NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (Nov. 19)

This is MTV Evening News. Live from our global headquarters in New York City, here's Tiffany Meyer. Good evening. Thanks for joining us. I'm Paul Graney. In for Tiffany Meyer this evening. President-elect Trump's New York criminal case is in limbo. This is following his election victory. New York prosecutors said today they'll oppose any effort to dismiss his convictions. In a court filing today, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said Trump's forthcoming presidency isn't grounds for dropping a case that was already tried, but the prosecutors expressed some openness to delaying the case until after Trump's second term. Trump was convicted in May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. His lawyers have urged New York Judge Juan Marchand to dismiss the case following his election win. Trump's sentencing is currently scheduled for next Tuesday, November 26th. The Manhattan District Attorney's Office said it would agree to postpone the sentencing. And FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell testified before Congress today to address allegations of political bias by members of the agency during hurricane relief efforts. NPD's Washington correspondent Luis Martinez joins us from Capitol Hill with more on the story. The House's Transportation and Innovation Committee and the House's Oversight Committee held separate hearings this Tuesday to depose FEMA Administrator Diane Criswell over allegations of political bias within the agency. Concerning press reports from Lake Placid, Florida that FEMA skipped over homes impacted by Hurricane Milton that displayed signs supporting President-elect Trump. The FEMA supervisor who was accused of political bias has since been fired, but lawmakers have demanded further investigation into the allegations. What I'd like for the American people to know is before I even deployed to Florida that this was the work culture there. Unfortunately, that trend ran with those Trump campaign signs. I don't create policy. FEMA does. I just implement it in the field. FEMA Administrator Diane Criswell defended her handling of the controversy. I do not believe that this employee's actions are indicative of any widespread cultural problems. House Republicans pressed the FEMA Administrator on the management of the department's funds. The aftermath of Hurricane Blue through Tennessee and North Carolina was just devastating and up to now the relief I think effort has been lackluster at best. You have these independent groups, you have Samaritan's Purse and others that are really doing great work. I think it shows that maybe government has outused its usefulness in this situation. FEMA needs a new director. The country wants a new administration. So the way that they've been running business now, he could request a hundred trillion dollars and I don't have confidence in the Biden administration's ability to use those funds in a matter that actually helps people. Earlier this week, President Joe Biden requested nearly $100 billion in supplemental funds for FEMA and Congress will have to review that petition. It's a huge amount of money. So we're going to have to see what all of that is for, but you're talking about unprecedented disasters in Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. Look, we saw it in Maria, we saw it in Superstorm Sandy, we saw it in Katrina. Sometimes we have these unprecedented disasters and they're very expensive. Lawmakers will have until December 20th to approve or reject the supplemental funds requested by the president. Reporting from Washington DC, Luis Eduardo Martinez, NTD News. So will Congress approve President Biden's request for the $100 billion in disaster relief funds and what's first on the agenda for President-elect Trump's newly formed Department of Government Efficiency? Tune in at 7 p.m. Eastern time to hear what Republican Congressman Ralph Norman of South Carolina has to say. But all of this and more on Capitol Report with Steve Lance, here on NTD News. And President-elect Trump is moving full steam ahead with his transition as he unveils more picks for key positions. It comes as he watches the launch of a powerful SpaceX rocket along with Elon Musk. And today's Iris Tao has more from West Palm Beach. Along with Elon Musk and Senator Ted Cruz, President-elect Trump on Tuesday attending the launch of SpaceX's Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built on a sixth test flight from Texas. It's another show of Musk's increasing role in Trump's orbit and it comes as Trump's moving full steam ahead with more picks for his new administration. On Tuesday, Trump announced Howard Lutnick will be his pick for the Commerce Secretary. Lutnick is the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and has been the co-chair of Trump's transition team. In a statement, Trump praised Lutnick for his work on the transition team