Capitol Report Full Broadcast (Nov. 6)

Good evening. Tonight on Capitol Report, President Trump touts the latest jobs report, why officials say it beat expectations, and what it means for your wallet. Most incredible job numbers. They came out many times higher than anticipated. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis urging Republicans to fill judicial vacancies before Democrats take control of both chambers in Congress. Is it possible and what it could mean for the courts nationwide? A Hong Kong court sentences a pro-democracy activist to 10 years in prison after six years already behind bars. What it means for free nations and how the U.S. should respond. This is Capitol Report, live from our global headquarters in our nation's capital. Here's Steve Lance. I'm Jack Bradley, in for Steve Lance tonight. President Trump is changing his White House leadership team following major losses for Republicans in the midterms. Stephen Miller will be the new chief of staff. President Trump making Stephen Miller his new chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles, who will be moved to another position. The president saying he wanted to make a change. Susie's done a very good job, great job. Stephen's been with me from the beginning. He gets it very good politically. And he's a very good man. He'll do a great job. Great manager. Miller serves as the White House deputy chief of staff and will step into the role next week. As for Wiles, the president says... Susie's going to go over to the political operation. In a post on X, Wiles writes that today is my last day as White House chief of staff. And that serving President Trump in the White House has been the honor of a lifetime. The news follows significant losses for Republicans in the midterms. Several figures on the right have since called for Wiles to be removed. Susie Wiles needs to resign. She needs to offer her resignation to the president before he has to ask for it. Her campaign skills have not translated into governing. You have to look to people like Susie Wiles, the chief of staff, and the political consultants that are there. Because of their results, they should be removed and removed. Some Democrats in Congress criticized Trump. Making Miller chief of staff with Senator Andy Kim saying he's dangerous and should be fired. But former White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt saying Miller is loyal, hardworking, and the perfect choice. Meanwhile, the U.S. economy adding 165,000 jobs in October, much more than expected, with the unemployment rate at a low 4.1%. President Trump praising those numbers while pointing out the stock market losses, saying that the drop was due to Democrats winning Congress in the midterms. We had a... Senate Majority Leader John Thune's post-election reaction doubles down on what he describes as the GOP's strong record while in the majority. But other Republicans disagree with this assessment. NTD's Melina Wisecup reports. Senate leader John Thune has held power over the Senate floor agenda for the past two years. His reaction to the election was that Republicans would fight to prevent the socialist wing of the Democrat Party from becoming mainstream. He wrote, Senate Republicans will not stand idly by as the far-left socialist wing of the Democrat Party attempts to unwind everything we've done. The majority leader also touted what he described as the GOP's strong record of accomplishment in battling crime, preventing a historic tax hike, and approving the president's cabinet and judicial nominees. However, other Republicans disagreed, Governor Ron DeSantis blaming lack of congressional action as a reason for the GOP losses. Why haven't we done immigration? Shut off H-1B visas. Why haven't we codified Trump's immigration executive orders? They're so, why haven't we... Strip jurisdiction from the federal courts over deportation cases. There's so many things that could have been done. They didn't even attempt it, Laura. Several Republicans also rebuking their leadership. Congressman Greg Stubbe saying the polls were not wrong. You were even with record amounts of money at your disposal. You managed to get absolutely annihilated. Congressman Paul Gosar calling for him to step aside as leader, writing he should sit this one out. had he put the Save Act on the floor and fought for it republicans would still hold the majority Trump adviser Alex Bruesowitz writing why do Hill Republicans insist on rewarding failure he's not exactly in touch with the interests of Republican voters while Congressman Chip Roy called for lawmakers to hightail it back to DC and codify border security policies and other GOP priorities by the way we ought to do a lot of work over the next 60 days We still have the majority. We ought to act like it. We ought to pass a reconciliation package. We ought to take steps right now to make sure we're getting confirmations through the Senate Prior to the election upset, Republicans had plans in the works to push through another party-line package to fund the Pentagon and push through other bills related to Trump's agenda. Now it's unclear if an appetite is still there to double down in the two-month lame-duck session. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Melina Weisskopf, NTD News The Trump administration's furthering sanctions against entities supporting the Cuban regime's military and illegal revenue streams. Later on in our show, we'll hear from our guest, Orlando Gutierrez-Boronat. But first, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is urging the Senate to act quickly to fill judicial vacancies before the new Congress is sworn in. Joining me now are Alexander Brown, CEO of Together, and Victoria Churchill, U.S. political reporter at the Daily Mail. Thank you guys so much for joining us here tonight. Alex, the president has less than 60 days to fill judicial vacancies federal vacancies before Democrats take control of both chambers. Those judges will decide cases that affect Americans for decades Can Republicans mobilize in time? Absolutely. And I believe that this is a playbook that we've seen before. I believe that any time that the party is a minority, their goal is to try to stop gate the majority's agenda every chance they get. So we're going to witness this happen over the next 60 days. And we're going to see mobilization happen before because now Republicans know that the front line of defense for them is going to be these federal judges So we're going to witness it through Senate Judiciary We're going to see these nominations come in a full swing because this is all they have left. And Victoria, many have criticized Senate Majority Leader John Thune for failing to pass Republican priorities, especially since the end of the midterms. That criticism has been really rolling in here. Will he heed the governor's warning? Well, I think, you know, somebody that's been covering Capitol Hill for the better part of the last two years, I think I definitely understand where a lot of the frustration with the Senate is coming from outside of the Save America Act, which your team, you know, obviously discussed in the beginning of this segment. There was so much, even in the last couple of weeks, things like bans on insider stock trading, things like you know, even the ratepayer protection pledge to address some of these issues with data centers that the House passed that the Senate didn't get anything done I definitely think that Leader Thune should listen to the people that have been criticizing him because I think it's tone deaf to ignore the results that Republicans saw earlier this week and not do anything to move a Republican agenda in the final weeks of this Congress. And speaking of party priorities here, you know, many are discussing the future of the Democratic Party, the role of progressive and socialist lawmakers will play now coming into Congress. Alex, Democrats ran on vote blue no matter who. But before the election Democratic socialists accused the party of being asleep at the wheel. Will the party stay unified on major legislation and on issues like relations with Israel? I believe that this is going to be an internal caucus fight that we're going to witness in real time as the party is now embracing the progressive agenda. The progressive agenda has been tailoring its messages to people's issues, and we witnessed that overwhelmingly in last Tuesday's election. So when it comes to caucus, and I believe as we witness the Democratic Party embrace this, it's going to be interesting to see, you know, as the moderates of the party kind of capitulate to what honestly is going to be the winning ticket. I think that The party wants to win the agenda and I believe that the core issues are going to be resigning, whether you're DSA or you are a moderate. As long as you have a DSA under name, I believe that you have to be a unified team for that agenda. So I can't wait to see it come down. And, Victoria, Democrats won by a large margin in the midterms, many candidates running on more moderate platforms. Has that helped the party's establishment wing resist pressure from socialists and the socialist wing coming in? I think these incoming lawmakers, the socialist wing, they will be loud, but I don't think that they will necessarily be in charge. I think that the moderate wing of the Democrat Party, particularly if these people want to stay in office for more than two years, they will have to block some of the more outrageous things that their most liberal colleagues will be pushing on Capitol Hill. Because I think for a lot of these incoming lawmakers, particularly the ones that flipped red seats, They need to stay in tune with what their voters back home want. And so if they go along with the most radical wings of their party, they will absolutely not be successful in being reelected. Now, let's switch gears here. You know, we had three Democratic-leaning states, Colorado, Washington, and Nevada. They all approved ballot measures barring biological men from women's sports. Alex, Washington and Colorado even have Democrat-controlled legislatures. Do voters agree more with Republicans than Democrats on this issue? I think most importantly that the Democratic Party is not a monolith, and I think this issue actually presents more division than we believe. Even during the midterms, we saw that the Democratic nominee of South Carolina and the Democratic nominee of Texas, their posts were questioned. And I believe that the Democratic Party has to create a cohesive message to tailor now what we're witnessing on statewide ballots, of whether this initiative actually would curate a party's messaging, as the Democratic Party has always been an inclusive and big-tent organization. We'll see how that materializes down into core messaging. And you know, the electorate is speaking in blue states right now. And I really would like to see whether or not Democrats will listen to this call to actually give this more of a considered thought as they approach 2028. Yeah, and Victoria, conservative ballot measures passed even in states that swung Democratic, like Kansas. Is this a sign that Republicans need to focus on delivering conservative policies to voters? Absolutely. I think that what the results of the