Trump-Putin to meet in Alaska on Feast of the Assumption; Push for Trump to win Nobel Peace Prize heats up; Pope hails Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal; Trump on a mission to save DC from crime; Congress takes action against insider trading; Persecution of Indian Catholics by Hindu group escalates; Cardinal Burke explains why young are returning to Latin Mass; Morale-strapped diocese petitions St. John Vianney; and more —
Trump sets Aug. 15 Alaska meeting with Putin in latest bid to end Ukraine war
President Trump confirmed Friday that he will meet one-on-one with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska next week in yet another attempt to end Moscow’s 41-month-old invasion of Ukraine.
“We’re going to have a meeting with Russia, start off with Russia, and we’ll announce a location,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
“I think the location will be a very popular one, for a lot of reasons, but we’ll be announcing that a little bit later,” the president added. ““It would have been sooner, but I guess there’s security arrangements that unfortunately people have to make. Otherwise I’d do it much quicker. He would, too. He’d like to meet as soon as possible. I agree with it.”
Read more at the New York Post
Catholic journalist points out Trump and Putin meet on Feast of the Assumption of Mary, Queen of Peace
Presidents Trump and Putin are to meet in Alaska to discuss the war in Ukraine on August 15th, Feast of the Assumption of Mary, Queen of Peace. It is known as the Feast of the Dormition in Ukraine and in Russia.
Read more @Edward Pentin on X
Pope Leo hails Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal
War must be rejected as a “means of resolving conflicts.” That was the urgent appeal issued by Pope Leo XIV to the international community and its leaders, delivered following the Sunday Angelus prayer. The Pope called on leaders to take responsibility and work actively toward peace, a goal he urged the faithful never to stop praying for.
“Let us continue to pray for an end to all wars,” the Pope said. The 80th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, he noted, has stirred a global awakening to the need to firmly reject war as a solution to conflict. “Those in positions of power must never lose sight of the consequences their decisions have on people’s lives,” he said. “They must not ignore the needs of the most vulnerable or the universal longing for peace.”
Read more at Vatican News
Trump’s Nobel Buzz EXPLODES As Armenia, Azerbaijan, Israel & Pak Unite In Global Peace Prize Push
In an unprecedented show of global consensus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Israel, Pakistan, and Cambodia have all backed U.S. President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. Armenia’s Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev jointly credited Trump for brokering a landmark peace deal ending decades of conflict in the South Caucasus, calling him a “peacemaker.”
The agreement includes a U.S.-controlled transit corridor — the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” — linking Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave through Armenia. Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, Pakistan’s government, and Cambodia’s Hun Manet also nominated Trump, citing his role in defusing conflicts from the Middle East to South Asia. The White House hailed the deal as a setback for China, Russia, and Iran.
With multiple nations — some rivals — rallying behind him, Trump’s Nobel push has become one of the most talked-about diplomatic developments of the year.
Watch at Oneindia News
Trump says DC homeless must ‘move out immediately’ in announcing press conference
President Donald Trump on Sunday said the homeless population in Washington, D.C., must “move out immediately” while teeing up a Monday press conference in which the White House is expected to lay out a plan to “stop violent crime” in the nation’s capital.
“I’m going to make our Capital safer and more beautiful than it ever was before,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post, featuring images of homeless encampments and dirty trash in the district. “The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital.”
Read more at the Washington Examiner; see also @Karoline Leavitt on X
Did Trump’s Own Attorney General, Bill Barr, Collude in Prosecuting Him? by John Zmirak
As I’ve been writing here for years, the Swamp Republicans are every bit as dangerous as the Democrats — and in some ways worse, just like a squatter who lives in your house, eats out of your fridge, and crawls into your bed is worse than a hateful neighbor. I made Right Wing Watch last week for pointing out that Senators Lindsay Graham and John McCain were in on the Russia Collusion hoax.
Now General Mike Flynn is calling for Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to summon former Vice President Mike Pence to testify before Congress about his alleged role in efforts to oust President Donald Trump by using the 25th Amendment.
But the blockbuster news on this front comes courtesy of Project Veritas —
Read more at The Stream
Office of Personnel Management orders federal agencies to purge COVID-19 vaccine records
The Trump administration on Friday ordered federal agencies to erase all records tied to employees’ COVID-19 vaccination status and compliance with pandemic-era mandates, a sweeping rollback of Biden-era health policies that once governed the federal workforce.
