Iconic French Actress Brigitte Bardot Dies at 91 - NTD NEWS TODAY (Dec. 28)

Welcome to NTD News Today. I'm Don Ma. Here are today's top stories. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zalinski will meet with President Donald Trump in Florida early this afternoon as Russia intensifies missile and drone attacks. The talks aim to finalize a USbacked peace framework. Though key issues like territory and security guarantees remain unresolved. We have an expert on the topic. Bridget Bardau, one of France's most famous film stars, has died at 91 years old. Known simply as BB, she shaped cinema and culture in the 1950s and60s. Japan is set to make the world's top three for its spending on military, approving its biggest military budget since World War II. Arian Pazdar is standing by live to lay out who Japan is preparing to defend itself against amid a rising threat. A powerful earthquake shook Taiwan this weekend, rattling homes and prompting warnings about aftershocks. We have the latest on aftershocks and any damage reported. Steps to prevent Alzheimer's disease should be taken decades before the condition usually appears, says a leading neurologist. Vital signs Brendan Fallon shares insights from Dr. David Promater on what's causing Alzheimer's and how the right diet and lifestyle can help prevent it. Christmas is over and New Year's Eve is just around the corner. Looking to get your celebration party ready? Well, we've got some tips for you. This is NTD News Today live from our global headquarters in New York City. Good afternoon and thank you for joining us this Sunday. President Trump said he had a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on on Sunday. That's over an hour ahead of his meeting with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zalinski in Florida at Mara Lago today to forge a plan to end the war in Ukraine. Trump described the call with Putin as productive. >> Zilinski said he plans to discuss the fate of Ukraine's Donbaz region and economic agreement and US security guarantees. >> The future of the Zapor nuclear power plant is also among the topics. The US has proposed Ukraine and Russia share the energy from the plant. It's currently controlled by Russia. Russia has taken control about 12% of Ukraine's territory, including about 90% of Donbas. Zinski said on Friday that the proposed peace plan was 90% finished, but the issue of territory, if any, will be seated to Russia, remains unresolved. While Moscow insists on getting all of the Donbas, Kev wants the map frozen at current battle lines. The US has proposed a free economic zone if Ukraine leaves the area. Russia attacks Kev and other parts of Ukraine with hundreds of missiles and drones on Saturday ahead of what President Vladimir Zalinski said will be a crucial meeting with President Trump to work out a plan to end nearly four years of war. Here's more. Ukrainian officials say at least two people were killed and dozens more injured by Russian strikes on Saturday in Kev and other parts of the country. The attacks by hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles came a day ahead of what Ukraine's President Vadimir Zalinski said would be a crucial meeting with US President Donald Trump. >> In an audio message Zalinsky sent to reporters while traveling to Florida, he called the attacks a clear Russian response to peace efforts. The Ukrainian leader has said Sunday's talks in Florida would focus on security guarantees and territorial control once fighting with Russia ends. Zilinsky had told journalists in Kev on Friday that a 20point draft document, the cornerstone of a US push to forge a peace deal is 90% complete. Saturday's attack lasted into the morning with an air raid siren lasting nearly 10 hours. Ukraine's prime minister said more than half a million households around the Kiev area were without power and the foreign minister said a third of the city had no heat in near freezing temperatures Saturday morning. Ukraine Zilinski plans to meet Trump today for talks on ending the Russian war. Joining us to discuss is Kervin O'Quinn, former lead intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance coordinator for the US Army. So Kervin, good afternoon to you. Thank you so much for joining us as always. So the biggest thing on my mind is and maybe you can comment. Should Ukraine give up territory? >> Well, first of all, thank you so much for having me a merry belated Christmas and hopefully a future happy peaceful new year. Um I I will say I can't speak for the Ukrainians. I think that uh having them vote is a bold move. I think it's something that could work for Ukraine on having the people vote uh on if they want especially the Donbas region split in the current fighting positions and currently who holds those positions right now. Um but I would say as I said it's a bold move because who is going to vote right? We've got annexed regions of Ukraine that Ukraine does not identify as as Russian but Russia identifies those lands as as Russian land. So, are they going to get to vote? We saw what that happened. What happened whenever they were able to vote um in the in the reformation or the the referendum to become a part of Russia? They were voting at gunpoint. Is that going to be uh something that happens again? And is Russia going to do their usual tactics of of cyber warfare, of misinformation to get people to vote the way that they want? So, ultimately up to the Ukrainian people. they have a leader who uh who is going to have to decide on this and I think he is going to have to make that decision on whether they want peace or they want to continue the fight for that land because those are the only two options right now. >> Do you think Russia has more leverage in these peace negotiations uh compared to Ukraine? >> Yeah, absolutely. And I think every day, every winter evening that the power goes out in