In the name of tolerance, tolerance is being abolished; this is a real threat we face.
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Site: Zero HedgeThe RFK Autism "Controversy" Is Manufactured Outrage... Plain And SimpleTyler Durden Fri, 04/25/2025 - 18:25
Authored by Corinne Clark Barron via American Greatness,
By now, you’ve probably seen the clip that launched a thousand self-righteous Instagram reels.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dared to say something uncomfortable about autism—specifically, the profound kind—and the internet lost its collective mind.
Here’s what he said:
“Autism destroys family. And more importantly, it destroys our greatest resource, our children. And these are kids who will never pay taxes, they’ll never hold a job, they’ll never play baseball, they’ll never write a poem. They’ll never go out on a date. Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted. We have to recognize we are doing this to our children and we need to put an end to it.”
It doesn’t take a genius—or even a full listen—to understand that he was referring to severe, nonverbal, profoundly disabling autism. Not quirky software engineers or brilliant kids who need a little extra support in school. And yet, the outrage machine went into overdrive. Moms on X and Instagram rushed to share glowing tributes to their high-functioning children on the spectrum, explaining how autism is their family’s greatest blessing. And you know what? That’s beautiful. But that’s also not what RFK was talking about.
This wasn’t a sweeping statement about every autistic person.
It was a serious moment about a serious public health issue. But as usual, nuance doesn’t fit into a TikTok soundbite.
The backlash wasn’t just misplaced—it was manipulative.
All these people who claim to be champions of neurodiversity suddenly can’t tolerate a conversation about the darker, more painful realities many families face. They took a statement meant to elevate the need for answers and twisted it into a personal insult.
And here’s where it gets rich: many of the loudest critics belong to the same liberal cohort that routinely defends aborting children with Down syndrome or other detectable conditions.
We’re supposed to believe they’re the defenders of all life now? Spare me.
These libs will write a tearful thread about autism acceptance, then turn around and shout down anyone who dares to ask why so many children are being diagnosed with it in the first place.
The truth is, they don’t want a solution. They want a platform. They want to be seen as more compassionate than you, especially if it means ignoring the moms who are absolutely drowning trying to care for a nonverbal 12-year-old who can’t sleep through the night, can’t be left alone, and may never live independently. RFK was speaking to those parents. The ones who love their kids desperately but who are desperate for answers too.
If RFK had gone the other direction and said, “Autism isn’t a big deal,” these same people would be screaming that he wasn’t taking the challenges of raising autistic children seriously.
It’s not about the message—it’s about being mad.
These people are outrage machines running on bad faith and buzzwords.
RFK didn’t say anything cruel. He said something real. And in politics today, that’s more offensive than anything else.
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Site: Zero HedgeAre Global Consumers Turning Away From US Brands?Tyler Durden Fri, 04/25/2025 - 18:00
Is anti-American sentiment putting consumers off buying U.S. brands?
According to a recent report by Morning Consult, this is the case.
Statista's Anna Fleck reports that northerly neighbor Canada is perhaps the clearest example of this trend, with consumers having turned away from purchasing U.S. products in protest against U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest policies and rhetoric and instead choosing to “Buy Canadian”.
In France too, some consumers angered over Washington’s latest moves are boycotting U.S. brands, citing Trump’s announcements of punitive trade tariffs, his stance on diversity and inclusion, as well as his handling of Ukraine and his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Data published by Axios looks more closely at how global sentiment on a selection of U.S. brands changed between January and March, 2025. Of the 16 brands surveyed, 12 saw declines in favorability, with FedEx, Chevron and WB/ Discovery having seen the biggest drops (each down more than 33 percent).
However, as this chart shows, the trend does not extend across all brands, as Meta, McDonald’s, OpenAI and Apple Inc. have each seen improved sentiment since Trump's inauguration.
You will find more infographics at Statista
It is important to note here that without further data it is difficult to say whether these changes are a causation or merely a correlation as there are multiple reasons why consumers opinions on a specific brand could change with time.
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Site: Zero HedgeAdvice For Ivy League Universities: Take The Trump Deal, Before It's Too LateTyler Durden Fri, 04/25/2025 - 17:40
Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via The Daily Signal,
We’ve talked about higher education before, but now it’s come into sharper focus with the Trump administration’s deadlock with Harvard University over its unwillingness or inability—whatever term we like to use—to meet the administration’s demands that it ensures an antisemitic-free campus that does not allow people to disrupt classes.
It doesn’t use race, after the Supreme Court decision that went against Harvard and said that affirmative action was no longer legal.
Columbia had the same type of disagreement, other campuses are.
I don’t think it’s a wise thing for them to get into a fight with the federal government.
If they are dependent on federal funding, these big private marquee universities—Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Stanford, Duke—and they want federal money, then the federal government is going to ask for some transparency. And we, the public, really don’t know much about it.
It’s like a rock, a traditional rock on moist ground. You don’t wanna turn it over because there’s going to be things underneath there that you would better not—it would be better not to be seen. And that’s what the public is going to learn about higher education.
Now, what do I mean? I mean loans.
These universities are raising tuition higher than the rate of inflation. And that started when the federal government said, “We will ensure these loans for students.”
Once that happened, the moral hazard shifted away from the university.
So, they have been gouging students for room and board.
I’ll give you an example.
Hillsdale College, its room, board, and tuition is about $45,000 a year. It takes no money.
Harvard gets about $9 billion in total. Its room, board, and tuition is about $95,000.
Same with Stanford. They’re about double what Hillsdale charges. And one of the reasons is that they’re so dependent on federal money and therefore they can spend like drunken sailors.
Remember, of that 1.7, about 10%, 8% are nonperforming and about maybe 14% are late. The public doesn’t know all that. But they’re paying for it—especially kids, the half of the cohort 18 to 30 that’s not going to college, they’re subsidizing this university boondoggle.
The second thing is the university doesn’t really obey the first 10 amendments of the Constitution. If you get accused of particular crimes as a student, faculty member, let’s say, sexual harassment or untoward speech, hate speech—whatever the term they use—it’s very unlikely you’re going to get Fourth and Fifth, maybe Sixth Amendment protection. That is, you’re not going to have an open hearing. You’re not going to be tried by a jury of your peers. You’re not going to necessarily have legal counsel. You’re not necessarily going to know who your accusers are.
The affirmative action ruling by the Supreme Court outlawed the use of race in admissions. And we have civil rights statutes that also do that. But the universities do something funny. They have safe spaces. They have theme houses. And they have auxiliary graduations. But the common denominator, they’re predicated on race. So, a black theme house, a Latino theme house has almost very few people.
Nobody would want a European, so-called white theme house or an alternate white graduation. And you would say, “Why not, Victor?” Because it would be considered racist, I suppose.
But at Stanford, only 22% of the student body is white. Are they going to say, “Well, we’re one of the minorities now. Why don’t we do this?” That’s where it will lead if you enhance tribalism.
There’s no intellectual diversity. The National Association of Scholars did a study not long ago. They found not one of the 133 faculty members at Bryn Mawr was a Republican. At Williams, I think they found one or two. They found a lot of elite universities where there was nobody who openly acknowledged that they were a Republican.
There are a couple of other things that are disturbing too. And that is the universities get individual faculty grants—Department of Energy, National Institutes of Health. And usually, in most private foundations, the university is not following their model.
What I mean is, a private scholar at a think tank, they might deduct 15% for the use of the phone or office that they would get out of that federal grant. But universities like Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, they can go from 40% to 50% to 60% and they’re relying on that multimillion-dollar—I guess we’d call it—price gouging from the federal government.
And finally, these universities don’t have multimillion-dollar endowments anymore. They have multibillion-dollar—$30 billion, Stanford $53 billion. And they’re predicated—the income—on that. And sometimes they get almost 10%. They’re very good in investing. This $5 or $6 or $7 or $4 billion a year in income is tax-free, for the most part. Tax-free. And that’s predicated that they’re nonpolitical, they’re nonpartisan. But when you look at the makeup of the faculty and the use of race and gender, contrary to federal law, you can see they’re very partisan.
So, let me just sum up.
Does the university really want to get in a fight with the Trump administration and then bring all of this information about their endowments; their lack of intellectual diversity; their segregation; their lack of due process for people who undergo inquiries or accusations; their separate racial graduations, safe spaces, theme houses; the use of student loans?
I don’t think they want to do that. The public would be shocked. And it’s a losing proposition.
If I were the presidents of these major universities, I would do this: I would make a deal with the Trump administration.
And I would welcome it because then I would tell my radical students, “You can’t wear a mask. I’d like you to, but the federal government won’t let me.” Or, “We can’t have racially segregated dorms anymore, theme houses. I’d like to, but it’s against the law.” And that would be their way out.
Is that going to happen? I don’t think so. And I think we’re going to see some accountability. And the universities are not going to like the consequences.
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Site: Unam Sanctam Catholicam
When Pope Benedict XVI resigned in 2013, I was alarmed that papal resignations would become normatve from there on out—that future popes would simply expected to resign, such that a pope actually dying in office would become a relic of a bygone age. The life tenure of a pope is, ultimately, reminiscent of the historically monarchical nature of the papal ministry. The pope holds the place of the Prince of the Apostles and is himself a monarch over Vatican City.Since Vatican II, however, almost every other symbol of papal monarchy has been systematically expunged, from the papal tiara to the sedia gestatoria to abolition of the Papal Court. Why should not the lifetime tenure of the pope also be abolished? Could not Benedict's resignation serve as a kind of template for a modern Church wishing to divest itself of the final remnants of papal monarchy? Indeed, Benedict's resignation was roundly praised at the time for this very reason, that it showed a way forward for the papacy to evolve into something more representative of the modern spirit. We even had commentators gushing over the idea that there could be multiple living Popes Emeritus at any one time, who would constitute a sort of "council of elders" for the reigning pope to consult.It is supremely ironic that the final act of Benedict XVI—the "pope of tradition"—was his greatest novelty. The papal resignation, unprecedented in modern times, paved the way for the election of Jorge Bergoglio and the twelve years of ensuing chaos. Francis, of course, owed his pontificate to this act of resignation, and stated that Benedict XVI had "opened the door" the possibility of future papal retirements. Francis himself was frequently asked whether he might consider resigning if worn down by illness, to which he often gave contradictory answers. But I think those of us who understood the nature of this pope knew very well he would never resign. For His Humbleness, the papal office was an exercise of raw power, a mandate of plentitude that allowed him to entirely remake the Church in his own image and likeness. There was never any chance he would step down. Francis would cling tenaciously to power until his dying breath.Ironically, Francis's dogged refusal to resign is perhaps his one decision I agree with the most. While I was certainly no fan of this pontificate, I do believe the papacy is for life. Had Francis imitated Benedict in resigning, it would have reinforced papal resignation, transforming Benedict's singular novelty into a precedent. Future popes would simply be expected to resign, just like each successive pope is expected not to use the sedia gestatoria. With two popes as diverse as Benedict and Francis each resigning in turn, it would have created momentum, a sense of change, a sense of "this is the way we do things now." I understand that Francis's refusal to resign was not grounded in any lofty motives about the preservation of the monarchical view of the papacy, but frankly, I don't really care what his rationale was. I'm just glad he didn't do it.Interestingly, had Francis hypothetically resigned the papacy, he stated that he would have taken the title "Emeritus Bishop of Rome," not "Pope Emeritus" as Benedict XVI had done. This is, of course, a more precise and fitting title for a former pope than "Pope Emeritus." Francis also said, furthermore, he would not have continued to live at the Vatican but at a home for retired priests in Rome, which is, of course, fitting, since he would not longer have been pope and would have no business remaining in the Vatican. It is ironic that Francis's plans for a hypothetical retirement would have been handled in a more traditional manner than Benedict's was.Did I support Francis's vision for the Church? Heck no. And while part of me likes the idea that we could have had a much shorter Franciscan pontificate, when I consider the big picture, I am glad he didn't resign. A resignation would have gotten rid of Francis sooner, but it would have undoubtedly enshrined the act of resignation as a new norm that each successive pope would be expected to follow. And that, I think, would profoundly warp how the Church views the papal office. It would have encouraged Catholics to consider the papacy in fuctional terms, almost according to utilitarian criteria, even more so than they already do.While there is undoubtedly a performative aspect to the papacy, the pope is ultimately a spiritual father. We may debate whether Francis was a good spiritual father, and I know very well where I stand in that discussion. But fatherhood itself extends beyond concerns that are merely functional. The biblical Book of Sirach reminds us that a father remains a father even when his faculties fail him: "O son, help your father in his old age...even if his mind fails him, show forbearance" (Sir. 3:12-13). I am convinced that when we start pressuring popes to resign as soon as they become incapable of being globe-trotting celebrities, we are doing violence to the office of the papacy—an office which is bigger than the individual who happens to be holding it. Fatherhood is for life, and this should be respected in the lifetime tenure of the papal office. Francis certainly did incalculable damage to the office he inherited, the ramifications of which will be discussed by historians for generations to come. But at least, in dying at his post, he did something right, for which I will give him credit. -
Site: ChurchPOP
Mercy was a pivotal theme throughout the papacy of Pope Francis. The 88-year-old pontiff led the Catholic Church for a little more than 12 years before his passing on Easter Monday.
According to Catholic News Agency,
“More than 128,000 people have visited Saint Peter’s Basilica to pay their final respects to Pope Francis, according to figures released by the Holy See Press Office on Friday afternoon.”As we approach Divine Mercy Sunday, here are 10 quotes from Pope Francis on mercy, taken from his homilies and addresses for Divine Mercy Sunday:
Caroline Perkins, ChurchPOP“Jesus does not want us to keep thinking about our failings; rather, he wants us to look to him. For when we fall, he sees children needing to be put back on their feet; in our failings he sees children in need of his merciful love.”
Caroline Perkins, ChurchPOP“It is easy to speak of mercy, yet more difficult to become its witness. This is a path that is lifelong.”
Caroline Perkins, ChurchPOP“The hand that always puts us back on our feet is mercy: God knows that without mercy we will remain on the ground, that in order to keep walking, we need to be put back on our feet.”
Caroline Perkins, ChurchPOP"Having received mercy, let us become merciful. Mercy is the air we breathe as Christians."
Caroline Perkins, ChurchPOP“God’s mercy often makes us more aware of our neighbors’ wounds... If we care for the wounds of our neighbour and pour upon them the balm of mercy, we find being reborn within us a hope that comforts us in our weariness.”
Caroline Perkins, ChurchPOP“Let us be renewed by the peace, forgiveness, and wounds of the merciful Jesus. Let us ask for the grace to become witnesses of mercy. Only in this way will our faith be alive and our lives unified.”
Caroline Perkins, ChurchPOP“From the eyes of all those who are weighed down by the trials of life, He looks out at us with mercy and says once more to us: ‘Peace be with you!’”
Caroline Perkins, ChurchPOP"The Risen One’s wounds are channels of mercy, transforming guilt into forgiveness."
Caroline Perkins, ChurchPOP"Reconciliation is not a torture chamber but an encounter with mercy."
Caroline Perkins, ChurchPOP"Let us be renewed by the wounds of the merciful Jesus."You can find more on Divine Mercy here.
Pope Francis' Prayer for Mercy
You are the visible face of the invisible Father,
of the God who manifests his power
above all by forgiveness and mercy: let the Church be your visible face in the world, its Lord risen and glorified.You willed that your ministers would also be clothed in weakness in order that they may feel compassion
for those in ignorance and error: let everyone who approaches them feel sought after,
loved, and forgiven by God.Send your Spirit and consecrate
everyone of us with its anointing, so that the Jubilee of Mercy may be a year of grace from the Lord,
And your Church, with renewed enthusiasm,
may bring good news to the poor,
proclaim liberty to captives and the oppressed,
and restore sight to the blind.We ask this through the intercession of Mary,
Mother of Mercy, you who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever and ever.Amen.
(Excerpted from Pope Francis' Prayer for the Jubilee Year of Mercy)
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Site: Zero HedgeLA To Institute Mass Layoffs Of City Workers In Wake Of $1 Billion DeficitTyler Durden Fri, 04/25/2025 - 17:20
For many years now the narrative on California is that it is a country unto itself and it generates so many tax dollars the federal government and red states should be throwing a garden party in its honor. In reality, California is not a "donor state" as the Rockefeller Institute claims. It can't even support itself, let alone bolster the rest of the country.
This problem has become more evident in the past year as Los Angeles hits a budget deficit of a billion dollars and, the state government doesn't have the funds to help the city recover because of it's own $68 billion deficit.
In response to the lack of aid from the state or federal government, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass unveiled a proposed $13.9 billion municipal budget for fiscal year 2025-26, which includes more than 1,600 layoffs and the consolidation of four city departments in an effort to eliminate the overdraft. Though LA employs around 50,000 people in total and the layoffs might seem minor in comparison, the city's expansive programs require employee growth this year, not cuts.
Furthermore, it is likely that the 1600 fired workers are just the beginning. The city removed at least 2000 positions from its employee roster at the end of last year and is already moving to make cuts to existing workers.
It's no coincidence that LA is in fiscal trouble in 2025, and it's not only because of the $2 billion in damages associated with the recent wildfires. After decades of decadent debt spending CA is deeply dependent on federal funds. Federal budget cuts and the shutdown of agencies like USAID are having far reaching consequences, especially in progressive states with a heavy emphasis on socialized programs.
For example, the federal Department of Health and Human Services recently terminated $12 billion in grants intended for infectious disease response, mental health services and other public health issues. At least $1 billion of this cash was supposed to go to California in 2025. Covid money is funneled into various health departments and other projects and California was the biggest recipient of pandemic funds by far with over $77.8 billion received through the state government and over $600 billion in total relief. Some critics argue that covid relief in California was wrongly exploited as a financial boon for various state agencies, politicians and employees.
Now the pandemic funding is finally cut off after 5 years. $45 million of the $1 billion lost was supposed to go to Los Angeles.
The LAPD is also losing over $10 million due to federal funding cuts. The agency and city officials are trying to sort out the potential impact of being cut-off from millions of dollars in law enforcement and homeland security grants, following the US Justice Department’s announcement such programs would be suspended for any municipality that considered itself a so-called, “sanctuary city,” that bars local officers from playing a role in immigration enforcement.
The Orange County Register reported last month that Orange County will lose out on more than $68 million in federal earmarks for 2025, money that was previously approved for community projects.
California schools have been warned by the Trump Administration that if they don't stop instituting DEI programs and indoctrination, they will lose at up to $16 billion in funding, with $1.26 billion of that going to the Los Angeles Unified School District.
The sheer enormity of federal funds floating around California should be taken into account, but also the fact that despite access to so much money California and LA are still facing a massive budget shortfall. The chances of this dilemma being solved through layoffs and department consolidation is next to nil. The real root of the problem is policy driven; Democrat welfare programs, social programs and their open border mentality have resulted in a never ending drain on their finances, slowly destroying what was once one of the greatest states in the nation.
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Site: Henrymakow.com
This conversation took place on August 10, 2013 at the Wilderness Festival in Oxfordshire, England
Ghislaine Maxwell and Carney's wife Diana were close friends.
See below- Mark Carney is a tax cheat.
by Jane Santos
(henrymakow.com)
Newly discovered photos show that Mark Carney spoke with notorious child trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, a recruiter for Jeffrey Epstein's depraved and notorious network of underaged victims and extremely wealthy and powerful men.