election this week shows is that what people want from their government actually hasn't changed. What it has shown is that who voters believe can actually deliver on the things that people care about, things like lowering housing prices, lowering the cost of everyday things like gas and groceries. They just think that the Democrats could deliver better for that. You know, I was looking at this and polling in the last final weeks of the election, and there was actually a shift to where more voters actually. I thought that they would be better off economically under Democrats than Republicans, and that for me set off some pretty significant alarm bells in my mind, because economic policy is something that Republicans have always pushed as their strong suit. But under the current administration, particularly with the tariffs, we saw the president's approval rating fall off pretty much as soon as his big liberation day happened. And so I think that getting back to core economic, fiscally conservative policies that the Republican The Wiccan Party has pushed... For a long time, long before President Trump even came into office, that's their way back into the hearts and minds and, you know, back into the traditional kitchen table of voters all across America. All right, Victoria Churchill, Alexander Brown, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your insights. Really appreciate it. And we're still waiting on the results from a couple Senate races. Mary Peltola and Dan Sullivan are neck and neck in Alaska, while Cindy Hyde-Smith and Scott Colome are in a similarly tight race in Mississippi. NTD's Fiona Gee reports. We're now three days past election day and still waiting on those Senate results in Alaska and Mississippi. They're the only two states where the Associated Press still hasn't called a winner yet. According to AP, Alaskan GOP incumbent Dan Sullivan is only trailing behind Democrat Mary Peltola by around 600 votes. There's controversy here surrounding another candidate also named Dan Sullivan. The Department of Justice sued, trying to block certification of the race if the incumbent Dan Sullivan loses. A federal judge tossed that case. President Trump tells NTD's Iris Tao he believes the second Dan Sullivan caused confusion among voters who were trying to vote for the incumbent who was endorsed by Trump. So they cheated on thousands of votes. Everyone knows it's a cheat. And they should be mandated to take the fake Dan Sullivan's votes and the other person they put in there and give it to the real Dan Sullivan. And when that happens, he wins by thousands of votes. Alaska uses a ranked choice voting system where the ballot includes four candidates regardless of party. Currently, the second Dan Sullivan sits in fourth place with around 3,600 votes. In Mississippi, Democrat Scott Colome leads Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith by less than one percentage point. The state is still counting mail-in ballots and verifying provisional ballots. The deadline for this process is Tuesday. The tight race is surprising for Deep Red Mississippi. As of Friday, around 97% of the votes are in, and Colome leads by around 2,000 votes. A note here that Mississippi doesn't do recounts, but a nominee could request a court order for one. Democrats have so far won 20 out of the 35 Senate seats that were up for grabs this midterm season. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Fiona Gee, NTD News. And coming up, a Hong Kong court sentencing pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong to 10 years in prison. Mark Clifford joins us to unpack the CCP's human rights violations both in Hong Kong and overseas. Black is home today and safe with Black Friday deals all over the store. We have the largest selection of bedrooms with the styles you like at the prices you'll love. Plus, you don't have to wait. Get the room of your dreams now and take five years to pay with easy monthly payments. Take a look at this queen upholstered bed with a plush channeled headboard and a soft ivory fabric. It's Black Friday priced at just $295. An incredible deal. For style and value, shop the Black Friday deals and get 60-month financing at your furniture superstore, Mathis Home. I've devoted my life to combining cutting-edge science with ancient biblical wisdom, and I believe healing leaves tea is the Bible's best-kept health secret. In Revelation 22, the Bible reveals the tree of life with 12 different fruits, and it tells us the leaves are for the healing of the nations. So I put Scripture to the test and discovered the most potent combination of 12 fruit tree leaves. Science confirms what scripture declares. These leaves are rich in powerful nutrients that support digestion and immunity, maintain healthy inflammation, and help boost natural energy levels, which is why I created Healing Leaves Tea. No more handfuls of capsules or scoops of bitter powders, just a powerful, organic, and caffeine-free tea made from sacred plants. Simple, convenient, And delicious. Hot or cold. As a doctor, I am so excited about sharing Healing Leaves with my family as well as all of my patients. You have your cup of coffee, I have my cup of Healing Leaves. Nothing easier than a daily glass of Healing Leaves iced tea, and I feel great. My wife and I started drinking it the same day, and we drink it every day. I know it supports my health and immunity, and that's really important at my age. It's given me a cup full of hope. Every single day. Thousands are already making healing leaves part of their daily wellness routine. And now you can too. Discover this biblical health secret today. Call