FBI Investigate Fatal Shooting in MN; Lawmakers Hold Hearing Over Fraud | NTD Good Morning (Jan. 8)

Welcome to NTV. Good morning. >> Here are today's top stories. The Trump administration is pulling the US out of 66 international organizations, many tied to the United Nations. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says they push ideology over American interests. >> The Trump administration is addressing the shooting of a woman by an ICE officer in Minneapolis. The administration calling it an act of self-defense. Allegations of a massive fraud scheme in Minnesota took center stage on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers held their first public hearing with a witness alleging retaliation against whistleblowers. >> The White House says President Trump has a three-phase plan to stabilize Venezuela and a possible massive military budget increase. Plus, a key meeting between Trump and the Colombian president. Travelers from 25 more countries will need to pay up to $15,000 for a visa bond before entering the US. It's meant to deter visitors from overstaying. And reviving traditional culture live on stage. The Lord Mayor of Oxford tells NTD what struck her after watching Shenyune Performing Arts. This is NTV Good Morning live from our global headquarters in New York City. Here are Stephanie Aox and Carrie Dun. >> Good morning. Thanks for joining us. >> Today is Thursday, January 8th. You're watching NTD. Good morning. In today's top news, the Trump administration has withdrawn the United States from 66 international organizations, conventions, and treaties. The White House yesterday said they go against the country's interests. 31 entities were tied to the UN while 35 others were not. >> The State Department says the Trump administration found the institutions to be redundant, wasteful, and poorly run. It also accused them of being captured by foreign interests or a threat to the nation's sovereignty, freedoms, and general prosperity. Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused many entities of being dominated by progressive ideology and detached from national interests. >> Rubio says many international organizations now serve a globalist project rooted in the quote discredited fantasy of the end of history. He mentioned DEI mandates, gender equity campaigns as as well as what he called climate orthodoxy. The UN related entities that the Trump administration withdrew from include the peaceuilding commission, the UN democracy fund and the empowerment of women. >> House Speaker Mike Johnson has formally invited President Trump to deliver the State of the Union address on February 24th. >> Speech will be Trump's first formal State of the Union of his second term and his sixth joint address to Congress. Overall, Trump is expected to highlight immigration enforcement, policy achievements, as well as foreign policy efforts as the midterm elections are now fast approaching. >> In Minneapolis, the shooting of a woman by an ICE officer is drawing national attention. The >> Trump administration says it was an act of self-defense in the face of terror. And a warning, this report contains footage that some viewers may find disturbing. Here's the story. The Trump administration is responding to the fatal shooting of a woman by ICE officers in Minneapolis. Officials say the woman tried to engage in an act of domestic terrorism and the officer who shot her acted in self-defense. Several videos of the incident have emerged showing the woman in her car and ICE officers around the vehicle. Homeland Security Secretary Christy Nome held a press conference after Wednesday's incident, saying she wanted to reiterate the facts of what happened. She then proceeded to weaponize her vehicle and she attempted to run an law enforcement officer over it. This appears as an attempt to kill or to cause bodily harm to agents, an act of domest domestic terrorism. The ICE officer fearing for his life and the other officers around him and the safety of the public fired defensive shots. Gnome said the incident occurred as officers were trying to move their vehicle which had become stuck in the snow. Public opinion over the video is divided. However, President Trump said on Truth Social, "The woman driving the car violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE officer, who seems to have shot her in self-defense." City Council members identified the woman as 37year-old Renee Nicole Good. Gnome said she had been impeding ICE officers. ICE officers and agents approached the vehicle of the individual in question who was blocking the officers in with her vehicle and she had been stalking and impeding their work all throughout the day. ICE agents repeatedly ordered her to get out of the car and to stop instructing obstructing law enforcement, but she refused to obey their commands. >> Gnome said the officer who fired the shot was injured in the incident and treated at a local hospital. She called the incident preventable, a sentiment echoed by Minnesota Governor Tim Walls. Walls, however, blamed the Trump administration's increased immigration enforcement operations for sparking violence. We've been warning for weeks that the Trump administration's dangerous, sensationalized operations are a threat to our public safety, that someone was going to get hurt. Just yesterday, I said exactly that. >> Walls called on the public not to engage in violence as they protest. >> To motans, I say this. I feel your anger. I'm angry. They want to show. We can't give it to them. We cannot. If you protest and express your First Amendment rights, please do so peacefully, as you always do. We can't give them what they want. The Trump administration, on the other hand, blames rhetoric from the left for inflaming tensions. Borders are Tom H. Homeman said on X, "The incident is a result of hateful rhetoric and violent attacks against the men and women of ICE and Border Patrol." And in a post yesterday, the Department of Homeland Security said its officers are facing a 1300% increase in assaults against them and an 8,000% increase in death threats. Vice President JD Vance took to X, saying, "To the radicals assaulting them, doxing them, and threatening them, congratulations. We're going to work even harder to enforce the law." Crowds gathered on Wednesday to hold a vigil for the woman killed. By evening, there were hundreds of protesters, some holding anti-ICE signs. Minneapolis schools have canceled classes Thursday and Friday out of an abundance of caution, citing protests sparked by the shooting. >> And our thoughts are with the family and friends of Nicole. The FBI and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension are both investigating the shooting. >> And joining us now live to discuss the situation in Minneapolis is Simon Hankinson. He's a senior research fellow with the Heritage Foundation's Border Security and Immigration Center. Simon, thank you for joining us this morning. How are you interpreting this series of events? >> Well, my first reaction is always that it's terribly sad to see a woman killed. Um to to have an officer put in the position