This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Nik Wallenda, the American acrobat, aerialist, and high wire artist, is famous for his daring feats that have amazed millions around the world. Born Jan. 24, 1979, he is the great-grandson of Karl Wallenda, founder of the legendary Flying Wallendas.

On June 23, 2013, Wallenda became the first person to skywalk across the Grand Canyon. A two-inch-diameter steel cable was rigged 1,400 feet across a 1,500-foot-deep part of the Grand Canyon near the Little Colorado River Gorge in northwestern Arizona.

More than 23 million viewers in the United States, and millions more worldwide, watched as Wallenda did his nearly 23-minute skywalk without a harness, net, or safety tether while facing sudden wind gusts of up to 20 mph. Throughout the walk, he could be heard praising and thanking God. He uttered things like, "Thank you, Jesus," "Thank you, Lord," and "Thank you, God, for calming that cable."

In an interview with "The Christian Post" the day after the skywalk, Wallenda said he often talks to God while he is on the wire. He said, "I find that peaceful and relaxing, and He's the only one up there listening to me." Wallenda added that his faith in Jesus Christ plays a crucial role in what he does. He said, "My life is based on my faith. I guess the biggest role that it plays is that if I do fall and die, I know where I'm going."

While biblical David is not known for walking a high wire, he certainly did experience many trials and hardships in his life. As the author of half of the 150 psalms in the Bible's Book of Psalms, he often described them with great emotion.

David was chased from his home and became a fugitive of King Saul, who was seeking his life because he was jealous of his success and popularity (Psalm 18, 57, 59, 63, 142). He faced betrayal and constant danger of capture as he hid in the wilderness of Ziph (Psalm 54). David was at times surrounded by enemies threatening his destruction, causing him great distress (Psalm 18).

Not all of David's hardships came as a result of his interactions with Saul, but because of his own sins. When he was king of Israel, his adultery with Bathsheba started a cascade of severe repercussions and grief that continued throughout the remainder of his life and that of his family (2 Samuel 12:10-12).

King David's sin with Bathsheba led to her being pregnant with a son, to him murdering her husband Uriah, and the loss of their son (2 Samuel 11). Later, his son Amnon raped his half-sister Tamar, and her brother Absalom took revenge by murdering him (2 Samuel 13). After a brief exile, Absalom staged a coup d'état against his father David to take over the kingdom, causing him to flee Jerusalem. The attempted overthrow failed, resulting in the death of Absalom and thousands of soldiers, much to the grief of David (2 Samuel 15-18).

Another of David's sons born after Absalom with his fifth wife Haggith – Adonijah – tried to take the throne for himself. But his power play was defeated when David made his son with his eighth wife Bathsheba – Solomon – king of Israel. After David's death, Adonijah once again made a bid for the throne by seeking to marry one of David's concubines, and King Solomon had him executed (1 Kings 1-2).

Whether David's troubles came from the transgressions of others or his own, he never turned away from God. David trusted in God's mercy and repented when he sinned (Psalm 51; 1 Chronicles 21-22:1). Such was David's relationship with the Lord that He considered him to be a man after His own heart (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22).

Psalm 23 is one of David's most universally recognized and beloved psalms. Probably written late in his life, it expressed his deep trust in God as the Guider and Protector of his steps and the Provider of sustenance and all blessings.

Key to this psalm was the assurance of God's presence even through the darkest times of his life, dispelling fear and giving comfort.

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me." (verse 4)

David continually praised and thanked God for His goodness and grace as he walked the tightrope of life, confident that the Lord would get him safely to the end of the line and welcome him into His home forever.

"Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever." (verse 6)

While we can appreciate Nik Wallenda's skill on the high wire and his faith in Jesus Christ, all the more can we be inspired by David's faith in God as expressed in the psalms he composed – especially during hard times. From the heights of life to its lowest depths, they reach into every part of our lives. They give us hope and strengthen our faith in God.

We who believe in life and salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ receive His surefooted guidance as He leads us through the tight places of life to the place He has prepared for us (John 14:1-3).

"Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen." (Jude 1:24-25)

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

With a new year upon us, when we consider new goals for the next 12 months, here's a worthy ambition to pursue – to get closer to Christ. That resolution would put you in the company of a good number of America's founders.

When the great founding father Patrick Henry was dying, in his last Will and Testament, he wrote to his children, "This is all the Inheritance I can give to my dear family, The religion of Christ can give them one which will make them rich indeed."

The man who once declared, "Give me liberty or give me death," minced no words about living for Jesus.

George Washington noted that we could never hope to be a happy nation unless we imitated Christ. This was his conclusion in a very famous letter he wrote to the governors of the states in June 1783, after we had won the American War for Independence, by God's grace.

His letter climaxes with this inspirational call to follow in the footsteps of the God-Man from Galilee: "I now make it my earnest prayer, that God would have you and the State over which you preside, in his holy protection … that he would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do Justice, to love mercy and to demean ourselves, with that Charity, humility & pacific temper of mind, which were the Characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed Religion & without an humble imitation of whose example in these things, we can never hope to be a happy Nation."

Of course, "Pacific temper of mind" refers to a mind at peace and a mind with peaceful intentions toward others. Like his fellow Virginian, the father of our country was encouraging us as a nation to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ.

The late Dr. Donald S. Lutz was the author of "The Origins of American Constitutionalism" and a long-time professor at the University of Houston.

He pointed out that the founders intended that America would be moral. They also intended that this would be accomplished through voluntary religion – by which they meant Christianity.

Even the liberal-minded Thomas Jefferson once said, "Of all the systems of morality, ancient or modern, which have come under my observation, none appear to me so pure as that of Jesus."

In his above-mentioned book, Lutz pointed out, "The concept of virtue was central to politics throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in America" (p. 28).

Virtue, of course, was defined with a Biblical criterion, observed Lutz. "In one sense, virtue meant following God's law as found in the Bible. One who did not lie, steal, or fornicate, but who adhered to the golden rule was a virtuous person" (p. 28). Lutz adds, "And the most fundamental assumption is that the American people are a virtuous people" (p. 85, emphasis his).

This sentiment can be found repeatedly from different American founders. Rev. John Witherspoon was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. He also was a key educator to many of our founding fathers, including James Madison.

Witherspoon believed strongly that following the Bible is the key to imitating Christ. He said, "The character of a Christian must be taken from Holy Scriptures … the unerring standard."

Regularly reading the Bible has been the habit of many great Americans through the centuries.

Our second president, John Adams, once said, "I have made it a practice every year for several years to read through the Bible." Like many of our presidents, the Bible was the most important book also in the life of John Quincy Adams, his son. JQA served as our sixth president. And what a difference in made in his life. Adams was the "hell hound of abolition."

When he left the presidency, he served in Congress until he died. Why? So he could imitate Jesus by working to uproot slavery in America. While in Congress, he managed to influence the thinking and policies of a one-term Congressman from Illinois, Abraham Lincoln.

This was about 15 years before the latter became president and played a key role in ending slavery in America. John Quincy Adams' devotion to Jesus paid off for America and the world – long after our sixth president had died and gone to his reward.

Of course, it should be pointed out that following Christ, or attempting to, doesn't save anyone. Only truly trusting in Christ who died for sinners and rose from the dead saves those who believe. But once touched by Christ, it is a natural outworking of a transformed heart that we want to imitate Him.

As so many great Americans through our history did their best to put their faith in action, we do well to make imitating Christ our goal for the New Year and beyond. Happy New Year.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

PALM BEACH, Florida – Despite Donald Trump's landslide victory over Kamala Harris in November, it's possible he may not become president on Jan. 20 if there' still no speaker of the House who has certified the election results.

That alarm is being sounded on national TV as Mike Johnson, the current speaker of the House, is facing the threat of not being voted as speaker again this Friday.

On "Sunday Morning Futures" on the Fox News Channel, host Jason Chaffetz quoted Fox News senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram who said:

"The House absolutely, unequivocally cannot do anything until it elects a speaker, period. This also means that the House cannot certify the results of the Electoral College, making trump the 47th president of the United States on Jan. 6. What happens if the Electoral College isn't sorted out by Jan. 20? Well, President Biden is done, so he's gone. The same with Harris. Next in the presidential line of succession is the speaker of the House.

