TV News LIES

Democratic lawmakers clashed with the head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement over funding, deaths while in federal custody and information the agency shares with the public while in pursuit of one of President Donald Trump's most high-profile second-term priorities.

Rep. Lauren Underwood of Illinois, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations subcommittee on homeland security, accused the agency May 14 of spending funds it doesn’t have while still falling short of unrealistic deportation goals.

Congress has approved funding for 41,500 detention beds but ICE is detaining 52,000 people, which could lead the agency to running out of money within two months. Underwood called the goal of removing 1 million people per year an “incredibly risky strategy that sets you up for failure.”

“This administration is cashing checks it does not have to reach questionable goals it cannot meet,” Underwood said.

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The Episcopal Church has halted a refugee resettlement program with the federal government over the prioritization of white South Africans while other populations see their immigration protections removed.

“Just over two weeks ago, the federal government informed Episcopal Migration Ministries that under the terms of our federal grant, we are expected to resettle white Afrikaners from South Africa whom the U.S. government has classified as refugees,” Presiding Bishop Sean W. Rowe said in a Monday letter.

“In light of our church’s steadfast commitment to racial justice and reconciliation and our historic ties with the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, we are not able to take this step. Accordingly, we have determined that, by the end of the federal fiscal year, we will conclude our refugee resettlement grant agreements with the U.S. federal government,” Rowe added.

The State Department announced that the first group of white South Africans entered the U.S. on Monday.

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Israel's ongoing blockade of humanitarian assistance for Gaza forced a leading aid group to shut its community soup kitchens Thursday as it faced empty warehouses and no replenishment of supplies in the war-battered enclave.

U.S.-based World Central Kitchen, which was serving 133,000 meals per day, said there is almost no food left in Gaza with which to cook.

The ongoing hunger is threatening Gaza's population, already battered by 19 months of war. In April, the World Food Program said its food stocks in Gaza had run out under Israel's blockade, ending a main source of sustenance for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the territory.

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The United Nations World Food Programme is by far the largest international organization fighting hunger. It reports that it served more than 100 million people in 2024. FIve years ago, it won the Nobel Peace Prize.

But WFP is about to radically downsize in the wake of dwindling donations and the Trump administration's cuts to foreign aid.

WFP spent $9.8 billion on aid last year — nearly half of the funds were contributed by the U.S. But this year, it's facing a projected 40% reduction in funding.

In a memo emailed to all WFP employees on April 24, leadership told staff to expect job cuts of 25-30%, or about 6,000 positions. The email, obtained by NPR, said the cuts would affect every level of the organization and every place they operate.

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A second federal judge determined President Trump exceeded his authority in using the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to deport Venezuelans alleged to be gang members, blocking the administration from using it in the Southern District of New York.

U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein said Tuesday that Trump ran afoul of the law, which only may be ignited when there is a declared war or if the U.S., is facing an incursion on its territory.

And he excoriated the administration for providing little opportunity for the men to challenge their alleged association with the Tren de Aragua gang, saying the Trump team was failing to meet the due process protections of the wartime law.

Evidence “that TdA [Tren de Aragua] has engaged in either a ‘war,’ ‘invasion’ or a ‘predatory incursion’ of the United States, do not exist,” Hellerstein wrote, citing the predicates for igniting the law.

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A hot meal is hard to come by in the Gaza Strip, but a lunch for needy families in the south is about to be delivered by donkey and cart.

Today's dish is koshari - made with lentils, rice and a zesty tomato sauce - in a set of huge cooking pots in one of two community kitchens run by American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera), a US-based humanitarian organisation.

"People rely on our meals; they have no source of income to buy what's left in the local markets and many foods are not available," says Sami Matar, who leads the Anera team.