This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Taxpayers in Colorado are being stuck with a bill that will total in the millions of dollars because a forensic lab tech for the state's bureau of investigation "cut corners" with DNA tests that now have undermined the results in hundreds of criminal cases.
Colorado Public Radio reported the next step in the disaster is for the CBI to reach a contract deal with a Wisconsin company that is to assess the state's forensics lab and its operations.
That comes after former forensic tech Yvonne "Missy" Wood was found "to have manipulated DNA test results of more than 800 cases."
"CBI told lawmakers that it will cost almost $7.5 million to retest DNA sample tests and potentially retry cases affected," the report said.
The disaster resulted after Woods' 29 years with the CBI, and her involvement in multiple high-profile cases, including the 2003 investigation of the late NBA star Kobe Bryant on accusations of rape.
An internal affairs investigation at the CBI was opened in 2023 and Woods was placed on leave. She then retired before the investigation was finished but the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, which was helping, opened a criminal investigation of her just days ago.
The alleged failures surfaced when an intern reviewing DNA testing and reports found some data was missing, the report said.
State authorities have identified 809 cases going back to 2014 in which Woods was involved.
The situation should not have surprised anyone, as her co-workers had warned of her reputation for cutting corners and there even had been earlier claims of faulty evidence.
Officially, an investigation showed she didn't falsify DNA matches but did deviate from standard protocols.
The costs now are estimated to reach $3 million to retest 3,000 cases, and another $4.3 million for the review and post-conviction processes that will be needed to resolve case questions.
"Two watchdog groups, the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado and the Korey Wise Innocence Project from the University of Colorado Law School sent a joint letter to CBI seeking clarity in the Woods investigation Wednesday," the report said.
Both groups have expressed concern about how Woods' work was allowed to continue for so long without intervention by officials.
"CBI allowed Missy Woods to alter forensic evidence for years. This misconduct brings CBI's entire forensic operation into question, and a thorough, independent audit, followed by full disclosure of the results to stakeholders and the public is essential," Emma Mclean-Riggs, ACLU of Colorado lawyer, said in a statement.
Prosecutors have been making adjustments in some of the affected cases already, with a murder conviction that ended with a life sentence being reduced to 42 years in one situation.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
President-elect Donald Trump announced that the "great public servant, governor, and leader in faith for many years" and "highly respected" Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, will be the U.S. ambassador to Israel during the next administration.
U.S. government employee charged under Espionage Act on suspicion of leading top secret documents on Israel
A CIA official has been charged with disclosing classified documents that appeared to show Israel's plans to retaliate against Iran for a missile attack earlier this year, according to court documents and people familiar with the matter.
Two Israelis killed in Hezbollah missile strike on Nahariya
Two people were killed when a rocket exploded in the building in which they were working in the northern coastal city of Nahariya on Tuesday as the Hezbollah terror group fired dozens of rockets and drones at northern and central Israel.
Biden administration won't issue arms embargo against Israel
The U.S. State Department will not withhold arms from Israel, according to State Department officials, a month after the White House sent a letter to Israel stating the Jewish state had 30 days to improve the humanitarian conditions for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip or be subject to an arms embargo.
Netanyahu calls on Iranian people to 'not lose hope'
In the second message within months, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the Islamic Republic's regime fears its own citizens more than Israel; and looks to the future of blossoming ties, freedom, and prosperity for Iranians.
Islamic Jihad releases video of Israel-Russian hostage Sasha Trufanov
Palestinian Islamic Jihad released a proof-of-life video on Wednesday of Russian-Israeli hostage Alexander ("Sasha") Troufanov, who was abducted from his family home during the Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and has been held captive in the Gaza Strip for 404 days.
Mossad issues warning to Israelis in Thailand over feared attack
Israel's Mossad intelligence agency warned Israeli tourists in Thailand to avoid a world-famous outdoor party this weekend, saying that the event may be targeted by terrorists attempting to murder Israelis.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A New York judge who heard a lawfare case against President Donald Trump by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has ordered a delay on all proceedings, even though sentencing was scheduled just days away, instead telling prosecutors to file comments with the court for "appropriate steps going forward."
The case that was heard by Judge Juan Merchan, whose daughter was making money promoting Democrat talking points while her father was ruling against Trump in a courtroom, stems from business actions that would have been misdemeanors had they been filed before the statute of limitations expired.
But Bragg claimed they still could be prosecuted, and even that they were felonies, because of some other unspecified crime to which they contributed.
