Even children know that saying "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" isn't going to cut it anymore, as most Americans want to hear the latter.

First Lady Jill Biden found that out in the most humiliating way last week at a U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots event held at the White House. A few of the children in the audience were quick to correct her political correctness.

According to the Daily Mail, as she entered the room and began talking, she shouted "Happy Holidays!" to the people in the room, only to be corrected by one of the children.

The child shouted back, "Happy Christmas!" sending the room into an uproar with an obviously-embarrassed first lady scrambling for her next sentence.

So bad

Video of the embarrassing situation for Jilly Biden quickly made the rounds across social media as she was brutally mocked for being corrected -- properly -- by a child.

The Daily Mail noted:

The First Lady greeted children at the White House on Friday to mark the festive season at the Marine Corps' 'Toys for Tots' event, welcoming military families: 'Hello! How are you? Happy Holidays!'

Social media absolutely destroyed the first lady for trying her PC greeting on the kids -- especially given that it was a Marine Corps event specifically for a Christmas-based cause.

Jill Biden scrambled after the correction and tried to make a funny moment out of the situation before finally saying "Happy holidays and Merry Christmas" as she prepared to leave the room.

Still, the damage was already done, and the mockery was thick.

Social media reaction

Social media uses held nothing back as they torched the first lady for having her woke, PC garbage greeting trampled by a small child.

"Merry Christmas is the proper statement. Christmas is a national holiday," one X user wrote.

Another X user wrote, "I’ll never understand the whole “Happy Holidays” thing. It is starting to creep into Australia too. I presume it is an American saying. However it has now been hijacked by those who are anti-Christmas."

One can be sure that the parents of that child are proud right about now.

 

The mysterious drone situation that started in New Jersey and now plaguing more areas in the Northeast and in various parts of the country is angering millions of Americans, including President-elect Donald Trump.

According to Breitbart, the incoming president finally broke his silence on the matter after weeks of activity that has led to multiple conspiracy theories and ideas as to what the drones are and where they're from. 

Trump slammed President Joe Biden and the U.S. government for not being more forthright with information about the drones.

He suggested that either the government release more information about their origins and intentions, or have them shot down immediately.

What did he say?

The public outrage over the lack of guidance and information about the thousands of drone sightings is growing by the hour as news spreads around the world.

Trump took to his Truth Social account to address the situation, slamming Biden's government for its very obvious lack of transparency on the matter.

"Mystery Drone sightings all over the Country,” Trump wrote in his post. “Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge. I don’t think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!! DJT."

Breitbart noted:

Trump’s post comes as people have reportedly seen unidentified drones in the sky in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and Maryland, among other states.

Lawmakers such as New Jersey state Sen. Jon Bramnick (R), Rep. Thomas Kean Jr. (R-NJ), and former Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD) have called for the government to take action on the alleged drone sightings.

In an official FBI and DHS statement, the agencies claimed there is "no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus."

Statement slammed

Social media users doubted the agencies are being truthful in their statement regarding the drones.

"So you have no clue what they drones are or where they came from, but you can definitively tell us what they AREN'T? Nobody is buying the BS anymore," one X user wrote.

Another X user wrote, "Since when is the US government unable to determine what is flying in its air space. The fact that you cannot tell us what it is makes it a national safety and security issue."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

WASHINGTON – With Donald Trump promising to pardon some, if not all, of those convicted of crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, logic would suggest that the Justice Department might slow down or halt its ongoing prosecution of J6 defendants, and that the FBI would terminate its ongoing orders to surveil, raid and apprehend new suspects who demonstrated in Washington, D.C. that fateful day.

In just a few weeks, on Jan. 20, 2025, President-elect Donald Trump will make his return to the Oval Office, something long awaited by the men and women who have been politically prosecuted by the Biden DOJ for protesting the congressional certification of the 2020 presidential election results at the "Save America" rally on Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump has vowed repeatedly over the years to pardon the Jan. 6 prisoners. And in his first interview after his historic Nov. 5 victory, the president-elect, who himself faced an unprecedented 92 politically motivated felony counts while on the campaign trail, doubled down on his promise to free the political prisoners.

Speaking with "Meet the Press," Trump vowed to grant pardons on "day one" upon returning to the White House.