Ukraine, Russia gains more leverage in the negotiations. And this is their power play. This is what uh what Putin is doing. He's done this every winter since this war began. And that is to freeze out the Ukrainians to force them uh into agreeing to a peace deal on Russia's terms. Russia wants to come to the negotiating table not in good faith but with the power that they control this conflict. >> So you're saying that Russia has more leverage but President Trump has said that Russia also wants an end to the peace deal. Um so I'm thinking here can you just comment on in your view does Russia want peace more a peace deal or seeing its campaign to the end more? Well, look, uh Putin in uh in early spring of this year uh told his military leaders that he wants an off-ramp up from this conflict in 2026. Now, my analytical mind was thinking uh this is in fact a conversation and an agreement that he had with Xihinping in the chi with the Chinese Communist Party that China would then begin their move on Taiwan. And so Russia would need to uh to stop this bloody war so that now China can focus on Taiwan with the help of of Russia. And look uh r Putin made a a mistake early on in this war. He initially thought that the Ukrainian resolve would be weak and he made a push for Keev early in this conflict. He did not get Keev which meant he did not get all of Ukraine. That was a miscalculation and that's what has led to four years of bloody conflict right now. >> Okay, I'm thinking ahead now. Um, if we do get a peace agreement, um, what's stopping Russia from doing something similar again in the future? >> Absolutely. And that is going through the minds of every Ukrainian and it is absolutely going through the mind of of President Zinsky. Now, there are two parts of this in Sinsk's mind. uh one is that what is going to stop Putin from doing this again that is those NATO uh the article five style guarantees so a guarantee that if Russia invades again that Europe and the United States 5 10 15 years down the the line will come to support Ukraine but not just support them uh with munitions and intelligence but with boots on the ground in defending against Russian aggression. Now the second thing uh that's probably at the top of Zalinsk's mind is his life is at stake right so if uh if the peace deal holds and elections 6 months from them happen 6 months from that ceasefire happens and he is no longer elected president if a uh if a Russian plant is then elected due to misinformation from the Russian Federation what does that mean for Zalinsk's safety so he is playing with all of those at the top of his mind and I do hope I I really do hope that he can explain that to President Trump and that President Trump understands where he is coming from. Okay, Kervin, you said earlier that Russia maybe underestimated or miscalculated Ukraine's resolve at the beginning of this war. Can you speak to us about what has been the cost of this war to Russia and do you think the cost itself uh might potentially act as a deterrent from Russia doing something something similar again? So it's a great question. It's something that uh analysts from all over uh within US intelligence, within British intelligence have debated this subject. Uh some of the analysts that I respect very much who've followed this conflict from the very beginning uh in fact say that Russia even with all the sanctions and uh selling oil at the cheapest price that they can sell it, they are still in a wartime economy. meaning that the war is funding the country at this moment. So if the war ends and there is no more push to expand their military, then the their economic the the economy of Russia collapses. Um I I kind of go on on both sides of this one. they are in a a wartime economy, but if they can uh stop this war and focus on other if they can get the sanctions pushed off uh off of their backs and they can focus on uh building, industrializing, re-industrializing Russia, they may be able to survive this and China's going to be a key player in that as well. Um, will China be able to sustain and prop up the the Russian economy um if they help in a future conflict in the Indoacific? >> Okay, Kervin, we just have a little bit of time left and I wanted to take that time to ask your comments on something else and that is uh the US's strike on ISIS in Nigeria. Um, President Trump has framed this as sort of protecting Christians, right? Can can can we get your overall reactions to uh what has transpired on this front? >> Yeah, look, we I think we all knew this was coming. If you didn't know it was coming, you didn't see the truth social remarks uh in late November. Um Christmas, it's a symbolic day. It's a Christian holiday. So, uh, right, I think everyone, um, knew that if it was going to take place, that would have been the day that it was going to take place. Now, are Christians being persecuted in Nigeria? Um, the the data says that it's unclear, but are Christians dying um in in mass numbers in Nigeria? Absolutely. Look, half of the country, and I believe it's like 47% are are Christian and just over 50 are Muslim, but it's almost a 50/50 split between Muslims and and Christians. And uh a majority of Christians are being murdered, but this is more tribal and and sort of um killings for resources in the area. But the Trump administration has made the decision that they are going to uh use that to project power in the region to say hey Nigeria and look we're hearing now right that Nigeria was part of this uh this plan. This is all something that Secretary Pete Hexath has said countries need to uh to be involved in their own security. The United States is not going to do that uh for them alone. And it looks like both in a partner uh aspect that Nigeria and the United States um did this together. And so I think they can both champion that. Look, we we both were able to kill uh or were to take