The jury, which was astonishingly told by the judge that their decision didn't have to be unanimous, was from the leftist enclave of Manhattan and returned a guilty verdict to 34 counts.
The trial reached the level of tabloid headlines because former porn star Stormy Daniels testified about payments made to her by Trump's former legal representative.
The case is one of multiple lawfare cases brought against Trump by Democrats in order to try to prevent him from running for president in 2024 or winning.
Those cases are disintegrating now at various paces, as federal practices do not allow the prosecution of a sitting president, and Trump is to be inaugurated on Jan. 20.
Merchan earlier had delayed the sentencing in the case until after the election, just won by Trump in a landslide.
At that time, constitutional expert and George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said that the delay likely was because Trump's popularity rose with each development in the courtroom.
At the time, Turley said, "Any sentencing that Merchan would have come down with, I think, would have not been particularly welcome by most of the public. It would have reminded them of this campaign against the former president."
Turley pointed out that Merchant had taken steps that made him appear one-sided, including an "excessive" gag order on Trump.
The jury claimed Trump falsified business records relating to reimbursing his then-attorney Michael Cohen for a nondisclosure agreement with Daniels.
Democrats have demanded that Merchan imprison Trump in the case, as part of their lawfare against him.
The judge also has a confirmed record of donating money to Democrat ideologues.
Trump's lawyers have called for dismissing the case entirely.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
JD Vance won't even take office to be the next vice president of America until January.
But he's already "opened as the betting favorite to win the White House in four years."
That's according to SportsBettingDime, which already released its estimates for the NEXT presidential election. One of the reasons for his high placement is the fact that President Donald Trump will be in his second term, albeit non-consecutive, and he cannot run for a third term in that year.
The organization's chart cites JD Vance as plus-300 odds for the election.
This year's Democrat candidate, Kamala Harris, essentially is dismissed as a factor, coming in 10th at plus 2,500, a score also held by former United States U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and entertainer Oprah Winfrey.
Ranked higher than those three are Michelle Obama, Gavin Newsom, Ron DeSantis, Tulsi Gabbard, perennial wannabe Hillary Clinton, and commentator Tucker Carlson. In that order.
Following were Josh Shapiro, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Vivek Ramaswamy, Donald Trump Jr., Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Doug Burgum, Elon Musk, Gretchen Whitmer, Ivanka Trump, Tim Walz, Dwayne Johnson, Elizabeth Warren, Glenn Youngkin, JB Pritzker.
It was at that point that Liz Cheney, the Republican representative tossed by her own voters over her war against President Trump, made an appearance, followed only in the rankings by Mark Kelly.
The organization reported a "serious leadership vacuum" after Harris' catastrophic loss to President Trump, in a 312-226 landslide.
"That's evidenced by the fact that the Democrat with the best odds to win the 2028 election, former First Lady Michelle Obama, has never held, or even run for public office," the report said.
Newsom comes in there, but "then there's a steep drop-off to failed 2016 candidate Hillary Clinton (+1400), talk-show host Oprah Winfrey, who would presumably run for the Dems, and Harris (both +2500)," it explained.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Sliding toward defeat in the late Tuesday and early Wednesday hours, Kamala Harris knocked off for the day, with a surrogate telling even her campaign staff and fans she wasn't going to comment on the voters' decision to send her packing at that time.
The fact she wouldn't even contact now President-elect Donald Trump to concede was an indication of her rejection of the voters' decision in the 2024 presidential race.
But she likely handled it better than America's legacy media, which has been acting as an extension of the Democrats' campaigns back to Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden.
It was Elle Purnell, the elections editor at the Federalist, whose work also has appeared in Fox Business, Real Clear Politics and many other publications, who pointed out an "anonymous" television executive told NYMag, just days ago, "If half the country has decided that Trump is qualified to be president, that means they're not reading any of this media, and we've lost this audience completely. A Trump victory means mainstream media is dead in its current form."
Jeff Bezos reportedly recently ordered his Washington Post not to endorse Kamala Harris because he recognized a complete lack of trust on the part of the American population in legacy media, and he wanted to turn the corner on that fail. The Los Angeles Times also dropped plans for an endorsement.
In fact, legacy media outlets have, for years already, spouted Democrat Party talking points as if they were carefully researched and documented news items.
The industry was fully into Obama's "fundamentally change" America agenda. It blindly repeated the "Russia, Russia, Russia" lies created by the Democrats during the 2016 election.
