Trump May Punish Countries Opposing Greenland Plan; Machado on Future Plans|NTD News Today Jan. 16

Welcome to NTD News Today. Here are today's top stories. President Trump holds a roundtable discussion with cabinet members. The president touching on a range of topics including funding for rural health care and his aim to acquire Greenland. With Greenland's strategic role in focus, U.S. lawmakers visit Copenhagen after President Trump again floats the idea of U.S. In a rare admission from the Iranian regime, officials say the country's security forces arrested 3,000 people. The regime admits that some of the individuals were taking part in recent protests. The FBI is investigating who's funding violent anti-ice protests. Why federal officials say they need to follow the money. Canada striking a deal with China. Prime Minister Mark Carney says Ottawa will cut its tariff on Chinese electric vehicles while China lowers its canola tariff. This is NTD News Today live from our global headquarters in New York City. Today's Friday, January 16th. I'm Stefania Cox. President Trump held a roundtable today on health care for rural communities. The president also touched on a range of topics with members of his cabinet. Check it out. As part of the great big beautiful bill, we're increased and we have increased funding for the health care by an unprecedented 50 billion dollars. That's rural health care. Nobody thought that was going to happen and we got it done. So we have rural health care for those that were trying to make a case that we weren't taking care of the rural community. I'm all about the rural community. We won the rural communities by numbers that nobody's ever won them before and we're taking care of those great people. Trump also honed in on affordability. Secretary Brook Rollins attended the roundtable noting that wholesale prices for eggs are down 86 percent. Trump also discussed plans to rein in drug costs saying his tariffs have already encouraged companies to lower their prices. In addition to rural health care, Trump reiterated his desire to take control of Greenland. I may put a tariff on countries if they don't go along with Greenland because we need Greenland for national security. So I may do that. I'll give you a little, I'll talk about, I'll take you out of the, in fact that will end up being the story. The president also praised economic advisor Kevin Hassett during the discussion and he added that he may want to keep Hassett in his current role as he considers his nominee for the next federal reserve chair. Earlier, Hassett addressed a Justice Department investigation into Fed chair Jerome Powell. The probe is focusing on cost overruns to renovate two historical buildings at the Fed's headquarters in Washington D.C. Powell has denied wrongdoing. The delegation of U.S. senators are in Copenhagen today. They're holding meetings in the Danish parliament in the wake of President Trump's recent expressed wish to acquire Greenland. This visit is to again have this dialogue, to hear directly from the people of Greenland and we heard about the concerns and the fears directly from the people of Greenland. Talking with the people here whether in Copenhagen or throughout Denmark but also understanding more broadly what this means not just to Denmark, to Greenland, but to the NATO alliance. Part of the point of this trip is to have a bipartisan group of members of Congress listen respectfully to our friends, our trusted allies and partners here in Denmark and from Greenland and to go back to the United States and share those perspectives so that we can lower the temperature and have a more constructive dialogue about the best path forward. Senator Murkowski said the majority of Americans don't think it's a good idea to acquire Greenland. She added that Greenland needs to be viewed as an ally not as an asset. Senator Coons said they there are not pressing threats to the security of Greenland from China and Russia currently. Coons advocated partnering through NATO to contribute to Arctic security. Greenland sits at the center of U.S. defenses against Russian and Chinese nuclear missile threats. China sent three icebreakers into the Arctic in 2024 and last summer a so-called research submarine operated beneath the Arctic ice cap. In 2025 the activity is continued. Meanwhile, President Trump announced yesterday the formation of the Gaza Board of Peace. The move follows the start of the second phase of a U.S.