U.S. Striking Mine-Laying Vessels; FBI Joins Terrorism Investigation | NTD Good Morning (March 10)

Welcome to NTD Good Morning. Here are today's top stories. President Trump says U.S. strikes have destroyed 80% of Iran's missile sites and crippled its drone and naval forces. A new video shows strikes on Iranian missile launchers. President Trump warning the Iranian regime if they block the Strait of Hormuz the U.S. will strike even harder. Plus how the war is affecting the world's oil supply. New York City's mayor and police commissioner say an attack near Gracie Mansion Saturday is being treated as an act of terrorism. Two individuals in custody are facing federal charges. And President Trump is ramping up pressure to enforce voter ID vowing to stall any bills from becoming law until it's approved by Congress. This is NTD Good Morning. Live from our global headquarters in New York City here are Stefania Cox and Kerry Dunst. Good morning. Thank you for joining us. Today's Tuesday March 10th. In today's top news we're looking at updates from the war in Iran. President Trump discussing what led the U.S. to launch pre-emptive strikes on Iran plus his views on the newly selected Iranian leader. NTD's Dana Monaghan has more on that. Plus new videos of military action from CENTCOM. President Trump says he acted based upon information and belief that Iran would have taken over the Middle East if he hadn't acted. But they were gonna hit them. If I didn't hit them first they were gonna hit our allies first. Trump says Operation Midnight Hammer last year targeting Iran's nuclear program prevented what he called a major catastrophe. You know if we didn't do that B-2 attack Israel would have been wiped out. They would have had a nuclear weapon within two weeks after that. Trump also said Iran rejected a U.S. offer of unlimited free nuclear power for civilian use. He says the regime continued pursuing nuclear capabilities after the strikes at levels the U.S. considered unacceptable. Speaking to House Republicans in Florida Trump also gave an update on military action in Iran. Iran's drone and missile capability is being utterly demolished. The Navy is gone. It's all lying at the bottom of the ocean. 46 ships. Can you believe it? The president saying Iran now has only about 20% of its missile launch capability remaining. They had all of those missile sites and all those launches that we got rid of about 80% of them right now by the way. Got rid of most of that you don't see it's died down to a trickle. Trump also responded to a question on whether Iran's newly chosen leader has a target on his back. I don't want to say whether or not he does because that would be inappropriate. With seven U.S. service members now confirmed dead in combat Trump was asked how many casualties were acceptable. Well as I said before when you have conflicts like this you always have death and I was at Dover yesterday I met the parents and they were unbelievable people they were unbelievable people but they all had one thing in common they said to me one thing every single one finish the job sir please finish the job. The body of the seventh U.S. service member who died in combat during the Iran war was flown back to the U.S. yesterday. Army Sergeant Benjamin N. Pennington of Glendale died Sunday after being wounded during a March 1st attack on the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. Pennington joined the army straight out of high school. The U.S. Army carry team transferred his body from a military plane during a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Vice President J.D. Vance, War Secretary Pete Hegseth, General Dan Cain and others attended the dignified transfer. Meanwhile U.S. Central Command released a new video showing three strikes on Iranian missile launchers. A caption with the video reads the Iranian regime can try to hide their missile launchers but U.S. forces won't stop looking. When we find them we're taking them out. Daniel Monaghan, NTD News. And thanks to Daniel for that report. Joining us now with analysis on the Iran war is Dr. Dan Diker. He's president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs. Thanks for joining us this morning Dan. What is the sentiment on the ground in Israel right now? Good to see you Kerry from Jerusalem, Israel's eternal capital. The the sentiment in Israel is one of resilience, determination and focus to back Prime Minister Netanyahu and the great Israel Defense Forces together with our extraordinary ally the United States in ending the 47-year rule of the world's most dangerous regime seeking the world's most dangerous weapons. And I think that Israelis are very resilient. We've been absorbing scores of missiles guided by laser from Tehran and rockets from Iran's Hezbollah proxy from Lebanon but the public all together is absolutely supportive of the Prime Minister and the the Israel Defense Forces in in what is you know this is the Normandy beach of our time. We are fighting the Nazi regime of our time and it is it is really a great credit to President Trump. I think the world owes him a great debt of gratitude for the type of strategic clarity the president has in working with Prime Minister Netanyahu in ending this horrific regime that has taken the lives of 50,000 of its own people, wounded half a million and is determined to use nuclear weapons against the United States and against Israel. As the president said last night Kerry, as you folks played in the opening of the segment, it was the Iranian regime itself that said that they were within weeks of having a nuclear device. You were just sharing that you felt that the appointment of Khamenei's son was more of a signal if you will that the regime is trying to put on that they are still strong and able to maintain and outlast this operation against them. Where are we would you say at this moment with the joint effort between the US and Israel in