This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A federal appeals court has dumped a district judge's decision to block, nationwide, President Donald Trump's efforts to limit tax money being spent on the racist "diversity, equity and inclusion" programs within the federal government.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has lifted the block created by Judge Adam Abelson of Baltimore.
Trump had signed an order directing federal agencies to terminate "equity-related" grants or contracts and then followed up with an order requiring federal contractors to certify that they don't promote DEI programs, which often are based on race.
Abelson claimed Trump's pursuit of an ideology not based on race probably violated free speech rights.
The city of Baltimore and others had sued.
Now the 4th Circuit has reinstated Trump's orders to curb tax money being used on those programs. The ruling means that Trump's orders can be enforced while the lawsuit over them continues.
Abelson had made his injunction valid nationwide, part of a trend of lower court judges assuming the authority of the executive branch and making decisions for the entire nation, a move over which the U.S. Supreme Court already has expressed alarm.
The appeals court said Abelson's ruling simply went too far.
The Department of Justice said the president simply was targeting DEI programs that violate federal civil rights laws.
Republicans long have criticized DEI agendas because they undermine merit-based hiring and promotions, in which the best and most qualified candidate should get a job or promotion.
Constitutional scholar Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington University, explained that even Pamela Harris, a judge appointed by Biden, disagreed with the plaintiffs.
"The challenged Executive Orders, on their face, are of distinctly limited scope. The Executive Orders do not purport to establish the illegality of all efforts to advance diversity, equity or inclusion, and they should not be so understood," she wrote.
Further, she said, the orders "do not authorize the termination of grants based on a grantee's speech or activities outside the scope of the funded activities."
Turley noted that another panel judge, Albert Diaz, appointed by Barack Obama, went beyond the authority of the court to editorialize about his opinion.
Diaz claimed, "Despite the vitriol now being heaped on DEI, people of good faith who work to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion deserve praise, not opprobrium. When this country embraces true diversity, it acknowledges and respects the social identity of its people. When it fosters true equity, it opens opportunities and ensures a level playing field for all. And when its policies are truly inclusive, it creates an environment and culture where everyone is respected and valued. What could be more American than that?… A country does itself no favors by scrubbing the shameful moments of its past."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
'Parents, now is the time that you share the receipts of the betrayal that has happened in our public schools'
The Department of Education, which will be reduced in a major way if President Donald Trump's government efficiency campaign proceeds as he has planned, has in the interim opened a portal for people to report discrimination in K-12 schools.
In an announcement, the agency said it's EndDEI.Ed.Gov website is for parents, students, teachers and community members "to submit reports of discrimination based on race or sex in publicly funded K-12 schools."
"The secure portal allows parents to provide an email address, the name of the student's school or school district, and details of the concerning practices," the agency said. The information will then be evaluated for "investigation."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The Supreme Court has signaled it likely will end Mexico's demands, through the American court system, that multiple gunmakers in the U.S. pay it billions and billions of dollars.
It demanded, in a lawsuit brought in the state of Massachusetts, that seven major U.S. gun manufacturers and a gun wholesaler be held responsible financially for the horrific death toll from the drug cartel warfare that has engulfed parts of Mexico now for a generation.
A report at Scotusblog, which monitors, reports on, and analyzes Supreme Court actions, said the justices on Tuesday "signaled" they were likely to end Mexico's claims.
"A majority of the court appeared to agree with the gun makers that the Mexican government's suit is barred by a 2005 law intended to shield the gun industry from lawsuits in U.S. courts for the misuse of guns by others," the report said.
Mexican officials had demanded not just billions of dollars but "an end to the marketing and trafficking of illegal guns to Mexico."
Those officials have made claims that American gun makers "deliberately" designed guns knowing that military-style machines will be appealing to drug cartel members. Then, the officials claimed, gunmakers sell their weapons to gun dealers, who sell them to gun buyers, who act as "strawmen" for delivery of guns in Mexico.
It ended up at the Supreme Court after the 1st Circuit noted Mexico's claims that gunmakers "aided and abetted illegal sales."
