TV News LIES

When he was in his late 20s, John Roberts was a foot soldier in the Reagan administration's crusade against the Voting Rights Act. Now, as chief justice of the Supreme Court, he will help determine whether a key part of the law survives a constitutional challenge.

Memos that Roberts wrote as a lawyer in President Reagan's Justice Department during the 1980s show that he was deeply involved in efforts to curtail the effectiveness of the Voting Rights Act, the hard-won landmark 1965 law that is intended to ensure all Americans can vote. Roberts' anti-VRA efforts during the 1980s ultimately failed.

Chuck Hagel was sworn in Wednesday as defense secretary - President Barack Obama's third in just over four years and the first who really wanted one of Washington's toughest jobs.

Introducing himself to Pentagon workers shortly after taking the oath of office, Hagel said he was humbled by the opportunity and ready for the challenge. He survived a contentious confirmation process in which some Republican senators questioned his suitability for the job and suggested he lacked the character to lead the military.

Illinois Democrats sent a message Tuesday night about guns and the power of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, as they nominated Robin Kelly in a special election primary for Congress.

Kelly, a former state representative, supports an assault weapons ban. She is now heavily favored in the race to replace Democrat Jesse Jackson Jr. in the Chicago-based district.

The Senate confirmed Chuck Hagel on   Tuesday to succeed Leon Panetta as defense secretary. Hagel's nomination bitterly split the Senate, with Republicans turning on their former GOP colleague and Democrats standing by Obama's nominee.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid asked what the GOP filibuster had done for "my Republican colleagues." "Twelve days later, nothing. Nothing has changed," the Nevada Democrat said on the Senate floor. "Sen. Hagel's exemplary record of service to his country remains untarnished."

The first phantom absentee ballot request hit the Miami-Dade elections website at 9:11 p.m. Saturday, July 7.

The next one came at 9:14. Then 9:17. 9:22. 9:24. 9:25.

Within 2½ weeks, 2,552 online requests arrived from voters who had not applied for absentee ballots. They streamed in much too quickly for real people to be filling them out. They originated from only a handful of Internet Protocol addresses. And they were not random.

Planned Parenthood is releasing ads on Friday going after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republicans for opposing the Obama administration’s birth control coverage policy.

One television ad accuses McConnell of siding with bosses who want to decide whether women get access to birth control at work. The White House policy calls for employer health plans to cover contraception with no co-pays.