Google capped its massive year-end Zeitgeist roundup, which catalogued the most-searched items of 2012, with an interactive glimpse at what people around the world were swearing off or resolving to do more of in 2013.

The resolution map mixes Google mapping features with Google translate and invites users (no subscription necessary) to contribute their own goals or peek at what fellow humans are promising themselves as they look ahead to the new year.

The handful of resolutions displayed have remained mostly static since the page launched New Year’s Eve and the translation is less than perfect, but good enough to note some universal trends. Not surprisingly, considering resolutions are made the day after one of the biggest party nights of the year, contributors around the world are looking to get in shape and abandon their destructive habits.

In the U.S., one user wants to go back to being a size 4. In Norway someone's swearing off alcohol, while in Brazil another person is trying to kick sweets.

There are also quirky vows being made: One ambitious internet-user from France wants to cook a recipe from every country in the world. In Yemen, someone wants to smile (presumably more). A Floridian aims to grow a mustache, while a California resident would like to listen to more complete albums on Spotify instead of just hit singles.

Google has provided tips on its blog directing users to a number of apps, videos, tools and lists to help resolution-makers stay on track.

For those aiming to travel more (like the South East Asian contributor who would like to walk the Santiago de Compostela Road in Spain) Google’s blog suggests its flight search tool, hotel finder, and Google Maps.

For those looking to save cash, hone yoga skills, paint, cook or keep track of finances, Google provides other tools and an inspirational video that might make resolutions stick a little longer.

The hundreds of participants in this year’s Polar Bear Plunges weren’t just dipping into the bone-chilling surf to seek some thrills. They were also doing it for a good cause.

For the annual New Year's Day event, brave souls charged into icy waters all across the United States — from the Jersey Shore and New York City's Coney Island to the less wintry beaches of Southern California.

But this year, the plunges held a special significance for hardy swimmers at New York and New Jersey beaches, many of them hard-hit by Superstorm Sandy last year, and many of the plunges raised money to help victims of the hurricane's devastation.

"This is something I’ve done a couple years anyway just for the sake of doing it," Thomas Pirrone of Sicklerville, N.J., told NBC 10 Philadelphia on the beach in Ocean City, N.J. "Why not do it for a good cause?"

Swimmers nationwide took to their nearest ocean, lake, river or even swimming pool Tuesday — some for charity, some still just for the sake of doing it.

Pittsburgh swimmers took to the Monongahela River, Cleveland residents jumped in 38-degree Lake Erie, and San Franciscans ran into the frigid Pacific Ocean, as did Californians in the warmer climes of La Jolla, NBC 7 San Diego reported.

In the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas, families supporting a scholarship fund made do with a swimming pool chilled with ice cubes, NBC 5 DFW reported.

Polar Bear club members and others were raising money for Sandy relief efforts at Coney Island in New York, according to NBC 4 New York. In Ocean City, members of the Wish Upon a Hero Foundation, which has provided assistance to South Jersey victims of Sandy, ran into the surf, too.

"They sent us clothes within a few days and made sure we got back on our feet," said Ken Murphy, a Superstorm Sandy victim.

Other charities were well-represented, too. In Atlantic City, close to 200 people sprinted into the water to help the AC Polar Bear Club raise more than $2,000 for the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America.

"It’s more than I expected, it’s absolutely terrific," said Dale Raesly of Levittown, N.J. "Everybody should come out here and support this cause!"

In Coney Island, the Ice Breakers tried to raise awareness of water pollution, and the Polar Bear Club in Brigantine, N.J., where many people were impacted by Sandy, supported Fisher House, which provides transportation and housing to the families of wounded military members.

"We might have lost our personal items and our personal things," said John Hand, a Brigantine plunge organizer. "But we still have our arms and legs. Right now what we’re doing is for our soldiers, our men and women overseas."

The location for this year’s plunge in Brigantine had to be changed, since the beach where they normally held the event doesn’t exist anymore due to Sandy.

