This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

The ink was hardly dry on the resignation letter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad before he put on his running shoes to depart Damascus for the safety of Russia and before a coalition army of revolutionaries captured the capital city Dec. 8. In 2000, al-Assad replaced his father, Hafez, who had brutally ruled Syria for 29 years. A civil war – triggered in 2011 under the son's rule – may now be drawing to an end.

It is the son who now bears responsibility for the deaths of over 600,000 of his countrymen as he opted to prolong the civil war by turning to both Iran and Russia to help him maintain power. While the U.S. and Turkey have supported certain combatants during the conflict, it is clear the big losers due to the rebels' capture of Damascus are Iran and Russia.

The religious makeup of Syria consists of numerous minority groups. The largest minority among these are the Alawites, which is the third-largest sect within Islam. It is a sect that identifies closely with Islam's second-largest sect – the Shiites. As Iran is one of the few countries with a Shiite majority, al-Assad embraced a relationship with Tehran. Iran's help was quickly needed as al-Assad's Syrian army was folding. By early 2012, tens of thousands of Iranian troops were in Syria to assist. As the civil war continued, Iran's commitment steadily increased in personnel, training and technology. It even brought in Hezbollah – an Iranian terrorist proxy – to assist the Syrian dictator.

The opportunity to support al-Assad was an ideal one for the mullahs as it contributed to their religious mandate of creating a caliphate – initially regional but ultimately global – by which the world would be ruled. The incorporation of Syria, which centuries earlier had been part of an Islamic caliphate, would provide another step in that direction. As a result, for decades, Tehran had been investing its money, sweat and blood in molding Syria into a caliphate.

Yet, when the revolutionaries began knocking at the door to Damascus and al-Assad needed Iran most, the mullahs opted to cut their losses and run out on their only consistent ally since they had come to power in 1979. Similar to the embarrassing 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, for Iran, its withdrawal from Syria became its 2024 equivalent.

Even with Iran's help, al-Assad had needed assistance from the Russians who launched a military intervention into Syria in September 2015. The Russians undertook to attack the mixed bag of anti-al-Assad revolutionaries initially with air support. Any group fighting al-Assad was designated as terrorist, enabling Russia to claim that was what it was fighting. Russia then introduced ground troops, including the infamous Wagner Group of mercenaries, into Syria. By early 2017, the Russians claimed their air force had conducted over 19,000 combat missions and delivered 71,000 strikes on "the infrastructure of terrorists."

In 2016, Russia ratified a treaty with Syria giving the former its first permanent air base in the Middle East – although it had been operating out of it for over a year. Ever since 1971, Russia (then the Soviet Union) has had a naval base in Syria at Tartus. Unwilling to leave billions of dollars of military equipment behind at either location, days ago Russia began withdrawing its ships, planes and war materials. While withdrawing, Russia at least was not going to endure the humility the U.S. did in leaving billions of dollars of equipment behind.

The civil war against al-Assad has been fought by numerous revolutionary factions having varying interests. While the main groups to oppose him were an alliance of pro-democratic nationalists, others joining the war were the Syrian Salvation Government, represented by a coalition of Sunni militias led by a terrorist al-Qaida derivative group known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS); the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a multi-ethnic, Arab-majority force led by the Kurdish People's Defense Units (YPG); and jihadist factions of the Islamic State.

Interestingly, while the HTS leader – Abu Mohammad al-Jawlani, 42 – has been involved in the fighting for years without attracting too much international media attention, it is he who finally organized and spearheaded what has been a lightning assault against al-Assad's army and his foreign-state supporters, forcing his resignation. As a senior International Crisis Group analyst, Jerome Drevon, notes, "By far, he's the most important player on the ground in Syria." HTS was affiliated with al-Qaida until breaking with it in 2016 "because of strategic disagreements," and in 2017 the U.S. offered a $10 million bounty for information leading to al-Jawlani's arrest. Unsurprisingly, Turkey has been supporting HTS.

