A civilization inspired by a consumerist, anti-birth mentality is not and cannot ever be a civilization of love.
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Site: RT - News
The Treasury Department has issued a new license easing restrictions on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium
The US government has allowed American and international companies to resume oil-related work involving a major Russia-linked project to deliver Caspian oil to the global market. The license, lifting restrictions on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) and the Kazakh company Tengizchevroil (TCO), was issued by the Treasury Department on Thursday.
The CPC includes major US oil companies such as Chevron and ExxonMobil among its stakeholders and primarily facilitates the export of Kazakh oil through Russian territory and its shipment internationally.
The new General License No. 124 permits all transactions that were blocked under a January 10 decision which prohibited certain petroleum services involving Russia-related energy infrastructure.
CPC operates a major pipeline that transports oil from western Kazakhstan to the Black Sea coast of Russia, from where it is shipped globally by tanker. The 1,511-kilometer pipeline is one of the most important export routes for Kazakh oil, handling over 80% of the country’s crude exports.
Read moreNew US sanctions on Russia take effect
The pipeline is jointly owned by multiple companies and governments. Russia holds a 24% stake through the state-owned operator Transneft. Other major shareholders include Chevron, ExxonMobil, Russia’s Lukoil and Kazakhstan’s national oil company KazMunayGas. Several smaller international firms also own shares.
Tengizchevroil is a joint venture that runs the massive Tengiz oil field in Kazakhstan. It was formed in 1993 and is owned by Chevron (50%), ExxonMobil (25%), KazMunayGas (20%), and Lukoil (5%).
The earlier sanctions were imposed under Executive Order 14071, which targets services related to Russian energy projects. However, US authorities have made exceptions for projects that are considered critical to global energy markets or involve non-Russian stakeholders.
General License No. 121, issued in January, had already temporarily allowed some services for CPC and TCO. That license remains valid until June 28, 2025, but the new license appears to clarify and reaffirm that companies may continue their involvement in these projects without penalty until then.
According to the Treasury, the license covers activities like drilling, refining, transportation, and marketing of oil – provided they are connected to CPC or Tengizchevroil.
READ MORE: Ukrainian drones attack US-linked energy infrastructure
Earlier this year, CPC was forced to temporarily halt operations following two attacks by Ukrainian drones that damaged oil transfer stations linked to the pipeline network on Russian territory. The attacks came after Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump approved a partial ceasefire, under which both Moscow and Kiev committed to refraining from strikes on energy infrastructure.
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Site: southern orders
No one commented on this yesterday. Pope Leo is nice, but His Holiness will also mean business like Leo XIII!Over a century ago, Leo XIII pointed out that “preserving the Eastern rites is more important than is generally realized”. He went so far as to decree that “any Latin-Rite missionary, whether a member of the secular or regular clergy, who by advice or support draws any Eastern-Rite Catholic to the Latin Rite” ought to be “dismissed and removed from his office”.
And in another sign of discontinuity with Francis, sources report the following about Leo’s humble reception of papal dignity and traditions. NO SELFIES WITH HIS HOLINESS!
Vatican City - In these first, intense days of the pontificate of Leo XIV, a gesture as simple as it is eloquent has aroused attention among the clergy and the faithful: the new Pope has declined, with the grace and delicacy that distinguish him, the request to take selfies. It happened with journalists and also with representatives of the Eastern Churches and in an era in which everything seems to be reduced to image, immediacy and visibility, this refusal sounds like a powerful invitation to reflection. On some occasions, the Pontiff simply pointed out that the cameras already present are more than enough; on others, he preferred that a third person take the photo, thus avoiding the self-referential dynamic of the selfie.
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Site: LifeNews
The phone rang. The caller’s voice quivered with emotions so intense that she spoke haltingly, “If I don’t get… an abortion…I’m going to kill myself.” Before I could respond, she revealed her full anguish. “After my abortion, I won’t be able to live with it…I plan to kill myself.”
After 35 years of work as a trainer and practitioner in crisis intervention around the world, this young woman’s call still stands out. She crystallized in just a few words the acute panic and distorted thinking that is common in a pregnancy-related crisis. Based on abortion rates worldwide, it is probable that more people around the world experience crisis from an unexpected pregnancy than any other form of crisis. As we pause to honor the high calling of motherhood, we do well to consider how to love our pregnant neighbor.
To my caller, being pregnant felt like death — the end of her life. True, her pregnancy was not a fatal disease. But it did present a threat to her life as she had projected it. Getting an abortion was, in her mind, a life-saving necessity. This, too, is false, but it feels true.
At the same time, she anticipated that abortion, while resolving one crisis, would create another. Her contemplation of suicide subsequent to her abortion revealed a self-awareness that there was another stakeholder involved — her unborn child. Harming any child was wholly contrary to her self-image as a caring person. She anticipated not being able to live with the subsequent guilt and grief.
Douglas Puryear, in “Helping People in Crisis,” writes that a state of crisis is characterized by symptoms of stress, an attitude of panic, a time of lowered problem-solving efficiency, and a rush to find relief. In a pregnancy-related crisis, panic is always the dominant marker.
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She feels pressure, too. For many, pregnancy represents a failure of one’s moral or religious values. They have not found the strength required to live according to their moral code. The guilt is acute. Pregnancy converts this private pain into public shame. For the non-religious, sexual behavior is often reduced to mere recreation. But the human spirit resists such reduction. Sex changes things. It sets up new expectations. Sex resulting in pregnancy places those expectations under extreme pressure. More often than not, women instinctively want their partner to support them. Abortion is something they resort to more than choose.
Frederica Mathewes-Green surveyed reasons women give for having an abortion. The highest percentage (38.2%) reported that they resorted to abortion in response to the external pressure from a husband or a boyfriend. Researcher, David Reardon, provides one woman’s telling account:
My family would not support my decision to keep the baby. My boyfriend said he would give me no emotional or financial help whatsoever. All the people that mattered told me to abort. When I said I didn’t want to, they started listing reasons why I should. That it would have detrimental effects on my career, and my health, and that I would have no social life and no future with men…I’m so angry at myself for giving in to the pressure of others.
To love your pregnant neighbor, understand that you are talking to someone who is frightened and under pressure, who wants her baby and doesn’t want it, who feels alone and is looking for deliverance. In that moment, the abortionist appears as the Savior who parrots the words of Christ, “Come unto me…” What, then, should you do and say?
Lead with love: Love is its own teacher; it prompts you to listen and sympathize. “I’m sorry to see you in distress. Help me understand why having a baby seems impossible?” Love encourages and breathes hope. “Having a baby is not the end of your life. It’s just an unexpected turn. Let me help you find God’s provision for you and your baby.” This immediately lowers fear and raises hope. Universally, this is how women turn from abortion to a life-affirming solution.
Tell the truth: Find your courage and tell the truth. There is only one reason that abortion is morally wrong — only one! It is morally wrong to intentionally kill an innocent human being. If the unborn is not human, there is nothing wrong with abortion. If it is human, then no circumstances justify it any more than they would justify killing a two-year-old. Help her answer the question, What is the unborn? Use a fetal model, get her an ultrasound at your local pregnancy help clinic, and look up “unborn baby” on your phone. In most cases, you are merely amplifying what her own heart is telling her.
Be her Good Samaritan: You don’t need to stop all abortions; just the one in front of you. The Samaritan was direct and personal. He did one practical thing and then another, including giving his time and money. Go and do likewise.
You are cross-bearing for the childbearing. You are making her problems your problems, just as Christ, through the cross, made our problems his own. After helping communities of churches establish pregnancy help services in hard places like China, Cuba, Uganda and more, I can confidently assert that loving your pregnant neighbor this way is God’s way of turning the despairing woman “into the joyous mother of children” (Ps 113:9).
LifeNews Note: John Ensor, an ordained Evangelical pastor, has been a leader in the pro-life movement for over 30 years as a speaker, author, mentor and co-laborer. John serves as the President of PassionLife, where he concentrates on helping missionaries and indigenous Christian leaders serving in countries plagued by abortion to equip the church in bioethics and pregnancy crisis intervention services. He has been recognized in the “Legacy of Life” book as one of the fifty greatest pro-life leaders of the last 50 years. John is the co-host of the “PassionLife Podcast,” with PassionLife Executive Director, Mark Nicholson. Together they discuss ministry updates and provide commentary on global current events.
The post A Scared Woman Called and Said: “If I Don’t Get an Abortion, I’m Going to Kill Myself” appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: Zero HedgeUkraine Will Never Recognize Occupied Territories As Russia, Zelensky Says From TurkeyTyler Durden Thu, 05/15/2025 - 14:20
Update(1105ET): "We don’t yet know the official level of Russians, but from what we see, it looks phony," Zelensky told reporters in Ankara. So despite the Ukrainian leader earlier declaring "I am here" upon landing in Turkey, he is not in fact at the Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul.
This 'I am here' yet not actually 'there' charade generated some contradictory headlines earlier on Thursday. Zelensky continues his performative gestures aimed at impressing one man: Trump. He even explained that he is sending Defense Minister Rustem Umerov to head the Ukrainian delegation for the Istanbul meeting, now likely underway, out of respect for Trump and the peace process he initiated.
The Kremlin side meanwhile says it's ready to make compromises:
The head of the Russian delegation in Istanbul, Vladimir Medinsky, told Russian state media RIA that Moscow was “ready for discussions.”
“We are ready for discussions, for resuming the Istanbul negotiations; we are prepared for possible compromises and their discussion,” Medinsky said, referring to the last known direct talks between Russia and Ukraine that took place in Istanbul in the spring of 2022.
But apparently not on the table is the only thing which could actually end this tragic war - territorial concessions:
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv will never recognize parts of Ukraine that are currently occupied as parts of Russia, as he confirmed peace talks are set to go ahead.
“In all discussions – and I emphasize this – and this is my unwavering position – we do not legally recognize any of our temporarily occupied territories as Russian. This is the Ukrainian land,” Zelensky told journalists.
Still, the fact the two sides are even at the same table in Istanbul is a huge development and start.
⚡️ Russia delegation has been empowered to negotiate with Ukrainian side — Vladimir Medinsky reacts to the lull in Istanbul talks
— RT (@RT_com) May 15, 2025
'We view these talks as a continuation of negotiations BROKEN by Ukraine 3 years ago pic.twitter.com/Kacw5hhDRMAnd again, everything Zelensky is doing appears designed to signal Trump - in order to keep America as Kiev's top weapons backer. "Despite the relatively low level of the Russian delegation, out of respect for President Trump, out of respect for the high level of the Turkish delegation and for President Erdogan, we still want to try to take at least the first steps towards a ceasefire, so I have decided to send our delegation to Istanbul now," Zelensky said further.
Zelensky says he is sending defense minister Umerov for direct talks with the Russians in Istanbul, so that nobody (he means Trump) could accuse Ukraine of not trying to reach peace.
— Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) May 15, 2025* * *
Russian President Vladimir Putin's investment envoy and close aide, Kirill Dmitriev, has praised US President Donald Trump for putting together Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul, the first such direct dialogue between the warring countries since early 2022.
Trump and his team have "made the impossible possible" by bringing Moscow and Kiev to the table. Dmitriev further wrote on X that the Istanbul meeting is happening "against all odds/fierce resistance" and that if "not derailed last-minute, this could be a historic step to peace."
Dmitriev also specifically named Vice President J.D. Vance, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio - the latter two who are present in Istanbul - as major contributors to the mediation effort. The Kremlin had spent the opening years of the conflict blasting the Biden administration for constantly stoking the war and thwarting dialogue, taking Washington-Moscow relations to new historic lows.
Via Anadolu Agency
As we noted earlier, Ukraine's President Zelensky is actually in Turkey, where he's set to meet with President Erdogan - but separately in the capital of Ankara, and has boasted that "I am here" and that Putin is not. Zelensky has even called the Russian delegation, largely composed of junior officials, "phony".
President Trump meanwhile, while attending meetings in Qatar, was asked by a reporter why the American leader is not himself present in Turkey for the talks:
"Why would he go if I’m not going?"
"I wasn’t planning to go and I didn’t think he would if I didn’t."
"But we have people there. Marco's doing a fantastic job, Marco's there..."
It remains that Putin has little reason or incentive to go, with war analysts widely recognizing that he remains in the driver's seat militarily, and with Ukrainian forces against the ropes.
‘Why would he go if I’m not going?’: Trump reacts to Putin sitting out Istanbul talks
— Chay Bowes (@BowesChay) May 15, 2025
“I wasn’t planning to go and I didn’t think he would if I didn’t.” pic.twitter.com/4YvqvO8gWhZelensky has until now offered no major concessions, and issues like permanent control over Crimea and the four eastern territories remain sticking points for Moscow. Thus there are unlikely to be any major breakthroughs in Istanbul, but the fact that the two sides are even at the table is a big accomplishment.
Below is an important rundown of what's expected in Istanbul and what's at stake for both sides, excerpted from fresh Responsible Statecraft analysis, Istanbul 2.0: know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em:
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What has changed since then?
Ukraine will enter the Istanbul talks in a weaker position that it held in 2022.
Western support for Ukraine financially and economically is not as sound as it was then. No big ticket economic aid and assistance has been made available since the G7 agreement of a $50 billion package of loans, in June 2024. While European states scratched together new economic aid to Ukraine in April, this cannot make up for the reduction in US support.
In territorial terms, Russia withdrew from Kyiv as a concession to the first Istanbul talks and lost ground in Kharkiv and in Kherson in late 2022. However, Russia has gone on steadily to gain further territory in the Donbas since the end of 2023. So while both sides have scores on the board, Russia now maintains the military upper hand on the battlefield and that seems unlikely to change. These two factors in particular were behind President Trump’s February assertion that Ukraine has no cards to play.
What has stayed the same?
NATO membership is still off the table
The verified documents shared by the New York Times last June confirmed that Ukraine’s neutrality and non-membership of NATO was the central issue agreed upon in 2022. Ukraine was ready to become a “permanently neutral state” that would never join NATO or allow foreign forces to be based on its soil.
There seems no route for Ukraine to resile from that given its currently weakened negotiating position and President Trump’s stated view that NATO membership for Ukraine is not practical. Although Germany’s new foreign Minister, Johann Wadephul recently repeated the line that Ukraine’s path to NATO is irreversible, most have agreed, privately and publicly, that Ukraine’s path to NATO is a fraught if not impossible one.
Right now, just having the talks is a huge breakthrough
The Istanbul talks would not be happening had the Trump administration not pushed for it so hard. We don’t need to rehash the “did they or didn’t they” debate around why Ukraine abandoned the Istanbul agreement in April 2022. What is clear, is that Ukraine became entrenched, not only in not negotiating with Russia, but in excluding Russia from all discussions on peace in Ukraine from then onward.
