Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said on Tuesday that the Trump administration is increasing transparency on drug prices by adding 160 more medications to TrumpRx. He added that his agency is aggressively going after states for fraud in the Medicaid and Medicare programs.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche says that the Trump administration is scrapping plans to create a $1.8 billion fund meant to compensate victims of government weaponization. Blanche says during a House hearing, "We are not moving forward with the fund, period."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about the State Department's budget request. He answers questions on the Trump administration's approach to Iran and Cuba.
Welcome to NTD Evening News.
Our top story tonight, President Trump rejecting media claims that the U.S. and Iran have stopped
talking as Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the regime is in serious trouble.
And the president appointing William Polte as acting director of national intelligence.
REO2 at the White House.
Medicare and Medicaid administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz announcing over a hundred more drugs added
to TrumpRx.gov and detailing the administration's latest efforts to combat health care fraud.
Jason Perry with the details.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche saying the Justice Department will not move forward
with the anti-weaponization fund.
Blanche testifying before lawmakers today on the DOJ budget.
It's election day in California and voters are heading to the polls to weigh in on key
races for governor, mayor and Congress.
NTD's Christina Corona speaks with voters in L.A. about the issues driving their decisions.
And videos of mysterious men going into New York City sewers have been getting a lot of
attention and NTD's Sean Marshall has what people are saying along with a possible explanation.
This is NTD Evening News, live from our global headquarters in New York City.
Here's Kerry Dunst.
Good evening.
Thank you for joining us this evening.
President Trump pushing back against media claims that the U.S. and Iran have stopped
their talks.
That's as Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the regime is in very serious situation declaring
they're losing hundreds of millions of dollars each day.
And we now go live to NTD's White House correspondent Mari Otsu.
She's at the North Lawn.
Mari, good evening.
Hey Kerry, good evening to you.
Yeah, President Trump today is declaring that talks have been continuously ongoing between
the U.S. and Iran.
That's as he's rejecting his false and erroneous media claims that say otherwise, that conversations
have stopped or halted.
And today, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is testifying on Capitol Hill for the first
time since the start of Operation Epic Theory, saying that the Iranian regime now has agreed
to talk about certain aspects of its nuclear program that even a month ago it would not
talk about.
Take a look.
Now we're begging to get back into a deal that you all trashed in the first place.
There's no one begging.
The Iranians might be begging because their economy's losing hundreds of millions of dollars
a day.
Secretary Rubio pushing back against the perception of Iranian strength, saying the regime has
hyperinflation, their currency is completely devalued, and they're struggling to make payroll
for their government workers.
Iran is in a very serious situation.
And if it was up to the political class there, and I understand everybody there is sort of
radical in some way, but if it was up to the people that actually like go to elections
and wear the suits and you see on TV, they'd probably make a deal tomorrow.
This coming as the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports is holding strong, with CENTCOM
announcing that 122 commercial vessels have now been redirected.
And President Trump continues to condemn media coverage of the conflict, saying that even
if Iran were to admit defeat, quote, the failing New York Times, the China Street Journal,
Wall Street Journal, and all other members of the fake news media will headline that
Iran had a masterful and brilliant victory over the United States of America.
They have totally lost their way.
The White House continuing to cite Iran's fragmented leadership and troubled communication
as a sticking point in peace talks.
What's complicated them is you ultimately are negotiating with people who then have
to negotiate within their own system to see what they're allowed to give and where they're
allowed to agree to.
What is abundantly clear is that Iran is facing severe internal, this is why you see reporting
about there might be a deal in the next few days, because internally it takes time to
get responses from them, sometimes upward to five or six days.
Meanwhile, President Trump appointing William Pulte to serve as acting director of National
Intelligence, replacing Tulsi Gabbard, announcing, quote, William has deep experience managing
the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness of the markets and over
10 trillion dollars at Fannie Mae, a substantial increase from where it was just 12 months
ago. Dr.
Oz defending the decision to appoint Pulte as he takes to the White House briefing podium.
Well, I think Bill is a great guy.
I know him socially. I've not worked with him in his current job, but I do trust the
president's judgment. He is a very sharp, quick and quick study of people.
They're emotional with abilities and their ability to persevere in the face of
hardship. So I have confidence in his decision.
And Kerry, while Pulte's appointment has gotten criticism from some Republican
senators, including Senator John Cornyn, Senator Bill Cassidy and Senator Lisa Murkowski
for what they are calling a lack of national security experience, the White House is
pushing back and expressing full confidence in Pulte to do the job with Vice President
J.D. Vance, saying that Pulte is a great guy who, quote, recognizes that the intel
community must respond to elected government leadership rather than the other way
around. Kerry.
