This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A national organization that claimed it could censor and restrict the speech of its members, including their speech as private individuals, is reversing course.
And it could be because it faced a lawsuit over its practices.
The Washington Stand reports the abrupt course reversal has been confirmed by the National Association of Realtors.
The organization had attacked a member who worked in Virginia, and also served as a local pastor.
It was Wilson Fauber who was put in a bull's-eye by leftists in the organization who demanded that he be punished for sharing Bible verses and sermons on sexuality on his personal social media accounts.
It was in 2024 that the Virginia NAR claimed Fauber's posts violated its rule that bans "harassing speech."
Because of its leftist ideology, specially protected people included those with characteristics including "religion, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity."
His online comments were bashed during his 2023 Staunton City Council campaign, and complaints were filed by two group member who didn't know him, but still alleged "hate speech."
Just days ago, the national group "announced a pivotal amendment to Standard of Practice 10-5, as reported by The Christian Post: 'In the amendment to Standard of Practice 10-5 … the NAR clarified that the rule can only regulate a realtor's speech that is made in their professional capacity in furtherance of their real estate practice,'" the report said.
Before that change, the group claimed the authority to regulate professional and personal speech.
Fauber said, "This is a massive victory for free speech and religious freedom not just for me, but for all 1.5 million members of the National Association of Realtors."
The report said he attributed the change to his looming lawsuit against the NAR as well as advocacy in state legislatures like in Texas.
Victoria Cobb, of The Family Foundation, called on the state organization to "compensate [Fauber] for the losses to his business and reputation" caused by the censorship scheme.
Arielle Del Turco, of Family Research Council's Center for Religious Liberty, told the Stand, "It is totally inappropriate for a professional association to punish its members for expressing their sincerely held religious beliefs in their private capacity."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
In his June 4 speech commemorating the anniversary of Ayatollah Khomeini's death, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei launched a harsh verbal attack on U.S. officials, calling them "rude and arrogant" and accusing them of repeatedly demanding a complete halt to uranium enrichment "in different languages." However, he stopped short of explicitly accepting or rejecting the written U.S. proposal delivered to Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Despite previously declaring that negotiations with the U.S. were "neither honorable nor wise," Khamenei was ultimately pushed to the negotiating table by a hidden yet potent force: the nationwide network of resistance units affiliated with the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran, known as PMOI/MEK. Operating across the country, these units have continued to expand in both scale and influence, despite widespread crackdowns.
The 'Neighborhood-Based Management' initiative
On June 2, Iranian state media reported a high-level meeting on a new "Neighborhood-Based Management Model." Participants included President Masoud Pezeshkian, IRGC Commander Hossein Salami, the Minister of Interior, the Minister of Culture and senior Basij commanders.
Though the initiative was officially framed as a plan to boost social cohesion and reduce inequality, the presence of top military and security officials made the real purpose clear: strengthening regime control over society through hyper-local surveillance and suppression. Commander Salami's emphasis on the readiness of 64,000 Basij bases across the country revealed the initiative's heavily militarized and security-oriented nature, masked as "public service and social resilience."
It reflects the regime's profound fear of another looming uprising.
Expanding control over schools and students
In late April, the Ministry of Education signed an agreement with security agencies to tighten political and security oversight of students and teachers in middle and high schools. Around the same time, Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei announced that nearly 90,000 individuals – many of them students – had been arrested during the 2022 nationwide protests.
A less costly path to resolving the Iranian regime crisis
Despite its reputation as a symbol of brutal repression, Evin Prison has become a site of defiance. In early May, political prisoners staged a protest inside the prison, chanting slogans against Khamenei. Outside, their families demonstrated to demand an end to executions.
These actions mirror a broader societal unrest. Over the past year, workers, teachers, nurses and retirees have repeatedly taken to the streets in protests and strikes. Currently, a massive truck drivers' strike is underway, spanning 155 cities across Iran.
