Few things are more unnerving than the sudden, unexplained onset of a medical condition that has a negative impact on everyday life.
Unfortunately, that is the situation with which Bristol Palin, daughter of former GOP vice-presidential contender Sarah Palin, has been dealing since earlier this year, battling a mysterious case of facial paralysis that she says came “completely out of the blue,” as Fox News reports.
It was back in January that Palin informed fans and followers of her predicament via an Instagram story.
She explained that she woke up one morning and noticed “a little weird sensation in my face” and within a matter of hours “the entire left side of my face was numb and just paralyzed.”
Palin soon sought assistance from a doctor, and after undergoing a battery of tests, was informed that “nothing came back in all the results” and was given a prescription for steroids and other medications.
The former reality television personality updated fans again in February, according to People, indicating that little about her very visible condition had changed.
“If I just keep my mouth shut, it’s not as noticeable. We are day 35, officially 5 weeks, since the left side of my face went paralyzed. I still have no muscle movement on the left side. I don’t really feel much,” she lamented.
Palin continued, “I’ve done everything imaginable to resolve this. I’m not sure what else I should do. But I’ve spent the last 35 days doing something every single day to try and fix this and nothing has helped so far. So, I’m not sure what the future holds.”
The daughter of the former Alaska governor told fans that her condition appeared “completely out of the blue – no warning, wasn’t sick didn’t get the v@x, no recent Botox,” making the situation all the more baffling.
In her most recent Instagram update on the matter, Palin said she has been handling the affliction as best she can, believes that her face is currently around “70% back to normal,” and while there is a possibility that the condition is permanent, she does not expect that will be the case.
When she first sought medical attention for her facial paralysis, doctors suggested the possibility that Bell’s palsy, a condition that can arise due to stress or insufficient sleep, may have been to blame.
As the Mayo Clinic explains, the condition is known for causing “sudden weakness in the muscles on one side of the face.”
Mayo goes on to note that the precise cause of Bell’s Palsy is not fully understood, but that the symptoms it produces tend to be short-term in nature.
At present, Palin says she is “slowly improving” and that her doctor believes she may have “another 3 months” to go before things “hopefully” return to normal, an outcome for which her fans and followers are surely praying.
The Trump administration has had mixed success in federal court challenges of its executive orders and broader agenda since January, but a judge last week handed the president a noteworthy win.
As The Hill reports, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb granted a Trump administration request to dismiss a lawsuit brought for the purpose of blocking the release of names of FBI agents who performed work on Jan. 6-related cases.
Plaintiffs filed their complaint in February, soon after a handful of career FBI officials were dismissed by the new administration and after then-Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove demanded a list of all agents previously engaged in cases related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol unrest.
The complainants sued in an effort to stop the administration from publicly identifying those who performed investigative work on cases brought against those who demonstrated in Washington on the fateful day in question.
The case was brought by two separate groups of anonymous FBI agents who contended that their identities were at risk of exposure and that their safety could, as a result, be in jeopardy.
The agents further argued that if their names were made public, they and their families could be targets of those they had been tasked with investigating, and that such disclosures would represent a violation of federal privacy law as well as protections enshrined in the Constitution, as Reuters explained.
On Thursday, however, Judge Cobb, a Joe Biden appointee, dismissed the agents’ case, declaring the risk that the Justice Department would disclose their names was simply “too speculative” for the lawsuit to proceed.
Cobb voiced sympathy with the agents’ concerns, stating, “Plaintiffs filed these cases in a whirlwind of chaos and fear” and noted that “some former January 6 defendants, now pardoned and at large, called for FBI agents to be doxed (or worse).”
However, Cobb added, “Since then, the dust has settled some – and this case has evolved.”
The judge went on to state that expedited discovery in the case “revealed no evidence that Defendants are on the verge of disclosing Plaintiffs’ identities, nor have Plaintiffs plausibly alleged that such a disclosure is imminent.”
As such, Cobb concluded, “The Court must therefore dismiss Plaintiffs’ disclosure-related claims.”
In the wake of the ruling, lawyers for the plaintiffs, Margaret Donovan and Chris Mattei issued a statement expressing disappointment with the outcome.
