NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (Sept. 20)

Welcome to NTD Evening News. I'm your host, Chris Beers. Our top story, the United States and China holding key meetings this week. High-level US-China talks underway in New York City today. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant and Chinese Vice Premier Hou Lifeng are tackling tariffs, artificial intelligence, and rare earth minerals. And later this week, President Trump and Chinese regime leader Xi Jinping are set to meet in Washington amid tensions ranging from trade to AI to the Taiwan Strait. We look ahead to that meeting with our guest. A rally in the cradle of American democracy celebrates over 460 million Chinese quitting the Communist Party and its affiliates. Rally goers told NTD why it's powerful when people under totalitarian regime choose to say no. President Trump unveils a new AI force and plans to appoint an AI czar. The announcement comes as Google reveals its Gemini system access protected networks belonging to three real companies during a cybersecurity test. The Trump administration takes its pressure campaign against Iran to the United Nations. Ambassador Mike Waltz says the strategy is cutting off Tehran's oil revenue while keeping oil from America's Gulf allies moving to global markets. A major drone strike hitting Moscow on Russia's election day. This has new American sanctions on the Kremlin are now in effect. Jason Perry with the update. And a new cat species has been identified in Bolivia. It's smaller than most house cats with the name Tiger Cat. This is NTD Evening News, live from our global headquarters in New York City. Good evening, and thank you for joining us tonight. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant and Chinese Vice Premier Hou Lifang are meeting in New York trying to clear a path for this week's high stakes summit between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Besant says the discussions will lay the groundwork for President Trump to advance American economic interests. The two sides are discussing tariffs, artificial intelligence, and China's supply of rare earth minerals used in everything from cars to advanced weapons. The current trade truce expires November 10th. Washington is also pushing Beijing to purchase more American farm products and aircraft. Meanwhile, in a post on X, Besant highlighted Saudi Arabia's withdrawal from a China-led digital payment project. The kingdom has withdrawn from Enbridge, a China-led digital payment platform designed to move money across borders without relying on the United States, the U.S. dollar, or the SWIFT banking network. Saudi Arabia's central bank says it completed its test of the system last year and is no longer an active participant. The exit removes a major U.S. ally from a project Washington has viewed as a possible tool for bypassing American sanctions. President Trump is creating a new AI force as Washington debates how to oversee rapidly advancing artificial intelligence. The president says he will appoint an AI czar to lead the effort, comparing it to the creation of the space force. White House science and technology policy director Michael Krasios told Fox News the thinking behind the move. The key, I think, thing that he's describing is how important it is that we as an administration coordinate in order to make sure that this great technological innovation that's transforming the country, that's driving economic growth, continues to do so. And these implications of AI spread across so many different agencies. So to be able to have someone at the White House to be able to work on all those issues across the agencies is really critical. The president has not yet named the czar or said how the force will operate. Krasios says the administration favors rules tailored to specific industries. Self-driving cars, medical technology and commercial drones, for example, already fall under different federal agencies. He argues that one sweeping set of regulations could slow American development and give China an advantage. But the announcement comes as a cybersecurity test shows how difficult advanced AI can be to contain. Google's Gemini accessed protected systems belonging to three real companies during an exercise in May. The AI was supposed to attack fictitional targets, but was mistakenly connected to the open Internet. It guessed one password and found credentials for two other systems in public databases. Google says Gemini stopped after recognizing the companies were outside the test. No damage was reported. The companies were notified and testing procedures were changed. The incident comes as industry leaders debate whether Washington needs new rules. Speaking at Salesforce's Dreamforce conference in San Francisco, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang said companies already have the tools and the responsibility to keep unsafe products off the market. Well, safety is paramount. In a lot of ways, it's job one. However, safety is an engineering problem. If you build a product or a service and you're not confident in its functionality, capability or safety, then don't release it. The market forces are already there. We don't need any new laws. We don't need new regulations. Huang's position closely mirrors the Trump administration's approach. The president says existing criminal and civil laws can address AI misuse without slowing an industry he calls vital to America's race against China. The Trump administration is taking its pressure campaign against Iran to the United Nations ahead of this week's General Assembly. U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz warned that countries helping Tehran evade sanctions could face penalties of their own. He says the strategy is cutting off Iran's oil