NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (Oct. 19)

Welcome to NTD Evening News. Our top story tonight, riots and looting spreading across France and parts of Western Europe. Authorities imposing curfews as rioters clash with police. President Trump blaming mass immigration for the unrest as far-left extremists and communist groups help organize and amplify the riots. 11 arrested, 28 charged in the California voter fraud crackdown. Federal officials say the suspects were on a list of more than 20,000 likely non-citizens registered to vote, the state of Florida issuing an arrest warrant for Cuba's Raul Castro. He's charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Jason Perry with the details. And a very special screening of an award-winning NTD documentary. Government and business leaders praising the film and the remarkable venue, the headquarters of Shen Yun Performing Arts. This is NTD Evening News, live from our global headquarters in New York City. Here's Kerry Dunst. Good evening. Thank you for joining us tonight. President Trump is blaming France's recent riots, looting and arson on mass immigration. Those riots have spread to Italy and Belgium now over the weekend. NTD's Washington correspondent Jack Bradley now joins us. Jack, what's the president saying about all of this? That's right, Kerry. President Trump is blaming mass immigration for the riots that have spread across France, leading to violence, looting, and fires across the country over the weekend in the past several days. Now, a 150-year-old town hall building that survived both world wars went up in flames over the weekend. It was among several structures destroyed in the past several days. Here's President Trump. What's happening in France has to do with immigration, not schools. They let people into their country that don't love their country. They don't love their buildings. They don't love their art. And I said, the first time I met Macron, I said, you got to close up your borders. You're going to ruin your country. And they've ruined their country. Now, in France, authorities are imposing curfews, rioters injuring police, civilians' cars and businesses looted and destroyed. Some have described these as student demonstrations, but many of those involved in these riots are not students. They're part of these communist far-left groups outside of any student organizations. And it's spreading. Similar violence has already broke out over the weekend in Brussels and Milan. Now, meanwhile, deaths continue to pile up in the Russia-Ukraine war. President Trump is calling on Ukraine to replace Zelensky, accusing him of rejecting opportunities to end the war and attacking Russian refineries despite requests to stop. Take a look. Zelensky is not helping matters much. I think he doesn't want to stop it. Very little land has moved, but a million people, a tremendous number of people are dead. They're losing their male population. Ukraine could have had this thing settled a long time ago. Maybe it's time for Zelensky to get somebody else to negotiate. Meanwhile, President Trump's set to visit China in November. He said talks with Putin and Xi may take place in order to denuclearize their countries. Discussions over Ukraine and Iran may also take place on that. And Jack, President Trump and the First Lady just announced a new push for women's health research today. What does the new initiative do? Right. So President Trump from the Rose Garden at the White House signed an executive order creating a new women's health division within the National Institutes of Health, along with a new White House task force on women's health. First Lady Melania Trump is initiating this, saying that more needs to be done for women's health. Take a look. Previous generations fought for women's rights. Our generation will fight to discover the cures that will ensure a woman can live her life in health and to the fullest. This historic initiative conceived by Melania will promote... When I heard about it, I said, are you sure they don't have that? Who the hell wouldn't have a woman's health division? Melania said they don't have it. Now, the goal of this is to find better ways to prevent and diagnose diseases and improve treatment methods for women in areas like heart disease, cancer, chronic pain, and infertility. Leading the effort will be Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. Back to you, Kerry. All right. Thank you, Jack. As we heard from Jack, France now dealing with the aftermath of a weekend of violent riots. 1,800 people have been arrested. 3,000 businesses have been impacted by the unrest. French officials are blaming far-left groups for the violence. We have NTD's international correspondent Arian Pazdar with the latest. Chaos took over some cities in France over the weekend. Rioters burned cars, damaged buildings, and more. CCTV footage shows the moment a store in the city of Nice got raided by a group of young men. French President Emmanuel Macron commenting on the ongoing violence. Dissenters from far-left groups, joined by numerous criminals, unleashed unrestrained violence in our cities. Shops were looted, public buildings, stores and town halls were attacked, and some were destroyed. Several hundred police officers and gendarmes were injured. The ongoing unrest started almost two months ago when students protested for a better education system. But French officials say far-left groups took over the movement, inciting violence and chaos. Around 1,800 people have been arrested over the weekend. And around 3,000 local businesses have been affected by the violence. Those who destroyed property must pay. Those who looted must reimburse the damage. Those who sought to bring down the republic will be held accountable. President Trump posted this video on Monday, showing rioters storming the city hall in Marseille. The president says the migrants have taken over France. They must close the borders fast. In the city of Limoges, rioters set fire to the city hall, which is over 140 years old. Emergency staff is working to control the situation and minimize the damage. And this video is going viral online, showing