Capitol Report Full Broadcast (June 10)

Good evening. Tonight on the Capitol Report, the United States launching a new round of attacks on Iran. Our full-scale attacks back on the table with the Secretary of War is now saying and what may come next. CENTCOM, Central Command will be busy tonight because President Trump said we will be hitting Iran hard. And the President revealing a secret military mission, 100 million barrels of oil exiting the Plus, a ticking clock of negotiations. As the President says, he's done waiting. We're really close to a deal, but they keep tapping us along. They keep playing us for suckers. In boys' and girls' bathrooms, puberty blockers for fifth graders, and parents being kept in the dark. Lawmakers pressing a school superintendent and asked, is trust in public education broken? Our students prepared for drag queen story hour. Well, we welcome all 49,000 students as they are. This is Capitol Report, live from our global headquarters in our nation's capital. Here's Steve Lance. The United States launching more defensive strikes against Iran as President Trump says the regime's been tapping the US along in negotiations. We go now live to NTD's White House correspondent, Mari Otu, at the North Lawn. Mari, good evening. What is the latest from President Trump with regard to Iran? Hey, Steve. Good evening to you. That's right. And President Trump today declared that Iran will need to pay the price as they've taken too long to negotiate a good nuclear deal. And not long after that, a Central Command followed up saying that they began launching a new wave of self-defensive strikes inside Iran at 5.15 p.m. Eastern today, saying that those strikes are in response to unwarranted and continued Iranian aggression. And here's the president earlier in the Oval with his warning. Take a look. We hit them hard yesterday, and we're going to hit them again hard today. We're really close to a deal, but they keep tapping us along. They keep playing us for suckers. CENTCOM, Central Command, will be busy tonight because President Trump said we will be hitting Iran hard. Those strikes that will happen tonight will be strong. They will be clear. President Trump saying the renewed attacks are due in part to Iran downing a US Army Apache helicopter patrolling the Strait of Hormuz. The president louding that rescue effort, which used an American sea drone, the first time the US military has confirmed that type of vessel was used in such an operation. They shot down a very, very incredible, actually an incredible machine. And at first they said they didn't do it. Then they admitted they did it. If you ever get a clip, you won't believe the rescue, how cool it was. This coming as President Trump announces the US is taking millions of barrels of oil out of the Strait of Hormuz without the Iranians knowing, saying, last month I directed our great US military to execute a secret mission to support oil tankers and other commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz. Today, I am pleased to announce that this effort has resulted in more than 100 million barrels of oil making its way through the Strait and into the open market. Project Freedom, the idea of running ships through the Strait of Hormuz, it never stopped. It just went underground. The president also condemning the media for refusing to report on the US's naval blockade, touting it as the most successful in the history of naval warfare, saying nothing gets through unless we wanted to. It is a steel wall. Iran is doing zero business, not paying their military or any of their bills and quickly becoming a filled nation. Lots of oil is getting out, praise be to Allah. You know, we've been taking out millions of barrels of oil. Nobody knows it. You know who doesn't know about it? Iran. So now that they figured it out, I can tell you it was very hard for me. I wanted to say it so badly, but I didn't want to ruin it, but it was very hard. But millions of barrels of oil has come out. That's why it said $85, $90 a barrel instead of $250. Meanwhile, over a week out from election night, California races remain in limbo, with experts saying the delays are turning the state into a national case study in why election integrity reform is urgent. That says President Trump renews his push for the Save America Act, calling the California election rigged and teasing release of 2020 election fraud evidence. They rigged the election, the second election. Now it's been proven and it will be proven as time goes by even more so. We have things that you won't believe. When we release the full files, you're not going to believe how crooked the second 2020 election was. And Steve, also today, President Trump in the Oval signed the Secure America Act, which will ensure that both CBP and ICE are fully funded through the rest of President Trump's second term, that is through September 2029. The president's saying that $38 billion are going to go to ICE under this bill and $26 billion to CBP to ensure that these critical law enforcement agencies are able to have the resources necessary to secure the border and get criminal illegal aliens out of our country. Back to you. Mari Otsu, live from the White House. Thank you, Mari. And the president reaffirming his vow to match Iranian aggression and secure a meaningful deal. Joining us now to assess retired Marine Corps Colonel William Dunn. Colonel, it's great to have you back. So this all started because Iran downed one of our Apache helicopters over the Strait of Hormuz, all while the president was working to negotiate this deal. What does Iran ultimately stand to gain from doing something so reckless at this point in the negotiation? Well, Iran as a whole really has nothing to gain by taking out one of our helicopters. It's, you know, it's a tactical victory if you want to call it that for taking down one helicopter. But the strategical impact has been enormous on the second round of strikes, one happening right now as we speak. So it's possible a rogue element inside the Iranian regime did this just to prevent these