NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 1)

Welcome to NTD Evening News. Our top story tonight, President Trump speaking to retirees in Florida after giving millions of Americans better access to retirement accounts. The move receiving bipartisan praise and the president's response to the latest proposal from Iran. Mari Otsu with the updates. With Operation Epic Fury in a ceasefire, the U.S. continuing economic fury on Iran and targeting a Chinese firm accused of helping Iran sell billions in sanctioned oil. Jason Perry has the details. With most of DHS funded, Congress still needs to finalize funding for ICE and CBP. President Trump's deadline for Republicans to complete this is about four weeks out. Jason Blair reports. New state regulations are paving the way for driverless trucks in California, but companies still have to clear major safety hurdles. Cristina Corona reports on what it will take before driverless big rigs hit the road. And President Trump says he's weighing a taxpayer-funded takeover of Spirit Airlines. The White House has sent a final proposal and says details will be announced soon. This is NTD Evening News, live from our global headquarters in New York City. Good evening and thank you for joining us tonight. I'm Perry Dunst. With Operation Epic Fury currently in a ceasefire, the U.S. continues economic fury against the Iranian regime, this time targeting a Chinese company accused of helping Iran sell billions in sanctioned oil. NTD's Jason Perry brings us those details. The United States targeting Iran's pocketbooks during the ceasefire between the two countries. In Operation Economic Fury, the U.S. says it will continue to intensify economic pressure on the Iranian regime, saying Iran's illicit oil trade is the primary way it makes money to support terrorism and regional destabilization. Analysts suggest that Iran has survived sanctions by selling oil to China. However, the U.S. says it's also targeting the international network that sustains Iran's illicit energy trade. On Friday, the State Department announcing sanctions targeting a Chinese company, which the U.S. accuses of helping Iran sell billions of dollars of sanctioned oil. The Qingdao High Oil Terminal Company runs an oil port in China, and the U.S. says the firm has been using, quote, deceptive shipping practices and sophisticated evasion schemes to help the Iranian regime sell billions worth of sanctioned oil. Also on Friday, as part of Economic Fury, the Treasury Department imposing more sanctions on Iran's financial infrastructure, this time targeting three Iranian currency exchange houses accused of funding the regime's, quote, destabilizing activities, adding that those businesses convert Iran's oil revenues into usable currency for the regime and its network of proxies throughout the region. Treasury Secretary Scott Besson on Friday saying it's difficult for the Iranian leadership to know what's going on in the outside world, as they, quote, literally sit in the dark, adding this about the situation. The United States has complete control of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has a hard currency shortage. Food and gasoline rationing are in place. The entire international community has turned against you. And the blockade on the Hormuz Strait will continue until there is pre-February 27 freedom of navigation. Next, the FBI says a network of hackers backed by the Chinese Communist Party is rapidly expanding its operations. The assistant director of the bureau's cyber division warning that they're subject to arrest if they leave China. The FBI's warning comes days after the extradition of Chinese national Xu Zouwei from Italy to the United States. The Chinese contractor is accused of participating in widespread hacking campaigns carried out in 2020 and 2021 at the direction of the CCP. The Justice Department alleges that Xu and several co-conspirators targeted U.S. research on COVID-19 vaccines, treatment and testing. According to the DOJ, Xu reported the hacking to the Chinese Ministry of State Security. An officer within the ministry then directed Xu to target specific email accounts belonging to virologists and immunologists. Xu now faces a nine-count indictment for his alleged involvement in the hacking scheme. And 75% of all electronics in the U.S. market are tested in China. What kind of vulnerability does this create? Will the FCC be able to stop it? Analysis tonight on Capitol Report with Steve Lance at 7 p.m. Eastern, just after evening news. And President Trump speaking to retirees in the villages at Florida after giving millions of Americans better access to retirement accounts in a move that's receiving bipartisan praise. It's his first large public event since his third assassination attempt Saturday night. And DD's White House correspondent Mari Otsu brings us more from the villages. President Trump here in the villages of Florida to highlight his working families tax cuts, specifically no tax on Social Security. Thanks to the massive tax cut, American seniors just received your largest tax refunds of all time. That means more money to visit your grandkids, bigger budget for taking a trip. Our seniors in particular were really hurt by the previous administration with prices across the board skyrocketing and being out of control. We've been able to work very hard over the last 16, 17 months to get a lot of those prices down and obviously the largest tax cut for Social Security recipients in the history of America. So I think it's important for the president to come out and share that because we know a lot of the press is not going to do that. Better for them to hear directly from the commander in chief. This is coming just after President Trump signed an executive order yesterday to make sure that more people are getting access to retirement. An event attendee, Jackie Bonacor, telling me that she saves more than $6,000 with the tax cut on Social Security. I would love to tell President Trump the difference that he has made here where we are all senior