NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (Nov. 30)

Welcome to NTD Evening News, our top story tonight. President-elect Trump tapping his son-in-law's father as the next U.S. ambassador to France. A look at his background. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visits Trump at Mar-a-Lago. This follows Trump's threat of sweeping tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods. Record snowfall blankets towns near the Great Lakes region, plus which states are under a cold weather alert. Taiwanese President William Lai touching down in Hawaii today. More on Washington's move before Lai's departure. This is NTD Evening News, live from our global headquarters in New York City. Good evening and thank you for joining us tonight. I'm Don Mung. President-elect Trump has nominated Charles Kushner to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to France. Kushner's son Jared is Trump's son-in-law. Kushner was pardoned by Trump in 2020 after serving a prison sentence for tax evasion conviction. In a post on Truth Social, Trump called Kushner a highly successful business leader who will, quote, be a strong advocate representing our country and its interests. Trump also said today he discussed the border, trade and energy in a very productive meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Trudeau paid an unannounced visit to Florida yesterday. Trudeau had dinner with Trump and a few members of his selected cabinet in Mar-a-Lago last night. The meeting came days after Trump promised massive hikes in tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, starting on the first day of his administration. However, Trudeau did not say whether the two discussed tariffs. Also today, Trump threatened 100 percent tariffs on BRICS countries, warning against countering the power of the dollar. The BRICS alliance is made up of nine countries, including China, Brazil, India, Russia and South Africa. Posting on Truth Social, Trump advised against creating a new currency or backing any other currency to replace the U.S. dollar, adding that the countries risk losing access to the U.S. market if they do. President Biden attended the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Nantucket, Massachusetts. He was asked about the recent bomb threats to U.S. lawmakers and a number of presidents like Trump's cabinet. Any reaction to the bomb threats and the swatting attempts, Mr. President, this week? The bomb threats against lawmakers and the swatting attempts against cabinet officials? Biden is spending the Thanksgiving weekend with his family in Nantucket. Six Democratic members of Congress from Connecticut were targeted by bomb threats on their homes on Thanksgiving. Police who responded said they found no evidence of explosives on the lawmakers' properties. On Wednesday, several of Trump's most prominent cabinet picks and appointees reported they also received bomb threats. Winter storms are battering the Great Lakes region during the hectic holiday travel and shopping weekend. The first big snow of the season threatened to bury towns in New York along Lakes Erie and Ontario. In parts of Erie County, Pennsylvania, snowfall has exceeded 40 inches. Meanwhile, cold weather advisories were issued today for parts of North Dakota, with a freezing warning expected across the central Gulf Coast states and the southeast. Temperatures in the northern plains will drop 15 to 20 degrees below average. The National Weather Service warned that heavy lake-effect snow could make travel very difficult to impossible into next week. Lake-effect snow happens when warm, moist air rising from a With Thanksgiving behind us, but more holiday celebrations ahead, we took to the streets of Manhattan to ask people what they're grateful for this year, what holiday traditions they have, and how to keep that spirit of gratitude alive through the year. Let's take a look. So I would say all in all the total dinner was I would say probably about $300. For two people it was about $120. About $700. For four of us. For four of us. We ate at Bubby's. Bubby's for brunch. It was good. I spent $40 making it, the rest my sisters bought. Yeah. Well I guess we've adopted kind of like a Friendsgiving, like we meet with some of our friends and just like talk and stuff and share some food so. We like going to our aunt's for Thanksgiving. Yep. I just like to be with my family and cook a nice meal for everyone. Well this is not a holiday tradition because I usually cook for my big family, but it's my bucket list and I really wanted to do it this year. It's usually an argument followed by laughter. Yeah. Every year we all argue and then 30 minutes later. Everybody's happy. Everybody's happy. Yeah. But there's always an argument. Yep. Sleep. Sleep. Well we're gonna go shopping. Yes. We're just excited to see the sites and they are excited to go where? To the Nintendo store and just enjoy the holiday. Everything that New York has to offer for the holidays. So my sister is visiting me so right now we're gonna head to Koreatown and walk around explore that area because I've never explored it and then tomorrow we're also gonna walk around Manhattan and explore because this is her first time in New York so I'm just trying to show her around. Oh we're going everywhere. We're gonna go to the Chelsea Market. Now you got a week? I'm here all the way until next Thursday and I'm staying because I want to see the tree lighting in Rockefeller Center. We're just gonna relax. Yeah. R&R. The rest of the weekend and we go back on Tuesday to Texas. So came here to New York to sightsee for a little bit. Femmes. Oh stop. Okay never mind. Oh okay. I'm really grateful for my friends and for all my classmates at school this year. They're all