This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

President Donald Trump's advocacy for secure American borders, deportation of illegal alien criminals, and support for American citizens was taken to a new level on Wednesday.

The Department of Justice, under Attorney General Pam Bondi, sued New York Attorney General Letitia James, Gov. Kathy Hochul, and Mark Schroeder, the state's chief of its division of motor vehicles.

At issue is the state's support for illegal aliens, to the point they are given privileges American citizens are not.

Bondi confirmed, "We're here today because we have filed charges against the state of New York. We have filed charges against Kathy Hochul, we have filed charges against Letitia James, and Mark Schroeder, who is with DMV."

She said, "This is a new DOJ, and we are taking steps to protect Americans, American citizens, and angel moms, like the mom standing right behind me … ."

She charged, "New York has chosen to prioritize illegal aliens over American citizens. It stops. It stops today."

The announcement came in Bondi's first press conference as U.S. attorney general.

The state and its officials are facing accusations in the legal filing that they have failed to enforce federal immigration law.

The action takes aim at a "green light law" that lets people who are in the United States illegally get driver's licenses in the state.

Bondi also charged that New York officials have limited their state's ability to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.

The DOJ only days earlier had sued Illinois over its enforcement of federal immigration law.

"We did it to Illinois. Strike one. Strike two is New York, and if you're a state not complying with federal law? You're next," Bondi said.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

As revealed in a recent report published by the Middle East Forum, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR – the supposedly moderate U.S.-based Muslim advocacy group whose leader openly praised Hamas for its Oct. 7, 2023 massacre of Israelis – has repeatedly worked to obstruct U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, encouraging noncitizens to defy immigration enforcement.

WorldNetDaily spoke to Anna Stanley, a research associate at the Middle East Forum, who authored "Islamists Obstruct Efforts to Deport Criminal Aliens." She pointed out that CAIR "distributes guidance on how to avoid compliance, advising individuals to stay silent and refuse to open their doors to immigration agents to stall or prevent deportation."

In addition, she said, CAIR actively campaigns against ICE operations and lobbies for policies that weaken enforcement efforts. A recent CAIR-Ohio "Community Alert" lays out a detailed strategy for evading ICE, instructing: "Do not allow entry and … refuse to answer questions," directly interfering with the agency's ability to carry out its legal mandate.

CAIR also claims that "ICE may use tricks, lies, or intimidation to gain entry," noted Stanley. "Because administrative immigration warrants do not give ICE the legal authority to enter private property without consent – unlike criminal warrants – agents sometimes rely on deceptive tactics to make arrests, a practice codified in ICE policy," she explained. "By promoting noncompliance with lawful enforcement," she argued, "CAIR actively undermines immigration law and impedes the work of federal authorities."

Disturbingly, revealed Stanley, "CAIR tailors its messaging toward the very individuals ICE prioritizes for enforcement, including those who are in the country illegally, have criminal convictions, face prior deportation orders, or are deemed national security threats." What's more, she said, "CAIR's use of the phrase 'noncitizens who have violated the terms of their immigration status' as a euphemism for illegal immigrants reflects its political stance on the issue, downplaying the legal reality of unlawful presence."

"By encouraging noncompliance among these groups," Stanley added, "CAIR risks shielding individuals who could pose a danger to the public and obstructing lawful immigration enforcement." Which begs the question, "Why should an organization that so openly advises against cooperation with U.S. law enforcement be allowed to operate without consequences?"

ICE's response, said Stanley, rightly highlights the dangerous consequences of efforts to obstruct immigration enforcement. "By spreading misinformation and actively encouraging noncompliance," she suggested, "CAIR is not just undermining the rule of law – it is jeopardizing public safety."

ICE's mission is clear: to enforce immigration laws and remove individuals who pose a risk, including criminals and national security threats. "When organizations like CAIR encourage defiance and spread misleading narratives," she warned, "they create unnecessary confrontations that endanger both law enforcement officers and the communities they serve."

For Stanley, "ICE officials are correct in warning that such actions can fuel hostility and even violence, making their already difficult job even more dangerous." Rather than hindering lawful enforcement, she said, groups that claim to support public safety should be working to uphold the law, not protect those who break it.

"Law enforcement should view CAIR's efforts as a direct attempt to obstruct federal immigration enforcement and weaken national security," she said. By advising noncitizens – many of whom are in the country illegally – to evade ICE, CAIR is not acting as a civil rights group, as it postures, but as an organization actively working against U.S. law enforcement, she explained. "This kind of interference not only undermines the rule of law, but also puts officers, communities, and even the individuals CAIR claims to protect at risk."

There should be clear policies in place that penalize organizations like CAIR that deliberately encourage noncompliance with federal law, she said. "No group should be allowed to operate with impunity while obstructing lawful enforcement efforts and shielding individuals who may pose security risks."

