Tension is mounting between President Trump and Republicans on Capitol Hill as members of the president’s party become increasingly vocal on a number of hot-button issues ahead of the midterm elections. The examples of Republicans in the Senate or House keep piling up, despite Trump’s success in defeating GOP House members and Senators who defy… Source link
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — When Pope Leo XIV lands in Spain on Saturday (June 6), he will find a country riven by polarization over migration and life issues, and where declining church attendance coexists with a new, striking interest in faith among young people. In short, the pope will land in a European laboratory for many tensions shaping the West: a promising stage to deliver his message of unity, human dignity and peace. Already in 2010, Pope Benedict XVI described Spain as a central place for the “encounter, not conflict,” between faith and secular modernity. Leo struck a similar note in a Feb. 9 letter to 1,600 Spanish priests, saying Spain faces “advanced processes of secularization” and “a growing polarization in public discourse,” but also a “new restlessness” and spiritual searching among young people. Spain, once the home of Catholic missionaries throughout the centuries, is now itself a mission territory where an increasingly small Catholic minority seeks the encouragement of the pontiff. “I think the pope’s visit will be a splendid moment to encourage this …
Calls for the closure of a notorious private immigration jail in Newark, New Jersey are growing by the day after 300 Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees launched a hunger and labor strike over the Memorial Day holiday and issued a letter that drew attention to their miserable plight inside the facility that’s owned by The GEO Group, a private prison corporation and major Trump donor. For months, detainees, their families and advocates have said GEO Group was serving up inedible food and was failing to provide essential medical care despite the fact GEO Group has a billion dollar contract with the federal government. Detainees are paid $1 a day if they help maintain the facility, while GEO Group CEO George Zoley gets $11.2 million in annual compensation. Many of the detainees are without any legal counsel or fallen prey to fly-by-night immigration attorneys. Advocates say that others have secured court orders for their release but remain incarcerated. Some have actually signed voluntary self-deportation papers but have languished for months while GEO profits from their incarceration. …
His wife, Ms Noraida Ramli, 53, prepared by watching videos of previous pilgrims on YouTube. “To prepare myself for the Haj spiritually and with the knowledge of what to expect, I looked at YouTube to learn from the experience of people who have been there before,” said the visa officer at an embassy here. Ms Eliya said the scale and grandeur of Saudi Arabia’s religious sites left her speechless. It has made her journey worth it, despite the fatigue of arriving after a red-eye flight from Singapore on the first day, she said. “For some, it is an emotional journey after waiting so long,” she said, adding that she feels “at peace”. Ms Eliya said she feels fortunate to be making the Haj at a relatively young age, and that having both parents with her has eased her anxiety. Currently, about 65,000 applicants are still on the waiting list, according to MUIS. The pilgrims have also been struck by the international character of the journey. “You can really feel the sense of unity, with pilgrims …
Tensions are rising between Washington and Tehran, putting an emerging peace plan that would have opened the Strait of Hormuz and offered relief to skyrocketing oil and gas prices at risk. The U.S. struck southern Iran late Monday amid a clamor over negotiations for a framework of a deal to end the war. The U.S. insisted the… Source link
Published On 25 May 202625 May 2026 The annual Hajj pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, has begun in Saudi Arabia as more than 1.5 million pilgrims arrive from abroad amid the backdrop of a fragile ceasefire in the Iran war and a global energy crisis. Saleh bin Saad al-Murabba, commander of the Hajj passport forces, said that over 1.5 million pilgrims had entered the kingdom by Friday, with more expected. For many, reaching Mecca is the fulfilment of a lifelong dream. Egyptian pilgrim Samya Abdul Moneim said she felt overwhelming gratitude to have made the journey required once in a lifetime of every Muslim who can afford it and is physically able. “I am in a state of blessing and happiness,” she said in Mecca on Sunday. “It’s an indescribable feeling, truly. Thank God, I am in a blessing.” Ahead of the move to the vast tent city of Mina, pilgrims have been circling the cube-shaped Kaaba in the Grand Mosque in sweltering heat, some shielding themselves with umbrellas and handheld fans. …
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Friday doubled down on his claims that Cuban liberation is forthcoming, amid threats from the White House to take military action against the island. “I believe the liberation of the wonderful people of Cuba from the clutches of communism is close at hand,” Graham wrote in a post on social… Source link
NUCLEAR WAR GAMES As part of the drills, Russia test-fired a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia and a Zircon hypersonic missile from a frigate in the Barents Sea, while a submarine launched a liquid-fuelled Sineva ballistic missile, the defence ministry said. Russia displayed a Borei-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, Il-38 anti-submarine aircraft and a MiG-31 armed with a Kinzhal hypersonic missile. Units in Belarus and Russia were issued with nuclear munitions as part of the exercises, Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian General Staff, told Putin. Russian nuclear exercises typically use dummy warheads. One video released by the defence ministry showed a tarp-backed military truck travelling with minimal security. The drills come as Moscow says it is locked in an existential struggle with the West over Ukraine. Throughout the war, Putin has issued reminders of Russia‘s nuclear might as a warning to the West not to go too far in its support of Kyiv. Ukraine and some Western leaders have dismissed such moves as irresponsible sabre–rattling. Source link
Cuba’s leader warned Monday of a “bloodbath” in the event of an American attack, while the US Treasury sanctioned Cuba’s main intelligence agency and top leaders as tensions spiked between the arch-foes. President Miguel Diaz-Canel stressed Cuba’s right to defend itself a day after US news site Axios reported that Havana had obtained over 300 military drones from Russia and Iran and is mulling using them against US targets. The report, which quoted US intelligence officials, came amid growing speculation that the United States is weighing military action to topple Cuba’s communist government. Axios quoted unnamed US officials as saying that Havana was considering drone strikes on the US base at Guantanamo Bay in eastern Cuba, on US military vessels and possibly even Florida. Writing on X, Diaz-Canel repeated that Cuba “poses no threat” to the United States or any other country and warned that a US attack would “trigger a bloodbath with incalculable consequences”. To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. Accept Manage my choices One of …
DraftKings co-founder Matt Kalish spent part of Sunday (May 17) attacking prediction-market operator Kalshi, arguing that sports exchanges still fall far short of the experience most bettors expect from traditional sportsbooks. In a lengthy series of social media posts, Kalish pushed back against growing excitement around exchange-style betting products. He said the technology and usability behind prediction markets remain years behind regulated sportsbook apps that already dominate the US market. Idk what people are smoking, there’s not a single exchange product experience for normal people that is remotely close to the delivering the caliber of experience that regulated sportsbooks do. They are 2-3 years of development away (before regulatory touches the product at all) — Matt Kalish (@mattkalish) May 17, 2026 “There’s not a single exchange product experience for normal people that is remotely close to the delivering the caliber of experience that regulated sportsbooks do,” Kalish wrote. “They are 2-3 years of development away.” Kalish said the current audience for sports prediction markets is made up mostly of highly experienced traders, professional bettors, and …
