Trump Touts DHS Task Force, Calls Off Troops to SF; NBA Betting Scandal | NTD Evening News (Oct. 23)

Welcome to NTD evening news. Our top story tonight, President Trump touting the success of his task force's war on cartels. That's as he says a federal law enforcement surge in three cities. Mario reports from the White House. Homeland Security highlighting the arrest of an MS-13 gang member in Maryland and protests against ICE continue around the country, including in Portland, Oregon. Jason Blair is there as the city braces for National Guard. Senate Democrats have blocked a bill that would have ensured federal employees who are still working got paid. Many have been forced to moonlight in order to stay on track with their financial obligations. Loose Adoro Martinez brings us the latest on the shutdown. Western allies continue to increase pressure on Russia. Both the US and the European Union announced further sanctions on Moscow. Arian Pazdar has how the Kremlin is responding. And Vice President JD Vance departs Israel just before Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives. US and Israeli officials continue to work on the Gaza peace plan. Jason Perry with the update. This is NTV 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 touting the successes of his homeland security task forces and the president calling off a federal surge in San Francisco while eyeing Chicago, Portland, and Memphis. NTD's Washington correspondent Mario Usu has more from the White House. >> The cartels are waging war on America and just as I promised in the campaign, we're waging war on them like they've never seen before. President Trump today is touting the successes of his homeland security task forces in removing illegal drugs, lethal weapons, and foreign terrorists. >> Should now be clear to the entire world that the cartels are the ISIS of the Western Hemisphere. >> This is coming as Secretary of War Pete Hegsath Tuesday announced the ninth strike against suspected drug smuggling boats near Latin America. So our message to these foreign terrorist organizations is we will treat you like we have treated al-Qaeda. We will find you. We will map your networks. We will hunt you down and we will kill you. >> Secretary of Homeland Security Christy Gnome says that fentinel has been cut down by 50% coming into the US and that 3,200 terrorists have been taken off the streets. While President Trump says that since January over 120,000 criminals have been arrested. This while President Trump is calling off plans that would have surged federal agents into San Francisco this weekend after speaking to the city's mayor who President Trump says promised to turn the city around. >> So we are holding off that surge everybody and we're going to let them see if they can do it. I >> the president heard him out. He said, "Okay, I'll give you a chance. We'll be watching and if you need us, we are here." >> President Trump says he'll be focusing on other cities like Chicago, Portland, and Memphis. Meanwhile, as we reach the 23rd day of the government shutdown, Democrats say >> and Senate Republicans continue to offer no solutions relative to a bipartisan agreement. >> But the White House says it's on the Democrats, adding that the shutdown could cause significant travel delays during the holiday season. >> If Democrats continue to shut down the government, they will also be shutting down American air travel. And that funding for the food benefit program SNAP will lapse for more than 40 million Americans on November 1st. >> That is next week. Democrats are solely responsible for all of this unnecessary pain. >> This comes as President Trump is set to depart the White House for Asia tomorrow uh where he'll be meeting with the leaders of Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea. He also has on his schedule a meeting with CCP leader Xiinping on Thursday. Reporting from the White House, Mario, NTD News. It's day 23 of the government shutdown. Federal workers are now guaranteed to miss their first full paycheck after Senate Democrats shot down a bill aimed at alleviating the pain for government employees who are still working. Our Washington correspondent Luis Adoro Martinez has more on the story. All Republicans and three Democratic senators voted in favor of a bill introduced by Republican Ron Johnson that would have mandated that accepted federal employees, those still working without pay like air traffic controllers and active duty military personnel be paid during the government shutdown. The bill failed as it did not meet the 60 vote threshold. traffic controllers. Some people call the the policemen of our skies. They have been showing up at work without pay. And news reports have suggested that these men and women are seeking outside employment just to keep their families afloat. >> 45 Democrats voted against the bill and three crossed party lines to support it. Those were Pennsylvania Senator John Federman and the two senators from Georgia, John Ov and Raphael Waro. Democratic Senator Angus King and Cortez Mastos who have voted with Republicans to reopen government did not support the bill. >> I do think in the Democrat senator's hearts. They they they want to vote to open the government up. They they don't want to hurt the American people, but we've seen they have a radical base, a base that's out of control. And if they vote to open up the government, uh what's going to happen is they are going to be primar. They are going to be attacked. Maybe their funding might dry up. Democrats have voted against a continuing resolution to reopen government 12 times now, and Democratic leadership