Trump & Mamdani's Friendly Meeting; House Passes Anti-Socialism Resolution | NTD Newsroom (Nov. 21)

Now for analysis of the Trump Mandani meeting. Joining us on the panel is Angie Wong, Republican strategist and columnist. Uh as well as Robin Bro, Democratic strategist and former Obama regional campaign director. So first of all, thank you both for joining us today. Angie, I would like to start with you. So, we were streaming the meeting between President Trump, actually the postmeating press conference, and and it seemed to me they were much friendlier to each other uh than previously. So, Angie, just give us your first thoughts of the tone of the press conference after this meeting. >> Yes, this was the best possible outcome you can imagine for for two people with such opposite ends of political ideology to come together at the Oval Office to have a real discussion. And I think President Trump said it just right is that they both have one commonality which is to protect New York to make sure that New York City thrives as a city that is our world city. Uh if New York City falls, the rest of the country falls. So I'm very happy to see that they have a that they had a very productive meeting and that things are going to move smoothly going forward. I think both men got something out of this meeting. Of course, we weren't privy to the finer details, but it looks as though they both walked away very happy and with a working relationship. That must be a thorn to some of the Democrats side, but I like this. This is exactly how a president should behave and this is how a mayor elect should behave as well. >> So, Robin, let me go to you. Your thoughts on uh Democratic Socialist Ordani uh and his meeting with President Trump today. First of all, I'm glad that the president took this meeting because he didn't have to. Mom Donnie requested this meeting. So, kudos to the president for accepting this meeting. Uh, but I want to say that to his heart. Now, President Trump now lives in Florida, right? West was Palm Beach. But he's a New Yorker to his heart. He doesn't want to see New York fail. His businesses are located in New York as somebody who was a good friend of mine reminded me. Uh, so, you know, it's in his best interest also for New York to prosper. It's in all of America's best interest. and I thought that they were going to have a cordial meeting. So, it seems that they did. Uh, at the end of the day, they're both politicians. They have to do right by their their people and their constituents. The president is the president of us all. That includes the people of New York. He doesn't want to do any harm to the people of New York. Just because they elected a Democratic socialist for mayor. Uh, so, you know, I'm I'm hopeful. and Manny had the biggest to lose here because the threat was that Donald that President Trump was going to pull uh finances and funding from New York had he been elected. So, let's hope that that doesn't come to fruition. Don, >> so Angie, Trump said he wants to support Meani uh not heard him during this uh press conference after the meeting. Uh I have a clip here with me that I'd like to have you guys take a look uh the comments that Trump made about Mdani. All right. >> I hope they have great leaders. This is a man that right now I think is focused on New York City. I really think has a chance to do a great job. We're going to help him, but I really think he has a chance to do a great job. >> So, you know, Angie, I was surprised and President Trump said he was surprised as well on the number of things they actually agree on. So um how do you see President Trump and Mani working together? Because in addition to the agreements, they also mentioned uh some disagreements as well and saying perhaps there were a number of them. So how are they going to work around the obstacles posed by their differing political ideologies? >> Well, I think the key word that President Trump says is we're going to help him, which really uh says a lot. It goes miles here because we know that New York City is heavenly. uh sorry not heavily but heavily dependent on federal dollars including the housing projects transportation there's a lot of crossover uh between New York and Washington DC so I'm very I think Zoran Mandani knew that going in he cannot fulfill a four-year administration without the help of the federal government so he went handinat to President Trump and did the right thing which is reach out to President Trump speak with him unlike other blue city mayors uh who completely reject the Trump administration and try to keep them out of their cities. He's actually embracing it. Shows leadership skills that I wasn't prepared to see in this 34 year old, I got to tell you. But I think he really has what it takes now. Uh and I today have gained a bit of respect for him after having bashing bashed him for many many months over the campaign trail. So I really like this look. Um ultimately he's doing what Daniel Lori uh this San Francisco mayor is doing which is speaking with Trump having an open dialogue with Trump maybe even having a back channel with Trump and working together with Trump so that none of this nonsense that we're seeing in other blue cities like rejecting ICE federal agents coming in. We're not going to see any of that. It's going to be an open line which means that New York City can actually prosper. I like the whole thing. Okay. So, Robin, um I still want to know if there are differing opinions between these two men, how are they going to approach it? >> They have to at the end of the day, uh do what's best for their their people. Uh like I said, he's the president of of the entirety of the United States and Mdani is mayor elect of all of New York City. So, uh they have to see where they can work together. You know, obviously they had major differences specifically when it comes to funding some of the programs that mayor elect Mandani wants to fund there in the city like free public transport for example and some of the some of the programs that he had with regard to food insecurity. Uh you know those