This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., holds the nickname "Fang Fang" for his relationship with a woman who allegedly was a Chinese "honey pot" spy.
When his relationship with a foreign government activist came to light, the House Ethics Committee investigated. But it "closed" its review, promising to protect him from "action."
Now he has given an interview in which he is threatening private American citizens if they supported President Donald Trump in a way that he dislikes.
His comments prompted the Gateway Pundit to post a "Fascism Alert" warning about him.
In an interview, Swalwell said his party will be the majority in Congress after the next election, a prediction that is not at all supported by all analysts of the coming election.
"We are making it clear we are going into the majority a year from now. We have every intention to do that," he said.
"And so we will bring oversight accountability. We will subpoena the Department of Justice, but also private actors who have done these drug deals with the administration."
Wagging his finger at Americans, he continued, "College campuses, entertainment companies, and so accountability is coming and so, One, It's all coming out, Two. I hope that deters people from doing more of these deals, these one-offs with the president."
Actually, evidence released by the Trump administration has confirmed that it was Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and other Democrats who actually weaponized the federal government against Trump, launching an FBI probe based on lies, and much more.
The accountability for that scheming has just started to develop, with last week's indictment of ex-FBI chief James Comey on lying and obstruction charges.
The Gateway Pundit's comments included, "The Democrats will be targeting ordinary Americans to retaliate against the Trump administration for holding disgraced former FBI Director James Comey accountable along with people who have worked with President Trump to clean up corruption and go after bad actors."
The report described how Swalwell "vowed revenge" on Trump and his supporters.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A man has been charged with a felony under a federal law that makes it illegal to point a laser at an aircraft.
The reasoning isn't complicated. Lasers, even those hand-held pointer units, can blind a pilot, even injure his eyes, and when the pilot is in control of a jet the consequences can be dire.
In this case, it was President Donald Trump's helicopter that allegedly was the target.
So Jacob Winkler was charged.
But now a magistrate judge, Zia Faruqui, has decided that Winkler doesn't need to be kept in custody.
Investigative reporter Julie Kelly confirmed, "He [Faruqui] just denied Trump DOJ's request to detain Jacob Winkler.
Police reports confirmed, "The red laser beam hit Officer Santiago's eyes and briefly disoriented him. At this time, Marine One flew at a relatively low height and directly above Officer Santiago and [Winkler's] location. Marine One was close enough that the rotor noise was loud, and the aircraft appeared large overhead. Officer Santiago approached [Winkler] after being flashed in the face with the red laser. Upon approach, [Winkler] looked up, oriented the same red laser pointer at the direction of Marine One and activated the red laser beam."
A report at the Gateway Pundit explained the situation.
"Radical magistrate judge denied the Justice Department's request to detain a man who tried to take down Marine One with a red laser pointer."
The federal complaint said Winkler immediately was handcuffed, but it also noted the danger of "risk of flash blindness and pilot disorientation," especially in a presidential helicopter flying at low altitudes.
Winkler was charged with 18 U.S. Code § 39A, a law that prohibits aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft.
The penalties under the law could be up to five years in prison.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Since Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated earlier this month, his organization, seeking free speech, civilized dialogue and even spiritual revival on America's campuses, has been bombarded with thousands of requests for launching additional chapters.
Make that tens of thousands.
But now both local police and the state attorney general have begun investigating a situation in Harris County, Texas, where Stratford High students were working to begin a group, and local parents opposed to the concepts espoused by TPUSA allegedly doxed those students, releasing their private information, which in Texas is a violation of the law.
Attorney General Ken Paxton, notified of the situation, said, "These are sick individuals. My office will review these messages for any violations of the law. The radical leftist culture of suppression must be totally defeated. We are not backing down, and we will not be silenced."
The Harris County part of the nationwide organization called Moms for Liberty had caught wind of the secret agenda against TPUSA and wrote online: "Stratford HS TEENS forming a TPUSA Club America were DOXXED by ADULTS sharing students' internal GroupMe content in a 'BE THE CHANGE' private FB group, urging 730 members, operating in secrecy, to also intimidate teacher sponsors. REPREHENSIBLE. These are KIDS!"
Local police also said they were investigating.
A report at Lifezette explained, "One post, circulated on social media, urged Stratford parents to contact teachers rumored to be sponsoring the club."
That message said, "Stratford Parents – I have an urgent request! Please please please send emails to two teachers who are rumored to have agreed to sponsoring a club that will sow division and hate among our students. … This is dangerous territory, and it would help if those teachers knew that their consideration was not appreciated by the remainder of the student body."
