NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (April 18)

Our top story tonight, Iran's military recloses the Strait of Hormuz. This comes just hours after President Trump and Iran's foreign minister announced its reopening. We'll hear from international expert Gerard Faliti on what could happen next. Today is the 43rd anniversary of the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon. And today's Jason Perry takes a closer look at the details of that tragic event. A new move from President Trump to speed up research and access to psychedelic-based treatments. He says it will give more options to those struggling with serious mental illness. The Trump administration highlighting support for victims of crimes involving illegal immigrants. One mother who lost her child shares her story. And in the NBA, the playoffs have finally begun, but without the Warriors. Is this the end of Golden State's run? NTD's Dave Martin joins us to discuss. This is NTD Evening News, live from our global headquarters in New York City. Thank you for joining us tonight. I'm Arlene Richards. Iran, reclosing the Strait of Hormuz today, hours after saying it would open the waterway to commercial ships. President Trump commenting this morning after signing a new executive order on medical research. They wanted to close up the Strait again, as they've been doing for years, and they can't blackmail us. Iran's central headquarters spokesperson announcing the Strait has reverted to its previous state with strict military control. This comes after the country's foreign minister announced that following the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, the Strait would be fully open for passage. President Trump also previously announcing that Iran had agreed never to close the Strait of Hormuz again. Iran's joint military command says it will keep restrictions in place as long as the U.S. blocks Iranian ports. Today is the 43rd anniversary of the deadliest terror attack on an American embassy in history. The Iran-backed Islamic Jihad terrorist group claimed responsibility for the 1983 attack on the U.S. embassy in Beirut. NTD's Jason Perry has the details. On April 18th, 1983, a suicide bomber driving a truck filled with 2,000 pounds of explosives detonated the bomb near the U.S. embassy in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. The blast caused part of the building to collapse, killing 63 people, including 17 Americans, and injuring over 100, becoming the deadliest attack on a U.S. diplomatic post in history. President Ronald Reagan and his wife were seen honoring the victims after the tragic incident. Afterward, members of the Iran-backed Islamic Jihad terrorist organization claimed responsibility for the attack, and that group later became known as Hezbollah in Lebanon. A retired Diplomatic Security Service special agent who responded to the aftermath said the driver of the suicide vehicle entered the embassy compound by driving into an exit area, adding that there was no intelligence or information that the U.S. embassy was being targeted at the time. He added that the largest contingent of Americans killed that day were in the CIA, and that the CIA was holding a conference at the time with their, quote, Middle Eastern people. According to the U.S. State Department, one of the reasons for the lapse in security was that no one had anticipated the, quote, radical aspect of the attack, and that the driver was willing to commit suicide in the process. And just six months later, on October 23rd, 1983, another terrorist in Lebanon driving a truck filled with explosives crashed through the gates and exploded near the U.S. Marine headquarters in Beirut, killing 241 U.S. service members and 58 French paratroopers. The Islamic Jihad terrorist organization, later known as Hezbollah in Lebanon, also claimed responsibility for that attack. The terrorist group was trained and funded by Iran. Jason Perry in TV News. President Trump signing an executive order today to speed up the research and approval of psychedelic drugs, which he says could help people struggling with mental illnesses. The president says veterans are facing especially high rates of mental challenges. The suicide epidemic among veterans is a national tragedy. Since 9-11, we've lost over 21 times more veteran lives to suicide than on the battlefields. Thousands of veterans are having to travel to Mexico or other countries to experiment with interventions that hold great promise, but for which our knowledge is still insufficient. This executive order will remove the legal impediments that block American researchers, scientists, physicians, and clinicians from properly studying these medicines. The executive order states that over 14 million American adults suffer from a serious mental illness, eight million of whom are on prescription medication for these conditions. The order says psychedelic drugs show potential in clinical studies to address serious mental illnesses, especially for patients who have not improved with standard therapies. Health officials say that the reforms would pave the way for the drugs, which can cause hallucinations and are largely illegal, to be reclassified after successful clinical trials. President Trump says the U.S. will dedicate $50 million to federal research into ibogaine, a plant-based psychoactive compound. A major naval blockade, a new ceasefire, and the launch of new energy infrastructure. And today's Daniel Monahan has your White House Week in review. The administration launched a naval blockade off Iran after peace talks in Pakistan produced no agreement. Let me be clear, this blockade applies to all ships, regardless of nationality, heading into or from Iranian ports. U.S. forces have already turned back multiple vessels. This is a portion of a 112. We will be escorting you to your next port of call. Thank you for your cooperation. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth warning the new Iranian regime to choose wisely in a Pentagon briefing. We're watching you. Our capabilities are not the same, our military and yours. Remember, this is not a fair fight. Speaking in Las Vegas, the president said the conflict with Iran could be coming to a close. I will say the war in Iran is going along swimmingly. We can do whatever we want. And it should be ending pretty soon. On the economy, the president saying the U.S. had the best economy in the history of the country during his first term. And we're blowing it out now. We're blowing it away now. And despite our little diversion, despite our little diversion to the lovely country of Iran. Las Vegas bartender, Nicole Williams, discussing how she felt when hearing that no tax on tips was included in the one big beautiful bill. It's just a reminder that it's promises made, promises kept. With the passage of the great big beautiful bill, my wife and I have benefited from the elimination of taxes on overtime, allowing us to stretch every dollar. First Lady Melania Trump appearing on Capitol Hill this week, pushing for reforms aimed at improving outcomes for children aging out of the foster care system. In safeguarding our children's wellbeing, we shape the integrity of our nation. Southern Command says three drug traffickers are dead after the military struck a boat in the Eastern Pacific. Officials say the vessel was operated by a designated terrorist organization. The government announced Operation Economic Fury against Iran this week. What may prove to be fatal mistakes that the Iranians made was bombing their GCC neighbors. Treasury Secretary Scott Besson says the bombed Gulf neighbors are now more willing to do a deeper dive on funds of Iranian officials potentially held in their banks. White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt revealing new plans for the United States Triumphal Arc in Washington, D.C. The United States Triumphal Arc will be outfitted with beautiful artwork and depictions celebrating the success of the American people over our 250 year history. President Trump has signed a series of pipeline permits aimed at expanding oil transport between the United States and Canada. And cabinet members broke ground on a project designed to bring Pennsylvania natural gas to millions of New Yorkers. Speaking on Fox News. This today is a simple pipeline extension that's gonna unleash some of that American energy. It's gonna lower prices. And again, President Trump specifically asking and driving for this project to be done so again, congratulations to President Trump. And President Trump announced that the leaders of Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 10 day ceasefire. The president writing on True Social that this will be the 10th conflict he has solved. Daniel Monahan, NTD News. Communities are cleaning up after multiple twisters struck the central U.S. yesterday. No fatalities have been reported but the tornado outbreak caused extensive damage in multiple states. And more severe weather is on the way for many areas currently recovering. Here's more. Okay guys, we're gonna have to get out of here. This is coming fast. Powerful tornadoes tearing through multiple states Friday afternoon and evening, tearing a path of devastation. Roofs ripped off multiple homes in Rochester, Minnesota. Further north in Plainview, windows blown out of this home. Structures flattened and cars flipped over. Glass was breaking. Everything was around me. In the house, there was glass all over everything. This massive twister caught on camera in Lena, Illinois, causing significant damage to multiple homes. And parts of the country warned more severe weather could be on the way for areas already hit by these storms. We've got houses down. This is massive. Several homes and a school damaged in Ringle, Wisconsin. These storms also dumping several inches of rain in other parts of the Badger State, causing widespread flooding and some road closures. We had to deploy vehicles and boats to rescue folks. With more storms on the way, several areas across the Midwest are under flood alerts. I'm Jen Sullivan reporting. Coming up, Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz again, just hours after declaring it open to commercial ships. What's behind this sudden reversal and what happens next? Middle East analyst Gerard Flitti joins us to break it down. Are you sitting at home living in pain? Maybe it's in your hands, maybe your back or your hips. The good news is you don't need to live in pain. Why? 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I thought that something was wrong with me. For 20 plus years was physical, physical, physical. We didn't have any education behind what mental health was. I started to learn it starts here first. If this is together, I'll be better as a father, as a man, and as a husband. Put the importance on your mental health. I'm not scared to talk about it anymore. The first tool is therapy. The second one is positive self-talk. Then journaling, putting your thoughts on paper. We have to redefine what being a strong man is. And heal, love your mind. Iran reclosing the Strait of Hormuz today just one day after declaring it open and President Trump stating the waterway was fully reopened and ready for business. Joining us now to break down this new development is Gerard Felitti, Middle East Affairs Analyst and Attorney specializing in international law. Gerard, thanks for coming. My pleasure, thank you. Now to begin, there seems to be some internal disagreement between their government leaders and the IRGC. What's your take on this rapid back and forth from Tehran? It's not necessarily a back and forth. It may very well be part of the larger Iranian position of trying to put itself in the best negotiating posture ahead of Trump's deadline on Wednesday to either reach a deal or resume