i'm katie porter and i approve this message. show, the economy grew 3% last year. inflation has slowed, unemployment is low. so why are so many in the bay area and america are feeling gloomy about things the 40 niners hope for, not just a win on the scoreboard, but at at the sunday's nfc championship game. but also a win in terms of the entertainment. but first,

despite the drop in cancer deaths for 30 years, the us is seeing an alarming rise in prostate cancer cases. and we'll tell you more about that. you are watching, getting answers. i'm kristen sze. thanks for joining us. the eyes of the medical world are on prostate health because of the diagnoses of three prominent men today. britain's king charles was admitted to the hospital to be treated for an enlarged prostate this week. the youngest son of doctor martin luther king junior dexter scott king died at age 62 after a battle with prostate cancer. and last month, defense secretary lloyd austin underwent surgery for prostate cancer, joining us live now to discuss the latest in prostate health is doctor samuel washington, urologist at ucsf health. thank you so much. i really appreciate you joining us. doctor washington, thank you for taking the time or giving me the opportunity. well, let's start with the latest headline. and i know this case is not cancer, but king charles, his press team said it is benign. what is an

enlarged prostate? it >> well, the prostate is a gland that uh- many patients are people are born with that helps secrete fluid that nourishes sperms uh- it is a gland that enlarges over time and can cause problems, particularly those related to urination. in, you know, men over the age of 50, roughly 50% of them will have some enlargement of the prostate over time as they age. okay so that sounds like it's pretty common, right? >> so how much should we be concerned about this in the sense that does it increase your chances for cancer later on? is it linked to cancer. >> yeah. we haven't seen a strong correlation between the size of the prostate and cancer risk. we see a stronger relationship between age and race to prostate cancer risk, for example. >> that's what i do want to really dive into here because tragically, doctor martin luther king jr's youngest son dexter, succumbed to prostate cancer only early 60s and simultaneously, defense

secretary lloyd austin is battling prostate cancer. these two cases, and of course, new data are drawing new attention to the disease, especially as it pertains to black men. right. can you talk to us about the new information? >> yeah, i think there's a lot more information in addition to what we already know about prostate cancer and the burden uh- for all men, but particularly for populations like african american men who harbor increased deaths relative to their uh- proportion of the population. >> so no, just increase deaths or also increased cases to a larger uh- relative proportion of cases. >> so more cases later found a kind of a later stage of disease and worse deaths. >> so can you give me a sense for like one in how many versus men at large? >> yeah. so if we were to look at the overall us population over 288,000 are diagnosed in each year, almost 35,000 pass

away from prostate cancer for african american men, this will represent uh- uh- upwards 37% of new diagnoses each year and still remains the second most common cause of death. uh- cancer death for african american men. >> that is concerning, especially because overall cancer deaths have been going down in the us for 30 years or so. right? so what what accounts for this? >> it's an interesting question. initially we thought it was all biology. there must be something different about the tumor and how it grows. but we've learned that it's multifactorial related to when people are screened, when they're diagnosed, when they're treated, and how they're treated. all of these factors play into the timely treatment and death or survival from prostate cancer. >> so does that mean less frequent screenings, maybe lesser quality of health care in general? is that why maybe caught later and harder to treat

. >> correct. unfortunately, we've seen kind of all of those, particularly in african american and black men, we see lower rates of screening longer time to diagnosis, longer time to treatment, which means less opportunity to cure this cancer when we could have. >> can you talk about the treatment and the importance of catching it early? >> it's incredibly important for us to catch it when it's contained within the prostate. uh- if we find it in the prostate and only in the prostate, we can do things like surgery to remove the prostate or radiation to treat the prostate in place, or even focal therapy. so we treat just the troublesome area of cancer and leave the rest of the prostate alone, for lack of a better tum. >> all right. so given what we know, how do we make it better? how do we close that racial gap? and how do we reduce the number of, you know, cases that have bad outcomes overall in our population of men?

>> yeah, it's going to take a lot of efforts at a lot of different levels, starting with screening, making sure that men understand what their psa is, the blood test that we use to start the conversation about prostate cancer screening and the risk of poor outcomes from prostate cancer after diagnosis. and then it means timely treatment and workup by urologists, such as myself. um, for us to see these patients, get them in and understand what extent their disease has grown, uh, since diagnosis and get them to timely treat. >> so if members of the audience are watching this, what at age would you say, hey, you know, start really paying attention to this? and are there particular symptoms that you would say, hey, come see me now? yeah i think it's always important for people to know the number. >> interestingly, all our societies vary a little bit on the time, so people we say now age of 40, 45 should get a

