NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (Feb. 27)

Welcome to NTD Evening News, our top story tonight, the nation's top lawmakers meeting President Biden, but failing to find an agreement on government funding. This means a partial government shutdown is on the horizon. Luis Martinez has the update from Capitol Hill. Michigan voters are at the polls. Why some Arab American residents in the state are uncommitted to President Biden at the primary today and what this means for his campaign. House Republicans have subpoenaed the Justice Department for recordings of President Biden's interview with special counsel Robert Herr. What they're trying to find out and how Biden's latest response to age concerns sparks new controversy. Iris Tao in Washington, D.C. In Trump's Georgia case, the judge orders a witness back on the stand to tell what he knows about the romantic relationship between D.A. Fannie Willis and her top prosecutor, Nathan Wade. Arlene Richards tells us what he said and how it impacts the case. A new ceasefire deal is on the table for Israel and Hamas. How are the talks going this time? 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. The top four congressional leaders met with President Biden at the White House today to discuss funding the government. Speaker Mike Johnson described the meeting as honest and in good faith. But four days before a partial government shutdown, there's no clear path to an agreement. Our Washington correspondent, Luis Martinez, has the story. Thanks for all being here. Look, I want to thank the leaders for being here today. We've got a lot of work to do. We've got to figure out how we're going to keep funding the government, which is an important problem, an important solution we need to find. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has a crucial decision to make in the coming days in order to avoid a government shutdown. The speaker can look for support of House Democrats in order to approve the first four appropriation bills, or he could close ranks with House Republicans in order to hold out and achieve their policy objectives. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer emphasized Tuesday that Democrats do not want a government shutdown. That we made it so clear that we can't have the shutdown because it hurts so many people in so many different ways, even for a short period of time, was very apparent in the room. And the speaker did not reject that. And Senate Republicans share their counterpart's frustration. This is why I voted against the last CR. They've just been kicking this can down the road. I can't believe that they didn't get work done over the weekend. They've had months to do this stuff. I mean, my patience has run out. Senator Rick Scott from Florida laid out a third option for the speaker. The only way out of this is a CR through the end of the year and then start the budget process for next year. There have been six government shutdowns since 1990. The last one was in December of 2018, and it lasted for 35 days. The impasse then was over funding for the border wall, a policy objectives Republicans had to abandon in order to get government funded. Congressman Byron Donalds, a House Freedom Caucus member, has expressed he will not vote for further government funding until the border is secure. Other members have demanded tighter constraints over food stamp beneficiaries and FBI and IRS spending. On Tuesday, Speaker Mike Johnson summarized his objectives to the president and congressional leadership at the White House. Let me say this. When I showed up today, my purpose was to express what I believe is the obvious truth, and that is that we must take care of America's needs first. Congress has until this Friday to approve the first four appropriation bills. The remaining eight are due on March 8th. And if all fails, on April 30th, the Fiscal Responsibility Act would come into effect, cutting government spending 1% across the board. Reporting from Washington, D.C., I'm Eduardo Martinez, NTD News. In Michigan, both Democrats and Republicans are heading to the polls for the primaries today. Let's listen to what Michigan voters are saying. Michigan is a battleground state expected to play a decisive role in the general election on November 5th. Voters in the Republican primary on Tuesday told us what issues concern them the most. Even our mayor here, Whitaker, the governor, she is wanting us to pick up illegals, bring them into the country, take care of them in our state at our expense. And this was just done not too long ago. We've got to get rid of the left and bring up the right. They need to keep the economy well, and more importantly, they need to lower the taxes. I want my full paycheck. Michigan is home to a large Arab American community. Many of them are angry about President Biden's support for Israel in the war in Gaza. Democratic voters have been urged to mark their primary ballots as uncommitted. For this community, really the bleeding issue is the situation in the Middle East, and it's very well known that we support a ceasefire, and we'd like our president to listen. We want the politicians in the United States to listen and just see the reality of what's happening. I voted uncommitted because I think President Biden is not doing the right things for the Palestinians who have the right to leave. I believe in peace in both nations. Both nations should live in peace, but what's going on there, it's unbelievable. The effect on the vote in Michigan remains to be seen. Amid concerns about President Biden's memory, House Republicans are now using subpoena power to demand details about the special counsel's probe into the president. Biden again jokes about his age, sparking new controversy. NTD's Iris Tao has more from the White House. After complaining that the Justice Department was too slow in responding to an earlier request, House Republicans on Tuesday subpoenaed the transcript and any related recordings of special counsel Robert Hurd's interview with President Biden last year. Republicans leading the impeachment inquiry into Biden say they want to find out