Trump Warns of U.S. Action in Iran; U.S. Talks with Denmark, Greenland | NTD Good Morning (Jan. 14)

Welcome to NTD Good Morning. >> Here are today's top stories. President Trump is warning of very strong action if the Iranian regime starts hanging protesters. More of the president's comments on the ongoing unrest in Iran. >> Greenland and Denmark officials are in DC today to meet with White House officials as President Trump doubles down on security concerns in the region. President Trump says he's axing funding to so-called sanctuary cities, accusing them of protecting criminals. The move is likely to face legal challenges. >> Lawmakers are looking to prevent future fraud following these allegations in Minnesota. What experts said during a hearing yesterday. >> Somalia loses its temporary protected status in the US, affecting thousands of Somali nationals here. And the Department of Homeland Security calls on Minnesota Governor Tim Walls to honor 1300 ICE arrest detainers. >> President Trump is calling to cap credit card interest rates at 10% starting in just a few days. We're going to be joined by an economist to discuss how that'll affect families living with household debt. 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's Wednesday, January 14th. You're watching NTD. Good morning. In today's top news, President Trump warning the US will take very strong action if Iran starts hanging its protesters. He made these comments during a CBS interview on yesterday >> about the hanging. If they hang them, you're going to see some things that uh I don't know what your where you come from and what your thought process is, but you'll perhaps be very happy. >> What do you mean by that? >> Uh we will take very strong action. If they do such a thing, we will take very strong action. >> And this strong action you're talking about, what's the endgame? >> The endgame is to win. I like winning. >> How do you define that in Iran? Well, uh, let's define it in Venezuela. Let's define it with Al Baghdaddy. He was wiped out. >> The head of Iran's judiciary said today there would be fast trials and executions ahead for those detained. Meanwhile, the government is preparing for the mass funeral of 100 security force members killed in the demonstrations. The latest figures show more than 600 different protests taking place across Iran. And earlier yesterday, Trump encouraged protesters to continue demonstrating. In a truth social post, he said, quote, "Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price," adding, "Help is on its way." Came during the president's visit to Michigan. Entities Washington correspondent Mari Otsu brings us more from Detroit. To all Iranian patriots, keep protesting. Take over your institutions if possible and save the name of the killers and the abusers that are abusing you. >> President Trump escalating his threats to Iran. Uh telling anti-Iranian regime protesters to keep protesting and that help is on its way. >> Then I've canled all meetings with the Iranian officials until the senseless killing of protesters stops. And all I say to them is help is on its way. You saw that I put tariffs on anybody doing business with Iran. Just went into effect today. >> This coming as the Iranian regime is cracking down on the biggest protests in years. A US-based human rights agency now reports 2,000 have been killed. However, other reports say that medical officials across Iran believe the toll to be at least 12,000 and possibly even 20,000. >> Now, I hear five different sets of numbers. I hear numbers, look, one death is too much. But I hear much lower numbers and then I hear much higher numbers, but I say save their names because they'll pay a very big price. >> The death toll ultimately unknown as authorities have blocked the internet off since Thursday with billionaire Elon Musk now offering free Starlink in Iran as blackouts there persist. Meanwhile, President Trump strongly defending his tariff strategy here in Motor City, warning of a crisis if the Supreme Court rules against his tariffs. Now, an anti-tariff person is a pro-Chinese person. Can you believe this? Brought a case brought about by people that are Chinaentric, foreign, but China. I wouldn't want it if I was China either. You know, China's our one of our biggest taxpayers right now. China. This coming as the White House touts the lowest gas prices and mortgage rates in years with President Trump last week announcing he's calling on Congress to codify banning Wall Street from buying single family homes. >> As you know, you saw the $200 billion buy in on bonds and mortgages. And just last week, the average 30-year mortgage dropped below 6% for the first time in many years. >> That gives me hope for all of these young people. And it gives me hope for all those young votes that we're going to need in the midterm election. And I believe that all of the 20, 30, and 40 year olds that are actually starting to enjoy prosperity, they have hope for the future. The economy is looking bright. >> I think those are excellent catalysts because, you know, what I notice is that for a first-time home buyer, it's very difficult. I think uh you know, the American dream is about owning a home, right? >> And the president says that he'll have more housing related announcements to make next week at the World Economic Forum where he'll be speaking in Davos, Switzerland. Reporting from Detroit, Mario, NTD News. >> Thanks to Mari for that report. And the Londonbased opposition broadcaster, Iran International, is reporting that at least 12,000 people may have been killed in Iran's brutal suppression of anti-government protests. A figure it calls the largest loss of life in the country's contemporary history. >> That estimate comes from sources close to Iran's Supreme National Security Council, the Presidential Office, and Revolutionary Guard personnel. And new information is also emerging from within Iran after a day's long communication blackout. CBS News sites sources saying the toll could be between 10,000 and 20,000. Though those numbers have not been independently verified, >> the outlet has confirmed video showing hundreds of bodies piled in a Tan area morg with severe injuries, including apparent gunshot wounds. Iranian officials acknowledge fatalities, but they're citing lower figures, blaming