The regime is increasingly encircled by public discontent. In a speech on March 31, Khamenei admitted that the greatest threat to his rule doesn't come from the U.S. or Israel, but from within: domestic unrest and uprisings. He pledged to confront this internal danger.
For over 30 years, the international community has urged Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions. Yet Tehran has used negotiations as a stalling tactic while expanding its nuclear infrastructure. The regime's investment – reportedly exceeding two trillion dollars – makes its true intent clear: the development of nuclear weapons.
The first essential step to blocking Iran's path to the bomb is activating the U.N. Security Council's snapback mechanism and restoring full sanctions. Dismantling the regime's nuclear infrastructure, particularly its uranium enrichment sites, is equally crucial.
However, the ultimate and most sustainable solution lies in regime change driven by the Iranian people and their organized resistance. This path is not only less costly, but offers a real chance to eliminate the broader threat the regime poses.
The ruling theocracy has usurped national sovereignty and left the people without a voice. Supporting the Resistance Units – who continue their courageous struggle against the IRGC – is the only viable route toward restoring democracy and legitimate governance in Iran.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Federal judge rules state constitution provides protection for homeowner
The overall issue of liability for damages to private property when police SWAT teams launch attacks and weapons barrages that destroy homes remains pending at the U.S. Supreme Court.
That's the Martin v. United States case brought by a family who was refused compensation after a team from the FBI wrongly raided their home and left behind a long list of damages.
But in one similar case there appears to be a resolution for a Texas woman.
It is the Institute for Justice that confirms a federal judge has ruled that under the state constitution, Vicki Baker is entitled to be compensated for the nearly $60,000 in damages done to her home.
"It took five years, but Vicki is finally going to be made whole," explained IJ Lawyer Jeffrey Redfern. "She's fortunate that Texas has such strong protections for private property rights, but people in much of the rest of the country aren't so lucky. We will continue fighting to secure the same rights for all Americans under the U.S. Constitution, nationwide."
The ruling from the federal judge was that Baker is entitled to $59,656.59 in damages done by a SWAT team in McKinney, Texas, to her home.
Plus interest.
Police destroyed the structure in pursuit of a fleeing fugitive, the report said.
Then refused to compensate her for damages.
The scenario developed in July 2020 when a fugitive hid out in Baker's house while she was not home.
"When Vicki's daughter informed the police that the fugitive was in Vicki's home, they arrived on the scene and a standoff ensued. Vicki's fence was knocked down, doors were smashed and windows were shattered with tear gas canisters. Vicki's insurance company refused to pay for the damage caused by the government, and the city of McKinney refused to pay as well," the IJ confirmed.
The report noted the decision was based on the Texas Constitution, after the U.S. Supreme Court, which is considering another similar disaster, declined to accept Baker's case for review.
The IJ said, "The ruling likely cements a victory for Vicki, who joined forces with the Institute for Justice (IJ) to file a lawsuit in March 2021, after the city refused to pay for the damage that had been caused."
"I've just learned that my battle with the city of McKinney, is coming to an end," Baker said in a statement released by the lawyers. "Judge Mazzant has, once again, ruled that I am due just compensation under the Texas Constitution."
The IJ confirmed it is fighting dissimilar disputes in California, Indiana and North Carolina now, cases that could be impacted by a Supreme Court ruling in the Martin case.
The IJ argued that while getting dangerous criminals off the streets is a legitimate government function, authorities cannot just walk away when "police destroy innocent people's property in the process."
The report noted that Baker's home was under contract to sell when the police destroyed it, and the incident caused the buyer to decline to follow through on the purchase.
Further, Baker has explained, "I lost so many family heirlooms, classic books, and clothing that were damaged by the tear gas. It was devastating to be told there was no way to receive compensation for all the destruction I came home to."
Her insurance did not cover "acts of the government," and the government simply refused to recognize its liability for the SWAT officers' actions.
A jury had decided that the city was liable, a decision overturned at the appellate level. But a significant number of the court's judges voted to reopen the case then.
