86-47, but in MN gneiss

JUST IN: Vatican announces that Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical — titled Magnifica Humanitas, on the safeguarding of the human person in the age of AI — will be presented at 11:30am on Monday, May 25, in the Vaticanʼs Synod Hall, in the presence of the Holy Father. Speakers at the presentation will include: Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith; Cardinal Michael Czerny, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development; Professor Anna Rowlands, Political Theology, including Catholic Social Teaching, and theological ethics of human migration, Department of Theology and Religion, Durham University, United Kingdom; Christopher Olah, co-founder of Anthropic (USA) and head of interpretability research for artificial intelligence; Dr. Leocadie Lushombo, Political Theology and Catholic Social Thought, Jesuit School of Theology / Santa Clara University, California. Concluding remarks will be delivered by thel Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. The presentation will also include an address by Pope Leo XIV. Magnifica Humanitas was signed and dated on May 15, the 135th anniversary of the promulgation of Pope Leo XIII’s Encyclical Letter Rerum Novarum.

Gulf officials from countries Trump mentioned said they were not aware of the imminent plan to attack Iran: WSJ

Reporter: The DOJ has this new fund — $1.7 billion. Why should taxpayers pay for the January 6ers? Trump: Because in my world, loyalty outranks law. They broke the rules for me, so you pay the bill for them. That’s the transaction.

As a former American hostage in Iran from 1979-81 — and as someone who has spent decades observing Iranian history, politics, and culture — I fear we are approaching another catastrophic U.S.-Iran war. The danger is no longer theoretical. It may be imminent. Both Washington and Tehran are continuing down a military path while clinging to hardline, maximalist demands. The U.S. insists Iran dismantle its nuclear and missile capabilities while threatening renewed strikes. Iran refuses to surrender what it sees as sovereign defenses and continues to use the Strait of Hormuz as strategic leverage over the global economy. Neither side appears willing to step back first. This is the terrifying reality: there is currently no clear off-ramp. Military escalation has created its own momentum. The Trump administration entered this confrontation without a coherent long-term strategy, apparently assuming pressure and force alone would produce capitulation. Instead, Iran’s leverage over the Strait of Hormuz has grown, oil markets are destabilized, and the risk of miscalculation increases by the day. Some scholars describe moments like this as a modern “Thucydides Trap” — when fear, pride, miscalculation, and rising confrontation make conflict seem almost unavoidable even when war could devastate both sides. Whether or not that term fully applies here, history shows how nations can slide into wars neither truly knows how to end. I lived through one U.S.-Iran disaster. I do not want to see another. Diplomacy is not weakness or appeasement. It is now the only realistic path away from a wider regional war that could spiral beyond anyone’s control.

@Acyn Aw why not, @DAGToddBlanche? Afraid of my legal skillz?

AG Todd Blanche tells Kristen Welker that individuals selling 86 merchandise or posting messages similar to Comey’s seashell post will not be prosecuted: “Of course not. That’s posted constantly. That phrase is used constantly.”

When Trump pulled out of the international nuclear agreement with Tehran in 2018, Iran lacked even a single bomb's worth of uranium. Since then, it accumulated 22,000 pounds of enriched uranium. @BlackiLi @WilliamJBroad nytimes.com/interactive/20…

Today’s Supreme Court decision effectively guts a key pillar of the Voting Rights Act, freeing state legislatures to gerrymander legislative districts to systematically dilute and weaken the voting power of racial minorities - so long as they do it under the guise of “partisanship” rather than explicit “racial bias.” And it serves as just one more example of how a majority of the current Court seems intent on abandoning its vital role in ensuring equal participation in our democracy and protecting the rights of minority groups against majority overreach. The good news is that such setbacks can be overcome. But that will only happen if citizens across the country who cherish our democratic ideals continue to mobilize and vote in record numbers - not just in the upcoming midterms or in high profile races, but in every election and every level.

سفیر ایران در پاکستان: شما نمی‌توانید به نقض قوانین بین‌المللی ادامه دهید، محاصره خود را تشدید کنید، ایران را بیشتر تهدید کنید، بر خواسته‌های غیرمنطقی خود اصرار ورزید، با لفاظی‌های بی‌مورد از دیگران پیشی بگیرید و وانمود کنید که در حال دنبال کردن «دیپلماسی» هستید. ۲/۲

The Russians must be livid on how Iran's actions in striking its neighbors will turn out to be a bonanza for the Ukrainian arms industry, allowing them to tap into the super-lucrative Gulf Arab market. Great job, IRGC!

Trump on the US attack on Iranian-flagged cargo ship. At the same time, Iranian state-linked media says that Iranian forces thwarted the US attempt to attack Iranian commercial ship. Schrödinger’s reality continue in Hormuz and Iran.

What comes next? Spain joining BRICS+?

And there it is.... Update in Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against his own I.R.S., in which he seeks taxpayer-funded damages for the prior release of his tax records Trump legal filing says he's in "discussions" with his own I.R.S. to "avoid protracted litigation"

Between Trump and Netanyahu they eroded the most important adhesive in the US-Israeli relationship: bipartisanship. And both set out to undermine and ignore anyone in the Jewish community who didn’t hold right-wing views.

نظم جدید بر تنگه هرمز حاکم شده: ۱. شناورهای غیرنظامی صرفا از مسیر تعیین‌شده ایران تردد می‌کنند ۲. تردد شناورهای نظامی از تنگه کماکان ممنوع است ۳. ترددها صرفا بااجازه نیروی دریایی سپاه است ۴. این تردد در راستای توافق دوره سکوت صحنه نبرد و بعد از اجرای آتش‌بس لبنان صورت می‌گیرد

@GeorgeDeGeorge But then how do you explain Lukashenko?

@MarkGaleotti Orbán (and Moscow) conceded because the opposition’s margin was too large to manipulate, too visible to dispute, and too costly to overturn without real risk. Simple as that.

So the threats of Russian false flag ops and the like to prevent #Orbàn’s fall never materialised. They never were plausible, but also Moscow was quite sanguine about the risk. A short thread based on… 1/

Hegseth fired the Army Chief of Staff Gen Randy George. Immediately. Gen George probably the best leader I’ve encountered in uniform. Integrity. Experienced combat leader. Solid judgement. Courage. Modesty. Takes care of soldiers. A war going on.

@SecMullinDHS @DHSgov @POTUS I’m a Minnesotan, and want to get hit in the face with a tear gas canister, like Pretti was. Before he got plugged. Can I still get hit on Nicollet?

For 49 days, the Democrats have held our DHS employees hostage with their political theatre. It has to stop. Grateful for the leadership of @POTUS and the great men and women of @DHSgov working every day to keep Americans safe. We’re continuing to fight for you.

While addressing tens of thousands in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City on Palm Sunday, the start of the Holy Week leading to Easter, Pope Leo XIV said that God rejects the prayers of leaders who start wars and have “hands full of blood,” clearly directed at the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. “This is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war,” Pope Leo said. sunshine. “(Jesus) does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying: Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood,” he added citing the Bible.

The wars that stain the present moment with blood are the fruit of the idolatry of power and money. Let us not grow accustomed to the clamor of weapons and images of war! #Peace is not merely a balance of power. It is the work of purified hearts, of those who see others as brothers and sisters to be protected, not enemies to be defeated. #ApostolicJourney vatican.va/content/leo-xi…

The Arab official acknowledged that the safe passage of a small number of tankers is not likely to have a significant or longterm impact on global oil prices — a concession that Iran is not yet prepared to offer while US and Israeli strikes continue. (6/7)