TV News LIES

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and former President Barack Obama visited an early childhood education center in the South Bronx on Saturday.

As the two leaders entered the pre-K classroom, a group of 19 students dressed in blue and plaid school uniforms let out squeals upon seeing Mamdani. Their teachers, who knew the mayor was coming but not his special guest, gasped at the sight of the 44th president of the United States.

“My name’s Barack,” the president said, introducing himself to the children. As the two men took seats in front of the kids, the children started shouting out their own names, and with one boy shouting out, “I know who you are, you are Mamdani.”

During the event, which was first reported by Politico, Mamdani and Obama read to the students and joined them in a rousing rendition of the “Wheels of the Bus.” Before meeting with the children, they discussed Mamdani's affordability-focused vision for the city — including universal child care, according to the mayor.

Obama and Mamdani did not take questions.

This marks their first face-to-face meeting and comes months after Obama called Mamdani just before Election Day in November. The former president praised Mamdani's campaign and offered to be a sounding board if he won the election. During the Bronx event, there was also a clear chemistry between Mamdani and Obama, who interacted with the children and teased each other with ease.

More...

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.

More...

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.”

More...

A shovel, hand weights and a construction hat now displayed in the foyer of New York City Hall are symbols of what Mayor Zohran Mamdani says are the "pothole politics" behind key achievements in his first 100 days in office. That's where we started our conversation this week during a wide-ranging interview for NPR's Newsmakers video podcast.

Sitting in the ornate Blue Room of City Hall underneath a portrait of Alexander Hamilton, a founding father who helped shape the nation, 34-year-old Mamdani ticked off all that he's been able to get done on his list of promises to voters:

"On day eight, we delivered $1.2 billion to make universal child care a reality across our city."

"We secured more than $30 million in settlements with bad landlords, [and] repaired more than 6069 apartments."

"We were able to secure nearly $100,000 a day for workers and small businesses that had been exploited by mega-corporations and delivery apps."

More,,,

A San Francisco-based coffee chain that sparked backlash with a policy to remove Pride flags from their stores has reversed its decision over a week later.

“I made a mistake and I am sincerely sorry,” said Mahesh Sadarangani, the chief executive of Philz Coffee, in a statement on Friday. “The Pride flag is a symbol of safety and belonging for people who don’t always find that in the world, and that is not something I want to take away from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/17/philz-coffee-pride-flags-californiaanyone who walks into a Philz."

Last week, in a statement to the Guardian, Sadarangani framed the move as a step toward inclusivity. He said other flags would also come down for consistency.

Backlash from Philz Coffee’s workers and customers was swift. An online petition expressing opposition to the policy, which appeared to be started by company baristas, racked up more than 7,300 signatures. The company has built a reputation on being an ally to the LGBTQ+ community.

More...

The University of Michigan regent Jordan Acker, who helped lead the university’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian students, appears to have made obscene sexual comments about a Democratic party strategist in a group chat, messages provided to the Guardian reveal. The Slack messages, attributed to Acker, also include lewd comments about a female U-M student and a picture of her with her friends.

The messages were shared with the Guardian just days before a heated primary convention election for two open U-M board of regents seats. The board is the university’s governing body, and the usually low-profile race is especially tense this year as pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian candidates compete for seats. The race has become a local flashpoint in the broader battle over criticism of Israel on campuses.

Acker is known to be a confrontational, pro-Israel leader at the large public university. He is an attorney who helped recruit the Michigan attorney general to bring highly unusual prosecutions against students, and, while he was on the board, it led a sprawling undercover surveillance operation against the students. The prosecutions and surveillance operations were dAcker is known to be a confrontational, pro-Israel leader at the large public university. He is an attorney who helped recruit the Michigan attorney general to bring highly unusual prosecutions against students, and, while he was on the board, it led a sprawling undercover surveillance operation against the students. The prosecutions and surveillance operations were dropped after Guardian stories on each. Acker has also drawn criticism for leading the university as it dismantled its diversity, equity and inclusion initiative amid pressure from Donald Trump.ropped after Guardian stories on each. Acker has also drawn criticism for leading the university as it dismantled its diversity, equity and inclusion initiative amid pressure from Donald Trump.

More...