Leavitt Joining Fox News; California Woman Charged With Spying for China | NTD News Today Oct. 5

Good afternoon and welcome to NTD News Today. We have a lot to cover today. Here's what's coming up. President Trump urging his supporters to come out and vote to stop communism in America, plus his message on election integrity and a new super intelligence task force. Representatives from four major AI companies testify under oath before the New York City Council today as lawmakers review new rules for the industry. The Supreme Court is back in session. Today, the High Court weighs a climate change case that could shape lawsuits against energy companies nationwide. A California woman has been arrested and charged with spying for the Chinese regime on U.S. soil. Authorities say the case highlights Beijing's efforts inside the United States. Scientists from the U.S. and Germany have won this year's Nobel Prize in Medicine. We'll take a closer look at their groundbreaking research in brain science. This is NTD News Today, live from our global headquarters in New York City. Today's Monday, October 5th. I'm Stefania Cox. President Trump kicking off a new week in campaign travel. His critical midterm elections now just 29 days away. He's doubling down on his warning about communism and again, stressing the need for election integrity. Joining us now live is NTD's White House correspondent, Iris Taub. Good afternoon, Iris. Good to see you. What's the latest? Good to see you as well, President Trump. Busy campaign traveling by going to Nebraska later this afternoon as Vice President J.D. Banz heading to Alaska today as well. Now overnight, the president emphasizing the need for election integrity, citing the latest election in Brazil, saying that 125 million people voted in the first round of Brazil's presidential election, saying that results came out shortly after the vote closed on the same day, as he says that as opposed to what's happened in Brazil, the U.S., meanwhile, with the states usually taking much longer to count the votes. The president decrying, quote, voting in America is corrupt. Now he's also urging his supporters to come out and vote in November as if he himself is on the ballot, saying that it needs to be, quote, too big to rig. Here's his video message over the weekend. Watch. So I'm not on the ballot, but pretend I am, because this is a big deal. This is the most important midterm I believe ever. We have communists, we have socialists, we have horrible people running on the other side. We have to win. And over the past weekend, the president also stumping an Ohio for the gubernatorial candidate there, but big Rama Swami and Senate candidate and incumbent as well, John Husted. Now the president predicting that people will see, quote, a big surprise in this November election, also condemning communism and socialism again and his message to voters. Let's listen. We've won every battle. We've defeated every hoax. We've overcome every threat. And now we are on the cusp of beating the communists, socialists, radicalized lunatics and villains once and for all. We're going to put him down once and for all, because the United States of America will never be a communist country. Meanwhile, on Iran, as the president in recent days has been saying that he's gearing a big decision on Iran and that a conflict could be over right after the election, Secretary of State Marco Rubio this morning confirming that top national security officials recently met at Camp David in his words for long term strategic planning. Now, of course, it comes as the conflict is still ongoing and the two sides have not reached a deal. And the president saying that oil prices and gas prices meanwhile will plummet once the conflict is ended. Back to you. All right. Thank you, Iris, for that report. Next, a rare hearing at New York City Hall. Representatives from Anthropic, Open AI, Google and Meta testify under oath today before the city council on the risks of artificial intelligence. Today, we have a few straightforward goals. First, to better understand the latent dangers and liabilities presented by AI development. Second, to identify the benefits that responsible AI development can offer to New York City government and residents. And third, to discuss a slate of bills which seek to provide viable solutions to the various challenges that we believe AI may pose. To achieve these goals, we will ask questions to the people who know these technologies best, including whistleblowers, safety experts and, of course, the companies themselves. And we will hear from city agencies as to what they are going to do to prepare New York City for emergent threats and safety issues. Meta agreed to attend voluntarily. The others committed only after the council said it would issue subpoenas. Elon Musk's SpaceX AI, which has not responded, is under subpoena. Council Speaker Julie Mennon cites warnings from whistleblowers and some AI executives and reports of AI agents damaging government databases. Lawmakers are also reviewing proposed bills, including a whistleblower incentive program and a right to sue for New Yorkers harmed by AI agents. Former White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt is joining Fox News. The network says she'll be an on-air contributor. She'll begin her new role on November 1st. She's expected to appear on both Fox News programs and opinion shows. Leavitt stepped down as White House Press Secretary in August after the birth of her second child. She said she wanted to spend more time with her children, but she also planned to remain a vocal supporter of President Trump and the Republican Party. Leavitt will be the second former Trump Press Secretary to join Fox News