TV News LIES

Natalie Harp, special assistant to Donald Trump, continues to be the focus of media attention Thursday after an MS Now report revealed that she had worked at the White House for nearly a year without obtaining a security clearance.

Harp, a former One America News Network show host, has emerged as a key gatekeeper to the president. Her presence with Trump when the president left Air Force One as a decoy while sneaking on to another plane in a service cart – even as senior officials remained behind – drew attention.

Jon Ossoff, a Democratic senator from Georgia, amplified that attention with comments at a rally Sunday in Atlanta. Speaking of Trump, Ossoff said: “He golfs and trades stocks. See, he doesn’t want to do the job; he wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar.”

A clip of his commentary went viral on social media, drawing attacks from the president’s defenders.

White House communications director Steven Cheung posted in reply on X: “Jon Jackoff has to be the biggest cuck loser in politics,” while White House spokesman Davis Ingle posted, “Jon Ossoff is a cringeworthy, feminine theatre kid cosplaying as Barack Obama. Nobody gives a shit what this lightweight loser says.”

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Natalie Harp, special assistant to Donald Trump, continues to be the focus of media attention Thursday after an MS Now report revealed that she had worked at the White House for nearly a year without obtaining a security clearance.

Harp, a former One America News Network show host, has emerged as a key gatekeeper to the president. Her presence with Trump when the president left Air Force One as a decoy while sneaking on to another plane in a service cart – even as senior officials remained behind – drew attention.

Jon Ossoff, a Democratic senator from Georgia, amplified that attention with comments at a rally Sunday in Atlanta. Speaking of Trump, Ossoff said: “He golfs and trades stocks. See, he doesn’t want to do the job; he wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar.”

A clip of his commentary went viral on social media, drawing attacks from the president’s defenders.

White House communications director Steven Cheung posted in reply on X: “Jon Jackoff has to be the biggest cuck loser in politics,” while White House spokesman Davis Ingle posted, “Jon Ossoff is a cringeworthy, feminine theatre kid cosplaying as Barack Obama. Nobody gives a shit what this lightweight loser says.”

More...

In Qusra, in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian families have spent August imprisoned inside their own homes.

Israeli settlers pitched tents in their yards and cut them off from the outside world. Water and electricity were severed. Food ran short. 

Armed men gathered outside, smashed windows, threw stones, and stole appliances. Inside, parents tried to calm frightened children, never knowing whether the next sound at the door would be the start of another attack.

In one home, Qusai Abu Rida was trapped with his teenage son. Thousands of miles away in Ohio, his brother Loai watched through security cameras as settlers surrounded the house - until Israeli soldiers removed the camera.

Nearby, Ruqaya Hassan endured the siege with her children, among them four-year-old Kinda, who she said were living in fear.

Elsewhere in Qusra, Marmar Ouda has effectively turned his home into a cage to protect his family. Metal fencing surrounds the house, and bars cover the windows. Nearby, someone spray-painted in Hebrew: “Death to Arabs.”

Five months earlier, Ouda says a settler shot dead his nephew and wounded his brother in front of him. He complained to Israeli police, but the attacks continued.

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US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack defended the Syrian government on Tuesday after Israeli air strikes targeted the Abu al-Duhur military air base in northern Syria, calling it an "unnecessary escalation". 

"The Al-Sharaa government has neither adopted a predatory posture nor maintained proxy forces. It has, in fact, repeatedly indicated a preference for de-escalation with Israel," he wrote on X. 

"We are deeply concerned," he added. "[This] does not advance regional stability." 

Israel has not confirmed it was behind the attack, but Barrack said it was responsible.

His comments followed a meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani in Istanbul, Turkey, one day earlier.

The Syrian government condemned the attack and said eight strikes hit the runway of the defunct air base in the early morning hours of Tuesday, local time. 

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes followed a visit by a Turkish military delegation to the airfield in recent days "as part of efforts to reactivate it".

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President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday, Aug. 18 that Kyiv and Brussels are working on finalizing a Drone Deal, following talks on bilateral defense and diplomatic cooperation.

Zelensky detailed the meeting in a statement on Telegram, saying that he held discussions with Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maxime Prévot, covering nearly all areas of bilateral and multilateral cooperation between the two countries.

“I expect that we will be able to implement what we discussed, and that protection against Russian strikes will increase,” Zelensky said, adding that “Ukraine is also ready to share its experience and expertise and to support partners who have stood with us since the start of the war.”

Zelensky praised Belgium for allocating more than €1.1 billion (roughly $1.3 billion) in support to Ukraine already disbursed this year, along with Belgium’s backing of Ukraine’s path toward European Union membership.

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Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) of Florida on Tuesday suspended an ally from his role as Palm Beach County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller — the same day the clerk was arrested on child sex abuse charges.

Michael Caruso, 67, has been charged with kidnapping; lewd or lascivious molestation; lewd or lascivious exhibition; luring or enticing a child; and child abuse (mental injury). The news comes a year after DeSantis appointed Caruso — who served in the Florida House of Representatives for seven years — to his clerk role in August 2025. Caruso had also just filed paperwork in February to run for reelection this November.

“Early this morning, with substantial assistance from FDLE [Florida Department of Law Enforcement] and local law enforcement, Palm Beach County Clerk of Court Michael Caruso was arrested on charges related to child sexual abuse,” Attorney General James Uthmeier said Tuesday morning. “The investigation is ongoing, and we will provide more information to the public at the appropriate time.”

In October 2025, the father of the child, who was under the age of 5, saw the child engage in inappropriate behavior with his brother (placing his genitalia on his brother’s face), according to the affidavit for the arrest warrant, which was included in a document published by DeSantis.

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The Palestinian American whose home in the occupied West Bank has been besieged by Israeli settlers for over a week traveled to his property on Monday to join other family members who have been defending it.

The standoff, in the village of Qusra, has seen groups of settlers surround several Palestinian houses and prevent residents from leaving. The United States has condemned the siege and the Israeli military has deployed troops it says are there to maintain order.

The siege of Palestinian homes by Israeli settlers comes as violence in the West Bank has soared in recent months. The settlers, emboldened by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government, have ramped up attacks on Palestinian towns and villages, harassing residents and setting homes, mosques and fields ablaze.

Israeli soldiers and settlers have killed 87 Palestinians so far this year, according to Palestinian health officials. Palestinians have killed three Israelis, including two who were killed during clashes in the West Bank village of Tell last month.

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In Florida's primary election, Republican incumbent Rep. Cory Mills lost his race in the 7th congressional district. That's according to a race call by The Associated Press.

Mills, running for his third term, lost to his main Republican challenger, former local television news anchor Ryan Elijah who won by about 12 percentage votes.

Mills is the latest lawmaker in a recent string of congressional members facing scandals and allegations of domestic abuse while running for elected office. The House Ethics Committee opened an investigation this year over allegations that Mills assaulted a former girlfriend and also violated campaign finance laws.

NPR reached out to Mills' office for a response to those allegations but did not hear back. He has previously denied any wrongdoing.

Mills' campaign signs feature "Trump Endorsed" in big letters across the top, and though President Trump did endorse him in February, he left Mills out of a number of endorsements posted on social media running up to Tuesday's primary election.

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