DHS Begins Immigration Sweep in New Orleans; Trump Pardons Rep. Cuellar | NTD Evening News (Dec. 3)

Welcome to NT Evening News. Our top story tonight, President Trump pardoning Texas Democrat Henry Quayar and his wife. The congressman and his wife had been charged with bribery. Mario Su brings us more on that. Plus, the president's announcement on new fuel economy standards made alongside top executives from Ford, General Motors, and Stalantis. A new immigration enforcement operation begins in New Orleans. Assistant DHS Secretary Trisha Mclofflin shares the arrest target for ICE. Jason Blair has the details. Assaults against law enforcement officers are now at a 10-year high. Lawmakers are examining the role anti-law enforcement rhetoric has on the rise in violence against officers. Lu Martinez has the highlights from a hearing on Capitol Hill. President Trump suggesting the US is waiting for Russia to agree to a peace plan put forward by the US. Arian Pazdar has Russia's response to reports that it rejected the proposal. [Music] This is NTV Evening News live from our global headquarters in New York City. Here's Tiffany Meyer. >> Good evening and thank you for joining us tonight. President Trump pardoning Texas Representative Henry Quay and his wife Alda. Quay was indicted last year on more than a dozen federal charges. and the president declaring a historic reset of fuel economy standards. We now go live to our Washington correspondent Mariosu at the north lawn of the White House. Mari, good evening. Tiff, good evening. Yes, Texas Democratic Representative Henry Quayar was an outspoken critic of former President Joe Biden's border policies. Um, and back in May 2024, he and his wife Alda were indicted for allegedly accepting nearly $600,000 in bribes in exchange for influencing US foreign policy in favor of Azerbaijan and a Mexican bank. A quayar and his wife have denied all of these charges. And President Trump today is announcing his quote full and unconditional pardon of both of the quayars on truth social saying quote for years the Biden administration has weaponized the justice system against their political opponents and anyone who disagreed with them. He also adds that one of the clearest examples of this was when Biden used both the FBI and the DOJ to quote take out a member of his own party referring to Quayar um as bravely spo speaking out against open borders and what President Trump calls the Biden border catastrophe. Take a look. >> He's a respected person. He was treated very badly because he said that people should not be allowed to pour into our country. And he was right. He didn't like open borders. he represents the people on the border and he saw what was happening and as soon as he made that statement I then said I'll bet he gets indicted and that's what happened. He got indicted for speaking the truth and his wife got indicted Emldilda and that's sort of a first. Usually they leave the wives alone. >> And President Trump attaches to his announcement a letter from the Quaar's daughters um pleading for their parents' clemency, calling them both honest individuals and good decent people. And meanwhile, Quay has responded by thanking President Trump for what he calls his quote tremendous leadership and for taking the time to look at the facts. Uh Quay also thanks God and says that the pardon gives his family a chance at a clean slate. Tiff, >> interesting choice by the president. Rather unusual for a Republican president to pardon a sitting Democratic member of Congress. Meanwhile, Mari, though, what can you tell us about President Trump's announcement on federal fuel standards? >> Sure, Tiff. So, today, uh, President Trump was joined in the Oval, uh, by top executives from Ford, Stalantis, uh, and General Motors, and he's unveiling what the White House is calling a quote historic reset of federal fuel standards. President Trump's new plan would lower the required average mileage for cars to about 35 miles per gallon by 2031, which is down from the roughly 50 mile per gallon target set under the previous administration. The White House says that this proposal is expected to save buyers around $1,000 per new car and $ 109 billion total over the next 5 years. Environmental groups are criticizing the move, warning that it will increase oil use and hurt the US's competitiveness in green technology. But the president, though, is pushing back, uh, highlighting affordability and saying that the previous Biden era regulations would have increased the cost of a new car by about $1,000 relative to these newer standards. Take a look. >> All of the nonsense is being taken out of the cars. Today is a victory of common sense and affordability. Uh we're very proud of Ford to be the number one auto producer in our country. 