and calling him a dynamic force on Wall Street for more than 30 years. Trump asked that Lutnick will lead our tariff and trade agenda. Trump has vowed to impose sweeping tariffs on countries like China. Same thing with China. We're going to tariff the hell out of them. And Lutnick has been also advocating for it. Our economy was rocking. This is 19, 125 years ago. We had no income tax and all we had was tariffs. Trump also announced that he's nominating Mehmet Oz, the celebrity doctor and one-time Pennsylvania Senate candidate to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. That's the agency administering those welfare programs. And Trump says Oz will work with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's pick for the Health and Human Services Secretary, to quote, take on the illness industrial complex. Trump is set to announce more picks for key cabinet positions in the coming days and weeks, including secretaries of the Labor and Education Departments. Reporting from West Palm Beach, Ivers Tao, NTD News. And Trump's pick for FCC Chair Brandon Carr wrote a chapter for the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025. The entity calls for reining in big tech by changing the laws and making them pay more. Here's the story. Thank you for the invitation to testify. Incoming FCC Chair Brendan Carr is one of the authors of the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, an outline of conservative policy proposals. In the document, Carr says one of his priorities is reining in big tech, which he says censors certain political viewpoints. Carr wants to make changes regarding Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Section 230 generally provides big tech companies immunity from being sued for content posted by users and for removing content posted by users. Carr says the courts have given big tech sweeping immunity and that the court should interpret the In addition, Carr wants Congress to write new laws directly addressing allegations of discrimination by big tech. Carr also wants to force transparency because of alleged search results manipulation and user demonetization. He wants tech companies to provide detailed disclosures regarding what he calls prioritizing or discriminating against content. Carr wants people to challenge content moderation decisions and force big tech to go through an appeals process. And he wants big tech to pay, literally. Right now, carriers like AT&T and Comcast pay quarterly into the FCC's Universal Service Fund. Carr says this is like taxing horseshoes to pay for highways. He wants big tech to contribute what he calls an appropriate amount. Carr's other priorities include being tough on China and improving connectivity. And Congress is looking into spying operations linked to the Chinese Communist Party, specifical operations targeting the text messages and phone calls of U.S. government officials. NPD's Washington correspondent Jack Bradley has more from Capitol Hill. The Senate Judiciary's Privacy Subcommittee looked into recent hackings linked to the Chinese Communist Party targeting U.S. officials. They also probed the dangers of the U.S. doing business in China during a heightened conflict. We need to radically rethink how we are protecting against Beijing's spying and influence. They try to find any little entry point in the technologies that we use on a daily basis. And frankly, for companies in a wide range of sensitive industries, they need to understand that if any part of their supply chain touches China, there are very concrete risks. Without knowing what's in the products, whether they be products that have an American name on them or a trusted country's name on them or Chinese company's name on them, we don't really know what's in there. I think with a lot of that foreign technology, there's really no way to assess what's in there. In other words, there is a hardware supply chain concern there. They could have other microchips or other software running inside those devices. So this should be a huge concern. There have been recent attacks on U.S. telecommunications providers by the Salt Typhoon campaign, which is linked to the Chinese Communist Party. And T-Mobile is one example who have been attacked. This operation is believed to have also targeted President-elect Trump, VP-elect J.D. Vance and other U.S. government officials. The panel emphasized that the Chinese regime is doing this mainly for espionage and pre-positioning, which means the Chinese regime is putting itself in an advantageous position during a potential heightened conflict, like an invasion of Taiwan. So if there was to be, for example, an escalation around Taiwan, could they use that access to disrupt logistics or disrupt military operations or critical infrastructure in the region that would potentially slow or disrupt the U.S. response? Now, in light of all of this, it remains to be seen how Congress will act with a new Congress coming in and presidential administration in about two months. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Jack Bradley, NTD News. For the first time, Ukraine has used U.S.-supplied long-range missiles to strike deep into Russian territory. And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also urged Germany to also support Ukraine's longer-range strike capabilities. Here's the latest. Ukraine used a U.S. missile system to strike deep into Russian territory for the first time on Tuesday. That's according to Moscow, which said Kyiv deployed what the U.S. calls the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATAKMS. Russia said its forces shot down five or six missiles fired at a military facility in the Bryansk region, causing no casualties or damage. Ukraine said it had struck a Russian arms depot around 110 kilometers or 70 miles inside Russia and caused secondary explosions. It did not specify what weapons it had used. ATAKMS have a range of 40 to 190 miles. For most of the year, Washington has instructed Kyiv not to use American weapons to strike inside Russian territory. But President Joe Biden gave approval just this week for Ukraine to use the ATAKMS missiles for such strikes. Military experts say U.S. missiles can help Ukraine defend a pocket of Russian territory it has captured over the summer, but they are not likely to change the course of the 33-month-old war. More consequential changes in the U.S. posture are expected when President-elect Donald Trump returns to power in two months, having pledged to end the war quickly without saying how. In an address to Ukraine's parliament, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the war's decisive moments would come in the next year. Russian President Vladimir Putin lowered the threshold for nuclear strike today, expanding it to include more conventional attacks. One White House National Security Council spokesperson said today the U.S. was not surprised by Russia's announced change, but the White House said there are no plans to adjust U.S. nuclear posture in response. The White House also cited Russia's use of North Korean troops in Ukraine, calling it a significant escalation. President Biden's last Group of 20 summit has now officially concluded. The last day of the gathering focused heavily on combating climate change. The president also joined leaders in issuing a joint declaration, and entity's international correspondent Ariane Pastar has the update from Brazil. Leaders at the G20 summit publishing a joint declaration led by the host country Brazil. The document condemns ongoing conflicts such as in the Middle East and in Ukraine, and it also includes a push to combat climate change, which President Biden highlighted on Tuesday. History is watching. I urge us to keep faith and keep going. This is the single greatest existential threat to humanity. The G20 declaration called for peace in Ukraine, but without naming Russia directly. In terms of the Middle East, the leaders highlight their, quote, unwavering commitment to the vision of a two-state solution, where Israel and a Palestinian state live side by side in peace. The document did not mention the 100 hostages that remain in Hamas' captivity. Brazilian President Lula da Silva presided over the closing session of the summit on Tuesday afternoon. He handed the G20 presidency over to South Africa. This is not a common handover of the presidency, as it is a concrete expression of the historical, economic, social and cultural links that unite Latin America and Africa. President Biden also joined his Brazilian counterpart for lunch on Tuesday. The White House says the two discussed the U.S.-Brazil strategic relationship rooted in our strong support for democracy. Biden also reaffirmed the United States' support for President Lula's efforts to address hunger and poverty, which was one of the main topics during this week's summit. President Biden then joined the group photo, which he and French President Emmanuel Macron had missed on the first day of the summit. The White House says President Biden officially left his last G20 summit on Tuesday afternoon. Now, many of the topics discussed here this week will soon be handled by President-elect Trump again. And Trump suggests that he'll take a different course on those issues, for example, the conflict in Ukraine and climate change. Reporting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Ariane Pastor, NTD News. And a Hezbollah rocket has reportedly hit a UN building in Lebanon, injuring peacekeepers. This comes as the U.S. envoy says the war between Israel and Hezbollah could soon be over, even as the two sides continue to launch cross-border attacks. On Tuesday, emergency crews responded to the aftermath in central Israel after Hezbollah terrorists fired more rockets into the country. During the morning hours, a barrage of 30 rockets fired towards the north Carmel area. One of them hit the building here next to