on behalf of everyone at "ac360" and cnn, we wish you all of the best and none of the worst in 2014. what is being done to keep everyone safe at the upcoming olympics? help may feninally be withi reach to rescue people on a ice wrecked ship in antarctica. >> it is tuesday, december 31st. the final day of the year.

happy almost new year's eve. >> is it okay to say happy new year? we are all doing it. >> it is 5:00 a.m. on the east coast. we begin with the freezing weather you're probably feeling the arctic blast to bring in 2014 when the ball drops in times square in new york today. half of the united states is shivering with zero in parts of the midwest and well below freezing in the big apple. jennifer gray kicks us off with a check of the forecast. >> the people in times square it will feel like 17 degrees when the ball is dropping so brace yourself. you want to pack the layers. it is a cold morning this morning, especially across the north. international falls feeling like 27 degrees below zero, feeling on like 8 below zero in chicago. this cold air is going to stay in the north for the next day or so. then it's going to start to most of. we are going to see this cold

air move towards the northeast. 32 degrees your high temperature in new york city on thursday. but look at friday. 17. so that arctic air is going to find its way in the northeast and along with it could come quite a bit of snow and a mess for the northeast in the coming days. we already have very, very cold air in place. we don't need to tell you that to know it. it's very cold. we are these lows that are going to track across the east coast and up the eastern seaboard depending on the distance of the low, how far off shore it's going to be is going to mean a huge difference in the amount of snowfall that we will see in the impacts from this. we have basically two forecast models we are looking at and both of them are saying something pretty much completely different. so we have one scenario that keeps the low well offshore and then we have the second scenario that keeps the low a little closer to shore and you can see all of the snow in the northeast anywhere from virginia all the way up to new york city and that includes boston and maine in a big way.

this is the higher scenario. we could see anywhere from about 6 to 10 inches of rain in new york city and 10 to 12 inches in boston. that is the worst case scenario if the low tracks a little bit farther offshore, then we won't see quite as much snow. but looking at your new year's eve forecast, guys, the windchills at midnight, here they are. we will be at 18 below zero ringing in the new year in minneapolis. >> hometown, enjoy it. enjoy, it folks! >> it's all relative, right? >> i hear people say it's cold and it's nothing like being in minnesota. >> hats off to those folks. >> thank you, jennifer. there will be plenty of partying around the world to ring in 2014. people are already celebrating the new year in samoa. less than an hour from now the clock strikes midnight in new zealand. the eyes of the world on dubai where they are hoping to get a guinness world record for the

largest fireworks display ever and that is where we signed sarah in dubai. >> they want a bigger and brighter and better than everybody else. i'll give you an idea what we are going to see. behind me is the man-made eyelid that is shaped like a palm. there is a atlanta, georgis. we are talking about hundreds of thousands of fireworks. while they are blowing off there, they will also be blowing off just across the water here to the dubai marina area. fireworks blowing off there. beyond that bridge you'll see that is a tallest building in the world and also that little white building you can barely see underneath the bridge! they are going to be going off all around us around a hundred kilometers of coastline. this is going to be big and what

are they hoping to do? yes, the guinness world record here to break the world record. >> i'm excited for you to be able to witness such beauty. sara, what is the current record for the biggest fireworks display? >> reporter: this is cool. kuwait holds the current record which is 77,000 fireworks that blew off in an hour's time. they are trying to here to beat it by miles. 400,000 fireworks. they are plenty to blow off in about six minutes and then a second fireworks display well so they are trying to beat it beyond any measure so nobody else can catch up, at least not for a while. >> it will be like the grand finale times ten and consistently going on and on and on. >> reporter: exactly. >> sounds exciting. thank you, sara. at 9:00 p.m. eastern the new year's tradition continues on cnn with the three hours of the

crazy antics as our own anderson cooper is joined on by kathy griffin at times square. you can count on anything to happen. yes, it will be live and yes, we know it will be entertaining. you don't want to miss it. it starts 9:00 eastern tonight on new year's eve. less than six weeks of the start of the winter olympics in sochi and there are serious concerns for the safety of tourists and theresa. one u.s. snowboarder already declaring he may skip the opening ceremonies at the games if he makes the team. i want to show you this video. it's just in to cnn but let me warn you first. it is upsetting to watch. this captures a deadly explosion at a train station in the southern russian city of volgograd and one of two suicide bombings within that city that killed 24 people. diane magnay is joining us now

