Ohio Voters Reject Constitution Change; SCOTUS Revives Biden's Ghost Gun Regulation | NTD

Good morning. In today's headlines, will former President Trump be subject to a gag order during his 2020 election trial? That's what special counsel Jack Smith wants. Judge Shutkin has ordered the hearing date. Ohioans go to the polls in a key vote that could have a major impact on abortion access. We have the results on the effort to make amending the state constitution more difficult. The Biden administration's ghost gun restrictions have been revived, at least for now. The Supreme Court ruled on the matter. We have the details. Massachusetts in a state of emergency due to a surge of illegal immigrants costing the state $45 million a month. And the Big Apple has a new shelter in the works. A video has gone viral. A man was beaten by two 7-Eleven clerks while he was allegedly shoplifting in California. We spoke to a criminal defense lawyer and a business advocate to shed some light on the incident. And we sat down with a dad who lost his son to an accidental drug overdose. Now he's sounding the alarm. Good morning, welcome to NTD, I'm Kevin Hogan. Good morning, I'm Evelyn Lee. Today is Wednesday, August 9th. Evelyn, I'm so glad you interviewed that parent and author on ways to help keep kids off drugs. It's such an important issue. That's right, and I really appreciate it. The thing is, right, we touched on so many big cultural issues that are kind of hard to grasp, but I think David, by just raising that awareness, he's making such a big step. Any way to give parents the tools they need to keep their kids in a healthy, successful path forward is really good. And we're gonna start off with an update on former President Trump. He's also topping the news today. Right, District Judge Tanya Chutkin has ordered the hearing on a protective order to be held on Friday, August 11th at 10 a.m. Judge Chutkin earlier called on both sides to agree on a suitable date by August 11th, while the Department of Justice said any time Wednesday to Friday was possible. Trump attorneys said they could only make it next week. Trump will not appear at the hearing. Judge Chutkin said Trump's appearance is waived, but decided the hearing is scheduled for Friday. The focus is a protective gag order proposal brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith. The DOJ says Trump plans to try the case in the media. Trump's attorneys called the gag order overbroad, saying in a trial about First Amendment rights, the government seeks to restrict First Amendment rights. Attorneys added the government does so against the administration's main political opponent during an election season. Another Republican candidate for president is now qualified for the first primary debate later this month. Former Vice President Mike Pence's campaign confirming that he has met the requirements. Pence is among eight GOP presidential candidates who've met the polling and donor requirements for the first debate, according to their campaigns. The other candidates are former President Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Senator Tim Scott, and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum. The debate is organized by the Republican National Committee and will take place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August 23rd. It is still unknown if Trump will make an appearance at the debate. And speaking of the 2024 GOP primary, big change is happening in Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis' campaign. He's replacing his campaign manager, Janera Peck, ending weeks of speculation about Peck's future. DeSantis is replacing her with his gubernatorial office chief of staff, James Uthmeyer. Uthmeyer is a trusted advisor. He's known in Florida as an enforcer of DeSantis' agenda and devoted protector of his political brand. This is the latest development in a shakeup of DeSantis' team. The Florida governor has fired dozens of campaign staffers in recent weeks. The 2020 tour fight for a US Senate seat in Arizona may be heating up if Carrie Lake decides to throw her hat into the ring. The Arizona Republican said she's mulling over a possible Senate run in 2024. She will announce her decision in the next few months. Lake named Trump as her main motivation, wanting to be there if he is reelected. Democrats will be watching closely since they can't afford to lose a Senate seat. If Lake moves forward with her candidacy, then Arizona may become a key battleground state in the fight for Senate control. Her candidacy would likely create a three-way race between independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema and Democrat Ruben Gallego. Last month, Lake said she looked at the polling and believes she's the only one who can win the race. In a move with major implications for abortion access, Ohio voters yesterday opted to reject stricter requirements for amending the state constitution. A yes vote would have changed the requirement for amendments from a simple majority to 60% of voters. Many voters were driven by a planned November amendment that would enshrine abortion access in the state's constitution. The proposal is called the right to reproductive freedom with protections for health and safety. It would remove Ohio's parental notification legislation when a minor wants an abortion and would permit abortion to the point when an unborn baby can survive outside the womb, typically around 24 weeks into pregnancy. In 2019, the Ohio State Legislature passed a heartbeat bill that bans abortion around the six-week mark. That went into effect after the Supreme Court's Dobbs v. Jackson ruling last year. The law was challenged almost immediately and remains tied up in court. The Supreme Court yesterday handed down a decision on untraceable homemade weapons, so-called ghost guns. The ruling revives the Biden administration's restrictions for now. In a five-to-four decision on Tuesday, the Supreme Court allowed the Biden administration's rule regulating ghost guns to remain in place. This is while the case remains pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The justices froze a lower court order that bars the government from enforcing the regulation. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court's three liberal justices in the decision. President Biden's rule applies to unfinished gun parts that can be finished and assembled into firearms. The administration updated its rule in 2022 to treat certain parts as fully functional firearms, requiring serial numbers, licensing for manufacturers, and background checks for purchasers. The Biden administration says this is necessary to prevent criminals from obtaining untraceable guns. Gun rights advocates say the administration doesn't have the authority to change the definition of a firearm without Congress. The southern border got a lot of attention yesterday, but not from would-be crossers. Republicans held a hearing in Arizona while Democrats were in Texas, and D.D.'s Daniel Monahan has the highlights. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Cochise County Sheriff Mark Daniels testified that the number of gotaways, illegal immigrants who enter the country uncaught, may very well soon go down, but not because of improved border security. Instead, the sheriff says the phasing out of blimps, equipped with sophisticated cameras, will be the culprit. The numbers are an illusion. I call them non-political numbers if they're reported accurately, but number two is it's a shell game. It's a shell game, it's a word game to make the American people feel safe. Daniels says boots on the ground tell a different tale. I deal with all the way up to the chief of Border Patrol and many others. I have yet to have one tell me that the border's secure, those who wear a badge, federal government. Representative Andy Biggs called attention to cartels recruiting youth at schools through social media apps. I've had to come down and pick up people in Cochise County or on I-8 in Pinal County or down in Yuma to transport bodies for a thousand or two thousand bucks and take them on up to Phoenix or Tucson. While Representative William Timmons tried to encapsulate the scale of immigration. During the Biden administration, 3.4 million people have been allowed to stay in this country. That is more than the population of 20 states in the United States. Meanwhile, congressional Democrats passed Texas on Tuesday. That's where Governor Greg Abbott installed razor wire and buoys to deter illegal immigrants from crossing the border. Congressman Joaquin Castro reacted. They're forcing Border Patrol to stay away from some of these areas when it's Border Patrol that actually has responsibility for all of this process. Texas has installed buoys along the Rio Grande to deter illegal crossings. The DOJ sued Texas calling for the river barrier to be removed. Later this month, a federal judge will hear the case to determine whether those floating barriers are legal. Daniel Monahan, NTD News. Mexico's top diplomat is visiting Washington, D.C. today. The country's Secretary of Foreign Relations will meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other officials. They will likely discuss the fight against fentanyl, the trafficking of firearms, and the border buoys that were deployed by Texas. Mexico recently complained about them and asked that they be removed. And coming up, Massachusetts has declared a state of emergency due to a surge of illegal immigrants. And two shop clerks in California are under investigation for beating an alleged thief. What can you do if your shop is getting robbed and to what extent can you defend yourself? We have the story after the break. It's been said that service is the rent we pay for living on this earth. On our next installment of America's Hope, we'll introduce you to three men who are dedicated to serving people throughout the world. Be sure to watch Living a Life of Service on the next America's Hope. Hi everyone watching at home. We're here to remind you that if you or someone you know were injured in an accident that was not your fault, listen up. We have live agents available right now to answer your questions and tell you how much your case is potentially worth. Hi, I'm Gina Belich here with spokesman and TV personality Tom Mustin with us in the Help Center. So Tom, phones are really busy over there. Tell us what kind of calls you're seeing. Well Gina, first off, thank you for having me here in the Call Center with you. We always enjoy talking to the viewers and getting folks the compensation that they deserve. You know, we're seeing calls about all kinds of accidents, but the most common by far has been car accidents. So if you or someone you know were injured in an accident that was not your fault, give us a call right now. You'll speak with a live person who will answer any questions you have and tell you if you have a case and how much your case is potentially worth. Thanks Tom. Alright folks at home, you heard it. Take advantage of this opportunity and call now. A video of a suspected shoplifter being beaten by the store clerks he allegedly stole from has gone viral. Is what the clerks did legal? We now go to NTD's Jack Bradley to bring us the details. Sorry for that, there seems to be some technical difficulties here. But moving on, we have Representative Mike Gallagher who's warning about the extensive operations of China's intelligence agency in the United States. And we speak to an expert soon. Also still to come, 19 men are in detention in connection with online child abuse material. 