This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A federal judge has issued a ruling protecting Democrats James Comey and Letitia James from prosecution for now.
Comey, the ex-FBI chief, played a massive role in the Democrats' lawfare against President Trump, and was indicted for lying to Congress. James, who brought a fraud case against Trump's companies, obtained a half billion dollar judgment, then saw it tossed for being unconstitutional, was accused of mortgage fraud for lying on legal documents.
It was Cameron Currie, a South Carolina judge, who dismissed both cases that were being prosecuted by interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan.
"I agree with Mr. Comey that the Attorney General's attempt to install Ms. Halligan as Interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was invalid," the judge wrote. "And because Ms. Halligan had no lawful authority to present the indictment, I will grant Mr. Comey's motion and dismiss the indictment without prejudice."
Cases dismissed without prejudice ordinarily can be refiled, and the Department of Justice has the option to appeal the ruling from the judge at the entry level of the federal court system.
Currie, appointed by Bill Clinton, and was brought into the Virginia disputes because they were a conflict for judges in that state.
The cases ended up being consolidated.
A DOJ lawyer had said if there was a mistake, it was no more than "at best a paperwork error."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A Teacher of the Year at an Alabama Christian School is now out of jail after posting bail following her alleged savage beating of her 12-year-old son caught on camera.
44-year-old Nicole Staples was fired from her second-grade teaching position at Cottage Hill Christian Academy after video of the belt beating went viral. She is now charged with willful abuse of a child under 18 and was released from jail Wednesday after posting a $7,500 bond.
"Discipline is supposed to be for corrective action. That went way beyond that," Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch told WALA-TV.
"Snatch him up by his hair and yell and curse the way that she did, working for a Christian school, I thought was repulsive. It's sickening to see somebody do that to their child."
Burch told NBC 15: "It's almost like a dual personality. Because by all accounts, I'm told she is a good teacher and well respected. And yet what happens in the home is clearly opposite of that."
The sheriff's office issued a statement indicating: "A video recorded by a family member appears to show Randi Nicole Staples instructing her 12-year-old son to lay across the arm of their sofa inside the residence in Grand Bay, Alabama."
"Staples then allegedly struck her son on his bottom and legs approximately 20 times with a belt, during which the son can be heard pleading for her to stop."
"You're not f***ing sorry," Staples yells while repeatedly striking her boy as he screams in pain with each lash of the belt.
"Because if you were f***ing sorry … you wouldn't make extra work for everybody in this house because you won't clean up after yourself. You don't do what you're supposed to do."
The victim's brother, 24-year-old Jackson Staples who no longer lives at home, told Fox10 he was the one who forwarded the video to Cottage Hill Christian Academy, where his mother was awarded Teacher of the Year this past May.
"I didn't feel like, you know, she should be working at the school or even doing that to my little brothers," said Jackson Staples, claiming his mom had "done it to me my whole life."
The Academy told NBC 15 that it is "committed to providing a safe, nurturing, and Christ-centered environment for all students," and that, "This commitment guides every action our school takes regarding student welfare and staff conduct."
"On November 19, 2025, school leadership was made aware of concerns involving the off-campus conduct of an elementary teacher toward her minor child at her personal residence. Although the incident did not occur on school property, the nature of the information required immediate administrative action."
"Upon learning of the alleged misconduct, the school acted swiftly and decisively, relieving the teacher of her duties and placing her on administrative leave pending a full review," it continued.
"Following the findings of law enforcement, which determined that the teacher had engaged in improper conduct unrelated to her school responsibilities, an arrest was made and Cottage Hill Christian Academy terminated her employment in accordance with institutional policy."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
President Donald Trump's use of tariffs to pursue his national security and economic agendas is pending before the Supreme Court, as a number of special interests claimed that only Congress could determine those components of the president's agenda.
He has been successful in reaching a long list of international trade agreements that actually create a more fair platform for American manufacturers and consumers.
And now Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is predicting the president will win that fight.
"Tariffs are going to be a part of this administration's national security and national economic protection of the American people," Lutnick told FOX Business' Maria Bartiromo.
"We are gonna win the case, it's pretty clear."
The Fox Business report said the White House needs access to tariffs to defend American manufacturing from unfair foreign competition.
If the ruling goes against Trump?
