Jihad Thwarted in Germany: 5 Arrested in Terror Plot at Christmas Market
A terrorist attack on the Nuremberg Christmas market in Germany has been thwarted through the arrest of five suspects.
Bavaria’s Interior Minister Herrmann (CSU) spoke in Nuremberg on Sunday about the arrest of the men in Lower Bavaria who were allegedly planning to attack a Christmas market using a vehicle.
Multiple reports indicate that police believe the suspects – three Moroccans, an Egyptian and a Syrian – had an “Islamist motive.”
Terrorist attacks using vehicles to ram people have been on the rise in the past two decades. The method was used prominently by Palestinian terrorists in Israel in the early 2000s before a radical Muslim deployed the tactic at the University of North Carolina in 2006.
White House Bans Syrian, Palestinian Passport Holders; Netanyahu Demands Action
Syrian and Palestinian Authority passport holders will not be able to enter the U.S. as of the beginning of the year, the latest in a series of bans. Meanwhile, against the backdrop of the deadly attack in Australia last weekend, Israel is demanding that world leaders wake up and fight antisemitism.
President Trump expanded a travel ban already in place by including those holding Palestinian and Syrian passports from entering the United States for travel or immigration, beginning on January 1, 2026.
The presidential order was first declared in June against 19 countries, and since then has been expanded to include 27.
U.S. officials claim the countries in question and the P.A. “cannot meet basic criteria for identifying their nationals and residents who pose national security and public safety threats and for sharing information with the United States.”
In Israel, with the Hanukkah massacre still on the minds of most Israelis, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on world leaders to take action against hatred for Jews.
“I demand that Western governments do what is necessary to combat antisemitism and provide the necessary security and safety for Jewish communities around the world. And they should heed our warnings. I demand that they act – now,” the prime minister declared.
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Meet the Hero Who Tackled, Stopped Alleged Terrorist in Australia
A brave man who risked his life to stop one of the gunmen who attacked a Hanukkah event at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, is receiving international praise.
Australian media identified the man as Ahmed al-Ahmad, 43, after video showed al-Ahmad sneaking up on one of the two shooters as he was shooting at people, tackling him, and taking the gun away, Fox News reported.
Footage shows the hero, who reportedly owns a local fruit stand and was visiting a friend when the deadly attack unfolded, then turning the gun on the assailant, though he reportedly didn’t fire it.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also heaped praise on people like al-Ahmad who stepped out and helped in such a powerful way. He thanked these “everyday Australians who, without hesitating, put themselves in danger in order to keep their fellow Australians safe.”
Albanese thanked brave individuals like al-Ahmad for saving lives.
Global Vigils Held for Sydney Massacre Victims as Australian Jews Claim Attack Not Isolated Incident
JERUSALEM, Israel – Two days after the Hanukkah massacre in Sydney, Australia, Jewish communities around the world and their supporters are gathering to show their concern for the victims of the worst terror attack there in nearly thirty years. Jewish groups are also calling for greater security and vigilance.
Thousands of Australians gathered on Monday to mourn the victims of the Bondi Beach shooting.
One mourner said, “I was just really, really shocked from yesterday. It was really terrifying for all of the Jews, all around the world, even.”
Another said, “All it is is hate. It’s just purely two people that came down to Bondi yesterday with the intent of killing Jews.”
Jewish communities also held vigils in Manchester, England; London; and Boulder, Colorado, the site of an anti-Semitic attack in June, when a man hurled a Molotov cocktail at people demonstrating in support of the Israeli hostages in Gaza. That attack killed an 82-year-old woman and injured seven others
They came to the vigils to light the second candle of Hanukkah, the Celebration of Light.
In Colorado, a vigil participant said, “Five hundred-plus people came out in Boulder, where there was a terrorist attack right here, and we’re sharing our light, we’re standing strong, we’re standing proud as a Jewish community, and we are going to fight the darkness with light. We’re going to share a little bit of the light with a spell of a lot of darkness.”
At Bondi Beach, Israel’s Ambassador to Australia, Amir Maimon, attended the memorial.
He declared, “For the last four years, I was very clear – was very clear – about the dangers of the rise in anti-Semitism. My public statements mentioned it and I shared my concerns about the rise in general and after October the 7th (2023) in particular.”
Physicians in Los Angeles are calling the unexpected delivery of a baby boy who was hidden behind a 22-pound tumor in his mother’s womb a “medical miracle.”
Suze Lopez of California was scheduled to have a 22-pound ovarian cyst removed at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center when she discovered she was carrying an almost full-term baby during a routine test before her planned surgery.
In a press release, the hospital explained that Lopez, an emergency room nurse, had been growing the ovarian cyst for years.
“Because of the large ovarian cyst that had been growing for years, it could have been a false positive, even ovarian cancer,” Lopez said in the press release. “And I was used to very irregular periods and some abdominal discomfort. I could not believe that after 17 years of praying and trying for a second child, I was actually pregnant.”
