NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (Jan. 8)

Welcome to NTD Evening News. Our top story tonight, former President Trump now moving to dismiss the Georgia election case. What's Trump's argument and what's next as he's set to appear at a DC courtroom tomorrow? Iris Tao gives us the update. Dr. Anthony Fauci on Capitol Hill, facing several hours of questioning on his role in the COVID-19 pandemic response. Some tell us they're most concerned about how U.S. tax dollars funded research in a Chinese laboratory. Melina Weisskopf on Capitol Hill. Homeland Security Chief Alejandro Mayorkas down at the southern border today. This comes just days before his impeachment hearing. Arianne Postar brings you more on the ongoing border crisis. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's lapse in judgment gets a pass. How the White House responds after Austin took four days to report that he was in the hospital. Harlan Richards finds out what the president is focused on in all of this. Israeli defense forces uncover the largest weapons production site in the Gaza Strip since the war began. Meanwhile, the IDF kills another terrorist leader in Lebanon. Jason Perry reports. This is NTD Evening News. Live from our NTD global headquarters in New York City, here is Tiffany Meyer. Good evening and thank you for joining us tonight. Trump today moving to have the 2020 election case in Georgia thrown out on presidential immunity grounds. That's as he toggles between the courtroom and the campaign trail in Iowa. NTD's White House correspondent Iris Tao is on the ground in Iowa and brings us the latest. Former President Trump today moved to dismiss the election interference charges against him in Georgia, arguing that he's protected by presidential immunity. On True Social, Trump wrote that he was looking for voter fraud, which is part of his obligation as the president. He also warned that if he doesn't get presidential immunity, President Biden would be, quote, right for indictment over the border crisis. Meanwhile, Trump is also using the legal challenges currently facing him to get more support from voters. Here's what he told us over the weekend here in Iowa. Watch. Do you think anybody else could get up here and speak to you all day and get indicted four times and have you nine trials against them? All fake trials? Nobody else. Nobody else. But other GOP candidates are arguing that Trump's legal troubles are making his campaign all about himself. Here's what Republican Congressman Chip Roy told us just now here in Iowa when he was campaigning for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Watch. All of these cases are being politically motivated, directed at him, but it's still there. It's still real. As Governor DeSantis says, President Trump is running on his issues. Trump set to appear for oral arguments in his D.C. election interference case on Tuesday, which is tomorrow and which is also claiming presidential immunity. He's also due in a courtroom on Thursday for his New York civil fraud trial. So he's really going back and forth between the campaign trail and the courtroom this upcoming week. And that's before he comes back to Iowa this upcoming weekend for more campaign stops right before the Iowa caucus. And all this is, as other presidential candidates, including Rahma Swamy, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis, are all campaigning here in Iowa this week. Meanwhile, Nikki Haley this morning canceled a campaign stop here in Iowa citing an upcoming snowstorm. Rahma Swamy criticized her for canceling the stop, saying that she's trying to avoid embarrassment due to low turnout. Rahma Swamy, who's not canceling his own events today, also has his wife campaigning for him in Iowa at the same time. We just talked to her earlier this morning when she talked to us about what values she thinks the first lady should have. Really caring about freedom, but also ideas of virtue and being that family that cares about the nuclear family, the importance of that, that I think is such an important role for the first lady. And tonight we're here where Casey DeSantis, the first lady of Florida, is campaigning for her husband, arguing that DeSantis' accomplishments in Florida will carry on when he becomes the president, potentially. So we do expect to see more presidential candidates as well as their families on the campaign trail this upcoming week in Iowa, despite the cold weather. Back to you. Dr. Anthony Fauci is on Capitol Hill today and tomorrow. Lawmakers probing the former director of the National Institutes of Health on his response to COVID-19. His testimony expected to take several hours with hundreds of questions prepared. NTD's Melina Weisskopf has the updates from Capitol Hill. The main focus of this closed-door hearing with Dr. Anthony Fauci is for lawmakers to assess how the United States responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, while the lawmakers that we heard from said that there weren't many fireworks so far through the hearing, instead it's been more focused on the process. They say there is more specifically about Fauci's role that they want to look into, such as his flip-flop stance on mask mandates or how money went from his department at the time through Echo Health and then funded research in China. When I spoke with the chairman of this committee, Chairman Brad Winstrom, about halfway through today's hearing, he said that so far Fauci has been cooperative with the questions that lawmakers have presented so far. But another lawmaker said that's probably because they haven't gotten to the hard questions yet, like this one. U.S. funding that made its way to the Wuhan lab, I think that's incredibly important. And any suppression of the lab leak theory, that's really important. Not only did NIH funding make its way to the Wuhan lab, but that U.S. aid, Department of State, Department of Defense. And