Capitol Report Full Broadcast (Dec. 27)

Good evening and welcome to Capital Report on NTD television. I'm Iris Tao. Here's what's coming up. Did Russia shoot down an Azerbaijan Airlines flight killing 38 people? Survivors now say they heard explosions before the crash. We'll give you Moscow's response. The U.S. says new actions by the Hong Kong government are part of an ongoing transnational repression campaign. Jason Blair brings us the latest. Why is the Trump team divided over H-1B visas? And how much influence will Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have on President-elect Donald Trump's political decisions? We hear from Morgan Bonwell, founder and CEO of RightStrategy. This is Capital Report, live from our global headquarters in our nation's capital. Here's Steve Lance. We'll begin with some breaking news tonight. The fate of TikTok could fall into the hands of the next administration. President-elect Trump today asking the Supreme Court to push back the deadline for a possible ban on the CCP-linked platform. Some of Trump's attorneys said Trump will, quote, negotiate a resolution to state the platform while addressing the national security concerns. Earlier this year, Congress passed a bipartisan bill that would force TikTok to divest from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, or else face a ban in the U.S. market. Lawmakers and national security experts said the app could serve as the Trojan horse for China to harvest American user data. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear TikTok's challenges to the law next month. But as of now, the social media platform will be dropped from app stores on January 19, which is one day before Trump's inauguration. And the latest on the deadly Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash. Survivors now say they heard explosions before the crash. And the Kremlin responding to allegations that its air defense system shot down the plane. NDD's international correspondent Ariane Passar has the latest on the tragic crash. An airplane from Azerbaijan Airlines crashed on Christmas Day, killing 38 people. The plane experienced some kind of issues after entering Russian airspace. A lawmaker from Azerbaijan says Russia's air defense system shot the plane down. The Kremlin responded on Friday. The investigation of this aviation incident is underway. And until conclusions of this investigation are released, we do not consider ourselves free to make any assessment. Footage shows holes in the wreckage of the plane. And a passenger who survived the crash now says she heard explosions. Also, Russia's aviation chief now confirms that the airspace where the plane had issues was actually closed due to incoming Ukrainian attacks. Ukrainian combat drones were mounting terrorist attacks on civil infrastructure in the area. Due to this, the carpet plan was introduced, meaning all aircraft had to leave the indicated airspace immediately. Also on Friday, Azerbaijan Airlines says its preliminary investigation indicates that the plane did suffer external interference. And the reason for the crash isn't the only question that remains open. Another is why the pilot crossed the Caspian Sea all the way to Kazakhstan instead of landing in Russia, where the issue took place. Russia's aviation chief says it was because of fog in the area. This has not been confirmed by any other nations yet. More information is expected to be released as investigations continue. An update on Seoul Kaifun, the massive hacking campaign from the Chinese Communist Party. The White House now says a nine telecom company was compromised. The full extent of the campaign is still unknown, but it targeted American SATA for texting and calling. The U.S. condemns the Hong Kong government over issuing arrest warrants for pro-democracy activists living abroad. The State Department is calling on Hong Kong to stop using its so-called national security laws to silence dissidents. NTV's Jason Blair reports. The United States condemns six new arrest warrants and bounties issued by the Hong Kong government targeting pro-democracy activists in other countries. In a statement, the U.S. Department of State says the U.S. rejects the Hong Kong government's efforts to intimidate and silence people who choose to make the U.S. their home. The department says the extraterritorial application of Hong Kong's national security law is a form of transnational repression that threatens U.S. sovereignty and the human rights and fundamental freedoms of people all over the world. These actions demonstrate Hong Kong authorities' disregard for international norms and for the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Since 2020, the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP, has imposed a national security law in Hong Kong. The city was previously a colony of the U.K. until it was returned to China under the Sino-British Declaration. The national security law has given Beijing extensive control to crack down on dissent and erode Hong Kong's previous freedoms. The Chinese Communist Party also announces sanctions on seven companies in response to recent U.S. aid to Taiwan. President Biden announced $571 million in military aid to Taiwan last week. The Defense Department also recently said that $295 million in military sales to Taiwan has been approved. The CCP claims that the self-governing island belongs to them. Reporting in Washington, D.C., Jason Blair, NTD News. South Korea's parliament today impeached acting President Han Deok-su, just two weeks after they voted to suspend President Yun Sung-kyo's powers over his short-lived declaration of martial law. The acting president's