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Charlie Kirk, the conservative leader shot dead last month on a Utah campus, will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously on Tuesday, Oct. 14, which would have been his 32nd birthday.

The life and ministry of Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, inspired countless Americans and Christians to live lives of truth, sacrifice and courage, especially in the public square.

President Trump announced Friday that Kirk would receive America's highest civilian honor at the White House.

"We're giving him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest honor you get outside of the Congressional Medal of Honor," he said. "Erika, his beautiful wife, is going to be here, and a lot of people are going to be here."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

President Donald Trump has been working with, or actually on, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky for months now, trying to end the carnage wrought by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the military conflict it triggered. Thousands have died and entire city centers have been left in rubble.

First Lady Melania Trump also has been working on the conflict, but on another point.

She has been trying to reunite children with their parents.

CBS News explains she has confirmed eight Ukrainian children kept in Russia by the conflict now have been returned and reunited with their families in just the last 24 hours.

More reunifications are pending.

"She also said Russia has agreed to coordinate the return of Ukrainians who were children when they were displaced by the war, but have since turned 18, 'within a short period of time,'" the report said.

The report said when Russia invaded in 2022, the military included in its campaigns the "systematic and forcible abduction of children."

Ukraine's state-run "Bring Kids Back" program charges that more than 19,500 Ukrainian children were targeted.

Melania Trump said she's been working with Putin and his team to reunite the families. She first approached him by letter, the report said.

"Since then, President Putin and I have had an open channel of communication regarding the welfare of these children. For the past three months, both sides have participated in several backchannel meetings and calls, all in good faith. We have agreed to cooperate with each other for the benefit of all people involved in this war. My representative has been working directly with President Putin's team to ensure the safe reunification of children with their families between Russia and Ukraine," she announced on Friday.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

One day after the two year anniversary of Hamas' Oct. 7 attack against Israel, President Donald Trump announced a peace deal to free the remaining hostages has finally been accepted.

"I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan," Trump said on Truth Social.

"This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace. All Parties will be treated fairly!

"This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America, and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!"

The measure is reportedly set for signing at noon Thursday in Israel.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "With God's help we will bring them all home."

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Jack Smith, the Democrat-appointed special counsel who ran some of the party's lawfare cases against President Donald Trump, deserves to be punished, according to Republicans in Washington.

And, after recent revelations that he spied on the telephone records of multiple GOP senators, several of them are working to see that that includes disbarment.

One investigative reporter has suggested that Smith was collecting information on the GOP senators because, had Kamala Harris been elected, he wanted to pursue further charges against the president and other Republicans.

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Colorado's leftist government, run by homosexual Gov. Jared Polis and other Democrats who make up the majority of the legislature, has decided that it's free speech when a licensed counselor tries to convince a client of the benefits of the LGBT lifestyle. That "affirming" advice.

But it's "behavior" when a Christian licensed counselor explains to a client the benefits of attitude adjustments that provide the patient a level of comfort inside his or her own sexual identity. That, Colorado claims, can be censored.

That fight was before the Supreme Court on Tuesday, in a case brought by Christian counselor Kaley Chiles, who explains that the state's one-sided and censorial agenda of leftism actually violates her constitutionally protected right to free speech.

It's been a common tactic for LGBT activists and other leftists across the country to falsely label such counseling "conversion therapy" and then make it illegal to counter their political ideology.

The Supreme Court, at least a "majority" of the justices, seemed "to lean in favor of a Christian counselor challenging bans on LGBTQ+ 'conversion therapy' for kids as a violation of her First Amendment rights," according to a published report.

Colorado already has lost multiple cases at the high court in its campaigns to censor Christians and force them to parrot the state's adopted pro-LGBT ideology. In one case, the justices scolded state officials for their "hostility" to Christians.

Even AP, which leans far left in its politics, admitted the justices, whose decision won't come for some weeks or even months, appeared to choose Chiles' side.

The high court already has ruled that states can ban transition-related health care for "transgender" youth.

Colorado's lawyers insisted that any "treatment" seeking to change "a minor's sexual orientation" is "unsafe and ineffective."

