Good evening on this new years eve and thank you for beginning your countdown with us. David is off, im elizabeth vargas. As we come on the air, millions of americans are ushering in the arctic cold. The frigid temperatures cant keep these revel earls away. This is new york citys times square, right now, where the party has already begun. More than 1 Million People will be huddled together packing the crossroads of the world despite wind chills in the teens when the ball drops at midnight. Out west a new years eve surprise for drivers in Southern California. Snow. Trapping some of them on the side of the roroad. And get this picture. Snow covered paum eded palm trees lining the streets of temecula. So much of the country dealing with the brutal cold. At midnight 70 of the country will be at or below freezing. We have Team Coverage of newyearolds and security tonight. And we begin with abcs chief meteorologist ginger zee, tracking the deep freeze gripping most of the country in the final hours of 2014. Ginger . Reporter yeah elizabeth. We are just hours away from the big party here in times square and yes, cold but totally tolerable. Meanwhile, that deep freeze is only the beginning. The ice, the snow the dangerous conditions across the american west. Snow smothering palm trees in Southern California. Spinouts and abandoned cars littering this stretch of the ortega highway. 2014 leaving a dangerous and frozen mark across the west. This is not something we wake up to every morning in california. Reporter overnight, more than 130 drivers rescued in San Bernadino county. Up to half a foot of snow and gusting winds to 50 miles per hour. The cold winds battering Catalina Island near san diego, sending boats on shore, killing two people. Its been a ride so far. Its really icy out here and were sliding around, even with chains. Reporter that couple taking eight hours for whats normally a twohour trip to big bear. Just west of Denver Colorado a call to 911. We got caught in an avalanche. We are hiking out. Reporter three snow shoers trapped. Two of them managing to get out to safety. One was killed. 12,000 foot a sketchy area. Thats when the avalanche occurred kicking him down the mountain. Reporter and in pasadena at least four people injured after winds gusting, destroys booths at the rose bowl. In nevada a dusting of snow at the las vegas airport. Only the second time ever on new years eve. And back in california this is what temecula looks like right now. Reporter their heaviest snow in a decade. So many enjoying this relatively rare winter blast. And that Winter Weather making its way across the nation. Lets go the maps now. The Winter Weather advisories warning and watches stretching through arizona to texas. And the wind is going to come with that too. Dallas may wake up with freezing rain and slight. Midnight temperatures in new york city or back in the south, it is going to be cold. That freezing line all the way into parts of georgia, tennessee going to feel it. And it doesnt stop. For your first dayle of january, theres a new years day forecast. All that rain the mix over in texas. Thats the hot spot. And get this elizabeth. Now, Southern California parts of it have more snow this season than new york city. Happy new year. Happy new year to you, too, ginger thank you. And among all those people in times square there is an Intense Police presence. Officers in new york and across the u. S. Are on high alert tonight, in response to the ongoing threats against police around the country. Additional resources are being called in as protesters plan to march against Police Violence at the height of tonights celebrations. Abcs gio benitez is in times square. Gio . Reporter elizabeth, good evening to you. This is the epicenter of new years eve in american. Thousands of Police Officers are right here. Tonight, as more than a Million People pack into times square with the eyes of the world watching police out in force. Not just looking out for the safety of partygoers theyre always watching their own backs. The fbi sending out this bulletin Warning Police around the country to be vigilant following the assassination of two new york city officers citing copy cat threats. Just here in new york city at least 70 potential threats against po which were not considered crible according to the nypd. Any threat made against my officers is going to be dealt with very quickly, very effectively. Were not going throat any of them go by the board, believe me. Reporter even so a record finding Police Shooting deaths were up 56 in 2014. Tonight, with the National Guard in place, bombsniffing dogs and radiation detectors in the crowd, police will also be monitoring hundreds of cameras in times square from inside this command center. This, as protests against police are expected across the country, from new york to l. A. Over what protesters are calling oppressing police tactics. Already in st. Louis, a Group Arrested after storming police headquarters. And back here times square the people here cant leave and come back. And no backpacks allowed anywhere near here. Again, the concern is that more than a Million People will be here tonight, elizabeth. All right, gio, thank you so much. Were going to turn now to news chaos in china. Dozens were killed in a stampede during new years festivities. According to Chinese Media records, at least 35 people are dead 42 others are injured at a waterfront celebration in downtown shanghai. Authorities are working right now to rescue an aid the wounded. Among the massive crowd. The cause of that stampede is still being investigated. We turn now to the painstaking and frustrating search in the air asia air disaster. More victims pulled from the water tonight. The recovery effort