Having agreed in principle for Ukraine to accept neutral status Zelensky was pushing his own ten point peace plan. This included, among other things, Russia withdrawing its troops to the pre-2014 border, i.e. giving up Crimea and the Donbass and creating a Euro-Atlantic Security Architecture, by which he meant Ukraine joining NATO. Peace summits were organized in various countries that explicitly excluded Russia, culminating in the Switzerland event on June 15, 2024.
At this event, President Zelensky was dug in deeper on resisting any engagement with Russia until a full withdrawal of its troops from Ukraine, which was a completely unrealistic proposal. “Russia can start negotiations with us even tomorrow without waiting for anything – if they leave our legal territories,” he said.
Even after President Trump was elected, European leaders clung to the line that “only Ukraine can decide what peace means.”’ I see no circumstances in which a Kamala Harris presidency would have cajoled President Zelensky to enter into negotiations. Tomorrow’s talks wouldn’t be happening unless the Trump administration broke a whole load of Ukrainian and European eggshells to get to this point.
Source: Anadolu Agency
And Responsible Statecraft continues:
The biggest issue now is territory
Even though he was wrongly derided at the time by mainstream media, Steve Witkoff correctly pointed out in his March interview with Tucker Carlson that the territorial issues in Ukraine will be most intractable. Russia’s decision in October 2022 to formally annex the four oblasts of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk changed the calculus. However, Russia does not have full territorial control of any of those oblasts, which are cut through the middle by a hotly contested front line.
Resolving the line of control when the war ends is, by some margin, the most problematic challenge. This will be a hugely sensitive topic, and European allies will shoot down any major concessions to Russia, as they did when the idea surfaced that the U.S.might de jure recognise Russia’s occupation of Crimea.
The most obvious settlement is a de facto recognition of occupation, a Cyprus-style scenario, that does not stand in the way of Ukraine’s future membership of the European Union. Even that will require detailed agreement on issues around demilitarization of the line of control and enforcing any ceasefire.
Sanctions are probably tricky, but also tractable
As I have said before, there is enormous scope to a plan that allows for the immediate lifting of the bulk of zero-impact measures, phasing out the remainder at points agreed to by both sides. The toughest issue remains the $300 billion in frozen Russian assets, mostly held in Belgium. Russia has shown a willingness to concede this funding to support reconstruction in Ukraine, including those parts that Russia occupies.
But there is texture here. Freeing up those funds for reconstruction would immediately remove the source of interest payments that are meeting Ukraine’s obligations on its $50 billion in debt to the G7, agreed to in June 2024. But the more general policy question arises, how much of the freed up funding would be spent in Ukraine itself and how much in Russian-occupied Ukraine, where most of the war damage has occurred? The U.S. must keep the pressure on to ensure the talks stay on track.
A U.S. presence in Istanbul will be vital, to prevent, in particular, Ukraine from bailing on the talks. That’s why sending Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg makes sense. The former is trusted by the Russian side while the latter has built relationships in Ukraine. Their presence serves to keep the process moving forward until a deal can be pushed over the line and the fighting can stop.
Bear in mind that the 2022 talks ran for a month and a half and the circumstances have materially changed as I have indicated above. While there has been speculation that President Trump might drop into Istanbul, I am not sure that this is necessary if President Putin doesn’t himself attend. Knowing the Russians, I assess that Putin will want his own “‘meeting moment” with the U.S. President on terms that the Russian side can better choreograph. Indeed, that may be a prize for Russia’s engagement in the process, given its desire for a more comprehensive reset of relations with the U.S.
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Site: LifeNews
Alaska’s indigenous women and their unborn babies are increasingly vulnerable to abortion, according to the latest comprehensive data from the state.
For decades, the abortion industry and its allies have worked to make the killing of pre-born babies more palatable among Alaska Native communities. Well-funded leftist groups like Planned Parenthood, Native Movement and others now employ activist tactics and community organizing to increase abortion accessibility and change cultural perceptions, especially among the youth.
Last year, a total of 1,224 unborn babies were killed in Alaska through abortion, up slightly from 1,222 the year before. While the annual total has remained relatively steady at about 1,233 per year over the past six years, a significant increase was recorded among Alaska Native and American Indian women – surging from 247 abortions in 2020 to 356 in 2024.
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In 2020, abortions on Native women accounted for 20% the statewide total. Last year, that number rose to 29%, despite the fact that indigenous women only represent about 16% of the female population in Alaska.
During that same five-year stretch, abortions have decreased among white women – going from 596 in 2020 to 511 in 2024. All other racial groups have remained fairly steady.
With regard to ethnicity, however, the percentage of abortions performed on Hispanic women has more than tripled in just one year, going from 39 (3%) in 2023 to 123 (10%) last year.
PUBLICLY FUNDED ABORTIONS
The State of Alaska footed the bill for 43% of all abortions last year through the publicly-funded Medicaid program, known as DenaliCare. That means 528 unborn babies were destroyed with public dollars.
These state-financed abortions were driven mostly by unmarried women and indigenous populations. Alaska Native and American Indian women comprised 42% of all state-funded abortions – far higher than any other racial group.
TEEN ABORTIONS INCREASE
Abortions are also becoming more prevalent among teens – 15-19 years old. In 2020, this group accounted for 128 abortions – about 11% of the statewide total. In 2024, that number rose to 160 abortions, or 14% of all abortions. Six abortions were performed on girls younger than 15 years in 2024.
Most abortions, however, continue to be performed on women in their 20s, who underwent 678 abortions in 2024, amounting to 55% of the statewide total.
CHEMICAL ABORTION TAKING OVER
In a state with only two functioning Planned Parenthood abortion clinics remaining, chemical abortion pills – Mifepristone – are continuing to become more prominent. Pro-abortions groups see them as a way for women to terminate their pre-born babies while avoiding plane trips and hotel stays in Anchorage or Fairbanks. They also don’t need to darken the doors of an abortion center.
Thanks to telemedicine laws, women in remote areas of Alaska can now simply order these pills through the mail and take them at home without ever seeing a doctor in person.
Last year, nearly 6 in 10 abortions (59%) were done using the dangerous drug, Mifepristone, up from the previous all-time high of 56% in 2023.
This drug works by blocking the hormone progesterone. This causes the nourishing lining of the mother’s uterus to break down, making it easier for her pre-born baby to be expelled. Mifepristone is typically followed by a second drug, misoprostol, which causes contractions that expel the dead baby.
According to Americans United For Life (AUL), which tracks the dangers of Mifepristone, there are numerous complications associate with the drug, such as incomplete abortion wherein the pill does not fully terminate the pregnancy, leading to the need for additional medical intervention.
Mifepristone can also lead to infections and heavy bleeding that can be life-threatening, especially for women who live off the road system, and do not have easy access to medical treatment.
Despite the known dangers, AUL notes that in-person medical visits for a pregnant woman are not necessary for her to terminate her child using chemical abortion pills, which is one of the reasons why 1 in 25 women who take the abortion pill end up in the emergency room with complications.
The rise of chemical abortions coincides with more babies being killed at younger ages. In 2024, 468 pre-born Alaska babies were destroyed at six weeks gestation or younger. That represented 38% of all Alaska abortions, a new high.
The older surgical abortion method of Dilation and Curettage continued to decline in Alaska with just 245 (20%) women undergoing this procedure. This method is generally used in the first trimester and requires dilation of the cervix so that the unborn child can be scraped from the womb by an abortionist and then removed by suction. In 2024, 245 Alaska abortions were done this way, amounting to one in every five. Over the past five years this method has become less prevalent as the rise of chemical abortion continues to change the industry.
Dilation and Evacuation (D&E) is another surgical procedure that is generally used after the first trimester. This was used in 19% (231) of all Alaska abortions last year. It requires the temporary widening of the cervix as the pre-born baby and placenta are removed with a combination of surgical instruments, suction, or forceps by an abortionist.
PLUMMETING FERTILITY
Included in the 2024 abortion report is the fact that between 2018 and 2024, Alaska’s fertility rate has fallen from 69.5 to 61.9 births per 1,000 women. Fertility rates are based only on the number of live births. Abortion, miscarriage, fetal death and simply not becoming pregnant, all have an impact on the state’s plunging fertility rate, which is no longer at replacement levels.
Annual abortion reports are mandated by Alaska law, requiring hospitals, clinics and individual abortionists to submit information. The final report cannot contain the name of the patient, abortionist, facility or geographical area where the abortion occurred, and all forms are destroyed after the annual report is finalized.
To read this year’s report, click here.
LifeNews.com Note: Joel Davidson is Editor-in-Chief of the Alaska Watchman, which this article originally appeared.
The post Planned Parenthood Pushes Abortions on Native Americans in Alaska, Kills More Babies appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: Catholic ConclaveArchbishop Gänswein on Leo XIV: "The confusion of recent years must be overcome"Archbishop Georg Gänswein has declared that the Church "now needs doctrinal clarity" during the pontificate of Leo XIV: "The confusion of recent years must be overcome." Gänswein, the longtime private secretary to Pope Benedict XVI and current Apostolic Nuncio to Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia, spoke on Monday in the Catholic Conclavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06227218883606585321noreply@blogger.com0
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Site: Zero HedgeTrump Admin Urges Supreme Court To Permit DOGE Access To Social Security RecordsTyler Durden Thu, 05/15/2025 - 14:05
Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
The Department of Justice urged the Supreme Court on May 13 to let the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have access to Social Security data after lower courts blocked that access.
The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on April 3, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times
President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 14158 on Jan. 20, implementing DOGE, an advisory body that recommends cost-cutting measures. The order directed the entity to “implement the President’s DOGE Agenda, by modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.”
Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued in the new filing that the lower courts have overreached and are attempting to turn themselves into “the human resources department for the Executive Branch.”
The filing came after Ellen Lipton Hollander, a Maryland-based federal district court judge, issued an order on March 20 preventing DOGE from viewing Social Security Administration (SSA) records because such access “violates” the federal Privacy Act.
The lawsuit was brought in February by labor unions and retirees represented by the Democracy Forward Foundation.
“The DOGE Team is essentially engaged in a fishing expedition at SSA, in search of a fraud epidemic, based on little more than suspicion. It has launched a search for the proverbial needle in the haystack, without any concrete knowledge that the needle is actually in the haystack,” the judge wrote in granting a temporary restraining order against the federal government.
DOGE’s team at the Social Security Administration has had “unbridled access to the personal and private data of millions of Americans, including but not limited to Social Security numbers, medical records, mental health records, hospitalization records, drivers’ license numbers, bank and credit card information, tax information, income history, work history, birth and marriage certificates, and home and work addresses,” Hollander wrote.
Hollander directed DOGE to delete any personally identifiable data in its possession. On April 17, Hollander upgraded the temporary restraining order to a preliminary injunction.
On April 30, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit voted 9–6 to maintain Hollander’s order while the appeal process continues.
On May 2, the Trump administration filed an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court, asking the justices to pause the preliminary injunction.
In the May 13 filing, Sauer argued that the district court erred in preventing “the 11 members of the Social Security Administration (SSA) DOGE team—from accessing data ... for purposes that are unquestionably lawful.”
The district court “dictated to the Executive Branch which government employees can access which data and even prescribed necessary training, background checks, and paperwork for data access,” Sauer wrote.
“When district courts attempt to transform themselves into the human resources department for the Executive Branch, the irreparable harm to the government is clear,” he wrote.
When the courts “stymie the government’s initiatives to modernize badly outdated systems and combat rampant fraud—leaving those initiatives on a litigation track that may halt them for months or years—the irreparable harm is even clearer.”
Reviewing Social Security Administration data is important because the agency has “one of the largest documented histories of improper payments,” Sauer stated.
In a brief in opposition filed on May 12, the lead respondent, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, said that after years of honoring “its data security obligations,” the Social Security Administration “now seeks to throw open its data systems to unauthorized (and often unvetted) personnel who have no demonstrated need for the personally identifiable information ... they seek.”
The April 17 preliminary injunction should be left in place because it is “narrow and, contrary to the government’s assertions, permits SSA to disclose both anonymized and non-anonymized data to DOGE Team members,” the brief said.
The Supreme Court could rule on the government’s emergency application at any time.
Jack Phillips contributed to this report.
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Site: LifeNews
At this rate, New York is on track to become the 11th state to legalize assisted suicide.
In an 81-67 vote on April 29, the New York Assembly passed the Medical Aid in Dying Act (MAID). This law permits terminally ill patients to end their lives with a physician’s help. The state Senate remains just seven votes shy of advancing the bill to a floor vote. But it can’t be too shocking, can it? After all, a 2024 YouGov poll revealed that at least 72% of New Yorkers support euthanasia. In one sense, it was only a matter of time before they legalized it.
Even so, inevitability does not erase the tragedy. Because this is tragic, even if we could see it coming a mile away. Legalizing euthanasia — despite the intentionally softer label of “assisted dying” — is a grave moral failing. It frames death as a solution to pain or inconvenience. It echoes the chilling “logic” behind abortion, too, in which innocent babies’ lives are taken due to convenience, coercion, or confusion. Both practices reflect a sickening pattern: using death to erase life’s complexities.
Another pattern? Euthanasia decisions are often born of despair, made in moments of tunnel-visioned hopelessness. And they are 100% irreversible. Once a life — whether your own, a loved one’s, or an unborn child’s — is taken, it is gone forever. Some act without grasping this perpetuity; others realize it too late, left only to grapple with enduring pain and regret. The same is true of anyone who commits suicide. But suicide in itself isn’t championed as a “right” for anyone, is it? However, slap on “physician-assisted,” and it’s suddenly not only accepted but promoted.
Hypocrisy at its finest.
The New York Alliance Against Assisted Suicide understands well enough the destructive, permanent effects of assisted suicide. While other groups nationwide fight against assisted suicide, the NY Alliance happens to be facing an immediate threat on their doorstep. They see MAID for what it is: a dangerous step toward normalizing death as a commodity.
ACTION: Contact the New York Senate and tell senators to vote NO on the assisted suicide bill.
“The Medical Aid in Dying Act does not require that physicians conduct the medical examination in-person — that is, virtual assessments are allowed,” they shared on X. With this Act, “NY might become a destination for ‘suicide tourism’ — the practice of traveling to a place where [assisted suicide] is legal to end one’s life — much like Switzerland.”
Consider the words of author and physician L.S. Dugdale, in which she rightly asserted that euthanasia, and New York’s push to legalize it through MAID, “is not about dying well. It is about relieving society — government, medical systems, even families — of the responsibility to care for those who need the most help: the mentally ill, the poor, the physically disabled.” She’s right. This is not compassion. It is abandonment dressed as mercy.
