21st Strike on Suspected Drug Boat; Trump Pushes for $2k Tariff Checks | NTD Good Morning (Nov. 17)

Welcome to NTD Good Morning. >> Here are today's top stories. The US is designating a Venezuelan cartel as a foreign terrorist organization. Authorities say it's headed by the president of Venezuela. >> Dozens are arrested in North Carolina as federal agents take more than 80 illegal immigrants into custody during new border enforcement operations in Charlotte. Lawmakers are weighing President Trump's proposal to give Americans around $2,000 paid for by tariff revenue. >> Lingering storms after a powerful atmospheric river moves across California, killing at least six. What forecasters say is in store for the next few days. >> The FAA ends its shutdown triggered flight reductions today. What officials are saying as airports slowly get back to normal. And photographers in Washington were in for a surprise when a seal climbed aboard their boat as it fled hungry orcas. This is NTV Good Morning live from our global headquarters in New York City. Here are Stephanie Aox and Carrie Dunst. >> Good morning. Great to have you with us. >> Today is Monday, November 17th. You're watching NTD Good Morning. In today's top news, we're starting off with the increasing tensions between the US and Venezuela. >> That's right. The Trump administration is designating a Venezuelan cartel allegedly run by the country's president a foreign terrorist organization. Here are those details. >> Is about protecting America from foreign terrorists. >> The Department of State has announced it will designate the Venezuelan group known as the cartel doo soles as a foreign terrorist organization. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the designation takes effect November 24th. The Trump administration alleges the organization is led by senior Venezuelan government figures, including President Nicholas Madura and involved in international cocaine smuggling. Maduro has denied these allegations. Rubio said Sunday the cartel de loles is responsible for terrorist violence throughout the Western Hemisphere. The designation will expand federal authorities ability to pursue the group. It makes it a federal crime for anyone in the US to assist the cartel and allows federal officials to freeze any assets connected to it. Trump was asked yesterday if the US government can target assets inside Venezuela. >> It allows us to do that, but we haven't said we're going to do that and uh we may be discussing we may be having some discussions with Maduro and we'll see how that turns out. >> They would like they would like to talk. The move comes after the Treasury Department earlier this year labeled the cartel a specially designated global terrorist. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Besson says Sunday's action further exposes the Maduro regime's facilitation of naroterrorism. The announcement comes as US forces continue a series of military strikes on vessels they say are involved in narcotic smuggling. This weekend the military carry out its 21st such operation, bring the total casualty count to 83 people. US Command said Secretary of War Pete Hexath ordered Saturday strike in the Eastern Pacific, which targeted a vessel linked to a designated terrorist organization. Southern Command said the boat was smuggling narcotics along a known trafficking route. The military said three people on board were killed. US military activity against suspected drug traffickers has expanded across waters near Venezuela and Colombia. President Trump has come under criticism from both Democrats and Republicans for not seeking congressional approval for these strikes. He explained his decision yesterday. >> I said, "Go to Congress and let them know we're not letting drugs come through Mexico. We're not letting them come through Venezuela and let Congress know about it. We don't have to get their approval, but I think letting them know is good." Senator Ran Paul and Congressman Thomas Massie, both Republicans, have described the strikes as an overreach of executive authority. Paul has described them as summary executions and extrajudicial killings. The Department of Justice has stated that military personnel involved in the strikes are not liable for prosecution. >> Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman will visit the White House tomorrow for talks with President Trump. The pair will discuss defense, energy, tech, and potentially nuclear energy. Yeah, the president seeks to cash in on a $600 billion investment pledge from the Saudis made during Trump's visit to the Middle East earlier this year. >> Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration says its order reducing flights ended at 6:00 a.m. today, allowing normal air traffic operations to resume >> thankfully right as we head towards Thanksgiving. The cuts were put in place because air traffic controller staffing shortages during the shutdown forced the agency to limit flights. The FAA says there's been a steady decline in staffing concerns. >> Administrator Brian Bedford says the decision reflects improving conditions across the system. >> Transportation Secretary Shawn Duffy said the agency will now refocus on controller hiring and modernizing the air traffic system. >> The FAA says it will also lift restrictions on general aviation at 12 airports, space launches, and other operations at affected facilities. The Trump administration is pushing to let his tariffs directly benefit Americans with $2,000 rebate checks. Lawmakers may need to pass a new law to make it possible. NTD's Molina Weissup reports. President Trump is eyeing ways to allow Americans to directly feel the benefits of his tariffs. He aims to pave the way for sending $2,000 checks to middle and lowincome families sometime next year. It's a lot of money, but we've taken in a lot of money from tariffs. The tariffs allow us to give a dividend if we want to do that. Now, we're going to do a dividend, and we're also going to be reducing debt. >> The idea would need approval from Congress to take effect. Some conservative Republicans expressing openness to the idea, >> being able to show the results to the American people, allowing them to keep more of their hard-earned money. I certainly hope that that's something that Congress takes a look at. Um, and definitely >> others have expressed skepticism. When asked in a radio interview, House Speaker Mike Johnson said the federal debt should be paid down first. The White House's economic council director said the math works. >> If you look at how much tariff revenue has been coming in, then there would actually be enough room to cover those checks and not go into the rest of the budget. So, so yes, >> Senator Josh Holly previously introduced a bill to give $600 tariff rebates to Americans and their dependent children. The idea