The jury verdict followed the decision by U.S. District Court Judge Amos Mazzant III that the SWAT team's destruction of the home was a "taking" under the U.S. Constitution that required the city to pay just compensation.
Mazzant rejected the city of McKinney's argument that police action should be categorically exempt from the general requirement that government pay for property it destroys, holding that the argument "rests on an untenable analysis of police power and eminent domain."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Kristi Noem, President Donald Trump's head of the Department of Homeland Security, has announced that the "Quiet Skies" program, used by the government to surveil airline passengers, is being shut down.
"Today, I'm announcing TSA is ending the Quiet Skies Program, which since its existence has failed to stop a SINGLE terrorist attack while costing US taxpayers roughly $200 million a year," she announced.
"DHS and TSA have uncovered documents, correspondence, and timelines that clearly highlight the inconsistent application of Quiet Skies. The program, under the guise of 'national security,' was used to target political opponents and benefit political allies of the Biden administration," she continued.
"In addition to conducting our own internal investigation, I am calling for a full and thorough congressional investigation to uncover further corruption through this program. TSA will continue performing important vetting functions to stop security threats and ensure the safety of the American traveler. REAL ID, implemented on May 7 of this year, will further help bolster TSA security. The Trump administration will return TSA to its true mission of being laser-focused on the safety and security of the traveling public. This includes restoring the integrity, privacy, and equal application of the law for all Americans."
The program dates back several administrations, to Barack Obama in 2012, and was "to gather intelligence on passengers who presented a national security concern."
"It is clear that the Quiet Skies program was used as a political rolodex of the Biden administration — weaponized against its political foes and exploited to benefit their well-heeled friends," Noem said in a statement.
Multiple members of Congress had already criticized the program, including Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Rand Paul, who revealed the TSA actually tracked Tulsi Gabbard, now the director of National Intelligence.
The report this week also said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, contacted TSA about her husband, William "Billy" Shaheen, being subjected to enhanced screening and seeking an exemption.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A North Carolina school is set to deliver an apology along with $20,000 to a student who was suspended for three days for saying "illegal alien."
The student, Christian McGhee, is a minor, so a court hearing is needed before the agreement is finalized.
But a report from CarolinaCoastOnline explained the deal is to resolve a federal lawsuit that challenged the school's punishment for his speech.
Court documents say an agreement is just awaiting a judge's approval.
The report explained that the 16-year-old who was suspended last year is "set to receive a public apology from the Davidson County Board of Education for mischaracterizing the student in a racially biased manner."
The First Amendment fight erupted last year when the student, at the time a sophomore at Central Davidson High School in Lexington, near Charlotte, asked his English teacher whether she was referring to "space aliens or illegal aliens who need green cards" during a vocabulary lesson.
School officials attacked him for "making a racially insensitive remark that caused a class disturbance," the lawsuit charges. The disturbance was a threat from another student reacting to his words.
The settlement will include an apology, but the parties have agreed that it will not be recorded or publicly discussed.
"Because Christian is a minor, a court hearing is required before the settlement can become final," said Dean McGee, in an interview with the DailyMail.com. He is no relation, but is with the Liberty Justice Center.
The deal also includes the board removing all references to racial bias that it inserted into his school record, and providing $20,000 in compensation.
The funds are to help with the costs of a new private school to which the student moved.
The lawsuit argued there was no legal justification for any suspension because his words were protected under the First Amendment. Further, the board refused even to respond to his mother when she tried to appeal the suspension.
His mother had confronted board members at a meeting: "Two members of this board, too busy to hear a mother's cry, yet not too busy to assault her character and one more attempt to hurt her child," she said, naming Alan Beck and Ashley Carroll. "Through your reckless attempt to slander my name, you have successfully re-traumatized my family. Your weak attempt to assault my character has failed, but your malicious character has been highlighted. It is my opinion that two members on this board are highly corrupt."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
According to defense lawyers for three boys arrested for throwing rocks at vehicles, they were "seniors in high school with nothing else to do," and they really didn't mean to hurt anyone.
