NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (Oct. 08)

Welcome to Entity Evening News. Our top story tonight, former FBI Director James Comey pleads not guilty to two criminal charges. Democrats accused the Justice Department of political persecution, but Republicans say Comey could be facing further charges. That's after a report that alleges Comey's FBI spied on conservative lawmakers. Luis Adoro Martinez with the latest. President Trump vying to destroy Antifa as he invites independent journalists to share their experiences of being attacked by the group. Iris Tao has more on that. Plus, an announcement from the president about the Middle East. Day eight of the government shutdown. Lawmakers are still at an impass while they pivot to emergency measures to pay troops and air traffic controllers to avoid flight delays. Molina Weissup reports. A suspect has been arrested in connection with the deadly Palisades fire in California that destroyed thousands of homes and killed 12 people. Authorities say digital evidence and the suspect's behavior link him to the fire. Christina Corona has more on the charges. And independent journalist censored on social media testified before a Senate committee hearing today. They say the Biden administration pushed for their censorship during the pandemic and leading up to the general election. Jack Bradley has the key takeaways. This is NTD Evening News live from our global headquarters in New York City. Here's Tiffany Meyer. >> Good evening and thank you for joining us tonight. Former FBI Director James Comey pleaded not guilty to two felony charges at his arraignment this morning. Our Washington correspondent, Luis Odono Martinez, has the details. >> Earlier today at 10:00 a.m., former FBI Director James Comey was arraigned here at the Albert Bryan Federal Courthouse of the Eastern District of Virginia. Judge Michael Nacmanov read the two felony charges that James Comey is facing. The first one for providing false testimony to Congress and the second one for obstructing a congressional investigations. These refer to testimony that James Comey provided to the Senate Judiciary Committee back in 2020. James Comey was then asked by senators whether he had authorized information from FBI investigations to be leaked to the press, which he denied. And now, of course, prosecutor US attorney Lindseay Halligan is arguing that that testimony was false and it thus also obstructed a congressional investigation. seen enough on Comey that I think that he deserves a day in court. I believe that there's been sufficient evidence that has emerged that would show potential wrongdoing. Obviously, Comey deserves due process as does anyone else. >> Democratic lawmakers are arguing that the trial against uh former FBI director James Comey is political persecution of Trump's rivals. Donald Trump and the administration continues to weaponize the Department of Justice and are engaging in this effort unprecedented in nature to go after perceived political enemies like James Comey. >> Republican lawmakers are actually insisting on further charges to be levied against uh former FBI Director James Comey in particular for Operation Arctic Frost. On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman, Senator Chuck Grassley, revealed that at least eight Republican lawmakers were being surveiled by the FBI during the Biden administration and under the leadership of former FBI director James Comey. Why are we looking at Comey? Because he ran an FBI and personally knew about its sculptor information and let it slide. You tell me why my phone records when I'm the chairman of the judiciary committee were sought by the Jack Smith agents. >> It's important to note that Judge Michael Knackmanov who is overseeing this trial was a Biden appointee from 2021. After today's arraignment hearing, the judge set the start of the trial for January 5th of 2026. Reporting from Alexandria, Virginia, Luis Eduardo Martinez, NTD News. >> As former FBI Director James Comey's lawyers signal they could argue that his case is politically motivated, how would that impact the case? Tonight on Capital Report, hear from Attorney Jesse Benol, who represented President Trump in his civil cases. That's at 700 p.m. Eastern time here on NTD. President Trump vowing to dismantle Antifa as he invites independent journalists to share their Antifa attack experiences. It comes as protests in Portland highlight forces that could be fueling the violence. Joining us now live is ENT's White House correspondent Iris Tao. Good evening Iris. What is the president vowing to do at the round table today? Good evening to his relatives. So, as anti-ICE protests in Portland have been escalating and in some some cases turned violent, President Trump today at the White House hosted a round table focused on Antifa, which he just recently designated as a domestic terrorist organization. He's vowing to follow the money and find out who's funding these protesters. Watch. >> So, we're going to be looking very strongly at the people that are funding these operations. These are not people that write out their signs in a basement that believe in something. These are paid anarchists. >> We are following the money. Money never lies. And that's what it's going to take to bring down this network of organized criminal thugs, gang bangers, and yes, domestic terrorists. >> And our president invited independent journalists from across the country who have been covering Antifa for years. And among them, Nick Sorder, who was just in Portland, got arrested after he was attacked uh while trying to save an American flag from being burned. Also, there