comes as the Supreme Court is weighing a lawsuit that challenges Trump's authority to impose tariffs. Reporting from Washington DC, Molina Weissup, NTD News. >> Meanwhile, White House economic adviser Kevin Hasset is weighing in on the growing cost of groceries. Yesterday on ABC's This Week, Hasset suggested prices for food staples like bananas, beef, coffee, and tomatoes will all come down after the Trump administration's latest exemptions are put into place. He also said prices will fall as the supply of goods entering the US increases. Take a listen. >> The prices for those goods weren't necessarily going up just because of tariffs. And so, uh, the prices will go down. Well, the prices will go down, of course, but >> but but because the tariffs have been taken off, >> right? Well, because the supply of the goods into the US is going to increase. >> The administration on Friday announced that agricultural imports would largely be exempt from reciprocal tariffs. Average grocery prices were 2.7% higher in September compared to the same time last year. >> But the cost of coffee has soared 21% in a year and bananas are up 8%. >> Hasset said a number of external factors including weather and disease as driving most of the price increases and he said prices would drop once duties are removed. >> President Trump says grocery costs are already lower than they were under the previous administration. Speaking to reporters at Palm Beach International Airport, he said his team has worked through the weekend on additional price measures and that Americans could soon see further reductions. Trump also said Walmart is offering Thanksgiving meals that are about 25% cheaper than during the Biden administration. >> The government shutdown is now over, but the healthc care debate continues and it's at the center of all of that. It's far from resolved. President Trump is now weighing in. That's right. Trump says he's negotiating with lawmakers, including some Democrats, on a proposal to send federal healthc care dollars directly to Americans. >> The insurance companies are making a fortune. >> They are taking in hundreds of billions of dollars and they're not really putting it back. Certainly not like they should. Why do we why don't we just pay this money directly to the people of our country and let them buy their own health insurance? And you know, I made that statement and I made it a little bit cavalerely, but it sounded good and everybody has picked up, including Democrats. And we I am talking to some Democrats right now about doing that. >> Speaking on CNN's State of the Union, CMS administrator Dr. Mamemed explained that current Obamacare subsidy rules leave many middle inome families without affordable options. This is the concern I've had from the moment I took my oath to to run CMS. We have under Obamacare system that that had a clip at 400% of the poverty level. That couple, I can almost guarantee you, is making over $100,000 a year. At some point, the Obamacare system just stopped paying for your insurance. They assumed you would just pay for it yourself. The extended subsidies covered them temporarily. It was designed only during COVID under during a crisis. But we still don't have a marketplace in America to help couples like that. >> Dr. Oz said the administration is evaluating ideas that range from direct payments to reinsurance, aiming to create a more functional marketplace. >> He said the president is laser focused on health care, adding Congress needs to find solutions that don't just work at the end of this year, but work for years to come. >> SNAP benefits are now operating under updated federal rules. This follows a delay caused by the recent government shutdown. Beneficiaries must meet new work and citizenship requirements to continue receiving food assistance. Eligibility is now limited to US citizens, nationals, lawful permanent residents, Cuban and Haitian entrance, and citizens from the Marshall Islands, Micronia, and Palao. Refugees, individuals granted asylum, certain Afghan and Ukrainian nationals, and others who were previously eligible will no longer qualify. The law also expands work requirements. Able-bodied adults without dependence must work, volunteer, or take part in training for at least 20 hours a week or 80 hours a month to maintain their benefits. And joining us now to discuss the SNAP program is Mike Leon, NTD News contributor and the host of the Can We Please Talk podcast, as well as Tim Doer, executive director of Unleash Prosperity. Now, gentlemen, thank you so much for both joining me. Obviously, what's come out most recently about the SNAP program was that there is potential fraud, waste, and abuse, and abuse according to USDA uh director Brooke Rollins. So, Mike, to start with you, I just want to get your reactions to her statements that approximately three 3/4s of a million people um are ineligible recipients that are taking these benefits from SNAP. >> Yeah, good morning. Good to see you, Carrie. Um well the first thing I would say is is that you know of the 42 million people that are on this program I think she said this on the Newsmax interview that there was about 180,000 or so that were found to be dead that were still receiving benefits and that's 0.004% if my math still serves me correctly. So, we do have an issue with uh potentially the program still giving out benefits to those that have been deceased, that have not been claimed, you know, and whether or not the checks are being received by the families and things like that. Like, there are glitches in the system, let's call them, for lack of a better term, that I'm glad that they're uncovering and they're finding out. Is it is it a symptom of the the larger that the it's a fraudulent program and 42 million people shouldn't be on it? I don't know. that's for them to to resolve from the investigation standpoint. But the one thing I will say is is that and you kind of described it, carry before, the the process to get on SNAP is a huge qualification process here in the state of Florida, for example, could take up to 30 days. You have to show proof of residency, not only in the state of Florida, but that you are a US citizen. So, it's already been an arduous process. And I know that now that they're going to have to come back and everybody's going to have to reapply for SNAP benefits, it especially with the, you know, the the government shutdown now being over, it may make for more of a lengthy, you know, red tape bureaucratic type program. And that's going to be that's the biggest issue. I think we're all on the waste, fraud, and abuse and kind of eliminating that and finding where there the program does have some of that. But now that we have everybody kind of reapplying for all of this, especially around the holidays, it's I I'm going to be interested to see what happens if the system