are pretty radical programs that he that he proposed. Uh but there are more or less radical things that they can actually work on together. some of the infrastructure things. Uh New York City still has sort of a crumbling infrastructure that needs to be dealt with and it's they they have to find commonalities where they can work together. You know, I was arch nemesis for a long time of of Dick Cheney who we just laid to rest yesterday, but at the end of the day, he and I through debate and public discourse found areas where where we agreed and became unlikely friends. And I see that possibly even happening here. they may end up finding areas where they can be friendly to one another. >> So, Angie, the word affordability came up a number of times during this press conference and uh Trump mentioned that making NYC affordable um is actually a key issue that see he sees eye to eye with Mamani on. Uh so I have another clip here with me. Let's take a look. I think both President Trump and I, we are very clear about our positions and our views. And what I really appreciate about the president is that the meeting that we had focused not on places of disagreement, which there are many, and also focused on the shared purpose that we have in serving New Yorkers. And frankly, that is something that could transform the lives of the 8 and a half million people who are currently struggling under a cost of living crisis with one in four living in poverty. So Angie, you said you have more respect now for Mamani. How significant could this shared goal of affordability uh be as a springboard, if you will, for their work together? How is this going to impact New York City? >> You know, it's it's great that these two men are speaking because I think they're trying to understand each other uh through words and words that sometimes clash. I'll hear one thing, but then my Democrat colleague might hear a separate thing alto together because that's just how far apart we've been and how divided we've been for many, many years now. So the word affordability, I believe that Trump is really trying to get a grasp of what that actually means. For him, it could mean the big beautiful bill and oh well, I've already solved that problem. But the reality is he he's also a New Yorker born and raised in Queens and he understands that it's getting very difficult. You're priced out as a young person, a young American. You can't buy into the American dream anymore. It's just too expensive. And sadly, from the time you graduate from college, you're already in the red. You start your adult life in the red. So, I think President Trump is actually trying to understand from Zoron Mandani, who is a young genzer, to understand what affordability actually means to a young voter. And I think um this is a great period where this is where although they clash in ideology, they actually can meet in the middle somewhere to figure out a real solution because this is a problem that's going to be affecting I believe all Americans, especially with the invention of AI and robotics and things taking over future jobs. They're going to have to figure this problem out together. >> You know, Robin Angie raises a great point there. Um, does affordability mean the same in Trump's mind and Mamani's mind? >> No. Uh, and you know, Mamani took great a lot of hits on the campaign trail because he lived in a rent control apartment and was only paying $2,300 a month rent and said that all New Yorkers should be have the ability to get $2,300 a month rent and called that affordable. Now, to many people, that's actually not affordable. That's not affordable to people right here in the suburbs of Atlanta. I can assure you for rent. Uh but in New York City, it probably is. So they do have to kind of talk to one another and see what it does mean to actually, you know, have be affordable uh there in in the city cuz it's going to mean different things to different people. Uh and and they're just going to have to come to terms with that. But it's interesting to me that I like my colleague here, Angie, I I beat up on Mam Donnie quite a bit because I really didn't want the Democratic party to slide toward Democratic socialism and I was worried that the party would use this as a template to take all across the United States uh for areas like me. I'm I'm talking to you from Atlanta, Georgia. Um but you know, let's let's take the good. Let's let's take the good, keep it, and leave the bad. Tom. >> Okay, Robin. Uh can I follow up on your point? If Mamani is successful in uh making, to use Trump's words, New York City great again, what does that mean for the Democratic party? >> That means that they probably will use this as a template for some of our larger cities. Uh and and that's fine. It will work in in areas like New York City specifically. It'll work in LA, but it won't work uh in some of the other areas like Northern California, for example. It won't work in the outskirts of of the the suburbs of Atlanta and throughout Georgia at large. So, we can't use this as a one-sizefits-all approach. And that's what I'm telling party leadership. I speak with them daily. I I I do consulting with the DNC and and I've told them, look, we still have to embrace a 50-state strategy here. Uh and not just 50 states, but look at the cities themselves because we cannot apply a one-sizefits-all approach. Typically, when the party loses, when the Democratic Party loses, they tend to go more left. They think that they lost because they they weren't left enough. That's not going to work here as a one-sizefits-all solution, Don. >> Okay, Angie, uh I'm curious to your thoughts on this as well. >> Yeah. Uh well, I I you look, there's so many ways of looking at this, but ultimately we're walking away today with a win for New York City and for all cities. This could be a great model for how well local government and federal government work together. And if and I think that's what President Trump is going to show off now. He's going to show the bright stars of our cities and who is championing them. Like we we've had a few