As Iran blames the U.S. and Israel for al-Assad's ouster despite the Islamic makeup of the rebels, Syria's transitional prime minister encourages refugees to return home. He suggests a break with Iran may be in order as the country is weary of war and its people want to "enjoy stability and calm." It is nice to hear, but the region has not been known for its stability and calm.

Al-Jawlani orchestrated a blitzkreig-like strike that, in just over a week, resulted in capturing the city of Aleppo in the north before quickly moving south to capture Hama, Homs and Damascus. Al-Assad reportedly escaped by plane from Damascus just prior to rebel forces entering the capital city and after his plea to the U.S. for help went unanswered.

One country to take immediate advantage of al-Assad's fall is Israel. Between Dec. 8-9, it attacked over 300 Syrian targets, destroying the country's entire MiG-29 fighter jet fleet as well as its navy. Also destroyed were numerous advanced air defense and radar systems, weapons caches, army warehouses, a chemical weapons and missile technology research center and a center for electronic warfare.

While Israel is obviously unsure how things will play out in Syria when the dust finally settles, Syria's past anti-Israel history and al-Jawlani's extremist roots are sufficient reasons for Israel to destroy much of the country's military capabilities, at least for the near future, in what is a blow to Iran as well.

There was clear rejoicing by Syrians around the world over al-Assad's ouster. What will be interesting to observe, however, is how long the rejoicing lasts. The victorious revolutionaries still represent a wide range of interests. As they consolidate their power in the weeks and months ahead, how they will sort out their differing interests remains to be seen, with the biggest issue being whether they can do so in a way that gives the Syrian people reason to rejoice.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

On the heels of the capture of Aleppo and Hama, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad was ousted as opposition forces quickly took control of Damascus a few short days ago. But the international community is wary, wondering into whose hands any of the Assad regime's suspected chemical weapons arsenals could fall.

The United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons are tracking the possibility of chemical weapons remaining in Syria. Izumi Nakamitsu, the U.N. high representative for Disarmament Affairs, considers the presence of such weapons "extremely worrying."

Ryan Mauro, a veteran national security analyst who has focused on Syria and the Middle East for over 20 years, told WorldNetDaily that Assad once claimed he had destroyed all weapons of mass destruction, when in fact he did not. The investigative researcher for the Capital Research Center pointed out, "Assad lied about his deck [of cards] – about what he had destroyed."

Although Israeli airstrikes have targeted chemical weapons sites for destruction, Mauro said, "We do not have an accurate account of what Assad possessed." Without knowing if any of Assad's chemical weapons arsenal remains, Mauro conceded, "It's likely some of these weapons could end up in the hands of terrorist-tied rebels, including Hayat Tahrir al Sham," known as "HTS."

Despite its early affiliation with Al-Qaida, he said, today "the HTS group is more concerned with diplomacy and public relations, trying to win popular support [in Syria]."

"If they find chemical weapons," Mauro speculates, "they're not going to use them. They're benefiting too much from taking a diplomatic approach, and that's what I expect them to do in at least the near future." In fact, he said, he would "not be surprised" if HTS found chemical weapons and actually facilitated their destruction under international supervision.

The problem, warned Mauro, is that "these rebels are not a singular force, [as] there are other Al-Qaida/Salafi-type jihadist groups that follow them and work with them." Indeed, says Mauro, there are countless rebel groups – "some operating in different coalitions and others operating independently."

Therefore, warns Mauro, "it's very possible some chemical weapons and other sensitive materials could end up in the hands of a jihadist group that isn't HTS."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Want to see at art exhibit? At a public university?

You'll need to sign a waiver.

It's a report from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression that has confirmed the art is "controversial."

It's because, the report explains, featured are "prominent conservative politicians alongside swastikas, Nazis, anti-Semitic slogans, and the infamous white hoods worn by the Ku Klux Klan."