Yet the DOJ and federal prosecutors are ramping up the charges against Jan. 6 defendants, even circumventing the Supreme Court's ruling on its misuse of federal statutes, to send protesters who trespassed in the "People's House" to prison for years or decades, all in a scurry as the new Republican administration prepares to assume power.

The FBI continues to steadily arrest protesters who sought to "Stop the Steal," apprehending at least two new Jan. 6 suspects every day, often in predawn SWAT team raids, four years after the event.

Criminal defense attorney Roger Roots, who has represented nearly four dozen Jan. 6 defendants over the past three-and-a-half years, is sounding the alarm on the government's incessant attempts to destroy the lives of everyday Americans who supported Trump by exercising their First Amendment rights to speech and assembly.

As Roots awaits a verdict on the fourteenth Jan. 6 case he's taken to trial, he maintains the unconstitutional assault on these defendants' rights warrants a blanket pardon for all Jan. 6 defendants and suspects in "one fell swoop" immediately after Trump takes office … "on day one."

The government insistence on doling out to J6ers prison sentences fit for murderers, child predators and perpetrators of mass casualty events is "a black stain on the history of America," the crusading attorney explained in an exclusive interview with WorldNetDaily.

"I've been on the front lines, and I've seen that this is the darkest chapter in the history of criminal justice in the United States. A lot of lawyers don't even know this – many Republicans and conservatives don't even know – how evil it has become.

"The American people clearly and resoundingly have spoken – they are tired of these cases. The government is not slowing down, even though they clearly lost the election," he said. "The Jan. 6 overzealous prosecutions were a factor in the Trump re-election. Nonetheless the Biden DOJ continues arresting people for Jan. 6-related events."

Roots and his law partner John Pierce are inundated with phone calls from recently charged Jan. 6 suspects "almost every day."

"We had a phone call from a Jan. 6 suspect yesterday – indicating that the FBI contacted him and told him that he's got to be arrested and that he needs legal help. Even though Trump has promised to pardon all these guys – hopefully all of them – the government is not slowing down," he reiterated.

As the DOJ maintains a 100% conviction rate on jury trials, the government typically provides defendants several months to turn themselves in after the jury reaches the verdict. But for at least two of Root's clients, J6 defendants Jared Kastner and Patrick Montgomery, a judge has granted the prosecutors' request that they report to prison for Christmas.

"It just boggles my mind," Roots exclaimed. "I have two Jan. 6 clients who were sentenced recently. They have been ordered to report to prison very quickly – on Dec. 23, the day before Christmas Eve.

"Kastner has two new babies, brand new babies, and he's a newlywed, new father. He's been sentenced to five months in jail. He went to trial and was given five months, which I feel was an extremely harsh sentence. He really did nothing but walk through a small part of the Capitol and then walk out – five months in [prison] is his sentence."

Kastner, 24, was a Wright-Patterson Air Force Base employee until he was charged with, according to federal court records, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a capitol building and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a capitol building.

The FBI retrieved records from Google while investigating the riot and identified a Gmail account and phone number of a device that was at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and associated with Kastner. Records from Google placed the device associated with the account inside the Capitol from 2:14 to 2:52 p.m., according to court records. Kastner was released after his Dec. 8, 2021 arrest in a predawn raid of his residence.

Another one of Roots' client, Patrick Montgomery, 51, was recently sentenced to 37 months in prison and is also ordered to serve three years of supervised release once his sentence is completed.

Montgomery flew to Washington, D.C., for former President Donald Trump's "Save America" rally, walked into the Capitol building and briefly scuffled with a police officer. Federal court documents said Montgomery was inside the Capitol for roughly 20 minutes. He was arrested on Jan. 17, 2021.

In a dramatic departure from the norm, federal judges are green-lighting the prosecution's requests to expedite the "classification" process. Ordinarily judges provide prosecutors and probation officers three to five months for classification, in which the government establishes the type of facility in which defendants will serve their sentence. Based on the government's assessment, they could serve their sentences in camps or low, medium, high or maximum-security facilities within the Federal Bureau of Prisons system.

Yet suddenly, before Trump returns to the White House, the DOJ in tandem with federal judges are expediting the classification process in what Roots contends is an effort to put as many January 6ers behind bars as possible before Inauguration Day.