talks, this resolution from happening. I think we'll find out more about that as the days progress. But taking out one helicopter and then losing all the assets they lost yesterday, and they're going to lose again tonight is not worth it for them. And ideally, our president, outstanding commander in chief, will show the Iranian regime what's left of it is even a tactical victory is going to be met with strategic aggression from the United States. Still the fog of war inside of Iran proving to be difficult to navigate. The president says that a deal with Iran has been fully negotiated. All that's left is for Iran to sign on the line. Here's what the president had to say. Iran very simply cannot have a nuclear weapon, and they won't. And they've agreed to that. All they have to do is they have to start signing a paper. It's fully negotiated. We have a fully negotiated, but they're tapping and tapping. And I said, all right, let's give them a couple more days. They're tapping. Colonel, the president now threatening Iran's civilian infrastructure, power plants and bridges. This is for the first time in months, bringing this back on the table today. Are full scale attacks back on the table, whether in retaliation for the helicopter attack or for Iran, as he was calling it, just sort of dragging out these talks? They're absolutely on the table. What I would recommend and urge is that if we are going to do that, that we do it very limited. If you're going to take out economic targets for a good reason, then I would do it very slowly, very methodically. And I would take out a small number at a time. We could obviously go in and wreck the country overnight. I don't think we should do that. If we have to take out those economic targets, I just hope they're measured. And then each event should give the ability to bring Iran back to the table. If we hit them too hard, then we're going to lose the Iranian population. And that's my concern. Right now, I believe the Iranian population is probably with us. We need to maintain that balance while getting this regime really to meet these requirements and sign off on this deal. Do you see the Iranian regime in its current form, assuming that it's still structured in a certain way, the way it was previous to our initial strikes with Operation Epic Fury, actually fulfilling the deal, staying true to the deal? And do you anticipate, even if they come to the table, sign that they wind up breaking the deal and just sort of dragging this out for the rest of President Trump's presidency? Well, the reality is the answer to that question on every one of those questions is yes. I believe they can sign a deal. I believe they will break the deal. They're a dishonest regime. They've always been. They also could make the deal and have the belief to maintain that deal, but they'll probably have players and actors inside the regime that will not support that and that will go out and still make these attacks. They don't have the command and control capabilities that the United States does. In our world, the military commanders get their orders and it's easy to validate whether they're following them or not. If they're not, we remove them and we put in a commander that will. That's not how they operate. It's more of a caste system over there. And until we solve, one, this negotiation, get it signed, then it's going to be up to Iran to internally police the rest of their regime and make sure they stay in line. And if not, we'll be back at these strikes routinely over the next couple of years. Now, the president earlier today breaking some news revealing that the United States has been secretly escorting oil ships out of the Strait of Hormuz. Let's take a look. Yes. Do you know we've been taking out millions of barrels of oil? Nobody knows it. You know who doesn't know about it? Iran until right now. We took out the other night, 22 ships late at night with no lights because they don't have any radar because we blasted the crap out of it. We took out, that's why oil is $85 a barrel. Colonel, it appears now over 200 ships safely making its way through, their way through the Strait over the past month. First, how have we been able to pull this off? And does it indicate that we indeed have total control over the Strait? Well, I don't want to say we have total control because we just lost an Apache. Close to total control, absolutely. There's some things that I won't talk about that we can do to really mask what our adversaries see. And that's probably what we've done. But that's a great thing. We'll mask what they can see. We won't talk how we do that, but we'll get the ships out. You know, we are a, this force that is there, and it's been there for some time, is the best force in the world. And we're trained, we're highly trained, and we can pretty much accomplish any of these missions. It doesn't mean they're 100% safe, right? There's always risk involved when you have two state actors, if you will, going at it. But Iran should take note and just back off because really, the more they press, the more their destruction is inevitable. I see on the screen here, there was a truth from the President talking about this operation. It reads, last month, I directed our great US military to execute a secret mission to support these oil tankers and other commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz. Colonel, how closely does this parallel the strategy that we saw take place in Venezuela, where the US has also taken control of the outflow of the oil? And what makes Iran different than Venezuela? Well, I think the biggest difference between Iran and Venezuela is that we were able to decapitate Venezuela, if you will, and make a, put a relatively friendly regime in there, friendly to the hemisphere and friendly to the United States, at least on the outset. And we didn't have to go into any sort of full-scale operation. Iran was bent on destroying Israel, getting a nuclear weapon and potentially destroying the United States. We never felt that official threat like that from Venezuela. So this is, in my