party boycotted the impeachment vote today. It started when Han refused to immediately appoint three justices to the country's constitutional court. He said That very same constitutional court held the first hearing for Yun today, the original president who declared martial law. It could overturn his impeachment and reinstate him or remove him permanently from office. The finance minister now assumes the acting presidency. The South Korean currently plunged into the lowest since 2009 in his ternancy. The new year will see a new Congress and new leaders for each chamber. Our Washington correspondent Luis Martinez walks us through what we expect to see happening on the Hill this coming January. On January 3rd, Speaker Mike Johnson will attempt to be re-elected as Speaker of the House of Representatives. So far, he stands unchallenged, but he has already lost the support of one of the 220 Republican congressmen that will be sworn in in the new year. He can only afford to lose two more. In January, we will make a sea change in Washington. President Trump will return to D.C. and to the White House, and we will have Republican control of the Senate and the House. Things are going to be very different around here. This was a necessary step to bridge the gap, to put us into that moment where we can put our fingerprints on the final decisions on spending for 2025. After the next speaker is elected, we expect to see the official resignation of New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, who was tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to be his new U.N. ambassador. We also expect to see the official resignation of Florida Congressman Mike Walz, who is to be Trump's next national security advisor. And we also heard from former Congressman Matt Gaetz, who is no longer a member of Congress, but he's teasing with a return to Capitol Hill. My fellow Floridians have asked me to eye the governor's mansion in Tallahassee. Maybe special counsel to go after the insider trading for my former colleagues in Congress. It seems I may not have had enough support in the United States Senate. Maybe I'll just run for Marco Rubio's vacant seat in the United States Senate and join some of those folks. On the Senate side, Mitch McConnell is stepping down after nearly two decades. At the helm of the Senate Republican Conference, Mitch McConnell has already warned his detractors that he will continue to push for his beliefs as chairman of the Armed Services Subcommittee in the Appropriations Committee. But today our nation faces one great challenge from forces betting on our decline. And so that first duty of government is the task to which I'll devote my efforts in the coming years. Senator John Thune from South Dakota will take over as the next Senate Majority Leader. The Senate will also see the departures of J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio. J.D. Vance will assume the vice presidency, and Marco Rubio is yet to be confirmed as the next Secretary of State. On January 6, 2025, Congress will have to certify the result of the presidential elections before Trump's inauguration. It is crucial to note that after the official resignation of Congressman Mike Walz and Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, the House majority in the House of Representatives will be left to 218 Republicans. That means that if Democrats decide to boycott any sort of legislation, Republicans will not be able to lose a single vote. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Luis Eduardo Martinez, NTD News. As we near a second Trump term, why is the Trump team divided over H-1B visas for foreign workers? Joining us to discuss is Morgan Bonwell, founder and CEO of RightStrategy. Morgan Bonwell, thank you so much for joining us. Thanks for having me. So first, let's dive into, of course, the biggest news these two days. Trump's team is appearing divided over H-1B visas, and these visas are given to highly skilled workers and specialized jobs, especially in engineering and tech companies. Morgan, why do you think so many Trump supporters appear to be against them, and how could this play out? Yeah, so I think the biggest issue that Trump supporters are seeing is that we do have a surplus of American workers at home who are skilled. And part of the campaign was that we're going to put America first, make America great again. So we really want to make sure that our tech sector is homegrown, which means reducing H-1B visas would ultimately protect American workers and jobs. And other policy aspects of this, we are seeing, for example, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy getting some pushback for their support of H-1B visas. So how much do you think their influence might shape immigration policies, and what could that mean for President-elect Trump's political base? Yeah, I think they definitely have his ear, right? Their support is tremendous and I think aided in the win that he had. But ultimately, it's President Trump's decision. He's not one to shy away from telling someone what he really thinks. Think of RFK, he says, you handle the health, but you have nothing to do with our energy. And so I think we could see kind of a similarity between that RFK-Trump dynamic and the Vivek-Elon dynamic here with H-1B visas. And now moving to inauguration news, we have heard Trump's inauguration is reportedly drawing record-breaking donations, including from tech companies like Amazon, Meta, and OpenAI. So how should Americans understand this? Is this level of corporate involvement typical? Yeah, so it's always typical. I think, one, this is showing the support that the American people and