And Mari, before you go, it looks like the White House Correspondents Dinner is now
officially rescheduled.
What's the latest there?
Yeah, that's right.
So White House Correspondents Association President Wei Zhejiang today announcing that
the dinner is back on on July 24th.
President Trump confirming that on Truth Social, writing that it will be in the
Waldorf Astoria, saying that that's one of his building in a ballroom that he built.
The president will also be headlining.
He's going to make a speech there at this dinner.
And he's also praising this move, saying that we, quote, cannot allow lunatics to
change our way of life or scheduling and calling this rescheduling a sign of
strength and fortitude.
Kerry, back to you.
Thank you, Mari, for the update.
And next, Medicare and Medicaid Administrator Dr.
Mehmet Oz announcing that 160 additional drugs have now been added to Trump Rx dot
gov. Dr.
Oz also adding that the Trump administration is taking action against fraud in the
health care programs.
And to these, Jason Perry has the latest update.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,
giving an update on Tuesday, saying that the Trump administration is increasing
transparency on drug prices by adding 160 more medications to Trump Rx dot gov.
The website lets people know the lowest price for drugs before they head to the
pharmacy. And it now includes over 750 medications, which means four out of five
drugs that are picked up by Americans are now on the site.
Dr.
Oz giving an update on Trump Rx dot gov.
We now up to about 12 million unique visitors to the site.
Estimated savings are about 500 million dollars.
And again, climbing rapidly as more Americans learn about the program.
And it is our great hope and belief that the average American, before they make a
purchasing decision for a pharmaceutical product, will start using Trump Rx dot gov
as a standard, as a baseline to take advantage of something that's been given to
Dr.
Oz also sharing the administration's efforts against fraud in the Medicare and
Medicaid programs.
We've been aggressively going after states red and blue.
We wrote a letter to Florida.
The difference, by the way, was Florida responded by saying, we know we have a
problem. We're going to double down.
We want a moratorium on all of our durable medical equipment suppliers.
And why? Because there are twice as many durable medical equipment suppliers in
South Florida than McDonald's.
Oz also saying his agency is taking a closer look at personal care service
attendants, which are paid by Medicaid, adding, quote, That job is now by twofold
the most common job in California, and it's the most common job in New York.
A reporter asked Dr.
Oz why that should be surprising when the health care industry is growing.
And those numbers come from two of America's most populous states.
The primary difference between paying for a hernia operation and paying something
to be a personal care service is the reason it's concerning to us.
If you're having a hernia operation, you have a scar.
So I know you got something and you have a doctor who is licensed and you had it
done in a facility that's also credentialed and has been inspected.
When you get personal care services as an unlicensed person in an unmonitored
setting promising they did something, that's a lot of handshakes and finger
crossing and hoping that it worked out OK.
Dr. Oz, noting that when people get health care benefits they're not supposed
to get, it makes prices go up for everyone else.
Jason Perry, NTV News.
And Senator Marsha Blackburn is ready to back up the Trump administration's deep
clean of criminal fraud with her new Fraud Accountability Act.
She shares how the bill would work tonight on Capitol Report with Steve
Lance at 7 p.m.
Eastern time. You won't want to miss that.
And acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is testifying before Congress on the
Justice Department's budget.
He was asked about the Trump administration's anti-weaponization fund.
And here's what he said. Take a listen.
The reasons for the fund is something that President Trump talked about for a
long time, which is the fact that there were a lot of people in this country who
had their government weaponized against them.
The reasons for the fund, I think, were it remain as important as they were
before. But we are not moving forward with the fund.
Not moving forward ever.
Correct.
The anti-weaponization fund stems from a settlement between President Trump and
the IRS. It calls for the federal government to pay out nearly one point eight
billion dollars to compensate those who were unfairly targeted by the federal
government. The fund was paused by a federal judge and a hearing on its legal
basis has now been canceled.
And just days after dozens of arrests were made outside the ICE facility in
Newark, New Jersey, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mark Wayne
Mullen is on Capitol Hill addressing the protests during a budget hearing.
Entity correspondent Jason Blair has more on that.
We're not picking and choosing which laws we enforce.
We're simply enforcing the law.
Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen in the Senate two days after mass arrests happened
outside of the Delaney Hall ICE facility in New Jersey.
The situation we've seen unfolding at the facility goes well beyond peaceful
protest. It's devolved into violence and riots, including against law enforcement
personnel working to keep Americans safe.
The calculated measures that the rioters are taking to try to provoke a response
from the professional men and women is just beyond the pale in my in my opinion.
What happened with the protesters?
The state officials were going out and saying that they were peaceful protesters
and ICE was agitating them.
That all changed when the governor finally allowed the state police to do their
jobs. When they came in, they quickly realized these aren't peaceful protesters.
