TV News LIES

A federal judge has reversed a freeze put on funds by Donald Trump for $16bn in enhanced rail links connecting New York and New Jersey amid reports that the US president wants major travel landmarks named after him in return for continued investment.

The Gateway Project will build a new commuter rail tunnel between Manhattan and New Jersey under the Hudson River on the western side of New York City and repair a century-old tunnel used by more than 200,000 travelers and 425 trains daily.

The existing River tunnel was heavily damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and needs frequent emergency repairs that disrupt travel on the nation’s most heavily used passenger rail line.

The US district judge Jeannette Vargas in New York on Friday handed down the temporary ruling hours after New York and New Jersey authorities said construction would halt for lack of funding.

Vargas said the states were likely to succeed on their claims that a Trump administration directive freezing the funds was arbitrary and ran afoul of legal procedures for making policy changes.

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Former President Bill Clinton blasted Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) on Friday as he and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton prepare to sit for depositions in the House Oversight Committee’s investigation of disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

After Republicans and Democrats on the Committee threatened the Clintons with contempt if they ignored subpoenas, the couple agreed to testify under oath about their relationship with Epstein on Feb. 26 and 27.

The depositions are scheduled to be in-person, private and both videotaped and transcribed ― the same format the committee used when it heard from former special counsel Jack Smith during a closed-door hearing in December.

Hillary Clinton lashed out at Comer on Thursday, saying on social media, “If you want this fight ... let’s have it―in public.”

The former president offered his own blistering multi-part Comer critique on Friday, calling the investigation of the couple’s Epstein connections “pure politics” that only serve “partisan interests.”

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Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard is coming under scrutiny from lawmakers in both parties for delays in transmitting a whistleblower complaint and her involvement in two different seizures of voting records.

On Monday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Gabbard’s office had failed to relay a whistleblower report made last May accusing her of wrongdoing to Congress.

Two days later, Gabbard’s office confirmed its involvement in the seizure of voting machines in Puerto Rico, news that came after the DNI was spotted during the execution of a search warrant in Fulton County, Ga.

Sen. Mark Warner (Va.), the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, has been highly critical of Gabbard on both fronts, hammering her for failing to swiftly turn over the whistleblower report while calling her involvement in voting a threat to the coming elections.

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For years, Maher Tarabishi kept his disabled son alive.

A chronic muscular disease diagnosed when he was a child had confined Wael Tarabishi to his bed and forced him to depend on a feeding tube for survival. His father became his primary caregiver, doing whatever he needed, whenever he needed it.

The disease left Wael unable to eat, drink or walk, so the feeding tube was his lifeline. When it became clogged or dirty, Maher would clean it and could change it in an emergency. When Wael needed medication, Maher crushed the pills up finely, added a little water, and injected them into the feeding tube with a syringe. Several times a day, Maher used a suction device to remove saliva and mucus from Wael’s mouth to keep him from choking.

But when the end finally came, Maher was not at his son’s side. He was in a detention center more than three hours from the family’s home in Arlington, Texas, the same facility where he has been held since he was arrested during a routine check-in with federal immigration officials last October.

His family had pleaded for the government to release him on humanitarian grounds so he could continue his son’s care, but U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement denied the request. When Wael died on Jan. 23, federal officials barred Tarabishi from performing a final paternal act for his son: They refused to let him go to the funeral.

“ICE is responsible for the death of Wael,” said his sister-in-law, Shahd Arnaout, who watched his health rapidly deteriorate in his father’s absence.

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Washington Post CEO and publisher Will Lewis has tendered his resignation, according to reports.

Matt Viser, the Post's White House bureau chief, shared a screenshot of the email that newsroom staffed received in a Saturday, Feb. 7 X post.

"All - After two years of transformation at The Washinton Post, now is the right time for me to step aside," Lewis said. "I want to thank Jeff Bezos for his support and leadership throughout my tenure as CEO and Publisher. The institution could not have a better owner."

The announcement comes days after sweeping layoffs hit the Washington, D.C. based newsroom, causing hundreds of job cuts and the shuttering of multiple desks.

Jeff D'Onofrio, chief financial officer of the newspaper owned by Jeff Bezos, will serve as acting publisher and CEO, the Post said, according to Reuters.

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Israeli forces have detained two journalists, two foreign solidarity activists and a Palestinian anti-settlement activist in the southern occupied West Bank city of Hebron while they were documenting attacks carried out by illegal Israeli settlers, according to local sources.

Osama Makhamera, a Palestinian activist involved in resisting settlement expansion, told Anadolu on Friday that Israeli forces stormed the Rujum al-Aala area after illegal settlers attacked residents of the Masafer Yatta region, south of Hebron.

He said the forces detained two journalists working with a foreign media outlet, along with two foreign activists and Rateb al-Jbour, coordinator of the popular and national committees opposing illegal Israeli settlement activity in southern Hebron, as they were documenting the settler assault.

Makhamera added that the detainees were taken to a nearby Israeli settlement in the area. Al-Jbour was later released, while the fate of the journalists and foreign activists remains unknown.

He said the Rujum al-Aala community has faced repeated attacks by illegal settlers, with incidents escalating in recent days.

The assaults have left residents wounded, including women and children, caused extensive damage to homes and property, destroyed crops, and prevented residents from accessing their farmland and grazing areas.

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Ukrainian offensives now account for a quarter of frontline clashes, with drones responsible for 60% of battlefield damage, AFU chief Syrsky says, as Kyiv keeps pressure on Russian forces.

About a quarter of all frontline clashes are initiated by Ukrainian forces, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) Oleksandr Syrsky said.

Speaking to journalists, Syrsky said Ukraine’s Defense Forces are actively conducting offensive and counteroffensive operations, aimed at keeping  Russian troops under constant pressure, inflicting losses, and preventing further advances.

“These tactics are yielding results,” he said, adding that Russian forces achieved no significant operational successes in January.

Syrsky said Ukrainian troops carried out three offensive operations in 2025, two on Russian territory – in the Belgorod and Kursk regions – and one in the Dobropillya sector. He added that these actions disrupted Russia’s plans to seize the Donetsk region and create so-called buffer zones.

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Members of Congress will be able to begin reviewing the unredacted version of the Justice Department’s files on Jeffrey Epstein on Monday morning, according to two sources familiar with the DOJ’s plans.

The review process will take place in person at the DOJ, according to a letter to members of Congress obtained by NBC News. The members will be able to review the material on computers at the DOJ offices but not the physical documents themselves.

The letter states that members can review the documents in person, provided they give the DOJ 24 hours’ notice. The option at this point is only available to members of Congress — and not their staff. They may take notes but can’t bring in any electronic devices, the letter said.

The review will only be of the 3 million files currently available to the public, not the extensive trove of more than 6 million documents in total that the DOJ says it has in its possession.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche promised members of Congress access to the material when he announced the release of all the documents officials planned to make public last Friday.

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