a woman trying to stop rioters from looting a store. She's seen telling the looters that stealing isn't, quote, part of the cause. French authorities are now issuing an overnight curfew from 11 p.m. until 6 a.m. for parts of downtown Paris. The measure will apply to three categories of people. unaccompanied minors, people using personal protective equipment, and those concealing their faces. Arian Pasdar, NTD News. And 28 non-citizens charged with election crimes in California, the latest in an effort by the Trump administration calling on Operation Protect the Vote. NTD correspondent Jason Blair has the latest from the Justice Department's announcement. We don't care who you vote for. What we care about is making sure that every legitimate vote is counted. Eleven foreign nationals have been arrested across California, with an overall 28 charged. Federal officials are calling the move Operation Protect the Vote. Authorities say that all 28 are green card holders, and prosecutors allege that they lied about being U.S. citizens in order to register to vote, and in many cases cast ballots. Just like having your vote or your neighbor's vote not counted at all. Officials say the suspects appear on a list of more than 20,000 likely non-citizens that the Justice Department gave California last week. Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter says California has declined to review the list. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon told 60 Minutes on Sunday that one of the DOJ's goals is to restore public trust in the election system. There are people who feel that the point is to sow distrust about the whole election system. The point is actually the opposite of what you were saying. It's not to sow distrust. The distrust is there. Dillon told 60 Minutes that it's the first time prosecution of illegal voting has happened in volume. The DOJ has announced illegal voting charges on a regular basis recently. On Friday, the Justice Department announced illegal voting charges for 16 non-citizens in North Carolina, New York, and Idaho. On October 12th, an announcement that 16 were charged with election crimes across 10 states, and on October 5th, 16 across four states. Reporting in Washington, D.C., Jason Blair, NTD News. And Florida's attorney general says he has issued an arrest warrant for former Cuban leader Raul Castro. He's facing charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in connection with his alleged role in the 1996 downing of two airplanes. And it is Jason Perry has the details. Today, we are announcing state charges against Raul Castro with an arrest warrant for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeyer on Monday announcing charges against the 95-year-old former leader of Cuba, Raul Castro. The charges are for his alleged role in the 1996 downing of two airplanes that were operated by Miami-based Cuban exile group Brothers to the Rescue. The group was known to carry out regular flights attempting to find and assist Cuban refugees trying to sail to the U.S. And in February 1996, Cuban fighter pilots shot down two of the group's airplanes, killing four people. Both of the planes were over 18 miles away from the Cuban coast they were not on a military mission they were on unarmed civilian aircrafts going out to save people from the tyranny of communism the attorney general noting that it's possible for the 95 year old Raul Castro to end up in a Florida jail in the future this has real consequences it's not just a piece of paper this is a reflection of the evidence and the charges that are brought forward. Mr. Raul Castro, he certainly doesn't have the pleasure to just leave his country and move about freely. If he ends up in a friendly country for whatever reason with extradition agreements, then he will end up here. So he cannot go there even for medical treatments or otherwise. The move comes five months after federal prosecutors announced criminal charges against Castro for the same attack. A Cuban-American attorney says the warrant for Castro's arrest is something that goes beyond those four lives lost, saying it's a tribute to those who endured torture and prison in Cuba. Jason Perry, NTD News. And progress in the fight against fentanyl. Federal, state, and local officials meeting today to recognize significant success in reducing fentanyl deaths in Pennsylvania. NTD's Arlene Richards has more. In Pennsylvania alone, fentanyl deaths are down by about 60%. Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick joined by federal, state, and local officials on Monday to tout their success in the fight against fentanyl. And that's because of the leadership of the people standing here today who serve our great commonwealth, serve our great country, and serve Luzerne County, which, by the way, was one of the counties in Pennsylvania that suffered most from fentanyl deaths per capita and almost double the average nationally. He says when officials first began looking into the fentanyl crisis, the numbers were staggering. In 2023, over 100,000 Americans died from fentanyl. In Vietnam, we lost 53,000 Americans killed in action over eight years. We lost more than 100,000 Americans in one year due to fentanyl. In Pennsylvania, we had a number of years that it was 4,000 a year. 4,000 Pennsylvanians in a single year. Staggering, shocking. He attributes the recent success to President Trump's efforts to secure the border, as well as focused efforts to bring down the drug cartels. In addition, he points to a number of legislative moves, including the Laken Riley and the Halt Fentanyl Acts, which he co-sponsored. Attorney General Todd Blanche highlighting some of the ways the Department of Justice has helped in recent months. There were indictments against four members of a drug organization in the Philadelphia area that were allegedly selling 1,600 individual bags of fentanyl every single day. We have gotten, when we catch you, and we will, we have sentences of a combined 45 years in prison for two co-defendants from Monroe County convicted of conspiracy to traffic fentanyl, resulting in the death of several individuals. Blanche adding that reported