This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A Minnesota bishop has scolded the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, for his mockery of Christianity after a school shooting at a Catholic school that left two students dead and more than a dozen others injured.
A report from Fox News explains the rebuke.
Frey openly mocked those who prayed for the students, or those who called for prayer, after the tragedy, with, "Don't say this is about thoughts and prayers."
Which prompted Bishop Robert Barron to explain, "Catholics don't think that prayer magically protects them from all suffering. After all, Jesus prayed fervently from the cross on which he was dying."
He called the mayor's public blast at faith, "asinine."
The tragedy developed at Annunciation Catholic School when a man, who had been portraying himself as a woman, allegedly used three weapons to shoot at children and staff members through church windows.
FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed the bureau is investigating the attack as both a possible act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics.
So far, an investigation has confirmed the alleged gunman left anti-religious writings behind.
Frey had lashed out at people of faith, demanding, "Don't say this is about 'thoughts and prayers' right now — these kids were literally praying. It was the first week of school – they were in a church."
He was among a long list of leftists, and gun control extremists, who issued anti-faith statements.
Fox reported, "Barron, an influential Catholic leader who leads the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, argued that critics misunderstand the role of prayer."
"Prayer is the raising of the mind and heart to God, which strikes me as altogether appropriate precisely at times of great pain," he said. "And prayer by no means stands in contrast to decisive moral action. Martin Luther King was a man of deep prayer, who also effected a social revolution in our country. This is not an either/or proposition."
And he cited the surging level of anti-Christian violence.
"In the past seven years in our country, there has been a 700% increase in violent acts against Christians and Christian churches. Worldwide, Christianity is by far the most persecuted religion. That people are even wondering whether the tragedy in Minneapolis is an instance of anti-Catholic violence is puzzling to me."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
In the days after three Americans were killed in a horrendous Florida highway crash caused by an illegal alien from India, a campaign quickly emerged – not from the local community, but from Indian media and diaspora organizations intent on shaping perceptions of a U.S. criminal case. As the victims' families grieve, that chorus urges leniency and portrays routine law enforcement as "discriminatory."
Harjinder Singh, an Indian national living unlawfully in the U.S., has been charged with three counts of vehicular homicide after allegedly making an illegal U-turn Aug. 12 along a Florida highway, resulting in three fatalities, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Singh, who reportedly has limited English-language skills, allegedly made the turn through an "Official Use Only" access point in St. Lucie County, blocking all lanes with his truck and causing a deadly wreck.
Ironically, back in May, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, while introducing new Trump administration enforcement guidelines, announced: "A driver who can't understand English will not drive a commercial vehicle in this country. Period."
Judge Lauren Sweet of the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit denied bond to Singh, describing the accused driver as an "unauthorized alien" and a substantial flight risk.
On Aug. 19, Duffy announced the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration had opened a formal investigation.
"If states had followed the rules, this driver would never have been behind the wheel and three precious lives would still be with us," Duffy said, calling the crash "a preventable tragedy" and pledging to "use every tool" to hold states and bad actors accountable.
'The families of the deceased deserve justice'
But from abroad, the narrative pivoted quickly. In the Hindustan Times, the North American Punjabi Association argued that "Punjabi truckers are the backbone of the logistics industry in North America" and called for a "balanced approach to safety and fair treatment of immigrant workers."
The Times of India went further, quoting MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal's claim that "Punjabi and Sikh drivers make up 20% of the United States' trucking industry" and "Any mass-level action against them would have a detrimental effect on trucking families and would be discriminatory."
Relatives in Punjab appealed for compassion, saying the driver mortgaged family land to reach the United States and warned that a long sentence would ruin Harjinder Singh's life. Supporters added that a potential decades-long term would devastate his family, cutting off income and leaving them with debt and uncertainty.
In reality, bond rulings, immigration reviews, CDL verification, training standards and insurance checks are not ethnicity tests, but are neutral safeguards that apply to everyone because a 40-ton vehicle can cause catastrophic harm when rules are ignored.
Likewise, a judge labeling the defendant an "unauthorized alien" and a "substantial flight risk" is not a cultural judgment, but a legal one grounded in statute and risk assessment. And a federal safety investigation is not a referendum on any community; it is the state doing its job after three funerals.
There is also an unavoidable irony: If many of the loudest Indian diaspora advocates are in America lawfully and came through the proper channels, the principled position would be to defend equal enforcement, not to demand carveouts for co-nationals. The same rules that protected their own path – immigration screening, licensing and safety compliance – are the rules that protect every family driving beside a tractor-trailer at highway speed.
