This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

An organization that promoted an abortion amendment for Florida's constitution, a campaign that failed, has been fined more than $186,000 after a multitude of complaints alleging fraud in its work.

A report from CBN explains a recent memo from Florida Deputy Secretary of State for Legal Affairs and Election Integrity Brad McVay revealed the issues involved "reports of paid FPF petition circulators signing petitions on behalf of deceased individuals, forging or misrepresenting elector signatures on petitions, using electors' personal identifying information without consent, and perjury/false swearing."

The organization is "Floridians Protecting Freedom," a pro-abortion organization that submitted signatures for a petition to put on the election ballot the constitutional change.

The report noted multiple FPF petition circulators were arrested and charged with felonies over the last year. And evern now more than 100 criminal investigations are continuing.

The failed proposal would have created a constitutional "right" to abortion before viability or any time someone said it was "necessary to protect the patient's health."

"The (state) report details how the group enlisted PCI Consultants, a California-based corporation, and paid them $27 million in 2023 and 2024 to collect and submit Florida signatures," CBN documented. "PCI is accused of using 'unregistered out-of-state entities' and unlawfully paying signature gatherers per signature."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

President-elect Donald Trump, noted for the stunning agreements between Israel and some of its Arab neighbors in the Abraham Accords reached during his first term in the White House, has stated, some say threatened, "hell to pay" if the hostages Hamas terrorists took from Israel a year ago aren't released by the time he's inaugurated.

WorldNetDaily reported Sunday that JD Vance, the vice president-elect, explained that means, "enabling the Israelis to knock out the final couple of battalions of Hamas and their leadership. It means very aggressive sanctions and financial penalties on those who are supporting terrorist organizations in the Middle East. It means actually doing the job of American leadership."

He added, "We're hopeful there's going to be a deal that's struck toward the very end of Biden's administration – maybe the last day or two. But regardless of when that deal is struck, it will be because people are terrified that there are going to be consequences for Hamas."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

JERUSALEM – The United States House of Representatives recently overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan bill to sanction the International Criminal Court, primarily for the issuance of arrest warrants for Israel's current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and former defense minister Yoav Gallant.

Lawmakers voted 243 to 140 in favor of the "Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act," which would urge sanctions on any ICC official or entities backing The Hague who advance "any effort to investigate, arrest, detain or prosecute any protected person of the United States and its allies."

Reps. Brian Mast, R-Fla., and Chip Roy, R-Texas led the bill, which is a top priority for Republicans. It is expected to come up for a vote in the Senate in the near future.

The sanctions include blocking or revoking visas and prohibiting U.S. property transactions.

Officially the ICC based in The Hague has no jurisdiction over either Israel or the United States for that matter, as neither is a signatory of the Rome Statute, which established the court. It is likely for reasons precisely such as these neither country did so. However, the waters have been significantly muddied by the court asserting jurisdiction after it accepted "the State of Palestine" as a signatory in 2015, despite there being no such state recognized under international law.

The bill passed easily, with 198 House Republicans voting in favor and zero against; Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., was the only one to not support the bill, merely voting "present." Forty-five Democrats supported the bill; which produced very similar numbers to another one sanctioning the ICC, which was passed in the house last year.

This earlier vote failed to advance in the Senate. Although newly appointed Republican majority leader John Thume has promised swift consideration of the act so President-elect Donald Trump can sign it into law shortly after taking office, it is not at all clear whether this year's proposed bill will have an easier time of passing than the 2024 failed version.

The U.N. agency with responsibility for all the other refugees in the world – other than the Palestinians – published an article on its website, which suggested U.N. experts – including Francesca Albanese, the disgraced special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Palestinian Territories occupied since 1967 [sic] – urged the U.S. Senate to oppose the bill. "It is shocking to see a country that considers itself a champion of the rule of law trying to stymie the actions of an independent and impartial tribunal set up by the international community, to thwart accountability," the experts said.

"Threats against the ICC promote a culture of impunity. They make a mockery of the decades-long quest to place law above force and atrocity," the experts added.

"I don't care if you are a terrorist in a cave or a lawyer at The Hague, if you get in the way of bringing American hostages home, then you will be given no quarter and you damn well shouldn't expect to be welcomed on American soil with open arms," Mast, the new chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement.

