Rep. Chris Smith to chair hearing on imprisoned Catholic democracy advocate Jimmy Lai

The Sept. 16 hearing is timed just ahead of a planned Trump-Xi summit that Catholic advocates say offers another chance to press for the release of Lai, whose faith played a key role in his opposition to Beijing’s crackdown on democracy advocates.

DU
David Uebbing

September 12, 2026

 

People gather in front of the Chinese Consulate General to protest the unjust conviction of media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai on February 14, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Apu Gomes/Getty Images)


Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., will chair a congressional hearing Sept. 16 examining the imprisonment of Hong Kong media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai, timed to occur just ahead of a planned Sept. 24 Trump-Xi summit that Catholic advocates have been urging the administration to use as another chance to press for Lai’s release.

Smith, co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, will lead the Sept. 16 hearing titled, “A Son and Daughter's Appeal to Xi Jinping to Release Their Dad, Jimmy Lai,” scheduled for 9:30 a.m. in the Rayburn House Office Building and livestreamed publicly. Planned witnesses include Lai's son, Sebastien Lai, who leads the #FreeJimmyLai campaign; Mark Clifford, president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation and author of a Lai biography; and a senior China researcher from the Heritage Foundation.

The hearing follows a year of escalating diplomatic appeals. After a May summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he had personally raised Lai’s case, but that Xi’s response “was not positive.”

"He told me that would be a tough one," Trump said, contrasting it with China's apparent openness to releasing detained pastor Ezra Jin.

A bipartisan group of more than 100 lawmakers had urged Trump before the trip to press Xi on Lai’s behalf, warning his continued imprisonment risked becoming “an irreversible tragedy.” China ultimately released Jin in July, a move human rights advocate Nina Shea argued in the National Review showed Xi retains full power to free Lai as well, dismissing suggestions that Hong Kong's legal system ties his hands as “laughable.” Shea noted Trump and Xi were due to meet again in September in Washington, giving the President “another shot at freeing Lai.”

Mississippi police makes arrest in Tasia Fortune case after medical examiner rules death a homicide

Tasia Fortune is seen in an image posted to her family's GoFundMe account. From Etta Avolio/GoFundMe

By

Dalia Faheid,

Elise Hammond

Updated Sep 12, 2026

Police in Jackson, Mississippi, have arrested a man in the case of Tasia Fortune, the 29-year-old Black woman found hanging from a tree outside an abandoned house last month, following the state medical examiner ruling her death a homicide.

Jarques Ratliff, 51, has been charged with murder in connection with Fortune’s death, police said Friday. CNN is working to determine if he has legal representation. Ratliff will have his first court appearance Monday, police said.

“Last night, the medical examiner’s office officially classified Miss Fortune’s death as a homicide. With that determination, our investigators moved quickly,” Chief RaShall Brackney said at a Friday news conference.

Brackney told CNN on Saturday no one else had been arrested overnight, but she expects “more arrests to come.”



Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney explains her precise language in the Tasia Fortune case.

Ocasio-Cortez And Pressley's Controversial Claims On 'Modern-Day Lynchings' Contradict Police Reports

 By Maria Angelino | Saturday, 12 September 2026 05:15 AM

Image Credit : Wikimedia Commons

Far-left Democratic Representatives Ayanna Pressley and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are amplifying a narrative of “modern-day lynchings” of black Americans that is starkly at odds with the facts established by law enforcement in nearly every case they cite.

As reported by The Post Millennial, the two members of the progressive “Squad” have seized on a series of tragic deaths in which black individuals were found hanging from trees and portrayed them as racially motivated killings, despite police and medical findings that overwhelmingly point to suicide. Their rhetoric, which invokes the darkest chapters of American history, has been used to demand federal intervention and a congressional investigation, even though authorities have found no evidence of racial animus in these incidents.

Across the country in 2026, several black individuals have been discovered dead in trees, with local investigations consistently concluding that the deaths were self-inflicted and involved no foul play. Nonetheless, Ocasio-Cortez and Pressley publicly described these cases as “lynchings” and insisted that Congress must step in, framing the incidents as part of a broader campaign of racial terror.