When the New York State Assembly voted on the Medical Aid in Dying Act, no Republicans voted for the bill — a beacon of hope for those who cherish the sanctity of life. Meanwhile, this implies that least at 81 of the 102 Democrats voted for the bill. Assemblymember Andrew Molitor (R-Westfield) said he “cannot support legislation that legalizes the deliberate termination of life under the guise of compassion. When mental health care, palliative treatment and effective pain management are available and should be prioritized, sanctioning death as a form of relief reflects indifference — not compassion.”
Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay (R) echoed this, warning that the “legislation is severely flawed, not only in principle, but in lacking appropriate safeguards and requirements necessary to prevent abuse and misapplication.” U.S. Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) also condemned the legislation as “disgusting” and “radical,” calling it “a shameful attack on the sanctity of life and a betrayal of our most vulnerable citizens.”
Beyond New York, other states have seen through the euphemism of “assisted dying.” Kansas, for instance, passed laws criminalizing involvement in physician-assisted death, while West Virginia voted “last November to enshrine its current ban into the state constitution, with the proposition passing 50.49% to 49.56%,” as reported by The Post-Journal.
In 2024, Danielle Pimentel of Americans United for Life cut to the heart of the matter: Euthanasia is nothing less than “normalizing suicide, and it’s incentivizing individuals to end their lives.” Truly, Republican lawmakers and conservative voices are crucial in battling this deadly agenda. And yet, it’s hard not to acknowledge that Christians are the one’s who must rise as the vanguard.
As believers, we are called to champion the sacred gift of life, boldly opposing ideologies like abortion, transgenderism, and assisted suicide that defy God’s divine design. With unwavering courage, we must defend the sanctity of every soul. The New York Assembly’s push for MAID starkly rejects this divine truth, making it critical for believers to speak all the more boldly, extend genuine compassion, and fight tirelessly to protect life from conception to natural death.
The battle for life is not a mere political skirmish. It is a spiritual mandate — a divine imperative to uphold the eternal value of every human being. To stand silent as MAID — or any other such legislation — advances is to forsake our calling. It is to abandon those most vulnerable to a culture that commodifies death. It is to allow despair to be met with a prescription for annihilation. It is to neglect “the least of these.” Don’t let these things define you, dear Christian.
Be the one who upholds God’s standard and fights for His creation to choose life. Death is sweet, and only so, for the Christian called home by the Savior. Death apart from salvation is nothing short of eternal agony. Indeed, life is richest when tethered to its Author, who guides us through fires, floods, and valleys.
So, share the Good News of Christ. Offer His hope to the hopeless, radiate His light to those in darkness, and proclaim truth to those entangled in lies. Show compassion to the manipulated and deceived. To a world that says, “End your life, and your problems will go away,” declare: Turn to Christ, and leave all your cares at the foot of the cross and in the hands that bled for you. In Christ alone, no matter your story, you have hope, freedom, purpose, and, above all, true and abundant life.
This is the message the world desperately needs. So, go on. Share it.
ACTION: Contact the New York Senate and tell senators to vote NO on the assisted suicide bill.
LifeNews Note: Sarah Holliday is a reporter at The Washington Stand, where this originally appeared.
The post Stop New York From Becoming the 11th State to legalize Assisted Suicide appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: Catholic ConclaveReport from just prior to Holy WeekTorreciudad prepares for Holy Week amid uncertainty about its futureWhile waiting for the Papal commissioner to resolve the dispute between Opus Dei and the diocese of Barbastro-Monzón, the shrine offers various activities for these days.The Huesca shrine of Torreciudad will experience Holy Week with an added element: uncertainty about its near future. As you Catholic Conclavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06227218883606585321noreply@blogger.com0
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Site: AsiaNews.itChinese concerns over its army of subcontractors in the garment industry working for big brands is behind the first truce in the Sino-American trade war. The China Labour Bulletin reports protests and closures in April. Local authorities are trying to limit the damage with informal mediation, hoping for a recovery. Facts contradict statements by Western brands about 'responsible exits'.
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Site: RT - News
Kiev’s Western backers have claimed Moscow’s delegation to peace talks in Türkiye is not high-level enough
Kiev’s Western backers have blasted Moscow’s choice of negotiators ahead of the planned peace talks in Türkiye, with some of them calling it an affront to Ukraine. Moscow’s team, led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, includes two deputy ministers and an intelligence chief.
It is “like a slap in the face,” Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told journalists, commenting on the situation.
The Baltic nation’s top diplomat described the Russian delegation as low-level as he talked to journalists on the sidelines of a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in the Turkish city of Antalya.
A similar opinion was shared by British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who dismissed the Russian team as “low-level individuals.” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin “clearly has no desire to enter these peace negotiations” since he has not come to Türkiye in person.
Medinsky headed Moscow’s delegation during negotiations with Kiev in 2022. Apart from him, the current Russian team also includes Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, Deputy Defense Minister Aleksandr Fomin and the head of Russia’s military intelligence, Igor Kostyukov. The negotiators are accompanied by a group of experts which includes senior military and civil officials, as well as diplomats.
Read moreRussia ready for ‘possible compromises’ – Putin aide
Speaking to journalists in Istanbul, Medinsky said that the delegation includes “senior officials from all the relevant government agencies.” He also stated that Moscow is ready to renew its dialogue with Kiev and to discuss “potential compromises.”
The two sides are now expected to meet in Istanbul after Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested resuming the direct negotiations disrupted in 2022 to find a lasting solution to the Ukraine conflict.
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky initially ruled out any talks with Moscow unless a 30-day ceasefire is agreed upon first. He then changed his stance after US President Donald Trump expressed his support for Putin’s initiative.
Zelensky, who has arrived in Türkiye’s capital Astana, insisted that he would only speak to the Russian president directly but eventually decided to send a team led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov to meet the Russian negotiators.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov ridiculed Zelensky’s demands by calling him a “pathetic person,” who was acting “foolishly.” His words came after the Ukrainian leader initially branded the Russian delegation a “prop.”
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Site: LifeNews
Pro-family experts are touting multiple provisions of President Donald Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill” aimed at fulfilling the administration’s promises to facilitate family formation, ease adoption, and benefit homeschool students or those who attend religious schools.
The House Ways and Means Committee passed the 389-page bill on Wednesday morning by a 26-19, party-line vote. “It’s sad that every single committee Democrat voted for the largest tax hike in American history and against additional tax relief for families, farmers, and small businesses,” Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.) told The Washington Stand. The bill now moves to the House Budget Committee.
In its current form, the bill contains economic provisions pro-family advocates say they have supported for years.
Increasing the Child Tax Credit
The president’s signature economic bill from his first term, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), doubled the Child Tax Credit (CTC) from $1,000 to $2,000 and raised the income families can earn as the credit phases out. Without renewal, the child tax credit would be cut in half at the end of this year. The “big beautiful bill” increases the child tax credit to $2,500 for the tax years 2025 through 2028 — the end of the Trump administration. The extra $500 CTC boost adjusts for the rampant inflation of the last Democratic administration, according to its advocates.
If Congress does not vote to maintain the increased CTC, the credit will return to $2,000; however, the bill makes that level permanent and indexes it for inflation each year, rounded to the nearest $100. The bill also requires both parents to have work-eligible Social Security numbers before claiming the credit.
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“This is excellent news for families,” Quena González, senior director of Government Affairs at Family Research Council, told TWS. He singled out the bill’s proposal to increase the CTC as the fulfillment of a long-term policy goal of the organization’s. “FRC has long advocated for increasing the child tax credit. We advocated for it to be doubled the last time, and it is good to see it pegged to inflation and made permanent. In the current round of budgeting, where they’re trying to cut hundreds of billions of dollars, this is a really huge nod to the importance of family.”
Many who advocate for a pro-family tax code have singled out the child tax credit, which was created in 1997, as a way to aid struggling families while reducing the reach of government. “The relatively new child tax credit, which will slowly rise over the next several years to $1,000, should instead be immediately increased to at least $2,500 per child and indexed to inflation,” said Allan C. Carlson, then a distinguished fellow for family policy studies at FRC, during a Witherspoon Lecture more than two decades ago. Carlson has championed what he calls “a pro-family income tax” for decades.
AEI scholar Kevin Corinth made an identical proposal in February in AEI’s “Family Friendly Policies for the 119th Congress,” edited by Timothy P. Carney. “A supersized Child Tax Credit will ease the financial burdens on families raising children and those hoping to welcome new babies into the world,” agreed Patrice Onwuka of the Independent Women’s Forum.
Some of the big beautiful bill’s policies have reopened a rift on the Right, as some conservatives believe the government should make no fiscal policy promoting or discriminating against the nuclear family. Others blame tax credits for removing nearly half of all Americans from income tax rolls, shifting the tax burden onto a shrinking number of high earners.
González says the enhanced CTC will help secure America’s economic future by boosting the nation’s sagging demographics. “If you want to make the federal budget sustainable, you need a growing population to do that,” he contended. “This may be the first major policy move in that direction in years, or decades.”
Population levels are plunging globally, falling by more than half since 1950. The U.S. birthrate rose by less than 1% in 2024 to 1.626, according to provisional data released by the CDC last month, up from an historic low of 1.616 in 2023. Both levels are far below the 2.1 level needed for replacement. The pattern repeats throughout the West, where a birth dearth has stunted economic growth. “If we are unable to address our fertility crisis, the U.S. will face an existential economic crisis driven by a steep decline in fertility rates — one that could have an impact measured in the quadrillions of dollars,” wrote Jesús Fernández-Villaverde in The American Enterprise.
Child-Friendly Investment Accounts, Adoption Credits, and More
The “big beautiful bill” delivers numerous other tax policies desired by some pro-family advocates, according to a section-by-section analysis of the bill provided to The Washington Stand by the House Ways and Means Committee.
Make It Easier to Adopt a Child: One provision in the bill (Sec. 110107) gives parents a tax credit to write off up to $16,810 from their taxes in qualified adoption expenses. Under current law, the amount can be rolled over for five years. The new bill does not allow the tax to be rolled over but, beginning in 2025, it makes up to $5,000 of the credit refundable — meaning parents can receive that much money even if they do not owe taxes (have no tax liability); and the refundable
amount is indexed for inflation. The credit phases out for those who have an adjusted gross income between $252,150 and $292,150. The bill also gives Native American tribal governments the same authority as states to deem an adopted child “special needs,” making the adoptive family eligible for the full $16,810 potential tax credit (Sec. 110108).
MAGA Accounts for Family Formation: The bill establishes a new category of Money Accounts for Growth and Advancement, or “MAGA accounts” (Sections 110115 and 110116). Beginning in 2026, those with children under the age of eight can contribute up to $5,000 a year (adjusted annually for inflation) to a MAGA account, which is invested in a diversified account that tracks the stock market, each year until the child turns 18. Friends, relatives, employers, and non-profits (including churches) may also make donations to these accounts and — provided the donations go to a broad class of recipients — nonprofits can make unlimited donations. For instance, a veterans organization could offer unlimited support for the children of gold star families.
For children born between 2024 and 2028 — the second Trump administration — the government will deposit $1,000 of taxpayers’ dollars into these MAGA accounts. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) made a similar legislative proposal this week, introducing the Invest America Act on Monday.
When the child turns 18, he may take out up to half of its amount for college, vocational training, to start a business, or to purchase his first home. At age 25, he can withdraw the full amount for those purposes; at age 30, he can remove the full amount of the account for any reason.
The Trump administration has sought to promote family formation. “It is the task of our government to make it easier to have kids, to welcome them into the world,” Vice President J.D. Vance told the 2025 March for Life.
Encouraging School Choice and Homeschooling: The proposed “big beautiful bill” creates a new tax credit for those who contribute to charities that provide scholarships for elementary or secondary students to attend private or religious schools (Sec. 110109). It also allows parents, including homeschoolers, to withdraw funds from tax-advantaged 529 accounts to cover a broader array of educational expenses (Sec. 110110), including:
- curriculum and curricular materials
- books or other instructional materials
- online educational materials
- tutoring or educational classes outside the home
- testing fees
- fees for dual enrollment in an institution of higher education, and
- educational therapies for students with disabilities.
Decreases Government Policies Encouraging Gambling: One provision modestly discourages gambling by reducing how much wagering losses a person can write off (Sec. 110014). Currently, gamblers can write off only gambling losses up to the amount of their winnings, and other gambling-related expenses in excess of the amount they won. The bill reduces all gambling-related deductions to the amount of his winnings.
González was not alone in praising those parts of the bill. “We are encouraged to see the House Ways and Means Committee increase their response to the needs of American families, especially support for young and growing families through the child tax credit and the foster and adoption tax credit,” said John Mize, CEO of Americans United for Life. “We at March for Life are grateful for the pro-life, pro-family reconciliation bill text released today,” according to a post on the annual pro-life event’s social media account. “These provisions will strengthen a longstanding family that benefits all American families,” said Concerned Women for America LAC. And ACLJ Action held that “this Child Tax Credit update sends a powerful message: We value children. We value parents. And we value the American family.”
The bill’s supporters note its overall fiscal impact, as well. “Instead of a $1,700 tax hike, working families still recovering from Biden’s inflation crisis will now receive on average a $1,300 tax cut and workers will get $3,300 more in real income back into their pockets,” said a press release the committee emailed to The Washington Stand Wednesday morning. “Permanence of the 2017 Trump tax cuts will save 6 million jobs, including 1.1 million manufacturing jobs.”
“This cornerstone of President Trump’s economic agenda will put the interests and needs of working families and small businesses ahead of Washington, bring jobs and manufacturing back to America, and usher in a new golden era of prosperity,” Rep. Smith told TWS.
How much of the bill will survive the Senate legislative process remains to be seen. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) told Fox Business on Wednesday morning the bill will see Senate action “probably sometime in the early fall.”
LifeNews Note: Ben Johnson is senior reporter and editor at The Washington Stand.
The post One Big, Beautiful Bill Increases Child Tax Credits, Makes Adoption Easier appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: Mises InstituteWith the recent collapse of air traffic control systems at Newark International Airport, air safety again is in the news. The problem is that the US ATC system is run on socialist principles. To fix this problem, turn to private enterprise.
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Site: Rorate CaeliAs Rorate has advertised a number of times in the past, the traditional Benedictine monks of Notre Dame Priory in Tasmania, Australia, who stand in the stream of the retreat-giving monks of St Joseph de Clairval in Flavigny, will be offering two retreats this July in Ohio, one for men and one for women. Details in the poster below. I know this community well and wholeheartedly recommend the Peter Kwasniewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05136784193150446335noreply@blogger.com
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Site: LifeNews
There is a major battle in the U.S. House over negotiations this week on the federal budget. Lawmakers are making key decisions to either keep the abortion defunding language in the 2026 budget or remove it and continue funding Planned Parenthood and Big Abortion.