us. As a result of the hit, there is lots of damage to the house and nearby houses. A spokesperson for the Israeli Ambulance Service said four people were slightly injured by broken glass in the attack. And some of the rockets Hezbollah fired landed inside Lebanon, reportedly hitting a United Nations base. The United Nations force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, said that four Ghanaian peacekeepers were wounded in a rocket attack most likely fired by, quote, non-state actors. Israeli forces said they investigated and determined that Hezbollah fired the rocket that hit the UN base. And from the other side in the war, Israeli troops continue their ground offensive into Lebanon, gaining more ground as they battle Hezbollah terrorists along the way. On Tuesday, an Israeli flag was seen raised over part of southern Lebanon. This comes as Israel launched more airstrikes on Lebanon's capital as they continue to battle Hezbollah terrorists. Lebanon's health ministry said at least five people were killed and 31 injured. I got to the stairs, and then there was the first boom, and then the second boom. I just saw my family coming down the street towards Ain al-Marissa. Where should we go? God knows. Also on Tuesday, U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein was in Lebanon to discuss with Lebanese officials a potential ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. Today we've had just now very constructive talks with Speaker Berry, and we have continued to narrow the gaps through the discussions over the last few weeks. And specifically today, we continued to significantly narrow the gaps. This comes a day after the Lebanese government and Hezbollah agreed to a U.S. ceasefire proposal, although there were some comments on its content. Hochstein said a ceasefire is, quote, now within our grasp. As the seasons change, so does the weather. And on the West Coast, a looming storm could cause power outages and flash flooding there. Here's NTD's David Lam in San Jose, California. Now, meteorologists are saying that the powerful storm system over the Pacific Ocean intensifies so quickly that it's being called a bomb cycle. Northern California and the Pacific Northwest are bracing for heavy rain and winds. The Weather Prediction Center issued excessive rainfall risks beginning Tuesday and lasting through Friday as the strongest atmospheric river the region has seen this season has stalled. Up to 10 inches of rain are likely in areas from northern California to southwestern Oregon. San Jose resident Regina Augustine told NTD she hopes there could be increased rain for California, which has better drought conditions than previous years. I do have community cats that I care for, so, you know, I kind of set things up outside to keep them warm in a dry place. But yes, I do think it's going to be a little bit more colder. Hopefully, we do get more rain as well. But Augustine said not too much rain, which would cause dangerous road conditions for drivers. Wind gusts of 60 to 70 miles per hour are expected along the coast and into mountainous portions of northern California and Washington state. Elsewhere in the country, a storm system from the north-central U.S. is moving eastward. Colder temperatures and areas of snow are expected for portions of the Midwest, Pennsylvania, and interior New York starting late Wednesday and into Thursday. David Lam, NTD News, California. And Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs visited Nogales, Port of Enri at the U.S.-Mexico border on Monday to announce a new initiative. It's aimed at reducing the flow of dangerous and illegal drugs into the country. Hobbs highlighting efforts to combat drug trafficking, protect communities, and enhance border security. The Democratic governor emphasizing that border security is a non-partisan issue. Protecting our border is not a Republican or Democratic issue. It is an Arizona and an American issue. And that's why I will work with anyone to secure our border. Just as I worked with this current administration to launch Task Force SAFE, I will work with the next one to deliver border security. That means more resources for the men and women standing with me today. Upgraded equipment, additional personnel, the technology they need to keep Arizona and America safe. And I will be relentless in advocating for those resources from Congress and the White House. The newly announced Task Force SAFE brings together state and federal agencies to tackle drug smuggling as part of Operation Secure, which was launched last year. President-elect Trump plans to ramp up measures against illegal immigration and restrict legal immigration upon taking office on January 20, 2025. Hobbs says she will evaluate the new administration's policies before responding. Hobbs noted Task Force SAFE has already helped seize over 6 million fentanyl pills and 1,400 pounds of meth, cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl powder. The initiative builds on Hobbs' efforts to enhance border security, including stricter sentencing for high-volume fentanyl traffickers, allocating over $84 million to support local law enforcement in combating human trafficking. And the murder trial of Jose Ibarra enters its third day in Georgia. He's accused of killing nursing student Laken Riley while she was jogging on the University of Georgia campus earlier this year. The case became a flashpoint to the national debate over immigration during this year's presidential campaign, and entity's Christina Corona has more on the story. Jose Ibarra, 26, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, is accused of murdering Laken Riley in February 2024. On Tuesday, expert witnesses presented critical evidence, including campus security footage, Riley's last phone communications, and items like clothing and gloves recovered from the scene. On the morning of February 22nd, Riley called her mother, Allison Phillips. A police official testified that Riley's final text message was sent to her mother, informing her that she was about to go for a run. And what is the text? It says, good morning, about to go for a run, if you're free to go. And did she, in fact, call her mother? She did. At what time? 9-0-3. At 9-11 a.m., records show Riley called 9-1-1. Laken's mother tried calling back at 9-24 a.m., but Riley didn't answer. Data from her smartwatch showed that her heart stopped at 9-28 a.m., just after prosecutors say she encountered Jose Ibarra on a wooded trail. Ibarra has pleaded not guilty to murder and other related charges. On Tuesday afternoon, Judge H. Patrick Haggard, with the assistance of a translator, questioned Ibarra in court to confirm he understands his right to not testify. Mr. Ibarra, do you want to testify? I don't know. If convicted, Ibarra faces life in prison. Christina Corona, NTD News. And joining us now to discuss the latest developments in the Russia-Ukraine war is Jim Gilmore. Gilmore served as the governor of Virginia and the U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Governor, thanks so much for coming on. Thanks for the chance to be here with your viewers. Now, Governor, as you know, Ukraine today fired U.S.-supplied long-range missiles into Russia for the first time. Russia had threatened consequences if that happened. What are you expecting? Well, there are several things about this. First of all, the Ukrainians firing these missiles now that they have permission signals that they don't intend to quit. Now, maybe they're playing for a better bargaining position, but my experience with the Ukrainians is that they have no interest whatsoever in knuckling under to Russian conquest. So I think that's what they're prepared to do. This is something that's long overdue. The Russians shouldn't be able just to simply assemble and then attack with impunity. Now, it is true, of course, that Putin has threatened nuclear response, but I don't think that makes a lot of sense. But Governor, after the election result, there was talk here in the United States, in Russia, in Ukraine about this Is this not an escalation of events? It's an escalation, but let's understand who the escalation is responsible for. That is, Putin is the one who is escalating the conflict. He's the one who's fighting a war of attrition. He's the one that introduced North Korean soldiers into the conflict. He's the one who tried to tilt the battlefield in his favor. He's the one who's escalating. We have to put the responsibility where the responsibility lies, and it's with the fascist aggressor, not with the people who are trying to resist in order to preserve their own sovereignty. But what is the end result here? We know Zelensky had presented a victory plan, part of which was joining NATO. That's not likely to happen now. So what exactly, what will bring this war to an end? Well, I don't think that a sovereign nation should be through violence and conquest and atrocity and war crimes forced to take a national position, and I don't think the Ukrainians think they should either. When I was ambassador in Vienna, Austria with the OSCE, there was really no serious discussion at that point of Ukraine joining NATO. This is a new development entirely based upon the onslaught by Putin. At the end of the day, though, it is the Russians who are the aggressors. They are the war criminals, and they have to be beat back. Otherwise, you're going to change the entire nature of international politics around the globe. It even has the potential to influence events in the Middle East and in the Pacific. So if Putin continues to prevail, I think you could have real problems ahead, a real serious war. And that's why I think I'm glad that at long last Biden has allowed them to attack. There is a risk. We do understand that there's a risk here that Putin has threatened directly of nuclear weapons. But we understood that risk during the Cold War. Kennedy