opinion, this is a total difference between a setup, if you will, to make common peace in Venezuela and make that country prosper, to the, and Iran, we're looking to really solve a problem in the entire Middle East that's been decades long, and that we've been planning for decades. And by doing what we've done so far in preventing this nuclear weapon capability, that's going to go on in, you know, decades and decades of peace. All we have to do now is get to an agreement so we can stop the fighting. And I think you're going to see all players in the Middle East will ultimately appreciate what the U.S. has done in this conflict. Retired Marine Corps Colonel William Dunn, appreciate your perspective. Thank you. And Secretary of War Pete Hegseth visiting Guantanamo Bay, Cuba today, talking about the possible attacks by the communist regime on the U.S. homeland. And today's international correspondent Ariane Pasdar reported. Hegseth visiting Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. What happens with the future of Cuba is in the hands of our, of the president of the United States and the leadership of Cuba. No matter what, the Department of War is going to be prepared. Hegseth joined the troops stationed there in a morning workout. No better way to start a morning than with PT. How about that? The secretary says Guantanamo Bay is a crucial part of U.S. territory, recounting how he was stationed there 20 years ago as a soldier. That American might, whether it's 9,000 miles away or 90 miles away from our shores, he's the greatest in the world and prepared to go on offense or defense at any moment to defend our interests. His trip comes as the U.S. continues an oil blockade against communist Cuba and following President Trump's warning to oust its leaders. Cuban-Americans, many of whom live in Florida, mostly support the president as they have long pushed for U.S. intervention in Cuba. It would be unwise for the government of Cuba to try to procure or get access to the types of weapons that could reach this base or the American homeland. They would be inviting the kind of confrontation not only do they not want, but they could not stand. No country on earth can match the capabilities of the United States of America. About three weeks ago, the U.S. formally charged former Cuban president Raul Castro for four counts of murder, and American warships are currently operating in the Caribbean Sea. Arian Tastar, NTD News. And right now, that's a live look at the United States Capitol. Despite many obstacles, the president of the United States has signed the long-anticipated Secure America Act. More from our panel on how this will fund law enforcement and secure the border. Stop for the break. Hi, I'm Susan Lucci. You may know me from my many years on television. I never thought about heart disease until I had my own heart event. I felt this slight pressure in my chest, just slight. I thought, oh, it's nothing. It'll go away. I didn't get it. I did not get it. And a few days later, while shopping at a boutique, that pressure returned much stronger. It felt like an elephant pressing on my chest. I had a 90% blockage in my main artery and a 75% blockage in the adjacent artery. I was rushed into surgery where I received two stents in my arteries. Stents developed through research funded by the American Heart Association. Those stents saved my life. That's why I'm in front of you today, asking you to join me in supporting the American Heart Association by becoming a monthly donor. Call now or go to helpheart.org. For only $19 a month, just 63 cents a day, you can help fund the next medical breakthrough. Get the next person trained in CPR, the next hospital certified in high-quality cardiovascular care. I'm so grateful to the American Heart Association. Their research helped save my life. I can enjoy life with my children, my grandchildren, and my friends. Heart disease is America's number one killer, and your support now can help save your life or the life of someone you love. Give $19 a month with your credit card, and we'll send you this special t-shirt that you can wear to show that you are helping save lives. Please, listen to your heart. The only reason I'm here today is because I did. Please call or go online to helpheart.org. Become a monthly donor, and for a limited time only, your first month's gift will be matched. Thank you. 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? I'm falling and I can't get up. Hello, this is Life Alert. Your mother had an emergency, and we dispatched paramedics to her home. Oh my gosh, what happened? She had a fall, but don't worry. She is safe, and the paramedics are helping her right now. Thank you. Life Alert saves a life 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. And welcome back to the Capitol Report. I'm Steve Lance. The race for California governor is officially set. Republican Steve Hilton has advanced to the November general election, where he'll be facing Democrat Javier Becerra. Hilton says the outcome gives voters an opportunity to choose a different direction for that state. Antony's Christina Corona reports. Republican Steve Hilton says California voters will have a chance to choose a different direction this November after advancing to the general election. The Associated Press has projected that Hilton will face former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary and former California Attorney General Javier Becerra in the race for governor. Hilton got 25 percent of the vote in Tuesday's primary, finishing ahead of billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer, who didn't qualify for the November ballot. Following the announcement, Hilton told Fox News. The news is so good for California because what it means is that in November, in the general election, everyone in this state will have the chance to vote for real change. It's not going to be two Democrats. You're going to be able to choose. Hilton has centered his campaign on what he calls restoring the California dream. In a recent campaign video, Hilton reflected on