Roy, in a House floor speech, blasted the ICC's "unprecedented action" and emphasized that it has no jurisdiction over U.S. or Israeli personnel, "yet is extending into the people of Israel's business in defending their interests against violent attack by Hamas, which we define as a terrorist entity."

The charges against the Israeli leaders allege they committed the war crimes of directing attacks against the civilian population of Gaza and of using starvation as a method of warfare by hindering the supply of international aid to Gaza.

Meanwhile, chief prosecutor Karim Khan also alleged they committed the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts as a result of the restrictions they allegedly placed on the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Israel has vociferously rejected the substance of the allegations, pointing to the fact millions of tons of aid has been delivered to the Strip. It has argued problems associated with distribution of that aid to the Palestinian civilian population are due to inefficiencies with the aid agencies on the ground, the ongoing conflict, as well as the widespread problem of Hamas looting and storing the aid as a way of controlling the supply.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

It was none other than the U.S. Supreme Court that a few years ago struck down a state program in Maine that attacked religious schools.

The state had said a program to provide tuition to students in locations where there were not public schools, so they could be at private schools, excluded any institution linked to faith.

But when that ruling came down, the state simply adopted another law to accomplish the same discrimination through another method, and now that fight is pending before the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

President-elect Donald Trump's influence over world, national, and state affairs has been on display ever since his landslide victory, in both the Electoral College and popular vote numbers, in November.

He openly challenged Canada's leadership, and the prime minister's resignation followed shortly after. He promised action on illegal immigration and Mexican officials began diverting those caravans of would-be illegal aliens heading to the U.S.

Suddenly, too, there are comments that perhaps the Russia-Ukraine war might reach a settlement.

Now Trump's agenda is hitting at the state level.

He already has set up his appointees in a "Department of Governor Efficiency," or DOGE, assigned to crack down on the hundreds of billions, even trillions of dollars in wasteful spending by the government. X's chief, Elon Musk, is one of his leaders in that campaign.

Now the Washington Examiner is reporting that Kelly Ayotte, a Republican governor in New Hampshire, is following suit, with a state Commission of Government Efficiency.

"Signed my first Executive Order to create the Commission on Government Efficiency – or as I like to call it, 'COGE'! We're going to roll up our sleeves and find ways to streamline government, cut spending, and create value for our taxpayers," she told her state's residents in a social media post.

"New Hampshire is moving in the right direction, and no one deserves more credit for that after four terms at the helm than Gov. Chris Sununu. Thank you, Governor," she added.

Democrats and other leftists in the state already are in an uproar, accusing Ayotte of "laying the groundwork for massive budget cuts to services that people rely on," according to state Democrat chief Ray Buckley.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

JERUSALEM – The new year has brought no respite for the United Nations and its various agencies – especially UNRWA – with regard to the hits, which keep coming, emphasizing its deep ties with Islamist terrorist organizations, according to a recently published report by U.N. Watch.

The explosive report reveals years of coordination and close collaboration between Islamists and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, up to and including the collusion of at least its two most recent commissioners-general – current head Phillippe Lazzarini, and previous chief Pierre Krähenbühl, who held the role from 2014-2019.

The report starts strongly, arguing how despite its claims to be a humanitarian agency, UNRWA "has forged an unholy alliance with Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist organizations." It continues that this relationship has allowed Hamas unprecedented influence in the policies and practices of a "UN agency with 30,000 employees, and a $1.5 billion annual budget that is funded primarily by Western states." Indeed, UNRWA is the largest of all the U.N. agencies.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

JERUSALEM – As the sun begins to set – although some would argue not quickly enough – on the failed and discredited Biden administration, and President-elect Donald Trump waits in the wings to resume his seat in the Oval Office, it is worth taking a moment to scan the political landscape – in this case with an international slant – and truly marvel at how much the so-called "adults in the room" have so royally managed to mess things up.

Whether one buys the Trumpian line of "having begun no new wars," or not, during his first administration, the facts speak for themselves, and when he left office in January 2021, the world was not aflame. Four years of Bidenism – or was it Obama 3.0? – on the international scene has proved to be an unmitigated disaster. It's hard to think of any region which is better off now than it was in 2021, and this particularly true of the Middle East.

