NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (Oct. 22)

Welcome to NTD Evening News. Our top story tonight, President Trump weighing in on potential new strikes on Iran, as he said Iran is trying to manipulate the midterms. And the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, the president says negotiations for peace are the closest he's seen. A longtime Virginia state senator is charged for allegedly running an illegal family cannabis enterprise. Jason Blair has the details. Representative Ilhan Omar responds to allegations she married her brother. A lawmaker points to right-wing conspiracy theorists in the Minneapolis area for spreading the claim. Two billion dollars in health care fraud. The Justice Department alleges that six medical professionals abused their licenses in Los Angeles. David Lam with more. U.S.-based company Webull, a popular online investment platform, sharing sensitive U.S. data with Beijing. U.S. lawmakers are making the evidence public. This is NTD Evening News, live from our global headquarters in New York City. Good evening and thank you for joining us tonight. I'm Arlene Richards. President Trump warning of potential new strikes on Iran as he heads to Iowa tonight to rally voters for the midterms. NTD's Washington correspondent, Jack Bradley, joins us now. Jack, break down President's comments on Iran. That's right, Arlene. Well, President Trump says that the U.S. military has decimated the Iranian regime after the conflict began back in February, and now says more may need to be done after fighting has cooled down now for over three months. That's as Trump was asked how the Iran conflict is impacting the midterms, to which he said this. In one way, people probably don't love it, but many people, many great patriots really love it. This should have been done a long time ago by other presidents, the Iran war, after we've knocked the hell out of them. And we may do it a little bit further. Now, the president has said he wouldn't strike Iran until after the November midterms, which are now less than two weeks away. And he's accusing Iran of trying to impact the midterms by making up false strikes on oil tankers. Writing this on Truth Social, saying that Iran is doing everything they can to drive up the price of oil prior to the U.S. midterm election. They are even making up fake pits, mines, and everything else because more oil is coming through the Strait of Hormuz now than it did even prior to the beginning of the conflict. Adding that an evil regime that kills tens of thousands of protesters can never have a nuclear weapon. Commercial ships have been passing through the Strait of Hormuz and are back at pre-war levels and beyond. U.S. Central Command says 97% of those ships are making it through without incident. Arlene? And Jack, I think President Trump is sounding more confident on settling the Russia-Ukraine war. So what's he saying? Yeah, he says that a deal to end the war has never been closer because they're losing tens of thousands of soldiers every month on both sides of the conflict combined. Take a look. I think it's the closest I've seen to maybe working out a settlement. It's been a long time. There's been a lot of death. They're losing 25,000 people a month and even more than that. Now this comes after President Trump secured the release of an American, Stephen Hubbard, who was imprisoned in Russia for over four years. Trump says that would have not been possible if he gave into pressure to impose sanctions on Russia. He also says that sanctions on Russia would push them away from making a peace deal. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff met with Zelensky in Norway on Tuesday, then with Putin in Russia on Wednesday, urging them to restart those peace talks. Zelensky highlighting the mass casualties. Take a look. We're losing people and time. That's why we need to end this war as quick as possible. I hope that our partners, Americans and Europeans, will help us. And President Trump is set to rally in Iowa tonight for the midterms as he travels to one state per day on average to rally voters behind his endorsed Republican candidates, calling on voters to pretend that he's on the ballot to increase turnout. Arlene, back to you. All right, Jack, thank you so much for that update. And a Virginia state senator indicted for allegedly running an illegal marijuana ring out of her cannabis shop in the state. State Senator Louise Lucas is accused of moving at at least 100 kilograms of marijuana through the shop and laundering the proceeds. NTD correspondent Jason Blair has more. The charges listed in the indictment reflect the alleged behavior of a public servant who put her own financial interests before the people she was elected to serve. The Justice Department charges Virginia State Senator Louise Lucas for allegedly running an illegal marijuana operation out of her cannabis shop in Portsmouth. Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, an elected official or an everyday citizen nobody is above the law prosecutors allege that the illegal family-run operation included her two daughters and her grandson the charges include relatives and associates of that elected official who allegedly conspired to cash in on beneficial legislation access and influence lucas responds to the indictment saying i grew up under jim crow i've seen what happens when people in power try to silence those who stand up to them I spent my life fighting back, and I'm not stopping now. The operation allegedly moved 100 kilograms or more of marijuana through Lucas's cannabis business, laundering the profits. Authorities say they also found firearms at her shops. The FBI says the alleged scheme ran five years and was worth an estimated $4.5 million. During her time as Virginia State Senator, instead of enforcing the law, she was actually breaking the law, as alleged in the indictment, and then using her position of power and public trust to deflect and defend against her own criminal enterprise. Prosecutors say she used her office to shield the business and push legislation that helped it, including an alleged bribery scheme over a recreational marijuana license. She's been indicted on five counts. Racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana, conspiracy to launder money, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and maintaining a drug-involved premises. Lucas has been serving as a Virginia senator since 1992. Reporting in Washington, D.C., Jason Blair, NTD News. Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar responds to longstanding allegations that she married her brother. When asked if there was any truth to the claim, she says not to her knowledge. There are right-wing people who believe that this man was your brother. You have called it a disgusting lie. Who was this man that was your husband? When did they start saying that he was your brother? Why? It started with the Somali blog that I don't know if it still exists, but somebody put in there that, you know, that he had to have been my brother or something to that effect. In an interview with MS Now's Chris Hayes, Omar was asked whether her ex-husband, Ahmed Nur Saeed Elim, was her brother. The Minnesota lawmaker also faced questions on her father's naturalization process when he came to the United States. She says her father is no longer alive and cannot provide the paperwork that he filed. Responding to a question on her finances, Omar says she is a working class and lives paycheck to paycheck. The congresswoman was born in Somalia and moved to the U.S. in the 1990s at the age of 12 after her family gained asylum. Federal agents searched her home earlier this month as part of an immigration-related investigation. Omar says she was rattled by the search. And for more on the arrest of the Virginia Democratic state senator and the latest on Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, we're bringing in Nima Rahmani, former federal prosecutor and president of West Coast Trial Lawyers. Welcome to the show. Thank you for having me. It's always great to be on. Now, talk to us about the allegations regarding Senator Lucas's marijuana businesses. And what does the indictment say about how she allegedly used her position as a state senator? I think this is a very significant, lengthy indictment, 45 pages. And really, the primary allegations relate to drug trafficking, primarily marijuana. Now, marijuana is still a Schedule I drug under federal law. So it has no medicinal purpose. Now, there are some limitations for medicinal marijuana, which I'll get to in a moment. Now, right now in Virginia, medicinal marijuana can be distributed with a medical prescription, but recreational marijuana is illegal. Now, it will be legalized in 2027, but these allegations go back many years, and they relate to recreational marijuana, and the senator is alleged to have participated in a scheme to distribute it against state and federal law. that's the really the primary allegation here now there's some family members and others that have been indicted there are some allegations that she essentially received bribes a hundred thousand dollars for facilitating a marijuana license obviously serious as well so there's gonna be a lot for the senator to deal with she of course will argue that this is all political and it's brought by the Trump administration because she's a vocal critic of the president So expect to see that argument, expect to see a distinction between recreational versus medicinal as well while this all plays out in the court Now, from what I understand, this investigation began under the Biden administration. So how does that play into this response that it's a political attack by President Trump? Well, it's certainly a very good thing for Todd Blanche, the Department of Justice They're, of course, arguing that this is not political at all. this is drug trafficking and drug distribution and this conspiracy can apply to anyone regardless of your your age your political affiliation if you're distributing 100 kilos or more marijuana that's going to be prosecuted now i can tell you as a drug prosecutor uh typically these types of cases don't become federal cases and i've handled many many many drug cases but obviously the fact that you have an elected official participating in something like this regardless of whether it's a Democrat, a Republican This is something the Department of Justice is going to look into Now, one thing I think we may need clarification on, she was apparently, allegedly, she was already operating the cannabis shops before it was made legal in her state of Virginia. So is it still illegal that she was doing it if she was working on legislation to get it legalized? Well, the legislation component is a little bit more challenging. The Department of Justice has brought a number of bribery cases, honest services, wire fraud, and the courts have been really skeptical. And then these cases are actually a lot harder to get across the finish line than the drug trafficking ones. And this is why the defense can always argue that this is just legislation and this is listening to constituents advocating on their behalf. This is what policymakers and legislators, they do. Now, the government needs to prove that, no, it's not just someone who's serving the public or their constituents but this was an outright bribe that's why that undercover and what specifically transpired with that payment of one hundred thousand dollars these six-figure sums that's going to be important uh the doj and through all sorts of administrations they brought many bribery charges that have been unable to result in convictions or if they have those convictions have been overturned by the circuit courts and Even the U.S. Supreme Court, that's taken a very narrow view of bribery when it comes to representatives, senators and state officials. So that's why when it comes to this type of case, in my opinion, the marijuana charges are a lot stronger, especially when they're not legal under federal law. Again, unless there's a very clear medicinal purpose. And that change, by the way, was very recently. That was just in April of this year. Before that, it was Schedule 1, which means there's no medicinal value whatsoever. Now, because of some lobbying