New Year's Eve sweeps across the globe, but wars cast a shadow on 2024
New Yearโs Day arrived to cheers from thousands in New Yorkโs Times Square where a sparkling crystal ball descended to start 2024 with hope for some, even as the worldโs ongoing conflicts subdued celebrations and raised security concerns across the globe.
Homebound viewers boost New Year's Eve ratings; a CNN high
NBC was the highest-rated broadcast network last week, averaging 4.6 million viewers in prime time. Fox News Channel had 1.7 million viewers, CNN had 1.6 million, Hallmark had 1.42 million, MSNBC had 1.4 million, HGTV had 1.3 million and TNT had 1.2 million. ABCโs โWorld News Tonightโ won the evening news ratings race, averaging 9.75 million viewers. College Football Bowl Studio, ESPN, 16.1 million. College Football Playoffs Semifinal, ESPN, 13.4 millionCollege Football Bowl Studio, ESPN, 13.5 million.
UK in 'eye of the storm' amid surging new coronavirus cases
A quiet Wardour Street in London, as the New Year's Eve fireworks display has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP)LONDON โ British hospitals around the country face a perilous situation in January, medical workers warned Friday amid surging coronavirus infections blamed on a new virus variant. โIn the short term, the additional increase of vaccine efficacy from the second dose is likely to be modest. The U.K.'s main union for doctors warned that delaying the second dose causes huge scheduling problems for thousands of partially vaccinated elderly and vulnerable people. ___Follow AP coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccines and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
Asia Today: Bangkok shuts schools, entertainment venues
BEIJING โ Thailand's capital is shutting down venues including schools and entertainment areas as coronavirus cases continue to spread. Seven provinces including Bangkok have been designated red zones where places including entertainment venues, boxing rings, gyms and flea markets are ordered closed. Bangkok reported 180 cases in the last 24 hours. The requirements by the Shenyang and Dalian airports come amid a small but persistent growth in cases in the two cities located in Liaoning province just north of the capital Beijing. China on Friday reported a total of 19 new virus cases, including 10 that were brought from outside the country.
South Africans swap firecrackers for candles amid pandemic
Many South Africans will swap firecrackers for candles to mark New Year's Eve amid COVID-19 restrictions including a nighttime curfew responding to President Cyril Ramaphosa's call to light a candle to honor those who have died in the COVID-19 pandemic and the health workers who are on the frontline of battling the disease. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)JOHANNESBURG โ Many South Africans swapped firecrackers for candles to mark New Yearโs Eve amid COVID-19 restrictions including a nighttime curfew. Urging all South Africans to battle the virus, Ramaphosa called on the nation to celebrate New Yearโs Eve in a different way. Instead, the mayor of South Africa's largest city will light a candle on the landmark Nelson Mandela Bridge. At midnight he will light a candle with his family and pray for everybody who has suffered from the pandemic.
A โsafeโ New Yearโs Eve means no drunk driving but also keeping your distance
ORLANDO, Fla. โ As they do every year, Orlando Police want people to be safe as they ring in 2021, not just on the road but also staying safe from the virus. Officers donโt anticipate big crowds as they have in other years, there will still be extra patrol units in Downtown Orlando on Thursday night. The department collaborated with the Orange County business Strike Team to make sure businesses are doing everything they can to try and keep people safe on New Yearโs Eve. โWeโve been going to all the businesses that are downtown all the bars and nightclubs that will be open tonight. To report a business to the Orange County Business Compliance Teams, residents should call 311 or go toOCFL.net/311.
Bomb-sniffing dogs? Check. Times Square crowd? Not this year
A man wears a protective mask during the coronavirus pandemic in Times Square Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020, in New York. Small groups of revelers, some wearing glittery hats, filmed their distant view of Times Square on their phones and broke out in cheers at midnight. Preparing for the worst, the New York Police Department deployed its bomb-sniffing dogs and sand-filled sanitation trucks intended to guard against explosions. โItโs dead,โ said Ali Jameel early Thursday, who owns a store a block from Times Square. โComing to Times Square is a family tradition for some.
