This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Pressure is mounting in the East as the People's Republic of China continues aggressively to engage with surrounding nations. Attempts by the U.S. to calm the situation have been met with several stern warnings of war.

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan is in Beijing this week in an effort to stabilize relations between the U.S. and China. Sullivan met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, to discuss various issues, including Taiwan.

"President Biden has been very clear in his conversations with President Xi that he is committed to managing this important relationship responsibly," Sullivan said.

In a statement from the White House released Wednesday, it details Sullivan's meeting, and reiterated Sullivan's comments about the Biden administration being committed to maintaining channels of communication between the two nations.

"The two sides held candid, substantive, and constructive discussions on a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues. They discussed progress and next steps on implementation of the Woodside Summit commitments, including counternarcotics, military-to-military communications, and AI safety and risk," the White House said.

The U.S. is taking steps to prevent U.S. technologies from being used to undermine national security, and Sullivan raised concerns with Wang over China's unfair trade policies and practices, according to White House officials.

Sullivan further voiced concerns to Wang over China's growing aggression towards Taiwan and the maritime attacks on Philippine vessels in the South China Sea.

"Mr. Sullivan reaffirmed the United States' commitment to defending its Indo–Pacific allies and expressed concern about the PRC's destabilizing actions against lawful Philippine maritime operations in the South China Sea," the White House said.

According to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, Wang reportedly issued a warning to Sullivan about the U.S. being involved in disputes between China and U.S. allies.

"The United States must not use bilateral treaties as an excuse to undermine China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, nor should it support or condone the Philippines's actions of infringement," Wang said.

Over the past week, China has repeatedly used force against Philippine vessels near the Spratly Islands, a rich fishing ground within the Philippine Economic Exclusion Zone.

Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela said in a post on X China used 40 vessels to block supplies being delivered to soldiers who are stationed in Sabina Shoal, an atoll within the island chain.

Collin Koh, a senior fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, told CNN the Philippines is trying to avoid confrontation with China.

"China is deliberately escalating the situation, with a likely intention to test how far Washington would support Manila…It's a high-stakes game for Manila. The domestic circumstances all point to the very fact that now Sabina Shoal is where you could not yield an inch to the Chinese," Koh said.

Koh pointed out on X the Chinese are attempting to blame the U.S. for their recent actions against the Philippines.

China Daily recently published an editorial on how the U.S. should respect China's sovereignty, because the U.S. expects the same.

However, China has been caught on more than one occasion stealing intellectual property from the U.S., as well as using Chinese nationals to position themselves within American companies, to steal information and spy on Chinese dissidents in the U.S.

According to a report from Lumen's Black Lotus Labs, a Chinese state–sponsored hacking group was observed infiltrating internet service providers, managed service providers, and IT sectors, exploiting a zero-day vulnerability in Versa Director servers since at least June 2024.

"Given the severity of the vulnerability, the implications of compromised Versa Director systems, and the time that has now elapsed to allow Versa customers to patch the vulnerability, Black Lotus Labs felt it was appropriate to release this information at this time. Lumen Technologies shared threat intelligence to warn appropriate U.S. Government agencies of the emerging risks that could impact our nation's strategic assets," the report states.

FBI Director Richard Wray said during a congressional hearing six months ago, that Chinese hackers pose a very real threat to the American people.

"PRC hackers are targeting our critical infrastructure; our water treatment plants, our electrical grid, our oil and natural gas pipelines, our transportation systems, and the risk that poses to every American requires our attention now. China's hackers are positioning on American infrastructure in preparation to wreak havoc and cause real world harm to American citizens and communities," Wray said.

Russia, one of China's closest allies, issued a World War III warning over U.S. involvement in its war with Ukraine, when Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated the U.S. is overly confident the war would only stay in Europe.

"Americans have this direct association, these conversations, talk of a world war. They think if this happens, it would only concern countries in Europe, which is a very showing thing that reflects the mentality of those duo–political strategists in the U.S., because they are confident they will just be safe across the ocean,": Lavrov said.

Lavrov hinted at the possible use of nuclear weapons by Russia in the event World War III does indeed happen.

"One has to understand that we have our own doctrine, a doctrine of using nuclear weapons amongst other things, and we are making adjustments to this doctrine, and the Americans are well aware of these doctrines," Lavrov said.

