This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7 NKJV)

Citing the "high inflation" that created "tight household budgets" during 2023 when Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were running America's economy and spending schemes, the American Bible Society noted that fewer people gave to charities, dropping from 68% of the public in 2022 to 59%.

The online report said total giving was up 1.9% during the year, failing to keep up with the rate of inflation of 4.1%.

Individuals contributed about two-thirds of the total which likely was impacted by "mixed economy realities … more jobs and higher wages allowing some to give more, but high inflation creating tight household budgets and keeping others from giving at all."

The survey is based on what givers actually report on their own activities, and the organization explained "exactly half say they gave $700 or less, and half say $700 or more."

And those who are "engaged" with the Bible give more often and more dollars, the report said. Where 43% of the "disengaged" gave anything to charity during 2023, 94% of those "engaged" with the Scripture did.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

There's free advice for Colorado's all-leftist state officials on how to save their taxpayers a million dollars. Or maybe more.

If they want.

It comes from Krista Kafer's Substack column and concerns the state's agenda to violate the U.S. Constitution – repeatedly – by mandating an official government message to which residents must subscribe.

It first showed up a decade back when state officials prosecuted baker Jack Phillips because, based on his Christian faith, he refused a customer's demand that he endorse same-sex marriage with his cake artistry.

State officials from the office of the Democrat governor, Jared Polis, on down to the state's civil rights commission, decided their "nondiscrimination" ideology trumped the Constitution, and such a Christian faith wasn't allowed in their state. They launched legal actions against Phillips, including an order that he undergo indoctrination into the beliefs of the state.

Of course, the U.S. Supreme Court not only handed Colorado a huge loss in that case, the justices publicly humiliated and scolded state officials for their intolerance of Christianity, their bigoted ideology. The state likely spent millions in staff salaries, legal expenses and more to lose the fight.

The state didn't learn, as its officials later took up virtually the same issue in their attacks on Lorie Smith's Christianity, ordering her to promote same-sex marriages with her web design business.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

JERUSALEM – Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden still has another four weeks until he leaves office, but he has pardoned or commuted sentences for some 1,500 people. There are sweepstakes for what the total number of will be, but there is one person – not even an American citizen for whom the Democrat's largesse and clemency might fundamentally change a country.

The move came following the first U.S. diplomatic visit to Syria since 2012. Barbara Leaf, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, told reporters she had informed Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa, whose nom de guerre is Abu Mohammad al-Julani, and who is leader of the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham or HTS group which led Assad's overthrow, the United States would not pursue a $10 million terrorism bounty on him for his role as the head of a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist group, reported the Jewish News Syndicate.

Seth Frantzman, Adjunct Fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, who is a seasoned watcher of things Syrian and covered parts of the civil war on the ground said "once al-Julani took over Damascus and the Assad regime was gone, he was no longer just the head of some militant group. Furthermore, he has made himself very publicly available and he has had meetings with both Turkish and EU diplomats.

To keep the bounty would be impractical and it has outlasted its usefulness. Ultimately, it looks like the U.S. would like to give him and his organization a chance to moderate, and engage with the West. It is an incentive either to him personally or HTS in general to not be what he or they used to be, which is known as an off-shoot of al-Qaida."

Lt. Col. (res.) Sarit Zehavi, who is the founder and president of the Alma Research and Education Center told WorldNetDaily al-Julani's rehabilitation as an accepted statesman and de facto Syrian leader was "a bad lesson for terrorists to learn. It shows them that if they want to be seen as legitimate all they have to do is take over a state and suddenly the terrorist designation is canceled."

Frantzman said there is recent precedent for groups labeled as terrorists to be removed from the terrorism watchlist. And in the case of the Houthis to be put back on it. "In February 2021, Biden removed the Houthi from the terrorism watchlist. It was done in the hope the group would moderate. It was returned to the list earlier in 2024, when it became clear it hadn't changed its spots."

The current U.S. position reflects its diminished influence in the Middle East, and perhaps the decision to remove the bounty from him is not simply realpolitik, it might act as a counterweight to balance countries that might want to radicalize al-Sharaa.

It is worth noting a Trump administration would also likely have entered into dialog with al-Sharaa. "[Former Deputy National Security Adviser] James Jeffrey and his team – although it never openly met with HTS – was receptive to HTS being a positive force," said Frantzman.

