DC Judge Unseals New Evidence in Jack Smith's Jan 6 Election Case

Good evening and welcome to the Capitol Report on Entity Television. I'm Steve Lance. Here's a look at what's coming up. Special counsel Jack Smith's revised indictment against former President Trump, now partially unsealed. What's in it and how strong is the case? Former federal prosecutor will join us to discuss. The U.S. hopes the death of Hamas leader Yair Sinwar will bring Israel closer to ending the conflict. The demands a Hamas official is making and why a ceasefire may be unlikely. And as the Southeast grapples with hurricane devastation, stories of humanity and unity are emerging. We'll hear from investigative reporter Joshua Phillip about his on-the-ground report, Heroes of Hurricane Helene. This is Capitol Report, live from our global headquarters in our nation's capital. Here's Steve Lance. And with less than 20 days until the election, former President Trump is in the battleground state of Michigan. Entity's Washington correspondent, Louise Martinez, is in Oakland County, Michigan, with the latest from the Trump campaign. And it is exactly that. Yeah, Steve, we are here in Oakland County, Michigan. Behind me, you can see the stage where former President Donald Trump is hosting a round table. So he is joined by Republican Congressman Donald and candidate for the state of Michigan, Michael Rogers. The focus of today's roundtable is manufacturing jobs and how to keep them in America. Home ownership among Hispanic Americans reach the highest level ever by far. And we cut taxes and regulations for Hispanic owned small businesses and people. Mr. President, are you going to get the no tax on tips signed into law? Yeah, I think we will. I have another one. You know, I was in Detroit the other day and I said, we're going to have deductibility of interest on car purchases. And the place went crazy before the roundtable began. I had the opportunity to speak with some of the participants in today's event. The first of them was a college student here from Michigan. Let's listen to what she had to say. But I just think that it's important to show what you believe in and what you want for your future to look like, especially as a young kid. So, yeah, I'm here today just supporting. I think definitely about inflation because I'm a college kid, broke college kid paying for groceries. So anything that can he can talk to and talk about that, I think it'll be important. I also spoke with Ramon Santos, born here in Dearborn, Michigan, part of the manufacturing industry and from Hispanic heritage. His family came from Cuba right after the Bay of Pig invasions. Let's listen to what he had to say. Well, this this this area is all manufacturing, manufacturing, stamping, automotive, steel. President Trump's going to bring all that back to us instead of overseas. And that's what I think is why everybody's for Mr. Trump. And Steve, I also spoke with Linda Lee Tarver, a black woman who believes that the female vote will turn out at higher levels than polls are anticipating, in particular in favor of former President Donald Trump. I have not heard that many women saying they're not going to vote for Donald Trump. I think many of the women that I speak with, especially black women, are a little silent because they will catch grief by publicly coming out of the closet for Donald Trump. I think that that's where we're finding people are a little less overt in countries all over the world. It's important to note that here in the state of Michigan, former President Donald Trump is leading in the presidential race, but it is the Democratic senatorial candidate Lisa Slotkin that is leading, Mike Rogers. So there's a possibility that Michiganders are considering splitting their ticket voting for the president of one party and the senator of another party. More information is now public from special counsel Jack Smith's revised indictment of former President Trump. Smith is trying to keep the case alive after the Supreme Court ruled that Trump's official acts are immune to prosecution. Joining us now live to discuss the new evidence in Smith's case is former federal prosecutor Nima Rahmani. Nima, great to have you back. Thanks for having me, Steve. Nima, let's talk about the timing of this. Trump tried to delay this filing until after the election. His team argued that the judge should wait to release both Smith and Trump's filings at the same time. As a former federal prosecutor, is it routine to make filings like this available to the public when the case is still ongoing and more importantly, could it have waited until after the election? Steve, it is routine and judges aren't supposed to make decisions for political reasons and Judge Tanya Chutkan in D.C. said that were she to delay the unsealing of these appendices, that may be political in and of itself. So obviously, this case has taken a very long time. Some of it is Jack Smith's own doing. It took a long time to file it and of course, Trump's lawyers have done an excellent job delaying the case on procedural grounds. It's forcing big wins in the appellate courts, particularly the Supreme Court. And of course, now Smith is trying to argue that all this conduct is personal and not official because of course, the latter is subject to presidential immunity. Now Jack Smith filed this new indictment as a way to sort of circumvent the Supreme Court's immunity ruling. From what you've seen, do you think he's able, he'll ultimately be able to get around the Supreme Court on this? I do think he has enough to get to a jury. He has a favorable judge and Judge Chutkan should certainly know, should not like the judges in South Florida, for instance, who have ruled in Trump's favor and dismissed the case. This is someone that has been relatively on his side. So the question is, of course, does Trump win in November, in which case the case has to be dismissed and it's well established that a sitting president can't be prosecuted. If Kamala Harris wins, the question is, has Smith alleged enough personal acts to get to a jury, to get past that motion to dismiss, to get past the Supreme Court? That's why you see this new superseding indictment. It