The report said then the messaging publicly cited individuals allegedly linked to the effort, "including Denise Bell, who was described as 'pushing for Stratford students to start a Turning Point USA club at the school.' It also cited Gulf Coast Representative Javon Evans of 'Club America,' the TPUSA-affiliated student organization."
The report explained, "The online campaign went further, circulating a series of claims about TPUSA and its founder. Among them were accusations that the organization runs a 'Professor Watchlist' to target teachers, that teachers sponsoring a TPUSA club would be making a political statement, and that TPUSA has framed minorities and immigrants as 'existential threats.'"
The online gossip also "suggested the assassination of Charlie Kirk was connected to 'far-right rivalry,' despite police statements identifying the suspected shooter, Tyler Robinson, and his ideological motivations."
Even the suspect's family members have confirmed he was radicalized into leftist ideology recently, including the transgender agenda and more.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A widely recognized and honored constitutional expert has delivered a "Bravo" to a judge who has ruled that a lawsuit by parents against a school where officials allegedly deceived them, withholding the truth about the school's gender ideology and officials' manipulation of a student, can go forward.
"There is a major ruling, Mead v. Rockford Public School Dist., a potentially precedent-setting case on parental rights in our public schools. Judge Paul Maloney (W.D. Mich.) ruled that Plaintiffs Dan and Jennifer Mead could move forward with their claims that the Rockford Public School district concealed changes to the gender identification of their biological daughter, identified as G.M. As I have previously written, parental rights are shaping up as a major battleground for the Supreme Court after years of decisions in the lower court undermining parental controls and disclosures," explained expert Jonathan Turley, who not only has testified before Congress as an expert on the Constitution but has represented members in court on constitutional issues.
He pointed out, "A century ago, the nation's highest court ruled in Pierce v. Society of Sisters that 'the child is not the mere creature of the State; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations.'"
Further, in 2000, he said, in its Troxel v. Granville decision, "the court recognized 'the fundamental right of parents to make decisions concerning the care, custody, and control of their children.'"
He said, "There is no greater natural right than the right to control the upbringing of our children. This right was not granted to us by the grace of the state. It rests with us as human beings. It is part of a panoply of natural rights embraced by the framers − a commitment made nearly 250 years ago in our Declaration of Independence."
The Michigan court, under Judge Paul Maloney, now has recognized a "viable" claim by the parents.
"The court noted that the parents were alleging a key element in the case that the District intentionally deceived them and found that these "allegations show some amount of coercion or interference from the District, which implicates Plaintiffs' right to make fundamental decisions for [daughter] G.M,'" he said.
"Bravo, Judge Maloney."
At Reason, columnist Eugene Volokh said the district started treating the girl as a boy, with a name change and more, "but did not inform G.M.'s parents."
The court now has allowed the parent's 14th Amendment claim to go forward.
"The right of parents to direct their children's upbringing originated from three Supreme Court cases: Meyer v. Nebraska (1923), Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925), and Farrington v. Tokushige (1927)…. The Court affirmed the life of this right in Troxel v. Granville (2000). There, the Court held that 'the interest of parents in the care, custody, and control of their children [] is perhaps the oldest of the fundamental liberty interest recognized by this Court,'" the column said.
In this case, the plaintiffs charge "the District intentionally deceived them. Plaintiffs claim that the District went beyond failing to notify them of their child's gender transition. According to the complaint, the District 'took affirmative steps to deceive the Meads.' Taking complaint in its entirety, Plaintiffs' allegations show some amount of coercion or interference from the District, which implicates Plaintiffs' right to make fundamental decisions for G.M…."
Further, Reason charged, "Plaintiffs also allege that the District's actions amount to medical health treatment. They plead that the District engaged G.M. in a 'psychosocial intervention for gender dysphoria.'"
And, "The District's policy and practice allowed school officials to deceive the child's parents, which undermined their ability to choose appropriate medical treatment for their child (a third-party therapist or psychologist). The District's policy and practice 'undermines a meaningful role for parents if the child decides his or her biological gender is not preferential,'" the column said.
A report from the ADF, which brought the case on behalf of the parents, explained the school even "had altered the girl's official records to remove references to the district's actions before sending the records home."
"The Meads only discovered the district's actions when an employee unintentionally failed to completely alter a report about their daughter before sharing it with them. By concealing this important information, the district violated the Meads' fundamental parental rights. The U.S. Constitution protects their right as parents to make decisions about the upbringing, education, and health care of their children," ADF reported.
