World Welcomes 2025 With Fireworks Displays; Puerto Rico’s Power Grid Collapses on New Year’s Eve

Welcome to NTD News Today. Here are today's top stories. 2025 has already arrived in Pacific countries, with major fireworks displays ushering the new year in Australia, New Zealand, and Taiwan. High alert in Times Square for New Year's Eve. The NYPD deploys heavy security, citing global tensions. A blackout hits nearly all of Puerto Rico on New Year's Eve, leaving more than a million utility customers in the dark. What officials say about the time needed to restore power. China says it has nothing more to share after the World Health Organization once again asked the country to open its database to study the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. South Korea's worst aviation disaster in decades claims 179 lives. U.S. investigators are now assisting in the probe into the fiery crash at Muan Airport. 2024 was an exciting year in sports. NTD's Dave Martin takes a look back, ranking his 10 biggest stories of the year. This is NTD News Today, live from our global headquarters in New York City. Good morning. Today is Tuesday, December 31st. I'm Don Ma. Now, while most of us are gearing up for New Year's Eve celebrations, 2025 has already begun in Australia. Relatives in Sydney kicked off the new year near Sydney Harbor with a flurry of fireworks and a beautiful backdrop of the Harbor Bridge. Three, two, one. Happy New Year! More than a million people gathered to watch the traditional fireworks. Earlier, British pop star Robbie Williams led a sing-along, and indigenous ceremonies and performances acknowledged the land's first people. Countries in the South Pacific are the first to ring in the new year, with midnight in New Zealand striking 18 hours before the ball drops in Times Square in New York. Auckland was the first major city to welcome 2025. Thousands of revelers counted down to the new year and cheered the colorful fireworks. The display was launched from Sky Tower, New Zealand's tallest structure. Visitors could also watch a spectacular downtown light show. Thousands also thronged downtown or climbed the city's ring of volcanic peaks for a fireworks vantage point. In the capital of Taiwan, fireworks light up the landmark Taipei 101 Tower. The annual New Year's Eve fireworks display is themed on Taiwan's premier 12 baseball championship, featuring a variety of performances. Law enforcement agencies are on high alert for New Year's Eve in Times Square. Although no specific threats have been identified, authorities remain concerned about potential protests or violence. The concerns are based on an interagency threat assessment produced by Homeland Security each year. The department expressed worries about individuals who might carry out low-tech attacks that are hard to identify beforehand. It cited tensions in the Middle East as a contributing factor. Mayor Eric Adams says visitors will be safe during the celebrations. New York City police will deploy uniformed and plainclothes officers. The public is urged to report any suspicious activity. A massive power outage in Puerto Rico has left 90 percent of its population in the dark. Puerto Rico's governor says a critical failure in the island's power grid caused the blackout. He said the government and providers are working to restore service as quickly as possible. Luma Energy said about 14 percent of its customers now have power again after a total blackout that began early this morning. Luma says it will take up to 48 hours to reach full restoration. The outage impacted nearly 1.4 million utility customers. Another major cyber breach hits a key U.S. agency. The Treasury Department says Chinese state-sponsored hackers accessed employee workstations. Entity's Daniel Monaghan has more on what was stolen and how the theft was carried out. Chinese hackers have struck again, this time targeting the Treasury Department. The department confirmed the breach in a letter to lawmakers calling it a major incident. According to the report, hackers exploited vulnerabilities in a third-party software provider called Beyond Trust. By gaining access to a critical security key, the attackers remotely accessed certain Treasury workstations and stole unclassified documents. The breach occurred on December 8th and the compromised service has since been taken offline. While the number of affected workstations and the type of stolen documents remain unclear, the Treasury insists there's no evidence the hackers still have access. The FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency are investigating. This breach is the latest in a series of cyber attacks by China's state-backed The group has been tied to wide-ranging espionage campaigns, including targeting telecom giants like Verizon and AT&T. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has urged those in senior government or political positions to immediately stop using regular phone calls and text messages and to assume such traditional mobile networks are compromised. The agency is advising them to use only end-to-end encrypted communications. The hacking group has already successfully targeted now Vice President-elect J.D. Vance and now President-elect Donald Trump, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris, Daniel Monaghan, NTD News. Washington D.C.'s top prosecutor who led the investigation into the January 6th capital breach has announced his resignation. U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves said in a press release he will step down on January 16th, just days before President-elect Trump returns to the White House. Graves thanks President Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland, saying that serving in this role had been an opportunity of a lifetime. Under Graves' watch, the office charged more than 1,500 defendants in connection with January 6th. Most of these, nearly a thousand, have pleaded guilty. Trump says he will offer pardons to some of the defendants. The President-elect has not yet announced his pick for Graves' replacement. And what's left of President-elect Trump's classified documents case has been handed off to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Southern Florida. That's according to court documents. Special Counsel Jack Smith dropped the charges against Trump after he won the presidency in November. However, two other defendants in the case still face obstruction charges. Walt Nauta and Carlos Oliveira, who are employees of Trump, have pleaded not guilty. Now, Smith's team has officially withdrawn his case against the two men. Smith also says he's working to complete a final report on the investigation. An appeals court on Monday declined to grant President-elect Trump a new trial in the E. Jean Carroll sexual abuse case. We're now turning to our legal correspondent Arlene Richards for more. So Arlene, this case goes back to the 1990s. Why did Ms. Carroll wait so long to sue Trump? Well, in 2019, she had published a book. And the New York Magazine had published an excerpt from that book in which she had stated that Trump had raped her. Now, Trump then publicly said, or he denied that he actually raped her. And he also said that she was lying. So she filed this lawsuit for defamation. Now, she didn't include any claims for damages for the actual rape. So in order for her to prove this defamation, or to win the defamation case, she has to prove that he actually did rape her. Now, Arlene, the jury found that Trump didn't rape Ms. Carroll, but they still awarded her $5 million. Why did the judge allow it? Well, because Trump was the sitting president at the time, the case was delayed for a long time, because of course, he was trying to claim presidential immunity. In the meantime, in 2022, the state of New York passed this law called the Adult Survivors Act. And under that law, if you were an adult, and you had been sexually abused at any time in your life, you had a one year window within which to sue your abuser for damages. So Ms. Carroll put the court on notice that she was going to be adding on seeking damages for the rape and sexual assault. So now in 2022, Trump is no longer the president. He again publicly states that he did not rape her and that she is lying. So she adds on another defamation claim onto the case. So this goes to the jury, the jury finds that she didn't prove that he raped her, but he did prove sexual assault and therefore they awarded her the $5 million. I see. And Trump's attorneys argued that the trial court erroneously allowed testimony from two other women who had said that Trump sexually assaulted them, but the appeals court said it wasn't a mistake. How did they allow it? Well, according to the judge or according to the appeals court, they said that there were a couple of rules of federal evidence in which if the case is about sexual assault, then they are permitted to bring in evidence of previous sexual assaults. Now, his attorneys argued, Trump's attorneys argued that this defamation claim wasn't about sexual assault. It was about a rape. And of course the jury said she didn't prove that, but the appeals court said the whole case was about sexual assault, which presumably is because of this act. And so therefore they said there was no mistake. And so we know now that Trump's attorneys are going to appeal this. All right, Arlene, thank you very much for your analysis today. Thank you. And going into break now, coming up, New York's congestion pricing law is slated to take effect Sunday, and it's facing some last minute resistance. A judge's ruling on a lawsuit challenging the policy is interpreted two different ways by the plaintiff and the defendant. Chris Beers breaks it down. A series of tornadoes tear through the South. Residents in a Texas county described experiencing the severe storms. Two planes narrowly avoid a collision at Los Angeles International Airport. Air traffic controllers ordered a jet to halt just in time. The alarming moment caught on camera that did more after the break. Hi, I'm Susan Lucci. I never thought about heart disease until I had my own heart event. I received two stents in my arteries, stents developed through research funded by the American Heart Association. Those stents saved my life. I have met so many survivors. Each of them tells a story that can be so helpful to women out there. Everything was pretty good. It was a very happy life. I was given the diagnosis that I had peripartum cardiomyopathy, which is basically a pregnancy-induced heart failure. They told me my only chance was a heart transplant. And the American Heart Association helped make that possible. Their research helped save me. I think everyone should support the American Heart Association. Call now or go to helpheart.org. For only $19 a month, just 63 cents a day, you can help fund the next medical breakthrough, get the next person trained in CPR, the next hospital certified in high-quality cardiovascular care. You can