TV News LIES

The U.S. government has given an ultimatum to the international group that helps provide vaccines to children in the world's poorest countries.

In a statement sent to NPR, The Department of Health and Human Services said that Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance must remove the ingredient thimerosal from its vaccines — or else the U.S. will "withhold future new funding." The news was first reported by Reuters on Wednesday.

At the heart of the U.S. demand is an unsubstantiated theory that the mercury in thimerosal could be linked to autism. Thimerosal is a chemical compound that is added to vaccines as a preservative.

This is the latest development in the changing relationship between Gavi — which says it has provided vaccines for 1.1 billion children in lower-resource countries and prevented 18 million deaths — and the United States, once a major funder of the vaccine group.

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On Friday a federal judge dropped two of the four charges against Luigi Mangione — the man accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson — making his case no longer eligible for the death penalty.

Mangione is accused of killing Thompson on Dec. 4, 2024 on a street in midtown Manhattan as he was walking to his hotel for UnitedHealth Group's annual investor conference. Police say the words "delay," "deny" and "depose" were written on the ammunition used, referencing a phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.

The charges of murder through use of a firearm (which made the case capital eligible) and a firearms offense were dropped, while two interstate stalking charges remain.

If found guilty, the maximum sentence he now faces is life without the possibility of parole.

The federal government has called the killing a "premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America."

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Texas A&M University on Friday announced it is ending its programs in women's and gender studies as part of a broader effort to eliminate teaching related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

The university said it had also modified hundreds of courses and canceled six to comply with a policy adopted last November that prohibits, without approval from the campus president, teaching that "will advocate race or gender ideology, or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity."

The latest changes are designed to "protect academic integrity and restore public trust," Tommy Williams, the university's interim president, said in a statement. "That has been our focus through this process and will remain our focus as we move forward."

The university said the decision to eliminate women's and gender studies stemmed both from the new policy and "limited student interest in the program based on enrollment over the past several years."

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A human rights group has warned New York state and local officials that investment of public funds in bonds issued by Israel violates both international law and fiduciary duties and may expose officials and beneficiaries alike to “substantial legal, ethical and financial risks”.

The warning, from the human rights group Dawn, was sent on Friday along with a 26-page memo to the New York governor, Kathy Hochul; the state’s attorney general, Letitia James; New York City’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani; and the state and city comptrollers, Tom DiNapoli and Mark Levine, respectively. It calls on them to immediately cease new purchases and divest any current holdings in Israeli bonds, arguing the investments violate “legal obligations not to aid and abet Israeli crimes and their fiduciary duties to taxpayers”, Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Dawn, said in a statement.

The letter, which threatens litigation, comes as calls for divestment from Israel have grown in the US following the war in Gaza, and as some elected officials have moved away from once-reflexive support of Israel.

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Thousands chanted and marched in New York City on Friday to protest the Trump administration’s escalating mass deportation campaign.

Among the protesters were young and old people, all braving plunging cold temperatures in thick coats, hats and gloves.

As the sun began setting, demonstrators chanted against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), referring to that agency, the Ku Klux Klan, and fascism in the same breath.

Thousands chanted and marched in New York City on Friday to protest the Trump administration’s escalating mass deportation campaign.

Among the protesters were young and old people, all braving plunging cold temperatures in thick coats, hats and gloves.

As the sun began setting, demonstrators chanted against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), referring to that agency, the Ku Klux Klan, and fascism in the same breath.

“Abolish ICE!” and “No ICE, no KKK, no fascist USA!” the crowds chanted. They also chanted, “Chinga la migra” – which is a colloquial way to say “fuck immigration enforcement” in Spanish.

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A Maryland truck driver suffered an “eye stroke” that left him blind, first in one eye and then the other.

A Louisiana woman vomited for weeks before being diagnosed with a brain dysfunction typically caused by a vitamin deficiency.

An Oklahoma real estate agent heard her colon pop as it ruptured while she drove her granddaughter home from a softball game. “My colon blew up. Literally blew up,” she said.

All three have filed lawsuits that blame the popular class of weight-loss drugs known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, which include Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro, and they’re part of a growing number of lawsuits alleging the drugs’ makers failed to sufficiently warn of the risk of certain severe injuries.

The suits come as the use of the blockbuster drugs has skyrocketed, embraced by millions of Americans to manage diabetes, lower the risk of heart disease and lose weight. The drugs, which mimic a hormone that slows digestion, triggers insulin and helps people feel full longer, cut America’s stubbornly high obesity rates – for the first time in more than a decade – and show promise in aiding a range of conditions from kidney disease to drug addiction.

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The special agent in charge of the FBI’s Atlanta field office was reportedly removed from his post after questioning the Trump administration’s renewed interest in investigating the role of Fulton county, Georgia, in the 2020 election.

The agent, Paul W Brown, had expressed concerns around the unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud in Fulton county, which have been perpetuated by Donald Trump since he was defeated by Joe Biden in the 2020 election, according to an MS NOW report on Friday. Citing sources, MS NOW also reported that Brown refused to carry out searches and seizures of records connected to the election that Trump lost four years before winning a second presidency in 2024.

News of Brown’s ouster came after the justice department on Thursday executed a search warrant and seized records from the Fulton county elections office in the Atlanta area. Authorities seized 700 boxes related to 2020 election results in the county, which Biden won.

Trump’s national intelligence director, Tulsi Gabbard, was also seen at the county’s election office that day, drawing concern from Democratic lawmakers about partisan overreach.

Brown was replaced the week before the service of the search warrant at the elections office, as first reported by the Associated Press. The personnel decision was not publicized by the FBI, and the AP said the reason for Brown’s removal was not immediately clear.

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Don Lemon has been released from custody after a federal court appearance Friday in Los Angeles.

Lemon was arrested and charged after covering a Minnesota protest that interrupted a church service on Jan. 18.

He was arrested Thursday night and released on his own recognizance Friday. He'll be able to travel throughout the country, and was not ordered to give up his passport.

Lemon's next court date will be Feb. 9 in Minneapolis.
“I have spent my entire career covering the news,” he said. “I will not stop now. There is no more important time than right now, this very moment, for a free and independent media that shines a light on the truth and holds those in power accountable."

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