TV News LIES

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie slammed comments from Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell in which she said President Donald Trump was not guilty of any wrongdoing and praised him as "cordial" and "kind."

"She might as well have taken out Donald Trump, or President Trump, and said, 'The man who can pardon me has never done anything wrong. The man who can pardon me has always been wonderful," Christie, a rare vocal critic of Trump in the Republican party, told ABC's "This Week" on Aug. 24.

"I don't think Donald Trump had anything to do with Jeffrey Epstein that was untoward or illegal, but we're going to believe Ghislaine Maxwell?" Christie asked. "Give me a break."

Maxwell told Attorney General Todd Blanche during hours of interviews last month that Trump "was never inappropriate with anybody," and was "a gentleman in all respects."

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David Lammy has joined 20 other foreign ministers around the world in condemning Israeli plans to build an illegal settlement on the West Bank, Israeli ambassador to UK summoned as joint statement says move will fuel further violence and break international law

The foreign secretary co-signed a joint statement on Thursday criticising the so-called E1 plan, a 3,400-home settlement that critics say would divide the West Bank in half.

Officials then summoned Tzipi Hotovely to the Foreign Office in a rare public rebuke for the Israeli ambassador. The actions marked a further intensification of recent international criticism for Israel over its tactics in Gaza and the West Bank.

The statement, which was signed by 21 countries including the UK, Australia, Canada and France, said: “The decision by the Israeli higher planning committee to approve plans for settlement construction in the E1 area, east of Jerusalem, is unacceptable and a violation of international law. We condemn this decision and call for its immediate reversal in the strongest terms.”

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Thousands of people gathered in Tel Aviv and across Israel on Saturday night in weekly protests calling on the government to make a deal with the Hamas terror group for a hostage release deal and ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, while thousands more gathered for a separate Jewish-Arab anti-war protest.

The demonstrations came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he had issued instructions for negotiations to be held for the return of all 50 hostages, even as he moved toward approving plans for a military offensive aimed at conquering Gaza City.

Hamas said last week it had agreed to a proposed deal, which would see the release of 10 living hostages and the bodies of 18 slain hostages during a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, as well as the release of hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners. During the ceasefire, Israel and Hamas would hold negotiations for the return of all remaining hostages and a permanent end to the war.

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US defense officials have blocked Ukraine from using US-supplied long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia since late spring as part of a Trump administration effort to get Vladimir Putin to engage in peace talks , according to a report on Saturday.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Pentagon has blocked Ukraine from using US-made Army Tactical Missile Systems, or Atacms.

Two US officials told the outlet that on at least one occasion, Ukraine had sought to use Atacms against a target but was denied under a “review mechanism” developed by Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s undersecretary for policy, that governs how US long-range weapons or those provided by European allies that rely on American intelligence and components can be used.

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Zohran Mamdani pulled in almost double the funds of his nearest rivals for New York City mayor between early July and mid-August, as the candidates prepare for the crucial post Labor Day push to the November poll.

New York’s City’s campaign finance board said on Saturday that the democratic socialist, who won the Democratic party nomination in June against former state governor Andrew Cuomo, raised $1,051,200, with an average donation of $121 recorded equally from donors in and outside the state.

Cuomo raised $541,301, with an contribution size of $646. The incumbent mayor, Eric Adams, running as an independent, raised $425,181, with an average donation of $770. Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa brought in $407, 332.

Mamdani’s fundraising dominance is mirrored in a polling advantage. Last week, a Siena poll placed him at 19 points ahead of Cuomo, his nearest rival, who is also running as an independent. A 12-poll average from Decision Desk HQ puts Mamdani ahead of Cuomo by 13 points.

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The Democratic governors of Rhode Island and Connecticut promised on Saturday to fight a Trump administration order halting work on a nearly complete wind farm off their coasts that was expected to be operational next year.

The Revolution Wind project was about 80% complete, with 45 of its 65 turbines already installed, according to the Danish wind farm developer Ørsted, when the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management sent the firm a letter on Friday ordering it to “halt all ongoing activities”.

The Democratic governors of Rhode Island and Connecticut promised on Saturday to fight a Trump administration order halting work on a nearly complete wind farm off their coasts that was expected to be operational next year.

The Revolution Wind project was about 80% complete, with 45 of its 65 turbines already installed, according to the Danish wind farm developer Ørsted, when the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management sent the firm a letter on Friday ordering it to “halt all ongoing activities”.

“In particular, BOEM is seeking to address concerns related to the protection of national security interests in the United States,” wrote Matt Giacona, the agency’s acting director, adding that Ørsted “may not resume activities” until the agency has completed a review of the project.

Giacona said that the project, which had already cleared years of federal and state reviews, now needs to be re-examined in light of Donald Trump’s order, on the first day of his second term, to consider “terminating or amending any existing wind energy leases”.

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Supreme Court justices routinely trade barbs in their opinions and dissents, but it’s pretty rare for a sitting justice to plainly state that their colleagues are merely a bunch of partisan hacks. But that’s essentially what Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson did in her dissent in a case about President Donald Trump’s cancellation of National Institutes of Health grants.

The court’s split decision in National Institutes of Health v. American Public Health Association on Thursday focused on whether the association, 16 states and other plaintiffs could challenge Trump’s cancellation of the grants as “arbitrary and capricious” under the Administrative Procedure Act, the law governing how executive branch agencies may take actions.

Five conservative justices — Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — issued an opinion on the emergency docket, without argument, that the plaintiffs can’t bring a challenge to restore the cancelled funding in federal district court, but rather must file suit in the Court of Federal Claims as a claim for monetary damages.

Meanwhile, in a seperate issue, five justices — John Roberts, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Barrett and Jackson — ruled that claims challenging agency action under the APA can be brought in district courts.

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Michael Cohen, an ex-personal attorney for Donald Trump, reacted to the shocking FBI raid of former national security adviser John Bolton’s home on Friday by reminding MSNBC viewers that he’s “been there” himself.

“I believe that he needs to lawyer up,” said Cohen, whose office, home and hotel room were raided by the FBI back in 2018.

Cohen — a former fixer for Trump who pleaded guilty and served time in prison for charges tied to https://tse2.mm.bing.net/th/id/OIP.wBdsS1G7PCgFxy-FMlLbFwHaEK?pid=Api&P=0&h=220a hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels — said the Trump administration and Justice Department “predicated” the raid upon the contents of Bolton’s 2020 book, “The Room Where It Happened,” that details his time in Trump’s first administration.

The DOJ launched an investigation into Bolton in 2020, looking into whether the book contained classified national security information. The DOJ ended that probe under President Joe Biden the following year.

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