out um terrorists in Nigeria. That is really what happened. ISIS terrorists in Nigeria are no longer able to freely roam that region. Well, all right, Kervin. I always say this, but it's great to speak with you, and if I don't see you again until 2026, I just wanted to wish you happy new year ahead of time. Thank you so much. >> The feeling is so mutual, and please, yes, have a safe and productive early 2026 if I don't see you again. And as always, stay safe out there. >> All right. Thank you. Bridget Bardaux, often referred to France as simply BB, has died at the age of 91. The cause was not immediately known. Bardaux shot to international fame, dancing the Mambo barefoot in and God created Woman. Her free-spirited performance in the 1956 film shot by her husband Roger Vadim marked a decisive break from the demure heroins of the previous era. The Bridget Bardaux Foundation announced the death of their founder in a statement on December 28th thanking her for her uh prestigious career leaving it behind to uh protect animals and the elderly. French President Emanuel Mccron called Bridget Bardaux a legend of the century. In a post on X, Macron said, quote, Bridget Bardaux embodied a life of freedom, a French existence, a universal radiance. She touched us. We mourn a legend of the century. A strong earthquake shook Taiwan on Saturday, rattling homes in Taipei and prompting warnings about possible aftershocks. It's the second major quake to hit the island in just a few days. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck offshore about 20 m northeast of Taiwan, sending powerful tremors through buildings across the capital. Here's more. In one eyewitness video, a family's home can be seen shaking as a man rushes his wife out of the living room and towards the doorway. As she picks up her niece, the home security camera crashes to the floor, startling their dogs. The quake comes just days after a 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck Taiwan's southeastern county of Taong. Officials say there's no reports of major damage in Taipei, but some buildings saw minor damage and isolated gas and water leaks. Taiwan's weather administration is warning residents to stay alert for potential earthquake aftershocks in the coming day. They say the impact was limited because the quake was relatively deep and occurred offshore. Taiwan sits where two tectonic plates meet, making earthquakes a common threat and some of them deadly. Back in 2016, a powerful quake claimed more than 100 lives. And in 1999, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake killed more than 2,000 people. Japan is set to become the world's third largest military spender after the US and China. The prime minister's cabinet approved a record-breaking defense budget, its largest military expansion since World War II. NTD's international correspondent Arian Pastar is standing by live. Arian, thank you for joining us today. Um, what exactly is Japan spending this money on and more importantly, why this huge increase? >> Hey D, good to see you. Thank you for having me. Uh, first of all, I hope I hope you and our viewers of course had a very blessed Christmas and I hope everyone has a great start into the new year. Now to get to your question ston I think it's very simple I think the reason Japan is planning to increase the military spending so the cabinet suggested it parliament still has to prove it but it look like it's going to go through and I think the reason for that very simple it's the threat the Chinese Communist Party poses to quite frankly almost all nations in East Asia look this suggestion to increase this record-breaking military spending this comes amid rising tensions with China between Japan and China. Just last month, the Japanese prime minister said that Japan's military might have to get involved if China attacks Taiwan, which could unfortunately happen because the Chinese Communist Party, they keep saying that China should be in control of Taiwan, which doesn't make any sense at all because as most people know, China is a sorry, Taiwan is a self-governing island and it's of course a sovereign nation. No, don't look very interesting here. In order to prepare itself against a threat from China, Japan is planning to increase the military spending. But how does China respond to that? China is now blaming the victim. China claims that, oh, it's right-wing extremists in Japan trying to increase the military spending. It's right-wing extremists trying to bring back militarism. And that doesn't make any sense, Tom, because China is the aggressor. It's not Japan. It's China threatening nations in East Asia, in the Indo-Pacific, and so forth. And it's not just me saying that. Japanese uh Japan's defense minister, he actually voiced a similar opinion when speaking about this issue just on Friday. Let's take a look. >> This budget represents nothing more than what is minimally necessary for our country, which is facing the most severe and complex security environment since the post-war period. information warfare is being conducted with campaigns that ignore the severity of Japan's surrounding and the military buildups of other countries. The information warfare instead gives the impression that Japan alone is pushing ahead with military expansion. We intend to continue clearly and repeatedly explaining these points. Now, Don, I just made the point or the claim, so to speak, that China is the aggressor here. And I want to go deeper into that because first of all, China is threatening Taiwan. China is always having problems with India. But there is another point to prove that it's so to speak China's fault. You can take a look at Russia, which is a close ally of China. Russia started the largest war in Europe since World War II. And I'm raising this point because, you know, I think some conservatives, they think of Russia as this