the military conflict. Ultimately, what we've seen Iran backpedaling on allowing ships passage through the Strait of Hormuz and now they're saying it's in response to the U.S. maintaining a blockade of Iranian ports, but this was something that was already known to Iran when they reached this deal on Friday. And so this seems to be more of a ploy by Iran to get a better leverage for bargaining going into negotiations than anything else. Well, we've seen reports of Iranian gunboats firing on vessels trying to pass through the Strait. So how much effective control does Iran still have over the waterway right now? Well, it's effective control so long as they discourage ships from transiting, even if it is a gunboat launching a fire on one ship. It makes it very difficult for cargo ships and oil tankers to pass through because of increased risk, increased insurance premium, and the danger that that poses. So at the end of the day, it doesn't take much for Iran to maintain influence on what passes the Strait of Hormuz. It's up to the United States either to reach a deal or to continue destroying Iranian assets that it's using to assert control in the Strait. You talked earlier about this maybe being a bargaining chip, but do you see this latest closure as a sign of strength or desperation? I see this as Iran trying to leverage whatever strength it has remaining. It's pretty clear that they still have the will to fight the United States. I think their statements that they have a lot of fight left in them are not to be taken lightly. This is, at the end of the day, a very despotic regime that's also a death cult, which is known for its terrorism and exporting terror around the world. So for them, the value of human life, the value of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is very minimal. So long as it suits their political aim of fighting the United States and remaining in power by being seen as strong to its people, it will continue to threaten and occasionally attack until some kind of a deal is reached or until they're destroyed militarily. Well, looking at the U.S. strategy a little bit more, what options do they have if Iran continues to weaponize the Strait? I think President Trump hit on a very strong option, which is enforcing that blockade of Iranian ports, stopping vessels from coming through, for example, communist Chinese vessels on their way to provide munitions and arms to Iran that are likely to be interdicted at this point. That is a pressure point to Iran. We see that it's effective. Iran, the regime is concerned that a blockade of Iranian ports by the United States will make it much more difficult for them to rearm, to export supplies and oil that they need for dollar assets and to cling on to power. So Trump can reinforce this blockade, stop shipping going into Iran, and at the same time resume targeted strikes against maritime facilities that have been used to attack ships trying to transit the Strait. Now, despite this latest move, President Trump is still touting that the negotiations are going well. He even said this morning that they can't blackmail us. So how do you view this latest comment from President Trump? Well, I think Trump has reason to be optimistic if he's making these assertions that the Iranians at least are meeting at the diplomatic table and willing to engage. Ultimately, there really is a matter of figuring out if what President Trump is hearing is the same thing as what the Iranians are understanding. The Iranian regime has reasons to push back and to not agree to a lot of things that President Trump is asking for. So it really is a question whether Iran is engaging in these negotiations in good faith and just telling us what we want to hear, but they don't have any intention of keeping up with whatever is agreed upon. So given that we're getting two different stories here, one from the foreign minister, another from the IRGC, looking ahead to the next 24 to 48 hours, what do you expect to happen? Well, I think we will see Pakistan, who has been very involved in these talks and mediating these talks, even having their chief of the army in Tehran to help mediate. I think we'll see stronger statements from Pakistan putting pressure on both sides to come to an agreement. I think that one of the things that the Pakistanis are key on is the Iranian government having a solid and single voice when it comes to their bargaining position. I think that if we don't see a deal reached within the next 48 hours going into Wednesday, that it will be very difficult to maintain any sort of a truce or a ceasefire, and that things will go back to a military status, military combat. Yeah, President Trump has said that the bombs would fall again if they didn't make a deal. Gerard Felitti, thank you so much for joining us. My pleasure, thank you for having me. Coming up, resignations, surveillance powers, and ICE funding battles all unfolding on Capitol Hill this week. Melina Weiskopf has the recap. And a closer look at President Trump's initiative to support families who have lost loved ones to illegal immigrant crime. Angel mom Agnes Giboney joined NTD to share her personal experience. Even before disaster strikes, hunger is already a crisis in America. But a disaster tests the very heart of who we are as a community. Food is scarce. But it's in these moments of crisis that our strength shines through. Because as neighbors, we lead the way forward. Please join with Feeding America, and let's be there for families in crisis. Call or go online to givetofeedingamerica.org. Just $19 a month, only 63 cents a day. Rushes food, water, and urgent supplies into communities just like yours. They called us immediately and said, what can we do? It's those partnerships that come together in response to recovery. Feeding America works with local food banks to get immediate relief to families as they recover. And we stay for as long as it takes, because disasters don't wait, and neither do we. They delivered a truckload of food to us to undergird what we had. 