NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (March 9)

Missiles, most of which are now being used or destroyed, and very unsuccessfully used because we have been able, for the most part, to shoot them all down. What incredible technology. The Patriots have been unbelievable. And other things. And the laser technology that we have now is incredible. It's coming out pretty soon, where literally lasers will do the work of, at a lot less cost, do the work of what the Patriots are doing or what other things are doing. The situation was very quickly approaching. The point of no return in the United States found it intolerable, in my opinion, based on what Steve and Jared and Pete and others were telling me, Marco was so involved, that I thought that they were going to attack us. I thought they would. If we didn't do this at the time we did it, I think they had in mind to attack us. And if you notice, they did something which was very foolish, very stupid, I would say. They attacked their neighbors. And their neighbors were largely neutral, or at least weren't going to be involved. And they got attacked. And it had the reverse effect. The neighbors came onto our side and started attacking them, and actually quite successfully. If you look at Saudi Arabia, you look at UAE, Qatar, and others. But they were strong and they were smart. But they got attacked. Nobody — when I first heard it, I said, no, somebody made a mistake. There was no mistake. UAE had over a thousand missiles shot at it, knocked them almost all down. On the very first day I came down the escalator in 2015, I said, quote, I will stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons, and all I'm doing is keeping my promise. Think of that. That was in 2015 I said it. It was a threat then and a much bigger threat now, but no longer a threat — not for a long time, anyway. We want to keep it that way. As we continue Operation Epic Fury, we're also focused on keeping energy and oil flowing to the world. And I will not allow a terrorist regime to hold the world hostage and attempt to stop the globe's oil supply. And if Iran does anything to do that, they'll get hit at a much, much harder level. I will take out those targets that were easy and that I mentioned just before. We'll take them out so quickly, they'll never be able to recover, ever. If they want to play that game, they better not play that game. In the long run, oil supplies will be dramatically more secure without the threat of Iranian ships, drones, missiles, nuclear menace, or anything. So the Strait of Hormuz is going to remain safe. We have a lot of Navy ships there. We have the best equipment in the world inspecting for mines. Again, most of their ships are down at the bottom of the sea. But we will hit them so hard that it will not be possible for them or anybody else helping them to ever recover that section of the world, if they do anything. In recent years, the regime and its terror proxies have launched attacks on hundreds of commercial vessels. We're putting an end to all of this threat once and for all. And the result will be lower oil prices, oil and gas prices for American families. We've done that. We've done it. We've brought it very low. This was just an excursion into something that had to be done. We're getting very close to finishing that, too. In the meantime, during this brief disruption, the United States is offering political risk insurance to any tankers operating in the Gulf. So we're putting up risk insurance. We'll perhaps go alongside of them for protection. We don't think it'll be necessary. It is. And if they do anything, the price will be incalculable. It will be so great that they will have wished they never did it because you have to keep the straits flowing. With all of that, it affects other countries much more than it does the United States. It doesn't really affect us. We have so much oil. We have tremendous oil and gas. Much more than we need. We have Venezuela now as our new partner. Great partner. It worked out so wonderful. We're working with the administration, the President. And it's a massive source of oil, gas, everything. But we're in a very good position, but very unfair to other parts of the world. Like China, as an example. I mean, we're doing this for the other parts of the world, including countries like China. They get a lot of their oil through the straits. So we're doing this. We have a very good relationship with President Xi and China. I'm going there in a short period of time. And we're protecting the world from what these lunatics are trying to do. And very successfully, I might add. We're also waiving certain oil-related sanctions to reduce prices. So we have sanctions on some countries. We're going to take those sanctions off until this straightens out. And who knows? Maybe we won't have to put them on. There'll be so much peace. But when the time comes, the U.S. Navy and its partners will escort tankers through the strait, if needed. I hope it's not going to be needed, but if it's needed, we'll escort them right through. And we have the greatest minesweeping ability. We have the greatest ships and all of the — we know exactly where they're placed. We'll get them out of there very fast. But we hope we don't have any of that. And again, if they do that, if they play that game, we're going to hit them at a level that they have not seen before. So we're winning very decisively. We're way ahead of schedule. It's — our military is the greatest in the world with the greatest equipment and the greatest people in the world. Nobody has ever seen anything like it. Iran is a very powerful country. They were going to take over the Middle East. If we did not hit them, they were going to take over the Middle East. They had thousands and thousands. Since their last hit, they had thousands and thousands of missiles and everything else. Most are now destroyed. But they were going to take over the Middle East. Those weapons were aimed at Middle Eastern countries that had nothing to do with this. They were going to take over the Middle East, and they were going to try and destroy Israel. So we stopped it with good timing, and we're very proud to be involved in this. And it's going to be ended soon. And if it starts up again, they'll be — they'll be hit even harder. Thank you very much for being here. Go ahead. Any questions? Go ahead. Thank you so much. Go ahead. Do you approve of Iran's new supreme leader? And secondly, can you tell us more about your call with Russian President Vladimir Putin today? Yes. What did you discuss? Yes. I had a very good call with President