the number on your screen for this exclusive TV deal and save 30% on your preferred customer order with free shipping and risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee. As a bonus, we'll include the Beginner's Guide to Essential Oils, a $16.99 value-free. Discover this biblical health secret. Call for this exclusive TV offer to learn more right now. Shen Yun Creations, the streaming platform from Shen Yun, featuring world-class dance, past programs. Welcome back, I'm Jack Bradley. A warning from the top in Taiwan. President Lai Ching-te says coordinated online activity is trying to shape public opinion there. The move comes just ahead of local elections later this month, including a closely-watched race for mayor of Taipei. NTD's Daniel Monaghan reports. Taiwanese President Lai says a wave of new social media accounts has appeared in recent weeks. They were registered with foreign phone numbers but list Taiwan as their location. He says the accounts cluster under new posts on specific issues. They comment and repost in concentrated bursts, apparently to steer how voters see those issues. According to Lai, the accounts were created within a short window and show recurring patterns of activity. He's urging party officials, candidates, and campaign staff to stay calm and alert to misinformation, smear campaigns, and other interference. Campaign teams for Lai's Democratic Progressive Party or DPP say their official websites have also been hit by distributed denial-of-service attacks meant to overload servers and knock the sites offline. The DPP supports Taiwan's sovereignty and rejects the Chinese Communist Party's push to bring the island under The party's highest profile contest is in the capital. Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen is trying to win back a city the DPP hasn't held since 1998. Shen built his public profile studying Chinese disinformation, the same kind of online manipulation now at the center of this campaign. He also co-founded Kuma Academy, which trains civilians to respond to a possible attack from Beijing. Beijing has targeted Shen directly, opening a police investigation into him. Shen says Taiwan's elections are an answer to that pressure, whoever wins. I think what a real slap on China is democracy. It doesn't... So for me, even Jiang Wanhan got elected is also a slap on China because we proved that democracy works here in Taiwan and we're not interfered, I mean, by China. So every election is a slap on there. For some Taipei voters, the race has brought back an enthusiasm they haven't felt in years. This meat vendor at a local wet market says it's been a long time since politics stirred him like this. After all, in Taipei City, the DPP has never won in a one-on-one contest. So this time, with this rare opportunity, there is suddenly a strong surge of emotion. It felt as though I had gone back to my childhood. With voters heading to the polls later this month, Taiwan's leaders say keeping the outcome in voters' hands is now part of the campaign itself. Daniel Monahan, NTD News. The United States condemning Hong Kong's sentencing of pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong. This comes after he was sentenced to 10 years in prison under the draconian National Security Law imposed by Beijing. In a post on X, Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling for Wong's immediate release, saying he has, quote, used peaceful means to defend the rights promised to all individuals in Hong Kong. Aside from the latest sentencing, Joshua Wong is already serving a four-year, eight-month sentence and was due to be released in January. He rose to prominence in 2019 as a student leader of the Umbrella Movement, a massive protest that mounted one of the biggest challenges to Beijing's rule over the city. And joining us to discuss Joshua Wong's sentencing and the CCP's national security law, we have Mark Clifford, president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation. Mark Clifford, thanks so much for joining us here today. Great to be with you. Now, a Hong Kong court has sentenced pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong to 10 years in prison under the Beijing-imposed national security law. He was already held behind bars for six years, imprisoned in Hong Kong, due to be released in January, but now they've tacked on another decade. Who's to say they won't just keep adding on new charges for the rest of his life? You're absolutely right, Jack. Nobody could rule anything out. I mean, I don't think we've ever really seen anything like this before. A guy's about to get out of jail. He's kept a very low profile and he's counting the days to his release and bam, another set of charges. He pled guilty for whatever reason. I don't think he believes or any of us believe that he was guilty of anything wrong. Now, I guess probably was hoping for some kind of leniency, but wow, 10 years. You've already been in jail six years, you just celebrated your 30th birthday in jail. It's insane. And I think it shows, to my mind, the weakness and the fear of Chinese and Hong Kong authorities that this young activist who was so eloquent as a teenager, got tens of thousands of people out in the streets, was just too much of a danger, too hot for them to handle. Perhaps he pled guilty because he thought that would be a more lenient sentence than if he didn't. And you're right, officials in the US, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as well as foreign ministries in the UK and EU countries are all calling for his immediate release, saying he's been wrongly imprisoned. Why is the courts in Hong