DC police union gives full support to President Trump’s control of the Capital; Trump floats deploying National Guard to New York, Chicago, and LA after DC Crack Down; Politico hacks insist gerrymandering is different when Dems do it; Ex-Kentucky clerk asks SCOTUS to overturn same-sex marriage ruling; Pope calls attention to starving Israeli hostages, Gazan civilians; Shrine to Mary, Mother of Persecuted Christians, to open in Iraq; and more —
Trump Takes Control Of DC Police To Restore Safety, Pride, and Beauty To Nation’s Capital
President Donald Trump announced on Monday that his administration is taking back control of Washington, D.C., by returning policing control to federal control after decades of city government failure.
Trump signed an executive order invoking Section 740 of the District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, which allows his administration to take control of D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department.
Along with invoking Section 740, he declared a pubic safety emergency in the nation’s capital.
Read more at The Federalist
The President of the DC Police Union has come out in FULL SUPPORT of President Trump’s takeover of the police department
“We completely agree with the President that the crime in the District of Columbia is out of control and something needs to be done. The fact that we need help from federal law enforcement and maybe even the National Guard should not, [come] as a surprise.”
Watch @Nick Sortor on X
Trump Floats Deploying National Guard to New York, Chicago, and LA After DC Crack Down
President Donald Trump said his administration is going to look at deploying the U.S. military to other American cities, including Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles, at a press conference where he announced that he was taking federal control of the police department in Washington, D.C., and deploying 800 National Guard troops there to crack down on crime.
Speaking from the White House briefing room in an extended and rambling press conference while flanked by members of his Cabinet, Trump declared the move “Liberation Day in D.C.” and said he was seeking to “rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor, and worse.”
Read more at Mediaite
Texas Supreme Court Sets ‘Expedited’ Brief Schedule for Governor’s Suit to Remove Runaway House Democrats
The Texas Supreme Court set an “expedited” schedule for briefs to be filed by the parties involved in Governor Greg Abbott’s lawsuit to vacate the House seat of Rep. Gene Wu. The schedule requires all briefs to be filed and responded to by September 4.
In a statement on social media, Governor Abbott said the order from the State’s highest court brings consequences for fleeing House Democrats one step closer to reality.
“Closer to consequences for Texas Democrats running away from their duties and spending the summer in California and Illinois,” Abbott wrote on X.
Read more at Breitbart
Newsom calls on Trump to end redistricting push: ‘Playing with fire’
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) is taking it to President Donald Trump over redistricting, saying Trump should call it off or else.
In a letter to the White House, Newsom suggested that the outcome would be the same whether new maps were drawn or not and urged the president not to move forward so everyone could avoid the headache.
Read more at the Washington Examiner
Politico Hacks Insist Gerrymandering Is Different When Democrats Do It
On Sunday, Politico’s Gregory Svirnovskiy regurgitated talking points by Illinois Democrat governor J.B. Pritzker and former Obama Attorney General Eric Holder to suggest Democrats’ gerrymandering is permissible, while smearing Republicans’ attempt to redistrict in Texas as a Trump-backed “attempt to cheat mid-decade.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called a special legislative session to, in part, consider new maps “in light of constitutional concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Justice.” This came right after the DOJ expressed “serious concerns” that four Texas districts were unlawfully gerrymandered on racial grounds.
Last week, close to 60 Texas House Democrats abandoned the state and headed to Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts to protest a new redistricting proposal that could give Republicans five more congressional seats.
Read more at The Federalist
Journalist explains legacy media’s formulaic response to Trump
Here’s the pattern: Trump says something true, the media calls him a fascist, and when it turns out the country agrees with Trump, they switch to calling it obvious. They did it on the border, they did it on NATO, now they’re doing it on crime, though this time, the elites are secretly relieved he’s calling their bluff!
Watch @Batya Ungar-Sargon on X
Trump on Verge of Major Victory in Battle Over Panama Canal
During his inaugural address in January, President Donald Trump vowed to eradicate Chinese influence from the Panama Canal and preserve U.S. vital interests in the region. After months of tense negotiations, he appears to be on the cusp of achieving that goal.
The momentum began to shift in April, when CK Hutchison, the Hong Kong-based company operating two Panama Canal port terminals with deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), announced plans to sell its global port holdings, including the strategically critical sites in Panama.
