up on 5:00, i'm chris mckinnon. and i'm kathryn hauser, it's thursday, december 31st. here is the lights, it's kind of a weird weather situation, it's cold, a little foggy. it's damp out there, too. in certain areas it could be slick, keep that in mind today. >> not the prettiest start to the day. >> a little bit gloomy. but today will feature improvements. the sun is going to break out and it's not as cold as this time yesterday. the only potential for black ice is where you see 32 degrees or colder, it's not a lot of spots, springfield, orange, manchester, portsmouth, keep an eye on the car thermometer. some of the sidewalks and the driveways, anything not treated may be slick in those areas. 34 in boston, 40s when you get

cape. we have a lot of clouds around, a batch of rain and freezing rain overnight, a few leftover sprinkles, that is about it on the cape and islands right now, it's let up in intensity in the last hour or so, you may want the umbrella or rain coat on stand by this morning. cape showers end, 43 degrees through lunch time but real feel will be in the 30s. and partly cloudy skies, 38 for the hide home. 32 degrees at midnight tonight. let's get you on the roads traffic and weather together. danielle thank you very much. it is a foggy shot here, there have been work crews overnight, just clearing out to make room for the morning rush, you may see a few delays, it is early and we are looking pretty good, mainly green on your screen which is always a good sign. stepping up security for

u.s. and around the world, 6000 police officers will patrol times square, officials say it will be the safest place in the world. brussels canceling its new year's eve fireworks celebration because of terror threats. in france the paris fireworks display also canceled in the wake of the terror attacks that killed 130 people. defense minister says 60,000 police officers have been deployed across the country in preparation for new year's eve. and here in boston, security is a top priority during the city's first night celebration. some officers will be under cover protecting the crowd. >> but they won't be inhibiting the fun at all, and first night is a little different this year, nicole jacobs. >> reporter: hi there, chris. what a festive time of year it is to reflect on the past year,

those resolutions entering into a new one, but either way you look at it, it's call for celebration, the ice sculptures which are covered right now, but certainly to be revealed later on today, this is a celebration that authorities want to keep safe. the count down on new year's eve can only mean one thing. >> we are assembling all the big blocks of ice. >> first night and all of its fun is upon us. >> we have stages, ice sculptures. >> annual celebration where for some ringing in the new year comes with a purpose. >> i'm 80 years old, still doing it. and it's fun. i do it for the kids. >> ice sculpture leo roburg has decades under his belt. >> they are really cool and have a shape. >> that thousands flock to see. >> i want to see the ice sculptures come through, i hear they are on their way. >> just as in years past,

>> we will have plenty of officers out there, we'll have bomb dogs, we'll have everything possible we can. >> city leaders have outlined a plan aimed at keeping the celebrations safe as we usher in 2016. taking another live look here, the stage is set, the ice sculptures are taking shape. one thing that is new this year, all events will be free for those who attend, certainly the public safety officers want to keep the public as free from worry and concern as possible so they are urging everyone, if you see something say something. we are live in boston nicole jacobs wbz this morning. >> starting the celebration early. wbz is the media sponsor of first night in boston. more than a dozen ice sculptures will be on display starting at is today.

including nathaniel hall, sea port, if you can't stay up for the fireworks, take in the family show on the boston common at 7:00, the big fireworks show happens over boston harbor at midnight. franklin police say suspects wore hoods and masks and ordered everyone to hit the floor, it happened wednesday morning at the middlesex savings bank at franklin village shopping center, robbers made off with cash from tellers, looking for a dark colored volkswagen a passat or jetta. bill cosby out on bill this morning, officially charged in a sex assault case. many of cost bee's accusers i can't lauding the first criminal charges against him, his defense team is fighting back. good morning, bree. >> cosby's attorney is calling this a flawed portion based on

day. charge. bill cosby's mug shot is not the smiling actor and comedian known to the world, instead the blind 789-year-old needed help as he left a pennsylvania bill. prosecutors accused him of giving pills and wine to a former temple university employee in 2004. >> the effect of which rendered her unable to move or respond. >> until this week, prosecutors wouldn't bring criminal charges, but the statute of little taxes is about to run out so they changed course armed with recently unsealed civil court documents in which cosby admitted to giving quaaludes to women before having sex. a deposition that mr. cosby was induced into participating in,

charges over a decade ago. >> cosby's attorney says women including several in new england have nothing to do with this case. but a woman who says cosby why talked her in 2008 will encourage prosecutors in california to charge him there, too. >> this has gone on long enough, it's time bill cosby was held accountable for his crimes. >> cost bee did not enter a plea on the charges, his next court date in pennsylvania is january 14th. the statute of limitations for criminal charges ran out in many of the other cases, several civil suits are moving forward including one brought by seven women in springfield federal court. chris, back to you. >> thank you for the update. severe ten lens forces an air canada jet to make an emergency landing, emergency crews took 21 passengers including three children off the plane. many were plaining of -- complaining of neck and back injuries much passengers on

