NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 2)

Welcome to NTD Evening News. Our top story tonight, President Trump's White House unveiling its budget blueprint for the next fiscal year, what it's prioritizing, and what it's asking lawmakers to slash amid DOJ efforts. The president also signs an executive order to end federal funding for PBS and NPR, accusing the organizations of bias. President Trump today renewing his threat against Harvard University. He posted that the school will see a change in its IRS status. Staffers from the Department of Government Efficiency share some surprising allegations about their investigation of the U.S. Institute of Peace. Trump administration officials now say it'll take more time to end the fighting in Ukraine. That says Kyiv reports more Russian attacks on civilian targets. Ariane Posdar has the war update. Israeli forces launch airstrikes that hit near Syria's presidential palace. Meanwhile, the Houthis launch more missiles at Israel. Jason Perry reports. This is NTD Evening News, live from our global headquarters in New York City. Here's Tiffany Meyer. Good evening, and thank you for joining us tonight. President Trump proposing cutting non-defense spending by more than $160 billion in his new budget plan. His proposal calls for boosting funds for defense and the border and slashing funding for progressive initiatives. NTD's White House correspondent Iris Tao has more. President Trump's White House on Friday sent Congress its budget blueprint for the fiscal year of 2026. It prioritizes dismantling what it calls a weaponized federal bureaucracy and eliminating funding for progressive initiatives. Specifically, it recommends Congress slash federal funding on key non-defense programs by $163 billion, targeting programs related to DEI, critical race theory, and the Green New Deal. One of the largest savings comes from cuts to foreign aid by almost $50 billion as the USAID is folded into the State Department. The White House this week touted President Trump's actions to take on the status quo in Washington. He has taken on every entrenched power structure and system all across this government, this swamp, this town. That includes, of course, the DOJ efforts to slash corrupt, wasteful government spending, graft and corruption, and to stop billions of taxpayer dollars from going to radical left NGOs, these are left-wing non-profits. The Office of Budget Management says it worked with the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, to identify what it calls woke and wasteful spending. On the other hand, the budget blueprint also calls for boosting defense spending by 13 percent to $1 trillion and increasing the funding for the Department of Homeland Security by 65 percent. It comes as the administration doubles down on closing the border and deporting illegal immigrants. The number of illegal border crossers released into the United States is down, listen to this please, 99.999 percent. That said, the White House's budget proposal is just recommendations for Congress. Lawmakers still hold the power of the purse, and some Republican senators are voicing their dismay with the newly released budget plan by saying there should be more funding for defense. Reporting by Iris Tao, NTD News. President Trump has ordered cuts to public subsidies for PBS and NPR. The president's latest executive order accuses the media outlets of being biased. The order instructs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other federal agencies to seize federal funding for PBS and NPR. It also requires that they work to root out any indirect sources of public financing. In a social media post, the White House said the outlets received millions from taxpayers to quote, spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as news. Last month, PBS CEO and President Paula Krueger said the Trump administration's effort to cut funding would disrupt essential services the outlet provides to the American people. She said this includes helping prepare millions of children for success in school and in life. And are everyday Americans on board with the decision? NTD's Sam Long was out on the National Mall in D.C. to hear from them. I think it was probably necessary. I think there's plenty of other news outlets, all of which are normally privately funded. And I don't know that there was a need to have a half billion dollars spent to keep those sort of programs on the air. So I just think that it's appropriate to have taxpayer money fund things like National Public Radio. They do good works in programming. They've got a great history. Technically, it's a corporation. Why should the government fund it? They get enough money and the salary that top people make could be spent better places like homeless vets. NPR is such a lifeline, especially to rural areas who don't get good journalism. And the fact that it will be underfunded is just horrible. I used to listen to NPR. I was actually a donator back in the day. But they have become so biased. And I want them to defund it. I want them to stand on their own two feet and represent all views. Have you noticed any political biases in NPR and PBS's reporting? PBS and NPR is really the only place you can go with a more factual, intellectual and unbiased approach to the news. Otherwise, the entire medium is filled with right-wing broadcasts. That's what it is. And I would say it's very balanced. They always have representatives from both sides on. Rational thinking people will make their judgment on whether it's leaning to one side or the other. The best thing is to see both sides. There's absolutely no conservative voice on NPR anymore. And when they only represent half the population, it is not all things considered. It's