were journalists who covered Antifa and also experienced similar violence. Watch. >> I uh that's right. I took this flag from that uh from that man that was burning it in the street. >> That's uh Do you know who he is? >> Oh, yeah. I know exactly who it is. >> So, why don't you give it to Pam? give it to the attorney general and let's uh start prosecutions. >> The punches came from everywhere uh on my head and my face and I was bleeding out of my eyes and ears and then they threw all the drinks in my eyes to humiliate me further. And during the round table, President Trump is asking these independent journalists to pass on any names they've collected to both the DOJ and the FBI to help identify the funders of these Antifa protests. And meanwhile, Antiva is known for being decentralized and autonomous, but the administration is vowing to destroy it from top to bottom and brick by brick. They're smart, but they're not smart enough. They have been covered by these liberal cities for so many years, and that's why we're all working with Treasury, with all these different departments to find the criminal conspiracy. And just today, President Trump while answering a reporter's question says he is supporting potentially designating the international arm of Antifa as a foreign terrorist organization. Tiff >> and Iris, the president also broke some news about the Middle East during the round table. Tell us more about that. >> Sure. So Tiff, that was a surprise because uh Secretary of State Marco Rubio came in during the round table and passed a written note to President Trump and a photographer actually caught a photo of that note. It actually read that a deal in the Middle East is quote very close. We need to we need you to approve a true social post soon so you can announce deal first. And President Trump after getting that note told reporters including me in the room that he is expecting a deal very soon and that he could likely head to Egypt in the coming days where he says everybody everybody is gathered right now. Tiff Iris. Thanks for those updates. And what do everyday folks think of President Trump's decision to tackle Antifa? NTD Sam Wong was out on the National Mall in DC to hear from the people. >> Been a lot of conversation about Antifa lately. Uh, President Trump just recently designated Antifa as domestic or terrorist organization. Do you think this is long overdue? What are your thoughts? >> Yeah, I think it's overdue. I mean, they've been attacking our police officers who are trying to keep us safe and they're destroying taxpayer owned uh property. If they're not going to behave, then somebody needs to make it. >> Long overdue as well as BLM. They should go too. there are people that who are are some of our own citizens that are threatening to our society. So I I do agree that just depends on how extreme those people are. >> Can you define Antifa? I mean I don't think anybody really can. It's kind of like a nebulous movement. I don't think there's like a leader at Antifa. It's like it's another thing. It's like it's a scary word that you put out. >> Tag word. Yeah. Tag word that no one really knows what it Antifa has never been positive to my knowledge for anyone. Anybody can Google Antifa, the early history of it, read about how it spread, what their goals are, what their agenda is. It is not good organization for the future of America. >> We're seeing a huge Antifa footprint in Portland while all of these riots are happening. So, what should be done about these people? >> The extent of it, I don't know what it would take to control it, but it it needs control. Someone posted the other day, "If it's so bad in Portland, why did 12,000 people show up downtown to do a marathon?" Portland is not burning. LA was not burning. >> The National Guard is the big step in the right direction. Took him 30 days to diminish crime in the city I'm standing in right now in front of the Lincoln Memorial. 30 days. >> Maybe a little time in jail. Give them a little sense of uh understanding about how we're how we got here. All the people that had their bloodshed, all the history. >> Maybe they should be prosecuted. I mean, I know I heard about the whole Nick Sorder incident with the um the flag and him trying to stomp it out and being wrongly accused because I it's pretty clear he's a true patriot. >> On Capitol Hill, lawmakers remain at an impass on reopening the government. The sixth vote has failed on the Senate floor today. Will lawmakers pass emergency pay for certain workers? Entities Molina Weissup reports. As the stalemate between lawmakers leaves the government shutdown for the eighth day in a row, House Speaker Mike Johnson got visibly heated this morning responding to a question about if lawmakers should consider an emergency measure to keep troops and air traffic controllers paid. >> We already had that vote. It's called the CR. Every Republican and at least one Democrat had the common sense to say, "Of course we want the government to stay in operation. Of course, keep the government open. The first responsibility, I'm sorry, I'm aggravated. The first responsibility of the government is to protect the people and the the people who are supposed to be protected are being completely cheated. >> He said this type of show vote, as he described it, is exactly what Democrats want. But Johnson insisted this morning that the only answer is for Democrats to join Republicans in the Senate on the continuing resolution that the House already passed. That's a change in tune from yesterday when he expressed openness to such an idea, but the Senate leader quickly dismissed it. >> We're monitoring it day