ultimately business owners have for a pro-business growth and opportunity president. But I also think this is a form of apology from some of these big tech companies who have really thrown Trump through the ringer for the last eight years. So I think this is a good-faith effort on their part to show that they want to work with President Trump and they are willing to come to the table. And I think for President Trump, this shows just how big of a win this is. He's got record donations for his inauguration. He won by record numbers. It was a complete mandate. And I think the American people and these business owners who have put so much stress on him for the last eight years are finally coming to terms with that. Well, a lot to watch for us. We, of course, will see the Trump new term start to take a shape very soon. Thank you so much, Morgan. Appreciate your time. Thank you for having me. Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis has until January 13th to object to an inquiry by the Georgia State Senate Committee. Earlier this week, a judge said state lawmakers can subpoena the embattled DA. Those subpoenas are part of the committee's investigation into allegations of misconduct and Willis' prosecution of Trump for alleged election interference in 2020. Lawmakers formed a committee focused on Willis' hiring of her boyfriend Nathan Wade to lead the prosecution against Trump and others. Willis skipped an August hearing when lawmakers wanted to question her, and she reportedly plans to appeal the court's new decision. The ruling comes after a state appeals court removed her from the alleged election interference case, citing, quote, an appearance of impropriety. And coming up, incoming White House Border Czar Tom Homan takes issue with illegal immigrants who have children in the U.S., what he says about family detention centers. And how will Homan find the 340,000 missing children who enter the country alone? We'll speak with a former acting director for ICE when we return. 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So go to MyPillow.com or call the number on your screen. Use your promo code to save on all MyPillow products. For example, flannel sheets for as low as $59.98. Our six-piece towel sets, just $29.98. But that's not all. I'm extending our 60-day money back guarantee until March 1st of 2025. Plus, all orders over $75 or more ship absolutely free. Come to Mathis Home and save during our annual clearance event. We have the state's largest selection of sofas with huge discounts on all the latest styles. Get this luxurious sofa covered in a soft, durable leather. It's made to sell for much more, but we have it clearance priced at just $9.98. They're in stock now, so you get fast delivery absolutely free. For the best value, come to the annual clearance event at your furniture superstore, Mathis Home. Welcome back. I'm Iris Tao, in for Steve Lance. The U.S. saw an 18% increase in homelessness this year, driven by a lack of affordable housing, natural disasters, and a surge in immigrants. NDD's Christina Corona tells us more. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported Friday that more than 770,000 people were homeless in January. The increase follows a 12% rise in 2023, due mainly to high rents and the end of pandemic aid. Family homelessness rose by nearly 40% in cities like New York, Chicago, and Denver, more than doubling due to the influx of immigrants. Nearly 150,000 children were homeless on a single night, which is a 33% jump from last year. Natural disasters like the Maui wildfire also contributed to the rise and forced thousands into shelters. Advocates say the increase is due to underinvestment in affordable housing. Several cities, mainly in the West, are enforcing camping bans. This comes after a Supreme Court ruling last year, which upheld that the bans do not violate the Eighth Amendment. However, homelessness among veterans continues to decrease, with an 8% drop in 2024. Dallas saw a 16% drop in homelessness between 2022 and 2024, and Los Angeles saw a reduction of 5% since 2023. However, California still has the nation's largest homeless population, followed by New York, Washington, Florida, and Massachusetts. Christina Corona, NTD News. Incoming White House Border Czar Tom Homan says family detention centers will likely be reinstated when President-elect Trump takes office. Homan says ICE plans to hold families in soft-sided tent structures similar to those used during past immigration surges. NTD's Daniel Monaghan has more. Incoming Border Czar Tom Homan says parents who are in the country illegally may face deportation even if their children are U.S. citizens. Homan says such illegal immigrant families would be deported in a humane manner, speaking on NBC News. Families will have the choice to leave the country together or be separated as part of the process. Homan told the Washington Post, quote, You knew you were in the country illegally and chose to have a child, so you put your family in that position. The Biden administration ended family detention in 2021, closing three ICE-operated residential centers that provided approximately 3,000 beds. These facilities include dormitory-style housing and educational programs for children. Some advocates criticize such facilities, concerned about the potential impact of detention on children's well-being. Meanwhile, a federal judge overseeing immigration policies has limited the detention of minors to a maximum of 20 days. This time frame often makes detaining families challenging, as deportation processes typically take longer. However, Homan indicated that the incoming administration may adjust its approach