That Christianity gives joy and breadth is also a thread that runs through my whole life. Ultimately someone who is always only in opposition could not endure life at all.
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Site: RT - News
A prominent Jewish restaurant in Berlin chose to celebrate Israel Day with a joke about the slaughter of Palestinians
A single, small, low-quality do-it-yourself poster recently displayed in the center of Germany’s capital Berlin has caused a minor scandal that has gone against the grain of the country’s usually unshakable support for Israel while the latter is committing genocide.
The essence of the incident is simple: in late April, the Deutsch-Israelische Gesellschaft (DIG) – “German-Israeli Society” – held one of its “Israel Days” in Berlin. In Germany, the DIG is a prominent and powerful organization. Its main source of funding, according to the country’s official lobbying register for 2023, is the German state. The latter’s Federal Agency for Civic Education – in essence, Germany’s office of Centrist ideological orthodoxy and indoctrination – describes it as the country’s “central organization […] where friends of Israel come together in non-partisan cooperation.”
“Israel Day” in Berlin was a largely informal event, really a street party with speeches. To make things even more fun, there was catering by the restaurant Feinberg’s. In particular, Feinberg’s, specializing in what it calls Israeli cuisine – Palestinians recognize many dishes as plagiarized from their tradition – offered a very special melon smoothie.
The poster advertising the drink showed a lion (used by Israelis as a national symbol) wearing an apron emblazoned with the Israeli flag (just to make sure). The lion held two large glass tumblers, one with pieces of melon (an already traditional and well-known symbol of Palestine and its resistance), the other with the finished smoothie and a small Israeli flag.
The background consisted of a pile of melons, often cut open, many featuring instantly recognizable baby faces. The poster’s text said (partly in English and partly in German): “Watermelon meets Zion. Israeli-style watermelon, shredded, mashed, and hacked to pieces.”
An Israeli restaurant in Berlin offers “Israeli-style blended Watermelon, puréed, and chopped to pieces” at an Israel lobby event with faces on the watermelons. Many are interpreting this as a violent fantasy pic.twitter.com/AEHFPmZbBd
— James Jackson (@derJamesJackson) April 27, 2025The watermelons evoked what is known as “Kindchenschema” or “cuteness” (in the scientific sense): an almost universally recognized pattern of features that signals babies and children and – with psychologically normal individuals – stirring deep hormonal and neurological responses of sympathy and care or at least restraint.
The message was obvious and not at all funny: The Israeli “lion” was crushing the Palestinian “watermelons” into an enjoyably refreshing ice-cold and blood-red pulp, available with a “shot” of – presumably celebratory – vodka, too. That the faces on the anthropomorphized “melons” were childlike made everything even more repulsive: clearly, whoever felt this picture was a good idea is not normal enough for the Kindchenschema to work on them.
Read more
Israel issues warning over Palestine recognition
Those who study genocide have long agreed that the deliberate dehumanizing of the victims by propaganda and indoctrination is one of its elementary methods and signs. Those who pretend to fail to recognize a textbook case of such dehumanization in this poster are deliberately obtuse.
The poster was, of course, an unmistakable allusion to Israel’s ongoing combined genocide-ethnic cleansing operation, with its main (though not sole) target the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. That is the place where the majority of Israel’s victims, many of them babies and children, have literally been “shredded” and “cut to pieces” by air raids and bombing as well as systematically starved and deprived of housing and vital infrastructure, especially medical institutions, and, not to forget, their caretakers: it is Gaza under Israeli assault for which doctors had to invent a new abbreviation: WCNSF – wounded child, no surviving family.
In the words of Jonathan Whittall, head of the UN humanitarian office responsible for Gaza, Israel is practicing “deprivation by design” and the “deliberate dismantling of Palestinian life.”
The latest - de facto minimum - death toll among the Palestinians is approaching 63,000. Almost 112,000 victims have been injured, often severely, leading to lifelong consequences, such as amputated limbs. Horrifying as they are, these figures, generated by Gaza’s health ministry – which, contrary to Israeli and Western propaganda, is conservative in its counting – are only the tip of the iceberg. For one thing, a study in the authoritative medical journal The Lancet has long maintained that the real figures are likely to be substantially higher.
Read more
US aid mission in Gaza more disastrous than acknowledged – investigation
Killing, injuring, and maiming are, of course, only one part of Israeli violence. Mass displacement and the literal razing of the Gaza Strip, much of which has been pounded into toxic dust, and deep and pervasive psychological trauma are others. There is no room here to even sketch all the vicious methods of Israel’s genocide or all its horrendous consequences. And as with genocides before, there is also a limit to language: It is hard to even accommodate in ordinary words both what the Israeli perpetrators have been doing, together with their Western accomplices, and the vicious sadism that not a few but many Israelis, in and out of uniform, are proudly displaying.
Yet this is, after all, what Amnesty International – and many others – have rightly identified as a “live-streamed genocide.” Due to the stunning shamelessness of many Israeli perpetrators and the development of modern media and especially social media, this is a genocide in the global public eye as never before.
That is why it is entirely impossible to believe the silly attempts to obfuscate and backpedal now made by the clearly anything but “leonine” creators of the poster. Obviously stung by protests and afraid of possible legal consequences, Yorai Feinberg, owner of Feinberg’s, has retreated to claiming that the melons were meant to stand for – drum roll – “antisemitism,” and that the whole thing was just satire anyhow.
Both claims are offensively absurd: Everyone knows that watermelons stand for Palestine, Palestinians, and their resistance, not “antisemitism.” It may, of course, be that in the unwell minds of the poster’s creators those two things appear to be the same. That would be a classical Zionist delusion as well as a propaganda trick. And still, obviously, a lie.
Read more
US-Israeli hostage released by Hamas
Also, it is very, very hard to explain why things now allegedly representing merely “antisemitism” needed to be drawn with cute, childlike faces. No, this is, let’s print it, for-crying-out-loud bullshit, nonsense of the same evil, brazen sort as the Israeli genociders’ endless, daft lies about Hamas here and Hamas there, whenever they feel – which is often – like bombing yet another hospital, tent encampment, or residential building.
Regarding “satire” – a cop-out publicly endorsed by (surprise, surprise) the DIG – where to even start? If the makers of this revolting picture really felt that they were producing something akin to a “witty” or “edgy” statement, a kind of “joke,” then that simply means that they find “joking” about genocide and especially the mass murder of children “normal.” And there can’t be anything less normal and more morally rotten than such a sense of “humor.” Seriously boasting of mass murder or “just kidding”? You know what: It does not matter – either means you are a monster.
But this scandal involves more than the bloody bigotry of one German and Israeli restaurant. Consider that this was an official DIG event, attended by both its president Volker Beck and the Israeli ambassador to Germany Ron Prosor. They cannot have been unaware of the ‘lion-exterminates-melons’ poster: an Instagram picture showed both of them in front of the stand displaying it.
Beck is a major – if past his prime – politician from Germany’s Green Party, a fanatical supporter of Israel, and, as it happens, also a figure with a less than shining past. He has argued for the decriminalization of “pedosexuality,” that is, de facto the unpunished sexual abuse of minors, a fact he later tried to conceal without success; he has also been caught with serious drugs. Prosor is a veteran Israeli diplomat who does what Israeli diplomats do: Past highlights include attacking UNRWA, a signature move of Israeli aggression against Palestinians designed to cut them off from any support that might disturb Israeli siege and starvation operations. Indeed, Israeli assaults on UNRWA are currently the subject of yet another case against it at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Read more
‘Israel cannot beat Hamas’: Afshin Rattansi challenges Jerusalem Center President Dr. Dan Diker
Recently, Prosor has sought to suppress critical voices in Germany, including Israeli philosopher Omri Boehm, and, for good measure, police German universities by defaming resistance to Israeli crimes and German complicity as “new antisemitism.” How original.
It’s not hard to imagine that both gentlemen saw nothing wrong with that melon-shredding lion and may even have enjoyed a splash of genocide-’joke’ smoothie. And they won’t face any consequences, of course. For – and this is the widest and saddest context of this vile affair – Germany has chosen to side with Israel with a ‘to-the-bitter-end’ obstinacy reminiscent of that other very disappointing Germany that failed to ever stop being loyal to – and fighting for – Nazism until finally stopped by others, mostly the Soviets.
Berlin, the capital, has been at the forefront of this new, as it were, transferred nationalism-without-restraint and Nibelungentreue for pure, obvious evil. Its mayor Kai Wegner has acquired a reputation for genocide denial; its police for brutality against those showing solidarity with Israel’s Palestinian victims. And it is the city where an anti-genocide protester has just been convicted for “trivializing the Holocaust” simply for peacefully holding up a sign saying “Have we learned nothing from the Holocaust?” Clearly, that judge has not.
Against this background of pervasive, dominant ethical perversion, a poster viciously dehumanizing Palestinians came as no surprise. What is intriguing is that this time there has been some protest even, if all too faintly, in some mainstream media outlets. Maybe Germany is not entirely lost yet. Or is it, as before in German history, only a minority that shows decency but cannot change the deeply indecent course of the country’s morally and intellectually kaput elites and the majority still following them?
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Site: AsiaNews.itAlmost 70 million voters cast their ballot in midterm elections for Congress and local government. The outgoing majority in Congress should consolidate its hold. Local elections are a mixed bag with differences and divisions, with local coalition building the name of the game.
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Site: Zero Hedge"A Complete Surrender" - Germany Stops Spying On AfD Party After US PressureTyler Durden Tue, 05/13/2025 - 12:45
Germany’s domestic spy agency has suspended authoritarian surveillance methods of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, and U.S. pressure may have played a role.
The German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), the country’s powerful domestic spy agency, had labeled the AfD a “confirmed far-right organization” before suspending this designation last week. The main reason presented was that the AfD is appealing the designation in court and the agency would wait until this appeal is concluded to decide whether to keep the designation.
However, Germany’s ally, the United States, immediately criticized the designation in some of the harshest language possible, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling it “tyranny in disguise.” That was not all, though. U.S. Senator Tom Cotton, chairman of the powerful U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, then asked Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard (DNI) to suspend intelligence cooperation between the United States and Germany.
According to Cotton, the German authorities’ politically motivated surveillance activities resemble methods used by dictatorships that are unbecoming of a democratic ally.
“Rather than trying to undermine the AfD using the tools of authoritarian states, Germany’s incoming government might be better advised to consider why the AfD continues to gain electoral ground,” he wrote.
I asked @DNIGabbard to ensure that no American intelligence agencies cooperate with German authorities involved in surveiling domestic political opponents.
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) May 7, 2025
These police state tactics are more suited for Russia or Communist China, not Western Europe’s largest country.…This would have represented a drastic break between the two allies and even a threat to Germany’s national security, which raised the stakes in Germany’s authoritarian move to stifle the political opposition. Currently, the AfD is the largest opposition party in the country and for the first time ever, polled in first place last month.
The developments have also caused a major stir in Germany. Alice Weidel, co-chair of the AfD, said American pressure was behind the BfV’s withdrawal of its designation label on the AfD. In addition, Joachim Steinhöfel, a lawyer defending freedom of speech, told NIUS that the move by the BfV is “a complete surrender by the German domestic intelligence service.” He also noted that U.S. influence was vital.
“We also have to thank the Americans for exerting massive pressure,” he added.
Germany often relies on external partners to spy on its own citizens, as Germany features very strict privacy laws. The NSA is thought to be especially active watching Germans. As a result, any U.S. withdrawal from intelligence sharing could have been disastrous for Germany.
The temporary removal of the designation was warmly welcomed by the AfD, as it gives the party breathing room. For one, a vote on the ban of the party has little chance of moving forward without the designation. Second, the designation offered the BfV the legal means to surveil the entire party and its membership without a warrant, including reading emails and chats, as well as flood the party with informants.
"I think it's really too late for a ban. The AfD is already too strong."
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) March 3, 2025
Despite ongoing fears of an AfD ban, @Dieter_Stein, the EIC of the influential @Junge_Freiheit, says it would be "ludicrous."
In fact, he predicts an end to the firewall against the AfD within 1-2 years. pic.twitter.com/We7hIQZrjSNow, German intelligence is being forced to rethink its surveillance policy as political divisions grow. However, if the appeal court agrees with the BfV that the AfD can be labeled right-wing extremist, the same issue may rear its head again. It is unclear how long this appeals process will take, whether months or even years; however, there is a growing chorus from Germany’s left, as well as the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), to ban the entire AfD party.
If that happens, tensions between the U.S. and Germany could soar to new heights.
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Site: LifeNews
President Trump’s U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reached out to the ACLJ after learning from our article about how a hospital was forcing medical professionals to participate in abortions, and now HHS has just launched a federal investigation of the hospital.
The ACLJ is pleased to report a critical development in the ongoing fight to protect the rights of pro-life medical professionals. After we took action on behalf of five ultrasound technicians in New Mexico who were concerned that they would soon be compelled to participate in abortion procedures despite their deeply held religious beliefs, the federal government has now launched a formal investigation into the hospital’s conduct.
This move by HHS marks a major step forward in ensuring that the conscience rights of healthcare workers are respected under the law.
Get the latest pro-life news and information on X (Twitter). Follow @LifeNewsHQ//
As we previously shared, Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque changed its policies in late 2024 to require participation in abortion procedures – even for longtime employees with religious objections. When these five ultrasound technicians expressed their concern about the hospital’s new direction, they were told that refusing to comply could lead to reassignment or even termination.
That’s when the ACLJ stepped in. We sent a demand letter outlining the hospital’s obligations under federal law – including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Church Amendments – which prohibit employers from discriminating against employees who object to participating in abortions on religious grounds.
Soon after, the hospital reversed course and granted religious accommodations to each of our clients.
But that’s not where the story ends.
As a follow-up to our legal action, President Trump’s HHS Office for Civil Rights just announced that it is initiating a compliance review into the hospital’s actions and its adherence to federal conscience protection laws.
This kind of enforcement action is both rare and significant. It sends a powerful message to healthcare institutions across the country: You cannot force medical professionals to choose between their careers and their faith.
We commend the Trump Administration for taking this issue seriously and moving to protect religious liberty in the healthcare context. This review reinforces what we’ve long argued – that federal law means what it says when it promises protection for those who refuse to take part in the destruction of human life.
The Biden Administration rolled back conscience protections in 2022, leaving religious medical workers vulnerable. But this action by HHS shows that federal agencies still have a role to play in enforcing the law when religious medical professionals are targeted for their beliefs.
It also demonstrates the power of strategic legal advocacy. Without our intervention, these five workers may have had to choose between their jobs and following their religious convictions. Because we acted – and because the law is on their side – they kept their positions and their integrity. But not only that – because these brave ultrasound technicians stood up and we defended them, the Trump Administration is now able to take the next step to ensure this kind of thing never happens again. The Trump Administration’s action is only possible because our clients were willing to work with us to take a stand.
The ACLJ will continue defending the rights of pro-life professionals around the country. If you or someone you know is being pressured to participate in abortions or any procedure that violates their faith, we are here to help.
This is a victory not just for five brave ultrasound techs in New Mexico – but also for every person who believes that no American should be forced to violate their conscience to keep their job.
LifeNews Note: Jordan Sekulow is the Executive Director of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ).
The post Trump Launches Investigation After Presbyterian Hospital Forces Staff to Do Abortions appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: Euthanasia Prevention Coalition
This article was published by National Review on May 13, 2025.
By Wesley J Smith
New York is close to passing a bill to legalize assisted suicide. Having passed the assembly, it is currently being considered in the senate.
I read the bill, and much of it consists of the usual obfuscating definitions and pretenses seen in all such proposals. But a few of the provisions struck me as particularly mendacious. First, it defines prescribing poison as a “medical practice.” From S. 138:
“Medical aid in dying” means the medical practice of a physician prescribing medication to a qualified individual that the individual may choose to self-administer to bring about death.
Facilitating suicide is not, and never has been, “medical.” I could prescribe sufficient barbiturates to cause death by overdose. You could too. The only difference is the MD has the right to use the pad and lay people don’t. Indeed, as the Estonian supreme court recently noted while (lamentably) creating a civil right to suicide for any reason, assisted suicide “intentionally causes harm” to the person who dies and “causing death cannot be considered the provision of a healthcare service.”
The bill also engages in blatant language reengineering:
§ 2899-n. Relation to other laws and contracts. 1. (a) A patient who requests medication under this article shall not, because of that request, be considered to be a person who is suicidal, and self-administering medication under this article shall not be deemed to be suicide, for any purpose.
But that is precisely what it is! Death by “medical aid in dying” isn’t natural. It is self killing, intentionally ending one’s own life, i.e. suicide.
And this means that some suicidal people will not be offered suicide prevention — which all suicidal people deserve regardless of the reason for wanting to end it all — even if the actual suicidal ideation is caused by something other than the underlying illness.
More:
Action taken in accordance with this article shall not be construed for any purpose to constitute suicide, assisted suicide, attempted suicide, promoting a suicide attempt, euthanasia, mercy killing, or homicide under the law, including as an accomplice or accessory or otherwise.
The law can redefine a dung beetle into a butterfly, but it still can’t fly and doesn’t consume nectar!
Of course, the legislation requires falsifying vital statistics:
§ 2899-p. Death certificate. 1. If otherwise authorized by law, theattending physician may sign the qualified individual’s death certificate.
Thee cause of death listed on a qualified individual’s death certificate who dies after self-administering medication under this article will be the underlying terminal illness or condition.
But disease will not be the actual cause of death. And remember, sometimes people diagnosed with a terminal illness never die from that condition.
Falsifying death certificates serves two purposes. First, it prevents transparency. Investigators will be unable to access the information they need to conduct independent studies. And second, pretending that some suicides are natural deaths distorts suicide statistics by making it appear as if fewer people killed themselves than actually did.
Dr Lydia Dugdale
I’ll close by recommending an excellent critique of the bill by the physician author of The Lost Art of Dying, published by the New York Times (of all places). From, “There Are Ways to Die With Dignity, but Not Like This,” by L. S. Dugdale:When it comes to conventional suicide, it’s no secret that people who suffer from depression are at greater risk. There is no reason to think that depression is any less of a factor when it comes to physician-assisted suicide. Yet the New York bill, which is modeled on the Death With Dignity law enacted in Oregon in 1997, does not even require a mental health professional to screen patients for depression unless one of the doctors involved determines that the patient’s judgment may be impaired by a psychiatric or psychological disorder.
This is a major oversight that fails to protect depressed people from making flawed decisions. Depression is not just a mood; it distorts perception, often convincing people that their lives are worthless, their loved ones are better off without them and death is their only option.
