Vance Optimistic About Gaza Cease-fire; Putin-Trump Summit on Hold | NTD Evening News (Oct. 21)

Welcome to NTD Evening News. Our top story tonight President Trump warning Hamas after a call with Middle East allies. And the president calling on Democrats to end the shutdown and breaking ground on a new White House ballroom. Mario Tsu at the White House. European leaders back Trump's calls to freeze the battle lines in the Ukraine war at their current position. A call Russia rejects instead wanting more territory before agreeing to a ceasefire. Malcolm Hudson reports. Vice President J.D. Vance meets with officials in Israel and shares new details on the Gaza peace plan. Meanwhile the Hamas terrorist group releases the bodies of two more hostages. Jason Perry with the update. Senate Republicans meet with President Trump on day 21 of the government shutdown. Now on track to become one of the longest in U.S. history. One Democratic senator now saying he supports the GOP using a so-called nuclear option to reopen the Luis Eduardo Martinez on Capitol Hill. And a win for Republicans in advance of the 2026 midterms. State senators in North Carolina approve a new congressional map. What exactly does it do? This is NTD Evening News live from our global headquarters in New York City. Here's Tiffany Meyer. Good evening and thank you for joining us tonight. President Trump threatening Hamas and saying that trade talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping may not happen. This is the President hosts Senate Republicans at the Rose Garden while construction begins in the East Wing. We now go live to NTD's Washington correspondent Mari Otsu at the White House. Good evening Mari. What is the latest from President Trump on foreign affairs? Tiff, good evening. As Vice President J.D. Vance is now in Israel pushing the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal, President Trump is now issuing a new warning for Hamas, citing his, quote, numerous great allies in the Middle East and saying that those allies are telling him in a call that they would welcome the opportunity to go into Gaza and, quote, straighten out Hamas. Take a look. I just got a call from the Middle East. We're doing very well there. We have many, many countries signed on to peace in the Middle East and nobody thought they'd ever see that happening. The Hamas situation where they're pretty violent people, I would say that we could put that out in two minutes. Meanwhile, amid high tensions with China over rare earth exports, President Trump is now saying that his expected meeting in South Korea with Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping may not happen. Watch. Maybe it won't happen. Maybe it won't happen. But if the meeting does happen, President Trump wants a fair deal. It was a one-sided. Honestly, we built China's military with the money that we lost for so many years getting ripped off. President Trump still threatening an additional 100 percent tariff on China. They want to discuss the fact that they're paying 157 percent tariff. It's a little higher than they thought. After China weaponizes its dominance over rare earths and President Trump Monday signed a minerals deal with Australia to curb dependence on China. The president making these remarks at a Rose Garden luncheon for GOP senators calling on every Senate Democrat to open the government. Unfortunately, in a craven and pointless act of partisan spite, the radical left Democrats are holding the entire federal government hostage to appease the extremists in their party. As the Senate blocks the bill to end the government shutdown for the 11th time. We will not be extorted on this crazy plot of theirs. They've never done this before. Nobody has. You always vote for an extension. They are the obstructionists. And as dozens of senators gather on the newly paved over garden turned patio, President Trump celebrates the sounds of another renovation. You probably hear the beautiful sound of construction to the back. You hear that sound? Oh, that's music to my ears. I love that sound. As parts of the east wing are being transformed. You see the fence and the wall? We're building a world-class ballroom. While on the west side of the White House, President Trump shows former President Nixon's family members Nixon's presidential portrait in the White House's new walk of fame after receiving the Architect of Peace Award from the Nixon Foundation. And on his potential meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Trump now says that they're going to hold off on that expected Budapest summit as he doesn't want to, quote, waste his time. This is coming following a call between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Tiff, back to you. All right, Mari, thanks for those updates. European leaders back President Trump's calls for an end to the war in Ukraine and a freeze of the battle lines at their current position, a call Russia firmly rejects, instead wanting more territory before agreeing to a ceasefire. NTD's international correspondent Malcolm Hudson has more. European leaders on Tuesday issued a joint statement setting out support for Ukraine and for President Trump's efforts to end the war. The statement, signed by 11 leaders, including from Britain, France, Germany, Ukraine and the European Union, says the fighting should end immediately and that the current battle lines should be the starting point of