A Massachusetts teenager got the surprise of a lifetime on New Year’s Eve thanks to former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. “This is probably the most fun I’ve had all decade,” said 17-year-old Aiden Clark of Ware. Clark and his family talked with Steve Harvey live on national TV before the ball dropped on New Year’s Eve. “Aiden was...

A teenager got quite the New Year’s surprise thanks to Rob Gronkowski.

A 35-year-old New Hampshire man was shot and killed just before midnight at a Massachusetts apartment complex on New Year’s Eve. “It’s disturbing, it really is,” said Lawrence resident Rosemary Wise. The Essex County District Attorney’s office identified the victim Wednesday as Wilson Javier, of Salem. Lawrence police say around 11:49 p.m. on Dec. 31, they responded to reports...

The Essex County District Attorney’s office identified the victim Wednesday as Wilson Javier, of Salem, New Hampshire.

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 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...

After a two-day storm that moved through the region, residents in Maine are now digging out of a snowy mess. The storm dumped more than 14 inches of snow in Gorham and 12 inches in Portland, clogging roads across the city. The impact from the storm that began Sunday night was felt heavily with state offices closing early Monday and…

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!

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh was scheduled to speak Monday about preparations and safety ahead of the city’s annual First Night celebrations.

Colton Bradford stops by First Night music auditions where local artists performed for a chance to score a spot on the Copley Square stage.

Another year is almost behind us as we gear up to ring in 2020 this week. Whether you plan to celebrate at any of the First Night Boston 2020 activities, or maybe you’ll ring in Noon Year’s Eve with day time events for the kiddos, there is plenty to celebrate and plenty of ways to do so. Check out our…

New Year’s Eve is just around the corner and to help celebrate, artist Steve Rose created stunning ice sculptures for the occasion. Inside the Ice Effects Boston’s mobile ice studio are blocks of ice, a chainsaw and striking works of art created by Rose for First Night Boston 2020. “For me, visually, there’s nothing like it,” he told reporter...

A 2004 study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said people struck by gunfire shot into the air are most likely to be hit in the head.

This year’s New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square will spotlight efforts to combat climate change when high school science teachers and students press the button that begins the famous 60-second ball drop and countdown to next year.