fantastic. Yeah. I'm also grateful for them. We're a close knit group of people so yeah. It's fun to be with them every day. Family and friends and animals. Yep. We had a new baby this year. He's at home so we're thankful for our new addition. I'm thankful for my family, my friends, my apartment, my health. I'm thankful for my family and my best friends. Family. Yep. Family. Absolutely. Family. Family, friends, love, God. God. Yes. Today is Small Business Saturday. It's a day to promote and to help drive more holiday shopping to smaller enterprises. Small businesses are crucial to the economy. Over 33 million businesses are smaller in the U.S. and they make up 99% of all businesses. To find out how these enterprises are doing, I spoke to a business owner, Brian Ganz. He's the president and CEO of Berna Technologies. Take a look. Brian, thank you very much for joining us today. The first thing I'd like your thoughts on, in light of Small Business Saturday, what is the state of businesses right now? Well, Berna is a somewhat unique business. Just as a background, we make non-lethal self-defense weapons. We started doing this in 2019. This year we'll sell 85 million dollars of product. So we're in that range somewhere between a small business and a larger business. We've been growing very rapidly and I think when you ask about what is the state of small business, for Berna, we've had a tremendous opportunity as a startup to take a small business and to really develop it into a large business with the help of some technologies that 10 years ago didn't exist. So on the topic of the state of businesses right now, one thing, one important thing actually, that could impact businesses are tariffs. And the incoming administration has talked about those. Can you tell us how you're feeling about the proposed tariffs? So when we started off, we were working with an inventor from South Africa. So a lot of our production was in South Africa. We had a global supply chain that really spanned the world. And in 2020, only 11 percent of our products were made here in the U.S. So over these last four years, we've gone from 11 percent of our supply chain being in the U.S. to today 79 percent of our supply chain is in the U.S. That said, we still do manufacture in China. We manufacture in other parts of Asia as well as South America, South Africa, Europe. We are looking to try to bring that last bit of production home, because even though it's a relatively small amount, a 60 percent tariff on China or the threatened 200 percent tariff on Mexico could have a very significant impact. And I think Berna, like a lot of businesses, are seeing the benefit of manufacturing in the United States. So if you do, in fact, bring manufacturing back here in the U.S., would you foresee that prices would go up? We've calculated that based on where we are today, if we had to bring our product back to the U.S., it would increase the cost by about $10 per launcher. And as a point of reference, the cheapest launcher sells for $379. So it would not be a meaningful increase. And that, of course, is before calculation of the duties or tariffs. So if the tariffs are really 60 percent on some of the products that we bring in from overseas, it may actually be less expensive to produce in the U.S. A lot of uncertainty, I feel, in the future, especially with a new administration coming. What do you think some of the bigger challenges are, economically speaking? Well, you know, I think the two biggest challenges are going to be the twin pillars of the tariffs and sort of almost the flip side of that coin, the deportation of undocumented immigrants and predominantly undocumented workers. So, you know, we've spoken with Tom Homan. I think they're very, very serious about deporting what will ultimately be millions of undocumented workers. Now, Berna, as a public company, we do not employ any undocumented workers. Everybody is either a U.S. citizen or a green card holder or has a work permit. But there are a lot of companies that do employ undocumented workers. And if these workers are deported from the country, they're going to have to find workers elsewhere. And there is no doubt that that's going to have an upward impact on wages. This year, we already were forced to give an across-the-board 10 percent increase to all of our factory workers because we simply couldn't find enough employees. So I do think that between the tariffs and the deportation of workers, you're going to see some real inflation. You know, I don't know if at the end of the day this is going to be worth it or not worth it, but I don't think you can add a cost to the incoming components and reduce the size of the workforce and not see an increase in prices. All right, Brian, pleasure speaking to you today. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Nice to speak with you. Taiwan's President William Lai arrived in Hawaii today, beginning a two-day transit in the U.S. before visiting allies in the Pacific. His next stop is the U.S. territory of Guam. It's unclear whether Lai will meet with any members of the incoming U.S. administration during his stay. This is Lai's first overseas trip since taking office. Beijing has voiced displeasure with Lai's transit in the U.S. The Chinese Communist Party claims Taiwan as part of China despite never having ruled the island. The regime has vowed to take Taiwan under its control by force, if necessary. The U.S. doesn't have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, so the island's leaders use stopovers on U.S. soil to engage with American politicians. A few hours before Lai left for the trip, Washington announced a $385 million arms sale package for Taiwan. Lai also thanked the U.S. before he left. I will continue to expand cooperation