"From this storm, there’s no seawall left," said Hand.

But the thrills and chills remained the same in the new location, providing a fun-filled kickoff to 2013 and hope for better things to come this year.

"It’s got to be a better year," said Billy Bryan of Brigantine. "Let’s hope so. For everybody."

Since taking over as 49ers head coach in 2011, Jim Harbaugh has been lucky to have a stable staff of assistant coaches.

Despite a 13-3 first season, none of Harbaugh’s three key assistants -- offensive coordinator Greg Roman, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio or Brad Seely, the assistant head coach and special teams coordinator – was picked off by NFL teams seeking to rebuild their staffs.

The trio helped the 49ers maintain continuity in 2012, and the team posted an 11-4-1 record this season, won the NFC West a second straight year and now has a first-round bye in the NFC playoffs, with its first game scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 12.

This off season, however, might be a different story.

Openings will be plentiful in the NFL, with seven teams – the Cardinals, Bills, Bears, Browns, Chiefs, Eagles and Chargers -- firing their head coaches Monday, with a few more coaches still on the hot seat.

With Roman, Fangio and Seely all highly attractive candidates – and all interested in eventually becoming a head coach in the league -- it’s likely Harbaugh’s very successful staff will have some new faces for next season’s opener.

Both Roman and Fangio have been with Harbaugh for quite a while, coming with him from his staff at Stanford.

On Monday, Harbaugh declined to say if any other teams had contacted the 49ers about talking to the trio. The players have been given Tuesday and Wednesday off, but practice will resume Thursday and Friday, according to Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group, and Harbaugh’s assistants will need to be present.

According to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com, NFL assistants with teams that have first-round byes may be interviewed for head coaching positions only through the first weekend of wild-card action. After that, interviews aren’t allowed until after the Super Bowl or after a team is eliminated.

Already Roman has been listed as a possible candidate to succeed Andy Reid as Eagles head coach. His name also has come up to succeed Pat Shurmur as Cleveland Browns head coach.

Niners GM Trent Baalke on radio Monday complimented both Roman and Fangio and says they both have qualities that could make them successful NFL head coaches.

“They’re very qualified, they’re very good at what they do, they’re very organized, they’re very diligent, they have the makeup and means to be good head coaches,” he said, according to a report by Inman.

In addition, the Niners' front office team may also lose some talent. ESPN reported Monday that both the New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars have asked permission to interview Tom Gamble, the 49ers’ director of player personnel for their general manger vacancies.

Five fire engines responded to a crash in Pacific Beach which knocked down a fire hydrant Wednesday morning.

The crash happened at around 7:30 a.m. in the 3900 block of Mission Boulevard, according to the San Diego Fire Department.

A delivery truck hit the hydrant, officials said. 

Officials said they were having a hard time shutting the water off, but by 8:30 a.m., the water was shut off. 

One homeowner near the scene told NBC 7 that his house sustained water damage. 

Check back here for more information. 

The body of Scott Sterling, son of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, was found late Tuesday at the family's beachfront home in Malibu.

Homicide detectives responded to the Pacific Coast Highway home at about 11:30 p.m. after receiving a call for a welfare check at Malibu Beach Villas. The caller told responding Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies he had not heard from Scott Sterling, 32, for "several days."

Sterling was pronounced dead at the location, but a cause of death was not immediately available from the coroner's office. Sterling died of an "apparent drug overdose," according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and Coroner's Office.

A coroner's van was at the residence early Wednesday, and an autopsy will be conducted before an official cause of death is determined.

The autopsy probably will not be conducted until Thursday or Friday, coroner's officials said.

Donald Sterling, who acquired the Clippers in 1981, is among the longest-tenured NBA owners. The team was located in San Diego at the time, and Sterling relocated the franchise to Los Angeles in 1984. 