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That first time seeing my son, I feel like my life didn't want 80. I was already trying to change my perspective of life and really just be a father figure that I never had. Being present is the most important part. I was still growing every day, becoming a better version of myself to be the better mirror for my son. I mean, he's just grown. He's becoming his own person. Man, first I saw him dance. Bro, he brings the vibes, you know what I'm saying? He brings the party no matter what. He really a definition of why he loves his body. And I love him to the death of me. On Capitol Hill this week, two lawmakers resigning after sexual misconduct allegations come to a head. A controversial spy bill extended as privacy hawks demand stronger protections for Americans, plus high-profile hearings and movement on ICE funding and the DHS shutdown. And Denise Molina-Weiskopf has this week's recap from D.C. In a last-minute sprint to prevent a lapse in the government's spy powers, lawmakers approved a 10-day extension of Section 702 of FISA. That's a surveillance law that allows the government to gather foreign intelligence. Allowing this authority to expire would leave the United States blind to threats that move at the speed of modern conflict. Negotiations are underway on privacy reforms. Several lawmakers have raised concerns that Section 702 of FISA doesn't have guardrails to protect Americans from being unlawfully spied on. I think we need warrants. I think anytime something's done in secret, to me, is scary to me. The short-term extension only lasts until April 30th. In other news, the DHS shutdown has stretched into its 64th day. House Speaker Mike Johnson vowing not to move the partial DHS funding package until the Senate approves a party-line bill to fund Border Patrol and ICE. That means Republicans have to do it on our own, for the first time in history. Shamefully, the Democrats do not wanna participate in taking care of those functions of government. So, we're gonna have to do a skinny reconciliation package, as it's called here, in the halls, and it's gonna come from the Senate. They're working that very aggressively. We expect to have that in our hands, sent over to the House, probably by middle to end of next week. We're gonna move it as expeditiously as possible. We're gonna do our part and fund those essential functions of the government. The decision to delay the partial DHS funding comes amid GOP pushback in the House. Several Republicans told NTD they're uncomfortable approving a bill with zero funding for immigration enforcement. A legal question about what happens if we have a bill coming through Congress as a zero, a goose egg, on the appropriations side. I don't like singling out agencies or departments and agencies. We saw how that happened with Homeland, how that worked, did not. Senators this week started moving the package to fund ICE and CBP for the rest of President Trump's term. We will have on the floor, hopefully as early as next week, we'll provide multiple years of funding for these agencies. You know, there's a lot of talk, but whenever it comes down to voting, I wanna see the full bill. These partial budgets don't work. Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons appearing on Capitol Hill for a hearing. He warns about the implications of ICE funding delays while exposing a fraud scheme that funds US adversaries. The CCP is a huge threat. HSI actually broke the largest gift card fraud case ever. And it was from transnational gangs within the CCP that were sending that money back to military units in China. And that all came from gift card fraud here in the United States. In a separate high-profile hearing, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies before the House Ways and Means Committee. We stand at a generational turning point. Our children are the sickest generation in modern history. Decades of failed policy, captured agencies, and profit-driven systems caused it. Also this week, sexual misconduct allegations against two members coming to a head, Republican Congressman Tony Gonzalez and Democrat Congressman Eric Swalwell, both resigning from Congress. A fifth woman this week came forward with allegations against Swalwell. I arrived at his hotel room. I was already incapacitated. He raped me and he choked me. The resignations means the two will no longer need to face congressional ethics investigations into alleged inappropriate relationships with staffers. Swalwell is still facing a criminal investigation. In a statement, Swalwell apologized for mistakes and judgments that he says he's made in the past, but rejected what he called the serious false allegation against him. California voters will vote in a special election on August 18th to fill Swalwell's seat. Texas' Governor Greg Abbott has yet to call the special election to fill Gonzalez's seat. A spokesperson for the governor said that an announcement on the seat will be made at a later date. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Melina Weiskopf, NTD News. On Capitol Hill this week, three angel moms testifying in front of lawmakers at a hearing titled The Human Toll of Sanctuary Policies. Agnes Giboney, one of the angel moms, joined NTD's Iris Tao to share her personal story and her experience with the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office, also known as VOICE. Here's that conversation. Agnes, thank you so much for joining us tonight. Thank you for having me. So your only son was murdered by an illegal immigrant. Tell us more about your story. Yes, my son was killed by a previously deported criminal illegal alien gang member. They had a long history of arrests, and the judicial system just kept releasing him over and over again. Even after he got deported, physically deported, he returned and got re-arrested, and the judge did absolutely nothing. And then soon after that, he shot and killed my son, my firstborn and only son. But the bullet was intended for somebody else, but my son is the one that's six feet under. I'm very sorry for your loss here. A repeated offender that was involved. President Trump has meanwhile reopened the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office, known as VOICE. Over the past year, the VOICE office have fielded more than 900 calls from people seeking information and assistance, including, for example, 32 involving violent assaults, 15% involving rape or sexual assault, and 9% involving homicide or manslaughter. For practical help and support, were they able to provide you from the office? They were extremely helpful to me in my case because they were tracking the killer who was soon to be released. And through a lot of people's involvement, ERO, Enforcement Renewal Officers, they went to the prison and picked him up as he got released and deported him again a second time. I don't know if he returned to the United States because under Biden, the only ones that didn't come in are the ones that didn't wanna come in. So I don't know where he's at, but VOICE has been instrumental in deporting my son's killer. Well, certainly a criminal worth being deported, for sure, a repeated offender should have no space in our country with the innocent citizens. Newell, what have you heard from other victims of such migrant crime or illegal immigrant crime from this community who are also being helped by the VOICE office? Well, we are all very happy that the VOICE office is reopened again and serving us families that have been victimized by illegal alien crime. And thanks to President Trump for reopening the office, DHS and ICE agents, everybody that's involved, I'm really grateful to them because you're doing an essential job in the United States to keep us safe, to remove criminals from our streets and preventing more victims from being created. So throughout this whole journey here, we know that actually at first, the California Department of Corrections wouldn't really answer your questions, you're seeking help from them. What was that like? What was the process of ultimately finally getting help from the VOICE office from the ICE side? What was the difference there? Well, when California Department of Corrections was very hesitant about giving me any information whatsoever, in fact, often when I call just to keep track where the killer is, they say, why do you need to know? Because it's my right, under Marcia's law, it's my right to know where the offender is and when he's gonna be released. They give you three days that they could be released. It was the 21st, 22nd and 23rd of November, 2019. And so ICE stepped in because they have, they can look at records closely than I can. As the mother, I have no right to look at anything and California Department of Correction was not very helpful at all. In fact, let me share something with you. There are so many angel moms that now are dealing with the California Department of Correction, I don't know if you heard, they are releasing prisoners who reach a certain age, I think it's 55, doesn't matter if they raped, if they murdered. I have a friend of mine, Bonnie Drexel, whose daughter was murdered. The guy received three life sentences plus 61 year in prison and he has a parole hearing coming up in three years and he's been only in jail for seven and a half years. This is absurd what goes on in the state of California. They are releasing criminals left and right. Well, certainly absurd action there by releasing these repeated offenders who have already harmed if not killed American citizens and ordinary citizens here. Do you hope or are you hopeful that the Trump administration will look into such things taking place and really put a stop to these things happening? Well, hopefully California will get a new governor. Hopefully we're gonna elect Steve Hilton for California governor and he is gonna step in and he's gonna help and stop this insanity. I know he's against giving a pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens. I know he wants to make California golden again and that's our hope for our state because the way it is right now, I don't know, Gavin Newsom is doing absolutely nothing. All he does is fight with our great president Donald J. Trump and just leaves us hanging, just leaves us exposed to many crimes and that shouldn't be. These politicians took an oath of office to protect and defend us against foreign and domestic invaders. They are forgetting about us, the citizens, and protecting the illegal aliens who broke into our country. This is outrageous. Well, meanwhile, we have seen national debates over ICE getting really heated. What's your message to fellow Americans who aren't really in favor of what the ICE has been doing and removing these illegal immigrants in our communities? Well, I just wanna tell you, please support ICE. They are protecting you, protecting your children, protecting your family from criminal, illegal aliens. Would you wanna risk your daughter or your son being in that coffin six feet under? Would you sacrifice your child, your mother, your father, your sibling, just to be against ICE? I would hope not. ICE, men and women of ICE, God bless them. I love them with all my heart and God protect them all because they are doing a very difficult job, especially now the Congress, many Congressmen, many Democrats are enticing violence against these men and women. That is outrageous, absolutely outrageous. God bless the men and women of ICE. Well, Agnes Giboney, God bless you as well, and thank you for sharing your story with us tonight. Appreciate your time. Thank you. Coming up, the NBA playoffs have finally begun, but without the Warriors. Is