“We are proud to defend the FBI employees who bravely investigated the January 6th attacks. The Court acknowledged that the disclosure of the agents’ names would endanger them and accepted the Government’s claims that it would not do so. We stand ready to return to Court immediately if the Government does not live up to its obligations,” the attorneys said.
Officials inside the Trump DOJ have not explicitly ruled out the possibility of public disclosure of agent names, and although they have declared that there are no immediate plans to do so, whether that continues to be the case in the weeks and months to come is something that remains to be seen.
President Donald Trump has directed the DOJ to unseal the grand jury testimonies against late billionaire Jeffrey Epstein concerning allegations of sex trafficking.
At Trump's direction, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch filed a motion in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York, “to release grand jury transcripts associated with” the indictment referring to Epstein.
Blanch also filed a separate motion to unseal grand jury transcripts relating to an indictment regarding Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving time in prison for her role as Epstein's right-hand woman.
This decision from Trump is an attempt to clear the air after Attorney General Pam Bondi shocked Americans by announcing that there was no evidence Epstein had a client list and that there was “no credible evidence” that Epstein had blackmailed prominent people.
These claims shocked Americans, as it had been suspected that Epstein had an extensive client list used to blackmail the rich and powerful individuals that he served.
While Trump has stood behind Bondi despite the intense criticism, often from his own supporters, Trump is still committed to transparency and is working to publicize as much information about Epstein as possible.
The pressure has been on Trump since Bondi's announcement, as not only are his supporters angry, but members of the Trump administration are also angry.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino was reportedly furious with Bondi and threatening to resign over her handling of the Epstein case. FBI Director Kash Patel was also reportedly considering resigning in protest over Bondi's announcement.
However, it appears that internal talks have soothed over tensions as neither Bongino or Patel are walking, and Bondi has also survived pressure for her resignation from Trump supporters.
But Trump is determined to placate his supporters, and that is why we are seeing a push from the Justice Department to unseal every scrap of information possible related to Epstein and Maxwell.
Whether that will be enough after years of hope that Epstein's powerful clients would be outed remains to be seen. At this point, there seems to be no hope that the powerful people whom Epstein trafficked children to will ever face justice.
While Trump works to unseal the Epstein court files, he is also preparing a massive defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal for a hit piece falsely suggesting that Trump was close friends with Epstein after revelations of him being a trafficker surfaced.
The Wall Street Journal's article essentially used Trump's prior relationship with Epstein, before the pair had a falling out, to imply that Trump was buddies with a sex trafficker at the height of the frustration with Bondi's Epstein client list announcement.
Trump has already scored major legal wins since beginning his 2nd term in the White House, and it is likely that the Wall Street Journal will end up settling to avoid a brutal and costly legal battle for their foolish decision to post a defamatory article.
In a stunning legal outcome, a Democratic state senator from Minnesota faces a felony conviction for burglary.
Nicole Mitchell, embroiled in a bitter familial dispute, was found guilty on charges linked to breaking into her estranged stepmother's house, the Daily Mail reported.
The conviction of Nicole Mitchell, a 51-year-old lawmaker, unfolded over allegations of first-degree burglary and possession of burglary tools at her stepmother's residence in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, last April.
The scenario escalated when police caught Mitchell in all-black attire. Her explanation at the scene was an attempt to retrieve her late father’s ashes and personal mementos.
Following the death of her father, Roderick Mitchell, in 2023, his widow, Carol Mitchell, inherited all his assets. This inheritance became a bone of contention as it did not include Nicole, leading to clear financial disputes.
During her arrest, captured on police body cams, Nicole Mitchell uttered acknowledgements of her wrongdoing, including statements like 'Clearly, I'm not good at this' and 'I know I did something bad.'
In the courtroom, Nicole changed her initial claim, suggesting her actions were not intended for theft, but due to concerns over her stepmother’s deteriorating memory and paranoia.
The arresting scene included a revealing 911 call from Carol Mitchell and culminated with the discovery of Nicole in the basement along with a crowbar and laptops. Identified to police by Carol, she highlighted Nicole's public role, stating: "She's my stepdaughter. She's also a Minnesota senator."