gets overwhelmed potentially. >> Yeah, you bring up a good several great points there, putting into context the number of people relative to the total program, the process by which you get into the program, potentially the era is keeping the roles updated though. Um, but also you mentioned that Rollins has announced that everybody, the entire program would now need to reapply. So Tim, love to get your perspectives on SNAP and where it's at and maybe some ways to improve it. >> Well, good morning. And I think Mike has some good points there. And I think that what it comes down to is we look, Americans don't like waste, fraud, and abuse. I mean, that is the one thing that Doge continued to remind us over and over again is that we can't just accept the premise that this program is just some perfect pure as the wind driven snow program. In fact, it's not. I mean, the the number you said u 3/4 of a million people that Brook Rollins identified. Well, just remember that's only from red states. That's only from Republican states who sent in their information on the SNAP recipients. We have a whole mess of other blue states who are not sending the data to Brooke Rollins to then to then go over it. So, it's not just threequarters of a million. It's millions of people who are probably receiving improper payments who are either deceased. I mean, hundreds of thousands of people are deceased that are receiving SNAP benefits. So, this is the kind of thing that we have to get under the hood and look at. There is no question about it. I mean, this isn't about whether people are going to receive benefits or whether this refugee uh group should receive or this group should receive. This is about are we going to continue to spend taxpayer dollars benefiting people that aren't even alive or that shouldn't be getting it. And I think that that's an extremely important thing and I hope the blue states do send their their data in so we can use those resources on other more important things. >> Yeah, when you put it in that perspective, probably those numbers are probably about double if the blue states aren't sharing their data. That might put it somewhere like 1 to 2%. California, you're you're wait you're going to tell me that California doesn't have at least double or triple the number that uh red states have? No, that just isn't in line with the economics. New York, California, those are all high recipient states. So, we know those are generous programs. >> No, no doubt. There seems to be uh no one is disagreeing that there there's uh inefficiencies in the program. And to that end, and you mentioned Doge, Tim, the first few months of Trump's term was dominated every every day with Elon Musk running around identifying this waste, fraud, and abuse, but much of this stuff, it seemed like it was discovered in those first few weeks of his presidency, and then it sort of went away. So why are we just now hearing that, you know, there are these problems with SNAP? Well, I think kind of Tim alluded to it and I think it's it's not that everybody is aligned with waste, fraud, and abuse and tackling that problem. I think it's the people who are leading some of these agencies to tackle that. So, so let me give an example. For example, I can't believe I said that twice. So, when you look at SNAP, for example, 42 million, we just mentioned 42 million people are on it, right? We talked about the number of dead folks from 29 red states is let's cap it at 180,000 and I said that's 0.004%. So does 0.004% speak for 99.06%. No, that doesn't mean that there isn't an issue. It's I use the analogy of like if you if you fall down and scrape your knee carry or if Tanya Harding's uh associate breaks your leg in both instances your leg your leg has been damaged. one is way worse than the other. And so I think when it comes to these type of programs, I agree with Tim, we do need to look look under the hood. The problem I always had with Elon doing this and with Doge is some of the people that he put in charge at Doge, 21 year olds that came out of college that as I talked to people that work for the Treasury Department that that they don't know the difference between policy and something else. Just look at the condoms that were being sent to Gaza. it was being sent to a a province in northern Africa to prevent the spread of a disease, not to Gaza in the Middle East. And so when you don't have the people in these departments that are the correctly diagnosing the issue under the hood, that in lies the problem. I agree with Tim. The the blue state should be sending the data so that way we're all complying. But but but I think that's the big issue. >> This isn't just about death uh deceased people though. This is about improper payments. This is about work requirements. are people receiving benefits that should be working that are actually capable of working? That's what we're talking about here. You say 0.004%. That's fine. You're right. If we just look at the quote unquote deceased people, that's true. But we're talking about an entire culture of change uh of of saying that if you're not working, then you shouldn't get SNAP benefits. If you're able to work, if you can work, then you shouldn't be getting SNAP benefits. That's what the the conversation needs to be about. It's not just the doge improper payments deceased people. We need to do that, but we also need to shift and change the culture in this nation that you don't get SNAP benefits if you can be working. And by the way, Trump in his first term took about an estimated 2.4 million people off of SNAP benefits because they found that they actually could be working. They actually did work. And you know what? They didn't come back on until Biden lowered that threshold again given the COVID emergency. And I tell you what, they haven't been back on since. >> Well, gentlemen, I thank you both for joining us. Clearly, there's room for improvement. And um as to how to improve it, there are also a spectrum of ideas there as well, like Leon, Tim Doer. Great to see you guys. >> Thank you. >> Welcome back to NTD. Good morning. Next, on to the weather. Lingering storms could pose a threat in California after a powerful atmospheric river swept across the state. >> Yeah, that's right. The weather phenomenon caused at least six deaths and left behind a risk of mudslides in wildfire burn areas. >> The atmospheric river is mostly moved on, but flood advisories remain in place for parts of South Car. Meteorologists say scattered showers are still possible after days of heavy rain. Forecasters warned that with the ground already saturated, even light rain could trigger more flooding and even rock slides. Authorities yesterday were still searching for a 5-year-old girl who was swept into the ocean by 15t waves at a state beach in Monterey County. >> On Friday, a 71-year-old man died