NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (Dec. 10)

Welcome to NTD Evening News. Our top story tonight, the Federal Reserve lowers borrowing costs for the third time this year. In its final decision of 2025, the central bank cut interest rates by a quarter point. How this decision will impact your wallet and how Wall Street is responding. The U.S. seizes an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela as the Nobel Committee awards this year's Peace Prize to the opposition leader to Venezuela's Maduro regime. President Trump confirming the seizure of that oil tanker today and also speaking with top European leaders amid intensive efforts to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine. Mario Tsu at the White House. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says a presidential election could be held within three months. Arian Pazdar has how Russia is responding to the possibility of elections in Ukraine. A federal judge today ordered the Trump administration to temporarily end its deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles. He said there was no obstruction of federal law. Arne Richards reports. And the Trump administration is proposing new rules that would require visa waiver travelers to submit five years of social media history. Meanwhile, Homeland Security launches a new task force in New York to target transnational criminal organizations. This is NTD Evening News live from our global headquarters in New York City. Here's Tiffany Meyer. Good evening and thank you for joining us tonight. Thinking about buying a home in 2026 or starting the new year with a job search? The Fed's final decision on interest rates in 2025 could impact your household's financial future. Karen Caifa is in Washington with a breakdown of this afternoon's announcement. The final call on interest rates in 2025 by the Federal Reserve caps off a turbulent year for the central bank and current chair Jerome Powell and tees up an uncertain new year ahead. The Federal Open Market Committee decided to lower our policy interest rate by a quarter percentage point. Major inflation and jobs reports delayed by the recent government shutdown aren't due out until later this month. But economists say the Fed has enough private data about the U.S. labor market to see it's slowing and cutting interest rates is aimed at encouraging businesses to borrow, spend and hire more. It can get consumer spending, too. When interest rates come down, that lowers the overnight lending rate that banks use to send money to each other overnight while we're all sleeping. That can lower the broader interest rate that people think about when you think about, you know, the rate you've got on your credit card, the rate you've got on your mortgage. But loosening the reins on borrowing also risks further heating up prices at a time when inflation remains stubborn. Despite consumers saying they feel the pinch, Americans are spending this holiday season. People are still spending it is the holidays. So I think we're seeing credit card debt rise and buy now, pay later behavior is growing. So folks are still spending, but they're putting money in places where their debt is going up. The Fed facing a growing economy on one hand and a slowing labor market on the other, making the twenty twenty six outlook for interest rates murky in Washington. I'm Karen Kafa for Wall Street Watchers. Twenty twenty six could very well be a happy new year. Even before the Fed's announcement today, some economic optimism was already brewing around the markets. Strategists and investors say they expect to see significant gains in twenty twenty six. Bank of America is forecasting a three point eight percent gain from now. Barclays and JPMorgan Chase are respectively targeting an eight point two and a nine point six boost. Meanwhile, others, including Morgan Stanley and UBS, see double digit increases. Despite a bumpy year, which included a government shutdown and tech volatilities, the S&P 500 has shot up 17 percent year to date and is enjoying a seventy nine percent gain since twenty twenty two. The U.S. seizes an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela as the Nobel Committee holds the award ceremony for its renowned peace prize. It was awarded this year to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Carina Machado. Our Washington correspondent, Luis Martinez, has the details. The presidents of Panama, Paraguay, Ecuador and Argentina, alongside several U.S. lawmakers, traveled to Norway to accompany the Venezuelan opposition leader in this year's award ceremony for the twenty twenty five Nobel Peace Prize. Despite much anticipation, Maria Carina Machado was not able to attend the ceremony. Her daughter, Anna Carina Sosa, received the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf and read a speech written by Machado during the past 16 months in clandestinity. We have built new networks of civic pressure and disciplined disobedience preparing for Venezuela's orderly transition to democracy. This prize carries profound meaning. It reminds the world that democracy is essential to peace. The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize and the support from presidents from the region have highlighted the oppression and the crimes of the Maduro regime in Venezuela. Your power is not permanent. Your violence will not prevail over people who rise and resist. Mr. Maduro, accept the election results and step down. The Venezuelan regime, which has killed extrajudicially more than 8000 Venezuelans in the past six years, criticized the Nobel Committee. War, peace or Nobel Prize, which is awarded to a person who calls for the invasion of Venezuela, who calls for military action and who celebrates the murder of human beings in the Caribbean Sea. Earlier this week, President Trump said Maduro's days are numbered. And today he announced the seizure of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. As you probably know, we've just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized, actually. And other things are happening. Maria Corina Machado has been in hiding in Venezuela for nearly two years, as she's under threat from the regime. Security concerns did not allow her to arrive on time to the awards ceremony in Oslo, but she is still expected to arrive in Norway this week. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Luis Eduardo Martinez, NTD News. President Trump talking with top European leaders trying to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine and what the Trump administration is saying about the seizure of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. We now go live to NTD's Washington correspondent, Mari Otsu, at the North Lawn of the White House. Mari, good evening. Tiff, good evening. Yes, President Trump has been actively trying to broker peace for Russia and Ukraine since his January inauguration, often expressing frustration and disappointment with leaders of both Russia and Ukraine. And today he's saying that he thinks Ukrainian President Zelensky needs to, quote, be realistic to end this war, a war that he said last month took the lives of 27,000 soldiers. This is coming as the president spoke with top European leaders today about ending the war. And the president said that those leaders want American, Ukrainian and European leaders to meet in Europe this weekend to continue those negotiations. Take a look. We discussed Ukraine in pretty strong words and we'll see what happens. They would like us to go to a meeting over the weekend in Europe and we'll make a determination depending on what they come up with. Sometimes you have to let people fight it out and sometimes you don't. But the problem with letting people fight it out is you're losing thousands of people a week. It's ridiculous. Meanwhile, President Trump is announcing that the U.S. has seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, ratcheting up tensions with Venezuela amid a massive military buildup in the region. And Attorney General Pam Bondi is saying that the U.S. authorities, with support from the Department of War, executed a seizure warrant for this oil tanker, which was sanctioned by the U.S. for years due to what she calls its, quote, involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations. This comes as the war secretary, Pete Hegseth, has faced allegations of war crimes by some lawmakers and a wave of recent reporting has focused on alleged strains in his relationship with the president. And President Trump was asked about that reporting today and he said this. Watch. I think my cabinet is fantastic. I read the same stories that I'm unhappy with this one or that one and I'm not. I think the cabinet has done a great job. I read a story that I was unhappy with Pete because he was attacking drug dealers. I said, that's not exactly right. I would say very much the opposite. Pete Hegseth has been phenomenal. I read a story recently, I'm unhappy with Christie. I'm so happy with it. I mean, we have a closed border. We have a border that's the best border in the history of our country. Why would I be unhappy? She's fantastic, actually. No, we have a fantastic cabinet. Really fantastic cabinet. I mean, Lutnick I'll have to think about. No, I can't have everything. I can't have everything. He's doing great. Well, Howard's done really well and Scott's done really well. We have just a fantastic cabinet. Other members of President Trump's cabinet have faced intense scrutiny during their first year in office, including the FBI Director Kash Patel and HHS Secretary RFK Jr. But President Trump has thus far defended his cabinet members with the White House saying that he could not be happier with his team. Tiff, back to you. All right, Mari, thanks for those updates. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says a presidential election could potentially be held within three months. Russia has long criticized that Zelensky wasn't officially re-elected after his term expired during the war. NTD's international correspondent Arjen Palstarn has more. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says a presidential election could be held in 60 to 90 days, but only if balloting could be made safe during wartime. He told reporters that he's ready for an election but would need help from the U.S. and possibly Europe to ensure security for a vote to happen. According to Kyiv, the last election didn't take place because safety of the voting process could not be guaranteed during the war. But the Ukrainian president says the decision on whether an election should be held is not up to Ukraine's partner nations. We definitely do not need any pressure regarding this. Security challenges depend on our partners, primarily the United States, and political and legal challenges must be addressed by Ukraine. Zelensky also touched on Russia's dependence on China, which he says is at an all-time high. Throughout Russian history, no one has ever surrendered sovereignty so much to China or any other major power. And it is astonishing how much Putin is paying just to