Trump wraps up visit to Beijing with private meeting at Xi’s residence; Trump says Xi wants to help end the war, reopen of Strait of Hormuz; Reflecting on meeting with Pope Leo, Rubio emphasizes different roles of Church and Nation State; In ABC interview, Rubio says $100 million in aid is ready for Cuban people, wants Catholic Church to distribute it; VP Vance fires up crowd in Maine about fraud while Trump et al. in China; SCOTUS rules freight brokers can be sued for hiring illegal alien truckers; SCOTUS allows mail-order abortions to continue, Alito, Thomas object; Cosmetics co-founder who once partied with Kardashians set to be ordained a priest; SSPX Superior General addresses Pope Leo with a Declaration of Catholic Faith; Catholic celebrate the Spanish farmer-saint assisted by angels in his work; and more —
The Latest: Trump Wraps up China Visit and Holds Private Meeting with Chinese Leader Xi Jinping
U.S. President Donald Trump wraps up his visit to Beijing on Friday with a private meeting at Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s official residence before he departs for Washington.
During a series of meetings and events on Thursday the two discussed divisive issues such as the Iran war, trade, technology and Taiwan.
During those meetings, Trump said Xi told him China wants to help negotiate an end to the war and a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. China is the largest buyer of Iranian oil and Trump hopes Xi will use that leverage to prod Iran into a deal on U.S. terms. Trump also said Xi assured him that China wouldn’t provide Iran with military equipment.
Read more at NEWSMAX
Trump, Xi Toast U.S.-China Relations at Historic Beijing Banquet
President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping toasted relations between their nations on Thursday night during Trump’s historic state visit to Beijing, China.
The toasts came at a banquet toward the conclusion of Trump’s first full day in China, which included a pomp-filled welcome ceremony and a more than two-hour bilateral meeting that began in the morning and concluded in the early afternoon, Beijing time.
Trump said citizens of the countries “have shared a deep mutual respect” from the beginning of the U.S.-China relationship.
“Founding father Benjamin Franklin published the sayings of Confucius in his colonial newspaper, and today’s sculpture recognizing that ancient Chinese sage is carved into the face of the United States Supreme Court very proudly,” Trump said.
Read more at Breitbart
President Trump Speaks at the State Banquet in Beijing
Watch at Right Side Broadcasting Network
Reflecting On Meeting With Leo, Rubio Emphasizes Distinction Between Role of Church and Nation State
“There are conflicts and issues in the world that cannot be solved diplomatically, no matter how hard you try,” Rubio said.
In a May 13 interview on Fox News, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reflected on his May 7 meeting with Pope Leo XIV, emphasizing the different vantage points and distinct roles of the Church and a nation-state.
In the interview, Rubio acknowledged the Catholic Church’s longstanding position advocating for peace and the avoidance of war while drawing a clear distinction between the Church’s role and the duties and responsibilities of nation states.
While saying the U.S. also seeks peace, Rubio affirmed that the countryʼs position on war is “different,” because it is “a nation state.”
“For a nation state, which is different from a religious office, for a nation state there are threats to your security and to the well-being of your people that have to be addressed, ideally through diplomatic means, but there are conflicts and issues in the world that cannot be solved diplomatically, no matter how hard you try,” Rubio said, pointing to years of failed diplomacy with Iran and other past examples.
Read more at the National Catholic Register
Rubio weighs in on Pope Leo, Iran war en route to China
Watch @EricLDaugh; full interview here
More Trump than Trump?
Watch @naiivememe
To NBC News: ‘There’s $100 million in aid available to Cuban people’ (May 14, 2026)
Watch @StateDept
Sec. Rubio: ‘Catholic Church can distribute the aid …’
Watch @StateDept
VP Vance Fires Up Bangor Maine Crowd while Trump et al. in China
Watch at Right Side Broadcasting Network
Clip of VP’s Maine speech highlights Medicaid fraud
Watch @nicksortor
SCOTUS rules freight brokers can be sued for negligently hiring illegal alien and foreign truckers
See @Breaking911
Supreme Court Allows Mail-Order Abortions to Continue
The Supreme Court extended the stay on a lower-court ban on mailing the abortion pill.