this the end of Golden State's run? And Denise Dave Martin joins to discuss. And what if weight loss isn't about eating less? A leading doctor says targeting hunger, not calories, could make the difference. Shen Yun Creations, the streaming platform from Shen Yun, featuring world-class dance, past programs, and all original music, masterclasses, behind the scenes, comedy, and more. Explore ShenYunCreations.com. I'm Jonathan Lawson. If you're 50 to 85, please listen closely. The lock I wanna talk to you about isn't the one on your door. It's a rate lock for your life insurance that guarantees that once you're insured, your rate can never go up. At any time, for any reason. Many policies you see don't have one, but you can get a lifetime rate lock from Colonial Pen. This plan was designed for people on a fixed income, with coverage options that start at $9.95 a month. That's less than 35 cents a day. Your rate is locked in for life. Coverage can never be canceled, and your acceptance is guaranteed. You cannot be turned down because of your health. See for yourself. Call for an information kit and gift. Both are free, no obligation. Call 1-800-624-6556 for your free information and your free gift. That's 1-800-624-6556. 1-800-624-6556. Call now. It's finally here, our second annual mega sale. This sale only comes around once a year, so take advantage of the best offers ever while you can. For example, save 50% on our Giza Dream bed sheets, as low as $29.98. And for the first time ever on TV, MyPillow mattresses and MyPillow mattress toppers, as low as $99.98. And you save 50% on our Luxe Pure six-piece towel sets, regular $69.98, now only $39.98. And our best selling standard, MyPillows, regular $49.98, on sale for $17.98. Wait on it, mega sale, only $14.98. So go to MyPillow.com or call the number on your screen. Use this promo code to take advantage of our second annual mega sale. But wait, there's more. To make the mega sale even more special, when you order right now, your order's gonna ship absolutely free. Have you heard what's happening at Mathis Home? Our spring style event is going on now, with hundreds of options for your new dining room. This 52-inch table is a great deal. It's just $4.99 in your choice of finishes. Mix and match chairs to complete the look that's just right for you. You can also get it with a marble top or in a larger size for extra seating. We have your style in stock now with fast free delivery. Get your new dining room and save at your Furniture Superstore, Mathis Home. And now for your sports news, we're joined by NTD's Dave Martin. Dave, good to see you as always. Good to see you, Orlene. All right, so let's get started here, because I know you got a lot going on tonight. We got soccer, we got baseball. As usual. Baseball's very, very good to me, but I wanna start with the NBA, because the playoffs are finally underway today. So where are we at? Yeah, we got four game ones today. We've already got two of them done. Cleveland already beat Toronto this afternoon. They took a one-nothing lead. Donovan Mitchell, 32 points there in the win. Denver, meanwhile, they beat Minnesota this afternoon. I'm sorry, they beat the Timberwolves, yeah, this afternoon to take a one-nothing lead. Nikoli Jokic had yet another triple-double in the win. This is actually the third time in the last four years we've had Nuggets take on the Timberwolves, so I'm liking this series. Meanwhile, Knicks and Hawks just tipped off a few minutes ago right over here in Madison Square Garden. Then at 8.30 tonight, the final game of the day, Rockets versus the Lakers. Now, this Rockets-Lakers series, this one has already been marred by injuries. Lakers were really rolling along this spring. They won 16 of 18 games heading into April. First game of April, they lost both Luka Djandjic and Austin Reeves to injuries, who are two top scorers. They do have home court advantage in this series. They still have LeBron James, meanwhile, but the guy is 41 years old. It's tough to run him, you know. Gone are the days. Boy, that's old, isn't it? Gone are the days when you could just put LeBron James on your team with 11 other players and you could still make the playoffs. I mean, he was that good for that long. He's not quite at that level anymore. No 41-year-old is ever gonna be, I can't imagine. So we'll see what this goes on. It seems unlikely the Lakers are gonna pull this series off without these two. We still don't know when they could be back. It seems like Daunches could be back soon, but we don't know. But I have been wrong before a few times. I wouldn't be betting for them, to be honest with you. Oh yeah, you're mostly right. Thank you. You're welcome. So now, let's stay in the league here. We got the Golden State Warriors eliminated from playoff contention last night, and now their coach is sounding like he might be throwing in the towel. Yeah, I mean, at the end of last night's game, Warriors coach Steve Curry subbed out Steph Curry and Draymond Green. Those two have been with him for the four titles that they've won during this era, really. Hugged them. You actually hear him on the mic on the court there. He said, you know, he thanked them. He said he loved them. He wasn't sure what was gonna happen next. Now, Green and Curry are both signed for next season. Both said they would be back. Curry, though, is not. He's on an expiring contract, although he said that was on purpose. He said he wants to take some time to decide, and then he'll be talking with the Golden State owners. But he's been there 12 years. This year was really marred by injuries for them, too. Jimmy Butler and Steph Curry, each missed roughly half the season with ailments. Those were their top two leading scorers. And their core is old by NBA standards. Curry is 38, Butler is 36, Green is 36. Even the newly-acquired Kristaps Brzingis, he's 30. Yeah, that's not really old, but it