In a book by pro-life writer Janet Morana, Mary Kominsky gives her testimony of abortion.

Mary Kominsky had an abortion after the father of her baby abandoned her. It was before Roe v. Wade, but abortion was legal in New York.

Misled by Planned Parenthood

Kominsky went to Planned Parenthood, and the abortionist misled her about the development of her preborn baby.

Kominsky says:

Fear had led me to the belief in the lies surrounding abortion…After all, the doctor at Planned Parenthood told me it was just a clump of cells and tissue even though I was 11 weeks pregnant.

Technically, the abortion doctor wasn’t lying. Everyone who reads this is a clump of cells and tissue. We all are. That is what human beings are made of.

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But the worker’s words hid the true nature of Kominsky’s preborn baby.

Fetal Development at 11 Weeks

At the time of the abortion, Kominsky’s baby had had a beating heart for 8 weeks. He or she had a brain that was giving off waves.   A baby at 11 weeks responds to touch showing a startle reaction when he or she is touched with something.

She can have the hiccups. She is already right or left-handed. She has lungs and “breathes” amniotic fluid to practice breathing air when she is born.

He or she not only had hands and fingers but also fingerprints. These fingerprints marked him or her as a unique individual who had never existed before and will never exist again.

This baby would have been somebody’s best friend, and possibly someone’s husband or wife.

Here is a picture of a preborn baby close to the age of the one Kominsky aborted:

Endowment for Human Development

Kominsky writes that that to have the abortion “I had to detach my mind, my heart, and my emotions. In shutting these off, my heart hardened and turned cold.”

The Abortion’s Aftermath

The abortion worker promised Kominsky she could “go on with her life as if nothing had happened.” But Kominsky says, “[J]ust the opposite came true.”

She writes about her emotional trauma:

Following the procedure, I was deeply traumatized as fear turned into guilt and shame. It was not a simple surgical procedure as I had been promised…

Initially, there is a relief of not having to face uncertainty, but that often turns to great sadness. I became angry and resentful to all those around me. I had a deep shame and a profound sense of loss.

Kominsky is one of many brave post-abortive women who have come forward with their stories to show how toxic abortion is to both the mother and the baby. Hopefully, her story will help other pregnant people to choose life, and avoid the trauma of abortion.

LifeNews Note: Sarah Terzo covered the abortion issue for over 13 years as a professional journalist. In this capacity, she has written nearly a thousand articles about abortion and read over 850 books on the topic. She has been researching and writing about abortion since attending The College of New Jersey (class of 1997) where she minored in Women’s Studies. This article originally appeared on Sarah Terzo’s Substack. You can read more of her articles here.

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There are three things certain in life: death, taxes, and self-styled fact-checkers defending Democrats on late-term abortion. The latest example came on Friday from D.L. Davis, who gave Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson a “false” label for claiming “Every Senate Democrat has voted to support unlimited abortions up to the moment of birth.”

Johnson’s office cited the Democrats’ 2022 Women’s Health Protection Act and Davis took exception to the use of the word “every,” writing “[Sen. Joe] Manchin, R-W.Va. [sic], voted no along with Republican senators on the measure. The vote was 49 Yes and 51 No.”

It’s ironic that Davis tried to shame Johnson for saying “every” Democrat voted for it when the truth is everyone, but one did and Davis and his editors couldn’t even get Manchin’s party letter label correct.

Regardless, Davis also cited Johnson’s office for claiming “the measure ‘would enshrine abortion into law up until the moment of birth and block state laws with protections against late-term abortions.’”

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Davis simply replied, “That’s wrong.” He also added, “On the contrary, the measure — which has not become law — protects the right to an abortion up until the point of fetal viability, which is roughly reached at 24 weeks of pregnancy.”

He further writes, “After that point, the legislation protects the right to abortion only “when, in the good-faith medical judgment of the treating health care provider, continuation of the pregnancy would pose a risk to the pregnant patient’s life or health,” according to the bill’s text.”

If one were to try to be as neutral as possible, as all good fact-checkers should, Davis could reasonably say the bill did not mandate the reversal of state laws banning late-term abortions, but to say the bill does not protect “abortion into law up until the moment of birth” is also wrong.

The bill allows blue states to permit it, which some do. For Davis, such concerns are not important, “‘Abortion ‘up to the moment of birth’ simply doesn’t happen.’ [Washington Sen. Patty] Murray said in an email to PolitiFact Wisconsin. ‘Abortions later in pregnancy are extraordinarily rare and occur essentially only when a pregnancy is nonviable and the mother risks severe injury or death by remaining pregnant.’”

