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Daily Readings from the USCCBAs Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” Mark 10:46–47How do you pray? Do you ever “cry out” to Jesus with deep conviction and intensity? This blind man, Bartimaeus, sets for us a wonderful example of how we should pray to our Lord. First of all, the blind man was in a state of need. His...

The U.S. economy grew less than previously thought in the first three months of the year, expanding at an annual pace of just 1.3 percent, revised government data showed Thursday. The downward revision was primarily driven by data showing that consumer spending grew by significantly less than previously estimated. This was the smallest expansion in gross domestic product in almost two years. The prior estimate had the economy growing at a 1.6 percent pace in the first quarter. Consumer spending grew an an annualized pace of two percent in the first quarter, the new figures show, down from the previous...

California Democrat State Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton) has called out her own party for their stance against tackling child sex trafficking and protecting child predators. Eggman’s explosive speech agaisnt her own party comes after Senate Bill 1414 (SB 1414), which was debated in the California Senate last Thursday, May 23rd. SB 1414, introduced by Senator Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield), aims to make soliciting sex from a minor a felony, aiming to address the issue of child sex trafficking by imposing harsher penalties for pedophiles.

First lady Dr. Jill Biden on Wednesday urged Americans to “choose good over evil” by backing her spouse come November and defended her husband against concerns about his age. The first lady also offered a preview of Biden’s upcoming campaign travel during an interview on ABC’s “The View,” attempting to tamp down concerns amid dismal polling numbers and low enthusiasm for her husband’s reelection campaign.

A Southern California woman who was previously arrested on suspicion of kidnapping a child from a Target store was arrested again Tuesday on similar charges. The suspect was identified as Yara Vanessa Pineda, 27, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Officers responded to Seoul International Park on the 3200 block of San Marino Street in the Koreatown neighborhood at around 5:14 p.m. Witnesses said Pineda had approached several children at the park and picked them up before letting them go after being confronted by their parents. The woman was reportedly seen fighting with the parents as well. Witnesses recalled...

In Chicago, the birthplace of the skyscraper, the total downtown office vacancy rate has jumped to 25.1%, a new record high, according to data from real estate firm CBRE. The rate has climbed steadily since the end of 2018, when it stood at 13.4%. “We just don’t have the same number of people working in the Loop as before,” said Dan McMillen, a real estate professor at the University of Illinois Chicago. Now, the city says it is investing in its real estate. Just like a mortgage, interest rates on billion-dollar loans used to build skyscrapers are rising. Those high...

The taxicab theory is not new to the realm of relationship theories, but it is one that has resurfaced in popularity. Since one of my favorite things to do is break down theories that pop off and circulate on TikTok, this one caught my attention recently. These theories often look ridiculous because they’ve been given silly names, but there is usually some truth to them — which is why they’re worth examining. The taxicab theory attempts to answer questions like: How do men choose who they want to marry? When do men make that decision? What can women do? The...

As campus protests—and violent police repression—continue to roll across the country, some unions are getting involved. More than 2,700 protesters have been arrested on 64 college campuses since the initial arrests at Columbia University in New York on April 18. Encampments have appeared at 184 campuses worldwide. The protesting students are calling for full disclosure of their universities’ finances and divestment from all financial ties to weapons manufacturers and Israel’s war on Gaza. Unionized academic workers are demanding decision-making power over their work and what it’s used for. For instance, academic workers in the astronomy department of the University of...

AUSTRALIA — Kangaroos hosted a press conference today calling for a stop to demeaning comparisons to the United States justice system. "Please, we beg you - stop comparing the U.S. legal system to a 'kangaroo court'. It's insulting to kangaroos everywhere," said kangaroo spokeswoman Savannah Buttercup. "We are proud of our superior judicial system and would never, ever behave like those clowns in New York." According to sources, kangaroos across the globe were infuriated by the sudden deluge of people comparing their justice system to America. "It's downright offensive. We kangaroos have a very fair system," explained Buttercup. "Misdemeanors result...

With the terrible mortgage applications index from Wednedsay, we are seeing US pending home sales crashiing. As Joe Biden handles the economy his way. After an unexpected jump in March, pending home sales were expected to drop 1.0% MoM in April as mortgage rates pushed back above 7.00% and stayed there. Well, the analysts had the direction right but magnitude was way off as pending home sales plunged 7.7% MoM – the biggest drop since Feb 2021 (and below the lowest estimate), leaving sales down 0.7% YoY… Source: Bloomberg This is the 29th straight month of YoY declines for non-seasonally-adjusted...