"Well, there's no speaker, so who becomes the president? If the House is still frittering away time trying to elect a speaker on Jan 20, [president pro tempore of the Senate Chuck] Grassley, likely becomes 'acting president.' I write likely because this gets into some serious, extra-constitutional turf. These are unprecedented scenarios. Strange lands never visited in the American political experience."

U.S. Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the House Oversight Committee chairman, addressed the concern, saying: "No one ran against Mike Johnson. To this day, and here we are inside a week of the speaker's vote, there is still not a single declared candidate.

"But as you know, we have five Republicans that won't commit to voting for Mike Johnson, and he can only lose one or two votes. So I sure hope we don't repeat this, and I'm strongly encouraging my colleagues and go ahead and elect Mike Johnson, and let's get started on passing President Trump's agenda."

Chaffetz brought up Rep. Andy Harris, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, who is not necessarily fully committed to Johnson as speaker, and asked if the Republicans can stay united.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Jihadis in Africa are on a campaign to burn churches, behead nuns and priests, terrorize Christians and worse, and "not a peep" is being heard from those "who have the power to speak out and help protect them."

That's according to a report at the Middle East Research Institute, where Executive Director Steven Stalinsky has called for action, with, "On Christmas, where is the outrage?"

"Sadly, this terrorizing and slaughter of Christians outside the West has gone almost unnoticed, with no real action even by those who have the power to speak out and help protect them," he said in a report. "These include the U.N., the African Union, the South African military, the Vatican and Pope Francis himself, even organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, or the NAACP. And not one word has been heard from Black Lives Matter, the Squad in Congress, scholars like Ta-Nehisi Coates, and many other imposters who say they care about human rights – but only do so selectively."

He explained almost every day, ISIS affiliates around sub-Saharan Africa have reported on their ongoing persecution of Christians.

"And, as happened during the time of the Caliphate under ISIS, the Christian world is sitting by and doing nothing."

He recalled a MEMRI study in 2023 titled, "ISIS in Africa (Chad, Cameroon, Niger, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Mozambique): Targeting Christians – killing, beheading, murdering priests and nuns, burning churches, health clinics, and homes – as the world is largely silent."

He noted, "The report detailed how ISIS's branches in Africa – Islamic State Central African Province (ISCAP), Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and Islamic State-Mozambique (ISMP) – have been attacking and terrorizing Christians across the continent, killing civilians, destroying churches, kidnapping Christians for ransom, forcing conversions, taking slaves, and destroying symbols and signs of Christianity."

Then they are bragging, "documenting," about their work on social media.

That report went to international bodies and legislatures, as well as religious leaders and media outlets. "Yet to date there has been little to no response or action to help the Christians being targeted, and thousands more have been killed since," he said.

A "typical day" for Christians in Africa includes visits from ISIS and "being forced to pay the Jizyah poll tax imposed on non-Muslims." And "choosing between conversion to Islam or death."

Most of the attacks, including the murders of church leaders, are by ISIS, but others are by al-Qaida and others.

"These groups' documentation and dissemination of their attacks is aimed at inspiring horror and boosting their fearsome reputation. For example, on July 11, 2024, ISIS featured, in Issue 451 of its weekly Al-Naba' newsletter, an infographic detailing its major operations in the previous Hijri calendar year, July 19, 2023-July 7, 2024. Earlier, on July 1, A'maq News Agency, the ISIS media arm, released a poster tallying ISIS attacks worldwide in the first half of 2024. Both these publications featured sections celebrating the killing during those periods of nearly 2,000 [1920] Christians and burning of 30 churches in Mozambique and Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC," Stalinsky explained.

In just recent days, dozens of Christians have been murdered, homes have been burned, churches destroyed.