is being slowed by very bad weather. Abcs chief Foreign Correspondent terry moran ishas the very latest. Reporter a simple but solemm moment today. Two coffins, garlanded with flowers, carrying the bodies of two victims of the air asia crash. The first to arrive here in surabaya, back where the doomed flight began. Just seven bodies have been recovered so far. The rough weather now becoming a huge issue. The weather, unfortunately, is not looking good for the next two or three days and that is that is slowing us down. Reporter as bodies are recovered, the painstaking identification process begins. This young woman was on the plane and this will help you identify her . Yes, yes. Reporter at the Crisis Center here at the surabaya airport, we saw firsthand how the dead will be identified. Inld neez yan red cross workers sorting through fingerprints and other personal data of the passengers. While out in the debris field, teams spotted more bits and pieces in the water, including the evacuation slide of the plane, being recovered here, it may have deployed on impact. But no sign of those black boxes or any confirmation the plane itself had been located. One key asset in the search, the uss sampson. The commander spoke with armed forces network. Weve set up a search box in a specified area and we have been searching with the ship and the helicopter. Reporter as the search continued, for many family members, today was a day of prayer and bottomless grief. This massive recovery effort is now a race against time and nature. Those heavy seas and currents are scattering bolds and debris for miles, while the bat littles on the black boxes, elizabeth, e gradually dying out. Terry, thank you so much. Were going to move on now to the images just in showing the drama that played out o that burning greek ferry. You can see the billowing smoke, as passengers wearing their life vests prepare to be air lifted to safety. Bad weather is now hampering efforts to toew it to shore. 11 people were killed when nice raced through the ferry on sunday. But more than 400 people were rescued. Shifting gears, back at home the first day of the year bringing something new in sports. Something fans have been screaming about for years. Kickoff on espn tomorrow for the first ever College Football playoff games. Oregon versus Florida State in the rose bowl. And topranked alabama takes on ohio s sugar bowl. But then the winners will go head to head for the First National championship on january 12th. Earlier, i spoke with espns tom rinaldi in pasadena at the rose bowl. Tom, the season used to end with all the bowl games, now, theres an actual championship game. Will this finally settle the ageold question which college team is best . Reporter well elizabh, here amidhe loud preparations for the rose bowl game tomorrow it used to be polls and computer formulas that set up who would play for the national championship. Now, its a 12person selection committee. And in this case the committee has determined four brand name teams from four different conferences representing four very different parts of the country. How it ultimately plays out should be come peopling theater. There was a fear that it would devalue the regular season. Instead, the opposite happened. This turned out to be the most watched regular season in College Football history. So a big matchup featuring two heisman winners going head to head. What are the other big moments to look for tomorrow . Reporter well in addition look for this trend with Florida State here in the rose bowl elizabeth. Theyve fallen behind in nine of the 13 games theyve played this year which has made for very come peopling theater down the stretch. Theyve won each of those games. When you go to the sugar bowl two titans of the coaching profession at the college ranks. Nick saban against urban meyer. People very compelled about how the two will strategize against each other. Tom thank you so much. Enjoy the bowl tomorrow. And College Bowl Games kick off on espn tomorrow afternoon. Were still counting down to new years eve here in the u. S. But in other parts of the world, the celebration is on. Abcs linzie janis with a look at how theyre ringing in 2015. Reporter sydney australia, at midnight. For the first time this breathtaking null years light show captured by drones. Seven tons of fireworks illuminating the sydney harbor bridge and the iconic opera house. Celebrations from hong kongs victoria harbor to a glittering light show outsideings olympic stadium. In dubai, this spectacular display at the tallest building in the world. Over 70,000 l. E. D. Panels reaching nearly half a mile into the sky. In moscow fireworks lighting up red square. But perhaps no one will celebrate more than these american astronauts. We figure that we will be over midnight somewhere over the earth 16es throughout this day. Reporter counting down with all of us from above. Linzie janis, abc news, new york. And 16 celebrations up in space. There is still much more ahead on world news tonight on this news years eve. Shrinking your family. Your favorite products. Pack answers that may look the same but are you getting less than you expect while still paying the same price . Cashing in on the new year. Why millions of americans are about to get a pay raise. And hollywood legends. Icons, artists. A look at some of the memorable people and how they made us smile. Right now youre gonna ask for my credit card so you can charge me on the down low two weeks later look, credit karma are you talking to websites again . This website says free credit scores. Oh. Credit karma yeah, its really free. Look, you dont even have to put in your credit card information. What . credit karma. Really free credit scores. Really. Free. I could talk to you all day. I take prilosec otc each morning for my frequent heartburn. Because it gives me. Zero heartburn prilosec otc. The number 1 doctorrecommended frequent heartburn medicine for 9 straight years. One pill each morning. 