In 2020 it was so far into the Democrat Party it helped suppress accurate revelations about Biden family scandals detailed in Hunter Biden's abandoned laptop.
Then came Jan. 6, 2021, and, according to those outlets, those who participated in that riot, turned violent following a protest, made Trump "Hitler," and "a dictator." Even to this day there are Democrats and their supporters who claim that Trump is an "insurrectionist" for telling his supporters that day to protest "peacefully."
Purnell's analysis detailed how while Kamala lost, the "biggest loser is the corporate media industrial complex" in the 2024 results.
"Her media shills are nursing wounds that will take far longer to recover from," she explained.
CNN's Jake Tapper exclaimed "holy smokes" when he realized the depth of the Harris failure.
MSNBC's Joy Reid now has started calling the entire state of Florida "fascist" for voting for Trump.
One CNN panel was "stunned into silence," according to published reports, by the results.
One that network, contributor David Axelrod claimed "racism and sexism" played roles in Harris' loss.
"In the early hours of Wednesday morning, legacy news networks were already sliding toward 2016 levels of melting down about the increasingly definite prospect of a presidential victory by Donald J. Trump. For them, Harris' stinging defeat is personal — because it's just as much a defeat for them as it is for her," the analysis found.
"The corporate media industrial complex has spent Donald Trump's entire political career trying to destroy him. Hand-in-hand with triple-letter government agencies and Democrats, they ran a hoax painting Trump as a Russian stooge based on ridiculous rumors commissioned by his opponent's campaign in 2016. They continued to spread the lie for the duration of his presidency, awarding each other Pulitzers for it. And they've only ramped up their efforts since then.
"The problem they're reckoning with tonight is this: those efforts didn't work. They're no longer able to control Americans by controlling their information intake, because their credibility is farther deep-sixed than the Clinton family's enemies list."
The problem is, she said, that Americans "didn't buy it."
The media "made Trump out to be a "fascist" and compared him to "Hitler," and "screeched" how his Madison Square Garden rally was in the "same venue that Nazi sympathizers once rented."
Voters tossed that propaganda, too.
What Americans had seen was Trump govern for four years and turn over power to Joe Biden, and then the results of that regime's leftism.
And, the analysis said, "They saw the media and their Big Tech allies religiously shut down true information and spread lies — about the virus' origins, Democrats' lockdowns, mask mandates, and forced vaccines, to name a few."
She said, "And as the media kept screaming about Trump being a 'threat,' Americans saw him handing out french fries, swapping jokes and family anecdotes with their favorite podcasters, and talking about how much he loves America."
Now, she said, the media's "maniacal" attacks on Trump simply aren't sticking.
The analysis also identified the core of the problem: "The legacy press isn't planning on repentance. They don't feel obligated to represent Americans; they feel entitled to control them. The loss of that control is making them apoplectic."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have both been sent a message from China on Election Day – China will not interfere in U.S. elections and hopes to collaborate with the U.S. regardless of the results.
In an exclusive statement to Newsweek, Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in the U.S., said Beijing is committed to respecting America's internal affairs, including its elections.
"The presidential election is the domestic affair of the United States. China, committed to the principle of non-interference in others' internal affairs, will not interfere in the U.S.'s presidential election," Pengyu told Newsweek.
Pengyu reportedly said China is interested in developing China-U.S. relations on a foundation of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and cooperative growth.
"Developing China-U.S. relations is in the fundamental interest of our two peoples and two countries and meets the expectations of the international community," Pengyu said.
"No matter who is elected as U.S. president, we hope the U.S. will work with us in the same direction, follow the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation, and advance the steady, sound, and sustainable growth of bilateral relations for the benefit of the two countries and the world at large.":
The statement comes after recent reports of China spying on American voters.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Conservative firebrand Tucker Carlson is now going in-depth with a disturbing personal account of an attack by what he says is a demonic entity, clawing him in his bed to the point of drawing blood.
Carlson has given a series of interviews on the matter, describing the terrifying incident "about a year and a half ago."
He told John Heers of the "Christianities?" YouTube channel: "In my bed at night and I got attacked while I was asleep with my wife and four dogs in the bed and mauled, physically mauled."
"Yeah, by a demon," Carlson replies.
"I had these terrible pains on my rib cage and my shoulder," Carlson continues, noting he had "four claw marks on either side, underneath my arms and on my left shoulder and they're bleeding … actual claw marks."
"I sleep on my side, so I wasn't clawing myself. I don't have long nails. And [the marks] didn't fit my hands anyway. But yeah, that happened."
