This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Raging wildfires in and around Los Angeles that still are far from controlled have left behind still-untabulated deaths and damages: 24 lives lost already and billions of dollars in burned-up homes and businesses.
But the lawmakers in California have picked a different situation to address in a special legislative session on which they have just worked: Fighting President Trump.
They've adopted a plan to spend $50 million fighting to have their state and the nation go in a different direction from what Trump has chosen.
Washington Examiner reports the Democrat-majority legislature met in a special session just days ago.
They came out with the $50 million spending package "to resist" Trump.
"The state legislature is in a session aimed at combatting the incoming Trump administration's proposed policies regarding illegal immigration, among other issues," the report explained.
The spending allows $25 million for the state to pursue legal complaints against the federal government and another $25 million to defend against the deportation of illegal aliens.
Scott Wiener, a Democrat state senator, explained the lawmakers have cemented "California's readiness to serve as a bulwark against Trump's extremist agenda."
This is even though Trump's "extremist agenda" has been adopted by a vast majority of American voters, who chose him over the Democrat party's presidential nominee in November.
Republicans in California pointed out Democrats made their "slush fund" a priority when Los Angeles, literally, is burning up.
"At a time when California should be laser-focused on responding to the devastating wildfires in LA, Democrat lawmakers' priority is creating a $50 million slush fund to hire government lawyers for hypothetical fights against the federal government and to defend criminal illegal immigrants from being returned to their home countries," said a social media comment from Rep. James Gallagher, a Republican in the state assembly.
"The disconnect between what Californians need and what Democrats are focused on is astounding."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The Department of Defense reportedly ignored data showing a high degree of herd immunity to COVID-19 among military service members, clearing the path for tyrannical enforcement of an ineffective, unproven and hazardous vaccination mandate.
First reported in December, a series of eight interim reports provided by a whistleblower reveals the Department of Defense's participation in a longitudinal SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus) seroprevalence study of 29,000 military service members between May 2020 and June 2021. To avoid being released outside of DOD, each document is marked "For Official Use Only" or "Controlled Unclassified Information."
As noted in the Gateway Pundit report, "A seroprevalence study can be a helpful indicator of the development of herd immunity, which occurs when a large portion of a population becomes immune to a disease through infection or vaccination, making it difficult to spread."
Thanks to the whistleblower, the public is now aware that the military likely achieved herd immunity as early as June 2021, months prior to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's now-rescinded 2021 COVID-19 shot mandate. Tens of thousands of service members were negatively affected, and treating the data on military herd immunity seriously could have resulted in a decision not to impose the vaccine mandate, which unnecessarily exposed thousands to a problematic vaccine they didn't need, while forcing many more out of the military for refusing "the jab."
WorldNetDaily interviewed Nick Kupper, a retired Air Force veteran who experienced the COVID-19 era while in service and is now a member-elect of the Arizona House of Representatives, set to assume office on Tuesday, Jan. 13.
Long before the military's rollout of the COVID-19 shot mandate, Kupper was familiar with tests to detect the presence of antibodies in the blood. He had already used such testing to acquire medical exemptions for a handful of vaccines required by the Air Force. "Although I was never against vaccines, I had the right amount of antibodies for some of them, so I didn't feel the need to put something in my body if I didn't need it," he told WND.
Kupper suspects he may have had COVID-19 in July 2020, but admitted he was not interested in being tested for the virus at this time. Coincidentally, in the months to follow, he donated blood at a facility that also tested for COVID-19 antibodies. He had none.
However, following a short period of illness with a typical COVID symptoms like body aches in January 2021, COVID antibodies were indeed present in his blood the next time he donated in February. Donating blood in May, his blood tested positive for antibodies once again. Seeking another antibody test in July to quantify the presence of neutralizing antibodies in his blood, he discovered that he had "a ton." A third blood test confirmed the same.
With Defense Secretary Austin's shot mandate coming into play in August 2021, Kupper went to an immunologist to begin the process of seeking an exemption. Previously, he said, medical exemptions had only required evidence of immunity based on serologic tests or documented infection. But for the so-called COVID-19 vaccination, he was shocked to discover that he would not be provided with an exemption.
"My bosses won't let me [grant an exemption]," Kupper was told by the immunologist. Added Kupper, "He was the one person on the entire base who's qualified to make that decision, but he wasn't allowed to do so."