where he I assume it's he felt so threatened that that he had to shoot to to save his own life. um and and to back off and to wait and see what actually happened. Um my second reaction is to disgust at watching clowns like the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, uh and and Governor Waltz get up there and start mouththing off before they understand the facts because they have a narrative. As Governor Waltz said, they want a show. Who wants a show? I would argue that the left uh wants a show. They they wanted something like this to happen so that they could then say we should not enforce federal immigration law in Minneapolis or Chicago or Los Angeles or New York. And so they encouraged people to go out and not use their first amendment right to protest but to actually impede physically block and otherwise illegally uh get in the way of law enforcement. And that's unfortunately what seems to have happened here. You can go and you can hold up a sign and you can protest ICE or law enforcement, but what you can't do is put your car in front of a federal vehicle when they're trying to move forward or stand in front of an officer who's trying to do his duty and arrest somebody. And sadly, when you cross those lines, we're going to get increasingly risky situations and bad things are going to happen. And I might just add that uh in the clip before, Governor Waltz did say peaceful. Uh but of course the rhetoric you're referring to from uh Mayor Frey was a little bit more inflammatory for sure. But beyond the clip, I just want to get some additional context that you think is important because whenever you see one of these events, you're you're looking at, you know, just a four or five second clip. Even the one that we're showing because this is a family program. We're not showing the one with the impact. We're showing the other angle. But what's important is what happens before the clip, of course. And so what context do you think is not being talked about, that really does give the additional context to understand that short clip? >> The context is that if you look at all these incidents involving ICE, I mean, there have been some where people have actually targeted ICE officers, tried to shoot them, tried to run them over, and that is clearly uh, you know, you're you're risking your own life when you commit that kind of illegal act. But it's not just a bunch of nice, you know, moms and and strollers out there protesting quietly on the sidewalk or even loudly, which they can do. It is people using their vehicles to get in front of law enforcement vehicles when they're trying to move. An utter dereliction of duty by the city of Minneapolis. Where were the police where were the city of Minneapolis police there to ensure law and order, to protect civilians, and to stop civilians getting in the way of law enforcement, which puts their lives at risks risk. So if you look at the longer term, every single day this is playing out all across the United States where you have federal law enforcement trying to do its job in a high-risk, high pressure, tense situation and you have individuals from the public uh taking risks that they shouldn't be taking. They're not protesting peacefully. Most of them probably are, but there are activists and there are individuals who are, you know, radicalized, frankly, to put their lives in danger by doing things that are illegal. it is illegal to impede a federal law enforcement officer doing their job. And I watched some of the tape beforehand. You know, obviously there's competing videos, but there were, you know, fireworks, there were people yelling, there were people pushing, there were people driving their cars and trying to block traffic. Um, and every one of those acts, as soon as you cross the line from saying things and protesting to physically impeding law enforcement is is putting people's lives at risk. Um, and I unfortunately this this is escalating. It's happening across the country. It's being encouraged by politicians. And instead of going to Congress and trying to change laws if that's what they want to do, they're simply saying we shouldn't enforce those laws in our city. Well, how about the IRS? Why doesn't the mayor of um a blue say a conservative city say we don't like paying federal taxes, so we're not going to let the IRS enforce tax laws in our city? You can't do that. The law is the law. It applies around the country. Simon, I want to go a level deeper on what you just shared about um you know the these agitators, which is what President Trump called one of those two that were involved in the incident, he he identified them as a a professional agitator. And with most of these large protests, whether it was the uh Palestinian protests uh where chance of Hamas were used or um in LA with these ICE protests and now we see it in Minnesota. You mentioned there's a large peaceful crowd, but then amongst them there are potentially these people that are not just casual protesters, but that they're of some sort of either they're being paid or they're professional. So, do you see the ICE potentially getting a broader set of tools to be able to help in these uh large crowds which can go from peaceful to dangerous in a very quick moment? >> Yeah. I mean, there's a French expression a provocator where you send people, you know, if you're the the communists or the fascists or whatever, you're trying to uh leverage a large crowd to do something political you want them to do. you send in a couple people into the crowd and you have them lead them in a particular direction or particular chance or you know encourage them to violence and so on. Uh so I think there is a lot of that going on. There's a lot of money coming from you know big foundations uh going into far-left politics and yes I think it would be a good idea to uh set you know take another French phrase to encourage the others uh they should go after some of these professional protesters. I it looks to me and again I want to wait for the the facts to come in but it looks to me like the woman who who was killed was probably you know an amateur activist but uh I I'm absolutely certain that in Minneapolis and other cities where ICE has a presence and is trying to do its job there are professional paid protesters. We need to find out who's paying them. And if they cross the line into breaking the law by impeding federal law enforcement or making violent threats, then they should be arrested and prosecuted. And the people who are funding them should be arrested and prosecuted. That's not to shut down free speech. That's simply to draw a firm line between free speech and violent political activism designed to stop the president from carrying out his his constitutional duties and the federal agencies and agents from carrying out their constitutional duties. And Simon, just in our last 30 seconds, yesterday's news of course overshadowed the fraud investigations that were happening on Capitol Hill into what was happening in Minnesota with the child daycarees. What there's such a flash point now and focus on Minnesota. What do you expect next? >> Well, what I