following Kayleigh McEnany. Fox News says Leavitt's White House and campaign experience will bring a unique perspective to its coverage. And the Justice Department has announced charges against 16 individuals accused of election crimes. The DOJ saying the offenses include illegal voting and fraudulent voter registration. The cases include voting by non-citizens in federal elections, false claims of U.S. citizenship to register or vote, and false statements on citizenship applications. In Florida, an Italian national and lawful permanent resident is charged with voting by a non-citizen attempting to procure naturalization unlawfully and making a false statement related to naturalization. He allegedly voted in the 2024 general election. In Louisiana, three individuals have been indicted for illegally voting in a federal election. All three are accused of voting in the 2024 general election. Ten non-citizens in Minnesota also face charges of voter fraud. And a California realtor is facing charges of spying for China on U.S. soil for arrest, throwing light on the Chinese Communist Party's activities in the United States. Here are the details. Federal authorities have charged a California woman with acting as an agent of the Chinese government. They say they arrested Wang Yingzhang yesterday at Los Angeles International Airport as she tried to leave the U.S. for China. She was conducting surveillance on behalf of the Chinese government. She was acting as a foreign agent and she was spying on a relative of the president of Taiwan here in the U.S. And so she's conducting Chinese, essentially, espionage here on our soil. And you cannot do that without our knowledge and consent, obviously. And so she is in violation of federal law. According to court documents, Zhang traveled to Seattle in 2025 at the direction of Chinese officials. The alleged target was the son of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, who lives in the U.S. Investigators say Zhang and an associate traveled from Las Vegas to Seattle, rented a home. They say a neighbor's security camera captured the pair photographing or recording the family. The FBI says investigators later obtained communications that show Zhang reporting information from the surveillance to Chinese government contacts, Taiwan's presidential office condemning the surveillance. With regard to the recent case in which U.S. judicial authorities uncovered alleged Chinese surveillance of President Lai's family, this represents a typical case of transnational repression. We strongly condemn such conduct, which disregards human rights and employs intimidation and heavy-handed tactics against those who advocate freedom and democracy, as well as their family members. Federal officials say this case is a typical example of what the Chinese Communist Party does. China's very good at using people who are already here and they do it to elected officials. Yeah, exactly. So they know how to game our system. And so, you know, that was a big blow to us when the birthright case came down because the other thing they're doing now, you know, this might be breaking news as well. It's not just birthright tourism. They're sending sperm and eggs and they're implanting them in surrogates here in American surrogates here in the U.S. to get around the visa stuff. FBI Director Kash Patel saying on Annex, foreign adversaries take note. America is no longer a safe place to run your espionage operations. Zhang is scheduled to appear in an L.A. court today. The Supreme Court hearing oral arguments today in a pivotal climate case. A lawsuit from Boulder, Colorado, is demanding compensation from energy companies for local weather damage allegedly caused by greenhouse gas emissions. The question before the court, however, is not whether global warming theories hold water. It's whether local courts can extract billions of dollars from energy companies for damage allegedly caused by global emissions. The energy companies argue that municipalities would effectively have the power to impose a massive nationwide carbon tax with the potential to bankrupt the U.S. energy industry. Boulder County's suit is one of dozens of climate lawsuits currently moving through courts across the country. Critics say such lawsuits are an attempt by activists to make up for failed attempts to pass climate legislation like the Green New Deal. And for more decisions from the Supreme Court this morning, we're looking next to the justices rejecting the latest appeal from Dylann Roof. He's convicted of killing nine people at a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015. His new appeal argues U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel should have recused himself from the case. It claims another judge told an attorney, quote, Gergel really wants to do it. The appeal alleges that shows an eagerness to convict. The high court disagreed. Roof remains on death row at a maximum security prison. The Supreme Court is also staying out of a First Amendment fight over the Let's Go Brandon sweatshirts worn by two Michigan middle school students. The justices today declined to hear the brother's appeal, leaving in place a lower court ruling that sided with their school district. The students were told to remove the sweatshirts in 2022. The phrase implies a profane insult aimed at then-president Joe Biden. The family argued the school violated the students' free speech rights. The school district said that schools may restrict vulgar or offensive language even when it is expressed through code or innuendo. All right, coming up, Cornell University's president is making his first public comments after a woman said she was drugged and allegedly sexually assaulted at a university