Trump Rallies in Pennsylvania; Australia Launches Teen Social Media Ban | NTD Evening News (Dec. 9)

Welcome to NCTD Evening News. Our top story tonight, President Trump in Pennsylvania tonight, touting his administration's economic message. Mario brings us a preview of what to expect from the president's remarks and what he had to say about his tariffs. The Supreme Court hears a high-profile case challenging limits on campaign financing. [music] what role Vice President JD Vance plays in this case and which way the justices appear to be leaning as Australia becomes the first country in the world to ban social media for children under 16. [music] On Capitol Hill, lawmakers and experts hold a hearing on protecting children from online predators. [music] They say criminals are getting bolder, more shocking, and harder to track. Jason Blair has the key takeaways. The Department of Education ends a student loan forgiveness program that started under President Biden. What this means [music] for borrowers. The defense in the Luigi Manion case pushes back on an officer's testimony about when it's appropriate to [music] question a suspect. An attorney accused the witness of unlawfully obtaining incriminating evidence. Arlene Richards reports. This is NTV Evening News live from our global headquarters [music] in New York City. Here's Tiffany Meyer. Good evening and thank you for joining us tonight. Kevin Hogan [music] in for Tiffany Meyer. President Trump taking his economic message on the road to a swing district in Eastern Pennsylvania. It's the first of many domestic trips the White House is planning on an issue it thinks will be a key factor in next year's midterms. And TD's Washington correspondent Mariosu has more from the White House. >> I do want to talk about the economy, sir, here at home. And and [snorts] I I wonder what grade you would give. >> A+ A+ plus. President Trump about to speak to voters in Mount Poconote, Pennsylvania about what the administration is calling their efforts to put Biden's inflation crisis behind them. >> I inherited a mess. I inherited a total mess. Prices were at an all-time high when I came in. Prices are coming down substantially. Look at >> the Democrats are the greatest con artists in American politics. They are pretending to champion the issue of affordability when they themselves created the worst inflation crisis in a generation. >> In the past week, President Trump secured over $6 billion from the Dells to fund investment accounts for children. We believe that when children have a future that they can see is worth saving for, then that will help build hope and opportunity and prosperity for generations to come. >> Rolled back some of the Biden era fuel standards to make cars cheaper. >> All of the nonsense is being taken out of the cars. >> Uh today is a victory of common sense and affordability. and unveiled a 12 billion dollar aid package for American farmers that comes from tariff revenue. >> Farmers are an indispensable national asset, part of the backbone of America. I've always felt it so strongly. They're so important. >> Democrats, though, argue that President Trump's tariffs are driving prices higher. >> What you have is a president who seems to want to blame everybody else, whose economic policies are failing. as a result of his tariffs, things cost more whether you're at the grocery store or you're our farmers. >> But the president says >> they're the ones who gave us the high prices. I'm the one that's bringing them in. >> President Trump also credits his tariffs with making America what he calls the financially strongest country in the world and says the biggest threat to US national security would be a negative decision on tariffs by the US Supreme Court. And according to AAA, national gas prices dipped below $3 last week for the first time in four years and rents have fallen for four straight months. Reporting from the White House, Mario, NTD News. The Supreme Court heard a high-profile case today involving campaign financing, and Vice President JD Vance has a stake in the case. Vance is among those challenging limits on how much party committees can spend in coordination with candidates. The current law restricts such spending to around $4 million for Senate races and $127,000 for at large House seats. After hearing oral arguments, three justices appeared to back the challengers. Three signaled they would back the law and three didn't indicate how they would vote. Vance filed the challenge when he was a Senate candidate. Other challenggers include the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee. They want to get rid of the limits on spending altogether. The Trump administration supports the challenge, but the lawyer defending the law argues the challenge should be dismissed because Vance is no longer a political candidate. Senate lawmakers discuss ways to tackle online exploitation and get legislation up to speed to protect children from what they call the evolving offender. Entity correspondent Jason Blair reports. As a mom, you know, you you work so diligently to keep your children safe. And used to you would get them home at night and you would lock the doors and you'd be able to kind of exhale. And now the enemy is inside our home. >> In a hearing titled Protecting Our Children Online Against the Evolving Offender, the Senate Judiciary Committee discusses legislation to protect minors from online harm and sexion. Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley says many targeted children are between the ages of 12 and 15. >> Today's online offender is more violent, more cruel, and more shocking than offenders just 20 years ago. Grassley says that perpetrators often focus on vulnerable populations >> such as those with mental health issues, lack of strong family or community ties, or other insecurities. Offenders seek an online relationship with a child to exploit them for money, for sexual images, or to cause them to commit harm to themselves or to others. Ranking member Dick Durban urges lawmakers to make passing legislation protecting children from online exploitation a priority. >> I've repeatedly said we must bring the same sense of urgency to protecting kids in the virtual world that we do in the real world. To say that we're so overwhelmed with legislation on the floor, we don't have time as a joke. Watch the Senate and tell me that we don't have the time to take this up. >> One witness says that her 17-year-old son was the victim of financial extortion. A woman online befriended James on Instagram. She created what every predator knows how to build, a safe space. She made him feel comfortable, seen, liked. She groomed him. And though he died by suicide, let me be clear, he was murdered. >> Other witnesses were invited to share. >> Offenders also increasingly used advanced technology and platforms for SEAM trafficking. They can now more easily conceal their crimes and their identities. The law has not kept pace with the rapid technological advances or evolving sex offender behavior. >> Today, we are confronting alarming rates of emerging crimes where sexually exploiting a child is not the final objective, but a means of achieving a larger goal of financial gain or incitement of chaos. >> And Australia has become the world's first country to ban social media accounts for children under 16. Authorities attribute the move in part to protecting minors from online predators and extortion. The law says that a group of social media platforms will face fines of up to $50 million if they don't take quote reasonable steps to keep minors under 16 years old from holding an account. The law begins on December 10th. Jason Blair, NTD News. >> More on Australia's social media ban for children under 16, which has already taken effect in local time. How are the teens reacting to the policy? Let's take a look. >> Teenagers Noah and Macy are taking their government to court in a fight to stay on social media. >> Taking away how we communicate to the world. This is how we do it. It's the modern day. It's social media. >> From Wednesday, Australia will enforce a world first law banning children under 16 from many of the biggest platforms. Supported by a freedom advocacy group, Macia Noah's case asserts a right to political communication. The high court has agreed to hear it next year. So, what will you lose when social media is taken away from you? >> Well, we will lose connections, but we will lose our democracy. This law is saying that democracy begins at 16, which is condescending and it's incorrect. >> Listen, there are definitely negatives on social media. I'm not denying that. I completely agree. We're saying that getting rid of the kids is not the solution. We didn't do anything wrong. >> The government says it has acted to protect children from potentially harmful content, harmful people, and addictive algorithms. Under the new law, young social media users won't be punished for being on age restricted apps, nor will their parents. Instead, Australia is requiring tech companies to take reasonable steps to keep under 16s off their platforms and threatening fines in the tens of millions of dollars. Tech companies say they are already building safer systems. AI face detectors will likely be employed to verify age with tools provided by third party companies like verify my users may also be asked to upload their identity documents. Australia is certainly leading the way when it comes to requiring an age check for every user um to determine that they are over 16 or not. >> The government's ban is a catch all. If you're under the age of 16, you're off social media. But children are all different. They've engaged with social media differently and they feel differently about the ban. The students at All Saints Anglican School on Australia's Gold Coast are learning from cyber safety advocate Kira Pendagast about how to best avoid danger on social media >> because it is a delay. It's not a flatout ban. They're not banning the internet. We're not trying to boil the ocean. It's literally just to delay age. And so they've got time to catch up to become more resilient and think more critically about that how they use apps. In their final year, Nicholas and Ruby wonder if maybe their school career would have been easier without the distraction of social media. >> Nick and I were talking before about how if we could, we would delete