Just in time for America’s birthday, Republican Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders delivered a fire-breathing reminder of the role religion plays in the core of what makes America special as she rejected a liberal group’s demand that she remove a chalk drawing of a cross from a walkway outside of the governor’s mansion.

Earlier this week, Sanders posted a picture of the cross, which is set against a drawing of a stained-glass window, on Instagram.

“New artwork to welcome people into the Governor’s mansion! So proud of how hard the kids worked and how well their masterpiece turned out!” she wrote.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders says she’s not removing kids’ sidewalk chalk cross at governor's mansion https://t.co/XHp2EC5Y8F

— The Christian Post (@ChristianPost) July 1, 2023

That sparked a scolding letter from the group Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

“Promotion of one religion over others through a religious display at an entrance to the Mansion sends the impermissible message that those who do not share the favored faith are unwelcome and will be treated differently,” the group wrote.

“While you and your family members are free to create and display religious imagery in private areas of your Mansion and its grounds, displaying a cross at an entrance ‘to welcome people into the Governor’s mansion’ violates the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution,” the group wrote, calling for the artwork to be removed.

Sanders singed Twitter with her reply.

“I have received your letter and my answer is no,” Sanders wrote in her post.

“I will not erase the beautiful cross my kids drew in chalk on the driveway of the Governor’s Mansion or remove my post on social media, and I will not now or ever hide that I am a Christian.”

Dear @americansunited,

I have received your letter and my answer is no.

I will not erase the beautiful cross my kids drew in chalk on the driveway of the Governor’s Mansion or remove my post on social media, and I will not now or ever hide that I am a Christian.

My letter⬇️ https://t.co/cdt9vJsMUk pic.twitter.com/3pdur4Fdmj

— Sarah Huckabee Sanders (@SarahHuckabee) June 30, 2023

She attached the letter she sent, in which she said she will not retreat from her beliefs, reminding the group that faith remains an integral part of freedom.

“I will not erase the beautiful cross my kids drew in chalk on the driveway of the Governor’s Mansion or remove my post on social media, and I will not now or ever hide that I am a Christian, saved by Christ,” Sanders wrote.

"You are wrong to claim that our Constitution prevents public officials, let alone their families, from making earnest expressions of religious faith. Our founding documents are riddled with religious language -- stating plainly that the very rights you claim to defend are 'endowed by our Creator.’”

"You are asking me to ignore that truth and hide a crucial part of my identity and the identity of my kids. That, I will not do," she wrote.

(I love this woman! She is the best of the best and I wish she was running for Pres!..someday, I hope.)
Libs Demanded Sarah Huckabee Sanders Remove a Cross Drawn by Her Kids. Here's Her Response. https://t.co/akVHopwdFL

— Lilnubbers (@littlenubbers) July 1, 2023

The former White House press secretary told the group what happens when anyone tries to bully her.

“In Arkansas, we stand up to bullying liberals. We won’t let you power-wash our kids’ chalk drawings off our front steps. We won’t let you tear down Christmas decorations and stomp our traditions into the dirt. We don’t live our lives in fear of strongly worded letters coming down from Washington,” she wrote.

Sanders further bristled at the group’s depiction of people of faith.

"I am offended by your implication that just because I am a Christian, I am a bigot. All people, of all faiths, are welcome in our state. All Arkansans are welcome in the Governor's Mansion.

"We are all citizens of this same great country -- one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all,” she wrote.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

A Utah school district has reversed its decision to ban the Bible from middle and elementary schools after drawing pushback from many in the community.

The Davis School District moved to ban the Bible in a May 22 decision after officials determined that some of the book's content may not be appropriate for younger children. The Bible would still be available to high school students, but not to elementary or middle school children.

A review committee found that while the Bible did not violate state law on “sensitive material,” some of its contents were inappropriate for younger readers due to its description of violence and vulgarity.

