This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
(CNS) — VATICAN CITY — Three months after the murder of Juan López, a Honduran church worker and environmental activist whose death was publicly mourned by Pope Francis, the bishops of Latin America are raising awareness on attacks against those fighting for social justice in the continent.
Three newly created Latin American cardinals joined Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, and Emilce Cuda, secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, at the Vatican Dec. 9 to launch a campaign, titled "Life Hangs by a Thread" ("La vida pende de un hilo"), that aims to support and promote human rights activists.
The campaign, supported by the pontifical commission and the Latin American bishops' council, will amplify the stories of human rights defenders who have been threatened or killed; establish social dialogue meetings between business leaders, trade unions and church representatives; organize training sessions to teach communication and negotiation skills for activists; and provide concrete support for local church initiatives oriented toward social justice.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
JERUSALEM – Middle East/Israel Morning B
Troops from the 99th Division's 990th Reserve Artillery Regiment eliminated many terrorists, including the Oct. 7 perpetrators, whom the army named as Abd al-Razzeq, Marzouk al-Hur, Maaz al-Hur, Abd Abu-Awad Yusri, Omar Abu-Abdallah, Ahmed Zahid and Maad Abu-Garboua.
Troops from the 99th Division's 990th Reserve Artillery Regiment eliminated many terrorists, including the Oct. 7 perpetrators, whom the army named as Abd al-Razzeq, Marzouk al-Hur, Maaz al-Hur, Abd Abu-Awad Yusri, Omar Abu-Abdallah, Ahmed Zahid and Maad Abu-Garboua.
IDF launches a wave of attacks on Lebanon following Hezbollah mortar attacks, U.S. intervention said to limit the scope of strikes
The Israeli military launched a wave of airstrikes in Lebanon on Monday evening after Hezbollah launched two mortars at the Mount Dov area for the first time since the ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed terror group took effect last week.
In a statement, the IDF said fighter jets struck Hezbollah operatives and dozens of rocket launchers and facilities belonging to the terror group across Lebanon.
Mike Huckabee gives strong support to Trump's tough stance on hostages' return
Former Arkansas Gov. and current nominee for Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee praised President-elect Trump for warning there would be serious consequences if the hostages held in Gaza are not released by Jan. 20.
"This is my President! There must be serious consequences for holding any hostage but America needs to exact severe consequences for kidnapping and murdering AMERICAN hostages," Huckabee wrote on X.
Report: PA, Hamas said to agree to form committee to run postwar Gaza at Cairo talks
The document laid out
six commitments largely designed to unite Judea and Samaria, and Gaza under one political entity.
NYT: IDF demolished Gaza buildings to build army bases
According to a report based on satellite imagery analyzed by the New York Times, Israel has significantly expanded its military footprint in central Gaza, building fortified bases and demolishing hundreds of buildings in recent months, suggesting possible plans for extended control in the region.
IDF top brass fears Syrian chemical weapons could end up in Islamist hands
The Israeli military fears that amid the Syrian rebel assault and their taking over of military sites belonging to the Assad regime in the country, chemical weapons could fall into the wrong hands.
The report says that the main concern is that rebels or Iran-backed militias could reach weapons in Syria that pose a significant threat to Israel, such as missiles or chemical weapons.
Islamist opposition forces in Syria eye key government hub of Hama
Syrian opposition factions have seized full control of the city of Aleppo and the entire Idlib province, key territories in northern Syria, following intense battles with regime forces and Iranian-backed militias. Both provinces are under aerial bombardments from Syrian regime warplanes and sporadic Russian airstrikes.
The Military Operations Directorate of the opposition announced it has also captured parts of Hama province and claimed that hundreds of regime combatants, including Iranian fighters, were killed or captured in recent operations. Aleppo International Airport, along with five other military airports, has also fallen under opposition control. These include Menagh, Taftanaz, Abu al-Duhur, Al-Nayrab and Kuweires airports.
Iranian parliament institutes draconian new 'Chastity and Hijab' law
The Islamic Republic's Parliament has officially passed the "Chastity and Hijab" law, a 74-article piece of legislation that imposes severe penalties for hijab violations. The law is set to be implemented on Dec. 13.
The law establishes a complex system of fines and restrictions targeting what it defines as improper dress for both men and women.
Under Article 49, individuals violating dress codes will face escalating financial penalties. Initial offenses will incur fines ranging from 20 million ($285) to 80 million ($1,140) tomans, while subsequent violations will attract higher fines, between 80 million and 165 million ($2,350) tomans.