Britain ends long Brexit journey with economic break from EU
A different U.K.-EU trade deal will bring new restrictions and red tape, but for British Brexit supporters, it means reclaiming national independence from the EU and its web of rules. Hundreds of millions of individuals in Britain and the bloc also face changes to their daily lives. Britons and EU citizens have lost the automatic right to live and work in the otherโs territory. For some in Britain, including the prime minister, itโs a moment of pride and a chance for the U.K. to set new diplomatic and economic priorities. In Scotland, which voted strongly in 2016 to remain, Brexit has bolstered support for separation from the U.K.
The Latest: Tens of thousands on Vegas strip despite warning
(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)LAS VEGAS โ Tens of thousands of people were walking on the casino-lined Las Vegas Strip on New Yearโs Eve by early evening despite a plea from Nevada Gov. China on Friday reported a total of 19 new virus cases, including 10 that were brought from outside the country. ___LONDON โ The coronavirus pandemic canceled Londonโs annual New Yearsโ Eve fireworks display, which usually draws tens of thousands of spectators. The nationโs most populated county has about 40% of Californiaโs virus deaths. ___NASHVILLE, Tenn. โ Tennessee ends the year ranked first in coronavirus cases per capita.
New Year's revelries muted by virus as curtain draws on 2020
Fireworks and drones illuminate the night sky over London as they form a light display as London's normal New Year's Eve fireworks display was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic Thursday Dec. 31, 2020. As midnight rolled from Asia to the Middle East, Europe, Africa and the Americas, the New Yearโs experience mirrored national responses to the virus itself. Some countries and cities canceled or scaled back their festivities, while others without active outbreaks carried on like any other year. In Chinese societies, the virus ensured more muted celebrations of the solar New Year, which is less widely observed than the Lunar New Year that in 2021 will fall in February. Initial reports about a mystery respiratory illness sickening people in the Chinese city of Wuhan emerged exactly a year ago.
Orange County strike teams will visit businesses ahead of New Yearโs Eve
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. โ As we inch closer to New Yearโs Eve, county leaders and business owners alike prepare for another holiday in which crowds could pose a problem. On Tuesday, strike teams visited several businesses, including those that requested a visit as a precaution. On Dec. 4, Mayor Jerry Demings ordered his strike teams to begin fining businesses not in compliance, with penalties ranging from a couple hundred dollars up to $15,000. Since the fines went into effect, Tim Boldig, the deputy director for Orange Countyโs Community, Environmental & Development Services Department, told News 6 the strike teams issued nine fines and another 40 warnings. โWhat we find is the fast in-and-out places such as your gas stations and convenience stores, those are the areas we see the most noncompliance.โBoldig said strike teams will continue with unannounced visits as many ring in the new year.
After a year like this, expect a strange New Year's Eve
FILE - In this Jan. 1, 2020, file photo, confetti falls at midnight on the Times Square New Year's Eve celebration in New York. If ever a year's end seemed like cause for celebration, 2020 might be it. (Photo by Ben Hider/Invision/AP, File)NEW YORK โ If ever a year's end seemed like cause for celebration, 2020 might be it. From New York's Times Square to Sydney Harbor, big public blowouts are being turned into TV-only shows and digital events. The occasion stirs mixed feelings for people like Cesar Soltero, who was taking photos, and taking stock, in Times Square this week.
Thatโs more like it, Florida! Big warm up to end the year
ORLANDO, Fla. โ Sunday is the transition day to warmer times for the last week of 2020. After another cold start, temperatures warm back into the upper 60s. Future radarTemperatures warm back to the 70s Monday and through the middle of the week. Rain chances return later in the day New Yearโs Day. Slightly cooler air returns for the first few day beyond New Yearโs Day.
Billy Porter to join New Year's Eve show from Times Square
Last New Year's Eve, Billy Porter was working in New Orleans. This year he'll still be working โ but in New York City. The โPoseโ star will join Ryan Seacrest and Lucy Hale on ABC in Times Square on Dec. 31 for Dick Clarkโs New Yearโs Rockinโ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2020.โ The broadcast is closed to the public due to the pandemic. โ2020 has been a trying year for the world and Iโm thrilled to have Billy and Lucy join me in ushering in a new year with fresh beginnings,โ said Seacrest in a statement. As with last year, Ciara will once again oversee the Los Angeles festivities.