by day. I'm certainly open to that. We've done it in the past. We want to make sure that our troops are paid our troops. >> And honestly, I mean, you don't need that. >> Another question bubbling up is whether federal workers will receive back pay during their timeout. >> Every single furled federal employee is entitled to back pay. Period. Full stop. The law is clear. >> It's technically the law since 2019 that those workers will get paid back. But a White House draft legal memo is circulating that questions whether non-essential federal employees who are furled right now and currently not working due to the shutdown are entitled to backay. President Trump said this about it just yesterday. >> It depends on who we're talking about. I can tell you this, the Democrats have put a lot of people in great risk and jeopardy, but it really depends on who you're talking about, but for the most part, we're going to take care of our people. There are some people that really don't deserve to be taken care of, and we'll take care of them in a different way. >> So, ultimately, it depends how the White House decides to handle the matter. While backay for federal workers is in limbo, the White House has committed to keeping the nutrition program for women and children known as WIC running, announcing it would use revenue collected from Trump's tariffs to continue funding Wick benefits while the federal government remains shuttered. Reporting from Washington DC, Molina Weissup, NTD News. Federal and local officials announced a major breakthrough today in the investigation into January's Palisades fire in California. After eight months of intensive work, authorities confirmed the arrest of a suspect in connection with the blaze. ENTD's Christina Corona has more on the story of 29-year-old Jonathan Renderneck for igniting a fire that ultimately burned down the Palisades earlier this year, killing 12 people, destroying more than 6,800 structures, both homes and businesses, and damaging over a thousand more buildings. Render Nect is accused of intentionally starting a fire along a hiking trail just after midnight on January 1st. Officials say he had returned to Pacific Palisades after working an evening shift as an Uber driver on New Year's Eve. >> Two of his passengers told law enforcement that he appeared agitated and angry that night. After dropping off a passenger in Pacific Palisades, Renderneck parked his car and tried and failed to contact a former friend. Prosecutors say he walked up a trail, recorded videos, and listened to a rap song featuring fire scenes before allegedly setting the fire. Sensors detected the Lochman fire at 12:12 a.m. on January 1st. Officials say he fled the scene in his car, but later turned around after passing fire engines. >> The defendant walked up the same trail from earlier that night to watch the fire and firefighters using his iPhone to take short videos of the scene. Although firefighters initially extinguished the fire, strong winds on January 7th are believed to have caused it to reignite. Officials say the allegations are supported by his phone data, false statements, and chat GPT generated images depicting a burning city. The allegations in the affidavit are supported by digital evidence, including the defendant's chat GPT prompt of a dystopian painting showing in part a burn a burning forest and a crowd fleeing from it. >> Officials say Renderneck generated the images months before the fire broke out. As said Renderneck lied about his location to the police, but cell phone data put him near the scene of the crime. Investigators say he lived in the Palisades and was very familiar with the area. He was arrested near his Florida home and is expected to appear in federal court in Orlando Wednesday. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum of 5 years and up to 20 years in federal prison. Christina Corona, NTD News. >> A Senate committee today examining the US government's role in social media censorship. Panelists say posts were censored under the Biden administration during the pandemic and leading up to the last presidential election regarding the Hunter Biden laptop story. And today's Washington correspondent Jack Bradley has the details. The Biden White House was revealed to have been back channeling with YouTube about suppressing disfavored speech, suppressing things like the lab leak theory. White House digital director Rob Flity pressured platforms like Facebook and YouTube to censor all kinds of COVID related speech. >> Senators on the Commerce Committee probing government agency's efforts to pressure big tech companies into censoring free speech. It follows a report released last week by the committee and found that the Biden administration used the Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency or SISA to pressure social media companies to censor Americans on views that differed from the administration at the time. Particularly when it came to the question of COVID vaccine efficacy, voter fraud allegations, and the Hunter Biden laptop story. The tweet that got me banned from Twitter on August 28th, 2021 began. It doesn't stop infection or mission. >> That cost you money. That cost you money in your pocketbook. What accountability has been put? >> There's been none. I mean, more important than accountability, I didn't get to tell people what I thought. And there were I mean, I was getting hundreds of millions of views a month. People wanted to hear what I thought and the Biden administration didn't like it. And they forced Twitter to ban me. And I >> It begins with censorship. It moves to the destruction of statues and monuments and it