conservative safe haven representing conservative principles. But the truth of the matter is, Don, that Russia has an extremely high divorce rate. They don't value family. They don't have religious freedom. Those are not conservative values. Those are all communist values and communist ideas. I mean what I just said about religious freedom just take a look at the falling gong spiritual belief which is based on truthfulness compassion and tolerance the US largely supports falling gong look at the only countries where people are not allowed to practice it China Vietnam Russia all those countries where these communist ideas are so prevalent and why am I bringing Russia into this it's to undermine or it's to it's to prove the point I made earlier China is the aggressor together with Russia it's this unholy alliance creating chaos in the Indo-Pacific, creating chaos in East Asia, in Europe. Japan is increasing its military spending simply to defend itself. Don, >> I mean, that's a good point, Arian. Um, I also wanted to ask you, what exactly will Japan spend the money on and how how high is this record-breaking budget? >> Yeah, great question. So, first of all, it's important to note that it's going to be, if approved, Japan's highest military budget since the end of World War II. You know, Japan, very similar to Germany, they kind of had to demilitarize after the Second World War. Obviously, both of those nations lost, but now they're both on track to, you know, increase military spending again. Germany because of Russia, Japan because of China, which is what I the point I just raised. Now the uh the budget is worth almost $60 billion in US dollars. You know if you convert the currencies what's also very interesting don is another reason for Japan to increase its budget is partly also because of President Trump because President Trump has been pressuring Japan into increasing its military spending to 5% of its GDP similar to what Trump has been doing with NATO and with Europe. Now, Japan said, "Oh, we can't go to 5% right away. We can do 2% within the next 2 years." But now, on a good note, those 2% Japan is now saying they're going to hit them by March actually. So, they're going to be 2 years early ahead of schedule, which is of course good news for Japan. Right now, let's go into the numbers here. $6 billion are for standoff strike missiles. $1 billion or $1 billion, yeah, are for cruise missiles. That's very interesting. Those cruise missiles have a range of over 600 miles, meaning they could hit mainland China if needed. Another $640 million for defense technology. They kind of want to build a defense shield using drones. And those drones will be used in the air, at sea, and even underwater. Don lastly, a billion dollars for fiber jets with the UK and Italy. Now, Japan's defense minister, he says those measures are necessary to protect the Japanese people. Let's take a look. >> Under these harsh security conditions, these budget measures are intended to steadily advance the fundamental strengthening of defense capabilities in order to resolutely protect the lives, safety, and peaceful way of life of the people. Right, Don? Just to summarize here, Japan is preparing to possibly defend itself against China if needed. Japan is following calls from the US and from President Trump in doing so, and Japan is hitting those goals ahead of schedule, two years ahead of schedule. Don, >> all right, Arian, thank you for that report. President Trump posted on his truth social Saturday saying quote tariffs are creating great wealth and unprecedented national security for the USA. Trade deficit has been cut by 60% totally unheard of. 4.3 GDP and going way up. No inflation. We are respected as a country again. NTD's Washington correspondent Jack Bradley breaks down what's at play. >> Tariffs. My favorite word. Tariffs. President Trump has taken an aggressive approach to tariffs over the past year. And whether you're for or against them, they've created a major change in the global economy. Critics have argued that tariffs on goods fall onto the consumer. But it's not immediately clear that prices on certain tariff goods have gone up. And the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics report on the annual inflation rate shows that it dropped from 3% to 2.7% last month. Now, President Trump has many reasons behind these tariffs, and one of the main ones is to rebalance unfair trade practices with other countries that have been putting up trade barriers against the US for years, and also to encourage domestic manufacturing. Trump said that these tariffs have already been encouraging trillions of dollars in US investment. Companies know that if they build in America, there are no tariffs. And that's why they're coming home to the USA in record numbers. They're building factories and plants at levels we haven't seen. AI, automobiles. We're doing what nobody thought was even possible. Not even remotely possible. There has never, frankly, been anything like it. One year ago, our country was dead. We were absolutely dead. Our country was ready to fail. Totally failed. Now, we're the hottest country anywhere in the world. And that's said by every single leader that I've spoken to over the last five months. >> In that year-end address, President Trump said to the nation that he's sending $1,776 bonus checks to 1.45 million military members. Trump says that the income made from tariffs made it possible. >> And the checks are already on the way. Nobody understood that one until about 30 minutes ago. We made a lot more money than anybody thought because of tariffs and the bill helped us along. Nobody deserves it more than our military. And I say congratulations to everybody. And by the way, we now have record enlistment in our military. And last year we had among the worst recruitment numbers in our military's history. What a difference