didn't just simply knuckle under to the Russians during the Cuban Missile Crisis. We ran the risk that maybe there was going to be a problem, but that our values and our liberty justified the risk. I think that's where we are now. I think Putin has forced us into a decision about whether we were going to knuckle under him or risk his crazy nuclear retaliation. And I think the decision has been made. I think this is the big story of the day on this. I want to bring our viewers up to date now. Today, Russia signed a new doctrine lowering the threshold for using nuclear weapons in a conflict. Now, Russia says that an attack on Russia by Ukraine, for example, like we saw today, by any nation using conventional missiles supplied by nuclear power, like the United States, like we saw today, will be considered a joint attack. And now you've touched on a little bit, Governor, I think for anybody at home, when we hear about nuclear in a conflict that has just hit its 1,000th day of the conflict, does it not concern you to hear these words? It does. And it's intended to. This is exactly what Putin is attempting to do. He's attempting to intimidate the West through the threat of nuclear weapons. And nobody wants a nuclear attack. And I think President Biden was intimidated and has been intimidated. That's why this decision is so late in coming. But the fact is that Putin has forced this decision upon the West. And frankly, our Western allies that I work so closely with in Vienna at the OSCE, I think they're resolute. I think all the way from the Balkans to the Baltic countries, to Poland, to Germany, to France, to England, they all understand that they are in danger here from this Russian fascist aggression type of approach. And he just simply cannot be permitted to conquer Ukraine and change the entire nature of the international world order. And that's really what's at stake here. Governor, you touched on a little bit earlier. Let's go back to it again. This is now a lame duck presidency. President Biden had ample opportunity to do this before, what are we, just a couple weeks out from an election loss to the Democrats. Can you explain the timing behind this? I think that previous to this, President Biden has been frightened by Putin's threats. And that's why he has so slow rolled everything that the Ukrainians needed. But I think now at this, we're going out of the door. He has decided that this is a possibility or a power that the Ukrainians have to have. You simply cannot allow Russian and North Korean troops to marshal on the borders and be prepared to invade an independent sovereign country with impunity. And so it's a late decision, but I think it's a good decision. Now, we don't know what President Trump is going to do. I think there's a lot of hand wringing and anxiety about this, but I was the United States ambassador under President Trump. And nobody in the Trump administration ever asked me to back off from the Russians. And I'm not backing off today either. So we don't know what's going to happen in the future. But I think that Putin is going to be trying to get his political goals without a win on the battlefield. And I think that's what he's trying to do. And I don't think he's going to be successful. I don't think the Americans or President Trump are going to knuckle under that and have another Afghanistan debacle, for example. Governor, during this interview, you characterized Putin as somebody who's dangerous, potentially could use nuclear weapons against the West. If that happens, how does the West respond? How does the United States respond to that? Well, let me be clear. I don't speak for the Trump administration in any way, shape or form. I am a previous ambassador. Based upon my experience in Europe, I'm speaking to you and to your viewers tonight. But that being said, this is exactly the problem. Putin has forced the West to take a risk, the risk that he's going to behave irrationally. But why would he explode and irradiate nuclear weapons onto Central European homeland with wind blowing right back into Russia again? Why would he do that? But he's issuing that threat because it's worked up to this point. But I don't think it's working now. And I don't think it'll work against President Trump either. So look, at the end of the day, the big picture is the big picture. And that is that the fascist atrocity aggression of Russia against another sovereign country cannot be permitted to succeed. And if it does, I think it changes the entire world order. And that's really what's at stake here. And our European allies understand this precisely. The Poles, the Baltic countries, Germany, France, they all understand what's at stake here. And that's, I think, why they're being supportive of Ukraine in this instance. Jim Gilmore, former Virginia governor and U.S. ambassador, thanks so much for joining us, Jim. Thank you for the chance to be with your viewers. And 45 ex-lawmakers and pro-democracy