TV News LIES

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on Monday condemned Woody Allen for speaking virtually at a Russian film festival over the weekend, calling his participation in the event “a disgrace and an insult” to the victims of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

According to Russian media, Allen spoke Sunday at the Moscow International Film Week via video conference. The appearance put him at odds with the Hollywood establishment, which has embraced the Ukraine cause during Russia’s 3 1/2-year war, with prominent actors signing on to the United24 crowdfunding initiative and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy making virtual appearances at past Golden Globes and Grammys ceremonies.

Footage aired by Russian state TV showed the filmmaker addressing a tightly packed movie theater from a massive screen, with pro-Kremlin film director Fyodor Bondarchuk moderating the session. Russian media reports quoted Allen as saying that he has always liked Russian cinema, recounting his past trips to Russia and the Soviet Union, and talking about what he would do if he were to receive a proposal to direct a movie in the country.

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A large bruise on the back on Donald Trump’s right hand, which the president appeared to be hiding, poorly, under a daub of makeup last week, was clearly visible during public appearances on Monday, renewing speculation that the White House might be concealing information about his health.

Last month, after similar speculation over Trump’s swollen ankles prompted questions, the White House physician, Sean Barbabella, revealed in a memo that the president was suffering from chronic venous insufficiency.

In the same memo, Barbabella said that images showing bruising on Trump’s hand were “consistent with minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking” and his use of aspirin as a precaution against heart attacks.

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President Trump threatened major broadcast networks in a string of social media posts late Sunday, suggesting they be fined or taken off the air due to their polling and coverage of his administration.

“Why is it that ABC and NBC FAKE NEWS, two of the absolute worst and most biased networks anywhere in the World, aren’t paying Millions of Dollars a year in LICENSE FEES,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform Sunday night. “They should lose their Licenses for their unfair coverage of Republicans and/or Conservatives, but at a minimum, they should pay up BIG for having the privilege of using the most valuable airwaves anywhere at anytime!!! Crooked ‘journalism’ should not be rewarded, it should be terminated!!!”

In another post, the president called ABC and NBC “two of the worst and most biased networks in history,” which “give me 97% BAD STORIES.”

“IF THAT IS THE CASE, THEY ARE SIMPLY AN ARM OF THE DEMOCRAT PARTY AND SHOULD, ACCORDING TO MANY, HAVE THEIR LICENSES REVOKED BY THE FCC,” he continued. “I would be totally in favor of that because they are so biased and untruthful, an actual threat to our Democracy!!!”

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Israel struck one of the main hospitals in the Gaza Strip on Monday and then hit the facility again as journalists and rescue workers rushed to the scene, killing at least 20 people and wounding scores more, local health workers said.

It was among the deadliest of several Israeli strikes that have hit both hospitals and journalists over the course of the 22-month war sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, and the assault came as Israel plans to widen its offensive to heavily populated areas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the strike on Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis was a “tragic mishap” and that the military was investigating.

Israeli media reported that troops fired two artillery shells, targeting what they suspected was a Hamas surveillance camera on the roof. The Reuters news agency said one of its reporters, who was operating a live television shot, was killed in the first strike, citing hospital officials.

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– President Donald Trump rekindled his Hudson River rivalry with former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as they quibbled about what is a bridge too far in punishing political rivals.

The latest salvo came from the Oval Office, where the native New Yorker president insulted Christie on Aug. 25 as “a slob.” But Trump stopped short of saying Christie should be investigated criminally for his role in closing lanes of the George Washington Bridge as alleged retaliation against a mayor who didn’t endorse him.

“I think we have other things to do,” Trump said before adding: “I always thought he got away with murder.”

The political quibble came after Christie, a former U.S. attorney and two-time Republican presidential primary opponent of Trump, joined a chorus of critics accusing the president of wielding the Justice Department as his personal legal representative.

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A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia for a second time – after he was wrongfully removed to El Salvador earlier this year.

District Judge Paula Xinis of Maryland ruled from the bench on Monday, Aug. 25, that the government cannot deport Abrego Garcia until she can hold a hearing on his latest lawsuit challenging his deportation.

Xinis’ order came just hours after U.S. immigration agents detained Abrego Garcia when he reported to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore for what his attorneys had been told was a mandatory check-in. Agents detained him within 60 seconds of his arrival, said his attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg.

Abrego Garcia’s detention is the latest chapter in a case that started back in March when he was stopped near his home in Maryland and deported to a Salvadoran mega-prison. The case has fueled outrage over the Trump administration’s hardline deportation policies.

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Israel has completely destroyed more than 1,000 buildings in the Zeitoun and Sabra neighbourhoods of Gaza City since it started its invasion of the city on August 6, trapping hundreds under the rubble, the Palestinian Civil Defence says.

The agency said in a statement on Sunday that ongoing shelling and blocked access routes are preventing many rescue and aid operations in the area.

Emergency workers continue to receive numerous reports of missing people but are unable to respond, while hospitals are overwhelmed by the toll of the attacks, it added.

“There are grave concerns about the continued incursion of Israeli forces into Gaza City, at a time when field crews lack the capacity to deal with the intensity of the ongoing Israeli attacks,” the Civil Defence said.

“There is no safe area in the Gaza Strip, whether in the north or south, where shelling continues to target civilians in their homes, shelters, and even in their displacement camps.”

Israeli tanks have been rolling into the Sabra neighbourhood as Israel moves to fully occupy Gaza City, forcing close to 1 million Palestinians there southwards.

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The official White House newsletter has posted an article titled "President Trump Is Right About the Smithsonian." It calls out some of the institution's artwork, exhibitions, programs and online articles that focus on race, slavery, immigration and sexuality. That includes works at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, The National Portrait Gallery, and The National Museum of the American Latino.

The list of objectionable content comes a week after White House officials sent a letter asking eight of the Smithsonian's museums to submit their current and future plans for exhibitions, social media content and other material. The institution's director Lonnie Bunch was told it had 120 days to comply for what the administration says will be a "comprehensive review," in order to bring the Smithsonian in line with Trump's cultural directives ahead of the country's 250th anniversary celebrations.

The administration has directed the museums to replace "divisive or ideologically driven language with unifying, historically accurate and constructive descriptions."

NPR reached out to the White House asking for comment about the article highlighting the Smithsonian artists. They have not responded.

The list of artists and content seems to be drawn from art that was highlighted in a recent article in The Federalist. The conservative online magazine argued that the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, for example, was filled with "wall-to-wall, anti-American propaganda."

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