The New Year's Eve ball drop in Times Square is one of the holiday's most cherished traditions, and this year might be its best one yet. Fiskars Living's Tom Brennan joins Cheddar to reveal what makes this year's Waterford New Year's Eve Ball so special. The master artisan explains the painstaking process of creating the iconic scene as the clock strikes midnight.
Brennan reveals why Waterford chose "Gift of Serenity" as this year's theme. He says it represents the spirit of balance and composure heading into the new year. The ball features 288 new crystals that make up the pattern representing the theme.
Finally, Brennan shows off some of the other ways that Waterford is celebrating the holidays. The crystal company is using the New Year's ball as inspiration for some new products including champagne flutes. He says it's a creative way to bring the spirit of the Times Square celebration into your own home.
Anyone who gets vaccinated at select state-run vaccination sites in New York next week will receive a lottery scratch ticket with prizes potentially worth millions, as the state tries to boost slowing vaccination rates.
Amazon says it will extend its ban on police use of its face-recognition technology beyond the one-year pause it announced last year.
The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid fell last week to 444,000, a new pandemic low and a sign that the job market keeps strengthening as consumers spend freely again, viral infections drop and business restrictions ease.
Jill and Carlo talk about the EU's plan to open borders and fantasize about what a national summer holiday would look like. Plus, a troubling rise of anti-Semitism as signs emerge of a possible ceasefire in Gaza, and how a band of curious 5-year-olds foiled a hijacking in progress.
The European Union has taken a step toward relaxing travel for visitors from outside the bloc, with EU ambassadors agreeing on measures to make it easier for fully vaccinated visitors to get in.
New York dives back into normalcy, strong vax uptake among teens, latest from Gaza, Americans go shopping and Jill talks about the trials of modern parenting.
NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo has disclosed that he was paid a $3.1 million advance to write his COVID-19 leadership book last year and will make another $2 million on the memoir over the next two years.
Biden dips into the vax supply to donate abroad, no signs of a ceasefire in Gaza, the media industry getting smaller, and the biggest complaint from Starbucks baristas.
China has landed a spacecraft on Mars for the first time in the latest step forward for its ambitious space program.
An evacuation order remains in place for part of a northwest Iowa town as firefighters work to extinguish a burning train after a weekend derailment.