FIRE notes that art often is controversial – "Every great work of art is offensive to someone" – and it is working with the National Coalition Against Censorship to deliver to Eastern Tennessee State University a statement that the waiver signature requirement "places a real burden on the public's ability to anonymously enjoy art."

"In turn, this threatens to turn away potential viewers who may otherwise want to engage with protected works of art. Given the controversy over this exhibit, people who prefer not to alert bureaucrats to their personal activities are not going to put their names down on a list of attendees — and certainly not with lawmakers, ETSU officials, and the public up in arms about the exhibit," the organization explained.

The annual exhibit honors Fletcher Dyer, who was a graphic design student at ETSU when he died during his senior year in a 2009 motorcycle crash.

He once said, "I dream of making a difference in some way with my art. I might attempt to right political, social, and religious wrongs by showing the rest of society a glimpse of how I feel about serious issues in the world."

Since his death, the school has sponsored the FL3TCH3R Exhibit in his honor.

This year's product, with its various ingredients, "has drawn ire from elected officials and the public," FIRE reported.

ETSU President Brian Noland has refused to drop the exhibit events, but also has refused to leave it barrier-free, with the waiver signature requirement.

That apparently, along with warning signs, is to alert attendees about ideas they may find offensive.

But, FIRE reported, that mindset, is just like the "trigger warnings of the 2010s," a mindset that indoctrinates that people "must be protected from difficult ideas."

ETSU explains it is not the university's duty to "attempt to shield individuals from free speech," including those ideas that can be "offensive, unwise, immoral, indecent, disagreeable, conservative, liberal, traditional, radical, or wrong-headed."

FIRE is asking that the school remove the "onerous waiver requirement."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

There's no question that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, with their extremist ideology on the issue of abortion, the wanton destruction of unborn children, ran an administration that actually put a bull's-eye on the backs of those who pursue pro-life goals.

They used the FBI and the Department of Justice to do that work, with charges against and prosecutions of groups and individuals who opposed the abortion industry mandates that they wanted to impose.

Now those bureaucracies have been warned by a member of Congress to keep all their records of those legal campaigns against pro-lifers.

The Daily Wire reports it is Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who has dispatched a letter to the FBI and DOJ instructing officials to preserve all records of their prosecutions of peaceful pro-lifers.

He told the FBI's Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland there are "serious questions" lawmakers must evaluate regarding how the Biden-Harris administration turned to the "weaponization" of the FACE Act.

That law makes it a crime to block the entrance to a health business, including abortion operations.

Roy heads the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government and said, "Congress has a sacred duty to preserve the rights of the American people, including the First Amendment, against any overreach by the Executive Branch. As we examine how to best protect Americans' fundamental freedoms, the Subcommittees must first understand how the DOJ and FBI enforce the FACE Act."

That law is supposed to also be used to protect both churches and crisis pregnancy centers, but the Biden-Harris team used it almost exclusively to jail grandmothers and others who were defending the unborn.

Roy wrote, "Since January 2021, the Civil Rights Division has brought a total of 24 FACE Act cases against 55 defendants, with only two of these cases – consisting of five defendants – concerning attacks on pregnancy resource centers.

"You should construe this preservation notice as an instruction to take all reasonable steps to prevent the destruction or alteration, whether intentionally or negligently, of all documents, communications, and other information, including electronic information and metadata, that are or may be responsive to this congressional inquiry."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

One of the most intimidating talking points in recent years used by transgender activists against parents who object to chemical and body mutilation procedures on their children is that they have a choice:

A transgender daughter or a dead son, through suicide.

But now even one of the main promoters of the transgender agenda is admitting that's just wrong.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Someone working inside of Jack Smith's lawfare cases against former and now President-elect Donald Trump reported "possible misconduct" going on, but an investigation into that issue, dated more than a year ago, has been stalled to date because Smith said a review would affect his investigations of Trump.