with more details. >> reporter: the video is disturbing showing you the moment of detonation in that railway station that killed 18 and on a trolley bus yesterday morning, another 16 were killed in another suicide bombing. there is a huge antiterror operation going on right now in the city of volgograd. 224 offices brought with normal forces there and searching people's documents and they detained 87 people so far. normally, most of them apparently for possession of weapons without the right documents, not necessarily related to the attack, but you can see how much authorities are trying to find out what went on here. of course, investigators also trying to look through the body fragments that they have they said to see whether the dna matches up with any of the names they have on their databases of suspected militants and believe the two attacks were linked because of the explosives used

in both attacks contained identical shrapnel fragments and they believe the bombings were plotted in the same place which we can assume fairly safely the northern region in southern russia quite close to sachi and not 00 miles away where russia is fighting insurgency. >> when you talk about the proximity and you look at being less than six weeks away from the opening ceremony of the games, i'm wondering how confident officials there are about the security of the games? i was just reading the organizing committee president of the soch oni games called th the safest games ever. >> they are trying to give the impression it is the safest games ever. around sochi, i'm sure the security will be extremely high. officials are being, as you can understand, fairly cagey exactly

what their security measures are but they say each if nthe wake of these bombings they have do change them but the terrorists don't have to attack sochi. as in volgograd, they can attack other targets and they have to travel through certain areas so that is the danger here. terrorists know in this gigantic country, not everything can be secure. often the metal detectors are not working and security guards are not on ball. it's a huge country to police and it doesn't have to be the tiny area around sochi that nets nooee needs to be morned. >> thanks, diana. fiery explosions after a train crash forcing evacuations

in a north dakota town at this hour. the train carrying crude oil slamming into a derailed train yesterday setting off a whole series of explosions causing a huge fireball. it happened outside of castleton, 25 miles west of fargo. >> people living want five-mile radius now being told to leave their homes because of potential health hazard here from all of that smoke. so far, however, the good news is no injuries reported. another week of hope for the family of a 13-year-old girl declared brain dead in california. on monday, a judge granted a last-minute order keeping jahi mcmath on life support until january 7th. you'll remember after routine tonsil surgery last month, mcimagine went into cardiac

arrest and three days later she was declared brain dead. the hospital has fought to take her off life support but her mother says the girl shows signs of life. >> my child is not dead. i don't care what they say. how could she be dead as she urinates and how could a dead person do that when she responds to my touch? >> the hospital says the girl's kns is irreversible. the family attorney says they are filing an appeal. an airport worker found dead on the tarmack of logan's airport on monday. police say the 59-year-old man was likely hit by a truck as it backed up near a plane. so far investigators say his death looks like an accident. the driver of that truck was later treated for stress. police say he will be tested for

drug and alcohol use. recreational pot sales are legal in colorado at midnight tonight. a dozen retailers will sell marijuana in denver at that time. 20 other stores are expected to open up around the state. customers have to be 21 years old to purchase marijuana. they cannot smoke it in public and if you are caught with it at the airport because you can't take it in or out of the state, you will be fined $999. about 40,000 other new laws take effect in america at the stroke of midnight tonight. the biggest and the most politically charged is perhaps obamacare. in illinois two new laws went into the use of drones and one of them keeps them from interfering with hunters. even if that is different than their gender at birth.

coming up on "early start," they have been stuck for days on this stranded ship in antarctica. will a new plan to rescue the dozens of passengers by air this time, will it finally work? we are going to take you live straight ahead. and strange crop circles found in california. where did these come from? the mystery that has people buzzing is next. welcome back. how is everything? there's nothing like being your own boss! and my customers are really liking your flat rate shipping. fedex one rate. really makes my life easier. maybe a promotion is in order. good news. i got a new title. and a raise? management couldn't make that happen. [ male announcer ] introducing fedex one rate. simple, flat rate shipping with the reliability of fedex.

