TV News LIES

A new system to screen millions of mail-in ballots for this November’s US midterm elections was thrown together so hastily, and tested so little, that a single scanning glitch could see entire batches of ballots turned away, a whistleblower has told Congress.

The project – a key part of Donald Trump’s new restrictions on voting – is “perilously rushed and potentially unlawful”, according to the US senator Richard Blumenthal, who disclosed the warning in a letter to David Steiner, the postmaster general, on Tuesday.

Blumenthal, the top Democrat on the US Senate’s permanent subcommittee on investigations, said the account he had received made clear the US Postal Service “lacks the technical or operational capability” to roll it out safely before ballots go out to voters.

The system stems from a March executive order by Trump tightening federal control over mail-in voting, directing USPS to check ballots against a federally approved voter list before sending them – a break from its usual role of simply delivering whatever is handed over by states. Courts have blocked and unblocked parts of the order repeatedly since, amid lawsuits arguing it oversteps into territory the constitution leaves to states.

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Pete Hegseth on Monday appeared to mock a woman’s weight in a photo from the Vernon Cadet Training Centre for youth in British Columbia, Canada.

The embattled defense secretary has real issues to worry about, including the departure of his Army secretary amid reported concerns that Hegseth is stunting the military’s technological growth while halting merited promotions.

Hegseth has expressed contempt for overweight service members and pushed for change. But that was no reason to fire off a mean viral post about young people far removed from the U.S. military.

“(This is real)” Hegseth wrote on X above a photo of what seems to be a cadet with an instructor in a medal ceremony to conclude a summer program.

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Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey won the state’s Democratic primary on Tuesday night, dispatching a younger and more moderate challenger in a significant victory for the party’s progressive wing.

Markey defeated Rep. Seth Moulton, a decorated veteran of the war in Iraq who had long been tipped as a rising star in the party but struggled to turn his potential into lasting political impact. Moulton, age 47, had made his comparative youth a major part of his campaign against Markey, who has served in Congress for nearly 50 years and will be 86 when his Senate term ends in 2032.

The party’s progressive wing rallied behind Markey, a reliable liberal who has closely aligned with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and is known for his emphasis on combating climate change. Warren, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) appeared together in a campaign ad for Markey.

Recent surveys had shown Markey pulling away from Moulton, who had an early edge in spending thanks in part to a nonprofit group that aired pointed ads suggesting Markey was too old to remain in Congress.

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Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., named more than a dozen people he described as alleged Jeffrey Epstein "coconspirators" on the House floor Monday as he renewed his push to force the government to disclose millions of records connected to the convicted sex offender.

"Mr. Speaker, it's been a year since the president signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and the government continues to withhold over 3 million files," Massie said.

Epstein Files Transparency Act II, to bring the fight to the state courts, accountability to the Department of Justice, and closure for survivors," he added.

"We want perpetrators of these crimes to be investigated and prosecuted," Massie said before naming a series of prominent Epstein associates and others whom he accused of wrongdoing, including former Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Les Wexner, Leon Black, and Jes Staley.

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spiked the names of at least six Army officers from a list for promotions to two-star generals, a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Hill Tuesday. 

The removals come just days after the Pentagon chief blocked promotions of four Army officers selected to ascend to one-star rank, some of whom had links to former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George — who Hegseth ousted in early April — and Gen. Chris Donahue, the commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa who retired earlier this summer.

Hegseth’s office did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment. 

Earlier this year, the defense secretary similarly pulled four Army officers, two women and two Black men, from a one-star general promotion list — to the displeasure of Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and other top officials.

Driscoll handed his resignation to the White House on Monday and is set to depart the Trump administration after a months-long turf war with Hegseth, a move that further signals the defense secretary’s aim to impose his will on the service branch.

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Israeli media outlets on Sunday published a video showing National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visiting Damon Prison, where dozens of female Palestinian prisoners are being held.

The video, originally published on Ben Gvir's X account, shows him storming the cells of the female Palestinian prisoners, and boasting about the dire conditions of their detention.

It has sparked a wave of reactions and criticism.

The video shows one of the prisoners complaining about the harsh conditions of detention, while Ben Gvir appears to ignore her complaint and affirm his satisfaction, saying, “The good conditions in the prisons are over. This is the current situation, and I am directly responsible for everything. I am pleased with these conditions.”

In a post sharing the video, the far-right minister wrote on X that the “whining” of prisoners over their conditions does not work on him, adding that he'll “continue to lead a policy of the bare minimum of the minimum".

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Israeli veterans' organisation Breaking the Silence has accused the country's military of killing Palestinians in Gaza and later seeking evidence to justify the killings.

Nadav Weiman, the group's executive director, made the allegations in an interview with France 24, where he described “retrospective incrimination” as a process in which Palestinians killed during Israeli military operations are subsequently identified as Hamas members to justify the attacks.

Asked to explain the process, Weiman said the Israeli military and its spokespersons seek to establish the identities and alleged affiliations of people killed in air strikes, including attacks that cause large numbers of civilian casualties.

“First, we shoot, we kill, and then we think, and then we try to find a reason why it happened,” Weiman said.

He cited the Israeli military's operations around Nasser Hospital, the killing of 15 paramedics in Rafah and air strikes in Gaza that he said killed large numbers of civilians.

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European financial leaders staged a diplomatic revolt on Monday after the Trump administration blindsided allies by inviting sanctioned Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov to attend a US-hosted G20 finance meeting in person.

The meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, marks the first time Russia’s top financial official has attended a G20 gathering in person since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.European financial leaders staged a diplomatic revolt on Monday after the Trump administration blindsided allies by inviting sanctioned Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov to attend a US-hosted G20 finance meeting in person.

The meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, marks the first time Russia’s top financial official has attended a G20 gathering in person since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The surprise invitation by the US, which currently holds the rotating G20 presidency, triggered immediate backlash from European delegates who have spent years trying to maintain Russia’s global economic isolation.

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