This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A premier legal team focusing on religious and other rights across America is warning the Houston bus authority that it is violating the U.S. Constitution with its scheme to censor the speech of a Christian.
It is the American Center for Law and Justice that confirmed it has sent a warning letter to the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County.
It concerns the attack on Howard Camp.
For nearly two years he "has ministered at an outdoor Houston bus terminal. His ministry is simple: preach, pray with people, hand out bottled water and food, offer encouragement, and share the hope of Christ with anyone who wants to hear it. No fees. No obstruction. No disruption. Just ministry."
Then came Sept. 19. Officials dispatched authority police to order him to get a "permit."
"When he questioned why he needed government permission to share his faith in a public space, the officers declared the bus terminal 'private property.' Moments later, they handcuffed him, detained him, and issued a criminal trespass warning. They told him that if he ever came back to preach the Gospel again, he would be arrested. They never cited a single rule he violated. They never gave him a written citation. And to this day, the trespass warning remains in effect," the ACLJ explained.
The legal team's new demand letter insists that METRO retract the unconstitutional trespass warning and restore Camp's First Amendment rights.
Explains the letter, "Mr. Camp has already suffered irreparable injury as a result of METRO's unconstitutional actions, and he continues to suffer ongoing harm so long as the trespass warning remains in effect. 'The loss of First Amendment freedoms, for even minimal periods of time, unquestionably constitutes irreparable injury.' Mr. Camp has been effectively banished from a public forum where he has a constitutional right to speak. He has been threatened with arrest and criminal prosecution if he returns to exercise his rights. This chilling effect on his speech is a direct and ongoing violation of the First Amendment."
The ACLJ noted that the Constitution doesn't simply vanish if someone steps onto government-owned transit property.
"Public sidewalks, streets, and outdoor terminals are places where Americans have always been free to speak, hand out literature, and share their faith. Religious speech lies at the very heart of what the First Amendment protects," the legal team explained.
And METRO cannot simply call the terminal "private property."
"Even if METRO wanted to regulate sound amplification, it must do so through clear, content-neutral rules – not by allowing officers to silence disfavored speech whenever they please. METRO has no such rule for outdoor areas. This was not policy enforcement. It was censorship," the report charged.
"If it can ban Howard Camp from a public bus terminal because it doesn't like what he's saying, then any citizen – Christian or not – can be silenced the moment their message becomes inconvenient. That is not how the First Amendment works," the ACLJ said.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A morning news anchor with a voluptuous look is going viral for reading comments about her appearance in her own serious broadcasting voice.
"She's like the only fat 9 I've ever seen," said Carissa Codel of Fox 49 in Missouri as she read one comment in a series of videos she created. "I'm rare. That's what I get out of that," she reacted.
Other comments from viewers that Codel read on the air include:
"You look like you could survive a harsh winter."
"I ain't never worked as hard as them ankles."
"Damn girl, you look like I'm about to get featured on your news channel."
"Why have fake news when you can have cake news?"
"She's thicker than zoo glass."
"Dayuum Gurl, I want you to put a hurting on me like you do those midnight snacks."
"Brick wall, more like brick house, and I'm looking to move in."
"She gots enough muffin tops to start two bakeries."
"Girl, look like you was raised on a donkey farm."
"Fe fi foe yum."
"Built for breeding. Tonight at 5."
"Her parents gotta be beavers. Cause she's built like damnnnnnnnnnnnn."
Codel, who stands at 5-foot-3 inches weighing 180 pounds, has actually dropped 55 pounds within the last three years.
"I find it so funny, like, 'Oh you think I'm big now, you should have seen me back then," she told the New York Post. "I know who I am, and I know what I look like," she said.
"It doesn't affect me at all. I think that they're hilarious. … I don't put up the extremely mean ones, but I like the insults that are very creative," she said. "My family is very thick-skinned, I've never been bothered by a lot of that."
The anchor of "Ozark's First" began creating the videos in August, with one from October collecting more than 5 million views on Instagram, where Codel has 222,000 followers.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
PALM BEACH, Florida – President Donald Trump is making another pitch for Major League Baseball pitching legend Roger Clemens to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame immediately as officials vote Sunday on admitting new members.
"These highly respected owners, executives, writers, and, most importantly, Hall of Famers, should do the right thing by finally putting Roger Clemens, known as 'The Rocket,' in the Hall!" Trump exclaimed Saturday on Truth Social.
The Hall's 16-member Contemporary Era Committee is convening this weekend at the Winter Meetings in Orlando, Florida.
