NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 21)

Welcome to NTD Evening News. Our top story tonight, the White House highlighting President Trump's achievements in his first six months in office. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard unveils hundreds of thousands of files related to Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination. And the latest after Gabbard also declassifies new findings related to the 2016 election probe. Mariotsu at the White House. Attorneys for Harvard and the Justice Department went head-to-head today at a hearing where they asked a federal judge to make a final ruling on a $2 billion funding freeze. Arlene Richards brings us the latest in the legal battle. A plane crash in Bangladesh kills at least 19 people and injures over 100 others. What happened to the military training jet? Israeli forces enter part of the Gaza Strip for the first time where some believe hostages could be located. Meanwhile, thousands of detainees are released during a ceasefire in Syria. Jason Perry with the details. Russia and Ukraine are set to hold peace talks this week. Keeves says it hopes that President Trump can participate. Darian Pasdar has the latest. This is NTD Evening News, live from our global headquarters in New York City. Here's Tiffany Meyer. Good evening, I'm Kevin Hogan, and for Tiffany, thank you for joining us tonight. As President Trump marks his first six months in office, the White House today touting his achievements in various sectors. It comes as Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard makes another move after releasing new documents on the 2016 election probe. NTD's White House correspondent, Mario Tsu, has more. The president really promised the American people many things, but at the top of that list was to defeat the Biden inflation crisis. The press secretary this afternoon celebrated the accomplishments of the first six months of President Trump's second term. Levitt touted Trump's administration as the most transparent in history and congratulated the president on securing the border. Inflation is now running at a 2.1% annual rate. Zero illegal aliens were released into our country. And then look at what the president has done on the world stage. He has ended wars, wars like India and Pakistan. He continues to work aggressively to end the war in Russia and Ukraine. He completely obliterated Iran's nuclear sites. In other news, today the Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released over 200,000 MLK assassination files. This comes after President Trump in January ordered agencies to declassify documents related to the assassinations of former President JFK, former Attorney General Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King. We're doing it with Dr. Martin Luther King too. They're preparing all of that. They're going to release everything. On Sunday, Gabbard also confirmed that she made criminal referrals to the FBI and Department of Justice about the findings of the documents she released on Friday. Gabbard's office says that the declassified documents it released show new evidence that the Obama administration, quote, manufactured and politicized intelligence to lay the groundwork for what was essentially a years-long coup against President Trump. The newly released documents state that in the months leading up to the November 2016 election, the intelligence community assessed that Russia was not trying to influence the election using cyber means. The report adds that despite the assessment, in the months following the election, Obama officials leaked false statements to media outlets claiming that Russia attempted to hack the election. Here's the Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard talking about these documents. This treasonous conspiracy was directed by President Obama just weeks before he was due to leave office after President Trump had already gotten elected. This is an issue that is so serious it should concern every single American because it has to do with the integrity of our democratic republic. Since the release of these documents on Friday, President Trump has taken to Truth Social to praise Tulsi Gabbard for her work in exposing what he calls, quote, the highest level of election fraud. Reporting from the White House, Mari Otsu, NTD News. Attorneys for Harvard University argued before a federal judge today that the Trump administration's freeze on $2 billion in research funding is unlawful. NTD's Arlene Richards has more. Legal arguments on Monday pushed for a final decision rather than temporary restraints. Harvard University and Justice Department lawyers both asked the federal judge to make a final ruling in their favor. The case involves a $2 billion funding freeze ordered by the Trump administration over what they believe is the school's failure to address anti-Semitism on its campus. Judge Alison Burroughs of the Massachusetts U.S. District Court heard arguments but didn't make a final ruling. The university's lawyers specifically asked in a court filing that Burroughs be assigned to this case because of her involvement in a related case that includes Harvard. Harvard's attorney argued on Monday that it was unlawful for the government to condition the university's use of the grants on what students and faculty say, referring to the government's accusations that Harvard had failed to prevent anti-Semitism on its