-backed ceasefire agreement between Israel and terrorist group Hamas. NTD's Daniel Monaghan has more on that plus some tough words for Iran at an emergency U.N. council meeting. President Trump made the announcement on Truth Social writing, it is my great honor to announce that the Board of Peace has been formed. Trump wrote that the members of the board would be announced shortly calling the group the greatest and most prestigious board ever assembled. The board will be chaired by Trump and oversee a Palestinian technocratic committee tasked with governing the Gaza Strip. The United States will work with mediators Egypt, Qatar and Turkey to secure a demilitarization agreement requiring Hamas to surrender all weapons and dismantle its tunnel network. The terror group must also return the body of the last deceased hostage to Israel. The Gaza peace initiative began in October 2025 and is structured in three phases aimed at fulfilling the 20-point peace framework Trump outlined last September. President Trump met Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Karina Machado at the White House yesterday. Machado gave her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump explaining why Because he deserves it and it was a very emotional moment. I decided to present the Nobel Peace Prize medal on behalf of the people of Venezuela. Trump later wrote on social media that the gesture was wonderful and reflected mutual respect. Machado said she was struck by how clearly Trump understands the crisis in Venezuela and his concern for the suffering of its people. The United States held an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting yesterday held at Washington's request. UN Ambassador Mike Waltz said the Iranian regime is solely responsible for the economic misery of the Iranian people and the repression of their freedom and vowed they would be held accountable. President Donald J. Trump and the United States of America stands by the brave people of Iran period. Waltz dismissed Iranian regime claims that the protests are a foreign plot to give an excuse for military action. Everyone in the world needs to know that the regime is weaker than ever before and therefore is putting forward this lie because of the power of the Iranian people in the streets. They are afraid. They're afraid of their own people. Ambassador Waltz also brushed aside Iran's claims that it's ready for dialogue commenting that the regime's actions say otherwise. This is a regime that rules through oppression, through violence, and through intimidation. Iran seeks neither escalation nor confrontation. However, any act of aggression direct or indirect will be met with a decisive proportionate and lawful response. President Trump is a man of action, not endless talk like we see at the United Nations. He has made it clear all options are on the table to stop the slaughter. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant also had a message for the regime yesterday. U.S. Treasury knows that like rats on a sinking ship, you're frantically wiring funds stolen from Iranian families to banks and financial institutions around the world. Rest assured, we will track them and you. Secretary Besant added that the United States stands firmly behind the Iranian people in their call for freedom and justice. Daniel Monahan, NTD News. Thank you, Daniel. And Iranian state media reports that the country's security forces arrested 3,000 people, a rare admission from the Iranian regime. And Israel says it's prepared for military action amid tensions between the U.S. and Iran. Iranian security officials have labeled the arrested individuals as terrorists and as well as those involved in the unrest. The announcement marks a rare admission, as we've been saying, from the regime regarding the scale of the suppression in Iran. But the arrest figures provided are still significantly lower than the estimates by human rights groups. And Israel says its army is prepared to take action both defensively and offensively. According to a spokesman, Israel's military is operating at peak readiness to be prepared for a wide range of scenarios. And the son of Iran's last Shah is calling on the international community to increase pressure on the Iranian regime. This regime has invaded Iran itself using foreign terrorists, Hezbollah fighters, Iraqi militias and other mercenaries to slaughter the Iranian people. Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Carina Machado today thanking President Trump for helping remove Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and outlining plans ahead. She presented her Nobel Peace Prize to Trump yesterday during their meeting at the White House. As Venezuelans, we are absolutely grateful to President Trump, his team, his administration and the people of the United States because it took a lot of courage to do what he did. And he did it, yes, on behalf of the American people, but also because he cares for the people of Venezuela. And he told me that yesterday. I am profoundly, profoundly confident that we will have an orderly transition. This is a complex space we are right now. Some of the dirty work is being done by them. But then the result of a stable transition will be a proud Venezuela who is going to be the best ally the United States has ever had in the Americas. Machado was addressing the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. and taking reporter questions. She said Venezuela is on the threshold of freedom. She told her fellow Venezuelans that the country will be free with the support of the American people and President Trump. The opposition leader said she's communicating with the democratically elected President Edmundo Gonzalez of Venezuela and they're preparing with their teams to take over the Venezuelan government when the right