Lavrov stated Americans expect other nations to "do their dirty job" for them, and warned against the U.S. "playing with fire."

"The West does not want to avoid escalation. The West, as they say, is "asking for it," Lavrov said.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Kamala Harris, the word-salad candidate in the 2024 presidential race, will be interviewed by CNN on Thursday.

The Democrat has been under harsh criticism for her decision, ever since her coronation with the title of nominee after Democrat party elite pushed the aging and mentally failing Joe Biden under the bus just weeks ago, to refuse to answer questions, for refusing to be interviewed, for essentially trying to hide what she thinks and believes from voters.

And now that she's agreed to be interviewed on CNN, there's criticism for her requirement to have her "Emotional Support Governor," VP candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, on screen to help her.

Scott Jennings, a former special assistant to President George W. Bush and now a columnist for multiple publications, said the decision is evidence of a lack of Democrat party confidence in her political ability, and voters need to wonder if Harris can't even do the simplest of political tasks, what would she not be able to do as president.

He said, "I have great confidence in Dana (Bash, the interviewer) and CNN to do this," he said. "I think it's incredibly weak, weak sauce, to show up with your running mate. The fact that they don't have enough confidence in her to let her sit herself, the actual top of the ticket, and do a single interview …

"In fact, I think the handwringing and the gyrations over this over the last month show a troubling lack of confidence in her political ability which also makes you wonder as a voter what kind of president would you be if this kind of a small time decision, can we do an interview or not, what does that look like your decision making process and so on."

He said, "I think Republicans are going to think it's pretty weak to show up with effectively someone to take up half the time."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Gov. Tim Walz's ban on faithful Christians from teaching in Minnesota's public is set to hit the state's schools in just months.

It also bans adherent Jews and Muslims.

And a report at the Federalist warns that he is "poised to make similar bigoted, totalitarian and unconstitutional policies" for the entire nation, "should he be elected vice president."

The report from the publication's executive editor, Joy Pullmann, explains the state has new teacher licensing rules that will take effect in July 2025, and they will "ban practicing Christians, Jews, and Muslims from teaching in public schools."

It's because under the plans of the leftist governor, the state will demand that teacher license applicants "affirm transgenderism and race Marxism."

No license? No job for anyone to teach in the state's public schools. Or private schools if they require that certification.

Specifically, the rules will demand: "The teacher fosters an environment that ensures student identities such as race/ethnicity, national origin, language, sex and gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical/developmental/emotional ability, socioeconomic class, and religious beliefs are historically and socially contextualized, affirmed, and incorporated into a learning environment where students are empowered to learn and contribute as their whole selves."

Administrative law judges already have approved the anti-faith ideologies.

The report pointed out that universities also are impacted because they must now provide the anti-Christian training.

The state already was demanding that teachers, renewing licenses, demonstrate "cultural competency," which includes evidence of "self-reflection and discussion" of the state's new ideologies.

Doug Seaton, of the Upper Midwest Law Center, said some "Christian" universities will obey, and others will not, but will disobey "quietly," to sue only when they are punished.

The report pointed out, "Faithful members of the world's largest and oldest religions cannot in good conscience 'affirm' non-heterosexual sexual orientations and gender identities. Christians who do so publicly deny their faith, something Jesus Christ said endangers a person's soul and eternal bliss after death: 'Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven' (Matthew 10:32, 33)."

The state action actually is called "compelled speech," the report noted, which "is clearly unconstitutional."

Seaton said, "They're essentially requiring people to affirm these ideas that they don't really believe, in many cases, as a condition of being a public school teacher or being part of a program to be a licensed public school teacher. You can't force that kind of speech, you can't require adherence to ideas that aren't believed."

The Federalist report noted an investigation by the Wall Street Journal found that "ethnic studies" demands in Minnesota "mirror" the demands for affirming sexual deviations.

For example, the report said, "Fourth-graders must 'identify the processes and impacts of colonization and examine how discrimination and the oppression of various racial and ethnic groups have produced resistance movements.' High-school students are told to 'develop an analysis of racial capitalism' and 'anti-blackness' and are taught to view themselves as members of 'racialized hierarchies' based on 'dominant European beauty standards.'"

A Child Protection League analysis notes the state demands teachers "understand" that teaching is shaped by race and ethnicity, to the detriment of some "races," and that those include indigenous people, blacks, "Latinx Americans" and others.