and deepen our partnership with friends and neighbors based on the values of democracy, peace and prosperity, so that the world can see that Taiwan is not only a model of democracy, but also a key force in promoting global peace, stability and prosperity. Following his U.S. stops, Lai will visit the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau, Taiwan's three diplomatic allies in the Pacific. The Santa Train returns for its 82nd year, bringing presence and joy to the Appalachian regions, although not in a sleigh on rooftops. That story, coming up after the break. Welcome back. It's famous all over the world and boasts a long tradition. Pizza, a timeless favorite. This week, top chefs competed to create the most original pizza at this year's European Pizza Chef Competition in London. Here's more. The European Pizza Show showcases the finest pizza chef talent from the UK and Europe. Top pizza chefs were selected as finalists and went head to head. The challenge? Who could craft the most original contemporary pizza? New and different toppings were judged by a pizza panel. Smoked Scottish mozzarella, smoked Scottish haddock. But what do judges think? I don't know. I never got a chance to see the judges try it. Things were heating up in the kitchen. I think it was seen as a bit of a fad, a bit of a gimmick, you know, putting honey on cheese and tomato. But actually, when you get it on there and you've got the creamy cheese, you've got the spicy meats, it really balances it out. It's really, really good product to use. But the question remains, is pineapple an acceptable topping addition? In an exhibition full of Italian people, no way you're going to find pineapple on pizza. Trust me, no way. With lots of new ideas being created, the chefs are hoped to be cut above the crust. The European Pizza Show was held at Olympia, London. An electrician has discovered 17th century frescoes hidden behind a false ceiling at the When an electrician opened a ceiling trap door in the historic Rome building to check some cables, he never thought he would discover a piece of art history. My first feeling, since I am not an expert in the field and I had never experienced something like this before, was astonishment, immense astonishment. Villa Farnesina is best known for the frescoes by Raphael that decorated. The frescoes are on the old ceiling of what was once the living room of a wealthy banker and patron who had the villa built in the early 16th century. They were hidden above the current ceiling, which was built and frescoed in the 19th century. The surprise, as you can imagine, was accompanied by great emotion, also due to the fact that the Accademia DEI Lincei now carries out numerous studies and research projects at Villa Farnesina through a cultural heritage research center. Ongoing studies of the frescoes indicate that they were probably created by the Italian Baroque painter-restorer Carlo Marotta and his pupils. Through these new frescoes we understand that he, Marotta, also intervened in this area, architecturally less representative but very functional, which was the entrance from Agostino Cigi's secret garden. Marotta and his pupils were relevant artists in the Italian painting scene of the 17th century, but not well known enough to prevent their art from being hidden during building work on the villa. This sector, this area, was divided in the 19th century into the current two rooms, the one we call the ex-ticket office, because it was once the museum's ticket office and the atrium with 19th century decorations commissioned by the Duke of Rapalda, who was resident in the villa in the 19th century. The new discovery is an opportunity to open an exhibition that recounts the historical and artistic context in which the frescoes were created. The Villa Farnesina is a treasure trove of Renaissance works, but it also had a long life, and in the 17th century, when it was owned by the Farnese family, it continued to be a model and reference point for artists. The exhibition is open until January 12th next year. It displays works that provide a deeper insight into the influence of Raphael in 17th century Rome. Since 1943, people in the Appalachian regions of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee have eagerly awaited Santa's yearly arrival, not in a sleigh on their rooftops, but on a train. Here's a closer look at this holiday tradition. The Santa train marks its 82nd running this year. It brings presence and joy to small towns along the rail line, tucked into remote coal country river valleys. I think the Santa train is a great example of the soul of CSX. The history, 82 years, the connectivity to the central part of our country sometimes gets forgotten, and two, you know, both combining the history, but also today, and the gifts, but also the spirit of giving. The train starts out in Shelbyana, Kentucky, where families wait in the pre-dawn. At each stop, there are dozens to hundreds of people. Many crowd around the back of the train, where Santa and his helpers toss stuffed animals. People look forward to this event every evening. They know where the stops are. And I've talked to people today. One lady, Ruth, has been here every Santa train since 1943. CSX employees consider it an honor to be chosen to staff the Santa train as volunteers. Our employees are connected to the communities, and we feel a sense of purpose to the communities we live in and serve to bring joy, also obviously economic vitality, but to bring joy and holiday spirit. Volunteers also include the CSX president and CEO himself. He gets off at every stop and hands out toys and talks to those who have come to see the train. That's all the stories we have for you tonight. Thank you for watching. I'm Don Ma. Good night.