massad boulos is a lebanese—american businessman who moved to us as a teenager.ter, tiffany. mr boulos — who's from lebanon's maronite christian minority — helped the trump campaign mobilize arab—american voters, particularly in the swing state of michigan. meanwhile, mr trump is facing pushback from the white house over his plan to sack the fbi director and replace him with a loyal stafer when he takes power injanuary. kash patel would be the fbi's first non—white director in its 90—year history. he served as a national security official in the first trump administration, and he's since become a vocal critic of the agency, claiming ih has been weaponised to go after mr trump. mr patel has also spoken about using the agency since sir keir starmer became prime minister. of the immigration system and accused the conservatives of running "a one—nation experiment in open borders". former world snooker champion terry griffiths has died at age of 77, after a long battle with dementia. from south wales, he came through the qualifying rounds to win the 1979 crucible titl

boulos's estate, according to security filings, is worth $1.53. as for boulos' enterprises, the company that has been called his family business in the financial times and elsewhere, a company officer there said it is owned by an unrelated boulos family. the confusion over mr. boulos background and his failure for years to clear up misunderstandings until questions this week by the times raises questions about how thoroughly mr. trump's team vetted his nominees. i would say, not at all, which brings us to another nominee. robert kennedy junior. here is how senator elizabeth warren announced today's news. >> say goodbye to your smile and say hello to polio. i would laugh, if it weren't so scary. donald trump just picked rfk jr. to lead the department of health and human services. this is a man who wants to stop kids from getting there polio and measles shots. he is actually welcoming a return to polio, a disease we nearly eradicated, but it doesn't stop there. rfk jr. also doesn't believe fluoride should be in your water, and that is what keeps you

boulos and the region. quote, mr.ion in the countrych boulos pitched trump as the candidate in the best position to bring peace to the middle east. what role trump intends for mr. boulos is unclear. in an interview mr. boulos said that his white house responsibilitied would be advising. just dove tailing on your point, the position on the front end is designed not to be transparent at all. >> yeah, i mean and donald trump -- i mean, it's ten times as awful, but we often have laughed through the awful in the course of this. but, you know, donald trump has -- you know, has sailed his pirate ship across the potomac and unloaded, you know, the most dregs of people in this. and, you know, he's the lead pirate in this elected by the american public. and, you know, i don't want to turn philosophical, but let me do for a moment and maybe at some other day we can have a longer conversation. i oftentimes wonder what's the best strategy to deal with all this. i oftentimes think about this, and there's i think two options for dem

ben boulos.ay, it is wednesday and shortly , ., to midday, it is wednesday and shortlj , ., ., , shortly it is going to be time for the final _ shortly it is going to be time for the final prime _ shortly it is going to be time | for the final prime minister's questions of the year. frontbenchers from the two main parties are arriving at the moment. we have women and equalities questions going on and there are going to be questions, presumably about what we have just been hearing about to do with the economy, those inflation figures higher than the government would perhaps like at this moment and that earlier story we brought you about women hit by pension age rises, denied payouts, the government changing its mind over giving compensation, even though it was recommended by the ombudsman to do so, to women born in the 1950s who have been campaigning against and over the rise in the state pension, expected compensation but the government has said that won't be forthcoming. let's talk to helen catt

boulos is well liked in trump's orbit. so that could

boulos stake, according to filings, is worth just over $1.50. my source tonight is charles homans, the new york times reporter who broke the story. and it's great to to have you here because the story around him and i should note that, you know, people in trump's orbit really like him. they say he's very nice and likable. they weren't surprised when he got this job, but is that he is this amazing deal maker. what did the actual records and numbers that you looked at show? >> well, one of my colleagues went and looked up some of the filings in nigeria, where he says the business that he's involved in is based. and we found that actually the one publicly recorded company that we could find where he was listed as chief executive, had actually quite modest revenues. you know, the annual profits were in the tens of thousands of dollars, not millions, let alone billions of dollars. >> and so when you looked into that, and he himself, you had talked to him about going through his biography, are you a billionaire? and his response was right. >> so i tal