Snapchat today. But it's more the fact that because there's now so much reliability and connection based off one app, you don't want to delete it. >> Perhaps for young Australians, the fear of missing out won't be so bad if everyone is forced to miss out together. An entity documentary explores an intangible yet powerful force in society. Adversity, stories of critical race theory exposes the origins and realworld effects of this ideology. It's a thought process that has crept its way into society. Through this work, firsthand testimony reveals how critical race theory subverts institutions and underpins certain movements, all under the banner of supposedly ending racism. Joining me now is the film's director, Daniel Hall. Great to have you here, Daniel. What led you to make this documentary? >> Hey, Kevin. Thanks for having me. Um, what brought me to this documentary was partly convenience. Through my work, I was meeting all these people, uh, talking to them and finding out that they all knew intimately about what this what was going on with this. But at the same time, you know, I'm a father. Um, I've got my daughter who's about four and a half and my son was just born. he's one month old. And any parent out there who's watching this can know probably thought about like where's my kid going to school? What are they going to be learning in the classroom? And you're, you know, you're going to reference your own experience and think, yeah, it's I had a good time in school. It's probably safe. Things have changed. Um, and that's why I I made this documentary is to let parents know that, you know, there are some new things that have come in. And as you can see on the screen, there's some parents who were not happy about this. And it tells the process for them how they stood up against it as well as some other people who have been studying this who have been doing the much more academic side who can dissect it give the full history and let people know what's going on. >> That sounds like a really broad overview of this that people will gain from this. But I mean you even have the Learns Act in Arkansas where they're banning critical race theory because they didn't want to indoctrinate kids. And then even other essays are tying DEI and critical race theory to the anti-semitic pro Hamas protest that saw just you know Jewish students afraid for their lives in college campuses. So all up and down the academic spectrum but what do people see through this documentary that they can't see elsewhere? So what I hope to do is you know I'm not the expert what they tell about is where did critical race theory come from because before there was so much debate like saying oh define what critical race theory was that was one of the the points people used to shut down conversation define critical race theory and it's not something that can be done in one sentence it has a long running definition it has history stretching back well over a hundred years if you piece all the pieces together. Um, so on one side it's learning about what it is, where it comes from, but also learning about how it's applied and all of the different sort of morphing ways it can seep into different areas, whether it's academics, you can see on the screen, whether it's companies through diversity, equity, inclusion, how it's pervaded the United States in many ways. And well, as we've seen, it's it's leaving in some ways through the Trump administration. But the point still remains that it's still there and people need to know about it. >> And even just perkling up to the streets, I mean, we saw the protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd being spurred on, as some say, by this BLM movement that has some of that roots in the Marxist ideology, that critical race theory coming through. Now, can you talk to us about a specific story that people shared with you for this documentary, how their lives were impacted? Well, one of the speakers talked about the very simple act during the co lockdowns which was going board and just voicing, you know, hey, I want to open up the school. Please open up the schools. Let the kids go back to classrooms cuz online learning wasn't working for them. Uh, not commenting on online learning or anything like that. It's just that's what she was talking about. and she started finding out that she and other people well let's say other people were getting put on lists for being and being marked as opponents of CRT or critical race theory and they were targeted for certain forms of harassment and these were coming from people allegedly in positions of governmental power. This was you know city level government not level but where there were people organizing against them and saying oh these people are opposed to CRT we have to do something about them and that sort of opened the rabbit hole for her where she had to start discovering wait who's doing this and like why are they doing this where these accusations come from and then going as far as making out wait how are these people talking and communicating with other and the quest she sort of went on in the defense of her two daughters to say like, you know, I don't agree with this this stuff being taught in