"He and his team were quite close to Ankara, they were on good terms. Now there are people such as Richard Grenell – who will return to the Trump administration, and Nikki Haley, who will not, who have recently made positive remarks about Turkey. The incoming Trump team will likely be flexible on who the government in Damascus is composed of, with one provision being if the Israelis are in favor or not. Trump has made it clear he wants an end to the wars, and his administration will rely on Israel as one of the pillars of this policy. There are people who want Syria to return as a normal, functioning state."

Zehavi described Israel's wiping out of the Syrian Army's material and much of the chemical weapons stockpile, which Assad amassed, as a crucial step in creating a little breathing room. She also surmised it was an action, which would likely not have been accepted pre-Oct. 7, telling WND: "We cannot allow radical moments to have access to lethal, strategic weapons; it was very important to not allow al-Julani access to those stockpiles."

The developments in Syria, especially with what looks like the replacement of one putative hegemon, Shia Iran being replaced by Sunni Muslim Brotherhood-run Turkey, will need to be carefully watched.

"This is something the West ignores at its peril," Zehavi said. "In the short term it may appear like good news, especially for Israel, but in the long term it could be very problematic both for Israel and the West."

There is no doubt Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has designs on reconstituting the Ottoman Empire and a recent speech saw him openly calling for the conquering of Jerusalem.

For Zehavi, Erdogan has never really hidden his agenda, saying: "As an official member of the Muslim Brotherhood, his intention was always the Islamicization of Turkey. He was even imprisoned for reading an Islamic poem in public. Twenty five years ago it was a secular country, but Erdogan has turned it into a religious state. He successfully neutralized all bases of secular power, until he took over the presidency himself."

It is language such as this, which might put Ankara and Jerusalem on a collision course, regardless of who sits at the head of the government in Damascus.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

JERUSALEM – Saturday night was one of high drama as U.S. Air Force jets took off from the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier in the Red Sea, and were joined by Royal Air Force fighters based out of Cyprus to attack Houthi strongholds in Yemen.

According to a statement from CENTCOM, "U.S. forces conducted precision airstrikes against a missile storage facility and a command-and-control facility operated by Iran-backed Houthis within Houthi-controlled territory in Sana'a, Yemen, on Dec. 21 Yemen time."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., took aim at Speaker of the House Mike Johnson on Sunday, saying he wishes there were "a speaker with a spine" on federal budget issues.

Appearing on "Sunday Morning Futures" with Maria Bartiromo on the Fox News Channel, Paul was discussing America's debt ceiling, and explained: "I'm one of the conservatives that has never voted to raise debt ceiling, but there are circumstances in which I would, and I've put those forward before."

"I have a plan to balance the budget in five years. If we had a speaker with a spine who put forward a budget and a plan to cut spending over a five-year period to balance the budget, I'll vote to raise the debt ceiling 'cause you still have to add debt during that five years.

"What happens typically, and this is where President Trump is right, since conservatives don't vote for it, the liberals rule the day and they say we'll vote for the debt ceiling but only if you spend more and create more debt. So it backfires.

"But there's another alternative. Rather than getting rid of the debt ceiling, you get a speaker with a spine who puts forward a spending plan that actually encourages conservatives like myself and some members of the Freedom Caucus to join on, and and we will support raising the debt ceiling, but only if you reform government.

"You have to reform government. This is probably the number one problem affecting the future of our country, is this $36 trillion debt, and we have to do something about it. So for me, let's put forward something that cuts spending and then see if we can get all the conservatives on board where you don't need Democrat votes at all.

But later in the same broadcast, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., came to Johnson's defense, saying he was doing "an amazing job."

"The fact is Mike Johnson's doing an amazing job with no margin for error," Gingrich said. "I ran the House pretty well for four years. I've over in known every speaker since then including Pelosi. What Johnson did this week is exactly the constitutional system.

"I think the bill we saw initially, the 1,500-page bill, was the last stand of the Biden old order establishment. Because Trump and Musk intervened, that was killed, and it then took Johnson a couple of votes working his way around to pass a bill which is like 136 pages. How can you blame a guy if he takes 1,500 pages, shrinks it to 136, works very closely with President Trump? What's the beef?

"Every Republican in the House has to grow up and recognize that when you have a one-vote margin or a two-vote margin, you had better all be on the same team, and that includes the 30 guys in the Freedom Caucus who wake up every morning saying, 'My vote's no. What's the topic?' I mean, they've got to grow up here and understand every time they do that, they empower Democrats.

