Pilots Picketing at 13 Major Airports Before Busy Labor Day Weekend; Biden's Speech in Philadelphia

Good morning. In today's headlines, Labor Day travels are expected to be the busiest in three years at a time of staffing shortages and picketing pilots. We speak to an expert to find out how to navigate the air travel mess. A possible assassination attempt is foiled after a man aims a pistol at the Argentinian vice president's head. The suspect has been detained by authorities. California extends its advisory for citizens not to charge their electric vehicles for the third straight day. This is an intense heat wave is broiling the western U.S. A story of forgiveness has changed grief into grace. A Mississippi sheriff's deputy who survived being shot twice in the head forgives the man who pulled the trigger, changing his life forever. Good morning. Welcome to NTD. I'm Kevin Hogan. Good morning. And I'm Evelyn Lee. It's Friday and we're heading straight into the Labor Day weekend. I'm thinking about taking the road. How about you? Oh, I'm going to get some good rest at home. Staying local. Well, that might be a good decision, actually. I bet the roads will be super crowded and it actually didn't look much better at the airports yesterday. We have pilots picketing at 13 major airports as we head into the busy Labor Day weekend. They are demanding improved working conditions and benefits. Off-duty pilots for six airlines picketed at airports nationwide. They have faced fatigue in recent months because of an ongoing shortage of pilots. Allied Pilots Association chairman Dennis Tager recently expressed that pilots are beyond exhausted and that airlines are trying to get them to fly to the maximum. And a similar story over in Germany. Lufthansa pilots went on strike Friday morning, forcing the German airline to cancel hundreds of flights stranding vacationers. The labor union Vereinigung Cockpit called on more than 5,000 Lufthansa pilots to stage a 24-hour walkout, saying the latest round of wage talks had failed. The airline says it cancelled about 800 flights at its main bases in Frankfurt and Munich, affecting 130,000 passengers. The airline says it's working hard to minimize the impact of the strike. The labor dispute catches the airline in the middle of the high season, when many vacationers are still traveling and business travel is picking up again. And millions are set to travel in the U.S. as well this holiday weekend. Travel app Hopper estimates that over 12.5 million passengers are scheduled to fly from U.S. airports over the Labor Day weekend. It comes on the heels of a summer of massive flight cancellations, though. About 55,000 flights were cancelled in the U.S. since the Friday before Memorial Day. That's according to data from flight tracking site FlightAware. And nearly a quarter of U.S. flights were delayed this summer. Weather and air traffic control staffing issues reportedly added to those disruptions. So how should we navigate the air travel chaos? We're bringing in McLean Robbins, the owner of Lily Pond Luxury Travel, to tell us what to look out for this weekend. Good morning, McLean. Good morning. Thanks for having me. This Labor Day weekend is going to be the busiest in three years in terms of travel. So how should we navigate the airport chaos? Any best practices to not run into any bad surprises at the airport? Absolutely. The first one is just keep your fingers crossed because there are really so many things like the weather beyond your control. But I have four really simple tips for you. The first one is just to take the earliest flight. When you take the earliest flight, you have the least chance of your flight having an issue such as being delayed from coming in from another city. Also, if there are problems, you have the whole day to deal with it, particularly when you're just traveling for a short weekend. The next would be to fly direct if possible. Often the direct flight is the most inexpensive flight. But if it's not, consider that cost benefit analysis of if there is a risk of traveling that you might want to take that short flight just in case so that you save time and avoid problems. The next is to avoid checking a bag wherever possible. There have been more lost bags this summer than ever before, and it's really, really important that you make sure that you and your things arrive on time, particularly for just a short weekend. And the next is to pay a little bit for premium service. Invest in Global Entry, which comes with TSA PreCheck or TSA PreCheck on its own. Many of your credit cards will cover it, and that will help speed you through security a little bit faster and make it so that you don't have to arrive to the airport quite as fast. Wow, that's awesome. And I think I will keep that in mind for some of the future travel I have. But let's also talk about the cancellations we had so far. And we had pilot protests nationwide, like we just mentioned on the show. So how big of an issue will this be this weekend? We definitely see that this is going to be an issue. The Lufthansa cancellation caused lots of headaches for us in the travel advising