A Trump administration-backed celebration of U.S. religious heritage on Sunday is highlighting conservative Christian leaders' ties to the president as critics say the gathering does not reflect the country's diverse faith landscape. The nine-hour program, called "Rededicate 250: National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving," mostly features speakers from two Christian traditions -- evangelical Christianity and conservative Catholicism.
His remarks come as the court faces intense public scrutiny and historically low approval following a series of high-profile rulings that overturned long-standing precedent. read more
In 1981, Judge John J. Sirica was walking down the hallway of the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C. The judge's reaction to seeing the corridor crammed with boxes, as related by author Steve Coll, was to quip, "I'm glad I only had Watergate."
President Trump late Thursday invoked his predecessor in attempting to explain comments by Chinese President Xi Jinping as the two leaders meet during a high-stakes visit, blaming former President Biden and his administration for the U.S.'s "decline."
It wasn't that long ago, if a high school baseball pitcher reached the mid-80s with his fastball, he would be considered elite. But the number that draws the attention of scouts and college recruiters on radar guns has risen steadily.
Related ...
Extremist Jewish settlers eye Gaza, seek to expel Palestinians from enclave
www.nbcnews.com
... After years on the political fringes, support for making the war-torn Palestinian enclave into a Jewish community is gaining support across Israel. ...
Another view ...
GOP senator blasts Hegseth for 'careless decision' on troop posture
thehill.com
... Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) offered harsh criticism for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday over reported changes at the Pentagon, including a shift in U.S. military posture around the globe and the exits of multiple senior military officers in recent months.[emphasis mine]
"The careless decision to reduce our force posture in Europe, along with moves by Pete Hegseth and his political henchmen to force out some of our finest general officers is amateur hour at best and deadly at worst," Tillis wrote on the social platform X. ...
@#10 ... They know who doesn't have their backs. Just like Iranian protestors now know. ...
Good that you mentioned that.
Trump backs Iran protesters, calls them 'brave people' (January 2026)
www.iranintl.com
... US President Donald Trump warned Iran's authorities against killing protesters amid nationwide demonstrations on Thursday, praising Iranians as "brave people."
Millions of Iranians took the streets across the country for a national rally called by exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi.
Trump told podcaster Hugh Hewitt that the Iranian leaders "have been told very strongly ... that if they do that, they're going to have to pay hell."
This is the third time since the start of protests on December 28 that Trump has warned Tehran not to kill demonstrators or face possible US intervention.
Addressing Iranians directly, he urged them to "feel strongly about freedom," and said: "There's nothing like freedom. You're brave people. It's a shame what's happened to your country."
Protesters in Iran have appealed directly to Trump for protection. Rights groups say at least 36 people have been killed since the protests began on December, while more than 2,000 people have been arrested or detained. ...
U.S. Appeals Court Strikes Down North Carolina's Voter ID Law (2016)
www.npr.org
...The appeals court noted that the North Carolina Legislature "requested data on the use, by race, of a number of voting practices" -- then, data in hand, "enacted legislation that restricted voting and registration in five different ways, all of which disproportionately affected African Americans."[emphasis mine]
The changes to the voting process "target African Americans with almost surgical precision," the circuit court wrote, and "impose cures for problems that did not exist."
The appeals court suggested that the motivation was fundamentally political -- a Republican legislature attempting to secure its power by blocking votes from a population likely to vote for Democrats....
OK, how 'bout songs with violins?
aha featuring. Ingrid Helene Håvik -- The Sun Always Shines On TV (MTV Unplugged) (2017)
www.youtube.com
@#11 ... None of them named. Those who worked closest with Patel and spent much of their time at work with him have claimed this is BS. ...
Atlantic writer sued by Kash Patel says she's been inundated' with new sources corroborating her reporting (April 24, 2026)
www.aol.com
... Sarah Fitzpatrick, The Atlantic investigative journalist behind last week's bombshell story about FBI Director Kash Patel, has said she has since been "inundated" with messages from new sources corroborating her reporting. ...
Speaking to the Radio Atlantic podcast one week after the article, Fitzpatrick was asked about the director's retaliatory moves and said she was undaunted.
"My response is that I stand by every single word of this report," she said. "We were very diligent. We were very careful. It went through multiple levels of editing, review, care.
"And I think one of the things that has been most gratifying, after " immediately after the story published was, I have been inundated by additional sourcing going up to the highest levels of the government, thanking us for doing the work, providing additional corroborating information."
Fitzpatrick said that she used more than two dozen sources for her original report, characterizing the officials she spoke to as "people who felt that not only was this conduct embarrassing, unbecoming, but that it was a national security vulnerability, and that Americans were perhaps less safe as a result."
Asked about some of the more shocking details in her report, she said: "I had never heard anything like this as a reporter, and I think I spent a very long time, a very diligent amount of time checking it out because it was so explosive. ...
... and ...
Some hide their crosses': Jerusalem nun attack highlights Israel's growing anti-Christian problem
www.france24.com