"And if the Republicans are going to really govern," Gingrich continued, "then they've all got to become a team, they've all got to agree that after they're done fighting in the conference, they're all going to vote yes. And If they do that, Johnson and President Trump will be very successful.

"But I think what Johnson went through was exactly the constitutional process.

"The old order gave us the last stand, the new order broke it down. This is an example of Trump really being the de facto president. Biden was totally missing in action. So I think this was real progress."

On another topic, Bartiromo asked Sen. Paul, the ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee, if he would be supporting all of President-elect Trump's nominees during conformation hearings for the Cabinet.

"I couldn't be happier with his nominees. I couldn't have picked better. I mean some of 'em are people exactly I would have picked," Paul said. "The vast majority I will support on Day One."

"I think in the if first week you'll have half a dozen of 'em approved in the first week. I will control one committee, and that committee I pledge to get 'em through as quickly as possible."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Will control of the Panama Canal return to the United States once President Donald Trump takes office?

The president-elect says yes if Panama does not stop "ripping off" America.

On Saturday night Trump went on Truth Social to make the case for the strategic waterway coming back into American hands from Panama, and then repeated his assertion to a live rally Sunday at the Americafest Conference in Phoenix, Arizona.

"The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, highly unfair especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has been bestowed to Panama, I say very foolishly by the United States," Trump said in Phoenix.

"This ripoff of our country will immediately stop. It's gonna stop. The United States has a big and vested interest in the secure, efficient and reliable operation of the Panama Canal and that was always understood when they gave it to Panama. Can you believe that?

"We would never have done it if we thought what's happening now can happen and we would never, and we will never ever let it fall into the wrong hands but it is falling into the wrong hands.

"It was not given for the benefit of others by a token of cooperation, but it was given to Panama and to the people of Panama, but it has provisions. You got to treat us fairly, and they haven't treated us fairly.

"If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to United States of America in full, quickly and without question. We're not gonna stand for it. So to the officials of Panama, please be guided accordingly."

On Truth Social, Trump indicated: "The Panama Canal is considered a VITAL National Asset for the United States, due to its critical role to America's Economy and National Security. A secure Panama Canal is crucial for U.S. Commerce, and rapid deployment of the Navy, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and drastically cuts shipping times to U.S. ports. The United States is the Number One user of the Canal, with over 70 percent of all transits heading to, or from, U.S. ports.

"Considered one of the Wonders of the Modern World, the Panama Canal opened for business 110 years ago, and was built at HUGE cost to the United States in lives and treasure – 38,000 American men died from infected mosquitos in the jungles during construction. Teddy Roosevelt was President of the United States at the time of its building, and understood the strength of Naval Power and Trade.

"When President Jimmy Carter foolishly gave it away, for One Dollar, during his term in Office, it was solely for Panama to manage, not China, or anyone else. It was likewise not given for Panama to charge the United States, its Navy, and corporations, doing business within our Country, exorbitant prices and rates of passage. Our Navy and Commerce have been treated in a very unfair and injudicious way."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

JERUSALEM – Middle East/Israel Morning Brief

Two U.S. Navy aviators eject F/A-18 after aircraft reportedly downed by friendly fire over Red Sea

The U.S. military announced late Saturday that one of its Navy aircraft – an F/A-18 – was involved in what was reportedly a friendly fire incident over the Red Sea. The incident occurred on a night of drama as U.S. and RAF fighters dealt heavy blows to the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The F/A-18 shot down had just flown off the deck of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, Central Command said. On Dec. 15, Central Command acknowledged the Truman had entered the Mideast, but had not specified the carrier and its battle group was in the Red Sea. The USS Gettysburg guided missile cruiser has been identified as the ship which mistakenly fired on the F/A-18.

Both pilots were recovered alive after ejecting from their stricken aircraft, with one suffering minor injuries, reported Ynet. But the shootdown underlines just how dangerous the Red Sea corridor has become over the ongoing attacks on shipping by the Iranian-backed Houthis despite U.S. and European military coalitions patrolling the area.

U.S., U.K. jets strike Yemeni capital Sana'a

Fighter jets from the United States Air Force and Britain's Royal Air Force struck several sites in and around Yemen's capital Sana'a as tensions in the Middle East ratchet up yet further.

Among the targets of U.S. forces was a Houthi missile storage center and a "command-and-control facility," the U.S. Central Command said in a statement.