"Lutnick said President Donald Trump has 'all sorts of policies and tools' available, referencing provisions in U.S. trade law such as Sections 232, 301 and 338, which allow the government to impose tariffs or other restrictions in the name of national security or to counter unfair trade practices," the report said.
Lutnick was speaking from Brussels where he was meeting with European leaders, including discussions about the cornerstone of Trump's economic agenda.
"One of the ways to prove to the American people how great tariffs are is to have them share in a part of one year's income from these tariffs and that's $2,000 a head for people who need the money," Lutnick added, referencing a plan raised by Trump some weeks ago about a $2,000 dividend from tariff revenue to low and middle income Americans.
Also possible is using the funds to pay down the nation's $38 trillion debt.
Tariff revenues for America have surged since Trump started using them several months ago, a total of $215.2 billion in fiscal year 2025, which ended Sept. 30. Trump's tariffs only were begun a few months earlier.
The few weeks of fiscal 2026 already have produced more than $40 billion, the report said.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The Somalian community in Minnesota has been in the headlines recently, with a report showing massive financial support coming from it for terrorists in Africa, and President Donald Trump's decision to end protected status for the immigrants there.
But now a video has surfaced in which a Minnesota sheriff is trying to reassure the community.
In fact, he's promising that he, as a Somalian, and other Somali police officers, are there to protect Somalians.
"As Somalian police officers, we work for you (Somalians) day and night, we stand for you and serve you," he said. "You know, we came to this country as refugees. There were no Somalian police officers, so now that we have been hired, it means we are working for our own people (Somalians). We understand the culture, we understand the language, we understand the way of life.
"That's why we are different from foreigners or white officers. We help bridge that gap. Know this, every Somalian police officer, whether you're in the homeland or aboard, works for you (Somalians)."
The sheriff was speaking Somalian during his announcement.
Social media comments included, "Minnesotastan" and "His priorities are misaligned. He should be concerned about every citizen…"
Another said, "There is a problem in Minnesota."
Actually, a recent research project by City-Journal is charging that because of the huge Somalian community that has moved into Minnesota as well as its reliance on public programs, and the ability to channel money back to Somalia, Minnesota state taxpayers now are the biggest single source of funding for the Muslim terror network of al-Shabaab.
The report charges the Minnesota social programs are drowning in fraud, and "Billions in taxpayer dollars have been stolen during the administration of Governor Tim Walz alone. Democratic state officials, overseeing one of the most generous welfare regimes in the country, are asleep at the switch. And the media, duty-bound by progressive pieties, refuse to connect the dots."
The schemes involve hundreds of millions of dollars.
Because of the reporting, Trump ordered an end to the Temporary Protected Status for Somalis in Minnesota.
Federal officials may designate that status if nationals cannot return safely to their home countries.
"Minnesota, under Governor Waltz, is a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity. I am, as President of the United States, hereby terminating, effective immediately the Temporary Protected Status (TPS program) for Somalis in Minnesota. Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State, and BILLIONS of dollars are missing. Send them back to where they came from. It's OVER!," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
In fact, a Somali police officer a few years back was accused of shooting and killing a Minneapolis woman who had called police for help.
Justine Diamond had recently gotten engaged. She called police twice to report what apparently was an attack in her neighborhood, and as she approached the responding police car, Mohamed Mohamed Noor, an officer, shot and killed her. He was convicted of murder but was later sentenced to prison for manslaughter, and he has since been released.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
An expert on China and its antagonism toward Christianity has testified that the communist regime there, under Xi Jinping, has now entered a new phase, a higher level of persecution.
"[T]he CCP under this dictator, Xi Jinping, has launched a war against the faith," explained Bob Fu, the founder of the Christian human rights group ChinaAid, in a congressional hearing.
"Instead of the old paradigm of controlling Christian churches and other independent religions in the past, now they [have] launched the all-out war to eliminate any independent Christian churches and even … the thoughts of independence and other religious minorities as well."
A report in the Washington Stand explains he continued, "When Xi Jinping took power, he launched three or four wars. [The first] war [was] against the cross and the forced demolition of the cross campaign. All of a sudden, the wooden cross was declared as the enemy of the state, as a national security threat. It really shows how fragile, actually, how fearful this militaristic, atheistic regime [is], and thousands of crosses were taken down. If you don't take down the cross voluntarily — these are government sanctioned churches — the pastors were even arrested. Some were sentenced to 12 to 15 years imprisonment.