doesn't talk about the Department of Justice. That's all official. It even names Mike Pence as Trump's running mate, not the vice president, not the president of the Senate. And it discusses communications with family members, personal lawyers. So I do think there's enough there to get past that motion to dismiss and get it to the next phase. Now based on all of what you've seen, what has been made public, what would you say is Jack Smith's strongest point? And to that end, what is Trump's best defense? Well, Trump's best defense has always and will always be political to win the election. And then short of that, to get the case dismissed in the United States Supreme Court, because he has a favorable six to three majority there, you know, short of that, to defend the case at trial, I think Trump, if it gets that far, Trump will have to argue that he genuinely, even if it was unreasonable, he genuinely, genuinely believed that this election was stolen. And he was exercising his rights as commander in chief to audit the results and investigate election fraud. That, of course, would arguably be official and wouldn't be subject to prosecution because of the Supreme Court's decision. And of course, it's very hard to get a 12-0 guilty verdict in what would likely be the most politically charged prosecution in American history. Jack Smith would really have to thread the needle here, overcome many legal and procedural hurdles, first being the election, then the Supreme Court, and the motion to dismiss, which will inevitably be filed and, of course, ultimately to a jury. So if I were a betting man, notwithstanding the merits of the case, I think Trump has many paths to the jury. Nima, just briefly to your first point that you made there, is it fair to say that if Trump gets reelected, the case gets tossed out? Absolutely. It's well-established under the Department of Justice's longstanding policy. And there's a memorandum in the Office of Legal Counsel that a sitting president can't be prosecuted. So both in D.C. and in Georgia and Fulton County, even though it's a state case, that logic would apply. The case would have to be dismissed. And, of course, Trump could even, of course, appoint an attorney general who would fire Jack Smith. But that wouldn't even be necessary. It's pretty well-established that if Trump wins in November, the prosecutions will all be dismissed. Former federal prosecutor Nima Rahmani, thank you for joining us. Thanks for having me, Steve. And Vice President Kamala Harris attending multiple events in the swing state of Michigan as well. NTV correspondent Jason Blair joins us from Oakland County, where Trump was also just moments ago in Michigan. Jason, talk to us. What's the latest from the Harris-Waltz campaign? Yeah. Hey, Steve. I'm here in Oakland County, where Harris will be making her third stop of the day. She'll be speaking within about an hour over here. And earlier, she was over in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She was accompanied by Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow. And I do have a clip from her talk earlier today. Have a look. And we will invest in the industries that built America, like steel, iron, and the great American auto industry. Harris also spoke with reporters while she was in Grand Rapids and commented on recent events in the Middle East. Well, my message remains, first of all, we have got to end this war. And I think that what has happened now with the killing of San Juan creates an opportunity for us to end this war and bring the hostages home. And I think everyone wants this war to end, and this is an opportunity to actually get there. This is Harris' seventh visit to Michigan. On her campaign before coming here to Oakland County, Harris is in Lansing, Michigan, meeting with union workers. There are basically six Michigan counties that will likely decide who ultimately wins the state's 15 electoral votes. So it's not too surprising to see both candidates repeatedly coming to the same areas while campaigning here in the state. For instance, both Harris and Trump have events today in Oakland County. Trump will also be down in Wayne County later on, which includes Detroit. Harris is also scheduled to go there tomorrow to meet with religious leaders, which is also the same day that early voting starts in the county. And probably the biggest toss-up county is going to be Saginaw County. For example, back in 2020, President Biden won the county by only 300 votes. And then back in 2016, former President Trump won the county by only 900 votes. So that is one to definitely keep an eye on coming this November. And the stakes in Michigan couldn't be higher after what we saw in 2016. Hillary Clinton, I think you could say even Bill said it, deeply regretted they didn't spend more time there. Obviously, Vice President Harris leaving no stone unturned, spending a lot of time there right now. Michigan, Jason, is a big union state. I understand the Harris campaign is also having some challenges in that area. Yeah, that is that is true. Steve Poles have been showing that Harris has has not been doing as well as, for example, Biden did back in 2020 with unions. For example, the campaign has has not gotten key endorsements like we saw with Teamsters. And then also, more specifically here in Michigan, the campaign was hoping to get an endorsement by the Michigan Firefighters Association Union. However, just a few days ago, they also announced they will not be backing any presidential candidate, which is in line with their larger counterpart, the International Association of Firefighters, who not that long ago said they will not endorse any candidate as well. Steve. NTD's Jason Blair, live in Michigan. Thank you, Jason. And tensions are high after Israel killing the Hamas leader, the U.S. hoping this will bring Israel closer to ending that conflict. But a Hamas official suggesting this might not be the case, NTD's international correspondent Aryan Pazdar has an update. Thousands of demonstrators rallied in Yemen on Friday. They commemorated Hamas leader Yaya Sinwar, who was killed by Israel this week. Most of the demonstrators are supporters of the Houthis. Sinwar has prepared for martyrdom, and behind him are many great leaders who are ready to take on the role of the Hamas movement. Demonstrators, including children, could be seen holding rifles. Others waved Palestinian and Lebanese flags. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin addressed NATO on Friday. He says he hopes Israel uses the opportunity to end the conflicts with Iran's proxies in the Middle East. Our top priority is the 101 hostages still kidnapped in Gaza, including our own American hostages. But the chief negotiator of the Hamas terrorist group said that the hostages won't be released until Israel completely withdraws from Gaza. He also says he wants Hamas prisoners to be released by Israel, and says that Hamas will continue to exist. This is the exact opposite of the stated goal of Israel's operation, which is to eradicate Hamas. Well, this is not the end of the war in Gaza. President Biden acknowledged that reaching a ceasefire in Gaza won't be easy. We think that there's a possibility of working for a ceasefire in Lebanon, and it's going to be harder in Gaza, but we agree that there has to be an outcome. Former President Trump also says he hopes for a ceasefire. He says he'll talk with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu soon. Family members of hostages are still hopeful that progress will be made now. I really believe that now we have a real chance to seal a deal. I don't care about payback or revenge. I just want my brother back. And Israel released its drone footage. It appears to show the last moments of Sinwar's life. A man is seen sitting in a destroyed room. The video shows him throwing a stick at the drone. Israel says the military then fired an additional shell at the building, killing Sinwar. Ariane Pasdar, NTD News. And later in the show, a former member of the Israeli Knesset will be joining us with analysis. In a nationwide blackout, roughly 10 million people in Cuba are left in the dark after a failure at the island's major power plants. The outage comes as residents are already struggling with a shortage of resources. The communist regime has ordered a string of strict energy-saving policies this week. That includes cancelling schools from Friday through the weekend, closing recreation centers and telling workers to stay home. Cuba is no stranger to an energy crisis. The island has experienced several blackouts due to aging infrastructure since the 1990s, plus a fire at a fuel facility back in 2022 that destroyed 40 percent of the country's main fuel shortage structure. Officials say they don't know how long the outage will last. And coming up after the break, health officials in Florida are blocked from taking action against TV ads. The ads are against restrictions on abortion. We'll explain it all in a special report. Heroes of Helene is shining a light on neighbors leaving their own devastated homes to help others. We'll be joined by Joshua Phillip to hear those stories in just a moment. One in five children worldwide are faced with the reality of living without food. No family dinners, no special treats, not enough energy to play. All around the world, hunger is affecting children's physical and mental health. Toddlers are suffering from acute malnutrition, which stunts their growth. Kids are forced to drop out of school so they can help support their families. Conflict, inflation and climate have ignited the worst famine in our lifetime. And we are fed up. Fed up that hunger devours dreams. Fed up that hunger destroys joy. Fed up with the fact that hunger eats childhood. Help us feed the futures of children all over the world by visiting Give2Save.org. For as little as $10 a month, you can join Save the Children as we support children and families in desperate need of our help. Now is the time to get fed up and give back. When you join the cause, your $10 monthly donation can help communities in need of life-saving treatments and nutrients, prevent children from dropping out of school, support our work with communities and governments to help children go from short-term surviving to long-term thriving. And now, thanks to special government grants, every dollar you give can multiply up to ten times the impact. That means more food, water, medicine and help for kids around the world. You'll also receive a free tote bag to share your support for children in need. Having your childhood eaten away by hunger is unimaginable. Get fed up. Call us now or visit Give2Save.org today. At Native Path, we're driven to improve the lives of people by providing highly effective supplements that solve common health problems and support optimal health. This is what being on the path is all about. Visit GetNativePath.com forward slash NTD for your special offer. And welcome back to the Capitol Report on Entity Television. TV stations can continue to run a contentious election ad in the state of Florida. The ad's supporting the loosening of restrictions on abortion. A federal judge has temporarily blocked health officials from taking action against it. State health officials originally sent a cease and desist letter to broadcasters. Here's why. The ad features a woman with a terminal illness sharing her story about having an abortion at 20 weeks. It says this wouldn't be possible under current restrictions. Florida's health department called the ad false since. Joshua Phillip, thank you so much for joining. A real pleasure. Thanks for having me. Joshua, you just finished a documentary regarding the aftermath of Hurricane Helene called The Heroes of Helene. It's difficult to watch some of this footage. I want to play a clip here. I don't feel like I lost anything. Not compared to others. Next day I had a change of socks. I had a place to dry to sleep, didn't have power, didn't have water, but, you know, there's so many of these people. They got nothing. Josh, it's remarkable that you were able to put this together so quickly considering the recovery efforts still underway. You just came back from there. Give us a perspective from the ground. Yeah, so, you know, we just did a special feature. It's not like a full documentary, but what I show in this is kind of a representation of