This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Former President Donald Trump posted an eye-opening message online Thursday, calling for the U.S. to eradicate Iran if the Islamic republic were ever to assassinate him.

While American authorities were made aware of an Iranian assassination plot against Trump before the July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, during which the ex-commander in chief was shot in the ear, a connection between the plot and the shooting has yet to be established.

Trump said of Iran: "If they do 'assassinate President Trump,' which is always a possibility, I hope that America obliterates Iran, wipes it off the face of the Earth — If that does not happen, American Leaders will be considered 'gutless' cowards!"

Trump attached his message to a video clip of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who addressed a joint session of Congress on Wednesday.

"And as we recently learned, they (Iran) even brazenly threatened to assassinate President Trump," Netanyahu told Congress.

[postpoll]

The prime minister stressed the decades-long threat Iran has posed to the U.S., including holding American hostages, committing acts of terror, and dispatching "death squads here to murder a former secretary of state and a former national security adviser."

Iran has been incensed against Trump personally along with his administration officials, seeking revenge for the death of Qasem Soleimani, the former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, killed by the U.S. during a 2020 drone strike.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Standing ovations for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were delivered to the visiting dignitary when he addressed Congress on Wednesday, despite thousands of protesters carrying their anti-semitism agenda to the streets and the boycott of dozens of leftist members.

He unleashed the truth when he pointed out the contradictions of the anti-Israel riot squads who have invaded university campuses and taken over tax-funded facilities in recent months, following the terror attack on Israeli civilians by Hamas thugs, last Oct. 7.

Some 1,200 Israeli civilians were slaughtered in that attack.

Netanyahu said, "Some of these protesters hold up signs proclaiming 'Gays for Gaza.' They might as well hold up signs saying 'Chickens for KFC."

Authorities reported six anti-Israel protesters were arrested for sneaking into the Capitol House chamber.

Inside the building, they were quiet. Outside, agitators burned American flags and raised a Palestinian emblem instead.

Netanyahu, seeking to restore American support for his nation's war against the terrorists of Hamas, pointed out how the two nations have been close since Israel's beginning.

"America and Israel must stand together," he said. "When we stand together, something very simple happens, we win and they lose."

He cited the atrocities of Hamas, including their campaign of violence that butchered babies.

Inside Congress, one extremist, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., wore a keffiyeh in protest and held up a sign that said, "Guilty of genocide."

She periodically raised the sign higher, depending on what subject Netanyahu was discussing.

Netanyahu pointed out the source of the pro-violence faction in America.

"It's not only the campus protesters who get it wrong. It's also the people who run those campuses. 80 years after the Holocaust — 80 years after the Holocaust, the presidents of Harvard, Penn. and I'm ashamed to say, my alma mater MIT, couldn't bring themselves to condemn the calls for the genocide of Jews."

He then appealed to lawmakers for more supplies to arm his soldiers against Hamas.

"Get us the tools faster and we will finish the job faster."

The Daily Mail reported he also expressed gratitude to the GOP nominee for president, President Donald Trump, for brokering the Abraham Accords, peace deals involving Israel, and several traditional enemies such as the United Arab Emirates.

Among the members of Congress absent from the speech were Kamala Harris, Joe Biden's vice president, ex-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and leftist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez D-N.Y.

Another extremist, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, who lost his bid for re-election in a New York district, said he wanted Netanyahu "arrested."

Later this week, Netanyahu is scheduled to travel to Mar-a-Lago, Trump's Florida home.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Many disputes arose a few years ago when the then-liberal U.S. Supreme Court created, in a decision condemned as unrelated to the Constitution, same-sex "marriage" for the entire nation.

One of the more vicious was a series of lawsuits against a Kentucky county clerk who declined to issue ANY marriage licenses for a time because of the conflict the court decision created with her own constitutionally protected religious rights.

An activist federal judge, David Bunning, took up the LGBT agenda and put Kim Davis in jail for a time. And two same-sex duos sued her for damages.

One of those cases was ended without damages, but another jury awarded each of the duo $50,000 in damages and Bunning piled on with an order for her to pay some $240,000 in lawyers' fees.

That's the case that's now going to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

But the goal is much higher than that single verdict.

The filing, by Liberty Counsel, which has defended Davis over the years since she was attacked, raises multiple contentions on appeal.

And the trial court mistakenly rejected Davis' contention she was entitled to a reasonable accommodation because of "sincerely held religious beliefs under the First Amendment and Kentucky Religious Freedom Restoration Act."