boulos is a lebanese businessman, also the father of michael boulos who is married to trump's youngesty. joining us now, congressional reporter for the hill, michael, good to see you this morning. so once again, trump making some unconventional choices for his picks. the qualifications here seem to be relation, at least by marriage. so talk to us about the republican reaction you're getting to sort of those selections, but also last night's breaking news about president biden issuing a pardon for his son, hunter. >> the nomination or the selection rather of charles kushner and tiffany trump's husband fall under the radar because of the amount of news we saw over the weekend. but you know, as we talk about pardons, it is notable that charles kushner was pardoned in 2020 after that 2005 conviction. pleading guilty to those 16 counts of tax evasion. and you know, with some of these ambassador posts, sometimes they are typically safe for big donors or people like that. this is a different conversation and another level of elevating these family members. i anticipate that when lawmakers ret

kash patel and charles kushner still need to be confirmed by the senate, but massad boulos does not.ox news. >> tomorrow is a big day for former house speaker nancy pelosi. the federal building in san francisco will be formally dedicated tomorrow. as the speaker, nancyelosi federal building, and she will be there to unveil the new signage. the building is located right on seventh street, across from the u.s. court of appeals, just about a block south of market. pelosi h repsented california's 11th congressional distct now for 37 years, and was the first woman elected to serve as speaker of the house. >> tomorrow will be a historic day for the california state legislature. the largest number of women lawmakers in the state's history will take the oath of office. according to the nonprofit close the gap, california. a record high of 59 women will serve. that works out to 49% of the state legislature, and double the number of women who served just seven years ago. the center for american women and politics says female state legislators make up about one third of seats nationwide. politi

kash patel and charles kushner, still need to be confirmed by the senate, but massad boulos does not.rk, c.b. cotton fox news. >> now to the middle east. the family of an israeli american young man held hostage by hamas met with israeli president isaac herzog today. the mother of 20 year old edan alexander of new jersey met with herzog in jerusalem. the meeting comes after hamas released a video of edan speaking under duress and referring to his 420 days being held by hamas. herzog told alexander's family now is the time to reach a deal with the militant group and secure the hostages return home. home, bring them home now. also today, alexander's father was among a crowd gathered in new york city's central park demanding the release of all the hostages being held by hamas. his father says the video released of edan gives him hope that he'll be returned home. >> i stand here after seeing my son alive for the first time in over a year. thanks to this propaganda video released by hamas. it gave us silver hope and also reignite the urgency of our plea. time is running out. >> alexander is

president—elect donald trump has announced that he's appointed lebanese—american businessman massad boulosstern affairs. mr boulos — the father—in—law of mr trump's daughter tiffany — here with her husband michael — met repeatedly with arab american and muslim leaders during the election campaign. it's the second time in recent days that mr trump has chosen the father—in—law of one of his children to serve in his administration. on saturday he named his son—in—lanared kushner�*s father, property mogul charles kushner, to serve as us ambassador to france. the masterchef presenter gregg wallace has hit out against allegations of inappropiate behaviour on the show, saying they've come from "a handful of middle—class women of a certain age". he released a statement on social media this morning, and his lawyers have previously said the allegations are false. 13 women have complained about him to a bbc news investigation. our correspondent noor nanji has the latest. now, in the newspaper, i can see the complaints coming from a handful of middle—class women of a certain age, just from celebrity m

boulos' stake, according to security filesings, is worth -- filings, is worth $1.53. hand it to him to. being a billionaire and -- to not being a billionaire and getting a job in the administration. it's a clept crazy. this person has no way to be -- you're on the senate foreign relations committee. what are the implications of having someone like this managing the ortfolio of the most volatile and key regions in the world? >> obviously this guy seems like he's a fraud. he manufactures educational background, he's not really rich. you know, it's very noble to run a truck dealership. nothing wrong with that. but even if he was a billionaire that wouldn't make him qualified to be the primary adviser. he has no experience in middle east at a moment when that region is on fire. throughout the middle east in particular you're seeing this kleptocracy. after trump left office, his son-in-law, jared kushner, did a massive deal with saudi arabia in which saudi arabia promised billions of dollars to invest in kushner and his properties, properties that the trump family benefits