Kong, why are they targeting Wong specifically? Are they trying to make an example out of him? They're certainly trying to make an example out of him, just as they are with a handful of other high-profile prisoners like the publisher Jimmy Lai, the barrister Chow Hung-Tung. And I think it's the kill the chicken to scare the monkey situation where they really are cracking down on some people that they think are some kind of masterminds of what they saw as a potential revolution uprising against them. And again, I think it. This speaks to the brittleness and the fear that stalks the halls of power in Beijing. Why would you worry about a 30-year-old kid who's probably likely to go? He's not a kid anymore, but he was likely to go into exile. I mean, you've destroyed the movement in Hong Kong, and yet you feel the need to put another 10 years on this young man's life in prison. I mean, it's cruel. It's barbaric, and it shows that China cares only. about the exercise of power and remaining in power. And I want to get into this draconian national security law imposed by Beijing on Hong Kong. It's led to the arrests and long-term sentences of several pro-democracy advocates like Wong, like Jimmy Lai. There's about a 100% conviction rate from what I'm hearing. How did Hong Kong change after this law was imposed? Well, it went from being one of the freest cities in Asia, if not in the world, to one of the most repressive. If you told me back when I first moved to Asia back in the 1980s, I was in South Korea, which was under a military government. If you told me that the New York Times would be moving its editorial operations, its Asian editorial headquarters from Hong Kong to South Korea, I would have told you you were nuts. But South Korea, like Taiwan, have gone through incredible democratic transitions in the last few decades, and Hong Kong has just gone backwards. I mean, I mean, people are thrown in jail for. Wearing the wrong T-shirt, for scrolling some graffiti that authorities don't like, for selling banned books. My biography of Jimmy Lai has led to the arrest of a number of booksellers. I mean, there is no free freedom of expression in Hong Kong. You're free to say nice things about the government, but you aren't free to say anything else. And that must have changed big time after 1997 when the handover happened from the U.K., but even more so in 2020 after this national security law was implemented. But now there's growing concern that this national security law will be applied to Chinese and Hong Kong dissidents abroad, including here in the U.S. How far has Beijing already gone in trying to police speech and activity beyond its borders? I think that's a great question. I think Beijing is using Hong Kong as a testing ground to see what the West, what free societies will take. They've put bounties out on several dozen overseas dissidents, including my colleague, Frances Hoi, who has received asylum in the U.S. She has a $130,000 bounty on her head simply for her free speech protected activities in the U.S. We're seeing these legal measures. We're seeing physical and psychological harassment. Beijing wants people everywhere to be afraid, above all Chinese people who are ethnically Chinese. But they want all of us to be afraid. They want to be able to decide what red lines exist and what we can and can't cross and let everybody know that there are consequences to crossing China. And what can democratic governments do about this transnational repression? Well, I think, first of all, we need to respond very robustly. I'm happy to say that in the United States, the FBI and other agencies have, the Justice Department, have had a pretty strong response. It's not perfect. There are still Tibetans and others who are beaten up and harassed on the streets of America, but it's better than it is in, say, the UK, where the response has been very mild, even meek. There was a Hong Kong protester who was dragged by his hair into the Manchester consulate of China's consulate, the consul general went on Sky News and bragged about what he'd done. He wasn't thrown out of the country. He was allowed to leave in his own good time. So I think we have to expose what's going on. Governments have to take it seriously. They have to stand up and they have to let China know that there are consequences that this sort of behavior just won't be tolerated. So, Mark, with the upcoming election in Taiwan, what can they learn from the issues going on in Hong Kong right now as far as CCP influence? Well, first of all, don't believe anything, any promises that China makes. China solemnly promised. The people of Hong Kong, Britain, and the world, that their freedoms would continue for 50 years after China took over in 1997. Those promises have been shredded. They're not worth the paper they're written on. So first of all, don't believe any promises that the CCP makes. They don't live up to their agreements. And second, just remain vigilant. Call out the disinformation. Call out about the meddling in election affairs. The one country, two systems. The principle that was applied to Hong Kong was originally developed for Taiwan because Deng Xiaoping hoping to hope to bring Taiwan back into the fold peacefully. We now see the reality in Hong Kong is just a harbinger of what would come if Taiwan eases up and gives in to Beijing's demands for control. It would be a fool's trap. All right. Mark Clifford, thank you so much for your insights here today. Great to be with you. Thank you. The midterms reshape Washington's balance of power, bringing in new faces and new dynamics. But what are their views on China? Find out more