The result was that a teen girl died when she was hit by a rock one boy threw, and he now has been sentenced, under state guidelines, to life in prison without parole, plus 60 years, according to a report from Denver television channel 7.
It was Alexa Bartell, 20, who died in the deadly rock-throwing attack that happened on a rural road in a small area between Denver and Boulder, Colorado, in 2023.
Arrested were Joseph Koenig, now 20, Zachary Kwak and Nicholas Karol-Chik. All were 18 at the time of the attack.
All initially faced first-degree murder, attempted murder, second-degree assault and attempted second-degree assault charges for the landscaping rock that was chucked through her car windshield as she drove in Jefferson County.
Kwak and Karol-Chik reached plea agreements, with Karol-Chik getting 45 years in the Department of Corrections to be followed by eight years of parole for second-degree murder and second-degree attempted murder, and Kwak getting 27 years for first-degree assault, in addition to five years for second-degree assault and a concurrent eight years for attempted second-degree assault.
They told the court Koenig was the one who threw to rock that caused Bartell's car to crash.
"Attorneys for the three men argued that they were seniors in high school with nothing else to do and did not intend to harm anyone," the report explained.
Koenig's term was required by Colorado law for defendants convicted of first-degree murder.
He also faced 18 other counts, and was handed 60 years in the Department of Corrections to be served consecutively to his life sentence.
In victim statements delivered at the sentencing, the girl's father said her dreams and goals had "all been stolen." He said a death sentence was appropriate.
Her family and friends urged the judge to impose a maximum sentence.
"A part of me died with her that day," explained a friend of the victim.
She had tracked Alexa and arrived at the crash scene.
"I replay opening the car door to… I beg God to get that vision out of my head," she said.
The judge noted the horror of the situation, in that one of the paramedics to arrive on the scene "had to medically retire after the incident."
Other statements described how friends and family members now struggle to drive down two-lane roads and encounter oncoming traffic.
"I try to position myself behind the frame of my car when passing," a cousin said.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Trump warns attacks on Jewish interests 'WILL NOT BE TOLERATED'
State criminal charges are being filed by prosecutors against Mohamed Sabry Soliman, the 45-year-old Egyptian national who is in the United States illegally and is accused of launching a flamethrower and Molotov cocktail attack on participants of a "Run for their Lives" event in Boulder, Colorado, in support of the hostages held by the terrorists in Hamas.
Now he's facing a federal "hate crime" charge, too.
Soliman was taken into custody immediately after the attack on marchers in Boulder Sunday, who had been protesting in support of the hostages in the Middle East.
Authorities in Boulder said the suspect arrived at the rally after noon on Sunday, "waited for participants to begin their walk," then throwing incendiary devices at them, "igniting a fireball that left multiple victims with serious burns.
He also allegedly had an improvised flamethrower to use, as well as 16 additional unlit Molotov cocktails and a backpack sprayer filled with gasoline in his care.
A Washington Examiner report said Soliman is being charged with "violating 18 U.S.C. §§ 249(a)(1) and (a)(2), federal hate crime statutes involving acts of violence motivated by actual or perceived religion or national origin"
Various state charges also are pending.
Twelve people were injured as they were attacked by a suspect shouting "Free Palestine."
The report said, "According to an FBI affidavit filed Monday, Soliman confessed after his arrest that he researched how to make Molotov cocktails on YouTube, purchased the materials, and traveled to Boulder specifically to attack the event."
"He stated that he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead," the affidavit said.
President Donald Trump said such hate "WILL NOT BE TOLERATED" in the U.S., blaming Joe Biden's open borders strategy for allowing him in.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon told the Examiner, "The Department of Justice has swiftly charged the illegal alien perpetrator of this heinous attack with a federal hate crime and will hold him accountable to the fullest extent of the law. Our prayers are with the victims and our Jewish community across the world.":
Soliman came into the U.S. on a tourist visa in 2022, and then sought asylum while staying in the country illegally. The Biden administration later gave him a work permit.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
State's highest court abandons cake artist ordered to violate Christian faith
The highest court in the state of California has stayed the course in the state's agenda to destroy religious beliefs.