This means the dangerous abortion pill mifepristone can still be mailed to customers nationwide while the lower court addresses a case from Louisiana seeking to stop them nationwide long-term.
The high court’s temporary stay, issued on May 8, expired at 5 p.m. ET Thursday. The court extended the stay today while the case continues. Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Samuel Alito, dissented. …
The case was brought by Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, who argued the FDA failed to adequately consider the safety of the abortion drug.
Leading pro-life groups criticized the decision.
“This decision is deeply troubling because it leaves women exposed to powerful abortion drugs,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “Women facing unexpected pregnancies deserve real medical care and support, not a one-size-fits-all mail-order abortion system that minimizes risks and leaves women isolated during medical emergencies.”
Read more at LifeNews
Thomas, Alito Blast SCOTUS For Helping ‘Undermine’ Dobbs With Abortion Drug Ruling
‘Louisiana’s [pro-life] efforts have been thwarted by certain medical providers, private organizations, and States that abhor laws like Louisiana’s and seek to undermine their enforcement,’ wrote Justice Alito.
Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito had some choice words for their Supreme Court colleagues on Thursday over their “remarkable” decision “undermin[ing]” the court’s historic Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
The stinging rebukes came in an order the high court handed down to temporarily pause an appellate court ruling that halted a Biden-era FDA rule allowing the mailing of mifepristone to women without an in-person doctor visit. In agreeing to halt the policy, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals found that the FDA’s “progressive relaxation of mifepristone’s guardrails likely lacked a basis in data and scientific literature,” and noted how the “FDA itself now concedes the regulations were marred by ‘procedural deficits’ and a ‘lack of adequate consideration.’”
While seven justices agreed to temporarily pause the 5th Circuit’s order while litigation in the case continues, Thomas and Alito authored brutal dissents underscoring the illogical nature of their colleagues’ decision.
Read more at The Federalist
Amendment allowing Crucifix headstones for veterans
Watch @RepLaLota
The Odyssey Looks Awful. Here’s Why –
Matt Walsh’s review of Christopher Nolan’s soon-to-be released film adapted from Homer’s classic
Watch at Matt Walsh
Cosmetics co-founder who once partied with Kardashians set to be ordained a priest
See @CollinRugg
We’re watching you’: Catholic apostolate confronts settlers on behalf of West Bank Christians
Vatican News recently reported that Israeli settler attacks on Christian Palestinian communities in the West Bank have continued with limited legal accountability and minimal public response from Western governments.
Jason Jones, founder of the Vulnerable People Project (VPP), a U.S.-based Catholic apostolate, told Zeale News in a May 13 phone interview that he is launching a new initiative aimed at drawing the world’s attention to the issue.
The Save West Bank Christians initiative is designed to generate pressure that could finally bring the accountability that the Vatican News article warned is lacking. The response has two main prongs: cameras and billboards.
Jones said the organization already has teams on the ground in the West Bank and is sending a dedicated camera crew from the U.S.
“We’re sending a camera crew to do nothing but document settler expansion and settler violence,” he said. Footage and incident reports will be published through a Substack connected to savewestbankchristians.com, he said, updated in real time whenever attacks occur.
Read more at Zeale
WV Legislator breaks down persecution of Nigerian Christians he has seen with his ‘own eyes‘
‘We are a Christian nation. And I think we have an obligation to do something’
Watch @MKnowlesShow
SSPX Superior General Fr. Pagliarani addresses Pope Leo XIV with a Declaration of Catholic Faith
‘We have no other desire than to live and be confirmed in the Roman Catholic Faith’
See @dianemontagna; read full SSPX Declaration here
Pope Leo’s first encyclical expected later this month
See @RealAdVaticanum
Today begins the Novena leading to the Feast of Pentecost
See @ChurchinPoland
Today is the Feast Day of St. Isidore the Farmer
See @father_rmv; read also Catholic Online