Sterling has homes in Malibu and Beverly Hills, according to the Clippers web site. Police interviewed Scott Sterling after responding to the Beverly Hills home in 1999 for a report of a shooting, but prosecutors did not file charges.

A house burned in Mountain View on Wednesday morning, according to fire officials.

Heavy smoke and flames was seen from the residence at 3759 Clinton St. Firefighters received the call at 9:45 a.m. and extinguished the blaze by 10 a.m.

Officials said a man was inside the home when the fire began. He attempted to put out the fire himself, but he couldn't contain it. The man exited the home safely thanks to a neighbor who ran to help man get out of his house. He was evaluated by paramedics, who determined he didn't need to go to the hospital.

The neighborhood came together to help the man to safety. Numerous neighborhood dogs barked, alerting one neighbor to call 911. Two other neighbors helped move the resident's parked cars in the driveway to other parts of the street.

The search that led police to the grisly New Year's Eve discovery of a man's body encased in concrete began when someone walked into a Whittier police station Sunday afternoon, offering an anonymous but in-person tip.

A Santa Fe Springs man, the tipster said, might be someone whom police ought to contact with regard to a murder, Whittier Police Officer Brad White told NBC4 Wednesday.

Officers tracked down Juan Alberto Galviz, the man identified by the tipster, and arrested him shortly after on suspicion of murder, White said.

Galviz, also known as Juan Manuel Ramirez, was charged with murder and ordered to remain in jail on $1 million bail while awaiting arraignment in Whittier Superior Court Jan. 23.

Investigators' discussion with Galviz led them to a warehouse area in the 9400 block of John Street in Santa Fe Springs, where they found newly poured concrete that they believed contained a body.

By the time police arrived at the warehouse, however, the concrete had already hardened, White said, making removal and identification difficult.

The victim was shot to death on Dec. 23, according the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office.

Officers requested a search warrant and also contacted the Los Angeles County Coroner's office, whose investigators had the skills necessary to remove the body.

Help didn't come until the next day, when the coroner's office sent experts in breaking up rocks and concrete, along with cadaver-sniffing dogs, to the location on John Street.

The body was removed from the concrete and taken to the coroner's office to be examined, White said.

Police are waiting for a full report from the coroner before releasing the dead man's name or saying how he was killed, White said.

But he said the victim had known Galviz, 35, for many years. The death, White said, was believed based on preliminary evidence to be the result of their escalating feud.

"They had known each other and never gotten along," White said.

Bad news for energy drink lovers.

Scientists say that aside from caffeine, energy drinks like Red Bull, Monster Energy and 5-Hour Energy provide little or no added benefit for consumers, according to a report by The New York Times. In fact, one researcher said the same effect on metabolism can be achieved through drinking a cup of coffee.

The latest findings are contrary to energy drink company claims that their beverages are engineered to do something more. Red Bull’s producers claimed that their drink “gives you wings,” and Monster Energy dubbed its drink a “killer energy brew.” These messages have allowed the drink makers to charge a premium for their caffeine concoctions, which helped drive sales to over $10 billion in 2012. A 16-ounce can of energy that sells for $2.99 has the same amount of caffeine as a NoDoz tablet that costs 30 cents.

“These are caffeine delivery systems,” said Dr. Roland Griffiths, a researcher at Johns Hopkins University told the Times. “They don’t want to say this is equivalent to a NoDoz because that is not a very sexy sales message.”

Energy drink makers like Rockstar Energy and 5-Hour Energy pack in ingredients like B vitamins that offer little benefit to drinkers, as most healthy people get adequate amounts of it from food, according to scientists. The Times report homed in on two other ingredients commonly found in energy drinks, glucuronolactone and taurine, and said their health benefits are not backed by science. The use of glucuronolactone is especially puzzling to scientists. One scientific journal, Nutrition Reviews, even admitted that they were clueless as to why glucuronolactone is used.

“Certainly, this is one ingredient for which evidence-based studies are needed to justify its popularity,” wrote the researchers.