drug overdoses in Pennsylvania decreased by nearly 20 percent since May 2025. And he says that the Justice Department is investing in local law enforcement. Through their Office of Justice programs, the department awarded $1 million to Pennsylvania's Monroe County D.A. Opioid Crime Section. The officials held a pre-conference roundtable where they discussed ways they can keep on working together to make sure that their successes continue. Arlene Richards, NTD News. And coming up, the U.S. banning Chinese AI company DeepSeek from all government agencies. But the DHS says about the risks posed by the Chinese company. And Vice President J.D. Vance announces additional disaster relief funding at a midterm rally in North Carolina. He's also answering questions about immigration rhetoric and fuel prices. We'll have the midterm updates. It's time for the nation to decide. This election will bring you must watch races on the ground coverage and the balance of power. Our panels will break down the results and what it all means for you and we'll track the nation's direction with real-time voter data as soon as it drops the economy socialism and a lot more is on the ballot the nation decides 2026 midterms november 3rd at 6 p.m eastern only on NTD imagine you're a little kid with a really big illness you're in the hospital a lot and it can hurt and be scary but a wish can make all the difference because when you grant a wish kids fighting critical illnesses feel stronger they can smile and laugh and they can even feel better sooner a wish is more than just a nice thing to do that you are going to help their care you're going to help them get better the impact a wish has on a child and their family is pretty endless but every 20 minutes, another child learns they have a critical illness. You can grant them a life-changing wish. Please call the number on your screen or go online to grantwishes.org and give $20 a month, only 67 cents a day. Thousands of kids need the healing power of a wish, but for every wish we grant, two more kids are waiting. My wish is to go to outer space. My wish was to meet a unicorn. We found lots of kids in our own hospital that didn't get the wish experience. I think about that every day. And I wish we could go back to those kids and give that to them. But I can't do it without donations. I can't do it without the ability and the funding to provide a wish. Call or go online to grantwishes.org. Give $20 a month. And we'll send you this free t-shirt as a thank you for helping wish kids. And 98% of doctors say a wish can help. You can improve the quality of their lives. You can transform their health care by giving, by donating. You're going to change a life forever. Will you help? Please call or give online at grantwishes.org. Wishes can only come true because of you. Thank you. According to ancient Chinese medicine, Perilla is considered a medicinal herb and is used to help lower cholesterol, improve vascular functions, and prevent diabetes. Perilla seeds can nourish the lungs and spleen. It is used to treat asthma and improve pulmonary functions. Puri Tong Green Vegetable Omega-3 is made from perilla and perilla seeds from Hwangmae Mountain in South Korea. It contains over 90% of Omega-3, 6, 7, and 9, the highest concentration possible without chemical additives. The soft gel is made of natural seaweed, is 100% organic and vegan. Both adults and children can take it with peace of mind. Ancient recipes were passed down from heaven to bring prosperity and longevity. Puritan Green Vegetable Omega-3. Welcome back to NTD Evening News. I'm Cary Dunst. The Trump administration is moving to ban Chinese AI DeepSeek from all U.S. government IT systems. Officials say DeepSeek models pose multiple threats. The DHS published a notice today announcing the move. The ban will cover third-party services using the Chinese AI model and exclude the Chinese company from all federal procurements. The department says use of the product may result in the transfer of sensitive data, including intelligence on the U.S., to the Chinese regime. Under Chinese law, all Chinese companies are required to share information with the regime when it's requested. The DHS also says DeepSeek models themselves may also contain malware or other security vulnerabilities. Multiple federal agencies, including the Department of Commerce and the Navy, have banned the use of DeepSeek on government devices. Multiple states, including New York, Tennessee, and Virginia, have taken similar steps to ban DeepSeek and other Chinese tech. And more on AI and cybersecurity. A new report has found that Chinese-speaking hacker has broken into the websites of over 100 companies using AI agents in just the past couple weeks alone. Cybersecurity company Northforge, in its report, says that the cybercriminal outsourced the hacking spree almost entirely to AI. The AI agents spent hours autonomously probing and breaking into the targeted websites. The cybersecurity firm says the hacker targeted U.S., Canadian, Australian and Japanese e-commerce websites since last September. As of late last week, their agents had attempted to break into more than 1,200 sites. The campaign appears to be using a mixture of China's DeepSeek as well as Anthropic's Claude Code. The report did not name the victims, but after reviewing the hackers' activity, Reuters found them to include farm equipment maker Deere, home appliance company Shark Ninja, and engine manufacturer Cummins. And Vice President J.D. Vance rallies in North Carolina today, this on the heels of a Michigan town hall that aired on CBS over the weekend. The vice president also weighing in on the riots in France, and NTD's Fiona Gee has the rundown. In North Carolina, Vice President J.D. Vance is showing his support for Republican U.S. House and Senate nominees. He also announced new disaster relief funding. North Carolina had been hit hard by Hurricane Helene back in 2024. We're announcing $858 million in additional disaster relief funding from the Department of Transportation. Vice President Vance also sat down for a town hall in Michigan, which was aired by CBS on Saturday. One of the first