what really happened. I in no way tried editing it in a certain way that only showed one side. This was totally what we saw. And I'll be honest, although on one side you had, I mean, terrible disaster, you had buildings destroyed, businesses ruined. I mean, they're still doing search and rescue and recovery maybe at this point for, you know, people who got swept away by the waters. You saw people coming together in ways that I have never seen in my life. You had people, we talked to like a Hispanic couple, for example. They were in their house. A log from a tree came crashing through their house, destroyed it, missed their son's bed by like that much. And they said, you know, they dealt with that. They just lost their house. Their first reaction after that was to get in their car and drive around and see if they could help their neighbors. I talked to one guy. He's a special forces veteran and, you know, his daughter, his little girl got cut off. He thought she was dead. The guy starts crying. You know, he's talking to me about this. He ends up making a call to some of his special forces, you know, he's a former at this point, friends. They managed to get a helicopter because she's in an area completely cut off. They fly in and they land and he sees his daughter playing barefoot in the flowers. And then he said they got back in that helicopter after finding out they're okay. And they started seeing all the other areas just totally cut off. And him and these guys like, you know, military special, former special forces, they built within a few days a full scale air operation. Private helicopters, flying goods, food, water, even hay for animals to all these cut off places. And, you know, he's even working with, you know, now some elements of the government to, you know, get aid to these areas. A lot of this stuff is just totally grassroots because people saw the need for it and then immediately began filling that need. Yes, sometimes, Josh, some of these the worst catastrophes can bring out the best in humanity. The point that you just described there, I think we have a soundbite of that couple who son and daughter in law barely missed being crushed by a tree. I want to play this clip and get your reaction. Now, Josh, was this typical of what you saw and heard down there? Those were people who are more directly impacted. A lot of the people who are more directly impacted, like where their houses were destroyed or their businesses were destroyed, a lot of them, they didn't want to talk on camera. There were a few people who were, you know, Latin American. Some of them are illegal immigrants and they were worried. They're afraid of getting deported, so they don't they didn't want to talk either. They were one of the few people who wanted to talk. But yeah, of the people who were affected, that was a very common story. A lot of the people also who were helping were people who lost power. They lost their business, you know, long term, not sure what they're going to do. But a lot of those people, it's like if you go there, if you go there, you'll see location after location, food drives at churches, volunteer groups. You see people coming from all over the country, driving there with everything they can spare to go help. I met one guy. He he raised a thousand dollars to travel there. He did not have enough money to go back home. And he went there to go volunteer for that special forces group. You know, former special forces guys. He didn't even have enough money to go home. He spent every dollar he had to go and help people. And he was even going to let his business go out of business. And, you know, the other guys there were like, dude, we can't let you go out of business. And so they actually raised money among themselves to save his business. And even then he was staying to help. This was the common picture we saw person to person to person. Josh, something I think a lot of us don't really think about is preparing until the disaster actually happens. But it might be a good idea to actually have a survival plan. It seems people also had some advice to you. Play another clip. You want to have a scape plan if you're going to the attic in a flood. Make sure you have an axe, a crowbar, a hammer, a way to get a hole in the roof so you can get up to the next level of survivability. Once you get on that roof, you're going to want to have a self inflatable raft. You want to rather be in a raft going down something moving very quickly to give you a fighting chance in a flood. He had some really interesting things to say. And we talked to him on camera, too. But he was saying, you know, a lot of these people, they're not in the flood zone. Like nobody thought there would ever be this type of a disaster in Appalachia or Appalachia. Like nobody thought that would happen. And so it is important to be prepared for disaster because, you know, the nature of them is they come unexpectedly. He recommended making a go bag, having a plan with your family. If you lose cell service, if electricity goes out and you have no way to contact each other through other means, people should have just at least a basic plan and basic supplies in case something happens. Because, look, you don't know. And I don't think anybody there expected this to happen. That's a great point. I saw an interview on another network where somebody, I think two years ago, whichever hurricane it was in Florida, Irene left Florida because of the devastation. They said, I never want this to be part of something like this again up into that region. And look what happened. Really unbelievable. Lastly, Josh, you talked about seeing things you've never seen before. Talk to us about how this reporting impacted you. You know, you would think that after a disaster, I mean, look, I went there and I thought I was going to be doing a story on people who lost everything and they were devastated. And, you know, I ran into a lot of people. People lost everything, but just as an example, the people at the church I talked to that a huge food drive, they were saying that, you know, this disaster is temporary. They're going to help rebuild. They're helping their neighbors. But they said that they're