"Federal, state and local authorities must recognize the danger of allowing such actions to go unchecked and implement measures that hold these groups accountable for their role in undermining immigration enforcement," she added.

"CAIR's open defiance of immigration enforcement is not just a policy stance – it is a direct challenge to the authority of federal law," Stanley said. "No organization should be allowed to instruct individuals on how to evade deportation, especially when it involves criminals and potential national security threats."

If the U.S. is serious about upholding its immigration laws and protecting its citizens, she concluded, it must take action against groups that actively obstruct enforcement efforts: "Lawmakers and law enforcement agencies must ensure that organizations working against federal authorities face real consequences for their actions."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

There's more bad news for those working on all those leftover programs from Joe Biden to subsidize illegal aliens.

Now DOGE chief Elon Musk says he's found out that FEMA spent $59 million last week to house illegals in luxury hotels in New York City, and he wants the money back.

In a social media statement, Musk, chief of President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, said his team "just discovered that FEMA sent $59M LAST WEEK to luxury hotels in New York City to house illegal migrants. Sending this money violated the law and is in gross insubordination to the President's executive order. That money is meant for American disaster relief and instead is being spent on high end hotels for illegals! A clawback demand will be made today to recoup those funds."

Biden embedded throughout the government multiple ways for tax money to be spent on illegal aliens after they break the law and enter the U.S. without permission. One of Trump's agenda points is to eliminate that spending.

A report at the Gateway Pundit wondered, "And why is FEMA paying for illegal alien housing when they ignore Americans suffering and living in tents in places like North Carolina? FEMA funds are meant for American disaster relief and not to fund Joe Biden's invasion."

The report said apparently one of the hotels is the Roosevelt in Manhattan, and in fact, city officials admitted back in 2023 that half of the hotel rooms in New York City were occupied by illegals.

Trump already has concluded that FEMA has lost its mission focus and diverted staff and resources to projects that were beyond its scope and authority, spending more than a billion dollars on the political whims of bureaucrats there.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

PALM BEACH, Florida – President Donald Trump says his desire to make Canada America's 51st state is not all talk, but actually a "real thing."

Trump made the disclosure to Bret Baier of Fox News during a pre-recorded interview that aired Sunday afternoon during the pre-game show of Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.

Baier asked Trump directly: "The prime minister said this weekend to a group of Canadian businessmen – it was a private meeting – he said that your wish for Canada to be the 51st state is a real thing. Is it a real thing?"

"Yeah, it is," Trump responded.

"I think Canada would be much better off being a 51st state because we lose $200 billion a year with Canada and I'm not gonna let that happen. It's too much.

"Why are we paying $200 billion a year? Essentially a subsidy to Canada. Now. If they're a 51st state, I don't mind doing it."

Trump also said his recent tariff announcements on Canada and Mexico for border security and drug interdiction were not enough.

"Something has to happen. It's not sustainable," he indicated.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

A judge in Maine stunningly has ruled that a mother is forbidden from taking her daughter to church.

Any church that her ex-boyfriend does not approve.

And the legal team at Liberty Counsel has confirmed it launched an immediate effort to overturn the decision that actually violates multiple court precedents.

The report from Liberty Counsel uses pseudonyms to keep the identities of the mom and child private.

What happened is common: Mom and dad had a daughter 12 years ago, they broke up, even before the daughter was born, and "everything was fine" until the mom and daughter started attending church.

"When [the daughter] began wearing T-shirts emblazoned with Bible verses to her father's house, Mark rushed to the local family court, declaring those shirts to be 'religious paraphernalia,'" the team reported.

He claimed being baptized was "indoctrination."

And a large part of his complaint was that the church, Calvary Chapel of Bangor, "teaches the [B]ible chapter by chapter, verse by verse."

To push his own religious ideology, he "hired a former California State University sociology professor to testify that Calvary Chapel is a 'cult,'" Liberty Counsel confirmed, with a demand the court ban the mom from taking the daughter to church.

Then the judge stepped up to the campaign.

"Outrageously, the anti-God judge in this case was more than happy to oblige. The judge spent 11 pages excoriating Calvary Chapel of Bangor, and quoting a former Marxist sociology professor's assertions that Bible-teaching churches like Calvary Chapel are 'Moses Cults' that 'harm' children. The judge ruled that [the mom's] religious beliefs 'eclipsed her ability to make decisions that are in [her daughter's] best interests,' Because [the mom] had testified that her daughter's belief in God was 'more important than anything.'"

He demanded the mom never take the daughter to Calvary Chapel – "or ANY church that does not meet [the dad's] approval – ever again."

Liberty Counsel explained Calvary Church of Bangor was founded by Pastor Ken Graves, a "God-honoring man" and does teach the Bible.