24 hours. Zero heartburn. Im louis, and i quit smoking with chantix. I told myself for so long that i needed to quit smoking. I would quit then id go right back to it. Chantix absolutely helped me quit smoking. Along with support, Chantix Varenicline is proven to help people quit smoking. Chantix helped reduce my urge to smoke. Some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. Some people had seizures while taking chantix. If you have any of these stop chantix and call your doctor right away. Tell your doctor about any hist of Mental Health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix or history of seizures. Dont take chantix if youve had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. If you develop these ix and see your doctor right away as some can be lifethreatening. Tell your doctor if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems or develop new or worse symptoms. Get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. Decrease alcohol use while taking chantix. Use caution when driving or operating machinery. Common side effects include nausea trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. Im not worried about smoking my next cigarette. To me that feels great. Ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. When heartburn comes creeping up on you. Fight back with lief so smooth. Its fast. Tums smoothies starts dissolving the instant it touches your tongue. And neutralizes stomach acid at the source. Tum, tum tum tum. Smoothies only from tums. Next tonight if fast food is about supersizing, at your Favorite Stores the trend may be just the opposite. Your most popular brands may be playing the shrinking game offering you less while charging you the same place. Abcs Rebecca Jarvis tonight with what you need to know. Reporter in the race for Holiday Party prep what you may not have noticed in that shopping cart many of your favorite products shrinking right inside the packages. This is just not something that would ever come on my radar. Reporter now, mom kristen says shes spotting it in every aisle. Edgar has spent his Career Tracking oversized packaging and shrinking products. This is the new and this is the old. From crackers to cookies to juice, he says the newer packages may look about the same. Their weight labeled correctly. But whats inside weve lost one of those ten boxes in the new package. Reporter now, come Companies Even facing lawsuits. Cvs agreeing to redesign packaging to settle charges in california that it misled consumers with oversitzed boxes. And now tonight, Johnson Johnson settling a similar suit in california agreeing to change some of its product packaging, too. Johnson johnson telling abc news tonight, it has already updated packaging for some products and additional changes will be introduced over the next two years. And with all products if you want to know exactly what youre getting for your money, look for the net weight on the label. That will tell you exactly how much product is inside that big box. Sometimes when up read it and you open it you are still surprised. Reporter a bit of a shock. Thank you so much. When we come back the man at a new set of controls what is north Koreas Kim Jongun up to now . And taylor swift grabbing one last headline for 2014 before ringing in the new year. My tempurpedic made me fall in love with mornings again. I love how it conforms to my body. With tempurpedic the whole bed is comfortable. We actually got our bed as an engagement gift from her parents. Maybe thats the secret to marriage. Youre gonna Stay Together if you have a tempurpedic bed. I told our friends, this is the best investment ive ever made. Its helping to keep us young. I love my bed. vo visit your local retailer and feel the tempurpedic difference for yourself. Man sternly where do you think youre going . Mr. Mucus to work, with you. Its taco tuesday. Man youre not coming. I took mucinex to help get rid of my mucusy congestion. Im go od all day. [announcer ] mucinex keeps working. Not 4, not 6 but 12 hours. Lets end this curling up in bed with a Favorite Book is nice. But i think women would rather curl up with their favorite man. But heres the thing about half of men over 40 have some degree of erectile dysfunction. Well, viagra helps guys with ed get and keep an erection. And remember, you only take it when you need it. Ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. Do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. Side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach and abnormal vision. To avoid longterm injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. Stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. Ask your doctor about viagra. Straight to the index tonight. How would you feel if you saw this pilot in the cockpit of your plane . Thats north Koreas Kim Jongun at t controls of a small jet, described as his own versiair force one. No word about the inflight movie. New year, new laws about to take el fact. Millions are about to get a pay raise. 21 states and a number of steps are raising their minimum wage in 2015. In california undocumented immigrants can apply for a drivers liecenselicense. And put this in the books. In new york a ban on Tiger Selfies takes effect in february. It will be illegal to pose for a photo with a lion tiger or other big cat. All right. Taylor swift is ending this year on one high note after another. Shake it off shake it off her album, 1989 just became the top selling album of 2014 with more than