This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
'Federal law is clear. Religious liberty is not optional – it's protected'
A teenager employed by a major corporation under a special high school training program has been fired for observing the Sabbath and attending church.
And the legal team at the American Center for Law and Justice is coming to his defense.
The organization reported this fight is over "Eli," who as a teen was "unjustly fired by General Electric for going to church to observe a Sabbath day."
Eli was described as a devout Christian who has faithfully observed a weekly Sabbath for as long as he can remember.
"He informed his employer of his sincerely held religious practice and repeatedly requested a reasonable accommodation: to have his Sabbath day off from work. Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employers are legally required to reasonably accommodate an employee's religious beliefs unless doing so would pose an undue hardship," the ACLJ report said.
GE claimed the case involved "an undue hardship" but was unable to identify what that hardship would be.
"GE told Eli, in no uncertain terms, that if he did not show up to work on Saturdays, the day of his Sabbath, he would be fired. Eli remained true to his faith – and GE followed through on its threat and fired Eli on the day of his high school graduation. He was fired for what they labeled as 'attendance issues' – a pretext for punishing him for practicing his religion," the report said.
The report said Eli's case now is in mediation with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and because of ongoing delays the ACLJ has joined the case.
"We are fighting to hold GE accountable for its discriminatory actions and to ensure that Eli receives justice," the report said. "No one should be forced to choose between their job and their faith – especially a teenager.
"Employers must provide reasonable accommodations for religious practices unless doing so would cause undue hardship, which is a high bar under the law. In Eli's case, there was no indication that honoring his Sabbath accommodation would have caused an undue hardship."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The White House Friday posted a video of President Trump explaining to illegal aliens how they can easily self-deport by booking a free flight to anywhere outside the U.S.
And he also warns them what will happen if they do not get out of America and are caught.
"We are making it as easy as possible," Trump explains, noting he signed an executive order laying out the details.
"Simply show up at any airport and receive a free flight out of our country," he said. "As long as it's not here, you can go anywhere you want."
WATCH: "TO ALL ILLEGAL ALIENS: BOOK YOUR FREE FLIGHT RIGHT NOW.” – @POTUS
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
It's like "a winning lottery ticket."
That's the circumstance for a man who owns a Chicago home, a fixer-upper that he had on the market for $200,000.
But it's no longer on the market, and certainly not at that price, after he found the small brick structure was the childhood home of Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV.
The New York Post explained the details.
"[The real-estate agent] called me and said, 'Hey, the pope used to live in your house.' I'm like, 'Stop joking,'" explained Pawel Radzik, who flips properties and was ready to unload the home for $200,000.
"I'm going to keep it for now. I'm excited. … I'm lucky to have it," he said.
Realtor Steve Budzik told The Post, "It's like a winning lottery ticket."
The home actually is in Dolton, Illinois, and reports say it was home to some drug dealers a few years ago, after the Prevost family sold it.
Radzik then bought it last year and fixed up and listed it for sale more than three months ago.
Now, he confirmed to the Post, he's raising the price before it goes back on the market.
Curiously, on Thursday alone, he got four offers on the structure.
The Post described the home as a "modest-looking 1,200-square-foot abode — which the pope's family bought in 1949, paying a $42 monthly mortgage."
Real estate listings prominently displayed an "off market" notation about the property.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
When Robert Prevost, a Chicago archbishop for the Catholic church, this week was picked to be the new pope, Leo XIV, President Donald Trump wished him well.
"Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope. It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope," Trump said on his Truth Social account.
"What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!" he said.
Then surfaced social media statements from Prevost, while a cardinal, that adopted an anti-Trump, pro-illegal immigration agenda. The statements specifically targeted the current White House administration with condemnation.
So the White House responded to that, too.
"The president made his reaction to Pope Leo's announcement yesterday he is very proud to have an American Pope," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during her briefing. "It's a great thing…and we're praying for him."
She did not discuss the political statements expressed by Prevost as cardinal.
The Daily Mail confirmed Prevost "made a series of social media posts critical of the president's policies and often reposts sentiments critical of the Trump administration."
"A 2014 tweet is going viral where Prevost called Jesus a migrant and some of his social media content has been critical of the president," the report explained. "Prevost specifically criticized the White House's actions regarding immigration and in the past has expressed support for progressive causes."