CENTCOM forces conducted the deliberate strikes to disrupt and degrade Houthi operations, such as attacks against U.S. Navy warships and merchant vessels in the Southern Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb, and Gulf of Aden.

Houthi ballistic missile strikes Jaffa, wounds 16

Israelis in the center of the country were once again woken hours before dawn to the sound of an incoming missile alert as the Houthis, Iran's proxy in Yemen, fired more projectiles toward Tel Aviv. This time, the missile was not intercepted – which prompted an immediate and urgent review from the civil defense administration and the air force – and wounded 16 people in the process. One man in his 60s in Israel's fourth-largest city Rishon LeZion died of a heart attack induced by the early morning sirens.

The IDF later confirmed that the projectile had fallen in Tel Aviv-Jaffa. The hit created a crater in a playground between two residential buildings, reported Israel National News.

Sweden halts funding for UNRWA

Sweden announced on December 20 that it would stop funding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA — the U.N. agency solely dedicated to the descendants of Palestinian refugees — and instead channel its aid to Gaza through other organizations. Swedish aid minister Benjamin Dousa said the decision was prompted because "[l]arge parts of UNRWA's operations in Gaza are either going to be severely weakened or completely impossible" following the Israeli government ban on the agency in late October, according to the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy.

The Swedish lawmaker added the organization was going through a "crisis of confidence," citing its "lack of neutrality, hiring of terrorists, and antisemitic textbooks" in a post on social media. Israel has shared a dossier of evidence which shows UNRWA employees taking part in the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre in southern Israel.
IDF destroys 5-mile long terrorist tunnel in Gaza

WATCH: IDF destroys 5-mile-long Gaza terrorist tunnel

Egyptian national slated for deportation from U.S. planned terrorist attack on Israel's N.Y. consulate

Federal authorities have arrested an Egyptian citizen in Virginia who allegedly plotted to attack the Israeli consulate in New York City while facing deportation proceedings, wrote Israel Hayom.

The suspect, Abdullah Azz al-Din Taha Muhammad Hassan, was charged last week with distributing information about explosives and weapons of mass destruction to further a federal crime, with court documents showing he allegedly shared detailed bomb-making instructions and attack plans with an undercover FBI source.

The FBI's investigation began after receiving a tip from Fairfax County Police Department concerning social media posts on X which displayed "radical and terrorist-leaning behavior." Federal prosecutors said Hassan's posts included praise for ISIS and other extremist figures.

Israeli ministry hits back at Pope Francis for criticizing Gaza airstrikes, ignoring Hamas cruelty

Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs hit back at Pope Francis after he labeled an airstrike, which reportedly killed – according to Hamas sources – 25 Palestinians in Gaza, an act of "cruelty. This is not war. I wanted to say this because it touches the heart."

According to the Times of Israel, the Foreign Ministry retorted with accusations against the pope's unwillingness to call out Hamas atrocities.

"Cruelty is terrorists hiding behind children while trying to murder Israeli children; cruelty is holding 100 hostages for 442 days, including a baby and children, by terrorists and abusing them," the ministry wrote in a statement.

Thousands of Israelis take to streets to call for hostage deal, Netanyahu resignation

As the claims and counter-claims of both Hamas and Israel suggest a deal to release some evil murderers for at least a proportion of the hostages known to still be alive, tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Tel Aviv and elsewhere to urge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to get a deal done.

Unofficially some reports claim a deal is as good as 90-percent done, according to the Jerusalem Post, although there are sticking points such as IDF troops maintaining a presence in the so-called Philadelphi Corridor – the means by which Hamas was able to smuggle inordinately large amounts of men and materiel into the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu to stay away from 80th anniversary of Auschwitz liberation over fears Poles would carry out ICC arrest warrant

In a twist of irony, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks likely to stay away from the events to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp, over fears the Polish government will activate its authorities to detain him as per the International Criminal Court arrest warrant.

The major event is planned for International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27 and is expected to be attended by dozens of leaders and heads of state, including Britain's King Charles III, reported the Times of Israel.

According to Polish outlet Rzeczpospolita, Israeli authorities haven't contacted their Polish counterparts about attending the event, and officials in Warsaw believe the reason is related to Poland's stance that it will adhere to the ICC's arrest warrant for Netanyahu over possible war crimes in the Gaza war.