first whether any classified documents that President Biden may have retained are actually related to the countries that his family was allegedly dealing business with. And also, they say they want to see if the Justice Department was treating Biden and Trump even handily. In addition, Republicans say they want the American public to have access to the recordings that made special counsel Robert Hurd to write in his report that President Biden had a quote poor memory. And President Biden on Monday again tried to push back against concerns about his age, saying this on NBC's Late Night with Seth Meyers. Biden was referring to Trump's speech at CPAC last weekend when Trump said this. My wife, our great first lady, she was a great friend. People loved her. People loved her. Oh, look at that. Wow. Mercedes, that's pretty good. But while Biden and the NBC host both noted... Mercedes? And you can't remember your wife's name? Trump was, in fact, apparently referring to CPAC host Mercedes Schlapp, who was sitting right in front of him. And I want to thank Matt and Mercedes Schlapp, two great people, along with the entire staff. As Republicans continue to demand more details about the special counsel's report, they are seeking to keep the question about President Biden's memory in the spotlight. In just three weeks, special counsel Robert Hurd is set to testify before lawmakers. And as part of Republicans' impeachment inquiry into Biden, Hunter Biden will also testify in a closed-door deposition on this Wednesday. Reporting from the White House, Iris Hao, NTD News. A witness in the disqualification hearing against Fannie Willis and her top prosecutor, Nathan Wade, returns to the stand today. We turn now to our legal correspondent Arlene Richards for the latest on that testimony and updates on former President Trump's other cases. Arlene, who is this witness and what did he say today? So it's Terrence Bradley, in case everyone wants to know. And he is the former divorce attorney and friend to Nathan Wade. Now, Terrence Bradley was on the stand twice last week, but he refused to answer any questions about the relationship between Fannie Willis and Nathan Wade. And he said that all of that was protected by the attorney-client privilege. But yesterday, the judge met privately with Terrence Bradley and his attorney, and he determined that any conversations he had with Wade about the relationship was not privileged. So today, he was back on the stand to answer questions about that. And what they're trying to establish is that the relationship began before November 1st, 2021, when Wade was hired by Willis to be the top prosecutor. And I think they got that out of Bradley today. I mean, he's a very reluctant witness. He was very resistant to answering questions. He said, I don't recall, many times. But he had to confirm that he had said to one of the defense attorneys in a previous conversation, a text message conversation, that they were together before November 1st, 2021. So that was established. The other thing they have to establish is that she benefited financially from this. And that's a little harder for them to prove. And I think they have to have both of these in order for the judge to rule that there should be a disqualification. Now, it's not clear how the judge is going to rule on this, but he's going to take into account all of this information, because actually what he's going to find out here is that they both lied. They both said that their relationship started in 2022. And this contradicts that testimony. And so that goes towards ethical issues, right? They're going to have to probably face some ethical issues down the road because of this. So even if he doesn't disqualify them, which, you know, I would be surprised if he doesn't, they may have to still step down from these positions because of the ethical issues involved. Now, this Friday, there's going to be another hearing where he'll hear closing arguments on this case. And then I expect a final ruling next week. Wow. Now, moving on from Georgia and the New York hush money case, which is set for trial on March 25th, whose testimony is former President Trump trying to block and why? Yeah, he's trying to prevent his former attorney, Michael Cohen's, new testimony. Any new testimony that might come out of him, he wants that blocked because he says he's a serial liar. He says he's a serial liar. He admits to lying to Congress in the past. And also he is he he he actually testified contradictorily in the New York civil fraud case. So he's also the key witness in this case, which centers on Trump falsifying business records to hide the so-called hush money paid to former adult star Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford. Now, Trump is trying to block Miss Clifford's testimony because he says she will likely offer false testimony. In one previous interview, she had said that she never had an affair with Trump. And then she backtracked on that and said that she lied because she had signed an agreement to keep quiet. So Trump's attorneys are also saying that she made some public statements to the to the effect that, well, I'm going to offer false testimony. And what are Trump's attorneys saying about the prosecution? Well, they're saying the prosecution is trying to introduce improper testimony and inadmissible evidence. So they say that this is in order to, quote, bolster their listless zombie case. They say this is designed to interfere in the upcoming presidential election. Trump's attorneys want to block the prosecution from trying to establish that Trump paid off Miss Clifford to prevent bad publicity about himself while running for president in 2016. They say if this happens, that would amount to an attempt to commit fraud. And they say that's not true. Switching to the classified documents case, special counsel Jack Smith is pushing back on Trump's claims that Smith isn't handling over documents. What is his reply to that? Well, the defense and Jack Smith have been going back and forth for some months now about several documents, thousands of documents and videos that the defense say he's not