removing the regime? Kerry thanks for that question absolutely. First of all that we are in the West facing jihad and jihad's mandate is to always assume that they're winning until the last man standing and and that means you you may not may find this difficult to believe but the Iranian regime still believe that it's winning even though its Air Force has been decimated 50 ships 50 naval ships have been decimated by the United States military. Most of its senior and mid-level command have been dismantled or killed but they still believe they're winning because that's jihad. Jihad is a never-ending long war that that will continue until you know until the last man is wiped out and that is why in that spirit the regime wanted immediately to name from the Assembly of Experts in Qom the next religious leader but though but the United States and Israel are not playing that game they understand it and they're gonna keep eliminating from the top of the pyramid any of the any future leadership and the IRGC and and the religious leadership until everyone is gone but President Trump it was serious when he said we're gonna finish the job we're gonna go to the to to handle the it's the regime that's the problem it's not only their ballistic missile capabilities which largely have been wiped out I mean they're 80 more than 80 percent of the missile launchers have been wiped out they have fewer than a hundred left they started with 450 that's just an indication of the massive military might of the United States as well as its partner in Israel and this is this has come you know after 47 years of mass murder torture and subversion let's let's remind the American people that that thousands of American servicemen and women have several thousand have been killed by the Iranian regime since 9-11 which they collaborated on they they cooperated with with the Al-Qaeda and I will say this I don't think it's been said before but the suspected terror attack that took place in Gracie Mansion by two adherents to ISIS believe me they are motivated by what they see in the Iranian regime and this is one of the most important in addition to the terror attack that took place in Austin Texas in which the suspect was bearing an Iranian regime flag and made reference to the Iranian regime these this is the type of incitement to international murder and terror that this regime has played a central part in in fomenting and why they must be and are and and they are in the midst of being dismantled and it's vitally important that this regime ends its 47 year rule of messianic messianically driven religiously driven terror in in against Americans throughout American military bases in the Middle East against Israel and against America itself from Latin America and Dan I want to get your view as we pan back a little bit Trump rebuked the UK in terms of their offer to make bases available saying it would have been nice to have had them two weeks ago when the campaign started yet NATO did shoot down now a second missile that crossed into Turkey from Iran many of the Gulf countries have neutralized Iranian missiles but have not come in on the offensive do you expect any other countries to join Israel in the US that's an excellent question and in fact it was reported just a few hours ago that President Trump condemned or heavily criticized to his Arab Gulf partners for not taking a far more offensive position in this in this war and one of the reasons is Kerry is that this is jihad and the the whole Arab Muslim establishment even the more moderate states like Saudi Arabia are under massive pressure by the Muslim Street not to participate directly specifically because Israel's involved and they have you know fashioned very negative they for decades have been very much adversaries of of any Jewish sovereign presence in in what they consider the Arab Muslim majority Middle East and President Trump is not having any of it President Trump's compliment of Israel is that that Israel is a country that knows how to defend itself and he is leveled criticism both on Europe and on the on his Arab partners in the Middle East because he says they have to do a lot better at carrying their own weight from a from a military defense and offense point of view and they haven't yet stepped up to the plate that's what he meant when he criticized Prime Minister Starmer the Brits have been the Brits have been all too hesitant well let's bear in mind the Iranian regime has attempted to assassinate scores of Brits in the last two and a half years alone but having been in the House of Commons myself with members of the Iranian opposition I've heard officials from the UK say they prefer to maintain diplomatic relations with the Iranian regime as opposed to taking offensive positions against them go and figure but I will say that President Trump has set a new standard for for strategic clarity for the for the for the Western Alliance that will serve as an example for years to come we appreciate your insights this morning dr. Dan Dyker from Jerusalem thanks for joining us thank you Gary good to see you again on New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani police commissioner Jessica Tish say they're treating a Saturday incident involving explosive devices as an act of Isis inspired terrorism entities Arlene Richards has more New York City will never tolerate violence an attack outside the New York City mayor's residence is being treated as an act of terrorism I can confirm this morning that this is being investigated as an act of Isis inspired terrorism the alleged act of terrorism happened Saturday during an anti-islam protest there is video of these two individuals throwing two devices towards the protest the police department has determined that these were improvised explosive devices made to injure maim or worse Amir Bilat and Ibrahim Qayyumi the two suspects in custody allegedly traveled from Pennsylvania to