In fact, Liberty Counsel defended the church when "Gov. Janet Mills threatened to arrest and imprison anyone who attended church during the COVID panic."

The legal team cited the U.S. Constitution, "hundreds of years of legal precedents, and even the Maine Supreme Court" which all say the government may not prevent a parent from raising a child in his or her own faith.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

We all have a hard time believing that President Donald Trump took office just two-plus weeks ago. All those phenomena we accepted as givens – DEI, transgenderism, DoJ weaponization, medical tyranny, foreign aid, fentanyl deaths, endless wars, illegal immigration, bureaucratic bloat, government censorship – were, to say the least, no longer inevitable.

For 30 years the Left imposed its agenda through a media that lied to sustain that agenda. To be sure, American Marxists have always shown an indifference to the truth as profound as that of their Soviet role models.

Until 1994, however, media lies were generally plausible, their suppression of facts subtle. Although liberals dominated America's cultural and political institutions, they were confident enough to do so with something of a gentle hand.

If any one individual embodied the post-war establishment spirit, it was Walter Cronkite, "America's most trusted man." The CBS News anchor from 1962 to 1981, Cronkite represented the gold standard of useful journalism during that era, namely the ability to feign objectivity.

But objective he never was. Biographer Douglas Brinkley quotes Cronkite as saying, "I thought that some day the roof was going to fall in. Somebody was going to write a big piece in the newspaper or something. I don't know why to this day I got away with it."

The "it" was Cronkite's liberalism. After retirement, he could be more forthcoming. At a 1988 dinner honoring Democrat Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, Cronkite went full Howard Beale:

"God Almighty, God Almighty, we've got to shout these truths in which we believe from the rooftops, like that scene in the movie 'Network.' We've got to throw open our windows and shout these truths to the streets and to the heavens." Cronkite made perfectly clear to this friendly crowd that "these truths" were the soft-core Marxist orthodoxies of the moment.

One powerful source of establishment confidence was the House of Representatives. Coming into November 1994, Democrats held an 82 seat majority in the House. They had controlled the House for 40 consecutive years and 58 of the previous 62.

Yes, Republicans could elect a president, but Democrats could, if need be, dispose of one. Richard Nixon may have won 49 states in 1972, but he lost the District of Columbia, then and now the power source for the WMD known as "lawfare."

What changed the game, I'm convinced, was the midterm election of 1994. Democrats lost an incredible 52 seats in the House, eight in the Senate, and control of both. Going forward, a shocked media would do and say whatever was necessary to keep President Bill Clinton and the Democrats in power.

In the 30 years that followed, the Marxist infection metastasized. Ever more aggressively, our left-leaning elites labored under the grand illusion that "truth" was what they said was true and "just" was what they said was just.

Too bourgeois to be full-blown Marxists, these elites came to mimic, if anyone, the French Jacobins. In their fondness for the state and their hostility to faith, they launched a revolution of their own, a "fundamental transformation" of America, however dishonest and improvised.

Our Jacobins quickly moved beyond liberalism to progressivism. Here, as in revolutionary France, Jacobin orthodoxies were what the moment warranted, what the mobs demanded.

They used that open-ended ideology as bait to corral the radical among their intersectional ranks – the blacks, the browns, the greens, the gays, the lesbians, trans, the feminists, the Muslims, and any other "marginalized" group willing to make noise in the street.

Club members in the know did not really care about issues. For them, the ultimate goal was always power, global power. Having transcended the nation-state, they allied themselves with Jacobin elites throughout the world and proudly alienated those citizens who clung bitterly to their gods and their guns.

By 2020, every elected Democrat in Washington, some elected Republicans, much of the intelligence community and most of the administrative state belonged to Club Jacobin.

Jacobin clubs in Hollywood, on Broadway and in Silicon Valley exercised nearly monopolistic control over their respective industries. Jacobins ruled higher education and, through their unions, controlled the public-education establishment. They dominated almost every commercial newsroom and TV network as well as NPR and PBS.

By 2021, with the inauguration of President Joe Biden, Jacobins controlled the White House, the Senate, the House of Representatives and many of the instruments of justice, including the D.C. courts and the FBI. They told America what it was permissible to think and say and were eager to punish those who thought and said differently.

If the Jacobins said the election of 2020 was "free and fair," to say otherwise was to perpetuate "the big lie."

If they said January 6 was an "insurrection," to call it anything less was to side with "white supremacists."

If they said President Biden was "sharp as a tack," to say he was slipping was to pull a "deep fake" and risk rebuke from more enlightened members of the club. "I can tell you, I talked to Joe Biden in private for decades," insisted MSNBC's Joe Scarborough in March 2024. "This is the best Joe Biden."

