tonight, ringing in the new year. celebrations already under way worldwide. new york a big crowd ready for the ball drop in times square.

law enforcement nationwide watching with heightened concern. cbs news is overhead. >> i'm astrid martinez taking to the new york city skies with nypd as they showed me their massive security operations to keep the crowds safe on new year's eve. also tonight, red sea attack. u.s. navy kills iran-backed rebels in boats attacking a container ship as israel expands its fight agains hamas. >> i'm ian leon the israel-gaza border. last night israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu says the war behind me could last many more months. plus, president biden's new year. vacationing in st. croix, but juggling war, a migrant crisis, and reelection. >> i'm skyler henry traveling with the president as he dials up the pressure on congress while his political opponents weigh in. death of nascar legend. remembering three-time champion cale yarborough. >> cale hits him. he is fine!

later, we'll note the end of anner as america's last lighthouse keeper ends her watch. >> boston lighthouse is my home. i took to it like a fish to water. ♪ >> announcer: this is the "cbs weekend news" from washington with jericka duncan. >> good evening this new year's eve. jericka is off. i'm ed o'keefe. tonight, as the final hours of this year unfold, revellers around the world raising a toast to 2024, many hoping for better times. and it's already different. 2024, after all, is a leap year with 366 days. clocks in europe's capitals are the latest to strike midnight from berlin to paris and finally london. in new york, the ball has yet to

drop, but the big crowds are there, and the nation's largest police force is vowing to keep everybody safe and secure. cbs' astrid martinez is above it all for us tonight. astrid, good evening. >> good evening, ed. well, officials saying there are no known credible threats, but nypd and federal law enforcement taking extra precautions as the festivities get under way. >> we could give a specific location, like how many people are on this corner. >> reporter: high above the celebration. >> when the sun goals down, it's a whole different sight to. >> reporter: law enforcement is on high alert. >> we're covering the whole city. but we're focused on manhattan. >> anybody wants to try anything, what you tell them? >> not today. not tonight, not ever. >> reporter: this year, officers on the lookout for protests like those that interrupted the thanksgiving day parade, and a tree lightning november. >> free, free, free palestinian. >> reporter: and police will use drones for the first time ever to monitor potential dangers. >> this year, the drones are

giving us a better view of exactly what's going on, you know, in realtime. >> reporter: below times square, the busiest mass transit hub in the city will be watched closely. >> our plans for policing this event is multilayered, you know. we're talking about the subway system, our riders are going to see a visible presence and an invisible presence. >> reporter: this historic celebration named for "the new york times" dates all the way back to 1904. >> u.s. citizens had welcomed the new year with the loudest, rowdiest and most populist greeting in decades. >> reporter: in chicago, the skies over lake michigan will be lit up with more than 100,000 fireworks, and las vegas will close the strip, where more than 400,000 people are expected. >> everybody, watch your feet! >> reporter: back in new york, revellers are filling times square an focusing on the future. >> it's going to be a great year for all of us. >> reporter: nypd's safety

measures go far beyond times square. police say they do expect two million people to come to new york to watch the ball drop, but they will be spread out throughout the five boroughs. and ed, happy new year. >> same to you, astrid martinez. thank you. we head now overseas where tonight there is a marked escalation of tensions along one of the world's busiest shipping routes. it happened in the red sea after a container ship issue addis stress call saying it was under attack by iran-backed houthi militants in four boats. u.s. military from the uss ice sawyer and the uss gravely responded by returning fire. they sunk three boats killing their crew members. the u.s. says it's the 23rd red sea attack by houthi rebels since mid-november. what's happening in the red sea is a spillover from the israel-hamas war. ian lee is on the front lines of the conflict tonight. ian, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, ed. you can see smoke rising from the intention fighting taking place in northern gaza behind me.

this comes as israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu warns the war could last many more months. paramedics arrive on the scene of an artillery strike in khan younis today. "move quickly, there's a boy" shouts the ambulance driver. the boy moves amid the rubble, alive but injured. they quickly bring a stretcher and haul him off. the war in gaza has transformed its hospitals. people gather for information or hoping to find safety. the injured seek life-saving treatment, but now gaza's largest hospital has a new addition, a cemetery. hundreds of graves line the courtyard of el shifa. signs bare the names of the men, women, and children killed in the fighting since october. more than 21,800 people have died according to the hamas-run ministry of health. the idf has intensified its operations in recent days. going building by building, street by street after hamas militants.