be part of that very important work that the American Heart Association is doing to save lives everywhere. Give $19 a month with your credit card and we'll send you this special t-shirt that you can wear to show that you are helping save lives. I'm grateful for just every day that I get with my children. I am very thankful for the American Heart Association. Heart disease is America's number one killer and your support now can help save your life or the life of someone you love. Listen to your heart. The only reason I'm here today is because I did. So please call the number on your screen or go to helpheart.org now. Join me as a monthly donor today and help save even more lives. Here you go. Thank you. Thank you. Welcome back. A Monday court ruling on New York's controversial congestion pricing law is met with differing views. New Jersey challenged the first in the nation law that requires automobiles to pay a fee for entering Manhattan south of Central Park. Now those on both sides of the challenge are celebrating the ruling. How could that be? NTD's Chris Beers is here to explain. Chris, untangle this for us. Yeah, so Don, basically New Jersey is suing New York against this law based on environmental grounds. They're saying that if cars don't go into New York because of this congestion pricing law, some of them will end up in New Jersey increasing emissions. So the judge ruled that the Federal Highway Administration has to weigh in. He remanded it to them until January 17th. What's interesting about this is that both the defendant and the plaintiff in this case are celebrating this ruling. You have MTA chair and CEO Jano Lieber saying we're gratified that on virtually every issue Judge Gordon agreed with the New York federal court and rejected New Jersey's claim that the environmental assessment approved 18 months ago was deficient. And then you also have New York Governor Kathy Hochul saying our position has prevailed in court on nearly every issue. This is a massive win for commuters in both New York and New Jersey. So you have the governor of New York and the CEO of the MTA celebrating this. And what's interesting, like I mentioned, is that the lawyer for New Jersey, the plaintiff in this case, is also celebrating. He's saying we welcome the court's ruling today in the congestion pricing lawsuit. The reason for his celebration is because he's interpreting this ruling to remand to the FHA until January 17th as a stop or a hold or a pause to this law saying that it shouldn't go into effect on Sunday. So we'll see what happens there. So the MTA is interpreting this ruling as a win. Does that mean the congestion pricing law will go into effect on Sunday as planned? Well, if MTA's plans have anything to do with it, then yes. I mean, they're basically acting like this is just going to keep going. It is going to go into effect on Sunday. That's kind of how they're conducting themselves. And if it does indeed go into effect, there are a few things you can do if it's going to impact you. Basically, you know, for some people, five days a week, 50 weeks a year, that's over $2,200 per year if you're getting hit with the base $9 a day fee. And for some people, that's a lot. So, of course, you could take the train, you could take the bus into New York City, and that can save you on gas as well as wear and tear on your car. And there are also rideshare options, carpooling options, craigslist.org. You can get all kinds of things on there. You can also meet people who are going to the same place you are and potentially ride with them in their car. And you, of course, work something out with them. It's basically arranged on a per-ride basis, pretty ad hoc. There's a little more formal type of system, 511nyrideshare.org, run by New York State. It's a little, again, more formal. It connects people with other people going to certain places. All right, Chris, thanks for the information today. Thanks, Tom. And up next, former President Jimmy Carter is expected to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol while memorial services go ahead. Congressional leaders say yesterday they will ask the House and Senate to pass resolutions approving the arrangement, though these are usually a formality. Visitors will be able to pay their respects at the Capitol Rotunda, though increased security since 2021 will add a layer of challenge. The ceremonies for Carter's funeral will begin on January 4th, and he will be buried in Plains, Georgia, on January 9th. The former president's family will travel to Maranatha Baptist Church, which Carter used to attend, for a private funeral service before the burial. President Biden returned to the U.S. mainland today after a short vacation in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. The Bidens were greeted on the tarmac by Virgin Islands Governor Albert Bryant Jr. and Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett. The president and his wife will be traveling to the president's home state of Delaware. And moving now to Mexico, authorities have arrested three people in connection with the murder of a Mexican migration agent. The incident comes just weeks before an anticipated crackdown on illegal immigration after President-elect Trump takes office. Investigators in Mexico confirmed the agent suffered a head injury, which was found, and he was found dead yesterday. Two Venezuelan men and a Colombian national were detained as suspects. Mexican authorities said the agent was attacked at a