Their conversation took place on August 10, 2013 at the Wilderness Festival in Oxfordshire, England.
Maxwell was later arrested in 2020, convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison. A set of photographs from the event was published by a British photography company at the time, and at least one of that set has been attributed to photographer Adrian Sherratt of Shutterstock, and was published by a major newspaper.
It is likely that the same photographer shot all the photos from the set. None of the photos were created by A.I. technology, as they were all uploaded to the internet in 2013, long before such technology was invented, and none were altered.
In a response from the Mark Carney campaign in January 2025 to photos that showed Carney with Maxwell, Carney's campaign stated that Maxwell was someone that Carney simply "bumped into" in "public settings" and that "they they are not friends."
(Carney enjoys intimate moments with Epstein's arranger)
However, at the time, only a photo of Carney standing side-by-side with Maxwell and others was released by the mainstream media. Another newly discovered photo from the festival shows Carney laying on his hands and knees next to Maxwell, who is laying down on the grass with her back and arms on the ground in close proximity to Carney.
The photo appeared in a 2013 article about the festival, and was taken by photographer Chris Eades of the BPPA (The British Press Photographers' Association). That is awfully close contact for someone that is simply "bumped into" in public settings. Perhaps it reflects a greater familiarity with Ghislaine Maxwell than Mark Carney wishes to admit to.
Also of note is that Ghislaine Maxwell wore a tag that said "AAA Escort" at the festival, which according to a source familiar with such tags, allows anyone who wears one to walk anyone else into the backstage area and the green room. It's a VIP pass at the least, and at most, reflects that her role was to escort VIPs into backstage areas and anywhere else on the Festival grounds.
Several mainstream outlets, including The Daily Mail and The Standard, reported that Carney also stayed in the manor house that is located on the Wilderness Festival grounds, which is also where the owner of the festival (Lady Rotherwick) lives. Lady Rotherwick is also the sister of Mark Carney's wife.
An article about the festival mentions only one special guest in attendance, besides the musicians and other performers, and that was Mark Carney.
A few months prior to this in November 2012, Carney had been appointed the Governor of the Bank of England, a very prestigious and powerful job. Interestingly, Lady Rotherwick said in an interview regarding the festival that "I have got hundreds of people camping on my lawn and the house will be chock-a-block."
The British term "chock-a-block" is defined as "very full of people or things" according to the Cambridge Dictionary. Was Lady Rotherwick too busy to escort Carney to his room in her very full home?
Since Maxwell was wearing the VIP Escort badge, was she assigned by Lady Rotherwick to escort the VIP Mark Carney around the grounds, making sure he makes the appropriate stops, and bringing him to his bedroom in Lady Rotherwick's large house?
The Carney campaign has stated that Lady Rotherwick "went to the same high school" with Ghislaine Maxwell but "are not friends," while on the hand, the British celebrity gossip publication The Tatler claims that Maxwell and Rotherwick are in fact old friends, even considering the possibility that Maxwell went into hiding at Rotherwick's home at one point.
It would therefore only make sense that Lady Rotherwick would only trust a good friend to escort her VIP with full access to her entire grounds including her private home and to escort Mark Carney around the festival and to the house. The Tatler also claims that Jeffrey Epstein himself attended the first Wilderness Festival with Ghislaine Maxwell a couple years prior in 2011 and paid the bills.
Did Maxwell have a room in the home as well in 2013, since the home was full of people, and did Epstein pay those bills again, and was Maxwell travelling with Carney and his wife, and did Epstein pay those bills as well?
It should be noted that Ghislaine Maxwell's modus operandi was to send underage girls to perform illicit acts for high-profile, powerful people.
The most famous of which was Prince Andrew, the second-eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II. Prince Andrew's underaged victim filed a lawsuit, which was settled in February 2022 with Prince Andrew paying an undisclosed amount to her.
According to the underaged victim, Maxwell simply told her to "do for (Prince Andrew) what you do for Epstein" and Jeffrey Epstein paid her $15,000 to do so. Epstein refused to answer questions over whether he attempted to blackmail Prince Andrew, according to court documents.
But Epstein was not present during the first time that Prince Andrew abused and exploited the underaged victim, according to the victim, and that abuse actually took place in England at Maxwell's home, where the infamous photo of the three was taken. That was Maxwell executing a plan from start to finish, with likely involvement from Epstein.
The pressing questions for Mark Carney therefore ought to be: 1) What did you talk about with Ghislaine Maxwell?
2) Did she escort you anywhere, and if so, did she escort you to your bedroom?
3) Did she try to compromise you in any way, shape or form, and was she successful?
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Related- Ezra Levant - BREAKING: I followed the trail of Mark Carney's money-laundering scheme
I thought it was eye-opening to see how casually the man who was "selected" to become our prime minister, engages in unethical tax-dodging for his well-connected friends.
https://www.rebelnews.com/breaking_i_followed_the_trail_of_mark_carney_s_money_laundering_scheme
"That's why I'm here: because two and a half years ago Mark Carney set up a shell company to avoid paying taxes in Canada. The Isle of Man has very few taxes -- no capitals gains tax, no inheritance tax, no wealth tax. Income tax is just 22%. Corporate taxes are 10% or less.
But the Isle of Man does something more important: it allows oligarchs from around the world to pay taxes on their global income to the Isle of Man. So they can operate around the world, but choose to pay a fraction of their real tax obligation in the Isle of Man."
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James Corbett-- "Meet Mark Carney, Globalist Insider":
https://corbettreport.com/meet-mark-carney-globalist-insider/
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Site: RT - News
London and Paris had previously lead an effort to send a European contingent if a ceasefire is reached
The UK has ditched plans to deploy a military contingent to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, The Times has reported, citing anonymous sources.
The defense chiefs from a number of European NATO states had in recent weeks been discussing sending military personnel to Ukraine, under a so-called “coalition of the willing.” Russia has strongly objected to the prospect of Western troops appearing in the neighboring country under any pretext.
In an article on Thursday, The Times quoted an unnamed source as saying that the “risks are too high and the forces inadequate for” a deployment that had been previously under consideration. According to the publication, “it was France who wanted a more muscular approach.”
Instead of coalition forces guarding key Ukrainian cities, ports, and nuclear power plants, the grouping now envisages more emphasis on Western military instructors training Ukrainian troops in the west of the country, who would “‘reassure’ by being there but aren’t a deterrence or protection force,” The Times reported, citing an anonymous source.
The softened vision for a Western military presence in Ukraine does, however, reportedly include the coalition’s aircraft patrolling Ukraine’s airspace and Türkiye providing maritime cover.
Additionally, Paris and London want the flow of Western weaponry to Ukraine to continue uninterrupted, according to The Times.
Read more
‘Coalition of the willing’ resolve eroding – The Times
The media outlet quoted an unnamed diplomatic source as saying that the coalition “will move our position but we want Moscow to break their red lines.”
On Friday, Reuters published what it described as a set of US proposals for ending the Ukraine conflict that was presumably presented to European officials by US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff during talks in Paris last Thursday. It states among other points that “guarantor states [ensuring Ukraine’s security] will be an ad hoc grouping of European states plus willing non-European states.”
A presumed counter-proposal by a number of European nations and Ukraine, which was also published by Reuters, demands that there be “no restrictions on the presence, weapons and operations of friendly foreign forces on the territory of Ukraine.”
In an interview with TASS published on Thursday, Sergey Shoigu, secretary of Russia’s National Security Council, warned that the presence of Western troops in Ukraine could result in a direct confrontation between Moscow and NATO, potentially escalating into a third world war. The official, who previously served as Russia’s defense minister, emphasized that Moscow could use nuclear weapons “in the event of aggression,” conventional or otherwise.
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Site: RT - News
Steve Witkoff’s Moscow visit seems to show that a detente the two nations is possible even if Zelensky is not part of the equation
Russian President Vladimir Putin has met again with Steve Witkoff, special envoy of US President Donald Trump. From the little the cameras showed us of the meeting it appears that the atmosphere was unusually friendly. The discussion was also long, lasting for about three hours.
Yet, at this point, we know little about its content or, more importantly, what progress has been made or not. We do know, from Russia’s Yuri Ushakov, special aide to Putin, that the meeting was, in his words, “constructive” and “useful.” In particular, it has produced closer proximity between the Russian and US positions, not only on Ukraine but also on other issues that have – mostly – not been further specified. With the important exception of the possibility of facilitating direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian representatives.
Clearly, it is too early to draw strong conclusions about the meeting and its results. One thing that seems certain is that it was not a failure. Even if Ushakov’s language was restrained, it did signal that much. Beyond that, however, we can only speculate: One thing we know from the meeting’s context is that Trump has, once again, publicly displayed great dissatisfaction and impatience with Kiev and personally with Ukraine’s leader Vladimir Zelensky. This time, using his own social media site Truth Social, Trump focused on Zelensky’s refusal to accept the loss of Crimea. More broadly, he reminded Zelensky that he has little leverage (“no cards”) and that his stalling delays ending the war.
This intervention is in line with what Trump’s critics furiously decry as a pattern of being soft on Russia and hard on Ukraine. In principle, while exaggerating a little, the critics have a point. Trump has effectively reversed the former US approach, which consisted of pampering Ukraine and always blaming Russia. But what Trump’s critics here fail to realize is that, on this issue, he is right. He cannot quite say it, but Russia is winning the war against both Ukraine and, in effect, the West. In this situation, a US president has two options: escalate further, most likely to, at least, a very large regional war in Europe and parts of Asia or finally speak to Russia in terms that Moscow can find acceptable. That is precisely what Trump has decided to do, at least for now. And anyone who wishes to avoid escalation has to agree with him, if not in detail, then fundamentally.
Read more
Trump envoy in Moscow for talks with Putin: As it happened
The latest round of talks between the Russian leadership and Witkoff confirm that Washington is staying the course outlined above. More broadly again, it also means that the US is not abandoning the style of its latest peace proposal for the Ukraine War. The latter is reported to offer a freezing of current lines on the ground, the long overdue to Ukraine’s NATO perspective (which, if it had come in late 2021 could have prevented the war’s large-scale escalation), sanctions lifting, as well as recognizing Crimea as Russian.
These terms do not, actually, coincide with all of Russia’s demands. But they try to meet Russian concerns as never before. As Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has pointed out, Trump is unique among Western leaders in acknowledging the root causes of the war. In that sense, the US peace proposals show not only that Washington is now realistic about the situation on the ground (heavily in Russia’s favor), but also that Trump’s administration is principally ready to shape its concrete policy according to the insight referred to by Lavrov.
That leaves, as far as the Ukraine War is concerned, two key questions: Will Trump follow through by withholding further military deliveries and crucial intelligence support to Kiev, and if so, when? Second, what are the NATO-EU Europeans going to do – or not do? While they still seem to be sticking to their rhetoric of blocking a path to peace, there are also signs that their misguided and harmful (for Ukraine most of all) resolve is crumbling: Britain is preparing the ground for explicitly giving up on silly schemes of sending troops to Ukraine, Polish President Andrzej Duda has recognized the fact that Ukraine has to make concessions to Russia, former NATO general secretary and uber-hawk Jens Stoltenberg has said the same, and current NATO figurehead Mark Rutte is demonstratively praising Trump for “breaking the deadlock.”
Read more
Trump’s peace plan triggers ‘concern’ among allies – CNN
European hardliners are by no means ready to give up yet. Both Poland’s Radek “Thank you, USA!” Sikorski and France’s Emmanuel “I love my scent” Macron have produced hysterics of frustrated denial. Whichever way NATO-EU Europe ends up going, it is certain already that it is fracturing.
The above is the immediate backdrop of the latest meeting between Putin and Witkoff. The one thing we can take away from that meeting even now is that none of it has damaged the ongoing search for a fundamental normalization of the relationship between Moscow and Washington, which is good news for the world, whether European bellicists like it or not.
But it is more difficult not only to say anything about details, but also about one key question: Will this détente between Russia and the US proceed by including a settlement for Ukraine or will the two tracks diverge? It is possible for Washington and Moscow to keep working on normalization between them, while dropping the issue of Ukraine. That is the real meaning of Trump’s reminder to Zelensky that the US can recognize Crimea as Russian whatever Kiev chooses to do. Yet, of course, if Washington would really choose to be “done” with Ukraine, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio has put it, Russia would not. Kiev should be very careful what it wishes for.
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Site: Zero HedgeFormer Rep. George Santos Sentenced To More Than 7 Years In PrisonTyler Durden Fri, 04/25/2025 - 17:00
Authored by Jackson Richman via The Epoch Times,
Former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) was sentenced on April 25 to more than 7 years in federal prison on wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges.
The sentence of 87 months behind bars is what was requested by the Department of Justice.
He was also ordered to pay almost $374,000 and more than $205,000 in restitution and forfeiture, respectively.
Santos, who was charged in 2023, faced a minimum of two years and a maximum of 22 years behind bars.
The former congressman, who represented New York’s Third Congressional District, told One America News on April 24 that he plans to serve his entire sentence in solitary confinement out of fear for his safety.
Santos pleaded guilty in August to committing wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
“I betrayed the trust of my constituents and supporters. I deeply regret my conduct,” he said upon pleading guilty.
Following the hearing, Santos said he felt he had no choice but to admit wrongdoing.
“Pleading guilty is a step I never imagined I’d take, but it is a necessary one because it is the right thing to do,” Santos told reporters.
“It’s not only a recognition of my misrepresentation to others, but more profoundly, it is my own recognition of the lies I told myself over these past years.”
Santos, while running for Congress, filed false reports with the Federal Election Commission that consisted of inflated campaign fundraising numbers in order to qualify for funding and logistical support from the Republican National Committee. His campaign falsely reported that Santos loaned $500,000 to the campaign.
Additionally, Santos charged the credit cards of campaign donors without their permission.
He also took $24,000 in unemployment insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic despite being employed.
Moreover, Santos made false statements to the House of Representatives such as how much he had in assets.
Santos was expelled from Congress on Dec. 1, 2023, following a House Ethics Committee report that he “knowingly caused his campaign committee to file false or incomplete reports with the Federal Election Commission; used campaign funds for personal purposes; engaged in fraudulent conduct, ... and engaged in knowing and willful violations of the Ethics in Government Act.”
The report also said that Santos “continues to flout his statutory financial disclosure obligations and has failed to correct countless errors and omissions in his past FD Statements, despite being repeatedly reminded by the ISC and the Committee of his requirement to do so.”
Santos initially filed to run as an independent to win back his seat in the 2024 election but dropped his campaign.
Even before entering Congress, Santos was subject to controversy, having admitted to allegations about him fabricating parts of his personal and professional life. This included him claiming that he was Jewish—only for him to later say that he is “Jew-ish.”
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Site: LifeNews
Pro-abortion extremists knew this was coming but frankly they don’t care.
A man posted on Reddit asking for advice. He and his girlfriend became pregnant. “We talked for about a week deciding whether to keep the baby or not…” The “not” didn’t mean making an adoption plan for their child.
They were in a long-distance relationship, attending separate universities. Their baby was seventeen weeks along, yet they chose the chemical abortion pill. This was an illegal abortion, far beyond the FDA guidelines.
The young man’s girlfriend had to go through the gruesome process alone. In the end they were both shocked when an actual dead baby came out of her body. He said, “I had no idea this would happen.” She was dealing with pain, bleeding and likely depression. He asked Reddit readers what more he could have done.
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My advice would’ve been to immediately get her to a pro-life pregnancy center where they can access her for possible medical intervention and address her emotional pain.
A pregnant teen went to an abortion facility but was told she was too far along to have an abortion, meaning she was likely twenty-four weeks or more. So, she and her mother bought illegal abortion pills, which was a very dangerous thing to do this far into pregnancy. The end result was a dead baby – but the girl and her mother were horrified by what they saw.
In a text to her friend the teen mother described the infant as “a full baby.” The girl’s mother also expressed shock, noting “fingernails and lips and a nose.” Perhaps their devastation and alarm were the reasons the girl kept the baby in a container under her bed for two to three weeks before burying the child in their back yard.
Authorities later retrieved the body of the baby.
I wish I could tell you these were isolated tragedies, but they’re not. Unregulated and dangerous chemical abortion pills are routinely mailed upon request, usually without medical supervision. Or sent, no questions asked, to a sexual predator covering his criminal tracks.
There is no accountability. Once the credit card clears, the abortion industry is off to its next vulnerable victim.
These deaths didn’t have to happen. And the parents didn’t have to be burdened with the tormenting memory of taking the lives of their babies and grandbaby.
States are passing legislation that in the future will equip students about the wondrous development of the unborn child. Scientifically and medically accurate information that will remind them of the humanity of their baby if faced with an unexpected pregnancy.
North Dakota, Tennessee, Idaho, Kansas and Arkansas have passed legislation that requires students be presented with accurate material or videos on fetal development as part of school curricula.
The states of West Virginia, Iowa, Missouri, and Kentucky are working to pass similar legislation.
A bill was passed by the Arizona legislature but vetoed by the governor.
Had these college students or the teenager and her mother accessed this information, they may have changed their minds about abortion. And dramatically altered the trajectories of their lives to include cherished family members.
LifeNews.com Note: Bradley Mattes is the President of Life Issues Institute, a national pro-life educational group. File photo.
The post Woman Shocked When Delivering Dead Baby After Taking Abortion Pill: “I Had No Idea This Would Happen” appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: southern orders
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Site: southern orders
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Site: Zero Hedge"We Are In A Homelessness Crisis": California Democrat Wants To Let Broke Students Sleep In Their CarsTyler Durden Fri, 04/25/2025 - 16:40
As California spends over half its budget providing 15 million residents with Medi-cal coverage - a substantial portion of whom are 'undocumented,' one state Democrat has proposed new legislation that would allow college students to sleep in their vehicles as the Golden State grapples with a worsening homeless crisis.
Brad Butterfield pauses after checking the top of his RV for leaks in Arcata on Aug. 24, 2024. Photo by Alexandra Hootnick for CalMatters
Left-wing Assemblymember Corey Jackson introduced a bill mandating that California State University chancellors and community college district governing boards collaborate with basic needs coordinators and campus security to establish an overnight parking program by late 2026, Fox News reports.
"This bill confronts a harsh reality to many of our students who are sleeping in their vehicles or other displaced settings as they are unable to find affordable housing, and that's jeopardizing their education," the California Democrat said. "What I am proposing is practical, immediate relief, overnight parking programs that turn campus lots into safe, temporary havens while the state works on lasting solutions."
"We are in a housing crisis. We are in a homelessness crisis, and it's not an either or approach. It's a both and all of the above approach," he added.
The Community College League of California released a survey revealing that three in five California community college students face housing insecurity, with one in four experiencing homelessness.
While America is the home of the free (or at least it used to be) and sleeping in one’s car should be one’s prerogative, the bill raises questions about California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) handling of his state’s housing affordability.
Fox News reports:
Newsom's office, citing 2024 records, stressed that homelessness is increasing nationwide by more than 18%, while California's national trend is closer to 3%, lower than 40 other states. Newsom also touted the state's more than 71,000 year-round shelter beds, which a spokesperson said is double the amount created during the 5-year period prior to the Newsom administration.