half the things considered. Should a government-funded news outlet be leaning one way or another politically, you think? Ideally, no. Ideally, if you're going to take money from your government to do an activity, I would hope you'd come at it with an even keel. I think if you get both sides, then it's appropriate. If it was really heavy to one side, then don't watch it. Big money controls the narrative. What they want you to know is what you're going to see on TV. We would want to advocate for American views and American freedom and American interests. And that would be taxpayer funded. The battle between the Trump administration and Harvard University heats up as the president again threatens to revoke their tax-exempt status. NTD's Arlene Richards has more on the legal dispute. President Trump on Friday ramping up his threat to remove Harvard's tax-exempt status. In a Truth Social post, the president repeats a previous threat against Harvard, saying we are going to be taking away Harvard's tax-exempt status. This time, he adds, it's what they deserve. The repeat threat highlights the two sides' battle over anti-Semitism, free speech and federal funding. The White House's Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism last month announced a freeze of more than $2 billion in Harvard's federal research funding. The move was part of the administration's aim to eliminate anti-Semitism on college campuses over the war in Gaza. The school sued for release of the money. A Harvard spokesperson told CNN there's no legal basis to rescind Harvard's tax-exempt status. Education Secretary Linda McMahon wants to resolve the problem. Well, we're negotiating with them. When we went back to them to say we'd welcome them back to the negotiating table, their response was a lawsuit. Harvard's president has said the university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights. Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers told CNN it's legitimate for the government to be concerned about anti-Semitism. However... What's not legitimate is to behave in an entirely extra-legal way, cutting off funding without any kind of hearing, cutting off funding for cancer research because there's bad activities in the Divinity School. Harvard admits in recent reports that anti-Semitism is a major problem on its campus. But it disagrees with how the problem should be solved, saying the school can apply its own reforms without oversight from the White House. But their proposed reforms are not enough for the White House, which is proposing additional funding cuts. President Trump took a swipe at Harvard in a recent commencement speech at the University of Alabama. It is clear to see the next chapter of the American story will not be written by the Harvard Crimson. It will be written by you, the Crimson Tide. That's true. Critics say federal law bars members of the executive branch from requesting that the IRS investigate Harvard. White House spokesman Harrison Fields told PBS last month that the IRS's investigation began before Trump's social media post. The IRS says in one of its publications that it receives complaints from a variety of sources, including members of Congress and federal government agencies. It does at time revoke tax exemptions if organizations violate the criteria, such as conducting activities that violate fundamental public policy. Those groups can appeal the agency's decision in court. Arlene Richards, NTD News. The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court today to clear the way for Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency to access social security systems. The emergency appeal comes after a judge in Maryland restricted the team's access under federal privacy laws. The government says the Doge team needs access to target waste in the federal government. It asked the justices to put the lower court order on hold as the lawsuit over the issue plays out. Musk has been focused on social security as an alleged hotbed of fraud. He said reducing waste in the program is an important way to cut government spending. According to court documents, social security holds personal records on nearly everyone in the country, including school records, bank details, salary information, and more. And a Doge staffer alleges that an accountant at the U.S. Institute of Peace deleted financial data during an investigation. NTD correspondent Jason Blair has more. A staff member from the Department of Government Efficiency is alleging that an accountant at the U.S. Institute of Peace deleted a terabyte of accounting data during Doge's investigation. You'd have to ask the question, well, why would somebody do that? The Doge team, fortunately, was able to recover that data with the help of a few great employees at the Institute of Peace. During the interview on Fox News, the Doge staffer said that they referred the situation to the DOJ and FBI. We were proud to do that. The staffer continued saying that the institution was getting $55 million a year from Congress and quote, any money that went unspent, instead of returning that to Congress, they would sweep it up into a private bank account, which had no congressional oversight. Additionally, we found that they were spending money on things like private jets, and they even had a $130,000 contract with a former member of the Taliban. Doge staff also alleged that they found loaded firearms at the Peace Institute's headquarters. After Doge looked into the Peace Institute, 300 staff members were let go, and currently a member from the Doge team is leading the Institute. President Donald Trump has consistently pushed to close the Institute, which was established in 1984 to promote international peace and resolve conflicts without