Without question, the main catalyst for this change was the slaughter that was Oct. 7, and Israel's response to it. Large swaths of the region are largely unrecognizable compared with how they were 15 months ago; a more-than 50-year-old dynasty has crumbled to dust in Syria, and a more-than-four-decade foreign policy of the Islamic Republic has similarly been obliterated.

Where some have lost, others have gained; and one of the biggest winners is undoubtedly Turkey. It will be one of the main issues in the Trump inbox as he must now attempt to navigate an Ankara – a supposedly NATO ally – which seems inexorably on the march. It is also a subject vexing Israeli decision-makers.

On Monday, the Nagel Committee, headed by Prof. Jacob Nagel, which is a supervisory and deliberative body, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set up in late 2024 to examine defense spending and IDF military force design for the future, warned Israel should prepare for war with Turkey.

For Michael Rubin, director of policy at the Middle East Forum, Turkey's current posturing is emblematic of the country under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's leadership, which he labeled "an engine of radicalism and irredentism."

"Turkey will now repeat the Iranian pattern: It will use proxies – of which Syria is one – to attack Israel while preparing its own forces to eventually eradicate the Jewish state. The fact Turkey may also follow Iran down the path of a covert nuclear program makes the parallels even greater."

Dr. Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak from the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University took a slightly different approach, arguing that now Turkey and Israel no longer have Syria as a buffer state between them, there is a greater likelihood of Israel potentially hitting a Turkish target there, which even if it was by mistake, could be a conflict-igniting spark "Israel seeks to avoid such incidents, as it does not want Turkey – a nation with which it maintains peaceful relations – to transform into a hostile state," he said.

There is no doubt Turkey has been the main beneficiary of the demise of the Assad regime, not least because forces it substantially backed – whatever the ins and outs of Syria's day-to-day administration under Ahmad al-Sharaa and his HTS cronies – are currently running the country. Ankara is clearly feeling emboldened by several elements, which play into its sense of self-confidence, as it has seen the dominoes of many of its most powerful regional adversaries fall, in particular the Islamic Republic of Iran.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

PALM BEACH, Florida – President-elect Donald Trump shared a video on Truth Social Monday evening of a man from Greenland urging the U.S. to purchase the massive territory from Denmark.

"Buy us! Buy Greenland!" the man says as he puts on a red, Make America Great Again cap.

Trump attached his own message to the video clip, indicating: "I am hearing that the people of Greenland are 'MAGA.'

"My son, Don Jr, and various representatives, will be traveling there to visit some of the most magnificent areas and sights.

"Greenland is an incredible place, and the people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our Nation.

"We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside World. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!"

When asked why Trump should buy Greenland, the man responded: "Because we don't want to be colonized by Danish government anymore."

"We get ripped [off] every year about our minerals from Greenland. We are the richest nation in the world, and we don't get to use it."

He also noted, "I love America."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

JERUSALEM – Hamas released another proof-of-life hostage video Saturday, which featured 19-year-old Liri Albag, who was kidnapped from the Nahal Oz military base abutting the Gaza border, along with six of her colleagues on Oct. 7, 2023. Fifteen of her surveillance colleagues were murdered in the initial onslaught.

The three-and-a-half-minute video was another in part of the drip-drip psychological war that Hamas is engaged in; showing some signs of life of Israeli hostages who have been kept in Gaza captivity for well in excess of 400 days. Like the others, this video was not dated, although Albag stated she has been held for over 450 days, indicating that it was filmed recently. We are currently 457 days into the war.

Albag was one of a number of unarmed surveillance soldiers, when thousands of Hamas terrorists swarmed over the border, overrunning the military base. One of the abducted surveillance soldiers was later rescued alive, and the body of a second one was recovered after she was murdered in captivity. The other five – Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Naama Levy and Daniella Gilboa – are still hostages. Gilboa appeared in a previous proof-of-life video in July, in which she begged the government – prompted by a Hamas-approved script – for a ceasefire.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

There has been much talk throughout 2024 about the "two Americas." On Nov. 5, these two Americas faced off in what many pundits – forgetting, say, the election of 1860 – called the "most divisive election in American history."

