state until the final push. what the heck is a caucus any way? and are you looking for a job? one employer says you better not smoke. we'll show you how they are testing job applicants for nicotine. happy new year to you. if you're celebrating new zealand style. that's because it's midnight there. let's look at auckland. there it is. they are among the first to ring in the new year. they do it in amazing style. we will spend the next couple hours showing you the new year's celebrations from around the world as the clock strikes midnight in various parts of the world. there's a new year and perhaps changes for the better. iran says it has no plans to close the strait of hormuz. the country had said they would block the strait if sanctions on iran were enforced. reports said they fired a long-range missile during the training, but now a senior commander says they didn't, but will in the next few days. after complaints by defense secretary leon panetta, egypt says it will stop cracking down on nongovernmental organizations, called ngos. egypt carried out 17 raids on 10 ngos on thursday. t that becoming far too typical in syria, shots fired there. thousands of syrians taking to the streets for more anti-government protests. these latest protests come at the same time that the arab league observers are there to see if government forces are abiding by a peace agreement. the military says they are only protecting themselves. opposition leaders say as many as 35 people were killed yesterday. computer hackers claim they have dumped the personal information, including credit card numbers and passwords, of 1 million people on to the web. people targeted have registered on a website of stratfor, a global independetelligence agen. a statement said we call upon all armies of darkness to use and abuse that password information to wreak havoc on rich and powerful oppressors. kill, kitties, kill and burn them down peacefully. the group says their next target will be tonight and they will target law enforcement. you need $60,000? it's yours if you have information on that fire or a string of other suspected arson fires in hollywood. there was another one last night. owl of them started with cars or trucks being set on fire, some of those fires spread to nearby houses. so far police are investigating 21 different blazes. okay. political junkies, the countdown to the iowa caucuses has three days to go. here's what race looks like now. the nbc news maris poll is the latest. jim acosta has more. >> reporter: mitt romney now has the big mo going into the critical weekend before the iowa caucuses. the question now is whether or not he will break a sweat in winning on tuesday night. and there are several reasons why. he is leading in the polls now, though statistically tied with ron paul. there are a couple other dynamics going on. one is you saw newt gingrich he has cratered in the polls in the past weeks and his support has eroded. he's now fourth or fifth in many polls. rick perry, sort of a battle of the ricks. rick perry is going after rick santorum and the battle for third place. going back to the old saying there are three tickets outs of iowa another revelation this week from ed rollins, a former bachmann campaign manager. he told me earlier that michele bachmann has essentially held her fire on mitt romney on this campaign in the hopes of being his presidential running mate. you add this altogether and add that to the fact that ron paul will be going home this weekend to texas, instead of campaigning in iowa, add all of that up, it's clear why mitt romney is doing well in the state and why he may win on tuesday fight. >> thank you very much. president obama is not letting the republican candidates have all the fun. he plans on getting into the act on the same day iowans cast the first vote. the president will address iowa democrats live on tuesday night. iowa then gave the then senator obama a big leg up when he won the caucuses there in 2008. a lot of folks plan to travel today and party tonight. reynolds is here to tell us about the we're. hello. >> good to finally work with you. >> and in the same studio, how exciting. >> well, today our weather won't be too amazing, compared to last year. today it looks like it will be mild. you look along the eastern seaboard, scattered showers across parts of the northeast. residual snow showers in pennsylvania, but before the night is over, a great and mild pretty much day and evening in the northeast. plenty of sunshine, texas. the full scoop and what it will mean for your travel weather coming up in a few moments, e.d.. >> we don't need more sunshine in texas. we need rain. >> something substantial. still parched down there. >> the creeks are dry. the cattle -- the cost of hay has gone through the roof. so if you are a rancher down in texas, it's tough times. >> we will flip whatever switches we can. >> bring us rain or i'm not talking to you anymore. >> i'll make it happen. >> good. a man with a lot of power. a lot of folks planning on a new year's resolution to quit smocking, but now one hospital says good, because now they will not hire smokers. we'll tell you where and when this plan kicks in. nyquil (stuffy): hey, tylenol. you know we're kinda like twins. tylenol: we are? 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[laughing] [laughing hesitantly] [laughing evilly] sign. announcer: if you're facing foreclosure, talk to the right people. speak with hud-approved housing counselors free of charge at... there's a giant cloud of ash hanging over alaska right now. it's coming from the cleveland volcano, around 1,000 miles southwest of anchorage. there was an explosion at the volcano earlier this week sending ash 15,000 feet into the air. that prompted airline warnings this morning the threat level, they say, has dropped. that's good news for alaska. reynolds wolf has more. >> any time you hear a threat level dropping, that's got to be kind of good news. >> absolutely. i'm guessing as the wind and everything else shifts, doesn't that ash have the potential to come back and forth? >> that could go across the globe. could go in europe, asia. around the planet. it's unusual to have that seism -- not too unusual to see that happen in parts of alaska we'll watch that carefully. right now we'll see how the weather will unfold for your new year. last year it was just the bitter cold. that was the huge story in parts of new york. today, fairly mild. scattered showers upstate new york, the finger lakes and into pennsylvania. for the most part, fairly tranquil conditions. we are going to 63 in atlanta. 