citizens, most of us are middle income, and no tax on our Social Security is a big boost. I can now put money away for a car, have savings, and that's the big difference with no tax on Social Security. And this is the first large public event for President Trump since the White House Correspondents Dinner shooting on Saturday, but President Trump says he won't let that deter him. This is going to be your first big public event that somebody tried to kill you on Saturday. Do you feel safe going to something like this today? I don't even think about it. Meanwhile, President Trump saying he's not satisfied with the Iranian regime's newest proposal. That's as the president refuses to lift the U.S.'s naval blockade on Iranian ports unless a nuclear deal is made. They want to make a deal, but I don't, I'm not satisfied with it. They're not coming through with the kind of deal that we have to have and we're going to get this thing done properly. We're not going to leave early and then have the problem arise in three more years. The president saying the U.S. is doing everything they can to negotiate with the regime on the phone, but Iran's fragmented leadership has complicated talks. They've made strides, but I'm not sure if they ever get there. There's tremendous discord. The leadership is very disjointed. It's got two to three groups, maybe four, and it's a very disjointed leadership. And with that being said, they all want to make a deal, but they're all messed up. Meanwhile, as President Trump is renewing his criticism for NATO over the alliance's lack of support during Operation Epic Fury, President Trump is also announcing that he's raising tariffs on European cars and trucks to 25% for, he says, not complying with their trade agreement. And after this, President Trump will make his way to Palm Beach, where he'll be attending the Forum Club of the Palm Beach's dinner. Reporting from the Villages, Florida, Mario Tsu, NTD News. And today marks 60 days since President Trump notified Congress of U.S. military operations in Iran. Pentagon officials estimate that at least $25 billion has been spent so far, Republicans defending defense priorities while questions remain over next steps. NTD's Chris Bobb reports. We've heard from my colleagues on the other side, discussion about the cost. There was never a discussion about the $200 billion we were sending to a foreign country that's not even in NATO. That's where American tax dollars were going, $30 billion for bureaucrats in Ukraine. Republican lawmakers pushing back on criticism of funding Operation Epic Fury as new figures emerge on the price tag. Approximately at this day, we're spending about $25 billion on Operation Epic Fury. Pentagon officials say most of that funding is going towards munitions, operations and equipment, with a supplemental request expected. Some of the long-term costs are still unknown. For the MilCon facilities replacement cost, that's probably the hardest thing to estimate right now because we don't know what our future posture is going to be or the future construction of those bases. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth also addressing disputed cost figures for the operation. You're asking for $200 billion more to fund this war and to make sure we have what we We didn't ask for $200 billion. I don't know where you got that number from, Senator. I think you got it from the news, which you should be careful what you read in the news. The 60-day mark of U.S. operations in Iran is also raising legal questions under the War Powers Resolution. The War Powers Resolution specifies that a war initiated by a president without congressional approval must be concluded within 60 days. It can be extended by an additional 30 days if, quote, the president determines and certifies to Congress in writing that unavoidable military necessity respecting the safety of the U.S. Armed Forces requires the continued use of such armed forces in the course of bringing about a prompt removal of such forces. Senator Tim Kaine pressing Hegseth on whether the administration will seek authorization to extend operations. We are in a ceasefire right now, which our understanding means the 60-day clock pauses or stops in a ceasefire. The White House told Congress in a letter Friday that hostilities with Iran have, quote, terminated, even as U.S. forces remain deployed there. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Chris Bobb, NTD News. Next, most of the Department of Homeland Security is now back up and running with President Trump signing a DHS funding bill on Thursday. However, Congress is not out of the woods yet. Funding for ICE and parts of Customs and Border Protection still need to be finalized with four weeks to go until the president's June 1st deadline. NTD correspondent Jason Blair has more. This will relieve pressure from the Department of Homeland Security. Secretary Mullen, who I've spoken to in the last couple of hours, will be greatly relieved. The majority of DHS is now officially funded, ending the record-breaking 76-day shutdown. However, Congress is still going through the process of getting ICE and parts of CBP funding locked in for the next three years. We will fund Border Patrol and Immigration Enforcement as soon as we return for the work session when that bill is finalized. During the recent shutdown, ICE and CBP were largely unaffected because of being able to use supplemental funding allocated in the big, beautiful bill, which continues to fund them today. Republicans are working on a reconciliation for ICE and CBP, which would require a simple majority vote and bypass a potential filibuster from Democrats. President Trump gave Republicans a June 1st deadline to pass it. And now that the long shutdown is over, DHS Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen says his department will need some time to recuperate. It'll take us roughly six months to get caught up, just from the backlog. The TSA reports that over 1,100 employees left during the shutdown. Just TSA, we lost almost 8% of the workforce. With