campus. Harvard says this condition violates the university's First Amendment rights. In court filings, the school accuses the Trump administration of retaliation after it rejected a series of demands from a federal anti-Semitism task force. The school argued that the freeze puts the university's medical, scientific, and technological research at risk. The Justice Department denied the freeze was done in retaliation, saying the grants were under review even before a demand letter was sent in April. It argued that universities are not automatically entitled to federal funding. In a court filing, the government said funds were issued through contracts with explicit conditions that must be met to avoid cancellation. It claims the university's constitutional arguments are misplaced and are being used as a way to get around the law that really applies in this case. Both sides are asking for an expedited final decision rather than having an extended trial. The case has been combined with a similar one filed by Harvard faculty. If Judge Burroughs decides in the university's favor, the ruling would reverse a series of funding freezes and could revive Harvard's scientific and medical research operation. President Trump is already anticipating the judge will rule against the government. He said in a Truth Social post, when she rules against us, we will immediately appeal and win. Arlene Richards, NTD News. Congress is one week away from its scheduled August recess, but lawmakers have a backlog of nominations and appropriations bills to attend to. Our Washington correspondent Luis Eduardo Martinez has the details on the story. We've got to do the defense authorization bill. That's an annual thing that we have to do around here. Russia sanctions is something that is on our agenda and we're kind of waiting, working with the White House and coordinating schedules to make sure that we do that at the right time in terms of their negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. And so there's a whole series of things, including the appropriation bills that we want to get done. But funding the government has to be done before the end of the fiscal year. There are at least six judicial nominations that have already received a favorable vote in their respective committee, but have not yet received a full Senate floor vote. Senate Republicans blame Democrats for stalling a process that traditionally receives bipartisan support. With one week until Congress's scheduled August recess, President Trump posted on social media that hopefully the very talented John Thune will cancel August recess and long weekends in order to get my incredible nominees confirmed. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has also threatened to be uncooperative with the appropriations process that needs to be finished before October 1st. We're going to be waiting to see anxiously what Chuck Schumer and other leaders on the Democrat side decide to do, because ultimately keeping the government funded is good for the country and hopefully we'll have bipartisan cooperation to do that. But if their recent track record is any indication, they're under a tremendous amount of pressure from that far left wing of the Democrat party to shut the government down. Senate Republicans have already expressed their willingness to skip the August recess in order to finish their legislative duties. Is it really fair to the American people that we don't have people in place and agencies who are able to address their concerns, who are able to answer their questions, who are able to make a federal government run more smoothly? Because the way they're acting, they don't seem to care much about the American people being able to have a government that's going to work smoothly. This week the Senate will have a full Senate floor vote on their version of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill, which received bipartisan support to come out of committee. The vote will gauge whether Democrats are willing or not to obstruct the funding battle. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Luis Eduardo Martinez, NTD News. At least 19 people are reported killed and 164 injured today after a Bangladesh Air Force training jet crashed into a college campus in the capital city of Dhaka. A military spokesperson said the plane experienced a technical problem shortly after takeoff. Flames and billowing smoke rose from a school campus in Dhaka, where a Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft crashed on Monday. A military spokesperson said the Air Force training jet experienced a technical problem shortly after takeoff. Some of the more than 160 injured in the crash were raced into a local hospital on stretchers. At least 19 people were killed, according to officials, as of Monday morning. Crowds watched the chaos from a distance as emergency workers rushed to extinguish the flames. Families of the victims, unsure of the status of their loved ones, shouted and had to be restrained as others tried to comfort them. Masood Tariq is a teacher at the Milestone School and College where the crash occurred. When I was picking up my kids and went to the gate, I realized something came from behind. Then I heard an explosion. When I looked back, I only saw fire and smoke. Then I just rushed my kids on an auto rickshaw and saw fire and smoke again. There were many guardians and kids here. The military said