negotiations. But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed the battle lines idea. If we simply stop, that will mean forgetting about the root causes of the conflict, which Donald Trump's administration has clearly understood and voiced. Russia has long demanded that Ukraine agree to give up more territory before any ceasefire. The Kremlin's conditions for long-lasting peace include that Ukraine remains non-nuclear and also does not join NATO. One of Putin's key conditions is a demand that Western leaders pledge to stop enlarging NATO eastwards. NATO says it is up to individual countries whether they want to join the alliance. Trump has repeatedly said he wants to end the war, though he has said that finding peace has been harder than reaching a ceasefire in Gaza or ending conflict between India and Pakistan. The European statement said Russia's stalling tactics show only Ukraine is serious about peace. French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said allies continue to advance at Ukraine's side. The only peace that can exist is one which is solid, sustainable and which will allow to respond to the demands of international law and which creates the conditions for its stability. Some 35 allies of Ukraine will meet on Friday in London for a summit of countries willing to provide long-term support to Kiev. Malcolm Hudson, NDD News. Vice President J.D. Vance met with officials in Israel today, and he said the Gaza peace plan is going better than expected. This comes as the Hamas terrorist group released the bodies of two more hostages. NDD's Jason Perry has the details. Vice President J.D. Vance and his wife arrived in Israel on Tuesday. And while there, the vice president announced the opening of the civilian military coordination center in southern Israel. And he said Americans and Israelis were working there to begin the plan to rebuild Gaza and implement long-term peace. I think that everybody should be proud of where we are today. It's going to require constant effort. It's going to require constant monitoring and supervision. That's part of the reason that Admiral Cooper and his team is here, is to mediate these disputes, to mediate these disagreements as they come up. But look, right now, I feel very optimistic. He added that no U.S. troops will be on the ground in Gaza. Instead, an international security force will help keep the peace in the Gaza Strip. Someone asked Vance whether there would be a deadline for Hamas to lay down their weapons. I don't think it's actually advisable for us to say this has to be done in a week, because a lot of this work is very hard. It's never been done before. And in order for us to give it a chance to succeed, we've got to be a little bit flexible. President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, gave some insight into how the territory will be rebuilt. There are considerations being happening now in the area that the IDF controls, as long as that can be secured to start the construction as a new Gaza, in order to give the Palestinians living in Gaza a place to go, a place to get jobs, a place to live. So that's one of the many things being considered. And on the same day, Kushner and U.S. Envoy Steve Whitkoff met with 10 former hostages and their families in Tel Aviv. Whitkoff said it was really an emotional moment, and that he felt blessed to be in that room, and that lots of people were grateful to President Trump for getting their children home. At the same time, people protested outside of the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, calling for the return of the bodies of the 15 hostages that remain in the Gaza Strip. On Tuesday, Hamas handed over the bodies of two more deceased hostages. And the leader of Hamas, who is in Egypt, said the terrorist group was serious about returning the bodies of the hostages. Meanwhile, another newly released hostage returned to his home in the West Bank for the first time since the Hamas terrorist attack two years ago. I'm very glad to be back to my place, to my home, to see all the love I get from all all the people, all the citizens of Israel, thanks to the IDF, all the risks in life to bring me and the other hostage back home. Jason Perry, NTV News. With Vice President J.D. Vance expressing optimism amid ups and downs in the negotiation process, what is a realistic timeline for the disarmament of Hamas? Hear from foreign policy expert Waleed Farris tonight on Capitol Report at 7 p.m. Eastern time. Republicans are exploring alternatives to reopen the government, but Democrats maintain their demands are prerequisite for any consideration. Our Washington correspondent, Luis Adorno-Martinez, has more on the story. U.S. economy has now lost hundreds of billions of dollars. We have federal workers who are desperate for pay and uncertain when they will get their next paycheck. You got families wondering if they'll go without food assistance next month because many people rely upon that. New federal loans and disaster aid have come to a complete halt. The National Nuclear Security Administration, the U.S. agency that oversees the country's nuclear stockpile, has now furloughed over 1,400 of its employees, leaving less than 400 actively working. It's critical. The humans working on it are critical. We need to open the federal government as quickly as we can. This should not happen. If this was as long as we could stretch the funding for the federal workers, we were able to do some gymnastics