Pressley escalated the language dramatically, declaring, "Black folks are being found hanged in America. This is a national crisis and we CANNOT stand by while strange fruit hangs from trees across the country. We're demanding a federal investigation NOW so we can stop modern-day lynchings." Her invocation of “strange fruit” — a direct reference to the infamous song about Jim Crow-era lynchings — appears designed to stir public outrage, even as investigators on the ground report no such pattern of racist violence.

Ocasio-Cortez echoed and amplified Pressley’s claims, stating, "This year, there have already been 10 reported hangings of Black people in the U.S. I’m proud to have signed onto @RepPressley‘s letter to address these widespread modern-day lynchings and put a stop to this racial terror." By framing these tragedies as “widespread modern-day lynchings,” she suggested an organized campaign of racial killings, a claim that is not supported by the official findings in the cases highlighted by activists and sympathetic media.

In Cobb County, Georgia, 21-year-old Kyle Bassinga was found hanging in March, and police determined there was no foul play and that he was alone at the time of his death, according to CBS News. In Charlotte, North Carolina, 16-year-old Juliana Umba Nzita was discovered hanging from a tree on church property in May, and investigators ruled her death a suicide, WBTV reported.

Indian national accused of claiming US citizenship to cast vote

By Shubhangi Chowdhury

September 11, 2026

Credit: https://www.justice.gov/


A federal grand jury in Minnesota has indicted an Indian national for allegedly making a false claim of U.S. citizenship in order to vote in the 2024 general election.

Mukeshkumar Somabhai Chaudhari was charged in a two-count indictment returned in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. According to the Justice Department, the charges stem from his alleged participation in the Nov. 5, 2024, general election.

Prosecutors allege that Chaudhari signed the voter signature certificate required under Minnesota law on Election Day. The certificate required voters to swear or affirm that they were U.S. citizens.
The indictment alleges that Chaudhari was not a U.S. citizen at the time and knowingly made the false statement about his citizenship in order to cast a ballot.

READ: No more 60 days? DHS targets H-1B, L-1 and other foreign workers (September 10, 2026)

“The right to vote is a sacred privilege of American citizenship, and every lawful voter deserves an election system in which that right is protected,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

“The Department will hold accountable those who knowingly make false claims of citizenship in order to vote. The integrity of our elections depends on ensuring that only eligible citizens cast ballots and that every lawful vote is counted.”

Chaudhari faces one count of false information in voting under 52 U.S.C. § 21144(b), incorporating 18 U.S.C. § 1015(f), and one count of making a false claim of citizenship to register to vote or vote under 18 U.S.C. § 1015(f).

READ: DHS changes green card rules for children born to foreign government employees (September 5, 2026)

If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison on each count. Any sentence would be determined by a federal district court judge after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Homeland Security Investigations is investigating the case with assistance from the Fillmore County Sheriff’s Office.

Trial Attorneys Flavio Abreu and William Rubens of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.

The Justice Department emphasized that an indictment is only an allegation. Chaudhari is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.

Source

“Pyramid of Privilege”: PM Modi Delivers Pointed Message on Global Power Structure at BRICS | APT

 

“Pyramid of Privilege”: PM Modi Delivers Pointed Message on Global Power Structure at BRICS | APT

APT

Sep 12, 2026 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a pointed swipe at the existing global governance structure at the BRICS Summit, describing it as a “pyramid of privilege” and calling for it to be transformed into a “platform of partnership.” Modi said the Global South is at the forefront of global crises but remains at the back of decision-making, urging greater representation, responsiveness and participation in global rule-making.

EMERGENCY — THE UN HAS JUST MADE THE MARK OF THE BEAST MANDATORY - DR. SHERRI TENPENNY.

We've woken up in a demonic world. Nothing is the same.

A Time of Trouble Such as Never Was | Maranatha: The Lord Is Coming - September 14

 

The 81st Annual Dinner

The 81st Annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner will take place on October 15, 2026, at the Waldorf Astoria New York, 301 Park Ave.

