ROANOKE, Va. – The Virginia State Police and Mothers Against Drunk Driving have a simple message this holiday season: if you pick up a drink, put down the car keys. “I always tell people, don’t have the ‘Not Me Syndrome,’” said Virginia State Police Sgt. Please don’t have that mindset, because anything is possible.”“This is all 100 percent preventable,” said Meghan Carter of Virginia’s Mothers Against Drunk Driving chapter. In 2019, there were 104 alcohol-related crashes in the Roanoke region, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles. Additionally, 45% of all crashes between Thanksgiving and New Years Day are alcohol-related, according to MADD.

PASADENA, Calif. The 2021 Rose Parade has been canceled because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on planning for the New Years Day tradition and the risk of spreading infections among its huge audience and participants, organizers said Wednesday. Planning for the Rose Bowl college football game that traditionally follows the parade is continuing, the association said. The parade is held every Jan. 1 except when New Years Day falls on a Sunday and the event is pushed to Jan. 2. Thousands of spectators normally jam the 5-mile (8-kilometer) parade route through Pasadena, some camping out overnight on sidewalks to ensure a good view. The Jan. 1 Rose Bowl football game would be a college football playoff semifinal.