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welcome back. one more day. that's how long it's supposed to take to rescue dozens of people stranded on the research vessel in antarctica. the ship is trapped in the ice there since christmas eve. after three different ice breaking ships have failed to reach them, they are now calling in the choppers. matthew chance is tracking the latest developments for us live from london. matthew, the saga continues. >> reporter: some developments taking place over the course of the past several hours. we have heard from both the chinese and the australians who have ice breaking ships in the area saying that essentially all of the attempts to reach the research vessel by sea had to be suspended. the packed ice is too thick in the area of antarctica for them to reach it. the australians saying they are in danger of getting their own

ice breaker trapped in that ice if they continued. but a decision has been taken to air-lift the majority of the 74 passengers and crew off that stranded research vessel by helicopter. they are going to be doing that as soon as they can. but as soon as they can is not any time soon because the weather conditions are so dire, they are not able to fly the helicopters in the high winds that are gusting through that region at the moment. in the meantime, members of the ship's staff, the crew and passengers on board that are stranded are on the packed ice and stomping down manuel the ice on the sea tarp to create a make-shift hel ipad for when the helicopters come and air-lift them to safety. it looks like their rescue will come eminently but when that is is not clear. >> we have heard from that crew captain that the attitude and

the atmosphere aboard is rather festive despite all of these setbacks so they are keeping that positive attitude. have they heard this news about this upcoming rescue? i imagine they have to be ela d elated? >> reporter: to be honest, they have been e elated since christmas day when they were in the packed ice and they have been posting very positive messages about the mood on board the ship. apparently they had a huge festive meal on christmas day and they have very big sglis of fo supplies of food and drink. to answer your question, they are aware of the latest developments and they are in contact by radio with the surrounding ships that have been trying to rescue them and why they are on the packed ice stomping down that landing zone area, the helipad. >> fingers crossed that weather

clears very soon. thank you so much, matthew chance, for joining us morning. can you hear more from the expedition leader who is joining us on "new day" at 7:00 eastern. >> i look forward to that. their attitude has been unbelievable through all of this. also making headlines this morning. 26 palestinian prisoners relieved by israeli. the goodwill gesture coming days before a visit by u.s. secretary of state john kerry. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu calling it a step towards, quote, resuming the diplomatic process and kerry travels to jerusalem and rumaylah tomorrow. drone flights and heavily traveled u.s. air space are one step closer to becoming a reality this morning. the faa selecting six search scientists to test and map out the best way to bring these unmanned aircraft into the existing system. these sites are located in alaska, nevada, new york, north

dakota, texas a&m university, as well as virginia tech. a newly relieved pugh survey shows a gap between democrats and republicans when it comes to their view of evolution. according to the survey, a majority of republicans now do not believe in the theory of evolution. the survey found that 43% of republicans now think humans evolved over time and compares with 54% who thought that in 2009. in that same period of time, democrats who think humans evolved increased from 64 to 67%. overall, 6 in 10 americans believe humans have evolved over time. 33%, though, reject the idea of evolution. doctors now say race car driver michael schumaker is fighting for his life and in a coma but doctors say he is showing slight improvement. new information we are just getting this morning. just got an e-mail saying that they have alleviated some of the pressure from around his brain

with a second operation that happened overnight. the operation took a couple of hours. his condition is improving slight but he is not out of danger just yet. they also add that helmet saved his life but whether he'll survive is still a question. >> best wishes to him at this perilous time. also this is not a scene from the mel gibson movie "signs." this is actual footage of giant crop circles that appeared on a farm near central california. so, naturally, this has people wondering is this the work of aliens or a hoax or some very talented prankster? >> i'm a skeptic but this could be aliens. i don't know. i'm always willing to believe something. if there is proof, then i can't deny proof, but right now, it looks like --? >> two friends driving on a nearby road on sunday night

witnessed strange bursts of green light flashing on the horizon. they videotaped it and posted it on youtube where it went viral bringing a number of curious onlookers to see it for themselves. i have no idea what could create this. coming up, a record in jeopardy. why seven yards may cost peyton manning his newest record. that and more in our bleacher report next. we're aig. and we're here. to help secure retirements and protect financial futures. to help communities recover and rebuild. for companies going from garage to global. on the ground, in the air, even into space. we repaid every dollar america lent us. and gave america back a profit. we're here to keep our promises. to help you realize a better tomorrow. from the families of aig, happy holidays.