tonight on China In Focus with Tiffany Meyer at 9.30 p.m. Eastern. And coming up, the State Department is sanctioning 10 Cuban elites and entities in a push to stop the regime's illegal activities in Cuba and abroad. More on the latest sanctions from our guest, Orlando Gutierrez-Boronat, after the break. I debate all day. It's what I do. But there are some things. that are undebatable, like your mental health, my own mental health. I was in a dark place when my brother passed away in a car accident. I've never been more devastated than the day I lost my mom. I was depressed, miserable, in ways I never imagined. I reached out, and my sisters came, my pastor, therapist. They helped me get through it. I found that the more I spoke up, the healthier my mind became. The chaos that was in me began to subside. I was more focused, clear. We love your mind. It's not up for debate. Find mental health resources at loveyourmindtoday.org. 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. Every thing 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. So, Ariel, we made this year's book for you. It has notes from other people that are here. Your achievement has set an example for so many students. Most importantly, it has given you a chance to be a better person. It has given you a chance to be a better person. It has given you a chance to be a better person. It has given you a chance to be a better person. It has given you a chance to be a better person. It has given you a chance to be a better person. It has given you a chance to be a better person. It has given you a chance to be a better person. Your daughter. Education was the key that unlocked all my opportunities. When you graduate, they graduate. Visit finishyourdiploma.org to find free and supportive adult education centers near you. August was born 3 pounds, 9.8 ounces. When I first saw him, it was a whole range of emotions. There's stuff I still want to do. Being a young dad, it's not giving up. It's shifting to seeing him happy. I look through his eyes. I envision a whole future with him already. To throw the first football to him, give him ice cream for the first time. I'm happy because he's advancing in life. My life is now devoted to his life. 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. When we first met Todd, he was singing a song, and I was like, wow, look at this kid with the biggest smile. Todd's a joy. Yes, Todd's really is a great joy. And here. Learn about adopting a teen at AdoptUSKids.org. Welcome back. I'm Jack Bradley. The Trump administration sanctioning 10 Cuban elites and entities accused of hoarding the island's energy and technology resources while ordinary Cubans face blackouts and shortages. Five vessels tied to an offshore oil shipping network are also being blocked. Joining me now to discuss is Orlando Gutierrez-Boronat, author of Cuba, the Doctrine of the Lie. Orlando, thank you so much for being with us here tonight. I want to get to this. The State Department is saying that these Cuban state-owned companies send their profits to the regime, not the Cuban people. How does the regime use them to enrich itself? Well, first of all, thank you for having me on your show. I really appreciate the quality of your newscast. The regime uses so-called private companies, which are actually controlled by the regime and the regime families, much as in China. To get around sanctions from the U.S. government and other international institutions, to be able to bypass restrictions in the law of the United States about commerce with the regime, and also to get around the international consequences of these U.S. sanctions. So there is no real internal economic opening in Cuba, but the regime is pretending the existence of this private sector In order to be able carry out its economic objectives and to be able to carry out its economic operations without truly opening up to the Cuban people politically or economically. And you know these sanctions also hit the offshore middlemen moving oil and energy products for the regime. Why does Cuba still suffer blackouts and who's getting this power that ordinary Cubans aren't? Well we have to understand that Cuba had one of the best electrical industries in Latin Until 1959, when communism took over. Ever since then, the Cuban electrical system has never been the same. It has been plagued by corruption, incompetence, inefficiency, and blackouts from very early on became a staple of Cuban national life. The amount and length of blackouts have increased since Venezuelan oil was no longer available to the regime and since the sanctions placed by the Trump administration. But undoubtedly, blackouts have been a mainstay of communism in Cuba because when you suppress the right of people to express themselves, you also suppress the ability to know where demand is most urgent. Also, the regime was never able to replace the excellent American technology that was in Cuba's power plants until 1959. The Soviet technology was never as efficient or as capable as American technology. The regime's desire to impose communism at any cost on the Cuban people resulted, like in every other aspect of the economy or the infrastructure, in an industry that did not grow at the pace of the population, that could not provide basic electronic supplies to Cubans, and that continuously lost its best personnel because engineers, journeymen, did not want to work under communism. So what we're seeing in Cuba with the electrical industry is a man-made disaster. Yeah, and we know that Cuba has long been tied to the Chinese Communist Party with their first communist officials being trained in China. But