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The Biden administration is set to unveil an executive order today banning U.S. investments in certain advanced industries in China. According to the New York Times, industries involved include quantum computing, artificial intelligence and advanced semiconductors. These sectors may help the Chinese military or Beijing's espionage campaign. The order would also require companies investing in broader Chinese industries to report their investment activities. Biden officials said the curbs would target only a handful of industries but wouldn't hurt legitimate business dealings with China. With tensions growing high with communist China, the measure would mark one of the first major moves by the U.S. to stem capital outflows. And Rep. Mike Gallagher recently warned of the extensive Chinese espionage activity inside the U.S. He says while people know the Russian KGB, Americans know too little about the MSS in China and that it needs to be taken more seriously. So what exactly is the MSS? Let's bring in retired Colonel and former Director of Cybersecurity with the DoD, John Mills. Good to have you, Colonel. Let's start with this. Chinese spy operations have been in the spotlight recently with those two Navy sailors being arrested. But let's start with understanding what the purpose of the Ministry of State Security is. Why does it exist? Morning, Evelyn. The Ministry of State Security is kind of like our NSA, CIA, and DIA put all together in one large. You could say it's their director of national intelligence, but there's even more centralization. With our side, we have 18 elements of the intelligence community, sometimes work together, sometimes squabble. Now, on their side, they have a much larger centralized organization. They don't have as much division within their intelligence community. So how does it translate into what they do here inside the U.S.? Give us an idea of its operating scope. Well, they are front and center in all of the influence operations in America, whether it be land buying, whether it be U.S. Navy sailors being arrested for espionage, whether it be police stations, they are front and center. The problem is we've been still focused on Russia, and Russia is an issue. But for every dollar Russia spends on these matters, China spends $20. It's not even close. So the pervasive nature of Chinese influence operations, it is the Ministry of State Security that is essentially leading and coordinating these activities in the United States. So if it's harassing U.S. citizens of Chinese heritage, which has been a very aggressive program, it is the MSS that is leading this. Land purchases around military bases, but also commercial land purchases in the L.A., San Francisco and Seattle area. That's all in many ways being orchestrated by the MSS. And let's never forget Vancouver, British Columbia, too, in this equation. Now, we just heard, well, like mentioned, Representative Mike Gallagher says that U.S. woke up too late to those threats. Now, how successful has the U.S. been in that case in catching up to the challenges coming out of China? There have been a number of indictments out of the DOJ and the FBI, and I watched that closely. I mean, there's been a number who have been indicted for the harassment of U.S. citizens of Chinese heritage or Chinese who are here on a visa. There's been a number of arrests on that. There's been a number of arrests for the police stations. But the problem is the DOJ, and they're using the Trump executive order from fall of 2017, foreign meddling in elections as really the basis for their activities, though. They used to have a separate China influence task force, and that's been merged together overall with the foreign influence task force, which is the same task force that is doing questionable things like targeting Americans on social media. So we need to have a distinct and separate countering Chinese influence operations task force out of the FBI that totally focuses on countering MSS. Now, it seems like there is many different initiatives coming out of China. Can you just sum up really quick, what does it mean? How does that fit into the overall picture? What is China trying to do here? There's a term called advanced force operations. It's an obscure term, but extremely important. For some reason, that manual has been taken off the Department of Defense website. It's no longer public facing. The Chinese read everything. These are all advanced force operations to prepare for conflict. Advanced force is all the things you do in preparation for conflict. Merging your agents out, merging your influence cash out, coming up with the target list of who you want to influence, what you want to do. We got the spy cranes. Now we got the spy floating dry docks. All of these things are part of their preparation for showdown. That doesn't mean that for sure they're going to start war, but they're sure preparing for it. Wow. Well, some uneasy words here. Thank you so much, Colonel John Mills, for breaking things down for us. I appreciate your time this morning. Thank you, Evelyn. An honor to be with you here. and now some short headlines from around the world. Italy dealt a surprise blow to its banks after it set a one-off 40% tax on profits reaped from higher interest rates. It's designed to help consumers and businesses cope with higher borrowing costs. The move sent stocks plunging. More European countries may now follow suit. Australian police arrested 19 men for allegedly sharing child abuse material online and saved 13 children from further harm after receiving tips from the FBI. It's part of a global child sex abuse probe that saw almost 100 arrested following the murder of two FBI agents in Florida in 2021. The officers were investigating child abuse. The World Bank said it will not consider new loans to Uganda