These are rioters. Secretary Mullen was asked by Senator Chris Murphy about three
letters sent to the Trump administration he says were signed by detainees alleging
poor conditions at the Delaney Hall facility.
These letters allege that there has been spoiled food, delayed medical treatment,
sewage backups, undue pressure to sign deportation paperwork.
Since the history of that facility being open, not one single health violation has
been written. In fact, just recently, the state of New Jersey's health inspectors
went in. They didn't find one single violation.
Secretary Mullen also stated that after multiple government shutdowns, the DHS lost
about 8 percent of its workforce.
And a current big priority is getting staffing levels back up to normal.
Reporting in Washington, D.C., Jason Blair, NTD News.
U.S. labor market looking resilient.
The latest report from the Labor Department today is beating expectations.
This despite economic uncertainty from the Iran war.
U.S. employers posted 7.6 million job vacancies in April, up from 6.9 million in
March. This is the most since May 2024.
Economists had forecast just 6.8 million openings.
Layoffs fell, but so did the number of Americans quitting their jobs, a sign of
confidence in their prospects.
The American job market has been recovering from a sluggish 2025.
Last year, employers added fewer than 10,000 jobs a month compared to 76,000 jobs a
month this year from January through the April time period.
On Friday, the Labor Department will issue its closely watched jobs report for May.
And President Trump has signed a new proclamation adjusting tariffs on imported
steel, aluminum and copper products in an effort to boost domestic manufacturing as
well as agriculture.
The White House says the temporary tariff changes are designed to encourage investment
in U.S. industry.
President Trump lowering tariffs on some agricultural and industrial equipment,
including combines, harvesters, bulldozers and forklifts.
The proclamation also creates incentives for foreign manufacturers to increase their
use of American made metals in their products.
The White House says the tariff changes will remain in place through the end of 2027
to help rebuild the nation's industrial base and also adds that the measures will
ensure domestic producers and workers can compete on a level playing field, protect
American jobs as well as bolster American national security and public health.
And over 20 civilians are reported dead across Ukraine after major Russian attacks on
multiple cities, Ukraine says Russia launched over 600 drones and almost 100 missiles
overnight. These international correspondent Arian Pasdar brings us the war update.
Scenes of destruction across multiple Ukrainian cities on Tuesday, Ukraine's Air
Force says Russia launched over 650 drones and more than 70 missiles overnight.
Mostly targeting the capital city, Kiev, where people are now dealing with the
aftermath. Everything was covered with smoke.
We couldn't understand what was happening.
Some kind of apocalypse.
The city's mayor says at least four civilians are dead after the strikes.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky saying more than 500 personnel of the state
emergency service have been involved in dealing with the aftermath of Russia's
overnight attack. And the attacks are even worse in the southeastern city of Dnipro,
where a total of 11 civilians are reported dead.
This includes a boy who was only three years old.
God saved me while I was being given first aid.
An explosion hit under the balcony.
Russia's defense ministry says the overnight strikes are a response to what it called
terrorist acts against targets inside Russia.
The Kiev leadership has decided to open a new page in the series of their crimes and add a new
attribute of the conflict itself.
Well, it is their own choice.
Moscow says it struck a range of Ukrainian military targets using high precision, long
range weapons. And on Tuesday afternoon, Zelensky saying the attacks might not be over
yet. According to our intelligence, another large scale attack may occur tonight.
Please, I strongly urge you to pay attention to air raid alerts.
Zelensky says missile attacks pose the biggest threat as Ukraine doesn't currently have the
necessary defense capabilities.
All partners together and everyone in Europe must continue working to ensure Ukraine
receives air defense missiles and other resources that help save lives.
The Ukrainian president continues calling on European nations to produce more air defense
systems at home rather than relying on the U.S.
and other countries.
Ariana star and TV news.
And coming up, while vote by mail is popular in the San Francisco Bay Area, some
residents prefer to vote in person.
David Lamb has more on Election Day.
And a man is suing Amazon, claiming it's a ring camera collected and stored information
about his face without his consent.
This raises privacy concerns for netizens.
He's Arlene Richards has the story.
Stay with us for that.
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There's a whirlwind of emotion and activity going on in this painting.
And there's chaos all around and threat from below.
The wolves surrounding her and they are anything but unmoved.
They're moving all the time and we sense that.
But this little girl remains unmoved.
She's in quite a perilous situation, but she's completely strong and serene and
she's actually meditating.
It was very, very well liked because no matter what culture or what sort of walk
of life you're from, I think people, they see it and they immediately understand
what that energy, what that message is.
And they, they're drawn to it because everybody kind of needs a little bit of
that in their own life of, you know, the steadfast calmness and something to hold
on to.