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welcome back. tim tebow back in the spotlight. he is back in football next season but not necessarily on the field. andy scholes joins us with more in this morning's bleacher report. >> when you wake up on saturday morning next fall to watch college football, tim tebow will be there to break it all down for you. espn announced they have assigned tim tebow with their new s.e.c. network that will launch next fall. while tebow is excited he will still pursue his dream of being a quarterback in the nfl. he makes his tv debut next season during the bcs championship game in january. >> peyton manning's record for yards in the season may be the shortest lived record. they are reviewing this play he made to eric decker.

it went for seven yards but you look at it again. it really does look like a lateral. the nfl could change this to a running play. if they do, manning would fall six yards dry of drew brees previous record for passing yards in a season. this week, memphis grizzlies made an awesome acquisitioacqui. they made 8-year-old wish come true. they drafted jarvis to the team and giving his own press conference and a draft hat and he got to attend practice and a game with the bulls. he suffers from cerebral palsy got not only his wish to come true and became the youngest player to ever be drafted in the nba. what a cool deal for him. >> what a feel-good story. you got to love that. >> you do. p.m., we wi peyton manning, we will see what happens for him. >> go broncos. >> they took him out of the game early. >> he didn't play most of the game. they should have padded that

record a little bit. >> andy, appreciates it. straight ahead the top headlines and everything you need to know to start your day after the break. just by talking to a helmet. it grabbed the patient's record before we even picked him up. it found out the doctor we needed was at st. anne's. wiggle your toes. [ driver ] and it got his okay on treatment from miles away. it even pulled strings with the stoplights. my ambulance talks with smoke alarms and pilots and stadiums.

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happy new year! freeze, everyone! dangerously cold weather slamming much of the country this morning. we are going to tell you what you can expect for the start of the new year. it is new year's eve from fireworks to confetti. cities all around the world preparing to ring in the new year. we will take you live to dubai where a major record just might be broken. eye alert after two suicide attacks. can russia keep everyone safe at the olympics in the serious security concerns. we will take you live to moscow. welcome back to "early start." i'm poppy harlow. >> i'm ana cabrera. john berman is gearing up to host "new day." it's new year's eve. you probably have plans this

evening. 2014 is going to ring in with a deep freeze. when that ball drops in times square tonight, the eastern half of the united states will be shivering in the new year with temperatures near zero in the midwest and well below freezing in the big apple. our meteorologist jennifer gray has our new year's eve forecast. >> on this new year's eve, temperatures we are starting out cold in the northern plains. temperatures, international falls 27 degrees below zero is what it feels like this morning. 20 below zero in minneapolis and 8 below zero in chicago. these temperatures are staying in the north the next couple of days but slowly working their way to the northeast. by the time we wake up -- in new york city on thursday afternoon, temperatures will be around 32 degrees, but 17 on friday. so temperatures definitely taking a plunge. already cold. it will just get colder. the cold air that is already in place is going to definitely

help with that setup of our next low. we have been talking about it the last couple of days. we have two different scenarios we are looking at, depending on which forecast model you're watching. one of them takes this low well offshore and that would mean most evident wintry precipitation would stay away. if the low tracks more to the onshore path, that would mean quite a bit of snow for the northeast and creating quite the mess. could be one of the strongest storms of the season. we are going to be tracking this low. this is the scenario if we see this low continue to stay on that northeast track and you can see all of the snow anywhere from virginia, including d.c., but they wouldn't be the hardest hit but up in new york city for sure and then possibly the hardest hit around boston and even in northern maine. if we do see that scenario, we could see 10 to 12 inches in maine, 10 inches in boston possibly and 6 to 8 inches each in new york city. so we could see a mess play out thursday night into friday if

that low does stay on shore. we will continue to monitor it. these are your new year's eve temperatures at midnight. very, very cold across the country. >> brrrr. i've been out there in times square for new year's eve so it can be chilly out there. let's take you to australia. they are about to say so long to 2013 in new zealand, rather. less than 30 minutes from now, the clock strikes midnight there. it is followed by celebrations in australia. later today the world will be watching dubai where they are hoping to set a guinness world record for the largest fireworks show in history. our sara sidner is there live. fun excitement, sara. tell us about it. >> reporter: i kind of feel bad. i was listening to the temperatures in new york. guess what? it's about 77 degrees here so we are suffering here on the beach at the palm. we are on a man-made island and