the busy summer travel season coming and the U.S. hosting the FIFA World Cup, airport checkpoints could be affected while staffing numbers return to normal. However, if the TSA is able to incentivize workers who left to return, the American Federation of Government Employees says a policy allows them to start working again without the long training period, if it's only been a few months. Reporting in Washington, D.C., Jason Blair, NTD News. Coming up, how has President Trump's policies affected seniors? We're going to speak with economist Michael Bussler for analysis. Introducing the Questwise Soothing Herbal Eye Patches. It comes with 30 pairs and can be used to help combat tired and strained eyes. The natural herbal formula provides a cooling, minty, and refreshing effect that stimulates natural tears and awakens your tired eyes. Placing the eye patches around your eyes helps to reduce dryness and massages acupuncture points. 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Call or go online right now. Everybody in my house knows how to ride a bike except me. People ask, how your children learn how to ride a bike, and you didn't. I didn't teach them. I just created an environment where they taught themselves, and all I have to do is be there. Welcome back to Antity Evening News. I'm Cary Dunst. President Trump speaking today at America's largest retirement community to tout the effects of his policies to provide Americans relief by cutting taxes on Social Security, overtime, and tips. Joining us to discuss is Michael Bussler. He's an economist, public policy analyst, and professor of finance at Stockton University. Michael, thank you for joining us this evening. I want to start off by playing a soundbite from the president. Let's have a listen. We're here to celebrate a policy that benefits every American senior all across this land, and it's called no tax on Social Security. It's done. Michael, it's almost surprising that we've ever had taxes on Social Security, considering you put money away out of every paycheck for your entire career. But what has been the result for older Americans, especially those who might be on a fixed income from President Trump's senior deduction on Social Security? So there's roughly 50 million Americans on Social Security. The vast majority of them, that is almost all of their income. Up until Trump passed the law, and I don't know how they picked these numbers, but they decided 85% of your Social Security will be taxable and the other 15% won't. And again, I'm not sure how they arrived at those numbers. So you're taking money away from people who live on that fixed income. So Trump said, I want to help the seniors. No more income tax on Social Security income. So as a result of that, it boosts the disposable income of the Social Security recipients. And that's why when he was in Florida there, he was so well received. That tax cut went along with a couple of other things he did for the seniors. And as I say, Trump was very well received by the seniors at the villages in Orlando. And Michael, we're at a stage where you said there are 50 million people on Social Security and I think a good amount of the population just on the verge. So what does this mean if you are on a fixed income? What does that particular reduction of taxes on a senior do for their monthly and annual living expenses? How much of an impact does it really make? Well, it really helps them. So the amount they're collecting varies depending on what year they retired. Were they earning enough wages to pay the full amount in? Some people only get about $2,000 a month. I think the maximum now, if you work until you're 70, the maximum is now over $4,000 a month. Regardless, taking a few thousand dollars a year away from Social Security recipients in the form of taxes really means they're going to have to cut back on their standard of living. By eliminating those taxes, adding the few thousand dollars back, it means now that they have a little more breathing room and that should lead to a better standard of living. You couple that with the biggest expense seniors have to deal with is usually health care. And a lot of that has to do with prescription drugs. Medicare pays something. Most people have some kind of a supplement that will pay. But still, the co-pays and the things that the insurance doesn't cover on prescription drugs can be very expensive. So President Trump, just a short time ago, was able to reduce the price of prescription drugs by changing the system. The way it worked before is the drug companies would spend hundreds of millions of dollars, and that's what it takes to commercialize a drug. Then they want to sell it worldwide. But they said, look, a lot of these other countries can't afford to pay as much as Americans can. So they charged Americans a very large sum, and then they charged everybody else a lot less. Well, President Trump said, look, I appreciate you want to help everybody else, but we have to think of Americans first. So from now on, you have to charge Americans the lowest price that you charge any other country. So what that's going to do, it'll bring down drug prices for Americans, drug prices for people in other countries are going to go up, so it's a little more even. But as far as the American seniors are concerned, they now have no tax on their Social Security, and their prescription drugs could come down in price. That's a big boost to the standard of living of these people. That's why he was so well-received when he got there today. Yeah, what a celebrity going to the largest retirement community in the country by a large margin. And as you say, he kind of helped them on both sides of their ledger because he reduced the tax burden and he also brought down the cost of one of their largest monthly expenses. Now, this most favored nation status component of his speech was one of the more entertaining parts. He described having to not only deal with the drug companies, but also having to get on the phone with heads of state would he have to get on the phone