Indeed. And I know of several cases of terminally ill people backing away from the ledge when they received proper social interventions and were very glad to still be alive.
Here is Dr. Dugdale’s powerful conclusion:
This is not a compassionate policy — not in Canada, not in Oregon and not, should the bill become law, in New York. Instead of investing in the infrastructure of support for the lonely, the depressed, the disabled and the poor, we offer them a prescription for death. We call it autonomy, but it’s abandonment.
The art of dying well cannot be severed from the art of living well, and that includes caring for one another, especially when it is hard, inconvenient or costly. It is not enough to offer the dying control. We must offer them dignity — not by affirming their despair but by affirming their worth. Even when they are suffering. Even when they are vulnerable. Even when they are, in worldly terms, a burden. [Emphasis added.]
I urge you to read the whole piece. And I urge the New York State Senate to vote no on abandonment and yes on greater care. Assisted suicide is bad “medicine” and worse public policy.
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Site: RT - News
The US president has also offered to personally attend the potential peace negotiations in Istanbul
US President Donald Trump is reportedly planning to send his senior envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg to Türkiye this week to attend the potential talks between Moscow and Kiev, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing anonymous sources.
The talks, which are expected to be held in Istanbul on Thursday, were originally proposed last week by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who offered to resume direct negotiations between Moscow and Kiev without any preconditions in order to reach a lasting settlement to the Ukraine conflict.
Vladimir Zelensky has expressed his readiness to engage in dialogue with the Russian side, but has insisted that it be preceded by an unconditional 30-day ceasefire – a demand Moscow has repeatedly rejected. Zelensky has also said that he would only attend the meeting in Istanbul if Putin comes in person.
Trump has also supported the proposal to renew talks between Moscow and Kiev. Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday ahead of his Middle East tour, the US President stated that he might even personally attend the negotiations in Türkiye, especially if Putin decides to attend.
Read more
Not talking to Putin illogical – Trump envoy
“I was thinking about actually flying over there. There’s a possibility of it, I guess, if I think things can happen,” Trump said. “Don’t underestimate Thursday in Turkey,” he added.
Moscow has not commented on the possibility of Putin traveling to Istanbul. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also has yet to confirm who would be representing Moscow during the talks, stating that the Russian president’s decision on the matter will be announced in due time.
According to Reuters, regardless of whether Putin, Zelensky or Trump decide to take part in the talks, Kellogg and Witkoff have been ordered to go to Istanbul on Thursday to attend the meeting. The outlet noted that the two senior advisers will not actually take direct part in the negotiations and will only play the role of observers.
While it’s still unclear if the talks will actually take place and in what form, Peskov has stated that preparations for Thursday’s negotiations are underway. He has also ruled out the possibility of any of Kiev’s Western European backers taking part in the process, arguing that they are “entirely on Ukraine’s side” and “rather pro-war,” which excludes them from being considered “unbiased.”
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Site: LifeNews
Planned Parenthood’s affiliates spent $3.4 million helping women travel for abortion last year, according to a new report from the organization.
Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest abortion provider. Nationwide, its facilities aborted more than 400,000 unborn children last year. Planned Parenthood’s annual report for 2024 brags that its affiliates spent $3.4 million helping more than 12,500 women travel for abortion under its “patient navigation program.”
Planned Parenthood’s regional affiliate owns facilities in Little Rock and Rogers. However, Arkansas’ good, pro-life laws generally prevent those facilities from performing abortions.
But last summer, Family Council learned Planned Parenthood had secretly acquired a facility in Pittsburg, Kansas — a small town within driving distance of Northwest Arkansas.
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The new location in Southeast Kansas opened in August. At the time, Family Council and others expressed concerns that the facility would make it easier for Planned Parenthood to promote abortions regionally to women in states that all have very strong, pro-life laws.
Since then, news outlets have confirmed this new Planned Parenthood facility primarily performs abortions on women from Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Abortion hurts women, and it ends the lives of unborn children. Its risks and its consequences are deathly serious.
Women and families deserve better than abortion. It’s important to prohibit abortion through legislation, but we need to work to eliminate the demand for abortion as well.
One way Arkansans can do that is by supporting pro-life organizations that empower women with real options besides abortion.
Arkansas is home to more than 60 organizations that assist pregnant women — including some 45 pregnancy resource centers that help women with unplanned pregnancies.
The State of Arkansas recently voted to award $2 million in grants to pregnancy-help organizations for the 2025-2026 budget cycle.
That money is going to help a lot of women and children in the coming months — and hopefully it will encourage women not to travel to Planned Parenthood facilities in other states for abortions.
LifeNews Note: Jerry Cox is the president of the Arkansas Family Council.
The post Planned Parenthood Spent Millions Taking Women and Teens to Other States to Kill Their Babies in Abortions appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: RT - News
The ex-Philippines president is currently facing trial at the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity
Former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has won a mayoral race in his home city, according to unofficial election results released on Tuesday. The apparent win comes even as he remains in custody at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, facing charges of crimes against humanity.
Duterte, 80, was arrested by Philippine authorities at Manila’s international airport in March and flown to The Hague, where he is facing trial over his ‘war on drugs’ policy. Under Philippine law, candidates facing criminal charges may run for office unless convicted and all appeals have been exhausted.
Preliminary results showed Duterte had secured more than half a million votes in Davao City – nearly eight times more than his nearest rival. He served as the city’s mayor for two decades before winning the presidency in 2016. Official results are expected within a week.
“Duterte landslide in Davao!” his youngest daughter Veronica posted on Facebook.
The “overwhelming” support Duterte received shows the public’s “total rejection” of efforts to “attempt to stamp out” his legacy, his lawyer said, as quoted by ABS-CBN news agency.
Supporters reportedly chanted his name as early tallies were announced.
Read more
Duterte’s son vows to ‘fight back’ against father’s ICC arrest
The ICC alleges that from 2016 to 2022, Duterte oversaw “death squads” responsible for killing suspected drug dealers and users. He has denied wrongdoing but admitted the crackdown was violent.
Government records show at least 6,200 people were killed in police operations. Rights groups say the real toll could be far higher.
Some human rights advocates have called Duterte’s arrest illegal, noting the Philippines withdrew from the ICC in 2019 on his orders. The court argues it retains jurisdiction over crimes committed while the country was still a member.
His lawyers have filed a petition accusing the Philippine government of “kidnapping” and say the extradition violated both domestic and international law.
Vice President Sara Duterte, his eldest daughter, told reporters after voting this week that she was in talks with her father’s lawyers about how he might take his oath as mayor while in detention. She is widely seen as a leading contender for the 2028 presidential race, despite an impending Senate impeachment trial in July.
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Site: Euthanasia Prevention CoalitionAlex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention CoalitionEleanor Hayward reported for the Times that a poll by Whitestone Insight, a member of the British Polling Council, asked 103 out of 650 MP's how they planned to vote on the Kim Leadbeater assisted suicide bill at final reading.
The bill returns to parliament, from committee, on May 16.
The poll indicated that 42% of the MP's where planning to vote against the assisted suicide bill, 36% supported the bill, while the others were undecided or planning to abstain from the vote.
The Leadbeater assisted suicide bill passed, on November 29, 2024, at second reading by a vote of 330 to 275. This new poll suggests that the vote has shifted.
The Times reported that:
Some MPs have turned against the bill as it has gone through the committee stage, during which the bill lost its requirement for a High Court judge to sign off each assisted dying application. Dozens of MPs are thought to have only backed the bill at its second reading because of this requirement.
Gordon MacdonaldDr. Gordon Macdonald, the chief executive of Care Not Killing, told the Times that:
“The more MPs hear about assisted suicide and what it entails, the less likely they are to support changing the law.
“Clearly MPs recognise that removing the requirement for every application to be overseen by the High Court — part of a formal judicial process with the duty to consider all views and the power to summon witnesses — makes the bill much less safe, while the rejection of amendments aimed at protecting the most vulnerable people in our society is making many people think again.
“This bill was sold to parliament and to members of the public as being the safest in the world, yet the truth is this bill if it became law would put the lives of vulnerable people at risk, exactly as we see in every jurisdiction that has legalised assisted suicide or euthanasia.”To gain back support for her assisted suicide bill, Kim Leadbeater recently urged MPs to back an amendment to the assisted dying bill which would commission a new assessment on the state of palliative care, a move first proposed by the bill’s opponents.Leadbeater doesn't need to amend the bill in order to commission an assessment on the state of palliative care, nonetheless, this is an attempt by her to convince more MP's to support her assisted suicide bill. -
Site: AsiaNews.itThe Election Commission has suspended the registration of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's party over allegations of crimes against humanity after her government cracked down on student protests last summer. The current head of government, Muhammad Yunus, has delayed the vote, while Jamaat-e-Islami and Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh National Party are putting pressure for an early poll.
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Site: Zero HedgeTrump Not Going To Istanbul, As Kremlin Downplays 'Direct' Ukraine Peace TalksTyler Durden Tue, 05/13/2025 - 11:45
The Kremlin on Tuesday affirmed that "the Russian side continues to prepare for the negotiations that are scheduled to take place on Thursday." This after on Sunday Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to resume direct negotiations with Kiev, and proposed the Istanbul talks.
Ukrainian President Zelensky then made a performative gesture - likely more meant to prove to the White House that he's 'willing' - saying he's ready to fly to Istanbul in person and urged Putin to do the same.
Putin spokesman Dimitry Peskov when grilled by reporters on Tuesday downplayed the whole event, describing that direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul later this week are merely "still possible".
As for revealing the line-up for the Russian delegation, and who is expected lead, Peskov said "we will announce it as soon as the president [Putin] deems it necessary."
Despite some sensational recent headlines and statements, one thing we can be sure will not happen is President Putin's personal presence. And per the latest from Reuters, President Trump is not going to be there in Turkey either (after on Monday he actually floated the possibility):
- KELLOGG, WITKOFF ARE HEADING TO ISTANBUL THIS WEEK: REUTERS
- FORMAT OF TALKS IN TURKEY WITH KELLOGG, WITKOFF UNCLEAR: REUTERS
"All of us in Ukraine would appreciate it if President Trump could be there with us at this meeting in Turkey. This is the right idea. We can change a lot," Zelensky had said.
And Trump had responded by saying he was "thinking about actually flying over" – which would have to happen immediately on the heels of his big Gulf visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and UAE.
Zelensky has meanwhile insisted that any talks should be preceded by the start of a 30-day ceasefire – which Washington appears to be backing, but which the Kremlin has already rejected.
Really, all the talk of pushing to get Putin in Istanbul to negotiate in person was about generating mainstream media headlines like the following:
Moscow worries that such a lengthy pause in fighting would only be used by Ukrainian forces to rearm and regroup along the front lines, at a moment they are exhausted and steadily losing ground.
Peskov told reporters further, "[Western] Europe is, after all, entirely on Ukraine’s side. It cannot claim to have an unbiased approach… Its approach is not balanced, it is rather pro-war, aimed at continuing the fighting, which is in sharp contrast to the approach demonstrated, for example, by Moscow or Washington," according to Russian media.
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Site: RT - News
The decision includes potential delivery of Taurus cruise missiles, a government spokesman has said
Germany wants to maintain a “low profile” on future arms deliveries to Ukraine and has refused to publicly discuss the potential delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Kiev, according to a German government spokesperson on Monday.
Extensive public debate of arms deliveries helps Russia, according to Stefan Cornelius, spokesman for new Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Previous deliveries to Kiev under Olaf Scholz were widely debated in public.
“We will also no longer comment on any plans regarding the supply of Taurus cruise missiles,” Cornelius said, “Information about what weapons and ammunition we are supplying should remain open. The situation is different when it comes to such details as the number of specific missiles. This information is not so important for the public, but the Russian aggressor can draw conclusions from it.”
Read more
Western Europe’s efforts a ‘complete fiasco’ – Moscow
The official silence could precipitate the long-debated delivery of the Swedish-German Taurus missiles to Ukraine, which Scholz opposed, citing escalation of the conflict, but which Merz is open to supplying.
Taurus missiles have a 500km operational range, meaning they could be used to attack targets deep inside Russian territory. Moscow has repeatedly warned Berlin that deliveries to Ukraine would make Germany a direct participant in the conflict.
“Since live-firing these cruise missiles is impossible without the direct assistance of Bundeswehr servicemen, a strike on any Russian facilities, critical transport infrastructure... all this will be regarded as direct German participation in military operations,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said last month.
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Site: Henrymakow.comAre nuclear bombs a hoax?Makow Disclaimer - I reserve judgmentby Patrick O'Carroll(henrymakow.com)At circa 53 minutes into this video, Scottish nuclear physicist Steven Young lists his TOP TEN NUCLEAR HOAXES (these being his favorite ten from a whole gamut of even more nuclear hoaxes).Steven notes, "They take you into the quantum world in order to bamboozle you".1. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were non-atomic attacks that were "achieved" using a combo of Firebombs, Napalm, and Mustard Gas, as also shown by Dr Michael Palmer in his 2023 book "Hiroshima Revisited".There was no nuclear fallout at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and no uranium was used in the attacks.2. Nuclear power is based on most likely HARMLESS radiant energy and certainly not "hazardous radioactive decay". In reality, harmless uranium heats water, causing steam from which electricity is generated. The only known "chain reaction" is when something burns. There is no such thing as a "nuclear chain reaction".3. The "Atomic Age" is a hoax based on the Hiroshima and Nagasaki hoax (which was an ad for it). Part of this hoax was the "cold" war, and its bogus threat and artificial atomic "dilemma". "Team Antichrist" made 5 trillion USD dollars off the wholly-staged "cold" war, mostly by selling untested non-nuclear weapons like TRIDENT.
4. The "Radium Girls" was a media hoax dated 1917-24 in which factory workers "suffered bodily disintegration" after close contact with radium they had been painting on the dials of watches and clocks.5. "Cold Fusion" was a 1989 media hoax in which Fleischmann and Pons fused two nuclei together and got a flash. But it was really a flash-in-the-pan that was never reproduced.6. "Hot Fusion" is a hoax about supposedly-imminent "over-unity power generation" that will never materialize and is hence another case of VAPORWARE (i.e. always promised or "on its way" but never actually arriving).7. The Fukushima Hoax was a well-funded and calculated disinformation campaign (and this was often pointed out by James Corbett, who himself lives in Japan).8. The Chernobyl Hoax yet was more disinformation. The reactor kept operating for 14 years after the 1986 disaster. There is no evidence of any nuclear fallout or radioactivity at Chernobyl, but there is some evidence of iodine poisoning. Today's residents of Chernobyl can explain the hysteria in greater detail.9. Particle accelerators are a hoax that do not accelerate particles, but are instead just glorified "giant cathode ray tubes". There are no particles, i.e. this is just electricity. Particle accelerators are also very expensive, yet useless, machines.10. The hoax claiming that stars are "nuclear reactors that manufacture matter in outer space", which is really a claim from the bizarre field of astrophysics, which is basically bogus nuclear theory applied to space, and happens to also be one of the most boring subjects in all of Freemasonic "Science".The graphic (below) suggests that nuclear accidents may in fact be yet another technique (boondoggle) used to rob taxpayer money (the cost of Fukushima being 260 billion USD, and that of Chernobyl being 200 billion USD).SOME HIGHLY SUSPICIOUS THINGS ABOUT ATOMIC PHYSICS1. Nuclear physics is based on the bogus claim that "God Made A Mistake", i.e. that a "bug" in God's System meant that the entire world could be destroyed by "splitting" God's tiniest building-block. It is MUCH more likely that this is a satanic boast by Freemasonic "Science" that their "Prince" Satan "can destroy Creation". This is also akin to Freemasonic "Science" adopting "Big Bang" Theory as essentially "Satan's Own Creation Narrative", which is highly nihilistic since nihilism takes the view that everything happens because of nothing. In addition, Freemasonic "Science" deployed fake-"scientist" Oppenheimer (whose colleagues confirmed "he could not even run a hamburger stand") to make the terrifying (or terrorist) claim, "Now I Am Become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds", which is a line from the Bhagavad Gita, one of the four most-revered books in 33rd-Degree Freemasonry, the full list of four being: The (faulty or incorrectly-translated) KJV Bible; the Koran; the Bhagavad Gita along with the Four Vedas; and "The Book of the Law" by British Satanist Aleister Crowley.2. The theory of "sub-particles" was "proved right the very first time". That is unlikely since the reality of human endeavor mostly involves "two steps forward, and one step back". Originally, atoms were indivisible building blocks (from the Greek "átomos" meaning undivided). Around 1850, fake-"scientists" still referred to atoms as being "like tiny little billiard balls". But then, fake-"scientists" started claiming that atoms could be broken down into "sub-particles". However, the fact that this "sub-particle" theory was then proved to be "true", "right", or "correct" immediately (the very first time and with no setbacks) is massively suspicious, especially since, to this day, no one has ever seen "particles" or "sub-particles" such as atoms, electrons, protons ... More oddly, Freemasonic "Science" claims that 99.99 percent of formerly-"full" atoms is now "empty space".
3. The "Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle" was invented as a SUPER-COVER-UP. Basically, this "principle" states: "No one can see any of our bogus, invented 'particles' or 'sub-particles' because shining any light on them would 'naturally' cause them to immediately vamoose, or depart, or disappear".4. Similarly to the "Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle", Quantum Physics claims the very act of measurement will cause the "quantum-ness" to totally vanish. This implies that when you look away from Quantum Physics, it is "all quantum" but, when you look back at it, it is "obliged" to become real or to hastily re-comply with reality.5. The concept of the "random universe" is false, nihilistic, and a cop-out because Freemasonic "Science" can not claim to be scientific if it keeps asserting that everything happens because of nothing.6. Atomic Physics leads to SOLIPSISM (from Latin "solus" for alone and "ipse" for self), or the idea that only one's mind is sure to exist. Worse still, solipsism bolsters satanic concepts such as "there is no truth" or "truth is in the eye of the beholder", i.e. bogus ideas that were made fashionable by the "Enlightenment" (which may really be a satanic inversion for "En-Darken-ment"). Steven says there is no proof of "alpha particles" (helium nuclei), which unfortunately means that Ernest Rutherford's "discovery" of the nucleus is yet another HOAX. Also, in all of nuclear physics, there is still no evidence whatsoever of any "atom splitting" going on.7. Freemasonic "Science" based its fake theory of the Cosmos on its fake theory of the atom.- to be continued.. -
Site: RT - News
It is “shameless” for the US president to threaten American ally Denmark, Anders Fogh Rasmussen has said
US President Donald Trump should drop his plans to take control of Greenland as its residents do not want to become Americans, former NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has said.