"Frequently, when these guys get sentenced, they get an order to report to a Bureau of Prisons facility, but the judge does not know which facility. There has to be a period of 'classification' as to whether they're going to 'maximum security,' 'medium security' or whatever.

"We've even seen five-and-a-half months, where a January 6er was sentenced to prison, but had five-and-a-half months to wait before he was ordered to report," he said. But now, says Root, "Just in the last few weeks, they have sped up this process. They've been trying to convict and imprison as many as they can before Trump takes office on Jan. 20."

Also, for Christmas, prosecutors are charging Stephanie Baez, another one of Roots' clients, with violating 18 U.S.C. 1512(c)(2), one of the most serious criminal charges leveled against former President Donald Trump himself and an ever-growing number of January 6 defendants, despite the Supreme Court's ruling that the statute has been misused to prosecute demonstrators.

Traditionally, the obstruction charge, a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison, was used to prosecute crimes of document tampering, witness tampering and evidence tampering. The Justice Department had never used this statute to prosecute demonstrators, even when protests had descended into skirmishes, violence, riots, arson, assault and death.

In June, SCOTUS overturned the obstruction charge used to incarcerate hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants.

"But guess what?," Roots told WND. "We have three cases where the government has refused to drop the 1512 charge! We just had a trial this week, the trial of Stephanie Baez, in which the government refuses to drop her 1512 prosecution."

"Baez went on trial this week based on nothing but some Instagram tweets or comments on social media that she had published, where she was talking about certificates. She mentioned certificates and she mentioned that January 6 is where the vice president – Mike Pence, at that time – plays a role and it was at least within his power to choose to not accept certain ballots from states where there was obvious election improprieties," he continued. "She posted about this on social media, and now they are using those posts to justify continuing to prosecute her for a 1512 charge.

"We are hoping that this case will get dismissed, but here we are, with Baez being prosecuted for this ridiculous felony charge, once again, even though the Supreme Court has struck it down."

Roots drew a distinction between the "insurrection" narrative pushed endlessly by the Biden administration, Democrat politicians and legacy media, versus the reality that the federal government is unprecedentedly applying statutes that carry 20-year prison sentences for what normally and legally qualify as misdemeanor offenses.

"The U.S. Department of Justice had been prosecuting all these J6ers with this 20-year felony essentially for, honestly, misdemeanor disorderly conduct," he said. "Engaging in a demonstration that becomes a riot is disorderly conduct. It's a misdemeanor and that's historically how we've always treated these [violations] in riot situations everywhere – it's a misdemeanor.

"Trump should absolutely and simply, with one fell swoop, pardon every single Jan. 6 defendant – with one fell swoop. Honestly, they were all mistreated. None of them had … an opportunity for a fair defense, and so Trump should just pardon them all with one signature of the pen."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

The justices on the Supreme Court are being asked to rein in a scheme for police searches of homes – without warrants – that uses the "suspicion" that a person on probation or parole lives there.

Officials with the Rutherford Institute are warning that if the decision from the Arkansas Supreme Court in Bailey v. Arkansas is allowed to stand, the results would be "a slippery slope that allows police to carry out warrantless searches in violation of the Fourth Amendment when police merely suspect but do not know or have probable cause to believe that a probationer lives on the premises."

John W. Whitehead, chief of the institute, explained, "This case isn't just about one search in Arkansas. It's about a creeping erosion of our Fourth Amendment rights that threatens every homeowner in America.

"We're on a slippery slope towards a society where police can invade any home based on nothing more than a hunch. It's an affront to the Constitution and a danger to us all," he said.

The institute explained that under state law in Arkansas, people on supervised probation or parole must accept a waiver that allows "any law enforcement officer to conduct a warrantless search of their person, residence, electronic device, or motor vehicle at any time, day or night, whenever requested by the law enforcement officer, and the search does not need to be based on an articulable suspicion that the person is committing or has committed a new criminal offense."

The institute noted millions of people across the nation are subject to similar state requirements.

Problems arise, however, when "police officers mistakenly suspect that a probationer who has waived his Fourth Amendment rights is living at another's residence, and then use that waiver as justification to search the home without a warrant or any indication of criminal activity."