Iran recruiting European teens to target Israelis, Jewish sites

A Bloomberg investigation has revealed Iran is up to its old tricks again and is now attempting to suborn European teens to carry out attacks on Jewish and Israeli targets on the continent, according to a report on Ynet.

The report lists several disturbing incidents of teenagers and adolescents directed by their handlers to carry out such attacks.

In Sweden, a 15-year-old boy attempted to locate the Israeli embassy with a loaded gun in a taxi, while in Gothenburg, a 13-year-old fired shots at an Israeli defense firm. In another case, a 16-year-old planted explosives outside the same facility. Authorities attribute these actions to Iran-affiliated actors exploiting local criminal networks to further Tehran's agenda in Europe.

Pentagon confirms U.S. forces in Syria bolstered to 2,000

The United States Department of Defense admitted it had more than doubled its troop numbers in Syria from a previously stated 900 to some 2,000 military personnel, according to the Media Line.

When asked about the Defense Department's failure to alert the public to the surge during a press briefing, Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters that he was personally unaware of the increase until that morning.

"Part of the explanation is the sensitivity from a diplomatic and operational security standpoint," he explained, adding, "Given the difference in what we've been briefing and what the actual number is, I just felt that it was important to get you that information."

The U.S. troops are based across Syria, including al-Tanf near the Iraq border, working alongside the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, to combat Daesh remnants and safeguard detention facilities housing fighters and their families.

PA launches Jenin crackdown on terrorist groups supplied with Iranian arms

The security situation in Judea and Samaria seems to be deteriorating as heavily armed terrorist groups and the ruling Palestinian Authority clash, particularly in the radical hotbed city of Jenin.

In a rare crackdown, PA security forces killed a Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander in Jenin last week, and have been conducting ongoing operations to "restore order" since then, accusing the terrorist group of adopting an "ISIS approach" and planning an attack on Palestinian civilians, reported the Jewish Insider.

There have also been exchanges of gunfire between the PA and terrorists in Tulkarem in recent days. On Tuesday, Hamas called to mobilize its forces in Judea and Samaria against the PA operation.

Israel has grown increasingly concerned at the development of what is effectively the third intifada – although it has never been given an official designation – in which heavily armed terrorist groups – backed with heavy weapons smuggled with Iranian assistance – have begun to challenge the PA over its two-decade plus rule of swaths of Judea and Samaria.

Canada introduces new national forum to combat Jew-hatred

Some may think it is too little too late, but on Friday – not usually a day one would want to release important news, especially the last one before Christmas – the Canadian government announced it had created a National Forum on Combating Antisemitism, which will be held in Ottawa in February 2025, in response to "a troubling rise in antisemitic incidents, threats and hate crimes," according to the Jewish Press.

Richard Marceau, vice president of external affairs and general counsel at the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs, an agency of the Jewish Federations of Canada, stated that "hate crimes against Jewish Canadians have skyrocketed."

"In the past few days alone, a synagogue in Montreal was targeted for arson and a Jewish girls school in Toronto was struck by gunfire," he stated. "These are just the latest examples of an escalating threat we're seeing across Canada. The safety of our community is under attack—and so too are the values and way of life that define us as Canadians."

In the last few months, Canada seems to be vying with Ireland as the most anti-Semitic country in the so-called Western world, with many laying the blame for the former's skyrocketing ant-Jew hatred at the feet of current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Slovenia calls for Israel's ban from 2025 Eurovision Song Contest

With several months until the next version of the long-running European-wide singing contest to be held in Switzerland – although it is much more than that – Slovenia has already called for Israel's ban over its opposition to the country's war with Gaza.

In an official letter to the European Broadcasting Union, the broadcaster cited ongoing political concerns as the basis for its appeal, becoming the first European nation to formally call for Israel's exclusion from the contest, reported Ynet.

The letter follows recent actions by Slovenia's government, including its recognition of a Palestinian state and its support for legal proceedings against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

Two additional proposals were reportedly raised in Slovenia: withdrawing from the competition if Israel participates or blacking out the screen during Israel's performance. However, these more drastic measures were shelved for now.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

The U.S. Supreme Court bizarrely ruled in 2005, in the Kelo case, that a government could take privately owned property from one owner to give it to another, just, well, just because.

That original ruling came down to dollars and cents, when the city of New London, New York, used eminent domain to confiscate a home belonging to Susan Kelo to give it to Pfizer for one of its business operations.

