TV News LIES

Virginia voters approved a complete redrawing of their congressional districts to offset pushes by President Donald Trump to increase the Republican majority in the House of Representatives.

The approved maps could transform Old Dominion's 11-member delegation from a 6-to-5 Democratic edge to an overwhelming 10-to-1 advantage.

However, if the margin of victory is less than one-half of 1%, then the defeated side has the right under Virginia election law to ask for a state-funded recount. Republicans could also launch legal challenges to preserve the old maps.

Virginia Democrats celebrated the victory as results rolled in indicating the final tally would be in their favor. L. Louise Lucas, the state's Senate president and a prominent advocate for redistricting, said "THANK YOU VIRGINIA" in a post on X accompanied by an expletive-laden video victory lap.

Both parties pumped millions of dollars and work hours into the campaign, particularly in the last week of the early voting season.

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Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is leaving the Trump administration, the White House announced on April 20.

She is the third Cabinet member to depart this year. All are women. Her exit comes amid allegations of misconduct and after multiple outlets reported that an investigation into her leadership was well underway.

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said in an X post that Chavez-DeRemer would be leaving the administration to take a job in the private sector. He did not say where.

"She has done a phenomenal job in her role by protecting American workers, enacting fair labor practices, and helping Americans gain additional skills to improve their lives," Cheung wrote.

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Mayor Zohran Mamdani and former President Barack Obama visited an early childhood education center in the South Bronx on Saturday.

As the two leaders entered the pre-K classroom, a group of 19 students dressed in blue and plaid school uniforms let out squeals upon seeing Mamdani. Their teachers, who knew the mayor was coming but not his special guest, gasped at the sight of the 44th president of the United States.

“My name’s Barack,” the president said, introducing himself to the children. As the two men took seats in front of the kids, the children started shouting out their own names, and with one boy shouting out, “I know who you are, you are Mamdani.”

During the event, which was first reported by Politico, Mamdani and Obama read to the students and joined them in a rousing rendition of the “Wheels of the Bus.” Before meeting with the children, they discussed Mamdani's affordability-focused vision for the city — including universal child care, according to the mayor.

Obama and Mamdani did not take questions.

This marks their first face-to-face meeting and comes months after Obama called Mamdani just before Election Day in November. The former president praised Mamdani's campaign and offered to be a sounding board if he won the election. During the Bronx event, there was also a clear chemistry between Mamdani and Obama, who interacted with the children and teased each other with ease.

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The University of Michigan regent Jordan Acker, who helped lead the university’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian students, appears to have made obscene sexual comments about a Democratic party strategist in a group chat, messages provided to the Guardian reveal. The Slack messages, attributed to Acker, also include lewd comments about a female U-M student and a picture of her with her friends.

The messages were shared with the Guardian just days before a heated primary convention election for two open U-M board of regents seats. The board is the university’s governing body, and the usually low-profile race is especially tense this year as pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian candidates compete for seats. The race has become a local flashpoint in the broader battle over criticism of Israel on campuses.

Acker is known to be a confrontational, pro-Israel leader at the large public university. He is an attorney who helped recruit the Michigan attorney general to bring highly unusual prosecutions against students, and, while he was on the board, it led a sprawling undercover surveillance operation against the students. The prosecutions and surveillance operations were dAcker is known to be a confrontational, pro-Israel leader at the large public university. He is an attorney who helped recruit the Michigan attorney general to bring highly unusual prosecutions against students, and, while he was on the board, it led a sprawling undercover surveillance operation against the students. The prosecutions and surveillance operations were dropped after Guardian stories on each. Acker has also drawn criticism for leading the university as it dismantled its diversity, equity and inclusion initiative amid pressure from Donald Trump.ropped after Guardian stories on each. Acker has also drawn criticism for leading the university as it dismantled its diversity, equity and inclusion initiative amid pressure from Donald Trump.

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Two immigration judges who ruled against the Trump administration in the deportation cases of pro-Palestinian university students have been fired by the Department of Justice.

The New York Times reported over the weekend that the justice department had terminated six judges, including Roopal Patel and Nina Froes, who oversaw deportation proceedings against Rümeysa Öztürk and Mohsen Mahdawi, two students who were arrested last year as part of Trump’s campaign against the Gaza protest movement.

In an interview with the Guardian, Patel said she did not view her dismissal as “directly retaliatory” for any one case. She said it fit within a broader pattern of the administration dismissing judges near the end of their probationary term, particularly those who have experience representing immigrants in court.

“I think there’s a broader agenda of trying to reshape the immigration bench to be more reflective of the political agenda of the administration,” Patel said.

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First lady Melania Trump made a statement at the White House on Thursday to slam reports about any connections she may have had with Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.

She also called on Congress to allow testimony from Epstein victims and to enter them into the official record. She denied being a victim herself and said an email exchange with Maxwell amounted to a “trivial note.”

She also called Epstein “disgraceful” and called for “lies” about her association with him to end “today.”

“The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today. The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility and respect,” Trump said from the White House’s Grand Foyer. “I do not object to their ignorance, but rather I reject their mean-spirite.

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