But then the appeal gets to the real fight: "The district court erred by finding that Obergefell created a clearly established constitutional right that superseded Davis's pre-existing fundamental, textual constitutional rights to religious exercise."

Obergefell was the high court ruling that literally "created" out of a political agenda the "right" in the Constitution to same-sex marriage, when marriage is not even mentioned in the document.

And, the appeal charges, "Obergefell should be overturned for the same reasons articulated by the court in Dobbs," Dobbs being the decision that decimated the Roe v. Wade decision from 1973 that similarly created a federal "right" to abortion.

The appeal charges, "Obergefell's atextual rights creation was not deeply rooted in the nation's history or traditions."

In fact, the appeal explains "Obergefell was not grounded in the nation's history or traditions, nor could it have been because it was not rooted in any nation's history or traditions. As Chief Justice Roberts noted, the right that the Obergefell majority created out of whole cloth was inconsistent with 'the meaning of marriage that has persisted in every culture throughout human history.' Indeed, 'marriage has existed for millennia and across civilizations [and] [f]or all those millennia, across all those civilizations, marriage referred to only one relationship: the union of a man and a woman.'"

The argument points out that the then-liberal majority on the court "discovered in the Fourteenth Amendment a 'fundamental right' overlooked by every person alive at the time of ratification, and almost everyone else in the time since."

The fight, of course, would have to end up at the U.S. Supreme Court for Obergefell to be overturned.

Liberty Counsel explained the background, "In 2015, two same-sex couples who sought marriage licenses from Davis sued because she declined to issue the licenses due to her religious beliefs even though she referred the couples to other clerks who would. Despite Davis receiving an eventual religious accommodation from the state to abstain from granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples, the litigation against Davis continued. In Ermold v. Davis case, along with a second case in Yates v. Davis, two juries heard the same evidence and the same arguments in both cases. The jury in the Yates case awarded zero damages because the evidence did not support the awarding of any damages. The plaintiffs in that case originally asked for $300,000 in damages."

But, the report said, "The Ermold jury reached a verdict of $50,000 for each plaintiff and the judge also awarded the plaintiffs an additional $246,000 in attorney's fees and $14,000 in expenses despite lacking evidence to support the awarding of emotional damages."

"Kim Davis deserves justice in this case since she was entitled to a religious accommodation from issuing marriage licenses under her name and authority. This case has the potential to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges and extend the same religious freedom protections beyond Kentucky to the entire nation," explained Liberty Counsel chief Mat Staver.

Davis had sought a religious accommodation, and was granted one by new Gov. Matt Bevins several months later.

Her state legislature even passed a law permanently granting all clerks an accommodation to opt out of having their signatures on licenses for same-sex duos.

But the court cases had developed in the interim.

Davis had explained, "I never imagined a day like this would come, where I would be asked to violate a central teaching of Scripture and of Jesus Himself regarding marriage. To issue a marriage license which conflicts with God's definition of marriage, with my name affixed to the certificate, would violate my conscience. It is not a light issue for me. It is a Heaven-or-Hell decision. For me, it is a decision of obedience."

WND later reported that the case got a "Told you so," from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas after the eight-member high court declined to review one issue of the attacks on Davis.

In a statement then, Thomas said Davis "may have been one of the first victims" of the Supreme Court's "cavalier treatment of religion" when it issued its same-sex marriage ruling, "but she will not be the last."

Thomas called Davis a "devout Christian" who "found herself faced with a choice between her religious beliefs and her job."

"Due to Obergefell, those with sincerely held religious beliefs concerning marriage will find it increasingly difficult to participate in society without running afoul of Obergefell and its effect on other antidiscrimination laws," Thomas wrote. "Moreover, Obergefell enables courts and governments to brand religious adherents who believe that marriage is between one man and one woman as bigots, making their religious liberty concerns that much easier to dismiss."

In fact, since then the state of Colorado twice has launched attacks on Christians who failed to promote the state's messaging on same-sex unions, a baker and a web designer. And both times it has suffered defeat at the Supreme Court, including once when the justice scolded the state for its hate of Christianity.

Thomas pointed out the high court's decision on same-sex marriage was found "nowhere" in the 14th Amendment.

"Several members of the court noted that the court's decision would threaten the religious liberty of the many Americans who believe that marriage is a sacred institution between one man and one woman. If the states had been allowed to resolve this question through legislation, they could have included accommodations for those who hold these religious beliefs," he said.