and stretch it further for the contractors. Senate Democrats insist that the government shutdown is President Trump's fault, despite the fact that it is Congress who holds the power of the purse. The president's responsibility is to bring the parties together and find a way to make the government run and get a budget done. I'm stunned that he has been unwilling to invite Schumer and Leader Jeffries up to have that kind of conversation. A lot of people are in pain right now because of this shutdown. Democrats who are in the minority in the House and the Senate maintain their demand to extend COVID-era health care tax credits to reopen government. We've offered them a lot of the things they were asking for, a normal appropriations process, an opportunity to get a vote on some of the things that they want to see voted on with respect to the expiring Obamacare enhanced subsidies. But that can't happen until we open up the government. They're out here decrying the so-called forthcoming health care crisis, they say. It's the one that they themselves created. The Democrats created Obamacare. They're the ones that created a subsidy with an expiration date. They're the ones that did all of this. Republicans are trying to fix it. Republicans are now considering a new year-long continuing resolution to reopen government, given that Democrats have shown no interest in a regular appropriations process. Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries are terrified of their far-left base in New York and around the country. So they have given in to their demands to shut down the government so that they themselves can get the left's approval and somehow salvage their political careers. Three Senate Democrats have consistently voted with Republicans to reopen the government. Senator John Fetterman from Pennsylvania is now even saying that he would support if Republicans tried to overwrite the filibuster to end the shutdown. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Luis Eduardo Martinez, NTD News. As the government shutdown drags on, which side of the aisle is winning the messaging war? NTD's Sam Wah was out on the National Mall in D.C. to hear from the people. Who do you think is to blame for this government shutdown? Schumer. He's passed all kinds of CR bills in the past when they were the majority. So I think it's unfair what they're doing, especially when they want to give benefits to people who aren't citizens. I think both sides are to blame, but probably the Republicans a little more because they think they can shove through everything they want without the Democrats to help them. The Democrats are to blame. And I've been watching this for 55 years, and to be very honest, I've watched nothing but one abject failure after another going all the way back to Vietnam. I don't know. It doesn't seem unreasonable to me to say, let's just have a clean CR and push it down the road and we can discuss it. So if they aren't willing to do that, the Democrats aren't willing to do that, I think that might hurt them a little bit. I'm not sure there's blame, but I'm sure there's blame for being so stubborn about getting back to work. It goes back to our founding fathers. They did the same thing. They had drag out stuff that happened in the courtroom where they met, but then afterwards it was set aside and let's be friends and make this good for the country. In terms of messaging, who do you think is winning this fight, Republicans or Democrats? Oh, Republicans, definitely. Nobody holds a candle to Trump. I mean, if he was really Hitler or Mussolini, you'd be seeing camps already. This is term two. So clearly that's not the case. I think the Democrats have a slightly more convincing message at this point. I think Schumer and the Democrats are inflicting pain on our country right now. And they don't have a strong message anyway, except to hate Trump. I don't know. Sometimes I watch some of the messages that the Democrats are giving and I'm, I don't know. I mean, we're dancing, we're singing. It's like, I'm not sure that's really resonating. It doesn't resonate with me. How about this? Nobody's winning. Again, because nothing's happening. And who's losing? We are, you know, and all the people that are working that aren't getting paid and all of us wondering what the heck they're doing and they're not, they're not talking. I think that people need to stop and think to see who's willing to compromise. And once they start reaching across the aisle, we can do a lot of things. But if they're going to dig their heels in, yeah, I think there's going to be ramifications from people digging their heels in. Millions of Americans could face delays in their food assistance next month if government shutdown isn't resolved soon. States across the country are already alerting residents to prepare for possible delays before the holidays. Entities Christina Corona tells us more. The federal government shutdown could leave millions of Americans without food assistance starting next month. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, often called food stamps, is expected to run out of funding starting November 1st, potentially affecting 40 million people nationwide. State agencies in Texas, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, West Virginia, and Illinois have issued warnings that benefits may be delayed if the shutdown continues. In Texas, officials say SNAP benefits may not be issued after October 27th, while Pennsylvania has said payments won't be made until federal funding resumes. In California, Governor Gavin Newsom warned that more than five and a half million residents could see their CalFresh benefits delayed. About 60 percent of recipients are children or seniors. Counties are preparing for possible interruptions, and Newsom announced recipients will be notified this week. The Department of Agriculture also instructed states not to process certain files needed to load EBT cards for November benefits. This raises concerns about families needing food, especially with the Thanksgiving holiday approaching. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Democrats are putting other priorities ahead of food security. Democrats responded, saying any funding deal has to protect Americans who could lose health coverage or face higher medical costs. Christina Corona, NTD News. The North Carolina Senate is expected to pass a redrawn congressional district map to the North Carolina House. The Senate Election Committee approved the new map yesterday. If the House approves it, the map would eliminate the state's only competitive U.S. House district, currently held by a Democrat. North Carolina's current map has 10 Republican and four Democratic districts. A new proposal would take away one Democratic district. Protesters at yesterday's committee meeting accused lawmakers of racism. They claimed the changes would eliminate one of the state's three Black members of Congress. Republican Senator Wolfe Heye said the move is intended to help maintain party control in Washington. Coming up, a defiant New York City mayoral candidate says he's not dropping out of the race, despite a $10 million offer. Arlene Richards has the latest. Some locals in San Francisco, including the mayor, respond to the possible deployment of National Guard troops to the city. David Lamb reports from California. And Texas is making efforts to reshape public education. The state's governor says they are targeting professors who prioritize leftist ideologies over fundamental education. Jason Blair brings us that story when we come back. Welcome back. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Republican New York City mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa is rejecting calls for him to withdraw from the race. Here's more from NTD's Arlene Richards. Many political observers have been calling on Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa to withdraw from the New York City mayoral race. But Sliwa says no. I am not dropping out under no circumstance. Observers have been urging Sliwa to drop out in order to help independent candidate Andrew Cuomo defeat Democratic nominee Zoran Mamdani. Sliwa says he's even been offered money. I've already been offered money to drop out. I said no. He later told Fox News he might get Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg involved. That means if you talk to me and you offer me a bribe, which is unethical, it could be illegal, and I'm going to have to run right to Alvin Bragg and his investigators, and you could be in double trouble. Some observers are concerned that Sliwa's continued candidacy could split the vote and inadvertently help one of the other candidates. Sliwa said he's also being threatened. Distant from that, with threats against Nancy and myself, I now have to have armed security with me, former NYPD officers. Never had that in my life. Sliwa said the billionaires can't pick their candidate. He's trusting the people to make that decision. He says he will not drop out. Arlene Richards, NTD News. The San Francisco mayor responds to the potential deployment of National Guard troops to his city. This as President Trump says he wants to make the city great again. NTD's David Lam has more from San Francisco. Sending in the National Guard to San Francisco is something that the Trump administration wants to do to restore the city, but the mayor recently said that they have it under control and are already partnering with federal agencies. As your mayor, my top priority every single day is keeping San Francisco safe. With the support of local law enforcement, community leaders, and the appropriate federal law enforcement partners, we're achieving that goal without compromising our values or our laws. As a result, violent crime has fallen to levels not seen since the 1950s. The mayor says he would welcome stronger coordination with the FBI, DEA, ATF, and US attorneys to conduct targeted operations to disrupt drug markets and cartels. The National Guard has already been deployed in several US cities, including Los Angeles. Now, locals told me that the city does need help with addressing drug addiction, homelessness, and crime, but that sending in national troops isn't needed. There's not really any need for that here. There's no major protests or people attacking federal buildings here in San Francisco. In terms of enforcement, maybe it could be helpful, but it might also be a bit of an overstep. I'd like to say local law enforcement could do it, but the SFPD is severely understaffed and they've had so many cuts. I can only see people getting really agitated, and then, well, I find myself on the left, but you're gonna find the real leftists out there starting to- I think if it will make the people from California or even the tourists feel safer, then that would be a welcome idea. I also spoke to two tourists from the Philippines