Trump to Address World Economic Forum; Millions Brace for Arctic Blast | NTD Good Morning (Jan. 21)

Welcome to NTD. Good morning. Here are today's top stories. A major winter storm is taking shape. It's expected to bring some of the season's coldest air to date, as many communities are already getting hit with severe winter weather. President Trump en route to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, amid escalating tensions over the fate of Greenland. On his way, he made an appearance at the White House press briefing yesterday on the anniversary of his historic return to the White House. Mariotsu standing by in Davos. Iran escalates tensions with the U. S. Warning of retaliation as President Trump responds. Plus updates on the Gaza Board of Peace, with a key Middle East ally joining as federal and state officials clash over immigration operations in Minnesota. The Justice Department has started issuing subpoenas, the latest from Minneapolis. Congress releases another funding package is lawmakers race to avoid another shutdown. We'll be unpacking that with an analyst, and the 7th NTD International Figure Painting Competition is showcasing the finalist works here in New York City. This week, we take a look at the collection and hear what the artists want to share with the world. This is Good morning. Live from our global headquarters in New York City. Here are Stefania Cox and Kerry Dunst. Good morning. Thanks for joining us. Today's Wednesday, January 21st. You're watching NTD. Good morning. In today's top news, President Trump is once again on his way to Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum. After Air Force One was forced to return to base, the White House said yesterday the president would travel on a different plane as Air Force One landed back at Joint Base Andrews. Press Secretary Caroline Lovett said the crew identified a minor electric electrical issue after takeoff last night. Out of abundance of caution, they turned the aircraft around and they returned to base. The White House did not provide details about the nature of the issue. Trump is scheduled to address the World Economic Forum today around 8 30 a.m. Eastern. He's expected to meet foreign leaders after that, with the issue of Greenland's future looming and air safety incidents involving the president or vice president rare, not unprecedented. Air Force One aborted a landing due to bad weather while carrying former President Barack Obama to an event in Connecticut in 2011. In 2012, the Air Force two plane carrying then Vice President Joe Biden was struck by birds in California before it landed without a problem. Next, President Trump, as we're saying, just landing in Switzerland as tensions with European leaders are high over his moves to take Greenland. He'll soon address the World Economic Forum, and we'll bring that to you life. But before departing Washington, he stopped in at the White House briefing room to tell the first year of his second term. We go now live to Washington and TV's Washington correspondent Mario to who's in Davos for the president's address later today. Mari, good morning. Good to see you there. What a beautiful vista to look out on. What can we expect from President Trump in Davos today? Sure. Good morning to you guys to Stephen Carey in New York. I think it's actually maybe warmer here than it is in New York today. And that's right. President Trump yesterday. It marked a year since he first returned to the White House for his second term, and he's certainly showing no signs of slowing down. As you said, just moments ago, he arrived in Zurich, and now he's on route to Davos, where he'll be addressing the World Economic Forum today. He's expected to preview some of his upcoming economic policies for this year. And earlier this month, President Trump also teased that he'll be announcing some new housing and affordability proposals here at the forum. That's as he called on Congress to codify a banning institutional investors from buying single family homes and actually on his way last night, he signed an executive order doing just that. As he says, he aims to make home ownership more available for everyday Americans. And as President Trump arrives in Switzerland, it's also amid rising tensions with European leaders over the fate of Greenland. The president's not backing down on his bid to take Greenland for national security reasons as he's citing threats from both Russia and China in the Arctic. Take a look. We have to have it. They have to have this done. Let's put it this way. It's going to be a very interesting Davos. In recent years, the Chinese communist regime has been developing its commercial and military capabilities in the Arctic. If you take a look outside of Greenland right now, there are Russian destroyers, there are Chinese destroyers and bigger. Over the weekend, President Trump said he would impose 10% tariffs on Denmark and seven other European countries, including France and the UK, until a deal is struck to acquire the island. He's also sharply criticizing the UK over its plan to hand over ownership of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. Guess who was behind Mauritius? The Chinese. So we needed to own that island, but the Brits are giving it up. Meanwhile, the White House touting the first year of President Trump's second term. Look, we have the hottest country in the world. I think God is very proud of the job I've done, and that includes for religion from securing the border and cracking down on crime to expanding the U. S. Is production of rare earths to curb reliance on China nationwide over the last 11 months achieved the largest