TV News LIES

Three major wildfires burning near Spokane, Washington, caused authorities to declare a state of emergency and forced thousands of people to evacuate.

The Old Trails, Fairview and Autumn Lane fires have scorched over 7,700 acres with 0% containment as of 2:45 p.m. ET on Aug. 2, Benjamin Cossel – public information officer for the California Interagency Incident Management Team 7 – confirmed to USA TODAY. Cossel said that more than 600 structures have been destroyed by the fires, a number that he said is likely to rise. He added that Autumn Lane was the "fire of concern" for Aug. 2.

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson declared a statewide emergency and burn ban on Aug. 1. Multiple areas of Spokane are under a Level 3 evacuation order, the highest level in the state. About 5,000 homes have been evacuated, according to the Associated Press.

"We urge residents of Spokane to heed evacuation orders and to stay alert to changing conditions and evacuations as they are rapidly changing," Courtney James, spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, told CBS News.

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The genocide in Gaza since October 2023, which has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians, has marked a historic turning point in the Palestinian struggle and in the nature of the conflict with the Zionist project.

What unfolded went far beyond another war or another episode of Israeli violence; it exposed to the world the true nature of the Zionist project as a settler-colonial enterprise built upon ethnic cleansing, apartheid and the systematic erasure of the indigenous Palestinian people.

Since its emergence in the late 19th century, the Zionist movement has sought to establish a settler-colonial state in Palestine through the mobilisation of western imperialist powers and an enduring alliance with dominant forces in the international system.

While classical colonialism sought primarily to exploit indigenous populations, Zionism belongs to the tradition of settler-colonial movements that sought to replace them. From its inception, the movement went beyond seeking political rule, aiming to transform Palestine's demographic, political and cultural character.

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The Columbia University student workers' union withdrew its demand that the university divest financially from Israel at a bargaining meeting this week.

The union constitutes over 3,000 undergraduate and graduate student workers. At a general body meeting on Monday, the union’s members voted on the decision. 

SWC-UAW pulled a contract article entitled “Obligations Under International Law,” which pressed the university to divest from companies and state actors in violation of international law, as defined by the United Nations and the International Criminal Court.

It also demanded that the university publicise its finances twice a fiscal year, including all direct and indirect investments and holdings, and permit the union to submit a “list of entities from which the University shall divest”, detailing how the entities violated international law.

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A heatwave scorching the western US region has elevated the risk of hazardous fire conditions particularly in parts of Oregon and Washington, where low humidity and powerful winds have put officials on alert for wildfire spread.

The National Weather Service has forecast blistering temperatures through early next week that could climb from 110F to 120F across the south-west. In the Pacific north-west, highs reaching into the 90s are expected in the days to come.

Several western states are dealing with devastating wildfire seasons.

In Oregon, about 1.8m acres (730,000 hectares) have reportedly been torched, as of July.

A rare “particularly dangerous situation” was assigned to a red flag warning in effect for eastern Oregon on Saturday, where weather officials have forecast gusts of wind from 30-40mph.

In Washington, more than 1,000 fires have torn through roughly 425,000 acres, a level of destruction not seen since 2021, according to the state department of natural resources. State officials are also working to contain 12 large fires that cumulatively have set more than 200,000 acres ablaze.

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Capital One Financial hit back on Friday against a lawsuit over its ⁠decision to close the Trump ⁠Organization’s bank accounts ​years ago, stating that it did so after a review by anti-money-laundering experts.

The disclosure marks the first time a bank has formally tied money-laundering concerns to Donald Trump’s family business. Capital One is seeking to dismiss the case by casting doubt on claims of illegally debanking – or denying services on religious or political grounds – the Trump Organization.

The Trump Organization and ⁠Capital One did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Capital One has never accused the Trump Organization of money laundering. ​But Friday’s filing argues that “documents and Plaintiffs’ own ‌allegations make clear that Capital One closed ‌Plaintiffs’ accounts for anti-money laundering (‘AML’) reasons.

“The closures were the result of months of analysis and a careful review by ‌Capital One’s AML team in accordance with bank policies and regulatory guidance.”

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Vincent Pastore, a veteran actor who played mobsters and tough guys, and was best-known for playing Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero on The Sopranos, has died. He was 80.

Bob McGowan, who had managed Pastore since his run on The Sopranos, told the Associated Press that he learned of his death Saturday from another client and actor on the show, Vincent Curatola.

He said that Pastore had been found in his home on New York’s City Long Island after not being heard from for a few days.

McGowan said he’d been trying to reach Pastore about a possible job.

“He was the most loyal client and he always gave to charity,” McGowan said, “and he was the kind of guy who would help anybody, which is rare in my business.”

Pastore appeared in movies dating back to the 1980s and had roles in big movies including Goodfellas and Awakenings, both in 1990.

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A shooting at an In-N-Out Burger restaurant in southern Idaho on Saturday afternoon left multiple people dead and others injured, police said.

The shooter was among the dead, Twin Falls police chief Matthew Hicks said in a news conference. Police were still trying to determine the shooter’s identity and motive.

“We believe the threat to the community is over,” Hicks said.

He added that he did not yet know exactly how many were killed or wounded, and officials were still in the process of notifying next of kin. “It was a very chaotic scene.”

Before the news conference, Twin Falls county commissioner Brent ReinkLane Koehn, 34, said he was at a stoplight near the In-N-Out when he saw a person with an AR-style rifle emerge from the drive-thru. A man with a pistol started firing at the shooter.

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The Italian government on Friday imposed border checks with Spain in response to an influx of tens of thousands of migrants in the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta.The Italian government on Friday imposed border checks with Spain in response to an influx of tens of thousands of migrants in the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta.

These air and sea border controls will remain in place for August, according to Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has promised to cut down on illegal immigration, called the decision an “extraordinary measure” that was taken to safeguard the country’s national security.

The move will impact flights and maritime transport and temporarily suspends Spain’s Schengen border-free rights, an agreement that allows citizens of European member states to move freely among 29 countries.

These air and sea border controls will remain in place for August, according to Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi. 

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has promised to cut down on illegal immigration, called the decision an “extraordinary measure” that was taken to safeguard the country’s national security.

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