Talking points about late-term abortion being rare do not refute claims that a bill permits it. If late-term abortions are so rare and only done for legitimate medical reasons, why is it so hard for national Democrats to write in a provision to their bills banning elective abortions after viability?

LifeNews Note: Alex Christy writes for Newsbusters, where this originally appeared.

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The wave of state ballot initiatives seeking to impose unrestricted abortion-on-demand on states from coast to coast has encountered a serious problem: Voters are beginning to see them as a cynical ploy to elect Democrats. The news comes from reading between the lines of a story in Politico titled “National Dem strategy worries state abortion-rights leaders.”

“Democrats’ efforts to ride the coattails of abortion ballot measures put passage at risk,” declares the subheadline.

The abortion lobby apparently fears defeat if voters realize their state’s referendum serves as little more than a Democratic voter-drive scheme. “We haven’t won or beat back a single one of these ballot measures without significant [I]ndependent and Republican support,” Mini Timmaraju, president and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly NARAL) told Politico. “We spent a lot of last year talking to candidates directly saying, ‘Don’t put things on the ballot just to enhance voter turnout for Dems.” A leader of the Nebraska abortion-expansion referendum, Taylor Givens-Dunn said, “We want to be clear that this is about people, not politicians.”

Their concerns have spread to the professional political class. An anonymous consultant working with multiple state ballot initiatives told Politico that Democratic candidates “don’t need to talk about the specific ballot initiatives all day long,” because if they do, it will “reduce the chances that they win.”

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Thus far, Democrats have not only ignored this anonymous individual’s advice; they have openly touted the referenda as their party’s political salvation in November. “[A]bortion has become a key issue that could help drive turnout for Democrats to win up and down the ballot,” said a memo dated May 2 from the Democratic Party’s official campaign arm aimed at winning statewide races, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC). “These measures will cement abortion protections into state constitutions and could boost turnout for competitive races at every level of the ballot.” The DLCC’s president, Heather Williams, apparently provided the memo to Axios along with her own quotation.

Democrats have considered multiplying these initiatives even in self-described “abortion sanctuaries,” such as New York. Although the state has effectively no protections for unborn children, and Governor Kathy Hochul (D) gives millions to abortion facilities, “Democrat lawmakers pushed the effort forward amid hopes that it will bolster turnout,” reported The Hill.

The bad news is that support for abortion-on-demand does, indeed, cut across party lines. That includes a dishearteningly large minority of Bible-believing Christians, according to a study of Ohio’s Issue 1 released by the Center for Christian Virtue (CCV). Based on their numbers, “1 in 3 self-identified weekly church-going Catholics and Evangelicals supported the law, which will rob an estimated 30,000 unborn children of their lives every year,” CCV found. In all, “30 percent of Ohioans who believe life begins at conception voted to pass the radical abortion amendment.”

Even with such odds, the abortion industry apparently frets voters will reject ballot initiatives that are seen as a craven Democratic GOTV effort.

It would be a shame if the word got out.

LifeNews Note: Ben Johnson is senior reporter and editor at The Washington Stand.

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Word of Antony Blinken’s displeasure was leaked to the media

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has directed his aides to stop the leaks of confidential discussions related to the Israel-Hamas conflict to the media, an unnamed State Department official told Politico.

Reuters got a hold of an internal State Department memo at the end of April, showing that several officials had advised Blinken that Israel’s assurances about US-supplied weapons were not “credible or reliable.” Someone at Foggy Bottom has also leaked details of proposals to broker a ceasefire and free the Israelis held captive by Hamas.

Blinken criticized the department leadership at a meeting earlier this month and said the leaks made diplomacy more difficult, but also “eroded trust within the State Department that documents or details of closed-door conversations wouldn’t find their way to a reporter,” according to Politico’s description.

The top diplomat urged his direct underlings to “help plug the leaks,” in particular those related to the conflict in Gaza, three unnamed officials told the outlet. One of them added that Blinken’s message had been “sternly delivered” throughout the department.

The “constant stream of leaks” from Foggy Bottom is causing “increasing unease” in the Biden administration, according to Politico, and “underscores the intense frustrations” in Washington with failures to free the hostages and deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians.

Reports that lower-level officials believed Israel wasn’t using US-provided weapons in accordance with international law made Blinken “particularly displeased.” To comply with congressional demands for reporting on such matters, the White House said last week that it was “reasonable” to assume Israel was in violation, but stopped short of a formal assessment that would require weapons deliveries to stop.

Earlier this month, Israel shrugged off public warnings from the US not to proceed with an attack on Rafah, a city in southern Gaza that most of the food and other aid for the Palestinian enclave was coming through. Talks between Israel and Hamas broke down completely over the weekend. 