has dug in on their messaging that it is President Trump who's to blame for the government shutdown, even though he is not the one in control of government funding. Democrats are demanding $1.5 trillion in additional spending that would only benefit 22 million Americans. >> Donald Trump uh is the president. Republicans control the House and the Senate. They've made the decision to shut down the government and they are the ones who consistently have taken adverse actions, made clear that they want to hurt the American people. What shutting down the government has to do with this, I have no idea. I mean, why you would say to veterans now you can't get healthcare? Why you would say to 650,000 Missurans who are about to miss food stamp payments, you can't eat, how does that help anybody? That doesn't help anybody. It is important to note that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, otherwise known as SNAP, will stop distributing benefits in over 25 states, commencing on November 1st. Over 42 million Americans depend on the SNAP program for basic nutrition. Reporting from Washington, DC, Luis Eduardo Martinez, NTD News. Homeland Security touts the arrest of an MS-13 gang member who had previously been removed from the US and says the department is continuing to prioritize the quote worst of the worst illegal aliens. NTD correspondent Jason Blair is in Portland, a hot spot for protest activity. Good evening, Jason. What updates do you have from the DHS as well as the continuing ICE protest in cities around the nation? >> Hey, Tiffany. Yeah. So, the DHS did say that they arrested MS MS-13 member Caesar Contrarus Lopez who was apprehended in Maryland by US Marshalss and Washington DC ICE. He has homicide charges pending according to ICE. And this is while the DHS continues to highlight that they are targeting the worst of the worst, as you said, targeting dangerous illegal immigrants uh for deportations. while the Trump administration is on track to shatter the annual deportation record. And as we know, the San Francisco deployment was called off by the White House uh earlier today. But before that news broke, there were a lot of protesters that gathered uh in the Bay Area next to actually a Bay Area Coast Guard installation where federal agents were said to be driving and they were uh ended up blocking the vehicles of the federal agents going to this area. As you can see uh probably see on the on the uh footage we have here. Local news uh did report um that while they were trying to block the vehicles, the agents had to try to disperse the crowds using um different methods like tear gas and things. Um, according to ABC7, local news outlet, there were two injuries uh to protesters during this process and obstructing uh the immigration enforcement vehicles has been a kind of an ongoing theme as we've seen in Chicago and Illinois here in Portland as well, which can be as we see very dangerous uh for both agents and the protesters. Back to you. >> And Jason, what's the situation currently like in Portland? Well, as we know, the National Guard has been approved to be deployed here. Uh, I've been kind of hanging around here in front of the facility. I don't notice any major changes yet. And, uh, basically, uh, what I have heard on the street, though, not confirmed, is that there's going to be some activity this weekend. I have not been able to confirm that with the DHS or any other, uh, government agencies or representatives. However, um there's also talk that the area outside of the facility might be roped off both to traffic and foot traffic as well. But so far, since I've been monitoring the situation, it has been fairly calm. However, the protests have still been happening. Uh the agents still have to uh move people out of the way whenever they want to drive vehicles out, which has been the kind of the ongoing challenge for them and has been when the situation can get kind of tense. But I will be uh here continuing to monitor the situation. Back to you. All >> right, Jason, thanks for that and stay safe out there. >> Is taxpayer money being used to fund violent protests through a complex network of NOS's? Tonight, Seus Bruner, research director at the Government Accountability Institute, will break it down. That's on Capital Report with Steve Lance at 700 p.m. Eastern time. An illegal immigrant from India is accused of causing a fiery crash that killed three people in Southern California. Federal sources say the suspect was released into the US under the Biden administration in 2022. Entities Christina Corona has more on the story and a warning. This report includes footage some viewers may find disturbing. Investigators say 21-year-old Jashawn Pit Singh, an Indian National was driving a semi-truck on Interstate 10 in Ontario, California, when he slammed into slowmoving traffic. Dash cam video suggests he never hit the brakes and police say toxicology tests indicate he was driving while impaired. The crash involved eight vehicles, including three other big rigs that were involved in the collision and left at least six people injured in addition to the three who were killed. Homeland Security officials say Singh was first stopped by the Border Patrol in California's El Centro sector in 2022 and was released pending an immigration hearing under the Biden administration. >> He was released into our country by the previous administration. Um so now ICE has lodged a separate detainer um for this individual and these tragedies are following a disturbing pattern of these criminal illegal aliens being issued uh commercial vehicle licenses. Two of the three people killed have