>> we thought we were dying, like you see in the movies where they all go up to the ceiling, okay, everything went to the ceiling that wasn't anchored. >> passengers say they learned a lesson, always wear your seat belt,. closer to home, and allege went airlines jet made an emergency landing in providence, passengers smelled something burning and then the cabin got hot. no one was injured, the faa is investigating this morning. this morning the so called "affluenza" teen is still in mexico but his mother is in los angeles, a mexican judge police in mexico arrested 18-year-old and his mother on monday after one used a cell phone to order pizza. couch is on probation for killing four people in a drunk

hampshire are looking for a driver who may have witnessed a deadly crash. police now say an unlicensed driver may have been trying to pass a car on route 16 in wakefield, new hampshire when he crossed the center line and crashed head on into the agent's vehicle, at that driver was killed, two passengers were injured. to word on their conditions this morning. the secret security agents suffered serious injuries. this morning the boston globe is apologized to customers, the globe says it is in the process of changing delivery vendors and 600 drivers need to be hired, trained and deployed. in the meantime customers say they've gone three days without getting a paper. and when they try to call customer service they can't get through. >> when i finally did get through on the 800 number to the automated a ten dan it told me that -- a ten can't it fold into the wait was in excess of

>> this is going to convince a number of people it's not worth it to take the paper. >> the globe says it will offer full refunds to any subscriber time. just about 10 past 5:00 on thursday morning. the pats looking for a big win in miami. >> what they need to get the home field advantage in the playoff, and how important that is to tom brady. kobe brady playing at the garden for the last time. good morning, danielle. good morning chris, good morning everybody, we are starting with a lot of clouds, but the sun breaks out and temperatures come into the 40s this afternoon, where will we be at midnight tonight. i have the hour by hour forecast for you and look ahead

turtles don't fly. >> they did this year, 50 of these little guys got lost going south, cape cod bay, crews from the new england aquarium nursed them back to health. turtles always got stuck on the cape, this year 2990 turtles were rescued. >> not necessarily a concern for the population, it might be a good thing for the population that there is more turtles out there and that could lead to more turtles stranded. >> once the turtles were flee recovered the crew flew them to florida. >> they look like they are

>> glad to see they are doing well. we need to get a check of our weather this morning, we are all eyes on new year's eve celebrations, a lot of people like to get out. even though it's winter, if you are bundled up no problem, i just have to wear the appropriate clothing, and it won't be all that cold. we are going to get there in a second. this morning there may be a couple patches of ice north of boston where the temperatures are around the freezing mark, that magical 32 degrees, springfield, vermont sitting at 32, 34 in the city of boston and 40s when you get from plymouth back down to the cape. it's not as cold as we were this time yesterday. and there may be a couple slick spots on anything untreated north of boston. much colder air to our north and west and a little shot of that is coming in as we head into the weekend especially as we head into the start of next week, the coldest air of the season thus far.

shower on the cape right now, that was departed by 7:00 a.m. looks fine with a sun of blend and clouds. midnight mass, couple of snow showers coming off of the great lakes, we are just fine, temperatures will be in the low 30s for many of us to have to factor in the wind, windchills in the 20s, tomorrow first day of the new year looking good, nice blend of sun and clouds, temperatures above average, right around 40 degrees, then the weekend looks good, too. there will be a cold front that will bring snow showers and squalls to the mountains of northern new england especially late saturday into saturday night. so pickup a few fresh inches in the groin mountains, white maine. temperatures that are going to be running in the upper pros today we come above average into the 40s. so this is the time of year

melting and refreeze that occurs overnight, watch your step as you head into the late evening and overnight. in fact hour by hour through new year's eve celebrations if you are out early 4:00 p.m. will still be around 40 degrees then into the 30s. if you factor in the wind, the windchill is in the 30s, as long as you are bundled up you will be doing just fine, 26 add midnight tonight in terms of windchill. cooler north and west of town, nice blend of sun and clouds that includes for the weekend as well. saturday may be the brighter of the two weekend days with temperatures in the upper 30s and near 40 on sunday with a couple flurries possible. look at the start of next week, temperatures will be in the 20s, that is it on monday and tuesday. and then 30s a little bit of a rebound by the time we get to wednesday. traffic and weather together, chris. >> thank you very much. wet and foggy out there right now, but at least the roads are clear.