checkpoint just across the border from El Paso, Texas, when he asked a number of foreign nationals for their IDs. Cleanup was underway yesterday after a strong storm system with high winds and tornadoes tore through the southern U.S. At least four deaths have been reported. NTV's Andrew Thomas has the latest. As of Monday afternoon, over 30 tornadoes have been confirmed. Two of the twisters had peak winds of about 140 miles per hour. In Montgomery County, Texas, Sasha Zamora was trying to put her baby to sleep when she realized how severe the storm was. It was a catastrophe. It was incredible. The ground was shaking. The wind was so strong. I can feel it. It only happened in a matter of seconds. Carlos Benitez was already working to rebuild his auto repair shop in the New Caney area near Houston. Here in my shop working, when I needed only the air blower, go in 30 seconds, maximum one minute. In one minute, me close my eyes. When I need it open, everything's down. The damage left in the tornado's wake spanned from the Lone Star State to South Carolina. Montgomery County officials said about 50 homes sustained major damage. Thirty were completely destroyed. Andrew Thomas, NTD News. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating an incident after a close call on the runway at Los Angeles International Airport. A Delta plane last Friday came very close to a chartered jet carrying the Gonzaga University men's basketball team. Wow. In the years I've been doing this, I've never heard an ATC controller tell a plane to stop, stop, stop. The FAA said air traffic controllers directed the chartered plane to hold short of a crossing at a runway at LAX because a second aircraft was taking off. The chartered jet crossed the hold bars. Air traffic controllers told the pilots to stop. The jet never crossed the runway edge line, according to the FAA. In a statement, Gonzaga said it's grateful the incident ended safely and team members were not aware of the situation as it happened. Delta said its flight operated as normal and that it's cooperating with the investigation. Changes are coming for some Medicare beneficiaries. Those who take a lot of pricey medications will get a bigger break in 2025. That's when the $2,000 annual cap on out-of-pocket costs for drugs go into effect. An interim ceiling of about $3,500 was in place for 2024. The limit is one of the Inflation Reduction Act's provisions to lower prescription drug prices for Medicare enrollees. Before the law, there was no cap. The AARP estimates more than 3 million enrollees who do not receive Medicare's low-income subsidies should benefit from the $2,000 cap. Coming up, China said there's nothing more to share when the WHO once again asked the country to open its status base for studying the origins of the pandemic. A South Korean court has issued an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk-yool, marking the first time a sitting president of the country has faced arrest. Russians tried to stick to a tighter budget this winter amid persistent inflation, and residents in Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine hope for peace. That and more after the break. Are today's mainstream martial arts not traditional martial arts? Imagine a coffee that cares for your health. Expertly fermented with a 50-enzyme complex to enhance flavor and remove bitterness. Small batch roasted to a decadent medium dark, resulting in a brew that is gentle on digestion, low acid, and up to 90% less caffeine than regular coffee. Try America's first enzyme-fermented coffee today. I am so glad you ladies are here. You each have your own rooms. Thank you. Get settled in. I'll call you for dinner. Adopting teen sisters, it's a lot. Girls, you're going to be late. You want breakfast? No, thanks. We're good. They're always in their own world. Twice the work, twice the surprises. Just try it. But if you think of it that way, they're also twice as fulfilling. Is it okay to call you mom? Of course you can. If you need to do something to feel okay to drive, you're not okay to drive. Don't drive buzzed. Welcome back. The World Health Organization once again urging China to grant access to its COVID-19 data. Five years ago, the country detected the first cases of the virus, which later impacted the entire world. China responded today that it has nothing else to share despite the WHO's repeated requests. A House Select Committee on the pandemic concluded its two-year investigation earlier this month, alleging the COVID-19 pandemic likely originated from a lab in Wuhan. Venezuela is fining TikTok $10 million for allegedly failing to protect children from harm. The country's Supreme Court said yesterday the social media company failed to implement measures to stop the spread of dangerous challenges. Back in November, President Nicolas Maduro blamed TikTok for the death of a 12-year-old girl. She allegedly died after taking part in a viral challenge to take tranquilizer pills and resist falling asleep. Venezuelan officials have also blamed TikTok for the deaths of two other children. In the last month, TikTok did not immediately respond to media requests for comment. Maduro's government has routinely censored news channels and websites. In August, Venezuela banned the social media platform X, while thousands of demonstrators were protesting Maduro's controversial re-election. Turning now to that deadly plane crash in South Korea, U.S. investigators have now joined in on an on-site probe