NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (Aug. 18)

Welcome to NTD Evening News. Our top story tonight, President Trump saying talks with Iran are off as the U.S. naval blockade tightens the economic squeeze on Tehran. And here at home, a fresh focus on security at the White House. President Trump revealing why he says the new ballroom is about much more than entertaining. Mario Tsu at the White House. New emails show the NSA blocked reports of Chinese election interference from reaching President Trump, whilst the Justice Department sending a thousand monitors to the midterms after finding hundreds of thousands of dead people still on the voter rolls. And a final battle between the DSA and moderate Democrats in Florida's primaries today. How candidates are warning against socialism and how President Trump is weighing in. And the Trump administration is awarding millions in new grants to strengthen mental health and addiction programs, and rolling out a major shift in how the federal government tackles homelessness. Jason Blair has the details. And nearly 30 years after rapper Tupac Shakur's killing, the man accused of orchestrating it now on trial, jurors are now hearing more evidence in this decades-old murder case. Christina Corona reports. And opening statements kicking off in the pivotal meta-trial on youth addiction. 29 states suing the tech company, alleging its platforms are designed to addict minors. David Lam at the courthouse. This is MTV Evening News, live from our global headquarters in New York City. Here's Kerry Dunst. Good evening. Thank you for joining us tonight. President Trump saying there are no ongoing talks with Tehran as the U.S. naval blockade continues to put economic pressure on the regime. Now go live to NTV's White House correspondent Mari Otu at the North Lawn. Mari, good evening. What is the latest? Hey, Kerry. Good evening. Yeah, that's right. And President Trump is saying that there's not only no ongoing or current talks, but also no scheduled or planned talks with the Iranian regime. He does say, though, that the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports remains in, quote, full force and effect with the Strait of Hormuz otherwise open and operating. He also says that all water mines have been removed or detonated. That's as the president continues to double down on his assertion that the U.S. is in total control of that critical waterway. Take a listen. We control it with the blockade. We have a blockade. We control it with a blockade. And I like the idea of declaring it a territory. The president indicating that the U.S. naval blockade is continuing to put economic pressure on the regime, despite Iranian reports to the contrary compounding the military effects of Operation Epic Theory. That says one U.S. dollar is worth approximately 1.4 million Iranian rials. President Trump's been very focused on the economic pressure. He really feels strongly about the blockade. If you look at the Iranian economy, it's way worse off. It was bad before the war. It's way worse off now. And as the White House focuses on U.S. security abroad, security here at home is also in focus. A defendant who traveled to Washington with Molotov cocktails in a plot to assassinate Treasury Secretary Scott Besant, sentenced today to more than six years in federal prison. The Treasury Department sits immediately next to the White House, just steps from the site of the new White House ballroom. President Trump saying the project is about greater security and safety of future presidents and high-level officials, and that what started as a ballroom has evolved into something much bigger. And then they came up with the drone port on top, which would be a major drone port to protect the White House and all of D.C., and all of those things added up and it became much more than just a ballroom. The president also pushing back against a lawsuit from the National Trust for Historic Preservation seeking to stop the project, saying the ballroom and security infrastructure are part of one integrated facility, and that the legal fight has now caused sensitive details about those security features to become public. I told them this, is that we have many military things in this ballroom, and ideally they shouldn't be revealed. But now they are revealed, so the world knows about it. That's okay. They shouldn't have done it. They're very disloyal. Meanwhile, Carrie, barring any new action from the White House here tonight, we are just hours away from the U.S. imposing a 50% tariff on Canadian goods that includes wine, hockey sticks, and an array of other imports. That's President Trump last month imposing that tariff on Canada in response to what he called trade discrimination against American cars, alcohol, and dairy products. President Trump saying that the goal is to protect American workers and to force Canada to quote, play fair. Now if these tariffs do go into effect overnight, the new tariffs will cover roughly $20 billion worth of these Canadian imports. Back to you. Thanks for that update, Mari. And as Mari had mentioned, a Massachusetts resident has been sentenced today for attempting to assassinate Scott Besant last year. The Justice Department saying he intended to kill Besant the day of his confirmation vote. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro describing the plot as part of a disturbing trend. Unfortunately, we are seeing more and more of these cases where people think that they can come from all over the country and act out their political violence in the nation's Ryan Michael English was sentenced to six years in prison today. He was convicted for attempting to kill Besant at the U.S. Capitol when he was nominee for Treasury Secretary. According to the Justice Department, English carried Molotov cocktails and a folding knife onto Capitol grounds. English then approached a U.S. Capitol police officer telling the officer he wanted to turn himself in. English ultimately admitted to traveling to D.C. with the intention of killing a government official or burning down a think tank. Pirro says her office would not tolerate attempts to intimidate or harm public officials. And next, the U.S. is imposing sanctions against the president of the International Criminal Court and a senior trial lawyer, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, calling the court a threat to U.S. sovereignty. The latest sanctions come after Rubio announced a diplomatic campaign encouraging other countries to leave the court last month. The U.S. imposed sanctions last year on several ICC officials, including prosecutors and judges. The Trump administration at the time cited the court's arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The administration also pointed to a past investigation into U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Three ICC judges sued in June over the sanctions, arguing the measures were unlawful. The sanctions freeze any U.S. assets that the individuals may have, essentially cutting them off from the U.S. financial system. Ninety-six million dollars toward mental health, suicide prevention and substance abuse programs now awarded by the Department of Health. These efforts include strengthening service for homeless suffering from serious mental health issues, as well as early prevention. And the correspondent Jason Blair has more. Health and Human Services announces $96.7 million in grants and cooperative agreements toward behavioral health services nationwide. This includes mental illness, suicide prevention, early intervention, substance abuse programs and disaster-related emotional support. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says these investments will expand access to treatment, strengthen behavioral health services and help more people move from crisis to recovery. The prescription drug prices report sharpest drop in more than 60 years. And President Trump not being shy about touting the steepest drop in prescription drug prices since 1963. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that drug prices fell 3.1 percent over 12 months ending in July 2026. The Trump administration pointing out that President Trump is the first president to lower prescription drug prices. However, some critics say that most of the credit goes to the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act. USC health economist Jeffrey Joyce saying, if you were going to give policy credit, you'd have to say the IRA. However, the White House is pointing to President Trump's most favored nation pricing policies as well as Trump-Rx, which were both initiated in 2025. And the HHS and Housing Department announcing policy shifts in tackling homelessness, moving from a housing-first model to a treatment-first approach. This shift will still include housing, however, it will also pair it with appropriate treatment such as mental health and or addiction services. They say it's a long-term strategy to prioritize recovery and self-sufficiency. The HHS also says this move is in line with the Trump administration's great American recovery efforts. Reporting in Washington, D.C., Jason Blair, NTD News. And we're now nearing the end of primary season, but there are still races to look out for with voters heading to the polls in four states today. Florida, the battleground for yet another DSA candidate, Oliver Larkin. His opponents are warning that Larkin's platform is not what Americans want. Let's go now live to NTD's Fiona G. Fiona, break it down for us, please. Yeah, Kerry, I think the race that many are looking out for today is that Florida House race down in the newly redrawn 25th district. That's that new district that stretches from Delray Beach all the way to Miami Beach, where we're seeing, as you mentioned, DSA-backed candidate Oliver Larkin. He's up against the more moderate representative, Jared Moskowitz. Now, whoever wins that Democratic primary is going to most likely be going up against Republican Scott Singer, who used to be the mayor of Boca Raton. He has been supported by House Majority Leader Steve Scalise. There is a significant concentration of Jewish voters in this new district. So what does that mean? That means the issue of support for Israel is a hot topic. Now, Larkin, he has been campaigning on this goal of ending what he calls the genocide that Israel has been conducting. Meanwhile, Moskowitz is pulling from his long, long history of support for Israel, as well as his ability to reach across the aisle to work in a sense of bipartisanship with the other side. All three candidates, Republican and Democrat, are weighing in on the issue of Israel. Watch. Beyond discouraging, it's heartbreaking to see how quickly anti-Israel and anti-Semitism has crept into the core of the Democratic Party. And I think for a lot of voters who historically voted Democrat, but, you know, Israel and anti-Semitism and Jewish issues are top of mind, they're not going to be there anymore. My name is Oliver Larkin. I'm a Democratic socialist running for the United States Congress in Florida's District 25. Are we ready to end U.S. military aid to Israel and end this genocide? When it comes to, you know, the DSA, I mean, listen, at the end of the day, there are people in this district specifically who escaped countries that had the economic system that DSA wants to bring to America. When it