field yesterday. That said, really, it's going to be a factor of weather this weekend that's probably going to drive the majority of cancellations. So I would plan to arrive to the airport at least two hours before your flight, three or even four hours if you have an international flight. Pack that book, pack that patience, and just hope for the best. Honestly, once you're at the airport, there's not much you, the passenger, can do. And what about passenger compensation? I mean, if someone gets stranded? I don't know if weather is at fault, if you would necessarily get compensation. But what about if the airline is at fault? Can you give us a quick overview of what we can expect from airlines and what passengers can ask for if something happens? Absolutely. The Department of Transportation has launched a new dashboard that covers airlines' different customer commitments. But you can always go to their websites as well. Generally speaking, when weather is at play, your rights as a passenger are less than if the airline has mechanical or flight staffing issues. They vary from airline to airline. But one thing that would be very important to note is that most tickets are usable for credit if you elect not to fly. If your flight is delayed or canceled, you certainly can ask the airline for a full refund in terms of cash. But generally speaking, you can at the very least recoup miles, the next comparable flight, vouchers for things like meals, hotel, or transportation to another nearby airport if a flight is available there. That said, check your airline's website or check in with your travel advisor for your exact rights in a specific situation. Nice. Well, that's some very helpful advice. So thanks a lot, McLean Robbins at Lily Pond Luxury Travel. Pleasure as always. Thank you. And we turn now to Jackson, Mississippi. Many homes, businesses, and places like government offices have had little or no running water this week. Residents wait in long lines for bottled water to drink or to flush toilets. And the city council president says the end of the crisis is unknown. Now, as pipes run dry, the frustration of the people who live there is running high. People line up for clean water in Jackson, Mississippi. Seven water distribution sites have launched, 600 National Guard members have been activated, and inmates have been brought in to help hand out water. They will be open from 9 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. each day until further notice. An emergency backup pump is churning out millions of gallons of water to the people of Jackson, Mississippi. But it still isn't clean. The pressure isn't consistent. And the frustration of the people is full force. Our water pressure is low. You can't drink it. And I'm not going to boil it. And then you got the ice maker. You can't do nothing with your ice maker. They said don't let your pets drink it. What are they doing with our tax dollars? You got to pay a water bill, but you can't use the water. Not being able to open the doors, not being able to employ staff, not being able to support the community is a really hard place after the past year that restaurants have had pretty much since COVID. Right now, officials say their focus is getting water flowing forcefully through pipes as they look for a long-term solution to the water crisis. We want to make sure that we can restore that water pressure and put some temporary means in place so people can use their toilets, right, and they can use their sinks. Staying in Jackson, Mississippi, portable showers and toilets were erected at Millsaps College to address the city's ongoing water crisis. Broken water and sewage pipes are also common in Mississippi's largest city. The crisis deepened after heavy rain last week flooded the Pearl River, adding to problems at the main water treatment plant during the weekend. Lines for water formed at churches, fire stations, community centers, and outside big-box stores. College student James Henry says he hopes the situation won't last much longer. With our indoor shower system for the carry-ons, it's just simple shower usage, a little bit small for taller people. Bump my head a few times, it's all right. Yeah, hopefully it doesn't last like this for too long because it's making our schedules a little bit difficult. The start of the season is tonight, and we're all just looking forward to having a good time with the first game of the season to beat the team down the street. President Biden, returning from giving a speech in Philadelphia, said he has offered every single thing available to Mississippi, and he has no plan to go there for now. Biden's speech was yesterday evening, and what the White House said was not going to be a political speech. Biden directly called out Trump and MAGA Republicans. NTV's Jeremy Sandberg has more. My fellow Americans. Biden preached healing and unity during his inaugural address, but his soul-of-the-nation-build speech last night was decisively divisive. Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic. Biden condemned Trump and his supporters, calling them an extremist threat to the nation and its future. The Republican Party today is dominated, driven, and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans, and that is a threat to this country. The president said there is no place for political violence in America during his 25-minute primetime speech, and that America must be defended. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy delivered a preemptive speech Thursday ahead of Biden's, calling for the president to apologize for labeling Trump supporters semi-fascists. President Biden has chosen to divide, demean, and disparage his fellow Americans. Why? Simply because they disagree with his policies. That is not leadership. McCarthy suggested Biden and Democrats' policies were making Americans' lives harder, pointing out that since Biden took office, inflation, gas prices, and illegal immigration are all on the rise. Joe Biden has launched an assault on the soul of America, on its people, on its laws, on its most sacred values. He alleged Biden and the DOJ had launched a politicized raid on the home of the former president, and listed off other issues that he views as an assault on democracy, like colluding with big tech to silence freedom of speech, labeling concerned parents that speak at school board meetings as domestic terrorists, and unilaterally rewriting immigration laws, among other topics. He has launched an assault on our democracy. His policies have severely wounded America's soul, diminished America's spirit. Biden's speech comes ahead of the 2022 midterms, as Republicans fight to win back control of the House, and possibly the Senate. The president ended by asking citizens to get out and vote. Get engaged. Vote. Vote. Vote. Jeremy Sandberg, NTD News. Yesterday, a federal judge declined to rule on whether to grant former President Trump's request for a special master. NTD's Arlene Richards has the update. After hearing oral arguments Thursday on whether or not to appoint a special master, Judge Eileen Cannon has decided to think about it a little bit longer. Cannon had hinted in a preliminary order that she would likely appoint someone to review the documents seized from former President Trump's Florida home. But just two days ago, the DOJ presented the judge with an allegation that a Trump attorney lied about turning over all classified documents. An attorney told me the judge will probably still appoint a special master, but says the Trump team played the wrong game when it left out some classified documents. What the attorney could have done once they got the grand jury subpoena in May of this year is object to it, object to its scope, object to what they're seeking, or even just seek clarification as to what they're seeking. But Trump's attorneys didn't do that. They purported to comply with the subpoena. And I think now they're in a bit of trouble because they didn't object to it. But he says both sides are playing games. On one side, the DOJ says Trump withheld classified documents. On the other side, Trump says he declassified all the documents. The truth is, neither of those opinions matter at all, because DOJ was actually pretty careful, maybe sneaky, whatever you want to call it, in terms of how they worded the subpoena. The subpoena did not talk about classified documents at all. It only talked about things that are labeled classified. So that's kind of the trick there. He said Trump's team was also tricky about how they worded their certification and didn't comply fully with the subpoena. If you don't just take the exact language from the subpoena and copy it over into your certification, say, I have done everything in the subpoena, and just copy and paste basically the language, if you start changing that language around, of course that's going to raise red flags on the other side. So I don't think that was very smart. According to the attorney, the subpoena issue has nothing to do with whether the court should appoint a special master, and a photo of top-secret documents that the DOJ gave to the court should not have been submitted. Harleen Richards, NTD News, New York. And in other news, a dangerous and suffocating heat wave has consumed much of the western U.S., especially California. Governor Gavin Newsom has issued a state of emergency. The National Weather Service says the hot streak will be the longest and most intense heat so far this year. Labor Day is expected to be the hottest day of the heat wave. Newsom noted that the extreme drought conditions limit hydro energy power sources as water reservoirs run low. He says that this adds to the lack of energy reliability. Authorities remind people that the heat is deadly and to use common sense. California has extended its advisory for citizens not to charge their electric vehicles for the third straight day. This comes on the heels of the state banning gas-powered cars by 2035. The most recent statewide call for electricity conservation has been issued for today from 4 to 9 p.m. The advisory covers the time of day when the grid is most stressed from higher demand and less solar energy. It urges consumers to conserve power by setting thermostats to 78 degrees or higher and