you can get on here with only specific access. not letting everybody on here. thousands of people are trying to come to see dubai beat the world record with the amount of fireworks blown off at one time. behind me there is the atlantis and behind there a massive display of fireworks but that is not the only place. we told you earlier it is going to be literally around there area. they want to make it looks like the sun is rising with fireworks. quite an artistic display as well as expensive one. you want to take any guess as to exactly how much this might cost a person? 400,000 fireworks in six minutes? >> i would love to know. a, do you know how much it costs? i'm not surprised it's happening there at the atlantis and what is the current record? do we know? >> reporter: we do. kuwait holds the current record for their 50th anniversary. they had about 77,000 fireworks

all blowing off at once. over about 60 minutes. here, they are going to trump that by more than a mile. 400,000 fireworks and we are talking massive professional fireworks all around dubai. and the cost? we actually couldn't get an exact number. they were iffy on that and at first said millions and then 10 million plus so it's not cheap but, they said, boy, it will be a good time and we are expecting to see something amazing tonight when it is new year's eve! >> how amazing to be there. enjoy it, sara. 10 million bucks and a shot at the guinness world record, a lot of lucky folks watching it happening tonight in dubai. >> i want to be there! >> i do too but we are freezing here. >> i know. there are fun festivities planned as we gear up for new year's eve in the united states. lots of activities setting in the next few hours. not just the crystal ball dropping at times square around the country. cities around the country will

bring in the new year with traditions of their own like pineapple falling in hawaii. a moondrop in miami and peach in georgia and a music note in tennessee. a few of the odd objects set to drop in the countdown to the new year. tonight at 9:00 eastern we have a new year's eve tradition continuing on cnn. our own anderson cooper is joined by carriage griffin live on the platform at times square. >> it is a great show. >> it should be fun and starts at 9:00 eastern tonight. on a more serious note. serious concerns this morning for the safety of the athletes and tourists at the upcoming winter olympic games in sochi. take a look at this video just in to cnn but we warn you it is very upsetting to watch. this captures a deadly explosion at a train station in the southern russian city of

volgograd and one of two suicide bombings within 24 hours that killed at least 34 people. these terror attacks coming less than six weeks before the opening ceremonies of the sochi games. i want to bring in our diana magnay who is live in moscow for us this morning. you made a very good point, diana, even if the security around sochi is very, very tight, there are concerns about the entire country at this moment? >> reporter: exactly. that is the thing. president putin has made two very strong claims here. he said, first of all, that he wants these olympics to be the safest olympics ever. that is based on the claim that he can keep the north region under control and hot bed of extremism. this is where russian's militant terror takes place.

the bombings in the subway and airport in moscow in 2011 they all come from that area. so volgograd, twin bombings in two days and a second bombing on the day the city is teaming with security personnel and goes to the second claim he has that north region under control is not the case. you can seep sochi very secure but what about transportation hubs where athletes and visitors will be passing through? volgograd would be one of them. >> when you look at what officials are saying, i was just reading that the head of the organizing committee, the president, has said these are going to be the safest games ever just in line with what president putin has said. but, at the same time, are they being specific at all about what measures may change, how they may step up security in the wake of these two attacks? >> they are not. they have said they don't need to step up security. i don't think that comes at any

surprise. they are very well aware of the terrorist threats that exist on the doorsteps of the sochi games. they decided to host the olympics 200 miles from the western most border even though mountains in between knowing full well that the locations were close. so i don't think we should be surprised they are not changing their security measures. they are very, very tight there. there is a huge security pram . parameter. you won't be allowed in unless your car is license to do that region. you will have a fan passport. the terrorists know all of that and perhaps why they would target softer targets such as transportation hubs, spreading an atmosphere of panic and fear ahead of the games, possibly to prevent people from coming and, secondly to humiliate the president at this moment this is his pet project. he spent $50 billion on trying to make these olympics good. ana? >> we will keep a close eye on

