This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
President Trump, whose inauguration audience was limited in size because of the decision to move it indoors in inclement weather in Washington, met shortly after his speech with a rally of his fans, to deliver another speech.
In this one, he repeatedly said there were things he "shouldn't" be saying.
But he did.
"You're a younger, far more beautiful audience than what I just spoke to," he said. "More powerful than them, look better than them."
That, he said, we want to keep "off the record."
He noted that during his inauguration speech he didn't address the issue of all of those prosecuted by the government over the Jan. 6, 2021, protest of the suspect results of the 2020 election.
"It's action, not words, that count," he said. "You're going to see a lot of action.
He cited the pardons issued by Joe Biden to J6 committee members, including former Rep. Liz Cheney, whose Wyoming voters fired her as soon as they could.
"Why are we helping Liz Cheney?" he said. "She's a crying lunatic."
He pointed out it appears the committee actually destroyed evidence in his favor during that investigation, and those actions now are under congressional review.
He also pointed out the support he's had, with thousands of fans showing up for rallies wherever he travels. Ordinarily, he said, "200-300 people" appear for political rallies, or may thousands just before the election.
He cited the election agenda in California, where they are making it a crime to ask someone for voter ID during an election.
The law, he said, was "if you work in an election bureau, if you so much as ask for voter ID, they'll put you in jail, you're a criminal. … Only one reason, they want to cheat."
He then spent time discussing the Biden administration's agenda to have open borders, and he explained the wall material that he left behind from his first administration, which was scheduled to be sold and removed.
He credited Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and others for unraveling the scheme.
He noted that the border was a major factor in the 2016 election, his first victory, and probably is even bigger now.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
JERUSALEM – After 471 days of Hamas captivity, three now former female hostages were finally released to Israel's military and taken to a specially assembled medical facility for an initial check before being taken on to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, where doctors will perform a more through examination on them, ahead of being reunited with their families.
The International Committee of the Red Cross – which has done nothing to attempt to visit these or any other hostages, even as it supposed to transfer medical supplies in late 2023, delivered the young women to the IDF and to the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet).
There was high drama and theater at the hand over, as thousands of mostly Gazan men crowded the streets. Many were now fully decked out in their Hamas military fatigues, no longer in need of hiding out in tunnels and houses in their t-shirts, Adidas sweatpants and sandals.
The sight was indeed a galling one; for months the Western media has wanted to be hoodwinked about the levels of deprivation in the Strip, and here were thousands of people looking well-fed and with fully-charged cell phones, hardly the so-called victims of a supposed genocide.
Meanwhile, in Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, thousands of people thronged the space, watching in stunned disbelief as the first images of the girls – sitting in a van and surrounded by heavily armed men – emerged.
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, in a news conference, says former hostages Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher "are now in safe hands."
"They are in our hands. They are coming home," he said.
Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden couldn't resist one more attempt at stealing the limelight, giving what will likely prove his last address from the Oval Office, at the news of the hostages' release. When a reporter asked him if he had any concerns about Hamas regrouping, he replied with a curt, "No." It was an appropriate bookend to a career in which he has been wrong about almost every foreign policy debate he has weighed in on.
Israel's President Isaac Herzog spoke for a nation when he said everyone rejoiced at the released hostages' return.
"We send you and your families a huge embrace. This is a day of joy and comfort, and the beginning of a challenging journey of recovery and healing together."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
JERUSALEM – With the release of the first three hostages on Sunday – named as Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbracher, all of whom are women – thoughts inevitably turn to just how much is being demanded in return with the potential release of more than 1,600 Palestinian prisoners, including more than 700 convicted murdrerers, if all the phases of the deal were to be completed.
As with the deal which secured the release of IDF soldier Gilad Schalit in 2011 – during which Israel's current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was also in charge – there seems to be a distinct imbalance as to the price Israel is being asked to pay. It must be remembered, the psychopathic former Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, who masterminded and orchestrated the Oct. 7 attacks – and who was imprisoned for killing Palestinians – was let out during that agreement. Despite the fact he was thankfully killed in October during a routine IDF operation in Gaza, the potential parallels are too stark to be overlooked.
And people should be under no illusions that any of these people are reformed characters. Indeed, one of Hamas' leaders Khalil al-Hayya, praised the Oct. 7 attacks, while threatening a repeat of them, which seems a strange thing to do for a people who were reportedly the victims of a genocide.