A state lawmaker earlier condemned the "horrific chaos" Walz has brought to schools by demanding that districts "report student discipline by race and require equal outcomes."

The results could be predicted: the student achievement in the state is plummeting.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Kamala Harris frantically has been moving "to the middle" on many divisive political issues ever since Democratic Party elites handpicked her to replace the aging and mentally failing Joe Biden as the party's presidential candidate this November.

Her strategy of simply refusing to post her policy plans, refusing to answer reporters' questions and refusing to be available for interviews has worked for her, as she has gone more or less silent on critical issues now facing American voters – including today's ever-more-radical gender ideology revolution.

It's not just homosexuality, lesbianism and same-sex relationships as a few years ago. It's the ideological teaching that boys are actually girls if they think they are, and vice versa. It's the ideology that there are dozens of different genders, not just male and female. It's the powerful chemicals used to delay puberty in children, which can alter them for life, including making the sterile. It's the surgical body mutilations including double mastectomies and genital amputations and other shocking procedures on youngsters too young to drive a car or buy cigarettes, often without their parents' knowledge or consent.

A report in the Daily Signal confirms that Harris has simply "avoided addressing" many such questions.

That's perhaps because the "far-left position" on these issues that Harris has always supported is something that most Americans reject. And Harris, as vice president for Joe Biden, almost always has been a front-line advocate of LGBTQ extremism.

Indeed, LGBTQ organizations know Harris is in their camp, and thus are "eagerly backing" her, as well as VP candidate Tim Walz, also a far-leftist who in his own state of Minnesota has pushed for radical actions, including the state actually taking custody of children should their own parents not sufficiently support the latest LGBTQ beliefs.

Walz, in fact, signed an executive order creating a "right" to trans chemicals and surgeries in his state.

The report noted that LGBTQ promoters including the American Civil Liberties Union, GLAAD, Advocates for Trans Equality, and the Human Rights Campaign all are pushing a fear-mongering campaign that suggests Republicans are intent on carrying out "anti-LGBTQ" plans.

Those would include protecting children from transgender surgeries.

Harris' decision to go silent is understandable, as those agenda points that have been created by far-left organizations do not have mainstream American support.

"The White House, which has previously embraced 'medical care' for trans-identifying kids, appears to be aware of this. In early July, the White House flip-flopped on the topic, first telling news outlets that the Biden-Harris administration did not support transgender surgeries for children, before reaffirming support for irreversible procedures for minors after 'intense pressure' from LGBTQ groups," the report explained.

The Biden-Harris administration, in fact, has been fully on board with trans promotions, naming Rachel Levine, a man identifying as a woman, to a critical federal post. He reportedly pressured the World Professional Association for Transgender Health to drop age requirements for minors to be subjected to those extreme and irreversible body alterations.

Levine's office has claimed that those "early" treatments are important for children, based on the largely manufactured claim that children are "at risk of self-harm" without them.

Actually, research has confirmed that the likelihood of suicide attempts increases after "so-called gender-affirming care."

GLAAD, which originally was the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, openly demands the chemical and surgical treatments, and assures its supporters the Biden-Harris administration is the "most pro-LGBTQ presidency in history."

It endorsed her pick of Walz, too, explaining, "Vice President Harris' choice of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz underscores a longstanding commitment to the equality, prosperity, and safety of all Americans, including and especially for LGBTQ people."

The organization said Harris has pushed for at least "66 positive moves for LGBTQ equality."

That includes her performing a "wedding" for a same-sex duo two decades ago, in 2004.

Further, she's been fully behind the leftist "Equality Act," which would open the door to private women's facilities like locker rooms and changing rooms to men, and she has opposed allowing counselors to try to help victims become free of unwanted same-sex feelings.

She's also joined the campaign that Walz has supported, to threaten families who won't allow their underage children to be subjected to life-altering surgeries.

The report noted the ACLU helps minors file lawsuits in pursuit of those chemical treatments and body alterations and believes Harris "would be a champion for the community if elected."

In fact, it wants Harris, from the White House, to "issue an executive order on day one directing federal agencies to examine ways that they can affirmatively enhance access to gender-affirming care in federally funded programs."

This is much the same process that Joe Biden used to activate the entirety of the federal government to recruit and enlist leftist voters.