after the East African country earlier this year enacted an anti-gay bill. The legislation adds the death penalty as punishment for certain cases of practicing homosexuality. Uganda has been defiant amid concern that partners such as the World Bank might withdraw resources over the law. 41 my immigrants died in a shipwreck last week in the central Mediterranean. That's according to accounts from survivors who just reached the Italian island of Lampedusa. Their boat carrying 45 people, including three children, set off last week from Tunisia, but capsized and sank after a few hours. Well, it's such a good thing that they have some suspects in custody now because we have to keep our children safe like that story in Australia. Absolutely. More on that topic actually. Coming up, we have hundreds of sex trafficking victims rescued by the FBI. Meanwhile, Texas officers rescue over 900 smuggled children at the border. A former investigator tells us more about efforts to protect victims. And a Florida mayor discovered 70 pounds of cocaine while she was on vacation. It was drifting in the ocean off the Florida Keys. That story coming up after the break. Hey, I told you enough of that. But look, this is different. It's gone King World. more family-friendly entertainment. Ancient Scandinavians, often referred to as the Vikings, might not have been so simple and barbaric as they've been portrayed for the last decades. In order to understand the Vikings on a deeper level, we need to take a closer look at their original belief system, their earliest ethical principles and worldview, which are revealed in the myths, stories, and prophecies of their times. In many of the Vikings' stories, we learn about the dangers of corruption of the human soul and all this ties into how and why the world and humankind eventually degenerates, leading up to the end times and the last battle between good and evil. In this episode, we're going to take a look into the inner world of the ancient Scandinavians, get acquainted with two of their most central tales that reveal their guiding principles for humankind, both for themselves as well as for mankind in modern times. Life doesn't always give you time to change the outcome. Prediabetes does. One in three adults has prediabetes, and you could. There are usually no signs for prediabetes, so it's important to understand your risk. With early diagnosis, prediabetes can be reversed. and you can change the outcome. Take the 1-minute Prediabetes Risk Test today. Go to doihaveprediabetes.org. It's good to have you back with us. 200 sex trafficking victims and 59 missing children were recently rescued. It was part of the FBI's two-week operation to tackle child exploitation. The Bureau arrested or identified over 60 suspected traffickers and 126 suspects involved in trafficking and child sex exploitation. Also in Operation Cross Country, the FBI found 59 child sex trafficking and child sex exploitation victims. We're speaking to an expert who has garnered international recognition for his research and work as a former sex trafficking police investigator. Marcel van der Vaat, Director of the Research Institute at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation joins us live. Marcel, it's great to have you on the show today. This operation included nearly every FBI field office and their state and local partners. What goes into an initiative like this? Well, good morning, Kevin, and thank you for covering this important issue. I mean, it's an enormous task, you know, getting people together, you know, deciding what the strategy would be. And it's an iterative risk assessment in terms of, you know, what do we do, how do we do it. And we are really trying to hit at the core of what the problem is. And we have to commend the FBI and all its partners for doing a great job. Yes, valiant efforts on their part. And are there enough resources being allocated to tackle this issue? Well, what we have seen, and I'm just going to refer very briefly to Attorney General Mary Garland's press statement. I mean, he rightfully states that sex traffickers does immeasurable harm to society at large. But I think there's one critical link that's missing, and we're seeing this in research as well. It's the sex buyers. We need to understand that traffickers and the sex traffickers may be the ones who pocket the money, but there are men who pay the money. And that's where we often see that, you know, efforts to consistently and measurably discourage consumer-level demand. Those people actually pay for these victims to sexually abuse and access them. That's where research and practice frequently fall through the cracks, Kevin. And of course, Marcel, you have written about the need to eliminate the demand for sex trafficking with the goal of stopping it altogether. So can you explain how that can be done? Oh, absolutely. I think law enforcement is really well equipped. We've documented at least 15 different demand reduction tactics. And some of them, we've documented these over a period of 50 years where they've been effectively employed in America. They are feasible as well. But I mean, we've seen some of those that the viewers would be more familiar with. It's typical reverse things and decoy operations on the streets. But there are others as well. It's identity disclosure, telling America who are the people who purchase sexual access to children. There are tactics like impounding vehicles, suspending licenses. And then what we've documented here as well is the use of augmented intelligence. That's where artificial intelligence are complemented with machines and machine learning to discourage consumer-level demand with a view to eliminate it. So the tactics are there. And very often, I think we lack political will to address this issue because there's a lot of