This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Concerns over Communist China's navy and the threat it poses to U.S. interests have increased at alarming rates through the years, with multiple reports revealing that China is outpacing the United States in both naval and commercial ship production.
For the U.S., the shipbuilding industry is unquestionably vital to its economy and its national security. For this reason, on March 4 President Donald Trump announced in a joint address to Congress that he would "create a new office of shipbuilding in the White House and offer special tax incentives [for the sector]."
WorldNetDaily interviewed Col. Grant Newsham, USMC-Ret., who once served as the first Marine liaison officer to the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. According to Newsham, "The Chinese shipbuilding industry and its dominance didn't come about by coincidence," adding, "The Chinese Communist Party placing priority on shipbuilding is just one segment of the strategy of [becoming] the world leader in manufacturing."
"Shipbuilding," Newsham noted, "is a 'big ticket' industry. It's immensely profitable when you dominate a market – especially one that provides products – ships in this case – that all other nations depend on, either directly or indirectly." It is that dependency, he stressed, that "gives China leverage over countries it regards as rivals and even enemies."
"All in all," he said, "the CCP views shipbuilding as one front in the 'economic warfare' it conducts against the USA and the West – and it has been hugely successful in strengthening itself and its relative position while beating down its adversaries."
For Newsham, resurrecting America's shipbuilding industry, both military and commercial, is a must. The economic benefits cannot be disputed. "Control and independence" are essential to the international trade network, he said, explaining that "a trading nation with global interests like the United States needs to have its own commercial fleet."
And with trading activity comes the need for security. "Enemies will try to interdict your trading activities, and your commercial ships," Newsham pointed out. "This requires a large enough navy to protect trade," which he asserted is "literally the lifeblood of the United States." For Newsham, "A powerful Navy and a large commercial fleet go hand in hand for a country like the United States."
Thus, a build-up of the U.S. Navy is "indispensable," according to Newsham. "Without a large enough and powerful enough U.S. Navy," he warned, "the United States could easily become a second-rate nation dominated by enemies with powerful navies that can – either individually or collectively – dictate how what and with whom America trades."
What's more, in a warfighting capacity, the retired Marine Corps officer said, "You have simply got to have enough ships to deploy as needed far-and-wide and [the ability] to concentrate them in force as needed."
"Technology does not make up for numbers, except perhaps if you're fighting pirates off of Somalia or Nigeria," he argued. "Even then the bad guys are getting technology that can cause even a modern Navy considerable trouble. We're seeing this phenomenon play out against the Houthis in Yemen."
"Even with Iranian help," Newsham explained, "the Houthis are a third- or fourth-rate force, but you can see how we need U.S. Navy ships in adequate numbers in order to defeat them and re-open a key global trade artery." For Newsham, it's worth noticing that "our European allies that have shrunken navies are basically of no help and would, by themselves, be unable to keep the Red Sea open."
"The lesson here: You must have numbers, and Mr. Trump is right to try to revive U.S. commercial and military shipbuilding capabilities."
Newsham is the author of the 2023 book "When China Attacks: A Warning to America."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
PALM BEACH, Florida – President Donald Trump is again blasting left-leaning judges who are taking extraordinary measures to thwart his deportations of violent criminal illegal aliens.
"People are shocked by what is going on with the Court System," Trump said Sunday on Truth Social.
"I was elected for many reasons, but a principal one was LAW AND ORDER, a big part of which is QUICKLY removing a vast Criminal Network of individuals, who came into our Country through the Crooked Joe Biden Open Borders Policy!
"These are dangerous and violent people, who kill, maim and, in many other ways, harm the people of our Country. The Voters want them OUT, and said so in Record Numbers.
"If it was up to District Judge Boasberg and other Radical Left Judges, nobody would be removed, the President wouldn't be allowed to do his job, and people's lives would be devastated all throughout our Country. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
The president has previously pushed for the impeachment of Judge James Boasberg, labeling him a "troublemaker" as the federal judge unsuccessfully ordered deportation planes in the air to return criminals back to the U.S.
