TV News LIES

House members got their first opportunity Thursday to grill Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as he kicked off a marathon series of seven congressional hearings in seven days with back-to-back hearings in the Ways and Means and Appropriations Committees.

In the two appearances, his first before Congress in 2026, Kennedy defended his record in leading the nation’s health agency as Democrats sought to push back against proposed budget cuts and changes to vaccine policy.

Kennedy faced a very different political environment from the one in which he appeared before Congress seven months ago, when his “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement seemed to be at its most politically powerful.

Kennedy and his allies last year overhauled the childhood vaccine schedule to recommend fewer shots while also shaking up key leadership positions across health agencies.

But with an eye on the 2026 midterm elections, the White House wants Kennedy to stop talking about vaccines and focus on other MAHA “wins.”

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House Democrats will introduce six articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday accusing him of abuse of power, war crimes and other serious wrongdoing.

Why it matters: The measure has virtually no chance of passing this Congress, but it is the latest sign that Democrats have coalesced around Hegseth as their new top target in https://www.axios.com/2026/04/15/iran-war-pete-hegseth-congress-impeachment-articles-democrats-reflecting-search-interest-orderTrump's Cabinet.

Democrats previously pushed to impeach former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and former Attorney General Pam Bondi, both of whom were ousted by Trump in recent months.
With his longstanding scandals and now the conflict with Iran, Hegseth is a prime candidate to become the party's latest boogeyman.

What they're saying: "This is just anothehttps://www.axios.com/2026/04/15/iran-war-pete-hegseth-congress-impeachment-articles-democrats-reflecting-search-interest-orderr Democrat trying to make headlines as the Department of War decisively and overwhelmingly achieved the Presidents' objectives in Iran," Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said in a statement to Axios.

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The US military said it killed four more people in a boat strike in the eastern Pacific ocean on Tuesday, marking the third deadly attack on vessels in the region in four days.

The US Southern Command, which oversees military operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, announced the killings in a social media post, claiming, without providing evidence, that the men killed were “narco-terrorists”.

The US military’s boat strikes have now killed at least 174 people since September.

Military officials have consistently alleged that the targets of its lethal boat strikes were “engaged in narco-trafficking operations” but have not presented intelligence or specific details about the individuals to support those assertions.

Legal experts and human rights advocates have repeatedly condemned the strikes as extrajudicial killings that violate US and international law, saying the military cannot execute civilians whom it accuses of crimes.

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Peter Magyar, Hungary’s newly elected opposition leader, said Monday that Ukraine alone must determine the conditions of any peace settlement with Russia, while also opposing Kyiv’s accelerated path toward European Union membership.

“No one should tell Ukraine under what conditions it must enter peace or sign a peace treaty,” Magyar said in remarks to reporters. “We cannot ask any country to give up its territory. If they do, they would be considered traitors.”

Magyar acknowledged Ukraine as the victim of the conflict but struck a cautious tone on his own potential role in diplomacy. Asked whether he would engage with Russian President Vladimir Putin, he said he would answer a phone call but would not initiate contact.

“If Vladimir Putin calls me, I will pick up the phone,” Magyar said. “I will not call him myself, but if we do talk, I can tell him to please stop the killing now, after four years.” He added that he did not expect his words to carry decisive influence with the Russian leader but expressed hope that Putin would ultimately be compelled to end the war regardless.

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President Trump says the U.S. military began a blockade of Iranian ports on Monday, drawing threats of retaliation from Iran, after talks between the U.S. and Iran failed to reach an agreement over the weekend.

"Right now we have a blockade," Trump said Monday. "They're doing no business."

In a social media post earlier, he reiterated his threat to Iranian ships that tried to interfere. "Warning: If any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED," he wrote.
https://www.npr.org/2026/04/13/nx-s1-5783445/iran-war-updates
It was the latest tactic to pressure Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz — by blockading the strait outright.

Trump says Iran has charged tolls for some ships to pass and laid mines in the strait, amounting to "WORLD EXTORTION." He said Sunday that he had instructed the Navy "to seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran."

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Two immigration judges who ruled against the Trump administration in the deportation cases of pro-Palestinian university students have been fired by the Department of Justice.

The New York Times reported over the weekend that the justice department had terminated six judges, including Roopal Patel and Nina Froes, who oversaw deportation proceedings against Rümeysa Öztürk and Mohsen Mahdawi, two students who were arrested last year as part of Trump’s campaign against the Gaza protest movement.

In an interview with the Guardian, Patel said she did not view her dismissal as “directly retaliatory” for any one case. She said it fit within a broader pattern of the administration dismissing judges near the end of their probationary term, particularly those who have experience representing immigrants in court.

“I think there’s a broader agenda of trying to reshape the immigration bench to be more reflective of the political agenda of the administration,” Patel said.

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The UK Royal Navy may be forced to request military support from France to intercept Russian vessels in British waters as the fleet struggles to meet operational commitments, the Daily Mail reported on Sunday, April 12.

Senior naval planners at Navy Command Headquarters in Portsmouth have reportedly concluded that UK forces “need help” from Paris to conduct boarding operations and provide “overwatch” for sanctioned tankers. The revelation comes despite an official denial from the UK Ministry of Defence, which stated on Saturday night that “UK waters remain protected and monitored 24/7.”

The capability gap was highlighted by reports that the UK currently has only one submarine and two frigates available for immediate operations. Last week, the Kremlin sent three submarines into northern UK waters to potentially sabotage undersea cables while HMS Dragon, Britain’s only available destroyer, was deployed to the Mediterranean.

In a further display of defiance, the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich recently escorted a pair of “shadow fleet” ships through the English Channel, despite UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s earlier vows to seize such vessels.

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Ukraine successfully conducted its 72nd prisoner exchange on Saturday, April 11, bringing home 182 citizens from Russian captivity just ahead of the Orthodox Easter holiday. The swap resulted in the release of 175 military personnel and seven civilians, according to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the return of the defenders in a social media post, noting that the group includes warriors from the Armed Forces, National Guard, and Border Guard Service. “Most of them had been in captivity since 2022,” Zelensky stated. “Finally, they are home. It is a matter of principle for us to return everyone from Russian captivity.”

A major highlight of this exchange was the return of 25 officers, a group the Russian side had previously categorically refused to include in negotiations. More than half of the freed defenders were captured during the siege of Mariupol, while several National Guard members taken prisoner during the occupation of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP) in the early days of the invasion were also released.

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