trying to find ways to retain the sense of community they found. They said that they're talking to neighbors that they lived next to their whole lives and didn't really ever get to know until now. They're finding that despite all of this, that they found a type of humanity that, you know, I think maybe we can all learn from, to be honest. You know, as soon as disaster hit politics and race and all these other things were taught matters so much, it all just goes right out the window. And when it comes to life and death and your neighbor's kid, you know, has, you know, they're starving and you have a few cans of food, you start to see that humanity come out. And that's what I saw. And that's what a lot of people there were saying that they've rediscovered and they never want to lose. Joshua Phillip of the Epoch Times, really powerful reporting. Thank you. And coming up now that the leader of Hamas is dead, what does this actually mean for the Middle East? We'll speak to former Israeli member of the Knesset, Enoch Wilf, for more. The new sanctions from Washington for the first time, the U.S. is penalizing Chinese companies for making weapons to aid Russia's war in Ukraine. That and more when we return. When I drink it, the first thing was it I feel the warmth in my in my tummy. It's kind of like gently radiating out, you know, a kind of a very comforting warm. And it was really good. Actually, I felt much better. I did feel actually an effect. And I find that it is actually better when I take it regularly. It's actually steamed and dried nine times. And so it's really the essence is really extracted. Then the second time I tried it really like on an empty stomach and just just two teaspoon of it and over a few times. Wow, that was a big difference because suddenly I could feel why I was very good energized. I didn't have to eat. I could work outside in the garden for a couple of hours and I still felt very well. And I was impressed by that. So I think it's a good product. Stay tuned to get two rolls of alien tape free. You wouldn't stick your mother in law on the wall, but you could with alien tape. It just sticks. Just peel and stick to make anything stay in place. Quick brick pavers, marble, tile, plastic, even leather. Nothing works better than alien tape. You wouldn't stick your fishbowl on a moving car. But you could with alien tape. The secret is nanostick technology that grabs and locks on to secure one side of the surface to the other. Alien tape secures in seconds, then twist, pull and rinse to reuse. Call or go online to get your first roll of alien tape for just $19.99 plus shipping and processing. But to make this deal really stick, we'll give you two more rolls absolutely free. You get three rolls of alien tape for one low price. Order now to order. Call 1-800-490-1364 or go to tryalientape.com. So call 1-800-490-1364 or order online at tryalientape.com. The Chinese Communist Party is exposing its hand. The fingerprints can be found all over. And I recently caught wind of these CCP operations on full display in South Korea. The top 13 theaters all rejected Shen Yun almost simultaneously. What makes the case in South Korea so different? And how does the CCP extend its influence into other countries? Now for the Chinese Communist Party, this is warfare. War being waged here isn't being done through tanks and bombs. But instead, through the invisible forces of culture and ideology. They also revealed a hidden war. And welcome back to The Capital Report. In today's worldview segment, we'll be diving into the death of the leader of Hamas. We'll be checking in on what President Biden's doing in Germany and learn why the United States is warning about Chinese weapons manufacturing. Einat Wilf, thank you so much for joining. Thank you. It's great to have you. So Israel obviously killing the Hamas leader, Yaya Sinwar. He was considered the mastermind behind those horrific October 7th terrorist attacks. I want to play a clip of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and get your reaction. His assassination is an important milestone in the decline of Hamas's evil rule. I would like to say again, as clearly as possible, Hamas will no longer rule Gaza. Einat, how significant is this for the end of Hamas? It's important, but at the end of the day, as much as we like to focus on who, the problem is and has always been the what. At the end of the day, Yaya Sinwar and even Hamas in general have merely been representatives, as they themselves said, of the Palestinian vision of no Jewish state in any borders whatsoever. They have served the vision that basically said that they're not interested in turning Gaza into the Dubai of the Mediterranean, but they're actually interested in using Gaza as a highly effective weaponized urban landscape to liberate, in their view, Palestine from the river to the sea. So the question is not whether the Hamas leader has died, is whether there is a readiness to kill the entire ideology that bred that kind of leader. So to your point, how do you think Sinwar's death will impact the grand scheme of things in the Middle East? And will there be unexpected repercussions for going after him? Because, like you said, the ideology is still present and there are still many terrorists out there. So a lot depends on the response of Western states, of Arab states. You know, Hitler died, but the key issue was that Germany surrendered and ultimately was occupied until it was denazified and became the essentially peace-loving country that we know today. So the question is, are Arab countries and Western countries finally, after a century, ready to tell the Palestinians enough is enough? Insofar that your ideology refuses to accept a Jewish state anywhere from the river to the sea, you lost. It is actually good that you embrace that defeat, that you draw a line and that you go forward to live next to the Jewish state rather than instead of it. And you can have a constructive vision rather than the destructive one that you had for the last century. So to your point, President Biden and Kamala Harris are urging Israel to sort of make this moment an opportunity, that was to quote President Biden, to end the war