Politics

By Bradley J. Birzer, Catholic World Report – Ladies and gentlemen, far from being a religion that is dark, regressive, and superstitious, as many during the Reformation claimed, Roman Catholicism baptized common law, professed liberty through the Magna Carta, advanced Natural Law and Natural Rights through the Jesuits, helped inspire the Declaration of Independence, and gave us a truly great American patriot, Charles Carroll of Carrollton. Far from being embarrassed, we should celebrate all that we’ve given to America on her 250th birthday.

By Mary Rose, Zeale – At a March 19 press conference in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu drew from historians Ariel and Will Durant’s book The Lessons of History to reflect on the relationship between moral virtue and political power, invoking a comparison between Jesus Christ and Genghis Khan as to illustrate his point. … “It is not enough to be moral. It is not enough to be just. It is not enough to be right.” Netanyahu said… “Jesus Christ has no advantage over Genghis Khan. If you are strong enough, ruthless enough, and powerful enough, evil will overcome good.”

By Steven Tucker, Crisis Magazine – The Internet is a modern invention, yet the aspiration to create some all-knowing, omniscient mechanical device with an answer to everything—a hubristic, artificial version of God—has a much longer history than the formal inauguration of the World Wide Web back in 1991… A Brass or Brazen Head was an imaginary medieval Artificial Intelligence-type device, said in legends to have been possessed by various learned historical Christian figures, from the Franciscan friar-philosopher Roger Bacon to St. Albertus Magnus.

By Cassy Cooke, Live Action News – Paul Ehrlich, the ecologist whose 1968 book, “The Population Bomb,” set off decades of panic over overpopulation, has died at the age of 93… Paul Ehrlich died in a retirement home due to complications from cancer, according to his daughter… His 1968 book, “The Population Bomb,” ignited a global panic about overpopulation, tragically inspiring multiple governments to put population control policies into place… Ehrlich’s predictions not only failed to materialize, but the furor they caused contributed to population control-related atrocities across the globe.

By Scott McKay, The American Spectator – What if closing the Strait of Hormuz isn’t a blunder — but the point?… It’s an awfully dumb argument. For a host of reasons… But perhaps the most interesting of them is that it might not actually be in our interest for the Strait of Hormuz to be open… Whaaaat? How can that be?

By Matt Gaspers, X Post, March 18, 2026 – So-Called Conservative Bishops Can’t Seem To Find The Courage To Defend Church Teaching On Israel

By Olivia Gans Turner, LifeNews – The composition of the 2026 Virginia General Assembly–the Senate and the House of Delegates–was a textbook example of the adage “elections have consequences.”  Not since 2020 have pro-abortion forces been able to do so much damage to the ability of concerned Virginians to protect innocent human life… Starting on January 14, day one of the session, the pro-abortion Democrats in control of both chambers took the steps to pass the proposed constitutional amendment, HJ1, allowing unlimited abortion in Virginia.

By Daniel B. Gallagher, Catholic World Report – The truth underlying Kaillie Humphries’s heart-wrenching story… This story, I think, will not be easy to read… So, let me start by heartily congratulating U.S. Olympic bobsledder Kaillie Humphries on her two medals at the 2026 Winter Olympics. With six medals, she’s the most decorated woman in the sport. Her unwavering dedication to the physical and mental preparation necessary to be a champion is unparalleled. After alleged harassment from Canadian coaches, Humphries crossed the border and was naturalized in time to earn a gold for the United States in the monobob event at the 2022 Olympics. …

By Shawn Fleetwood, The Federalist – Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts is back in the news after publicly commenting on “hostility” toward federal judges… The remarks came on Tuesday when the chief justice was interviewed by Senior District Judge Lee Rosenthal at a Rice University event. During her line of questioning, Rosenthal noted Roberts’ past acknowledgement that public criticism “comes with the territory” of being a judge. She then asked him how he handles such critiques of the Supreme Court or his judicial opinions.

By Jim Hᴏft, Editor, The Gateway Pundit – Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) is now openly calling for Republicans to ram the SAVE America Act through reconciliation, a legislative maneuver that would allow passage with just 50 votes plus the Vice President… Budget reconciliation is a special parliamentary process in the U.S. Senate that allows for the expedited passage of legislation regarding spending, revenue, or the debt limit, requiring only a simple majority (51 votes or 50 + Vice President) rather than the 60 votes usually needed to overcome a filibuster. ….

By Harrison Berger, The American Conservative – Mohamad Kleit, a video journalist based in Beirut, tells The American Conservative that he witnessed similar Israeli attacks using U.S.-supplied munitions to target a residential building earlier this month. He says that since March 2, his entire family has been internally displaced… Asked who and what Israel is targeting in Lebanon, Kleit says that “what we’ve seen” in recent weeks “is a plan to create sectarian tension, by bombing hotels and residences in Christian areas. They are deliberately targeting places that are not Hezbollah in order to create sectarian tension.” ….

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture – If Pope Leo hopes to swing American Catholic opinion against the war in Iraq—and still more if he hopes to convince the Trump administration to sue for peace—he’s going to need some more persuasive arguments. Those arguments are available. But to date the Holy Father hasn’t used them… Thus far, in his public statements on the war, the Pope has simply repeated his appeals for peace: a peace which, he insists, can be attained through negotiations. His call for a cease-fire, at his Angelus audience on Sunday, was typical: “May paths of dialogue be re-opened! Violence can never lead to the justice, stability, and peace for which the peoples are waiting.”

By Sean Fitzpatrick, Crisis Magazine – While the debate is settled whether curiosity killed the cat, it should be added that it can kill the Catholic, as well. Therefore, Catholics like Candace Owens should be cautious about what the Catechism calls “unhealthy curiosity.” Truth warrior as she has been, many sense that Candace has departed from the path of truth in her recent embroiling over Erika Kirk, the widow of assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk, descending into a spirit of inquisitiveness.

By Mary Rose, Zeale – Israeli attack on oil field may lead to global consequences… Israel struck the South Pars oil field March 18 in what was widely decried as a major escalation in the war. South Pars is the world’s largest source of natural gas and is vitally important to global energy markets… Oil prices “shot up” Immediately following the strike, The Guardian reported, due to “fears that disruption to global energy supplies would worsen.”

By Robert Wyllie, Catholic Answers – In many domains—family life, liturgy, even the nature of citizenship—Catholics rely on a centuries-old tradition of reflection. Political protest is not one such area, however. As Charles Taylor, the Catholic philosopher who won the Ratzinger Prize in 2019, explains in A Secular Age, the public sphere is less than three hundred years old. Medieval kings considered “public opinion” no more than they met anarcho-syndicalist peasants out in the fields.. There is no venerable old tradition, then, that instructs Catholics about how to protest in public.