expect and what I hope for are two different things. What I hope for is an investigation that finds out who was stealing my money, my tax money, and and punishes them. But what I'm getting is a theater uh a circus of people either saying you that the Somali community is all innocent except for a couple of bad actors and they're being you know maliciously targeted by this evil administration for simply being whatever people of color, immigrants, whatever uh you know group they want to identify. Um and and on the other hand simply a law enforcement issue. No one we know that people are committing fraud on welfare. It happens. It happens all over the country. It happens from all races, all sexes, all ages. But this was a particular cluster in a particular city in a particular state. And that state fell down on its duty from Governor Waltz on down. Except for the federal prosecutors and some individuals who are brave enough to point it out. We should be digging into it. And like the FBI used to say, without fear or favor, follow the crime where it leads. Punish the guilty. Let the innocent go. And what they look like and where they come from should be completely irrelevant. Well, we appreciate your analysis this morning. Simon Henson, thank you. >> Thank you. >> And staying in Minnesota, Vice President JD Vance says embattled Governor Tim Walls should resign. >> Vance accuses him of failing to address what he called quote widespread welfare fraud when he was speaking on Fox News. We can see the clip there, though the sound seems to be out at this moment. He says it's totally unacceptable and also described it as theft. Vance says federal investigators are going to get to the root of the problem. The vice president says anyone found to be involved will be prosecuted. The allegations come as federal authorities expand investigations into benefit programs across multiple states. Vance also criticized the high number of welfare recipients in the Somalian community. He says about 85% of Somalians in the US collect some form of welfare. Vance says those high numbers show a problem with vetting. >> Governor Walls is pushing back on claims he's turned a blind eye to the fraud allegations. In multiple statements, Walls said his administration has been confronting the issue. And the allegations of a multi-billion dollar fraud scheme were in the spotlight yesterday on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers held the first public hearing with one witness testifying that government officials retaliated against people who tried to report the fraud. Entities Molina Weissup has the takeaways. House lawmakers on the oversight committee are exposing a multi-billion dollar fraud scheme taking place in Minnesota. Around $9 billion meant to support Minnesota programs may have been stolen since 2018. A federal prosecutor reported last month, House Republicans on the committee criticized Minnesota officials for not acting quickly enough to stop it. >> Governor Tim Waltz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Minnesota's Democrat leadership have either been asleep at the wheel or complicit in these crimes. >> The childcare fraud scheme was first exposed more than a decade ago between 2011 and 2013. But one state lawmaker who appeared as a witness today said that those who tried to initially report the fraud faced government retaliation. They revealed that retaliation now includes threats of being fired with cause, which means you do not get unemployment insurance in the state of Minnesota, being blacklisted from all state agencies. >> The Democrats witness a former DOJ official push back on the idea that fraudsters haven't faced repercussions, highlighting the consequences that some have faced so far. The department has charged over a dozen people for stealing $14 million from a program meant for children with autism. >> The state's governor, Tim Waltz, has repeatedly defended his handling of the fraud crisis. But since the crisis has been exposed on the national scale, Waltz, has since dropped his re-election campaign for a third term. Some Republicans aim to expose that some of the stolen money was used to fund Democrat politicians, even the state's attorney general. >> Did money flow to Mr. Ellison's campaign a couple weeks later from some of the folks who were in that meeting. >> Sure did. >> How much do we know how much that was? >> I do not have that number. >> So it wasn't just wasn't just overlooking the fraud. They were actively trying to make sure this program continued and then they benefited from that politically with contributions to their campaign all in this same year, all in 2021. >> Many people involved in stealing these federal dollars are of Somalian descent. Republicans are urging the Trump administration to deport and dennaturalize these alleged criminals, while Democrats are urging the public not to demonize an entire group of people based on the actions of a few. >> We don't need to make these partisan hearings. Every American has a stake in making sure that they have a receipt for where their tax dollars are going. >> Minnesota isn't the only state under the microscope. The Trump administration has also opened an investigation into California and halted $10 billion in funding for social service programs in five Democratic states. >> I think it is very widespread. We're just scraping the surface right now. >> Chairman Comr has called on Governor Waltz to testify in February. Reporting from Washington DC, Molina Weissup, NTD News. >> Two people have been killed and at least six injured in a shooting outside a church in Salt Lake City last night. Police say the shooting took place in the back parking lot of a house of worship for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. No suspects are in custody, but police say investigators have received solid leads. Salt Lake City police say at least three of the injured victims are in critical condition. The church extended prayers for all those impacted and expressed deep concern that a sacred space intended for worship should be subjected to violence. Police said they do not believe this was a targeted attack against the faith. The church has been on heightened alert since four people were killed when a former Marine opened fire in a Michigan church last month. And the White House says President Trump has a three-phase plan to stabilize Venezuela. >> A possible massive military budget increase, plus a key meeting between Trump and the Colombian president. Also ahead, all eyes still on Venezuela as the US apprehends two more sanctioned oil tankers. Stay with us for those stories and more. Welcome back. Efforts are underway to stabilize Venezuela after the ouster of former dictator Nicholas Maduro. President Trump's plan will play out in three primary phases and NTD's Daniel Monahan breaks that down for us. >> Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the initial step for Venezuela as a stabilization effort, saying the US can't let the country descend into chaos. In the first phase, he said the US will continue to exercise control over access to Venezuela's oil