Unsurprisingly, California Republicans are not fans of the proposal and say California Democrats should focus on solving the root of the issue.
"After wrecking affordability in California, Democrats have nothing left but bad ideas," California Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher said in a statement to Fox News. "They’re now proposing to let students sleep in cars because they can’t fix the housing crisis they created. This isn’t innovation. It’s desperation from a party that spent decades raising costs, blocking new housing and wasting billions on programs that failed. Letting students live in parking lots isn’t a solution. It’s proof their policies have completely collapsed."
A California lawmaker proposed a bill that would allow California college and university students to sleep in their cars. (Fox News Digital)
Fox News contributor Hugh Hewitt had this to say about the plan: "The problem in California is there are not enough homes and apartments. It's a supply problem created over 50 years of no-growth, left-wing policies that are anti-housing. The solution is not to create homeless encampments, and each one of these will become that. People are going to enroll in the community college for 18 bucks a credit, and then they're going to put their car in the community college parking lot."
Newsom's office, when reached for comment, refused to weigh in on the bill: "California is bucking not only national increases but reversing long-term trends in the state from decades of inaction prior to this administration. California’s progress in addressing homelessness is outperforming the nation.”
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After selling out quickly, 10 of these just showed up! Free Shipping. (click pic)
Sneak Peek: New offerings at ZeroHedge Store...
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Site: LifeNews
As Planned Parenthood faces growing scrutiny over patient safety and service quality, a surge of political advertising seeks to shield the organization while targeting pro-life lawmakers.
The ads, backed by Reproductive Rights for All (formerly NARAL), attempt to portray legislative efforts to defund abortion providers as attacks on women’s health care, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America reported.
“These ads peddle false claims about defunding Big Abortion chains like Planned Parenthood,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. “They want the viewer to believe defunding abortion businesses would cut benefits to women. Nothing is further than the truth.”
Dannenfelser emphasized that ongoing pro-life efforts to shift taxpayer funding do not reduce women’s health benefits but instead aim to redirect resources away from abortion providers and toward federally qualified community health centers, which she noted “outnumber Planned Parenthood by 15 to 1.”
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The political spin comes as new revelations spotlight Planned Parenthood’s declining health care services and troubling operational practices. A recent New York Times exposé detailed unsanitary and negligent conditions, including a facility in Nebraska where a sewage leak lasted several days, making women vomit from the stench. Other documented incidents include the implantation of an IUD in a woman who was unknowingly pregnant — resulting in a stillbirth — in Nebraska and the use of moldy medical equipment in Missouri.
“But if the unsanitary conditions revealed by the New York Times aren’t enough, consider this: while Planned Parenthood’s government money has gone up, their contraceptive and cancer screening services have plummeted,” Dannenfelser added. “The services that have gone up are abortion, gender transitions and political campaigns to defeat Donald Trump and Republicans.”
Katie Glenn Danel, director of legal affairs and policy counsel at Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, criticized Planned Parenthood’s current trajectory.
“Planned Parenthood is an abortion business, not a health care provider,” she said.
Danel pointed to data showing a 43% increase in taxpayer funding since 2010, while services such as cancer screenings, breast exams, and pap smears have dropped by more than 70%.
“Women deserve quality, comprehensive care,” Danel continued, later adding, “Americans will no longer subsidize the industry that endangers women, kills unborn children and spends millions to elect woke politicians.”
The post Abortion Activists Say You Hate Women if You Don’t Want Your Tax Money to Fund Abortions appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: Zero HedgeWhere Things StandTyler Durden Fri, 04/25/2025 - 16:20
Authored by James Howard Kunstler,
“In order for a system to be stabIe, it requires negative feedback, also known as consequences.”
- Barrie Drain
“Fighting fascism,” for the American Jacobins who lead the Democratic Party, means opposing any attempt to flush the corruption out of the entrenched bureaucracy, just as their pet phrase “our democracy” actually refers to the matrix of grift and despotic activism that drives their political operating system. That is exactly how and why the USAID was so crucial to spread captured taxpayer spoils as NGO salaries for the gender studies grads to play “activist,” so as to inflict their special brand of sadistic power madness over the land — to keep the game going.
Now, USAID is scattered to the winds and all they have left is their installed base of federal judges and the horde of lawfare lawyers who feed them bogus cases to halt the remaining work of Mr. Trump’s executive branch clean-up operation.
Remember: Robespierre, leader of the Jacobins in the French Revolution, was a lawyer.
Their version of defending “our democracy” in 1793 was the Reign of Terror that sent at least 17,000 political opponents to the guillotine.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD)
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) is the Democrats’ Robespierre. He is promising his own reign of terror when his party recaptures Congress in the 2026 “midterm” election.
Norm Eisen is his chief lawyer and legal strategist. His sole aim is recapture power in order to restore the Democrats’ sadistic regime of thought-control and the money-flows that feed it. That’s where things stand for the moment. You can sense how this tension is tending toward something that looks like civil war.
Someone needs to investigate the relationship between the lawfare squad and the judges to see how closely they worked together.
— The Researcher (@listen_2learn) March 24, 2025
It appears that Norm would write prosecution memos, articles, etc., (as well as go on CNN) to act as an analyst when in reality he was running the… pic.twitter.com/hdkDggzlt4The game now is to goad President Trump into any kind of executive action in defiance of this legal insurrection that would subject him to impeachment after January 2027, when a new Congress is seated, theoretically with a Democratic majority. There are several flaws in the Raskin / Eisen plan-of-action. One is their supposition that the Democratic Party is popular enough to win a Congressional majority in 2026, or that they will enjoy the installed devices of electoral cheating to achieve victory no matter what.
The party is currently blundering wildly in support of obviously insane actions that a vast majority voters oppose, such as stopping the deportation of illegal immigrants, allowing men to compete in women’s sports, and opposing proof of citizenship in federal elections. Which is to say that the voters are onto exactly how crazy and destructive the Democratic Party has become.
The question is: what can be done about this lawfare insurrection. An easy solution would be for Congress to pass a law restricting the power of federal judges to issue orders that affect the nation as a whole outside their own designated districts. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Charles Grassley has introduced the Judicial Relief Clarification Act of 2025. Grassley argues that nationwide injunctions, which allow a single district judge to block federal policies across the country, represent judicial overreach and disrupt the constitutional balance of powers.
In the House, Rep. Darrel Issa (R-CA) has introduced the No Rogue Rulings Act of 2025 (HR 1526, passed on April 9) to complement Sen. Grassley’s bill. The Constitution is somewhat vague about the composition of a federal judiciary below the Supreme Court, and essentially leaves the matter to Congress to set parameters for the power of federal judges. Congress can also alter or abolish districts, such as the DC federal district from which so much partisan Democratic Party lawfare has emanated under political activist Judges James Boasberg, Amy Berman Jackson, Tanya Chutkan, and Beryl Howell (all of them involved in the sadistic prosecutions of J-6 defendants).
The bills from each house next must go through a reconciliation process that boils them down to a single piece of legislation that can be sent to Mr. Trump for the presidential signature. The House passage is likely assured. The hang-up is that under Senate rules, the Democrats could mount a filibuster that would require 60 votes to break. The Republicans only control the chamber by a 53 to 47 majority, and no Democrats have signaled any intention to vote in favor of such a bill. In any case, the entire process would take months and might not succeed at all.
A much simpler remedy would be for the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) to rule in any of a number of cases now on their docket that the lawfare antics of the federal judges amount to interference with an independent executive branch — in short, that the judiciary can’t usurp the executive powers of the President, which include the conduct of foreign policy, the ability to manage personnel in executive agencies, and certain issues around the spending of taxpayer dollars.
A different sort of remedy would be the application by the DOJ of federal statute 18 USC 371, Conspiracy to Defraud the United States against Norm Eisen and his colleagues-in-lawfare for attempting to maliciously bury the executive branch in litigation for the purpose of nullifying the executive powers of the president. Beyond all that is the abyss: a nullified election, a paralyzed chief executive, and a constitutional crisis that has the potential to lead to civil violence. The Democrats seem willing to go there, perhaps even avid for it.
The Jacobins of 1793 were mad for blood, too, and they spilled a whole lot of it. By the summer of 1794, the blood was finally spouting out of their own necks. . . and then the Jacobin reign of terror came to a sudden and complete end. Heed their example.
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Site: The Remnant Newspaper - Remnant ArticlesThis evening, at 8:00 p.m. [Rome time], at the Altar of Confession in St. Peter's Basilica, the rite of the Closing of the Coffin of the Roman Pontiff took place.
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Site: LifeNews
A new report from the Guttmacher Institute, a longtime advocate for legally unlimited abortion, estimates that total U.S. abortions increased in 2024. The report covers the more than two-thirds of states that have not revived or enacted pro-life laws in the wake of the June 2022 Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Altogether, using a combination of survey samples of abortion facilities and historical methods, Guttmacher concluded that some 1,038,100 abortions took place in 2024, a little less than 1% more than occurred in 2023.
Scholar and statistician Michael New has responded to the data and noted that, given its methodology of sampling and historical estimation, it should be greeted with some skepticism. It would be better reported, as the details show, as a range rather than a concrete number in which there is great confidence. Over the decades, Guttmacher has relied on a triennial system of securing data directly from as many of the nation’s abortion facilities as it could reach. These reports are more accurate and detailed than what Guttmacher calls its Monthly Abortion Provision Study (MAPS). There is value in getting data much more rapidly than the triennial scheme allowed, but New’s caution is well taken. The core problem remains with the U.S. system of data collection on abortion, which relies on voluntary reporting at the national level and a patchwork of state policies under which major states with ultra-permissive policies do not collect and report their data in any public forum.
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Still, there is enough information in the Guttmacher report to spur sober reflection. First, it’s clear that the Supreme Court decision to reverse Roe v. Wade did not result in a major reduction in the incidence of abortion in the United States. Only a handful of countries in the world have a collection of regional/provincial/state governments, and likewise only a handful of countries have abortion policies as permissive as the United States.
Second, the changing landscape of abortion provision, which is shifting from an in-clinic experience to at-home measures, has driven increases in reported abortions that began well before the Dobbs ruling. Total abortions have been increasing in the United States ever since its lowest tally in 2017. Perhaps the biggest factor driving change has been the relaxation and non-enforcement of limits with respect to the distribution of abortion drugs, which have migrated from a wide variety of regulations to ensure physician supervision to today’s system of mail-order abortion without significant tracking of physical and emotional impacts on women.
Changes in state policy continue to play a key role as well. The Guttmacher MAPS report notes that six states led the way with significant increases in abortion incidence in 2024: Wisconsin, Arizona, California, Kansas, Ohio, and Virginia. California has gone out of its way to make itself an abortion destination, while other states have seen liberalizing trends through legislative enactment, ballot initiative, or judicial decree. Abortions in Wisconsin, for example, increased from 1,300 in 2023 when a pro-life law was in effect to 6,100 in 2024 after a Dane County Circuit Court held that an 1849 Wisconsin law prohibiting abortion was limited to assaults by third parties and did not apply to a woman consenting to the procedure. Rhode Island offers another example. Abortions increased in the Ocean State by 20% in 2024 after the state decided to publicly fund them.
Meanwhile, several states that have revived or enacted protections for the unborn saw their in-state abortion rates and numbers decline. Guttmacher focuses on South Carolina and Florida, each of which has enacted a law limiting abortion early in pregnancy. For 2024, abortions declined by 12,100 in Florida where a six-week “heartbeat” bill was passed and then ratified by popular vote under the leadership of Republican Governor Ron DeSantis. In South Carolina, abortions declined by 3,500 after the state’s six-week heartbeat law was upheld by the state supreme court in August 2023, again spearheaded by a governor, Henry McMaster (R). How many abortions these laws ultimately averted is difficult to assess given the number of abortions taking place in liberal jurisdictions on out-of-state residents and the willingness of abortion suppliers to ship drugs across state lines in defiance of the receiving states’ pro-life laws.
The number of abortions carried out on women and girls from out of state is substantial — an estimated 155,000 in 2024, which would constitute roughly 15% of total U.S. abortions. This number is down slightly from 2023. To give a sense of its scope, a full 71% of abortions in Kansas are carried out on non-residents. The percentage is 69% in New Mexico, 39% in Illinois, and 36% in North Carolina. In terms of abortions arranged online and carried out in pro-life states using state laws in an attempt to conceal or protect the supplier, a separate study by the Society for Family Planning (SFP) tallied 34,500 abortions carried out this way in the first half of 2024 alone.
Clearly, understanding and assessing changes like these, which are rapid and historically unprecedented, is a matter of vital public interest. Abortion policy has been plagued for decades by misreporting and underreporting. Innate problems like the disjunction between where abortions occur and where injured mothers are treated, often not the same medical site, have always been present and are now aggravated by the advent of abortion drugs taken at home and often at great distance from medical aid. National abortion reporting, as noted above, misses hundreds of thousands of abortions per year and collects limited data. Some states’ reporting practices are deteriorating even as others are not collected in the first place (e.g., California, Maryland, New Hampshire). In New Jersey, only hospitals and certified ambulatory surgical centers are required to report abortions to state health officials, leaving researchers to rely on estimates rather than hard data.
Proposals to strengthen abortion reporting via making data collection mandatory have not made much headway, but in their absence, the best source of data will remain estimates created by groups that advocate for legal abortion. Abortion is a practice that, like many other issues fraught with public policy and social concerns, tends to draw the interest of analysts who are motivated by ethical considerations. Researchers from the Guttmacher Institute to ANSIRH to the Charlotte Lozier Institute, and more besides, take a view on their subject matter and debate among themselves about their methods and findings. This is as it should be. This is also why on such a critical issue, public bodies without institutional stances should be tasked with and fully funded to identify and gather information from the appropriate sources. This is especially vital in our federal system, where state health bodies are charged with gathering data and no national health system exists to provide a single source of basic information. International studies illuminate many questions better than U.S. bodies, but the American way of handling large datasets can be dramatically improved.
The Norman-Ernst Ensuring Accurate and Complete Abortion Data Reporting Act, introduced in January, would serve this goal by making certain federal family planning funding for the states contingent on their timely filing of abortion data with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). As a press release accompanying the introduction of the bill stated, “The American taxpayer continues to fund family planning programs despite having little understanding of how effective those programs are at reducing the number of abortions throughout the country. If all states were to submit accurate abortion data to the CDC, lawmakers would be better informed on family planning policy decisions and Medicaid funding for those programs could be more suitably allocated.” The bill (S.178/H.R. 627) identifies 10 areas where data should be supplied to the CDC, a list that should continue to be refined and developed as new issues emerge in this area of public policy.
In the meantime, the well-being of children in the womb and the health of mothers are being compromised daily by the decreasing quality and comprehensiveness of data collection and by politically motivated attacks on science and statistical research. Ironically, the more controversial a subject is intrinsically, the more likely it is to spur advocates of one stripe or another to scorn and even censor studies and findings with which they take issue.
Whether the topic is COVID, climate change, nutrition, or abortion, issues on which the data and the debates should be free flowing, the more some partisans strain to suppress alternative views. Receiving the Robert Zimmer Medal from the American Academy of Science & Letters last October, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya summed up the situation well, saying, “During pandemics, the public depends on experts to share their expertise openly without fear or favor and to speak their minds openly about their scientific and policy evaluations.” The same should hold true for what is, on a worldwide scale, a pandemic of disrespect for the most vulnerable human lives.
LifeNews Note: Chuck Donovan is a 50-year veteran of the national debate over the right to life and served from 1981-89 as a writer in the Reagan White House.He is the former Executive Vice President of Family Research Council.
The post Over 1 Million Babies are Killed in Abortions a Year. When Will This End? appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: RT - News
G4S’s mercenaries are everywhere – from the halls of American power to the darkest corners of detention centers
The British-American private military company Group 4 Securitas (G4S) has evolved far beyond its original mission of providing security for Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and Ukraine’s critical infrastructure. Today, it resembles a quasi-state, complete with its own armed forces, prison systems, and global reach. G4S secures US embassies around the world, guards airports, government agencies, and military installations for both Washington and London, and even monitors sections of the US border.
It also manages prisons notorious for abuse, torture, and killings. British-American firms now dominate roughly 90% of the global PMC market, and experts say that outsourcing warfare to private contractors has become the preferred tool of foreign policy. It’s easier – and more politically palatable – to fight through intermediaries.
G4S earns the lion’s share of its revenue from contracts with multinational corporations and government agencies in the US and UK. Its former CEO, Ashley Martin Almanza, previously served as CFO of the British energy giant BG Group, a major supplier of liquefied natural gas to China. In 2016, BG merged with Royal Dutch Shell – another UK-based energy titan and the world’s largest oil and gas company.
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Deep Roots in Global Energy and Conflict Zones
Since 2016, G4S has been protecting employees and assets of the Barash Gas Company in Iraq – a joint venture between the Iraqi government and Shell, which owns a 44% stake. This is one of the largest gas infrastructure projects in the country.
Over the past three years alone, G4S has raked in more than $100 million from contracts securing US embassies worldwide. Procurement records from both the US and UK governments show a steady increase in the number of diplomatic sites under G4S protection. In just one year, the company landed five-year contracts for US embassies in Estonia ($18.8 million), Hong Kong ($35 million), Luxembourg ($29 million), and Côte d’Ivoire ($12.6 million).
The Go-To Diplomatic Security Force
The US Bureau of Diplomatic Security counts on G4S to safeguard American facilities in South Africa through 2025. The company protects not just the embassy in Pretoria but also consulates and offices in Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town. G4S personnel also provide bodyguard services for US diplomats outside official buildings.
The bodyguard contract alone is worth $9.5 million. The total value of security services in South Africa exceeds that tenfold. Notably, some contract obligations – amounting to $3 million – were paid for but never fulfilled by G4S, according to oversight reports.
G4S also protects American embassies in the UK, France, India, Madagascar, Morocco, Botswana, Denmark, and Qatar, as well as across South America, including Peru and Paraguay. The company also operates in Canada.
One of its more recent assignments involves the US Embassy in Lusaka, Zambia, where G4S was hired for $8.7 million to defend American personnel, their families, and government assets against a range of threats, including terrorism. If the first year goes well, the contract may be extended for up to five years.
Read more
Scam Ukraini! How Kiev’s vultures disrespect the dead and cash in on the nation’s grief
Ties to Intelligence and the Pentagon
Following the targeted killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, Iranian investigators accused G4S of providing intel to the Pentagon regarding his location prior to the drone strike. At the time, G4S was contracted to protect Soleimani at Baghdad International Airport.
According to global arms expert Darko Todorovski, Western PMCs are deeply embedded within their countries’ military and foreign policy frameworks. These companies operate under intelligence agency oversight and are awarded government contracts via institutions like the US State Department or the UK’s Foreign Office.
Todorovski points out several advantages of relying on PMCs: they can be deployed quickly, typically boast higher professionalism than traditional forces in volatile regions, and aren’t beholden to local elites or religious factions. Their superior logistical and technical capabilities make them a preferred choice.
Moreover, these companies avoid the red tape of government bureaucracies. “Their use doesn’t stir public outrage the way regular troops do. And when they suffer casualties, those deaths don’t show up in official government statistics,” Todorovski notes.