his family's journey to the West. My parents fled communism in Hungary, so I was born in England, raised in a working class home. My mom worked in a shoe store, my dad in construction. Like so many immigrant families, they just wanted a better life. Hilton says those experiences shaped his views on freedom, opportunity, and government, themes he plans to emphasize heading into the November campaign against Becerra. Hilton's supporters say his experience and personal story set him apart in the race. Steve Hilton is an immigrant himself, but he has experience in government, working in the government in England, and he has addressed positive changes in California. We are at a critical tipping point in California and across this country, and this election matters, and it looks like there is a God, and praise the Lord, and we've got an opportunity for Steve Hilton to continue on in this race. Meanwhile in Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass officially kicked off her re-election campaign after Council Member Nithya Raman secured a spot in November's mayoral runoff. Speaking before labor, business, and Democratic Party leaders at East End Studios, Bass highlighted her administration's work on homelessness, public safety, and economic development while drawing contrast with Raman ahead of the November election. Raman is expected to hold her first campaign event of the runoff race Wednesday evening. Christina Corona, NTD News. And $70 billion in funding for ICE and Border Patrol. President Trump and Republicans have made a decisive breakthrough thanks to a careful and prolonged strategy. Joining me now to discuss and Bobby Eberle, Republican strategist. Bobby and Madeline, it's great to have you guys with us. So after this prolonged effort, nobody really knew if this was going to get passed. President Trump signed the highly anticipated Secure America Act into law today. What it ultimately does is provide critical funding for immigration enforcement. Here's the president speaking about it from the Oval Office. Secure America Act provides $38 billion to ICE, $26 billion to Border Patrol to ensure these critical law enforcement agencies have the necessary resources to do their jobs protecting our borders and getting criminal aliens out of the country. Madeline, Democrats were unified in their opposition to this bill, but all it does is fund law enforcement. Is it a bad look for the Democrats? And will this opposition to funding border protection disadvantage the Democrats in the midterm? Well, it's actually not all it does. There are provisions that are added on and many that have been taken out because of the Byrd rule, which says that all of it actually has to relate specifically to spending. In fact, many Republicans throughout the Trump administration have tried to sneak things into bills like this so that they can get away with it. In this most recent one, I'm glad that the government is funded. I don't think that the policies that ICE has been working off of are legal, let alone fair. I know that actually Mark Wayne Mullen admitted to that in his Senate confirmation hearing. I was glad to hear that he said that he wouldn't be doing things that were illegal. Although what I've heard recently from the Delaney Detention Center, it seems like he's not following through on that. So I'm disappointed that we don't have any specific regulations that we can relate to right now. But I'm glad that the government's moving forward. Bobby, Democrats working hard to obstruct this particular bill causing the shutdown earlier this year, as you might recall. How will this bill better enable the Trump administration to enforce immigration law? Well, it takes a major point of leverage away from the Democrats. What some people don't realize is when we were going through the government shutdown period affecting homeland security, ICE and Border Patrol were actually funded. They were funded for the year through the big, beautiful bill. What the Democrats were doing though is wanting to force their way of doing things on ICE and on Border Patrol, or else we're going to hold up funding for the entire Homeland Security Department. So this is a big win because this is funding for the next three years, the remainder of President Trump's term, so that when a CR, a continuing resolution, or maybe a whole appropriations bill comes, they don't have ICE or Border Patrol as leverage points to say we're going to shut down other parts of the government because they're fully funded. So that is a big win for the administration. Now, with regard to border security, the president also touting his accomplishments on the border. Here's a listen. In the last 12 months, zero illegal aliens have been admitted into the United States. We cut the flow of fentanyl across our border by almost 60%. Think of that. And by the way, coming in by C, 97%. And we're looking for the 3% because we think they're among the bravest people. Madeline, President Trump won 14 of the 18 counties on the Texas-Mexico border. Did the Biden administration fail to properly secure the border? And are Democrats now paying the price? Definitely. I think the answer to that question is a resounding yes. Look, there have been plenty of lies from the Trump administration about what actually happened. And part of the problem is that we didn't label things correctly. So Trump says that there were 20 to 25 million illegal immigrants that came through during the Biden administration. That's false, right? There are a lot of people who came in, but in terms of gotaways, as in people who aren't known to the United States, it's about a million, which is a million too many, right? It's a million too many, and any Democrat should admit that, period. And so because they wouldn't, now we're stuck with this 20 million narrative. And it makes it a lot easier for the Trump administration to get away with things like we're watching here, where we're seeing people who, for example, had their TPS protections taken away, people who came here legally, who had their status removed because