TV News LIES

Colombia’s president accused U.S. officials of murder in a military campaign that has targeted alleged drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean Sea, prompting President Donald Trump to announce he is withholding aid to the nation.

"US government officials have committed a murder and violated our sovereignty in territorial waters," Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrote on social media.

The U.S. has launched military strikes on seven alleged drug trafficking vessels since September, killing at least 32. The latest strike was announced Oct. 19 by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who said it destroyed a boat "transporting substantial amounts of narcotics" and killed all three people on board. Legal experts and lawmakers from both parties have questioned the legality of the strikes.

Petro said one of the strikes killed a fisherman who "had no ties to the drug trade."

"The Colombian boat was adrift and had its distress signal up due to an engine failure," Petro added in an Oct. 18 social media post. "We await explanations from the US government."

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In a major test to the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Israeli officials on Sunday said it launched a wave of attacks in Gaza after Hamas militants allegedly fired on Israeli soldiers.

Israel's military said in a statement Oct. 19 that it launched "a series of strikes" against Hamas in southern Gaza, several hours after it announced it had targeted militants in the Rafah area in response to an attack on Israeli soldiers. The Israel Defense Forces have said the latest strikes targeted Hamas militants, as well as tunnels and military buildings.

The moves in Gaza comes shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of major "action" against Hamas, accusing the militant group of violating the ceasefire agreement that has been in effect for less than two weeks.

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said Oct. 19 that Israeli attacks had killed at least eight people in the last 24 hours, Reuters reported.

Hamas has reiterated its commitment to the ceasefire agreement following the strikes, according to Reuters, and said it was unaware of any incidents or clashes in Rafah and has not been in contact with groups there since March.

TVNL Comment:  We predicted that Israel would resume its attacks on Gaza as soon as the hostaages were returned. We knew that Israel would blame Hamas for breaking the cease fire.  And so it is.

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The Israeli army acknowledged on Friday that it killed an 11-year-old Palestinian boy in southern occupied West Bank on Thursday, claiming the incident occurred “outside open-fire regulations,” Israel's public broadcaster KAN reported.

The boy, Mohammad Bahjat al-Hallak, was shot in the pelvic area in the town of ar-Rihiya, south of Hebron, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, which confirmed his death from an Israeli bullet.

The Israeli broadcaster said the commander of a battalion stationed in the southern West Bank “conducted a preliminary investigation,” and the killing occurred during what the military described as “disturbances and stone-throwing toward Israeli forces.”

The investigation found “deviation from open-fire regulations, with improper use of weapons,” and indicated that “this is the second incident of shooting outside the rules by the same unit,” without providing details about the first incident.

Palestinian sources told Anadolu that al-Hallak was playing soccer in the village field when Israeli forces entered, firing bullets and tear gas indiscriminately at civilians.

Local authorities say more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, around 10,000 wounded, and over 20,000 arrested, including 1,600 children, since the Gaza war in October 2023. The war was halted after a ceasefire reached earlier this month, based on US President Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan.

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Gaza's Hamas-run civil defence says 11 people were killed, all from the same family, after the bus they were in was hit by an Israeli tank shell in northern Gaza.

The Abu Shaaban family, it said, were trying to reach their home to inspect it when the incident happened in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City on Friday night.

This is the deadliest single incident involving Israeli soldiers in Gaza since the start of the ceasefire eight days ago.

The Israeli military said soldiers had fired at a "suspicious vehicle" that had crossed the so-called yellow line demarcating the area still occupied by Israeli forces in Gaza.

TVNL Comment:  What cease fire?  It's a hoax, giving Israel time fore up-close murders.

Israeli soldiers continue to operate in more than half of the Gaza Strip, under the terms of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP news agency the victims were killed while "trying to check on their home" in the area.

The dead included women and children, according to the civil defence.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky failed to convince President Donald Trump of his nation's need for long-range Tomahawk missiles during a Friday afternoon meeting.

Zelensky met with Trump at the White House for the third time this year amid speculation that Ukraine might receive some of the missiles that would enable it to strike Moscow and Russian energy infrastructure.

Trump declined to provide Ukraine with the long-range missiles to prevent an escalation of the war that began when Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, Zelensky told media after the meeting ended.

The 2.5-hour meeting "was tough" and involved Trump making "several strong statements" and briefing Zelensky about a 2.5-hour phone conversation between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, Axios reported.

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Lately, on any given day, you'll find Leann Villaluz knocking on doors around Kansas City to get people to sign a petition that would let voters decide the fate of the state's new congressional map.

"There's a sense of resentment, even to regular voters who aren't as involved," Villaluz says. "We have to pick up the slack for representatives who have been elected to do their simple duty and carry out the will of the voters. Instead, they think that we don't know what's best for ourselves."

Missouri is the second state in the country, alongside Texas, to gerrymander its congressional map after President Donald Trump set off a nationwide redistricting battle in July to try to maintain control of the U.S. House in the 2026 midterms.

Multiple other states, including North Carolina, Indiana, Florida, Ohio and Kansas could soon follow. California is trying to counter the Republican effort by redistricting in favor of Democrats, if voters pass a constitutional amendment next month.

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Most of the effects of the ongoing government shutdown are far-removed from the halls of Congress.

But the situation facing one group of federal employees who are working without pay is difficult for lawmakers to overlook: The Capitol Police officers who protect them every day.

The officers missed their first full paycheck Oct. 10th.

"They're asked to be everything to everybody," said Terry Gainer, a former Capitol Police chief. "You need to be ready at the drop of a hat to take very aggressive enforcement action, but you also have to be a person who will welcome visitors and be a tour guide."

Gesturing toward two officers guarding the ornate Senate Reception Room, Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., says she feels for the force's more than 2,000 officers and that Democrats are to blame for the impasse.

Gainer says the job is tougher than ever, as public officials face growing threats and violence.

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A Vermont state lawmaker has resigned over racist and antisemitic chat messages that circulated within the Young Republican political group, another substantial consequence in a scandal that on Friday saw the New York state Young Republicans’ charter revoked.

State senator Samuel Douglass, the only elected official known to have taken part in the leaked group chat exposed by Politico, resigned Friday over his participation.

In a statement posted online, the 26-year-old Douglass said he was “deeply sorry for the offense” caused by his comments. He added that his decision to step down, effective Monday, “will upset many, and delight others, but in this political climate I must keep my family safe”.

Douglass had been under pressure from Vermont governor Phil Scott and state senate minority leader Scott Beck to step aside since Politico obtained and published the chats online.

In one exchange, Douglass replied to a message about a “very obese Indian woman” by saying: “She just didn’t bathe often.” In another, Douglass was said to have described how a Jewish person may have made a procedural error. His wife, Brianna Douglass, also on the chat, responded with an antisemitic remark, Politico reported.

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