baseline blood test and know what that number is. if they have questions, they should come see us. typically, prostate cancer doesn't cause any symptoms if it's only contained in the prostate, which is why it can often be missed. or we can catch it later than we would like. so getting that blood test the number up front and having the discussion is really key. >> all right. doctor samuel washington, urologist at ucsf health. thank you for coming on and sharing your expertise. >> thank you. thanks for having me. >> up next, a report out today shows the u.s. economy is booming. but does it really feel that way? we'll look at the numbers and the impact this could ha

be a very good economic year. abc news reporter reena roy takes a look at the impact of the numbers. >> the us economy is much stronger than expected, with a new report showing inflation cooling even further, prices rising just 0.2% from november to december. and the latest gdp report showing 3.3% growth in the fourth quarter of last year. >> we have an economy that has been growing at a good, healthy pace. i see no reason why that can't continue. i think. 2024 is going to be a very good economic year. >> the strong growth driven by increases in consumer spending and exports, state and local government spending fears of a recession diminishing for treasury secretary janet yellen. yellen sitting down with abc for

an exclusive interview. >> but no reason right now why there would be a recession. there's no obvious reason why there would be. >> president biden touting the report, praising americans for an economy that's exceeding expectations thanks to the american people, america now is the strongest growth, the lowest inflation rate of any major economy in the world. as biden gears up for the election, he's been stressing how positive americans are feeling about the economy and crediting his policies for this strong growth. with the economy expected to be a key issue for voters in november. reena roy abc news, new york. >> well, these latest numbers do paint a rosy picture of the american economy, but why does it not feel so rosy for so many people? where is the reality between heyday statistics and a doomsday outlook? joining us live now to discuss this is stanford economics professor neil mahoney. and i should mention that professor mahoney, you also just finished a run as white house special policy

adviser. right. did the biden white house uh- that is correct. >> and now i'm back in the bay area. all right. >> excellent. and thank you for making the time to talk about this with us. look, when we say the economy grew at an annualized pace of 3.3, what is that exactly mean? what was measured. >> yeah. so maybe just stepping back right about a year ago, if you polled wall street economists, virtually everyone was was predicting a recession next year. uh- bloomberg's economists, 100% chance of recession in the next year. uh- over the last two weeks, we've seen sort of the full set of economic indicators and every single one, including the gdp measure. uh- you mentioned, is strong or very strong. uh. so just to tick through a few of them, inflation is down. um you know, very close. now to the fed's target of 2. uh, the labor

market is strong, uh, you know, robust job growth, uh, low unemployment across virtually every single group. uh, and the gdp numbers you mentioned. right. that's a measure of all of the goods and services that we purchase in the economy. and gdp growth is sort of stronger than, uh, everybody expected. it's stronger than sort of historical averages is over, sort of the last few decades. uh, and that is being driven, uh, by a confident consumer who is opening up their wallet, uh, and, and spending over the christmas season, uh, and into january. so you know, the economy's in a, in a very strong place. >> so are there microclimates going on when you talk about the economy as well? because certainly in certain sectors, you know, tech, for example, in the bay area, we report on so many headlines of layoffs. right. just this past week, ebay over a thousand. and of course,

that follows google, levi's and um, you know, you name it. so what is going on. because it certainly doesn't feel like it's all cylinders firing. >> right. so the i think the tech sector sort of marches to the beat of its its own drummer, you know, has a slightly different cadence of from the rest of the economy. and i think there's two factors to keep in mind around the tech sector. one is during the pandemic, uh, there was huge growth in employment across tech firms. folks were staying at home doing more shopping online. uh, and so these firms were are seeing increased demand for their services and hiring like gangbusters. um, now, the other thing we've seen is a higher interest rates, uh, due to the federal reserve bank's efforts to, to, uh, reduce inflation in and high interest rates hit, uh, tech firms harder and so, you know, we've seen, uh, some of the impact of that, uh, but as

inflation has come down, uh, the fed is now in a position where they can reduce interest rates. and so, you know, i, i don't see any prolonged, uh, stress in the tech sector. all right. >> so then if that's the case, look, if it's getting cheaper to borrow money, people can afford to, you know, get a mortgage, buy a home again. and if they have jobs to do so, because unemployment is, what, under 2.5% or, um, why do you think the president's approval ratings are at 31? pretty much the lowest for a sitting president since carter? um, usually the economy is a big driver of people's. the approval that they give to the sitting president. >> so if you'd asked me this question, uh, three, four months ago, i would have said it's a real puzzle, right? that there was this big disconnect between been, uh, sort of the hard data on the economy and, uh, people's perceptions of, uh, where the economy is and where it's going.

