TV News LIES

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani denounced the “horrific” crisis playing out in Minnesota while vowing to do “everything in my power” to ensure New York City is not the target of similar immigration crackdowns by President Donald Trump’s administration.

During an interview on Sunday’s episode of “This Week” that was conducted before Minneapolis resident Alex Pretti was killed by U.S. Border Patrol agents, Mamdani accused the White House of gaslighting Americans about why an immigration enforcement officer fatally shot another person earlier this month.

Federal officials have accused that victim, Renée Good, of attempting to ram Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers with her vehicle in an act of domestic terrorism, despite extensive video evidence and witness accounts appearing to show Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel were in no imminent danger.

“I think that there are too many Americans who are being asked to not believe their own eyes, not believe their own ears, not believe their own realities,” Mamdani told ABC’s Jonathan Karl. “And people want to hear the truth.

“They want to see the truth. And that’s why I described that as a murder because there’s no other way to watch that video and come to a different conclusion.”

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Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) urged President Trump’s MAGA base to “take off their political blinders” as she expressed skepticism about the use of force deployed during the latest shooting in Minnesota involving a federal immigration agent.

In a post on the social platform X, Greene touted her support for law enforcement and immigration enforcement, but she also defended the right to legally carry firearms, indirectly pushing back on claims that 37-year-old Alex Pretti posed a threat to federal officers because he was armed.

In a post on the social platform X, Greene touted her support for law enforcement and immigration enforcement, but she also defended the right to legally carry firearms, indirectly pushing back on claims that 37-year-old Alex Pretti posed a threat to federal officers because he was armed. 

“I unapologetically believe in border security and deporting criminal illegal aliens and I support law enforcement. However, I also unapologetically support the 2nd amendment,” Greene wrote. “Legally carrying a firearm is not the same as brandishing a firearm.”

“I support American’s 1st and 4th amendment rights,” she continued. “There is nothing wrong with legally peacefully protesting and videoing.”

The Trump administration has defended the shooting, saying the agent fired “defensive shots” at Pretti, who had a gun that was recovered by federal authorities. Others have accused the agent of acting with excessive force, pointing to video footage showing Pretti recording Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers with his phone before the incident escalated.

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Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez said she has had enough of orders from Washington, in a speech to a group of oil workers broadcast on Venezuela’s state-run television network Sunday.

Rodríguez’s remarks come a little more than three weeks after President Trump announced the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in an audacious military raid in Caracas. He has since declared the U.S. would take over the country’s oil industry and dictate orders to the government. 

“Enough already of Washington’s orders over politicians in Venezuela,” Rodríguez told a group of oil workers in Puerto La Cruz, CNN reported. 

“Let Venezuelan politics resolve our differences and our internal conflicts. This republic has paid a very high price for having to confront the consequences of fascism and extremism in our country.”

Trump greenlit Rodríguez staying in her role after the capture and transfer of Maduro to New York to stand trial for criminal drug charges. 

Trump told reporters last week that Rodríguez had “shown very strong leadership so far,” “had done a very good job,” and was working with the U.S. to move millions of barrels of oil “into the United States.”

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The editorial board of The Wall Street Journal is pushing back on the federal government’s account of the shooting death of Alex Pretti during a confrontation with immigration authorities in Minneapolis over the weekend.

The Journal, in an editorial published Sunday, called the incident “the worst … to date in what is becoming a moral and political debacle for the Trump Presidency.”

“Videos of an event aren’t always definitive, but this is how it looks to us,” the newspaper wrote. “Pretti attempted, foolishly, to assist a woman who had been pepper-sprayed by agents. Multiple agents then tackled Pretti, and he had a phone in one hand as he lay on the ground. An agent discovered a concealed gun on Pretti, and disarmed him. An agent then shot Pretti, and multiple shots followed.”

Top White House official Stephen Miller called Pretti “a domestic terrorist,” while federal immigration leaders have defended his shooting death.

“He was a nurse without a criminal record,” the Journal wrote, pushing back on Miller. “Pretti made a tragic mistake by interfering with ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] agents, but that warranted arrest, not a death sentence. The agents may say they felt threatened, but it’s worth noting the comments over the weekend by police around the country who say that this isn’t how they conduct law enforcement.”