With that, in September 2021, he filed for a religious accommodation request. Like thousands of other service members, the request was denied and he was set to be separated. Coincidentally, on the same day he was ordered to separate from the Air Force, Kupper was given a letter of reprimand for sharing his story with Tucker Carlson . Less than a week later, due to a legal injunction for Air Force members, he was able to retire after nearly 19 years of honorable service.
In a worst-case scenario, according to the agency's own Interim Report #8, DOD should have been made aware that both the seroprevalence rate and presence of neutralizing antibodies in service members was on a clear path to herd immunity sometime between June 2021 and November 2021. Yet the findings of the DOD's study weren't shared publicly until August 2023.
Kupper was not surprised, he said, considering it "par for the course of everything DOD was doing at the time." More than that, he said, "It pisses me off." Admittedly, he is most frustrated about "how the government, military and supposed leaders can disobey the law and refuse to right the wrongs they've done."
To retrieve more information related to the Department of Defense's SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence Study, this reporter submitted a Freedom of Information Act request on Dec. 18. A case number has been assigned, but an estimated completion date has not been provided.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
That Minnesota is a far-left state politically is no surprise, especially after the recent nationwide exposure of its governor, Tim Walz, as Kamala Harris' No. 2 on the Democrat presidential ticket this year.
His radical transgender and pro-abortion agendas, his alignment with China's ideologies, his questionable behaviors and wild claims, all were revealed to the alarm of many who were not previously familiar with his extremism.
The state's leftism actually runs back decades, after it established itself as the only state in the nation to vote against Ronald Reagan for president.
And now the state's questionable agenda regarding the U.S. Constitution has been further revealed by a lawsuit that charges the midwestern state has taken it on itself to decide people's constitutional rights.
It is a lawsuit by Liberty Justice Center that charges Minnesota officials have insisted they can decide the Second Amendment rights of individuals.
The fight is over two truckers who may need to drive through the state, but are banned by the state from carrying firearms in their trucks for protection.
"David McCoy is a full-time, long-haul trucker who lives in the sleeper compartment of his eighteen-wheeler. He has a Texas License to Carry that permits him to bear arms in many states across the country. Jeffrey Johnson is also a full-time, long-haul trucker, with both a Florida Concealed Weapons License and Georgia Weapons Carry License. Even though both men have lawfully issued firearm licenses, they are currently prevented from carrying firearms for self-defense while in Minnesota because the state prohibits carrying a firearm for self-defense, in public or in one's vehicle, without a Minnesota Permit to Carry or a permit recognized by the state," the legal team explained.
The state decides which firearms permits from other states it will recognize, and it now excludes Texas, Georgia, and Florida, and some two dozen other states.
"Due to this law, neither Mr. McCoy nor Mr. Johnson can exercise their constitutional right to bear arms for self-defense due to fear of prosecution, which could jeopardize the credentials needed for their profession," the institute reported.
The new lawsuit argues that Minnesota's permitting law "deprives nonresidents of their Second Amendment right to bear arms. The lawsuit asks the court to find the law unconstitutional and order the state of Minnesota to honor firearm permits issued by all other states."
"Minnesota's refusal to honor other states' lawfully issued firearm permits places an unreasonable burden on the Second Amendment rights of individuals like Mr. McCoy and Mr. Johnson who regularly cross state lines in the course of their work," explained Loren Seehase, a lawyer for the center.
"There is no other constitutional right that individuals are prohibited from exercising until they've obtained permission from the state. No one loses their right to free speech or freedom of religion by simply driving from Texas to Minnesota—so why should they lose their right to self-defense?"
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The Democrats, when President-elect Donald Trump was in his first term, and shortly after, tried to impeach him twice.
Those schemes now may boomerang on the leftist party, according to a new report from Just the News.
It's because there's substance to the suspicions held by Trump at the time that got him impeached, but cleared both times in the Senate jury.
The report explains that Democrats tried to impeach time over a Ukraine scandal, and in the aftermath of Jan. 6. 2021.
"But now, after both of those efforts were undermined by new evidence, their legacy could rebound on President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats," the report explained.
The first scheme wasn't complicated. Democrats claimed Trump abused his power by asking Ukrainian officials for an investigation of Hunter Biden's business operations there.
The claim from Democrats was that the younger Biden had done nothing wrong.
The second plot was to accuse Trump of inciting violence during that protest-turned-riot in Washington. Nancy Pelosi's partisan select committee later took up the messaging and manipulated evidence to try to make it appear Trump was at fault.
