US and Iran trade strikes after two US service members killed in Jordan; Mullin announces major steps for election security following China revelations; Win for Trump: Appeals court lifts block on USPS mail-in ballot plan; Olive Garden unwittingly makes the case for voter ID; Dominican nuns file lawsuit asserting NY policies regarding end of life care compromise their faith; FDA still looking for source of Cyclospora parasite; French bishops deplore legalization of euthanasia in France; JD and Usha Vance welcome newborn son; Pro-life coalition protests resumption of federal funding to Planned Parenthood; Catholics celebrate the martyr-saint who was ordained bishop by St. Peter himself and who – in his death throes – predicted the Church’s triumph over the Roman Empire; and more —
U.S. and Iran trade strikes after two U.S. service members killed in Jordan
The U.S. launched retaliatory airstrikes against Iran after the deadly attack in Jordan, while Iran on Sunday struck allies across the Middle East.
Two U.S. service members were killed Friday while defending against an Iranian ballistic missile and drone attack in Jordan, and another service member is missing, U.S. Central Command said Saturday.
Central Command, known as CENTCOM, said the troops were killed in action as U.S. and partner forces responded to the attack. It did not specify where in Jordan the attack occurred or provide additional details about the circumstances.
Four other American service members were medically evacuated to hospitals in Jordan but have since been discharged, CENTCOM said. Other personnel who were evaluated for minor injuries have returned to duty.
CENTCOM said it was withholding the identities of the two service members killed until 24 hours after their families have been notified.
Read more at NBC News
Update on fallen US soldiers from Central Command
Read @CENTCOM
Mullin Announces Major Steps for Election Security Following China Revelations
In just four states, 250,000 noncitizens are registered to vote, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Friday as he announced new measures to bolster election security.
The four states—California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Nevada—did not cooperate with the Trump administration in its review of voter information, but the Department of Homeland Security obtained the information from publicly available data, Mullin said.
He also called on states to crosscheck voter data with the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, a database from the DHS that verifies citizenship.
The secretary said that in 23 states that have cooperated with the agency’s SAVE program, which helps determine voter eligibility, data show another 23,000 noncitizens and 400,000 dead people are registered to vote.
Read more at the Daily Signal
Appeals Court Lifts Block on USPS Mail-In Ballot Plan in Win for Trump
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a stay on Friday, temporarily lifting a lower court’s block on USPS’s mail-in ballot proposal, in a major win for President Donald Trump.
On March 31, Trump issued an executive order, “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections,” which directs federal agencies to develop state-specific lists of voters who are confirmed U.S. citizens. A provision calls on USPS not to handle mail-in or absentee ballots from individuals, unless they appear on the state-specific, federally approved citizenship lists.
Ahead of the midterm elections, Trump has been feverishly calling on Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship for voter registration, mandate photo identification at the ballot box and heavily restrict mail-in voting.
In response to Trump’s executive order, USPS issued a proposal that would require states to meet certain conditions before USPS could handle the mail ballots. Those conditions include providing USPS with lists of eligible mail-in voters and adopting specific USPS ballot formats and tracking requirements.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) argued the proposal contradicts a 2021 settlement that requires “USPS officials to take ‘extraordinary measures’ to ensure timely delivery of ballots,” according to Reuters.
Read more at Mediaite
Olive Garden Just Accidentally – and Hilariously! – Made the Case for Voter ID by Teri Christoff
When you’re confident that your plate of spaghetti is more secure than your country’s elections, you know you’re in trouble.
Social media users, especially those of the conservative kind, are abuzz Friday after the Olive Garden social media team accidentally made the case for why Congress should pass the SAVE America Act when they posted a tweet about its Never-Ending Pasta Pass.
Apparently, Thursday was a big day for Americans, not only because President Trump unsealed a treasure trove of documents related to election integrity, but also because the Pasta Pass went on sale. And Olive Garden was busy promoting the sale, reminding customers that it began promptly at 2 PM ET.
Customers were instructed to log onto PastaPass.com to claim one of the 10,000 passes on sale. Each pass cost $100 and allowed the holder to get unlimited dine-in access to Olive Garden’s Never-Ending Pasta Bowl for 13 weeks, including unlimited pasta-and-sauce combinations, the ability to add and switch protein toppings, a choice of never-ending soup or salad, and unlimited breadsticks.