reduction in violent crime on record, including the largest one year drop in murders ever recorded. Internationally, President Trump highlights his pursuit of peace through strength, using tariffs and trade to broker peace deals. If they take those tariffs away, China will eat our lunch. I hope the Supreme Court does the right thing for our country. Multiple armed conflicts were brought to an end, including between India and Pakistan, Cambodia and Thailand and the Congo and Rwanda and one of his highest profile achievements, a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, leading to the return of nearly all Israeli hostages. The momentous breakthrough that we're here to celebrate tonight is more than the end of the war in Gaza. It's with God's help. It will be the new beginning for an entire beautiful Middle East. In June, President Trump ordered Operation Midnight Hammer precision strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. And just a few days after the new year, the U. S. Military captured former Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro. We built Venezuela oil industry with American talent, drive and skill, and the socialist regime stole it from us during those previous administrations, and they stole it through force. We want peace, liberty and justice for the great people of Venezuela. And on the second and final day of his Davos trip tomorrow, President Trump's expected to participate in a board of peace meeting. That's about phase two of that U. S. Brokered ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas to stop the war in Gaza. Now, President Trump's currently chair of that board and other board members include his son in law, Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U. S. Special Envoy Steve Whitcoff. President Trump's also invited dozens of other nations to be a part of that board, including a Russian President Vladimir Putin, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the French President Emmanuel Macron. And yesterday, President Trump said that the board might even replace the United Nations. Stephen carry back to you guys. Thank you, Mario. And I do see on the screen here, President Trump getting off the plane in Zurich. So it's all happening and underway. We look forward to more updates from you and TV congressional Washington correspondent Mario. Thank you so much. Just a great report from Mari. Very historic. Trump set to address, as we know, at this moment at 8 30. We'll be covering that speech live, but he's going with the largest delegation ever. And, of course, this is an organization that was mostly run by his adversaries for for many years, really championing the Green New Deal, as he would put it. And so certainly will be an interesting speech that he plans to make very shortly. And as we say, we'll be covering it live. Certainly will be. So stick around. But as Iran is in the spotlight, tensions are continuing with the U. S. Tehran yesterday, warning President Trump not to take action against the regime's leader there. That's right. And he's Daniel Monahan reports on that. Plus updates on the Gaza Board of Peace. The comments from Iran come days after President Trump called for an end to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's nearly 40 year reign. Iran's foreign minister issued a direct threat against the United States, warning that if attacked again, Tehran will respond with quote everything we have. President Trump addressed tensions with Iran over its assassination threats against him, speaking on News Nation. I would absolutely hit them so hard, but I have very firm instructions. Anything happens, they're gonna wipe him off the face of this earth. Meanwhile, U. S. Forces are repositioning toward the Middle East, including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. China is sure to be watching developments in Iran closely. Beijing has played a major role in sustaining Iran's economy, viewing the country as strategically vital to the Belt and Road Initiative. China committed up to $400 billion in investments under a 25 year cooperation deal. While Iran supplies oil, more than 90% of which is bought by China, despite U. S. sanctions. According to China expert Alexander Lau, this supports Beijing's push for a Yuan-based energy trade and de-dollarization. The Atlantic Council think tank reports that Iran, Russia and China now trade sanctioned oil in Chinese currency. But analysts say if Iran shifts toward the West, China could lose key leverage in the Middle East. Over to Gaza. President Trump discussed the Board of Peace, which he chairs as part of the U. S. Brokered ceasefire plan between Israel and the Hamas terror group. We just created the Board of Peace, which I think is gonna be amazing. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today he had agreed to join the Board of Peace. His office earlier criticized the makeup of the board's committee. Trump has sent invitations to dozens of countries to join. United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have confirmed their participation. Russia, China and Belarus have also been invited. French President Emmanuel Macron opted not to join the Board of Peace over concerns it could undermine the United Nations. President Trump says the Board of Peace could actually end up replacing the United Nations. I wish the United Nations could do more. I wish we didn't need a Board of Peace. But the United Nations, you know, with all the wars I settled, the United Nations never helped me on one war. When a reporter asked the president whether the Board of Peace could replace the U. N. He replied it might. Despite criticizing