85 80% of the vehicles we sell here, we make in our country and we never left. This cafe standard that is aligned with customer demand is the right move uh for a lot of reasons. This allows us to invest in affordable vehicles made in the US which we will take the lead on and will allow us to make vehicles more affordable. And when President Trump opened up this event to questions, the attention immediately turned to Venezuela and the Pentagon's strikes against a drug carrying vessels in the Caribbean Sea. A President Trump says that land strikes will start very soon and that his boat strikes go beyond a pressure campaign on Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro. Take a look. >> Not pressure campaign, it's much beyond that. I think they emptied their prisons into our country. They sent us killers, murderers. They sent us drug dealers at the highest level. They sent us gang members. They sent us people from their mental institutions. I think last year we lost close to 300,000 people were killed. Have you seen what happens with the families of not only the people killed, the people that are trying to get their son or their daughter off of this poison that they've been fed? And very soon we're going to start doing it on land, too, because we know every route. We know every house. We know where they manufacture this crap. We know where they put it all together. And I think you're going to see it very soon on land also. >> This is coming amid controversy over a September 2nd double strike in the Caribbean. The first strike uh left two men alive before a second strike was ordered, killing both of them. President Trump says that he'll certainly release uh footage of that second strike upon request from the media. and Secretary of War Pete Hegsath is standing by the commander who ordered that strike um condemning the lawmakers and the media who are accusing him of a war crime. President Trump also doubles down on his defense of the strikes, saying that every boat that gets knocked down saves 25,000 American lives and that drugs coming in through the sea are down 91% since these strikes began. Tiff, back to you, >> Mari. Thanks for those updates. 5,000 illegal immigrant arrests is the goal for a new ICE operation in New Orleans. The Department of Homeland Security says the operation, which launched today, is prioritizing illegal aliens who were released after previously being locked up in local jails. NTD's correspondent Jason Blair has more. >> Cataloo Crunch, which we are launching today down in New Orleans, we're first and foremost really focusing on those worst of the worst criminals. The Department of Homeland Security launches the latest federal immigration enforcement operation in the city of New Orleans. DHS Assistant Secretary Trisha Mclofflin says that ICE is specifically prioritizing illegal immigrants who were previously in local jails >> because New Orleans functions as a sanctuary city. Those individuals were not released to ICE. They were instead released back onto New Orleans streets. Mclofflin says that the operation will continue, whether it be 5,000 arrests or more. The DHS released information on some of the people they are targeting, saying sanctuary policies endanger American communities by releasing illegal criminal aliens and forcing DHS law enforcement to risk their lives to remove criminal illegal aliens that should have never been put back on the streets. DHS Secretary Christy Gnome says that Operation Catalua Crunch will remove the worst of the worst from New Orleans, Louisiana after the city's sanctuary politicians have ignored the rule of law. New Orleans mayor elect Helena Moreno has been critical of the federal surge in the city, even launching a website instructing people how to navigate interactions with federal agents. Mareno says, "My first priority is to keep our community safe. The reports of due process violations and potential abuses in other cities are concerning. I want our community to be aware and informed of the protections available under law. Some stores in New Orleans have posted signs saying that ICE is not allowed inside unless they have a warrant. Meanwhile, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry has been outspoken in his support for federal assistance. >> We welcome our federal partners. We've seen it work in other parts of the state in New Orleans as well, and we're going to just lean in even heavier to make our streets safe. >> Jason Blair, NTD News. >> How effective will the new immigration enforcement operations be in New Orleans and the Twin Cities? Tonight, here, a panel discussion with Jason Altmire and Katie Frost. That's at 7 p.m. Eastern on Capital Report. 2025 has seen a dramatic increase in violence against law enforcement across the country. Lawmakers examine the role that anti-law enforcement rhetoric plays on the increase in violence. Our Washington correspondent, Luis Martinez, has more on the story. >> Today's hearing is not about silencing disscent or restricting free speech. It is about responsibility and recognizing that rhetoric has consequences and ensuring that officers can perform their duties without fear. In 2024, the FBI reported more than 85,000 assaults on law enforcement officers, the highest number in over a decade. And in 2025 alone, Immigration and Customs Enforcement registered an increase of 1,100% of assaults against its officers. Federal officers remain unwavering in their oath to the Constitution and their duty to enforce the laws Congress enacts. Regardless of the political environment, what has changed is the environment in which they serve. It has grown increasingly hostile with rising violence, threats, and online harassment directed at officers. Experts in today's hearing singled out polarizing rhetoric against the duties of law enforcement as the main cause for increase in assault against law enforcement officers. >> The rhetoric coming from the top calling officers Nazis and Gestapo. It better stop right now. You are inflaming dangerous circumstances. A job that is to enforce the laws of this country. the laws that have been passed by those that have been elected by the people of this country. >> According to the FBI, one-third of cop killers self-identifies with the narratives that portrays law enforcements as the villain. >> That narrative