a year makes. Now, President Trump also said that he used the threat of tariffs to end certain wars such as between India and Pakistan, Cambodia and Thailand, and between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, just to name a few. Trump has also used tariffs as part of a separate negotiation with other countries on a range of issues, including on illegal immigration and drug trafficking. He lowered tariffs on China by 10% for instance all in exchange for curbing fentinel precursor chemicals to the US. He also placed tariffs on Mexico and Canada to stem the flow of fentinel, other drugs and also illegal immigration to the US. Now on the domestic front, Trump said that tariffs could be used to potentially lower or eliminate federal income taxes, pay off the national debt, and send dividend payments worth $2,000 to low and middle inome families next year. The Supreme Court is hearing a case on whether to uphold or reject Trump's tariffs under an emergency law. If it's rejected, it could result in the US having to refund all of the collected tariff money, which now amounts to hundreds of billions of dollars. And Trump has called this case the biggest threat to US national security and could render the nation financially defenseless. Reporting by Jack Bradley, NTD News. Coming up, Christmas is over and New Year's Eve is just around the corner. Looking to get your celebration party ready? We've got some tips to help you ring in the new year. Snow and ice battered the US Northeast, causing widespread flight delays and rail disruptions. Officials in New York and New Jersey urged residents to stay off dangerous roads. More in just a moment here on NTD News Today. Joining us now is Jeffrey Tucker, founder and president of the Brownstone Institute and senior columnist at the PA Times. Jeffrey, good afternoon. Uh, thank you for joining us today. I mean, it it seems like these years just fly by. 2025, it feels feels like just started and now we're going into 2026. Um, what are you looking forward to in the new year? >> Well, it's been a wildly eventful year. I don't think at the beginning of this year we would have ever imagined we would be where we are today. It's it's been the most eventful year of of my life. And uh and I hope that 2026 is going to be about building off some of the successes we saw in 2025, whether it's in our personal lives or or professional lives or whatever. Everybody's going to have their resolutions. And as always, the resolutions are broken because people don't understand how to accord today's decisions with tomorrow's ambitions. So that's that's what it's got to be all about for the next year. Getting a good ambition and then making sure that you do something every day to achieve it. >> Okay. Like you said, it has been a very eventful 2025. Uh in your view, what are some of the biggest points? Uh what what's been worth celebrating about this past year? Well, if if you don't mind, I would like to speak to the to matters of of public policy. Um because it's something that I've followed, namely politics and what government does. This something I've followed my entire career. And I can say with every bit of confidence that the only time I've really seen actual progress in government and and the way we're managed is in the year 2025. It's it's so amazing. I It's like Trump used to say, you got to get tired of winning. You know, it's not that I'm tired of it. I just can't believe it's actually happening. We've made progress on the childhood schedule, on cleaning up the food, getting a better food supply, on some transparency and issues of pharmaceuticals and and government waste. There's been a lot of very good things happen. Maybe not enough. And yes, it's always going too slow, but just given that we're dealing with government where seems like everything always gets worse. For one year of my entire career, things actually improved a little bit. That's definitely worth celebrating. >> Okay. Well, it looks like there were some very good feelings about 2025 in certain aspects. Do you think that good feeling will translate to 2026? >> Well, I hope so. You know, a lot of it does come down to the exercise of personal courage by people at the grassroots, but then also the the people that are tasked with uh carrying out a very ambitious agenda in Washington. And um I there many of these people who are heads of agencies and so on are all friends of mine and I followed their them very closely over the last year and they're all tired. They work 18our days. They work seven days a week. They're exhausted. They're dealing with frustrations around every corner. So, what keeps them going? And it really is a sense of a desire for public service and a desire to achieve the mission. This is the one time in life that they have a chance to do it and now they now they're going to make it happen one way or the other. So, I appreciate that. >> Sorry about that. >> It's okay. It's it's okay, Jeffrey. Um, so it is the end of the year and if you don't mind, um, I'd like to ask you a personal question. not that personal, but how are you celebrating on the 31st? >> Well, there's always a choice on the 31st. One thing is that I'm really I'm overwhelmed with the sense that there are friends of mine who are are very lonely during Christmas and New Year's because they haven't been invited to the right parties because people don't hold house parties anymore. So, always try to hold a party to bring people together so that we can make sure that people who are close to you have a place to go so they're not going to bed at 9:00 uh you know drinking alone or something like that. So, uh so tonight is a nice dinner party for some of our closest friends. Last year we held a huge party uh for 50 people in a small apartment. That was a lot of fun, but there's fancy things you could do with just uh 8 to 10 people. go all out just