the protest in New York the devices that were tossed into the crowd were packed with nuts bolts and screws and contained a chemical substance inside a taped canister fitted with a fuse preliminary test results determined that these were not hoax devices nor smoke bombs the FBI has joined the New York Police Department in testing the devices as well as in conducting a terrorism investigation police commissioner Jessica Tish said the suspects will be prosecuted in federal court in Manhattan a complaint will set forth criminal charges and the factual allegations supporting those charges in a second press conference on Monday afternoon Tish released more information on federal charges against the suspects the defendants are charged with attempting to provide material support to Isis using a weapon of mass destruction transporting explosive materials interstate transportation and receipt of explosive materials and unlawful possession of destructive devices Bilat and Qayyumi are both under age 21 they have no prior criminal records on their first appearance in federal court Monday their attorneys requested protective custody for their clients Tish said they each admitted they were inspired by Isis as Qayyumi was being placed into an NYPD vehicle following his arrest a person in the crowd asked why he had done this as shown on NYPD body worn camera footage referenced in the complaint Qayyumi responded with Isis she said Bilat also made unsolicited statements that were captured on body cam footage she said this isn't a religion that just stands when people talk about the blessed name of the prophet we take action we take action she said he also told investigators that he hoped to carry out an attack even bigger than the boston marathon bombing which occurred 13 years ago that bombing killed three individuals NYPD officers put their own lives at risk on saturday to stop one bomb from detonating they later found two more the police commissioner a U. S. Attorney and an assistant FBI director all praise the officers for their heroic actions and for keeping new yorkers safe Tish said these agencies are working together with NYPD in an ongoing investigation Arlene Richards NTD news and continuing with our Iran coverage President Trump ahead warning Iran over the Strait of Hormuz Trump says if Iran continues to interfere with shipping the u.s. will strike even harder and as global markets shift we'll talk about the economy investments and managing your money with Rod Martin founder and CEO of Martin Capital welcome back the Iran war is having a major effect on the world's supply of oil yeah President Trump is warning Iran not to block oil shipments that will pass through the Strait of Hormuz or risk being struck even harder here's more on that President Trump is warning Iran not to interfere with global oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz as the Iran war continues Trump telling the press yesterday the u.s. will respond forcefully if Tehran tries to block the key shipping route and I will not allow a terrorist regime to hold the world hostage and attempt to stop the globe's oil supply and if Iran does anything to do that they'll get hit at a much much harder level Trump later saying on truth social the u.s. will hit Iran 20 times harder than they have so far the Strait of Hormuz is one of the most important choke points in the world located between Iran and Oman the narrow waterway connects major Gulf oil producers to global markets about a fifth of the world's total oil passes through the Strait the conflict has already disrupted shipping traffic and driven energy prices higher following Trump's comments that the war would end soon oil prices plunging as much as 10% today the Trump administration is also taking steps to stabilize energy markets the president saying he plans to lift sanctions on some countries we're also waiving certain oil related sanctions to reduce prices so we have sanctions on some countries we're gonna take those sanctions off till this straightens out he also said the u.s. could protect ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz but when the time comes the US Navy and his partners will escort tankers through the Strait if needed I hope it's not going to be needed but if it's needed we'll escort them right through Trump also says the United States is increasing oil cooperation with Venezuela the relationship is extraordinary with Venezuela smart country and we've taken out a hundred million barrels of oil it's right now in Houston being being taken care of and made so beautiful he also says an additional hundred million barrels are on the way to refineries in the u.s. and joining us now to help navigate the shifts in energy markets and your investments is Rodney Martin founder and CEO of Martin capital good morning Rod what do you see is the most immediate economic pain points for American families and businesses at this point in time well obviously everybody's very concerned about oil prices the drop in the last 24 hours is telling though the truth is there's really no lack of supply we've got tons of supply in the global market and the u.s. supply is is almost entirely unaffected by this nearly all of our oil comes from the United States or Canada some from Venezuela a little bit from other places California is an exception because they've made it incredibly hard to produce energy in their state so they import quite a bit but for most of the country this is fear-driven the price increases are driven by the concern on the part of markets that somehow Iran is going to close the Strait of Hormuz which seems virtually impossible considering that we basically sunk their Navy and have complete air dominance over the country but also by the insurance angle and we saw that last week when Lloyd's of London which underwrites most maritime shipping in the world just abruptly hiked prices and then started canceling contracts