the U. N. Trump didn't call for the dissolution of the international body. The president says the potential of the organization is quote so great. The Board of Peace will also include an international stabilization force led by U. S. Army Major General Jasper Jeffers, Daniel Monaghan, NTD News. Thanks to Daniel for that report and joining us now to discuss the Board of Peace is foreign affairs analyst Gerard Felitti, who is an attorney specializing in international law. Gerard, thanks for joining us to stay. I want to start by playing a clip from yesterday's press conference where Trump is asked if he wants his Board of Peace to replace the U. N. Let's have a look at that. Well, my I mean, the U. N. Just hasn't been very helpful. I'm a big fan of the U. N. Potential, but it has never lived up to its potential. The U. N. Should have settled every one of the wars that I settled. I never went to them. I never even thought to go to him. Uh, they should be able to settle those wars. They don't, I believe you gotta let the U. N. Continue because the potential is so great. Gerard, your reactions to that clip. Now, what's interesting about the Board of Peace is that its charter nowhere mentions the word Gaza. It is envisioned as a broader organization that will help settle and bring about world peace in areas that are affected by or threatened by conflict. So I think that President Trump does envision his Board of Peace as being, if not a competition to or replacement to at least an organization that supplements the United Nations, which has indeed for many years failed to live up to its charter. It's created in many places where it's been involved the system of perpetual dependency and its institutionalized crises in many parts of the world, including the Middle East. So having a Board of Peace that steps outside of these old norms and tries things in a different way is generally speaking a good thing for the world. Every time Trump speaks, it's quite interesting how he kind of hedges. And he said he opens the clip by saying it could replace the U. N. But then at the end, he really says, you know, the U. N. Does need to continue. But he has a well-documented past of clashing with the U. N. And I think it was highlighted when he went for his latest address. Both the elevator and the teleprompter failed. Maybe a ghost in the machine. The White House thinks maybe, you know, they were intentionally trying to either disrespect him or trip him up. Why do they have such opposition to each other? Trump and the U. N. If you look at the structure of the United Nations itself, the most important body is the Security Council. And on the Security Council, we have communist China and Russia. So it's very hard to have that pro American pro democracy, pro positive free trade capitalist economy when you have two nations that are very authoritarian that can block everything. And then you look at the makeup of the United Nations. You have blocks of African countries, Asian countries and Latin American countries, which are not always democracies. They're dictatorships, and they stand in opposition to a lot of the principles that we hold dear. So there is a lot of opposition to presidents like Trump, but not just Trump. We've had opposition to Democratic presidents as well. The United Nations tends not to be pro American these days, and that's one thing that Trump rightly is pointing out. And Gerard, moving to now Trump's vision for the Board of Peace, he's invited over 50 heads of state. He's also put together an executive team that sort of sits above all of those members. So can you bring us up to speed on who's in, who's out and the structure? Well, the structure is meant to be in a way parallel to the United Nations, but with rotating membership. So a country can sign on for a term of three years. If a country provides $1 billion worth of funding, they get a permanent seat at the table. And that's kind of like the General Assembly, if you will, the Board of Peace. Then you have the Board of Advisors, which include people like Jared Kushner, like Tony Blair, people who Donald Trump trusts and are well known international figures who actually have a history of getting results in conflict areas and of being able to facilitate aid. So you have a structure that allows for action, not just talk. And then, very interestingly, Trump has invited Russia's Putin to be a member of the board. Is this formality? Do you see a strategy behind the move? And is this potentially heading in the same direction that you described as trouble with the Security Council? Well, we have yet to see how the executive committee functions in practice. But when you have them, it is organized more like a corporate structure. So you do have board members. But at the end of the day, it's the chairman of the board who sets the agenda. It would be Donald Trump who sets the agenda. So having Russia at the table is beneficial because it provides more money, more stability, more influence from other factors. You do need a Russian voice in some parts in this world. Syria, for example, is a country that has a lot of Russian interest in that region. So having Russian presence would help stabilize that area as well. Trump seems like he's very focused on action. And as we look at his accomplishments over the last year, so he's putting this board of peace together. As you mentioned, it doesn't say in its charter anything specific to Gaza, but it was introduced in relation to how Gaza would move forward post ceasefire. So how do you envision the future of Gaza? Well, you have to look at what Gaza was before. Gaza was in a system of dependency on Hamas and