 | | Bill Cosby leaving a courthouse in Elkins Park, Pa., on Wednesday after he was charged with sexual assault. Mel Evans/Associated Press | Your Thursday Briefing By ADEEL HASSAN |
| Good morning. |
| Here's what you need to know: |
| • Weather extremes. |
| A powerful El Niño climate pattern and global warming most likely contributed to the odd weather extremes of 2015, expected to be the hottest year on record, experts say. |
| The end of 2015 has seen tornadoes in the South, trees in bloom in the Northeast, drought in parts of Africa and severe floods in England. |
| In the Midwest, major flooding along the Mississippi River and its tributaries has killed at least 20 people. |
| • Jittery new year. |
| Officials in Belgium have canceled the traditional New Year's Eve fireworks because of fears of an attack. But many other celebrations around the globe are going forward as planned. |
| And France's president, François Hollande, addresses his country today, after a year in which Paris was targeted by terrorist attacks. |
| • Bill Cosby's criminal charges. |
| The decade-old sexual assault case in which Bill Cosby was charged on Wednesday was reopened after new evidence emerged in July, exposing conflicting accounts of what took place. |
| • Packing heat in Texas. |
| Licensed firearms owners in Texas will be able to openly carry a handgun in most places beginning Friday. It's the largest state to allow the practice. |
| And a Washington Post study finds that American police officers shot and killed nearly 1,000 civilians this year. |
| • Independents rule New Hampshire. |
| Donald J. Trump and Bernie Sanders, in particular, are counting on the 40 percent of the state's electorate who call themselves independents and can vote in either presidential primary. |
| Nationally, Mr. Trump is strongest among Republicans who are less affluent, less educated and less likely to turn out to vote, according to a Democratic data firm. |
| Ted Cruz — among the 12 Republicans and three Democrats left in the race — is having a surge in fund-raising. And Mr. Trump is worrying about his hair. |
| • A step back for U.S.-Iran relations. |
| The White House moved to impose new sanctions against Iran after two recent Iranian ballistic missile tests. |
| There is a U.N. prohibition on such launches, and the administration's action is a sign that despite the recent nuclear deal, an era of cooperation is a long way away. |
| BUSINESS |
| • Amazon capped a blockbuster year with a record-breaking holiday season, it said, with its Prime membership program now covering an estimated 25 percent of all American households. |
| Its share of U.S. e-commerce sales jumped to 26 percent this year from 22 percent last year, a research firm estimates. |
| • Toys "R" Us, one of the first retailers to brave Times Square when memories of peep shows were not so distant, closed its iconic store there on Wednesday after 14 years, to save money on rent. |
| The store had a Ferris wheel, a 20-foot-tall robotic T. rex that roared and a Barbie dollhouse that could accommodate grown-ups. |
| • Fox News led cable news networks in total viewers for the 14th consecutive year in 2015, but CNN and MSNBC also showed gains. |
| • Stocks on Wall Street are due to open their last trading day of the year with little change. |
| But European equities are declining. Asia ended mixed. |
| NOTEWORTHY |
| • "Star Wars" criticism. |
| George Lucas has criticized the latest installment of "Star Wars," the series he created, describing the film as too "retro" for his taste. |
| Carrie Fisher, who reprised her role as Leia Organa in "The Force Awakens," is taking on Internet trolls who commented on her appearance. "Please stop debating whether or not I aged well," the actress wrote on Twitter. |
| • College football playoffs. |
| Clemson faces Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl (4 p.m. Eastern, ESPN) and Alabama plays Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl (8 p.m. Eastern, ESPN). These national semifinal games are intended to alter New Year's Eve rituals. |
| And with the final weekend of N.F.L. action upon us, we look at the full range of outcomes for teams that are in the playoffs or have a shot at them. |
| • Countdown to "Downton." |
| The love affairs, intrigues, criminal trials, deaths, marriages and maintenance of etiquette that define "Downton Abbey" return for a final season in the U.S. (Sunday, 9 p.m., PBS). |
| • Farewells. |
| The people whose lives were chronicled in our obituaries this year left a lasting impact. And we pay tribute to some more of the artists, innovators and thinkers we lost in 2015. |
| And here's our selection of the year's most riveting photographs. |
| • Looking ahead to 2016. |
| Many smartphone apps can help you stick to your new year's resolutions. |
| • In case you missed it … |
| Among our most popular articles this week: an examination of sound and architecture; when Hillary Clinton worked under cover; a feature on maritime "repo men"; and "the Terrible Beauty of Brain Surgery." |
| BACK STORY |
| The Waterford crystal ball is perched about 500 feet above Times Square, and we all know what for, but, really, why? |
| The idea for the ball-dropping belonged to our former publisher Adolph S. Ochs. First, he persuaded the city in 1904 to rename Longacre Square for The New York Times, as the newspaper moved to the area from downtown. |
| Then, on Dec. 31, 1904, about 200,000 people celebrated New Year's Eve with a fireworks display at the 24-story Times Tower for the first time. |
| But Mr. Ochs wanted to top that. So The Times's chief electrician made a giant ball out of wood and iron and outfitted it with 100 25-watt bulbs. It was lowered from the 70-foot flagpole atop the building at the end of 1907. |
| Although The Times began the holiday tradition, it wasn't the first time a giant ball was raised and dropped. Since the early 19th century, so-called time balls were used in harbors, dropping every day at noon so that sailors could view them through telescopes and set their ships' clocks. |
| Many cities have sought to put their own stamp on the Times Square tradition. Atlanta uses a giant peach; Dillsburg, Pa., and Mount Olive, N.C., drop pickles; and Mobile, Ala., lowers a 600-pound electric Moon Pie. |
| Victoria Shannon contributed reporting. |
| The Morning Briefing won't be published on New Year's Day, but we are back at 6 a.m. Eastern on Monday. Have a happy holiday. |
| What would you like to see here? Contact us at briefing@nytimes.com. |
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