and the president acted aggressively on that and started offering maritime insurance through the United States Development Finance Corporation that is as much as anything a shot across Keir Starmer's bow if you're going to betray us on Diego Garcia and on all these other that have come up in the last few weeks there's a price to be paid for the city of London but the long and the short of it is it's a solvable problem it's a short-term problem and people really don't need to be overly concerned about it so if it is mostly mostly fear-based what will it take to turn the heat down then well the president did a great job with that last night I think his remarks clearly had an impact on the markets a 10% drop is not insignificant the bigger issue is the underlying insurance problem if the Development Finance Corporation can can actually step in and replace in whole or in part Lloyd's function underwriting maritime shipping it's a game-changer it's also a huge shift of economic power from London to the United States and something Keir Starmer needs to take extremely seriously but in the but at the end of the day the insurance policy on global shipping in all parts of the world whatsoever is and always has been in modern times the United States Navy and that's what the president was saying last night we're not going to let your oil tanker get blown up in the Strait of Hormuz or captured by the Iranians we're going to escort these ships with the full firepower and missile defense systems that we have deployed throughout the US Navy and President Trump is very optimistic about the outcome here in Iran if that does eventuate and we either soon or later see a decisive victory leading to a freer Iran what how will that ultimately stabilize or lower energy prices in the long run if indeed it is fear-based at this point in time oh my goodness utopia just breaks out I'm being a little silly but not that much Iran is a vast and beautiful country 90 million people shocking talent highly educated population tremendously entrepreneurial people you see that in Los Angeles you see that in Toronto where so many people came after the revolution and have contributed so much to our countries here in North America but the untapped resources are extraordinary and the reason for that is that Iran is a theocracy in ideology but it's a socialist system in practice and socialism kills everything it touches it kills the goose that laid the golden egg because it actually starts carving it up and handing it out to different people who are friends of the regime and we saw that in Venezuela too so so a free Iran means a first world country within 15 to 20 years that is that is free it's democratic and it isn't stoking conflict all over the Middle East that'll bring the risk premium down a lot every current conflict you can point to in the Middle East is fueled armed and funded by the Iranian regime you take that out of the picture and peace breaks out this is actually the keystone of the president's plan he really wants Middle East peace this is really a way to get it and that lets us draw down forces and move them into the Indo-Pacific and just on the micro scale back to today for people who are dealing with or eyeing potential rises in prices how would you suggest they manage just for the time being you know for the time being I don't think you're gonna see huge spikes in gasoline prices they're down on average $2 a gallon from but when Biden was still president it's a little tough for the short term it is just for the short term you know make maybe take a few less short-term trips maybe burn a little less gasoline but in general you're not gonna have a huge problem the president means to wrap this conflict up as quickly as possible it's not going to be a 20-year forever war a la George Bush and Barack Obama it's just not and and so the disruption is gonna be brief and I don't think anybody's gonna have to worry about it too much in fact we would predict here that you're gonna see an average oil price of about $80 a barrel over the next three months you know maybe as low as 70 that's actually a net decrease over the beginning of the war all right well it's great to hear your insights this morning Rod Martin thank you again thank you and President Trump says he had a very good call with Russia's President Putin the pair talked about the Ukraine conflict as well as the Middle East look there's tremendous hatred between President Putin and President Zelensky they can't seem to get it together but I think it was a positive call on that subject and we obviously talked then about the Middle East and he wants to be helpful I said that you could be more helpful by getting the Ukraine-Russia war over with that would be more helpful but we had a very good talk and he wants to be very constructive yeah both Trump and the Kremlin described yesterday's hour-long call as constructive the Kremlin adding that Putin presented several ideas for a quick political and diplomatic resolution to the Iran war Putin cited recent contacts with Gulf state leaders in Iran's president the Kremlin says the two leaders also discussed the war in Ukraine with Putin telling Trump that Russian forces were advancing and suggested Kiev should move toward negotiations Kremlin also saying that Trump expressed support for ending the war with a ceasefire and a long-term settlement Russia says the leaders also briefly discussed Venezuela and global oil markets and they agreed to maintain regular communication Australia has granted humanitarian visas to five female Iranian soccer players seeking asylum women coming into the spotlight after refusing to sing their own country's anthem last night we issued five humanitarian visas to members of the Iranian women's soccer team we've been preparing for this for some time I say to the other members of the team the same opportunity is there Australia has taken the Iranian women's