time arrives. So far, it's unclear when that transition will happen. The Trump administration has been cooperating with the remaining elements of the Maduro regime Coming up, President Trump wants lawmakers to support his plan to lower health care costs called the Great Health Care Plan. I'll explain what that means for you. And the Pentagon is taking editorial control of Stars and Stripes, aiming to focus on warfighting and remove what it calls woke distractions. Those stories after this. Welcome back. The president has unveiled his long-awaited plan to lower health care costs. Republicans are planning to take quick action to move the ball forward after enhanced Obamacare subsidies expired earlier this month. NTD's Melina Wisecup has the details. President Trump is urging Congress to take swift action to codify his so-called Great Health Care Plan. The lowest price in the world is what you're going to pay before you were paying the highest price in the world by far, and the politicians did nothing about it. So I'm asking Congress to complete the work that we've started. His newly released plan to lower health care costs builds on actions his administration has already taken, like negotiations with 15 pharmaceutical manufacturers to reduce drug prices for Medicaid patients. To address Obamacare costs, the administration wants to to Americans instead of insurance companies. I call it the unaffordable care act with billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies that help their stock prices skyrocket over 1,700 percent. I want to end this flagrant scam and put extra money straight into the health care savings account in your name and you go out and buy your own health care. Lawmakers have been working on a deal to temporarily extend Obamacare subsidies while addressing waste. Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski, who's recently been at odds with Trump, said she will not give up the effort to extend the enhanced subsidies, telling reporters, I think we have to respond to the immediacy of the situation that we have now. Another key Republican involved in the negotiations was quick to support Trump's plan. Chairman of the Senate Committee Dealing with Health Care, Senator Bill Cassidy, said he agrees with the president and vows to take action on the president's affordability agenda. And they will impact everyone, not just a small fraction of those who are within the health care marketplace, but every single American will continue to see their costs go down. To allow for more transparency, the plan will require insurers to post details of claims and require doctors who accept Medicare and Medicaid to post pricing and fees in their offices. Trump's new plan comes as lawmakers are gearing up for a second party line big bill to pass without any Democrat votes. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Melina Weiskopf, NTD News. Joining us to discuss the president's latest moves on the cost of health care is Epoch Times reporter Lawrence Wilson. And welcome, Lawrence. Just to recap there, Trump is calling on Congress to enact the greatest health care plan, as it's called. That plan covers price transparency, cost sharing and drug pricing, as we just heard from Melina. What's new in the plan? What stands out to you? Well, most of what's actually in the plan that Trump would like to accomplish is already being done or has already been tried. So as far as brand new ideas, there aren't too many. One thing that stands out is that they want to take some safe drugs and take them off the list of things that need a prescription for so you could go right straight to the pharmacy and get certain drugs that now you'd require a trip to the doctor. But the transparency issues, Trump tried that in his first administration, implemented rules that really never got anywhere during the course of the next administration. And the direct payments to consumers, that's been attempted as well. The Senate tried that last month and it didn't get anywhere. So it's not brand new, but taken all together, this would be a new package of policy initiatives that has the potential to significantly reduce health care costs. And we'll take a look at how this particular constellation may be approached for a bipartisan solution in Congress in just a moment. But I know you've covered Obamacare extensively and you've got a new article out today in the Epoch Times about that and we're going to touch on that a bit too. But how likely is it this plan will make health care more affordable if it is enacted? Well, key words, if it is enacted. If it's enacted, the logic behind it appears to be sound. For example, when all hospitals, all doctor's offices and all insurance companies have to publish their rates so you can easily compare and see what you're getting when you go to the doctor or the hospital, that should increase competition. And we know that competition always tends to reduce prices in the marketplace. The real question is, I'm sorry, go ahead. Oh, just by how much do you think people will see savings in this scenario? Yeah, this is a great question and it's unanswerable at this