undercurrents around the issue of consumer-level demand and also why it really should be prioritized as a primary prevention. Those deterrent tactics can go a long way. And I want to quote FBI Director Christopher Wray here in describing how heinous this crime is. He says, Human trafficking is a grave violation of human rights that preys on the most vulnerable members of our society. So what punishment awaits people who are convicted of these crimes? Look, there are, I mean, every state its own laws and gravity that they assign to actual sentencing. But these are, you know, the U.S. government and the United States has been a leader, commendably so for many years. And we see frequently multiple, multiple life sentences being imposed on traffickers. But again, coming back to the issue of consumer-level demand, it's time that we give sex buyers the attention that they deserve. Sex traffickers rightfully deserve the anger and the, you know, the outrage of society. But if we think about what sex buyers do, those people paying to access these bodies, I mean, these, these harms are immeasurable and it spills over in communities and it decimates not just the individual's dignity and freedom, but really the social fabric of society. And that should be enough to cause outrage in every household in the United States. Marcel, speaking of children, Texas officers rescued 900 children who were smuggled into the U.S. from Mexico. So what needs to be done to protect children in this case? Well, firstly, I mean, it's, it's, you know, it's, it's just logical to say that. I mean, we know that cross state and international trafficking, sex trafficking, migrant smuggling occurs. So border security and making sure that people are trained and able and proficient in identifying first and foremost, the red flags implicit in a trafficking situation. So there's clearly well-documented research. We need to make sure that our border officials are trained, are able to respond to that, but also society at, at large. I think we've in 2019, I spoke at a conference in Buenos Aires with Interpol and we spoke about the globalization of indifference. And it's really the globalization of indifference that has this numbing effect on society where we don't interrogate, where we don't question, where we see vulnerabilities in our midst and we should never, ever become desensitized to that because that is what is being exploited by those who abuse and they co-ax opportunities to traffic from that indifference, which sometimes and sometimes more often than not are being portrayed by society. A very insightful discussion on this important topic. Marcel Vandervoort, director of the Research Institute at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation. Thank you for your time. 70 pounds of cocaine drifting in the ocean off the Florida Keys. A Florida mayor discovered the package while on vacation with her family. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor was fishing with her family off the Florida Keys in late July when a package in the ocean caught her attention. The mayor told the Tampa Bay Times she was certain the package was cocaine. She later hauled the package and handed it over to local law enforcement. US Border Patrol confirmed that the package contained 70 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of $1.1 million. The Tampa mayor is the city's former police chief with three decades of experience in the police department. Her discovery came amid other discoveries of narcotics off the Florida Keys last month. A video of a suspected shoplifter being beaten by the store clerks he allegedly stole from has gone viral is what the clerks did legal. We now go to NTD's Jack Bradley to bring us the details. Good morning, Evelyn. A man was recently beaten by two 7-Eleven clerks while he was allegedly shoplifting in their store in Stockton, California. Now, video footage shows the man filling up a trash can with the store's cigarettes. That's until the clerks allegedly appeared to hold him down to the ground and whack him repeatedly with a rod. Police now say the store clerks are under investigation for possible assault. Is what the clerks did legal? What should they have done? And how does California law affect business owners who are victims of shoplifting? Well, joining me now is criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor Ambrosio Rodriguez. In this situation with the 7-Eleven clerks allegedly beating this suspected thief, were they in the right there? Is that what they did legal? So I'm gonna break this up because there's what's legal and what a jury will accept. So it is a store owner has the right to stop, right? To hold them in order for the police to come. Now, what we see in this video is we have a very arrogant and entitled person who tells them that there's nothing they can do to get insurance, right? He basically mocks them. At one point, they hold them down. Now, when they begin to hit him with a stick, they do not have the legal right to do that. That's when their right to protect their property ends with them being able to physically assault someone who cannot defend themselves. Now, I think that's only part of it though, because that's academic. Think what is going to happen is if this goes to trial. I think the government has a very, very strong, has a very big problem getting a conviction because we have gotten to a point that it's not just that the crime is rising and that we've had a rise in crime, but there's a rise in lawlessness, right? In this sense that we no longer can feel safe. I think most people who have had, who live in an urban center, who've called 911, know what I'm talking about. And so when the video shows him being escorted out and he asked for a soda, a jury sees that. They're not gonna convict. The jury's gonna side with