Third Round of Nuclear Talks With Iran; Hillary Clinton Deposition | NTD Evening News (Feb. 26)

Welcome to NTD Evening News. Our top story tonight, the U.S. and Iran holding round three of talks in Geneva. That's as they try to reach a breakthrough toward a nuclear deal. Mario Tsu at the White House. Cuba says it shot and killed four people on a U.S. registered boat. Secretary of State Marco Rubio responds. U.S. officials meeting with Ukrainian counterparts in Switzerland. Ariane Pazdar has what he says about President Trump's efforts and the next steps the U.S. is planning to take. The House Oversight Committee questioning former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today as part of their investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. Details on that and what the Senate plans to target in upcoming legislation. Chris Bobb with the updates. And new details about the FBI seizing phone records during the Biden presidency. Two current Trump officials were targeted before joining the administration. Melina Weiskopf reports. This is NTD Evening News, live from our global headquarters in New York City. Here's Tiffany Meyer. Good evening and thank you for joining us tonight. Special Envoy Steve Whitkoff and his team in Geneva for the third round of talks with Iran to try to reach a nuclear deal. This coming as President Trump threatens Iran with military action in his State of the Union address. We now go live to NTD's Washington correspondent Mario Tsu at the White House. Mari, good evening. Tiff, good evening. That's right. And today talks are wrapping up between the U.S. and Iran in Geneva. And that's as President Trump says diplomacy always comes first during his State of the Union address while also saying it's unacceptable that Iran has ballistic missiles that right now can reach Europe and U.S. bases overseas and that they're also working on missiles that could reach the U.S. And it's coming as Reuters is now reporting that Iran is very close to a deal with the Chinese regime to purchase anti-ship cruise missiles and that's missiles that weapons experts say could pose a significant threat to those U.S. naval forces that are building up there in the Gulf. And in his State of the Union, President Trump also touted Operation Midnight Hammer and his taking out of General Soleimani during his first term. Take a look. Wiped it out and they want to start all over again and at this moment again pursuing their sinister ambitions. We are in negotiations with them. They want to make a deal but we haven't heard those secret words. We will never have a nuclear weapon. My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy. But one thing is certain, I will never allow the world's number one sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon. President Trump's State of the Union address coming amid the largest military deployment in the Gulf since the 2003 buildup to the Iraq war. With the world's largest warship, the USS Ford, leaving southern Greece for the Middle East as the third round of talks begin in Geneva. Moments before the president's address, Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivering a classified briefing on Iran to the Gang of Eight. Iran poses a very great threat to the United States and has for a very long time. After their nuclear program was obliterated, they were told not to try to restart it and here they are. You can see them always trying to rebuild elements of it. They're not enriching right now but they're trying to get to the point where they ultimately can. Rubio says it's clear the regime has not abandoned their desire to enrich again and that they're trying to achieve intercontinental ballistic missiles, something the regime has refused to talk about. We saw North Korea do it. We've seen other countries do it in the past and we would view that as a grave threat to the United States. But already now they possess missiles that threaten American interests. As we speak, they possess thousands of short-range ballistic missiles that can reach US bases located in the in the United Arab Emirates throughout the region. According to Iran International, since last month over 36,000 people have been killed in the Iranian regime's crackdown on anti-government protesters. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham saying that if America helps the Iranian people, we'll have a 21st century Berlin Wall moment. He predicts the Ayatollah's fall will trigger a sequence of events similar to Reagan's USSR takedown. This regime is made up of religious Nazis that are the largest state sponsor of terrorism. The regime has American blood on its hands and they have killed over 30,000 of their citizens simply because they demand the end to their oppression. I would like to see the people of Iran change the regime. It's long overdue. Vice President J.D. Vance, when asked if the Ayatollah has to go, says I think the president ultimately will make the decision about how to ensure Iran does not have a nuclear weapon. I think the supreme leader and everybody in their system should understand it. We've been crystal clear and we're hopeful that we're able to come to a good resolution without the