Save the Date & RSVP Card

Thursday, October 15, 2026
New York, NY


The 81st Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner benefiting women and children in need will take place on October 15, 2026, at the Waldorf Astoria New York, 301 Park Ave.

For inquiries, please contact AlSmith.Foundation@archny.org. Thank you.

For media inquiries, please click here.

To view photos of last year's dinner, please click here.

Save the Date & RSVP Card

Since its first dinner in 1946, The Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner has raised millions of dollars for New York’s most vulnerable women and children. The Dinner has featured renowned cultural, business, and political figures, including most major party presidential nominees during election years since 1960.

Today, the Dinner stands as a cultural landmark and living memorial to one of New York’s most beloved sons.

74th Annual Red Mass

Event Details
Date & Time2026-10-04October 4, 2026
9:00 am - 10:30 am
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OrganizerThe Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and The John Carroll Society
communications@adw.org

The Red Mass invokes God’s blessings and guidance in the administration of justice under the power of the Holy Spirit and is a tradition that dates back many centuries to Rome, Paris, and London. The name comes from the color of the vestments worn by the celebrants and the color of fire, a symbol of the Holy Spirit. It is celebrated annually at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, traditionally on the Sunday before the first Monday in October, which marks the opening of the Supreme Court’s annual term.

This Mass is the work of the John Carroll Society.

His Eminence Cardinal McElroy is the Principal Celebrant and homilist for this Mass.

The Red Mass is open to the public but with limited seating. Doors open at 7:45 a.m.

Rhode Island Avenue from 17th Street to Connecticut Avenue will be closed.

Security will be screening all attendees, and no bags will be allowed inside the Cathedral.

Something Strange Is Happening Right Now

John Catsimatidis marks 25th anniversary of 9/11 with starry gala concert, raises $1.5 million

By Carlos Greer
Published Sep. 12, 2026, 2:27 p.m. ET

It was an evening to honor America’s heroes.

John and Margo Catsimatidis hosted WABC Radio and the George Pataki Leadership Center’s gala concert to mark the 25th anniversary of 9/11 on Friday night.

As well as the fallen, the event at  honored the former governor, along with Cardinal Timothy Dolan and famed New York Post columnist Cindy Adams.

Adams kicked off the evening, introducing Dolan with a little racy comedy. After organizers told her she only had two minutes to speak, she quipped that the last she time she heard “just two minutes” it was on her wedding night.

John Catsimatidis and wife Margo hosted a 25th anniversary gala concert in and memory of 9/11 at Cipriani 42nd St.

PageSix

Cindy Adams and Cardinal Timothy Dolan were honored.

PageSix

Dolan opened the evening with a prayer, reading from Psalm 46. “God bless you and God bless this beautiful evening. God bless this city and God bless America. Amen! Hallelujah! Thank you,” he said.

Joe Piscopo performed Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York.”

PageSix

Former Gov. George Pataki said 25 years seems like yesterday.

PageSix

Gov. Pataki reflected on Sept. 11, 2001, telling Page Six, “I think 25 years later, it’s important that we honor people who were so courageous on that day, and for the weeks and months thereafter. And as distant as 25 years seems, it’s like yesterday.”

“And the sense of loss – the sense of horror, the attacks that we suffered, we just have to honor the memory of those we lost, the memory of those who responded so courageously adnd never forget,” he added.

WABC host Cousin Brucie emceed the event and Lee Greenwood sang “God Bless the U.S.A.”

FULL: Tim Scott gives impassioned speech, defends Trump and pleads for GOP votes

 

Fact-check: Has the US had more foodborne illnesses and recalls than previous years?

Image: rawpixel.com



Pastor Hal MayerSpeaker / Director

Friday September 11th, 2026

WRAL News, by Madison Czopek: The eggs are contaminated with salmonella. Frozen berries have been linked to an E. coli outbreak. Iceberg lettuce and who knows what else might give you explosive diarrhea. Some people have endured the barrage of frightening food news with dark humor.

