This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

A police officer who manufactured a reason to arrest a man whom he saw walking along a road could end up facing serious consequences.

That's after the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed itself, based on a new precedent from the U.S. Supreme Court, and allowed a case against the officer to move forward.

"This ruling reminds police that the Constitution does not allow them to arrest people for bruising their egos," explained lawyer Marie Miller, who represents Mason Murphy.

"Mason will finally have his day in court, signaling stronger protection for every American who speaks up when government officials overstep."

The Institute for Justice explained the case:

"Murphy's ordeal began in May 2021, when he was walking on the shoulder of a rural road. Officer Schmitt stopped him, demanded identification, and—after nine minutes of back-and-forth during which Murphy calmly asked what law he had broken—handcuffed Mason and put him in jail. Body-camera footage of the arrest shows Schmitt scrambling to invent a charge—at one point asking a superior officer, 'What can I charge him with?' Murphy was released two hours later and was not charged with any crime."

Schmitt is Sunrise Beach, Missouri, police officer Michael Schmitt, against whom the case now will proceed.

Murphy's case raises the question about whether police can jail someone to punish them for questioning their authority.

The ruling stems from the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 ruling in Gonzalez v. Trevino, which made clear that police and other government officials are not immune from suit when they arrest people in retaliation for exercising their First Amendment rights.

The Eighth Circuit had ruled against Murphy but reversed itself when the Supreme Court vacated that ruling and sent the case back for further review.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

The Army, caught describing pro-life members of the famed pro-life Operation Rescue organization and others as "terrorists," already had admitted it was wrong to do that.

Now it is apologizing.

OR announced, "The Secretary of the Army Dan Driscol has issued a formal apology to Operation Rescue for mischaracterizing the pro-life organization as a terror group during a counterterrorism and security training presentation that was used to teach 9,100 Army soldiers at Fort Bragg."

Driscol said, "This characterization was not only inaccurate but also deeply inappropriate."

His response came in a letter to the American Center for Law and Justice, which represented Operation Rescue and its president, Troy Newman.

"I am glad to accept the Army's apology, but the harm this has caused Operation Rescue has been incalculable," said Newman. "Being labeled a terrorist in these troubled times has carried with it a heavy burden on my staff and me."

Driscol continued, "While I cannot undo the harm that this training caused, I want to offer my sincerest apology to Operation Rescue, National Right to Life, and all pro-life groups negatively impacted by the false characterization of all pro-life organizations made by this training. Please be assured that I am firmly committed to rigorous oversight of all Army training materials to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future."

The ACLJ's Jordan Sekulow responded to Driscol's letter.

"Thank you for standing up against the Leftist ideology that had been infecting our military branches and bogging down our warfighters, often cloaked in the bureaucratic morass. We know you have a lot of work to do, and that you took time to address this — not just in response to an oversight function of Congress, but directly to our client who was among those harmed — confirms your commitment to the values for which you fight," said Sekulow.

Newsom confirmed the damage.

"For years Army trainers falsely told thousands of soldiers that Operation Rescue posed a terror threat to our country. The damage this has caused our nonviolent organization is something that cannot be undone with a simple apology, no matter how sincere.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

A South Carolina town is being sued for imposing a permitting scheme and demanding other limits on the display of a religious sign.

First Liberty Institute has filed the action in federal court against the town of Chapin for its agenda to impose a permit requirement, and other limits, on Ernest Giardino.

"No one should be forced to ask the government's permission to express their faith in a public space," explained First Liberty lawyer Nate Kellum, in a statement about the case.

"The First Amendment is his permit. Like any citizen in any city in America, Mr. Giardino is free to peacefully share his religious beliefs on a public sidewalk. Chapin's ordinance is overbroad, unconstitutional, and must be repealed or enjoined."

The legal team explained Giardino "was on a public sidewalk at the intersection of Old Lexington Road and Chapin Road on June 20, 2024, holding a 20×24 inch sign attached to a short handle, which read 'Trust Christ He paid the price' on one side and 'He Saved Others—Jesus—He'll Save You' on the other side."

It wasn't his first time there with a sign, the report said. He'd been there on and off for eight months without any complication.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

A Republican member of Congress is urging people to be hanged publicly if they're found to be involved with the crimes of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee was speaking to reporters about the case Tuesday when he was asked, "Should there be an investigation or a special counsel investigation?"

Burchett responded:" I don't know, I'm not an attorney. I just – find 'em guilty and hang 'em publicly. That's not over the top either. I'm ready. I'm over it. It disgusts me."

He added: "I'm big on clarity and transparency and that's a good reason people don't trust government in either party."