used for political gain is amplified across social media platforms and other means. And it all too often goes unchallenged. And it's not harmless rhetoric. It is fuel. We have seen this fuel ignite in cities and towns large and small all across America. Democratic lawmakers did not invite an expert for today's hearing, but a private citizen who launched attacks on the Trump administration. >> Fact of the matter is that right now in the United States of America, there is a semi-secret police force abducting people based on the color of their skin and sending many of them via state sponsored human trafficking to extr territorial concentration camps. >> Today's hearing comes one week after two National Guardsmen were shot in Washington DC. One of them, Army Specialist Sarah Beckram, died from her wounds and the other remains in serious conditions. Reporting from Washington, DC, Luis Aluardo Martinez, NTD News. >> President Trump tells Americans his tariffs will save them massive tax dollars next year, doubling down on his proposal to give out dividend checks. Here's what he said. They told me that next year is projected to be the largest tax refund season ever. And we're going to be giving back refunds out of the tariffs because we've taken in literally trillions of dollars. And we're going to be giving uh a nice uh dividend to the people in addition to reducing debt. The president also spoke about lowering taxes to the point that many could pay very little for income tax or eventually having no income tax at all due to how much money the country is making from his tariff policies. Any changes to the tax code will need approval from Congress. NTD spoke to several Republican lawmakers to get a sense for how they feel about the dividend checks. ENTD's Molina Weissup reports. If the president wants to realize this goal of sending $2,000 dividend checks to American families, Congress will need to sign off on it. But it appears right now that most Republicans are undecided as to whether or not they would support this. One Republican Senator, Ron Johnson from Wisconsin said that any revenue that is gained from tariffs should be used to pay down the national debt. Yesterday, I asked several lawmakers on the House side how they feel about such an idea. Many of them told me they need to wait and see how the numbers add up. What are your thoughts on President Trump's idea to give $2,000 dividend checks to people from the tariff revenues that he's raking in right now? >> Well, I I think people would welcome that and I I think that people need to understand that the tariffs are a tool in the tool chest the president is using to negotiate trade deals. That's the most significant thing because he has negotiated a number of great trade deals. >> I I don't I'm not sure. I we have to really look at that. Um that has to be something that we have to really think through. >> It's something I need to learn more about. First time in a decade, we actually have more money than we're spending out because President Trump's decisions are slowly but surely turning the tide. Now, we got a long ways to go, but I I think he's a great president. He's making a lot of progress. >> Now, House Speaker Mike Johnson previously said he thinks this is a good idea, but he also says he needs to wait and see how the math looks next year. >> He's thinking about something maybe midway into next year when when the tariff revenue is realized and we can figure out what that looks like. Considering Republicans slim majority in Congress, there will need to be significant, if not entire Republican support for this in order for it to get through Congress if all Democrats are opposing it. But I think what could help Trump get Republicans on board with this is if they see the tariffs consistently raking in a substantial amount of revenue and of course the pressure could continue to grow if Trump keeps tightening up on this request. Reporting from Washington DC, Molina Weissup, NTD News. President Trump suggesting the US is waiting for Russia to agree to a peace plan proposed by the US. An American delegation met with Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday and the Kremlin responding to questions on whether Putin rejected the US proposal. And today's international correspondent Arian Pdar has the latest. >> President Putin had a very good meeting yesterday with Jared Kushner and with Steve Wood. What comes out of that meeting, I can't tell you because it does take two to tango. you know, Ukraine. Uh, I think we have something pretty well worked out with them. The first >> President Trump praising the progress the US negotiating team made at its Tuesday meeting in Moscow. Special envoy Steve Witkov and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News that the US is making progress with both sides, especially regarding security guarantees for Ukraine. What we have tried to do and I think have made some progress is figure out what can the Ukrainians live with that gives them security guarantees for the future. They're never going to be invaded again. Allows >> Rubio says the guarantees are important not just to prevent another invasion, but also to make sure Ukraine can rebuild its economy once the fighting stops. The Kremlin described Tuesday's meeting as constructive while adding that compromises had not yet been found. But Russia denies reports that Putin rejected the 28point peace plan put forward by the US. >> No, it's not correct. Some things were accepted, others were marked as unacceptable. This is a normal working process, a search for compromise. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zalinski now says Kief is preparing for talks with the Trump administration. >> We are preparing meetings in the United States after the American team returns from Moscow and holds the relevant consultations in Washington. He added that discussions have been progressing in recent days. This after Ukrainian officials met with US delegations first in Geneva and then in Florida on Sunday. And NATO says it wants to increase pressure on Russia. NATO chief Mark Rud criticizes Russia for continuing the fighting while provoking NATO. >> Russia is also demonstrating increasingly reckless behavior when it comes to NATO such as violating our airspace, conducting cyber attacks, and deploying spy ships to map allies undersea infrastructure. He added that twothirds of NATO member states have committed to support Ukraine with weapons purchased from the US. In total, the countries have made commitments worth $4 billion. This includes contributions from Australia and New Zealand, which aren't members of NATO. Arian Pasar, NTD News. >> Coming up, the Justice Department is suing six states that refuse to disclose voter registration roles. Arlene Richards brings us the latest in the case. Republicans have won another seat in Congress. Matt Van Eps gave credit to President Trump for his victory in Tennessee's special election. David Lamb reports. And San Francisco has filed a lawsuit against major food companies over ultrarocessed products. The city claims these foods are addictive and harming public health. Christina Corona has the details after the break. Welcome back. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Former special counselor Jack Smith has been called to appear before the House Judiciary Committee. In a letter, Chairman Jim Jordan told Smith this is over the prosecution of President Trump. Smith investigated President Trump for allegedly meddling in the 2020 election. He eventually brought criminal charges against Trump, one related to the election, another for allegedly mishandling classified documents. Both cases were dropped after Trump won re-election. The subpoena also demands all documents and communications related to Smith's time as special counsel. Smith is expected to appear on December 17th. The Justice Department sued six more states yesterday for refusing to respond to a request for statewide voter registration roles. That brings the number of states sued to at least 14. NTD's Arlene Richards has more details. The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division announced on Tuesday that lawsuits had been filed against six more states for failure to disclose voter registration roles. The states this time include Delaware, Maryland, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. In the lawsuit, the department accuses the states of failing to maintain accurate voter roles and make those records available for inspection. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement that the states had fallen into a pattern of non-compliance and that the law requires them to comply with basic voter role maintenance. This latest action brings the total to at least 14 states the department has sued in an effort to obtain voter information. Assistant Attorney General Har Dylan of the department's civil rights division said our federal elections laws ensure every American citizen may vote freely and fairly. Representatives from the six states have not officially commented on the lawsuit. In September, Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs responded to a letter from the DOJ requesting the voter registration list. He said, "While we will provide the DOJ with the voter registration data that state law already makes public, we will not compromise the privacy of Washington voters." The DOJ sued Maine and Oregon in September over voter registration roles. At that time, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said she didn't trust what the Trump administration would do with the personal voter information. In the announcement of the latest lawsuits, Attorney General Pam Bondi said accurate voter roles are the cornerstone of fair and free elections. She said the department will continue filing election integrity litigation until states comply. Arlene Richards, NTD News. >> Republican Matt Van Abs won Tuesday's highly publicized special election in Tennessee. The congressman elect attributed his victory to support from President Trump. Entities David Lamb has more. >> Republican Matt Vaneps won the highly publicized race for Tennessee's seventh congressional district on Tuesday. He celebrated his victory in Nashville, thanking President Trump. >> We We did it. Thank you. Thank you all. This is just an incredible win. An incredible win. Tonight, you've sent a message loud and clear. The people of Middle Tennessee stand with President Donald J. Trump. >> EPS is a former state commissioner and army helicopter pilot. He received more than 53% of the votes against Democratic nominee, state representative Afton Bane in the special election. >> Bane said odds were against her, but she praised the voter turnout. >> And we may not have won tonight, but we changed the story of what's possible here. And we're not done. Not by a long shot. So tomorrow we keep fighting. Tomorrow we keep building. >> EPS is originally from Ohio and will represent 14 counties in middle Tennessee. He promises to support President Trump's Make America Great Again agenda, including fixing the economy, securing