boulos is one of, i think, seven, eight, nine billionaires in this group.stered around the king and his family, all carrying favor and nobody much looking like they'll ever say to him no or that's a bad idea because, clearly, if there was anyone around him to say that was a bad idea they'd say don't pick hegseth. don't pick gabbard. don't pick kash patel. >> and also, the thing is that they will say yes to him sort of like they always say yes to putin in russia, because if you don't say yes you'll end up on kash patel's hit-list and his enemies list and it's full of former trump officials who displeased him. so now they're enemies of the state according to him and that's how you fall out of favor. whether you're a republican congressman or a courier or billionaire buddy, you have to do what he says. >> look, if retribution is one of the central themes of this administration, they think it's going to silence people. they think it's going to make their lives easier, but of course, there are other problems, you know? if you send a criminal off to france it may

and massad boulos, tiffany trump's father-in-law, as senior adviser on arab and middle eastern affairsbut it is his pick to lead the fbi that is drawing some sharp scrutiny. cbs's weijia jiang is in west palm beach with details. weijia. >> reporter: good evening, jericka. kash patel possesses a top quality that president-elect trump values, fierce loyalty. but that could harm his chances of getting confirmed by the senate because the fbi is supposed to operate independently of the president. kash patel has stood by president-elect trump since his first term, when he served in multiple roles including chief of staff at the pentagon. >> kash patel is here, one of our real warriors. >> reporter: in his announcement picking patel to lead the fbi trump says he played a pivotal role in uncovering the russia, russia, russia hoax, referring to the doj's investigation of moscow meddling in the 2016 election. >> and we are on a mission to annihilate the deep state. >> reporter: patel has vowed to dismantle the fbi, which he sharply criticized in his book, writing it's remain a threat to the peop

the performance gene is, shall we say, strong in the house of boulos, because once again from the times, in nigeria, the most famous member of the boulos family is not sarah or michael, but michael's brother, fares. president biden six used to perform reggae music -- seriously -- on youtube, under the name -- and again, i am not making this up -- farastafari. well, now, farastafari poses on youtube and tiktok and his recurring characters include the character of a black woman, mama thank god, sort of a white guy culturally tone deaf. and you thought your in-laws were colorful. it all goes with the trump theme. he loves billionaires. it doesn't matter if they aren't really who they say they are, that is how bad he wants to be around them. get their attention and agitation. and he loves doing them favors which is why tech giants are now kissing his rather bulbous behind. meta's mark zuckerberg donated $1 million to trump's inauguration, something his company has never done before. washington bowser and -- the washington post is reporting basals plans to make the pilgrimage to mar-a-lago t

on arab and middle eastern affairs in the final stretch of the campaign, boulos helped trump createds with the arab american community. christiane cordero, abc news, washington. >> and over the weekend, trump announced he would nominate sheriff chad chronister to serve as the administrator for the drug enforcement agency. chronister is the top law enforcement officer in hillsborough county, florida, overseeing the area of tampa. he has worked closely with trump's choice for attorney general, pam bondi. >> new details about the fiery crash that killed thre college students in piedmont. officials released their names over the weekend, and they're now sharing memories from their families. shawn dixon, krista sukara and jack nelson tsukahara, excuse me. and jack nelson died when the teslajack cybertruck they were in crashed. a fourth person who was injured in the crash is still in the hospital. all were 2023 grads of piedmont high school. they were home for the thanksgiving holiday. the city released statements from the families of the three victims who died. shawn dixon was a student a

kash patel and charles kushner, still need to be confirmed by the senate, but massad boulos does notnews former california governor arnold schwarzenegger had a bit of a surprise on thanksgiving. >> law enforcement showed up at his home after receiving a bomb threat at his house that, according to tmz. schwarzenegger was at the gym when all this was happening. police arrived on scene, checked the property and found nothing. police say they considered this a swatting incident. >> governor newsom's special session to quote trump proof california begins monday. state lawmakers will return to sacramento tomorrow, mostly to swear in new lawmakers. the primary purpose of the special session is to provide the department of justice with funds to fight possible future legal battles against the trump administration, the attorney general says. it's unclear how much money they may need, but the state's legislative analyst's confirms it would have come to from cutting other programs, creating a new tax, or from tapping into reserves. all right. >> now to our weather. here's a live look outside ton

