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Video shows lightning inside Hurricane Melissa's eye

admin - Latest News - October 28, 2025
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Oct. 27, 2025, 5:40 PM EDTBy Steve KopackPresident Donald Trump’s tariffs are hitting toy giants Mattel and Hasbro as the critical holiday season nears. Still, both companies see a successful year end ahead.“This quarter, our U.S. business was again challenged by industry-wide shifts in retailer ordering patterns,” CEO Ynon Kreiz said on Mattel’s recent earnings call. “That said, consumer demand for our products grew in every region, including in the U.S.” During the most recent quarter, which ended Sept. 30, Mattel said sales slipped 6% globally, led by a 12% decline in North America. International sales rose 3%. Some of the company’s top performing categories included Hot Wheels and action figures, primarily from the “Jurassic World,” Minecraft and WWE franchises. Other Mattel brands saw a drop in sales, however, including Barbie and Fisher-Price.With retail stores waiting until the last minute to assess the level of tariffs that would apply to their holiday orders, Kreiz said “since the beginning of the fourth quarter, orders from retailers in the U.S. have accelerated significantly.”Retailers “expect strong demand for the holiday and they are restocking,” he added. Meanwhile, rival toy giant Hasbro’s revenue jumped 8% in the quarter and it raised its financial guidance for the rest of the year. Key drivers of that included “Peppa Pig” and Marvel franchise toys, as well as the Wizards of the Coast games. Hasbro “managed tariff volatility with agility” and used price hikes to protect its margins, said Gina Goetter, the company’s chief financial officer and chief operating officer.The company remains “firmly on track” to achieve its financial targets.“As we calculate the various scenarios of where that absolute rates will play out, we’re really putting all of our levers to work,” she said on the company’s recent earnings call. “From how we think about pricing, how we’re thinking about our product mix, how we’re thinking about our supply chain, and how we’re managing all of our operating expenses to mitigate and offset the impact” of tariffs, she said.For its part, Hasbro also saw “softness” in the U.S. during the quarter due to retail chains waiting longer to place holiday orders, but said momentum is accelerating as the season gets underway.In July, Mattel’s chief financial officer, Paul Ruh, said that the company was raising prices because of tariffs. “We have implemented a variety of actions that will help us withstand some of those headwinds and those include … supply chain efficiencies and some pricing adjustments, particularly in the U.S.,” Ruh said on the company’s earnings conference call.“So with that array of actions, we’re able to withstand some of the uncertainty that is mostly coming in the top line,” Ruh said. “Our goal is to keep prices as low as possible for our consumers.”Still, Kreiz said that “consumers are buying our products and the toy industry is growing.”He also said that consumers are taking price hikes in stride and those increases haven’t hurt demand: “We are not seeing any slowdown in consumer demand so far.”Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks said the company has also raised some prices, but it was “pretty surgical” in what it chose to adjust.“In terms of ongoing pricing, I think we just kind of have to see how the holiday goes and the consumer holds up,” he told analysts on the company’s earnings call. Cocks also cautioned that there may be a two-tier economy forming, something other executives and economists have observed in recent months.“Right now, I think it’s really kind of a tale of two consumers. The top 20%, particularly in the U.S., continue to spend pretty robustly,” he said. “The balance of households are watching their wallets a bit more.”On Friday, the Labor Department released the latest consumer price index data, which showed that inflation is rising at a 3% annual pace, up from August’s 2.9%.In May, Kreiz told CNBC that approximately half of the company’s toys were sourced from China. Beijing has faced some of the steepest tariffs from Washington of any U.S. trade partner, as Trump has rolled out his disruptive trade agenda this year.Mattel’s Ruh said the company continued to adjust its supply chains in response to shifting global tariff policies.“We will be continuing to work with our retailers to make sure that the product is on the shelf,” he said.At the same time, Hasbro’s Goetter said the company is diversifying its supply chains away from high-tariff countries.“By 2026, we expect approximately 30% of our total Hasbro toy and game revenue will be sourced from China and 30% of our revenue will be based in the U.S., as we opportunistically lean into our U.S. manufacturing capacity,” she said. Steve KopackSteve Kopack is a senior reporter at NBC News covering business and the economy.
