5 things you need to know Wednesday

1. Happy New Year's Eve! What will you be watching?

You can almost hear the corks on the champagne bottles popping now. New Year's Eve is today, marking the end of 2014, but does the year really end if the ball doesn't drop? No, no it doesn't. There are all types of TV specials commemorating the year, including classics like Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, while new favorites from CNN, MTV and more bring out the stars to celebrate the new year.

2. NCAA football sees three year-ending showdowns

Using the words peach, orange and fiesta may sound like the beginning of a bad knock-knock joke, but come Wednesday NCAA football fans won't be laughing. They'll be watching, cheering and jeering from the stands and from their living rooms today as some of college football's biggest teams face off. TCU takes on Mississippi for Peach Bowl domination, Arizona faces Boise State for Fiesta Bowl supremacy and Mississippi State squares off against Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl.

3. Don't miss these key year-end tax strategies

Yo, check the calendar. It's the last day of 2014, and that means it's tax crunch time. A number of decisions must be made by today in order to set yourself up for a year in the black. What can you still do? Consider donating to charity, loading some more money into your 401(k) or even getting health insurance before the clock strikes midnight.

4. End-of-2014 snow could chill Las Vegas

The people of Las Vegas may be used to making it rain, but Wednesday they could see another type of precipitation entirely: snow. Areas of Nevada could be doused in the fluffy stuff for the first time since 2008. Either way, it'll be a cold one, so stay cozy next to those slot machines.

5. Hey bae: It's time for the annual list of banished words

The 40th annual List of Words to be Banished from the Queen's English for Misuse, Overuse and Uselessness includes "bae," most commonly used as a term of endearment, along with "curated," ''skill set," ''takeaway" and "polar vortex." There's nothing binding about this tongue-in-cheek decree, even if the people behind the nominations would ban the words if they were the kings — or queens — of speech.

And the essentials:

Weather: The national forecast brings a mostly quiet end to 2014 for most.

Stocks: U.S. stock futures made gains on New Year's Eve.

TV Tonight: Wondering what to watch tonight? Here's a look at some of the New Year's Eve specials.

If you missed Tuesday's news, we've got you covered here.

Need a break? Try playing some games.

You can also subscribe to get the day's top news each weekday in your inbox or find us on the Yo! app: justyo.co/usatoday.

Contributing: The Associated Press