and on sunday, the president elect chose billionaire massad boulos to serve as his senior advisor on arab and middle eastern affairs. boulos, who was heavily involved in trump's campaign and muslim american communities in battleground states, is the father in law of trump's daughter tiffany. well, syrian rebels say they are gaining ground in aleppo and beyond as president bashar al assad's allies in moscow send reinforcements. coming up, the latest on the fighting in the country giving you got to give a little take a little giving without expecting something in return giving that's possible through the power of dell a.i. >> with intel. so those who receive can find the joy of giving back. that's the glory of your best defense against erosion and cavities. >> is strong enamel. nothing beats it. i recommend pronamel active shield because it actively shields the enamel to defend against erosion and cavities. i think that this product is a game changer for my patients. it really works your parents have given you some amazing gifts. >> celebrate the ones you inherited with ancestry dna. e

on arab and middle eastern affairs in the final stretch of the campaign, boulos helped trump createh the arab american community. christiane cordeiro, abc news, washington. >> over the weekend, trump announced that he would nominate sheriff chad chronr to serve as the administratoronr for the drug enforcement agency. chronister is the top law enforcement officer in hillsborough county, florida, overseeing the area of tampa. he has worked closely with trump's choice for attorney general pam bondi. >> new details about the fiery crash that killed three college students in piedmont. officials released their names over the weekend, and they are now sharing memories from their families. shawn dixon, krista tsukahara and jack nelson died when the tesla cybertruck they were in crashed. a fourth person who was injured in the crash remains in the hospital. all were 2023 graduates of piedmont high school and were home for the thanksgiving holiday. the city released statements from the families of the three victims who died in that crash. shawn dixon was a student and lacrosse player at usc. h

our business correspondent ben boulos has more of the details.ertainly not the christmas gift that many households will have been hoping for. prices rising more sharply as we approach an already expensive time of year. 0fficialfigures out this morning show that the cost of goods and services that we typically spend our money on, the average increase in those went up by 2.6% in november compared with a year earlier. now, a lot of that was driven by an increase in the cost of cigarettes and tobacco after the government increased tax on that in the budget. but rising petrol gusts also pushed the average inflation rate higher. remember it is an average. so some things will have risen even more sharply in price than that 2.6%. it is nowhere near the peak of 11% that we saw at the height of the cost of living crisis a couple of years ago, but this reveals a very definite trend of price rises speeding up in recent months. it's higher than the 0ctoberfigure of 2.3%, which itself was higher than september's figure of i.7%. and that will put pressure on ho

welcome to breakfast with ben boulos and sarah campbell. 0ur headlines today: the home secretary saysh 35,000 this weekend. one person is in a critical condition and seven others are injured after a double—decker bus crashes into a bridge in glasgow city centre. warnings that disabled people are being failed over a lack of accessible housing. councils in england call for urgent reform. in sport: two of the top three drop points in the premier league title race but leaders liverpool come from behind twice with ten men to draw with fulham. chris and diane! —— chris and dianne! celebration and delight as comedian chris mccausland lifts the glitterball trophy and becomes the first blind winner of strictly come dancing. it just shows with itjust shows with opportunity it just shows with opportunity and support and just determination, just anything can happen. and it's a cloudy day, a breezy day but a milder day out there today. i've got details of that and a look at the week

our correspondent ben boulos has more. the economy shrank by 0.1% in october.xpected to grow. and even the chancellor admits this figure was disappointing. the figures suggest a lot of that was down to a drop in people going out to spend in the shops and people not going out to eat and drink in pubs, bars and restaurants as much, perhaps due to the wet weather, and also a degree of uncertainty ahead of the budget, with people holding back on their spending, businesses and shoppers perhaps waiting until they knew what was going to be revealed in the chancellor's tax and spending plans. remember, this figure, gdp, tells us how much economic activity is going on in the uk — how much we are making, growing, building, buying and selling. if there is more of that going on, it generally means people are better off, it means there's more money going round, morejobs available, easier to get a pay rise and so on. and there was some of that over the summer. in the three months from july to september, the economy grew, albeit very slightly, by 0.1%. but a shrinking economy

sunday, trump announced a social media he was naming massad boulos to be a senior white house adviserarab and middle eastern affairs. he runs a go out of business and has no diplomatic experience but he is a father- in-law of trump's daughter tiffany. i guess the question is, how many important government positions can you hand out a wealthy friends and family including convicted felons with no relevant experience before the government crumbles under the weight of its own corruption? i honestly do not know the answer, but we may be about to find out. find out. (tony hawk) i still love to surf, snowboard, and of course, skate, so i take qunol magnesium to support my muscle and bone health. qunol's high-absorption magnesium glycinate helps me get the full benefits of magnesium. qunol. the brand i trust. >>> okay. here was a headline in political. ken martin emerges as early front runner in race tilly democrats as dnc chair. for those of you not familiar with ken martin, his ahead of minnesota's democratic labor party and he has secured nearly half of the endorsement he needs to win the

