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Oct 24, 2026 - World

The Denver archbishop who led a prayer over President Donald Trump in the Oval Office is now scrambling to explain himself.Archbishop James Golka told the Denver Catholic, the archdiocese's own newspaper, on Friday that the White House's video of the Oct. 22 prayer was never meant as an endorsement, even as he defended being there and turned his fire on critics."I understand that many people saw the video, posted by the Administration twelve days before an election, as an endorsement," Golka said. "That was never my intention."The invitation came months ago, according to the archbishop, following a June session in which faith leaders pressed the administration on immigration, religious freedom and visas for religious workers. He said progress made by task forces after that meeting encouraged him to accept, even though he knew the meeting "could be shared and some might use it for political purposes."Golka said he learned only shortly before the visit that he would be the one praying over Trump. The bishops first spent three hours with the White House Faith Office discussing religious worker visas, protection of life, religious freedom and school choice."I've had a lot of people, really good friends, ask me, 'What were you doing?' 'Why did you do that?' I just answer, 'I was being a Catholic priest,'" he said.The archbishop then pointed outward. "I'm heartbroken that people are hurt, and that there are people intentionally using this moment to sow disunity. That's not a fruit of the Spirit," he said, urging Catholics to look past headlines he described as "often crafted to provoke."The fallout has reached Rome. Catholic commentator Christopher Hale reported in his Letters from Leo newsletter that a senior official at the Vatican's Dicastery for Bishops called it "a highly inappropriate meeting and insult to Pope Leo."Hale wrote that Golka's account stops short of an apology and never mentions Paula White-Cain, the televangelist and White House Faith Office adviser who stood behind Trump's chair as the bishops laid hands on him. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has said it neither organized the meeting nor has any affiliation with it.Golka closed with a pledge. "This work helps only if the Church carries the same message to leaders of both parties. We will," he said.

Oct 24, 2026 - World

The Trump administration's insistence that it has no say over Elon Musk's satellite network just ran headlong into a damning new account.Reuters reported Friday that the Biden and Trump administrations both asked SpaceX several times over the years to switch its Starlink service on or off in various countries, long before this month's slowdown of Ukraine's military access. Six former senior U.S. officials described the requests to the outlet, which said they had never been reported before.The report lands two days after Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted the decision over Ukraine's access belonged to Musk and SpaceX rather than the White House."We cannot direct a private company as to the decisions they make or not make," Rubio said Wednesday, according to Forbes.According to the former officials, Biden aides repeatedly handed SpaceX intelligence showing that the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon were using Starlink terminals that reached them through middlemen, then asked the company to find and disable them. At least some were shut down, two of the officials said. The Biden team also pressed SpaceX to widen Starlink use for Ukraine's military after Russia's 2022 invasion.Trump's own administration made similar overtures. A former senior Trump official and a second source told Reuters the administration discussed with Musk getting Starlink terminals into Iran and switched on after U.S.-Israeli strikes in June 2025 and again in February 2026.The revelations raise fresh questions about who throttled Ukraine's service. Reuters previously reported the order to throttle Starshield, the military version of Starlink, came from inside the White House, while The Wall Street Journal reported Musk made the call and Trump later phoned him to lift it.Musk himself pointed back at Washington earlier this week."Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately (by the president of the United States)," Musk wrote.Trump said Friday he had not spoken with Musk about the issue, adding, "if there is a problem, I'll get it straightened out."Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) warned about Washington's dependence on SpaceX."Unelected billionaires and private corporations should not decide what is in the best interest of America's national security," Crow said.Satellite industry consultant Armand Musey told Reuters that Musk is "supposed to be a business executive, with government contracts, and he's essentially making huge foreign policy decisions."Ukraine's embassy in Washington said its priority is getting the service back to normal speed "as soon as possible, as the lives of our people depend on it."SpaceX did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