ends with the murder of people. This dynamic was made clear on a Tuesday afternoon in Utah last month when my friend Charlie Kirk was assassinated in broad daylight. Most of the Senate Democrats on the committee raised the issue of FCC chairman Brendan Carr's recent statements in which he threatened to take action against ABC over comments made by late night host Jimmy Kimmel. That's because Kimmel accused the suspect involved in the assassination of Charlie Kirk, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, of being a MAGA Republican, even though authorities say otherwise. >> Yet, we're wasting time here trying to distract the American people with old emails from the Biden administration while Chairman Carr turns the FCC into the Federal Censorship Commission. >> What I don't like what Brendan Carr did, but he did it publicly and we can have a debate about it. What's really problematic is when the government goes in secret to these companies and and targets individual users or individual categories of speech. And last month, President Trump hosted several owners of these tech companies at the White House and all were discussing new investments in the US to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars each as well as advancements in technology. Reporting by Jack Bradley, NTD News. Coming up, US Envoy Steve Wickoff and Jared Kushner are in Egypt where they're expected to take part in the Gaza ceasefire negotiations. This comes as the Hamas terrorist group provides its list of Palestinian prisoners it wants freed exchange for the hostages. Jason Perry with the update. NATO members are fighting back against reported airspace violations by Russia. Arian Pazdar has how European nations are responding to alleged provocation by the Kremlin. And political turmoil deepens in France after the prime minister's resignation on Monday. His departure fuels mounting calls for President Emanuel Mcronone to step down amid a growing leadership crisis. David DZ has the latest from Paris after the break. Welcome back. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Talks are progressing between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The terrorist group provided its list of Palestinian prisoners it wants freed in exchange for the hostages. Entities Jason Perry has the update. >> Negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip continued for a third day in the resort town of Chararm al-Shik in Egypt. On Wednesday, US Envoy Steve Whit and President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner were seen in the town and were expected to join the talks. as was the prime minister of Qatar, a country that has helped mediate the ceasefire negotiations which are being held indirectly. President Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he is asking everyone to move fast and that he was told that the first phase of the deal should be completed this week, which includes the release of all 48 remaining hostages, both the living and the deceased. On Wednesday, the Hamas terrorist group provided the list of hostages and the Palestinian prisoners that it once freed an exchange. The president of Egypt said he received encouraging words about the talks. >> I invite President Trump in the event of reaching an agreement, God willing, to attend the signing of this agreement in Egypt. >> And the foreign minister of Turkey also spoke of a possibility of a ceasefire deal. A lot of headway has been made on certain items. There are a couple of other matters. There are currently efforts underway to clarify them. Perhaps in the coming hours. So, if an agreement is reached today, a ceasefire will be declared. >> On the same day, a resident in the Gaza Strip shared his thoughts on the situation. They are lying to us. There is no truce. They are lying to us. There is no truce. They talk about a truce and keep striking. Meanwhile, in Israel, residents continue to commemorate the 2-year anniversary of the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7th. On Wednesday, Israel's president visited the Nova Memorial where Hamas killed hundreds of people at a concert. From the ground soaked with our children's blood, we stand so shoulder tosh shoulder with Jewish communities everywhere. The world must understand that evil that was carried out here in the most brutal crimes against humanity is the same evil that kills Jews and hurts Jews all over the world and we must defeat it. >> And in another development, the United States has added 15 Chinese companies to a restricted trade list. The companies are accused of facilitating the purchase of American electronic components that have been found in attack drones used by the Hamas terrorist group and the Houthis in Yemen. Jason Perry, NTD News. >> NATO members are fighting back against reported airspace violations by Russia. Germany is on track to allow police to shoot down unidentified drones. The European Union is highlighting an alleged targeted grreyzone campaign by Moscow. In today's international correspondent, Arian Pdar has more >> because every square cimeter of our territory must be protected and safe. >> The president of the European Commission Orsulander Lane says Russia is waging a targeted grreyzone campaign against Europe. This includes airspace violations as well as sabotage and cyber attacks. According to Vanderlane, those will only escalate if the Kremlin is not challenged. This comes after NATO members Germany, Belgium, Poland, Estonia, and Romania all reported recent incursions. Some of them directly blame Russia. >> One incident may be a mistake. Two incidents are coincidence, but three, five, 10. This is a