The congressman was then asked: "You don't believe what the Justice Department is saying?"

"No, I don't," Burchett replied. "I don't trust 'em."

President Donald Trump revisited the Epstein issue Tuesday, telling reporters just before flying to Pittsburgh that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi should release more files if they were "credible."

"It's gonna be up to her. Whatever she thinks is credible, she should release," Trump said, adding Bondi "has handled it very well."

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., is now demanding a special counsel to probe the Epstein case.

"We need a special counsel. That has got to happen," she told journalist Benny Johnson.

"I hope it doesn't become a false idol to Republicans where we just lose sight of everything else, but that doesn't mean we don't want answers."

House Oversight Chair James Comer of Kentucky urged Bondi on Tuesday to begin exposing and arresting individuals connected to the Epstein network and its cover-up.

"Take the ball and run with it," Comer told Johnson. "People want to see accountability.

"There have been a lot of investigations. The Deep State has been exposed thanks to [CIA Director John] Ratcliffe and [FBI Director] Kash Patel. Let's start prosecuting these people. Let's set some examples out of some people."

Also speaking with Johnson, Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia debunked a false narrative that House Republicans unanimously voted to block the release of the Epstein files.

"That is not true," she said, explaining it was merely a procedural vote to preclude Democrats from gaining control of the House floor.

"That means they could bring up anything. They could bring up impeachment articles against President Trump. They could bring up a whole package of insane, Democrat-agenda items and force votes on the House floor on these things."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

On the one-year anniversary of the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, the commander in chief was asked was going through his mind when he woke up on Sunday.

"God was protecting me," Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews.

"Maybe because God wanted to see our country do better or do really well. Make America Great Again.

"But God was protecting me," Trump repeated. "The more you think about it, the more you see it."

"I don't like to think about it much, you know. I have a job to do," he added.

"It's a little bit of a dangerous profession being president, but I really don't like to think about it too much. I think you're better off not thinking about it."

The president was also asked about FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, who has been rumored to be considering leaving the bureau over the non-release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

"I spoke to him today," Trump said. "Dan Bongino is a very good guy. I've known him a long time. He's in good shape."

Trump also commented on the recent success of the U.S. military's destruction of Iran's nuclear facilities, saying: "From zero to 10 with 10 being the best, that attack was a 15."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a millionaire many times over, died allegedly by his own hand several years ago while waiting in a New York Jail for development of more sex charges against him.

People across America of multiple political ideologies have anxiously awaited the release of details about his death, and his associates during his lifetime, including a long list of high-profile personalities to include Bill Gates and Bill Clinton.

That, more or less, had been part of a commitment made by Trump administration officials just weeks ago.

But then came the Department of Justice notification, in an unsigned note, that little more information about Epstein and his lifestyle should be expected.

Obviously, the sudden change triggered an explosion of criticism and demands for details, which have not yet come.

But one explanation is being offered why Epstein information apparently, suddenly, went through a paper shredder, more or less.

Maybe he was a government asset?

That suspicion comes from things including his relatively gentle treatment when he first was convicted several years ago, and the currently handling of his record.

It is the Daily Caller that explains that the federal prosecutor, Alex Acosta, who went after Epstein on sex charges years ago allegedly confirmed, "I was told Epstein 'belonged to intelligence' and to leave it alone."

The report noted that Attorney General Pam Bondi was questioned at a Cabinet meeting this week on that topic.

Bondi responded, "I have no knowledge about that. We can get back to you on that."

She had been asked, "Your memo and release yesterday with Jeffrey Epstein left some lingering mysteries, one of the biggest ones is whether he ever worked for an American or foreign intelligence agency. … The former labor secretary and Miami U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta, he allegedly said that he did work for an intelligence agency. So could you resolve whether or not he did?"

Bondi, months ago, had told Fox News that Epstein's "list" was "sitting on my desk right now to review."

Acosta was part of the prosecution team that in 2007 gave Epstein immunity as part of a plea deal. Epstein pleaded to state charges and served time in a county jail.

The issue arose again when Epstein was arrested in another case in 2019.

The Daily Caller said:

The Miami Herald spent five years in a legal battle to obtain documents related to Epstein, while extensively covering both the current case and earlier proceedings against him in Florida, according to a Vanity Fair report.

"It's not beyond the realm of possibility that Epstein had connections to the [Israeli intelligence community]," Julie K. Brown, investigative reporter for the Miami Herald, told the Times of Israel in a 2021 interview.

She pointed to Epstein's convicted co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell's father, Robert Maxwell.

"Robert Maxwell certainly had those kinds of connections, and Epstein had a close relationship with Robert Maxwell," she told the outlet.