with heads of state in order to get drug prices down? So as I said, they charged Americans very high prices and they had the other countries, they were favored nations, they couldn't afford it. So they charged it much, much less. And some of these numbers are ridiculous. There's a cancer medication, even it's a generic, in the U.S. cost about $6,000 a month. At the Canadian pharmacy, it's $702 a month. So President Trump said, wait, we can't do that. So we're going to change it so that the Americans pay what everybody else is paying. Now, the problem is that'll bring the American prices down, but the prices of all the other countries are going to go up. So President Trump had to talk to these other countries and say, listen, you've been getting all these drugs ridiculously cheap all these years, and the Americans have had to pay for it. We can't afford to do that anymore. So you're going to have to pay a little more for these drugs so the Americans can pay a little less. He had to get on the phone and talk to these heads of state because sometimes the difference can be fairly significant. Now, the heads of state are going to argue, listen, we don't have near the income that Americans have. We can't afford this. You raise the prices here, it's going to cause us some problems. So President Trump had to negotiate that. And as you know, he's very good at negotiating, and he'll come up with something that ultimately puts Americans first, and then we'll consider everybody else in the world. Yeah, big impact for the seniors, certainly well-received today by that audience in Florida. I do want to move on now, Michael, to the working class. What's been the results on the no tax on tips and overtime? Hey, that's huge. I live at the Jersey Shore near Atlantic City, and we have thousands of workers that work on tips. The minimum wage for people who are working on tips is very low. It's only a couple of dollars an hour because they get most of their income from tips. Now, you have to keep records of that because the IRS at the end of the year is going to say, how much did you have in tips? The reality was the people didn't report all they got. If they did, their income would be too low. So it really forced them to break the law and not report all of their income just to be able to survive. Now, you did away with the tax on tips. They don't have to report anything. It's not taxable. It increased their income significantly, and it made them feel better that they don't have to lie to the IRS and worry about is somebody going to knock on your door and tell you that you owe a lot of money. So no tax on tips has been a good thing. The other thing was no tax on overtime. A lot of times people work overtime. Boss says, do you want to work on Saturday? You're making $30 an hour, and the boss says, hey. And you say, well, I don't want to work on Saturday. Well, the boss says, look, I'll give you $45 an hour instead of $30. So someone says, well, for that much money, maybe it's worth my while. Then the problem was it pushed you into a higher tax bracket. So when you got your paycheck, you were expecting a big bump, and you didn't get nearly what you expected. As a result of that, if your boss asks you to work overtime, even if he offers you time and a half, I don't want to do it. So President Trump wants to have an incentive for people to work more. That helps the business. They're bringing in because they have extra business. It helps the business. And now it gives you a real incentive. If they're going to pay you $45 an hour in overtime, guess what? You get to keep the whole $45. No tax on that at all. That really encourages people when they have the opportunity to work overtime. Benefits the business, benefits the economy, and benefits the worker. Another great idea. Well, Michael Busler, thank you so much for sharing your analysis with us at the Jersey Shore. Your season is upon us right there on Exit 38. Enjoy the Jersey Shore. Thank you for joining. Thank you. Have a good day. And coming up, new state regulations are paving the way for driverless trucks in California, but companies still have to clear major safety hurdles. Christina Corona reports on what it will take before driverless big rigs hit the road. And California will soon be issuing tickets to driverless cars for traffic violations. Companies like Waymo say they're committed to safer driving. David Lamb has that story. Today's seniors are enjoying life more than ever before. And part of that comes from the independence of driving. However, car insurance for older drivers becomes more expensive the older we get. Just because I'm a senior, maybe you are too, do we really have to pay outrageously high insurance rates? Well, the answer is no, we don't. When was the last time you checked to make sure you're paying the lowest available rate? Well, maybe it's time to give your car insurance a tune-up, just to make sure your rates are running properly. You change your oil, you change your tires, well, maybe it's time to change your car's insurance company. Are you paying too much for your auto insurance? If so, you're just throwing your money away. So the only way to really know if you're paying too much is to call the number on your screen. 1-800-952-5196, 1-800-952-5196. You'll speak with a licensed insurance agent. They may have an insurance plan that could lower your yearly premiums by hundreds of dollars. Seniors can save money on their car insurance. So call right now and find out just how much money you might be able to save. Come on, call now. You may be able to save a lot of money, maybe hundreds of dollars a year. Just call the number on your screen and speak with a licensed insurance agent. Yes, it is possible for seniors to save on car insurance. You could lower your premiums by hundreds of dollars a year. As a responsible driver, you always check your gauges, right? And you check for other cars and pedestrians. You check your oil and you check your mirrors. Well, now is the time to check on your auto insurance rates. You need to make sure that you're not paying more than you need to. Call the number on your screen right now. 1-800-952-5196, 1-800-952-5196. 