the question is why? What were they using that money for? Were they conducting gain-of-function research? And questions like this will be addressed throughout the course of these lengthy hearings. They started today at 10 a.m. and then they'll finish tonight at 7 p.m., returning back tomorrow for another several hours of questioning. Now, it's interesting to see how Republicans are handling this. This isn't a hearing where they focus so much on the back-and-forth between the witnesses and now the Republican-led House. Instead, it's interesting to see how Republicans are prioritizing what information they can dig out of Fauci in a private closed-door setting. In addition, House Republicans today moved forward to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress. The House Judiciary Committee and Oversight Committee today released a resolution to hold him in contempt of Congress for failing to show up for that closed-door deposition last month where they wanted to ask him about his foreign business deals. Remember, Hunter Biden did show up here to the Capitol. He held a press conference right outside on Capitol grounds, but did not show up for the testimony itself. The committee chairman called this a flagrant defiance of the committees, which is why they're moving forward with this contempt of Congress resolution, which they'll hold a committee markup for on Wednesday and then hold at a later time a full-floor House vote. Reporting from Capitol Hill, Melina Weiskopf, NTD News. House Republicans are accusing Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of failing to protect the southern border. They're now getting ready for the first impeachment hearing this week. Mayorkas, meanwhile, is in Texas right now commenting on allegations that his agency is not enforcing immigration laws. NTD's Ariane Passar brings us more on Mayorkas' visit. Some have accused DHS of not enforcing our nation's laws. This could not be further from the truth. There is nothing I take more seriously than our responsibility to uphold the law, and the men and women of DHS are working around the clock to do so. We need Congress to provide the supplemental funding that President Biden requested months ago. We need more Border Patrol agents and more case processors. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is down in Eagle Pass, Texas on Monday, addressing the border crisis. This comes just days before he could become the first Cabinet official in almost 150 years to be impeached by the House. This Wednesday, House Republicans will probe how Mayorkas' alleged failed leadership has impacted the states. On Sunday, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green on Fox News explained what's behind the impeachment intentions. The legislative branch writes the laws and the executive branch executes those laws. They don't get to pick and choose which laws. And clearly, Secretary Mayorkas has basically forced his immigration policy on the country against the laws passed by Congress. And the result has been thousands of dead Americans, human trafficking, cartels empowered, making billions and billions of dollars. December broke multiple grim immigration milestones, which Republicans are blaming partially on Mayorkas. On December 18th, the U.S. reportedly saw over 12,000 illegal border crossings in a single day, breaking the one-day record. At the same time, CBS reported that the month of December had more illegal border crossings than ever before, with around 300,000 people. On Monday, Republican Congressman Mike Lawler was asked if that's enough to impeach Mayorkas. He has an obligation to uphold the Constitution of the United States and enforce our laws. He has failed miserably in his obligation to both. Our border is as porous as it has ever been. Since Joe Biden took office, nearly 10 million migrants have crossed our southern border. Democrats, however, are calling the impeachment move a political stunt. A spokesperson for Mayorkas said that this extreme impeachment push is a harmful distraction from our critical national security priorities. The House could hold multiple impeachment hearings this week and next. But even if the House votes to impeach Mayorkas, the Senate would most likely vote to acquit him. And more news from the border. Is it getting easier for Chinese nationals to enter the U.S.? The Biden administration cut down the vetting process for Chinese immigrants coming through the southern border. That's as the border is seeing a spike in illegal crossings. A U.S. Navy sailor has been sentenced to 27 months in prison. He was charged with transmitting sensitive U.S. military information to a Chinese intelligence officer. 26-year-old Petty Officer Thomas Zhao also faces a $5,500 fine. According to court documents, Zhao sent information to a Chinese intelligence officer posing as a maritime economic researcher. He took screenshots of operational orders of military training exercises and passed them to the intelligence officer. He also transmitted photos of blueprints and diagrams of a U.S. radar system. Zhao admitted to engaging in a corrupt scheme and pleaded guilty to federal charges back in October 2023. He worked at the Ventura County Naval Base in California. The White House confirms Secretary Lloyd Austin's job is safe. A spokesperson today said President Biden is looking forward to Austin's return despite his taking days to inform the commander-in-chief that he was in the hospital. NTD's Arlene Richards reports. President Joe Biden has no plans to fire his defense secretary even though Secretary Lloyd Austin failed to tell the president that he was in the hospital. For four days, White House National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby doesn't expect there to be any consequences. I think, look, our main focus right now is on Secretary Austin's health. There is no plans for anything other than for Secretary Austin to stay in the