questions he was asked was how the administration plans to bring down gas prices. That's actually the biggest reason why gas prices are so high is because when Joe Biden was president, we had about 20 percent of American refining capacity that went offline. We're slowly bringing that online, but it does take a little bit of time. On the topic of immigration, Vance said that what he criticizes are not immigrants themselves, but rather the immigration and visa systems. He also said he wants to see a basic sense of community and social cohesion. I don't think it's unreasonable for an American citizen to want to share their community with people they have something in common with. And I think our immigration system has to build that. It has to obviously be charitable to people. It has to welcome people who are going to contribute to the country. But it also has to not do it so quickly that we fundamentally transform the country in a bad way. On a similar topic, the vice president also weighed in on the riots in France. Reacting to footage of a historic French landmark burning down, Vance said in an X-Post on Saturday, quote, Western liberals imported the third world into France and other countries in the name of diversity and compassion. They ignored fundamental questions of assimilation and compatibility. Looking ahead, the vice president is slated to return to his home state on Wednesday for another rally in Ohio. And on President Trump's side, he's got a packed agenda as well. The president is making campaign stops every single day this week, just two weeks out from Election Day. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Fiona Gee, NTD News. And ahead of the midterm election, we'll take a look at what California voters will be seeing on their ballots. Some of the major issues including voter ID and billionaire tax. NTD's David Lam has more. From voter ID and taxing billionaires to funding affordable housing and health care, California voters will decide on 14 propositions on the November ballot. Voter ID has been a contentious issue. Currently, California does not require showing an ID to vote in person. Proposition 39 will change that, requiring voters to show proof of citizenship at the polls. Mail-in ballots would require the last four digits of a government ID. Props 4 and 5 refer to public fundraising and recalls. Under Prop 4, governments can set aside public funding specifically for political campaigns. And Prop 5 would delay the election process for a successor in the case of a recall, allowing a recalled official to run as a candidate during the special election. Five of the propositions California voters will vote on are directly tax-related. The controversial Prop 40 will impose a one-time tax on billionaire residents. High net worth individuals will owe a 5% tax on top of existing taxes. The money will primarily fund health care. Another high income tax prop is Prop 3, funding schools and health care by making permanent a high income tax that has been in place since 2012. And Props 41-43 will prohibit certain new state taxes and require the state auditor to review, ban new retroactive personal property taxes, and raise the voter approval threshold needed to approve special taxes. Props 1 and 37 will allow the state to borrow $11 billion for housing affordability programs, as well as sell bonds to help buyers of newly built homes. Prop 38 would potentially raise state costs to fund medical research and immunology and immunotherapy. And Prop 44 will require community health clinics to spend 90% of its revenue on program services. Two of the propositions would increase the state's Rainy Day Fund and expedite the environmental reviews for certain projects. California voters have already received mail-in ballots for the November 3rd election. David Lam, NTD News, California. And coming up, a very special screening of an award-winning NTD documentary. Government and business leaders praising the film and the remarkable venue, the headquarters of Shen Yun Performing Arts. My name's Stacy, I'm 57, and I was adopted in 2020. We were adopted in 2019. And we were adopted in 2021. We had a house, and it sounds crazy, but it wasn't a home. The one thing that Jake and Emma brought is it became a home. When I met Dakota, he had just turned 14. You weren't there for the first this and the first that. I missed the first words, but we got a lot of other firsts. Watching her say, oh my God, I cannot believe I got my license. And she's like, I passed. And I'm like, girl. See them grow. It is. They chose to love us. They didn't have to. They chose us. Them. You and you. kids in the middle. What I thought was a complete life was nowhere near complete, but it is now. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. You can't imagine the reward. Visit AdoptUSKids.org. My mom and dad were traditional Asian parents. Now my father would go to work before I woke up in the morning, and then he would come home too tired to play with me. I tell my son, i love you every single day now my dad has never said that to me not because he doesn't love me but because culturally it wasn't comfortable for him so i teased him the other day and i said how come you never say that to me and he said you're too old now now that he's a grandfather he says i love you to my son every time he sees him my advice to all the fathers out there forget the material things, forget the cultural restrictions. They grow up way too fast for you to waste even a single precious minute or moment. Say bye-bye. Bye-bye. See it coming. It's prediabetes and it captures one in three adults. But you can escape. Take the one-minute prediabetes risk test to know where you stand and prevent or delay type 2 diabetes. Be your own hero on smartphones everywhere at doihaveprediabetes.org. Drive an hour to cheer them on as they get beat 11 to nothing in the rain. Then surely you'll check NHTSA.gov slash the right seat to make sure they're correctly buckled in the back seat. Welcome back to NTD Evening News. I'm Cary Dunst. Over the weekend, government and business leaders visited Shen Yun's headquarters to watch Unbroken, the award-winning