TV News LIES

Thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets every week to protest the ongoing war in Gaza and the government's failure to bring home Israeli hostages.

But on Tuesday, a different kind of demonstration took place: hundreds of retired Israeli Air Force pilots rallied against the war outside the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv.

It was the first time the group, which calls itself "555," had gathered in person to oppose the Israeli cabinet's latest decision — to launch an operation to capture Gaza City and expand the nearly two-year war. The crowd, most over 60 years of age, stood under a banner reading "Don't kill hostages and soldiers" — a message that echoed throughout the speeches.

Many also stressed that their call to end the war wasn't only about Israeli lives, but about the deaths of Palestinian civilians as well.

Among them was Dan Halutz, a former chief of staff of the Israeli military and ex-Air Force commander. Challenging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claim that Hamas still poses a significant threat, Halutz told the crowd, "Who among the senior commanders in the IDF believes Hamas is a strategic threat we can't defend against? I don't believe there's such a person."

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U.S. President Donald Trump said he believes his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin is ready to end his war in Ukraine, speaking on the eve of Friday's summit between the men, but that peace would likely require at least a second meeting involving Ukraine's leader.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his European allies have intensified their efforts this week to prevent any deal between the U.S. and Russia emerging from Friday's summit in Alaska that leaves Ukraine vulnerable to future attack.

"I think President Putin will make peace, I think President Zelenskiy will make peace," Trump told reporters at the White House. "We'll see if they get along."

Trump has downplayed talk of a ceasefire emerging from the summit and speculated about a possible second meeting to come, involving more leaders.

"I think it's going to be a good meeting, but the more important meeting will be the second meeting that we're having. We're going to have a meeting with President Putin, President Zelenskiy, myself, and maybe we'll bring some of the European leaders along. Maybe not. I don't know that."

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Donald Trump cold-called Norway’s finance minister last month to ask about a nomination for the Nobel peace prize, Norwegian press reported on Thursday.

The Norwegian outlet Dagens Næringsliv, citing unnamed sources, reported: “Out of the blue, while finance minister Jens Stoltenberg was walking down the street in Oslo, Donald Trump called … He wanted the Nobel prize – and to discuss tariffs.”

The outlet added that it was not the first time that Trump had raised the question of a Nobel peace prize nomination to Stoltenberg.

n a statement to Reuters, Stoltenberg, the former Nato secretary-general, said the call focused on tariffs and economic cooperation ahead of Trump’s call with Jonas Støre, the Norwegian prime minister.

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A former California correctional officer convicted of dozens of sexual abuse charges at a women’s prison was sentenced to 224 years in prison on Thursday.

Gregory Rodriguez, 57, worked as a guard at the Central California women’s facility (CCWF), the state’s largest women’s prison, and was found guilty in January of over 60 charges of abusing nine women in his custody, including rape and battery.

Rodriguez’s case became a huge scandal for the state, exposing a longstanding crisis of sexual misconduct and abuse behind bars. The officer was found to have targeted incarcerated women over the span of nearly a decade before he retired in 2022 while under investigation.

A Guardian investigation published in 2023 revealed the prison received a report of Rodriguez’s abuse in 2014, but did not terminate him and instead punished the victim. That survivor spoke of being sent to solitary confinement while authorities investigated claims of her abuse.

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Envelopes with white powder were discovered Thursday in New York City in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility, according to the Big Apple’s Mayor Eric Adams. 

“New Yorkers, I have been preliminarily briefed on the matter unfolding at 26 Federal Plaza where envelopes containing white powder were discovered,” Adams said in a Thursday post on the social platform X. “I want to also reassure you that there are no known injuries at this time.”

Adams said that while officials are awaiting test results from “our federal partners,” New York City Fire Department hazmat teams are on the ground to “ensure the safety of everyone inside and outside of the building.”

The fire department told The Hill that a call was received around 3:55 p.m. local time regarding a white powder reported on the ninth floor. The building was evacuated and there were no reported injuries, according to the fire department. 

“Hazmat assigned, operations ongoing,” the department added.

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President Trump has selected a Democrat to chair the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) — a surprising move that passes over the panel’s one Republican member.

Trump selected David Rosner, who was nominated to the commission by then-President Biden, as its leader. Rosner was a former aide to then-Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.), who led the Senate’s Energy and NaturMore...al Resources Committee.

“I am honored to serve as Chairman and excited to continue working with my colleagues on the Commission and FERC’s extraordinary staff to enable reliable, affordable, and abundant energy for all Americans,” Rosner said.

FERC is an agency that regulates cross-state energy pipelines and power lines as well as gas export terminals.

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U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher in a Thursday ruling permanently blocked two memos issued by the Trump administration that threatened schools with funding cuts for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.  

Earlier in the year, the Trump administration issued a “Dear Colleague” letter for universities threatening to take funding if they don’t end “illegal” DEI efforts. Soon after, K-12 districts got a memo to certify they have no DEI practices in their schools.

The American Federation of Teachers, Democracy Forward and others sued over both of the memos, arguing the administration did not go through the proper procedures and violated the rights of schools. 

“Plaintiffs have shown that neither challenged agency action was promulgated in accordance with the procedural requirements of the APA, and that both actions run afoul of important constitutional rights,” wrote Gallagher, who was appointed by President Trump.

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Just as California Gov. Gavin Newsom was announcing a special election for state redistricting at a cultural center in Downtown Los Angeles, numerous federal agents showed up nearby.

While Newsom was inside the Japanese American National Museum on Aug. 14, stating his proposed changes to California’s congressional districts to counter Texas Republicans' plans to create more GOP-friendly districts in their state, a group of federal agents was conducting immigration enforcement patrols in L.A.'s Little Tokyo district.

Newsom and his press office both took to social media to announce the agents’ presence, with an homage to President Donald Trump's punctuation and rhetoric.

“BORDER PATROL HAS SHOWED UP AT OUR BIG BEAUTIFUL PRESS CONFERENCE! WE WILL NOT BE INTIMIDATED!” the post said.

U.S. Border Patrol Sector Commander Gregory Bovino told KNBC-TV that the agency was conducting roving immigration enforcement patrols in the area. Bovino told the station that one person was taken into custody and detained for being in the U.S. illegally.

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