Trump has been talking about making Greenland, an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, part of the US, since winning a second term in the White House in November. He has offered to buy the resource-rich Arctic territory from Copenhagen, but also warned that he could go as far as using force to bring it under Washington’s sovereignty.
“I do not say I am going to do it, but I do not rule out anything,” the US president said of a possible military scenario in an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press earlier this month. “We need Greenland very badly. Greenland is a very small amount of people [around 57,000], which we will take care of, and we will cherish them, and all of that. But we need that for international security,” he claimed.
Read more
EU nastier than China – Trump
Rasmussen, who previously served as Danish prime minister, told Politico on Monday that it is “shameless that an American president can threaten an ally. Denmark is one of the closest and most reliable allies of the US.”
The former NATO boss, who oversaw the military bloc’s disastrous intervention in Libya, destroying the country’s economy, unleashing immigrant flows across North Africa and slave auctions in Tripoli, stressed that he is “concerned” by Trump’s rhetoric regarding Greenland.
He noted that the US already has a right to keep military bases on the island as part of a 1951 treaty.
“The fact is that Greenland is part of NATO. If the US is dissatisfied with the defense of Greenland... we would appreciate a strengthened defense cooperation with the US,” Rasmussen stressed.
However, he insisted that Greenland “is part of Denmark and Greenlanders do not want to become Americans.”
READ MORE: Western states want Ukraine conflict to continue – EU state’s leader
Last week, the Danish Foreign Ministry summoned the acting US ambassador to the country, Jennifer Hall Godfrey, over a report in the Wall Street Journal that Trump had ordered US spy agencies to ramp up their intelligence-gathering efforts in Greenland. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said the meeting was aimed at conveying to Washington that Copenhagen treats the claims “very seriously.”
Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, described the alleged spying activities by the US as “completely unacceptable, disrespectful… and entirely abnormal.”
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Site: LifeNews
A teenager just celebrated her first Mother’s Day during her third trimester of pregnancy, and thanked a local pregnancy resource center for encouraging her and her boyfriend to keep the baby.
Emily was 17, a senior in high school, when she and her boyfriend Brian found out they were expecting a baby. They found Heartbeat of Miami online and decided to go in for an appointment.
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“When me and my boyfriend first came in, we were very scared, very nervous, didn’t know what to expect, and all I could think about was how I was going to tell my mom,” she said.
Emily took another pregnancy test at the appointment which confirmed she was pregnant, and she was distressed.
“Then after they brought me and my boyfriend to a room and I saw my baby on that ultrasound, and it was very emotional. Because, you know, it’s my baby. Me and my boyfriend made that baby,” she said, and she felt elated.
She was nervous to tell her parents, but she said the staff at Heartbeat encouraged her and helped boost her confidence.
Emily’s mother drove to the clinic herself after she found out about the pregnancy, and Emily said that the staff comforted her, her mother, and her boyfriend, who also arrived for the appointment.
“They gave us a bunch of advice and support and made me feel great about having this baby,” she said.
After that appointment, Emily said her mother became much more excited about the new baby.
Emily recorded the video last week, when she was 39 weeks pregnant. She is planning on naming her son Jaden.
“And I’m very thankful and grateful for Heartbeat of Miami and the staff here because they made this happen,” Emily said. “I would never have thought I would be here today if it weren’t for them, and I thank them so much for everything.”
LifeNews Note: Grace Porto writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.
The post Teen Mom Rejects Abortion as Pro-Life Pregnancy Center Helps Save Her Baby appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: Zero HedgeThe Merch-Can-'Til-ListsTyler Durden Tue, 05/13/2025 - 11:25
By Michael Every of Rabobank
The Merch-Can-'Til-Lists
Equity markets soared, as did bond yields and the US dollar, while gold and Bitcoin dropped following the US and China taking down their tariffs by 115 percentage points to 30% for the US (on top of legacy 25% Trump 1/Biden tariffs on 2/3rds of Chinese goods and 25% sectoral tariffs) and to 10% for China for 90 days.
Some say President Trump folded, “because markets.” Or “because neo-mercantilism” as there is nothing market-like in China’s dominance of the production and the staggering trade surpluses it runs. Yet there’s certainly dotted lines being drawn on things to show where folds could go.
On the other hand, markets soared despite tariffs that were unthinkable six months ago. Moreover, Trump claimed China has agreed to remove all non-tariff barriers -- like massive direct and indirect state subsidies and infrastructure -- and underlined that tariffs can go back up again, if not to 145%, if a deal isn’t done by 10 August.
Yet trade partners just saw pushing back at the US can work: why rush to sign a deal like the UK’s --which aims to freeze China out of supply chains-- to then see the US say it doesn’t want to decouple from Beijing, or only in key sectors? That suggests the White House is going to have to breathe fire at someone to make their point. The candidate who fits that bill best might be the EU --if Japan, South Korea, or Canada don’t get there first-- and now the US will be forcing its prescription drug prices down by executive order, with parties like Europe facing higher prices as a result, there are even more issues to clash over. In short, the trade war isn’t over.
At the meta level, we just published a report on neo-mercantilist ideology, which includes both China and Trumpism. Markets are caught between ‘Merch-can-‘til-Lists’, as China cementing itself into supply chains and de-risking from the West remains its grand macro strategy, and acting against it is the US equivalent. Indeed, markets cheering the victory of a non-market economy over a market-driven one, because the latter was mirroring the former, fail to see what’s happening.
The Financial Times reports US Treasury Secretary Bessent secretly met China’s Finance Minister Lan Fo’an in a basement after the IMF meeting three weeks ago: recall laughter at the US claiming to have made contact with China? Apologise if you were one of them.
Chinese Delegation Spotted Entering Treasury Department, Demands Photos Be Deleted: Report https://t.co/CRh07l2K1Z
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) April 25, 2025Oren Cass, also in the FT, underlines liberal neo-mercantilists think the US needs tariffs to push back against state-backed champions supported by illiberal neo-mercantilists: “Perhaps the free-traders are betting on the latter, and would abandon American-style capitalism altogether before allowing so blasphemous a word as “protection” to pass their lips. What they cannot have, in the modern world, no matter how ideal in theory, is free trade and a free market at the same time.” Echoing @izakaminska, he says if the US wins this trade war, we might get free and fair trade in places; and if it loses, we won’t get it anywhere. That markets either don’t see this or don’t care, “because cheap stuff/asset prices” is worth thinking about. A lot.
At the macro level China is accelerating efforts to strip foreign firms from its supply chains. US bookings for Chinese cargo just leaped 35% and firms will surge inventory; but all will be looking for alternative supply to ensure there’s no repeat of the recent de facto embargo. Taiwan’s president just proposed a global “non-Red” supply chain ex-China: but has he looked at his own recently?
Our ocean freight bookings from China to US increased 35% in the first day since the trade deal. A big backlog is looming, soon the ships will be sold out.
— Ryan Petersen (@typesfast) May 12, 2025In short, a 90-day trade ceasefire is likely to restock/rearm and prepare for round 2: just like the Russia-Ukraine version will be.
On which note, Trump says he may join the Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks to be held Thursday in Istanbul…if he’s wanted there more than he is between India and Pakistan, where both sides have claimed victory in their recent military clashes, but the former has clearly set new rules of engagement and things remain tense.
Trump is in Riyadh today. Rumors are he may meet Syria’s ex-Islamist president, whom the US designates a terrorist, and who’s reportedly offering to build a Trump Tower in Damascus - if tall enough, it might be visible from the outer suburbs where government attacks against ethnic minorities are taking place. What other headline-grabbing moves will be made, with what market impact? One thing is for sure: it will be all about geopolitics, realpolitik, and fossil fuels rather than the ‘Liberal World Order’ (LWO) and all things green.
Nearby, the New York Times explains ‘Why Trump Suddenly Declared Victory Over the Houthi Militia’, claiming the Pentagon spent $1bn in 30 days, lost two F-18A fighter jets and seven $30m drones, almost shot down an F-35, and used so many precision munitions it was worrying contingency planners, with CENTCOM’s metric of success being “bombs dropped.” This is an institutional mindset that assumes infinite supply chains and budget deficit and debt limits as if we were still had vintage LWO QE, negative rates, and either total US integration with the Chinese economy or a totally different US economy. The fact we have none of them --and that the US couldn’t defeat the modern equivalent of the Barbary Pirates, whom the infinitely less powerful early 19th-century US could-- should worry markets vastly more than it seems to be doing.
As another indicator of the shift away from the LWO, the UK Labour Party’s PM Starmer yesterday stated mass immigration has failed economically and politically, with declining GDP per capita, lower productivity, and a greater net strain on state finances, while threatening to make Britain “an island of strangers.” This obviously copies rhetoric from the anti-immigration Reform Party now leading the opinion polls. However, the rules and legislation Starmer is proposing will only slow the pace of British net immigration to a still-high level while infuriating left-wing voters, his own MPs, and UK industries from care homes to universities. Meanwhile, counter-terror police are investigating three potential cases of arson linked to Starmer: at his London home, which is let out; another property linked to him; and on in his old car.
Simultaneously, UK pension funds are to unlock up to £50bn of investments, with half reserved for UK firms, under a new “Mansion House accord” with the government. Expect to see a lot more of this “what is GDP *for*?” state leaning on private capital ahead: as our report on neo-mercantilism shows, it’s as much a part of that ideology as tariffs.
There’s less sign of that in the US budget bill emerging from Congress, however, or at least how to pay for it. So far, it seems to be rejecting higher taxes for the wealthy and removing the carried interest loophole “because lobbyists”, while adding no tax on tips and overtime and social security, plus more defense spending, meaning around $1.5 - 2 trillion on top of US fiscal deficits over the next decade.
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Site: Zero HedgeMicrosoft Reportedly Slashing 3% Of Global WorkforceTyler Durden Tue, 05/13/2025 - 11:05
A new report hit the wires late Tuesday morning in New York, revealing that Microsoft plans to implement "organizational changes" impacting about 3% of its global workforce, spanning all levels, teams, and regions.
"We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace," a Microsoft spokesperson told CNBC in a statement.
The Microsoft spokesperson did not specify the number of job cuts or the timing of the changes.
Data from Bloomberg shows Microsoft employed about 228,000 employees worldwide at the end of 2024, implying total cuts could top 7,000.
The report is puzzling since Microsoft reported better-than-expected third-quarter results, which ended on March 31, driven by its Azure cloud business, and issued strong guidance.
MSFT beat on everything...
However, in the first three months of 2025, Microsoft spent $21.4 billion on Capital expenditures, including assets acquired under finance leases, down more than $1 billion from the previous quarter (and below the $22.56 billion consensus).
The spokesperson told CNBC that the latest round of proposed job cuts is unrelated to performance.
In early 2023, Microsoft laid off 10,000 employees. Total workforce growth has stalled since 2022 after exploding every year since 2016.
Meanwhile, MSFT shares are back at record highs ....
Several reports have suggested that Microsoft is scaling back on data center projects, yet the big tech firm has rejected those reports.
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Site: Euthanasia Prevention CoalitionMedia Release - Not Dead Yet UK
Today (Tuesday 13 May), the day on which MSPs will vote on The Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill, Not Dead Yet UK are publishing the results of polling conducted on our behalf by Whitestone Insights in relation to the views held by Scots on the impact of this proposed legislation.
“These statistics show the public share my concerns that legalising assisted dying at a time when health and social care budgets are under sustained pressure is a real risk to people’s lives”
The polling shows significant concern from Scots that introducing assisted dying will have a negative impact on disabled people, and shows even stronger concern from people polled who had disabilities. Online interviews were held between 2 and 7 May reaching 1088 people. 298 self-identified as having a disability.
Over 6 in 10 (62%) Scots agree that disabled people who struggle to access the health, social care and other support they need, given the current state of the NHS and social care funding, may be more likely to seek assisted suicide. This rises to over 7 in 10 (71%) for people polled who had a disability.
Two-thirds of (66%) Scots agree that the Scottish Parliament should prioritise improving access to care for disabled people before considering whether to introduce assisted suicide. This rises to over three (76%) for people polled who had a disability.
Disability groups have made it clear that Holyrood should not introduce assisted dying to Scotland but are being ignored by MSPs who appear to be intent on changing the law. Three-quarters (75%) of Scots agree that the views of disabled people and the groups representing their interests should be properly taken into account in the debate surrounding whether to introduce assisted suicide.This rises to 84% for people polled who had a disability.
Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, said:Comment from Mike Smith, former Commissioner at the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Chair of its Disability Committee and spokesperson for Not Dead Yet UK said:
“It’s clear from this polling that a significant majority of Scots agree that disabled people’s lives will be threatened if this legislation is passed.
Coercion comes in many forms, whether it’s intentional or more subtle. Most Scots agree some disabled people could feel be encouraged to end their lives even if they don’t want to.
The very existence of this wide-reaching legislation itself would send a message from the state that it would be better for disabled people to opt for assisted suicide. This is hardly surprising when two thirds of people agree assisted suicide could be used as a cost-cutting exercise.
In an environment where people struggle to access the health and social care they need to live a life with dignity, this is not the right time to be risking people’s lives.
The mantra of the disability rights movement is “nothing about us without us”. Nearly 90% of those with a view agree, yet many organisations representing disabled people feel their voices have been ignored in this debate.
In the survey results, disabled people were more likely to agree with every single statement.They know the reality of their lives and how hard they can be. Their voices must be heard and their fears not ignored.
Given 80% of Scots agree that improved access to care has to come before assisted suicide is considered, we urge all MSPs to vote against this bill next Tuesday. It is dangerous and will imperil people’s lives. MSPs should be protecting the right to life for the many whose voices are not as loud as the well-funded campaign to change the law.” Highlights
Nearly 6 in 10 (59%) Scots agree that disabled people who feel they are a burden on family, friends or society may feel a sense of responsibility to access an assisted death if assisted dying is legalised. Only 23% disagreed (Question 1a). This rises to two-thirds (66%) for people polled who had a disability.
Over 6 in 10 (62%) Scots agree that disabled people who struggle to access the health, social care and other support they need, given the current state of the NHS and social care funding, may be more likely to seek assisted suicide. (Question 1b) This rises to over 7 in 10 (71%) for people polled who had a disability.
Two-thirds of (66%) Scots agree that the Scottish Parliament should prioritise improving access to care for disabled people before considering whether to introduce assisted suicide. (Question 1c)
This rises to over three-quarters (76%) for people polled who had a disability.
55% of Scots agree to 27% disagree that there is a risk that some disabled people could be or feel encouraged to end their lives even though they do not want to. (Question 1d) This rises to two-thirds (66%) for people polled who had a disability.
75% of Scots agree that the views of disabled people and the groups representing their interests should be properly taken into account in the debate surrounding whether to introduce assisted suicide. (Question 1e) This rises to 84% for people polled who had a disability.
54% of Scots agree, versus 28% who disagree that there is a risk that introducing assisted suicide could be used as a cost-cutting exercise instead of providing more expensive care and support to people who need it. (Question 1f) This rises to two-thirds (66%) for people polled who had a disability.
Another way of presenting - If ‘don’t knows’ are removed:
If ‘don’t knows’ are removed, nearly three-quarters (72.2%) agreed that disabled people who feel they are a burden on family, friends or society may feel a sense of responsibility to access an assisted death if assisted dying is legalised (Question 1a). This rises to 75.6% for people polled who had a disability.
If ‘don’t knows’ are removed, three-quarters (75.7%) agree that disabled people who struggle to access the health, social care and other support they need, given the current state of the NHS and social care funding, may be more likely to seek assisted suicide. (Question 1b) This rises to 80.6% for people polled who had a disability.
If ‘don’t knows’ are removed, 8 in 10 (80.2%) Scots agree that the Scottish Parliament should prioritise improving access to care for disabled people before considering whether to introduce assisted suicide. (Question 1c) This rises to 84.9% for people polled who had a disability.
If ‘don’t knows’ are removed, over two-thirds (67.4%) agree that there is a risk that some disabled people could be or feel encouraged to end their lives even though they do not want to. (Question 1d) This rises to 75.3% for people polled who had a disability.
If ‘don’t knows’ are removed, almost 9 in 10 (89.3%) agree that the views of disabled people and the groups representing their interests should be properly taken into account in the debate surrounding whether to introduce assisted suicide. (Question 1e) This rises to 91.9% for people polled who had a disability.
If ‘don’t knows’ are removed, two-thirds (66%) agree that there is a risk that introducing assisted suicide could be used as a cost-cutting exercise instead of providing more expensive care and support to people who need it.. (Question 1f)
This rises to 74.6% for people polled who had a disability.
Background information
Disabled Peoples Organisations in Scotland have come out strongly against the McArthur Bill.This included the following organisations that have issued a joint letter calling on MSPs to oppose the Bill:- Disability Equality Scotland.
- Inclusion Scotland.
- Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living.
- Glasgow Disability Alliance.
- People First.
- Self Directed Support Scotland.
A Canadian man, Roger Foley, has written powerfully in the ‘Herald’ of his experience as a disabled man living in Canada (where the law changed in 2016):
“As Canada has expanded its assisted dying law, I have faced neglect, verbal abuse, and denial of essential care. I’ve been told my care needs are too much work, and my life has been devalued. Worse still, I have been approached and told by healthcare staff to consider opting for Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD). Instead of offering compassionate support to alleviate my suffering, it is suggested to me that I should end my life.”Scotland cannot follow this path - the risk is too great, regardless of any good intent on the part of Liam McArthur.
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Site: LifeNews
In a joyful turn of events during National Nurses Week and just ahead of Mother’s Day, 14 registered nurses at HSHS St. Vincent Hospital’s Women and Infants Center have shared that they’re expecting babies of their own.
These caregivers, who help bring new life into the world every day, are now preparing to welcome little ones into their own families, a press release from HSHS states.
“This is an incredible full-circle moment for many of our nurses, some of which are about to become first time moms themselves,” said Amy Bardon, director of the Women and Infants Center. “Each of these women were already baby experts in their own rights, but for many of them their firsthand experience offering care to an infant, and moms for that matter, is about to further deepen.”
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The announcement has brought a wave of excitement to the hospital community. Eleven of the 14 expecting nurses recently gathered for photos, marking the unique bond they share not only as colleagues but also as mothers-to-be.
“When our expecting nurses are ready to welcome their little ones into the world, they’ll be cared for by their friends and colleagues here at HSHS St. Vincent Hospital, and they find comfort in that,” Bardon added. “But even before labor, these women have already built some really unique bonds with their colleagues, and I love that each of them has the chance to go through this special moment with each other.”
HSHS St. Vincent Hospital, rooted in a mission of faith and healing, is recognized for its excellence in maternal and neonatal care, according to the press release. The hospital holds Advanced Certification in Perinatal Care from The Joint Commission, and its Women and Infants Center also benefits from close proximity to the region’s only children’s hospital and NICU specialists.