matter which way you are heading into boston, and for mbta for new year's eve they'll be running at rush hour levels until 2:00 tomorrow morning and not collecting fairs after 8:00 tonight, take the t. cloud. good morning, every one, kobe bryant in his last name in boston didn't want gifts, video monday damages, no presents for his family, the celtics give him something, they gave him the game. the lakers bet the celtics last night is 12-104, the lakers 6th win of the year.

boston number 24 kobe bryant. >> a nice ovation from the celtics fans, kobe couldn't make a shot, he still had moves but his legs aren't there anymore after missing his first game shot, he got a few to fall mostly from point blank rage. but he saved his best for last. making a return trip to the garden, lakers give the celtics all they could handle. ending the half boston was down by 2. in the third quarter celtics found themselves down by 10. and the hard fall. what a play. lakers led by 11 heading into the 4th. boston got within 2. on this bad dee steal, goes the distance, celtics going to pull off the come back, who is going you guessed it.

the three point dagger, lakers win 1129-1049 the final. felt great to get booed, down what i mean, the recognition that at the top of the game, as soon as i touched the ball they booed us, i'm like i'm home. it felt great. >> what looks like brad marchand is going to miss the winter classic, he was suspended for this hit in tuesday's win over the senators, brad goes low, sends the guy head first to the ice, so he will miss friday's game on friday at the winter stadium. >> it won't be cold this sunday in miami with 890 degrees, they have the number one seed and home field advantage, if they lose it they have two seed, how important is it to get the top seed? >> i think it's better to win this game than to lose this

love to play at home because of communication and so fourth, whoever wins in the playoffs is the team that plays the best i think this game is really important for us because, you know, it's a great goal for us to be be the number one seed. >> and we will see if they can get it done. steve burton, guys, over to you. >> coming up next, a douglas boy hailed a hero. how his quick action saved two people from a carbon monoxide leak. plus telling their story, three webster police officers how they saved two people from

welcome back, it's 5:23 on thursday morning. a douglas boy is named a hero. >> in the process he made emergency workers very proud, bree is here now with a story that all pains need to hear about. >> certainly, kathryn. the douglas fire department run as program called safe. in that program they teach kids what to do in an emergency. at least one young man paid close attention and then he put that knowledge to good use. >> i feel good about it. >> brighton wilcox feels good when he heard something strange. >> it was like a triple beat every 5 seconds.

of his home to check on the carbon monoxide detector which was in full alert. >> so i woke up my brother and then we went outside and then we just called the fire department. >> i guess you could say he saved my life today, because if he didn't wake me up or we were still sleeping, then the carbon monoxide would probably get into our system. >> i'm still feeling sick to my stomach over the whole thing,. >> just last week in milford, carbon monoxide poisoning killed two people and sent two others to the hospital. >> important thing, bray deb woke up, -- bray done woke up, woke his brother are up and got out of the building. >> i've recently purchased three new carbon monoxide deto be ares just in case. >> correct.

certain they caught the carbon monoxide on its way up, had bray done ignored that alarm differently. it is 5:24 right now, webster police officers who rescued two people from a their stories. >> my first initial thought was that i was going to die. >> couldn't breath, couldn't -- it was scariest moment i have ever been in my life by far. >> three officers bet the fire crew to the scene, neighbors told them a 65-year-old woman was trapped inside, the trio had to take turns slowly pulling her out. that is when they heard another woman stumbling down the stairs and got her out, too. but they aren't calling themselves heros. >> everyone says heros, i don't like to use that word. i think anybody in this police department would have dub the same exact thing. >> all the victims are recovering, investigators are

that department. >> i think anybody running into a burning building to get somebody out you are a hero. the remains of a missing avon man found. but what happen to him remains a mystery, how investigators are trying to piece everything together. this is jon keller, bill cosby stands accused of unspeakable crimes, can i separate the man i looked up to from the charges he now faces. and it may be a gloomy start right now, temperatures come into the 40s, 30 degrees for the midnight ball drop tonight, will be around 40 for new year's day, tomorrow take a live look at the ice sculptures by the new england aquarium. stay with us, you are watching wbz this morning. yodels.