been identified as Clarence Nelson, a former assistant basketball coach at Pomona High School, and his wife Lisa. The White House confirmed that California issued Singh a driver's license. >> I can confirm that California gave this individual license, and it is something that the Department of Transportation has already looked into. I know Secretary Duffy, who's doing a phenomenal job, has spoken on this many times in the crackdown u that the Department of Transportation is taking on these licenses that are wrongfully being issued to people who clearly do not deserve to uphold these positions. The San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office filed charges against Sing on Thursday. He faces three counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and one count of DUI causing injury. Authorities have not specified which drug was involved. Singh is expected to make his first court appearance at 1:30 p.m. local time on Thursday. Christina Corona, NTD News. Western allies are increasing pressure on Russia. The US is hitting major o Russian oil companies with sanctions and EU member states also agree on further sanctions against Moscow. The Kremlin is already responding. ENTD's international correspondent Erin Pastar has the details. a substantial uh pickup in Russia sanctions. >> The United States is hitting Russia's major oil companies with sanctions. Washington accuses Moscow of a lack of commitment towards ending the war in Ukraine. According to the Treasury Department, Russia's two largest oil companies, Ross Neft and Luke Oil, are targeted to damage Moscow's ability to fund its war machine. The new sanctions come in the same week in which President Trump canled plans for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The White House on Thursday explained the sudden change in strategy. >> The president has also long expressed his frustration with Vladimir Putin and he has not seen enough interest and enough action in terms of moving the ball forward towards peace. And so >> the press secretary also spoke on the possibility of a future meeting. She says another presidential summit is not completely off the table. The president and the entire administration hopes that one day that can happen again. >> And the European Union is also agreeing on new sanctions. It's the 19th package against Moscow. >> It is all meant to deprive Russia from uh the means to fund this war. >> Thursday's measures by the EU add to an already extensive list of restrictions targeting Russian interests across Europe. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zalinski is attending a summit of the European Council on Thursday. He welcomes the latest measures but says more is needed. >> Mean that we have not only to defend with all Europe with the United States together we have to pressure on Putin to stop this war pressure. It mean sanctions packages long range air defense and of course financial support. Zalinski is urging European allies to supply Ukraine with long range weapons. The Ukrainian president also calls on Europe to agree on a plan to use frozen Russian assets to aid Kief. According to Zilinski, Ukraine would use a significant part of any available funds to buy Europeanmade weapons. President Putin says the new sanctions won't significantly affect Russia's economy. There's nothing new here. Yes, they are of a serious nature for us. Of course, this is understandable and they will have certain consequences, but still they will not significantly affect our economic well-being. >> Putin also commented on Ukraine possibly using long range weapons to strike deep inside Russia, saying Moscow's response would be serious and overwhelming. Arian Pastar, NTD News. >> Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Israel soon after Vice President JD Vance departed the country. US officials are continuing to work with Israel and other allies in the Middle East on the Gaza peace plan. Entities Jason Perry has the details. >> Vice President JD Vance's convoy was seen in Jerusalem on Thursday. The vice president visited the church of the Holy Sephiler, the site where many believe Jesus was crucified. Israel's government spokesperson commented on Vance's trip there. uh whether it you are Muslim, whether you are Christian and whether you are Jewish, you have an opportunity to go to these incredible holy sites and that's the beauty and that's the magic of Israel. >> Also on Thursday, Vance met with highlevel officials including the chief of the general staff and the minister of defense as the US and Israel continue to work together on the peace plan for the Gaza Strip. Vance said he was in Israel to see how US troops would be able to supervise and mediate the peace without putting US boots on the ground in Gaza. He also said an international security force or ISF was going to take the lead in disarming Hamas. >> Um there are certain countries who I expect will be quite good at it. There are other countries that can play a role, but I don't think are going to be quite as useful, but a lot of that depends on which forces actually come to bear and how we're actually able to implement this this phase two of the peace plan. Vance then boarded his flight back to the United States. And soon afterwards, Secretary of State Marco Rubio landed in Israel where he was greeted by US Ambassador Mike Huckabe. Rubio is also expected to continue working towards implementing the 20 point Gaza peace plan brokered by President Trump >> of us. But we feel very positive about it. We're making good progress. It's amazing that in just seven or eight days the kinds of things and systems that have