and some changes in the way we think about marijuana, now in certain circumstances, if it's legal under state law and there is that medicinal purpose, it can be Schedule 3. But again, it's limited and it's really unclear when and if the Senator Lucas here was able to comply with those very narrow exceptions to federal law. Now, Senator Lucas responded to the indictment with a post on X. I want to read that to you now. She said, quote, Today, the FBI, the Department of Justice and the full weight of the federal government have been wielded against an 82 year old great grandmother. I grew up under Jim Crow. I've seen what happens when people in power try to silence those who stand up to them. I spent my life fighting back and I'm not stopping now. So what message is the senator sending to law enforcement and would these comments be beneficial to her defense? Well, there's the courtroom and there's the court of public opinion. And I think this is the type of case that will absolutely go to trial. I can't imagine it resulting in any type of plea deal. So if you're looking at the defense here, I like to say there's the legal defense and the political and the legal defense would be a selective or political prosecution. This defense is very difficult to present and to actually have any chance of success. The president of the United States, Trump, has raised this defense unsuccessfully many times. Hunter Biden raised the same defense. unsuccessfully. You really have to show the prosecution is for a constitutionally prohibited reason, race, religion, national origin, one's political beliefs. And if you're talking about this distribution of drugs, whether it's Hunter Biden allegedly using drugs, even though that's not what he was prosecuted for, he was prosecuted for being an addict in possession or distributing drugs here in the case of the senator, I think it's going to be very hard to raise that defense. But there's also the practical or political defense that I like to talk about. Assuming the 82-year-old state senator is not going to take a deal, and I would be surprised if she did, and you start thinking about a potential jury trial, what are the chances of getting a conviction, getting 12 out of 12 jurors in a highly politicized case? And the reality is we're talking about Virginia, which tends to be either purple or blue. It's a liberal jury pool. So if you're the DOJ, it's not just about filing these what I call politicized cases. It's about getting convictions. And if you look at some of the other high profile cases that have been filed by the department, they haven't necessarily gotten across the finish line, whether it's James Comey, Chris James, really John Bolton is one of the few exceptions who did plead guilty. So it's not just having this great press conference with the DOJ and Todd Blanton. The question is, can they get a conviction in one of these political cases? I don't necessarily think they've gotten there, at least when they come to a jury verdict. Now, while we're talking about responses, I want to switch gears to Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who, as you know, is under investigation for alleged immigration fraud. Now, she responded yesterday to the search of her Washington home and said it was politically motivated. What does the DOJ need to prove to obtain a search warrant like the one used to search her home? well they need to show probable cause that contains evidence of a crime and my understanding is the magistrate judges in Washington DC I believe they're all Democrats but it is really a low standard but obviously a case like this against a sitting congressperson this isn't a type of investigation that I could have opened when I was on the front lines the U.S. Attorney's office right this is something that has to go to the highest levels of the Department of Justice It has to be the Attorney General, the number two, and the DOJ that signs off on something like this. But if you're looking at this case, I think primarily you're looking at the original derivative citizenship application back in 2000 that was submitted by her father. Now, of course, Congresswoman Omar's father is dead. He died in 2020. So when you're thinking about this case, are you charging a conspiracy? You can't charge with someone who is unindicted or who's even passed away. did she know about an alleged fraud that was committed by her father did she participate in it was she a victim even if she was an innocent victim that might not necessarily be enough for a criminal prosecution but you might be able to pursue a civil denaturalization case so we're talking about potential prison time I'm also talking about potential deportation and you can get there from either a civil or criminal route so you don't necessarily need a conviction one important thing about the civil route is there's no statute of limitations. Of course, there's a 10-year statute when it comes to the criminal charges. Now, no official details have been released on potential charges, but there are theories out there relevant to a wrong date of birth and an alleged marriage to her brother. So she was asked this in an interview whether her husband was related to her. Omar said, not to my knowledge, if these allegations were found to be true, could she face deportation or prison? And you've got about 40 seconds. she potentially can face deportation so we talked about denaturalization if the original citizenship application was fraudulent it can be unwound and that's a civil case before a judge by clear and convincing standard and of course she could be prosecuted for immigration fraud and again if she were convicted then she could lose her citizenship revert to her status before she gain citizenship. And of course, then the DHS could commence removal proceedings All right. Nima Romani, former federal prosecutor and president of West Coast Trial Lawyers. Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you for having me, as always. And the number of Americans filing new unemployment claims dropped last week, approaching 57 year lows. Labor Department data pointing to low layoffs and a stable labor market. Initial claims for unemployment benefits fell 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 194,000 for the week ending October 17th. That's close to the 189,000 claims reported in mid-July, the lowest reading since 1969. The U.S. economy added 29,000 jobs last month with employers adding an average of 68,000 jobs a month this year. The number of people receiving unemployment benefits after an initial week of aid increased 25,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.7 million. Unemployment was at a 0.4.2 percent. Coming up, a setback for the Trump administration's election integrity efforts. A federal judge is blocking DHS from conducting field operations targeting suspected non-citizen voting. Two billion dollars in health care fraud. The Justice Department alleges that six medical professionals abused their licenses in Los Angeles. David Lamb with more. Nine out of 10 seniors say they want to live in their homes as long as possible. And a walk-in bathtub can help us age in place. 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Working with over 250 local food banks like the ones in your community and demand is soaring. You go to the grocery store, you spend $100 and $100 is a new twenty dollar bill even with two full-time jobs it's hard to make ends meet these are tough times but when we stand together we become the very best of a strong America please call or go online to help feedingamerica.org just nineteen dollars a month can feed a family today and your first gift can double an impact plus we'll send you this free canvas bag as a reminder of the hope you're delivering when it comes down to it it's about taking care of your family first and the loved ones that you need to provide for because you're not just giving food you're fueling resilience for people across the nation you're feeding america call or go online today to help feeding america.org and your gift can double in impact a setback for federal election integrity efforts a judge is barring DHS investigations targeting non-citizen voting in nine states A federal judge in California has granted a preliminary injunction barring DHS election-related field operations and interviews in nine states. The order covers California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin. DHS currently has an enforcement surge in those states addressing non-citizen voting. The judge rules that federal enforcement actions likely violated the Voting Rights Act's protections against intimidation. In the ruling, the judge says federal officers had insufficient time to review people suspected of illegally voting as non-citizens and there is no federal database containing citizenship status of U.S. residents. The judge concludes that these factors could lead to the risk of error and intimidate U.S. citizens. The ruling comes as the Justice Department sues California over non-citizens on its voter rolls. The DOJ says more than 20,000 people who are likely foreign nationals are registered to vote in California. In healthcare fraud takedown today, the Justice Department alleges that six medical professionals abused their licenses in Los Angeles. NTD's David Lam reports. Prosecutors are announcing on Thursday what they say is the largest case of its type to be prosecuted by the Justice Department. They say most of the fraud, $1.6 billion in taxpayer money, resulted from a father-son drug rehab scheme. It's a $1.6 billion intended fraud scheme. And what they did is so seditious, is so bad. They were importing drug-addicted people from all over the country to come live right here in Southern California, and they were billing insurance companies for treatment, treatment that was never rendered, treatment that was never given. The father and son duo Nathan Young, also known as Pablo, and David Young, a.k.a. Sancho Lopez, ran dozens of treatment companies throughout the U.S. Today, we're announcing charges on 15 individuals, 10 of which are under arrest as we speak. And that was through a form of six indictments, one criminal complaint and four informations that are being revealed today to you to the public. One of the focuses of today's operations was to get to the doctors, the medical professionals who are enabling the healthcare fraud schemes. In Los Angeles, US Attorney Bill Assele says six of the defendants are licensed and the total alleged schemes amount to $1.8 billion. Prosecutors say the schemes include unnecessary artery treatments, surgical operations, and bogus hospice services. We are charging a doctor who allegedly signed certificates of terminal illness for two hospices, knowing the patients were not terminally ill, and knowing those hospices would use his signature to bill Medicare and bill the taxpayer for services that were unnecessary. This conduct should shock all Americans. The DOJ says the White House is also seeking tips from whistleblowers. People may get a reward or be compensated for reporting fraud to the website america.gov slash fraud. David Lam, NTD News, California. A final debate in one of the most closely watched Senate races in the nation. Mike Rogers versus Abdul El-Sayed, the two battled for Michigan votes, debating issues like trade and health care policy, the Iran war and election integrity. NTD's Melina Weisskopf brings us the highlights. Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, both more tame this time around. On the debate stage, Rogers making a pitch to win over swing voters in the purple state. He said, man, I just can't do it. He's too extreme. like the chairman of the Democrat Party, like so many Democrats who are coming out for us. Well, guess what? You'll have a home with us. Al-Sayed emphasizing his love for America amid accusations that he's backed by the Muslim Brotherhood and terrorist groups. To bring into question, my commitment to the Constitution is really beneath you. I am proud of America. I'm proud to be an American. I'm proud of our Constitution. Both trying to tie the other to the far extremes of their respective parties. When it comes to bowing down to the corporations who make your life harder and charge you more for the things that you need in your life, that is MAGA politics. Again, matter of fact, when his new Democrat-Socialist-aligned policies are engaged, money in your pocket, you'll be lucky to have a damn pair of pants. On health care, El-Sayed doubled down on his vision of Medicare for all, while Rogers argued the costs outweigh the benefits. Money out of politics, money in your pocket, and Medicare for all. That's building on the incredible success of the Affordable Care Act. He doesn't tell you how much taxes you have to get charged and you lose your private health insurance. On trade, both candidates sought to find a middle ground. El-Sayed agreeing that some tariffs are needed. Rogers describing the president's tariffs a mixed bag. We're also Chevy is also bringing manufacturing back from China. This is huge. I have stepped back and said maybe these Canadian tariffs were not well thought through. I think we need to use tariffs specifically around how we can protect certain automotive opportunities, the opportunities for growth in jobs that we actually need rather than this haphazard approach. On the war in Iran, El-Sayed doubled down on opposition while Rogers asserted his opponent's stance on Israel is questionable. He supports this war. And I want you to understand exactly what happened now. The consequences of this war are that you are paying nearly $5 in gas. You're paying more in groceries. My opponent can't even condemn the IRGC, which is the terrorist enforcement arm of Iran and doesn't believe Iran is any more dangerous than Israel. This is an absolute non-starter if you're going to send somebody back to the United States Senate. The two also stuck to party lines when asked about election integrity. El-Sayed opposing what he called voter suppression, Rogers defending voter ID to secure elections. Michigan Senate seat is one of seven toss-up races that will determine the balance of power in the U.S. Senate. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Melina Weisskopf in NTD News. And in Texas, Democratic nominee James Tallarico rallied in Houston yesterday, while GOP nominee Ken Paxton was in Corpus Christi. Paxton saying the difference between the two parties is thousands of miles apart. It's the difference between standing behind the men and women who wear the badge or a movement that says prisons should be abolished calls for defunding the police. It's hard to make this stuff up. It's the difference between hunting down the cartels or rolling out the red carpet for violent criminals that destroy our communities. We are in that moment. In the final days of this election, they're coming at us with everything they've got. The billionaire mega donors, the super PACs, they are spending $200 million in attack ads against us. That is the most of any Senate race in American history. And more is on the way. They are scared. They are terrified. Both parties have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into the race. Paxton, the state's attorney general, won the Republican nomination after defeating Senator John Cornyn in a primary runoff with President Trump's endorsement. Talarico, a state representative and seminarian, has kept his distance from his own party. He's also targeted Paxton's past impeachment by the Texas legislature. Paxton was acquitted. Talarico has maintained a consistent polling lead over Paxton across the election cycle. A Republican hasn't lost a U.S. Senate race in Texas in nearly four decades. Key states in this midterm election are seeing record-level voter turnout. This is according to an Associated Press analysis of early voting data. In Texas, early voting is up 74 percent compared with 2022. And in Kansas, it's more than doubled. Maine, North Carolina, and Ohio also have seen increases of more than 30% in early in-person and mail voting, compared with the same point in 2022. These states are expected to determine control of the Senate. Republicans currently hold the seats but face fierce Democratic competition. In most of the five states, Republicans are accounting for a smaller share of advanced voters than they did four years ago. Early voting has opened in most states. Nationally, more than 13 million mail-in and early in-person votes have been cast as of Tuesday, compared with 9 million at the same point in 2022. And early voting in New York kicks off this Saturday. NBC's Nikole Bonini hit Wall Street to find out whether New Yorkers plan to vote early and whether they think it's a good idea. Do you plan to vote early this election cycle? Absolutely. I think it's important that everybody goes out to vote. Early voting is a great way to make sure that you get to quickly go through the voting process and engage civically. I always vote on election day, to be honest with you. And why do you do that? I just think it's the symbol. I know the pre-election and the early voting gets more people out. I just traditionally do it on election day. I don't think there's anything like going to the ballot, giving it in making the machine read and feed into the uh your ballot feed into the machine i i love voting um i want my sticker it's it's important to i like to go in person i like the ceremony of doing it the day of even though sometimes there's a long line it feels like i'm more of a part of everything than just like going earlier and do you think having early voting is a good thing to have? Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Why so? I think more opportunities for people to be able to give their thoughts on what they want to see changed or preserved for that matter is always valuable in democracy. I do think it's good to have early voting, especially if you're traveling away and making sure that you can vote. Sometimes, you know, things come up last minute. Emergencies. It's important to just go there. That's the most important thing is just going regardless of who you're voting for you know but it's important that you at least go and then what are the top issues you're looking at this election cycle honestly just are they a decent person who cares about other people even if those other people are different than them i think affordability is the top issue generally quality of life so that's housing groceries gas just to live your life and coming up u.s-based company Webull a popular online investment platform sharing sensitive U.S. data with Beijing, U.S. lawmakers are making the evidence public. The Department of War and Lockheed Martin reached a 10-year deal for the F-35 fighter jet. The plan would guarantee a minimum of 850 U.S. jets pending congressional approval. Jason Perry has more on that. 