The earliest known Chinese inscription in Israel discovered on Mt. Zion
The earliest known Chinese inscription in Israel was discovered on a pottery shard at an archeological dig on Mt. Zion, one of the hills upon which Jerusalem is built.
The find was revealed in the dig jointly conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Protestant Institute of Archaeology. At the dig, a rare 16th-century CE Chinese inscription was discovered on a porcelain bowl fragment, reading: "Forever we will guard the eternal spring."
'The Children of October 7' featuring Montana Tucker has its world premiere at the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem
The children who became symbols of heroism and survived the events of Oct. 7 gathered at the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem on Monday night, along with Montana Tucker, the international social media influencer who has been engaged in pro-Israel advocacy since the onset of the Hamas attack, for the world premiere of "The Children of October 7" documentary. The film, which prominently features Tucker, documents the stories of children who witnessed and survived the unimaginable horrors of the Hamas attack.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
'I would suspect that he would be removed from office. I don't know whether or not there'd be a criminal prosecution for someone resisting federal law, but he will lose'
The mayor of Denver, given the Republican sweep of the House, the Senate, and the White House, almost certainly will be losing the federal support he's enjoyed for his pro-illegal alien agenda.
And if he continues, under a White House run by pro-border security President Donald Trump, he "will lose," according to a member of the U.S. Senate.
"What he is offering is a form of insurrection," Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., explained during a television interview.
Paul said, "The mayor of Denver if he's going to resist federal law, which is a long-standing history of the supremacy of federal law, if he's going to resist that, it will go all the way to the Supreme Court.
"I would suspect that he would be removed from office. I don't know whether or not there'd be a criminal prosecution for someone resisting federal law, but he will lose. People need to realize that what he is offering is a form of insurrection where the states resist the federal government."
Paul continued, "Most people objected to that and rejected that long ago. So (I) think the mayor of Denver is on the wrong side of history, and, I think, will face legal ramifications if he doesn't obey the federal law."
WND previously reported when Denver Mayor Mike Johnston was asked about helping enforce federal immigration law.
"Not. We won't do it," Johnston said. And he elaborated, that he doubted federal forces would raid Colorado seeking illegal aliens.
"I do not believe that our governor is going to let them use our [Colorado] National Guard at the state level. Unless they were planning on bringing national guards mobilized from Texas or Alabama to come invade Colorado, I don't know where they would find the forces to begin to do that."
Johnston continued, "And that seems to me like a very, very bad idea from start to finish that no reasonable American would support."
He said not only would his administration, but the people of Denver, would resist deportation procedures by federal forces.
"More than us having (Denver police) stationed at the county line to keep them out, you would have 50,000 Denverites there. It's like the Tiananmen Square moment with the rose and the gun, right? You'd have every one of those Highland moms who came out for the migrants. And you do not want to mess with them," he said.
The Gateway Pundit wrote about Paul's comments on Face the Nation, calling it a "stern warning" to Johnston.
The senator said, "You know, I'm 100% supportive of going after the 15,000 murderers, the 13,000 sexual assault perpetrators, rapists—let's send them on their way to prison or back home to another prison."
He did say that the better way to handle the problem created by the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris agenda of open borders is to use judges, warrants, and such.
"So, I'm for removing these people, but through the normal process of domestic policing."
The publication earlier had described how Johnston wanted Denver to be a "fortress of resistance," with moves such as running Denver as a "sanctuary" city. He even suggested civil disobedience to block border security plans and deportation efforts.
Johnston later claimed his choice of words was poor.
Asked about civil disobedience, he said, "If I believe that our residents are having their rights violated, if I think things are happening that are illegal or immoral or un-American in our city, I would certainly protest it, and I would expect other residents would do the same."
Denver Channel 9's Marc Sallinger asked, "Trump's new border czar, Tom Homan, has said that he is willing to arrest leaders like yourself for standing in the way of these policies they want to enact. Would you be willing to go to jail for these things?"
Johnston said, "Yeah, I'm not afraid of that. I'm also not seeking that. I think the goal is we want to be able to negotiate with reasonable people on how to solve hard problems."
Earlier, it was lawyer Mike Davis, who formerly worked for the Senate Judiciary Committee and clerked for Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, who pointed out Johnston's plans could make him liable for allegations of conspiracy, obstruction, and even assault on federal officers.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Option during registration for 'male,' 'female' or 'self-described': 'It is inappropriate to ask this question of young children and I have instructed that it is removed as swiftly as possible'
Parents are scolding schools across the United Kingdom for demanding they provide the "gender identity" of their 3-year-olds who are enrolling in primary classes.
And some government officials are admitting the process wasn't well thought out.
