just yet. with only a few hours before the fiscal cliff deadline, there are signs of progress. >> it appears an agreement to prevent this new year's tax hike is within sight, but it's not done. there are still issues left to resolve. >> reporter: senate republican leader mitch mcconnell and joe biden have negotiated. the deal with extend the tax rates for house holds. increase the estate tax rate from 35% to 40% and extend unemployment benefits for one year. >> let's pass the tax relief portion now. let's take what's been agreed to and get moving. >> reporter: but the sticking point. how long to push off those massive manda tore pri spending cuts that would go into effect in the new year.

democrats want a one-year extension. republicans insist on dealing with it sooner. if there has no overall agreement, americans will feel the impact of the fiscal cliff very quickly. the average american family will see a tax increase of more than 3400. if the senate is able to pass a deal, top house republicans aren't confident they'll have the time to get it done by midnight, which means taxes will go up, but the house will meet tomorrow, and they will be voting on a tax cut. so, while there is still no deal on the cliff chef, lawmakers have reached a tentative agreement to keep milk prices from going up in 2013. the house and senate have developed a short-term farm extension bill that who last one year. it's not clear when they who bring it to a vote. if the measure isn't passed by midnight, the government would be forced to buy milk at twice

the amount. just head to our home page and look under the featured stories section. today was the deadline to file for maryland's homestead tax credit it. restricts the amount that your property tax can go up f you missed the deadline, you have one last chance to turn in your tax credit application, but you have to do it on wednesday. well, starting tomorrow same sex couples in our state can get married. six couples plan to get married at the black walnut point inn. the owners will also get married. same sex couples have been able to get a marriage license sense december 6th but those licenses don't take effect until tomorrow. the last day of 2012 goes

out on chilly note, temperatures in the mid to upper 30s. powellsville at 34. rock hall at 38. winds have been pretty light, down to 5 to 15. the cloud deck is holding. the air is so dry. we're going to be dry through the new year's eve champagne toast and as we go into tomorrow, maybe a few light showers. 40s for the evening, chilly. as we push toward the midnight hour down to the freezing mark. we'll talk about the first few days of 2013. baltimore won't be the only place for fireworks tonight. annapolis will have its own annual fireworks show. don harrison reports tonight's show almost didn't happen. >> reporter: a fireworks show almost didn't happen this year.

like most cities, annapolis is on a tight budget but local businesses stepped up and rescued them. >> that's what being part of the city is all b everybody joins together, picks up the burden and helps out. >> reporter: fireworks are tradition for 4th of july and new year's eve. it will continue because business owners like this one. >> people look at annapolis as a historic traditional american feel. they want it come downtown and have a good time. part of my job, i believe, as a business or merchant downtown is to help be a part of that. >> i think it's awesome. it's great that the community is pitching in. >> reporter: people who have been coming could not imagine annapolis 2013 without fireworks. >> this wouldn't be as image jal. >> reporter: annapolis will be

having two fireworks displace tonight. one at 7:30 north young are crowd and, of course, the second one at midnight. in annapolis, don harrison, abc2 news. if you're in new zealand, you don't have to wait. people already ringing in the new year the first to ring in 2013 setting off fireworks from the auckland sky tower. australians brought in 2013 with a dazzling fireworks show. the magnificent display went off in a blaze of collar. it's reported that at least 100,000 individual fireworks were used to pull off that sparkling spectacle. we're learning new details about the september 11th terror attack on the consulate in

benghazi. the report was released today it. blames the state department, in large part, for failing to respond to requests for more security resources there. the attack left ambassador chris stevens and three other americans dead. another health scare for secretary of state hillary clinton. she was admitted into the hospital because of a blood clot. >> reporter: doctors at new york presbyterian hospital said secretary of state hillary clinton will have top spend at least the next couple of days for observation, after they discovered a blood clot that resulted from a fall. physicians and her staff have not said where the clot is. the treatment does not suggest anything too serious. >> if you have bleeding in your head, you wouldn't put someone on an hasn't cooing a gyp lant