borders, and protecting farmers. The president built the largest, most diverse coalition to ever elect a Republican, and we leaned in on that. President Trump was allin with us, and it made the difference. In Congress, I'll be allin with him. >> The Tennessee Division of Elections says more than 43,000 ballots were submitted during early voting. This win helps Republicans maintain their slim majority in the US House, but that majority is expected to shrink in January when Representative Marjgerie Taylor Green resigns. David Lamb, NTD News. >> San Francisco has filed the nation's first government lawsuit against major ultrarocessed food makers, including Coca-Cola and Nestling. The city claims these companies knew their products were harming public health, but continue to market them to consumers. Entities Christina Corona has more on the story. >> San Francisco has filed a lawsuit against 10 major makers of ultrarocessed foods including Craft Hines, Coca-Cola, Nestle, and General Mills. City attorney David Chu says these products are addictive and harmful and claims the companies knowingly marketed them despite health risks. We're talking about food that is not food, that is not found in nature, created by combining artificial chemicals with industrialized processes. >> Chu says consumption of these products has created a major public health crisis with skyrocketing health care costs. >> The industry has created thousands of new chemicals which the body metabolizes and craves differently and they are designed to be addictive. He said studies link ultrarocessed foods to chronic illnesses including type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, heart disease, and depression, and added the impact on children has been alarming. He stated that starting in the 1960s, big tobacco purchased major food companies, bringing over technology, marketing strategies, and addiction science. >> They use big tobacco tactics to research, design, and sell addictive products. They used addiction science and marketing techniques that followed the big tobacco playbook of creating the illusion and erosion of consumer choice. >> He stated, "These companies targeted children using cartoon mascots from Tony the Tiger and Fred Flintstone to Paul Patrol. >> These companies know their products are harming people, but they continue to design, market, and profit off them, particularly at the expense of our kids." The city is seeking compensation for health care costs and a court order to stop deceptive marketing and change company practices. Sarah Gallow of the Consumer Brands Association told NTD that there's no universally accepted definition of ultrarocessed foods and labeling them unhealthy could mislead consumers. She said, "Companies adhere to the rigorous evidence-based safety standards established by the FDA to deliver safe, affordable, and convenient products that consumers depend on every day. Americans deserve facts based on sound science in order to make the best choices for their health. Representatives for the companies named in the lawsuit did not immediately respond to NTD by airtime. Christina Corona, NTD News. Coming up, the Trump administration halting all immigration applications from 19 countries, including Afghanistan and Somalia. More on the impacts and a complete list of the countries impacted. Gregory CPP from the International Strategic Studies Association joins us to discuss when we come back. Welcome back. I'm Tiffany Mer. The Trump administration is pausing immigration applications for individuals from 19 countries. That's according to a policy memo from US Citizenship and Immigration Services. The White House hit pause on all immigration applications for people from Somalia and 18 other non-European countries, citing national security and public safety concerns. The official memorandum outlining the new policy points to recent crimes suspected to be committed by immigrants, including the deadly attack on US National Guard members in Washington last week. An Afghan man was arrested as a suspect. And Afghanistan is also on the list. >> Trump promised a flurry of restrictions after the National Guard attack. >> It was a crime against our entire nation. Most of the countries targeted were slapped with severe immigration restrictions in June, including Afghanistan, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eratraa, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. While Bundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leon, Togo, Turkmanistan, and Venezuela were subjected to partial restrictions. The new policy places a hold on pending applications including green card and US citizenship processing. It also orders all immigrants from the list of countries to be re-reed which involves quote a potential interview and if necessary a reinter to fully assess all national security and public safety threats. Joining us now to discuss is Gregory CPPley. He's the president of international strategic studies association and the author of the noble state governance options in an achoble era. Gregory as always, thank you so much for joining us. Diving straight in, is it reasonable to put a blanket ban on entire nations on national security grounds? Well, it may not be entirely fair, but it's it was inevitable uh in that the whole immigration question, not just for the United States for but for most of the world has become something of a a chaotic out of control mess. So, you have to start somewhere. Uh sovereignty means having control over your borders, being able to defend those