The result of this debate will determine whether nearly 800 million dollars in taxpayer funding continues flowing to Planned Parenthood. This is just the amount Planned Parenthood received in the last year. This figure does not include ALL abortion funding. The total amount of funding for Big Abortion is likely more than 1 TRILLION DOLLARS!
The latest annual report from Planned Parenthood reveals it raked in nearly 800 MILLION dollars in taxpayer money last year — that’s more than 2.1 million dollars every day — courtesy of you and me. That’s an increase of 100 million dollars from the prior year. And this money raised their annual abortion rate to 402,230 babies!
Demand Congress stop paying Planned Parenthood over 2 million dollars every day to kill babies.
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The good news is that defunding Planned Parenthood and Big Abortion language is included in the funding bill. The challenging news is that we need every vote to pass the bill, and some are on the fence. These members need to hear from you!
Planned Parenthood has become America’s #1 taxpayer-funded propaganda machine for child murders, overt sexualization, gender confusion, and political manipulation.
+ + Nearly 40% of PP’s total income comes from taxpayers.
According to Planned Parenthood’s 2023–2024 annual report, a staggering 39% of their total revenue — 792.2 million dollars — came from government reimbursements and grants.
That’s our tax dollars, and they are not slowing down. That number has grown year over year. In 2024 alone, they hauled in 2.17 million dollars per day from federal and state coffers — all while over 402,000 babies were slaughtered.
Planned Parenthood’s annual report calls itself a “force for hope,” but that slogan is a cruel distortion of the truth. There is no hope in an organization that profits from killing over 402,000 unborn children a year, mutilating the bodies, and leaving countless women emotionally scarred and spiritually devastated.
Hope builds the future — but Planned Parenthood destroys it, one child, one mother, one family at a time. Their evil deeds cause depression, grief, and irreversible harm. To parade that destruction under the banner of “hope” is not just hypocritical — it’s demonic.
Remember that these staggering numbers apply just to Planned Parenthood. Our federal dollars also fund other abortions. THIS EVIL MUST STOP!
Indoctrinating Children in Classrooms
Planned Parenthood is embedding itself in school curricula across the country. The group boasts about developing and distributing classroom materials so extreme, so vile, we refuse to reprint them in this email.
They’re pushing explicit content and dangerous ideologies to children as young as elementary school. The materials promote promiscuous activity, gender confusion, and radical autonomy — all under the banner of “health.”
They launched a video series that mocks virginity and family values. It claims that “virginity is a completely made-up concept” and teaches minors how to hide promiscuous activity from parents.
And you paid for this … and more.
Last year, Planned Parenthood gave 175,000 dollars in “Brave Awards” to LGBTQ youth organizations to target confused children.
Make no mistake: This is grooming, and it’s funded by you. We are being forced to pay for a destructive agenda that leads to depression, mutilation, and suicide that is recast as “hope.”
This is government-subsidized destruction of life, family, and moral order.
LifeNews Note: Mat Staver is the Chairman of Liberty Counsel Action and Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel.
The post Tell Congress to Stop Sending Planned Parenthood $2 Million Every Day to Kill Babies appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: Catholic Conclave“Pope Francis thoroughly mixed the cards” ‒ Cardinal László Német on the conclaveYes, that is Rupnik art behind him in the reception hall of the Archbishop's Palace, It depicts European saints. Below Rupnik's version of Pope St John Paul II with St Edith SteinWe were guests of Metropolitan Archbishop of Belgrade, Cardinal László Német, in the Serbian capital on Tuesday. We traveled to Catholic Conclavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06227218883606585321noreply@blogger.com0
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Site: RT - News
No casualties or significant damage have been reported
A 5.2-magnitude earthquake struck central Türkiye on Thursday, shaking the capital Ankara as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hosted Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky.
The quake hit at 3:46pm local time in the Kulu district of Konya province, according to Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Authority (AFAD). The tremor was also reportedly felt in the surrounding provinces.
Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas confirmed that the quake was felt in the capital, saying authorities were “closely monitoring developments.”
Zelensky, who had announced his intention to visit Türkiye following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal that Moscow and Kiev participate in direct talks, reportedly flew to Albania, having despatched a team of negotiators to Istanbul.
READ MORE: Putin proposes unconditional peace talks with Ukraine (FULL SPEECH)
Last week, Putin proposed resuming direct dialogue to find a lasting settlement to the Ukraine conflict. The talks, which are expected to take place imminently in Istanbul, would mark the first such meeting between Russia and Ukraine since 2022, when the peace process was aborted by Kiev.
Ankara, Türkiye in the aftermath of an earthquake, May 15, 2025 © Getty Images / Anadolu / Contributor
Zelensky, who had previously said he would only talk directly with Putin, said later in the day on Thursday that he would send a delegation led by Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
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Site: Zero HedgeDemocratic Senators Remove Trump-Targeting Provisions In Push To Pass Stablecoin BillTyler Durden Thu, 05/15/2025 - 12:05
The US Senate could pass a key bipartisan stablecoin bill as soon as next week after removing language targeting President Donald Trump and his family’s sprawling crypto interests.
As Jesse Coghlan reports below for CoinTelegraph, Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis said onstage at an event by Coinbase’s lobbying arm, Stand With Crypto, that she thinks it's a “fair target” to have the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act, or GENIUS Act, passed by May 26 — Memorial Day in the US.
Joining her onstage was Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who hinted that the bill’s language was changed to scrap provisions that targeted Trump’s various crypto projects, which include memecoins, a crypto platform, a stablecoin and a crypto mining company that plans to go public, among others.
“When this language comes out, people will see really good refinement, a lot of progress, on things like consumer protection, and bankruptcy protection, and ethics,” Gillibrand said.
“Things beyond just ‘what’s the structure?’ and ‘what’s required for an issuer?’”
Senate Democrats pulled support for the bill on May 8 and stalled its momentum, airing concerns that it wouldn’t help address multiple crypto-tied deals that will personally enrich Trump.
“A lot of what President Trump is engaged in is already illegal,” Gillibrand said.
“I also think his issuance of a memecoin is illegal based on current law.”
“It’s literally offering anyone who wants to curry favor with the administration to just send him money — that’s about as illegal as it gets.”
“I’m not so worried about this bill having to deal with all President Trump’s ethics problems. What this bill is really intended to do is regulate the entire space of stablecoins,” she added.
Source: Brian Armstrong
Gillibrand said the revised bill includes “some ethics requirements,” but it was “not an ethics bill.”
“If we were dealing with all President Trump’s ethics problems, it would be a very long and detailed bill,” she added.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, also on stage, was hopeful the Senate would vote on the stablecoin bill “early next week.”
Armstrong, whose company cozied up to Trump by donating $1 million to his inauguration fund, declined to comment when asked if the President’s memecoin could impact the passage of bipartisan crypto bills.
“It’s not my place to really comment on President Trump’s activity,” he said.
“What I do think is important is that this bill remains focused on stablecoins.”
Crypto bills “absolutely critical” to pass before midterms
The crypto industry is pushing for Congress to pass the GENIUS Act and a Republican-drafted crypto market structure bill before the midterm elections on Nov. 3, 2026, where all 435 House seats and a third of the 100 Senate seats are up for election.
“We have a very narrow window to get legislation through between now and the midterms,” Marta Belcher, the president of the crypto lobby group the Blockchain Association, told Cointelegraph at the Consensus conference in Toronto.
“I strongly suspect that window is going to close very quickly. I don't know if we're going to get another window like this to get legislation through,” she added.
“It's absolutely critical that we get it through now, especially because there really is a real possibility that in the future we end up with an administration that is hostile to crypto.”
The association’s communications director, Chris Jonas, added that it’s critical the bills pass before Congress takes a recess for the month of August.
“Once you get into the calendar year of the midterms, historically not a lot of legislation moves, so that's why it’s so critical,” he explained.
Trump should be on track to sign both crypto bills before the August break, according to Bo Hines, the executive director of the Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets.
Hines noted on stage at Consensus on May 13 that negotiations on both bills are still ongoing, but it was “the President's desire” to sign both “stablecoin legislation and market structure legislation before the August recess."
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Site: Zero Hedge"Patience To See, Not To Guess"Tyler Durden Thu, 05/15/2025 - 11:50
By Benjamin Picton, Rabobank Senior Macro Strategist
Patience To See
Tech names drove the NASDAQ and S&P500 to further gains yesterday, while the Dow Jones fell for a second-straight session. Semiconductors performed especially well as fund managers caught underweight high-beta US megacaps continued a buying spree that was sparked by a 90-day tariff reduction between the US and China announced on Monday. Nvidia posted a 4.16% gain and AMD was up 4.68% as both companies inked deals with Saudi Arabia to sell more chips for AI applications. European stocks underperformed with most major indexes closing lower, and the Nikkei fell as funds flowed back into Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index and China’s CSI300.
While stocks were rising, US 10-year bond yields poked back above the psychological 4.50% level to close the day up 6bps at 4.54%. 30-year Treasury yields closed half a bip below the intraday highs at 4.98%, which means that yields on both the 10-year and the 30-year are now trading above the levels that were in effect on April 9th when the Trump administration apparently cried “uncle!” in response to bond market pressure and kicked the implementation of reciprocal tariffs into the long grass for 90 days.
Perhaps we are about to find out whether it really was rising bond yields that forced the about face on those reciprocal tariffs, or if Scott Bessent has some other rabbit to pull out of his hat to force long yields lower. Rising bond yields is a problem for America’s chief bond salesman who has trillions of Dollars’ worth of debt to refinance in the months ahead. With the Fed still engaged in quantitative tightening, and enormous budget deficits still being run (despite DOGE), Bessent is going to have to work hard to sniff out other bids, and US homebuyers better hope that he can convince offshore investors that Treasuries yielding 4.5-5% are just too juicy to last. One wonders how durable the rally in long-duration tech can be while yields on long bonds are making new highs.
Fed Speakers yesterday offered no help to the Treasury Secretary by giving the impression that there is no rush to cut the Fed Funds rate any further. Mary Daly said that the Fed had to have “patience to see, not to guess”, which seems to discount the possibility of any kind of pre-emptive policy action. Daly also said that if you take a step back from all the tariff uncertainty the underlying economy is experiencing solid growth, with a strong labor market and declining inflation. That assessment might be a little bit like saying that the Dinosaurs were in really good shape if you ignore the uncertain effects of the approaching meteor.
In the land of hard data, the US economy shrank in Q1 because of a surge in imports that could be replicated in Q2 as the 90-day reprieve on China tariffs encourages importers and retailers to “reload the gun” on goods inventories. Two consecutive quarters of negative growth is the definition of a recession, but get ready for plenty of commentators to suggest that this one doesn’t really count (it wouldn’t be the first time!).
Meanwhile, President Trump continues his dealmaking tour of the Middle East where Qatar has now reportedly agreed to purchase as many as 210 new jets from Boeing. This comes off the back of the semiconductor, energy and military hardware deals signed in Saudi Arabia, Trump’s announcement that sanctions on Syria will be lifted and his meeting with the new Syrian President, who he urged to normalize relations with Israel.
It’s worth pointing out that while the markets were mostly focused on deals to sell more US chips and US energy, there were also announcements of new sanctions on companies facilitating the sale of Iranian oil to China and a new guidance issued by the Commerce Department that the use of Huawei’s Ascend AI chips “anywhere in the world” constituted a violation of US export controls.
As this Daily noted yesterday, 90-day tariff reduction notwithstanding, what is happening in the Middle East and with trade more broadly should serve as a signal that geopolitical competition between the United States and China isn’t going away.
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Site: RT - News
The US reportedly wants to reopen military dialogue with Moscow to support Ukraine peace efforts
The US has proposed resuming long-stalled security talks under the NATO-Russia Council (NRC) framework as part of efforts to negotiate a peace deal in the Ukraine conflict, Bloomberg has reported.
The report comes ahead of direct negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegations.
The NRC, a forum created in 2002 for dialogue between the US-led military bloc and Moscow, effectively ceased practical operations in 2014. That year, Crimea joined the Russian Federation after holding a referendum following a Western-backed armed coup in Kiev. The council met to discuss the situation in Ukraine 11 times, until the conflict’s escalation in 2022, after which NATO cut off all communication.
The US has reportedly offered to revive the NRC format as part of its efforts to talk Russia into freezing the Ukraine conflict. Last month, White House special envoy Steve Witkoff visited Moscow and reportedly attempted to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire that would suspend fighting along current front lines, in exchange for sanctions relief and US recognition of Crimea.
READ MORE: Rubio outlines US expectations from Russia-Ukraine talks
“The US has since added new details to the proposal, including an offer to revive security talks under the NATO-Russia Council,” the outlet wrote on Thursday, citing an anonymous source familiar with the matter.
Read moreKremlin rules out Putin appearance at Ukraine peace talks
US President Donald Trump has backed Putin’s proposal to resume direct peace talks between Moscow and Kiev, despite initial opposition from Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky. The Ukrainian leader demanded that Russia first agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire – a demand Moscow has repeatedly rejected, protesting that a temporary pause would be used by Kiev to rearm and regroup.
The Russian delegation for Thursday’s talks in Istanbul is headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky. Zelensky has confirmed that the Ukrainian delegation will led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
Ukraine unilaterally withdrew from previous talks in 2022 after then UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson came to Kiev and told them to “just keep fighting,” the head of the Ukrainian delegation at the time, David Arakhamia, later told the media.
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Site: LifeNews
Liberty Counsel filed an amicus brief to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Bonta, a case where California Attorney General Rob Bonta is attempting to silence pro-life pregnancy centers from informing women about progesterone therapy as a means to reverse the abortion drug Mifepristone. In March 2025, a federal judge denied a motion to stop the censorship against two pregnancy center chains, Heartbeat International and RealOptions Obria Medical Clinics, allowing the state to use fraud and false advertising laws to stop the centers from promoting that an abortion in progress can be safely reversed.
Liberty Counsel argues this “weaponization” of fraud laws to censor pregnancy centers is viewpoint-based discrimination and an unconstitutional restriction on free speech. Liberty Counsel has represented pro-life pregnancy centers and submitted the brief to help these organizations retain the freedom and autonomy to protect life for unborn children. This includes the right for these pregnancy centers to speak and promote the treatment known as “abortion pill reversal” (APR).