"And then [there was] the war against the Bible, especially the access of the Bible to children. Millions of Chinese Christian children were ordered to sign a Communist party-prepared form to renounce their faith in public, and the Bible was totally forbidden to be in the hands of the Chinese children. And then, of course, the [current] war against the Christian leaders."
The subject of the communist regime's crackdown on Christians and other faiths, revealing the campaign is not only a human rights issue but is a threat to U.S. national security, appeared during a Congressional-Executive Commission on China hearing.
There Muslim and Buddhist advocates joined Christians in testifying against the brutal repression to which ordinary Chinese people are subjected for simply choosing to practice their faith.
"Former senator and international religious freedom ambassador Sam Brownback noted that despite the Xi Jinping regime's imprisonment of 10 Catholic bishops and countless other Christians, the communist government 'has not paid a dime' for its religious freedom abuses even though it has been officially designated as a 'Country of Particular Concern' (CPC) by the U.S.," the report explained.
Fu, who also explained the surging anti-faith agenda in China on "Washington Watch," said the latest targets are Christian leaders.
"[T]wo days ago, all 18 of the criminally detained [Zion Church leaders] were formally arrested," he reported. "That means they will go to trial and face a long sentence. And the CCP even criminalized the tithes and offerings — [a] Christian practice for centuries. Many pastors were arrested for simply receiving or organizing the tithing and offering of the church. The pastor Yang Rongli and her husband received 15 years and nearly 10 years, respectively … and other pastors also received various years of sentence for being accused of fraud. So this [is] the new trend."
The looming national security issues were cited by Grace Jin Drexel, the daughter of imprisoned Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, the report said.
He was among about two dozen pastors and workers of Zion Church, a non-government-approved house church with 10,000 members, arrested just weeks ago.
The communists viewed it as a threat since it didn't agree to install government-operated spy cameras at its locations.
Drexel explained she's been subjected to harassment in the United States from those who claim they are U.S. federal agents.
Fu also noted the transnational implications.
"[W]e have seen [that] the Communist Party is not satisfied by just controlling the churches and synagogues and mosques and Buddhist temples inside China, but they also extend their long arms overseas [to] American soil by establishing their overseas police stations."
He said, "[CCP operatives] surrounded my own home in West Texas and forced my whole family into exile from [our] home for three months back [in] 2020. Their only purpose [was] to intimidate and to silence our voice for freedom for the persecuted brothers and sisters and many Chinese pastors, even in the U.S."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A school has gotten caught promoting online pornography as "art," and then concealing that agenda from parents.
And officials with the American Center for Law and Justice aren't letting it slide.
"Our clients, Stephanie Boyanski and Jessy Roberts, were horrified to learn that their seventh-grade children were assigned to visit an unvetted website containing graphic sexual images as part of an art project. The teacher, Ms. Bridgette Gates, displayed these images on a Smart Board in class, acknowledged that 'some images were inappropriate,' and then instructed students to 'ignore them and be mature,'" the ACLJ explained about the dispute that has arisen in Watertown City School District in New York.
There, students in seventh grade were ordered to see pornography "under the guise of an 'art lesson.'"
"This wasn't an accident. Students viewed this explicit material repeatedly over the course of approximately two weeks, for a graded assignment. No parental notice. No opt-out option. No filtering of graphic content. No alternative assignment," the legal team explained. "One of the students involved is a survivor of sexual assault. This assignment triggered traumatic memories, and this student is now in counseling as a direct result of the school's actions."
The lawyers said they are taking action, beginning with a formal demand letter to the superintendent outlining the district's constitutional violations and its failure to protect students from exposure to pornographic material.
"We are demanding a formal reprimand in the teacher's file, a clear policy barring teachers from showing sexually explicit content to children without parental notification, mandatory parental consent and opt-out procedures, and district-funded counseling for students traumatized by the assignment," the ACLJ explained.
It's a district with which the ACLJ is familiar, at it earlier refused to provide legally required access to a religious group.
The report noted the parents only found out about the violations by accident, through parents who reviewed an assignment on their students' school laptops and found the "sexually explicit" material.
The teacher at the time blamed the IT department for not blocking it, but the school then refused to let parents meet with the teacher.
The district then claimed the students had "come across inappropriate content," but that, the ACLJ said, wasn't the case.