comes to the gubernatorial race in Florida, it's really coming down now to Representative Byron Donald, who has been endorsed by President Trump. And on the Democrat side, the leading candidate is David Jolly. He's actually a former member of the GOP. He left the party in 2018 before joining the Democratic Party last year. And now we see him running in this race. Byron Donald, he is weighing in on the trend of DSA and what he thinks of David Jolly. Watch. The Democrats are running this guy named David Jolly. David Jolly is a Trojan horse for the Democrat socialists of America. And if we take a look up in Alaska at their race, the race to watch is really between two leading candidates, Republican Senator Dan Sullivan versus former Democratic Representative Mary Peltola, who's turning out to be a pretty strong challenger. Now, Peltola, interestingly, she's received support from former Vice President Kamala Harris, who sent out an email a couple of days ago urging her supporters to go and show support for Peltola. A spokesperson for Peltola then came out and said that Peltola is not looking for any endorsements and essentially trying to distance herself from that support. Now, Trump endorsed Sullivan, saying that Sullivan has, quote, brought hundreds of billions of dollars back to your state. That is Alaska. The interesting thing about Alaska is that it has an all party primary, meaning that the top four performers in the primary, regardless of party affiliation, will be advancing to the general election. Now, four states have their primaries, as mentioned before, Wyoming also having its primaries today. It's a reliably red state. The interesting thing there is that this is the first time in 32 years where there is a race for governor, U.S. Senate and U.S. House all at the same time. California is seeing a special primary to choose a replacement for former Representative Eric Swalwell, who resigned earlier this year. The earliest polls today are closing in Florida. They'll be closing between 7 and 8 p.m. Eastern time. Then it's Wyoming at 9 p.m. Eastern time, California at 11 p.m. Eastern time. And finally, the last polls to close will be up in Alaska between 12 a.m. and 1 a.m. Eastern time. Kerry, back to you. A lot to look out for this evening. Thank you, Fiona. And coming up, cutting and packaging cocaine as a fraternity pledge. That's what investigators say happened at two Penn State frat houses. Now 14 people are facing charges. And opening statements kicking off in the pivotal meta-trial on youth addiction. 29 states suing the tech company, alleging its platforms are designed to addict minors. David Lamb is at the courthouse. An important message for Americans ages 50 to 85. Have you seen that life insurance thing I got in the mail? From Colonial Penn? 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These charges were the result of a long-term investigation between the Office of Attorney General, Bureau of Narcotics Investigation, State College Police Department, and a pair of statewide investigating grand juries impaneled by my office. What we learned during this investigation was that between 2023 and 2024, large amounts of cocaine, kilos, were brought from Philadelphia and New York to State College, where they were cut and packaged for sale primarily to Penn State students. Pennsylvania's Attorney General says pledges at Delta Epsilon and Sigma Chi as part of what investigators call an indoctrination into the fraternities. Here's Attorney General Dave Sunday speaking to Fox News. We realized that something was happening there and we just started working it like we would work any other case. We took time to make sure we could identify and arrest as many of the individuals possible so that we could root out this organization and stop the flow of cocaine into Penn State. Officials say two former students ran the drug ring. One surrendered to authorities Tuesday and was ordered held without bail. They are accused of hauling drugs in from Philadelphia and New York and selling mostly to Penn State students. Charges range from misdemeanors to felony, conspiracy, and other related offenses. One defendant is the father of a student accused of hiding drugs in cash. Penn State has placed Delta Epsilon on interim suspension. Meanwhile, Sigma Chi isn't a recognized campus organization. A murder trial in the killing of Tupac Shakur is underway in Las Vegas this coming nearly 30 years after the rap star was gunned down in a drive-by shooting. Prosecutors say Dwayne Davis orchestrated the shooting, while his defense argues there is not enough evidence to link him to the crime. Nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur was gunned down on the Las Vegas Strip, the man accused of orchestrating the killing is now on trial. Prosecutors say Dwayne Keefe D. Davis organized a revenge plot after Shakur and members of his entourage beat Davis' nephew inside the MGM Grant on September 7, 1996, the same night Shakur was shot. Mr. Shakur, Mr. Knight, and his group leave the MGM Grant. Dwayne Davis decides he is going to organize a retaliation that this beating cannot go unanswered. Prosecutors say Davis and others later caught up with the car carrying Shakur and Death Road Records co-founder Shug Knight and opened fire. Shakur was shot multiple times and died six days later. Tuesday, jurors heard testimony about his injuries from Clark County Medical Examiner Lisa Gavin. So the injury to the lung would have collapsed the lung and also caused the lung to bleed. And so it was documented within the medical records that he had about two liters of blood in his chest cavity when they put in the chest tube to try to save him. Jurors also