and I think there I see how President Trump does this already with congressional members that he likes. He really champions people that he enjoys working with and he shows off how we can work together and he really really shows it to the point where you can't really debate him on it, right? So I think New York City is going to be a great model for how cities can look going forward into the next century. Uh we do have problems in our cities beyond crime. Our grocery prices are crazy expensive. Housing is expensive. Now Zoran Mandani, he's a dreamer. And I think President Trump even used those words. We're going to help him achieve his dreams, right? Something to that effect. And I like that because he's now not only speaking to New Yorkers, but he's also speaking to young Americans who are all scratching their heads going, how am I going to make this? How am I going to at least reach the achievements that my parents have made? because it's really difficult to buy in these days. So, um I think that's the longer goal that I'm looking forward to in these talks. I've long said this is not a meeting between the New York City city mayor elect and the president. This is a meeting between the head of the Republican party, Donald Trump, and the new face of the Democrat party, which is Zoron Mandani. And I think that if we can make those two big parties of America work together, we really do have something great. >> Okay. To your point, Angie, you're saying uh Mani is the new face of the Democratic party and Trump is the leader of uh the Republican party. What's what's interesting here is uh at one point during during the post meeting conference, Trump said a lot of his voters also voted for Mamani. I found that interesting given the different ideologies shared by uh each of the men. So can you just give give us your reaction on this point? Yeah, I I I found that surprising too. I was surprised that someone who would have voted for Trump in 2024 would then vote for Zoron Mandani in 2025 if not for a referendum on Trump. Right. So it doesn't seem like there was a lot of things that were in common uh at least with those two elections. So, I'd like to see the data a little bit more. I know that in the primary, Zora Mandani was heavily heavily voted in by females, Gen Z females. Um, and I just don't see that being the base for for Donald Trump. But I could be wrong. I really do need to dive into the data to answer that. >> Robin, uh, I think we should wrap up the conversation here today. If you have any final thoughts you would like to share, >> I do. I want to touch on what Andrew said. uh this could be a template on how we need to speak with one another as neighbors. Let's look at one another as neighbors where we agree not as as Democrats and Republicans but as human beings who have to exist with one another and let's see where we can work together. I think they set a good example of that today and we can expand on that. >> Well, if I may say our conversation today also sets a good example. Thank you very much for speaking with us. >> Thank you. >> Thank you so much. And the House of Representatives voted on a resolution today to denounce socialism. Lawmakers made the case against the political economic system. Florida Representative Maria Alvira Salazar introduced the resolution. >> The reason why we're introducing this resolution is to condemn the horrors of socialism. And I'm presenting just the facts. And I invite my colleagues on the other side to vote to condemn this nefarious ideology. This is nothing to do with political parties. This is not a Democratic issue. This is not a Republican issue. This is a moral vote against an ideology that has destroyed millions and millions of families. many of them. I served those families in district number 27, the heart of the city of Miami, the heart of the Cuban exile community and now the Venezuelan community and murdered more than 100 million lives besides crushing hundreds of thousands of other families and individuals. Unfortunately, socialism and Marxism crushes the human soul. Republican party. >> Salazar also took to X this week ahead of today's vote. The Republican posted in part, quote, "Socialism has never produced freedom or prosperity, only suffering and authoritarian control." The lawmaker added, quote, "With this failed ideology gaining ground in the United States and throughout the hemisphere, I'm proud to lead this resolution and call out its dangers without hesitation." The House approved the resolution by a vote of 285 to 98 with two lawmakers voting present. Missouri is ramping up efforts to seize Chinaowned properties in the US. The state is seeking help from the Trump administration to collect a $25 billion court judgment tied to the COVID pandemic. It's one that Beijing refused to recognize. NTD's Tiffany Meyer has the report. According to Missouri's attorney general on Wednesday, the state is asking the US State Department to let Beijing know that it plans to pursue Chinese-owned assets. Her office is putting together a list of targets, focusing on properties entirely or partially owned by the Chinese regime on American soil. Missouri's lawsuit accuses China of hoarding personal protective equipment, including masks, medical gowns, and gloves, during the early stages of CO 19. This hoarding caused widespread harm to Americans, including deaths. The lawsuit also adds that China harmed Missouri and its residents by driving up the cost of health care and emergency response. A federal judge initially dismissed the lawsuit in 2022, saying Missouri couldn't sue China. But an appeals court later revived one part of the case, the allegation that Beijing hoarded protective equipment. When Chinese officials didn't respond, the judge accepted Missouri's damage estimate of more than $8 billion and tripled it under federal law. He then added nearly 4% interest, bringing the total to roughly $25 billion. China's foreign affairs ministry says its actions during the pandemic aren't subject to US law and does not recognize the ruling. >> Meanwhile, another state has successfully