he's set to become the ambassador to france, while massad boulos will serve as senior advisor on arabation for fbi director that's getting the most scrutiny, former prosecutor kash patel wants to overhaul the fbi. >> patel's only qualification is because he agrees with donald trump that the department of justice should serve to punish, lock up and intimidate donald trump's political opponents. >> now, patel pushed unfounded theories that the 2020 election was stolen from trump, patel and kushner have to first be confirmed by the republican controlled u.s. senate. >> president biden is preparing for what could be the last international trip of his presidency. the president is heading to angola to fulfill a two year promise to visit the african nation. at the same time, administration officials are working to land a cease fire and hostage deal in gaza. they've been communicating with the incoming trump team with president elect trump reportedly wanting to see the war end before he takes office. >> the main stumbling block right at the moment is actually hamas, and whether hamas is prepa

today he's announcing the father-in-law of his other daughter, tiffany, a lebanese lawyer named boulosl be ambassador on public affairs. >> meantime, let's go to capitol hill where trump's pick could be looking at a long path to senate confirmation. what has been the reaction from congress members so far on patel for fbi director? >> as you heard from allie, the reaction has been mixed. you definitely have senate republicans who are more loyal to the president-elect, who said he should have exactly who he wants. they think kash patel will be just the kind of disruptor the fbi needs. i'm talking about someone like bill haggerty who told kristen welker that but you have more republicans, more establishment type republicans who think chris wray, the current fbi director, appointed by trump in the first term, is doing a great job. this is someone that allie laid out biden has kept on his ten-year term. his term does not run out until 2027. that is exactly what we are hearing from the top democrat on the senate judiciary committee dirk durbin releasing a statement saying the senate should r

trump's son in law, jared kushner, is nominated to become the ambassador to france, while massad bouloss son is married to trump's daughter, tiffany. but the nomination for fbi director getting the most scrutiny. former prosecutor kash patel wants to overhaul the fbi. >> intel's only qualification is because he agrees with donald trump that the department of justice should serve to punish, lock up and intimidate donald trump's political opponents. >> now, patel pushed some unfounded theories that the 2020 election was stolen from donald trump. patel and kushner must first be confirmed by the republican controlled u.s. senate. well, concerns are growing this morning for drivers and mechanics who say their car windows are shattering without any warning. one driver even says she thought her car was hit by gunfire while she was driving. but when she called the police, they didn't find a bullet in the car. the window had just burst into pieces during the drive and she says there were no signs that anything hit it. >> i didn't even know a window could explode for no reason whatsoever. >> thes

also tapping assad boulos to advise him on middle eastern affairs below says trump's daughter tiffany's father-in-law and did trump and winning over the large arab-american community in michigan during his campaign. the senate reconvenes on monday. so will likely be learning more on what senators are thinking about trump's picks over the holiday weekend. the food crisis in gaza is expected to get even worse as the united nations will pause. 8 shipments. >> the un agency for palestinian refugees says armed gangs in gaza have been looting, convoys. and the main crossing has become too dangerous. the agency says an unidentified group ransacked nearly 100 trucks last month. reportedly stole a smaller shipment yesterday. now national security adviser jake sullivan says president joe biden wants to make as much progress as possible on foreign policy before leaving office. >> president biden pledged coming off of the announcement of the lebanon ceasefire that we would be working round the clock to produce a ceasefire and hostage deal in gaza. we are working to do that. i can't make you any pre