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Sept. 23, 2025, 6:05 PM EDTBy Daniel ArkinFour Democratic lawmakers are opening a probe into Nexstar and Sinclair, two major TV station owners that are refusing to air Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show amid criticism of his on-air comments about the assassination of Charlie Kirk.In a letter, first obtained by NBC News, the lawmakers asked the corporate heads of both companies for more information about their decisions to pre-empt airings of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and “how those decisions may relate to regulatory issues pending with the Trump administration.”“If you suspended a late-night comedian’s show in part to seek regulatory favors from the administration, you have not only assisted the administration in eroding First Amendment freedoms but also create the appearance of a possible quid-pro-quo arrangement that could implicate federal anti-corruption laws,” the lawmakers wrote.Follow live updates here.The seven-page letter was sent by Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Ron Wyden of Oregon, Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland. It is addressed to Perry A. Sook, the chairman of Nexstar Media Group, and Christopher S. Ripley, the president and chief executive of Sinclair Broadcast Group. Together, Nexstar and Sinclair account for roughly 70 ABC affiliates across the U.S.The four Democratic lawmakers do not have subpoena power because their party does not have a majority in the U.S. Senate, but they can still demand answers from business leaders and public officials on issues tied to federal law.Nexstar and Sinclair both have pending business before the Trump administration’s Federal Communications Commission, which regulates the broadcast television industry and other key media platforms. Nexstar is seeking FCC approval for a proposed $6.2 billion merger with a rival, Tegna. Sinclair is exploring merger options for its broadcast business, according to CNBC.The lawmakers outlined eight questions for the heads of Nexstar and Sinclair, including which company executives were involved in discussions about pre-empting Kimmel’s show; what actions the companies are taking to “facilitate the Trump administration’s sign-off” on their pending deals; and whether the companies spoke with the head of the FCC or other Trump administration officials about the Kimmel decisions.Nexstar joins Sinclair in keeping Jimmy Kimmel off ABC affiliate stations03:29Representatives for Nexstar and Sinclair did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Kimmel’s late-night talk show is set to return Tuesday after he was suspended for what Disney, the owner of ABC, characterized as “ill-timed and thus insensitive” remarks about the killing of Kirk, a prominent conservative activist. “The MAGA gang [is] desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said during his Sept. 15 show.Kimmel’s comments set off a political firestorm. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr accused Kimmel of being part of a “concerted effort to lie to the American people” and threatened to “take action” at the regulatory level against Disney. Nexstar and Sinclair said they would yank the show from their airwaves, and Disney halted production. The suspension drew backlash from Hollywood talent and lawmakers in both parties, stoking a national debate over free speech.Disney announced Monday that “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” would return Tuesday night, ending an impasse that riveted Hollywood and Washington alike. But Nexstar and Sinclair said they would continue to pre-empt the show until further notice. “We stand by that decision pending assurance that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve,” Nexstar said in its news release.Carr, for his part, denied that he threatened to revoke ABC’s broadcast licenses unless Disney fired Kimmel, a vocal critic of President Donald Trump who has hosted his namesake talk show since 2003. Carr, speaking at a conference Monday, insisted that Disney, “on its own,” made a “business decision” to suspend the late-night host’s show. He also accused Democratic lawmakers of “distorting what happened here” with accusations of government coercion and censorship.Warren, Wyden, Markey and Van Hollen said they request answers to their questions by Oct. 7.Daniel ArkinDaniel Arkin is a national reporter at NBC News.
November 26, 2025
Nov. 25, 2025, 8:34 PM ESTBy Dan De Luce, Courtney Kube and Abigail WilliamsIn a meeting with Ukrainian officials in Kyiv last week, U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll delivered a grim assessment. Driscoll told his counterparts their troops faced a dire situation on the battlefield and would suffer an imminent defeat against Russian forces, two sources with knowledge of the matter told NBC News.The Russians were ramping up the scale and pace of their aerial attacks, and they had the ability to fight on indefinitely, Driscoll told them, according to the sources. The situation for Ukraine would only get worse over time, he continued, and it was better to negotiate a peace settlement now rather than end up in an even weaker position in the future.And there was more bad news. The U.S. delegation also said America’s defense industry could not keep supplying Ukraine with the weapons and air defenses at the rate needed to protect the country’s infrastructure and population, the sources said.Driscoll’s message came after he had presented a U.S.-backed peace plan that Kyiv officials viewed as a capitulation to Moscow, according to the two sources.“The message was basically — you are losing,” one of the sources said, “and you need to accept the deal.”The meeting between Driscoll and the Ukrainians was part of an effort by some Trump administration officials to press the Ukrainians to accept the new U.S.