of new policies, and now are sitting in jail, sitting in prison waiting for their court hearings, even though they haven't done anything wrong, right? It makes it easier to look at them and say, well, they're criminals. We don't care about them, right? Because we've created this whole narrative that they're all criminals, rapists, murderers, who were part of that 20 to 25 million people who came in. So while I absolutely agree that the Democrats dropped the ball, more than dropped the ball, they broke the ball. They deflated the ball, Tom Brady style. They destroyed it. The Trump administration needs to start telling the truth and needs to recognize the humanity that exists in our fellow human beings. Yeah, I think border hawks regard the TPS as unconstitutional. They would argue that. Bobby, how has President Trump used law enforcement agencies? You're on the border, you're in Texas to reverse these Biden administration immigration policies and really crack down on the drug smuggling and have Americans feeling the improvements since he took office. Are you actually feeling it in the state of Texas, which borders Mexico? Yeah, we are. And I want to echo Madeline's point. I mean, she nailed it as far as the Tom Brady analogy. This is where the Democrats should have jumped on. You know, there's plenty of issues to disagree on, whether it's conservative versus liberal approach or Trump administration versus someone else. Plenty of issues to disagree on. But something as far as the border where everyone, you know, following the election, Democrats, Republicans and independents wanted all people here illegally deported that crossed party lines. And so to not be on board with border security was a very bad move for the Democrats. Now we need to highlight the success. Now we need to highlight the safety. Now we need to highlight all of these cities across the country that do work with ICE, that do provide a nice communication where there's not riots, there's not any kind of upheaval or anything for ICE to simply do its job. If the administration did a better job of that, we wouldn't have had the problems that we had this past year. And we'd have even more people on board with immigration and have it continue to pull highly as it did when he was first elected. That's a very legitimate criticism. I want to pivot to a different topic and get your thoughts on the efforts here to beautify the nation's capital and make it safer. The president speaking on that today as well. Here's what he said. We have fountains that were not working and were disgusting and dirty. And they're all beautiful now. Every one of them. We also took care of a lot of the monuments, not fountains, but monuments. And they're all in good shape. Some of them are being finished up now. And it's incredible. Madeline, does the president make a good point here? Columbus Circle hadn't been working, the fountain there since 2007. It's now been completely restored, along with many other fountains and monuments. One that I've sort of experienced, I remember back in 2012, sitting at Lafayette Park, the grass there was terrible. This is the park right across from the White House, basically an extension of the White House, trash everywhere, all cleaned up, new grass. Everything does look great. Does the president deserve some credit for improving the city's safety and infrastructure? I don't have a problem at all with the president making things work that don't work and cleaning it up. There's nothing wrong with that whatsoever. I think the way that Democrats can frame this is that it's a lack of organization of priorities. You're caring about these things when Americans can't put food on the table or when they're struggling to pay gas prices or whatever. What are you focused on while the American people are worried? I know he had that recent statement where he said, I'm not worried about Americans' financial situations, I'm worried about something else. I think that's typically the criticism there. But when it comes to the safety of the city, I think that the criticism that I could offer that's legitimate for sure is that we shouldn't be using the president's private army to go into different cities to execute what local law enforcement should be doing because that's what our founding fathers wanted. It's against our constitution. So were there problems with safety? Absolutely. And actually in DC in particular, I think they came up with a good way of dealing with it that wasn't the way they did it in the rest of the countries. But we have that creeping authoritarianism coming in as we use the National Guard as the president's army. But in terms of just cleaning things up, I mean, I got no problem. Bobby, how important is it for the nation's capital to display excellence to the world when foreign leaders or people come from all around the world, especially the president's working on driving foreign investment into the United States, just from a marketing perspective and from a national interest perspective? Well, it's very important and it's important that I'll touch on two things. One, Washington, D.C. was meant to be imposing and intimidating to world leaders. And so as part of that, it should be beautiful. It should be big. It should be bold. It should be nice for people to go to. And that then extends to point two, which is the American people itself. This is our biggest tourist attraction, our nation's capital. There's so many monuments to see. You want them to look beautiful. You want them to be functioning and modern. I think part of the narrative, again, to Madeline's point, is as people are talking about affordability and the Trump administration is talking about the fountain, the first thing that came out was the cost overrun and how much it exceeded the budget. And so to have good answers like to those questions rather than dismissing them, but to have good answers and say, this is why we need it, this is what happened, and this is where we actually found some cost savings and push that narrative. That goes to the beautification process and the