TV News LIES

The United States has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela amid a monthslong buildup of military forces surrounding the country, President Trump confirmed on Dec. 10.

"As you probably know, we've just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela," Trump said at a meeting at the White House.

"Largest one ever seized, actually. And other things are happening."

Trump declined to provide additional details about the tanker to reporters and said the administration would be releasing more information at a later time.

The president added, “It was seized for a very good reason.”

Asked by a reporter what happens to the oil on the tanker, Trump said: “You’re a good newsman. Just follow the tank.”

“I assume we’re going to keep the oil,” Trump said.

“You see the result, and I guess they probably released the pictures by now – pretty soon,” Trump said. “You’ll discuss that with the appropriate people later on.”

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On July 20, around ten masked men raided the Palestinian hamlet of Ibsiq in the northern Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank. They arrived in a two car convoy, dressed in Israeli military-issue fatigues, and carried assault rifles fitted with green laser pointers.

While their vehicles blocked the road, they stormed into a cluster of homes. At gunpoint, they forced a Palestinian family to their knees and warned them they had 48 hours to evacuate Area C and go to Area B—referring to technical designations of control in the West Bank under the Oslo Accords. Area C is under full Israeli control and Area B is technically under Palestinian civil administration but shares security control with Israel. The masked men said they would “return and burn the community down,” if the family did not evacuate to Area B.

I had been staying with an elderly Palestinian couple for five days in Ibsiq to document settler violence amid rising threats against the community. As the men approached, I asked one of them who he was. They looked like soldiers, but the vehicles in which they arrived had yellow civilian license plates. These masked assailants were members of the hagmar— settler reservist militias formally attached to the Israeli army and tasked with “security” in West Bank settlements.

The men dragged me behind a fence where four of them beat me until I required hospitalization. They stole the phone of an International Solidarity Mission activist who tried to record the attack.

My host, Abu Safi, who was 84, had little choice but to leave his home after that raid by the hagmar. The family packed up their belongings accumulated over decades in the house and moved to a nearby location in Area B. Abu Safi died of a heart attack soon afterwards.

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Hamas on Tuesday called for more international pressure on Israel before the militant group moves forward with the next phase of the ceasefire in Gaza, with a Hamas leader saying it wants Israel to open a key border crossing, cease deadly strikes and allow more aid into the strip devastated by the two-year war.

The demand came as Israel’s government says it is ready to move into the next and more complicated phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point ceasefire agreement, while calling on Hamas to return the remains of the last Israeli hostage held in Gaza as envisioned in the deal.

Husam Badran, a member of Hamas’ political wing, called for the “full implementation of all the terms of the first phase” before moving forward, including an end to what he called the continuing demolition of Palestinian homes in the majority of the territory still controlled by Israel.

Israeli airstrikes and shootings in Gaza have killed at least 376 Palestinians since the ceasefire took hold on Oct. 10, according to Palestinian health officials.

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In one of the last remaining cities under Ukrainian control in the country's eastern Donetsk region, once a powerhouse of industry, life gets more difficult — and dangerous — as Russian forces inch closer.

Over the last month, local officials in Kramatorsk have reported dozens of Russian attacks on the city using strike drones, ballistic missiles, rockets and aerial bombs. Homes, gas stations and markets have all been hit, as has a nearby power plant, causing blackouts.

"There was a recent strike on the house next to mine," said Olena Frolova, 20, who works in a shop that sells Donetsk-branded clothing in Kramatorsk. "We all feel that the front is getting closer. Your life depends on how our guys at the front hold on."

Russian President Vladimir Putin is doubling down on seizing all of eastern Ukraine's Donbas, which includes the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. Russia has invaded and occupied more than 80% of Donbas since 2014. The Kremlin wants to take the remaining land either by military force or as part of a deal to end a full-scale war it has waged on Ukraine for nearly four years. Ukraine has so far refused to agree to any deal that gives up its territory to Russia. The Trump administration is pushing a plan that faces Ukrainian and European resistance over the issues of territory and security guarantees.

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At least one student was killed and another was critically wounded in a shooting at a residence hall at Kentucky State University on Tuesday, and a suspect who is not a student at the school was in custody, officials said.

The shooting was the second in four months in the same area of the university.

The suspect in Tuesday’s More...shooting is not a Kentucky State student, Scott Tracy, assistant chief of police for Frankfort, said during a news conference. Tracy said police responded swiftly to the shooting.

“Frankfort police believe this to be an isolated incident and there are no active safety concerns on campus at this time,” he said.

One student who was shot at the residence hall is in critical condition but is stable, according to the university. The school is not immediately releasing the names of the students.

“We are in close contact with the families and are providing every available support to them,” the school said in a statement, adding that counseling and support services are available.

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Organizers challenging Missouri’s gerrymandered congressional map say they turned in enough signatures on Tuesday to block the map from going into effect and to force a referendum on the map next year.

People not Politicians, the main organization behind the effort, said they submitted more than 300,000 signatures to the secretary of state’s office, nearly triple the number required to block the map from going into effect. Missouri’s Republican secretary of state now needs to review the signatures.

“The citizens of Missouri have spoken loudly and clearly: they deserve fair maps, not partisan manipulation,” Richard von Glahn, the executive director of People Not Politicians, said in statement. “We are submitting a record number of signatures to shut down any doubt that Missouri voters want a say.”

Missouri Republicans approved a new map in September that eliminates the Kansas City-based district of Emanuel Cleaver, a Democrat, and replaces it with a Republican one. It’s part of a nationwide push by Donald Trump to redraw Republican-friendly congressional districts ahead of next year’s midterm elections, when Republicans are expected to lose their razor-thin majority in Congress.

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Democrats continued their run of successes in special elections by flipping a state House seat in Georgia Tuesday, according to a projection from the CNN Decision Desk.

The Democratic victory, in a district that voted for President Donald Trump by about 12 percentage points last year, comes ahead of next year’s critical midterms, when Georgians will vote in closely watched races for Senate and governor.

Eric Gisler, a Democrat who owns a local olive oil store, will defeat Republican Mack “Dutch” Guest in the 121st House District, in the northeastern part of the state, near the college town of Athens.

Between regularly scheduled elections in Virginia and New Jersey and special elections held on newly redrawn maps in Mississippi, Democrats flipped about 20 state legislative seats on Election Day last month. Those victories came after Democrats flipped two seats in Iowa and one in Pennsylvania during special elections earlier in the year.

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Grammy-nominated singer Jubilant Sykes was stabbed to death at his home in Santa Monica, California, and his son was arrested on suspicion of murder, authorities said Tuesday.

Officers responded to a 911 call Monday night reporting an assault in progress at the residence in the coastal city west of Los Angeles, according to a statement from the Santa Monica Police Department.

They found Sykes, 71, inside with critical stab wounds. Paramedics arrived and pronounced him dead at the scene, police said.

The victim’s son, 31-year-old Micah Sykes, was at the home and taken into custody without incident, police said. It wasn’t immediately known if he has an attorney.

Police recovered a weapon and the investigation was ongoing.

Jubilant Sykes was nominated for best classical album at the 2010 Grammy Awards for “Bernstein: Mass,” in which he performed the Celebrant role.

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