activists were sentenced to four to 10 years in prison today in Hong Kong. MPD's Daniel Monaghan has more on the case and the reactions of family members. It was the biggest national security case under a communist China-imposed law that crushed a once-thriving pro-democracy movement. Forty-five democracy activists were tried under the law that was imposed on Hong Kong in 2020. Prosecutors claim the activists aimed to paralyze Hong Kong's government. Among those sentenced was former student leader Joshua Wong, who was once the face of the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement. He was sentenced to four years and eight months. Legal scholar Benny Tai received the longest sentence of 10 years. Tai was widely seen as the organizer of the unofficial primary election. Hendrick Lui was sentenced to more than four years in jail. After the sentencing, his adoptive mother Elsa Wu shouted why he had to go to jail, yelling that he is a good person. She was then taken away in a police van. Philip Bowring is the husband of defendant Claudia Mo, a Hong Kong journalist and politician. It's nearly four years actually already, so I suppose, you know, maybe it's not too much longer. Chan Po-ying's husband was sentenced to six years and nine months. But I want to emphasize one thing very clear that it is unfair trial and unreasonable trial. So even one day they don't deserve to be in the prison. Amelia Wong says her boyfriend's sentence will have a chilling effect on people. Of course it will silence more people because you see how a primary can be illegal and lead to 10 years of sentencing. So of course it will silence more people. Two of the 47 original defendants were acquitted earlier this year. The rest either pleaded guilty to or found guilty of conspiracy to commit subversion. U.S. consulate head Roxy Hoag criticized the erosion of political freedoms and free speech in Hong Kong. The U.S. government condemns the continuous prosecution of individuals here in Hong Kong. The majority of the 45 people sentenced Tuesday had already served nearly four years behind bars. Daniel Monaghan, NTD News. The U.S.-China Commission has released its annual report to Congress. It contains recommendations to help the U.S. stay on top of the Chinese Communist Party's threat and underhanded tactics. NTD correspondent Jason Blair reports from Capitol Hill. The U.S.-China Commission released its 2024 report on Tuesday. One of the key focuses was the Chinese Communist Party's involvement in the Middle East. Vice Chair Reva Price said the CCP is one of the key supporters of Iran who is one of the top destabilizing forces in the region. Buying 90 percent of Iran's sanctioned oil, meaning it effectively pays for almost half of Iran's entire government budget. They don't have any other friends who can provide the same sort of economic support that China can. So it's a very unbalanced relationship. China can get what they want from Iran. Commissioner Aaron Frederberg described how the CCP is trying to keep the U.S. busy with conflict in the Middle East. China had an interest, in a sense, in keeping the pot boiling, but not have it boil over. Another focus was unsafe and unregulated Chinese consumer goods coming into the U.S. Commissioner Kimberly Glass said the commission looked closely into this coming from a consumer product safety perspective. Everything from children's toys to makeup to pool filters that ended up killing people. There are some very serious consumer product safety risks. She said that there's currently an inability to police these kinds of products coming into the U.S. They also highlighted how it's getting more difficult to know the true origin of where goods are actually made. Often things might be labeled being made in a country, but still are actually coming from China. The U.S.-China Commission is a 12-member commission created by Congress in 2000. They focus on national security implication in regards to bilateral trade and economic relations with the Chinese Communist Party. They monitor, investigate and send Congress an annual report with recommendations for administrative and legislative action. Reporting on Capitol Hill, Jason Blair, NTD News. Now for your sports news, we're joined by NTD's Dave Martin. Dave, great to see you. Thanks for putting on again. Great to see you too, Paul. Now Dave, reportedly Joe Douglas out at the New York Jets. Are you surprised by the news? I'm not surprised. I'm disappointed though. I mean, this is what happens when you have a disappointing season. They are very disappointing. So 3-8, I'm a season ticket holder, so of course, I follow this very closely. They have a lot of talent. They got Aaron Rodgers as a quarterback, they got talent receiver, they got talent running back. Their defense is absolutely ridiculous. I don't know how they keep losing, but they keep doing it. But the general manager though, he's the one who assembles all this talent. They have