"That phrasing was deliberately misleading. Students did not 'come across' anything. They were assigned to view this graphic content by their teacher."
When the dispute came before the school board, "The president of the teachers' union mobilized teachers to attend the meeting in 'solidarity,' canceled after-school activities to ensure staff attendance, and distributed 'Fact Over Fiction' pins – an unmistakable message aimed at parents. He went so far as to compare concerned parents to vandals of his Little Free Library outside of his home and dismissed them as 'internet warriors,'" the legal team explained.
But the law is on the side of the parents, the report said. "For over a century, the Supreme Court has affirmed that parents have the fundamental right to direct the upbringing and education of their children."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A school-board member in Tennessee is "unquitting" after initially resigning amid revelations she appeared to have sex on the Showtime series "Gigolos."
Last Monday, Teresa Crosslin was sworn in as the District 3 School Board member for the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System.
"That same day, the school district received an 'anonymous call' claiming that I appeared in an adult Showtime television show more than a decade ago," Crosslin wrote in Clarksville Now. "When this was disclosed to me, I panicked.
"Believing that resigning might spare the School Board and my family embarrassment, I stepped down before I had time to think clearly."
Crosslin is now withdrawing her initial resignation, saying: "I apologize for the whiplash caused by my resignation and now my withdrawal of that resignation. My initial decision was made in a moment of panic and isolation. After prayer, counsel and reflection, I know I am ready and willing to serve our community with integrity, resilience and renewed purpose."
She does admit the information from the initial call is true.
"I've never denied it happened – I just didn't comment about it when previously asked," she said.
"Nearly 13 years ago, during a low point in my life, I appeared in the show referenced. We all have chapters we wish we could rewrite. Mine is now on full display. I own it. I do not hide from it. And I will not allow it to define me. I recommitted my life to Christ, and I stand today as a new creation in Him."
She told local media the scene on the TV show was only acting, and she did not actually have sex with the actor.
Crosslin says it has since become clear the "anonymous call" was politically motivated.
"Local Democrats sought to pressure me out of office so they could install their preferred candidate," she noted.
"The timing of the call, delivered after I was sworn in, combined with the rapid posting of this information on the Montgomery County Democrats' Facebook page, Democrat-aligned outlets, The Tennessee Holler, and the coordinated online push to defame me speaks for itself.
"I am not a politician. I am a lifelong community member who stepped forward to serve our district. When confronted with sensitive information from my past, and not wanting to become the center of controversy, I reacted out of fear and resigned. But with the understanding that I was set up and pressured into that decision, I am withdrawing my resignation. I am ready to serve. This experience has only strengthened my resolve and deepened my commitment to our students, families and schools."
Tim Harvey, the county attorney, has since weighed in on the matter, saying Crosslin can remain a member of the school board.
"Crosslin was given the oath of office, submitted a resignation, but then her resignation was withdrawn before it had legal effect under TCA: 8-48-104," Harvey said in an opinion obtained by Clarksville Now.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A Democrat state representative in Tennessee running for U.S. Congress is refusing to denounce her previous calls to defund the police and even burn down police stations.
Aftyn Behn was interviewed on MS NOW, formerly MSNBC, by anchor Catherine Rampell, who confronted Behn with her previous anti-police messages, including one tweet from 2020 in which Behn stated: "Good morning, especially to the 54% of Americans that believe burning down a police station is justified."
Rampell asked: "Do you still stand by those comments, and if not, is there anything you want to clarify?"
"Um, I'm not going to engage in, in, in, uh cable-news talking points," a flustered Behn replied.
Ramped again pressed: "So you don't want to clarify whether you still believe that the police should be defunded?"
Behn said: "Once again, I'm, I don't remember these tweets, but I'm what I'm saying is that um …"
Rampell interjected: "I'm not asking if you remember. What is your position today? How's that, on this issue?"
Behn dodged the question again, saying, "I mean, I'm, I'm once again, I'm here to talk about my race, which is uh, in literally nine days."
LibsofTikTok noted: "It's not hard to say you don't support burning down police stations. But she obviously still supports it."
Behn has recently come under fire for her own remarks in which she stated that she hates Nashville, Tennessee, the city she wants to represent in Congress.
Behn had stated: "I have been heavily involved with the Nashville mayoral race because aI hate this city. I hate the bachelorettes. I hate the pedal taverns. I hate country music. I hate all of the things that make Nashville apparently."