Those cases now, of course, have been ended by Trump's election to the White House in last month's vote.

So Congress is trying to get that review going again.

The revelations come from House Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who confirmed the Department of Justice recently briefed the committee on an internal investigation it had opened into Smith's operations.

According to Washington Examiner, Jordan has been dissatisfied with what apparently is a campaign to block Congress from getting the information it wants, and addressed that concern in a letter to Jeffrey Ragsdale, counsel for the Office of Professional Responsibility, who was told to provide documents on the issues at hand within days.

Jordan, in the letter, pointed out the committee already had asked for documents relating to allegations Smith and his team "lied to a federal court, manipulated evidence seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) during its raid of Mar-a-Lago, and improperly pressured a lawyer representing a defendant indicted by Smith." Those charges all have surfaced through various venues in recent months.

Further, there have been claims J.P. Cooney, on Smith's team, "intentionally sought to impose an 'unprecedented' and 'excessive' prison sentence upon a criminal defendant, and then spread false conspiracy theories when his supervisors overruled his recommendation."

All of this was held in abeyance because Smith insisted any revelations about misbehavior in his staff would affect the lawfare cases he was creating against Trump at the time, the letter explained.

"You stated that Smith only allowed the investigation to begin because it would now no longer 'interfere with the Special Counsel's investigation and prosecution.' It is absurd that OPR—the Department entity charged with upholding ethical conduct—would only examine allegations of prosecutorial misconduct after the subject of the allegations has approved the inquiry," Jordan wrote.

Jordan said one of the concerns was that "these attorneys" would be able "to evade internal accountability by leaving the Department."

The Examiner reported, "It is unclear what the nature of the misconduct was, but it is normal for attorneys to self-report to the DOJ's personnel office if they are aware of allegations being made about them in the media or elsewhere."

And it documented that Jordan has been trying to get records from Ragsdale since earlier this year regarding "various ethics allegations against Smith and the attorneys working for him."

For example, one allegation involves Jay Bratt and "was first raised in court by an attorney representing Walt Nauta, one of the co-defendants in the classified documents case against Trump. The attorney, Stanley Woodward, said that during a closed-door meeting, Bratt inappropriately brought up Woodward's application to become a judge while Bratt was trying to convince Woodward to comply with him in the Trump case. Smith has disputed the accusation," the Examiner explained.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

A school in Nevada has agreed to settle a lawsuit brought on behalf of a child in the district who was forced by officials to read pornography – out loud – in class.

The resolution to the case is described by the American Center for Law and Justice as a "significant victory."

The basis of the lawsuit was that officials in Nevada's Clark County School District had forced a child to perform a pornographic monologue in a theater class, the legal team explained.

"After significant testimony was revealed in depositions, CCSD settled with us, affirming the rights of parents and students in the face of inappropriate educational content," the ACLJ announced.

The case was over the forced performance by a 15-year-old student, and a judge had rejected the school's demand that the case be dismissed.

The next step, then, was discovery, during which even school officials expressed shock over what had happened.

One, for example, said, "The content that [the client] performed, I believe, was inappropriate. … The overall content and language was not something that I felt should have been there."

And another admitted, "I do remember the first time I read it, being in shock. … What was written was not appropriate to be read and performed in a school setting. … And so it crossed the boundary."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Christmas shopping was disrupted, and a traditional Christmas display was put in doubt by "pro-Palestine" protesters in Melbourne, Australia, recently.

Myer, an Australian retail giant, canceled the festive unveiling of its traditional Christmas window exhibit after "Pro-Palestine" protesters announced plans to hold a rally in front of the store. This was the 69th annual display and will remain until January.

The store released a statement explaining its decision:

"In light of recent developments and to ensure the wellbeing and safety of customers and team members, we will no longer hold an event on Bourke Street Mall for the unveiling of our Christmas windows," a spokesperson said.

