A New Perspective on Constantine

(Worthy News) – The expansive investigation into Russian meddling and possible collusion with Trump associates has grown so vast that no fewer than nine congressional committees and federal agencies are now examining some offshoot of the controversy.

And despite the inquiries to date having produced no indictments or hard evidence of collusion between the president’s men and a foreign power, even more officials and entities are looking to bite off a piece of the probe.

“The main problem is that after months and months of multiple investigations, no one has found any evidence of collusion,” a congressional source told Fox News. “So the Democrats are trying to shift the focus from collusion to obstruction, and since it doesn’t look like that will pan out for them either, they surely have some new accusation ready to put out there. It’s in their political interest to drag out these investigations as long as possible.” [ Source ]

(Worthy News) – The US State Department formally rejected a report from earlier this week that claimed that US President Donald Trump was considering withdrawing from the Israeli-Palestinian peace process due to a series of “tense” meetings between his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

In a press conference on Tuesday evening, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert called the report, originally from London-based Arabic daily al-Hayat, “…just false. The President has made Israeli-Palestinian peace one of his top priorities.”

“We understand and recognize that this is not going to be a one-shot deal,” Nauert said of the peace process. “It’s not going to be handled in one meeting or one trip. It is no surprise also that some meetings and conversations may be a little bit more difficult than others. Some will be more challenging. The President has said himself that it is not going to be an easy process, that both sides – the Israelis and the Palestinians – will have to give a bit in order to be able to get to a peaceful arrangement, which we hope to see. But we are not pulling out in any way, shape, or form of this as being one of our priorities.” [ Source ]

(Worthy News) – The Supreme Court ruled Monday that a state cannot refuse to fund a church’s secular activities just because it is a religious institution, in a decision Christian conservatives hailed as a major win for religious freedom.

The 7-2 decision clears the way for a Missouri church to resurface its playground with money from a state fund set aside specifically to make playgrounds safer for kids.

But the ruling’s implications could stretch far beyond Trinity Lutheran Church, suggesting new avenues for religious organizations to gain access to government funds as long as they are aimed at a secular purpose. [ Source ]

(Worthy News) – The Trump administration issued a rare, preemptive warning to the Syrian regime against launching any chemical weapons attacks, warning Damascus will “pay a heavy price” if it refuses to heed Washington’s red line.

The warning, sent via a White House statement posted late Monday night, cited recent intelligence showing government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad were preparing to launch a chemical attack.

According to the statement, “the United States has identified potential preparations for another chemical weapons attack … similar to preparations the regime made before its April 4, 2017, chemical weapons attack.” [ Source ]

(Worthy News) – The Supreme Court revived President Trump’s extreme vetting travel ban Monday, ruling that much of it can go into effect — and along the way delivering an implicit rebuke to the army of lower-court judges who’d blasted the president as anti-Muslim.

The unanimous decision said Mr. Trump can impose a 90-day pause on most admissions from six terrorist-connected countries, and a 120-day halt in all refugees admissions. The exceptions are citizens of those countries who already have ties to the U.S., such as relatives living here, or participation in a student program.

“An American individual or entity that has a bona fide relationship with a particular person seeking to enter the country as a refugee can legitimately claim concrete hard- ship if that person is excluded,” the justices said in the unsigned opinion. “But when it comes to refugees who lack any such connection to the United States, for the reasons we have set out, the balance tips in favor of the Government’s compelling need to provide for the Nation’s security.” [ Source ]

(Worthy News) – Senate Republicans must stamp out a series of fires to keep their Obamacare repeal mission alive this week, such as pinning down party holdouts and massaging arcane budget rules to appease pro-life activists and insurers.

Republican moderates say a pending analysis by the Congressional Budget Office, set to be released at any moment, will help them decide whether they back the draft plan negotiated by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, reject it or demand changes before a planned vote by the time lawmakers leave for their July Fourth recess.

One of them — Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada — made the leadership’s climb steeper on Friday by becoming the fifth Republican to say he won’t support the plan unless changes are made. He said his state cannot absorb Medicaid cuts in the plan. [ Source ]

(Worthy News) – A U.S.-backed Syrian coalition of Kurdish and Arab groups advanced against Islamic State in the jihadists’ Syrian capital of Raqqa on Sunday, taking the al-Qadisia district, they said.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) began its assault on Raqqa earlier this month after a long campaign to isolate Islamic State inside the city.

It took Qadisia, located in the west of Raqqa, after three days of intense fighting, it said in a statement on one of its official social media feeds. [ Source ]

Battle for Mosul: Iraq forces repel IS counter-attack

Fighters of so-called Islamic State (IS) have launched counter-attacks as they come under growing pressure from Iraqi forces in Mosul.

IS deployed large numbers of suicide bombers in different parts of the northern Iraqi city but the affected areas were quickly brought under control, Iraqi officials say.

IS has now been squeezed into a square mile of territory in Mosul’s Old City. [ Source ]–

(Worthy News) – Israel will not tolerate any violation of its security on any front, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday shortly after the IDF retaliated against Syria for the firing of 10 projectiles onto the Golan Heights.

“With the IDF action today, we are making our policy clear again,” Netanyahu said. “We are not willing to accept any ‘drizzle’ [of fire] or ‘spillover’ on any front. We will react with force to any firing on our territory.”

According to Arab media sources, the IDF attack reportedly left two Syrian Army soldiers dead after Israeli Air Force jets struck tanks belonging to the regime of President Bashar Assad. It also hit another position from which one of the projectiles was fired on the Golan. [ Source ]

For the third time in three days, rockets land in Northern Israel

Farmers and laborers in the Golan Heights have been evacuated after rockets from Syria landed in northern Israel, Channel 2 reports.

This marks the third day in a row in which spillover from the Syrian civil war has threatened the security of Israeli citizens. [ Source ]

IDF says stray fire from Syria hit UN position in Golan Heights

The IDF on Monday said that stray fire from Syria reportedly hit a United Nations peacekeeping position in the Golan Heights. No injuries were reported.

The army launched searches following reports that two mortars had landed on the Israeli side of the frontier, but no signs of shelling were found.

Instead, “heavy machine gun bullet holes were identified in a UNDOF post near Zivanit, adjacent to the border,” the army said. [ Source ]

(Worthy News) – Israeli lawmakers expressed serious concern Wednesday over Turkey’s concerted effort to position itself as a Muslim power on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Israel Hayom reported Wednesday that Ankara has been funneling millions of dollars to the eastern section of the city, mostly via the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency, known as TIKA. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is an avid supporter of TIKA’s activities and encourages the organization through speeches decrying Israeli control in Jerusalem, which he sees as “an insult.”

Since 2004 TIKA has funded 63 projects in east Jerusalem to the tune of millions of dollars, under the guise of “protection and strengthening of Jerusalem’s Muslim heritage and character.” [ Source ]

(Worthy News) – North Korea has carried out another test of a rocket engine that the United States believes could be part of its program to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile, a U.S. official told Reuters on Thursday.

The United States assessed that the test, the latest in a series of engine and missile tests this year, could be for the smallest stage of an ICBM rocket engine, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

A second U.S. official also confirmed the test but did not provide additional details on the type of rocket component that was being tested or whether it fit into the ICBM program. [ Source ]