She sued, but the Supreme Court said a procedure to use eminent domain "to transfer land from private owner to another private owner" did not violate the Constitution.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

JERUSALEM – Israelis were awakened before dawn on Saturday by the sound of rocket-alert sirens as the Houthis in Yemen, who didn't seem to take the hint when the Israeli Air Force smashed its three main ports, fired another ballistic missile toward the country's densely-populated central plain.

Israel's much-vaunted multi-layered defensive missile shield suffered a loss, as the projectile penetrated Israel's airspace and impacted a children's playground among a complex of apartment buildings. Sixteen people were wounded in the incident, mostly from cuts and grazes from falling while running to find shelter and from shards of glass.

Israel's Air Force immediately commissioned an investigation into the failure of the defensive shield missile system to intercept the Houthi ordnance, which the Yemenis claimed was "hypersonic."

This latest attack was the ninth this month and has seen a mixture of missiles and drones targeting Israel's second city Tel Aviv, as well as further south in the country. Indeed, the investigation found that an interceptor missile malfunctioned.

According to Kan News, Arrow interceptors were launched into the upper atmosphere but missed the target outside of Israeli territory. Interceptors were then launched in the lower atmosphere but also missed the incoming projectile.

Israel had more success later in the day as a pair of AH-64 "Apache" attack helicopters chased down an unmanned aerial vehicle and dispatched it with machine gun fire. It seems a tactic it will likely repeat as the helicopters have had significant successes against drone infiltrations.

The big question now is where does Israel go from here. It pounded Yemen on Thursday in response to Wednesday's ballistic missile attack, striking the ports of Hodeida and Salif, and the oil terminal at Ras Isa. Reports have emerged with regard to Yemen. Israeli media suggested plans are already at an advanced stage for another IAF strike on the country.

Indeed, a source close to Yemen's internationally recognized government, headquartered in Aden in southern Yemen, told Kan that Israel should initiate targeted assassinations of Houthi leaders, as it did over the previous year against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

"Israel should act as it did in Lebanon and target the top individuals responsible for the Houthis' operations within the organization's leadership," the source said.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

WASHINGTON – For the first time in months, having recently been released from another nightmarish stint in solitary confinement, Jan. 6 political prisoner Zachary Rehl reached out to WorldNetDaily … with good news.

With President-elect Donald Trump slated to take office on Jan. 20, Rehl says he no longer fears the prospect of a decade or more behind bars for what was essentially a "thought crime."

In an email from FCI Petersburg, the medium-security correctional facility in Virginia where Rehl is serving a 15-year sentence, he details how the other inmates incarcerated there cheered and congratulated him on the night of Nov. 5, amid the prospects of his release and exoneration by presidential pardon.

Many of the other prisoners he is housed with are doing time for murder, rape, robberies and other felony offenses that warrant incarceration in a medium-security facility. Nearly all the inmates in the prison resoundingly agree that Rehl is no criminal and is being held captive as a political prisoner, the Marine veteran explained.

"Even ones who wanted [Trump] to lose, they still shook my hand and congratulated me on my pending release," Rehl wrote in an email exclusively to WND.

"At the end of the day," he said, "no one likes to see another person suffer behind these walls that don't deserve it, and I think it's a nod to my character that all people I encountered felt that I shouldn't be here and were happy for me that I get to go home."

Trump's survival of the two assassination attempts was due to divine intervention, Rehl contends, a sign from God that the torturous incarceration he is enduring will soon come to an end.

"I had some worries of fraud, but after I saw God was on our side and saved him from that shooting, all doubt in my mind left and I was 100% sure he would win," he wrote.

Holidays, especially Christmas, have been dreadful for the past four years since the government confiscated Rehl's freedom and upturned his life. But this Christmas, the weight of the world is no longer on his shoulders as it had been.

"With Trump on his way back to the White House, I surprisingly enjoy the Christmas music being played again. Even though I'm not home with my wife and daughters, I'm going to be soon and it's a priceless feeling," he wrote. "I'm mentally home with them right now. This prison only has my physical self, and they only have it for about another month and some change."

Rehl says his "message to President Trump is simple": "I look forward to meeting him and shaking his hand. He's clearly the best president in our history as a nation; I can't think of a bigger honor than to meet him. I hope I can somehow contribute to the success of the next four years and beyond as well. There is nothing I have ever been so passionate about and that is fighting for America and everyone in it. I just hope there is a role for me to help out one way or the other! I will continue to listen to God and keep walking the path set out for me though, which I'm sure I will be successful with no matter what that is."