Drink manufacturers claim that it is their proprietary formula and not a specific ingredient that gives consumers the physical and mental edge. Scientists say, however, any perceived increase in energy comes from the sugar and the concentrated levels of caffeine. And since the drinks are typically swallowed quickly, the caffeine kicks in faster.

The energy drink industry has come under scrutiny recently by the Food and Drug Administration after reports of illness or death of people who consumed their beverages. In November, the FDA announced that they received reports of 13 deaths over the last four years that are possibly related to 5-Hour Energy. The month before, the FDA looked into reports of five deaths of people who drank Monster Energy.

 The United States Coast Guard spent hours searching for a man who was not able to make it back to land after getting swept out to the ocean in Point Reyes Tuesday afternoon. 

Three hours into the search, they located the man. The Marin County sheriff's office said while "life saving measures" were attempted, they were unable to revive him and the man died. 

The man's wife and their dog were able to make it back to shore after also getting swept out into the cold water.

Witnesses said the man intially made it back to shore after helping his wife. They said he went back in for the dog and that is when he was swept out.

The victim has been identified as Charles Quaid of Richmond (pictured below).

The incident was reported at 1 p.m. New Year's Day.  Witnesses said the three were walking along the rocks when they were hit by a rogue wave.

The Coast Guard sent a helicopter and a boat to aid in the search for the man, who is reportedly 59 years old. They located him around 4 p.m.

The National Park Service and Marin County Fire also helped in the search.  

Quaid was a director of finance for Pacific Business Group on Health.

Despite being hospitalized after a beating, a man is not cooperating with San Diego police in the search for his attackers officials said.

The victim, a 47-year-old man, was attacked at a bus station in the East Village late Tuesday.

San Diego police say the man was jumped around 9 p.m. near the MTS Transit Center at National and Imperial.

The victim was taken to the hospital with several broken ribs, and stab wounds to his head, neck and back.

Officers say the victim was not cooperating with them, so they have not been able to reléase a suspect description.
 

A photographer was killed Tuesday night when he was struck by a vehicle while taking pictures of Justin Bieber’s white Ferrari. Bieber was not in the car at the time.

Access Hollywood obtained the following statement from Bieber: "While I was not present nor directly involved with this tragic accident, my thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victim. Hopefully this tragedy will finally inspire meaningful legislation and whatever other necessary steps to protect the lives and safety of celebrities, police officers, innocent public bystanders, and the photographers themselves."

Two possible candidates have been identified in the interview process for the new San Diego Chargers general manager.

As of Tuesday, the Chargers got permission to talk with Tom Telesco of the Colts and Steve Keim of the Cardinals.

The Broncos denied the team access to their director of player personnel Matt Russell.

Former Green Bay Packers GM Ron Wolf, who will help in the search for a new GM, discussed the process in an interview on Chargers.com.

Wolf said he is one of a panel of people interviewing candidates for the job to help Dean Spanos make a decision. He said the interview process will be easy.

Candidates will either be “stars” or will eliminate themselves Wolf said.

Watch the full interview

As for how the Bolts will stack up in an atmosphere of changing jobs and head coach vacancies, Wolf said the Chargers should be considered a premiere franchise to candidates.

“Anybody worth his salt would wait to hear what the Chargers have to offer,” he said.

Meanwhile there are multiple reports that Andy Reid is close to getting the head coaching job with the Cardinals.

There was speculation that Reid was trying to use the Cardinals offer to work out a quick deal with the Chargers.

Winter's first survey of the Sierra Nevada snowpack Wednesday showed that California is "ahead of the game" for water supply this year, officials said.

The annual manual snow survey on Jan. 2 was scheduled for 11 a.m., with scientists tromping into an area off Highway 50 near Echo Summit, south of Lake Tahoe (map), to measure the snow depth.

The manual measurement, along with dozens of other electronic readings up and down the state's largest mountain range, determined the amount of water in early winter snowpack. 