It's definitely an inner peace in the midst of something very chaotic.
And for a lot of people right now, the whole world is very, very chaotic.
So I guess that's another reason why so many people are very drawn to this.
Welcome back to Antity Evening News.
I'm Kerry Dunst.
California voters are heading to the polls today in a primary election that will help
shape the state's political future.
Ballots are being cast in races ranging from governor to Los Angeles mayor.
Antity's Christina Corona speaks with voters who say they're focused on the issues that
are affecting their everyday lives.
Election day is finally here in California and voters are heading to the vote centers
across Los Angeles and the state to cast ballots in one of the most closely watched
primary elections in years.
From the governor's race to local and congressional contests, voters are helping
decide who moves on to November's general election.
More than 23 million Californians are registered to vote in this year's primary
election. Voters shared their biggest issues in the state.
The affordability crisis, like it's ridiculous that
people who have gone to school, done what they are supposed to do in life, got an
education, can't even afford to buy a home.
Affordability, affordability, homelessness, rampant homelessness.
The governor's race features a crowded field of candidates competing to replace Governor
Gavin Newsom, who is term limited.
Residents shared who they're voting for.
Hilton. Again, Javier Becerra is
totally for immigrant immigrants, which
is fine, but we have enough undocumented immigration here.
We have enough of it and we pay for that.
OK, I voted for Tom Steyer.
Los Angeles voters are also weighing in on the race for mayor where Karen Bass is up
for reelection.
Spencer Pratt, and that is that's with some
misgivings. California is not what it used to be, and
it needs new blood.
I am not a fan of Karen Bass right now.
I'm more disappointed in her.
We don't need another reality TV show star in government.
So Spencer Pratt needs to go sit down and do whatever it is he does.
So I voted for Nikki Araman.
While election officials are expected to release initial results shortly after the polls
close, vote by mail ballots will continue to be processed and counted in the days
ahead. Vote centers close at 8 p.m.
local time. And under California's top two primary system, the top two candidates with
the most votes will advance to November's general election, regardless of political
party. Reporting from the city of Los Angeles, Christina Corona, NTD News.
And also in Iowa, Democrats are eyeing a pickup opportunity for a U.S.
Senate seat. Republican Senator Joni Ernst's seat will need to be filled this
November. Either Josh Turek or Zach Walls will become the Democrat tasked
with flipping the seat from red to blue.
Meanwhile, Trump backed Representative Ashley Hinson is dominating on the Republican
side. Democrats are also eyeing a Senate seat in Montana.
Republican Senator Steve Daines left the race late in the game, giving other
Republicans little opportunity to register against former U.S.
attorney. Almi and New Jersey's 7th District is one of the two top targets for House
Democrats. Republican Representative Tom Keene was endorsed by Trump, and that's a
toss up district.
Democrat Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot, is favored to win the
nomination. And a man suing Amazon over claims that its ring camera collected and
stored information about his face without his consent.
Cyber expert says collecting data raises large legal questions and entities.
Arlene Richards dug into that.
Amazon owned Ring is facing a new lawsuit over its facial recognition technology.
A Virginia resident has filed a proposed class action lawsuit in a Seattle federal
court, alleging that rings familiar faces feature collected and stored images of
people without their consent.
The suit seeks at least five million dollars in damages.
Starr Cashman, founding partner of cyber law firm, says there's no clear law on
facial recognition technology and most laws favor big tech companies.
She says collecting facial data raises large legal questions, but it depends on the
language of the law.
Whether or not there is a law that could potentially hold Amazon liable doesn't
necessarily mean that a homeowner also might not be liable.
So there are many different legal avenues that should raise some red flags here as
to whether there's concern for liability.
The familiar faces feature uses artificial intelligence to recognize people who
frequently appear at a home and can identify them in notifications sent to users.
The Virginia man, Charles Sigwald, says in the lawsuit that his image was recorded
every time he visited family and friends.
He argues that people walking past ring cameras never agreed to have their facial
information collected or stored.
Most people say that they would have a reasonable expectation of privacy.
They themselves are not buying these cameras.
They are not consenting to it.
Others might maybe argue that they are in public and you might not have a reasonable
expectation of privacy in public.
Cashman says it depends on where the court wants to go with this issue, since courts
haven't seen it in the past.
Amazon declined to comment on the lawsuit.
The lawsuit is the latest privacy challenge facing ring.
In 2023, the company agreed to pay five point eight million dollars to settle Federal
Trade Commission allegations related to employee access to customer video footage.
Amazon denied wrongdoing as part of that settlement.
Cashman says users could become liable in the future and that tech companies should
give the homeowner the ability to opt out of collecting biometric data.