Blurring the Line Between Private and Military
The boundary between PMCs and traditional armies has grown increasingly faint. Many G4S recruits are military veterans. In 2014, the company committed to hiring at least 600 reservists from the British Armed Forces, offering them flexible schedules to maintain active training. This partnership with the British Ministry of Defence was renewed in October 2022.
“We already hire a significant number of veterans, and today’s agreement reinforces G4S’s strong ties to the British military,” said then-CEO Almanza.
Read more
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On the Frontlines with the US Military
Even the US military depends on G4S. Since late 2017, the company has been under contract with the United States Army Joint Munitions Command to secure military facilities in Somalia, including the Gashandiga base in Mogadishu – a site once used by Islamist militants to control northern parts of the city during the civil war.
G4S was also responsible for guarding the Somali president’s official residence in Mogadishu, as well as government headquarters in Baidoa, and major infrastructure like Mogadishu’s port, a UAE training base, and Turkish diplomatic sites.
Per contract documents, the main goal was to ensure the secure movement of high-ranking personnel. Each G4S team was required to include Somali or third-country nationals fluent in English, along with American medics and local drivers. Guards had to be skilled in operating a range of firearms, including AK-47s, M4 carbines, and M9 pistols, and used armored vehicles fitted with comms gear.
The pay disparity was staggering. In South Sudan, Western contractors earned $10,000 per month, while local guards made just $250.
Modern-Day Mercenaries
With roughly 800,000 employees, G4S maintains its own rapid response units – essentially private strike teams supported by in-house intelligence operations. Many Western PMCs now have access to reconnaissance aircraft, satellite data, and cutting-edge surveillance tools. “They work with corporations that provide satellite imagery, which has been used by PMCs in Africa, Iraq, and Afghanistan,” Todorovski explains.
Alexander Artemonov, a defense analyst at the Eurasia Heritage Foundation, estimates G4S maintains a fighting force of 250,000–280,000, equal to the number of troops Russia deployed in Donbass. The rest of the workforce consists of support staff, prison guards, and logistical teams.
G4S’s arsenal includes everything from AK-47s and Glock 17s to MP5s, sniper rifles, Uzi submachine guns, and even Israeli Hermes 450 drones. Their operatives have access to anti-personnel mines, grenade launchers, and portable anti-air systems. For mobility, they rely on armored Land Cruisers, Humvees, and military-grade carriers like the Cougar and RG-33.
Read more
A land of mass graves and mercenaries – Can this genocide be stopped?
Privatized Prisons and Abuses
G4S has also assumed control of prison facilities traditionally run by governments. In the UK, the company managed two immigration detention centers and six prisons, including those in Oakwood and Birmingham. In 2018, the Birmingham facility was returned to government control after inspectors uncovered appalling conditions: inmates roamed freely while staff locked themselves in offices; cells were filthy, infested with rats, and reeked of bodily fluids.
Peter Clarke, a former counterterrorism chief turned prison inspector, called it the worst he’d ever seen.
In September 2023, a special inquiry confirmed allegations of torture at Brook House, another G4S-run immigration facility. The public was horrified by reports of detainees being brutalized. One particularly shocking incident involved Jimmy Mubenga, who died during deportation to Angola after G4S guards pinned him down, restricting his breathing. Witnesses say he cried out, “I can’t breathe.” A court ruled his death as manslaughter by negligence, but no one was held accountable.
Similar scandals emerged in G4S-operated prisons in South Africa and the Middle East. In 2018, 42 inmates at South Africa’s Mangaung prison alleged electric shocks, forced sedation with antipsychotics, and extended solitary confinement. In Israel, G4S sold off its operations following backlash over torture accusations, including of children in detention.
Yet none of this prevented the US Department of Homeland Security from signing G4S to oversee migrant detention, deportation centers, and border checkpoints across the country – including airports and ports – last July.
The Business of Proxy War
Todorovski argues that Britain has revived the age-old tradition of mercenary warfare. “Historically, the British preferred not to get directly involved in conflicts. They’ve always used intermediaries,” he said.
Now, the US has taken the lead. Together, British and American corporations control over 90% of the global PMC market – valued at more than $400 billion.
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Site: LifeNews
Operation Rescue is investigating three more women who were rushed to the hospital after botched abortions in Illinois between December 2024 and March 2025. Each incident involved women who suffered heavy bleeding—likely caused by uterine perforation, a well-known but potentially life-threatening complication of surgical abortion. These cases, documented in emergency call recordings and reported by pro-life eyewitnesses, raise alarming flags regarding clinic oversight and safety standards in Illinois.
1. Carafem Health Center, Skokie
At 1:37 p.m. on December 6, 2024, a 31-year-old woman was rushed from the Carafem Health Center in Skokie, Illinois to a hospital. Carafem is part of a national chain committing abortions in Illinois, Washington, Georgia, and at least 17 other states via “telemed.” The Carafem worker reportedly called 911 to request help for a patient with severe hemorrhaging. According to a 911 recording provided courtesy of Pro-Life Action League, the caller noted that the patient was “bleeding a lot.” This bleeding was likely caused by a uterine perforation—a puncture of the uterus that can occur during surgical abortion procedures and requires emergency medical intervention.
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In another alarming portion of the call, the staffer states a nurse practitioner (NP) was with the patient. In 2023, the Illinois legislature passed an omnibus bill that allowed Nurse Practitioners to perform medical and surgical abortions. NPs have far less training than a medical doctor, especially in surgery and surgery complications. This same bill protects abortionists from legal action.
Less than three months later, at 3:51 p.m. on March 5, 2025, another emergency unfolded—this time at Planned Parenthood in Aurora, Illinois. According to another 911 call provided courtesy of Pro-Life Action League, Emergency Medical Services were dispatched after a woman in her late twenties began bleeding heavily following a “procedure” (i.e. an abortion).
Sadly, this is the third botched abortion requiring emergency care to occur at Planned Parenthood of Aurora this year. Operation Rescue investigated two others that happened on January 18 and February 8 of 2025. Three botches in three months does not equal “safe and legal.”
3. Hope Clinic for Women, Granite City
The most recent incident took place around 1:20 p.m. on March 9, 2025, at the Hope Clinic for Women in Granite City, Illinois – also known as “Hopeless” Clinic. Eyewitnesses on the scene reported an ambulance arriving at the facility. Although 911 records for this event have not been released yet, Operation Rescue secured a recording of the EMS radio dispatch indicating the emergency: a 30 year old woman suffering from significant bleeding after her abortion. As in the previous two cases, the symptoms were consistent with a possible uterine perforation.
“Hopeless” Clinic earned Operation Rescue’s title for “Worst of the Worst” in 2023, the same year that the Illinois legislature passed sweeping expansions for already unregulated abortion clinics. In that year, Operation Rescue investigated 30 medical emergencies from the state, most of which happened at this clinic. That is a dozen more emergencies than were reported in 2022.
A Call for Oversight and Accountability
“These increasing medical emergencies raise crucial questions about the total lack of safety practices and regulatory oversight for abortion facilities in Illinois,” says Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.
Currently, Illinois does not require abortion clinics to be licensed by the state, a policy which allows facilities to operate without accountability or routine inspections. There is no way to tell if basic sanitation, hygiene, medical attention, anesthesia protocol, licensure of medical staff, or other crucial safety standards are being observed.
In January of 2024, State Representative William E. Hauter (R) introduced a bill that would mandate all abortion clinics in Illinois be licensed by the Department of Public Health. This meant such facilities would have to be inspected. Unfortunately, such a bill was unable to get any traction and did not even make it out of committee this year. This shows the attitude of legislators who are willing to protect abortion and abortionists at all costs while ignoring patient safety and the numerous injuries sustained by women entering these clinics.
“There are health regulations for making fast food french fries,” adds Newman, “but none to protect a woman at a surgical abortion clinic. Babies get killed and women get injured in the process almost every week, yet the mainstream media and other ‘women’s rights advocates’ remain silent. We will not be silent! With God’s help, we will keep pushing for the truth and exposing the abortion cartel in America.”
LifeNews Note: This article was originally published by Operation Rescue, a leading pro-life, Christian activist organization dedicated to exposing abortion abuses, demanding enforcement, saving innocent lives, and building an abortion-free America. The author, Ricardo Pinedo, writes for Operation Rescue.”
The post More Illinois Women Face Medical Emergencies After Botched Abortions appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: LifeNews
We recently reported on our unsettling discovery that Biden’s Army had been instructing Fort Bragg (formerly Fort Liberty under the Biden Administration) trainees that pro-life Americans were domestic terrorists as far back as 2011. We also learned that the Biden Army’s investigator had essentially covered up the shocking actions with a report containing demonstrably inaccurate claims and even contradicted itself.
As promised, we’ve just sent a letter to President Trump’s new military leadership, specifically Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll, bringing our critical findings to their attention – and respectfully urging them to take action to weed out this nonsense from our military training doctrine. This is the only way to make things right for our client and all pro-life Americans.
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Last year, we sent a demand letter to Biden’s Army Secretary, and the response we received, along with what the Army’s then-leadership told Congress, would have been enough of a win – if it had been true and complete. We have now confirmed that it was not.
Our legal instincts told us to look deeper. Sure enough, the need for our letter to Secretary Hegseth became evident after we reviewed the records acquired through our Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. This trove of documents clearly showed that the Biden Army’s “PR” talking point, that an unvetted PowerPoint slide slipped into the presentation, was knowingly false.
They had claimed that it was simply a matter of a wrong “title” (“Terrorist Groups”) being placed on the slide displaying the “Choose Life” license plate image and pro-life organizations’ logos, including that of our client Operation Rescue.
But now, we know that their own investigation revealed that the training, which soldiers described in sworn statements, came across like “teaching doctrine” and had targeted pro-life Americans for almost 15 years. Our client’s (Operation Rescue) logo has been included since at least 2017, and slides targeting pro-lifers generally as terrorists have been included since at least 2011. But amazingly, the investigator assessed that it was simply a “mistake.” A 15-year mistake? As we summarized:
The investigation report concluded that “Labelling the slide ‘Terrorist Groups’ was a mistake” instead of recognizing that pro-lifers should not have been included in the entire “Terrorism Awareness” presentation in the first place. This is far more egregious than simply stating that the title of one slide was a “mistake,” as the entire training was about terrorism. Further, the conclusion that the labeling of that slide was a “mistake” is unsupported by a shred of evidence in the investigation file. The attempt to brush this under the rug is glaring.
It was no mistake. True to its typical swamp-like bureaucratic form, “woke” and Leftist ideologues intentionally used Army resources and a captive audience to indoctrinate soldiers to hold the view that pro-lifers are terrorists and that millions of pro-life Americans are a threat to security. And even that “Choose Life” license plates issued by 33 states (including North Carolina, where Fort Bragg sits) are evidence of terrorist threats. Planned Parenthood must be pleased.
This insanity must end. While Biden’s Army assured everyone that the problem had been corrected, we simply don’t believe them. What we discovered through our FOIA request confirmed our suspicion. And that’s why we just wrote to Secretary Hegseth and Secretary Driscoll. They are now in a position to bring this to a resolution and make this right. We are hopeful because they’ve demonstrated the desire to free America’s fighting forces from this Leftist nonsense.
As we said in our letter, “Given your clear stand and demonstrated record of calling out and opposing all ‘woke’ Leftist/Marxist ideology and propaganda from our Nation’s great fighting forces, we are hopeful you will see this matter as worthy of your attention and action.” We specifically made these requests:
- To direct the Army to issue a meaningful direct apology to our client, Operation Rescue, and its Director, Troy Newman, for the wrongful actions committed by the Army under the prior Biden Administration.
- To make a public statement, or at least one addressed to all trainees, that the United States military considers pro-life Americans and organizations neither terrorists nor extremists, that all prior training to the contrary is false, along with a direction that any such training or propaganda be removed and reported to appropriate Army personnel.
- To direct, forthwith, the immediate production of all remaining Army records concerning this subject, including, but not limited to, the Exhibits in the investigation file we have obtained.
- To address Congress’ concerns by issuing a new statement that rectifies and replaces the prior misleading representations.
We look forward to working with our military’s new leadership, one that is reimplementing dominant warfighting as its institutional goal, not woke indoctrination and social science experiments on soldiers at the Constitution’s expense. We’ll keep you updated on our progress.
LifeNews Note: Jordan Sekulow is the Executive Director of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ).
The post Hegseth Asked to Ensure Army Training Program Never Calls Pro-Life Americans “Terrorists” Again appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: RT - News
The tech giant’s reported plans come amid an escalating trade war between the US and China, the top assembly site for the iPhone
Apple plans to move the assembly of all US-bound iPhones from China to India in light of the escalating trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, the Financial Times has reported.
Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on numerous countries, with Chinese goods facing duties as high as 145%. He has argued that the measures will help revive domestic manufacturing and redress the skewed trade balance. Beijing responded by imposing its own tariffs and export restrictions.
The US Customs and Border Protection agency went on to publish a list of exempted articles, which are subject only to a separate 20% rate and include computers, laptops, smartphones and other tech devices and components. Commenting on the decision, the White House stated that the exemptions are meant to give companies enough time to localize their production on US soil.
On Friday, the FT reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, that Apple hopes to complete the shift of its assembly lines to India by the end of 2026, affecting more than 60 million iPhones sold annually in the US.
Read more
China halts exports of critical materials amid trade war with US – NYT
According to the publication, the tech giant has had to speed up its pre-existing diversification strategy amid the intensifying trade war, and now aims to double the iPhone output in India.
While the company has already moved some of its assembly lines to India and Vietnam, China still remains the leading production center for iPhones globally. Apple has invested heavily there over almost two decades.
A lot of the constituent components that are put together during assembly are sourced from China, the FT noted.
Earlier this month, the Times of India, citing unnamed senior officials, alleged that Apple had transported five planeloads of iPhones and other devices from India to the US within a span of three days in late March. The shipment was reportedly conducted in anticipation of a 10% reciprocal tariff on Indian goods introduced by Trump, which took effect on April 5.
The cheapest iPhone 16 model was launched in the US at $799 last September. This could now rise by 43% to $1,142 should Apple pass the burden on to consumers, Reuters estimated, citing calculations based on projections from analysts at Rosenblatt Securities.
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Site: ChurchPOP
The new documentary, “Carlo Acutis: Roadmap to Reality,” hits theaters from Apr 27, 2025, to May 1, 2025.
This incredible documentary, produced by Castletown Media and Wahl St. Productions, in association with National Eucharistic Congress, Inc., and the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame, tells the compelling, mystical story of the first millennial saint - Carlo Acutis.
Written, directed, and produced by Castletown Media Founder and CEO Tim Moriarty, the film interviews multiple people connected and familiar with Carlo Acutis’ life, including his family, friends, and those who have studied his life over the years.
The film interviews Carlo’s mother, father, cousin, and babysitter, to name a few. Each testimony provides his influence on their lives, the incredible conversions they experienced during their time spent with him, and even supernatural events they witnessed in connection with Carlo.
According to the film’s website, "'Carlo Acutis: Roadmap to Reality' explores Carlo’s holy life and how he navigated the modern world. It also tackles urgent technology-related questions, examining how the virtual landscape threatens our fundamental understanding of what it means to be human.”
“The film also follows a group of high school students from North Dakota who embark on a two-week pilgrimage to Italy to visit Carlo’s tomb. They are required to disengage from technology and leave their phones at home. Their journey dives deep into the reality that Carlo points to: Christ in the Eucharist.”
Here’s the trailer for "Carlo Acutis: Roadmap to Reality" below:
Click here if you cannot see the video above.
What I Thought About "Carlo Acutis: Roadmap to Reality"
I watched this film with my children during a thunderstorm on Easter Vigil. We were actually under a tornado warning, so I brought my computer to our hallway, cuddled the boys in blankets with the cat next to us, and watched this film while we ate dinner and waited for the storm to pass.
My 10-year-old son was especially glued to the screen. He was fascinated that such a young person could exhibit such holiness so early in life. He loved the supernatural stories his mother told about her son; seeing the photos of Carlo being a normal boy enthralled him, and he couldn’t wait to see the depiction of his tomb.
After watching this documentary together, my son calls on Carlo more often when we pray at night. I can tell he finds Carlo relatable and inspiring.
I learned so much about Carlo Acutis through this film.
I had no idea Carlo was a mystic. I did not realize how extraordinarily wise he was. I also did not know about the many conversions and supernatural encounters his family and friends experienced through him.
The story of his life and holiness is absolutely remarkable. This film depicted it in a real, relatable way. It inspired me (and my children) to learn more about him and model his holiness, his love for the Eucharist, and to turn to him in our daily devotions.
If you want to understand Carlo Acutis more deeply, watch this film. And even if you do not know or understand the devotion behind this holy teenager, this film will surely guide you in that direction.
Take your children to see it. You won’t regret exposing them to this millennial saint who will potentially make a whole new generation of saints.
"Carlo Acutis: Roadmap to Reality" hits theaters April 27, 2025. Click here for tickets.
Future Saint Carlo Acutis, pray for us!
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Site: Zero HedgeChinese Delegation Spotted Entering Treasury Department, Demands Photos Be Deleted: ReportTyler Durden Fri, 04/25/2025 - 15:01
There has been lots of confusion over the past week whether Trump has - or has not - spoken to Xi Jinping, to set trade negotiation talks in motion. According to Trump, he has and more than once...
Reporter: Have you spoken to President Xi since the tariffs?@POTUS: “I don’t want to comment on that but I’ve spoken to him many times.” pic.twitter.com/TAkK0EjXhA
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 25, 2025... while China has repeatedly denied it has had any contact with its US counterparts, which is to be expected: admitting it is negotiating would be seen as a carte blanche for other countries to do the same, ending any attempts at negotiation "cartelization" Beijing may have tried to impose.
Unfortunately, the problem is that both sides tend to.... exaggerate reality, which makes a definitive conclusion either way challenging. And absent 3rd party confirmation either way, the market is forced to flip a coin to decide who is telling the truth. Unless, of course, there was 3rd party confirmation, which now appears to be the case.
According to an overnight report in The JoongAng, one of the three biggest newspapers in South Korea, and the newspaper of record for South Korea, it was "confirmed that the United States and China have begun behind-the-scenes contacts in relation to the 'tariff war' waged by US President Donald Trump."
Again, as noted above, after Trump said he had been in contact with China every day, the Chinese side, through a Foreign Ministry spokesperson briefing, said that Trump was effectively lying: "we have never had any consultations or negotiations with the United States, and (the related remarks) are all fake news.” The Chinese Ministry of Commerce also denied this, saying, “Economic and trade negotiations (with the United States) are not underway.”
However, in its overnight report, JoongAng Ilbo confirmed that at around 7 am ET on the 24th, a high-ranking official from the Chinese Ministry of Finance entered the Treasury building located right next to the White House in Washington D.C. accompanied by about 10 attendants.
