Iran offers latest iteration of peace deal, Trump rebuffs it as ‘totally unacceptable’; President Trump to visit China May 13–15, first trip in nearly nine years; US legislators ask Trump to negotiate release of Jimmy Lai during China visit; Democrats plot coup against Virginia Supreme Court; White House launches website to help new and expectant mothers; Karen Bass pulls out of key debate after Spencer Pratt success; Canadian priest twice offered assisted suicide by health staff in Vancouver hospital; Trump helps broker release of Polish prisoners from Belarus prison; Blessed Sacrament stolen from Nigerian adoration chapel amid ongoing attacks on Christians; World’s largest statue of the Virgin Mary under construction in Poland; Catholics encouraged to fast and pray on Rogation Days before Feast of the Ascension; and more —
Here’s Iran’s Reported Response on Deal, and Trump’s Reply Is Blunt by Nick Arama
The Iranian regime has finally sent back its response to the U.S. on the question of a peace deal. But with Iran, you have to know going in that they are giving you something that looks like movement, while having a whole lot of “gaps” in the meantime, as the Wall Street Journal phrased it.
I’ll put in the proviso that until the U.S. officially confirms details on anything that was in the proposal, this is a report on what it supposedly says. According to the WSJ, the response doesn’t “resolve the U.S. demand for commitments in advance on Iran’s nuclear program, and its stockpile of enriched uranium.”
Instead, it’s proposing ending the fighting and a gradual opening of the Strait of Hormuz and lifting of the U.S. blockade. That is followed by talks about the nuclear issue for over 30 days. They’re proposing having some of their highly enriched uranium diluted and the rest transferred to a third-party country.
Iran says they’re willing to stop enriching uranium, but for a shorter period than the 20-year moratorium the U.S. wants. They are also rejecting the dismantling of their nuclear facilities.
So there’s some movement in there, but there’s also a lot hanging out in the wind. And they’re still appear to be playing this “release us from the blockade” before getting to the nuclear promises, which isn’t going to work, if this is true.
Read more at RedState
Trump posts rejection of Iran’s deal
See @WhiteHouse
Pundit on ‘Operation Economic Fury‘
Watch @knesix
President Donald Trump to visit China from May 13–15, first trip in nearly nine years
Trump himself was the last US president to visit China in 2017, during his first term.
US President Donald Trump will pay an official visit to China from May 13 to 15 at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson announced on Monday.
This will be the first visit to China by a US president in almost nine years. Trump himself was the last US president to visit China in 2017, during his first term.
The visit comes amid a prolonged war in West Asia involving the US-Israel and Iran, a crisis over the blockade of Strait of Hormuz causing global energy crisis, and increasing tensions between the US and China over a host of issues, including Taiwan.
On Sunday, US principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said Trump would arrive in Beijing on Wednesday evening for what she described as a visit of symbolic significance.
According to Kelly, the US leader will attend a welcome ceremony and a bilateral meeting with President Xi Jinping on Thursday, followed by a visit to the Temple of Heaven and a state banquet, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.
Read more at the Hindustani Times
US legislators ask Trump to negotiate release of Jimmy Lai during China visit
See @cnalive
Democrats plot coup against Virginia Supreme Court
The Virginia Supreme Court’s decision to throw out a voter-approved redistricting amendment has House Democrats scrambling, and at least one option on the table would require blowing up the state’s entire Supreme Court to get there.
See @RedState
Legal expert on the Dems’ ‘Age of Rage’
See more @EricLDaugh
Monday cartoon
See @dcexaminer
Karen Bass slammed for pulling out of key debate after Spencer Pratt success
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is being blasted for backing out of an upcoming mayoral forum just days after she took a beating in a LA mayoral debate, with Spencer Pratt being declared the winner, per an online poll.
“The League of Women Voters and the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs regret to announce that Mayor Karen Bass has withdrawn from the televised Los Angeles mayoral forum scheduled for May 13 on FOX 11,” a statement posted on Instagram from organizers read.
“The forum was organized to give Los Angeles voters the opportunity to hear directly from candidates seeking to lead the city through a period of extraordinary challenges.”
Read more at the New York Post
Passengers begin evacuating hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius
Passengers began leaving the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius on Sunday after the vessel arrived off Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands, as authorities launched an evacuation operation.
Officials said none of the more than 140 people still aboard are currently showing symptoms of hantavirus, according to the Associated Press.
Spanish authorities, the World Health Organization and cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions said the evacuation is being carried out cautiously, with health screenings conducted before passengers are allowed to leave the vessel.
The outbreak has been linked to three deaths. So far, five passengers who previously departed the ship tested positive for hantavirus, which is a rare infection that can lead to severe and potentially life-threatening illness.
Read more at Just the News
At least one American has tested positive upon entering US
Watch @FoxNews
White House launches website to help expectant mothers
See @MaryMargaretOlohan; subscription required for full article at the Daily Wire
More information on Moms.Gov
See @RapidResponse47
SCOTUS’s 9-0 Ruling Against New Jersey’s AG Hasn’t Stopped Her Harassment Of Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers
The New Jersey AG’s letter is just the latest evidence that New Jersey is motivated by a crusade to silence viewpoints with which it disagrees. And that’s unconstitutional.
Former New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin used his office to harass and intimidate pregnancy care centers — now his successor is intent on doing the same. Platkin’s efforts culminated in a sweeping subpoena to First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, demanding (among other things) that First Choice disclose the names, addresses, and places of employment of its donors.
First Choice filed suit in federal court, but the lower federal courts held that First Choice must first litigate its First Amendment claims in state court. Last week, in First Choice Women’s Resource Centers v. Davenport, the Supreme Court unanimously held that First Choice was entitled to bring its First Amendment challenges in federal court.