soccer team into our hearts these women are tremendously popular in Australia but we realize they are in a terribly difficult situation with the decisions that they're making Iranian women's team were in Australia for the Asia Cup they sought asylum fearing persecution on their return home or refusing to sing their national anthem at the match Australian Home Minister Tony Burke said today the government had been in secret talks with the players and said fleeing was a difficult decision for them Australian police say the women were transported to an undisclosed safe location President Trump reacted to the news saying untruth social Australia's Prime Minister was doing a very good job it's a delicate situation coming up more severe weather in store for the South and Midwest it comes as Michigan and Oklahoma are recovering from devastating tornadoes meanwhile TSA employees have almost gone a month without pay now with long security checkpoint lines beginning to form at many major airports we'll have that more welcome back to NTD good morning I'm Kerry Dunst you're just joining us now here's some of today's top headlines President Trump says US strikes have destroyed 80% of Iran's missile sites and it's crippled its drone and naval forces a new video from Central Command shows missile launchers being targeted Trump stressed the strikes were needed to protect US allies president declined to say whether Iran's newly appointed leader is a target calling any comment inappropriate and President Trump is warning Iran not to block oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz Trump says if Tehran interferes with the key shipping route that the US will respond with much stronger force oil prices falling today after Trump suggested the war could end soon Trump says the US may lift some oil related sanctions to stabilize the markets and an attack outside the New York City mayor's residence is being treated as an act of terrorism the FBI has joined the investigation into what the NYPD is calling an ISIS inspired act the incident happened on Saturday during a protest when two suspects tossed a homemade explosive into the crowd fortunately the device did not detonate officials say the suspects are being charged with attempting to provide material support to ISIS using a weapon of mass destruction and several others charge charges related to the explosives those are this morning's top headlines of that stuff over to you thank you Carrie and the Trump administration has designated Afghanistan as a state sponsor of wrongful detention it comes amid concerns that Americans are being detained there to gain concessions Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying the Taliban is using kidnapping as a tactic Rubio says Americans should not travel to Afghanistan due to the risk of a detention secretary calling on the Taliban to release Americans believed to be held in the country Afghanistan joins Iran on a list of countries singled out by the US in the past two weeks for detaining Americans in hopes of extracting policy concessions and a group of Senate Democrats is threatening to shut down Senate business they're demanding that Secretary of State Marco Rubio Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and other senior officials testify on the Iran war senators including Cory Booker Chris Murphy and Tammy Duckworth say hearings are needed to answer questions on the war's cost duration rules of engagement and civilian casualties Democrats plan to force repeated votes on resolutions to halt US military action using the War Powers Act Senate Republicans are pushing back however Senator Katie Britt she criticized Democrats for playing quote political games amid the ongoing DHS shutdown Britt cited growing airport delays and unpaid staff Britt called on Democrats to stop blocking negotiations and to focus on national security meanwhile President Trump says the shutdown is slowing down agencies that track threats like whether Iran has activated sleeper cells in the country and the Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a closed briefing this morning they're gonna discuss Operation Epic Fury US Israeli military campaign against Iran some passengers have been waiting as long as three hours to get through security at some airports meanwhile New Orleans Airport and several others are saying it's due to TSA staffing shortages now partial government shutdown has been in effect for nearly a month now and the White House says thousands of government workers including TSA employees aren't getting paid entity correspondent Jason Blair has more on that long security checkpoint lines have been spotted at many major airports around the country this includes Houston New Orleans and Atlanta one line can be seen stretching outside of the terminal and one into an airport parking garage New Orleans International Airport posted a notice on Monday announcing delays due to the partial government shutdown saying passengers are advised to arrive at least three hours before their scheduled departure to allow plenty of time to undergo security screening wait times could be up to two hours and the delays could continue through the rest of the week and Atlanta Airport also posted that it's experiencing quote extended wait times at TSA security checkpoints a partial government shutdown has been ongoing many employees at the Department of Homeland Security have been working without pay in this includes TSA employees last month the TSA administrator told Congress that absences are common during shutdowns which means folks calling out because they could not afford to show up to work and what we have to do in those instances is to start kind of consolidating and collapsing some of our operations which means that you know not all of our lanes are open and that does lead to longer wait times in order to get the DHS running at full capacity again both the House and Senate need