. >> listen wherever you get your podcasts closed captioning brought to you by massad boulos. >> com. >> if you or a loved one have mesothelioma, we'll send you a free book to answer questions you may have. >> call now and we'll come to you. >> 808 two one 4000. >> there are many theories as to why bush wanted to invade iraq, to stop a potential threat, to spread democracy in the middle east, to end the reign of a leader who supported terrorism to exact revenge for saddam trying to kill his dad, president george h.w. bush, and on and on. and yet, even though trace elements were ultimately detected, it was nothing on the scale of ready to use stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. >> at this point, the white house is trying to build consensus around the fact that iraq has weapons of mass destruction. >> let us flash to 2002. after nine over 11, there is this determination to not only go after al qaeda, but to make sure that any other potential threat is not able to hit the united states. >> that's right. i don't think the country had quite yet realized that we were already pivoting

father of trump's son in law jared kushner, is set to become the ambassador to france, while massad boulos will serve as a senior adviser on arab and middle eastern affairs. his son is married to trump's daughter, tiffany, but the nomination for the fbi director is drawing the most scrutiny. former prosecutor kash patel wants to overhaul the fbi. >> patel's only qualification is because he agrees with donald trump that the department of justice should serve to punish, lock up and intimidate donald trump's political opponents. >> patel pushed unfounded theories that the 2020 election was stolen from trump. patel and kushner need to be confirmed by the republican controlled senate. president biden is preparing for what could be the last international trip of his presidency. the president heading to angola to fulfill a two year promise to visit the african nation. at the same time, administration officials are working to land a cease fire and hostage deal in gaza. they've been communicating with the incoming trump team with president elect trump reportedly wanting to see the war end before he

tiffany, trump's father in law massad boulos, will be his new envoy to the middle east and arab affairs. a really big role, particularly as we know what's happening in the middle east right now with the war between israel and and gaza and fighting a mosque and so, um, you know, this move comes just 24 hours or so after donald trump had already announced that charles kushner ivanka trump, his other daughter his other daughters, father in law would be his pick to be the ambassador to france. so really, just showing that donald trump is kind of keeping with his trend over the past several years now of really leaning on family members for these roles. and i'll note as well that some of this is drawing some questions of whether you know, there are conflicts of interest. it was the same thing we saw when he announced that jared kushner and ivanka trump were going to be senior white house advisers in his first term. fred. >> all right. alayna treene, thanks so much. all right. joining me right now to talk more about these developments, ron brownstein. he is a cnn senior political analyst and a

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i'm elizabeth wagmeister in los angeles and this is cnn closed captioning brought to you by massad boulos. >> com if you or a loved one have mesothelioma, we'll send you a free book to answer questions you may have call now and we'll come to you. >> 808 two one 4000 president-elect trump back on the world stage, making his first overseas trip since winning the election. >> trump once again reuniting with the presidents of france and ukraine in a meeting ahead of a ceremony for the reopening of the notre dame cathedral. he also got a chance to meet with prince william at the uk ambassador's residence in paris calling him a, quote, good man and praising his quote nice grip. after shaking hands. cnn's alayna treene is live with more details now and elena, i know you're reporting is that trump was quite keen on being there for this event. he also received quite a welcome. what more can you tell us? >> he did. it was a lot of pageantry, a lot of pomp around that. you know arrival today when he went to the elysee, the elysee palace, to meet with president macron and then later with volodymyr ze

. >> i'm going to focus on mark boulos, tiffany, trump's father in law. he has selected donald trump. he announced today to be a key adviser on middle east and middle eastern and arab affairs. and then yesterday we saw donald trump also announce that he was going to be selecting charles kushner ivanka's father in law and jared kushner's father to be his ambassador to france. and really, you know, this is keeping in line with what we've seen donald trump do in his first administration when he brought both jared kushner and ivanka into his administration, into the white house, to be senior advisers to him. but the thing as well is that this is raising questions of whether there are conflict of interest. we know in the past that bringing family into some of these roles has been looked down upon there's raised questions of whether they could benefit financially after they leave the white house or after donald trump in this case, would leave the white house. we know that republicans have spent the last several years looking into whether hunter biden, joe biden

but i like nepotism over the weekend trump announced plans for the billionaire massad boulos to serveisor on arab and middle eastern affairs, notably this man, also the father in law to trump's daughter, tiffany. >> additionally, trump named charles kushner the next u.s. ambassador to france. charles kushner is, of course, jared kushner's father, so that's his other daughter, ivanka's father in law. our panel has returned so, brad, he's pretty candid there in that yes, old clip. but as we know, donald trump actually has been remarkably consistent over many years on a lot of things like this. and of course, it's worth noting trump pardoned charles kushner who was, you know, put behind bars by chris christie. so there's a lot more to that saga nepotism goes back as far as we've had a presidency and donald trump just says it out loud. >> and of course, he wants people around him who are loyal to him, who are close to him. every president has. and i think we keep skipping over the fact that one of the reasons donald trump is popular with swing voters is who are cynical about politics is b