By Virginia Allen, The Daily Signal – A team of doctors entered Shanyce Thomas’ hospital room to explain what had happened and why she could no longer have children. She never imagined her trip to Planned Parenthood would lead to multiple surgeries and a medically induced coma… Looking back nearly six years later, Thomas says her “message to Planned Parenthood is that you guys need to close down.”… Thomas is sharing her story publicly in hopes that it will prevent other women from having the experience at Planned Parenthood that she had.

By Jim DeMint, The Federalist – Congressional Republicans quickly become beholden to polls and media pressure — they need real vision and leadership… I left my foxholes in the House and Senate almost 15 years ago. And, while continuing to work in D.C. supporting conservative members of Congress and an America-first conservative agenda, my perspective is now clearer as I look at policy debates inside the Capitol from across the street.

By Andrea Gagliarducci for EWTN News, (Catholic World Report) – The Vatican Court of Appeal has ordered a partial retrial in the high-profile London property finance case, ruling that key parts of the original proceedings were invalid due to procedural issues… The case stems from the Vatican Secretariat of State’s investment of approximately 350 million pounds in a luxury property in London’s Chelsea neighborhood on Sloane Avenue, an operation that generated estimated losses of up to 139 million euros for the Holy See.

By John Aidan Byrne, LifeNews – Despite multiple applications and repeated efforts over a decade by various pro-life groups seeking permission to march, none have been successful. In 2015, parade officials said they were amending parade rules to permit pro-life groups to march. The regime of exclusion, however, continued… Eleven years after organizers pledged to permit a pro-life group to march under its own banner, the world’s most famous Saint Patrick’s Day Parade still has not welcomed right to life units to its ranks.

By Jonathan Liedl, National Catholic Register – Nearly six months after publicly criticizing Cardinal Blase Cupich’s plan to give a “lifetime achievement” award to a pro-abortion-rights senator, a long-serving lay member of the Catholic Conference of Illinois (CCI) board of directors is being involuntarily phased out of his role… John Breen, a Loyola University Chicago law professor who has served on CCI’s board since 2012, will be off the board after the group’s upcoming March 20 meeting… (the move is linked to Breen’s September 2025 criticism of the Chicago cardinal’s intention to honor Sen. Dick Durbin at an archdiocesan gala.) …

By Sarah Holliday, The Washington Stand – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Border Patrol are facing major shake-ups right now — with a top enforcer retiring, a former secretary under fire for alleged misconduct, and a grinding partial government shutdown — all tied directly to fierce partisan battles in Congress that are leaving frontline agents and the American people caught in the crossfire.

By Jeffrey M. Trissell, Crisis Magazine – On March 2, 2026, the United States Supreme Court issued a watershed ruling in Mirabelli v. Bonta, a case that set the binding, nationwide precedent that schools cannot secretly socially transition a gender-confused minor. The majority per curiam opinion is less than 1,800 words. Since September 2022, I have spent just over 1,800 hours working on the case alongside lead counsel Paul Jonna. That’s one hour for every word. It was 100 percent worth it.

By White Papers Policy Institute – The Republican Party speaks the language of race-neutral individualism. Judge people as individuals. Stop obsessing over identity. We’re all Americans. But it only works if it’s reciprocated. And it hasn’t been … Survey data also shows that white Americans—across political lines—are more likely to say being “American” is central to their identity than being “white.”… For black Americans, racial identity ranks higher. For Hispanic and Asian Americans, race and “American” identity are roughly equal. …

By Zeale News – More U.S. registered voters now view Israel negatively than positively, according to a new poll, which also found that negative sentiment toward Israel has grown in every age group since 2023, most sharply among young voters… The NBC News poll found “American public sentiment turning against Israel since 2023,” NBC’s Sahil Kapur reported March 16. “Double-digit drops in positive views of Israel: -21 among Democrats, -19 among independents, -9 among Republicans. Overall, a double-digit increase in negative views.”

By Bradley A. Thayer, Chronicles – Time and again, the Democratic Party’s elites show through their actions, policies, and statements that they are united in opposition to traditional American life, values, and culture… That’s nothing new: it’s been this way for a generation. But it’s worsening. Today, it’s more brazen and openly revolutionary. We all saw a clear example of this at the recent State of the Union Address… “It does not make sense to me,” President Trump said about it during remarks to the Republican Members Conference at Doral, Florida, on March 9. Trump noted that he is perplexed by the Democrats’ behavior.

By Curtis Houck, Media Research Center – Since February 14, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been largely shut down after funding lapsed because Democrats demanded changes to President Trump’s deportation policies, leaving government workers such as TSA agents to work without pay and turn to food banks… A Media Research Center study found that, since the start of the DHS shutdown, only 8% – or 125 seconds – of the 26 minutes and 22 seconds on the shutdown across the flagship evening newscasts of ABC, CBS, and NBC have brought up the fact that the long lines at airports are because of the left’s obstructionism.

By Madalaine Elhabbal, EWTN News – Bishop Robert Barron and Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone spoke out against the U.S. government’s past targeting of pro-life Catholics in health care at the U.S. Religious Liberty Commission’s fifth hearing… Cordileone, who serves on the commission’s Advisory Board of Religious Leaders, highlighted the ongoing legal battle being fought by the Little Sisters of the Poor over government contraceptive mandates during his remarks at the March 16 hearing… “These are women who deserve our utmost respect and esteem, and I can vouch for this from personal experience,” Cordileone said.

By James Bogle, Crisis Magazine – While at first it might seem unusual for an American to be writing in praise of monarchy, in fact, a scholarly American writer may, ironically, be in a better position than many others to praise this most ancient of institutions… So it is with Charles Coulombe, author of the recently-published book, The Compleat Monarchist; a partly French-Canadian American; and possibly the foremost American writer on the subject of monarchy… His connection with the British monarchy—through his French-Canadian ancestry—together with his American nationality …..

By Scott McKay, The American Spectator – Castro’s crumbling regime nears its end… Monday, something inevitable happened… Officials in Cuba reported an island-wide blackout Monday in the country of some 11 million people as its energy and economic crises deepen and its power grid continues to crumble… The Ministry of Energy and Mines on X noted a “complete disconnection” of the country’s electrical system and said it was investigating, noting there were no failures in the units that were operating when the grid collapsed.

By Jordan Boyd, The Federalist – Abortion polling is notoriously deceptive and known to (be) strategically skew and misrepresent public opinion to favor abortion activists’ radical agendas. Pew Research Center’s latest survey appears to be no different… In its 2026 American Trends Panel analysis, Pew uses its January 2026 survey of more than 8,500 U.S. adults to assert that a majority of Americans, 60 percent, “continue to say abortion should be legal in all or most cases.”…

By Anna Callahan, LifeNews – Last week the U.S. Department of Justice moved to dismiss lawsuits brought by Florida and Texas against the Food and Drug Administration – siding with the abortion industry on mail-order drugs against pro-life states for the second time in a week. In response, SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser issued the following statement: “It’s a disgrace that pro-life states like Florida and Texas are having to fight the Trump-Vance administration in court to uphold their laws and that extremists like Gavin Newsom are being allowed to dictate their policy ….