destroying tunnels and hoping to rescue hostages seized by fighters on october 7th. as the year wraps up, some harbor hopes for the future. "i wish to good back to normal for electricity to return and to go home," says this boy. for 12-year-old muna al sawa, even the return to the mundane seems special. she says she wants to return home and to run errands again. in tel aviv, some also express the need to end the fighting. >> in order to release the hostages, a ceasefire must be taking place. >> reporter: but for now, the war grinds on. few, in any will be celebrating the new year here. many hope, especially in gaza, that 2024 brings a long and lasting peace. >> ian lee in our entire cbs news team in the middle east tonight, thank you. now to the war in ukraine.

today russia launched a new wave of drone initial attacks on targets in kharkiv and other cities. at least 20 people were injured as apparent retaliation for a deadly ukrainian attack saturday on the russian city of belgorod. the war in the ukraine and the middle east are top priorities for president biden as he begins his new year. cbs' skyler henry is traveling with the president in the u.s. virgin islands. good evening, skyler. >> reporter: hey, ed, good to see you. there are several issues the president is juggling heading into 2024 as he is also looking to stay in office with an election on the horizon. >> i speak to him regularly. >> reporter: president bush staying in close contact this weekend with ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy, with western military aid itself fro aggression. the biden administration is urging congress to take action and get more funding to ukraine. >> we believe that they can be successful in this conflict, that they can win, and they can push russian forces out of

ukraine. but what they've got to have additional resources. >> reporter: but republican lawmakers on capitol hill say aid to ukraine and israel hinges on beefing up assets and sweeping policy changes along the u.s. southern border. today more than 300 migrants landed in rockford, illinois before being bussed to chicago, one of the major cities concerned about federal resources as they deal with an overlow of asylum seekers. >> what we have is clearly an international and federal crisis that local governments are being asked to subsidize. and this is unsustainable. >> reporter: u.s. officials signal they're on track to process a record-breaking more than 300,000 migrants crossing into the country in just december alone, though the number of deportations nearly doubled compared to the year before. the republicans looking to take president biden's job aren't holding back. >> i can't believe in this day and time in america we're allowing that to happen. it is a complete dereliction of duty.

>> reporter: the biden campaign is asking voters to allow him to finish the job, though support for former president trump remains strong despite a slew of legal challenges he is facing, election challenges as well, including a growing number of states considering dropping him from their primary ballots. ed? >> skyler henry traveling with the president tonight, thanks. tonight, there has been a surprise announcement for one of europe's leaders. denmark's queen margrethe revealed in her new year's eve speech she is stepping down after 52 years on the thrown. margrethe cited age and health issues. the queen will be succeeded by her son crown prince frederick. eddie bernice johnson has died. a democrat, she represented parts of dallas for 30 years until stepping down at the start of the year. johnson was the first registered nurse selected to congress and

the first woman to chair the house science committee. eddie bernice johnson was 88 years old. and today we learned of the death of nascar legend cale yarb yarborough. he is considered one of the sport's all-time greatest drivers and the first to win three consecutive cup titles. yarborough also won the daytona 500 four times. he is the last of the so-called blue collar drivers who worked their way up to the pinnacle today. he won 83 races along the way. cale yarborough died in hospice care in south carolina. he was 84 years old. straight ahead on the cbs weekend news, new laws take effect in several states. we'll detail some of them. but first, a look at festivities tonight in rome.

as the old expression goes, out with the old and in with the new -- laws, that is. several states are enacting new ones starting tomorrow that affect many of us. cbs' elise preston is in los angeles with more. elise? >> reporter: good evening, ed. hundreds of new state laws take effect on the 1st, from gun bans to bigger paychecks to fighting porch pirates. nearly 10 million americans, food, child care, and n fast - housekeeping will be getting a significant bump in pay tomorrow. 85 cities and states across the country are boosting their minimum wage in 2024, some as high as $20.29 an hour, far exceeding the current minimum

wage. that adds an estimated $7 billion a year in pay for those workers. in california, it will be illegal tomorrow to carry a gun in most public places, even with a concealed carry permit. new jersey and minnesota are trying to reduce period poverty by mandating that public schools provide free menstrual products. porch pirates beware. anyone caught stealing packages left outside in pennsylvania could now face felony charges. in florida, residents can reserve a campsite a month before nonresidents. and in illinois, if you happen to have a bear or a primate, keep them to yourself since it's illegal for the public to come in contact with them. a california tradition will no longer be a crime. low riders and other drivers will be allowed to cruise on public streets. >> elise, thanks. still ahead on the "cbs weekend news," america's last

light keeper is hanging up her bonnet.

