions across America will be facing a brutal winter storm Friday and Saturday that is expected to drop 1-2 feet of snow across the Mid-Atlantic and New England. Winds at 50 mph are expected as the storm moves across the region.
2. Fewer undocumented immigrants: The Center for Migration Studies is reporting that the number of undocumented aliens in the United States has dropped to its lowest level since 2003. According to the study, there are an estimated 10.9 million people living in the country illegally.
3. Historic coaching hire: The Buffalo Bills have hired Kathryn Smith as a Special Teams Quality Control Coach, the organization announced Wednesday. Smith is the first woman to be hired as a full-time assistant coach in the history of the NFL. Smith has worked with the Bills for the past seven years, and according to head coach Rex Ryan, "She certainly deserves this promotion based on her knowledge and strong commitment, just to name a couple of her outstanding qualities, and I just know she's going to do a great job serving in the role of Quality Control-Special Teams."
4. Putin 'probably' OKed murder: A judge in London says there is evidence to suggest that President Vladimir Putin probably approved a plan to kill former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in 2006. Judge Robert Owen said that he is certain Litvinenko was given tea laced with a fatal dose of polonium-210 at a London hotel leading to this death three weeks later. He said he believes there is a "strong probability" that Russian secret security forces carried out the murder, and the operation was "probably approved" by Putin.
5. Palin's son: Sarah Palin, hours after endorsing Donald Trump for the Republican nomination for president, suggested that her son Track's arrest on domestic violence charges is a result of post-traumatic stress disorder. Track Palin was arrested after he allegedly hit his girlfriend and threatened to fire a rifle. Palin seemed to blame President Obama's veterans' policies Wednesday when she said of her son who served in Iraq, "… my son, like so many others, they come back a bit different. They come back hardened. They come back wondering if there is that respect for what it is that their fellow soldiers and airmen and every other member of the military have sacrificially given to this country and that starts at the top."
And one more
More Americans are living to be 100 (and beyond). The number of those age 100 and older has gone up by 44 percent in the last 15 years, according to a federal report. The good news: If you make it to 100, you're likely to make it even longer.
In case you missed it
The truth is out there, and so is the new mini-season of “The X-Files. With David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson reprising their roles as Mulder and Scully, fans of the show get to see what has happened to the pair since the show ended in 2002. The reviews for the series have not been that kind, but that isn’t likely to bother the hardcore “X-Files” fans. They'll probably think it's a conspiracy. The series premieres on Sunday.