By Aurelio Porfiri, OnePeterFive – In recent days there has been considerable news coverage of the announcement by the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X of new episcopal ordinations scheduled for July 1… This announcement has understandably caused quite a stir because, according to some, it signals a schismatic intention toward the Church of Rome… In reality, the Fraternity of Saint Pius X has specified that it does not consider itself schismatic with regard to Rome.

By Michael New Ph.D., LifeNews – Today Pew Research released the results of a new poll on public attitudes on sanctity of life issues. This poll, which surveyed over 8,500 people in late January, contains some good news for pro-lifers… The results show a gain in pro-life sentiment since the last Pew abortion poll in April 2024… Specifically, the percentage of Americans who think abortion should be illegal in all or most cases increased by two percentage points. …

By Lou Aguilar, American Spectator – Britain’s retreat from its history and identity offers a cautionary tale for an America approaching its 250th birthday… Maybe Britain can be saved, but time is running out, at ludicrous speed. All we Americans can do is make sure it never happens here, beginning this November 3rd, midterm Election Day.

By White Papers Policy Institute, American Greatness – For decades, white Americans have voted Republican in large numbers. They donate, they volunteer, they show up in midterms. They defend the Constitution, talk about free speech, wave the flag without embarrassment. They are, by every measurable standard, the party’s backbone…. (However) Republicans cheered “colorblind” meritocracy—but in practice, affirmative action shifted opportunity from white voters to Asians, leaving the party’s base unprotected.

By Amanda Head, Just the News – Democrats in the United States Senate blocked another attempt by Republicans to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Thursday, as the partial government shutdown entered its fourth week. One of the most apparent consequences of the blockade is the out-of-control TSA wait lines at airports across the country… As the issue is elevated by people like Senators Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn, and Dave McCormick, R-Pa., the argument inevitably reemerges that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is unconstitutional and should not exist anyway.

By John Daniel Davidson, The Federalist – It’s been nearly two weeks since the Trump administration launched a war against Iran, and President Trump is beginning to signal that he wants to wind it down. On Monday, he said “we’re way ahead of schedule,” and that the war would be over “very soon.” On Wednesday during a speech in Kentucky, Trump off-handedly declared “we’ve won,” and said it was all over “in the first hour.”

By George Caldwell, The Daily Signal – What’s connecting with voters right now?… As Republicans seek to maintain their congressional majorities in November, it’s hard to keep up with the headlines: conflict with Iran, fierce debate in Congress, and an economy increasingly dominated by tech and artificial intelligence… These polls indicate voters’ concerns in a hectic news environment… It’s Iran, Stupid? …

By Josh Hammer, The American Spectator – Trump hasn’t said it explicitly, but the Trump administration’s goal — and thereby, definition of victory — in Operation Epic Fury seems clear enough: the neutralization of Iran as an active, ongoing threat to the US and our interests. If nothing else, at least, that is how victory in the current campaign should be defined… That does still raise at least one pressing question, though, especially in the context of exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi’s call to the Iranian people to prepare for “the decisive stage of our final struggle”: Where does that most controversial of foreign policy goals, “regime change,” fit into the puzzle?

By Elise Winland, Zeale – As the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran moved into its 14th day, six U.S. aircraft crew members were killed in a crash, the Pentagon reportedly ordered roughly 2,500 additional Marines to the region, and Israel threatened to do to Lebanon what it has done to Gaza… US destroyed every military target on Iran’s Kharg Island, Trump says… President Donald Trump announced March 13 that he had directed U.S. forces to carry out one of the most “powerful” bombing raids on Iran’s Kharg Island.

By Ellie Gardey Holmes, The American Spectator – The University of Oregon, which hosts 24,000 students on its Eugene, Oregon, campus, has announced that its student health services center will now abort students’ babies… Beginning this fall, students will be able to obtain mifepristone and misoprostol from the university’s health clinic. Students will then birth what is often a recognizable dead baby, presumably in their dorm rooms.

By Elise Winland, Zeale – Conflicting reports and escalating tensions surrounding the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran continued March 12, as the White House rejected claims of an Iranian drone threat on U.S. soil, Iran’s new supreme leader reportedly issued his first public message, and U.S. officials signaled plans to protect global oil shipments in the Strait of Hormuz… White House issues response to reports of Iranian drone threats… White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt disputed an ABC News report claiming the FBI warned California police departments in February that Iran could retaliate for a U.S. military operation by launching drone attacks in the state.

By Amanda Head, Just the News – In new survey, just 23% of registered voters could accurately describe the act… In the midst of President Donald Trump’s high-stakes ultimatum to freeze all congressional business until lawmakers pass his revamped SAVE America Act — demanding strict voter ID, proof of citizenship, and curbs on mail-in ballots — a fresh Napolitan News Service survey finds a glaring irony: less than one-quarter of registered voters appear to have no clue what, in fact, the legislation is.

By McKenna Snow, Zeale – The European Union is calling on Israeli authorities to take swift action to protect West Bank communities suffering amid a reported wave of increased attacks by Israeli settlers, according to a March 11 BBC report… The death toll of Palestinians has risen to six in the past week amid the conflicts, prompting outcry from human rights activists, organizations, and others warning that the outbreak of the Iran war may have a correlation to the increased settler attacks.

By Douglas Andrews, Patriot Post – Jamie Dimon told a funny joke last November … Dimon, who grew up in New York City, was speaking at the American Business Forum in Miami, and he was asked a question about the “historic relocation of both people and capital to Florida and to South Florida”… “It’s a competitive world. It’s competitive between countries. It’s competitive between cities. It’s competitive between states. And you’re mentioning a bunch of these states that are driving business out, and it will backfire. And so, people vote with their feet … because they see a better life for them and their family.”

By Newsmax Wires – Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., said Thursday on Newsmax’s “National Report” that passing the SAVE America Act is “ground zero to save our country,” urging the Senate to bring the election integrity legislation to the floor and put lawmakers on record… “It’s absolutely necessary, and I believe it’s going to happen under the strong leadership of President [Donald] Trump,” Miller said when asked about the possibility of Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., allowing debate on the bill.

By Scott McKay, The American Spectator – It is being run by professionals, which is more than you can say about the Senate… I’m as disgusted as our readers with the Republicans in the Senate, who — with some merciful exceptions — are as gray and drab a collection of political losers as America has ever produced. As I wrote yesterday, the utter debacle that is the SAVE America Act standstill in that body is proof that, as much as we’d like to think the GOP has finally moved past its well-deserved reputation as the Stupid Party in Washington, it hasn’t.

