>> I'm Tracy Sabol tonight on EWTN News Nightly protecting a president as Donald Trump prepares to attend the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are seeking answers in the assassination attempts on his life . Government upheaval.
French lawmakers vote to oust the prime minister. What this means for the Catholic country. Courtroom drama we hear from the attorney general of Tennessee after his measure to ban so-called gender affirming care for minors reaches the Supreme Court.
Plus, some light Christmas shopping. We take you to a famous market in Switzerland that's ready for the season. These stories and more tonight from EWTN, the global Catholic Network .
>> This is EWTN News Nightly. Thank you for being with us on the feast of Saint Gerard, Bishop of Mayo. >> Our top story tonight we are learning more about the assassination attempts aimed at Donald Trump, the acting director of the Secret Service testified today in front of a bipartisan House task force investigating the security failures.
And at one point, the hearing erupted into a screaming match. White House correspondent Owen Jensen reports. Owen.
>> Yeah . Tracy. That screaming match you referred to got pretty loud.
Now, ever since the first assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, the Secret Service has been under intense scrutiny. And today, no different on Capitol Hill, the hearing largely cordial, but emotions and passions did run high at times. Members of Congress addressing acting director of the Secret Service Ronald Rowe.
>> But your guys showed up that day and didn't give a there was apathy and complacency, period. >> Look, the reason emotions are high is because we almost did have a former president and now the president elect literally almost killed live on television. >> Secret service agents take bullets for candidates.
You're kind of the Guardians of democracy. >> And in one extremely heated exchange between Texas Congressman Pat Fallon and director ROH , Fallon showed a photo taken at the nine over 11 remembrance ceremony at ground Zero, with Presidents Biden and Trump in attendance. Fallon suggesting ROH used it as a photo op.
Committee will come to order. >> Committee will come to order asking you serious questions for the American people. And they're very simple.
They're not true questions. Were you the special agent in charge that day? I wasn't I was there representing the United States Secret Service.
No, sir. Mr Fallon, your time has expired. Protective operations while you were there expired because you wanted to be visible.
Because you were auditioning for this job. To pay respect for a fallen member of this agency. You went out of line, Congressman.
Vice president. Out of his life. Because you are you put those agents out of position.
Mr Chairman, I have a radio with Mr Fallon at the outset, before emotions boiled over, task force Chairman representative Mike Kelly kicked off the proceedings. The task force is convened today to present the American people with the facts. >> Moments later, he admitted in his opening remarks the Secret Service failed.
>> I personally carry the weight of knowing that we almost lost a protectee. And our failure cost a father and husband his life . >> And he warned the world is a dangerous place.
>> The terrorist , the nation state actor. The sniper. The lone gunman.
The lone wolf gunman. They must be lucky. Once .
But the men and women of the Secret Service must be perfect. Every time . >> Now, Rowe, who promised accountability, took over when the previous director resigned after that shooting in Pennsylvania.
The task force will soon release its report at the white House. Owen Jensen, EWTN news Nightly. >> While the incoming Trump administration is interested in slashing wasteful government spending, the president elect asked Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the charge.
They head up the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, also known as Doge. Both men were up on Capitol Hill today, meeting with Republican lawmakers. Capitol Hill correspondent Erik Rosales joins us now with the latest on this, Erik.
>> Well, good evening , Tracy. Yes, a little history lesson here. Former president Ronald Reagan once said government is not the solution to complex problems, but rather the problem itself.
The ultimate goal of this government efficiency department is to cut some $2 trillion in the current budget. And also identify more cuts in future budgets. Ramaswamy and Musk did not speak to reporters , but Mike speaker Mike Johnson did, and he says he's optimistic about bringing real change to government spending.
>> And let me be frank about this government is too big. It does too many things. And it does almost nothing well, and the taxpayers deserve better .
They deserve a more responsive government, a more efficient government, one that is leaner and more focused on its primary objectives. >> Among those attending the new chair of the Senate Doge caucus, Joni Ernst. She tells me one way to trim the fat to get rid of all empty federal buildings, which could save more than $15 billion a year.
A new report found that since Covid, only 6% of the federal workforce actually report in person on a full time basis every day . Republicans say they have a mandate for change . >> This sort of time is long overdue.
I think reforming the administrative state, saving taxpayer dollars, making government more accountable to the people is something we ought to be focused on. >> I want Vivek and Elon to open every Pandora's box they can find and get their hands in there and get them dirty and find out where they can find efficiencies. >> Senator Marsha Blackburn plans to introduce legislation that coincides with DOJ's plan to freeze the federal hiring process and establish a merit based salary system.
Democrats say saving the government money is not a Partizan issue. >> I mean, I don't know why it's controversial to eliminate waste, but that's not exactly an original idea either. I mean, how many different administrations is that?
All have that kind of a conversation? All those things. >> No one's going to argue with trying to make government smaller and more efficient.
Right. So I don't think that the challenge is how do we get people to unite and work together on some of these issues ? >> Some unions are already pushing back against some of the budget cuts ideas.
Now in the latest contract agreement between the government and the Social Security Administration union workers, tens of thousands of employees secured the option of telecommuting, teleworking from home until their contract runs out in 2029. Now I did ask Speaker Johnson about this, and he says one of the first demands of the new Trump administration and from Congress is to force all federal workers back to the office. So we're going to see how that plays out .
Tracy. >> All right. Eric.
Switching gears here, I know you're also following the House Ethics Committee's plans to release the report about former Congressman Matt Gaetz, who, as we know, has been accused of sexual misconduct, that is and also drug use and even sharing sexually related videos on the House floor. Tell us more about that. >> Well, Tracy, we've learned that Pennsylvania Congresswoman Susan Wild.
She is the top Democrat on the House Ethics Committee. She decided not to attend today's meeting. Ethics committee members were going to vote on whether or not to release the Gaetz report, which took over two years in investigations to complete.
Now, as of now, the report will likely not be released. But we did learn that some Democrats have expressed that they may want to bring a motion to the floor to release the report and take a full vote. I'll have more on that tomorrow from Capitol Hill.
Eric Rosales, EWTN News Nightly. >> Okay. Thank you, Eric, for that.
And we are learning disturbing new details today about the shooting death of the CEO of United Health Care. Three of the bullets fired at 50 year old Brian Thompson had the words deny, defend and depose engraved on them. Police have released new photos of the suspect as the manhunt is still underway.
The words on the bullets are similar to delay, deny , defend tactic. Some attorneys say insurers used to deny payments. It is also the title of a book from 2010 that was highly critical of the health care industry.
Brian Thompson was shot yesterday morning outside of a hotel in New York City, while he was walking to the health insurance company's annual Investors conference. Well, a massive earthquake off the coast of California led to a tsunami warning for millions of people. The quake struck before 11 a.
m. Pacific time and was felt as far as south as San Francisco. The U.
S. Geological Survey says more than 1 million people live close enough to feel the tremors. Residents were warned to quickly move inland, and visitors to the San Francisco Zoo were evacuated.
The tsunami warning was later lifted. Okay, now to France, where the Prime Minister has resigned following the first successful no confidence vote in more than 60 years. Michel Barnier says the road ahead will now be more difficult .
>> Pour terminer de vous des plus personnellement a cette instant. >> Barnier had been in office just three months. He is now the shortest serving prime minister in the country's history.
The vote means that France has no functioning government. President Emmanuel Macron has vowed not to step down before his term expires in 2027. He will also name a new prime minister in the coming days.
And joining us now to talk about where France goes from here is John Satellites, a geopolitical strategist with trilogy, a trilogy that is advisors and a former consultant to the State Department. John, great to be with you today . So put this in context for us.
What led to this no confidence vote? And tell us a little bit more about the now former prime minister. >> Well, first of all, let's put this into a larger context, Tracy.
Keep in mind that France is the second largest economy in the European Union , and it's also the only nuclear power in the European Union. So what happens in France is very important in terms of our overall interest in the transatlantic relationship. This has been a very strange period in French elections.
And as you noted in the lead in here, that the Prime Minister was only in office for 91 days, the shortest tenure for a prime minister in over 60 years. In the Fifth Republic, that is modern day France . And I think Macron's speech here was very interesting in that he called for some type of an opposition to the extremist parties, the extreme left and the extreme right, in a very combative and defiant speech .
He acknowledged that he may have made a mistake in calling for snap elections back in the summer. That led to this very ill fitting alliance between the far left and his centrist party that collapsed several days ago, largely over budgetary priorities. But I think also because the far left coalition itself, made up of communists, Green Party activists and socialists, realized they didn't need Macron to be able to ram through their priorities.
And then the far right, led by Marine Le Pen, joined with the far left. A very, very strange coalition , a very strange alliance here of extremist parties to take down Macron's government and plunge the country into a very precarious period. As you correctly note, without a functioning government right now and no budget for 2025.
>> Let's talk a little bit more about that. I mean, no functioning government. What does that mean for the country?
What does that mean for the French people? >> It depends on how long or how quickly it will take for Macron to announce a new prime minister. And then, of course, what the role of that prime minister will be.
As he noted in his speech, his intention is to announce a new prime minister within days. But please keep in mind, Tracy, and for your viewers , that this Saturday, Donald Trump and Jill Biden will be representing the United States. It's not supposed to be an international gala event of the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral after it was burned about 5 or 6 years or so ago, and it's very difficult to imagine that, that they will welcome these international leaders without some measure of a restoration of governing functionality .
So we don't know if days really means 12 hours, 24 hours, but odds are that they will try very hard to have a new prime minister by Saturday morning before all of these international leaders arrive in Paris for this major event. And then what kind of a prime minister he'll be is also going to be important? Will he be a broker, Prime minister, to renegotiate a budget for 2025 that appeases the extreme left and the extreme right?
Or will it be a caretaker government that perhaps uses emergency powers to hammer through a budget without any structural reforms, that an unsustainable pension system in France desperately needs? >> John, we have about a minute or so left, but quickly, let's talk about President Macron. Where do you see things going with him?
I know he said he was not going to resign. >> Well, that's what he says. And he said so very defiantly in the speech today.
But I'm not sure if he controls the process. I mean, we'll have to see, first of all, to what extent the next prime minister is going to last 91 days, as did Mr Barnier, or longer than that. What kind of a Prime Minister will that individual be?
And if they're unable to bring together the parties in what is now a very, very divided Parliament, there may be another forced resignation of the Prime Minister. And keep in mind today, 60 to 64% of the French citizenry want Macron to resign anyway, so he may not be able to hold on to the presidency if there's one more parliamentary crisis in early 2025. And one more quick note, Germany is also facing snap elections in February, so we have an EU right now without any effective leadership going into a very perilous period in the U.
S, European relationship. >> Very concerning indeed, John. Thank you so much for your insights.
Appreciate it. >> Thank you for having me. >> All right.
Now to South Korea, where the nation is still reeling from Tuesday's short lived declaration of martial law. Today, the Defense Ministry apologized . >> For the Defense Ministry says that it was not the government's intention to cause concern.
>> He adds that the military will remain focused on protecting national security and people's lives. Meanwhile, South Koreans poured into the streets of central Seoul to protest President Yun's declaration of martial law. The president is facing an impeachment vote.
And now to the middle East, where Syrian insurgents have captured the central city of Hama. This follows a week long offensive that featured intense clashes with government forces , as large parts of Syria are now under insurgent control. The de facto leader of the insurgency says the conquering of Hama is not vengeful but, quote, one of mercy and compassion.
This comes just days after the rebels incursion and takeover of Aleppo. Both instances mark a serious setback for the Assad regime. Meanwhile, Amnesty International is accusing Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip during its war with Hamas .
>> Israel's military has also killed tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, and many more have been stripped of their dignity, denied life saving humanitarian aid. A steady , unrelenting suffocation of survivors . All of that comes on top of years of apartheid dispossession, unlawful military occupation, the human rights group says the actions they accuse Israel of cannot be justified by the October 7th attack by Hamas.
>> The Israeli government firmly rejects the accusations, slamming the reputation of Amnesty International . >> With a record as long as your arm amnesty, amnesty has a documented history of framing Israel as fundamentally illegitimate for amnesty. Israel was born guilty in 1948 and have been guilty ever since.
They ignore the genocidal intent and actions of Hamas. >> Israel repeatedly says that it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas, while pointing to the United Nations agencies for their lack of humanitarian aid in Gaza . We have a lot more still to come here on EWTN News Nightly, including controversial case.
We talked to Tennessee's attorney general about the Supreme Court case regarding the state's ban on so-called gender affirming care for minors. His take on the oral arguments , and why he believes the law protects children's lives and not so itty bitty . We'll tell you about the new milestone that Bitcoin just surpassed .
And welcome back. Religious freedom. Experts say that it is possible that president elect Donald Trump will reverse the State Department's efforts to push gender , ideology and abortion.
The moves would come after the inauguration next month under the Biden administration , officials have used the State Department to promote transgenderism and gender ideology through government grants. The Biden White House also ended policies that banned funding for foreign organizations that promote abortion. All this comes a day after the Supreme Court heard arguments in the case.
The United States versus Skrmetti. The case centers around Tennessee's law SB one, which bans so-called gender affirming care for minors. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti published an op ed today in The Tennessean, saying in part , quote, puberty blockers, hormone treatments and sex reassignment surgeries are off limits to kids in Tennessee.
That is the same common sense approach we take with tattoos , alcohol and tobacco purchases and other consequential decisions. Yet now the federal government argues this age conscious protection amounts to illegal discrimination. And joining us now is Jonathan Skrmetti, the attorney general of Tennessee.
Sir, thank you so much for coming on today. We appreciate it. Before we get to your op ed, I want to get your thoughts on what happened at the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
>> Well, you never want to make predictions. And there are months and months to go before the justices finalize a decision. But there were two things that I thought were worth noting.
The first is it was a long argument. There were a lot of questions asked. The justices probed a number of different areas that are significant.
The second thing is, I was very pleased with the way our case went in. My solicitor general, Matt Reiss , did the argument. He did a terrific job.
I was really proud of the briefing that we were able to put together for this case. And so I don't know what the court's going to do, but I feel very good that we have done everything we possibly can to advocate forcefully and effectively for Tennessee's position. >> Yeah, and I want to talk about that op ed that you put out today.
In it , you say this is an issue about protection of minors. Meanwhile, those on the other side say it's about discrimination. What would you say to that?
>> I think if you look at the record of the legislative proceedings that led to this law in which the Tennessee General Assembly very carefully considered evidence, heard testimony , looked at developments elsewhere, it was purely focused on kids, the research that they looked at was focused on the very serious risks to kids of significant lifelong complications. The discrimination angle is based on a reading of our sex discrimination laws that I think just doesn't really squarely apply here. >> Yeah, and another question that came up is whether the Supreme Court should even be deciding this case.
Here's a clip from Chief Justice Roberts. Let's take a listen here. >> It seems to me that the medical issues are much more heavily involved than in many of the cases that you you look to.
Of course , we are not the best situated to address issues like that. >> Mr Attorney General, your thoughts on this? >> I mean , I think that is the fundamental principle of constitutional separation of powers being articulated there, which is the courts don't make the law.
The courts don't tell us what the right outcome is. They ensure that the Constitution is followed. But most of the authority to make decisions lies closer to the people.
>> And I want to talk again about protecting children, which you mentioned in your op ed . You also cite developments in Europe saying, quote , after careful review of the research, the medical communities that pioneered gender interventions for minors have pushed for restrictions because of new evidence. Now, during the hearings , scientific arguments were made in defense of the ban .
But Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said that science was being used in the same way that was used 60 years ago to defend bans on interracial marriage. How would you respond to that one? >> So I think what what justice Jackson and I don't want to put words in her mouth, but I think the line of questioning that she was pursuing was focused on the idea that if you have two separate people within a category and you treat them differently, then you're necessarily discriminating on the basis of that category .
So she was drawing an analogy between racial discrimination and sex discrimination. But the difference is this is not this is not simply a matter of distributing, say, testosterone . It's not that boys can get testosterone and girls can't.
Anytime you prescribe drugs for a medical condition, you look not just at what the drug is, but what the condition is. If you give a boy testosterone who has a testosterone deficiency, it cures that condition and reduces future medical problems. If you give a girl with gender dysphoria, which is a psychological condition, the same testosterone it creates a host of medical complications .
So it's not a comparison of like to like here . >> I'm going to leave it right there. Mr Attorney General, thank you so much.
We appreciate it. God bless. >> Thank you.
God bless you . >> The Department of Justice released a report exposing what it says are serious problems in the Memphis Police Department. This comes after officers fatally beat Tyree Nichols during a traffic stop last year.
>> We found that the police in Memphis use excessive force, that they stopped search and arrest people unlawfully, that their policies have a discriminatory effect on black people and that they discriminate against people with behavioral health disabilities. >> Assistant U. S.
Attorney General Kristen Clark says the DOJ could sue to force reforms, but the city's mayor is pushing back . Democrat Paul Young says in part, quote, we can make more effective and meaningful change by working together with community input and independent national experts than with a bureaucratic, costly and complicated federal government consent decree. While Bitcoin reaches a new high for the first time, the world's most popular cryptocurrency hit $100,000 before slightly falling back at the deadline.
The milestone comes hours after president elect Trump says he intends to nominate a longtime supporter of cryptocurrency to run the securities and Exchange Commission. Since election night, Bitcoin has risen more than $30,000. Up next on EWTN News Nightly renewing the language of prayer.
Learn more about a group that works closely with the Holy Father and why the leadership is changing. Plus, a winter wonderland in Europe brings the Christmas spirit to a major city . The group that works with the Holy Father to mobilize the faithful through prayer and action, has a new set of leaders.
One of the outgoing members, a Jesuit priest, reflected on his years in the job. >> Pope Francis, with the last encyclical, help to give a theology and a pastoral way to help people, to be connected with the heart of Jesus in an apostolic readiness. Then all what is in this encyclical is, we can say, our basis in the renewal we had in the last ten years for helping people to be connected with the heart of Jesus and enter with him in a mission of compassion for the world, because there are so many challenges in the world that Pope Francis expresses in the Pope's intentions.
But these challenges cannot be changed only because we want to change these challenges, this suffering , this. Then the only way is to change our heart. >> At a news conference today, the new board members said the organization wants to renew the language of prayer by using the new media.
Well, finally tonight , as the world prepares for Christmas in just a few weeks, many are getting into the spirit with lights and festivities. People in Switzerland are heading to a massive Christmas Christmas village in Zurich. The seasonal village in the city has popped up for one month.
Desserts like chocolates and cakes lined the displays, while the centerpiece of all is an enormous Christmas tree right there. When Shopping Street features more than 11,000 light crystals and more than 23,000 LED lamps to visit the multiple markets around the city. People can hop on the Christmas Express boat down the river.
In total, there are six markets that comprise the Christmas Village. It is beautiful and we thank you for watching tonight. Remember, you can follow us on social media, Facebook and Instagram at EWTN News Nightly I'm Tracy Sabol.
Good night and God bless .