military. But if we have to use the military, the president, of course, has that right. Meanwhile, Tiff, here at the White House, President Trump today had a closed door meeting with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for the second time. Mamdani said after that they had a productive meeting and that he looks forward to building more housing in New York City. And despite the fact that President Trump has called Mamdani recently in his State of the Union address a communist with very bad policy and Mamdani has called President Trump a fascist, the two did have a surprisingly amicable meeting last November vowing to work together with President Trump saying that's something they have in common is they both want the city that they love to do well. Back to you. All right, Mari, thanks for those updates. After the Cuban regime says four people aboard a U.S. registered boat were shot and killed by its Coast Guard, Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the U.S. is investigating and will have answers soon. NTD correspondent Jason Blair has more. It's highly unusual to see shootouts in open sea like that. It's not something that happens every day. It's something, frankly, that hasn't happened with Cuba in a very long time. The Cuban communist regime says its Coast Guard shot and killed four people and injured six others on board a boat that entered its territorial waters on Wednesday. The regime claims that when its Coast Guard approached the boat, the occupants started firing weapons and the Coast Guard returned fire. Cuba also says the boat is registered in the U.S. and claims that the individuals were planning to infiltrate Cuba and commit acts of terrorism. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that his department won't base any conclusions on the information the Cuban regime has revealed. We will verify that independently and we'll, as we gather more information, then we'll be prepared to respond accordingly. The Florida attorney general says that communist Cuba can't be trusted and quote, I've directed the Office of Statewide Prosecution to work with our federal, state and law enforcement partners to begin an investigation. Florida Congressman and Cuban American Carlos Jimenez says that the U.S. can't take Cuba at its word. I don't trust the Cuban government in anything. I don't trust anything that they say. Their story has already changed and so we need to find out exactly what happened. Jimenez says that the Cuban regime claimed that individuals were traveling in a speedboat and that's not the case. It is a 24-foot open fisherman with one 300 horsepower engine and you got 10 people on it, it's not going to go very fast and so the original story was that they were transporting, it was human, you know, smuggling and now that they're terrorists so again they're changing their story. Rubio says the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Embassy in Havana are all investigating. We have our embassy on the ground in Havana working this as we speak, asking for access to the people that were on those vessels if they were American citizens or permanent residents. According to the Cuban regime that the boat was registered in Florida, we're tracking that down. We will know shortly. Rubio says that he's confident the U.S. will know the whole story soon. Jason Blair, Entity News. U.S. officials meeting with Ukrainian counterparts in Switzerland today. Kyiv says Russia bombed multiple Ukrainian cities just hours before the talks. NTD's international correspondent Arianne Pasdar has the latest. A U.S. delegation seen arriving in Switzerland for talks with Ukrainian officials on Thursday. Special Envoy Steve Whitcock and President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner are representing the U.S. The meeting in Geneva focusing on post-war reconstruction. Peace talks with Russia are a bit slow as Kyiv reports that Russia pounded infrastructure and civilian targets across Ukraine overnight. Explosions lighting up the sky above Kyiv overnight on Thursday. According to Ukraine, Russia launched over 400 drones and almost 40 missiles, injuring dozens of civilians and damaging infrastructure across the country. It's very frightening. Should I leave for another country? I don't want to. Ukraine is my country. I've lived here all my life. The Ukrainian side says Thursday's talks took place in two formats. First, the American side met with the Ukrainian delegation only. They later also held a trilateral meeting, which included officials from Switzerland. After the talks, the U.S. officials joined a call with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who says he's thankful for President Trump's efforts to stop the fighting. Kyiv says one of the main goals of Thursday's talks was to prepare for the next trilateral meeting with Russia, which should be as productive as possible. Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying the U.S. knows that the war in Ukraine does not have a military solution. That war will be settled through a negotiation. And right now we are the only country in the world that can be a catalyst for negotiation. If we forfeit that role, no one else can do it. Rubio also pushing back against claims that the Trump administration isn't doing enough to pressure Russia. The administration continues to sell weaponry to Ukraine. We don't sell weapons to Russia. We don't sanction Ukraine. Zelensky says the next U.S.