The government has done a number on Jan. 6 prisoner Zachary Rehl that would understandably leave most without faith and in a state of near-insanity.

The father of two, a Marine vet and former leader of the Pennsylvania Proud Boys chapter, was convicted or multiple felonies for trespassing in the U.S. Capitol building.

As WND has reported, at the Jan. 6, 2021 "Save America" rally, Rehl was shot multiple times with rubber bullets as the police indiscriminately gassed and threw flashbang grenades into the moderately peaceful crowd. He then walked through the building for approximately 12 minutes and took a few selfies.

Rehl's wife was six months pregnant when the FBI barged into their home and dragged him away at gunpoint in a predawn raid. He and his co-defendants Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Dominic Pezzola and Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys national chairman, and were locked in solitary confinement, or the "hole," for nearly 18 months in six-by-eight-foot cells at the Alexandria Detention Facility in northern Virginia.

In Alexandria, they reported that they were practically starved to death, usually served small portions of rotten food and permitted out of their windowless cage for just 15 minutes a day to use the shower, use the microwave and use the surveilled phone.

While Rehl, Nordean, Biggs, Pezzola and Tarrio were segregated in torturous isolation alongside serial pedophiles and murderers, the Lockerbie Bomber was being detained in the same facility in general population.

The bomber, Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi, was a Libyan intelligence official who bombed a plane over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988, killing 259 people in the air and 11 on the ground.

'Seditious conspiracy'

On May 4, 2023, Rehl and his co-defendants were convicted by a jury of "Seditious Conspiracy, Obstruction of an Official Proceeding and Aiding and Abetting, Destruction of Government Property and Aiding and Abetting, Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds, Disorderly Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds."

Immediately being found guilty of seditious conspiracy, the Marine vet was stripped of his military service benefits and forced to pay back every dollar of benefits he received after the Capitol riot.

In January 2023, jury selection of the Proud Boys leadership trial was what defense attorneys claim was a complete mockery which obliterated the rule of law.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump-appointed judge, gave jurors a litmus test asking them each if they were employed or had a relationship with the government, whether they attended a Black Lives Matter rally and/or a women's march and their view of the Proud Boys.

Each D.C. resident that qualified to sit on the jury resoundingly affirmed that were ardent Democrats and leftwing activists. Also, each juror echoed propaganda disseminated by the mainstream media claiming the Proud Boys were a group of "white supremacists," "insurrectionists" and "seditionists."

The defense counsel for the five defendants repeatedly objected to admitting these clearly far-left activists on to the jury and insisted endlessly that the trial should be relocated to a jurisdiction that did not have a 92-percent voting rate for Joe Biden.

For the duration of the nearly 7-month-long trial, only the jurors wore masks in adherence with government recommended COVID protocols throughout the entire day. Prosecutors complied with the mask mandate, until the second the jurors left the room, when they would take them off practically gasping for air, a charade emblematic of the entire kangaroo trial.

Despite GOP members of Congress sitting across the street from the courthouse where every Jan. 6 defendant, including President-elect Donald Trump, has been tried, there was no one to turn to for remedy. The conclusion was known from the start, and throughout the trial the only hope for justice was an appeal or a pardon, if Trump would somehow overcome all the obstacles against him and win in November 2024.

On Aug. 31, 2021, Judge Kelly viscerally took glee in sentencing Rehl to 15 years in prison. Weeks after he was sentenced, the U.S. Department of Justice appealed the sentences of Rehl and his co-defendants … demanding even more prison time.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason McCullough filed a motion on Sept. 15, 2023, asking for Rehl to be sentenced to 30 years in prison.

As WND has previously reported, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and U.S. Treasury Department then gave Rehl and his family notice that he would be forced to pay back every dollar of military benefits he had received after the Capitol riot, amounting to approximately $100,000.

Rehl's wife continues to struggle to make ends meet while raising their now 3-year-old daughter. Association with individuals who are deemed "domestic terrorists" by the federal government has made it tough for a now-single mother to secure employment, while the expense of legal representation for nearly 4 years easily costs hundreds of thousands of dollars.

But Rehl has remained steadfast, with faith in God throughout this whole tragic ordeal, assured miracles would materialize, and that Trump would secure a victory that would eventually turn the horror he and his loved ones have endured into just a bad memory.