been set up. Uh no one's under any illusions. This is we've already done the impossible once and we intend to keep doing that. Meanwhile, Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Dannon, said the struggle was not over because 13 deceased hostages remain in Hamas captivity. Hamas has been using construction equipment to search for the remaining bodies of deceased hostages and said they were serious about returning their bodies. A mother of four in the Gaza Strip shared her thoughts on the situation. We are afraid that the war will return again. When the escalation happened last time, we were afraid the war would return. We couldn't believe the truce had happened because we are tired. >> Meanwhile, Israel says that hundreds of trucks carrying humanitarian aid are entering the Gaza Strip every day. Jason Perry, NTV News. >> Coming up, over 30 people, including current and former NBA stars, arrested in a federal gambling probe. How investigators say players faked injuries and ran mafiabacked poker games in one of the biggest sports scandals in years. Jack Bradley and Dave Martin break down the details. And New York City Mayor Eric Adams formally endorses Andrew Cuomo in the mayoral race. That's after the candidates made their final appeals to New Yorkers last night before the start of early voting. Arlene Richards has highlights of the debate when we come back. Welcome back. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Mayor Eric Adams today formally endorsed independent candidate Andrew Cuomo to replace him as the next mayor of New York City. Less than one month after Adams suspended his re-election campaign. He said his endorsement comes now because he's fighting for what he called the family of New York. He said he'll join Cuomo in the coming days to fight for minority communities. A message he echoed at an unrelated press conference on child care earlier today. French runner Zora Mamdani said in a statement that he wasn't surprised by Adam's endorsement of Quuomo. He said both men aligned themselves with President Trump and that he would turn the page on what he called big money politics. Adam said he was putting aside his earlier fight with Cuomo in exchange for a fight for the New York family. This comes after New York City mayoral candidates sparred for the second time last night with all three contenders trading light-hearted jabs in their final pitches to voters. NTD's Arlland Richards was there and now shares some of the takeaways. It was a night of last impression on Wednesday evening as candidates for New York City mayor made their final pitches to New Yorkers in their second debate before early voting. All three contenders made their enthusiastic bids before a crowded auditorium of voters who often cheered and clapped. Wednesday's debate came as Republican candidate Curtis Leewa faces a growing number of calls to drop out of the race. He vowed to stay in and allow New Yorkers to decide. Siwa made enthusiastic and sometimes humorous jabs at his opponents in a last push to get voters on his side. >> It's us versus them. It's us versus the insiders and the billionaires. It's us versus Cuomo. It's us versus Zorhan. Andrew, you didn't leave. You fled from being impeached by the Democrats in the state legislature. >> Meanwhile, top contenders Andrew Cuomo and Zoran Mdani exchanged heated jabs in their final pleas to New Yorkers. >> My critiques of the politics of the past is right here on the stage. You can see in Andrew Cuomo someone who had 10 years to deliver on so much of what he's spoken about. >> You have never had a job. You've never accomplished anything. There's no reason to believe you have any merit or qualification for 8 12 million lives. >> The first question posed to candidates focused on the federal raid in New York City's Chinatown neighborhood on Tuesday that led to the arrest of nine street vendors. All three candidates agreed that the federal government shouldn't get involved in local matters, but they had slightly different views on how the mayor should handle it. >> Uh, I've had a lot of dealings with President Trump. Uh, and there's only one way to deal with him. He puts his finger in your chest and you have to put your finger right back in his chest. >> Mom Donnie said the city shouldn't be collaborating with the federal government like the current mayor does. What we need to do is actually pass the street vending reform bills that have been in the city council, some of which that this mayor has actually overridden. >> Siwa said there's no communication between local authorities and the feds. >> But we can't tolerate citizens attacking our federal law enforcement forces in the street uh because then that will just lead to anarchy. At a press conference following the debate, Siwa said the NYPD didn't show up because they were hiding behind the sanctuary city law. According to Homeland Security, those arrested were illegal immigrants from West Africa. Moderators covered a number of general topics such as rising housing costs and policing. There also were questions designed for each candidate. For example, they said, "Mom Donnie criticizes others but avoids answering questions. Cuomo is viewed as unethical and Siwa is a character. Most recent polls show Mom Donnie is still leading the pack with Siwa a distant third. As New Yorkers head to the polls on Saturday for early voting, they will have to make some tough decisions between an embattled former governor, a character icon of the city, and a self-described Democratic socialist. >> Arlene Richards, NTD News. We're following the developments involving current and former NBA stars