thousands upon thousands of iowa fans ascended upon the battleship today for the rose bowl pep rally. the record attendance at the battleship was 75-hundred....but black and gold nation shattered that record here today. the uss iowa staff say they were expecting about 15,000 people which would shatter the record. we found out first hand today that bleeding black and gold runs in families across iowa and the bond of father and son sharing this experience may be once in a life time. "that's the biggest thing, to be down here with my dad, i never went to the university of iowa. he did. i was born into black and gold and it's just an awesome experience to be down here with my dad for the rose bowl that we might not be together again and do this, at

again and do this, at the same time, sit's awesome." bowl that we might not be together again and do this, at the same time, so it's awesome." "i was a 17 year old freshman in 1968 and i've been black and gold ever since." "absolutely the eatest, i mean this is an awesome fafaly experience. . 've gone to so many hawk games but this one will rank at the to" alex: (alex giaimo) it's been 25 years since the last rose bowl for iowa and it looks lili missing the chance to see this one wasn't something fans were willing to risk. reporting from the u.s.s iowa i'm alex giaimo local 4 sports deborah: the countdown to the new year is just a few hours away... and the stage is set at the "anthem" over atthe hard rock hotel and casino....for tonight's big celebration. organizers say the second annual new year's party will include a bunch of casino give aways, special food, and live entertainment....in lcuding a dueling

manager brad streeter says, this time of year...everyone at the hard rock brings their a- game to throw a special new year's bash. " as it being new year's we want to do a little special extrara inside, so we brought in a little bit more hands we been here since this morning cause the best thing is we'r setting up something that people are going to have fun tonight. and that's the best part of our job is when we see people have a good time and new year's is one of those best times of the year." says entertainment manager brad streeter. deborah the event tonight is free and all of the festivities already underway.... and will go on into the new year. also, on hand for tonight's big celebrbrion will be a gene simmons impersonator. the kiss star will be on the floor meeting and greeting people and taking selfies with guests. deborah: several countries have already rung in 20-16 in the eastern hemisphere in places like the phillipinnes, china and the united arab emirates. firework displays were seen for miles around the major cities in those countries. security is tight in many major cities

celebration... in brussels, officials canceled their festivites in light of a terror alert. deborah: meantime, here in the u-s we are just hours away from the big countdown to 20- 16. and officials have beefed up security in the big apple. an estimated one million revelers are expected to pack into about 20 blocks in and around times square this evening. the e pd is deploying 6- thousand heavily armed ofcers... more than ever before. commissioner william bratton, nypd: "we are not aware of any threat at this time that we deem credible. pasadena was also under hightened alerts for the rose bowl parade. federal officials signated the parade as a top- tier security event...even before the san bernardino terror attack.. more than two dozen federal agencies are joining forces with local police....to protect the 700,000 people expected to attend. the vegas strip... also on high alert with more than 300,000 people expected to descend on the streets of sin

deborah passengers aboard an allegiant air flight...from cedar rapids...heading to orlando.....ot a new years eve surprise, when their flight was re-routed to chatanooga tennesee. at 5:30 this morning, the plane was rced to make an emergency landing ....an hour and a half into the flight. passengers say they had to leave the plane with all of their belongings....and wait out the delay. for some it was a frustrating process. ""we heard a crazy sound underneath us. it kind of sounded like when your tires come out for landing. we weren't anywhere near where we would be landing." we've been gone for a week and i kept thinking, 'we're almost home, we're almost home'." deborah the twin jet was experiencing trouble with its right engine but landed safely. passengers got to board their second plane of the day...just before noon...and landed in orland at two o'clock. deborah after devestating damage sustained in parts of missouri,