However, studies show that the incident of suicidal ideology is higher for those in the LGBT lifestyle than the general population.

A report at the Daily Signal explained, "Colorado says its law regulates a 'treatment' that is harmful and that violates the state's standard of care. But Kaley Chiles, a Colorado-based counselor, says the law violates her right to free speech by favoring 'the expression of some views over others."

The report noted the wild tangent into which Sonia Sotomayor tried to push the court. She demanded to know whether Chiles encourages her clients to vomit or exposes them to electric shock therapy.

Chiles' lawyers explained she engages in speech with her clients, "voluntary talk therapy."

Leftist judges in Colorado, where the all-Democrat state Supreme Court even tried to throw Donald Trump off the 2024 presidential ballot, claimed the state was right in saying that speech is behavior.

Colorado Solicitor General Shannon Stevenson claimed studies confirm higher rates of suicidality among teens who underwent conversion therapy – but Chiles' lawyer explained those results depend on biased sampling, self-reporting, which is unreliable, and the inappropriate conflation of "aversion therapy," a separate concept entirely, with the misnamed "conversion therapy."

Thomas Jipping, a senior legal fellow in The Heritage Foundation's Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, told The Daily Signal, "Under Colorado law, young people may seek a licensed counselor's help to affirm or support their sexual orientation or gender identity, but not to change it or even to better align it with their sex or religious faith. As a direct restriction on speech, this blatant, intentional viewpoint discrimination violates the First Amendment. The kind of 'talk therapy' that plaintiff [Kaley] Chiles uses helps many clients, and Colorado has never offered evidence of any harm."

WND previously reported, "Officials in the leftist state who multiple times have demanded the authority to censor Christians in the state have claimed that the counselors' speech is "behavior," which they say they can regulate. But their agenda is clear in the details of their fight: They insist that no counselor can encourage a patient to consider NOT being LGBT. But promotions of the LGBT lifestyle choices are fully encouraged."

Detractors have called such counseling "conversion therapy" but the misnomer isn't accurate since the counseling actually involves helping patients come to grips with their own reality.

The 3rd and 11th circuit courts already have found such bans suppress protected speech.

Liberty Counsel founder Mat Staver said, "Laws that restrict counselors and clients to only one viewpoint violate the First Amendment. Talk therapy is speech, and the government has no authority to restrict that speech to just one viewpoint. Counseling bans must be struck down nationwide so that people can get the counseling they need. Counselors and clients should have the freedom to choose the counsel of their choice and be free of government censorship."

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Jay Jones, the Democrat running against Jason Miyares for attorney general in Virginia, is being called "certifiably crazy" for wanting to kill a Republican lawmaker and his family and "pissing on their graves," as President Donald Trump and others call on him to quit the race.

Unearthed text messages Jones wrote in 2022 about former Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert has the Democrat saying: "Three people two bullets … Gilbert, hitler, and pol pot … Gilbert gets two bullets to the head."

"Spoiler: put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know and he receives both bullets every time." Pol Pot was the notorious head of Cambodia's murderous Khmer Rouge regime.

He also targeted Gilbert's wife and children, indicating: "Only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy. … I mean do I think Todd and Jennifer are evil? And that they're breeding little fascists? Yes."

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A federal judge has ruled that the state of Virginia is not allowed to bar a qualified counselor, focusing on substance abuse, from helping those with addictions.

A report from the Institute for Justice explains that Melissa Brown was barred from seeing patients under a state "barrier crime" law that banishes those with convictions for any of 176 offenses from seeing patients.

That applies to substance abuse counselors and their supervisors.

"Melissa made mistakes when she was young and in the throes of addiction herself," the ID explained. "Those mistakes came to a head in 2001, when she stole a purse to fund her drug habit. She was convicted of robbery, which prompted her to stop using drugs and turn her life around."

"This decision is more than personal," Brown said. "It's a victory for everyone who believes in second chances. I hope this decision opens the door for countless others with lived experience to bring healing to those who are still suffering."

It was after her bout with robbery that she changed, and now she will be allowed to undergo a "screening assessment," then find work.

She had earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and began working with substance abuse victims, specifically heroin, after she left the drug scene.

