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SICILY, Italy – Italy’s Mount Etna volcano violently erupted on Monday, sending plumes of toxic ash and smoke billowing into the sky as people on the mountain ran for safety to escape the danger. According to Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), activity at Mount Etna on Sicily began during the pre-dawn hours on Monday and culminated with "intense and almost continuous" strombolian explosions hours later. The INGV said that strombolian activity is a relatively low-level volcanic eruption, during which a modest amount of energy is released. Dramatic photos and video showed dangerous pyroclastic flows racing down the...

~From our regularly scheduled and faintly obnoxious "As I said twenty years ago" featurette. Me in The Daily Telegraph, December 20th 2005: These days, whenever something goofy turns up on the news, chances are it involves a fellow called Mohammed. A plane flies into the World Trade Centre? Mohammed Atta. A gunman shoots up the El Al counter at Los Angeles airport? Hesham Mohamed Hedayet. A sniper starts killing petrol station customers around Washington, DC? John Allen Muhammed. A guy fatally stabs a Dutch movie director? Mohammed Bouyeri. A terrorist slaughters dozens in Bali? Noordin Mohamed. A gang-rapist in Sydney?...

United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested several illegal aliens who were allegedly employed by a construction subcontractor performing work on the University of Texas San Antonio (UTSA) main campus. The arrests took place during a warrant-based worksite raid carried out by ICE on Friday afternoon. ICE issued a brief statement regarding the worksite enforcement action, saying, “On May 30, ICE San Antonio conducted an enforcement action on the northwest side of San Antonio. This operation resulted in the arrest of several individuals who were in the United States unlawfully. No further details are available at this time.” ICE...

June 1, 2025, was Tulsa's first Race Massacre Observance Day. Dedicated to remembering those who died in the tragedy more than 100 years ago. On June 1, Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols announced a $105 million trust to fund the growth and recovery of Greenwood. It was nothing but pride from Raittia Rogers as she learned about Tulsa's Race Massacre Observance Day. "At the same time, we can't do anything but rebuild," said Rogers. Mayor Nichols announced the dedication in March. It was part of his plan to help Greenwood recover. Nichols announced trust at the Greenwood Cultural Center. It would...

Reds. Russets. Yukon Golds. Up until about a year or so ago, you could throw together a pretty decent breakfast after frying up a potato, some onions, and parsley for home fries. And you didn't have to do anything more to the potato than wash it and slice or chop it up. Not anymore. The spuds for sale at WalMart or Publix for five and six bucks a bag look like the real thing, but wait until you try to cook them. The problem is, they won't. Or don't. You can fry them all you want. Yet they'll stay raw...

A hate-fueled madman launched a “targeted terror attack’’ in Colorado on Sunday — setting at least one woman on fire and injuring eight total as he screamed “Free Palestine” and used a “makeshift flamethrower” and Molotov cocktails against a crowd commemorating Israeli hostages still in Gaza, officials said. Video footage captured the alleged attacker — whom FBI officials identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman — in the middle of a tirade about Palestine and calling for death to “Zionists” before he tossed the homemade incendiary devices. “They are killers! How many children you killed?” shouted the shirtless man, who was reportedly...

This week, we saw a spate of news stories blaming Democrats’ troubles on their vocabulary. They’re just using too many darn multisyllabic, academic-sounding words and turning off numbskull voters, is the basic message. Seriously? The Democrats’ problem isn’t linguistic, it’s ideological. But no one in the party wants to admit that. A Washington Post story this week – “Democratic troubles revive debate over left-wing buzzwords” – begins by saying: Maybe it’s using the word ‘oligarchs’ instead of rich people. Or referring to ‘people experiencing food insecurity’ rather than Americans going hungry. Or ‘equity’ in place of ‘equality,’ or ‘justice-involved populations’...

First the cliff notes version: There’s an important detail to remember. People are laughing at the long-range Russian bombers being left out in the open, vulnerable to attack. However, the bomber visibility is required as part of several nuclear agreements between the USA and Russia (SALT and START). Our U.S. long range nuclear capable bombers, covered under the same agreements, are also visible. Ukraine President Zelenskyy is playing with fire by targeting them, which also explains why Zelenskyy never told President Trump in advance. The U.S and NATO have provided the means. However, #1) did Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy just...

🇺🇸Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem 🇮🇱(6/2/25)[Prayer]Water, Rivers, and Streams in the BibleExodus 15:22-27The Waters of Marah and Elim 22 Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.[f]) 24 So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?” 25 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of...

When corporations got rid of their diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, many also axed their commitments to LGBTQ+ Pride Month. Even before Donald Trump's executive orders terminating all DEI positions in the federal government, dozens of major companies had already abandoned their practices. Many made their decisions after conservatives online specifically targeted them for their policies and threatened boycotts, with failed filmmaker turned failed congressional candidate Robby Starbuck taking credit for spearheading the movement. This withdrawal didn't just encompass inclusive work environments and hiring practices, or participation in the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index — in abandoning DEI, companies...