Even a child could pinpoint the moment the woke empire imploded. That would be, of course, June 27, 2024, when a senescent President Biden took the stage to debate former President Donald Trump and fell harder than Humpty Dumpty.

Biden promptly shattered the grand illusion that had sustained his coalition for the last four years, and not even the media could put it together again.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

U.S. President Trump is set to cut funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees – which has extensively reported ties to the Hamas terror group – and withdraw the U.S. from the controversial U.N. Human Rights Council, according to the New York Post.

Trump will sign an executive order implementing the changes Tuesday, the same day he is set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"Bibi Netanyahu's coming on Tuesday, and I think we have some very big meetings scheduled," the president told reporters on Sunday after returning to Washington from his Palm Beach, Fla. residence.

Both organizations have a lengthy track record of vexing Israel and Trump had pursued those same actions in his first term. Former President Biden restored funding for UNRWA and returned the U.S. to the HRC in his term.

Trump urges congressional leaders to OK $1 billion in arms sales to Israel

The Trump White House has asked congressional leaders to approve about $1 billion in weapons sales to Israel, according to U.S. officials.

The sales would include more than $700 million in 1,000-pound bombs (4,700 in total), along with armored bulldozers worth more than $300 million, the officials said.

According to JNS, the 1,000-pound bombs, referred to as "general purpose bombs," consist of 4,500 BLU-110s and 200 Mk-83s.

Caterpillar D9 armored bulldozers also are part of the sale. Although they are used to defend Israeli soldiers clearing explosives, and to protect infantry camps, their sale has faced scrutiny from anti-Israel progressives in Congress because of Israel's past use of them to demolish terrorists' homes.

Trump set to reimpose 'maximum pressure' on Islamic regime in Tehran

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to sign a presidential memorandum on Tuesday which restores his "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran and aims to deny Iran all paths to a nuclear weapon, a U.S. official said, according to the Jerusalem Post.

The move brings back the tough U.S. policy on Iran which Trump implemented throughout his first term. The president has accused his Democratic predecessor, former president Joe Biden, of weakening U.S. resolve toward Iran.

The official told Reuters, Trump's directive orders the U.S. Treasury secretary to impose "maximum economic pressure" on Iran, including sanctions and enforcement mechanisms on those violating existing sanctions.

New intelligence obtained by the U.S. indicates Iran is exploring faster ways to develop a nuclear weapon, according to the New York Times, and reported in Israel Hayom.

This development comes as Iran's relatively new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, has conveyed messages indicating his interest in engaging in dialogue with the new U.S. administration.

In addition, the Times reported this intelligence was gathered in the final months of the Biden administration, and was transferred to Trump's team during the transition of power.

Officials who spoke with the Times stated intelligence assessments warned Iranian weapons engineers and scientists have been searching for a shortcut, which would allow them to convert Iran's growing stockpile of enriched uranium into a functional atomic weapon within months, should Iran ultimately decide to produce a nuclear bomb.

IDF report highlights air-defense failures on Oct. 7

Israel's air-defense system failed to intercept half of the rockets fired by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, according to Hebrew media.

The finding is based on an Israel Defense Forces investigation whose findings were presented to the military's chief of staff.

According to the Jewish News Syndicate, it is unclear how many rockets impacted Israeli cities and towns, but
the Gaza-based terrorist organization launched a total of 3,700 rockets in the first four hours of the attack. Fourteen people were killed by Hamas rockets, seven of them in unprotected Bedouin communities.

The relatively low number of casualties was attributed to sirens warning residents of incoming rockets. The sirens were activated on time and enabled civilians to enter protected areas, according to the report.

It further noted a number of Iron Dome air defense batteries in the Gaza Envelope suffered unspecified failures in the initial minutes of the assault, resulting in a total lack of interceptions from these batteries.

In the first 20 minutes of the attack, Hamas fired an unprecedented 1,400 rockets into Israel. Many Iron Dome batteries were depleted in the face of the massive barrage, according to Israel's Channel 12.

IDF widens Jenin operation as it uses lessons learned in Gaza

Israeli security forces operated throughout Judea and Samaria in January, working to thwart terror activities.

Over the course of the month, the forces eliminated around 55 terrorists, including those involved in terrorist attacks in which Israeli civilians were killed, as well as terrorists who were on their way to carry out an attack. The forces also arrested 380 wanted suspects, according to Israel National News.

The aim is to destroy terrorist infrastructure, clear explosive devices on main routes and kill or arrest terrorists. An explosive and weapon-production lab was found and destroyed in Tulkarm and five suspects were detained. At the same time, forces detained terrorism suspects in Jenin and prepared the surrounding for an extensive stay in the refugee camp.

The operations now focus on three key points: Jenin, Tulkarm, and a concentration of five towns where the forces are working with tanks.

