TV News LIES

The supreme court will soon rule on Hamm v Smith, an Alabama death penalty case that could significantly increase the number of people with intellectual disability who are executed. In this case, Alabama is fighting to execute a man named Joseph Smith. Smith’s five IQ scores – 72, 74, 74, 75 and 78 – all fall around the bottom fifth percentile of the population.

Based on these IQ tests, which measure learning, reasoning and problem-solving, and Smith’s adaptive behaviors, which include the social and practical skills that Smith uses to navigate everyday life, a federal court determined that Smith is intellectually disabled. Because the supreme court held in its landmark 2002 Atkins ruling that executing anyone with an intellectual disability violates the constitution, Alabama cannot execute Smith.

But Alabama disagreed with this decision, even though empirical standards put the IQ threshold for intellectual disability between 70 and 75. Yes, Alabama wants to execute Smith. But the case could also create a new, dangerous protocol: when a capital defendant has taken multiple IQ tests, any score above 70 could close the door an intellectual disability claim.

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A suspected boat explosion at a Miami sandbar sent at least 11 people to the hospital on Saturday with some suffering from burns and traumatic injuries, according to Juan Arias, the Miami Dade fire rescue battalion chief.

First responders received reports roughly around 12.45pm of a possible boat explosion on the water, Arias told WPEC 12.

It is unclear what caused the blast, which occurred onboard a charter boat with about 14 people, according to NBC 6 South Florida.

The Florida fish and wildlife conservation commission is investigating the incident, according to the Associated Press.

The Haulover Sandbar beckons hundreds of spring breakers and other vacation-oriented visitors every year. Located in shallow waters, the sandbar has been a boating mecca. Kayakers also regularly descend upon the strip.

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Bobby Cox, the folksy manager of the Atlanta Braves whose teams ruled the National League during the 1990s and gave the city its first major title as well as World Series trips that fell short, died Saturday. He was 84.

Cox died in Marietta, Georgia, according to the Atlanta Braves. He had a stroke in 2019 and heart issues that complicated his recovery.

“Bobby was the best manager to ever wear a Braves uniform. He led our team to 14 straight division titles, five National League pennants, and the unforgettable World Series title in 1995. His Braves managerial legacy will never be matched,” the Braves said in a statement.

Cox took over a last-place team in June 1990 and led the Braves to a worst-to-first finish in 1991, losing the World Series to the Minnesota Twins in seven games. That was the start of what was to become a record 14 consecutive division titles, a feat no professional team in any sport had accomplished.

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The Trump administration has launched a legal attack on the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), raising questions about the future of other nonprofits at odds with the president.

The center pleaded not guilty Thursday in an unusual case, one that accuses the SPLC of turning its back on its very mission: using a now-defunct informant program to funnel money to the hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) it spent decades fighting.

It’s a claim the SPLC strongly denies — one it says is “not even supported by or contained in the indictment itself.” It also has accused prosecutors of misleading the grand jury to gain an indictment.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (Md.), the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, sees the prosecution as a new wave in a long line of cases targeting civil society, an effort he said began with law firms and universities.

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More than 100 people have fallen ill with norovirus on a cruise ship that left Florida last week and is set to return soon, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The Caribbean Princess cruise ship left from Port Everglades on April 28 and will be returning to Port Canaveral in Brevard County on May 11, according to Cruise Mapper.

As of Thursday, May 7, there were 102 passengers and 13 crew members on the ship who reported being ill, the CDC said. Those affected by the latest norovirus outbreak have showed the typical symptoms of diarrhea and vomiting.

The virus, which is highly contagious, is the leading cause of foodborne illness in the United States, according to the health agency. Officials said it spreads quickly from sick people and through contaminated food, water or surfaces.

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Israel’s top commander in the occupied West Bank has said the army is killing Palestinians at levels “not seen since 1967”, according to Haaretz.

Avi Bluth, head of the Israeli army’s Central Command, made the remarks in a closed forum, where he also defended looser rules of engagement allowing troops to fire at unarmed Palestinians.

He acknowledged a discriminatory approach whereby Jewish Israeli stone-throwers are not targeted while Palestinians carrying out similar acts are fired at. 

"In three years, we have killed 1,500 terrorists," he said, referring to Palestinians. 

"So how is there no intifada? Why aren’t they taking to the streets? Why is the Palestinian public indifferent? Why are there no disturbances?" Bluth, a settler who has been the Israeli army commander in the West Bank since 2024, added.

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President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine and Russia have agreed to carry out a large‑scale prisoner exchange involving 1,000 detainees on each side, marking a major humanitarian step amid the ongoing war.

The agreement was reached through US‑mediated negotiations, with preparations for the exchange already underway, Zelensky said on Friday in a post on Telegram.

“Ukraine is consistently working to return its people from Russian captivity,” Zelensky said, emphasizing that humanitarian considerations remain central to Ukraine’s position.

The exchange is expected to coincide with a temporary ceasefire from May 9 to May 11, days that align with Russia’s Victory Day celebrations.

Zelensky said Ukraine’s decisions regarding security and military posture are guided by a principle of reciprocity, but that the return of prisoners takes precedence.

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Frustrated by Iran, Trump at last seizes enriched uranium
Donald Trump has succeeded in removing a country’s stash of highly enriched uranium – although that country is not Iran.

On Friday, the US Department of Energy announced that “thanks to President Trump’s decisive leadership” 13.5kg (about 30 pounds) of uranium had been removed from a legacy research reactor in Venezuela.

The department called the joint operation, involving the UK, the US and Venezuela, “a win for America, Venezuela, and the world”.

“The safe removal of all enriched uranium from Venezuela sends another signal to the world of a restored and renewed Venezuela,” Brandon Williams, the administrator of the department’s National Nuclear Security Administration, said.

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