Twelve years ago, I was nine years old, playing on the beach and savoring the final moments of spring break 2013. Unexpectedly, my mom shouted from her beach chair, “We have a new pope!” I dashed over to her chair, interested in this exclamation. “He’s a Jesuit, that’s weird,” she continued. I just nodded, not sure […]
The funeral of Pope Francis — the world's first Argentinean pontiff — will be held in Rome early Saturday as Catholics around the globe gather to pay their respects. Francis died Monday at the age of 88 from a stroke — a complication of chronic lung disease, which had plagued the pope for months. His...
Pope Francis's funeral is slated to begin early Saturday in Rome as Catholics mourn the loss of their leader and prepare for the conclave to replace him. Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re will preside over Francis's funeral in St. Peter's Square and is expected to deliver the eulogy. Francis died earlier this week from heart failure...
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declassified a bombshell Biden administration document this week, a blueprint for combating “domestic terrorism,” an umbrella term encompassing parents who attended school board meetings or Catholics who favored the traditional liturgy. This 2021 document, called the Strategic Implementation Plan for Countering Domestic Terrorism, reveals a coordinated effort to target […]
A federal judge temporarily blocked President Trump’s executive order targeting major law firm Jenner & Block Friday. Judge John D. Bates, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, barred the current administration, for now, from going after the law firm in its March 25 executive order. The law firm previously employed Andrew Weissmann, an...
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's vow to “eliminate” the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is raising the alarm from experts on disaster assistance, who say it could leave vulnerable communities at risk. Noem this week said she was planning to eliminate the agency but did not elaborate on what that meant. Spokespeople for FEMA and...
The withdrawal of Rep. Elise Stefanik’s (R-N.Y.) nomination to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations is putting a spotlight on the House GOP’s razor-thin majority and the anxiety about upcoming special elections to replace President Trump’s Cabinet picks. Trump referenced concerns about both in a Truth Social post announcing Stefanik would no longer be...
Utah has banned LGBTQ pride flags in all public schools and on government property after Gov. Spencer Cox (R) allowed a bill banning the display of any unauthorized flags to become law without his signature. The law, set to take effect May 7, will make Utah the first state to ban pride flags. The governor...
Elon Musk said Friday his artificial intelligence firm xAI has bought his social media platform X. "xAI and X’s futures are intertwined. Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution and talent," Musk wrote in a post on X. "This combination will unlock immense potential by blending xAI’s advanced AI...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will consider axing billions of dollars in grants for programs that seek to prevent terrorism or help communities respond to disasters based on immigration policy in the recipient areas. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem signed a document determining that Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) programs that go to “sanctuary...
President Trump shared a new video that touts past U.S. military efforts to defend Greenland, a semiautonomous island in the Arctic that the president has repeatedly shown interest in annexing. “In the cold silence of the tundra, a bond was born not from treaties or trade, but from blood and bravery. While Germany controlled Europe,...
A federal appeals court Friday enabled Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to resume efforts to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). In a win for the Trump administration, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily lifted a lower ruling that found Musk was exercising enough independent authority to...
The measles outbreak in Texas has reached 400 cases, the state announced Friday, an increase of more than 20 percent since the last update on Tuesday. Officials have said the numbers are likely an undercount. Nearly all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or in individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, according to the...
Progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) endorsed Democrat Josh Weil in the special election for Florida’s 6th Congressional District, marking one of Weil’s biggest endorsements to date. “Josh Weil is a working class father of two and a middle school teacher who knows what it’s like to live paycheck to paycheck. Unlike his opponent, he does...
