What Happened on January 1, 2015

• 101st Rose Bowl: #2 Oregon beats #3 Florida State, 59-20 (National Championship Playoff Semi-Final)
• 81st Sugar Bowl: #4 Ohio State beats #1 Alabama, 42-35 (National Championship Playoff Semi-Final)
• Eurasian Economic Union comes into effect, creating a political and economic union between Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan

• Lithuania adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas and becoming the 19th member of the Eurozone

• American singer-songwriter Ben Harper (45) weds social advocate Jaclyn Matfus

• Boris Morukov, Russian cosmonaut, dies at 64
• Donna Douglas, American actress (Elly May Clampett-The Beverly Hillbillies), dies of pancreatic cancer at 82
• Jeff Golub, American jazz guitarist (Avenue Blue; Rod Stewart), dies of a rare brain disease at 59
• Mario Cuomo, American Democratic Party politician and the 52nd Governor of New York (1983-95), dies of a heart condition at 82
• Ninón Sevilla, Cuban-Mexican actress (Aventurera, Víctimas del Pecado), dies at 85
• Omar Karami, Lebanese Prime Minister (1992-94, 2004-05), dies at 80

Holidays: New Year's Day (Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States)

• #1 Song: Blank Space - Taylor Swift
• #1 Song: Uptown Funk - Mark Ronson Ft. Bruno Mars