violence on what it calls terrorists amid the nationwide unrest that began late last year. >> An activist group in Iran says SpaceX has activated free Starlink access across the country. In a post on X, the group NASNET said Elon Musk's service has waved subscription fees for anyone inside Iran. In the post, the group also urged people not to forget physical camouflage, hiding the Starlink IP and changing the wireless network name. >> NASNAT said earlier that coordination with Starlink engineers significantly reduced data disruptions linked to the regime's interference, but it cautioned that continued jamming could still impair internet connectivity. Starink did not immediately respond to a request for comment. We'll be keeping you updated. Meanwhile, Iranian activists are calling on foreign leaders to support the people protesting the Islamic regime. Pressure on Iranian authorities is increasing as leaders from around the globe continue calling for peace in Iran. >> Entities international correspondent Arin Pazdar has the latest. >> Be our voice and don't support our governor because >> an Iranian activist in Rome calling on foreign leaders to support the Iranian people, not the regime. Last week, the Iranian regime cut off its people from the outside world by shutting off internet and phone services. The activist says the situation has gotten so bad that even doctors can't communicate with each other. That's despite hospitals being overrun as reports of protest related deaths and injuries continue to rise. >> They don't have connection between themselves. They cannot call the others doctors and helps uh to come to the um hospital. The United Nations is weighing in as well. A spokesperson for the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights criticizes Iran security forces for targeting protesters. >> The killing of peaceful demonstrators must stop. The labeling of protesters as terrorists to justify violence against them is unacceptable. The foreign policy chief for the European Union says the Iranian regime could fall within a short period of time, like the Assad regime in Syria. The EU says it plans to keep supporting the Iranian people. >> We are also putting more sanctions on the ones who are using the violence against the peaceful protesters to show uh that we are condemning these actions. >> She added that change in Iran has to come primarily from the Iranian people. Also in Europe, multiple countries have summoned Iranian ambassadors amid the ongoing violence against protesters. A man confronted the Iranian ambassador in London as he arrived at the UK foreign office. >> Is the regime on its knees, ambassador, are you prepared for US strikes? >> The British foreign minister condemned the Iranian leadership for what she described as the horrendous and brutal killing of demonstrators. France's foreign minister told Parliament on Tuesday that he summoned the Iranian ambassador in Paris. >> Protesters shot at pointlank range with assault weapons. The internet blocked to better conceal the extent of the horror. Bodies hundreds perhaps thousands piling up in bags. >> He added that the Iranian people have given the world a lesson in courage as they take every risk to defend their freedom. Arian Pasar, NTD News. >> And the State Department says Venezuela has released multiple detained Americans, calling it an important step in the right direction. >> The release comes 10 days after US forces captured former dictator Nicholas Maduro and his wife. >> The department declined to say how many Americans were freed, though an official said diplomatic teams were involved in securing the releases. Venezuela says around 400 prisoners were freed so far. Venezuelan and non-Venezuelan rights groups reporter report far lower numbers between 60 and 70. >> Human rights groups say hundreds of political prisoners still remain behind bars. The Venezuelan government denies holding people for political reasons and says it has already released most of the 2,000 people detained after protests following the contested 2024 election. Officials from Greenland and Denmark will appear for meetings today on Capitol Hill and at the White House. The meetings come as President Trump doubles down on security concerns in the region. NTD's Molina Weissup joins us now. Good morning, Molina. Good to see you again. Tell us more about law mate what lawmakers are saying about the the administration's plans for the Arctic. >> Hi, good morning Steph. So, the Danish ambassador will be meeting with lawmakers from the Arctic Caucus today. That includes the co-chairs Lisa Marowsky and Angus King. Now, the goal here with this meeting is to emphasize the US Congress's support for NATO. Remember, Senator Mowsky is one who has so far been critical of the White House's comments on Greenland and even said that she'd support a War Powers Act um similar to what Democrats have been pushing with regards to Venezuela. So, this would be to curb US military action in Greenland. There is a bipartisan group of lawmakers who's working on that War Powers Act with regards to Greenland at the moment, but House Speaker Mike Johnson downplayed the idea that the US military will get involved. Here's what he said just yesterday. >> There's no declaration of war pending for Greenland. It's not just not a thing. Uh I don't anticipate uh any boots on the ground anywhere anytime soon. >> Now, President Trump has repeatedly emphasized that the US will take some sort of action in Greenland, mainly expressing concerns about security issues. He said, "If the US doesn't take action, China and Russia will do so." Listen to Trump. >> And we'll have to defend Greenland. Uh if we don't do it, China or Russia will. It's not going to happen. I would like to make a deal, you know, the easy way. But if we don't do it the easy way, we're going to do it the hard way. >> The Trump administration, including the Secretary of Semario and Vice President JD Vance, will also meet with Denmark and Greenland officials later today to speak about the Arctic Island stuff. What have the leaders of Denmark and Greenland said about the White House's messaging and and potential plans? >> So, they've mostly been pushing back on the rhetoric. The prime ministers of the two areas spoke yesterday about the message that they plan to send to the White