United Nations agencies, which kept the people basically in the same place. They didn't build up the economy. They didn't build up freedoms. They were kept in the same place, controlled by a terrorist group and indoctrinated into terror. You need something new. You need something different. So you see a board of peace providing economic benefits, rebuilding in a way that doesn't give control to terrorist groups, rebuilding in a way that demilitarizes Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza, giving the people an opportunity to govern themselves. So that's really the difference between the board of peace and the United Nations. The United Nations is just throwing money at the problem, working through local groups like Hamas, a terrorist organization, instead of trying something new. The board of peace brings in new money, new people and new ideas. And just as we finish up, Trump, of course, making a big, potentially provocative speech this morning in Davos. Macron from France has already declined to participate in the board of peace. How do you see all of this playing out? I think with Macron and a lot of European leaders, there's, if not skepticism, they have a vested interest in the United Nations. They've developed that organization for many decades now. They basically have more input into it than countries like the United States. So for them, not participating in a board of peace is sending a message that they don't want competition. But I think at the end of the day, they listen to what the United States has to say. We've been world leaders in promoting democracy. We've been stabilizing economies around the world for decades, and our trade partnership is second to none. So I think you will see Macron and other European leaders listen carefully to what Trump has to say and consider what he's offering. I appreciate your analysis. A lot should take place this morning. And as the development of the board of peace goes through, Gerard Felitti, thanks for joining us. Always a pleasure. Thank you. U. S. Forces have seized another oil tanker linked to Venezuela in the Caribbean. This marks the seventh such seizure connected to sanctioned oil. The military said yesterday the motor vessel Sagitta was in defiance of Trump's quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean and was taken without incident. The Sagitta is a Liberian flagged tanker, and its registration says it's owned and managed by a company in Hong Kong. The ship last transmitted its location more than two months ago when exiting the Baltic Sea in northern Europe. The tanker was sanctioned by the Treasury Department under an executive order related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 in a post on X. U. S. Southern Command said the seizure demonstrates its resolve to ensure the only oil leaving Venezuela will be oil that is coordinated properly and lawfully and still to come with another government shutdown deadline less than 10 days away. Now all eyes are on a new bipartisan funding agreement. We're gonna have Heritage Foundation economist E. J. Antoni break it down for us. And the Justice Department has started issuing subpoenas against Minnesota officials as part of its investigation into anti ice protests. How the Minneapolis mayor is responding on what federal officials are saying about immigration enforcement in the state ahead. Welcome back to NTD. Good morning. A major winter storm is taking shape. It's expected to be the most extreme winter storm so far this season, set to bring the season's coldest air to date. That's right. It comes as many communities are already getting lashed by severe winter weather. Take a look. I wish you would stop. I think we're pushing 20 inches, 21 22 inches. Residents in upstate New York digging out after a lake effect snowstorm dumped more than 20 inches amid brutal winter weather. We're gonna get it for 24 hours straight for sure. That lake effect snow causing white out authorities responding to multiple crashes on Interstate 90 involving roughly 60 vehicles over a six mile stretch of highway. Officials said there were multiple jackknife tractor trailers as well as passenger vehicles that were struck. Authorities had to divert traffic and shut down all westbound lanes of the interstate. The brutal winter weather is set to get worse for many with the most extreme winter storm so far this season forecast to slam the eastern half of the U. S. With damaging ice and heavy snow. The storm fueled by a blast of arctic air is set to hit the midwest and plains thursday into friday then spread into the south and east this weekend. Communities in the storm's path are bracing for snow, sleet and freezing rain. A dangerous wintry mix that could stretch more than 1000 miles from Oklahoma and northern Texas to North Carolina and Virginia by saturday night. Salt shipping is very important. We were starting to get low from all we've had and there's so many different places is using salt right now, especially up north. It's getting kind of hard to get and the latest from Minnesota now is the federal government and state officials go head to head over immigration enforcement. Justice Department has started issuing subpoenas to top officials as part of its investigation into the anti ice protests. Here's what we know so far. The standoff between the federal government and state officials in Minnesota is escalating. The Department of Justice has now started issuing subpoenas to Minnesota officials as part of its investigation into anti ice protests, some of which have turned violent. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry's office told the epic times it has received a subpoena. He came after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem accused Fry and Governor Tim Walz of encouraging impeding an assault against federal law enforcement in a post on X Tuesday Fry said when the federal government weaponizes its power to intimidate local leaders for doing their jobs, every American should be concerned. Walz's office did not respond to a request for comment, but in a statement on X, the governor called the ongoing investigation a partisan distraction. Meanwhile, Border Patrol boss Greg Bovino stressed the importance of immigration enforcement in Minnesota to the Trump administration at a press conference yesterday in Minneapolis. Bovino said what happens in Minneapolis is directly connected to what happens at the border. Border enforcement and interior enforcement are two parts of the same mission. A secure border without interior enforcement leaves communities vulnerable. An interior enforcement without border control is unsustainable. Bovino said federal agents had arrested more than 10,000 criminal illegal aliens in Minneapolis since the start of the second Trump administration and more than 3000 of the worst offenders in the last six weeks alone. Even as tensions between state and federal government escalate, President Trump says he doesn't yet need to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota. Trump's comments come after he earlier said he could employ the powerful tool to aid immigration enforcement officers in the state. The Insurrection Act allows the president to deploy the military when federal law enforcement becomes impossible through regular means. In an interview with News Nation yesterday, Trump said invoking the act would make life a lot easier, but he didn't think it was needed at this point. In that interview, Trump also addressed a controversial protest in which demonstrators stormed a Baptist church in St. Paul, accusing one of the pastors of being an ICE agent. He accused Sunday's protesters of being paid agitators. And then you have the agitators, anarchists. You know, I watched sort of everything. I see it all and I see people screaming, shame, shame. You know, this is not people that are like living in Minnesota. These are professional, paid people. They're like actors. That incident is now under federal investigation. DHS says there are more than 2,500 federal agents currently on the ground in Minnesota. Officials are now saying an additional 1,500 could be on their way in the coming weeks. With another government shutdown deadline less than 10 days away now, all eyes are on a new bipartisan funding proposal. House lawmakers yesterday presented an omnibus bill that would fund several federal departments and agencies until September 30th. Joining us now to break it down is E. J. Antony, chief economist and acting director at the Heritage Foundation's Center for the Federal Budget. Good to have you with us this morning, E. J. A number of key agencies are covered by this bill. Let's start by looking at what's included for the Department of Defense. So essentially what we're looking at here, unfortunately, is again, it's not just individual departments being funded, but instead what we're getting is a slew of things and amalgam, if you will, all put together. And that has to do mostly with with the gridlock that we're seeing in Congress and the inability of the Republican Party to get individual bills through, unfortunately. So again, ideally, we would be able to get through a bill just for the Department of Defense, let's say. But unfortunately, that's not what we have. Yeah. And it looks like this particular proposal includes a pay raise for for some elements within that department. Homeland security is another aspect. There's health and human services. Education is covered many areas. What do you see as the pros and cons of this particular bill? Well, look, it's not all bad. Unfortunately, it is spending too much money. We need to be spending much less so that that I say would would be the biggest con, just the overall the overall top line, the total amount of dollar spent. But again, we do have some good things in the bill. We do have some necessary functions of government that we want to keep going. And you do want, for example, to see the hardworking men and women in our military who are putting their lives on the line getting pay raises. Those are certainly good things. Unfortunately, though, again, when you have these massive spending bills, it becomes impossible with any reasonable amount of time for people in Congress and their staff to go through these these bills line by line and actually examine all of the different things that are being inserted into them. That's the big problem with these omnibus or in this case, slightly smaller minibus bills that that are being passed. It's just too difficult to actually see all of the abuse, the fraud, the corruption and the waste that are getting inserted. So the amount that's currently proposed for this bill is one point two trillion dollars. It does. Currently, it was presented by a bipartisan group of lawmakers. But what do you see as the most ideal path forward considering the situation that we're in now? Well, ideally, again, going back to what we were just saying earlier, you have to get the spending levels down that that is the source of so many problems in our economy today and in people's personal financial lives. It's not just a matter of federal finance. It's family finance as well. When the government is borrowing so much money, when we are spending so much just an interest on the debt, for example, that is crowding out a lot of private sector