heard from a former security officer who heard multiple rounds of gunfire the night Shakur was shot. So you hear a bunch of shots happen. Do you have any idea how many you heard? It sounded like a lot. One volley, two volleys? Three volleys. But the defense argues prosecutors still lack evidence directly linking Davis to the shooting. Look for evidence that shows that he was even in Las Vegas on the night of the fight. Receipts, credit cards, a picture of him standing next to somebody else maybe watching the fight from another casino. Something. Davis has pleaded not guilty. The trial is expected to last up to six weeks. Christina Corona, NTD News. The polling company that released a widely shared poll on the L.A. mayoral race now saying that that poll was fake. The poll has been shared by multiple media outlets and one of the candidates since its release last week. The fake poll by Median Strategies shows incumbent Mayor Karen Bass leading her fellow Democrat Nithya Raman by nearly 12 points. It also shows that 85% of the voters who supported former Republican candidate Spencer Pratt plan to vote for Bass. Median Strategies releasing a statement today saying it will not publish additional polls and that all previous polling data should not be treated as genuine. The company goes on to explain, quote, Median Strategies was created as a short-term social experiment examining how purported polling information could enter and spread through the political information ecosystem without independent verification. Bass shared that and celebrated the fake poll when it was first released. Her campaign has since deleted the post and calls the fake poll a, quote, bad faith attempt to influence elections. And coming up today is primary day with contentious races in Florida and Alaska. We're going to break it down. After the break, stay with us. When I arrived in the U.S. at 19, I struggled to find job opportunities without a high school diploma. 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When we first met Todd, he was singing a song and I was like, wow, look at this kid with the biggest smile. Todd's a joy. Todd's really is a great joy. And you. Learn about adopting a teen at AdoptUSKids.org. Welcome back to NTD Evening News, I'm Cary Dunst. Newly declassified documents reveal the NSA blocked intelligence about China interfering in U.S. elections from reaching President Trump. That's as the Justice Department plans to deploy around 1,000 election monitors nationwide for the upcoming November midterms. NTD's Washington correspondent Jack Bradley has more. Newly declassified documents reveal that the National Security Agency's deputy director blocked reports of foreign influence in U.S. elections from reaching President Trump. The White House Government Transparency Task Force just released these four pages of emails from March 2020. In them, one NSA analyst wrote that officials had spent months working to publish intelligence about the Chinese Communist Party's efforts to subvert U.S. elections, specifically the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. But according to the emails, the NSA's number two at the time, They say Barnes worried that releasing the intelligence could damage the NSA's credibility and make the agency appear political. The task force is now looking at more records to find out why intelligence was not shared with the President, Congress, or some senior intelligence officials, saying more documents are expected in the coming weeks. And the Justice Department is doing its part to uphold election integrity. The DOJ has deployed over 200 election monitors to observe polling places for the primary season, with much more planned for the November midterms. Approximately 1,000 election monitors in the November election. And this isn't new, as the DOJ election monitors have been used by administrations from both parties for decades. In 2004, for instance, the DOJ's Civil Rights Division sent nearly 1,500 observers to election sites. But just 20 years later, in November 2024, that number fell to just 250 observers. So this increase in monitors in November is meant to bring back voter confidence after thousands of names appeared on voter rolls that legally shouldn't be there. There are hundreds of thousands of dead people on the voter rolls, and there are tens of thousands of people who are not citizens on the voter rolls. And Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon says the scope of the problem is unknown, because two-thirds of states are refusing to cooperate with the DOJ's efforts to clean up their voter rolls. Jack Bradley, NTD News, Washington. Thanks to Jack for that. Next, it is primary day today, and joining us now to discuss is Josh Finley. He's an election lawyer and the Texas Public Policy Foundation's Election Protection Project director. Josh, thanks for joining. Let's start with the Florida Democratic primaries. We have a Democratic Socialist candidate, Oliver Larkin, taking on establishment Jared Moskowitz, and also Senate establishment candidate Alex Vindman taking on Angie Nixon. She's been endorsed by DSA member Rashida Tlaib. I want to get your thoughts on what these races mean for the Socialist movement in this election. Well, we're going to see what happens with the election results tonight. The fact that these DSA candidates are even getting traction says that the Democrat Party has a branding problem. We've seen these Socialist candidates win across the country. What you're seeing with this is a rebellion against failed Democrat policies, weak Democrat leadership, and I think a lot of frustration about what the Democrat Party is doing for traditional Democrat voters. That's