revenue without stopping oil from America's Gulf allies. The blockade is in place. You just heard the CENTCOM commander, Admiral Bradley Cooper, announce a milestone of over a billion barrels of oil have been escorted by our great U.S. Navy from our Gulf allies out to global markets, but not a drop of Iranian oil is coming out. And we're seeing the results of Operation Economic Outcast, led by Scott Vessant, our treasury secretary. The Iranian rial, their currency, just tanked below two million rials to the dollar. Inflation is spiking. Their foreign currency reserves are down and they are not getting revenue. Waltz says the pressure will remain in place until Iran abandons any pursuit of a nuclear weapon or returns to the negotiating table in good faith. His warning comes as nearly 130 world leaders gather in New York with the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine expected to dominate this week's General Assembly. The United States is set to begin expanding its military presence in Greenland under a new security agreement involving Washington, Denmark and the Self-Governed Territory. The United States will soon start the process of That's according to Donald Trump as he announced a deal with the island and Denmark. That was in a Trump Truth Social post. Trump says the process of building a large military presence in an appropriate part of the Self-Governed Danish Territory will begin immediately. A State Department official speaking anonymously said the deal prohibits non-NATO countries from building a base in Greenland and will allow only the U.S. and its allies to make unspecified, sensitive investments. I'll let the details be announced by the President, Secretary Rubio. What I can say is the Arctic is something that the President has been focused on as part of protecting the United States. People should understand that if we're ever attacked by any type of intercontinental missiles, they'll come over the Arctic. Our radars, our sensors are incredibly important up there. They need to be defended. We need to have full access. Yeah, I heard the U.S. President yesterday. The Danish Prime Minister's office has said the agreement will strengthen North Atlantic and Arctic security. Greenland's Prime Minister said it recognized Greenland's interests and its place in international cooperation, adding, this benefits us all. Now President Trump has an icebreaker deal in place with Finland. He has the spending that he's driving coming out of NATO. And we'll now have the full access and basing that we need for Iron Dome, access to critical minerals, access to the energy reserves that are up there. And importantly, we're starting to see shipping flow through as the ice retreats. We're starting to see shipping bypass checkpoints or global choke points like the Suez Canal, Panama Canal, Straits of Hormuz, and go over the top through the Arctic. So it's incredibly important. The President's been focused on it. And there's also plenty that remains unclear. That includes the degree of U.S. military presence and whether any new U.S. bases would be constructed. The island currently hosts a Space Force base in its remote northwest. Another key detail could be whether any formal power over foreign policy and resources would be ceded to Washington. Denmark and Greenland have said the deal would not compromise sovereignty. Joining me now to discuss the security agreement announced by the United States, Denmark and Greenland is NTD's senior geopolitical analyst, Lieutenant Colonel Darren Gobb. Welcome back, Darren. It's always good to see you. Before we get into Greenland, though. Yeah, before we get into Greenland, the State Department warning this weekend, just this weekend, of a possible escalation in the Iran war, saying U.S. citizens should leave Iran now. What is your read on the situation in the Middle East? Yeah, Chris, good to see you. I'm not surprised by this. Basically, what is happening is you've got an Iran that has two choices. As they continue to collapse slowly financially with the interest rates, as have been highlighted, and inflation, and you name it, all of that's in effect right now. So the two directions Iran can go is, is it possible for them to slowly collapse financially and fade away as a dictatorship and have their own people take back over and build them back to what they could be? Or if they see that coming and choose to, they could just lash out violently against their neighbors, their own people again. And that's kind of the worst case scenario. And that is some of the intelligence that they're going to be getting is, where do they think Iran's going right now? And there's a very good chance that they're going to lash out against their neighbors as they already have been in some minor ways, but regardless, they're doing it. And that's Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and others. And so I don't think anybody would be surprised if Iran decided to go, just start actually lashing out against all of those Gulf Cooperation Council nations while potentially activating more and more of either sleeper cells elsewhere around the world, and maximizing what they can get out of the Houthi rebels while they still essentially exist as a viable entity. Well, we will definitely be following carefully this rapidly changing situation. But coming back to the U.S.