"Parents, not the government, have the right to direct the upbringing, education, and health care of their children," said ADF lawyer Kate Anderson. "Schools should never deliberately hide vital information from parents, yet that's exactly what the Rockford Public School District did. District employees didn't even notify Dan and Jennifer—let alone seek their consent—before beginning to call their young daughter by a masculine name and male pronouns."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Most professions and blue collar jobs work like this: The more experienced a person is at work, the better the pay. And with more experience and better pay, they produce better results.
Seems that doesn't necessarily apply to teaching.
A report in the Washington Stand, citing Open the Books evidence, found that in more than 12,000 school districts, there's "a negative correlation between overhead and student performance."
"In other words, districts that spent more on teacher and administrative pay saw their students' standardized test scores drop," the research organization reported.
Open the Books works with freedom of information and other procedures to access details. It boasts it provides public access to "every dime, online, in real time."
"Using the Open the Books proprietary database of government salaries across America, we calculated how much each U.S. state increased its public-school payrolls from 2019 to 2023. We compared that number to the change in each state's ranking on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which measures reading and math skills for 4th and 8th graders," the foundation said.
"By plotting the percentage change in payroll, state by state, versus the percentage change in the national rankings of its districts, a surprising picture emerges. Growing payrolls are not closely correlated with improved performance among districts in a given state. In fact, the opposite correlation appears. There is a mild inverse relationship between these two data sets. Higher overhead costs are associated with lower test scores," the group said.
There was a word of caution in the analysis: Just because there is a correlation doesn't necessarily mean that higher wages cause lower test scores, and Open the Books said that raises another question.
"Is the negative correlation more likely the result of increased teacher pay or is higher pay for administrators a factor?" it said.
The report cited earlier studies, dating back some 40 years, that suggested higher pay for administrators was more likely a cause of lower student stores.
That means, Open the Books explained, "administrative bloat in public schools is not new."
An economics professor at Kennesaw State University, in fact, found that non-teaching staff at U.S. public schools exploded 702% from 1950 to 2009, while teaching staff rose 252%. And during that time, student scores fell, the report said.
The report noted that in Maine, educator pay rose 19% from 2019 to 2024. But student scores dropped a startling 16 positions in the ranking of 50 statse.
The report said, "Maryland is making historic investments in education through its 10-year, $30 billion Blueprint for Maryland's Future plan. However, the plan has put such a strain on city and county finances that local legislator Joseph Stonko recently called it the 'Blueprint to Bankrupt Maryland's Future.' In Maryland, student performance has yet to improve. In fact, since the Blueprint bill was first discussed in 2019, Maryland's ranking on NAEP exams has dropped eight spots."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
President Donald Trump is forcefully asserting that former President Joe Biden weaponized the U.S. Justice Department to silence civil rights leader Charlie Kirk and cancel his conservative organization Turning Point USA.
In a late-night post on Truth Social Tuesday, Trump wondered: "Why was the wonderful Turning Point under INVESTIGATION by 'Deranged' Jack Smith and the Corrupt & Incompetent Biden Administration."
"They Weaponized the Justice Department against Sleepy Joe Biden's Political Opponents, including ME!"
The president's remarks were posted only hours Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, revealed files indicating the FBI had subpoenaed 92 Republican-affiliated groups during its "Arctic Frost" election probe into Trump, including Turning Point USA, which was co-founded by Kirk in 2012.
That FBI investigation in 2022 was later given to Special Counsel Smith, who eventually charged Trump for allegedly hiding top-secret files at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, and trying to overturn the disputed presidential election of 2020.
"Some examples of the groups the [Christopher] Wray FBI sought to place under political investigation included the Republican National Committee, Republican Attorneys General Association and Trump political groups," Grassley said.
"On that political list was one of Charlie Kirk's groups, Turning Point USA."
Appearing on "Jesse Watters Primetime" Tuesday night, U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said Biden's FBI was investigating Kirk "to try to intimidate him."
"Charlie had said to me a couple of years ago … 'I think that we are being targeted. I think TPUSA is being targeted … Can you help us?'"
Hawley explained: "This has got to be what he was talking about. And now we know that Joe Biden once again weaponized the FBI to go after his political opponents.
"It's nothing but terrorism. It's an attempt to silence and intimidate. I'm so glad that Charlie was not intimidated right up to the last day that he had on this Earth. That is why he is such a sterling example."
"What Joe Biden did in his administration, we can't ever allow to happen again. You look at the climate they created," Hawley continued.
"We're reaping the fruits of that now. The climate of hate and division and suspicion that they deliberately created for years to try to hold onto power. It's despicable and it's time to turn the page on it."
Turning Point USA has been inundated with more than 54,000 new chapter requests since Kirk was gunned down while speaking in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10.