By Sarah Holliday, LifeNews – At a press conference, the Missouri senator (Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.)) unveiled his new legislation, the Safeguarding Women from Chemical Abortion Act. This bill seeks to strip mifepristone — the drug responsible for the majority of U.S. abortions — of its longstanding approval from the FDA. According to recent data from the Guttmacher Institute, chemical abortions made up 63% of all abortions in 2023, with the trend only accelerating in the years since.

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – Sen. Josh Hawley introduced legislation Tuesday to strip federal approval from the dangerous abortion drug mifepristone, which he described as “inherently dangerous” to women… The abortion pill has killed millions of babies and injured tens of thousands of women… The bill, titled the Safeguarding Women from Chemical Abortion Act, would prohibit the use of mifepristone, withdraw its approval by the Food and Drug Administration and classify distribution of the drug for abortion purposes as a violation of federal law.

By Thomas Gallatin, Patriot Post – President Trump and others are pushing Senate Republicans to require a talking filibuster, hoping to break the Democrats’ blockade of commonsense legislation… President Donald Trump and Republicans writ large want to see the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility or SAVE Act passed. And they are right to desire to see this commonsense election-protection legislation become law. Indeed, upwards of 80% of American voters — huge majorities in both parties and among independents — agree that requiring voters to show photo ID is a good idea.

By Carole Novielli, Live Action News – The Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary has the authority to suspend an application for a drug’s approval — including the abortion pill — if they determine that the drug would be an ‘imminent hazard to public health.’… This information was included in a response from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in an abortion pill lawsuit filed by the State of Louisiana. The lawsuit seeks an injunction over changes to the abortion pill’s safety protocols known as REMS, made in 2023, which enabled the mailing of abortion inducing drugs — an act already prohibited by federal law known as the Comstock Act.

By Carole Novielli, Live Action News – Planned Parenthood Southeast (PPSE), which currently oversees facilities in the largely pro-life states of Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi will now be managed by Planned Parenthood Los Angeles, an affiliate based in pro-abortion California that was recently awarded $90M from Governor Gavin Newsom…. Planned Parenthood Los Angeles will step in to oversee the facilities of Planned Parenthood Southeast following complaints of discrimination against PPSE’s interim CEO, Mairo Akposé.

By Michael Hichborn, Lepanto Institute, (Complicit Clergy) – This article will provide a thorough timeline regarding our discovery of CRS’ direct participation in the spread of contraception in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).  It is a third article in a series exposing CRS’ continued and unchanging tactic of silencing critics by dismissing real evidence, denying any wrongdoing, and characterizing the concerned reports of faithful Catholics as “attacks.”  In part 1, we provided solid evidence and a timeline regarding the way CRS handled theologian Germain Grisez’s true and valid concerns about a condom-promoting flip-chart produced and distributed by CRS in one of its project areas. 

By Frank Wright, Substack – IN BRIEF – Most people are starting to find out how bad things really are… Then they will find out why things are so bad… Finally, they will realise how much they have been misled – all their lives… This means they will no longer know who they are or what to feel or think… The meaning of their lives is being erased by events… This will cause people to go mad in direct proportion to their belief in the supply of official narratives around which their sense of self has been arranged. … Prepare to heal the sick and to help the wounded. Put aside your differences and help your brothers and sisters in their direst hour of need.

By Chris Bray, The Federalist – This is where Talarico becomes especially interesting… The childless man in his late-30s who has never mentioned going on a date with an identifiable woman is deeply invested in the abstraction of other people’s children, who he thinks he loves. And recent reporting suggests that he has certain deeply adolescent habits: “Faith-forward Texas Senate candidate follows porn actors, escorts on Instagram.”

By Elise Winland, Zeale – Report: FBI warns Iran may launch drone attacks on locations in California… An FBI alert circulated to police departments in California warned that Iran could retaliate against the U.S. by launching drone attacks in the state, ABC News reported. The alert, obtained and reviewed by ABC, did not specify which parts of California could be targeted.

By Scott McKay, The American Spectator – John Thune is responsible for an absolutely worthless GOP Senate majority… The Federalist’s Sean Davis did an excellent job of summing up the predicament the Republican Party finds itself in at the moment, with lots of time until the 2026 midterms (but no real indication that will make much difference): Understand what Thune is doing right now. It’s not enough for him to kill the SAVE America Act. Thune has to kill it while also protecting his worst RINO colleagues from being exposed for opposing it. … How does Thune accomplish his? By avoiding a simple majority vote at all…

By Complicit Clergy, Staff – This week we learned that the Archdiocese of New York was being OPPOSED BY ITS OWN INSURANCE COMPANY because of its ongoing cover-up of the sexual abuse of minors… Later this week, Bishop Ronald Hicks of the diocese of Joliet will be installed as Archbishop of New York, replacing Timothy Dolan.  Hicks is a protegee of Cardinal Blase Cupich, having acted as Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Chicago before being elevated to Bishop of Joliet.  A recent column highlights the influence Cupich has had in U.S. bishop appointments.

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture – So now the Chinese Communist Party is learning another painful lesson—and it is a lesson that Western governments should learn as well: Economic incentives alone do not produce population growth. Couples do not have children because they want tax breaks or maternity benefits or special bonus payments. Babies are produced not by government policies but by acts of love. Not love for the nation or the Communist Party or the Five-Year Plan or the prospect of world domination, but the love of men and women for each other.

By Carol Tobias, LifeNews – In January, the Trump administration took several giant steps forward in protecting innocent, preborn human life. Here’s just a partial list… *The Mexico City Policy [MCP], first issued by President Ronald Reagan in 1985, prevented US tax dollars from being given to international organizations that “perform or actively promote abortion as a method of family planning.”  That policy was rescinded and re-enacted several times as pro-abortion Democrat presidents and pro-life Republican presidents cycled through the White House. …

By Elise Winland, CatholicVote – Johnson concluded that mercy and justice are complementary, not competing, principles in Christian teaching, writing: “God specifically requires His people to practice both (Micah 6:8). Despite the unfounded claims of the Left, supporting a strong national border is a very Christian thing to do. The Bible tells us so.”… In a post on X, CatholicVote President and CEO Kelsey Reinhardt praised Johnson’s remarks to reporters and highlighted CatholicVote’s recent analysis of immigration enforcement and Christian moral teaching.

By Casey Chalk, The Federalist – How Leftists Accelerate Civilizational Collapse… In “Suicide of the West”, Burnham censures those of the West “who hate their own civilization, readily excuse or even praise blows struck against it, and themselves lend a willing hand, frequently enough, to pulling it down.” The reasons leftists do this originate in their beliefs about human nature and society. They believe man’s nature is not fixed but changing, “with an unlimited or at any rate indefinitely large potential for positive (good, favorable, progressive) development.”