into the disaster. The plane crashed into a wall at Muan airport, killing 179 people. NTV's Daniel Monaghan has the latest. South Korea says one member from the FAA, three experts from the National Transportation Safety Board, and four representatives from Boeing have joined South Korean officials. The closure of has also been extended to January 7th to be reassessed later. The Boeing 737-800 plane, operated by South Korean budget airline Jeju Air, aborted its first landing attempt for reasons that remain unclear. During its second landing attempt, it received a bird strike warning from the ground control center before the pilot issued a distress signal. The plane landed without its front landing gear deployed, overshooting the runway. It slammed into a concrete fence and burst into a fireball. John Cox, CEO of Safety Operating Systems, described the evidence as really unusual and very tragic, and questioned the presence of a concrete fence near the runway. Probably what struck me the most about it was why that concrete berm was there. Because that airplane could have stopped, people could have gotten off of it if they hadn't hit that concrete berm. Why was it there? Cox also noted that the landing gear was not deployed and the wing wasn't configured for landing. Which means it was still set up for high-speed flight. All of that resulted in the airplane approaching the runway at a much higher speed than normal. That is not something a Transportation Minister Park Sang-woo said Tuesday that 174 victims of the 179 people killed in the crash have been identified. I'm sorry, but there are five people who have not been identified yet. They need more precise testing for results, and I've heard it is due to various reasons. Sunday's crash was the country's worst aviation disaster in decades. Daniel Monahan, NTD News. A South Korean court has authorized the arrest of impeached President Yoon Suk-yool, marking the first time a sitting president of the country has faced arrest. Here are the details. Investigators allege Yoon led an insurrection, one of the few charges for which a South Korean president does not have immunity. The arrest warrant was issued by the CIO, or South Korea's Corruption Investigation Office, for high-ranking officials, and was approved by a district court in Western Seoul. Yoon's lawyer, Yoon Gab-geun, spoke to media on Tuesday, arguing the warrant against his client is invalid. I question whether the issuance of such an illegal warrant aligns with the principles of the rule of law. It is our position that this unlawful arrest warrant request is illegal and invalid. The declaration of martial law is a power granted to the president under the constitution. The president exercised this authority legitimately as part of their duty to protect the constitutional order of the nation. Yoon had already ignored summons for questioning three times since his martial law declaration. His supporters rallied outside his residence on Tuesday as they faced off with his critics. In a statement, South Korea's Presidential Security Service said it will treat the arrest warrant according to due process. Previously, the service had blocked police attempts to raid the presidential office as part of an investigation. Meanwhile, Yoon's impeachment trial is underway at South Korea's constitutional court. The next hearing in that case is set for Friday. Turning now to South Korea's political crisis, the country's acting president, Choi San-mok, vowed quick action today. He aims to fill three constitutional court vacancies to restore stability. This follows the impeachment of two predecessors, sparking political turmoil. Choi, who is South Korea's finance minister, became acting leader last Friday. Prime Minister Han Deok-su was acting president since December 14th. He was impeached for delaying court appointments. The decision against Han followed President Yoo Seok-yool's suspension after a failed martial law order on December 3rd. Choi pledged to appoint two justices now and a third later, pending agreement between ruling and opposition parties. Choi urged unity to address economic risks and the aftermath of South Korea's deadly plane crash. Now to Germany, where Chancellor Olaf Scholz is appealing to his fellow citizens to vote in a snap election in February. The country is deeply divided over immigration and the economy and the war in Ukraine. We are not a country of opposites, nor are we a country of bypassing each other, but a country of togetherness. And we can draw strength from this, especially in difficult times like these. And these are difficult times. Scholz started his New Year's Eve address by offering condolences to victims of a car-ramming attack at a Christmas market on December 20th. The attack killed five and injured 200. The suspect is a doctor born in Saudi Arabia. Germans will head to the polls in a parliamentary election on February 23rd. The election follows the collapse of a Scholz-led coalition government. Scholz also alluded to a recent standoff with entrepreneur Elon Musk. Musk has endorsed the conservative AFD party and called for Scholz to resign. The German chancellor remarked that the future of Germany will not be decided by the owners of social media channels. The Biden administration today imposed sanctions on entities in Iran and Russia, accusing them of attempting to interfere in the November election. The entities include a subsidiary of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps and an