for -- coagulant for treatment. so things are not adding up. >> reporter: the 65-year-old clinton originally fell frill a stomach virus. the virus caused severe dehydration which resulted in her fainting and suffering a concussion. this is the second time clinton has suffered a blood clot. 1998, clinton was hospitalized because of a clot behind her knee. >> it's possible it's one in the leg, deep vein thrombosis and dehydration both lay lie to clinton. >> reporter: clinton's colleagues in the senate are sending well wishes. >> i just want to say how much secretary clinton is in our prayers and hope she recovers rapidly from this health problem. >> reporter: the state department said they won't comment any further on her

condition. doctors said she may have been prone to additional blood clots because she already had one. a westminster man is recovering from a crash that happened this morning. >> reporter: 78-year-old thomas skipper, jr. had some sort of medical emergency this morning just after 8:00. police don't know what happened but he went on a wild ride before crashing into one of the hospital's buildings. you can see the tracks that go from the sidewalk outside the emergency room to where his car finally stopped. the office window is tarped and taped up. he had a health issue of some kind while he was driving. he eventually hit a tree and knocking into an office where a woman was working at her desk. >> the area was occupied.

our associates are fine. the driver was take tonight emergency department. >> reporter: skipper was pronounced dead in the er. crews are expected to come wednesday to make repairs to the center. >> ordering stood online while using a smartphone can be easy but the food can be expensive and unhealthy. >> most children love to get break from the classroom. why pediatricianings say recess -- pediatricians say recess may be as important as math and reading. >> we have tips on how to hand hall hangover coming up later.

after cooking big holiday meals, many will turn to

takeout. online ordering is easy, but calories at up. we have tips to keep orders healthier and cheaper. >> reporter: the concept of using food online or using a smartphone app has made dinner easy but it makes it more costly and less healthy a study evaluated 160,000 online orders to a pizza clean over the course of four and a half years. orders had higher costs and higher calories. the same online tool to load more toppings on a pizza can easily be used to customize a healthier me. sites like grub hub have added more options. >> we've had people ask for these low fat, low carb, vegetarian, gluten free. >> reporter: ordering online

means some orders are less likely to get lost in the shuffle. put half to the side. >> one of the things that's nice about delivery food it comes ins own containers and you can put some aside. >> reporter: that turns it into two, possibly three, adding more bang and bulk for the buck. i'm karin caifa for abc2 news. recess should be considered a requirement. that's according to the american academy of pediatrics. the group said it's necessary. policy makers said recess should be used as a comely -- complement to classes, not as a substitute. >> one of the biggest factors for adult obesity is childhood obesity. if we don't change, we will be

in trouble over the next several decades. >> they said this may also impact ac dem achievement. it as always fun to party and watch the ball drop on new year's eve. but if you're down for the count on new year's day, drank a little too much, there are foods to help you get a handle on your hangover. downing a sports drink before you go to bed can help replace election tre lights. foods like salmon may help. if your stomach is uneasy, try sticking to land -- bland food. >> bread, rice, apple, toast, bananas, very plain food. >> you can also try a gingerbread coke -- cookie. ginger can help decrease nausea.

>> a night of parting and then top s it off with -- top it off with gingerbread cookies. a couple of radar indicated showers, but this is a little trickerration. verga, a little precip up high. air is so dry. we're dry across the board and wherever you're headed tonight for the big new year's eve celebration. it raise looking good for you. be careful with the gingerbread cookies. 40 degrees and dew point of 20. chap stick and lotion advised. take a look at the setup. cloudy. yeah, this is how we finish 2012 on a grape -- gray wintry looking day. we wrap up with a general rally cloudy day on the seven river but everyone is dressed up for new year's eve, headed out for