not now. i'm watching the game. yodels! in the stomach! you're right. yeah! drake's. listen to your craving! happy now? funny bones. in your stomach!

ring dings. but i bought chips. ring dings! ring dings! ring dings! in the stomach! ring dings. yeah! drake's. listen to your craving! you happy now? yodels! in your stomach. ooh. [music out]

preparations in place for boston's first night, as cities around the world steps up security. bill cosby's charge of sexual assault. and not as cold as we were this time yesterday, a couple icy patches possible in southern new hampshire. good morning to you, happy new year's eve, it is 5:30 right now, i'm kathryn hauser. and i'm chris mckinnon, the count down is already on even though it's 53:09 in the morning. >> it's crazy, where did the year go? i say this every time we get to december 31st. >> it was a good one. >> the good news, it's not as cold as we were yesterday. there are only a couple spots right at 32, so i don't think ice is going to be a huge issue. >> i had the moment, is it wet,

what is going on right now. >> the car thermometer is key, you can take a look at it, if it's right around 32 and on a road that is untreated it may be slick. notice everything is going just fine, the main highways, main roads are a-okay. we are above freezing. 34 degrees, 33 in lawrence and fitchburg. same in portsmouth, new hampshire, there are a couple spots in between these observing stations that may be right at the 32 degrees. we did have some rain and freezing rain overnight, a few leftover sprinkle from the south shore back down to the cape, you will need the wipers on intermittently. any lingering showers will come to an end. cloudy start to the west of us a light breeze, a lot of improvements in store for today, midday lunch, chilly

chills this afternoon will be in the 30s, partly cloudy, sunset at 42:00 is and temperatures in the upper 30s. through the weekend, coming up let's get you on the road. thank you, dan gel. it is 5:32 right now, it is a really great ride out there, no real trouble on any of the major roads from the north, route 39, 93 and 1 looking great. 128 is clear, 124 and 128 are trouble free. good news for you on this thursday morning. 5:32, checking top stories, first night preparations are under way in boston. ice sculptures taking advantage of the cold temperatures overnight to create their master pieces that will be on display, crews were also putting up a stage, all the events tonight are free. securities is being stepped up in light of recent threats, police stress there is no

several threats are forcing changes, brussels canceled its fireworks show after two people were arrested this week accused of plotting an attack on the celebration. france has deployed 60,000 police across that country. bill cosby out on bail this morning on charges of sexual assault. >> and this morning our jon keller takes a closer look at what his arrest means to people who once looked up to the comedian. good morning. it's always bad news when someone you looked up to in your personal life or in the popular culture turns out to not be worried of your admiration and trust. and the sight of bill cosby, america's dad from this long running number one show, a much beloved figure from decades as and entertainer and articulate voice on the issues of family values being walked into a courthouse for arraignment on rape charges is especially

festering but never proven allegations of sexual misconduct started to gain momentum about a year ago, fair minded people wanted to see real evidence before passing judgment, court records from a 10-year-old civil lawsuit showed cosby conferencing to much of what his victims were claiming. and the victims kept coming forward, more than 50 of them so far. fair minded people may well be more interested in fairness and justice for them than for cosby. so now comes the question of what do those who once admired cosby, laughed at his jokes and thought of him as a role model do with their admiration and respect? sometimes we can part amountallize these things, most people still backed bill clinton the effective president even after clinton the person was exposed as a sexual predator. but this feels different. drugging and raping women, then slandering them when they dare

i won't ever see a cosby show rerun again without racing to turn the channel, what about you? e-mail me at keller at cbsboston.com or reach out via twitter at keller at large. this morning police are trying to piece together what happen to a man kidnapped nearly two years ago whose remains were found in up ton over the weekend, a hunter found the remains of jamie robertson in the woods, two men posing as probation officers took robertson from his parents' home in avon, he was never seen or heard from again. >> kind of a mixed emotions between the sadness and some relief i think that they now know what happen to their son. >> police charged two men and a third with kidnapping and a fourth as an accessory. police have not filed any murder charges at this time. people in worcester are fired up after this week's winter storm, people in the