resources. >> They are not generating any revenue from their oil right now. They can't move it unless we allow it to move because we have sanctions, because we're enforcing those sanctions. >> The second phase will focus on recovery, which Rubio says involves what he calls fair access to the Venezuela market by American and other companies, as well as healing. At >> the same time, begin to create the process of reconciliation nationally within Venezuela so that u the opposition forces can be amnestied and released and from prisons or brought back to the country and begin to rebuild civil society. The plan will ultimately conclude with a transition of power >> where we have tremendous control and leverage over what those interim authorities are doing and are able to do. But obviously, this will be a process of transition. In the end, it will be up to the Venezuelan people to transform their country. >> President Trump yesterday proposed increasing the Pentagon's budget to $1.5 trillion in 2027, a 66% increase, saying it would give the United States its dream military. Trump says the world is going through very troubled and dangerous times. Over to Colombia, President Trump yesterday said he spoke on the phone with Colombian President Gustavo Pro, calling the conversation a great honor and announcing plans for an in-person meeting at the White House. Trump said Pro initiated the call to discuss Colombia's stance on drugs and address other areas of disagreement between the two countries. The friendly tone is a change from earlier in the week when Trump criticized the nation over its role in the illegal drug trade. >> Colombia is very sick, run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States. And he's not going to be doing it very long. Let me tell you, >> the president seemed open to taking action. >> He has uh cocaine mills and cocaine factories. He's not going to be doing it very long. there will be an operation by the US and >> it sounds good to me. >> Pro said yesterday that Trump pulled back on his tone during a conversation that lasted roughly an hour. He said he had invited Trump for a private meeting, but instead the pair decided to hold talks in Washington. In regard to this personal conversation, we shouldn't put our guard down. We still have to talk at the White House. The sudden day taunt revealed that Pro and Trump share a key characteristic, an apparent willingness to negotiate with an adversary if deemed to be in their country's best interest. For Colombia, the US remains critical for the military's fight against leftist guerrillas. For the US, Colombia is the main source of intelligence used to interdict drugs in the Caribbean. Daniel Monahan, NTD News. and President Trump announcing a historic de oil deal with Venezuela. Under its terms, Venezuela will purchase only American products with the money made from the US selling Venezuela's sanctioned oil. >> And this is coming as the US apprehends two more sanctioned oil tankers in the Atlantic. Entities Washington correspondent Mario Otu brings us more from the White House. >> All eyes are still on Venezuela as the White House confirms the seizure of two more sanctioned oil tankers. One of them, the Sophia. This is a stateless sanctioned dark fleet motor tanker. Uh this vessel was operating in international waters and conducting illicit activities in the Caribbean Sea. >> And the other Bella 1 the British military says was part of a Russian Iranian access of sanctions evasion. >> The vessel this morning was seized in the North Atlantic. This was a Venezuelan shadow fleet vessel that has transported sanctioned oil. the vessel had a judicial seizure order um in the crew. So that means the crew is now subject to prosecution for any applicable violation of federal law. This comes as President Trump announced Tuesday night that the interim authorities in Venezuela will be turning over 30 to 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to the United States where it will be sold at market price. The White House saying the Trump administration, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is in close correspondence with interim authorities in Venezuela. The interim authorities have agreed to release that oil to the United States, so it will be arriving here at home very soon. The United States government has already begun marketing Venezuelan crude oil. Levit says the US is selectively rolling back sanctions to enable the transport and sale of Venezuelan crude oil to global markets. Proceeds from Venezuelan crude oil sales will first settle in US controlled accounts and then >> those funds will be dis dispersed for the benefit of the American people and the Venezuelan people. We're going to sell that crude. We're going to put it in accounts and we're going to distribute that funds to the interim authorities in Venezuela and and align that with incentives to improve their behavior, end the criminality, reduce the risk to America. And >> meanwhile, as the effects of former Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro's capture are felt around the world. President Trump warning other Western countries that his administration won't allow America's neighbors to be used as proxies for US adversaries. We need Greenland from a national security situation. It's so strategic right now. Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security. >> President Trump says Russia and China have quote zero fear of NATO without the US and that the only nation China and Russia fear and respect is the America that he's rebuilding. The White House confirms the US is talking about what a potential purchase of Greenland would look like. >> More uh control over the Arctic region and ensuring that China and Russia uh and our adversaries cannot continue their aggression in this very important and strategic region. Levit says all options are on the table with the first option always diplomacy. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he plans to meet his Danish counterparts next week to talk about the US's interest in Greenland. Reporting from the White House, Mario, NTD News. Thanks Deari for that report. Joining us now to discuss the seizure of those two sanctioned oil tankers is John Deon. He's a former US Marine and a former federal prosecutor. John, good to see you. Want to get your initial reactions to the seizing of these two ships. >> Good to be with you. Uh look, we're seeing today the end of the look the other way era of foreign policy here in the United States. Before this, China, Russia, the Madura former regime would use these fleet of lawless tankers to avoid US sanctions and use that oil to fund their terrorism and their aggression. By seizing these two ships, we've sent a clear message that the high seas are no longer a safe haven for the China China's money or energy laundering. And so we're securing the hemisphere, cutting off financial oxygen to uh to this terrorism and putting American energy first. >> Yeah. And John, it seems like relations with Russia are pretty sour in that, you know, we keep trying to extend olive branches to close out the war with Ukraine and