TV News LIES

A Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist at Columbia University resigned from some of his positions with the institution over his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. 

Richard Axel, co-director of the Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, won a Nobel Prize in 2004 for discovering over 1,000 special receptors in the nose that send olfactory information to the brain.

“My past association with Jeffrey Epstein was a serious error in judgment, which I deeply regret. I apologize for compromising the trust of my friends, students, and colleagues,” Axel said in a statement obtained by NewsNation, The Hill’s sister network. “I recognize the problems this has caused, and I will work to restore this trust.”

He added, “What has emerged about Epstein’s appalling conduct, the harm that he has caused to so many people, makes my association with him all the more painful and inexcusable.”

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Two Missouri sheriff's deputies were shot and killed and two more were injured after a suspect opened fire during a traffic stop and led authorities on an hours-long manhunt that ended in a shootout, authorities said.

The suspect, 45-year-old Richard Dean Bird, was also killed in the exchange of gunfire, authorities said.

Bird was pulled over by a deputy on the afternoon of Feb. 23 near Highlandville, Missouri, a small city in Christian County about 20 miles from downtown Springfield. During the traffic stop, Bird allegedly shot and killed Christian County Sheriff's Deputy Gabriel Ramirez, 30.

Bird fled, and local and state authorities began a search that would last about nine hours and stretch into the night, reported the Springfield News-Leader, part of the USA TODAY Network. The Missouri State Highway Patrol issued a "Blue Alert," used when a law enforcement officer is killed or seriously injured in the line of duty, which was canceled at about 1 a.m. on Feb. 24, the News-Leader reported.

Late on the night of Feb. 23, law enforcement agencies found Bird's vehicle and began searching a wooded area. At about 11:38 p.m. on Feb. 23, Bird began firing with a rifle, Christian County Sheriff Brad Cole said at a news conference. Two deputies were wounded and Deputy Michael Hislope, 40, was also killed, the sheriff's office said. Bird was then shot and killed by law enforcement.

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Bill Gates "took responsibility for his actions" over ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in a town hall meeting with employees of the Gates Foundation, the group said in a statement.

Gates answered questions at the twice-a-year meeting Feb. 24 on a range of issues, "including the release of the Epstein files," the foundation said. "In the townhall, Bill spoke candidly, addressing several questions in detail, and took responsibility for his actions," the foundation said.

Documents released by the Justice Department have indicated Gates and Epstein met repeatedly to discuss expanding the Microsoft founder's philanthropic efforts. The meetings came after Epstein was imprisoned for 13 months, ending in 2009, for a conviction on state charges in Florida of soliciting the prostitution involving a minor. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while in custody on federal charges that he had sex-trafficked underage girls.

According to the Journal report, Gates told staff it was a huge mistake to spend time with Epstein and bring Gates Foundation executives into meetings with the sex offender. The report cited a recording of Gates' comments in the town hall.

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Former Treasury Secretary ‌and Harvard President Larry Summers will resign from teaching at the end of the academic year, a Harvard spokesperson told USA TODAY.

The Feb. 25 announcement comes more than three months after the Justice Department revealed the longtime economist's ties ‌with ​the ​late ​convicted ‌sex offender Jeffrey ​Epstein.

“In connection with the ongoing review by the University of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein that were recently released by the government, Harvard Kennedy School Dean Jeremy Weinstein has accepted Professor Lawrence H. Summers’ resignation from his leadership position as co-director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government," said Harvard spokesperson Jason Newton in an emailed statement to USA TODAY.

Summers is also resigning from his academic and faculty appointments and will remain on leave until then, Newton added.

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Casualty counts: Over the past 24 hours, seven Palestinians were injured in Israeli attacks in Gaza. The total recorded death toll since October 7, 2023 stands at 72,073 killed, with 171,756 injured. Since October 11, the first full day of the so-called ceasefire, Israel has killed at least 615 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded 1,658, while 726 bodies have been recovered from under the rubble, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Israeli strikes continue across Gaza, killing one: One Palestinian was killed and several others injured in an Israeli strike on Beit Lahiya on Tuesday, in northern Gaza. Two Palestinians were injured by Israeli gunfire in the Shujaiya neighborhood of Gaza City, according to Al Jazeera Arabic. Israeli forces launched airstrikes on areas east of Khan Younis, while Israeli artillery targeted western Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip and east of the Bureij refugee camp in the central part of the Strip.

Flooding hits displacement camps in Gaza: Overnight, heavy rains flooded hundreds of displacement tents across the Gaza Strip, with submerged roads in areas like Al-Mawasi prompting urgent rescue calls, according to Civil Defense officials. Israel’s siege is blocking heavy machinery and rescue equipment needed to respond, municipal officials report. UNRWA has warned that shortages of shelter materials have left more than a million displaced people exposed to the rain and cold.

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New York City offers a contractor for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. Border Patrol, and the Israeli Defense Forces millions of dollars in rent and construction subsidies, according to leases obtained by Drop Site through a Freedom of Information Law request.

The company, Crye Precision, designs and manufactures “combat proven” tactical gear and clothing for military applications and has been a tenant of the Brooklyn Navy Yard since 2002, according to the website of the city-owned complex.

Incentives offered by the Brooklyn Navy Yard to Crye Precision contrast with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s policy positions. Earlier this month, Mamdani issued an executive order reaffirming the city’s “sanctuary” status and restricting local agencies from collaborating with federal immigration enforcement. The mayor also campaigned extensively against the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip.

The Mayor’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Publicly available federal contracts indicate that Crye Precision received its latest contract from the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Border Patrol and ICE, on January 19. The $40,000 contract for cold weather apparel for the Border Patrol’s Maine sector coincided with ICE’s “surge” in the state, which resulted in the warrantless arrests of more than 200 people, according to the office of Gov. Janet Mills (D).

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Overnight, Ukraine’s Defense Forces struck Russian command posts, ammunition depots, logistics hubs and a repair base in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, including with US-supplied ATACMS missiles, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on Tuesday, Feb. 24.

The strikes are part of ongoing efforts to reduce Russia’s offensive capabilities by targeting critical command and supply infrastructure.
Command posts and logistics hit.

Early Tuesday, units of Ukraine’s Rocket Forces and Artillery struck an auxiliary command post of Russia’s 5th Army near Novopetrykivka in the occupied part of the Donetsk region, according to the General Staff

Additional strikes targeted an ammunition and logistics depot near Pryazovske in occupied Donetsk Oblast, as well as another ammunition warehouse near occupied Oleksandrivka in the Zaporizhzhia region.

In Yakymivka, Zaporizhzhia region, Ukrainian forces struck a Russian repair base.

On Monday, Ukrainian forces also hit Russian command infrastructure in the occupied Donetsk region, including a command-and-observation post and a drone control center near Udachne, as well as another drone command post near Pokrovsk.

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President Trump delivered the first official State of the Union address of his second term on Tuesday night. The speech gave Trump the opportunity to tout accomplishments and outline his agenda for his administration's second year.

It comes at at time when Americans are divided on whether Trump's first year has been a success. A new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll shows that six in 10 believe the country is worse off than last year and that a majority think the state of the union is not strong.

Reporters from across NPR's newsroom are fact checking his speech and offer context — on topics like immigration, the economy, tariffs and trade and foreign policy. (Newest fact checks show up first below.)

By topic: Immigration | Foreign policy | Economy | Energy | Government | Health | Crime

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