turning over. Now, in his response, he said, for one, I don't have to turn over these documents. And for another, I don't even have some of the documents that you're asking for. So he did actually eventually turn over some materials. I think about a few thousand pages of documents after being asked for a month to turn them over. But we'll have to see if the judge will make him turn over any more documents. Well, Arlene, thank you for all those updates. You're welcome. Israel and Hamas have been negotiating a new ceasefire proposal to release the hostages in the Gaza Strip. How are the negotiations going this time? NTD's Jason Perry has the details. President Biden on Monday was asked when the potential ceasefire in the Gaza Strip would start. My national security advisor tells me that we're close, we're close, we're not done yet. And my hope is by next Monday we'll have a ceasefire. Qatar is currently mediating ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, though the two sides are not meeting in person. On Tuesday, a spokesman for Qatar's foreign ministry gave an update. If there was an agreement, you'd see me here in a more cheer attitude. But until now we don't have an agreement, yes, and we are still working on the negotiations. An Israeli government spokesperson on Tuesday said the Israeli military will keep the pressure on Hamas while the talks are ongoing. Because we know that the one thing that works against Hamas is the combination of military pressure and diplomatic pressure. That's what has led to the framework that we saw back in November that saw the release of more than 100 hostages. Hamas is now reportedly reviewing the ceasefire proposal while residents in the Gaza Strip are ready for a deal to be reached. Over a million people are now residing in the city of Rafah, where Israel said the fighting will soon take place if Hamas does not release the hostages by Ramadan. We hope for a permanent ceasefire so we can go back to our places. It's true there are no houses, but we hope to go back to our places. Also on Tuesday, Israel's prime minister responded to President Biden's remarks about Israel losing international support for its war against Hamas. Today, the Harvard-Harris poll was published in the United States, which shows that 82 percent of the American public supports Israel. Netanyahu said that gives Israel another year of strength to continue the campaign until victory. Jason Perry, NTD News. Coming up, what are some factors at play in the Michigan primaries? Our guest says there are Muslim voters and blue-collar union workers. Here is his analysis. Is Russia attacking Ukraine using U.S. technology? American tech is turning up in Russian missiles, drones and munitions. A Senate subcommittee held a hearing on the issue. And the U.S. Army is downsizing by slashing thousands of empty, unfilled jobs. More about the years of recruiting shortfalls when we return. The tempting online world is encroaching on our campus. Is unplugging cables and confiscating phones the solution to protect our children? No, we just need a clean multimedia platform. Join Ganjing Campus to leverage premium channel features, professional development courses and kindness event toolkits tailored for teachers. Build a truly positive and interactive classroom community. Foster a pure and delightful learning environment for children. The biggest investigation in FBI history. More than 1,100 arrests. I sacrifice my dream job to share this information with the American people. Those involved must be held accountable. He's an innocent man. It's going to change narratives no matter what your political perspective is. We've been spending a lot more time than ever at home these days. So maybe now you've just noticed cold air coming in from a couple windows. Or that your patio door isn't closing fully. Which means you're losing heat in the winter. Losing cooling in the summer. Losing money all year long. And that means now is the time for new windows and patio doors from Renewal by Anderson. Most installations are usually done in just one day. Renewal by Anderson windows and doors can help lower your heating bills and air conditioning bills with their most energy efficient glass available. Only their windows are made with Fibrex material proven to be two times stronger than vinyl. And they're backed by a 20 year warranty. And right now when you buy one window or patio door get one at 40% off. Plus there's no money down. No payments for 12 months and no interest for 12 months. Plus an additional $200 off your entire purchase. 1-800-968-1443 There's always a searching process for beauty. You know it when you see it. Welcome back. I'm Tiffany Meyer. As Michigan voters head to the polls today we take a look at the important factors at play in the Wolverine State. Joining us now is Steve Gruber, host of the Steve Gruber Show. Steve Gruber, thank you so much for joining us. Great to have you on the show. Thank you for having me. Now as the Wolverine State heads to the polls today for the primaries on the GOP side, Trump is leading Nikki Haley 72% to 27%. Now in the last two primaries in New Hampshire and South Carolina, Haley was able to close that gap compared to what the polls were predicting. How is Michigan a good barometer for the other GOP primaries to come? Well I think that the Republicans in Michigan will give you a pretty good indication of the rejection of Biden's policies when it comes to the border, which is what everybody's talking about. Lake and Riley's death in Georgia, top of the fold for just about everybody right now. And of course the border problems and the problems with Bidenomics, these are all things that are being reflected around tables in Michigan. Plus you've got a big union section in Michigan, working class people trying to figure out how to pay for groceries and gas and so forth. I think that you're going to find that overall there's a rejection of Joe Biden, which is why there's going to be a big protest vote in Michigan today. A lot of that coming from Arab communities in places like Dearborn, where they're going to vote uncommitted. They're not going to vote for Joe Biden. They're going to say, look, we don't like your policies in the Gaza Strip. So there are a whole lot of things happening in Michigan right now that are going to be reflective of the general election come November the 5th, I believe. And on that note, on the uncommitted vote, how do you see that unfolding for President Biden? Well, I think that the goal is to get at least 10,000. That was the goal out of some of those initiating that effort. 