sued China over CO 19. In May, Mississippi won its $200 billion dollar lawsuit. And now the big question is how the state plans to collect the money. President Trump suggests he's giving Ukraine six days to accept a new US brokered peace deal. The agreement would include concessions from Ukraine, giving up territory currently occupied by Russia. NTD's international correspondent Marian Pasar has the latest on the fast developing peace process. President Trump suggesting Thanksgiving is the deadline for Ukraine to accept an American brokered peace deal. Trump was in a Brian Kilme show on Friday talking about the issue. >> So, is next Thursday the deadline that you gave a loose deadline for Ukraine? >> Well, we have uh you know, I've had a lot of deadlines, but if things are working well, you tend to extend the deadlines, but Thursday is a we think an appropriate time. A Ukrainian lawmaker and the Associated Press published a 28 point proposal. If agreed to, Ukraine would receive firm security guarantees while its still armed forces would be capped at 600,000. The country would formally pledge to not join NATO. In return, NATO would codify that it will never admit Ukraine or station troops there. It also outlines territorial agreements recognizing Crimea, Luhansk, and Donetsk as defacto Russia. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zilinski issuing a stern warning on Friday, suggesting that ending the conflict will come at a cost in any of the current scenarios. >> Now, Ukraine may find itself facing a very difficult choice. Either the loss of dignity or the risk of losing a key partner. Either the difficult 28 points or an extremely difficult winter. The most difficult and further risks. Zilinski also announced that he spoke with Vice President JD Vance on Friday, saying, "We managed to cover a lot of the details of the American side's proposal for ending the war, and we're working to make the path forward dignified and truly effective." Russian President Vladimir Putin says the US plan could be the basis of a resolution of the conflict, but he added that if Kiev turns down the proposal, then Russian forces will advance further. Arian Pastar, NTD News. France's top general Fabia Madan ignites a political row after warning citizens may face sacrifices if Russia tests NATO. Analysts argue the threat is exaggerated while Europe watches closely as the US pressures Keev on a peace deal. NTD international correspondent David VZ reports from Paris. to prepare citizens for the possibility of future conflict with Russia. His message was blunt. France, he said, must be ready to accept suffering, shift its economy toward defense production, and even face the risk of losing its children if Moscow challenges NATO. Mond appointed earlier this year, had already told Parliament that France must be ready within three or four years for a possible shock involving Russia. But the uproar highlights deep divisions inside France over how real the threat actually is. This reaction follows other measures that have raised public questions such as the government's plan to distribute a 72-hour survival kit by the end of the year. According to president of centers for European studies Rodrigo Barister, this aligns with previous stances from both France and the EU which have been warning about the threat Russia poses to Europe. like is that the rhetoric of some countries in the west notably Mron for example Mark RT who is a secretary general of NATO that there is a risk of Russian invasion on Western Europe and in Europe in general. I think this is total nonsense. I mean um we we can see that the Russians are um are already struggling in Ukraine. It's shocking to see that France is overplaying the Russian threat. It's it doesn't make sense again to to call for these Russian threats to overplay this Russian threat when actually there are other threats in the European Union that are much more real. Meanwhile, European leaders are concerned as Washington pressures Kiev to accept a peace deal requiring the Dombas and major military cuts which many in the EU view as near capitulation. EU Commission President Ursula Vanderian said today that the US plan must be made with Ukraine and Europe. President Vladimir Zilinski warns Ukrainians that the coming days could be one of the most difficult moments since the invasion began. He says he's ready for honest work with the United States, but will not accept terms that undermine Ukraine's dignity, sovereignty, or territorial integrity. David Ves, NTD News, Paris. The release of hundreds of illegal immigrants detained in Chicago has been temporarily halted by a federal appeals court. And the Department of Homeland Security announces the arrest over two dozen suspected gang members at an underground Texas nightclub. NTD correspondent Jason Blair reports. A federal appeals court has temporarily halted the release of nearly 450 illegal immigrants arrested in the Chicago area during a large-scale border patrol operation in Illinois. A lower court judge had ordered their release after ruling that the individuals did not have final removal orders. The Trump administration successfully appealed, arguing that the lower court's ruling contained legal errors that could harm public safety and immigration enforcement. The suspects must remain in custody until the legal case plays out. A full hearing is scheduled for December 2nd. ICE and FBI taxes have announced the arrest of 27 suspected Trende Aaraga gang members at a nightclub in San Antonio. In total, the operation resulted in the arrest of 150 illegal immigrants, as well as the seizure of cocaine, three firearms, and about $35,000 in cash. The assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security says thanks to the brave work of DHS law enforcement and our federal partners, 150 illegal aliens, including 27 suspected trend Araba gang members, are off our streets. Under President Trump and Secretary Gnome, DHS is dismantling criminal gangs and stopping dangerous drugs from pouring into American neighborhoods. The DHS says two of the apprehended