On Monday, the International Criminal Court – which neither the US nor Israel recognize – sought arrest warrants for both Israeli and Hamas leaders. Washington has previously threatened the ICC with military intervention should it dare to prosecute Israelis.

Benedictine College is unapologetically Catholic. This shouldn’t be a shock to anyone who has spent at least 30 seconds looking at their website or Instagram. There has never been any attempt to hide or shy away from our identity. Rather, the college is proud to nurture traditional Catholic values.

As a young woman and a Benedictine student, I am proud of my college for its unashamed faith. It is a haven for young people, like me, who have not always felt accepted for what we believe and who often have to defend our views.

Knowing this about my school, it didn’t come as a surprise to me when Benedictine asked Harrison Butker, an outspoken traditional Catholic, to give the commencement speech at this year’s graduation.

What did come as a shock to me was the firestorm that followed.

Butker began his speech by addressing the hardships the graduating class has faced throughout their educational journey. What stuck out to me in his introduction, however, was the intense call to action he gave the audience.

He stated that we as Catholics must have more courage in speaking openly about our beliefs.

“We need to stop pretending that the Church of Nice is a winning proposition,” he said.

For many, including me, this is a terrifying suggestion. It is one thing to go into the upper room and pray behind closed doors, but it is something else entirely to show my faith openly to the world. My faith is what I cherish most and it scares me to think of opening it up to ridicule from others. Butker recognizes that fear, yet still lives a boldly Catholic life.

Later on in his speech, Butker addressed vocations – an appropriate topic for a Catholic college graduation speech because graduation is a time of heavy discernment for students.

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He touched on the importance of leaning into each person’s individual vocation and then singled out the women in the room. He briefly commented on how many of them will likely go on to have successful careers but then said that the majority of them will likely be wives, mothers, and homemakers.

This is the comment that probably went the most viral. It stirred up anger, debate, and a lot of hatred toward traditional values. If you’ve spent any time on social media in the last year then you’ve likely seen the great debate over homemaking and if it’s oppressive to women. This speech seems to have poured gasoline onto that already burning fire.

What people online fail to realize is that the culture at my college is not the same as that of other colleges. A statement like this is more common and welcome than it would be at other schools. While I recognize that many women desire to have a career, which can also be pleasing to God, there were still a large number of women sitting in that graduating class who dream of becoming stay-at-home moms and, yes, homemakers.

And that desire does not mean they are oppressed. It does not mean that the school has told them that is all they can be. What it does mean is that regardless of what they choose, they are supported.

I don’t believe Butker is attempting to discredit career-driven women. Rather, his point was to speak to the women who often get marginalized in today’s work-obsessed culture. The women who don’t want to be career-focused.

Much of the criticism of the speech also claims that Butker was sexist for singling out the women and that men should also be a part of homemaking. Well, a few minutes later in the speech Butker said just that.

“To the gentlemen here today, part of what plagues our society is this lie that has been told to you that men are not necessary in the home or in our communities.”

Harrison Butker

What is this statement if not a direct affirmation of the importance of men stepping up in the home? It takes both men and women to create a loving home. It takes courage to commit to someone and selflessly give of yourself. And yes, sometimes it takes sacrificing a dream career in order to pursue something greater than yourself.

As a young woman who desires a career but also desires to be a wife, mother, and homemaker, I appreciate hearing those desires affirmed. Choosing to forego a career-driven life doesn’t make you any less of a woman, just like choosing to have a career doesn’t make you any less of a woman.

It is by leaning into our unique vocations that we can find peace and unity with God.

LifeNews Note: Shelby Bland is a student at Benedictine College. This column originally appeared at Catholic Vote.

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The UK High Court ruled that Washington’s assurances of a fair trial for the WikiLeaks founder were insufficient, allowing a full appeal

The High Court in London has ruled that WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange has the right to appeal an extradition request by the US. Washington is seeking to put the Australian publisher on trial for espionage for disclosing alleged war crimes committed by the US in Iraq and Afghanistan.

What Monday’s hearing was about

The UK High Court considered Washington’s assurances that Assange would be given a fair trial if extradited to the US. The court had previously requested two sets of written guarantees from the US stating that the WikiLeaks founder would not be discriminated against due to his Australian citizenship, and would not be held in a maximum security prison or receive the death penalty.

If the court had ruled that these guarantees were adequate, Assange would likely have been extradited to the US in a matter of days.

US assurances

While the US had provided the assurances, it did so with a number of conditions. The American side promised not to immediately place Assange in a maximum security prison, but reserved the right to do so based on his conduct.