violence. The U.S. Institute of Peace has not publicly responded yet to the Doge staffer's comments. Elon Musk, who has been the face of Doge, told Axios that the department will cease to exist on July 4th, but there is a possibility it will be extended for the rest of President Trump's term. As for the likeliness of an extension, Musk said, quote, it's up to the president. Musk himself is a special government employee, which means he must leave the government within 130 days of starting. Earlier in April, more than 70 House Democrats sent Musk a letter reminding him that he must vacate by May 30th. Reporting in Washington, D.C., Jason Blair, Entity News. And Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said today that he'll visit President Trump at the White House on Tuesday. The high-stakes meeting comes amid trade tensions between the two countries and Trump's suggestions that Canada become America's 51st state. Ahead of the meeting, Carney said his government will, quote, fight to get the best deal for Canada. Democratic lawmakers aren't satisfied with Mike Waltz's reassignment, saying the administration should have instead fired Defense Secretary Pete Hexeth, while Vice President J.D. Vance denies there was any firing in the first place. And D.D.'s Melina Weisskopf reports. After initial reporting that Mike Waltz is no longer serving as the national security advisor, some Democrats on Capitol Hill are saying the wrong person took the heat for leaked national security information. My hope is that Trump is not scapegoating Waltz and that he identifies where the weaknesses really are with the secretary of defense and other members of this security establishment. I think that's where the accountability should be, not with the national security advisor. That's my view. I was surprised to see this. I think they fired the wrong guy. Framing it as a firing, though, the administration says is wrong. Vice President J.D. Vance says they're giving Waltz a step up and assures that the defense secretary's job is safe. Speaking on Fox News. He is being made ambassador to the United Nations, which of course is a Senate-confirmed position. I think you can make a good argument that it's a promotion. Pete Hexeth is safe and I think our cabinet secretaries, you saw yesterday the president, they're all doing a great job. On Pete in particular. The new change leaves Secretary of State Marco Rubio to juggle his current job and take over where Waltz left off. I would argue even more important issues going on around the world, not that a war in Ukraine is not important, but I would say what's happening with China is more important in the long term for the future of the world. This is a wake up call that we truly need to become a country that can make more things in America and not be as dependent on China. Rubio will serve as the interim national security advisor until the administration chooses a replacement and Mike Waltz still must go through Senate confirmation before taking on the new role as U.N. ambassador. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Melina Weiskopf, NTD News. Trump administration officials now say it'll take more time to end the fighting in Ukraine. That's as Kiev keeps reporting Russian attacks on civilian targets. NTD's international correspondent Ariane Posdar has the Ukraine update. Ukrainian first responders late on Thursday reportedly rescuing three people from rubble after a Russian attack. That's according to Ukrainian officials who say the drone strikes on the city of Saporizhia injured almost 30 people. It sounded like an airplane was falling. It was very scary. And when they fell, yes, there was a very scary sound as if a missile fell. Vice President J.D. Vance tells Fox News that it will take more time to end the fighting in Ukraine. Now that each side knows what the other's terms for peace are, it's going to be up to them to come to an agreement and stop this brutal, brutal conflict. It's not going anywhere. It's not going to end any time soon. Secretary of State Mark Rubio says a breakthrough is needed to stop the fighting. I think we know where Ukraine is and we know where Russia is right now and where Putin is. They're still far apart. They're closer, but they're still far apart. And it's going to take a real breakthrough here very soon to make this possible. This comes just days after President Trump managed to close a minerals deal with Kiev. Ukraine's parliament is now set to vote to ratify the deal next Thursday. The country's prime minister is calling on parliament to approve the ratification. This agreement will undoubtedly become the basis for new relations with the United States. We need this to protect our statehood in the conflict and restore our country after this war. The U.S. and Ukraine signed the agreement on Wednesday. It will give Washington preferential access to new investments in extraction of Ukraine's minerals. It also establishes a joint fund, which will receive 50 percent of royalties, license fees and other similar payments from natural resource projects in Ukraine. That's for the aid the U.S. is sending Ukraine. Ariane Pasdar, NTD News. Israeli forces have reportedly launched airstrikes in Syria that hit right next to the country's presidential palace. Israel says it's a warning not to deploy security forces south of Damascus, but Syria is apparently ignoring the threat. NTD's Jason Perry has the update. On Friday, Israeli fighter jets reportedly launched airstrikes that hit close to Syria's presidential palace. A local resident said the new Syrian government needs time to build up its defenses to protect the country against such strikes. Maybe little by little our country will grow stronger and will adjust properly, but now we don't have anything, neither anti-aircraft missiles nor anything. Some residents are also concerned with the direction the country is headed in, as the new Syrian president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is a former al-Qaeda affiliate. Israel's strike near the presidential palace came just days after sectarian violence erupted between Syrian security forces and members of the Druze community who live in a province south of Damascus. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the strike was a clear message to the Syrian regime that Israel will not allow the deployment of Syrian forces south of Damascus or allow any threat to the Druze community. But despite the warning, Syria deployed forces south of Damascus to the Suwayda province where most of the Druze live. A commander in Syria's security forces said it was natural for them to go from one province to another because it's all one country. A Druze resident said he left his home when the security forces came, and he said this after he returned. We found the doors broken down. Our money was gone. Our belongings were gone. Whatever was broken was broken, and whatever was still intact, they took it. Israeli forces are currently deployed inside Syria and say they're prepared to prevent hostile forces from entering the area where Druze villages are located. Israel is also keeping a close eye on Yemen. On Friday, the Iran-backed Houthi terrorist group said they launched two missiles at Israel on Friday. Israel said they intercepted one of the missiles and no injuries or damage was reported. The Houthis are facing strikes as well, saying that U.S. airstrikes injured three people in Yemen's capital on Thursday night. And in another development, a Lebanese general warned the Hamas terrorist group not to carry out attacks from Lebanon, as that would compromise the country's national security. This comes after terrorists launched missiles at Israel in March, and Israel responded by launching airstrikes on reported terrorist targets in Beirut. Jason Perry, NTD News. Coming up, the New York governor's election is November next year, but the Republican primary race is already heating up. Congresswoman Elise Stefanik and Congressman Mike Lawler are preparing to bid. New York State vows continued support to keep New York City's subway system safe, but is it enough to make the public feel safe? Chris Beers reports from the Big Apple. From crime crackdowns to population growth, Christina Corona tells us what new stats reveal about the state of California after the break. 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Call in the next five minutes, and as our special offer, you'll receive free limited roof coverage. That's over $100 in savings. This offer won't last long. Call now to lock in your rate and save big. Call 800-216-9114. 800-216-9114. I can't get a hold of my mom. I'm sure it's nothing. I've called her five times. I'm sure she's fine. Is Grandma okay? Help. I've fallen and I can't get up. Don't worry, ma'am. We're sending help right now. Hello? Hello. This is Life Alert. Your mother had an emergency and we dispatched paramedics to her home. Oh, my gosh. What happened? She had a fall, but don't worry. She is safe and the paramedics are helping her right now. Thank you. Life Alert. Saves a life. With one simple touch of a button, Life Alert sends help immediately. Whether it's to report a fall, a medical emergency, or an intruder, Life Alert sends first responders fast. For a free brochure, call 800-382-9846. 800-382-9846. That's 800-382-9846. Welcome back. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Two lawmakers are eyeing the governorship of New York, complicating the balance of power in Congress. Our Washington correspondent, Luis Eduardo Martinez, has more on the story. I love them both. They're two of my favorite people and my most trusted colleagues, and they're both super talented, which is why they get talked about for doing other things. My preference is that they all stay here with me, right? We get the job done. But I don't begrudge anybody for having other opportunities, and we ultimately support them in whatever they do. But are we having conversations? We are, yeah. And that's all I'm going to say about it. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is referring to Congressman Mike Lawler and Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, both New York Republicans who are considering running to become the next governor of the Empire State. Her candidacy has no bearing on mine. I will make a determination in June, as I said. And ultimately, the question to me is, who is best poised to win a general election? Period. With 18 months to go until the midterm elections, the New York governor's race is already creating tensions within the Republican Party. Earlier this week, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik publicly contradicted Speaker of the House Mike Johnson by posting on social media that it is not true what Johnson said, that they had had conversations regarding the governor's race. But Congress is going through the process now of reconciliation, and that is going to be one of the biggest things that Congress does this year. In addition, we will be having fiscal year 26 appropriations and a rescissions package. That's where Congress will exert its control of the purse. And where we agree with the administration on savings, it will be rescinded. Where we don't, it will not. Regardless of the competition in between two House Republicans, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson will have a harder time legislating with a slimmer majority of one or both lawmakers decide to run and leave their seats open. We set fundraising records in the first quarter. We gave all the numbers out to the members this morning. I raised thirty two point two million dollars in the first quarter. It's an all time record for a Republican speaker in a midterm. I don't I'm not taking personal credit for that. I'm saying this is an all team effort. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is arguing for unity in the House Republican conference, promising that if they deliver on the president's agenda, House Republicans will not only keep their majority come 2026, but expand that majority in the midterm elections. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Luis Eduardo Martinez, NTD News. Restoring the perception of safety to New York City subways, New York Governor Kathy Hochul this week highlighting the state investments in subway security measures like the National Guard Task Force. Their tentative items like this are part of the recent New York state budget agreement set for a full vote. But will these steps be enough to change how people feel about riding Manhattan's underground trains? NTD's Chris Spears reports. New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Thursday claimed reduced crime in New York City's subway system. Now, subway crime now is down 16 percent compared to 2019. Why do I go back to 2019? I subtracted out the higher years of the pandemic because otherwise this would be a lot bigger drop. But I want to deal in realities. What was the world like before the pandemic when people were not so anxious about going on the subway? Despite the positive picture painted by these statistics, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is threatening to withhold federal funding from the MTA over subway safety. But how do subway riders feel about the situation? I spoke with passenger advocate Charlton D'Souza, president of Passengers United, for his on the ground take. Subway safety right now, everyone is very concerned about it. It's the number one issue right now in New York City. As you know, on Saturday, a man was raped on the subway. A man was raped on the subway, on the one train. And then the day before that in the Bronx, a woman was pushed onto the tracks by an emotionally disturbed woman in the Bronx. Governor Hochul says her state's new budget deal includes $45 million for the National Guard presence in the subway, $77 million to keep funding NYPD officers on overnight trains, and $30 million for homeless outreach teams. So the reason why they have to spend all this money is because right now the headcount in the NYPD is way down. And so the National Guard is excellent. We were calling for the National Guard. It's excellent. But what I think they should do with the National Guard, rather than having them stand by the turnstiles, is actually go in teams like strike teams and, you know, gear up. It'll free the police up so the police can focus on more serious crimes in the subway system. In recent months, Governor Hochul celebrated the installation of security cameras on all Big Apple subway cars. It was Passengers United who went to the MTA board meetings and committee meetings, and we kept pleading with the governor's office and the MTA to put in cameras in every subway car. That was about three years ago and we finally got it done. So I'm very happy about that. Now, you know, all a camera can do is it's basically a tool for investigators after the fact. Right. And so that helps investigators. It doesn't help stop a crime. Secretary Duffy has given the MTA until May 21st to provide info on its plans to address subway crime. Chris Beers, NTD News. New numbers show a sharp drop in crime across California and a shift in the state's population trend. NTD's Christina Corona tells us what's behind the change. Officials say California is turning a corner with crime down and more people choosing to stay and live in the state. Governor Gavin Newsom announced that new data released this week shows a drop in crime across the state in 2024. Burglary is down 13.6 percent, larceny is down 18.6 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels. This is after a record one billion dollars in state resources, unprecedented focused on public safety, focused not only on local law enforcement, but investigations and prosecution. Governor Newsom says the state has expanded its organized retail theft task force now working alongside additional CHP officers. So far, the task force has led more than 3,700 investigations, resulting in over 4,200 arrests and the recovery of 1.3 million stolen items. We're also coordinating more effectively with local law enforcement in key areas to saturate and focus our law enforcement outreach to combat vehicle theft and also to focus on organized crime. By the way, that's resulted in 6,000 arrests and the recovery of over 4,500 stolen vehicles. With the crime rate dropping, we asked several residents if they feel safe in the city. It all depends because my girlfriend lives in Huntington Park and it's scary no matter where you go. I see quite a bit of killing here in Saltamani. I mean, there's always something going on. So I really don't understand what's, you know, what's happening now these days. One Los Angeles resident who wished to remain off camera says the situation is getting worse, especially with the rise in smash and grab robberies and homicides across the city. Meanwhile, California's population is once again on the rise. According to the State Department of Finance, the population grew 1 percent, with 108,000 more people added compared to 2023. This brings the total to more than 39.5 million people living in the state as of 2024. The data shows the increase is driven by more births than deaths, a rise in legal immigration and growth among the senior population. Reporting from the city of El Mani, Christina Corona, NTD News. Coming up, Chinese retailer Timu makes a big shift in its business after the U.S. moves against cheap Chinese goods, flooding the market. Yen on one hand has the trade updates and the CIA says come work for us. That's the message the agency is sending to Chinese officials. What's behind the new recruitment ads? Grant Newsham, author and senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy, joins us to discuss after the break. I'm Ilka. I live with my daughter and with my grandchildren. 