suspects are under investigation for human smuggling and moneyaundering, and one is under investigation for cocaine trafficking. Also in Texas, the DHS announces that in six weeks, ICE arrested 3,593 criminal illegal immigrants in the Houston area, including child pornographers, gang members, and murderers. Texas also has the country's second highest illegal immigrant population and the state with the most ICE arrests. Statistics say that one in four arrests made by ICE happen in the Lonear State. Jason Blair, Entity News. The State Department has ordered US embassies to report the human rights and public safety implications of mass migration. The department posted the announcement on X. The post read, quote, "Mass migration poses an existential threat to Western civilization and undermines the stability of key American allies." In a separate post, the State Department said US officials will examine policies in Western nations that are lenient toward migrant crime and human rights abuses. The department added that it will scrutinize Western countries that quote create two-tiered systems that prioritize migrants at the expense of their own citizens. The White House said US taxpayers could see an extra thousand in their tax refunds next year. Joining us to discuss is public policy analyst and economist Michael Busler who's a professor of finance at Stockton University. So Michael, good afternoon to you and thank you for joining us today. Uh you know the White House said that the increase in tax refunds are expected to give taxpayers uh total an additional $91 billion in refunds. So to start off, is that significant in economic terms? >> It is. And if it turns out to be uh about $1,000 per household, uh that will help out significantly. Now, it's not a huge amount of money, but right now, most people are concerned with affordability and even buying some of the the basics. The extra thousand will certainly uh help them and it'll also spur economic activity. Again, it's not a huge amount of money, but it's enough to uh increase demand in the marketplace and keep the economy uh growing. All of this is a result of the bill that was passed back in July where the tax cuts that were originally passed in 2017 and implemented in 2018 were set to expire um at the end of this year. Congress and then the president signed passed an extension which makes these lower tax rates uh permanent and it also gave some uh tax cuts to some specific classes uh like people who work in the hospitality industry uh who collect a lot of their income in tips. Uh people that work overtime. Um and as an incentive to get people to work overtime, uh he uh eliminated taxes on any overtime, which is a big uh boost because when uh you work overtime, you typically get time and a half. Why most people may have been reluctant to do that was it puts them in a higher tax bracket. So, while they may on paper look like they're getting time and a half, um they were really coming home with much less than that. Since there's no tax on it at all, this will encourage people to work uh harder and to work more. Also, social security income based on some uh income limits will no longer be taxed. That will certainly help uh people who rely on social security uh as their sole means of support. right now or prior to the law about 85% of social security payments were taxed. That will now be eliminated. Um, and that will help the uh people on social security and also tend to be a little bit of a push for the economy. All good. >> So, Michael, you said about this refund, it could uh spur activity in the economy. Uh, can I just ask you what are we exactly looking at here? what impact could it have on consumer spending and overall growth? >> So, um most of the people receiving the uh uh benefit from lower taxes will end up spending almost all of it. And when that happens, that creates more consumer spending. Consumer spending accounts for about 70% of GDP. So, by increasing consumer uh spending, you'll tend to grow the economy. People will buy more things. business will make more things to meet that uh new demand. It also has um what economists refer to as a multiplying effect. Consumers spend uh the money um business gets the money, they make income, they reinvest the money, uh create more goods and services, and it has kind of a multiplying effect on the economy. Again, not a huge amount of money, but combined with Trump's uh the Trump administration's other progrowth policies, this should tend to accelerate economic growth. Because the government was shut down, we're not sure what economic growth was for the third quarter. I suspect it was at least 3%. The fourth quarter would likely have been higher except about half of the fourth quarter the government was shut down and that has a negative uh impact. But going into 2026, most of what President Trump has been doing, lowering um regulations, making it easier for business to expand, attracting trillions of dollars in foreign investment, that should lead to more growth next year, and the extra tax refund for people will also tend to help with that. >> You know what's funny, Michael? Whenever uh I hear consumers getting money and spending all of it, it gives me flashbacks to the stimulus checks uh during the pandemic. Um I mean, let me just ask you a little bit about this issue. Does does a larger refund um potentially have upwards pressure on inflation currently? So one of the fears is uh that um if consumer spending goes up faster than business's ability to produce more output that will be inflationary. But because President Trump uh in the big bill passed in July gave some incentives for business to invest and expand you it traditionally when you make an investment you depreciate it over some number of years depending on what the investment is. President Trump said you can uh write the whole investment off in the first year uh reducing tax uh bills for business and encouraging business to make in investment. So although the uh tax cuts will increase demand, there's incentives now with supply side tax cuts for business to