borders, and to be able to protect your citizens within those borders. So, this had to happen in the United States. uh particularly after uh several years in fact decades of really uncontrolled migration into the United States. The having said that uh the president was obviously targeting a number of different audiences when he made this statement this time. The first one obviously was for the domestic electorate. He wanted to show that he was in fact continuing to do something to curb the inflow of migrants who may not fit well within the uh within the US society as it stands now. And some of the groups which he targeted, particularly the Somalis uh and particularly the way in which they were dumped on mass into certain areas in the United States by the Obama administration meant that they were not integrating with US society. That doesn't mean to say they couldn't in the future, but the the whole immigration policy had to to change. Secondly, he was targeting the US's allies around the world, but particularly in Europe and Australia and Canada where uh the uh the process of unfettered immigration was also distorting the nature and capabilities and economics of those countries. uh and that needs to be brought to attention because it's no good the United States being a standalone power if its allies are losing control of their own uh territory. And thirdly, of course, it was meant as a political message to some of the countries on the list, particularly countries like Venezuela, but also to Afghanistan uh because of the recent incident with the National Guardsmen, two National Guardsmen being shot in Washington DC by an Afghan national. Now the there's some unfortunate aspects and perhaps unfair aspects to that as well given the fact that not all the citizens of all of those countries the 19 countries uh deserve to be discriminated against and it will put a hold on the lives of some genuinely valuable immigrants to the United States but you have to start somewhere as I said and sorting this out. uh and this is really going to go a long way in that I think >> and thinking back to the pilgrims or Puritans who sought refuge and religious freedom in the 17th century is President Trump's pause on all asylum decisions regardless of nationality moving us away from that tradition >> it is um but I think the the whole process had as I said become out of hand uh in that the people were coming into the country and and unlike earlier generations were not assimilating were not here to become Americans. They were here to if you like become economic refugees to get a better lifestyle without necessarily seeking to participate in uh and defend the values of the United States. So uh once again we've got to draw the line so that you can make sure that the people you get into your country are ones who want to be there not just for economic reasons but also because they believe in the freedoms which the United States espouses and the same could be said for the Europeans and British and Australians and so on. Uh it's no good just making having numbers coming in. No country needs migrants just for the sake of numbers. uh the it's it's been proven time and again that it is not the quantity of people in a country which make it great but the quality of them and the way they integrate the way they have common purpose a common sense of destiny a common sense of the past uh common sense of values this this is where nobility if you like of the state comes into it you have to stand for something you have to believe in the narratives of the the society uh and the United States had done a very good job of that uh until u the last 40 40 or so years when people started to take uh the values of the United States for granted. The values of all of the countries in Europe and so on were being taken for granted. And so when people came in did not assimilate and actively spoke out against their new host countries. Uh we we started to see the problems beginning there. That's the collapse of western civilization in a nutshell. And if there is broad and deep immigration reform, how will that impact America over the next say 10 to 20 years? >> Well, the United States has to start rethinking uh its own identity. Uh it has to ask what what is it that makes America uh a nation? What is it that you're proud of to be in America? Uh or any country for that matter. And you have to start planning where you wish to go as a country in terms of your identity, in terms of your way of life, in terms of your belief systems and the like your in terms of your charity, your tolerance, your example to the rest of the world. If the United States wishes, as it seems to do, to be the premier nation in the world, then it needs to get back to seeing itself as that shining city on the hill where it has a an ethical and moral standard. Not to lecture to other countries, but to serve as an example to its own citizens and to the rest of the world and lead by example. because the prestige alone of being a great nation gives it coercive uh and economic uh power in the world and that's where the United States needs to get back to. We now see virtually no country in the world with any great prestige the great prestige which was attributed to the United States or to the British uh Commonwealth over the years and the like that's all gone. People distrust governments. They distrust nation states and and so the whole whole societies have to come back together to uh rethink who they are, what they want to be and then strive for it. They can't uh allow politicians to