the pilot was among those killed in the incident, adding that a committee had been formed to investigate the cause of the crash. In the Middle East, Israel has now sent ground forces into parts of the central Gaza Strip for the first time since the conflict began, and some believe that hostages may be held in the area. Meanwhile, 25 countries have signed a joint statement calling for an immediate end to the war in the Gaza Strip. NTD's Jason Perry has the details. Israeli forces continue to launch strikes on reported terrorist targets throughout the Gaza Strip. And on Monday, reportedly for the first time since the start of the war, Israel sent ground forces into Deir al-Bala in central Gaza, and some believe that Hamas could be holding hostages in Deir al-Bala as well. The mother of a hostage recently expressed her concerns about the Israel Defense Forces, or IDFs, latest operations there. People forget that what's happening is that the hostages are 40 meters underground, which endangers them and also endangers our IDF soldiers, as well as our security forces. Fifty hostages still remain in the Gaza Strip. Only 20 of them are believed to still be alive. On Monday, 25 countries, including the UK and France, in a joint statement called for an immediate end to the war in the Gaza Strip. However, Israel's foreign ministry in a post on X rejected the joint statement and said that all claims should be directed at Hamas, which, quote, started this war and is prolonging it. Israel's foreign ministry also said that Hamas is, quote, deliberately acting to increase friction and harm to civilians who come to receive humanitarian aid. A U.N. spokesman commented on the humanitarian aid situation in the Gaza Strip, saying, quote, the last lifelines keeping people alive are collapsing. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF, said thousands of pallets of aid are inside Gaza waiting to be delivered. GHF is ready, willing and able to help the U.N. and any other aid organization in Gaza deliver aid. I repeat today now our call for collaboration. But the U.N. has refused to cooperate with the GHF, alleging that the distribution plan does not accord with, quote, impartiality, neutrality or independence. Meanwhile, in Syria, the Syrian government has been helping to evacuate thousands of Bedouins from the Druze city of Suwayda as a ceasefire continues to hold. U.S. envoy Thomas Barak says there's a detainee hostage release program that's currently taking place between the Druze and the Bedouins. So the civilians have all been released as of 15 minutes ago, most of them. The fighters will all be released in the next 24 hours, and everybody's just trying to keep calm. And Barak says that so far, thousands of people have been released. Jason Perry, NTV News. Russia and Ukraine attack each other today with civilians on both sides suffering as fighting continues. Kiev and Moscow are set to hold another round of talks this week. And today's international correspondent, Arjen Pastar, has the war update. A cloud of dust engulfed a subway station in Kiev after a major Russian attack on Monday. Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said the subway station had to be ventilated to guarantee the safety of the civilians taking shelter there. Ukrainian officials say Monday's attack was one of Russia's largest aerial assaults on Ukraine in recent months. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the attack killed two people and wounded 15 others, including a 12-year-old kid. A resident says she was saved by her dog, which started to bark before the drones hit. She warned us about 30 seconds before the strike, which gave us time to prepare. Meanwhile in Russia, chaos at airports across the country. Russia's defense ministry says it downed over a hundred drones overnight, including 30 over the Moscow region. Because of that, airports serving Moscow experienced delays, with people sleeping on the floor and waiting in long lines. Also on Monday, Zelensky said that new talks with Russia are set to take place this week. Today, I discussed with Defense Minister Umarov the preparation for a prisoner exchange and another meeting with the Russian side in Turkey. Umarov reported that the meeting is planned for Wednesday. Ukraine's foreign minister says he hopes that the presidents will participate in the meeting. It would be the first talks involving heads of state. One of the proposals is to hold a meeting at the level of Zelensky and Putin, with the participation of US President Trump and European leaders. And Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to travel to China in September to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. A Kremlin spokesperson hints at a possible meeting with President Trump if he'll be there too. If it happens so that Trump will also be there, then, of course, we cannot rule out that the question of holding a meeting will be raised. But he added that they haven't heard anything about Trump planning to travel to China. Arien Pastar, NTD News. Coming up, two illegal immigrants are now in custody for their alleged involvement in the shooting of a Customs and Border Patrol officer. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem is blaming New York City's so-called sanctuary policies for the crime. Jason Blair reports. An alleged drug lord tied to violent cartels and a dramatic prison escape has pleaded not guilty in a US court. Officials call his extradition from Ecuador a major win in the fight against organized crime. We'll have that and more for you when we return. Is deep sea fish oil really healthy? Due to pollution in the oceans, most fish contain heavy metal elements and radioactive substances. That's why it's so important to choose a pure source of omega-3. Puritan Green Vegetable Omega-3 is made from purslane and perilla seeds, which are rich in nutrients and minerals, especially vitamins A, D, E, calcium, and iron. With natural processing and no harmful chemical additives, it has more than 90% concentration of omegas 3, 6, 7, and 9. It effectively improves brain power and is beneficial to the heart's health. Puritan Omega-3 does not smell of fish and contains no pollutants, so both adults and children can safely and easily consume it over a long period of time. 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A second suspect has been arrested following the shooting of an off-duty Customs and Border Patrol agent in New York City. The Department of Homeland Security says that both suspects are in the country illegally. Entity correspondent Jason Blair reports. Two suspects have been arrested after an off-duty Customs and Border Patrol agent was shot in a New York City park. Both suspects crossed into the country illegally and both have had court orders to be removed since 2023, according to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. Our officer was off duty on Saturday evening when him and his friend were attacked. They were attacked by two individuals that were set on robbing them. The officer is recovering from his wounds. Thankfully, he had his service weapon with him and was able to defend himself and his friend and injured one of those individuals that was trying to do them harm. The wounded suspect was later identified and arrested after walking into a hospital to treat his wounds from the incident. Noem says that he has a long criminal history. Arrested four different times in New York City and because of the mayor's policies and San Diego's policies was released back to do harm to people and to individuals living in this city. On Monday, a second suspect was arrested who's due to appear in federal court on Monday. Noem says he also has a criminal record. Noem and White House Bordasar Tom Homan blame, quote, sanctuary city policies for these suspects being released after their previous arrests. Every sanctuary city is unsafe. I'll say it again, sanctuary cities are sanctuaries for criminals. And I'm going to work very hard for Secretary Noem to keep President Trump's promise and his commitment several weeks ago that sanctuary cities are now our priority. They're protecting criminals who go out and murder, rape, rob. They perpetuate violence on our children. They traffic them and drugs and damage this country every single day. New York City Mayor Eric Adams reacts to the shooting. You know how outraged I am because of Andrew's bail reform laws. So I am extremely angry that we have a custom border patrol officer that is in the hospital because a person that should have not been on our street was on our street. Noem says that assaults on federal agents have risen nearly 700 percent. She says that people are trying to reveal their identities with the intention to intimidate and threaten them and their families. Reporting in Washington, D.C., Jason Blair, NTD News. How are everyday Americans reacting to the shooting of an off-duty CBP officer in New York City? And what do they make of President Trump's immigration policies? NTD's Sam Wong was out in the National Mall in D.C. to hear from the people. How would you rate President Trump's performance on immigration so far? I think he's doing a great job. I just believe that if you are an immigrant and you want to come to this country, we have ways to get into the country properly. You know, this is supposed to be the land of the free, and we're supposed to be welcoming people and not taking them out of the country, especially if they were born here. I think Mr. President Trump has a wonderful immigration policy, and I think that if properly done, you come into the country properly, then there should be no issue. The border crossing being stopped is fine, okay, but you've got to give them a way to be able to come into this country. What are your thoughts on the idea of a sanctuary city? No comments. A sanctuary city? I don't know. I definitely think that there shouldn't be sanctuary cities, and there shouldn't be illegal immigrants. I think that you should come into this country legally. Just like, again, a murderer or somebody who's wanted by the police, they come into your house, again, they come into your house, and you let them stay, you're harboring a fugitive, and you're now an accessory. In New York City, an off-duty CBP officer was shot in the face by an illegal immigrant from the Dominican Republic, and then this is the person who was arrested before, and then he was also let off the hook almost within a short period of time. So what are your thoughts on this situation? I definitely think that he needs to be accounted for, and obviously it was a risk, him coming into the country legally in the first place. Justice wasn't served. Everybody needs to have justice, and you need to, if you shoot somebody, you need to go through the justice system. You just don't let them go in and walk back out. But the people