-led trilateral talks with Russia and Ukraine will likely take place in early March. Arijn Pasdar, NTD News. New details emerging about the FBI's collection of phone records. During the Biden administration, the FBI seized phone records of two people who are now top Trump administration officials. NTD's Melina Weisskopf has the latest. We're now learning that the FBI's reach was further than just obtaining phone records from Republican lawmakers at the time that the DOJ was investigating Trump in several cases. FBI Director Kash Patel and Trump's current Chief of Staff Susie Wiles were also targets of the FBI. The bureau under Biden's presidency obtained phone records from these two, Patel and Wiles, two current Trump officials at the time that they were private citizens. Both Patel and Wiles have long been close allies of the president, even before the start of this administration. And notably, they held close ties with Trump leading up to and during his 2024 campaign. Their phone records were seized around the time of the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case. And FBI Director Kash Patel said investigators used subpoenas to obtain something known as toll records, which shows the timing and people involved on calls, but not the content of the conversations. Still, Patel called the move outrageous and deeply alarming that the previous FBI leadership secretly subpoenaed their records. The big concern here is how hidden this process was. Patel said the process and the related files were buried in prohibited case files designed to evade all oversight. Former special counsel Jack Smith, when testifying to Congress recently, was under fire from Republicans for the seizure of lawmakers' records, but Smith asserted he followed the laws and DOJ procedures. Patel said he recently ended the FBI's ability to categorize files as prohibited, to try to prevent something like this from being hidden in the future. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Melina Weiskopf, NTD News. While House lawmakers shift their focus to their home districts, the House Oversight Committee was in Chappaqua, New York, to depose former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. The Senate, meanwhile, remains in Washington, advancing legislation to limit Wall Street's role in the housing market. NTD's Chris Baugh has more. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee traveling to Chappaqua, New York, on Thursday, performing a closed-door deposition of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as part of their investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. Clinton earlier providing her four-page opening statement via X, saying, quote, The committee justified its subpoena to me based on its assumption that I have information regarding the investigations into criminal activities of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Let me be as clear as I can, I do not. As I stated in my sworn declaration on January 13, I had no idea about their criminal activities. I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes, or offices. I have nothing to add to that. Before the deposition, Committee Chairman James Comer stressing that this action is bipartisan and explaining why Clinton is being questioned. The Democrats voted to subpoena the Clintons. The Democrats voted with the Republicans to hold the Clintons in contempt. So the Democrats have just as many questions for the Clintons as the Republicans. So this— Maxwell is the main co-conspirator. Obviously, Maxwell was a guest at Chelsea Clinton's wedding. There weren't many people that went to that wedding. Jeffrey Epstein said many times in emails that he was the first person to raise money for the Clinton Initiative, the Clinton Foundation, that he solicited money at some of his properties for the Clinton Foundation. Again, that's not saying anything's illegal, but there are a lot of questions pertaining to Secretary Clinton. The Senate, meanwhile, continuing to hold hearings in D.C. Thursday, working on legislation. A bipartisan alliance is taking aim at Wall Street's role in the housing market. Republican Senator Josh Hawley and Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley say corporate investors are crowding out families and driving up home prices nationwide. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren taking to X following the State of the Union on Tuesday after President Trump reiterated that he does not want corporations buying single-family homes. And what's he doing to get private equity out of the home-buying market? Uh, nothing. Hawley and Merkley introduced the Homes for American Families Act, a bill that would prohibit large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes. They're also reviving an updated version of the Hope for Homeownership Act. It would use tax policy to push hedge funds and corporate landlords to divest existing holdings in single-family housing. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Chris Bobb, NTD News. And former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has finished her deposition. Following the hearing, Clinton telling reporters that the questioning was repetitive, that a committee member had leaked her photo, and that lawmakers asked her questions about UFOs in Pizzagate as well as about her knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein, whom she maintained she had no contact with. Clinton also confirming that Ghislaine Maxwell was the plus one of an invited guest to her daughter Chelsea Clinton's wedding in 2010. Clinton saying she would like the full transcript and video to be released as soon as possible. I've just finished. I answered every one of their questions as fully as I could based on what I knew, and what I knew is what I said in my statement this morning. I never met Jeffrey Epstein, never had any connection or communication with him. And today the president and CEO of the World Economic Forum announced that he is stepping down after an independent investigation into his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Recently released documents show that Borger-Brende had attended business dinners with Epstein in 2018 and 2019 and exchanged emails and texts with him. Brende denies having any knowledge of Epstein's criminal activity at the time. Coming up, the Supreme Court has more hot cases coming up for oral arguments in the next several months. Arlene Richards gives highlights on some of the most compelling issues. The plaintiff in the social media addiction trial taking the stand today telling jurors she created around 10 YouTube accounts by age 10 and describing how chasing likes and followers began to impact her sense of self-worth. Christina Corona reports three Chinese scientists are now off the hook after the Chinese regime intervenes in a smuggling case. The Justice Department had charged them with smuggling biological materials into the country. David Lam brings us more. Welcome back. I'm Tiffany Meyer. A federal judge is allowing the Trump administration to continue construction of a 400 million dollar ballroom at the White House. The National Trust for Historic Preservation had sued to stop the project from moving forward. President Trump welcomed the decision calling the ruling great news for America. Trump took to Truth Social saying construction was ahead of schedule and under budget. The president added that the new ballroom would quote stand long into the future as a symbol to the greatness of America. The White House announced a new ballroom project over the summer. According to the White House, construction of the 90,000 square foot space is being funded by private donations including from Trump. The Supreme Court is poised to hear arguments on major constitutional and legal issues over the next several months. NTD's Arlene Richards breaks down some of the top cases. In the coming months the Supreme Court will hear some tough issues including the constitutionality of President Trump's birthright citizenship policy and the arrival dates for mail-in ballots. Birthright citizenship. Ending birthright citizenship which now comes to the fore. On April 1st the nine justices will hear arguments over whether or not Trump's executive order to withhold citizenship from the children of illegal immigrants complies with the citizenship clause of the 14th amendment. The clause guarantees citizenship to people born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof. That we've understood for more than 100 years well over 100 years to say that it doesn't matter what the status of your parents are if you're born in this country then you are a citizen of this country. That was meant for the babies of slaves it wasn't meant for people trying to scam the system and come into the country. Trump says the clause doesn't apply to mothers who are in the country temporarily or unlawfully and if their fathers likewise are not legal citizens. It has created this perverse incentive for people to come here illegally and if they have a child then at that point that child would be a citizen under that interpretation. The president is guessing that the court will rule against him. He said in a recent post that the court would likely rule in favor of China and other nations and allow them to make a fortune. In April the court will hear the arguments that will ultimately lead to a ruling that either supports Trump's immigration policy or upholds a potential misunderstanding that's been followed for decades. Mail-in ballots on March 23rd the high court will consider whether states can count mail-in ballots received after election day. The Republican National Committee and others alleged Mississippi violated a federal law by allowing mail-in ballots to be counted as long as they are received within five business days after election day. A lower court said it's illegal. Several states adopted the mail-in ballot rule in 2020 during the COVID pandemic. State after state after state anti-integrity vote in voting groups sued state after state to get rid of the all the safeguards. Mississippi has argued that an election is