(Worthy Insights) – The Biden-Harris administration waived sanctions on Iran three days after the November election, providing Tehran access upward of $10 billion in once-frozen funds, according to a copy of the non-public order transmitted to Congress and reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined on November 8 that “it is in the national security interest of the United States” to waive mandatory economic sanctions that bar Iraq from transferring upward of $10 billion to Iran in electricity import payments.

The Biden-Harris administration has renewed the waiver repeatedly over the objections of congressional Republicans, who warned that the cash helped fuel terrorism and Iran’s war against Israel. In one case, the administration signed off on the sanctions relief one month after Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel. [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy Insights) – In a war with China, the United States would expend its stock of advanced missiles and bombs in less than a month—and run out of some critical weapons in a matter of days, according to a wargames simulation conducted by the House Select Committee on China.

America’s cache of long-range antiship missiles, critical to defending Taiwan in a sea battle in the case of a Chinese invasion, will run dry within three to seven days, according to the committee’s findings. Within a month, meanwhile, the United States would run out of long-range cruise missiles. Taiwan’s own supply of mid-range antiship missiles would also be expended within a week of battle.

The findings are raising alarm bells among lawmakers, who worry America’s defense industrial base is woefully unprepared to deliver the arms needed once China makes good on its repeated threats to invade Taiwan. With China’s military rapidly growing, U.S. supply lines remain strained amid conflicts in the Middle East and other geopolitical hotspots. [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy Insights) – Federal law enforcement exploited the Suspicious Activity Report system to access and surveil Americans’ private financial data without warrants or probable cause, according to a report from the House Judiciary Committee.

The FBI “manipulated” the SAR filing process by pressuring banks to file reports on individuals the FBI deems “suspicious,” making financial institutions “de facto arms of law enforcement,” the interim report released Friday said. SARs do not require any legal process, granting officials “virtually unchecked access” to “confidential and highly sensitive information.”

The Republican-led oversight committee accused the FBI of circumventing the Bank Secrecy Act, which specifies that it is a bank’s responsibility to file a SAR when it identifies a “suspicious transaction relevant to a possible violation of law or regulation.” [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy Insights) – Not to be outdone by Christians, a group of self-described “non-theistic satanists” are offering elementary-age students at a public school in Ohio the chance to participate in a class hosted by The Satanic Temple.

The program, named “Hellion Academy of Independent Learning,” or “HAIL” for short, will be offered to children at Edgewood Elementary School in the Marysville School District, WSYX-TV reported.

Edgewood is not the first school to offer the class as part of its release time religious instruction program. An elementary school in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, is offering the HAIL program, too. [ Source: CBN News (Read More…) ]

(Worthy Insights) – With Hezbollah decimated, Iran significantly weakened, and Russia preoccupied with its war on Ukraine, Syrian opposition forces enjoyed ripe conditions for the surprise offensive they launched last week. Those forces are closer than ever to deposing dictator Bashar al-Assad, experts told the Washington Free Beacon, emphasizing the Iranian regime’s ever-loosening grip on the Middle East.

The reignited Syrian war, which has dragged on for 13 years, will pose fresh challenges for the incoming Trump administration as it grapples with a Middle East already inflamed by a year of war between Israel and Iran-backed forces across the region. It is this very conflict, regional analysts and former U.S. national security officials say, that set the stage for Syria’s armed rebel forces to reclaim Aleppo, a key stronghold, and set their sites on the capital city, Damascus.

The key player in the coming battle for control of Syria is Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is backing anti-Assad forces and likely played a role in initiating their stunning offensive. These forces are primarily composed of Islamist militias controlled by Hayʼat Tahrir ash-Sham, a U.S.-designated terror group. On the other side is Assad, a brutal dictator who relies on support from Iran and Russia. [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy Insights) – The nascent Sanhedrin in Jerusalem has made an official ruling, calling on Jews outside of Israel to come home.