in Gaza. Do you expect to see a ceasefire and a hostage release in the foreseeable future? A ceasefire is a terrible idea. We need clear victory, clear defeat and surrender. What the American president's current and future should be calling for is complete, unconditional surrender by Hamas and the beginning of a process of reimagining what it means to be a Palestinian. Not a from the river to the sea ideology, but a living next to the Jewish state ideology. Calls for ceasefires are completely wrong. The demand should be for releasing the hostages unconditionally. The better will be for everyone. Former member of the Israeli Knesset, Annette Wolff, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you. And President Biden has left Berlin after meeting with leaders of Germany, Britain and France. It's likely Biden's last visit to Germany as president, with the trip serving as a sort of send-off. The leaders discussed conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, and NTD's Noah Schmidt brings us more from Berlin. President Biden met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz today at the chancellery right behind me. This comes just a day after the Israeli military announced that it killed the leader of the Hamas terrorist group in Gaza. This is raising hopes the war could soon come to an end. I told the prime minister yesterday, let's also make this moment an opportunity to seek a path to peace. A better future in Gaza without Hamas. Hopefully the chance of a ceasefire in Gaza and an agreement to release the Hamas hostages is now opening up. The two also spoke on the situation in Ukraine. Just this week, President Volodymyr Zelensky presented his victory plan. Two major points of the plan are an invitation for Ukraine to join NATO and permission to use long-range weapons to strike targets deep in Russia. We support Ukraine as strongly as possible. At the same time, we are ensuring that NATO does not become a war party, so that this war does not lead to a much greater catastrophe. Germany and the United States stood together to support brave people in Ukraine in their fight for freedom. Biden also welcomed Germany, raising its defense spending to the NATO target of two percent of its GDP. Please keep it up because it matters. Our alliance with Germany extends far beyond Ukraine and Europe. It's global. Other international leaders also joined the meeting today. Among them, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The United States has imposed its first sanctions on Chinese firms for making weapons for Russia's war in Ukraine. In an announcement yesterday, the United States Treasury Department accused two Chinese firms of direct involvement in arms supplies to Moscow. This was the first time we actually saw a Chinese company manufacturing a weapon itself that then was used on the battlefield by Russia, was sent to Russia and then used on the battlefield. And that's why we imposed the sanctions that we did today. And that is why we continue to work with our allies and partners around the world to make clear to China that this practice is unacceptable and they need to take steps to counter it. The department said Chinese companies had collaborated with Russian defense firms in the production of drones. It said the drones were designed, developed and made in China before being sent to Russia for use on the battlefield. The U.S. has previously accused China of providing material support to Russia's war against Ukraine. Senior Biden administration officials say the latest round of sanctions seeks to target the direct activity between Beijing and Moscow. And South Korea says North Korean troops are in Russia preparing for combat. South Korea's National Intelligence Service saying today that North Korea sent 1,500 special forces troops to Russia's far eastern region. South Korea says the troops will likely be deployed for combat in the war in Ukraine. The agency said it's been working with Ukrainian intelligence. They used facial recognition to identify North Korean officers in Ukraine's Donetsk region. The agency saying North Korea has sent over 13,000 containers of artillery rounds, ballistic missiles and anti-tank rockets to Russia since last August. This is based on weapons remnants recovered from the battlefront in Ukraine. And coming up the Department of Justice finding Google liable for monopolization. But what does this mean for the tech company? We'll speak with Rebecca Haw Allensworth, professor at Vanderbilt Law School, to discuss this case. And coming up, are voters feeling enthusiastic about the upcoming presidential election? And T.D. was out in the National Mall to find out how committed voters actually are. That and more when we return. Hey everyone, it's me Sebastian and it is a beautiful day today. We have so much to be grateful for. So just remember if you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours. I just love inspiring people to be the best they can be. And the reason I'm able to inspire so many people is because people like you who inspire me with your support of Shriners Hospitals for Children. Since I was little, I've broken a hundred bones and I've had 19 surgeries. Shriners Hospitals for Children was with me every step of the way. But more than that, they've given me the confidence to know I can do whatever I set my mind to. Like right now, I've set my mind to sharing my smile with you. Did you get it? Because of people like you, I can play the violin. I can play piano. I can understand. The help I get is only possible because of caring people like you who pick up the phone and call the number on your screen to make your monthly gift. And when you call or go online right now to donate $19 a month or more, we'll send you this adorable Love to the Rescue blanket as a thank you and a reminder of all the smiles you're bringing to kids faces every day. Kids like me and me and me and me. So what are you waiting for? You can inspire kids like me by visiting loveshriners.org. After all, you can't help everyone, but you can help someone. So let's go! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for giving. Join me and bring a smile to the world with your monthly gift today. Please call now. If operators are busy, please call again or go to loveshriners.org right away. Join me and bring a smile to the world. We said we'd never give in to a meltdown. We'd never babysit with a screen. We said we'd never let the toys take over. Never leave the house looking, well, out of our sight. Cars get hot fast and kids can be at risk. Before you leave the car, always stop, look, lock. And welcome back to the Capitol Report on NTV television. I'm Steve Lance. More than 250 people across seven states are now dead from Hurricane Helene with many still missing. Talk about how residents are coping with the loss. We welcome Mayor Derek Roberts of Newland, North Carolina. Mayor Derek Roberts, thank you so much for joining. You're welcome. Thank you for having me. The hurricanes killed at least 250 people across seven states, including right now, 123 in North Carolina. It continues to rise, sadly. From your perspective, how are North Carolinians coming together in this moment? Is there any glimmer of hope that you're seeing? The only glimmer of hope that I'm seeing is how we are acting and reacting to this. And by that, what I mean, Steve, is the outpouring of help that we have gotten from, I'm originally from the Charlotte area, Concord, North Carolina, and folks that know me immediately started running truckloads of stuff up here. I've turned my shop, I have a small business, and I've turned my shop into a distribution point because it's been so hard to navigate and get things out to folks. But if it was not for our churches and our volunteer firemen up here in Avery County and in Mitchell County, I can talk about Mitchell County because they're right beside us and I'm seeing and hearing what's going on down there. If it wasn't for those two entities, I don't know where we'd be. Those two entities and Samaritan's Purse, I have seen Samaritan's Purse. If it's not for North Carolinians and the folks all the way around, and Steve, when I tell you, I've actually had truckloads delivered by folks from New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Cortland, New York. The mayor of Cortland, New York has been spectacular. They've run truckloads of stuff down here to us. Florida, we've had people, we've got people from Florida here. So yes, had it not been for those folks and our folks in our town, and to a point, you know, we catch a lot of flack because we're in the Appalachian Mountains and people have a certain perspective or point of view about folks from this area. And there's probably some truth to that, but here's what's very true. Very humble, hardworking people and immediately everybody started coming out of their houses and didn't necessarily worry about how bad their house was. They immediately went to their neighbor's house or whoever's house and started helping cleaning. And to another point, I serve in the military and I've traveled the world in the military. Americans are unique and different in that. We come out and we help the neighbors that are close to us. And then we start, it just, and that's just the way that Americans are. And that's why, you know, when folks give, you know, say something about Americans, we're lazy, we're this. I scoff at it because situations like this completely change, should change your opinion, because we all get out and help. Lastly, Mayor, I want to get your thoughts. You know, you mentioned the trucking situation. You have U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visiting Asheville with Governor Cooper, the North Carolina governor yesterday. He talked about working with engineers to reopen I-40, saying that the short-term focus is on stabilizing what is there. How long do you see this recovery process taking? And just talk to us about the importance of I-40, not just for commuters, but also for industry. It's very important. It's our main vein, if you will, for the mountains. Had it not been for I-40, all of the small towns, not just Asheville, it services everybody. My opinion about it is, is that they treat it like what happened with the the bridge situation in Maryland. And Pete Buttigieg does his job and they get in there and they do what they're supposed to do. Americans can get it done. And they don't, Steve, if they don't put a whole bunch of bureaucracy in the middle, that's the problem we're having here. Mayor of Newland, North Carolina, Derek Roberts, I really appreciate you shedding some first-hand experience on this devastating natural disaster. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you for having me, Steve. And the Justice Department has found Google liable for monopolization. We'll discuss what this means for Americans with Rebecca Haw Allensworth, antitrust professor, at Vanderbilt Law School. Professor Allensworth, thank you so much for joining us. Thanks for having me. It's great to have you, Professor. So the Department of Justice has succeeded in their case against Google, classifying it as a monopoly in its search engine-related field. I want to get your thoughts, but before we get into this, tell us how this is ultimately impacting Americans right now. Well, we're in the midst of a big push to bring antitrust back against some of the big monopolies of our time. You know, for 40 years, antitrust has been a little bit in the sidelines. And I think this case is really the biggest example we have today of how this push-push is working and how, in some ways, it's succeeding. So the accusations were that Google has used its contracts with companies like Apple to be the default search on our phones, and that that has really boxed out other competition in search. That's the basics of the claim. Now, the Department of Justice is proposing solutions to break up Google. Tell us what that might look like in practice. Yeah, if there was a breakup in this case, which, by the way, I view as very unlikely, but if there was a breakup, it would be to break off Android from the Google search product and possibly Chrome from Google search. So, or maybe both. The idea is that these relationships between these companies kind of bolstered the monopolization alleged in the case. Not to go down too many rabbit holes and hypotheticals, but