“‘Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full’” (Matthew 6:16). The Greek word for “fast” literally means not to eat, to abstain from food. But by the time of Christ, fasting had been perverted and twisted beyond what was scriptural and sincere. Fasting had become a ritual to gain merit with God and attention before men—it was largely a hypocritical religious show. Many Pharisees fasted twice a week (Luke 18:12),...

Oregon Senate Democrats passed a bump stock ban late last week and the legislation also allows local municipalities to ban the carry of firearms in buildings where public meetings are held. A bump stock ban once existed at the federal level but the Supreme Court of the United States struck it down on June 14, 2024. In the majority opinion for the bump stock decision, Justice Clarence Thomas made clear the ban faltered in claiming bump stocks turn semiautomatic firearms into machine guns: Semiautomatic firearms, which require shooters to reengage the trigger for every shot, are not machineguns. This case...

Ukraine’s unprecedented drone strikes on Russian air force bases weaken Moscow’s ability to wage war on its smaller neighbor and undermine its capacity to threaten more distant rivals such as the U.S.—a shift with potentially far-reaching geostrategic implications. A sizable portion of the fleet Moscow uses to launch guided-missile attacks on Ukraine—and would rely on to strike adversaries in the event of a nuclear war—was damaged or destroyed in the coordinated attacks. Russia no longer produces the decades-old Tupolev planes, meaning it has lost a cornerstone of its ability to project military power beyond its borders. Newer Russian planes are...

The representatives from Ukraine and Russia gathered in Istanbul, Turkey, on Monday, with the second round of peace negotiations officially underway, according to the TASS news agency. While the Ukrainian delegation is headed by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, the Russian side has presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky as the lead negotiator. The discussions are being held at the Ciragan Palace (pictured). According to Anadolu Agency, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is chairing the meeting, with Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Director Ibrahim Kalin said to be on the attendance list as well.

Vladimir Putin is set to dismiss his intelligence chiefs following a catastrophic security breach, which led to Ukraine taking out 41 aircraft worth £1.5billion across multiple airbases. The Russian leader has been conspicuously absent from public view since Ukraine's successful strikes, with an insider revealing: "He will hit back at Ukraine, but also avenge his underlings who allowed this humiliation to happen." The FSB security service, led by Putin's close ally Alexander Bortnikov, 73, faces particular scrutiny over the intelligence failure, which led to 117 first-person view kamikaze drones carrying out the daring attack. Civilian lorries were able to carry...

The left cries “dictatorship” while wielding the courts, agencies, and media to undermine laws, crush dissent, and call it democracy. The left is in its usual sanctimonious but schizophrenic mood. The media claims daily that the Trump administration has usurped power. It is supposedly destroying democracy. It tramples on the rule of law and thus has created a virtual dictatorship. Yet at the same time, Democrats high-five the most recent district court judge who has put a stop to the current Trump executive orders—which the Trump administration abides by as it files appeals. There are two clear conclusions from the...

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Heorhii Tykhyi, stated on Monday that Ukraine's First Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya (pictured middle) and delegation member Oleksandr Bevz (pictured first from right) met with European representatives from Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom in Istanbul to coordinate their positions ahead of the negotiations between Kiev and Moscow. "Members of the Ukrainian delegation reiterated Ukraine's commitment to peace efforts. They elaborated on the items of the agenda, which include leaders' meeting, a full ceasefire, and humanitarian confidence-building measures," Tykhyi said in a post on X. Meanwhile, a source in the Ukrainian delegation reportedly told AFP...

A trilateral meeting between delegations from Türkiye, Russia, and Ukraine is scheduled to begin at 1 pm local time on Monday at Istanbul’s Ciragan Palace, Turkish diplomatic sources said. The talks will be chaired by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and are expected to bring together senior officials from all three countries. Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Director İbrahim Kalin is also slated to attend.

2 June 2025 Monday of the 7th week of EastertideIn the north transept of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, the first altar on the left is that of St. ErasmusReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: White. Year: C(I).First readingActs 19:1-8The moment Paul laid hands on them the Holy Spirit came down on themWhile Apollos was in Corinth, Paul made his way overland as far as Ephesus, where he found a number of disciples. When he asked, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?’ they answered, ‘No, we were never even told there was such a thing as a...

The class president at Massachusetts Institute of Technology was banned from walking across the stage to receive her diploma after she gave a jaw-dropping anti-Israel speech. Megha Vemuri was set to serve as the marshal of this year's graduation ceremony on Friday, but received an email earlier in the day that she could not attend the event, and her and her family were banned from campus for most of the day, the Boston Globe reports. 'You deliberately and repeatedly misled Commencement organizers,' MIT Chancellor Melissa Nobles wrote in the email. 'While we acknowledge your right to free expression, your decision...