This rogues' gallery includes the likes of the following:
Ahmad Barghouti, a close aide and cousin of Marwan Barghouti, sentenced to 13 life terms for leading a "murder machine" that carried out attacks in which 12 Israelis were killed, including the suicide bombing at the Seafood Market restaurant in Tel Aviv.
Wael Qassem (head of the cell), Wassam Abbasi, Mohammed Odeh, members of Hamas's "Silwan Cell," responsible for attacks which killed 35 Israelis, including the bombing at Café Moment in Jerusalem where 11 Israelis were killed, the attack at the Spaghettim Club in Rishon LeZion where 15 Israelis were killed, and the bombing at the Frank Sinatra Cafeteria at the Hebrew University where 9 Israelis were killed.
Zakaria Zubeidi is a former commander of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in Jenin, responsible for a series of attacks, including the attack at the Likud branch in Beit She'an where 6 Israelis were killed. He was also one of the terrorists who escaped from Gilboa Prison in 2021. Since he was not convicted of murder but other offenses, Zubeidi will not be deported abroad and is expected to be released back to Judea and Samaria.
Abdullah Sharabati, Majdi Zaatari, and Samer Alatrash, members of the cell responsible for a series of attacks on bus lines 2 and 14 in Jerusalem in 2003, one of which killed 23 Israelis, including 7 children, and carried out the suicide bombing on line 6 in the French Hill where seven Israelis were killed and 20 were injured. They planned a long series of additional attacks.
Mohammed Amoudi, who dispatched the suicide bomber for the attack at the "Mayor's Shawarma" stand in Tel Aviv in 2006, killing 11 people.
Mohammed Abu Warda, who sent the suicide bombers for the attacks on line 18 in Jerusalem in 1996, attacks in which 45 Israelis were killed. He is serving 48 life sentences in an Israeli prison.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A lawsuit has been filed against Idaho Gov. Brad Little and couple of the state's National Guard leaders for removing a Christian officer from command "solely due to his personal Christian expression on biblical sexuality made outside of the military environment."
The action is coming from Liberty Counsel, which has reported on facts of the situation.
"The 'No Christians in Command' policy constitutes a religious gerrymander by unconstitutionally orphaning sincerely held religious beliefs while permitting the more favored nonreligious value systems," the case charges. "On its face and as applied, [the policy] lacks any rational basis and is irrational and unjustifiable."
Mat Staver, founder and chief, said, "The U.S. Supreme Court has long held that military members do not shed their constitutional rights when they step forward to serve the nation. Nor are the military departments immune to the laws protecting their individual freedoms. By suspending and removing Major David Worley from command over his Christian beliefs, the Idaho Army National Guard informally adopted an unconstitutional 'No Christians in Command' policy.
"The Constitution simply does not allow the military to punish those with sincerely held religious beliefs or to specifically target religion for disparate and discriminatory treatment. Governor Brad Little must ensure that the Idaho Army National Guard upholds federal and state law and protects the free speech of its service members. This discrimination against Major Worley must stop and his record must be cleared and his career restored."
The dispute is over the state's attacks on Maj. David Worley, an infantry officer who ran for mayor in Pocatello, Idaho.
"During Worley's political campaign, which he conducted strictly outside his military duties, he expressed his religious convictions and moral objections to certain issues relevant to political discourse in his community. He expressed his opposition to issues involving so-called 'Drag Queen Story Hours,' pornographic material for minors in public libraries, and the medical mutilation of gender-confused children. All of Worley's protected speech occurred off-duty in his private capacity and before he took command of the Idaho Army National Guard's Recruiting and Retention unit," the legal team said.
But then one enlisted man, "who claims to be homosexual and is ideologically opposed to Worley's religious beliefs," complained about discrimination because he felt "threatened and unsafe" due to Worley's beliefs.
The Idaho Army National Guard suspended Worley from command in July 2023, the pressured him to resign, a move that was rescinded within hours.
Finally, when the National Guard investigated and found the complaints were unsubstantiated, it concluded with the recommendation that "all candidates for command be scrutinized to ensure any concerning expression is discovered, reported to the Department of Defense, and investigated for extremist activity."
