NEW YORK:
New York will drop its Waterford crystal ball at midnight, in a tradition being increasingly copied across the United States with twists celebrating local icons. Las Cruces, New Mexico, is spicing up New Year's Eve with its first chili drop.
In Miami, a 10-meter (35-foot) neon orange will light up, while Atlanta and Nashville, Tennessee, will drop a peach and a musical note, respectively.
Flagstaff, Arizona, celebrates with a 2-meter (6-foot) pine cone that drops from a downtown hotel. Nearby Prescott drops a 2-meter (6-foot) spurred cowboy boot in a nod to its western culture.
On Lake Erie in Port Clinton, Ohio, the community will carry on its tradition of dropping a 270 kilogram (600 pound) walleye made of wood and fiberglass. Michigan's Upper Peninsula will ring in 2015 with a nod to its mining history, with a replica of a pasty (pronounced PAS'-tee) -- a baked pastry filled with meat and potatoes—to drop in Escanaba, one of the remote region's largest cities. The meal was popular by miners who immigrated to Michigan decades ago.
Amid the celebration, some cities are on alert for New Year's Eve protests related to recent police killings of unarmed black men. Boston's mayor and police commissioner urged activists to hold off on a planned “die-in.” No plans for major protests were announced in New York, where the police department is still mourning two officers shot to death in a patrol car. But security will be tight, with more personnel than usual.
