TV News LIES

Independent journalist Don Lemon on Thursday called on news reporters covering President Trump to “have some dignity and a backbone,” using former late-night host Stephen Colbert as an example.

Lemon, on his podcast “The Don Lemon Show,” said that “all of the late-night shows are going dark” to praise Colbert ahead of the final episode of “The Late Show.” Then he turned his attention to the Washington Press Corps.

“Do not let Karoline Leavitt call on the next person when you’re not finishing your question. Stand up for your colleagues,” he said, referring to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. “Stand up for yourself. Have some dignity and a backbone.”

He urged White House reporters to stand up for their colleagues and “stand up for respect” when facing Trump’s insults during questioning, telling them to “stand up for the First Amendment.”

“The next time someone calls one of your coworkers a piggy, the next time he calls them a loser, the next time he insults them, the next time he tells a Black woman that she knows dirt better than him, say something!” Lemon yelled.

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The Israeli police is operating a special department in the occupied West Bank to monitor foreign journalists who wish to enter Israel or the occupied Palestinian territory.

According to a report by Haaretz on Tuesday, the special police department works closely with Israel's Population and Immigration Authority, which is stationed at international crossings as well as the Allenby Bridge Crossing in the West Bank.

Haaretz obtained a police document detailing articles and social media activity by Alessandro Stefanelli, an Italian freelance journalist, who entered Israel and the West Bank several times in the past.

The police deemed Stefanelli critical of Israel, branding him "a journalist and photographer who provides one-sided coverage of Israel".

In July last year, the Italian journalist was informed that his visa to Israel had been revoked, with the Israeli embassy in Rome not providing any explanation as to why his visa was cancelled.

Despite this, Stefanelli tried to enter the West Bank through the Allenby Bridge Crossing, which connects the Palestinian territory to Jordan, but was denied entry by the Population and Immigration Authority.

Stefanelli "calls for international intervention against 'settler violence' and draws a one-sided map" a police report said after he filed a petition to an Israeli court to grant him access to Israel and the West Bank, further accusing the journalist of being "in contact with militants".

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Jimmy Kimmel is making sure Stephen Colbert has the spotlight as CBS' "The Late Show" wraps.

The late-night comedian will show his respect for Colbert by not airing a new episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on Thursday, May 21, the day of Colbert's final "Late Show," USA TODAY has learned.

The news was first reported by LateNighter. Kimmel told the outlet he isn't going on the air that night out of deference to Colbert. The comic is not otherwise on hiatus from "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" that week, as new episodes are still scheduled for May 18 through May 20 on ABC.

Kimmel made a similar decision in 2015, deciding not to air a new episode opposite David Letterman's final "Late Show" on CBS. "I have too much respect for Dave to do anything that would distract viewers from watching his final show," Kimmel told The New York Times. "Plus, I'll probably be crying all day, which makes it hard to work."

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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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The New Civil Liberties Alliance, on behalf of its clients Jill Hines and Dr. Aaron Kheriaty, has reached a settlement agreement and Consent Decree concluding the landmark Missouri v. Biden lawsuit against government-induced social media censorship.

This is the same case that previously went to the U.S. Supreme Court as Murthy v. Missouri when the Biden Administration appealed a Preliminary Injunction that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit awarded NCLA’s clients. The Consent Decree awaits final court approval by Judge Terry Doughty of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, along with the attorneys’ fees.

The unprecedented settlement prohibits the U.S. Surgeon General, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) from threatening social media companies into removing or suppressing constitutionally protected speech on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn and YouTube.

It also bars these government authorities from directing or vetoing the companies’ social media content moderation choices. Representing individual plaintiffs in this lawsuit who were censored on social media as part of the Biden Administration’s “whole of government” effort to oppose speech it disliked, NCLA celebrates this milestone victory for First Amendment free speech rights.https://nclalegal.org/press_release/ncla-reaches-historic-settlement-strikes-major-blow-against-governments-social-media-censorship/

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Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested a journalist working for local news outlet Nashville Noticias during a March 4 traffic stop in South Nashville, according to an emergency petition filed by her attorneys in federal court.

Attorneys for the journalist, Estefany Maria Rodriguez Flores, wrote in the petition filed March 4 that she was arrested without a warrant. Rodriguez said she was not shown one, according to her petition. One of her attorneys, Joel Coxander of Mira Legal, spoke with an ICE agent who indicated there was no arrest warrant for her at the time of her arrest, the petition states.

The Department of Homeland Security said on March 6 that this is "simply not true" and that it had a valid arrest warrant on Rodriguez. It filed in court March 6 a picture of a crumpled piece of paper dated March 2 titled "Warrant for Arrest of Alien." The paper, which appears to have been signed by an authorized immigration officer, orders the arrest of Rodriguez for removal proceedings.

She is currently detained in the Etowah County Jail in northeast Alabama, according to DHS' court filing.

Rodriguez had a meeting scheduled for March 17 with ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations. She frequently reported on stories critical of ICE for Nashville Noticias, the Spanish-language outlet.

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