Evidence now essentially has destroyed those two premises and, the report said, "Republican Senator Ron Johnson, who will chair the investigating arm of the powerful Senate Homeland Security Committee, said congressional Republicans, with a new Washington, D.C., trifecta, may still have an interest in getting to the bottom of Hunter Biden's dealings in Ukraine and the conduct of the Democrat-led Jan. 6 Select Committee."
He said, in an interview of the John Solomon Reports, that Americans deserve the truth.
The report noted that House Republicans, and others, have found that "there is significant documentary evidence that Hunter Biden and his father engaged in an influence peddling scheme in Ukraine while the younger Biden was serving on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma."
Key was Biden's decision to change official American policy by "linking a $1 billion loan guarantee for the struggling country to its firing of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Viktor Shokin, who was investigating Burisma's founder, Mykola Zlochevsky."
Significant in that scandal now is that Joe Biden has given his son a pardon for actions during that time period, so Hunter Biden now "has no Fifth Amendment right not to testify and tell the truth," Johnson said.
And regarding the Jan. 6 riot, the report noted, "evidence uncovered by House Republican investigators led by House Administration Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., show that the Jan. 6 Committee selectively framed its narrative, ignored significant evidence of security failures from Democratic leadership and the Pentagon, and even appeared to have coached witnesses."
In fact, one of Pelosi's stars on her commission, former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, already has been referred to the Department of Justice for investigation for, among other things, witness tampering.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
David Muir, anchor of ABC's "World News Tonight," is being branded a "pathetic narcissist" after being caught using a clothespin on his fire jacket to make his on-camera appearance more "svelte" while reporting on the catastrophic fires in Los Angeles.
"Nice jacket bro," wrote Jack Osbourne, reality star and son of rock star Ozzy Osbourne. "Glad you look nice and svelte with those clothesline pegs while our city burns to the ground."
One person on social media said: "Just when your reputation hasn't gotten bad enough," as others branded the anchor as "pathetic" and "narcissistic."
Another said: "Fake news ABC's idiot David Muir, the guy who had a presidential debate with President Trump using clothespins to keep his jacket fitted while reporting on the devastating LA fires. Trump is 100% right. These people are sick. Fake! Lying all the time."
Other commenters noted:
"He's a fraud from head to toe."
"ABC con artist David Muir caught red handed clothes pinning his jacket while American burns behind him. Is this supposed to make him look better or something?"
"In the California wildfires, priorities go up in smoke – from what's for dinner to where's the nearest shelter. But David Muir, with his clothespins, shows us the real priority: report the news and always carry a clothespin to look svelte in a bulky outer jacket."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
It seems President-elect Donald Trump's influence on world events hasn't waited until he's president.
Already, Canada soon will be getting a new leader after Justin Trudeau's announcement about his departure, triggered at least partly by Trump comments that undermined his agenda, including his references to Trudeau as "governor" of what could become a state.
Now Mexico has decided, in light of Trump's warnings about the ramifications of continuing caravans of migrants that would become illegal aliens in the U.S., to divert some of that traffic.
Illegal migration has been one of the hallmarks of the Biden administration, with millions and millions crossing America's borders and entering, in violation of federal law, under his open borders agenda.
The impacts have been huge, with cities from Los Angeles to Denver to New York saddled with hundreds of millions of dollars in costs related to an exploding population of illegal aliens. Gang members have unleashed their crime waves.
Now Fox News is reporting the Mexican government "is working hard to break up migrant caravans trying to make the treacherous journey north to the U.S."
And it's coming "ahead of President-elect Trump's inauguration in less than two weeks' time."
"Faced with the prospect of massive tariffs on goods under the new administration, Mexico has been dispersing migrants throughout the country to keep them far from the U.S. border, including dropping them off at the once vibrant tourist hotspot of Acapulco, a beach resort town on Mexico's Pacific coast made famous by the jet set in the 1950s and '60s," the report explained.
The report said authorities now are dropping of busloads of migrants there "with little support and few options."
The goal reportedly is to reduce the number of migrants reaching the U.S. border.
"The migrants tell the Associated Press that they accepted an offer from immigration officials to come to the city under the premise that they could continue their journey north toward the U.S. border, but instead they have essentially been abandoned there," the report said.
"Immigration (officials) told us they were going to give us a permit to transit the country freely for 10, 15 days and it wasn't like that," Venezuelan Ender Antonio Castañeda, 28, said in an interview with AP. "They left us dumped here without any way to get out. They won't sell us (bus) tickets. They won't sell us anything."