His most recent X post came only a few weeks ago, when he retweeted a post slamming Trump's deportation of illegal alien Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador.
Garcia also has been a cause celebre for Democrats in America, but their advocacy for what they describe as a family man has been undercut by allegations besides being an illegal alien in America, he was involved in human traffic and repeatedly had been accused of abusing his wife.
The report said Prevost is a registered Republican, but that "should not be confused with support for President Donald Trump."
"He has made a series of social media posts critical of the president's policies and often reposts sentiments critical of the Trump administration," the report said.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
There have been outbreaks of Christian revival in America over recent months. Evening services turned into days-long prayer events. Churches launching 24-7 prayer campaigns that actually have people praying around the clock. Even similar worship programs that have been going on for months now.
And now there's a new sign of a revival spirit developing: Thousands of people baptized in the "largest synchronized baptism" in the nation.
That's according to a report from CBN.
The publication called in "another sign of the incredible spiritual movement shaping America."
It was when thousands stood on the shores of Huntington Beach and got baptized for the "world to know" they had decided to commit their lives to Jesus Christ.
The Baptize California campaign's first event, last year, saw some 12,000 baptized, through the coordinated work of some 300 churches.
"This year 7,752 people were baptized in the ocean and baptismal horse troughs throughout the day. Over the course of the 10-hour event, nearly 30,000 people worshipped Jesus and witnessed hundreds of lives changed through the gospel message," the report said.
Mark Francey, a pastor at Ocean Church, told CBN, "Jesus Christ is working again from the beaches of California, awakening a generation, uniting the church to reach the ends of the earth."
Hundreds of churches have joined in the effort.
CBN noted, "One powerful redemption story that took center stage was of Sammy 'The Bull' Gravano. Gravano was once the notorious underboss of the Gambino crime family, but recently gave his life over to Jesus Christ."
He explained in a video he released, "I ran with the streets, led one of the most powerful crime families in America…but none of that gave me true peace. I always believed in God but this time, it was different. This time, I surrendered."
Ocean Church launched what then was called Baptize SoCal in 2023, and that event involved some 280 churches and 4,166 people being baptized.
The plan always has been to expand across the nation.
Francey told CBN, "God is not done with America and California. If this can happen in California, it can spread across America."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
In his May 5 memorandum intended for senior Pentagon leadership, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unveiled his plan to scale back the number of general and flag officers serving in the military.
Maintaining his focus on the lethality of the U.S. military, Hegseth called it "a critical step" necessary to "optimize and streamline leadership."
WorldNetDaily spoke to Air Force Col. (Ret.) Rob Maness, who didn't mince words: "Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth just dropped a bombshell on the Pentagon's bloated bureaucracy." He added, "Hegseth's move to cut the brass and redirect funds to the rank-and-file is a 'less generals, more GIs' strategy I've been screaming about for years."
The former bomber squadron commander who served the U.S. military for more than 30 years told WND, "His plan to slash 20% of four-star generals and 10% of general officers is the kind of gut punch the military needs to get back to its warfighting roots."
For example, Maness points out, "We've got 44 four-star flag officers today, compared to just 17 when we had 12 million troops in World War II." He adds starkly, "That's not leadership, [but] a top-heavy mess sucking up resources that should be arming our grunts and flyboys."
Calling out the Air Force specifically, the former bomber squadron commander suggested, "If the Air Force's generals won't ditch their rainbow agendas, fire them all and start fresh." That is the position he has maintained for months, pointing to a January 2025 X post.
According to Maness, "Too many of these careerist stars have been playing political games, protecting their institution instead of the Constitution." Many went along with "the unlawful COVID 'vaccine' order and hurting their troops, pushing woke nonsense like DEI quotas or climate change programs." Rather, he said, these senior officers should have been focused on what really matters: "killing the enemy and winning wars."
Maness praised Trump's Defense chief for "finally swinging the axe, [saying] it's about damn time." But he warned, "Let's not get carried away popping champagne just yet." The coming reductions, he said, need to be "surgical" and "not a blind hack job."