That means that the law imposes the loss of constitutional rights to be protected from unwarranted searches on those individuals, even if the probationer is not living there and may not have even been there.

The institute said it is warning the high court that "relatives and friends will then lose their right to security in their homes."

Highlighted for the court are cases in which police shot and killed a homeowner's dog, when officers drew their guns in front of children, and traumatized a parolee's mother who was hospitalized.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

As the U.S. government remains coy about mysterious drones sighted over numerous states, new reports are suggesting the devices are part of a massive counter-terror operation hunting for a dirty bomb or another possible weapon of mass destruction on American soil.

"It's potentially the most significant national security threat we've faced since 9/11," said Gary Franchi in his Raw Feed broadcast Saturday on the Next News Network.

"The Office of Global Access [a division of the CIA] has deployed these advanced surveillance assets for one purpose: hunting for a dirty bomb that's believed to be hidden somewhere on U.S. soil.

"But here's what should keep you up at night. The reason the intel is leaking now, well, because time may be running out."

"These are our drones," Franchi stressed. "They are tracking gamma rays linked to possible WMDs in a massive counter-terror operation."

He noted the purported WMD could be hidden in a cargo container or vehicle.

"The stakes are high, and of course, the government's silence does speak volumes because they don't want people to panic. And people already are panicked because there hasn't been disclosure, clear disclosure."

"People are taking up arms and they're shooting at anything they see in the sky, which should NOT be happening. You should not be taking up any arms. You should not be aiming for anything in the sky. That is very, very dangerous because a lot of these videos that are surfacing, a lot of them are being identified as passenger airliners or small passenger jets."

Franchi cited a viral video posted by John Ferguson, the CEO of Wichita-based Saxon Aerospace which makes unmanned aircraft for the U.S. military, who gave his stunning "opinion" linking the drone sightings to the disappearance of more than 80 nuclear warheads from Ukraine after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

He said there's never been a full accounting of these weapons, and at least one of them may have been headed toward America.

Ferguson recalled a discussion with a government insider who handled one of the missing warheads, only to have his concerns ignored by U.S. officials.

"Back in the 1980s, Ronald Reagan had dismantled the nuclear program," Ferguson explained. "With Russia, there were countless nuclear missiles that were disarmed and disposed of. Well, there were over 80, I believe. There were over 80 nuclear warheads that were in Ukraine that came up missing.

"We don't know where they are. Maybe somebody does, but nobody knows where these are. I speak with some pretty high-level government officials on this stuff. It seems as though that is the case.

"I spoke to a gentleman a few months ago who was trying to raise an alarm to the highest levels of our government, which they had their ears closed, about this one particular nuclear warhead that he physically put his hands on.

"He physically touched this warhead that was left over from Ukraine. And he knew that that thing was headed towards the United States. That is a very serious deal. And everyone knows that the United States government, this administration, is pushing to get into a war with Russia. We all know that. We all feel it. We all see it."

Ferguson believes the flying devices are most likely trying to sense hidden targets, which may contain radioactive material.

"Now, drones have no reason to be in the air at night unless you're doing some type of ISR work, intelligence surveillance reconnaissance, looking for bad guys or looking for a victim, a search and rescue victim, or law enforcement, or some type of military project," he said.

"There's no reason for a drone to be flying at night because they don't see sh**. Unless you have thermal optics, drones don't see stuff. You need to do mapping during the day. If you're going to do farming stuff, mostly do it during the day.

"The only reason why you would ever fly an unmanned aircraft at night is if you're looking for something, whether it be a person or trying to smell gas.

"We have methane-gas-detection systems that can detect gas leaks and pipelines. You really wouldn't use thermal optics for trying to find gas leaks just simply because the only way you're going to find a gas leak with thermal optics is if the gas leak is aggressive enough that it has a temperature difference. Radio thermal imaging creates a digital image based on the temperature of variance.

"So whatever is different in temperature, it creates an image. Gas, usually gas leaks so slow that it goes quickly into athe mbient before you can even see it. So we have special sensors that can detect gas leaks.

"We also have special sensors that can detect radioactive material. So with this gentleman that I had spoken with who was trying to raise the alarm to try to get somebody in the government to say, 'Hey, we need to work together to go try to find this nuclear warhead.' None of that ever happened. They knew that warhead was on its way to the United States.