The Bible requested to be removed was the King James Version, known for its use of 17th century language, which can often be difficult for modern readers to understand.

It's unclear if other versions of the Bible were affected by the temporary ban.

The initial decision to remove the Bible came after an unidentified member of the community filed a request for its removal last December.

The request cited Utah House Bill 374, a law passed in 2022 by Republican lawmakers allowing parents to challenge "sensitive instructional materials" in public schools.

“Utah Parents United left off one of the most sex-ridden books around: The Bible,” the request read, referring to the group that has spearheaded the challenge against inappropriate curriculum in Utah schools, according to The Associated Press.

Taking aim directly at Parents United, the complaint accused the district of “ceding our children’s education, First Amendment Rights, and library access” to the group, the AP reported.

The complaint further accused the district of operating in "bad faith" by apparently removing the books brought forth by Parents United, and appeared to take issue with the law allowing the group to do so – despite itself using the law to request the Bible's removal.

“You’ll no doubt find that the Bible ... has no serious values for minors because it’s pornographic by our new definition ... If the books that have been banned so far are any indication for way lesser offenses, this should be a slam dunk,” the request stated, according to AP.

Left-leaning sites instantly jumped on the story after hearing that the Bible had been removed from schools by using a Republican-endorsed law.

Interestingly enough, the move seems to fall in line with the 1971 book, “Rules for Radicals,” written by left-wing political activist Saul Alinsky.

In his book, Alinsky credited Lucifer (Satan) as the “very first radical” and lists 12 rules that any activist who wants to succeed should follow.

These tactics include ridiculing your enemies until they concede, making them think you have more power than you do, keeping the pressure on, and most notably: “Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.”

That was clearly the tactic on display with the complaint demanding the Bible be removed.

However, parents ultimately prevailed against the Bible ban, and the district reversed its decision on Tuesday after having received 70 appeals.

“Based on their assessment of community standards, the appeal committee determined that The Bible has significant, serious value for minors which outweighs the violent or vulgar content it contains,” the committee said in announcing the reversal, AP reported.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

A San Antonio International Airport ground worked was sucked into a jet engine and killed Friday night.

The National Transportation Safety Board said the worker went into the engine of a Delta Airlines jet, according to KENS-TV.

"Delta Flight 1111 was taxying to the gate, with one engine on at that time, and a worker was ingested into that engine at 10:25 p.m," the NTSB said in a statement, according to the station.

"The NTSB has been in contact with Delta. They are in the information-gathering process at this point,” the agency said.

The name of the employee has not been released.

Airline passenger Michael Braun said the accident “caused a ripple effect with lots of rescheduling of passengers,” according to the San Antonio Express-News.

The worker was employed by Unifi Aviation, a company that contracts with Delta for ground crew operations, according to KENS.

On Saturday afternoon, the company released the following statement:

"Unifi Aviation is deeply saddened by the loss of our employee at San Antonio International Airport during a tragic incident in the late hours of Friday, June 23, 2023,” the company said in a statement, according to KENS.

“Our hearts go out to the family of the deceased, and we remain focused on supporting our employees on the ground and ensuring they are being taken care of during this time,” the statement said.

The company added that it believed it was blameless in the incident.

“From our initial investigation, this incident was unrelated to Unifi’s operational processes, safety procedures and policies. Out of respect for the deceased, we will not be sharing any additional information,” the statement said.

A statement from the airport offered few details.

"An accident occurred on the ground at San Antonio International Airport (SAT) tonight that resulted in the fatality of an airline ground crew member.  We are deeply saddened by this incident and are working with authorities as they begin their investigation,” the statement said.

BREAKING: The San Antonio International Airport has confirmed that an airline crew member has lost his life on the tarmac following a tragic accident. pic.twitter.com/QUlawnEMzm

— SkyNewsSA (@SkyNewsSA) June 24, 2023

The tragedy was the second of its kind in the past six months, according to the New York Post.

