TV News LIES

A judge has ruled that Utah lawmakers must proceed with redrawing the state’s congressional district map right away, pointing to Texas and California in rejecting their argument that the job can’t be done in time for the 2026 midterm elections.

The ruling keeps Utah firmly among states where partisan redistricting battles stand to tilt the outcome of the next congressional election.

Utah lawmakers were wrong to disregard an independent commission’s map in drawing one that has been used for the 2022 and 2024 elections, Salt Lake County District Judge Dianna Gibson ruled Aug. 25.

The map did away with a district in the Salt Lake City area that has swung between Republicans and Democrats in favor of a map where four districts, each with a piece of the urban corridor, have been won by Republicans with wide margins.

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Religious colleges that require students to sign a statement of faith cannot be excluded from a popular Minnesota program that lets high school students take college courses for credit, a federal judge has ruled, tossing a state law that she called an unconstitutional violation of religious freedom.

The ruling late Friday from U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel was a victory for two conservative Christian colleges in the state: Crown College in St. Bonifacius and the University of Northwestern in Roseville. Those two institutions require their students to pledge to follow the school’s values and conduct rules, effectively barring students who aren’t Christian or who are LGBTQ+ from campus activities.

The 2023 law was sought by the state Department of Education and advocates for LGBTQ+ rights. In defending the change at a hearing in December, the state argued that it rightly protected high school students who are not Christian, straight, and cisgender — those whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth.

Religious colleges that require students to sign a statement of faith cannot be excluded from a popular Minnesota program that lets high school students take college courses for credit, a federal judge has ruled, tossing a state law that she called an unconstitutional violation of religious freedom.

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The Italian fashion designer and billionaire brand owner Giorgio Armani has died at the age of 91.

He was the archetype of Italian style and elegance, reimagining men's and women's suits for a modern audience.

His company Armani expanded from fashion into an empire spanning beauty, fragrance, music, sport and even luxury hotels, bringing in more than £2bn a year.

Donatella Versace paid tribute to the late designer on her Instagram page, posting a picture of him, saying: "The world lost a giant today, he made history and will be remembered forever."

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In a statement on the brand's Instagram page, it said Armani "worked until his final days, dedicating himself to the company, the collections and the many ongoing future projects".

It also said he was "indefatigable to the end" and "driven by relentless curiosity and a deep attention to the present and to people".

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The United Arab Emirates has warned Israel that annexing the occupied West Bank would cross a "red line" and undermine the spirit of the Abraham Accords that normalised relations between the two countries.

A senior Emirati official, Lana Nusseibeh, said such a move would be the death knell of the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Palestinian Authority's foreign ministry said it welcomed the UAE's position.

The Israeli government has not commented. But Nusseibeh's remarks came after far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich unveiled a proposal for the annexation of approximately four-fifths of the West Bank.

Israel has built about 160 settlements housing 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem - land Palestinians want, along with Gaza, for a hoped-for future state - during the 1967 Middle East war. An estimated 3.3 million Palestinians live alongside them.

The settlements are illegal under international law.

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IDF reservists were answering the latest call-up to invade Gaza City, but likely in smaller numbers and slower than in the past recruitments, an IDF briefing appeared to clarify on Wednesday.

In fact, military sources have declined to provide statistics during the briefing. Instead, they said that they will give an update on these numbers at the end of the week, indicating both that the call-up is gradual, but also that the initial numbers were not so impressive that the military would want to focus on the issue until it can give the maximum number of those who were showing up.

Often during call-ups, the military rushes out the early numbers and percentages to express its pride in the early responders.

Most of the reservists being called up are in their fifth or sixth round of service since the Israel-Hamas War broke out.Most of the reservists being called up are in their fifth or sixth round of service since the Israel-Hamas War broke out.

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President Vladimir Putin has said Russia is willing to fight to achieve all its objectives if Ukraine does not agree to a deal.

He made the remarks in China after attending a huge military parade seen as a challenge to Donald Trump and the US-dominated world order.

The US president has tried to persuade Putin to end the war, but the Russian leader, while praising Trump's "sincere desire", has so far not done so.

Visiting Kyiv, UK Defence Secretary John Healey told the BBC Trump had brought Putin to the table, and had not ruled out putting more pressure on him.

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A so-called “missing minute” of CCTV footage, a key ingredient of conspiracy theories surrounding the prison death of the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has been found, contradicting the assertion of Pam Bondi, the attorney general, that it was recorded over.

The video was in a cache of material, including 33,000 pages of records relating to the disgraced financier and former Donald Trump associate, released late on Tuesday by the US House oversight committee. The panel has been looking into Epstein’s August 2019 death at Manhattan’s Metropolitan correctional center.

In July, the same month as a government review confirmed Epstein died by suicide, the FBI released hours of surveillance footage taken from outside Epstein’s jail cell on the night he died. Observers quickly realized from time stamps that a block of one minute, from 11.59pm to midnight on 10 August, was not there.

Epstein was found unresponsive in his cell at 6.30am.

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A measure that would allow Texas residents to sue out-of-state abortion pill providers advanced to the desk of the governor, Greg Abbott, on Wednesday, setting up the state to be the first to try to crack down on the most common abortion method.

Supporters say it’s a key tool to enforce the state’s abortion ban, protecting women and fetuses.

Opponents see it not only as another way to rein in abortion but as an effort to intimidate abortion providers outside Texas who are complying with the laws in their states – and to encourage a form of vigilantism.

Texas bill allowing residents to sue out-of-state abortion pill providers reaches governor

If Greg Abbott signs, state would become first to try to crack down on the most common abortion method

Supporters say it’s a key tool to enforce the state’s abortion ban, protecting women and fetuses.

Opponents see it not only as another way to rein in abortion but as an effort to intimidate abortion providers outside Texas who are complying with the laws in their states – and to encourage a form of vigilantism.

If the measure becomes law, it’s nearly certain to spark legal challenges from abortion rights supporters.

Under the measure, Texas residents could sue those who manufacture, transport or provide abortion-inducing drugs to anyone in Texas for up to $100,000. Women who receive the pills for their own use would not be liable.

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