Results statewide showed the amount of water in California snowpack to be at 134 percent of average for Jan. 2, according to state Department of Water Resources spokesman Ted Thomas.

"Right now, we're off to an excellent start for a good water supply year in 2013," Thomas said.

"We do have to keep in mind that we've had wet years start out wet and turn dry," he added. "Right now we're ahead of the game."

Snow surveys are conducted near the first of each month from January through May each year.

Wednesday's measurement is nearly half of the average seen on April 1, when snowpack is normally at its peak.

Late last month, electronic readings had indicated the water content was at 146 percent of normal, according to a press release from the state Department of Water Resources.

A series of early season storms have boosted Sierra snowpack, which slowly melts into streams, reservoirs and underground aquifers, providing about a third of the state's water supply for homes, farms and industry.

The early winter storms have already boosted water levels in state reservoirs. The Department of Water Resources said late last month that Lake Oroville in Butte County, the State Water Project's principal storage reservoir, is at 70 percent of capacity, or 111 percent of normal.

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Police have arrested a suspect in a Pacific Beach bank robbery that took place on Monday, according to the FBI. 

The robbery happened just after noon when a man entered the Wells Fargo on Mission Boulevard in Pacific Beach and demanded cash in a note. 

The teller provided the money and the suspect fled on foot, according to a statement from the FBI. 

The FBI said James Arthur McWatters is believed to be the suspect. McWatters was booked into jail on Wednesday and faces robbery and other charges. 

The Pacific Beach robbery was the second robbery of a Wells Fargo branch in the same week. 

The one prior to the PB robbery was reported to police at about 10:45 a.m. Saturday in the Wells Fargo on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard in Kearny Mesa.

Police said the suspect, who is still at large, used a demand note for cash and the teller complied. The suspect then fled in a dark sedan with an out-of-state license plate.

That suspect is described by FBI officials as a man in his late 40s to early 50s about 5'7'' and 180 pounds.

He has a husky build and graying facial hair. He was reportedly wearing a red USC cap, rectangular-shaped sunglasses, a brown hooded sweatshirt, black polo shirt, a San Diego Chargers lanyard and black dress shoes.

Ah New Year’s, a time for resolutions promising to be healthier in 2013. But before signing up for a gym membership, make your road to fitness an easy one by following the following tips.

Read the Fine Print
Don’t feel pressured to sign on the spot. Take the contract home and read it over and make sure to see what kind of penalty fees you could face if you decide to leave. After combing through the fine print, rules and regulations then it’s safe to make a decision.

Opt for Short Term
While it might look cheaper to sign up for a year-long contract, short term memberships can ultimately be cheaper. Not only does it give you a chance to get a feel for the gym, it can ultimately be cheaper if you have to stop working out.

Get a Copy of the Contract
After signing the paperwork for your gym of choice, make sure to ask for a copy of the contract. That way if policies change, you have proof of what you agreed to.

View Local Deals
Want to try a gym without committing to a contract? Check out deal sites, such as NBC 7’s The Goods, which typically feature savings for high end facilities this time of year. Some gyms also offer free week memberships, which gives you the chance to try the facility without exceeding your budget.

If you’re still worried about signing up, local legislation should put you at ease. California’s “Health Studio Services Contract Law” also allow you to cancel a contract up to five days after signing it.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has left the New York hospital where she was being treated for a blood clot in her head.

Clinton was discharged from New York Presbyterian Hospital on Wednesday evening, according to a statement from Philippe Reines, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State.

"Her medical team advised her that she is making good progress on all fronts, and they are confident she will make a full recovery," Reines wrote. "She's eager to get back to the office, and we will keep you updated on her schedule as it becomes clearer in the coming days."

Her daughter, Chelsea Clinton, tweeted her gratitude to the nurses and staff at the hospital "for taking great care of my Mom."

Earlier in the afternoon, the State Department said, she was speaking with her staff and reviewed paperwork while she continued her recovery.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland says Clinton has been "quite active" on the phone Wednesday with State Department aides. She says doctors will continue to monitor her progress.