to address these constraints. In California, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors recently adopted a policy to prevent local jails from cooperating with federal immigration officials, potentially complicating Trump's deportation plans. San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez, however, has refused to comply, stating her office will continue notifying ICE about certain illegal immigrant detainees. This standoff highlights the kind of local resistance and political battles incoming Border Czar Tom Homan is likely to face as the Trump administration pushes for stricter immigration enforcement. Daniel Monahan, NTD News. President-elect Trump wants his Border Czar Tom Homan to find the 340,000 children who were missing after entering the country without a parent or adult. How would Homan work on these priorities? Joining me now is John Torres, former acting director for ICE and former special agent in charge of Homeland Security investigations. John Torres, thank you so much for joining us. My pleasure to be here. So first, President-elect Trump has reportedly tasked Tom Homan with locating the 340,000 missing undercompany minors who entered the country. Given your experience, what tools and resources could Homan rely on to take on such a challenge? It's going to be a very daunting task, especially that depends on the record keeping that was done under the current administration. What we've seen in the past is parents willing to send their children with what we would call back in the day coyotes, smugglers, human smugglers and or traffickers and separate themselves from their children to allow them to get to the United States. And under those circumstances, they take on a false identity. And many of the children, some of them were toddlers, some even infants. You can't prove who they are because there's no identity. There's no identity document. And so you're really at the mercy of whatever record keeping was made at the time. And in some instances with those smugglers, they're evading detection at the border in the first place. And so what we do see is for those who turn themselves in, they claim to be someone else so that they can be placed with a relative or a friend or another smuggler here in the United States. And then at some point you have to work your way backwards. So you're going to work with local law enforcement. You're going to work with the records that you have. If you're lucky, you'll be able to work with the families who are back in the originating country so that you can at least get information to find out where they were supposed to be placed. Well, it sounds like a very challenging task to locate actually so many of them. And Homan has also mentioned the possibility that some of these children could be victims of forced labor or human trafficking, while others may be living normal lives. In your opinion, how does this issue rank in priority compared to other border-related tasks? It ranks pretty close, I'd say, in the top three. I mean, this, along with criminals that are here in the United States, especially those that are recidivists, they commit multiple crimes, get released by a sanctuary city, for example, and then commit more crimes. And we're seeing that happen in New York City as well as San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, many of the major cities. That is a major crime because you will continue to see innocent victims harmed by people that were already in custody in the first place and not turned over to ICE. So that's a big challenge. The children are a big challenge. And really getting a hold of the border so you know who is coming across so that you can prevent terrorists and other bad actors who want to come to the United States and create harm. Homan has suggested using what he calls halfway houses as part of the deportation strategy. For people unfamiliar with this idea, can you explain why this might be necessary and how could it work in practice? Sure. So historically what you have are detention beds, various detention facilities. And what you don't want to do is mix non-criminals with criminals. And so, for example, ICE may contract with county jails, for example, or state prisons for a portion of their beds as long as they meet the immigration detention standards that they have set, that the agency has set forward. And those may be performance-based standards to make sure that those who are in custody have access to legal care, family access, consular rights, etc. But on top of that, then you take a look at do you really want to hold a family or do you want to hold people who are very low level or non-criminals at all, other than the fact that they crossed the border illegally, which is a crime. You want to hold those separately so that they aren't placed in the same type of facility as those who are heinous criminals that have been charged with murder or rape or robbery, etc. And so when you take a look at those facilities, we've used family facilities in the past. When I was working for ICE back in the 2000s, we've set up basically family residential centers. And in some instances you could use a halfway house. Ultimately, you just need to ensure that they are up to standards with what the Department of Homeland Security has established. Holman has said that he might deport family members of illegal immigrants as well. What kind of challenges would ICE encounter in these situations and how do they navigate them? There's definitely going to be resistance. There's always been resistance going back. I had a conversation with someone about this just recently, that no matter what you do when you're enforcing immigration