the store owners, not with this guy. This incident is just one of many affecting small business owners in California. To dive into this further, we welcome to the program, John Kabatek, the California State Executive Director at the National Federation of Independent Business. So John, what is your reaction to this incident where the 7-Eleven store clerks are beating this alleged shoplifter, or it appears that they are. Are they in the right here? What is your reaction? Well, these incidents have become so far and widespread. It is really sad to see these store owners, these shop owners, having to take things into their own hands. The last thing we want is for anybody to feel that they're vulnerable, that this escalates to something worse. But you have to also understand, these mom and pop owners, these businesses, are everything that they have created from the ground up. And it is their financial livelihood. When somebody breaks in, when they start taking things, this is their livelihood. They put their mortgages on the line. They're often in debt. And this is the very survival of, for them and their families and their employees. So we don't condone this kind of action, but we understand, and we can't fault them for wanting to protect their own business and stop these crimes. And as an executive director of NFIB in California, what have small business owners said to you about the state of safety in California? Quite frankly, they're terrified. And they're feeling like nobody is listening to them. You know what we have are policy makers in Sacramento that continue to sit on their hands and not pass one single piece of legislation, bipartisan legislation, by the way, that would actually help not only fix these problems, hold the criminals accountable, but also talk about things like diversion prog, rehabilitation. So you got small business owners who are saying, look, we wanna do the right thing in our community. We wanna create jobs. We're trying to help our community. But we feel like, number one, Sacramento is doing nothing to give us the law enforcement help we need locally. And at the same time, we've got weak laws, like Proposition 47, that are just allowing these criminals to once again, every single day, have a pass and break the law. And can you break down what Proposition 47 is doing? Yeah, well, just to put it in simple terms, Prop 47 was passed by voters in 2014. I think the ultimate goal by the proponents was to lessen or thin out our correctional system a little bit more. But the law of unintended consequences applies here because at the end of the day, while they pushed it on that particular messaging, what has happened is it actually raised the value of property from $450 to $950 to be considered an actual, from a misdemeanor to a felon. So that basically meant that the property value went up from 450 to 950, making it a lot easier and making it a lot more widespread for criminals to take more, steal more, greater value, and thumb their nose at the law. And what we're seeing now, time and again, is a direct negative impact, Prop 47, with people who are breaking in, taking stuff, up to close to $1,000, knowing that they can walk the next day, and at the same time, law enforcement, which needs to be stronger, is not getting the help they need locally. John recommends business owners build rapport with their local law enforcement and encourage their local legislators to crack down on theft. Evelyn, back to you. Thank you very much, Jack. Very good report. Yeah, I'm glad we have some experts that can weigh in on this. And you know, Evelyn, California law does allow homeowners to use force, even deadly force, on an intruder, but that does not extend to the commercial sphere like we see here. Well, yeah, I see. I mean, as an onlooker, it does look like the store owner went a little bit overboard, but then if you put yourself in that situation, if it was me, I wouldn't know what would happen once, you know, maybe you loosen your grip a little bit or something. So yeah, I think it resonated with me. We don't condone this behavior, but we understand what the gentleman said. Yes, a lot of challenges to look into. And coming up, we have our finance updates from our NTD Business host, Don Ma, coming up. With the deadline approaching, what should you do to keep your Google account from being deleted? That story and more coming up after the break. I love you! ♪ She's a goner ♪ Here you go. Thank you. Anyone who's ever sold a home will tell you it's really hard. And it's one of the biggest financial decisions you'll ever make. That's why who you work with matters. Together with HomeLight, we take care of every detail. Welcome back. Credit ratings agency Moody's cuts the ratings of 10 US banks and put some big names on downgrade watch. This has renewed concerns about the health of the banking sector. We're joined by Entity Business Host Don Ma to find out more. Don, great to have you on. And so Don, what does the credit downgrade really mean? Yeah, so the downgrade, right? What that means is that Moody's is viewing these banks as less reliable when it comes to borrowing money or handling finances. Now, a credit rating is sort of like a grade or a score that shows how likely the bank is to pay back borrowed money or fulfill their financial obligations. So a lower rating means higher risk and less reliability in repaying debts. Now, some of the banks that were downgraded include Citizens Financial, Truist Financial, U.S. Bank Corp., among many others. Now, what is the reason, right, that Moody's cut their credit rating? Well, it says that a mild U.S. recession is on the horizon and that could impact the banks and that the bank's profitability is questionable. These are some of the main reasons among a couple of others. A lot of challenging to the banking sector, especially considering the collapse of SVB recently. So what are the broader impacts here? Okay, so first of all, U.S. stocks closed lower yesterday in a broad sell-off after the downgrading because of fears, as you just mentioned, about the health of the U.S. banks and the economy overall. This could be potentially a reminder that there are still challenges in the regional banking space. You know, of course, we all remember we had three bank defaults in March. The entire banking industry was shaken by that, the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and First Republic. Now, I'm sure many people are wondering, are we going to see a crisis similar to what it was like before the global financial crisis in 2008? And the short answer is probably not, although it's more nuanced than that. A number of industry analysts are not concerned. They think that these risks that the banks are facing are manageable. That being said, you know, Kevin, we can't take anything as absolute certainty. A little bit of a mixed message, you know, some good news in there. But, Don, what else can you tell us? Right. First of all, the downfall of a workspace sharing business, WeWork stock, collapsed this week, and it's currently trading at about 15 cents a share. This comes after a filing they made with SEC on Tuesday. The company expressed serious doubts about continuing as a growing concern. It cited the COVID trend of working remotely as the main reason for their situation. WeWork provides commercial leasing worldwide. And another update in California, EV company Proterra announced yesterday it was filing for bankruptcy. The company produces electric buses and parts and used to win praise from President Biden. He hoped it would help the US make inroads into a Chinese dominated market. And at the same time, a host of Wall Street firms have admitted to using various messaging platforms to discuss business on their private phones. Of course, this violates federal securities laws for failing to save the majority of the communications. Wells Fargo and other firms admitted wrongdoing and agreed to pay the penalties. And federal regulators have already fined companies over $2 billion to force compliance with the communication rules. And finally, a debt nightmare is potentially looming. The Federal Reserve released data yesterday showing overall household debt climbing above $17 trillion. Think about that for a second. The average American household debt is about $143,000. That's about $14,000 below WalletHub's projected breaking point for household finances. The report also stated that credit card debt is at an all time high of over $1 trillion. That's not a good picture here. But that's all from me, Kevin. Well, thanks for helping us stay informed on these important topics, Don. Thank you. Do you have a Google account you haven't used in a while? You might want to log into it soon if you don't want to delete it. Google is moving ahead with a plan to delete inactive accounts. This applies only to accounts dormant for two years or longer. Google said that older accounts probably used recycled passwords and lacked better security measures like two-factor authorization. The new policy aims to protect users from phishing, hacking, and spam even if they haven't been using their accounts. The company will send email warnings months ahead of the scheduled deletions, which begin on December 1st, and you can save your account by just simply logging into it soon. Well, that's a good thing. Good to know, yeah. Although those two-factor authorizations can be a pain. Gotta remember the passwords. And changes are coming for iPhone users, and it may take your thumb a while to adjust. Apple says its new updates include the moving of the end call button to the bottom right of the screen. It's currently at the bottom middle of the phone, right above the mute button. Something else new, the live voicemail feature that can transcribe a message from a caller in real time. This will make it easier for users to ignore certain incoming calls. There's also a tool called NameDrop where users can share contact info by placing two iPhones near each other. The latest operating system is expected to debut next month. Looking forward to that. Exactly. And heading into break now, coming up, we sat down with a dad who lost his son to an accidental drug overdose. Now he's sounding the alarm. Well, he says every parent should have that talk with their kids after the break. According to Marx, everything must be seen through the lens of oppressor and oppressed. Our property rights have continued to get weaker. The threat of these takings is no longer just for public use, but also for better use. This means that the government can force the exchange of property from one private citizen to another private citizen. This is nowhere near the founding father's intention. We now have a record share of Americans that have never been married, I being one of them. In fact, the median age of a first marriage has never been higher. You may be thinking this is only affecting single adults. Well, not exactly. According to Pew Research, 1 in 4 parents living with their child are unmarried. And let's take a look at how many children are currently living with either one parent or no parent. Good to have you back. Peer pressure is no longer the reason why kids are using drugs. That's what David McGee argues in his book called Things Have Changed. After he shared his deeply personal story on this issue, he put together what he says every parent and educator should know about the student mental health and drug crisis. I spoke to him about the issue plaguing our youth today and what roles parents should play. Here's an excerpt of that conversation. So used to be we would think about teens using substances, misusing substances, alcohol