TV News LIES

A federal judge determined Friday that the Trump administration broke the law when it attempted to cut the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) workforce, a ruling which coincided with America’s hurricane season.

In her order, U.S. ‌District Judge Susan Illston said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) “unlawfully usurped the authority” of FEMA “to make its own personnel decisions.”

Illston, appointed under former President Clinton, found that DHS violated a federal law established in 2005 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina that said the department “may not substantially or significantly reduce . . . the authorities, responsibilities, or functions of” FEMA.

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The Oscar-winning actor Susan Sarandon has said she is still losing work because of her outspoken support for Palestinians, despite what she ⁠described as a broader shift ⁠in public opinion against ​US support for Israel.

Speaking at the Venice film festival, where she is promoting her latest movie The Echo Chamber, Sarandon said some parts of the film industry continued to ⁠shun her over her activism.

“I think that the narrative has completely changed in terms of the historical relevance of Palestine and the ties of Zionists with America and our politics,” ⁠she said. “That has been a major revelation for people, how much money the United States gives to Israel, nobody really ​understood that.“

US opinion polls have shown support ‌for Israel softening and sympathy for ‌Palestinians rising since the start of the Gaza war in 2023.

But the 79-year-old actor said her support for the Palestinian ‌cause continued to carry professional consequences.

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During a settler attack aimed at stealing sheep, the Israeli army killed a Palestinian boy and a young man on Wednesday evening in the village of Al-Mughayyir, east of Ramallah.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, Omar Muhammad Na’san, 19, and Khalil Rasem Shahada, 16, were shot dead by Israeli soldiers.

Marzouq Abu Na’im, a member of the village council and an activist documenting settler attacks there, told Middle East Eye that armed settlers attacked a house to steal livestock. The Israeli army then stormed the village to provide protection for the settlers and took up positions on the roof of the targeted house.https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/settler-attacks-west-bank-take-dangerous-turn

"The settlers stole the sheep and attacked the homeowners, who were unable to resist or object due to the heavy presence of soldiers and snipers on the roof," he said.

Na’san, whose house is next to the targeted house, went outside to see what was happening - an Israeli sniper positioned on the roof of the house shot and killed him.

Then, Rasem Shehadeh came out of his house on the opposite side after hearing residents screaming from their windows.

He had barely moved a few metres outside his door when soldiers also shot him, according to Abu Naim.

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A Pennsylvania police officer was charged on Tuesday with voluntary manslaughter for last week’s fatal shooting of a college student who was looking for his friends late at night and went to the wrong house.

Police body-camera video reviewed by investigators showed the officer yelled: “Drop to the ground,” then: “Stop or I’ll ...”. Before he finished the sentence, he fired two shots at the man who was unarmed and had his hands in the air. He hit 22-year-old Glenwood Earl Pysher IV twice in the chest, killing him.

The officer, Cpl Sean Farrell of Upper Pottsgrove police, had less-than-lethal options and did not need to resort to shooting Pysher, said Kevin Steele, the Montgomery county district attorney, at a news conference.

“The investigation found that Cpl Farrell had less-than-lethal options on his utility belt that he did not employ, including a taser. At the time of the shooting, the officer was a safe distance from Pysher behind a car, and the victim had his hands in the air and did not possess any type of weapon. Mr Pysher was not a threat. This is not a legal use of deadly force, leading to the charge of Voluntary Manslaughter,” Steele said in a news release.

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Omaha police recently agreed to stop carrying gloves that can deliver electric shocks to students in the halls of Nebraska’s largest public school district.

The decision affecting most Omaha middle and high schools came after the Associated Press first revealed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)’s plan to give officers the “Gloves” – or “generated low output voltage emitters”. The devices have also been used in recent years by some jails.

The superintendent of Omaha public schools, Matthew Ray, on 18 August requested that police working in the schools, known as school resource officers, stop using the gloves. Omaha police agreed two days later.

However, the suburban Bellevue police department that patrols two Omaha schools and the large Bellevue district said its officers will continue carrying the gloves. Three other large school districts in the metro area that have Omaha school resource officers assigned to their buildings have not taken action to stop police from using the devices.

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A recent controversy involving Palestinian medical staff at Haifa’s Rambam Hospital reveals several important things about the position of Palestinian citizens of Israel, particularly within the healthcare system.  

The staff members were publicly lambasted following allegations that they mistreated and neglected Israeli soldiers in their care, including by speaking only Arabic at the hospital. 

The subsequent public debate has gone beyond the specific details of this case, raising broader questions about linguistic rights. In several other recent incidents, Palestinian citizens of Israel have been banned from speaking Arabic in their workplaces.

Far-right politicians, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, have amplified the Rambam allegations, fuelling claims that Palestinian healthcare staff should not speak Arabic at work – a demand that has previously been formalised in some hospitals.

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