the conclusive choice of an officer. The committee has warned that allowing states to change the law could cause chaos and flip the results of an election. A decision is expected before the upcoming midterm primaries. Other top issues coming up include gun rights for drug users, asylum at the U.S. Mexico border and the potential cancer risk of Monsanto's weed killer. Arlene Richards, NTD News. Jurors today heard directly from the plaintiff in the social media addiction trial in Los Angeles. The 20-year-old testified how her social media use affected her depression and mental health. NTD's Christina Corona tells us more from the courthouse. We're outside the Los Angeles Superior Courthouse where today jurors heard from the 20-year-old plaintiff Kaylee G.M. and her testimony started off by her attorney showing pictures from her childhood such as photos from her previous birthday parties, pictures with her parents and horseback riding but the testimony quickly shifted to her social media use. Kaylee testified she started watching YouTube just six years old. By the age of eight she had created her own account entering a random age in her profile. She posted videos and closely tracked likes and subscribers. She told jurors she had about 10 YouTube accounts and posted more than 100 videos by the time she was 10. She said she even created additional accounts and asked family members to create accounts to boost her likes comments and subscribers. She also testified that around that same time she had about 15 Instagram accounts. She said she used outside apps where she would like other people's photos and in return receive more likes on her main account. When asked whether she became addicted Kaylee testified she would sneak onto her phone in the middle of the night and at school to constantly check likes comments and followers. She told jurors whenever I got a bunch of likes I was really happy and when I didn't I felt insecure like I looked ugly. It messed with my self-worth. She testified that even when she was bullied online she continued using the apps because being off social media felt worse than the bullying. Kaylee also said that when her mom took her phone away she became anxious and depressed and at times threatened to harm herself telling jurors I wanted it back because I felt like a huge part of me was missing. She also testified that from a young age she frequently used beauty filters and at one point had edited almost all of her photos. She told jurors she relied on filters to feel better about herself and has since been diagnosed with body dysmorphia. Kaylee is expected to testify through Thursday afternoon and possibly into Friday. The YouTube CEO is expected to testify sometime next week. Reporting from downtown Los Angeles, Christina Corona, NTV News. A former U.S. Air Force pilot has been arrested for allegedly providing defense services to the Chinese military. Federal officials say 65-year-old Gerald Eddie Brown Jr. was taken into custody in Indiana. The former F-35 instructor pilot was charged with violating the Arms Expert Control Act. Prosecutors allege Brown conspired to train pilots with China's People's Liberation Army Air Force without the required State Department license. According to the complaint, Brown traveled to China in late 2023. He allegedly provided combat aircraft instruction there after coordinating with foreign nationals. One of those individuals was a previously convicted Chinese hacker tied to military espionage. The Justice Department and the FBI saying the case underscores growing efforts by Beijing to exploit former U.S. military expertise. They vowed to hold anyone who assists America's adversaries accountable. Three Chinese scientists are off the hook after the Justice Department charged them with smuggling biological materials into the country. Their lawyers say the Chinese regime helped to tip the scale. NTV's David Lam reports. In a criminal case against several Chinese nationals, American defense attorneys say the Chinese regime intervened and helped get the case dismissed. The Justice Department charged three Chinese scientists with smuggling materials, mostly tiny transparent round worms, from China into the U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi says the government must be vigilant when foreign nationals try to advance a malicious agenda. The three were in jail for more than three months while the case was pending, but a judge suddenly dismissed the charges on February 5th. The scientists then traveled back to China. Their American defense attorneys say they were told there was intervention by the Chinese consulate in Chicago and that its involvement, quote, moved the needle. One attorney said, we get this phone call saying China is negotiating with the U.S. over these three students. Serious talks. According to the DOJ, all three men were research scholars holding visas and were temporarily researching at the University of Michigan Laboratory of Xinjiang Xu, commonly referred to as the Shanshu Laboratory. DOJ says that in 2024 and 2025, two of the individuals received the materials, which had been shipped from China, and that the university initiated an investigation in which