US prosecutors also stated that the WikiLeaks founder would be able to rely on the First Amendment right to free speech during the trial, but noted that its applicability would be “exclusively within the purview of the US courts.”

Public support and criticism of US guarantees

Assange’s supporters slammed Washington’s diplomatic assurances, with Amnesty International’s criminal justice expert Juli Hall calling them “inherently unreliable because the US government gives itself an out.”

The publisher’s wife, Stella Assange, had also described the US guarantees as “blatant weasel words.”

Ahead of Monday’s ruling, hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the High Court in London calling for Assange’s immediate release.

Assange’s defense

During the hearing, Assange’s lawyer Edward Fitzgerald told the judges that the assurances of a fair trial given by US prosecutors could not be relied upon as American courts would not be bound by them.

“We say this is a blatantly inadequate assurance,” Fitzgerald told the court.

The verdict

In a short ruling, the two senior judges of London’s High Court stated that the assurances provided by the US were not sufficient, and gave Assange’s legal team the right to a full appeal hearing.

While the legal battle continues, Assange himself will remain in London’s top-security Belmarsh Prison, where he has been held for the past five years since his arrest in 2019 when his asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London was revoked.

Response to the ruling

The legal victory was immediately celebrated by Assange’s supporters, with Amnesty International’s Simon Crowther calling it a “rare piece of positive news for Julian Assange and all defenders of press freedom.”

“We spent a long time hearing the United States putting lipstick on a pig but the judges did not buy it” - @Stella_Assange reacting to the breaking news of the courts granting #JulianAssange the right to appeal his extradition

Livestream: https://t.co/tOe9QXtAdC

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Stella Assange applauded the court’s verdict, claiming it had made the “right decision.” She criticized the US for the ongoing persecution of her husband, and demanded that Washington “read the situation” and drop the case against him.

Former Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn also celebrated Monday’s verdict, but stressed that there was still a lot to be done to secure Assange’s freedom.

Democrats are making their extreme pro-abortion agenda crystal clear. They are telling voters that, if they keep control of the Senate, they will kill the filibuster in the Senate so they can legalize abortions up to birth nationwide.

This is a stark reminder to every pro-life voter in America that pro-life Republicans must win Congress and Joe Biden can’t be re-elected.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat in a competitive Senate battle, has made it clear she wants to ditch the filibuster to push unlimited abortions, according to an ABC News report.

And other Democrats are joining her to promote their radical abortion agenda.

“If NASA had the rules of the United States Senate, the rocket ship would never leave the launchpad,” Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly said in an interview this month with NBC News. “So at times, at the appropriate time — I think this is one of them -– I would consider changing those rules to make sure that women can get the health care they need.”

Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey said “he has been on the record for years” that the rules should be changed and still supports that position. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar has repeatedly called for eliminating the filibuster to protect abortion and voting rights since Roe v. Wade was overturned.

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Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who previously served one term in the House and is the leading Democratic Senate candidate in Florida, said in an NBC News interview this month that she is “very much in favor of pausing the filibuster and voting for a woman’s right to choose to codify Roe v. Wade.”

Senate rules require 60 votes to end debate over a bill, effectively making it the minimum number of votes needed to pass legislation, but ending the filibuster would allow radical pro-abortion bills to be approved on a majority vote.

Radically pro-abortion former Speaker Nancy Pelosi has already said Democrats will do this if they win Congress.

In an interview  earleir this year on MSNBC’s “Katy Tur Reports,” Pelosi falsely claimed “People have to view abortion as a democracy issue. This is about freedom to make your own decisions for a woman. It’s a personal decision, it’s an economic decision at the kitchen table of America’s families, if and when they could expand their families or even start their families.”

Tur asked, “Do you think it’s going to be a more powerful issue at the ballot box this time around?”

Pelosi said, “Well, it is because the fact is that no matter what he says, there will be a national abortion ban, and that would be horrible for our country.”

“We have to win it all. We have to win the White House, with our great president of the United States, Joe Biden, who has a vision for America that is in keeping with the vision of our founders, the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform, the aspirations of our children and their families,” she responded.

Tur asked, “If President Biden gets reelected and there’s a Democratic House and a Democratic Senate, what can President Biden do to protect abortion nationwide?”

“We can enshrine into the law Roe v. Wade,” she responded.

Tur said, “That would take two-thirds in the Senate.”

She then laid out the radical abortion agenda: “No it doesn’t. It’s 60 votes is the Senate now but if we win 50-plus-1 in the Senate, 50 plus the vice president, we can overturn the 60-vote rule.”

Tur said, “The filibuster.”

