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People are joining the Roman Catholic Church in surprising numbers. This Easter the Archdiocese of Detroit will receive 1,428 new Catholics into the church, its highest number in 21 years. The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston will have its most in 15 years. In the Diocese of Des Moines, the count is jumping 51 percent from last year, from 265 people to 400. “The Times gathered data from two dozen dioceses, like Los Angeles and Phoenix, as well as Gallup, N.M., and Allentown, Pa… Each reported a significant jump. For Jesse Araujo, 19, in Pahrump, Nev., the biggest influence…was listening to Catholic...

Wellness influencer Dr. Casey Means' nomination to be U.S. surgeon general is stalled a month after senators of both major political parties grilled her on vaccines and other health topics during a tense confirmation hearing, deepening doubts about her ability to secure the votes she needs for the role. The nomination has languished despite ongoing efforts from the White House and Make America Healthy Again activists to convince lawmakers to carry it forward, revealing how intractable rifts over health policy can be even when Congress has shown deference to President Donald Trump's agenda. Means, a 38-year-old Stanford-educated physician who became...

The Senate voted Monday to confirm Markwayne Mullin to lead the Department of Homeland Security as the shutdown of the sprawling agency dragged into its sixth week with no end in sight. The vote to confirm Mullin, a Republican senator from Oklahoma, as the head of DHS was 54-45, with Sens. John Fetterman, D-Pa., and Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., supporting his confirmation. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., the chairman of the panel overseeing DHS, voted against Mullin on Monday after he clashed with him at his hearing last week and questioned whether a man with “anger issues” could be trusted to set...

Nothing less than a clear and firm correction of the priests who conspired to abuse the sacraments and confuse the Catholic Church’s unambiguous teaching on homosexuality will suffice.Gio Benitez, an openly gay-identified ABC News anchor, was recently confirmed into the Catholic Church, accompanied by his “husband” — who served as his “sponsor.”The confirmation Mass took place last month at the brazenly pro-LGBT Church of St. Paul the Apostle in Manhattan. The historic landmark is the mother church of the Paulist Fathers – a, as writer Glenn Stanton noted, “rapidly dying” liberal order of priests. There were 98 active Paulist priests...

Over one full term and less than a year of a second term, Trump has had confirmed: 3 justices of the Supreme Court (33%) 60 judges to the Circuit courts (34%) 187 judges to the district courts (28%) 29% of the judiciary overall Trump has filled all the existing vacancies on the Circuit courts this year. But there are five Circuit judges appointed by Reagan and four by HW Bush that should be retiring (they are all late 70's 80's and one who's 98). There are also several Clinton judges in their late 70's or 80's. There are currently twelve...

Leader Thune and the Republican majority deserve praise for their strategic leadership in clearing procedural roadblocks and putting an end to Senator Schumer’s unprecedented obstruction. It’s a win for the American people who gave President Trump a mandate to change Washington.

Late last week, Senate Republicans invoked the "nuclear option" to push through President Trump's nominees, after Senate Democrats dragged their feet on votes. In discussions prior to this, Senate Majority Leader John Thune noted, "It’s time to take steps to restore Senate precedent and codify in Senate rules what once was understood to be standard practice — and that is the Senate acting expeditiously on presidential nominations to allow a president to get his team into place."Democrats complained, of course, with Chuck Schumer using this as an opportunity to claim Republicans stole a Supreme Court seat.Today, the Senate voted under...

He has an intriguing theory for why it's happening.Mental health experts are continuing to sound alarm bells about users of AI chatbots spiraling into severe mental health crises characterized by paranoia and delusions, a trend they've started to refer to as "AI psychosis." On Monday, University of California, San Francisco research psychiatrist Keith Sakata took to social media to say that he's seen a dozen people become hospitalized after "losing touch with reality because of AI." In a lengthy X-formerly-Twitter thread, Sakata clarified that psychosis is characterized by a person breaking from "shared reality," and can show up in a...

The Senate confirmed Whitney Hermandorfer to a lifetime appointment on the Cincinnati, Ohio-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a vote along party lines Monday evening. The successful confirmation vote follows the Senate processing 92 of the president’s civilian nominees thus far, nearly doubling the confirmation pace at this point during the president’s first term.. Our job now is to continue the good work that we began during the first Trump administration by filling those vacancies with more judges who understand the proper role of a judge,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said during a floor speech Thursday. “And...

WASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump secured approval of his first judicial nominee of his second term, as the U.S. Senate confirmed a former law clerk to three members of the U.S. Supreme Court's conservative majority to a seat on a federal appeals court. The Republican-led Senate voted 46-42 along party lines in favor of Whitney Hermandorfer, a lawyer serving under Tennessee's attorney general, to be appointed as a life-tenured judge on the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Senate confirmed retired Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine to lead the Joint Chiefs early Friday morning — elevating a little-known three-star general just seven weeks after President Donald Trump fired Gen. C.Q. Brown from the post. Caine overcame doubts about his qualifications and ability to remain apolitical, and was confirmed in a bipartisan 60-25 vote to serve as the top military adviser to the president.

March 3 (UPI) -- The U.S. Senate on Monday confirmed billionaire and former World Wrestling Entertainment executive Linda McMahon as the secretary of Education, an agency President Donald Trump wants to abolish. All but one member of the 22-member Cabinet has been confirmed with Lori Chavez-DeRemer the exception in the Labor Department. The vote was 51-45 with all Democrats voting against and every Republican backing her. Two Republicans and two Democrats didn't vote.Last month after Trump became president again, he told reporters in the Oval Office that he wants McMahon, 76, to "put herself out of a job" in the...

President Trump’s public debacle with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky halted hopes for a signed minerals agreement while dividing the world — and Washington — over their support for them both. Long-simmering tensions between Trump and Zelensky exploded into the open during a heated Oval Office exchange that will have ramifications for the U.S., Russia, Ukraine and all of Europe. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) called his vote to confirm Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was in that meeting with Trump and Zelensky, “a mistake” in a Sunday interview with CNN’s “State of the Union.” “It was a mistake. I think...

The confirmation hearing for President Donald Trump’s Education Secretary nominee Linda McMahon on Thursday was interrupted several times by raging protesters who screamed about transgenderism and other left-wing causes. A person familiar with the situation told the Hill the interruptions were from people affiliated with the National Education Association (NEA), which is the largest teachers’ union in the country. The NEA is staunchly opposed to school choice, and the organization has a history of funneling millions of dollars into far-left politics. The head of the organization notably raked in more than $500,000 in pay and showered liberal causes with money,...

Senators confirmed environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary on Thursday.Senators confirmed environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary after the controversial nominee successfully eased lawmakers’ concerns over previous views on abortion and vaccines. The upper chamber voted 52 to 48 for confirmation of the new HHS secretary, who previously battled a 14-year heroin addiction and is now the highest-ranking Kennedy in the federal government since his father was attorney general.Despite the sparring on Capitol Hill from Democrats and some Republicans who claimed Kennedy would do otherwise, Kennedy...

Isn't this sumpthin" Holy smokes. HOLY SMOKES Robert Kennedy Jr., vile, disgusting family attacks and all, has cleared his cloture vote with room to spare and is on the clock for the confirmation vote as head of Health and Human Services. BREAKING: RFK Jr. has passed the Senate cloture vote, clearing a major hurdle toward confirmation!One step closer to officially becoming Secretary of HHS! pic.twitter.com/RFInDbAQsM— American Values 🗽 (@AVPac_US) February 12, 2025Astonishingly enough, even you-know-who came along for a ride on the 'Vote for Bobby Train.'Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski will vote YES to confirm RFK Jr. 🔥That’s 52 YES votes....

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) voted on Wednesday with Democrat colleagues against confirming Tulsi Gabbard as the Director of National Intelligence. McConnell’s vote underscores his repeated opposition to President Donald Trump and his America First policies. He previously voted against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s confirmation in January. McConnell was the only Republican to vote “no” on Trump’s nomination. Every Democrat voted “no.” Despite Democrat and McConnell’s opposition, the Senate confirmed Gabbard’s nomination by a vote of 52-48.

Tulsi Gabbard, one of President Donal Trump's controversial cabinet picks, was confirmed as DNI

President Donald Trump’s FBI director nominee Kash Patel is expected to be approved Thursday by the Senate Judiciary Committee, putting him one step closer to Senate confirmation, after Patel appeared before the committee last week and faced widespread opposition from Democrats over his alleged ties to Jan. 6 rioters and previous vows to go after his political enemies. Feb. 6, 2025The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote at 10:15 a.m. EST on whether to approve Patel’s nomination, with the committee’s Republican majority broadly expected to back the Trump nominee.

Senate Intel Chair Tom Cotton found a surprise ally in former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) to help resuscitate Tulsi Gabbard's nomination. The former Democratic senator approached Cotton and was deployed to help sway Sens. Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) into "yes" votes today, sources tell Axios. Why it matters: Cotton, the hawkish Arkansan who is No. 3 in GOP leadership, worked all the angles on Gabbard. He worked with Vice President Vance — who's been a crucial influence on undecided senators — Trump adviser Jason Miller and others on Gabbard's team. Cotton told Trump last year he could...