One interested party, Superpowermario, wanted more specifics before purchasing. For instance, if they were to buy one pass, could they use it to feed their entire family?
The answer was a very firm “No” from Olive Garden. The pass, it turns out, can only be used by the passholder, who must present the pass along with valid photo ID in order to access their plates of pasta.
Read more at RedState
Democrat VA politician caught prevaricating on Voter ID
Watch @RNCResearch
Maybe Shut Up, Elissa by Scott McKay
… Elissa Slotkin, the junior senator from Michigan who seems to lead the league in making statements that indicate she isn’t as smart as she thinks she is, actually said that if the SAVE America Act is passed, which would clean voter rolls and prevent foreigners from voting, it would “rig” America’s elections such that Democrats wouldn’t be able to win anywhere in the country.
This statement is absurd on some levels, but it’s also quite noteworthy on some others, in a holy-cow-did-you-just-say-the-quiet-part-out-loud? sort of way.
The most glaring absurdity in the statement is this idea that Democrats wouldn’t be able to win anywhere if the SAVE America Act were to pass. She could say something like Democrats would never be able to win a national election again, and that could well be true. In fact, we’ll get to that down the page. She could say they’d be finished trying to win a presidential election, which could also be true, but might end up true regardless, based on what Democrats are doing to themselves.
Instead, she chose demagoguery of a sort so far down the rabbit hole that it’s worth examining as an exposition of where we are with respect to political dialogue in this country.
Slotkin would now have you believe that, were the bill to pass, Detroit, Chicago, and New Orleans would suddenly turn red. Or that California, Vermont, and Hawaii would turn red.
Nobody believes any of that is about to happen. Elissa Slotkin doesn’t believe it, and nobody in her audience believes it. But everybody goes along with what she says in this clip, because it is now a rhetorical sacrament among Democrats and the Left to say things which are plainly, performatively untrue in pursuit of some sort of advantage. …
Read more at The American Spectator
FDA walks back previous detection of Cyclospora parasite on Taylor Farm lettuce
See @JustTheNews
POTUS plays key role at FIFA World Cup Ceremony
Watch @RapidResponse47
Manny Pacquiao and ten abortion survivors share messages on World Cup final weekend
Six years after a commercial featuring abortion survivors was banned days before the Super Bowl, the American organization Faces of Choice has been given a new chance: its commercial featuring boxing legend Manny Pacquiao and ten abortion survivors has been approved and will be broadcast on the weekend of the World Cup final – now to an international audience. …
In 2020, the American pro-life organization Faces of Choice produced a Super Bowl commercial that introduced the American public to abortion survivors – people who survived attempts to end their lives. The clips were then blocked by the broadcaster just before the game.
Six years later, the organization has produced a new, international film, featuring Philippine boxing legend Manny Pacquiao speaking out for abortion survivors. The short film has been approved by the authorities and will be broadcast internationally this weekend, during the World Cup final. …
Lyric Gillett, the creator of Faces of Choice, said the moment was particularly significant. She said the film, which was originally intended to be shown at the Super Bowl six years ago, was created to present abortion survivors not as statistics or political arguments, but as human faces, names, and personal stories during one of the world’s biggest global media events. …
Pacquiao is not participating in the campaign by chance: the boxer has been openly advocating for his pro-life beliefs for many years …
The original 2020 commercial featured Hungarian Dr. Imre Téglásy, Human Life International’s Hungarian representative and president of the Alfa Association, who is himself an abortion survivor and a most prominent voice in Hungarian and international pro-life advocacy …
Read more at National Internet Watchdog (translation available)
JD and Usha Vance Welcome Newborn Son
Read @JDVance
Pro-life coalition protests the resumption of federal funding to abortion giant
Read @FDRLST
Teacher fired in Scotland for saying abortion is wrong
See @dcexaminer; read ‘A Catholic Grandmother was fired for telling the truth. America should pay attention’ at the Washington Examiner (behind a partial paywall)
Nuns file lawsuit asserting NY policies regarding end of life care compromise their faith
See @MadelineELong; read ‘The Nuns Suing New York to Keep Caring for the Dying’ at The Free Press (behind partial paywall); read nun’s lawsuit here
France’s bishops rebuke legalization of ‘assisted dying’
See @NCRonline; Read more at National Catholic Reporter
Tribute to R[ight] H[onorable] Ann Widdecombe … by Sir Christian Sweeting KCSG, member of the [UK] Catholic Union
‘British public life is immeasurably poorer without her … ‘
I was privileged to count Ann among my closest and dearest friends for more than thirty years. The violent circumstances of her death are almost impossible to comprehend, but the horror of the manner in which she died must never be allowed to obscure the extraordinary life she lived.
