Briefs
• Ball drops in Times Square, ushering in 2014
NEW YORK - A sea of horn-tooting, hat-wearing revelers cheered and some even smooched as the famed crystal ball dropped in freezing New York City's Times Square to ring in 2014, capping a world-wide wave of celebrations that included a dazzling 30-minute fireworks show in Dubai and a deluge of confetti in London that tasted as good as it looked.
Bronx-born U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor led the 60-second countdown and pushed the button that unleashed the shimmering orb with 2,688 crystals, a role usually filled by the New York City mayor. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, on his last day in office, sat out the celebration after 12 years on the job, while newly elected Mayor Bill de Blasio took the oath of office just after midnight at his Brooklyn home.
Kerrie McConaghy, 20, a university student visiting Times Square from Armagh, Ireland, was dancing and jumping up and down, donning a big blue top hat.
"It's unbelievable here," she said. "The lights, seeing the ball, hearing the music, all the people. It's amazing."
"TV doesn't do this justice," she said. "You have to be here to believe it."
The annual New York celebration, which this year featured performers Miley Cyrus, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Blondie, has become part endurance sport because post-9/11 security measures force spectators into pens at least 12 hours in advance, with no food, warmth or bathrooms.
"We've got adult diapers. We're wearing them right now," said 14-year-old Amber Woods, who came with friends from the New York City's suburbs to experience the event for the first time. They entered their corral at 10 a.m. Tuesday. For nourishment, they brought lollipops and popcorn. For the cold, they did a lot of jumping in place.
• Former first lady Barbara Bush hospitalized
HOUSTON - Former first lady Barbara Bush has been hospitalized in Houston with a respiratory-related issue, her husband's office said Tuesday night.
The statement from the office of former President George H.W. Bush said Mrs. Bush was admitted to Houston Methodist Hospital on Monday.
"She is in great spirits, has already received visits from her husband and family, and is receiving fantastic care," the brief statement said.
Just last week, Mrs. Bush, 88, and her husband, the 41st president, honored a Houston businessman and philanthropist with a Points of Light Award, a volunteer service award started by the former president.
The Bush family matriarch had heart surgery in March 2009 for a severe narrowing of the main heart valve. She also was hospitalized in November 2008, when she underwent surgery for a perforated ulcer. In 2010, she was admitted to the hospital after having a mild relapse of Graves disease, a thyroid condition for which she was treated in 1989.
- The Associated Press