On New Year’s Eve, Courtney Edwards, a ground crew member at Montgomery Regional Airport, was sucked into the engine of an American Airlines regional carrier’s jet. Piedmont Airlines, a subsidiary of American, was later fined $15,625 in connection with the incident.

 

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

A Wisconsin couple has been charged with almost 100 combined counts after authorities said they discovered roughly 200 dead goats on their property.

Kyle Lincicum, 32, and Stephanie Lincicum, 33, each were charged with 20 counts of mistreatment of animals, 20 counts of failure to provide proper food and drink for confined animals, and five counts of timely disposition of carcasses, according to the Telegraph Herald.

They also each face one count of transfer of another’s personal property and one count of theft.

The Lincicums, who were arrested in May and made their first court appearance this week, claimed all of the goats died in a matter of days at the end of January or in early February and believed it was because of parasites or an illness, the Telegraph Herald reported, citing documents.

Per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Kyle Lincicum told authorities regarding the dead animals, "I have no idea what it was."

A veterinarian visited the scene and said she believed the goats died of starvation and lack of water, as there appeared to be "no flowing water for weeks," WKOW-TV reported.

Lafayette County Sheriff Reg Gill said, "By tracking records through feed companies and things like that, it had been quite some time since they've actually purchased any feed."

Stephanie Lincicum alerted the landowner in March that most of the goats had died, which soon prompted a visit from the Farm Service Agency, according to the Journal Sentinel.

The agency documented 177 dead goats on the farm, the Telegraph Herald reported.

Police later went to the scene and found two goats alive, but the animals had to be euthanized due to being in poor condition.

WKOW reported the goats "did not have a single ounce of fat on their bodies."

"This was brought on just by lack of taking care of them," Gill said.

"And obviously very devastating to see that many animals just left to die."

The Journal Sentinel reported no feed was found on the property.

The Lincicums allegedly had an agreement with the landowner to stay on the property and take care of the animals.

The couple also reportedly sold roughly 265 goats during the time they lived there and made over $37,000.

Gill said the Lincicums wouldn't have been allowed to do this because they did not own the animals, WKOW reported.

“This case is just extraordinary for us in terms of numbers,” Gill told the Telegraph Herald. “It’s not unusual for us to get calls about animal neglect, but nothing like this.”

If convicted, the Lincicums each face several years behind bars, the Journal Sentinel reported.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

Congressional testimony from whistleblowers within the Internal Revenue Service raises new questions about the Department of Justice probe into President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden.

The House Ways and Means Committee released transcripts and documents surrounding the testimony of longtime IRS employees before the committee on Thursday.

Committee member Rep. Jason Smith, a Missouri Republican, summarized the body's findings in its investigation into the investigation of the younger Biden's tax matters.

The federal employees described a tax investigation unlike any other in their careers in government and shine insight into the lavish lifestyle practiced by the president's son.

“The testimony we released today shows the IRS recommended charges against Hunter Biden that included attempt to evade or defeat tax, a felony, fraud or false statements, a felony, and willful failure to file returns, supply information or pay tax," Smith said during a news conference.

"These tax crimes cover an estimated $2.2 million in unreported tax on global income streams to Mr. Biden and his associates from Ukraine, Romania and China totaling $17.3 million from 2014 to 2019," he said.

“Mr. Biden personally received $8.3 million," Smith said. "Whistleblowers detailed foreign payments to Mr. Biden, including $664,000 from the Chinese company State Energy HK, a large diamond worth $80,000 and a Porsche worth $142,000.

“These payments are just a fraction of the total, but they provide insight into a world of wealth and influence that no ordinary American would recognize.

“And what plea deal did Mr. Biden just receive? A slap on the wrist for these charges that have put other Americans behind bars."

The younger Biden is set to plead guilty to a tax misdemeanor in an agreement with federal prosecutors in a deal that arranges for the diversion of federal firearms offenses and rules out more serious tax charges.