House today. I'll let you listen to what they said word for word. >> If we have to choose between the USA and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark. We choose NATO. We choose the Kingdom of Denmark. We choose the EU. >> We want to engage in dialogue and we want to cooperate. We are not looking for conflict, but our message is clear. Greenland is not for sale. >> Now, President Trump yesterday did react to these latest comments, specifically with regards to the comments coming from the Greenland prime minister. Trump said that he disagrees and said, quote, "It's going to be a big problem for him." Now, there was also a congressional delegation that plans to go to Greenland later this week. Um that delegation includes a bipartisan group of lawmakers but it is mostly Democrats. There are a few Republicans a part of that group. Um once again that goal with this uh delegation is to further discuss the issue and show congressional support for NATO more broadly. Sta >> developments fast approaching. Thank you so much Molina. We'll be speaking more again soon. And up ahead, President Trump says he's axing funding to so-called sanctuary cities, accusing them of protecting criminals. The move is likely to face legal challenges. >> And lawmakers are looking to prevent future fraud following these allegations coming out of Minnesota. What experts said during a hearing yesterday. >> Meanwhile, the Supreme Court weighs in on state laws that ban boys from girls sports. We'll take a look at some of the key takeaways from yesterday's oral arguments after this. Welcome back to NTD. Good morning. The fallout over massive alleged fraud in Minnesota continues and the allegations there. President Trump yesterday saying the government will suspend payments to so-called sanctuary cities that defy federal immigration enforcement. ND's Dana Monahan has more on that. Plus, the president's comment on the recent ICE involved fatal shooting. >> President Trump made the announcement that the government will cut off funding to so-called sanctuary cities during a speech in Detroit. >> Starting February 1st, we're not making any payments to sanctuary cities or states having sanctuary cities because they do everything possible to protect criminals at the expense of American citizens. and it breeds fraud and crime. >> President Trump says massive illegal immigration places a heavy burden on the country. >> No country can afford to take in millions of people, pay for their education, their health care, their hospitals. You just can't do it. And we all have a heart. You can't do it. >> While also putting Americans in danger, >> but many of those people are murderers. They're people released from jails, prisons, mental institutions, insane asylums. They're people that are drug dealers. They're addicts. Trump's latest comments on the issue come as the president faces increasing opposition in Democratic le areas to his immigration policy. That resistance intensified in the wake of the ICE involved fatal shooting of protester Renee Good, who hit an ICE agent with her vehicle in Minneapolis. Trump discussed Good on CBS. I want to say to the father that I love all of our people and I would bet you that she under normal circumstances was a very solid wonderful person but you know her actions were pretty tough. Trump's move to defund sanctuary cities is expected to face challenges in the court. In April a court prohibited a push by Trump to rescend funding for jurisdictions deemed to be sanctuaries. Homeland Security Adviser Steven Miller says there has been a huge increase in arrests of what he called domestic insurgents in recent days and says those numbers are going to go up. Speaking on Fox News, >> they train their insurgents on how to block ICE vehicles, how to try to free arrestes, and then they dox ICE officers. They follow them home. They follow them to where they sleep at night. So again, it's a sophisticated insurgency involving a large number of radicalized, extremist, violent left-wing operators stoked by the Democrat party. And President Trump says his administration plans to imprison any fraudster, politician, or public official involved in what he called sick plots to loot and pillage the country. >> Our country wasn't built by people who tried to lie and cheat and scam their way to success. It was built by legends like Henry Ford, Henry Dao, Thomas Edison. >> The president also vowed to deport those who rob Americans. >> We're also going to revoke the citizenship of any naturalized immigrant from Somalia or anywhere else who is convicted of defrauding our citizens. We're going to get them the hell out of here fast. Homeland Security announced yesterday that the United States has terminated Somalia's designation for temporary protected status effective on March 17th. The cancellation of status means Somali nationals in the US who do not have illegal status must leave the country by the deadline. Daniel Monahan, NTD News. >> Thank you, Daniel. And the Trump administration is revoking temporary protected status as you've been hearing for thousands of Somali living in the US. He's saying that Somalia no longer meets the legal requirement for TPS. >> And the Department of Homeland Security calls on Minnesota Governor Tim Walsh to honor 1300 ICE arrest detainers. Andd correspondent Jason Blair reports. >> Temporary protection status for Somali nationals comes to an end after a Tuesday decision by the Trump administration. This affects 2,471 Somali currently under TPS and another 1,383 in the country with pending TPS applications. They have until March 16th to leave the country. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Christy Gnome says temporary means temporary. Country conditions in Somalia have improved to the point that it no longer meets the law's requirement for temporary protection status. Allowing Somali nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to our national interest. We are putting Americans first. Under federal law, TPS is for people who are unable to return to their home countries due to conditions like a civil war. TPS has been in place for Somalia since 1991. It was last extended by the Biden administration until March 17th, 2026. The action by the Trump administration is in the midst of ongoing long-term investigations into alleged fraud linked to Somali nationals that was recently thrust into the national spotlight. And the DHS has issued a public statement to Minnesota Governor Tim Walls and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry demanding that they honor 1,360 ICE arrest detainers, saying that these illegal immigrants are in state custody. In the statement, the DHS says 470 criminal illegal aliens have been released back onto Minnesota streets since President Trump took office. DHS Assistant Secretary Trisha Mclofflin says, "Why are DHS law enforcement surging to Minneapolis and other sanctuary cities? It's because Minnesota law enforcement won't let us in their jails." >> Those people were in Minneapolis's custody and yet they were released back onto the streets. That's why we're there. That's why we have to be there. >> The DHS says the department is seeing a quote coordinated campaign of violence against our law enforcement across the country. I mentioned those vehicle rammings before. Those vehicle rammings where these individuals are weaponizing a vehicle, ramming them into our law enforcement officers or their vehicles, is up 3,200%. >> The DHS has also highlighted some of the quote worst of the worst criminal illegal immigrants that were arrested in Minnesota. Jason Blair, entity News. And lawmakers are now looking at how they can better detect and prevent federal fraud before it happens. >> This comes in the wake of massive fraud allegations in Minnesota. Here's more on yesterday's hearing. >> House Republicans are increasing scrutiny of massive alleged fraud in Minnesota's social service system, pressing for systemic reforms. At a hearing yesterday, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comr said the fraud led to more than $9 billion being stolen from American taxpayers. Comr suggested that weak safeguards allowed fraud to flourish and taxpayers to be robbed. >> Much of this fraud occurred because there were no proper safeguards put in place to prevent fraud before the funds were paid. There was also too little oversight on how the money was used once it went out the door to recipients. >> He blamed the Biden administration for rushing out federal funds without guardrails in place, saying Republicans repeatedly warned this would invite abuse. Congressman Pete Sessions said agencies are incentivized to pay fast instead of stopping fraud early. >> They're incentive to make quick payments and to try and figure things out later. As we have seen countless times, this approach needs to be looked at and changed. >> He urged Congress to find out how to transition the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee or PRAC to fraud detection and prevention. During the hearing, lawmakers questioned PRA on how advanced analytics can stop the theft of taxpayer dollars. The hallmark of most fraud schemes is that people hide information. So leveraging data analytics allows us to see patterns, trends, anomalies, hidden connections to shine a bright light on what's actually happening. That is the path forward. >> A Treasury Department official testified on the limitations currently preventing them from stopping suspicious payments. One of the pieces that we are missing is the ability to ping authoritative federal databases to confirm a pay ID such as a a tax identification number or a social security number. Okay. >> Um so we already received the data, we just can't verify it. >> She said the Treasury has been authorized since 2019 to provide do not pay services to states that administer federal funds, but she said it has been underutilized. That's a system where agencies check various data sources to verify if a recipient should receive federal payments. Meanwhile, one lawyer says Minnesota whistleblowers are providing evidence that could lead to the federal prosecution of Governor Tim Walls. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer spoke to Just the News. He said he expects one or more Minnesota state employees to testify. They told Walls about the fraud while it was happening and Walls ignored them. He said that should be enough for criminal charges against the governor. Governor Walls is pushing back on claims that he turned a blind eye to fraud. In several statements, he said his administration has been investigating the issue and for years has been cracking down on fraud. And in other fraud related news, the founder of LGBTQ nonprofit Kasa Ruby, Inc. has been sentenced to 33 months in prison in connection with diverting COVID relief funds. US Attorney Janine Piro said yesterday Ruby Jade Curado was involved in diverting at least $950,000 of taxpayer funds to offshore accounts. Curado pleaded guilty to wire fraud back in 2024. In addition to the 33-month sentence, the judge has also ordered Curado to serve two years of supervised release and to pay $950,000 in restitution to the Small Business Administration. Today, my prosecutors got a conviction and a sentence of 33 months for Ruby Jane Curado, who created the nonprofit Casa Ruby that's supposed to benefit LGBTQ at risk community uh youth in the district. Unfortunately, she decided that she would take over $950,000 from a COVID uh relief program and economic loss program, and she pocketed that money for herself. >> And in other legal news, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments yesterday over two states restrictions on transgender athletes. >> The states argue that in women's sports, biology matters. ND's Arlene Richards brings us the details. I would be uh >> attorneys for Idaho and West Virginia argued on Tuesday that their state's laws treat all men and all women equally and don't classify on the basis of gender identity. >> Idaho's law classifies on the basis of sex because sex is what matters in sports. It correlates strongly with countless athletic advantages like size, muscle mass, bone mass, and heart and lung capacity. Tragically, but not surprisingly, male athletes have even injured female athletes in many sports. If women don't have their own competitions, they won't be able to compete. >> The states appeared before the Supreme Court in an effort to overturn lower court rulings that say laws restricting transgender athletes in girls sports discriminate based on sex. Transgender athletes in both states argue their right to compete on the girls