But even if they don't.
So it is possible that if there's an option to turn that on and a user does so that
that company then might argue that they're not liable and the user potentially is.
The case could become an early test of how courts address the use of AI powered facial
recognition in consumer security products.
Arlene Richards, NTD News.
And four people have been charged in connection with a sophisticated cross-border drug
tunnel operation.
Federal prosecutors in Southern California say the tunnel was used to smuggle more than
a ton of cocaine that was valued at over forty five million dollars.
Since President Trump secured the border and launched the Take Back America
initiative, the cartels have been deprived of approximately 13 billion dollars per
year in annual revenue for alien smuggling.
In response, the cartels, such as CJ and Jeet, have dramatically increased efforts to
import hugely profitable cocaine into the United States.
Put directly, cocaine is now the lifeblood of the cartels.
And what you see here today is a cardiac arrest for their system.
For those defendants, they thought they saw a light at the end of the tunnel.
In fact, what they saw were heartbites and sirens.
Authorities say a months long Homeland Security Task Force investigation uncovered this
nearly 2000 foot tunnel.
It stretches from Tijuana into a warehouse near San Diego.
It's equipped with reinforced walls, ventilation, electricity and even a hydraulic
lift. Investigators say surveillance of a suspected retail site known as Buy for Less
revealed unusual activity, including the movement of suitcases and later coordinated
vehicle transfers across multiple locations.
K-9 units were alerted to the presence of narcotics during coordinated traffic stops.
Inspections uncovered more than 1000 kilograms of cocaine packed into dozens of
bundles. And coming up, voters head to the polls in California with races for governor
and L.A. locking in the nation's attention.
Panel joins us to unpack the campaigns and what's at stake.
We're in high school. I come with the wrong crowd and I never graduated.
I helped Santiago in many different ways, like all fathers do, because he always wanted
to go to college. I felt a little embarrassed to come back to school, but eventually,
once I came here, I knew that it's for a bigger goal.
He was very dedicated, hardworking, he connected with his teachers, he connected with
other students. That was one of the key reasons why he was able to keep forging ahead.
It was amazing to see him graduate.
This was one thing that meant so much to him and of course, it meant so much to us too.
With the help of my father and having my son, that was all the motivation that I needed.
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I debate all day, it's what I do.
But there are some things that are undebatable, like your mental health, my own mental
health. I was in a dark place when my brother passed away in a car accident.
I've never been more devastated than the day I lost my mom.
I was depressed, miserable in ways I never imagined.
I reached out, my sisters came, my pastor, my therapist.
They helped me get through it.
I found that the more I spoke up, the healthier my mind became.
The chaos that was in me began to subside.
I was more focused, clear.
When you love your mind, you can go so much further.
It's not up for debate.
Find mental health resources at loveyourmindtoday.org.
There are real consequences to controlled media.
And NTD's founders know that firsthand.
Our freedom of thought is the price.
This is the lesson that guides us in everything we do.
So there's the tear gas.
We know the value of a free society.
And we take seriously the responsibility to preserve it.
We are NTD.
Welcome back to NTD Evening News, I'm Kerry Dunst.
Election Day has kicked off in California and mail-in voting is hugely popular in
Silicon Valley. The local elections office tells us they've already received about
20 percent of the ballots as of last night, and they expect to have an additional 20
percent to arrive on Election Day.
NTD's David Lamb brings us more on that.
Voters are casting ballots in California, both in person and by mail.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, a local elections office says vote by mail is the
primary method.
Well, you know, here in Santa Clara County, a majority of the voters vote by mail.
Over 90 percent are either mailing it in or they're dropping them off at our
official ballot mailboxes.
Still, some voters like to vote the traditional way, such as Francine Ward Wilkinson,
a longtime resident.
I just drive them to the registrar to avoid any kind of difficulty with the mail or
anything like that. I like to get these that say I voted, and I also like to have the
feeling of actually physically going somewhere like I did when I was younger.
I have done that basically as long as I've lived in the existing house.
When I was younger, my family, we used to go together to a local polling place that
goes to either high school or junior high.
We'd all go together and make a thing of it, you know.
The state's gubernatorial race has generated high levels of interest as it's
uncertain which top two candidates will move on to the November election.
According to a recent poll by the Public Policy Institute of California, Javier
Becerra and Steve Hilton are leading with a difference of three percent.
Tom Steyer has 15 percent support, followed by Chad Bianco with 13 percent and Katie
Porter with 12 percent.
For me, it's just basically the cost of living as a new retiree.
I really am starting to feel the cost of things, groceries and energy and just doing
anything. And I have a son who's in his early 30s who still lives at me at home
because it's unaffordable for him to buy a house in this area.