frat house. What we're learning so far. Welcome back. In a series of campaign stops in reliably red states, the president today heading to Nebraska. A Senate race is on the ballot where a Republican is facing off with an independent. It's one of the closest races in the deep red state. NTD's Melina Wisecup has the The latest in a string of Trump rallies, the president making his way to Grand Island, Nebraska, where a close Senate race is shaping up. Republican incumbent Pete Ricketts vying to keep a seat amid a challenge from Dan Osborne, who's honing in on economic woes in the rural state. For us, Democrat backed Osborne is running as an independent candidate in a state that hasn't elected a Democrat senator for the past two decades. Senator Ricketts, though, cast doubt on his promise not to caucus with either party. Democrats run his campaign. Democrats fund his campaign. Polls show Ricketts and Osborne neck and neck. President Trump won more than 20 points in 2024, leaving many to speculate why Republicans need to work so hard to keep a seat in the deep red state. President Trump responding to a question about if Republicans are in danger in red states imply that he's working to break a historic trend of midterm losses for the party of the sitting president. Whoever wins the presidency, Republican or Democrat automatically does poorly in the midterms. I don't know why you know that, but we shouldn't. We have I think we had the most consequential presidency. The only thing we don't have is good public relations. Republicans can't afford many losses in the Senate, where Democrats would need a net gain of just four seats to regain control of the upper chamber. The president set to speak at the Nebraska fairgrounds at around 7 p.m. Eastern time. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Melina Weiskopf, NTD News. The Justice Department accusing the Biden administration of considering the prosecution of parents who spoke out at school board meetings during COVID-19 pandemic. The DOJ's Weaponization Working Group issuing a new report. The report focuses on an October 2021 memorandum sent from Attorney General Merrick Garland to the FBI director and federal prosecutors. The report says the memo alleged a disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation and threats of violence at school board meetings. According to the DOJ, a letter sent by the National School Boards Association to President Biden urged the administration to consider parental objections as domestic terrorism and hate crimes. The DOJ says the memo established a task force to find federal enforcement options for investigating and prosecuting parents. The department says it will review the files of anyone investigated under the Garland memorandum to determine if their constitutional rights were violated. And the president of Cornell University, Michael Kotlikoff, speaking out for the first time after the alleged sexual assault case. In a video statement, he says the university must do better after a woman alleged that she was drugged and sexually assaulted by members of the campus fraternity chiefee back in 24-24. This has been one of the most difficult weeks in our history and I know many of you are angry, saddened and struggling and that those bonds are under extraordinary stress. What happened to Jane Doe in 2024 is deeply disturbing and will weigh heavily on our community for years to come. My heart aches when I think of what she experienced. It raises heartbreaking and troubling issues about sexual assault, dehumanization and aspects of party culture, alcohol and drug use. It also raises questions around the investigations conducted after the allegations were reported. A woman filed a civil lawsuit against the school and fraternity members last month. Identified as Jane Doe, the woman says seven Chi Phi fraternity members assaulted her for hours in October 2024. Her lawsuit accuses Cornell of failing to protect her. A lawyer representing the woman says she has received threats that she will be hurt if she doesn't withdraw the lawsuit. He says people out there are trying to track her down. Cornell University closed that chapter of the Chi Phi fraternity in 2024 and says it established a task force last year. New York's attorney general has initiated a criminal investigation into the case. And in another case, convicted murderer Krista Pike's lawyer says his client has suffered serious punishment for her crimes. He says Tennessee's governor should at the very least commute her death sentence to a life in prison sentence. He had already asked that the governor commute her for many good reasons. I think she's spent over 30 years in prison, most of that in solitary confinement, only to be taken out and not executed, but tried to execute her. And that we don't know right now, and we may never know, what sort of torture she endured during that process, what where her consciousness was, what physical pain there was, what mental torture she went through. Tennessee governor Bill Lee has paused all executions in Tennessee through the end of the year after Pike's execution did not result in her death. Pike's lawyer says she's currently on a ventilator and unconscious. Pike was 18 years old when she brutally tortured and killed her 19-year-old classmate Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1995. She was sentenced to death and was injected last week with two fatal doses of pentobarbital. But something went wrong and she was taken to a hospital where she remains unconscious and unable to communicate. The nation's longest-serving Republican Speaker of the House has died, a coroner saying he died of natural causes. Dennis Hastert was Speaker from 1999 until 2007, helping to pass