It is the Christian Institute that confirmed the primary school applications used by more than 100 local authorities over recent years demands parents select "man/boy/male" or "woman/girl/female" or a third option to "self-describe."
This agenda "has no place on the form with regard to 3-year-olds on any level," charged one concerned mother.
The report explained the form in use was "supplied by an external provider, but has been used for more than 550,000 students."
"I immediately investigated as the council does not want or need a question about gender identity on our school admissions form," admitted Martin Tell, the chief of the Buckinghamshire Council, explaining his actions when he found out.
"It is inappropriate to ask this question of young children and I have instructed that it is removed as swiftly as possible," he said.
Some immediately warned of the harm that could befall children.
"We must call out the public authorities who enable this, highlighting that they are actively promoting an ideology that results in irreversible harm for vulnerable children and adults," charged Caroline Ffiske, of Conservatives for Women.
The ideology of transgenderism also has run rampant in the United States under the White House leadership of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, who made it, along with abortion, a top goal for their administration.
The institute noted Maya Forstater, of woman's rights charity Sex Matters, explained, "Projecting the adult beliefs and concepts of transactive onto children is not only ludicrous but also harmful."
She continued, "Many parents will have been shocked by this question and will be concerned about the nonsense that may be taught to their child at school based on the admissions form alone."
The report noted another mother also voiced her objections to school officials, "We are telling small children something false – you get to choose your gender – and we are forcing a very dangerous ideology onto very young children, with no discussion with parents."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Few would argue that no one should face discrimination for being, or not being, white or black or Hispanic, or young or old, or male or female, or for having ancestors from England or Japan, or for being born in Texas or North Dakota.
But amid the new leftist schemes to provide special protections based on gender ideology and such, there's one state lawmaker going even further.
Washington State Rep. Mia Gregerson, a Democrat, has a plan pending that would make being homeless a protected status.
That would be so they are protected from "discrimination based on housing status."
It is the Post Millennial that is reporting that Gregerson's plan proposes, "[M]any communities within Washington are enacting and enforcing laws that disproportionately impact homelessness or make living in public a crime. These laws are potentially unconstitutional, make it harder for people to exit homelessness, do not solve the underlying problem of homelessness, and waste precious public funds."
Her agenda apparently is in response to a U.S. Supreme Court decision that said the Constitution allows a city to enforce public camping ordinances, such as bans on camping on public property in some locations and at some times.
One Washington town, Burien, that started enforcing its ban on camping in public places, a move that the county had tried to halt.
"Other municipalities, including, Everett, Washington, began enacting similar policies such as its new Service Facility Buffer Zone, also known as a No Sit, No Lie Zone in its downtown near a local children's museum," the report said.
The bill would grant homeless "the right to survive in a nonobstructive manner" on public property, to include parking lots, sidewalks, parks, courtyards, even public transportation and highway medians and shoulders.
People living in RVs could stay wherever the vehicle is parked.
The camping limits got their impetus from a case in 2021, when a homeless meth addict was arrested after attempting to rape a county employee inside a women's bathroom at the King County courthouse, the report said.
Staying on public lands would be allowed when "that person has no reasonable alternative but to survive in public space and existing shelter facilities within the local government's jurisdiction are inadequate in number or are functionally inaccessible," the report said.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker, the far-left billionaire governor of Illinois, is being taken to court over his schemes that force state residents to choose between paying for abortions or going without health insurance entirely.
The case has been brought by the Thomas More Society on behalf of Students for Life of America, Midwest Bible Church, Pro-Life Action League, Right to Life, Clapham School, DuPage Precision Products, and a list of individuals.
"For Christians and many other pro-life advocates, Illinois' abortion-coverage mandate is fundamentally opposed to their religious beliefs and runs roughshod over their constitutionally protected conscience rights," explained Peter Breen, of the Thomas More Society.
"Gov. J.B. Pritzker and his administration are on an uncompromising campaign to transform the Land of Lincoln into the nation's abortion capital. In doing so, they have shown little regard for the rights of those who believe that all human life is worth protecting. We are proud to represent this coalition of clients in challenging this unconscionable mandate. There's no reason for pro-life individuals and organizations to be denied the option to choose an insurance policy that exempts them from covering others' elective abortions."
The problem facing the governor is that the case alleges he is violating the U.S. Constitution in his abortion promotion.
The filing in U.S. district court in Illinois explains Pritzker's plan "requires health-insurance policies to cover elective abortions on the same terms as they cover pregnancy-related benefits. It also requires health insurance policies to cover abortion-inducing drugs, and it forbids insurers to impose any cost-sharing arrangements such as co-pays or deductibles on this coverage."