Read more at The Federalist
113 Members of Congress Urge Supreme Court to Stop Mail-Order Abortions
Some 113 Republican members of Congress urged the Supreme Court to stop mail-order abortions.
They filed a legal brief asking the high court to reinstate critical safety restrictions on the abortion drug mifepristone, supporting Louisiana’s effort to halt the mailing of chemical abortion pills that pro-life leaders say enable coercion and endanger women and their unborn children.
In an amicus brief, the lawmakers backed a 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that would require in-person dispensing of mifepristone. They argued that Biden administration changes allowing telemedicine prescriptions and mail delivery without an in-person medical visit removed essential safeguards and undermined state laws protecting unborn life after the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision. They also noted how abortions hurt women.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., a lead filer of the brief, said: “Chemical abortion drugs kill innocent children and put mothers’ lives at risk. Safeguards protecting against coercion, such as the in-person dispensing requirement, must be reinstated immediately. The Fifth Circuit got this right, and I urge the Supreme Court to affirm that decision.”
See more at LifeNews
MAiD raised with Vancouver priest during hospital care — twice
A Vancouver priest recovering from a hip fracture at Vancouver General Hospital says he was twice offered assisted death by health-care staff who knew he was a priest and opposed to euthanasia — a practice critics say is growing as medical professionals are increasingly encouraged to initiate such conversations.
“There are some things you just don’t talk about to some people,” said Father Larry Holland, who has completed studies in health-care chaplaincy in addition to serving at numerous parishes in the Archdiocese of Vancouver.
He described his reaction when a doctor brought up the option of MAiD should his condition deteriorate. “I think I was very shocked,” he said. “It is such a sensitive subject.”
Read more at B.C. Catholic
A Great Day for Poland: Journalist Andrzej Poczobut Free After Years in Belarusian Prison
Under the leadership of the United States President Donald Trump and with determined diplomacy led by special envoy for Bellarus John Cole, Anjay Pochabot is now free from detention in Bellarus and can once again embrace his family.
Watch at Poland Daily Live
Trump on release of Polish, Moldavan prisoners
See @RapidResponse47
A priest from Krakow was released along with [Polish journalist Andrzej] Poczobut. The Carmelite Order responds.
Friar Grzegorz Gaweł is one of five prisoners released by Belarus on Tuesday. “We are filled with great joy,” commented Father Karol Amroż of the Carmelite Order.
Donald Tusk announced on Tuesday the release of Andrzej Poczobut from a Belarusian prison. The journalist and activist for the Polish minority in Belarus was released as part of a “five-for-five” prisoner exchange. He had spent over five years behind bars.
During a press conference, the Prime Minister revealed that the second Pole to regain freedom was a priest, Grzegorz Gaweł, a Carmelite friar from Kraków. The monk was detained by the KGB in September 2025 in the town of Lepel in the Vitebsk Oblast. He was charged with espionage.
Belarusian state television reported at the time that a Polish citizen was carrying stolen, classified documents from the Zapad-2025 exercises. According to the Belarusian media, the priest contacted the Belarusian citizen via social media and offered to work for the Polish intelligence services. The Belarusian allegedly received a monthly stipend for collecting classified information, including information about military installations. Polish authorities vehemently rejected these accusations, calling the priest’s arrest another provocation by Lukashenko’s regime.
Read more at Do Rzeczy – English translation available
US troops slated to move from Germany to Poland
See @InspiringPoland
World’s largest statue of the Virgin Mary under construction in Poland
See @InspiringPoland
Blessed Sacrament stolen from Nigerian adoration chapel
The incident comes amid a surge of violent attacks targeting not only Christians but also their places of worship across Nigeria.
The Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri, in southern Nigeria, has declared a week of prayer in reparation following the disturbing desecration of the Adoration Chapel at St. Mulumba Parish, where unknown assailants stole a monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament.
Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji condemned the act as a grave irreverence. The perpetrators broke through the roof during rainy weather in the early hours of April 29.
“It is with great sadness that we inform you of the desecration of the Chapel of Adoration of St. Mulumba Parish, Wetheral Road, Owerri,” the Archbishop said in a statement.
“As reported by the Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Raymond Madu, unknown persons opened parts of the roof, gained access through the ceiling, and made away with the monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament.”
Read more at The Catholic World Report
Pope Leo XIV’s first year and the future of the Traditional Mass by Joseph Shaw
The first question for the Catholic press about a new pope is inevitably where he sits on the ideological spectrum: will he support readers’ causes and punish their opponents? Popes are complicated figures, however, and do not arrive neatly labelled.
The first indication of the Holy Father’s ideological allegiance came before his election, when the journalist Edward Pentin encountered Austin Ivereigh and Fr James Martin SJ in a street in Rome. It was a moment when Cardinal Prevost’s handling of a clerical abuse case in his former diocese in Peru was being discussed in the media, and Ivereigh was upset about this. The encounter, which is described on Pentin’s Substack, suggested that two of the best-known supporters of Pope Francis regarded Prevost as “their man”. His election a few days later was indeed welcomed by many who had been looking for a “continuity candidate” to continue the work of Pope Francis.
What we have been told about the conclave suggests a more complicated story, however. The progressives’ candidate was Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State; conservative cardinals had backed the Hungarian Cardinal Péter Erdő. The story appears to be that the conservative bloc of votes went to Prevost, as a compromise candidate, after the initial ballots, before Parolin’s supporters accepted the inevitable.
There are many possible explanations for why F
Read more at Advaticanum
The blood of St. Januarius liquifies while Pope Leo visits Naples Cathedral
See @RealAdVaticanum
Fasting and praying before the Feast of the Ascension
See @father_rmv
