TV News LIES

Democrats have moved to stall Donald Trump’s effort to exert greater control over the US Federal Reserve, condemning the president’s “absurd” bid to install a new leader of the central bank while it is targeted with criminal investigations.

Democratic lawmakers on the Senate banking committee urged its Republican leadership on Thursday to postpone the planned confirmation hearing for Kevin Warsh, the financial executive and former Fed governor Trump has nominated to replace Jerome Powell as Fed chair.

In a letter to banking committee chair Senator Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, the 11 Democrats called for a hearing currently scheduled for Tuesday to be delayed until investigations into Powell and Lisa Cook, a current Fed governor, are closed.

Powell – whom the president has frequently and publicly chastised over his refusal to dramatically lower interest rates – is facing a criminal investigation into the renovations of the central bank’s headquarters, which he dismissed as a “pretext” tied to the Fed’s refusal to bow to Trump’s demands.

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The U.S. military is readying to board ships linked to Iran and seize commercial vessels in international waters in the coming days as President Trump looks to expand a naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, a source familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal military planning, told The Hill on Saturday.

The planning comes as the military is already enforcing the naval blockade in the Gulf of Oman, turning back 23 vessels that attempted to leave Iranian ports on Monday.

The expanded enforcement could come as Iran has effectively closed the strait, a vital shipping pathway responsible for the transport of roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil supply, leading to increase in energy and gas prices.

Iran has reportedly attacked several vessels in the channel, a day after its foreign minister claimed the waterway was “completely” open for commercial ships following the temporary truce reached between Lebanon and Israel. The move caused oil prices to drop dramatically on Friday.

The Hill has reached out to the U.S. Central Command for comment.

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A federal judge on Friday tossed the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit aiming to force Rhode Island to hand over its voter information as part of the Trump administration’s push to acquire voter data from several states.

Rhode Island U.S. District Court Judge Mary McElroy wrote that federal law does not allow the DOJ “to conduct the kind of fishing expedition it seeks here,” siding with Rhode Island election officials. She added that the DOJ did not provide evidence to suggest that Rhode Island violated election law.

McElroy, a Trump appointee, wrote that she sided with the similar decision in Oregon. That decision ruled that the DOJ was not entitled to unredacted voter registration lists.

“Absent from the demand are any factual allegations suggesting that Rhode Island may be violating the list maintenance requirements,” she said in her ruling.

Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore (D) praised McElroy’s decision. He said in a statement that the Trump administration “seems to have no problem taking actions that are clear Constitutional overreaches, regularly meddling in responsibilities that are the rights of the states.”

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American territories are recovering after a category 5 super typhoon hit Western Pacific islands before peak storm season.

Typhoon Sinlaku hit Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands beginning April 11 after rapidly developing into a category 5 storm. Territorial and federal officials have issued emergency declarations. The storm left power outages, flooded homes and roofs ripped from homes in its wake. So far, no deaths have been reported.

The powerful storm, which had winds reach at least 175 mph, hit before most typhoons form between May and October, though NASA said the season is yearlong in the Western Pacific.

“We’re actively recovering to get our people back into their business and to their lives again,” Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero said in an April 16 video address.

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Iran declares Strait of Hormuz “completely open” for the remainder of ceasefire: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared the Strait of Hormuz “in line with the ceasefire in Lebanon” will be “completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire,” in a post on X. Araghchi specified that the Strait will be open on “the coordinated route,” referring to the path that runs near Iran’s coast and Qeshm and Larak Islands.

President Donald Trump responded by thanking Iran for opening the “STRAIT OF IRAN,” in a post on Truth Social. Shortly after, Trump added that “THE NAVAL BLOCKADE WILL REMAIN IN FULL FORCE AND EFFECT AS IT PERTAINS TO IRAN,” until ongoing negotiations are complete. “THIS PROCESS SHOULD GO VERY QUICKLY IN THAT MOST OF THE POINTS ARE ALREADY NEGOTIATED.”

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US President Donald Trump said “things seem to be going very well with Iran” after receiving what he described as “pretty good news twenty minutes ago,” adding he “maybe won’t extend the ceasefire if no deal by Wednesday, but will keep the US blockade of Iranian ports.”

Trump also said Chinese President Xi Jinping is “very happy that the Strait of Hormuz is open and/or rapidly opening,” and said his upcoming meeting with Xi would be “a special one and, potentially, Historic”.

While Trump has claimed that Iran has agreed to hand over its enriched uranium, Ebrahim Rezaei said Tehran will not accept enriched uranium being transferred out of Iran and denied that any commitments to do so had been made, rejecting US claims to the contrary.

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Ukraine has called on Israel to arrest a shipment of grain allegedly originating from Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories after it arrived at the Port of Haifa aboard the Russian vessel ABINSK, which Kyiv links to Moscow’s so-called “shadow fleet.”

According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the vessel may be involved in operations used by Russia to “illegally export, transport, and sell stolen Ukrainian grain” from occupied territories and finance its war against Ukraine.

Despite Ukraine’s request, the cargo was allowed to be unloaded, a fact corroborated by Kyiv Post’s sources at the Ukrainian Embassy in Israel, which previously called on Jerusalem to thoroughly examine the cargo.

The vessel has since departed.

The shipment – estimated at 43,765 tonnes of wheat – was reportedly loaded at Russia’s Kavkaz port and is believed to originate from Ukrainian regions under Russian occupation.

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When Bug got home from school one winter afternoon in late 2024, his mother was on the couch, watching 30 Rock re-runs. Bug sat down next to her; he had an announcement to make.

Bug, who was assigned female at birth, told his mother he was a boy — and would be using he/him pronouns.

"OK, cool," his mother, J, remembers saying. Bug, who was in sixth grade at the time, had previously come out as non-binary, but this felt like an even bigger step.

"We started talking about, like, 'What are you wanting to have happen? What do you need to be supported?'" J said. "And he asked to get health care."

Bug is a nickname, and his mother asked NPR to identify Bug that way, and identify her by her first initial, J, because the family fears harassment.

This was the kind of moment J had been anticipating for a while. She felt immensely grateful that the family had left Texas in 2024, and resettled in western Massachusetts, a state with laws that she felt were more supportive of bodily autonomy, and a culture more welcoming of diverse lifestyles.

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