as ben boulos now explains. winter fuel payments are means tested only from this year.e worth up to £300 to help with energy bills over the winter. the number of people eligible for them is nowjust 1.5 million. that's 10 million fewer than before the rules changed. in order to qualify now you need to be of state pension age and be receiving certain benefits. one of those being pension credit. now, while there's no deadline to apply for pension credit as such, if you want to get the winter fuel payments this year, you need to apply before a minute to midnight on saturday night. the latest government figures show 150,000 applications for pension credit have been made since the chancellor announced changes to the winter fuel payments back in the summer. butjust 42,500 applications have been successful. we spoke tojohn, he thinks he should be eligible, but his application was rejected. it's either put the heating on, or do i have something to eat, in fact. it really is like that sometimes. that £300 is a lot. because of the heating, you know, and the bills going up. plus th

boulos is well liked in trump's orbit. so that could >> tonight on the table. donald trump says maybe to putting into practice a junk science idea from rfk jr. ending childhood vaccination programs as kennedy tries to call in a favor for his daughter in law. plus, drone dread, americans demand answers about what's in the skies. new jersey demands federal help as the government tries to assure everyone that everything is just fine. >> we know of no nefarious activity. >> live at the table keith boykin, erin perrine, mondaire jones, and pete seat americans with different perspectives aren't talking to each other, but here they do. good evening. i'm abby phillip in new york. let's get right to what america is talking about. vaccines tonight. what you think is safe. donald trump's new health pick. doesn't rfk jr. would run the health and human services department for the president elect, but rfk jr.. s lawyer who is helping to select the people who will be in charge of your health, has petitioned the government to revoke its approval of the polio vaccine. the polio

boulos is well liked in trump's orbit. so that could be the case. now, we don't really know. >> yeah, we'll see what it looks like. it's not a senate confirmed position. we'll see what that portfolio does look like. great reporting on your account. so thank you very much to you and your colleagues. thank you all so much for joining us tonight. cnn news night with abby phillip is up next tonight on the table. >> donald trump says maybe to putting into practice a junk science idea from rfk jr. ending childhood vaccination programs as kennedy tries to call in a favor for his daughter in law. plus, drone dread, americans demand answers about what's in the skies. new jersey demands federal help as the government tries to assure everyone that everything is just fine. >> we know of no nefarious activity. >> live at the table keith boykin, erin perrine, mondaire jones, and pete seat americans with different perspectives aren't talking to each other, but here they do good evening. i'm abby phillip in new york. let's get right to what america is talking about

our business reporter ben boulos has been finding out.ve a visit from santa paws this year. what might be in their stockings? perhaps a luxury dog bed like this one, that comes in atjust under £80. may be an automatic ball launcher for the more active pooch? that is £180. and what news obsessed cat wouldn't want a cuddly president trump toy? that will set you back just under £8.50. one major retailer said it had seen a massive rise in sales for pet gifts this year, with doggy mince pies and cuddly toys are among the most popular products. not sure what all the fuss is about? we've been shopping to see just how much people are spending. with christmassy coats, colourful collars and other festive finery, it seems many of our favourite pets are getting a visit from santa paws this christmas. sales of seasonal pet treats like christmas jumpers and toys are booming. we've only got him a rope because he choose every other toy that we get him. so we've not spent a fortune on him, to be honest. a fair few to be honest, a fair few. a few toys and

ben boulos is at a royal mail super—hub in northamptonshire this morning. then, bad.o about this takeover and what might it mean for the businesses and all of us who use it —— good morning, ben. the the businesses and all of us who use it -- good morning, ben.— the businesses and all of us who use it -- good morning, ben. the hope is that this deal — it -- good morning, ben. the hope is that this deal will _ it -- good morning, ben. the hope is that this deal will improve _ it -- good morning, ben. the hope is that this deal will improve the - that this deal will improve the service that for many people feels like it has been lacking, we saw it in the missed delivery targets, it is meant to get a 93% of first class post delivered within one working day, last year it only achieved that for less than 75%. the hope is this deal will improve the service. it's also got much more expensive to send also got much more expensive to send a post, a first—class stamp is now £1 65. and the problem for the organisations is that despite the price rises, it is an organisation that lo