NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (Feb. 18)

Welcome to NTD Evening News. Our top story tonight, a deadly avalanche in California. Eight skiers have been found dead and one is still missing after a wave of snow and debris crashed down on them near Lake Tahoe. The latest on the search and rescue operation. The biggest military buildup yet in the Middle East. President Trump sending the world's largest warship to the Mediterranean along with a fleet of fighter jets and aerial refueling tankers. Mario Tsuha has what the White House says about the moves. The CDC will have a new temporary chief after a series of leadership changes over the past year. Who the White House is tapping to be acting director. The U.S. Labor Secretary says a strike team will soon investigate California fraud. The investigations would be similar to Minnesota's. David Lam has the details. This is NTD Evening News live from our global headquarters in New York City. Here's Tiffany Meyer. Good evening and thank you for joining us tonight. We begin with sad news coming out of California. Eight skiers have been found dead and one is still missing a day after an avalanche hit this year at Nevada near Lake Tahoe. The skiers had been on the final stretch of a three day backcountry trip when a wave of ice, rocks and debris came crashing down on them. Survivors were left scrambling to try to find the rest of their group and to improvise shelter as they awaited rescue. Yvonne Rodriguez has the latest. A tragic turn in the search for nine missing skiers. Eight of the additional nine additional skiers have been located deceased. We are still looking for one of the members at this time. Emergency crews received reports of an avalanche hitting Castle Peak around 11 30 Tuesday morning. Immediately skilled rescue ski teams raced to the scene. 46 emergency first responders in all says the Nevada County Sheriff's Office. 11 hours later the Sheriff's Office says six survivors were rescued with various injuries, two of whom were transported to the hospital for treatment. But as time goes on, weather conditions are becoming a challenge as skiers search for the one remaining missing skier. Due to the ongoing challenges of the weather, the avalanche conditions, the effort remains ongoing as well as our search for the It's not a resource issue as we speak. It is a conditions, a weather condition and safety condition for our response teams. Even as snowfall tapers Wednesday, lingering showers and deep existing snow will keep travel difficult and terrain unstable around the Tahoe Basin and higher elevation. Another storm is expected to begin early Thursday, potentially stacking new Authorities are urging the public to check avalanche forecasts and weather reports before traveling anywhere in the backcountry. Their messages avoid all closed areas and high risk areas. President Trump is sending the USS Gerald Ford, the world's largest warship to the Middle East, plus a huge fleet of fighter jets and aero refueling tankers in the largest military buildup We now go live to Entities Washington correspondent Mari Otsu. Mari, good evening. Tiff, good evening. That's right. In that massive military buildup in the Gulf, there is a potential indication that President Trump is preparing large-scale strikes against Iran if negotiations with the regime ultimately fail. And it comes as President Trump today is also urging UK's Prime Minister Akir Starmer to back out of leasing the island of Diego Garcia to Mauritius. President Trump says that it may be necessary for the US to use that island to eradicate a potential attack from the Iranian regime should they not make a deal. The president says that Diego Garcia is strategically located in the Indian Ocean and, quote, called it making a big mistake by leasing it to Mauritius. And the White House, meanwhile, is repeating that President Trump always prefers diplomacy first. Take a look. As you just said, totally obliterated Iran's nuclear facilities. The president has always been very clear, though, with respect to Iran or any country around the world, diplomacy is always his first option. And Iran would be very wise to make a deal with President Trump. This comes as four F-15 fighter jets and refueling tankers are en route to the Middle East. And the USS Gerald Ford, the second aircraft carrier to be deployed to the region, is expected to arrive in the eastern Mediterranean in about four days. Meanwhile, satellite images show that Iran has recently built a concrete shield over a new facility at a sensitive military site, buried tunnel entrances at a nuclear site bombed by the U.S. last year and repaired missile bases struck in that conflict. This as a Russian warship arrives in Iran a day before it's expected to conduct Navy drills in the Sea of Oman and Northern Indian Ocean a few days after Iran's Revolutionary Guards conducted drills in the Strait of Hormuz. I think you heard from the administration and the State Department yesterday that there was a little bit of progress made, but we're still very far apart on some issues. I believe the Iranians are expected to come back to us with some more detail in the next couple of weeks. And so the president will continue to watch how this plays out. While Iran insists its nuclear program is entirely peaceful, it is the only non-nuclear weapon state enriching uranium up to 60 percent, a short step away from weapons-grade material. We don't want any enrichment. We don't want enrichment. Yes, of course the Iranians say that they're not interested in a nuclear weapon. We know, in fact, that's not true. They have shown a number of things that make it clear that they're interested in acquiring a nuclear weapon. President Trump has made his demands for the Iranian regime clear. No nuclear weapon and stop killing anti-regime protesters. This is as Iran International reports that since last month over 36,000 anti-government protesters