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 safe. Hello? Hello, this is Life Alert. You're in 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 every 11 minutes. 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 to NTD Evening News. I'm Cary Dunst. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey calling for a special session of the state legislator linked to ongoing litigation over Alabama's congressional and state legislative maps. In a statement, Governor Ivey referred to the ongoing litigation saying, We have been battling federal courts and activist groups who think they know Alabama better than Alabama. It comes after the Supreme Court's recent decision in Louisiana versus Calais, which addressed how claims under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act And California regulators are moving forward with new rules that allow self-driving technology to expand into large commercial trucks. The rules specify how these vehicles can be tested on public roads and what companies must do to meet the safety standards. NTD's Christina Corona has more on that. California is giving the green light to a new wave of self-driving tech, including big rigs. The California Department of Motor Vehicles just approved regulations autonomous trucks to test and eventually operate on public roads. But there are strict requirements before that can happen. Companies have to start with a human safety driver behind the wheel, then move into fully driverless testing. For heavy-duty trucks, this means logging at least 500,000 miles and collecting data on crashes, system failures, and how the vehicle responds in real-world conditions. Companies will also have to submit what the state calls a safety case to prove their technology is safe from the software to how the trucks operate day-to-day. And it's not just one approval. They need separate permits to test with the driver, test without one, and then finally deploy commercially. These trucks still have to follow standard commercial trucking laws, and the state can limit where they can operate, how fast they go, and even what weather conditions they're allowed to drive in. California DMV Director Steve Gordon said in a statement, California continues to lead the nation in the development and adoption of autonomous vehicle technology, and these updated regulations further demonstrate the state's commitment to public safety. Supporters say the technology could improve safety, but one resident told NTD they're concerned about job loss, especially for truck drivers who rely on that work. Another worry is how these large vehicles will handle unpredictable situations on the road. As of now, autonomous trucks are just one step closer to hitting California roads. Reporting from the city of El Monte, Christina Corona, NTD News. In California, driverless cars, like Waymo vehicles, can soon receive tickets if they violate traffic laws. The state's DMV says it's a way to promote accountability without stopping innovation. NTD's David Lam brings us more on that. Driverless Waymo cars are now able to get citations or non-compliance tickets for any illegal maneuvers. We spoke to people in California to find out what they think about the new law. Look, I think if a human being would get ticketed for it, and it's where a police officer is, then it's fair game. I would think that like any car on the road should just get treated equally. Do you think driverless cars should be able to be ticketed? I mean, yeah, I think so. I mean, it's based on software, right? That's supposed to kind of maneuver the same way as everyday people, right? So software should probably be working according to the law, just like people behind the wheel do. The law is part of a bunch of statewide autonomous vehicle regulations based on Assembly Bill 1777. It allows law enforcement to issue a notice of autonomous vehicle non-compliance, according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, the purpose to address the gap and how moving violations are handled for autonomous vehicles. Waymo has wide coverage of driverless robo-taxis navigating passengers in the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as dozens of cities near Los Angeles. Officials may also set a temporary do not enter or restricted areas in case of public safety issues, and autonomous vehicles are not allowed to enter within perimeter. Now, if the vehicle was found to have violated a traffic law, such as making illegal U-turns or other violations, then the officer could leave a notice of non-compliance and then it would be followed by an investigation. According to a DMV spokesperson, if a manufacturer is unable to correct the issue or if it keeps repeating, the department may take administrative action, including restricting or suspending the manufacturer's operating permit. Now, this new law takes effect July of this year. In San Jose, California, David Lam, NTD News. President Trump says he's still weighing a taxpayer-funded takeover of Spirit Airlines. The president didn't offer details about the proposal, but told reporters he would have an announcement on the matter soon. Well, I guess we're looking at it. If we could do it, we'd do it, but only if it's a good deal. They're claiming that they're preparing to shut down this weekend because they haven't gotten the deal. Well, we're looking at it, but if we can't make a good deal, no institution's been able to do it. I said, I'd like to save the jobs, but we'll have an announcement sometime today. We gave them a final proposal. The president also said, quote, If we can help them, we will, but we have to come first. He likened it to the deal his administration struck to become a major stockholder of semiconductor manufacturer Intel, but said it was a different kind of thing. Last week, Trump floated the idea of a taxpayer-funded takeover of Spirit and suggested the U.S. government could later resell the airline for a