law, there's at least 50% of the people that aren't going to be happy with what you do. And in some instances, 100% of the people won't be happy with how you enforce the law. Because there's a large faction that wants basically open borders and to allow everyone to come into the country. And there's another faction that says, hey, we shouldn't let anybody in here, especially criminals. And so if you have a member of the family that's a criminal, maybe he was the breadwinner, but he committed a serious crime and now he's being released from prison or county jail over to ICE custody, then ICE starts deportation proceedings to remove him from the country. And so you will have advocates come forward. They'll use the legal system to the best of their ability to try to stop that, to get an injunction against removing that person. But under current law, that person should be removed from the country because he's not entitled to be here. And that includes those who've already legally entered the US and obtained a resident alien card, a green card, if you will. They violate the standards of having that green card and remaining in the US by committing crimes. And that's really where you're going to see the issue arise more, where you have a legal family here, but someone commits a crime and now they're subject to removal. And in the most severe cases, what you see is someone who's become a US citizen, but obtained it through fraud or through some sort of scheme and commits other crimes, they could lose that US citizenship and be removed. And that becomes a pretty sensitive issue too. Some of Trump's potential immigration policies like ending birthright citizenship or expanding detention centers could potentially impact how federal and state governments interact, especially in some sanctuary states. And how might these changes shift potentially the power of balance here? They were willing to work with immigration enforcement, which is now ICE. In the early days, it was Immigration Naturalization Service before we became ICE. They were willing to work with ICE as long as you were talking about working with a criminal. If the city was going to turn over a criminal who could be charged federally as a felon, then places like Chicago were willing to work with us. And I could see where that can come into effect today in cities like New York or Los Angeles or San Francisco. But as recently as today, we just saw that New York City said that they were not going to honor a detainer, which is a request to have that person to have a criminal transferred to ICE custody. New York City said they would not honor a detainer on the person who set the woman on fire on the subway the other day. So I mean, even with a heinous crime like that, if the city is not willing to turn someone like that over to ICE, I have to question what is their motive? And is it really to pander to an ethnic community for future votes? Or are they really talking about keeping the city safe because these types of people should not be on the streets? John Torres, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you for having me. Coming up, the Guatemalan man who allegedly burned a woman to death in a New York City subway car has been indicted. The latest on this and a visual health for the victim. From presidential immunity to limiting the power of federal agencies, the Supreme Court issued several key rulings over the past year. We highlight the biggest ones after the break. A performance that truly matters for each and every one of us. This is what you've been waiting for. See it at least once in your lifetime. Coming to Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, January 17th through the 19th. Buy tickets now at Shenyun.com. I'm Ilka. I live with my daughter and with my grandchildren. Holidays are important to me because they are all about family and laughter. I can remember just wondering where we were going to get a holiday meal. I wasn't always able to provide a turkey. My daughter and I work. It still just doesn't seem like there's enough to go around sometimes. Every day, millions of our neighbors face hunger, including one in five children, and food costs keep rising. Please call or go online now and join Feeding America for $19 a month, just 63 cents a day. Together, thanks to a nationwide network of food banks, dedicated volunteers, and the monthly support of people like you, we can fill plates with the nutritious food everyone needs to thrive. If you were over and playing with us, you were part of our family and you were going to eat. A real cook can take nothing and make something. 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Children will learn values like respect, responsibility, and knowledge in language, science, and more. Wow. All while having fun. Perfect. Subscribe today at GJW Plus Kids, where learning meets fun. Welcome back. I'm Iris Tao, the Guatemalan man who allegedly set fire to a woman in a New York City subway car has been indicted. Authorities say Sebastian Zepeda ignited a woman's clothing and fanned the flames. KNDZ's Chris Spears reports. Suspected murderer Sebastian Zepeda Khalil has been indicted. He was not present at the hearing and his attorney declined to comment afterwards. The indictment will be unsealed on January 7th. Zepeda faces charges of first and second degree murder as well as arson. The top charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole. Here's Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. Sebastian Zepeda with four counts of murder. Murder in the first degree, three counts of murder in the second degree, and arson in the first degree. These are significant counts. Murder in the first degree carries the possibility of life without parole. It's the most serious statute in New York state law, and my office is very confident about the evidence in this case and our ability to hold Zepeda accountable for his dastardly deed. The suspect made his first court appearance Tuesday. He was held without bail at New York City's Rikers Island Jail Complex. He has not entered a plea. On Thursday, a vigil was held for the female victim. Reverend Kevin McCall led community leaders in prayer at the Coney Island Subway stop where the victim died. Authorities say the cause of death was thermal injury and smoke inhalation. Reverend McCall told CNN, her life mattered and we believe that we can do something and that anyone can participate and that is the power of prayer. Authorities haven't released any info about the victim other than her sex. They're using forensics and video surveillance to identify her. As for the suspect, federal immigration officials said he was deported from the United States to his home country of Guatemala in 2018, but somehow managed to enter the U.S. again. Authorities say he was in the U.S. illegally at the time of the crime. His last known address was a Brooklyn homeless shelter for men dealing with substance abuse, according to the NYPD. The suspect told investigators he drinks a lot of liquor and did not know what happened to the victim. He identified himself in photos and surveillance video showing the fire being lit. This case brings New York City subway safety back into the spotlight. New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams plan to increase police presence in the subway. The sprawling system has 472 stations making it hard to patrol. The question of illegal immigration in sanctuary cities is also pertinent with this case. Trump's border chief nominee Tom Homan had a meeting with Mayor Adams on the issue earlier this month. Both men described the talk positively. Chris Beers, NTD News. For more on the subway arson and the Big Apple's approach to immigration, we're joined by New York City Councilwoman Vicky Palladino. Councilwoman Vicky Palladino, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you for having me. And we know that Mayor Eric Adams recently met with Tom Homan, Trump's pick for the new border czar. They agreed on pursuing people who commit violent crimes in the city, but Adams also emphasized the need to care for what he calls innocent migrants. What challenges do you think lie ahead in the cooperation between the city and the federal government on immigration? Well, you have Adams, who's our mayor, who is willing and has already taken his meeting with Homan. And then you have Governor Hochul, who refuses, absolutely flatly refuses, to cooperate with the federal government at all. Nobody's going to come bashing down anybody's door and take out innocent children and that sort of thing. We are talking about the most violent and vile people that have entered into our society illegally. Keep this in mind, illegally. And they have been prevented from bail laws, bail reform. They are released immediately. And due to sanctuary city and sanctuary state laws, we are not allowed to hand these people over to ICE. That all must change. What about the migrant, the Guatemalan, that just set on fire another human being on a train in Brooklyn? Do you think that person deserves to be deported? I believe he does. And this is what we're talking about now. We got to figure out where they are, because so often, as soon as they get into trouble, they'll just move their place of residence, their shelter. But we'll find them. There's no question about it. We'll find them. And speaking about this horrific incident last week that we saw, where, like you said, an illegal immigrant is accused of burning a woman to death on the subway. How do these kinds of incidents affect the debate about public safety and immigration in New York City? And what can city and state leaders do to rebuild trust with New Yorkers? Well, I'll tell you. The first half of your question is, everybody's had it. And the good people of the city of New York, I don't care what letter is after your name, Democrat or Republican, I really don't. This is about human being kind to humankind. And this is a different type of individual that could actually set somebody on fire. This was probably the most vile third world country thing we've seen happen since the migrants have come. Illegal immigrants have come—let me change that to illegal immigrants—since they have broken down our borders and they've come to New York. However, my city council and the people who are in charge refuse to face the fact that these people are here and they are doing what they are doing. And so long as people keep reelecting the same leadership, we're only going to continue to see failed policies, more crime, and this is not going to fix our city or our state. And before I let you go here, I just want to get your take on, of course, a lot of people's arguments and attitudes that a lot of the migrants like in the city, like New York City. Actually, a lot of migrants do contribute and as an integral part of the city and its culture and its background. So how do you balance the need, like Mary Adams himself emphasized, to push away and really punish some violent criminals, but also to take care of those who have been living in the city and potentially could get affected once such a large deportation movement starts? There's a very big difference between the hardworking immigrants that came however they came, that pay their taxes, that contribute to our society in the most beautiful of ways, as opposed to violent criminals. There is a tremendous difference. It's apples and oranges. We will leave those dreamers alone. This is about violent criminals. They need to be removed. So there's a very, very, very difficult crossroads here, very difficult crossroads, and yet not so difficult at all. Do you want to live where you're safe, where you don't have to worry about somebody coming up behind you, hitting you on the head with a brick, you as a woman, me as a woman, and then raping you behind a car? This is what's going on. These are Venezuelan gangs that have infiltrated our city. These are third world country crimes that are being committed against humanity. They need to go. They don't belong here. Our hardworking immigrants, you leave them alone and they will be left alone. We got to get these people out so that we can feel safe. Thank you so much, Councilwoman Vicky Palladino. Appreciate your time. You're very, very welcome. Thank you for having me. Happy New Year. From presidential immunity to limiting the powers of the executive branch, the Supreme Court issued several key decisions over the past year. Kennedy's Melina Weiskopf has more on the biggest ruling. The Supreme Court's presidential immunity ruling blurred the path ahead for Washington prosecutors trying to convict President-elect Trump, a case that's now been dismissed. This has nothing to do with me. This has to do with a president in the future for 100 years from now. The immunity ruling was the first of its kind since 1982, during former President Richard Nixon's time. Another ruling involving Trump was on ballot disqualification. An activist group tried to boot Trump from the ballot, arguing that Trump should be considered as an insurrectionist and therefore should have been disqualified from the 2024 ballot based on the 14th Amendment. The Supreme Court denied that theory. As for the administrative state, the Supreme Court overruled the doctrine known as Chevron deference. This allowed federal agencies to interpret laws when creating regulations, a practice that some argued allowed the government to grow too powerful and skirt Congress's lawmaking role. This ruling could play into Trump's favor during this term as he plans to use recommendations from DOJ to make cuts to the federal government's budget and a near unanimous ruling regarding gun rights. The high court sided with the federal government. It decided to uphold a law that prohibits domestic abusers from Reporting from Washington, D.C., Melina Wisecup, NTD News. Coming up, a law aimed at tackling money laundering and preventing terrorism funding. Frank Tuminello, CEO of Fileforms, shares with us what Corporate Transparency Act means for small businesses. Supermodel Cindy Crawford doesn't just walk the red carpet, she rocks it. At 58, she steals the show and wows the press. Hollywood Life exclaims Cindy Crawford has never lost her stunning glow. 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Rooted in ancient health wisdom, we proudly introduce Puritang Black Ginseng, a 100% natural organic energy drink made from premium six-year-old Korean ginseng. It takes 2,260 days and nights from seed to growth, undergoing a meticulous nine-step process of steaming and drying. Black ginseng reaches its full potency, enriched with ginsenicide RG3 and enhanced absorption efficiency. No sugar, no caffeine, no artificial ingredients. Experience the pure natural power of Puritang Black Ginseng. Nourish your body, strengthen your immunity and boost your energy. To order Puritang Black Ginseng, please visit puritang.com. Now turning to a law that aims to prevent money laundering and terrorism funding. We're happy to have on Frank Tuminello, founder of Fileforms, a site dedicated to filing business ownership reports. He shares with us what the Corporate Transparency Act means for small businesses. Frank Tuminello, thank you so much for joining us. My pleasure. Thank you for having me. So first, the Corporate Transparency Act requires small businesses to report detailed ownership information. How can this affect them? Yeah, this is a serious deadline, one that should not be taken lightly. It's in an effort to prevent money laundering and funding of terrorism. So it's a very important topic, and it requires the disclosure of information to the federal government. So it's behooved businesses to get out ahead of it. So how does the law aim to stop illegal activities like money laundering and terrorism? Essentially, the government's looking to build a database that they can better understand who owns all the private companies that exist in the U.S. and better determine the affiliates of those businesses and help determine whether or not those individuals are perhaps criminals using those entities illicitly. And just recently, a federal court in Texas has temporarily blocked the enforcement of the law. What kind of constitutional concerns is the court reviewing? Yeah, there's some constitutional concerns because obviously this level of information has never been collected before. So effectively, the states want to maintain their authority to govern the anonymity of state entities, though many entities are used across states. So there's Commerce Clause determinations and concerns around that. So effectively, the government's doing their best to keep the law in place. And some states are actually challenging the constitutionality of the new law. And like you just said, the consequences for noncompliance are actually quite serious. The penalties for that include fines up to $10,000 and possible jail time. Do you think these are fair or could they be too harsh for some small business owners? These are significant fines, but