Over the past few days, the forces located significant weapons caches, including pistols, rifles, and many explosives.

Wave of intra-Arab violence erupts in Israel with 6 dead

A doctor was shot dead inside a clinic in Kafr Yasif on Monday evening, hours after a teenage boy was killed in Lod – the fifth and sixth homicide victims within the Arab community since midnight, the Times of Israel reported.

Police said the suspects fled the scene after opening fire on their victim, Dr. Abdallah Qasem Awad, a pediatrician from Mazra'a who had been filling in for another doctor at the time.

Paramedics who arrived shortly after the shooting declared Awad dead on the spot. Officers opened an investigation into the incident, but did not immediately arrest any suspects.

Earlier the same day, a teenage boy was fatally shot in Lod.

The 14-year-old Ramle resident was critically injured alongside two others in Pardes Snir neighborhood. All three were taken to the hospital, where doctors pronounced his death.

Since the start of 2025, 29 Arab Israelis have died in violent incidents, more than double the number of Arab homicide victims as of the same point last year.

Arab League secretary-general: Trump's Gaza relocation plan 'existential threat to Palestinian cause'

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit stated in Cairo on Sunday that Israel aims to render the Gaza Strip uninhabitable, WAFA, the official PA news agency, reported. Aboul Gheit made this remark during a meeting with U.N. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process ad interim, Sigrid Kaag.

"Israel's objective is to make the Gaza Strip unlivable, creating a situation that is both unacceptable and a clear violation of international law," Aboul Gheit said, suggesting that "the forced displacement of Palestinians is an existential threat," the Jewish Press reported.

He stressed that without concrete efforts to establish a Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders, the region would remain perpetually at risk of spiraling into further cycles of violence.

Majority of Israelis back Trump's Gaza relocation plan

A poll conducted for the JPPI shows a large majority of Israeli Jews in favor of President Donald Trump's plan to relocate the displaced population of Gaza – some 2.4 million people – from the Strip to Egypt and Jordan, JFeed reported.

According to the JPPI's statement:

Survey respondents were asked about their stance on President Trump's proposal to relocate Gaza Arabs to another country.

43% of all Israelis believe the Trump plan is "practical" and should be pursued. A small majority of 52% of Jews in Israel think similarly. An additional 30% of Jews responded the plan is "not practical, but hopefully" – meaning they support it but don't believe it has a real chance of being realized. In total, more than eight out of ten Jews in Israel support the plan.

Overall, about 14% of all Israelis (13% of Jews) consider the plan a "distraction" – a response that doesn't express explicit opposition but shows reluctance to engage with it.

The percentage of Israelis who believe the president's proposal is "immoral" because it involves a "transfer that cannot be accepted" is 13%, with almost all of these being Arabs (a majority of 54% of Arabs responded this way). Among Jews, only 3% believe the proposal is "immoral."

Two IDF reservists killed in Samaria terrorist attack

Two Israel Defense Forces soldiers were killed and eight more were wounded when a terrorist opened fire at a military post near the village of Tayasir in northern Samaria on Tuesday morning, reported the Jewish news Syndicate.

The slain troops were identified by the military as IDF Sgt. Maj. (res.) Ofer Yung, 39, a squad commander in the Ephraim Regional Brigade's 8211th Reserve Battalion, from Tel Aviv, and Sgt. Maj. (res.) Avraham Tzvi Tzivka Friedman, 43, a soldier in the battalion, from Ein Hanatziv.

According to an initial IDF probe, the terrorist managed to take up a position near the entrance of the military post and fired on troops as they exited. The terrorist was said to have exchanged fire with troops inside the post for several minutes before being killed.

The terrorist, who reportedly had been waiting in the area for hours before carrying out the attack, was said to have been armed with an M-16 rifle and two magazines, and was wearing a tactical vest.

Dept. of Education launches investigations into five universities over anti-Semitic harassment

The Department of Education is taking its first major action under the new administration to combat anti-Semitism, launching investigations into alleged anti-Semitic discrimination at Columbia University; the University of California, Berkeley; Portland State University; Northwestern University and University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

The Department of Education under the Biden administration pursued anti-Semitism cases after complaints had been filed by students and organizations representing them. These new cases, however, are being launched proactively, giving the Department of Education broader investigative latitude.

"Too many universities have tolerated widespread anti-Semitic harassment and the illegal encampments that paralyzed campus life last year, driving Jewish life and religious expression underground," Craig Trainor, the acting assistant secretary of education for civil rights, said in a statement. "The Biden Administration's toothless resolution agreements did shamefully little to hold those institutions accountable."

Trainor said the announcements serve to put "universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses, nor will it stand by idly if universities fail to combat Jew hatred and the unlawful harassment and violence it animates."

Netanyahu meets Elon Musk in Washington, D.C.