By David Edwards, Raw Story, (Complicit Clergy) – “How would you respond to Pope Leo in scripture?” the reporter wondered… “So you want me to give you a theological dissertation?” Johnson replied. “Borders and walls are biblical. From the Old Testament to the New, God has allowed us to set up our civil societies and have separate nations. Immigration is not something that’s frowned upon in Scripture. In fact, it’s welcome. We’re to welcome the sojourner and love our neighbor as ourselves.” …

By Paul Kengor, Grace Reilly, The American Spectator – The woke NFL show is finally rivaled!… For years, the NFL has become more woke, less family-friendly, and less patriotic. This year’s halftime performer, Bad Bunny, is confirmation of this fact… Turning Point USA recognized that many Americans have had enough, so they’ve announced a rival All- American Half Time Show that will feature Kid Rock, Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, and Gabby Barrett… Watch the full episode …

By Elise Winland, Zeale – A vast majority of Americans — including Democrats and ethnic minorities — favor requiring photo identification (ID) to vote, according to an analysis from CNN Senior Data Reporter Harry Enten… The data undercuts claims by some Democratic lawmakers that voter ID laws are broadly unpopular and intended to disenfranchise non-white voters… Speaking during a Feb. 3 segment on CNN, Enten cited recent Pew Research Center surveys showing 83% overall support for photo voter ID requirements. Support has remained consistently above 75% since 2018, the data suggest.

Peters Pence Class Action, Feb. 3, 2026 – The Peter’s Pence class action lawsuit against the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) was originally filed in January 2020.  The lawsuit alleges that USCCB routinely asks Catholics throughout the country to donate money to the annual Peter’s Pence collection to “help victims of war, oppression, natural disaster, or disease,” but the money actually goes into funds which invest in such ventures as luxury condominium developments and Hollywood movies. The Plaintiff claims the USCCB is liable under theories of common law fraud, unjust enrichment, and breach of fiduciary duty.

By Jordan Boyd, The Federalist – Over the last 25 years, gunmen and gunwomen have launched around two dozen fatal attacks at Christian churches across the nation. As demonstrated by the invasion of Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota last month, even congregations that haven’t encountered an armed threat still face mounting hostility against their faith and parishioners… There’s no denying houses of worship are targets for violence. There’s also no denying that death tolls in church shootings were kept at a minimum thanks to the heroic actions of good guys with guns like Jack Wilson, Caleb Engle, and Jeanne Assam.

By Shawn Fleetwood, The Federalist – Nearly two-thirds of likely 2026 midterm election voters support deporting illegal aliens from the United States, a new poll released Monday shows… In its latest survey of 1,004 likely 2026 voters, the political polling firm Cygnal found that respondents support removing illegal aliens from America and sending them back to their country of origin by a nearly 2:1 margin (61 to 34 percent). The poll also found strong support for ICE enforcement of federal immigration laws and agreement that illegally entering the United States is a violation of such laws.. “Voters see illegal immigration as a simple question of law and order,”

By James Kalb, Catholic World Report – To say that Trumpism is better politically than progressivism is not to say that it is an adequate view of politics and social life, or that it is likely, if it runs its course, to lead to a good or even sustainable society… We live in unusual times, and Donald Trump is, to put it mildly, an unusual politician… We need to understand him to deal with him, and with that in mind, I will present my own theory… What strikes me most is that Trump has distinctive ways of doing things that never seem to vary. Just as he always eats, drinks, and dresses the same, he always operates the same—he wants to make deals ….

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – In a significant pro-life victory, Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion business, has voluntarily dismissed its lawsuit challenging a key defunding provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that revokes its taxpayer funding… The dismissal, filed quietly on Friday, comes after a federal appeals court ruling that allows the Trump administration to continue withholding Medicaid reimbursements from abortion companies. …

By Bridget Sielicki, Live Action News – The Indiana Senate passed a bill last week that would curtail illegal abortion pill distribution in the state by allowing private lawsuits against those who manufacture, prescribe, or distribute the pill… The Indiana Senate passed a bill that would allow civil lawsuits against those who manufacture, prescribe, or distribute the abortion pill… Indiana law protects nearly all preborn children from abortion… The bill aims to stop the flow of illegal abortion pills into the state.

By Rachel Bovard, The Federalist – What if I told you Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has the power and the votes — right now — to save Republicans’ congressional majorities, President Trump’s second-term agenda, and maybe the republic itself, all while poleaxing Democrats on the short side of an 84-15 issue?… It sounds like fantasy. But like the Lady of the Lake from Arthurian legend, 2026 is offering up to the GOP a political weapon almost as powerful as Excalibur itself: an extended Democrat talking filibuster of national voter ID legislation.

By Kevin Cohen, The American Spectator – ICE is not a substitute for local policing or courts. It is the only authority with the mandate to remove non-citizens once state and local processes conclude. In a fragmented system — where police arrest, courts adjudicate, and legislatures set policy-ICE functions as the final integrating mechanism. When that mechanism is resisted or disabled, risk does not disappear. It circulates… Recent events in Minnesota offer a clear illustration of how this dynamic plays out. Over the winter, federal agents expanded targeted enforcement operations in Minneapolis and the surrounding Twin Cities region, prompting protests, political backlash, and public clashes between local officials and federal authorities. The controversy focused largely on optics and tactics. Far less attention was paid to the profiles of those actually being arrested.

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – Laura Fernández, a staunch pro-life advocate who has described abortion as nothing more than murder, won Costa Rica’s presidential election on Sunday, securing a first-round victory and becoming the Central American nation’s next leader… Fernández, who previously served as planning minister and chief of staff under outgoing President Rodrigo Chaves, triumphed in what outlets described as a landslide, capturing 48.3% of the vote with 94% of polling stations counted, surpassing the threshold to avoid a runoff.

By Adam Johnston, The Federalist – The unrest surrounding immigration enforcement in Minnesota is a flashpoint for a much deeper struggle over U.S. sovereignty… A sovereign nation, by definition, must be able to enforce its laws within its own territory… When federal immigration law is openly resisted, and elected leaders excuse, rationalize, fail to deter, or even encourage violence against those tasked with exercising constitutional authority, both the federal government and the nation lose their fundamental legitimacy.

By Ashley Herzog, The American Spectator – Much has been made of how a federal judge last week struck down the Education Department’s guidance advising schools to dismantle their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives or risk losing federal funding. Supporters of DEI have seized on the ruling as proof that their cause is resilient… But the larger picture tells a different story. Whatever its legal status, DEI has already lost cultural legitimacy — on campus, among students, and even within the academic left itself…

By Craig Bannister, CNS News – In the past 10 days, New York’s failure to honor detainer requests by U.S. ICE has resulted in the release of nearly 7,000 criminal illegal aliens, the DHS warned Friday, reacting to the plan of the state’s Democrat governor, Kathy Hochul, to legally prohibit state and local law enforcement from cooperating with ICE… In a statement, DHS said that it “condemns Governor Hochul’s legislative proposal to bar local police departments from partnering and cooperating” with ICE law enforcement, warning that such partnerships are “key to removing criminal illegal aliens including murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members, and terrorists from American communities.”