Lawyer Noel Francisco told the justices on behalf of the gunmakers that "when Congress enacted the law at the center of the case, the Protecting Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, it intended to 'prohibit lawsuits just like this one"" the report explained.
A representative for the Mexican government claimed that the lawsuit should be allowed to go forward.
At issue is whether gun makers helped cartels violate U.S. gun laws and whether the resulting injuries were the responsibility of the gunmakers.
The report said Justice Neil Gorsuch pointed out that for a violation to have occurred, the gun makers had to have intended to do that.
"Other justices questioned whether Mexico had provided enough details in its complaint for its case to move forward," the report noted.
Even leftists on the panel, including Ketanji Jackson and Elena Kagan, expressed doubts about the legitimacy of Mexico's case.
It was left to Justice Samuel Alito to cite the elephant in the room, President Donald Trump's insistence that Mexico do more to prevent the flow of illegal drugs into America, a dispute that has triggered tariffs already.
In this case, he said, Mexico alleges that U.S. gun manufacturers are contributing to illegal conduct in Mexico. But he noted there are "Americans who think that Mexican government officials are contributing to a lot of illegal conduct" in the United States.
Then, he wondered, should a U.S. state sue Mexico in a U.S. court for "aiding and abetting illegal conduct within the state's borders" that causes harm?
A report at Courthouse News suggested that "Mexico received little sympathy from the Supreme Court" in the dispute.
Defendants include Smith & Wesson Brands, Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, Beretta U.S.A. Corp, Glock, Sturm, Ruger & Company and Colt's Manufacturing Company.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Democrat lawmakers in a state legislature have turned into thought police, issuing a formal censure against a Republican representative who expressed her opinion regarding allowing men to participate in women's sports events.
The report on what happened to Rep. Laurel D. Libby, a Republican in Maine's House of Representatives, has been documented by the Washington Stand.
The action, a formal censure and ban on letting her speak because of what the Democrats wildly claimed was a lack of "good moral character," is supposed to be in place until she "apologizes."
The fight is one that's going on across the country, as leftists promoting what Joe Biden held as one of his standards for his presidency, a promotion of the LGBT lifestyle choice, continue to fight for their ideology in the wake of President Donald Trump's announcement that the government now recognizes two sexes, male and female.
The vote for Libby's punishment was 75-70 along party lines.
Democrats claimed, 'The House finds the conduct of Representative Laurel D. Libby to be reprehensible and in direct violation of our code of ethics."
Libby's opinions enraged Democrats when she wrote on social media about a male who won the state's girl's class B championship in pole vault.
Her comments included that one year earlier, "John tied for 5th place in boys pole vault. Tonight, 'Katie' won 1st place in the girls' Maine State Class B Championship."
Libby told the Washington Watch program that she was silenced for speaking up for girls who were "displaced from the top of the podium by a biological male."
She declined orders from House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, a Democrat, to take down the post that has been viewed well beyond 100,000 times, so the party attacked her with a resolution, with the attempt at political manipulation clear.
"If Rep. Libby had posted the same picture, the same name with sentiments of congratulations, would we be here doing the censure right now? I think we know the answer to that," explained Rep. Jennifer Poirier, a Republican.
Libby was cut off from even defending her statement as Democrats continually interrupted.
And the move even destroyed the impact of a censure in the state, Republicans warned.
"This censure motion makes a mockery of the censure process," House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham said, explaining nothing in the code of ethics allows the legislature to censure a lawmaker over online speech.
The report explained, "The chamber's actions against Libby conform to the Democratic Party's plans to overturn elections by stripping Republican elected officials such as Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) of their committee assignments, threatening to expel conservatives from Congress, or attempting to bar President Donald Trump from running for president by branding him an 'insurrectionist' ineligible for office under the 14th Amendment."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Amid the turmoil going on in Canada's government now, with the coming departure of Justice Trudeau from its leadership ranks, analysts have suggested that globetrotting banker Mark Carney has a path to replacing him.
But a candidate who right now is considered an also-ran has made a stunning demand that Canada work with nuclear-equipped allies to create a "a closer security relationship that guarantees our security in a time when United States can be a threat."