to reach a funding agreement the White House announcing on Monday that over 100,000 workers are going without pay during the partial government shutdown the statement says now as TSA workers work without paychecks for the third time in nearly six months crippling staffing shortages in hours long security lines are gripping airports as millions of families head out for spring break reporting from Washington DC Jason Blair Entity News thank you Jason and the Federal Aviation Administration canceling a briefly issued ground stop this morning for all JetBlue flights this is after the airline said it resolved a system outage and resumed normal operations according to a JetBlue spokesperson the FAA said the flight halt was issued at the request of JetBlue JetBlue's headquartered in New York and flies to more than 110 destinations across the US Canada Europe and the Caribbean's now on to the weather severe storms are expected across several parts of the country over the next few days according to forecasts the Midwest and the South they could all experience damaging winds flooding and possible tornadoes in Michigan a powerful tornado devastated the town of Union City just last week three people were killed and 12 injured separately a 12 year old boy was killed in Cass County in Oklahoma a mother and daughter perished after a series of tornadoes now millions of people some in the same areas again bracing for severe weather such tragedy well coming up President Trump is ramping up pressure to enforce voter ID vowing to stall any bills from becoming law until it's approved by Congress and Georgia's 14th district heads to the polls to choose Marjorie Taylor Greene's replacement who is leading the crowded field in the special election which could have a big impact on the balance of power in Congress stay with us for that welcome back later this morning Secretary of War Pete Hegseth will be joined by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to give an update on the operation in Iran we're gonna have that live for you here on NTD so be sure to stick around for that and President Trump is ramping up pressure on congressional Republicans to approve changes to voter ID requirements he vowed to stop signing other bills into law until it's done Senate leader John Thune is unclear how the to move the bill forward amid the opposition NTD's Melina Weiskopf joins us to break it down Melina good morning what can you tell us about this push for voter ID okay good morning staff so the Save America Act would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and a photo ID when voting in person it's an issue that Republicans have repeatedly said is popular among voters from both sides of the aisle here's how House Speaker Mike Johnson described it when it passed the house this is about a 90 10 issue in the polling because all that we've done tonight in this simple piece of legislation is come is apply common sense all this Save America Act does is it enhances this the the Save Act which you've already passed twice before which says that you have to have proof of citizenship before you register to vote in federal elections now President Trump insisted that this is the top priority for him and it should be for lawmakers since he says he's certain if it's passed it would secure the midterms for Republicans now the president of the issues conference just yesterday doubled down on a previous vow to not approve any other bills until this becomes law here's Trump let's go for the gold and let's just not accept anything else I'll tell you what I'm I'm willing to just sort of say I'm not gonna sign anything until this is approved I really am but that's how bad it is if you don't get it big trouble my opinion if you get this your midterms and they know it for two reasons number one they won't be able to cheat and number two the people are demanding it and stuff he wants to pass this with a couple of other issues a measure that would make it illegal for men to join women's sports he wants to add that on to this agenda as well as a measure to stop what he described as transgender mutilation surgery for children stuff so Melina the Save America Act already passed the house a month ago but it's been stalled in the Senate for quite some time what's the holdup and is there a path forward well theoretically there is a path forward despite the Democrat opposition which has so far what is what caused the build a stall in the Senate but it could get tricky because it would force senators to use the floor in a way that they don't usually conduct business they would either require senators to nuke the 60 vote filibuster which is what requires Democrat support for most legislation and the current makeup of the Senate but this is unlikely to get the Republican support and needed and that's why Senate Majority Leader John Thune said this is simply not an option here's Thune there aren't anywhere close to the votes not even close to nuking the filibuster and so that idea is something although it continues to be put out there is is something that doesn't have a future so is there another way of getting there we'll see but there is another way to do this that's been pushed by President Trump as well as several senators is Senator Mike Lee is actually the leading force here he's pushing for something called a talking filibuster that would look like unlimited floor debate instead of the usual 30-hour debate window that's provided for most legislation so it would require Democrats to hold the floor for as long as it takes for debate to wind down before a vote if Republicans are able to outlast Democrats with that floor debate they would be able to pass this with a simple majority without any Democrat support this idea has gotten a lot of steam online but Senate Majority Leader John Thune just yesterday dismissed the online push as a product of paid in of a paid influencer ecosystem Senator Mike