"Sometimes, Christians are offered the option of conversion. On August 8, 2024, the pro-ISIS Hadm Al-Aswar Foundation released a poster on its Telegram channel titled 'The Only Solution for Christians,' showing an ISIS operative removing a cross from a church roof, a hand with an index finger raised in a gesture used by ISIS to indicate Islamic monotheism, and a hand appearing to be paying the jizyah – a tax placed on non-Muslims living under Islamic rule. The poster included text from an editorial titled 'Jihad in the Congo' from Al-Naba' Issue 448, in which ISIS issued an ultimatum: Christians can 'either convert to Islam, or pay jizyah, otherwise [ISIS] will continue to execute them, burn their homes and businesses, and plunder their properties,'" the MEMRI report said.

Media outlets have been used to push the ideology that it is "ISIS" that will "save" people.

One publication said, "To the Christians, their institutions, and their community organizations searching for long-term solutions that will rid them of a life surrounded by death in every direction[:] We give them the good news that the only solution is for them is to convert to Islam, or to pay the jizyah and remain submissive. Otherwise, the invasions will continue against them, as will the killings, the burning of their homes and shops, and the seizure of their money."

The terrorists also have boasted of beheading nearly 60 Christians in just two recent attacks alone.

Stalinsky reporte, "Not a day goes by without the MEMRI JTTM team documenting jihadi reports of attacks on African Christians."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Two-thirds of American adults, after listening to years of one-sided and coordinated media attacks on Republicans, President-elect Donald Trump, conservatives, Christians and more, say they feel the need to tune out of news.

It is the Associated Press, which often has been part of the campaigns to promote leftist ideologies, that reports it made the discovery in its survey done in conjunction with the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Those Americans specifically explained they need to limit media consumption about politics and government because of "overload," the report said.

Other percentages, smaller, also now are limiting their exposure to news of overseas conflicts, the economy, "climate change" and more.

The report explained the poll, done earlier this month, "found that about 7 in 10 Democrats say they are stepping back from political news."

For Republicans, that number was 60%.

The public's rejection of often-biased monologuing from reporters was most evident among television network audiences, the report said.

"After election night through Dec. 13, the prime-time viewership of MSNBC was an average of 620,000, down 54% from the pre-election audience this year, the Nielsen company said. For the same time comparison, CNN's average of 405,000 viewers was down 45%."

Fox, in contrast, had audiences up 13% for the time period.

"A post-election slump for fans of the losing candidate is not a new trend for networks that have become heavily identified for a partisan audience," the report said. "MSNBC had similar issues after Trump was elected in 2016. Same for Fox in 2020, although that was complicated by anger: many of its viewers were outraged then by the network's crucial election night call of Arizona for the Democratic presidential candidate, Joe Biden, and sought alternatives."

The report also described how network ratings "bounce back" when the "depression" after an election disaster, like the Kamala Harris results in November, fade.

Further, the poll showed that celebrity endorsements, like Taylor Swift's promotion of the Democrat ticket in 2024, likely generate disapproval from voters, not enthusiasm.

The report quoted Kathleen Kendrick, 36, of Grand Junction, Colorado, as being concerned over reporting that's "one-sided and shallow."

"It would be nice if you could get both sides, and more research," she said.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

JERUSALEM – At its end of year awards, the PassBlue news organization acknowledged the efforts of three United Nations employees, whom it assesses have had the most impact over the last 12 months. The three chosen, Francesca Albanese, Philippe Lazzarini, and Antonio Guterres also happen to be the most strident critics of Israel.

PassBlue, which on its website describes itself as "an independent, women-led nonprofit multimedia news company that closely covers the U.S.-U.N. relationship, women's issues, human rights, peacekeeping and other urgent global matters playing out in the world body," says its mission is to hold the powerful people and the 193-member countries of the United Nations to account. It also happens to receive funding from the deep pockets of George and Alex Soros via the Open Society Foundations.

In its description of why the awards were granted to these three individuals – not forgetting their acknowledgement of Riyad Mansour, permanent observer of Palestine to the U.N. as the Diplomat of the Year – PassBlue wrote, "The tragedy of Gaza has had an overwhelming impact on the U.N. this year, including 258 staffers killed in the war."

It seems to have escaped their notice that a number of these so-called "U.N. staffers" were also Hamas terrorists who abuse their dual identity as working for an international aid NGO to actually carry out atrocities. Somehow, they didn't mention that.