Hegseth, he said, must "target the dead weight – those Biden-era officers who've turned the Pentagon into a social experiment lab and following unlawful orders – while keeping the battle-hardened leaders who live for the mission."
On May 6, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I. took to X to post his objection to Hegseth's new directive, claiming it could "cripple the military."
For Maness, "Senator Reed's whining about 'crippling' the military isn't entirely baseless, [as] arbitrary cuts without a clear plan could kneecap our readiness." That's why, he said, "Hegseth needs to root out the disloyal, the incompetent and the agenda-driven, replacing them with merit-based warriors who'll put America first."
"If he pulls this off," Maness argued, "we'll have a military that's not just smaller but stronger – focused on crushing threats, not chasing diversity metrics." He trusts that Hegseth is "serious about a leaner, meaner force, but it has to be done right."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
President Donald Trump has rolled out the first of the trade agreements he's been pursuing, expressing confidence that it will solidify trade between the two nations "for many years to come."
On Truth Social, he announced, "The agreement with the United Kingdom is a full and comprehensive one that will cement the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom for many years to come. Because of our long time history and allegiance together, it is a great honor to have the United Kingdom as our FIRST announcement. Many other deals, which are in serious stages of negotiation, to follow!"
Detractors immediately nit-picked the announcement, pointing out that trade with the U.K. already is an accepted part of American business, and the 2024 trade value reached about $262 billion.
Leading the activity were cars, pharmaceutical products, scientific instruments and aircraft.
A report at the Washington Examiner noted the announcement followed Trump's revelation that this was his goal with his tariff announcement weeks ago.
And more deals are predicted by the Trump administration.
Trump, in fact, said multiple other deals are in "serious stages of negotiations."
Trump already has accepted an invitation from King Charles III for another state visit to the U.K.
At the time the invitation was delivered by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, he said, "The answer is yes. On behalf of our wonderful first lady, Melania, and myself, the answer is yes, and we look forward to being there, and honoring the king, and honoring, really, your country."
The American stock market reacted negatively to the announcement of the tariffs weeks ago, but since then largely has rebounded.
Just days ago, Trump said he had "potential" agreements worked out with India, South Korea and Japan.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Joe Biden's presidential legacy undoubtedly will include his wild and extreme advocacy for abortion for all.
And his insistence on transgenderism, including growth-stunting chemicals and body-mutilating surgeries even for children.
But another component that has appeared is the threat to the safety of American air travelers left behind by his allegiance to the DEI ideology.
That, "diversity, equity and inclusion," belief insists that people must be hired based on their race, sex, sexual orientation, even minority status, rather than their qualifications for the actual job.
In some positions that may not result in much of a threat, but in the position of air traffic controller, those who manage hundreds, even thousands, of aircraft including jetliners carrying hundreds of people each to keep them safe, it's a big deal.
Now Fox News is reporting the chief of the House Aviation Safety Caucus charges Joe Biden helped fuel a current threat in the industry because of his choice "to fund progressive diversity initiatives instead of modernizing the aging system."
Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., explained in the report the Biden administration's key project, an infrastructure bill, was a "missed opportunities" to fund a revamp of the ATC system.
"That was before I came to Congress, but, you know, you had just mistaken priorities in that, all this DEI policy, DEI staffing, that all got baked into the cake," Langworth explained. "They could have taken that money and spent it on real modernization of what is critical infrastructure in this country."
There recently have been several crashes in the airline industry. Dozens of lives have been lost. One happened in Washington where a helicopter was at the wrong altitude and whose pilot on a training outing declined to follow ATC instructions to change course urgently, resulting in a fiery collision with a jetliner approaching a runway.
Just this week there was an outage at Newark Liberty International Airport that apparently blacked out air traffic control screens for a time.
The report said, "Langworthy clarified that he does not believe DEI policies 'necessarily' directly hit ATC. 'It's what they spent the money [on]. I mean, you know, there's infrastructure projects, ones in my backyard, where they want to bury and tunnel over our main artery in the town because it's going to reunite a community somehow,' he said."
Democrats continue to blame the administration of President Donald Trump for the condition of the ATC industry, which was under Biden's control for years, and under Trump's direction for just the last few weeks.
