New Year's Eve

The upcoming New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square will be “a virtually enhanced celebration,” the event’s organizers announced Wednesday.

A state appeals court Thursday ordered the case against a German national convicted of setting dozens of fires in Hollywood, West Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley to be sent back for a judge to determine if he qualifies for a mental health diversion program that could eventually lead to the dismissal of the charges against him. The three-justice panel…

Fido and Spot may not have to cower under the bed this summer when fireworks and thunderstorms hit. The first prescription veterinary medicine for treating anxiety over loud noises — a widespread problem that can send dogs running away in terror and harm both themselves and property — will soon hit the market. Veterinary medicine maker Zoetis Inc. of Florham...

The mega (and free) Grand Park bash is just one way to enter the ’20s in style.

Pope Francis has apologized for swatting away the hand of a woman who tugged his arm as the head of the Roman Catholic Church greeted pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square on New Year’s Eve. In video of the incident, a woman reaches out, grabs his hand and then jerks him forcefully toward her. In his impromptu remarks Wednesday, Francis...

A large crowd gathered in downtown LA for the sixth annual New Year’s Eve celebration at Grand Park. Annette Arreola reports Jan. 1, 2020.

A look at New Year’s celebrations in five major cities around the world.

2020 is being rung in around the globe. More than 1 million people descended on Sydney Harbour to see fireworks despite the wildfires ravaging other parts of Australia. In Hong Kong, revelers as well as pro-democracy protesters came out to usher in the new year. Russia held the world’s longest New Year’s celebrations, spread across 11 time zones. Samoa’s New...

A visibly indignant Pope Francis had to pull himself away from a woman in a crowd in St. Peter’s Square after she had grabbed his hand and yanked him towards her. The pope in his new year’s wishes to the public in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday apologized, saying he had lost his patience with the woman.

See what it looks like right now at the Crossroads of the World.

Couples kissed. Others cheered and waved balloons as fireworks burst into the night sky and confetti fell to welcome the start of 2020 in New York City’s Times Square. In one of the globe’s most-watched New Year’s Eve spectacles, the crowd counted down the last seconds of 2019 as a luminescent crystal ball descended down a pole. Throngs of people cheered...

Mariah Carey’s Twitter account was hacked on New Year’s Eve allegedly by the same group that took control of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s account. Dozens of tweets were posted on the hacked account, some using the N-word and others referring to the Chuckling Squad, a hacker group that took control of Dorsey’s account, among other celebrities. Dorsey’s account was hacked...

Santa Monica’s own Pacific Wheel will dazzle us into the new decade.

Los Angeles will host a New Year’s Eve celebration at Grand Park for the seventh year. Annette Arreola reports Dec. 31, 2019.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to descend on downtown Los Angeles Tuesday night for the seventh annual New Year’s Eve bash in Grand Park, but a variety of events are planned across the area to help ring in 2020. The Grand Park + The Music Center’s N.Y.E.L.A. will be held over a seven-block area stretching from City...

Several cities and counties in Southern California are offering free or discounted options to get to and from your New Year’s Eve celebration, encouraging people to avoid drinking and driving. In LA, people looking to party on New Year’s Eve can avoid drinking and driving by taking advantage of free transit rides that will be offered throughout the Metro...

We sing it every year after the ball drops, yet most people couldn’t tell you its name or where it came from. Here is everything you need to know about “Auld Lang Syne,” that song we sing on New Year’s Eve. Make sure to turn up the volume!

A pair of daytime parties will help families get festive a half day before midnight on Dec. 31.

Chef Hilary Henderson gave a sneak peek of what diners can expect on New Year’s Eve at CUT Lounge in the Beverly Wilshire. As seen on California Live on Monday, Dec. 30, 2019.