"Myers' Christmas windows have long symbolized joy and community, and we remain committed to providing a safe and positive experience for all visitors."

In response, the protesters announced they would not hold their "Crash the Christmas Windows" protest, though a handful of flag-waving protesters continued to protest at the store in Melbourne's Central Business District, or CBD. Despite their announcement that they would not protest the unveiling on Sunday, a handful of protesters did attend, chanting, "While you're shopping, bombs are dropping," and "Shame on you" to passers-by.

Amy Settal, the protest organizer, explained their motives to the media.

"The intention was to interrupt the media spectacle and economic gain sought by Myer," Settal said. "The children coming to see the Myer Christmas windows were never a target because children are not a target."

"Pro-Palestine" group Disrupt Wars had shared the Crash the Christmas Windows event on its social media accounts.

"Christmas is canceled, and there will be no joy or frivolity while children in Gaza are massacred," a social media post read.

It is unclear what the connection is between Australian holiday retail and the war in the Middle East.

Jacinta Allan, the premier of Victoria, was furious over the decision, saying the group had "chosen to politicize a beautiful event for children."

"I'm just as mad at all the others who have quietly stoked this division and egged them on," she wrote on social media.

"Blocking the Christmas windows won't change a thing in the Middle East, but it will let down a bunch of kids in Melbourne. Who does that help?"

The premier said that while people had a "right to demonstrate," they did not have a "right to divide."

"We cannot let ugly protests ruin a beautiful Christmas tradition, and we cannot let violence, division and vilification ruin what makes Victoria great," Allan wrote.

Speaking on 3AW Radio, the premier singled out the Victorian Greens, accusing the political party of using "conflict in the Middle East to bring further division and conflict into Melbourne."

She said most Victorians were "sick of it."

In a related story, an antisemitic Tiktoker called on her 50,000 followers to "make Christmas Palestinian."

Fiona Ryan of Salisbury, England, was found guilty in September of posting anti-Semitic material. At her hearing at the Magistrates Court, she apologized but told District Judge Timothy Pattinson that the posts were not anti-Semitic. Her posts compared Ashkenazi Jews with Nazis and made false claims about Jewish doctors performing sex change procedures on children. She claimed her posts were protected as free speech.

Senior Crown Prosecutor Gavin Sumpter disagreed, stating,"Fiona Ryan sought to hide behind the right to freedom of speech, however, the court found that her posts and videos were grossly offensive."

"Her vile rhetoric reached a wide audience and has caused real harm in the Jewish community, the impact of which she was fully aware of," he added.

The judge ruled in favor of the prosecution, saying, "Any reasonable person would find all of this material featured in this trial grossly offensive" before finding her guilty on all four charges. Last week, she received a sentence of 20 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months.

She responded to the sentence by posting a TikTok video urging her followers to "make Christmas Palestinian."

Ryan was wearing a keffiyeh, a traditional Arab head covering, around her neck. Popularized by Yasser Arafat, the Egyptian founder of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, the keffiyeh has come to symbolize a call for violence against Israel.

"What I think we need to do is make Christmas Palestinian as much as we possibly can," Ryan said in the video. "That means decorating your tree with perhaps some Palestinian decorations, maybe telling your family, your children about how Jesus was a Palestinian, and how Christmas is a Palestinian story."

"Mostly, it's about supporting Palestinian businesses, whether that's with presents, whether that's through donations, however you want to do it."

"The most important message that we get out this year is that Christmas is Palestinian. Make Christmas Palestinian again … Do this. Let's make this Christmas the most Palestinian Christmas that ever was."

Islam believes in Jesus as a prophet. However, according to Islam, Jesus was not crucified, did not die on the cross, and was not resurrected. Instead, He is depicted as having been miraculously saved by God and ascending into heaven. However, Muslims do not celebrate Christmas.