north of Sacramento after his vehicle swept off a flooded bridge. And off the coast of San Diego, four people died when a suspected immigrant boat capsized in dangerous seas. >> Rain may linger in a tomorrow and another storm system is expected to arrive later this week. >> President Trump is shifting his position on the push to release files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The president is now urging Republicans to vote in favor of the resolution when it reaches the House floor this week. Trump previously opposed the Democrat-led discharge petition. It gained enough signatures after Congresswoman Adalita Grahalva of Arizona was sworn in triggering a vote on releasing the documents. Several Republicans including Marjgerie Taylor Green, Nancy Mace, Thomas Massie, and Lauren Boowbert have signed on. Others such as Congressman Don Bacon say they will support the measure. House Speaker Mike Johnson has signaled that the vote will proceed. Trump says Republicans have nothing to hide. He also directed the Justice Department to investigate Epstein's ties to former President Bill Clinton and other public figures. Dozens are arrested in South North Carolina. Agents took more than 50 illegal immigrants into custody in Charlotte on the first day of border enforcement operations. >> NTD's Daniel Monahan has the details, including a harrowing incident when someone allegedly launched their van at federal agents. The Department of Homeland Security announced Saturday it was launching Operation Charlotte's Web, sending a surge of law enforcement resources to the city. DHS released a list of what it called the worst of the worst criminal illegal immigrants who it said had been released back onto North Carolina streets because of sanctuary policies. Gregory Bevino, commander at large of the US Border Patrol, documented several of the arrests on social media yesterday, which he said had risen to 81. Bavino quoted from the book Charlotte's Web when posting about the operation, writing, "Wherever the wind takes us, high, low, near, far, east, west, north, south, we take to the breeze, we go as we please." Bavino shared a video of arrests along with the post. Bavino also shared posts including pictures of some of the people the Trump administration had detained in Charlotte. One man who was arrested yesterday had an alleged history of repeated drunk driving incidents. Bavino wrote, "We arrested him, taking him off the streets of Charlotte, so he can't continue to ignore our laws and drive intoxicated on the same roads you and your loved ones are on." Another had charges for alleged hit and run and DUI. Yet another with a criminal history of arrests for aggravated assault, assault with a dangerous weapon and DUI. In a separate incident, Homeland Security released a video of a US citizen allegedly using a large van as a weapon, driving it at agents during an operation. Officials say he fled, prompting a dangerous, high-speed chase through a densely populated area, and that he repeatedly tried to ram law enforcement vehicles before being boxed in. Agents say they found a firearm inside the vehicle after arresting the driver. DHS also pushed back on claims that a Hispanic man had been shot during another enforcement action. Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Trisha Mclaclin posted a video of the man on a stretcher and said he had suffered a panic attack, was taken to a hospital, and then attempted to escape by climbing into ceiling tiles before being apprehended. Republican Congressman Mark Harris welcomed the federal surge speaking on NewsNation. >> I think people recognize it's welcome. It will help bring crime down. There had been a surge of 200% uh of murders in Uptown Charlotte specifically. >> Harris warned that the stakes are high in Charlotte. >> These are serious criminal illegal aliens that they are here to deal with. This is not a time to play games. On the Democrat side, Representative Alma Adams said Charlotte's immigrant community is a proud part of the Queen City and that she will not stand by and watch her constituents be intimidated or harassed, adding that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity. Border Patrol commander Bevino responded, writing, "Representative Adams, perhaps you should learn the difference between an illegal alien and an immigrant." The granddaughter of Charlotte's Web author, Eevee White, criticized the use of the book's name in the operation, saying White believed in the rule of law, due process, and didn't condone what she called fear-mongering. Daniel Monahan, NTD News. >> President Trump says he's disappointed with Indiana state lawmakers. He says they need to push forward with redistricting efforts. NTD's Colin Frederickson has that story. >> In a truth social post, Trump mentioned state senators Rodri Bray and Greg Good. He mentioned how their lack of effort in pushing for election maps more favorable to Republicans could cause the party to lose seats in the US House of Representatives. He also mentioned Indiana Governor Mike Braraw. On Friday, Bray said there were not enough votes to redraw the state's map, so the Senate would not hold a session on the issue as called for by Braun. Bronn said on X that state senators should show up to vote for fair maps. Trump said Bronn is not working the way he should to get the needed votes. He also said any Republican who votes against redistricting should lose his seat in the primary elections. Trump has put a lot of pressure on Indiana Republicans lately. He has invited their state legislative leaders to the White House and has sent Vice President JD Vance to the state. Redistricting typically occurs once a decade to use data from the US Census, but lately Democrats and Republicans have been locked in state-to-state redistricting battles before next year's midterm elections. New York Jets cornerback Chris Boyd was critically injured in a shooting in Midtown Manhattan early Sunday. The 29year-old is in the hospital and is listed in critical condition. Police blocked off a mid Manhattan street where the shooting occurred. The New York Jets said they're aware of the situation. Fox News reported that no arrests have been made yet as the investigation continues. Boyd came to the Jets just this year. He's not played in any regular season games yet. He's listed as an injured reserve. He came into the NFL in 2019 after he was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings. He's also played for the Arizona Cardinals and the Houston Texans. Welcome back to NTD. Good morning. I'm Carrie Dunst. The election of Zoran Mani as New York City's next mayor has highlighted a trend of the rise of socialism in America. There are now 250 democratic socialists holding office at various levels in the US government. Joining us now live to discuss is Wayne Morrow. He's the CEO of