activity. And the result of that is a higher cost of living for the American people. It's more inflation. It's higher interest rates on everything from your credit cards to your mortgage, you name it. And so I think one of the best paths forward would be if we can just put in steady reductions throughout government. In other words, everyone's budget, all departments, all agencies are just going to get cut, let's say, by one percent a year. It doesn't have to be one percent. I'm just throwing out a number to illustrate the point that you put in steady reductions in the levels of spending year after year. And eventually you do end up with a balanced budget if you do something as simple as that. And do you see any particular opposition or challenges to getting this particular bill passed by this end of the month deadline? Well, one of the big problems is just the very slim majorities that you have, especially in the House. The Senate obviously is not a big majority either, but it's becoming particularly problematic in the House. And unfortunately, again, in order to wrangle the entire Republican caucus together, you end up having to put in a lot of things into these bills that are not ideal, that result in higher levels of spending. Everyone kind of wants their own pork barrel project in there, if you will. Now, that's true whether you have Republicans in charge or Democrats in charge. But again, having a very slim majority and not having many votes to work with, I think does make it particularly difficult. Yeah, as you mentioned, there is quite a bit of spending proposed here, though not the omnibus that we had seen in the past. This minibus spending proposal, if it is passed, what else is left over that you think could impact people if those elements don't go through? Well, you can certainly have, you know, not a single spending bill. There can be addendums in the future, for example. They could return with yet another, either another minibus or a much larger omnibus bill. You could theoretically in the future have them start passing individual budgets for individual departments. So it really leaves things kind of wide open. This in many ways is just a Band-Aid. And I think that's, again, why you're going to have many paths open in the future. What they're basically looking to do here is, as you said, just avert another shutdown like we had towards the end of last year and avoid all of those, all the disruptions that would follow from that. With our remaining 30 seconds, do you think there's anything particularly missing from public debate on this topic that gets so much attention, especially right around the deadlines? But here it is, come around again just a few months later and it's possible the government could shut down again. Any thoughts you'd like to leave us with? I think we need to be looking at not just simply extending Obamacare subsidies. Obamacare has been an absolute disaster. We were promised it was going to lower premiums and expand your access to doctors and health care, and instead it's done exactly the opposite. It has reduced your access to health care and it has made health care more expensive than ever before. So I think they should be looking at not simply tweaks to Obamacare or not simply extending and expanding the subsidies even more, which is the root cause of the problem, but instead they need to be looking at something that completely abolishes Obamacare and returns us to the system that we had previously, or ideally puts in even better reforms and gives more people access to health care, but at lower prices too, without taxpayers having to put the bill for everything. Well, much to watch out for here. Thank you so much for your insights this morning, EJ Antony. Thank you. And after pressure from the U.S., the European Union is now working to improve its cybersecurity amid a growing threat from China. The bloc is considering a proposal to phase out gear supplied by companies like Huawei. NTD's international correspondent Arjen Pasdar has the story. The European Union is working to protect its critical infrastructure, such as high-speed telecom networks. Under new draft legislation, telecom equipment from so- called high-risk suppliers would be phased out within three years. This comes amid rising concerns that European countries are vulnerable to the dominance of Chinese tech manufacturing. The proposals don't mention any countries or companies by name, but the term high-risk has been previously used to refer to countries like China, home to tech giant Huawei. Commenting on the new draft, the EU tech chief says, with the new cybersecurity package, we will have the means in place to better protect our critical supply chains, but also to combat cyberattacks decisively. The proposed restrictions would also cover equipment in other sectors, like security scanners used at border checkpoints, water supply systems, and health and medical devices. The U.S. already banned new Chinese equipment in 2022 and has urged European allies to follow suit. Last year, the Trump administration issued an executive order aimed at strengthening the nation's cybersecurity. The White House released a statement at the time, saying the People's Republic of China presents the most active and persistent cyber threat to United States government, private sector, and critical infrastructure networks. And just two months ago, the administration released its 2025 national security strategy. It highlights China's cyber activities in the context of economic competition, intellectual property theft, and supply chain threats. The document warns of grand-scale intellectual property theft and industrial