were killed by the regime. The Trump administration says everything is on the table in negotiations, including ballistic missiles and support for proxies like Hamas and Hezbollah, but the U.S.'s red line is possession of a nuclear weapon. Everything is on the table. We certainly want Iran to stop being a state sponsor of terrorism. They're one of the world's largest state sponsors of terrorism. There are a lot of ways in which they endanger America's national security, but the most important way they could is if they acquired a nuclear weapon. Meanwhile, President Trump tomorrow has a board of peace meeting here in Washington with over 40 countries expected in attendance. President Trump vows that that board will be will prove to be the quote most consequential international body in history and says that tomorrow he'll announce that member states have pledged more than five billion dollars toward humanitarian aid and reconstruction efforts in Gaza. And then after that President Trump is jetting off to Georgia where he'll tour a steel factory and another local business in the region before going to Rome, Georgia where he'll make remarks on affordability and the economy. Tiff, back to you. All right Mari, thanks for those updates. What issues will President Trump talk about in this year's State of the Union address and how has America changed since his first term? Join me along with NTD Steve Lance and Mari Otsu on February 23rd at 6 p.m eastern for a preview of the major topics the president is expected to cover in the State of the Union. The director of National Institutes of Health is taking on an additional role. Dr. Jay Bhattacharya will serve as acting director of the CDC until a permanent nominee is confirmed according to the White House today. He's stepping in after Jim O'Neill recently departed the agency and is expected to be nominated to lead the National Science Foundation. The leadership shift follows the earlier removal of former CDC director Susan Monaris who clashed with Health Secretary RFK Jr. over revisions to the childhood vaccine schedule. Changes that scaled back some routine recommendations. The U.S. Department of Labor is investigating California's Employment Development Department. It's part of the White House's efforts to end abuse in insurance programs paid for by taxpayers. NTD's David Lam reports. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez Derrimer says the Department of Labor will deploy a strike team to California to investigate what could amount to billions of dollars in fraud and improper payments saying, I look forward to restoring the California unemployment insurance program's integrity and financial health. She claims that the previous administration turned a blind eye to the labor programs in the state's Employment Development Departments or EDD. The probe will be similar to the Minnesota fraud investigations. California still owes 20 billion dollars to the federal government for unemployment insurance claims during the COVID-19 pandemic. The debt is being shouldered by employers. EDD is doing everything it can to put money in people's hands who need it. That's a very important goal. But in balancing expedited delivery of benefits, there weren't systems in place to properly meet out fraud. And so they got exploited. California's Labor Secretary at the time said the state paid out 11 billion dollars in fake jobless claims. The state's Employment Department has been under scrutiny for years. In a 2023 report, the state auditor called it a high-risk agency saying it had inadequate fraud prevention. David Lam, NTD News, California. And after a funding freeze, construction on the Hudson Tunnel project will resume next week. The Trump administration has released all remaining federal funding that was previously frozen. Governor Kathy Hochul saying today that President Trump has released the remaining 127 million dollars after speaking with her. She calls this a major win for workers and commuters. The Trump administration previously froze 205 million dollars for the 16 billion dollar project last year. New York and New Jersey then sued to unfreeze the funding. The president earlier this week criticized the project saying he is concerned about cost overruns. Hochul says she called Trump after his post and told him the project was not facing cost issues. The Hudson Tunnel project aims to build a new commuter rail tunnel connecting Manhattan and New Jersey and repair a century-old tunnel. The search for Nancy Guthrie is now in its 18th day with thousands of leads and hundreds of investigators. Yet authorities still haven't found the 84-year-old grandmother. Kemah County Sheriff Chris Nanas has said they are not giving up. Arlene Richards has more on the latest. Someone out there saw something, heard something. We need that person to call us. As the search for Nancy Guthrie continues, hundreds of investigators are working the case. Kemah County Sheriff Chris Nanas told Fox News on Tuesday that they're not giving up. But so far none of the thousands of tips and leads nor the DNA testing conducted on gloves found two miles away have turned up a match to a suspect. On NBC's Today show Wednesday, the sheriff said DNA found at Nancy Guthrie's property could belong to the suspect. We believe that we may have some DNA there that may be our suspect. We won't know that until that DNA is separated, sorted out. He told other news outlets that they're still looking at a lot of DNA from the Guthrie home. In other news, on Wednesday, several media reports say the FBI has reached out to Mexican authorities in the search for Nancy Guthrie, citing an inside source. And DDE has not been able to confirm this update. And TMZ's Harvey Levin reports that his media outlet received another purported ransom letter. They're asking for a different form of crypto than Bitcoin. Levin said he didn't know if the letter came from one of the same people who