teams is guaranteed by Title 9, a landmark civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination. They say their gender identity matches the sex category of the law. Idaho solicitor general said gender identity doesn't matter in sports and the purpose of Idaho's law is to preserve women's equal opportunity. >> Denying special treatment isn't classifying on the basis of transgender status. It's consciously choosing not to. >> Justice Sonia Sotomayor pushed back on his characterization of the case >> who identifies as a female, but it's a male is being include excluded from a female sport. Correct. >> That's correct. >> All right. By its nature, that's a sex classification. >> Justice Neil Gorsuch asked the big question about whether transgender people should be considered a legally protected class. The Idaho plaintiff has decided to drop the case, but the state of Idaho wanted the Supreme Court to decide the case anyway. The second case the court heard on Tuesday out of West Virginia deals with many of the same issues. Chief Justice Roberts asked the Idaho attorney if a win in favor of the plaintiffs could have wider effects. My point was more that how we approach the situation of looking at it not as boys versus girls but whether or not there should be an exception with respect to the definition of girls that would if we adopted that that would have to apply across the board and not simply to the u area of athletics. >> Outside demonstrators gathered ahead of the arguments. After the arguments were over, attorneys for each side and female athletes appeared outside to speak with the press. >> The simple reality of this case is that we're talking about simple biology. There are men and women and Title N and equal protection should allow boys uh to participate in boy sports and girls to participate in girls sports. Today we had a chance to tell the Supreme Court the reality of what it's like to be a girl like Becky who just wants to be able to play on a team with her friends and have fun. >> We are here because we value fairness and safety in women's sports. We know what is at stake when states can't provide these protections to to athletes. >> The Justice Department weighed in for the Trump administration in support of the states. US Solicitor General John Sauer sat in the court's packed audience. The Trump administration is currently suing states that don't bar transgender athletes from women's sports. The court's final ruling in Tuesday's case could decide the fate of women's sports in the future. Arlene Richards, NTD News. >> Outside the Supreme Court yesterday, a rally showed support for laws that ban boys from competing in women's sports. Some notable attendees included former ESPN anchor Sage Steel as well as Khloe Cole. NTD Sam Wong was in DC to hear from the speakers and the crowd. >> What are we here for today? >> We're here to defend girls and women in sports, but also more than that, we're here to defend the rights of women to have sexed spaces and and uh locker rooms, places that, you know, recognize that we are uniquely created male and female. >> I'm Chelsea. I'm a female athlete. I raced against two biological males all four years of high school and I ended up losing four state championships and countless other medals and podium spots to these males. Um so we're here today to protect female sports. First I experienced it in a soccer game and then my senior year of high school I was going to be forced to run the 400 meter dash against a male a biological male athlete in the WIA state championships. My 4x4 team was displaced by the team that this male bi biological male athlete ran on. I may never have been an athlete, but I once was a part of the transgender community. Nothing about this is compassionate or loving. It is destructive not just to the individual, but to everybody around them, to all of our institutions. >> So, what does equal protection mean to you personally? It seems like the other side has a slightly different interpretation of that. >> You know, sometimes the stupidity isn't worth acknowledging. This is science. This is nothing that's actually debatable. So, it's been an honor to be a part of it. Nothing I ever thought I would be doing in my life or career. So many people virtue signal and talk about supporting women and then when it comes down to it, they're silent. Well, equal protection in the law means to watch women sports >> that it has to be based on an immutable characteristic to have equal protection under the law. Gender identity in law does not rise to the level of where there's equal protection. >> What would you like to see coming out of today's two cases? I hope that what the ruling on these two cases will be is that women in all 50 states deserve to have a fair playing field in sports. That they will not have to be forced to compete or be on the same team with predatory men. >> Our laws have always recognized there's differences between men and women and those differences matter in sports, in athletics, in locker rooms and restrooms. And so we're hopeful that the court is going to recognize that these states can pass these laws protecting the fairness of women's sports, protecting women's spaces, and ultimately making sure that no woman loses out on an opportunity. >> This is about women's spaces as well as Title N. And um I feel confident that when the decision comes down probably in a couple of months, that it will be on the right side for all the women, but for history. >> Thanks to Sam for that report. Senators want to gauge how much abortion drugs can harm the women who take them. We're joined now by a woman's rights advocate who's given testimony at two previous congressional hearings and in the Oval Office, Christina Marie Bennett. Welcome. Good to have you with us today. >> Thank you for having me. >> Now, your own personal story is so touching. We've spoken before, but just going over it again, I actually teared up a little. if you'd like to share a bit about that. >> My mom was scheduled to abort me in Harford, Connecticut at Mount Sinai Hospital, and a janitor approached her minutes before, asked her if she wanted to have me. My mother said yes, and she said, "God will give you the strength to have this baby." My mother went into the abortionist office. She told him that she was