N.C. welcomes 2017

RALEIGH — Revelers across the state rang in the new year with family fun and new resolutions, capping festivities by dropping everything from pickles to possums. In the capital city, families had the chance to put their resolutions for 2017 out for all to read and rode amusement rides set up on Fayetteville street. The city’s traditional acorn drop went off at 7 pm and midnight. Bidding farewell to 2016 went off without incident as thousands filled N.C.’s towns and city streets.Ahead of the festivities Saturday night, U.S. defense and security agencies said they believed the threat of militant attacks inside the United States was low during this New Year’s holiday, yet some chance of an attack was “undeniable,” according to security assessments reviewed on Friday. Still, security was tight at the high profile countdown in New York’s Times Square.”There are no indications of specific threats to the U.S. Homeland,” said a “situational awareness” bulletin issued to U.S. Army personnel this week by the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command. “However the threat from homegrown violent extremists (HVEs) in the United States is undeniable,” the bulletin added.North Carolinians looking to celebrate the dawn of 2017 with a little exercise are taking part in runs and walks through the state parks or the annual Penguin Polar Plunges in Atlantic Beach.