remembering what's really important to you. Making some toast. That's really important aspect of of a good evening is to break it up, quiet everybody down, and say something meaningful, truthful, and sincere about how important friendship is, how important love is, how important your community is, and h and how to maintain hope uh for the coming year. That's I think the most important thing you can do on New Year's. One other thing that I like to do on New Year's is um and this might strike you as a little bit silly, but in the 19th century, everybody kept time according to where the sun was. And nowadays, we call that solar time. So, I like to celebrate uh New Year's on the solar time of where wherever you happen to be. That's what people used to call time before the railroad companies took it over and imposed a new vision of time. So, I always like to celebrate that midnight hour as your own personal midnight hour. There's an app on online you can look up called Solar Time. And uh that's the that's that makes it more memorable that way, like the old days, right? >> You know, Jeffrey, uh when it comes to me, I'm actually quite a boring person when it comes to uh celebrations on on New Year's Eve. Uh usually uh my priorities are just to get a good night's sleep and then come to work early in the morning. It's very boring. Uh maybe I'll do something this year. Who knows? Um but >> Well, that would be very nice. That would be very nice. The the one thing is in the next morning, you never regret that you went to bed early. That's for sure. >> Exactly. Exactly. And that's what I value, you know, uh feeling good in the morning. Okay. Uh so, okay, maybe last question here. Um, speaking of 2026, um, what do you hope uh will come what do you hope comes true in 2026 and what do you think America's new year resolution should be in your opinion? >> Well, I hope we can maintain the uh the present levels of economic growth. We're at 4.3% which is quite impressive. If we can maintain that uh throughout this year, I think we're going to be in in good shape. I'd love to see some progress on the budget deficit, some some cuts in government, some more exposees like epoch time does every day on government waste, and some justice for those people who have squandered our tax dollars. Maybe we're going to see some of that in 2026. The public impatience is is becoming palpable. People are really ready for some kind of accountability in public life with all the ongoing scandals that Epoch reports about every single day. Well, at some point somebody's got to have to pay a price for this. And maybe 2026 will be that year. Cleaning up government, a better government, a more constitutional government, a prosperous uh society where we're not sinking further into uh the abandonment of middle class aspirations, but rather can start achieving and rebuilding the American dream again. I I hope that that's what 2026 is going to be about. But again, it's it's really in our hands. It's in the hands of the grassroots. It's in the hands of the readers and our representatives in Washington and those people appointed to to do the great work that this administration pledges to do. This 2026 is the is the year that everything either bogs down or accelerates. And I hope we're on the accelerate accelerationist side of this thing. Well, no matter what happens uh next year, I think uh we can all expect a very interesting 2026 to say the least. Uh you know, with midterms as well happening next year. So, a lot of things to look forward to. Uh and we'll probably be speaking about many of them together in the coming new year. Jeffrey, thank you so much. >> Thank you so much. And happiest of New Years to you. And uh let's have a wonderful evening and look forward to a great year next year. >> Thank you. A mix of snow and ice bore down on the US Northeast on Saturday, disrupting post holiday weekend traffic and prompting officials in New York and New Jersey to issue weather emergency declarations. Even as the storm ebbed by midm morning. By early Saturday, about 6 in to 10 ines of snow had fallen across an area from Syracuse in central New York to Long Island in the southeast of the state as well as Connecticut. New York City received to 4 in two to four inches of snow overnight with 4.3 ines reported at Central Park, the most since 2022. >> Wear warm clothes cuz it's kind of cold in here. Um, and uh just have a kind of chill attitude and go with the flow because there are always hiccups and delays. People in much of the Northeast were advised to stay off the roads because of treacherous conditions with states of emergency declared in New York and New Jersey. Thousands of domestic US flights were cancelled or delayed with many in the New York area. Boston's ABC affiliate WCVB reported that travelers booked on Amtrak's busy Northeast Corridor experienced long delays and cancellations after a down wire disrupted service. Actually, we were on a train at 3:00 and we called up ANTRA and it was uh because of a power line uh down somewhere in New England and they put us um on a 5:00 train back home. So, um all in all, we are just slightly delayed. The National Weather Service warned of hazardous travel conditions from the Great Lakes through the northern, mid-Atlantic, and southern New England with the potential for tree damage and power outages. Coming up, steps to prevent Alzheimer's disease should be taken decades before the condition usually appears, says a leading neurologist. Vital signs Brendan Fallon shares insights from Dr. David Pearlmutter on what's causing Alzheimer's and how the right diet and lifestyle can help prevent it. My 15-year-old son, Ethan, and I had a fun and relaxing morning. We returned home and Ethan walked to his best friend's house an hour later. I heard the ambulance scream by the street carrying my beautiful boy. Ethan was shot in the head in his best