PassBlue said of Albanese, whom the United Nations Human Rights Council appointed special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories in 2022, that "her reports and speeches have consistently highlighted grave human rights violations perpetrated by Israel against the Palestinians, detailing widespread abuses such as forced displacement, unlawful killings and the denial of basic rights."

That isn't all she's said, however. And some of her statements have crossed the line from legitimate criticism of Israel into the murky area of outright anti-Semitism – and not connected to the remit of her role at all.

Indeed, the Anti Defamation League has an entire page devoted to Albanese "in her own words," showing she has a flagrant disregard for the code of conduct, in which a special rapporteur is expected to show "moderation."

A selection of her missives include claims about Israel's actions being comparable or akin to the Nazi persecution of Jews during the Holocaust; calling Gaza a 21st century "concentration camp;" Israel committing genocide; comparing Israel to the Taliban; denying or minimizing the rapes and sexual assaults which took place on Oct. 7, 2023; and accusing the "Israel lobby" of controlling Congress, including both political parties.

Considering this news organization sees part of its remit is to hold people of power to account, it seems a bit bizarre it failed to mention the chiding even the Biden administration managed, to admonish Albanese's outrageous conduct. Prior to the special rapporteur's arrival in New York as part of a North American speaking tour, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield chided Albanese saying she was "unfit for her role."

Having stumped for Albanese as "Person of the Year," it seems as obvious as night following day to select Lazzrini and Guterres as first and second runners-up in the category.

Lazzarini, who is Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA, has had a difficult 12 months to say the least. The organization for which he is the head has been accused – with verifiable proof to back up the claim – of employing people who took part in the Oct. 7 massacres. Even he does not deny this obvious fact; yet he, and the second runner-up, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres claim it is an indispensable part of the so-called humanitarian efforts in Gaza.

The situation regarding UNRWA has become so severe that Israel's parliament – the Knesset – passed a law in late October making the organization's activities "illegal on Israel's sovereign territory." This includes a potential ejection from its Jerusalem HQ. In addition, several countries, most recently Sweden, have decided to withdraw funding from the U.N. body, with the usually taciturn Swedes citing a "crisis of confidence."

Guterres too has meted out harsh criticism toward Israel since it began its ground invasion of Gaza following the Oct. 7 blood-letting. He along with the other two has sought to minimize Hamas' actions – victim-blaming the Jews for being attacked, but hitting a note of understanding for the plight of the Palestinians.

He infamously remarked, "Oct. 7 didn't occur in a vacuum." When you have Ha'aretz, Israel's most avowedly-left-wing major newspaper calling for your resignation, it is as good a sign as any, however much he might have tried to contextualize his comments, that Guterres overstepped the mark.

The "award" is not really a surprise, it is yet more evidence of the direction of travel of the international development community and the NGOs – implacably opposed to Israel – which dominate the discourse.

Arsen Ostrovsky, CEO of the International Legal Forum and a senior fellow at the Misgav Institute for National Security, said the award "makes an absolute mockery of everything PassBlue is meant to stand for."

"The organization claims to be a 'women-led non-profit' that covers the U.N., women's issues and human rights," he added.

"To honor this group of U.N. individuals who have peddled in relentless Jew-hatred, rape denial and justification of Hamas crimes, is obscene, unconscionable and just inexcusable.

"They may as well have given the award posthumously to Yahya Sinwar," Ostrovsky concluded.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

A report that Democrats insisted be released on former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who resigned from Congress when President-elect Donald Trump nominated him to be attorney general, but actually was re-elected, tries to tarnish the flamboyant former and potentially future member of Congress.

But the allegations, investigative reporter Mollie Hemingway confirmed, come from a woman who already is in prison for making similar, and false, claims about another person.

The report from the House Ethics Committee claims Gaetz was involved with multiple women over recent years, and even gave some of them money.

However, Joe Biden's "corrupt" Department of Justice reviewed the evidence and found there was no substance on which to charge Gaetz with anything.