the three refused to participate, at which point they were terminated by the school. David Lam, NTD News. An update on jailed Hong Kong democracy advocate and media tycoon Jimmy Lai winning an appeal today, overturning his 2022 fraud conviction. A Hong Kong appeals court ruling that prosecutors failed to prove Lai had committed rent fraud. In the original conviction, prosecutors had accused Lai and a business partner of breaching a commercial rental contract. They allege that Lai's now defunct Apple Daily newspaper allowed a consulting firm he ran to use space in the building. The lease specified that the space could be used only for publishing and printing. In its decision, the appeals court wrote that prosecutors had not proven the two men's guilt. Lai had previously been sentenced to nearly six years in jail in this case. Despite this ruling, the 78-year-old former publisher remains behind bars on separate national security charges. Lai is currently serving a 20-year sentence under China's national security law. He denies any wrongdoing. Coming up, does President Trump's State of the Union address help Republicans heading into the midterms? We look into which party has more momentum with our guest Professor Luke Nichter from Chapman University. Welcome back. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Looking ahead to this year's November midterms, how well positioned are Republicans in Congress and does President Trump's State of the Union address help? Joining us now is Luke Nichter, Professor of Presidential Studies at Chapman University in California. Professor, thank you so much for joining us. Great to have you now. The State of our Union is long. President Trump delivering a very lengthy speech Tuesday night, a lot of memorable moments, a lot of medals. What stood out the most to you that night? I think what stood out to me, first of all, it was long. I felt like I got sucked into it. It didn't feel as long as it really was. But I think what stood out to me was that this is a different kind of State of the Union. This is what a State of the Union is like. We haven't had a president with two non-consecutive terms since Grover Cleveland. And so a lot of the speech was dedicated to review, a review of things that occurred in this term, but also going back to the first Trump term. And I think the overall message I take away to voters, which I think President Trump is hoping is successful, is these are the reasons to continue voting Republican. And these are the reasons to stay tuned in all the way to November and to maintain those Republican majorities in the House and the Senate. And on that note, how effective was the president's State of the Union speech in putting the Democratic Party on defense? Oh, I think it was enormously effective. I think especially the very last part of the speech when he refers to the 250th anniversary of the country, I think was maybe the most poetic moment that I can recall in a Trump speech. Of course, on the other side, he's going against the weight of history. Presidents typically lose support in the House or the Senate in a midterm election. I don't know whether historically we should think of this as his first midterm term or as his second or something else entirely. So ordinarily, presidents lose the House or the Senate. But of course, President Trump is no ordinary political leader. That's a good point. And a striking moment was when President Trump asked the room to stand. I actually want to play a bit of that now. So tonight I'm inviting every legislature to join with my administration in reaffirming a fundamental principle. If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support. The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens. And Professor, how could that visual of the Democrats remaining seated there play out in the midterms? Could it hurt their chances or are the midterms still too far out? I think actually the example there you selected is really a perfect analogy for where we're at in politics. I think Republicans, they see how can both parties not stand up, you know, for such a common sense statement, you know, as was made there. And I think for many Democrats, it's, you know, there's no cost too high to bear to try to obstruct everything that President Trump does during his remaining time in office. I think the real question for us between now and November is how do moments like that translate to the heartland, you know, and to voters. And I want to dig into the topic of immigration. Today, a new poll shows where Democrats stand on the issue. Let's actually play a clip of that now. This, I think, is so important to note. After all the events in Los Angeles, after all the events in Minneapolis, after all the events of the last year on immigration, can Democrats actually take advantage on this issue? And a look at the polling suggests actually no, they're in a worse position, in a worse position than they were at this point during Donald Trump's first term. Take a look here. Trust which party more on immigration? In 2018, Democrats had an edge of about six points. You come over to this side of the screen now, look at that. Republicans are the ones who have