Under new guidance issued by the Office of Personnel Management, agencies must delete any documentation of a federal employee’s vaccination history, refusal to comply with vaccine requirements, or requests for medical or religious exemptions. The directive also prohibits agencies from considering that information in any future employment decisions, including hiring and promotions.
Read more at the Washington Examiner
The Stock-Trade Ban That Has Democrats Squirming – Congress takes action against insider trading. New bill has more teeth than current ‘honor code’ legislation.
Corruption is rampant in Washington, and Sens. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Gary Peters (D-MI) want to do something about it. They introduced legislation that would prohibit members of Congress, the president, and the vice president from trading stock.
The bill, which cleared the congressional committee of jurisdiction on Wednesday, has a real shot at passing. It initially drew skepticism from President Donald Trump, but after some tweaks that made it clear the initiative wasn’t targeting him, Hawley says Trump is fully onboard.
Read more at The American Spectator
White House responds to surge in Christian persecution crisis across sub-Saharan Africa
The White House, faced with an ongoing and growing tsunami of murderous attacks by Islamic State-allied groups against Christians in sub-Saharan Africa, is now working closely with the State Department to find ways to stop the killing.
Last week, the White House told Fox News Digital, “The Trump administration condemns in the strongest terms this horrific violence against Christians,” after the U.N. reported 49 Christians were butchered with machetes on July 27 in and around a church in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), while Catholic worshipers were praying for peace. Authorities say the killers were Islamist militants from the Allied Democratic Forces, also known as Islamic State DRC.
Read more at Fox
Why is a Hindu group targeting Indian Catholics?
Two recent incidents that sparked fear and outrage among India’s Catholics.
In the first, two nuns were arrested July 25 on highly questionable charges of human trafficking and religious conversion after they were surrounded by a hostile mob at a railway station in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh.
In the second, two priests, two nuns, and a catechist were attacked Aug. 6 by a mob in the eastern state of Odisha amid spurious claims that they were seeking converts.
The common element? The mob in both cases reportedly comprised members of a Hindu group known as the Bajrang Dal.
Read more at The Pillar
Almost 50,000 displaced in latest round of jihadist attacks in Mozambique
A local priest also tells ACN that jihadists have taken to kidnapping children as part of their insurgency.
Almost 50,000 people have been displaced in the most recent round of attacks in the northern region of Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, namely at the end of July and in the first week of August, according to United Nations staff on the ground.
“Between July 20-28, the Diocese of Pemba was particularly impacted by the new wave of brutal attacks, especially the districts of Chiúre, Ancuabe, and Muidumbe. Attacks were also very intense on August 6-7, with incidents recorded in the districts of Palma, Meluco, and Quissanga,” reports Sister Aparecida Queiroz from the Congregation of the Daughters of Jesus to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).
Read more at Church in Need
Wrist Slap For Man Who Attacked Pro-Lifers Proves The FACE Act Was Always A Lawfare Tool
If pro-life activist and father Mark Houck can be arrested and have his house raided by the FBI for shoving a pro-abortionist who repeatedly initiated profanity-laced verbal confrontations with Houck and his son, the 28-year-old man who brutally beat two elderly pro-lifers outside of a Planned Parenthood should get some jail time, right? Wrong.
Surveillance footage of the 2023 attack shows Patrick Brice tackling and repeatedly wailing on two men who were posted oustide of the Baltimore abortion facility advocating and praying for unborn children.
Read more at The Federalist
Clinic tells family of mother’s assisted suicide via WhatsApp and says ashes in the post
An Irish family discovered via WhatsApp that their mother had secretly ended her life by assisted suicide in Switzerland and that her ashes would be posted to them, raising concerns that the same thing could happen in England and Wales if Kim Leadbeater’s assisted suicide Bill becomes law.
Maureen Slough, 58, from Cavan, Ireland, had told her family that she was going on holiday to Lithuania with a friend last month, but instead went to Swiss assisted suicide clinic, Pegasos, to end her life.
According to her daughter, Megan Royal, Maureen had a successful working life after being promoted to the role of executive officer in the civil service before retiring last year. Maureen’s partner, Mick Lynch, described her as being “full of life” after speaking to her on the day of the assisted suicide and had no idea of her plans to end her life.