A majority of Republicans on the committee dissented from releasing the report, stating, "Representative Gaetz resigned from Congress, withdrew from consideration to serve in the next administration, and declared that he would not seek to be seated in the 119th Congress. The decision to publish a report after his resignation breaks from the Committee's long-standing practice opens the Committee to undue criticism, and will be viewed by some as an attempt to weaponize the Committee's process."

They wrote, "We believe that operating outside the jurisdictional bounds set forth by House Rules and Committee standards, especially when making public disclosures, is a dangerous departure with potentially catastrophic consequences."

The report alleges Gaetz paid women for sexual favors or illicit drugs, including a 17-year-old girl.

Only two Republicans on the panel sided with Democrats to release the report.

Gaetz has rejected the report's claims. And he pointed out, "The Biden/Garland DOJ spent years reviewing allegations that I committed various crimes. I was charged with nothing: FULLY EXONERATED. Not even a campaign finance violation. And the people investigating me hated me."

Hemingway reported that the witness used by the committee as the basis for the report was found by the "corrupt DOJ" to be lacking "any credibility whatsoever."

She added, "Sometimes I feel like I was the only reporter to look into the details of the Gaetz allegations. That's how I learned the accuser is in prison for making the same false sex-with-minors accusation against someone else."

A commentary at Twitchy said, "Whether or not you like a person should not impact or influence their innocence or guilt. Even if you dislike Gaetz, the fact they released this report the day before Christmas Eve, a report Biden's own corrupt DOJ considered a nothing-burger, tells us all this was sneaky, dirty, and likely all too personal. To Hemingway's point, it's INSANE that they'd take seriously any sort of testimony from a witness who is currently in prison for making the same false sex-with-minors accusations against someone else. While we're certainly not experts, this sounds like a red flag."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

JERUSALEM – Middle East/Israel Morning Brief

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Houthi ballistic missile strikes Jaffa, wounds 16

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

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

Sweden halts funding for UNRWA

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Iran recruiting European teens to target Israelis, Jewish sites

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PA launches Jenin crackdown on terrorist groups supplied with Iranian arms

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

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

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

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

Canada introduces new national forum to combat Jew-hatred

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

The FBI has been at the pinnacle of the years-long scandal over the Biden-Harris administration's weaponization of the federal government against Republicans, conservatives and Christians.

And Christopher Wray has been at the top of the FBI's power structure over that time.

Now he's departing his government position, according to an announcement he made when incoming President-elect Donald Trump promised he would be fired immediately.

And a legal team that has fought Wray's agenda over the years, and continues to do so even now, has assembled a top five list of his "most horrifying abuses."

It is the American Center for Law and Justice that explained in a new report, "The nightmarish reign of FBI Director Christopher Wray is over. With his firing imminent, Wray offered his resignation before President Trump could do the honors. No longer will Wray's lawless FBI trample the Constitution or target Christians and conservatives."

In honor of his "being shown the door," the organization, the list was produced.

First is the FBI's "shocking abuse of authority" when 20 agents "brazenly arrested – with guns drawn – Mark Houck, the co-founder of a men's ministry."

That happened back in 2022, and he was arrested because he "protected his son from a radical pro-abortion activist outside a Planned Parenthood" abortion business.

Local police said there was no case, but the DOJ, under Biden and Harris, launched a full-scale attack on him.

Then came the Senate hearing when Wray was asked, by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., whether Americans' rights were being violated.

"Wray outrageously declared that he couldn't 'be sure' that the FBI was unconstitutionally intercepting private email messages. The exchange between Wray and Paul also occurred when the FBI was caught lying about using spy software (Pegasus) on Americans," the ACLJ documented.

Then Wray's words got him into trouble again. This was when he "lied about undercover agents in churches."

The ACLJ said, "Most would lose their jobs if caught lying before Congress, but not Wray. After the Deep State FBI was exposed in April 2023 for putting undercover agents in churches to spy on Christians, Wray testified that a field office had gone rogue. Of course, the truth came out that multiple field offices across America had undercover agents keeping tabs on what pastors were teaching their congregations."

At No. 2 on the list was the FBI's 2020 election interference.

That happened when the FBI told media organizations to suppress details about Biden family scandals documented in Hunter Biden's abandoned laptop computer.