Oradour-sur-Glane (France) (AFP) – A French village preserved as a reminder of Nazi cruelty since Waffen-SS troops murdered 643 people there in 1944 is in danger of decay, sparking efforts to preserve the site. On June 10, 1944, Oradour-sur-Glane in German-occupied southern France became the scene of a massacre of civilians that still shocks the nation to this day. Possibly as punishment for the killing by the French Resistance of a high-ranking SS member, German troops rounded up everyone they could find in the village and machine-gunned or burned alive men, women and children, torched or razed buildings and destroyed...

The prosecution has finally rested in the criminal case against former President Trump, having presented nine bullet-proof pieces of evidence that prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Trump is guilty. Here they are: Trump said he's innocent: Exactly the sort of thing a guilty person would say. Before the trial, the prosecution's star witnesses both said Trump was innocent: It doesn't get any more cut and dry. The judge decided Trump was guilty before the trial even began: It was that obvious. No one in America has ever been charged with a felony for this crime before:...

CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten explained on Thursday that the reason for young voters shifting from President Joe Biden to former President Donald Trump is likely due to their desire for significant change in the country. Some polling has suggested Biden’s plunge in young voter support is related to his perceived support of Israel in its conflict with terrorist organization Hamas, but the movement away from the president began well before the October 7 Hamas attacks. Enten on “CNN News Central” said that the true reason for Biden’s loss of young voters is that they want “major change,” and...

The Democratic Party is seeking a project manager to gather campaign information and track the progress of third party and independent candidates such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Cornel West, and Jill Stein, according to a now-removed advertisement. The advertisement, initially posted by the Democratic Party on the applicant tracking site Lever and LinkedIn, stated that the party is seeking to hire a “Third Party & Independent Project Manager.” According to the advertisement, the project manager will be “tasked with overseeing and managing 3PI-related work in respective states, as well as overseeing an aspect of the program.” The posting goes...

Two former Japanese defence ministers are among a group of lawmakers planning to form a nonpartisan parliamentary grouping to urge the government to look into unidentified flying objects, founder members said. Opposition lawmaker Yoshiharu Asakawa cited findings last year by the U.S. government's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) set up to handle such issues, adding that Japan lacked a similar body. "According to what AARO announced in 2023, there had been many reports of UAP sightings in the skies over Japan," he said, using a term, unidentified anomalous phenomena, often used to describe such events. "If they turn out to...

Pro-Hamas protestors were at it again, this time setting fire to the Israeli embassy in Mexico City, with some reports of injuries, puzzling quite a few observers. According to the Jewish Chronicle:Rioters on Tuesday set fire to the Israeli Embassy in Mexico during a protest ostensibly against the Israeli military operation in the southern Gazan city of Rafah.Masked protesters threw stones at security forces who had created a barricade preventing access to the diplomatic mission in the Mexico City’s Lomas de Chapultepec neighborhood.Around 200 people participated in the “Urgent Action for Rafah” demonstration, dozens of whom attempted to break down...

This orca gave a team competing in The Ocean Race a scare The Ocean Race VIEW 2 IMAGES For four years now, orcas have been ramming and sinking luxury yachts in European waters, and scientists have struggled to work out just why these smart, social animals had learnt this destructive new trick. But it's not due to some anticapitalist 'eat the rich' agenda, nor is it to do with territory and aggression. The truth is, well, it's child's play. Following years of research, a team of biologists, government officials and marine industry representatives have released their findings on just why...

“We’re facing an unfunded, $1 trillion mandate that carries enormous consequences for the American consumer.” At least that’s what Chris Spear, American Trucking Associations President and CEO has to say about one D.C. diktat coming down from on high in particular, and that is the one mandating that the American trucking industry bend to EPA rules requiring all electric fleets and production lines.Here’s the context, from March of this year:On March 29, 2024, Good Friday, Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rolled out its new electric truck mandate, which will require that electric semi-trucks make up an increasing share of manufacturer...

NEW YORK CITY, NY — As the jury deliberates in the State of New York v. Trump criminal trial, sources within the courtroom claim that four court bailiffs have gone ahead and begun casting lots to split up Trump's clothing. The bailiffs allegedly divided Trump's luxury Italian Brioni suit into four parts, one part for each bailiff, before realizing that his dress shirt with a "45" monogram was in fact seamless and woven from one piece from top to bottom. Onlookers claim to have heard the lead bailiff tell his fellow officers, "Let us not tear it - instead, let...

Lying is an epidemic even worse than COVID. Our president and his press secretaries seem to lie with every word they say and deny facts that anyone with a pair of eyes can see for himself. Scientists and doctors, formerly among the most trusted members of our society, lie to foster popular environmental theories and get government grants, or to promote Big Pharma and deter people from effective treatments. Our news media no longer report the news; they shape the news as instructed. Here is just a sample of commonly promoted lies starting in 2020. Covid has a 4% death...