"These abortion-inducing drugs must be provided free of charge to any beneficiary who demands them, and they are paid for entirely by premiums charged to other beneficiaries. These compulsory abortion-coverage laws provide no exceptions or accommodations for employers or individuals who object to abortion on religious or moral grounds, not even for churches," the filing states.
"As a result, Illinois residents who oppose abortion have no way of obtaining state-regulated health insurance that excludes abortion coverage, forcing many of them to choose between paying for other people's elective abortions with their premiums or forgoing health insurance entirely."
The Thomas More Society filing states, "Illinois's compulsory abortion-coverage laws abridge the free exercise of religion and other constitutional rights secured by the First and Fourteenth Amendments. They also violate numerous federal statutes…"
In an announcement about the launch of the case, the Thomas More Society explained, "The complaint asks the court to block state officials from enforcing these abortion-coverage mandates, which violate the free exercise and expressive association rights guaranteed by the First Amendment, as well as numerous federal statutes."
Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, noted, "If billionaire Gov. J.B. Pritzker wants to pay for abortions in his state out of the generosity of his heart, that can be his choice. Instead, Pritzker and state officials have manipulated and supported a law to force all Illinois residents to cover his choice of abortion for them.
"When spending his money in the election, it was to get more radical abortion policies in place, to demand others to pay for abortion. Students for Life of America's team members and supporters in Illinois should not be forced to violate our consciences just because the abortion lobby and its cheerleaders like the governor have moved from 'choice' to coercion."
The case seeks to have enforcement of the abortion payments through insurance be voided and a declaration that such a scheme violates the U.S. Constitution.
The filing charges, "The defendants' enforcement of Illinois's compulsory abortion-law cover age laws violates each of the plaintiffs' constitutional right to freely exercise their religion."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Members of Congress are demanding the Department of Justice inspector general review a case in which the U.S. Marshals Service pulled guns on an innocent woman, berated and screamed at her, arrested her, and jailed her overnight.
They had been looking for a different woman, but attacked Penny McCarthy in an incident that is on video reports now:
The letter demanding a review was sent to Inspector General Michael Horowitz by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the head of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., of the Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance.
"We are very concerned at both the USMS's carelessness and the excessive force during this encounter. The USMS's lack of regard for Ms. McCarthy's due process rights is very troubling and oversight is necessary to ensure similar abuses do not happen in the future. Part of the stated mission of the Department of Justice (DOJ) OIG is to 'review the programs and personnel' of the USMS," the letter said.
The members of Congress outlined the stunningly troubling facts at hand:
"On March 5, 2024, six United States Marshals Service (USMS) agents pulled into the driveway of 66-year-old Phoenix, Arizona resident Penny McCarthy with their guns drawn demanding that she 'get her hands up.' The USMS agents insisted that McCarthy was a fugitive who had violated probation in 1999 after committing several non-violent crimes. The agents threatened Ms. McCarthy and denied her an opportunity to prove her identity. While the USMS has initiated a review of this apparent misconduct, we write to request that the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conduct a thorough and independent investigation of this incident," they wrote.
From publicly available information, it appears that the USMS violated Ms. McCarthy's constitutional rights during the arrest. After six agents surprised Ms. McCarthy at her home screaming at her to 'get her hands up,' she understandably asked if they had the right individual. At that point, the USMS agents screamed at her to 'tum around,' threatening her 'you're going to get hit.' Video footage shows that Ms. McCarthy cooperated during the encounter, despite threats of being tased. Ms. McCarthy asked to see proof that the agents were law enforcement but the agents denied her request. The agents insisted Ms. McCarthy was a nonviolent fugitive from Oklahoma named Carole Anne Rozak. Ms. McCarthy offered to provide proof she was not Ms. Rozak, but federal agents refused. The USMS booked Ms. McCarthy in federal prison overnight and she was released the next day. A federal judge subsequently dismissed the case shortly thereafter. The USMS only admitted its misidentification after a local news channel conducted a thorough investigation. The body camera footage was not released until six months after the incident through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. Although the USMS claims it is conducting a review of the actions taken by their agents, an internal review is not enough.
The members of Congress cited the officers' "carelessness and the excessive force during this encounter."
The letter instructs, "Please confirm that you will examine this encounter as soon as possible but no later than December 2, 2024."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A priority for the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump is to tackle the Deep State, the bureaucracy in Washington that is a self-perpetuating industry, to find what American taxpayers don't need or want.
And get rid of it.