Putin. We had a lot of people on the line from our side, from his side. We were talking about Ukraine, which is just a never-ending fight. And when — look, there's tremendous hatred between President Putin and President Zelensky. They can't seem to get it together. But I think it was a positive call on that subject, and we obviously talked then about the Middle East. And he wants to be helpful. I said, you could be more helpful by getting the Ukraine-Russia war over with. That would be more helpful. But we had a very good talk, and he wants to be very constructive. Yeah. Please. Yeah, please. Thank you, Mr. President. On Iran, you called it an excursion. You said it would be over soon. Are you thinking this week it will be over? No, but soon. Are you talking about days? I think soon. Okay. And with respect to — Very soon. Look, everything they have is gone, including their leadership. In fact, they have two levels of leadership, and even actually, as it turns out, more than that. But two levels of leadership are gone. Most people have never even heard about the leaders that they're talking about. So it's obviously been very, very powerful, very effective. With respect to Cuba, you said that Cuba wants to make a deal. Yes. What would the United States get in return for that? And why should Americans trust Marco Rubio to negotiate it? Well, Marco Rubio is doing a great job. I think he's going to go down as the greatest Secretary of State in history. Look at what we've done as a — as a presidency. Look at what we've done as an administration. They trust Marco, and so do the American people trust. He's been successful no matter where he's been. He also speaks the language, which is always nice and always helpful. But he's dealing — and it may be a friendly takeover. It may not be a friendly takeover. It wouldn't matter because they're really in — they're down to, as they say, fumes. They have no energy. They have no money. They're in deep trouble on a humanitarian basis. And we don't want to see that. But they were very, very bad to a lot of people, as you know. And a lot of people living our — the Cuban American vote, which I got at record levels — very important. Those people are very important to me. I know — I know what they went through. They went through hell. Some of them have gone on to be some of the most successful people in the country. Cuban American business people — some of them are, like, the most successful in the country. And a lot of them are friends of mine because I've been fighting this battle with them for a long time. The Castro regime was brutal. But they lived off Venezuela. Now they don't live off Venezuela. It sends them no energy, no fuel, no oil, no money, no nothing. They lived without Venezuela or they couldn't have made it. And we cut them off from everything else. So, yeah, we're — they're going to make either a deal or we'll do it just as easy anyway. Yeah. Please. Go ahead. The Press. The Hamahak missile likely destroyed that Iranian girls' school. So will the Americans — will the U.S. accept any responsibility? Well, I haven't seen it. And I will say that the Tamahawk, which is one of the most powerful weapons around, is used by — you know, is sold and used by other countries. You know that. And whether it's Iran — who also has some Tamahawks. I wish they had more. But whether it's Iran or somebody else, the fact that a Tamahawk — a Tamahawk is very generic. It's sold to other countries. But that's being investigated right now. Yeah, please. Thank you. Mr. President, you've said the war is, quote, very complete. But your Defense Secretary says this is just the beginning. So which is it? And how long should Americans be prepared for Well, I think you can say both. The beginning — it's the beginning of building a new country. But they certainly — they have no Navy. They have no Air Force. They have no anti-aircraft equipment. It's all been blown up. They have no radar. They have no telecommunications. And they have no leadership. It's all gone. So, you know, you could look at that statement. We could — we could call it a tremendous success right now, as we leave here, I could call it. Or we could go further, and we're going to go further. But the big risk on that war has been over for three days. We wiped them out the first — in the first two days. When you think about it, it's incredible. We wiped out a big Navy. Very powerful Navy. You know, these were ships. These were serious ships. These were ships that you buy when you want to win battles. They're all — they're all on the bottom floor. The sailors are all running off their ships. They refuse to get on the ships. The Air Force is gone. Everything is gone. The missiles are down to a trickle. The drones are down to probably 25 percent, and they'll soon be down to nothing. We'll have the — where they're manufactured, the drones are under fire. As we speak, they're being hit. So the rest is going to be a determination as to my attitude, along with the people in the Trump administration, what we want to do. Thank you. Yeah, please. Can I ask you — you mentioned you were going to waive certain additional oil waivers or sanctions. Can you talk a little bit more about that and address, in particular, are you considering Well, we're looking to keep the oil prices down. We went artificially up because of this excursion into a very positive thing. I mean, this was an excursion that a lot of people wouldn't have done. I knew oil prices would go up if I did this, and they've gone up probably less than I thought they'd go up. But I don't think anybody thought we were going to be this quickly successful. This was a military success, the likes of which people haven't seen. We have the best military. We have the best equipment. We have, I believe, the best generals. We have the best. And this went very quickly. We talked about that with President Putin. He was very impressed with what he saw because nobody's ever seen anything quite like it. You know, Iran was a very powerful military country with all of the missiles. Now, you had the double attack. You had the original attack with us and Israel, and that knocked them for a loop. Then you had the B-2 bombers, which took out their nuclear capability, and they would have had a nuclear weapon within two weeks to four weeks. And they would have used it long before this press conference, and we might have had a much different press conference if we had a press conference at all. But it's been amazing. The military success that we've had is truly unprecedented. You said you've told your congressional colleagues that you will