who shared with me their experience after being in San Francisco for three days. This is our first time here, so we find it very cool. Yeah, we like the weather. The weather is very nice. Attractions are really interesting. Right. Nice. Interesting, yeah. And very diverse. Sometimes I'm unsafe, to be honest. Yes. One time in the tunnel. Yes. Just yesterday, we were compelled to take the other way because there were- There were like three- Guys under the tunnel. I think he has some very- Explosive things. Yes. Yeah. It's like making sounds in the tunnel. We couldn't walk through the tunnel. Over the weekend, President Trump said he plans to deploy guard troops to San Francisco, saying it was one of the great cities 15 years ago. In San Francisco, David Lam, NTD News. Texas Governor Greg Abbott says the state is making efforts to end indoctrination and public education. He cited the case of a Texas professor who was dismissed from an administrative role because of, quote, ideological differences. NTD correspondent Jason Blair has more. Texas Governor Greg Abbott says the state is weeding out professors who prioritize, quote, leftist ideologies over fundamental education. Abbott posted on social media, Texas is targeting professors who are more focused on pushing leftist ideologies rather than preparing students to lead our nation. We must end indoctrination and return to education fundamentals at all levels of education. Abbott posted an article about recently removed University of Texas professor Art Markman. In his post, Governor Abbott commented that Markman was dismissed from an administrative post overseeing university academic affairs because of ideological differences. Markman says he was released from his role in September, but remains a tenured faculty member. Critics of the move say that it infringes on free speech. Earlier this year, a professor from Texas A&M University was let go after a lesson related to gender identity and sexuality went viral. Eventually, the controversy led to the president of the university, Mark Welsh, to resign. The Trump administration is aiming to reshape educational policies nationwide. Earlier this month, the administration incentivized nine universities, including the University of Texas at Austin, to agree to a 10-point plan, which includes policies like recognizing only two genders. Jason Blair, NTD News. Coming up, the latest data from Beijing shows that for the first time in seven years, China imported no soybeans from the U.S. last month. How do soybeans fit into the bigger trade tensions between the U.S. and China? Author Anders Skor joins us to discuss. And former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has begun serving a five-year prison term in Paris, the first time a former head of state has gone to jail in France. Tiffany Vest has the details after the break. Welcome back. I'm Tiffany Meyer. The latest in U.S.-China trade tensions. According to data from Beijing, China imported no soybeans from the U.S. in September. It's the first time since November 2018 that shipments fell to zero. According to an op-ed in the Epoch Times, China is doing this to punish U.S. soybean farmers and retaliation against U.S. tariffs. Joining us now to discuss is the author of that op-ed, Anders Skor. Anders is the publisher of the Journal of Political Risk and Principle of Core Analytics. He's also the author of The Concentration of Power. Anders, thank you so much for joining us. China imported $12 billion worth of U.S. soybeans last year, and this year nothing. Now instead buying from Brazil and Argentina. President Trump floating the idea of subsidizing farmers through tariff revenue first. Why is China targeting soybean farmers in the U.S.? It's part of the general trade war that's going on between the U.S. and China. The big issues are rare earth elements, which go into all sorts of military gear that the United States has that China is trying to decrease. We're, of course, limiting semiconductors and computer chips being sent to China. So the stakes are very, very high in terms of strategic level goods. And the soybeans, as you mentioned, about $13 billion worth of soybeans that are being, they're not buying soybeans from our farmers. What they're trying to do is take a very targeted, because soybeans are not a big part of the U.S. economy. It's less than a tenth of a percent of the U.S. economy in terms of what's exported, soybeans exported to China. We have an almost $30 trillion economy. So the economic hit that the U.S. as a whole is going to take is not big from the soybeans. But what they're trying to do is target a very specific demographic of soybean farmer, and they're hoping that these soybean farmers are going to pressure Trump into giving up the big issues like semiconductors and rare earth elements. So that's really the big picture. And in response, we saw President Trump threaten to end used cooking oil imports from China, given that soy makes up around half of China's cooking oil. How big of a blow would that be to China? Almost nothing. Soybeans, used cooking oil, this stuff is penny ante stuff in the big picture. The big picture is Taiwan, rare earth elements, semiconductors, things that are going to have a strategic impact on the military balance of power on the big picture economic issues. But still, soybeans are a demographic, they're a voting base for Republicans. And I think what we're going to see is that President