why you're seeing them look other places for results. It's going to be tough in Florida tonight. I would not look at this as something that talks about Socialists, that reflects Socialists standing nationwide. Florida is a state that's trended red under Governor DeSantis. It's President Trump's home state and it's trended more conservative. But it does indicate the fact that there's a competition here, that these Socialist candidates are getting standing in a weakened Democrat Party. Yeah, in a highly Cuban and Venezuelan population, Socialism probably a hard sell, but we will see what happens tonight. Now, on the Republican side, for term-limited Governor Ron DeSantis, his Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins trails the Trump-endorsed Byron Donalds significantly. Should Donald prevail in the primary, as the polls suggest, and should he win in the general as well, then what would you expect from him in terms of policy in Florida? Well, I think what you're going to see a lot of is a liberty-centered candidate. Donald has been in favor of parental rights. He's in favor of school choice. I think you're going to see a big shift to continue DeSantis' policies toward individual liberties. I think because he's Trump-backed, you're going to see him be strong on the border and strong on immigration issues. I think you're going to see a lot of conservative policies that have drawn people to Florida over the last couple of years be continued. And I think we should all expect good things from Byron Donalds. Yeah, and certainly a lot happening in Florida. But I do want to go to the other side of the country, all the way up in the top-left corner, Alaska. A very unusual story. We've got incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan facing a Republican with this... facing a challenger with the same name. Trump's calling it trickery. So how concerned are you about the potentially confusing voters with two candidates with the same names in a state that has an open primary? Well, this would be a funny story if it wasn't so nefarious. You've got the incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan there running against a challenger also named Dan Sullivan. And what makes this even more confusing is this is a ranked-choice voting state. This is a system of voting that's been highly criticized because instead of having a Republican primary and a Democrat primary which would at least separate these candidates because Dan Sullivan is a Republican the challenger Dan Sullivan is a Democrat instead of having that primary you have ranked-choice voting which means that people just fill out everybody's on the same ballot which can lead to a tremendous amount of confusion. If people vote Dan Sullivan 1 and then Mary Potala 2 we don't know... it's going to cancel out one of those Dan Sullivans and we don't know if people voted for the right Dan Sullivan in this case. So it would be funny if it wasn't so tricky and it's something that the state of Alaska really needs to correct going forward. In this case, truth a little bit stranger than fiction. Now I want to look ahead to the midterms the primaries season now starting to wind down the DOJ planning to send about a thousand election monitors have we seen this many monitors deployed for the past couple of midterms? We have not. This would be a recent record for number of monitors deployed but we're seeing this because there's a crisis of confidence in the election process nationwide. I mean, just recently we had the governor of New Jersey admit that over 400 non-citizens had voted in New Jersey elections canceling out the votes of 400 legitimate New Jersey citizens. You're seeing instances where the DOJ has had to sue, I think it's 24 states right now, about getting not only their voting rolls but the information about how they are cleaning their voter rolls. So the Department of Justice is deploying these monitors to instill confidence in the election process so that we can all have confidence in the results come the night of November 3rd. Well, a lot to look forward to, the primary season winding down, the buildup to the midterms building, of course, and the balance of power hangs in the wings there. Josh Finley, thank you so much for breaking it down, appreciate you joining. Thank you, great to be with you. And next, New York City Democrats are blasting Mayor Zoran Mamdani's The administration sent no one to testify at a city council oversight hearing today, leaving lawmakers to direct their questions at an empty table. NDD's political correspondent Chris Bobb has the story. This is something that we need to be ashamed of. A hit list of the haves and the have-nots. A scarlet letter. Letting everyone know as you said so poignantly said, we know who you are and we see you. New York City Democrat Camilla Hanks unloading on Mayor Zoran Mamdani's rollout of the new tax on second homes. The city was able to identify nearly a million properties and put them on a list connected to this tax. It was able to find 17,000 homeowners and send them letters telling them they could be subject to a substantial surcharge, but somehow today the administration couldn't find its way within the same building to City Hall to answer questions about it. Republican Frank Morano rejecting the administration's argument that pending litigation prevented officials from testifying. He says a court fight does not suspend the council's oversight authority. The Department of Finance says the larger supplemental roll was legally required and does not identify which homeowners will ultimately pay the surcharge. But lawmakers question why the city published the names and property information of