Revelers usher in 2014 with fireworks, festivities

Chicago was offering free rides on trains and buses from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. to ensure revelers make it home safely.

Residents in Vincennes, Indiana, didn't let the cold air stop their fifth annual Watermelon Drop and Fireworks display in which 14 of the hefty fruits fell in a nod to the area's agricultural roots.

The event followed a performance by the melon-smashing comedian Gallagher, local media reported.

In Nashville, Tenn., revelers saw the "Music Note Drop" backed up by musical performances, including by Hank Williams Jr., and fireworks.

Not everyone took to the streets, however. President Barack Obama celebrated a low-key New Year's Eve with his family at vacation rental in Hawaii.

In San Francisco, one of the last major cities in the world to see the clock strike midnight, some 200,000 people were expected to gather on the waterfront for a fireworks display illuminating the city's world-famous Golden Gate Bridge.

In Seattle, big crowds were expected for a fireworks display launched from the Pacific Northwest city's iconic Space Needle.

BANANA-FLAVORED CONFETTI

In other parts of the world, festivities were well under way or finished.

At midnight in Sydney, Australia, a massive fireworks display lit up the sky around the city's famed Harbor Bridge and Opera House. New Year's organizers in Dubai attempted to break the Guinness World Record for largest fireworks display.

In London, edible banana confetti and strawberry mist rained from the sky as a fireworks display along the River Thames lit up Big Ben and other landmarks.

Across the United States, 2014 will also usher in political changes and the official start of a slate of new laws.

At midnight, New York City's next mayor, Bill de Blasio, was sworn in at a private ceremony at his home in Brooklyn, succeeding Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is leaving office after 12 years.

Former President Bill Clinton will deliver the oath of office for de Blasio at a formal inauguration ceremony on Wednesday at City Hall.

Americans who have signed up for new health-care coverage under President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act are expected to begin receiving benefits on January 1.

Before ushering in 2014, Sotomayor, the U.S. Supreme Court Justice, granted Roman Catholic-affiliated groups a temporary exemption from a part of the Obamacare healthcare law that requires employers to provide insurance policies covering contraception.

In Colorado, a new law will allow state residents to buy an ounce of marijuana at a time from specially regulated retailers.

Possession, cultivation and private personal consumption of marijuana by adults has already been legal in Colorado for more than a year.

"It will be like people waiting in line for tickets to a Pink Floyd concert," said Justin Jones, 39, owner of Dank Colorado in Denver, who has run a medical marijuana shop for four years and now has a recreational pot license.