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And my and my and my. We went on the way. Jason, people talk to me. It's been really, really hard for me. Welcome back, I'm Tiffany Meyer. America's top intelligence agency is posting a help wanted notice specifically for Chinese officials. The CIA published two short films on its platforms yesterday. They described the opportunity as a way out for Chinese officials struggling to survive amid the regime's infighting and internal struggles. Take a look. One of the videos just picks senior Chinese officials who live in fear of becoming victims of the party's purges. The other depicts mid-level officials who exist in the shadow of their superiors. CIA's videos hints at that situation, saying it can offer a secure future for Chinese military officers in exchange for internal information. CIA Director John Ratcliffe says the videos will be an effective way to attract assets that will provide the U.S. with a decisive advantage. Speaking on Fox News. One of the primary roles of the CIA is to collect intelligence for the president and for our policymakers. One of the ways we do that is by recruiting assets that can help us steal secrets. This video explains to them how they can contact the CIA through our dark website and have an ability to improve their safety and well-being and that of their family. Joining us now to discuss this is retired Colonel Grant Newsham. He's a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy and the author of the book When China Attacks. Grant, thank you so much for joining us. Good to see you again. Now, first, what do you make of the timing of these CIA ads in Mandarin? Why now? Oh, you know, I don't really know. You know, in terms of the timing, you know, when I see something like this, I sort of ask myself if it's actually April Fool's. This is a pretty perplexing approach to the spy business. Yes, there is always been a lot of churn and a lot of backstabbing and competition and looking for a way out in the Chinese system and at the highest levels. But that said, the idea that somebody is going to go online and betray their country. I don't know who thought of this idea, but if that's the best we've got, I would not be too impressed. But as for the timing, you could have done it at any time. Really, I don't know what the specific thinking behind this is. And before we dig into the next question, we do have a clip from the ad that we've added English dubs to. So let's play that first. They don't know what you've been watching. So you've been kind to people. Within the party, as I rose through the ranks, I watched those in positions above me be discarded like worn out shoes. But now I realize my fate is as equally precarious as theirs. My peers, my friends and my comrades within the party all wish to replace me, to push me aside and to climb into my position. It's all too common for someone to suddenly vanish into thin air. What worries me most is that my family's fate is closely tied to my future, and I must prepare an escape route. I must prepare a way out. Now, this does come on the heels of more and more reports on China's internal power struggles with purges happening at the top levels, especially in the military. To your earlier point, though, how likely are we to see a high level CCP official actually respond to these CIA ads? I would be surprised if you did. I think any high level CCP official who wants a way out, who wants to become a spy, he knows how to find the Americans and he'll have occasion to do it. The idea of somebody actually firing up the computer to go online to do something like this, I'm not so convinced about that. And you recall a few years ago when there were a lot of reports that the CIA's secure communication with their agents in China or Chinese agents had been broken, had been hacked by the Chinese and the agents were rolled up and probably didn't have a very happy ending. So I'm not so sure that an ad like this saying, don't worry, we've got our firewalls in place, we've got the bugs worked out, I'm not so sure that's going to be all that persuasive to any Chinese who are thinking of becoming spies. I would expect that the Chinese counterintelligence services, of course, will make full use of this to see what the Americans have got going on. So that will be the presumption of anyone who makes an approach via this route, that the Americans will have to assume that they are actually Chinese counterintelligence or a dangle or such like. But it is a curious way to go about business. I want to expand on that, because how would the U.S. government, CIA, go about vetting someone, as in could the Chinese regime send one of their own agents to feed the U.S. false information? Oh, I'd say there's about 100 percent chance of them at least trying and succeeding. They probably have statistical probability on their side. Well, you vet an agent by, one, trying to learn who he is. And usually you know exactly who he is before you recruit him, not before he shows up on your Internet site. But you can test them. As I said, you look at their backgrounds and in great, great detail, you see what they produce. And sometimes they will produce things that is