it just keeps getting extended and now uh seizing a ship that had a Russian flag on it. How do you view Russia's response so far? You know, I I'm not surprised, but let's know that this tanker that was seized, it was sort of a makeshift Russian flag that was painted on and they changed the name of the hall. That ship had been pursued for a couple weeks, I believe. But the the real interesting thing that you raised is that that particular ship or one of them was actually had Russian naval vessels sort of safeguarding it. There was even a submarine from Russia that was also in the area. Yet, the United States seized it. And I think that sends a clear message uh to Putin that I think he's going to be pretty distracted with the Russia Ukraine situation than he wants to tangle with the US at this point. >> Very interesting. So, there was Russian naval support to this ship, but they chose it wasn't the right time or place to engage. And on that point, and you mentioned the look the other way policies are are ending by this capture of Maduro and these latest signals, Trump seems very focused on the Monroe Doctrine. How much influence do adversaries have in the Western Hemisphere in your estimation, John? Well, they had a considerable amount when you in the Venezuelan uh area, not just Cuban intelligence. You had Russian intelligence, Chinese intelligence, and people need to understand that uh in that hemisphere, you had our two primal rivals, Russia and China. uh with Venezuela having not just the largest oil reserve in the world but one of the largest gold reserves in the world on the ground as well as some of the best world's rare earth minerals and China has really has a 90% control in the world on rare minerals. So a lot of people think the Venezuelan move was all about oil. I think it was more about securing our interest in those types of areas like rare minerals in our hemisphere. >> And do you expect John further action to uh sort of uh staple onto the Monroe Doctrine? Uh you saw in the previous package that Trump went from threats to now dialogue with the president of Colombia. But what what further do you expect to happen in this sphere? Well, I noticed in your program they talked about uh President Trump's uh recent comment that he wants to add, you know, um over 50% on our defense spending to instead of a trillion dollars, he wants to put $1.5 trillion in our military budget. And I think that indicates what you're getting at, which is this Monroe Doctrine. Uh part of that has got to be this idea of purchasing Greenland. uh not putting uh they won't take anything off the table when Marco Rubio was asked uh what about you know military intervention you know he tried to downplay it but he said listen everything's on the table no one's going to take on the United States so I think it's pretty clear President Trump is trying to expand the interest of the United States uh and make it the superpower that he wants it to be >> and in terms of the drug trafficking coming out of sat uh South America as well as Mexico from the root perspective. Do you expect further actions and what might that look like? >> Yeah, I think that as far as the drug control from Venezuela, that's that's going to be nipped in the bud pretty well. You know, the interesting question is a lot of the Democrats and critics are saying, listen, the real fentano is coming from Mexico. Um, and a lot of the other most of the drugs are coming from Mexico. What are you going to do about that? That's why I think that this Venezuelan thing wasn't just about oil and it wasn't just about drugs. It was more about our national security interest uh and economic interest. But I think that President Trump's going to have to address the issue. I mean, the Mexico president came out and said cartels have a right to exist. And so I think there's going to have to be some kind of dialogue. I don't think we're going to necessarily go into Mexico, but I wouldn't be surprised if we see some kind of strategic surgical strike against Mexican cartels as well. >> Well, there'll be a lot to look out for. Uh he had Trump had directly mentioned that Shine Bomb does fear the cartels. Um a lot of things happening all at the same time, but it will be interesting to see if anything comes of that in the near future. John Deon, thank you so much for joining us today. >> Thank you for having me. >> And Miami is on the front lines of a crisis thousands of miles away. City Official Raphael Rosada spoke yesterday on how instability in Venezuela is now spilling over into South Florida, affecting crime, migration, and families in the city's exile communities. And Chris Bob has more. Inside the Miami City Hall early in the afternoon, city commissioner Raphael Rosado and other local leaders addressed Miami's commitment to standing with Venezuela and communities pursuing democracy, human rights, and freedom. Rosado warned that political instability abroad continues to fuel crime, narcotics trafficking, and humanitarian strain at home. Issues he said Miami residents are very familiar with. >> For years, Miami has been ground zero for Venezuelan narco trafficking. We I think we all know this extremely well, too well. The Maduro regime's uh drug networks have brought uh deadly fentinil to our streets. They have fueled addiction. They have destroyed families. They have tempted and endangered our children. For the Venezuelan and Cuban exile communities, this moment carries deep emotional weight. >> I spoke with Rosado after the conference. He said he's hopeful that illicit networks like Trend Aaragua, which have had devastating consequences for families across South Florida, particularly within Venezuela and Cuban exile communities, will be eradicated. >> Well, hopefully a number of folks are captured. The reality is that Maduro was not just a dictator. He was a narco trafficker and he kept the government afloat and and in many ways the government of Cuba as well afloat through illicit activities and so hopefully this helps to bring about a change in that and we can make our community even safer. Now Miami is at historically low crime rates. Nonetheless, we know that a lot of the activity that's still negative in our community stems from it originates from Nicarawa and and Venezuela and other places where they're struggling and where the government has been complicit in all sorts of illegal and illicit activities. And we hope that this helps to stem that. Rosado called Miami a city of exiles and argued that regional instability continues to shape its culture. It is measured by generations that have been forced to flee a country that they love with their hearts. It is measured by the lack of survival for too many lives. Miami understands this pain very well, perhaps better than any other community. In addition to our Venezuelan community, Cubans, Nicaraguans, and other exiles from everywhere around the world who have escaped authoritarian ideologies, they have been forced to rebuild their lives in freedom and have continued to fight for the rights that they were denied back home. Today, today, Miami stands united more than ever. So, I