Liberty Counsel said the National Guard then claimed Worley's beliefs were "toxic" and removed him from command, "solely due to those protected religious views."
Other defendants are Adjutant General of the Idaho National Guard Major General Timothy J. Donnellan and the Assistant Adjutant General for the Idaho Army National Guard Brigadier General James C. Packwood.
The lawsuit charges that the punishment violates the First Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the Idaho Free Exercise of Religious Protection Act.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Free speech in America can include a lot of different methods of expression: A sign, a statement, a written document, an image painted on the side of a building, even an association, and much more.
And now "spooky" Christmas decorations.
That's the argument from the Institute for Justice which is blasting the city of Germantown, Tennessee, for a decision by its officials to brazenly violate free speech by citing Alexis Luttrell, a resident, for violating the city's sign code.
"Her supposed crime: Incorporating Halloween decorations like skeletons into her Christmas yard display. You would think that only a grinch would look at Luttrell's decorations and think they deserve a court summons. But IJ cases from over a decade show that officials across the country regularly abuse ordinary Americans by acting like the 'speech police"" the organization said in a report on the fracas.
"The whole idea behind free speech is that you get to choose what you want to put up to celebrate," IJ lawyer Robert Frommer explained. "Officials shouldn't get to block you from expressing yourself just because they dislike your reason for the season."
The report said Luttrell put a skeleton and a skeleton dog in her yard to commemorate Halloween. After that holiday, she used the skeleton and dog as Christmas decorations.
"Germantown officials weren't pleased and issued Luttrell a court summons, stating that her decorations violated city code," the organization reported.
Germantown bans residents from installing holiday decorations more than 45 days before the date of the holiday and requires residents to remove seasonal decorations within 30 days after the holiday, the report said.
Luttrell is due in court Feb. 13.
However, the institute pointed out, "A core principle of the First Amendment is that the government generally can't discriminate against speech based on what it says or who put it up. And here, that includes the decorations that someone puts up to celebrate."
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled, back in 2015, that "those kind of content-based regulations must serve the most compelling of government interests."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday said he'll issue an executive order once he's inaugurated Monday to help keep TikTok's operations alive in the U.S.
"I'm asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark!" Trump posted on Truth Social.
"I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law's prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security. The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order.
"Americans deserve to see our exciting Inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations.
"I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture. By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to say up. Without U.S. approval, there is no Tik Tok. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars – maybe trillions.
"Therefore, my initial thought is a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners whereby the U.S. gets a 50% ownership in a joint venture set up between the U.S. and whichever purchase we so choose."
While TikTok is a popular app especially among America's younger populace, concerns about the company's ties to Communist China have pushed U.S. lamwakers to suspend its service in America unless the company divests its ownership.
Mere hours after Trump's post, the app started coming back online for American users.
The company said, "In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service. We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties for providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive."
It added, "We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States."
TikTok want offline earlier Sunday morning, posting a message indicating: "A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can't use TikTok for now.
"We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!
"In the meantime, you can still log in to download your data."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A home builder in Seattle has won a fight against the city's "extortion," demands for $350,000 payment for a water line the project didn't need and wouldn't use.
In fact, the water line the city demanded Oom Living fund wasn't even in his neighborhood.
The results of the fight were announced by the Pacific Legal Foundation.
"The ruling is a great win for a small company that is trying to build new houses in a city where there is an obvious, and desperate, need for them," explained PLF lawyer Brian Hodges.
"The city's demands were nothing more than an exorbitant ransom to receive permission to connect to a public water line, which is necessary to live in a home. Such demands violate the owner's civil rights."
He said with the ruling, "Seattle cannot abuse its power to withhold water connection approvals to force individual property owners to pay for infrastructure that's unrelated to their building project. This victory for home builders and homebuyers will stop the city from shifting unnecessary costs onto the purchase price of new homes."
The ruling in the court fight said the Seattle Public Utilities "arbitrarily and unconstitutionally attempted to force the company to pay for an unnecessary water main in order to build the new house."
The city utility said the building could hook up the new home to the water utility, but only after paying for the new line.
The new line was to address a historic problem with the city's infrastructure, to which the new home had no connection.