IRS Special Supervisory Agent Gary Shapley described a pattern of stonewalling from senior Department of Justice officials in the investigation -- culminating in a meeting in which federal prosecutor David Weiss explained that his superiors ruled out criminal charges in October 2022, according to Politico.

Shapley sounded the alarm on interference in the investigation in his testimony.

"It soon became clear to me this case was being handled differently than any I'd seen before," he said.

Shapley went on to describe a 2017 Hunter Biden WhatsApp message in which the younger Biden told a Chinese national that he was sitting next to his father and both men were angered over his inability to make an unspecified "commitment."

Obstruction from prosecutors prevented the IRS from properly investigating the potential of Biden family criminal conduct, according to Shapley.

BREAKING: According to IRS whistleblowers, DOJ tipped off Hunter Biden about a search of his storage unit, prohibited investigators from executing a warrant on Joe Biden's guest house, and repeatedly prohibited charges from being brought against Hunter Biden.… pic.twitter.com/9j7H8BkqEe

— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) June 22, 2023

"Based on guidance provided by the prosecutors on a recurring basis to not look into anything related to President Biden, there is no way of knowing if evidence of other criminal activity existed concerning Hunter Biden or President Biden," he said.

Another anonymous IRS whistleblower described the agency's discovery of a diamond worth $80,000 in the younger Biden's possession.

"We still don't know where that diamond is at to this day."

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

It's a scam so ugly they call it "pig butchering." It targets single women who are "fattened up" during a bogus online romance before being "butchered" by losing large sums of money, along with the phony online lovers.

Authorities are warning women to be on their guard after several victims reported being conned out of five and six-figure sums -- or even more -- while believing they were being romantically pursued by prosperous suitors, the U.K. Daily Mail reported.

One of the most recent victims was Rebecca Holloway, a twice-divorced 42-year-old who met "Fred" on the Tinder dating app in March.

As their online "romance" seemed to heat up, she told the news outlet, the two began discussing his cryptocurrency investments.

Soon, Fred helped her transfer $1,000 to a site that appeared to be a real cryptocurrency platform, where she immediately saw a $168 gain. She invested $6,000 the next trade, and then she decided to cash out her $100,000 401K, forfeiting a chunk for federal taxes, which left her with $70,000 to transfer to the site.

All this time, she had never met Fred face to face.

"While he avoided meeting up in person, he would video-call her while he was making dinner -- though she said he was mostly off-camera and she struggled to get a proper look at his face," the Daily Mail reported.

The light bulb came on after a friend told her about "pig butchering."

"That's when I realized what had happened," she said.

[firefly_poll]

The New York Post reported the FBI has issued a warning on the scams.

“Individual losses related to these schemes ranged from tens of thousands to millions of dollars,” according to the agency's statement.

The Post quoted Satnam Narang from Tenable, a cyber exposure management company, as saying the COVID lockdowns "created the perfect storm for these types of scams," as people were stuck at home, yearning for human contact.

"This created a very ripe opportunity for scammers to take advantage of folks over the last couple of years,” Narang said.

The Australian Broadcasting Commission reported that thousands of people in Asia have been trafficked to Cambodia, where they are forced to participate in pig butchering schemes, luring in new victims.

"[S]cammers follow sophisticated scripts to earn their mark's trust, then encourage them to download a fake investment app," the ABC reported.

Not long after that, the victims' life savings are history.

Narang's advice for potential victims: “If anybody on a dating app is trying to get you to invest your money into something -- That’s a huge red flag,” he said.

“When red flags start to go off in your mind, or you feel like something’s off -- trust your instinct.”

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

Ep. 5 As in most of the developing world, it's safer to be the president's son than his opponent. pic.twitter.com/AtRRaxYSjs

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) June 20, 2023

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

A Juneteenth celebration that was scheduled to last two days in Asheville, North Carolina, was abruptly canceled when gunfire erupted, sending two minors to the hospital on the event's first day.