Trump is going to provide some sort of relief, economic relief to these soybean farmers. We're going to be using these soybeans in other ways, trying to sell them in other countries. Failing that, we can also just turn them into biofuels. So part of what we're doing in terms of not importing used cooking oil from China is that that UCO is what it's called, it goes into biofuels. But we can also turn soybeans into biofuels if need be, and then pay the farmers what they expected to get in the first place. So that's probably what we're going to do. And Andrew's taking a step back here. This does come amid the dispute over earths and tariffs, as you mentioned earlier. Now, some critics equate the tactics China and the US employ in the trade conflict. How do you see it? What is the difference here? Both countries are using industrial policy, but we really have to avoid any kind of false equivalencies here. The reality is that the Chinese Communist Party is a dictatorship. They're committing genocide on multiple levels in China. They're trying to steal territory from Taiwan, the Philippines, India. Ultimately, they're trying to supplant the US as the leading global power. After World War II, the United States developed the international system, the rules-based international legal systems. We led NATO. We led the UN, really, because that's why the UN headquartered itself in New York City. And what China is trying to do is take over our place as the leading nation in the world. And that would have disastrous impacts on democracy around the world, on human rights, and really on peace, because it would lead to incredible amounts of war. I think that these issues are absolutely paramount, keeping China out of Taiwan, keeping China without access to our most advanced semiconductors and artificial intelligence. These are all absolutely critical issues. And really, the future of democracy and human rights and peace depend on it. One of the ways China's been doing that seems to be with the economic lever, if you will. There's been a lot of talk of China's unfair trade practices of the years. What do you make of the way this Trump administration has been fighting back, if you will? I think they're fighting back pretty well. I mean, I think the important thing is to avoid getting lost in weeds in terms of soybeans or lumber or this or that good or export to the United States. And I think they're doing a good job of staying focused on the big issues of the strategic goods, the military balance of power, the Taiwan issue. I mean, all of these things, we can't possibly backtrack on any of these things without really giving the advantage to China in the next round. And Anders, right now, many are looking to that expected face-to-face meeting between President Trump and China at the end of this month in South Korea that's on the sidelines of the APEC summit. Trump today, though, saying it's also possible it might not happen, but says he plans to reach a fantastic deal with Xi. What are you watching for in that meeting? How likely are we to see them reach a trade deal? I don't think there will be any major trade deals. What China is asking for is the world. I would argue that China is on their side. They've got 1.4 billion people. They are stealing technology around the world. They're able to corrupt elites from Washington, D.C., all the way to Moscow and London. And so we really need to take action on the China issue pretty soon. And that means, in my belief, I believe we need to extend tariffs beyond just what the U.S. and China trade with each other. We need to extend tariffs to all of China's trade, global trade, which would be a very, very tough move. And I'm talking to people who talk to the administration about that. And we'll see if anything like that happens. Well, Anders, as always, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you. The U.S. is facing a growing threat, not only from drug traffickers, but also from a foreign terrorist organization with deep ties to Iran. A Senate panel is warning that Hezbollah, the Lebanese terrorist group, is using Latin America as a base for drug operations, funneling billions into its terror network and even sending operatives across the U.S. border. NTD's Washington correspondent Jack Bradley reports. Today, Hezbollah traffics narcotics through criminal networks active in the tri-border area of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. Hezbollah, as we all know, is also active in Venezuela, which, under the Maduro dictatorship, has become a key enabler of the group's malign activity in our region. The U.S. is facing drug trafficking and terrorist attack threats by the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah. That's according to a Tuesday panel before the Senate caucus on international narcotics control. Hezbollah is arguably the largest terrorist threat to the U.S. and the most effective operational arm of the Iranian regime. The FBI arrested 128 Hezbollah figures in the United States between 1997 and 2020. And we know that other Iran-backed terrorists likewise have planned attacks on American soil, including a 2011 assassination plot against the Saudi ambassador in Washington and more recent plots against former senior Trump administration officials. For years, Hezbollah has been a drug trafficker, particularly of cocaine, in Latin America to the tune of billions of dollars every year, starting out there in the early 1990s. That money