"Under SPU's policy, it didn't matter that Oom Living's home fronted an existing water main with ample supply, nor did it matter that the new water main would dead-end in a fully built-out neighborhood that has no need for new pipes. Nor did it even matter that the city's demands would have cost the company over $350,000—a cost that would massively increase the home's ultimate purchase price."
The ruling came from Superior Court of Washington for King County, which told the city it was not allowed to hold the development of a new home hostage to demands for payment for unrelated infrastructure.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security, committed at her confirmation hearing on Friday to prioritize efforts to prevent domestic terrorism and counter the surge in antisemitism nationwide, Jewish Insider reported.
"We must remain vigilant against terrorism and against others who wish to do harm to our country and its great people. I will ensure that our intelligence and law enforcement agencies are working together, hand-in-hand, fully equipped to detect, prevent, and respond to threats from radical ideologies or foreign adversaries," Noem said in her opening statement. "This requires resources, coordination, and collaboration across all levels of government. Once again, I will seek your wisdom and your input in the months ahead. For the sake of the people we both represent, we must get this right."
Asked by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D–Conn., if she were tracking the surge in attacks against American Jews since Oct. 7 and if she planned to try and address anti-Semitism in her role, Noem responded affirmatively.
"I'm very concerned about what we've seen in this country as far as antisemitic violence that has happened. In fact, last year during our legislative session I brought legislation to more clearly define it [antisemitism] so that we could fight it in our home state," Noem said.
"I'm hopeful I can work with you to continue to do what we can to make sure that we are addressing this rising threat and not facilitating it in this country."
Netanyahu: Israel has 'unequivocal' U.S. guarantee of support should Gaza war resume
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reassured his security cabinet he has received "unequivocal guarantees" that the Jewish state will have U.S. backing if the war in Gaza were to resume as a result of Hamas violating the ceasefire deal, according to the Algemeiner.
"We have received unequivocal guarantees – from both [outgoing U.S. President Joe] Biden and [President-elect Donald] Trump – that if the negotiations on phase two [of the ceasefire] fail and Hamas does not accept our security demands, we will return to intense fighting with the backing of the United States," Netanyahu said in a statement on Friday, according to Israeli media reports.
The Israeli security cabinet on Friday voted to approve a ceasefire and hostage-release deal that would halt fighting in Gaza between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. The war began when Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists invaded southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping 251 hostages. Israel responded with a military campaign aimed at freeing the captives and dismantling Hamas's military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
IDF recovers body of Oron Shaul, held in Hamas captivity since 2014
Israel's military announced Sunday morning that a joint IDF and Shin Bet security agency operation in the Gaza Strip recovered the body of Staff Sergeant Oron Shaul, killed and captured in 2014's Operation Protective Edge.
As well as the IDF and ISA, several special forces units, including the Navy's Shayetet 13 commando unit (the equivalent of the U.S. Navy SEALS) and other elite forces were involved, according to the Times of Israel.
The operation was carried out in the northern Gaza Strip over the past day and was completed overnight between Saturday and Sunday.
The IDF said the operation was based on intelligence efforts from the past decade, which were ramped up amid the ongoing war.
Shaul's body was brought back to Israel and taken to the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute, where it was identified. His family was then informed.
Two Iranian Supreme Court 'justices of death' gunned down in Tehran.
Two high-ranking Iranian Supreme Court justices were killed Saturday – and another seriously wounded – when they were gunned down in Tehran.
Judges Mohammad Moghiseh, 68, and Ali Razini, 71, were shot dead inside the Supreme Court, while a bodyguard for one of the jurists was wounded in the attack, the New York Post reported.
The gunman then killed himself while attempting to flee the scene, according to Mizan, the judiciary's news outlet.
No immediate motive was identified, but judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir told state TV the slain judges had a history of handling "national security cases, including espionage and terrorism."
Israel's Supreme Court rejects victim's petition against terrorists' release
Israel's Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice, on Sunday morning rejected a petition filed by terror victims that sought to block the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners as part of a ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
"It is not our place or custom to intervene in matters of this type in which the scope of judicial review is extremely narrow," the justices stated in their ruling, according to the Jewish News Syndicate.
Over the weekend, the Israeli Justice Ministry released the names of the terrorists that could be released as part of the ceasefire deal.