documentary from NTD that exposes the CCP's transnational repression here in America. And Denise Paul-Graney was at the Picturesque Campus in upstate New York to speak with guests and Shen Yun performers alike. Have a look. For most of us, autumn leaves foreshadow a time of year that's a little less active, a little more reclusive. But for the performers here at Shen Yun Performing Arts, they're just getting started. Its world tour begins in December, and today we're here at the idyllic Dragon Springs Campus in Hudson Valley, New York, for a special documentary screening. Before the screening, attendees got an exclusive tour of the campus grounds. So I walk through the gates and immediately the vibe changes. It comes up from the ground and if you know anything about being grounded, I just wanted to touch the greenery because you can feel the vibe coming up. I actually came here and toured the site when it was just a mountainside back two decades ago. So I've really been just amazed by what has been built. It's beautiful. Dragon Springs is more than a temple grounds. It's a training ground for world-class artists. We have FAYN Academy of the Arts, FAYN College, and then practicum program with Shen Yun. And then we have our tour season, we have our rehearsal season, we have our studying. It's really, you don't really see this anywhere else in the world. It's not just the artistry and the physicality, but the threats that they face for performing their art And foretelling the story as a parent and seeing these parents in this film, that will touch every heart. Unbroken, the untold story of Shen Yun, is an award-winning documentary produced by NTD. After the screening, the artists discussed how they've been attacked by the Chinese Communist Party since Shen Yun was formed in 2006. How Shen Yun was actually established, it was a group of people fleeing persecution from a tyrannical regime, fleeing to you know america to establish um you know a safe haven and if you guys know the the history of what america stands for it's also a group of people a group of peoples of faith fleeing a tyrannical regime establishing a safe haven america so i feel like the story of shen yun it not only embodies kind of like our community and what we believe in but it also embodies kind of what this whole nation stands for what really struck me was the strength and the faith of the performers how they are willing to face the odds and face challenges and yet know that they're doing something that's greater than themselves Shen Yun's performers are practitioners of Falun Dafa a Buddhist meditation practice that's been violently persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since 1999. My family members, my mom's sister, my aunt, it's actually still getting persecution in China. When you sign up for the army you expect to be shot at. When you sign up for a dance troupe you don't think people are going to follow you around with bomb threats but that tells you everything you need to know about the evil and also the paranoia of the Communist Party of China. Shen Yun's artists told NTD that they were moved by what they saw in the unbroken film. First time I watched it, I was like, wow, I didn't know this project was going on. I didn't know they put our true life on the film, on the big screen to show it to the world in a different art form. I really hope that more people can get to hear our story and understand us better and really just see that we're just like everyone else and we're just trying to bring a little light to the world. Attendees had an opportunity to meet and talk to Shen Yun's artists. It was just so beautiful to hear the voices of these young people talking about their love for, I guess, their spirituality, the way they see the Creator, and for the level of service that they're bringing to the world through that faith and through their passion for the arts and their passion for creation. It was just so beautiful. I'm so inspired to just be here I'm almost in tears just being able to be in this place and just feeling the atmosphere of what is here and I guess the thing that's going to stay with me is darn I can't come back I would love to come back and just just experience the dancers see them talk to them and just but being here it's as close as you can get to that. Shen Yun's world tour begins in December. To watch NTD's documentary Unbroken, visit www.unbrokenshenyunmovie.com. Paul Greeny, NTD News. And joining us now is Steve Lance, the executive producer of Unbroken, the untold story of Shen Yun. He's also the host of NTD's Capital Report. Steve, first off, congratulations on the success of the film. You've now screened Unbroken in major cities across the country and even internationally, but this particular screening was the first of its kind. Can you explain for us the significance of it being held at Shen Yun's headquarters, Dragon Springs? Absolutely, Carrie, and thank you so much for having me on to talk about it. As you mentioned, we've had screenings in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, all over the world and Australia. And this one was particularly special because it was at Shen Yun's campus where they actually train. And, you know, we were able to visit and interview some of the staff and performers. there for the film. But to be able to bring the film right there in a first of its kind event at Shen Yun's campus there and at Dragon Springs where the beautiful Tang Dynasty temples were, it was really special. Shen Yun has been under tremendous pressure from the Chinese Communist Party. So it's not easy for them to open up the campus to the public. Chinese consulate officials have been known to, in the past, drive their vehicles, their embassy-plated vehicles onto the grounds there to harass the folks that live there and dwell there. And so security for them is of utmost importance, not to mention, as we saw in the previous package, the news package there from Paul Greeny, the bomb threats, the death threats against these people. And so to have sort of this first-of-its-kind public event on campus with this film, it was really an honor, and I couldn't be more pleased