Sonia Sotomayor Will Lead Countdown in Times Square for New Year's Celebration

NEW YORK (AP) –  The countdown to the new year in Times Square is getting some high-profile help — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor..

The organizers of the annual celebration announced Sunday that Sotomayor will lead the final 60-second countdown and push the ceremonial button to signal the descent of the Times Square New Year’s Eve ball.

Sotomayor, the first Latina and the third female Supreme Court judge, was appointed to the court in 2009. She is a native of the Bronx, while her parents hail from Puerto Rico.

The giant New Year’s Eve ball is covered in more than 2,600 crystal triangles and lit from within by more than 32,000 lights.