According to the ministry, Israel will release 1,904 Palestinian terrorists in the first stage of the agreement: 737 prisoners and administrative detainees – among them murderers – and 1,167 residents of the Gaza Strip not involved in the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
Among the prominent names on the list is Zakaria Zubeidi, who led Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in the Samaria city of Jenin, and escaped from Israel's high-security Gilboa Prison in September 2021.
WATCH: Douglas Murray accepts Algeminer's Warrior of Truth Award
Palestinian carries out daylight Tel Aviv stabbing attack, passerby eliminates him
A 28-year-old man was severely wounded in a stabbing attack in Tel Aviv on Saturday afternoon, police said, according to Ynet.
Police said they received reports of a man attempting to stab passersby on Levontin Street. Large police forces, including a helicopter, were dispatched, and officers combed the area.
Ari Fuld's murderer due to be released as part of hostage deal
As part of the ceasefire, hostage release agreement agreed between Israel and Hamas and due to come into effect Sunday, more than 1,700 Palestinian prisoners, among them murderers with significant amounts of blood on their hands are due to be set free. This includes the young man who murdered Ari Fuld in September 2018.
Terrorist Khalil Yusef Ali Jabarin was 16 years old at the time he stabbed Ari Fuld outside a shopping center in Gush Etzion. Fuld, a 45-year-old father of four, was a member of the rapid response team in Efrat, the town where he lived., reported Israel National News. After Jabarin stabbed him, Fuld fought back, even shooting at his attacker and preventing a follow-up stabbing. However, Fuld had suffered critical injuries, and Jerusalem's Shaare Zedek Medical Center pronounced him dead shortly after his arrival.
In 2020, Jabarin was sentenced to life in prison and ordered to pay damages to the Fuld family.
In 2023, five years after the murder, the Palestinian Authority, or PA, doubled Jabarin's monthly salary, raising it from $522 per month to $1,044 per month. At that time, the PA had already paid Jabarin a total of $25,726.
ICC chief prosecutor defends war crimes warrant for Netanyahu as he meets Syria's new leader
The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor Karim Khan made an unannounced visit Friday to Damascus to confer with the leader of Syria's de facto government on how to ensure accountability for alleged crimes committed in the country, according to France24.
Khan's office said he visited at the invitation of Syria's transitional government. He met with Ahmad al-Sharaa, the leader of Syria's new administration who was formerly known as Mohammad al-Julani, and the foreign minister to discuss options for justice in The Hague for victims of the country's civil war, which left some 600,000 dead and conservative estimates of 12 million people internally and externally displaced.
Former CIA analyst admits leaking secret info on Israeli response to Iranian ballistic missile attack
The former CIA analyst Asif William Rahman, 34, of Vienna, Va., pleaded guilty on Friday to leaking classified information about Israel's military response to Iran's Oct. 1 missile attacks.
"Mr. Rahman betrayed the trust of the American people by unlawfully sharing classified national defense information he swore an oath to protect," stated Matthew Olsen, a U.S. assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's national security division, according to the Jewish News Syndicate.
"Today's guilty plea demonstrates that the Justice Department will spare no effort to swiftly find and aggressively prosecute those who harm the United States by illegally disclosing our national security secrets," Olsen added.
Robert Wells, executive assistant director of the FBI national security branch, stated that "with today's plea, Asif Rahman acknowledges he betrayed the trust of his country by sharing classified information in spite of the risk to the United States and our allies."
"Government employees who are granted security clearances and given access to our nation's classified information must promise to protect it," Wells added. "Rahman blatantly violated that pledge and took multiple steps to hide his actions."
Ben Gvir quits government over Hamas ceasefire deal
Itamar Ben Gvir's Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party are leaving the Israeli government in protest against the Gaza cease-fire agreement, putting Benjamin Netanyahu's parliamentary majority at risk, reported the Jewish Chronicle.
Three ministers are leaving the government: National Security Minister Ben Gvir, Yitzhak Wasserlauf, who is in charge of development in the Negev and Galilee, and Amichai Eliyahu, the heritage minister.
Although Ben Gvir has said he will not try to bring down the coalition, his departure leaves Netanyahu's governing coalition with a razor-thin parliamentary majority.