that we were able to do it. Yeah, when you looked at that footage of the campus and seeing, as you mentioned, those classical Tong Dynasty temples right at the peak of the Hudson Valley foliage, which for anybody who knows the Northeast knows how beautiful that is. It looked amazing. I want to get a sense of what the reception was like to the movie itself and the tour of Dragon Springs from the attendees? Well, the other part of the film that we didn't just have a chance to talk about was, you know, they've also not just been under pressure from the Chinese Communist Party, but also various media outlets have wittingly or unwittingly picked up a lot of the disinformation coming out of Beijing when it comes to Shen Yun. And so there were folks that attended last night that didn't know what to expect. And after watching the film, we had the Q&A session, as you can see on the screen right now. And during some of the questions, people prefaced their question with, hey, look, I didn't know much about Shen Yun, but I know the true story now. And I'm going to be canceling my subscription to The New York Times. The New York Times, sadly, has taken aim at this group and written a series of negative articles about them based on false accusations, which we lay out with a lot of evidence in the film. And it was compelling enough for the folks to take action on the spot, really. And it's not just one person after they see the film. They really question the things that they've heard coming out of the New York Times and other media, sadly, picking up the stories from the New York times. But I would say that the folks that came, they found it to be eye-opening. It was something that you really, as you pointed out, these Tang Dynasty Buddhist temples, there's no place like it in the United States, that's for sure. And I'm not even sure, surely you sadly cannot find it in China after the Cultural Revolution with so much of the traditional culture and temples that were destroyed, you know, all in part and parcel to the CCP's agenda to, you know, control the people of China and destroy their traditional culture. Yeah, as we show this footage, it just looks majestic. And what a beautiful day to have that screening there. Now, I want to get a sense for what sort of impact these kinds of positive comments, which come from American politicians and officials have on the Chinese regime and this persecution of Falun Gong, which of course has been going on now for 26 years? It's a great question. And you really have to understand the scope and the length at which the Chinese Communist Party has gone to try to suppress this group. If there were one person, and it really makes no sense because as one of the previous uh folks in the in the news package pointed out this is a this is a performing arts group but the chinese regime looks at them as public enemy number one in the full weight of the chinese communist party's propaganda apparatus there are overseas influence operations to um go to the theaters where they perform and try to have them canceled by handing out uh binders full of propaganda, trying to dissuade the theater management from taking this performance to Capitol Hill, where I've talked to representatives while I've been investigating this that have told me that officials from the Chinese embassy have gone in and defamed Shen Yun right here in Washington, DC last year when Shen Yun Performing Arts was set to perform at the Kennedy Center. The Chinese embassy here in Washington sent out a memo full of propaganda trying to prevent Western media outlets from reporting on it in a positive light and from seeing it. And so when you factor in, these are just a couple. These are just a couple. there's thousands of other examples. According to the CCP's own internal estimates, they found out roughly one out of 12 Chinese people were practicing Falun Gong, which is in a country with 1.4 billion, it equated to about 100 million people. And the CCP at the time only had roughly about 60 million Communist Party members. So even though this is a peaceful practice, It's based on three core tenets of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. The dictator at the time, Jiang Zemin, saw it as a threat and became outraged and came up with a plan to eradicate Falun Gong, rounding up practitioners, putting them in prisons and forced labor, subjecting them to torture, murder, eventually escalating into forced organ harvesting, which many of the viewers may have heard about. but also a level of propaganda to defame it so that the world's people wouldn't act on it. People would be confused. Falun Gong was new. It's an unfamiliar name to many. So unfortunately, a lot of that propaganda was able to take root even in the West. And so that's when Shen Yun came along with a mission to revive traditional Chinese culture, which is rooted in divinely inspired principles and belief in heaven, belief in the Creator and respect for your fellow man. And these are all things that were uprooted when the communists took over China. And so the importance of these principles is they're obvious, but to why the CCP would persecute them, it's basically because everything that Shen Yun is doing is the antithesis of what the CCP stands for. And when you have an atheistic, totalitarian regime that has been dead set on rooting out all religion, and now you have a revival in Shen Yun's billboards, China before communism is their tagline. That tagline reminds Chinese people and the world's people what China was like before communism. But perhaps it also begs the question, what might China be without communism? And Shen Yun shows that story. And Steve, I just want to highlight, though, that Shen Yun is an American company touring in America and mostly the Western world. So it seems quite brazen for them to attack an American company. You're absolutely right. It's as American as apple pie. It was founded by Chinese Americans who love this country. We heard from the performers there in the panel. Our country was founded and discovered by the pilgrims who fled England to find freedom of religion, and they fled oppression. And very similar Falun