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The APR protocol uses progesterone, a safe and naturally occurring hormone that has been used safely and effectively for decades to prevent miscarriage and preterm labor. Progesterone can potentially reverse the effects of the abortion pill Mifepristone if a woman changes her mind within 72 hours after taking the drug. Mifepristone starves the baby to death by blocking the naturally-occurring progesterone that helps a woman’s body sustain the baby.
Despite the pregnancy centers offering APR services free of charge for no economic gain, AG Bonta claims “someone must bear the cost,” and has accused the centers of fraudulent business practices and false advertising. He claims that APR is “commercial speech” that can be regulated by business laws.
However, in an October 2023 press release, AG Bonta revealed his ideological viewpoint claiming advertisements for APR contained “lies and misinformation” and that most women “do not regret their abortion.” Yet, statistics show that 70 percent of women experience grief and regret after an abortion, and that the APR protocol has likely saved more than 6,000 unborn babies with a success rate of up to 64-68 percent.
In the brief, Liberty Counsel noted the context makes clear that AG Bonta rejects pro-life speech related to saving unborn children and conveys a message that because most women allegedly do not regret their abortions, then none of his constituents should have the choice to reverse an abortion, wrote Liberty Counsel.
AG Bonta supports women having the choice to seek a chemical abortion, yet wants to prohibit the same women having the knowledge of the choice to potentially reverse the abortion with progesterone.
“That unconstitutional dichotomy is plainly viewpoint discrimination and violates the First Amendment,” wrote Liberty Counsel.
Liberty Counsel also stated that APR-related speech is not based on commerce, and to classify it as both “commercial” and “false or misleading” contradicts 80 years of commercial speech precedent.
Notably, when the district court allowed AG Bonta’s censorship to stand, it not only treaded over First Amendment protections, but essentially outlaws off-label pharmaceutical use. While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved progesterone about 50 years ago to help maintain healthy pregnancies, prevent miscarriages, and for other uses, the district court took issue with this approval because there are not many studies assessing progesterone’s safety for use in APR. Despite decades of safe progesterone use, the district court deemed it unsafe for APR.
However, as Liberty Counsel explains, the FDA does not need to approve progesterone for every conceivable use, and healthcare providers can generally prescribe the drug for an unapproved use when they judge that it is medically appropriate for their patient.
“The district court’s sweeping ruling eliminated First Amendment speech protections for non-profits, while simultaneously outlawing off-label pharmaceutical marketing for other entities not espousing a pro-life viewpoint, and contradicting decades of legal precedent regarding the definition of commercial speech. It cannot stand under Supreme Court precedent,” wrote Liberty Counsel.
According to Dr. William Lile, who is board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and who has delivered thousands of babies, progesterone is “bio-identical” and “as natural as it can possibly be” to what a pregnant woman produces. Dr. Lile told Liberty Counsel that he has personally reversed the abortion pill 15 out of 19 times (a 78 percent success rate) and that abortion pill reversal protocol has safely reversed Mifepristone thousands of times across the nation.
More information about reversing the abortion pill can be viewed here.
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “The abortion pill reversal protocol gives a woman a chance to save her unborn baby by safely reversing an abortion. The government does not have the power to chill the free speech of pregnancy centers and take away a woman’s option to safely stop an abortion. California has deemed the off-label progesterone use and promotion as unfavored speech and pro-abortion use and advertisement of Mifepristone as favored speech. This attempt to weaponize business laws to censor live-saving treatment is blatantly unconstitutional and should be permanently struck down.”
The post California Censors Free Speech at Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: Zero HedgeTrump Very Displeased With Tim Cook's 'Made-In-India' iPhone Blitz, Wants Production In USTyler Durden Thu, 05/15/2025 - 11:30
Apple is turbocharging its "friend-shoring" strategy by shifting more iPhone production from China to India—a move that could soon result in American consumers purchasing iPhones made in India. However, during President Trump's Gulf tour, he expressed new concern over the supply chain shift (at least for the first time publicly), urging Apple CEO Tim Cook to re-shore some of that iPhone production to the United States.
"I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday," Trump told reporters in Qatar on Thursday, on his latest leg of his Middle East tour. The president said his problem centers around Indian factories producing a "majority" of iPhones for the U.S.
Trump criticized Cook's plan: "I said to him,' My friend, I treated you very well. You're coming here with $500 billion, but now I hear you're building all over India.' I don't want you building in India."
As a result of their meeting, Trump said Apple will be "upping their production in the United States."
"I told Tim Cook we're not interested in you building (Apple) in India, they can take care of themselves, you up your production here (US)," claimed Trump. He added that India was one of the highest tariff-imposing countries & has now made an offer to reduce tariffs significantly… pic.twitter.com/11p9okfjTg
— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18News) May 15, 2025Earlier in the week, in the first leg of his tour, Trump praised Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum in Riyadh, saying: "Tim Cook isn't here, but you are."
Trump's comments follow a recent Financial Times report indicating that Apple's friend-shoring strategy could result in as many as 60 million iPhones being produced in India by 2026—or the amount required to satisfy the U.S. market.
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Apple Races To Boost iPhone Production In India, Vietnam As Trump Pauses Tariffs
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Apple Turbocharges Friendshoring: Your Next iPhone Could Be Made In India
Apple does not produce smartphones in North America but has pledged to invest $500 billion in the U.S. market over the next four years.
Wall Street analysts have estimated that U.S. iPhone production would take years and cost tens of billions of dollars.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick recently spoke with Cook about ramping up iPhone production in the U.S. Cook told Lutnick that "robotic arms" would be needed for production lines.
Lutnick said, "He's going to build it here," adding, "And Americans are going to be the technicians who drive those factories. They're not going to be the ones screwing it in."
Wedbush Securities recently estimated that a fully American-made iPhone could cost as much as $3,500, compared to the current average price of around $1,000. There are reports the next model could see the first price hike since the 2017 debut of the iPhone X.
Next lineup of iPhone...
Tarun Pathak, research director at tech analytics firm Counterpoint, said Trump's comments are a "familiar tactic from the president. He wants to push Apple to localize more and build a supply chain in the U.S., which is not going to happen overnight," adding, "Making in the US will also be much more expensive than assembling iPhones in India."
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Site: LifeNews
On Tuesday, the City Council of the City of Big Sandy (pop. 1,343), passed an “Ordinance Outlawing Abortion, declaring Big Sandy a Safe Haven for the Unborn” in a unanimous 4-0 vote. The vote made the City of Big Sandy, located between the cities of Hawkins (pop. 1,278) and Gladewater (pop. 6,441) on State Highway 80 and between Winona (pop. 623) and Gilmer (pop. 5,216) on State Highway 155, the 58th city in the State of Texas and the 75th city in the nation to pass an ordinance prohibiting abortion.
After the vote, Mayor Linda Baggett shared, “I am blessed to serve with a City Council that is brave and stands together to protect our precious babies and their mothers. My prayer is that more communities take the same action making all of Texas a SAFE HAVEN FOR THE UNBORN.”
East Texans for Liberty Executive Director Stacy McMahan shared, “I am thankful for Mayor Linda Baggett and the Big Sandy City Council for their unwavering support in preserving innocent life and standing with State Senator Bryan Hughes and House Representative Cole Hefner in the fight for life.”
At the council meeting, Upshur County Republican Party Chairman Carl Byers shared that the majority party of the state of Texas supports the sanctity of innocent unborn human life. Byers referenced Proposition 5 placed before voters in the 2022 Republican Party Primary, which stated, “Texas should enact a state constitutional amendment to defend the sanctity of innocent human life, created in the image of God, from fertilization until natural death.” 83% of Republican Party Primary voters across Texas embraced the statement.
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In Upshur County, the proposition had 92% support. After the council meeting, at Big Sandy’s famous Circle M Crawfish restaurant, Byers shared, “I am so proud of the Big Sandy City Council for voting unanimously for the Pro-Life ordinance that will save innocent life. God Bless Big Sandy.” Byers now wants to see his hometown of Union Grove (pop. 357) become a sanctuary for the unborn.
Big Sandy is the third city in Upshur County to pass such an ordinance and the fourteenth city in the Tyler-Longview Area Region to pass a “Sanctuary City for the Unborn” ordinance. Other cities in the region to have passed such ordinances include: Athens (pop. 13,503), Lindale (pop. 6,923), Rusk (5,664), Gilmer (pop. 5,216), Waskom (pop. 2,190), Naples (pop. 1,378), Omaha (pop. 1,021), East Mountain (pop. 899), Wells (pop. 853), Murchison (pop. 606), Avinger (pop. 371), Gary (pop. 335), and Poynor (pop. 314). Out of all of the cities to have passed the ordinances in Texas, Omaha is the only city to have recanted their ordinance.
Big Sandy’s ordinance is enforced in the same manner as the Texas Heartbeat Act — through a private enforcement mechanism. The ordinance reads, “Any person, other than the city of Big Sandy, and any officer or employee of the city, has standing to bring and may bring a civil action against any person or entity that: violates any provision” of this ordinance. The ordinance does not penalize the mother of the unborn child.
The six provisions of the Big Sandy Safe Haven for the Unborn ordinance: (1) prohibit performing an elective abortion and aiding or abetting elective abortions within the city limits of Big Sandy, (2) prohibit elective abortions on residents of Big Sandy – regardless of where the abortion takes place, (3) prohibit abortion trafficking through the City of Big Sandy, (4) prohibit the mailing of abortion-inducing drugs into the City of Big Sandy, (5) prohibit criminal organizations from doing business inside the city limits of Big Sandy, and (6) prohibit through or in the City of Big Sandy the transportation and disposal of the remains of unborn children who have been killed by an elective abortion across state lines and carried into Texas by waste management companies.
In addition to providing protections for pregnant mothers and their unborn children, the ordinance also educates about the Thriving Texas Families Program and directs people to the Texas Pregnancy Care Network website and The Pregnancy Network website operated by Human Coalition to be connected to these services.
The two other cities in Upshur County to have passed similar ordinances are the cities of Gilmer (pop. 5,216) and East Mountain (pop. 899). The Gilmer City Council adopted their ordinance on September 24, 2019 while the East Mountain City Council adopted their ordinance on July 20, 2020. Other cities in Upshur County which could consider the measure in the future include: Gladewater (pop. 6,441), Ore City (pop. 1,108), Clarksville City (pop. 865), Union Grove (pop. 357), and Warren City (pop. 298).
Big Sandy is not expected to be the last Sanctuary City for the Unborn in Texas, residents from all over the state are packing their local council chambers to advocate for further protections for pregnant mothers and their unborn children to spare them from the tragedy of abortion. Those who are interested in seeing their city pass an ordinance going as far as they can to end abortion are encouraged to sign the online petition found at the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn website.
LifeNews Note: Mark Lee Dickson lives in Texas and is the founder of the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn Initiative.
The post Big Sandy, Texas Becomes 75th City in America to Ban Abortions appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: Catholic Conclave“Initially he had thought about the possibility of calling himself Augustine, but, in the end, he thought Leo would be better”. Cardinal Fernando Filoni, who was also present at the Conclave, said this in an interview with Il Fatto Quotidiano. The reason for this thought is easy to say and is linked to Prevost’s vocation.In the solemnity of the moment, when the world heard the name of the new Catholic Conclavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06227218883606585321noreply@blogger.com0
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Site: AsiaNews.itHundreds of people rallied demanding justice for Amshika who took her own life after 'months of official neglect and public shaming'. A teacher accused in connection with the affair was later released. A political cover-up is suspected. The story is highlighting the shortcomings of Sri Lanka's education system, as well as the pervasiveness of gender-based violence.
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Site: LifeNews
More than a decade before he was elected and addressed the media as pontiff, Pope Leo XIV had spoken about evangelization amid modern media in an address that is still accessible, a Vatican expert spotlighted this week.
In 2012, then-Father Robert Prevost gave an address at a Synod about evangelization convened by Pope Benedict XVI, Sandro Magister explained in a May 13 article for his blog. The address considers how several Church Fathers responded to the non- and anti-Christian media of their time, which in turn provides insight for evangelizing amid the present-day’s media culture.
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Magister described then-Fr. Prevost’s remarks as “astonishing, for the acuteness of the diagnosis of the mediatic distortions of today’s society, but even more for the reference to the Fathers of the Church — from Augustine to Ambrose and Leo the Great to Gregory of Nyssa — as teachers brilliant in taking up the challenges of communication of their time, and therefore in understanding how to best evangelize the society of the late empire.”
In his address during the 2012 Synod on Evangelization, then-Fr. Prevost said that mass media in the West “is extraordinarily effective in fostering within the general public enormous sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the Gospel; for example, abortion, homosexual lifestyle, euthanasia.”
Mass media may be tolerant of religion when the latter does not directly contradict the media’s positions on ethical problems, but if religious leaders do speak out, the media label their messages “as ideological and insensitive in regard to the so-called vital needs of people in the contemporary world,” he said.
In order to effectively evangelize against media-created ethical falsehoods, catechists and religious leaders need to develop better understanding of laboring amid the current media climate, he urged.
Church Fathers were successful in evangelizing “in great part because they understood the foundations of social communication appropriate to the world in which they lived,” then-Fr. Prevost said. “Consequently, they understood with enormous precision the techniques through which popular religious and ethical imaginations of their day were manipulated by the centers of secular power in that world.”
Magister shared the full text of the address, which can be accessed here.
LifeNews Note: McKenna Snow writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.
The post In 2012, Pope Leo XIV Slammed the Media for Its Liberal Bias and Promoting Abortion appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: LES FEMMES - THE TRUTH
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Site: LifeNews
Prosecutors dropped charges May 9 against an Ohio pro-life advocate who was arrested in December for providing a Christian witness with a megaphone outside an abortion facility.
CatholicVote previously reported that Zack Knotts was on a public sidewalk outside a Cuyahoga Falls abortion facility and using a megaphone to advocate for the unborn and to tell women entering the facility, “There’s hope in the Gospel of Jesus Christ for all of you.”
Police then approached Knotts and ordered him to go with them, later telling him that they had received complaints of “disorderly conduct” that caused “inconvenience, annoyance, or alarm” to those around him.
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Knotts appeared in court Jan. 2 and pleaded not guilty to the charges. Represented by the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), he stood trial May 9. The prosecutors ultimately dismissed the charges.
According to the ACLJ, pro-abortion advocates outside the clinic had been loudly shouting violent threats at Knotts and his wife, Lindsay Davis-Knotts, but the police targeted him instead. ACLJ stated that the police did not take statements from anyone except a fellow police officer acting as private security at the abortion facility. The police ignored other witnesses, did not corroborate claims against him, and refused to acknowledge video evidence that Knotts was innocent, the ACLJ added.