unquestionably something that they shouldn't have given you and that is good stuff. Other times it could be marginal things that look good, intended to fool the Americans or whomever. So it is very hard to do the vetting, particularly if you've never met someone. And I presume there would at some point be face to face meetings. But this is a long, complicated, complex process. And there's no easy way to do it. But obviously it has been successfully done. But also people have fooled us on occasion. And that's not all that unusual. So this is the basics of the spy business remain the same. But when you try to inject sort of this sort of way of making contact, assessing, vetting a person, that it, as I say, this is something I guess you would ideally call it out of the box thinking. But I don't think it's really the most well thought out approach. It does suggest that the Americans might have a whole lot of trouble actually recruiting Chinese, getting access to them and getting the people you want who are going to do your bidding. And if this is what we've come to, well, I think there's opportunity to excel in the more traditional approaches to tradecraft and spying and getting a hold of assets. Now, we have seen the CIA use similar tactics, say, at the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war with ads in Russian. But when it comes to China, is this a shift in strategy, especially after what happened to our spies inside China in the past? Well, it is a shift in strategy. But whether it's just because we're having so much success that we thought we would try using this approach, I don't know. It does appear from what one hears and the impression you get, particularly when we couldn't. Apparently ascertain where the COVID virus came from without even consider and considering that the Wuhan virology lab should have been CIA target priority number one and they should have had the place completely penetrated. But it seems as if they didn't even really know where that came from. They don't seem to know where fentanyl comes from. So it doesn't seem as though the Americans have had a great deal of success against the Chinese. But of course, this is this this is secret business and I wouldn't know about it. One does recall the Jerry Lee case in the late 2000s or so. And when he handed it, this was a CIA officer who resigned in Hong Kong, as I recall, and he handed over the the names and identities of a number of American assets in China. None of them had very happy endings either. So you can see the kind of trouble that the Americans seem to have had in this case. Of course, there is a lot of unhappiness in the in China, the higher levels of that system and everywhere else. So if you can get access, you potentially have something to work with if you're trying to recruit somebody. So it's not a it's a hard target, but that just means you have to go about it with more patience, more effort. Having language capability is a good thing and having people in the right position so that you can spot, assess and ideally recruit people. But you're not going to do it on a shoestring or sort of via the Internet, at least if past experience is anything to go by. So I don't know why they've done this. I would be inclined if it was me to find the people, if I was Mr Ratcliffe, perhaps find the people who thought this up, who thought it was a good idea, who approved it and implemented it. And then perhaps show them the curve with some other employment elsewhere that they could maybe do better. Well, Grant Newsham, as always, thanks for joining us. Well, thank you very much for having me. Chinese retailer Timo said it will stop shipping products from China to the U.S. The app now only shows products stocked in U.S. warehouses. That's after the U.S. ended a trade policy. It says China has exploited to flood the market with cheap goods and facilitate drug smuggling. And today's Daniel Monaghan, how's the story? We can't let it happen. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in April to end the de minimis exemption for goods imported from China and Hong Kong, effective May 2nd. The White House described it as a critical step in addressing the ongoing health crisis caused by the flow of synthetic opioids into the U.S. The de minimis rule had allowed goods valued at $800 or less to enter the country duty free. Since 2016, shippers from China and elsewhere have taken advantage of the rule to send billions of small parcels into the U.S. Starting May 2nd, packages valued at $800 or less shipped via international postal services will face a duty of either 30 percent of the item's value or $25 per package, whichever is higher. That fee increases to $50 per package on June 1st. China said Friday it is evaluating an offer from Washington to hold talks over the Trump administration's bruising tariffs. The message from the Communist Nation's Commerce Ministry signaled a potential de-escalation in the trade war that has roiled global markets. It says the U.S. approached China to seek talks over the 145 percent tariffs and that Beijing's door was open for discussions. China is currently struggling with deflation due to sluggish economic growth and a prolonged property crisis. Trump said Wednesday there's a very good chance the two sides could reach a deal. Germany's domestic intelligence agency has officially classified the right wing party alternative for Germany or AFD as extremist. This means that intelligence services now have the right to keep it under surveillance. Certain factions of the AFD, such as its youth wing, had already been classified as extremist. An AFD spokesman said this has nothing to do with law and order, instead saying it's a purely political attack on the strongest opposition party in Germany. Coming up in the NBA, one of the league's all time greats is stepping down. Dave Martin joins us to discuss the career of Greg Popovich when we return. If joint pain from aging is slowing you down, Omega XL can help you get back in the saddle, just like it did for John Walsh. 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Small batch roasted to a decadent medium dark, resulting in a brew that is gentle on digestion, low acid. And up to 90% less caffeine than regular coffee. Try America's first enzyme-fermented coffee today. If you need to do something to feel OK to drive, you're not OK to drive. Don't drive buzzed. And now for your sports news, we're joined by NTD's Dave Martin. Dave, a lot going on right now, but let's start in the NBA as Greg Popovich is stepping down as head coach of the San Antonio Spurs after nearly three decades in charge. Was this somewhat expected? I mean, not completely. It certainly seemed very possible. I mean, Popovich suffered that stroke back in November. He had not been coaching since. Now, he did return to the team a couple months ago, saying that he would not be able to return this season, but that he intended to return next year. But then a couple of weeks ago, he suffered what's being termed as a medical incident at a San Antonio restaurant that required hospitalization. Maybe that had something to do with this decision. But anyway, Popovich, he's 76 years old. That's the oldest coach in league history, actually. He may be the most successful ever, too. Fourteen hundred and twenty two wins. That's the most all time. He's got five NBA titles. That's the third most. He won three coach of the years. But he's actually not retiring. He's actually just going to step down and become president of basketball operations with the Spurs. Meanwhile, Mitch Johnson, who's been their interim head coach this year, will take over on a permanent basis. So not a retirement yet, but he's still with the Spurs. Still staying active. While elsewhere in the league, the New York Knicks advanced to the second round of the playoffs last night, thanks to some more late game heroics from Jalen Brunson. Yeah, Brunson with a game winning three pointer last night with about five seconds left. That shot then eliminated the Pistons. The Knicks will move on to the next round. Not a surprise. I mean, Brunson is such a great late game player, especially in these playoffs. He scored eight points in the final two and a half minutes. The Pistons were actually up seven points in two and a half minutes left. So a lot of more late game heroics from Brunson. Let's actually listen to what his head coach, Tom Thibodeau, said about him afterwards. Did Jalen's shot. What can you say? You know, timely. You know, he's at his best when his best is needed. He's done it all year. That's what makes him special. But and again, I say it all the time. It really comes from his preparation. And he has a lot of poison to pressure. And he's dealing with it. You know, he gets a lot of attention. He's being trapped and he knows how to move without the ball. He's obviously very clever with the ball shift. He can get to the spots that he wants to get to. But he also knows how to move without the ball. Yeah, so Knicks move on. They will play the Celtics now in the second round. Celtics actually swept the season series. But I think this is going to be a very close playoff series. Well, tonight we have a Golden State hosting Houston needing a win to clinch the series. Yeah, game six here for the Warriors. They really need to win this one if they're going to take this series. Obviously, you do not want to have to go back to Houston and face a game seven on the road. Now, this is one of just two series still going on right now. We also have the Nuggets and Clippers. They'll have a game seven tomorrow there in Denver. And then the second round is finally going to start on Sunday. And if there's a game seven in the Golden State Houston series, that'll be game that'll be on Sunday as well. The Golden State's got a couple of stars in the men right now. Steph Curry, who's got that thumb all wrapped up. You also have Jimmy Butler with that pelvic contusion. But they have been playing. So it's playoff basketball. So he will play even if they're injured, too. On shifting gears to horse racing tomorrow is the one hundred and fifty first running of the Kentucky Derby. Who are some of the favorites? You know, when you talk horse racing, of course, you have to mention Bob Baffert, the legendary trainer. He's had six horses win the Kentucky Derby. That's tied for the most all time. He had two races. Now he had that three three year suspension, but he's back this year. And he's got he had two races, two horses in this race. One of them, though, Rodriguez was just scratched with what was being termed a foot bruise. They think he'll be ready for the preakness, though, in a couple of weeks. But he still has Citizen Bowl, who is a which is a twenty to one odds to win the race that'll be in the pole position there. Now, the actual favorites we have journalism, three to one odds to win this race got sovereignty at five to one odds. And then Sandeman at six to one odds to win the Kentucky Derby. That'll be tomorrow at six. Fifty seven Eastern Time tomorrow. Very specific on the starting time. Of course, it's an all day event there at the run for the roses. But the actual race is at the very end. So you'll have some hot off the press news for us. Very, very hot off the news. All right, Dave, as always, thanks for joining us. Thank you. And that's all for today's news around the clock coverage. Visit us at NTD dot com slash live or download our NTD app. Thanks for tuning in. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Good night.