Maxwell's 1991 burial on Jerusalem's Mount of Olives drew Israeli political leadership, according to a New York Times (NYT) obituary.

Ehud Barak, the former Israeli prime minister, allegedly visited Epstein numerous times, taking private jet flights and spending time at Epstein's homes in both Florida and New York, according to documents obtained by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in 2023.

Following Epstein's 2019 arrest, newspapers published photos from 2016 showing Barak entering Epstein's townhouse, according to the WSJ.

Further reported was that Iraseli officials met with Epstein at times early in the 2000s.

And, the report said, "William Burns, former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) under the Biden administration, had three scheduled meetings with Epstein in 2014 during his time as deputy secretary of state, according to a separate 2023 WSJ report. Tammy Kupperman Thorp, former CIA spokeswoman, told the publication that Burns 'did not know anything about [Epstein] other than that he was introduced as an expert in the financial services sector and offered general advice on transition to the private sector.'"

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

A newly published commentary notes that Colorado Democrats in the state legislature, who with other Democrats control virtually every aspect of Colorado's government, are fleeing – en masse.

At least 20% of the lawmakers who sit in Denver making rules and regulations for their taxpayers have not been elected; they were appointed by party elites, much like Kamala Harris was appointed to be the party's 2024 presidential candidate.

Jon Caldara, president of the Independence Institute, wrote, "Democratic Rep. Said Sharbini left, citing 'the polarized and contentious climate in the state House.' Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis said the job was emotionally and physically tough when she recently split. But these spoiled kids can have anything they want. They're not squabbling with Republicans. Republicans aren't even in the equation. Republicans are hiding in the janitor's closet hoping not to be found and slapped around. These Democrats are backbiting fellow Democrats. The 'sensationalistic and vitriolic' unhealthy environment is amongst themselves. The polarization and emotional toll isn't coming from the feckless Republicans. Team Left is beginning to eat their own. More than 20% of our legislators were never voted into office in the first place. They were appointed to fill vacancies of those who wanted to get out."

Absolute Democrat control in the state that used to swing back and forth regularly between Democrat and Republican majorities developed two decades ago. That was when, according to a report from American Majority, that the "Gang of Four" billionaires and lowly multi-millionaires essentially bought the state government.

Rutt Bridges, now-Gov. Jared Polis, Tim Gill and Pat Stryker, all pushing the extremes of the leftist agenda, conspired to use their wealth to organize a new Democrat party, "from policy generation to leadership recruiting, coalition building to grassroots activation."

Stryker is a billionaire heiress to a medical tech fortune, and she donated $1.5 million in support of Hillary Clinton's failed 2016 campaign; Gill started Quark, Bridges once said he had "more money than I could spend," and Polis took advantage of early dot-com miscalculations, selling online rights to his parents Blue Mountain Arts greeting card slogans to another company for hundreds of millions of dollars, which then collapsed, and he bought them back at a fraction of the original price.

He spent $1 million to his political start, a seat on the Colorado Board of Education which is an unpaid, part-time time. His GOP opponent raised $10,000, and, reports said, had offered to drop out if Polis has split the difference and given him $500,000.

The report noted what the "Gang" did was flood races with money that no local Republican candidate could hope to compete with, using "dozens" of 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4) and 527 organizations that they personally funded.

The result? "The Democrat Party didn't win Colorado: the progressive left did. They simply used the Democrat Party as a vehicle by which to achieve their political ends."

Since then, there's been a long list of Democrat governors. The state House and Senate have near veto-proof Democrat majorities. The state's top officials are all Democrats.

The agenda has been made clear by their goals and actions.

An all-Democrat state Supreme Court tried to remove President Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot, only to be reprimanded by the U.S. Supreme Court. The state repeatedly has launched attacks on Christianity, demanding its own messaging and disregarding constitutional rights. In one case it got scolded by the Supreme Court for its hostility to Christianity, but it immediately launched the same allegations against another defendant, to be struck down again.

It tried this year to force a Christian children's camp to allow boys in the girls cabins, and showers.

It right now is arguing before the Supreme Court that it has the right to control the speech of Christian counselors who want to help patients to come to them with unwanted same-sex feelings.

The state essentially says, in that case, that counselors are allowed to promote the LGBT ideology, but are not allowed even to mention anything negative about the lifestyle.

Polis, of course, the openly homosexual governor who pundits already have mentioned as a possible future Democrat nominee for president, has been part and parcel of the agenda, apparently from its beginning.

