An 89-year-old woman gave powerful testimony about her experience in a Communist death camp Thursday morning as she was sentenced to three years probation over her FACE Act conviction for a peaceful protest in Tennessee in March 2021.  Eva Edl spoke at her sentencing hearing of how her Christian faith and childhood experience in a Yugoslavian concentration camp inspired her to pro-life activism. She was convicted in April of violating the FACE Act, a Clinton-era law that made it a crime to sit or stand in front of the doors of an abortion facility.  “I have been rescuing babies since 1988,” Edl told federal Judge Chip Frensley in a court filled with dozens of supporters. “What I’m doing is for the love of Jesus alone, no other benefit.” Edl was charged by the Biden-Harris administration for her participation in a protest in a hallway outside the Carafem Health Center Clinic in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. During the sit-in, Edl sang hymns, prayed, and urged women not to get abortions.  “I’ve paid the price,” Edl said of her pro-life work. “It hurts deeply when you do what God says and you’re totally misunderstood.”  Holding up a well-worn Bible in the courtroom, Edl said, “I believe in this book,” saying she took it as her guide. Edl referenced the Book of Genesis, saying that “human life is made in the image of God.”  Edl also spoke of her own experience as a child “when I was declared to be inhuman.”  When she was 9 years old, Edl and her family were imprisoned by Communist dictator Josip Tito because they were ethnic Germans. She said that she and her family were crammed into cattle cars and forced into camps to die.  “I wish Christians or caring people would have stood on the tracks,” to stop the train that was taking her family away, she said. Edl survived her imprisonment and moved to the United States, where she became involved in the pro-life movement.  Am I Racist? Is In Theaters NOW — Get Your Tickets Here! Justice Department lawyer Kyle Boynton pushed for Edl to get three years probation, saying that the case was not about her faith or political views, but about “compliance” with federal law. Edl’s lawyer asked for just one year of probation, pointing to “devotion to her faith” and peaceful nature.  Edl was eligible for a prison sentence of up to six months for her conviction.  Frensley said that while he acknowledged Edl’s beliefs, she had engaged in a “clear violation of the law.” He said that following religious beliefs doesn’t excuse violations of federal law.  Prior to sentencing, Edl gathered with supporters outside the courthouse to sing hymns like “It is Well with My Soul.” She told the group that all she wanted for the day “is for the Lord to speak through me.”  Another protester who was with Edl at Carafem is set to be sentenced Thursday afternoon. 

'Asset managers should prioritize helping Americans'

'He was obtaining these donations from what they call straw donations'

'This should've never made it as far as it did'

'He lied so much'

'The questions surrounding the origins of the documents and how they came to our attention were more newsworthy'

'Fails to align with American values and interests'

THE DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—Former First Lady Melania Trump criticized the media’s rhetoric on Thursday for allegedly fueling the would-be assassins’ motives to commit violence against former President Donald Trump. The former first lady said during a “Fox & Friends” interview that it is expected that two would-be assassins would threaten her husband’s life since members of the left-wing media repeatedly call him a “threat to democracy.” She further accused the media of becoming silent about the two assassination attempts not long after they occurred, leading her to ask more questions about the incidents. “It’s interesting how quiet everything became all over the mainstream media. There were a few days they were reporting about July 13 event, and everything then became quiet. So I had a lot of questions, what’s going on? This is not normal,” Melania said. “And, is it really shocking that all this egregious violence goes against my husband, especially that we hear the leaders from the opposition party and mainstream media branding him as a threat to democracy, calling him vile names. They’re only fueling a toxic atmosphere and giving power to all of these people that want to do harm to him. This needs to stop.” Melania said she rushed to the television when she first learned of the first assassination attempt on her husband during a July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. She initially received no answer from either her husband or the Secret Service when she tried calling them, but then received notice that Trump was safe. Her son, Barron Trump, came rushing in when he received the news about the first attempt and had a “very, very difficult” discussion with his mother, she said. The former first lady said she was in New York City during the second assassination attempt on Sept. 15, prompting her to call the Secret Service to make sure her husband was safe. She said the former president’s survival during the attempts are “miracles” and that a divine power saved his life so he could serve the U.S. “I think both of the events, they were really miracles,” Melania said. “If you really think about it, July 13 was a miracle. Like that much and he could not be with us … I think something was watching over him. I think, it’s almost like the country really needs him.” Thomas Matthew Crooks, the first would-be assassin, climbed onto the roof of the American Glass Research (AGR) building located 130 feet away from the rally and shot eight rounds into the crowd. The shooting injured the upper portion of Trump’s ear and killed 50-year-old Corey Comperatore. The second assassination attempt occurred on Sept. 15 when 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh was spotted with an AK-47-style rifle at the former president at Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida. Originally published by The Daily Caller News Foundation. The post Melania Trump Says Media Is ‘Fueling A Toxic Atmosphere’ Against Her Husband Following Assassination Attempts appeared first on The Daily Signal.