10,000 unaffiliated voters to say, look, we don't like your policies in Gaza. We don't like your policies as they deal with the nation of Israel. And of course, behind the scenes, Netanyahu, Benjamin Netanyahu being called, colorful names were told by the President of the United States. So there's a lot of divide there. You know, these are historic voting blocks for the Democrats, the Jewish voters and the Muslim and Arab voters, each on different sides of this conversation. Clearly, they can't win here. The Democrats, they're going to lose one side or they're going to lose the other. And so in places like Michigan, the Muslim vote, the Arab vote is significant compared to other states. Jewish voters are concentrated in other places like New York and New Jersey and Connecticut. So in different races, certainly for seats in Congress or certain states when it comes to the presidential election, these different groups can really affect the outcome come November. Now, on that note, these groups have said that their goal is to send a message to Biden so that he will support a ceasefire in terms of Gaza, but that they don't like Trump and they're not going to vote for him. Even if Biden doesn't change his stance, they would still likely vote for Biden in November. Now, given that, how much do you see the results of primary elections playing into the likely outcome of the general election? Actually, as I look at the general election numbers, if the election were held today, Donald Trump would be elected the 47th president of the United States. And I think by a fairly sizable margin. Again, you look at the big issues of today, the number one issue now, according to all polling, most recently Gallup, saying that the majority of Americans consider the open border to be the biggest problem facing America right now. 61% of those asked say that they want a wall built on the southern border. I was just in Texas last week. I was in McAllen. I was in Mission. I was in Hidalgo, Texas. And it's remarkable to see a whole section of wall and then no wall at all, then a whole section of wall and no wall at all. It's completely inconsistent, as is American policy on the southern border. Now, Steve, you mentioned the unions earlier, and we are seeing a surprising amount of union members support Trump, not Biden. Now, many are calling this race in Michigan a more competitive one than previous states. What makes Michigan different? Well, when you talk about it, it's important thing you brought up there. Unions, the Teamsters Union for the first time in a generation has made a huge donation to Republicans, equal to what they've donated to Democrats. The Teamsters have not endorsed anyone as of yet. As you know, the United Auto Workers Union and Sean Fain, the president of that union, he endorsed Joe Biden but said his people, the rank and file, would never vote for Joe Biden, that they would vote for Donald Trump. Donald Trump has done something that began in 2015 and continues to this day, and that is an exodus of Democrat voters, blocks of blue-collar workers leaving the Democrat party and coming to Donald Trump. You're going to see that continue in 2024, and I think Michigan's a bellwether for that. You see union households that once always voted Democrat right down the line saying, you know what, Joe Biden is destroying us. I remember this, the Keystone XL Pipeline, one of the first jobs that Joe Biden destroyed in America were the jobs of those union workers on the Keystone XL Pipeline when he closed it down. Quite fascinating indeed, Steve Gruber, thank you so much for your time. Does Russia rely on American technology in the war in Ukraine? At a Senate hearing today, witnesses testified that an overwhelming majority of Russian weapons contain American parts. NTD's Virginia Gibson has more. The Russians are relying on American technology. Around 95% of Russia's military equipment may have come from the U.S. and its allies, the same equipment Russia is using in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Lawmakers tackled the problem in a Senate hearing on Tuesday. This photo features a type of missile that flies at very low altitudes, making it hard to detect. We were able to open those systems and document all the components that were found inside. For a cruise missile, about 50% is non-Russian components. And when you look at drones, you go to almost 100% non-Russian components. Researcher Damien Splitter said Russia acquires semiconductor chips from third country distributors, the same tactic he said Iran and North Korea use. We have so far confidentially identified more than 200 non-sanctioned companies of interest, half of which are not in Russia, linked to the acquisition of transfer of semiconductors. Technology from Intel, analog devices, AMD and Texas Instruments eventually winds up in this system. The companies have difficulty tracking who ultimately ends up owning their products or who they're really selling to. There are some companies that almost specialize in this business. There are some corporate secretaries that provide different shell companies, and if you close one, they open another. Foreign policy expert Alina Rybakova said China is a big facilitator in this. She said she's seen China send Russia over 20,000 shipments of one type of chip per month. Russia acquired much of its technology before the war, stockpiling ahead of Western sanctions. But experts say it's still getting the latest technology when it slips past those sanctions. Virginia Gibson, NTD News. In the Russia-Ukraine war, the Pentagon today saying Washington won't send troops to the battlefield in Ukraine. The statement comes after