TV News LIES

As if the 250th anniversary celebrations in the capital haven't been troubled enough, with lackluster attendance, a brutal heatwave, environmentally damaging fireworks, and restrictive security measures due to Donald Trump's planned speech, Thursday's incident was another cause for concern.

In a video shared online by progressive media influencer Aaron Parnas, two groups of young dancers on stage can be seen going through their routine to music when a large, rectangular piece of the structure falls from above, narrowly missing the group on stage right.

At least one of the dancers seemed to see the object in mid-air before it hit the stage, and ran out of the way.

There appeared to be around 18 dancers on stage at the time, with nine in each group. Two men were also on the side of the stage nearest the point of impact.

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A “prolonged, dangerous heatwave” was sweeping across parts of the central and eastern United States on Thursday, with forecasters warning that extreme record-breaking temperatures are expected to continue into the holiday weekend for millions of Americans.

The National Weather Service (NWS) warned on Thursday that temperatures between 95F (35C) and 105F (40.5C), combined with high humidity, will push heat index values across parts of the region to between 100F and 115F.

“This will lead to widespread areas of Major to Extreme HeatRisk from the Midwest to the East Coast” the NWS said. “Numerous daily temperature records are expected today, Friday, and Independence day, with some consecutive-day, monthly and all-time records possible.”

The agency said on Thursday afternoon that extreme heat is expected to “continue across most of the central and eastern US through Friday”, then it will focus “across the eastern US through the Independence Day holiday weekend”.

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Louisiana’s Republican attorney general was indicted on Thursday on criminal charges by a grand jury in New Orleans, accused of trying to intimidate local officials who fought a law enacted by GOP legislators to overhaul the local courts.

Liz Murrill, the attorney general, told eight New Orleans officials, including Helena Moreno, the mayor, and Jason Williams, the district attorney, that they could face removal from their jobs because of their opposition to the law.

It eliminated the position of Orleans parish criminal court clerk after Calvin Duncan, a man who spent decades in prison for a wrongful conviction, was elected to the post with 68% of the vote.

Legislators approved the law at the urging of the Republican governor, Jeff Landry, just days before Duncan was to take office in May. Duncan’s supporters saw it as a move by a majority-white conservative legislature to thwart the will of voters in a predominantly Black Democratic hub in a red state.

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'He’s quite ill - and getting worse daily', Rosie O'Donnell tells the Guardian after Trump posts AI video attacking her

Before he left for the day, our colleague Shrai Popat reached out to Rosie O’Donnell to ask if she had any response to Donald Trump including a deepfake AI rendering of her supposedly confessing to suffering from “Trump Derangement Syndrome” in his latest attack on her on social media.

Shrai passes along this reply from O’Donnell, the comedian and former talk show host Trump has obsessively criticized in crude terms for two decades now:

He’s quite ill – and getting worse daily. The 25th amendment exists for exactly this reason. Remove. Impeach. Convict.

The post, which was shared by an official White House account, depicts testimonials from AI renderings of O’Donnell and five other Hollywood critics of the president – John Leguizamo, Whoopi Goldberg, Ed Norton, Robert De Niro and Julia Roberts - in which they praise an AI rendering of Trump, depicted as a doctor in a white lab coat (not red robes), for treating them.

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An Air Force major was arrested on the steps of the Capitol on Wednesday after calling for President Trump and Vice President Vance’s impeachments.

Peaceful demonstrations are permitted on Capitol grounds, but a protester must remain alongside a member of Congress to speak openly from the steps.

Originally, Air Force Maj. Jason Watson was accompanied by Rep. Al Green (D-Texas), who later left. 

Upon the lawmaker’s exit, Watson was directed to come off the steps or face arrest, Capitol Police told The Hill. Watson was then arrested for crowding, obstructing and incommoding, the authorities noted in a statement.

“When the president of the United States orders military action against foreign countries — absent an emergency scenario where American interests are under imminent dire threats, as was done with Venezuela, Cuba and Iran — that’s an unconstitutional usurpation of Congress’s authority and a violation of the War Powers Clause,” Watson told bystanders.

“These violations resulted in the deaths of 13 service members and injuries of hundreds more. For this, the president and vice president must be impeached, convicted and removed,” he added. 

The Air Force major went on to list grievances ranging from the Trump administration’s actions with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), mass deportation efforts led by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the killings of U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good by immigration authorities. 

“When the president of the United States sponsors violence on the American people engaged in their constitutional right to peacefully assemble and protest, that’s a violation of our First Amendment rights. Pastors praying for DHS agents violently attacked without provocation,” Watson said, referring to events during the second Trump administration.

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A federal appeals court reversed a lower court’s order requiring the National Park Service (NPS) to restore signs and exhibits that were removed by the Trump administration.

The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday halted the ruling, which would have restored park materials that the administration says were purged as part of the administration’s effort to get rid of materials that “disparage” Americans.

The judges determined that the Trump administration “made a strong showing that the harms that the district court relied on” to order the restoration of the materials did not meet the standards for an injunction.

Judges David Barron, Gustavo Gelpí and Julie Rikelman also found that the groups suing the government “cannot show that a stay of the district court’s order … would cause them substantial injury.”

Barron was appointed by former President Obama, while Gelpí and Rikelman are appointees of former President Biden.

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A Princess Cruises cruise ship docked in San Francisco has seen an outbreak of norovirus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The CDC said that 102 out of the over 3,000 passengers onboard the Ruby Princess have been affected, along with 23 crewmembers.

Symptoms for those who have become ill include diarrhea and vomiting.

Passengers and crewmembers aboard the Ruby Princess were on a 20-day voyage that began on June 12 and was due to end on Thursday. The outbreak was reported on Saturday, the CDC said.

A representative from Princess Cruises confirmed the outbreak, telling Nexstar’s KRON4, “a limited number of guests reported mild gastrointestinal illness during the 20-day June 12 Ruby Princess voyage from San Francisco.”

“Our crew responded promptly by implementing enhanced sanitation protocols across the ship,” Princess Cruises added.

The CDC says that in response to the outbreak, Princess Cruises and the Ruby Princess crew have undertaken the following actions:

1. Increased cleaning and disinfection procedures

2. Collection of stool specimens from gastrointestinal illness cases for testing

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called protesters "ingrates" on Thursday, July 2, as he and other top members of the Trump administration praised the National Guard's work during a D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force event.

“This background noise this morning is perfect; it’s the sound of ingrates, of ingratitude, of people who are so blinded by ideology they can’t see law and order and common sense in front of them,” Hegseth said. “There’s nothing ideological about this group. There’s nothing political about this exercise.”

Apart from Hegseth, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche were also heckled by “Free DC” protesters during an event.

The protesters blew whistles and horns while Trump administration officials touted the National Guard, who have been patrolling Washington, DC, since the president deployed the military branch following a public safety emergency declaration last year, according to reporting from The Hill.

“Thank you for being here, for backing us up along the way. To the entire team, to the soldiers here, thank you for everything you’re doing. Thank you for waiting out here in the sun,” Hegseth said.

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