leaving. There was blood on the floor from the last abortion. He yelled at her and said, "You've already paid for this. You're just nervous. You need to go through with it." And she said, "No, I want to keep my baby." And she walked out and saved my life. >> Yeah. H what a massive turning point there for so many. Because you also now advocate uh for women and women's health and women's rights. as a correspondent for Live Action. You've written about how abortion impacts in particular as well the black community. If you'd like to speak to that. >> Yes. Tragically, African-American women, black women have a five times higher abortion rate. And that is because we have been targeted by Planned Parenthood, by Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, who once had something called a negro project where she specifically targeted people of color. She called them weeds. She wanted them to be exterminated. She called them feeble-minded. She said that we shouldn't reproduce. And tragically, her evil dream has come to pass because over 20 million African-American children have been killed since 1973 from abortion because we are targeted by this industry. And the hearing today, um, senators are looking into, as I mentioned at the top, the harms and potential harms of, uh, abortion drugs more broadly on women. What is the data that show the harms that abortion drugs can bring to women? >> Well, the ethics uh, ethics public policy center has done a report showing that the FDA numbers are wrong. that there is a greater risk, more than double the number that the FDA is telling people for the abortion pill, that women are at risk of hemorrhaging, that they're at risk of having fetal remains left inside of them, that they're at risk of going into septic shock, that one in 10 women who take the abortion pill are at risk of going to the hospital with complications after. The FDA loosened regulations on the abortion pill, even allowing it to be sent out through the mail. So women are taking the abortion pill in their bathrooms and they're having these serious complications at home, sometimes not even going into the hospital because they're so afraid. There needs to be a complete uh revolution when it comes to this abortion pill and looking at the regulations that have been loosened and changing that. >> And I'd love to hear your recommendations for the law, but today's hearing is also focused on how to uphold a culture of life and those two may very well intersect. What are you what's your vision for that? >> Of course, I want to live in a world where the abortion pill is completely off of the market and no women are taking it to end the life of their child. That is the world that I want to live in. But where can we start? I would say that with the abortion pill because now this is the most popular way to have an abortion to terminate the life of your child. Over 60% of abortions are done through the pill. So I would say the first initial step would be to go back to earlier FDA regulations. The abortion pill should not be sent out through the mail. There needs to be inperson visits with a doctor that they should go back to the original 7 weeks. Now they give the abortion pill up to 10 weeks. We need to go back to those early regulations for the safety of women. But of course, as I said, in a perfect world, the abortion pill would be off the market because not only does it kill pre-born children, but it harms women and families in the process. >> Yeah, the statistics here are really alarming. It's so good to hear your insights on it and the reporting that's out there. Christina Marie Bennett, thank you so much for your time. >> Thank you for having me. >> Such a powerful conversation. Oh my. >> Yeah, there's a lot to dig into there. Well, up ahead, the US approves Nvidia's H200 chip sales to China under new restrictions and review requirements ti tied to advanced AI technology. Much more on that and more ahead. Welcome back to NCTD. Good morning. I'm Carrie Dunst. If you're just joining us now, here are some of today's top headlines. The head of Iran's judiciary system said today there will be fast trials and executions for detained protesters. President Trump warned yesterday during an interview on CBS that the US will take action if Iran starts hanging protesters. He encouraged protesters to continue demonstrating, writing on True Social that, quote, "Help is on the way." Londonbased opposition broadcaster Iran International is reporting that at least 12,000 people may have been killed in Iran's brutal suppression of anti-government protests. And officials from Greenland and Denmark will appear for meetings today on Capitol Hill and the White House as President Trump doubles down on security concerns in the region. He's emphasized that if the US does not take some sort of action in Greenland that China or Russia will. Prime Minister of Denmark says that they want to engage in dialogue and are not looking for conflict, but makes it clear that Greenland is not for sale. And the fallout from alleged large-scale fraud in Minnesota is intensifying. President Trump says his administration will cut the federal payments to sanctuary cities starting February 1st. He's accusing them of protecting criminals in enabling fraud. Trump also vowed to revoke the citizenship of naturalized immigrants convicted of defrauding Americans, saying that offenders would be deported. And House Republicans are stepping up their investigation into the fraud in Minnesota's social services system. They're focusing on new tools to stop abuse before money goes out the door in the first place. Lawmakers say more than $9 billion were lost in Minnesota due to weak safeguards and rushed federal spending. During a hearing on Capitol Hill, experts and officials highlighted data analytics and Treasury payment controls as ways that they can prevent future fraud. Those are this morning's top headlines. With that, Steph, over to you. Thank you, Carrie. And highway officials are issuing a urgent warning after deadly crashes have been linked to Chinese replacement airbags. They're saying the inflators have led to at least 10 crashes and two deaths. After previous crashes, all of the drivers had their airbags replaced by ones made by a Chinese manufacturer known as DTN. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, these airbags were likely illegally imported. The Highway Administration says the DTN airbag inflators malfunctioned in crashes, sending large metal fragments into drivers chests, necks, eyes, and faces. The crashes involved Chevrolet Ma Malibus and Hyundai Sonatas, though officials could not confirm the risk is limited to these makes and models. The Highway Administration is urging drivers to check their vehicle history and stop driving immediately if one of these inflators is found. And the US has formally green lit Nvidia's H200 chip sales to China. The move is expected to kickstart the company's sales of its second most powerful AI chip. Some conditions apply. China cannot receive more than half the total quantity of chips that are sold to US consumers. The chips must also first be reviewed by a third-party lab to confirm their technical AI capabilities before they can be exported. President Trump announced in December he would allow the chip sales in exchange for a 25% fee that would go to the US government. Now, the move comes despite concerns that communist country could use the technology to supercharge its military or boost China in the AI race. Nvidia says its H200 chips supercharge Gen AI with gamechanging performance and memory capabilities. Registration for the 2028 Summer Olympics ticket lottery opens this morning with millions of tickets up for grabs. NTD's Christina Corona tells us how to get them. Registration for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics ticket lottery opens Wednesday, January 14th at 7 a.m., giving fans a chance to secure tickets to the games. Single tickets start at $28 with about 14 million tickets expected to be released for the Olympics and Parolympics. Here's how it works. Fans will create a profile and enter the lottery on Wednesday. Winners will be randomly assigned a time slot to buy tickets, which will be sent via email. Los Angeles area residents along with fans in Oklahoma City, where softball and canoe slalom events will be held. Qualify for a special early access window. To qualify, your credit card billing address must match zip codes in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, or Ventura counties in California, or Canadian or Cleveland counties in Oklahoma. Early access runs April 2nd through April 6th for those who register by March 18th. The 2028 Olympics will be held at several iconic Southern California venues. The LA Memorial Coliseum and Sofi Stadium will host the opening and closing ceremonies. Track and field will compete at the Coliseum during the first week of the games with swimming scheduled for the second week at Sofi Stadium. Venice Beach will host the triathlon. Long Beach and Carson will be major hubs hosting volleyball, rowing, canoe, sprint, handball, rugby 7s, track cycling, and tennis. Riviera Country Club will host golf. The Los Angeles Convention Center will host fencing, judo, table tennis, taekwondo, and wrestling. while the Pasadena Rosebull Aquatic Center will host diving. The 2028 Summer Olympics run July 14th through July 30th. Christina Corona, NTD News. >> Thank you, Christina. And toy company Lego is interlocking with the Pokemon universe, unveiling its first ever line of Pokemon sets. >> That's right. This marks a major crossover between two of the largest play brands in the world. >> That's right. The first collection will be well debuting on February 27th and it's inspired by characters throughout Pokemon's three decade history. >> And the initial roll out features five fan favorites. My favorite, of course, Pikachu. We've got Eevee, Venosaur, Turizard, and Bolasto. >> And if you want to get your hands on one of these new sets, pre-orders can be made now at lego.com. Still to come, President Trump calling to cap credit card interest rates at 10% starting this month. >> We're going to be joined by an economist to discuss how that's going to affect families who are living with household debt. Stay with us. We'll be right back. Welcome back to NTD. Good morning. President Trump has made a splash calling for a 66% increase in the military budget to invest in his peace through strength initiative. And with recruiting at an all-time high, how can we better support our service members when they transition back from war fighting to civilian life? >> That's right. And with at least 15 million veterans out there, how do we continue to support those people and their mental health as well as honor their service? Our next guest says the answer lies in faith and community. Joining us now in studio is Troy Miller. He's the CEO of the National Religious Broadcasters. Good to have you with us today, Troy. >> It's great to be with you. >> Excellent to have you. And we've got a lot to get into, but talking particularly about on this front. Um there is a challenge in reaching and helping veterans across the country in so many ways. One of the aspects is is just getting down to the details. There's not a VA office in every community, right? >> But there is at least one church, right, in every single community out there. Um, what are you doing and how are you utilizing that resource to to reach veterans and help them? >> Yeah, so we're bringing the strength of NRB. So, uh, we reach and have members in churches, as you said, all across the country. And so as a Navy veteran, one of the things that came to my attention is, as you said, it is hard to transition back into the civilian life when you've really had your life structured for whatever period of time you've been in, even if you've just been in two years. And there's a lot of challenges there. And so we're challenging churches across the country. Most of them have veterans in there. Most pastors recognize veterans on Veterans Day and Memorial Day and and Fourth of July. Those patriots were saying that your veterans are the ones that can reach veterans in in the community and they can reach them as you said with this with faith and really a place that really kind of parallels the military because a church is a family. It's a home. It's a purpose. It's a place for service. All of those things and pastors are very equipped for the counseling needs that go on with a lot of our veterans transitioning in. So, uh, a very large church, Preston Baptist Church in Texas was our model for this. They have a