America's courts and regulators answer to evidence and law, not transnational pressure campaigns. Calling routine public-safety enforcement "discrimination" while asking for India-specific exceptions does not strengthen trust in the system, it erodes it. The way to honor both immigrants who follow the rules and the victims of this crash is the same: Apply one standard of law to everyone, without fear, favor or foreign lobbying.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Republicans in California are a minority, often measuring in the 30% range when votes are counted.
Even so, they're still under-represented in Congress, as some 80% of the state's delegation is Democrat.
That means they vote futilely, in elections, as the majority party always gets its way.
But there could be a solution, as Republicans are calling for a change, which would require the approval of Congress, to create a second state made up of California's 35 inland counties.
"I want to take a step back from all of the chaos we had and talk about the forgotten people of California," Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher confirmed.
According to a Center Square report Gallagher and others are working on Assembly Joint Resolution 23, known as the "Two State Solution."
"It would allow the creation of the state under Article, Section 3, of the U.S. Constitution and would require approval by the state Assembly and Senate as well as Congress. Democrats hold supermajorities in both houses of the Legislature, meaning Republicans would have to sway a number of Democrats to back it," the Center Square documented.
Residents of those inland counties now "feel they're victims of the policies of the Democrats" in the state, the report said.
"I think this is about the trucker in the Inland Empire who is told he has to get rid of his truck because of the regulations in this state. I think of the single mom who's trying to get by when the rent's too high and gets her PG&E (Pacific Gas & Electric) bill, which once again is increased, and struggles to get into that first house because costs are way too high," Gallagher explained.
He explained secession is appropriate because the Democrat legislature has done nothing to make the state more affordable.
The move is being launched just as Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, is working with Democrat lawmakers to try to eliminate some of the small representation Republicans in the state now have.
He wants to "redistrict" his state so that Democrats are in the majority in even more districts.
The report said the Democrats' Proposition 50 purportedly would give Democrats an advantage in another five districts, on top of the 30-some they already hold.
"Whether you are from the North State, Central Valley or the Inland Empire, life has become harder and completely unaffordable," Gallagher said. "We have been overlooked for far too long, and now they are trying to rip away what little representation we have left."
The plan is for the new state to have about 10 million residents of Northern California, the Sierra Nevada, Central Valley and Inland Empire. The coast still would belong to Democrats.
Gallagher noted that voters approved splitting the state in two, because of political representation disputes, back in 1859, but nothing happened in Congress because of the Civil War.
Newsom's office responded with a personal attack on Gallagher, claiming he "does not deserve to hold office…"
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Democrats in one Georgia County are facing charges they are threatening democracy for their persistent refusal to seat properly nominated and appointed Republican members to a county board.
And now they are going to be fined $10,000 per day, payable to the court every day, which of course will be coming from the county's taxpayers.
The fight is in Fulton County where the commissioners have refused to allow two Republican nominees to take part in the county Board of Elections "as required by law," according to a report in the Gateway Pundit.
It is Democrats on the board of commissioners who over and over have refused to seat "the lawfully nominated Republican Party nominees Jason Frazier and Julie Adams.
The Democrats claim the two GOP members are "election deniers," but the facts show the reality. It was during the 2020 presidential election, then-Board of Elections members Mark Wingate and Kathleen Ruth declined to certify the election results because they were denied access to any chain of custody documents.
"Wingate testified during the 2024 disbarment hearing of former DOJ Assistant Attorney General Jeff Clark that when he inquired how Fulton County conducted signature verification when the county's brand new BlueCrest sorter machines were inoperable, he was told 'we didn't do any [signature verification].'"
The report noted, "This morning, Superior Court Judge David Emerson found 'beyond a reasonable doubt that the Board of Commissioners has failed to comply with the court's order' and has held the Board in civil contempt. Beginning on Friday, August 29th at 12 p.m., the Board will be fined $10,000 for every day that they fail to appoint the Republican Party's members to the Board of Elections. He further noted that the fine 'is to be paid daily' but stopped short of holding the respondents in criminal contempt."
The ruling found the Democrats have been "stubbornly litigious and acted in bad faith."
WND previously reported that the judge had tried scolding the Democrats to get them to follow the law.
The judge pointed out the Democrats had created a new definition for the word "shall."
The law says that Democrats shall nominate two candidates, Republicans two and the county a fifth to the elections board.
However, Democrats on the board of county commissioners decided they didn't like the opinions of the two Republicans nominated, so they were going to ignore the law and they told the GOP to come up with other names, names of individuals that the Democrats would like.