point. Now, the White House estimates that one provision, the cost sharing reduction program that's reducing the cost of deductibles and copays, they estimate $36 billion savings there. They estimate that health care premiums would come down 10 to 15 percent. But right now, those are just estimates and they're just on a part of the program. So we really don't know how much it will save. What will lawmakers be considering as they try to figure out the details proposed in the plan and reach bipartisan agreement? Yeah, this is going to be a difficult thing in Congress because you have so many things that work together. For one thing, many of the health care companies, the industries, the pharmaceutical, insurance, hospitals, they have very strong lobbies. And so making changes to any law that affects them is going to meet with some tough resistance. So you have that. Then you have as well passing into law, for example, these price negotiation deals. There's probably going to be some resistance to that because there are a lot of lawmakers who just believe we don't like to interfere in the market. The market works if you let it. So there'll be resistance there. There are a lot of challenges in getting this passed into law. As I said, some of these things have been tried before and didn't go. And you've touched on this a little, but conservatives somewhat broadly have hailed this plan as changing the dynamic between the U.S. government and the health care system and the American people. What are your thoughts there? Well, it looks to me like at least one of the provisions would be a sea change, and that is the transparency on pricing for insurance and hospitals and providers. For example, you go to the emergency room now, you don't really have any idea what the charges are going to be, even for a simple visit to just to see the doctor and be released very quickly, let alone if you have a lot of tests. These changes would require all that information to be publicly posted, not just on the websites, but in the place of business. So it would make the relationship between you and the provider a lot more transparent in terms of what it's going to cost you to have these services or these tests done. And that alone would be a transformative change in health care. And finally, Lawrence, your in-depth report in the Epoch Times today, you write about the impact expanded Obamacare enrollments have had on premutants in recent years. Could you talk to us a bit about what impact that's had? Well, what I learned from looking at the data and talking to some of the experts is that the enhanced premium tax credits, or what we've been calling enhanced subsidies, which started five years ago during COVID, that that doubled enrollment in Obamacare, so it brought a lot more people into the system. But insurance rates began to rise almost immediately. So people were getting insurance for less because the government was paying for a large part of it, but the costs were climbing and people didn't realize it. That means now without them, some people are having trouble affording insurance where they might not have had as much trouble before. They also became ripe for fraud, and that's been a big problem in Obamacare lately. And our viewers are invited to read that in-depth report on the Epoch Times fresh out today. Really appreciate your insights today, Lawrence Wilson. Thank you so much. My pleasure. Next, the FBI is now taking a closer look at anti-ICE protests. As protests grow increasingly violent, the Bureau is looking into the funding behind the demonstrations. Here's that story. The FBI says it's investigating the funding behind violent protests like those in Minneapolis. And when you find things like every single person is holding the exact same sign on the exact same piece of wood and the exact same placard, they didn't get together beforehand and do that. It is an organized, in my opinion, effort to criminally disrupt and cause chaos into our communities. Speaking of Fox News yesterday, White House Border Czar Tom Homan said various government departments are going to follow the money and find out who has been inciting violence. We're looking at the financials. We're looking at who's funding this, who's antagonizing this, and they'll be held accountable while we're all over it. The FBI announced a reward up to $100,000 for information leading to the recovery of stolen government property in Minneapolis or the arrests of those involved. The FBI says while they were responding to an assault on an officer this week, several government vehicles were broken into and government property was stolen. It's asking the public to send in photos or videos of the incident online at tips.fbi.gov. In a post on X yesterday, Director Kash Patel said the FBI had already arrested one person who allegedly stole government property. According to Patel, the suspect is a member of the Latin Kings gang with a known violent criminal history. The Department of Homeland Security says it arrested a man Wednesday night for assaulting federal officers. The department says the man, a U.S. citizen, showed up to a protest with a gun and a box