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. School, college, first-round draft pick, On and off the field, we were taught to not show any signs of weakness. During the football season, I would stop eating. But I didn't know I was depressed. I thought that something was wrong with me. For 20 plus years, it was physical, physical, physical. We didn't have any education behind what mental health was. I started to learn it starts here first. If this is together, I'll be better as a father, as a man, and as a husband. Put the importance on your mental health. I'm not scared to talk about it anymore. The first tool is therapy. The second one is positive self-talk. And then journaling. Putting your thoughts on paper. We have to redefine what being a strong man is. And heal, love your mind. When they learn something new and you can just see in their faces, it's such an incredible moment. it's those moments that are my favorite welcome back i'm Marlene Richards a u.s based company targeted by u.s lawmakers due to its china ties the house select committee on china outs popular digital investment platform Webull for exposing american investors data to china and lying about its business practices to the u.s government entities Tiffany Meyer has the story Webull is based in Florida. It claims that only its U.S.-based employees can access sensitive U.S. customer data, but newly released internal Microsoft Teams messages from 2021 seem to indicate otherwise. That message was between a manager at Webull's U.S. brokerage named Brandon Fuller and a Webull employee named Wang Zhenhan, whom the select committee suspects was in China at the time. When Wang asked who approved opening a trading account, Fuller said one China team member and one U.S. team. A spokesperson for the House Select Committee on China added there was evidence that Wang himself had access to U.S. customer data. This is just one of many pieces of evidence being used to scrutinize Webull. The Select Committee earlier this month had released this report, showing that Webull got its start as a shell company for Webull Financial LLC in the Cayman Islands, a known hotspot for Chinese shell companies. With ties to Fumi Technology and Hunan Weibo, two Chinese tech companies that have direct CCP funding. They even share personnel with each other. The report also lays out what Weibo's corporate structure is designed to bind software development, data pipelines, and core engineering operations to China's laws, which stipulate that Chinese companies must share data to the government whenever the government asks for it. It's the part of Chinese law that raises lots of security concerns around the world. Webull has about 28 million registered users worldwide, including millions in the U.S. The Department of War and Lockheed Martin announcing a 10-year framework agreement for the F-35 fighter jet. The plan would guarantee a minimum of 850 U.S. jets pending congressional approval. NTD's Jason Perry has the latest. The Department of War and Lockheed Martin on Thursday announcing a 10-year framework agreement for the F-35 Lightning II program. Under the plan, the U.S. would buy at least 850 F-35s over the next decade. Lockheed Martin has agreed to invest at least $7 billion of its own money in initiatives that support the F-35 program. Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet recently speaking on CNBC television about the benefits of long-term agreements. We have to change the relationship between government and industry at large. Part of the way to do that are these long-term agreements that will add a backlog that I think our investors will have to take notice of. What makes the F-35 so special? Air Force Major Jared Santos in 2014 explained the F-35's stealth capabilities differ from previous fighter jets. For example, in the past, if a mission was to take out a target, there would need to be 24 fighter jets to complete the mission. In order to support all those airplanes, you're going to need probably 10 tankers to refuel those fighters to get them into and out of the target area, as well as an AWACS in order to be able to control that. Instead, what you can do is you can send in four F-35s, they can sneak past the fighters, they can sneak past the surface-to-air missiles, they can bomb the target, and then they can defend themselves on the way out of the target area. The deal between the Department of War and Lockheed Martin is not final. It still needs congressional authorization and appropriations before it becomes a formal contract. The framework marks the Pentagon's latest push to lock in long-term production for one of its highest-profile aircraft programs. Jason Perry, NTD News. French President Emmanuel Macron says his country won't allow protests organized by non-legitimate groups anymore. Macron also admits that far-left groups are behind the riots and unrest across France. NTD's international correspondent, Ariane Pasdar, has the latest. We saw seditious acts carried out by organized far-left groups whose aim is to bring down the republic. French President Emmanuel Macron now blaming far-left extremists for the violence in his country. This just one day after he indirectly attacked President Trump, who long said that uncontrolled mass migration is among the reasons for the riots. Reports previously found that over 50 organizations are behind the unrest, among them communist groups and others. Let's be clear. They themselves openly intend to bring down the republic with extreme dangerousness, great violence and planning. Macron also says getting a permit to take to the streets will be more difficult now. A group of people which got a permit last minute is seen