is used to fund its terrorism, and those drugs find their way into the U.S. Hezbollah receives hundreds of millions of dollars from Iran every year, but that may have diminished due to recent sanctions on Iran, falling oil prices and recent military strikes on Iranian sites. Israeli actions in its war with Hezbollah have also killed many of its top leaders. Now the panel says that the group may be moving further into partnership with Venezuela to make more money from drug trafficking. My advice is that we look hard at Venezuela because they will go in whole hog with the Venezuelan regime and with the drug trade to supplement the income that they've lost. Venezuela is a willing safe haven for what remains as the most lethal, dangerous foreign terrorist organization to the United States, and that is Hezbollah. We've had several arrests and convictions of Hezbollah operatives in this country who are carrying out pre-operational surveillance. The panel recommends that Latin American nations designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization to unlock investigative capabilities and weaken any threats posed by those terrorists. Reporting by Jack Bradley, NTD News. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has begun serving a five-year prison sentence in Paris. It marks the first time a martyred French leader has been imprisoned, sparking strong reactions across the country. NTD International correspondent David Yves reports from Paris. Nicolas Sarkozy began serving a five-year prison sentence this morning at La Santé prison in Paris. The former French president waved to a crowd of supporters before being taken inside the prison walls. It marks the first time in modern French history that a president has gone to jail. Prison authorities have prepared a special cell for the former head of state. He will be under a specific regime, an isolation regime, like other prisoners of these quarters, like around 100 other prisoners in France. That means that he will be alone in his cell, that he will always have access to walks alone twice per day, he will have access to a recreation room alone. The 70-year-old former leader, who served from 2007 to 2012, was convicted of criminal conspiracy and illegal campaign financing, linked to funds from Libya during his 2007 presidential campaign. His lawyers have filled an immediate request for release, calling the decision to incarcerate him before his appeal unjustified. Sarkozy maintains his innocence and has called the case a judicial scandal. Despite being retired from politics, Sarkozy remains a symbol within France's conservatist movement. The former French president has received strong support from members of the public and political figures, and his imprisonment has stirred debate over the relationship between politics and justice. Several legal experts view his case as politically charged and potentially biased, comparing it to other recent cases involving politicians, such as Marine Le Pen, who was convicted earlier this year and banned from running for office. In my opinion, the commission of the offence has not been conclusively proven in the terms of the law, and the materiality of the facts does not appear to me to have been fully established during the trial. There is serious doubt. On March 31, 2025, as you know, there was the trial of Marine Le Pen regarding irregular payments to parliamentary assistants in the European Parliament, and before that even other cases. In general, and based on what we see, we can say there is that judiciary system has some takes, especially looking at the magistrate's union, which regularly takes political positions on topics. Sarkozy's case stems from a decade-long investigation that has fueled political divisions and raised questions about political financing at the highest levels of power. David Vives, NTD News, Paris. Coming up in the NBA, four months after winning the league's title, Oklahoma City kicks off the new season tonight against a familiar foe. Dave Martin joins us to discuss when we return. And now for your sports news, we're joined by NTD's Dave Martin. Dave, plenty going on right now, but let's start in baseball as the Toronto Blue Jays advanced to the World Series last night with a win over Seattle, so they'll face the Dodgers now. Is there a clear favorite here? Well, surprisingly, the Dodgers are a favorite to win. Now, I say surprisingly only because Toronto has the home-field advantage here by virtually having one more win during the regular season, and that's worth something here, but apparently not enough. Now, Toronto, though, had a pretty incredible comeback in the ALCS. If you remember, they dropped the first two games at home against Seattle, then came back to win four of the next five to take it. Last night, Game 7, George Springer had that series-altering, really, three-run home run to put the Jays up 4-3. The bullpen did the rest. Here's what the Blue Jays said afterwards. I mean, it was very emotional when I saw George hit the homer, but the greater thing that I did is just right before that inning, went down to the tunnel, get down on my knees, and I asked God for the win to bless us, and he did. So, and then George hit the homer. So, it was great. It was pretty humble to be part of it, you know what I mean? I've said it before, besides my wife and kids, this is what I pour my life into. So, to be leading the team that's going back to the World Series for the