avoid ending this war. The Kremlin on Wednesday reacting to the possibility of Ukraine holding elections. This is what President Putin has talked about for a long time. It's also what President Trump has talked about recently. Therefore, we'll see how things develop in this direction. Meanwhile, European countries plan further talks in the next few days to coordinate efforts on a peace plan. That's according to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who says European security interests must be protected. And anything that affects us, Europeans, requires our consent. European security interests must be safeguarded. And that is for us to decide. He added that he also wants an EU agreement on the use of frozen Russian assets for Ukraine. And in Russia, the nation's foreign minister says President Trump is the only Western leader trying to protect human rights in Ukraine. Because the proposals that Steven Whitkoff brought specifically mention the need to ensure in Ukraine the rights of national minorities and religious freedoms. Russia has long claimed that it invaded Ukraine partly to protect Russian citizens living there as a minority. Ariane Pastar, NTD News. And we have breaking news. The House passed the annual defense spending bill just moments ago. The House voted 312 to 112 for the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2026. It authorizes a record 901 billion dollars in annual military spending. That's 8 billion dollars more than what the Trump administration requested. The budget recommends 26 billion dollars for shipbuilding, 38 billion dollars for aircraft, and 25 billion dollars for munitions. The spending bill will now go to the Senate where it is expected to pass next week. A federal judge today ordered the Trump administration to temporarily end its deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles and return control of the Guard to the state of California. NTD's Arlene Richards has more. In a lengthy written order on Wednesday, federal judge Charles Breyer ordered the Trump administration to temporarily end the federalization of California's National Guard. Breyer said there was no evidence that federal law was being obstructed in Los Angeles where 300 guardsmen have remained since the initial deployment in June. The judge rejected the Justice Department's argument that since the initial deployment was lawful, the court could not review subsequent redeployments of those troops. Breyer said the president's power to call up the National Guard for federal service is not an exclusive power and that it can be checked by a judge. California Governor Gavin Newsom's attorney had argued that two subsequent 90-day extensions that pushed the deployment until February 2, 2026 were unjustified, and Breyer agreed. In June, Breyer granted Newsom's request to temporarily block the first deployment. President Trump had federalized 2,000 California National Guards in June after unruly protests broke out in response to federal immigration arrests. The government appealed that decision, but the appellate court has yet to make a ruling on it. Now Breyer stated that by August, the situation in Los Angeles had calmed down and local police could handle the policing of the area, and that reports of unrest that occurred in October were isolated incidents that didn't warrant National Guard intervention. Rejecting the Justice Department's argument that the president was unable to execute laws with regular forces, the judge offered that the president could have made use of his own military stationed in California. The judge declined to grant Newsom's request for all future deployments to be automatically blocked and instructed him to challenge them in court. Arlene Richards, NTD News. A federal judge in Manhattan today ordered the public release of records from a grand jury investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. The decision reverses the judge's denial of an August DOJ request to unseal the grand jury materials. At that time, Judge Richard Berman cited possible threats to victim safety and privacy, but now he stated the release is warranted because of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which President Trump signed into law last month. Berman's order comes one day after another judge granted a similar request in the case of Ghislaine Maxwell, who is in prison for sex trafficking underage girls with Epstein. New travel rules could soon require visa waiver visitors to submit more personal information, including five years of social media history. Meanwhile, Homeland Security officials announce a new task force in New York to combat transnational criminal networks. NTD's Christina Corona has the details. The Trump administration is proposing new requirements for travelers from dozens of visa-free countries, including providing their social media history. Currently, citizens from 42 countries, including the UK, Germany, France, Australia, and Japan, can visit the U.S. for up to 90 days without a visa. Travelers must apply through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, or ESTA, which the administration now wants to make mobile-only and expand with additional personal data. The proposal would require visa waiver travelers to provide five years of social media history, email addresses used over the last 10 years, and personal information about immediate family members, including phone numbers and home addresses. Submitting social media history would be mandatory. U.S. Customs and Border Protection says the changes aim to enforce a Trump executive order targeting foreigners who may pose a threat to national security or public safety. The proposal is open for a 60-day public comment period. Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security held a press conference in Wednesday to announce a new Homeland Security Task Force. The task force is co-led by Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI, with support from U.S. Attorneys' Offices and numerous state and local agencies. This task force is the first of its kind. Using a whole-of-government approach, through a unified framework, the HSTFs serve as a model for protecting the homeland from evolving threats presented by transnational organized crime. The task force's mission is to target transnational criminal organizations involved in drug trafficking, money laundering, weapons trafficking, human trafficking, and other federal crimes. The U.S. Attorneys highlighted additional cases, including arrests of cartel leaders and prosecutions of individuals supporting the Jalisco cartel through fraud schemes. Officials say crime is down, but it is still way above where it should be. New Yorkers want public safety. They want our parks, schools, subways, and streets to be both safe places and places that feel safe for our families, our children, and our visitors. Officials also signed a Memorandum of Understanding, officially marking the full implementation of the Homeland Security Task Force in New York. Coming up, U.S. Envoy Mike Waltz meets with officials in Israel and says Hamas has to go. Meanwhile, an anti-Hamas militia says they want to play a role in the future of the Gaza Strip. Jason Perry with the details. China's forced organ harvesting, concentration camps, and torture in prisons. The China Human Rights Fair on Capitol Hill showcasing the persecutions still happening today under the Service members and veterans allege religious discrimination in the military. Jason Blair has the key takeaways from a hearing of the Religious Freedom Commission when we come back. What if you could whiten your teeth by simply brushing your teeth? 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Now an anti-Hamas militia is seeking a role in the future of the Gaza Strip. NTD's Jason Perry has the details. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz continued his trip in Israel on Wednesday where he met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog. The two focused their discussions on the Gaza peace plan brokered by President Trump which was recently adopted by the United Nations Security Council. Waltz said that Hamas has to go either the easy way or the hard way. What we cannot do what we're determined to avoid is what I call the definition of insanity. Somehow Hamas is allowed to survive. They rebuild. The international community pours billions into reconstruction. Hamas attacks again and Israel has no choice but to respond and here we are in this cycle of insanity. Herzog said he hopes the Gaza peace plan will be implemented soon because terrorist groups are trying to regroup. Meanwhile an anti-Hamas militia known as the Popular Forces wants to have a role in the future of the Gaza Strip. The group's former leader Yasser Abu Shabab was recently killed while mediating a family dispute. Here's what the head of another anti-Hamas faction had to say. We send our message to Hamas and its followers. We will continue the journey. Yasser's death will not affect us. Rather it has strengthened us and united us. God willing the march will continue and Hamas will end. We will continue and Hamas will end. Hamas has accused the group of being part of an occupational force and said they will have no place in any future arrangements of the Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously acknowledged Israeli support for anti-Hamas groups in the Gaza Strip. A lecturer in international studies said he doesn't think there's any serious future for such groups. The reason is that the public is not at all accepting them. They're not acceptable by the public because of their cooperation and collaboration with the Israeli occupation. However when it comes to the actual reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner said no reconstruction funds will go to areas that Hamas still controls. A researcher in Israeli affairs said the anti-Hamas groups also understand this and have urged Gaza residents to move to the areas under the control of groups backed by Israel. Jason Perry, NTD News. On Capitol Hill today several organizations participate in the China Human Rights Fair showcasing the atrocities of the Chinese regime. NTD's Washington correspondent Jack Bradley has more. In China we have people whose rights are being violated. The Chinese Communist Party's human rights abuse is on full display here at the China Fair on Capitol Hill. Now many people sharing their personal experiences about what it's like to suffer the atrocities under the Chinese Communist Party. Let's take a look. My parents both of them has been arrested and detained to the sentence to like many many times to the jail. Lydia Wong is a practitioner of Falun Dafa also known as Falun Gong, a spiritual meditation based on truthfulness, compassion and tolerance. It was introduced to the public in 1992 but in 1999 the CCP launched a brutal persecution against the practice due to its popularity and moral teachings. Wong's parents were immediately targeted. Her father was arrested and subjected to forced labor and tortured to permanent disability, later dying of his injuries. My father came