Read more at Right to Life News UK
Education Dept. Demands Receipts From Universities That Do Affirmative Action Under The Table
It is about to become much more difficult for American universities to hide their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and race-based admissions schemes.
That is because the Department of Education will now start requiring universities that receive federal funding to submit race and sex data from applicants, admissions, and enrollments for undergraduates, as well as certain graduate and other programs.
Read more at The Federalist
Catholic Bishops Compare ICE Deportations to Nazis and Slave Catchers
U.S. Catholic Bishops are citing Nazis, slave catchers, and replacement babies as they try to slam President Donald Trump’s popular immigration policies.
The bishops are also urging open borders, parroting cheap-labor demands from business groups, and pretending that illegal migrants are not illegal.
Read more at Breitbart
Dean Cain Takes High Road After John Leguizamo Calls Him ‘Loser’ for Volunteering as an ICE Officer
Actor Dean Cain took what could only be called the “super” high road after actor John Leguizamo trashed him over the weekend as a “loser” for the former Superman actor’s plan to become an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent.
Posting on X, Cain simply wrote about Leguizamo, “He’s a good actor – I like his stuff.”
Read/watch more at Breitbart
Mayor Defends Saints’ Statues on Public Safety Building, Accuses Opponents of Anti-Catholic Bias
A Massachusetts mayor is going to bat for including statues of two Catholic saints on the city’s new public safety building, saying he picked them because of their importance to police and firefighters and accusing opponents of harboring “‘negative attitudes’ toward Catholicism.”
But lawyers for local residents who object to the planned 10-foot-high bronze statues of St. Michael and St. Florian say the mayor is making non-Catholics “feel like second-class citizens” because of the statues, which they say violates the Massachusetts Constitution by favoring one religion over another.
Read more at the National Catholic Register
Cardinal Burke on Why the Young are Returning to the Latin Mass
Raymond Arroyo welcomes Cardinal Raymond Burke—on the 50th anniversary of his priesthood—for a candid and illuminating conversation about the beauty, reverence, and spiritual depth of the ancient Roman Rite.
Cardinal Burke explains how the Latin Mass offers a transcendent encounter with Christ, why facing East matters, and how sacred music like Gregorian chant roots us in centuries of worship. He shares personal stories, insights into Church tradition, and the growing hunger among the faithful—especially the youth—for something more meaningful than modern liturgical trends. They also unpack the link between sacred worship and moral clarity, why reverence matters, and how parishes that embrace tradition are seeing more vocations and conversions.
Watch at Raymond Arroyo on YouTube
NFL players come together in prayer, end game, after serious injury
Preseason games in the NFL are already emotional times for players. Many are trying to make the final roster, and are doing whatever they can to show off their skills.
With this in mind, what the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions did during the game on Friday, August 8, is even more incredible. After Morice Norris, a cornerback on the Detroit Lions, was seriously injured during the fourth quarter, both teams came together to pray for his recovery and run out the clock.
Read more at Aleteia
First-ever RISE Awards recognizes innovative evangelization projects on college campuses
As more efforts are placed on reaching young adults on college campuses, one organization is encouraging Catholic campus ministries to think outside the box when it comes to helping students grow in faith and reach those who are unfamiliar with the Gospel message.
As part of its campaign to inspire new and creative outreach efforts on college campuses, the Associates of St. John Bosco (ASJB) recently announced its first-ever winners of the RISE Awards (Renewal of Innovative Student Evangelization) on Aug. 6. The ASJB is a nonprofit whose purpose is to help college students keep and grow in their Catholic faith.
Read more at the Catholic News Agency
Morale-Strapped Diocese Petitions St. John Vianney to Help Weary Priests and Ho-Hum Parishes
One Massachusetts diocese is turning to St. John Vianney.
In what local Church officials think is a first of its kind, about 70 priests and five seminarians of the Diocese of Fall River consecrated themselves this week to the Curé d’Ars, as the patron saint of parish priests is widely known.
Vianney (1786-1859), whose 100th anniversary of his canonization is this year, overcame poverty, persecution, conscription, opposition from his father, and learning difficulties to become a priest — only to be sent to a remote village in southeastern France where most people didn’t know much about the faith and didn’t much care about it, either.
Read more at the National Catholic Register
