Stories Speak Volumes: July 13-18
A Round-Up of National and International News
Compiled by
There are so many stories making up the mosaic of national/international news that we can’t cover them all every week. The biggest stories now seem to be: Israel and Iran, the Trump presidency (lawfare and judges), immigration (migrants and illegals), wars, weaponization of government (the deep state) against Trump and conservatives, our nation’s debt, massive inflation, climate change controversy and related expenses of government, industry attempting to address these issues, the Chinese threat, national security, abortion, taxpayer cuts, Ukraine peace, and hatred and violence against Christians. Here are just a few:
South Carolina Gov. Appoints Darline Graham Nordone to Finish Lindsey Graham’s Term
July 13: Breitbart by Elizabeth Weibel
Gov. Henry McMaster (R-SC) picked Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) sister, Darline Graham Nordone, 62, to serve as interim senator, and complete the remainder of her brother’s term.
During a press conference on Monday, McMaster expressed that it was his duty and “honor to name someone to serve in the place” of Graham, whose term runs through the end of the 119th Congress on January 3, 2027. McMaster’s selection of Graham Nordone to take her brother’s seat in the Senate comes after Graham’s office announced on Sunday that he had died at the age of 71 after “a brief and sudden illness.”
In a post on Truth Social on Monday, Trump shared that he had recommended to McMaster that Graham Nordone “serve as interim Senator” for South Carolina. “This would be a fabulous tribute to Lindsey, who loved her dearly!” Trump added.
Other lawmakers such as Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) also supported the idea of Graham Nordone serving as an interim Senator, stating that she “would be a fantastic pick to serve out the remainder” of Graham’s term.
Dem Senator Elissa Slotkin Speaks About the SAVE America Act
July 13: Gateway Pundit by Mike LaChance
Democrat Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan was recently speaking to a crowd of supporters about the SAVE America Act and she accidentally gave the game away without even seeming to realize it.
In the clip below, she actually says: “The SAVE [America] Act, which would literally allow this administration to rig our democracy so that it would be hard for any Democrat in any state to win any election.”
House Passes Daylight Saving Time Reform as Trump Signals Support for Ending Clock Change
July 14: Fox News by Ada Pack
A bipartisan effort to make daylight saving time permanent is one step closer to becoming law after the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the measure on Tuesday.
Lawmakers voted 308-117 to pass the Sunshine Protection Act, which would allow states to voluntarily observe daylight saving time year-round as a growing mass of lawmakers push to extend daylight into the evening hours.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev Lauds Trump As ‘A Man of Peace,’ Credits Him with Armenia‑Azerbaijan Deal
July 15: Breitbart by Joshua Klein
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev hailed President Donald Trump as a uniquely effective peacemaker whose fundamentally different approach to diplomacy proved decisive in securing the historic Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement and ushered in what he described as an unprecedented new era of U.S.-Azerbaijani relations.
Aliyev made the remarks Monday during the opening session of the 4th Shusha Global Media Forum, a major international gathering that brought together hundreds of journalists, media executives, policymakers, and other participants from more than 50 countries. Responding to a Breitbart News question about what distinguished Trump’s approach from previous administrations in bringing Azerbaijan and Armenia to a historic U.S.-brokered peace agreement reached at the White House last August, the Azerbaijani president credited Trump’s success to a fundamentally different approach to resolving long-running conflicts.
The Azerbaijani president argued that previous administrations spent nearly three decades pursuing policies that effectively froze the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict rather than resolving it, while Trump approached the conflict from an entirely different perspective.
FBI’s ‘Operation Summer Heat 2.0’ Sees Hundreds of Arrests, Drugs Seized, 120 Children Located
July 15: Breitbart By Matthew Boyle
FBI Director Kash Patel is pleased with Operation Summer Heat 2.0, and the FBI is revealing new overarching statistics showing the crackdown on crime has been massively effective.
Last summer, the FBI led the offensive against crime — Operation Summer Heat — with then-Deputy Director Dan Bongino. While Bongino is now gone from the FBI, Patel — the director of the bureau — has doubled down and is significantly targeting criminal operations nationwide.
The FBI told Breitbart News there have been more than 1,500 violent offenders arrested nationwide this summer so far and more than 850 drug seizures conducted with more than 590 kilos of cocaine seized. What’s more, at least 120 children have been located.
All 56 FBI field offices nationwide are participating in the Operation Summer Heat 2.0 crime crackdown. The operation is now at the halfway point this year, and many more arrests and enforcement actions are expected in the coming weeks.
Trump Announces Release of DHS Investigation Showing Nearly 300,000 Foreigners Are Illegally Registered to Vote – DHS Says They Found 400,000 Dead Voters
July 16: Gateway Pundit by Jordan Conradson
President Trump revealed that at least 278,000 foreigners are illegally registered to vote in American elections during his major primetime address on foreign election interference on Thursday. According to one of the documents released by DHS, the 278,000 illegal voters were found across just four states that provided the public data files to federal officials.
White House: More Than Quarter of a Million Foreigners Illegally Registered to Vote in Four States
July 17: Breitbart by John Binder
President Donald Trump released documents on Thursday evening that detail problems with the nation’s election system, including revealing that a portion of foreign nationals are illegally registered to vote.
The document, which focuses on noncitizen voting, was posted to the White House website. Multiple investigations from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the document states, have exposed that more than 250,000 foreign nationals are illegally registered to vote in California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Nevada alone.
Taco Bell Lettuce from Mexico Identified as One Source of Diarrhea-Causing Illnesses Hitting U.S.
July 17: Breitbart by Amy Furr
Lettuce served at Taco Bell locations in five states has been identified as a source of the cyclosporiasis outbreak hitting thousands of people with “explosive” diarrhea and other symptoms.
The lettuce initially came from Mexico and was served at the restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia, the Associated Press (AP) reported Friday.
Mike Hernandez is co-founder of the Citizens Journal–Ventura County’s online news service and writes for CitizensJournal.net and MountainTopMedia.com. He is a former Southern California daily newspaper journalist and religion and news editor, writer of “Prayer Over News Daily” and edits the weekly “Stories Speak Volumes” and other columns. Mr. Hernandez mentors citizen journalists with trainings held every other month (on Saturdays at Shasta Bible College and online) and can be contacted at MikeHernandezMedia.com.