Clinton was admitted to the hospital Sunday and is being treated with blood thinners to dissolve a clot in the vein behind the right ear. Doctors found the clot during a follow-up exam stemming from a concussion she suffered in early December.

Clinton's doctors say there was no neurological damage and that she did not suffer a stroke.

In a statement released Monday, her doctors indicated she was being treated with blood thinners and that she would be discharged once the proper dose to dissolve the clot had been established.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

In the political overtime vote on New Year’s Day that pulled the country back from the dreaded “fiscal cliff,”  San Diego County's Congressional delegation split 2 to 2 on the so-called "Tax Relief Extension Act" -- with one of the Republicans crossing party lines.
           
This reaction, from an unhappy Rep. Darrell Issa (R-49th Dist.), who cast a dissenting vote along with Rep. Duncan D. Hunter (R-52nd Dist.): "They passed a bill that was larded with pork that's going to run up the deficit by $4 trillion -- that in fact is a tax increase, not a cut -- at a time in which we have a $1.3 trillion debt."
           
In a telephone interview Wednesday, the  chair of the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee said it was shortsighted for more than a third of his House GOP colleagues to throw in with the huge voting bloc of Democrats.

"The people who voted to increase the debt by $4 trillion, many of them won't be here tomorrow,” Issa noted, referring to Thursday’s swearing-in ceremony for a new Congress. “So it was one Congress throwing $4 trillion away, and then hoping the next Congress somehow would save them."

One Republican who won't be back for Congress’ next term, Brian Bilbray,  cast an “aye” vote, telling NBC 7 by phone on Wednesday: “I didn’t want to have my last vote in Congress being against one of the largest tax reductions that we’ve ever had in the country.”

Bilbray, who lost his seat in a close race against Democrat Scott Peters to represent California’s new 52nd District, agreed with Issa’s premise that there was “a lot not to like” in the measure.

But the six-term veteran of Capitol hill explained that he saw the bill as “basically institutionalizing parts of what were called the 'Bush tax cuts', that were attacked as being only for the wealthy for so long, (and)  finally shown to be overwhelmingly for the average American."

Bilbray points out that budget hawks can count on another day of reckoning not far off, when a showdown on the debt ceiling will push spending cuts front-and-center. 

"And I think that's where the real showdown is,” he said. "Really, we've only bought about 16 to 18 days of spending for the President with this bill.  The fact is that you can't tax your way out of the budget crisis of this country, and everybody knows it."

Rep. Susan Davis (D-53rd Dist.) issued a written statement, saying in part: "The House did what the American people asked of it -- work together to strengthen the middle class. We laid the groundwork for permanent changes in making our economy work for everyone, not just the top earners."
           
Rep. Hunter was not available for comment.
           
The county's fifth Congressional seat has been vacant since last month, when Bob Filner became San Diego's mayor.

An Oceanside man was found with a gunshot wound inside an apartment early Wednesday.

The unidentified man was discovered just after midnight in the apartment complex near Grant Street and Division Street near Oceanside High School officials said.

Emergency crews transported the injured man to Scripps La Jolla Hospital by helicopter.

The community has been the center of several high-profile criminal cases in just the last two months.

In November, Oceanside police officers arrested Frederick Hengl, 68, after the discovery of his wife's body in the couple's N. Ditmar Street home.

Officers reported finding the dismembered remains of 73-year-old Anna Faris cooking in pans in the couple's kitchen.

The Hengls' house is located near the apartment complex involved in the shooting.

On November 30, the neighborhood was also in the spotlight when residents Inez Martinez Garcia, 43, and husband Marcial Garcia Hernandez, 45, were arrested and accused of allegedly abusing a young girl who had been smuggled into the U.S.

One resident told NBC 7 San Diego the area is known for gang activity adding that there have been five shootings on the street since November 1.