TV News LIES

A federal appeals court panel on Monday upheld an order that disqualified Sigal Chattah from the top federal prosecutorial job in Nevada, ruling that the Justice Department’s effort to sidestep Senate confirmation is unlawful. 

A three-judge panel for the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed in a 36-page opinion that Chattah cannot continue to oversee criminal prosecutions for a group of defendants who challenged her appointment.

The ruling rejects the Trump administration’s legal maneuvers that attempted to keep Chattah in the job by leveraging vacancy rules for key government positions.  

Under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, the first assistant to a Senate-confirmed officer assumes the acting role by default when a vacancy occurs.

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In Iowa, one of the key battleground states in November’s midterm elections, just about every political candidate agrees on one thing: something must be done about the state’s rising rates of cancer.

The midwestern state has the second-highest rate of cancer nationwide and, together with Utah and West Virginia, is one of only three states where incidences of the disease are rising, according to cancer rate monitoring from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.

Promises to address the issue are now top of mind for candidates ahead of the 3 November elections, in which Iowa may play an important role in deciding control of Congress for the final two years of Donald Trump’s term.

Republicans hoping to preserve their party’s dominance of the state and Democrats who believe conditions are right for them to win key races have pledged to make fighting the disease a priority. Where they differ is in their views over the degree to which the state’s powerhouse farm economy has contributed to making Iowans sick, and what to do about it.

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Attorney General Todd Blanche said he would consider President Donald Trump's views on prosecutions, rejecting the notion of an independent Department of Justice.

"Will I take the president of the United States’ view on something into consideration? Yes, of course," Blanche said in an Aug. 16 interview on NBC News' "Meet the Press." When asked if he would act independently from the White House, Blanche answered: "No, I’m not going to pledge that."

The Department of Justice has largely operated independently of the White House since the Watergate scandal, which led to President Richard Nixon's resignation.

Since returning to the White House, Trump has overseen major changes at the Justice Department, including the firing of dozens of officials and the departure of thousands of lawyers. Critics contend the DOJ has become a tool for targeting Trump's political opponents.

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Alaska US Senate candidate Mary Peltola has rejected the support of Kamala Harris, her fellow Democrat, after the 2024 presidential candidate sent out a seemingly unsolicited fundraising appeal on Peltola’s behalf.

Harris, who lost Alaska – typically a Republican-voting state – by 13 points during her unsuccessful White House run, on Wednesday sent an email from her political organization to supporters of Peltola, a former US House member.

“If there’s anyone who can flip Alaska and secure the Senate majority for Democrats – it’s Mary,” the email, which was signed “Kamala Harris”, said. “But she cannot do it alone.”

It asked recipients to donate to Fight for the People Pac, which Harris set up last year. Donations would be split between Harris’s organization and Peltola, the email said.

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President Donald Trump‘s administration lost its second top official in just as many days on Friday, with White House deputy national security adviser Andy Baker confirming his departure some 48 hours after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced hers.

“This has been an amazing journey,” Baker told Axios in a statement Friday. “I’m proud of everything we’ve achieved and, of course, am incredibly grateful to the President, Vice President [JD Vance], and Secretary [of State Marco] Rubio.”

The news comes on the heels of Leavitt confirming her own exit Wednesday on social media, similarly stating how “incredibly grateful” she was to the president and describing her tenure in the administration as “the adventure of a lifetime.”

Leavitt gave birth to her second child in May and explained in her announcement Wednesday that she is leaving to be with her family. A source close to Baker told Axios Friday that he similarly plans to spend more time with his family.

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Newly disclosed records reveal the US government extensively spied on prominent leftwing organizations and on protesters as part of a vast operation into groups opposing the immigration crackdown in Minnesota earlier this year.

Internal investigative reports show the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sent undercover agents to community meetings in the Twin Cities and New York City, infiltrated Signal chats and obtained financial records of mainstream unions and left-leaning non-profit groups.

Nearly 30 internal law enforcement reports were released on Thursday as part of a criminal case the Department of Justice (DoJ) has filed against 15 Minneapolis protesters. The defendants are accused of a “conspiracy” to “impede” US immigration officers during the Trump administration’s surge in the region.

The DHS investigative reports were disclosed by the government and submitted to the court by an attorney for one of the defendants. The records show that in January, DHS launched an inquiry called “Operation Puppet Master” to identify a “network of conspirators” organizing against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The operation came as community organizing against ICE was swelling in the region in response to the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

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