importance of this for the national psyche and just a great place to visit. I think you raise a very interesting point, Bobby. You see a lot of communist nations over the years embrace sort of that brutalist architecture instead of beautiful architecture that really dampens the human spirit. Madeline Somerville, Bobby Everly, really appreciate you both. And now that President Trump's renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has officially wrapped up, folks in Washington, D.C. have been checking out the new site. Entity Sam Wong was there to get their reaction. How are you feeling about the pool? How do you think it's looking? I think the pool is looking amazing. I think D.C. as a whole down in the mall has been cleaned up and secure and what an awesome place to visit and what an awesome place to be. I think everything looks beautiful. The water looks clear. There's lots of wildlife in there and it seems to be healthy and happy. The grounds look great, so I think everything looks awesome. First time I've been down here since they've done it, I thought it would be a lot brighter blue based on what I've seen on the news, but no, I think it's gorgeous. It's cleaned up. It looks fantastic. I like the blue color of it. It's not too mariglago blue, which is what I read on internet, but it looks nice or dark. He really loves this country and he gets derided a lot for his opinions on things and how outspoken he is, but he's done a great job. It looks fantastic. I have, I live in Arlington, but I have been coming to D.C. I lived in the Maryland area in the 70s and so it was like this in the 70s. This is the first time since the 70s they've actually done renovations and cleaned up most of the monuments. How do you think all these renovations fits into the celebration for our country this year? Well, it's perfect timing. You know, when the tourists are coming and they see it and they feel comfortable being here and they just see the gorgeous, you know, how the grandeur of everything that is the mall. I'm glad he's in office. I'm glad he's doing this work to clean things up and with this big party that we're going to be having here soon, couldn't couldn't do better. It's been awesome to see the blend of the different people, different nationalities. Everyone is enjoying the atmosphere and I think it's definitely sets a good look for our nation. When he said he's going to drain the swamp, he means it. He's draining the swamp figuratively and symbolically and if you saw what the city looked like under previous administrations, he's turned it around and hopefully that will trickle down to other cities. Well, it just doesn't stop with the July 4th event. I mean, it goes for eight years really from the beginning of the American Revolution. So, I think it plays into the history and the celebrations of the freedoms that we have. 250 years of living in a free country, what a great celebration. So, why not clean it up for the people, keep it safe for the people so they can celebrate the 250. Lincoln looking over that pond right now and I'm sure he's smiling up in heaven above saying, job well done. And breaking just moments ago, President Trump telling Fox News that 29 Tomahawk missiles striking into Iran in the latest attack, some 40 miles from Tehran. Strikes took out radar systems and air defense systems in southwest Iran, close to the Persian Gulf. The president adding that Iranian officials immediately reached out to him directly asking him to halt the strikes, confirming that the bombing will stop shortly, the president says. And he also warned that if they don't sign a deal by tomorrow night, he'll be launching an even heavier attack. And coming up, the Chinese Communist Party has set its sights on North Korea and doesn't plan on stopping there. More on how the CCP seeks to undermine the Korean Peninsula after the break. When I arrived in the U.S. at 19, I struggled to find job opportunities without a high school diploma. My name is Ariel and my entire life changed when I took a chance and I got my high school diploma at age 22. Everything I have, my education, my career, my marriage, I owe to the adult literacy center and my teachers. They were with me every step of the way, helping with my English and math, making sure I pushed through all the challenges. Your achievement has set an example for so many students, most importantly, your daughter. Education was the key that allowed all my opportunities. When you graduate, they graduate. Visit finishyourdiploma.org to find free and supportive adult education centers near you. You see certain things get reincarnated in your children. My daughter is very much inspired by my wife's artistic pursuits. So my daughter started making necklaces. She makes what we call affirmation fashion. I tell her every day that you're Black is beautiful. You're Black is beautiful. You're Black is beautiful. And if there's anything better than being beautiful, it's being smart. If there's anything better than being smart, it's being kind. And reaffirming that every day is our method of making sure her chin never drops. My dad wasn't around and I remember riding a bike and falling off and cutting myself and me never just wanting to get back on it. People ask how your children learn how to ride a bike and you did. I didn't teach them. I just created an environment where they taught themselves and all I had to do was be there. We said we'd never give into a meltdown. Babysit with a scream. We said we'd never let the toys take over. Never leave the house looking out of our sight. Cars get hot fast and kids can be at risk. Before you leave the car, always stop, look, lock. And welcome back to the Capitol Report. I'm Steve Lance, CCP regime leader Xi Jinping wrapping up his trip to North Korea for a meeting with fellow dictator Kim Jong-un. Joining us now in studio is Greg Scarlatoiu, president of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea. Greg, it's great to have you with us. So what does this meeting signify and what does the CCP ultimately hope to get out of it? A pleasure, Steve. What