school. I don't my my daughter coming home, not my daughter, but her daughter coming home and saying, "Why are all black discriminated against? Why are all women discriminated against?" And, you know, making blanket statements like that that could that can be disproven. But, you know, when a kid says it, you know, when the teacher is saying it, the kid can believe that. So wow that the audience will see in this documentary. >> People being put on lists for just voicing their views, exercising their freedom of belief. That's disturbing. Now you can catch the premiere of adversity stories of critical race theory tonight at 700 p.m. on epic TV and video.com. Daniel Hall, thank you so much for coming on and sharing us your insight. >> Thank you for having me, Kevin. A longunning legal battle over the Biden administration's saving on a valuable education or save program has finally come to an end. In a press release today, the department unveiled a settlement agreement with the state of Missouri. It says the student loan borrowers in the SAVE plan called forbearance must choose a new repayment plan. Under the proposed settlement, the SAVE lawsuits would be dismissed. In return, the education department would stop enrolling new borrowers in SAVE. It would also move all current SAVE borrowers into legal repayment plans. The entire SAVE plan has been blocked since February. An appeals court sided with Republican le states who argued that former President Joe Biden did not have the authority to create the plan. As of July, the department has identified more than 7 million borrowers enrolled in the Save forbearance program. And it's day five of the Luigi Manion evidentiary hearing. Another Altuna, Pennsylvania police officer took the stand today to talk about the search of Manion's backpack and whether it was lawful. And today's Arlene Richards was in the courtroom where the defense challenges the officer's testimony. Luigi Manion's defense attorney vigorously questioned officer Steven Fox on Tuesday, day five of the evidentiary hearing in Manion's case. The defense claims that certain statements Manion made before he was placed under arrest should be removed from evidence before the case goes to trial. Manion's attorney, Karen Freriedman Agnafilo, accused Fox of attempting to get incriminating evidence from Manion after he told the defendant he had a right to remain silent, which is also called reading his Miranda rightites. Fox, who is a patrolman with the Altuna, Pennsylvania Police Department, said before he read Manion his Miranda rights, he had asked him why he lied about his ID. But he said he wasn't trying to get incriminating evidence. The defense countered anything someone says after Miranda writes, "Whatever the person says could be used against them in court. They are given when an officer wants to question the person. It puts the person in custody." Agnafillo then played body cam footage of Fox telling Manion that he was not in custody immediately after reading his rights. She accused Fox of telling Manion he was not in custody so that he would respond to the question. Manion had chosen to remain silent. Fox said Manion was placed in detention but not in custody, which is different. This line of questioning is the defense's effort to establish that statements Manion made about the fake ID he gave to police before he was read his Miranda rights should be tossed from the case before trial. Fox said Manion was not free to leave as they were continuing to investigate the ID. Video footage then shows Fox frisking Manion and handcuffing him. Agnafil accused Fox of handcuffing Manion after he exercised his right to remain silent. Fox explained that his suspicion was heightened when Mangioni chose not to answer because he was aware this might be the person that New York police were looking for. In earlier testimony about the search of Manion's backpack, Fox testified that it was lawful because it was incident to an arrest. Two supervising officers believed the warrant was necessary because they knew about the New York case. Fox testified that a search of the person and his belongings incident to arrest is legal, whether the charge is violent or nonviolent. The defense had also asked the court to toss out key evidence, including the gun and ammunition, before the trial. Manion has pleaded not guilty to charges that he murdered Brian Thompson, a United Healthcare CEO. The hearing is expected to resume on Wednesday. Arlene Richards, NTD News. A federal judge in New York is allowing the Justice Department to unseal grand jury documents in the sex trafficking case of Galileain Maxwell. She's the longtime confidant of Jeffrey Epstein, currently in jail. US District Judge Paul Ingelmier made the ruling today based on the Epstein Files Transparency Act passed last month. This means the records could be made public within 10 days. Inglemmyer is the second judge to allow the Justice Department to publicly disclose previously secret Epstein court records. Last week, a federal judge in Florida allowed the release of transcripts from an abandoned federal grand jury investigation into Epstein in the 2000s. Another request to release records from Epstein's 2019 sex trafficking case is still pending in New York. Coming up, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zalinski says a refined peace plan will soon be ready for the [music] US to review. Aryan Pastar has which parts of the previous plan Ukraine doesn't [music] approve of. A solemn ceremony held in Israel for a deceased Thai hostage. Meanwhile, Israeli forces report finding [music] secret rooms behind the walls of Hamas tunnels. Jason Perry [music] reports. And experts testify at a congressional hearing on Chinese organized crime in Latin America. Why witnesses say those criminal activities [music] present a clear and present danger to the US. David Lamb brings us the highlights [music] when we come back. Good to have you back with us. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zalinski says a refined peace plan will soon be ready for the US to review. He's in Italy today meeting with the prime minister and the pope. And today's international correspondent Arian Pasar has more. Ukrainian President Zilinski meeting with Italian Prime Minister George Melon on Tuesday. Zalinski is currently visiting multiple European nations rallying support for Ukraine. Zilinski is reaffirming his strong refusal to seed any territory despite pressure from the US. In an interview with Politico released on Tuesday, President Trump again pressed Zilinski to accept the US proposal that Ukraine seat territory to Russia. Trump says Moscow retains the upper hand in its nearly 4-year-old invasion. But Zalinski says the Ukrainian and European components are now more developed and we are ready to present them to our partners in the US. Together with the American side, we expect to swiftly make the potential steps as doable as possible. The Ukrainian president also met with Pope Leo, who's originally from Chicago. Zilinski says his country deeply appreciates the Pope's humanitarian support. Zilinski added that he invited the Pontiff to visit Ukraine. Leo stressed the need to continue with dialogue aimed at a just and lasting peace. The Pope criticized the stance the US took towards Europe in its peace plan. >> The remarks that are made about Europe also in interviews recently. Um I think are trying to break apart what I think needs to be a very important alliance today and in the future. He added that some parts of the peace plan make a huge change in the alliance between the US and Europe, but he didn't specify which parts he meant. >> Trying to reach a peace agreement without including Europe in the discussions is let's say unrealistic. The war is in Europe and I think that the security guarantees being sought today and for the future must involve Europe. The Pope says this is a major opportunity for European leaders to act together. Arian Pastor, NTD News. >> Officials in Israel held a ceremony for a deceased Thai hostage before his body was flown back to Thailand. And as winter approaches, Israel says it has helped facilitate the delivery of almost 270,000 tents and tarps to residents in the Gaza Strip. And Jason Perry has the update. Residents in Israel attended a ceremony on Tuesday for deceased Thai hostage Satisacalik. The event was held shortly before his body was flown back to Thailand. Gal Hirs, Israel's coordinator for hostages and the missing, said Israel considers foreign hostages and Israeli hostages the same and that Israel is responsible for everyone. You were one of us, our brother, an excellent agriculture worker and a great family man. They just wanted to be here and to be to bring much better life to your family. >> The Thai ambassador to Israel also spoke during the ceremony. On behalf of the Ratai government, I wish to express our sincere gratitude for the government of Israel for its resolute efforts to recover the body of Mr. Sutisak and to bring home the other Thai hostages with dignity and order. >> Renthalik's older brother in Thailand said he had a message he wanted to share with everyone. Good. >> I just want to tell the world that you've got to think very carefully when sending your family abroad. See which countries are at war or not and think carefully. You have to check carefully to make sure before going. It might end up like this where you might not get to come back. >> Meanwhile, in the Gaza Strip, where Rentholic and other hostages were held for over 2 years, an Israeli first sergeant brought reporters inside a Hamas tunnel and explained that Israeli troops discovered secret rooms along the routes. And right behind you is basically a secret part of the tunnel that was uncovered by us. It was concealed first by the the basically cement walls that you see all over. And while we worked there for a year and a half, we found a lot of these. >> Israel says terrorists still try to attack Israeli troops almost daily. And on Tuesday, Israel said they struck a terrorist in Gaza who was planning to carry out an imminent terrorist attack against Israeli troops. A relative of the person who was killed said this. >> There is no safety here. There is no consideration for the ceasefire. The war is still going on. People are bombed every day in their homes. >> And as winter approaches, Israel says they along with international partners have