who authorize this kind of situation need to be spending a little time on a bench. To me, yeah, that was mishandled, if that's how it did. Because if he was caught, they had him caught, then that wouldn't have happened. The guy got shot, and he should have never been shot, because they arrested the person already. They knew he was illegal. They knew he had a criminal history. But yet our judicial system just washed their hands of him and let him roll out. So that's on the politicians. Are so-called sanctuary policies to blame for violent assaults on border officers? And how many companies are exploiting illegal immigrants to the point of violating child labor laws? Hear from former senior advisor for the Department of Homeland Security, Charles Marino, tonight on Capitol Report at 7 p.m. Eastern time. An alleged Ecuadorian drug lord has pleaded not guilty in a U.S. courtroom. Adolfo Macias was extradited from Ecuador just weeks after being recaptured following his 2024 prison escape. NTD's Christina Corona tells us more. Alleged Ecuadorian drug lord Jose Adolfo Macias, also known as Fito, pleaded not guilty in a U.S. court on Monday. He faces seven federal charges, including drug and weapons trafficking, carrying penalties from 20 years to life in prison. Ecuador extradited Macias to the United States on Sunday, which is a first for Ecuador. Officials say he was taken from La Roca Detention Center by Ecuador's National Police and Armed Forces to begin extradition proceedings. Ecuador's government called the extradition a major win against organized crime. Government spokesperson Carolina Jaramillo said the extradition of Macias via MAR and operations to dismantle criminal economies weakened the mafias. The national government remains determined to continue this fight. Macias escaped from a high-security prison in 2024 and was recaptured in June. Following his escape, Ecuador imposed a 60-day state of emergency and raised the reward for his capture to $1 million. In April, U.S. prosecutors indicted him for importing thousands of pounds of cocaine. Authorities say he led Los Choneros, a gang linked to Mexican cartels and classified as a terrorist group in Ecuador. The gang allegedly smuggled firearms from the U.S. and trafficked cocaine through Ecuador. Macias was originally serving a 34-year sentence for drug trafficking, murder, and organized crime. Cristina Corona, NTD News. A Montreal man has been charged with murder in the death of his nine-year-old daughter in upstate New York. The charges come after the suspect reported his child missing Saturday. New York State Police provided more details this afternoon. The child was identified as Melina Fratolin, age 9, and the caller as her father, Luciano Fratolin, age 45. The New York State Police and Warren County Sheriff's Office immediately responded to the area of Exit 22 of the Northway and initiated an investigation and attempt to locate Melina. On Sunday, July 20, a search detail comprised of officers from multiple agencies conducted an organized search in the town of Ticonderoga, New York. In an area Mr. Fratolin was suspected of having visited. During that search detail, at approximately 10.50, members of the New York State Police Forest Rangers located Melina deceased in the shallow portion of a pond. Police said the father and daughter had been on vacation in the U.S. since July 11. They had been expected back in Montreal over the weekend. According to police, the girl had been living in Montreal with her mother. Authorities said the couple has been estranged since 2019. A not guilty plea was entered on the suspect's behalf at arraignment. Autopsy results are expected later today. And just ahead, thousands march for freedom in New York City's Chinatown, shedding light on the Chinese Communist Party's repression within and far beyond its borders. Stefania Cox takes us there. 26 years of persecution in China now extending across the world. A deep dive with a retired intel officer into how the Chinese Communist Party attempts to manipulate institutions in other countries like the U.S. to target a faith group. Stay tuned for that when we come back. I debate all day. It's what I do. But there are some things that are undebatable, like your mental health, my own mental health. I was in a dark place when my brother passed away in a car accident. I've never been more devastated than the day I lost my mom. I was depressed, miserable in ways I never imagined. I reached out, my sisters came, my pastor, my therapist. They helped me get through it. I found that the more I spoke up, the healthier my mind became. The chaos that was in me began to subside. I was more focused, clear. When you love your mind, you can go so much further. That's not up for debate. Find mental health resources at loveyourmindtoday.org. My name's Stacy, I'm 57, and I was adopted in 2020. We were adopted in 2019. And we were adopted in 2021. We had a house, and it sounds crazy, but it wasn't a home. The one thing that Jake and Emma brought is it became a home. When I met Dakota, he had just turned 14. You weren't there for the first this and the first that. I missed the first words, but we got a lot of other firsts. Watching her say, oh my God, I cannot believe I got my license. And she's like, I passed. And I'm like, girl. See them grow. It is... They chose to love us. They didn't have to. They chose us. Family. You and you. Kids in the middle. What I thought was a complete life was nowhere near complete. But it is now. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. You can't imagine the reward. Visit adoptuskids.org. You see certain things get reincarnated in your children. My daughter is very much inspired by my wife's artistic pursuits. So my daughter started making necklaces. She makes what we call affirmation fashion. I tell her every day that you're black is beautiful. You're black is beautiful. And if there's anything better than being beautiful, it's being smart. And if there's anything better than being smart, it's being kind. And reaffirming that every day is our method of making sure her chin never drops. My dad wasn't around. And I remember riding a bike and falling off and cutting myself. And me never just wanting to get back on it. People ask, how your children learn how to ride a bike? And you did. I didn't teach them. I just created an environment where they taught themselves. And all I had to do was be there. It's good to have you back with us. 26 years ago yesterday, July 20th, the Chinese Communist Party launched a campaign to eliminate a spiritual meditation system called Falun Gong. Since then, practitioners of the discipline have been speaking up for human rights on the global stage by sharing the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. In New York's Chinatown, Shen Yun Performing Arts joined 2,000 people at a parade calling for an end to the persecution. Shen Yun's artists shared with us how the Chinese regime is now targeting them right here in America. Entity's Stefania Cox was there at the parade. Let's take a look. In the heart of New York's Chinatown, thousands marched to mark 26 years since the Chinese Communist Party launched a violent campaign to eradicate Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, a peaceful spiritual discipline based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. What makes this year unique is that artists from Shen Yun Performing Arts also took part. Mission to revive traditional Chinese culture. For me as a Chinese person, I think it's very meaningful. And at the same time, you know, I'm a Falun Gong practitioner. And the persecution that has been going on for almost 26 years, right, is 26 years today. I think it is my duty, you know, to let people know about this persecution through my art. And I think this is the, this is my meaning of life. And I find it really, really worthwhile. At this time of year, Shen Yun is usually busy preparing for its upcoming world tour. But recently, the Chinese regime's attacks on the group here in America have been severe. So it's been forced to come out and let the world's people know. Ever since Shen Yun was founded in 2006, the Chinese Communist Party has always tried to stop us, tried to stop us from performing, tried to cancel our theater contracts, tried to pressure government officials and theaters to cancel our shows, tried to stop media sponsors. But the last couple of years, in the last year in particular, we've seen an escalation of this. We point directly to leaked documents that we got from China, the last couple of years, talking about an escalation in an attempt to crush Shen Yun and crush Falun Gong more broadly, internationally and in America in particular. Shen Yun is a performing arts company based in New York. It was founded by Falun Gong practitioners and presents China's human rights abuses on stage. To try and sabotage the group's performances, Beijing has begun a campaign to send bomb threats to U.S. theaters, target the group's buses, launch propaganda campaigns, and weaponize social media and American media outlets against Shen Yun. Last year, Shen Yun received more than 100 bomb threats. And I think it's very concerning. This persecution is not just going on in China. It's spreading to the U.S. as well. And that's very scary because it's attacking America and its very core values. It's freedom of speech, of religion, of expression. And I think that's very concerning. So that's why we're here today, too. It's part of a larger campaign known as transnational repression. The Chinese Communist Party's attempts to control and intimidate Falun Gong practitioners and others, even outside of China. The U.S. State Department has condemned the regime's persecution of the peaceful practice. The U.S. House of Representatives has also passed two bipartisan bills, the Falun Gong Protection Act and the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act, now awaiting action in the Senate. Since 1999, the CCP has tortured and killed thousands for practicing Falun Gong and used state-sanctioned organ harvesting to profit from their bodies. Oh, man, I hope best for them. You know, Chinese people are beautiful. So, you know, I just hope that they have a good life here. This is an evil regime. We should do everything to act against it. Well, this is the center of freedom in the world. And I'm glad that we agree on that we're anti-CCP. This is not just about Falun Gong. If Beijing can run this playbook, this strategy to try and silence Falun Gong here, they can use the same strategy to target anyone or any organization in America. For many Falun Gong practitioners, this parade is more than a tradition. It's a stand for the values they believe can heal the world. Truthfulness, compassion and tolerance. And this year, with Shen Yun dancers stepping out of the theaters and