The comments are from Chrystia Freeland, who said, "The U.S. is turning predator, and so what Canada needs to do is work closely with our democratic allies, our military allies. I would start with our Nordic partners, specifically Denmark who is also being threatened, and our NATO European allies. I would be sure that France and Britian were there who possess NUCLEAR WEAPONS and I will be working urgently with these partners to build a closer security relationship that guarantees our security in a time when United States can be a threat."
Polling shows Carney is the favorite to take over Liberal party leadership, with Freeland trailing.
President Donald Trump repeatedly has suggested that Canada should be America's 51st state, while Trudeau has publicly resisted, saying Trump cannot take his country.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron met in the White House Monday, with the potential ceasefire agreement between Ukraine and Russia on both leaders' minds.
Speaking in the Oval Office about the need for a peace deal, Trump said, "It could lead to World War III if it's not solved. You know, there'll be a point at which it's not going to stop at those two countries [because] there's such involvement from other countries."
The bilateral meeting came after the two joined a call with all G7 leaders, where Eastern European security was also the main topic of discussion.
"We had a good discussion this morning for the G7 here for the [anniversary of] the third year of this war in Ukraine," Trump said. "And I think our common objective clearly is to build..a solid longstanding peace."
When asked if he'd be willing to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, Trump said Zelenskyy wants to come to the United States to sign the deal when it's done.
"We'd meet at the Oval Office. So, the agreement is being worked on now. They're very close to a final deal … And he would like to come, and I understand, here to sign it. And that would be great with me. I think they then have to get it approved by their counsel or whoever might approve it. But I'm sure that will happen."
If true, this would mean Zelenskyy may have forgiven Trump for his comments calling him a dictator. Or perhaps the wartime leader has come to understand how America's dealmaker in chief plays politics.
Sunday, Zelenskyy offered to step down as president of Ukraine if it meant his country could join NATO. And if Russian President Vladimir Putin thinks Trump is not ready to give into every demand from the Ukrainians, it might soften the Russian leader's stance entering into what the Trump team called "the last yard" of peace talks.
Trump's willingness to bring Putin to the table is a sharp contrast from the Biden administration's hands-off approach to peace:
"I'm just glad I was able to help, because there was no communication with Russia until I came along. Biden didn't communicate, he couldn't communicate with his own child. It was terrible. He hadn't spoken to Putin in three years."
Trump told reporters he expects Putin to accept European troops as peacekeepers as part of the deal.
During a later press conference in the East Room, Macron insisted the U.S. and Europe should continue to provide security to the small nation.
"This peace must not mean a surrender of Ukraine," Macron indicated. "It must not mean a ceasefire without guarantees. This peace must allow for Ukrainian sovereignty and allow Ukraine to negotiate with other stakeholders regarding the issues that affect it."
One of those issues is the use of nearly 300 billion in frozen assets that were part of joint U.S.-E.U. sanctions against Russia. While Trump has been vocal about wanting to use those assets to reimburse America's investment in the war, Macron said only the accrued proceeds from the assets should be used.
"We already used [the assets] to back precisely the loans negotiated at the G7, and it's part of the sanctions. So it will depend on the follow-up of the discussions," Macron said.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald's Trump's pick to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has re-installed science into the federal agency.
In new guidance that was released this week – his first in his new assignment after confirmation by the U.S. Senate – Kennedy made clear that human life begins at conception and that there are only two biological sexes – male and female.
Those statement simply were censored under the administration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
Mat Staver, chief of Liberty Counsel which often has fought in court on behalf of life and common sense on those disputes, said, "Reality and sound science have long confirmed that life begins at conception and that biological human sex is immutable. This commonsense guidance allows a return to sound governance based on fact, not fiction. Radical gender ideology must be completely rooted out from government to fully protect the health, safety, and fairness of women and children."
Two of Biden's biggest goals were to install abortion in all portions of society around the globe and promote the LGBT lifestyle choices, especially the unscientific transgender agenda, everywhere he could.