French President Emmanuel Macron vowed to defeat Moscow without ruling out the possibility of a ground operation. We have no plans to send U.S. service members to fight in Ukraine. The president has been pretty clear on that, and that continues to be our position. Macron made the statement during a crisis meeting in Paris, where heads of European states were attending. Besides the U.S., the head of NATO and several NATO allies have also distanced themselves from Macron's statement, making clear that they had no intention to send troops to Ukraine. Meanwhile, in Moscow, the Kremlin warned that an open conflict with NATO will be inevitable if troops were deployed. The United States Army is slashing 24,000 jobs, which is about 5 percent of its force. The job cuts will mainly come from positions that haven't been filled. The cuts include 10,000 spots for engineers and other roles related to counterinsurgency, 6,500 from training posts, 3,000 from special operations, and 2,700 from various units that don't often deploy. It comes as the military has been for years struggling with recruiting. The Army is structured to have about 490,000 soldiers, but only 445,000 of those positions are filled. Last year, the Army, Navy and Air Force failed to meet recruitment goals, while the Marine Corps and Space Force were able to. Coming up, many Muslim Americans in Michigan voting uncommitted to protest President Biden's support for Israel. Our guest offers a Democratic perspective on the primary in Michigan. Find out why California might start testing sewage water for drugs. One lawmaker says it could help address the drug epidemic. And California's governor faces a new recall effort. Find out why the group behind the petition believes they have a better chance this year. That's coming up. When I drink it, the first thing was I feel the warmth in my tummy. It's kind of like gently radiating out, you know. A kind of a very comforting warmth. And it was really good, actually. I felt much better. I did feel, actually, an effect. And I find that it is actually better when I take it regularly. It's actually steamed and dried nine times. And so it's really, the essence is really extracted. Then the second time, I tried it really like on an empty stomach. And just two teaspoons of it and over a few times. And wow, that was a big difference because suddenly I could feel why I was very good energized. I didn't have to eat. I could work outside in the garden for a couple of hours. And I still felt very well. And I was impressed by that. So I think it's a good product. This is such a gentle painting, so beautifully portrayed. A group of people reading together in this simple, everyday-looking living room. A young girl reading along with an adult. A grandparent sitting in the lotus position. A businessman in his typical suit. You see all those people. They look like they have quietly settled down there. And you as a viewer, it looks like you've just stepped in the door. You can't see what it is they're reading. So you're a little bit curious and you're kind of invited to walk in. This harmonious feeling is not by accident. It is the very subject of the work. The book they are reading is the main text of Falun Gong, which is an ancient Chinese spiritual discipline in the Buddhist tradition. At the core of Falun Gong are the values of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. Unfortunately, the practice is banned in China, where the artist resides. Thousands have been killed for their faith. Golden energy blooms into the room as a result of their steadfast faith. The painting on the back wall reminds us of this work's title, Plum Blossoms in a Muddy World. It's also a metaphor for the practitioners that are sitting in the room as plum blossoms. They signify perseverance and hope that all brutal winters end and life is renewed once again. It's a magical painting. I'm David Zhang in Silicon Valley, California, and we are MTV News. Welcome back. If you're just joining us now, here are some of today's top headlines. President Biden met with the top four congressional leaders to discuss funding for the government. Congress must pass four funding bills to avert a partial government shutdown this weekend. House Republican Committee chairs have subpoenaed the Justice Department. They want documents related to the Special Counsel investigation into President Biden's handling of classified documents. This comes amid growing concerns over Biden's memory. The court hearing on whether to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis resumed in Georgia. Key witness Terrence Bradley returned to the stand to testify about the relationship between Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade. Michigan residents are heading to the polls to vote in the presidential primaries. Most polls close at 8 p.m. Eastern time and results are expected to come in at 9 p.m. Joining us now to offer a Democratic perspective on the Michigan primary is A. Scott Bolden. He's the former chair of the D.C. Democratic Party and former New York Assistant District Attorney. A. Scott Bolden, thank you so much for joining us. Good to have you back on the show. Thank you for having me. Now, in Michigan, President Biden's biggest challenger isn't another candidate, but rather this protest vote as Arab and Muslim communities there are pushing people to vote uncommitted to protest Biden's support of Israel. How do you see that playing out? Well, it's not going to have any direct impact on the delegate count, although they could be an uncommitted, at least one delegate. We anticipate that. That would send a message to Biden and the Democrats that Arab Americans who are Democrats want him to be better as a president in regard to the Israeli Hamas war. That includes young people and others who are offended at the video images of what Israelis call the collateral damage issue. But still, it's estimated 30,000 people have died who are not Hamas and who have died as a result of this war in Gaza and thereabouts. It's a serious issue. In reality, Joe Biden is doing everything he can for a temporary ceasefire. Although in the