just kind of shows they don't really have many 20-somethings that are leading this team. I mean, next season, if they can remain healthy, I think they can make noise one more time. But even at that, them at their best versus something like the Spurs or the Thunder, it would be tough to pick the Warriors at this point. But they definitely have to have Curry if they're gonna be making noise. Well, how does it happen that a team has so many guys in their 30s pushing 40? Well, they're still productive. Plus, they've been there a long time. There's a lot of sentiment, you know? I mean, Steph Curry is maybe, he's right there with LeBron as the most popular player in the game. And it's just, if they've led you to titles, it's hard to say, you know, we're done with them. They have let Klay Thompson go. He signed Ellsworth with Dallas, so it just kind of happens like that, I guess. Yeah, well, maybe we'll see if some young guys will get in there eventually. Maybe so. All right, so let's shift gears to the World Cup. We've got ticket prices for games in the thousands of dollars. That's making headlines. And then we've got this transportation costs now. A bunch of these games are on the rise. What's going on here? Yeah, right over in here, New Jersey, MetLife Stadium, just over here, they're hosting eight World Cup games. That includes the championship game in mid-July. But New Jersey officials have announced that taking the train to MetLife Stadium from Penn Station on those days is gonna cost you $150 on a normal ride. That's like, what, $12.90. Now, they said this is to recoup the cost of hosting the World Cup games, which they said comes to about $6 million per game for each of these eight games. Let's listen to what New Jersey Transit CEO, Chris Calore, said about these raising prices. Let me give you a contrast to what happened last year. During the World Cup championships, at the same kind of service, we moved 19,821 people. We charged $12.90 a ticket. The result was we, meaning New Jersey commuters, subsidized that operation by 82%. If we were to do the exact same thing this time around for the eight games, New Jersey commuters would be subsidizing the games or the travel to the games by 92%. No one that I have spoken to thinks that's one, fair, and two, reasonable. Commuters in New Jersey should not carry the cost years into the future for a wonderful event, no doubt, but the fans who are going to the game should bear the burden of the cost, and that's all we're trying to say. Meanwhile, if you're thinking of driving there and tailgating at the game, you can't. I mean, the parking lot is gonna be used for fan experience and security purposes, so there's no parking at the stadium at all. You can park at the nearby American Dream Mall, but American Dream Mall's already caught onto this. They will coincidentally be charging $225 for parking on those game days. Boy, this is a money maker, huh? So, and meanwhile, you cannot walk to the stadium. They're not gonna just allow, they don't allow that for NFL games either. You can't just, unfortunately, walk, not that there's a sidewalk that would lead you to there. So, one way or another, if you already got gouged for the tickets, you're gonna get gouged for the transportation. Wow, I mean, but what if you take an Uber? Well, see, they can't drop you off, and it would be the same as trying to walk in there. I mean, there's no place to drop you off that I can see. They're gonna shut you off at the parking lot entrance, so yeah, you're pretty much out of options. I mean, I don't see how people could go then. How can they go and see the World Cup? Well, you can still go, you can still take the mass transit here. Yeah, but if you don't wanna pay that money. Well, yeah, but you're already paying, these tickets are already in the thousands of dollars. So, hopefully, you've got $100 left over. Another extra buck, 50 won't hurt anybody. All right, well, let's move on to baseball news, because I know we've got a lot of that. We've got Yankees' Garrett Cole. Now, he's missed all of last season after undergoing arm surgery, made his first rehab start yesterday. When is he expected back in the rotation? Yeah, the Yankees are not sure. Now, Aaron Boone, their manager, was asked about that same question yesterday. He just said, you know, he's gonna need several more starts. It really sounds like they're just gonna see how he looks overall. And maybe he didn't have an exact number, simply because the Yankees' starting pitch in the season has really done well without him. Entering today, they had the sixth best ERA in the game at 3.21, that's through 20 games. Meanwhile, Cole, who is 35 now, he has not pitched since the 2024 World Series when the Yankees lost the Dodgers there. Cole won the Cy Young Award the year before. He's a six-time All-Star. Obviously, he's very good. The Yankees, though, are also without Carlos Rodon, who was their best starter last year. He had elbow surgery last October. How old is he? He is, he's in his 30s. I think he's 31. See, the 30s have it, man. You know what? They didn't bother the Yankees today. They won 13-4, beating my Royals. But the Yankees are in first place, 12-9 record. So they're still thriving, despite being without some of their best players. All right, Dave. Well, thank you so much for the updates. You're welcome, Arlene. All right. Losing weight is often seen as a matter of willpower, cutting calories and pushing through hunger. But what if that approach is missing the bigger picture? In this episode of Vital Signs, Dr. Jason Fung joined host Brendan Falun to explain why hunger, not calories, may be the key to lasting weight loss. Here's a preview. Dr. Fung, wonderful to have you join us on Vital Signs again after quite a long stretch. I've had the pleasure of getting into your new book, The Hunger Code. And just to start off with, I'm interested why you've called this book The Hunger Code. I mean, I see the sense I get from weight loss and looking at traditional ideas around this, it is a grueling thing. It's like, it's suffering. And if you watch The Biggest Loser, it was like people in the gym and sweating and it's like, it's hardship. So is calling it The Hunger Code, is this some clue to what is the essence to essentially losing weight in a lasting way? Exactly. I think that people have focused so heavily on cutting calories that they've actually lost sight of sort of the root problem of the whole thing. Because if you think about it, if you consider the problem of overeating, that's fine, but then what is causing that overeating, right? So you might actually think, well, why are you eating? Well, it's because of hunger. So if we didn't have hunger, well, weight loss would be easy, right? You'd just eat whatever you're supposed to eat. You could eat like chicken breast and vegetables all day long, or you could simply not eat and you'd lose weight or you'd cut down your portions and you'd lose weight or you could do any number of things. But the problem is actually the hunger, of course. And if you don't take care of the root problem, you never solve it. So if you think about the idea that you have something that controls hunger, which is hormonally based and something that you can control sort of a little bit, which is the calories. If you simply reduce your calories, which is the standard advice that people have been getting for 50 years, if you simply reduce your calories to try to lose weight, what happens? Well, your hunger goes up. So therefore you're continually fighting against your body. And what the idea is, is that, you know, initially you'll be able to win, but after three months, six months, 12 months, two years, five years, you're continually hungry all the time and you've stopped losing weight. At some point, you're just gonna get tired of the whole thing. So the point is that if you simply reduce calories without treating the sort of underlying hunger issue, you're always gonna lose. And that's been borne out time and time again. So millions and millions and millions of people have tried calorie restriction. It doesn't work for anybody. That's what the scientific evidence shows. All the scientific studies show that if you simply tell somebody or make somebody lose calories, then they don't lose weight long-term. If on the other hand, you reduce the hunger, then naturally the number of calories you eat reduces as well. So then now you're working with your body instead of against your body. So the hunger going down is going to also make the calories go down, but you're not fighting against each other. And that's the lesson that we learn from all of our weight loss drugs. Somaglutide, for instance, a very popular weight loss drug and very effective, I may add, and traceptotide, they don't restrict your calories. They reduce your hunger. And that's a very critical distinction to be made, right? You can physically or otherwise reduce somebody's calories. You can wire somebody's jaw shut, for example. And that was popular in the 1940s and 50s. They would wire people's jaw shuts to make them lose weight. The problem was that it didn't work because people were so hungry that they found a way around it. Then the next idea was that you could rewire somebody's intestines and cut their stomach into the size of a walnut. That's called bariatric surgery. And guess what? That seemed to work at the beginning, but again, long-term, it simply didn't work because the point is that you can physically restrict somebody's calories by doing bariatric surgery. You can cut their stomach to the size of a walnut. You can simply put a lap band on, which is where you simply put a band and you restrict the size of the stomach. They can't eat so many calories, but what happens? The hunger goes up. They find a way around it. They eat all the time. They drink milkshakes and that kind of thing. So they still wind up getting around it. And long-term, they don't lose the weight. We know this because if you look at the obesity epidemic, it's been continually going up, but this so-called miracle surgery of bariatric surgery peaked in 2010. So we're doing fewer and fewer every year, fewer and fewer of these surgeries. Why? Because it simply didn't work. If it worked, we'd do it. Obviously, there's enormous health benefits and there's lots of other benefits to the weight loss. But when you get a drug that restricts hunger, now you can actually get to the point of this problem. So yes, you could take drugs to do that, but there's lots of different things that you can do other than drugs to reduce your hunger. And that's what this book is about. The Hunger Code is about understanding what is hunger, what controls hunger, because it's not always what we think that it is. We think that it's just that if you don't eat for a while, you're gonna be hungry. That's a small part of it, but it's mostly hormonally driven. And that's only part of it. That's called homeostatic hunger. That is, if your body feels that it needs to eat, then it may make you hungry. However, there's also hedonic hunger, which is the eating for pleasure. And there's also conditioned hunger, which is eating as a habit. And those are really important things. And in fact, in this day and age, probably drive as much eating behavior or more than homeostatic sort of physical hunger. The hedonic hunger, you can think of as an emotional hunger and the conditioned hunger, you might think of as a habitual or social hunger. To see that full interview and others on how to optimize health, go to ept.ms forward slash vital signs. Vital signs offers general health information not intended as medical diagnosis or advice. Please consult your doctor before undertaking a new health regimen. And that's the news for this evening. Thank you for tuning in. I'm Arlene Richards. Good night.