In one of the first actions RFK Jr. took, he implemented in part Trump's efforts to eliminate "false" gender ideology throughout the government's executive branch.
"The guidance informs all federal agencies, the government's external partners, and the public that the 'immutable' nature of human sex is genetically determined at conception. By recognizing binary sex as 'objective biology,' the government can then help protect the health and safety of women and children, the HHS stated," according to the report.
Kennedy explained that he, as part of the Trump administration, and others are working to bring back "common sense and restoring biological truth to the federal government."
He charged, "The prior administration's policy of trying to engineer gender ideology into every aspect of public life is over."
The HHS guidance followed Trump's executive order titled, "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government."
That tells the HHS to provide the public "clear guidance" on sex-based definitions stipulating that "sex" is strictly a "biological classification as either male or female" and "not a synonym" for the concept of gender identity.
The guidance states that sex is "a person's immutable biological classification as either male or female."
A female, the science confirms, "is a person of the sex characterized by a reproductive system with the biological function of producing eggs (ova)," while a male is "is a person of the sex characterized by a reproductive system with the biological function of producing sperm."
Biden's administration wildly tried to install the transgender ideology throughout the nation by claiming it could redefine the word "sex" as it was used in nondiscrimination laws from 50 years ago to include "gender" ideologies. The Biden argument was that lawmakers in the 1960s and 1070s when many nondiscrimination laws were written actually meant "gender" when they wrote "sex."
"Restoring biological truth to the Federal government is critical to scientific inquiry, public safety, morale, and trust in government itself," the HHS stated.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The transgender issue became a cause celebre for Joe Biden and his administration. He pushed the ideology, unscientific though it is, that men or boys can become women or girls. And vice versa.
His fight extended to the point he was trying to force doctors with ethical and religious objections to do body mutilating surgeries – and he was trying to force taxpayers to pay for it. And not just in the U.S., but around the globe.
President Donald Trump put a block on the agenda when he took office, stating that the government's official policy is that there are two genders, men and women.
But now a report reveals that over recent years, taxpayers have been billed for some $241 million – for transgender experiments on animals.
It is Fox News that reported Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., described such spending as "insane."
It was just weeks ago that the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, in a hearing called, "Transgender Lab Rats and Poisoned Puppies: Oversight of Taxpayer Funded Animal Cruelty," heard from Justin Goodman of the White Coat Waste Project about the spending.
Goodman said, "In a lot of these cases, they involve mice, rats, monkeys, who are being surgically mutilated and subjected to hormone therapies to mimic female-to-male or male-to-female gender transitions, gender-affirming hormone therapies, and then looking at the biological, psychological and physiological effects of the gender transitions, looking at the effects of taking vaccines after you've transitioned these animals from male to female or female to male, looking at the size of their genitals changing after you've put them on estrogen or testosterone therapies to transition them."
Goodman described one situation where a $1.1 million cash handout was delivered to give female lab rats testosterone, and then observe whether they were likely to overdose on a rape drug.
Crane explained, in a statement to Fox, "Anthony Fauci lied to the American people about masks, vaccines, social distancing, gain-of-function research, and the origins of COVID-19. On top of these egregious actions, he also authorized more than $200 million of taxpayer funds for 'transgender animal testing'."
Crane suggested it's now up to Congress to examine spending bills line by line and remove "these fraudulent programs."
Goodman cited that Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Joe Biden's chief operative to impose masks, shots, and lockdowns on Americans during COVID, funded 95% of the transgender animal experiments.
The taxpayer funds paid for "painful and deadly transgender experiments that forced lab animals to undergo invasive surgeries and hormone therapies," explained Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A policy adviser for the U.S. Department of the Treasury has admitted on camera that workers in the agency are defying Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.
Because DOGE and Musk are, "risks to national security."
The video comes from O'Keefe Media Group, which goes undercover to interview subjects.
This one was identified as Nate Johnson, a policy adviser in the agency.
He called DOGE, "Government sanctioned harassment," and complained about Trump's offer to have federal workers agree to resign in return for months of pay.