deliberate and targeted grayzone campaign against Europe. >> And Germany's cabinet, meanwhile, allows police to shoot down unidentified drones. Other methods available to down drones include using lasers or jamming signals to several control and navigation links. >> We are creating the possibility for the federal police to use all appropriate technical means against the drones. The new law is now awaiting approval from the German Parliament. Meanwhile, NATO member Lithuania is preparing to evacuate thousands of residents if the fighting in Ukraine spills over. Just on Monday, air traffic was suspended in Lithuania's main airport because of balloons in its airspace. The nation's capital, Vius, is located just 12 miles from the border with Barus, a close ally of Russia. Capital geographical location is unfortunately very close to border with thatch countries, one of the thatch countries and we have to be prepared. >> Hundreds of people took part in an evacuation exercise in Vius where approximately 100 residents were moved by train to a sporting arena over 60 miles away. and a top Russian diplomat says the momentum to find a peace deal to end the fighting in Ukraine has been exhausted. According to the diplomat, this is the result of destructive activities primarily by the Europeans. President Trump recently announced that the US will ramp up its support to Ukraine to fight back since Russia doesn't seem to actually be seeking peace. Arian Pastar, NTD News. Political turmoil deepens in France after the prime minister's resignation on Monday. His departure fuels mounting calls for President Aman Mcron to step down amid a growing leadership crisis. Entity international correspondent David Dz reports from Paris. >> Following Prime Minister Sebastian Lukonu's resignation on Monday, France's government is plunged into political chaos. His departure comes after weeks of growing tension in parliament and a series of internal disputes over the government's handling of economic and social reforms. Some experts call the situation a political deadlock. Lornu is the fourth prime minister to resign in less than a year. According to legal expert and policy analyst Regis Castellno, the root cause lies in a divided parliament split into blocks that disagree on nearly everything but can easily unite to vote for a no confidence motion to reject any new prime minister. >> This situation is unprecedented. The president appears very weak in a political system where normally he should have significant strength and leverage. But here we are with a completely blocked parliament. There is no majority whatsoever at a moment when there are significant worries over the economic, social, industrial, and financial situation. It looks like France is a car without brakes heading toward a wall at high speed. That's the feeling it gives. It's an unprecedented crisis. Following the resignation, three scenarios are possible. The appointment of a new prime minister, snap legislative elections, or the resignation of President Emanuel Mun. The last option, once seen as unimaginable in France's political system, is gaining momentum. Not only do 70% of French citizens favor Macron's resignation, according to a poll by Odoka Backbone Consulting, but calls for him to step down now comes from his own political circle, including former Prime Minister Ida Phip, who has suggested holding new presidential elections. There are many mistakes Mcron made to find himself in this situation which explains why there are now so many calls for his resignation. He called for snap parliamentary elections in 2024 and the outcome was disastrous. Fewer than one in 10 voters supported him. That was a bad gamble. Now the opinion polls are catastrophic and we see his former allies who once supported him turning their backs and trampling on him. So who knows what will happen next. I think it's unpredictable. >> Resigning Prime Minister Luk said on Wednesday that fresh elections now seem less likely as parties are showing a desire to approve a budget by the end of the year. David Ves, NTD News, Paris. Coming up, the Supreme Court today reviewed whether a candidate for Congress can sue to challenge the legality of a state election rule that benefits Democrats. The case centers around an Illinois mailin voting law. Arlene Richards breaks it down. And in a few weeks, California voters will decide on a proposal to redraw the state's congressional maps. A physicist is leading the push against the controversial redistricting plan. That and more when we return. Welcome back. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Illinois congressman asked the Supreme Court today to allow him to sue the state of Illinois for counting votes 14 days after the polls close, which generally benefits Democrats more than Republicans. The justices struggle to see how one candidate would be substantially harmed. Entities Arlene Richards has more. Supreme Court justices on Wednesday struggled to see how an Illinois Republican congressman would be injured by a state law that counts votes 14 days after the polls close. Under the doctrine of standing, the congressman must show that the election law would likely cause substantial harm to him. If he can't show he has standing, the congressman's lawsuit will be dismissed. Some of the justices chided at the attorney for not including more effective arguments in his complaint. >> Mr. comment. Well, >> but let's go back to my point that I'm not sure that someone who says to the court below that his quote injury is not based on the risk of losing the election. Seems to me that he's foregone that argument here as he did below and that the