more than 900,000 homeowners when only a fraction received tax notices. How the administration published more than 900,000 names and addresses showed me that this is how the administration feels about homeowners in this great city. Finance Commissioner Richard Lee submitting written testimony saying the administration has asked the council to postpone the hearing. Lee says he would be prepared to testify after August 31st. We were promised a new era of transparency in this administration and it is deeply disappointing that regardless of whatever is going on in the administration they should show up and answer basic questions about the rollout. The tax applies to non-primary 1 to 3 family homes valued at at least $5 million. It also applies to co-ops or condos with an assessed market value of at least $1 million. Democratic Council Governmental Operations Chair Gail Brewer says the city's broader list even included her longtime primary residents. I've been in that damn home for 365 days a year since 1994. I don't leave the city and I don't have a second home. Brewer says nearly 42,000 property owners have applied or are in the process of applying for exemptions. She's questioning why the city relied on records officials had already acknowledged were outdated. In an August 7th statement to NTD, the mayor's office said the surcharge would support cleaner parks, safer streets and other public investments. It said the Department of Finance was, quote, working around the clock to assist homeowners. The city extended the exemption application deadline until September 18th. The mayor's office also said the law department would, quote, vigorously defend the city against a lawsuit. Without the administration here to even discuss these things on the record in public, it's very difficult to address these issues in a public forum. Chris Bobb, NTD News. Today is day one of the trial against Meta. More than half of U.S. states are participating in suing the tech company, pledging its platforms are designed to addict young users. NTD's David Lam reports from the courthouse. Opening statements for Meta's federal trial began in Oakland, California. Now this is the start of trials of cases targeting social media companies. Now in this trial, Meta faces California, Kentucky, Colorado, and New Jersey, but a total of 29 state attorneys general are suing Meta. California Deputy Attorney General Megan O'Neill says Meta platforms were designed for addiction. She cites internal Meta communications, which allege that young users are a focus for Meta. Apps in question are Instagram and Facebook. The prosecutor also says throughout the trial they will have mental health experts, former Meta employees, and other state attorneys general testifying. She claims Meta puts profits over the well-being of youth users and collects data of those under 13 years old. Meta's lawyer during his opening statement admits there are challenges to age verification of minors. He argues the company has made changes for kids such as providing time management tools, but plaintiffs still criticize Meta's efforts. He says Meta witnesses will also testify. The lawsuit initially filed in 2023 comes as tech companies face pressures over their products' impact on youth. The former engineering director at Facebook also testifying on Tuesday. He's a whistleblower that alleges Meta encourages a culture of see no evil, hear no evil. Now the judge is Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who also presided over the Elon Musk v. OpenAI trial. Now this Meta trial is expected to last about six to eight weeks long. In Oakland, California, David Lamb, NTD News. And how strong is the case against Meta, and how could it reshape the addictive social media landscape for kids? Hear from one of the state's attorneys general spearheading the case, Chris Kobach from Kansas, tonight on Capitol Report with Steve Lance, 7 p.m. Eastern, just after evening news. And as the Meta trial is underway, are everyday Americans concerned about social media being addictive to children? NTD's Sam Wong was out on the National Mall in D.C. to hear from the people. Are you concerned about social media being addictive to children? Absolutely. The damage that social media has done for teenagers, especially for kids, that has to be a growing concern that we need to address. I think it's hurting our young people's ability to make friends and build community because they're too focused on what's on their screen in front of them and not what's just right around them in real life. We came from a summer camp and some of the kids, they just go absolutely berserk when we take their phones off them, especially TikTok and that's where everything comes from. From Brain Rock, I'm sure people see it a lot. That's probably the worst thing. For a fact, my kids right now, they don't have social media. I don't allow them to have social media until I guess they become like a legal age where they know what they're doing. I agree with what he says. I think that actually not having social media has worked with me and I can spend more time on sports in school. At our work, we definitely do see kids glued to their screens when they're ordering food, they don't interact with people, so it definitely affects their abilities to socialize. Does it affect you personally? Uh... I don't doom scroll as bad as them. I'd say I'm pretty much off. I work too much to be on my phone. He's lying. It's a hard timer. He works 10 hours a week. Should there be accountability for social media platforms for creating such addictive features? Absolutely. When you create something, just like if you create a pharmaceutical drug, the responsibility lies with the creator or the person who's making money from that product or service. The whole algorithm is based off of it. That's how they make their money. To keep them in, to make more money. I think there should be ramifications for that for sure, especially if you have cases where this addiction is causing a kid to commit suicide. I think that's something that's really bad. I think there should be some repercussions for that for sure. I agree with my dad. I think a lot of being on social media can cause a bunch of cyberbullying, and I think it's better that kids stay away from that. A federal judge is allowing the Trump administration to end temporary protected status for Ethiopians. His ruling comes after the Supreme Court in June allowed the administration to terminate similar protections for thousands of people from Haiti and Syria. District Judge Brian Murphy originally granted an administrative stay, blocking the TPS terminations last month. Today, Murphy lifted his order, stopping the Department of Homeland Security from ending TPS for individual countries. Ethiopia's TPS designation was granted in 2022 due to armed conflict and extraordinary conditions within the country. DHS announced in December it would end those protections. The Department's decision followed a review that found conditions in Ethiopia no longer met the requirements for continued TPS status. And the United States and Liberia have arranged a deal to send up to 1,200 third country deportees from the U.S. to Liberia. An initial group of 20 deportees expected to arrive there this week. The deportees came to the U.S. from third countries and in most cases have obtained legal protection against repatriation to their home country. A Liberian government statement says the deportees will include citizens or nationals of African and Western Hemisphere countries who are medically authorized to travel. It also said some of them may wish to seek asylum in Liberia. The first 20 deportees are expected to arrive in the West African nation on Thursday. And the war between Russia and Ukraine is at risk of intensifying in the next coming days. Ukrainian officials say at least 10 are dead after the latest Russian attack. Kiev meanwhile already vowing retaliation and now a new report says Russia is expanding launch sites for its long-range strikes able to hit NATO territory. NDD's international correspondent Arian Pasdar has the war update. New footage on Tuesday shows destruction in Ukraine's Kharkiv region after a Russian missile attack. According to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, the strikes targeted a busy intersection with a post office, stores and residential buildings nearby. Four years after the start of the war Russian attacks keep increasing. The U.N. recently found that July saw the highest number of civilian casualties in Ukraine since May of 2022 and the trend doesn't seem to be changing anytime soon. According to the Telegraph, Russia is expanding long-range strike drones along its border with Ukraine and Belarus. Russia reportedly built almost 60 new drone launching sites along that border and each site can house over 1,000 drones capable of striking Ukraine as well as NATO territory. At the same time, Ukraine suggests it won't give up the fight either. After Tuesday's attack, Zelensky said we will definitely respond to this Russian strike. Over the past year, Ukraine started increasing the use of domestically produced long-range drones for strikes deep inside Russia. Kiev aims to make the Russian public feel the consequences of the war and pressure Moscow into negotiating a peace settlement. Russia has so far shown no sign it intends to stop the fighting. Amid the increasing threats, NATO forces are holding major exercises in Romania on Tuesday, training how to defend its eastern border close to Russia. The main battle was taking place between the infantry. Infantry was on the ground. We also had the help of engineers demining some minefields, also some obstacles. The exercises include forces from France, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, and Romania. Aryan Pasdar, NTD News. United Arab Emirates says Iran launched two ballistic missiles today toward the Gulf nation. UAE's defense ministry saying one fell inside its territorial waters, while another fell outside. It was unclear whether UAE air defenses downed the missiles or if they missed their intended targets. Fortunately, no damage or injuries were reported. Over the weekend, the UAE accused Iran of attacking an Abu Dhabi National Oil Company vessel as it attempted to navigate the Strait of Hormuz. The state-owned company said two of its vessels were attacked on August 13th, while another ship was targeted by a missile on August 8th. Today, the UAE's foreign ministry said it was halting all trade, commercial exchanges, and financial transactions with Iran until further notice. The UAE's defense ministry added that it continues to be ready to confront any threats. And the Justice Department has charged 17 Iranians for allegedly conducting a cyber theft campaign. The DOJ accusing the group of working on behalf of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. According to the indictment, the defendants are members of the Iran-based MobNAW Institute. Since at least 2013, the company allegedly conducted a coordinated hacking effort targeting computer systems at over 100 American universities. The group is also accused of being behind cyber intrusions at over 40 private sector companies in the U.S. The DOJ added that at least 11 foreign companies and at least 5 U.S. federal and state government agencies were also targeted. And coming up, over half of American families have at least one child in organized sports. Sean Marshall explores the benefits of enrolling children in sports after the break. Whispered across generations, a hidden secret unveils the essence of longevity and vitality. A timeless legend regarding energy and wonder. Rooted in ancient health wisdom, we proudly introduce Puritang Black Ginseng, a 100% natural, organic energy drink made from premium 6-year-old Korean ginseng. It takes 2,260 days and nights from seed to growth, undergoing a meticulous 9-step process of steaming and drying. Black ginseng reaches its full potency, enriched with ginsenicide RG3 and enhanced absorption efficiency. No sugar, no caffeine, no artificial ingredients. 