Emerson demolished their ideology:
"The court … notes that the appointment statute contains no provision to support the respondents' position that it should have the power to veto any given nominee and force the county chairperson to submit other nominees. There is nothing in the statute to support the BOC theory that the county commissioners can veto the chairperson's nominees other than for failure of the nominee to meet the two qualifications and one restriction (be a county resident, be an elector, and cannot be a holder of elected office).
""The court finds that the 'shall' as used here is mandatory, and the BOC does not have discretion to disapprove an otherwise qualified nominee. The court grants the petitioner's request for a writ of mandamus directing the BOC to comply with the statute: The board shall appoint the two members as nominated by the county executive committee chairperson. Those nominees are Jason Frazier and Julie Adams."
Constitutional scholar Jonathan Turley, who has testified as an expert on the Constitution before Congress and even represented members in court, said it was a loss for Democrats who now "have lost their effort to block two Republican commissioners from sitting on Fulton County's Board of Elections because of their political views."
He said significant was "not just the raw partisanship but the utter lack of legal authority of Democrats to refuse to recognize the duly selected GOP members."
One of the radicals opposing the Democratic process through which nominees are selected, Commissioner Marvin Arrington, had claimed, "I think the Republican party ought to take a look at their people and not nominate people that are on the far right and nominate people that are in the center."
Turley noted that, "While self-proclaimed defenders of democracy often seem to have no qualms about curtailing democratic choices from ballot cleansing to jurisdiction flight, this is particularly raw and outrageous. There is no law supporting this action and the state law is clear on the need to seat the GOP commissioners."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The next Republican National Convention ordinarily would be leading into the 2028 presidential race.
But little about the presidency of Donald Trump fits into the "ordinarily" category, and he's been discussing the idea of having it just before the 2026 midterms.
His comments didn't include details of when or where the events would be, but he discussed his party's success. And members want to maintain the majority in both the House and Senate, as the party now has.
"The Republican Party is doing really well. Millions of people have joined us in our quest to MAKE AMERICA, GREAT AGAIN. We won every aspect of the Presidential Election and, based on the great success we are having, are poised to WIN BIG IN THE MIDTERMS," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
A report at Fox said, "Historically, midterms have been tough elections for the party controlling the White House, typically losing roughly 25 seats in the House. Trump and the Republicans lost 41 House seats in the 2018 midterms.
The report explained Republican National Committee chair Kiersten Pels, following Trump's announcement, told Fox News Digital that the president "is leading with bold, innovative ideas to energize our Party and keep us on the path to victory."
The Democrats are not idle. Spokesperson Abhi Rahman said, "To showcase our tremendous candidates running up and down the ballot and harness the amazing grassroots energy we're already seeing, several options are on the table for next year, including hosting a large-scale gathering before the midterms."
The comments come amid a redistricting war. Texas already has taken action to emphasize a GOP advantage in several additional districts. California Gov. Gavin Newsom is trying to do the same for Democrats in his state, although its representation already is weighted heavily to the Democrats' advantage.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A judge has assigned liability for disabilities suffered by a Wyoming baby to the hospital system that ran the facility where she was born, and it's nearly a billion dollars.
A lawyer for the family of Azaylee Zancanella said the family should be able to collect a substantial sum, even if it's not the full award of $951 million, from the corporation that closed and sold its hospitals.
A report at the Daily Mail noted the judge in the case emphasized the child would have been safer being born in "the bathroom of a gas station, or a hut somewhere in Africa."
The pregnancy, which had been normal, took a turn in October 2019 when Anyssa Zancanella's water broke during a trip from the family's Wyoming home to Salt Lake City.
They rushed to Jordan Valley Medical Center West Valley Campus, which was operated at the time by the now defunct Steward Health Care, the report said.
There, the lawsuit charges, the mother as given "excessive" doses of Pitocin, a labor-inducing drug.
And then ignored.
Eventually a C-section was performed, but, the lawsuit charged, the failures deprived the baby of oxygen, causing brain damage.
"[The obstetrician] abandoned mother and fetus/infant when she was fully aware of significant and dangerous issues with the ongoing labor process and the ongoing health and well-being of the fetus," the lawsuit said.
Azaylee now suffers seizures, and experiences "damages, including but not limited to, permanent neurological and cognitive damages, physical damages, emotional damages, limitations in physical, cognitive and mental function, as well as pain and suffering," the case charged.
It was Third District Judge Patrick Corum who found Steward Health Care liable in Zancanella's medical malpractice case, as reported by the Salt Lake Tribune
Corum awarded Zancanella, her partner, Daniel McMichael, and their daughter $951 million.
