Trump Just Issued a Brutal Ultimatum to Putin – The Clock Is Ticking

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President Donald Trump on Thursday gave an update on negotiations regarding the war between Ukraine and Russia, putting Moscow on notice that it will face consequences if it does not agree to a 30-day ceasefire deal.

Trump appears to be taking a tougher stance against Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been rather uncooperative when it comes to ironing out a peace deal.

“The U.S. calls for, ideally, a 30-day unconditional ceasefire. Hopefully, an acceptable ceasefire will be observed, and both Countries will be held accountable for respecting the sanctity of these direct negotiations,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

The president further threatened, “If the ceasefire is not respected, the U.S. and its partners will impose further sanctions.”

Thousands of young soldiers are dying on a weekly basis, and everybody should want it to STOP. I do, and the United States of America does, also. As President, I will stay committed to securing Peace between Russia and Ukraine, together with the Europeans, and a Lasting Peace it will be! This ceasefire must ultimately build toward a Peace Agreement. It can all be done very quickly, and I will be available on a moment’s notice if my services are needed. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

(Read more from “Trump Just Issued a Brutal Ultimatum to Putin – The Clock Is Ticking” HERE)

New York Budget Proposal Could Allow Letitia James to Use Taxpayer Funds for Personal Legal Fees in Trump Admin Probe

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Democrats’ proposed state operations budget could enable New York Attorney General Letitia James to use taxpayer funds for personal legal expenses resulting from a possible Trump administration investigation.

If passed, the state operations budget would create a $10 million fund to reimburse employees for the cost of retaining “private counsel” in response to legal actions initiated by the federal government after Jan. 1, 2025 in connection with their state employment, according to the bill text. In April, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) referred James to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for a potential probe related to allegations of mortgage fraud involving a Virginia residence first reported by White Collar Fraud.

The FBI opened a formal investigation into the matter on Thursday, according to the Times Union.

The fund included in the proposed budget can also be used for issues “unrelated” to their employment but “reasonably likely to have been commenced” due to their work.

To determine whether a legal action against the attorney general is related to her employment, Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul can consider factors like whether the attorney general has “previously initiated or otherwise participated in or supported a criminal or civil investigation or prosecution of the United States government or a United States government official,” according to the budget’s text. (Read more from “New York Budget Proposal Could Allow Letitia James to Use Taxpayer Funds for Personal Legal Fees in Trump Admin Probe” HERE)

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost of Chicago Becomes First American Pope

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Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost of Chicago was chosen by the College of Cardinals to be the new pope of the Catholic Church, making him the first American pope in the Church’s 2,000-year history. The Chicago native chose the papal name Leo XIV. White smoke appeared above the Sistine Chapel at approximately 6:08 p.m. Rome time, followed by the chiming of the Vatican’s bells, which confirmed for the faithful that a new successor to the See of St. Peter the Apostle was indeed chosen.

Here is an English translation of the full transcript of Pope Leo XIV’s first address:

Peace be with all of you! Dearest brothers and sisters, this is the first greeting of the Risen Christ, the Good Shepherd who gave His life for God’s flock.

I, too, would like this greeting of peace to enter your hearts, to reach your families, and all people, wherever they are, all of the people, all over the earth.

Peace be with you!

This is the peace of the Risen Christ, an unarmed peace and a disarming peace, humble and persevering. It comes from God, God who loves us all unconditionally. We still have in our ears that weak, but always courageous voice of Pope Francis as he blessed Rome!

The Pope who blessed Rome, gave his blessing to the world, to the entire world, that Easter morning. Allow me to follow up on that same blessing: God loves us, God loves you all, and evil will not prevail!

We are all in the hands of God.

Therefore, without fear, united hand in hand with God and among ourselves, we move forward. We are disciples of Christ.

Christ precedes us. The world needs His light. Humanity needs Him as the bridge to allows it to be reached by God and by His love.

Help us, too, and help each other to build bridges, with dialogue, with meetings, uniting us all to be one people, always in peace. Thank you, Pope Francis! I also want to thank all my brother cardinals who have chosen me to be Peter’s Successor, and to walk together with you, as a united Church always seeking peace, justice, always seeking to work as men and women who are faithful to Jesus Christ, without fear, to proclaim the Gospel, to be missionaries.

I am a son of Saint Augustine, an Augustinian, who said: “with you I am a Christian and for you I am a bishop.” In this sense, we can all walk together towards that homeland that God has prepared for us.

To the Church of Rome, a special greeting! We must seek together how to be a missionary Church, a Church that builds bridges, dialogue, always open to receive like this square with its open arms, all, all who need our charity, our presence, dialogue, and love.

And if you allow me a word, a greeting to all and especially to my beloved diocese of Chiclayo, in Peru, where a faithful people accompanied their bishop, shared their faith and gave so, so much to continue being a Church that is faithful to Jesus Christ.