Rehl doubled down on his support of Trump over the summer, permanently etching the words "Hold the line" on his right arm alongside a jail-tattooed sketch of Donald Trump, and rested assured that the good guys would soon take back power and restore the rule of law.

And he was right.

READ J6 PRISONER ZACHARY REHL'S FULL LETTER:

I'm doing great. I was good before the election. I was certain Trump would win.

I had some worries of fraud, but after I saw God was on our side and saved him from that shooting, all doubt in my mind left and I was 100% sure he would win.

We get such bad news in here. I don't know how many people asked me if I was worried about him losing because he was down in all the polls. I would reply every time, "Don't worry about that trash, it's all a scam, the polls, he's going to win in a landslide! No way that idiot [Kamala Harris], who can barely string two sentences together, has any shot to beat him!"

Then I would tell them to "Have some faith, it's going to be alright!"

I gave a lot of people hope and it paid off when he won. It's a good feeling being right, especially when you are so certain of something, when so many others think you are delusional for thinking it.

What I mean is, like all actions, there is an equal and opposite reaction, so for every person hoping Trump would win that talked to me, there was another who would laugh at mentioning the mere prospect of him winning. Who is the "delusional" one now?

Seems I was the only one in the whole prison complex that actually "knew."

Everyone turned out to be a good sport over him winning though, the haters anyway.

Even ones who wanted him to lose, they still shook my hand and congratulated me on my pending release.

At the end of the day, no one likes to see another person suffer behind these walls that don't deserve it, and I think it's a nod to my character that all people I encountered felt that I shouldn't be here and were happy for me that I get to go home.

I obviously sat up all night and waited for the election results, but CNN, which was all that was on here, sort of slipped up and gave away who won at around 11 pm when they "checked in" with the Harris camp and reported that it was eerily quiet.

CNN then checked into the Trump camp where the venue just started blasting "YMCA" by the Village People.

At that moment the election was confirmed for me, so as the states started rolling in with results as the night went on, it was only more and more exciting.

The icing on the cake was obviously when Pennsylvania was called – my home state, which ended all speculation for the night over who won.

Thank you, Pennsylvania, and job well done for showing up to vote in such convincing numbers!

It's an amazing feeling though, after everything I have been through, that it's finally over.

I couldn't stomach the holidays the last three years.

It was gut wrenching listening to happy music this time of year, so I avoided TV and the radio so I didn't have to hear it.

With Trump on his way back to the White House, I surprisingly enjoy the Christmas music being played again.

Even though I'm not home with my wife and daughters, I'm going to be soon and it's a priceless feeling.

I'm mentally home with them right now. This prison only has my physical self and they only have it for about another month and some change.

I'm extremely excited to see where this next chapter of life takes me, and I'm thrilled I get to walk back into a world with President Trump back in charge. The world is going to be much better off, and I have high hopes for his second term – not just for myself and my family and friends, but for everyone.

Elon Musk is my other favorite billionaire, other than President Trump. I wrote so many papers on his companies in college and read two biographies on him, so seeing these two men team up to save America is the most amazing thing for me.

I love it.

I don't have any doubt in my mind that he will do a great job cleaning up the budgets with the DOGE! I just hope they can overcome the biggest obstacle with his proposed cuts, Congress. If I had anything to say to him, though, it would be to give him a heads-up about X, which still has issues with bad actors within the company that are shadow banning, or flat-out suspending conservative accounts, like the account made for and operated by my wife, for raising awareness to my plight. Other than that, good luck with the DOGE and keep kicking ass in the world! Next up, MARS!

My message to President Trump is simple, I look forward to meeting him and shaking his hand, he's clearly the best President in our history as a nation, I can't think of a bigger honor than to meet him. I hope I can somehow contribute to the success of the next 4 years and beyond as well. There has nothing I have ever been so passionate about and that is fighting for America and everyone in it, I just hope there is a role for me to help one way or the other! I will continue to listen to God and keep walking the path set out for me though, which I'm sure I will be successful with no matter what that is.

The tattoo aging like fine wine, I hope Trump has seen it or will get to see it. A couple months ago I was around a few people who were talking about the tat before the election, and someone asked me if I would regret it if he lost. Some people were like, oh damn, and laughed. So, I thought about it for a second and said, "He won't lose, I'm not worried about it." No regrets!

Next month we are out of here!

Merry Christmas!