taking to the streets of Paris on Thursday. Those scenes look more organized than what we saw last weekend. However, France is already preparing for more unrest and violence to come back on Saturday and Sunday. The French interior minister wants to deploy the military over the weekend. And Macron says the new permit rules are meant to protect French cities. The requests will be examined by the cities in accordance with our laws. But alternative routes will be proposed to protect our city centers, particularly shops and public buildings. He added that most organizations should postpone their activities for now. Ariane Pasdar, NTD News. Rhode Island is suing Meta over its alleged tolerance for widespread scam advertising. It is the first such scams-related case to be brought against Meta by a state. Rhode Island accuses Meta of unlawfully profiting from and participating in the creation of billions of dollars in scam advertising on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The lawsuit claims Meta was profiting even as it assured its billions of users that it was working diligently to protect them. According to a Reuters report from last year cited in the lawsuit, Meta displays around 15 billion higher risk scam ads to users every day and earned roughly 10% of its 2024 revenue from fraudulent e-commerce Dubois Health products and other banned marketing. The lawsuit seeks monetary civil penalties for each of Meta's alleged violations of Rhode Island state law. Meta says it would fight the lawsuit, calling it unfounded. Now, you may have heard about or seen Shen Yun Performing Arts. Now, there's a chance to see the extraordinary techniques of Shen Yun dancers up close and for free. The company will soon premiere its 2026 Mid-Autumn Festival Technique Showcase. Each year during the Mid-Autumn Festival, Shen Yun's top dancers and rising stars gather at the company's headquarters in New York for a technique showcase. it offers viewers the chance to witness the art form behind the global phenomenon the showcase features the pinnacle of classical Chinese dance techniques this is your chance to learn more about how the dancers are able to do all the leaps spins and gravity defying flips to watch the showcase visit ganjingworld.com or use the Ganjing World app and go to the Shen Yun Creations channel. The showcase will premiere exclusively on Ganjing World on Saturday, October 24th at 8 p.m. Eastern, available for a limited time. And coming up in baseball injuries limited Shohei Ohtani to hitting only duties this postseason. Will that mean off-season surgery? Dave Martin joins us with the latest. If you're out there and you're watching this message, We need your help, and we need it now. This is a typical day at the outpatient department. Every day we see very many cases of children with severe pneumonia. All these children need to be seen, and they all need to be seen today. This is baby Priscilla. She's seven months old. When a child has pneumonia, you really need to move quick. This is like an infection in the baby's lungs. It really hurts for this child to be breathing. It feels like someone is squeezing your chest. If Priscilla doesn't get antibiotic treatment, it could lead to death. We need your support right now to help save children's lives like Priscilla's. Please call or go online to givetosave.org and give just $10 a month, only 33 cents a day. You can help us provide life-saving medicines, food, and essentials to children in the most need. The problem we have is we simply do not have enough medicine. It's very heartbreaking to see a child suffer like this. Please help children like Priscilla before it's too late. All we need are 1,000 monthly donors. Please call or go online with your monthly gift of just $10, only 33 cents a day. Your donation can help secure additional grants, which can multiply the impact of your support 10 times. and when you call with your credit card we will send you this Save the Children tote bag as a thank you for your support with your help we can save more lives so please help us your small monthly donation of just $10 could be the reason a child survives please call or go online to givetosave.org to help save lives Shen Yun Creations the streaming platform from Shen Yun featuring world class dance past programs and all original music master classes behind the scenes comedy and more explore Shen Yun Creations com with information everywhere access isn't the issue understanding is we're going to go behind the headlines and connect the dots for you we're going to drill down into why it matters to you keeping an eye on the biggest threats abroad and how you can stay safe here at home. And remember, news can be fun. At the end of the day, there's more that unites us than divides us. For sports news, we're joined by NTD's Dave Martin. Dave, good to see you as always and on a Thursday evening this time. Yeah, it's really messing up my schedule. I feel as if this should be Saturday. It's Thursday. It's Thursday, people. All right, so we're going to get started right in with baseball. We got something here with Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers superstar. He's played through some injuries late in the season that may have affected his performance. So is he planning to undergo surgery? It doesn't sound like it. Now, according to the Dodgers anyway, are saying just rest, no surgery, at least at this point. That's according to Dodgers president of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman. Friedman also said he fully expects Ohtani to pitch as well as hit next season. Now, this past year, Ohtani got off to a great start, at least pitching anyway, had a 1.79 ERA through 14 starts on the mound, which was one of the best in the majors. Certainly if he ended up with a 1.79 ERA, that would have been the best in the big leagues. But he was shut down early July, did not pitch again, had both a biceps and a knee issue. Those issues really didn't affect his hitting that much, though, at least until late in the season. Ohtani, they finally put him on the injured list in September. But he only hit one home run after August 