Waterfront. Live at Justin Herman plaza. That is the prime viewing location for the fireworks. Reporter a lot of people are definitely coming out here to check out that show. We watched the crowd steadily grow out here. Right next to several muni lines. We can tell you muni is running free overnight tonight. Just up market street, thats where bart is. Bart is going to be running until 3 00 a. M. , tomorrow morning to help people celebrate safely. The light show is just beginning along San Franciscos waterfront. A preview for tonights 15 minute fireworks display at midnight. San Francisco Police are estimating as many as 250,000 could turn out for the big show. Just the excitement. Its just the eclectic crowd. The everything. Its the city. Reporter restaurants along the embarcadero, like sin bads say the only holiday that can approach new years eve business is mothers day. We are booked out for the night entirely every year. Reporter crews put up barricades to keep new years revelers off the street. Be advised if you are out there and you happen to be very inebriated, you will be stopped. Im going straight home and going to bed. Reporter if you take a look at our live shot, you might be able to see a couple of san Francisco Police officers. We can tell you, they are spread out throughout the city, and there are officers throughout the bay area, out patrolling for drunks tonight. I was told by one officer, even if someone manages to make sure way through one of those check points, the officers tell me they have ways of tracking down these people if they try to avoid going through the check points, so theyre definitely on alert for drunk drivers. We will be back with an update at how things are developing here, getting ready for tonights big fireworks display. Ktvu, channel 2 news. More details now. Pyrotechnic experts say theyre ready for tonights big show. They spent today, filling in firework shells. The shells are set with computerized fuses, so that they go off exactly as planned for the synchronized show. Its all free, and as christian mentioned, its set to last for about 15 minutes. The traditional ball drop in new york city took place just about an hour ago. Officials estimate more than 1 Million People from all over the world crammed into several blocks around times square. There were so many people you couldnt get close enough to see it. This year, there were no food vendors, or public toilets. Security was set to be extremely tight. San francisco isnt the only new year party spot. At 10 20, how people in san jose are celebrating, and how restaurants and bars are trying to make the most of the holiday crowd. Stay tuned after this broadcast for foxs new years special. New years live. Again, thats tonight at 11 00 right after this newscast. On the peninsula, Police Officers are trying to head off dangerous new years eve tradition. Shooting guns off in the air in celebration. Officers say they can actually track the bullets right to the doorstep. Reporter thats right. Shot Spotter Technology showed these two streets to be thick with celebratory gunfire last year. Which is why officers are warning households tonight. Happy new year. Reporter this new years eve knock from East Palo Alto police includes a warning on how not to celebrate. If they discharge a firearm in the neighborhood its a felony. Reporter where gunfire has erupted in years past. Yet, those shots rang out in a field even as the warnings were being issued. Then even more gunfire. Traceable to a specific address by shot spotter sensors scattered across East Palo Alto. A lot of times by the time we get there, theyre fleeing the scene. Reporter last year, the system counted 118 incidents, many marked m, for multiple rounds. No one was arrested, but no one hurt either, as fers were able to swarm shooting sites immediately. Were hoping were able to get them out there quick enough. And hoping to keep them from continuing. Yeah, thats our main point at this point, just to deter them. You can hear around the neighborhood. Reporter the families who worry about safety need no convincing. Officers worry about households that arent answering the knock tonight, or deny involvement. The not going on here. Its not going on in my yard, or its not going on in my driveway. When you know it is. We know it is. Its just a matter of catching them. Reporter the adage, what goes up must come down is never more true than with bullets. They fall faster than they fire. The trajectory tends to strike people in the head. Theres some optimism that these flyers are making a difference. So far, theyve tallied five incidents. Last year at this time, 18. Reporting live in East Palo Alto, debra villareon. Republicans and democrats have announced they have reached a deal on the tax issues that comprize half of the fiscal cliff equation. However, its only a deal in principle. The deal raises the tax rate from 35 to more than 39 for households making more than 450,000 a year. But it puts off decisions on 110 billion in across the board spending cuts to military, and domestic programs. We get more now on capitol hill. Reporter a very happy new year for the senate, closing out 2012 with a deal. Hammering out a compromise on spending cuts. Deal or no deal, the u. S. Is destined to go over the cliff, because the house convened monday night. Earlier in the day, tough words for republicans. If republicans think that i will finish the job of deficit reduction through spending cuts alone, if they think thats going to be the formula for how we solve this thing, they have another thing coming. Thats not how its going to work. Reporter the deal will extend unemployment benefits, and bring back higher clinton era taxes on top earners. An increase in extensions from households earning 250,000 a year, reportedly to those making 450,000. Frustrated republicans say while the deal will likely pass, its not ideal. I personally just dont like it because i think