sent the previous letters. But this one is asking for six million dollars. Meanwhile, a Milwaukee attorney offers another 100,000 dollars. And I called Tucson Crime Stoppers and they were very happy to have me join in. He said anybody can submit a tip anonymously to Crime Stoppers, and if it leads to the arrest of the suspect, the individual gets the award. Officials have reportedly gone to about 40 gun shops to search for clues about potential gun sales to the suspect. Nanos has said that's not true. Nancy Guthrie's neighbors set up a makeshift memorial of yellow flowers and ribbons near her home. In solidarity, NBC's Today Show, where Guthrie's daughter, Savannah Guthrie, works as a host, similarly decorated their studio with yellow flowers and ribbons. The Today Show host's mother has been missing for three weeks. Her family has been cleared of all suspicion. In another social media plea Sunday, Savannah Guthrie again said that the family is not giving up. We still have hope and we still believe. Arlene Richards, NTD News. Late this afternoon, NBC reported the sheriff told them that Meta and Apple, as well as other private companies, have offered to help in retrieving additional footage from other Nest cameras at Nancy Guthrie's property. According to the report, Meta said it was in touch with relevant law enforcement officials. Coming up in the Middle East, residents in the Gaza Strip observed the first day of Ramadan. Meanwhile, gunshots are heard in Iran after a crowd shouts death to the supreme leader. Jason Perry reports. And with the Winter Olympics underway, one rising star is Chinese-American figure skater Alyssa Liu. From being spied on by China ahead of the 2022 Winter Games, to retiring at the young age of 16, to winning gold in a stunning comeback, her father shares with us what makes an Olympian. Did you know that the Presidential Savings Event is going on now at Mathis Home? Hundreds of items have been marked down, like this oversized downfill sofa for just $9.99. It's a great combination of scale, comfort, and value. And like many of the sofas here, it's customizable. Choose from hundreds of fabric options and pay the same low price. There's also many different configurations to choose from. Come see why we're your furniture leader during the Presidential Savings Event at Mathis Home. I go by Jackie. I'm 44 years old. I had three kids at the time and a single mother. I was working 60 hours a week. Still couldn't pay the bills and skip meals so that they could eat. It's been hard because one thing falls into place, 10 things fall out of place. You know, I just can't do this alone and make it work. One in five children face hunger in America, and food costs are rising. But everyone needs nourishing food to thrive, and they can when we work together so our neighbors can feed their families. Call or go online right now to join Feeding America with your gift of just $19 a month, only 63 cents a day. Together, thanks to a nationwide network of food banks, dedicated volunteers, and the monthly support of people like you, we can fill plates with nutritious food for families across America. One day, my mother came over to my house and said, there's a meeting at the pantry. I said, okay, and I went. There were some ladies in there. They were from the food bank. They asked several questions. Some of those were about me and my story, but it helped me to open up a little bit. We're getting closer to the day when no one in America faces hunger, but we can't do it without you. Call or go online now. Visit helpfeedingamerica.org and give $19 a month, just 63 cents a day. 98% of donations go directly to help millions of people facing hunger from coast to coast and in your own community. And when you give my credit card, we'll send you this exclusive canvas grocery bag to show you are a part of a movement of supporters working together to help end hunger. I have people that I can trust. I have hope. Please call now or make your monthly donation at helpfeedingamerica.org, and your gift can double in impact. Hi, I'm Ryan Blaney, a third-generation race car driver, and we dedicate a lot of our time to going as fast as possible. But when my grandpa was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, it was a very unexpected bump in the road for us. It's important to notice if older family members are acting differently, experiencing problems with their memory, or having trouble with routine tasks. Early detection of Alzheimer's can give your family time to explore support services, make a plan for the future, and access available treatments. If you or your family are noticing changes, it could be Alzheimer's. Talk about seeing a doctor together. Tuesday, a primetime reveal from the president. We are going to renew unlimited promise of the American dream. His vision for the year and success so far. Where will he try to lead Congress, the nation, and the world? Join NTD's Steve Lance and Tiffany Meyer to track the president ahead of his speech, reactions from lawmakers, and in-depth panels on what it all means for you. Watch NTD's live special coverage of the State of the Union, Tuesday at 7 p.m. Welcome back. I'm Tiffany Meyer. In the Middle East, residents in the Gaza Strip observed the first day of Ramadan in the war-torn territory. And in Iran, gunshots reportedly rang out at a funeral after people shouted death to the country's supreme leader. NTD's Jason Perry has the details. Residents in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday welcomed the first day of Ramadan as they surrounded a long line of tables amid the ruins of the war-torn territory. Volunteers, who appeared to be with a Turkish humanitarian NGO, served free meals to residents who broke their fast after the sunset. We insisted on the first day of the blessed month of Ramadan to break our fast in front of our destroyed homes. We call on the board of peace and on the world to