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Pope Francis Dies at 88 Marking the End of a Tumultuous and Divisive PontificatePope Francis’ death this morning marks the end of a modernising and seemingly benign pontificate for most of the world, but for those who have followed it with any closeness, a time of turmoil, disruption and deep division.Elected on a mandate of reform, Francis set out to make the Church less self-referential and more mission oriented, closer to the faithful and the peripheries, and more relevant to the times. In many ways he achieved this: those who would never give the Catholic Church a second glance, perceiving...

Families of those harmed by Covid vaccines told the UK Covid Inquiry they were forced to support each other during the pandemic because there was no other help. Kate Scott, who represents the group Vaccine Injured and Bereaved UK (VIBUK), said they felt they were "almost being pushed into the shadows during the pandemic". The inquiry also heard from a victims' group in Scotland which raised concerns that the vaccine had been rolled out too quickly, and that safety had been sacrificed for speed. This is the Inquiry's fourth module, which will consider issues relating to the development of Covid-19...

[Catholic Caucus] About the Conclave: Unusual Specific Names You Read About Will Have Been Selected to Deceive You and Manipulate the ProcessNews pages and newspapers are filled today with reports on who are those most likely to succeed Francis as the next Roman Pontiff. While Romans have for centuries cautioned outsiders that, "he who enters [the conclave] as pope, leaves as a Cardinal," this is not exactly what we have in mind.What we do have in mind is what happened in the 2013 conclave, a conclave that should have never taken place and was caused by the absurd and indefensible...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is accusing the Democratic Party of not yet performing a thorough autopsy on what went wrong in its devastating loss of the White House and Senate majority in November. In an exclusive sit-down interview with The Hill on Monday, Newsom said that if the party wants to find its way back from the wilderness, it has to be willing to look inward at what led to the losses — and the failure to win back the House majority. “We have not done a forensic of what just went wrong, period, full stop,” Newsom said. “I don’t...

Another week of successes for the American people is in the books as President Donald J. Trump continues to deliver on his promises.Here is a non-comprehensive list of wins in week 13:Americans continued to see early results of President Trump’s commitment to American manufacturing and job growth.Abbott Laboratories announced it will spend $500 million on its Illinois and Texas facilities.NVIDIA announced it will manufacture its AI supercomputers entirely in the U.S. as part of its pledge to produce $500 billion of AI infrastructure in the U.S. over the next four years.Honda Motor Co. announced plans to shift production of the...

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made significant comments about the ongoing tariff tensions with China at a closed-door investor summit on Tuesday in Washington. According to Bloomberg, Bessent told attendees that the standoff with China -- which he said was essentially an embargo -- is unsustainable and that he expects it to de-escalate. He said that while formal negotiations haven't commenced, a deal remains possible. Risk assets have rallied on this.

In what many citizens concerned with the survival of Austria as a European nation-state are calling a demographic tipping point, Muslims have now become the largest religious group in Vienna’s compulsory schools, comprising a striking 41.2% of all students across primary, secondary, and vocational education levels. The stark demographic shift has sparked outrage among conservatives and nationally-minded citizens in Austria, with the Freedom Party (FPÖ) warning that the capital is being culturally transformed beyond recognition. “This is no longer immigration. This is displacement,” said Maximilian Weinzierl, national council member and leader of the FPÖ’s youth wing. “41.2% of Muslim students—that’s...

Daily Readings from the USCCBJesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” John 20:17Mary of Magdala was one of the first persons to whom Jesus appeared. She was deeply devoted to Him, especially because of the great mercy He offered her when He forgave her manifest sins and expelled seven demons from her. After He had done that, Mary became a devout follower and was one of...

This could really take a bite out of the Big Apple. The secondhand apparel industry may be dodging duties on imported goods – but the impact of President Trump’s tariffs on thrift shops may still bring a wrecking ball to businesses across the city, resellers told The Post. “There’s a lot of rhetoric that everybody’s going to turn to second-hand [clothing] when wallets tighten,” said Alexis Krase, owner of plus-size secondhand store Plus BKLYN in Greenpoint. “But overall, I think that ultimately means people are also being more critical of spending dollars in general: Overall sales will be down.” Krase,...