were kicking the can down the road, and we arent really addressing the real crisis in our country, which really, to tell you the truth was not the fiscal cliff, its a debt crisis. Reporter the Sticking Point of negotiations are now postponed for at least two months. We talked with some taxpayers in the bay area, many say theyre frustrated with the way congress has handled the fiscal cliff negotiation. Theres interests and lobbyists that are really controlling the decision making. Were kind of an afterthought now. Lawmakers came together tonight. Some Financial Experts say the bigger issue is an out of control federal deficit. And that part of the deal still needs to be address the. U. S. Stock Prices Higher on this final day of the year. The dow industrials rose 156 points, the nasdaq was up 59. The markets had been flat all morning, but climbed after the president s remarks that a deal seemed close at hand. 2012 seemed to be a positive year for the markets overall. The dow was up 7 . S s p 500 15 and the nasdaq went up nearly 16 higher than when it started. Secretary of state Hillary Clinton is in the hospital treating a blood clot. Doctors say she did not suffer a stroke and expect her to make a full recovery. However clots are potentially serious if not treated. They can lead to a hemorrhage inside the brain. Its believed this blood clot is related to the concussion secretary of state clinten suffered earlier this month. The accident happened near the ma colome river bridge on highway 12 east of rio vista. First reports of the accident came in 9 15 this evening. Highway 12 is closed in the area in both directions. Firefighters in San Francisco battled a house fire. Pg and e crews had to dig up the road, and shut off the main gas line. Four people managed to escape to safety. Officials say the fire may have started in the garage and was not caused by a faulty gas line. In the south bay, investigators in san jose are trying to determine what caused a fire that killed a young girl and her grandparents. The fire broke out saturday night in a 2nd floor apartment on bridgeport court. Three died in the fire. The childs mother escaped in the flames, which destroyed the family apartment. Bart is replacing columns in the oakland connector. The columns are now visible along haganberger road. Bart says the project is about 65 complete, and should be ready for passengers by september of 2014. The 3. 2mile system will not use bart cars, instead it will use driverless three car trams that are pulled along by a cable. Similar to what is used at sfo. The cost is estimated at 484 million. The secret of the rose bowl. So youre driving blind. Completely blind. Well take you inside the float to show you what makes the drive so tricky. In 90 seconds, from boosting business, to causing crashe no austerity measures tonight. Greece marks the new year with fireworks above the ancient ruins in athens. Here in the bay area, people ringing in 2013 outdoors are wise to bundle up. Its cold. Inside the store, the owner says business is up. This winter, temperatures consistently stayed cold. We always have a rush before thanksgiving. People want to get a fireplace insert in by thanksgiving. And be able to zone heat, rather than use a furnace, or an open hearth fireplace, which doesnt eat much, and pollutes. Reporter earlier, drivers encountered black ice. News chopper 2 shows us a car down an embankment. This car lost control. This afternoon, skaters took the fall in temperatures with ease. It is cold, but you get warm by moving. There she is, i dont want to break my bones. Just watching. Reporter the father came into town with his daughter for the fireworks and remembers last year, a wet, and rainy San Francisco. We came from odessa just to be here. Its cold here. Reporter tomorrow will be the bay areas first spare the air day of the season, as opposed to last years 11 alert. Weve had a lot of wet, unsettled weather this year, which has helped air quality a great deal. Last year, we had a dry, cold winter, and it made for unhealthy air quality. Reporter this in walnut creek, jane hernandez, ktvu, channel 2 news. Its going to get even colder. Coming up in four minutes, rosemary will be here with a look at the forecast. There is a glimmer of hope this even that at least part of the National HockeyLeague Season could be salvaged. More than 50 of the regularly scheduled nhl games have been canceled. The Players Association could get a response by tomorrow morning. A deal would have to be reached by january 11 to have a 48 game season. That is the minimum of number of games the commissioner has said he would accept. The Stanford CardinalFootball Team is in pasadena. Fred shows us tonight the preparations for the big parade that proceeds the kickoff. Reporter the stanford band kicked off todays official rose bowl luncheon, crew members were busy putting the final touches on the 44 floats that will appear in tomorrows 124th tournament of roses parade. Just generally touching up the process. Does that mean somebody screwed up . No, it just means that adjustments need to be made between what you see in the dark and what you see out here. Reporter roger thomas will drive the honda sponsored float tomorrow. Its the 34th Consecutive Year thomas has been undercover, steering the entire five and a half mile route, and never seeing one bit of the parade. So youre driving blind. Completely blind. Picture an umbrella on the ground, and just wandering around. Its a lot of fun. Reporter the famous corner of orange grove and colorado boulevard will be jammed with thousands of spectators tomorrow. And further down colorado avenue, folks are staking claim to their favorite viewing spots. Weve been at this spot since 1985. Reporter the theme for this years parade is oh, the places youll go. For the Stanford Cardinal, they hope that place is the winners circle, in the rose bowl. Some place they havent gone since 1972. In l. A. , fred