arrested and charged in an illegal gambling and sports betting operation. Entities Washington correspondent Jack Bradley has more. >> The FBI led a coordinated takedown across 11 states. >> More than 30 people, including current and former NBA stars, are being charged in two overlapping cases involving illegal sports betting and mafia backed poker games. Portland Trailblazers head coach Chony Bilips and Miami Heat guard Terry Rosierre are among those arrested and charged on Thursday. >> Not only did we crack into the fraud that these perpetrators committed on the grand stage of the NBA, but we also entered and executed a system of justice against Laasanosa. Authorities say Rosier was part of a conspiracy to profit off of non-public NBA information, including when players planned to sit out or leave a game early. In one instance, while playing for Charlotte in March 2023, prosecutors say Rosier told others that he'd fake an injury and leave a game early, allowing others to win big by betting against his stats. >> Most of these bets succeeded, and the intended losses were in the millions of dollars. Rosierre's lawyer, Jim Trusty, calls the charges baseless. He told CNN Sports that his client was cleared by the NBA last year and that prosecutors are quote taking the word of spectacularly incredible sources rather than relying on actual evidence of wrongdoing. Meanwhile, Portland head coach Chanty Bilips faces charges in a separate mafabbacked poker rigging operation. Prosecutors say they operated underground poker games using X-ray tables and fake shuffling machines to steal from wealthy players. Victims were allegedly lured in by the chance to play alongside celebrities, but sometimes losing hundreds of thousands of dollars per game. >> The so-called face cards included the defendant Chanty Bilips and also Damon Jones, a former NBA player and coach. Authorities say members of the Italian-American mafia families took cuts of the profits and used extortion and crypto laundering to move the money, >> including the gunpoint robbery of a person in order to obtain a rigged shuffling machine and extortions that were perpetrated against victims in order to ensure that they repaid their gambling debts. Both Bill Bilips and Rosier have been placed on leave by their teams and the NBA says it's reviewing the indictments. They're also calling it a serious matter and saying the integrity of the game remains its top priority. Reporting by Jack Bradley, NTD News. >> And for more discussion on this case, we're joined now by NTD's Dave Martin. Dave, thanks you. Thank you so much for joining us. You know it's serious when you're sitting. But first, what's been the league's response to this thus far? >> Yeah. Well, Jack just actually kind of mentioned this. You know, Portland Trailbears head coach Chanty Bilips and Miami Heat guard Terry Rosier have been placed on leave from their teams according to the NBA. Now, one former player who was mentioned at this morning's uh press conference was Jonte Porter. Now, Porter was banned from the NBA last year in a gambling scheme around prop bets. those individual bets. Now, Porter admitted in court to manipulating his performance in two games during that season. Now, it sounds somewhat similar to the allegations against Rosier. Now, according to the indictment, Rosier allegedly told a friend he would remove himself from a game with a supposed injury. This is back in March of 2023 when he played for the Hornets. They then alleged that his friend sold that information to betterers for $100,000. Now, if those charges hold, it could be a similar punishment for to what Porter got, which was a permanent ban from the league. Now, I also should mention though, the NBA actually looked into this case a couple years ago and already decided that he was innocent. Uh, so in any case, the NBA definitely takes this very seriously. Maybe others have maybe these authorities though have found new uh uh allegations. >> Now, there is another former player mentioned here, Damon Jones, who was also an assistant coach for Cleveland. He was also an unofficial assistant coach for the Lakers in 2023. What are the allegations against him? >> Yeah, selling insider information that the public the betting public would not know. By the way, I don't know what an unofficial assistant coaches, but that's what they say he was apparently for the Lakers. Now, according to the filing before a February 9, 2023 game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Jones texted a co-conspirator to quote, "Get a big bet on Milwaukee tonight because a prominent player would not be playing." The the indictment does not name the player, but if you look up the box score, and of course everybody has, only two players did not play that night. One was Scottie Pippen Jr., the other was LeBron James. And Milwaukee did beat the Lakers that night. Now, ESPN is reporting according to sources close to James, James was the prominent player, but was unaware of Jones of what Jones was doing. James actually missed three straight games with ankle soreness at that time. So, it seems pretty legit. It's also important to note LeBron James is not accused of doing any wrongdoing in this indictment. You know, maybe similar to Show Otani, you know, and that people around him were betting but not him. >> Well, looking at this case as a whole, how bad of a look is this for the league? you know, the more details that emerge, the worse it looks. You know, when I originally saw this, I I didn't think it looked too bad. You know, it looked like maybe the NBA escaped, the NBA, I should say, had kind of escaped, you know, unscathed. You