Salem News Channel

College kids are converting to Christianity in record numbers

Charlie Kirk talks about how Turning Point has converted thousands of college kids to Christianity at rallies and campus visits

The Former Child Star with a Holy Epiphany – Kirk Cameron

Kirk Cameron found Jesus as a teenager after being an atheist. How did that happen? What did he experience as a child in Hollywood? How did he find his faith and how does it apply to his life now. Plus, why he started a new network to take on Disney and Netflix and he explains how you can get it.

Misunderstandings of the Founding Fathers

Charlie Kirk and Dr. Thomas West talk about how the Founding Fathers' ideas have been misunderstood over the years

Denial of Rights for Citizens and Non-Citizens

Charlie Kirk and Dr. Thomas West explain how the denial of rights for citizens and non citizens happens regarding birthright citizenship

Birthright Citizenship Explained

Charlie Kirk and Dr. Thomas West discuss birthright citizenship

Millions Across U.S. Under Threat Of Tornadoes, Storms

Storms accompanied by deep, booming thunder, lightning displays and powerful winds swept through parts of Wisconsin, Illinois, northern Indiana and Michigan overnight — leaving scores of trees down and thousands of homes without power. The National Weather Service issued tornado warnings and watches across the region Thursday night into early Friday morning. Several tornadoes touched down Thursday in central Wisconsin. None of the twisters have received ratings yet, said Timm Uhlmann, weather service meteorologist in Green Bay. “We’re still gathering reports,” Uhlmann said. “We’re assessing some of the damage and still getting video and pictures. The damage that we have is fairly widespread. There was a lot of large hail. In Eau Claire was one report of softball-sized hail.” No injuries have been reported. Surveys also were underway Friday of damage in Michigan to determine if any tornadoes touched down there, according to Steven Freitag, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in White Lake Township, northwest of Detroit. The storms were fueled by temperatures in the lower 80s that stretched from Illinois into Michigan and were activated by a cold front that pushed through, Freitag said. A wind gust of 76 mph (122 kph) was reported Thursday night in Battle Creek, Michigan, while Grand Haven, Michigan, recorded a gust of 68 mph (109 kph). The storms lost their intensity as they moved further east, Freitag added. Indiana Michigan Power, which services parts of northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan, reported Friday morning that more than 31,000 homes and businesses were without electricity. That includes about 90% of the utility's southwestern Michigan customers. The storms initially knocked out power to 35,000 customers. Damage included downed trees and power lines, and broken utility poles. About 216,000 Consumers Energy customers in Michigan also lost power. ComEd crews in Illinois were working Friday to restore power to about 73,000 of more 155,000 customers who initially lost service Thursday, the utility said. It said Chicago, Joliet and Crestwood were among the hardest hit areas. The threat of severe weather in Chicago delayed a Beyonce concert by about two hours Thursday at Soldier Field. Freitag said the main cold front was still moving east Friday. Severe thunderstorms were expected to continue through parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, southern Illinois and southern Indiana, the weather service said. Those storms could produce some hurricane-force winds, tornadoes and baseball-size hail. “This will include intense supercells associated with tornadoes, large hail and wind damage,” the weather service said on its Storm Prediction Center webpage. “Several strong tornadoes are expected, and a long-track high-end tornado will be possible.” Searing heat was forecast Friday for the South and southeastern United States. From Texas into eastern Virginia, temperatures were expected to top 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26.7 degrees Celsius) and even move above 90 F (32.2 C) in some places, according to the weather service. A heat advisory was issued for the San Antonio and Austin areas in Texas with high temperatures at a blistering 95 F (35 C) to 105 (40.5 C). By 1 p.m. Friday, the temperature in Tampa, Florida, had already topped 90. A high of 90 was expected for Washington.

Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' Fails To Pass House Vote

Iowa Can Continue To Restrict Instruction On Gender Identity And Sexual Orientation In Schools

Iowa can continue to restrict instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation in schools up through the sixth grade, a federal judge said, but has to allow nonmandatory programs related to the topics. U.S. District Judge Stephen Locher offered a split decision late Thursday, siding in part with a LGBTQ advocacy organization, teachers and students who sued the state. Attorney General Brenna Bird said in a statement Friday that she is committed to defending Iowa's law protecting children and her office is “looking at next steps, including appeal.” In a separate ruling in March, Locher again temporarily blocked another disputed component of the law, which would prohibit school libraries from carrying books that depict sex acts. Iowa has asked the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn that decision. Republican majorities in the Iowa House and Senate passed the law in 2023, intending to reinforce what they consider to be age-appropriate education in kindergarten through 12th grades. It's been a back-and-forth battle in the courts in the two years since. The provisions of the law that are being challenged were temporarily blocked by Locher in December 2023, just before they became enforceable. That decision was overturned in August by the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, meaning the law had been enforceable for most of the current school year. The appellate court told the lower court that it failed to apply the correct analysis in determining whether to temporarily block the law. An attorney for the LGBTQ students, teachers and advocacy organization told Locher in February that the law is overly broad because it prohibits “any program, curriculum, test, survey, questionnaire, promotion, or instruction relating to gender identity or sexual orientation” in kindergarten through sixth grade. Opponents argued the law is vague enough to limit any information accessed or activity engaged in within the school. Locher agreed in his decision that any “program” or “promotion” is broad enough to violate students' First Amendment rights and those provisions are therefore on hold. But restrictions on curriculum, tests, surveys, questionnaires or instruction can be interpreted in the way the state argues, as applying only to the mandatory school functions. Locher laid out specifically what that means: “Students in grades six and below must be allowed to join Gender Sexuality Alliances ('GSAs') and other student groups relating to gender identity and/or sexual orientation.” And the district, teachers and students “must be permitted to advertise” those groups. On the other hand, teachers are not allowed to provide mandatory instruction that include “detailed explanations or normative views” on the issues, Locher said. "It does not matter whether the lessons or instruction revolve around cisgender or transgender identities or straight or gay sexual orientations. All are forbidden." The state education agency's rules on the law say they will not take a neutral statement on gender identity and sexual orientation to be a violation of the law. During a February hearing, Locher posed questions to the state’s attorney asking, for example, how a teacher should decide whether a book featuring a same-sex couple is a neutral portrayal allowed under the law, or whether it is a positive or affirming portrayal. The state often said the answers depend on context. Opponents of the law said that means the measure is too vague. Locher's decision dictated that neutral references where sexual orientation or gender identity aren't the focus are allowed. That means books with characters of varying gender identities or sexual orientations are permitted, so long as those “are not the focus of the book or lesson.” Locher also said a teacher can refer to their partner, even if that partner is the same sex. Attorneys for Iowa Safe Schools, students and teachers that sued the state said Friday that the ruling is a win. “Under this order, Iowa teachers no longer can be disciplined simply because their classroom contains a Pride flag or their library contains books with LGBTQ+ characters,” said Thomas Story, staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa. “This law, with certain narrow exceptions, should no longer stand in the way of school districts supporting efforts to include and support their LGBTQ+ students.”