dictate solely the direction of the country. the the population itself has to set an example and has to elect uh leadership which is uh exemplar who are exemplars of those values uh which the country should espouse and it shouldn't be uh reducing democracy as we've seen over the past few decades to being a transactional thing where a politician promises you money for doing this or promises you shorter working hours. It it what it what the politicians should be doing is saying we will work together to make the country uh so ethically valuable that our lives will be better, we'll be safer, we will be more harmonious. It doesn't mean to say that our entire identity is tied up with wealth. >> Well, Gregory CPPley, as always, thank you so much for joining us. >> Thank you. Senators are proposing stronger controls on chip exports to prevent China from gaining an advantage over the United States in the AI race. Witnesses at a hearing said this is essential to preserve American principles over the CCP's authoritarian values. NTD's international correspondent Malcolm Hudson has more. >> A Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee held a hearing on how to counter China's challenge to American AI leadership. AI adviser Gregory Allen said chip export controls are vital. >> I believe this is the single most important thing that the United States did in US China competition over the past years and it has roots in both the first Trump administration with limiting the exports of advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment and it has roots in the B administration cutting off access to advanced AI chips. Alan said if these export controls were not in place, China would now have the largest data centers and best AI models, adding that that future was stopped thanks to the export controls. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik last spring told Congress that China can produce only 200,000 advanced AI chips each year, while the United States and its allies can produce more than 10 million. On top of this, the US chips are more advanced. Head of national security policy at Anthropic, Terrun Chabra, said the US should not help the Chinese Communist Party catch up. >> Access to advanced AI chips and the equipment needed to manufacture them is the single most significant factor that could allow the CCP to close the gap with the United States in the AI race. He said the US needs to strengthen export controls on advanced chips and ensure allies close export loopholes on semiconductor manufacturing equipment, adding the US should restrict the CCP from even accessing data centers which it would use to train AI models. Anthropic not only prohibits direct access from restricted regions, including China, but also access by companies anywhere in the world that are majority owned by entities headquartered in China or other restricted regions. We hope that other companies will follow. >> Turning to the threat of cyber espionage, chief intelligence officer at Pameia Consulting, James Mulvin, said the Chinese military is aggressively integrating AI into every level of its system. the loopholes uh and the lack of enforcement that were described by my colleagues have in fact given the Chinese military a great deal of confidence that through smuggling and a planetary scale level of technology espionage that they have a sustained access to these chips at production level quantities. >> He said the US is at a strategic precipice and emphasized that export controls need to be strengthened. We want the emergence of AI and potentially AGI to occur in an environment that is consistent with our values and not the authoritarian values that are built in at fundamental levels in the implementation of AI in the Chinese system. >> Senators Pete Rickettts and Chris Coons highlighted their forthcoming bipartisan safe chips act. Rickettts said the act would codify the Trump admin's current red lines on which AI chips are allowed to be sold to communist China for 30 months. Malcolm Hudson, NTD News. [Music] >> Coming up in the NFL, it was a ratings bonanza last week for the league. Dave Martin joins us with all the records. And Tuesday night was the Bryant Park tree lighting in Manhattan, New York City. Sean Marshall has what entertainers and attendees had to say at the event when we come back. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] And now for your sports news. We're joined by entities Dave Martin Day. Plenty of NFL news, but let's start in college football as the latest playoff rankings were released last night. Did anything surprise you? >> You know, I was a little surprised that they switched Notre Dame and Alabama around despite both teams winning last week. Frankly, Bama's win over a Auburn was much less convincing than the Irish's win over Stanford. So, I'm really unclear on why that happened. But also, you know, we have Virginia now ranked uh at the highest ACC team to make the conference championship game at number 17 where they'll face seven and five Duke. That probably means fellow ACC member Miami is probably out despite being ranked higher than number 12. The Hurricanes still have a remote chance to make it as an atlarge bid, but as I said yesterday, that would take really convincing losses by BYU and Alabama for them to get in. Now, I can see Miami possibly getting past BYU in that case only because it means the Cougars really would not have a signature win this season. But if Bama got blown out by Georgia, I mean, Bama already beat Georgia earlier in the year. And then it's