But the big one though is the integrity of the game. If the fans think that these games are any way fixed, that is a very tough thing for the league to recover from, hence the lifetime bans for players to bet against uh bet against themselves or their team. Now, Pete Rose, of course, he's the most famous case. I'll grant that was baseball. Despite being the all-time hit leader in baseball, he was banned from the game for life. They even kept him out of the Hall of Fame for gambling on his teams. In his case though, he actually bet for his team instead of against him and still was a permanent bet. That's how serious this is. But across all sports, they've become much more cozy with these betting websites in recent years. This is now sports betting is legal now. Previously, I mean, there were no previously, you know, before 5 years ago, there were no professional teams in Las Vegas, probably for that reason. Now, three of the four sports leagues either have teams there or like in baseball, the the A's are actually moving there. They're having their stadium built there right now. In any case, so it's only three players or coaches that are being mentioned in it. So, it certainly doesn't seem widespread for the NBA, but of course, you know, this kind of press is really bad for them. So, they're just probably hoping to get past, you know, this week and hopefully this will go away, I'm sure. So, >> big story for sure. Dave, thank you for joining us. >> Yeah, thank you, Tiff. >> And after the NBA betting scandal, do people still have faith in the sports industry? NTD Sam Wong was out on the National Mall in DC to hear from the people. >> Do you think sports players should be betting in their own sports while they're still active? >> Uh, no, definitely not. seems pretty illegal to me because um can fake your own injury and then bet against yourself or something like that. So, >> absolutely not. I think it's a conflict of interest. Some of the people might it might be a calculated event to where they know that they're going to win the game if they bet anyway and so they're betting for other people and other for personal game. I think it's totally totally in unethical. >> Like I mean there's a lot of things you can't bet like uh there's like if you work at a casino, you can't bet at the casino that you play at because you kind of understand how it works. So I feel like it's kind of the same thing. It's almost like insider trading, right? >> Insider I was going to say that. I was going to say insider trading because like it's weird. >> I think everyone should bet. >> Everyone should bet. >> Yes. >> And have you guys been following the latest NBA betting scandal that just came out? >> Yes. >> And would you still support sport players uh betting on their own games? >> Absolutely. >> And why? >> Uh because if you can't if you can't bet on yourself, who can you bet on? >> Make that money. Don't let it make you. >> Do you think this dampens the reputation of the sports industry? And do you have faith going forward that sports game won't be rigged? >> I can't say so. I mean, I feel like there's always going to be somebody manipulating something in sports. >> Bet. Why not? YOLO. Everybody going to want to do what they want to do and people still going to watch the game and people still going to bet. >> We still going to make they still going to make their money regardless. They still going to make their money regardless. >> Uh I'm not confident that they won't be rigged because it's happened in the past, too. Uh but I don't think it'll overall ruin the sports >> and why not? >> I mean I think they've endured all this time and I think uh you know they'll clean it up now and people will be on best behavior for now until the next scandal. But uh overall the sport will remain. >> Personally the players would probably would not bet on themselves during the games anymore. However, you can't see personally or you know change or challenge anyone who's betting. So I don't think it's going to happen and it's not going to change you know the the NBA. I think it's gonna put more scrutiny into everything because everyone's gonna want to make sure that people are playing fairly and not getting cheated out of their money. I don't bet. So, uh, I'm not going to be scared of losing my money. Coming up, a key Chinese Communist Party meeting wraps up just ahead of expected USChina trade talks. Meanwhile, President Trump confirms that China is smuggling fentinel through Venezuela to bypass US port controls. Casey Fleming from Black Ops Partners joins us to discuss the Chinese regime's unrestricted warfare. And the Chinese regime has threatened to cut investment in the UK if a major project faces delays. Critics warned the project could pose serious risks to national security. Malcolm Hudson has that story after the break. Welcome back. I'm Tiffany Meyer. A key Chinese Communist Party meeting wrapped up today in Beijing just ahead of President Trump's trip to Asia where he's expected to meet with Chinese regime leader Xiinping next week that says US trade representative Jameson Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Besson are headed to Malaysia on Friday for trade talks with their Chinese counterparts. Joining us now to unpack all these developments and more is Casey Fleming. He's the chairman and CEO of Black Ops Partners Corporation. He's also a national security adviser specializing in unrestricted warfare. Casey, thank you so much for joining us. Now, with this focus on fentinel and the strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug boats, President Trump today confirming that