The surprise development stunned CCP leadership, which reportedly saw the move as a severe threat to its regional ambitions.
Read more at Amac
Ex-Kentucky clerk Kim Davis asks Supreme Court to overturn same-sex marriage ruling: ‘Legal fiction’
Kim Davis, the former Kentucky clerk who violated the rights of a gay couple, has petitioned the Supreme Court to revisit its landmark decision on same-sex marriage – slamming the ruling as a “legal fiction.”
Davis, 59, served five days in jail in 2015 after she refused to issue a marriage license to gay couple David Ermold and David Moore shortly after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in the Obergefell v. Hodges case.
The former Rowan County, Ky., clerk was subsequently ordered to pay a $100,000 jury verdict for emotional damages and $260,000 in attorneys’ fees to the married couple.
Read more at the New York Post
Michigan Citizen-Only Voting Effort Kicks Off Under Watch Of ‘Terrible’ Elections Chief: Leftist Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has insisted that there’s no need for such an election-integrity amendment.
A little more than five months before the 2024 presidential election, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson sat with her counterparts from Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania on NBC’s Meet the Press and lied about the rigged 2020 election being “the most secure in American history” …
The topic of noncitizens voting in U.S. elections came up. Benson proclaimed that she had “good news for everyone.”
The far-left Democrat who holds the keys to swing-state Michigan’s elections assured viewers that she and her fellow secretaries “all … want to make sure only U.S. citizens are voting in our elections”…
Benson was lying again.
Read more at The Federalist; read more at the Gateway Pundit
The Madman Cometh — And There’s Apparently No Stopping Him – Essay about Zohran Mamdani’s run for NYC mayor
Every time I attempt to spell Zohran Mamdani’s name, my fingers are desperate to spell it “Madmani.” I’m close to just giving in.
It’s starting to look like I’ll get a lot of practice, whatever the spelling.
Madmani — sorry, Mamdani — is solidifying himself as the favorite in what’s essentially a four-way race in New York’s mayoral general election, and right now it doesn’t look like the rest of the field is interested in consolidating against him. …
Read more at The American Spectator
[Pope] calls attention to starving Israeli hostages, Gazan civilians
Pope Leo XIV, like Pope Francis before him, consistently has called on Hamas to release the hostages it kidnapped in Israel almost two years ago and has pleaded with Israel to allow the delivery of more humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.
The urgency of listening to the papal pleas, which began after the Hamas attack on Israel Oct. 7, 2023, became more obvious when photographs and videos of Gazans, particularly children, malnourished and on the point of death filled the news in late July and early August. And then Hamas and a group called Islamic Jihad released separate, shocking videos of two of the hostages, showing them emaciated in captivity.
Read more at USCCB website
Will Leo’s reforms get an assist from Cardinal Pell?
The Vatican on Saturday released new norms as a part of a multi-year effort to standardize the process of awarding contracts to vendors and service providers working with the dicasteries of the Holy See.
The new norms have widely been taken as a sign that Pope Leo intends to move forward rapidly with the financial reform measures for which advocates have called for years.
But the origin of the norms is worth noting too — and suggests that as he looks to move forward, Pope Leo might be drawing from the work of the past.
Read more at The Pillar
Pope Leo expands parental leave and family benefits for Vatican workers
Pope Leo XIV is strengthening support for Vatican employees’ families by adding more paid time off for new fathers, extra leave for parents of children with severe disabilities, and extended financial allowances for older students.
Vatican News reported that the changes were announced Aug. 11 in a rescript issued by Maximino Caballero Ledo, prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy. The measures follow recommendations from the ULSA Council, a body representing employees from across the Holy See and the Governorate.
Read more at Catholic Vote
[Catholic] Colombian Senator Dies 2 Months After Being Shot by Assassin
Colombian Sen. Miguel Uribe Turbay died Monday morning, Aug. 11, just over two months after being shot by a hitman, his wife, María Claudia Tarazona, confirmed. The politician was hospitalized at the Santa Fe Foundation Hospital in Bogotá. …
Former Colombian President Iván Duque said that “terrorism robbed us of a promising figure for Colombia and a leader of integrity and transparency… Colombia mourns but will not surrender to the criminals who snuffed out the life of an admirable young man.”