high expectations because of the job he's done. So from an outsider's perspective, I think he's done his job. He upgraded the roster, there's a lot of talent here. And when you're not winning, people lose their jobs. Now, from a coaching perspective, they already fired their head coach, they replaced him with a defensive coordinator, they're still not winning. Personally, I don't see why they didn't go after like Bill Belichick after they fired Salah. I would think Belichick would jump at the opportunity to coach Aaron Rodgers and have that defense behind him. So I'm not crazy about this move. I think he did his job, he upgraded the roster. Why they're not winning, I'm not sure, but I'm not surprised by it, actually. You're throwing your name in the ring maybe to take the job? I'll submit my resume, you can even give me my defensive coordinator if you're up to the challenge there. Okay, maybe. Let's see now, NFL. Alex Ovechkin, I think he's the league's top scorer at the moment. He's out with a leg injury. Happened last night. What's his status? Yeah, NHL leading scorer, Alex Ovechkin, 15 goals in 18 games. He's considered week-to-week with this injury. I've heard of day-to-day, I guess week-to-week just means it could be several weeks, he could be out. To me, though, it's incredible how good he's been. 39 years old, you mentioned, he leads the league with those 15 goals. Now, he's had already quite a career. He's led the league in goal scoring nine times. He's just 26 goals away from what was thought to be an untouchable record by Wayne Gretzky. 894 career goals. I mean, that in itself is shocking that someone is that close to it. And last year, people thought after Ovechkin got shut out in the playoffs, there were whispers that maybe his age had finally caught up to him. Not so this year. Hopefully, this injury doesn't keep him out very long because he was on pace to break Gretzky's goal scoring record sometime in the spring. So, we'll have to see where that goes. It's incredible. 38 years old. 39 years old. 39 years old. Yeah, that's a year older than Gretzky was when he retired. That's very old for a hockey player to be leading the league with the goals at age 39. He's almost old enough to fight Jake Paul. He's old enough to fight Mike Tyson, that's for sure. Now, NBA, big game in Boston. Cavaliers are at Boston, either 15-0. How does that start rank historically in the NBA? Yeah, tied for the second-best start as far as unbeaten in NBA history. Only the 2016 Golden State Warriors, they were 24-0, actually, 2016. But anyway, yeah, Cleveland, they've done it with their offense. They lead the league in scoring. They lead the league in field goal percentage, three-point shooting, point differential. I could go on and on. They play at the defending Boston Celtics, like you said. Boston's off to a great start, too. 11-3. That should be a really good game. I mentioned they were tied for the second-best start of all time. They were tied with the Houston Rockets in 1994. In the 1949 Washington Capitals, both those teams at least made it to the NBA Finals, so it's a good omen for Cleveland. And finally, we'll go to women's college volleyball. There's a lawsuit happening over allegedly a transgender being allowed to play in the games. What's the latest on that? Yeah, we've got a player on the San Jose State women's volleyball team who is allegedly a transgender athlete. That was the women's volleyball team, San Jose State. Five different schools have already canceled their games against San Jose State this season. One of them, Nevada, their players actually said, quote, they refuse to participate in any match that advances injustices against female athletes. Now, the lawsuit is against three San Jose State officials, including the San Jose State head coach, plus against the Mountain West Conference that they play in. Now, among the 10 players who filed it, one is actually a player on San Jose State's team. She's a captain of the team. One is a former assistant coach who said she was removed from her role after, quote, standing up for my players' rights. Now, the lawsuit is simply asking for the transgender player to be blocked from competing, that all like non-biological men are, that biological males are not allowed in any women's sports in the conference, and that those forfeits don't count as wins for San Jose State like they have now. This is all citing, of course, players' safety. Now, apparently this alleged transgender athlete, though, hasn't really publicly confirmed their gender. I mean, it certainly speaks volumes, though, that a teammate and a head coach, or a former coach, though, are part of this lawsuit. Any idea when we'll get an update on this? Yeah, this is an ongoing thing, but as soon as we get an update, I will let you know, Paul. You'll be here. I will be here. Hey, Martin, we appreciate it. Thank you so much. Thanks, Paul. And that's all we have time for today. Thank you so much.