D4vd hearing: reporter says defendant watched gruesome photos “like a movie”
"I did not see him tear his eyes away from that screen. He looked at the screen like he was watching a movie."
About this episode
NewsNation’s Jesse Weber Live led with day-one testimony from the preliminary hearing of singer David Anthony Burke (known as “D4vd”), who has pleaded not guilty to charges including murder and continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14. Weber said prosecutors allege Burke killed 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez and later dismembered her body; guests Brian Entin and Lauren Conlin described graphic images shown in court and body-camera footage from an earlier police contact about the relationship. Conlin and Entin discussed investigators’ alleged findings, including explicit messages and alleged purchase-history evidence, while noting the defence’s attempts to probe evidence-handling and decomposition-related limitations.
The programme then turned to Washington, where Weber reported the Trump administration had paused roughly $1bn in Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota over suspected fraud, and contrasted it with the “sober living” Medicaid-fraud allegations in Arizona. Coverage also focused on a contentious Senate hearing in which Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs chair Gen Dan Caine sought additional funding for the US conflict with Iran, facing bipartisan questions about transparency, strategy, and the Strait of Hormuz.
Weber also reported that a US official told The Telegraph the White House would not intervene in the extradition case involving Andrew and Tristan Tate. Later segments examined AI’s growing role in China’s micro-drama industry and Hollywood labour concerns, and closed with a debate over renewed Amelia Earhart searches and a viral clip of a Delta pilot helping load luggage during delays.
Key takeaways
- Lauren Conlin and Brian Entin described disturbing evidence shown during day one of D4vd’s preliminary hearing, including images displayed in open court and earlier body-cam footage referenced by prosecutors.
- The defence’s early approach, according to guests, included questioning evidence handling and what could be established given decomposition and limited physical logging of certain items.
- Weber reported the Trump administration paused about $1bn in Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota over suspected fraud; Democratic governors said they were being targeted politically.
- Hegseth told senators he could not predict future costs of the Iran conflict, saying “the enemy has a vote”, amid demands for clearer objectives and transparency.
- Weber cited The Telegraph reporting that the White House would not intervene in the Andrew and Tristan Tate extradition matter.
- Actor Joe Flanigan argued AI will first displace “working class” cast and crew in entertainment rather than top stars, while raising questions about non-human storytelling.
- Aviation archaeologist Rick Gillespie disputed the premises of new Amelia Earhart searches, saying key imagery cited by others is “very clearly a dead tree.”