to clear streets. yesterday some roads still covered in snow and ice froze over, this fire truck was damaged when it started sid skidding sideways on the ice, the worcester city manager sent out this letter to the community saying we made a judgment call that turned out to be the wrong one, as a result many of the city streets were not in the condition our taxpayers have the right to expect. 5:36 on thursday morning, still ahead, one airline makes flying in coach a little more lex your use. using emojis in your passwords, why it might be a good idea. plus it's new year's eve and a lot of people will be making resolutions for 2016, are you one of them? we want to know. that is our daily talker. always got to make some sort of resolution. i have a up could he will. checking in with weather watchers, temperatures running in the 30s, a couple areas are right at the freezing mark, there may be a little bit of patchy ice that includes jennifer who reports 32

and she says happy new year to my fellow weather watchers. if you want to join in on the action, head over to our

bus 5:39 on thursday morning, emojis could help make your password safer. >> why that high tech tv could be costing you more than you think, wendy gillette with today's money watch and happy new year's eve.

you, chris and kathryn. the next generation of high tech tv's could add $1 billion to electric bills in the u.s., that is accord to go a study conducted by the environmental action group nrdc, high deaf ultra tv's come with larger screens and use 30% more energy than similar hd model. if you are tired of cramped economy seats on international flights, singapore airlines is bringing premium economy class to the u.s. in the new year, the seats recline 18 inches and 18-19 inches wide in their own private cabin, you get free champagne throughout the flight and also a service called book the cook, you can choose what you want to eat before you board. the service launches from san francisco to asia on wednesday and from los angeles on january 17th and new york in the summer. a new trend in password protection adding emojis,

with a system that would require users to draw a shape when they create a password, the system prevents all hacking, a british banking company introduced past words using emojis earlier this year. >> i say thumbs up emoji. two thumbs up. wendy thank you very much. have a good one. >> see you next year. >> all right. coming up, we get a check of your traffic and weather together. plus more severe weather down south, thousands ordered to evacuate as the mississippi dan yell will have a closer look straight ahead. the count down is on to ring in 2016 coming up we'll take a look at first night

but how am i gonna get to work? i moved to a new neighborhood, and i need help learning my surroundings. it's been hard adjusting to civilian life. where can i turn? woman: we're massoptions, a free resource for elders, caregivers, and individuals with disabilities of all ages. we link you to the services you need to live independently in the setting of your choice.

welcome back, it is 5:44 right now. water from the mississippi river, i mean this has been remarkable, kathryn. the tributaries are flowing over. the sand beings are no match for these rivers, flood waters are rising an inch per hour, could rise 15 feet above flood stage today. >> thank god my family got through it, there are still a lot of families, and there is nowhere you can go. it's water, but, you know, if there is enough of it you can do anything.

under way, some people say they just want to stay but in a situation like this heartbreaking images, you see just people's homes, businesses completely flooded out. what do you do. >> it's dry there now but it takes awhile for the water to recede. so they are dealing with this for a little while. thankfully our weather is quieter. >> it gives you a different appreciation. a little bit of patchy ice but generally in a couple spots well north of boston, nashua at 32, portsmouth at 32 degrees, boston sitting right at 34 and we are in the 40s from plymouth back down to the cape and islands. we had freezing rain overnight, so there may be a few slick patches, well to our north and west, that is where the temperatures drop into the 20s and teens, a shot of cold air comes in especially for the

now we do have a little bit of leftover moisture, so it is going to be a glad me start, generally light, you will need the wipers on, but they are done for most of us by 7:00 a.m., the sun breaks out, the afternoon will be much better in terms of the fact the sun comes back, there will be a little bit of a breeze, temperatures come into the low 40s tonight. just after ringing in the new year no weather related issues across new england. measuring snow in feet in some parts with that make elect snow as we head into later on today, tonight and during the city tomorrow. for us though, to reis quiet, we get a blend of sun and clouds, temperatures in the upper 30s which is normal for this time of the year, here comes a cold front, there will be scattered snow showers and squalls. what does it mean for us? a stray flurry late on sunday

cold air comes in at the start of next week. partial clearing here, a chilly breeze 43 this afternoon, windchills in the 30s this afternoon, that is what you want to dress for, temperatures if you are out early 4:00 p.m., right around 40 degrees, cruising through the 30s, so for the family fireworks celebrations, and a lot of spots right around p 2 degrees at midnight. but there will still be a wind about 8-16 miles per hour, so that will knock off a few degrees in terms of what it will feel like, this is what you will want to dress for, the midnight real feel running in the 20s, around 30 on cape cod, we do drop back into the 20s after midnight. 32 degrees downtown with melting and refreeze, there may be a couple icy patches early tomorrow morning again as well, we have a few sunny breaks that tomorrow, great news for ski flurries during the day