rebuild, because it is our right to live with dignity and to have a peaceful life like the rest of the world. On the same day, Israeli President Isaac Herzog visited the newly established Civil-Military Coordination Center in Israel, in which multiple countries are helping to oversee the redevelopment of the Gaza Strip. What we are seeing here are facts, are seeing projects, are seeing implantations, cooperation. And I truly believe that this is a game changer for the future of Middle East and world peace. He also wished Muslims around the world, including the people of Iran, a happy Ramadan. Meanwhile in Iran, residents recently gathered at a funeral and began shouting death to Khamenei, referring to the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. A human rights activist told Reuters that the video was from Tuesday, when sounds of gunfire broke out and then the crowd appeared to begin running for their lives. NTD is not able to independently verify whether anyone was killed or injured during the incident. The Iranian regime has been accused of killing thousands of its own citizens, who initially protested the country's failing economy, but later shifted to opposing the authoritarian government. However, on Wednesday, the United Nations elected Iran to the position of vice chair of the United Nations Charter Committee, which is supposed to promote the peaceful settlement of disputes between states. Israel opposed Iran's election, accusing the Iranian regime of undermining international peace and massacring its own civilians. The fact that this decision is allowed to be passed without objection or even without calling for a vote speaks volumes. President Trump has recently talked about reforming the UN. This comes as the U.S. ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, met with Israel's foreign minister on Wednesday and gave him a manga hat, which says, make the UN great again. Jason Perry, NTD News. Turning to South America, the interim president of Peru is removed by its Congress. That's over a scandal involving undisclosed meetings with a Chinese businessman. Here's what happened. Peru's Congress has voted to remove President José Gery just four months into his term and the country's third president in a row to be ousted from office. Seventy-five lawmakers backed his ouster, with 24 opposed and three abstaining. Gery has said he will respect the outcome of the vote. He became president in October after Congress unanimously removed his predecessor, Dina Boluarte, amid corruption scandals and growing anger over rising crime. With no vice president in place, Gery was next in the line of succession as head of Congress. The scandal that led to his removal Tuesday began last month, dubbed Chifagate, a local name for Chinese restaurants. Gery was filmed arriving at a restaurant late at night, wearing a hood to meet with Chinese businessman Jiayang, who owns stores and a concession for an energy project. The meeting was not publicly disclosed. In his defense before lawmakers in January, he denied committing any, quote, irregular acts during the meeting. With general elections set for April 12, yet another interim leader will take over. The current head of Congress, Fernando Rospigliosi, is next in line but has declined the role. A vote by lawmakers to elect a new congressional leader is expected on Wednesday. That person would automatically assume the interim presidency. April's race for a more permanent leader is crowded. And according to a recent Ipsos poll, many Peruvians remain undecided. With the Winter Olympics underway in Italy, Chinese-American figure skater Alyssa Liu has been in the spotlight. From being surveilled by Chinese spies before the 2022 Beijing Games, to retiring at age 16 after her Olympic debut, and now making a stunning comeback for the gold. Before tomorrow's big game, Alyssa's father, Arthur Liu, who is in Italy to cheer for her, joins me to share what truly makes an Olympian. What was it like watching your daughter live at the Olympics? It is an amazing experience as a parent. It's just, I'm so happy just to see her skate so well on the Olympic ice. And everybody's so thrilled. She's had quite a comeback story, if you will, because at the young age of 16, she said she was going to retire. What was your reaction at that time? Well, I was a little bit sad when she let me know that she was retiring. She actually decided to retire like a year and a half before the 2020 Olympic Games. And she really didn't want to anymore. And for that one year and a half, she was in agony. She didn't want to be at the ice rink. And as a parent, it was extremely sad for me to see her in that mental status. This comeback for her is all on her own terms. She decided which coaches to go to, what music to skate to, and when to practice, when to train, when not to train, what to eat, what to drink, when to drive herself to the ice rink. She's very driven. She's actually very competitive. But medals, placement in competitions don't really matter to her that much. I mean, her focus was to do two main good programs in the competitions, the short program and the free skate. She just wants to do two great programs that she's happy with. Justice Department and FBI said that China actually sent individuals to track and target you and your family, including her, ahead of the Olympics. Talk to us about that. What was Beijing's motivation? Were you afraid for her? Well, because of my background, because I was wanted by the Chinese government back in 1989. And after I came to America, I also continued to organize protests in front of the Chinese consulate in San Francisco. The Chinese government has never let me go. They sent spies to the US. The spy actually became friends with me. I befriended him. I helped him a lot, you know, in settling down in the San Francisco Bay Area. And I treated him as my friend. And many years later, he confessed that he was actually a spy for the Chinese government on me. And that was Arthur Liu, father of Olympic figure skater Alyssa Liu. To watch a longer version of this exclusive interview, tune into China In Focus tonight at 8.30 p.m. Eastern. 