not sign any piece of legislation until the Save America Act is passed. Does that include the confirmation of Senator Mullen as your next DHS secretary? Does that mean a DHS funding bill? And Senator Thune said today it's not a matter of whether or not your Republican colleagues agree with the policy. It's about changing the process. In other words, getting rid of the filibuster to get there. So, in order to get it, you're going to need Democrat votes. And what we're saying is the Save America — not the SAVE Act, which nobody knew what it was. The Save America Act. And that's voter ID. We want voter ID. We want a voter — we want to be able to see a picture of the voter. We want to be able to see that the voter is legitimate. We want, very importantly, confirmation that this voter is a citizen of the United States of America. And we want no in — no mail-in ballot scams. So we have exceptions for the military, for sick, for disabled, and for people that are away — business trips or whatever. Even vacations will be very liberal in that. We've added two things to it — no men and women sports, and no transgender mutilization of our children. We don't want our — it's the mutilization of our children, and we don't want that. So we added those two things. That's the five points. We have five very good points. It polls at 86 percent with Democrats. Think of that. The overall vote is 86 percent. With Republicans, it's 98 percent. And the only one opposed to it is a Democrat leadership because they cheat. They want to cheat. So we added those two points. We're going for the gold, and we're going to have to fight like hell. Now, certain things will happen. Certain things will take place. I'm here to do a great job for the country. But we don't have a country, if we're going to have elections, that are so corrupt and so dishonest, like we've witnessed over the last period of time. You know, as an example, few — I mean, virtually, nobody has, like we — nobody has a system of mail-in ballots like we have. No other country in the world. France went away from it. They all went. You know why? Because it's corrupt. And Jimmy Carter, when he had a commission — frankly, I think it's probably the best thing Jimmy Carter did — he said, you can't have mail-in voting because it's inherently dishonest. And it's turned out to be totally dishonest, and we're going to fight for it. Yeah. The Press activated any sleeper cells inside the U.S. There's reports that they have pressed that trigger button to activate those cells, at least abroad. Well, we've been — they've been trying for a long time. We've been very much on top of it. One of the things we have to do is get the Democrats to stop the Democrat shutdown. Because, as you know, the apparatus that looks into that — Schumer and the Democrats have shut it down, which tells you they probably hate our country a lot. But the Democrats have to open that up. But we've got very, very good intelligence into that. We know a lot of different things that have happened that have been very bad. A lot of them came in during the Biden open border period. But we have them under — we've got them — we're watching every single one of them. Yeah. We know a lot about them. The biggest problem we have is the Democrat shutdown. We know a lot about them. But the shutdown doesn't allow us to do what we have to do. Do you have to take him out? Does he have a target on his back? You mean the new Supreme Leader? You mean the son? How can there be an Iran with another — Well, I don't want to — I don't want to say that. But, you know, I was disappointed because we think it's going to lead to just more of the same problem for the country. So I was disappointed to see their choice. You've said you have someone in mind to be the new Iranian leadership, if not the Ayatollah's son. What are you looking for in that person? Are you looking at someone internal, given that you just said that their leadership has been divided? I like the idea of the — you know, internal and eternal, come to think of it. But I like the idea of internal because it works well. I mean, I think we've proven that so far in Venezuela. We have a woman, Delsi, who has been, you know, president of the country. Very respected. Very — she's doing a great job. And it's, you know, no disruption. We had, as you remember, Iraq, where everybody got fired. The military got fired. The police got fired. The politicians got fired. There was nobody. And you know what they turned into? ISIS. And we don't want that. We don't want that. So I would like to see people that are inside go — now they talk about the son of the Shah. They talk about other people. But, you know, it hasn't been there in many, many years. We have a formula that's been very good so far, and I think it'll continue to be good. The relationship is extraordinary with Venezuela. Smart country. We've taken out 100 million barrels of oil. It's right now in Houston being — being taken care of and made so beautiful. And you have to see this at work. They have — it's brought to the refineries. It's being refined in Houston, which is made exactly for that product. And so far — but it's 100 million barrels of oil. And now they have another 100 million barrels coming. And it's like a partnership. We're getting along so well with them. It's great for Venezuela, and it's great for the United States. Yeah. Please, go ahead. The Press. Mr. President, you just suggested that Iran somehow got its hands on a tomahawk and bombed its own elementary school on the first day of the war. But you're the only person in your government saying this. Even your Defense Secretary wouldn't say that when he was asked, standing over your shoulder on your plane on Saturday. Why are you the only person saying this? Because I just don't know enough about it. I think it's something that I was told is under investigation. But tomahawks are used by others, as you know. Numerous other nations have tomahawks. They buy them from us. But I will certainly — whatever the report shows, I'm willing to live with that report. Yeah, please. The Press. You said earlier that we've already won in many ways, but we haven't won enough. What do you consider enough? What's your baseline? Where they're not going to be starting the following day to develop a nuclear weapon. Where they'll look at that man and some other people from the administration and say, all right, we're not going to do it. They were not willing to say that. And when Steve called up and he said that to me, I said, well, here we go. Let's do it the hard way. But the hard way, I think, is probably the easy