it. diana, thank you. here are other top stories as we continue to monitor what is happening on that russian research vessel stuck in the antarctica and the 74 people on board waiting to be rescued. the ship has been trapped in ice since christmas eve. so about a week now after three ice breaking ships failed to reach them, official are calling in helicopters from china. >> we have just learned the ship can't reach us so a snow dragon helicopter can reach us when the weather improves. >> all about that weather. mother nature, nobody can control the mood there on board that ship or off ship, as they are stomping down all that ice, described as unusually festive. >> what an attitude they have

given what they are going through. in the meantime, fire explosions after a train crash. they are forcing evacuations this morning in a north dakota town. the train carrying crude oil slammed no and derailed another train yesterday and setting off a series of explosions and causing a huge fireball and this happened just outside castleton, about 25 miles west of fargo. >> wow. >> three cars. >> wow. >> people living within a five-mile radius are told to leave their homes because of a potential health hazard from all of that smoke. so far, miraculous, no injuries reported. legal pot sales will be official at the stroke of midnight in colorado. a dozen marijuana retailers will sell weed in denver about 20 other stores now estimated to open all around the state. you do have to be 21 to be a customer. you still cannot smoke in

public. and if you're caught trying to take this pot across state lines, for example, if you're at the airport, you could face 999 dollar fine. in the meantime, hundreds of gun owners in connecticut lining up for hours to keep their firearms because the state passed a new law in april requiring residents to register their assault weapons and high capacity magazines by midnight tonight and they have to prove that their weapons were purchased before that law was passed this spring. most gun owners say they don't see how the measure will prevent tragedies like the shooting at sandy hook elementary school. >> well, the law, i don't really think is going to stop any crimes. how many criminals do you think are in line right now registering their weapons? >> if assault weapons purchased before april are not registered by midnight tonight in connecticut, owners will have to sell them to a gun dealer, turn them over or turn them over to police. a 7-year-old girl remains

hospitalized this morning after she was rescued from a well in georgia yesterday afternoon. the girl identified as megan winters fell into this well outside of her grandma's home in carroll county. firefighters had to be lowered down to attach the girl to a rigging system before she could be pulled. . winters suffered several broken bones. she is recovering this morning. in the meantime, the first gay wedding in 125-year history of the rose parade will go on tomorrow despite some protests. aubrey loots and danny claire plan to we had on this float when it stops at the parade's reviewing stand in pasadena. the pair have been together for 12 years. the price is right biggest winner ever hit the jackpot by guessing the wrong prize! don't you just love her reaction? >> yes!

>> so passionate! sher chsherri hile, her reaction the is just priceless. >> i just wish you could see her. >> you got it! >> we had to show it to you twice it's so great. >> i always say i wish we could see people's reaction when they win the lottery too. >> probably be very similar to this. let's explain this. she was playing a game called gas money where she had to pick which price tags were actually wrong. one by one. so that is what she did. she drives away with the biggest prize in the show's 42-year history. you go, girl! >> good for you! what a way to ring in the new year. >> i love it! comip here on "early start," update to a story we brought you a few months back. one woman who fought to get her

entire 36-character long last name to fit on her driver's license. guess what, folks? she claiming victory. that's ahead. check it out.

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welcome back to "early start." doctors now say race car driver michael schumaker is showing slight signs of improvement this morning but he is still fighting for his life in a medically induced coma. the retired seven-time formula

one champ suffered severe head trauma in a ski accident on sunday. he underwent mcl brain surgery after air-lifted to a french hospital and just under went a secretary procedure overnight. he would have died without his helmet according to his team of doctors. it is too soon to tell whether he will survive. switching gears. in hawaii a woman whose last name is 36 characters long has finally gotten the whole thing to fit on her driver's license. the 54-year-old fought to change the state's rule that limited the names to 35 characters. again, hers is 36. but they finally agreed. now allowing 40 characters for last names. it's actually her husband's name given to him by his grandfather who said it came to nim a dream. next up is changing her social security card.