profit once oil prices pushed up by the Iran war drops. And while around 50,000 U.S. service members are dispatched to the conflict in Iran, 10,000 more are conducting military exercises in the South China Sea. It's a three-week-long series of joint drills with the U.S., the Philippines, Japan, and several other allies in the Indo-Pacific. NTD's Washington correspondent, Jack Bradley, has the details. The U.S. is conducting its largest ever joint military drills in the South China Sea. It's part of its annual Balakatan military exercises with several other nations' militaries being conducted in the Philippines. Over 10,000 U.S. military personnel are taking part, with the head of the U.S. command in the region saying the goal is deterring China. Our strategy is clear, to deny China from achieving its objectives through military aggression, to deter it. That's as around 50,000 U.S. troops are dispatched to the conflict in Iran. The Indo-Pacific is the defining strategic theater of the 21st century. Regardless of the challenges elsewhere in the world, the United States' focus on the Indo-Pacific and our ironclad commitment to the Philippines remains unwavering. The drills started April 20th and end May 8th, bringing together over 17,000 military troops from the U.S., Philippines, U.K., Canada, France, Australia, New Zealand, and now Japan. Japan is participating for the very first time. It comes as Japan last week made its biggest change in defense export rules in decades, ending restrictions on selling weapons overseas. The sort of pacifist post-World War II Japanese constitution meant they did not allow export of defense items. Now they're going to allow the export of lethal defense items to the 17 nations with which they have defense agreements, including the United States, U.K., and other allies. I know what China thinks about this. They hate it. At the same time, China is conducting retaliatory combat drills near the Philippines. Beijing has ramped up its aggression across the region, breaching waters and airspace, ramming vessels, and issuing near-daily threats against Taiwan. Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping has made clear his goal to take Taiwan by force if necessary. Japan's prime minister, Sanai Takeichi, warned that any Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response. The U.S. calling these military alliances in the region- Indispensable to our success in the theater in deterring conflict. Thereby, any attempt by the Chinese Communist Party to change the status quo in the Indo-Pacific by force will be met with a united response. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Jack Bradley, NTD News. And breaking news, the Pentagon says the U.S. is withdrawing 5,000 troops from NATO ally Germany. This comes after President Trump saying earlier that the U.S. was reviewing a possible reduction. Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell says the Secretary of War has ordered the move. Parnell says the department reviewed its force posture in Europe, factoring in theater requirements and conditions on the ground. The Pentagon expects the withdrawal to be completed over the next six to 12 months. The move follows President Trump's recent comments about reviewing U.S. troop levels in Germany. Trump has long criticized the deployment, arguing that it's too costly and that NATO allies, including Germany, are not spending enough on their own defense. The U.S. currently stations more than 36,000 active duty troops in Germany, the second largest overseas U.S. deployment after Japan. American forces have been present there continuously since 1945, though numbers have declined significantly since the Cold War peak. And as the U.S. reviews an Iranian peace proposal, American service members continue enforcing the naval blockade on Iran's ports. That's as Israel keeps up its strikes on terrorist targets in Lebanon. NDD's international correspondent Eran Pazdar has the latest on the Iran war. The U.S. Central Command publishing a new video on Friday showing American service members enforcing the naval blockade on Iranian ports. CENTCOM says the U.S. has so far directed 45 commercial vessels to turn around or return to port. The Islamic regime, meanwhile, keeping the Strait of Hormuz close to ships from across the globe by laying mines and even attacking vessels in some cases. The U.S. Treasury Department now advising companies not to pay a toll to the Iranian regime in order to transit the strait. Treasury says any shipper paying a toll to Iran could face punitive sanctions. Data from tracking service Kepler shows the strait remains largely empty on Friday. Oil prices are high due to the closure of the strait. But the United Arab Emirates set to officially leave the OPEC oil alliance on Friday, which is expected to bring oil prices back down again. We've started to account for the fact that UAE left OPEC and they have a massive amount of excess capacity. They could turn the knobs up to 100 percent right away and that will have huge effect on oil prices around the world. Many experts agree, saying once the strait is open, the Emirates might significantly increase oil production, thus lowering prices. The nation's energy minister on Thursday suggesting the country indeed plans to take its production to the limits. After the strait is, God willing, opened, the world will need large quantities of oil. I don't think the UAE alone will be able to cover this deficit. I believe that the countries of the world must cooperate and make this happen. Israel, meanwhile, continuing striking terrorist targets in neighboring Lebanon. The Israeli military on Friday saying its forces uncovered 7,500 weapons in southern Lebanon alongside military equipment dismantled. Items located that were not dismantled include over a thousand ammunition crates, over 750 small arms and more. And the U.S. is imposing a new round of sanctions against the Cuban government. President Trump signed an executive order today targeting regime security officials, entities and others who