Langworthy continued, "Aviation is infrastructure. It's transportation. It should have been spent then. Instead, they did all this social engineering with money and didn't focus on what has been a glaring problem for the federal government for many years — modernizing our aviation infrastructure."
Langworthy said, "We should be promoting this to young people that want to look at career service in the government. And it comes with a very competitive salary. But it's a tough job with a lot of hours. And you know, there's always gonna be stress involved, but we have to prioritize it and not just take it for granted."
While federal transportation officials under Trump have confirmed plans to hire thousands of additional controllers, aviation expert Darin Gaub, a former Blackhawk helicopter pilot, confirms he knows qualified controllers who were refused jobs under the Biden administration because of the DEI agenda he had.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The internet confirms that there remains ongoing concern over a Hindu behemoth, a 90-foot statute of religious figure Hanuman, which was dedicated recently in Sugar Land, Texas. There have been protests at the site of the huge religious figure, and there are negative opinions expressed online.
Even First Amendment-protected ridicule of the "monkey god."
But that's far short from the "violent" harassment and attacks happening to Christians and their churches in India, where Hindus are the vast majority.
It is International Christian Concern that as recently as a few months ago documented how, "Christians in India are increasingly finding that the world's largest democracy — and recently the world's largest country overall — is no friend to religious freedom."
The organization that monitors religious persecution around the globe said, "India is often celebrated as the world's most populous democracy. Though true, this factoid does little to protect the millions of non-Hindu religious minorities that call India home. In recent years, religious freedom in the country has rapidly deteriorated in a slide led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the large cohort of Hindu nationalists he encourages and leads."
In fact, the report said there are legal barriers to conversion from Hinduism to Christianity, and there's "mob violence."
"Communal-level groups violently harass and attack Christian churches and pastors in remote areas of the country," the report said.
Further, even "government abuse."
"In a dozen states around the country, laws claiming to prohibit forced conversions criminalize sharing the gospel."
And then the government prohibits "poor Christians and Muslims from receiving government benefits available to similarly-situated Hindus, creating a very real barrier to conversion."
"As it fights for greater influence on the international stage, the Indian government seems to be trying to burnish its reputation as a land of welcome and inclusion. Sadly, this narrative bears little semblance to reality," the ICC said. "Modern-day India is awash with religious hatred and the political repression of unfavored religions. Its leader, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, peddles extremist Hindu nationalism and a political philosophy that leaves little room for Christians and other religious minorities.
"Hindu nationalists attacking Christian churches and pastors enjoy nearly complete immunity from the Modi-led government as they harass and even kill. They routinely walk free while the survivors of their attacks face trumped-up criminal charges. Less than 150 violent attacks against Christians were recorded in 2014, the year Modi came to power. That number has risen in the years since, with 2022 seeing an all-time reported high of more than 600 incidents, according to civil society leaders in India. In fewer than 40 of those cases, the authorities filed charges against the attackers, while in more than 100, they filed charges against the victim."
The report warned, "Charges against the victims of these mob attacks often center around the idea that they were forcibly converting someone to Christianity. Twelve states have laws outlawing forced conversions, but these laws are phrased to include nearly all minority religious activity, including preaching and community outreach programs."
Meanwhile, in America, there is documentation that there have been protests at the site of the Hanuman statue, which was unveiled last year.
It was raised at Sugar Land's Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple, according to local reports.
The figure is titled, "Statue of Union," and reportedly now is the third tallest statute in the continental U.S., behind only the Statue of Liberty at 151 feet and the Pegasus and Drago in Florida, at 110 feet.
Christians and other conservatives have criticized the figure as "demonic" and have called it a "Hindu monkey god."
Newsweek pointed out Hanuman is "one of" Hinduism's "countless deities."
The Western Journal, in reporting on the opening of the exhibit, confirmed that was accompanied by a scandal over a "massive legal battle."
"In a lawsuit filed April 1, Fort Bend County resident Vijay Cheruvu claimed his 11-year-old son was branded on the shoulders by the temple in the course of a fervent religious ceremony. He seeks more than $1 million in damages," the report said at the time.
"The boy was allegedly branded while attending the ceremony with his mother and without Cheruvu's knowledge. The mother was allegedly branded by the temple in August 2023."