>> now i want you to pronounce it. >> [ inaudible ]. >> i am so impressed. it takes up two lines. >> can you imagine taking that last name? it's beautiful, but long, by the way, from your husband. hi guys. good morning! >> how are you doing? >> we are so good. happy new year! >> it is new year's eve here in this country. you wouldn't have noticed that at all by anything on our set at all. really? >> it is almost 2014! so far to the world in just a few minutes, new zealand is going to mark the turning of the calendar. we are going to bring you the celebrations live from sydney, australia, right here on "new day." now you break out in a smile! >> one television reporter fainted on live tv. i think we can all feel that. look at that. the great news. she is okay. the so-so news, this video has gone viral but brooke graham will be here to talk to us about

what happened. what it felt like and how she is doing this morning. >> just to point out, this is before he has opened the champagne! >>ware ready. >> that's why people love you, john. you don't take urs too seriously. >> we will try to wait until you get here. >> i will see you soon. >> you get to pop the champagne. have a great one and i can't wait to hear from that reporters. she did an amazing job. >> it's going live. coming up, want to ring in the new year with a bang? we will let you know how to put together a big bash in the heart of times square tonight. that is, folks, if you happen to have enough cash. welcome back. how is everything?

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welcome back to "early start" everyone. it is "money time" and zain asher is here with our business headlines. >> we are about to close the books on the best year in stocks since 1997 and history tells us that today will be an up day on the market. the last day of trading of the year has been up 52 times in the last 85 years. yesterday actually marked the 51st record high of the year any gain today will be another record high. i'm guessing volume on the lighter side. so far the dow is 26% and nasdaq up 38% and s&p 50029%.

tesla is up 350%. best buy up 238%. micro technology up 236%. netflix up 296%. that kind of could be rewarded and exactly what they have done. the company's ceo will see his salary raised to 6 million next year and raised 50% and nice if you can get it. if you're like me and still haven't made plans for the new year's a few parties can i tell you but it will cost you. applebee's 375 dollars is what the times square location is charging per person to ring in 2014. it's a deal when you look what else is scheduled. ripl ripley's could cost you $995. who has this kind of money?

r-lounge is $8,500 and cameo nightclub 100,000. you even get a meet and greet out of that. >> who needs 75 bottles of shame pain? >> that is what i was going to say. or you could just put on your winter coat and go to times square and take it in like the rest of the world or you could stay at home which is what i might do. zain, thank you. happy new year. >> you too. coming up, you got to see this. a reporter paints on live television but wait until you see her reaction. that is straight ahead.

we're aig. and we're here. to help secure retirements and protect financial futures. to help communities recover and rebuild. for companies going from garage to global. on the ground, in the air, even into space. we repaid every dollar america lent us. and gave america back a profit. we're here to keep our promises. to help you realize a better tomorrow.

from the families of aig, happy holidays.

welcome back to "early start." sheer a story about getting the job done no matter what. brooke graham, a salt lake city reporter for kutv was doing a live interview on cross-country skis when she suddenly passed out cold with her skis still on. guess what? without missing a beat, she gets up and finishes the interview. afterwards, she blogged about it and said she is known to faint in high altitudes and when it

gets too cold and said she is going to the doctor to get it checked out but what an amazing recovery and finishes the whole segment there. talking about getting the job done. we will have her live on "new day "so stay tuned for that at 8:00 p.m. that's it for me. "new day" starts right now. it's freezing. i've learned layers so i'm all layered up. >> the big chill! an icy finish to 2013. the midwest and northeast hitting brutal lows and millions set to celebrate outside in the vicious cold. but next, a possible nor'easter? we are live in a blustery times square. happening now. look at this massive fireball as a freight train explodes in north dakota. thousands being evacuated. the big question? is the air there now toxic? in dispute. peyton manning broke the record sunday for the most passing yards in a season or did he? what this video shows that may overturn the record.

your "new day" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "new day" with chris cuomo, kate bolduan and michaela pereira. welcome to "new day," you're looking at auckland, new zealand, where it is about to be new years day. >> there it is! >> happy new year! >> happy new year, new zealand. the fireworks came out of the top of that famous sky tower. they've got an l.e.d. clock around so people all around the city could participate in the countdown. we wanted to start out our show with a happy new year from the other side of the world. we thought it would be fun and also gave john berman a chance to wear his special glasses. 55 degrees we're told in auckland. >> 4.4 million people in new zealand. we don't know ma