job and continuing the leadership that he's been demonstrating. Kirby said the president values Austin's leadership. In a statement released Saturday, Austin took responsibility for his lack of transparency. He said, I also understand the media concerns about transparency and I recognize I could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed. I commit to doing better. But this is important to say. This was my medical procedure and I take full responsibility for my decisions about disclosure. Austin is facing backlash from Republican leaders. As Biden deals with multiple national security issues, Senator Tom Cotton said Austin needs to explain why the White House wasn't immediately notified about the hospitalization. In a statement, he said the secretary of defense is the key link in the chain of command between the president and the uniformed military, including the nuclear chain of command when the weightiest of decisions must be made in minutes. If this report is true, there must be consequences for this shocking breakdown. Failing to disclose that Austin had been hospitalized for days breaches the normal protocol. Kirby said there would be a review. I fully expect that we'll take a look at process and procedure here. We'll do what's akin to a hot wash and try to see if processes and procedures need to be changed at all or modified. Kirby said there is an expectation that when a cabinet official becomes hospitalized, the chain of command would be notified. Although the White House's intelligence center checks in every morning to get the location of the cabinet members, Kirby said when a cabinet official gets hospitalized, it's up to the agency to communicate that. In this case, the Department of Defense didn't notify the White House until Thursday afternoon. Arlene Richards, NTD News. The Israel-Hamas war has now been going on for three months and the Hamas terrorist group doesn't appear to be running out of ammunition anytime soon. Some may be wondering where are they getting these weapons? NTD's Jason Perry takes a closer look. It's now been three months since Hamas terrorists murdered over 1,200 innocent civilians in Israel. And in response, Israel has vowed to defeat the Hamas terrorist group in the Gaza Strip. Although Israel defense forces are making progress each day, on Monday a barrage of rockets were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip, some of which were apparently intercepted by the Iron Dome, Israel's air defense system, as seen by the flashes of light in the air. And on Sunday, Hamas released this video of a man wearing civilian clothes, sneaking up to get a closer view of this apparent Israeli tank, then firing an explosive at it. Some people may be wondering how Hamas continues to fire more and more weapons, given that the Gaza Strip's main borders are Israel and the Red Sea, which is fortified by Israel's navy. And its other border is Egypt, and Israel also inspects the goods coming into Gaza from Egypt. Well, on Monday, the Israel defense forces released footage of the largest weapons production site found so far since the beginning of the war. The Hamas terrorist group has had the capability to manufacture its own weapons on a large scale, including long-range rockets, mortars, explosives and other munitions. An IDF spokesperson said Israel provided the raw materials to Gaza, but they weren't meant for weapons. Those materials were meant to go for agriculture, for fertilizer, for agriculture. Those CNC machines were meant to be for housing, for hospitals. The cement was meant to help building houses. Instead, Hamas built the terror systems of tunnels, the rockets as a main industry, and used everything it can. And as the IDF finds more terrorist infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, it also continues to find more high-ranking terrorists in Lebanon. On Monday, an Israeli strike on an SUV in southern Lebanon killed the most senior Hezbollah terrorists since the war began. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who's been in the Middle East trying to keep the war from expanding, gave an update on Monday. I think there's broad agreement on a few basic objectives. First, that Israel and Israelis should be able to live in peace and security, free from the fear of terrorist attacks or aggression from any of their neighbors. Second, that the West Bank and Gaza should be united under Palestinian-led governance. He also said an independent Palestinian state needs to be established to help stabilize the region. After speaking with reporters in Saudi Arabia, Blinken then flew to Israel, where he landed Monday night. Blinken said he's going to share with Israeli officials everything he's heard so far on his trip. He also said he'll discuss the future of Israel's military campaign in Gaza, emphasize the need to do more to protect civilians, and to do more to ensure humanitarian aid is getting into the hands of those who need it. Jason Perry, NCD News. Coming up, select airplanes across the nation are still grounded after a plane door blew off midair. How all the passengers survived and where the door was found. What exactly went wrong with the door on that Alaska Airlines flight? A commercial airline pilot says there are systemic problems with Boeing planes. Hear more about his analysis of the incident. And winter storms plow through central and eastern U.S. More extreme weather conditions on the forecast, which could include whiteouts, blizzards, and even tornadoes. Stay tuned for more after the break here on NTD News. We all know that words have power. They set things in motion. They make us happy or sad. But there's one word that stands out. Because when people say it, lives are changed. It's not a big word. It's itsy bitsy. It's only three little letters. But when you say it, the life of a kid like me can be changed. So, what is this special word? It may surprise you. It's yes. Yes. Yes to