The ACLU's James Esseks, in fact, said, "With further attacks on our rights and a landmark Supreme Court case on the horizon, we would encourage a Harris-Walz administration to … do everything in their power to protect our rights, our health care, and our freedom to be ourselves without fear."

An official with the LGBTQ group called the Human Rights Campaign said, "Her pick of Gov. Walz sends a message that a Harris-Walz administration will be committed to advancing equality and justice for all."

That group's statement said, "As vice president, Harris has helped lead the most pro-equality administration in history."

The organization is another that promotes subjecting children to irreversible and disfiguring "treatments" in opposition to parental rights.

The Daily Signal report said, "The Human Rights Campaign also backs so-called gender-affirming care for minors, criticizing those who wish to protect children. … HRC falsely claims that 'no permanent medical interventions happen until a transgender person is old enough to give truly informed consent.'"

Their evidence is derived from the many young people suing doctors and medical organizations for providing for their "transition" to a different gender, which scientifically is impossible, as "they were not able to fully give informed consent due to their age and mental health issues."

Advocates for Trans Equality said a Harris-Walz regime would go even beyond what Biden-Harris has done to help push transgenderism.

A report from an LGBTQ website documents that some 1,100 "queer celebrities, politicians and leaders" have signed an endorsement for Harris' campaign.

"The letter," reported NBC, "includes signatures from actors Matt Bomer, George Takei, Billy Eichner, and Sophia Bush and her partner, Ashlyn Harris, a former U.S. Women's National Team soccer player. Out elected officials, including Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., and Reps. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., Mark Takano, D-Calif., and Becca Balint, D-Vt., also signed, alongside notable figures such as Jim Obergefell, the lead plaintiff in the Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015, and Judy Shepard, the mother of Matthew Shepard, who was murdered in Wyoming in 1998."

That report, in fact, boasted of Harris' "two-decade track record of supporting gay rights," and it pointed out how the letter describes her as a key component of a war against traditional marriage in California when she was a state official there.

GLAAD reports that Harris also has fought to deliver sexually explicit books in public schools and libraries and promised to "LGBTQI+ youth" that "We stand with you!"

She also pushed for LGBT ideology to be taught in schools, and for boys who say they are girls to be integrated into girls' locker rooms and showers in public schools.

That agenda, however, has taken multiple hits from federal courts who have ruled that the agenda must be blocked until the court process is completed.

Other pro-LGBTQ organizations that have fallen in behind Harris' pro-trans agenda include the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Over the last year or so, Candace Owens has made an increasing number of deeply concerning comments about the Jewish people and Israel, leading to the question: What kind of anti-Semitic Kool-Aid is she drinking? In light of her most recent comments, the answer is One of the worst kinds of anti-Semitic Kool-Aid, the kind that espouses the most ridiculous (and malicious) conspiracy theories. Her statements have now become completely unhinged, leading to bizarre headlines like this on an anti-Semitic website: "Candace Owens digs in, calling out Israel's Frankist pedo-protection cult." What?

In her rant, Owens informs us that the horrors of the Holocaust did not help give birth to the modern State of Israel. Instead, many moons before this, Catholics and Christians went missing around Passover, and when their bodies were found, "they were able to trace them back to the Jews."

But, she tells us, she is not repeating the infamous blood libel, which alleges that Jews kidnap and kill Christians during Passover, using their blood to bake matzoh. Not at all! These people weren't Jews at all. "They were Frankists," Owens says, referring to a sex cult led by the notorious Polish Jew Jacob Frank (1726-1791).

The only problem with this unhinged theory is everything. First, this is the same, fictitious blood libel, just blamed on Frankists rather than Jews. Second, the Frankists, with all their perverted practices, did not kidnap and kill Catholics and Christians, using their blood for Passover. Third, the Frankists were Jews, although some of them eventually converted to Catholicism. But I quibble. Why should we trip over historical facts?

According to Owens, Leo Frank killed Mary Phagan during Passover (in 1913) for these same nefarious, bloody purposes. (Apparently, he must have been a Frankist too, since his last name was Frank!) And, she states firmly, "this Frankist cult, which is masquerading behind Jews, still participates in this s–t to this day."