U.N. vote, the U.S. voted against a permanent ceasefire. At the same time, the Democrats in the Biden-Harris team have a lot to do in Michigan with the Arab American Democratic vote. I think there will be meetings. This primary is one thing, but the general is coming up in November. I don't see Arab Americans voting for Donald Trump. Now, closer to home, both President Biden and Trump are visiting the border on Thursday. Now, Texas' Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick has slammed the Biden administration's handling of the border crisis on Fox. How is President Biden changing his messaging about the border as the election ramps up? I think he's paying closer attention to it. You saw a joint bill between Democrats and Republicans get rejected by the hard right. And so when you talk about criticism of the Biden administration, Biden's first bill to Congress, which he took all over in 2020, was about the border crisis and about fixing the border. That bill went nowhere. H.R. 2 from the hard right Republicans, which they passed, that went nowhere. And now you have a joint bill between Republicans and Democrats last month that went nowhere. This is a talking point for the Republicans, quite frankly. If there's blood on anyone's hands because the 30,000 or more immigrants that have come across the border, it's because of the humanitarian approach. But it also means that if you look at recent polls, some 63 percent of Americans believe the border south of the border, the southern border, is a real issue. That means the Democrats and Republicans have got to pay attention. But both parties have to do something about it. This rhetoric, this political talk, the political blame game, they both are at fault. But impeaching the cabinet secretary is not the answer. Blaming each side is not the answer. Both sides need to do something about it until otherwise both sides are going to continue to be blamed about it. We'll be blamed by the American people in November for sure. Now, when it comes to young voters, Trump has actually been closing the gap on Biden's lead. A new poll shows that 52 percent are supporting Trump versus 48 percent to Biden. That's in a new Axios Generation Lab survey. Now, young voters were key to Biden's victory in 2020. How do you see that playing out this time around? The key to his victory in coalition building by November of 2024, I think. Young voters are frustrated, whether it's the age issue or whether it's the early Hamas war and our response to it. They're identifying with these images that they're seeing of innocent people being killed as part of war and that we are supporting Israel. And de facto, their interpretation is that we're supporting the killing of innocent civilians during this war. It's just not the case. The other thing that you see with young people is the majority of them are getting their news from TikTok and social media sources. That is not always accurate. And then lastly, our young people just don't know the history and the importance of Israel and U.S. relations. And really, Israel, Arab and U.S. relations dating back to 1948. We need to give them a history lesson so they can fully appreciate how complex this war is, how many other wars there have been, and how difficult it is to resolve these issues. I'm not saying they still won't be frustrated, but at least they'll have an understanding more than what they're getting off TikTok and some of the social media websites. Scott Bolden, thank you so much for your time. Thank you. A sewage surveillance bill introduced in California would mandate testing wastewater for fentanyl and other drugs. The bill's author says it would help the state respond better to the drug epidemic. NTD's Jason Blair brings us more. If passed, California Assembly Bill 3073 would require sewage testing for drugs, including but not limited to fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and morphine. It won't require all sewage plants in the state to comply, but at least 250 testing twice a week. The bill's author, Matt Haney, told the San Francisco Chronicle that, quote, The drug epidemic is horrific and getting worse. Wastewater testing provides critical information that can be used to respond rapidly to spikes in the use of drugs. We can't wait on people to die to know what's happening and where it's happening. Overdose deaths have been a growing issue for California. For example, San Francisco recorded more than 800 overdose deaths in 2023. Addiction recovery advocate Tom Wolfe said that number in 2017 was only 80. But I'll tell you right now that fentanyl, the arrival of fentanyl, has changed the game. You can see the disparity in how much it's changed in the amount of people that are dying from this drug. The testing results would be sent to the California Department of Health and posted on their website. If passed, the bill is expected to cost each county $21,000 a year. More details are expected to be worked out within the coming weeks. The bill is scheduled to be heard by committee for the first time on March 18th. Jason Blair, NTD News. California Governor Gavin Newsom is facing a second recall. This time, the group behind the effort believes they have a better chance of success as the state faces a historic deficit and Newsom's approval rating plummets to an all-time low. After nearly 5 million Californians voted to recall Governor Gavin Newsom in 2021, organizers of the effort are seeking to remove him from office again. The governor was served recall documents on February 26. Anne Dunsmore, the campaign director for Rescue California, said over 450 signatures were collected from five counties to trigger the initial recall process. It's just been this list of growing problems with him. He was boasting in the last recall of what we always knew was a fake surplus and now we're coming around with a budget that's fairly impossible to turn back into a surplus again. Dunsmore is referring to the state's $73 billion budget deficit. She criticized what she described as budget gimmicks and accused the governor of ignoring California's financial problems while campaigning out of state. In a post on Social Media X, Newsom wrote Trump Republicans are launching another wasteful recall campaign to distract us from the existential fight for democracy and reproductive freedom. We will defeat them. Newsom has denied that he could be the Democratic presidential candidate in 2024, though some fellow Democrats suggest he is aiming for the White House. He certainly seems to be capable of fixing problems of a very large magnitude like reopening the 10 freeway in 10 days or cleaning up San Francisco for three days, within three days. He had executive power for quite some time. I think he needs to focus on the problems he's created here. Well, he's the chief executive. 