becoming a monthly supporter of Shriners Hospitals for Children. That's right. Your monthly support allows the doctors and nurses at Shriners Hospitals for Children to give the most amazing care anywhere. And change the lives of kids like me. And me. Because people like you have said yes. Now I can play football. And I can play catch. And I can walk. So, what do you say? Will you say yes right now? It's so easy. All you have to do is pick up the phone or go to loveshriners.org right now and say yes. When you say yes to giving just $19 a month, only 63 cents a day, we'll send you this adorable Love to the Rescue blanket as a reminder of all the kids you're helping every day. My life is filled with possibility because of the monthly support of people just like you who called the number on your screen and said yes. Yes. Your yes is making a difference in my life and the lives of so many other kids like me. Thank you. Thank you for giving. Please call or go online now. If operators are busy, call again or go to loveshriners.org to say yes right away. There's always a searching process for beauty. You know it when you see it. Welcome back. In New York City, police have arrested more than 300 people following a pro-Palestinian rally earlier today. Demonstrators blocked off morning traffic at several major roadways in and out of Manhattan, including the Holland Tunnel, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Manhattan Bridge, and the Williamsburg Bridge. We're hoping that with this action we can inspire others to keep agitating, keep escalating, and keep disrupting until we have shown that we will not stop until the U.S. supports a permanent ceasefire. While chanting slogans and holding their signs, demonstrators sat in roadways with their hands zip-tied behind their backs. A number of groups organized the rally this morning, including Jewish Voice for Peace, the Palestinian Youth Movement, and Democratic Socialists of America. The gathering reportedly kicked off at around 9 a.m. City Hall Plaza before protesters made their way to different locations. Authorities said many of those arrested are now facing misdemeanor charges. An airplane piece found in a backyard. The National Transportation Safety Board now has it. The exit door of an Alaska Airlines aircraft blew off mid-flight. Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft are grounded nationwide. Here's more on the story. 177 passengers and crew on an Alaskan Airlines flight survived an alarming experience after a section of the plane blew off the aircraft mid-flight. The plane had just taken off six minutes before the incident. The Boeing 737 MAX 9 jet safely returned to the Portland Airport with no serious injuries on board. Although there were some minor injuries, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said it could have been much worse. We are very, very fortunate here that this didn't end up in something more tragic. No one was seated in 26 A and B where that door plug is. Homendy said the cockpit door flew open and the depressurization ripped headset parts off the heads of both the captain and co-pilot. She also said it was extremely lucky the plane had not yet reached cruising altitude when passengers and flight attendants might be walking around the cabin. A federal official said yesterday that particular airplane wasn't being used for flights to Hawaii. A warning light indicating a possible pressurization issue lit up on three different previous flights. Hours after the incident, the FAA ordered the grounding of all MAX 9s until they could be inspected. Alaska and United Airlines are the only U.S. airlines flying the MAX 9. Alaska Airlines said it canceled 170 flights yesterday and 60 more today. Cancellations will continue through the first half of the week. The Sunday cancellations affected nearly 25,000 guests. A plea went out to local Portland residents for help in finding the missing fuselage plug. The search ended yesterday when a local teacher found the missing piece in his backyard. So what went wrong with the door on that Alaska Airlines plane and what would the grounding of Boeing 737s do to air travel? Joining us now to offer us his thoughts on the incident, we have Jason Kunish, a commercial airline pilot. Jason Kunish, thank you so much for joining us. Great to have you on the show. Thanks for having me back. Now to begin, Boeing is under fresh scrutiny after the grounding of 737 MAX planes. Now this is of course following the incident with Alaska Airlines where a door blew out mid-flight. Now to begin, as a pilot, what is your reaction to this? Actually, one, great job by the crew. They took their training that they do every year and they put it into action in a matter of seconds and got all those people safely on the ground with the remaining parts of the aircraft that were still intact. And so bravo on the crew, but also major questions now as the manufacturing concerns of Boeing over the last several years are continuing. On that second point, you know, how does this even happen? Especially given that Boeing had advised airlines just a month ago to do inspections of jets for any loose hardware. What are the pre-safety flight checks? You know, what is even being done here? Well, safety flight checks, you know, maintenance is on board every aircraft every day. Not just that, the pilots and the flight attendants are required before every flight to go through a certain amount of safety checks of the aircraft to make sure everything is up to par. As far as Boeing goes, this is a systemic problem that Boeing has had over the last several years. It's a known thing in the industry that when Boeing aircraft are delivered to airlines, there's leftover trash and open cavities, there's loose parts. And so this has been a problem. The 737 MAX, as we all remember back in 2018 when it came online, had several crashes that killed many people. Also since then, the 787, which