LifeNews Note: Grace Porto writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.
The post Catholic Hospital Has 14 Pregnant Nurses Excite to Have New Babies appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: non veni pacem
“I said the possible unexpected winner would be Prevost ten days earlier on Piers Morgan’s show. I did my research. No one in the betting circles or in the mainstream media was talking about him. But behind the scenes, there was talk of nothing else. They had two problems that he solves. First, they needed to find someone more organized but ideologically aligned with Francis to finish Bergoglio’s radical reimagining of the Church that has abandoned the Latin Mass and traditional pre-Vatican II Catholicism. Second, since MAGA -traditionalist Catholics have been able to cause such a stir in recent years, the flow of donations from the United States has fallen by almost 50%. The Vatican is not in danger of bankruptcy because it has resources, but it has a flow of donations problem, mainly because of the collapse of funding from the US Church and especially from big donors, like the Papal Foundation. Prevost is perfect. He is American but not too much ; he was born in America, but he is more Peruvian, he is close to Liberation Theology. Bergoglio created and selected him for this position. He has been a cardinal for only two years. He put him in charge of the powerful dicastery of bishops to make him known. An American was needed for donors to have access — so they can have their awards, dinners and papal blessings — and for donations to increase, but the American cardinals said in a press conference that he is the least American of them. His brother told the Daily Mail that they had discussed the name Leone before the conclave began. It is impossible for a virtually unknown American archbishop who has spent most of his life in Peru and has been a cardinal for less than two years to come to a conclave and win in the fourth ballot. It was Bergoglio’s globalist Curia. This election is completely rigged . Some Maga Catholics say he met with Cardinal Burke and said he loves the Latin Mass and everything will be fine, but that is not true at all.”
Video: https://www.gloria.tv/post/nUww9CgEejtp4sod3o7a8krj8
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Site: LifeNews
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has launched a compliance review to investigate allegations that technicians employed by a hospital faced possible termination due to their objections to performing ultrasounds used in abortion procedures.
“This matter is the second investigation of an entity’s compliance with laws protecting the exercise of conscience that OCR has initiated during President Trump’s second term,” HHS observed Monday in a press release. “Today’s announcement is part of a larger effort to strengthen enforcement of laws protecting conscience and religious exercise.”
“The Department is committed to enforcement of our nation’s laws that safeguard the fundamental rights of conscience and religious exercise,” said Acting OCR Director Anthony Archeval in a statement. “Health care professionals should not be coerced into, fired for, or driven out of the profession for declining to perform procedures that Federal law says they do not have to perform based on their religious beliefs or moral convictions.”
OCR enforces federal conscience and religious freedom protections “in specific programs funded by HHS federal financial assistance,” HHS explains. An individual can file a complaint online or by mail, fax, or e-mail via the website for instructions.
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Recipients of certain federal funds are prohibited from requiring certain individual providers to participate in procedures that violate their faith beliefs or moral convictions, HHS notes, giving an example of “providing or referring for abortions or assisted suicide.”
Other provisions, pertaining to patients, clarify that “certain programs related to mental health treatment, hearing screening programs, occupational illness testing, and compulsory health care services generally are not to be construed to require patients to receive certain health care services to which they object based on religious or moral beliefs.”
“If you believe that your or another person’s conscience, civil rights, or health information privacy rights have been violated, you can file a complaint with OCR,” the federal health agency’s tip portal states.
In April, the Trump HHS initiated its first investigation into allegations that a major pediatric teaching hospital fired a whistleblower nurse who objected to administering puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children due to her faith beliefs.
While the department does not identify the facilities involved while investigations are underway, that hospital was later revealed to be Texas Children’s Hospital. Nurse whistleblower Vanessa Sivadge came forward with her allegations in June 2024 and was then terminated the following August.
“I witnessed firsthand how doctors emotionally blackmailed parents by telling them that if they did not affirm their child’s false identity, their child would harm themselves,” Sivadge testified to lawmakers. “In particular, I was saddened to see young girls suffering from profound mental health struggles like depression and anxiety, many of whom had also suffered sexual abuse or trauma, persuaded by doctors at Texas Children’s that a hormone would resolve their gender confusion.”
Archeval said at the time: “The Department will robustly enforce Federal laws protecting these courageous whistleblowers, including laws that protect health care professionals from being forced to violate their religious beliefs or moral convictions.”
LifeNews Note: Susan Berry writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.
The post Hospital Threatened to Fire Employees Who Refused to Participate in Abortions appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: Ron Paul Institute - Featured Articles
Because of our strong Christian heritage, most Americans innately believe in being generous to their neighbors. Good neighborliness was central to our country’s founding ethos. Locally and nationally, there are a myriad of groups and organizations that provide support and assistance to people in need. This tradition is an important component of our culture. Consequently, much of our populace believes the United States government is a force for good around the world and an important contributor to world stability. This is a myth.
For decades, this traditional national embrace of generosity towards others has been used by our political and cultural elites to gull the American population into supporting many activities that are anything but generous, and often turn out to be extremely destructive. Over the years, there has been a continuous chorus from the leading elites supporting the false narrative that the United States is doing good around the world—the myth of the “indispensable nation”.
Since the Second World War, American ruling elites have called for numerous military interventions to “save democracy,” protecting some nation from communists, terrorists, fascists, or various reincarnations of Hitler. (Or worse.) The accusations are usually accompanied by shrill calls for the great and indispensable nation to act, to hold the line, or mete out harsh justice to the latest designated evildoer. This nonsense is cheered on by mainstream media outlets. Until recently, average Americans have not had access to any information which would expose the lies and hidden malfeasance behind these claims. Fortunately, thanks to alternative media, that ignorance is rapidly receding.
Americans are now beginning to grasp the fact that most of what we have been told about American foreign policy is materially not true, and that this policy is not benevolent. Contrary to popular imagination, the U.S. has spent decades directly supporting jihadi groups or condoning the support of terrorist groups by our “friends.” The Global War on Terror serves as a convenient excuse for interventions. It has been particularly useful in the Middle East to destroy obstacles to an expansionist Israel.
If we truly wanted to stop terrorism, one of our first priorities should have been to stop funding and arming such groups and inducing our “friends” to stop funding and arming them.
The recent collapse of Syria was a result of the support of the United States, Israel, and fellow NATO member, Turkey, for anti-government jihadi groups. The new leadership of Syria is drawn from the ranks of Al Qaeda. How is that benevolent or “acting as the world’s policeman”? We have been told for decades that Al Qaeda is bad and must be eliminated, and now in Syria we have direct proof of Al Qaeda and related groups being employed as proxies for U.S. “interests.” How is creating another failed state in the Middle East good or in U.S. interests?
It is time to stop allowing ourselves to be duped by deceptive claims of generosity and good intentions, and start to acknowledge and learn from the many disasters our country’s leadership has authored. Jesus told us “you will know them by their fruits.” The list of tragic disasters is quite long, but the following is a sample of the most egregious examples.
During the fighting portion of the Korean War from 1950 to 1953, we killed millions of civilians, and after seven decades, have not officially ended the war. We still have thousands of troops in Korea hindering normal relations between the North and the South. Our troops enforce the blockade which contributes to the starvation of North Korean civilians.
The CIA’s role in the 1953 overthrow of Iran’s duly elected President Mohammad Mosaddegh was the initial cause of strife with Iran before Israel’s Likud government and its cheerleaders decided to start an ever-intensifying campaign vilifying 3000-year old society. (That same campaign has been successful in the destruction of the Palestinians, Iraqis, Afghans, Libyans, Syrians, and other disobedient peoples.)
In the Pacific, the Vietnam War from 1955 to 1975 killed millions in Vietnam and neighboring Cambodia. Cambodia was so destabilized by U.S. bombing that the Khmer Rouge managed to seize control of the ravaged country and killed over one third of their population, on top of the people killed by the U.S. military. Most of what we were told about that war was untrue from the beginning.
Our bad behavior has not been exclusive to the Eastern Hemisphere. Closer to home, numerous American-backed coups and interventions in Central and South America caused instability that continues to trouble those regions today.
In April 1961 the CIA engineered and supported the Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba. It was a complete catastrophe and cemented the Castros’ control, ensuring they ruled until their deaths six decades later. The inexplicable U.S. blockade still causes suffering for the Cuban people.
The Somalian Civil War has been ebbing and flowing since the 1980s, thanks to U.S. money and weapons.
The First Persian Gulf War (1990–1992) was followed by crushing sanctions which caused many deaths and destruction in Iraq, and turned out to be a prelude for the 2003 Iraq invasion.
U.S. intervention in the Kosovo War (1998–1999) killed many civilians. What the military leaders promoting that cruel bombing campaign claimed would last a week at most turned out to be 16 months of death and destruction. It is hard to tell what was accomplished except proving to the Russians that NATO was not a defensive organization, as promised by the George H. W. Bush and Clinton administrations. This is one of the early provocations that eventually led to the present Russo–Ukrainian War.
The 2001 Afghanistan War was the result of America’s decision in 1979 to support Sunni Jihadists’ entry into Afghanistan as a means of destabilizing the Afghan government. Zbigniew Brzezinski, Carter’s national security advisor, wrote that year, “We now have the opportunity of giving to the USSR its Vietnam War.” The plan was designed to force Soviet intervention to protect their southern flank. To the applause of the neocons, the Reagan administration decided to arm and finance the same organizations to fight the Soviets. When the Soviets departed, the freedom fighters—the Taliban—took over. So of course, after September 11, 2001, the U.S. couldn’t resist the allure of another intervention and fought them for 20 years. After years of dishonest claims of success, the U.S. retreated in defeat, leaving death and destruction for the unfortunate Afghans who aided us during the occupation. Sadly, as Scott Horton has pointed out in Fool’s Errand, beginning in 2001 and 2002, the Taliban offered many times to surrender but was continuously rebuffed by Washington.
The Iraq War of 2003 started with the standard-issue vilification campaign. After much death and destruction, there was no evidence of weapons of mass destruction or of support for Al Qaeda terrorists. The many neocon assertions made to justify the war turned out to be false. Nearly a quarter of a century later, we still have troops in Iraq, and the region has yet to recover.
After the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003, Libya signed a cooperation treaty with the George W. Bush administration agreeing to give up their nascent nuclear program and vowed to stop their support for terrorists. The neocons gave victory whoops. Just a few years later the same crowd cranked up the familiar demonization campaign and bombed the Libyan government into oblivion. The remains of the country are now fiercely disputed by rival warlords. The Libyan double-cross is a big reason that Iran will not give up its missiles. Most of the American public is not aware of this betrayal, but the rest of the world is—especially the Iranians.
The Syrian Civil War that started in 2011 was fueled by covert American support. The U.S. claimed to support “moderate freedom fighters” who turned out to include Al Qaeda–allied jihadists. That war appears to have ended, due to the recent collapse of the Syria government; the country is now ruled by former terrorists—but there will be more war coming from this sad example of U.S. cruelty. The American War Party will not let a good tragedy go to waste.
The Russo–Ukrainian War is a continuation of the conflict that arose from the 2014 U.S.-backed coup in Ukraine and is the result of decades of American provocation. These provocations have been carefully documented by Scott Horton in his book Provoked, which shows how decades of policy choices in Washington led to the war in Ukraine; the former CIA analyst Larry Johnson has listed the more recent provocations. After failed treaties and ceasefire agreements, in 2022 Russia invaded. Millions have been killed, wounded, and driven from their homes. The country is being wrecked. To this day, the U.S. is still sending weapons, money, and other assistance to encourage the continuation of that war.
In Yemen, the U.S. is still bombing Houthis after all these years. In 2015, we aided the Saudi bombing campaign. Now the Houthis’ crime is to protest the starvation and killing of the Gazans. The U.S. has spent billions on this project killing civilians. The past year of the failed U.S. military bombing campaign is proof that attacks on much larger Iran would be a complete disaster.
Finally, the Israeli genocide in Gaza escalated intensely in 2023. To this day the U.S. is sending weapons and money to Israel which add to the starvation, destruction, and death. This is in no way generous and benevolent.
Fair use excerpt. Read the whole article here.
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Site: AsiaNews.itThe US president is in Saudi Arabia, the first stop on a regional trip that includes the United Arab Emirates and Qatar (but not Israel). His agenda is centred on business and billion-dollar deals (including weapons), relegating other issues to the margins. Economics and Saudi money overshadow human rights issues and environmental concerns linked to the Red Sea megaproject.
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Site: Catholic ConclaveGerman Archbishop Gänswein wants to play tennis against the PopePope Leo is known for his strong backhand, and Archbishop Gänswein also loves tennis. In 2006, he was secretly photographed playing near the Vatican – now he would like to compete against thThe former confidant of Pope Benedict XVI, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, would like to play tennis with Pope Leo XIV. "Anytime and with pleasure!" Catholic Conclavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06227218883606585321noreply@blogger.com0
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Site: Steyn OnlineThe Mark Steyn Club has just celebrated its eighth birthday. We thank all the First Week Founding Members who've decided to re-up for a ninth season with us - and we hope our First Fortnight members will want to do the same as the week proceeds. I'll be
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Site: Steyn OnlineJust ahead of Episode Twelve of Three Men on the Bummel, thank you again for your kind comments about this caper and all our other Tales for Our Time - and the rest of our content on this The Mark Steyn Club's eighth birthday. Like many readers, Fraser
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Site: LifeNews
House Republicans unveiled sweeping legislation late Sunday that would defund Planned Parenthood for the next decade and prohibit taxpayer funding of so-called “gender transition procedures” for minors under Medicaid.
The bill, part of a broader GOP fiscal package aligned with President Donald Trump’s agenda, includes multiple provisions long sought by the pro-life movement.
Section 44126 bars any federal funds from going to “prohibited entities” that perform abortions outside Hyde Amendment exceptions, which only allow for abortions in cases of rape, incest, or when the mother’s life is at risk.
The ban would remain in place for ten years from enactment.
“Defunding abortion-giant Planned Parenthood, and other abortion facilities, has been a goal of the pro-life movement for decades,” said CatholicVote Director of Government Affairs Tom McClusky. “We have exposed their compliance with fraud, statutory rape, baby body part trafficking, and numerous other abuses, yet never seemed to move Congress to defund. This Congress, and President Trump, deserve high praise for delivering on an overdue promise from the Republican Party.”
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Planned Parenthood reported over 400,000 abortions between 2023 and 2024—an increase of 9,515 aborted babies from the previous year. At the same time, the group’s taxpayer funding surged by over 13%, reaching $792.2 million.
According to Live Action, Planned Parenthood has aborted an estimated 7.1 million babies since 2000 and now commits roughly 40% of all US abortions.
Pro-life legislators have rallied behind the measure. As Daily Caller first reported, a coalition of 183 state lawmakers signed a letter to Congress urging Republicans to use the budget reconciliation process to defund Planned Parenthood.
“[W]e are deeply concerned with the way that big abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood prey on unborn children and hurt women, all while receiving hundreds of millions of dollars from American taxpayers,” the letter reads. “With a Republican trifecta in Washington, it is time to use the budget reconciliation process to defund big abortion providers like Planned Parenthood.”
The legislation also seeks to block federal financial participation in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for “gender transition procedures” performed on minors. The bill would prohibit taxpayer dollars from covering such interventions, including cross-sex hormones and surgeries.
A 2025 American Principles Project report found that $24.6 billion in taxpayer dollars is eligible to cover such procedures, with another $11.1 billion potentially at risk under expanded coverage rules.
Public opinion appears to support the measure. An April 2025 poll found that 65% of likely voters oppose using federal tax dollars to fund gender transitions for minors.
The moves come amid mounting scrutiny over Planned Parenthood’s practices.
Earlier this month, the Department of Health and Human Services released a report identifying Planned Parenthood as a “leading provider” of cross-sex hormones to children. Similarly, Live Action’s latest undercover investigation exposed Planned Parenthood facilities in multiple states for offering these drugs to minors with no therapy, no in-person evaluation, and no parental consent.
The bill originated in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which was tasked with identifying at least $880 billion in spending cuts to offset new federal priorities. The committee has jurisdiction over key programs, including Medicaid.
House GOP leaders reportedly plan to bring the bill to a floor vote on May 26, with markup sessions scheduled Tuesday.
Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-KY, chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, defended the legislation in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.
“Undoubtedly, Democrats will use this as an opportunity to engage in fear-mongering and misrepresent our bill as an attack on Medicaid,” Guthrie wrote. “In reality, it preserves and strengthens Medicaid for children, mothers, people with disabilities and the elderly—for whom the program was designed.
LifeNews Note: Elise DeGeeter writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.
The post Republican Reconciliation Bill Would Defund Planned Parenthood Abortion Biz appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: PeakProsperityIt's another Fat Pipe, packed with weld-bursting news from the world. Let's go...
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Site: RT - News
Edan Alexander has been reunited with his family after the Palestinian group let him go as a “goodwill gesture” to Trump
The last US citizen held hostage by Hamas, Edan Alexander, has been reunited with his family after the Palestinian group released him on Monday.
Hamas said the release was a “goodwill gesture” to US President Donald Trump, who is touring Gulf Arab states this week, as Washington continues efforts to broker a ceasefire between the militants and Israel.
The 21-year-old Israeli-American had been serving in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) when he was captured on the border of Gaza during the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israel. During the assault, approximately 1,200 Israelis were killed and around 250 hostages taken, making it the deadliest day in the nation’s history. In response, Israel launched a sustained military campaign in Gaza aimed at destroying Hamas.
Following negotiations with the US on Sunday – mediated by Egypt and Qatar – the Palestinian group announced that it would release Alexander as part of efforts to reach a ceasefire and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
On Monday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) paused military operations in the Palestinian enclave for several hours to allow Alexander’s transfer. He has since been reunited with his family at an Israeli military base.
US President Donald Trump was the first to announce that Alexander would be released, writing on his Truth Social account on Sunday that it was a “step taken in good faith” by Hamas towards ending the “very brutal war” and returning all living hostages and remains to their loved ones.
The next day, Trump confirmed that Alexander was being let go and congratulated his parents, family and friends. He also shared a video showing his special envoy Steve Witkoff, who personally traveled to Israel to oversee the transfer, giving Alexander’s mom a phone to talk to her son shortly after his release.
Read more
Trump could recognize Palestine – media
Alexander’s family later shared a statement thanking Trump and urging the Israeli government and negotiators to continue efforts to release the remaining 58 hostages.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Alexander’s release came thanks to Israel’s military pressure in Gaza and political pressure by the US president.