How the mighty have fallen! Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo won a coveted Emmy Award in 2020 in recognition of his daily televised briefings on COVID-19. Cuomo’s allegedly successful response to the deadly pandemic made him a Democratic national hero, and, of course, a darling of the liberal media. Cuomo’s media glory ended one year later, however, amid charges of sexual harassment and impeachment threats, and the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences withdrew his Emmy. Today, thanks to a recent hearing conducted by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, Americans have learned more about Cuomo’s “Emmy-winning” response to New York’s COVID-19 crisis. Notwithstanding the previous media adulation for his televised briefings as governor, the record shows that Cuomo’s pandemic response increased New Yorkers’ mortality rates, particularly among nursing home residents.   Responding to Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Md., during the House subcommittee’s tense Sept. 10 inquiry, Cuomo urged the panel to “forget about the politics [and] look at the facts” and insisted that “New Yorkers follow the science.” Well. Let’s look at those facts. Nursing homes. Cuomo issued a directive March 25, 2020, mandating that his state’s nursing homes accept patients recovering from COVID-19. The directive’s language was unequivocal: “No resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the nursing home solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19. Nursing homes are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident, who is deemed medically stable, to be tested for COVID-19 before admission or readmission.” Cuomo claimed his policy was grounded in scientific evidence and adhered to federal public health guidelines. In fact, however, the language directly contradicted recommended practices at the time, which included testing all patients before admission to a nursing home to prevent potential outbreaks of COVID-19. Rep. Richard McCormick, R-Ga., an emergency physician, highlighted this contradiction and challenged Cuomo’s directive. “If you prohibit the testing of a patient, you don’t know what you’re dealing with,” McCormick said, “so it’s a dishonest argument to begin with.” In his congressional testimony, Cuomo argued that the “law” took precedence over the “advisory,” claiming that guidelines from both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services held legal authority, not his directive. The former governor testified that his nursing home policy was merely advisory, not mandatory.  The problem, however, was that Cuomo’s directive used clear, authoritative language, including terms such as “shall” and “prohibited,” plainly declaring itself to be mandatory. As Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, chairman of the subcommittee, pointed out to Cuomo, his statewide advisory “referred to itself as a directive in the very first paragraph, with your name at the top.”   Federal assistance. Next is the issue of Cuomo’s response to federal assistance on COVID-19. Then-President Donald Trump deployed the USNS Comfort, a state-of-the-art hospital ship, with a capacity of approximately 1,000 beds and several operating rooms. Trump sent the ship to New York to alleviate the expected pressure on the state’s health care system to cope with an expected explosion of COVID-19 cases. Less than a month later, Cuomo decided not to take advantage of the ship and its ample resources. He acknowledged the Trump administration’s logistical support but deemed it unnecessary, stating at the time: “It did give us comfort, but we don’t need it anymore.” By April 21, 2020, despite crowded New York City hospitals, the USNS Comfort had received only 178 patients. Meanwhile, throughout 2020, the Trump administration focused heavily and successfully on the rapid and unprecedented development of COVID-19 vaccines through the initiative dubbed Operation Warp Speed. However, a key weakness in the federal response was the Trump administration’s failure to pursue a similar effort for rapid development and distribution of therapeutics for treating the novel coronavirus that caused COVID-19, including the use of preexisting antivirals. Therapeutics dispute. During the Sept. 10 subcommittee hearing, the issue resurfaced when Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., claimed that the use of hydroxychloroquine as well as ivermectin—a medication available well before the pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc.’s development of its Paxlovid brand—had been scientifically debunked. Growing evidence now supports chloroquine, a drug similar to hydroxychloroquine (also called HCQ) in structure and effects, as effective against COVID-19 if properly prescribed. Dr. David Gortler, a senior fellow at The Heritage Foundation and former Federal Drug Administration official, has noted that HCQ is safe when used correctly—a fact the FDA itself has confirmed. Despite the CDC’s acknowledgment in 2017 that hydroxychloroquine is relatively well-tolerated, the drug became controversial during the politically charged atmosphere of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. The House subcommittee’s inquiry, like previous hearings on the federal government’s COVID-19 response, provided important insights. Although Congress has examined the role of federal agencies, it also should assess how other state governments, which received significant federal aid, managed the pandemic. The New York case is a prime example. Cuomo’s notorious nursing home directive of March 25, 2020, continues to be widely scrutinized. It contributed to a preventable tragedy and had devastating consequences for at least 4,000 families. Members of the House Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic have already have amassed an impressive record of vital information, including sworn testimony from top federal officials on major issues related to government’s responses to the pandemic. That body of work can be of enormous benefit to the next presidential administration in reforming and improving the performance of America’s major public health agencies. Their work, however, is far from finished. The post Responding to COVID-19: Andrew Cuomo’s Dismal Performance Before Congress appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Unprecedented numbers of violent gang members, drug cartel operatives, and aliens on the terror watchlist are among the estimated 11.6 million illegal aliens expected to have entered the United States during the Biden-Harris administration, a report released Wednesday by the House Committee on Homeland Security states. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ open border policy and their exploitation of U.S. asylum laws allowed millions of unvetted and unlawful aliens to bypass American immigration laws, risking the lives of many Americans, according to the jaw-dropping data in “Crisis by Design: A Comprehensive Look at the Biden-Harris Administration’s Unprecedented Border Crisis.” The committee reported that U.S. Border Patrol arrested 52,755 illegal aliens with criminal records since the start of fiscal year 2021. Although three months remain until the end of the Biden-Harris term, the data reflects approximately 30,000 more individuals with criminal backgrounds were arrested by Border Patrol in comparison to fiscal years 2017-2021. Americans have fallen victim to the rising number of violent offenses committed by criminal aliens since the start of fiscal year 2021. Convicted criminal alien encounters have skyrocketed over the course of the Biden-Harris administration, as seen in the data visualization graph below published by The Heritage Foundation from U.S. Customs and Border Protection reports. (The Heritage Foundation from U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.) For example, CBP’s illegal drug possession and trafficking statistics total 7,846 recorded encounters from 2021-2024. Reports of crimes committed by illegal aliens, including rape, murder, and narcotics smuggling, are detailed in “Crisis by Design.” Josephine Dunn lost her daughter to fentanyl poisoning in 2021 and told the committee, “In my humble opinion, Mr. Mayorkas’ border policy is partially responsible for my daughter’s death,” referring to the secretary of homeland security. Biden’s border has facilitated the drug trafficking trade and resulted in roughly 200,000  Americans reported dead since 2021 because of fentanyl poisoning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Additionally, 1,339 documented illegal alien convictions for sexual offenses and 178 illegal alien convictions for murder and manslaughter have been reported since the start of fiscal year 2021, according to CBP.  Witnesses to some of the horrific consequences of our open borders testified before a House Committee on Homeland Security hearing Wednesday. Among them were a mother who lost her child to violent rape and murder at the hands of an illegal alien and border town leaders left struggling to handle a crisis that overwhelms their local communities. These are the voices that Biden and Harris ignore. Patty Morin stated in her testimony that the administration never once reached out to offer condolences for the loss of her daughter, Rachel Morin, who was tragically raped and murdered by an alien who illegally entered this country under Biden-Harris policies. The administration also ignored the expert advice given to the Biden transition team in 2020-2021, according to transcribed interview excerpts within the committee report. Instead, the Biden transition team focused on “dismantling” President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. Biden repealed the effective anti-asylum fraud tool, the “Remain in Mexico” program, and instead implemented the “catch and release” policy that allowed inadmissible aliens into the U.S. without detaining them. The Left’s opposition to Trump defined Biden’s agenda as he, along with Harris and Mayorkas, opened our borders to millions of inadmissible aliens. The White House acted in an unprecedented manner to “diminish the security along our southern border,” according to former Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott’s interview published in the committee report. Scott also concurred with other expert witnesses that the current state of our border was avoidable and was “a crisis by design.”  Former Department of Homeland Security officials also testified to the committee that the Biden-Harris administration restricted federal agencies from enforcing immigration laws—hauntingly described by the committee as the “gutting of interior enforcement.” The White House’s engineered crisis left law enforcement officers feeling unsupported, resulting in 4,000 Border Patrol personnel choosing early retirement, according to the committee report. This number doubles the retirement rates during the Trump and Barack Obama presidencies. The House Committee on Homeland Security’s report highlights the devastating consequences of Biden and Harris’ open border policies. American communities are left struggling with increased crime and drugs, overcrowded schools and emergency rooms, housing shortages, higher taxes, and a severe distrust in the current administration’s willingness to protect Americans. According to the committee, the “willful decimation of border security” will be how the Biden-Harris administration will be remembered throughout history. The post Biden-Harris Admin’s Border Crisis Was by Design, House Report  Says appeared first on The Daily Signal.