Historical Events
- After floods along the Mississippi River kill 31, Exxon Mobil Corp decides to close a plant in flood threatened Memphis
- Dubai skyscraper "The Address" burns as the New Year is rung in. Fire started on the 31st.
Famous Deaths
- Dale Bumpers, American politician (Sen-D Arkansas, 1975-99), dies at 90
- Fazu Aliyeva, Russian poet, novelist and journalist who helped develop Dagestani in Russian literature, dies from heart failure at 83
- Michael G. Oxley, American politician (Rep-R-OH, 1981-2007), dies at 71
- Vilmos Zsigmond, Hungarian-born American cinematographer (Close Encounters of the Third Kind), dies at 85