243 million gallons of sewage has spilled into the Potomac River since a line break last month. The White House says the administration is on standby to help, but needs a formal request from local authorities to get involved. Maryland Governor Wes Moore says it was the federal government's job to fix it in the first place. NTD correspondent Jason Blair has more. The Potomac Interceptor sewer line collapsed last month, spilling into the Potomac River, which runs around Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia. Now, both Washington, D.C. and Virginia have issued warnings telling people to stay out of the water. This, of course, includes swimming as well as fishing and kayaking. Recovery is ongoing. White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt was asked whether the president is concerned about the situation, given all of the events that are scheduled leading up to the big 250th anniversary celebration in July. The president wants people from all over to come to the nation's capital. Is he worried that by the summer, the Potomac River will still smell like poop? He is worried about that, which is why the federal government wants to fix it, and we hope that the local authorities will cooperate with us. The break causing the spill happened in Maryland. According to D.C. Water, there's been an overflow of roughly 243 million gallons of wastewater as of February 6th. On Monday, President Trump commented on the spill, calling it a, quote, ecological disaster and saying that he isn't happy with how Maryland Governor Wes Moore is handling the situation. No, I don't like the job that Wes Moore is doing. I don't like the fact that he did that horrible, you know, with the pipes at the Potomac. The White House saying Wednesday that the next step is either for Maryland, Virginia or Washington, D.C., to ask the federal government to get involved. Let's all hope and pray that this governor does the right thing and ask President Trump to get involved because it will be an ecological and environmental disaster. But of course, we need the state and local jurisdictions to make that formal request. That's part of the legal process to move forward. While Leavitt was making these remarks, Maryland Governor Wes Moore issued a public request to the White House. But first, he said that the federal government is responsible for the Potomac interceptor. The sewage pipe that he is talking about is on federal land. And over these past four weeks, the Trump-Vance administration has failed to act. If this federal administration wants to show up to take action, Maryland will work collaboratively. But if the president wants me to ask nicely, my response is this. Please, Mr. President, do your job. After learning about Moore's post, Leavitt says she will speak with the president for the next move. The spill started on January 19th. Most of the untreated sewage spilled during the first five days, amounting to about 194 million gallons and 49 million more since then, according to the latest statistics. DC Water says bypass pumps are working to reroute the flow around the break. Reporting from the Potomac River in Virginia, Jason Blair, Entity News. Coming up, Mark Zuckerberg took the stand today in a major social media addiction trial. Attorneys confronted him with internal documents on underage Instagram users and time spent targets. Christina Corona brings us details from the courtroom. And Congressman Jimmy Petronas of Florida joins us to share why he thinks big tech must be held accountable. 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So no, there was nothing about my life that said, you have a ticking time bomb in your chest. But I did. I wound up in the office of a cardiologist because I was there with my husband. And at the tail end of that, the cardiologist looked at me and said, I want to No one was more surprised than I was to learn I was living with a rare heart condition. He said, Amy, this condition, you'll be fine, fine, fine, and then catastrophic. A few months later, I had an open heart surgery that saved my life. And I owe it to the research and life-saving medical breakthroughs developed by the American Heart Association. That's why I'm asking you to join me and become a monthly donor to the American Heart Association. Please call now or go to helpheart.org. For only $19 a month, just 63 cents a day, you can help fund the next medical breakthrough, get the next person trained in CPR, and get the next hospital certified in high-quality cardiovascular care. If this could happen to me, it could happen to anybody. Heart disease is America's number one killer, but your support can save your life or the life of someone you love. Give $19 a month with your credit card and we'll send you this special T-shirt you can wear to show you're part of a community of monthly donors working to help save more lives like mine. I'm grateful for the American Heart Association. Their research gave me more time to do the things I love with the people I love. So listen to your heart. I'm here today because I did. Please call the number on your screen or go to helpheart.org now to become a monthly donor and help save even more lives. Thank you. Welcome back. I'm Tiffany Meyer. MedSEO Mark Zuckerberg testified today in a landmark Los Angeles trial in which social media platforms are accused of using addictive features that harm children. And today's Christina Corona was inside the courtroom and has the latest on what jurors heard. We're here outside the U.S. courthouse where MedSEO Mark Zuckerberg is testifying in a major social media addiction lawsuit. The plaintiff's attorney, Mark Lanier, pressed Zuckerberg on Med's focus on getting young users onto social media. The