increase output. And I don't expect any upward pressure on price from this. And I do expect uh more of an increase in output. So, this is a good thing. It um we don't know what he's going to do. He uh Trump also proposed a $2,000 um uh rebate check for everybody from the tax revenue that's been collected. I'm not sure whe that's going to go through or not, but that too will help to stimulate demands. I expect next year to be a high growth year for the economy. So, Michael, this tax refund, I mean, um, where does the money come from? Does does does this mean that a uh reduction in tax revenue for the federal government because the government is collecting less money from taxpayers? >> Yes. So, uh if government if um households are paying less taxes, uh then the government will collect less. However, uh Trump says that even with the less tax revenue from given the uh um lower from the lower tax rates, the higher economic growth will create more income. So even though we're taxing at a lower rate, we're taxing a larger amount of income and you should still see tax revenue increased after every tax cut. Total tax revenue increased after that. Even though the rates were lower, economic growth was greater, creating more income, more taxable income, and an increase in tax revenue. You might take a look at uh what Reagan did in 1982 with his uh tax cuts. Um still re tax revenue went up and he the tax cut went into effect in 1982. 1984 the economy grew at a 7.4% rate. So with that high growth creating more income, even though the tax rates are lower, tax revenue will go up. This administration is very concerned about the deficit and the public debt and they want to do what they can to get that down, mostly by decreasing government spending. But President Trump feels every household feels that their taxes are too high. So by keeping the tax rates lower and giving them more money to to spend, it should give people even a better feeling and more comfortable. You start to see consumer confidence, which has dipped recently. You'll start to see that go up next year too as people feel more confident about the economy. >> So just finally, you're saying that there's no concern you're in your mind that uh with this higher tax refund that potentially the federal government could take on more debt. There's no concern in your mind about that? >> No. Um the uh uh lower tax rates we said it'll probably reduce uh revenue by 91 billion. But he's already collected $395 billion from tariffs. And if economic growth increases, as I suspect it will, total tax revenue will increase, not decrease. This is a very positive thing. Lower tax rates always encourage more economic activity. And as long as there's supply side cuts, too, which there were, that will, uh, increase e economic growth and provide a higher standard of living for all Americans. >> Well, all right, Michael. Uh, always great to speak with you. Thank you for your time today. Have a great weekend. >> Always my pleasure. Thank you. Congress has until mid December to come up with a proposal to address the CO era Affordable Care Act expiring subsidies, but there is yet a formal bill to consider. Our Washington correspondent, Luis Edardo Martinez, has more. >> Lawmakers have left the capital for the Thanksgiving holidays without congressional leadership being set on a specific proposal to address the expiring Affordable Care Act healthcare subsidies. The Trump administration has made it a center focus for the administration for the coming weeks. >> Promisingly, the president is laser focused on this. It's the main thing I talked with him about. Congress as well is all over this. We have got to find solutions that don't just work at the end of this year, but work for years to come. And I do want to come back to this theme. We have ideas that will also drop the actual cost of care by putting pressure, downward pressure on what we're paying for medications. And that's probably a very good example. Republican Senator Rick Scott from Florida proposed a bill to make the ACA subsidies a direct payment to consumers for them to choose their healthcare instead of having the government pay insurance companies directly. We're not going to repeal Obamacare. We're going to fix Obamacare. You know, I'm not suggesting we change the structure because I think we can drive down the cost by giving people options. Uh we do it in everything. We we've done it in everything else, but you do have to protect precisen conditions. A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House of Representatives have proposed a bill to extend the ACA subsidies for two years while also phasing out subsidies to families making more than $200,000 a year. >> I'm looking at all the options on the table. Do we want to bring down costs? I'm not sureing more money than a bad broken system is the solution. And if there was going to be an extension of the subsidies, there'd have to be very serious reform on it because it is not doing the job and it's going to go worse. >> But House Democratic leadership is pushing for a 3year clean extension of the ACA subsidies. A proposal that even moderate Republicans call dead on arrival. >> You want to get something that has actually done. You need to do something that will have bipartisan. >> You can you can ask me the question. You can ask me the question. I'll provide the answer question instead of >> I'll provide the answer. No, no. I'm providing an answer in order to provide context. >> It's important context to make me realize that I don't think you want to get an a deal done. I think this is something where you'd like to see the rates go higher and allow the Republicans to to hang themselves with that. Is that the answer? >> That's that's absolutely that's absolutely a ridiculous assertion and really shame on pass. So what do you do? >> Shame on you for saying that. >> Senate Republicans have promised to hold a vote on an ACA subsidies bill before mid December. That gives lawmakers around two weeks to reach an agreement on a bill before the subsidies expire at the end of the year. Reporting