This year for the primary, we're seeing about on par with what we had for the 22
primary election. As of last night, we received approximately 20 percent of the
voters have returned their ballots so far.
And typically what we see on election day is kind of double that.
The polls close at 8 p.m.
Pacific time and the local elections office says results will be certified in July.
David Lamb, NTD News, California.
And to unpack the California primaries, we welcome an excellent panel of guests
joining us now. We have Michael Wilson, Democratic strategist and L.A.
based whistleblower attorney, Corin Rankin, California Republican Party chairwoman.
Thank you both for joining us, Michael.
Let's kick off with you.
You are actually a Pacific Palisades resident and, of course, one of the communities
that are most frustrated with the local leadership due to the unfortunate wildfires
having burned so many homes to the ground.
How are you and your neighbors viewing this mayoral race?
So, yeah, it's been really rough go at it because we're trying to rebuild.
You know, we had total loss.
Spencer Pratt is from the Palisades, but he hasn't really stepped up for the
Palisadians in terms of leadership.
You know, there really hasn't been any leadership of the Palisades.
So there's it's been kind of segregated off to like, you know, Team Palisades or
this chat for a rebuild.
I mean, Spencer Pratt has been more about himself in the run for mayor.
And you hear him saying, you know, complaining about his his house burning down.
Well, so did mine. So did a bunch of people's houses.
But having said that, no one wants Bassett, right, because she's the root cause of
this of this disaster here that was totally preventable.
So I think other people are looking at I mean, people with Palisades are looking at
other options right now.
Interesting. And, Corin, your perspective on the wildfires, but also the other,
obviously, you know, crime and affordability affordability issues are really top of
mind for LA residents as well.
How do you make out on today's primary race for mayor?
Well, first, I would say I'm sorry to hear that you lost your home in the fires, but
I think Spencer Pratt is really touching people in the city of Los Angeles.
He's focused on the issues, the crime, the affordability, the homelessness, people on
the streets who are taking drugs, they're addicted to drugs.
And instead of just handing them more needles, they need treatment.
And it's incumbent upon us to make sure that they get that treatment.
And that's what Spencer's focusing on.
And I think that's why we've seen such a huge amount of momentum behind Spencer
Pratt. Yeah, when you take a little bit more of a longer view as opposed to being
really in the weeds of things, there is a sort of ebb and flow to these things.
So, Michael, the last time a Republican mayor was elected into office, it was
Richard Reardon. And at that time, there were kind of similar frustrations.
You know, history rhymes.
It wasn't exactly the same way, but crime, the aftermath of a natural disaster.
Do you see that, you know, as we as we were just sharing that maybe there is an
opportunity for someone on the right to to take the mayoral seat?
Oh, I think most definitely.
I actually think a lot of Palestinians and Angelenos wanted Caruso to run actually for
mayor. Again, Pratt isn't running as a Republican.
He's running as an independent and doesn't want to be classified as, you know, to a
party. But I think it's time for some type of leadership here.
Listen, you know, a lot of us are recovering progressives and, you know, the current
and the former policies are not working.
You know, everyone's tired of seeing feces on the street in Santa Monica or Venice, the
crime rate, the mental health issue.
But, you know, I don't know Pratt's going to be that guy because, yeah, he caters to a
certain part of the Palisades.
But listen, when you stick Mayor Bass in a grocery cart and call her trash basura, I
mean, you know, there's layers as a misogynistic layer there.
And then you want to go down a deeper layer.
She is a black woman.
There's a matriarchal issue there amongst the black community of him treating her that
way on his A.I.
video. So it's going to be tough.
You know, top two will go.
No one's going to get the 50 percent that went out.
Right. So, you know, the top two are going to go.
We'll see what happens this evening.
Yeah, I believe you said a recovering progressive.
That's a very interesting way to describe it.
And the way that you described some of the filth that's happening in L.A., you know, I
think for a lot of part of the country, it's somewhat unimaginable.
Corrine, let's move over to the governor's race now.
What are your thoughts there?
Well, we feel good about it here at the California Republican Party.
All the polls show us that, you know, we will have a Republican in the top two.
Now, there is a recent poll that shows that 56 percent of Californians believe that
California is headed in the wrong direction.
And that applies to Los Angeles and it applies throughout the state of California.
The Democrat Party, their policies are the wrong direction.
Those policies have gotten us to the place that we are in today.
And the Republican Party is the other direction.
Steve Hilton, Spencer Pratt is the change that people are looking for.
And, Michael, same question to you.
And I might add another layer to it.
After Swalwell dropped out, Becerra seemed to come out of nowhere to be the leading
candidate. Did the Democratic establishment really throw their weight behind him?
Or how do you describe what's happening with the frontrunners?
