TV News LIES

As news reports circulated that Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, had been killed in US and Israeli airstrikes on Tehran, anti-war protesters gathered across the United States, including outside the White House and in New York’s Times Square to voice opposition to US military involvement in the region.

“It wasn’t sanctioned by Congress, so what Trump is doing is on his own terms, it’s making him a fascist and it’s making the country into a fascist state,” said Sue Johnson, a protester.

Trump, she added, “just couldn’t wait. He’s such an impatient child. He’s like, ‘Well ICE didn’t work, so let’s go stir things up in the Middle East. He bombed Iran for no specific reason.”

“No president can attack or kidnap or bomb another country without the permission of the Congress,” she said, but conceded that “it’s irrelevant what Congress thinks because this president goes and does whatever he wants to do to any country.”

That sense of fait accompli that accompanies recent Trump administration foreign policy actions, including the capture of Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan president, permeated the New York gathering of several hundred protesters.

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Neil Sedaka, the legendary singer-songwriter behind tracks like "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" and "Oh! Carol," has died at 86, his representative Victoria Varela confirmed to USA TODAY.

"Our family is devastated by the sudden passing of our beloved husband, father and grandfather, Neil Sedaka," the family said in a statement to USA TODAY. "A true rock and roll legend, an inspiration to millions, but most importantly, at least to those of us who were lucky enough to know him, an incredible human being who will be deeply missed."

Varela said no additional details could be shared at this time.

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The Brooklyn native grew up to become a beloved pop and rock musician with long-lasting, recognizable hits, including "Laughter in the Rain" and “Calendar Girl."

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A man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter in a head-on collision in western Texas that killed Laura Lynch, a founding member of a country music band now known as The Chicks, prosecutors said.

As part of a plea agreement, Domenick Chavez, 33, admitted that he was driving recklessly and caused the head-on crash that killed Lynch on Dec. 22, 2023, the El Paso District Attorney's Office said in a news release on Tuesday, Feb. 24. Lynch, 65, was killed instantly after Chavez attempted to pass four vehicles and collided into Lynch's truck.

The incident occurred on an undivided highway in Hudspeth County, about 50 miles east of El Paso. The El Paso District Attorney's Office also covers neighboring Hudspeth and Culberson counties.

"The death of Ms. Lynch caused profound sadness for her family, the Dell City community, and all those who appreciated her music. It is a loss made more acute by the fact that it happened just days before Christmas," El Paso District Attorney James Montoya said in a statement. "Our office will continue to hold accountable those defendants who choose to drive in an extremely dangerous manner."

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President Donald Trump’s administration has sued the University of California system over alleged discrimination against Jewish and Israeli employees at UCLA involving what the Justice Department called an antisemitic hostile work environment.

Tuesday’s lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles, marks the latest instance of the Trump administration acting against a U.S. university and represents its latest dispute in Democratic-governed California.

Trump last year tried to freeze hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds for UCLA over pro-Palestinian protests but a judge directed that those be restored.

The Republican president has attempted to crack down on universities over pro-Palestinian protests against Israel’s assault on Gaza, transgender policies, climate programs and diversity initiatives, leading to concerns over academic freedom, free speech and due process.

The lawsuit filed by the Justice Department seeks a court order requiring UCLA, part of the University of California system, to investigate and address antisemitism complaints and provide training on anti-discrimination policies. It also seeks an unspecified amount in monetary damages to go to two UCLA professors who alleged being subjected to antisemitism.

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A Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist at Columbia University resigned from some of his positions with the institution over his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. 

Richard Axel, co-director of the Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, won a Nobel Prize in 2004 for discovering over 1,000 special receptors in the nose that send olfactory information to the brain.

“My past association with Jeffrey Epstein was a serious error in judgment, which I deeply regret. I apologize for compromising the trust of my friends, students, and colleagues,” Axel said in a statement obtained by NewsNation, The Hill’s sister network. “I recognize the problems this has caused, and I will work to restore this trust.”

He added, “What has emerged about Epstein’s appalling conduct, the harm that he has caused to so many people, makes my association with him all the more painful and inexcusable.”

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Two Missouri sheriff's deputies were shot and killed and two more were injured after a suspect opened fire during a traffic stop and led authorities on an hours-long manhunt that ended in a shootout, authorities said.

The suspect, 45-year-old Richard Dean Bird, was also killed in the exchange of gunfire, authorities said.

Bird was pulled over by a deputy on the afternoon of Feb. 23 near Highlandville, Missouri, a small city in Christian County about 20 miles from downtown Springfield. During the traffic stop, Bird allegedly shot and killed Christian County Sheriff's Deputy Gabriel Ramirez, 30.

Bird fled, and local and state authorities began a search that would last about nine hours and stretch into the night, reported the Springfield News-Leader, part of the USA TODAY Network. The Missouri State Highway Patrol issued a "Blue Alert," used when a law enforcement officer is killed or seriously injured in the line of duty, which was canceled at about 1 a.m. on Feb. 24, the News-Leader reported.

Late on the night of Feb. 23, law enforcement agencies found Bird's vehicle and began searching a wooded area. At about 11:38 p.m. on Feb. 23, Bird began firing with a rifle, Christian County Sheriff Brad Cole said at a news conference. Two deputies were wounded and Deputy Michael Hislope, 40, was also killed, the sheriff's office said. Bird was then shot and killed by law enforcement.

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