“Zack and Lindsay never left the public sidewalk. They never blocked access to the abortion clinic. They never threatened anyone,” the ACLJ stated. “The same cannot be said for those who tried to silence them. What happened here wasn’t just a mistake — it was a warning shot to pro-lifers everywhere: ‘Speak out, and we’ll come for you.’ But today’s dismissal shows what can happen when you refuse to back down.”
In an emailed statement, Knotts told CatholicVote that he and his wife are “overwhelmed with gratitude to God.”
“As we walked into that courtroom, I carried a deep, unshakable peace — because I knew God would fight for me. And He did,” Knotts said. “He showed up in power, and so did the army of friends, family, and faithful saints who have stood beside us, many of whom labor shoulder-to-shoulder with us on the sidewalks outside abortion clinics. Though the process at times felt like a heavy weight — just the constant cloud of waiting for resolution — we never walked alone. God sustained us.”
Quoting Proverbs 24:11 and 31:8-9, which are commands to defend the defenseless, he stated that an effort must be made to end abortion once and for all.
“We will not stop. We will obey what God has commanded and defy tyrants. We will continue to be a voice for the voiceless, to rise and speak for those who have no defender,” he said. “And we call on the church — the body of Jesus Christ — to wake up. This isn’t a suggestion; it’s a command. We are all called to this. Silence in the face of child sacrifice is complicity.”
LifeNews Note: Hannah Hiester writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.
The post Charges Dropped Against Pro-Life Pastor for Preaching Outside Abortion Center appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: RT - News
Finland has proposed raising the maximum age of reservists from 50 to 65 amid wider militarization within the EU
The Finnish Defense Ministry has submitted a proposal to raise the maximum age for military reservists to 65, according to a press release published on Wednesday. The move is part of a broader militarization trend among European NATO member states.
The proposed reform would apply to all citizens liable for being called up who were born in 1966 or later, potentially adding 125,000 personnel to Finland’s reserve forces over a five-year transition period. If enacted, the total number of reservists is projected to reach one million by 2031, the Defense Ministry noted.
Currently, rank-and-file soldiers are removed from the reserves at age 50, while officers exit at 60. The proposal would not apply retroactively to those already over 60.
According to the ministry, refresher training for 50–65-year-olds would be organized for those assigned wartime duties. No upper age limit would be set for military service volunteers.
The bill is expected to be submitted to the Finnish Parliament before its summer recess begins in late June.
The EU countries, including Finland, have been militarizing amid persistent claims that Russia could attack the bloc in the coming years. Moscow has denied having such intentions and has accused NATO and EU officials of “irresponsibly stoking fears” of a fabricated threat.
Read moreNATO militarization pressure mounts ahead of summit – Bloomberg
Finland, which shares a long land border with Russia, applied for NATO membership in 2022 following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict and formally joined the US-led military bloc in 2023. Since then, Helsinki has supported Kiev politically and militarily, with Finnish President Alexander Stubb backing its bids to join both NATO and the EU.
In March, during US-mediated ceasefire negotiations, Stubb called on Kiev’s Western backers to pump Ukraine with weapons and money “to its teeth.”
Helsinki exceeded NATO’s spending target by shelling out approximately 2.41% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on the military last year. Finland also formalized an agreement with the US that allows American forces access to Finnish bases near the Russian border.
Russia has lamented that Finland’s NATO accession has effectively erased beneficial bilateral ties between the two neighbors which had lasted decades. Moscow has condemned the US-led military bloc’s expansion towards its borders, viewing it as a threat to its national security.
READ MORE: Germany could reintroduce military draft – defense minister
In March, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the EU had “degraded into an openly militarized entity,” accusing the bloc of “inciting war” through its rearmament strategies.
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Site: Zero HedgeUS Factory Production Tumbled In April, But...Tyler Durden Thu, 05/15/2025 - 10:10
Headline industrial production held steady in April, driven by utilities production, while manufacturing production declined 0.4% due to decreased production of vehicles and nondurable goods.
Source: Bloomberg
The 0.4% decrease in manufacturing production (followed an upwardly revised 0.4% gain a month earlier) was the first decline since October 2024 and worse than the expected 0.3% decline...
Source: Bloomberg
However, as the chart above shows, despite the decline, upward revisions raised production by 1.2% YoY - the biggest rise since Oct 2022 (tariff-front-running?).
Output at utilities increased, while mining and energy extraction dropped.
The decrease in April factory output reflected declining production of motor vehicles, computers and apparel.
The Fed’s report showed capacity utilization at factories, a measure of potential output being used, fell to 76.8%.
Does April's decline mean we reached peak tariff-front-running? And will that drag down 'hard' data?
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Site: Mises InstituteHomeschooled children are educated more effectively than public school students and at a fraction of the cost of public education. Naturally, the government wants to destroy it, with Illinois currently leading the anti-homeschooling mob.
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Site: RT - News
Support for refugees has dropped significantly, with many now reportedly being told to “go back to Ukraine”
Public sentiment in Poland toward Ukrainian refugees has deteriorated over the past three years, with a growing number of Poles now calling for them to return to Ukraine, according to media reports.
Support for Ukrainian refugees in Poland has declined sharply, a March 2025 poll by the CBOS Center showed, with only 50% of Poles in favor of accepting them – well below the 81% recorded two years earlier.
Warsaw, which has been one of Ukraine’s main backers since the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022, initially willingly accepted more than a million refugees from the neighboring state.
Social tensions have been mounting as some citizens reportedly perceive Ukrainian immigrants as freeloaders and potential criminals. Government data shows that at least 2.5 million Ukrainians reside in Poland, making up nearly 7% of the country’s population.
Oksana Pestrykova, a refugee support coordinator in Warsaw, told The Times on Wednesday that the atmosphere had been much more welcoming three years ago, and that Ukrainians now tend to avoid speaking their own language in public or on public transport.
“People are saying that children at school and people in line for an appointment with a doctor are telling them to go home to Ukraine,” she said.
Another Ukrainian resident told the BBC that anti-Ukrainian sentiment has surged in recent months, with reports of abuse on public transport, school bullying, and xenophobic content online.
“At work, many people have been saying Ukrainians come here and behave badly. And my Ukrainian friends say they want to go home because Polish people don’t accept us. It’s frightening to live here now,” one refugee told the outlet.
Read moreUkrainians who moved to the West not coming back – MP
Tensions have been heightened by a divisive presidential election campaign in Poland, with the first round of voting set for Sunday.
Far-right politician Slawomir Mentzen, polling in third place, has taken a strongly anti-Ukrainian stance and backs striking a peace deal with Russia.
Conservative candidate Karol Nawrocki, currently in second, opposes Ukraine’s membership in the EU and NATO as well as financial aid for refugees, although he supports continued military assistance for Kiev.
Leading the race is Rafal Trzaskowski, aligned with Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s coalition and seen as the most pro-Ukrainian contender, although he too has pledged to cut social benefits for Ukrainian nationals.
Roughly one million Ukrainians are officially registered as having arrived since 2022, and Poland has allocated 4.2% of its GDP to their support, according to the BBC.
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Site: Steyn OnlineJust ahead of Episode Fourteen of Three Men on the Bummel, thank you again for your kind comments upon The Mark Steyn Club's eighth birthday. Paul Smith, a Steyn Clubber from southern England, writes: Happy birthday MSC from a fellow May baby. I was
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Site: Steyn OnlineGreetings one and all and welcome to this week's edition of Laura's Links. I'll start off by riffing a little on Mark's theme of "as I said twenty years ago". My variation on that theme has been trying to explain very slooooooowly to anyone who will listen, for the past twenty or so years, that Canada is going the way of Europe...
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Site: Rorate CaeliA Pope of the AnglosphereJoseph ShawPresident, Una Voce Federation (FIUV)During the reign of Pope Francis, a lot of attention was, rightly, given to his Argentinian background, and the Argentinian assumptions and habits of minds that he may have carried. I am grateful to our Argentinian friends who helped us to understand what was going on, during a rather confusing time. Now we have a Pope from New Catholichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04118576661605931910noreply@blogger.com
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Site: AsiaNews.itDuring the official visit of the Malaysian prime minister, the two countries rebooted their historic economic, technological and cultural cooperation. Malaysia remains non-aligned in global power politics. Anwar said he raised the issue of flight MH17 shot down in 2014, after a UN body recently blamed Russia for the incident.
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Site: LifeNews
Planned Parenthood’s leaders launch into its 2023-2024 annual report with a markedly sad tone: “It’s been over two years since the U.S. Supreme Court took away our constitutional right to abortion.”
Very quickly, however, readers can see the truth: that never before in its history has the abortion giant been so well-funded by American taxpayers, and never before has it ended more unborn lives than this past year – nearly three years since the Supreme Court held there is no right to abortion in the US Constitution.
“Abortion bans have made pregnancy more dangerous, put patients and providers at risk for criminalization, and even caused some women to lose their lives,” Planned Parenthood CEO Alexis McGill Johnson and Board Chair Tanuja Bahal claim, repeating an already-debunked narrative in the report’s introduction.
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According to the report released Monday, in year 2023-2024, America’s largest abortion provider ended 402,230 pregnancies – its highest number yet – and took in $792.2 million in taxpayer funds in the form of government health services reimbursements (such as through Medicaid) and grants.
Those taxpayer funds provided 39% of Planned Parenthood’s total revenue of $2 billion – its single greatest source of income during the past year.
In comparison, Planned Parenthood’s prior year annual report showed it performed 392,715 abortions, with 34% of its revenue provided by taxpayer funds.
“The more it collects, the more it kills,” Catholic pro-life nonprofit American Life League (ALL) posted Tuesday.
“Leave it to Planned Parenthood to reveal their billions of dollars in abortion income on the heels of Mother’s Day weekend,” said ALL National Director Katie Brown Xavios, who referred to the move as “horrifically inappropriate.”
“We didn’t need any other concrete reasons to defund them,” Xavios added, “but $792,200,000 in federal tax dollars should tip the scale. We revealed in our recent 2025 Report on Planned Parenthood CEO Compensation that these abortion executives reside in the 98th percentile of American wage earners, earning an average of $317,000 annually. Their new annual report shows just how much the American people have helped to line the pockets of the Planned Parenthood elite.”
Among Planned Parenthood’s boasts in its latest report is the area of “education,” where the abortion vendor touts “1.31 million participants in education programming, outreach, and training.”
The organization claims to have “conducted nationally representative research assessing parents’ awareness, beliefs, and attitudes about K-12 school-based sex education.”
“The results confirmed that parents overwhelmingly want their children to get sex education that covers a comprehensive range of topics and is age-appropriate and fact-based,” Planned Parenthood asserts.
The abortion provider also celebrated that failed Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris “became the first sitting vice president to visit an abortion provider when she visited Planned Parenthood North Central States’ health center in St. Paul, MN.”
In addition, Planned Parenthood has become one of the nation’s largest distributors of cross-sex hormones.
Lila Rose, foundress of Live Action, recently exposed Planned Parenthood’s alleged prescriptions of cross-sex hormones for minors via virtual appointments.
Former Planned Parenthood facility director Abby Johnson, who has since founded And Then There Were None and ProLove Ministries, called the “sky high number of abortions” both “sickening” and “revolting.”
“How our government, and Republicans who have for years claimed to want to defund Planned Parenthood but who are backing down when it’s time to put words into action, can possibly continue to give almost $2 million a day to this organization is beyond reason,” Johnson said in a press statement.
House Republicans are pushing to end federal funding of abortion providers in their reconciliation bill.
Meanwhile, other pro-life leaders are urging Americans to call upon their lawmakers to stop funding Planned Parenthood and other abortion vendors:
Mary Szoch, director of the Center for Human Dignity at Family Research Council, told The Washington Stand that “Planned Parenthood carries out over 1,100 abortions per day and receives over $2 million a day in taxpayer funding.”
“This should absolutely disgust Americans,” Szoch added. “It’s past time for Congress to say, ‘American taxpayers will not be forced to pad the wallets of Planned Parenthood executives while women receive shoddy treatment in unsanitary conditions and their unborn children are killed.’”
LifeNews Note: Susan Berry writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.
The post 39% of Planned Parenthood’s Revenue Comes From Our Tax Dollars appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: Zero Hedge"A Modest Request": The Supreme Court Hears Challenge To National Or Universal Injunctions
Today, the United States Supreme Court will hear three consolidated cases in Trump v. CASA on the growing use of national or universal injunctions. This is a matter submitted on the “shadow docket” and the underlying cases concern the controversy over “birthright citizenship.” However, the merits of those claims are not at issue. Instead, the Trump Administration has made a “modest request” for the Court to limit the scope of lower-court injunctions to their immediate districts and parties, challenging the right of such courts to bind an Administration across the nation.
The case is the consolidation of three matters: Trump v. CASA out of Maryland; Trump v. Washington out of Washington State, and Trump v. New Jersey, out of Massachusetts. These cases also present standing issues since the Administration challenges the argument that there is a cognizable “injury” to individuals who may travel to the states bringing the actions.
However, the main question is the scope of injunctions.
As I have previously written, district court judges have issued a record number of injunctions in the first 100 days of the Trump Administration.
Under President George W. Bush, there were only six such injunctions, which increased to 12 under Obama.
However, when Trump came to office, he faced 64 such orders in his first term.
When Biden and the Democrats returned to office, it fell back to 14.
That was not due to more modest measures.
Biden did precisely what Trump did in seeking to negate virtually all of his predecessors’ orders and then seek sweeping new legal reforms. He was repeatedly found to have violated the Constitution, but there was no torrent of preliminary injunctions at the start of his term.
Yet, when Trump returned to office, the number of national injunctions soared again in the first 100 days and surpassed the number for the entirety of Biden’s term.
This is a rare argument.
First, it is a shadow docket filing that usually results in summary decisions without oral argument. Moreover, this matter came after what is commonly viewed as the final day for oral arguments. The Court granted a rare late oral argument, reflecting that multiple justices view this matter sufficiently serious to warrant a break from standard operating procedures.
Rather than arguing a “question presented” on birthright citizenship, the Administration is solely looking for limits on the district courts as appeals continue on the “important constitutional questions” raised by birthright citizenship.
The Administration argues that the Constitution does not give judges the power to issue universal injunctions and that courts are limited to addressing the cases before them in a given district. The Administration acknowledges that class actions can create the basis for universal injunctions, offering a moderate resolution to the Court. In such cases, if the parties can meet the standard for a national class, they can seek a national or universal injunction.
In today’s arguments (which I will be covering for Fox and on X), we can expect to hear from justices who have previously been critical of universal injunctions, including Justice Clarence Thomas, who, in his concurring opinion in Trump v. Hawaii, called them “legally and historically dubious.”
