POTUS announces ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, says ‘I hope Hezbollah acts nicely’; Trump admin ‘celebrating how much money hardworking Americans will keep – not how much government will take,’ per Scott Bessent; Trump-Pope feud is Dem PSYOP to drive wedge between Trump and Catholics, says Michael Knowles; Artemis II crew holds news conference after historic lunar flyby, commander opines on the Cross; Supreme Court Justice: ‘Celebrate America 250 by doing something to save the country’; Education Sec. laments lack of patriotism among teachers; Ireland holding up one of its own for sainthood: Sr. Clare Crockett; Holy Father offers Mass in Douala, Cameroon; Catholics celebrate the ‘Lily of the Mohawks’; and more —
Trump announces ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel
See @WhiteHouse; read more at AlJazeera
Trump: ‘I hope Hezbollah acts nicely’
See @WhiteHouse
Democrats Try To Drive A Wedge Between Trump & Catholics
‘The president and the pope have to work together’
Watch at Michael Knowles (Begins at 8:15+)
Trump: ‘I’m all about the Gospel’
See @FoxNews
Pope Leo’s forceful words in Cameroon: ‘World Being Ravaged by Tyrants’
Watch at the New York Post
Treasury Sec. on Trump admin’s tax priorities
Watch @RapidResponse47
The Moon Race Quickens
See/watch @MarioNawfal
Artemis II Commander explains experience with the Cross
Watch @FoxNews
Artemis II Commander: “We’re starting to lose scope as a society that you do have to go do things. You have to go do really hard, really challenging things.”
Watch @FoxNews
Clarence Thomas: Celebrate America 250 By Doing Something To Save The Country
‘[T]here are too few people who are willing to do what it takes to do the right thing; to sacrifice the popularity, flattery, comfort, and security that are the purchase price for principle.’
A day after Ketanji Brown Jackson once again showed herself to be the worst justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas reminded us why he’s the best.
The current court’s longest-serving member delivered a resounding speech at the University of Texas on Wednesday commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Drawing on his own life story growing up in the segregated South, the Bush 41 appointee gave a full-throated defense of America’s founding ideals and principles. …
Thomas [heralded] the Founding Fathers for their bravery in signing their names to the Declaration, a decision he noted could have constituted treason against the British crown. He further underscored that “what changed the world was not the words” of the Declaration, but “the commitment and spirit of the people who were willing to labor, sacrifice, and even give their lives — what [Abraham] Lincoln in Gettysburg called ‘the last full measure of devotion’ for the Declaration’s principles.”
“It is that devotion to which we owe our rich inheritance. It was that devotion that sustained the Founding Fathers and the Continental Army as they fought and won the Revolutionary War, braved the winter at Valley Forge, crossed the Delaware and defeated an army many times their number and firepower to win their freedom,” Thomas said. “That devotion has driven the great achievements and heroism of Americans in the 250 years since.” …
Read more at The Federalist
From Clarence Thomas’ remarks at UT Austin: ‘Progressivism is retrogressive’
Watch @KanekoaTheGreat
Federal agency approves Trump’s plan for triumphal arch ahead of America 250
The Commission of Fine Arts on Thursday gave initial approval to President Donald Trump’s proposal for a new monument in Washington, D.C., designed to acknowledge the country’s 250th birthday.
The federal panel unanimously approved the design, clearing a major bureaucratic hurdle for Trump’s pet project, though its construction remains threatened by a lawsuit that raises concerns the arch would disrupt views between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.
I’ve been watching very carefully, and the designs just get better and better and better and better and better,” James McCrery II, the commission’s vice chairman, said. “It’s very, very, very good.”
Nicolas Charbonneau, the lead architect, said the proposed monument, dubbed the “Independence Arch,” could reach 250 feet in a nod to the semiquincentennial. At that height, the new monument is set to become the world’s tallest ceremonial arch, towering over iconic structures such as the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial and dwarfing France’s similar Arc de Triomphe. The new arch’s height could be reduced to 166 feet by removing the golden-winged Lady Liberty statue sitting atop the monument, according to the commission. …
Read more at the Washington Examiner (under partial paywall)
Depictions of the US Triumphal Arch
See @WhiteHouse
Triumphal Arch intended for 2025 and future generations
See/watch @davis_ingle
Education Sec laments lack of patriotism among teachers
Watch @FoxNews; see full remarks here
Growing momentum on Irish nun’s path to sainthood
Watch @bbcnewsline
All or Nothing: Sr. Clare Crockett
A budding actress leaves her career and the open doors to fame behind to give her life to God. Some might see this as a total failure. But was it? Those who knew Sr. Clare speak in this film. After her tragic death in the 2016 earthquake in Ecuador, the failure might be seen as having reached its devastating end. Yet, many think that the story doesn’t end there. Thanks to the Servant Sisters’ archives with over 15 years of photos and videos of Sr. Clare’s life, HM Television presents this documentary to show you the real-life story of this Sister who gave her ALL to God, keeping NOTHING back.
Watch at HM Television
People in Cameroon’s largest city await Pope Leo’s visit
Watch @EWTNews; see more @Catholic Arena
Holy Father celebrates Mass in Douala, Cameroon – April 17, 2026
Watch at EWTN News (Holy Mass in French with English translation)
Today is the Feast Day of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha
See @ChessValleyRC
‘St. Kateri Tekawitha calls young people to holiness‘
In the 17th century, the relationship between the U.S and Indigenous tribes was quite tense. The life of St. Kateri Tekakwitha reflected this struggle. Her mother, who was a Christian, was captured by members of the Mohawk tribe. She then married the chief of that tribe and from that union Kateri was born. …
Watch at Rome Reports