We will soon find out that it is these fake Jews who helped found Israel, which is why, she tells us, Israel is a sanctuary state for pedophiles. Surely, nothing anti-Semitic here! And surely, we shouldn't stumble over the fact that most legal scholars believe that Leo Frank was falsely accused and wrongly convicted of the crime. Tragically, he was dragged from jail by an angry mob and lynched. But not to worry. After all, Frank was a Jew, right?

Owens claims that "the nation of Israel may have been established by some Frankists," which is why "Zionists defend pedophiles and criminals." But of course! How did we miss that? Yes, we are told, this is why Israel allows "pedophiles from America to flee and receive protection from their state." (BTW, Owens jokes that she will punch you in the face if you dare say that Israel is our ally. They are anything but an ally and friend. All clear?)

What is Owens' proof about the founding of Israel? "It is looking like Theodor Herzl's family" came from the same area in Moravia and Bohemia "where the Frankist cult was founded." And while Owens says "maybe" about her theory, she has read "a ton of books" and is quite sure about it. She also informs us that Herzl said that he didn't care how many Jews had to die to establish the Jewish state. How did all the Herzl scholars miss this?

And why quibble over the fact that the Frankist cult originated primarily in Podolia, which is in modern-day Ukraine? After all, Ukraine Moravia, and Bohemia are all in Europe, right? That's pretty close! At some point in time, some Frankists were located in the same country where Herzl was born. So, he was a Frankist sex pervert, and as the founder of Israel, that explains why the Jewish state is a sanctuary for pedophiles. Candace is on a roll! And since no one questions whether Herzl was Jewish, it appears that the Frankists masquerading as Jews were Jews after all. Got it!

As for the fact that the Frankists had largely disappeared by the time of Herzl's birth, again, why split hairs over things like chronology and history and dates and facts? Owens has a theory!

Not only so, but Owens wants us to know that Israel was involved in the assassination of JFK. It was a Mossad job!

But no one dared speak about these things. That's because America is being held hostage by a foreign country – Israel! And so she fearlessly proclaims, "We are an occupied nation!"

But it gets darker still. Owens informs us that the first Jewish Supreme Court justice, Louis Brandeis, was a Frankist. Don't believe her? She has an ironclad answer: "Look it up!"

Unfortunately, not even my AI bots could figure out where this nonsensical and diabolical theory came from, with AI Claude pointing out that: 1) "The Frankist movement was primarily active in the 18th century, while Brandeis lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries." 2) "Brandeis was known for his strong ethical standards and progressive reforms, which seem at odds with what is known about Frankist beliefs and practices." 3) "There are no reputable historical sources that suggest Brandeis had any connection to Frankism." (These are just some of the points Claude raised, which also noted, "This myth might have originated from anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. …")

But Owens has still more to say. She alleges that "every person who speaks about Israel has to say a statement like, 'I don't want to get killed.'" Yes, of course! No one in America or abroad would dare say anything negative about Israel or the Jewish people for fear of being killed by the Israelis. And if anything happens to her? "Blame the Zionists, like 1,000 percent, blame the Zionists. …"

Thankfully, she provides an "easy litmus test" by which you can judge "any commentator." If they don't condemn Israel's defense of pedophiles and acknowledge that Louis Brandeis was a Frankist, then they, too, are evil, psychopathic Zionists.

Sarcasm aside, Owens is peddling some sick, terribly dangerous stuff, given her popularity and influence.

May she awaken from this anti-Semitic stupor, may she spit out the poisonous Kool-Aid she is drinking, and may she become an advocate for righteousness and truth. And as much as her statements deserve ridicule and scorn, she needs our prayers. (I say this out of concern, not condescension.)

May the Lord deliver Candace Owens from deception!

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

An economist at Harvard who worked in Barack Obama's administration when he was in the White House is warning American voters that Kamala Harris's ideas are not based in "reality."

This comment came as Harris on Friday announced her agenda for price controls, claiming that would address the inflation that actually has been caused by the trillion dollar spending packages Joe Biden pushed, and she actually provided the critical votes to pass. That inflation is costing American consumers 20% more now for the same lifestyles they had when Bidan took office.

"This is not sensible policy, and I think the biggest hope is that it ends up being a lot of rhetoric and no reality," Jason Furman said in an interview with the New York Times about the time Harris was announcing her plan, a common device used by repressive nations to make their economies look better than they are.

"There's no upside here, and there is some downside."