out from the jail and I got her health conditions very bad and soon after my father passed away. Her mother was arrested for the 11th time in 2022 all because she was passing out information flyers about Falun Dafa. She's currently serving a four-year prison sentence. Falun Gong practitioners who I have known for a very long time simply for exercising their religious freedom. Chinese government are afraid of them because there is very significant number and so we just need to keep up with our pressure. And perhaps the most horrific is the CCP's use of forced organ harvesting. A forced organ harvesting is something very unique to China. The Chinese regime is the only regime in the world that's harvesting organs from its own citizens. It's primarily targeting Falun Dafa practitioners but also Muslim Uyghurs, Tibetans and Christians are subjected to the practice, killing them on demand in the process. The Chinese government illegally imprisons these prisoners of conscience and they have a data bank where they match the organs, they test their blood. These often go to high ranking Chinese communist officials, but really to anybody in the world who's willing to pay. Some people say that sounds so terrible, why isn't it a headline every day? Against the backdrop of Chinese government propaganda, quite literally billions of dollars spent putting out news in every language as well. One of the many bills to address this is the Falun Gong Protection Act. It passed the House earlier this year and is awaiting a vote in the Senate. One central message that we're hearing here at the China Fair is that it doesn't stop here. There needs to be more action taken from Congress to address these human rights abuses still happening in China today. Reporting from Capitol Hill, Jack Bradley, NTD News. Witnesses provide accounts of difficulties and alleged discrimination when exercising their religious rights in the military. The first of its kind Religious Liberty Commission listened and questioned the witnesses in order to make recommendations to the White House Faith Office. NTD correspondent Jason Blair reports. The Religious Liberty Commission heard from witnesses giving accounts of difficulties with religious rights in the U.S. military. One U.S. Marine says that when the COVID vaccine was required for military members while he was serving, he had a sincere religious objection. As a religious attorney, I knew the law permitted me to request a religious accommodation, which I dutifully submitted. But like tens of thousands of my uniformed colleagues, my religious accommodation fell upon deaf ears. And what we soon learned was a rubber stamp process. It was denied. Barry says he was soon put into inactive status without a warning. The manner in which I discovered that I've been placed on inactive status defies the basic decency and respect that we should provide to those who serve our nation. Barry says he found out he was inactive because the military's health care insurance provider told him that his family was no longer eligible for coverage. For many families, this would present a problem. For my family, this created a crisis. Barry says his adopted daughter has a severe permanent disability that requires significant medical care and costs. We now had to pay for Emma's substantial medical bills out of pocket. Meanwhile, my attempts to appeal the Marine Corps decision were dismissed. Another witness said he had a hard time getting an exemption to keep his beard and wear his turban as a follower of the Sikh religion. Ultimately, it took a lawsuit in 2021 to compel the Marine Corps to recognize the constitutional right of myself and several other Marines. Commission member Dr. Phil McGraw commented that some religious discrimination is going beyond the military. We're beginning to have patients, clients, however you want to refer to them, reporting that they are seeing therapists that are refusing to see them, firing them as patients or clients if they have a differing point of view. And one of the reasons they're saying I can't see you or treat you is because they're Christians. The Religious Freedom Commission is a first of its kind commission established by President Trump in May this year. The commission directive is to, quote, advise the White House Faith Office and the Domestic Policy Council on religious liberty policies. Jason Blair, NTD News. Coming up, European nations signed a declaration calling to end human rights rules being used to prevent the deportation of foreign criminals, saying current laws are outdated and no longer work for an era of mass migration. Welcome, Hudson Reports, after the break. There is a road laid out for me. Boxes everywhere. And this is going to be Addie's room. I think you're really going to like it. I hope so. Yeah. I know this road is there for me. First night here, but Amy seems cool. I got this. Take me down to the river and wash me. I was a quarterback at Faraway High School. 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If you need to do something to feel okay to drive, you're not okay to drive. Don't drive buzzed. The impact of a meal goes well beyond feeding our bodies. Because when people are fed, futures are nourished. And with your help, together we can end hunger. Join the movement at FeedingAmerica.org There are real consequences to controlled media. And NTD's founders know them firsthand. Our freedom of thought is the price. This is the lesson that guides us in everything we do. We know the value of a free society. And we take seriously the responsibility to preserve it. We are NTD. Welcome back. I'm Tiffany Meyer. The U.S. today seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela as part of the administration's campaign against the country over drug trafficking. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bonny confirmed on X that the vessel was used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. She also said the operation was a joint effort by the FBI, Homeland Security, the Coast Guard, and the Department of War. Joining us now to discuss the latest development is retired U.S. Navy Captain Armin Kurdian. He's also a foreign policy and national security analyst as well as a California State Senate candidate. Armin, thank you so much for joining us. Now that President Trump has confirmed the news, how significant is this seizing an oil tanker, especially now as the U.S.-Venezuela conflict appears to be escalating? Hi, Tiffany. Well, it's certainly not unprecedented, but it is a very, very big move. I mean, we've been following this tanker around for a long time. It has transported oil to sanctioned nations, and it's unclear who the actual direct owner and operator of the tanker actually is. But this has happened in the past where a vessel on the high seas that is operating under international sanctions is basically seized and impounded until it is ultimately released. We did the same thing, if you remember, I think last year with an Iranian tanker carrying oil from Iran to China. So this happens. This was an illegal operation, and we're going to have to wait to see what happens with all the oil on board that ship. Now, Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world, but produces and sells only about one percent of the world's crude. Given that background, how big of a card is oil for Venezuela? It's pretty much their only card. I mean, it's certainly not a hotbed for tourism these days. This is how they finance their government and their country. And the only way to get somebody to buy sanctioned oil is to sell it at a discount, which is what you see Iran doing at the same time, selling it very steeply. $10, $20 off Russia is doing the same thing, selling their oil at a discount to countries like India and Turkey in order to basically gain their compliance. So you can say, so why don't we just go around seizing all these oil tankers all over the world? Because a lot of them are carrying sanctioned oil, and it's well known. Obviously, that would be a rather large task, but this is a big statement by the president in terms of Venezuela and what they've been doing in terms of helping support other countries in selling oil and pulling that company into a regime that is widely believed to be non-valid and non-legitimate regime, cheated. So this is going to have an impact and perhaps not the first in the line of ships that are going to be impounded by this administration. As you said, a big statement. Digging into that, what role could this seizure play from a military perspective for both the U.S. and Venezuela? Well, certainly from a cooperative standpoint, the U.S. military on the high seas doesn't necessarily engage in specific law enforcement actions to detect and monitor these kinds of things and then draw in other U.S. law enforcement agencies in order to actually do this. From a military perspective, the assets we have in that area probably supported that effort. Although we're not directly involved per se, they can always provide situational awareness as to where the ship is and also situational awareness as to if there is any other military, any other vessels or aircraft operating within the area that might be, say, protecting that ship. So certainly if Venezuela was escorting their sanctioned carriers with their frigates or their corvettes with aircraft, this could have been a different story and we might actually end up seeing something like that happen in the future. China is Venezuela's biggest oil buyer. How do you think the Chinese Communist Party is looking at this seizure and U.S.-Venezuela conflict overall? It would be interesting to see how much they actually complain about it, knowing that the oil was actually sanctioned coming out of, that that ship was actually sanctioned coming out of Venezuela. So perhaps they might think twice about it. I'm sure they might make it known in back channels, but they don't really have much to stand on in this case. Armin Kurdian, as always, thank you so much for joining us. Thanks, Stephanie. European nations signed a declaration calling to end the use of human rights laws to prevent the deportation of foreign criminals, saying current laws are outdated and no longer work for an era of mass migration. Here's more from NTD's international correspondent Malcolm Hudson. Governments from 27 of the 46 Council of Europe member states are calling for European human rights laws to change. They seek to address issues within the framework which have interfered with ability of states to deport foreign criminals and other immigrants in an era of mass migration. Council of Europe justice ministers promised further discussions on reforms. Council of Europe General Secretary Alain Berset said this is an important first step. Some are asking a simple question. Is an instrument born in the 1950s still fit for 21st century challenges? In 2022, the first planned flight carrying deportees from the UK to Rwanda was blocked by an injunction from the European Court of Human Rights. This overruled a judgment by the UK's Supreme Court. British Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy said countries must be able to remove foreign criminals and that rights such as family life and protection from inhumane and degrading treatment should not be stretched to block deportations. In one UK case, an Albanian criminal's deportation was blocked partly because his son will not eat foreign chicken nuggets. Ministers have also expressed their concerns regarding the unprecedented challenges posed by migration and the serious questions governments face in maintaining The summit's conclusions call for recommendations on tackling migrant trafficking, a new committee on migration challenges, and a declaration affirming members' commitments to the rights of migrants, including foreign offenders. It is expected to be signed in Moldova in May. Malcolm Hudson, NTD News. The US is doubling down on its alliance with Japan following the country's escalating tensions with the Chinese Communist Party. Japan is flagging joint drills by China and Russia involving bombers near its airspace, calling them a show of force against the country. NTD's Melina Weisskopf reports. Japan says it has grave concerns about Russian bombers joining Chinese bombers in joint patrols near Japanese airspace. The repeated joint bomber flights by both countries signify an expansion and intensification of activities around our nation, and we cannot but view them as a show of force against Japan. The incident follows a string of dangerous encounters. Over the weekend, Japan said it responded to an airspace violation. A Chinese aircraft carrier aimed its radar at Japanese planes. The Chinese side conducted intermittent radar lock-on for approximately 30 minutes. We will continue to strongly demand that the Chinese side prevent any recurrence of such dangerous actions. The US has since doubled down on its alliance. The US State Department stating, China's actions were not conducive to regional peace and stability. Our commitment to our ally, Japan, is unwavering, and we are in close contact on this and other issues. The rising tensions comes after Japan's prime minister last month doubled down on support for Taiwan. In the case of a Chinese attack on Taiwan, the prime minister said it could trigger a potential military response from Tokyo. Beijing has already retaliated against Japan economically. The CCP has encouraged Chinese tourists against traveling to Japan, canceling more than 40 percent of Japan-bound flights scheduled from China. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Melina Weiskopf, NTD News. Coming up, Instacart shoppers might be surprised to find grocery prices that are different from what their neighbors pay. A study found that the same brand of eggs could cost more or less based on price experiments used at some stores. David Lamb reports. And in college football breaking news out of Michigan, as the team has fired head coach Sharon Moore, Dave Martin joins us to discuss when we come back. Picture this, the heart of Manhattan, full of energy, movement, and life. 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Join our community of monthly donors and you'll get this limited edition t-shirt you can wear to show you're helping save lives. One simple act today can save your life or the life of a loved one. So please call or go to helpheart.org now to help save lives. Welcome back. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Retail stores have long experimented with pricing and this seems to be happening at grocery stores that partner with delivery apps. One study found that people who use Instacart or charge different prices for the same groceries from the same store. Nonprofit Consumer Reports and Groundwork Collaborative have found that some people are paying different prices for the same items on Instacart. The month-long investigation says that identical items on the Instacart grocery app could vary as much as 23% in cost from one person to the next. Researchers found that basket totals varied by an average of about 7% for the exact same items from the exact same locations at the exact same time. For example, one of the results in Washington DC, a dozen eggs sold for five different prices $3.99, $4.28, ranging up to $4.79 depending on the user. The report says that Instacart uses AI-based experiments to test prices by charging different amounts for identical items. More than 400 participants were part of the and they shopped for identical baskets of goods from Safeway and Target stores. Target says it has no business relationship with Instacart. In response, Instacart says it uses Target's publicly displayed prices and adds an additional amount to offset operating and tech costs. According to the report, Instacart has said price differences between customers would be negligible. Instacart stated these limited short-term and randomized tests help retail partners learn what matters most to consumers and how to keep essential items affordable. And that only 10 of its retail partners are testing prices, quote, just as retailers have long tested prices in their physical stores. NTD tried comparing the prices of eggs and noodles on three different devices from two different people on a laptop, Android phone, and iPhone, but the prices appeared to be the same as of Wednesday afternoon. David Lam, NTD News, California. And now for your sports news, we're joined by NTD's Dave Martin. Dave, we've got baseball news, some NFL news, but let's start with some breaking news in college football as Michigan has fired head coach Sherron Moore. Was there a reason given? Yes, the school said that