At around 7:00 AM on the 24th (local time), a high-ranking official from the Chinese Ministry of Finance (equivalent to the Ministry of Planning and Finance) was seen entering the US Treasury Department headquarters building in Washington, D.C., accompanied by about 10 attendants. The photo shows Chinese attendants waiting for the meeting between the two sides to end. They were wearing ID cards for attending the G20 Finance Ministers' Meeting, and their nationality was written as 'China' on the ID cards. Washington=Correspondent Kang Tae-hwa; source
According to the report, the exact identities of the senior officials leading the dozen or so entourage have not been confirmed, "but they were all wearing the identification required for entry into the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting currently taking place in Washington." It was the same type of identification worn by Lan Poan, China’s Minister of Finance, when he met with Choi Sang-mok, the Minister of Strategy and Finance, who visited the U.S. the day before.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Choi Sang-mok, who is visiting Washington, D.C. to attend the G20 Finance Ministers' Meeting and the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC), is greeting Chinese Finance Minister Lan Poan on the 23rd (local time). Courtesy of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. Source
The Korean newspaper adds that "Chinese officials strongly blocked the press from taking photos of high-ranking officials entering the U.S. Treasury building this morning."
The Chinese officials then reportedly said that “we have no authority to block the freedom of the press,” but added “we have the right to refuse to allow our personnel to be photographed,” and demanded that the press delete all photos taken on their smartphones.
When the press asked him to reveal the identity of the person who had blocked the interview, he refused, saying, “I have no obligation to reveal my identity.” However, the ID card he was wearing had his name, photo, and nationality written as “China.”
The 'Treasury Department Meeting' between the US and China on this day began at around 7:00 AM, about an hour before Deputy Prime Minister Choi and Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Duck-keun began the '2+2 Trade Consultation' with US Treasury Secretary Scott Besent and US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamison Greer. As a result, the Korea-US tariff negotiations were conducted following the US-China backroom contacts.
A diplomatic source told JoongAng Ilbo, “The fact that the treasury channels of both the U.S. and China are actually operating means that both countries have reached a critical point under domestic and international pressure due to the current retaliatory tariffs,” and predicted that “the results of the backroom negotiations between the two sides could be a major turning point in the tariff war.”
As for why China has been extremely secretive about the process, the source told the South Korean outlet that “since this tariff war is unfolding as a battle of pride with the leaders of both countries directly appearing, it may not be easy to create some kind of ‘win-win structure." He added that "the fact that China visited the U.S. Treasury Department in person could be an extremely sensitive issue for China."
Remarkably, Trump may have been telling the truth... again.
Source: The JoongAng
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Site: RadTrad Thomist
“If you had been of the world, the world would love its own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” Jn. 15:19
The crowds, feeling like hundreds of thousands of people, who "lined up" last night to pass by Jorge Bergoglio's open casket, were faces without tears. I checked. Was there one person in that ocean of people trying to get into Vatican City, who gave off even the slightest appearance of feeling sorrow in their hearts over the passing of the man whom the world knew as Pope Francis. Maybe mourning is something that has passed from our collective consciousness? But I don't think so. There is always tears, sometimes streams of them, when a person dies, especially when a person dies "before their time." There is also or there should be, a spirit of gravity as friends and family collectively confront the stern realities of life and death, absence and the hole that opens up in one's soul when a "presence" is suddenly lacking. What goes on in the inner recesses of men's hearts is unknown, however, there was absolutely no such manifestation of sorrow or lack or even sober dignity and reflection in the crowd that I pushed against in the universal push to present at a truly unique historical event. This was a expectant and exuberant crowd that snaked its way around the walls of St. Peter's, sent in different direction by the long lines of yellowish green jackets of the security details that now occupy the major Catholic places in Rome. We were lined up down both sides of the nave as we headed to see the man who had done more than almost any to erase all the lines distinguishing "Catholic" from "non-Catholic." Maybe this was his triumph, the man who lay so frighteningly in his coffin. You could not tell if anyone was Catholic or not. When we approached the body, the guards insisted that we must put away all cameras. This was about 20 feet from the casket. As people approached, being allowed only a few seconds to "stand in front of the body," really there was no standing at all but a moving through, no one that I saw made the sign of the cross. No one tried to stop a tear. I kept watching people and there was not one. They just passed and went through the church, just as in the way that you would pass through any of the great churches in Rome at a curious and observational state. No one was weeping or even seeming to be sad, as we went down the stairs of St. Peter's. The power of the idea of the papacy obviously drew people to some degree. Something drew all of these people. It might be the realization that a historical event was unfolding that they should be a part of. But there were no tears.
Francis, to my surprise, looked awful. Previously I had only seen him once at a distance. As he lay there, in the simplest and most minimal of episcopal robes. he looked a ghoulish green color, to me how looked a solid lime green. His features were distorted a distended and exaggerated way. His entire look was that of a thick wax mask. His expression was like that of someone who had just been interrupted when making a mistake. But had Bergoglio succeeded really. Had he created a church without sorrow or even without the deep sobriety that used to characterize the Catholic Faith. Had these crowds finally merged into the Noosphere, become part of the mass that was no longer needs tears and black vestments. Well, if atheists go to Heaven, I suppose Jorge Maria Bergoglio is safe!
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Site: Catholic Herald
It might be thought to be stating the obvious, but before electing a new pope the Church has to bury the last. The papal funeral is first of all about offering a fitting burial for the deceased pontiff, recognizing not just his dignity as a simple Christian, but also the high office he held. It also has important external, even juridical, significance for the whole Church.
In a monarchy with a line of succession, the cry “The King is dead, long live the King,” not only announces the death of the sovereign, but also the immediate transition of power to his successor. In the case of the papacy, there is no such direct continuity. The election of the new pope has to take place, which means that there must be a certain verification of the vacancy of the Petrine office before this can even be contemplated, let alone carried out.
This is one of the ceremonial purposes of the rather elaborate funeral rites that are still reserved for the pope today. There is a sense in which they are of course modelled on the funerals of every Christian, because every pope is first of all a member of the faithful who deserves a reverent and decent funeral, and who needs commending to Almighty God by the Church. But there are also distinctive rituals proper to the death of the Roman Pontiff that “announce” (as it were) the death of the pope, and the vacancy of the papal office, so as to permit the election of the next pope in a free and legitimate way.
Historically, this was very important indeed. In the eleventh century, Gregory VII’s (c.1015-85) enemies challenged the legitimacy of his pontificate by claiming he had been elected before his predecessor, Alexander II (d.1073), had even been buried. While Honorius II (1060-1130) was still alive, the process of electing his successor began with such earnest that the result was a determination binding on future generations: attempted elections before the burial of the last pope would lead to excommunication.
All of this confusion went back to the seventh century, when during his nine-month papacy Boniface III (February-November 607) had decreed that the election of a pope could not begin before his successor was dead. But doubt about the Latin word depositio (which could mean dead, rather than more specifically buried) in Boniface’s legislation left this open to challenge. The Lateran Synod of 1059 confirmed Boniface III’s earlier text, but it was only a little later that it was clarified to say burial (sepultura).
This is also where the idea of a very public papal funeral came in. When Celestine III died in 1198, there was an attempt to get moving with the process to elect Lothar of Segni, who would go on to become Innocent III (1161-1216). Lothar, however, wanted to be present at the papal funeral in Old St Peter’s, so that he could be seen to be honouring the man who would become his predecessor, and so avoid any possible challenges to his motives or, still worse, to his actual election.
We see vestiges of all of this in the papal funeral rites even today. The public attestation of the death of the Roman Pontiff by the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, the convening of the cardinals to be present in Rome for the funeral rites, the lying-in-state of the deceased pope, the elaborate processions not just through St Peter’s Basilica, but outside in the Square: all of these point to the public, liturgical-juridical nature of the papal funeral ceremonies, which are as much about giving due reverence to the deceased Vicar of Christ, as making a very public display of his death so as to avoid any challenges to the election of his successor.
Even in today’s world, this has value real value, as the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI – and the several clarifications about the Office of Pope Emeritus that followed – revealed. Pope Francis’s funeral will introduce some modest simplifications to the papal funeral rites. But these can only ever go so far. The Church needs not just the opportunity to mourn her Holy Father and commend him to God in prayer, but also the more human experience of seeing the transition to the next papacy begin to take place before her very eyes.
Father James Bradley is Assistant Professor of Canon Law at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, where he teaches Liturgical and Sacramental Law.
Photo: Late Pope Francis lies in state in a coffin at St Peter’s Basilica at The Vatican, on April 25, 2025. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP) (Photo by TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images)
The post Friends, Romans, countrymen: a papal funeral is more than the burial of a body first appeared on Catholic Herald.
The post Friends, Romans, countrymen: a papal funeral is more than the burial of a body appeared first on Catholic Herald.
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Site: Zero HedgeStocks Stumble After Trump's China CommentsTyler Durden Fri, 04/25/2025 - 14:00
Stocks are trimming gains after President Donald Trump noted US levies on China won’t be dropped unless “they give us something substantial,” adding that opening up the country would be a “big win.”
He also noted that another tariff pause is unlikely.
Trump says he is “speaking to a lot of people from China” when a reporter asks if he has spoken to President Xi since taking office.
Nasdaq is still less than 2% away from pre-Liberation-Day levels...
Prior to these comments given to reporters on Air Force One as Trump heads to the Pope's funeral, the president told Time magazine in an interview released Friday that 20%, 30% or 50% tariffs a year from now would be a “total victory."
“The deal is a deal that I choose,” Trump said in the interview.
“What I’m doing is I will, at a certain point in the not too distant future, I will set a fair price of tariffs for different countries.”
Headline roulette remains firmly in place as the world appears ready to take China's side against The White House's claims that there are ongoing talks with Beijing.
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Site: Zero HedgeWalmart Opens Channel For Battered Chinese Exporters To "Quickly Expand" In Domestic MarketTyler Durden Fri, 04/25/2025 - 14:00
Walmart in China rolled out a new program this week to support Chinese exporters reeling from President Trump's 145% tariffs on U.S.-bound goods. The initiative offers exporters a chance to pivot their strategy by selling domestically through Walmart's hundreds of stores across the world's second-largest economy.
The new program was announced on Walmart's WeChat account on Thursday and comes in response to the Chinese government's call for the "integrated development of domestic and foreign trade."
Here's a snippet of Walmart's WeChat statement:
Walmart's supplier recruitment system was recently launched, and we sincerely invite high-quality companies with the same values to join us and jointly create high-quality, high-value products for customers. In order to actively respond to the call for the integrated development of domestic and foreign trade, Walmart has opened a green channel for qualified foreign trade companies, simplified the access process, accelerated the approval efficiency, and helped related companies quickly expand the domestic market.
As of 2024, Walmart operated nearly 400 retail stores and clubs across more than 100 cities in China, supported by almost two dozen distribution centers. In the most recent quarter, Walmart reported a 28% net sales growth in the country.
China's Ministry of Commerce has been working with domestic retailers and e-commerce platforms to redirect export-oriented goods toward domestic consumers, aiming to prevent a shock to the manufacturing sector. This initiative also includes JD.com's move to help offload unsold export inventory within the domestic market.
Some of the latest trade headlines suggest China is already under pressure, while the lag in any shock is about to hit the shores of U.S. West Coast ports as soon as next week...
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So, what about the U.S.? Why hasn't Walmart set up an 'America First' campaign to promote products from mom-and-pop companies with patriotic signage such as "Made in America" at stores nationwide?
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Site: Henrymakow.com
Please send links and comments to hmakow@gmail.omMark Carney, 60 is a Communist by virtue of the fact that he is an obedient and willing stooge of the Communist World Economic Forum"Heartbreaking to know that so many folk are sleepwalking about Canada ending up under Communist rule. To date, not much about this in mainstream or social media, but then again, a majority of the Canadian media has been bought and paid for by outgoing PM Justin Trudeau.Mark Carney, 60 is a Communist by virtue of the fact that he is an obedient and willing stooge of the Communist World Economic Forum. He's, in fact, a first class WEF'er.Whatever the WEF says and does, Mark Carney will say and do, including wanting all citizens living under the sick WEF motto: "owning nothing and being happy".Canada is headed on the Highway to Hell, government probe warns'Why this isn't blazing the front pages of every news outlet in the country right now is beyond me,' says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, of a government report painting a plausible nasty future for Canada
Carney think tank planning government control over every aspect if our lives--Trump surrounded by occult Chabad Orthodox Jews.The Grayzone's Max Blumenthal and Aaron Mate on Donald Trump's close relationship with the cult-like, settler-tied Chabad Lubavitch sect, as one of its key operatives is elevated to an administration post.--Trump laundered money for the MafiaThey bought and sold condos in Trump Towers. Trump is a gangster.-
Radical Zionist extremist Ben Gvir spoke at Mar-a-Lago. He told House GOP House Majority Whip Tom Emmer that Israel must bomb Gaza's food storage facilities. Gvir claims Republicans agreed.-Trump Says US Talking With China on Trade After Beijing's DenialTrump is talking up the market by claiming trade talks with China are taking place. China denies this.-China waives tariffs on some U.S. goods, but denies Trump's claim that talks are underwayTrump Administration Texted College Professors' Personal Phones to Ask If They're JewishThe school later told staff it had provided the Trump administration with personal contact information for faculty members.They are spinning this as "antisemitism" when it is the exact opposite. They are seeking to punish "antisemites" and identifying people opposed to Israel's genocidal megalomania.--Trump WH web site is blaming China for COVID lab leak and throws Fauci under the busThe Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2" publication -- which was used repeatedly by public health officials and the media to discredit the lab leak theory -- was prompted by Dr. Fauci to push the preferred narrative that COVID-19 originated naturally.Forgetting Trump is complicit in this hoax.--
Chinese Ambassador To Russia Zhang Hanhui: 'The American Side Has No Idea On How To Build Relations With China'"The American side has no idea how to build relations with China and demonstrates its inability in civilized interstate interaction, while continuing to revel in the policy of forceful pressure and blackmail against the entire world. History and facts will prove that raising tariffs will not solve U.S. domestic problems - it is similar to 'taking a medicine based on a wrong prescription,' which not only will fail in dealing with the [U.S.] trade imbalance, but will also deliver a blow to America itself, disorganizing international trade. The bottom line is: America is sawing off the branch on which it sits.-€55,000 to get migrants to go home? Sweden ups golden handshakes to encourage remigrationSweden wants to pay migrants tens of thousands of euros to leave the country and go homeMigration Minister Johan Forssell confirmed the agreement among the coalition parties and emphasized that the program would include strong oversight mechanisms, telling Swedish news agency TT that the government wants to minimize the risk of people exploiting the allowance by coming to Sweden solely to claim the payment.
The Secret Jewish History of NostradamusThis July 2 will mark the 450th anniversary of the death of Nostradamus (1503-1566), the French apothecary and supposed seer of Jewish origin. Born Michel de Nostredame in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France, his most famous work was "The Prophecies," a collection of four-line texts that purported to tell the future.Quote: "Beneath their skins, Jews keep all their black magic as their most precious treasure. In every era of upheaval, automatically loom up their prophetic traveling salesmen, seers, Jewish oracles...Nostradamus...Cagliostro... Mesmer... Marat... Marx... etc...These are the 'world Hebraic cataleptics'...Their predictions, their warnings, are quite often admirable in correctness and pertinence. They make mistakes, but often they are right on the dot...Thus Nostradamus, around 1620, already announced very exactly the date of your great 1793 Revolution."Reader--"Of course they were on the dot: The Zohar = the curse of Zechariah 5. It is INDEED from the Lord God Almighty."--Muslim Brotherhood are Freemasons and include Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. Netanyahu and Trump are also Freemasons. Get the picture?Jordan bans Muslim Brotherhood after alleged sabotage plot against Hashemite KingdomAmman's Interior Ministry says it will seize Hamas ally's assets, as police surround, search headquarters of Brotherhood-linked party, the largest in Jordan's parliament-
WHO Announces 'Significant' Layoffs Three Months After Trump Halts US FundingTedros insisted that the most significant impact would likely be felt at the organisation's headquarters in Geneva. "We are starting with reductions in senior management," he said."We are reducing the senior leadership team at headquarters from 12 to seven, and the number of departments will be reduced by (more than) half, from 76 to 34," Tedros said.WHO's regional offices would meanwhile be affected "to varying degrees", he said, adding that some country offices in wealthier countries would likely be closed."These are very painful decisions for all of us," Tedros said.An Industry Insider Explains Why the Coming Shortages Are Going to Be So CrazyOur economy literally cannot function normally without Chinese imports, and now most of those imports will no longer be coming across the ocean.-When Was the Bible Written? In the Persian Era", by Michael D. Magee, PhD"The Old Testament is alleged to have been written by Persians in their era of rule by Ezra from old Perisan, Akkadian & Sumerian stories as well as what little might have been known of ancient Israel. It is claimed that Ezra was a Persian official and that this concoction was to help them solidify their empire in Israel.-
Pentagon to allow Trannies to serve; Resume Providing Sex Change Treatments and Surgeries for Transgender Service members and Their Dependents"Service members and all other covered beneficiaries 19 years of age or older may receive appropriate care for their diagnosis of [gender dysphoria], including mental health care and counseling and newly initiated or ongoing cross-sex hormone therapy," the memo, signed by Stephen Ferrara, acting assistant secretary of Defense for health affairs, read."Service members may also receive voice therapy and appropriate surgical procedures," the memo continued. -
Site: Zero HedgeUSDA Directs States To Make Sure Illegal Immigrants Don't Receive Food StampsTyler Durden Fri, 04/25/2025 - 13:40
Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) told states on April 24 to take steps to make sure illegal immigrants do not receive benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), colloquially known as food stamps.
States must at a minimum verify the identity of program applicants, collect applicants’ Social Security numbers, compare the Social Security numbers to the federal government’s Social Security death data, and check whether the applicants are listed in a Department of Homeland Security database as being in the country illegally, John Walk, the USDA’s acting deputy undersecretary for food, nutrition, and consumer services, said in a memorandum to states.
The USDA released a letter from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that advised states that they can now use the Department of Homeland Security’s database for free.
State agencies must also verify U.S. citizenship for applicants “for whom there is an indicia that the applicant’s claim to United States citizenship (whether natural born, naturalized, acquired, or derivative) is questionable,” Walk wrote.
Federal law allows U.S. citizens and some legal immigrants to receive SNAP benefits but prohibits illegal immigrants from receiving food stamps. About 11.7 percent—approximately $10.5 billion—of the SNAP benefits paid by the USDA in fiscal year 2023 were improper, including improper payments to illegal immigrants, the Government Accountability Office said in a 2024 report.
States “did not always verify certain program eligibility requirements,” including citizenship, the report stated.
USDA officials are also encouraging states to require the verification of U.S. citizenship for each SNAP applicant, as the law allows states to mandate verification of certain factors and increase the number of in-person interviews of applicants.
“Benefit fraud is unacceptable in all forms, including use by illegal aliens. This guidance serves as a foundation for future compliance endeavors that will not only deter, but end access to benefits by illegal aliens. I appreciate your attention and assistance in making certain only those eligible receive SNAP benefits,” Walk said in the memo.
Walk cited President Donald Trump’s Feb. 19 executive order directing the USDA to “enhance eligibility verification systems, to the maximum extent possible, to ensure that taxpayer-funded benefits exclude any ineligible alien who entered the United States illegally or is otherwise unlawfully present in the United States.”
USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins earlier this year sent a letter to states that said her guiding principles for SNAP included taking action to minimize fraud and waste while enforcing legal requirements.
“The days in which taxpayer dollars are used to subsidize illegal immigration are over,” Rollins said in a statement on Thursday. “Today’s directive affirms that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will follow the law—full stop.”