She had been promoted to clinical supervisor in 2018.

"But, after new management took over the rehab center where she worked, she learned that, under Virginia law, she was banned from working as a counselor due to her decades-old conviction," the IJ said.

She now works at a different rehab center as chief growth officer, but wants to return to helping patients.

"The government should never stop people from working because of irrelevant criminal convictions," said IJ lawyer Andrew Ward. "We're thrilled the court recognized that. But there's still work to do. Every year, Virginia blocks hundreds of qualified professionals for convictions that are more than twenty years old. That has to change, and this decision is just the start."

Added Mike Greenberg, also a lawyer for IJ, "The Constitution requires that restrictions on the right to work be rational. The Court here recognized the obvious: No one could rationally think that barring someone with Melissa's experience and empathy protects people suffering from addiction. It just meant less help for the people who most need it."

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President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social Saturday a Gaza map with representation of "withdrawal lines" to which Israel has agreed, nearly two years since the current conflict began.

"After negotiations, Israel has agreed to the initial withdrawal line, which we have shown to, and shared with, Hamas," the president wrote.

"When Hamas confirms, the Ceasefire will be IMMEDIATELY effective, the Hostages and Prisoner Exchange will begin, and we will create the conditions for the next phase of withdrawal, which will bring us close to the end of this 3,000 YEAR CATASTROPHE. Thank you for your attention to this matter and, STAY TUNED!"

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President Donald Trump has unleashed a warning to Democrats who opposed a resolution in the U.S. Senate that would have kept the government funded for another few weeks.

The video is about the "Reaper" who is coming, presumably for Democrat spending and funding programs.

Already, the White House has cut various green ideology funding programs, and blocked other grants to leftist cities and states.

It's happening because government funding from Congress expired earlier this week.

Democrats, led by Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, demanded $1.5 trillion in lavish spending on illegal aliens, leftist propaganda and more, to support a GOP plan that simply continued most funding as it was.

Republicans declined to raid taxpayers' wallets for that amount, and the Democrats voted to shut down the government, a partial shutdown as essential services are continuing.

Now, amid multiple reports that Trump actually will take a hatchet to Democrat priorities and spending programs, eliminating many permanently, the video appeared:

The lyrics:

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

A wide range of government services and offices are shut down during the current partial government closure.

The situation developed following demands by Democrats that the government hand out some $1.5 trillion for health care benefits for illegal aliens, leftist propaganda machines, and more.

Republican majorities in Congress declined to take that money out of taxpayers' pockets so Democrats responded by voting against a resolution that would fund the government for a few weeks.

One of the things shut down is the ability to have staff answer public calls to the government, including the White House.

There, a recorded message explains, "Thank you for calling the White House comment line. Hello America, this is White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Democrats in Congress have shut down the federal government because they care more about funding health care for illegal immigrants than they care about serving you, the American people.

"Until Democrats vote for the clean Republican-backed resolution to reopen the government, the White House is unable to answer your call or respond to your questions.

"We look forward to hearing from you again very soon. In the meantime, know that President Trump will never stop fighting for you."

Such recordings apparently appeared on a multitude of recordings government-wide, sending Democrats into a fury.

Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., sent a letter demanding an investigation.

He complains it's a violation of a rule limiting political activity by government officials.

He pointed out Republicans control the White House and have majorities in both houses of Congress.

He blamed them for not "taking responsibility for their shutdown," and acquiescing to Democrat demands, for which they would have been rewarded with Democrat votes to keep the government running.

Garcia accused the Trump administration of using government sites for their "political agenda."

It was at the Small Business Administration that a template for an out-of-office email said, "I am out of office for the foreseeable future because Senate Democrats voted to block a clean federal funding bill … leading to a government shutdown."

A GOP House Oversight official told the Washington Examiner that the recordings simply state the facts, and do not mention elections or campaigns, suggesting they are perfectly legal.

Under the administration of Joe Biden, then-Education Secretary Miguel Cardona blamed "Republican elected officials" for court rulings in a widely distributed email to student loan borrowers, and that was not ruled to be a violation of the Hatch Act.