the John Burch Society. Thanks for joining us this morning, Wayne. Before we kick off on the trends that we're discussing, I was hoping you could just remind our audience of John Burch and your organization. >> Yeah. Well, thank you. Good morning. Uh yes, the John Burches has been this awakening public in the United States around the world 58 and we've been calling for these trends that have happened. You know it all starts at the United Nations talking about a new world order or world government and make that happen. You can't have free enterprise need to have reliance upon government. So we talked about elections. We have a free tool on our website. If you go to the freedomindex.org, you'll find exactly the voting record of all the legislators in the states and the United States as well as the state uh federal as well as senate and congress. And I think you know the the me you say the rise we've seen the indoctrination of socialism in school that's what they teach capitalism is bad social is good and uh so now we're seeing the results of that we talked about that that happened is that the left has taken over our school system for a long time I mean even college students socialism is good and I got some statistics about the the race but I'm not totally surprised. By the way, there have been a lot of liberal mayors in New York City because I know you guys are house in New York City for a long time and I don't see New York City going upside down anytime soon. But, you know, the guy promised a lot of free things. So, uh you know, who's going to pay for it? That's the question. And I had a laugh the other day that uh Governor Hokll said, "I'm not I'm not participating in these process." And by the way, I have to these are have to be state laws and I'm not going for that. So I think he's not going to get what he thinks he's going to get. I that's what I see. But I think it's all uh winky. We can talk about who really voted for him, but I have a lot of hope in New York City since it's um it's a ground zero for capitalism. I don't see it going anywhere soon. You know, I just don't think the Wall Streeters are going to say, "Here, take our country. take our organization. I don't believe it. >> Now, shining a light into that, you you credit or discredit the schools and the a education system uh for the rise in socialism. So, maybe you could just talk about how socialism addresses root problems either better or worse. Clearly, I know your answer, but if you could explore that a bit. >> Well, you know, they always blame what the rich are taking the money away from those poor folks and well, you know, I live in socialized countries. I lived in Europe for a while and if that was just such a good deal, it would be great. I think they said in the past, socialism works when you run out of other people's money. It's not free money. Free enterprise works. Yes, there's corruption in this. Absolutely. Guarantee it. But the system is not messed up. Is that the people in it, they take advantage of it. Uh, I don't see uh young college students migrating to China or the Soviet Union or Venezuela anytime soon. You ever see taking a one-way trip? Why is that not happening? You got all the socialism you want. So, why is that? So, you know, what's the plan here? Uh, I love our free things. How can I not do anything and get things for free? So, that's a mindset. And uh I have college buddies or professors who bought into the socialism route. And I say you ever live in a socialized country and pretty dink nasty place to be. And uh you have very limited products. You have limited products and services. It's not fun. Including I think you talked about it in your newsfeed about health care. Socialized medicine is very poor. You look at Canadian neighbors. They have doctors leaving Canada to practice in the United States because they don't get paid and the care is minimal. I lived in the UK. Same story. I don't know if I answered your question, but I think it's really a sham. I really do. I think we have a great system. Yes, we have some dishonest legislators, but you know, I tell you this, my friend, that's a result of Americans not voting correctly. Somebody put them in office. Wayne, you you'd mentioned Europe and you mentioned having lived in Europe. A lot of times when um charismatic politicians run under a socialist platform, they cite the Nordics as having a high quality life, access to health care, um and and services. So, why does that um example why is that example often cited and and what you know what might people not be understanding about what it's like for the Nordics and why that may or may not be applicable here in the United States? >> Well, I lived in the UK for a while and an NHS health care system. I remember I was in the health care business for a while quite some time and you go to the hospital and you see you know people sitting in gurnies you know outside the hallways don't have a room and you know underst staff limited supplies I know you mentioned about Sweden and Finland well I spent time in Finland as well you could tell the effects of the Soviet Union and and of course Sweden has its own problems right now they have such a mass immigration problem and you know it's not a safe place to live any longer. I have friends that actually live there that tell you it's not like the good old days, you know, but they're they're they're in trouble financially. It doesn't work. Uh what's wrong with just earning a good living and getting paid for for what you do in a free enterprise? Government run systems is all about control. Nothing happens. Um look at the good cars that they make in the Soviet Union. I mean, how about in Africa? I mean that's a disaster. Um not because the people are bad. Their politicians are crooked. You know I mean President Trump mentioned that in UN month or two ago. He said you guys are you're burning your own country. Uh go look at the UK today. It's under under fire because you have a Fabian who is a globalist is destroying their country on Q. And uh that's I see those shades of things that come to the United States if Americans don't realize there's no free lunch. There isn't any. And if there is, let me know. That lasts a long time because it doesn't exist. I mean, your organization is totally anti-communist. You get it. Does not work because that does lead to communism, socialism. There's a slow walk to communism, which then results in totalitarianism. And that's kind of where it's headed. And that's unfortunately the direction we don't want to go. Well, let's explore that, Wayne, because as we interviewed a guest last week, uh Tim Doer, he did a 10-year study and populations and their associated tax revenues are fleeing blue states to red states. How does that affect this sort of uh socialist election cycle that we see in blue states? And sort of how does that continue to develop? Do we just start to have, you know, very different societies in different states or what do you think will happen? >> Sounds like giant golf, huh? I'm in shrug. Everybody's leaving for the nirvana. Well, I live in the I live in the red state, so the red wave. I live in the red state and we see lots of escaping um bad news, but that's not the answer. I mean, uh, I grew up in New York, so the answer is, uh, that's it's a wonderful it's a wonderful city and as well as a state, but again, I go back to the effects of people being involved. They're letting them take their own country or the state city back. That's that's the thing I see. It's a complacency of people who living there. I mean, uh, look at the statistics. You had two million voters at the last election. You have a 12 million voters or more in the state of New York. You know, I a lot of complacency. Some people people don't bother to vote. They said it's useless. Why bother? And so I'm saying is stay there and back your territory, your own your city. Why give it to someone and destroy it? That's the ownership upon Americans. You know, individual, we talk about individual responsibility and less government, God's help, a better world. So why don't you have individual responsibility? Quit being complacent. And yes, they do migrate. They think they escape uh nasty politics, but they bring their last politics with them. I'm looking at Tennessee and South Carolina, North Carolina. We all have free stuff, but you know, we're in a better place. So we go back and spin, recycle, spin, recycle. You can't do that. You know, I mean, you have to be able to participate in the free enterprise system. There's no freedom freebies anywhere. So, you have to work for it and there's always a price to pay for that. But you're right, people are trying to escape. Although there's a statistics, I can't tell you what it was that I saw the other day in one of the news media is that Microsoft and other organizations are having a longer term release in the offices in New York City. So, I don't see them going any place soon. Maybe some of the residents feel like they're taking all our money. We're going to escape to Connecticut or Florida. Florida's a sandbar. Probably going to sink, you know. Uh but I don't know if that's the answer, my friend. I I just think why don't we just take some responsibility and participate in the process and elect good constitutional minor representative. How about that for a novel idea, huh? Why don't we just do that? You have plenty of voters. Uh look at the vote last time. It was young people. 75% 5% were men, 82% were women, blacks were 83%, Latinos 83% voted for Mandami, you know, but why is that? Because he offered free things and we don't know how many illegals voted, right? That's a whole another story, right? But you know, where's all the rich and affluent Wall Streeters? You know, where were they voting? Did they participate? I don't believe it. They may have just sat home and say, "Hey, well, whatever. We lived through this before. I'm too busy, you know, making money. Well, that's it. But I don't think uh this new mayor is going to get what he says he's going to get because I think the governor's trying to re go for reelection and I don't think it's going to work out as sweet it is. I really don't believe that. >> Well, we'll be watching it closely. As you mentioned, we're right here in the heart of New York City, ND's headquarters. Appreciate your analysis and always good to see you, Wayne Morrow. Thank you for joining us. >> Oh, thank you. I have a lot of faith in you guys in New York. You're tough people. You're not gonna let them get take your city. I can tell you that. Thank you, Wayne. Take care. >> Okay. God bless. Take care. Bye-bye. >> Welcome back to Entity Good Morning. I'm Carrie Dunst. If you're just joining us now, here are some of today's top headlines. The US is planning to designate the Venezuelan Cartel of the Suns a foreign terrorist organization. The move will expand federal authority to target the group, which the administration says is led by President Nicholas Madura. It comes as US forces continue to carry out strikes on suspected narcotic smuggling vessels, including one this past weekend that killed three people. President Trump is eyeing ways to allow Americans to directly feel the benefits of his tariffs. He wants to send $2,000 dividend checks to middle and low-income Americans next year. It would be paid for by the revenue gained from the tariffs. The idea would need approval from Congress to take effect. Some conservative Republicans have expressed openness. Others say the national debt should come first. The idea comes as the Supreme Court is weighing a lawsuit that challenges Trump's authorities to even impose the tariffs in the first place. And with the federal government back in business now, the Federal Aviation Administration says its order to reduce flights ended at 6:00 a.m. this morning, thankfully, allowing normal air traffic operations to resume. Transportation Secretary Shawn Duffy said the agency will now refocus on controller hiring as well as modernizing the air traffic system. SNAP benefits are now also operating again under updated federal rules. Beneficiaries must meet new work and citizenship requirements to continue receiving the food assistance. Those are this morning's top headlines. With that, Steph, over to you. >> Thank you, Carrie. And the Secretary of the Treasury says a rare earth minerals deal between the US and China will hopefully be done by Thanksgiving. Secretary Scott Bessant made the remarks during an interview with Fox News that aired yesterday. >> We haven't even finished the agreement which we hope to have done by Thanksgiving. And I am confident that post our meeting in Korea between the two leaders, the President Trump, President Xi, that China will honor their agreement. The US and China announced a framework agreement on October 30th. As part of the terms, Washington agreed not to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese imports. While China would hold off restrictions on the export of rare earth minerals and would buy more US soybeans. >> During the interview, Besset rejected a recent Wall Street Journal report which said Chinese officials plan to restrict access to rare earths for US companies with ties to the military. When asked what the US would do if China didn't honor that deal, Bessant said the US had lots of levers but remains optimistic about the deal right now. >> When asked whether Chinese companies could be kept out of US stock exchanges, Besson said, quote, "All options are on the table." >> And staying on the topic of tariffs, the Treasury Secretary says those $2,000 tariff checks will go to working families and that the plan will first need approval from Congress. speaking on Fox News yesterday. Also joining us to discuss is economist and public policy analyst Michael Busler. Good to have you with us this morning, Michael. First, your reaction to the secretary's remarks. >> So, um they haven't given a lot of details yet, but um here's what I think will will happen. From an economic standpoint, this is not a good idea. Um the public debt, as you know, is over $ 38 trillion. the annual deficit, which they reduced from two trillion down to 1.8 trillion last year, could go down even further if they took the roughly 200 billion they've collected from tariffs and used it to uh reduce the deficit. So, from an economic standpoint, I don't think it's a good idea. From a political standpoint, I think it's a great idea. Um, Americans uh have seen prices on a lot of grocery items uh go up. Even though the overall inflation rate, and we haven't gotten a number in the last month or so, but even though the overall inflation rate is about the same as it was when President Trump took office, um most of that uh keeping the CPI down is due to falling energy prices. um many food products, beef, coffee, a lot of fruits have gone up in uh price. So, President Trump says, "Look, we have $200 billion that we've collected." Um again, there's no details, but I would assume if it was similar to what they did um back in 2020 with the stimulus checks, it would go to families making uh $150,000 a year or or less. And that's about twothirds of all uh uh households. That $2,000 would uh give uh people more money to pay for some of those grocery products that have gone gone up in price. And politically, it's a very smart move. >> And yet there are some concerns that that could potentially affect inflation in itself uh leading to more inflation. >> Yes, it certainly could. when when you just give uh people uh extra uh money to spend and they haven't really done anything for it, there's no increase in in output from it, that will be inflationary. The Trump administration feels that if they can keep um energy prices falling, and they've fallen significantly since Trump came into office, um I I just purchased gasoline on Friday, and I only paid I live in New Jersey. I only paid $2.85. 85 cents a gallon. That's significantly less than I've been paying. If Trump continues his drill, baby drill uh policy and he's convinced the OPEC countries to increase their output too, energy prices should continue uh to fall and that should offset any inflationary impacts of this $2,000 rebate. >> And it does seem like that rebate is not likely to come this year. officials have said it's more likely to come next year. Um, and that could potentially be due to the midterm elections coming up next year as well on the political front. But, um, we do see the Supreme Court about to weigh arguments in um, cases against some of Trump's tariffs. How do you expect that to play out and potentially influence these these checks that are promised? So, um, regarding the, uh, uh, Supreme Court's tariff decision, based on the arguments that were given and the questions that, uh, judges ask, it looks like they, uh, are not so much in favor of this tariff policy. Um, however, as Trump has pointed out, the tariff policy has been used not just to re readjust trade, but also as leverage to be able to get other things uh like the ability to end some of the wars that he's um ended. So, I'm not sure what the Supreme Court is going to say. I have a feeling they're going to let the tariff policy go through and they may make some modifications. Um now if they vote no, you can't uh have these tariffs. Theoretically, uh Trump would have to return the whole $200 billion and then there wouldn't be any money available for these stimulus checks. So we'll have to wait to see what the Supreme Court says and then the Trump administration will evaluate what to do after that. in the scenario that they are okay with it the tariffs. Do you expect Congress to pass legislation to send out the checks? >> So that's the next point. So uh Trump just can't say I'm going to uh give these $2,000 rebates. Um it it has to be uh passed by by Congress, which again means both houses of Congress a simple majority in the uh House of Representatives. And depending on how they phrase this, uh, it could mean a 60 vote uh, supermajority in the Senate. Uh, I'm not sure how, um, our politicians would vote. Uh, but the way Trump will phrase this is, look, I'm trying to help the American people. I'm not causing any increase in the deficit. Uh, this whole program will cost roughly uh, $200 billion. We've raised 200 billion from tariffs. So, it's not going to add anything to the deficit and it will help the American people, especially middle inome and uh lower income families. It's hard to see politicians voting against that, but you never know what happens when the vote finally comes. Hm. Now, looking back to past uh similar stimulus programs or tariff related policies, what historical lessons can we learn from those programs? So, um the the stimulus that packages most uh in people's minds was in 2020 after the federal government shut the economy uh down and unemployment ended up skyrocketing up to 13 uh% and and people were were hurting. So, President Trump said, um, any household with $150,000 or a year less, uh, will give a stimulus package to, uh, that was non-inflationary, um, simply because, um, people weren't earning income and this was just kind of a supplement uh, to that so they can continue to spend at the level and maintain their uh, um, standard of living. So, um, in the past, um, in 2020, this wasn't a an inflationary problem. It could be somewhat of an inflationary problem. Now, and again, they haven't given the details, but I'm assuming it will be sim something similar to what they did in 2020. And >> finally, Michael, if this does go through, how might it help working families intended as intended by the administration? So it will definitely help working families. Although the overall uh inflation rate, as I mentioned, is has not gone up. Um people go out to buy beef. It's very expensive. Coffee is very expensive. A lot of fruits and vegetables are very expensive. And people have been cutting back on those purchases uh because the price is so high. this extra stimulus or this extra rebate rather will allow them to purchase those products, maintain their standard of living and that's really the purpose of what this uh policy is supposed to do. >> We'll be watching it closely. Thank you so much for your time this morning. Michael Bustler, good to see you. >> Thank you. And up ahead, photographers in Washington State were in for a surprise when a seal climbed aboard their boat as it fled from hungry orcas. >> And residents in Paris rang in the festive season over the weekend, lighting up the iconic Sha Avenue with Christmas lights and holiday cheer. We'll