espionage. Ariane Pastar, NTD News. Right up ahead, a growing measles outbreak in South Carolina has reached college campuses, with hundreds now in quarantine and health officials monitoring the spread. And fraud is in focus. Today, lawmakers will hold a hearing with independent journalist Nick Shirley. He's the one who's been traveling around Minnesota exposing alleged daycare fraud. The hearing comes as lawmakers expand their investigations into Medicaid fraud in the state. We'll be right back with that. Welcome back to NTD Good Morning. Investigations are expanding in Minnesota. House lawmakers are demanding information from top state officials about alleged Medicaid fraud. Comes as lawmakers will hold a hearing today to highlight the need to prosecute the offenders. NTD's Melina Weiskopf brings us more. The House committee that oversees public health is investigating alleged Medicaid fraud in Minnesota. On Tuesday, lawmakers requested documents and information from Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and the temporary commissioner of Minnesota's Department of Human Services. In a letter to state officials, lawmakers claim fraud is rampant in the state and that many of Minnesota's Medicaid programs were designed in such a way that made them vulnerable to fraud. The chairman warned that Medicaid funds will be withheld if the state doesn't comply with federal Medicaid requirements. Investigators say the fraud is expected to have gone on since at least 2013 but could have been actively covered up from within the government. 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. Today, Minnesota's Fraud Prevention Committee will examine how the state executive failed to prevent fraud. Governor Waltz has insisted that his office has spent two years cracking down on fraudsters, but a CMS audit found that 14 high risk programs in the state cost around $3.75 billion per year. Medicaid administrator, Mehmet Oz, told American thought leaders on you Kelly about his recent trip to Minnesota to investigate where he says they found fake office buildings. Apparently there were 400 businesses running out of there in the last couple years that had generated about $380 million of bills for the federal taxpayer or the state of Minnesota. And these are all social service businesses. So as you start to probe into how this gives this beehive of corruption arose, the question does come up, you know, who owns the building? House lawmakers on the Judiciary Committee are holding a hearing later this morning to further examine the fraud and highlight the need for prosecution. Independent journalist Nick Shirley, who has been traveling around to expose the daycare fraud, will appear to testify at the 10 a.m. Hearing reporting from Washington D. C. Molina Weiss Cup in T. D. News. Largest active measles outbreak in the United States continues to grow in South Carolina. Health officials are reporting nearly 90 crew Kate new cases and around 540 people currently in quarantine. The outbreak has reached college campuses, including Clemson University and Anderson University, along with several primary schools. State officials say the outbreak began last year and has been linked to infections in neighboring states. The CDC reports more than 2200 measles cases nationwide in 2025, the highest number since 1991. Federal health officials say the U. S. Measles elimination status could be reviewed later this year by the Pan American Health Organization. In California, some candidates for governor have been looking at the homelessness crisis as well as solutions for it. Mayor in Silicon Valley gave Republican candidate Steve Hilton a tour of a tiny home community entities. David Lamb brings us more tent encampments once plagued parts of San Jose in Silicon Valley. But Mayor Matt Mayhem has led sweeping changes, clearing streets and opening safe interim housing. Lately, he's been showing his approach to California gubernatorial candidates. The mayor gave Republican candidate Steve Hilton a tour of one of the city's interim housing communities. Tiny homes located under San Jose's Guadalupe Parkway. We're not going to arrest our way out of homelessness or a crisis of untreated addiction and mental illness. But there also needs to be accountability. I believe these sites are open and they're safe, dignified alternatives. I don't think camping would just be a choice that doesn't work at scale. Mayhem advocates for a balanced approach, real alternatives paired with accountability to move people indoors. This is one of 26 interim housing facilities run by the nonprofit Life Moves. Its mission is to end homelessness by providing a stepping stone for those struggling. We need to end the homelessness crisis in California. End it. We should have zero people out on the streets and in our communities, outdoors. And the mayor completely agrees with that. Mayor Mayhem said there's a no encampment zone of at least a two block radius of the site to prevent undesirable activities in the surrounding neighborhood. So what I really appreciated about seeing this facility today is the mayor and his team and their focus on positive, practical solutions. Life Moves says 92% of people who exit their facility into permanent housing remain housed one year later. And we recognize that the built environment matters and that we're going to bring you indoors and provide you with very strong, powerful services and solutions that helps to move you to more permanent housing and long term stability. That to me is the challenge of how you bring all that together and how do you create the political will policy and the support to do this at scale. The