Among Trump's plans for secured American borders once he's in office is his warning about a 25% tariff on goods imported from Mexico if the nation doesn't lower the number of migrants flooding into America from its territory.
Trump even has said he wants to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
Trump has said, "Mexico has to stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country. They can stop them. And we're going to put very serious tariffs on Mexico and Canada, because Canada, they come through Canada too, and the drugs that are coming through are at record numbers, record numbers. So we're going to make up for that by putting tariffs on Mexico and Canada, substantial tariffs."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Without fanfare and almost no notifications, Joe Biden has released 11 al-Qaida-linked prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay to relative freedom in Oman, according to a Daily Mail report.
Two of them had been bodyguards for Osama Bin Laden, killed by American forces after he masterminded the 9/11 terrorism against the United States that killed thousands, and all of them were taken into custody in the aftermath of those attacks.
The Yemeni prisoners suspected of terrorism had been held in custody for years without charges.
A Defense Department statement said, "The United States appreciates the willingness of the government of Oman and other partners to support ongoing U.S. efforts focused on responsibly reducing the detainee population and ultimately closing the Guantanamo Bay facility."
The statement said the "detainees" went through reviews by "professionals" who determined they were eligible for transfer "consistent with the national security interests of the United States."
The report explained it was "the latest salvo – and potentially the last – in a concerted effort from the Biden administration to clear Guantanamo Bay of such prisoners."
The transfer was part of a "covert operation" to get the detainees to Oman where they will be "resettled."
The report said they were not returned to their home country, Yemen, because of its civil war.
According to the report, two suspects, Moath Hamza Ahmed al-Alwi and Suhayl Abdul Anam al Sharabi, both were accused of being bin Laden's bodyguards. And Alwi was thought to be an al-Qaida fighter.
"A separate intelligence file on al-Alwi from 2016 revealed he "has made several statements since early 2016 that suggest he maintains an extremist mindset,'" the report said.
Others given freedom were: Uthman Abd al-Rahim Muhammad Uthman, Khalid Ahmed Qassim, Hani Saleh Rashid Abdullah, Tawfiq Nasir Awad Al-Bihani, Omar Mohammed Ali al-Rammah, Sanad Ali Yislam Al Kazimi, Hassan Muhammad Ali Bib Attash, Sharqawi Abdu Ali Al Hajj and Abd Al-Salam Al-Hilah.
The report said the move leaves about 15 inmates still at Guantanamo, with cases in various stages.
The facility, set up by President George W. Bush in 2002 as part of the fight against terror, once held 800 prisoners. The inmates are not brought onto U.S. soil, where they would have access to the U.S. justice system.
Barack Obama promised to shut it down, but had two terms in office to accomplish that and failed.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
There were a number of undue influences on the 2020 presidential election that cast doubt on its integrity and fairness.
Ultimately Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were installed in the White House and America has since endured inflation of more than 20%, a stunning invasion of illegal aliens and criminal gangs over its southern border, a White House-led campaign for transgenderism for children and abortion for all, and worse.
Now a polling shows that a stunning majority, nearly 95%, say Trump's "loss" in that election was not fair.
While there were multiple allegations about voting machine failures and ballot manipulations, with suitcases of votes dragged out from under tables in the night, the evidence never showed any of those factors actually would have changed the results.
However, Mark Zuckerberg handed out $400 million to various leftist election officials to help them cope with the influences of COVID, and they ultimately used most of that money simply to recruit voters in Democrat districts.
Further, the FBI decided to interfere in the results by falsely claiming that evidence about Biden family scandals documented in a computer Hunter Biden abandoned at a repair shop was "Russian disinformation," when it actually was accurate.
A subsequent polling showed that probably changed enough votes to cost Trump the election and hand the White House to Biden.
Now a polling, on the anniversary of that protest-turned-riot at in Washington when Biden's victory was made official by congressional adoption of the Electoral College vote, reveals the public's perception.
It is from investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson that came the report of 95% saying " they think Trump did not lose fair and square in 2020."
The polling, while unscientific, did hear from nearly 8,400 people.
Only 5.1% said Trump lost "fair and square." A huge 94.9% said no.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
With the release of a new 182-page report by the Department of Defense, it has become clear that China is conducting its largest military build-up since that of 1930s Nazi Germany.