is their widebody, their newest widebody aircraft, has been plagued with problems and delivery delays that are causing airlines millions of dollars in lost revenue. And so this is a problem of safety, it's a problem of shareholder interest, and everyone should be concerned here. And you did mention the good work done by the crew earlier. Now, this Alaska Airlines was flying quite low, not at cruising altitude. Give us a sense of what would have happened if this door had blown out when it was higher up at cruising altitude. What could the crew do then? Well, every year when airline crews go through their recurrent training, we actually train for a catastrophic failure of the pressurization system, and we train to put our oxygen masks on and initiate an emergency descent. That's usually trained at about 35,000 feet. If a real emergency happened there, you'd have a useful consciousness of several seconds that you'd have to respond, otherwise you'd pass out and real catastrophe happens. This event with Alaska Airlines happened at about 16,000 feet. So while it is the pressurization issue is of concern, that's not the primary concern here, because you had several minutes to react. They did it in several seconds, and they got it going on the ground safely. The real concern here is the actual airframe failing. The plug-type door that's in the 737-9 MAX, especially those operated by Alaska Airlines, is not one that's manipulated. It's actually sealed shut. And so this wasn't like it was inspected earlier that day and it was loose. This was sealed shut. It's not meant to be operated, and it still failed. And this particular aircraft was in service for only two months at Alaska, and that, again, leads to more questions. What exactly is going on? Is there a problem largely with Boeing or their manufacturing, the people who are supplying parts and labor also for Boeing? And on that note, the 737s have been grounded following this incident. Now, how could air travel be affected by all these planes being grounded? Well, just to specify, it's the 737-900 MAX version. And right now in the United States, only Alaska and United operate those two aircraft, American Airlines and Delta do not. It does off, I think, what was it I read earlier today, 170 worldwide aircraft specifically of this fleet variant are affected. And so it is going to cause disruption in air travel. Passengers are going to be affected. It's going to cause definitely a disruption in first quarter profits that are released later this year. And so this is going to be a reverberation, I guess, of issues. But also the brand name, Boeing, it's sad that this American flagship manufacturer that's been around for 100 years or whatever has been tarnished, and it continues to be tarnished, and they're doing it to themselves, unfortunately. On that note, this does follow previous issues with other 737 MAXs. I think it was the 800 line that you just mentioned, specifically the crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed hundreds of people. Now, the FAA cleared the use of 737 MAX. I think these are the 900s in the U.S. to fly in November of 2020. But have other models been ensnared in as many issues? Should passengers be concerned to fly reading all these reports? That's a real tough question because, like I said earlier, the crews, the mechanics, the airlines, job number one of everybody is safety. And so if you're on an airplane in the United States of America, you're safe. There's no problem there. But as far as going forward, how are the airlines going to react to this? That's the question. What's Boeing going to do? How are they going to react? How is this going to affect deliveries in the future? If airlines have planned out for the summer, which they have, use of these new aircraft that are coming online, and those are now delayed, much like last year with American Airlines and their 787s that were coming online. You can't fly these passengers. You can't service the routes. You can't make the money that you were planning on. And that's a great disruption. Jason Kunisch, thank you so much for your time. Thank you. And we do have an update just in about this. United says it found loose bolts on the doors of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 jets that have been grounded. A winter storm has arrived in the U.S. moving from west to east. This week, people in the central part of the country can expect up to a foot of snow, violent winds, blizzards, and even tornadoes. A highly impactful winter storm is expected to dump as much as a foot of snow across the country's midsection, where blizzard and winter storm warnings are in effect. According to the National Weather Service, between January 7 to 11, the storm can bring 8 to 12 inches of snow stretching from southeastern Colorado and western Kansas through eastern Nebraska, large parts of Iowa, northern Missouri, and northwestern Illinois up toward the upper peninsula of Michigan. Other parts of the Midwest could see winds between 60 to 70 mph, creating blizzards with whiteouts. There were widespread school closures across eastern Nebraska on Monday, ahead of the storm. The harsh weather has already affected presidential campaigning for Iowa's January 15 precinct caucuses, where temperatures could dip below zero degrees by caucus day next week. In South Dakota, the Sioux Falls mayor urged residents not to travel Monday if they did not have to, and to give snowplows time and patience so they can clear the roads. In the southeast, wind gusts of up to 50 mph and strong tornadoes are the primary threats to states along Texas and the Gulf Coast. The risk will continue through Tuesday. The storm follows a separate storm that moved off the east coast after dumping over a foot of snow Sunday on parts of Pennsylvania, New York State, and portions of New England. And another storm is on the way that will affect the Pacific Northwest into the northern