much of George W. Bush's agenda into law. But in 2015, he was accused of evading banking regulations as part of a plan to pay hush money to conceal unspecified prior misconduct. Nearly a year later, prosecutors alleged that he sexually abused teenage boys he coached on his wrestling team from the 1960s to the early 1980s in Yorkville, west of Chicago. He never faced criminal charges following the allegations because the statute of limitations had expired. Hastert was sentenced in 2016 to more than a year in prison after pleading guilty to the hush money scheme. He was 84. Coming up, a worker at a Russian anti-plague lab dies of an unexplained pneumonia and nearly 200 people are under observation. Now, Washington is monitoring the case closely. And Secretary of State Marco Rubio gives an update after the Pentagon removes its B-1 bombers from a British airbase days after a security scare with the UK Prime Minister saying there are links to Iran. Welcome back. The Pentagon removing all of its B-1 bombers out of the RAF Fairford in England days after a security scare at the airbase. The dozen bombers had been used in U.S. strikes on Iran. The Pentagon has not said why they were withdrawn, but confirmed the bombers were returned to their home stations in the U.S. British counterterrorism police last week were alerted to three vans heading toward the base. Five men were arrested, then released on bail. Authorities say no bombs were found, but police did find flammable materials. A 25-year-old British-Iranian dual citizen was also arrested on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts and released two days later. British counterterrorism police have described the investigation as complex. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said last week there were strong indications Iran was involved. And earlier this morning, Secretary of State Marco Rubio commenting on the decision to remove the B-1 bombers from the UK. Take a look. The Department of War is constantly reallocating resources where they need to be. There's regular rotations that happened as well. I think you guys are just, well, I mean, we've documented what happened last week. I wouldn't directly tie that to the move that was made. The only reason why you guys are focused on how many planes are at Fairfield is because of the threat that happened last week. But it's not unusual to see rotations happen and movement of assets to different parts of the world based on exercises, redeployments, people changing out and new people coming in, new planes coming in, old planes going out. So crews are changing all the time. You guys are just really focused on that now because of the threat. We have confidence in the security of all of our bases because all of our bases are theoretically could be threatened at any moment. And that's why there's so much security built around them. And with the Brits, we've worked very closely for a very long time, including on this investigation, and they couldn't be more cooperative. And as the investigation into the midair attack on that flight of by flights underway, we're learning new details about the suspected attacker. Israeli security officials telling Epoch magazine Israel that the co-pilot planned to crash the aircraft into an airport or U.S. military base. Just a warning that some viewers may find the following footage disturbing. The co-pilot is identified as an Omani national Hamam al-Hamami. Israeli security officials say he had visited Israel in June and originally planned to carry out a suicide attack during that trip. They say he later planned to hijack the aircraft but postponed the plan. Officials say he deliberately waited until last week when he tried to take control of a Fly Dubai flight carrying 174 passengers, most of them Israeli. According to Israeli officials, he planned to reach Ben Gurion Airport and crash the aircraft into the airport grounds. If he could not reach Israel, officials say his backup plan was to crash the plane into a U.S. military base in Jordan. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered a review into all security aspects regarding foreign civil aviation to Israel. Israel began commemorating the third anniversary of the October 7th terror attack approaching as well. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog attending an official state ceremony today in Jerusalem. In Gaza, there will be no rule by Hamas. Anyone who was involved in the attack against us, anyone who held our people hostage, is living on borrowed time. We will reach him just as we reach the others. Israeli flags were flown at half-mast today at the president's residence in the Knesset. Almost three years ago, terrorists stormed into Israeli-bordered communities, killing some 1,200 people and kidnapping more than 250 others. Most of the victims were civilians. Next, a suspected plague case in Siberia. The U.S. is monitoring the death of a worker at an anti-plague research institute near Yakutsk, Russia. Russian media report the lab worker broke a test tube containing pneumonic plague bacteria about a week before she died. Russian health officials say she had pneumonia of unknown origin and have not confirmed plague. Nearly 200 of her contacts are under observation and all have tested negative so far. The State Department is urging Moscow to share accurate information quickly. The CDC says plague can be cured with antibiotics when treated early. Secretary of State Marco Rubio weighed in this morning, saying the Russian lab case is not a cause for alarm. Well, we know what we know, obviously, about whatever the Russians have provided, which is it seems that there was a worker at the lab that was infected and there's concern that that could