IDF fire resumed after the release with authorities in Gaza saying an air strike killed three people and wounded several others at a shelter housing displaced families in Khan Younis in the southern part of the enclave.
Netanyahu emphasized that the temporary pause in military operations was solely to facilitate Alexander’s safe transfer and did not signify a broader truce. He further stated that Israel plans to intensify its military operations in Gaza.
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Site: RT - News
Officials in Brussels have been enraged by diplomatic outreach to Russia, Cypriot politician Fidias Panayiotou has claimed
A member of the European Parliament claims he and other lawmakers who recently traveled to Moscow are facing an EU investigation over their diplomatic outreach to Russia.
Independent Cypriot MEP Fidias Panayiotou visited the Russian capital with other lawmakers during Victory Day celebrations, where he met with the chairman of the lower chamber of the Russian parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin.
In a video posted to X on Monday, Panayiotou said his trip “was not liked at all in the European Parliament, and they have already started an investigation against us.”
Panayiotou has openly criticized the EU’s combative stance on Russia and the Ukraine conflict. He argues that Brussels should prioritize diplomacy over supplying weapons to Kiev.
During last Saturday's meeting, Volodin lauded international dialogue that allows officials “understand each other and come up with decisions important for their peoples and states,” according to the State Duma’s website.
Other guests at the Russian parliament reportedly came from Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Serbia.
Read more
Kiev tried to intimidate foreign leaders in Moscow – Putin
The Moscow visit coincided with Russia’s Victory Day commemorations marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. The event drew 28 foreign leaders, including Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic – both of whom ignored threats from Brussels should they go.
“I consider today’s trip to Moscow to be extremely successful,” Fico said, noting he held talks with senior officials from Brazil, China, and other countries on the sidelines of the event.
Vucic, speaking from Moscow’s Red Square, said he was proud to represent Serbia – an EU candidate – at the ceremony, even though he expected to face personal consequences from the EU for his attendance.
Russian President Vladimir Putin praised visiting foreign leaders who attended Victory Day celebrations, calling them “leaders not through their office, but through strength of character, convictions, and readiness to defend those convictions.”
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Site: Mises InstituteA free market economy does not generate jobs or money. Instead, it creates wealth through exchange and production. Government intervention, contrary to what mainstream economists believe, does not enhance wealth, but instead destroys it.
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Site: AsiaNews.itIn West Java province, an explosion occurred during the controlled detonation of old bombs. A group of civilians, present in the restricted area without authorisation, were caught in the blast—reportedly scavenging for bomb fragments to sell. The explosion is the latest in a long series of similar incidents; another occurred on 9 May. These events raise concerns over the security of military sites.
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Site: AsiaNews.itOn the occasion of the conclave, the Chinese Catholic website has retraced the historical origins of the termjiaohuang, used to refer to the Pope. It was first introduced by the great missionary Giulio Aleni in his 1623 geography treatiseRecord of Foreign Lands. More recently, however, the Catholic community has also begun promoting the termjiaozong, which is seen as more aligned with the spiritual role of the successor of Peter.
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Site: Zero HedgeUnitedHealth Group Shares Plunge On Abrupt CEO Exit, Suspends 2025 OutlookTyler Durden Tue, 05/13/2025 - 08:55
Shares of UnitedHealth Group tumbled in premarket trading after the insurer announced the sudden resignation of CEO Andrew Witty and the suspension of its 2025 financial outlook.
UnitedHealth Group appointed Stephen Hemsley, its board chairman and former CEO (2006-2017), as its new CEO, replacing Andrew Witty, who stepped down for personal reasons.
"We are grateful for Andrew's stewardship of UnitedHealth Group, especially during some of the most challenging times any company has ever faced," Hemsley said, adding, "The Board and I have greatly valued his leadership and compassion as chief executive and as a director and wish him and his family the best."
The major health insurer also suspended its 2025 financial outlook, citing higher-than-expected medical expenditures:
Additionally, the company suspended its 2025 outlook as care activity continued to accelerate while also broadening to more types of benefit offerings than seen in the first quarter, and the medical costs of many Medicare Advantage beneficiaries new to UnitedHealthcare remained higher than expected.
In April, UnitedHealth Group reported weaker-than-expected Q1 results and issued a significant downward revision to its full-year guidance, citing higher-than-expected Medicare needs. This was the insurer's first earnings miss in over a decade.
UnitedHealth Group expects to return to growth in 2026...
"UnitedHealth Group has tremendous opportunities to grow as we continue to help improve health care and to perform to our potential — and, in so doing, return to our long-term growth objective of 13 to 16 percent," the new CEO said.
As of Monday's close, UnitedHealth Group shares are locked in a bear market, down 25% for the year. News of the sudden CEO resignation and suspended outlook pushed the stock down another 10% in premarket trading—sending shares to a four-year low if losses hold into the cash session.
Just to clarify: UnitedHealthcare is the health benefits business of UnitedHealth Group.
In premarket trading, the shares of peers Elevance Health, CVS Health, and Humana all fell between 2 and 4%. Cigna and Centene fell between 1% and 2%.
Here are the first takes on the news via Wall Street banks (courtesy of Bloomberg):
Mizuho, Ann Hynes (outperform)
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Says the suspension of the guidance is surprising
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"Given the recent challenges the company has faced, a change in management was expected"
Leerink Partners, Whit Mayo (outperform)
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Says the suspension of the 2025 guide due to a continuation of excessively high care activity "is more concerning and likely to weigh considerably on forward forecasts and the valuation"
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Adds that the CEO transition to former head Stephen Hemsley "doesn't strike us terribly surprising in light of recent business developments and deterioration in investor trust"
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"Perhaps the suspended guide is simply for Mr. Hemsley to settle into the role, figure out trend, and begin the process of reestablishing some credibility with the investor community"
Bloomberg Intelligence, Glen Losev
- Says the outlook suspension is "is puzzling but is likely a part of a broader effort to turn the page"
RBC Capital Markets, Ben Hendrix (neutral)
- "While UNH cites personal reasons for Witty's departure, we are not overly surprised to see a change in guard amid weaker Medicare Advantage performance and critical press headlines emerging late last year"
On Monday, President Trump pushed ahead with his pledge to eliminate drug industry middlemen, which sent shares of Cigna, CVS Health, and UNH lower.
The new NPC narrative pic.twitter.com/NadxAuiYj5
— Planet Of Memes (@PlanetOfMemes) May 12, 2025Rough times for the healthcare industry...
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Site: Zero HedgeDespite Mainstream Panic, US Consumer Price Inflation Tumbles To Lowest In Over 4 YearsTyler Durden Tue, 05/13/2025 - 08:40
While today's CPI will be far less relevant now that the entire macro picture has been reset after this weekend's trade war truce - which cut tariffs between US and China by 115% for 90 days...
...thus making any pre/post CPI number comparisons meaningless apples to oranges, the machines will certainly be reacting to what Bloomberg prints in the flashing red headline at 8:30am ET.
As we detailed here, higher-than expected inflation data is likely to accelerate the increase in yields spurred by the easing in trade tensions with China.
As Bloomberg's Alyce Andres notes, survey data ahead of Tuesday’s April CPI report sends a clear message that firms passed rising tariff-linked costs on to consumers.
Higher Prices
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ISM Manufacturing prices expanded to 69.8, the highest since June 2022.
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ISM Services ticked up to 65.1 in April, the highest since January 2023.
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S&P Global US Manufacturing firms increased their output prices by the greatest degree since early 2023.
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S&P Global US Services prices advanced.
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Richmond Fed manufacturing showed prices received rose to 2.65 from 2.34 in March.
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New York Fed manufacturing prices received edged up to 28.7 from 22.4 in March.
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Philadelphia Fed manufacturing report showed prices received gained to 30.7 compared to 29.8 in March.
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Kansas City Fed manufacturing prices received surged to 29, up from 15 in March.
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Kansas City Fed non-manufacturing showed selling prices rose in April.
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Dallas Fed manufacturing outlook report showed prices received for finished goods advanced to 14.9, up from 6.3 in March.
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Dallas Fed services selling prices rose to 8.4 from 5.2 in the prior month.
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Chicago PMI showed prices expanded at a faster pace in April.
Lower Prices:
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New York Fed services report showed prices received declined to 26.0 from 28.7 in March.
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Philadelphia Fed non-manufacturing data reflected a plunge in prices received to -0.1 from 8.4 in in the prior month.
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Richmond Services prices received nudged down to 3.03 compared to 3.68 in March.
Optically, inflation indicators (hard, not soft survey) have notably deflated in the last month...
Source: Bloomberg
So, what did we get - did the 'soft' survey data once again completely decouple from the reality of 'hard' actual data?
SHOCKER - Despite the panic from the establishment, headline CPI disappointed, rising 0.2% MoM (below the +0.3% exp), pulling the headline down to +2.3% YoY (below the 2.4% exp) - the lowest since February 2021...
Source: Bloomberg
That's quite a difference from the Democrat-sponsored surge in UMich inflation expectations (something it appears Democrats were unable to see or fear in 2021/2022 when President Biden was printing trillions in stimmies to save his base from actually working for a living)...
Source: Bloomberg
Under the hood, commodity prices just inched back into inflation (+0.1% YoY) while Services inflation continues to slide...
Source: Bloomberg
Headline CPI 0.2% MoM. Here are the details:
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The index for shelter rose 0.3 percent in April, accounting for more than half of the all items monthly increase.
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The energy index also increased over the month, rising 0.7 percent as increases in the natural gas index and the electricity index more than offset a decline in the gasoline index.
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The index for food, in contrast, fell 0.1 percent in April as the food at home index decreased 0.4 percent and the food away from home index rose 0.4 percent over the month.
But Core Services rose MoM...
Source: Bloomberg
Egg prices - so much in focus during Trump's first few weeks after Biden's shitshow - plunged 12.7% MoM... the biggest MoM drop since March 1984...
Source: Bloomberg
Core CPI also rose 0.2% MoM (below the 0.3% exp) leaving it up 2.8% YoY as expected (lowest since April 2021)...
Source: Bloomberg
Source: Bloomberg
Core CPI +0.2% MoM. Indexes that increased over the month include household furnishings and operations, medical care, motor vehicle insurance, education, and personal care. The indexes for airline fares, used cars and trucks, communication, and apparel were among the major indexes that decreased in April. Here are the details:
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The shelter index increased 0.3 percent over the month.
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The index for owners’ equivalent rent rose 0.4 percent in April and the index for rent increased 0.3 percent.
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The lodging away from home index fell 0.1 percent in April.
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Shelter inflation 0.34% MoM, and 3.99% YoY, unch from a month ago and the lowest since Nov 2021
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Rent inflation 0.27% MoM, and 3.98% YoY, down from 3.99% in March and the lowest since Jan 2022
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The index for household furnishings and operations increased 1.0 percent in April, after being unchanged in March.
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The motor vehicle insurance index rose 0.6 percent in April.
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The index for education increased 0.1 percent over the month, as did the index for personal care.
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In contrast, the airline fares index fell 2.8 percent in April, after declining 5.3 percent in March.
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The index for used cars and trucks fell 0.5 percent over the month, and the indexes for communication and apparel also declined.
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The new vehicles index and the recreation index were unchanged in April.
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The medical care index increased 0.5 percent over the month.
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The index for hospital services increased 0.6 percent in April and the index for physicians’ services rose 0.3 percent over the month.
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The prescription drugs index rose 0.4 percent in April.
And drilling down even more, the so-called SuperCore CPI (Services Ex Shelter) dropped to +3.01% YoY - the lowest since Dec 2021...
Source: Bloomberg
Recreation Services and Education costs are deflating...
Source: Bloomberg
Finally, as Goldman noted ahead of the print, whatever we do learn about tariff-related inflation today lags the rapidly-changing policy reality... so choose the size of the salt crystal to take as you react to the algos initial reaction to this data.
Is the inevitable trajectory of CPI higher given the recent surge in M2...
Source: Bloomberg
Real average weekly earnings rose 1.7% YoY - the best growth in wages since March 2021...
Source: Bloomberg
Brace for an avalanche of this statement repeated ad nauseum all day from establishment economists - "...we're sure the inflation from tariffs will hit next month..."
The new narrative: "lack of tariff inflation is transitory"
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Site: LifeNews
On Monday, Planned Parenthood released its 2024 annual report. These annual reports are often helpful to pro-lifers.
However, this year, Planned Parenthood’s annual report takes on additional significance, as pro-lifers are currently making a strong push to defund Planned Parenthood through the budget reconciliation process. Fortunately, this report should bolster pro-life efforts. That is because, once again, it provides extremely solid evidence that Planned Parenthood continues to prioritize abortion at the expense of health care.
Overall, this new report shows that Planned Parenthood performed 402,230 abortions in 2023. This marks the first time that Planned Parenthood has reported performing over 400,000 abortions in a given year — and represents an all-time high number for the organization. Overall, Planned Parenthood performs over 39 percent of the abortions that take place in the United States.
Please follow LifeNews.com on Gab for the latest pro-life news and info, free from social media censorship.
The report also indicates that Planned Parenthood continues to cut back on various health services. Between 2023 and 2024, primary care visits fell by 13.7 percent, pap tests fell by 12.3 percent, cancer screenings fell by 8.1 percent, and UTI treatments fell by 45.0 percent. Though Planned Parenthood did report an increase in adoption referrals in 2024, it should be noted that for every adoption referral that took place in 2023, Planned Parenthood still performed over 187 abortions.
All of this is consistent with Planned Parenthood’s long-term trend of performing more abortions and providing fewer health services. In fact, during the past ten years, the number of abortions performed by Planned Parenthood has increased by over 22 percent. Meanwhile, cancer screenings fell by more than 54 percent and prenatal services declined by more than 62 percent during the same time period.
Although Planned Parenthood cut back on several health services in 2023, it continues to receive increases in government funding. The report indicates that, in fiscal 2023, it received $792.2 million in government grants and reimbursements. This is a whopping 13.3 percent increase from 2022. This is further evidence that the Biden administration prioritized funding for Planned Parenthood.
With Republicans controlling the White House and both houses of Congress, pro-lifers have a unique opportunity to defund Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood’s annual report indicates it receives 39 percent of its revenue from the government. Thus, a federal funding cutoff would do substantial harm to the abortion giant. House Republicans unveiled legislation on Sunday that would defund Planned Parenthood. Let’s hope this report gives Congressional Republicans the ammunition they need to continue their efforts and finally end taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood.
LifeNews Note: Michael J. New is an assistant professor at the Busch School of Business at The Catholic University of America and is an associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_J_New
The post Planned Parenthood Kills More Babies and Helps Fewer Women Than Ever Before appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: OnePeterFive
Last week I marveled at the liturgical providence of the Conclave – it took place between the “two” Good Shepherd Sundays in the Latin rites each year. The first, in the ancient Roman Rite, took place on the Sunday before the Conclave began. The second, in the Novus Ordo Missae, took place on the Sunday after Leo XIV was elected. Do you remember what the Sunday 1st Reading was on the Sunday…
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Site: Zero HedgeFutures Dip As Torrid Squeeze Pauses Ahead Of CPI ReportTyler Durden Tue, 05/13/2025 - 08:24
US equity futures are modestly lower ahead of today's CPI report, but well off session lows, as markets take a slight pause following yesterday’s surge and as trade war truce euphoria gives way to lingering concerns about inflation and economic growth. As of 8:00am ET, S&P and Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.2% with Mag7 and Semis names weaker pre-mkt, pulling the index lower. UnitedHealth Group sank 10% in pre-market trading after suspending its 2025 outlook. In the latest trade war news, US reduced the tariff on ‘de minimis’ shipments from China, per Reuters, from 120% to 54%, while China reversed its ban on Boeing jets. Appetite for safer assets picked up again, with Treasury yields falling and gold prices on the rise. The dollar slipped after gaining more than 1.4% yesterday, its strongest day since Nov 6, 2024, the day after the election. Today’s macro data focus is on CPI where the YoY numbers are expected to remain flat MoM despite an acceleration in the MoM prints. Earnings prints are not expected to be market moving today.
In premarket trading, Magnificent Seven stocks were mostly lower with the exception of NVDA (Tesla -0.3%, Meta Platforms -0.2%, Microsoft -0.3%, Apple -0.3%, Alphabet -0.2%, Amazon +0.02%, Nvidia +0.2%). Coinbase Global (COIN) climbs 9% after S&P Dow Jones Indices said the company will join the S&P 500 Index before trading opens May 19. UnitedHealth Group shares drop 10% after the health insurer suspended its 2025 outlook and said CEO Andrew Witty is stepping down for personal reasons, effective immediately. Here are some more notable premarket movers:
- 3D Systems (DDD) sinks 22% after the 3D-printer maker reported products revenue for the first quarter that missed the average analyst estimate.
- Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (ARWR) climbs 6% after the drug developer reported earnings per share for the second quarter that was ahead of Wall Street’s expectations.
- Enphase Energy (ENPH) drops 5% after BMO cut its recommendation on the solar energy equipment manufacturer to underperform, citing planned Federal Government tax changes as a headwind for residential solar.
- On Holding (ONON) rises 5% after the company nudged its sales growth forecast higher as demand for the Swiss sneaker maker’s high-priced footwear remained strong despite economic uncertainty.
- Pinterest (PINS) declines 2% after the Information reported Google may unveil next week a feature that shows images designed to give people ideas for fashion and other types of designs, citing a person familiar with the matter
- Rigetti Computing Inc. (RGTI) tumbles 11% postmarket after the quantum computing firm’s 1Q revenue missed expectations.
- Other quantum computing stocks are down: Quantum Computing Inc. (QUBT) -3%, D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) -3%
The powerful surge in stocks following the US-China trade truce, which sent the S&P 3.3% higher and erasing all post-Liberation day losses, caught out bearish investors who are now left chasing the rally, as well as hedge funds that were mostly short US equities, according to strategists. Bank of America’s latest fund manager survey — conducted before the US-China trade breakthrough — is “bearish enough to suggest pain trade modestly higher,” Michael Hartnett said. BBVA strategists said that hedge funds’ net leverage is near five-year lows and mostly short US equities, adding to the squeeze.
“Yesterday’s move was warranted,” said Andrea Gabellone, analyst at KBC Securities. “But I need more to get more fundamentally constructive.”
Still, Tuesday’s slight pullback suggests trade and economic concerns are lingering, despite the US-China truce. The dollar is a bit weaker, and gold is higher, as investors await April’s CPI number for a sense of whether Trump’s tariff back-and-forth is fueling inflation. Boeing will be in focus after China removed a ban on airlines taking delivery of its planes.