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The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and its three accompanying warships have sailed into the Middle East region, providing President Trump additional military firepower if he decides to strike Iran. 

The USS Abraham Lincoln, which is equipped with Mk 57 Mod3 Sea Sparrow surface-to-air missile launchers and can carry squadrons of bombers and early warning planes, and its strike group are in the U.S. Central Command (Centcom) area, which encompasses the Middle East region, the command confirmed Monday.

The addition of the carrier in the region comes as Trump warned Thursday that the U.S. is sending an “armada” toward Iran following nationwide protests in the country, where thousands of demonstrators have been killed by authorities. 

“We have a big flotilla going in that direction,” the president told reporters aboard Air Force One. “We have a big force going toward Iran. I’d rather not see anything happen, but we’re watching them very closely.”

Over the weekend, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, said the nation has its “finger on the trigger” at the U.S. following Trump’s warning.

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United States envoy Steve Witkoff says he and his colleague Jared Kushner have held “constructive” talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as Israel continues its deadly bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip.

In a short statement on Sunday, Witkoff said the “positive” discussion focused on “the continued progress and implementation planning for Phase 2 of President Trump’s 20-Point Plan for Gaza”, which the US and Israel are advancing in “close partnership”.

Witkoff added “broader regional issues” were also discussed in the meeting on Saturday, a likely reference to heightened tensions between the US and Iran and speculation that Washington and Tel Aviv may still yet attack Iran as they did during the 12-day June war against Tehran.

Israel, in the meantime, continues bombarding Gaza despite agreeing to a ceasefire in its genocidal war, committing near-daily violations of the October 10 agreement brokered by the US.

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A US security agreement for Ukraine is “100% ready” to be signed, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said after two days of talks involving representatives from Ukraine, the US and Russia – indicating some progress was made. Further discussions are expected next weekend.

Speaking to journalists in Vilnius during a visit to Lithuania on Sunday, Zelenskyy said Ukraine is waiting for its partners to set a time and place for the signing of the security guarantees document, after which it would go to the US Congress and Ukrainian parliament for ratification. “For us, security guarantees are first and foremost guarantees of security from the United States. The document is 100% ready, and we are waiting for our partners to confirm the date and place when we will sign it,” Zelensky said.

Ukraine sought more air defence support from allies on Sunday as hundreds of buildings in Kyiv were without heating in freezing temperatures for a second day after Russian strikes. More than 1,300 apartment buildings Kyiv were still without heating, mayor Vitalii Klitschko said on Sunday. Sub-zero temperatures and repeated airstrikes have slowed efforts by repair crews working to restore heating and electricity.

Zelenskyy has also emphasised Ukraine’s push for European Union membership by 2027, calling it an “economic security guarantee.” He described the talks in the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi as likely the first trilateral format in “quite a long while” that included not only diplomats but military representatives from all three sides. Zelenskyy acknowledged fundamental differences between Ukrainian and Russian positions, reaffirming territorial issues as a major sticking point.

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When we talk about our inability to pay attention, to concentrate, we often mean and blame our phones. It’s easy, it’s meant to be easy. One flick of our index finger transports us from disaster to disaster, from crisis to crisis, from maddening lie to maddening lie.

Each new unauthorized attack and threatened invasion grabs the headlines, until something else takes its place, and meanwhile the government’s attempts to terrorize and silence the people of our country continue.

So let me break it down. There is one story: our country is on the brink of an authoritarian take-over. In Minneapolis an innocent poet and an ER nurse at a VA hospital were both killed in cold blood by federal agents. It is happening now. Toddlers are being sent to detention centers; videos of their gyms for kids recall the youth choruses that the Nazis so proudly showed off at the Terezin concentration camp.

Intimidation and violence are being weaponized against the citizens of Minneapolis, some of whom are afraid to leave their houses for fear of being beaten, arrested and shackled, regardless of whether they are US citizens or asylum seekers or people from another country peacefully living and working here for decades.

That is the news we should be paying attention to. At least for the moment, everything else is a distraction. I’m glad to have been informed about the heavy snow outside my window today and the local weather-travel advisory, but frankly, it’s snowed here before—so why is it leading the news?

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