was quite striking about this meeting was that denuclearization was not mentioned. Seven years ago when Xi Jinping visited North Korea, he did mention denuclearization. One wonders why. Well, to China, North Korea is a thorn in the side of the United States. A nuclear North Korea is an even bigger thorn in the side of the United States. So China is quietly acquiescing to the idea of North Korea as a nuclear power. However, of course, there is no formal recognition because there is the other side of the coin. Recognition of North Korea as a nuclear power might trigger a domino effect where one might see South Korea, Japan, even Taiwan tempted to develop nuclear weapons. So China doesn't want that either. They want to walk a very fine line. What is North Korea's current capability in terms of reaching the United States with a nuclear weapon? And does it appear this meeting could be an effort for the CCP to sort of consolidate and reign in allies as President Trump strengthens ties to allies in the region like Japan? Based on what we know from open source information, it's pretty clear that North Korea has developed a three-stage ballistic missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the continent of the United States. There are questions about re-entry capabilities. It's a very unfortunate thing to say, but Anchorage, Alaska is a pretty big place. So the threat is out there. There are estimates that they have developed anywhere between 40 and 60 nuclear warheads. And they continue to develop these nuclear warheads. They may go up to 200 pretty soon. That's a nuclear arsenal on par with Great Britain and France. And Great Britain and France are currently not developing any new nuclear weapons. So this is a very significant threat. This is a growing threat. Of course, China keeps a close eye on North Korea and recent developments. They have managed to procure significant amounts of money through proliferation of instability and violence, both to Iran and to Russia. So they've proliferated weapons, munitions, tunnel technology that has been weaponized by Iran's terrorist proxies, Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen against our ally, the State of Israel. They have encircled the State of Israel with this ring of fire, terror, and violence. The North Koreans have also been exporting to the Ukrainian front KN-23, KN-24 ballistic missiles, immense huge amounts of artillery, munitions, other weapons, even special forces from the 11th Armed Corps of the Korean People's Army and the Reconnaissance General Bureau. These are guys who are jump trained, very well trained, well versed in the use of small arms, all of them compatible with what the Russian military is using. Of course, they've taken casualties. They've learned a thing or two. In particular, they've learned combined operations, how to use infantry, artillery, and drones. The main motivation behind this was money. So Kim Jong-un has been making billions. He's investing this money in the three areas that guarantee the survival of his regime, nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, and keeping the elites happy through access to hard currency and luxury goods from the outside world, imported despite applicable UN sanctions. So all over the map, this is a massive UN sanctions violator. All of this is happening with the support of two permanent members of the UN Security Council, China and Russia. Moreover, Russia is North Korea's main client right now. Craig, just to follow up to that point, you probably recall in President Trump's first term, there were a lot of fireworks, if you will, at least verbally, when it came to the United States and North Korea. A lot of back and forth, the President not happy, but it eventually turned out that there were meetings with Kim Jong-un and President Trump. Why has North Korea or the topic been so quiet over the past many years, even during the Biden administration? And do you anticipate a potential Trump-Kim meeting in this presidency? North Korea has been quiet because Kim Jong-un has been minding his own business. First of all, he's been procuring, once again, very significant amounts of money through sanctions busting, basically. Secondly, he is confident enough to proceed with internal restructuring. And this also involves the restructuring of his security agencies, which have been consolidated into a newly created agency, the State Information Bureau, the SIB. Without getting into too many details, this agency would execute a collection of very significant intelligence, counterintelligence, overseas intelligence. Kim Jong-un understands the importance of intelligence on today's battlefield and within the global order. Of course, they'll have a police agency that will conduct the usual surveillance, control, and punishment of the population. So he's been undergoing all of these changes. He's told, at least for now, the South Koreans don't bother with these ideas, unification. No, no, no. We're different Koreas. We're two different states. We're still in conflict. Don't bother us. He has been focused on all of these developments. Probably Kim Jong-un is willing to talk to President Trump again. And President Trump is dealing with a lot of very pressing issues on the foreign affairs front. Of course, needless to mention it, Iran, Ukraine, our own Western hemisphere, there are so many priorities. And I would just speculate, I've never had the privilege of asking him this question directly, of course, but probably to President Trump, North Korea is still unfinished business. So I would say that before the end of his second mandate, there may be a chance to see another summit meeting with North Korea without unreasonably high expectations. We've tried everything under both Republican and Democrat administrations. We've tried the Geneva Agreed Framework in 1994, the Six-Party Talks, strategic patience, and summit meetings. It's not on us. It's on them. The North Koreans have failed to live up to the promises, to the pledges they made through negotiated agreements. We'll see