case centers on a woman identified as Kaylee GM, now 20, who says she started using social media as a child, became addicted, and that it worsened her depression and suicidal thoughts. On the stand, Zuckerberg told jurors children under 13 are banned from Meta platforms, but admitted some minors still access Instagram in other ways, such as lying about their age. He said Meta removes accounts when it discovers users are underage. Plaintiff's attorney, Mark Lanier, pushed back, questioning whether Meta can seriously expect young children to read lengthy terms and conditions before signing up. Lanier also pointed to internal documents suggesting Meta estimated millions of underage users were on Instagram. He then questioned Zuckerberg about internal milestones tied to time spent on the app, including targets like 40 minutes per day in 2023, rising to 46 minutes by 2026. Zuckerberg said, quote, The milestones are a process we have internally to be able to measure across our industry to measure if we're on track. Outside the court, parents and survivor families called for tougher laws to protect children online. So therefore we cannot have our our children to have access to these platforms in their current status unless legislation is passed that will force them to make these changes that are necessary to make their platforms safety designed by safety. Zuckerberg rejected claims that social media is intentionally addictive or harmful, describing it as a tool people naturally return to for connection and information. This case is one of more than a thousand lawsuits accusing Meta and YouTube of having addictive design features that can harm children. Reporting from downtown Los Angeles, Christina Corona, NTD News. Congressman Jimmy Petronas of Florida joins us now to speak about why he thinks big tech must be held accountable. Congressman, thank you so much for joining us. Great to have you here. Now, this case is deeply personal to you. You're a father of two. What did you make of Zuckerberg's testimony today and what it means for the families impacted? You know, I really hope we're not going down the same path of what happened with big tobacco a couple of generations ago. You know, our executives that are running these companies know they're creating devices that are sticky. I refer to it as a digital fentanyl and the eyeballs have to be attached to the devices. They make it very difficult for our children's and for adults, for that matter, to put their devices down. The more eyeballs, the more screen time, as your reporter just played into, shows how much they can charge or how addictive the product is. The more addictive it is, the more they can justify for their ad rates that they charge. You know, and when it comes to our children, they should be off limits. There's been big focus on Section 230 as historically that has shielded the social media platforms, essentially saying Internet companies are not liable for users' content. Now, you call this dangerous and want to repeal it. How would repealing it impact the health and safety of children? Well, thank you for asking that question. If Section 230 is repealed, then the reality sits in. So right now, I can't buy an ad on your television news program to ask viewers to go and destroy a home or to inflict pain or suffering. But somebody can go on social media right now, post that exact same request to the public and have no liability whatsoever. So the social media companies are hiding behind 230, but they're allowing painful, dangerous, encouraging messages with no regard for what type of damage they might be doing to the public, to another individual, or self-harm. And this isn't just social media companies. This is chatbots. These are the devices out there. And I just feel like enough's enough. We've got to look out for our children. Section 230 is the unifying policy that they all hide behind. And Congressman, an argument in favor of Section 230 is that it protects the speech of online users and that users should be held accountable for what they say, not the companies. Your thoughts on that? Well, and this is the problem getting back to the crux of this lawsuit. The devices are being made sticky. They know there's an addiction there. This is why, like I said, I refer to it as a digital fentanyl. This is just like Joe Camel was appealing to our children generations ago. This is no different than the tobacco executives saying that tobacco is not addictive, but then their own notes come forward and show that addiction is something that is the crux of their whole business model. So again, Section 230, as fine as it may be, it is being exploited. It's being perverted. It's being used in ways it was never intended to be deployed for. There is a YouGov poll showing that the vast majority, 86% of people want Big Tech held accountable after learning about the trial. What would accountability look like? Well, that would be really deployed back to the states. I'm a states rights guy. So you've got a Section 230 provision that is protecting these companies that are hiding behind it. But if different states want to have a different role, some states may want to penalize them. Some may want to fine them. Some may want to open it up for litigation. I've not delved into that, but I know this. With Section 230 gone, there's a self-policing that takes place, and these companies will back off, and they'll be more proactive to ensure harmful content is not being made available for immature eyes. And I know that these companies go out and they roll out these solutions, tell Congress to pass the XYZ bill to pretend 13-year-olds. You know, at the end of the day, these companies can do it right now without congressional action, but they can't because of the greed and the profitability of what these apps do, and how they capture the young minds and eyes of our children. It's just not acceptable. And again, I'm just asking for a