Jesus as a Palestinian was an invention of Yasser Arafat's adviser, Hanan Ashrawi, a Christian, who said in an interview with the Washington Jewish Week on Feb. 22, 2001, that "Jesus was a Palestinian."

This became the official PLO platform as evidenced by their frequent reference to Jesus as "the first Palestinian martyr" and whose annual Christmas statement reads, "Every Christmas, Palestine celebrates the birth of one of its own: Jesus." This year, the Palestinian Authority prohibited public celebrations of Christmas in Bethlehem.

This false claim has been incorporated into Christian theology in what is called Liberation Theology. This portrays Jesus as a secular social justice warrior fighting the "Occupation."

Liberation Theology portrays Jesus as a Galilean Jewish revolutionary figure, aligning him with the marginalized and oppressed groups rather than the religious elite. The article suggests that the typical Christian understanding of Jesus obscures His ministry's political and social dimensions. The temple-state in Jerusalem is portrayed as oppressive toward the common people, especially Galileans, imposing heavy burdens through taxation and religious regulations.

It suggests Zionism, like earlier empires, disconnects Palestinians from their biblical heritage and homeland. Liberation Theology defines Jesus as a Palestinian living under Israeli occupation. It represents Christianity as a human-rights movement.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

The government bureaucrats regulating Realtors in the state of Virginia are assembling an attack on a real estate agent who is in trouble because he shared a Bible verse, including one addressing his beliefs on marriage.

It is in a report at Faithwire that the situation involving Wilson Fauber., who also is a minister, is outlined.

He reports he's facing ethics charges in his industry and could lose his Realtor status, all because he made social media posts regarding biblical beliefs about marriage.

He's being represented by the Foundation Freedoms Law Center, and his problems developed when he decided to run for the Stanton, Virginia, city council.

"During my journey running for Staunton City Council, some of the opposition from a different party decided that they were going to scour my Facebook pages and see if they could find any dirt on me. And they went back to 2015 and they found a Scripture that I posted from Leviticus … where the Lord clearly states that homosexuality is an abomination to Him," he explained.

He was forced to notify police when opposition messages were perceived as threats, and when he lost the election, the National Association of Realtors claimed in an email that a complaint had been filed against him, over his beliefs.

"My complainant said that they thought that posting that Scripture and other Scriptures that I've posted is hate speech. And taking me to task with the National Association of Realtors. … It's very bizarre, in a way, but, as we look at what's happening around the world, it's not," he explained in the report.

Lawyer Michael Sylvester told Faithwire the Bible verses were posted "on behalf of his ministry."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

A new report from the Wall Street Journal has detailed how local governments in China are withholding wages from government-paid employees and pensioners in a desperate bid to save cash.

According to the report, dozens of medical staff in the city of Shanwei, located in southeast China, protested by occupying a hall within a public hospital in October over unpaid wages and bonuses. Retired city employees of Yichun, in the northeast of China, also gathered to protest pensions that had not been paid out for months.

The growing debt of local governments is stretching into the trillions, which the WSJ notes is largely "borrowed off the books," as China's shadow banking, which consists of loans outside of traditional banking, continues to swell.

Currently, China's debt officially sits at just under $10 trillion. When factoring in shadow banking, the true debt reaches over $30 trillion.

The report further notes social media has been putting on a spotlight on months-long wage arrears, and it suggests cities are "strapped for cash" and drowning in debt, while recent cash injections via stimulus to local governments by the Chinese Communist Party, have only just "scratched the surface."

Authorities are now cutting medical benefits and attempting to find unpaid taxes to bolster their budgets, but the ongoing impact will eventually affect China's private business sector, employers of civil servants, contractors, and could lead to China's economic growth grinding to a halt.

Employees of Shanghai-based Guoli True Leather Company protested this week after not receiving wages for months.

However, wage issues are not a new issue in China. In 2023, employees of state-owned companies said they hadn't been paid for over 45 months, while pensioners said their promised benefits and medical insurance payments had been reduced.