Rockies. Washington and Oregon could see blizzard conditions and several feet of snow. A flood watch is in effect for the state of Hawaii through Tuesday, as the threat of heavy rainfall and thunderstorms moves through from west to east. Coming up, what can we expect from Dr. Anthony Fauci's testimony in Congress? Our guest says Fauci has a lot to explain about his contradictory policies on COVID-19. We bring you an analysis of Fauci's role in the pandemic response. And Florida, we have a problem. America's first moon mission in almost half a century craters, running low on fuel just hours after launch. That and more after the break here on NTD News. To a child, this is what conflict looks like. Children in Ukraine are caught in the crossfire of war, forced to flee their homes. A steady stream of refugees has been coming across all day. It's bitterly cold. Lacking clean water and sanitation. Exposed to injury. Hunger. Exhausted and shell-shocked from what they've been through. Every dollar you give can help bring a meal, a blanket, or simply hope to a child living in conflict. Please, call or go online to givenowtosave.org today with your gift of $10 a month. That's just 33 cents a day. We cannot forget the children in places like Syria. Born in refugee camps. Playing in refugee camps. Thinking of the camps as home. Please, call or go online to givenowtosave.org today with your gift of $10 a month. Your gift can help children like Ara in Afghanistan, where nearly 20 years of conflict have forced the people into extreme poverty. Weakened and unable to hold herself up, Ara was brought to a Save the Children center where she was diagnosed and treated for severe malnutrition. Every dollar helps. Please, call or go online to givenowtosave.org today with your gift of $10 a month. Just 33 cents a day. And thanks to special government grants that are available now, every dollar you give can multiply up to 10 times the impact. And when you use your credit card, you'll receive this special Save the Children tote bag to show you won't forget the children who are living their lives in conflict. Every war is a war against children. Please, give now. I'm Jason Perry in New York City, and we are NTD News. Welcome back. If you're just joining us now, here are some of today's top headlines. The Israeli military released footage of Hamas's largest weapons production site found so far. Israel also conducted an airstrike in southern Lebanon, killing the most senior Hezbollah terrorist since the war began. President Biden decided to keep Lloyd Austin as his defense secretary after Austin failed to disclose for four days that he was hospitalized. Austin took responsibility for his lack of transparency, but he is facing backlash from Republicans. Former President Trump filed motions to have his Georgia election case dismissed over presidential immunity. Trump will also attend arguments in court this week over his federal election case in D.C. House Republicans recommended holding Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena. This was while Dr. Anthony Fauci testified behind closed doors in Congress on COVID-19. What can we expect from Dr. Anthony Fauci's testimony in Congress today and tomorrow? Joining us now to explore the controversy surrounding Fauci's COVID-19 policies, we have Jeffrey Tucker. He's the founder and president of the Brownstone Institute and author of Liberty or Lockdown. Jeffrey Tucker, thank you so much for joining us. Great to have you back on the show. My pleasure. Fauci is facing two days of closed door questioning. Now, this is the first time he's answering questions under oath since November 2022. What can we expect to come out of this? There are a lot of questions for Fauci. And it's not just about gain of function research and his funding of the Wuhan lab, which we know definitely happened. And it's very, I don't know how you can get around it. He seemed to not, how should we say, tell the truth the last time that we had public questioning on this. So we're going to get some answers, I think, on that today. But it's beyond that. We're going to need some answers on why he kept reversing positions on masks. So you have to have a mask and now you don't have to wear a mask. Now you need two masks. Now you can take your mask off because there's vaccine, which will mean you won't get COVID and we can get over the pandemic, except that it turned out the vaccine didn't stop infection or transmission. And there's just so much. There's his role in censorship that needs to be examined, the cover up of the lab leak. There's many other questions. Like, for example, on March 2nd, 2020, he wrote the Washington Post and said we would never need a vaccine to get out of this pandemic because social distancing alone will conquer the virus. That's what he told the Washington Post. The Washington Post dutifully reported his words exactly as he sent them in the email. Kind of an example of plagiarism. But weird things like that. So many contradictions from the very beginning. Talking Trump into locking down and then denying that he did it. Bragging about it and then later denying it. It's just it goes on and on and on. So, yeah, and he was definitely, it seems like, at least set himself up as the mastermind of the COVID response. And now he wants to walk away from every bit of it and take no responsibility for any of it? Yeah, there's a lot of questions. On the note of all of the flip-flopping, would Fauci actually be held accountable, especially for those who lost their jobs by not complying to all the mandates? Well, you know, there's a, I don't know what it would mean at this point for him to be held accountable. I mean, it's pretty alarming that he's got a very high-paying job at Georgetown and it's a no-show job. And that he's still giving high-priced speeches and so on and so on. That he's rich and his wife, I guess, still has her job as the, if you can believe