friend's house with an unsecured gun. He had zero chance of survival. The father, the gun owner, he stored his three guns and bullets in a shoe box. >> How do you feel? >> That has to be the most horrific experience that a human could ever have. >> David, would you give any advice? First thing you do is not keep your ammunition with your weapons and that your weapons need to be locked at all times. Being a cowboy, I I don't know anything different from when I was 3 or 4 years old. I did tough things. I thought everybody needed to do tough things. And if you didn't, I didn't have time for it. I had a very successful career at a very young age and life was fast. I was preparing physically. I wasn't doing anything mentally on the inside. And then I got hurt. I wanted to be better as a person. And I really dug into mental health. I start my day with 20-minute workouts. I live life 8 seconds at a time. Horses are so therapeutic. They know what you're feeling. When you're nervous, they're nervous. He won't say it back. But poor pals. I take a lot of responsibility in taking care of my kids, my family, and being there for them. You're going to have tough days. Everybody does. Find a place to stop and just breathe. Love your mind. When I arrived in the US at 19, I struggled to find job opportunities without a high school diploma. Everything I have, my education, my career, my marriage, I owe to the adult literacy center and my teachers. >> Your achievement has set an example for so many students. Most importantly, your daughter. >> Education was the key that unlocked all my opportunities. >> When you graduate, they graduate. Visit finishyoudiploma.org or to find free adult education centers near you. >> Even the mighty might not see it coming. It's pre-diabetes and it captures one in three adults, but you can escape. Take the one minute pre-diabetes risk test at do I have pre-diabetes.org. Be your own hero. If you love them enough to crawl into a play place to get them to come down, then surely you'll check nhtsa.gov/theight seat to make sure they're in the right car seat. >> Welcome back. I'm joined in studio now by NTD health correspondent and host of Vital Science, Brendan Fallon. Vital Science offers natural and nutritional ways of optimizing our health. Uh so Brandon, good to see you. Hope you had a great Christmas. Uh what do you have for us today? >> Thanks DA had a great Christmas and um I want to talk about hope on the Alzheimer's disease front. It's a very scary disease and people probably at my age in their 40s even even younger are possibly looking at their parents or the the experience of their grandparents who may have had this condition and starting to worry about is this something that I may be facing when I get to that age. The good news is that it's it's at our age or my age 30s 40s that we can start taking steps to prevent Alzheimer's further down the line. And I spoke to a doctor Dr. David Pearlmutter. He's a neurologist. He's also a fellow of the American College of Nutrition, which says something about the primacy he places on nutrition as a factor in in preserving brain health. And he's garnered a lot of views like he has millions of people watching his videos on YouTube focusing on the metabolic factors in preventing Alzheimer's disease and other neurological conditions. And by metabolism, we're talking about how the body makes energy from food and and what we drink. This first clip, I'm asking him, what is the connection there? What is the connection between our metabolism and developing a a brain disease like Alzheimer's? If you come to a patient who has an Alzheimer's diagnosis, let's say they could go back 30, 40 years, what is the main things they should be doing at that point in their lives? That's a fantastic question because the reality is that the early changes of Alzheimer's, we'll call them the metabolic changes in the brain begin 20 to 30 years prior to the memory failure, the executive function failure, you know, what we call the clinical markers of the disease where you're basically your brain isn't working right. So that's where we need to intervene. We need to intervene in people your age and make them recognize that lifestyle choices you are making right now are going to play out when you're my age. So, you know, if you want to be cognitively intact, I'm 70 at 70 and have conversations like this, you better start doing the things at your age to re in your metabolism, your blood sugar, your blood pressure, your insulin sensitivity, your body weight, your serum lipids, your blood fats as it were. These things are critically important in terms of your metabolism. And Alzheimer's is fundamentally a manifestation of problems earlier in your life with your metabolism. The empowering part of that statement is you can control that. >> What would you identify as the most compelling evidence that these metabolic factors are influencing Alzheimer's? >> Well, for me, you there's a lot of science out there that makes it very clear the the increased risk of developing Alzheimer's if you're type 2 diabetic is about 3.8fold, for example. That means, you know, you're more than triple at risk of getting Alzheimer's if you're a type two diabetic. And these uh, you know, the incidence of diabetes is skyrocketing. You know, here in America, we have 40 million type 2 diabetics, meaning 40 million people whose risk for Alzheimer's has increased three-fold. And they don't have to be type 2 diabetics. We have about a third of our population pre-diabetic. That's worrisome. But even more worrisome is that 90% of those people don't know it. You know what surprised me about what he said is that he said uh even at your age that it's it's beneficial to start, you know, taking steps to prevent Alzheimer's decades, you know, before it actually um appears. >> That's right. It's it's the things we're doing now. And it's