TV News LIES

The Virginia Supreme Court will allow a lower court order temporarily blocking the commonwealth from certifying the results of a redistricting referendum to remain in place, dealing a blow to Democrats who sought to challenge the ruling.

The high court on Tuesday denied a motion by Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones (D) to appeal last week’s ruling from a Tazewell County circuit court judge that found the referendum unconstitutional.

Judge Jack Hurley Jr. sided with the Republican National Committee (RNC) in February in a lawsuit seeking to block the April 21 referendum, arguing against its timing and the phrasing of the ballot question.

But the state Supreme Court stepped in and allowed it to continue, stating last month that while there were issues of “grave concern” regarding the process undertaken by the Virginia General Assembly, it declined to offer an opinion on the matter.

“It is the process, not the outcome, of this effort that we may ultimately have to address,” the court said. “Issuing an injunction to keep Virginians from the polls is not the proper way to make this decision.”

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The Supreme Court on April 29 threw out a congressional map in Louisiana that had been drawn to protect the voting power of Black residents, a decision that limits a landmark civil rights law.

An ideologically divided court sided 6-3 with the Trump administration and with the non-Black voters who challenged the map as relying too heavily on race to sort voters – and it did so just three years after upholding the 1965 Voting Rights Act’s vote dilution protections for racial minorities.

Writing for the conservative majority, Justice Samuel Alito called the map an "unconstitutional gerrymander" that violates the constitutional rights of the non-Black voters who challenged it.

The court's three liberal justices dissented. Justice Elena Kagan said the consequences of the majority's decision "are likely to be far-reaching and grave," rendering the protections of the civil rights law "all but a dead letter."

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The right to protest is sacrosanct. That is why thousands of New Yorkers spoke out when Council Speaker Julie Menin and Councilmember Eric Dinowitz introduced two bills that infringe on our constitutional rights under the cynical and false pretense of fighting antisemitism.

And it is why today, as Jewish New Yorkers, we welcome Mayor Mamdani’s decision to veto Intro 175B, which would have limited our right to protest in front of educational institutions. We remain outraged with the City Council members who passed the other bill, Intro 1B, to undermine protest in front of houses of worship, with a veto-proof super majority.

Eliza Klein, JVP New York City Organizer:

“These bills are not about Jewish safety. Especially at a time when the federal government is attacking our cities — including specifically targeting those who speak out for Palestinian freedom — New Yorkers want elected leaders to protect our constitutional rights, not limit them.”

Organizing matters. Thanks to meetings, calls, letters, and testimony from thousands across the city, these anti-democratic bills were watered down and no longer have an enforcement mechanism. However we are clear-eyed about the dangerous precedent these anti-Palestinian City Council bills send: that if you want to violate international law or US law, you need only to do it inside a house of worship and you will be insulated from protest.

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Allies of President Trump are upset over a post by former President Obama about the motives of the suspected shooter at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

On Sunday, Obama posted on the social media platform X that “although we don’t yet have the details about the motives behind last night’s shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner, it’s incumbent upon all us to reject the idea that violence has any place in our democracy.”

“It’s also a sobering reminder of the courage and sacrifice that U.S. Secret Service Agents show every day. I’m grateful to them – and thankful that the agent who was shot is going to be okay,” the former president added.

In response to Obama’s post, conservative influencer Benny Johnson responded by listing off alleged pieces of evidence around the suspect targeting Trump and contrasting that wIn response to Obama’s post, conservative influencer Benny Johnson responded by listing off alleged pieces of evidence around the suspect targeting Trump and contrasting that with the former president saying there weren’t yet details about the motives behind the shooting.ith the former president saying there weren’t yet details about the motives behind the shooting.

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President Donald Trump's approval rating has plummeted to the lowest level of his current term for reasons including his handling of the nation's cost of living and an unpopular ongoing war with Iran, according to a recent poll.

Just 34% of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing, a Reuters/Ipsos four-day poll released April 28 found.

The survey showed Trump's overall approval sliding 2 percentage points, down from 36% in a prior Reuters/Ipsos survey, which the outlet reported was conducted April 15-20.

"The majority of responses were gathered prior to the Saturday night shooting at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, where Trump was due to speak," Reuters wrote in its report. Federal prosecutors have charged the suspect in the case with charges including attempted assasination of a president.

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A group of Senate Republicans led by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) are pushing a bill to fund the construction of a secure 90,000-square-foot ballroom at the White House and say the project is essential to national security after a gunman tried to storm the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner Saturday.

Graham and his allies say the cost of the project would be offset by national park user fees and customs fees, and that the bill would authorize the construction of national security-related infrastructure below the ballroom, including an annex for the Secret Service.

“It’s very difficult to have a bunch of important people in the same place unless it’s really, really secure. The times in which we live are unusual. I’ve been up here for a while now, I’ve never felt the sense of threat that exists today,” said Graham, who was first elected to the House in 1994.

He noted that in addition to President Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who are second and third in the presidential line of succession, were at the dinner Saturday when a 31-year-old man armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives tried to break into the ballroom before being tackled by Secret Service personnel.

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