it, the ethics person at NIH, which is just simply unbelievable. So I'm not entirely sure what it means to be held accountable. Now, I was actually very frustrated that this was a private hearing, because obviously I would like to hear it. I guess eventually, you know, all that he says in this closed-door hearing is going to come out in public. Probably eventually, if only through leaks. But somebody on the inside explained to me that actually it's way better that it's closed-door, because when it's public, all of the politicians use the moment for grandstanding and trying to get saying things for YouTube clips and all that kind of stuff. It becomes sort of not real. It becomes more of a performance art than it does a real investigation. So the only way to get to the bottom of the truth here is by putting it closed-door. Although we have to remember that Fauci is the master of rhetoric and he has been doing this for 40 years. He has this funny way of speaking that is a little bit halting. He stops before words in a strange way. He always seems very precise. He never says, uh, or backtracks. He speaks in complete sentences. And he speaks in this strange, sciencey way where he drops words that you think you know what they mean, but you're not quite sure. And he's intimidated enough so that you don't ask. He has all these sort of magical skills this way. I think it's got him where he is today. And now another reported line of questioning, as you brought up with the gain of function, is Fauci's role as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, or NIAID, for almost 30 years now. There was also an email where he reportedly downplayed the lab leak origin theory from Wuhan, China. Now, how serious of an allegation is that if it does come out? Well, I don't think that there's much doubt remaining that Fauci was instrumental in channeling funding to the Wuhan lab through third-party intermediaries. I would say very vulnerable. Now, we don't... Now, the other question is whether or not that funding of that gain-of-function research was responsible for the SARS-CoV-2 leak. And I guess that's hard to say for sure. And I'm sure every effort for four years has been taken to cover that up and make that very difficult to determine for sure. But if we can establish that it wasn't the lab leak, that it was a product of gain-of-function research, that the U.S. taxpayers were on the hook for funding this gain-of-function research, that U.S. scientists worked closely with the Wuhan lab, I think all of that can be established, and then it's just a matter of connecting the dots, and we've got a good picture of what happened to us during the pandemic. A lot at stake here for sure. Jeffrey Tucker, thank you so much for your time. Okay, such a pleasure. Thank you. The fourth batch of Jeffrey Epstein's court files are released today. They reveal photos that appear to show girls or young women on his private island in 2006. The photos are part of a 2015 lawsuit between Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre and Epstein's longtime girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. During the trial, Epstein accuser Sarah Ransom testified about the inner workings of Epstein's sex business. Giuffre's lawyers say the photos established that Maxwell was on the island during a time when she testified that she was hardly around. Ransom had also claimed that former President Trump regularly had sexual relations with one of her unnamed friends at Epstein's New York home. Ransom retracted the allegations in an email with a New York Post columnist in October 2016. She wrote, Trump advisor Stephen Chung said in a statement Monday, Florida's Republican Party has ousted its chairman Christian Ziegler. He is facing a sexual assault investigation. State party leadership already suspended him in December and removed all his authority. Ziegler isn't facing criminal charges, but Florida authorities are investigating if he broke Florida's video voyeurism laws by recording a sexual encounter. The shakeup comes as Florida is sure to be a key state in the 2024 election and in the GOP primary. The first American moon mission in half a century has hit a setback. The Peregrine Launer Lander experienced a malfunction hours after launch. NTD's Dave Martin has more. Four, three, we have ignition and liftoff of the first United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket, launching a new era in spaceflight to the moon and beyond. Hours after beginning its journey toward the moon, Astrobotic Technologies' Peregrine Lunar Lander lost critical amounts of fuel, potentially jeopardizing the whole mission. After the lander detached from the rocket, it failed to face the sun, causing its battery levels to plummet. This threatens its ability to make a soft landing on the moon and may postpone the American dream of getting back to the moon after half a century. The moon is not just space rock. It is chock full of rare earth minerals. Rare earth minerals are critical for building modern technology. Brandon Weichert is the author of Winning Space, How America Remains a Superpower. He says that on Earth, China dominates most of these rare earth minerals. Crucial technologies require these minerals, such as electronics, electric vehicles, missile guidance systems, and MRI machines. Weichert believes that if America could mine these minerals, it would gain an advantage over China. He believes the government isn't doing enough in this direction. It would be great if the government, instead of just saying we're not going to do this, if they accepted that this is a natural evolution of human behavior, space mining, if they actually would pay for real impact studies to be done so we could determine the efficacy of lunar mining. That goal may now be farther away. Peregrine was supposed to land on the moon on February 23rd to conduct research. A second private American company, Intuitive