The judge noted Steward essentially walked away from any participation in the case.
"Indeed, since at least the early Spring of 2024, Defendants' entire strategy seems to have been nothing other than an attempt to thwart justice and the judicial process," the judge said.
The family's lawyer, Jennifer Morales, said she expects the family to be able to collect about half of the award, which represents punitive damages.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Sean Charles Dunn, 37, a now-former federal employee, was accused of shouting obscenities and throwing a sub sandwich at federal officers in Washington, D.C., striking one officer.
It turns out that a grand jury in that leftist enclave declined to indict him on a charge that presumably fell under "Assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers or employees."
That law bars those who assault, resist, or oppose anyone engaged in official duties, and provides penalties of up to eight years in prison if there's physical contact "or intent to commit another felony." It provides that "simple assault" be penalized with a sentence of up to one year.
According to Jonathan Turley, an expert on the U.S. Constitution, law professor at George Washington University, and popular commentator, "The District of Columbia is known as one of the most Democratic and liberal jury pools in the country. However, this may be a case of overcharging in the eyes of the jury."
He noted Dunn was "on video shouting obscenities at Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents standing near 14th and U streets in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 10 and then striking an officer with a wrapped sandwich."
"Dunn appeared to shrug off the incident, saying, 'I did it. I threw a sandwich,'" Turley noted.
He concluded, "There is a basis for a criminal charge of assault. A refusal to indict even on a lower offense would, in my view, be a form of jury nullification."
He said the question now is whether prosecutors will seek the lower charge.
"She should do so. Law enforcement officers are not dunk-tank targets for any citizen with rage issues. There need to be consequences—even if it is only a misdemeanor charge," he suggested.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
American business already has a long history of companies that "go woke, go broke," and now there's a new song celebrating the lunacy of wokeness.
Without apparent reason, except for the fact some of the companies' executives have fallen into leftist ideologies and can't get out, company after company has gone over the edge regarding social issues, and watched stock prices plummet.
The latest is Cracker Barrel, which just a day ago confirmed it is backtracking on some of its moves.
The company said it is scrapping its new logo, which inexplicably left off the "Old Timer," or "Uncle Herschel."
"We thank your guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel," the restaurant chain posted on X. "We said we would listen, and we have. Our new logo is going away and our 'Old Timer' will remain. At Cracker Barrel, it's always been – and always will be – about serving up delicious food, warm welcomes, and the kind of country hospitality that feels like family."
The new spoof song online animates Cracker Barrel's "Uncle Herschel," as it takes aim at the corporation's apparent goals:
The song cites Calvin Klein, Nike, Bud Light, "whack jobs Ben and Jerry" and more, various corporations or products that have actively pursued the "Go woke, go broke" business plan.
"Try selling folks what they don't want, you'll find there's hell to pay," the lyrics explain.
Social media? "EPIC," "Fabulous," "Love it" and "BRILLIANT MASTERPIECE."
President Trump reacted to the company reversal on Truth Social Tuesday night, saying: "Congratulations 'Cracker Barrel' on changing your logo back to what it was. All of your fans very much appreciate it. Good luck into the future. Make lots of money and, most importantly, make your customers happy again!"
He also shared an image of himself with an oil barrel "America First" logo.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
With news breaking that the killer of two Minneapolis children who sat in church pews praying during Mass was transgender – a man identifying as a woman – the issue of transgender mental illness and violence has quickly moved front and center in the media and online.
In fact, a term trending now on X is "trans terror," with people pointing out the trend in deadly violence among young people who identify with their non-biological sex.
Asked commentator Todd Starnes, "How many more Christians must die at the hands of transgender terrorists?"
The gunman responsible for the shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church, which killed the two students and injured 17 adults and children, was 23-year-old Robin (formerly Robert) Westman. In his YouTube mainfesto, Westman admitted, "I am not well. I am not right. I am a sad person haunted by these thoughts that do not go away. I know this is wrong but I can't seem to stop myself."
Many commentators point out the problem of encouraging and celebrating people who "transition" when there are serious mental and physical health risks to such action.
As news of Westman's transgenderism broke Wednesday, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey angrily warned against "hatred" toward "our trans community."
Said Frey: "Anybody who is using this as an opportunity to villianize our trans community has lost their sense of common humanity."
Matt Walsh commented, "Every trans person is dangerously delusional. They are all mentally sick and doctors should be legally barred from affirming their mental illness in any way. Adult or child. Everyone knows it. Now innocent children are dying because so many people were too cowardly to speak up."
"There is a clear pattern here," noted Elon Musk.