uh, what we've seen over the last 2 or 3 months is the economic sentiment indicators. uh uh, you know, increase and increase by historically very large amounts. uh, and i think that makes sense that the pandemic was a traumatic time for, for many households, the post traumatic, uh, supply chain disruptions, uh, the price shocks, the stock outs, again, sort of created a lot of concern . um, uh, and it takes some time , i think, for, for people to, to have the confidence that, uh, things are back to normal. uh, but i think what we've seen, you know, with lowering gas prices, with inflation, cooling is, uh, those consumer sentiment numbers are really start to move up aggressively. and if history is any guide, uh, that's going to lead into a stronger numbers for the president to in in the weeks

and months ahead. >> you mentioned, though, that it takes a little bit of time. right. there's kind of a lag for people to start to really feel safe again. uh, does the president have enough time? i guess you're no longer special policy advisor to the white house, but i guess i still want to ask you this. you know, he's got ten months. >> yeah. so i, i think i, you know, took a lot of confidence from, uh, the improvement in the consumer sentiment numbers over the last two months. uh, and so i do think that, you know, the economy is hitting its stride, uh, at the right time, uh, from the administration's perspective. so do you still have any concerns for the economy right now? >> like, what should we be watching? what numbers would concern you and i guess, what are your predictions for 2024? >> look, so i, i tend to worry about lots of things because that was my job in the administration. and, and i want to make sure that i'm, uh, you know, having full visibility on the economy. uh, you know, i would say across nearly every measure, uh, the economy is, is

doing very well. uh you know, i'm always concerned about energy markets because, uh, you know, conflict in the middle east. uh, what we're seeing with shipping in the red sea, you know, that's that's always a risk factor, which is difficult to control. so that's, uh, something i'll be paying attention to. um, you know, we've seen in a fairly rapid slowdowns in china. um, you know, i think, you know, what's going on in china will not spill over onto the us economy, but it's something i'll be watching over the months ahead. stanford economics professor and former biden white house special policy advisor on economics neil mahoney. >> thank you so much for joining us today. >> uh, thank you for having me. >> coming up next, the 40 niners lions showdown is almost here. but there's more to keeping the fans interested than just the play on the field. stick wells fargo gives you an extra day grace period to avoid the overdraft fee. what if everything came with a grace period?

like accidentally parking where you shouldn't... (driver 1) hey what about this one? (driver 2) nah.. that one gets an extra day (driver 1) somebody got lucky (vo) like having an extra day grace period? when it comes to overdrafts, you can with wells fargo. you may know adam schiff's work to protect the rule of law, or to build affordable housing, or write california's patients bill of rights. but i know adam through the big brother program. we've been brothers since i was seven. he stood by my side as i graduated from yale, and i stood by his side when he married eve, the love of his life. i'm a little biased, but take it from adam's little brother. he'll make us all proud as california senator. i'm adam schiff and i approve this message.

it goes to the super bowl. the niners went through a light practice today. and the big question all week has been will receiver deebo samuel play following his shoulder injury against the packers last weekend. well he was on the field today. the niners are favored to win and reach their eighth super bowl. so fingers crossed for that. we know that the weather conditions will be incredible for the game in fact, it will be the warmest day by far of any of the 11 nfc championship games that the niners have hosted. here's abc seven meteorologist drew tuma with the record-setting forecast a kickoff temperature of 73 degrees. >> that would be a record high. the record is 72, set back in 1928. this would be the warmest day in the south bay since last year in november. right around thanksgiving. so it's been a couple of months since it's been this warm. by the fourth quarter, we're going down to 64 degrees. so enjoy it. >> wow. all right. sounds great out there a lot going into

preparing preparing for a game like sunday's. of course that includes non-football related activities. in fact an army of people there working right now to make sure a game day experience is a memorable one for the 40 niners faithful. and one of those folks is laura johnson on the 40 niners senior director of game day presentation. hey, laura. >> hi. great to see you. >> hey, i want to talk to you about. well, there's so much we could talk about, but i think the entertainment is looking pretty incredible because, you know how it's become this extravaganza, right? certainly super bowl, it's like a show. a lot of people tune in just for that. the halftime show really huge productions. what is the difference in preparing the entertainment for a championship game is that just as huge to you ? >> yeah, this is the biggest game that a home team can prepare for. so the nfc championship and we've been putting a lot of time and energy and effort into the entertainment that we have coming up. we're incredibly excited about the lineup that we have from nate smith performing in pregame. he's uh- just hit

number one for the seventh straight week on country music billboard charts. uh, a native of northern california in the paradise area. we've got luis fonsi, who's also a 40 niners faithful singing the national anthem. uh, we'll have a flyover over the anthem as well. and then at halftime, uh, it can't get any more iconic than journey. uh, the rock band performing here. uh, so we're excited for an awesome lineup. and as you mentioned, it's the biggest game that we can do as a home team because don't stop believin, okay? >> i can't do it. that's why you didn't hire me to perform. okay. but you're right. this is going to be incredible. have they been out there practicing all week on site? is that necessary? >> no. so they'll get on site here. um, we'll practice with them on the day of the game. um, everybody is just moving around right? these guys are incredibly busy, but they've been in the studio rehearsing, um, getting ready for the performance on sunday. but we'll get in, we'll get a sound check with these guys, and we'll make sure it