Gong practitioners came to the United States to seek that refuge. And now they're using what our Constitution eventually evolved into, one of the greatest documents known to earth, the First Amendment, freedom of speech, freedom of belief. And so it's really unfathomable that the long arm of the Chinese communist regime could reach over into our free and open society that cherishes all of those values. and they do it by proxy. And there's plausible deniability at every corner. So it's really hard to spot. One of the sort of pitfalls, if you will, to our free and open society is that we welcome everybody. And there's a lot of Chinese students, Chinese immigrants that still have ties to the Chinese Communist Party. And it allows espionage from Beijing to sort of fester. And what does that open up the door to influence operations, where they can join XYZ benevolent organization in the community and start to spread lies and influence the community to go against them. And so it's something that's of great concern. One thing that was talked about during the panel discussion, a lot of the audience after watching this and seeing what was actually happening on our soils. What can be done about it? And one of the suggestions was a task force, perhaps on the executive level in the federal government, to look into this and put a stop to it. It's counterintelligence, which is very hard in and of itself. And the way the Chinese regime goes about it makes it very complicated. But indeed, it needs to be looked at and stopped swiftly. And Steve, to finish up where we started on the dance company itself, in making this film and just spending the afternoon there at the screening, you've had the chance to speak with many of the Shen Yun performers at Dragon Springs. And I just wanted to get a sense, being what they went through last season with all those bomb threats, of course, none of them coming to any type of escalation, always just with the intention of deterring the performances. is, what's the spirit of the dancers and the company as they're really just about two months away from kicking off their 2027 world tour? Well, it's funny you ask. So when we made the film, we did not have a name for it, but it wasn't until we got to know these dancers and watch their training, but not just their physical ability and their artistic abilities, but their spirit, their moral courage. They're not deterred by bomb threats, death threats. They're doing this for something much bigger. There's about 90 active Shen Yun staff, performers, some dancers whose parents have been killed because of persecution for their faith. And so they're not doing this for fame and for accolades. They're doing this for a much bigger reason. It's deeply personal to them. And so that's actually why we named the film Unbroken, to sort of display their spirit in the name of the film. And so at this event, you could just see sort of the excitement, the determination to bring this performance on stage for another world tour. Truly inspiring. Steve Lance, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you. Next, kids could soon have a financial interest in the future of space. Elon Musk says he plans to give kids a stake in his company SpaceX. Musk made the announcement on X writing that he will give one SpaceX share to every kid in America next year. SpaceX is a $2 trillion aerospace and AI company. So based on the math, the number of kids in the U.S., the potential giveaway could be worth billions. However, Musk did not explain how these shares would be distributed. And coming up in college basketball, the preseason poll is out with a recent champion back on top of the rankings. We have David Martin joining us with the report. 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At Mathis Home, our low prices and five-year promotional financing make it easy to get the styles you love with easy monthly payments and fast, free delivery. Check out this elegant three-piece sectional in a soft ivory fabric with ultra-plush cushions. It's in stock now. With our low prices and all-new 60-month financing, you can relax in it tonight for just $79 a month. We make shopping for your home easy with five years to pay at your furniture superstore Mathis Home. Shen Yun Creations, the streaming platform from Shen Yun, featuring world-class dance, past programs, and all original music, masterclasses, behind the scenes, comedy, and more. Explore ShenYunCreations.com. Sports news, we're joined by NTD's Dave Martin. Dave, let's start in football. we knew that Jalen Hurts from the Eagles was going to miss yesterday's game over a blood clot in his leg, but now it's actually looking like it might be more serious. What's the latest on his status? Yeah, last week the team announced he had a superficial blood clot in his calf, which just means it's near the surface of the skin. Today, the team gave an update on social media saying, quote, after further testing and monitoring, the current diagnosis is a deep vein thrombosis as well as bilateral pulmonary emboli. Now, what that means, actually, is that a blood clot traveled from his legs to his lungs, apparently. The team also said they'd place him on blood thinners as part of his treatment. And while he's on those, he won't be allowed to do any kind of contact activities, of course, football being one of them. They also said his prognosis is very good and they expect a full recovery. Now, according to multiple reports, Hurts is expected to miss the rest of the season. So yesterday, the Philadelphia Eagles ended up starting Tanner McKee at quarterback in his place. lost to Carolina Panthers 25-14 for their fourth loss in a row. Eagles, of course, also without running back Saquon Barkley, among others. So, we've only got one team in that NFC East division with a winning record, you know. This guy's here to meet the looking Giants. Yeah, absolutely. They have a quarterback injury of their own. Still, they've made it to the top. Well, J.J. McCarthy coming in was very exciting for Giants fans. I mean, he was right there with Jackson Dart, but he, of course, had those injuries, J.J. but he won the national championship with