Harris' "price-fixing" scheme, she said, would stop "big corporations" from taking advantage of consumers. However, the Biden-Harris team has imposed on Americans, by virtue of Harris's tie-breaking votes in the Senate, multiple trillions of dollars in spending of money the nation doesn't have.

A report at Fox News said Harris has plans to give the Federal Trade Commission and states the authority to impose penalties for setting excessively high prices.

But one commentator suggested immediately Americans would have to decide whether they want the open market to decide prices, or some bureaucrat in Washington's Deep State.

Washington Post columnist Catgherine Rampell also voiced criticism of Harris's plans.

"It's hard to exaggerate how bad this policy is. It is, in all but name, a sweeping set of government-enforced price controls across every industry, not only food. Supply and demand would no longer determine prices or profit levels. Far-off Washington bureaucrats would. The FTC would be able to tell, say, a Kroger in Ohio the acceptable price it can charge for milk."

WND reported over the weekend that a JD Vance, President Donald Trump's pick for vice president on the GOP ticket this year, warned giving Harris control over inflation policy is "like giving Jeffrey Epstein control over human-trafficking policy."

He said, ""The American people just don't buy the idea that Kamala Harris, who has been vice president for three and a half years, is somehow going to tackle the inflation crisis in a way tomorrow that she hasn't for the past 1,300 days. Giving Kamala Harris control over inflation policy, Shannon, it's like giving Jeffrey Epstein control over human-trafficking policy."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Democrats have established a long record of objecting to election results they don't like and challenging them. Multiple times in Congress they have been at the forefront of trying to reject the results of a presidential election.

But during 2020, when some members of the GOP had concerns about the local election procedures and processes, and wanted their questions answered before certifying the results, Democrats sued them.

In a court system impacted in a major way by leftists such as the district attorney-sponsoring George Soros, they mostly got cases highlighting election irregularities thrown out.

Now there's a threat for court cases all over again if anyone suggests wrongdoing in the 2024 results.

The report at the Federalist warns leftist activist Marc Elias issued the threat online.

Elias, who played a critical role in the Democrat fabrications about President Donald Trump that generated the "Russia collusion" fantasy during the 2016 election, as he hired the "research" company that generated the lies against Trump found in the "Steele dossier," threatened:

"In 2020, Trump tried to overturn the election. My team and I beat him in court 60+ times. In 2022, Republicans in several counties refused to certify. We sued and won. Here is my message to the GOP: If you try to subvert the election in 2024, you will be sued and you will lose."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

A federal appeals court has unleashed a stunning ruling that could end up impacting the Jan. 6, 2021, convictions of protesters at the U.S. Capitol.

It is the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals that determined that geofence searches are not allowed under the U.S. Constitution. Those are identifications of individuals using GPS or other technology that provides authorities with names and locations of individuals at a particular time.

The case at hand involved robbery, and Judge James C. Ho, a possible candidate under a Trump presidency for the Supreme Court, explained with clarity how the geofence technology isn't allowed in a ruling that now conflicts with a ruling from another circuit, making a Supreme Court decision more likely.

He said, "Geofence warrants are powerful tools for investigating and deterring crime. The defendants here engaged in a violent robbery – and likely would have gotten away with it, but for this technology. So I fully recognize that our panel decision today will inevitably hamper legitimate law enforcement interests."

But, he continued, "Hamstringing the government is the whole point of our Constitution. Our Founders recognized that the government will not always be comprised of publicly spirited officers – and that even good faith actors can be overcome by the zealous pursuit of legitimate public interests. 'If men were angels, no government would be necessary.' The Federalist No. 51 … 'If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.' But 'experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.' It's because of 'human nature' that it's 'necessary to control the abuses of government.'"

ArsTechnica reported the fact that geofence warrants, in identifying all users or devices in a geographic area, now are banned by the circuit court's ruling as a violation against unreasonable searches.

The report said the ruling found, "This court 'cannot forgive the requirements of the Fourth Amendment in the name of law enforcement.' Accordingly, we hold that geofence warrants are general warrants categorically prohibited by the Fourth Amendment."

The case involved three Mississippi men convicted of a 2018 armed robbery. And the ruling said, even though geofence warrants are unconstitutional, the convicts were not allowed to suppress evidence because "law enforcement acted in good faith in relying on this type of warrant."