Two years ago, as WorldNetDaily reported, another high-profile transgender shooting at a Christian school in Tennessee made national headlines.
On March 27, 2023, shooter Audrey Hale, a woman identifying as a man, entered The Covenant School in Nashville and killed three 9-year-old students and three adults: an administrator, substitute teacher and a custodian.
The comparisons of the two crimes was unavoidable – both committed by transgender individuals and both targeting children at Christian facilities.
On X, "A Gene Robinson" posted what he called the "receipts" for the link between transgenderism and violence:
Notes Robinson: "Every single time this ideology surfaces in these attacks, it's wrapped in anti-Christian, anti-family, and anti-truth narratives. It isn't coincidence … it's consequence. When society affirms delusion instead of treating it, you don't just confuse individuals, you weaponize them. And in these cases, Christians and children are the targets."
Political activist Collin Rugg noted that 7.2% of Americans now identify as LGBT, with the highest percentage among Gen Z.
Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., believes the problem is in "affirming" mental illness instead of treating it:
For decades, research has shown linkage between psychotropic drugs prescribed to teenagers and violence.
Earlier this year, Dr. Bryan Ardis pointed out, "One hundred percent of school shooters were on either antidepressants or a barbiturate drug for anxiety proven to increase suicide, violent or homicidal behavior":
FBI Director Kash Patel announced that the bureau is investigating the incident as an anti-Catholic hate crime.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Democrat Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Tuesday on MSNBC's "All In With Chris Hayes" that she would have preferred to not have "cuts" to "grants for violence prevention" during the city's anti-ICE riots and protests over the National Guard troops deployed by President Donald Trump.
In June, Trump sent the National Guard into Los Angeles after a weekend of riots and protests sparked by an uptick in U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) raids. While discussing Trump's crackdown on crime in Washington, D.C., by federalizing the nation's capital, MSNBC's Chris Hayes asked Bass for her take on the president's decision to call in the National Guard.
"Well, basically, I feel like both of our cities [Los Angeles and Chicago], and we can add in Washington, D.C. right now, are all being test grounds," Bass said. "We're being test grounds for what happens when the military is deployed in American cities. I feel like the ultimate goal here is to normalize this overreach, where the National Guard was never needed here in Los Angeles. There were thousands of troops, and the only thing they did was stood outside a building."
Despite Bass and Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom pushing back on Trump's decision to bring in the National Guard, the city had already seen widespread looting, cars being burned, and vandalism throughout downtown. Following the deployment of troops and Marines to the federal building, protesters and rioters continued to flood the downtown area, with the Daily Caller News Foundation witnessing some of the vandalism firsthand.
With protests and riots continuing by mid-June, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) declared an unlawful assembly in the downtown Civic Center area, as Bass eventually set a curfew for the zone. The DCNF additionally witnessed protesters taunting National Guard members and Marines during the incidents, with some yelling for them to get "ICE out of LA."
"The majority of the troops were on a base nearby playing video games and resenting the fact that they were used in that way. But, you know, I so appreciate you putting in the context of what happened in the 80s and 90s when there was the mass arrests of young people," Bass added. "I worry that that might be what has taken place in Washington, D.C. If you want to help us deal with crime, which both of us are very committed to, then don't cut the grants for violence prevention so that we can help reduce crime in our cities."
Trump announced the deployment of National Guard troops and the invocation of Section 40 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act on Aug. 11 for the nation's capital, following a slew of crimes in Washington, D.C., that had drawn national attention. While Democrats and legacy media pundits have said Washington, D.C.'s crime dropped 35% in 2024, citing local police data, the statistics left out crimes such as felony and aggravated assault.
By Friday, Trump told reporters he is considering deploying the National Guard to Chicago, calling the city a "mess" and adding that the people of Chicago are "screaming for us to come." Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Democratic Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson have since told the president not to deploy troops to the city. Johnson said that the crime rates for Chicago have decreased.
Chicago Police Department data through Aug. 16 reportedly shows homicides in the city trending down 25% over the last 12 months compared to 2023. The frequency of killings remains higher than it was before the pandemic, according to ABC7 Chicago. Data from the outlet shows that in the last 12 months through Aug. 16, there have been 474 homicides, with an average yearly homicide rate of 722 between 2021 and 2023.
While reports have indicated that overall crime in Los Angeles has decreased, shootings involving officers have notably increased in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year, according to NBC4 Los Angeles. LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell told the outlet that officers are now facing "a greater number of officer-involved shootings," with 25 incidents between Jan. 1 and July 15, compared to 18 during the same period in 2024.