Michigan. But getting back to the Eagles, of course, for Saquon and for Jalen Hurts, we're very much in their corner. Despite being Giants fans, we're going to pray for them and wish them a very speedy recovery. When you hear blood clot going toward the heart, that is some serious stuff. So best to him. Let's move to college basketball. It looks like the preseason rankings are out, and I noticed UConn in the top five, so glad to see that. Yeah, top five, not at the top, actually, but very close to the top. Florida Gators actually won the title in 2025, are the number one preseason team in the rankings. They're actually an overwhelming favorite for the top spot, garnering 47 of the 59 first-place votes. Florida will still have four key players from that 2025 team, putting guard Denzel Aberdine, who had then played last year for Kentucky, Aberdine, though, is one of a number of players who've been granted another season of eligibility by the courts. Now, behind Florida, Duke Blue Devils are ranked number two. Blue Devils return four players from last year's 35-win team, including guard Caden Boozer, whose twin brother Cameron, of course, was the number three overall pick in the NBA draft just a few months ago. Then you've got Illinois at number three after making the Final Four last year. UConn at number four, which beat Illinois in the Final Four. And fellow Final Four participants, Arizona at number five, Wildcats losing to eventual champion Michigan last April. Numbers six through ten in order are Michigan State, followed by Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, and the Houston Cougars at number ten. The season tips off on Sunday, November 1st. Most teams are going to start off the following Monday after that, but first college basketball game is less than two weeks away now. So you did get that Danny Hurley picture into the B-roll. I got two UConn pictures in there. So just knowing this guy was going to be a hard time if I didn't. So what do you think? I mean, let's talk conferences because, I mean, there's so many great teams. The Final Four, March Madness, I think it's the best thing in all of sports just because a small team, an Ivy League team could take out a top-ranked powerhouse. But just conference-wise, who are you? Which conferences have your eye? Well, for the record, I definitely agree. It's like a whole bunch of Game 7s in there. Plus, they're all on a neutral court, so it really evens things out. Upsets are a punchy when you do that. So I agree with you, Kerry, on that one. As far as conferences, I mean, the SEC has been kings really the last couple of years. Just two years ago, 16 of the 18 teams made it in. I'm not sure we'll see this year. Big 12 looks very good, of course, with Kansas, of course, Houston. And Arizona, of course, now is part of the Big 12. Big East, of course, you've got UConn there. So I don't know. That's a tough one. I think certainly those three are going to be at the top. All right. Well, we'll be looking forward to talking a lot of basketball. But we still have football. And before we get to football, we have to finish up this business with baseball. What's going on there? Finish up the baseball. You sound really excited about this one here. One thing to the next thing. You know, you've sequenced everything beautifully tonight, Dave. We end with what's most priority here. Thank you very much, Gary. Yeah, well done. You're a pro. Yeah. Tonight, we have game six of the ALCS between Tampa Bay and Cleveland. Rays have won games four and five over the weekend to take a 3-2 series lead. They can clinch the series tonight at home starting at 8 p.m. Tampa Bay's Yandy Diaz, who led the league in hits this year, is really coming alive this series. He's got eight hits in all but four doubles and a home run among his for a .348 average there. On the mound is teammate Drew Rasmussen, who really did really well yesterday, allowing just one run through seven innings for really his second better-than-quality start of the series. Tonight, the Rays will start a two-time All-Star, Freddie Peralta. Peralta, of course, started the season with the Mets. The two-time All-Star coming over in blockbuster trade really has turned the season around in Tampa Bay. Cleveland, meanwhile, looks like they're going to be doing a bullpenning session with reliever Sean Armstrong. excuse me on the mound to start off for them should Cleveland win they would have a game seven tomorrow night in Tampa Bay should Tampa Bay win they will meet the Brewers in the World Series and if it is Tampa Bay versus the versus Milwaukee neither of those teams have ever won a World Series so that would be something even Cleveland Cleveland haven't won in almost 80 years so we're gonna have some new blood winning this World Series that's great and you know to kind of make a comment that Tiffany Meyer might make in looking at the the Rays' outfits and the Cleveland's outfits. She might go for the Rays, but what is this with this? You know, this is like, I don't know. This is like a high school uniform. I got to go with Cleveland with at least something that looks kind of respectable and old school, you know? In defense of Tiffany, she's never really talked about the uniforms, at least on air with me. Off air, maybe she'd make a few comments. On air. Now, those Rays' uniforms are actually the uniforms they had Back in their inaugural season, it was in 1998, I believe. So they're like a retro already fit for them, you know? Only 30 years ago they started. Going with that 80s, 90s sort of fuchsia look, okay. I don't know. The Guardians uniform doesn't really do much for me either, to be honest with you. I prefer, well, I like the Yankees pinstripes. I like some pinstripes. I like some pinstripes, that's for sure. Keep it clean, keep it classic, you know? All right. Well, now that we've broken new ground on baseball and the uniforms, let's end it there. Thanks, Dave, for joining. And that is all the time we have for today's evening news. But for around the clock coverage, you can always visit us at NTD.com. For Dave Martin, I'm Terry Dunst. Be true, kind, hold the line. We'll see you tomorrow.