By Greg Piper, Just the News – An advocacy group that fights “unwanted medical treatments” is asking the high court to take a fresh look at the case, Jacobson v. Massachusetts, and how courts have interpreted it – extrapolating the holding far beyond the facts of the case – and getting an assist from several red states and a public interest law firm that seeks to rein in the administrative state… Last week, the justices considered whether to accept Health Freedom Defense Fund’s petition to review a ruling by the full 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, overturning a three-judge panel that said it’s irrelevant whether COVID vaccines stop infection or transmission for the purposes of Los Angeles Unified School District’s onetime employee mandate.

By Anne Hendershott, The American Spectator – After securing the Supreme Court majority that overturned Roe v. Wade, President Trump now finds himself lectured to by a vocal minority of pro-life activists who seem to have forgotten who delivered the greatest pro‑life victory in half a century. A movement that spent decades fighting for the end of Roe should be united in gratitude to the president, yet an increasing number of pro‑lifers have chosen to treat President Trump not as the leader who delivered the impossible, but as a disappointment measured against their ever‑shifting purity tests.

By Tyler Arnold for EWTN News, (Catholic World Report) – “[Hegseth] definitely wants to return the chaplaincy to responsibility for religious services, religious instruction, and advising the commanders,” Broglio said in a speech at the Catholic Information Center in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 28… In December, Hegseth ended the use of the official spiritual fitness guide, which he said never mentions virtue and only references God once but makes 11 references to “feelings” and nine to “playfulness.” He said the guidelines were “pushing secular humanism” and were a disservice to military service members who have religious faith.

By Joseph Pearce, Crisis Magazine – Today, as a citizen of the United States, I hope and pray that we might move beyond the desire for power, for political “greatness,” to once again embrace the true greatness of goodness. I pray that America will be great because she is beautiful from sea to shining sea.

By Matt Kittle, The Federalist – Looking to beef up election integrity ahead of November’s midterms, Republicans are introducing the Make Elections Great Again, or MEGA, Act… The bill, led by House Administration Committee Chairman Brian Steil, R-Wisconsin, includes many of the measures that election integrity-hating Democrats have fought so feverishly to kill. It requires photo ID to cast a ballot, proof of U.S. citizenship to vote, and bans practices that have plagued election security and voter confidence for years.

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – The Department of Veterans Affairs has halted the killing of unborn babies in abortions at its facilities nationwide, complying with a Justice Department opinion that restores longstanding federal prohibitions on taxpayer-funded abortions for veterans… The reversal, effective immediately, overturns a 2022 Biden administration policy that had expanded abortion access within the VA system, allowing VA doctors to perform abortions even in violation of federal law and state protections for the unborn.

By Nate Jackson, Patriot Post – One last point: Why was Pretti there? Because he hates ICE. Why was ICE there? Because Trump is attempting to clean up the very deliberate crisis created by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and now leftist Governor Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey. Biden and Harris may be gone, but their open border policy is still claiming American lives. Nothing ICE agents have done even remotely compares to the violence and death against entirely innocent people like another nurse named Laken Riley.

By Paul du Quenoy, Chronicles – In Democrat thinking, every illegal in the country is a potential voter, a future voter, or a parent to future voters. Trump’s closing of the border has shut off the supply of new arrivals, but his active removal of illegals and other measures—such as excluding them from the census, which determines each state’s number of congressional representatives—is reducing the absolute numbers already present and reducing their weight in American electoral politics.

By Katherine Matt, The Daily Signal – In recent years, many parents have begun questioning long-standing assumptions about traditional education. Concerns about bureaucracy, one-size-fits-all curricula, and institutional failures have eroded confidence in the public school system for many families… Some parents are also increasingly wary of ideological instruction in public schools, particularly when it comes to gender ideology and sex education… While debate over education is healthy in our society, a growing number of families believe the system has become less responsive to individual needs

By Jeffrey Lord, The American Spectator – Pennsylvania’s Democrat U.S. Senator John Fetterman has got it exactly right… Recently, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, also a Democrat, decided it was a good idea to call ICE agents “wannabe Nazis.”… Which prompted Senator Fetterman to condemn Krasner, correctly saying, “members of ICE are not Nazis” and that in calling them Nazis, Krasner could easily incite violence… Well exactly. Good for Senator Fetterman. …

By Greg Piper, Just the News – When a medical transparency group sought all records on the government’s approval of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, the Food and Drug Administration told a court it would need 55 years to redact them under Freedom of Information Act exemptions. The gambit didn’t work… The FDA won’t take that long to finish an abortion pill’s safety review, which was prompted by a think tank report last spring, promised by Commissioner Marty Makary in June and reiterated by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in September, but the agency can’t give a specific timeframe.

By Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell, The Daily Signal – Vice President JD Vance announced that the Trump administration has created a new assistant attorney general position to crack down on fraud nationwide… The new official will have “nationwide jurisdiction over the issue of fraud,” Vance said at Thursday’s White House press briefing… “Unfortunately, the American people have been defrauded in a very nationwide way,” Vance said… Federal prosecutors have estimated that welfare fraud in the state could have topped $9 billion, and more than 90 individuals have been charged in connection to fraud schemes there.

By John Daniel Davidson, the Federalist – Forget January 6. It turns out January 7 might go down as the date when insurrection really arrived in America — not from the MAGA right, but from the anti-Trump left… In the aftermath of the fatal shooting Wednesday in Minneapolis of a woman who appears to have tried to ram an ICE agent with her vehicle, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announced at a press conference that he had issued a warning order to prepare the Minnesota National Guard to mobilize to “protect Minnesotans” from “rogue ICE agents.”… Walz said, “We’ve never been at war with our federal government,” and at one point told Minnesotans, “do not allow them to deploy federal troops here.” …

By Greg Piper, Just the News – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s in-house publication gave mainstream media ammunition to attack Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s scrutiny on vaccine safety and efficacy, running a study that implies COVID vaccines saved healthy kids from serious outcomes last season… The research appeared in the CDC’s Dec. 11 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, which is not peer-reviewed and was accused of publishing methodologically weak research upholding COVID dogma between President Trump’s terms. …

By Elise Winland, Catholic Vote – In remarks at a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) policy celebration Jan. 8, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. accused major health organizations of promoting nutrition advice shaped by corporate interests… Speaking one day after HHS unveiled the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2025-2030, Kennedy argued that long-standing federal warnings against saturated fat reflected conflicts of interest rather than settled science… He singled out the American Heart Association, saying it “was and continues to accept millions of dollars from the biggest processed food makers in this country” ….