what would that mean for American business? And ultimately, on the other side, how do you see this playing out? Yeah, so it's a little unclear what it would mean for American business. I think it would mean that other companies might be worried that they can't vertically integrate. That's what we call it when two companies merge that are not quite direct competitors. So, a search company doesn't really compete with a browser, doesn't really compete with an operating system like Android, or grows into those businesses. So, not through a merger, but rather kind of extends as Google did into those other markets. There's an increasing view that this can be anti-competitive, and I think if they were broken up, I think that would put some real teeth to the law that vertical integration can be anti-competitive. On the other hand, we know that it sometimes can be good for consumers. I think we like sometimes how Google Search works well with Android and the way that Android works well with Chrome. It all kind of works together. And so, I think it's just a little bit unclear how the court would view it. I mean, how it would impact consumers and how other companies would view it. But I do feel like I can predict how the court will view this. I don't think this court is likely to grant it because this court in particular has been very, very careful, has really stuck to the case law, has really played the Microsoft playbook. That's the precedential case that the court is looking to for the law. And in that case, the district court tried to break up Microsoft and was reversed on appeal. I think the court in this case is going to be very concerned that that's going to happen again. Fascinating. And, you know, sort of to that point, Google's search advertising revenue has been declining. Competing with platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn and so forth, where advertisers are willing to pay higher rates per click. Is this type of competition overlooked in this particular antitrust case? No, I don't think it is. I think the idea that Google competes for advertising on some level in some ways is definitely part of the judge's decision in this case. It's just that it doesn't compete fully so much that we're prepared to say that that competition is keeping Google in check. And also keep in mind, that's just one side of the market. That's the advertising side of the market. There's also the market that you and I encounter all the time when we search on Google. We are the consumers of that market. They're the provider. And there they have an even stronger monopoly, a very much higher percentage of searches. Really, it's just Bing and DuckDuckGo that present a very small fraction of the market there. Professor Rebecca Hall Allensworth, really appreciate your perspective. Thank you. And as the presidential campaigns remain in full swing, a new NBC poll finding just 74% of registered voters are feeling enthusiastic about this race. That's considered low compared to most presidential cycles since 2004. Entity Sam Wong was out on the National Mall in D.C. to hear from voters themselves. Who has your vote and how invested are you in this election? Harris has our vote. Yes, absolutely. She does. I think we're invested 100%. We don't like the way the country's headed. And I think as Americans, we've got to do something to change the direction. Very invested. I'm an independent, but I'm voting for Trump because I don't want to become a a like China. I mean, it's just terrible what's going on. Kamala Harris has my support. I'm a thousand percent committed. I'm for Trump and I'm, uh, you know, I'm ready for money again. My candidate is Kamala Harris and I'm extremely committed. So Donald Trump has my support. I am very, very committed because I am really worried about the direction we're going. Support for me is Kamala. Invested. Oh, sure. We will definitely vote. Yeah, definitely vote. And do you feel enthusiastic about it? No. Worried. No, I don't feel enthusiastic. I think we have a lot of work to bring people in this country together and I think we all have a lot more uh, things that we believe are similar than different. Do you feel as committed as you did in 2020? Absolutely. The stakes feel, I feel a little higher to me than they did in 2020. Probably more so. I think that, you know, things happen that give you a negative feel for how things are going right now. Oh, 100 times more. I mean, I hope and pray that he, Trump gets in there. He's the only person going to save this nation. No, I don't think so. Maybe I'm tired of watching everything have gotten to the point that it's got to here. No, I probably, I'm more worried about this election than the last because of who's running, I guess. I don't know. Well, actually in some ways I'm more committed. I'm in my 70s and I'm retired and I think a lot of people in their 70s should retire and, and allow space for uh, young voices. I actually feel more passionate about this election. I've lived in Texas. I've seen what's happened there with the borders. Totally out of control. I've seen what's happened with costs, completely out of control. Very scared about crime in cities. We as a nation have to show the rest of the world that, you know, our beliefs, our core values have to be met. This is an opportunity. And that is all we have for you this evening on the Capitol Report. For around the clock original news coverage, visit us at ntd.com slash live or download our entity mobile app from the nation's Capitol in Washington, D.C. I'm Steve Lance. Have a great weekend. See you back here Monday. A large retail store just canceled a huge order leaving us with a ton of extra my pillows, but you know what? That's their loss. I'm going to make it your game. For the first time ever you get standard classic MyPillows for wholesale prices. Only $14.88. I can't believe I'm even saying that. Only $14.88. But it gets even better. For a limited time, I'm going to offer my entire classic collection at wholesale prices. Upgrade to a queen-size MyPillow for just $18.88. King-size only a dollar more. Get my body pillows for $29.88 and multi-use MyPillows for only $9.88. So go to MyPillow.com or call