“So the bread has glass in it, the lettuce has diarrhea bacteria, the eggs have salmonella,” wrote one Facebook user, poking at recalls of Pillsbury bread rolls for possible glass contamination and iceberg lettuce for cyclospora contamination. “At this point, grocery shopping is just an overpriced episode of Fear Factor.”

The jokes can be funny, but the unanswered question behind them is not: Is our food becoming less safe?

The U.S. food supply is “among the safest in the world,” said Steven Mandernach, the Association of Food and Drug Officials’ executive director. “It’s always been among the safest in the world. I see nothing that has changed.”

But it’s notoriously difficult to answer in real-time whether our food is getting less safe, food safety experts said. Most expect the Trump administration’s cuts to federal, state and local public health entities to weaken the nation’s food safety guardrails in the long run. Whether that is playing out in the short term is less clear.

Here’s what else we learned from food safety experts, and diving into the data.

The cyclosporiasis situation doesn’t prove food safety is rapidly declining.

Yes, record-breaking numbers of domestically obtained cyclosporiasis cases recorded in 45 states have heightened food safety concerns.

Americans Are Stealing Food Now And Stores Are Locking Everything Up

Americans Are Stealing Food Now And Stores Are Locking Everything Up

Epic Economist

Sep 12, 2026

There are two separate things going on in this video, and it matters that they do not get blurred together. The first is what somebody says once they are caught. Hardly anybody argues they did not do it — they argue about what it was for, and the sentence that keeps surfacing is some version of I needed to feed my family. That may be true and it may be a line, and there is no way to tell which from the outside.

The second thing is not people at all. It is equipment. A camera counting you. A check at the door. A glass case you have to ring a bell for. All of it signed off as an answer to the first thing, and all of it landing on the ninety-nine who paid. That is the part nobody explained to anyone who shops in one of these stores, and it is the part this video is really about.

The Home Training Ground | Our High Calling - September 13

 

The Third Angel’s Message

As the ministration of Jesus closed in the holy place, and He passed into the holiest, and stood before the ark containing the law of God, He sent another mighty angel with a third message to the world. A parchment was placed in the angel’s hand, and as he descended to the earth in power and majesty, he proclaimed a fearful warning, with the most terrible threatening ever borne to man. This message was designed to put the children of God upon their guard, by showing them the hour of temptation and anguish that was before them. Said the angel, “They will be brought into close combat with the beast and his image. Their only hope of eternal life is to remain steadfast. Although their lives are at stake, they must hold fast the truth.” The third angel closes his message thus: “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” As he repeated these words, he pointed to the heavenly sanctuary. The minds of all who embrace this message are directed to the most holy place, where Jesus stands before the ark, making His final intercession for all those for whom mercy still lingers and for those who have ignorantly broken the law of God. This atonement is made for the righteous dead as well as for the righteous living. It includes all who died trusting in Christ, but who, not having received the light upon God’s commandments, had sinned ignorantly in transgressing its precepts. 

After Jesus opened the door of the most holy, the light of the Sabbath was seen, and the people of God were tested, as the children of Israel were tested anciently, to see if they would keep God’s law. I saw the third angel pointing upward, showing the disappointed ones the way to the holiest of the heavenly sanctuary. As they by faith enter the most holy, they find Jesus, and hope and joy spring up anew. I saw them looking back, reviewing the past, from the proclamation of the second advent of Jesus, down through their experience to the passing of the time in 1844. They see their disappointment explained, and joy and certainty again animate them. The third angel has lighted up the past, the present, and the future, and they know that God has indeed led them by His mysterious providence. 

It was represented to me that the remnant followed Jesus into the most holy place and beheld the ark and the mercy seat, and were captivated with their glory. Jesus then raised the cover of the ark, and lo! the tables of stone, with the ten commandments written upon them. They trace down the lively oracles, but start back with trembling when they see the fourth commandment among the ten holy precepts, with a brighter light shining upon it than upon the other nine, and a halo of glory all around it. They find nothing there informing them that the Sabbath has been abolished, or changed to the first day of the week. The commandment reads as when spoken by the voice of God in solemn and awful grandeur upon the mount, while the lightnings flashed and the thunders rolled; it is the same as when written with His own finger on the tables of stone: “Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.” They are amazed as they behold the care taken of the ten commandments. They see them placed close by Jehovah, overshadowed and protected by His holiness. They see that they have been trampling upon the fourth commandment of the Decalogue, and have observed a day handed down by the heathen and papists, instead of the day sanctified by Jehovah. They humble themselves before God and mourn over their past transgressions. 