The surge came in the wake of an appeal by Charlie's widow Erika Kirk. Before her plea, the group had 9,000 college chapters and 1,100 high-school chapters.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Actor Robert Redford, who was made famous by his work in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and earned accolades for "The Way We Were," "Barefoot in the Park" and "Ordinary People," has died at the age of 89.
Reports said the Hollywood star, born Charles Robert Redford Jr. on August 18, 1936, passed away Tuesday at his home in Utah.
He once described the attraction of his career: "The idea of being an actor was to have a sense of freedom. You were free to be, to act as someone else, if you were paying attention to the people around you. … You had a chance to be an artist, because acting is an art form. You had a chance to say, 'I know this person, I've seen this person before and I want to bring that forward.'"
He won two Oscars, five Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, Kennedy Center Honors and the Presidential Medal of Freedom over his six decades in front of the camera.
He also was integral in "The Sting," "All the President's Men" and "Out of Africa."
His father was an oil company accountant and his mother held a passion for literature and the arts, and while enjoying football, tennis and track and field as a youth, he struggled to find his own career, the New York Post reported.
He described being fired as a box boy and from an oil company job.
When his mother died when he was 18, he traveled to Europe to study art, later returning to take up acting.
"I suffered for four or five years not being sure I wanted to be in that business because I so wanted to be an artist. I just wanted to paint and sketch and tell stories by drawing," he once explained in an interview.
He later played the role of a villain, in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier."
In 2018 he said, after finishing a project, "I thought, 'That's enough. Why don't you quit while you're a little bit ahead? Don't wait for the bell to toll. Just get out.' So I felt my time had come and I couldn't think of a better project to go out on than this film."
He also started the Sundance Institute and he often preached messages about the green ideology.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Some of President Donald Trump's work to "Make America Great Again" and restore its business influence around the world has been high-profile, such as his use of tariffs to encourage other countries to be fair in their trade agreements.
Some haven't been quite that profile, but still have produced results.
Such as his campaign to build American energy development, production and sales.
That's benefited the American economy by about $5 billion … per month.
It is a report at Courthousenews that explains Europe's "trade advantage" over the U.S. plunged "by another $5 billion in July."
That's based on information that shows a months-long shift as Europeans now are buying significantly more American goods.
"The European Union's trade surplus with the U.S. fell to 13 billion euros ($14.3 billion) in July from 18 billion euros ($19.8 billion) a year earlier, according to official EU data. The shift represents the largest monthly deterioration in the trade relationship since U.S. President Donald Trump took office," the report said.
The report said the 20 EU countries that use the euro currency showed similar results, as its global trade surplus fell to 12.4 billion euros from 18.5 billion euros a year earlier.
"European imports of U.S. goods surged 10.7% to 31.2 billion euros, while U.S. purchases of European products dropped 4.4% to 44.2 billion euros. The diverging trends signal a fundamental shift in one of the world's most important trade relationships," Courthousenews said.
European exports to the U.S. have fallen as the dollar strengthened and changed purchasing patterns, with Europeans buying more American energy, technology and agricultural products.
The report said European markets are weak, with a second-quarter growth report of a dismal 0.1%, far behind America's 0.8%.
The trade changes followed Trump's insistence that European allies stop buying Russian oil and gas.
Trump, in a statement, said, "I am ready to do major Sanctions on Russia when all NATO Nations have agreed, and started, to do the same thing, and when all NATO Nations STOP BUYING OIL FROM RUSSIA. As you know, NATO'S commitment to WIN has been far less than 100%, and the purchase of Russian Oil, by some, has been shocking! It greatly weakens your negotiating position, and bargaining power, over Russia. Anyway, I am ready to 'go' when you are. Just say when? I believe that this, plus NATO, as a group, placing 50% to 100% TARIFFS ON CHINA, to be fully withdrawn after the WAR with Russia and Ukraine is ended, will also be of great help in ENDING this deadly, but RIDICULOUS, WAR. China has a strong control, and even grip, over Russia, and these powerful Tariffs will break that grip. This is not TRUMP'S WAR (it would never have started if I was President!), it is Biden's and Zelenskyy's WAR. I am only here to help stop it, and save thousands of Russian and Ukrainian lives (7,118 lives lost last week, alone. CRAZY!). If NATO does as I say, the WAR will end quickly, and all of those lives will be saved! If not, you are just wasting my time, and the time, energy, and money of the United States. Thank you for your attention to this matter! DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA."
A European Commission official declined comment to Courthousenews.
The report said the U.S. now supplies more than 50% of Europe's liquefied natural gas needs.