have spread, at least internally, so you've seen them do quarantines and things of that nature. There's very limited travel between the U.S. and Russia, obviously, but like anything else, something like that gets out, it could quickly spread, so we're watching and monitoring it closely. I don't think it's cause for alarm, but it is cause for focus and a cause to just keep an eye on it, and we're doing that. Brazil's presidential election is headed to a runoff after neither candidate won a majority in yesterday's first round. The contest pits incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva against Senator Flavio Bolsonaro. I am very happy about the real possibility that three weeks from now, Brazil will give a definitive answer that it wants a modern government, a government with fewer ministries, a government that will restore democracy. What I have to say is that Lula is fighting for power. He has already contested seven presidential elections, seven presidential elections. He is concerned about power. I'm concerned about Brazil's future. I am fighting for Brazil. The result is unexpected. We never get everything we want. I must admit that I was convinced that I was going to win on the first round. Today's election showed that the game is being played. The first stage happened, and Alckmin and I want to tell you that we will win this election because we won't let the Brazilian people live the setback of everything that they already lived. Preliminary results show Bolsonaro finishing ahead of Lula, taking about 47 percent of the vote, compared with Lula's roughly 45 percent. The result gives Bolsonaro a stronger-than-expected position heading into the runoff after most polling had predicted Lula would lead the first round. Lula is 80 years old and is seeking a fourth term. Flavio Bolsonaro is the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year sentence on charges of plotting a coup after his 2022 election loss. The runoff is set for October 25. The U.S. military says it launched a strike at a boat suspected of drug smuggling in the Caribbean Sea yesterday. Four people were killed. The military released a video showing an explosion destroying a moving boat. U.S. Southern Command says it's a, quote, go-fast vessel operating along established narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean. Adding, confirmed intelligence revealed the vessel's active involvement in narco-trafficking. The attack is part of the Trump administration's campaign against drug traffickers in Latin America. Coming up, scientists from the U.S. and Germany have won this year's Nobel Prize in Medicine. We'll take a closer look at their groundbreaking research in brain science. Suspenders still in style for some. We'll meet with a French manufacturer keeping that classic accessory fashionable. Welcome back. Top honors for brain research. The Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded today to three scientists. Their work lets researchers switch individual nerve cells on and off. All three, they were very surprised. All three said the same thing, that they thought it was absolutely wonderful to receive the prize with other two. Karl Deissler-Roth of Stanford University, Peter Hegemann of Humboldt University in Berlin, and Georg Nagel of the University of Wurzburg in Germany were recognized for research into what's The Nobel committee says the method is now used in labs around the world to reveal the brain's mysteries. The impact of optogenetics extends far beyond understanding the healthy brain. It has also helped reveal how specific brain circuits are disrupted with implications for conditions such as blindness, depression, addiction, and dementia. The winners will share about 1.2 million dollars. The medicine prize kicks off Nobel week with physics, chemistry, and literature to follow, followed by the peace prize on Friday. Next, a suspenders maker in France is staying busy. The manufacturer has been in business for more than 80 years, keeping the classic accessory, well, accessible. NTD's Andrew Thomas has more. This factory in Villars has been making suspenders since 1946. All the work is done by hand using local fabrics. Cedric Granger, the company's co-manager, says they make an average of 10,000 pairs a month. We offer hundreds of different fabrics suitable for various occasions, such as liberty prints like this one for weddings, more classic styles for everyday wear, and fabrics that appeal to people with specific hobbies, like this jazz-themed design. Suspenders have a long history in France. Co-manager Stéphane Rovera says the accessory dates back to the 18th century. The revolution played a role. People switched from aristocratic breeches to trousers, creating a need for suspenders. Two key figures also boosted the rise of suspenders. Albert Thurston, who invented button-on suspenders in 1822. Anthione, a French weaver, invented the elastic used for suspenders. In Saint-Étienne, boxes of suspenders are delivered to this clothing shop. For customer Matisse de Joux, it's a new look. This is the first time I've worn suspenders. They look great and mean I don't have to wear a belt. It's perfect. Waiter Alain Fontey is getting ready for his shift. Tonight, he's wearing a pair of brown suspenders. I feel that the finishing touches really complete an outfit. For me, that's crucial for a waiter's uniform because it adds a touch of elegance. Whether for work or not, suspenders are still hanging on in France. Andrew Thomas, NTD News. If you have any feedback on our 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. For around the clock original news coverage, watch us live at ntd.com slash tv or download our NTV app. I'm Stefania Cox. Stay tuned.