Japan’s economy grew at a better-than-expected annual rate of 2.8% in October-December, underlined by steady exports and moderate consumption.

Las Vegas will host the 2027 College Football Playoff national championship game.

Atlanta leaders say the New Year’s Eve vehicle attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans has helped guide their security plans for college football’s national championship game.

Donald Trump is expected to hold a big Washington rally the day before he’s sworn in as the nation’s 47th president.

The brother of a man who was shoved onto subway tracks ahead of an incoming train in New York City on New Year’s Eve says he's expected to make a full recovery.

The Pasadena Police Department is involved in the investigation into the deadly New Year’s Eve tragedy in New Orleans.

As 2024 comes to an end, many people find themselves reflecting on the year—its challenges, wins, and lessons.

President-elect Donald Trump says he’s planning to attend the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter.

From Sydney to Mumbai to Paris to Rio de Janeiro, communities around the world are welcoming 2025 with spectacular light shows, embraces and ice plunges.

We did it! The year 2024 is coming to an end. There’s no better way to ring in the new year than celebrating with some of your friends and family.

The crystal-covered ball that descends down a pole in Times Square to ring in the new year was taken for a test run, as New York City officials laid out their plans for the iconic New Year’s Eve event.

Angel Blue, one of the most admired singers of her generation, is headlining the Metropolitan Opera’s first new production of Verdi’s “Aida” in 36 years.

One Georgia city will welcome 2025 with a larger-than-average bang.

Despite the numerous warnings from law enforcement officials, more than 100 people across the Houston area found themselves behind bars for drinking and driving or for celebratory gunfire as we rang in the new year.

It’s an annual end-of-year exercise in futility for many.

New Year’s Day arrived to cheers from thousands in New York’s Times Square where a sparkling crystal ball descended to start 2024 with hope for some, even as the world’s ongoing conflicts subdued celebrations and raised security concerns across the globe.

We did it! The year 2023 is coming to an end. There’s no better way to ring in the new year than celebrating with some of your friends and family. Wait. There’s actually an even better way. Celebrating safely.

Start the new year on the right foot!

“If you’re drunk driving this weekend, you’re going to jail,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said.

TMZ has released video of UFC Pesident Dana White slapping his wife, Anne.

Revelers are celebrating the traditional ball drop in New York City’s Times Square, ushering in 2023 in the largest New Year’s celebration in the United States.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner and Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña called for residents across the area to bring in the New Year responsibly.

What do "Bing Dwen Dwen" and "Shuey Rhon Rhon" represent?

A young child suffered injuries overnight after being struck by concrete when a family member’s gun accidentally discharged on the ground, deputies said.

Dr. Keith Jensen with HCA Houston Healthcare talked about ways to stay safe during the holiday.

Each year, some Houston-area shoppers head to grocery stores to pick up some New Year’s Eve staples, hoping to bring luck and good fortune in the year to come.

Boisterous New Year’s Eve celebrations have kicked off in Serbia’s capital of Belgrade, where mass gatherings have been allowed despite fears of the fast-spreading omicron variant.

Ring in the new year Disney-style without the trip to Orlando.

Muted New Year’s Eve celebrations around the world ushered in the fourth calendar year framed by the global Covid-19 pandemic.

The annual New Year's Eve ball drop in New York City's Times Square has arrived just as the year prior began, with the pandemic clouding an already uncertain future.

You might think you know everything there is to know about New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, but there’s actually some cool history behind the big days.

2022 is almost here!

New Year celebrations are approaching and across the world there is an urge to party.

Revelers will still ring in the new year in New York’s Times Square next week, there just won’t be as many as usual under new COVID-19 restrictions.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says crowds will once again fill Times Square this New Year’s Eve.

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. ABC’s “World News Tonight” 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.

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 – 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. “In 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

(AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)CANBERRA – This New Year’s Eve is being celebrated like no other in most of the world, with many bidding farewell to a year they’d prefer to forget. Some countries and cities canceled or scaled back their festivities, while others without active outbreaks carried on like any other year. Instead, we should bring in 2021 in our own homes with just our own households," Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said. Many around the world looked toward 2021 with hope, partly due to the arrival of vaccines that offer a chance of beating the pandemic. Initial reports about a mystery respiratory illness sickening people in the Chinese city of Wuhan emerged exactly a year ago.

BEIJING – 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.

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 – Many South Africans swapped firecrackers for candles to mark New Year’s 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 Year’s 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 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. “It’s dead,” said Ali Jameel early Thursday, who owns a store a block from Times Square. “Coming to Times Square is a family tradition for some.

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 other’s territory. For some in Britain, including the prime minister, it’s 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.

(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)LAS VEGAS — Tens of thousands of people were walking on the casino-lined Las Vegas Strip on New Year’s 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 — The coronavirus pandemic canceled London’s annual New Years’ Eve fireworks display, which usually draws tens of thousands of spectators. The nation’s most populated county has about 40% of California’s virus deaths. ___NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee ends the year ranked first in coronavirus cases per capita.

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 – 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.

HOUSTON – The Mercari Texas Bowl has been canceled because of concerns over the coronavirus. The New Year’s Eve matchup between the Arkansas Razorbacks and the TCU Horned Frogs was set to be played at NRG Stadium. According to PigTrail Nation, Head Coach Sam Pittman said the Razorbacks had no positive COVID-19 tests on his team. “While we are disappointed in canceling this year’s game, we look forward to hosting both the Texas Kickoff and Texas Bowl next season,” David Fletcher, executive director of the Texas Bowl, said in a statement issued on Twitter. Those refunds will be processed through the vendor through which the tickets were purchased.

Last New Year's Eve, Billy Porter was working in New Orleans. This year he'll still be working — but in New York City. The “Pose” star will join Ryan Seacrest and Lucy Hale on ABC in Times Square on Dec. 31 for Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2020.” The broadcast is closed to the public due to the pandemic. “2020 has been a trying year for the world and I’m thrilled to have Billy and Lucy join me in ushering in a new year with fresh beginnings,” said Seacrest in a statement. As with last year, Ciara will once again oversee the Los Angeles festivities.

HOUSTON – If you’re looking for a way to set your mood for your New year’s party, cocktails might do the trick. According to Bailey, these are the four things to keep in mind when hosting a New Year’s Eve celebration that includes drinks. You can do variations on a cocktail you like and switch in and out liqueurs to make it your own. Bailey shared the cocktail recipes below. Double Strain over ice into a Collins glass.