-Denmark-Greenland deal, what does the U.S. gain in this deal? And how significant is it for U.S. national security? We gain a lot, and it is very significant to our national security. And here's the reason why. One of them, Greenland is a massive piece of geography and airspace that can provide us with early warning for not only ballistic missiles, but it provides that security oversight of the essential traffic across the North Pole and the polar regions where things are moving again now, as you heard Ambassador Waltz talk about how that is significant. But the key is that as you build this out, whatever the military presence there looks like, when you provide early warning assets as well as intelligence collection assets there, then you've denied that geographical region and airspace to those who would seek to take advantage of Greenland and us. China and Russia come to mind, of course, first. And then you might not need to put much there to do so. And that's what's really important here too, is not that we're going to occupy Greenland with a significant number of forces. The real advantage is in our ability to deny access to Greenland to China and Russia and those who might seek to gain influence there and then access the Western Hemisphere and try to control the North Pole regions as a result. And can you expand on that, Colonel? Explain the importance of Greenland and the Arctic for the United States strategically. Well, first of all, most of the time when you're dealing with intercontinental ballistic missiles, regardless of where they come from, they don't go east and west around the world. They go over the polar regions. And the same is also true for your long-range bombers and things like that, in case someone decides to do something like that. That is something we need to continuously monitor and keep an eye on, just like we do from Alaska. But also, critical trade and shipping routes open up throughout the North Pole region with critical minerals moving, for example, and other things. And it's basically just a trade and access lane, to keep it simple, throughout the North Pole that may not have existed as much before. And so that's why it's become competitive now. And by our being located in Alaska, of course, and now having some security guarantees with Greenland through Denmark, that gives us continuous access and constant oversight of some very critical trade routes that are going to stay that way for as long as those shipping routes are open. Now, Darren, there was a significant conflict in the news, on the airwaves, about over Greenland with Trump making claims that he wants to take over Greenland. What does this deal tell us about the state of U.S. relations with our allies across the Atlantic? Well, one thing it often tells you is that the initial headlines, though, sometimes are shocking and may be getting attention. The real work's being done behind the scenes. And when something goes quiet for a while, that's usually when you should keep a closer eye on things, because there's something that's likely getting worked on that has a greater chance of success than just the initial headline-making statements, regardless of where they come from or how effective they might be. And so that means, and in this case, it also means our relationship, one, with NATO looks pretty good from this regard. And also the continuing relationship with Greenland itself and Denmark. This is ultimately a good thing, because we're not, the whole discussion about us taking over Greenland was never realistic. And that was just something we weren't going to do, and the media may have spun it out of control. But in the end, what we have here in front of us is probably 90% or more of what we really wanted in the first place was the ability to deny things to people who might choose to use them against us. We don't have to occupy it. We just want to make sure that the people who are out to come after the United States economically or otherwise don't have access to it and use it against them. Yep, and that's a good thing for American citizens. NTD's Senior Geopolitical Analyst, Colonel Darren Gobb, thank you for joining us. Thanks for having me. Next, a major drone strike hitting Moscow on Russia's election day. This has new American sanctions on the Kremlin are now in effect. Jason Perry with the update. And data centers are becoming critical infrastructure for artificial intelligence as development accelerates. Residents want closer scrutiny. We will have more on that when we come back. Hi, I'm pulmonologist Dr. Jamie Rowland. Did you know we take 20,000 breaths a day? And when we inhale, we invite all the contaminants in the room into our airways? Indoor air quality can be five to even 100 times worse than outdoors. Meet the Air Doctor. 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The foods that strengthen your immune system, the exercises that keep you moving, the mindfulness practices that calm your mind. Plus expert advice from doctors and health leaders you can trust. This isn't just another health show. It's real insight designed to keep you informed, inspired and in motion. So whether you're starting your day with focus or winding down with balance, Vital Signs brings health and vitality straight into your living room. Welcome back. The rapid growth of artificial intelligence is creating new demand for data centers across California. Silicon Valley is positioning itself as a global hub for AI infrastructure, but officials, industry representatives and residents are debating how to balance economic growth with concerns about power, water and the environment. Silicon Valley is at the center of the artificial intelligence boom, driving a rapid expansion of data centers across the region. San Jose, the largest city in Silicon Valley, is embracing that growth. Last year, city leaders announced an agreement with utility company PG&E aimed at speeding up power connections for large energy users, including data centers. The city says each new facility could generate between $3 million and $6 million in tax revenue every year, money that could help pay for police and fire services, libraries, roads and parks. But the growth is also facing pushback from some residents and environmental groups. More applications just within my school district that will impact my families and my students and my schools out in South San Jose. So I'm afraid that developing this rapidly without proper due diligence is going to set us up for a public health crisis. The debate in San Jose reflects a larger challenge facing California. Lawmakers in Sacramento have advanced legislation that would increase transparency around resource use and address how large technology companies contribute to the costs of the electric grid. Governor Gavin Newsom is reviewing the measures. People are right to question, is this pushing up my energy costs? Is it using our clean water supplies? Will it degrade quality of life in my city? These are very fair questions, and it's our responsibility to create a regulatory environment, a set of strict standards that all new data centers must adhere to, to give people confidence that they'll be done right. At the same time, industry groups are pushing for policies that would maintain investment and competitiveness. For California, the question is how to support the rapid growth of AI infrastructure while managing its impact on communities and the state's resources. Next, officials in Moscow say Ukraine launched a massive drone attack on the city during Russia's elections. This comes as Russia faces new sanctions after President Trump signed the Lindsey Graham bill into law. NTD's Jason Perry has the latest. Apartment buildings seemed damaged and covered in smoke in the Moscow region on Sunday. The mayor of Moscow calls it the biggest ever drone attack on the Russian capital, and two people were reportedly killed in another Ukrainian drone attack, also in the Moscow region. Emergency crews were seen responding to the impact sites. A local resident says he had just left the apartment building when the explosion happened. Glass went flying. People started screaming and shouting. I turned around and the entrance doors had already been blown out, debris everywhere. They had already carried someone out. Everyone was asking for help. A drone strike also hitting an oil refinery in Moscow on Sunday, as plumes of smoke were seen rising from the area. Moscow's mayor said Ukraine's drone attacks were a, quote, unsuccessful attempt to disrupt the final day of Russia's parliamentary election, as people in Russia were seen voting on the same day. Russian citizens abroad also participating in the elections, including this group in Germany. So many Russians from many different cities living here or elsewhere in Europe oppose Putin and the war, and that the people working there, they do not represent us. We didn't vote for them, and we are voting against them. President Trump on Friday signed a Lindsey Graham sanctions bill into law, which is aimed at cutting off funds for Moscow in the Ukraine war, and also directs President Trump to impose up to 100 percent tariffs on the top five importers of Russian oil or natural gas, with India and China among the biggest buyers of Russian oil. The Kremlin previously said further U.S. sanctions against Russia would make it harder to reach a peace deal in Ukraine. Jason Perry, NTV News. French President Emmanuel Macron said G7 countries will meet in the coming weeks to discuss releasing oil from strategic reserves. He hopes to bring down European energy prices. No one here is unaware of the hardships faced by so many of our fellow citizens and families in recent weeks, as fuel prices have risen sharply. Pump prices have reached historic levels, causing considerable hardship and exacerbating purchasing power issues. Concerns are growing regarding gas prices and the overall energy situation. The region's benchmark for diesel fuel moved above $200 per barrel last week, with taxes added. It retails for more than $300 a barrel. In March, the International Energy Agency agreed to release 400 million barrels. The emergency oil release was the largest the organization has ever agreed to do. The agency coordinates energy cooperation between 32 countries, including the U.S. Macron also said France is doing everything possible to reopen the Strait of Hormuz peacefully, and mentioned Russian attacks that came close to other European countries. He said France is creating more safeguards in case Russian actions threaten his country. Coming up, President Trump is scheduled to meet Chinese regime leader Xi Jinping this week amid a variety of tensions from trade to AI to the Taiwan Strait. We'll break it all down with our guest. And Hong Kong pro-democracy advocate Jimmy Lai remains in prison. With Xi Jinping's visit to Washington just days away, Lai's son has made a direct appeal to China's leader. Stay tuned. That first time seeing my son, I feel like my life did a 180. I was already trying to change my perspective of life and really just be a father figure that I never had. Being present is the most important part. I'm still growing every day, becoming a better version of myself, to be the better mirror for my son. I mean, he's just growing. He's becoming his own person. Man, first I saw him dance. Bro, he brings the vibes, you know what I'm saying? He brings the party no matter what. He's really a definition of why he loves the body. And I love him to the death of me. 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We get along well. We're doing very well with China. I would say others maybe not so well, but we're doing very well with China. President Xi and I have a good relationship. OpenAI's Sam Altman and Qualcomm's Christiana Ahn confirmed they will attend the state dinner. NVIDIA's Jensen Huang and Apple executive chair of the board Tim Cook are likely to join. Xi is expected to bring a large Chinese business delegation. The two sides are still working on the details. At the Washington summit, trade will be a major test. Following their May summit in Beijing, China pledged to buy 200 Boeing jets and at least $17 billion annually in U.S. farm products. Those commitments remain under negotiation. Another key issue is the tariff truce set to expire in November. We're going to have some pretty important meetings. You know, China's paying us a lot of tariffs. And you remember I had it up to 145 percent at one point, but it was too much. It was really hurting them badly. Rare earth exports, U.S. technology controls, artificial intelligence safety governance, and global hot spots are also expected to be on the agenda. Moreover, it is very likely that China will raise the issue of Taiwan, what Beijing calls one of its core interests. The outcome could shape the next round of the two leaders' talks at November's APEC meeting in Shenzhen and December's G20 summit in Miami. Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takeichi will spend four days in the United States to attend the United Nations General Assembly. She is expected to meet with President Trump ahead of the Trump Xi summit. Joining us now to discuss the upcoming meeting between President Trump and Chinese regime leader Xi Jinping is retired Marine Corps colonel and former U.S. diplomat Grant Newsham. He's also a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy and author of When China Attacks. Grant, welcome to the show. Good to see you. Give us the lay of the land of U.S.-China relations going into this meeting. Well, it's going to happen this week, and I think what's going to happen is they're going to talk about trade. That's one that I think that both countries have a real interest in. The Chinese don't want us to keep tariffing them, and we want the Chinese to actually unleash or start selling us more rare earth minerals on which so much of our industry depends. You might have the currency rates talked about as well. The Chinese currency is said to be too strong, and thus that makes it easier, excuse me, it's too weak, and thus it makes it easier for them to export and put other foreign countries out of business. AI might come up. Taiwan's probably going to come up as well. But ultimately, it's as if the president and Xi Jinping are sort of sizing each other up to see who makes a mistake, who shows some weakness, who shows a willingness to compromise. One can be properly skeptical that either side's going to sort of mess up. And you mentioned Taiwan. A key question overshadowing this meeting, Grant, is President Trump's stance toward Taiwan. He's withholding right now a $14 billion arms sale to the island nation and has suggested it could be a good bargaining chip with China. What is your view of his choice? Well, I wouldn't read too much into what President Trump has said about the arms sale and maybe using it as a bargaining chip. I think he understands and his staff certainly understands the importance of a solid position on Taiwan. And I don't think he's going to cut some sort of a so-called grand bargain with Xi Jinping, basically selling out Taiwan in exchange for trade concessions or what have you. But you do have to be very careful that the president doesn't say something that suggests that there's a weakening in U.S. commitment to Taiwan, or that could be interpreted that way. If he does, the Taiwanese are going to be disappointed. A lot of other people will as well. The Chinese would be delighted. So he has to be very careful about how he talks about Taiwan and that he does not suggest that there's any sort of room for maneuver or any sort of possible concession on U.S. support for Taiwan. All right. And you also mentioned AI. Just in recent days, U.S. tech leaders called for slowing AI development over safety concerns, while China is a bit more bullish on AI. Here's House Speaker Mike Johnson weighing in on that. I think you need independent auditors. I think you need transparency from the people who are developing this. I think there's some really important ideas that can be guardrails. But we've got to make sure this is done in the right way so we don't lose America's advantage in the development of AI. We do not need China or some other country to overlap us because that would be dangerous. And that's what you're seeing. Grant, how do you think President Trump will approach AI in his talks with Xi? I think he's going to see what Xi Jinping has to say about it. I don't think the president is going to do anything that puts America at a disadvantage when it comes to AI. And when it comes to the idea of reaching some sort of agreement on guardrails, so-called with the Chinese, well, look at every other agreement the Chinese have ever reached. They never follow that. And I would note that China's spy chief, very recently, he really said that China needs to go all out with AI. He described it as not just a scientific or technological competition, but as a strategic fight with the American. So China is not going to slow down. They're looking for us to do something that puts us at a disadvantage. Yes, reasonable precautions are necessary. But the idea that somehow if we hold off, China's going to hold off too. That's not going to happen. The Chinese always tell you what they're going to do. And as I said, the spy chief's words the other day, that tells you everything. For them, it's all full speed ahead, all out on AI development. And President Trump just signed a new Russian sanctions law that gives him authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on major buyers of Russian oil, which of course includes China. So how does that change the dynamics going into this summit, that new power? Well, it gives the Americans some leverage. The Chinese do have a lot of trouble, one with, just with all getting oil, but that's another question here. The only bright spot in the Chinese economy is their export, their ability to move products overseas and to earn convertible currency, like real money. And that is the only bright spot. And it also keeps a lot of people employed, it keeps their factories operating. So tariffs are something that's really frightening them. And the idea that not just the oil tariffs over oil, but also on other products might be forthcoming. That's something that Xi Jinping doesn't want. And it does give the president some leverage. What the Chinese would like to have is that whatever, the things stay as they are, for the rest of the Trump term. But if tariffs go up, China is not going to like it. It does hurt. And of course, China does have leverage of the United States in terms of the supply of critical minerals controlling the vast majority, some say up to 98% of the processing capacity of those critical minerals necessary to develop things like AI, smartphones, data centers, what have you. So how do you think that will factor in here? Because that's a bargaining chip that Xi has at his disposal. Well, it's a huge bargaining chip. And you'll recall the beginning of the Trump administration, when the president was really getting tough on China, that for the first time, the Chinese played the rare earth card. And they said, not so fast. And what you had was within a couple of weeks, US businesses started coming into the White House saying, if this continues, we're going to have to stop production. So this put the president in a very bad position. It stopped his efforts, made him go back a bit. The Chinese have since promised to send more rare earths our way more easily to US companies. But they haven't fully lived up to that. They haven't really lived up to it. American businesses are still managing to get by as things stand, but it is a very delicate situation. And the Chinese do have a very good card to play. At the same time are the tear-ups and sanctions and export controls in both directions. Those give us a lot to work with as well. One way to look at this is sort of two people, each has a hand on the other side's throat, and which one can squeeze harder and which one can last longer. So both sides do have cards to play. The Chinese have threatened that they will even tighten up the rare earth exports and the things they let the Americans have. So this is something that is contentious. It remains to be seen how it's going to turn out. But both sides do have something to work with here. It's pretty important for the development of AI, which is on everyone's mind right now. I want to talk about something a little bit tangential to this upcoming meeting. Miles Yu, the Senior Fellow and Director of the China Center at the Hudson Institute, he argued this week that the U.S. should prepare for the possibility of a sudden collapse of the Chinese Communist Party. How likely do you think such a collapse actually is and what dangers would it pose? Why should we prepare? Well, first I would say Miles Yu is excellent. He was in the first Trump administration and he was responsible for much of the good work that the administration did towards China. He is correct that these sorts of regimes, like the Chinese communist ones, are very brittle. Actually, they're illegitimate regimes. They don't rule as a result of popular approval, popular consent, but rather they're in power by the use of force, the threatened use of force and the willingness to murder people. So as I said, there's a brittleness to them as well. The Chinese economy is in bad shape now. So it is always possible that it could collapse and more quickly than one thinks. You saw that happen when the Soviet Union and the Eastern European communist countries, they just collapsed far faster than anyone expected, certainly far faster than the CIA possibly imagined. But it did happen and no one saw it. And there's no reason the Chinese Communist Party can't have the same sort of outcome in a way no one quite expects. At the same time, you don't want to count on it. You have to assume that it's going to be in power for a good long while, perhaps, and before we'd be glad if it isn't. But you have to really take it as the threat that it is. But it is good to think about what you would do if the Communist system collapsed. What would you do with the global manufacturing that we rely on now? How about the Chinese nuclear weapons, the humanitarian aspects of all of this? Good to think about. It's also good to remind people in America, the free world, and even in China as well, that communist regimes often are not as strong as they seem. They do have shaky underpinnings and sometimes they do disappear faster than one might think. And it just requires some chain of events or some big event to really get people angry enough that they're not afraid of getting shot and to bring down a regime which, as I said, has no legitimacy. And what kind of breaking news that would be to watch the Chinese regime fall. We will definitely be covering that one. China expert Grant Newsham, thank you so much for your time today. I'm glad to be here. Thank you. Trade and tech are dominating the Trump-Xi summit in Washington. Beijing has made it clear that Taiwan remains at the core of its red lines. Both Beijing and Taipei are watching closely for what Trump says and what he does not say about the island. For Beijing, Taiwan remains a core issue in the US-China relationship. Beijing claims Taiwan as its own even though it has never ruled the democratically governed island. The communist regime has repeatedly opposed US arms sales to Taiwan. During their May summit in Beijing, communist leader Xi Jinping said to President Trump that if the US handles Taiwan, quote, poorly, it could push their bilateral ties to a dangerous place. Washington's longstanding policy, however, remains unchanged. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after the May summit that the United States opposes any change to the Taiwan Strait status quo by force or coercion. Now there's a new point of uncertainty. Reuters reports that Asian allies are increasingly concerned that Washington could soften its position on Taiwan in exchange for economic gains from Beijing. Officials in Tokyo and Taipei are concerned that any signal that Trump sends on a potential softening could embolden Beijing. Don't forget, Beijing claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own and it has never ruled out using force to bring Taiwan back fully under its own control. And that's the concern. Taipei is watching closely. President Lai Ching-te has repeatedly called for maintaining the status quo and strengthening Taiwan's defenses. Jimmy Lai's imprisonment is back in the spotlight in Washington. The son of the Hong Kong pro democracy media mogul is urging Chinese leader Xi Jinping to release his father before Xi's planned meeting with President Trump on Thursday. Here's more. Sebastian Lai made his appeal Wednesday on Capitol Hill. He urged the Chinese regime leader to release his father, Jimmy Lai. A week from now, President Xi will be a guest in this city. Our appeal to him is simple. My father poses no threat because for Xi Jinping, it's a phone call away. There's a 78-year-old man on a plane and he's back home with his family. Jimmy Lai is a Hong Kong media publisher and pro-democracy advocate. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison in February after being convicted under Hong Kong's national security law. Given Lai's age, that would effectively be a life sentence. I'm incredibly concerned about his health. Given that he's been kept in solitary the whole time, that has very real, obviously the idea is to break you mentally, so it's very real mental health concerns, but also very real physical health concerns as well. His supporters say the case raises serious concerns over human rights, press freedom and democracy in Hong Kong. His imprisonment makes him a symbol of injustice. His death in prison would be a disgrace. The United States has also continued to press the case. President Trump said in May that he discussed Jimmy Lai with Xi Jinping during his visit to Beijing, but called Lai's release a difficult issue for Xi. On Wednesday, members of Congress again called for Lai's release at a hearing focused on his case. Jimmy Lai is not being imprisoned because he committed any act of violence. Rather, Jimmy Lai used his voice, his newspaper and his public platform to support freedom and democracy. Representative Chris Smith and Senator Dan Sullivan introduced a bipartisan bill that same day. It would hold those responsible accountable for abuses against Hong Kong political prisoners, including Jimmy Lai. Lawmakers are also urging President Trump to raise Lai's case again at the upcoming summit with Xi. For Lai's family, the issue goes beyond one prisoner. You have in him a reminder that freedom dies with the last person that's willing to defend it. My father's story is a man who at all crossroads took the right turn. A rally in Philadelphia on Saturday showed support for a grassroots movement sweeping China. In it, over 460 million Chinese people have quit the Chinese Communist Party and its affiliated organizations. The celebration comes days ahead of Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to the White House. Here's more. Christine Flowers, an immigration lawyer and one of the speakers of the rally, told NTD that the quitting CCP movement is powerful. It is powerful when people who have been raised in a totalitarian regime with no other options have the courage dig down into their souls and say, I can't support this any longer, and they walk away. She noted, when people inside China quit the Communist Party and its affiliates, it's a much more powerful message. In communist China, these individuals have had to bear the suffering of dehumanization for so many generations. And for them to stand up and have the courage to say, no more, it's powerful. And it's a message for those of us who have not grown up in that kind of an environment. And it tells us that we too can push back if we find that there are things that our own government is doing that we don't support. One of the speakers of the rally also highlighted Beijing's brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, including forced organ harvesting. Forced organ harvesting is the killing of innocent people for their organs. In China, prisoners of conscience make up the victim pool, with Falun Gong practitioners being the largest group of victims, as well as Uyghurs, the Muslim minority, Tibetans, house Christians, and others. It's terrible. I am from Venezuela, so I understand what communism is, how it can destroy families and a way of life in our countries. So that's why we all have to find a way of better living in other places in the world. That really saddens my heart, because we are here, we're supposed to be treating people like humans, okay? And I believe that taking away people's organs should absolutely be illegal. It should be banned. She hopes the quitting CCP movement can gain more traction and support. We need everybody to support this. Not just us, but the whole entire world needs to support this. They need to be aware of what's going on. Christine Flowers said she's troubled by President Trump's meeting with Xi. But how do you deal with the president of a country that talks about a free market system when they don't understand what the word free means? She hopes human rights issues can be brought up during the Trump-Xi meeting. That includes the persecution of Falun Gong, Christians, and political dissidents. Money is not as important as human rights, and I hope that he will send that message. Pennsylvania State Rep. Mary Isaacson and Philadelphia City Council sent proclamations to support the movement, applauding the courage of those who have quit the party to bring about a new age of consciousness in China. Coming up, a new cat species has been identified in Bolivia. It's smaller than most house cats, with a big name, Tiger Cat. And a look inside the Moon Festival in New York, where food, lanterns, and traditional performances fill the Hudson Valley. We will have more on that. Stay tuned. On streets across America, homeless young people are cold, abused, in danger. Covenant House is helping young people with nowhere else to turn. Please call or go online now with your gift of $19 a month. You'll help provide hot meals, safe shelter, medical care, and love. Call or go online now. We'll send you this comforting blanket as a reminder of the difference you're making in a young person's life. Call or go online now to safeplacetosleep.org. Looking for a healthy and smooth-tasting brew? 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Your coverage will never go down. And rates start as low as $5 a week. Your coverage begins as soon as your application is received. Don't wait until it's too late. Call right now. Call 800-813-4551. That's 800-813-4551. Even the mighty might not see it coming. It's prediabetes, and it captures one in three adults. But you can escape. Take the one-minute prediabetes risk test at doihaveprediabetes.org. Be your own hero. Welcome back. The first day of fall is just around the corner, and with it comes the traditional harvest season, of course. In New York, one festival combines food, performances, and centuries-old Asian traditions to mark the occasion. NTD's Nigu Bhani was there. I'm here in Port Jervis, New York, at the annual Moon Festival. And what has started as a celebration of a centuries-old tradition has turned into a major gathering here in the Hudson Valley. And as you can see, as this drone takes off, you can see just the scale of this event as families, food, and culture come together to celebrate. 15,000 people expected to be in attendance across the weekend, with more than 200 vendors serving up everything from mooncakes and barbecue to handmade goods and plenty of activities for the kids. I've been coming to the Moon Festival for like three years in a row, and I think I enjoy it every time because there's like always a lot of good food. Oh, I've tried things I would never try elsewhere, you know, so it's great to just come here and experiment. It's all good. I haven't tried anything I don't like so far. But it's about more than what's on the menu. The Moon Festival is a major harvest celebration in Asian culture, centering around family and togetherness. One of its most recognizable traditions are these colorful lanterns lining the festival grounds. Here in the Hudson Valley, organizers wanted to bring these traditions to the community. There's been a lot of Chinese immigrants moving to the Orange County area, and one of the head organizers wanted to give back and wanted to share a very important Asian holiday. And this is probably the second biggest holiday in Asia, and it's sort of like an American Thanksgiving. So you eat a lot of food, you invite your friends, you invite your family, and you have a great time, and you really celebrate the blessings of life. For those of Asian background, the festival brings a touch of home. It definitely is a very good idea for people to share the same culture background together and share the, you know, delicious food from where we came from. And yeah, it's definitely a good opportunity, especially for my kids, you know, let her experience something. It is definitely nice to see, especially so far away from the central hubs like New York City. And for others, organizers hope it's a chance to connect with a different culture. I just hope they're touched, that they can connect somehow with Asian culture. For me, I'm obviously, I'm American, but you know, I love Chinese culture. I think just getting to be a part of it and getting to experience all the different like cultures and like getting to experience all the talents. So there's so many talents here, music, dance, all the things. And just being able to see it, it's so fun and exciting. And those talents took many forms, from the pounding of traditional drums to the grace of traditional clothing. Nikubani, NTD News, New York. Next, a tiny wildcat in Bolivia is making scientific history. Researchers have identified it as a previously unknown species, the first living cat species formally named and described in more than a century. A tiny wildcat is making a big mark on science. Scientists have identified a new species of wildcat in Bolivia. The animal lives in the Yangas forest, a lush mountainous region often covered in clouds. Local communities call it tilkiu. The cat belongs to a group known as tiger cats, which are found across much of South America. It is about 18 inches long and weighs roughly three pounds, smaller than the average house cat. Researchers use genetic data to confirm that tilkiu is a distinct species. They named it Leopardus tilkiu, keeping its local name. Little is known about its behavior so far. Rodent remains found in scats suggest they may be part of its diet. And camera traps indicate the cat may be more active at night. The discovery marks the first time in more than a century that a new living cat species has been formally named and described. That is all for today's news. For round-the-clock original coverage, visit us at ntd.com or download our NTD app. Thank you so much for tuning in. I'm Chris Beers. Have a good night.