A subsequent survey showed that suppression likely cost Trump his re-election bid at that point.

The suppression agenda was confirmed by none other than Mark Zuckerberg, who confirmed that Facebook quashed the scandals "at the FBI's request."

And atop the list of Wray wrongdoings, according to the ACLJ, was the decision to authorize the use of "deadly force" when agents raided Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in a SWAT-type stack.

"Even though the FBI knew from the onset that the Russian hoax was completely fabricated, it never stopped trying to take down President Trump. And during the DOJ's endless political prosecution of Trump, the FBI flexed its muscles while raiding Mar-a-Lago, with agents showing up fully armed and using highly questionable tactics as it searched the property for government records," the report said.

It suggested comparing that to the "search" the FBI conducted at Joe Biden's home when he was found to have similar government documents in his possession.

The agenda went beyond the FBI in that situation, as Biden was given a free pass on possible criminal actions, while the DOJ went to a full-court press pursuing criminal counts against Trump, a case that only recently collapsed on Trump's election.

"And the FBI's shenanigans haven't stopped in the days since the 2024 presidential election. Just last week, the FBI recognized a 'State of Palestine' at the FBI National Academy graduation ceremony. And we found out the FBI tried to cover up the incident by deleting the video of the ceremony and quickly filed two FOIA requests. We can't let Biden's Deep State FBI delete records before the Trump team takes office," the report said.

The ACLJ noted it right now has almost 25 lawsuits pending against the Biden-Harris regime, including the "Deep State FBI."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Now that longtime Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad's regime has fallen at the hands of an Islamist group, experts and news pundits – along with the people of Syria – are all speculating about what will happen next.

Indeed, since Assad's ouster, Syrians are experiencing "a lot of hope and a lot of fear … at the same time," says U.N. Special Envoy Geir Pedersen. Overthrown by the Sunni Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the future of Syria remains very uncertain.

For some informed perspective on not just the future of Syria, but on what role – if any – America should play, WorldNetDaily interviewed Army Lt. Col. Darin Gaub, a former UH-60 Blackhawk pilot and co-founder of Restore Liberty.

"Syria," Gaub told WND, "had been a proxy state of Russia and Iran for quite a while, both of whom for a variety of reasons lost their grip on control in Syria." The most obvious reasons, he said, were the fact that Russia is heavily involved in a war with Ukraine, and Iran is consumed with Hamas and Hezbollah being "largely ineffective" in their war against Israel.

And without restraint from either Russia or Iran in Syria, Gaub said, "It's going to be hard to keep the lid on all these different insurgent-type of groups that have exploded in a search for power over the country."

So who will win the power struggle? "It remains to be seen whether it will be either of these two nations, an insurgent group, a caliphate, or an autocracy," he said, while noting that regardless, "the brutality will be steep" with the infighting that will ensue.

Iran is currently in a state of chaos, reeling from its own infighting over a mandatory hijab law, the economic deprivation of its people, and more. Plus, with the weakening of its anti-Israel proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah, Iran is losing its "axis of resistance." Couple all this with the watchful eye of a second Trump administration and the potential for heavy Iran sanctions over its development of nuclear weapons, and "the Iranian regime may collapse, as well," says Gaub.

Should that happen, "it would put an end to running arms and ammunition and various things from Iran through Iraq into Syria, and ultimately into Hezbollah." In that case, Gaub added with regard to post-Assad Syria, "Turkey will be quick to fund the terrorist-style cells that are dominating in the region."

Regarding Turkey, America's supposed NATO "ally," Gaub asked pointedly: "How do you deal with that fact that you'll have a nation that's funding terror cells fighting against the Kurds, while attempting to be friendly to the West and serving as a member of NATO?" He added, "Would they be removed as a member of NATO?"

Regardless of what happens, Gaub stressed: "What we don't want is some sort of expansion of violence, where people in America begin to think we need to be involved in Syria." For Gaub, "There's no reason to suck ourselves into a continuing, ongoing, perpetual war in a place that very few people understand and can identify who the terrorist factions are and who's on whose side, when they're all dressed the same."

"It's not our fight," he said.