Trump on Sunday also reposted a message by Mike Davis, the former chief counsel for nominations to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley and founder and president of the Article III Project, which defends constitutionalist judges and the rule of law.
Davis urged Trump: "Please revoke Judge Boasberg's security clearance. He has demonstrated he cannot be trusted with keeping secrets."
Davis also noted:
Here is the fatal flaw with DC Obama Judge Jeb Boasberg's order:
Even if these designated foreign terrorists are entitled to individual court review before their deportation, which is disputed, the DC court is not the proper court.
Judge Boasberg did not, and does not, have the power to do what he is purporting to do. For this reason alone, everything he is doing is lawless. But it is much worse; it is also dangerous.
Judge Boasberg ran to his courtroom to hold a Saturday hearing, even though he was not even serving as the emergency judge that weekend. (How did he get this case?) He publicly exposed an ongoing U.S. military, intelligence, and law-enforcement operation with an American ally dealing with the most vicious terrorists (Tren de Aragua) and international gang member (MS13) in the Western Hemisphere.
That public exposure put American and allied lives in grave danger.
Stunningly, Judge Boasberg even ordered the President to turn around planes full of terrorists over the Gulf of America, without knowing the fuel levels, the security footprint back in America, or other crucial operational details.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who is well-known for prompting the ouster of anti-Semitic college presidents, is predicting the former CNN White House correspondent chosen to be the new president of Columbia University will be forced to resign in the coming weeks.
Stefanik made the prediction regarding Claire Shipman on "Sunday Morning Futures" with Maria Bartiromo on the Fox News Channel.
"We have seen six high-profile university presidents resign, two of which are from Columbia because these university presidents have failed to show moral, strong leadership. And President Trump, as he campaigned on, is holding them accountable," Stefanik said.
"The decision to withhold federal funding from Columbia, that's what the American people wanted. That is what they voted for because these universities have failed to make sure that they are following their own rules. They have failed to protect Jewish students.
"But the fact that we're on the third Columbia University president, and this one, let's be honest, Maria is not gonna last as well. It's already come out that she has criticized and belittled the House investigation and the accountability measures and has failed to protect Jewish students."
As the New York Post indicated, Shipman, whose ex-husband is former Obama Administration press secretary Jay Carney, served as co-chair of Columbia's board of trustees before she was appointed Friday night to replace interim school president Katrina Armstrong.
The Post explained: "In a Dec. 28, 2023, text message, Shipman wrote to then university president Minouche Shafik she thought Columbia would be spared from the 'capital hill nonsense,' referring to December 2023 congressional hearings that saw the presidents of Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania and MIT testify about campus protests against the war in Gaza."
Stefanik said of Shipman's Capitol Hill "nonsense" remark: "That is what this latest Columbia University president said. That's why it's untenable for her to be in this position. And I think it is only going to be a matter of weeks before she is forced to step down as well.
"They still don't get it, the faculty doesn't get it. These radical, far-left students [don't'] get it. But the fact that President Trump is not only revoking the visas for the pro-Hamas foreign agitators and anti-Semites on campus, he is also withholding those federal dollars.
"These universities are not entitled to those federal dollars. They have to ensure that they are protecting Jewish students on campus. So again, we are just seeing a failure within higher education."
Stefanik, whose name was removed from consideration for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations to help bolster Republican votes in the House of Representatives, praised what she said is "strong leadership from President Trump."
"I am going to continue to lead this effort in holding higher ed accountable, standing up to be good stewards of U.S. taxpayer dollars, and combatting the rot and the scourge of anti-Semitism in higher ed."