Lee last night pushed back on that idea over the last few months tens of millions of Americans have jumped on the cause of supporting the Save America Act and using the talking filibuster to advance it I regret that some in Washington tonight are dismissing all those who feel this way and who have weighed in as somehow paid influencers or the product of paid influencers this is wrong Senate Leader John Thune insists that the result of a talking filibuster would be unclear but he says he's still working with the conference on how to move forward here all right Melina Weisskopf thank you so much for the update it seems like getting the TSA opening at the airports very much something that all people want to see but also voter register you know voter ID seems like something that Trump's not gonna relent on so we'll have to see what happens and as House Republicans begin their annual policy retreat in Florida one of their biggest questions is will the GOP push a second reconciliation bill and it is Chris Bobb has more on that to develop this policy framework that would address affordability in the health care to housing to electricity and gas prices House Republicans are convening in Doral Florida this week for their annual policy retreat with a razor-thin margin and looming midterm elections party leaders are weighing their next move a potential second reconciliation bill aimed at affordability and codifying President Trump's agenda the idea nicknamed reconciliation 2.0 was first outlined by conservatives earlier this year as a way to target rising costs for American families right here is the framework for what we're calling the make American dream affordable again reconciliation 2.0 plan an earlier framework released by the Republican Study Committee proposes a range of policies including reforms to health care programs and energy regulations there are also incentives for first-time homebuyers if you talk to anyone under the age of 40 they will tell you it is virtually impossible you can't get into even tour a home before it's snapped up by someone else probably a little bit older or corporation that's buying in cash today we are including the nest act first-time homebuyers would be allowed to save for their down payment tax-free Republican leaders say putting these items in a reconciliation bill could allow them to pass legislation in the Senate with a simple majority bypassing the 60 vote threshold required for most bills you know that's the only way to get around the necessary threshold of 60 votes in the Senate so we're working right now very methodically carefully to determine what of our priorities we can squeeze into a second reconciliation bill the GOP retreat continues through Wednesday reporting from Washington DC Chris Bob entity news thank you Chris and voters in Georgia's 14th congressional district are heading to the polls today to choose a replacement for Marjorie Taylor Greene now the race could affect the balance of power in the House of Representatives a large field of candidates is competing in the special election down from 22 to 17 all candidates appearing on the same ballot regardless of party affiliation and among the leading Republican contenders is state district attorney Clay Fuller he's endorsed by President Trump among the Democrats is retired Army Brigadier General Sean Harris who ran against screen in 2024 now if no candidate should win a majority then the top two finishers will advance to another vote which will happen next month Greene resigned from her seat in January following a very public fallout with President Trump and as America looks ahead to its 250th birthday officials in Washington DC unveil a special race course the first ever IndyCar Freedom 250 Grand Prix racing event that should be a gas I would expect now the event will be on August 23rd and it's gonna feature 1.7 miles of track and seven turns around those iconic landmarks in DC when we think about America's 250 years it's really hard to think about anything that's more American than cars it's long been said Americans have have always we had love affair with their cars and this has been the center of innovation in our in a major major industry but now for the first time that story is going to be written right here on a route that includes three of the most famous avenues in America think of it cars racing at speeds close to 200 miles an hour down Pennsylvania Avenue Constitution Avenue and Independence Avenue this is a free nobody's ever probably had a chance in their lifetime before to go to a race a race of this caliber and attended for free and we expect that there could be a million plus people that are going to be here over those multiple days of racing there's going to be giant screens set up and down the mall it's going to be a fantastic family event and I'm looking forward to it 190 miles an hour last time we did this 1801 we had horses race in the capital next time we do it we're doing 190 185 whatever miles an hour started right behind us what it we're gonna start a race in the capital right behind us is gonna be so cool so I'm looking forward to it I god bless freedom reps a secretary Burgum said the event is free to the public and this could be a chance for you to witness the mix of motor sports and patriotic celebrations the IndyCar race is taking place after President Trump signed an executive order in January president also plans to host an ultimate fighting championship match at the White House in July it's like there's a lot to look forward to with America 250 is sounds like a great time well look if you have any feedback on the show or maybe there's a story you'd like to see us cover maybe a couple different angles on America 250 let us know send us an email like good morning at ntd.com and for round-the-clock original news coverage watch us live at ntd.com slash live download our NTD app I'm Stefania Cox I'm Kerry Dunst we'll see you soon