To all of you, brothers and sisters of Rome, of Italy, of the whole world, we want to be a Church of the Synod, a Church that walks, a Church that always seeks peace, that always seeks charity, that always seeks to be close, especially to those who suffer.

Today is the day of the Supplication to Our Lady of Pompeii. Our Mother Mary always wants to walk with us, to be close, to help us with her intercession and her love. So, I would like to pray together with you. Let us pray together for this new mission, for the whole Church, for peace in the world and let us also ask Mary, our Mother, for this special grace.

[Began the recitation of the Hail Mary in Latin.]

(Read more from “Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost of Chicago Becomes First American Pope” HERE)

Report: Biden Pentagon Hid Costs, Injuries Of Failed Gaza Pier

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Former President Joe Biden’s Pentagon deployed a floating pier off the coast of Gaza for “humanitarian aid” last year. According to a new report, the pier was more of a failure than his administration would publicly admit.

The floating port to aid Hamas-controlled Gaza was estimated to cost $320 million, as The Federalist previously reported, but was fraught with issues from the start. High winds and rough seas soon tore the pier apart — costing $22 million. As for the aid that successfully made it to shore, only some reached its intended destination, as looters ransacked and stole many of the delivery trucks.

Army Sgt. Quandarius Stanley died in October 2024 “after being critically injured” earlier during the mission, dubbed Operation Neptune Solace. The Department of Defense inspector general released a report on May 2, revealing that 62 U.S. personnel were injured over the course of the operation.

After several redacted lines, the report admitted the operation damaged 27 watercraft and pieces of equipment — which required “repair and maintenance” costs of “approximately $31 million.” It pointed to various weaknesses in the military’s “joint logistics over‑the‑shore” (JLOTS) operations.

“[T]he Army and Navy did not meet Service-level standards for equipment and unit readiness, nor did they organize, train, and equip their forces to meet common joint standards,” the report reads. “Insufficient manning, training, and materiel readiness at the Military Service level, coupled with the lack of integration and the interoperability … reduced the DoD’s effectiveness by repeatedly encountering known challenges and inefficiencies in JLOTS operations and exercises, including Operation Neptune Solace in Gaza.”

(Read more from “Report: Biden Pentagon Hid Costs, Injuries Of Failed Gaza Pier” HERE)

Poll Shows Media Narrative Of Trump Voter Regret Is Total Bunk

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A new poll shows 92 percent of Trump voters are happy with their choice despite the legacy-media narrative that they regret it.

A poll conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute found that 92 percent of Trump voters are pleased with their vote, while 95 percent of voters who chose Vice President Kamala Harris are similarly satisfied. Eighty-five percent of voters who voted for independent candidates are also satisfied with their choice.

The poll was conducted between Feb. 28 and March 20 across all 50 states among more than 5,000 adults. The poll has a 1.69-point margin of error.

The findings are similar to those from a University of Massachusetts Amherst poll released on April 14. That poll found only 2 percent of Trump voters said they regretted their vote. The New York Times surveyed a focus group of the 13 independent voters who voted for Trump, and none regretted casting a ballot for the current president.

But surely the polls can’t be right, because the propaganda press has reliably informed Americans that voters were souring on Trump.

“Trump’s Agenda May Lead to Buyer’s Remorse Among His Voters,” Ed Kilgore wrote for Intelligencer. Kilgore said Hispanics would regret voting for Trump because of mass deportations, while Americans writ large would regret voting for Trump because of DOGE’s cuts to the bureaucratic state. (Read more from “Poll Shows Media Narrative Of Trump Voter Regret Is Total Bunk” HERE)

As Attacks on Christians Rise in Israel, Netanyahu’s Snub of Francis Is a Dangerous Step

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At a session of the Israeli Knesset’s Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee on Monday (May 5), Aida Touma-Sliman, a Christian legislator from northern Israel, sounded the alarm about a disturbing pattern of harassment of Christians in the country. During Holy Week, many Christians from the West Bank were denied entry into Jerusalem, and on Holy Saturday, the eve of Easter, Israeli police prevented worshippers from reaching churches.

The disruptions were a continuation of a sharp increase in attacks against Christians documented in a March 2025 report by the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue that showed rising incidents of violence: clergy spat on, church property vandalized, crosses desecrated and pilgrims harassed. In many cases, police were slow to respond — if they responded at all.

“If this country respects all religions,” Touma-Sliman said, “what is happening against Christian clergy should have caused a huge uproar and upended the country.”

Touma-Sliman also condemned the Israeli government’s glaring failure to recognize the death of Pope Francis. The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a lower-level aide to Francis’ funeral, along with the Israeli ambassador to the Holy See, while the leaders of some 130 other nations attended. The excuse given — that the funeral fell on the Jewish Sabbath — rang hollow, especially in light of the Israeli ambassador’s presence at the service.