organization affiliated with Russia's military intelligence agency. The Treasury Department said the entities aimed to stoke socio-political tensions and influence voters during the 2024 election through disinformation campaigns. The two entities allegedly used generative AI tools and deepfakes, manipulated videos, and circulated disinformation about candidates. An annual U.S. threat assessment released in October said the U.S. sees a growing threat that China, Russia, and Iran attempted to influence the elections. President Putin delivered his New Year address to Russians nationwide. He promised confidence and progress for the country in 2025 and highlighted what he called Russia's unity and resilience in the 21st century. He highlighted Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine, calling them true heroes, though he avoided details or predictions about the ongoing conflict. Meanwhile, Ukraine said on Tuesday that one of its naval drones shot down a Russian helicopter with a missile. It says another Russian helicopter was damaged but managed to reach an airfield. Russia launched missiles and drone strikes on Ukraine early Tuesday. Explosions hit Kiev and regions like Sumy, damaging buildings. No casualties were reported in the capital. Russia says the strikes hit a Ukrainian air base and factory. Many Russians are trying to stick to a tighter budget this winter amid persistent inflation. Surging prices for staples such as butter are hitting lower-income communities. The hardest entity's Andrew Thomas has more. Ordinary Russians from Moscow to Siberia are struggling. Natalia Moreva says flour, fruit, vegetables, and meat have gotten pricier. This is why the holiday is turning out to be a modest one. By the way, I refused to attend our office party. Today, our employees are going there, but I decided that it would be costly. Retiree Vyacheslav said he was noticing prices rising from one day to the next. He says the price of his favorite cheese has risen between 15 and 20 percent since September. It is, of course, not very nice or convenient for people at the moment. We understand that the country is in a difficult situation at the moment, but nevertheless, I would like for grocery prices not to grow so quickly. Russians are gearing up for New Year celebrations and nationwide holidays in the first weeks of January. This year, they have had to spend a lot more. Way more expensive, way more expensive. It is heavy on the pocket. All the past New Years used to meet the budget, more or less. Now, the expenses are big, maybe three or four times bigger than before. Student Veronika Arifeyeva says she sees inflation hitting everything. Public utilities are getting more expensive. Taxes are getting higher. It is very noticeable. When you go to the shop, a loaf of bread that once cost 20 rubles now costs 50 rubles. Such things are very well noticed. Chocolate lover Sergei Shorshirin said inflation is hitting his Personally, I like chocolate. When I see price of a chocolate bar, I get scared. So, you have to deprive yourself of the pleasure some days. Let's say, you take for tea not two bars, but just one. According to Russia's Central Bank, inflation could reach as high as 9.8 percent by the end of the year. Western sanctions over Moscow's war in Ukraine has Russians taking hits to their wallets as well. Andrew Thomas, NTD News. Residents in Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine said they hoped for a peace settlement in 2025. Some say they expect President-elect Trump to follow through on his campaign promise to end the war. NTD's Andrew Thomas has the details. Sevastopol local Igor Gontar says he wants his children to be safe in the coming year. He expects a peace deal to be made after President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House. I expect that after Trump, after he takes the office as the American president, I hope and I really expect that there will be peaceful skies. That's for sure. There will be peace talks and we will make peace. Everything will be quiet. Fellow Sevastopol resident Vasily Yatsen was doubtful. When Trump was president, he introduced sanctions against Russia, so I don't expect anything good from him. Vladimir Tuyunin was critical of the incoming president as well. He says he believes Russia is in a strong negotiating position. I believe that Russia should set its own terms as the winner, and our country should not listen to anyone. It should dictate the terms of the peace talk, and it does not depend on who became the president of the United States. People in Mariupol also wished for an end to the fighting in the new year. Local resident Roman said he felt positive about Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump reaching a peace deal. Yes, honestly, I hope and even look forward to the peace talks, because I think the sooner the peace talks start, the sooner it will be over. Mariupol resident Natalia had just one desire for 2025. I wish only for peace, only for peace, so that peace would be reached this year. Putin has indicated he is ready to reach a compromise to end the war. Trump vowed during his 2024 campaign to bring both Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has rejected the idea of an immediate ceasefire, demanding security guarantees first. Coming up, Shin Yun Performing Arts responds to the latest slander articles by the New York Times what the company says about allegations made by the newspaper. Auction houses have hosted