NEW YORK (AP) — Revelers erupted in cheers amid a confetti-filled celebration in New York’s Times Square to welcome in the new year, part of star-studded festivities and glittering fireworks displays around the world to usher in 2012.

From New Zealand to New York, the world eagerly welcomed a new year Sunday and hoped for a better future, saying goodbye to a year of hurricanes, tsunamis and economic turmoil that many would rather forget.

In New York, hundreds of thousands gathered at the crossroads of the world to witness a crystal ball with more than 30,000 lights that descended at midnight. Lady Gaga and Mayor Michael Bloomberg led the crowd in the final-minute countdown of the famed crystal-paneled ball drop.

RENO, Nev. (AP) — As thousands watched in horror, a World War II-era fighter plane competing in a Nevada event described as a car race in the sky suddenly pitched upward, rolled and did a nose-dive toward the crowded grandstand.

The plane, flown by a 74-year-old veteran Hollywood stunt pilot, then slammed into the concrete in a section of VIP box seats and blew to pieces in front the pilot’s family and a tight-knit group of friends who attend the annual event in Reno.

“It absolutely disintegrated,” said Tim O’Brien of Grass Valley Calif., who attends the races every year. “I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

(EW.com) — CBS’ high-profile — and very expensive — attempt to juice up its “Evening News” telecast is expected to come to an official end this week. A well-placed source told EW that Katie Couric, 54, will confirm that she’s decided to leave the telecast to pursue other opportunities. Her contract officially ends in June.

Tune into TODAY on Friday morning to watch an interview with Ted Williams, the man with the golden voice, and his mother Julia Williams.

Ted Williams, the homeless man-turned-star who wowed the world with his golden pipes, reunited with his mother, Julia Williams, on Thursday after about 20 years apart.

When he first approached her in a New York City hotel room, he repeated “Hi, Mommy!” He then kneeled down and embraced her as she cried in his arms.
Video: Man with golden voice, mom reunite after 20 years (on this page)

“I’m home, Mommy. I told you I was coming this year,” Williams told her.

“I love you,” she said, looking into his eyes. “Please don’t disappoint me.”

New York (CNN) — An estimated 1 million people marked the passing of one year and the beginning of another in New York’s Times Square with the descent of an iconic ball.

With the help of Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Medal of Honor recipient Staff Sgt. Salvatore A. Giunta, the dazzling crystal ball began its 70-foot drop at 11:59 p.m. Friday to the harmonious chants of New Year’s Eve revelers counting down the final seconds of 2010.

Bob Harkins writes: LAS VEGAS – The stern eyes of the security guard brightened as he saw the thin, gray-haired man hop out of his pickup truck and approach the stock pens. The guard’s no-nonsense demeanor evaporated as he rushed to shake the man’s hand, thanking him for all he had done for the sport of rodeo.

The man, a smile plastered across his face, laughed off the compliment and exchanged pleasantries with his admirer. Such a scene is not uncommon wherever you see this man, an affable and sharp-witted 34-year veteran of the rodeo business named John Growney. It’s just the effect he has on people.

A 62-year-old rodeo stock contractor, Growney has the energy of a 25-year-old and the magnetic personality of a car salesman, only somehow more trustworthy. In fact, he once dreaded he was going to end up in the selling cars, as there was a strong call to join a family business started by his grandfather.

CHICAGO — Oprah Winfrey’s charity, The Angel Network, is shutting down as her talk show draws to a close.

The network stopped accepting donations this week and said on its website that it plans to dissolve as soon as its remaining funds are disbursed.

The Angel Network was launched in 1998 with donations from viewers of Oprah’s talk show; its demise stems from Oprah’s decision to end her Chicago-based show in 2011 after 25 years on the air, Angel Network spokeswoman Angela DePaul said.

It’s almost game time. You’ve read thousands of words on Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, heard how elated the city of New Orleans is to be in the Super Bowl for the first time and received hundreds of updates on Dwight Freeney’s ankle.

Consider all that your introduction into the game.

Here’s your main course: 13 ways how the Saints can win, and 13 ways how the Colts can win.

Direct from Tim Burton’s twisted take on Alice in Wonderland come new images of the beauty — Anne Hathaway’s White Queen — and the beast, aka Bandersnatch (pictured). Described by Disney as a “disgusting, drooling, foul-smelling creature with a big filthy body and the squashed, teeth-baring face of a rabid bulldog,” Bandersnatch shreds characters with a single swipe of his razor-sharp claws.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — A midnight deadline has passed, but the Fox network has still not resolved its differences with Time Warner Cable to keep its channels on the air.

Time Warner Cable and News Corp. (NWS, Fortune 500), Fox’s parent company, have been locked in a public battle over how much the cable giant should pay for the right to deliver Fox networks into its subscribers’ homes.