from Washington DC, Luis Aluardo Martinez, NTD News. >> Global coffee prices plunged today after President Trump rolled back 40% tariffs on Brazilian food products after signing an executive order yesterday. Arabica coffee futures slumped more than 4% this morning to around $3.6 per pound. They were previously down more than 6%, a two-month low. Trump cited various officials with whom he said advised him to lift the tariffs in part because of progress in the US has made in trade negotiations with Brazil. Here's more on this. >> President Donald Trump on Thursday removed his 40% tariffs on Brazilian food products. That includes levies on beef, coffee, and fruits that were imposed in July. The order will affect Brazilian imports to the US on or after November 13th and may also require a refund of duties collected on those goods while the tariffs were still being charged. According to the text of the order released by the White House, the move follows a similar order by the administration last Friday to remove tariffs on several agricultural products from other countries. Brazil has recently become an important supplier of beef to the US and normally supplies a third of the coffee used in the country. Retail coffee prices in the US, the world's largest coffee drinker, rose as much as 40% this year due to the tariffs and other market factories. Brazil's president Luis Inasio Lula Da Silva welcomed the removal of the tariffs. Today, I am happy because President Trump has already begun to reduce some of the tariffs that had been imposed on certain Brazilian products. >> The Congressional Budget Office now projects President Trump's global tariffs will save the US a trillion dollars less than previously estimated. The report shows changing tariff rates, especially changes involving China, India, the European Union, and Japan, are responsible for most of the downward revision. Even with the downgrade, the CBO says tariffs would still cut deficits by $2.5 trillion over 11 years and lower borrowing costs by another 500 billion. But the long-term future of Trump's tariffs authority now hinges on a Supreme Court case that could upend the policy altogether. And in an effort to lower rising energy costs, the Trump administration plans to open up oil drilling off the coasts of several states. This comes as Republicans in Congress are repealing several Biden era policies. NTD's Molina Wise Cup reports. >> Amid rising energy costs, Republicans are working to open up domestic production to lower costs. Yesterday, the Trump administration proposed the largest expansion of offshore oil drilling in decades. The plan is to open federal waters near California, Florida, and Alaska. It comes after lawmakers this week rolled back several Biden era energy policies, putting Democrats and Republicans at odds. >> And the entire world is talking about how to phase down uh our dependence on coal pollution and fossil fuel pollution. We are here in this alternate reality of the Republican majority where my >> under the Biden administration, we were not allowed to access those important resources for the American people. In fact, >> in the Senate yesterday, lawmakers repealed a Biden era coal regulation in Wyoming. >> Shuttering US coal doesn't help the planet. It outsources pollution to the worst polluters on Earth and sends American jobs straight overseas. >> The bill passed along party lines and is now awaiting President Trump's signature. Reporting from Washington, DC, Molina Weissup, NTD News. Meanwhile, an infant bachelism outbreak has expanded to 15 states. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 31 children have been hospitalized. Infant bachelism occurs when babies ingest spores from a bacterium. The spores grow in the gut and make toxins. According to the Cleveland Clinic, symptoms include constipation, poor feeding, a loss of head and muscle control, leth le li lethog lethargy, and a weak cry among others. The CDC has advised parents of infants who consume the formula to seek immediate medical care if they exhibit exhibit symptoms. Texas has the highest number of infections at six, followed by California with four and Oregon and Arizona with three. Washington, Minnesota, Illinois, and North Carolina reported two infections each. Idaho, Michigan, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Maine had one each. The CDC linked the outbreak to infant formula produced by manufacturer Byart. The company has voluntarily recalled the affected products. And advocacy groups are warning parents to steer clear of AI powered toys this holiday season. They say the gadgets can expose young children to serious risks. Here's more. >> Children's advocacy group Fair Play says many toys use the same advanced chat bots that have already shown they can engage kids in harmful or inappropriate conversations. One plush AI bear has been pulled from the market after researchers founded it discussed sexually explicit topics and even gave potentially dangerous advice to children. A report published last week found the bear suggested where to find knives in the home and was quick to discuss sexually explicit topics in graphic detail. Advocates warn young children are especially vulnerable because their brains are being wired for the first time and they naturally trust kind and friendly characters. The company behind the recalled bear foltoy says it has withdrawn all of its AI toys and is now conducting a safety audit. But experts say that's far from a systematic fix. Uh their advice, buy your kids traditional toys that help children practice imagination, language, and problem solving without AI doing the thinking for them. Adults are now the most common targets of Black Friday scams. Scammers are using social media and messaging apps to reach Gen Z and millennials. Experts say that Black Friday has become one of the riskiest times for scams. Shoppers are encouraged to be extra careful during the holiday season. New AI tools allow fosters to copy real voices and writing styles. These realistic messages make fake offers much harder to recognize. One