solution. And if you won't come for a solution, then you know what, we take away the protection and let the free market force the solution. And will social media, as we know it, widely used by billions with content posted instantaneously, have to change if we want a healthier society? Well, that might be the case. When you think about just yesterday, the type of extremes as a 16-year-old boy was seeing a social media video and trying to emulate these crazy and now first responders to go out and save life because now they're trying to become internet movie stars to try to raise their profile. This is not what young, immature minds can manage. This is far above their understanding of what the risk versus reward is. And again, this is why Section 230 is just allowing the wide open West to exist, and our children are putting themselves at harm's way. The self-mutilation, the inability for them to mature in a proper environment, the things that lead to transgender questions or suicide, all these are because Section 230 does not ensure any protections are in place because the social media companies have no liability. Well, Congressman Petronas, thank you so much for joining us. Well, thank you so much for raising the awareness of the importance of repealing 230. Y'all take care. Are you concerned that social media could be harmful to children, and should there be regulation for big tech's algorithms? NTD Sam Wong was out on the national NDC to hear from the people. Are you guys concerned about social media being harmful and addictive to children? Yes, I definitely am. Of course, I do allow my kids to have social media because I notice that's how they communicate with their friends, but it's an exposure to a lot of things that, as parents, we really have to monitor. There have been times where it's been hard for me to step away from social media, and it can certainly be addicting for me, and if it's addicting for me, it's going to be addicting for a young mind. They don't get out. They don't do anything. Everybody's focused on their phones anymore. They don't see the world anymore. They don't see what's in front of their face other than their phone anymore. I worked in a middle school in New York City, and I would say nine out of ten fights started on social media and then came into the classroom. My little sister was bullied through social media, so I completely know that that's a toxic environment. People are comparing themselves to AI-generated images of females or males. They're comparing themselves to girls that aren't even real, standards that aren't even real, so I think it's absolutely wrecking the mental health of even young men. Do you think big tech companies should be regulated, especially in terms of algorithm and the stuff that they are putting out for children? I think there certainly needs to be some control and some oversight, especially if kids are accessing it, just to protect them. No, I definitely think it could, because it's way too easy, especially on social media, to find stuff that is, what I would say, detrimental to a child's development. You can get on TikTok, and you can see people dancing around in less than scandalous clothing easily. I know in New York State now, they've banned phones. I think the question right now for a about social media and the positives, the dangers. I think there should be some limits, but also as parents, it's up to us. We need to create those boundaries for them as well and teach them about boundaries. I do think it's really disgusting that people are creating algorithms to keep us hooked and watching and scrolling. I understand it's a business for them, and they're trying to make money, but it is at the detriment of society, I think. Coming up at the Olympics, Team USA's Michaelia Schifrin breaks through in the women's slalom, plus a hockey update. Dave Martin joins us to discuss. What has lasted 5,000 years was once almost lost. The world awaits the divine culture's return. See it at least once in your lifetime. Shen Yun returns to David Koch Theater, March 25th through April 12th. 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Find free adult education classes near you at finishyourdiploma.org. And now for your sports news, we're joined by NDB's Dave Martin. Dave, we've got some NFL news to discuss, but let's start with the Olympics, as American skier McKenna Schifrin had a big win in her signature event today. Yeah, Schifrin won gold in the women's slalom event. Now, Schifrin is generally regarded as the most decorated alpine skier really ever in the world, but that hadn't been reflected in her this Olympics or the 2022 games, but big relief for her. Here's what an emotional Schifrin said after the big win. This was a moment I have dreamed about. I've also been very scared of this moment. Everything in life that you do after you lose someone you love is like a new experience. It's like being born again. And I still have so many moments where I resist this. I don't want to be in life without my dad. And maybe today was the first time that I could actually accept this like reality. And instead of thinking, I would be going in this moment without him to take the moment to be silent with him. Yeah, so quite a moment there for Schifrin there. Now, she was the only Team USA member to win a medal today. The men's cross country team took silver in the team sprint. And in the men's snowboard slope style event, American Jake Cantor took home the bronze. So a nice day for Team USA. A gold, a silver, and a bronze. They're keeping pace, you know, with Norway and Italy just ahead of them, by the way, too. All right. Beautiful. Still in third, everyone. Still in third. Still got a chance. Still a chance. Well, elsewhere at the games, though, the men's and women's hockey competitions are heating up. Both are in the playoffs. Where do things stand right now, though? Yeah, both actually could come down to US versus Canada. Now