China is smuggling fentinel through Venezuela to bypass US port controls. First, is that connection surprising to you? >> It's not surprising to me, but to the average public it is surprising. But, uh, uh, Venezuela has really built up the relationship with the CCP and vice versa over the past several years. uh CCP has really worked their way into uh the rest of the world while we've been asleep at the wheel probably for the past two decades. So they've really gone after all that soft power and not just the soft power but also to unseat the United States um as a as a global superpower. So it's no surprise to us in the intelligence community and what Trump is doing and um the Department of War is something uh that needs to happen. So it needs to it's putting the CCP on notice. It's also putting Venezuela on notice as well as the other drug cartels that are that are pushing drugs on the American people. >> And on that note, Casey, talk to us about how this fits into China's unrestricted warfare, especially drug warfare. >> So the overall strategy of the Chinese Communist Party and they are the puppet master to Russia, Iran, Pakistan, North Korea and so on. Um, and underneath Iran, you've got all the terrorist organizations. So, it fits into basically weakening your enemy from within. So, you never have to fire a shot. You never have to go to full military. Um, so that is the ultimate goal. In fact, it's Sunzu in the art of war says win the war without fighting. So, that's what they're doing. And fentinel is, you know, they say, "Hey, look, the British did it to us back in the 1850s with uh opium, the opium wars, number one and number two." Uh so this is all fair game and so you know we're doing what they did to us and so they justify it that way. But this make no mistake this is a war and it's in in capital bold letters uh with drug warfare unrestricted is the overall umbrella. Drug warfare underneath it but it's to weaken your enemy from within. And this drug warfare is very very serious. In the intelligence community, we believe that number is well over a h 100,000 a year. Um that's almost double what we lost in the to uh lifetime of the Vietnam War uh every year. It's also losing like a Boeing 737 with 200 people in it every day. So it's it's a very efficient way to remove and destroy and kill uh uh military-aged young men and women. And yes, there are other collateral damage ages and people um but that's really who they're going after. So it is an effective weapon and it's one of many dozens of weapons that that uh are included under unrestricted warfare. >> Absolutely devastating. And speaking of unrestricted warfare, China actually just wrapped up a key meeting known as the fourth plenum where the party approved a draft of their next 5-year plan. Now the main focus this time is shoring up China's self-reliance in science and technology response to US export threats. How do you see this impacting US China relations or does it impact them? >> I think our administration is finally waking up that we're being played by the Chinese Communist Party, by the Russians, by the North Koreans. They're all in an aggressive uh aggressor axis, if you will, again the free world, against the uh freedom period. So, uh it's something that's uh absolutely key. Uh the CCP has been moving over the past 5 years to much more of a wartime footing, not just unrestricted war, but conventional wartime footing. And you actually saw them display their cards uh a few weeks ago in uh in their answer with uh with rare rare metals where rare earth metals. Um so you actually saw them show their hand. They backed off of it. Uh but that's exactly the way that they're thinking. So when the American people say, "Hey, look, I can't get enough of this Chinese uh light fixture or Chinese cars or car parts or investments in China or anything made in China. That's who you're doing business with. They keep showing their hands. Nobody's connecting the dots." And that's really who you're sponsoring funding to uh to declare war on you. They've already declared unrestricted war, which is everything short of conventional war. But you're they're also seeing you're also seeing them create this whole platform uh of uh of a war footing to be self-contained uh along with their other axis aggressors uh against the rest of the free world. They also claim that they're doing or they're they're pushing for a multi-polar world. Make no mistake, the Chinese Communist Party, it's a two-polar, bipolar world. It's communism versus freedom. >> Now Casey, the economy was also a big focus in this meeting. Tomorrow actually, US Treasury Secretary Scott Besson and Trade Representative Jameson Gre are meeting with their Chinese counterparts in Malaysia. What are you anticipating to come out of this meeting? Could we see a trade deal hammered out? >> We hope that there's a trade deal. I mean, like I just said, the world is going, it's already gone. We're just late to waking up to the fact that it's a bipolar world. Choose communism or choose freedom. And so, like I said, we've been running kind of naked for the past 20 years. We have not been minding our our allies and the rest of the world and and shoring up this this freedom type of of universe that we'd like to have. Uh we've kind of ignored it. we've kind of focused on other things internally and all other problems to keep us distracted while the CCP uh replaces the US in all these partnerships especially in the Indo-Pacific. So we hope that there's a deal that can be struck a part a true alliance and partnership for decades with every one of these countries that say you know what we prefer