the night and no weather to impede your travels. the set upis going to be a fairly chilly one. still hanging on to 40 in baltimore, d.c. and 40s north and west. a couple clouds crossing the state. all radar indicated precip is not touching the ground, so no rain. there are some snow showers out toward the ohio valley. weather does not change a lot tomorrow except for this. in the afternoon a little bit of a southern wave could spark a few preen or mixed showers through the day. so a better chance for some showers to kick off the new your's holiday. whatever will fall will come down as rain. then we're dry and sunny on wednesday. however, it is a temperature forecast, meaning no big storms on the map but there is a change

in temperature and it is colder. early january. tomorrow we'll be stuck in the 30s. colder air begins to wedge into the west. that will blast in later this week. so, again, tomorrow, this disturbance passing south could spark a couple of rain or mixed showers. as we go beyond that, a bit of an arctic blast that will not come all the way through. we'll catch the edge. that means somewhat colder air. tonight no problem at all, as you head out, looks like 35, 32 by daybreak. man, where did the year go. tomorrow night down to 26 with light clearing. again, the next few days the big difference will be after tomorrow and a few light showers. colder and dry weather as we go from wednesday into thursday and

friday. temperatures bounce back a little bit it would apore by the second -- appear by the second half of the weekend. the setup is a cold one. i meant to get the ravens logo up. the weather looks decent for that, six days out. >> tonight people heading down, just cold, no rain. >> looks like the wind will be light. no chance for precipitation. that's good for all the festivities. >> a lot of people out there. all right. pop the champagne. people around the world are ringing in 2013. how the united states is influencing new year's in china. plus, you made your new year's resolution. now it's time to keep it. new smartphone apps help to stick to your goal. irene, drop the itch.

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the world is ringing in 2013 with celebrations large and small. we have a wrap-up of the global sep brags -- celebrations. >> reporter: sydney started off the world's major lysacek celebration with a big bang, almost $7 million worth of fireworks. the party spread to asia. hong kong hosted its biggest

ever fireworks display. they also rang in the new year in tokyo. the pope celebrated new year's eve with a service at the vatican saying reflexion and prayer can help heal wounds. heading east, there were scenes of beauty like in red square in moscow. one of the biggest celebrations in the world and perhaps the most iconic is right here in times square. hundreds of thousands are already gathered to watch the famous waterford crystal ball drop, wishing you a very happy new year in times square. >> there's much more ahead at 5:30. we'll be right back.

as we check out this new year's eve forecast, cloudy, a gray wintry day but no precipitation coming down. a little bit of verga, rain evaporating. it looks good as you travel to your favorite new year's eve event. as we go later in the night, 35 degrees, cold but dry. there are two changes on tap for the first week of the new year. we got those coming up. >> with cold but dry weather, baltimore's inner harbor will be packed as folks ring in the new year. plenty of places to eat. a fantastic show. rosie leftwich has more. anybody showing up at this hour? >> reporter: actually, quite a few people. take a look behind me. the skies are kind of nice out there. it's a nice little glow.

the buildings are all lit up. in a few hours the harbor will be shoulder to shoulder as they watch the fireworks go up in the sky. this will be an exciting night for a couple reasons. here's why. tonight the star will be stars, streamers and lots of noise from these tubes that will be sailing up into the sky to fill the air with right -- lights and noise. tonight all those folks are getting the bird, but it's a good bird. >> it's presented by the baltimore orioles. this year we're excited to have them on board. they wanted to give back to the fans so we're pleased to have them. >> reporter: with so many people there will be a lot of security. the city is bringing in lots of

extra officers and they will be channeled into a few entrances and expchs-- exits. it's time to look back and remember 2012 fondly are be glad it's gone. some people only need two words to sum it up. >> crazy and funny. >> reporter: mom needs double that. >> just hanging out with family. >> reporter: some folks need two words but with a little bit of explanation. >> two words, good luck. i had good luck. >> reporter: you hit the lottery? >> i don't want to tell the world but i had some good luck. >> reporter: what are you looking forward to? >> to hit it some more. >> disappointing, very much so. our