Yeah, well, so Becerra came out of the woodwork kind of because of he got all the
fundraising, all the donations that Swalwell was getting.
And when Swalwell dropped out, it opened the door for Becerra.
You know, he's also been tough on, you know, anti-immigration issues, you know, ICE
and those type of things.
You know, he did well as a AG, Attorney General for California.
But, you know, Hilton may fit a style now, because even in the last election with
President Trump and Ms.
Harris, you saw California turn a little more red.
You know, the demographics have changed.
A lot of people have moved out of California to places like Nashville or Franklin,
Tennessee or Austin, Texas, because it's so expensive to live here.
The rent, the income tax is just so expensive to live here.
So I think the demographics will change and you'll see probably Hilton and Becerra
for the runoff in November.
You describe an interesting thing about the flight of Californians to places like
Texas, Florida.
You mentioned Nashville.
I would think that would leave more Democrats, though, because those people that
were maybe in the middle class have left.
So, Corinne, as we start to finish up, what are your last thoughts on this governor's
race? I think we're going to end up seeing Governor Steve Hilton.
I mean, just to go back to the poll, 56 percent of Californians think we're headed
in the wrong direction.
The Democrat Party rallied behind Eric Walwell in the beginning, and we've all seen
what a mistake that was.
So we still don't see endorsements for Javier Becerra or Tom
Steyer from any of the top Democrats throughout.
I mean, we don't even see Joe Biden endorsing Javier Becerra.
So there's something wrong there.
Again, change is going to come to California and it's going to come in the form of a
Republican candidate.
And we do have time for one more.
Michael, your thoughts on that?
Yeah, I think she's right, you know, you know, I don't know if Becerra is going to
win, you know, if it's Becerra and Hilton who win today or tonight, we won't know the
votes for a couple of days, actually.
But if they go on for the runoff in November, I think it may be a time for a change to
Hilton, you know, like Schwarzenegger change, which Schwarzenegger was great for
California. So I think the Democratic policies for California, I think, swung too far
left. And, you know, it was too progressive.
And that's also reflecting on Robin Thune, the other mayoral candidate for Los
Angeles. I think she's a little too far left as well.
Well, we do see a Republican governor in the very progressive state of Vermont.
Anything is possible. It sounds like something is afoot.
We'll know tomorrow at least who the runoffs will be.
Michael Wilson, Corinne Rankin, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts.
Thank you for having me.
And next, Secretary of State Marco Rubio spent the day on Capitol Hill defending the
Trump administration's America first foreign policy from China and Taiwan to Cuba and
Iran. Lawmakers pressed Rubio on some of the administration's biggest foreign policy
challenges. And today's Washington correspondent, Jack Bradley, reports on that.
We remain the world's sole global superpower from Senate foreign relations to the House
appropriations. Secretary of State Marco Rubio defending the Trump administration's
America first foreign policy.
Outside the briefing room, a small group of protesters arrested before Rubio even began
testifying. Much of the day focusing on China and its growing threat to Taiwan.
I know from our service here together that you agree that China is the greatest national
security threat that we face.
And one of the key reasons is their repeated threats to take control of Taiwan by force
if necessary. In December, the U.S.
approved a record $11 billion arms sale to Taiwan.
Rubio says Beijing responded with aggression.
And it was so big and so noticeable that the Chinese became very aggressive about it.
And some of the incursions they undertook as a result of it, it was more in one sale than
we did in the entirety of the Biden administration.
Democrats are pressing Rubio on President Trump's comments about using a potential
$14 billion arms package as a bargaining chip.
President Trump has said publicly that arms sales to Taipei are a great negotiating chip
with China. When the president says it's a great negotiating thing, what he's really
saying is it's because China, as you can imagine, always mentions this year.
We did approve an arms sales, I think $11 billion.
There were a six year period of time under the Obama administration where there were no
sales to Taiwan.
Rubio also slamming China's Belt and Road initiative, calling it debt trap diplomacy.
China and other global powers have intruded in our Western hemisphere.
If it's loans, they create these debt traps.
These countries are trying to develop their telecommunications system.
They're trying to build roads.
There's a track record of not completing these projects.
There's a track record of flooding the country with Chinese workers that come and do the
work. On Cuba, Rubio made clear that there will be no softening.
Virtually every left wing, radical, violent terrorist group in the Western Hemisphere
has at some point relied on support from Cuba.
Cuba continues to host a pretty substantial collection intelligence sites on behalf of
the Chinese and the Russians.
Rubio describes Cuba as a failed state, largely controlled by the military conglomerate
Gaiza, making meaningful reform highly unlikely.
Can they possibly reform given the people who are currently in charge, both of Gaiza
and of their government?