actually have an edge on immigration. Professor White, do you think that is? Oh, it's a fascinating issue. I think most of the time we would say it's the economy that's going to be number one. But this is one of those wildcard issues that could really remain unpredictable in the coming, you know, eight months. I think, again, I go back to how do most Americans feel about this in the heartland? You know, not in the news studios. I think, you know, I think there's probably room between the polar opposite positions between there should be no border, there should be no ice. And on the other hand, you know that ice can do no wrong. I think most Americans agree that we should be a nation of laws. And what I'm looking for is, are there any politicians on either side of the aisle who can step forward and compromise and figure out how do we move forward? As you mentioned the economy, I want to talk about affordability. That was the main line in the Democratic rebuttal. Now, President Trump talked a lot about the economy. Do you think Americans share his views on the state of our economy? You know, the American electorate is notoriously fickle. The trouble is, you know, frequently what they have in mind when they go to the polls is what have you done for me lately? And, you know, you can solve the price of gas today, and you can solve the price of eggs tomorrow, but then people are going to forget that in a month or two. And their focus will be, of course, turned to something else as life for most of us does. And so I think that's the challenge for President Trump, is a lot of these statements and a lot of the review that's in the speech. You know, some people are going to remember those points from last year or even from his first term, but a lot of people aren't. And come October and November, they're going to want to know what have you, you know, how am I feeling then? And what's going on today or last year is going to seem like ancient history. And expanding on that, Professor, if they want to win over swing voters, how should the Republicans and Democrats tackle the issue of the economy heading into the midterms? It's really tough. You know, on the one hand, as we said, you know, the incumbent party in the White House normally loses support. Trump, of course, is no ordinary politician. It's much easier to run as an insurgent and get lots of attention and energy. But the problem is when you're defending your party in the midterm, you've become the status quo. You've become the establishment. And it's much harder to keep that energy level high and to convince your supporters, but I still really need you to turn out, you know, this fall. And of course, plenty of elections have been decided by razor thin majorities. And if only it hadn't rained in a few precincts, the outcome could have been enough to make a difference. So I think for Republicans, it's going to take a gimmick. We've heard talk of maybe a midterm convention. I think in lots of past elections, there's been October surprises. I think people on both sides are going to need fresh ideas, and both parties are not going to necessarily be able to rely on past positions and past statements of opposition to drive forward all the way to November. As you mentioned, a lot to watch for here. Professor Luke Nichter, thank you so much for joining us. My pleasure. Coming up in college football, Cincinnati is suing their former quarterback looking for a million dollar payout. Dave Martin joins us to discuss. And now for your sports news, we're joined by NTT's Dave Martin. Dave, we've got some college football, some NFL news, but let's start in baseball, as the Toronto Blue Jays have reportedly agreed to re-sign all-star pitcher Max Scherzer to a one-year contract. Why do you think Toronto would wait until spring training has already started to sign him? Yeah, I mean, they already lost fellow starter Bowden Francis for the season with an arm injury, plus Shane Bieber, another starter with them, is experiencing forearm fatigue. And Bieber himself has really missed most of the two seasons with an injury, so there's certainly a need there. Now, fortunately for Toronto, they already signed starter Dylan Cease this offseason to a nine-figure contract. He is about as dependable as they come. Plus, last fall, rookie Trey Yasavage really emerged as a good-looking prospect for the future. He's just 21 years old, so they're in good hands there. Now, meanwhile, what may have sealed the deal, Scherzer's wife, Erica, posted a picture of a young daughter, Brooke, wrote to the Blue Jays back in December, expressing how much she'd like to stay in Toronto. And there it is here. You can see the Dear Blue Jays, D-E-R-E. I want to say that you... I am sorry that you didn't win the World Series. I hope that you win next time. I hope my dad is back on the team. My whole family loves spending time in Toronto with our dad. We loved the aquarium, the CN Tower, and, of course, the stadium. I look forward to coming back soon. Those were actually written two months ago. They're a couple months late, but I really feel that kind of sealed the deal, you know? So I liked her penmanship there, too. I was impressed you could read that. You