By Srdja Trifkovic, Chronicles – Operation Absolute Resolve in the early hours of Jan. 3 showcased military professionalism bolstered by first-class intelligence. It opened with shock-and-awe air strikes that neutralized Venezuela’s air defenses and provided the cover for the Delta Force raid on President Nicolás Maduro’s compound and his prompt transfer to USS Iwo Jima… It was a truly unprecedented event: a de facto extradition of a head of state, with the objective of effecting major policy changes by his successors. … This was a clear demonstration, on (Jan. 3, 2026), that the world has moved beyond those nebulous and inherently dangerous constructs of Team Biden’s “rules-based international order.” …

By Anne Hendershott, Catholic World Report – Too many in the media try to force a long tradition of papal diplomacy into the narrow world of American politics while ignoring the centuries of Catholic teachings on war, peace, and justice… Pope Leo’s recent comments on the United States military operation in Venezuela were quickly labeled left‑leaning by some media outlets, including The Daily Beast, Yahoo News, and a growing list of syndicated sites… But that framing misses the point. It forces a long tradition of papal diplomacy into the narrow world of American politics while ignoring the centuries of Catholic teachings on war, peace, and justice.

By Edward Pentin, National Catholic Register – Some cardinals and faithful who have a devotion to the traditional Roman rite have expressed concern that the liturgy appears to be sidelined in the extraordinary consistory currently underway at the Vatican after the cardinals voted to give priority to other issues on the agenda… In his opening address to the consistory yesterday, Pope Leo XIV reaffirmed to the cardinal participants that they will have the opportunity to “engage in a communal reflection” on four themes already pre-announced to be on the meeting’s agenda. …

By Shawn Fleetwood, The Federalist – Since Wednesday’s shooting of a violent anti-ICE demonstrator at the hands of U.S. immigration officials in Minneapolis, Democrats and their left-wing lackies have taken to doing what they do best: lying… Within hours, these self-professed “misinformation” experts spread disinformation of their own by claiming that the now-deceased woman — who is on video obstructing law enforcement operations and accelerating her vehicle at an ICE agent — was nothing more than an innocent “legal observer.” …

By Ryan Neuhaus, Chronicles – Politicos keep talking about an affordability crisis, and they’re not wrong; there clearly is one. But the price pressures everyone is obsessing about sit atop something deeper. The truth is that the affordability crisis is the result of choices, policy decisions made over decades, that reshaped the country in ways that no longer reward responsible behavior. The crisis is not primarily about inflation or deregulation or unemployment, or any other economic metric. It is about a generation of young Americans waking up and realizing that the path they were told to take no longer leads where they were told it would. …

By John Solomon, Just the News – Officials say movement of cash out of Minnesota was substantially abnormal and should have raised red flags during the Biden administration… Homeland Security Dept. officials said the statistics they have gathered in recent weeks show the movement of cash out of Minnesota was substantially abnormal and should have raised red flags during the Biden administration, long before the Trump administration began investigating it as part of a major fraud scheme that stole billions from taxpayers in the state.

By Matt Kittle, The Federalist – Assaults on ICE agents have exploded over the past year. In November, DHS reported that “sanctuary politicians’ rhetoric” fueled a 1,150 percent “increase in violence against ICE law enforcement.” In light of last month’s Operation Metro Surge, an ICE enforcement effort targeting “the worst of the worst who flock to Minnesota because they know sanctuary politicians will protect them,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the liberal politicians were only making things tougher for law enforcement officials.

By Dr. R. Jared Staudt, Catholic World Report – What would the collapse of civilization look like?… We might immediately think of cutoff utilities, disruptions in the supply chain, violence in the streets, and the lack of functional government. While it’s true these might serve as external indicators of a functioning modern society, they do not constitute the essence of civilization. A civilized person doesn’t just live in the city (the civitas that gives civilization its name) but conforms to an ideal of culture. A barbarian lives for immediate needs and wants …

By Craig Bannister, MRC TV – “I’ve issued a warning order to prepare the Minnesota National Guard. We have soldiers in training and prepared to be deployed, if necessary,” Democrat Minnesota Governor Tim Walz threatened Wednesday, denouncing the federal government’s efforts to enforce U.S. immigration law in his state… Gov. Walz made the apparent threat during a press conference following the death of a Minnesota anti-immigration enforcement protester who was fatally shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent as she, according to video of the incident, drove her vehicle into the agent. …

By Nancy Flanders, Live Action News – According to new reports, Canada is allowing prisoners to end their lives through assisted suicide despite having banned capital punishment decades ago… Canada fully banned capital punishment — the death penalty — in 1998… Medical Assistance in Dying was approved in Canada in 2016… From 2016 to 2025, at least 67 prisoners in Canada have requested assisted death, with at least 15 approved and killed. …

By Randall O’Bannon, Ph.D., LifeNews – Since the Dobbs decision, the Guttmacher Institute has been publishing monthly abortion estimates based on data submitted from a national sample of abortionists. In the last few weeks, it has compiled these monthly totals and published a new estimate for abortions in 2024 – 1,126,970… Guttmacher says this number reflects 1,050,660 abortions “provided by clinicians in U.S. states without a total ban in 2024″ plus an additional 76,310 “provided via telehealth to states with total bans in 2024,” according to estimates Guttmacher takes from the Society of Family Planning (SFP). …

By Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell, The Daily Signal – When Rep. Mary Miller saw President Donald Trump’s announcement of plans to ban large investors from buying single-family homes, she immediately volunteered to introduce a bill to codify it, she said… “It’s been an issue that the Family Caucus has been discussing, and I’m thrilled to see President Trump’s tweet and that he’s making this a priority,” Miller (said)… Miller expects Trump to sign an executive order banning large investors from buying single-family homes, and then her bill will codify that policy into law. ….

By Eddie Scarry, The Federalist – That Tim Walz is abandoning his reelection campaign for Minnesota governor amid a maddening multibillion-dollar welfare fraud scandal should serve as a big reminder: Democrats are robbing you every day and hardly even trying to hide it… Recall Walz as the stereotypical self-abasing Democrat white male, presumably heterosexual, who was inexplicably chosen to be Kamala Harris’ running mate in the 2024 election. His stint in that role was the equivalent of a 300-pound belly flop into a pool full of sand ….

By Max Dublin, The American Spectator – South America is moving on from socialist fantasies, just as the North begins to embrace them… With all the hullabaloo relating to the extraction and arrest of Venezuelan narco-dictator Nicolás Maduro, it is easy to forget that in recent years — and even recent months — good things have been happening in the southern hemisphere without America’s helping hand… Shortly before the recent election in Chile, I visited that country to attend a wedding. …

By Edward Welsch, Chronicles – Unlike my ancestors, the Somalis did not come to the United States to work. They came to America to become government dependents and clients of the Democratic Party… They contribute nothing. I don’t want them in our country, I’ll be honest with you, okay? Someone will say, ‘Oh, that’s not politically correct.’ I don’t care. I don’t want them in our country. Their country is no good for a reason. Their country stinks and we don’t want them in our country.