of ammunition in a bag. According to DHS, he then threatened violence against law enforcement officers while pointing at his bag. He then pushed an officer and was arrested for assault. Meanwhile, Borders are home and told Fox News Thursday he's pushing for the creation of a database of people who impede ICE operations. We're going to make them famous. We're going to put their face on TV. We're going to let their employers in their neighborhoods in their schools know who these people are. President Trump has suggested he could invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota to quell violent protests. The law authorizes the president to deploy military forces on U.S. soil. On Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said he has the constitutional authority to do so, but expressed hope it wouldn't come to that. We did discuss the Insurrection Act. He certainly has the constitutional authority to utilize that. My hope is that this leadership team in Minnesota will start to work with us to get criminals off the streets. She said the administration has no plans to pull ICE out of Minnesota. The American Civil Liberties Union is suing the Department of Homeland Security for Minnesotans who say ICE agents are violating their constitutional rights. ACLU filed a class action lawsuit yesterday seeking to end what it calls the practice of stopping Somali and Latino individuals to investigate immigration status without reasonable suspicion. It argues this is a violation of their Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable government searches and seizures. The lawsuit alleges agents are targeting people based on racial profiling motivated by prejudice. DHS has denied the allegations saying they're disgusting, reckless and categorically false. A department spokesperson told the Epoch Times what makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is if they're illegally in the U.S., not their skin color, race or ethnicity. The agency said there are no indiscriminate stops being made. Officials have indicted an illegal immigrant for allegedly ramming into immigration agents' vehicles last month. The suspect, who's from Honduras, remains on the run. He now faces up to 20 years in prison on each of three charges related to assaulting federal immigration agents. Vehicles in the hands of individuals who intend to obstruct or evade law enforcement are deadly weapons. When someone runs down an ICE officer or any federal law or local law enforcement officer, those deadly weapons act as battering rams. And it is a violent attack and it will not be tolerated. The indictment says that federal immigration agents were conducting a traffic stop last month when the man placed his truck in reverse, rammed the federal agent's vehicle behind him and then rammed a minivan containing two agents. Officials say the man took off running and three of the five occupants in the vehicle were detained. Meanwhile, Homeland Security says ICE agents have arrested an illegal immigrant from Cuba who allegedly weaponized his vehicle in San Antonio this week. DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said yesterday one officer was injured in the vehicle attack. Tyler Robinson, the man accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, is scheduled to appear in the Utah courtroom today. The defense is set to argue that the prosecutors should be disqualified from the case. Lawyers for the 22-year-old are expected to argue there is a conflict of interest in the Utah county attorney's office. They say a child of one of the attorneys was at the Utah Valley University event where Kirk was killed. Documents say the 18-year-old who's a student at the school was less than 90 feet away from Kirk when he was shot. However, the county attorney's office says the person in question did not actually see Kirk when he was shot and also did not see anyone that day with a gun. A federal judge has blocked the Justice Department from accessing California's voter registration databases. District Judge David Carter called the request unprecedented and unlawful. Carter ruled the federal government cannot use civil rights laws to override the privacy rights of millions of voters. He said that authority belongs to Congress. The Justice Department had sued California and five other states arguing the records were needed to ensure voter rolls are kept free of ineligible voters. But the judge ruled that centralizing what he called sensitive personal data could discourage Americans from registering to vote. Attorney General Pam Bondi said earlier that clean voter rolls are essential to election integrity. The department has maintained that it will pursue enforcement where states fall short. The Pentagon says it's taking editorial control of the military newspaper Stars and Stripes. It says the move is meant to return the publication to its original mission, reporting on warfighting, weapon systems, readiness, and military life. Spokesperson Sean Parnell says the goal is also to remove what he called woke distractions that undermine morale. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth echoed that message. Stars and Stripes was operated with editorial independence since the 1990s. It's funded in part by the Defense Department and staffed by Pentagon employees. The paper has served U.S. troops since World War II. The paper's editor-in-chief disagreed with the move, saying service members deserve independent First Amendment-protected reporting. Coming up, the U.S. and Taiwan have struck a $500 billion chip deal, boosting U.S. semiconductor production. Canada is striking a deal with China. Prime Minister Mark Carney says Ottawa will cut its tariff on Chinese electric vehicles, while China lowers its canola tariff. I'm Stefania Cox, and this is World Watch. The United States and Taiwan have reached a sweeping $500 billion semiconductor agreement aimed at bringing advanced chip manufacturing back to American soil. The Commerce Department says the deal includes $250 billion in direct investment from Taiwanese tech firms in It also includes $250 billion in credit guarantees from Taiwan to expand the U.S. chip supply chain. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says chipmaker TSMC may double its U.S. footprint, helping build what he called giant semiconductor industrial parts. The agreement also lowers select tariffs and includes exemptions tied to U.S.-based production, part of a broader effort to strengthen economic and national security. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada will cut its 100 percent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles. In exchange, Ottawa will get sharply lower Chinese tariffs on Canadian farm exports. And China will lower its canola tariff from 84 percent to about 15 percent. Carney announced the agreement after meetings in Beijing, where he and communist leader Xi Jinping pledged to improve relations. Carney's China visit marks a major change in the relationship between Canada and China. In 2018, Canada arrested an executive from Chinese telecom company Huawei at the request of the U.S. Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takahashi met Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Maloney today. Japan and Italy also marked 160 years of diplomatic relations, which began in 1866. Speaking in Tokyo, Takahashi told the media that the anniversary was an opportunity to elevate the relationship between the two countries. Maloney said the two leaders discussed cooperation to strengthen supply chains with a focus on critical minerals. Lawyers for South Korea's former president, Yoon Suk-hyo, denounced a court's decision to sentence him to five years in prison. One attorney called the ruling political after his failed attempt to impose martial law in 2024. Today's guilty verdict is a decision that overly simplifies the boundary between the president's exercise of constitutional authority and criminal liability. If this reasoning stands, no future president will be able to make decisions in times of crisis, and acts of governance will always be at risk of being retroactively recast as crimes. Social media companies have shut down 4.7 million accounts belonging to Australian children. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hailed the decision after the nation's banned minors under 16 from using the platforms. All taking action. Australia enacted the ban in December over fears about the risks to young people online. The law drove intense debate in the country about technology, privacy, child safety and mental health. Albanese said the legislation has prompted other countries, including France and states in the U.S., to consider similar measures, as you've heard. Under Australian law, major platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X and others, are required to remove the accounts of Australian children younger than 16. The companies face fines of up to $33 million if they fail to do so. WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger are exempt. And Ukrainian delegation is en route to the U.S. to meet with American counterparts. Ukrainian President Zelensky says they'll talk about finalizing plans for security guarantees and a post-war recovery package. We hope that there will be more clarity regarding the documents that we have already prepared with the American side, as well as Russia's response to all the diplomatic work that has taken place and is still ongoing. Zelensky added that he hopes the documents could be signed on the sidelines of World Economic Forum in Switzerland next week. President Trump recently said he may meet with Zelensky at the event. Meanwhile, in Ukraine, officials say Russia continues attacks on Ukrainian power plants. According to Ukraine's new energy minister, every plant in the country has come under Russian attacks since the start of the war. This is especially dangerous during winter, as nighttime temperatures plunge to zero degrees Fahrenheit. Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone today with both Israel's prime minister and the president of Iran. The topic was rising tensions in the Middle East, with the Kremlin saying Moscow is prepared to help mediate the situation. The calls come as the Iranian regime has violently repressed nationwide protests. Putin outlined ideas for increasing diplomatic efforts to stabilize the region. He said Russia wants to support constructive dialogue involving all interested states. A Kremlin readout on the discussion with Iran's president is expected. Russia has deepened ties with Iran since the start of its war in Ukraine. Moscow signed a 20-year strategic partnership pact with Tehran's leadership just last year. Coming up in baseball news, have the World Series champion L.A. Dodgers improved their team again? NTV's Dave Martin joins us to discuss. And a European sled dog race is underway in the French Alps. The 12-day odyssey features 60 mushers and 600 canine competitors. We'll have that and more after this. And now for your sports news, we're joined by NTV's Dave Martin. Dave, so much to discuss. We've got college football, college basketball, in fact. We've got football. But let's start with baseball. The L.A. Dodgers have struck again. This time they're reportedly agreeing to a deal with free agent outfielder Kyle Tucker. Lay it all out for us. You know, the rich get richer and stuff, you know. If you're a Dodgers fan, this is great news, obviously. I mean, they're the two-time World Series defending champions, and they already have the highest payroll in the game. But between this deal and they previously signed the top closer on the market early, Edwin Diaz, they've shored up their two biggest weaknesses, if you can even call them that. Their bullpen and their outfield. Tucker here is definitely the big guy. He was probably the biggest prize on the free agent market. Right fielder. He's going to turn 29 in the next couple of days. He's a great hitter. He's a great fielder. He's also a great baserunner. He's a four-time all-star. He's won a gold glove in the outfield and a pair of silver slugger awards. So that's pretty good. Well, we wish him well. He's earned it. He's earned it. Now, he did not come cheap either. This is a four-year deal reportedly worth $240 million. So Steph, some quick math here. That's $60 million a season. Nice. That's a lot of coin there. Yeah. Now, that puts him in third at most dollars per year behind only Shoaib Ohtani at that 10-year $700 million deal. And then you've got Juan Soto's 15-year $780 million contract. So he's third in annual average. Now, most of Ohtani's deal, though, is deferred. Like 90% of his deal is deferred. We don't know about this one, though. But for the Dodgers, I mean, they are basically turning into what the Yankees were under George Steinbrenner years ago. Successful and expensive. Now, there's also some late-breaking news out of baseball. Again, this was another reportedly deal. Bo Bichette signing a three-year deal with the New York Mets worth approximately $126 million. Again, this is reported by ESPN anyway. I guess these games just get more profitable. You would think someone's making some profit here. If you have a small market team, you know, I'm a Kinsey Willis fan. They generally don't spend in this kind of, you know, New York and Los Angeles. Oh, well. It's entertainment. Whatever. Sure. Okay. Let's talk about college basketball news. Federal prosecutors, oh dear, they have, yes, announced another gambling scandal. This one involving amateur athletes. So it's allegations at the moment. And it does involve, allegedly, amateur, I just said that. So does this case look similar to the NBA's or baseball's? You know, they were asked, they were asked yesterday, you know, are these cases related? You know, they said they weren't aware that they were, but they also said several times, this is still an ongoing investigation. I took that to mean there could be more arrests in the works here. At this point, their investigation involves more than 39 players on 17 teams involving 29 games. And all those numbers they said were at least, but these were mainly allegations of manipulating performances so that bettors could win, you know, on the point spread of college basketball games. Now, the baseball investigation was allegedly about manipulating performance for individual plays, really individual pitches that are known as prop bets. The NBA one though, that was very, very wide ranging. If you remember that one, they charged some well-known crime families, they also alleged poker schemes with allegations of manipulating performance for point spreads on games and some prop bets as well. In any case, it does not help people's perception of whether these games are fixed or not. I mean, it certainly adds, it certainly makes people wonder whether these, yeah, whether these, any of these games are fixed. Now that's the third, like you said, that is the third big investigation really in the last three months. Now, sports betting was really legalized by the Supreme Court in 2018. This is a lot that's already come up here. I mean, you can say, well, it's been seven years, but these cases go back obviously several years. So yeah, it's a little bit, to me, it's a big sports fan stuff. It's pretty worrisome. Disappointing, I imagine. But at least there are no reported links between each of these cases, are