helped facilitate the entry of almost 270,000 tents and tarps to residents in the Gaza Strip. Jason Perry, NTD News. Experts testified on Capitol Hill today on Chinese gangs in Latin America. A US Senate caucus heard testimony on the gang's criminal activities, including drug smuggling and money laundering and how they impact the US. Entities David Lamb has more. >> Senators heard testimony on Tuesday on Chinese organized crime in Latin America and how it impacts the US and the Western Hemisphere. At a hearing of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, all three witnesses said that Chinese criminal activities pose a clear and present danger to the United States. Today's hearing provides us an opportunity to understand not only the direct threat that Chinese criminal groups pose to our citizens through trafficking poison across our borders, but also the long-term strategic consequences of their presence in Latin America and the Chinese government's response. >> Experts testified that the Chinese Communist Party uses student bank accounts to launder money and leverages criminal organizations in Latin America as well. We see uh CCP and PRC working directly with Chinese criminal groups that exist in Mexico to bring those chemicals in, help production of fentanyl and methamphetamine and then directing those drugs towards our country. The evidence is very clear. Chinese criminal networks are building a silk road of crime that stretches from Fujen Province to Flushing, Queens, New York, San Gabriel Valley, California, and beyond. and it runs straight through the Western Hemisphere. >> Expert witness Leilen Lazarus testified that the networks have laundered $312 billion over the past four years for Mexican cartels and wealthy Chinese individuals. He highlighted a narcotics broker known as Brother Wong. His operation spanned 100 shell companies and 170 bank accounts across Mexico, various US states, and China. I welcome budding signs of cooperation from Mexico and China. Last year, Chinese authorities arrested an individual who was indicted in the United States for involvement in a mong moneyaundering scheme on behalf of the Sinaloa cartel. But let's be clear, the urgency of the fentanyl crisis demands that we not solely depend on the goodwill of other countries. We can and must take steps here at home. The experts recommend solutions such as leveraging tariffs, creating an international task force, going after Chinese underground banking, and reducing corruption in Latin America. David Lamb, NTD News. Coming up in the NFL, could a 44year-old retired quarterback who hasn't played since 2020 [music] get back in the game? Dave Martin joins us to discuss in a moment. >> [music] >> Hey there. And now for [music] your sports news, we're joined by Entities Dave Martin. Dave, we have some baseball news to get to, but let's start in NFL as the Indianapolis Colts have reportedly signed retired quarterback Philip Rivers to their practice squad. Rivers hasn't played since the 2020 season. What's going on here? >> Yeah, this is pretty amazing. You know, the Colts, they are in a dire situation right now at quarterback. Uh, and plus they've got a still got a good relationship with Philip Rivers who retired from them in 2020. Now the Colts very thin as I mentioned at quarterback starter Daniel Jones tore his Achilles Sunday. He's out for the season. Second stringer Anthony Richardson. He's on injured reserve with a facial fracture that was suffered in October. And third stringer Riley Leonard. He's a rookie sixth round pick out of Notre Dame. He injured his knee Sunday in relief of Daniel Jones. Now it's unclear how serious Leonard's knee injury is yet, but obviously it's serious enough serious enough that they are look they're resigning Rivers. That's according to multiple [music] reports here. Now, it certainly makes sense for them to sign Rivers. He has plenty of familiarity with Colts head coach [music] Shane Stiken. Now, Stiken was an assistant coach for six years with the Chargers when Rivers uh starred there. He went to eight Pro Bowls as a as a quarterback [music] there for the the uh the Chargers there. Now, Rivers, meanwhile, just turned 44 years old yesterday. He played his final season with [music] the Colts, as you said, Kevin, in 2020 before Stiken was even there. So, the organization anyway [music] has familiarity with him. Rivers, meanwhile, has been a foot high school football coach in the 5 years since. Now, meanwhile, he's also currently a semi- finalist for the NFL's Hall of Fame, but if he is added to the active squad, the the Colts active roster here right now, he's just being reportedly added to the practice squad, then his Hall of Fame eligibility clock uh gets pushed back another five years, and he couldn't get into the Hall of Fame until 2031. Uh, so if he actually starts the game though, he would be just the fifth quarterback aged 44 years old or older to do so. The last one, of course, was Tom Brady, just a couple years ago. Of course, Brady didn't take off 5 years in between. I I can't remember the last time a player ever did that. And, you know, plenty of times you see a player take off or a few times, one year and come back