that's already the case for the women's gold medal game, which is going to be tomorrow. It'll be the US versus Canada for the seventh time in eight Olympics since they started women's hockey as an Olympic sport. The men's, meanwhile, nearly had a couple of big upsets today in the quarterfinals. Canada was down a goal to Czechia with just three and a half minutes left. Amazingly, they were able to tie it in regulation for us overtime where they won it there four to three. So they advanced to the semifinals. Now, unfortunately for them, team captain Sydney Crosby left the game with what was described as a lower body injury. He did not return. His status going forward is unknown. There is right there. Meanwhile, team USA really had their own troubles with Sweden. Now, that game was scoreless until midway through the second period. That's when US went up 1-0. And then finally, with 91 seconds left, still clinging to that 1-0 lead, Sweden tied it up. Forced overtime there, but US won it there. Quinn Hughes with the game winner in overtime. So US wins 2-1. So US and Canada both advanced the semifinals. US will play Slovakia. Canada will take on Finland. And obviously, if both of those teams win, then they will be meeting in the gold medal game as well. I know you can tell I'm excited about this because I think I've talked about it every single day this week and maybe some days last week. So I'm sure it's become second nature to you here, hearing me talk about hockey, all right? I mean, sounded like it was a nail-biter today. Too nail-biter. I don't know if you could hear me screaming up there. It was like 545 when they scored it. It was an exciting moment, Tiff. It wasn't like the miracle of 1980, but it was pretty good, all right? We might get there. If, you know, against Canada, perhaps. It wouldn't be the same kind of miracle in 1980. I mean, I don't think the NHL or the Olympics allowed NHL players in the Olympics at that point. But Russia's team, though, I mean, they were pretty much, you know, banned from playing professionally. They just had to play for their own team. They were essentially professional players against the U.S.'s amateurs. So that was part of the reason it was such a big deal back then, Tiff. I'll shift gears now to the NFL. The Kansas City Chiefs have reportedly restructured the contract of star quarterback Patrick Mahomes in order to get under the league's salary cap. What is the significance here? Well, I'm glad you asked. Hopefully you're still awake when I'm done explaining this. In the NFL, they've got a very hard salary cap you cannot go over. It's unlike the NBA's or the Major League Baseball. It's kind of like they've got a soft cap going on where you could pay a penalty if you go over it. Coming into this offseason, the Chiefs were in a very difficult spot. They were projected to be some $50 million over the salary cap for the upcoming season. Now, the salary cap is projected to be at about $301 million. Meanwhile, they don't even have a roster full of players. So they somehow have to add players and subtract a whole lot of salary at the same time. Now, you can do that in three different ways. One, you can release players who have unguaranteed and expensive salaries. You could trade players with high salaries and or you can convert high salaries into signing bonuses instead. So that's what the Chiefs did here. Signing bonuses for the purposes of salary cap are spread over the remaining length of the contract. So the Chiefs took Patrick Milne's $54 million salary for 2026, turned it into a signing bonus, so it's split over the next four years. So they took his salary cap number down by $45 million this year. But each of the next four years, they got to pay out $11 million a year. So it's really known as dead cap space. So they're going to pay out $11 million no matter what. It's a trade most teams would make. Anyway, though, the Chiefs are still over the cap by $11 million. Are you following me, Tiff? I'm going to have a test for you. There's a lot going on. Just know that the Chiefs are closer to getting under the salary cap here and they didn't have to trade any of the good players or release anybody yet. So if you're a Chiefs fan, this is good news. Down the road, they're going to have to pay this money eventually, just not this year. All right. All right. They're just kicking the can down the road is basically what they're doing. We'll keep an eye on that. Elsewhere in the league, though, the Super Bowl champions are already up for sale. Yeah, just a week and a half after their big win, they're up for sale. I don't think it's necessarily just because they want to strike while the iron is hot, though. Now, ESPN had reported this before the Super Bowl that this is going to be happening. Seahawks are owned by the Paul Allen Estate. Now, tragically, Allen died back in 2018. His sister, Jody Allen, has controlled the team ever since. She also controls the NBA's Portland Trail Band, as Allen owned both franchises there. Now, Forbes estimated Seahawks be worth just under $7 billion last year. I would guess they go for even more than that simply because there's only 32 franchises out there, NFL franchises, and they're not up for sale that often. But an interesting note there, Paul Allen's will dictates both franchises were to eventually be sold with all estate proceeds going to philanthropy. Now, Allen bought the Seahawks back in 1997 for just $200 million, so it's a pretty good return on investment there, you know? $200 million turned into $8 billion in 30 years. That's not bad. That's a good bet. Yeah, if only I had $200 million back in 1997. I didn't. All right, well, on that note, Dave, as always, thanks for joining us. Thank you, Tiff. And that's all for today's news. For around the clock coverage, visit us at ntd.com slash live or download our NTD app. Thanks for tuning in. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Good night.