Under the guise of equal access and public accommodation, the state repeatedly has ruled against cake artist Cathy Miller, whose Christian faith is being threatened by demands she promote and endorse same-sex weddings.
That leaves only the U.S. Supreme Court, where the case is headed next and which in fact twice in just the past few years has come to the rescue in religious rights fights that have come out of the leftist and anti-Christian state of Colorado, to protect her.
According to the legal team at Becket, which is working on Miller's case, the war on faith began in California when the state opened an investigation into the cake artist.
She had explained to a same-sex duo her faith did not allow her to personally design their wedding cake, but she would refer them to someone who would.
That's almost a decade ago now.
Since then, "California has ridiculed Cathy for her religious beliefs about marriage and argued that Cathy's actions harm 'the dignity of all Californians,'" the legal team said.
The lawyers described their client: "Cathy Miller is a faithful Christian and custom cake artist. For over a decade, Cathy has brought her unique touch to custom cakes and cookies at Tastries Bakery in Bakersfield. As a former teacher, Cathy's process for designing wedding cakes is unique: she meets with each couple for over an hour, and spends time teaching them the religious and symbolic meaning behind the wedding cake they're commissioning to celebrate their union."
Adele Keim, senior counsel for Becket, pointed out the U.S. Supreme Court already "has made clear twice … creative professionals like Cathy Miller shouldn't have to choose between following their faith and practicing their art."
She said, "California should have dropped its campaign against Cathy years ago and let her design in peace. We plan to appeal this decision to the Supreme Court to defend Cathy's right to make custom creations that are consistent with her faith."
The legal team explained Miller had been approached multiple times for designs that were in opposition to Christianity.
So she adopted a set of written standards to follow.
"For example. Tastries will not design custom bakery items that depict gory or pornographic images, celebrate drug use, or demean others. Cathy will also not design wedding cakes that celebrate ideals that violate the Christian sacrament of marriage."
The California Civil Rights Department, which started the state's war on Christianity, in 2017 sued Miller after she told a same-sex couple that she could not personally design and create their wedding cake, and offered to put them in touch with another custom baker.
"Cathy has always been clear that she was only trying to follow her faith and her conscience in standing up for what she believes in—and did so in a respectful, polite, and loving way," said Charles LiMandri, of LiMandri & Jonna LLP and Thomas More Society special counsel. "While it is disappointing the California Supreme Court has refused to correct the injustice Cathy has endured, we hope the U.S. Supreme Court will chart a different path and restore Cathy's religious liberty."
Colorado, when it tried to force cake artist Jack Phillips to violate his Christian faith by promoting same-sex weddings, lost at the Supreme Court and in addition got scolded for its "hostility" to Christianity.
Colorado suffered another defeat when its attack on a web design company, 303 Creative, trying to force it also to promote same-sex relationships, ended up with the same result as the Phillips case.
Taxpayers in that state have been billed for millions of dollars for legal fees in the failed leftist fights.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The organization governing California's high-school track and field championship has changed its rules regarding qualifying for the upcoming meet after President Donald Trump posted a threat in response to the participation of males in girls' events.
As WND reported, in a Truth Social post Tuesday, Trump said: "California, under the leadership of Radical Left Democrat Gavin Newscum, continues to ILLEGALLY allow 'MEN TO PLAY IN WOMEN'S SPORTS.'
"This week a transitioned Male athlete, at a major event, won 'everything,' and is now qualified to compete in the 'State Finals' next weekend.
"As a Male, he was a less than average competitor. As a Female, this transitioned person is practically unbeatable.
"THIS IS NOT FAIR, AND TOTALLY DEMEANING TO WOMEN AND GIRLS.
"Please be hereby advised that large scale Federal Funding will be held back, maybe permanently, if the Executive Order on this subject matter is not adhered to" – a reference to his February order that barred males from women's sports for entities that receive federal funds.
The California Interscholastic Federation, or CIF, provided a statement to Fox News Digital on Tuesday, just hours after Trump sent his Truth Social post. The competition will now include biologically female athletes that missed out on qualifying for the competition that may have placed higher were it not for a male athlete's participation.
The federation claims it came to the decision at the end of last weekend's CIF Masters Qualifiers round, days before Trump's statement. The statement also refers to the female competitors as "biological female student-athlete."
"The CIF values all of our student-athletes and we will continue to uphold our mission of providing students with the opportunity to belong, connect, and compete while complying with California law and Education Code. With this in mind, the CIF will be implementing a pilot entry process for the 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships," the statement read.
"Under this pilot entry process, any biological female student-athlete who would have earned the next qualifying mark for one of their Section's automatic qualifying entries in the CIF State meet, and did not achieve the CIF State at-large mark in the finals at their Section meet, was extended an opportunity to participate in the 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships. The CIF believes this pilot entry process achieves the participation opportunities we seek to afford our student-athletes."
According to Fox News, this change will result in at least two competitors qualifying to compete for the state title after falling just shy of the typical qualification threshold on Saturday. A trans-identified athlete competing as a girl for Jurupa Valley High School took first place in the triple jump and long jump on Saturday. min
The case involves AB Hernandez, a biological male.
Hernandez scored first place in the long jump and triple jump at the recent California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Masters Meet.
Andrew Powell, a sports blogger at the Daily Caller, noted: "Parents at the meet were understandably livid, with one mother furiously confronting Hernandez's mom and asking why her son was both allowed and encouraged to compete."
"What a coward of a woman you are allowing that," yelled the angry mother.
"Your mental illness is on your son, you coward," she added.
Powell concluded: "It's sad how you can't even enjoy Memorial Day Weekend anymore without some transgender flubbing up something, but this is unfortunately the society that we live in today … That woke ish really is a cancer."
In his post, Trump noted that California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently admitted it was "deeply unfair" for males to compete in women's sports. The president vowed to speak to Newsom about the upcoming state track and field championship.
The CIF is already under a federal Title IX investigation by the U.S. Department of Education.
After Trump signed the "No Men's in Women's Sports" executive order on Feb. 5, the CIF was one of the first high school sports leagues in the country to announce it would not follow the order, and instead comply with California's state law.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
As the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, a new report indicates Islamic terrorists in Hamas have gone without pay for close to three months as they face severe financial pressure after Israel stopped humanitarian aid from entering Gaza in March.
The Jerusalem Post quotes a report by the London-based Saudi Asharq al Awsat newspaper, which indicates the military wing of Hamas, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, "has struggled not only to pay its fighters but also to buy military equipment."
"Palestinian Authority employees affiliated with Hamas have also been impacted, getting paid only 900 shekels a month," the report added.
The Jewish News Syndicate reports: "Hamas is under 'great pressure' with the terror organization having lost most of its assets and control of Gaza, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir declared during a Sunday tour of the Strip."
"We are intensifying our activity according to a structured plan," Zamir told Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Gaza.
"Hamas is under tremendous pressure; it has lost most of its assets and its command-and-control structure. We will use all our tools to bring the hostages home, to defeat Hamas and to dismantle its rule."
"This is not an endless war; we will shorten it as we achieve its goals," Zamir continued.
"We aim to win and will do so with determination, thoroughness, and while maintaining the safety of our forces."
The popularity of Hamas in Gaza has plunged dramatically since the outset of the war, as residents are "openly criticizing and protesting the terrorist group," the Jerusalem Post noted.
"In late March, hundreds of Gazan citizens marched in the northern town of Beit Lahiya carrying white flags, calling to end the Hamas rule, and even calling to hand over the Israeli hostages," the Post reported.
"In the West Bank, Hamas members have faced arrests and crackdowns by Israeli and Palestinian security forces. Many cells have been dismantled or lost funding, limiting their ability to carry out terrorist attacks," according to the report.