wonderful program, Dr. Jack Graham down there. And so, they're helping roll this out for churches all across the country and how to reach just a plethora of veteran services that are in almost every state. >> Yeah. And as Steph pointed out, you know, you may not have a VA office in every community, but you you have, I think, almost 400,000 churches across the country. When you think about what veterans struggle with PTSD, it kind of mirrors alcoholism in a way where you're you're kind of apart from the community and it's and with that 10step program, it really is the spirituality and the faith that helps them overcome adversity. I'd love it if you could share any anecdotes of how this program is making an impact. It really is making an impact because we we just had a Veterans Day uh event down there in in Texas on November 11th and and and the whole point of that that was was bringing a lot of testimonies uh veterans who had really lost touch and connect. You know the number one issues that veterans will say uh a few years a few months out loneliness. >> Loneliness and isolation is what they feel. And so getting them connected into these families is really the only antidote. It's really the cure uh to help them along with of course everything that the faith aspect brings. >> And the NRB of course is involved on a number of different fronts. And so I do want to jump around a little bit. I noticed on your website very dedicated both to Israel and combating anti-semitism. Of course, wonderful, but wondering how come a Christian organization feels so strongly tied to Israel. Well, look, Christianity has its roots in Judaism, you know, we follow a a savior who is a Jewish teacher, a Jewish rabbi, you know, and so so our roots are there. And so we've had these very strong roots and ties with Israel. Um, and the NRB has for a long time. A lot of it in the past has been about tourism. Uh, people going into the country, want to see the footsteps of where Jesus walked, where the apostles preached, where Christianity started. and the Jewish roots. So there's a lot of commonality between the two faiths and and a lot more in common than there's not. And uh so that's one thing. So we also understand from a biblical standpoint that God gave that land to Abraham and to the descendants of Abraham. The Jewish people have been are the only real indigenous people that are still alive today uh in the land of Israel. But the attacks on Jews around the country, anti-semitism around the world um really also is a kind of we look at as a precursor and a connection to the attacks on Christians. Christian persecution itself is on the rise around the world. And so those two battles in in my mind, in our mind, in RB go hand inand together. >> And you're doing a lot on that point. >> Yes. Fighting religious hate as we put it is an important point for us. What are you doing in regards to protecting Christians? >> So, we've been working with the administration very closely. Uh, for example, I was in Nigeria in June. We were working very closely with them to get Nigeria designated back as a country of particular concern and to bring that issue of of really Christian genocide which was going on there along with other places around the African continent um that that Christians are being persecuted. Right now, 38 million Christians live under some sort of persecution in countries that don't recognize or oppose their faith. It's the the most dangerous faith to hold around the world today is a is a Christian faith in Jesus Christ. And so, we're bringing that up in the State Department, in the administration, and in the avenues we can. And we are so thankful that this administration has done so much uh to bring this issue to the forefront including as we all know the president went in and actually uh bombed uh some of the people who were perpetrating those uh atrocities in Nigeria. >> Yeah, we saw that uh that testimony on Capitol Hill yesterday. It's very important work. I want to turn to one of your initiatives here at home though. AM radio in cars. People don't really think about the radio too much. Why is that so important to the NRB? >> Well, look, it's important first of all because 80 million Americans still listen to AM radio. Uh, a lot of us I grew up in rural Nebraska and a lot of rural communities still rely on it. AM radio is their source uh for news and information. It's their source for teach and talk. The top genre on there is Christian teach and talk and Christian music. And so this is really still, we believe, is still a a viable communication path for a lot of Americans. Plus, it's the number one uh avenue for the emergency broadcast system for where people get their information here. But the big issue is about free access to information. You know, radio is free. Both AM and FM radio is free. You just need a radio. You tune it in. You don't have to have a subscription. And we really look at at the car manufacturers as just another industry that's trying to insert itself as a gatekeeper of information. There's a lot of money to be made there in subscription services, in data mining, uh, all of those areas. But we think AM radio is important and we think it's more important that Americans have that access to free information and not always have to buy get a subscription for it. >> And Troy, such a great conversation. We are running out of time, but I would like to know when your annual convention is coming and where that will be. >> Well, thank you. The largest gathering of Christian communicators, Christian media professionals will be in February 17th through the 20th at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Resort. Uh you can find out more about it at nrb.org. Uh but it's a great place to learn more about everybody is a communicator today because we all have a social media uh platform and it's if you want to know how to do your communications better, you should be with us in February. >> Appreciate you coming in. Troy Miller, CEO of the National Religious Broadcaster. Such a great conversation. Thank you. >> Thanks for having me. >> We do have to wrap up our show now, but you have any feedback or there's a story you'd like to see us cover, shoot us an email at good morning@ntent ntd.com. And for roundtheclock 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.