After landing in Washington on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a meeting with Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and owner of social media site X, who also recently began his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency in the Trump administration, Israel National News reported.

According to a report in Channel 14 News, also taking part in the meeting was David Sacks, who was appointed by Trump as the White House AI and Crypto czar. During the lengthy meeting, the report said, the prime minister requested and secured cooperation from both Musk and Sacks on all matters related to artificial intelligence, for a full partnership between the U.S. and Israel in this field.

The Americans are set to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in artificial intelligence, and Israel is expected to join this massive investment and agreement.

Additionally, it was reported at the conclusion of the meeting, the trio formulated a working plan for the near future and the longer term for integrating Israeli forces into American programs. The meeting is expected to benefit Israel's cryptocurrency, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence industries for years to come.

Saudi Arabia, UAE, two possible venues for likely Trump-Putin summit

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are seen by Russia as possible venues for a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, two Russian sources with knowledge of the discussions said.

Trump has said he will end the war in Ukraine as soon as possible and said he is ready to meet with Putin. Putin congratulated Trump on his election and stated he is ready to meet the president to discuss Ukraine and energy, according to the Algemeiner.

Russian officials have repeatedly denied any direct contacts with the U.S. about preparations for a phone call between Trump and Putin, which would precede an eventual meeting later this year.

However, senior Russian officials have visited both Saudi Arabia and the UAE in recent weeks, according to the Russian sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation.

One source said there was still some opposition to the idea in Russia as some diplomats and intelligence officials were pointing to the close military and security links both the Kingdom and the UAE have with the United States.

U.S. DOJ forms anti-Semitism task force

The U.S. Justice Department announced on Monday the launch of a task force to combat anti-Semitism in schools and college campuses.

The force is set to include representatives from the U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Service, with efforts being coordinated via the Department's Civil Rights Division, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Leo Terrell, Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, who is also set to lead the task force, noted, "Anti-Semitism in any environment is repugnant to this nation's ideals."

He added, "The Department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found. The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump's renewed commitment to ending anti-Semitism in our schools."

Biden quietly funneled $3 million to Palestinian Authority for 'security training' after its members carried out attacks on Israelis

The Biden administration, weeks before leaving power, funneled more than $3 million in taxpayer cash to the Palestinian Authority Security Forces, according to a nonpublic notice transmitted to Congress that was reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon.

Those funds allowed the PASF to conduct "firearms and ammunition" training – and came after its members carried out scores of attacks against Israelis.

The Jan. 3 funding notice outlined more than $20 million in funding for regional security projects, including those in Judea and Samaria, the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and Jordan. Just over $3 million of these funds were earmarked for the PASF, which the United States is training to handle security operations in the war-torn Gaza Strip. As it does so, the PASF is reportedly seeking more than $680 million from the American government over the next four years.

Jerusalem Old City store owner arrested for selling books by Sinwar, Nasrallah

Israeli security forces arrested the owner of a bookstore in the Old City of Jerusalem over the weekend on suspicion of selling pro-terror inciting material, including works by slain senior Hezbollah and Hamas terrorist leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Yahya Sinwar, the Israel Police announced on Monday.

The bookstore was discovered after police officers searched the bag of a female suspect in the Old City and found the pro-terrorism content, according to the statement. During questioning, she claimed to have purchased the materials from a nearby bookshop a short time earlier, JNS reported.

Officers of the Israel Police's David Precinct, which is situated close to the Old City's Jaffa Gate, subsequently discovered the store was selling numerous books containing "inciting and terrorist content, the sale and distribution of which is prohibited."

In addition to the publications by Nasrallah and Sinwar, the bookstore also sold writings of Abdullah Barghouti – a Palestinian bombmaker responsible for multiple attacks, which claimed the lives of 66 people.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

This is the second in a series of articles about the changing global order that began with "Let's talk Turkey about Islam."

"The U.K. boasts more civil servants per capita than China, more DEI employees per capita than anywhere else in the world, the highest tax burden since 1948, a national debt which equals 100 percent of GDP, record annual net migration of net-tax-recipients, and a capital city in which at least 1 in 12 is an illegal immigrant," writes Connor Tomlinson.

I suggest that if this trend does not rapidly reverse course to fully align with the U.S. MAGA agenda, we should switch sides in the centuries-long Britain vs. Russia clash of empires.

A year ago this month, I read a long but utterly fascinating article by Richard Poe, "How the British Invented Communism (And Blamed It on the Jews): The Untold Story of Karl Marx, Leon Trotsky, MI6, and the Russian Revolution." And the next day I read an excellent piece by Alex Krainer, titled "France under attack," almost like an addendum to the Poe piece on the (still churning) chaos in France, also explaining behind-the-scenes geopolitics that point blame at the "Anglo-American Imperial Establishment."These articles, which remain timely and worth reading, offer a somewhat pro-Russian but still objective and scholarly perspective of the centuries-long rivalry of the British and Russian empires that you will never find among Western sources.