♪ from the skies over thailand to pasadena, california where tonight final preparations are under way for the rose parade, it's a new year's day tradition dating back to 1890. this year nearly a thousand volunteers worked to combine 80,000 hours to keep the floats and festivities blossoming. quite the sight. tonight marks the end of an era also for u.s. coast guard lighthouses and their keepers. for 20 years, sally snowman has kept watch over boston light on little brewster island. first illuminated boston harbor in 1716. she's the 70th keeper there and

the first woman to hold the position, and now the last. snowman is retiring. the lighthouse was sold to a private owner who is required to preserve it. coming up on the "cbs weekend news," it wasn't all doom and gloom this year. a look at some of the bright spots. that's next.

we've covered plenty of tough stories in 2023. so we asked mark strassmann to recap some of the good news of the year. ♪ ♪ shake it off, shake it off ♪ >> reporter: ladies first. women headlined all over in

2023, taylor and her jubilant swifties. >> it's amazing that everybody comes together and we're all dressed up and we all participate. >> reporter: beyonce and the bey hive. both tours generated billions for local economies, mostly from women cheering their heroes. >> i have never been more confident and proud to be in my own skin because of her. ♪ diamonds under my eyes". >> reporter: and "barbie." not just a hollywood hit, a cultural conversation. >> "barbie" is such a strong and empowered woman. she has like 90 jobs. >> reporter: good news speaking of jobs. in 2023, america's rate of working women between 25 and 54 hit a record high. and the overall economy, inflation is down, recession fears fading. >> we're seeing inflation making real progress. these are the things we've been wanting to see. >> reporter: core inflation is down to 4%. back in january, it was 5.6. >> no justice -- >> no jeeps! >> reporter: 2023 emboldened

workers, especially union workers. on strike, nurses, autoworkers, hollywood. and they all picketed a path to a happy ending on payday. >> we were finally realizing wait, we know our worth. >> reporter: fans of comeuppance, or just telling the truth also hit the jackpot. rudy giuliani ordered to pay millions for lies he told about two georgia election workers. and george santos, the prince of make- make-believe, drummed out of congress. in entertainment, michelle yeoh became the first asian woman to win the best actress oscar. and a salute to admiral lisa f fr franketti. the first woman member of the chiefs of staff. ten months after he nearly died from cardiac arrest on the football field. >> to be able to still do what i love at the highest level in the world is amazing.

>> reporter: and brittney griner, playing again in the wnba after languishing for ten months in russian custody. >> love from the fans when i came out was amazing. >> reporter: and finally, 2023 was a great year for ten americans released from venezuelan custody and five americans released in september by iran, home in time for the holidays. mark strassmann, cbs news, atlanta. when we return, the dawn of a new year down under. and a nod to those working here off camera.

that's the news for this sunday. before flipping the calendar to 2024, we want to look back at the many people who make this broadcast possible every

weekend. i'm ed o'keefe in washington. from all of us at cbs news, happy new year and good night. ♪ ♪

♪

♪ from cbs news bay area, this is the evening edition. now at 6:00, getting ready to ring in the new year, we'll have a look at tonight's forecast plus when we'll see some rain this week. plus some new year's wisdom from a younger reflective, how bay area kids are reflecting on the past year looking ahead to 2024. and many oakland residents say the city has never been

this dangerous. how much does that perception match up what's happening? we'll dive into the numbers. the 49ers wrap up the number one seed in washington, how brock purdy rewrote the team's record books. >> thank you so much for joining us on this new year's eve. i'm andrea nakano. 2023 is coming to an end and all around the world people are wrapping up the year in style. in most other places it's already 2024. we saw fireworks in paris. in dubai they launched them from the top of the world's tallest building and a beautiful waterfront show in hong kong. back here in the bay area thousands of people are heading to the annual embarcadero fireworks show, but will everyone be able to see it? let's get right to the forecast and you said yesterday, darren peck, the fireworks were going to be okay for tonight. has anything changed? >> nothing has changed. the only thing that's a little different is some light rain showing up now. we were seeing this late last