Trump on status of Iran talks: ‘It’s very possible that we’ll make a deal’; Trump’s message to Pope Leo: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon’; Unseated Indiana state senators are whining about not winning; FBI raids Virginia Democrat leader’s office as part of corruption probe; Dem representative working with Mexico to sneak oil into Cuba; Spencer Pratt delivers stunning performance in fiery LA debate showdown, releases new ad demolishing Bass; Trump, First Lady speak at White House Mother’s Day event; Last ditch effort to stop removal of historic stained glass windows from Notre-Dame de Paris; Azerbaijan continues ‘caviar diplomacy’ with Vatican after demolition of Holy Mother of God cathedral in Artsakh; 1400-year-old Cross discovered in United Arab Emirates; Today the universal Church celebrates the Finding of the True Cross by St. Helena in 326 AD; and more —
Trump on status of Iran talks: “It’s very possible that we’ll make a deal”
President Trump on Wednesday spoke to reporters about the prospects of a final deal with Iran, saying U.S. officials have had “very good talks over the last 24 hours.”
Watch at CBS News
US Secretary of State arrives in Italy, to meet Pope Leo and PM Meloni
Watch @EricLDaugh; see also @AmbaciataUSA
Trump’s message to Pope Leo: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon
‘As far as the Pope is concerned, it’s very simple. Whether I make him happy or I don’t make him happy, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.’ ‘And he seemed to be saying that they can. And I say they cannot.’ ‘Because if that happened, the entire world would be hostage and we’re not going to let that happen. That’s my only message.’
Watch @EWTNNewsNightly
Secretary Rubio expounds on the Catholic roots of America (April 9, 2026)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivers virtual address at CIT’s Conference, Endowed by Their Creator: Catholicism, the Declaration of Independence, and the American Experiment at 250 On Thursday, April 9th, Catholic Law’s Center for the Constitution and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, together with Notre Dame’s Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government and Catholic University’s Carroll Forum for Citizenship and Public Life, co-hosted a symposium celebrating the nation’s semiquincentennial.
The day brought together leading scholars and public intellectuals from across the country to explore the relationship between the Catholic intellectual tradition and the principles of the Declaration of Independence, and to reflect on how both Catholicism and the Declaration continue to shape America’s experiment in constitutional self-government, 250 years after its founding.
Watch at CIT
FBI Raids Virginia Democrat Leader’s Office As Part Of ‘Major Corruption Probe’
The FBI raided the office of Virginia’s Democrat Senate president pro tempore on Wednesday as part of what sources reportedly say is a “major corruption probe.”
According to Fox News’ Bill Melugin, the federal agency executed “multiple search warrants” approved by a federal judge against the Portsmouth office of Democrat state Sen. Louise Lucas and an adjacent “cannabis dispensary.” The raid is “in connection to a major corruption probe,” according to law enforcement officials who spoke with Melugin.
Fox News’ Alex Hogan separately reported from the scene that “at least three people” at the cannabis dispensary “were taken into custody” as part of Wednesday’s operations. Upon arriving at the scene, Lucas reportedly told Hogan that “she had no idea” what the FBI was doing there.
Read more The Federalist
Dem representative admits to working with Mexico to sneak oil into Cuba, despite blockade
Conservative accounts accused the Washington Democrat of ‘conspiring against the US’ over her Cuba remarks
A Democratic lawmaker is drawing backlash after saying she spoke with foreign ambassadors about getting oil to Cuba despite U.S. sanctions, defending the outreach as “literally our right and responsibility.”
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., made the remarks during a recent Seattle briefing following a congressional delegation trip to Cuba, where she discussed the island’s worsening fuel shortages and U.S. policy toward the communist regime.
“I was in conversations with the ambassadors from Mexico and some other places … trying to figure out how to get oil there,” Jayapal said during the briefing, calling the situation on the island “a crisis beyond imagination.”
Read more at Fox News
Pramila Jayapal openly admits contacting foreign countries to supply oil to Cuba
Watch @PatriotOasis
Unseated Indiana State Senators Are Whining
See @ScottPresler; read ‘Ousted Indiana State Senators Are Playing the Crying Game‘ at RedState
Elections have consequences – President of Indiana senate may be ousted
Watch @EricLDaugh
Spencer Pratt delivers stunning performance in fiery LA debate showdown — contenders ranked
Spencer Pratt finally had a chance to confront LA Mayor Karen Bass on the debate stage on Wednesday evening, delivering an impassioned performance that could change the shape of the race.
The reality TV star and Palisades Fire victim channeled months of frustration with the city and the state into an effective effort at the Skirball Cultural Center, in a debate moderated by NBC 4 and Telemundo 52.