"That's all that ever came of it. Nothing ever happened. This government did not do anything at all to help this gentleman raise the alarm and raise awareness that there is a very deadly weapon on its way to the United States. It's out there.

"Nobody knows where it's at now. It left Europe, now it's gone. My guess, my own guess, is that these drones are not nefarious in intent. If they are, they are, but I doubt it. But if they are our drones, the only reason why they would be flying, and flying that low, is because they're trying to smell something on the ground."

"My belief is they're trying to smell something on the ground, gas, leaks, radioactive material, whatever. Do I think that If they're coming up out of the ocean, no, I don't think so.

"Drones that are multi-copter type drones, not the fixed wing aircraft that look like regular airplanes, but the multi-copters, they only have so much battery life. They have hybrid versions that are gas-powered with electric, but those can still only fly for a short period of time.

"There's no way in hell that any drone is going to go miles off the coast as a multi-copter and fly into the interior of the United States and do a bunch of work and then turn around and fly back. It's just physics will not allow that to happen.

"So these drones, I believe, are launched from a location that nobody knows. But I do believe that they're flying low enough that they're just trying to sniff the ground and try to find something. So again, I hate to be a pessimist or a guy that thinks directly to the negative.

"However, I know as a professional, we build professional stuff for the military. I believe that they're actually out there trying to smell something that's very important."

Popular podcaster Joe Rogan shared Ferguson's video online, noting: "This is the first video about these drones that has got me genuinely concerned."

As WorldNetDaily reported Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., dropped his own bombshell concerning the source of the drones, asserting they're being launched from an Iranian "mother ship" off the eastern seaboard of the United States, a claim firmly denied by the Pentagon.

On a more humorous note, President-elect Donald Trump posted an image Saturday about the drone mystery, linking it to former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie receiving drone-delivered meals from McDonald's.

While many still believe the Biden family profited significantly from various overseas business dealings, including alleged bribes, an FBI informant who claimed Bidens took millions from a Ukrainian oligarch has definitely changed his story.

According to the Washington Examiner, former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov agreed this week to plead guilty to lying to federal informants regarding his claim that Joe Biden and Hunter Biden received the lucrative bribes. 

Smirnov's original testimony was what jumpstarted an investigation into the Bidens regarding the matter.

He admitted to evading millions in unreported income and to lying to federal agents about the Biden situation.

What's going on?

Smirnov has agreed to plead guilty as part of a plea struck with special counsel David Weiss.

The Examiner noted:

Weiss brought the indictment against Smirnov in February while the special counsel was also leading two prosecutions against Hunter Biden. Smirnov’s indictment, at the time, served as a massive blow to House Republicans, who used Smirnov’s claims about the Bidens to help justify their impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden.

Smirnov's original claim centered around a story he told regarding the Bidens receiving $5 million each in bribes from Mykola Zlochevsky, the founder of Ukrainian energy company Burisma.

The payments, according to his original claims, "were made in exchange for Joe Biden to use his political power to fire a Ukrainian prosecutor who was investigating Burisma."

The story he told made perfect sense, given that Hunter Biden was a board member for Burisma and his father's influence could have deterred investigations into the company at the time.

The Examiner noted:

Smirnov admitted lying about the claims, which he made on an FBI form known as an FD-1023 in 2020 while Joe Biden was running for president. In his plea agreement, Smirnov also admitted that he had been in contact with Russian intelligence officials.

What's next?

Smirnov has been in jail in California since he was charged with making the false statements.

As part of the plea deal, Special Counsel Weiss "asked the court to sentence him to up to six years in prison and force him to pay up to $675,502 in restitution."

His sentencing is set for January.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

We now know the number of FBI assets the Department of Justice admits were in the crowd on that Jan. 6, 2021, day when there was a riot at the U.S. Capitol.

That would be 26, according to a report from DOJ inspector general Michael Horowitz.

But the real question is what did they do?

It is Washington Examiner columnist Byron York who focused Friday on that specific issue.

He pointed out that of the 26, "17 went into the Capitol or the restricted area around the Capitol. Of them, four went inside the Capitol, while 13 were on the restricted grounds. Beyond that number, nine CHSs did not enter the Capitol or the restricted area. We don't know where they were," he said.