Likewise, Justices Gorsuch and Alito have criticized such injunctions. In a prior dissent to an emergency filing in Department of State v. AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, Alito was joined by Thomas, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh in stating that the government “has a strong argument that the District Court’s order violates the principle that a federal court may not issue an equitable remedy that is ‘more burdensome than necessary to’ redress the plaintiff’s injuries.”
Many of us will be watching three members the most closely: Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett. Roberts is the ultimate institutionalist, and we should see in his argument how he views the impact of such injunctions on the court system as a whole. He is very protective of the courts’ inherent authority but may also have misgivings about the scope of these orders.
During the Biden Administration, Justice Kagan has previously criticized universal injunctions. In an interview at Northwestern University Law School, Kagan flagged the “forum shopping” by litigants in filing cases before favorable courts:
“You look at something like that and you think, that can’t be right. In the Trump years, people used to go to the Northern District of California, and in the Biden years, they go to Texas. It just can’t be right that one district judge can stop a nationwide policy in its tracks and leave it stopped for the years that it takes to go through the normal process.”
Justice Barrett previously joined with Kavanaugh in stating that the power of district courts to enter a universal injunction “is an important question that could warrant our review in the future.”
The argument today will start at 10 am and I will be doing a running review of the arguments on X.
U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer will argue the government’s case.
Jeremy Feigenbaum, New Jersey’s solicitor general, will argue for the state and local governments and Kelsi Corkran, the Supreme Court director at Georgetown’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, will argue for the private individuals and groups.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University where he teaches a course on the Supreme Court and the Constitution.
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Site: Ron Paul Institute - Featured Articles
What if the writ of habeas corpus has been guaranteed to the British since 1215 and to Americans since 1789? What if this encompasses the right of every person who is confined by the government against his or her will to compel the jailer to justify the confinement before a neutral judge?
What if this right is personal and individual and applies to all persons at all times? What if the right can be exercised by anyone who is arrested, whether it be for spitting on the sidewalk or murder? What if this right — to be free from an unjust confinement; to be free from arrest without trial — is one for which the Founders and the Framers fought the American Revolution?
What if habeas corpus is today recognized by all judges in the United States? What if judges actually stop court proceedings when a habeas corpus petition is received in order to hold a hearing and compel the government to lay out the evidence against the accused and justify his or her confinement, lest he or she spend one minute more behind bars than is lawful?
What if British monarchs and their subjects believed that the monarchy was divinely created? What if they actually believed that God the Father chose whomever was the king at a given moment to rule over them? What if they called this the divine right of kings? What if the divine right of kings enabled the monarch to write any law, prosecute any person and impose any punishment he wished for real or fanciful or even imagined crimes?
What if even this divine right of kings nonsense — once universally accepted and now universally rejected — had an exception to it? What if that exception was habeas corpus? What if even the most tyrannical and absolute of monarchs in Britain recognized and respected habeas corpus for their subjects in Britain?
What if British kings failed to recognize habeas corpus for the colonists in America? What if their governments arrested folks here and then brought them months later to London for trial? What if there was no mechanism for habeas corpus in the colonies to protect one from the wrath of the British government?
What if on the few occasions where habeas corpus was recognized, the colonial judges — who were dependent on the king for their jobs and their salaries — persistently ruled in favor of continued confinement, no matter how flimsy the evidence against the accused or how unlawful the charges?
What if Thomas Jefferson condemned this practice in the Declaration of Independence? What if the failure of colonial judges to recognize here in America the same rights recognized of Englishmen in Britain played a significant role in arousing the colonists to revolution in 1775 and 1776?
What if colonial revulsion at the refusal to recognize habeas corpus was so great that James Madison — who wrote the Constitution — insisted that this right be preserved in the Constitution? What if this was done before the Bill of Rights was added?
What if Madison recognized that in cases of invasion or rebellion, Congress might want to suspend habeas corpus until the rebellion or invasion subsided? What if Congress — in order to prevent frivolous or politically based suspensions of the right — defined invasion or rebellion as a state of affairs of such calamity that the federal courts are unable to conduct proceedings?
What if Abraham Lincoln suspended habeas corpus during the War Between the States in certain regions in the north so he could arrest his critics without trial? What if the Supreme Court ruled that under the plain meaning and recognized structure of the Constitution, only Congress — not the president — can suspend habeas corpus? What if, before the court invalidated Lincoln’s tyranny, thousands of folks were arrested and confined without charges, appearances before judges, trials or any meaningful opportunity to be heard — in the North where there was no invasion or rebellion?
What if Franklin D. Roosevelt did the same based on race during World War II and he claimed he did so based not on invasion or rebellion but on the fear of invasion or rebellion? What if — in one of its lowest moral rulings in history, at a time of anti-Japanese racial animosity in America — the court permitted the suspension?
What if subsequent Congresses and presidents and courts condemned this ruling and this suspension? What if Congress — 40 years later — compensated those still living and their offspring for these arrests without trial?
What if George W. Bush tried to suspend habeas corpus in the months following 9/11? What if on the day after the attacks of 9/11 in lower Manhattan the federal courts were able to conduct proceedings? What if the Supreme Court ruled against him? What if Congress tried to implement arrest without trial and the Supreme Court ruled that there was no invasion or rebellion of such chaotic magnitude that the federal courts could not conduct proceedings, and so it invalidated the suspension of habeas corpus?
What if here we go again? What if the White House announced last week that it — not Congress — is contemplating the suspension of habeas corpus, but only for certain persons?
What if the concept of arrest without trial in America is unfathomable? What if the cornerstone of American jurisprudence is the existence of an independent judiciary to which all persons may turn for relief when being pursued by the government, justly or unjustly?
What if suspending this right attacks the core values of America — fairness, equality, rule of law? What if the right to fairness from the government is the realistic expectation and historical lesson understood and expected by all in America?
What if arrest without trial transforms our democracy into a monarchy? What if this happens right before our eyes? What do we do about it?
To learn more about Judge Andrew Napolitano, visit https://JudgeNap.com.
COPYRIGHT 2025 ANDREW P. NAPOLITANO
DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM -
Site: Zero HedgeWhite House Has Presented Iran With Written Nuke Deal Proposal In Huge FirstTyler Durden Thu, 05/15/2025 - 09:19
Update(10:30ET): With President Trump and his envoy having arrived in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the last leg of the president's Gulf tour, new details of behind the scenes US-Iran negotiations have come to light on Thursday.
In a huge first, the Trump White House has sent Iran a written proposal toward forging a new nuclear deal. White House envoy Steve Witkoff has led several rounds of talks, and Axios has revealed that the communication was issued to Tehran last Sunday.
"Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi took the proposal back to Tehran for consultations with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, President Masoud Pezeshkian and other top officials," writes Axios.
Via Associated Press
It was the Iranian side which initiated the swap of written proposals first, as the talks which have been on since April went from 'indirect' to more 'direct':
- During the third round of talks in late April, Araghchi gave Witkoff an updated document with Iranian ideas for a nuclear deal. This time, Witkoff took the document.
- A U.S. team of experts studied it and sent the Iranians a list of questions and requests for clarification. The Iranians replied and added questions of their own, two sources said.
- Meanwhile, Witkoff and his team prepared a U.S. proposal laying out the Trump administration's parameters for an Iranian civilian nuclear program and requirements for monitoring and verification, the sources said.
It appears that thus far both sides have received the other's written proposals positively, and that's what was driving President Trump's "olive branch" comments on Tuesday. He had stressed while speaking in Saudi Arabia that "this is not an offer that will last forever. The time is right now for them to choose."
President Trump followed up on Thursday by saying from Qatar, "We're in very serious negotiations with Iran for long-term peace," according to AFP.
He said, "We're getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this... there (are) two steps to doing this, there is a very, very nice step and there is the violent step, but I don't want to do it the second."
Trump's comments followed an NBC News interview with Ali Shamkhani, a top political, military and nuclear adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who said Tehran is prepared to sign a nuclear deal—provided key conditions are met—in exchange for the lifting of U.S. economic sanctions.
Trump reposted the NBC article indicating Iran is ready to reach a deal (though the details of that deal suggest it would look essentially identical to the JCPOA). pic.twitter.com/LPDLzqu0nd
— Gregory Brew (@gbrew24) May 15, 2025NBC News pointed out that Shamkhani's comments "appear to be the clearest public statement yet on Iran's expectations and willingness to reach a deal from the supreme leader's inner circle."
And the fact that written proposals have already been exchanged is yet further confirmation of this positive trend towards peace. Trump has emphasized that Iran can never have a nuclear bomb, but Tehran itself has long said it's not pursuing a nuke, and that its program is only for peaceful domestic energy purposes.
* * *
Brent crude prices fell on Thursday as geopolitical risk premiums eased following President Trump's comments during his Gulf tour, where he signaled that the U.S. is nearing a nuclear deal with Iran. Unlike earlier headlines on AI, defense, and aviation deals with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Trump's comments suggested a potential breakthrough in U.S.-Iran nuclear talks.
"We're in very serious negotiations with Iran for long-term peace," Trump told reporters in a press pool that AFP News first reported.
Speaking in Doha, Qatar, during his Middle East trip, the president said, "We're getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this... there (are) two steps to doing this, there is a very, very nice step and there is the violent step, but I don't want to do it the second way."
An Iranian source told Reuters that negotiations with Trump administration officials still needed to bridge some gaps before a final deal could be reached.
Trump's comments followed an NBC News interview with Ali Shamkhani, a top political, military and nuclear adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who said Tehran is prepared to sign a nuclear deal—provided key conditions are met—in exchange for the lifting of U.S. economic sanctions.
With Trump Touring Gulf, Iran Offers Huge Nuclear Concession https://t.co/NQ4259UIsE
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 14, 2025Trump confirms reports that Iran have “sort of agreed to the terms” that they cannot have nuclear capabilities!
— Clandestine (@WarClandestine) May 15, 2025
Trump confirms he is currently in “very serious negotiations with Iran, for long-term peace”!
Trump also highlights how “many people” want war with Iran, but that he… pic.twitter.com/rVSkScNRINNBC News pointed out that Shamkhani's comments "appear to be the clearest public statement yet on Iran's expectations and willingness to reach a deal from the supreme leader's inner circle."
Trump has offered "an olive branch" to Tehran after a multi-month maximum-pressure campaign, including economic sanctions and deploying long-range stealth bombers to America's "unsinkable aircraft carrier" - located in the Indian Ocean - ready to be deployed at a moment's notice.
However, last week, ahead of Trump's Gulf tour, we spotted at least one of these stealth bombers returning to the U.S. We suggested this may have been an act of goodwill ahead of talks by the U.S. or possibly just a routine flight.
On Thursday, Brent crude futures fell 3% to $60 a barrel on expectations that a U.S.-Iran nuclear deal would ease sanctions and increase crude oil on international markets.
"The overnight development of a possible nuclear deal is the sole reason for the morning's weakness. If an agreement is reached, Iran agrees to halt enriching weapon grade uranium and the deal is effectively enforced, which is hard to believe, then the Persian Gulf country's crude oil exports can rise by as much as 1 [million barrels per day]," PVM analyst Tamas Varga told CNBC in an emailed statement.
"It sounds price negative, but its impact will possibly be mitigated by OPEC+ rolling back on its plan to release barrels back to the market faster than originally planned," he added.
Goldman trader Rich Privorotsky commented on the development:
Staying with geopolitics there are some rather positive stories emanating out of Iran. "Iran is ready to sign a nuclear deal with certain conditions with President Donald Trump in exchange for lifting economic sanctions, a top adviser to Iran's supreme leader told NBC News on Wednesday." Unclear if the U.S. will agree to the terms but they seem fairly broad: "He said Iran would commit to never making nuclear weapons, getting rid of its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium which can be weaponized, agree to only enrich uranium to the lower levels needed for civilian use, and allow international inspectors to supervise the process, in exchange for the immediate lifting of all economic sanctions on Iran." (NBC news) If confirmed I think oil could eventually end up heading back to the recent lows and I would continue to express any cyclical concerns in this space.
Here's the latest commentary from UBS traders:
Oil Equity Resilience Amid Oil Price Drop Oil prices are down, mainly because of a potential deal with Iran. That could mean up to 500kb/d increased supply coming to market very quickly. Oil equities, however, are already underweight for generalists and specialists have already de-grossed, following the OPEC+ surprises so far this year - hence oil equities are proving to be relatively resilient even though the oil price is down.
If Trump secures a nuclear deal with Tehran, it would cap off a week of landmark agreements with Gulf nations—collectively worth trillions—and add to an already bullish news cycle for the president. Also, this would mean continued easing of geopolitical risk premiums in the region, in other words, lower energy prices for Trump to pursue his 'America First' agenda.
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Site: Zero HedgeIs DOGE Starting To Work? 'Deep TriState' Jobless Claims Surged Last WeekTyler Durden Thu, 05/15/2025 - 09:13
The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits for the first time was flat from the prior week at 229k (the same level it was at in Jan 2022)...
Source: Bloomberg
Headline continuing claims remains below the Maginot Line of 1.9 million Americans...
Source: Bloomberg
But, drilling down, the 'Deep Tristate' saw initial jobless claims spike last week...
Source: Bloomberg
...and continuing jobless claims in the 'Deep TriState' also rose as perhaps DOGE is starting to have some effects...
Source: Bloomberg
Finally, the chart that sums up the entire farcical FUD-fest about the US labor market and Trump's terrible tariff trauma...
Source: Bloomberg
When will the CEOs face reality?
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Site: Catholic ConclaveMarist Miguel Ángel Contreras Llajaruna in Callao, first episcopal appointment of Leo XIVFather Contreras Llajaruna is superior of the Marist District of South America.Pope Leo XIV made his first episcopal appointment as Pope this Thursday, in the person of Father Miguel Ángel Contreras Llajaruna, superior of the Marist District of South America, the Congregation to which he belongs. He has been Catholic Conclavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06227218883606585321noreply@blogger.com0
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Site: Ron Paul Institute - Featured Articles
During the 1988 campaign, George W. Bush came to the Courthouse in Maryville, TN to speak at a rally for his Dad. As we were leaving, I told my friend and later Chief of Staff, Bob Griffitts, “Bob, he is better than his Dad.”
When he ran for President in 2000, then Governor Bush went all over the Country saying we needed a more humble foreign policy, and according to Foreign Policy Magazine, he “famously campaigned against nation building.”
The Independent Institute reported that in a 2000 debate, candidate Bush said “If we are an arrogant nation, they will resent us; but if we are a humble nation, but strong, they’ll welcome us.”
Wikipedia says Bush criticized President Clinton as being too interventionist and said: “If we don’t stop extending our troops all around the world in nation-building missions, then we’re going to have a serious problem down the road, and I’m going to prevent that.”