ingles. Now made it to the president s desk, the 260,000 acre site now features rock formations and caves, located east of highway 101. The bill passed the senate yesterday, and is now awaiting president obamas signature, senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein sponsored the bill. The federal designation would likely bring a tourism boost. The California Supreme Court ruled that people who get hurt on bumper cars and rough rides assume some risk when they decide to go on the ride. The ruling stemmed from a lawsuit brought by a san jose woman who fractured a wrist riding on a right at great america. Good evening to you. Freezing temperatures returning to the bay area late tonight. Looking at stormtracker 2 over the last several hours, we watched high clouds move through the bay area, now to the south of us, were dealing with partly cloudy skies. Outside our doors right now, widespread mid30s, to low 40s. Already cooling off. If this is just the beginning of your evening, 37 in santa rosa at midnight. 44 San Francisco, where the fireworks will be going on. 38 in concord. 38degrees expected livermore now, with the partly cloudy skies, the calm conditions, we will be cooling off once again, back to 31 degrees by tomorrow morning. Right about sunrise. Napa, 31 at santa rosa. 32 in concord. Upper 30s, low 40s around the bay area. 37 redwood city. 39 in san jose. Well be partly cloudy and cool for your afternoon. The system that brought us the high clouds this afternoon will stick around through tomorrow morning. Bring us just a very slight chance. An outside chance at maybe a sprinkle. It really isnt going to impact us much at all. We do have an advisory with the chilly morning lows. I will say a spare the air, and it is not okay to burn wood in the fireplace for tomorrow morning. In addition to this advisory, we have a freeze posting for tomorrow night. I will bring you more on that, i will show you your temperatures expected for new years day, coming up. A convicted killer who has been on san quentins death row for decades now could soon be a freeman. Marvin pete walker jr. Was convicted of killing a 15year old boy during a hold up of a liquor store. The ninth u. S. Circuit court of appeals is considering whether walker was improperly shackled during his trial. The court heard arguments earlier this month, but has not issued a decision. New years eve celebrations are getting underway in the south bay. The party is on here in downtown san jose. How the sharks are making new years eve even more important for restaurants and bars. [ female announcer ] no more paper coupons. No more paper lists. [ dog barking ] no more paper anything. Safeway presents just for u. Save more. Save easier. Saving more, starts now. Just for u on the safeway app. Check that out. Thats new years in the persian gulf nation of dubai. You would expect nothing less from the worlds tallest building. New years eve celebrations in the south bay are ramping up. Tonight is crucial for certain businesses that are way behind this year. Reporter yeah, a little bit of everything from people here in downtown san jose tonight. Were here at a popular bar with a sports theme. Without the sharks playing this season, new years eve is more important than ever. Going all out for its new years eve celebration. The bar is trying to attract a big crowd tonight with food, music, and a relatively inexpensive cover charge. Just 15 a person. Tonight means a lot more since there are no sharks game. Thats a lot of business. Reporter the bar manager says no hockey costs them about 50 of their business. Forcing them to use about half as many employees. Ringing in 2013 at the fahrenheit restaurant and lounge costs 100 a person. A champagne toast, and a balloon drop at midnight. For many couples, it was a chance to leave the kids home, and enjoy an adult night out. Turn back the clock. Feeling like our dating days again. Its very important for us to get out, and have a little fun on our own. Reporter the arcadia restaurant next to the Convention Center says new years eve is the second busiest night of the year. Jessica zucker and her spouse came for the special menu. They are celebrating 2013 and her new pregnancy. Reporter to replace the sharks, it says it pales in comparison to hockey night. The number 1 holiday for restaurants and bars is valentines day. Reporting live in downtown san jose. Matt keller, ktvu, channel 2 news. Bart is trying to help new years eve partyers get home safe and sound. Trains will be running until 3 00 a. M. Additional trains are added for the expected crowds leaving San Francisco. Riders should check before hand. San francisco and muni is also helping out by offering free Service Tonight between 8 00 p. M. And 6 00 a. M. Tomorrow you dont have to pay a thing. This also includes cable cars. Muni will also have extra Metro Service to get you in and out of the downtown area. Aaa is bringing back its tipsy toe to keep drunk drivers off the roads. If youve had too much to drink, you can call aaa for a free ride home. That includes towing your car up to ten miles. The service is available until 6 00 a. M. Tomorrow, available to everyone, not just aaa members. Bagpipes play today as hundreds of mourners pack a church in upstate new york to pay tributes to a man who fell at the hands of a gunman christmas eve. The 19yearold was one of two firefighters shot and killed during the ambush in webster new york. Police say the gunman, William Spengler lured them into a deadly trap by setting his house and car on fire. The body of his sister was found in the house. Authorities say spengler took his own life. The party is just Getting Started along San Franciscos embarcadero. San Francisco Police taking a zero tolerance policy towards public drunkenness. We just watched them break up a fight. Well have details coming hong kong rang in the new year, with a 1. 6 million Fireworks Show in the harbor. He