TV News LIES

Australia lashes Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu after he said the country’s prime minister was weak, with a top minister saying strength is more than “how many people you can blow up.”

For decades Australia has considered itself a close friend of Israel, but the relationship has swiftly unravelled since Canberra announced last week it would recognize a Palestinian state.

Netanyahu drastically escalated a war of words on Tuesday night, calling his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese a “weak politician who betrayed Israel.

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Boston’s mayor Michelle Wu has hit back sharply at the Trump administration’s legal threats over sanctuary city immigration policies, declaring that “Boston will not back down”.

Wu told a news conference outside Boston’s city hall on Tuesday: “The US attorney general asked for a response by today, so here it is: stop attacking our cities to hide your administration’s failures. Unlike the Trump administration, Boston fhttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/19/boston-sanctuary-cities-michelle-wu-trump-administrationollows the law. And Boston will not back down from who we are and what we stand for.”

Last week, the US Department of Justice sent letters to 13 states, from California to Rhode Island, and 22 local governments, from Boston to Seattle, that it has deemed “sanctuary jurisdictions”, threatening their leaders with prosecution for allegedly “undermining” and “obstructing” federal immigration enforcement.

The letters warned that they could lose federal funds or face legal action if they do not assist with Donald Trump’s sweeping, aggressive and highly controversial immigration enforcement and mass deportation efforts.

Attorney general Pam Bondi has warned that she intends to prosecute political leaders who are not – in her view - sufficiently supportive of immigration enforcement.

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As many as 35,000 Ukrainian children are still missing and thought to be held in Russia or Russian-occupied territories, according to an American team of experts, with families saying they are being forced to take desperate and risky measures to try to rescue them.

As Russian forces began their invasion in February 2022, children were abducted from care homes, from the battlefield after the death of their parents, or under coercion directly from their families.

Russia has rejected demands for the children to be returned, with an official accusing Ukraine of “staging a show on the topic of lost children” during ceasefire talks in Turkey this month.

Speaking to the Guardian, one mother has described her own dramatic rescue of her two teenage sons who were held in a camp in Russia for almost six months.

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Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard revoked the security clearances of 37 current and former intelligence officials, sharing the list in a move that prompted swift criticism that the Trump administration was politicizing clearances.

Among those on the list are several Biden administration officials, including Maher Bitar, who joined the National Security Council (NSC) after previously working for then-House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) amid the first Trump impeachment. Bitar has since returned to Schiff’s office, but he has captured the attention of right-wing activist Laura Loomer, who has complained on the social platform X about his retention of a clearance.

Emily Horne, an NSC spokesperson under Biden, also had her clearance revoked, as did Brett Holmgren, who most recently served as assistant secretary of State for intelligence and research and is married to former Biden White House counsel Dana Remus.

Gabbard, without evidence, accused those listed of politicizing or leaking intelligence or “committing intentional egregious violations of tradecraft standards.”

She said the move came at the direction of President Trump.

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A panel of federal appellate judges ruled Tuesday that New Mexico’s seven-day waiting period on gun purchases likely infringes on citizens’ Second Amendment rights, putting the law on hold pending a legal challenge.

The ruling by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sends the case back to a lower court. New Mexico’s waiting period went into effect in May 2024, and does hold an exception for concealed permit holders.

“Cooling-off periods do not fit into any historically grounded exceptions to the right to keep and bear arms, and burden conduct within the Second Amendment’s scope,” wrote Judge Timothy Tymkovich in the split 2-1 ruling. ”We conclude that New Mexico’s Waiting Period Act is likely an unconstitutional burden on the Second Amendment rights of its citizens.

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Texas state Rep. Nicole Collier filed a writ of habeas corpus on Tuesday in the district court of Travis County, Texas, claiming the state legislature’s Republican majority has unlawfully detained her in the state Capitol after she refused to consent to 24-hour police surveillance.

Collier, a Democrat representing Fort Worth, is one of over 50 Texas Democratic legislators who fled the state on Aug. 3 to block Republicans from enacting a new congressional map at President Donald Trump’s urging to create five new GOP seats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Hamas has agreed to the latest proposal from regional mediators for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal with Israel, a source in the Palestinian armed group has told the BBC.

The proposal from Egypt and Qatar is said to be based on a framework put forward by US envoy Steve Witkoff in June.

It would see Hamas free around half of the 50 remaining Israeli hostages - 20 of whom are believed to be alive - in two batches during an initial 60-day truce. There would also be negotiations on a permanent ceasefire.

It is unclear what Israel's response will be, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said last week that it would only accept a deal if "all the hostages are released in one go".

In a video released after the reports of Hamas's approval emerged, Netanyahu did not comment directly but said that "from them you can get one impression - Hamas is under immense pressure."

The Israeli military's chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, meanwhile said it was at a turning point in the 22-month war, with the "focus on enhancing the strikes against Hamas in Gaza City".

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D.C. National Guard members patrolling Washington as part of the Trump administration's plan to ramp up policing may soon be carrying weapons, a Guard spokesperson said Sunday.

The Army had said last week that Guard members would not be carrying weapons and would not be making arrests.

But on Sunday, Army Senior Master Sgt. Craig Clapper told NPR in a statement that "Guard members may be armed consistent with their mission and training."

"Their presence is focused on supporting civil authorities and ensuring the safety of the community they serve," Clapper added. "The DC National Guard remains committed to assisting the District of Columbia and serving its residents and visitors whenever called upon."

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