TV News LIES

A federal judge on Friday tossed the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit aiming to force Rhode Island to hand over its voter information as part of the Trump administration’s push to acquire voter data from several states.

Rhode Island U.S. District Court Judge Mary McElroy wrote that federal law does not allow the DOJ “to conduct the kind of fishing expedition it seeks here,” siding with Rhode Island election officials. She added that the DOJ did not provide evidence to suggest that Rhode Island violated election law.

McElroy, a Trump appointee, wrote that she sided with the similar decision in Oregon. That decision ruled that the DOJ was not entitled to unredacted voter registration lists.

“Absent from the demand are any factual allegations suggesting that Rhode Island may be violating the list maintenance requirements,” she said in her ruling.

Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore (D) praised McElroy’s decision. He said in a statement that the Trump administration “seems to have no problem taking actions that are clear Constitutional overreaches, regularly meddling in responsibilities that are the rights of the states.”

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American territories are recovering after a category 5 super typhoon hit Western Pacific islands before peak storm season.

Typhoon Sinlaku hit Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands beginning April 11 after rapidly developing into a category 5 storm. Territorial and federal officials have issued emergency declarations. The storm left power outages, flooded homes and roofs ripped from homes in its wake. So far, no deaths have been reported.

The powerful storm, which had winds reach at least 175 mph, hit before most typhoons form between May and October, though NASA said the season is yearlong in the Western Pacific.

“We’re actively recovering to get our people back into their business and to their lives again,” Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero said in an April 16 video address.

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Iran declares Strait of Hormuz “completely open” for the remainder of ceasefire: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared the Strait of Hormuz “in line with the ceasefire in Lebanon” will be “completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire,” in a post on X. Araghchi specified that the Strait will be open on “the coordinated route,” referring to the path that runs near Iran’s coast and Qeshm and Larak Islands.

President Donald Trump responded by thanking Iran for opening the “STRAIT OF IRAN,” in a post on Truth Social. Shortly after, Trump added that “THE NAVAL BLOCKADE WILL REMAIN IN FULL FORCE AND EFFECT AS IT PERTAINS TO IRAN,” until ongoing negotiations are complete. “THIS PROCESS SHOULD GO VERY QUICKLY IN THAT MOST OF THE POINTS ARE ALREADY NEGOTIATED.”

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US President Donald Trump said “things seem to be going very well with Iran” after receiving what he described as “pretty good news twenty minutes ago,” adding he “maybe won’t extend the ceasefire if no deal by Wednesday, but will keep the US blockade of Iranian ports.”

Trump also said Chinese President Xi Jinping is “very happy that the Strait of Hormuz is open and/or rapidly opening,” and said his upcoming meeting with Xi would be “a special one and, potentially, Historic”.

While Trump has claimed that Iran has agreed to hand over its enriched uranium, Ebrahim Rezaei said Tehran will not accept enriched uranium being transferred out of Iran and denied that any commitments to do so had been made, rejecting US claims to the contrary.

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Ukraine has called on Israel to arrest a shipment of grain allegedly originating from Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories after it arrived at the Port of Haifa aboard the Russian vessel ABINSK, which Kyiv links to Moscow’s so-called “shadow fleet.”

According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the vessel may be involved in operations used by Russia to “illegally export, transport, and sell stolen Ukrainian grain” from occupied territories and finance its war against Ukraine.

Despite Ukraine’s request, the cargo was allowed to be unloaded, a fact corroborated by Kyiv Post’s sources at the Ukrainian Embassy in Israel, which previously called on Jerusalem to thoroughly examine the cargo.

The vessel has since departed.

The shipment – estimated at 43,765 tonnes of wheat – was reportedly loaded at Russia’s Kavkaz port and is believed to originate from Ukrainian regions under Russian occupation.

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When Bug got home from school one winter afternoon in late 2024, his mother was on the couch, watching 30 Rock re-runs. Bug sat down next to her; he had an announcement to make.

Bug, who was assigned female at birth, told his mother he was a boy — and would be using he/him pronouns.

"OK, cool," his mother, J, remembers saying. Bug, who was in sixth grade at the time, had previously come out as non-binary, but this felt like an even bigger step.

"We started talking about, like, 'What are you wanting to have happen? What do you need to be supported?'" J said. "And he asked to get health care."

Bug is a nickname, and his mother asked NPR to identify Bug that way, and identify her by her first initial, J, because the family fears harassment.

This was the kind of moment J had been anticipating for a while. She felt immensely grateful that the family had left Texas in 2024, and resettled in western Massachusetts, a state with laws that she felt were more supportive of bodily autonomy, and a culture more welcoming of diverse lifestyles.

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A shovel, hand weights and a construction hat now displayed in the foyer of New York City Hall are symbols of what Mayor Zohran Mamdani says are the "pothole politics" behind key achievements in his first 100 days in office. That's where we started our conversation this week during a wide-ranging interview for NPR's Newsmakers video podcast.

Sitting in the ornate Blue Room of City Hall underneath a portrait of Alexander Hamilton, a founding father who helped shape the nation, 34-year-old Mamdani ticked off all that he's been able to get done on his list of promises to voters:

"On day eight, we delivered $1.2 billion to make universal child care a reality across our city."

"We secured more than $30 million in settlements with bad landlords, [and] repaired more than 6069 apartments."

"We were able to secure nearly $100,000 a day for workers and small businesses that had been exploited by mega-corporations and delivery apps."

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Iran will shut the strait of Hormuz if the US blockade continues, Iran’s parliamentary speaker has warned.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also said passage through the waterway would depend on authorisation from Iran, while swiping at Donald Trump in the series of posts on X.

Ghalibaf said (in a translation):

1 - "The President of the United States made seven claims in one hour, all seven of which were false.

2 – They did not win the war with these lies, and they will certainly not get anywhere in negotiations either.”

Ghalibaf, who last weekend co-led the Iranian side in negotiations with the US in Islamabad that failed to reach an agreement, continued in his posts:

3 –" With the continuation of the blockade, the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open.

4  – Passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be conducted based on the “designated route” and with “Iranian authorization”.

Whether the strait was open or closed and the regulations governing it “will be determined by the field, not by social media”, Ghalibaf added.

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