into the streets, the message is clear. The Chinese Communist Party's repression is more than history. It's here. It's global. And it's time to face it. From dance stages to city streets, Falun Gong practitioners and the artists who represent their spirit are standing up not just for freedom in China, but for freedom everywhere. Because without truth, compassion and tolerance, where would the world be? As we've been covering, yesterday marked 26 years of persecution against a peaceful spiritual group called Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa. The Chinese Communist Party has slandered, tortured and murdered these people of faith in a campaign to eradicate the practice. And that repression has spread overseas, evidenced by acts ranging from assault and harassment of practitioners to bribery-related attacks and bomb threats targeting Falun Gong-run companies. To understand more about this, we've invited Nicholas Eftimiadis to the show. He's a retired senior intelligence officer and the author of Chinese Espionage Operations and Tactics. Great to have you with us, Nicholas. Please give us a detailed look at how the CCP is able to carry out what some US lawmakers call transnational terrorism against this group. Well, it actually certainly is transnational terrorism and conducting terroristic threats by anyone would be arrested for doing what the CCP is doing globally, in fact. And there are several organizations within China, within the party, as well as the state, which conduct these types of acts. We have the Ministry of Public Security, specifically their first bureau. We have the Ministry of State Security and the United Front Work Department. And the 610 office was under the state council specifically designed to eliminate Falun Gong. So there's a whole lot of effort going into Falun Gong, not only domestically, but increasingly globally. Yes. And now what's clearly reprehensible is the CCP's abuse of Falun Gong within China's borders. That said, Levi Browdy, the executive director of the Falun Dafa Information Center, says there's an additional issue at hand here, that what the CCP is doing to Falun Gong is a test for how Western democracies can maintain their sovereignty as the Chinese regime becomes increasingly sophisticated at carrying out its transnational repression. What should be done? Well, first, I'm not going to say sophisticated because they're particularly brutal and transparent. It's just now in the past couple of years that democracies have started to react towards this, which is horrific in a sense, because it's been going on for many years. But it's with this escalation that democracies are reacting. And the United States needs to step up the pressure for protecting its people within its borders. I mean, if the nation state serves no other purpose, none at all, at federal and state levels, it's to protect its citizenry. And that's something that the United States is going to have to step up to and make it costly for China to continue this type of behavior. Understood. And last year, a Chinese man was sentenced to 20 months in prison for attempting to bribe a purported IRS agent in an effort to further the CCP's repression of Falun Gong. They sought to revoke the tax-exempt status of Shen Yun Performing Arts, which is run by Falun Gong practitioners. So based on the research contained in your book, how does the Chinese regime seek to exploit U.S. institutions to meet its goals? Well, that case that you mentioned was John Chen. And yeah, he is, in fact, in prison. And prior to that time going to prison, they actually caught him now in another case on the West Coast in California, working with an individual who was indicted and arrested, Mike Sun, to try and to install an individual into the State Council and with the intent of using that to go after Falun Gong. So the arms of this tentacle are absolutely pervasive throughout the system. And it's just one example of them going after political institutions, the IRS. We have a State Council representation in California, and we have this by the thousands. We have multiple, multiple cases globally in dealing with every type of political or social institution that you can have that China has put forth in this extraordinarily resourced effort globally to try and co-opt institutions and turn them against dissidents abroad. Thank you for going into detail about that. Now, international tribunals have found that the CCP runs a murder for profit scheme against the Falun Gong, namely forced organ harvesting. That's as leaked information from whistleblowers inside the CCP reveals efforts to use Western media to spread disinformation about the group and weaponize legal systems against it. What message do you have for the American public who may be subscribers to outlets that publish hit pieces on Falun Gong or its related entities, or who may come to learn about these baseless lawsuits? Yeah, well, this is legal warfare, or legal warfare is something that the CCP has publicly, and the PLA in particular has publicly signed up to doing. So it's not unusual that we see these types of cases all the time designed to waste resources and designed to abate and to slow down and to make it more difficult for democracy advocates or overseas or dissidents overseas. The American people probably need the education component of this more than anything, they need to understand what's happening. And the reason