Excitement builds in New York's Times Square as midnight nears

Hundreds of thousands of merrymakers converged on Times Square on Saturday evening to witness the glittering New Year's Eve ball make its midnight descent, a century-old New York tradition unfolding this year under an unprecedented umbrella of security. For winter in New York, temperatures were relatively comfortable at about 40F (5C). Despite the heavy police presence, or perhaps because of it, throngs of people, many from overseas, arrived early to be dazzled by the flashing signage and entert