Because of statements like these, along with my favorable impression from 1988, and my strong opposition to Vice President Gore, I became enthused about the Bush campaign.
During all of my 15 campaigns for Congress, I held a Duncan Family Barbecue with 6,000 to 8,000 in attendance. I was very pleased when Gov. Bush rearranged his schedule just a few days before the election on very short notice to also attend.
We marched into the Knoxville Coliseum behind the University of Tennessee Pep Band, and he stood in the receiving line much longer than I expected. When I walked him back to his limousine, I said “Governor, you’re going to carry Tennessee.” He replied “If I do, I’ll win the election,” and that is exactly what happened.
That night, my son, Zane, said “Dad, I have never heard you so excited as when you shouted ‘the next President of the United States, George Bush!”
I had been a Pat Buchanan-American Firster all through the 90s, so you can imagine my disappointment when President Bush allowed himself and, more importantly, his foreign policy to be controlled by Neocons.
Of course, in spite of being put into a little secure room at the White House with Condoleeza Rice and the top two leaders of the CIA so they could put pressure on me, I shocked my district and voted against going to war in Iraq.
And then, over the next many years, Reps. Ron Paul and Walter Jones and I were the only Republicans in the U.S. House who consistently and repeatedly spoke and voted to bring our troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan many years before we did.
Then, after Sen. Rand Paul decided not to run for President in 2016, I became one of the first members of Congress to endorse Donald Trump for President. I did this because I thought he was the least hawkish of all who were running for the Republican nomination, and he had made some critical comments about the decision to go to war in Iraq.
But I was disappointed once again when he put Neocons like John Bolton and others into key positions in his Administration, appointments I think he later regretted.
With this history and background, you may think I am very foolish, but my hopes are up once again because of President Trump’s Inaugural Address and even more so because of his speech in Riyadh on Tuesday.
In his Inaugural Address, he said: “We will measure our success not only by little battles we win, but also by the wars that end, and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into.”
Then I was ecstatic when I heard what he had said in his speech in Riyadh: “But in the end, the so-called nation builders wrecked far more than they built, and the interventionists were intervening in complex societies that they did not even understand themselves.”
“No, the gleaming marvels of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi were not created by the so-called ‘nation builders’, Neocons or liberal non-profits, like those who spent trillions and trillions of dollars failing to develop Baghdad and so many other cities.”
He added: “The birth of a modern Middle East has been brought by the people of the region themselves—the people that are right here, the people who have lived here all their lives, developing your own sovereign countries, pursuing your own unique visions and charting your destinies in your own way.”
Trump also said what he called the “great transformation” of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East “has not come from western interventionists…giving you lectures on how to live and how to govern your own affairs.” These are words Ron Paul himself could have said.
This speech, along with numerous reports that Trump is tired of being manipulated by Netanyahu, his ending sanctions against Syria, entering negotiations with Iran, stopping the bombing of Yemen, and leaving Israel off his Middle East trip, all give hope for a different and perhaps more diplomatic, less hawkish U.S. foreign policy.
When you add to all these hopeful signs from Trump the May 9th column by Thomas Friedman entitled “This Israeli Government Is Not Our Ally”, change may be in the air.
Friedman wrote that “Netanyahu is not our friend” and added: “On the Middle East, you have some good independent instincts, Mr. President. Follow them.” This may be one of the very few times I have ever agreed with one of the longest-serving employees of the New York Times.
Now, I just wish there were a few more in Congress with the courage of Thomas Massie.
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Site: PaulCraigRoberts.org
For those who have remained in ignorance of their certain future, here is a review of The Camp of the Saints
https://www.unz.com/article/when-reality-is-worse-than-fiction/
Comment by PCR:
In Raspail’s book the fall of France and all of Europe is instantaneous, with Russia following with a lag. In our reality, the collapse is in line with the boiling of a frog.
In the US the Democrats are the party of mass immigration. They opened the borders and kept them open and now are using the judiciary and media to prevent deportations. It is easy to recognize among our own politicians, professors, and media numerous counterparts to the characters in Raspail’s book. The money of ethnic Americans is being used to finance the invasion. As in Raspail’s book, guilt and pity prevent effective opposition to the overrunning of the country. Consider how many immigrant-invaders in the name of multiculturalism have achieved elected positions in state, local, and federal legislatures, how many there are serving as judges and prosecutors, university professors and school teachers, and you can see the power transformation that is underway.
Meanwhile the idiot white countries pick fights with Russia, China, and Iran. The feminists have transformed white women from child bearers to salary earners. The government has made it impossible for one-earner families to exist. The white birth rate has collapsed throughout the Western world. In Europe white ethnic women who are raped by immigrant-invaders are more likely to be punished for their complaints, which are often judged to be racist, than are their rapists, another indication of the loss of power of white ethnics to immigrant-invaders. Another indication is the development of no-go zones for white ethnics in their own cities. Another indication is the rise in racial intermarriage. White gentile ethnicities are on their way out. They are a disappearing race.
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Site: PaulCraigRoberts.org
Do You Remember the Dumbshit White Democrat Government of Seattle that not only allowed but encouraged Antifa and Black Lives Matter to burn down the white business center and enabled the looting by defunding the police?
Well the dumbshit Democrats have seen the light:
Seattle City Council committee passes resolution to undo ‘defund the police’ initiatives https://thepostmillennial.com/seattle-city-council-committee-passes-resolution-to-undo-defund-the-police-initiatives#google_vignette
Seattle mayor reveals $47 MILLION payroll tax deficit as companies flee the Emerald City
Last week, the mayor of Seattle announced that the Emerald City collected $47 million less in payroll taxes last year as large companies continue to flee the liberal oasis.
“In 2018, the city council, led by Marxist Councilmember Kshama Sawant, passed the so-called “Head Tax” on the payrolls of large companies to fund affordable housing.” The Camp of the Saints is alive and well in Seattle. Elected Democrat officials seem to consist of mainly foreign immigrant-invaders. Are there any Americans in the Democrat party?
Ideological anti-white Democrats are incapable of governing. They can only destroy.
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Site: PaulCraigRoberts.org
While Wall St and the Dumbshit Tech Geeks see the future in AI, the truth is AI means death for American cities and Americans’ jobs
Here is Bloomberg’s report:
AI is expected to wipe out between 37% and 43% of white-collar jobs in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, Boulder, Co, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, San Francisco-Oakland-Berkely, CA, Durham-Chaple Hill, NC, Trenton-Princeton, NJ, Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, Austin-Round Rock-Georgetrown, TX, Ann Arbor, MI, Salt Lake City, UT, Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA, Huntsville, AL, Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO, Raleigh-Cary, NC, Madison, Wi
The more a city’s economy is oriented around white-collar knowledge work, the more exposed it is to AI.
If truth be known, Americans are too stupid to justify their existence.
Despite its reporting Bloomberg finds possible hope in AI.
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Site: PaulCraigRoberts.org
As I and John Helmer do, Gilbert Doctorow has Suspicions about Trump’s “peace negotiations”
TRUMP’S UKRAINE PLAN:
PEACE OR DECEPTION?
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Site: Zero HedgeUS Producer Prices Plunge Most Since COVID LockdownsTyler Durden Thu, 05/15/2025 - 09:00
Following the cooler than expected CPI, US Producer Prices plunged in April, down 0.5% MoM (vs +0.2% MoM exp) - the biggest drop since April 2020 (but we note that last month's 0.4% MoM decline was revised up to unchanged). The headline print was dragged down to +2.4% YoY (the lowest since Sept 2024)...
Source: Bloomberg
Under the hood, Prices for final demand services moved down 0.7 percent in April, the largest decline since the index began in December 2009.
Source: Bloomberg
Core Producer Prices plunged by the most on record (back to 2010)...
Source: Bloomberg
PPI Final Demand Services
Prices for final demand services moved down 0.7 percent in April, the largest decline since the index began in December 2009. Over two-thirds of the broad-based decrease can be traced to margins for final demand trade services, which dropped 1.6 percent. (Trade indexes measure changes in margins received by wholesalers and retailers.) Prices for final demand services less trade, transportation, and warehousing and for final demand transportation and warehousing services fell 0.3 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.
- Product detail: Over 40 percent of the April decline in the index for final demand services is attributable to margins for machinery and vehicle wholesaling, which dropped 6.1 percent. The indexes for portfolio management, food and alcohol wholesaling, system software publishing, traveler accommodation services, and airline passenger services also fell. Conversely, prices for outpatient care (partial) advanced 0.3 percent. The indexes for furniture retailing and for inpatient care also moved up. (See table 2.)
PPI Final demand goods
Prices for final demand goods were unchanged in April following a 0.9-percent decrease in March. In April, the index for final demand goods less foods and energy increased 0.4 percent. In contrast, prices for final demand foods and for final demand energy declined 1.0 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.
- Product detail: Among final demand goods in April, the index for general purpose machinery and equipment advanced 1.1 percent. Prices for residential electric power, fresh and dry vegetables, non-electronic cigarettes, and utility natural gas also moved up. Conversely, the index for chicken eggs dropped 39.4 percent. Prices for gasoline, gas fuels, diesel fuel, and primary basic organic chemicals also fell.
Margin pressure remains on American corporations...
Source: Bloomberg
It would appear that despite all the FUD, companies are soaking up any tariff price increases and NOT passing them on to customers.
Finally, energy prices are set to drag CPI and PPI even lower in the next month or so...
Source: Bloomberg
Goldman has lowered its PCE expectations:
Based on the details in the PPI and CPI reports, we estimate that the core PCE price index rose 0.11% in April (vs. our expectation of 0.19% prior to today's PPI report), corresponding to a year-over-year rate of +2.46%.
Additionally, we expect that the headline PCE price index increased 0.10% in April, or increased 2.18% from a year earlier.
But, but, but... the PhDs said tariffs were inflationary!!
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Site: Zero HedgeWalmart Delivers Solid Earnings, Warns Of Imminent Price HikesTyler Durden Thu, 05/15/2025 - 09:00
Walmart reported better-than-expected first-quarter results for the period ending April 30 but cautioned that the trade war will raise prices on certain items as early as this month. The warning underscores that the mega retailer's low-price model is threatened amid an ongoing value war with other U.S. retailers.
The nation's largest retailer posted first-quarter results showing a 4.5% year-over-year sales increase at U.S. Walmart stores, surpassing the Bloomberg Consensus estimate of 3.85%. Adjusted earnings per share came in at 61 cents, also beating the 58-cent estimate.
1Q25 results demonstrate that Walmart's pricing power to offer low-cost products continues to increase.
Here is the highlight of the 1Q results (ended April 30):
Adjusted EPS: $0.61 vs. $0.58 estimate
Revenue: $165.61B (+2.5% y/y) vs. $166.02B estimate
U.S. Comparable Sales (ex-gas): Walmart
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Walmart stores: +4.5% vs. +3.85% estimate
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Sam's Club: +6.7% vs. +4.93% estimate
E-Commerce Growth
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Walmart U.S.: +21% vs. +13.8% estimate
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Sam's Club: +27% vs. +14.3% estimate
Operating Cash Flow: $5.4B
From the earnings deck:
Total revenues/gross profit
Operating expense/income detail
EPS/Cash flow
Additional details...
Walmart maintained its full-year guidance, which was issued in February.
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Q2 Sales Growth Forecast: +3.5% to +4.5%
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FY2026 EPS Guidance (unchanged): $2.50–$2.60 vs. $2.61 estimate
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FY2026 Net Sales Growth (unchanged): +3% to +4%
While Walmart delivered another solid quarter of sales and earnings growth, the focus has shifted to the growing negative impact of the trade war.
Goldman analysts Mark Jordan, Emily Ghosh, and others commented on Walmart's earnings:
WMT reported 1Q25 adj. EPS of $0.61, above GS/consensus (Refinitiv) of $0.58/$0.58. Walmart US SSS of +4.5% tracked better than consensus at +3.9%, driven by traffic (+1.6%) and average ticket (+2.8%). By category, grocery was up +MSD, noting increased transactions and units along with inflation of ~150 bps, due primarily to eggs. Health & wellness grew +high-teens, driven by higher script counts, mix shift toward branded from generic, and strong over-the-counter sales. General merchandise was slightly negative, reflecting growth in unit volumes, which was more than offset by MSD like-for-like deflation, while seasonal events were strong; WMT called out sales softness in electronics, home, and sporting goods, offset by strength in toys, automotive, and kids' apparel. Global/Walmart U.S. e-commerce net sales grew +22%/+21% (vs. +16%/+20% in 4Q), while global/Walmart U.S. advertising grew +50% including VIZIO/+31% ex VIZIO (vs. +29%/+24% in 4Q), respectively.
They offered their take on guidance:
WMT reiterated 2025 guidance to net sales growth of +3.0-4.0% (vs. GS/consensus of +4.0%/+3.6%), adj. operating income growth of +3.5-5.5%, and adj. EPS of $2.50-2.60 (vs. GS/consensus at $2.60/$2.61). For 2Q, WMT is guiding to net sales growth of +3.5-4.5% (vs. GS/consensus of +4.0%/+3.5%), while the company is not guiding to operating income growth or EPS given the dynamic macro backdrop.
And maintained their "Buy" rated 12-month price target of $99.
In a post-earnings interview, CFO John David Rainey warned that price hikes at Walmart stores will begin this month: "If you've not already seen it, it will happen in May and then it will become more pronounced."
The retailer warned about trade war uncertainty and how the situation "changes by the week," adding, "The lack of clarity that exists in today's dynamic operating environment makes the very near-term exceedingly difficult to forecast."
Walmart's supply chain offers some insulation from the trade war. About 66% of its merchandise—primarily groceries—is sourced domestically, accounting for roughly two-thirds of its U.S. business. However, CFO John David Rainey noted that imported categories such as electronics, apparel, and toys could face additional price hikes in the coming months.
"We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible but given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels announced this week, we aren't able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins," said CEO Doug McMillon in a statement.
Takeaway: Walmart is not entirely immune to tariffs. Despite the 90-day cooling period between the U.S. and China and a substantial tariff rate reduction on both sides of the Pacific, price hikes are still coming. As cost pressures mount, the retailer's ability to fully absorb them is becoming increasingly difficult, potentially jeopardizing its low-price value model amid an ongoing, multi-year value war with other U.S. retailers.
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See: Walmart's full earnings presentation...
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Site: AsiaNews.itBombings continue in Myanmar's western state, long at the heart of tensions with the Muslim minority. The Arakan Army now administers much of the region, but the Rohingya issue remains unresolved. The community is still in the crosshairs of the three armed groups vying for territorial control. Bangladesh, in seeking China's support, proposed the creation of an independent state, but the initiative has made no progress.
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