and they're not, it's very difficult to do. So, five years, this is this is quite the feat here. >> Call it a gap year. Yeah, that is wild, Dave. But the big money question is, can Rivers save the season for the Colts? >> I know, right? They they they start off 7-1. They've lost three out of the four since then. So, they've fallen back into second place now, or at least a tie first. I I can't remember now. Their playoff hopes are definitely hinging on him. Now, of course, you know, this a quarterback isn't like a running back. You know, it's not like you have to use your legs that much. You're using your arm. Of course, arm strength doesn't isn't as big doesn't go down as much as leg speed goes down for a 44 year old. So, it'll be very interesting to see what Rivers has left at age 44. But, as we've [music] seen, Tom Brady anyway did it. It is physically possible to still be a very good quarterback at his age. And he was a very good quarterback in his prime, of course. So, this is a very interesting story here. >> Well, you say it's possible. Now, the ESPN, they say that source says he was throwing pretty well. >> Yeah. You know, there there were a lot of people who thought his last season with the Colts that you could see maybe the deep balls he wasn't as good on, but he still was like an accurate passer. I mean, they still they average a I think they averaged 255 yards passing per game in 2020. They have not averaged that many since then. So, he's he still had it back then. We'll have to see 5 years later if he still has it. I'd like to think he does. >> Stats on stats really good, Dave. All right, shifting gears to baseball. The Philadelphia Phillies, they reportedly resigned free agent hitter Kyle Schwarber. He's he's fiveyear, $150 million deal. >> Yeah, I think most people thought he was heading back to the Phillies here after he spent the last four years in Philadelphia. Two of those four years, he led the National League in home runs. This past season, he had a career best 56. I think he's also kind of seen as the leader of this team. I mean, he's 32, but he finished second in the National League in in MVP voting last year as well. So, it's a very good time for, of course, for him [music] to hit free agency. Now, this this signing has been reported by multiple sources as well, not confirmed yet by the team. Now, elsewhere, the two-time World Series defending champion, Los Angeles Dodgers, have reportedly reached an agreement with closer Edwin Diaz, a three-year deal worth $69 million, according to multiple [music] report multiple reports. Now, Diaz is 31 years old. He's a three-time all-star. Was a very good closure last year for the New York Mets. And if you remembered in the playoffs, the Dodgers, their really the biggest weekend was their weakness, I should say, was their bullpen until they put Roki Sasaki, really a starter in there as the closer, but Sasaki has been really mainly a starter and the Dodgers really seem to be grooming him there. So, really with this deal, it looks like the rich get richer, but uh who who wouldn't want to play for the Dodgers right now, I would think. >> Oh, boy. All right. Well, all right. 150 million. That's a big chunk of change, but put that in perspective for us, Dave. >> Well, you know, the Dodgers had was it number two payroll last year? It was over $300 million. So, this is Wait a minute. Did we say I I'm getting the teams mixed up. This is Philadelphia. Five years, $150 million. I think he was I think he was making about $30 million. So, it's just continuing. The the thing it is for Philadelphia, you're now paying for his years 33 for through 37. generally that's considered you know you're going to be your down years. The Hall of Famers are the ones who are still very good very productive in those years 33 through 37 but he's been very very productive especially the last two years. So this could still work out for them. I I would have done it if I was him. He's that he's that much of a clubhouse leader for you. >> M that's just incredible. Dave, thanks for coming on giving us this awesome update. >> Thank you Kevin. >> And we'll be right back with more coverage on NTD evening news after this short break. Don't go away. Welcome back. Congress has less than two weeks before the Christmas break and lawmakers are nowhere closer to reaching a deal on the expiring health care credits than they were before the shutdown. Our Washington correspondent, Luis Eduardo Martinez, has the latest from Capitol Hill. Um, our members have decided that we're going to vote on a Crapo Cassidy proposal which does the things that I mentioned. It actually does make health insurance premiums more affordable. It drives down according to the Congressional Budget Office premiums by doubledigit levels. It delivers the benefit directly to the patient, not to the insurance company and it does it in a way that actually saves money. So to the pack to the taxpayer, that is a win-win proposal. So that is an alternative that we will put forward and that we will have a vote on on Thursday. >> Senate Republicans do not oppose extending the CO era affordable care act healthcare tax credits but want to see some reforms long-terms for