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NEW YORK (WABC) -- Usually a million people pack Times Square on New Year's Eve, but 2020 is not a usual year. There weren't any of the normal crowds at the Crossroads of the World Thursday night due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Mayor Bill de Blasio -- who was on stage to watch the ball drop -- offered a remarkably upbeat prediction for the event that ends a universally panned year. Times Square, he said, would be "magical," "joyous," "exceptional," "wonderful," and "amazing," and the mayor vowed it will singlehandedly unite the country into the new year. "In a country, in a city that som...

New York has surpassed 30,000 deaths related to COVID-19, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday.

"Just to have some semblance of normalcy," he said. "We didn't want or skip a year." It was a sentiment echoed by Rob Terry and his family, visiting from Philadelphia -- a tradition for 13 years. "It doesn't feel like Christmas without coming," he said. "It makes us feel happy, gives us something to look forward to heading into the new year." And for the kids, even with so much loss and change, their sense of wonder is still there as they wait for Santa and his team. As for the jolly big man himself, he urged people not to lose hope and believe in themselves, and that we can always overcome.

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- Attending church services on Christmas Eve -- and particularly Midnight Mass -- is a family tradition for millions across the nation, but it is yet another holiday custom decimated by the coronavirus pandemic. In a normal year, people lined up an hour in advance to take part in the Christmas Eve Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan. But in 2020, Midnight Christmas Mass will still be celebrated by Timothy Cardinal Dolan, but there will be no public lottery for seats. Attendance is limited to 500 people, and those tickets have already been distributed. Others are...

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- A World War II veteran from Brooklyn celebrated his 100th birthday Wednesday with a small family gathering that his relatives say pales in comparison to what his long life and considerable accomplishments and adventures deserve. Sergeant Lawton Corbett has been on this earth for 36,525 days, not one of them spent standing still. "I love this, but I don't want to sit in one spot," he said. "Let's move." Because of the pandemic, his party was limited to a small gathering in Bushwick for a giant of a man who was born December 23, 1920. His daughter, Zelphia Calhoun, refle...