first time in 32 years kind of hits me a little bit, and I couldn't be happier for every single guy on the team and in the clubhouse, not just the players, but the staff, too. So, we're going to enjoy tonight big time, you know, and realize how hard it is to get here, and then get back to work and get ready for the Dodgers. So, yeah, Toronto had not been in the World Series since 1993. Seattle, of course, never been in the World Series. The Dodgers were just there last year. Anyway, game one does not start until Friday night, so we will have to make do until then. All right, well, in the meantime, let's shift gears to the NFL, because New York Jets owner Woody Johnson today seemed to blame the team's passing game, or lack of it, for their winless start. Has he commented about the team's decision to release Aaron Rodgers? Well, he was asked about that. He said he never looks back. Now, he did acknowledge that Aaron Rodgers is playing great right now, which is true. I mean, Rodgers is ninth in passer rating, fourth in touchdown passes. He's top ten in a number of other passing categories before the Pittsburgh Steelers. Meanwhile, through seven games, the Jets' passing offense is dead last in yards per game in the NFL. Now, they benched starting quarterback Justin Fields Sunday in the second half of their loss to Carolina. Now, the previous week, the team actually had a minus ten net yards passing. Now, that accounts for yards lost via sacks. It was actually the NFL's worst in the game since the San Diego Chargers back in 1998. That was Ryan Leaf's third career start there. Now, despite that, of course, I really wouldn't expect the Jets' owner to express, regret over getting rid of Aaron Rodgers. I mean, if he praises him, it actually could possibly be seen as tampering possibly. In any case, he said the decision of who starts this week, whether it's Justin Fields or his backup Tyrod Taylor, he's leaving that completely up to the coaching staff. He said he is not getting involved. So, 0-7 Jets still go on anyway. We'll see who's going to be at quarterback. Well, speaking of involvement, looking now at basketball news, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said today that WNBA players will soon get a, quote, big increase in what they're making. How much sway does the NBA have at this matter? Well, the NBA is part owners of the WNBA. The last I saw, they own 42% of the WNBA. Now, they founded it back in the 1990s, although it should be noted that a number of WNBA owners are also NBA team owners themselves. So, already, the number is actually probably more like 60%. Now, numerous reports have said the WNBA is subsidized then by the NBA, which makes sense if they're owners. The most common figure I've seen is they give them roughly $15 million per season. I mean, that's pocket change to a league that gets $10 billion in revenue every year. In any case, salaries reflect the WNBA's money problem. I mean, base salaries this past season range from $66,000 to $249,000. Teams have a salary cap of $1.5 million. That's practically the minimum salary in the NBA, $1.1 million for rookies. It's like $1.8 million, though, for second-year players and on up there. Right now, WNBA players have already opted out of their collective bargaining agreement that exercises on or that expires, I should say, on October 31st. Now, based on franchise values, the players should certainly be in line for more berets. Four years ago, the Las Vegas Aces were sold for just $2 million. But this year, they've got three expansion teams lining up in the WNBA, each paid $250 million to join the league. So somewhere, money is coming in. So you would think WNBA players are probably going to get paid like their shirts said they want to get. Clearly, we're in the wrong industry. Well, I was never tall enough. You, however. Speaking of the NBA, though, the league tips off their season tonight with a star-studded doubleheader. Yes, the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder will tip off the season tonight with a game against the Houston Rockets, who now feature former Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant. He was just traded to Houston this summer in a blockbuster deal. Really makes them a very good team, too. But Oklahoma City, meanwhile, will be without swingman Jalen Williams. Williams had off-season surgery on the wrist. Now, if you remember, he was very instrumental in getting the Oklahoma City Thunder the title this summer. A very good two-way player. So Rockets are at the Thunder at 7 30 Eastern time. Then in the second game, Golden State Warriors are at the L.A. Lakers. Now, these two may not be title contenders this season, but they really have probably still the two biggest stars, LeBron James and Steph Curry. Really, Luka Doncic is right there with them. But James is out for tonight's game with that sciatica problem. Game time, 10 p.m., and it will take place in L.A. So NBA comes in while the World Series is on hiatus for a few days to save their week. Saves your job. Saves my week. Now I can sit on the couch with more sports to watch. All right. Otherwise, you know we're putting you in politics. That's true. Well, until then, Dave, as always, thanks for joining us. Thank you. And that's all for today's news. For around-the-clock coverage, visit us at ntd.com slash live or download our NTD app. Thanks for tuning in. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Good night.