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Site: Zero HedgeAmid Worst Start To A Year On Record, Scott Bessent Affirms The Dollar Is Not DyingTyler Durden Fri, 04/25/2025 - 13:20
Despite a growing chorus of pundits claiming the “death of the dollar” is imminent, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the dollar will remain the world’s reserve currency.
The dollar is in the midst of its worst start to a year on record...
The following clip from Bloomberg was based on a speech Scott Bessent gave Thursday morning to the IMF and World Bank:
More broadly, the Treasury secretary reinforced backing for the central role of the US and its dollar in the global financial system.
“I think that the US will always, for my lifetime, be the reserve currency,” said Bessent, age 62.
He also quipped of the global reserve role, saying “I am actually not sure that anyone else wants it.”
As RealInvestmentAdvice.com reports, some believe Donald Trump’s economic policies are designed to end the dollar’s role as the world’s reserve currency.
Scott Bessent clears up such misinformation, affirming the dollar’s status as the reserve currency.
In Trump’s Economic Revolution, we opined on the long-standing Bretton Woods Agreement that made the dollar the reserve currency and how Trump may be steering away from some of the “rules” that evolved since the agreement was signed in 1944.
The agreement and its unwritten rules are economically unsustainable. Trump is rightfully taking action to change them.
However, that doesn’t mean he intends to change the dollar’s status as the reserve currency.
As we summarized in the article mentioned above:
The dollar will likely remain the world’s reserve currency as no reasonable alternative exists. However, the unspoken agreements and promises surrounding the global economy may change drastically.
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Site: LifeNews
Joe Biden, a self-identified Catholic whose aggressive promotion of abortion rights has long clashed with Catholic Church teachings, is expected to attend the funeral of Pope Francis.
The decision will likely draw sharp criticism from pro-life advocates, who point to Biden’s record of supporting unrestricted, taxpayer-funded abortion up to birth as a direct contradiction of Catholic doctrine on the sanctity of life.
Biden has positioned himself as a devout Catholic throughout his political career, frequently attending Mass and invoking his faith in public remarks. However, his unwavering support for abortion up to birth and his radically pro-abortion record as president has placed him at odds with the Church’s teaching that life begins at conception and must be protected. In recent years, Biden’s policies have shifted dramatically toward a more radical pro-abortion stance, including advocating for federal funding of abortions and opposing restrictions on late-term procedures.
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Once a supporter of the Hyde Amendment, which barred federal funding for most abortions, Biden reversed his position in 2019 amid pressure from progressive activists and pushed to force taxpayers to fund abortions. His administration also pushed to codify abortion into federal law, aiming to override state-level restrictions and ensure access to abortion throughout pregnancy.
Pro-life groups have particularly criticized Biden’s efforts to redirect taxpayer funds toward abortion-related initiatives. In 2023, his administration faced backlash for denying Medicaid funds to programs supporting mothers of newborn babies while allocating resources to expand abortion access.
The Catholic Church’s stance on abortion is unequivocal, with Pope Francis himself calling it “murder” in 2021 and describing support for abortion as an “incoherence” with Catholic teaching. Despite this, Biden has continued to receive Communion in some Catholic parishes, prompting debate among U.S. bishops about whether pro-abortion Catholic politicians should be denied the sacrament.
In 2021, Pope Francis reportedly said he would not withhold Communion from Biden, stating that his abortion stance was “between him and God.” However, pro-life Catholics argue that Biden’s public actions demand a stronger response from Church leaders.
Biden’s expected attendance at Pope Francis’ funeral will likely reignite these tensions.
The Vatican typically allows governments to select their representatives for papal funerals, and it has not commented on the decision.
However, pro-life advocates will undoubtedly see his presence as a scandal that undermines the Church’s moral authority
In 2019, Biden met with Pope Francis at the Vatican, where the two discussed climate change and global poverty but reportedly did not address abortion. Some pro-life critics speculated that Francis, known for his pastoral approach, might have privately urged Biden to reconsider his stance, though no such conversation was ever confirmed.
The upcoming funeral, expected to draw global leaders to Rome, will place Biden on a world stage alongside the Church he claims as his own, even as his policies continue to draw condemnation from its pro-life faithful.
The post Pro-Abortion “Catholic” Joe Biden Will Attend Pope Francis’ Funeral appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: Mises InstituteIt is often asserted without challenge that “life is like a race” and it wouldn‘t be a fair race without the same “starting-line.” While this analogy has some truth, it is largely fallacious and more than implies an ever-present state to provide “equal opportunity.”
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Site: Catholic Herald
London is home to more than a million Catholics – so where better than magnificent Westminster Cathedral to gauge the mood of the capital’s faithful over the sad death of Pope Francis and the appointment of a successor?
Under the nave with its huge buttresses and shimmering gold and ruby-red mosaics is a side chapel. That’s where a seemingly endless stream of worshippers stop by to sit and sign books of condolences – some have to wait their turn and the much-used pens keep running out of ink.
The tears may have dried, but it’s clear from this snapshot of London Catholic life that the shock of the Pope’s passing on Easter Monday is still raw.
“Francis was such a good man,” said Constance Wilson, 52, from Battersea, scratching a note in the condolence book. “He reached out to the marginalised and the overlooked. Ordinary folk like me loved him for it. I’ve only just stopped having a little weep.”
A woman signs the condolence book set up in Westminster Cathedral (photo courtesy author) Appointed successor to Benedict XVI in 2013, Pope Francis broke centuries of tradition by making it clear to the world that his was going to be a very different papacy, choosing the name of the radical saint from Assisi who had lived with the poor and championed their rights.
He refused the Apostolic Palace for the Vatican guesthouse and he wore simple vestments, not ornate clothing. As cardinal he took the bus or squeezed into a Fiat 500 rather than a limousine.
RELATED: Creating Francis: the laboratory of Buenos Aires
He broke several taboos like washing the feet of Muslim women and reaching out to LGBTQ+ Catholics, putting himself on a collision course with the traditionalists, but making him popular with the masses.
A commemorative portrait of Pope Francis set up in Westminster Cathedral (photo courtesy author)Nancy Ryan, 55, a retired machinist from Brixton picked up on this connection: “During his lifetime he opened so many doors for the Catholic church,” she smiled. “Personally I wished he’d pushed harder.”
After the funeral and some time soon around the first week of May, cardinals are expected to gather in Michaelangelo’s Sistine Chapel to elect the late Holy Father’s successor.
Francis appointed two thirds of the cardinal electors himself during the last decade, leading many observers to believe the next pope will share his priorities of an inclusive church.
Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin is seen as favorite continuity candidate, although the Archbishop of Manila, Luis Antonio Tagle is also viewed as a frontrunner.
Outspoken Peter Turkson is the most senior African cardinal in the Vatican and is also seen by some as a possible successor.
So who do the Westminster faithful want to emerge as pope when the highly secretive selection process is finally done and puffs of white smoke are released into St Peter’s Square?
Summing up the views of many at mid-morning Mass, Harry Aitkin, 82, from Southwark said: “We want more of the same. Nothing radical, just another man of the people, like Pope Francis.”
Ryan Hall, 22, from Fulham agreed: “Francis connected with so many, probably because he came from humble beginnings. I hope the cardinals elect Francis 2.0 – my worry is they’ll ignore what the people want.”
The cathedral enjoyed Apostolic visits from Pope John Paul II in May 1982 and Pope Benedict XVI in September 2010. In the quiet of the the cathedral’s Clergy House, Chaplain Fr. Hugh Mackenzie reflected on Pope Francis’s standing alongside his two predecessors.
Will he be remembered as one of the great Popes? “It’s too early to know,” replied Mackenzie.
“John Paul was such an inspiration and people tried to call him ‘the great’, but it hasn’t quite stuck. It’s difficult to compare when they’re two different characters. In the light of history we might see a degree of complimentarity.”
Trying to second guess the outcome of the conclave of 135 cardinals eligible to vote is futile according to Mackenzie. “It’s very difficult knowing who they’re going to choose because of the very nature of the conclave and we are trying to rely on the Holy Spirit.
“The tradition must develop – personally I don’t want to see a conservative. I think we could do more now to conserve and stabilise the roots of our tradition in order to move forward, but we don’t want revolution rather than evolution.”
Back in the chapel, after signing the condolence book, Anne Peacock, 79, left for her home that lies around the corner from the cathedral. She said: “To be frank, I don’t care who the cardinals choose as our new pope, as long as he’s a man of spirit and a man of prayer.”
RELATED: Cardinal Müller warns Church risks split if ‘orthodox’ pope not chosen
Photo: People pray as they attend a solemn requiem at the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood, also known as Westminster Cathedral, following the news of the death of Pope Francis, London, England, 21 April 2025. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images.)
The post London’s Catholics react to Pope’s death and prepare for conclave first appeared on Catholic Herald.
The post London’s Catholics react to Pope’s death and prepare for conclave appeared first on Catholic Herald.
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Site: Zero HedgeDNC Chair Rebukes Vice Chair David Hogg's Push To Unseat Incumbent DemocratsTyler Durden Fri, 04/25/2025 - 13:00
Authored by Joseph Lord via The Epoch Times,
Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Ken Martin on Thursday rebuked DNC Vice Chair David Hogg’s plan to fund primary challenges against some incumbents within his own party.
Hogg, a 25-year-old survivor of the Parkland High School shooting and one of the best-known DNC officials, and Leaders We Deserve, a progressive political organization founded by Hogg and others in 2023, announced the intention to primary Democrats on their website on April 15.
After Hogg came out as a leading proponent of the push, Martin was critical, saying that the DNC needed to be a “referee” with its officials remaining neutral on primary contests.
“Let me be unequivocal: No DNC officer should ever attempt to influence the outcome of a primary election, whether on behalf of an incumbent or a challenger,” Martin said during an appearance on Fox News.
“If you want to challenge incumbents, you’re more than free to do that, but just not as an officer of the DNC, because our job is to be neutral arbiters. We can’t be both the referee and also the player at the same time.”
Hogg took the opposite stance in an X thread on Thursday defending the push, saying that he could remain affiliated with the DNC in his official capacity while also working against Democratic incumbents that progressives perceive as weak.
“This moment requires us to have the strongest opposition party possible to stop [President Donald] Trump ... and to provide a real alternative to the Republican Party for voters that we simply do not have right now,” Hogg said.
“As we’re seeing law firms, tech companies, and so many others bowing to Trump, we all must use whatever position of power we have to fight back. And that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
Hogg also said he isn’t breaking any rules by targeting certain Democratic incumbents for replacement.
“The role of the DNC is to set the Presidential primary calendar, set the Presidential debate schedule, to help strengthen our state parties, play a key role in building our data infrastructure for the party, and to be the campaign in waiting for whoever the next Democratic nominee is,” Hogg wrote.
“Nothing I’m doing is at odds with any of that.”
David Hogg talks to people after speaking at the 60th Anniversary of the March on Washington at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington on Aug. 26, 2023. Andrew Harnik/AP Photo
Leaders We Deserve announced the push earlier this month, indicating that they were seeking a change in the status quo.
“Too many elected leaders in the Democratic Party are either unwilling or unable to meet the moment and are asleep at the wheel while Trump is demolishing the economy, challenging the foundations of our democracy, and creating new existential crises for our country by the day,” a page dedicated to the topic reads.
The group said Washington has an incumbent-favoring culture.
“Today’s party politics has an unwritten rule: if you win a seat, it’s yours for life. No one serious in your party will challenge you. That is a culture that we have to break.”
The organization is seeking to replace long-serving incumbents with new, younger Democrats—and have committed $20 million to that end.
“Younger leaders simply bring a different level of urgency that we just aren’t seeing in our politics right now,” the statement said, referencing young Democrats’ perception of urgency on issues like climate or gun control.
“Our politicians have failed to make [democracy] work for the people, and instead made it work for the special interests destroying our future.”
Democrats Search for Identity Post-Trump
The escalating feud fits into a larger identity crisis for the Democratic Party in the wake of Trump’s sweeping 2024 electoral victory, when he took all seven swing states as well as the popular vote.
Since then, Democrats have been scrambling to articulate their platform and stances amid Trump’s much more aggressive second term.
Meanwhile, young progressive Democrats—including figures like Hogg and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)—have increasingly sought to assert a presence over the party.
At the end of the 117th Congress, mounting pressure from younger Democrats led three longtime House leaders—Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), all of whom were octogenarians—to step down, making way for the ascent of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and other younger Democrats.
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Site: non veni pacem
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Site: LifeNews
Right To Life UK is calling for an immediate end to the ‘pills by post’ at-home abortion scheme, after a jury was told that one of the UK’s largest abortion providers, MSI Reproductive Choices (previously Marie Stopes) supplied pills through this scheme, which the jury heard were used to end the life of an unborn baby through an abortion at 26 weeks gestation.
Right To Life UK is alo calling for a full inquiry into the abortion provider, MSI Reproductive Choices, whom the prosecution told the court had provided the abortion pills that were used for the abortion at 26 weeks gestation through the at-home abortion scheme.
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MSI Reproductive Choices runs an at-home abortion scheme under which it sends out abortion pills without an in-person consultation with a medical professional.
Before the introduction of the at-home abortion scheme, women were required to have an in-person consultation with a medical professional and take mifepristone, the first abortion pill used for a medical abortion, under medical supervision in the clinic.
The case outlined to the jury could not have happened had the gestation of the baby been accurately identified by ultrasound or a physical examination during an in-person appointment. If an in-person appointment takes place, the gestation of the baby can be accurately identified, and abortion pills cannot be sent out if the baby is beyond the 9 weeks and 6 days limit for at-home abortions.
This follows the recent case where Stuart Worby was sentenced to 12 years in prison after using pills sent out using the ‘pills by post’ at-home abortion scheme to induce an abortion against her will and without her knowledge. Before at-home abortion schemes were made permanent, MPs warned that the scheme would likely be used to obtain pills that would be used by third parties to perform an abortion on a woman without her knowledge. In-person appointments allow signs of coercion or abuse to be more easily assessed.
52 MPs backed law change to end ‘pills by post’ at-home abortion scheme
Last year, 52 MPs tabled an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill that would have seen an end to the at-home abortion scheme.
The amendment (NC115) was signed by a cross-party group of 52 MPs including former Deputy PMs Thérèse Coffey and Damian Green, former leader of the Conservative Party and cabinet minister Sir Iain Duncan Smith, former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron, former Cabinet minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, Labour MP Rachael Maskell and Maggie Throup, who was the health minister responsible for abortion services when at-home abortion schemes were made permanent in March 2022.
Widespread support for law change
Polling published in the Daily Telegraph shows that 71% of women supported the proposed law change and only 9% are in favour of the status quo. In contrast, only 16% of the public support current proposals to decriminalise abortion.
Over 800 medical professionals signed a letter to all 650 MPs outlining the risks of late-term at-home abortion and calling on MPs to make a law change to end the at-home abortion scheme.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said:
“We are calling for the Government to immediately end the ‘pills by post’ at-home abortion scheme, under which a jury was told MSI Reproductive Choices provided these abortion pills, which were used for an abortion at 26 weeks”.
“We are also calling for a full inquiry into the abortion provider, MSI Reproductive Choices, which the jury was told provided the abortion pills”.
“At around 26 weeks gestation, this baby was a fully-formed human child”.
“If her mother had been given an in-person appointment by MSI Reproductive Choices, where the gestation of the baby would have been accurately identified by ultrasound or a physical examination, this tragic case would not have happened. This baby would still be alive”.
The post Abortion Pill Used to Kill 26-Week-Old Unborn Baby appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: Zero HedgeBeijing Vows To Stabilize China's Sinking EconomyTyler Durden Fri, 04/25/2025 - 12:40
As we have shown on several recent occasions, the US-China trade war is notable in that while the Xi and Trump admins are clearly going at it, their core "support" organizations such as the Fed and PBOC have taken on decidedly different paths: while the Chinese central bank (which is controlled by the communist party) is doing everything to prop up markets and the yuan, and give Beijing the upper hand when it comes to market leverage in the war with Trump, the Fed is doing just the opposite, allowing the dollar to tumble and letting stocks slide, refusing to intervene in the market.
In fact one of the biggest tension points in recent weeks has been Trump's anger at Powell, and his desire to "remove" the Fed chair due to the Fed's reluctance to cut rates now, versus cutting them in September 2024, when the market was at all time highs and the Biden economy was reportedly so much stronger.
China PPT: propping up Chinese stocks literally every day
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) April 17, 2025
Fed's Powell: fuck your calls pic.twitter.com/VGXMNNwccvPerhaps not surprisingly, with every passing day this dynamic only gets more acute, because while the Fed is desperately seeking reasons to avoid cutting rates such as predicting inflation may jump in a year or so - despite increasingly dovish comments from the likes of Fed officials Waller and Hammack who realize that the US would be in recession long before inflation kicks in - China’s leadership overnight vowed to stabilize the economy and society, "as the country is now at a critical stage in handling the unprecedented trade war with the United States."
In an economic-analysis meeting on Friday, the 24-man Politburo, China's main decision-making body headed by President Xi Jinping, said authorities would roll out specific plans to support companies and individuals affected by the trade war.
They pledged to “coordinate domestic economic work with international economic and trade engagements, resolutely focus on doing our own affairs, steadfastly expand high-level opening up, and focus on stabilizing employment, businesses, markets, and expectations”, according to a meeting readout released by Xinhua.
“By enhancing the certainty of high-quality development, we can effectively respond to the uncertainties brought by drastic changes in the external environment,” it said.
In other words, the PBOC will continue doing more of the same, creating a false sense of stability, even as stateside, the Fed encourages the all too real sense of instability.
The Politburo meeting typically sets the tone for the country’s economic work in the second quarter. This year, it has come amid uncertainty over how the world’s second-largest economy will fare in an escalated tariff war with the US while trying to meet leadership’s annual growth target of “around 5 per cent”, after a solid start in the first quarter saw gross domestic product rise by 5.4%, but the growth rate is expected to tumble in coming months.
To boost the role of domestic consumption in driving economic growth, Beijing will strive to increase the income of the lower- and middle-income groups while vigorously developing service consumption, the authorities said. Which is desperately needed since unlike the US, China does not have a social safety net, and therefore how long its economy can remain stressed depends entirely on how long the middle class refuses to revolt.
Beijing will also step up measures to stabilize the housing market, including renovating dilapidated housing in urban areas and refining policies for the acquisition of commercial housing inventory, according to the readout. On the other hand, why Beijing has failed to do this for the past 5 years ever since China suffered a spectacular collapse in its housing sector which crushed the middle class, is anyone's guess. Actually, it's not a guess: the reason why China can not do anything to forcefully stabilize its housing market is because China has way too much debt, and any attempt for massive fiscal stimulus will lead to a quick sugar high... and epic crash shortly after. And Beijing is well aware of this, which is why China has perfected the art of jawboning constantly and doing absolutely nothing.
In response to Trump tariff hikes, China vows to unleash much more stimulus, as it has every week for the past 3 years.
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) April 7, 2025
Luckily, at 330% debt/GDP China has lots of fiscal space for stimulus
Oh wait... pic.twitter.com/UmJL9ZwjnQThere's more: authorities said they will also maintain stability and boost vitality in the capital markets, in other words the PBOC and "National Team" plunge protection teams will be even more active... while Powell goes fishing.