“The challenges are not over,” said Frederique Carrier, investment strategy head at RBC Wealth Management. “The de-escalation was a lot stronger than even the best hopes, but you have to remember that the US economy still faces average effective tariffs of more than 13%.”
There’s also plenty from strategists to digest. Goldman’s David Kostin raised his 12-month target for the S&P 500 to 6,500 from 6,200, implying a gain of about 11%. But he’s still somewhat cautious, seeing an “impending slowdown in economic and earnings growth.” Meanwhile, the market rebound prompted Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management, to cut US stocks to neutral from attractive, saying the risk-reward was now more balanced. Uncertainty is still high, he wrote in a note on Tuesday, and investors will focus on whether a lasting trade agreement can be forged between the two countries.
In Europe, the Stoxx 600 rises 0.2%. Health care stocks are among the biggest gainers, with Bayer shares rising 8% after earnings beat expectations. Insurance names provide a drag after disappointing numbers from Munich Re. Here are the biggest movers Tuesday:
- Renewable energy stocks rally in Europe on Tuesday after US House Republicans proposed a phase-out of incentives to develop clean-energy projects that was better than feared, according to analysts
- Bayer shares jump as much as 10%, the most since August, after the German conglomerate reported better-than-expected earnings and sales for the first quarter
- Grifols gains as much as 6.5% after the the Spanish blood-plasma company delivers results above expectations in the first quarter and maintains its full-year guidance
- Entain rises as much as 6.3% in London after UBS raised its recommendation to buy, saying the bookmaker has been steadily progressing operationally over the past year, yet the shares have underperformed the sector
- RS Group rises as much as 7.5% as BofA Global Research raises its recommendation on the electronics distributor to buy due to an automation recovery and cost savings that support margins
- Munich Re falls as much as 5.4% after first-quarter profit slumped because of claims linked to the Los Angeles wildfires and prices for renewals declined
- Hannover Re shares declined 3.8%, the second-worst performer on the Stoxx 600 Insurance Index, after the German reinsurer reported what JPMorgan says are “not a particularly pretty set of numbers”
- DCC shares drop as much as 4.9%, the biggest fallers in the FTSE 100 Index, after the conglomerate’s earnings fell short of expectations, with analysts pointing to weakness in its technology business due to weak demand
- GEA Group drops as much as as 3.6% following a double-downgrade to underperform from buy at BofA, which cites a full valuation and weaker food and beverage capex cycle in the firm’s major markets
- Fraport shares fall as much as 4.7%, the most in five weeks. Higher costs in Aviation and a one-off impact from security drove a miss on Ebitda in the first quarter for the operator of Frankfurt Airport
- Alfen slumps as much as 26%, the most since June 2024, after the energy equipment company warned that its full-year revenue is likely to come in at the lower end of the current guidance range
Earlier in the session, Asian stocks eked out gains, with sentiment getting a boost after the world’s two largest economies agreed to a trade truce. Meanwhile, shares in Hong Kong fell after a rally on Monday. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index jumped as much as 1%, before trimming its gains to 0.2%. TSMC, Recruit and Toyota were major contributors to the gauge’s gains. Japanese shares were among the biggest gainers in the region, with the Topix index posting its longest winning streak in nearly 16 years. Benchmarks also advanced in Taiwan and Malaysia. Still, shares fell in Hong Kong as the trade agreement is seen as reducing Beijing’s need to announce any large stimulus. Stocks in mainland China pared early gains to trade little changed. Meanwhile, gauges in India also fell as the tech sector’s rally cooled.
In FX, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slipped as much as 0.3% as positioning in the options market continued to lean against the currency. Kristoffer Kjaer Lomholt, head of FX and corporate research at Danske Bank A/S, said the greenback’s 1% surge on Monday was “all about the unwind of the post-Liberation day trades” even though unlike other assets which have recovered all losses since Liberation Day, the dollar remains the only major asset class that is decidedly lower. The Swiss franc, Swedish krona and Aussie dollar are the best performing G-10 currencies. The Canadian dollar lags with a 0.1% fall against the greenback.
Treasuries also reversed some of the Monday moves. The policy-sensitive US two-year yield fell three basis points after surging 12 basis points amid speculation the tariff truce would bolster the world’s biggest economy. 10-year yields dropped 3 bps to 4.45% and again reversing some of Monday’s move. Bunds fall, with German 10-year yields rising 3 bps. UK 10-year borrowing costs add 2 bps but short end yields are lower after British businesses cut jobs for a third straight month in April.
In commodities, US crude WTI futures rise 0.5% to $62.25. Spot gold has also pared some of Monday’s fall, rising $18 to around $3,254/oz.
Looking to the day ahead now, and the main highlight will be the US CPI release for April. Otherwise, we also got UK unemployment for March and the German ZEW survey for May. From central banks, we’ll hear from the ECB’s Escriva, Makhlouf and Knot, along with BoE Governor Bailey and the BoE’s Pill.
Market Snapshot
- S&P 500 mini -0.2%,
- Nasdaq 100 mini -0.2%,
- Russell 2000 mini -0.1%
- Stoxx Europe 600 +0.2%
- DAX little changed
- CAC 40 +0.2%
- 10-year Treasury yield -2 basis points at 4.45%
- VIX +0.3 points at 18.72
- Bloomberg Dollar Index -0.2% at 123
Top Overnight News
- US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the European Union suffers from a “collective action problem” that’s hampering trade negotiations, downplaying the possibility of a quick agreement with the US’s largest trading relationship. “I think the US and Europe may be a bit slower,” said Bessent. BBG
- The US imported a record $53bn of products used in the pharmaceuticals and medical industry in March as companies rushed to build stockpiles in case Trump hits the sector with tariffs. Imports of pharma products soared around 160% in March from the same month the previous year, and almost doubled from Feb, reaching the highest on Census Bureau records stretching back to 2002. FT
- A House Republican tax bill would raise the SALT cap to $30,000 without increasing taxes on the wealthy. It needs almost unanimous party support to pass. The plan proposes to significantly increase taxes on the richest US universities. BBG
- China removed a month-long ban on Boeing deliveries by airlines, people familiar said, after the trade-talk breakthrough with the US. Officials have started to tell local carriers and government agencies that the restrictions no longer apply. BBG
- White House Executive Order said US will cut the minimum tariff on China shipments from 120% to 54%, and a minimum flat fee of USD 100 is to remain: RTRS
- India proposed tariffs on some American goods in its first retaliation against Trump’s duties on steel and aluminum, even as trade talks continue. BBG
- British businesses cut jobs for a third straight month in April. Wage growth, excluding bonuses, slowed to 5.6% in the first quarter, while the unemployment rate ticked higher. BBG
- The U.S. Court of International Trade is hearing oral arguments Tuesday in a lawsuit challenging Trump’s use of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose sweeping new tariffs last month, before suspending the highest ones on about 60 trading partners for 90 days. Politico
- U.S. new-vehicle prices surged in April, data released on Monday showed, a sign that the effects of President Donald Trump's auto-tariff measures are rippling through the car market. RTRS
- BofA Fund Manager Survey (pre-US/China trade update): Global fund managers most underweight US dollars in May since 2006 61% of fund managers see soft landing for the economy versus 37% in April; 26% see hard landing, down from 49% in April. Prior to US/China Geneva talks, fund managers saw US tariffs on China goods at 37%. "Positive US-China trade war ceasefire prevents recession/credit event": BofA
Trade/Tariffs
- White House Executive Order said US will cut the minimum tariff on China shipments from 120% to 54%, and a minimum flat fee of USD 100 is to remain.
- USTR Greer said the outcome of US-China tariffs talks was seen as pragmatic, while he added China has agreed to remove countermeasures and noted if things don't work out, China tariffs can go back up.
- Chinese President Xi said there are no winners in tariff wars and trade wars, while he added that only when various countries work together can they maintain world peace, stability and promote global development. Xi said bullying and tyranny will only isolate oneself, as well as noted that China supports Latin America and the Caribbean in expanding their influence in the multilateral arena with China willing to deepen cooperation with Latin America in infrastructure, agriculture, food, energy and minerals.
- China's Foreign Ministry, on US fentanyl tariffs, says China has repeatedly said it is a US issue. US is ignoring China's good will. Responsibility lies with the US.
- US Treasury Secretary Bessent says talks with China in Geneva resulted in a mechanism to avoid escalation; can proceed from here and have a very good framework. When asked if he feels good about the progress of other deals, he responds "yes"; references Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan. Thinks the US-Europe deal may be a bit slower, cites regional divides among the EU.
- Canadian PM Carney and UK PM Starmer agreed to strengthen trade, commercial and defence ties in a phone call, according to a statement from Canada.
- China removes ban on Boeing (BA) deliveries after US trade truce, via Bloomberg.
A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk
APAC stocks traded mostly higher following the rally on Wall St owing to the US-China trade war de-escalation after both sides agreed to cut tariffs by 115ppts for an initial period of 90 days, although some of the gains were capped as the euphoria began to moderate. ASX 200 edged higher amid outperformance in tech and energy but with further advances contained by weakness in defensives and gold miners. Nikkei 225 rallied to above the 38,000 level following the cooling in US-China trade tensions but with the index off intraday highs amid some profit-taking and a slight pullback in USD/JPY, while BoJ rhetoric continued to signal future hikes if prices and the economy improved. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp lagged despite the de-escalation in the US-China trade war which the Hong Kong benchmark already had its opportunity to react to yesterday, while questions lingered on what will happen during the 90-day reprieve as the trade deficit remains and the current 30% tariff on Chinese goods still a relatively high level.
Top Asian News
- BoJ Summary of Opinions from the April 30th-May 1st meeting stated that one member said the central bank is likely to continue raising interest rates in line with improvements in the economy and prices, while a member said the BoJ must make policy decisions without preconception as uncertainty over the outlook is very high. There was also the opinion of no change to the BoJ's rate-hike stance as real interest rates are deeply negative, but risks must be scrutinised and the BoJ has little choice but to take a wait-and-see stance until developments surrounding US trade policy stabilise to some extent. Furthermore, a member said that uncertainty surrounding economy and price outlook is high and the likelihood of achieving price goal is not as high as in the past, while it was stated that the BoJ will enter a temporary pause in rate hikes but shouldn't slide into excessive pessimism and must guide policy nimbly and flexibly.
- Nissan (7201 JT) 2024/2025 (JPY): operating profit 69.8bln (-87.7%), net -670.90bln (prev. 426.65bln), Revenue 12.63tln (prev. 12.69tln); withholds FY guidance due to tariffs, will consolidate production plants to 10 from 17. Nissan impact on Renault (RNO FP) Q1 net estimated at EUR 2.2bln loss.
- JD.com (JD/9618 HK) Q1 (USD): EPS 1.16 (exp. 1.05), Revenue 41.5bln (exp. 40.2bln); Co. notes of improving consumer sentiment.
European bourses (STOXX 600 +0.2%) are mostly, but modestly firmer as markets cool a touch from the significant upside seen in the prior session. Price action this morning has been relatively rangebound, given the lack of fresh catalysts thus far. European sectors hold a slight positive bias, but with the breadth of the market fairly narrow. Basic Resources leads, followed closely by Retail and Travel & Leisure to complete the top three. US equity futures (ES -0.4%, NQ -0.5%, RTY -0.5%) are modestly in negative territory, as the complex gives back some of the prior day’s US-China induced upside. Focus this morning has been on Bloomberg reporting which suggests China is lifting its ban on Boeing (BA) deliveries after the US-China tariff pause. BlackRock (BLK) CEO said it still sees global investors overweighting the US; adds that US deficits are still an issue.
Top European News
- Barclaycard UK April Consumer Spending rose 4.5% Y/Y, which was the biggest increase since June 2023.
- ECB strategy review will largely endorse past policies, including QE, despite some policymakers’ criticisms, while the ECB is to keep reference to ‘forceful action’ when rates and inflation are low following the review, according to sources cited by Reuters.
- ECB's Makhlouf says given effects of size, scale and more persistent nature of fragmentation-induced shocks, and their impact on prices, monetary policy responses will need careful calibration.
- BoE's Chief Economist Pill says should not assume that latest MPR forecasts is a direct endorsement of market interest rate curve; worried about potential risks to inflation He does see risk of second round effects. Remain concerned that they've seen a structural change in price and wage setting within the UK. The response of monetary policy to ensure they get inflation back to target may need to be more persistent.
FX
- DXY gives back some of Monday's trade-induced gains. Desks flag the uncertainty rising from the 90-day period in which both the US and China slashed their respective retaliatory tariffs by 115 bps each. Elsewhere on the docket, the highlight will be US CPI, whereby analysts expect US headline CPI to rise +0.3% M/M in April (prev. -0.1%). DXY currently resides in a narrow 101.46-101.73 range, well within yesterday's range, with the 50 DMA today at 101.86.
- EUR is relatively stable and moving in tandem with the Dollar with little action seen on ECB commentary in which ECB's Makhlouf said given effects of size, scale and more persistent nature of fragmentation-induced shocks, and their impact on prices, monetary policy responses will need careful calibration, meanwhile, ECB's Escriva said they must be humble in assessing the current situation, and ECB's Nagel said they shouldn't overreact to individual announcements. Reuters sources overnight suggested the ECB strategy review will largely endorse past policies, including QE, despite some policymakers’ criticisms, while the ECB is to keep reference to ‘forceful action’ when rates and inflation are low following the review. On the data front, May ZEW survey for Germany saw a jump in economic sentiment but an unexpected fall in current conditions - but no real follow through to the EUR.
- Haven FX are clawing back some lost ground as markets take a breather following yesterday's US-China euphoria, and following the aforementioned punchier language from Chian this morning coupled with the accompanying uncertainty provided by the 90-day de-escalation. USD/JPY resides towards the bottom of a 147.65-148.48 range, with the 50 DMA seen at 146.27 today.
- GBP is buoyed by the softer Dollar, with FX markets gaining some composure after Monday's surge in the Buck. UK jobs data this morning did little to shift the dial, with no reaction seen post-release: overall, the labour market continues to soften but at a relatively moderate rate. GBP/USD currently trades in a 1.3166-1.3216 range, well within Monday's 1.3137-1.3299 parameter.
- Antipodeans benefit from the broadly softer Dollar despite a more cautious risk tone across the markets.
- PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.1991 vs exp. 7.2188 (Prev. 7.2066).
Fixed Income
- USTs are slightly firmer with the risk tone tepid and fixed easing from the lows seen on Monday as the dust settles following tariff announcements between the US and China. At the top-end of a 110-02 to 110-08 band. Attention for USTs is firmly on the April CPI print. A release that is perhaps slightly less pertinent given the recent US-China progress; however, it will still be scrutinised for insight into the Fed’s deliberations. After the data we have remarks from President Trump at 15:00BST in the Middle East. Reports in Axios on Monday suggested he was aiming to return with over a USD 1tln worth of deals.
- Bunds are a touch softer and, in contrast to USTs, has eked out a marginal new WTD trough at 129.43. However, despite this, the narrative is much the same as the benchmark consolidates from Monday’s marked sell off and await fresh insight on EU-US talks. On that, US Treasury Secretary Bessent was out this morning with the same type of language on the EU, describing the progress as being a little slower. On the data front, May ZEW survey for Germany saw a jump in economic sentiment but an unexpected fall in current conditions - but no real follow through to Bund price action.
- Gilts are the marginal underperformer, and in a similar fashion to Bunds the benchmark has made a new WTD low at 91.51 vs 91.63 on Monday. Gapped lower by 13 ticks at the open and then slipped a bit further to the above base. An open that followed the latest UK jobs data which, in summary, showed that the labour market continues to cool but at a gradual pace with the rate of wage growth slowing but still at a level that the MPC is unlikely to regard as being consistent with the inflation target.
- Netherlands sells EUR 1.98bln vs exp. EUR 1.0-2.0bln 2.00% 2054 DSL: average yield 3.228%.
- UK sells GBP 1bln 0.625% 2045 I/L Gilt: b/c 3.19x (prev. 3.48x) & real yield 2.23% (prev. 1.732%).
- Italy sells EUR 7.5bln vs exp. EUR 6.0-7.50bln 2.65% 2028, 3.25% 2032 & 4.45% 2043 BTP.
- Germany sells EUR 3.401bln vs exp. EUR 4.5bln 1.70% 2027 Schatz: b/c 2.2x (prev. 1.7x), average yield 1.94% (prev. 1.67%), retention 24.42% (prev. 23.72%).
Commodities
- Crude has traded choppily, and off the highs seen following the US-China trade deal announcement. Currently WTI & Brent are higher by around USD 0.20/bbl as traders await US CPI and updates from US President Trump who is set to give some remarks at 15:00 BST / 10:00 EDT. Brent Jul'25 sat in a busy USD 64.63-65.12/bbl range for most of the European morning, but has recently climbed out of the top-end of that range to print a peak at USD 65.35/bbl.
- Precious metals are firmer across the board, with some outperformance in spot silver as the complex benefits from the softer Dollar. Spot gold is currently higher by around USD 18/oz, and trades in a USD 3,216.06-3,265.51/oz range.
- Base metals are broadly in positive territory, benefiting from the relatively softer Dollar and mostly positive risk-tone overnight. 3M LME Copper currently trades in a USD 9,488.3-9,572.45/t range.
- China crude oil supply to China set to hold steady at around 47.5mln barrels in June, via Reuters citing sources.
Geopolitics: Middle East
- US Secretary of State Rubio said the State Department is sanctioning three Iranian nationals and one Iranian entity with ties to Iran's organisation of defensive innovation and research.
Geopolitics: Ukraine
- Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov discussed with his Turkish counterpart issues related to May 15th direct talks with Ukraine.
- US State Department said Secretary of State Rubio discussed a path to peace and a ceasefire in Ukraine with French, German, Polish and Ukrainian foreign ministers as well as the EU High Representative.
- Senior Kyiv Official says Ukrainian President Zelensky will meet Russian President Putin, and not other members of the Russian delegation on Thursday in Turkey.
US Event Calendar
- 6:00 am: Apr NFIB Small Business Optimism 95.8, est. 95, prior 97.4
- 8:30 am: Apr CPI MoM, est. 0.3%, prior -0.1%
- 8:30 am: Apr CPI Ex Food and Energy MoM, est. 0.3%, prior 0.1%
- 8:30 am: Apr CPI YoY, est. 2.4%, prior 2.4%
- 8:30 am: Apr CPI Ex Food and Energy YoY, est. 2.8%, prior 2.8%
- 8:30 am: Apr CPI Index NSA, est. 320.91, prior 319.8
- 8:30 am: Apr CPI Core Index SA, est. 326.63, prior 325.66
DB's Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap
Good evening from the West Coast of the US. A lot of miles have been travelled for me and for markets in the last 24 hours, and as I questioned in yesterday’s CoTD (link here), will the last 6 weeks go down in the annals the same way as series 9 of Dallas back in the mid-1980s? This series was expunged from memories as a dream sequence of Pam Ewing, rendering the death of husband Bobby Ewing as just a nightmare. With both the US and China slashing their tariff rates by 115 percentage points, with the US rate on China down from 145% to 30% and China’s rate on the US falling from 125% to 10%, we’re almost back to pre-Liberation Day levels. And if you include the fact that 20pp of the 30% US levy is around fentanyl, and could surely be negotiated down with the current momentum, China is now back in the pack with regards to pure trade tariffs on other countries.