Syria's new rulers call for U.N. peacekeepers along Israel-Syria border
Syria's de-facto leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa recently said the new government would welcome U.N. peacekeepers in the U.N.-established buffer zone with Israel. During the same press conference – where he spoke alongside Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani – al-Sharaa criticized Israel's continued presence in Syria's buffer zone on the Israeli border, saying that while the IDF's "advance in the region was due to the presence of Iranian militias and Hezbollah," those forces no longer have a presence in the region after his rebel forces captured Damascus and deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8. U.N. forces, such as UNIFIL in Lebanon, have proven ineffective in preventing terrorists from establishing a presence in areas under their control, according to the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
On Dec. 8, shortly after al-Sharaa's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Sunni Islamist rebel group took control of the country, Israeli troops deployed into the 155-square-mile demilitarized zone established after the 1973 Yom Kippur War, which had been patrolled by a U.N. peacekeeping force comprising approximately 1,100 troops. The IDF said its entry into the buffer zone was a temporary defensive measure and that its goal was to prevent terrorists from taking advantage of Syria's instability to establish a presence in the region and threaten Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in December that IDF troops would remain there until a new arrangement is established to ensure Israel's security.
Earlier in January, the IDF announced it had captured 3,300 weapons since the start of its operation in southern Syria, including two tanks, 70 grenades, 165 shells and rockets, 20 anti-aircraft missiles, and approximately 1,500 rocket-propelled grenades.
U.S. considers temporary relocation for Gazans while Strip undergoes reconstruction
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's transition team is considering the temporary relocation of some of the two million residents of the Gaza Strip while the coastal enclave undergoes reconstruction following the war Hamas started against Israel.
Israel National News reported a source in the incoming Trump administration said that among the countries being considered for temporary relocation is Indonesia.
Throughout the ceasefire, Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to remain in the region "almost permanently" to ensure the ceasefire is observed by all parties.
It was also reported Witkoff is considering a visit inside the Gaza Strip.
Neo-Nazi impersonates a rabbi, tries to enter Nashville Jewish center
A Tennessee man suspected of membership in a neo-Nazi organization was arrested in Nashville after posing as an Orthodox rabbi and trying to enter a Jewish community center, Ynet reported.
According to Nashville police, the suspect, Keith Garland, 31,varrived at the city's Gordon Jewish Center wearing an obviously fake beard and sidelocks, and wearing a black coat and white scarf – attire designed to make him appear to be an ultra-Orthodox rabbi.
In the stunt that took place last week, Garland entered the center's lobby, carrying a cell phone, and approached the reception desk, where he approached a staff member and asked to speak to a rabbi. He reportedly held his phone in a manner that appeared to be recording or broadcasting the meeting. When told that there was no rabbi present, he ignored the comments and continued toward a secured door, which was momentarily open after two community members entered that area of the center. Center staff noticed his attempt to enter and blocked him from entering.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A number of lawmakers in the United Kingdom have launched a campaign to destroy the centuries-old tradition of opening sessions of Parliament with a Christian prayer.
That practice reportedly dates to 1558, but the Christian Institute reports "modernisers" in the body are insisting on being appeased with the change.
And a veteran of the body has warned against the move.
"Sir John Hayes said it was important to begin each sitting of the House of Commons with prayer to afford MPs time for quiet reflection, and in recognition of the UK's Christian heritage," the report said.
"Whether you believe in the divine or not, it's important to recognize our country is rooted in the Christian traditions. Prayers are a reminder of that," he said.
New members, he charged, "either because of ignorance or hostility, don't understand the point about the need for a period of contemplative time or the Christian tradition on which our country's system of ethics and laws are founded."
He criticized the "arrogance" of those "who arrive somewhere and want to change everything before they really understand it."
In court fights there over the issue, the High Court has ruled that public bodies do not need to be secular in order to comply with equality and human rights laws.
The Daily Mail called it a "time-honoured start to every Commons day for centuries – a few minutes of private prayer and contemplation for MPs ahead of stormy political debates."
The report said it is members of the Labour Party who are demanding the change.
The demands from the newcomers have prompted accusations of a new "hostility"' to Christianity developing and observers noted that Commons leader Lucy Powell was not expected to pursue the idea.
The report said, "Former Tory Cabinet minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, a Catholic, said the prayers are a 'reminder of our history and status as a Christian nation,' adding: 'This is not the time to abandon God, whose help is most particularly needed when we have such an awful government.'"