Pelosi confirmed: “The filibuster and pass it with a 51-vote margin. That’s what we need to do.”

Responding to her comments, SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser told LifeNews, “Biden-Pelosi Democrats will stop at nothing to force abortion on demand any time for any reason, in every state in America – with no exceptions even for brutal second and third trimester abortions when babies can feel pain. They will scrap every rule such as the filibuster that stands in their way and weaponize the full force of the federal government to promote their abortion agenda.”

She said Democrats would go even further and overturn every pro-life law in America.

“Democrats like Pelosi are being up front about their goals, and they are nothing if not ambitious. What they won’t tell America is that their deceptively named ‘Women’s Health Protection Act’ is far more sweeping than Roe v. Wade and would overturn parental rights, informed consent, health and safety standards, late-term abortion limits, and more – a truth the voters are only supposed to discover after it’s too late.

Multiple post-Dobbs polls show that at least seven in 10 Americans support significant limits on abortion. SBA Pro-Life America is tracking the pro-abortion extremism of the Biden-Harris administration at sbaprolife.org/biden-harris.

This election cycle, SBA Pro-Life America and its affiliated entities plan to spend $92 million to protect life across America. This includes reaching 10 million voters – four million directly at their doors – across the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to educate them on key issues and win pro-life majorities in the U.S. House and Senate.

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Putin’s Strategic Blunder

Paul Craig Roberts

The blunder began years before February 2022. Putin failed to realize that the US was preparing the overthrow of the Ukraine government. When the overthrow began, Putin took no action to prevent the overthrow. Instead, Russia permitted Washington to take over the former province of the Russian state.

A hostile Ukraine is an existential threat to Russia. Why did Russia stand aside and permit Washington’s takeover? Why did Russia sit for the next 8 years on its hands, rejecting the votes of the independent Donbas republics to be reunited with Russia from which they were torn by Soviet leaders and stuck in Ukraine? The culprit in these strategic blunders was the Kremlin’s lack of realism. Putin relied on diplomacy despite the fact that Washington relies on threats, bribes, and coercion. The Kremlin simply did not understand that with the Minsk Agreement it was saddling a dead horse that could go nowhere.

When Putin was finally forced to intervene by the prospect that the inhabitants of Russian Donbas were about to be slaughtered like Palestinians in Gaza today, Putin failed to respond decisively. Still playing all by himself a diplomatic game, he insisted that there be no Russian invasion of Ukraine, only a “special military operation” to clear hostile Ukrainian forces from Donbas. Lost in a diplomatic world that no longer exists, Putin failed to realize that regardless of what he said or did, Western propaganda would present the intervention as a reconstruction of the Soviet Empire that would extend to all of Europe.

It was immediately obvious that the limited and slow-paced “special military operation” would provide Washington and its NATO puppets abundant time to become involved in the conflict, thus endlessly widening the conflict until the conflict became an existential issue for Russia. This is what has occurred.

Still the Kremlin thinks unrealistically. Putin is on the verge of succeeding with his purpose of driving Ukrainian forces out of, and away from, the Russian populated areas, and the assumption is that the war will be over and Russia’s success will be acknowledged in a negotiated settlement.

This delusion persists despite Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov’s acknowledgement that Washington intends Russia’s destruction. Both Lavrov and Putin continue to stress that they are willing to negotiate with Washington Washington’s intention to destroy Russia. It would be hilarious if were not so deadly.

Listen to Lavrov’s speech. He understands the threat to Russia but is incapable of matching a Russian response to the threat. https://informationclearinghouse.blog/2024/05/19/the-west-has-decided-to-sort-things-out-on-the-battlefield-russia-is-ready-lavrov/13/

Thinking Russia’s intervention to be limited, Putin was unprepared for war. He has done very little to hamper the Ukrainian government’s ability to conduct war. Rather than shutting down Ukraine, Putin chose a long drawn-out village by village conquest. The West interpreted this as limited Russian military capability, and this provided both encouragement and time for the West to involve itself in the conflict.

The West is so involved now and the Western political leaders are so certain that Russia intends more aggression that they are preparing for war against Russia. Still, Putin and Lavrov speak of negotiation. After a decade of the West’s rejection of negotiation, how can the Kremlin still see negotiation as a solution?

What needed to be done was to knock Kiev out of the war, install a Russian friendly government in place of the American puppet regime, and present the West with a fait accompli before the West had time to get involved. It is Western involvement that presents the danger of the conflict widening into a war between Russia and the West.

Possibly the solution is still viable. It would leave a neutral Ukrainian state west of the Dnieper River with no Black Sea access. It is highly unlikely that such an outcome can be achieved by negotiation. It can only be imposed by force.