saturday, and then snow squalls saturday night into sunday, so we are adding a fresh several inches, actually six or more inches in some of the summits, green mountains, back up near jade creek, wildcat as well, only in the 20s to start next week for the eye -- highs. traffic and weather together, chris. there is a disabled vehicle blocking the expressway in dorchester on the southbound side but watch for rubber neckers in both directions. we are not seeing any big delays on the major highways right now. it is 5:48 right now, bill cosby charged with sexual assault. plus security a top priority as the city prepares for its first night celebrations, here are your top stories on this thursday morning. >> reporter: good morning live in boston where the final preparations for first night

big why tractions would be the ice sculptures which you see slowly taking shape here. of course it brings out thousands of people of all ages. and certainly that is about the number that authorities are expecting to ring in the new year in downtown boston. certainly that means security is a top priority. coming up at 6:00, hear from authorities as to how they plan to keep this event safe. we are live in boston, nicole jacobs wbz this morning. this morning, bill cosby is free on $1 million bill, the 78- year-old comedian was arraigned yesterday in pennsylvania on charges he drugged and sexually assault add woman in his home in 2004. it's the first time cosby has misconduct. his attorney says he will be exonerated, he will be back in court in pennsylvania january 14th. coming up at 6:00 a.m., the documents that broke the case more than a decade later.

gun and terror charges, that means grand jury found there is enough evidence for enrique marquez to go to trial. prosecutors say he conspired with sayed farook to carry out attacks back in 2011, in 2012 they later abandoned those alleged plans. a new hampshire man convicted of torturing his girlfriend's three-year-old son wants a shorter prison sentencing, he is spending 25 years in prison, he never hurt the by and was convicted as an accomplice to the boy's mother who served 2.5 years. dow's lawyer wants a panel of judges to reduce the sentence 5- 10 years. the popular fenway before who is on first will keep its license, the city launched an investigation into the bar after it was the scene of a deadly shooting on thanksgiving morning but the city licensing board said it didn't find any

it's been a rough week for anyone traveling through o'hare airport in chicago, the airport had to set up 400 cots tuesday night for travelers stranded because of severe weather, some passengers are still stuck there because flights that are on schedule are full so passengers have to wait to get out. the clock is ticking on an active ingredient in popular products, president obama signed new legislation banning microbeads in cosmetics and toiletries starting in 2017, they are in scrubs, tooth pastes and moisturizers, critics say they pass through the sewage plants and pollute rivers and streams. thousands of senior citizens getting a rude awakening this week, a tufts health robo call went out starting at 3:00 tuesday morning, it was a reminder to get flu shots, the calls were actually supposed to go out in the afternoon. listen up parents, netflix

new year's eve, if you want your kids to go to bed before midnight you can stream videos of new year's eve count downs from around the world. it's a little trick but netflix surveyed parents found most want their kids to go to bed early, the kids didn't feel like they are missing out on anything, there you go. tricking kids. go to bed, see the ball drop go to bed. that's sneaky. >> it is. >> new year's eve it's a great time to start new. for many of us that means making resolutions and then of course trying to stick with those resolutions. 45% of americans usually make new year's resolution, that is according to survey, 8% will only actually achieve the goal. we want to know what you think, did you make a resolution or do you make resolutions? is it even necessary? here every day you should resolve to be a better parent,

what i'm aiming for. kimberly says before you act and speak more. tweet us with the # wbz talker. love more of your comments coming up. >> i love both of those. >> it's a resolution to do every day. well it's one production you definitely don't want to mess up. >> the crew working the time square ball drop making sure everything is ready for the big event at midnight. happy new year. >> there you see it. they did a practice run yesterday and flipped the switch, everything checked out just fine. by the way, the ball weighs almost 12,000 pounds as 32000 crystals. >> i keep thinking of the scene from the movie christmas vacation, drum roll please -- and nothing goes on.

turning heads with one therapy technique. >> the animals roaming the

a local nursing home using an interesting therapy technique for residents, we are talking about lamas. >> the first thing you see are two lamas.

the residents love the animals which can reduce their anxiety and increase their participation. >> that is awesome. >> that is so funny seeing lamas. >> walking the halls of i love it, good for them. >> i feel like we could use a lama here, reduce the stress. keep it right here this morning, your top story are straight ahead, here is a live