19th, which is, of course, very unlike him. That was that three-run home run in the Game 4 loss to the Brewers that eliminated the Dodgers from the playoffs. Now, Ohtani, meanwhile, hit just .192 in eight playoff games, and he wasn't the only Dodger that struggled to hit. The team as a whole just hit .195 in the postseason in their series against Atlanta and Milwaukee. Milwaukee, of course, advancing to the World Series to play Tampa Bay. That series starts tomorrow night. So they can't blame it on Shohei Ohtani entirely, right? You know, they can. Of course, when $70 million is going to Ohtani and he's not hitting. I mean, last year, I got to say, the Dodgers were having similar issues. They were not really hitting. Ohtani had a couple of games where he went absolutely off and they got enough. They got enough. The Dodgers got enough hitting from some unsung heroes, really, you could say, in last year's playoffs. But they didn't really get any hitting from anyone this year, this time around. Brewers really beat them good. All right. So we're going to shift to NBA. 22 teams tipped off their season last night, including several All-Stars who've switched teams. So what do you make of them? You know, those stars mostly had success, except for probably the biggest one. That's Giannis Antetokounmpo, who's now with the Miami Heat. The two-time MVP scored 35 points in his Miami debut last night, but the team lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves, though, had their own newly acquired All-Star, LaMelo Ball. That was their first game with him. Ball scored 21 points in the win. Elsewhere, Toronto won their opener last night after acquiring Kawhi Leonard just a few weeks ago. Leonard had 23 points in their blowout win over Chicago. And in Portland, they have Ja Morant they got this summer, and they, of course, got Damian Lillard this summer before. Lillard missed all of last season with an injury. Those two have combined them to get a win over the Suns, 124-83. Tonight, Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets face Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the Thunder in a matchup of the last two MVPs. Also, we have LeBron James and the Sixers hosting James' former team, that's the Cleveland Cavs, in what will be the season opener for Cleveland. We've got two more games on tonight. So the new guys are making their mark here. Does that mean they're going to continue this, or is this just a lucky first time out? You know, I have high hopes for Minnesota with LaMelo Ball. I'll say that. I think that he's a good fit for their team. I would think Giannis and Miami are going to start winning here. I mean, Giannis wins wherever he goes. He was the big get this offseason. I don't know about Portland, though. Portland, really, outside of their guards, I'm not sure what they have. But they were right to take Lillard at. They didn't have to trade much for him because he was going to miss that whole season last year. I thought that was a good trade for them. Not that I'm expecting them to get contended for the title. So I'm not going to quite fully say it, I guess, at this point. All right, we'll wait until later and ask you again. Okay, so we're going to move to NFL news. We've got the Eagles have been without running back Saquon Barkley the last two games because of a hamstring injury. So what's the status going forward? Well, he will reportedly be playing in his next game. That's Monday night against the Dallas Cowboys. That's according to a report by the NFL Network. Now, it should be a nice boost for the Eagles, who are down to their fourth string running back because of injuries. And really, they've had to rebuild their offensive line as well with the retirement of Lane Johnson just a couple weeks ago. They also traded away Cam Juergens. And now quarterback Jalen Hurts has been shut down due to blood clot in his lungs. Really tough time for the Eagles, but they will play the Cowboys on Monday night football in Philadelphia. Now, tonight on Thursday night football, Patriots play at the Bears. Both teams have identical 4-2 records, and this is a matchup also between quarterbacks who are taken very high at the top of the 2024 NFL Draft. We have Caleb Williams of Chicago who went first overall, and then Drake May who went third overall. Both have been hot of late. Williams completed 30 of 36 passes for over 300 yards in last week's game. May, meanwhile, has thrown 10 touchdowns to just one interception over his last three games. All three were wins by the Patriots. So that's New England at Chicago tonight, 8.15 Eastern time. So make sure to get your fantasy football rosters set. You too, all right? All right. You know, I was going to ask you about Jalen Hurts because I heard that he had this blood clot and he played in London with it after it had already went to his lung. There's some controversy over that. There is a lot of controversy. The NFL has already said that they're not going to hold the Eagles responsible, but I'm very curious to see what the players' union says about this. I'm sure they're going to want to do a whole investigation of should he have actually played with this. We'll have to see. I mean, the NFL did their investigation. They didn't seem to find anything. You never know with the Players Union. Obviously, they're going to be looking out strongly for Hurts and for his, I mean, how much that could have put him at risk. Who knows? So we're still, the jury's still out on that one, I'll say this. Until the NFL Players Association says, okay, we're not going to say anything, it's still going to be a story that will be following us. Well, I hope it doesn't hurt him. I hope he'll be all right. It looks like they say he will make a full recovery, but it looks like he's out for the season. Right. So all right in that case, anyway. All right. Well, Dave, thank you so much for that report. Thank you, Arlene. All right. And that's all for today's news. For round-the-clock coverage, visit us at NTD.com or download our NTD app. I'm Arlene Richards. This is Dave Martin. We thank you so much for tuning in, and you have a good night. Performance that truly...