When asked by Al Sharpton about her hating Nashville comments, Behn voiced what's being called a "Freudian slip," indicating "We all get a little annoyed with the tourists, but that doesn't mean I love my city … ."
Behn recorded her own response to the hating Nashville mantra, claiming: "NO, I DO NOT HATE THE CITY I REPRESENT.
"I've cried in the Country Music Hall of Fame no less than 10 times. They're panicking because we're close to winning. Eyes on the prize, y'all. Let's go."
Outkick founder Clay Travis shared an ad being aired in Tennessee, opining: "Democrat Aftyn Behn says rioting is a way for people to express themselves & bragged about harassing ICE agents. Tennessee you have to vote Matt Epps for Congress next week. This chick is f'ing insane."
Behn is facing Republican Matt Van Epps, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump.
Trump said: "A West Point Graduate, and Combat Decorated Army Helicopter Pilot, Matt knows the WISDOM and COURAGE required to Defend our Country, Support our Incredible Military/Veterans, and Ensure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.
"In Congress, Matt will work hard to Keep our now very Secure Border, SECURE, Stop Migrant Crime, Grow our Economy, Cut Taxes, Promote MADE IN THE U.S.A., Champion School Choice, Unleash American Energy DOMINANCE, and Defend our always under siege Second Amendment. He is strongly supported by my good friend, Congressman Jim Jordan, and many other highly respected MAGA Warriors!"
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., who last week announced his candidacy for governor of the Golden State, is now pushing for California citizens to be able to vote by telephone.
Appearing Saturday on CNN's "The Story Is" with host Elex Michaelson, Swalwell said: "I want us to be able to vote by phone."
"If we can do our taxes … make our health care appointments, you know, make, essentially your – do your banking online, you should be able to vote by phone. Make it safe, make it secure. But it's actually already happening all over the United States.
"I want us to be a blue state that doesn't do just a little bit better than like Georgia or Alabama when it comes to like voting access, I want us to max out democracy."
Eric Daughtery of Florida Voice News reacted to the vote-by-phone idea, saying: "This is the worst voting idea I've EVER heard. That would be an abject disaster."
The congressman, perhaps best-known for his alleged affair with purported Chinese spy Christine Fang, is also suggesting penalizing counties where voters have to wait to vote in person.
"As it relates to democracy, if you wait in line for 30 minutes or more, if you do want to vote in person, I think you should fine every county for every minute that a person has to wait longer," Swalwell said.
"We have to be better, not just a little bit better than the other states."
Swalwell also thinks the operation of the Department of Motor Vehicles can be modernized where drivers don't even have to show up in person.
"I don't think Californians should have to go in person to the DMV anymore," he said. "I think we can do that virtually. I think you can have the DMV employees do it virtually. But that's a lot of real estate. Digitize the DMV."
Although Swalwell denies any wrongdoing in his relationship with Fang, the congressman was removed from his position on the House Intelligence Committee in January 2023 by then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
PALM BEACH, Florida – While simultaneously bad-mouthing some members of his own political party, President Donald Trump on Sunday asserted Republicans are at their peak of unity.
"The Republican Party has never been so UNITED AS IT iS RIGHT NOW!" Trump exclaimed on Truth Social.
He then named at least three members of the GOP with whom he has serious problems, labeling them "lowlifes."
"Other than Rand Paul, Rand Paul Jr.([Thomas] Massie!), Marjorie 'Traitor' Brown, and a couple of other 'lowlifes,' and other than the fact that many want the Election threatening Filibuster TERMINATED (the Dems will do it in the first minute of their first chance!), and some don't, there is great spirit and cohesion."
"Plus, the Republican Party is MUCH BIGGER than it was when I announced in 2015 or, ever was before – Many Millions More Members!" Trump continued, as he touted the successes of his administration.
"We now have the Strongest Border EVER, Biggest Tax Cuts, the Best Economy, Highest Stock Market in USA History, and sooo much more. BUT, THE BEST IS YET TO COME! VOTE REPUBLICAN!!!"
According to the Pew Research Center: "Today, Americans are about evenly split between the two parties: 46% identify with or lean toward the Republican Party, and 45% identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party.
"This balance of partisanship is similar to 2024, but the current near-even division marks a shift from the affiliation advantage the Democratic Party enjoyed a few years ago."