"The court, however, bypassed that democratic process. Worse still, though it briefly acknowledged that those with sincerely held religious objections to same-sex marriage are often 'decent and honorable' … the court went on to suggest that those beliefs espoused a bigoted worldview…"

Thomas noted that the four justices who didn't agree with the ruling "predicted that 'these … assaults on the character of fair-minded people will have an effect, in society and in court.'"

"Those predictions did not take long to become reality," he wrote, citing the Davis case.

The former county clerk is a Christian, he said.

"When she began her tenure as clerk, Davis' sincerely held religious beliefs – that marriage exists between one man and one woman – corresponded with the definition of marriage under Kentucky law," Thomas said.

At the time, she was lobbying for amendments to state law to protect religious rights, he said.

"But those efforts were cut short by this court's decision," he said.

"As a result of this court's alteration of the Constitution, Davis found herself faced with a choice between her religious beliefs and her job. When she chose to follow her faith, and without any statutory protection of her religious beliefs, she was sued almost immediately."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

A U.S. senator is demanding answers from the head of Joe Biden's Department of Homeland Security to allegations there was a law enforcement agent assigned to the roof on which former President Trump's shooter was perched, but abandoned that post because of "hot weather."

In a Monday letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., wrote about the security failures of Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle.

"Additional whistleblowers have contacted my office with troubling information about the assassination attempt on former President Donald J. Trump," Hawley began.

"Contrary to Director Cheatle's public statements about the 'safety' of the sloped roof of the American Glass Research Building 6, one whistleblower with direct knowledge of Secret Service planning for the event alleges that there was supposed to be law enforcement presence on the roof that day.

"In fact, the whistleblower alleges that at least one individual was specifically assigned to the roof for the duration of the rally, but this person abandoned his or her post due to the hot weather.

"The whistleblower further alleges that concerns over the heat prompted law enforcement to forego patrolling Building 6 and instead to station personnel inside the building."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

A prominent legal team has announced that further litigation will not be needed now that a Wisconsin school district has agreed to end its racist component of a scholarship program.

It is the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty that said it was notified by the School District of Beloit that it will make changes in its "Grow Your Own Multicultural Teacher Scholarship Program."

It previously had a "racial eligibility criterion."

But the district said it now is holding off on accepting new applications until the program "has been accordingly revised and published."

Cara Tolliver, lawyer for the organization, said, "We will continue to seek out and litigate discriminatory programs that undermine human dignity and violate the Constitution. The district made the right decision in repealing the racial eligibility requirement for its GYO program — which was based on nothing more than a constitutionally-forbidden desire to match and balance students and staff according to their skin pigmentation."

She said, "We hope to see the district's new GYO program open soon and serving as many students and staff as possible."

The district's practice had been to award race-based scholarships of up to $20,000 to some minority students and staff who wanted to be teachers.

"According to numerous documents and materials available on the district's website, the district also solicited funding from its employees and board members through direct payroll deductions and other available options and offered incentives for paid-time-off to staff members who donate to the GYO fund," WILL reported.

But such race-based schemes have been rejected by the Supreme Court.

The legal team earlier had brought the problem to the school district's attention, explaining that it needed to halt "all discriminatory programs."

Based on complaints about the district's agenda, WILL had warned that it could not meet constitutional minimums for fairness should it continue to deselect people based on their race.

In fact, the legal team warned the school's program violated the U.S. Constitution as well as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Tolliver said when the warning was issued that residents of the district should demand better from their school leaders.

District officials had set it up with their goal in mind of having teachers who look like students.

But given special privileges were "Black/African American," "Native American/Alaskan," "Asian," and "Hispanic/Latinx" program participants.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Beijing is preparing to ‘batten down the hatches’ after the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump appears to have increased his chances of winning the 2024 presidential election.

A Chinese media outlet, the South China Morning Post, reported Wednesday that China is preparing to "batten down the hatches" after the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump appears to have increased his chances of winning the 2024 presidential election.

Global markets instantly were stimulated after Trump survived the assassination attempt by Thomas Crooks at a Butler County rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. Cryptocurrency, gun stocks, and Trump’s own Truth Social stock all saw a significant jump in value.

During his first term, Trump famously imposed import tariffs of up to 25% on billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods, a number Trump has promised to bump up to 60% if he is elected in November.

A researcher with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, Chen Fengying, told the South China Morning Post that while there is a burgeoning trade war on the horizon, China is already working on plans to adapt if Trump once again takes the Oval Office.

“Another trade war seems inevitable…It seems we are already adapting gradually…We have been digesting the tariffs through supply chain relocation – there is no other way,” Chen told the publication.