WATCH Elise Stefanik's entire interview on "Sunday Morning Futures"
On the same broadcast, U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon noted of the anti-Semitic events at Columbia, "Jewish students have told me they were afraid to go across campus."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
As anti-Musk, anti-DOGE protests – dubbed the "Tesla Takedown's Global Day of Action" – began Saturday at several dealership locations across the world, at least one agitated demonstrator couldn't take the heat of a Daily Caller News Foundation reporter asking her a question.
The protest took place in Tyson Corner, Virginia.
One X user responded: "She is mentally ill like most of these protesters. They need to be institutionalized for their own protection."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A radiologist who voiced, to state lawmakers, his personal objections to the damage inflicted on children, including bodily mutilations, by transgender "treatments," and was dismissed from a state board over his beliefs, is taking his fight over free speech to an appeals court.
"The record in this case is clear: [Wyoming] Governor Gordon fired Dr. [Eric] Cubin from the Wyoming Board of Medicine because he spoke out on legislation," explained Jacob Huebert, of the Liberty Justice Center. "There was no valid justification for the governor's retaliation. It violated Dr. Cubin's First Amendment rights, so we're asking the court to order the Governor to restore Dr. Cubin to his position."
The fight now is pending before the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in the leftist enclave of Denver.
The legal team explained the case is about Cubin's 2024 email to members of the Wyoming House of Representatives, written in his personal capacity.
He endorsed Senate File 99, "Chloe's Law," which prohibits gender reassignment surgeries and hormone therapy for minors. It was easily adopted by the legislature and even signed by Gordon.
"However, just one month later after signing the bill, Gov. Gordon terminated Dr. Cubin from the Wyoming Board of Medicine, explicitly citing his email to the legislature as the reason," the lawyers explained.
He had been appointed in 2023 to the board that oversees medical regulation, compliance, and discipline in the state.
Cubin's letter had expressed his personal endorsement of the law and he criticized the Wyoming Medical Society for opposing the bill "without adequately representing the views of its members," the report said.
Even so, Gordon forced Cubin's resignation from the board, insisting that it "created the 'appearance of bias'" and could give the impression that he was speaking on the board's behalf.
Liberty Justice Center sued on Cubin's behalf and now has moved the case to the 10th Circuit, following a rejection of the case by a federal court in Wyoming.
Many medical organizations, up to and including the American Medical Association, have supported the ideology that involves giving chemicals to patients who have gender dysphoria, even doing mutilating surgeries on healthy body parts, because of their mental condition.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Death toll estimated to be in the thousands
A catastrophic 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Mandalay, Myanmar's second largest city, on Friday, leaving behind a landscape of rubble from collapsed buildings and a death toll feared to be in the thousands.
The quake, also was felt in Thailand and China, was measured by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Officials in nearby Naypyidaw hospital declared their area to be a "mass casualty area."
"I haven't seen (something) like this before. We are trying to handle the situation. I'm so exhausted now," a physician on duty explained the AFP.
Ian Main, a professor in seismology at the University of Edinburgh, told the Daily Mail, "The damage is likely to be very severe near the epicenter- based on the estimated intensity of ground shaking above, and maps of population density and vulnerability of buildings.
"The USGS 'PAGER' forecast loss is, sadly, most likely to be in the range 10,000-100,000 fatalities," he said.
A 30-story building under construction in Bangkok collapsed.
Reports of fatalities were trickling in and hundreds of people were missing.
"I heard people calling for help, saying 'help me,'" Worapat Sukthai, deputy police chief of Bang Sue district, told AFP.
"I fear many lives have been lost. We have never experienced an earthquake with such a devastating impact before."
The quake struck about 1:30 p.m. local time.
Kelly Rhodes, a tourist on Bangkok, told MailOnline of being evacuated 24 flights of steps down.
Water splashed out and cascaded down the sides of highrises with rooftop pools.
"All of a sudden the whole building began to move, immediately there was screaming and a lot of panic," Fraser Morton, a tourist from Scotland, told the Daily Mail. "I just started walking calmly at first but then the building started really moving, yeah, a lot of screaming, a lot of panic, people running the wrong way down the escalators, lots of banging and crashing inside the mall."