-backed peace proposal without delay, even though it embraced Russia’s maximalist demands and required painful concessions from Kyiv’s government, multiple current and former Western officials said. Ukraine politely declined to sign on to the peace plan as it was presented, and the proposal has been heavily revised since the discussions between Driscoll and Ukrainian officials last week.The meeting was just the latest example of a long-running rift inside the Trump administration over how to end the war in Ukraine. The split features a looming potential political rivalry between two former senators and potential presidential hopefuls positioning themselves for 2028: Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.One camp, including Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and other officials, views Ukraine as the primary obstacle to peace and favors using U.S. leverage to force Kyiv to make major compromises, according to multiple current and former officials. The other camp, represented by Rubio and other officials, sees Russia as the culprit for having launched an unprovoked invasion of its neighbor and says Moscow will relent only if it pays a price for its aggression through sanctions and other pressure.With his deputies vying for his attention along with Republican lawmakers and European leaders, President Donald Trump has veered back and forth on how to resolve the conflict. “It was clear for some time that there was a divide, but we’ve never seen it in action publicly quite the way we have in the last few days,” said a former senior U.S. diplomat with experience in Eastern Europe. Ukrainian servicemen fire a Caesar self-propelled howitzer toward Russian troops near the front-line town of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region of Ukraine on Sunday. Anatolii Stepanov / ReutersReached for comment Tuesday, the White House referred to a social media post in which Trump said the original peace plan has been “fine-tuned, with additional input from both sides, and there are only a few remaining points of disagreement.”“I look forward to hopefully meeting with President Zelenskyy and President Putin soon, but ONLY when the deal to end this War is FINAL or, in its final stages,” Trump added in the post. A State Department spokesperson said, “President Trump’s entire team, including Secretary Rubio, Special Envoy Witkoff, Secretary Driscoll, and many others, are working in lockstep, as they have been for 10 months, to bring an end to the senseless and destructive war.”The Ukrainian Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.Grave doubtsThe frenetic diplomacy began last week after a purported 28-point U.S. peace plan leaked to the media. The plan was the product of discussions in Miami between Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, and his U.S. counterpart, Witkoff, according to two sources with knowledge of the meeting. White House officials told reporters it was an American proposal, even though the document embraced Russia’s repeated demands to force Ukraine to cede territory it controls, scale back its military and give up ever joining the NATO alliance. Some elements of the plan contradicted the Trump administration’s previously stated positions, including language that implied U.S. military forces would be barred from Poland. Republican and Democratic senators said Rubio had told them it was a plan drafted by the Russians. But Rubio later said their account was false, and he and the White House later insisted it was a U.S. proposal with Russian and Ukrainian “input.” In an unusual move, the White House chose Driscoll, the Army secretary, to brief the Ukrainians on the proposal, instead of a senior diplomat. Driscoll, an old Yale Law School classmate of Vance’s, was headed to Ukraine on a previously scheduled visit to discuss drone technology, NBC News previously reported. Taken aback by the peace proposal’s terms, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed grave doubts but stopped short of vetoing the plan, saying his government was ready to hold diplomatic discussions. Rubio used cautious language about the plan after it leaked, posting on X that peace would “require both sides to agree to difficult but necessary concessions” and that the United States would “continue to develop a list of potential ideas for ending this war.”Trump, meanwhile, ramped up pressure on Ukraine, telling reporters that Zelenskyy’s choice was to accept a peace deal or “continue to fight his little heart out.”Andriy Yermak, chief of staff the Ukrainian presidential office, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a news conference after their closed-door talks at the U.S. Mission in Geneva on Sunday.Fabrice Coffrini / AFP via Getty ImagesRubio flew to Geneva over the weekend, and after talks with the Ukrainians and appeals from European diplomats, the most problematic provisions for Ukraine were removed or revised, according to multiple Western officials and sources with knowledge of the matter. Instead of the take-it-or-leave-it tone White House officials used about the peace plan earlier, Rubio portrayed the discussions as fluid and said the plan was rapidly evolving. “This is a living, breathing document. Every day with input it changes,” he told reporters in Geneva.By Tuesday, the Ukrainians had struck a positive note, expressing optimism about what was now a 19-point plan under discussion. “Our delegations reached a common understanding on the core terms of the agreement discussed in Geneva,” Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s national security and defense council, wrote on social media. And he raised the prospect of a possible visit to Washington by Zelenskyy to seal the deal.Driscoll traveled on to Abu Dhabi, where he held talks with a Russian delegation Monday and Tuesday, officials said.With the peace plan revised from its original form, it resembled previous proposals that Russia has rebuffed. Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, who had “welcomed” the initial draft from last week, suggested Tuesday that the Kremlin might reject what was now on the table. Lavrov cited discussions in August between Trump and Putin at a summit in Anchorage, Alaska, saying the latest draft proposal appeared to contradict the understanding reached in those talks.“Some forces want to jeopardize efforts by Donald Trump and to change the peace plan,” Lavrov said, adding, “If the ‘spirit’ of Anchorage will be wiped out from this plan, then it’s going to be a whole other story.”As in previous U.S. diplomatic efforts, one faction in the administration had tried to champion a proposal that favored Russia and other officials had pushed back, with the backing of European governments and senior Republicans in Congress, according to Western officials, former U.S. diplomats and experts.“If the split lasts, it’s going to be very difficult to pursue a coherent policy,” said William Taylor, a former ambassador to Ukraine who is now a fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank. Dan De LuceDan De Luce is a reporter for the NBC News Investigative Unit. Courtney KubeCourtney Kube is a correspondent covering national security and the military for the NBC News Investigative Unit.Abigail WilliamsAbigail Williams is a producer and reporter for NBC News covering the State Department.Gordon Lubold and Peter Nicholas contributed.
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