"I knew it was spiritual immediately," Carlson added, saying "to this day" he still does not understand what took place. He initially thought it was a dream until he discovered blood on his sheets. He says he was "seized with a very intense desire to read the Bible."
During an interview Monday morning on Steve Bannon's "War Room," Carlson indicated: "I think it was just a momentary glimpse of something that's happening at all times, which is again, this war between forces that we can't see, but that has been ongoing and has been in fact described by every culture … every culture that we know about has described this battle."
"The big change in the moment that we're living in is that people are awakening to this fact that we've been on this vacation from reality. A vacation from spiritual reality."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The deceptions that have come out of the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris administration have not been scarce. Remember when Biden assured Americans his son, Hunter, had done nothing wrong? Hunter Biden's now awaiting sentencing on felony tax and gun convictions.
Then there's the administration's often-repeated falsehood the southern border is secure.
And that Bidenomics "is working," as consumers have faced inflation of more than 20% since they took office.
And the misnamed "Inflation Reduction Act," which didn't reduce inflation.
And many more.
Now there's the old motif that the administration has been transparent, and ethical.
A report from Fox News notes that a watchdog organization now is citing ethical failures that have been uncovered in the White House, the Department of Interior, Health and Human Services, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Commerce, in the State Department, and more.
The evidence is from Protect the Public's Trust and confirms that the Biden-Harris regime's claim to be the "most ethical and transparent" administration ever is just a "myth."
"From its onset, the Biden-Harris administration promised to 'bring transparency and truth back to the government,' per then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki," the organization's report explains.
"Psaki also claimed that President Joe Biden 'is committed to ensuring we have the most ethically vigorous administration in history.' However, the administration and its executive branch agencies have often failed to live up to these high ideals, and the myth of a scandal-free administration is just that: a myth," the report confirmed.
The report confirms that, just inside the White House sphere of influence, there have been ethical questions in the Office of White House Counsel, the National Archives and Records Administration, and more.
There were charges Biden's White House lawyers "were acting as his attorneys amid the investigation into the mishandling of classified documents," Fox reported.
Further, allegations were made that press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre violated the Hatch Act and questions were raised over Psaki's "apparent conflict of interest while looking to leave federal service for a high-salary television job."
The biggest flop?
"No agency has lost so much credibility during the Biden-Harris administration" as his Health and Human Services, the report explains.
"As it took the reins amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Biden-Harris HHS disregarded ethical and scientific integrity principles as it issued far-reaching recommendations governing nearly every aspect of Americans' lives. PPT exposed many potential violations and filed several complaints against appointees in the department and its component agencies to help preserve what little remains of the public's trust."
Interior was called out for "cutting ethical corners in favor of special interest policies" and Energy gave DOI a "ruin for its money," the report charges.
"Ethics issues in the Biden-Harris administration didn't end with Hunter Biden and the president's family," elaborated Michael Chamberlain, of PPT, in an interview with Fox.
"Despite their claims to be the most ethical in history, we've documented possible ethics violations in most of the Cabinet-level agencies, including confirmed Hatch Act violations, conflicts of interest, and all the hazards that come with having a revolving door between official D.C. and well-connected activist groups."
He said Americans should be wary of anyone trying to "paint this as a 'scandal-free' administration."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Tim Walz, the leftist governor of Minnesota now on other duties – campaigning as the vice presidential pick for Democrat Kamala Harris, often has boasted of his many trips to China over the years.
He led groups of impressionable students there. He vacationed there. He spent time teaching there. According to reports, he also spent time womanizing there, with the daughter of a Chinese Communist Party official confirming she and Walz were a thing for a time before he dumped her.
Given that China is one of the biggest threats to America that exists in the world today, the links, connections, and influences have members of Congress concerned
Also members of the Department of Homeland Security.
Which has resulted in a letter from the House Committee on Government Oversight and Accountability to Joe Biden's DHS chief, Alejandro Mayorkas. Members are demanding answers to a House subpoena regarding the Chinese "elite capture" operations in the United States and specifically "documents, communications, and intelligence reports in DHS's possession related to Minnesota Go. Timothy Walz's connections to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)."
A report at RedState explains, "Because of DHS's lack of compliance with our legal subpoena and unwillingness to cooperate in good faith, @RepJamesComer is releasing a small portion of the Department's internal communications received from a whistleblower about Governor Tim Walz. The information shows DHS officials with subject matter expertise discussing the CCP's targeting of Governor Walz on the same day VP Kamala Harris picked him to be her running mate. A whistleblower has provided further information to the Committee that indicates officials from DHS's Office of Intelligence and Analysis and Homeland Security Investigations have been involved in the Department's investigative and/or intelligence work connected with the CCP, the state of Minnesota, and Governor Walz."