Read more at the Catholic Register
Vatican overrules Canadian bishop’s decision to close parish, again
For the second time in 15 months the Vatican overturned a Canadian archbishop’s decision to close a small parish, thus continuing a three-year dispute between parishioners and the archbishop.
Parishioners at Holy Rosary Parish in Portugal Cove-St. Philips, Newfoundland, announced earlier this week that the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Clergy had once again overturned Archbishop Peter Hundt’s decision to close Holy Rosary and merge it with the nearby Holy Trinity parish.
Read more at The Pillar
‘Hebrew Catholic’ association launches in Israel
A group dedicated to providing a welcoming space for Jewish converts to Catholicism has launched in Israel.
The Association of Hebrew Catholics celebrated its official launch with a Mass on Aug. 8, the eve of the feast of its patron, St. Edith Stein, who was a Jewish convert to Catholicism.
The Syriac Catholic Exarch of Jerusalem, Bishop Yaacoub Camil Afram Antoine, acted as host for the event and celebrated the Mass, which took place at St. Thomas Syriac Catholic Church in Jerusalem.
Read more at the Catholic News Agency
The Forgotten Christians of Yemen and the Rising Tide of Houthi Aggression: From Najran to Tel Aviv
Yemen, a land steeped in ancient history, holds a largely forgotten narrative of Christian presence — one that resonates with chilling relevance today. By the fifth century, Christianity had firmly taken root in South Arabia, with Najran as its most prominent community. These deep roots have been repeatedly attacked by forces of intolerance and religious absolutism.
Today, the Houthi movement’s aggression mirrors that ancient persecution. Their targets range from religious minorities inside Yemen to the State of Israel. This is not just a political conflict — it is a shared battle against the rising tide of radical Islamism and the suppression of religious diversity.
Read more at The Stream
Despite claiming ignorance, Virginia high school reportedly knew about abortion allegations for months
Officials in Virginia’s Fairfax County Public School (FCPS) system have reportedly known since May about allegations that a high school social worker facilitated and paid for a student’s abortion, despite stating that they learned of the claims only last week.
Walter Curt, the journalist who investigated the allegations and reported his findings on Substack last week, wrote in a second report that Zenaida Perez, a teacher at Centreville High School whose student told her about being pressured by the social worker to have an abortion, alerted school officials to the situation in May.
Read more at Catholic Vote
Is Film About Pro-Life Black Women Being Muzzled?
Pro-abortion forces are trying to muzzle an upcoming new movie about courageous pro-life black women—including activist Bevelyn B. Williams, who was arrested for protesting at an abortion clinic. Williams was later pardoned by President Donald Trump after being prosecuted and imprisoned with excessive sentence by former President Joe Biden’s administration.
There’s nothing more terrifying to white progressives than independent, freethinking, pro-life black women. Especially black women exposing Margaret Sanger, the racist, eugenicist co-founder of Planned Parenthood, who thought black people were unfit to “breed.”
Read more at The Daily Signal
Shrine to Mary, Mother of Persecuted Christians, to open in Iraq: The shrine will open in Qaraqosh, 11 years after the Christian population was temporarily driven out by ISIS.
The shrine in Iraq’s northern Nineveh Plains will be the seventh worldwide dedicated to Mary, Mother of Persecuted Christians, when it opens in the town’s newly built St. Ephrem Church in October.
Fr. Benedict Kiely, the founder of Nasarean.org, a charity supporting persecuted Christians, presented an icon that will serve as the shrine’s focal point to Archbishop Benedict Younan Hano, head of the Syriac Catholic Archeparchy of Mosul.
Read more at The Pillar
Prayer compels us to put the things of God first
The path of prayer is marked by hurdles and struggles that need to be overcome and faithfully endured. Prayer is the long spiritual walk that leads us out of ourselves and its fallenness and into the presence of God and his enduring peace.
While distractions and dryness are a part of the battle, there is a still more silent and debilitating struggle that rumbles in the heart. The most intense challenge to prayer is the interior question of faith. The demands of prayer push us to the edge and call for us to make a declaration of belief in God, his goodness, and his care for us.
Read more at Crux