The Electronic Frontier Foundation called it a "'major" change.

"Closely following arguments EFF has made in a number of cases, the court found that geofence warrants constitute the sort of 'general, exploratory rummaging' that the drafters of the Fourth Amendment intended to outlaw. EFF applauds this decision because it is essential that every person feels like they can simply take their cell phone out into the world without the fear that they might end up a criminal suspect because their location data was swept up in an open-ended digital dragnet," the group said.

Such searches almost always involve searching the Google database for details about people, time and locations.

In the process, Google determines which accounts were within the defined boundaries and gives law enforcement an "anonymized list" of suspects. Law enforcement then can seek additional information, including, eventually, the ID of account holders.

Previously, the Supreme Court has said the government invades a person's reasonable expectation of privacy when it tracks people by cellphone data.

It was investigative reporter Julie Kelly who reminded that the federal government used geofence warrant information to identify January 6 protesters.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

JERUSALEM – A situation which 24 hours or so before seemed somewhat ambiguous at best, appeared to crystallize Monday as evidence suggests Iranian hardliners have won the day and decided to to strike Israel for eliminating Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

Indeed, reports surfaced that Hezbollah has largely emptied Beirut's Dahiyeh neighborhood – the one in which its Chief of Staff Fuad Shukr was killed in an Israeli missile strike about 12 hours before the Haniyeh hit – of its entire headquarters – including computers and other equipment for fear of Israeli reprisals in the event of an attack on the Jewish state.

It is unclear if this includes the organization's leader – Hassan Nasrallah – who is thought to move his location daily from safe house to safe house, and whom many suspect is sequestered somewhere underground – and has been for more than a decade – fearful of any Israeli attempts to assassinate him.

On Sunday, it appeared Iran was potentially experiencing pangs of doubt about its proposed massive retaliation to Haniyeh's killing on its soil – and the attendant humiliation for both the location and timing. There were also doubts about whether Iran would risk a regional war to avenge the blood of a Palestinian, albeit one who was supposed to be an honored guest at its new president's investiture.

However, overnight Sunday positions appeared to change and a hardening of Iran's stance led Israel and the United States' respective defense establishments beginning to warn Tehran's response could be in a matter of a few days, if not an even shorter timeframe.

The U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin wrote on X he had called his Israeli counterpart Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to reiterate Washington's commitment to Israel's protection – and an acknowledgment he was ordering the "strengthening of U.S. military force posture and capabilities throughout the Middle East."

Indeed, the Department of Defense revealed Secretary Austin ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, along with F-35C fighters, to accelerate its transit to the Central Command area, bolstering the military presence already provided by the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group. Additionally, the USS Georgia, a guided missile submarine, has been deployed to the region. USS Georgia is armed with some 150 Tomahawk cruise missiles.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Virtually no one outside of the Democrat Party's agenda-driven core considers Kamala Harris the ultimate success.

Her "border czar" assignment from Joe Biden saw a complete collapse of the nation's southern boundary and millions of illegal aliens arrive.

What is associated with her is her penchant for word salads, such as her insistence that the significance of the passage of time is significant, and her shrewish cackle that has been ridiculed a hundred ways online, many of them not polite.

The Daily Caller News Foundation noted that "Several Georgia voters told Newsmax they couldn't recount a single Harris accomplishment over the course of her entire career."

"Washington Post politics reporter Amber Phillips noted there are only two achievements that 'could be reasonably called her accomplishments' alone," the report added.

Those would be her promotion of abortion and her vote that plunged the United States significantly deeper in debt with the approval of misnamed "Inflation Reduction Act," which actually spent trillions but didn't address inflation at all.

But now an adviser to Biden is insisting that Harris actually is one of the "greatest things" in Biden's legacy.

In a report at the Daily Mail, ex-Biden adviser Anita Dunn commented on the removal of Biden from the 2024 ticket and insertion of Kamala Harris into the top slot.

"You know, it was rough. And no reflection on the vice president because I think one of the greatest things about Joe Biden's legacy will be that he made sure that there was a pipeline in which Kamala Harris was going to be the natural person everyone turned to if something happened to him," she said.

"He ran because he believed he was the best person to beat Donald Trump. And because he also believed he was the best person to lead the country. Now, if he's not a candidate, he made it very clear that the second-best person was his vice president. And that is where we are now."