threaten U.S. national security. According to the White House, Cuba maintains close ties to major state sponsors of terrorism, including Iran. The U.S. also accuses the communist-ruled island of providing sanctuary to transnational terrorist organizations, including Hezbollah. The sanctions announced today also target individuals involved in corruption and human rights abuses in Cuba. The latest round of sanctions comes amid a fuel crisis on the island and a U.S. oil blockade. President Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on any country that exports energy to Cuba. And from prosecuting peaceful pro-life demonstrators to using federal laws to push radical gender ideology, a new Department of Justice report alleging anti-Christian bias in the Biden administration. NDD's Sam Wong was out on the National Mall in D.C. to hear from the people. The report was saying that a lot of the pro-life activists were being unfairly targeted. They're being prosecuted much more so than for abortion agitators. What do you guys make of that? Terrible. It's terrible in the United States of America that they were doing something like that. So definitely unfair. I expect people to respect the fact that we're Christian and we're pro-life and we respect life from the moment of conception. And I'm going to respect other people's beliefs and I would never target somebody for not believing the way I believe. Just as they have a right, you know, to protest for their beliefs, our side does too. And if you're standing there just peacefully talking to people trying to save a life, you know, is that a bad thing? It seemed like evil was accepted and Christianity and good were not. That's ridiculous. That's not the country I grew up in. How would you like it if people said, hey, you're wearing a yellow hat, so you're in trouble for that. But because I don't wear a hat or I wear a black hat or whatever, I get a lighter sentence. That's ridiculous. It's a deal where we don't want to offend somebody, but then you also have the right to say and to believe in your Christian values, and that is against abortion. The report is also saying that the Biden administration was trying to chip away at religious exemption for people who do not want, you know, this quote unquote gender affirming care for minors. What do you guys make of that? The thing about blockers and stuff, you're going through puberty at that time and you can just really mess up your whole body. And then later on in life, when you realize you made a mistake, it's too late. You can't put that on a child. That's just that's criminal. That's what parents are for. Parents are there to guide the children, not the government. If you want the government to guide children, they go back to the Soviet Union. I believe there is a man, there is a woman, and that's what you are. And God didn't make mistakes. At the end of the day, you're still a man or a woman, and they shut people down that tried to express that belief and opinion. So I'm confused how they want us to come together if we can't have conversation. The government should not be funding. That should be a personal choice between the family members. But even so, there should be some type of oversight in regards to allowing children to do something that's permanent. And coming up in Olympic news, three months after her scary crash at the Winter Games, legendary skier Lindsey Vonn is ready to shed her crutches. But will she race again? Dave Martin joins us with an update. Getting prescription glasses from Select Specs is easier than you might think. Select your frames from our £6 range, in-house brands or our extensive designer collections. Then enter, upload or email your latest prescription and our website will analyze it and help you select the best lenses and options to suit you. Click to place the order and your new Select Specs glasses are delivered right to your door. Ordering your prescription glasses is as easy as 1, 2, C with Select Specs and selectspecs.com. Hi, I'm Jane Seymour and I spent years on TV playing a doctor. But I learned about the heartbreaking reality of heart disease and stroke when they touched my own life. My father nearly died before having a quadruple bypass and valve replacement that saved him. And my mom, who was my inspiration, suffered a stroke that took away her speech, her ability to move and ultimately her life. 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Now for your sports news, we're joined by NTD's Dave Martin. Dave, happy Friday to you. Thanks for joining us. Thank you, Kerry. Happy Friday to you, sir. We've got a lot to cover, but why don't we start with the NBA? There's some crucial games tonight. What's happening? Yeah, we've got a very, well, I would say all three of them are, but maybe a historic series anyway. Orlando versus Detroit. Pistons, the top seed in the East, down 3-2 in this series. Now they staved off elimination Wednesday night. Of course, it took a 45-point effort by Kate Cunningham to do so. He's averaged 33 points in the series. Should Orlando win tonight, they'd be just below the sixth, number eight seed to beat a one seed, and if they're going to do it, tonight would be the night because tonight's game is going to be at home for them in Orlando. Should the Pistons force a game seven, of course, it would be in Detroit. That game starts in just a few minutes here at 7 p.m. Eastern time. Then it's 7-30. Cleveland plays Toronto. Pavs are up 3-2 in this series, could clinch it with a win. Finally, at 9-30, the Lakers play out the Rockets. Now the Lakers won the first three of this series, take a 3-0 lead. That is shrunk to three games to two. Now the Rockets have won two straight. Now in NBA playoff history, 160 teams have fallen behind 3-0. The Rockets became just the 16th of those 160, even forced a game six. Now only four have forced a game seven. Like I just said, no one has actually won a series down 3-0. Now both teams, of course, still without their the Lakers and Kevin Durant there for the Rockets. So a whole lot going on here