Hours after swearing an oath to defend the U.S. Constitution on Jan. 20, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing his attorney general to scour the Justice Department and other agencies for evidence of political "weaponization." The same day, Pentagon staff took down a portrait of Mark Milley, a Trump critic who as chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff had been the highest-ranking military officer during Trump's first term. That evening, Trump stripped his former national security adviser John Bolton – who wrote a memoir critical of Trump – of the protective Secret Service detail he had been...

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Trump administration Vice President J.D. Vance announced on Tuesday that the United States and India have come to an agreement on the terms of reference for a new trade deal after the VP visited with the nation’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Both Modi and Vance declared “significant” progress in the trade negotiations and mentioned working together on energy, defense and strategic technologies. Vance said the agreement is “built on shared priorities” such as “creating new jobs, building durable supply chains and achieving prosperity for workers.” The move signals a crucial step towards “realizing President Trump’s and Prime Minister Modi’s vision”...

As other opponents of the climate hoax do, I eagerly await the Trump administration’s termination of the Environmental Protection Agency’s so-called endangerment finding (EF). I had imagined that the reversal would be accomplished over the course of at least a year and probably more through the conventional administrative process of notice-and-public-comment. But things may get much more exciting, much more quickly. Some brief history is in order. The EF is a December 2009 determination by the Obama EPA that emissions of greenhouse gases harm the public health and welfare. Since that time, the EF has been the factual and scientific...

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on April 21 announced that 27 alleged members or affiliates of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) had been charged under legislation designed to bring down criminal enterprises. [RICO]

--SNIP-- Mrs Badenoch said: “The British public want police on the streets – fighting crime and protecting families – not trawling social media for things someone might find offensive. “Recording so-called non-crime hate incidents hasn’t cut crime. It’s wasted police time chasing ideology and grievance instead of justice. No wonder public trust in the police is falling. People see officers distracted from real threats and politicians too scared to act. “Keir Starmer needs to stop hiding behind weasel words. Stand up, show some courage, and back real policing over political correctness. If Labour were serious about the violence in our...

Downing Street has said that British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer no longer believes that so-called “transgender women” are actually women in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling confirming the nature of biological reality. Last week, Britain’s top court found that “the concept of sex is binary, a person is either a woman or a man,” meaning that supposedly transgender individuals will be prohibited from using single-sex spaces like female-only changing rooms or bathrooms. The ruling will also likely bar biological males from competing in women’s sports. While Prime Minister Starmer has previously struggled with the concept of binary...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Following a frustrating string of judicial roadblocks that have hindered his agenda, President Donald Trump announced a move to overrule the United States Supreme Court by establishing the new Ultra Supreme Mega Court. After a flurry of rulings created strong opposition to his executive actions on immigration, federal funding cuts, and other issues, sources said the president saw the establishment of his own court as a way to circumvent activist judges and override the Supreme Court. "A big, beautiful court filled with turbo justices," Trump told reporters. "These rulings won't stand a chance. I will appoint these...

Trump's tariff announcement introduced uncertainty to the markets. Leading to the worst April performance in a long long time for stocks. The media believe this is a threat to Trump's support, but is it?

(The Daily Signal)—In an attempt to get a lower mortgage rate on a vacation home in Long Boat Key, Florida, one controversial elected prosecutor in a major U.S. city drafted a letter to United Wholesale Mortgage. At closing, the prosecutor signed the application for the $428,400 mortgage and attested to the accuracy of her answers in the application. The problem? She had not lived in Florida as she had claimed. She failed to disclose all her liabilities. She failed to disclose that she was delinquent in paying her federal taxes and that the IRS had a $45,022 tax lien against...

On April 10, 2025, the Missouri House of Representatives passed gun law reform bill HB 328. The bill is essentially the same as Senate Bill SB 77, put forward by Senator Schnelting. The bills remove the ban on carrying weapons aboard most public transportation for people with concealed carry permits. Similar bills were filed in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.In 2022, the Senate leadership killed the bill due to a lack of attention. The 2024 version of the bill, HB 1708, did not pass the House. The bill has an excellent chance of passing if it can be brought to...