The dramatic reduction in tariffs is only a temporary one for 90 days, but as far as markets are concerned, there’s now a belief that the worst of the trade war has passed, and that the trend is now towards de-escalation. So that unleashed a phenomenal rally across multiple asset classes, with the S&P 500 (+3.26%) building on its recent run as investors priced out the chance of a downturn, with 2 and 10yr US yields up +12.0bps and +9.3bps respectively.
There’s little doubt about how positive this news is, but the US is not out of the woods yet. Our US economists had already assumed a decent amount of de-escalation into their most recent assumptions, with an effective tariff rate of 15%. So that's still not far from where we might net out given all we know after yesterday. Such an effective rate was consistent with a subdued, barely positive, level of US growth in H2. However, if the direction of travel is further tariff cuts then the risks are clearly back to the upside. For inflation, our economists suggest there is now some downside risks to our 3.6% core PCE forecast for this year. However, upside risks remain from sectoral tariffs and greater passthrough from tariffs to consumer prices in response to the broader weakening in the dollar. We maintain our view that the Fed will find it hard to ease in the near term and the first cut pencilled in for December remains the base case. See our US economists reaction to the news yesterday and how it might change their views here.
Yesterday's announcement came around 8am London time, just as European markets were opening, and there was an immediate reaction in response. To be fair, futures were already positive thanks to the weekend newsflow. But there was then a fresh leap higher as the tariff reductions were well above market expectations. Indeed, Trump himself had said on Friday that “80% Tariff on China seems right!”, and he’d been talking about a 60% rate on the campaign trail. So the fact it was only 30% was greeted with a huge sigh of relief. The reversal came with few immediate concessions by China, beyond reversing retaliatory measures imposed since Liberation Day. However, Trump said that China agreed to “suspend and remove all of its non-monetary barriers” without offering specifics.
Looking forward, the mood music around the discussions also sounded very positive, and came in at the upside of market expectations. For instance, Treasury Secretary Bessent said that both sides agreed that they “do not want a generalized decoupling”, and that “as long as there is good faith effort, engagement and constructive dialog, then we will keep moving forward”. So that sounded a long way from the rhetoric of recent weeks, when tariffs moved above 100% and there were fears of a wider trade breakdown, with China describing the US’s tariff moves as a “joke”. Later on in the day, President Trump himself said “I’ll speak to President Xi, maybe at the end of the week”, so that again kept the door open to further communications.
Those headlines led to a continued unwind of the moves since Liberation Day, with the S&P 500 surging another +3.26%, its best daily performance since the original 90-day reciprocal tariff extension was announced on April 9 and its third best day in the last 5 years. The move means the index is now +3.05% above its level on Liberation Day, and only -4.88% beneath its all-time high from mid-February, which is remarkable given everything that’s happened in that time. Moreover, the latest advance leaves the index up more than +17% in just over a month, which is a pace we haven’t seen since Q2 2020 as markets were bouncing back from the aggressive Covid slump. That was supported by a huge rally for the Magnificent 7 (+5.67%). The NASDAQ (+4.35%) is now back in bull market territory and up +22.5% from its lows. And with equities surging back, the VIX index of volatility closed beneath 20pts for the first time since March.
This move back into US assets was clear on several metrics. In particular, the dollar index (+1.44%) posted its best daily performance since November, back when investors were reacting to the news of Trump’s election victory. Moreover, the rally in US equities was much more pronounced than elsewhere, with Europe’s STOXX 600 “only” up +1.21% on the day. And US credit spreads also tightened more aggressively than their European counterparts, with US HY spreads down -38bps on the day, whereas those in Europe were down -22bps. That now leaves US HY spreads at 305bps, clearly beneath their Liberation Day level of 334bps.
With investors pricing out a recession, the announcement also saw investors dial back their rate cut expectations over the rest of the year. For instance, futures moved to price just 56bps of Fed rate cuts by the December meeting, down -9.8bps on the day, and the fewest since February. We were at 131bps at the intraday low on April 7, shortly before the initial 90-day extension. In turn, that led to a big move higher for sovereign bond yields, with the 2yr Treasury (+12.0bps to 4.01%) closing above 4% for the first time since March. Meanwhile, the 10yr yield (+9.3bps) moved up by a smaller amount to 4.47%. Those moves were similar in Europe, where yields on 10yr bunds (+8.6bps), OATs (+6.1bps) and BTPs (+6.8bps) all moved higher.
This shift was also echoed in commodity markets, where oil prices built on last week’s rebound as hopes grew for stronger global trade flows. For instance, Brent crude oil prices (+1.64%) were back up to $64.96/bbl, having closed at a 4-year low ($60.23) just a week earlier. In the meantime, gold prices (-2.66%) fell back to $3,236/oz, which came as the lower tariffs helped to reassure investors about inflationary pressures. Indeed, the 1yr US inflation swap plummeted by a huge -25.2bps on the day to 3.16%, which is the biggest daily decline since November 2022.
Looking forward, inflation will remain in the spotlight today, as we’ve got the US CPI release for April coming out. That’s the first to cover the period since Liberation Day, so it’ll be a good insight into how the tariffs are impacting consumer prices so far. However, the baseline expectations from our US economists is that the April tariffs won’t start showing up in consumer prices until June and the subsequent months. In terms of what to expect today, they forecast that headline CPI will come in at +0.26% on the month, with core CPI only a little bit higher at +0.29%. If realised, that would leave the year-on-year headline rate at +2.4%, and leave core CPI at +2.8%. Click here for more details and to sign up to their subsequent webinar.
Today should also see attention focus on US fiscal news, after Republicans unveiled a draft version of their tax bill yesterday. The House Ways and Means Committee are set to begin debating it today, and Trump yesterday called on Republicans to unify behind “THE ONE BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL”.
Overnight in Asia, there’s been a mixed performance as they react to the pause in the US-China trade conflict, with the risk-on move losing a bit of momentum. Japanese equities are doing particularly well, with the Nikkei (+1.78%) and the TOPIX (+1.28%) both advancing. Indeed, for the TOPIX, it marks a 13th consecutive increase for the first time since August 2009. Otherwise however, the gains have been more muted, with Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 (+0.42%) seeing a smaller increase, whilst in mainland China, the Shanghai Comp (+0.08%) and the CSI 300 (+0.03%) have only posted a modest advance. Meanwhile, there’ve been some more negative performances, with the KOSPI down -0.18%), and the Hang Seng is down -1.67%, which would end a run of 8 consecutive daily gains. The more risk-off tone has also been evident in the US, where futures on the S&P 500 have fallen -0.41% this morning, and 10yr Treasury yields (-2.0bps) are back down to 4.45%.
To the day ahead now, and the main highlight will be the US CPI release for April. Otherwise, we’ll get UK unemployment for March and the German ZEW survey for May. From central banks, we’ll hear from the ECB’s Escriva, Makhlouf and Knot, along with BoE Governor Bailey and the BoE’s Pill.
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Site: Fr. Z's BlogDear readers, this is the sort of thing that Popes do! They fight against the forces of Hell and they work for the salvation of souls. When the ancient obelisk that was in the Circus of Caligula off to the … Read More →
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Site: Novus Motus LiturgicusIf I had been writing about sacred art 100 years ago for a Catholic readership, I would have ignored entirely any reference to traditional Byzantine art. Until the middle of the last century, the Roman Catholic world was largely unaware of or, at the very least, uninterested in Byzantine iconography. Anyone who knew about this style was as likely as not a historian specialising in Byzantine David Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07041908477492455609noreply@blogger.com0
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Site: RT - News
The Ivy League institution has responded to the US government’s anti-Semitism concerns
Harvard University will not compromise its “core, legally protected principles,” despite a looming grant suspension by the US Department of Education, university president, Alan Garber, has said. Garber cited a “strategy to combat anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry” in a letter published on Monday.
In a letter posted on X last week Education Department Secretary Linda McMahon accused the university of “serious failures” in anti-Semitism, racial discrimination, academic rigor, and viewpoint diversity. “Harvard University has made a mockery of this country’s higher education system,” the secretary wrote, saying that it “should no longer seek” federal funding “since none will be provided.”
Read more
White House halts new grants for Harvard
US President Donald Trump’s administration is reviewing nearly $9 billion in federal funding for Harvard amid intensive pro-Palestinian protests on campus. Last month, the White House called for changes to governance, hiring and admissions and the elimination of all DEI programs at Harvard in a letter it later claimed was “unauthorized.”
The elite Ivy League university rejected the demands, accusing the White House of attempting to “control” its campus. The university filed a lawsuit over the suspension of approximately $2.3 billion in funding and reaffirmed its commitment to addressing discrimination internally.
READ MORE: Trump team explains letter to Harvard – NYT
In Monday’s letter, Garber said Harvard’s reform efforts were being “undermined and threatened by the federal government’s overreach into the constitutional freedoms of private universities and its continuing disregard of Harvard’s compliance with the law.” He added that the university was pursuing necessary reforms in line with its values and legal obligations.
“But Harvard will not surrender its core, legally-protected principles out of fear of unfounded retaliation by the federal government,” Garber wrote.
Garber also rejected claims of partisanship, adding that he had seen no evidence suggesting international students are “more prone to disruption, violence, or other misconduct” than their peers.
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Site: southern orders
My blog was the first blog in the world to show Pope Benedict XVI wearing the papal fannon for the first time. My clairvoyance tells me that Pope Leo, in a few years, will recover the fannon too for more solemn papal liturgies.My blog, most humble as it is, through my clairvoyance predicted that Thursday, May 8th would be the day that the new pope would be elected. He was!
On May 8th, as I predicted the election of the new pope, I highlighted that May 8th is the Feast day of the Apparitions of St. Michael the Archangel and that Pope Leo XIII had written the Prayer to St. Michael. Yes, I wrote that before the election of the pope and I suggested that he might take the name Michael. I was wrong about Michael, but more on that later.
I also wrote prior to the pope’s election, that May 8th is also the Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Pompeii. After the pope was elected, in his first words to the world, the new pope spoke of Our Lady of Pompeii and then led the world in praying the Hail Mary.
As I mentioned, prior to the pope’s election, I predicted that he might choose the name Michael and I wondered if that would be Pope Michael I as I wasn’t sure if there had been a pope named Michael.
One person who commented on Michael said that there was a schismatic sect in the Church who has a “pope” named Michael and thus he didn’t think the new pope would take that name.
Then another commenter, a convert of mine from St. Joseph in Macon, Georgia, Marc, wrote that the new pope would take the name of Leo XIV! Yes, Marc predicted it and correctly, before the pope was elected, that he would choose the name LEO XIV! I kid you not!
THUS MY BLOG WAS THE FIRST IN THE WORLD BY WAY OF MARC, TO NAME THE NEW POPE’S PAPAL NAME BEFORE THE NEW POPE WAS ELECTED!
Was it intuitive, or does Robert Cardinal Prevost read my blog and did he read what I and Marc predicted about the election of the new pope and what name he would take and the connection to Pope Leo XIII, St. Michael the Archangel and Our Lady of Pompeii as votes were being counted on the day of his election. I doubt that this discreet pope will ever reveal this.
But I do have a feeling, that Pope Leo XIV has read my most humble blog, I really do!
And, in addition to all these phenomenal things coming from my blog as firsts, I was the first to say that we needed to read or interpret Pope Leo XIV through Pope Leo XIII and his social encyclicals. I also indicated that we had to look at Pope Leo the Great (Leo I) to interpret the new pope.
I was the first to write that the new Pope would not cancel Pope Francis but refine his more controversial and seemingly heterodox and cruel decisions.
He would refine TC and make it more like SP, but a refinement of that also.
And now even the heterodox leaning Jesuit Cardinal, Cardinal Hollerich of Luxembourg has said Pope Leo will refine Fiducia Supplicans on blessing actively fornicating lgbtq+++ couples.
I also predicted first that Pope Leo will definitely refine synodality and we will see those refinements and clarity about it very quickly. Pope Leo’s synodality will not undermine the College of Bishops’ divine mandate to teach, rule and sanctify God’s people in union with the pope. Pope Leo’s synodality will promote Catholic unity and purify the divisiveness that Pope Francis’ type of synodality has inflicted upon the Chruch throughout the world.
Pope Leo’s version of synodality will be rooted in the Splendor of Divine Truth as well as Scripture and Tradition and the Magisterium of the Church throughout time.
All this is amazing, so I am told.
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Site: Mises InstituteAs the progressive left and the anti-trade right merge their arguments, the current political atmosphere is quickly turning into a witch hunt. Unfortunately, we know that these situations don't end well.
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Site: PaulCraigRoberts.org
Dear Readers, this is one of the most brilliant essays that I have read in recent years. Donald Jeffries explains that the alienation of Western civilization from its heritage has resulted in the replacement of statues of identifiable historic figures, such as Thomas Jefferson, who played a significant role in the origin and development of a new nation, with statues of unidentifiable overweight black women. Thus is American history removed to make room for a fictional history in which we today live. The Democrat liberal-left have created a situation in which Americans no longer know who they are.
Western Civilization Has Been Reduced to a planet of statues of overweight black women. No one else, much less white people, ever trod in the Western World or left any mark.
Recently, there has been a veritable epidemic of statues suddenly popping up all over the globe, depicting overweight Black females. This is decidedly odd, as the figures don’t represent a particular person of historical significance, but rather a modern “Woke” phenomenon of a brand of human being; the loud and proud Black woman.
One of these statues, incredibly enough, was erected in Italy. If anyone can tell me what significance any Black woman has had on Italian history, I’m willing to listen. Maybe the Italians covered up how the Black females in their society- cleverly hidden away from the eyes of the world- have manipulated things behind the scenes for eons. Kind of like an Illuminati of Color. I’m sure Michelangelo and Da Vinci would be proud. Maybe a fat Black woman invented spaghetti. Pizza. Lasagna. Why not? Any African American Studies course worth its salt will tell you how suppressed Black inventors came up with everything from the toaster to the stop light. Lemonade. And most cleverly of all, one magnificent genius invented the comb in the late 1800s. Or centuries after they were depicted in paintings from all over the world. I remember seeing Pocahantas’s comb at the Smithsonian. What a racist to be using a Black man’s invention without giving him credit. Somebody call Elizabeth Warren.
The Italian statue depicts the unknown Person of Color staring down at her cell phone. Surely, this was considered a unique, historical posture. Apparently, there were no available native born Italian girls- overweight or not- who stare robotically down at their cell phones. Not to be left out, the Netherlands put up a statue of a different, but just as insignificant overweight Black woman a few years back in Rotterdam. I guess it’s taken those of us still paying attention a few years to notice. Again, what exactly has any Black woman done to deserve a statue in the Netherlands? Sure, plenty of nonwhites have raped native born residents of the Netherlands, but they were all male and mostly Muslim migrants. They probably have a disproportionate number of Blacks on the Netherlands World Cup soccer team, but I’m not sure what Black women specifically have ever contributed to their society.
In New York City, there is now a twelve foot statue of an obese Black woman- sporting the distinctive hands on hip stance that has made them so beloved in America 2.0. The statue is nonsensically called “Grounded in the Stars.” As someone once said, if you want to gauge the health of a nation, look at its art. The statue provides a startling dose of “diversity,” in contrast to the statues of boring dead White guys Father Francis Duffy and songwriter George M. Cohan. This is the same New York City, of course, who over the past few years took down statues of Teddy Roosevelt and Thomas Jefferson. The message is; an anonymous Black woman is more culturally and historically significant to this country than the most brilliant of our Founding Fathers, who wrote the Declaration of Independence. If that isn’t a slap in the face to the millions who are still asleep, I don’t know what would be.
The first question that should be asked is; why this curious campaign to install statues of fictional Black women? Who started it? Who is behind it? I seriously doubt that leaders in Italy and the Netherlands abruptly determined, independent of each other, that homage should be paid to a demographic group that has zero historical ties to either country. Now, the motivation is obvious. To further promote Black people. Well, any Black people who aren’t questioning the disproportionate power of a certain ethnic/religious group, that is. And to further diminish the historical greatness of formerly hallowed White leaders. And what about the White women? Why doesn’t Pakistan erect a statue of a fictional girl in a bikini? You could have her staring at her cell phone if you want. Nonwhite countries need cultural “diversity,” too, don’t they? Where are the statues of antiwar icon Jeanette Rankin, our greatest historical figure who identified as female?
It’s hard to tell how many Black female statues there are. A few years back, there were reports of them springing up in Roanoke, Virginia, and South Boston. There were already at least six statues of Harriet Tubman scattered across this country. I doubt that there are six statues of White women collectively in America. The most featured female on U.S. statues is the Indian squaw (yeah, I know- that’s probably “hate speech”) Sacagawea, who has an impressive sixteen of them. I guess statues are kind of like presidential candidates; only nonwhite women need apply. And yet White women can’t stop applauding. They may well like fat Black statues even more than transgender athletes. Roanoke, Virginia, which featured Virginia Dare, the first child born in America, vanished without a trace. The city still exists, and despite being on the edge of nearly all-White Appalachia, its only two statues are of Black figures.
The statue of Robert E. Lee that stood in the U.S. Capitol was scheduled to be replaced by a 2021 decree, in favor of a sixteen year old girl named Barbara Johns, who led a student walkout in Prince Edward County in 1951. It was something to do with racism, which they tell us was all the rage back then. One thing you know for sure is that Johns was Black. Virginia has a statue of Mary Todd Lincoln’s Black dressmaker Elizabeth Keckly, but not of Honest Abe’s overly emotional wife. So this explosion of Black female statues is not really new. They were already overrepresented. As one typically absurd “Woke” spokesperson put it, this is an effort to “confront preconceived notions of identity and representation.” It’s inevitable that one or more statues of Black women with suitably fat asses will pop up somewhere, to memorialize the fine art of twerking. We would not want future generations to forget that.