The Israeli government sent only a bland, formal message of condolences on the day of Francis’ death, and even a perfunctory tweet from the Foreign Ministry was quickly deleted under pressure from far-right coalition members. (Read more from “As Attacks on Christians Rise in Israel, Netanyahu’s Snub of Francis Is a Dangerous Step” HERE)

Cardinal Tarnished by Secret Chinese Pact Emerges as Front-Runner for Pope

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An Italian cardinal once tainted by a secret deal with China over the appointment of Catholic bishops has emerged as the favorite to be elected pope.

Pietro Parolin, 70, is a seasoned diplomat who served under Pope Francis as secretary of state – effectively the prime minister of the Vatican City State.

The odds of him being elected as the successor to the late pope when 133 cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday at the start of the conclave are now at 9/4, according to British bookmaker William Hill. . .

Catholics in China are split into two camps – those who are members of an underground church that is loyal to Rome and the pope, and those who belong to a state-sanctioned church that refuses to accept the authority of the pontiff.

Under the deal, struck in 2018 and since renewed several times, Chinese officials were given some input into bishops who are appointed by the Vatican. Critics said the agreement sold out those Catholics who are loyal to Rome and represented a capitulation to Beijing. (Read more from “Cardinal Tarnished by Secret Chinese Pact Emerges as Front-Runner for Pope” HERE)

Duffy Hangs Replica of Controversial USMMA Jesus Painting in DOT Office: ‘It Looks Beautiful’

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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Tuesday that he hung a replica of a controversial Jesus painting from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy behind his desk at the U.S. Department of Transportation office in Washington.

“What I found fascinating when I was at the academy was that this was a personal affront to the midshipmen at the academy,” Duffy said in a video shared with The Christian Post before being posted on social media. “That [the painting] was taken from a place of prominence and put in the basement of the chapel actually had them outraged.”

Duffy’s announcement comes a month after he went viral on social media when midshipmen at the federal service academy in Kings Point, New York, erupted in applause when he called for the school’s historic “Christ on the Water” painting to be restored to a prominent place after being removed to a flood-prone basement during the Biden administration.

The 10-foot by 19-foot painting, which was painted by the late merchant mariner Hunter A. Wood in 1944, depicts Jesus saving sailors lost at sea and hung in the USMMA’s Wiley Hall for 76 years until a 2023 letter from Military Religious Freedom Foundation founder Mikey Weinstein demanded its removal.

The USMMA administration, under Vice Adm. Joanna M. Nunan, first covered the painting with a curtain during official events before placing it in the basement of the school’s chapel. (Read more from “Duffy Hangs Replica of Controversial USMMA Jesus Painting in DOT Office: ‘It Looks Beautiful’” HERE)

Trump Says He’s Directing DOJ to Work On Releasing Tina Peters

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President Donald Trump says he’s directing the U.S. Department of Justice “to help secure the release” of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who’s in a Colorado prison for her role in tampering with election equipment.

Peters, who was the Republican clerk of the western Colorado county during the 2020 election, was found guilty by a grand jury on seven charges related to election integrity, including three counts of attempting to influence a public official. She was sentenced to nine years in prison last October.

“Radical Left Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser ignores Illegals committing Violent Crimes like Rape and Murder in his State and, instead, jailed Tina Peters, a 69-year-old Gold Star mother who worked to expose and document Democrat Election Fraud,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, calling her an “innocent Political Prisoner being horribly and unjustly punished in the form of Cruel and Unusual Punishment.”

Trump pointed to Democrats flying to El Salvador to try and free Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who his administration alleges is an MS-13 gang member, while at the same time “cruelly imprisoning” Peters.

In the months after the 2020 election, Peters allowed an unauthorized person access to the county’s electronic voting machines and take images of server hard drives. (Read more from “Trump Says He’s Directing DOJ to Work On Releasing Tina Peters” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Look Who Silently Scrubbed ‘China Virus’ From Early Pandemic Coverage

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The New York Times quietly edited its early articles on the COVID-19 pandemic to scrub the phrases “China virus” and “Wuhan virus,” only to hit President Donald Trump for using the same terms weeks later, according to a review of archived versions of several early pandemic stories.

“Whistle-Blower On China Virus Succumbs to It,” reads the headline of a Feb. 6, 2020, story describing the death of Li Wenliang, an ophthalmologist who raised the alarm about the spread of a SARS-like pneumonia with friends on social media and later died with COVID-19. By the next day, the headline on the outlet’s website read differently: “Chinese Doctor, Silenced After Warning of Outbreak, Dies From Coronavirus.”

The Times also deleted references to the “Wuhan virus” to describe the emerging novel coronavirus from stories in January and February 2020, according to archived versions available in LexisNexis reviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation. None of the stories disclose the change through corrections or clarifications.

A Feb. 11, 2020 article about the virus’ spread in Indonesia originally stated that “Indonesia has three laboratories capable of testing for the Wuhan virus.” The article was quietly amended a day later to read, “Indonesia has three laboratories capable of testing for the new coronavirus.”

(Read more from “Look Who Silently Scrubbed ‘China Virus’ From Early Pandemic Coverage” HERE)