of the best ways to stay safe is to visit retailer websites directly. Avoid clicking on links sent through emails, texts, or social media ads. Be cautious if a message tries to rush you or create a sense of urgency. Extremely low prices can be a sign that the deal is fake. Paying with a credit card offers better fraud protection than a debit card. Digital wallets can also add another layer of security. And avoid shopping on public Wi-Fi. Using strong passwords as well, and two-factor authentication helps protect accounts. Most ex users can once again sign into their accounts and post. This comes after a major outage at web infrastructure company Cloudflare. At last check, there were less than 500 reports of issues with the platform. This is based on user submitted data to downdetector.com. This is a big drop from a height of 20,000 reports earlier in the day. This week, a file crashed Cloudflare's systems that handles web traffic. This prevented users from accessing platforms like X, Canva, and ChatgPT. Cloudflare has since fully restored its services and issues reported to down detector for Cloudflare are also down to about 150. The holiday season is upon us and once again Macy's flagship store in New York City has been transformed inside and out. NTD Shawn Marshall was at the Macy store for more. >> Hey, merry Christmas and welcome to the North Pole. So, I got a sneak peek of Santa Land and we have Santa here ahead of the public. Most of the public. >> Well, hello. It's Sean. >> It is Sean. I can't believe you knew my name. >> I remember when you were little. >> Interesting. >> Are you excited about Christmas? >> Of course, I'm excited. >> We all are. I want all of the boys and girls to come to see me. We know that if you want to see Santa, come to Macy's, right? >> But we'll come back to Old Staint Nick and the sneak preview of Santa New York City in a bit because Thursday afternoon was the unveiling of the world famous Macy's Christmas windows display. People packed in to Herald Square in Midtown Manhattan for a Macy's tradition and NTD got to speak with the display designer. >> Well, it really started with a theme and our theme this year is the most wonderful stories start here and what better way to show the most wonderful stories that started in Macy's than to celebrate them within our windows. So we have uh the time periods of our first um starting from our first interior Santa, our first holiday windows, our first Thanksgiving parade and so on. >> A couple of windows are interactive making the display fun and entertaining for the public. >> Any surprises in any of the windows? >> I think every window is a little different. Um, so it's when you see it, all these windows are hand illustrated. So they're all handdrawn. All the line work that you see here took hundreds and hundreds of hours in each window to do. So I mean, as you take a look at the detail, uh, everything is done by hand. >> So this is Wall-E, our walrus. We're trying to get him ready to work in the mail room. Um it he's been a little slobbery and a couple uh punctures with the tusks, but overall doing a lot better than yesterday. So making progress, Wally. Yeah. Don't give me that look. >> Santa has been visiting Macy's since the 1860s, giving children and adults a chance to experience the holiday spirit. Santa is very popular, so you'll have to make a reservation to visit him at select Macy's locations. So Macy's Sandalan has been a part of the tradition here at Macy's since 1861. And we're so excited to invite families back again this holiday season starting on Friday, November 28th through December 24th. You can come and see us in this magical land right here at Macy's. Make your reservation at macy's.com/holidayce celebrations and come meet Santa Claus. >> And are there um any insider tips for kids or grown-ups coming in here? >> I think the best tip is make your reservation in advance. So, reservations open up throughout the holiday season, 6 days in advance of your visit. We open up reservations bright and early in the morning. So, 6:30 a.m. local time, you can log on to macy's.com/holidayce celebrations to make that reservation for your group to come and make sure that they have a spot to meet Santa himself. >> Luckily, I didn't have to make a reservation. It seems Santa already knew NTD was coming to Santa. >> Do you have a special Christmas wish? Because Christmas is not just for the children. It's for everybody. Sean, what would you like? >> Well, I didn't think about that. Um, I guess I should probably wish for NTD News to be the number one news company. >> It's a good wish. >> Sean Marshall, NTD News. >> All right, we'll see if that wish comes true, Sean. Uh, next. A trip through New York City's crowded subway system usually offers a pungent mix of odors. But along one platform inside Grand Central Terminal this holiday season, the air might smell of vanilla and fresh pine. Bath & Body Works is using a new advertising campaign to share a scent. The fragrance is being released on the 42nd Street shuttle train platform through November. It estimates that 20 to 30 pounds of fragrance will be dispersed by the end of the month when the campaign ends. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said this is the first ad campaign like this in the transit system. They hope it will help bring in more revenue. The retail store's chief marketing officer said that the retail chain chose fresh balsom for the campaign. It's one of the brand's most iconic holiday scents and a longunning seasonal favorite. China's war on religion front and center at a congressional hearing. Representative Chris Smith sat down with entities Steve Lance to share what he has uncovered and what Congress is doing about it. >> Pervasive use of torture in China. I've had numerous hearings on it. If you're arrested, you will be tortured and you will be, you know, hurt horribly, not just through deprivation of food and water and the like. They'll use cattle prods. You can catch the full interview tonight on Capitol Report with Steve Lance at 700 PM Eastern time.