It is, in fact, the leftist CPR which has confirmed, "There will be at least 21 members of the Colorado General Assembly this year who at some point were appointed to the House or Senate by or through a vacancy committee made up of a small number of party insiders, according to a Colorado Sun analysis. That includes 12 state representatives and nine senators. All but three are Democrats:"

It continued, "The number — which represents about a fifth of the 100-member General Assembly — is down from last year, when 29 legislators had at some point landed a job in the General Assembly thanks to a vacancy committee."

Caldara explained, Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen "in any other state" would be "looking to run for governor." Instead, he's fleeing.

"So that Paul doesn't feel alone in his escape from the asylum — I'm sorry, the 'unsupervised mental health facility' — the equally sane House Minority Whip Ryan Armagost is bolting out of the state for an undisclosed 'fantastic professional opportunity' in Arizona," Caldara wrote.

But the majority fleeing are Democrats.

"Recall, Democrats have near veto-proof majorities in both houses, all statewide offices, including governor and attorney general, and judges almost completely appointed by progressive Democrat governors. Like your sibling whom your parents love more than you, Democrats get whatever they want. Your wallet is their oyster," Caldara wrote.

In fact, lawmakers, faced with a constitutional requirement for voter approval for tax increases beyond the rate of inflation and increased population, have resorted to imposing new taxes and then calling them "fees."

For example, vehicle owners are required to pay a "fee" for roads and a "fee" for bridges. Likely they sometimes use them. But out-of-state travelers use those same public facilities, with no fee.

Caldara noted that first, there needs to be reform of how vacancies are filled.

"The bigger question is, what are the Democrats doing to make the place so unlivable?"

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

In a time when Americans face mounting student debt, stagnant wages and increasing job competition, a little-known government program continues to certify hundreds of thousands of permanent jobs for foreign workers, even when qualified U.S. citizens are available, willing and able.

The labor certification process known as "PERM" (Program Electronic Review Management) allows employers to sponsor foreign nationals for green cards only if no qualified U.S. worker is available. According to federal law, employers must first complete a good-faith test of the U.S. labor market, which includes specific recruitment steps such as two Sunday newspaper ads, internal postings and three additional recruitment methods from a Department of Labor-approved list.

But in practice, employers can exploit the outdated list of approved recruitment methods by avoiding major online platforms and even their own company career sites. Instead, they often use limited-access alternatives such as obscure job boards, local or ethnic newspapers, or short-duration radio ads that technically satisfy the rules on paper, but drastically reduce the chances that qualified U.S. workers will ever see or apply for the position.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

House Speaker Mike Johnson confirmed that lawmakers are "delivering on our promise to make America great again."

Then the legislators voted 218-214 to adopt Senate changes to President Donald Trump's "Big, Beautiful Bill."

It's a landmark for tax cuts and spending that includes many of Trump's priorities. The $3.3 trillion measure installs in America budget priorities and spending – or not spending – points adopted by Republicans.

Trump, on social media, said, "The USA is on track to break every record on growth. Go Republicans, beat the Crooked Democrats tonight! Pro-growth tax cuts never fail."

The nearly 900-page bill, read aloud on demands from Democrats who were trying to delay, and possibly even derail, the plan, extends the president's 2017 tax cuts and further eliminates taxes on tips and overtime – a marquee promise that the president pledged repeatedly on the campaign trail.

The child tax credit is doubled and Trump's new plan for $1000 "MAGA account" for new babies is included.

The tax cuts alone will cost $4.5 trillion over the next ten years, according to projections from the Congressional Budget Office. To offset the massive price tag Republicans included $1.2 trillion in spending cuts, mainly trimming Medicaid.

Lawmakers used a tactic called reconciliation, so the tax and spending bill did not need 60 votes in the Senate, which had approved the plan 51-50 with the tiebreaker from Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday.

The House originally adopted the plan late in May.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Raphael Warnock was a preacher at an Atlanta church before he was elected to the United States Senate.

And he still faces controversies over the money, tens of thousands of dollars, he continues to take from the congregation each year, and the lavish, luxury home, owned by the church, that he occupies.

In fact, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust has asked the Senate Select Committee on Ethics to investigate what "appears" to be his violation of Senate ethics rules by accepting the "lavish" housing scheme and then refusing to report it on his financial disclosures.

Notwithstanding his own behavior, the senator now is insisting that Christians abide by his beliefs about the Bible.

He recently delivered a lengthy diatribe against Republicans, accusing them of being Robin Hood in reverse and taking from kids to give to the wealthy.

"We're taking away health care from kids and then burdening them with the debt," Warnock said. "We are engaged in Robin Hood in reverse, this body of stealing from the poor in order to give to the rich. This massive transfer of wealth from the bottom to the top. This is socialism for the rich."