understand that it's it's all very fluid right now, but ideally what we'll have in the next few months are free elections in Venezuela. And I think that may give people the opportunity to perhaps travel back and forth freely if that's what they would like. We want folks to have that choice. And and so we're supportive of changes. We're supportive of the federal government's uh attention to this incredibly important issue. And we hope that it has a domino effect on the rest of Central and South America. >> In the meantime, Rosado says support starts at the local level as Miami residents continue to advocate for democratic reforms and stand in solidarity with communities already here. what can we do? Well, I you know, at the very ground level, showing them that we are supportive of the community that exists here in exile, right? We're multiple exile communities. We should be supportive of one another. But in addition to that, obviously, our local delegation is very well connected to uh the president of the United States, to the secretary of state. These are folks that have homes here. Some were born here. And so there's constant communication to see how we can help them and encouraging them to continue to move forward and establish democracy in Venezuela and the rest of South America and Central America. >> Chris Bob, NTD News, Miami. >> Thanks to Chris for that report. And still to come, California is losing $ 160 million from the Department of Transportation. >> Secretary Shawn Duffy says the state failed to meet a deadline for revoking unlawfully issued trucking licenses. Meanwhile, travelers from 25 more countries will need to pay up to $15,000 for a visa bond before entering the US. It's meant to deter visitors from overstaying. Those stories after this. Welcome back to NTV. Good morning. I'm Carrie Dunst. If you're just joining us now, here are some of today's top headlines. The Trump administration has withdrawn the US from 66 international organizations, treaties, and conventions. The White House says 31 were tied to the United Nations. Marco Rubio says the groups are wasteful, mismanaged, and driven by ideology over US interests. And efforts are underway to stabilize Venezuela following the removal of former dictator Nicholas Maduro. The White House says President Trump has a three-phase plan. First, beginning with stabilization. Marco Rubio says the next steps focus on economic recovery, national reconciliation, and a gradual transition of power led by the Venezuelan people. And the fatal shooting of a woman by an ICE officer in Minneapolis is drawing national attention. The Trump administration says the officer acted in self-defense, alleging the woman attempted an act of domestic terrorism by using her vehicle as a weapon. However, Governor Tim Walsh blames heightened immigration enforcement for escalating the tensions while the White House points to anti-ICE rhetoric. And lawmakers held the first public hearing on Capitol Hill following allegations of fraud taking place in Minnesota. A federal prosecutor gave a report last month that around $9 billion may have been stolen. At the hearing, Republicans criticized Minnesota officials for not acting quickly enough. Democrats and Minnesota Governor Tim Walls have defended their handling of the crisis, but Waltz has since dropped his re-election bid. House Oversight Committee Chair James Comr has called on Walls to testify in February. Those are this morning's top headlines. With that, Steph, over to you. >> Thanks, Carrie. And federal transportation officials say California will lose nearly $ 160 million for delaying the revocation of more than 17,000 commercial drivers licenses issued unlawfully to immigrants. Transportation Secretary Shawn Duffy says the state failed to meet a January 5th deadline to cancel the licenses after a federal audit uncovered widespread violations. The audit found licenses for truckers and bus drivers that remained valid long after immigrants visa expired and some that were given to citizens of Mexico and Canada who do not qualify. California disagrees with the funding cut, saying the state complies with regulations and that the withheld money could jeopardize road safety. More foreigners are now required to pay a $15,000 bond to enter the United States. The rule adds 25 more countries to the list, bringing the total to 38, aiming to prevent their citizens from overstaying their visas. >> NTD's Washington correspondent Jack Bradley has the story. Travelers from several countries will now need to pay up to a $15,000 bond to enter the US. Now, it's meant to deter them from overstaying their visa when they're here for tourism or business. The State Department has just added 25 more countries to this list, including Venezuela, Cuba, Nepal, Nigeria, and others. That brings the total to 38 countries. Officials say that these are countries with high rates of visa overstays, insufficient screening and vetting, and those that don't require proof of residency to obtain citizenship. So travelers from those countries are going to need to pay the US Treasury anywhere between $5,000 to $15,000. The amount will be determined during their visa interview, and that money will be returned to the traveler if they don't overstay their visa. This comes as federal authorities are cracking down on illegal immigrants, including those that came in legally but then overstayed their visa. Here's Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterating the administration's priorities at a recent State Department briefing. There are people in this country who got in through some form of vetting that was wholly insufficient. There are people coming into this country every day to visit, to work, to live permanently, but you have to know who they are and you have to have some limits and controls over what those numbers are. >> The visa bond requirement for the newly added countries is set to take effect on January 21st. Reporting by Jack Bradley, NTD News. >> Thanks, Jack. And House lawmakers condemn a recent attack on protesters by a Chinese consulate security guard outside the Los Angeles consulate. The guard can be seen spraying a chemical spray several times at the demonstrators, landing some of them in the hospital. Antd correspondent Jason Blair has the details. >> Absolutely unacceptable. Um trying to inhibit the the freedom of speech. No way, shape, or form is that acceptable in any way. And I hope uh you know the hammer is brought down on them. >> CHINA. >> ABOUT two dozen pro-democracy activists were celebrating the capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicholas Maduro outside of the Los Angeles Chinese consulate on Sunday. They were also calling on the Chinese Communist Party to end its authoritarian suppression. After some verbal exchanges, the consulate's armed security guard, Wian, can be seen on video making some threats against the protesters and then spraying them with a chemical spray. >> The demonstrators say that at least eight people were sprayed, five of whom received hospital treatment. A group organizer says he was in the hospital for 10 hours. According to