Of course, some 1,500 other Americans have been arrested and prosecuted for charges that sometimes include no more than going into the Capitol.

York continued, "The FBI told Horowitz that most of the CHSs came to Washington on their own and not at the orders of or request of the FBI. But several of them, 13 in all, informed their FBI handlers that they were traveling to Washington. Three of the CHSs had been assigned by FBI field offices to go to Washington. Of that group, one entered the Capitol, while the other two entered the restricted area. The report says that none of them were authorized by the FBI to enter those areas. Of the 23 other CHSs who were not assigned to go to Washington and instead came on their initiative, three entered the Capitol, and 11 entered the restricted area."

None has been prosecuted. And none was identified.

He explains, "On many occasions, the report states that this or that CHS, whether in Washington on FBI directions or not, 'was not authorized to enter the Capitol or a restricted area, or to otherwise break the law on January 6, 2021.' There is a tone of defensive repetition throughout the report: The FBI wants you to know, over and over and over, that it didn't authorize anyone to do anything bad."

But missing is "what the FBI confidential sources did, authorized or not."

There are a couple of "bare-bones" sketches. And, the report said, there is confirmation some of the "sources" were reimbursed for their travel expenses. And some even were given further assignments.

He continued, "The Justice Department, which has been hyperaggressive in pursuing Jan. 6 participants, knows who they are and knows they went inside the Capitol."

Maybe, he wondered, "the FBI did not want a messy prosecution that would inevitably reveal a lot about the FBI's activities."

"Whatever the case, it still means the FBI, which stonewalled Republicans in Congress on all sorts of issues during the first Trump administration, is being far less than transparent about what some of its secret informants did on Jan. 6. We know enough, for example, to know that the bureau was very happy with the work of Field Office 4 CHS, but we don't know things like: How did he get into the Capitol? How long was he there? Who was he with? What did he do?"

Further, the DOJ IG report doesn't address any issues with the Capitol Police or Washington Metropolitan Police.

He noted it's good to know the number of FBI sources there.

"But that's not the whole story."

Because of the years it took for that confirmation to be revealed, speculation suggested that law enforcement agents were part of the riot, or even organized and abetted it.

President Donald Trump repeatedly had offered to authorize National Guard troops to be at the Capitol that day to make sure there wasn't any significant violence, but his offer was rejected by Democrats in Washington, including both at the city and federal levels.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

On the heels of the capture of Aleppo and Hama, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad was ousted as opposition forces quickly took control of Damascus a few short days ago. But the international community is wary, wondering into whose hands any of the Assad regime's suspected chemical weapons arsenals could fall.

The United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons are tracking the possibility of chemical weapons remaining in Syria. Izumi Nakamitsu, the U.N. high representative for Disarmament Affairs, considers the presence of such weapons "extremely worrying."

Ryan Mauro, a veteran national security analyst who has focused on Syria and the Middle East for over 20 years, told WorldNetDaily that Assad once claimed he had destroyed all weapons of mass destruction, when in fact he did not. The investigative researcher for the Capital Research Center pointed out, "Assad lied about his deck [of cards] – about what he had destroyed."

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

Although Israeli airstrikes have targeted chemical weapons sites for destruction, Mauro said, "We do not have an accurate account of what Assad possessed." Without knowing if any of Assad's chemical weapons arsenal remains, Mauro conceded, "It's likely some of these weapons could end up in the hands of terrorist-tied rebels, including Hayat Tahrir al Sham," known as "HTS."

Despite its early affiliation with Al-Qaida, he said, today "the HTS group is more concerned with diplomacy and public relations, trying to win popular support [in Syria]."

"If they find chemical weapons," Mauro speculates, "they're not going to use them. They're benefiting too much from taking a diplomatic approach, and that's what I expect them to do in at least the near future." In fact, he said, he would "not be surprised" if HTS found chemical weapons and actually facilitated their destruction under international supervision.

The problem, warned Mauro, is that "these rebels are not a singular force, [as] there are other Al-Qaida/Salafi-type jihadist groups that follow them and work with them." Indeed, says Mauro, there are countless rebel groups – "some operating in different coalitions and others operating independently."

Therefore, warns Mauro, "it's very possible some chemical weapons and other sensitive materials could end up in the hands of a jihadist group that isn't HTS."