700,000 illegal immigrants getting health insurance is not something we can afford to do. If successful in gathering the required number of signatures, the recall would give California voters the choice to remove Newsom from office before his term expires. San Francisco police could soon be flying drones as part of their emergency response. City residents will have to vote on a controversial measure in March to authorize their use. NTD's Andrew Thomas has the latest. California-based drone manufacturer Skydio has contracts with more than 300 public safety agencies in the U.S. Fritz Reber is a former police captain and the head of public safety integration. The drones that public safety use, they're not weaponized, they're generally smaller, they're equipped with cameras and other sensors that just give public safety and first responders an idea of what's happening on a scene. And so they're really a way to just a tool. Skydio provides drones that can be launched from docking stations. They can be piloted from police headquarters as well as patrol cars. You have a lot of screens because some of your screens are going to have different map information, airspace deconfliction software. You might have body-worn cameras feeding video feeds in, video feeds from CCTV. All of that information gets gathered together into a real-time crime center. But voters will have to approve the Safer San Francisco ballot measure first. The proposal would authorize the use of more technology in a city that has shied away from it due to privacy concerns. But Mayor London Breed is betting that disgruntled citizens will vote for the measure amid surge in crime. So I get that people are concerned about privacy rights and other things, and technology is all around us. San Francisco is the artificial intelligence capital of the world. I mean, we have the top eight of 20 of the top 20 companies in the world right here in San Francisco. So it's coming whether we want it to or not. Critics of the proposal say the measure could lead to unintended consequences. The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California is against the measure. The ACLU of Northern California opposes Proposition E because it would reduce transparency into police use of force. It would authorize the expansion of surveillance systems by the police department. And it would overall just reduce accountability into the way that police interact with the community. San Francisco residents will vote on the measure in March. Andrew Thomas, MTD News. The Tennessee House has passed a bill that would significantly restrict the display of LGBT flags in public school classrooms. The measure is now heading to the Senate for further consideration. During the session, a heated exchange between Democrats and Republicans unfolded. Democratic Representative Justin Jones accused House Speaker Cameron Sexton of disregarding the voices of those opposing the bill. Two people who opposed the legislation were ejected from the gallery for disrupting proceedings. Critics argue that the bill unfairly limits an important symbol of support for the LGBT community within educational settings. The bill defines the act of displaying flags as hanging them in areas visible to students. Exceptions are made for certain flags, including the U.S. and Tennessee flags, along with flags deemed historically significant by state law. The bill's sponsor, Republican Representative Geno Bolso, said parents had reached out to him over concerns about political flags in classrooms. He said, quote, What we're doing is making sure parents are the ones who are allowed to instill in their children the values they want to instill. Coming up, the Odysseus moon lander is on its last legs after touching down only a few days ago. Find out what's going on and what it's still capable of. Dozens arrested in Southern California in an international ATM skimming operation. How you can spot a skimmer machine and protect your information. And in figure skating, it's been two years since a doping scandal cast a cloud over the 2022 Olympics and the late Team USA's medal ceremony. Dave Martin joins us with the latest updates when we return. Hey, everyone, it's me, Sebastian, and it is a beautiful day today. We have so much to be grateful for. So just remember, if you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours. I just love inspiring people to be the best they can be. And the reason I'm able to inspire so many people is because people like you who inspire me with your support of Shriners Hospitals for Children. Since I was little, I've broken a hundred bones and I've had 19 surgeries. Shriners Hospitals for Children was with me every step of the way. But more than that, they've given me the confidence to know I can do whatever I set my mind to. Like right now, I've set my mind to sharing my smile with you. Did you get it? Because of people like you, I can play the violin. I can play piano. I can understand. The help I get is only possible because of caring people like you who pick up the phone and call the number on your screen to make your monthly gift. And when you call or go online right now to donate $19 a month or more, we'll send you this adorable Love to the Rescue Blanket as a thank you. And a reminder of all the smiles you're bringing to kids' faces every day. Kids like me. And me. So what are you waiting for? You can inspire kids like me by visiting loveshriners.org. After all, you