Lopez said she took three pregnancy tests to be sure.
Three days after finding out she was pregnant, she decided to share the good news with her husband, Andrew Lopez, while on a date at a L.A. Dodgers game. Lopez was excited and thought she was around two to three months far along.
However, during the trip, the 41-year-old nurse started having pain in her abdomen, and they headed to Cedars-Sinai.
A team of doctors and nurses under the supervision of Dr. John Ozimek, medical director of Labor and Delivery at Cedars-Sinai, worked to stabilize her blood pressure, ordered an MRI, blood work, and an ultrasound.
Ozimek was shocked to discover a very rare abdominal ectopic pregnancy.
“Suze was pregnant, but her uterus was empty, and a giant benign ovarian cyst weighing over 20 pounds was taking up so much space,” Ozimek said. “We then discovered a nearly full-term baby boy in a small space in the abdomen, near the liver, with his butt resting on the uterus. A pregnancy this far outside the uterus that continues to develop is almost unheard of.”
“It was very shocking because I initially thought she was two to three months pregnant, and turns out she was 41 weeks,” Andrew told Fox News L.A.
The physician explained that as the baby grew inside Lopez’s abdomen, behind the mass, it pushed the very large cyst forward.
‘Hanukkah Massacre’ Highlights Australia’s Dramatic Surge in Antisemitism
JERUSALEM, Israel – In Sydney, Australia, hundreds of Jews gathered on Sunday afternoon to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah. That’s when three terrorists, including a father and a son, murdered at least 16 people in cold blood and wounded more than 40.
It’s being called the Hanukkah Massacre of 2025.
The killing spree sent hundreds fleeing for their lives. Dozens of videos spread scenes of the horrible mass slaughter around the world, nearly in real time.
Australian Christian Abilgail Crombie-Hedding told CBN News, “You’re seeing videos. You’re seeing photos much quicker than you would have seen in previous attacks.
Crombie-Hedding added, “So, you’re watching it kind of happening in real time. And to just feel that helplessness that there’s nothing you can do to them, you can just watch and it’s just horrible. And yeah, I just felt like, completely shaken and just sick to my stomach.”
One picture epitomizes the horror of the massacre on Sydney’s Bondi Beach: the bloodied face of Arsem Ostrovsky, an international lawyer who moved to Australia just two weeks earlier. Australia’s Channel 9 News interviewed Ostrovsky moments after the shooting spree.
“It was absolute chaos. We didn’t know what was happening, where the gunfire was coming from,” Ostrovsky recalled.
“I saw blood coming from me. I saw people hit. I saw people fall to the ground,” he added. “My only concern was my kids. Where are my kids? Where’s my wife, my family? I survived October 7th. I lived in Israel the last 13 years. We came here just two weeks ago to work with the Jewish community, to fight anti-Semitism, to fight this bloodthirsty, ravaging hatred.”
Ostrovsky is a friend of CBN News. We interviewed him just two months ago in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square, just before the release of the remaining living hostages.
The dead in Sydney include a Holocaust survivor and a child. Several of the wounded are fighting for their lives.
Nationally, as many as 15,000 churches could close this year alone, with the National Council of Churches estimating 100,000 closures in the coming years. Mainline Protestant and Catholic parishes are being hit hardest.
In Gates County, North Carolina, several churches have closed their doors. Yet one congregation seems to be opening its doors wider, finding revitalization while many suffer.
“We’re in a small town, everybody knows everybody — you live in a fishbowl if you are a pastor here,” said Pastor Eric Earhart of The Upper Room Assembly.
Gatesville has a population of 250 people and sits just south of the Virginia line. Roughly half of its residents attend The Upper Room, an Assemblies of God church on the edge of town.
“Probably five on paper that are open, have closed, and there’s a couple that have just literally closed and shuttered their doors,” Earhart said.
While restored sanctuaries and shining stained glass may look like revival from the outside, across parts of rural America, appearances can be deceiving.
“The caretaker group will care for this building — they’ll keep the grass cut and make sure the roof is fixed,” Earhart said, describing the fate of many closed churches. “So, it’ll be an edifice, it’s a museum to something that Jesus did generations ago.”
This quiet shuttering of sanctuaries is a phenomenon that Thom Rainer has seen accelerating nationwide. As the founder and CEO of Church Answers and an author of more than 40 books on church health, he has become a leading voice on congregational decline. After nearly four decades of consulting, his data points to a catastrophic milestone.
“Based upon the best data I have, 2025 may be a year where we might see what I think will be the most churches closed in any one year,” said Thom Rainer, CEO of Church Answers.
Rainer has helped churches on the brink for nearly 40 years.
The world’s tallest statue of “Murugan” is being planned in Moncure in Chatham County, NC, the Indian Eagle reports.