One of the targets he's already identified is the Department of Education, which for the last 50 years or so has been expanding until it's now spending some $240 billion a year of taxpayer money.
And Trump's plan is getting a thumbs-up from an influential conservative leader, Franklin Graham of Samaritan's Purse.
"President-elect Donald J. Trump has said the Department of Education should be shut down – and I agree," Graham posted on social media. "Even President Ronald Reagan championed abolishing it and leaving decisions at the state and local level.
"The Department of Education has only existed since 1979, and we were better off without it. We have been spending billions of dollars for what? To dumb our children down? To teach them to disrespect the flag and our nation? To introduce them to sexual content at earlier ages including gay and transgender agendas? For them to be taught the lies of Critical Race Theory and DEI? To accomplish the woke agendas of teachers' unions? To have reading scores at near historic lows? To have students score lower in math than they did 20 years ago? To have 1/3 of U.S. school children score below their actual grade level? For the U.S. to rank a low 28th out of 37 countries of the world in math?
"I think we can do better. Put the parents back in the driver's seat and let schools come under state and local leadership," he explained.
The BBC noted that ridding the nation of the agency is one of the promises Trump has made.
The federal bureaucrats run student loan programs and those to help low-income students. They run the Pell grant program, support students with disabilities and enforce civil rights law.
But Republicans, for decades already, at least as far back as Ronald Reagan's campaign, have suggested getting rid of it, ending its campaign to impose "woke" politics on children such as gender ideology and Critical Race Theory.
They suggest the authority be returned to states, which run schools and other education industry components.
The report said, "Conservatives also argue that other education department functions, such as administering loans, should be handled instead by the U.S. Department of Treasury, and that civil rights infractions are the Department of Justice's domain."
The report noted Trump cannot shut down the agency by himself, and he would need congressional help.
"While Republicans have a majority in the Senate, they do not have 60 members in the upper chamber, so they would need to convince a few Democrats to vote to abolish the agency. There's zero chance of that," the report speculated.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Democrat pundits stoking fear among legal migrants, but president-elect wants to remove undocumented Chinese nationals who crossed the southern border illegally at the height of Biden's border crisis
As the threat to national security from China continues, undocumented Chinese migrants could be the first on President-elect Donald Trump's deportation list once he takes office in January.
According to NBC News, a source close to the Trump campaign said the president wants to remove undocumented Chinese nationals who crossed the southern border illegally at the height of President Joe Biden's border crisis.
The source cited the potential risk to national security, which is not unfounded as the FBI recently admitted China is using remote hackers to steal American intellectual property and other sensitive information through U.S. telecommunications companies.
Executive director of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund Bethany Li told NBC News targeting "military age" undocumented Chinese migrants is another way to demonize China.
"We know that both the state and federal government have deemed China as a national security threat… We saw this in World War II with Japanese Americans incarcerated. We saw this post-9/11 with Muslim and South Asian men being detained and some deported."
Li further stated that Chinese migrants flee to the U.S. because of poverty and dissatisfaction with China's government.
"It's another way of casting our community as an enemy. It might not even make any logical sense from a national security perspective, but our communities on the ground here in the U.S. will feel the impact," Li said.
Since Trump's victory, Democrat pundits like MSNBC's Joy Reid have been fueling fear and reporting the Trump administration could deport green card holders and naturalized citizens, as well as undocumented migrants across the board.
Other outlets have also been stoking that fear.
However, past comments during his presidential campaign show Trump was not referring to migrants who enter the U.S. legally through a port-of-entry, and have a legal right to stay in the U.S. Trump called the rumor "fake news."
Trump has reiterated many times that the U.S. needs more people to immigrate legally, and this does not include those who would cause harm to the American people through crimes like murder and drug dealing.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Flights from the United States to Haiti have been suspended for a month, on the orders of the Federal Aviation Administration, after at east three jetliners trying to land there were hit by gunfire.
Just the News reports first attacked was a Spirit airliner out of Florida, and it took four hits while approaching Touissant Louverture Airport in Port-an-Prince, before diverting to the Dominican Republican.
One flight attendant reported minor injuries.
The second was a JetBlue flight that took a single bullet when trying to land.
That flight was from New York City, and triggered the immediate announcement form JetBlue that it was halting flights to Haiti until Dec. 2.
The report explained Haiti, long a location considered to be largely lawless, now is under the thumb of "gangs" that are attempting to control traffic.
"The security situation in Haiti is unpredictable and dangerous," the U.S. Embassy in Haiti said, according to the report. "Travel within Haiti is conducted at your own risk."
CNN reported that gang violence was escalating in Haiti, where the political landscape also is unstable.