his medical evaluation, he experienced burns to both eyes, a dry cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, nausea, and vomiting. >> Ever since Tanaman Square, we've known that China will use techniques that are unacceptable. And it doesn't surprise me that even in the United States, China would do that. >> We believe that there is freedom of speech here in America. We don't always have to agree, but we need to be respectful uh to each other and our differing thoughts. Obviously, that's extremely concerning if you're seeing uh you know force used against people who are peacefully protesting, especially protesting uh in favor of democracy. And if it involves foreign elements, that's even more concerning. >> The security guard Woo was arrested by police shortly after the incident. The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed that a suspect was taken into custody for allegedly violating a state law provision governing the purchase, possession, or use of tear gas or any tear gas weapon. My Venezuelan friends told me that when people fight for freedom back home, the government shoots them. That immediately made me think of China's June 4th. Our suffering hasn't ended. We hope that one day, like Venezuela, we can also bring an end to authoritarian rule. I urged the US and the international community, just as you once helped the Venezuelan people push back against Maduro's regime, please also support the Chinese people. >> Some of the protesters also say they plan on filing a civil suit against the security guard demanding compensation. Jason Blair, NTD News. >> Thank you, Jason. And a State Department spokesperson told the Epoch Times that it is closely following the pepper spray incident and that repression of the First Amendment will not be tolerated. >> Multiple lawmakers also expressed alarm over the incident, including the chairman of the House Select Committee on China, Representative John Molinar. He noted that peaceful protest is a constitutional right. >> Up ahead, how to stay financially secure in the age of artificial intelligence. From voice cloned family emergencies to AI powered investment pitches, protecting your money and your identity is becoming harder and harder. But our next guest talks about how you can protect yourself and your family. Meanwhile, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. unveils new federal dietary guidelines. What's in those guidelines? And we take a look at what you need to know. Welcome back. President Trump says he plans to ban large investors from buying single family homes. >> Yeah, it comes amid rising inflation and a surge in the cost of buying a home in recent years. In a social media post yesterday, Trump stated he's taking steps to ban large institutional investors from buying up single family properties and is calling on Congress to support the move. Investors like Blackstone, JP Morgan, Chase, and other banks and investment firms have increasingly snapped up family homes in recent years, eyeing rising returns on home prices. President did not provide the details on how the ban would work or which companies would be affected and the move could face legal challenges as well. Trump said he plans to outline additional housing and affordability proposals during an upcoming speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. >> And more people are losing a lot more money to fraud with AI supercharging persuasion at scale. Consumers reported losing more than one 12.5 billion dollars in 2024 alone. That's according to the FTC. To navigate this new terrain, we'll take a look at how to recognize how AI is being used against consumers and how you can put simple speed bumps in place so criminals can't make a quick buck off you. >> Joining us for insights is Lawrence Sprung. He's the founder of Mittland Financial as well as the author of Financial Planning Made Personal. So, Larry, good to have you with us today. What would you say is one of the most common threats from AI and consumer fraud and how can people outsmart it? I I think one of the things and and it actually happened to me is the prevalence of deep fakes where somebody who you think you know is calling you saying that somebody you love has been injured in an accident or some horrific accident has happened to them and they need money or they've been incarcerated and they need money to get out of jail or pay the medical bills or things like that. And you know what? In that moment, your your fight or flight takes over. You get upset and you think that this is real and you have to think about how am I going to get these people money. What I suggest is two things. One is in these instances, take a deep breath, ask the person if you could call them back uh to verify whether it's accurate or not. Number one. Or number two, have a family password. Have a password that only you and your other family members know. So in case you get one of these frantic calls, which sometimes are true and are actually happening, you would simply ask them, well, what's the family password? If they could provide that to you, then it's probably legitimate, but if they can't, then I would think twice before doing anything and confirm. And uh, you know, like I said, it happened to me. I was on a plane. my wife got a call from my mother-in-law that she got a call that our youngest son was in a horrific accident when in fact my wife was just on the phone with him moments ago and we knew that that couldn't be uh real. So protect yourself with that password or take that deep breath and verify first. >> Wow. And with passwords alone you have to make sure that they're not being used as other passwords. So it's not something that the fraudsters could actually ascertain as well. But such great advice, such a small thing could make a big difference. Larry, what about the emerging threat of AI powered returns? >> Yeah, so I think that this is something that's becoming more and more prevalent as well and and real in terms of fraudsters going out and soliciting for investments that have, you know, huge returns. And uh we had a situation like that with somebody who we know who was in a WhatsApp group. And it seems like a lot of times it happens through these platforms and it's not just uh you know WhatsApp alone but some of these platforms allow communication between people and there are fraudsters that are using it to pitch investment ideas that you know have ungodly returns like 20 25% a year and it sounds great and if you're in a bad position it m might sound like a great opportunity but ultimately what happens is you send these fraudsters your money and you never see it or them again. So, you know, if you're hearing things that are too good to be true, they probably are. You want to make sure that you verify. Ask the person for their name, for their credentials. Make sure they're registered. Make sure they're licensed in those jurisdictions that they need to be licensed in. The last thing you need to do is be sending them money. And you don't want to do it out of fear or greed. Now staying in the online space, social media of course has a host of issues