question becomes whether this margin of victory issue is enough. Despite the general understanding that mail-in ballots favor Democrats, the attorney failed to raise that argument in his complaint. He relied on two other arguments. >> Illinois is counting unlawful ballots. Those unlawful ballots could cost Congressman Boss the election or at least reduce his margin of victory and he has to pay his campaign staff for two extra weeks. >> A Justice Department attorney said the risk of losing the election is enough. So in the context of ballot counting laws, we know that the law is going to be applied to the candidate. We know that the law's purpose is is to determine which candidate wins. So it's targeting uh the candidates's concrete interest in winning his election. And so therefore, there is an actual risk that those ballots could sway the outcome of the election. >> Many of the justices seemed to feel that those arguments were not substantial enough to meet the requirements. The state solicitor general argued that there was no standing because the congressman was alleging future harm. >> I think under any metric, the assertions in this declaration fail because they don't show any risk of harm at all. They simply describe the mere theoretical possibility of harm. >> The justices challenged her on the plaintiff's argument that the law would reduce his margin of victory. Therefore, shouldn't he have standing? One of the questions asked was how many candidates need to be impacted and how many times. The state's attorney responded that it's hard to predict and the plaintiff has the burden to prove that. If the justices are not convinced the law is substantially harming the congressman, the complaint will be dismissed. Arlene Richards, NTD News. And joining us now to discuss the case of Boston v. Illinois Board of Elections is civil rights attorney and legal analyst Bobby Anne Cox. She's a fellow at the Brownstone Institute. Bobby Ann, thank you so much for joining us as always. Now, Boston's lawsuit was originally thrown out. Lower courts ruled that a Republican lawmaker's status as a candidate did not entitle him to challenge an Illinois election law. First, what do you make of the arguments so far and the direction in which the justices seem to be leaning? >> Yes. So, you know, the arguments are are very clear. Uh and I just want to annunciate that the the justices are not deciding on the underlying uh mailin law in this case. They are simply deciding on whether or not uh this congressman has standing to sue in this case. Uh but the arguments are clear. Uh you know the the congressman's argument is look I am going to be injured because withstanding you do have to prove that you're going to be injured. you're being injured by something and you are fighting against that uh that injury in fact they call it. So in this instance his injury his claim is that it is number one if they have to hold the election open for two weeks after election day then yes of course he has to continue paying his staff. Um they have to continue overseeing the counting of the ballots and whatnot. Um, so he does have to then come out of pocket and it's going to cost him more to keep his staff around for two extra weeks. Uh and the other argument that he poses is that it's harm to him because if there is uh illegal balloting going on, if there are illegal ballots, ballots that should not be there in the count uh but they are being counted, uh that can either cause him to lose the election or it can cause him to have a more narrow margin of victory. Uh meaning instead of winning by a large percentage, perhaps he wins by a small or a smaller percentage. uh which can then damage the reputation that he has um and can make his reelection more difficult uh the next time around. So those are the arguments that he's posing. Uh and the other side is is pushing back and saying, "Well, you know, we don't believe that those are actually injuries, in fact." And uh they're kind of making it a a belittling uh his his main two arguments as to injury. >> On the first point that you pointed out, the pocketbook issue, do you think that argument will be enough to convince the justices here? Well, it seemed like uh the the conservative justices on the court uh which you know it's 6 to3 conservative on the United States Supreme Court right now um they seem to be more open to allowing this to permitting him to have standing in this case. Um you know the pocketbook argument you know it's going to cost him an extra two weeks of staffing uh post election. Uh I I do think that that is actually a real injury that he can easily uh argue and prove uh because we all know that you do have to pay your staff. I mean this is you know running for an office uh really no matter what office it is uh you have to have staff that are there helping you and uh you you have to pay those people. Uh so that is a real life uh injury in fact in my opinion and the justices seemed open to uh understanding that and accepting that as an injury although again they they did not give a ruling today. They only heard oral arguments. Uh so we need to see where they come down on that issue. Uh but the the reputation issue and the counting of the ballots issue uh to see what his margin of victory or loss would be uh is indeed another injury that he's arguing. And if Boston wins at the Supreme Court, his lawsuit would be reinstated and continue through the lower courts. Now, many are saying this could have implications ahead of the midterm election. So what would that timeline look like? How likely will this impact midterm elections? So it definitely can impact midterm elections. I