The prosecution stressed the inconsistencies in Nicole's story to illustrate her alleged intent to steal, with Becker County Attorney Brian McDonald asserting her guilt based on her admissions during the break-in.
This conviction introduces mandatory minimum jail time due to the proven intent behind the burglary. The defense highlighted the tangled web of family relationships but insisted on no theft intent.
Following the incident, Carol reported feeling so violated that she moved out of her home. Statements from both sides of the political aisle suggest significant implications for Nicole Mitchell's career, with Senate leaders discussing her potential stepping down.
Governor Tim Walz anticipates Mitchell's resignation, an action still pending final legal appeals. Mitchell's attorney, Dane DeKrey, via a message indicated exploring legal avenues, "I didn’t know" about her resignation decision, complementing "exploring our options for an appeal."
The defense attempted to mitigate the severity by contextualizing the incident within a fraught family dispute, as attorney Bruce Ringstrom Jr. noted the complex circumstances surrounding the burglary.
This case highlights the intersection of personal strife and public office, revealing how private conflicts can spill over into public and political realms.
The implications of this case are far-reaching, spanning legal, personal, and political domains, as Nicole Mitchell navigates the precarious overlap of her personal tribulations with her responsibilities as a public figure.
As the Trump administration faces intense pressure from its base of support to release all of the available Jeffrey Epstein files, there are new developments that have sparked increased interest in the matter.
According to NBC News, in 2021, the New York Post reportedly ran a trailer online about a Jeffrey Epstein documentary that happened to be produced by former Trump adviser Steve Bannon.
In the trailer, Bannon can be heard asking Epstein all kinds of hard-hitting questions, including about “all of the depravity you’ve done against young women."
The documentary was never released, but Jeffrey Epstein's brother, Mark Epstein, wants Bannon to release the reported 15 hours of unseen footage.
Mark Bannon recently told NBC News that he demands to see the footage that Bannon reportedly has.
"Let me see the videotapes,” he told NBC News on Friday. "He’s my brother."
“He told me he has like 15 or 16 hours of videotape of Jeff. He was trying to help Jeff rehabilitate his reputation,” Mark Epstein said of Bannon.
NBC News noted:
Mark Epstein said that Bannon, the MAGA media personality, worked with his brother, then a convicted sex offender, after the Miami Herald in 2018 chronicled victims’ details of abuse by Jeffrey Epstein. The two men filmed together before Epstein’s arrest by federal authorities in the summer of 2019.
The outlet also shed light on Bannon's deeper connection and experience with Epstein while he was alive.
In the trailer for “The Monsters: Epstein’s Life Among the Global Elite,” published by the New York Post, Jeffrey Epstein said he was a “firm believer and supporter” of the Time’s Up organization, which worked to combat sexual harassment. Bannon — who has a background as a Hollywood producer and a documentary filmmaker — is also seen asking Epstein whether he owns two islands, “the islands of Doctor Moreau,” to which Epstein replies, “Correct.”
While Mark Epstein might not get the footage he wants at this point, according to the outlet, the public will likely be able to see it as soon as next year.
Bannon has already confirmed and acknowledged the footage, and recently indicated that he intends on releasing it next year.
"We’re going to release the film, the five-part series, next year — early next year," Bannon said during a live taping of his podcast.
He added, "You’re going to have to name names, and you’re going to have to understand how the elites of the world but also the intelligence services are inextricably linked in the Epstein story."
"That's the key," Bannon said.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said Sunday "there must be indictments" in connection with a "treasonous conspiracy" by President Obama and his officials to thwart President Donald Trump in the aftermath of Trump's first White House victory in 2016.
"There must be indictments, no matter how powerful they were at that time," Gabbard said on "Sunday Morning Futures" with Maria Bartiromo on the Fox News Channel regarding "manufactured intelligence" by Obama officials suggesting there was Russian collusion to impact the race. "They all must be held accountable."
"We are referring all of the documents we have uncovered to the Department of Justice and the FBI for criminal referral," she added.
While noting she was not a lawyer, Gabbard expressed confidence in criminal prosecutions of the perpetrators.
"In my view, we have the evidence to move forward and indict and prosecute those responsible," she said.