that that becomes very difficult in our society is because this is a nature of political warfare, or as they call it in China, unrestricted warfare. And it's not something the United States is really used to. You know, we had it many years ago in the heydays of the Soviet Union, but not to this extent. So it's not only the United States, citizens are going to have to become far more aware of this in their social media usage, and their usage of reading media publications, but our government institutions are going to have to change to contend with it. And how can the US further adapt to meet this rising threat? Well, one of the things I advocate is the United States needs to stop being so defensive in posture. I mean, the Chinese government operates here, and we spend extraordinary resources trying to stop it. And yet, the CCP, you know, feels no pain for doing it. There's nothing, you know, there's no incentive for them to stop. So the United States needs to turn take a little different tactic, start being a little more offensive, and how it responds to China's, you know, to China's incursions into US sovereignty, exactly, you know, and it needs to do trade sanctions, it needs to move state owned enterprises off the off the list, it needs to cut that, you know, off the stock exchange, it needs to cut down on China's diplomatic representation for people involved in this, it needs to make China understand this type of threats against our citizenry is unacceptable. Nicholas, I follow exactly what you're saying. How can the US do that, while still preserving its own interests? Because of course, the US and China are both two superpowers, there's trade relations and so forth. Well, I, you know, there are a lot of smart people actually in Congress. First thing is this needs to be done in law. And they need to take specific actions, economic and other ones that would impede CCP's hold on power, right? If it continues in these types of acts, same thing for cyber espionage as well. They need to feel pain for conducting those acts against the against the United States. So and it needs to be done in law because the CCP has proved itself very patient. And it will just wait out the administration and wait out, you know, wait out law enforcement actions, up until the time that it's a that it's a lot more freely able to operate. So we need this in law. And we need countermeasures that from an economic standpoint, from a political standpoint, make China feel, you know, the pain of its actions. Nicholas F. Timniadis, thank you for that insight. Thank you very much for having me. And a special report coming soon on NTD. Join us as we uncover how the Chinese regime is extending its reach into American life, putting freedom at risk. Hear powerful firsthand accounts from those who've lived it. Tomorrow, July 22nd at 9 p.m. Eastern Time, only on NTD. And just ahead, actor Malcolm Jamal Warner dies in Costa Rica. He's best known for co-starring in the classic sitcom The Cosby Show. And in golf, the world's top ranked player, Scotty Shuffler, made it look easy. Dave Martin reports when we come back. Is deep sea fish oil really healthy? Due to pollution in the oceans, most fish contain heavy metal elements and radioactive substances. That's why it's so important to choose a pure source of omega-3. Puritan Green Vegetable Omega-3 is made from purslane and perilla seeds, which are rich in nutrients and minerals, especially vitamins A, D, E, calcium and iron. 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He became a household name for his role as Bill Cosby's son, Theo Huxtable, from 1984 through 1992. Warner's other acting credits include roles on Malcolm & Eddie, Grown-ish, and the reboot of The Wonder Years. In addition to acting, Warner was also involved with music, winning a Grammy in 2015 for his song Jesus' Children. Scotty Scheffler wrapped up his second major win of the season yesterday with a dominating performance over in Ireland. Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, 46-year-old Manny Pacquiao turned back the clock with an incredible performance in the ring. And today's Dave Martin has more. Scotty Scheffler joined the likes of Tiger Woods and former golf great Ben Hogan in winning his second major of the season by four strokes or more on Sunday. The world's number one ranked player wrapped up the Open Championship with a relatively stress-free final round yesterday ahead of runner-up Harris English by four shots overall. Scheffler shot up to the top of the leaderboard on Friday, shooting a tournament-best 64. He then added to his lead Saturday before cruising to victory. The win was his 11th straight top ten finish overall. Meanwhile, in boxing news, 46-year-old Manny Pacquiao made his return to the ring Saturday after four years in retirement in what was ruled a draw against WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios. The 30-year-old Barrios won the final round on all three judges' cards, enabling him to keep his belt. Both boxers said afterwards they'd like a rematch. And finally, in one of the more unusual combinations of games, 7-foot-3-inch NBA star Victor Wembenyama organized a mixed basketball chess tournament in his home country of France on Sunday. Called the Hoops Gambit, the tournament attracted 150 chess players and 280 basketballers for some one-on-one as well as three-on-three. 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