“We are the beis din (rabbinic court) of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), and we have poskened (officially ruled) that all Jews around the world have an obligation and chiyuv (religious requirement) right now to do whatever is in your power, to come to Eretz Yisrael (the land of Israel), and that is the mitzvah of Torah (Biblical requirement). And that is the mitzvah of today, especially because of what’s happening around the world and the dangers that all the Jews are in around the world. It’s necessary now more than ever to come to Eretz Yisrael, and we as a beis din have poskened that all the Jews have to come as soon as they can back to eretz Yisrael.”

The Sanhedrin’s ruling was intended for Jews worldwide, so it was recorded in English, Hebrew, Yiddish, French, and Spanish.

(Worthy Insights) – A coalition of radical anti-Israel groups is planning a “global escalation” in dozens of cities across the United States throughout the Thanksgiving holiday season.

The “Global Escalation” coalition describes itself as “a collective effort from people who share the understanding that we must urgently step up our actions to stop this genocide.” It directs activists to protest in their area and provides resources on how to organize and improve their security strategies. Some of the cities listed include New York, Chicago, Sacramento, Denver, and Charleston.

“We reject a world where genocide and war crimes go unpunished. In 3 days, for 3 days, withdraw from participating in the global economy to reject this new ‘normal,’” the coalition posted Sunday on Instagram. “Disrupt any and all entities that allow or enable genocide. Disrupt the finances fuelling or profiting from genocide.” [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy Insights) – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday he will arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he sets foot on Canadian soil.

Earlier in the day, the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, saying in a news release regarding the war in Gaza, “[T]here are reasonable grounds to believe that each has committed the war crime of using starvation as a method of warfare and crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts, as a direct perpetrator, acting jointly with others.

“The Chamber also found reasonable grounds to believe that they are each responsible for the war crime of intentionally directing attacks against civilians as a superior.” [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy Insights) – U.S. ambassador-designate to Israel Mike Huckabee criticized the Biden administration’s approach to Israel on Tuesday, accusing it of applying more pressure on the Jewish state than on its adversaries.

“We’ve put far more pressure, with Joe Biden, on Israel than we have on Hamas, Hezbollah and most importantly, the people who write those checks—the Iranians,” Huckabee told Fox News in an interview, describing the White House’s policy toward Israel as “schizophrenic.” [ Source (Read More…) ]

US Ambassador to Israel-designate Mike Huckabee on Fox News:

“But what we've had is a schizophrenic policy toward Israel. We've put far more pressure with Joe Biden on Israel than we have on Hamas, Hezbollah, and most importantly, the people who write those checks: the… pic.twitter.com/W2fYE8nNdO

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) November 18, 2024

(Worthy Insights) – Now that Donald Trump has secured his remarkable victory in the US presidential election, supporting regime change in Iran could soon emerge as one of his new administration’s top priorities after he takes office in January.

Trump’s no-nonsense approach to confronting the ayatollahs’ malign influence in the region was one of the defining characteristics during his first term in the White House.

One of his more laudable foreign policy initiatives was to withdraw from the flawed nuclear deal with Iran agreed by former President Barack Obama in 2015. [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy Insights) – A recent study led by Ronald-Louis Ballouz from Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory suggests that the asteroid 99942 Apophis may experience tremors—similar to earthquakes—due to Earth’s gravitational pull during its close flyby on April 13, 2029, with simulations indicating significant surface changes. Apophis, approximately 340 meters in size, will pass within about 32,000 kilometers of Earth, closer than many satellites in orbit.

When Apophis was discovered on June 19, 2004, by Roy Tucker, David Tholen, and Fabrizio Bernardi during the University of Hawaii Asteroid Survey (UHAS), initial calculations indicated that it could approach Earth with a risk of collision, especially during its pass in 2029. It didn’t help that it is named after the Egyptian god of darkness and chaos.

At the time of its discovery, Apophis was considered the potentially “most dangerous” asteroid for Earth due to a possible impact that could kill millions of people. However, additional research allowed scientists to rule out the possibility of impact in 2029 and 2036, and calculations now show no impact risk for at least the next 100 years. [ Source (Read More…) ]