I offered constructive criticism to Mr. Poe in a private (unacknowledged) email to him, pointing out that the British government he blames for scapegoating the Jews was itself in part a product of an Anglo-Jewish partnership going even back to before the Glorious Revolution, manifesting most clearly in the Christian doctrine/political philosophy of British Israelism. BI peaked during the reign of Queen Victoria (whose genealogical chart claimed succession from the Judean kings) when Benjamin Disraeli was prime Minister. Disraeli's Jewish father had been convinced by top BI advocate and historian Sharon Turner to baptize his son as a Christian (becoming the child's godfather). BI persisted among select elites until the liberation of the Holy Land from the Ottoman Turks in 1917 and the formal restoration of the Jews there per the Balfour Declaration.

Indeed, I suggested to Poe that the hostility (he documents) Winston Churchill displayed toward "International Jewry" may have been in part a consequence of the breakdown of the "British Israelism" partnership after almost 500 years of Messianic Christian/Jewish shared dreams of a two-house reunification in a restored Israel, which I have summarized in three articles here. When that shared vision of two-house "Zionism" was supplanted in the unfolding Marxist era by exclusively "one-house" Jewish nationalism (formalized as a political movement in 1897), it presumably fostered bitterness and resentment among Christians. It must have seemed to many (not to me) that British Israelism had never been anything more than a cynical scam to manipulate the British monarchy and Church of England. It didn't help that once the nationalist Jews' goal of legal/physical restoration to the Holy Land was achieved, the entire 5-century-long BI campaign was dropped and memory-holed so thoroughly that the average Christian today knows literally nothing about it.

I cite those articles in support of the premise that Anglo-Zionism was and is the driving force of the British Empire – a force that was once benign but is now malignant due to infection by Marxism. Two weeks ago I read another phenomenal article by Krainer that goes to the question of how this force has steered America.

"When the United States declared independence from the British Empire, the signatories of the Declaration of Independence were not just a bunch of belligerent rebels with nothing to lose. In many ways, they were similar to the people flanking Donald Trump today," writes Krainer. "They were all educated men of means and privileged members of society.

"Of the 56 signatories, 24 were lawyers and jurists; 11 were wealthy merchants; nine were farmers and large plantation owners. In signing the Declaration of Independence they provoked the wrath of the empire, knowing for sure that if they were captured their penalty would be death. Five of them were in fact captured by the British as traitors and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons and another two had their sons captured and imprisoned.

"Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships in the revolutionary war. … The home and properties of Francis Lewis were destroyed and his wife was jailed. She died within a few months. … The properties of Ellery, Clymer, Hall, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton were vandalized and destroyed by British troops or their proxy terror squads. British Gen. Cornwallis took over Thomas Nelson's home for his headquarters. It was destroyed during the battle of Yorktown, and Nelson died bankrupt. John Hart had to flee his homestead. … When he returned home, his wife was dead and their 13 children all vanished. The grief and distress killed him within a few weeks. Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.

"When the imperial cabal decided to break up the United States, which precipitated the Civil War, they were confronted by President Abraham Lincoln [who evaded the Rothschild banking cartel's grossly usurious debt trap by issuing interest-free Greenbacks to fund Union war efforts]. In 1863, Russian Czar Alexander II came to Lincoln's aid by dispatching his Baltic fleet to New York and his Pacific fleet to San Francisco. The move blocked the Empire's intervention on the side of the Confederation, which was planned by the British with the support of France and the Vatican. The U.S.-Russian alliance ultimately prevailed, and the United States was preserved.

If all this is true, has continued apace till today, and the U.K. decides not to repent and return to biblical values in the near future, perhaps we should consider partnering instead with conservative Christian Russia and the current religiously and socially conservative Israeli government that is so deeply hated by the Synagogue of Satan in London and New York. In my next article, "A vision for a U.S./Russia/Israel global order," I will explore what this might look like.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

PALM BEACH, Florida – President Donald Trump went on a Truth Social posting spree Sunday evening, with one of his messages blasting Democrats in the U.S. Senate who are delaying confirmation of his nominees.

"Democrats are purposefully delaying virtually all of my Nominees," Trump began.

"No matter how good and well qualified someone is, they are taking maximum time for approval – and laughing about it. They're having a good time at the Country's expense and safety. If George Washington and Abraham Lincoln were nominated for a position, the Democrats would take it out to the last moment before having to approve. It is disgraceful!