tonight. Three crucial game sixes. The data not on the Rockets' side, but we'll have to see. Will LeBron advance? We'll see. Will LeBron advance. You know, the Rockets, though, without Durant, they have a much younger team. They've obviously done well without him. They really should have won game three. They kind of bungled the end of game three. They looked like they were maybe a little bit upset about that. To me, that seems like what's kind of been behind these last two wins. So maybe they got some more there, you know? Yeah, it worked for Minnesota with that young talent taking down my Nuggets. But let's move on to my other team, though. My number one team, the Knicks. I mean, what happened? It was a very strange game last night. I'm still in shock. You know, by the time I get home, I check the score and it says New York Knicks 78 and Atlanta 29. I thought for sure it was a misprint. There's no way the Knicks could have 78 points, that many, or the Hawks have that few at that point. But it was right. I mean, the Knicks went on that 39-4 run. Part of a 63-11 run. I've never heard that in basketball at any level at all. They ended up with a 47-point half. Finally, that's the largest in NBA playoff history. That lead went up to 60 points in the third quarter. They ended up winning by 51. They kind of adjusted their offense during the last three games of the series to close it out. They started going through their center, Carl Anthony Towns, on offense. He was like the facilitator, much like Nikola Jokic was in Denver. I tell you, I had no idea he was such a great passer. He did a great job, though, at passing with their offense. Their offense was humming. Their defense was suffocating. It was quite a win last night. So they advanced to the second round. They will play the winner of the Philadelphia vs. Boston series. Now, Philadelphia won Game 6 last night to force a Game 7. So we'll have to wait and see on that series. And, of course, shorthanded Minnesota beat the Nuggets last night 1-10 to 98 to eliminate Minnesota. Now, Kerry, I was right with you. I was rooting for the Nuggets myself. I'm a little bit shocked. But Minnesota's defense, they shut down Jamal Murray and they were pretty hard on Nikola Jokic. I will say that. Their defense really hounded Murray. He really struggled at shooting in this series. And, you know, you had Gobert there. Kind of limited Jokic, too, though. That was a shocker as well. So two shockers last night. But I'm still more shocked about the Nuggets. Yeah, I had to look at Jokic's comments after. And like a true stoic, he said he took, even though he was one shy of a triple-double, which he averages, I mean, he's like a freak of nature that he can accomplish this. He blamed himself. He held himself accountable. And when asked if it was the coaches had any contribution to it, he said the coach wasn't there passing and making rebounds. So true, true class act. I like when he said if this happened in Serbia, we'd all be fired. We'd all be fired in Serbia. But here in the U.S., you know, God bless America. You make billions and you play another day. I wish we had that clip this year. All right, let's move on to some potentially hopefully good news in Lindsey Vonn. She had that terrible crash. She was airlifted out of the off the ski slope in the Winter Olympics. What's the news with her? Yeah, just a few months ago. Her comeback last year at age 40 and then subsequent crash in the mountain, like you said, Kerry, was really the early story of the Winter Games a few months ago. She then had numerous surgeries on her leg after suffering that complex leg fracture. So she gave an interview Wednesday, updated her condition and her thoughts about possibly doing another comeback. Let's listen to what she said here. Basically, from the time I crashed until midnight that night, so 12 hours, it was excruciating and full of hard decisions and for me and for my doctor, for my team. And thankfully, I had really great people around me to help navigate that situation that I didn't lose my leg. I'm still very limited with what I can do. I think my next big milestone that I'm looking forward to is next week where I'm going to slowly wean my way off of the crutches. I'm going to start with very small distances and see, you know, I don't know how long it'll take me to be completely off crutches, but the first kind of phase of getting rid of them is next week, which I'm very excited about. It wasn't the way I wanted to end my kind of second chapter of my career. Definitely not the way I wanted to finish the Olympics, but you know, that's also life. I know that what I do is very dangerous and anything can happen. And I also already had an amazing career before this comeback. You know, I didn't need the comeback. I did it because I love ski racing and I had a partial knee replacement and I felt really healthy. I don't know if I'll compete again. It's definitely something that, you know, I want to think about, but I honestly can't. I've tried and I can't really make a decision one way or the other because I haven't really processed where I am even right now. It's still so shocking to me that things ended the way they did. And I've been in such a survival mode where I'm just trying to make it to the next day and get through this injury that I haven't even been able to think about what I could do in the future. Yeah, how about that? She's not closed the door yet on the comeback. Like the lady is, boy, she is tough. I mean, she had that comeback after five years of not ski racing and she had the titanium in her other knee there that she was racing. And like, she was number one in the world like last year. After that comeback at age 40, she is quite the competitor there. So we'll definitely keep updating everyone on her progress here. An absolute legend. Awesome. Thank you so much, Dave. Thanks, Cary. And that's all for today's news. But for around the clock original news coverage, you can visit us at Entity.com or even better, use our Entity app. Thanks for tuning in. I'm Cary Dunst. Good night.