70 in dallas. 48 in denver. 65 in san francisco. it should be, for the most part, a fairly quiet day. we will button this up and let you know what to expect travel-wise coming up in a few moments. at the very least, looks like, for the most part, you may see delays in san francisco, san diego, denver, chicago, minneapolis, but most of them just under an hour. that's the latest for you on that. if you smoke cigarettes, it may get a bit harder for you to get a job in 2012. a hospital in danville, pennsylvania has decide it will no longer hire smokers what they plan do is start screening job applicants for nicotine use. they will start that february 1st. those who test positive will be offered help to quit. they will be given assistance, but that's one tricky thing to drop that habit. it will be interesting to see how this pans out. pennsylvania is one of 19 states where companies can screen applicants for signs of smoking. we want to know what you think. if you like to share in this conversation, give us an idea what you think about these hiring practices, do you think they're unfair? we want to hear from you. let me know what you think. i'm on facebook. go to facebook, search for reynolds wolf. i'm the only guy with that name on there. it could be interesting. >> yeah what was your mama thinking. i actually like your name. my little boy's name is wolf. >> there's another guy here at cnn that shares that same name. >> he cornered me at a white house party seven years ago and said do not name him wolf. he said it was a tough name to live with. he is named after my husband, so i can't change his name. >> you got a wolf. there are two wolfs here. three of us together are making our territory. >> what do you think about this whole smoking thing? >> when it comes to businesses, it's one of those things where if -- is it really infringing on their individual rights? a lot of people are worried more about the health side, others are talking about personal freedom. >> but they take the personal freedom, clearly i'm not a smoker, they take their personal freedom, but it costs me money for their choices. so, i'm paying higher insurance premiums for their smoking or their excessive eating or their whatever. i'm sure i got my own quirks, too, a lot of them. but, you know, this, to me, does seem a bit unfair. you can do whatever you want, but it's the whole punch. your right ends at that person's next nose. >> a tough thing. i love college football, and this is a huge day. i wanted some game forecasts. >> we are going to talk about that this morning, no doubt about it. you can call it people power. customers complained and the nation's largest wireless provider made a change that will save you money. good job talking up. and new years, new laws, among them restrictions on tanning beds and illegal immigrants. we'll tell you about that. let's go to vegas. alright, let's do it. let's do it, let's go to vegas. vegas baby! maybe we should head back to the dealership first? vegas! no, this is a test drive. vegas! [ male announcer ] it's practically yours. but we still need your signature. volkswagen sign then drive is back. and it's never been easier to get a jetta. that's the power of german engineering. get zero first month's payment, zero down, zero security deposit and zero due at signing on any new volkswagen. visit vwdealer.com. and zero due at signing on any new volkswagen. what is it about taking a first step that we find so compelling? is it because taking a step represents hope? or triumph? at genworth, we believe in taking small steps every day to keep your promises, protect what matters, and prepare for a secure financial future. no matter where you want to go, one step at a time is the only way to get there. go to genworth.com/promises. look at that wonderful celebration. happy new year, that's new zealand. that's the scene in auckland. they are also popping champagne in christchurch, fiji and the marshall islands. this is new york city, though. look at the scene there. folks are gearing up for the big times square celebration. more than 1 million people are expected to crowd that area and catch a glimpse of the ball drop. anderson cooper will be there along with comedian kathy griffin. that will be a great show. check it out to ring in the new year live on cnn. as we prepare to ring in the new year in the u.s., new laws. it's america, folks. as of tomorrow, new laws, some of the nation's most contentious issues from immigration to abortion to same-sex unions. josh levs is here to talk us through some of the more quirky editions to the state laws. >> it's america, there's so many laws every year. >> a lot of folks just completely ignore them, but what are the new ones we shouldn't ignore? >> by the way, hello to you. great to have you down here with us. we're looking at nearly 40,000 new state laws that were enacted in 2011. some of them are going into effect january 1st, tomorrow. including this one in new hampshire getting peoples atone shun. requiring parental notification in the case of an abortion. if a minor wants an abortion, that minor can seek a court order to avoid parental notification. the governor said there should be an exception in the cases of rape and abuse. that was street today. and a few states have new laws about e-verify, it's a computer program to check prospective