By restraining Russia’s use of force, Putin has opened the road to nuclear Armageddon.

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Republican Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey on Thursday said he is investigating the office of Democratic Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas after it reportedly “doxxed” Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker in an X (formerly Twitter) post.

The alleged leaking of Butker’s personal information came days after he gave the commencement address at Benedictine College in Kansas over the weekend.

There, Butker encouraged graduates at the small Catholic college to “be authentically and unapologetically Catholic.” He also spoke positively about marriage and motherhood, but criticized the abortion industry and the LGBTQ movement.

Bailey wrote to Lucas in a letter dated Thursday: “It has been reported that the city of Kansas City has retaliated against a well-respected local resident and member of the Kansas City Chiefs after he spoke about his religious views.”

The attorney general continued:

Your office’s X account likely publicly released residential location information on a private citizen, Harrison Butker, in an attempt to retaliate against him for expressing his sincerely held religious beliefs at a religious college’s commencement ceremony–to an audience that largely shares his views.

“Use of government social media to retaliate against an individual based on their religious beliefs amounts to discriminatory behavior that is not tolerated under our Constitution or Missouri statute,” Bailey cautioned.

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Ebrahim Raisi, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has died in a helicopter crash; how will he be remembered?

The Iranian authorities have officially confirmed that a helicopter crash on May 19 resulted in the death of President Ebrahim Raisi, as well as eight others.

Among the victims were Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the governor of East Azerbaijan Province, Malik Rahmati, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s representative in Tabriz, Imam Mohammad Ali Al-Hashem.

As stipulated by Article 131 of the Iranian Constitution, First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber will temporarily assume the duties of the president for 50 days, until a new presidential election is organized by a special council.

How It Happened

The news that Raisi’s helicopter had initially gone off radar before making a crash landing was reported by Iranian news agencies at around 13:00 GMT the previous day. Conflicting reports then surfaced, many of which turned out to be false. Initially, it was reported that the president and all others on board had survived and were en route to Tabriz in a motorcade. This was later contradicted; there was a later false claim that contact had been made with some passengers and that rescue teams were heading to the crash site.

Conducting the operation to reach the site was extremely challenging due to adverse weather conditions and the difficult terrain of Iran’s East Azerbaijan Province. There were reportedly three helicopters in the presidential convoy; the other two, carrying ministers and officials, reached their destinations safely.

Raisi was returning from a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The two leaders had participated in the opening ceremony at the Gyz Galasy dam (‘Maiden Tower’ in Azerbaijani) on the border between their countries. The heads of state visited various sections of the dam and were briefed on the details of construction and its benefits. On Sunday morning, Raisi arrived at Tabriz International Airport and took a helicopter to the Azerbaijani border, approximately 100km away, to take part in the ceremony.

The return route was planned to be the same. However, after a few hours, it became known that the helicopter carrying the president had disappeared from radar.

One of the first countries to offer help was Russia.  President Vladimir Putin issued a directive and Moscow sent two planes, a helicopter, and 50 rescuers to the vicinity of the crash to assist in the search for Raisi’s helicopter. Additionally, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Azerbaijan also expressed their support and offered assistance.

The rescue operations continued throughout the night, but the incoming information remained highly contradictory. Late in the evening, Iran’s deputy foreign minister announced that Imam Mohammad Ali Al-Hashem, who was with Raisi, had allegedly made contact twice, complaining that he was feeling unwell. A representative of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also stated that the helicopter had been located, but this information was later refuted by the head of Iran’s Red Crescent Society. Similar confusion was observed in the Iranian media.

It seemed that the Iranian people wanted to believe in a miracle. Tens of thousands of residents took to the central streets and squares of cities, holding prayer vigils for the president’s well-being. However, the miracle did not occur. Early in the morning on May 20, rescuers discovered the crash site of the helicopter, which had been completely incinerated, leaving nothing but ashes. The head of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education of the Islamic Republic stated that DNA testing would be necessary for identifying some of the victims.

President Raisi: His Legacy

Raisi is a controversial figure in Iran’s modern history. Before becoming president in 2021, he was the head of Iran’s strict judiciary. At age 25, Raisi became deputy prosecutor of Tehran and rapidly climbed the judicial ladder, later becoming Iran’s attorney general.

Just before the 2021 presidential election, he served as chief justice of the Supreme Court.

During his tenure as the head of Iran’s judiciary, Raisi was sanctioned by the US and faced significant distrust within Iran due to his role in the legal system. He won the presidency in an election marked by the lowest voter turnout in Iran’s history, with only 49% participation, and secured nearly 60% of the votes.