"They can't get over the landslide loss suffered in the Presidential Election. But the Democrats don't understand, with what they're doing, that their losses will only get greater. Republicans must GET TOUGH – AND MUST GET TOUGH VERY FAST. We need our Nominees NOW, for the Safety and Good of our Country!"

Trump also defended his slapping of tariffs on Canada and Mexico.

"Anybody that's against Tariffs, including the Fake News Wall Street Journal, and Hedge Funds, is only against them because these people or entities are controlled by China, or other foreign or domestic companies," Trump indicated.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

The celebrations at the return of Israel's hostages are deeply heartfelt, although somewhat muted. Most Israelis recoiled in horror – although without surprise – at the chaotic scenes which accompanied the release of the eight hostages freed Thursday – three Israelis and five Thai nationals – as unruly gangs of heavily armed men wearing balaclavas jostled the frightened and bewildered (almost) former hostages.

Israelis are also keenly aware of the steep price the country has paid – and will continue to pay – in blood and treasure for the hostages' release, including the freeing of hundreds – at this stage, although if all the phases are complete the final figure will be closer to 2,000 – of Palestinian prisoners, many of whom were handed down life sentences for the murder of literally dozens of Israelis. The agreement to set free prisoners with blood on their hands for some, but not all of the hostages, has been called a "deal;" although it would be more accurate to describe it as a "shakedown."

The level of this extortion also provides a great number of questions, many without satisfactory answers. There are uncomfortable truths, which need to be examined, in the full knowledge another war between Hamas and Israel is extremely likely – and may well emanate from the increasing tensions in Judea and Samaria – irrespective of the lengthy and costly efforts to rebuild Gaza.

How is it Hamas seems able to be at the forefront of the claims of "genocide" against Israel – so much so that its current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and its former defense minister Yoav Gallant are wanted by the International Criminal Court, charged with war crimes among other things – and at the same time seem to be declaring victory simply because it was not destroyed? It is here Netanyahu must take some of the blame, for asserting Hamas' complete destruction was one of the war aims. From this point of view, the Hamas coordinated circus which is the hostage release, is a very public poke in the prime minister's eye, a visceral reminder of its failure.

And why does there seem to be a tacit assumption, despite Secretary of State Marco Rubio's pronouncement earlier this week about Hamas never being able to govern the Gaza Strip again, it is doing just that? It is coordinating the hostage releases, its leadership is communicating with mediators, it seems to be calling the shots. Doesn't this seem a bad and untenable look for an organization which is no longer supposed to be in charge?

Why is the Red Cross among other so-called humanitarian or human rights organizations silent and inert when it comes to the hostages – both Israeli and foreign. From the evidence it doesn't seem like they have tried to visit the hostages once, even when medicines were arranged to be sent for those who were in desperate need of it. What makes Hamas so special – and protected – when people are kidnapped from Israel the usual rules simply do not apply?

And why were Western countries – particularly the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada – so meek when it came to demanding the return of its dual-national citizens? Is it something about the dual nationality in general, or because the other nationality was Israeli? Even Russia, which has recently asked for assurances from Hamas about the condition of its dual-nationality hostage Sahsa Trufanov, could presumably have exerted significant pressure on any of Hamas' financiers to secure his release. And yet, Moscow did no such thing. It is only Thailand – prior to the November release of 23 of its nationals – which seems to have leveraged every avenue it could to have as many of its people as possible freed.

And what about the Vatican? Pope Francis reportedly sends WhatsApp messages to Gaza's tiny Christian population via Father Gabriele Romanelli on a daily basis, but he is incapable of holding Hamas to account and demanding from his pulpit the immediate release of civilians, including women and children? Eighty years on from the liberation of Auschwitz and once again those at the top of the Catholic Church are covering themselves in ignominy when it comes to attempting to save Jews.

This whole rotten situation has also highlighted the sham of the United States' relationships with its other so-called allies in the Middle East – in particular Turkey, a NATO member, Egypt, and Qatar. Is the international community and the human rights groups so beholden to the Muslim Brotherhood, and no doubt other nefarious backers such as the Open Society Foundation? Will the Trump administration review this cozy arrangement. Turkey and Qatar have provided succor for Hamas for years, allowing its leaders to live in exile a life of gilded opulence, while those remaining in Gaza mostly live a meager existence. And what of Egypt, under whose porous border Hamas was able to smuggle so much of its weaponry via the Philadelphi Corridor?

Hamas and its Western defenders may point to Israel's ground offensive as a reason for not releasing more hostages, except this belies two simple facts; there was no invasion between Oct. 7 to Oct. 27, and because it was only the decimation of Hamas' leadership and forces, which forced it reluctantly to the negotiating table. But its incentive structure is perverse and anyone with a modicum of common sense will recognize the value this mob of psychopaths sees in causing untold destruction on "its people," as well as kidnapping the innocents of the hated enemy it wishes to destroy.