freedom over total totalitarianism and uh total control. Well, Casey Fleming, as always, thank you so much for joining us. >> Thank you for having me. >> The Chinese regime threatens to cut investment in the UK if Britain delays a wind turbine factory in Scotland, proposed by a Chinese firm. Critics of the plan warned that the Chinese turbines would bring serious risks to the UK's national security. Here's more from entities international correspondent Malcolm Hudson. A Chinese firm tied to the Chinese Communist Party recently announced plans to build the UK's largest wind turbine manufacturing facility in Scotland. The plans have been met with warnings over threats to Britain's national security. But now China has threatened to cut investments in the UK, claiming political interference from the British government is delaying construction of the project. Infrastructure group Minyang Smart Energy wants to spend nearly $2 billion to build the facility. It would be the UK's largest for making turbines and would supply them for offshore wind farms in UK waters, many of which are located near vital subcs and communications links. Last week, Member of Parliament Greg Smith raised concerns about Chinese interference. Our security services have warned us about the risks of Chinese state sponsored hackers trying to infiltrate and destroy energy systems in the West and hidden quill kill switches have been found in Chinese solar installation technology in the United States. >> And last February, MP Andrew Bowie noted security vulnerabilities. If Chinese manufactured turbines are installed, security experts have warned that sensors could spy on British seas, defense submarine programs, and indeed the layout of our energy infrastructure. We would be reliant on Chinese equipment and software, Chinese suppliers for updates and maintenance, handing Beijing significant opportunity for interference. Britain's Treasury has sought to encourage more Chinese investment in the UK. China's foreign ministry has accused Britain of politicization in the name of national security, threatening to cut investment if it continues. The Scottish wind turbine project is not the first with Chinese ties to face controversy in Europe. Last August, an offshore wind farm project in Germany dropped a partnership with Minyang, instead choosing the Spanish German firm Seammens GSA to build its turbines. Germany's defense ministry had openly flagged cyber security concerns over the use of Chinese kit and Europe's wind turbine industry warned the deal would give China access to critical infrastructure. Malcolm Hudson, NTD News. Coming up, during a Tesla earnings call, Elon Musk discussed Tesla's future and why he needs a trillion dollar pay package to run the company. David Lamb reports. And French authorities continue to investigate the brazen daytime jewel theft at the Louvre. The suspects remain at large, but police may have caught a break. Details on that when we return. Welcome back. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Elon Musk is asking for a trillion dollar pay package. He says it's to protect Tesla from what he calls corporate terrorists. NTD's David Lamb reports. Elon Musk recently said he would need $1 trillion to protect his company Tesla from losing control to corporate advisory firms. He was referring to two powerful research companies that advise shareholders on how to vote, calling them corporate terrorists. In an earnings call for Q3, Musk explained why. I just don't feel comfortable building a robot army here and not and then uh you know being ousted because of some asine uh recommendations from ISS and Glass Lewis. They've made many terrible recommendations in the past that if those recommendations have been followed would have been extremely destructive to the future of the company. On Wednesday, Tesla reported a record 28 billion in revenue, surpassing Wall Street estimates driven by strong EV sales as buyers were incentivized by tax credits before they expired in September. Despite this, profit dropped by 37% due to costs. Musk said passive index funds that control much of Tesla's shares follow recommendations from the research firms. For example, Glass Lewis and ISS were against the previous compensation package for Musk, which was ultimately approved by holders of 84% of Tesla shares. Musk owns 413 million Tesla shares, 13% of the company, and has said he wants around 25%. Tesla's board said the package is needed to keep him focused on Tesla since he is also CEO of Space X and the primary owner of X AI. David Lamb, NTD News. And an update on the Louve Heist investigation. Reports say French police have discovered DNA on items left by the thieves. Samples were reportedly found on a helmet and gloves left at the scene of the crime. French prosecutors didn't confirm if the samples belong to the suspects. And authorities also have a new video showing the thieves escaping the Paris Museum. The thieves stole eight pieces of jewelry from the world's most visited museum in a brazen daytime robbery Sunday. In a matter of just a few minutes, the perpetrators were able to break display cases with power tools and escape with the jewels. Authorities have estimated the value of the loot at over hundred million dollar. The thieves sped away on mopeds, dropping a 19th century tiara during their getaway. Police are working to recover the items before they're potentially broken down into pieces and sold. And that's all for today's news. For roundtheclock coverage, visit us at ntd.com/live or download our NTD app. Thanks for tuning in. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Good night.