these subsidies. >> We went down this healthcare path my freshman term. I voted against the repeal of the ACA. Um I thought the replacement was insufficient. It was hastily put together, not well thought out. And here we are you know what, eight years later. And I think the best outcome would be to send the money directly to the consumers. Let them make the choices of who they want to use for their doctor. Let them make the choice of which hospital they go to. The insurance companies are the major problem here along with big government. House Republicans have put forth multiple proposals, including a bipartisan proposal to extend the Affordable Care Act healthcare tax credits for two years with a commitment to reform the subsidies to include income caps and also tackle fraud. We have a healthc care crisis that the Republicans have created and we are running against the clock. We will we will stay in session as Democrats and we will meet with Republicans any time. House and Democratic leadership have stuck to their demands of a three-year clean extension of the tax credits with no reforms. Those demands caused the government shutdown over a month ago. >> We need to be able to work across the aisle with the Democrats where they work with us on on these plans so we know we can get 60 votes. But why put something out there knowing that we get 53 votes, we'll be seven votes short? They don't want to fix this problem. >> A group of Republican senators believe that the only way to address the healthc care issue is through a second reconciliation bill as they've been unable to gather enough bipartisan support for any proposal. >> There are some Democrats that are in very good faith. But most of them just want to keep the cost of health care as a campaign issue for the midterms. The Senate will vote this Thursday on a Democratic proposal of a three-year unreformed extension of the tax credits. The vote is expected to fail. Reporting from Washington, DC, Luis Eduardo Martinez, NTD News. >> The Department of Homeland Security says Illinois has released more than 1,700 illegal immigrants with criminal records despite federal requests to keep them in custody. DHS has also arrested two New Jersey residents who allegedly threatened ICE officers and their families. And today's Christina Corona has the details. >> The Department of Homeland Security says Illinois has released 1,768 illegal immigrants with criminal records this year. Despite federal detainer requests, officials say these individuals were convicted of crimes including homicide, assault, burglary, robbery, drug and weapons offenses, and sex offenses. DHS adds that more than 4,000 illegal immigrants with criminal histories remain in state custody with active detainers. Acting ICE Director Todd Lions sent a letter to Illinois Attorney Generalwami Raul urging the state to cooperate with federal authorities. Raul responded saying it's not his role to oversee detentions or force local agencies to honor ICE detainers. One former Riverside police chief criticized the policy, saying it puts the public at risk. >> I mean, when your title is chief law enforcement officer and you're not cooperating with ICE and then that rolls down to not cooperating with local law enforcement, you shouldn't hold that office. Governor JB Pritsker said violent criminals who are in the country illegally should be deported. However, his administration later directed state prisons not to hold inmates solely based on federal immigration detainers. On Tuesday, Pritsker signed a law restricting civil immigration enforcement near state courouses and expanding the ability to sue federal agents. So today, I'm signing a slate of laws designed to protect our people, to recognize the dignity of our people, and to uphold the values of our Constitution. >> But the DHS says courthouse arrests are illegal and help conserve law enforcement resources. In a separate case, twin brothers in Aba, New Jersey were arrested after allegedly threatening to kill DHS assistant secretary Trisha Mclofflin and calling to shoot ICE on site. A SWAT team executed a search and arrest warrant at the home of Ricardo Antonio Roman Flores and Alio Roman Flores, both US citizens. Prosecutors say one brother faces multiple weapons and terroristic threat charges, while the other is charged with conspiracy to make terroristic threats. Lions told Fox News how his department plans to handle the tens of millions of illegal immigrants currently in the US. We're bringing on 10,000 new deportation officers, 1500 new Homeland Security Investigation special agents. We are going to go out there. We're going to target these individuals and we're going to make a significant impact. >> Earlier this week, DHS announced the launch of a new public website showing information about illegal immigrants it says are among the worst of the worst criminals arrested nationwide. The site allows the public to see the charges, arrest locations, and the communities from which those individuals were removed. Christina Corona, NTD News. >> And that's all for today's news. For roundtheclock coverage, visit us at ntd.com/live or download our NTD app. Thanks for tuning in. I'm Kevin Hogan. Good night.