what the future holds. Greg Scarlatoiu, as always, appreciate your insights. Thank you. Pleasure's mine, Steve. And Microsoft is slashing its workforce inside of communist China, following in the footsteps of two other U.S. tech giants, Dell and IBM, also cutting ties in China last year. Find out more tonight on China In Focus with Tiffany Meyer at 9.30 p.m. Eastern. And right now, you're taking another live look at the United States Capitol, where U.S. lawmakers are investigating potential foreign donations to a major Democratic fundraising platform. More on that when we return. There's a significant concern that ActBlue may have allowed foreign donation. For the first time ever, we're bringing you my pillow mattresses and mattress toppers for as low as $99.98. Remember, sleep's all about temperature and pressure points. Whatever sleep needs you have, we have the right technology for you. Like our my pillow mattress topper, our queen size has over 10,000 individual comfort supports to help relieve your pressure points. And how about our three-inch hybrid plus mattress topper? It's infused with copper and silver to help your body get the restorative sleep it needs. And our my pillow and case coil mattresses, I personally helped develop these mattresses to make sure they have everything needed to give us great sleep. 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NTD's Washington correspondent, Jack Bradley, has the details. You have your doctorates, and you are asserting that it is possible for a person to change his or her gender to the opposite gender. I find that appalling. Lawmakers on the Education and Workforce Committee exposing transgender policies in public schools and whether parents are being kept informed when their children adopt different names, pronouns, or gender at school. Republicans on the committee arguing schools are increasingly putting ideology ahead of education, while Democrats and those school superintendents present at the committee say that they create an inclusive environment. Promoting an environment of equity and decency is where everyone is expected and treated with dignity and harms no one. Even if that means exposing children to gender ideology, that's frankly very new to the school systems, especially at young ages. Is it appropriate for biological boys to sleep in the same room as biological girls? That would be considered on a case-by-case basis. It's appropriate and lawful for transgender students to be able to be treated as their consistently identified gender. Do you believe that biological men should be allowed in locker rooms with biologic women? Transgender women should be allowed in women's spaces. Ah, that's a yes. And teaching curriculum like Drag Queen Story Hour, in which a man dresses up as a drag queen and reads stories to children. At what age do you think students should be exposed to Drag Queen Story Hour? I am really proud to be the superintendent of San Francisco Unified School District. At what age are students prepared for Drag Queen Story Hour? Well, we welcome all 49,000 students as they are. We support our students. We work really hard. At what age do you think it's appropriate for Drag Queen Story Hour for your students? We follow state and federal laws. Republicans also raised concerns about teachers being pressured to use their students' preferred pronouns and other gender ideology or face retribution. Radical gender policies can force teachers to violate their conscience and deny their faith in order to keep their job. The larger issue here is whether schools are replacing parents as the primary decision makers in their children's lives. Jack Bradley, NTD News, Washington. And also on the Hill, Congress questioning the ActBlue CEO over allegations of allowing foreign donations on their platform. NTD correspondent Jason Blair has more. There's a significant concern that ActBlue may have allowed foreign donations on their platform, lied to Congress, and withheld responsive documents from a congressional subpoena. The House Administration Committee questioned ActBlue CEO Regina Wallace-Jones today over allegations the platform allowed foreign donations, misled Congress, and lowered its ActBlue is a fundraising platform primarily used by Democrat candidates and liberal causes. The hearing is a continuation of an investigation started a few years ago. In 2023, I opened an investigation into ActBlue, following reports that foreign actors were exploiting the platform. Stiles says that ActBlue told Congress it had three key safeguards to block foreign donations. The New York Times reported that ActBlue's outside counsel determined those three steps are not always followed. ActBlue board member Kimberly Peeler-Allen admitted up to, quote, 38 million in ActBlue contributions in 2024 had signs of a foreign origin. Throughout the hearing, Wallace-Jones invoked her Fifth Amendment rights, declining to answer questions about foreign donations, fraud prevention, and internal policy changes. How much money did ActBlue accept from Russia? On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer the question. Pursuant to my Fifth Amendment rights under the Constitution. Democrats argued that Republicans should also investigate WinRed, the main fundraising platform for Republican and conservative campaigns. If the committee wants a real investigation into campaign fundraising practices, let's examine everyone and let's follow the facts where they lead. Rep. Barry Loudermilk tells Wallace-Jones he's surprised that none of the Democrat members addressed any of the allegations against ActBlue. If I was you, I'd be a little offended because not single one of them has come to your defense. Every one of them have deflected to something else. Committee chairman Brian Stile noted that Wallace-Jones originally agreed to appear voluntarily, but her attorneys later requested a subpoena. Reporting in Washington, D.C., Jason Blair, NTD News. And that is all we have for you tonight on the Capitol Report. I'm Steve Lance. Have a nice evening. See you back here tomorrow.