The branding left burn marks on the boy.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Prominent Trump attacker Letitia James now is under investigation by the FBI.
She campaigned for the office of attorney general in New York on the claim she would "get" Trump. In office, she assembled a long list of cases and claims that she brought to court against him.
Leading the way was her wild claim that Trump committed fraud because of the way he valued his companies while taking out and repaying loans.
In fact, in court, those from whom he borrowed money confirmed the loans were repaid in full and on time, and they'd like to do more business with Trump.
However, the case was presented only to a leftist judge, not a jury, and he ended up with the extreme claim that Trump owed a penalty of nearly half a billion dollars, a claim that is now on appeal.
Perhaps it's ironic that now James is facing claims of fraud.
Over her own properties.
A report in the Times Union said U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has directed the investigation be handled by the Northern District of New York in Albany.
It is James' real estate transactions that appear to have been manipulated, the report said.
Among the claims is that she is listed as the spouse of her own father on one mortgage document. And there's concern she listed a home as her primary residence when it was out of state and could not be. Further, she apparently listed one of the apartment buildings she owns as having four units, instead of the five it is documented to have.
All of the machinations appear to have been in pursuit of better interest rates on home loans.
The report said, "One of the mortgage documents filed in connection with James' purchase of the single-family residence — a notarized power-of-attorney document — was signed as a witness by Jennifer Levy, who is the first deputy attorney general. A spokesman for James did not immediately respond to a question about why Levy would have been asked to sign a document related to the attorney general's purchase of a private residence."
"This is being handled at this time by main (Department of) Justice and the Albany FBI field office," said U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III, who oversees the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York's Northern District. "We stand prepared to act in the capacity that we need to when and if we are informed there's a charge to be made. Unlike Letitia James, who unethically ran around the state campaigning on getting Donald Trump… my office conducts itself in a manner that is proper and professional."
James has claimed the evidence against her is "baseless." And she's hired a prominent criminal defense lawyer for her case, which likely will be funded by the taxpayers of the state. That's because Democrats in New York have added a $10 million fund to the state budget for James or others to pay legal fees.
It was William J. Pulte, chief of the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency, who sent a referral letter last month to Bondi alleging that James may have ""falsified bank documents and property records to acquire government backed assistance and loans and more favorable loan terms."
A report at the Gateway Pundit, which long has documented suspicious behavior by James, said one of the key disputes is that James claimed her five-unit apartment building was only four units "in order to get a more favorable loan."
The report explained, "This is not a minor discrepancy. Lying to the bank about the unit count enabled Letitia James to secure more favorable loans, including a 2011 Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) loan that saved her tens of thousands of dollars annually. Letitia James was able to secure a conforming loan through Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac since they are only available on properties up to 4 units."
"This is a person who prosecuted Trump for everything short of ripping a label off a mattress, and among the charges that were brought in New York, in just the civil but the criminal case, was making false or misleading statements to financial institutions," constitutional expert Jonathan Turley said on Fox News. "As for James, if we apply the Letitia James standard that she created, there'd be little question here. This seems pretty straightforward."
Another document evidences that James claimed she was the spouse of her father, in "falsified loan documents back in 1983," the report said.
The publication, in a further special report by Joel Gilbert, explained his own "review of public records and court filings" documented a "range of troubling issues that could pose serious legal and ethical consequences" for James.
"One of the most striking revelations emerges from a 1983 real estate transaction in which Letitia James and her father, Robert James, obtained a mortgage as 'husband and wife,'" he wrote.
"The loan application to Kadilac Funding Corporation listed them as a married couple, despite the fact that Letitia is his daughter. Such a misrepresentation of a relationship to qualify for a loan could constitute mortgage fraud under both federal and New York State law," the report said.
The penalty for that could be up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
By claiming her building had four units, not five, she was able to apply for and obtain a 2.7% rate loan, paying off a loan at 10%, the report said.
The report said she also claimed financial hardship to obtain the loan, despite her income being around $14,000 a month.
"These discrepancies could trigger legal liability for James under the False Claims Act, which allows the federal government to impose treble damages and fines for false statements made in order to obtain government funds," the report said.
Other claims could include campaign finance violations and misrepresentations.