can't help everyone, but you can help someone. So let's go! Thank you. Thank you for giving. Join me and bring a smile to the world with your monthly gift today. Please call now. If operators are busy, please call again or go to loveshriners.org right away. Join me and bring a smile to the world. I was in the United States Marine Corps. Pretty much destroyed my back. I couldn't walk. Six days after surgery, I was back in the gym, and everybody was in awe. Like, didn't you just get out of surgery? I'm like, yeah. I feel great. I was rolling with everybody, and I'm in the advanced class. The exclusive Venati spine procedures are performed using conscious IV sedation, where the patient remains awake and communicating with their surgeon to ensure their pain is eliminated. Fly, drive, take a bus, take a train, whatever you can do to come get some help. Visit AskVenati.com. Welcome back. I'm Tiffany Meyer. The Odysseus Lunar Lander is cutting its mission a bit short, but it's still transmitting data until the very last minute its battery dies. Today, intuitive machines released new photos taken by Odysseus from about 100 feet above the moon's surface. Odysseus landed Friday, but it landed sideways. Intuitive initially hoped transmissions would last a week or more, but after the sideways landing, the company said its solar-powered batteries could run out today. Intuitive said although data transmissions were still ongoing, they didn't expect transmissions to continue for more than another day. Odysseus is the first commercial spacecraft to land on the moon, and the first U.S.-made spacecraft to land there since 1972. The FBI and Romanian authorities recently made 48 arrests in an ATM skimming ring in Southern California. How can you protect yourself when using an ATM? NTD's Stephanie Zakal has the details. Every ATM transaction requires trust in the bank and the machine, but card skimming possesses a significant threat. Criminals install devices on ATMs to steal card information, costing over $1 billion annually, according to the FBI. In a recent case, 48 people were arrested in an ATM skimming operation in Southern California at the end of 2023. Skimming involves attaching devices to machines, often with concealed cameras, to capture pins. But these crimes seem to be worldwide, often sophisticated and evolving, making detection challenging. So we went down to this cash machine, which looked like just like any other normal cash machine, nothing out of ordinary. So I put my card in, put my pin in. Muhammad Ali describes how he discovered an ATM skimmer. So once I put my pin in, it said, please take your card out and the money will follow. So I just kept waiting and the card never came out. So I started to inspect the machine and I soon noticed that there was like a little thing just near the keypad where you enter your pin. So I just pushed it and it just fell off. And I saw that there was a tiny camera on it, a battery and a memory card in there. So I figured out that it was a recording device. Somebody is trying to record my pin number. Consumers need to be aware of new techniques like skimming and shimming as criminals continually find innovative ways to steal personal data. Stephanie Sikal, NTD News. And now for your sports news, we're joined by NTD's Dave Martin. Dave, plenty to discuss. But let's start in the Olympics, figure skating specifically. Two years after Team USA got second in the team event and a month after Russia was disqualified, they still haven't received their medals. What's the holdup here? The holdup is both Russia and Canada actually are appealing the ruling but seeking very different results. Now, just to clarify, Russia won the team gold with her 15-year-old station Kamila Valieva leading the way. She was kind of the darling of those games, becoming the first female to land a quad jump in the Olympics. But the day after her performance in the team event, it was revealed she tested positive for doping like two months prior. Amazingly, the Olympics let her continue to compete, but they held off an award ceremony until an official ruling was made. Now, last month, that ruling was finally made as the Court of Arbitration for Sports gave her a four-year ban retroactive to her positive result, which, of course, disqualified her Olympic results. So they amended the team competition results by throwing out her two individual scores and awarded Team USA gold, Japan silver, but said Russia still had enough points to get bronze just ahead of Canada by like a point. So Russia is appealing, saying they should still get gold somehow instead of bronze, while Canada at the opposite end is saying Russia's whole team should be disqualified. They should get the bronze. It seems pretty cut and dry here. So what's Russia's argument? You know, they're saying that regulations only call for a team disqualification in the event that one of the competitors tests positive during the competition, not eight weeks prior. Now, technically, they may have an argument there, but would she have been allowed into the games had that positive doping test been revealed earlier? I seriously doubt it. The doping results, unfortunately, were delayed caused by staff shortages from COVID. Now, Valieva skated in two of those eight events in the team competition. She won them both. So they got 10 points each for winning each of those. Now, how they score this? So his second place gets nine points, third place eight points and so on. So Canada is also saying even if you don't disqualify the team completely, the two events she was in, they should not only get no points for, but everyone else should move up a point. In that case, they would have one more point than Russia and be awarded bronze. Russia would get nothing. Yet the official amended results docked Russia for those 20 points for two events, but didn't bump everyone else up. So Russia had one more point than Canada. So essentially, Team USA is going to have to wait maybe another year to get their anticipated gold. In Japan, they're sober while they sort out who gets the bronze. 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.