Source:
Reuters (Jonathan Allen and Chris Michaud)Throngs of revelers in and around New York's Times Square gave a boisterous welcome to 2012 on Sunday amid tight security, sending off a year marked by the grim 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the city. <snip>
The light-studded ball was raised six hours before the drop, and police who closed off streets around Times Square also prohibited celebrants from bringing alcohol, backpacks, large bags or packages into the area. <snip>
Several hundred anti-Wall Street protesters also streamed into Manhattan's Zuccotti Park, video footage showed, returning to the birthplace of the national Occupy movement against economic inequality that has seen its momentum falter as cities closed tent camps around the country. (Emphasis added)<snip>
Police spokesman Paul Browne said bomb squad units were conducting sweeps of hotels, theaters, construction sites and parking garages, but were not aware of any specific security threats to the city.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/01/us-newyear-timessquare-idUSTRE7BU0J120120101