The cryptic message released by Congress points out Harris' selection of Walz, with, "You all have no idea how this feeds into what PRC has been doing here with him and local gov. It's seriously a line of the intel. Target someone who is perceived they can get to DC"
The report explained that the Chinese Communist Party has worked to be "co-opting" leaders and officials at lower levels of government they think might advance to the Washington level.
The report suggested while there is concern about Walz's links to the communist organization, DHS leaders are covering for him by refusing to release documents and information.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
'The growing involvement of the West in the conflict in Ukraine creates global risks. The desire to inflict maximum damage on Russia can lead to a direct military clash between the nuclear powers. We cannot but respond to these threats
Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a warning to NATO members: if Ukraine gets permission to use long-range missiles, it will be an open declaration of war by NATO allies, and the Russian military is already prepared for it.
Polish news outlet Super Express reported Putin has stated Moscow military commanders are currently preparing troops for an eventual war against Western allies because Russia's reaction will be more than diplomatic.
"Our military command is thinking about it and will propose various options for response," Putin said, adding Russia's position on the matter should be taken seriously because "we will have to make some decisions on our side as well."
During the BRICS Summit in Kazan last week, Putin accused NATO of hiding behind Ukraine to fight a war against Russia.
"NATO is at war with us, but with the hands of Ukrainian soldiers. Ukraine does not spare its soldiers in the interest of third countries," Putin said.
Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov also threatened the West during a meeting with his Belarus counterpart in Minsk, stating Russia is prepared to use nuclear force if necessary.
"This year the NATO member states conducted a series of the largest exercises since the Cold War, to practice scenarios of a full-scale conflict with Russia and its allies," Belousov said. "The coalition forces of the alliance are being built up. Combat training and reconnaissance activities are also intensified.
"The growing involvement of the West in the conflict in Ukraine creates global risks. The desire to inflict maximum damage on Russia can lead to a direct military clash between the nuclear powers. We cannot but respond to these threats. The changes in the military and political situation made it necessary to specify the basics of the State policy of the Russian Federation in the field of nuclear deterrence and to adjust them to the new reality. Among other things, it is possible to use nuclear weapons in response to the aggression against Belarus as a member of the Union State."
In September, Putin stated if there is a missile strike strong enough to reach Russian cities, he will know it was enabled by NATO allies because long-range missiles can only be used with satellites, something Ukraine does not have.
"If such a decision is made, it will mean nothing more than the direct involvement of NATO countries in the war in Ukraine. This would change the nature of the conflict. This would mean that NATO countries are at war with Russia," Putin said.
Putin's comments come after Ukraine President Volodomyr Zelenskyy has in recent months pleaded with NATO allies to supply Ukraine with the means to strike deep within Russian territory, potentially even reaching as far as the Kremlin.
Zelenskyy's campaign to gain access to these weapons has increased the tensions between the two nations and deepened the military ties between Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
On Monday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed North Korean troops were being deployed to Russia to fight against Ukraine.
"This morning a delegation from the Republic of Korea, a close NATO partner, briefed the North Atlantic Council and our other Indo-Pacific partners Australia, Japan, and New Zealand, on North Korea's growing involvement in Russia's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine," Rutte said.
"The delegation included senior representatives from the Republic of Korea's National Intelligence Service and Ministry of National Defense. Allies also shared their intelligence assessments. Today, I can confirm that North Korean troops have been sent to Russia and that North Korean military units have been deployed."
Rutte noted North Korea's involvement in Russia's war against Ukraine would further expand the conflict, and NATO called on Russia to "cease these actions immediately."
"The deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea is a threat to both the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic security. It undermines peace on the Korean peninsula and fuels the Russian war against Ukraine. Pyongyang has already supplied Russia with millions of rounds of ammunition and ballistic missiles that are fueling a major conflict in the heart of Europe, and undermining global peace and stability," Rutte said.
While current Western leaders and Russia and its allies seemed locked in a bitter back-and-forth – former President Donald Trump has promised to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine if reelected, making his comments while Zelenskyy was in the U.S. for the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.
"We're gonna work very much with both parties to try and get this settled and work it out. It has to end, at some point, it has to end … it's a terrible situation," Trump said.