By Tyler Arnold, Catholic News Agency – “Now you have to be a little flexible on Hyde,” the president said. “You know that you got to be a little flexible. You got to work something [out]. You got to use ingenuity. You got to work. We’re all big fans of everything, but you got to be flexible. You have to have flexibility.”… Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, criticized Trump for urging flexibility on the provision, calling its support “an unshakeable bedrock principle and a minimum standard in the Republican Party.”

By Ryan Colby, LifeNews – The State of Colorado must pay $5.4 million in attorneys’ fees to Becket following the state’s unconstitutional effort to outlaw abortion pill reversal. Becket represented Bella Health and Wellness, a Denver-area Catholic pro-life healthcare clinic, defending them against Colorado’s attempt to make it illegal for doctors and nurses to help women who take the first abortion pill but then decide to continue their pregnancies.

Patriot Post, Headlines – Maduro update: Venezuelan socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro appeared in a New York City court on Monday following his arrest by U.S. forces in Caracas over the weekend. Wearing a prison uniform, Maduro pleaded not guilty to charges connected to narco-terrorism, contending that he was “a decent man” and that he was “innocent” and “not guilty of anything that is mentioned here.” His wife, Cilia Flores, who was arrested and charged with him, also entered a not-guilty plea. …

By John Cassara, Crisis Magazine – Greed is part of the human condition. It has always been with us. Yet in our progressive, post-Christian, materialistic, and debased culture, it seems like we are seeing more and more instances of egregious criminality based on greed… For example, Minnesota’s Somali community has recently faced scrutiny over major fraud cases, particularly the multimillion-dollar “Feeding Our Future” scandal. It involved Covid pandemic food aid and other forms of government assistance, including Medicaid fraud, child care, housing, and autism programs. Estimates of the fraud vary from between $9 and $18 billion. …

By Katy Faust, The Federalist – Then there is Elon Musk, who has openly declared that having many children is a moral duty to save civilization. Musk has at least 14 publicly known children, many conceived through IVF, surrogacy, or relationships intentionally structured around reproduction rather than marriage. He has said that “smart people” need to have more kids — and has used reproductive technologies to curate which women will bear them. …

By Christopher Jacobs, The Federalist – I could go on (and on and on), but I won’t. Here’s hoping that, regardless of what happens with the upcoming vote in the House, Republicans stop playing into Democrats’ hands and start turning their attention toward reducing the underlying cost of health care, rather than throwing good taxpayer money over bad at a failing Obamacare program.

By Cassy Cooke, Live Action News – If 2025 proved one thing, it’s that the pro-life movement is not slowing down. And Live Action continues to lead where culture, truth, and accountability meet… Here are some of the biggest victories the pro-life movement celebrated in 2025… Defunding Big Abortion of an estimated $700 million… This summer, the reconciliation bill known as the “Big Beautiful Bill” passed Congress and was subsequently signed by President Trump on July 4.

By Fr. Mario Alexis Portella, Crisis Magazine – The era of socialism in New York City has begun as Mayor Zohran Mamdani was ceremoniously sworn in by the socialist Democrat Senator of Vermont, Bernie Sanders. In his inauguration speech on New Year’s Day, the new mayor said: “We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism…. I was elected as a democratic socialist, and I will govern as a democratic socialist.”… Mamdani, aside from seeking to freeze rent on the city’s nearly one million rent-stabilized apartments as part of his socialist agenda, has also vowed to implement city-owned grocery stores.

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – Radical pro-abortion Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who signed a law allowing infanticide by letting babies die who survive abortions, announced Monday he will not seek reelection amid an ongoing fraud scandal plaguing his administration… Walz, a pro-abortion Democrat who initially launched his bid for a historic third term in September, reversed course, citing the need to focus on combating widespread fraud in state programs rather than campaigning.”

By David Catron, The American Spectator – The 1973 War Powers Resolution allows him to deploy military forces without prior approval of Congress… It was hardly necessary to consult the Delphic Oracle to know that every Democrat within reach of a microphone would denounce President Trump’s military action against Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. It was, however, surprising to discover how ignorant the Democrats are about the President’s authority to deploy military forces. …

By Srdja Trifkovic, Chronicles – In this hope, Maurras was disappointed: Pétain was outwitted by outright Nazi collaborationists. His turn of phrase nevertheless describes President Donald Trump’s December 2025 National Security Strategy (NSS) for those who hope America can be once again a regular nation in its foreign affairs: powerful, secure, and focused on its pragmatic interests, in the realist tradition…. The president prefaced the 33-page document as “a roadmap to ensure America remains the greatest and most successful nation in human history and the home of freedom on earth.”

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – Louisiana is pushing to temporarily reinstate an in-person requirement for dispensing abortion pills in a federal lawsuit that could protect thousands of unborn babies from chemical abortions enabled by a Biden administration rule… The state’s motion, filed December 17 in U.S. District Court, challenges the 2023 Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy rule from the Food and Drug Administration, which allows remote prescription and mailing of the abortion drug mifepristone. A hearing on the request to restore the in-person safeguard is set for February 24.

By Nathanael Blake, The Federalist – Americans do not need illegal immigrants to raise our children… Atlantic writer Olga Khazan disagrees. She is angry at President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration because it is disrupting the easily exploited servant class that provides cheap childcare. As she explains, “Millions of parents in the United States … rely on immigrants to take care of their kids. … Immigrants make up at least 21 percent of the child-care workforce — and this may be an undercount.”… Fertility is about priorities and character, not immigration policy. The birth rate will go up if Americans prioritize having and raising their own children, not because they are offered a supply of cheap, easily exploited foreign women to change diapers.

By Mary Stroka, Catholic Vote – Since then, significant related developments have unfolded, including the following… Rubio explains U.S. policy in Venezuela.. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Kristen Welker of NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the U.S. is at war with drug trafficking organizations, not Venezuela. He told Welker after she asked about President Donald Trump’s statement “We’re going to run the country” that the U.S. is “running policy” regarding changes in Venezuela.

By CNA Staff, Catholic World Report, Catholic News Agency – President Donald Trump announced Saturday that U.S. forces have “captured” Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro following a “large-scale strike” on the South American nation… “The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country,” Trump wrote.

By Casey Chalk, The Federalist – No one looms larger in the story of our nation’s struggle for independence than George Washington, who today seems almost mythical… There are many things to celebrate during our nation’s semiquincentennial celebrations, and many men to honor for their part in our country’s birth: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, and John Hancock among them. But no one looms larger than George Washington, who today seems almost mythical. At Washington’s funeral, Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee famously eulogized Washington as, “first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” In 2026, it is our duty to ensure that honorific remains as true as when it was first spoken.