And I think the answer is they can't.
I really don't believe this system is capable of reform unless new people take over.
On Iran, Rubio says that Tehran will not get sanctions relief just for reopening the
Strait of Hormuz.
Any relief, he says, first requires major nuclear concessions.
Iran is being sanctioned because they enrich uranium.
Throughout the hearings, Rubio stressed one core principle.
American foreign aid should advance U.S.
interests, not create dependency.
For NTD News Washington, I'm Jack Bradley.
The Trump administration is considering a 25 percent tariff on Brazilian imports.
U.S. trade representative Jameson Greer citing what he called unfair trade practices.
Greer's office said an investigation into Brazil's trade policy started last year and
it had found practices that are, quote, unreasonable and a burden or restrict U.S.
commerce. The report cited Brazil's policies related to digital trade, electronic
payment services, anti-corruption enforcement, intellectual property protection, as
well as the ethanol market access.
The proposed tariff would exclude some Brazilian products such as beef, coffee, rare
earth, certain metals and aircraft parts.
The office of the U.S.
trade representative said the public is invited to provide written comments on this
proposed tariffs by July 1st.
The agency will hold a hearing about the proposed action on July 6th.
And coming up, NBA star Steph Curry signing a deal with a Chinese sportswear giant.
Partnership is drawing concerns over the Chinese company's ties to forced labor.
And New York City residents are worried about recent videos popping up of groups of men
disappearing into the sewers for hours at a time.
Hi, I'm Jane Seymour, and I spent years on TV playing a doctor, but I learned about the
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Introducing the Crestwise Googling Purple 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
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Placing the eye patches around your eyes helps to reduce dryness and massages
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They can be worn while reading, studying, using electronics and provide hours of
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Eyes forward, don't drive distracted.
Welcome back to NTD Evening News.
I'm Kerry Dunst.
A partnership drawing concerns.
NBA superstar Steph Curry is announcing a deal with Chinese sportswear giant Li Ning
to create his own signature brand.
This means he's no longer a free agent when it comes to his sneakers.
ESPN says the agreement includes basketball products, athleisure wear, the ability for
Curry to even sign athletes under his brand, a full golf line as well.
Curry calls this a partnership of a lifetime.
A statement on Curry's brand collective website, 30 Inc.
notes plans to launch Curry brand stores in both the U.S.
and China. The Chinese brand has a controversial human rights record, though.
It's been accused of using forced labor in its supply chain and investigated by U.S.
customs. Former NBA star Ennis Cantor Freedom criticizing Curry's new deal.
He says Curry, quote, lectures America about justice and values while cashing
checks from a company tied to the same Chinese system accused of forced labor, sweat
shops and brutal human rights abuses.
Ouch. Next, a Chinese state media journalist no longer welcome in the U.S.
Trump administration is revoking the visa of a Chinese national working for Chinese
state run news agency Xinhua.
The move comes after months after Beijing expelled New York Times China correspondent
Vivian Wang. The State Department says in its decision that it has the strongest
commitment to the freedom of expression and, quote, we will continue to insist on a
relationship with China based on fairness and reciprocity, putting the American people
first. We cannot accept the continued lack of reciprocity for U.S.
media in China, nor any attempts by the Chinese authorities to silence U.S.
media. The Chinese regime has long imposed restrictions on foreign journalists operating
in China. Journalists are routinely reporting harassment, monitoring and intimidation,
especially when they're reporting on topics that the Chinese Communist Party deems
sensitive. And videos of mysterious men going into New York City
sewers has been getting a lot of attention on the Internet, and D.D.
Sean Marshall has what people are saying, along with a possible explanation.
Multiple videos are popping up showing groups of men descending into and ascending
out of sewer manholes in Brooklyn and Queens in late May, sometimes wearing
solid coveralls and protective gear, carrying shovels and headlamps, staying under
anywhere from two to four hours.
NYPD's 62nd Precinct posted the NYPD and other agencies have completed their
sweep, confirming the area is safe and free of hazards.
The residents worried about what's going on underground have posted concerns to social
media. One says, in the last 12 months, we've had unauthorized men going into manholes
several times. Another asks, are they figuring out how to attack NYC?
In the past, people in the city have been caught sewer diving in search of gold, jewelry
and other valuables.
And police are investigating this as a possible explanation.
A spokesperson for the city's Department of Environmental Protection warns that entering
the sewer system is both dangerous and illegal.
Sean Marshall, NTD News.
And that's all for today's news, but keep it here on NTD.
We've got Capitol Report up next and then at eight o'clock, Tiffany Meyer tonight.
Definitely the most fun you're going to have watching the news anywhere on TV.
Thanks for tuning in. I'm Cary Dunst.
Good night.