abuse, marijuana or pills. We would think about them misusing substances for peer pressure. That has changed. They're as likely to use these pills or substances alone in their room, hiding it from friends, hiding it from parents. They're doing that to change how they feel because we humans, when we feel discomfort, we will reach for the easiest thing, even though natural remedies are at hand, right? We will reach for something to change how we feel. And young people are being told these pills are the secret and they're readily available. Down school yards and they are not real. They're counterfeit. They often have fentanyl in their debt. The U.S. Surgeon General says teens today are in a mental health crisis. Middle school teens, suicidal ideation, aloneness. And we can't separate that from substance misuse. It's all interlinked because when they feel this way, they're looking for a way out. We have to help them find their natural remedies. Right. And to do that, let's unpack a little more of what is actually the cause. Because like you said, mental health people, I hear people talking about peeling back the drug epidemic, what lies behind their mental health trauma, family trauma. And then maybe the parents of the parents had trauma and then maybe behind it there is poverty. It's such a complex issue. So what have you found? Any specific causes? What we know is that telling students and teenagers don't do drugs doesn't work. What I find, because I speak at schools throughout the country, what I find, there's one common ground among teens. They all want joy. Some like music, some like math, some like friends, some not so much. They all want joy. And we know what brings human happiness and joy. We have to teach that more. We have to think about how do we as parents and we in schools and even different religious segments, how do we teach joy about the things that give it and the things that take it away? Well, it sounds like we're getting back all the time to this culture of escapism that we're trying to break. Also, probably with social media that has played a role. But that's another. Well, I mean, maybe it's another. There is a relationship. So here's an example. Most drugs purchased by teenagers today in America, those deals are done on a smartphone and the associated apps on that smartphone. We also know that teenagers today are going to bed some two hours later than I did when I was a teenager. In that sleep deprivation, the symptoms are often depression, anxiety, often closely mimics the symptoms of ADHD. So in their fatigue, they're more likely to try substances. So you, I think you asked me earlier, like, what's the thing I'm seeing? I'm seeing that our teens, maybe we're pushing them a little too hard. And instead of telling them what they should do and how they should do it, we should ask them how they are. What else can parents do? Teaching joy is one thing. Should, yeah, should parents talk about fentanyl? Yes. Yeah. My tips for parents start with this. Number one, number one, talk to your children in open ended questions. Don't just tell them what they should do. Begin to have repeated conversations of how they're doing, how they feel. Also, as you begin to get answers in that, ask questions about what they're seeing in substances or how they feel about pills, pills that aren't theirs, pills that weren't prescribed by their doctor. That opens the gateway to begin a conversation that leads to fentanyl, which is these pills that aren't yours are very dangerous and here's why. Now any warning signs that you think parents should look out for? Yes. I think, you know, teen years are hard. So teens go through a lot of moods, but I tell parents, if your children stop looking you eye to eye at any time, that's a warning sign. If you're trying to ask them questions and they just will not engage with you, that's the first level of concern that you might want to try to speak to them in these open ended questions. The other warning signs are just their behaviors are changed. They're spending either all their time in their room alone, isolating, or they're spending all of their time now out with friends, remaking their family unit in another situation. Research shows that either of those scenarios increase the odds that your child has begun substance misuse. Well, I think that's very inspiring to talk to you, to see the recovery you have made, your family has made, and it's a very complex issue, but I think you're making a great first step or multiple first steps, so thank you so much. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. The interview, What Has Changed, was launched yesterday, so make sure to check that out, and you can watch the full version of that interview online at NTD.com. He told me more about what parents should do, how pill popping culture affects the youth, and how his family recovered from their loss. You both covered a lot of topics in there, and some of the natural remedies, these solutions, they sound like fun. Learning a musical instrument, playing a sport, getting involved in other clubs. I think you talked about meditation as well, and you know, teaching joy sounds like such a general mundane thing, but I think, you know, if some people can actually find joy in their everyday lives, then a lot of those unhealthy things probably will become obsolete, right? Yeah, it's really great building those wholesome habits. Yeah, exactly. Alright, that's all for today's program. We'd love to hear from you at goodmorning at NTD.com, so shoot us an email if you'd like. Thanks for watching. I'm Evelyn Lee. Thanks for watching us on YouTube. Did you know YouTube only keeps selected videos on its platform? So if you want to make sure you get the full picture, just subscribe to our newsletter. Go to newsletter.ntd.com and sign up. It's free.