these simple things like we we we don't we kind of take for granted, you know, how we're the kind the quality of the sleep we're getting and things we might not be uh prioritizing too much in our lives, what we're eating, eating healthily, exercise, um limiting exposure to toxins. These things could have a fact an impact on our brain health way down the line. and inflammation. This this is the body's the way the body deals with infection or injury. The immune system kicks in and and will manage that send immune cells to that location to to um absorb to create to engulf um debris to to repair various functions. Um this is actually something that Dr. Pomado talks about as an extension um of what is happening in in terms of Alzheimer's disease. Uh this next clip he's making the connection between what happens in the immune system and what's happening in the brain, how how the brain health can deteriorate. Dr. Palm, what is it that in terms of diabetes, the phenomena of diabetes that is leading to to the brain degeneration? >> That's a wonderful question and I'll tell you why. because we've known about the statistic I just quoted about the three-fold increased risk. But that was about as far as the conversation went. And so now you ask the question, okay, why is that? And I think that's a great place to go. And one of the explanations is that there are a couple one that I think the fallback has always been, well, high blood sugar bonds to our proteins and that becomes pro-inflammatory. And as we all know, Alzheimer's is an inflammatory disease. Problem solved. Well, that's interesting. But let's go a little deeper. We know that when our blood sugar elevates, it tends to change our brain's immune system away from being supportive and loving, if you will, but allowing our neurons to function well and our synapses to work well. Those same cells can shift from being friend to being foe. >> These are the the microgle >> the microgle cells can shift from being supportive to being destructive. high blood sugar, insulin resistance, inflammation, viruses, breakdown products of proteins, toxins in the environment, PM2.5s, microplastics, leaky gut. All of these things can converge and send signals to our wonderful supportive microgle cells and change them so they turn their backs on us. What's so important about that first is that we understand this is a fundamental mechanism across the spectrum of neurodeenerative conditions. It's not just Alzheimer's, but it includes any number of neurodeenerative conditions including multiple scerosis and Parkinson's and PSP and multi-cm atrophy and Lucaric's disease. you know, after hearing what he said, I I think me personally, I should even start taking uh this more seriously, eating more healthy, you know, because recently I found myself compared to before. I've been forgetting more often than I used to. So, you know, yeah, uh I better take steps as well. >> Well, maybe after the new year, Don, because you you want to have some some positive experiences on that front. I think having a good time with family and friends is also probably a good effect on brain health, too. Yeah, definitely. Well, all right, uh, Brandon, uh, another great segment today. Thank you so much for joining us. >> Going to be on, Don. Thank you. >> And to see the full Vital Signs interview with leading health experts, just go to your web browser and enter ep.vitalsigns. Coming up, 200 years ago, a small English town changed the way we travel forever, and its legacy shaped rail networks around the globe. Stay tuned. The first public railroad opened 200 years ago. In 2025, countries around the world celebrated the technological breakthrough. NTD's Andrew Thomas has more on the journey from early steam engines to modern trains. >> In 1825, a railroad in Northern England would be the first stop in train travel. The Stockton Darlington line was the first public railway to move passengers using a steam locomotive. The breakthrough helped launch rail travel across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. 200 years later, 2025 saw the world celebrate the achievement. In Derby, a public event marked the anniversary with trains from various eras. Among them was the 1864 Palmerston that was used to haul slate in North Wales. A steam locomotive called the Flying Scotsman, one of the best known express steam engines, was also featured. Ken Davies and his family has worked on the railway for three generations. This class 8 shunter features their name. >> And this one's called Ken Davis. So, so this is an honor for my family. Granddad, father, me still there. The clock is still ticking on our overall career in the railway. So, I'm very proud. Innovation and rail travel also played a part in this year's celebrations. In August, Great Western Railway attempted to make history using a retrofitted batterypowered train. Great Western Railways engineering director, Simon Green, described the achievement. >> Today, uh we've broken uh the record for the longest distance traveled on a single charge by a battery train. We've done just over 200 miles. Uh and that's broken the record by quite some distance. In Paris, an exhibition featured full-scale replicas of the new Orient Express. The installation also marked 100 years of art deco design with visitors able to walk through reconstructed train cars. In South Africa, passengers boarded the series steam train, celebrating with champagne as the locomotive traveled out of Cape Town and through Overberg. In Croatia, travelers celebrated train travel with a wine tasting. What will the next century of railroads look like? That will depend on new technologies and whether enthusiasm for train travel continues. Andrew Thomas, NTD News. And that's all for today's news. Thank you for tuning in. Stay with us for NTD Evening News at 600 p.m. Eastern, 3 p.m. Pacific. NTD News, the fastest growing