Spencer Pratt finally had a chance to confront LA Mayor Karen Bass on the debate stage on Wednesday evening, delivering an impassioned performance that could change the shape of the race.
The reality TV star and Palisades Fire victim channeled months of frustration with the city and the state into an effective effort at the Skirball Cultural Center, in a debate moderated by NBC 4 and Telemundo 52.
Read more at the New York Post
Segment of the fiery LA mayor debate
Watch @amyforsandiego
Spencer Pratt’s latest political ad going viral
Watch @TBC_on_X; see also @YoAdrienne1968
President Trump and first lady Melania Trump speak at a Mother’s Day event at the White House
Watch at Fox 29 Philadelphia
Notre-Dame: the Sites and Monuments association files an interim measure to save the stained glass windows of Viollet-le-Duc
The Sites and Monuments association, chaired by Julien Lacaze, has taken a new decisive step to protect the heritage of Notre-Dame de Paris. On Tuesday, May 5, 2026, it filed an interim injunction to prevent the removal of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc’s stained glass windows, classified as Historical Monuments, and their replacement by contemporary works by the artist Claire Tabouret.
In front of the cathedral, Julien Lacaze publicly announced this legal procedure: “I am in front of Notre-Dame to announce the filing of our interim in an attempt to oppose the removal of stained glass windows classified as historical monuments. “Behind him, the scaffolding already installed confirms that the removal work is imminent. The association, which has long defended natural and built heritage, denounces an irreparable damage to the historical integrity of the building.
In January 2026, Sites et Monuments had already seized the Paris Administrative Court to request the cancellation of the delegation granted to Philippe Jost and the contract with Claire Tabouret’s group on December 30, 2024. This new interim measure aims to obtain an emergency suspension of operations before it is too late.
Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, a great restorer of the 19th century, had designed these stained glass windows in accordance with the medieval spirit of the cathedral. They are an integral part of the historical restoration of Notre-Dame. Replacing them with contemporary creations, even if they are signed by a renowned artist, is, according to the association, a brutal break with the heritage coherence of the monument.
However, Emmanuel Macron and the Archbishop of Paris, Bishop Laurent Ulrich, had assumed this choice during the reopening of the cathedral in December 2024, considering it necessary to “leave a contemporary trace” after the 2019 fire. For Sites and Monuments, this discourse poorly masks an ideological fashion that favors the modern author gesture to the detriment of collective memory and architectural harmony.
Read more at The Journal of the French (translation available)
Last ditch effort to save 19th-century stained glass windows of the Notre Dame Cathedral
See @CatholicVote
Azerbaijan continues ‘caviar diplomacy’ with Vatican after cathedral demolition
Azerbaijan agreed to fund renovations at St. Paul Outside the Walls weeks after demolishing an Armenian cathedral in occupied territory
Azerbaijan and the Vatican signed an agreement on April 30 for the renovation of four statues at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, weeks after the Azerbaijani regime demolished an Armenian cathedral in an occupied region under dispute between both countries.
The announcement was made during a presentation at the Palazzo della Cancelleria in the Vatican, in which a foundation widely considered to be a wing of the Azerbaijani regime’s “caviar diplomacy” showcased the various projects it has funded in the Vatican since 2012.
The event was attended by Msgr. Pasquale Iacobone, president of the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology, and Archbishop Giovanni Cesare Pagazzi, Archivist and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church and secretary for the Dicastery for Culture and Education.
A Heydar Aliyev Foundation statement said that during the event included the presentation of the book “Pontes Culturae,” showing the works conducted by the foundation in the Vatican, and a documentary about the Holy See’s “friendship and cooperation” with Azerbaijan.
Read more at The Pillar
More reports of Israeli settlers storming Christian village in West Bank
See @IhabHassane
Nigerian prelate [Monsignor Pius Barinaadaa Kii] advocates nonviolence but advises Christians to defend themselves
See @cnalive
On the Significance of the Sign of the Cross – from the Ursuline nuns*
See @MariaAngelaGrow
*The Ursuline Manual is a 19th-century Catholic devotional book. Originally compiled for young women in Ursuline convents, it offers prayers, meditations, and instructions for cultivating piety for all Catholics.
1400 year old Cross discovered in United Arab Emirates
Watch @AramaicWire
Feast of the Finding of the Holy Cross – May 7
This feast celebrates the finding of the True Cross by St. Helena in 326 AD – and commemorate Jesus’ life, Death, and Resurrection
See @LPJerusalem; read more about the Feast at Christian Information Center