either Miami or Notre Dame, who Miami already beat, but both are idle this Saturday. And then the committee would have to move Miami up two spots ahead of uh Notre Dame despite both being idle. I mean, they would take take a lot of flack for suddenly flip-flopping those at the end here. So, uh but they do have that option. >> All right. Well, staying on the same topic, there seems to be some questions about what would happen if Duke won the ACC instead of Virginia. Why would that complicate the playoffs? >> Yeah, it's really because Duke, they're seven and five. They're unranked now. They won a very complicated tiebreaker between four other ACC teams to make the ACC championship game. But those automatic playoff bids, you got five there, don't necessarily go to the winners of the four power conferences and a group of five champions. Now, it seems intended that way. It's simply though the five highest ranked conference champions get an automatic bid to the playoffs. Now, if Duke beats Virginia then for the ACC title, they probably wouldn't rank high enough, if at all, to make it. Now, whichever team, you know, wins the SEC, Big 10, and Big 12 on Saturday, they will they're all ranked in the top 10, so they will all get in. So, that's three of the five bids. Now, the American Conference comes down to 20th ranked Two Lane against 24th ranked North Texas. If either of those teams win in, they'll likely have a higher ranking than Duke. In fact, Tain already beat Duke earlier this season, so that'll be four. Meanwhile, the Sunbell Conference, that's down to between 25th ranked James Madison and unranked Troy. If James Madison wins, they'd be 12-1. they would likely still be higher than Duke, making the Blue Devils then the sixth highest ranked combin champion and they would not get an automatic bid. Now that at that point the ACC then would likely be shut out of the playoffs unless like we said before the committee finds a way to move Miami in as an atlarge bid. But of course, if 17th ranked Virginia beats Duke and it all goes away. So I'm rooting for Duke now. Just I just want to see how this plays out. >> All right. Well, looking at NFL news, last week's Thanksgiving game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Kansas City Chiefs was the most watched regular season game in league history. >> Yeah, more than 57 million people tuned into to watch a couple of teams that, you know, if the playoffs started today would not be in. I mean, kind of surprising from that angle. From another angle though, it's America's team versus the team that's been to five out of the last s six Super Bowls and they've won three of them now. Either way, that they smashed the old record of 42 million viewers, which was between the Cowboys and Giants in 2022. But there must have been something extra about watching football on Thanksgiving last week because the early game, that was 1 p.m. game between Detroit and Green Bay, averaged 47 million viewers. So now it's now number two all time. Meanwhile, the evening game between Cincinnati and Baltimore was the highest rated Thanksgiving evening game evering just averaging just over 28 million viewers. So Tiff, I'm proud to say that I'm I'm part of that record crowd. >> All right. Well, on that note, Dave Oz, thanks for joining us. >> Well, thank you, Tiff. >> Off the beaten path in New York City are places like Bryant Park. Maybe not the first place on people's tourism agenda, but full of holiday experience and a yearly tree lighting celebration. NTD's Shawn Marshall has more. Each year, Bryant Park in Manhattan, New York, transforms into the Bank of America Holiday Winter Village. And this year's treelighting ceremony featured a number of ice skating Olympians and entertainers like the ice theater of New York professional ensemble, Harlem's performance team, and the Skyliners synchronized skating team. Wonderful time of the year. >> For more than a decade, Bank of America has partnered with Bryant Park to make the Winter Village possible to spread joy to millions every year. >> Any day you can come here, you can eat, shop, skate, or some of you may do it all, but this time of year, this park is really transformed. LA. [Music] >> The centerpiece of the Winter Village is the 17,000 square foot rink, which features free admission ice skating and ice rink bumper cars. >> Well, for a performance like this, I feel like I was just excited because the crowd was so big around the rink. It was so fun, the energy. So, I think I was just really excited. That's my how I felt getting on the ice. Yeah, I would have to say I was really excited too just to perform for everyone and show what we've been working on. >> European inspired open air market of holiday shops feature artisans from New York and around the world. It's a local economic driver that last year alone brought in over $50 million in revenue. >> It feels like we're from Ireland, a small island, and look even around here at the buildings is just amazing. >> It's amazing. Yeah. >> I mean, it's amazing. There's a lot of energy, you know. It was a lot of excitement and you know, whatever. Put a lot of joy in my heart. [Music] >> This year's treelighting celebration didn't hold much back. Bryant Park doesn't just host a winter village, but also holds different musical and arts events all year long. Sean Marshall, NTD News. >> And that's all for today's news. For on the clock coverage, visit us at ntd.com/live or download our NTD app. Thanks for tuning in. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Good night. [Music]