James Comey Knew EXACTLY What '86 47' Meant

James Comey Knew Exactly What '86 47' Meant

Has-Been Bruce Springsteen Bashes America In England

Birthright Citizenship & The Founding Fathers

Republicans Reject Trump's Tax-Cut Bill After He Calls For Unity

President Donald Trump's sweeping tax bill failed in a procedural vote in a key congressional committee on Friday (May 16), as five Republicans rejected the package amid calls for deeper spending cuts, potentially delaying its passage in the House of Representatives. The vote came despite Trump calling for Republicans to "UNITE behind" the legislation, saying on social media: "We don't need 'GRANDSTANDERS' in the Republican Party. STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE!" Five of 21 Republicans on the House Budget Committee voted to block the measure, saying they would continue to withhold support unless Speaker Mike Johnson agreed to further cuts to the Medicaid healthcare program for lower-income Americans and the full repeal of green energy tax cuts implemented by Democrats. The vote is likely a temporary setback for the measure in a Congress that is controlled by Trump's Republicans and so far has not rejected any of his legislative requests. But it could delay plans for a vote by the full House next week. The measure would add trillions of dollars to the federal government's $36.2 trillion in debt. House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington convened the panel by stressing the legislation's importance to voters who elected Trump to the White House and gave the party full control of Congress last November. "They want common sense policies. And they want from all of us a commitment to putting America and Americans first. Let's give the people what they voted for," the Texas Republican said. Republican Representatives Chip Roy, Ralph Norman, Andrew Clyde, Josh Brecheen and Lloyd Smucker joined all 16 Democrats on the committee in voting against the measure. "We are writing checks we cannot cash and our children are going to pay the price. So, I am a 'no' on this bill unless serious reforms are made," Roy, of Texas, told the committee. The lawmakers said they hoped to reach a deal with Johnson to amend the bill and enact Trump's tax cuts. The legislation would extend tax cuts passed during Trump's first term. Congress' bipartisan Joint Tax Committee estimates the tax cuts would cost $3.72 trillion over a decade. Trump has highlighted measures including lifting taxes on tips and overtime that Republicans say would boost working-class Americans, while critics say the bill will offer more benefits to the wealthy. Democrats condemned the legislation as a vehicle for giving billionaires tax cuts, while citing a projection from nonpartisan congressional researchers that proposed spending cuts to Medicaid and federally subsidized private health insurance available through the Affordable Care Act could lead to 8.6 million Americans losing health coverage. "This is the over-arching truth. It is the biggest tax cut for billionaires in American history, paid for by throwing 13.7 million Americans off their healthcare coverage" said Representative Brendan Boyle, the committee's top Democrat. The Republicans are split among three factions: moderates from Democratic-led states who want to raise a federal deduction for state and local taxes; hardliners demanding that a bigger SALT deduction be offset by deeper cuts to Medicaid and the full repeal of green energy tax credits; and other moderates determined to minimize Medicaid cuts. The proposed legislation would impose work requirements on Medicaid beginning in 2029. Hardliners want those to begin immediately and have called for a sharp reduction in federal contributions to Medicaid benefits available to working-class people through the Affordable Care Act - an option vehemently opposed by Republican moderates.

Trump turns to Supreme Court to pursue government restructuring

The move is part of his campaign to downsize and reshape the federal government. See more on Salem News Channel.

Court hears new arguments over Trump’s efforts to return wrongly deported man

The hearing in Greenbelt, Maryland, marks the latest court test for the Trump administration’s deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. See more on Salem News Channel.

Trump says U.S. officials will send letters within weeks over trade

Trump said that over the next two to three weeks U.S. officials will be sending letters to countries. See more on Salem News Channel.

Trump In The Middle-East - What Comes Next?

Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks End After Less Than 2 Hours with Deal to Swap POWs

The first direct Russia-Ukraine peace talks since the early weeks of Moscow’s 2022 invasion ended after less than two hours. While both sides agreed on a large prisoner swap, they clearly remained far apart on key conditions for ending the fighting. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he discussed the talks with President Donald Trump and the leaders of France, Germany, the U.K. and Poland. In a post on X from a European leadership meeting in Albania, he urged “tough sanctions” against Moscow if it rejects “a full and unconditional ceasefire and an end to killings.” At the brief Istanbul talks, Kyiv and Moscow agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each in what would be their biggest such swap.