The report said the economic slowdown also has started affect Europe's job markets, with employment growth only 0.1%.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
They're dropping like flies. Another leftist has been relieved of his job thanks to insensitive remarks about the assassination of conservative icon Charlie Kirk.
This time it's a high-school social studies teacher – Wynne Boliek of Greenville, South Carolina.
According to South Carolina U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, who made a phone call or two back to her home state upon hearing about the teacher's X post, Boliek has been put on leave.
Boliek had posted Wednesday: "Thoughts and prayers to his children but IMHO, America became greater today. There I said it."
The comment is an allusion to President Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan, which Kirk enthusiastically championed.
The post was highlighted on X by the account Mostly Peaceful Memes, which has posted several comments made by users who are happy about the death of Kirk.
Fox Carolina posted the statement from Greenville County Schools:
"We are aware of an inappropriate message on social media attributed to Wynne Boliek, a teacher at Southside High School. Mr. Boliek has been placed on administrative leave while we fully investigate and follow the required due process. As this is a personnel matter, we are prevented from providing further details. As always, we expect all staff members to conduct themselves in a professional manner that best represents our district and schools. Thank you."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Fact: The one and only solution to Iran's ever-worsening crisis lies in the complete overthrow of the religious dictatorship. The international community is gradually reaching consensus on this point, and the Iranian people are more prepared than ever, their society now in a basically explosive state.
Neither war nor appeasement, but only regime change by the people of Iran and their organized Resistance, can truly guarantee peace in the region. To achieve this, however, the right of thousands of resistance units across Iran to confront the IRGC – that's the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that protects the theocratic regime – must be widely recognized. The need and timing are urgent. Every additional day granted to this regime only means more war and bloodshed. The regime's calls for negotiation are nothing more than desperate attempts to buy time. And its time is running out – as all the evidence attests.
Iran's streets are no longer under the regime's control
One of the clearest signs of the regime's decline is its loss of control over the streets. Until 2017, the Islamic Republic still had the ability to mobilize its supporters. But after successive uprisings – from December 2017 to November 2019, and later in 2022 – the streets gradually slipped from the regime's grip. Today, women and girls appear in public with voluntary attire. This is not a sign of tolerance by the regime, but proof of its inability to suppress them. Defections within the repressive forces are also widespread, leaving the regime increasingly stripped of its primary tool of control.
The cancelled concert
On Friday, Sept. 5, just one day before a major rally held by the Iranian opposition in Brussels, a large concert was scheduled to be held in Tehran. The decision to stage this event had been made by the Supreme National Security Council, the regime's highest decision-making body. Its main purpose appeared to be countering the impact of the opposition's demonstration in Brussels. The performance was assigned to a well-known singer whose father holds a prominent place in modern Iranian music.
The decision at such a high level reflected the regime's need for shows designed to present the slogans and aspirations claimed by the Supreme Leader as if they were being fulfilled. On Aug. 24, Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei had declared: "This sacred unity of the people with the Islamic Republic – this steel shield – must not be harmed. Today, thank God, unity exists."
Except it doesn't. But by consistently accusing opponents of sowing division, Khamenei hoped the concert would project an image of national unity and silence dissent within the establishment. History shows that in the final days of their rule, all dictators tend to resort to such displays in an effort to appear nationalistic and unifying.
The concert was to be held in Tehran's iconic Azadi Square. But according to Peyman Soltani, conductor of the Tehran Nations Orchestra, "Public opposition forced the cancellation of this program," because people saw it as aligning with the ruling regime. Its cancellation revealed that in Iran's political arena there is a force capable of challenging the regime and disrupting its calculations.
Defeat in cyberspace
In the realm of the internet and social networks, despite heavy filtering, the regime has failed to prevent young Iranians from connecting with the free world. Although access has become more difficult, the government has never managed to impose absolute control over cyberspace. In other words, the Islamic Republic has been forced to retreat not only in the streets, but also in the digital world.
A shared sense of collapse
The sense of the regime's imminent downfall is no longer confined to its opponents. Even within the system, this perception is clearly visible. In the minds of the people, the regime has already collapsed – only its physical fall remains.
'Time for a free Iran has arrived'
Last Saturday, Sept. 6, former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence joined Maryam Rajavi, the leader of the Iranian Resistance, at a major Iranian rally held in Brussels to show support for the Iranian people's determination to bring about change.
In his address to tens of thousands of Iranians and human rights activists in Brussels, Pence stressed that the time for change had come, declaring: "The time for a free Iran has arrived."
"There is no weapon stronger than the will of a people determined to achieve their aspirations," he added. "That will is now embodied in the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran and the National Council of Resistance of Iran, and it will prevail."