employees citizenship, louisiana, tennessee, south carolina and georgia are requiring businessesenroll. >> calle but california is saying employers cannot use e-verify unless they have to. supporters say this stops illegal immigrants, there was a government report not long ago that said there were still some errors. finally that graphic we were looking at, one more controversial one two more states allowing same sex civil y unions, those are delaware and hawaii. >> i'm curious, not making any personal statement here, where they cited that the minors can go and get abortions, are they going to allow schools give them cough drops without parental notification? that's the strangest thing. you have to sign your life away for your kid to have a cough drop. >> in the 10:00 hour today, i will tell you about cough medicine. there's a new law involving cough medicine. >> 40,000 new laws. who says we have too much government. tell me about some of these weird ones, there's a law about where you can sell a pet. >> some of the laws are not even enforc enforced anymore. some more laws are quirky, and some of them are in california. i guess we're not surprised. a large number in california. one involves animals. it basically says it's a crime to sell a live animal on a street, highway, parking lot, carnival or boardwalk. >> a lot of boardwalks there, i guess. >> and it's now illegal for minors to use tanning beds at all, even with parental consent. >> wait a second. so one state says a minor, a kid can go get an abortion without their parents, and another saying you are not even old enough to use a tanning bed. >> new hampshire -- new hampshire is saying you have to have parental notification for abortion. you have california saying you cannot use a tanning bed, even with your parent's consent. if you are 18 or younger, it is illegal to use a tanning bed in california. >> i'm so glad i got to know you. these laws confuse me. i'm a commonsense person, and i can't made heads or tails with what's going on. >> no one can possibly be expected to know one-tenth of the laws. >> and i don't. we are counting down to 2012 here on cnn. join anderson cooper and kathy griffin for our special live coverage, it starts 11:00 eastern right here on cnn. we were just talking about california, there's some monkey business going on out there. it's a squirrel monkey, he's having the time of his life. check out his twitter account. do you know any stores in san francisco that sell squirrel monkeys? female monkeys looking for a friend? and went to monkey bars in golden gate park and playground? left disappointed. who what is it with these tweets? that's next. i know it's early. go get a cup of coffee. as you do that, i'll get you caught up on across country. >> not once, but twice police tried stopping this slow-speed chase in an alabama parking lot. that woman now faces attempted murder and criminal mischief charges after police were called to stop this very strange ride. officers fired shots, they laid down spike strips, all in an attempt to stop her. no luck, though. finally they boxed her in with their cars, busted out the window and grabbed her. but only after she tried running them down. in pennsylvania, a sinkhole is causing massive headaches for about two dozen families. >> a close-knit block. to see all your neighbors distressed. it's upsetting. this water main break may have contributed to massive erosion after this hole formed. workers filled the hole for cement now,s will have to be torn down. >> 17-year-old banana sam is missing. he's 12 inches tall and weighed about two pounds. he is a squirrel monkey stolen from the san francisco zoo. surveillance camera didn't catch anything, but you can follow all the monkey business on twitter. and we do wish you a happy new year. this 2012 coming up after tonight. huge crowd. maybe a million people will cram times square in new york city for the annual new year's eve celebration. david is joining us live to set the stage. i guess people in new york city should not bring lawn chairs to stake out their spots. so are they doing that? what do they put down to keep a spot? this is party central. do you have some of the die-hards who already started camping out here. some people camping along the area, wearing blankets, though this is balmy weather compared to last year. we spoke with a mother/daughter pair who have been here since last night, all in expectation to see justin bieber. we'll have musical performances, celebrity guests. anderson cooper and kathy griffin will take you into the new year. it's also not just fun and games. police will be out in force. federal authorities will be sweeping through the area, the 16 checkpoints that lead into times square will be penned in in about 65 different pens, to lock people into place. once you're here, you can't leave. there's no going to the bathroom no coffee breaks. from about 3:00 p.m. on, you're locked in here and have to take on the new year. federal authorities and nypd will be flying overhead in terms of helicopters with infrared, police in plainclothes, they will be sealing the manhole covers and removed the trash bins. keep in mind new york is still very much a terrorist target. ray kelly spoke to us earlier in the day about this the concerns about a lone wolf are still there. but it is a party. none other than lady gaga will be ringing in the new year as lady bloomberg's special guest. >> i love lady gaga. many, many, many moons ago when i actually stayed up past midnight, i went there one time. it's so much fun, but never again. there's a horrid of people there. thank you, david. folks, it's going to be great watching it with us here at cnn. anderson cooper is down there, he will be anchoring it live. and kathy griffin, who says everything and anything will be hosting along with anderson. it should be quite the party. remember the guy who tried to extort $2 million from david letterman? 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