Since the tariffs were imposed by the Trump administration in 2018, China has been forced elsewhere to do business, branching into markets like the Middle East. The formation of BRICS – the multinational alliance where China sits as one of the top players, has also helped China keep afloat as it dealt with U.S. tariffs.

However, the Chinese economy does not appear to be as strong as the Chinese Communist Party would have the world believe, as new reports are emerging about its stagnation – despite the country's exploitation of slave labor.

Strict lockdowns and restrictions on its 1.4 billion population during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as strict tariffs from the U.S., already had put a dent in the Chinese economy. Regulatory crackdowns, a property crisis, and youth unemployment are further compounding this, according to a report from CNN.

Time reported in August 2023 that China’s economy was already beginning to slow, with global investors pulling over $10 billion from the Chinese stock markets. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley also slashed their targets for Chinese equities.

Time further reported the slowdown of China's economy would be a positive for the U.S. because it would "drag down" oil prices, and deflation in China would mean lower prices on the country's exports.

Fast forward to this week, when CNBC reported that China's second-quarter growth was less than expected, sitting at a growth rate of 4.7%. This had steeply declined from the year's first quarter of 5.3%.

The National Bureau of Statistics of China said in a statement the demand for domestic goods in China is insufficient and recovery needs to be strengthened.

"In the first half year, the national economic performance maintained stable with steady progress made in the transformation and upgrading. However, we should be aware that the external environment is intertwined and complex, the domestic effective demand remains insufficient and the foundation for sound economic recovery and growth still needs to be strengthened," the statement says.

A look at China’s debt clock shows the Chinese economy is almost $10 trillion in debt. This number, however, excludes local government financing and China’s shadow banking institutions. It is suggested this number should be multiplied by at least 3.25, meaning China’s real debt would exceed $30 trillion.

China has some other deepening problems, as violent crime seems to be on the rise after a spate of stabbings across the country have made headlines – including a group of American Cornell College professors who were attacked by a 55–year–old man in a park in Jilin City in June.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has hailed China as one of the "safest nations."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

The Democratic National Committee is attempting to "run out the clock," and make President Joe Biden the party's nominee for the coming 2024 presidential election ahead of its scheduled convention in Chicago in August.

According to a report from Axios, the DNC is secretly going ahead with plans to shore up Biden, and at the same time stamp out any dissenting voices within the party who have questioned his mental fitness.

Some Democrats have been calling for Biden to step down after a disastrous debate performance against Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump, including some of Biden's high-powered celebrity supporters.

After the debate, Biden went on to have a rash of badly delivered interviews and press conferences which further compounded concerns.

Ultimately, at a NATO press conference where Democrats hoped Biden would prove himself, he introduced UIkraine's president as president "Putin" and his own vice president as "Trump."

The Axios report notes if the DNC manages to convince the majority of almost 4,000 delegates to give Biden their vote, it would be very difficult from that point to remove Biden from this year's Democratic ticket.

The window for voting is expected to open July 29, and will conclude Aug. 5, according to the report, and will take place electronically.

Jaime Harrison, chairman of the DNC, told Axios he and his colleagues look forward to making Biden the official candidate.

"We look forward to nominating Joe Biden through a virtual roll call and celebrating with fanfare together in Chicago in August alongside the 99 percent of delegates who are supporting the Biden-Harris ticket," Harrison told Axios, adding the DNC has not yet finalized any schedules.

Harrison has also been hard at work on network news and social media promoting Biden's candidacy.

Axios obtained an email from Jennifer Laszio Mizrahi, a Biden delegate in Maryland. Mizrahi sent the email to her fellow state delegates and explains the early vote cannot be allowed.

"Behind the scenes, people at the Biden campaign and DNC are working to put in the fix … Put simply, they are trying to shut down the process earlier. We can't allow it. I am asking you to ask the DNC to stop pushing for an early vote," Mizrahi reportedly said in her email.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

JERUSALEM – Israel's coalition ministers warned Sunday the level of incitement against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could lead to an assassination attempt on the long-term premier.

In the wake of the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania Saturday, Netanyahu's political allies threw their support behind the prime minister, effectively warning the same thing could happen in Israel.

In an X post, Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichay Chikli published two images side-by-side; the first was The New Republic’s representation on the front cover of its latest publication
of Trump-as-Hitler, while the second was a black-and-white image of Netanyahu, with a red hand-print – a symbol for murderous violence following the lynching of two IDF soldiers in Ramallah in 2000 – over his face.