Rows of people were lined up at emergency rooms.
The Red Cross issued a warning about the threat that remained to large dams in the area, offering the potential for major flooding.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Signal chat group about Middle East planning included reporter
Hillary Clinton is scolding the administration of President Donald Trump for allowing a scandal to happen.
It developed when an executive at the Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, was added to a Signal chat group that the administration was using to chat about its dealings, including possible attacks, regarding terrorists in Yemen.
The administration has said there was no classified information shared, while Trump's critics say there was.
"You have got to be kidding me," Clinton claimed.
Exactly what she meant isn't clear, but her experience with scandals in government runs long and deep.
Even leftists online noted, "Clinton's use of a private email server at the State Department and accusations she mishandled classified information dogged her unsuccessful 2016 presidential campaign."
In fact, that campaign was the second time voters had rejected her agenda to install herself in the White House as president. Years earlier, even Democrats had picked upstart Barack Obama over Clinton.
But Clinton's history also includes the Whitewater scandal in Arkansas, the followup to a real estate investment scandal that saw Hillary Clinton the first spouse of a U.S. president to be subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury.
The scandal's conclusion as that there wasn't enough evidence that Hillary, or husband Bill, had engaged in criminal activity.
Yet another scandal involved the White House travel office when Hillary was living there.
It became known as "Travelgate."
Another scandal involved Hillary Clinton's financial involvement with cattle futures.
Some accused her of misbehavior and said her trading records showed a conflict of interest and possibly even bribery.
But there was no formal investigation.
Further, one byproduct of "Travelgate" was "Filegate," when the White House during the Clinton era accessed, improperly according to accusations, hundreds of FBI background reports on former White House employees who are Republican.
There even was a dispute over the furnishings in the White House. While many considered those items to be government property, a number of "gifts" were shipped to the Clinton's private resident before Bill left office.
And there were the Americans killed in Benghazi, under Hillary Clinton's watch.
A report from Fox News explained how now Hillary Clinton is calling the Trump administration "dumb."
Her words come from a "blistering essay" the New York Times gave her space to publish.
She challenged, "It's not the hypocrisy that bothers me; it's the stupidity. We're all shocked — shocked! — that President Trump and his team don't actually care about protecting classified information or federal record retention laws. But we knew that already. What's much worse is that top Trump administration officials put our troops in jeopardy by sharing military plans on a commercial messaging app and unwittingly invited a journalist into the chat. That's dangerous. And it's just dumb."
Hillary Clinton, in fact, also was investigated even as she was running for president for possibly violating the law by running national security secrets into her unsecure computer server she set up in her home.
Her essay appeared to have a theme, as she used descriptives for the Trump administration including "not smart," "dumb power," "dumb," "dumb and dangerous" and more.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Gruesomely insists on promoting abortion because live births are 'more expensive'
A prominent lawmaker in the leftist state of Colorado has turned gruesome in her demands that the state promote abortion: She's insisting that the killing of unborn children is better for the state because births are "more expensive."
It is Julie McCluskie, a Colorado Democrat and extremist on abortion, who said, "Births will not occur because abortions happened instead. A birth is more expensive than an abortion. … The savings comes in Medicaid births that will not occur."
She is the speaker of the Colorado House, and continued, "Savings from averted births outweigh the cost of covering reproductive health care for all Coloradans."
A report at the Gateway Pundit took McCluskie to task, explaining the Democrat "has gone so far in supporting abortion, she's reducing the decision to murder babies to a cost-benefit analysis."
McCluskie was promoting her own bill, and agenda, in an attempt to demand that taxpayers cover "abortion care services" in Medicaid and the Child Health Plan Plus. That scheme essentially involves abortion corporations routinely getting huge checks from taxpayers.
Her agenda also demands that public employee insurance plans cover killing the unborn.