According to sources who were present at the internal town hall on Wednesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray announced his resignation to employees.

He stated that he will be resigning at the conclusion of the current Biden administration, as Fox News reported.

"After weeks of careful thought, I've decided the right thing for the Bureau is for me to serve until the end of the current administration in January and then step down.

"My goal is to keep the focus on our mission -- the indispensable work you're doing on behalf of the American people every day. In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the Bureau deeper into the fray, while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work," he said in his remarks.

Wray's Replacement

Kash Patel has been selected by President-elect Donald Trump to succeed Wray at the FBI, subject to Senate confirmation.

Trump issued a statement shortly thereafter, in which he denounced Wray and lauded Patel, who was on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to bolster the support of Republican senators.

"The resignation of Christopher Wray is a great day for America as it will end the Weaponization of what has become known as the United States Department of Injustice," Trump wrote on his social media platform.

"I just don't know what happened to him. We will now restore the Rule of Law for all Americans."

More From the Outgoing Chief

The departing head of one of the nation's premier law enforcement agencies went on to talk about his personal feelings on the bureau: "It should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway -- this is not easy for me. I love this place, I love our mission, and I love our people -- but my focus is, and always has been, on us and doing what's right for the FBI," he said.

"When you look at where the threats are headed, it's clear that the importance of our work --  keeping Americans safe and upholding the Constitution -- will not change. And what absolutely cannot, must not change is our commitment to doing the right thing, the right way, every time. Our adherence to our core values, our dedication to independence and objectivity, and our defense of the rule of law -- those fundamental aspects of who we are must never change," he said.

Wray also spoke about what he believes is the importance and the power behind the FBI: "That's the real strength of the FBI -- the importance of our mission, the quality of our people, and their dedication to service over self.

"It's an unshakeable foundation that's stood the test of time, and cannot be easily moved. And it -- you, the men and women of the FBI -- are why the bureau will endure and remain successful long into the future," Wray continued.

Why Appoint Patel

Trump attacked the probes that special counsel Jack Smith had launched against him on behalf of the Justice Department.

"Under the leadership of Christopher Wray, the FBI illegally raided my home, without cause, worked diligently on illegally impeaching and indicting me, and has done everything else to interfere with the success and future of America," Trump wrote.

"They have used their vast powers to threaten and destroy many innocent Americans, some of which will never be able to recover from what has been done to them."

Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is "heartsick" after a malicious prank targeting her led to an innocent woman's death.

66-year-old Tammy Pickelsimer was killed in a car accident as police rushed to respond to a fake bomb threat at Greene's home in Rome, Georgia.

"I'm heartsick right now," Greene wrote. "I was just informed that an innocent women died today in an auto accident involving a member of the Rome Police bomb squad who was responding to the threat at my home."

Greene "heartsick" over woman's death

In her post, Greene said she has been "swatted" - a form of criminal harassment in which a person makes false threats to provoke a police response - at least nine times.

"Since being elected to Congress, I have been swatted at least nine times - deliberate attempts to provoke a deadly police response through false and highly exaggerated threats," she said.

The Republican previously shared a video of the bomb squad responding to an e-mail threatening to blow up her mailbox. Greene said the message was traced to a Russian IP address.

International criminal

Georgia recently made swatting a felony - but since the apparent perpetrator of this act was living abroad, it's sadly unlikely they will be brought to justice.

Still, Greene said she is doing everything she can to find the culprit.

"Due to the international nature and severity of this threat, my office is collaborating closely with local and federal law enforcement, including the FBI, to ensure the perpetrator is brought to justice," Greene said.

"These violent political threats have fatal consequences," Greene said.

"It’s an undue strain on our law enforcement who must treat them seriously. The officer was responding to protect my life. And now, a woman has lost her life because of this despicable act."

The Rome Police also issued a statement on the tragedy, which also injured the police officer involved in the crash.

"The Rome Police Department extends its heartfelt condolences to the Pickelsimer family during this difficult time. The department holds the individual responsible for sending the threatening email fully accountable for setting this tragic chain of events into motion. In collaboration with Congresswoman Greene's office, the Rome Police Department is working with federal authorities to ensure the perpetrator is apprehended and brought to justice."

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