The shooting occurred on Saturday just as the day's Juneteenth festivities were coming to a close.

Sunday's activities were canceled 12 hours before the second day's events were to begin with an announcement from the Martin Luther King Jr. Association of Asheville and Buncombe County.

“We are saddened that a day of celebration and community unity was darken[ed] by a cloud of violence. We pray for the healthy recovery of the victims, for justice to prevail, and that all community members be safe and at peace," organization president Oralene A.G. Simmons said in a Facebook post early Sunday morning.

The shooting occurred just before 9 p.m. Saturday in the Court Plaza area of Pack Square Park in Asheville, according to The News & Observer in Raleigh.

"Officers quickly arrived on the scene and found two juveniles who were victims of gunshot wounds," the Asheville Police Department said Sunday in a post on its Facebook page.

"Officers were able to locate two suspects nearby and took them into custody. Detectives were able to clear one and identify the other as the principal offender," the department said.

"With the assistance of the Department of Juvenile Justice and the Buncombe County District Attorney’s Office, the juvenile was charged with two counts of Felonious Assault with Deadly Weapon with Intent to Kill Inflicting Serious Injury," it said.

Officers said they recovered a 9mm pistol and “a host of physical evidence that littered the park.”

They said the name of the suspected shooter, who is 16, was being withheld because the suspect is a juvenile.

A 16-year-old, whose name is not being released, is facing two counts of Felonious Assault with a Deadly Weapon with Intent to Kill Inflicting Serious Injury. https://t.co/EzGlAEyTP4

— FOX Carolina News (@foxcarolinanews) June 18, 2023

The Asheville event is far from the only Juneteenth event that was marred by violence.

A shooting during a celebration Sunday in Willowbrook, Illinois, left at least 20 people wounded and one person dead.

“It was chaotic. Chaos, pure chaos,” said witness Nayetta Reed, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Reed said she had helped break up at least two fights among teenage girls before the shooting but did not think the shooting was related to those events.

It has happened in the past as well. Last year's Juneteenth event in Washington was beset with violence and led to the death of a 15-year-old boy.

Juneteenth marks the anniversary of June 19, 1865, the day Army Gen. Gordon Granger pronounced the slaves in Texas to be free at the end of the Civil War.

For years, black Americans have celebrated that day as the "end of slavery," even though slavery was not exactly a dead letter on that particular date.

The actual date of the end of slavery came Dec. 6, 1865, when the last two states that had legal slavery -- Delaware and Kentucky -- ended the practice. That was when the 13th Amendment was ratified, officially ending slavery across the nation.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

A gender ideology activist was swiftly escorted out after an attempt to interrupt a Turning Point USA event in New York City on Saturday.

The activist in question loudly shouted "trans lives matter" as a performer began singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the start of Turning Point's Blexit event.

A trans activist gets removed by security after interrupting the National Anthem at the @TPUSA BLEXIT event in NYC.

“Trans lives matter.”

Video by @NJEGmedia pic.twitter.com/PwVfcx0vyL

— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) June 17, 2023

It didn't escape some Twitter users that the pro-transgender activist was moved out of the venue much like an irate toddler from a kindergarten's play area.

Just walked out with him like a basket of laundry 😂

— MO Y (@momoyahroe) June 17, 2023

Way to show us how it's done!

— Make crime illegal again! Let's go Brandon. (@Glenn99352879) June 18, 2023

Turning Point founder Charlie Kirk shared a video of the heckler in question being carried out of the first floor of the venue.

Security removed some trans activists during the middle of the National Anthem at our BLEXIT/TPUSA Liberation Tour in NYC. Maybe they were mad their flag wasn’t flying next to the Stars and Stripes? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/6P9g2LSum5

— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) June 17, 2023

Cheers for the anthem appeared to drown out the exclamations of the dissident protester.