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She's in quite a perilous situation, but she's completely strong and serene and she's actually meditating. It was very, very well liked because no matter what culture or what sort of walk of life you're from, I think people, they see it and they immediately understand what that energy, what that message is and they're drawn to it because everybody kind of needs a little bit of that in their own life. You know, the steadfast calmness and something to hold on to. It's definitely an inner peace in the midst of something very chaotic and for a lot of people right now, the whole world is very, very chaotic. I guess that's another reason why so many people are very drawn to this. Welcome back to NCD Evening News. I'm Cary Dantz. A new poll finds that American families see major benefits to children playing organized sports. NCD's Sean Marshall speaks with a sports psychologist about the benefits families may be seeing for their children. About half of U.S. parents with K through 12 school-aged children say their kids play a structured sport, but participation is higher among more affluent families. Learning teamwork and reducing screen time are among the perceived benefits of youth sports. It directly correlates to school as well. It can turn into things like being able to perform well in an academic setting. Just learning how to take direction from a coach or a trainer directly correlates to taking direction from a teacher or another staff member. So it creates opportunities for practicing, practicing the learning and those kind of academic readiness skills in order to be able to succeed in the educational environment. The findings point to a key problem in youth sports. Parents almost universally see participation as an important part of kids' childhood, although the out-of-pocket expenses can be significant, particularly for lower-income families. I think we as a society could do much better in trying to find ways to be more inclusive, get more kids involved at an early age, and not price them out. You know, when the average cost of being on a team and the equipment and paying the coach skyrockets, a lot of families just can't afford that. It's a really unfortunate situation. Tanisha Curry, age 51, who lives in Ohio, says there's travel, the uniforms, pitching in on the lunches. She has custody of her granddaughter who plays volleyball through her school. It strains Curry's budget, but the whole family pitches in to keep the cost manageable. And then we think about how that scales out into adulthood, right? We may have had a co-worker on a project who isn't kind of pulling their weight, and we've got to learn how to deal with that. Or we may be going for that job promotion and not get it or applying to something and not succeeding. And learning how to deal with the wins and losses in sport directly translates to the wins and losses in life later on. Relatively few K-12 athletes will go on to play at the collegiate level or earn athletic scholarships. Yet the poll shows many sports parents have it on their minds. You know, it definitely can provide some level of an advantage, but it also creates a lot of pressure. And if we're trying to teach overall well-being and enjoying sports because they can be fun and enjoyable and I can have a good time hanging out and socializing with my peers, that level of pressure that parents put on to things can really have a negative impact. You know, I have families that might reach out and say, hey, we want a sports psychologist to work with my child who's in a slump. And I'm like, alright, great. How old's your kid? And they're like, oh, they're eight. I'm like, alright, hold on a minute. You know, let's talk about how this is supposed to be fun and enjoyable and what does a slump even mean for an eight-year-old? About eight in ten sports parents say the possibility of improving college acceptance odds is at least a minor benefit of kids playing organized sports. Despite the demands and hefty cost, K-12 sports parents overwhelmingly say the benefits of youth sports outweigh the drawbacks. Sean Marshall, NTD News. Thanks to Sean for that report. Next, the Transportation Security Administration's annual Cutest Canine Contest is down to a final four. One of the semifinal matchups is featured here. This is a nine-year-old German shepherd named Zorro. He's an explosives detection expert at St. Louis Lambert International Airport. Zorro is competing with Bolt, or Cutest Canine. Bolt, a three-year-old German short-haired pointer who patrols Dallas-Fort Worth International. The other semifinal features a pair of Labrador Retrievers from the Pittsburgh and Orlando airports. PSA will announce the winner of the 2026 Cutest Canine Contest on August 26th, and that is National Dog Day. And that is all for today's evening news, but for around-the-clock coverage, you can visit us at Entity.com, or you can use our Entity app. Tuning in, I'm Kerry Dunst. Good night.