The report explained, "She reduced pregnancy and life to a price tag, concluding that those children should just die because it's cheaper. … She was essentially saying that expectant mothers should kill their children rather than give birth, because it would be cheaper for the government."
In fact, McCluskie claimed, "This bill will actually decrease costs for our Healthcare Policy and Financing Department, our Medicaid expenditures in both this year and out years, as the savings from averted births outweigh the cost of covering reproductive health care for all Coloradans."
The Gateway Pundit pointed out, "Anyone who looks at children and childbirth in such cold, calculating terms has truly gone down an evil path."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
In another example of how extremists are demanding that all of society submit to a minority's transgender ideologies, a nurse in the United Kingdom has been punished for calling a convicted pedophile who preyed on boys "Mister."
It was claimed to be offensive, of course, because the offender was "transgender."
A report from LifeSiteNews explains that nurse Jennifer Melle, of the National Health Service, was disciplined and now is responding with legal action against the Epsom and St. Helier University hospitals.
"She was investigated and disciplined last year for referring to a male patient – a large, six-foot, homosexual and gender-confused pedophile – as such," the report said.
Christian Concern reported that the patient, whose name was not released, is held "in a high-security male prison after multiple convictions for luring boys into sex acts while pretending to be a teenage girl on social media."
Melle explained, "Ever since I have expressed my Christian beliefs under extreme pressure, I have been a marked woman."
The male pedophile was being treated for a urinary problem, and while discussing the case with a doctor and not knowing he claimed to be female, Melle used the words "Mister" and "he."
The fact the patient is a man was significant because of the options for medical treatment.
She confirmed, "This was a real-life medical scenario that required accurate terminology to avoid any doubt between medical professionals."
The patient, overhearing, erupted in rage, demanding he be addressed by pronouns used for women.
Melle said that violated her faith, but she offered to call him by his name.
According to the report, the patient responded by physically lunging at her and using racial epithets.
Officials overlooked the patient's rage, and instead disciplined Melle, the report said.
And she's still be assessed for her ability to work as a nurse, the report said.
"I have been put at risk, but I am being treated like a criminal," she said. "Sadly, if you put your head above the parapet and speak truthfully on these issues in the NHS, the risk is that you will be knocked down, punished severely and demoted."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The Bible records the life, teachings, crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus, empowering Him as the Son of God and Savior of mankind.
Now a contemporaneous document written by a Roman historian has been revealed to be confirming a part of those beliefs.
A report in the Daily Mail explains the writings, called the Annals, were written by Roman historian Tacitus, also known as Publius Cornelius Tacitus, who lived from around 56 AD to 120 AD and was widely regarded to have been among the most important Roman historians.
His writings, done only some 90 years after Jesus' life on earth, start with the death of Emperor Augustus in 14 AD and finish with Nero's suicide 54 years later, according to the report.
"In Book 15, the historian discusses the Great Fire of Rome in 54 AD, shortly before Nero's death, which the emperor blamed on a class 'called Christians,'" the report said.
"The second sentence reads: 'Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus.'"
The report explains that "Christus" is Latin and means "the Messiah."
The Bible's record is that Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea and was the one to sentence Jesus to death by crucifixion.
Tacitus also records the persecution of those who at the time became to be called Christians.
He wrote of the tortures inflicted on them: "Covered with the skins of wild beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired."
The report explains that the manuscripts long have been recognized, but "the details in them recently surfaced online."
The report said the "ancient manuscripts detailing the events during the Roman Empire are believed to contain 'first hand' evidence about the life and death of Jesus Christ."
Tacitus relied on official records, Senate proceedings, and "firsthand accounts" to compile his writings, the report said.
The historian documented how Nero blamed Christians for the fire that destroyed much of Rome, and he then "inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace."
Another historian, Flavius Josephus, also has documented that, "Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man if it be lawful to call him a man. For he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. … Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. But those who had become his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive. Accordingly, he was perhaps the Messiah, concerning whom the prophets have recounted wonders.