there, that you're aware of? Yeah, I don't see any links. So if you want to say that's a good thing, maybe not one person. I just noted. I don't know. Understood. I understand. OK. OK. So let's look at the NFL. The Seattle Seahawks all of a sudden listed quarterback Sam Darnold as questionable to play Saturday in the playoffs with an oblique injury. You're going to have to explain that all. Take it away. Oblique is right in the side here, right? Yeah. So this was a mystery yesterday when it came out because he wasn't on the injury report Tuesday or Wednesday or any time before that. Darnold. Now, Darnold cleared it up, saying a little something. He felt a little something in his oblique during yesterday's practice. He was taken out of practice. They checked him out. He did a little rehab. He says he feels he'll be ready to go for Saturday. That's a big deal. The Seahawks definitely need him to. This is his second straight season as a Pro Bowl selection at quarterback. He finished in the top 10 in a number of passing categories. And this is the playoffs. They play San Francisco, a very tough team here on Saturday. It's going to be Saturday night. Yeah. If he can't go, they would have to. I would think they'd have to go a second string quarterback, Drew Locke. They would also probably then maybe even be underdogs, even though they are at home. Now, on the other side, the San Francisco 49ers announced they would still be not getting back. They're all pro linebacker Fred Warner. He's missed most of the season with an ankle injury, but he has returned to be a limited practice participant. So maybe he comes back soon. But quarterback is what drives the NFL. So that's that's the little bit bigger injury to me, even though these both are very good. OK, what's your what do you think the prospects are? What? Well, I would say it looks I mean, he says he feels to be ready. So I'm going to I'm going go with Darnold. All right. I would think he's I would think unless he is like, you know, in a full body cast, he is somehow going to make the playoff games. Everyone wants to play in the playoffs. You know, you want to get to the Super Bowl and win that. You have to do that by winning, winning first. Well, we saw the other Olympic athlete fighting back with her shoulder injury and making plans to overcome that. So I guess it's built into their mindset. I think so. These people are warriors. All right. Well, great chatting with you, Dave. Thanks so much. Thank you, Steph. And next, a European sled dog race is underway in the French Alps. The 12 Day Odyssey features 60 mushers and 600 canine competitors covering 250 miles of Alpine territory. NTD's Andrew Thomas has the latest. This is Le Grand Odyssey Royal Canin. The race takes place across a huge swath of the French Alps, beginning in one of Europe's largest ski areas, the Porte de Soleil. At race control, operators like Jean-Pierre Rota monitor every team. My role is above all a safety role. Each musher goes into the mountains to race, equipped with a GPS tracker, which allows us to see him at all times on computer screens. From these screens, we can check that the musher is going very nicely or if he's lost his way. And we can send a snowmobile to bring him back to the course. Each musher competes in stages with between six and 10 dogs. The tracking system is critical in case of emergency. For example, we had a musher who fell off his sled and the dogs went very far. They were almost two kilometers from the course. But we at race control have the possibility, effectively, with our phones, with our walkie-talkies, to call the people at the station, to call the snowmobiles on the ground, to possibly call the personnel who are nearby to be able to catch the dogs and bring them back to their musher. Cecil Wolff-Molman is at the start line. The Norwegian musher hopes to improve on her second place finish back in 2023. Her racing career began with one dog. Now she has 38. I got a dog. It was a shelter dog. And he had a lot of energy. And I started biking with him. And then I thought, this is very much fun. So, two dogs must be double the fun. And then three dogs is three times the fun. And now I have 14 hounds and 24 huskies. French musher Caleb Barosi is about to take off. For him, the race is more about having fun than fierce competition. I just enjoy the lifestyle. I'm here to enjoy with my dogs. That's all. The veterinary team treats minor injuries throughout the race. Muscle cramps and dehydration are common. But head veterinarian Caroline Duvier says the dogs are enthusiastic. It's not cruel. Like, you won't make a dog run that distance and that height elevation without him wanting it. And they really have this will to go. Each year, more than 50,000 spectators enjoy the race across 20 resorts, towns and villages in the Alps. The 22nd edition runs from January 10th to January 22nd. Andrew Thomas, NTD News. Well, that's all we have time for this hour. But if you have any feedback on the show or have something you'd like to see us cover, send us an email at news.today at ntd.com. We'd love to hear from you. We'll cover more news right after this break.