TV News LIES

The Trump administration sued two California cities on Monday, seeking to block local laws that restrict natural gas infrastructure and appliances in new construction.

The lawsuit is the administration’s latest attack on energy policies that seek to rein in the use of fossil fuels to combat climate change. California, a Democratic stronghold, has among the most aggressive climate change policies in the world.

Republicans, including Donald Trump, for years have attacked local Democratic efforts to limit gas-powered appliances.

In the complaint filed in US district court in the northern district of California, justice department attorneys alleged that ordinances passed by the San Francisco-area cities of Morgan Hill and Petaluma since 2019 violated a 1975 law that prevents states and cities from regulating the “energy use” of products subject to federal standards.

“The natural gas bans not only impose crushing costs on California residents but are also unlawful,” the complaint said.

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White House adviser Stephen Miller refused to rule out the possibility of the United States taking Greenland by force from Denmark when pressed by CNN's Jake Tapper on Monday.

Tapper pointed out that on Saturday, Miller's wife, former White House deputy press secretary Katie Miller, posted an image of Greenland overlaid with the American flag, writing "SOON" in her post on X. He then asked Miller at least three times if U.S. military action in the territory was off the table, and Miller repeatedly avoided answering.

"What do you mean, military action against Greenland? Greenland has a population of 30,000 people, Jake. The real question is, by what right does Denmark assert control over Greenland?" Miller asked.

Trump, Miller said, has "been clear for months now that the United States should be the country that has Greenland as part of our overall security apparatus.

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The Trump administration on Monday said it had slashed billions in social services funds to a handful of blue states as part of its escalating response to new and unproven fraud allegations in Minnesota.

The Department of Health and Human Services will freeze $10 billion worth of federal grants to California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York, an HHS official told HuffPost, confirming news first reported by The New York Post.

It’s not clear whether the freeze was inspired by specific fraud allegations or solely for political reasons. Officials did not immediately provide a public explanation.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) dropped his bid for a third term on Monday over the fraud allegations, saying, essentially, that he couldn’t campaign, fight actual fraud, and fight fraudulent accusations all at the same time.

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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) went after Hilton Hotels on Monday, accusing it of engaging in an effort to cancel agents’ reservations in Minnesota. The company pushed back on the claim.

“@HiltonHotels has launched a coordinated campaign in Minneapolis to REFUSE service to DHS law enforcement,” the department wrote in a post on the social platform X.

“When officers attempted to book rooms using official government emails and rates, Hilton Hotels maliciously CANCELLED their reservations,” the department added.

In an emailed statement to The Hill, a Hilton spokesperson said the chain’s “hotels serve as welcoming places for all.”

“This hotel is independently owned and operated, and these actions were not reflective of Hilton values,” a Hilton spokesperson said. “We have been in direct contact with the hotel, and they have apologized for the actions of their team, which was not in keeping with their policies. They have taken immediate action to resolve this matter. Hilton’s position is clear: Our properties are open to everyone and we do not tolerate any form of discrimination.”

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Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has backed down from previous threats to court-martial retired Navy captain Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona, for his role in a video telling service members they "can refuse illegal orders."

Hegseth instead issued a formal censure to Kelly, the defense secretary announced on X, and has initiated proceedings aiming to demote Kelly in retirement. If demoted, the Arizona senator's military pension would be reduced.

But demoting Kelly requires an administrative process known as officer grade determination, which by law makes its decisions based on an officer's conduct while on active duty. It's not clear how the Navy can legally consider Kelly's post-retirement conduct when making its determination.

According to federal law and Navy regulations, Navy Secretary John Phelan decides the retired rank of officers below the grade of vice admiral. In most cases, an administrative board reviews an officer's conduct before making a recommendation to Phelan.

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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has ended his reelection bid amid mounting pressure over a fraud scandal that has engulfed his administration in recent weeks.

The move comes days after a handful of Republican state lawmakers asked Walz to leave office, citing reports from a U.S. attorney that at least half of the $18 billion paid through Minnesota's 14 Medicaid waiver programs since 2018 could be fraudulent and after Republicans in Congress called on Walz to testify about his failure to address the scandal.

Walz, the former vice presidential candidate on Kamala Harris' 2024 presidential campaign, spoke about his decision at a news conference Jan. 5, citing the growing pressure as one of the reasons for his decision to leave the race and pushing back on claims that his administration failed to combat fraud.

"As I reflected on this moment with my family and my team over the holidays, I came to the conclusion that I can’t give a political campaign my all," he said, reading from a previously published statement. "I’ve decided to step out of the race and let others worry about the election while I focus on the work."

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Israeli occupation forces carried out a series of invasions, abductions, and movement restrictions across the occupied West Bank on Sunday, targeting communities in Salfit in the central West Bank, Qalqilia in the northwestern West Bank, Ramallah in the central West Bank, Nablus in the northern West Bank, and occupied Jerusalem.

Local sources reported that Israeli forces abducted several young men in the Wadi Qana area near the town of Deir Istiya in the central West Bank district of Salfit.

The men, who were from towns and villages in Qalqilia in the northwestern West Bank, were collecting desert truffles when soldiers invaded the area, detained them, and later abducted them without explanation.

In the central West Bank, Israeli forces invaded the village of Dura al‑Qare‘ north of Ramallah, spreading through several neighborhoods without reporting any abductions or break‑ins.

Similar invasions were carried out in the village of Beitin, east of Ramallah, and in the city of al-Bireh, where military units moved through the al-Jinan neighborhood and Jabal al-Tawil.

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According to Ukrinform, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported this on Facebook, releasing operational information as of 22:00 on Sunday, January 4.

"Since the start of the day, 154 combat engagements have taken place. Today, the occupiers carried out 23 airstrikes, used one missile, and dropped 75 guided aerial bombs. In addition, the Russians employed 4,663 kamikaze drones and conducted 3,057 shelling attacks on the positions of our troops and populated areas," the statement said.

In the Northern Slobozhanshchyna and Kursk sectors, the enemy carried out 93 shelling attacks, including one using multiple launch rocket systems.

In the Southern Slobozhanshchyna sector, Ukrainian troops repelled seven enemy attacks in the areas of Vovchansk, Starytsia, Prylipky, Fyholivka, and toward Izbytske and Kutkivka.

In the Kupiansk sector, the enemy attempted to advance three times during the day in the areas of Stepova Novoselivka, Pershotravneve, and toward Petropavlivka.

In the Lyman sector, Russian invaders attacked Ukrainian positions nine times near the settlements of Novoselivka, Kolodiazne, and Torske. One engagement is still ongoing.

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