The heckler has not been identified.

A liberal cancel campaign had earlier pressured one New York City venue to cancel the planned TPUSA Blexit event, according to Kirk.

Outrageous!!

A bunch of white liberal New Yorkers just cancelled a BLEXIT/TPUSA venue for an event featuring Brandon Tatum, Candace Owens, Anthony, Davis, and Yoenmi Park—3 black Americans and 1 North Korean defector—with less than three days notice.

Our event will go on AS…

— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) June 16, 2023

TPUSA went on to schedule the event at the Triplex on Long Island.

WE WILL NOT BE SILENCED. See you Saturday, New York! pic.twitter.com/1RNfJ93Fyg

— BLEXIT (@BLEXIT) June 16, 2023

Speakers at the event went on to criticize the Democratic Party's political monopoly over the black community.

TPUSA contributor Stephen Davis @Stephend1776 speaks at the TPUSA BLEXIT event in NYC.
Video by: @NJEGmedia pic.twitter.com/kX5AMP8VbU

— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) June 17, 2023

Pro-transgender extremists have previously targeted Turning Point USA in acts of political violence.

Some of that ‘tolerance’ at @UW! We’re not going anywhere and will continue to have a presence on campus!@tpusastudents @TPUSA @charliekirk11 pic.twitter.com/6XswW24joA

— Rachel Anderson (@RachelA1776) April 12, 2023

Despite the protests and the attempts to cancel, the event was an overall success.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

Talk about below the belt.

Political paper-pushers for the Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis presidential campaigns traded barbs in the form of statements provided to the media Friday, according to NBC.

Trump campaign operative Chris LaCivita went in for a kick when responding to inquiry about DeSantis' planned attendance at a weekend Nevada barbecue event associated with former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt.

Never Back Down is running an ad in Reno to promote this weekend’s basque fry (“It’s an affordable, family-friendly affair”) where DeSantis is speaking. Event is in conjunction with Adam Laxalt’s Morning in Nevada PAC. pic.twitter.com/ZK3stALG2w

— Natalie Allison (@natalie_allison) June 14, 2023

Fried lamb testicles -- known as "lamb fry" are served at the annual Basque Fry event, according to The Nevada Independent.

“Not surprised Ron DeSantis is looking for a set of balls,” LaCivita said of DeSantis' attendance, NBC reported.

A spokeswoman for the DeSantis Never Back Down PAC soon fired back with a statement likening the Trump campaign to LGBT extremists.

[firefly_poll]

“The Trump team’s obsession with men’s genitalia is more perverted than a woke grooming book,” Erin Perrine said of LaCivita's remarks.

Laxalt has expressed his preference for DeSantis as a presidential candidate.

Helluva turnaround for Adam Laxalt, who embraced Donald Trump’s big lie and fought to overturn the 2020 election on his behalf. It probably cost him the 2022 Senate race in Nevada (he lost by 0.8 points). Now he’s supporting Ron DeSantis and says Trump can’t win Nevada. https://t.co/VBhxkZBjyr pic.twitter.com/tyE7BtBrGJ

— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) June 16, 2023

LaCivita also took aim at Laxalt's political track record and criticism of Trump, according to the report.

“So Adam Laxalt, who lost the governor’s race in ’18 and lost the Senate race in ’22, is lecturing President Trump?”

“That’s the pot calling the kettle black.”

In spite of the hot exchange of words between campaign operatives, there's little indication that the Republican Party's presidential primary is closely competitive.

Trump leads a RealClearPolitics aggregate of primary polls by more than 31 percentage points -- securing an outright majority of support from Republican voters in some polls.

The unconventional menu item is associated with Basque culture -- the ethnicity of the Laxalt family heritage.

The Basque Fry's origins trace back to Adam Laxalt's grandfather Paul Laxalt, former GOP Nevada governor and senator and close friend of Ronald Reagan, the New York Post reported.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

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