"The implications of this are frankly nothing short of historic. Over 100 documents that we released on Friday really detail and provide evidence of how this treasonous conspiracy was directed by President Obama just weeks after he was due to leave office after President Trump had already gotten elected."
Gabbard noted this is not a Democrat or Republican issue.
"This is an issue that is so serious that it should concern every single American because it has to do with the integrity of our democratic republic," she said.
"We had a sitting president of the United States and his Cabinet and leadership team quite frankly who were not happy with the fact that President Trump had won the election."
"They decided that they would do everything possible to try to undermine his ability to do what voters tasked President Trump to do.
"So creating this piece of manufactured intelligence that claims that Russia had helped Donald Trump get elected, contradicted every other assessment that had been made previously in the months leading up to the election that said exactly the opposite that Russia had neither the intent nor the capability to try to 'hack' the election for the presidency of the United States.
"The effect of what President Obama and his senior national security team did was subvert the will of the American people, undermining our democratic republic, and enacting what would be essentially a years-long coup against President Trump who was duly elected by the American people."
Gabbard explained once the manufactured intelligence was created after Trump's election in November 2016, "There was a shift in early December."
"Russia did not attempt to affect the outcome of the American election. That was never published. Hours before it would have gone into President Obama's president's daily brief, it was pulled by a senior-level intelligence official saying that they had to pull it because they had received new guidance.
"The very next day, this meeting was called, a National Security Council meeting, bringing all the senior members of President Obama's Cabinet, and the topic that was put forward was a sensitive matter.
"The tasks that came out of that meeting was coming from President Obama directing the intelligence community then Obama's ODNI Director [James] Clapper to produce a document, to produce an intelligence assessment that detailed not if, but how Moscow had affected the outcome of the election that had already occurred electing Donald Trump to the presidency. This document that they published in January of 2017 was the foundational groundwork that they continued reference over and over and over again to enact this years-long coup against President Trump."
Gabbard indicated "more detailed information about how exactly this took place" will be released next week.
"Accountability is essential for the future of our country, for the American people to have any sense of trust in the integrity of our democratic republic," she concluded.
"Accountability, action, prosecution, indictments for those who are responsible for trying to steal our democracy is essential for us to make sure that this never happens to our country again, about how exactly this took place."
President Trump amplified Gabbard's message, posting clips of Gabbard on his Truth Social page.
Steve Bannon says Rupert Murdoch's fingerprints are all over the Wall Street Journal's decision to publish a birthday greeting President Donald Trump supposedly wrote to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, the UK Daily Mail reported. Bannon believes the Murdochs are out to get the president and will stop at nothing.
"Last night, we saw it in all its ugliness. The Murdochs hate Trump," the media mogul and former White House adviser said during his War Room podcast Friday.
Trump filed a $10 billion lawsuit against Murdoch, the Wall Street Journal, and other reporters who broke the story. Bannon said this will be Trump's opportunity to strike at the media mogul who owns the paper through his News Corporation conglomerate.
🔥Amazing job connecting ALL THE DOTS. Bannon has Jack Posobiec on War Room to discuss the "Birthday Card" and where it emanates from.
Bannon says they tried to destroy president Trump last night & believes it is Rupert Murdoch himself. Steve reminds everyone of when in… pic.twitter.com/lV51T6S8jL— Johnny St.Pete (@JohnMcCloy) July 18, 2025
On Thursday, the Journal printed the contents of a "bawdy" birthday card Trump allegedly sent to Epstein for his 5oth birthday. "Happy Birthday - and may every day be another wonderful secret," the typed message said before Trump's purported handwritten signature.
Trump has vehemently denied writing the letter to the disgraced financier and initiated the lawsuit to prove it. Bannon thinks this is an orchestrated attack on Trump after years of back-and-forth attacks.
"The Murdochs want to take down Trump. And this is why on this Epstein and everything, including the rest of the going at the deep state, we have to be on offense all the time," Bannon said.
Bannon believes that Murdoch, who also owns The New York Post and Fox News, is the one who mobilized against Trump. "They used the New York Post as more of a populist entity. And of course, Fox News is for RINOs," Bannon continued.
"But the Wall Street Journal is the neoliberal neocon sharp end of the stick that they come after Trump. And last night they tried to actually destroy him with what looks like a phony and fake letter," he added.
Bannon believes the Murdochs put out the "kill shot on President Trump because he had the stones to stand up to" them. He believes Trump is now well-positioned to turn that around on them, thanks to the lawsuit.
'In fact, we made the recommendations that are the best for President Trump in this movement, which is President Trump is best when it’s attack, attack, attack. He can’t wait to get Rupert Murdoch on the stand," Bannon said.
"You know, Murdoch swore us, you know, squirmed out of having to do the Dominion thing because of the emails that Rupert Murdoch said were going to make Trump a non-person, a non-person, but he ain’t going to get out of this one," Bannon added. The Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit came from claims Trump made that the 2020 election was rigged, which Murdoch's networks repeated.
Trump's legal team has already filed the case that could corner Murdoch now. "This historic legal action is being brought against the so-called authors of this defamation, the now fully disgraced WSJ, as well as its corporate owners and affiliates, with Rupert Murdoch and Robert Thomson (whatever his role is!) at the top of the list," Trump wrote Friday on his Truth Social.
This latest attempt to get Trump is clearly problematic, but the lawsuit will address that. Whether it's Murdoch or one of Trump's other enemies, it's clear that they will pull whatever dirty trick they think will work as Trump outsmarts them all.
Attorney Alan Dershowitz confirmed that there is no incriminating information against President Donald Trump in the case files related to the late billionaire child trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Dershowitz, a onetime attorney of the late sex trafficker, told Friday's "Newsline" that the Epstein case files are very light on bombshell information and will be a massive disappointment for Americans who have waited years to get information on Epstein's sex trafficking operation.
Dershowitz stated, "There's nothing incriminating about Donald Trump, nothing incriminating about Bill Clinton, nothing incriminating about me, nothing incriminating about other people. But there are accusations, and there are some women who collected a lot of money based on these accusations, but a lot of the money was collected even after Epstein died."
This interview from Dershowitz came after the Wall Street Journal's story claiming that Trump and Dershowitz sent Epstein 50th birthday letters years before he was exposed as a sex trafficker.
Trump has already filed a lawsuit for defamation, as the story appears to be completely fabricated or at least based entirely on speculation instead of any real evidence. The WSJ has reportedly refused to release the alleged letters to either Dershowitz or Trump.
Ever since Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that the infamous Epstein 'client list' didn't exist, despite claiming she had it on her desk previously, the nation has been in an uproar and Americans want full transparency.
When Epstein died in prison in 2019 under suspicious circumstances, Americans quickly seized on the situation, with it becoming commonly accepted that Epstein had been murdered and did not commit suicide as the official narrative claimed.
Presumably, Epstein was killed to protect the rich and powerful people that he had compromising evidence on that he could have presented had he gone to trial for his sex trafficking charges.
Trump promised during his campaign to release all the information on Epstein and his criminal enterprises, and yet, Bondi's announcement came as a shock to Trump supporters. Now, the drama with Epstein refuses to die down, and it's a nightmare for the Trump administration.
However, claims that Trump is covering up the Epstein files because of his own involvement have quickly collapsed. Dershowitz's claims that Trump is not criminally involved are backed up by Trump's falling out with Epstein over twenty years ago.
It's becoming increasingly likely that the supposed client list didn't exist, at least in the form that many wanted, or that information on Epstein has been destroyed since his death over six years ago.
Trump himself has ordered the release of information on the Epstein files after uproar over Bondi's announcement. Alongside that, Trump is bringing hell down on the Wall Street Journal for their sensational story that sought to defame Trump using the uproar and attention on the Epstein story.
Dershowitz will likely be heavily involved with Trump's lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal, as he is experienced in winning defamation cases.
Both Dershowitz and Trump had relationships with Epstein prior to his being outed as a child trafficker, but that won't be enough to save the Wall Street Journal from justice, seeing as they clearly didn't learn from Paramount.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Stops law that would have forced Catholic priests to choose fines and jail or excommunication
A federal court ruling has blocked a scheme by leftists to do violence to the church confessional practice.
The new law in Washington state would have forced Catholic priests to choose fines and jail time or excommunication from their faith.
The law, set to take effect in just a week, "threatened to impose penalties of up to 364 days in jail, a $5,000 fine, and potential civil liability on priests who uphold the seal of confession and obey God's command."
The church has confirmed that priests who violate the secrecy of the confessional can be excommunicated.
That secrecy has been allowed for generations in order to allow people who have committed crimes to reconcile with God, through the church, without being reported to police.
"Although the state claims the law was designed to protect minors, it still permits attorneys and others to maintain confidentiality when given identical information," according to a statement from Becket, which has worked on the case.
The Catholic Church in the state already has strengthened protections of children with required reporting of suspected abuse and more.
However, the exception for the sacrament of confession has been maintained.
"This ruling confirms what has always been true: In America, government officials have no business prying into the confessional," said Mark Rienzi, president of Becket. "By protecting the seal of confession, the court has also safeguarded the basic principle that people of all faiths should be free to practice their beliefs without government interference."
"The First Amendment did its work today in protecting the confessional, and I am proud of the Church for its continued support of the reporting law's application outside of that context," noted Hiram Sasser of First Liberty Institute, which also has worked on the case.
Following a hearing just days ago on the fight, the court ruled the state was unable "to explain why the language … of the bill doubled down on singling out clergy."
First Liberty explained, "For centuries, the Catholic Church has upheld the belief that confession is holy and must stay private. This principle—known as the seal of confession or sacramental seal—requires absolute secrecy from priests about anything said while administering the sacrament. A priest has a sacred obligation to keep everything he hears during the sacrament of confession completely confidential. The seal is so vital to the Catholic faith that any priest who violates it faces automatic excommunication.
"Over the centuries, priests have been imprisoned, tortured, and even killed for upholding the seal. Penitents today need the same assurance that their participation in a holy sacrament will remain free from government interference."
"For centuries, Catholic faithful around the world have sought reconciliation with God through the sacrament of confession," said Jean Hill of the Washington State Catholic Conference. "This ruling protects that sacred space and ensures that Washingtonians of all religious stripes can live out their beliefs in peace."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A Christian pastor in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has been fired from his post at a local public library when he resisted orders to lie about a coworker's gender.
The issue was that Luke Ash, pastor of Stevendale Baptist Church, was dismissed when he declined to address a woman as "he."
The Washington Stand reported, "The firing occurred despite a growing legal precedent supporting the free speech rights of those who say they cannot be forced to utter language that they believe is wrong."
The report explained Ash had a conversation with a coworker at the East Baton Rouge Parish Library about another worker, who was in training, and was told the woman wanted to be called "he."
"Ash continued to use biologically accurate pronouns in reference to her. When Ash's coworker attempted to 'correct' him into using the individual's preferred pronouns, the pastor declined to use them," the report said.
He first was reprimanded by his supervisor for not lying, then fired.
Such forced language fights have erupted over and over in recent years as the LGBT ideology, specifically transgenderism, ardently was promoted by the administration of Joe Biden. The ideology itself is based on a falsehood, as being male or female is embedded in the human body to the DNA level and doesn't change.
However, such speech restrictions and demands have been found to violate free speech protections of the Constitution.
The Washington Stand noted that another case involved Peter Vlaming, a high school teacher in West Point, Virginia who was fired in 2018 for refusing to refer to a student with trans pronouns.
He sued the public school district and won, eventually settling for $575,000 from the district.
Ash has explained there were "several things" in the library that made it clear it was not welcoming of Christians or conservatives.
On "Washington Watch" with Tony Perkins, he said, "There's a difference between telling me what I can't say and then telling me what I have to say, and so that was the line for me at that point."
He said, "I'm not going to lie. I cannot do it. I will not do it."
He noted, of the library atmosphere, "They think it's a sin to 'ban' books, and if you talk about banning books, putting a book on a list, then that's well within their wheelhouse to call you a Nazi or whatever. But they're absolutely limiting access to books by which books they decide to purchase for the library or even on the promotion of [the] books displayed. So there's a continuum of access. It's not just about banning a book on a piece of paper. If you can pretend that that book doesn't exist, that's even more effective."