dazzling sales of giant gemstones this year, which jewels capture the auction spotlight. And 2024 was an exciting year in sports. NTD's Dave Martin takes a look back, ranking his 10 biggest stories of the year after the break. There's a whirlwind of emotion and activity going on in this painting. And there's chaos all around and threat from below. The wolves surrounding her, and they're anything but unmoved. They're moving all the time, and we sense that. But this little girl remains unmoved. She's in quite a perilous situation, but she's completely strong and serene, and she's actually meditating. It was very, very well liked because no matter what culture or what sort of walk of life you're from, I think people, they see it and they immediately understand what that energy, what that message is. And they're drawn to it because everybody kind of needs a little bit of that in their own life, of the steadfast calmness and something to hold on to. It's definitely an inner peace in the midst of something very chaotic. And for a lot of people right now, the whole world is very, very chaotic. So I guess that's another reason why so many people are very drawn to this. That first time seeing my son, I feel like my life did a 180. Being present is the most important part. To be the better mirror for my son. Bro, he brings the vibes, you know what I'm saying? He brings the party no matter what. He's really a definition of why he loves the body. And I love him to the death of me. Kids love it. Parents trust it. Obviously. Obviously. Explore GJW Plus Kids series and Gondion Campus courses led by expert educators. This is spectacular. Children will learn values like respect, responsibility, and knowledge in language, science, and more. Wow. All while having fun. Perfect. Subscribe today at GJW Plus Kids, where learning meets fun. For the day's top headlines and the news you need to know, tune in right here to NTD Evening News. Welcome back. Xinyun Performing Arts is responding to another attack piece by the New York Times. The Times has run at least nine articles in five months targeting Xinyun from different angles. The latest piece recognizes the arts group's remarkable success since it was founded in New York in 2006. But Xinyun says the article gets completely wrong how Xinyun realized that success. For full transparency, NTD is a media sponsor of Xinyun. Xinyun was founded by practitioners of the spiritual practice Falun Gong who fled persecution in China. Its mission is to preserve traditional Chinese culture and raise awareness about human rights abuses in China today. Many people around the world who believe in the cause or have been affected by the persecution in China volunteer their time or donate money to promote the show. Xinyun says the New York Times latest article completely misses this point and suggests Xinyun only cares about making money. Like other performing arts companies or non-profits, Xinyun received some donations from supporters. But unlike other performing arts companies, it runs a self-sustaining business model without ongoing support from the government or corporate sponsors. Xinyun says the New York Times narrative belittles its community and misrepresents why kind-hearted people have helped the group over the years. In recent years, the New York Times has turned outright to attacking the Falun Gong community in the United States, particularly Xinyun. In a recent statement, the Falun Dafa Information Center questioned the timing of the Times' recent articles. It says they coincide with whistleblower reports that the Chinese Communist Party has launched a new campaign to eliminate Falun Gong overseas, including through media reports by outlets without visible ties to the Communist regime. Auction houses have sold some huge gemstones for multi-million dollar prices this year. Let's take a look at some of the dazzling jewels. This huge yellow gem is called the Alnut Diamond, the star of an auction that was to be held in Geneva and valued at $6.1 million to $7.1 million. The stone itself weighs 101.29 carats, is fancy vivid yellow, so the very top color, and is VS2 clarity, so a high clarity. What's particularly notable about this stone is the high crown, if you may see it here. It's an older cutting style. Auction house Christie's had the pretty and pink Eden Rose. It's a round, brilliant, 10-carat, fancy intense pink, internally flawless diamond. It went on to sell for more than $13 million. The mines are not producing colored diamonds in these sizes anymore. You know, the production is done, so diamonds as you see them, especially colored diamonds, are going to get more and more scarce, more and more rare, and more and more expensive. Another piece of jewelry was the rare 18th century 300-carat diamond necklace. It went for approximately $4.8 million. Speculation was that this necklace may feature diamonds linked to a scandal that damaged the reputation of Marie Antoinette. It is a fact that the infamous Collier de la Reine was stolen in France, brought to London, and dismantled in London, and sold and made into different jewels during that exact period. To have this amount of diamonds of this quality and of that source, all arrows point to the fact that originally maybe these stones were from that necklace. Geneva hosted a trade fair of the world's most luxurious timepieces called Watches and Wonders. It also featured the Eternal Calendar. Makers claim it to be the most accurate moon phase watch ever