be right back with that. Stay with us. Welcome back to NTD. Good morning. A whale watching trip near Seattle turned into a heartpounding encounter for one wildlife photographer who found herself in the middle of a killer whale hunt and an unexpected rescue. >> Our cameras weren't there, but hers were. Here's the story in this report. >> Oh my god. Oh, you poor thing. The episode was captured in photos and phone video by an amateur wildlife photographer. She and her friends rent a small boat a few times a year to photograph whales in Washington's Salish Sea. >> We noticed that there was a seal um within the photos and the other videos that we were taking. And after about 30 to 40 minutes of them, you know, engaging in hunting or hunting practice with the seal, um, it had noticed our boat and made a beline for us. >> The orcas were right behind it. The seal popped up behind the boat and hoisted itself onto the platform by the engine. >> I I am definitely team orca all day, every day. Um, but once that seal was on the boat, I I kind of turned team seal just because I mean, you have to when it's on your boat. >> Come on. Come on. Get back on. Get back on. Come on. Get back on. >> The orca circle the boat and swam underneath it. And in one instance, they lined up to create a wake to knock the seal off the boat. >> Oh no, it fell off. >> He fell in. >> He fell in. Get back on. He's back on. He's back on. There were some moments we could see them go swim past underwater, the back of the boat. Um, but you know, they never they never got close enough to us for us to feel like, you know, there was any danger on their end. So, yeah, we we we've been asked a lot if we were scared of the orcas, and no, the answer is no. >> Once they were out of sight, the friends turned the engine back on and slowly made their way back with a seal still on board. A few hundred yards from shore, the zeal jumped off to live another day. >> All right, bye, buddy. >> Great report. If I had a better voice, I'd break into the Lion King circle of life. I mean, it's so great to see it up close, right? >> That's such a good point, the circle of life because seals are carnivorous and they hunt as well. So, nice to see this wildlife photographer on team seal. >> Yes, switching teams midway. that seal really just looked at her with its eyes and that's all. She couldn't help herself. She had to give it an escape on the boat. Right. >> That's it. But also kind of nice to see this human um who humans also hunt seals. So sometimes, you know, to obviously limit their numbers to sometimes dangerous numbers. So bit of compassion all around. There you go. >> Well done. >> All right. Next. In California, a two-week old baby sea otter was reunited with its mother. >> We had seals, now we got sea otterters. And this is after they got a call on their public hotline telling them that there were distressed cries coming from the bay. >> We got a call into our public hotline about a sea otter pup who had been likely separated from its mom. It had been vocalizing and screaming um for about half an hour. We went down to the Mororrow Bay Harbor and located the pup, picked it up um got it into a carrier where it was safe um and contained. Gave made sure it wasn't overheating. They can overheat when they're taken out of the water really quickly. Um and then we got a one minute long recording of the animal vocalizing. So um we can take that recording and play it on a Bluetooth speaker. We actually looked for two hours of playing this this recording over and over. Our intern had kept hitting play every once a minute when it would run out. Um, and just looking for interested adults that maybe were approaching the boat. Looked kind of frantic. Um, and seemed like this was their pup and they were looking for it. >> Oh, so beautiful. Eventually, a female otter did pop her head up above the water and kept following the boat. >> Once the employees felt certain that the otter was looking for her baby, then the pup was lowered into the water into his mother's arms. >> The union plays a significant part in preserving the local biodiversity after sea otterters were nearly wiped out back in the 1920s. >> Hunting bands and habitat restoration efforts have helped southern sea otterters recover some of their former population. Such sweet little fins there. And you know what? Baby sea otterters are highly dependent on their moms. They are almost dependent on them completely for the first six months of life. >> Wow. >> So, you know that mom would have been very frantic, I assume. >> What a nice re uh reunification they had there. They were like, "Show us some ID. How do we know you're really the mom?" All right. Well, >> yeah, that's a great way to do it. So sweet. Okay. As we enter the holiday season, Paris has lit up its iconic uh street. What do you call that? >> The Shanza. >> Shanza. >> That's right. The trees on one of the most famous avenues in the world were illuminated with a wave of lights radiating and switching colors all the way from Palest Triumph. >> The illuminations will take place every evening from 5:00 p.m. to midnight from now till January 4th. And that's except for Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve when the lights will shine all night long. Now, this is an annual tradition and it cements Paris's nickname as the city of lights. And you know, there's three really cool things about this particular display. The first one is on some of the narrow side streets. They connect the lights on both sides of the street from the trees and it creates like a canopy or ceiling effect. And the second thing that's really cool is you can see those sparkling lights is that the Eiffel Tower shimmers for the first 5 minutes of every hour. So they coordinated these trees to match that same light syncopy. >> So that you know the first five minutes of every hour are just like this magical sparkle. And then the last thing is they actually added a soundsscape this year first year. So, it makes the whole city almost feel like a stage, like a theatrical stage, adding matching music and soundscapes to the lighting effect. So, I wish I was getting on a flight to Paris, but if nothing else, a little inspiration for putting up my own lights, which is our tradition usually starting the Friday after Thanksgiving, we start getting lights going around the house. So, whether you can make it to Paris or not, a little inspiration for you for your holiday cheer. >> Certainly. All right. All right. Well, if you've got any feedback on the show or have something you'd like to see us cover, send us an email at good morning@ntent ntd.com. You know, we'd love to hear from you. >> That's right. And for roundtheclock original news coverage, watch us live at ntd.com/live or use our NTD app. Thanks for watching. I'm Carrie Dun. >> I'm Stephanie Aox. See you soon.