Ann devoted herself to public service with courage, integrity and an unshakeable sense of duty. She possessed a profound instinct for fairness and was never afraid to stand alone when conscience required it. Whether or not one agreed with her, nobody could doubt the honesty of her convictions or the formidable bravery with which she defended them.
At the heart of Ann’s life was her Catholic faith. It was not merely something she professed, still less something she confined to Sundays, but the foundation upon which she ordered her life. It gave her moral courage, resilience, compassion and an unwavering belief in the dignity of every human being. …
Read more at The Catholic Union of Great Britain
97-Year-Old ‘Living Martyr’ Cardinal, Who Forgave His Torturers: ‘Love Your Enemies; Pray for Your Friends’
Albanian Cardinal Ernest Simoni, who spent 18 years in jail for the faith, shares with the Register his advice for those facing persecution and grave suffering today and offers encouragement for young people: ‘With Jesus everything is beautiful.’
The authority with which Cardinal Ernest Simoni speaks today was bought at a terrible price.
Arrested on Christmas Eve 1963 after celebrating a Mass for the repose of the soul of slain President John F. Kennedy, he was condemned to death by Albania’s communist regime simply for exercising his priesthood, before the sentence was commuted and he spent 18 years in prison.
During his time in jail, he endured torture and harsh conditions, but he continued to offer the sacraments in secret and refused every attempt to make him renounce his faith or denounce the Church in what became in 1967 the world’s first “atheist state.” After his release in 1981, he was still considered an “enemy of the people” and was forced to work in mines and sewers, but he continued to exercise his priestly ministry clandestinely until the fall of the communist regime in 1990.
Pope Francis, who called Cardinal Simoni a “living martyr,” elevated him to cardinal 10 years ago this November. …
Read more at the National Catholic Register
Nigerian Christian survivor’s testimony from a July 2026 village attack
Watch @Eyakoby; read also ‘Nigerian Christians Report Increasing Coordination Across Fulani Attack’ at the Gateway Pundit
Cardinal Sarah: Pope Leo’s Generosity towards the Traditional Latin Mass ‘Must Apply to All Bishops’
… Cardinal Robert Sarah has a message for bishops the world over: emulate Pope Leo XIV’s generosity towards the Traditional Latin Mass. In a new video interview, the Guinean Cardinal — Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments — argues that Pope Leo’s recent letter urging openness from France’s bishops toward priests and communities attached to the vetus ordo should bind every bishop of the Roman rite, not France’s alone. “What was written to the French Bishops must apply to all Bishops,” he says.
His call comes as new weight falls on a year-old revelation: that a Vatican survey of the world’s bishops had in fact contradicted the very grounds Pope Francis gave for severely restricting the TLM in his 2021 motu proprio, Traditionis Custodes. “We cannot say that what has been done for 1,600 years is no longer valid now,” Cardinal Sarah says, rejecting the premise behind the restrictions and calling on the world’s episcopate to follow the new Pope’s lead rather than cling to what was imposed under his predecessor.
Cardinal Sarah goes further still, questioning the very legitimacy of a decree that would cancel centuries of liturgical practice: “What cancels is not a valid text, because the Church is a continuity.”
Commenting on the ongoing Synod on Synodality, the Cardinal says flatly it is a term he has “never understood.” The Study Group No. 9 report on homosexuality, he argues, should not reach the world’s dioceses without Pope Leo’s own scrutiny first. And on the liturgy at large, he warns of what happens when divine worship becomes, in his words, “a kind of entertainment.”
Cardinal Sarah expanded on his critique of Synodality in remarks following the interview. “Synodality,” he said, is “an abstract term, untranslatable into our African languages,” with no grounding in Scripture, history, or Church Tradition.
Read more at Diane Montagna substack; watch more at The Catholic Corner
Today is the Feast of St. Apollinaris (d. c. 79 AD), Bishop and Martyr
See @VitaetTerra; more at Dynamic Catholic