produced. Police are searching for a burglar who pulled off one of the biggest known thefts from a British home. Police say the thief stole more than $12.5 million worth of jewelry and luxury handbags from a London residence. About $18,000 in cash was also stolen. According to police, a white man in his late 20s to 30s entered the home through a second floor window on December 7th. He had his face covered during the incident. The residents weren't home at the time. From the Olympics to the Super Bowl to baseball, 2024 was an exciting year in sports. NGT's Dave Martin takes a look back, ranking his 10 biggest stories of the year. You know, 2024 gave us an historic rise in a comeback by a 58-year-old boxer and the biggest contract in professional sports history. But as we count down the top 10 stories of 2024, we start on the gridiron as the Kansas City Chiefs won their second straight Super Bowl back in February. Now, what had previously been the highest scoring team in the league, the Chiefs instead relied on a stout defense to march through the playoffs and beat San Francisco 25-22 for a thrilling overtime win. Number nine takes us to the hardwood courts in Boston as the Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks in five games to win the NBA title. The Celtics use a two-way lineup of players who can both hit the three on one end and play tenaciously on the other end to win the title. The championship marked their 18th in franchise history, breaking a tie with the Lakers for the most all-time. Number eight takes us to the tennis courts in Spain, where all-time great Rafael Nadal said goodbye to the game. Nadal won 22 Grand Slam titles in his career, second only to Novak Djokovic's 24. A powerful left-hander, Nadal will forever be remembered as the king of clay courts, in particular winning the French Open a record 14 times more than anyone else. Number seven brings us to the boxing ring as 58-year-old former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson made a return to the ring nearly two decades after his last sanctioned fight to fight YouTuber Jake Paul in a Netflix streamed fight. Paul won the youth versus experience matchup via unanimous decision in front of a reported record TV audience of 60 million households. Number six brings us to the golf links, or in this case, just outside the course. On a rainy morning in May, world number one Scottie Scheffler was arrested just outside the PGA Championship after attempting to drive around the scene of a fatal crash. After being booked and charged with assault of a police officer, Scheffler was released just in time to make it back to the course on time and incredibly score a 66 on the day. He would eventually place eighth in the major tournament while his charges were ultimately dismissed just two weeks later. Number five takes us to the Paris Olympics where this past summer Simone Biles not only led Team USA to a gold medal performance, she also became the oldest at 27 to win the individual all-around. Her incredible performance also included a gold in the vault and a silver in the floor routine, giving her four medals at these games and 11 Olympic medals in her career, the second highest total of all time. For number four we stay in Paris, but this time we go to the hardwood courts where Team USA used an incredible comeback to down Serbia in the semi-finals where they would The Americans trailed by as many as 17 points in the game and 13 heading into the final quarter before finally turning up the pressure. Led by Steph Curry's 36 points and LeBron James' triple double, Team USA owned the final 10 minutes and eventually took the lead with just two and a half minutes left and one, sending them to the gold medal game where they would beat France for their straight gold medal. For number three we stay on the hardwood courts of basketball, but this time for the women's game as more people tuned in to watch the women's NCAA title game than the men's. Now this seems to be linked to the viewership Iowa's Caitlin Clark brought to the game. Her Hawkeyes win over LSU in the elite eight drew a then women's record 12.3 million viewers, but that was topped by her next game and then again two days after that Clark's final game that was the national championship game against South Carolina. That record was topped again as more than 18 million viewers tuned in to watch. Number two takes us to the baseball diamond or at least the owner's box above it as all-star outfitter Juan Soto signed the biggest contract in professional sports history 765 million over 15 years. The mammoth deal even topped Shohei Ohtani's 700 million dollar deal signed just a year ago. And finally for number one we stay in baseball as Shohei Ohtani became the first member of the 50-50 club hitting 54 home runs and stealing 59 bases winning his third MVP in the process and just for good measure he led his Dodgers to a World Series title topping the Yankees in five games. Well there you have it folks my top 10 biggest stories of 2024. I look forward to more big stories in 2025. Back to you at the desk. Around the clock original news coverage watch us live at ntd.com slash live or download our NTD app if you have any feedback please email us and happy new year. Dear NTD viewers my name is Janice Trey. I'm the CEO of NTD. Just as a plum perseveres in the winter and blossoms it spreads hope and renewal. May this new year add new beauty and light in your life. Many blessings and happy new year to you and yours.