looks flawless. >> you know how did you go about if we can put up the name, uh, the list again of the performers that you have? the entertainers. what do you look for when it comes to choosing them? and kind of like forming this, you know, list is it? are you looking for a lot of diversity or are you trying to go for a theme? >> all honestly, all of it. uh, the best thing about these incredibly talented musicians that are on this list is they are also 40 niners faithful, all of them nate smith, luis fonsi, journey. they're all fans of the band and have a connection in some way to the 40 niners. so, uh, for us it was pretty easy in terms of trying to get that lineup and like i said, it doesn't get much better or bigger, in my opinion, than having a good contingent represent the bay area, like nate smith, like journey. and of course, luis fonsi has a worldwide following and he himself being a fan of the team. >> and of course you have that same approach, right? with the pre-game release of the new

anthem with saweetie and p-lo, they too are 40 niner faithful, so they're not just there because you, you know, collaborate with them business wise. they love the niners. >> yeah, exactly. and that's what we love about working with them is they all are very passionate about the team and, uh, it makes it so much easier to work together when you have fans of the team. so it's going to be a great one. you alluded to it just earlier. the weather is going to be perfect for football. uh, and we're excited to put on a great show on sunday. right? >> i mean, we haven't seen temperatures this warm in a while out there. and i just want to ask you if that poses any. i mean, i think for the most part, most people probably like that. but are there any concerns with that, any overheating concerns or any special things you have to do since it's warmer or not at all? >> not at all. i, you know, when you look at the weather forecast, it's like i said, it's perfect. it's football weather and we're excited to have great temperatures. the sunshine after the rain game, uh, in the divisional round, i think we're all looking forward to having

some sunshine here. uh, on this sunday. >> some dry fields all right. i think that's good. are you encouraging fans to get in the stadium early? uh, give us some of the, you know what to do and what not to do. >> you hit the nail on the head. we want fans to get in early. get to your seats. uh, i'd really. you want to get here and be in your seats 30 minutes before kickoff? uh, that'll get you there in time to see our pregame entertainment with nate smith. as i mentioned, you'll be in time for your seats to participate in our tradition of announcing the players last names. we want that to be as loud as possible. um, but really get that stadium packed early for kickoff and all the pageantry that we have. and of course, we encourage the faithful to get here and be loud and, uh, loud on the big downs. loud on third downs, and take that all the way to the snap. yep. >> all right, laura johnson, the niners senior director of game day presentation. we're going to be loud. we're going to be cheering. let's go get that. all right. thank you so much. >> thank you so much. go niners go niners okay. >> although you do have to dig

deep to get a ticket to the game though. the cheapest ticket we can find right now is $520 on stubhub. and you know, that's probably in the nosebleed section. uh ticketmasters. verified resale tickets start at 566. they have several options for various sections, including vip seats, which are costing about nine grand apiece, and on ticket marketplace vivid seats, the average price is $941 per seat. the 40 niners lions matchup is trending as the second hottest nfc championship ticket in 13 years. there you go . a reminder you can get our live newscast. breaking news, weather and more with our abc7 bay area streaming tv app. it's available on apple tv, google tv, fire tv and roku. just search abc seven bay area and download it now. we'll be right back are living in the moment and taking ibrance. ibrance with an aromatase inhibitor

is for adults with hr positive, her2 negative metastatic breast cancer as the first hormonal based therapy. ibrance plus letrozole significantly delayed disease progression versus letrozole. ibrance may cause low white blood cell counts that may lead to serious infections. ibrance may cause severe inflammation of the lungs. both of these can lead to death. tell your doctor if you have new or worsening chest pain, cough, or trouble breathing. before taking ibrance, tell your doctor if you have fever, chills, or other signs of infection, liver or kidney problems, are or plan to become pregnant, or are breastfeeding. for more information about side effects talk to your doctor. thanks, mom. be in your moment. ask your doctor about ibrance. a pfizer product.

world news tonight with david muir is next. and i'll see you back here at four. >> david: tonight, breaking news involving donald trump. the jury's decision just in. in a stunning move the jury ordering donald trump to play e. jean carroll more than $83 million in damages for publicly defaming her repeatedly. they found he acted maliciously in attacking her. aaron katersky standing by live. a new storm moving in through the weekend. heavy rain and flooding from texas to georgia all the way up the east coast into the northeast. what to expect after 80 degrees