gaurd has announced they'll be helping out in relief efforts 45 service members...and 20 vehicles from the national guard will be deployed to high ridge, miissouri to provide different relief efforts.... such as water purification...and water transportation services. the soldiers will report for duty in missouri starting tomorrow.. deborah the latest now on the extreme weather wreaking havoc across much of the midwest. from illinois to as far south as texas.. more than 12 million people are under flood warnings. abc's elizabeth hur is in valley park, missouri....where a mandatory evacuation remains in effect. "with neighborhoods innundated.. homes uprooted.. some even floating downstream.. mandatory evacuations in the suburbs of st louis,s, missouri remain in place.. ((sot)) valley park woman: "it's pretty scary right now." authorites also urging residents to stay off the roads.. especially to prevent rescues like these.. firefighters forced to use a ladder truck to pull this man stranded on the hood of his pickup- and this man and his

the roofof their house.. overnight.. this record flooding shut down interstate 55.. the 3rd majojohighway to be closed.. in two days..((sot)) kelsy ray: "this is supposed to be 2 major highways across the state.. at least 200 roads.. still impassible.. ((sot)) gov jay nixon: " a flood in the winter is very dangerous. missouri -- not the only flooded state-- ((sot)) from nc parts of n nth carolina?florida? and georgia also hit with rare winter flooding.. all part of the same system that sent temperatures soaring 50 degrees above normal in the north pole... and spawned deadly tornadoes in texas according to the national weather service.. in all.. there were 74 tornadoes in north centratexas alone.. the most since.. 1950. liz tag: back in missouri.. what you see behind me is the meramec river overflowing and flooding onto a major interstate. the river already crested.. so this water should start receding.. but we are still waiting for the mississippi river to crest. eh, abc news, valley park, missouri." deborah a local non-profit is getting a jumpstart on the

is getting a jumpstart on the new year thanks to a generous donation. today,y,oodhouse chrysler in sioux city donated more than 78 -thousand dollars to the food bank of siouxland. that money was raised over the past couple of months through a big push woodhouse makes for local food banks. this money will support the backpack program, which sends local kids..who rely on free and reduced lunch program...with food sacks on the weekend. linda scheid, food bank of siouxland, says, "and we're talking [about] families that don't have a whole lot of resources, so these kids get home on friday afternoon and there might not be much in those cupboards for them to eat over the weekend. "ryan trotter, general sales manger, woodhouse, says, "this is one of those things, that you like to think you're giving people hope. more than anything, we're trying to change somebody's reality." deborah

has done the local food bank challenge. last year hey raised $40,000. still to come... a great active and free way to start your new year details up ahead. fred: (fred) the new year's up, and we'll tell you about the return of 30s to our forecast, plus there isn't any

th cold weather won't last much longer. fred: red) the hd radar is quiet. we have a mix of clouds and sun on the port neal welding company skycam. the low today was -3 and the high 25. it was a cold start--the lows this morning were below zero in many places. current temps are in

to 20 mph. wind chills are single digits and teens. finally, we can see a warmup north and west of us, and tomorrow will be warmer. the satellite and radar shows no major systems across the midwest. the stormcast hd shows quiet weather throughout, with a warmup coming and generally clear skies. happy new year! your forecast for tonight is for mostly clear skies and a low of 11. tomorrow, we'll see sunshine and a high of 34. the 7-day shows highs in the 30s each day. while cloud cover will increase next week after a stretch of sunny days, no precipiation is expected. fred: tim: jenna:

thanks, fred. (fred) you bet. deborah if you're looking for something to do tomorrow and perhaps to jump start your new years resolution,

tomorrow is the norm waitt senior ymca's "new year's day of play." and it's 100 percent free to attend. it will be open from 9 am to 4 pm with activities planned from 10 to 3:30. it's sure to be a fun time when we return. some tips to keep the e-r out of your new years celebrations. more on what we

new year's eve is a time for celebration but for too mama, it

fortunately it's easy to avoid a new year's eve mishap. dr. timothy johnson has more. "the new year's countdown? is upon us. and before that ball drops, the start. but with this revelry? comes risks. across the nation, a spike in injury cases showing up in emererncy rooms. alcocol is to blame example, alcohol- room visits more than double on new year's day. and hospitals across the country expect similar surges during the champagne-soaked wee hours of the new year. fortunately, staying safe often boils down to a bit of common sense. space out your drinks over a longer period of time? don't drink on an empty stomach? and know your limitand when and of course, don't forget the designated driver. in short, a bit of planning? along with a touch of restraint? can be the difference between a party to remember? and a hospital visit you wish you could forget.