This well organized campaign comes on the heels of laughable propaganda that “Black women built this country.” What? I can’t think of any group that had less to do with building this country. Well, maybe Hispanics. After all, they weren’t here then. The very term had yet to be invented. Or Muslims. No, it was almost exclusively White males who built this country, backed by hearty and supportive frontier wives, mothers, and daughters. But it’s “racist” to even say that. And on top of that, there is the even more head shaking “Shut up! A Black woman is speaking!” This ridiculous expression is parroted most enthusiastically by self-loathing White women. This kind of insidious programming goes well beyond conventional Stockholm Syndrome. White women are not literally being held captive by Black women. This is just one of the reasons why I maintain at least 1/3 of White women today are clinically insane.
If they expand their horizons, there are plenty of worthy flesh and blood candidates to consider. Queen Latifah is certainly fat enough, and at least has displayed her lack of acting skills in a good number of IMDB credits. Stacy Abrams? She lost an election and is still complaining about it. And I don’t have to tell you that they don’t come any obesier in the Black community than her. Oprah? Imagine how excited the White women would be! Their “girlfriend,” who manipulated them to high ratings, and then dropped their racial and sexual comrade Hillary like a hot potato when Barack Obama declared for the presidency. It would take some skill to get the majesty and scope of Oprah’s giant behind just right, kind of like the Venus de Milo from a dark universe. And if you want to be inclusive of non-obese Black women, there’s Kamala. Perhaps Jasmine Crockett. And Michelle Obama can represent….well, you know.
If this isn’t some kind of fractured, black humor (no pun intended), then what is it? No one can seriously suggest that we should be putting up statues of random unknown figures, who have accomplished nothing to be remembered for. I don’t want statues of hot naked fictional women showing up everywhere, either, with or without cell phones. This is Identity Politics writ large, on the world stage. Black men are promoted incessantly by the same usual suspects, but it is the Black woman who reigns supreme in America 2.0. Who gets to rake in millions with little or no qualifications, while skewering the English language. I’m not sure which is worse; not being recognized for great accomplishments, or being credited undeservedly for imaginary achievements. Obviously, too many Black women fall into the later category. I can hear them screaming “Excuse me!” as they read this.
Why not honor a strong Black woman who has done noteworthy things? I’m talking about my friend, ex-congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. She wrote blurbs for me, and honored me by asking me to write a blurb for her provocatively titled book How the US Creates Sh*thole Countries. McKinney had the courage no one else in Congress did, grilling Donald Rumsfeld about the $2.3 trillion missing from the Pentagon. Oh well, DOGE will probably find that and much more. They are still planning to audit the Pentagon, right? McKinney also stated that members of Congress are asked to sign an oath of loyalty to Israel, which she refused to do. McKinney suddenly started looking a lot less Black, and was quickly ousted from Congress. She’s a truly open minded, insightful individual, my favorite politician. Imagine being relegated from serving in Congress to communicating with the likes of Thought Criminals like me.
It’s odd that these dubious new statues come in the wake of all those which were torn down a few years ago by angry Black Lives Matter protesters. Sort of gives new meaning to the term “Great Replacement.” The “Woke” authoritarians are dancing a politically correct line between censoring any references to certain historical figures, and perpetually blasting them as racist. As I have said for years, at some point history itself will be declared racist. Maybe it already has been, and I missed it. And why not? Math is, as well as proper English. I’ve been lectured about how free speech is racist. Perhaps in the ultimate irony, freedom itself is racist. The slavery that entraps some 40 million people around the world today apparently isn’t racist enough to attract much condemnation. Brown people enslaving other Brown people can’t be virtue signaled. Apparently, all slave lives don’t matter.
Statues used to be exclusively for dead historical figures. Those obese Black women aren’t dead. To be fair, being fictitious, they aren’t really alive, either. A few years ago, the mayor of New Orleans unleashed a new statue, in honor of the ridiculous “Woke” holiday Juneteenth. It consisted of a giant Afro hair pick, with an upraised “Black Power” fist. I don’t know, but if I was Black, I think I’d be really offended by that. I mean, not that many Blacks even have Afros now, and that’s how you choose to honor them? For having kinky hair? I wouldn’t object to that memorial being called racist. This was New Orleans; how about a statue of Louis Armstrong? Do Black people see themselves as giant Afro picks? If that’s the case, maybe having some unreasonably proud fat Black women look appropriately combative makes sense. If only AI could get that neck bobbing thing down, then they’d really have some statues.
This is really a logical extension of promoting ugly art and declaring it beautiful. We now know that the CIA was financing putrid “artists” like Jackson Pollock, and convinced the always malleable public that glorified finger painting was “modern art.” What do you see in that square? Just a completely devious agenda to destroy a culture. And they succeeded. Where are the real artists today? The ones that can do better than giant Afro picks and fat Black women? If we were to judge our civilization by its present art, we’d have to say we are no longer civilized. The same goes for architecture; aesthetically unpleasing, ugly eyesores littering the landscape. How could they have built far more beautiful buildings centuries ago? Why are we devolving in every aspect of our culture? When you don’t believe in God, there is no spiritual element in your art. The divine spark is what makes it special.
It’s not enjoyable to take these kinds of stances, which are instantaneously condemned as “racist.” But someone has to. Thankfully, these fat Black statues are fully dressed, but in a figurative sense, they aren’t wearing any clothes. I’m like the little boy in the fairy tale who points that out to the clueless and/or frightened crowd. Just how brainwashed do you have to be to want to excessively celebrate the contributions of the loudest, most arrogant, and least educated members of your society? What next- a memorial to them destroying a Popeye’s because they ran out of hot sauce? My observations are all based on reality, not propaganda. I don’t want Black women treated unfairly. I just don’t want them to be irrationally adored. Let’s laud the guy working two jobs to make ends meet. The mother struggling to raise six kids on a shoestring budget. Not an arrogant narcissist in love with herself.
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Site: Zero HedgeChina Reverses Ban On Boeing Jet Deliveries After Trade Breakthrough With USTyler Durden Tue, 05/13/2025 - 07:20
China lifted a month-long ban on Boeing jet deliveries for all domestic carriers just one day after a breakthrough in U.S.-China trade talks, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter.
Chinese officials instructed domestic carriers and government agencies at the start of the week that deliveries of US-made jets were allowed to resume. This decision coincides with a 90-day tariff truce, during which the U.S. slashed tariffs on Chinese imports from 145% to 30%, and China cut import duties on US goods from 125% to 10%.
In April, the tit-for-tat trade war between the Trump administration and China led to Beijing's non-tariff countermeasures, including Juneyao Airlines that delayed the delivery of a 787-9 Dreamliner.
Last week, ahead of U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's weekend meeting with Chinese counterparts for the first round of trade talks in Switzerland, a Bloomberg report specified that China Airlines placed an order for more than a dozen 777 planes. At the time, we asked if this was a "goodwill gesture" by Beijing ahead of the trade talks.
Trade talks have since de-escalated the tariff war.
Still, Goldman expects the overall effective tariff rate in the U.S. to be around 15% - a generational high dating back to the 1930s.
China's move to resume Boeing deliveries may provide a short-term boost for the sideways pattern shares have traded in for five years. Premarket activity in New York shows shares are up nearly 1%, trading around the $200 handle. Year-to-date, shares are up 12% as of Monday's close.
Great news for Boeing.
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Site: Rorate CaeliFriends of CAMPOS, BRAZIL: EASTERTIDE Easter appeal a {text-decoration: none;} 96 .rollover:hover .New Catholichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04118576661605931910noreply@blogger.com
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Site: RT - News
Steve Witkoff has called efforts to isolate the Russian president counterproductive for resolving the Ukraine conflict
Isolating Russian President Vladimir Putin is unlikely to help resolve the Ukraine conflict, senior US negotiator Steve Witkoff has said, calling the approach lacking in logic.
Western nations have attempted to marginalize Moscow diplomatically since the escalation of the conflict in 2022, but Witkoff, speaking to Breitbart News last week, criticized that approach. He emphasized the necessity of including all major players in the dialogue.
”We need to talk to any stakeholders in this conflict,” Witkoff said in the section of the interview published Monday. “There is no deal without President Putin’s sign-off.” US President Donald Trump’s special envoy added that he found it difficult to “understand the logic” of those who oppose direct engagement with the Russian leader.
The Trump administration’s current stance is that Russian and Ukrainian officials must be brought together physically so that the US can “show them that the alternatives to a peaceful resolution here are bad for everybody.”
Read more
Western Europe’s efforts a ‘complete fiasco’ – Moscow
The Trump administration’s current stance is that Russian and Ukrainian officials must be brought together physically so that the United States can “show them that the alternatives to a peaceful resolution here are bad for everybody.”
Putin last week reiterated Moscow’s call to resume negotiations that Kiev abandoned in 2022, proposing that talks be held again in Istanbul. Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky and several European NATO members have insisted that Russia first agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, warning that failure to do so will result in further sanctions. Russian officials say such a pause would give Kiev an opportunity to regroup militarily and renew hostilities.
Putin has offered to restart negotiations as early as Thursday. Zelensky has said he will go to Istanbul that day and expects Putin to come too.
Witkoff emphasized that the US could step back from its mediating role if progress is not made. “The president has issued an ultimatum to both sides” to begin direct talks, he said.
”I think if the US pulls back from this conflict… that’s a bad result for everybody,” he added. “It’s bad for the Europeans. It’s bad for the Ukrainians. I don’t think it’s good for the Russians. I think the Russians actually do want a peaceful settlement.”
READ MORE: Top Russian MP tells Zelensky to ‘stop the clownery’ (VIDEO)
Moscow has urged a comprehensive agreement that addresses what it sees as the root causes of the conflict, including a promise by NATO to eventually admit Ukraine and discriminatory policies by Kiev toward ethnic Russians.
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Site: Zero HedgeTaliban Bans Chess In Afghanistan: 'Means Of Gambling'Tyler Durden Tue, 05/13/2025 - 06:55
We weren't aware that the game of chess could lead to a raging gambling addiction, but apparently the Taliban thinks so...
"The Taliban government in Afghanistan has banned chess until further notice due to fears the game is a source of gambling," BBC reports Monday. "Officials said the game has been prohibited indefinitely until its compatibility with Islamic law can be determined."
"There are religious considerations regarding the sport of chess," Atal Mashwani, the spokesman of the Taliban government's sports directorate, told AFP news agency. "Until these considerations are addressed, the sport of chess is suspended in Afghanistan."
Via AFP
He explained that chess in Islamic sharia law is "considered a means of gambling" - but didn't explain further on how this might be so.
It is but the latest absurd, draconian move by Taliban authorities since seizing power again in August 2021, following a more than two decade war with occupying US-NATO forces.
Some cafe owners have been quoted in Western media reports as describing chess as one of the few positive and healthy activities young people in the country can engage in.
But with many sports and intellectual activities also restricted and deemed 'unIslamic' - there are fewer and fewer games and hobbies the population has access to, also amid ongoing economic collapse and suffering.
"Chess has been gaining popularity in Afghanistan in recent years, according to Khaama Press," Russia's TASS notes. "A few days before it became known about the ban, a group of activists has asked the government for funding to develop chess in the country."
According to a historical outline from Chess.com:
The Taliban had also banned chess soon after coming into power in Afghanistan in 1996, but the game returned as a popular pastime in the country after the regime change in 2001. At the Batumi Olympiad in 2018, Afghanistan won the D Category with CM Khaiber Farazi, CM Habibullah Amini, Wais Abdul Khaliq, Ashrafi Sulaiman Ahmad, and Safy Kanz Ahmad in the team. The Taliban retook control of the country in 2021 and has now announced the suspension.
But many Islamic countries and populations across the Mideast region routinely send chess players to international competitions and events. The Taliban has once again set itself apart as the 'most extreme' government in the region and the world.
Certainly, this 'pause' which is likely to lead to a more permanent ban on playing chess in Afghanistan won't help the Taliban's chances of getting international sanctions against it lifted.
‼️ In connection with the situation with the ban on chess in Afghanistan, I have prepared an appeal to the Taliban leadership with a request to reconsider their decision. pic.twitter.com/pP7qojbLJ6
— Кирсан Илюмжинов (@Kirsan__) May 11, 2025The war-ravaged country's pre-Taliban population, for example back in the 1970s, was actually somewhat liberal, cosmopolitan and open - with women regularly wearing European fashions, and Islamic garb was rarely seen in the cities.
All of that changed with the CIA's Operation Cyclone, which saw American and allied operatives (such as in Pakistan's ISI) arm, train, and equip radical Afghan and Arab mujahideen. These militants would later form the core of the Taliban and its terror allies.
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Site: Zero HedgeFBI Deputy Director Says Illegal Immigrant Criminals, Child Predators Are Top PriorityTyler Durden Tue, 05/13/2025 - 06:30
Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
The FBI is prioritizing removing illegal immigrants with criminal records and arresting child predators, the deputy director said on May 10.
An FBI agent walks toward a crime scene, in this file photo. Mario Tama/Getty Images
“[The FBI] workforce has been working overtime on task force operations to remove dangerous illegal aliens from the country. The work continues,” FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, a former radio host, wrote in a lengthy post on social media platform X.
“If you came here illegally to prey on our citizens, your days here are numbered.”
Such efforts are likely to ramp up in the coming weeks, Bongino said in the post, which he described as an operational update. He also said the agency is increasing enforcement against individuals who prey on children.
“Crimes against children are a priority for the workforce. Operation ‘Restoring Justice,’ where we locked up child predators and 764 subjects, in every part of the country, is just the beginning,” he said, referring to a recent operation announced by the FBI.
“We are going to take your freedom if you take away a child’s innocence.”
Hundreds of suspected child predators were arrested over a five-day period, and 115 children were rescued, the FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on May 7.
Elsewhere in his post, Bongino said that the bureau would provide regular updates to Congress and is responding to high-profile cases that arose in recent years. These include the shooting at a congressional baseball game in 2017 that left Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) gravely injured, the 2023 Christian school shooting in Nashville, Crossfire Hurricane, the origins of COVID-19, and the release of files related to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
“There are voluminous amounts of downloaded child sexual abuse material that we are dealing with,” Bongino wrote in addressing the Epstein case. “There are also victims’ statements that are entitled to specific protections. We need to do this correctly, but I do understand the public’s desire to get the information out there.”
He also said that the FBI is doing its “best in the current budgetary environment to prioritize the mission, act as good fiscal stewards, find waste and inefficiencies, and to enact reforms while moving the FBI forward.”
FBI Director Kash Patel told Congress on May 8 that he would make the bureau’s mission “work on whatever budget we’re given,” a day after he said that he was seeking more funds than what the Trump administration had proposed.
The 2026 budget proposal released in early May calls for a funding cut of about $545 million for the FBI as part of what the White House said was a desire to “reform and streamline” the bureau and reduce “non-law enforcement missions that do not align” with President Donald Trump’s priorities.
“My view is that we agree with this budget as it stands and [will] make it work for the operational necessity of the FBI, and as the head of the FBI, I was simply asking for more funds because I can do more with more money,” Patel said in a Senate hearing.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Site: Zero HedgeUS Treasury Shocks With Second Biggest Budget Surplus In HistoryTyler Durden Tue, 05/13/2025 - 06:01
Two weeks ago, as part of its quarterly refunding announcement, the Treasury surprised the market when it unveiled a funding need for the current quarter that was $53 billion lower than it had initially forecast in February, and which we said "indicates that DOGE is indeed working and the US funding needs are actually declining."
Needless to say, for a market that was habituated to Joe Biden's debt-funded drunken sailor spending ways, the news that the US would needs less - not more - spending than previously expected, came as a shock, and yields slumped as less debt than expected would be required to fund the world's most indebted government.
Today we got the reason why the borrowing need of the US was surprisingly lower than previously expected, and it was revealed in the latest Treasury Monthly Statement laying out the US government's monthly deficit... or rather surplus. Yes, we are so used to describing the sum-total of the US government's monthly income statement as a deficit (i.e., more spending than revenue) that it has become automatic to assume that every month the US will spend more than it brings in. Only this time that wasn't the case.
Presenting Exhibit A: in April, the US Treasury generated a $258.4 billion surplus after last month's $160.5 billion deficit; this the second biggest surplus on record, with just the $308 billion bumper surplus in 2021 bigger.
To be sure, while US surpluses are few and far between, the one time of the year when they can (occasionally) be seen, is in April, when a surge in tax income offsets the now chronic government bloat and spending. This April was just that, and while the US did spend a hefty $592 billion in April (slightly more than the $528 billion in March, and more than the $567 billion spent a year ago) of which very ominously more than $100 billion was gross interest on the record US debt (which at this moment is about $37 trillion) for the second month in a row...
... the revenue collected by the US treasury managed to more than offset this massive spend, and surged by a whopping $850 billion, just shy of the record $864 billion record in April 2022.
The unexpected surge in revenue, and the resulting budget surplus means that the cumulative deficit for fiscal 2025 suddenly doesn't look catastrophic: recall that just four months ago, back in January, in the last month of Biden's reign, the US had already spent a record $840 billion for the first 4 months of the year, on pace to blow away all previous records. But then something changed, and first March saw a big slowdown in spending which resulted in a much more tame cumulative deficit through March, and then the April data meant that the cumulative deficit in the first seven months of the year, was actually an improvement, and dropped to just $1049 billion, down from a peak of $1037 billion in March, and below the run-rate of both 2021 and 2024.
And while the primary reason for the unexpected budget surplus was a far bigger tax haul than expected, mostly thanks to a burst in capital gains tax which is unlikely to be repeated this year (unless we see the S&P rise another 20% from here by year end), there was another big reason for the April revenue surge, a reason we profiled previously in "Trump Trade War Results In Record $12 Billion Surge In Customs Revenues." As shown in the chart below, Customs Duties in April doubled from $8.2 billion in March to a record $15.6 billion in April, thanks to surge in Trump tariffs.
And while all of that is a good start, and certainly a big improvement in the US fiscal picture in the first three months of Trump's regime, the big picture sadly remains a dismal one, largely because the US debt picture remains completely unsustainable and manifests itself in $1.2 trillion in gross interest expense per year, just $300 billion shy of the biggest spending category of them all: Social Security Spending.
That said, April's bumper revenue aside, all five main spending categories are growing much faster than revenue, and something drastically has to change for this big picture to become viable. Unfortunately, we have now seen the wholsesale pushback Trump has faced when doing just that - trying to restructure a broken status quo - which is why unless Trump magically succeeds in this undertaking, the US is pretty much doomed (while DOGE's achievements have been admirable, they are a drop in the bucket in the context of Congresionally appropriate spending) as nobody else will ever come close to Trump's intended overhaul of the US fiscal picture.
Via AFP
An FBI agent walks toward a crime scene, in this file photo. Mario Tama/Getty Images
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