an investigation found credible evidence that Moore was engaged in what they called an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. Now, no further details on exactly what that was. Now, Michigan athletic director Ward Manuel said in a statement today, quote, this conduct constitutes a clear violation of university policy and UM maintains zero tolerance for such behavior. So Moore is out after two seasons as head coach with an 18 and eight overall record. Assistant coach Biff Poggi was named interim coach. Now, meanwhile, the team is scheduled to face Texas in the Citrus Bowl on New Year's Eve. So that's just three weeks actually away from today. Now, we've already had some high profile coaching jobs become available this offseason, you know, like LSU, Florida, Penn State, but Michigan is definitely the biggest. And depending on who they hire, you know, it could set off several more openings like, you know, like a domino effect. So stay tuned on what happens with this one too. A lot to watch further. Moving to NFL news, though, the Indianapolis Colts have officially signed 44-year-old quarterback Philip Rivers. Have they decided whether he'll start on Sunday? No, not yet, but it sounds like it's a very real possibility. It's between Rivers and rookie Riley Leonard, who has that unspecified knee injury, suffered Sunday. Now, Colt head coach Shane Steikens was asked if Rivers could start even if Leonard was healthy. Steikens didn't actually say no, though. He said it depended on how Rivers was this week. I mean, he, the guy has not played in five years. So this is really only possible, of course, because Rivers has really stayed, he's been good friends, of course, with Steikens, whom he knew as an assistant coach with the Chargers. Rivers played the first 16 years of his career there with that franchise. So Rivers already knows Steikens' play calls. And even though he's been retired for nearly five years, he's stayed in the game by being a high school football coach ever since. Now, if he starts Sunday, he'll be just the fifth quarterback ever, age 44 or older, to start an NFL game. And he'd also be disqualified for this year's NFL Hall of Fame class, where he's currently a semifinalist. He'd have to wait then for five years, so that'd be 2031. So Rivers said, though, that was not on the top of his mind. The guy's pretty chill about it, you know? He's going to be in Shrine One these days, though. So whether it's 2026 or 2031, I'd vote for him. But he's got time. He's got time. Looking at tennis news, though, women's number one ranked player Irina Sabalenka said it would be unfair to face biological men when asked Tuesday about the issue. What is the WTA's current policy towards allowing transgender athletes to play in women's tennis? Yeah, they are permitted to participate if they have declared themselves female for at least four years, have low enough testosterone levels, and agree to testing procedures. Now, Sabalenka said she had nothing against transgender players, but simply said that men were stronger. Now, Sabalenka made these comments on the Pierce Morgan show yesterday. Now, she was on the show with men's player Nick Kyrgios, who agreed with her. But these two are actually going to play in a modern battle of the sexes match in Dubai on December 28. Now, it should be noted, the 30-year-old Kyrgios, this guy who finished runner up at Wimbledon a few years ago, he will be handicapped a bit for this event. He'll only get one serve instead of two, and he'll be hitting into a little bit of smaller court than Will Sabalenka. Now, of course, going back to the transgender debate, I think it's important to note that even if, you know, any sport does not allow transgender athletes to participate, they can still, of course, play in their own biological gender. So, no one is really being banned against. They're really just being treated the same as everybody else. You know, I usually seen that reporting transgender athletes banned, but usually in every case, they're still allowed to play, you know, in their own biological gender too. Just thought I'd let you know. All right. All right. Let's update the rules there. Shifting gears to baseball, the Baltimore Orioles have reportedly agreed to a deal with free agent first baseman P. Alonzo. Yeah. ESPN is reporting it's a five-year deal with approximately $155 million, very similar to the deal that free agent Kyle Schwarberg reportedly got yesterday with the Phillies. Now, despite Alonzo becoming the Mets' all-time leader in home runs this past year, it didn't seem like it was a foregone conclusion that they would re-sign him in free agency. I mean, this was Alonzo's second straight free agency tour. Last year, he was eventually, it was eventually resolved when the Mets gave him $30 million to come back for this season. All indications, though, were he was looking for a longer deal. Looks like he finally got it, but it will be with Baltimore. Now, he's definitely worth his salary. Last season, hit 38 home runs, drove in 126 RBIs. It will be interesting to see how the Mets fill the hole at first base. Now, there's no obvious choices that I see anyways. Maybe they'll sign Kyle Tucker or something. I'm not quite sure. All right, another thing to watch for then. Another thing to watch for, yes. Dave Azawez, thanks for joining us. Thank you, Tiff. And that's all for today's news. For around-the-clock coverage, visit us at ntd.com slash live or download our NTD app. Thanks for tuning in. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Good night.