mean uh today opened the Supreme Court's uh new session uh which would then uh conclude in in June of next year and as you know the midterm elections are November of next year, so 2026. Um so this could absolutely affect the midterm elections. Um, and here, you know, Illinois is not the only state that has a law such as this. And and the law that's being challenged, as you mentioned previously, is a law that allows the counting of mail ballots for up to two weeks post election day. Uh now the the issue here with the Illinois law is that it says as long as there is a date stamp or a postmark on that mail ballot uh which is either before election day or on election day they would count those ballots for two extra weeks. There are states in our nation including New York uh which have laws on the books now um as well as Washington and Oregon. But New York's law is particularly troubling because they just passed a law earlier this year saying that um you can have dropboxes and you can drop your your mail ballot into the the dropbox or your absentee ballot into the dropbox. um you can mail in your absentee ballot and that they are going to count the ballots uh even if they do not have a postmark or a date stamp on them and they're going to count them as long as the board of elections has put their board of elections stamp on the ballot and that could be even the day after the election. Uh so, you know, if this if Scotas rules in this case that this particular congressman does have standing to challenge this Illinois uh law uh election law, I do think we're going to see other challenges in other states uh coming in because these laws, like I mentioned, New York State's law, Oregon's law, Washington state has a law that says that you can count these ballots even if they're received a week after election day, two weeks after election ction day. Uh Washington state's law says they can count the ballots up to 3 weeks after election day. Uh so you know this is a recipe for disaster with the possibility of cheating just goes up exponentially uh when you have mail ballots that are allowed to be counted after election day. Uh particularly if they don't have any date stamps or marks on them saying when they were mailed. Uh, so this is a really big problem. I do think the United States Supreme Court should grant standing in this case, revive this congressman's lawsuit, and let it work its way through the lower courts. Uh, and and I'm assuming if so, it's going to ultimately end up back in the United States Supreme Court uh, and asking them to actually rule on the merits of the case at that point in time. And Bobby, and very quickly here, some like an election law expert at Coington and Berling say this case raises questions over how courts intervene in elections and whether it's appropriate. Is that an issue here? >> Well, that's always a question that we have, you know, when we have elections and then we have challenges uh to election results. Uh the problem is that with this instance, we're talking about a state law. Uh and as per our federal constitution, states do get to determine how they hold their elections and how they count their ballots. Uh but this is a very big problem because if you don't have clean elections, uh even in at a state level, it does affect the other states in the nation, which means it affects the other Americans across the country. Um, so there's actually a a really good incentive for uh the Department of Justice to get involved and for the Department of Justice to bring a lawsuit uh against states that are uh passing these election laws that potentially uh allow mail ballots to be counted after election day. Uh and especially if they don't have a date stamp on them uh because it just opens the door to fraud. And you know, if you're going to disenfranchise the voters in one state, particularly in federal elections, you're disenfranchising the other voters in the other states. Uh so it is ripe for the Department of Justice to step in and bring lawsuits as well. Uh that is another option in the event that Scotas rules against this congressman and says that he doesn't have standing. uh you know then we need to look to the Department of Justice and to see if they will step up and bring lawsuits to fight back against these uh insecure laws that really do damage the reputation of election integrity. >> A lot at stake for sure. Bobby Anox as always. Thank you so much for joining us. >> Yes, thanks for having me, Tiffany. >> California voters will have a special election in less than a month. They'll decide whether to allow lawmakers to draw the maps for the state's congressional districts. ENTD's David Lamb reports. >> In a special election on November 4th, California voters will decide whether to give lawmakers the power to draw congressional maps, which could give the Democratic Party an edge in the 2026 midterm elections. Prop 50 has been in the spotlight, spearheaded by Democratic Governor Gavin Newsome, who says it's California's plan to counteract Republican redistricting efforts, particularly in Texas. But one man, Charles Mer, is leading the charge against Prop 50. He explained at a press conference why he's funding the no on Prop 50 campaign. >> This is a bad idea and it's going to harm California and it will harm the nation. Redrawn maps are expected to give Democrats five more seats in Congress, but would override some of the state's protections against gerrymandering until 2030. Those who oppose California's plan say fighting fire with fire is not the way to go. >> But the way to beat it is not to become like it. And if you tear down the only model in the United States