Raisi’s presidency was marked by the ‘Hijab Revolution’ in autumn 2022, when millions protested for the liberalization of women’s dress codes after the notorious death of a 21-year-old girl, allegedly at the hands of law enforcement, for wearing her headscarf incorrectly.

Despite his controversial background, Raisi proved to be a pragmatic and consistent leader. His political strategy focused on strengthening ties with neighboring and regional allies rather than the West, in stark contrast to his predecessor, the more liberal Hassan Rouhani. Under Raisi, Iran cemented its relationship with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), becoming a full member, and joined BRICS. Tehran also began a phased integration with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and expanded its relations with Russia.

Under Raisi, Iran-Russia relations reached new heights both militarily and economically, with bilateral trade surpassing $5 billion, and the introduction of visa-free travel for tourists between the two countries. Raisi’s presidency saw Tehran firmly align its foreign policy priorities with Russia and China.

Despite his conservative stance and opposition to the West, Raisi and his administration made efforts to negotiate with the US through European intermediaries, aiming to revive the nuclear deal. However, these attempts were unsuccessful. The Biden administration ultimately refused to re-enter the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and the EU proved ineffective as a mediator. Consequently, Iran continued to advance its nuclear program, resisting pressure from Washington and Brussels.

Raisi also restored diplomatic relations with a number of predominantly Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Djibouti, Turkey, Qatar, and the Maldives, and strengthened ties with several post-Soviet republics. Under his leadership, Iran managed to retrieve £400 million from the UK for a canceled 1979 tank contract. Furthermore, Iran increased its oil production to 3.4 million barrels per day, exceeding pre-sanction levels. Raisi’s tenure also saw Iran challenge Israel directly, conducting a large-scale operation and launching a missile strike in retaliation for an Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus which took the lives of 11 Iranian diplomats and two IRGC generals.

What Lies Ahead

Despite Raisi’s death, the stability of Iran’s political system is expected to remain intact. This is not the first time Iran has faced the loss of high-ranking officials. In 1981, during the Iran-Iraq war, both the president and prime minister were killed in a terrorist attack. At that time, the government was far weaker, and the country was less stable. Replacing Raisi might be challenging, but it is certainly possible.

Iran’s political direction is primarily determined by the Supreme Leader, a role held by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei since 1989. While his official duty is to uphold the spiritual, cultural, and religious traditions of the Islamic Republic, in reality, he is a key political figure who often mediates between the various factions within the country, balancing the interests of the clergy and the IRGC leadership.

The death of the president, while significant, does not equate to the loss of the head of state, and thus Iran’s policies are unlikely to change in the near future. Although the president has influence and status, the final say rests with Khamenei.

Raisi had managed to gain Khamenei’s ear and was even rumored to be considered as a successor to the 85-year-old Ayatollah, though this was complicated by internal political debates and disagreements.

The death of Raisi is indeed a stress test for the system, given his considerable support within Iran. However, it is not expected to impact the overall power structure or the country’s trajectory. The key task will be overcoming the emotional impact of his loss while maintaining continuity in governance.

Israel’s PM and defense minister as well as Hamas leaders, are suspected of committing war crimes, Karim Khan has said

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has said he's seeking arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, including Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

There are “reasonable grounds to believe” that the wanted persons are responsible for “war crimes and crimes against humanity” in Gaza and in Israel, Karim Khan outlined in a statement on Monday.

Along with Netanyahu, the prosecutor is looking to arrest Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The wanted Hamas officials include the Palestinian armed group’s leader Yahya Sinwar, the commander of its military wing –al-Qassam Brigades – Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, and the chief of Hamas’ Political Bureau Ismail Haniyeh, the prosecutor’s statement reads.

According to Khan, Netanyahu and Gallant are suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza such as intentional attacks on a civilian population, willful killing and causing of suffering, using starvation as a method of warfare, “extermination and/or murder” as well as other “inhumane acts.”

The wanted Hamas leaders allegedly “bear criminal responsibility” for murder, rape and other acts of sexual violence, and for taking hostages, torture and other “inhumane acts,” the prosecutor said.

#ICC Prosecutor @KarimKhanQC announces applications for arrest warrants in relation to Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant in the context of the situation in the State of #Palestine ⤵️https://t.co/WqDZecXFZq pic.twitter.com/bxqLWc5M6u

On October 7, Hamas fighters carried out an incursion into Israel, which resulted in  about 1,200 people being killed and 250 taken hostage. The Israeli government responded to the attack by launching a large-scale military operation in Gaza that is still ongoing. According to data from the Palestinian enclave’s health ministry, 35,456 have been killed and 79,476 others wounded as a result of Israel’s airstrikes and ground offensive.