Machines, is planning to launch the Nova Sealander in February. This is Dave Martin for NTD News. Coming up in college football, the stage is set for tonight as Michigan plays Washington for the title. Dave Martin joins us to discuss when we return. It's just clear as day. The media, whether it's broadcast cable or print media, has become extremely biased. And I started looking online for alternative ways to get information. And I saw an ad for a free trial. And I looked at it and I said, Epoch Times, I mean, come on, this is end of days type of stuff. I mean, what are they going to be talking about here? And I said, well, it's a free trial. Let me dig in. Is it giving me both sides? Is it giving me an objective point of view here? I have looked for opportunities to see where they might be biased, and I don't find it. It has given me a level of trust in media that I didn't think I'd ever get back. I love the Epoch Times because it has renewed my faith in the idea that a reliable, responsible, non-biased source of information is available. And I can say that I love it because of that. One in five children worldwide are faced with the reality of living... no family dinners, no special treats, no full bellies. All around the world, parents are struggling to feed their children. Neighbors are suffering from acute malnutrition, which stunts their growth. Kids are forced to drop out of school so they can help support their families. 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You'll also receive a free tote bag to share your support for children in need. Childhood without food is unimaginable. Get fed up. Call us now at fedupnow.org today. Welcome back, and now for your sports news, we're joined by NTD's Dave Martin. Dave, the NFL's regular season ended on Sunday, and today already two coaches have been fired at Washington D.C. and Atlanta. Is there a feeling that this will be it for Bill Belichick as well? You know, there certainly had been, but there's been nothing announced today. I mean, certainly if they did get rid of him, I'm sure he would have his choice of places to coach. I mean, he's won six Super Bowls. He's won more than any other coach, and as many as more as any other franchise. I'll grant he hasn't won much without Tom Brady since he left the last few years, but even Phil Jackson needed either Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant to win all of his titles. Now, he made it sound yesterday like he'd be open to a role change as far as personnel authority. I think that would be the best option. Clearly he's shown he can coach. The talent really hasn't been there since Brady left, or maybe it was exposed when Brady left. So maybe they'll hire someone else for that and keep him as coach. The later this goes, I think the more likely he stays. Well, now shifting gears to tennis, Rafael Nadal is out of the Australian Open with an injured hip. Now, this is the same one that sidelined him all of last year. Is this starting to resemble how Roger Federer went out? Very much so. I mean, Federer injured his knee four years ago at the Australian Open. Had to face Novak Djokovic in the semifinals at less than 100%. That didn't go very well. He had knee surgery right after. I remember he said he would be out many months, and he was true to his word. Took over a year to come back. Played a few matches at the French Open, only to re-injure it at the Wimbledon, I believe, which was the tournament he had historically dominated. And that was it. He retired a few months later. Now, Federer was 39 then. I believe Nadal is 37. I'm sure he's hoping to be healed in time for his tournament, which is the French Open. Now, Nadal previously said this could be his last year. Hopefully he has one more run at the French. But that doesn't start until May, so he has a little bit of time. Shifting gears to golf news, Tiger Woods and Nike have announced the end of their 27-year sponsorship. Any word on what ended this? No, but Nike had announced plans that they were going to cut like $2 billion in expenses over the next few years. Maybe that was part of it. Plus, Nike shut down their line of golf clubs and golf balls in 2016, I believe. So maybe this was inevitable. It was quite a relationship, though. This started back before his career really started. Nike signed him before he ever won a tournament back in 1996, similar to Michael Jordan. They gave him a $40 million endorsement deal, which was on a record for an athlete at the time. That was right after his incredible career at Stanford. Now, Woods has obviously slowed down the last couple of years, ever since his car accident. He released a statement, actually, regarding Nike that seemed to imply he'll be playing in the Genesis tournament next month. I mean, it's news any time Woods decides he's going to play these days. As far as partnerships go, I'm sure another will come along from him. He's way too successful and popular, of course. Well, now tonight we have the College Football National Championship Michigan versus Washington. Who do you like for this one? I like Michigan. Not in a blowout, but they have something special going this year. You know, they've had plenty of adversity. Their coach has served two different suspensions this season. It's kind of giving them this us versus the world mentality. Obviously, they have a great defense. Statistically, fewest yards and points allowed. Now, the Huskies are a great team, too. They seem to thrive on being the underdog, which they are tonight. They've just had so many close wins. I think that's ten straight wins by ten points or less. I just can't see them continuing that. That's too low of a margin. I expect it'll be a low-scoring game, with Michigan finding enough offense to win. Well, Dave, as always, thanks for joining us. Thank you, Tiff. And that's all for today's news. Thanks for tuning in. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Good night.