The “warrior god” will be at the center of the Carolina Murugan Temple Campus, which will be on 130 acres of residential land.
During the first phase of building, the main temple, three gopurams (entrances to a Hindu temple), and a road surrounding the campus will be completed and will cost around three to five million dollars, the outlet notes. By the project’s completion, the statue will be taller than the Statue of Liberty, which is about 151 feet when not including the pedestal.
In total, the project will cost around $10 million. Currently, organizers are requesting $1.9 million to complete phase 1 of the project.
Despite Hindus comprising only a small religious minority in the U.S., North Carolina has become an emerging prime destination for native Indians. In the town of Cary, which is on the outskirts of Raleigh, sits the 87-foot Tower of Unity and Prosperity, inaugurated in 2022, LifeSite News reports. Meanwhile, Hindu tourists travel far to come to the state to visit two prime temples.
Reports about the city’s plans are gaining national attention.
Texas Senate candidate Alexander Duncan, whose state erected a 90-foot-tall statue of the monkey-headed Hindu god Hanuman on the outskirts of Houston in 2024, shared a video of the site, writing, “This is not what the Founding Fathers envisioned when they wrote the First Amendment.”
Others commented on the video, speaking against a statue that promotes the worship of a false god. “This is unacceptable in America. A Christian nation,” wrote one user on X.
“We can’t even display a 100-foot American Flag in America. We are in big trouble,” another argued.
The Bible makes clear that pagan “gods” are demons and should not be worshipped.
That includes scriptures like Psalms 95:5, which reads: “For all the gods of the Gentiles are devils: but the Lord made the heavens,” and 1 Corinthians 10:20, which reads, “What pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons.”
Parents Sue School District for Telling Daughter to Share Bed With Trans Student
A Colorado family’s outrage over their 11-year-old daughter being assigned to share a hotel room — and ultimately the same bed — with a transgender student during a school trip is gaining national attention as their federal legal battle exposes the increasing tension between transgender ideology and parental rights.
Joe and Serena Wailes said in 2023 that their daughter learned she would share a room with a biological male student who identified as female after arriving for a Jefferson County Public Schools-sponsored trip to Washington, D.C.
Their daughter was allowed to eventually change her room, but the family says she was instructed not to explain the reason for the change. The Wailes argue that the directive reflects a broader pattern of secrecy regarding gender-related matters within the Denver-area district.
“They said that [they didn’t want us to talk about it] because they wanted to protect the privacy of the other student. And our thoughts are, ‘Well, what about the privacy of our daughter?'” Serena Wailes told Fox News.
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a non-profit legal group, filed a brief in late November on behalf of the Wailes and three other families who are challenging the school district for violating parents’ fundamental right to make decisions about the upbringing and education of their children.
“What happened to the Waileses’ daughter…was no accident,” reads the lawsuit. “It was the result of a Jeffco policy that directs Jeffco staff to assign students to share overnight accommodations with the opposite sex without notice to, or consent from, parents who object to that sleeping arrangement.”
It continues, “Jeffco keeps them in the dark about the sex of their child’s roommates. Worse, Jeffco will not allow them to opt out or honor requests to room children only with the same sex…This denial of a reasonable opt-out is precisely what [Mahmoud v. Taylor] forbids.”
The lawsuit alleges the incident occurred despite the district’s assurance that boys and girls would be assigned to separate hotel floors.
ADF attorneys filed the brief in Wailes v. Jefferson County Public Schools after a lower court dismissed the parents’ claims.
‘Christmas Miracle’: WV National Guard Shot in DC Ambush Moving Towards Full Recovery
The West Virginia National Guard is thanking Americans for their continued prayer for Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, sharing in an update that he is moving closer towards recovery after showing ability to move and showing more signs of responsiveness.
Wolfe was one of two service members shot the night before Thanksgiving in Washington, D.C. by a 29-year-old Afghan national, federal authorities said.
West Virginia National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom who was on duty with Wolfe, was tragically killed.
However, Wolfe now appears to be on the road to a surprising recovery. President Trump announced last night, “Today I got a call that he got up from bed. Do you believe that? He got up. He got up!”
“Now, he didn’t speak,” Trump added. “He’s not ready for that yet. I mean, he got hit in the head.”
The West Virginia National Guard medical staff provided an update as well on Tuesday, about Wolfe’s progress.
“Yesterday his rehab team had him sitting up on his bed with his feet off the side. On command he straightened his back and sat up straight and raised his head,” reads the statement.
It continues, “Last night mom was near the head of the bed and Andy put his arm around her neck and patted her on the back of the head. He was comforting his mom and I think telling her that he was coming back to them.”
“This morning his nurse was talking to him and he smiled back at the nurse,” the report added. “A Christmas miracle is happening. Thank you to all for your continued prayers.”