This is Why They Want to Kill Me... My Story | Harvard Speech

 This is Why They Want to Kill Me... My Story | Harvard Speech

Nick Shirley

Sep 11, 2026

This is why they want to kill me. I spoke at Harvard about exposing fraud with a $500 camera — Minnesota daycare scams, California Medicaid fraud, death threats, and the law they nicknamed the Stop Nick Shirley Act. This is my story. From the source. No spin.

Trump admin declassifies 9/11 files...

Trump admin declassifies 9/11 files showing Clinton received ‘explosive-packed airplane’ attack warning in September 1998

By
Emily Goodin,
Steven Nelson and
Josh Christenson

Published Sep. 11, 2026
Updated Sep. 11, 2026, 3:31 p.m. ET

Trump links Iran war to 9/11 in Pentagon anniversary speech: ‘That’s why we fight today’

WASHINGTON — Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were warned repeatedly that Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was scheming to attack the US using hijacked passenger jets — but still failed to stop the 9/11 attacks, according to a devastating cache of files released by the Trump administration Friday.

The formerly classified documents, some of which were previously described in press reports, buttress post-attack assessments that Washington did too little to counteract bin Laden’s Islamist terror band, leading to the deaths of nearly 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001.

The documents claimed Al Qaeda members were present in the US and had even performed a “trial run” at a New York airport nearly three full years before the staggering assault that took down the Twin Towers.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an observance ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attack on the Pentagon on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in Washington, D.C.REUTERS

“Bin Laden [sic] Preparing To Hijack US Aircraft,” a Dec. 4, 1998, document prepared for Clinton’s Presidential Daily Brief ominously warned.

“Some members of the Bin Laden network have received hijack training, according to various sources,” the document said. “Bin Laden could be weighing other types of operations against US aircraft.”

The document added that a source had revealed that “Bin Laden might implement plans to hijack a US aircraft before the beginning of Ramadan on 20 December and that two members of the operational team had evaded security checks during a recent trial run at an unidentified New York airport.”

My Mother’s Pentagon Office Was Hit On 9/11 - She Took This Secret To Her Grave

"Shall We Dance" - Music in the Bible - Pastor Ismael Suero @ Nearing Home Ministry - 9/12/2026

 September 12th 2026 | Sabbath Evening Service

Nearing Home Ministry

September 12th 2026 Sabbath Evening Service

Welcome to Nearing Home Ministries Church. 

Sabbath School: Pr. I . Suero

Midday Sermon: "Inspiration, Music and Science " presented by Pr. I. Suero

Thank you for worshipping with us. Have a very blessed Sabbath!

UNIVERSAL FRATERNITY FOR THE SUNDAY LAW: THE MARK OF THE BEAST/ MARCOS ESCOBAR

 The Final Crisis: The Sunday Law

Sep 12, 2026

Great changes are taking place in the world today; the religious powers are working hand in hand with the world powers to create the means for the establishment of the Mark of the Beast. The Sunday Law is taking shape. The powers of the earth are pressing the world for a more decisive action. There is presently an urgent call to unify the world in one fraternity, one world, one humanity, for the exaltation of the false sabbath. Humanity will not be able to buy or sell except they honor Sunday as the day of mandatory universal worship.  

The signs of the imminence of the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus are being fulfilled. We must get ready; our redemption draws near.

Cardinal Dolan says praying with officers at the 9/11 memorial was 'moving'

Human Probation Closes | Maranatha: The Lord Is Coming - September 12

 

Imam’s Son Who Left Islam for Jesus Sounds Alarm 25 Years After 9/11: ‘Americans Forgot