way. When, basically, I can see that they will no longer have any capacity whatsoever for a very long period of time of developing weaponry that could be used against the United States, Israel, or any of our allies. We have great allies in the Middle East, great countries that are allies. And they were staying out of it until they got hit. Someday they'll have to do a story. Why did he do that? Why did they do that? But they were going to hit them. If I didn't hit them first, they were going to hit our allies first. I believe upon information and belief, but I believe that he was going to they were going to take over the Middle East. They were looking to take over the Middle East. Now, had Operation Midnight Hammer not taken place, that was definite because they would have had a nuclear weapon within a matter of weeks. But that took place. That was a setback. But look at the number of missiles they were able to buy and make over the last six months. And those missiles were aimed at various countries. And when you look at 1,000 over 1,000 missiles shot at, like, UAE, they were looking to take over the Middle East. We got there first. Lucky. I'll tell you what, the Middle East and those countries, very rich countries, are very lucky that I was President instead of somebody else. I don't think so. No. No, we get along very well on this. He was, I would say, philosophically a little bit different than me. I think he was maybe less enthusiastic about going, but he was quite enthusiastic. But I felt it was something we had to do. I didn't feel we had a choice. If we didn't do it, they would have done it to us. I felt, based on the negotiations that were being had by Steve Whitkoff and Jared Kushner and Marco and Pete, and everybody was involved, I felt that they were going to — that they were looking to tap us along before they hit. And I thought they were going to hit. And if they hit us first, that would have been a very bad thing. In the back, please. In the back. About the strait, you mean? Yeah, well, I want to keep it open. I want to keep it good. You know, it doesn't pertain to us so much as it does to China. We're really helping China here and other countries because they get a lot of their energy from the straits. But, hey, look, we have a good relationship with China. It's my honor to do it. Yeah. You have called him an unacceptable choice. So does he have a target on his back? And how can you say that? I don't want to say whether or not he does because that would be inappropriate. But, hey, look, I had a target on my back because, as you people wrote pretty well, they caught the assassin that was after me. So we just got them first. But they caught the assassin. They have him now in custody that was after me. So, you know, but people don't like to mention that, but they did catch him. And I'd like to congratulate our military Secret Service, FBI, all of the people that worked on that. But they did. Yeah, please. Go ahead, please. Thank you, Mr. President. You promised the Iranian people you would help them, but it sounds like you're willing to end this fight after military objectives have wrapped up. Is that isn't that a betrayal? Will I help them? I'd like to if they can behave. But they've been very menacing. You know, they're great people. They have an amazing population. It's amazing, smart, brilliant, energetic. They have a great point. I'd love to help them, but they have to be in a system that allows them to be helped. And right now, they're in a system that only allows failure. And I don't want that. And I want a system that's not going to be attacking us. We want a system that can lead to many years of peace. And if we can't have that, we might as well get it over with right now. Yeah, please. As of today, there have been eight U.S. military fatalities associated with the war in Iran. How many American deaths are you willing to have in this war? Well, as I said before, when you have conflicts like this, you always have death. And I was at Dover yesterday. I met the parents and they were unbelievable people. They were unbelievable people. But they all had one thing in common. They said to me one thing every single one. Finish the job, sir. Please finish the job. And I'll leave you at that. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. And that was President Trump speaking in, answering questions from the media at the press conference at Doral, Florida, after the GOP's annual policy retreat. Welcome to NGD Evening News. Our top story tonight, the United States military has identified the seventh soldier killed in Operation Epic Fury. Meanwhile, the Iranian regime continues launching strikes on other countries across the Middle East, Jason Perry reports, plus the president's latest comments on the war. President Trump hosting House Republicans in Florida for their annual policy retreat. One of the biggest questions, will the GOP push a second reconciliation bill? Chris Bobb reports. New York City's mayor and police commissioners say an attack near Gracie Mansion Saturday is being treated as an act of terrorism. Two individuals in custody are facing federal charges. Arlene Richards with the details. And TSA employees have almost gone a month without pay, and long security checkpoint lines are starting to be seen at many major airports. Jason Blair has the latest. 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. The U.S. Central Command says over 5,000 Iranian targets have been struck in the first 10 days of Operation Epic Fury, with 50 Iranian vessels destroyed. This as the Department of War identifies the seventh soldier killed during the operation. Meanwhile, the Iranian regime continues to launch strikes against other countries in the Middle East. NTD's Jason Perry has the update. The U.S. military released a video on Monday showing a series of strikes on Iran. Iran's state-run media said an airstrike landed near a demonstration where thousands of people were rallying in support of the country's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei. The Iranian regime named him to be the country's next leader after his father, Ali Khamenei, was killed at the start of the war. Meanwhile, a seventh U.S. service member who was injured at the beginning of the war has died. Army Sergeant Benjamin Pennington of Kentucky was injured on March 1st during an attack on an air base in Saudi Arabia and passed away on Sunday. Vice President J.D. Vance said this while addressing a group of firefighters on Monday. And I just want to say that if you are the praying type, and I certainly am, I hope you'll spare a prayer for the six souls that we lost, for the seventh soul who will be coming home tonight, and for all of their families. Meanwhile, Iran has continued launching attacks at neighboring countries in the Middle East. Qatar releasing this video on Monday saying it shows Qatari forces intercepting Iranian missiles and attack drones. And in Bahrain, Iranian attack drones reportedly hit an oil refinery and also a residential neighborhood on Monday as residents were seen responding to the aftermath. Also, the Israeli ambulance service says at least one person was killed and two others injured in an Iranian missile attack on Israel. Israel's ambassador to the U.N., Danny Dannen, saying this about the war in Iran. It will take some more time. You know, it's not going to be years, it's not going to be months, it's going to take a few more weeks, but we are heading in the right direction. And I think the moment that the people of Iran will rise up and take their future in their own hands is coming pretty soon. At the same time, Israeli forces have increased strikes against the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon. This comes after Israel said that several projectiles were launched from Lebanon toward Israel. Jason Perry, NTD News. President Trump tonight calling the U.S. military campaign against Iran a short-term excursion. He emphasizes that Operation Epic Fury is to eliminate evil and that it will end pretty quickly. We took a little excursion because we felt we had to do that to get rid of some evil. And I think you'll see it's going to be a short-term excursion. How good is our military, right? Amazing. How good. Short-term. The president's remarks to the House Republican Conference in Florida come amid concerns over energy disruptions in the Middle East. Stocks rose and oil prices fell today after the president saying the Iran war is very complete. Still, he vows the U.S. will not relent until the Iranian regime is, quote, totally defeated. We've already won in many ways, but we haven't won enough. We go forward more determined than ever to achieve ultimate victory that will end this long running danger once and for all. Forty seven years. It should have been done a long time ago. World would have been a different place had some president had the courage to go and do it. They should. The president says Operation Epic Fury has destroyed Iran's Navy, Air Force and Army, wiping out 80 percent of its missile launchers and crippling its drone and missile capabilities. Trump adding that Iran's terrorist leaders are either gone or counting the minutes until they're gone. Those are highlights the imminent threat Iran was posing before the U.S. and Israel launched a preemptive attack within a week. If they were going to attack us 100 percent, they were ready. They had all these missiles far more than anyone thought. And they were going to attack us, but they were going to attack all of the Middle East and Israel. And if they had a nuclear weapon, they would have used it on Israel. And this was going to be a major attack. Beyond the battlefield, the president highlights what he calls major progress on the economy, drug prices and border security. He's also urging Republicans to pass the SAVE Act to tighten voter I.D. rules ahead of the midterms. The White House is calling Operation Epic Fury a resounding success, and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is touting the effectiveness of the U.S. military in its strikes on Iran. As the war enters its second week, how are those who study war calculating its success? And how does it compare to past U.S. military operations? Tune in to NTD's Capitol Report with Steve Lance at 7 p.m. Eastern Time. Retired Army Colonel Dr. Thomas Lynch, Distinguished Research Fellow at the National Defense University's Institute for National Strategic Studies, will join us for analysis. And as House Republicans begin their annual policy retreat in Florida, one of their biggest questions, will the GOP push a second reconciliation bill? NTD's Chris Bobb has the details. To develop this policy framework that would address affordability in health care to housing to electricity and gas prices. House Republicans are convening in Doral, Florida this week for their annual policy retreat. With a razor-thin margin and looming midterm elections, party leaders are weighing their next move, a potential second reconciliation bill aimed at affordability and codifying President Trump's agenda. The idea, nicknamed Reconciliation 2.0, was first outlined by conservatives earlier this year as a way to target rising costs for American families. Right here is the framework for what we're calling the Make American Dream Affordable Again, Reconciliation 2.0 plan. An earlier framework released by the Republican Study Committee proposes a range of policies, including reforms to health care programs and energy regulations. There are also incentives for first-time home buyers. If you talk to anyone under the age of 40, they will tell you it is virtually impossible. You can't get in to even tour a home before it's snapped up by someone else, probably a little bit older, or a corporation that's buying in cash. Today, we are including the NEST Act. First-time home buyers would be allowed to save for their down payment tax-free. Republican leaders say putting these items in a reconciliation bill could allow them to pass legislation in the Senate with a simple majority, bypassing the 60-vote threshold required for most bills. As you know, that's the only way to get around the necessary threshold of 60 votes in the Senate. So we're working right now very methodically, carefully, to determine what are our priorities we can squeeze into a second reconciliation bill. The GOP retreat continues through Wednesday. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Chris Bobb, NTD News. New York City Mayor Zohra Mamdani and his police commissioner Jessica Tish today said they are treating a Saturday incident involving explosive devices as an act of ISIS-inspired terrorism. NTD's Arlene Richards has more. New York City will never tolerate violence. An attack outside the New York City mayor's residence is being treated as an act of terrorism. I can confirm this morning that this is being investigated as an act of ISIS-inspired terrorism. The alleged act of terrorism happened Saturday during an anti-Islam protest. There is video of these two individuals throwing two devices towards the protest. The police department has determined that these were improvised explosive devices made to injure, maim, or worse. Amir Bilat and Ibrahim Qayyumi, the two suspects in custody, allegedly traveled from Pennsylvania to the protest in New York. The devices that were tossed into the crowd were packed with nuts, bolts, and screws, and contained a chemical substance inside a taped canister fitted with a fuse. Preliminary test results determined that these were not hoax devices nor smoke bombs. The FBI has joined the New York Police Department in testing the devices as well as in conducting a terrorism investigation. Police Commissioner Jessica Tish said the suspects will be prosecuted in federal court in Manhattan. The complaint will set forth criminal charges and the factual allegations supporting those charges. In a second press conference on Monday afternoon, Tish released more information on federal charges against the suspects. The defendants are charged with attempting to provide material support to ISIS, using a weapon of mass destruction, transporting explosive materials, interstate transportation, and receipt of explosive materials, and unlawful possession of destructive devices. Bilat and Qayyumi are both under age 21. They have no prior criminal records. On their first appearance in federal court Monday, their attorneys requested protective custody for their clients. Tish said they each admitted they were inspired by ISIS. As Qayyumi was being placed into an NYPD vehicle following his arrest, a person in the crowd asked why he had done this. As shown on NYPD body worn camera footage referenced in the complaint, Qayyumi responded with ISIS. She said Bilat also made unsolicited statements that were captured on body cam footage. She said, this isn't a religion that just stands when people talk about the blessed name of the prophet. We take action, we take action. She said he also told investigators that he hoped to carry out an attack even bigger than the Boston Marathon bombing, which occurred 13 years ago. That bombing killed three individuals. NYPD officers put their own lives at risk on Saturday to stop one bomb from detonating. They later found two more. The police commissioner, a US attorney, and an assistant FBI director all praised the officers for their heroic actions and for keeping New Yorkers safe. Tish said these agencies are working together with NYPD in an ongoing investigation. Arlene Richards, NTD News. Some passengers have been waiting as long as three hours to get through security at some airports. New Orleans Airport and several others are saying it's due to TSA staffing shortages. A partial government shutdown has been in effect for nearly a month now, and the White House says thousands of government workers, including TSA employees, aren't getting paid. NTD correspondent Jason Blair reports. Long security checkpoint lines have been spotted at many major airports around the country. This includes Houston, New Orleans, and Atlanta. One line can be seen stretching outside of the terminal and one into an airport parking garage. New Orleans International Airport posted a notice on Monday announcing delays due to the partial government shutdown, saying passengers are advised to arrive at least three hours before their scheduled departure to allow plenty of time to undergo security screening. Wait times could be up to two hours, and the delays could continue through the rest of the week. And Atlanta Airport also posted that it's experiencing, quote, extended wait times at TSA security checkpoints. A partial government shutdown has been ongoing. Many employees at the Department of Homeland Security have been working without pay, and this includes TSA employees. Last month, a TSA administrator told Congress that absences are common during shutdowns. Which means folks calling out because they could not afford to show up to work, and what we have to do in those instances is to start kind of consolidating and collapsing some of our operations, which means that not all of our lanes are open, and that does lead to longer wait times. In order to get the DHS running at full capacity again, both the House and Senate need to reach a funding agreement. The White House announcing on Monday that over 100,000 workers are going without pay during the partial government shutdown. The statement says now as TSA workers work without paychecks for the third time in nearly six months, crippling staffing shortages and hours-long security lines are gripping airports as millions of families head out for spring break. In other travel-related news, Kansas City International Airport was shut down and evacuated for about two hours on Sunday due to a, quote, security incident. The airport says that law enforcement were able to determine that the threat was not credible. FBI Director Kash Patel saying FBI and our law enforcement partners quickly responded to the scene and secured the area. The terminal has been swept, cleared, and normal operations resumed. However, the airport parking garage was shut down for an additional amount of time after authorities found a suspicious vehicle during the security sweep. The airport saying during the sweep of the garage, a vehicle on the top floor was identified by K-9 units as suspicious. As protocol, KCPD bomb and arson were called in to investigate, and the garage was kept closed for an additional three hours. Kansas City Airport says that the police bomb and arson units determined that there was no threat. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Jason Blair, NTD News. President Trump welcoming Latin American leaders to Florida over the weekend and announcing a new coalition against drug cartels. The initiative is set to give Trump a chance to project strength closer to home and to pull Latin America closer to Washington. Here's that story. President Donald Trump hosted Latin American leaders in Florida on Saturday to announce the formation of a military coalition against drug cartels. The heart of our agreement is a commitment to using lethal military force to destroy the sinister cartels and terrorist networks once and for all. We'll get rid of them. At least a dozen leaders from Central America, South America, and the Caribbean joined what was called the Shield of America summit convened by Trump, who signed a proclamation launching the coalition. In the last year as Secretary of Homeland Security, we have focused on securing our border. We have transformed our country from one that was being invaded by enemies, millions of them that were coming in unvetted, that we didn't know who was there and who wished to harm us. We've secured that border. We've focused on removing public safety threats. It's a top priority for us. And while there are clearly a focus on the security of the hemisphere, as you can see from the representation in our cabinet from trade, to commerce, to energy, to treasury, and there is also a focus very strongly on the opportunities we have to work together economically. But you can't have economic progress without security. Trump has cited drug cartels as a primary reason for ramping up his administration's involvement in Latin America, pressuring Venezuela over the past several months, and seizing its president, Nicolas Maduro, in January. The Trump administration has also deepened direct involvement in the region by tightening enforcement of the decades-long U.S. embargo on Cuba. On Saturday, Trump said Cuba wants to make a deal with the U.S. and is negotiating with him and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. As we achieve a historic transformation in Venezuela, we're also looking forward to the great change that will soon be coming to Cuba. Cuba's at the end of the line. Coming up, how did the political spectrum in the U.S. shift toward the left over the past decades? The author of The Political Vice, John Tillman, joins us to explore his new book, Our Conversation, next. This is such a gentle painting, so beautifully portrayed. A group of people reading together in this simple, everyday-looking living room. A young girl reading along with an adult. A grandparent sitting in the lotus position. A businessman in his typical suit. You see all those people. They look like they have quietly settled down there. And you, as a viewer, it looks like you've just stepped in the door. You can't see what it is they're reading, so you're a little bit curious and you're kind of invited to walk in. This harmonious feeling is not by accident. It is the very subject of the work. The book they are reading is the main text of Falun Gong, which is an ancient Chinese spiritual discipline in the Buddhist tradition. At the core of Falun Gong are the values of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. Unfortunately, the practice is banned in China, where the artist resides. Thousands have been killed for their faith. Golden energy blooms into the room as a result of their steadfast faith. The painting on the back wall reminds us of this work's title, Plum Blossoms in a Muddy World. It's also a metaphor for the practitioners that are sitting in the room as plum blossoms. They signify perseverance and hope that all brutal winters end. And life is renewed once again. It's a magical painting. We said we'd never break the three-second rule. We'd never make a separate dinner. And never do that. We'd never let them sleep in our room. And never become a minivan mom. Hey, Chris. Okay, well, I'm not at my desk right now. As parents, we say never a lot. But never happens. So when you say you'd never leave your child in a hot car, no, it can happen. Before you leave the car, always stop, look, lock. Welcome back. I'm Tiffany Meyer. For decades, the political spectrum in the U.S. has been shifting toward the left. But how did it happen? A new book now explores this leftward drift with a battle plan for conservatives. Joining us now is Jon Tillman, author of The Political Vice, How the Radical Left Controls America and the Path to Regaining Our Liberty. Jon, thank you so much for joining us. Great to have you. Now, with the midterms coming up, there's a lot of focus on candidates. But in your book, you talk about how it's not enough just to elect the right people. There are other factors and pressures at play, something you actually called The Political Vice in your book. Talk to us about that. Who is controlling this? The radical left, unfortunately, is controlling the levers of The Political Vice. And if you think of it like a U, there's the left side, which has media pressure, the right side, which has people pressure. And the bottom of it is elite influencer pressure. And they all apply pressure to those in the middle, which are political decision makers. And politics is a pressurized system, Tiffany. And if you can apply pressure, you can get the results you want. This explains why so many conservatives, once they get in office, begin to move left, because the radical left has control of the commanding heights of media, elite influencers in all of our institutions, from K-12 education, higher education, health care, corporate communications, obviously, the deep state and all the rest of it. And I wrote the book because I want people on the right, and even Democrats, traditional Democrats who've been abandoned by their party, to understand what is happening to the political system and what we need to do to fight back and regain control of the commanding heights by grasping those levers for liberty. And speaking of those levers, you talk about three different kinds of the political vice, the traditional, the progressive, as you just talked about, and the liberty political vice. How are they different? How do they change the outcome? Up till about the progressive era in the late 1800s, early 1900s, the traditional political vice really operated. Even as far as the founding, the traditional political vice operated where politicians were trying to begin very early on learning how to use the media. Of course, you did have elite influencers during the founding, names that we all know—Madison, Jefferson, Adams, and all the rest, and, of course, George Washington. And then you had the engagement of the American people at that early stage. But what started to happen in the late 1800s, early 1900s, and has been going on for 100 years, is the progressive movement, often aligned with socialism and communism, has been taking control of those levers. So you see, from the 60s on, the elite institutions in academia, the Ivies and all the elite universities around the country, are really controlled by radical leftists. We saw that with the protests where the university campuses were aligned with Hamas after October 7th, rather than aligned with the victims of October 7th, which, of course, were the Jews in Israel. These are just many examples of how these institutions have been co-opted. Now, there's been a lot of good progress from liberty-oriented folks. And the whole idea of the liberty vice is that we want to have the people, the American people—and, of course, we have that famous phrase, everybody knows we, the people— we want the people back at the bottom of the vice, because that is the most leveraged position. You can apply direct pressure to politicians, and you can also apply pressure and influence the way media covers stories and the way in which influencers are chosen. Part of the point of the book is that we need to choose different influencers. And we saw that, Tiffany, during the pandemic, when governors like—despite her challenges today, Kristi Noem, of course, Governor DeSantis, Governor Reynolds in Iowa, and many others who did really well in releasing the American people to go back and live their lives very early on, while Democrat governors kept lockdowns, like in my former home state of Illinois, for over two years. And so the way this works is your viewers and people that care about America have to look beyond just voting. We have to look at the institutions, challenge the media, pick better media, demonetize the liberal media that really distorts the truth. That's one of the great battles we've seen with the X platform now, and frankly, your platform as well, is we're getting other views out there. And we need to keep expanding the number of the American people that hear these other views and find out there's different points of view than what the legacy media wants to say. And, John, in your book, you talk about how the left has successfully wielded victimhood and grievances, but that the right should tap into the American miracle and hope. Expand on that for us. Well, I think one of the saddest things about what's happened to the radical left and the Democratic Party is they win elections by slicing us up into groups. And I call it group identity politics. Many people have talked about this, but the underlying electoral strategy is really appalling and abhorrent from a moral point of view. What they really want to do is appeal to a part of the human nature, which is that we all encounter calamities in our life. We don't get the job we want. We don't get the marriage we want with the woman or man we wanted to marry. Our child doesn't get into the best school. And so we have problems, and these calamities are tough. And the American miracle has always been we dust ourselves off, we get up and we go at it, and we try harder, and we work better, and we learn. But what the left is doing now is telling people that you're a victim of rapacious capitalism. You're a victim of the obsession with the founding of the country with individual sovereignty controlling the government. And only we, the radical left controlling the government, can put our foot on the scale and create an equal, or in the worst case, equity outcome for you as a victim. And so they have African-Americans, Hispanics, Latinos, LGBTQ, you're tall or short, fat or skinny, an immigrant. You all are victims, and it's a grievance culture. But they do knit together a coalition of voters based on that grievance. Our side of the coin is that we appeal to people's hopes and aspirations. The natural human condition on the other side of the coin is that we're builders, we're collaborators. We like to voluntarily work with other people to build our communities, our churches, our civic institutions. And we're working together to try to build a better tomorrow than we have today. And it's much more aspiring and hopeful. We need to do a better job of saying that when you pursue liberty, the outcomes are a more fulfilling and satisfying life rather than the grievance culture, which leads to decline and despair. And with each election, Americans have a choice to quote your book. American greatness is not a birthright. Every generation must earn it. We earn it by understanding where we are and where we want to go, and by developing the right strategy to achieve that destiny. How can Americans figure out for themselves what that American greatness looks like? American greatness is when the government recognizes that its role is to protect our founding— the rights that are inherent in our founding principles. But the Bill of Rights, of course, is the best example of that. And remember that the Bill of Rights was adopted to make sure it was crystal clear that these were inalienable rights. If you're a person of faith, they come from God. If you're not, they're natural rights. And that's the primary purpose of government, is to protect our rights, our rights of free speech, assembly, freedom to practice a religion as we want, and so forth. And other than that, our national security and kind of regulate things between the states. But what's happened is the left wants the government to be the be-all and end-all to solving every societal problem. We have to point out that when government tries to solve problems, it fails the very people it's trying to help. Perhaps the best example of this is homelessness in California and other blue states. Homelessness, they pour tons of money, billions of dollars into it, and homelessness skyrockets, harming the very people, the homeless, that they're trying to help. What we're trying to do is empower people by devolving power back to individuals to make decisions unfettered and unrestricted by the government within reason. And of course, it's not that we want regulations to go completely away, but we don't want them to have a chokehold on us. And so when people are interacting with potential candidates for their elected officials, they should ask them, what is your philosophy? And what you're looking for, do they talk about it in a way where they want to empower government with ever more things for the government to do? Do they want to empower people by devolving power? The best recent example of this going on is Governor DeSantis in Florida. Explosive growth, huge immigration, because people feel free and unfettered to pursue their version of the American dream, whether they're black, brown, or white, rich or poor, new immigrant, or descended from the Mayflower. And that's a good example for the rest of the country. John Tillman, thank you so much for joining us. Thanks for having me. Australia says it has granted asylum to five members of Iran's national women's soccer team. The team had been playing in the Asia Cup tournament in Australia since before the Iran war started last month. They were eliminated from contention on Sunday, but concerns over their safety arose after team members remained silent during the playing of Iran's national anthem before a game last week, an act some have viewed as resistance. The team has yet to clarify. President Trump had called on Australian officials to grant them asylum earlier today, citing issues over their safety. Australian officials say the same asylum opportunity is available to the remaining members of the Iranian team. And that's all for today's news. For around the clock coverage, visit us at ntd.com slash live or download our NTD app. Thanks for tuning in. I'm Tiffany Meyer, good night.