interim home community offers job training, counseling and essentials. I also think it's important and we're grateful that that both were here today because homelessness is not a city problem. It's not a regional problem. It's a statewide and a national problem. So when you get people at the state level and at the city and county level partnered together, better solutions Mayor Mahan says that state lawmakers in Sacramento play a vital role in ending homelessness across California in San Jose, California. David Lamb N. T. D. News. And up ahead, the seventh N. T. D. International figure painting competition is exhibiting the finalist works here in New York City this week. We take a look at the collection and hear what the artists want to share with the world. Stay with us. We'll be right back. Welcome back to N. T. D. Good morning. Authentic, beautiful art can really uplift people's souls and bring hope and love to the world. Don't you think? I do. I do agree with you more stuff. Well, one of N. T. D.'s exclusive cultural events, the N. T. D. International figure painting competition, I think does just that. I've been to the previous years, but certainly hoping to do exactly that to create a platform that can promote works of pure truth, pure kindness and pure beauty. And over 300 fine artists from more than 50 countries submitted their works. 60 artists made it to the final round, and this week their works are showcased here in New York City's Salman Undi Club. N. T. D.'s Flora Hua was there talking to some of the artists. Let's have a look. I'm here in the heart of New York City. N. T. D. Seventh International figure painting competition finalist exhibition opens on Tuesday. Now, please follow me to see a beautiful collection of paintings. Let's go. But what this story is trying to say is maybe we should look at things differently when when it's God that's asking us to do something for him. Maybe we should consider giving all we have. King Corbett, the painter of the widow's might, has been painting for almost three decades. He said every day that he gets to paint is just a great blessing of God. Alan Amar came all the way from France. Two of his works were displayed in the exhibition. I would like to give the message that we are not only flesh and blood we have in the meaning of that is the fact that here is the soul. The water is a source of life with no water, no life. So the arm is crossing the water, and it means the power of spirituality. When asked what role faith played in a Mars creation of art and what he sees as his mission as a fine artist, Amar said, I believe in God. My mission is to give the testimony of the fact that we have been created for beauty and love and a true, authentic beauty can lift the soul of people, can give them more happiness and more deep joy. The competition's manager said one of their missions is to revive traditional culture and lead people to appreciate the value of divinely inspired culture. But what's making figure painting so important? I personally like classical art and realism just because it represents something. When I sit down to paint, I want someone to be able to recognize what it is and to be uplifted and strengthened by it, not because someone with an art degree told them how to appreciate it, but that they could just naturally appreciate it and know what it was just by themselves. I think this is the highest form for me personally of art you can paint as a fine art painter. You have to know all about the anatomy and you have to know about how skin is reacting to the surrounding. And so I think this shows, especially here with all the beautiful paintings, that the people have such a high skill level. And I think this competition is honoring this. And for an artist like me, it's such an honor to be here because it's so nice to have a place honoring all the hard work over my whole life I put into this to achieve this kind of level. Coming with her husband from Germany, Alexander Tugman has been painting since she was little. She received a systematic training in figure painting here in the United States. She chose to use real gold leaf to create the moment when sunshine is pouring and shining on the surface of the ocean. I have to pick it up with a scissor, applying on my painting and then working with the gold and the oil in the same time to create this pattern. Rene Chong from Mexico shared his excitement of being here with fellow fine artists. I paint with passion. I love painting. It's a privilege to be here today with NTD and in this Salma Gundi Club to share this passion with other fellow artists that are exactly as I am after spending a day appreciating these beautiful paintings and hearing the artists share their journeys in pursuing ours. I feel like I've truly learned a lot. The artists will spend a week in New York City engaging in various cultural events, and the award ceremony is set to take place this Thursday, reporting from New York City, Flora Hua, NTD News. Beautiful report there from Flora Hua, and I must say that venue, Salma Gundi, is really a beautiful venue as well, so well worth a visit if you can go. I hope to get there myself before the awards ceremony. I would like to see it before they all. It's here today and gone tomorrow, or at least gone by the end of the week. So look, if you have any feedback on the show or maybe there's a story you'd like to see us cover, like the one we just showed you, send us an email at goodmorning at NTD.com. And for around-the-clock original news coverage, you know you can watch us live at NTD.com slash live or on our NTD app. I'm Stephanie Arcox. I'm Cary Dunst. We'll see you soon.