know, I've stared at it for about 30 minutes today to decipher it. Well, you did a good job. Shifting gears to college football, the Cincinnati Bearcats are suing former quarterback Brennan Soresby after he transferred to Texas Tech last month. What's going on here? Yeah, this is another NIL dispute. Now, this one is over Soresby's $1 million exit fee that the school says was owed to them within 30 days of his transfer. Now, since he said he signed an 18-month agreement that didn't expire until December of 2026, but Soresby notified the school in December 2025 he was done playing for them, that he was not going to play in their bowl game that was on January 2nd. Soresby then entered the transfer pool that same day, January 2nd, signed an NIL deal with Texas, reportedly worth between four and six million dollars. Now, the lawsuit then said he violated his NIL deal with Cincinnati when his image was seen in a digital billboard in Times Square announcing his transfer to Texas Tech. Now, Soresby's agent, meanwhile, calls the lawsuit misguided. Soresby, of course, is a very good quarterback through for the 2,800 yards and 27 touchdown passes versus just five interceptions last year. He also ran for more than 580 yards. Now, Cincinnati finished last year with a 7-6 record. Texas Tech, meanwhile, won the Big 12 with a 12-2 record. These two schools, both in the Big 12, and guess what, Tiff? They play next season. So, this could be a very interesting one. Soresby will have to come back to Cincinnati back in October with Texas Tech. So, it could be an interesting one. You never know. It could be spicy. It could be spicy. I want to watch that one. Was the Times Square billboard how the Bearcats found out about the transfer? No, no, because you have to enter the transfer portal first and you have to tell, like, the school technically enters in you. That would have been quite the way to find out, though. All of a sudden, seeing the billboard saying, oh, goodbye, I already left. That would be quite the way to do it, you know, ghosting your old team. Then next fall's game would be very spicy. That'd be kind of fun, though. It'll be mild spice. All right, well, looking at NFL News, the agent for Indianapolis Colts quarterback, Anthony Richardson, says they've given him permission to seek a trade. Yeah, Richardson's agent confirmed that to ESPN today. Now, even though Richardson was a first-round pick just three years ago, it's not a total surprise given that he was beat out by veteran Daniel Jones for the starting quarterback job this past season. Jones then had a tremendous season for the Colts, running for more than 3,000 yards in just 13 games. I think this probably signals that the Colts are planning to re-sign Jones. Now, meanwhile, Richardson, he still has plenty of value left. I mean, he was just 20 years old when the Colts simply took him in the first round three years ago. That's just a year older than Fernando Mendoza, who's expected to be the first pick in the draft this year. Elsewhere in the league, the New York Jets have reportedly agreed to trade defensive end Jermaine Johnson to the Tennessee Titans for defensive tackle Tavondre Sweat in a very rare player-for-player trade. No draft picks reportedly involved. I don't get to say those player-for-player trades. Normally it's like for a draft pick and stuff like that. So the most I've felt, these two guys are pretty even here. We'll add that to the record books. The terms you get to say. Yeah, it's a very rare rarity. Mark this day down, everyone. Maybe we'll have the like rare cards. Like, you know, anyway. Yeah, the bingo. Nobody had this on their bingo card today. Moving to NBA action tonight. We have 10 games on the schedule. What matches stand out to you? Well, I think Brooklyn hosting San Antonio tonight. Now, after last night's win in Toronto by the Spurs, they've won 10 straight games. It is the longest winning streak currently in the NBA. They now trail the Oklahoma City Thunder by just two games in the Western Conference. Personally, I did not think the Spurs would turn around this quickly. They went just 34-48 last year, missing the playoffs for a sixth straight season. This year, they are 42-16. Those 42 wins are already the most they've had since 2019. And there's still 24 games left in this season. Amazingly, they are not the biggest surprise of the NBA. That would be the Detroit Pistons, who have the best record in the league, just ahead of both the Spurs and the Thunder. The Spurs are at Brooklyn tonight, starting at 7.30 Eastern time, just to summarize it for you, in case you want to watch that. So, get ready for train delays. Exactly. Or packed trains, maybe not delays. Yeah, we've had enough of those delays this week with the weather. So, packed, we'll say packed trains. That's right. You might miss your train because they're packed. Yes, if you're traveling in Brooklyn, you might miss your train. All right, well, Davis Ellis, thanks for joining us. Thank you, Tiff. And that's all for today's news. For around the clock coverage, visit us at ntd.com slash live, or download our NTD app. Thanks for tuning in. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Good night.