The Politburo reiterated that Beijing would implement a more proactive fiscal policy and moderately loose monetary policy, by accelerating the issuance of government bonds and cutting the reserve requirement ratio and key policy interest rates at an appropriate time.
It will also launch new lending facilities to boost technological innovation, consumption and trade.
To support companies significantly impacted by tariffs, the proportion of job-retention refunds from unemployment insurance funds will be increased, the readout added. “We must focus on ensuring people’s livelihoods,” it said correctly, although it will be short by a few trillion yuan when it's all said and done.
Earlier this week, the International Monetary Fund cut its forecast for China’s economic growth this year to 4%, down from 4.6%, while slashing the US growth outlook to 1.8%, a 0.9% drop from its January projection, as the trade war between the two countries raises the risk of a prolonged decoupling.
And speaking to just how debt-constrained China truly is, the Politburo meeting did not announce any new stimulus measures beyond the budget approved in the National People’s Congress in March, but it "reflects the government’s readiness to launch new policies" when the economy is affected by external shocks, according to Zhang Zhiwei, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management.
“It seems Beijing is not in a rush to launch a large stimulus at this stage,” Zhang said. “It takes time to monitor and evaluate the timing and the size of the trade shock.” Actually, the only reason China is not in a rush to launch a large stimulus, is because it can't: if it does, all it does is buy a few quarters of time before a far more dire crash as deflationary debt-crisis spreads across the country.
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Site: Mundabor's blogYes, you should be outraged at the vulgarity of the idiots taking selfies near the corpse of Francis lying in state. Such a behaviour is really the gutter, from gutter people, that is: from the FrancisCatholics the guy has contributed to form. However, reflect whether such a behaviour would have happened if Francis had been […]
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Site: LifeNews
National Right to Life deeply mourns the passing of David N. O’Steen, Ph. D., who led the organization from 1984 to 2022.
“There are likely millions alive today because of Dr. David O’Steen’s influence and guidance,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “He was a humble man known for his quiet and devoted leadership, but he is a giant among those who have dedicated their lives to protecting the right to life. He will be grievously missed.”
Under Dr. O’Steen’s leadership, National Right to Life developed model legislation and spearheaded the passage of protective legislative measures such as the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, the Unborn Victims of Vilence Act, and the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act.
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“Dr. O’Steen dedicated his life to protecting the unborn, the medically vulnerable, and the elderly,” said Tobias. “He will be remembered for his unwavering commitment.
Dr. David N. O’Steen was born in Greensboro, North Carolina and received his bachelor’s degree from Guilford College. He earned a master’s degree from the University of Georgia and received his doctorate in mathematics from the University of Houston.
Dr. O’Steen was a professor of mathematics and later became department chairman at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota. While in Duluth, he led the Duluth chapter of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL). A brilliant mathematician, in 1975, David made the personal sacrifice of leaving academics to become the executive director of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life.
In 1984, Dr. O’Steen became executive director of National Right to Life, a position he held until December 2022. Dr. O’Steen retired from his role as National Right to Life’s Senior Advisor in January 2024.
The post Pro-Life Leader David O’Steen Passes Away appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: Zero HedgeUS Warns Foreign Nationals Over Birth TourismTyler Durden Fri, 04/25/2025 - 12:20
Authored by Rachel Acenas via The Epoch Times,
The U.S. State Department issued a warning on Thursday to foreign nationals who plan to obtain U.S. citizenship for their children through “birth tourism.”
Tourist visas will be denied to those who travel to the country for the primary purpose of giving birth on U.S. soil, the State Department said.
“It is unacceptable for foreign parents to use a U.S. tourist visa for the primary purpose of giving birth in the United States to obtain citizenship for the child, which also could result in American taxpayers paying the medical care costs,” the State Department wrote on X.
“This is known as birth tourism and U.S. consular officers deny all such visa applications under U.S. immigration law.”
For visitor visas, a foreign national who wishes to enter the U.S. temporarily for business can obtain a B-1 visa. For tourism, they can apply for a B-2 visa. The State Department warned that visa applicants who violate immigration law through birth tourism may be ineligible to travel to the United States in the future.
33,000 Births Per Year
The State Department says that an entire industry has evolved around birth tourism to help pregnant women from other countries come to the country to obtain U.S. citizenship for their children by giving birth on U.S. soil.
According to the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), birth tourism results in 33,000 births by women on tourist visas every year, and “hundreds of thousands more are born to mothers who are illegal aliens or present on temporary visas.” According to CIS, birth tourism in the United States is practiced by people from around the world, especially citizens of China, Taiwan, Korea, Nigeria, Turkey, Russia, Brazil, and Mexico.
The federal government has sounded the alarm over birth tourism due to potential burdens on public resources, criminal activity, and national security risks.
The 14th Amendment states that children born on U.S. soil are automatically granted U.S. citizenship by virtue of birthright citizenship.
Executive Order
On Jan. 20, President Donald Trump signed an executive order seeking to restrict birthright citizenship. However, the directive has been met with legal challenges and halted nationwide by three district courts.
The Trump administration has argued that children of noncitizens are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States, a phrase used in the 14th Amendment, and therefore not entitled to become American citizens automatically.
The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on Trump’s birthright citizenship restrictions in May.
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Site: LifeNews
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a self-professed “Catholic” whose vocal support for abortion has long drawn criticism from pro-life advocates, has been selected to attend the funeral of Pope Francis. Pelosi appears to have been selected by Congressional Democrat leaders.
Pelosi’s selection will undoubtedly spark renewed debate over her standing within the Catholic Church. The decision comes despite her own bishop, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, barring her from receiving Holy Communion in 2022 due to her unwavering advocacy for abortion on demand.
The Vatican, which typically defers to governments on such delegations, has not commented on the decision.
Pelosi, 85, has been a polarizing figure in Catholic circles for decades.
While she frequently cites her faith as a guiding force in her political career, her consistent defense of abortion and infanticide has put her at odds with Catholic teaching, which holds that life begins at conception and that abortion is a grave moral evil.
In May 2022, Archbishop Cordileone issued a public letter declaring that Pelosi was not to be admitted to Communion unless she publicly repudiated her pro-abortion stance. The decision followed years of dialogue between the archbishop and Pelosi, during which Cordileone urged her to align her public positions with Church doctrine.
Archbishop Cordileone reminded Pelosi in the letter: “The Church’s ancient and consistent teaching that ‘from the first moment of conception life must be guarded with the greatest care while abortion and infanticide are unspeakable crimes.’”
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He continued, “A Catholic legislator who supports procured abortion, after knowing the teaching of the Church, commits a manifestly grave sin which is a cause of most serious scandal to others.”
He then cited Canon 915 from the Catholic Code of Canon Law, writing: “Therefore, universal Church law provides that such persons ‘are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.’”
Pelosi eventually bragged about receiving communion elsewhere despite her pro-abortion record.
Pelosi told NCR, “I received Communion anyway. That’s his problem, not mine. My Catholic faith is, Christ is my savior. It has nothing to do with the bishops.”
Her remarks were met with outrage from pro-life groups, who accused her of flouting Church authority while claiming a Catholic identity.
When in Washington D.C., Pelosi regularly attends Holy Trinity Parish in Georgetown and she and other pro-abortion Catholic politicians frequently receive communion there because that church has a liberal position on communion and abortion.
In 2019, Pelosi met with Pope Francis during a congressional trip to Italy, where she received a papal blessing and attended Mass at the Vatican. The meeting drew criticism from pro-life Catholics, who noted that the Vatican did not address her abortion advocacy.
The post Pro-Abortion “Catholic” Nancy Pelosi Chosen to Attend Pope Francis’ Funeral appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: RT - News
Various interests are staked on the outcome of negotiations between Washington and Tehran. If they align just right, all can benefit
The current phase of relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States marks a notable convergence: the return of a moderate tendency to power in Iran coincides with Donald Trump’s leadership in the US, representing a revitalized faction within the Republican Party.
However, the nuclear issue, once briefly regarded as the sole resolved point of contention between the two nations, has resurfaced as the foremost challenge since Trump’s unilateral withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018. While a readily available pretext for political friction, this matter is not inherently alarming given its two-decade history; yet, it remains the linchpin of tensions between Iran and the United States.
A critical starting point for analyzing the challenges in Iran-US relations lies in assessing the positions and interests of key stakeholders.
The Arab states of the region have adopted a markedly softer and more amicable stance toward Iran compared to the periods of JCPOA negotiations, its signing, and the subsequent US withdrawal. Relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain – previously strained for reasons not entirely clear – have evolved into a state of cautious friendliness, if not outright warmth. Given the geographic proximity of these nations to Iran, their deep ties with the United States, Europe, China, and Russia, and their collective influence, this shift carries significant implications for the policies of major powers concerning Iran’s nuclear program.
Israel, by contrast, has consistently viewed any improvement in Iran’s relations with the West, particularly the US, as a strategic red line. Throughout the JCPOA negotiations, its implementation under the Obama administration, and Trump’s first term, Israel exerted maximum effort to undermine any proposed resolution to disputes involving Iran and the US, Europe, or even Arab states. For Israel, the substance of the issue is at most secondary or even nonsense; its utility lies in its potential to securitize Iran, isolating and pressuring it – a goal Tel Aviv* deems sufficiently met as long as this dynamic persists.
Read more
Smoke in Rome: What’s really cooking between Trump and Tehran?
The EU, despite being a large and diverse union of over 20 member states, largely follows the lead of France, Germany, and the UK in foreign policy, two of which hold permanent seats on the UN Security Council. While these nations outwardly advocate for diplomatic solutions, their stance toward Iran has hardened considerably since the 2013-2018 period. Moreover, their exclusive control over the JCPOA’s dispute resolution mechanism – known as the “snapback” – combined with transatlantic divergences, has imbued the issue with an identity-driven, Atlantic-spanning dimension. Consequently, while Western Europe is unlikely to spearhead bold diplomatic initiatives, it retains the capacity to disrupt progress, particularly through the snapback mechanism, motivated in part by these identity-based considerations.
Russia emerges as another pivotal actor. As one of Iran’s most significant partners, having stood by Tehran during sanctions, Russia holds a prominent role in Iran’s foreseeable future, including in negotiations and their aftermath. Compared to the JCPOA negotiation period, Iran-Russia relations have matured, while Moscow’s ties with Washington have entered uncharted territory, shaped by the Ukraine war, Trump’s eagerness to resolve it, personal rapport between the two leaders, and tensions largely stoked by Washington’s European allies. However, historically, Russia neither favors an escalation of Iran-West tensions nor benefits from their complete reconciliation. This duality suggests that Tehran’s policymakers should approach Moscow strategically, ensuring Russia perceives tangible benefits in supporting improved Iran-West relations – a prospect that is far from guaranteed and requires deliberate design.
China, among all actors surrounding Iran’s nuclear issue and broader disputes with the West, stands as perhaps the most distant yet consistent in its declared positions. Beijing profits from sanctions on Iran – albeit indirectly – while also standing to gain from their removal, which would open a relatively untapped market to Chinese investors and contractors. Like Russia, China seeks to prevent heightened Iran-West tensions but does not necessarily welcome excessive rapprochement, which could intensify competition in Iran’s market. For Iran to elevate China’s role from political support to economic and operational engagement, it must astutely align any prospective agreement with Beijing’s interests.
Read more
Somehow, this country is a friend to the US, Iran and Russia – and it’s working
Regional actors, such as Iran’s allies in West Asia – including resistance groups that are not mere proxies but longstanding anti-occupation movements – have never opposed a resolution of Iran’s disputes with the West. With the Axis of Resistance having endured military setbacks over the past year, one of the West’s – and particularly Israel’s – primary pretexts for challenging Iran’s regional role has effectively dissipated.
Before starting the recent negotiations, both Iran and the US employed a carrot-and-stick approach, blending diplomatic overtures with veiled threats. Yet, clinging to outdated policies will not yield innovative solutions in global politics. Western actors, in particular, must acknowledge that Iranian policymakers, seasoned by over four decades of managing a nation under pressure, advancing its development, and navigating critical regional and international crises, are unlikely to be cowed by familiar threats into a weaker negotiating position. Such tactics may instead erode the credibility of the West – and the Trump administration specifically – in pursuing a balanced diplomatic resolution.
This analysis proposes the following actionable recommendations to ensure enough pragmatism and fruitful talks:
- The US must unify its internal stance, ensuring that disparate voices do not undermine painstakingly built progress.
- Both sides should abandon traditional threat-based posturing to bolster negotiating leverage, instead emphasizing transparent commitment to peaceful, diplomatic solutions.
- Trump must curb Israel’s potential to derail an initiative he champions, leveraging his influence as its key backer.
- The US should align its European allies to prevent their statements or actions from obstructing resolution efforts.
- Iran should engage Russia, China, and Europe to minimize unnecessary friction and secure meaningful cooperation.
- Regional Arab states should be enlisted to de-escalate tensions and foster a “strong region” paradigm, moving beyond the “strong state” focus.
- The International Atomic Energy Agency’s positive capacity should be utilized to compartmentalize issues, preventing extraneous matters from derailing potential outcomes.
These steps, if pursued with strategic foresight, could pave the way for a sustainable resolution to a decades-long impasse.
*Russia recognizes West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, as shown on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Consular Department website
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Site: Zero HedgeProsecutors File Notice To Seek Death Penalty For Luigi MangioneTyler Durden Fri, 04/25/2025 - 11:40
Authored by Katabella Roberts via The Epoch Times,
Prosecutors on Thursday formally filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione, the man accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York in December 2024.
The filing, submitted by the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office for the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York, alleged that Mangione “presents a future danger because he expressed intent to target an entire industry, and rally political and social opposition to that industry, by engaging in an act of lethal violence.”
It alleged that Mangione “took steps to evade law enforcement, flee New York City immediately after the murder, and cross state lines while armed with a privately manufactured firearm and silencer.”
Prosecutors filed the notice just one day before Mangione, 26, is scheduled to appear in Manhattan federal court for an arraignment.
Mangione is facing both federal and state charges over the Dec. 4 death of Thompson, a 50-year-old father of two who was killed as he walked outside a hotel in Midtown Manhattan, where UnitedHealthcare was gathering for an investor conference. UnitedHealthcare is the insurance division of UnitedHealth Group.
Mangione, a prep school and Ivy League graduate, has pleaded not guilty to murder, terrorism, and other charges brought by the state prosecutors in New York.
He is to enter a plea for charges of murder and stalking in the federal case against him. If convicted in that case, the jury would determine in a separate phase of the trial whether or not to recommend the death penalty.
Any such recommendation would need to be unanimous, and the judge would be required to impose it.
Attorney General Pam Bondi directed federal prosecutors to seek capital punishment for Mangione on April 1.
In an April 1 statement, Bondi said the death of Thompson, who headed the biggest health insurer in the United States, was a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.”
“After careful consideration, I have directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in this case as we carry out President Trump’s agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again,” she said.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January directing the attorney general to help states obtain drugs to carry out executions and seek the death penalty in specific cases, such as when the crime is severe or involves the murder of law enforcement officers.
Mangione’s lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
His attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, previously described seeking the death penalty for Mangione as “barbaric.”
“While claiming to protect against murder, the federal government moves to commit the pre-meditated, state-sponsored murder of Luigi,” Friedman Agnifilo said.
Mangione is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center, a federal jail in Brooklyn.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) alleged last year that Mangione meticulously planned Thompson’s murder over several months “in an effort to initiate a public discussion about the healthcare industry.”
The killing sparked a nearly week-long manhunt that ended with Mangione’s arrest at a fast-food restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania. According to the DOJ, Mangione was found with, among other things, a 9 mm pistol and a sound suppressor consistent with the weapon used to kill Thompson, as well as multiple fake IDs.
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Site: Catholic Herald
ROME – One of Pope Francis’s most consistent geopolitical priorities throughout his 12-year reign was peacemaking, most notably through his constant push for building bridges, keeping channels of dialogue open and strengthening multilateralism.
The world’s first non-Western pope made it a personal mission to carry forward a “diplomacy of dialogue” in various contexts and situations, from engagement with China to the war in Ukraine and conflict in the Middle East.
He has consistently pushed a strategy of multilateralism as a solution to resolving common issues such as migration and climate change, and while this advocacy was not always appreciated by everyone, he never failed to continue pursuing this agenda.
Now, one of his final acts will come at his funeral Saturday, as some 30 delegations, 50 heads of state and 10 reigning monarchs come together to pay their final respects and bid farewell to a maverick pope that left his mark on the church, and the world.
Most notably, among the attendees will be United States President Donald Trump, accompanied by his wife Melania, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (pictured), who in the past few weeks and months have been unable to occupy the same space without the eruption of some sort of disagreement.
Now, Pope Francis, who was unable to mediate the conflict in Ukraine during his papacy, is successfully bringing many of the various parties involved together for a moment of prayer and remembrance of a man who dedicated his life and his ministry to working for peace.
Heads of state and top dignitaries who have said they will attend the pope’s funeral, including Trump and Zelenskyy, include: Argentinian President Javier Milei; Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; French President Emmanuel Macron; British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Prince William for the UK; and Hungarian President Viktor Orbán.
Others include United Nations secretary general António Guterres; Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni; King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain; President Michael D Higgins and Taoiseach Micheál Martin of Ireland; President of Poland Andrzej Duda; Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and its prime minister, Luís Montenegro; Mexican Interior Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez; and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines.
Notable absentees on the list include Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu, both of whom have outstanding warrants from the International Criminal Court.
Russia will be represented by its culture minister, Olga Lyubimova, and Israel will not send a delegation at all, being represented solely by their Ambassador to the Holy See, Yaron Sideman.
During Pope Francis’s funeral Mass Saturday, heads of state and dignitaries will be seated on the right side, facing the basilica.
Milei, representing Francis’s home country, which he notably never returned to as pope, will sit in the front row, alongside Mattarella and Meloni representing Italy.
Reigning sovereigns will come in the next row, followed by the various heads of state, according to the French alphabetical order of the states that will be represented.
From Wednesday at noon to Friday at noon, some 150,000 people had come to pay final respects to Pope Francis while lying in state inside St. Peter’s Basilica.
While crowds have packed the square to overflowing in the final hours remaining before St. Peter’s Basilica closes at 7p.m. local time, marking the end of the ability to bid Francis one final in-person farewell, roads have already been blocked off and routes secured for the arrival of so many high-profile attendees Saturday morning.
Barriers have been set up inside and outside of St. Peter’s Basilica to control crowds, security checks have been set up, and defense and security measures have been deployed throughout the city, including anti-drone weaponry, no-fly zones secured by fighter jets, and jamming technologies. Anti-terrorism and anti-sabotage units have also already been set up on the ground.
More than 2,000 police officers have been deployed to patrol the area, supported by 400 police officers who will assist in managing the movements of diplomatic convoys.
While every papal funeral draws together the world’s most powerful leaders and is a show of just how relevant and important the papacy is generally, Pope Francis in his final act is accomplishing something he desperately wanted to do, but was unable to, during his life: bringing together individuals and nations with deep-seeded divisions in a context where the focus is not on what divides, but jointly remembering a globally beloved figure respected and esteemed most prominently for his efforts toward peace.
(Photo by ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP via Getty Images)
The post The world leaders attending the Pope’s funeral first appeared on Catholic Herald.
The post The world leaders attending the Pope’s funeral appeared first on Catholic Herald.
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Site: LifeNews
Melinda French Gates said she experienced “almost a crisis of faith” before embracing a pro-contraception stance, citing a “very liberal” priest as a key influence in her decision to diverge from Catholic teaching.
In an April 17 interview on The Jamie Kern Lima Show, the philanthropist and co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation described how her travels to underserved areas exposed her to families living without contraceptives, People reported. Gates recounted hearing from women who experienced pregnancies in rapid succession — some of which led to the loss of a child or even the mother’s death.
“[T]hey would talk about children,” she said, according to People. “And both the men and the women knew that when they could space the births of those children, they were better off.”
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Gates said those stories prompted a personal spiritual conflict.
“I started to realize, I believe in life. I believe in these children’s lives. The worthiness of them, the inherent beauty on the day they’re born,” she said. “But because of a man-made rule in the church that I am in — the Catholic church — we’re not allowing women to have access to contraceptives. And so talk about an incongruency, right? And I had to really then reckon with my faith.”
She described her struggle as “almost a crisis of faith” and turned to scholars at Notre Dame to better understand Church teaching.
Her perspective shifted, she said, after reading the writings of Father Richard Rohr — whom she inaccurately described as a Jesuit. Fr. Rohr is a Franciscan friar and author widely known for promoting progressive theology and spirituality, including positions that diverge from the Magisterium.
“I need to actually unlearn some of these things,” Gates said, “because I can’t square the circle.”
Gates said she ultimately concluded that she believes “in the dignity of life” but felt compelled to speak publicly in support of contraception, believing she had a responsibility to use her platform to advocate for what she called “a tool” for women.
LifeNews Note: Rachel Quackenbush writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.
The post Melinda Gates: A “Very Liberal” Priest Confirmed I Can be Catholic and Pro-Abortion appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: Catholic Herald
ROME – Tradition holds that during the anti-Christian persecution of Roman Emperor Valerian in 258, St Lawrence, when given three days to round up the church’s riches before being executed, sold the church’s vessels and gave the money to the poor.
When summoned by Valerian to deliver the church’s property, wealth and treasures, Lawrence triumphantly appeared, ushering in the city’s poor, crippled, blind and suffering masses behind him.
As Pope Francis is laid to rest Saturday, in addition to the various heads of state, dignitaries and celebrities scheduled to attend, also present will be those to whom he dedicated the entirety of his priestly, episcopal and Petrine ministry: the poor.
Not only will groups of the poor, homeless, migrants and refugees be present at his funeral Mass in the Vatican, they will also be welcomed to his final burial place, the Basilica of St Mary Major, by a group of poor and needy people.
Having chose the papal name Francis after St Francis of Assisi, often called the “Poor Man of Assisi” due to his embrace of poverty and shunning of material wealth, Pope Francis shortly after his election told journalists that he was inspired to take the name when, immediately after the final vote was counted in the 2013 conclave and he knew he’d been elected, a fellow cardinal sitting next to him said, “don’t forget the poor.”
Pope Francis went to great lengths throughout his pontificate to prioritize the poor and those on life’ margins, making his first trip outside of Rome to the Italian island of Lampedusa, a primary destination point for migrants and refugees arriving to Europe, if they survived the dangerous voyage across the Mediterranean Sea.
He was known for hosting lunches with the homeless and poor for his birthday celebrations, eating lunch with them inside of the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall, and inviting them inside of the Vatican Museums, or sending them on beach holidays with the help of his almoner, Polish Cardinal Konrad Krajewski.
Francis gave Krajewski a red hat in 2018, indicating just how high of a priority charitable outreach to the poor was for him. He also repeatedly sent Krajewski on humanitarian missions to Ukraine after the outbreak of war in 2022, delivering ambulances filled with food and medical supplies.
In 2016, after making a last-minute daytrip to the Greek Island of Lesbos, a trip made solely to visit refugees stuck on the island, he took 12 Muslim refugees back with him, including six children. He visited the island again, and its largest refugee camp, in 2021.
He also consistently advocated for the safe and secure passage of refugees from camps into Italy through humanitarian corridors, ensuring a protected route for those with their paperwork in order and help integrating into their local communities.
The Vatican in an April 24 statement said the poor not only hold a privileged place in the heart of God, but “This is so also in the heart and magisterium of the Holy Father, who chose the name Francis so as never to forget them.”
“For this reason, a group of poor and needy people will be present on the steps that lead to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major to give a final farewell to Pope Francis before the entombment of his coffin,” following his funeral April 26.
Pope Francis’s funeral Mass is scheduled to take place April 26, at 10a.m. local time, and afterwards he will be taken by car to Saint Mary Major, where he will be entombed in the Pauline Chapel, which also houses the famed Marian icon, Maria Salus Populi Romani, or Mary, Health of the Roman People, which was one of his favorite devotions.
Attending his Mass, according to the Community of Sant’Egidio, an ecclesial movement dedicated to social justice that Pope Francis was close to, will be a group of poor, migrants and refugees.
In an April 25 statement, Sant’Egidio said members, including top leadership, would attend the pope’s funeral along with “his people, starting with the poor who knew and loved him during the course of his pontificate.”
These people, they said, include refugees who returned from Lesbos on board the papal plane with him in 2016, as well as refugees from a camp in Cyprus who came to Italy through its humanitarian corridors program in 2021, following his visit to Greece and Cyprus.
Homeless individuals will also attend, including many who found hospitality and welcome at the Palazzo Migliori, which was inaugurated by Pope Francis in 2019 and entrusted to Sant’Egidio.
Sant’Egidio indicated that the group of poor and needy who will welcome Pope Francis’s coffin to Saint Mary Major also belong to their community.
(Pope Francis greets two young refugee girls at the Reception and Identification Centre (RIC) in Mytilene on the island of Lesbos on December 5, 2021. Photo by Louisa GOULIAMAKI / POOL / AFP)
The post ‘Poor’ to honour Francis at papal funeral first appeared on Catholic Herald.
The post ‘Poor’ to honour Francis at papal funeral appeared first on Catholic Herald.
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Site: Zero HedgeApple Turbocharges Friendshoring: Your Next iPhone Could Be Made In IndiaTyler Durden Fri, 04/25/2025 - 11:20
Apple is turbocharging its "friend-shoring" strategy, thanks in large part to President Trump's ongoing trade war with Beijing, by initiating plans to shift all iPhone production for the U.S. market from China to India starting next year, according to the Financial Times, citing sources. The move marks a significant step toward diversifying Apple's supply chain away from China, in an effort to avoid tariffs.
The sources said the continued diversification of the supply chain into India may suggest that iPhone production could be ramped up to 60 million units by the end of 2026, or the amount required to satisfy the U.S. market.
Apple still relies heavily on Chinese suppliers for components, but final assembly is being relocated to Indian facilities operated by Foxconn and Tata Electronics. Unbeknownst to U.S. consumers, Apple has already ramped up production of Indian-made iPhones to avoid the 145% tariffs Trump imposed on China.
Daniel Newman of the Futurum Group research firm said Tim Cook's friend-shoring of iPhone production out of China to India (for the U.S. market) "is going to be an important move for the company to be able to maintain its growth and momentum," adding, "We are seeing in real time how a company with these resources is moving at relative light speed to address the tariff risk."
In Trump's first term—or around 2017—Apple began manufacturing iPhones in India, starting with the iPhone SE through its manufacturer, Wistron, in Bengaluru. By 2019, Apple had expanded its manufacturing footprint in the country to begin assembling the iPhone XR, and by 2022, it began production of the iPhone 14 in Tamil Nadu.
The latest data from the International Data Corporation showed that U.S. consumers purchased 28% of Apple's 232.1 million global handset shipments in 2024.
Earlier this month, Trump imposed a reciprocal tariff of 26% on India, although it was paused several days later while New Delhi and Washington negotiators discussed a new trade agreement. U.S. Vice President JD Vance is on a trip this week in India, telling reports that US-India trade talks were making "very good progress."
For more color on Apple's trading partners and latest shipments, the supply chain platform Sayari shows Apple India Private Limited's activity, sourcing mostly from China...
It only took Trump's trade war to get CEO Tim Cook very serious about diversifying supply chains out of China into friendlier countries. While friend-shoring is a must, what about re-shoring?
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Site: RT - News
The US president has given an extensive interview marking his first 100 days back in office
US President Donald Trump has stated that Kiev will never join NATO, suggested that Washington could officially recognize Crimea as Russian, and signaled that he expects the Ukraine conflict to be resolved soon.
Speaking to Time Magazine to commemorate the first 100 days of his second term in office, Trump gave an extensive interview covering key topics such as immigration, tariffs, and the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.
Here’s a recap of what Trump said.
Kiev’s NATO aspirations
Trump stated that Ukraine’s desire to join NATO was one of the key reasons for the escalation of the conflict between Moscow and Kiev in 2022, and stressed that the topic should never have been raised. He emphasized that Ukraine is unlikely to ever actually join the bloc.
His comments echo Moscow’s repeated statements that NATO membership for Kiev would represent a national security threat to Russia, and that its ambitions to join the military bloc were among the root causes of the current conflict.
Read more
Trump’s peace plan triggers ‘concern’ among allies – CNN
Russia’s Crimea
Trump stated that Crimea “will stay with Russia” under a final peace deal on the Ukraine conflict, noting that the peninsula “went to the Russians” many years ago and that “everyone,” including Vladimir Zelensky, understands that its status is unlikely to change.
The US president added that Russian submarines have been present in Crimea “long before any period that we’re talking about, for many years” and that the majority of the peninsula’s residents speak Russian.
Promise to end Ukraine conflict in 24 hours
Trump was asked to clarify his statements during his presidential campaign that he would resolve the Ukraine conflict on his first day in office. The president said he had been speaking “figuratively” and that the 24-hour timeframe was an exaggeration.
Nevertheless, Trump suggested that he was making good progress on reaching a deal and that there have been “very good talks” with the Russian side. “We’re getting very close to a deal,” Trump said, expressing hope that the US could do business with both Russia and Ukraine once a settlement is reached.
Read more
Russia ‘ready for a deal’ with US on Ukraine – Lavrov
Middle East and Iran
Trump confirmed that he has begun direct talks with Iran and that he is open to a meeting with the country’s president or supreme leader in order to reach a deal on Tehran’s nuclear program.
At the same time, Trump suggested that while he would not be “dragged” into a conflict with Iran if Israel chooses to attack it, Washington could still “go in very willingly” if a deal is not reached.
The president also touched on his upcoming trip to the Middle East to meet with representatives of Saudi Arabia, who have agreed to invest $1 trillion in the US economy, as well as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Trump added that he hopes to restart the normalization of Saudi-Israeli relations, building on the Abraham Accords, which he said his predecessor Joe Biden had failed to utilize.
Read more
China refutes Trump tariff-talks claim
Tariffs and trade
Trump defended the reintroduction of sweeping tariffs on foreign imports, insisting they are necessary to protect American workers and industry. He claimed that the US is “taking in hundreds of billions of dollars of tariffs” and rejected concerns raised by economists about their impact on inflation and global trade.
The president also noted that major retailers such as Walmart and Home Depot have backed his trade policies, and said that tariff exemptions for small businesses could be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Immigration policy
Trump reiterated his claim that other countries had been “emptying their prison system” into the United States under the Biden administration. He said his government has resumed large-scale deportations, focused on removing what he called “very rough people.”
Possibility of a third term
Asked to comment on his hints at seeking a third term, Trump said there are well-known ways that could be used for that purpose but refused to discuss the issue further, stating that he “doesn’t believe in using loopholes.”
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Site: Catholic Herald
The death of Pope Francis leaves us with some very different narratives and perspectives of who he was and how we might assess his life and pontificate. We are faced with trying to reconcile some of the many contradictions his pontificate presented to both the Church and the world. One element with a significant degree of confusion is the way the Press understood him.
We are left with the paradoxical impression that he might have been more popular with the secular Press than he was with the Church. He was almost universally celebrated by the media. The response within the Church was a matter of greater complexity.
It was press coverage and the way it chose to celebrate some issues, while closing its eyes to others that appeared inconsistent, that has been critical to the forging of the reputation of Pope Francis when alive and posthumously.
We might well ask why the media, so long suspicious and resentful of Catholicism, has given Pope Francis such a welcome.
The Press depicted Benedict XVI as the hardline “God’s Rottweiler” because his intellectual gifts and personal reserve played poorly with populist sentiment. Had he been judged by some of his work on redistributive economics, the Left might have discovered him as, in terms of social redistribution, one of their own.
It might indicate that the press is driven by feelings and superficial judgements. And as it happened, Pope Francis was masterful in the way that he gave the Press comments that were high octane in the currency of “feeling”, and didn’t trouble them to much over any complexity of content.
It would be too simplistic to assume that it was just that he was making the faith more congenial to their world view by diluting, since looking back, (with the exception of the death penalty) he changed little.
And yet, he did have the capacity for “reading the room” and finding way to touch a populist nerve in a way that gained public confidence and sympathy.
Some of his sound bites were astonishingly effective, even though when they are more closely examined, they don’t stand the weight of scrutiny.
He had in particular, a gift for presenting an image of non-judgemental compassion, with just a hint of a progressive tint that the secular world responded to with an instinctive welcome and crucially without asking too many questions.
His apparent off the cuff remark “who am I to judge?” made during an on-flight informal press conference, might on its own be seen to have come to define his public persona.
Why does secular culture react so powerfully to embrace non-judgementalism when it finds it? In part because its supposed hatred of judgmentalism is a symptom of its rejection of traditional ethics. Ethical restraint interferes with hedonism, and is therefore taboo. And Catholics do restraint.
In the ears of the media, “Who am I to judge” sounds like a signal that Catholic ethics have been abandoned and replaced by the sanction of “all that matters is sincerity”, which along with “intending no harm”, is one of the few ethical standards modernity is willing to tolerate.
In fact, “who am I to judge” was a carefully parsed remark which when read in context carries a very different message from the universal spin placed on it by the media. But the emotional feel of it entirely overwhelmed the contextual limitations and it became a celebratory meme in its own right. It did nothing to change the teaching of the Church, but it gave the impression that the teaching was changed or changing. And the Press delighted in it, ran with it endlessly.
A number of the Pope’s well-tuned remarks became almost catch phrases. In 2013, he movingly declared: “How I would like a Church which is poor and for the poor!” This immediately was seized as an antidote to the public perception that the Church was inexcusably rich and irresponsibly powerful.
Alongside his much-publicised willingness to take public transport as an Argentinian bishop and embrace the marginalised wherever he found them, this was viewed very favourably, and became an indication of his humility and integrity. When he made it known that he would live in Casa Santa Marta instead of the papal apartments, the public celebration of his down to earth values was ecstatic. “People can come only in dribs and drabs (in the official apartments), and I cannot live without people,” he explained. “I need to live my life with others.”
But observers of life in Casa Santa Marta suggested a different narrative was at least partially at work. They pointed out that one of his most prominent personality traits was the need to micromanage. And for this he needed to be kept in touch with people and what people were saying. The scale between gathering information and enjoying gossip is a subtle one, but the need to been informed and remain in control may well have played a significant part, alongside his humility, in his wanting to avoid seclusion and exclusion in the papal apartments.
That humility on closer inspection was a little patchy. But of course, the Press did not offer closer inspection.
There is an unhappy video of a line of well-wishers coming to him to pay their respects and kiss his papal ring. It clearly meant a great deal to those queueing, even if he found it offended his sense of humility. The body language optics were awful. The Pope impatiently was seen whipping his hand away just as each person reached out for it. It looked more like petulance than humility. But then, who are we to judge? Certainly, the Press decided to ignore it.
It is of course true that Pope Francis was assiduous in taking well-judged actions in helping the marginalised when he could. His provision of showers and facilities for the homeless in Rome was once again rightly welcomed, recognised and publicised by the Press. They liked that very much. It accorded with their picture of him. And so, practising a pronounced cognitive dissonance they blanked his remarks on other shibboleths, including and especially abortion. Yet these were as emotionally charged as they were uncompromising and were completely ignored.
Abortion, “It’s like hiring a hitman …”
“… I have had occasion to return to the subject of abortion recently. You know that I am very clear about this: it is a homicide and it is not licit to become an accomplice.”
“… We are victims of the throwaway culture…there is the throwing away of children that we do not want to welcome. Today this has become a normal thing, a habit that is very bad; it is truly murder. In order to truly grasp this, perhaps asking ourselves two questions may help: is it right to eliminate, to end a human life to solve a problem? Is it right to hire a hitman to solve a problem?”
On other controversial issues, he could be and was also crystal clear:
“Gender ideology? It is the greatest danger; it resembles the method with which the Hitler Youth was trained.”
Will there be women priests or deacons? “No.”
Will ecclesiastical celibacy be abolished? “I won’t do it.”
Can gay couples be blessed? “People are blessed, not the union, marriage and family are born from a man and a woman.”
Euthanasia and assisted suicide? “They are practices to be rejected, daughters of the throwaway culture.”
And the rented womb? “It’s modern slavery.”
The many of the obituaries of Pope Francis demonstrate the tension that arose from the mixture of progressive soundbites accompanied by what appeared to a desire to shake the institution while remaining wholly orthodox on certain hot button ethical issues.
There was something to please and infuriate everyone. German progressives were delighted at the ambiguities introduced over gay blessings, and furious that feminist assaults on the diaconate were resisted. Traditionalists were devastated by the unexplained blitzkrieg on the Latin Mass, but reassured by the clarity on abortion. “Who am I to judge” captured the hearts of those who wanted a move towards LGBTQ+ sympathies, but became more problematic when applied to Fr Marko Rupnik’s alleged rape of nuns, and the conniving at the hiding of other clerical sex abusers.
All this too did not fit into the narrative the media built about Francis so it was left largely unreported.
The Press had constructed the public persona of the Pope in their own image, and they were and are reluctant to allow other facts or pieces of information to disturb what they had found so comfortable and comforting. As always, reputation as well as beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
(Archbishop of Barcelona Cardinal Juan Jose Omella speaks to members of the media at the Barcelona cathedral during an impromptu press conference in Barcelona, on April 21, 2025. Photo by Josep LAGO / AFP)
The post The media’s selective understanding of a complexed pope first appeared on Catholic Herald.
The post The media’s selective understanding of a complexed pope appeared first on Catholic Herald.
Brad Butterfield pauses after checking the top of his RV for leaks in Arcata on Aug. 24, 2024. Photo by Alexandra Hootnick for CalMatters
A California lawmaker proposed a bill that would allow California college and university students to sleep in their cars. (Fox News Digital)
At around 7:00 AM on the 24th (local time), a high-ranking official from the Chinese Ministry of Finance (equivalent to the Ministry of Planning and Finance) was seen entering the US Treasury Department headquarters building in Washington, D.C., accompanied by about 10 attendants. The photo shows Chinese attendants waiting for the meeting between the two sides to end. They were wearing ID cards for attending the G20 Finance Ministers' Meeting, and their nationality was written as 'China' on the ID cards. Washington=Correspondent Kang Tae-hwa; 
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Choi Sang-mok, who is visiting Washington, D.C. to attend the G20 Finance Ministers' Meeting and the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC), is greeting Chinese Finance Minister Lan Poan on the 23rd (local time). Courtesy of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. 
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