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The geopolitical momentum has intensified against the Iranian regime. Political and diplomatic pressure on Tehran is mounting steadily. An international consensus, led by Europe and the United States, is firmly opposing the mullahs' nuclear program. Preventing the Iranian regime from acquiring nuclear weapons remains a critical priority for global security. And a growing global alignment is targeting the regime's proxies.
In Lebanon, remnants of Hezbollah are being systematically dismantled by Lebanese national forces. Hamas has been condemned by the Palestinian Authority as a source of war and destruction in the region. Similarly, the Iraqi prime minister recently visited Iran to demand the disbandment of the Popular Mobilization Forces, or PMF, a key Iranian proxy in Iraq.
Meanwhile, acting on behalf of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, appeared on a major U.S. television network in an effort to downplay the regime's hostility toward America, even denying any plans to assassinate former President Trump.
At the same time, public support for Iran's domestic protest movements and uprisings continues to grow. At the most recent gathering of the Iranian opposition, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, Ret. U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Donald Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, expressed his support for NCRI's president-elect Maryam Rajavi and her 10-point plan, which envisions a democratic, non-nuclear Iran free of executions. Kellogg also emphasized the need for the United States to reimplement its "maximum pressure" policy, arguing that the Iranian regime must be subjected to heightened international scrutiny and pressure.
The mullahs at their weakest point
The Iranian regime, which has long relied on two pillars for its survival – exporting terrorism and military aggression abroad, and brutal repression at home – now finds one of these pillars severely weakened. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has described the Iranian regime as being at its weakest point since 1979. Similarly, Sen. Marco Rubio, nominated to become secretary of State under Trump, declared during a Senate hearing on Jan. 15 that the mullahs do not represent the Iranian people or the rich history of the nation.
With the collapse of the Syrian dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad, Iran has lost a major strategic foothold for its regional expansionism and military adventurism – a crippling blow to its influence. Hezbollah, long a tool of Iranian power in Lebanon, has been significantly weakened, as evidenced by Lebanon's recent election of a president after years of political deadlock. In Iraq, the government is taking steps to disarm the Popular Mobilization Forces, or PMF, an Iraqi state security service that serves largely as a front for Iran-friendly militias. This will further erode Tehran's regional leverage.
Domestically, the Iranian regime struggles to provide basic necessities, such as electricity and heating, to its citizens. Widespread power outages have forced schools and factories to stop working, leaving many Iranians without sufficient heat during a harsh winter. The Iranian currency remains among the weakest in the world, while the prices of basic food staples have quadrupled over the past decade.
Faced with mounting protests and widespread unrest, the regime has resorted to increasingly brutal measures. According to the NCRI, at least 1,000 executions were carried out by the regime last year alone as a means of suppressing dissent.
A regime in deadlock
From every perspective, the Iranian regime is cornered. This impasse has driven the mullahs to desperately lobby Western governments to continue their policy of appeasement. Over the past three decades, even when the regime was teetering on the brink of collapse, Western governments intervened to prop it up. This was evident during the 2009 uprisings and again during the 2022 protests. It was later revealed that U.S. emissaries were negotiating with the regime during both events.
Efforts by the Iranian regime to pursue nuclear weapons, its widespread use of executions domestically, and its violent activities in the region were met with inadequate responses from the international community. Similarly, the regime's tactics of hostage-taking and terrorism abroad have gone largely unchecked. This lack of accountability emboldened the regime, culminating in its orchestration of the Hamas-Israel war starting on Oct. 7, 2023.
A window for ending appeasement
Another pivotal moment in the history of Iran and the region has come. The Iranian people are ready to overthrow the regime. Thousands of resistance units, scattered across the country, are under the leadership of the NCRI and are poised to channel the ongoing protests and uprisings into a broader movement for real freedom.
Now is the time for the West to act decisively. The window for appeasement policies – which have just emboldened a regime responsible for plunging the region and the world into cycles of war and bloodshed – must finally be closed. A free, democratic and non-nuclear Iran without executions used as a tool of official repression would usher in lasting peace for the region and freedom for its people.
It is up to the international community to seize this historic opportunity. The stakes are immense, but the promise of a brighter future is within reach.