minute, i'm dr. timothy johnson . " after the break... presidential candidate doctor ben carson is making some changes ahead of the new year. find out more

presidential candidate doctor ben carson is making some last minute changes to his campaign ahead of 20-16.6..announcing today he'll have to replace three of his top aides after they've announced their resignation. carson campaign manager barry bennett and communications director doug watts stepped down. later, deputy campaign manager lisa coen also resigned, according to a spokesperson. but those on the campaign say it isn't a cause for concern. "we're not in a free fall. we're not in chaos. dr. carson took a good look over the holidays and made some ideas and spoke with his leadership team and did it like any

bought in all the influence. he bought in all the information he needed. deborah campaign strategists say the move isnt unheard of though, ronald reagan shook things up in his own campaign just before the new hampshire primaries, to some success. deborah the only candidate on the trail on this last day of 2015-- bernie sanders--is announcing some good news for his campaign. abc's bazi kanani has more from washington " just days after announcing impressive fundraising numbers at the year's end, a shake-up in the ben carson campaign. three top aides are resigning... frustrated by the actions of carson's powerful business manager. now-former campaign manager barry bennett tells abc news he still believes in the candidate, but says quote-- "i can play amateur politics at home with my 9- year-old. i don't need to do it at the professional level." (nats jeb bush rally) the year ends with a blunder for jeb bush, after last night's rally in south carolina. a reporter asked him about the police shooting of 12- year-old tamir rice. (sot bush) bush: i think that chicago has a lot of work to do to rebuild trust. the level of violence is abhorrent. abc q: that happened in cleveland. bush: oh i'm sorry. my bad. (nats sanders rally) the only presidential candidate on the

sanders is in iowa... announcing a new campaign fundraising record: more than 2-point-3 million donations. (sot sanders) "that is more individual contributions that any campaign in the history of the united states of america." sanders is still trailing hillary clinton in the polls... but staying competitive in the early voting state of new hampshire. on the republican side, donald trump remains dominant in national polls with just four weeks to go until the first . votes are cast. but in the first-up state of iowa, ted cruz is gaining steam: inching ahead of trump in some polls and raising nearly 20-million dollars in the fourth quarter. and don't count marco rubio or chris christie out: both gaining ground in new hampshire. ==bazi on cam tag== as the year ends, marco rubio and chris christie are both gaining ground in new hampshire. and the state department is releasing of another batch of hillary clinton's emails. " jessica rae: the queen of soul still has it! aretha franklin made a surprise appearance at the kennedy center honors... and d ought the president... and evererne else... to their feet. c's david muir shows us the moment that brought down the still has it! aretha franklin

appearance at the kennedy center honors... and brought the and everyone to their feet. abc's david muir shows us the moment that brought down the house. "the kennedy center honors. and this year,mong the recipients singer and songwriter carole king, and there to honor her - aretha franklin. who waked out. the kisses from carole - and cheers from the crowd. something she anymore-carole king and she was about to most famous songs. nats: aretha singing the president and first lady moved too. "oh, so tired." and singing along, an overwhelmed carole king. and aretha franklin hadn't even started. nats: aretet singing everyone, viola davis among them, on their feet. tim: fred's back next

of our forecast.

at six, . how one vermillion resident is recycling bicycles, we'll learn more about the initiative recycle 605 in vermillion. plus. we hop aboard the u-s-s iowa. with hundreds of hawkeye fans. how folks in california are spening their time waiting for the rose bowl. a live look there tonight at six. (fred) happy new year! your forecast for tonight is for

and a low of 11. sunshine and a high of 34. the 7-day 30s each day. while cloud cover will increase next week sunny days, no precipiation is expected.

breaking news tonight. the skyscraper inferno on new

the 63-story luxury hotel,