Oct 24, 2026 - World

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's inner circle waged a behind-the-scenes fight with another Cabinet department over a marquee sporting event abroad, according to a new report.The Washington Post reported Friday that Hegseth's office tried to scrap all U.S. military involvement in the NFL's first-ever game in Paris, only to reverse course after State Department officials objected.Sunday's matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints at Stade de France, just outside the French capital, had been slated to include dozens of service members, according to officials who spoke to the Post anonymously about internal discussions. Hegseth's team moved to pull them all following a weekend of unrest in Paris that President Donald Trump has publicly criticized.State Department officials pushed back, arguing that putting American troops on display at such a visible event carried diplomatic weight. They also told Hegseth's staff their department had not concluded that Americans or U.S. personnel in Paris faced a high risk of danger, the officials said.Hegseth's office ultimately agreed to bring back part of the military's role, including a color guard. Those ceremonial units, which carry the American and service branch flags, typically involve fewer than 10 people.Pentagon spokespeople would not say who in Hegseth's office sought to cancel the military involvement or why plans shifted so abruptly. A senior Defense Department official instead sent the Post an unattributed statement that echoed the president."The Department is supporting the NFL game in Paris this weekend amid the ongoing riots and unrest. As President Trump has said, France is really in trouble," the statement read, adding that the call "was made by the Secretary's core leadership team, not one person alone."Trump himself suggested Friday that the league should have considered pushing the game back."I would have said the NFL could have probably postponed that match if you want to know the truth, because France is really in trouble," Trump told reporters. "That's what happens when you go left."The State Department and the NFL declined to comment to the Post.Protests over school funding and living costs have spread across Paris and other French cities, prompting the State Department to warn Americans attending the game to steer clear of demonstrations. Trump has blamed the turmoil on immigration and Islam, while French President Emmanuel Macron has dismissed his remarks as "stupid."The U.S. military has taken part in other NFL games abroad this season, including in London and Melbourne, with games in Madrid and Munich still to come.

Oct 23, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump’s White House credited first lady Melania Trump with diplomacy to secure a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, but critics say Pope Leo XIV got there first.The White House statement came earlier in the day, saying the ceasefire is localized to the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky and would begin Oct. 29 to allow humanitarian aid in and prepare for civilian evacuations.“The situation in Oleshky is dire. Oleshky is a front-line war city on the brink of disaster. Oleshky’s remaining population is comprised primarily of elderly residents who urgently need medical attention, medicine, food, and clean water,” the first lady said. “The people of Oleshky have limited electricity, live amid mined roads, and endure regular military attacks. It was abundantly clear that without my intervention, the possibility to bring humanitarian aid into the city and to evacuate the elderly would be impossible.”Some observers, however, noted that the pope had publicly pushed for the same thing a week earlier.The Vatican said Leo “phoned Putin and asked him to arrange a ceasefire to let aid and food into the town” on Oct. 16, Reuters reported. The Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said the call was the pope’s initiative. The Kremlin said Putin agreed to “cooperate on this matter,” but its statement did not mention a ceasefire. The pope also spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Oct. 19.The progressive MeidasTouch network noted on X that the White House announcement came “just one week after Pope Leo personally called Vladimir Putin to push for the SAME THING,” and asked why the White House was “taking credit for an initiative Pope Leo was publicly pursuing a week ago.”“Pope Leo personally called Putin and Zelenskyy, pushing for a ceasefire in Ukraine. Now the Trump White House is trying to give MELANIA TRUMP the credit, completely ignoring the Pope’s efforts!” wrote former Biden aide Chris Jackson.

Oct 23, 2026 - World

A prominent political strategist has called for the “immediate removal” of President Donald Trump’s son-in-law from “every diplomatic assignment” following an explosive report alleging that Jared Kushner secretly had access to roughly $1.75 billion in Gulf money while serving in the White House.“I call it financial treason: the exchange of entrusted American power for concealed foreign financial benefit,” wrote ex-GOP strategist Steve Schmidt in an analysis published Friday on his Substack.“The constitutional crime of treason has a specific definition that prosecutors must satisfy; my accusation concerns the betrayal of allegiance at the heart of this reported bargain. I will not pretend it is a misunderstanding about etiquette.”According to an excerpt from journalist Matthew Cole’s book “Princes and Thieves” published by Vanity Fair, Kushner became a signatory on a roughly $750 million account in the United Arab Emirates held through a charity. Cole reported that Emirati ruler Mohamed bin Zayed separately routed about $1 billion, allegedly intended for Kushner’s personal benefit, through Azerbaijan to Israel’s central bank at the encouragement of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.The report also alleged that Dutch intelligence found screenshots from Kushner’s phone on a Russian military intelligence server, indicating Moscow had penetrated the device. Kushner’s counsel has denied that the accounts existed and denied any wrongdoing.Kushner, who holds no official administration title, serves as an informal envoy and has helped lead U.S. negotiations involving Israel and Hamas, Russia and Ukraine, and Iran. Citing Kushner’s enormous influence on U.S. foreign policy, Schmidt called for immediate action from lawmakers not only to remove Kushner from his diplomatic roles, but also to launch a massive criminal probe.“Put Kushner and everyone with relevant knowledge under oath. The alleged transaction must be investigated as a potential crime. Accepting benefits corruptly in exchange for being influenced in official acts is bribery. The agreement, the benefits and the acts must be established,” Schmidt wrote.“There must be no family exemption. No private accommodation. No assumption that the money is too large, the people too powerful, or the implications too disturbing to confront. Americans have been asked to endure years of lies, cruelty, corruption and contempt while the most privileged people in the country explain why accountability must always wait. Enough.”