This week I received your classic "holiday letter" from a long-time friend who resides in that other America, the one in which I don't reside. Before parsing this remarkable letter from Mrs. X, a description of those two Americas might be in order.

Although our understanding of the two Americas has evolved over time, Canadian Michael Ignatieff – writing in Prospect, Britain's leading current affairs publication – provides a reasonable summary of the post-election status quo as seen from the Left.

In the first America, Ignatieff generalizes, are "younger, city-dwelling, higher income, college-educated men and women, living either on the West or East Coasts."

He continues, "These people have feasted on the tech and AI boom, profited from the stock market rise and leveraged the credentials they earned in American universities to gain power in American government, media and corporations. These Americans still live the dream."

The "second America," Ignatieff writes, is "concentrated among older non-college educated white men living in small towns and rural areas in the south and the Midwest."

He adds, "It's an America that worries that its great days are past, that distrusts the elites on both coasts and fears that America's institutions are irrevocably corrupted."

Despite living in the Midwest, Mr. and Mrs. X are poster children for the First America. Affluent, well-educated, and well-traveled, they have – like their fellow progressives – "essentially endorsed the changes that have convulsed the country since the Sixties."

Endorsing those changes, however, has so estranged them from friends in the Second America that they no longer concern themselves with their friends' feelings. How else to explain a holiday letter to "Friends & Family" that begins as follows.

"Well, damn. I really thought the Holiday Letter in 2016 would be the darkest we would ever have to send. And yet here we are, eight years on, presumably eight years wiser, with eight more years of experience, and our country has gone and done it again. We have elected the rat a second time."

The rat? How, one wonders, did Mrs. X imagine the supporters of said rat would respond to such a hateful slur? I cannot have been the only rat voter to have received this letter.

Mrs. X continues, "We expect time will offer greater clarity about what happened – and what lies ahead. For now, we are trying to absorb that more than 77 million Americans became convinced to choose this path."

Ignatieff, writing from his own experience as a leading Canadian Liberal, explains at least part of the lesson Mr. and Mrs. X needs to absorb: "When liberal progressives translated the revolution of inclusion into affirmative action, speech codes, diversity and inclusion bureaucracies, when they sought to entrench the revolution in a bureaucracy of political correctness, the resentment at the inclusion revolution exploded."

On the personal level, as the holiday letter from Mrs. X reveals, the "inclusion revolution" has led to the exclusion of those who do not share the ever-evolving worldview of the X family.

A one-time moderate and a genuinely decent person, Mrs. X no longer hears what she is saying. She has listened instead to the Siren song of the woke, and followed it unthinkingly onto the shoals of bad ideas and even worse manners.

In my experience, women – especially women of means – have proved particularly vulnerable to this mind-spinning, mass-formation psychosis.

But men are not immune. Mr. X, we are told, 'worked very hard on the Harris/Walz campaign" and is now "exploring several new avenues to get involved in saving our democracy going forward."

This effort on the part of Mr. X to save "our democracy" calls to mind a memorable encounter in June 2024 between a hard-core, Second America MAGA couple and a smarmy First America CNN reporter.

The mocking headline sums it up: "These Trump supporters say America isn't a democracy. And they're okay with it." The headline implies that the Trump supporters welcome America's impending slide to fascism.

What the MAGA people actually – and correctly – said was that America is a republic, not a democracy. On the right this is common knowledge. On CNN, this came as news.

Despite having less formal education than liberals on average, conservatives score better in every political knowledge survey that I have seen.

Were there a humility test, conservatives would score better on that as well. They do not presume others should think – and feel – a certain way, simply because they do.

The truth is there are no two Americas. The holiday letter from Mrs. X shows her to be closer in life-style to those in MAGA America than to those in the alternative world of the woke.

Mrs. X loves her husband of long standing, her two children, and her two grandchildren, and they appear to love her in turn. She is a person of faith and a civic do-gooder.

To understand those other 77 million people with the same dreams and aspirations and ambitions – inside joke – Mrs. X just needs to have her bubble popped.

Happy New Year to all!