He said no one thinks that's legal, and it would end up firing the "wrong people."
Further, he complained that DOGE should not have access to Treasury information because, even if they're American, they could give information to a "foreign governmenta."
He admitted there are problems, with employees in the government for 40 years, who "don't do much."
And he explained he works on situations where there could be security issues with a foreign investment in America, and said those often are resolved with an agreement … and subsequent monitoring.
He claimed Musk is "showing what he really cares about is money. So in theory all he wants is more money."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
According to the Iranian resistance network inside Iran, Tehran is secretly accelerating the development of nuclear warheads for solid-fuel missiles with a range of over 3,000 km. These missiles are being manufactured at the Shahroud missile site, located in central Iran.
Disguised under the cover of a satellite launch program, the missile sites in Shahroud and Semnan are now in full coordination with the regime's nuclear militarization entity, the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research, or SPND.
The SPND is particularly involved in designing nuclear warheads for Ghaem-100 solid-fuel missiles, which are equipped with mobile-launch platforms at the Shahroud site. It is also utilizing the liquid-fuel Simorgh missile, deployed in Semnan, for nuclear warhead development.
According to a confidential internal memo, revealed last week in Washington by the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the regime is stalling for time by negotiating with European countries and even indirectly with the United States, aiming to maintain the current status quo long enough to complete its weapons program. This same document reveals the regime's concerns over the potential triggering of the "snapback mechanism" at the U.N. Security Council. The regime's plan is to drag out negotiations for another six months, after which the sunset clause in the U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231 would render it obsolete.
A regime of warmongering and chaos
The survival of the Iranian regime depends on war and chaos. Believing that this regime, even in a weakened state, could achieve peace and stability in the region would be naïve. Despite severe blows to its proxy forces and the loss of Syria – once a key stronghold of its expansionism – the senile Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has not abandoned support for the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Iraq, Hezbollah in Lebanon or the Houthis in Yemen. On Feb. 6, Khamenei hosted the head of Hamas' leadership council in Tehran. His rhetoric, claimed by Iran's ambassador to France as being about "a nonmilitary nuclear program," is nothing but a farce. As long as he has the means, Khamenei will continue his destabilizing actions.
Khamenei has repeatedly stated: "Young Syrians will liberate their country again." This is an illusion, but it exposes the regime's intent to sow chaos in the region. The brutal theocratic regime needs an external enemy to justify its grip on Iran and sustain its rule through war and repression.
In the past, Khamenei used to affirm: "If we do not fight in Syria, we will have to fight in Tehran and Isfahan." Today, after losing Syria, he has turned inward, erecting a defensive line against his own people by carrying out 1,000 executions in 2024. Domestic repression and military expansionism remain the two pillars of the regime's survival – pillars to which Khamenei clings desperately.
Revolt, resistance, and the regime's inevitable downfall
The mullahs' regime is surrounded on all sides: by resistance units and rebellious youth, by heroic women who refuse to submit despite brutal torture, and by a society on the brink of explosion. It is also facing internal conflicts, exacerbated by the collapse of its main regional stronghold, Syria, as well as mounting external tensions.
Amid its spiral of failures, the regime's rival factions have fiercely clashed over the issue of negotiations with the United States. The deputy intelligence minister of the regime has called negotiations "the deadliest poison." He further states that the Americans are telling them: "Either you retreat, or you are overthrown." Recently, Khamenei had the final say, declaring: "Negotiation is not wise, it is not intelligent, it is not honorable."
To compensate for its setbacks, the regime sees only one solution: to accelerate its nuclear program without restraint. Although its officials frequently cite Khamenei's fatwa supposedly forbidding nuclear weapons, they carefully avoid explaining why they are enriching uranium beyond 60% and constructing underground production sites.
Maryam Rajavi: The fall of the regime is certain
Meanwhile, Maryam Rajavi, leader of the Iranian resistance, stated in a live televised message to 20,000 protesters gathered in Paris on Saturday, Feb. 8: "With or without negotiations, with or without a nuclear program, the uprising and the overthrow of the regime by the people and the organized resistance are inevitable."