and in regard to young people, it's been in the media a lot lately, but let's look at how AI is creating more risks even for adults at this point in time. >> So I think what you're seeing is uh one thing is you're seeing that there's uh uh you know fraudulent profiles out there. People are cloning other people's profiles, acting as if they are them. You know, make sure that if you are active on social media that you are locking down your profile, have multiffactor authentication. So if somebody tries to take it over or clone it, you you hopefully will know. Uh, you know, FTC data shows people contacted through social media, you know, through DMs reported losing more often and 1.9 billion in total losses in 2024. So, I think, you know, that tells me do not send money, do not move money, do not share information from a DM within social media. If it's somebody you know, contact them, talk to them, have a conversation, and go through an official site or app to initiate the contact yourself, not on a public social media platform. >> Yeah, Lawrence, you just mentioned some of the risks of sending money uh based on a digital communication. Let's talk about the actual accounts that we have, our banking accounts, our investment accounts, and why and how we should protect the ability to log into those accounts. >> Lock them down. Lock them down. As much as I will agree with everybody else, it is a big pain to have multiffactor authentication or pass keys or all these notifications. You know, we talk about being distracted and not wanting notifications, but when it comes to our finances, it's important to have that. So, a couple of things people should think about is, you know, put a credit freeze on your account. All of my accounts are frozen. So, if somebody goes and tries to apply for credit, even myself, and uh I will get a notification or the the provider will be said that uh you know, we can't provide you credit because your credit's frozen. So, I will have to proactively unfreeze it. It'll stop lenders from pulling your file. It's free. Um, it also prevents, you know, unemployment claims and things like that coming through. And be sure that you're pairing that with strong authentication. Carrie, you mentioned earlier passwords getting more complicated. And you know what? Maybe their technology is getting better, that they can solve those also, but if you also add in that layer of multiffactor authentication, it really locks it down even further. and then set notifications for all those things that you know might change within your account so that you're alerted if anything happens. >> So much to know but we have covered a lot of ground this morning. Thank you so much Lawrence Sprung safer and happier after this. >> Yeah. Wow. You really really can't be too safe these days, right? It is a pain as he says, you know, you you try to log in and it says you got to check your text messages first, but >> um you know, if it's if it's about accessing maybe your social media account, one thing, but if we're talking about your finances, you want to make sure that you you take the extra time to lock it down as Larry says. >> Yeah. And you can automate a lot of these uh safeguards as well. So, that's good. All right. Next up, more whole foods and protein, fewer highly processed foods, and less added sugar. That's the federal government's uh latest recommendations on nutrition. >> Yeah, that's right. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., he announced these new guidelines yesterday alongside Agricultural Secretary Brooke Rollins. >> The most significant reset of federal nutrition policy in history. These guidelines replace corporate driven assumptions with common sense goals and gold standard scientific integrity. These new guidelines will revolutionize our nation's food culture and make America healthy again. >> For decades, decades, under both Republicans and Democrats, federal incentives have promoted lowquality, highly processed foods and pharmaceutical interventions instead of prevention. As a result, nutrientdense whole foods grown by America's farmers and ranchers have been increasingly displaced. The Trump administration is acutely aware of this danger and today this announcement is making a major step in doing something about it. >> Kennedy said protein and healthy fats are essential and that they were wrongly discouraged in earlier dietary guidelines. Instead, he said the federal government has declared war on added sugar, calling it one of the factors driving metabolic disease. The Department of Agriculture has introduced what's being called the upside down food pyramid, turning it on its head, the familiar food pyramid many have seen on classroom walls. An illustration released yesterday is encouraging consumers to eat more protein, dairy, vegetables, and fruits and whole grains like wheat would now be a smaller portion of the diet, but it's still an important portion of the diet. Kennedy. He said, "These new guidelines are informed by the best and most reliable research on health and nutrition, particularly as it relates to the role of our diets in chronic disease." Wow, Steph. I mean, it's basically admitting that >> we had this diagram and now we're saying it was wrong and we're doing the opposite of what we were telling you to do for decades, you know. >> Yeah. Yeah. It's an interesting to see uh all the different proportions and also how kind of uh almost loose the illustrative version of the pyramid is. It it feels to me to be also a message of not being too fixated, just having a general sense of well-being and your approach to food being just uh like a lifestyle choice that's generally incorporated rather than really intricately mandated. Yeah, Rollins had some really interesting quotes in there basically saying that corporate interests um against certain types of foods like you know demonizing fats which are certainly a healthy portion of of a diet. Um have have led astray the public essentially and that people were being malnourished um filling their diet with these empty carbs and sugars instead of the whole foods and the nutrition that they need to really satiate themselves. >> Yeah. And if it really is going to target chronic disease, then that will impact a whole host of other things out there. You know, health comes first. >> That's right. That's right. And, you know, I think this wheel, this hamster wheel of then looking for some sort of medicine to cure the problems that were introduced when the root of the problem could very well just be the ba getting back to basics, you know, good old sunshine, exercise, and and healthy diet. >> Yep. And and lots of strong social connections. >> Social connections. Don't don't discount the need for community. So, well, look, we do have to wrap up the show now, but if you have any feedback on the show or a a story that you'd like us to cover, we want to know. So, send us an email at good morning@ntent ntd.com. We would love to hear from you. >> And for round original news coverage, watch us live at ntd.com/live or download our NTD app. I'm Stephanie Aox. >> I'm Carrie Dun. Have a great day.