"[The] assassination attempt against former President Trump is a direct result of the incitement and delegitimization campaign against him."

"In Israel, a horrifyingly identical campaign of incitement is being waged against Prime Minister Netanyahu and enjoys complete immunity from the attorney general and the law enforcement system solely because it is coming from the 'right' direction. Shame," he wrote.

Settlement Minister Orit Strook said she was concerned after the attempt on Trump. "There are credible threats against Netanyahu that must be dealt with," she said in an interview. "If those threats were made from the right, there would be administrative detentions. There is incitement to attack Netanyahu and nothing is being done," she said. In a post on X, she showed a letter copied to all government ministers and dated July 1, asking for a "review from the heads of the enforcement and intelligence systems on the handling policy on the issue."

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi also took to X to claim the situation against the prime minister in Israel is doubly grave. "The serious incitement against Netanyahu, his wife [Sara], and son [Yair], is closer to being implemented than ever before." He further argued the attorney general was not only allowing but rather encouraging this to continue.

Both Sara and Yair Netanyahu – the latter of whom is the elder of the prime minister's two sons – are controversial and divisive figures in their own right. Sara Netanyahu is said to wield outsized political power for an unelected official, and Yair too, whom Bibi has co-opted as a political adviser has often fought some of his father's battles – particularly aiming invective at political opponents online. It also cannot be avoided that Netanyahu Jr. is holed up in the luxury Miami apartment of one of the prime minister's billionaire U.S. backers. This can be held up in sharp relief to other senior political figures – in particular former IDF chief of staff and former war cabinet member Gadi Eisenkot – who lost both one of his sons and a nephew in the Gaza fighting. Whatever the wrongs and rights of the situation, Yair Netanyahu has been conspicuous by his absence.

There is no doubt Netanyahu is unpopular, with a Channel 12 poll published Friday showing 72% of Israelis think he should resign over the Oct. 7 debacle. Forty-four percent said he should quit immediately, while 28% argued it should be after the conclusion of the war. Of the people polled who said they were Netanyahu supporters, 50% said he must leave office before his term's completion. However, it is not entirely clear – despite growing weekly protests against Netanyahu, his government, and the lack of a hostage deal – that the situation in either Israeli politics or civil society is akin to the atmosphere immediately prior to Yitzhak Rabin's assassination in November 1995.

One aspect of unanimity among Israel's politicians, however, was in their response to the attempted Trump assassination. At the start of the cabinet's weekly session Sunday, Netanyahu took a moment to address the situation in the U.S. Speaking from Jerusalem, he said the shooting was "not only a heinous crime [but] an attempt to assassinate American democracy."

In the early hours of Sunday morning, he wrote on X that he and his family were praying for the former president's well-being. He followed it up later in the day Sunday with a video posted to X.

Israel's 11th President Isaac Herzog also expressed the nation's alarm at the events in Pennsylvania. He wished Trump a speedy recovery, while condemning "utterly and unequivocally the attempt on his life."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

The man in the audience who was shot and killed at President Donald Trump's political rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday has been identified as Corey Comperatore, who recently turned 50.

He was the former fire chief for Buffalo Township, Pennsylvania.

His daughter, Allyson Comperatore said, "He was the best dad a girl could ever ask for."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

The White House would not say Monday why a neurologist with expertise in Parkinson's disease, Dr. Kevin Cannard, visited the executive campus eight different times or who specifically the doctor was there to visit.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre insinuated Cannard had traveled there to treat members of the military, telling reporters that "multiple neurologists" have traveled to the campus to treat the "thousands of military personnel," many of whom "get care from the White House medical unit."

Late Monday evening, the White House finally offered an explanation in the form of a letter penned by Dr. Kevin O'Connor, the president's physician. He confirmed that Cannard visited campus and wrote that the Parkinson's specialist "was the neurological specialist that examined President Biden for each of his annual physicals."

The neurologist, O'Connor continued, provided care to a number of other patients beyond just the president. "Prior to the pandemic, and following its end, [Cannard] has held regular Neurology clinics at the White House Medical Clinic in support of the thousands of active-duty members assigned in support of White House operations," Biden's physician wrote.

The visits only came to light because of publicly available visitor logs released by the White House. No such records exist, however, for the president’s private residence in Wilmington, Delaware, where Biden retreats nearly every weekend. He often arrives on a Friday and departs the following Monday. He has spent almost nine months of his presidency there, according to one recent analysis. His administration does not keep a record of visitors there. The residence remains effectively a black hole.