where redistric reform is universally acknowledged to be both fair and effective, then there is no refuge. There's no place for the nation to go. >> The proposed law would temporarily pause what California's voted for 10 years ago to have an independent commission draw congressional lines rather than politicians. David Lamb, NTD News, California. Coming up in baseball's playoffs, Joe Otani and the Dodgers look to sweep the Phillies with a win tonight. Dave Martin joins us to discuss when we come back. And now for your sports news, we're joined by NDD's Dave Martin Day. Plenty going on right now. But let's start with baseball as all four series are taking place today, including one game that's already finished. >> Yes, Detroit already beat Seattle 9 to3 this afternoon. The Mariners actually led this one three to nothing heading into the bottom of the fifth, but Detroit got three runs to tie it up at three. They end up four in the bottom of the six to break the game open. That was thanks to home runs by Javier Bayz and Riley Green. There's two of the Tigers three home runs on the day. Their bullpen then shut down Seattle the rest of the way to win it 9 to3. So with the win, the series is now all tied up at two, but they would play it decisive winner or take all game five. That'll be on Friday afternoon there. So that was the first game today. Now they already in progress right now with the Cubs playing or hosting the Brewers. Cubs needing a win here to stay alive. They actually need two wins here to stay alive, but they're down cuz they're down 2. They're off to a good start, leading 4-2 right now in the fourth inning. Michael Bush already started off with a home run for the Cubs there. Pico Armstrong has a two RBI uh single there. So, some very exciting games already going on today, Tiff, in the afternoon. >> And looking at tonight's schedule, we have two more games, including a game four between the Yankees and Blue Jays. >> Yes, Yankees finally got on the board last night with that 9-6 win. And I think the biggest thing was Aaron Judge hitting that game-tying threerun home run. Now Judge has not put up the numbers in the playoffs that he has in the regular season. Maybe this gets him going. Meanwhile, Vlad Jr., he is still going. He for the third straight game for Toronto. Now tonight for Toronto, they will be starting on the mound. Lewis Varand for the Blue Jays. Yankees, meanwhile, will counter with rookie Cam Schlitler. Now, Schlitler, if you remember, he was the one who shut down the Red Sox last week in their winner take all game three. Had 12 strikeouts in a very dominant performance. So, that game starts at 7 PM Eastern time. So, very shortly. Then, starting at 9:00 Eastern time, it'll be Dodgers hosting Philadelphia in LA. The Dodgers are leading this series 2 to nothing. Having won both games in Philadelphia already. And really, LA has done it without Shil Otani really doing much at the plate. He's one for nine in these two games with six strikeouts. But even the other side, Philadelphia's big hitters are struggling kind of too. You know, Bryce Harper and uh Kyle Schwabber are a combined one for 14. Now granted, these are just stats from just two games in this series, but these series are short. I mean, it's the first win in three games here. So, it's very quick and it's over. So, uh can be cruel postseason, that is for sure. >> Moving to NFL news. The Cincinnati Bengals have announced that newly acquired quarterback Joe Flaco, whom they traded for yesterday, will get the start Sunday against Green Bay. Is this quick turnaround unusual for quarterbacks? >> Yes. I mean, honestly, I don't remember ever seeing a quarterback, at least a quarterback anyway, traded on Tuesday and then starting on Sunday. I mean, any other position, yes, but that's Cincinnati's plan right now. I could understand if he played for them last year, the year before, or something, had some kind of familiarity with them, but that is not the case here. Now, he does have some familiarity with their opponent on Sunday as the Green Bay Packers. Flaco played against them just a couple weeks ago when he was with Cleveland. The Browns Browns won that game 13 to10. Flaco threw for 142 yards. Now meanwhile back in Cleveland now with Flaco no longer being the backup. The Browns have not actually announced who will be the backup to Dylan Gabriel at quarterback. And this is kind of a hot topic because you would think it would be Shador Sanders if they drafted him in the fifth round uh last May. Anyway, it was apparently between Sanders and veteran quarterback Bailey Zappy. So stay tuned on this decision. >> Well, shifting gears to hockey. The NHL started their season last night with a triple header of games. Now, tonight we have four more games, including one with Alex Ovetchkin in Washington. >> Yes, good old Alex Ovetkin passed Wayne Gretzky last year to become the NHL's all-time leading scoreer, 897 goals. Last year at age 39, he scored 44. He just turned 40 this off season. So, his Capitals will face the Bruins tonight in the season opener for both teams. That'll be at 7:30 Eastern time. That's one of just four games on NHL games on tonight. We also have Toronto hosting Montreal. Calgary at Edmonton and Las Vegas hosts Los Angeles. So you got all that tip. >> Busy schedule for you. >> Very busy. It's going to be tough sitting there watching all these games tonight, but I will manage to do it. >> All right. Well, Davis, thanks for joining us. >> Thank you, Tiff. >> And that's all for today's news around the clock coverage. Visit us at ntd.com/live or download our NTD app. Thanks for tuning in. I'm Judy Meyer. Good night.