I think many folks need to appreciate that the amount of laundering that goes on in the country are very significant. So in an effort to create an awakening and get folks to disclose the necessary information so that the government can police the system better, more in line with the global economy, that ultimately will help create national security. But I do agree that fines are very significant. But I suspect the government will only be fining those who are actually criminals, not mom and pop businesses on Main Street. And you say you've been helping with a lot of businesses even during the holiday season. So what's your advice on steps that could potentially make filing reports faster and easier for small businesses to stay compliant? Certainly. Our Business File Forms is a modern technology platform that is used to create easy, secure, and efficient filings for small business owners and those who serve small businesses. So our platform allows you to get compliant not with the new federal law, but also state compliance requirements. It allows you to get compliant in a matter of minutes and avoid those unnecessary fines that can be significant. And before I let you go here, there's been some debate over the rule that large companies with over $5 million in sales are actually exempt. Will this potentially impact the goal of increasing business ownership transparency? I believe that the government has the information on those larger businesses already. So there's, in their view, a good amount of transparency already on those businesses. But if you have any uncertainty of whether you need to file or when you need to file by, as I mentioned, our platform, File Forms, is a very useful tool, www.fileforms.com. Our team would be happy to serve and answer any questions that are needed. Paul Frank to Manelo. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you. Be prepared if you're traveling the next few days. Severe storms across the U.S. could impede millions of travelers this busy holiday weekend. In parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama are at risk of more tornadoes and large hail. In the western mountains, a series of storms could dump one to two feet of snow and more than four inches of rain in some areas. In parts of the east coast, from Florida all the way up to New York, could be hit with heavy rain. It could potentially cause dangerous travel conditions. According to FlightAware.com, more than 5,600 flights into, out of, or within the U.S. have been delayed just today. And many more could be delayed or canceled this weekend. And this Christmas season, what is it like for people to travel on long journeys for the holidays? And how are they spending their time between Christmas and New Year's? D.D. Sam Wang was out on the National Mall in D.C. to find out. Jamie, right? Yeah. Where are you from, Jamie? I'm from Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania. Yeah. How was it traveling for the holiday? It was good. It snows a lot in Pennsylvania, but it looks like it's a lot clearer here. Really good, yeah. We came over from Dublin into New York, and then we covered New York over here by train. Well, we drove up today. I mean, the traffic was pretty crappy, but other than that, it wasn't bad. I just rode passenger, so it was really nice on my side. We didn't really have any complications. It was just the day after Christmas. It was all right. We have a six-month-old, so having a baby on a flight's a little intimidating, but it was good. We were staying in New York for a week, and we missed our flight from New York to Burlington. Anyway, it's just kind of messed things up. But we're here, and we're happy. But I actually work on a ship that's just in the Caribbean. So I've been sailing from nice, hot tropical islands and arrived here, and oh, okay, jacket's on. It wasn't too bad. There were minor hang-ups, but nothing too serious. So minor hang-up in the air? Nah, just at the departure. What do you guys plan on doing for the rest of the year between Christmas and New Year? We've got a football game tomorrow. NC State plays ECU, so we're going up to Annapolis to go to that, and then we're heading back home, having a party. Well, we're here for another two days, and then we fly back the day before New Year's Eve, and on New Year's Eve, we're back home, back in Ireland. Well, we actually planned a trip to D.C. because my friend from college and I, we had never been to any of the monuments, so figured best time is any. We plan on spending time with the rest of my girlfriend's family, and also with my family when I get home, and like I said, snowboarding, a little snowboarding, and also spending time with friends, too. Well, in Washington, D.C., there's lots to see and do around here. We're then going from here in three days heading to Miami to have New Year's there, which will be nice. So we're going from freezing cold, like snow, to heat. Just going to go back home here after today, going to visit Washington, D.C., and then head back down to El Paso where it's 70 degrees and sunny. Well, it's good weather down there, right? That's right. And be sure to check out all the landmarks while you're here. Absolutely. Well, we're just traveling around here. We're going to the Marine Corps Museum. His brother and my sister-in-law just had a kid, so once we get back to Arizona, we'll get to meet our little nephew. Well, congratulations to you guys. Yeah, yeah. Shout out Drew Jr. And that's all we have for you tonight on the Capitol Report. For round-the-clock original news coverage, visit us at ntd.com live or download our NTT app. Have a nice weekend and we'll see you back here on Monday.