Clemens is among eight players considered for the honor along with Barry Bonds, Carlos Delgado, Jeff Kent, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, Gary Sheffield and Fernando Valenzuela.
"Roger is clearly one of the Greatest Pitchers of All Time," Trump continued, "with amazing achievements that include winning 354 Games, seven Cy Young Awards (A Record, by a lot!), and playing in six World Series, winning two. 'The Rocket' is second only to another All Time GREAT, Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, in most strike-outs.
"Roger Clemens is the only pitcher who has won 300 games to not have the honor of being enshrined in the Hall of Fame, which is a total travesty!
"The only reason he is not is because of rumors and innuendo, which were not proven. He never tested positive and, when the Obama DOJ went after him in a criminal case claiming that he did take steroids, Roger, who has always denied taking any drugs, was FULLY ACQUITTED OF ALL CHARGES.
"'The Rocket,' a nickname he earned very early in his career because of his blazing fastball, was just as dominant before those erroneous allegations were leveled against him. I sincerely hope that the Committee uses its great judgment (Roger's opponents never proved a thing against him, and he may have the best pitching record, all told, in the History of Baseball!), and the Baseball Commissioner has the Strength, Wisdom, and Power to do the right thing, and put Roger Clemens in The Baseball Hall of Fame, IMMEDIATELY!"
As WorldNetDaily previously reported, Trump went to bat for Clemens in August, saying, "354 Wins – Put him in NOW. He and his great family should not be forced to endure this 'stupidity' any longer!"
"This is going to be like Pete Rose where, after over 4,000 Hits, they wouldn't put him in the Hall of Fame until I spoke to the Commissioner, and he promised to do so, but it was essentially a promise not kept because he only 'opened it up' when Pete died and, even then, he said that Pete Rose only got into the mix because of DEATH."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
PALM BEACH, Florida – As JPMorgan Chase Bank is under investigation by the state of Florida for alleged coordination with the Biden Department of Justice and Operation Arctic Frost, the chairman of the company is admitting to debanking certain customers, but says it has nothing to do with their political or religious affiliations.
"We do debank them," said JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon who appeared on "Sunday Morning Futures" with Maria Bartiromo on the Fox News Channel.
"People have to grow up here and stop making up things and stuff like that. I can't talk about an individual account.
"We do not debank people for religious or political affiliations. We do debank them. They have religious and political affiliations. We debank people who are Democrats, we debank people who are Republicans, we debank religious folks. Never was that for that reason."Dimon was responding to comments last month from Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes who said his company was debanked by JPMorgan Chase.
"When the Arctic Frost went after our bank records at Trump Media, that's inexplicable because we didn't exist," Nunes told Bartiromo on Nov. 9. "So what reason did they have to go after us? And I've seen Jamie Dimon and others at JPMorgan say this over and over again that they don't debank people for political reasons. Well, then why the hell did you debank Trump Media?"
Dimon on Sunday explained: "I don't like debanking people. We live under very strict rules and regulations and requirements. And to protect the country and we have to report things to the government. We're required to report things to the government. I can't even tell you when we do it."
He said he wants to change the rules by which banks are currently bound.
"I actually applaud the Trump administration which is tying to say the debanking's bad, and let's change the rules. Well, damn it, I've been asking to change the rules now for 15 years. So change the rules!" Dimon exclaimed.
"And that's why a lot of this stuff takes place. It is really customer unfriendly. We're debanking people 'cause of suspected things or negative media or all of these various things."
He continued: "We don't give information to the government just because they ask. We're subpoenaed. We're required by court to give it to the government. And I've been following subpoenas with this administration, the last administration, the administration before that and the one before that. And I don't agree with a lot of it. The government does a lot of things that get angry with banks."
"Let's just take a deep breath and fix the problems as opposed to blame someone who's put in that position."
"I would tell the government, 'If we see something that might possibly be bad, we'll report it to you, and you decide.' Why do we have to decide? That's the position we're put in."
When asked if corporate America was being asked to do the government's dirty work, Dimon replied: "Democratic, Republican governments have come after us both. So let's not act like this is just one side doing this."
"This has been going for a long time. And we should stop militarizing the government in that kind of way."
Last month, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the launch of an official investigation into JPMorgan Chase Bank in connection with Operation Arctic Frost, as the Biden administration sought phone records of political enemies.
"It's come to our attention that JPMorgan debanked Trump Media Group, a Florida-based company, right before the business went public," Uthmeier said. "This is a crucial time for any company, a time where you cannot afford to lose your bank."
Uthmeier also claimed JPMorgan sought large amounts of information from Trump Media unrelated to its business practices and may have shared sensitive data with Biden's DOJ without probable cause.
"This is wrong. We will not tolerate it, and we will hold them accountable," he added.
"Here in Florida, we've passed legislation to protect our consumers from wrongful debanking, and we will stand by our consumers," he said.
As WorldNetDaily reported in January, Congress is now investigating the debanking of Americans who hold conservative political views.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky, wondered at the time: "Are these bank examiners with a wink and a nod saying don't let this person bank at your bank?"
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
President Trump presented the honorees of this year's Kennedy Center awards their medallions in an Oval Office cermony Saturday.
Donning a tuxedo, Trump presented the Tiffany-designed medals to the previously announced honoress: George Strait, Sylvester Stallone, Michael Crawford, Gloria Gaynor and the rock band Kiss.
Trump will be the first president in history to host the awards show, which will be taped and broadcast on CBS later this month.
During the Oval Office ceremony, he made a prediction about his upcoming performance and got a dig in targeting one of his least favorite TV hosts.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
President Trump Saturday took aim at another "fake news" reporter, this time CNN's Kaitlan Collins.
Trump posted that the journalist is "stupid and nasty" after she asked why the budget for the new White House ballroom had increased.
Wrote Trump: "Caitlin Collin's [sic] of Fake News CNN, always Stupid and Nasty, asked me why the new Ballroom was costing more money than originally thought one year ago. I said because it is going to be double the size, and the quality of finishes and interiors has been brought to the highest level. Also, the column SPAN has been substantially increased for purposes of viewing.
"It is actually under budget and ahead of schedule, as my jobs always are. It's just much bigger and more beautiful than originally planned. Interestingly, and seldom reported, there are no taxpayer dollars involved. It is being fully paid for by private donations. FAKE NEWS CNN, and the guy who runs the whole corrupt operation that owns it, is one of the worst in the business. Their ratings are so low that they're not even counted or relevant anymore. MAGA!!!"
The president has taken flack recently for name-calling directed at mostly female reporters. It is not clear if he misspelled Collins' first name purposely.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The Supreme Court is taking up the fight in Michigan over a house that a county essentially stole.
Officials in Isabella County actually took control of a 3,000-square-foot home originally purchased by Scott Pung and evicted his descendants.
All for a tax bill for which Pung had obtained an ongoing exemption.
So the bill never should have existed.
It is the Pacific Legal Foundation that explained when Pung first bought the house, he "secured a tax exemption for a supplemental property tax."
It was an ongoing exemption, and when Scott died in 2004 and his wife in 2008, his son, Marc, took control of the house.
"Under Michigan law, the tax exemption continued automatically as long as family members lived in the home. Marc lived there with his wife and young child. No additional paperwork was required," the legal team explained.
That wasn't enough, however, for Patricia DePriest, a local tax assessor.
"Despite clear statutory language protecting the Pungs, she retroactively denied the exemption for several previous years, arguing that Scott's heirs should have resubmitted paperwork," the foundation explained.
At the Michigan Tax Tribunal, an administrative law judge ruled for the family, and still that didn't make any difference to DePriest.
"When asked during a subsequent hearing about the administrative law judge's ruling that the family didn't need to file additional paperwork, she replied defiantly: 'I don't care what he says; the law says that you do,'" the report said.
That tax had accumulated to about $2,000, something the family legally didn't owe.
But the county demanded foreclosure and took the $200,000 dwelling in 2015, selling it for $76,000.
"The county kept all the money and evicted Marc, his wife, and their young child from the family home.
"When government takes more than it is owed to settle back taxes, it's home equity theft. In 2023, the Supreme Court deemed the practice unconstitutional in Tyler v. Hennepin County, which PLF brought to the Court," PLF noted.
So the Pungs sued and a trial court held that the government violated the Constitution by taking more than it was owed. But rather than pay the Pungs for what had been wrongly taken, the court held that the county only had to hand over the windfall the government had taken at the Pungs' expense—the surplus proceeds from a poorly run auction, the report said.
"The government should never have foreclosed on the Pungs to collect a debt that was improperly imposed. The Pungs deserve payment for what was taken—a $200,000 home minus any 'debt.' The Eighth Amendment also prohibits excessive fines, including destroying $118,000 in equity to collect $2,242 that was never owed in the first place. The penalty far outweighs any alleged wrongdoing."
Now it will be up to the Supreme Court to decide how the confiscation by the county for a tax bill that was wrongly assessed should be handled.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A foundation commentary has credited a Japanese lawmaker with saying "what the West won't." And that is that a nation must not rewrite its laws to accommodate Muslims.
The stunning verdict was unleashed in a statement made by Mizuho Umemure, a member of Japan's upper house.
The question arose because Muslims there, in a nation dominated by Shinto and Buddhism, are insisting on having more land for their burial locations.
The island nation already has a 99.9% cremation rate for several reasons, the scarcity of land, the possibility of hygiene problems when earthquakes churn up burial grounds and expose bodies, and more.
She suggested that Japanese traditions must be the priority and if someone dies in Japan, but wants a particular burial, the body can be repatriated to a home country.
A statement at the RAIR Foundation noted her dedication.
"Japan's famously reserved political culture erupted in rare bluntness this week when Mizuho Umemura, a member of Japan's upper house and rising figure in the Sanseitō party, delivered a firm rejection of expanding Muslim burial plots in Japan. Her remarks, now going viral, came during a November 27, 2025, session of the Health, Labour and Welfare Committee," it explained.
The report added, "She said openly what most Japanese politicians avoid acknowledging: Japan's funeral practices are not simply 'tradition' — they are rooted in public health, national history, and cultural continuity. And they will not be rewritten because of foreign demands. Within hours, millions of Japanese praised her for saying what they feel but cannot express under modern speech restrictions: Japan will not be bullied into changing its identity."
She noted Muslim calls for "dedicated burial sites" but that raises questions of public health, land use and social harmony. Further, she said, "cultural" agendas actually impact Japanese society as a whole."
'The problem with existing society and Muslim people – what happens in Europe and America – we have to learn from it," she warned.
The commentary noted that Miyagi Prefecture in Japan recently rejected plans for a Muslim burial site, and while, "media spin portrayed it as 'xenophobic,'" the objections aligned with important factors.
Those include public-health concerns, environmental impact, and a refusal to alter local norms for a religious minority.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The grand jury transcripts from federal sex trafficking cases involving Jeffrey Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell, have been cleared to be made public.
The Los Angeles Times confirmed that U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith cited a new law specifically authorizing those records to be released in issuing an order.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act was signed into law by President Donald Trump, and compels the Department of Justice, FBI and prosecutors to, by Dec. 19, release the boxes of material that accumulated while investigating Epstein.
The DOJ wants documents from three Epstein cases: a 2006-2007 Florida grand jury review of his actions, his 2019 sex trafficking case in New York, and the 2021 sex trafficking case involving Ghislaine Maxwell, which also developed in New York.
According to a Fox report, the new federal law overrides the Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e) which provides for grand jury secrecy.
The records will be released on the orders of the DOJ.
According to the Gateway Pundit, the new law applies to "unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials that relate to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell."
Congress overwhelmingly supported the bill, and President Trump explained, "We have nothing to hide, and it's time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our recent Victory on the Democrat 'Shutdown.'"
Trump previously has called for action.
"Jeffrey Epstein, who was charged by the Trump Justice Department in 2019 (Not the Democrats!), was a lifelong Democrat, donated Thousands of Dollars to Democrat Politicians, and was deeply associated with many well-known Democrat figures, such as Bill Clinton (who traveled on his plane 26 times), Larry Summers (who just resigned from many Boards, including Harvard), Sleazebag Political Activist Reid Hoffman, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (who asked Epstein to donate to his Campaign AFTER Epstein was charged), Democrat Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett, and many more."
He continued, "Perhaps the truth about these Democrats, and their associations with Jeffrey Epstein, will soon be revealed, because I HAVE JUST SIGNED THE BILL TO RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES! As everyone knows, I asked Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, to pass this Bill in the House and Senate, respectively. Because of this request, the votes were almost unanimous in favor of passage. At my direction, the Department of Justice has already turned over close to fifty thousand pages of documents to Congress. Do not forget — The Biden Administration did not turn over a SINGLE file or page related to Democrat Epstein, nor did they ever even speak about him.
"Democrats have used the 'Epstein' issue, which affects them far more than the Republican Party, in order to try and distract from our AMAZING Victories, including THE GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL TAX CUT BILL, Strong Borders, No Men in Women's Sports or Transgender for Everyone, ending DEI, stopping Biden's Record Setting Inflation, lowering Prices, Biggest Tax and Regulation Cuts in History, ending EIGHT Wars, rebuilding our Military, knocking out Iran's Nuclear capability, getting Trillions of Dollars INVESTED in the U.S.A., creating the 'HOTTEST' Country anywhere in the World, and even delivering a HUGE DEFEAT to the Democrats on the recent Shutdown Disaster."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A former Drug Enforcement Administration official who rose to the rank of deputy chief of the Office of Financial Operations under Barack Obama has been raided by the FBI and now is facing charges of conspiring to launder millions of dollars for a Mexican drug cartel.
The United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York identified the suspect as Paul Campo, who along with a friend, Robert Sensi, was indicted on charges of "narcoterrorism, terrorism, narcotics distribution, and money laundering."
The announcement was made by Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the district, and Terrance C. Cole, the chief of the DEA.
"As alleged, Paul Campo and Robert Sensi conspired to assist CJNG, one of the most notorious Mexican cartels that is responsible for countless deaths through violence and drug trafficking in the United States and Mexico," said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. As part of that support, the defendants laundered hundreds of thousands of dollars they believed to be CJNG drug proceeds, agreed to launder millions more, and even agreed to use their financial expertise to facilitate cocaine trafficking right here in New York City.
"By participating in this scheme, Campo betrayed the mission he was entrusted with pursuing for his 25-year career with the DEA. CJNG is a violent and corrupting criminal enterprise that New Yorkers want broken. I commend the extraordinary efforts of the DEA in aggressively pursuing CJNG and those who support their deadly and corrupt efforts, no matter who they may be."
CJNG is the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, or Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion.
Federal authorities charged:
CJNG is a Mexico-based transnational criminal group overseen by Nemesio Ruben "El Mencho" Oseguera-Cervantes that controls a significant portion of the narcotics trafficking trade. CJNG illicitly transports cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and other controlled substances into the United States. CJNG also engages in money laundering and other criminal activities, including acts of violence and intimidation. On February 20, 2025, the United States Secretary of State designated CJNG as a Foreign Terrorist Organization under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
PAUL CAMPO worked for the DEA for approximately 25 years, first as a Special Agent in New York and eventually rising to become a high-level DEA official, specifically the Deputy Chief of the Office of Financial Operations. CAMPO retired from DEA in or about January 2016.
In late 2024, ROBERT SENSI began meeting with a confidential source working at the direction of law enforcement ("CS-1"), who was posing as a member of CJNG. SENSI told CS-1 that he had a friend who used to be in charge of DEA's financial operations who could assist CJNG by laundering narcotics proceeds and providing CS-1 with sensitive DEA information about sources and investigations.
After these initial meetings, CAMPO and SENSI together met with CS-1 on several occasions. During these conversations, CAMPO and SENSI agreed to launder money for CS 1 by, among other things, converting cash into cryptocurrency and making investments in real estate. CAMPO and SENSI further advised CS-1 about fentanyl production and explored procuring commercial drones and military-grade weapons and equipment for CJNG, including AR-15 semi-automatic rifles, M4 carbines, M16 rifles, grenade launchers, and rocket-propelled grenades. As part of these discussions, CAMPO and SENSI often boasted about and relied heavily on CAMPO's prior federal law enforcement experience and expertise regarding financial investigations and drug cartels.
Regarding the drones, in one meeting, CS 1 explained to CAMPO, "what we do with the drones, we put explosives and we just send it over there, boom"; in another conversation, CS 1 asked SENSI how much C-4 explosive the drones could carry, to which SENSI responded, in sum and substance, approximately six kilograms, which is enough to "blow up the whole f—— . . . I don't want to say."
As part of the scheme, CAMPO and SENSI agreed to launder approximately $12,000,000 of CJNG narcotics proceeds; laundered approximately $750,000 by converting cash into cryptocurrency; and provided a payment for approximately 220 kilograms of cocaine on the understanding that the payment would trigger the distribution and sale of the narcotics worth approximately $5,000,000, for which CAMPO and SENSI would (i) receive directly a portion of the narcotics proceeds as profit; and (ii) receive a further commission upon the laundering of the balance of the narcotics proceeds.
Cole said, "The indictment of former Special Agent Paul Campo sends a powerful message: those who betray the public trust—past or present—will be held to account to the fullest extent of the law. The alleged conduct occurred after he left DEA and was unrelated to his official duties here, but any former agent who chooses to engage in criminal activity dishonors the men and women who serve with integrity and undermines the public's confidence in law enforcement. We will not look the other way simply because someone once wore this badge. There is no tolerance and no excuse for this kind of betrayal."
Campo and Sensi each face a count of conspiring to commit narcoterrorism, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years.
Other charges are conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaince, conspiring to provide material support and resources to CJNG, a desginated foreign terrorist organization, and money laundering.