Prior to the report, some experts said China's military build-up in recent years has been fueled largely by a lack of respect for the Biden administration.
Col. Grant Newsham, USMC-Ret., who once served as the first Marine liaison officer to the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, agreed. In his 2023 book "When China Attacks: A Warning to America," Newsham documents Communist China's ongoing covert war against the United States and its allies.
Speaking to WorldNetDaily, the Senior Fellow with the Center for Security Policy explained that "China's military build-up has been going on for over 30 years – regardless of who has been in the White House – Democrat or Republican." In addition, over the last 20 years, the People's Liberation Army, or PLA – the Chinese Communist Party's military wing – has also strengthened its capabilities.
According to Newsham, the CCP is increasingly emboldened by American weakness and perceived decline. To that end, he told WorldNetDaily, "The Chinese communists certainly did not fear the Biden administration," adding, "There was nobody on 'Team Biden' handling foreign, military, economic policies – or China matters in general – that scared Beijing."
However, in a few areas, such as maintaining former President Donald Trump's tariffs and imposing additional sanctions and trade restrictions on the People's Republic of China, Newsham said, "The Biden administration did some things that irked the PRC." Nonetheless, he admitted, the Chinese continue to telegraph that "they had little to fear from the Biden administration."
On the other hand, Newsham argued, "The first Trump administration was the first one in my lifetime that actually frightened Beijing."
However, he conceded, "the PRC did not slow down its military build-up." For Beijing, he added, the People's Liberation Army and national military power remain "priority number one."
For this reason, he said, "don't expect the PRC to pull back on its military build-up just because Donald Trump will soon be back in office." According to Newsham, "The CCP has reached a point a decade ago where its military is a serious threat to the U.S. and the U.S. military."
Therefore, warns the retired Marine colonel, "Beijing will not let up in its quest to be able to dominate – and defeat, if possible – the U.S. and the U.S. military." Newsham added, "I'm afraid the Chinese communist leadership finally sees this objective as achievable – and sooner than one might think," he warned.
"The PLA's overall capability for joint, combined operations and for operating far afield is becoming a huge problem – especially if you look out five or ten years in the future," Newsham told WND. In addition, he said, "the PLA's rocket force is an immediate threat, as is the rapidly improving and expanding PLA Navy."
China has added 300 medium-range ballistic missiles and 100 long-range cruise missiles to an arsenal of more than 600 operational nuclear warheads. By 2030, the communist country is expected to have more than 1,000.
On top of all this, Newsham told WorldNetDaily, that China's space and undersea capabilities, its biological and psychological warfare, and it electronic warfare capabilities are all equally concerning and threatening.
"The United States needs a sense of urgency," he said, yet "to date, it has not demonstrated such a thing."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Two Republicans in the House of Representatives, after the first round of voting for a new House Speaker essentially had concluded, changed their votes, handing the leadership position, again, to Louisiana Republican Mike Johnson.
The first round of voting originally came to a conclusion with Johnson leading Hakeem Jeffries 216-215. The final vote was 218 for Johnson, 215 for Jeffries, and one for yet another candidate.
A total of 218 votes were needed to secure the speakership, and two GOP members changed their votes, after the voting essentially had concluded but before it was gaveled closed, to deliver.
It was Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., who had charged that Republicans need to stop bickering and work together on the agenda for President-elect Donald Trump.
The 2022 election of a House speaker, then-Rep. Kevin McCarthy, took 15 rounds of voting. Johnson later replaced McCarthy when McCarthy was voted out by his own party.
But the stakes were much higher this year, with Congress scheduled on Monday to adopt the Electoral College victory in the presidential race for President-elect Donald Trump.
Reports noted the victory in one vote came after some conservatives threatened to withhold support from Johnson over the way he dealt with a government funding issue just weeks ago.
Johnson has a 219-215 majority in the House, giving him little breathing room on disputed issues this time around.
Johnson has said he's not in the business of "making deals" or being involved in "quid pro quo" for votes.
"I don't do anything in exchange for a vote other than commit to make this institution work as effectively and efficiently as possible," he said.
Trump offered his endorsement, and added just before the voting began, "Good luck today for Speaker Mike Johnson, a fine man of great ability, who is very close to having 100% support.
"A win for Mike today will be a big win for the Republican Party, and yet another acknowledgment of our 129 year most consequential Presidential Election!! – A BIG AFFIRMATION, INDEED. MAGA!"
After the vote, Trump offered his congratulations: