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May 5, 2026 - World

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was hit with a serious fact check on Tuesday after denying that President Donald Trump had previously said that Pope Leo was "endangering" Catholics with his comments against the Iran war. Rubio was filling in during a press conference for White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt who was on maternity leave when he was asked to clarify Trump's comments. "I don't think that's an accurate description of what he said," Rubio said, denying the president's remarks. Christopher Hale, a political operative and Letters from Leo publisher, pushed back on Rubio's response. "That’s 100% what President Trump said. Here’s the proof," Hale wrote in a post on X, sharing the recent Salem News Channel interview with Trump where he did indeed say that Pope Leo was "endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people.""I guess if it's up to the pope, he thinks it's just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon," Trump said in the interview. That’s 100% what President Trump said. Here’s the proof. https://t.co/8vX3hUYd6X pic.twitter.com/iPGkFaQMOL— Christopher Hale (@ChristopherHale) May 5, 2026

May 5, 2026 - World

A man who formerly worked for the U.S. government found himself in a shouting match with Russian "Merchant of Death" arms dealer Viktor Bout on Tuesday.During a segment on The Alex Jones Show, a caller from Kansas named Lee spoke to Bout about Russia's war in Ukraine."It's quite a unique experience to be able to talk to you, sir," Lee said. "The question I'd like to put forward to you is, you are a legislator, a legislator in your government. Is that correct?""Well, I'm a part of the regional legislature, and this year we are participating in the election to our federal Duma," Bout explained."Very good," Lee remarked. "Now, this war with Ukraine, your country has been waging the last four years, has created millions of casualties, and you've really not changed anything. The lines have been drawn for the last two and a half. At what point are you going to start coming down on Vladimir Putin about ending this war, even if it means a complete withdrawal of Russian troops from all Ukrainian territory prior to 2014?"Before allowing Bout to respond, Jones defended Russia's war of choice."Russia has stopped NATO's expansion, and it's now fighting the proxy war that was launched," Jones claimed. "And that's just a fact... The EU Commission has said they want to break up Russia. The West launches attack. Let's just be honest about it.""My response is very simple," Bout chimed in. "First of all, [Ukraine's] Donbas is a Russian land. It was illegally, you know, given to so-called Ukrainian Republic.""Second one, majority of the population of these areas is almost 90% is Russians," he continued. "What are you thinking? That Russia ever will abandon its own, you know, people to be, you know, subjugated to these neo-Nazis regime? Hell no! The population of Russia fully supported [the war]!"Bout insisted that the war was a battle for Russia's future. "And this is our land," he quipped. "So there is no way Russia will, you know, decide it or surrender or get out, because first of all, everything, if you look from the history, Ukraine has not existed. It's an artificial creation... it should be a single unitary territory of Russia."Jones again spoke up in defense of Russia: "Well, Russia's had naval bases in Crimea for 500 years.""I find it audacious that I see you on here saying, well, the Ukrainians are hitting residential areas," the caller replied. "What I mean you've been doing it for four years, sir? The other thing is, you guys invaded illegally in 2014. You started this war. The only resolution is the complete withdrawal of Russian troops!""You have lost the war!" the man exclaimed. "No, it's absolutely incorrect!" Bout shouted back. "We're not started this war!" "Would we put up with a bunch of foreign troops on the Canadian border or the Mexican border?" Jones asked."What troops were in Ukraine prior to [the war]?" the caller shot back."Oh, my! I've had family over there as advisors before this even started!" Jones bellowed. "But Lee, you sound really pissed off because you know Russia is winning this war against the unelected EU and the British Empire, who are our enemies. This war is hurting America. We should have trade deals with Russia.""Yeah, if you want to give your taxpayer money to this, you know, drug addict Zelenskyy," Bout said, "who everything — lost his legitimacy, go ahead. Spend your money. Then you don't have a [expletive], you know, bridges, schools! Go ahead, support Ukraine!"Before hanging up, Jones scolded the caller."NATO for decades has moved missiles up to the border of Russia," he ranted. "And then we were taught, oh, Russia went into Cuba because — just to start a fight. No, they did it and said because you put nukes on our border. Now they've got hypersonic nukes even closer. This is crazy!"

May 5, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump struggled to demonstrate his athletic prowess to a group of children at the White House, failing on several attempts to putt a golf ball.After arriving on the White House lawn to "Eye of the Tiger" on Tuesday, Trump walked over to a group of kids who were on hand to promote the Presidential Fitness Test. The president observed the kids playing golf for several minutes before grabbing a club.He attempted two to three putts before giving up on trying to sink one.Trump, 79, reportedly claims a handicap of 2.8 in the Golf Handicap Information Network, the lowest recorded for any president. He has been repeatedly accused of cheating. In a 2025 viral video, the president's caddie appeared to drop a ball in a more favorable position.

May 5, 2026 - World

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has gone missing from public view and has shifted his attention away from diplomacy amid "America's global collapse," an analyst pointed out on Tuesday. Salon's Chauncey DeVega described how Rubio's focus appears to be on the State Department — and altering its previous emphasis on "cultural pluralism, secularism and inclusiveness in its public messaging and other communications" — and not on international peace negotiations, including the Iran war, or Ukraine and Russia war. "He has not visited the Middle East since last October, nor has he played a direct role in diplomatic negotiations over Ukraine and Gaza," DeVega explained. Instead, Rubio has been restructuring his "department as a tool of MAGA." "While also attending to Trump’s needs, Rubio has been busy remaking the State Department in the MAGA image — an act that is undermining democracy at home and accelerating strategic failures abroad," DeVega wrote. "What the administration calls 'America First' is, in practice, white racial authoritarianism and white Christian nationalism that governs who and what is deemed to be in America’s vital interests."Under Trump, the State Department has dropped its recognition of Islamic holidays or other non-Christian religious observations that it previously celebrated on social media. Now, Rubio has been pushing a MAGA agenda forward. "Since Trump’s return to power, the United States has been repositioning itself as an explicitly Judeo-Christian nation — and government departments and agencies are following suit," DeVega wrote. "On Easter Sunday Rubio shared a video on social media in which he passionately described the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The department’s Instagram account has featured images of Christian crosses and references to 'Christ’s sacrifice.'"Trump has reportedly asked Republican allies whether he should endorse a Rubio or Vice President JD Vance 2028 presidential nomination, with focus groups apparently favoring Rubio for the potential run."Many see him as a stabilizing force, as well as a more presentable and traditional representative for their 'America First' nationalism and so-called conservative values," DeVega wrote. "Rubio sacrificed his values and the storied institutional legacy of the State Department itself to be in closer proximity to Donald Trump, a chaos agent — and America’s reputation and power are collapsing," DeVega added.

May 5, 2026 - World

During a relatively subdued Pentagon briefing on the Iran War on Tuesday morning, both Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine were caught by surprise by a question about “kamikaze dolphins” being deployed in the Strait of Hormuz.During the question and answer segment following the opening statements, a reporter identifying herself as Mary Margaret Olohan from the far-right Daily Wire addressed her question to both of the Pentagon officials.“My first question is for General Caine," she began. "You said that the attacks by Iran so far are below the threshold of restarting major combat operations. What is that threshold? And then for Secretary Hegseth, are there still concerns about mines in the strait? And can you kind of clarify these reports of kamikaze dolphins that we've heard about?”That led Caine to smile and glance over at his counterpart and then joke, “I haven't heard the kamikaze dolphin thing. It's like sharks with laser beams, right?” to laughter from the assembled reporters.After Caine added, “The threshold of restarting is a political decision above my pay grade,” Hegseth contributed, “And I can't confirm or deny whether we have kamikaze dolphins, but I can confirm they don't. Ultimately, the any follow-on effort, if there are mines identified, would be something that some of our units could undertake or the world could undertake. But right now we know we have a lane of safe passage.” - YouTube youtu.be