Israel is not a member of the ICC and does not recognize the jurisdiction of the UN court, but the State of Palestine joined the organization in 2015. Once warrants against Netanyahu and Hamas leaders are issued, any of the court’s 124 member-states will be obliged to arrest them if they set foot on their territory.

Benny Gantz, the centrist member of Israel’s three-person war cabinet, labeled the decision by Khan to seek arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant as “a crime of historic proportions.” Israel is waging “one of the just wars fought in modern history” and drawing parallels between its top officials and Hamas leaders is “a deep distortion of justice and blatant moral bankruptcy,” he claimed in a statement.

The country’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich said that “we have not seen such a show of hypocrisy and hatred of Jews like that displayed by the court in the Hague since Nazi propaganda.” Another rightist cabinet member, national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, has urged the Israeli PM and defense minister to “ignore the anti-Semitic prosecutor and order a stepped-up assault against Hamas until they are completely destroyed.”

Back in April, when reports of a possible arrest warrant against Netanyahu emerged, the PM blamed the ICC for seeking to “paralyze Israel’s very ability to defend itself,” while fanning the “fires of anti-Semitism.”

Axios reported earlier this month that a group of Republican lawmakers in the US House of Representatives had been devising sanctions against the ICC in a bid to deter it from prosecuting the Israeli leaders. The US, Israel’s major ally, is not a state party to the Rome Statute, which founded the ICC in 2002.

First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber will serve as acting head of state for 50 days, until an election is held

The Iranian leadership has pledged that the work of state authorities will continue without disruption, following the deaths of President Ebrahim Raisi and several other senior figures in a helicopter crash. 

The aircraft carrying Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, and several others, went down on Sunday in a mountainous region of northwest Iran. After more than ten hours of searching – hampered by fog and rain – the president was confirmed dead.

In a message posted by Mehr News agency on Telegram, the Iranian Cabinet of Ministers described Raisi as “the hardworking and tireless President of the Iranian people, who did nothing but serve the great people of Iran towards the development and progress of the country, kept his promise, and sacrificed his life for the sake of the nation.”

READ MORE: Iranian president confirmed dead in helicopter crash

The statement vowed that there would not be “the slightest disruption” in the running of the country. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has announced that First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber will serve as acting president for 50 days, until an election is held.

Ebrahim Raisi’s aircraft hit the ground in a mountainous area during bad weather

The Iranian government has confirmed that President Ebrahim Raisi and several other high-ranking officials were killed when their helicopter crashed in the northwest of the country on Sunday.

What happened

Reports began circulating on Sunday afternoon that Raisi’s US-made Bell 212 helicopter had made a “crash landing” in dense fog in a mountainous area near the city of Jolfa in the Iranian province of East Azerbaijan. The president was returning to Tehran from the border region after inaugurating a dam on the Aras River with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Two other helicopters in Raisi’s convoy successfully made it to their destination.

The rescue effort

Low visibility, rain, and the impassibility of the area seriously complicated the search operation. Some 40 rescue teams were deployed to look for the helicopter. The wreckage was discovered only on Monday morning with the help of Turkish surveillance drones. The Iranian Red Crescent Society said the aircraft was severely damaged and charred, and that there were no signs of survivors.

Shortly after that, state-run Iranian media outlets reported that Raisi, 63, and the other passengers had been killed. The president’s death was later confirmed by the government in Tehran. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has declared five days of mourning in the country for the victims of the crash.

Who was on board the helicopter

Besides Raisi, the crashed helicopter was also carrying Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, East Azerbaijan Governor Malek Rahmati, East Azerbaijan Imam Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, and the head of presidential guard, Mehdi Mousavi.

What next for Iran

The Iranian government has said it will keep operating “without the slightest disruption” following the death of President Raisi. “The path of service will continue with the tireless spirit of Ayatollah Raisi,” it said in a statement. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has announced the appointment of First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber as acting president. Mokhber will be in the post for 50 days until an election is held.

How the world reacted

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his “deepest condolences” to Iran following Raisi’s death. He described the late Iranian president as “an outstanding politician” and “true friend” of Russia, who did a lot to strengthen ties between Moscow and Tehran to the level of strategic partnership.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his Syrian counterpart, Bashar Assad, and the leaders of Venezuela, Jordan, and Egypt were among the first to convey their condolences to Tehran. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said he and his government were “deeply shocked” by what had happened to Raisi and others on board the helicopter.

Iran’s arch-rival Israel has reportedly denied any involvement in Raisi’s helicopter crash. “It wasn’t us,” an unnamed Israeli official told Reuters.

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