now, among the new sanctions, there's 10 new targets, and they're China-based suppliers to Cuba's military. How are the Chinese companies helping the regime currently stay in power? The main interest of the Chinese Communist Party in Cuba is military and intelligence because of the location of Cuba only 90 miles away from U.S. shores. So the CCP and the People's Liberation Army have at least five electronic espionage bases in Cuba. The Chinese know, the Chinese communists know, that the Cuban economy is not functional. That's why Chinese investment in Cuba is limited. But they also know Cuba has... A very valuable geographic location close to the U.S. in the heart of Latin America. And that's why it's so important in military and intelligence terms. The existence of the Cuban regime, when you bring in the Chinese component as well as others, is a threat to U.S. national security. And now, Orlando, these sanctions come just shortly after Cuban officials allegedly tried to intimidate Ambassador Mike Waltz, ambassador to the U.N., during his speech. And a staffer was reportedly assaulted at the same session, a U.S. staffer assaulted by a Cuban staffer. Is the regime getting desperate? That's what I felt. I have faced these aggressions and so-called acts of repudiation by the regime around the world. Even, they've often become very violent. On one occasion, two of my ribs and my knee were broken in these aggressions by the Castro regime. But when I saw inside the UN building, when I saw their aggressions against us, I could feel that they were desperate and fearful. It was a different chemistry. Um, yeah. Yes, certainly the induced communist aggressiveness was there, But you could tell that right below, right beneath, That aggressiveness was desperation and fear. Those were exactly the words that came into my mind as I walked down the stairs and they were waiting for us with the worst insults and very aggressive manner. All right, well, Orlando Gutierrez-Boronat, thank you so much for sharing your time and insights with us today. It's really appreciated. And coming up, supermarket freezers in Europe have already been hit. Now, U.S. agencies are warning businesses here to lock down their cold storage systems. And they explain why. Are you sitting at home living in pain? Maybe it's in your hands, maybe your back or your hips. The good news is you don't need to live in pain. Why? Because there is Omega XL, a one-of-a-kind, natural, powerful joint relief supplement created from the green lip mussels of New Zealand. Drug-free, non-habit forming, it's small, easy to swallow, and it's backed by more than 40 years of clinical research. If you're experiencing daily aches and pains due to aging and overuse, try Omega XL. Just ask anybody who uses it. The results are undeniable. I had a lot of joint pain, and that slowed me down. I had considerable pain in my back. Really, really felt the pain, I mean, in my ankles and in my heels. I'm telling you about something that's... You're gonna change your life. It has revived me. This works. I'm not a prisoner anymore to my pain. As I was getting older, my joints started to feel that wear and tear, but then I tried Omega XL and it changed my life. Today, I'm here at my ranch exercising some of my polo ponies. So as you get older, it gets tougher. I was starting to suffer some of that business. And then I ran into somebody who said, look, you should try Omega XL. And look what it's done. I feel better than I've felt in the last 30 years. Omega XL gave me the ability to get back in the saddle. It works great. If you're in pain, I want you to know that there is real hope out there. I'm living proof. See the difference it can make in your life, just like it did in mine. Call now or order online to receive our special TV offer. Buy one bottle of Omega XL and get a second free. Plus, we'll also include a free bottle of Vitamin XL D3. Two free bottles for the price of one bottle of Omega XL. A total value of $115. You pay only $49.95 and it ships free. Plus, you get a money-back guarantee. Buy one, get two free. Call or go online right now. Imagine a coffee that cares for your health, expertly fermented. A 50-enzyme complex to enhance flavor and remove bitterness. A small batch roasted to a decadent medium dark, resulting in a brew that is gentle on digestion, low acid, and up to 90% less caffeine than regular coffee. America's first enzyme-fermented coffee today. Eyes forward. Don't drive distracted. Welcome back. I'm Jack Bradley. A new target for hackers, the freezer aisle. Federal agencies say hackers are targeting the temperature controls on commercial freezers and refrigeration units that store food and medicine. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the FBI say attackers could change temperatures or force units into nonstop defrost cycles. That could spoil food, damage equipment, and create fire hazards. Officials are urging operators to take these systems off the public internet, change default passwords, and install updates. The warning follows attacks on supermarket freezers across Europe, where officials are also dealing with a wave of hoax bomb threats against flights. More threats were reported today, including against nine flights at Prague's airport. Nothing suspicious was found, and no one was hurt. Production of the bold Tesla Cybertruck is winding down. Elon Musk says his company will increase Cybercab vehicles instead of the futuristic pickup truck. NTD's David Lam reports. Elon Musk says Tesla will be winding down production of the Cybertruck in Texas around mid-2027. I think it's very interesting. You know, you look at Tesla's history and their pattern of doing this, where, you know, Elon Musk in particular, his personality, he'll always come out with something that's over the top. And then kind of pull back, right? We saw that with the Roadster originally. Tesla began delivering the Cybertruck to customers in late 2023. According to Kelly Blue Book, the automaker sold 20,000 Cybertrucks in the U.S. last year. But Musk previously had predicted sales of 250,000 Cybertrucks a year before its initial launch. The vehicle itself is something that is going to draw eyes. And it's a very... I guess deliberate decision that'd be needed by the consumer versus you see, you know, Model Ys and 3s everywhere because they are kind of just a dime a dozen now and people feel comfortable buying something that everyone else has. X users have responded with sadness, showing their love for the futuristic and angular pickup truck. But one critic hails the decision. I mean, there's never anything wrong with cutting things that are not ultimately working and hoping to innovate for better. I think Elon ruined the brand completely. If you look at anything he's done from the Raptor rocket to the design of, you know, the Tesla vehicle, he's always subtracting and getting it down to the bare bones so it can just be, you know, much more efficient to produce. Cybertruck's lead engineer says Tesla will maintain spare parts and service will continue support. David Lam, NTD News. The 2027 tax brackets and the standard deductions are now out. They're higher this year to compensate for inflation. The IRS says brackets for individuals are up a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. Those for married couples are double that for most income levels. The standard deduction for single filers is $500 more at $16,600. For married couples, the increase is $1,000. The IRS is also announcing tweaks like a $100 child tax credit bump. Experts say taxpayers might want to review the changes to consider whether to make withholding adjustments. The IRS changes tax brackets based on the Consumer Price Index in the 2027 adjustment is a half percentage more than the previous year, since inflation is higher. The DOJ honoring Jacksonville, Florida, the city was awarded federal funding through the Model Cities Initiative, a significant effort to combat violent crime in America. Jacksonville is one of four cities selected to receive the additional funds. NTD's Arlene Richards has the details. Local, state, and federal officials gathering in Jacksonville, Florida on Friday. So I am thrilled to be here in Jacksonville, Florida to announce one of the winners. The Justice Department recognizing Jacksonville for its efforts to fight crime. The city is one of four jurisdictions selected for the new Model Cities Initiative, aimed at reducing violent crime and strengthening public safety. Attorney General Todd Blanche explaining why Jacksonville was selected out of nearly 50 applications. It's because of their compelling, whole-of-government approach and vision for targeting violent crime and enhancing public safety across jurisdictional and ideological lines. And because of our belief in their ability to deliver results and follow through on that vision. Nearly $300 million in federal funding has been earmarked for the federal initiative, with Jacksonville being awarded close to $74 million. Blanche says for nearly 20 years, Jacksonville was called the murder capital of Florida. But that changed in 2024, and by 2025, the city successfully achieved their lowest crime rate in nearly 30 years, a reduction of 38%. Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters explained how they achieved this and other successes. Proactive policing. Doubling down on our violence reduction strategies, a focus on engaging with our community, and transparent communication on improving public safety here in Jacksonville. He also credits the combined leadership of local, state, and federal law enforcement for the city's success. The city's strategy is consistent with the state of Florida's broader public safety approach. Here in Florida, we've proven that time again. My office is statewide prosecution. We've doubled our prosecution levels here in just a little over a year and a half. Florida's Attorney General touting 55% more convictions and enormous success in targeting drug traffickers and child predators. The sheriff plans to use the funding to expand training techniques, improve technological tools needed for quick responses, and to increase the police force. Blanche says although the city has significantly reduced its crime rate, it's still three times the national average. So the money is an investment in the commitment the leaders of Jacksonville have made to restoring law and order and making its community safer. The other cities expected to receive awards are East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, Jackson, Mississippi, and St. Louis, Missouri. Arlene Richards, NTD News. On Christmas Eve in Afghanistan, Army veteran Nathan Kalwicki was shot by an Afghan soldier his unit was training. His injury was permanent. An amputated right leg. A decade later, more than 100 volunteers, including fellow veterans, built Kalwicki and his wife a fully accessible home in two weeks, mortgage free. The Veterans Day, this Veterans Day, their story shows that this commitment. Formed in uniform often continues long after the uniform is set aside. Stay connected to the stories that matter. Visit us at NTD.com slash live or download our NTD app. From the nation's capital, I'm Jack Bradley. Have a nice weekend and we'll see you right back here on Monday.