TV News LIES

Every night at midnight, Will Trim sits down to the piano in his Boston apartment and waits for lights out in the Louisiana ICE detention center where his best friend is being held.

His cellphone rings. On the other end, Kseniia Petrova is silent. She leans against a brick wall in a freezing ward with 101 other women, cradling one of six working phones to her ear. She listens.

A federal judge in San Francisco has temporarily blocked the Trump administration's sweeping overhaul of the federal government.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, a Clinton appointee, came after a hearing Friday in a lawsuit filed by a coalition of labor unions, nonprofits and local governments.

The plaintiffs argue in their complaint that President Trump's efforts to "radically restructure and dismantle the federal government" without any authorization from Congress violate the Constitution.

Illston agreed with the plaintiffs, asserting in the hearing that Supreme Court precedent makes clear that while the president does have the authority to seek changes at agencies, he must do so in lawful ways.

More...

The National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 declared that the humanities are essential for enhancing America’s global leadership “in the realm of ideas and of the spirit,” and for supporting U.S. democracy, which “demands wisdom and vision in its citizens.”

The National Endowment for the Humanities was born from these declarations. It is the only federal agency dedicated to the humanities, encompassing history, literature, linguistics, law, philosophy, archaeology, language, comparative religion and ethics. Its companion agency, the National Endowment for the Arts, is the largest federal funder of the arts and arts education in the country, supporting communities to engage with and practice such creative work as painting, sculpture, music and dance.

The 1965 founding legislation captures the government’s original belief that the humanities are vital for the greater good of society, enabling citizens to flourish both as individuals and in their civic lives. The humanities embodied then — and still embody now — the high value Americans should place on preserving the nation’s cultural heritage and fostering respect for the diverse beliefs and values that define our nation.

More...

Exasperated by the turmoil that has dogged Pete Hegseth’s office in recent weeks, the White House will block the US defense secretary’s choice of chief of staff and select a candidate of its own, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Hegseth had suggested giving the chief of staff position to Marine Col Ricky Buria after the first person in the role, Joe Kasper, left last month in the wake of a contentious leak investigation that brought the ouster of three other senior aides.

But the White House has made clear to Hegseth that Buria will not be elevated to become his most senior aide at the Pentagon, the people said, casting Buria as a liability on account of his limited experience as a junior military assistant and his recurring role in internal office drama.

More...

Alina Habba, interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey, said on the social platform X that Baraka committed trespass and ignored warnings from Homeland Security personnel to leave Delaney Hall, a detention facility run by private prison operator GEO Group.

The mayor has been protesting the opening of the facility throughout this week, saying its operators did not get proper permits.