avoid the use of major appliances. It also asks them to turn off unnecessary lights and not charge their electric vehicles. The state has faced criticism for how it is implementing its cleaner energy policies. The big difference is that wind and solar power, which seems to be the trend, is part-time power. And you need a full-time power supply to make your electric grids work. Electric grids store no power. That means that demand must be met by supply all the time. And they're just short, chronically short of electricity. And it's going to get worse because they just aren't building enough replacement energy fast enough and they want to rely completely on wind and solar. California lawmakers passed a bill to extend the life of the state's only nuclear power plant just yesterday. And coming up next, a possible assassination attempt is foiled after a man aims a pistol at the Argentinian vice president's head. And Burma's ousted leader Aung Suu Kyi is sentenced to three years' imprisonment. The verdict comes after she was found guilty of election fraud. Stay tuned for more after this short break. It's all good, baby. Is it really all good? If you love me enough to routinely test your handyman skills, not to mention the strength of your marriage, then of course you'll visit NHTSA.gov slash the right seat to make sure I'm in the right car seat. Navigating a world of economic madness, you need to have the right guide. What do today's decisions mean for your tomorrow? We ask why. What's the alternative? Uncover the deeper reasons and the hidden influences. And highlight the real opportunities for profit. At Entity Business, we connect the dots for you. Good to have you back with us. A man aimed a handgun at Argentinian Vice President Cristina Fernandez at point-blank range yesterday evening. He has been detained by authorities. The man pointed the gun at her head as she exited her vehicle. She was surrounded by supporters outside her home at the time. The man was identified and held by the vice president's security personnel. Supporters of the vice president have been gathering in the streets surrounding her home since last week. This is in protest of a prosecutor calling for a 12-year sentence for Fernandez, as well as a lifelong prohibition from holding public office. The case with Fernandez involves alleged corruption in public works during her presidency from 2007 to 2015. She has denied all charges. It occurred in Burma on Friday sentenced the country's ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to three years imprisonment. She was found guilty of involvement in election fraud. The ruling adds more jail time to the 17 years she is already serving for other offenses. The verdict potentially also implicates Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party. It may face dissolution following the government's explicit threats before a new election the military has promised for 2023. U.S. federal agents have searched three properties linked to a billionaire Russian oligarch, a $120 million yacht belonging to the Russian was previously seized in April. The oligarch is said to have ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Here's NTD's Kost Taminas with more on this. Agents searched a high-rise in Manhattan, as well as an estate in the posh beach community of Southampton, New York, and an exclusive Miami island. A person familiar with the matter confirmed that billionaire Viktor Vekselberg was the target of the searches. The person was not authorized to speak publicly and did so on condition of anonymity. The FBI confirmed it was at a Park Avenue building and the Southampton estate on Thursday, but would not provide any more information. FBI officials and Homeland Security agents were observed carrying boxes out of two of the Russian's properties. Vekselberg's assets, which include a private jet worth $90 million, have also been frozen. There was no immediate response to a request for comment sent to lawyers who have represented Vekselberg. Kost Taminas, NTD News. The FDA and the CDC have approved the new Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 boosters. The FDA authorized the updated boosters on Wednesday, and the CDC signed off on Thursday. The new boosters target the Omicron sub-variants known as BA4 and BA5. Pfizer's booster is authorized for people 12 and older. Moderna's has been authorized for those 18 and older. But the preclinical data for the newly authorized shots are based on just mice, not humans. Authorities say waiting for human trial data would have made the updated boosters outdated. John Moore is a vaccine expert at Weill Cornell Medicine. He says authorizations that rely on mouse data are unprecedented, but he is not concerned about the safety. He says it's still the same vaccine, with just a small tweak. And coming up, a deputy sheriff from Mississippi was shot twice in the head by an armed kidnapper. After waking up from a coma and hitting rock bottom, a change of heart leads to his recovery. That and more after the break. Hi, I'm Smokey Bear, and I made an assistant to help you out, because only you can prevent wildfires. Hey, Assistant Smokey Bear, call me Papa Bear, because I'm grilling up dinner. Do you get it? Yes, good job. So, what should I do with all these coals? Don't just toss them out. Put them in a metal container, because those embers can start a wildfire. I understand. The stakes are high. Ha, ha, ha, ha. See? Smokey thinks I'm funny. The 2022 NTD 8th International Chinese Vocal Competition will be held from September 29th to October 2nd at the Merkin Hall of Kauffman Music Center in New York City. The competition is honored to have specially invited vocalists with the world-renowned Shen Yun Performing Arts to serve on its panel of judges. The gold award is $10,000. For more information, please visit vocal.ntdtv.com. Welcome back. The power of forgiveness. We all have it within ourselves, but sometimes it's not so easy to put it into practice. Let's see an example of how it can quickly turn a person's life around for the better. It's been weeks now since Deputy Brad Sullivan was injured in the line of duty. That's for Brad Sullivan, the Madison County Deputy, fighting for his life after being shot in the head. The morning started just like any other morning, waking up at 5 a.m. Got up at 5, got dressed, got my son. As soon as I left the school from dropping him off, got a call of a hostage situation up north end of the county. The suspect jumped out of the vehicle with an automatic rifle and started shooting. The first two shots hit me in the right temple, come out the top of my head. And then I spun out in reverse and wrecked out in a ditch. Give me some gulls right now! Airlifted to ICU in a highly critical condition, Sullivan was given little chance of recovery. Thirty days later, after surfacing from a coma, he was able to see his son and daughter. His injuries left him paralyzed on the left side of his body and blind in his right eye. When I first woke up, I was mad at the world, mad at him. Knew he was still alive. I was just mad at everybody, wondering why I was in this situation. He sank further into deep depression. The former single dad, cop, and little league coach began having seizures from infection, leading to more surgeries. And at that point, I woke up one morning and just thought, you know, I've got to do something. I'm not getting any better. Doctors came in and saw me and asked me what I expected them to be able to do for me. And I told them I wanted to walk again and I wanted to stand up before Thanksgiving and I wanted to walk out of there and be home with my kids by Christmas. The doctor looked at me and he told me, he said, I don't think that's going to be possible, sir. One thought changed his life. Laying in bed one night after therapy and got to thinking and, you know, he wasn't in his right place, wasn't in his right state of mind and, you know, God says we have to forgive people. I started on that trail and asking God to help me, you know, to try to forgive him. So finally I was able to forgive him. All of a sudden I noticed when all the hate came out of me and I didn't just literally hate the man anymore, I started progressively getting better. With hard work and determination, step by step, the unexpected happened. Before Thanksgiving I was standing and walking a little bit before Thanksgiving and then on December the 20th of 2019, with assistance from my physical therapist, I walked out of the hospital that day and came home and was home for Christmas with my kids. Sullivan is now retired but teaches basic classes at the Law Enforcement Officers Training Academy in Pearl, Mississippi. He instructs officers about survival and PTSD. I'm grateful for being here at this point. I'm grateful to have my son. I'm grateful for my family. I'm grateful for my Blue Line family, all the officers that have helped me and been by my side 24-7. Although he met his milestone of standing up and returning home, a fall set him back from achieving his ultimate aim, to walk again. He needs live-in support 24-7 and learned to never take things for granted. I thank God every morning for allowing me to wake up and wake my son up. And you might want to know the man who committed the crime was caught one and a half years later. He was convicted of several felonies and sentenced to over 200 years in prison. Brad's fellow deputies came up with an idea to set up a fund to build an accessible home for him. The house was expected to be finished this July but because of financial difficulties, the date was pushed back. There's a website where donations can be sent to. To learn more, you can visit ahomeforbrad.org. Yeah, you know, forgiveness truly has the power to heal in more ways than one. And it does beg the question, Evelyn, what is the relationship between mind and matter? That is, our thoughts and our physical body. Well, yes, whatever it is, definitely seems like there is more to it than meets the eye sometimes. And that's all for today's program. We'd love to hear from you. Before you go, you can share your thoughts and your story at goodmorningatntd.com. So shoot us an email if you'd like. Thanks for watching. Have a great Labor Day weekend. I'm Evelyn Lee. And I'm Kevin Hogan.