Good night, America, how are you? Say, don’t you know me, I’m your native tabs …
NEW: Outrage has broken out after Pope Leo appeared to quote Jesus using a passage that does not exist in the Bible.
“Jesus told us, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, but woe to those who manipulate religion in the very name of God for their own military, economic, or political… pic.twitter.com/P9w7vIfGaz
— Jack (@jackunheard) April 16, 2026
Ed: Is this legit? It matches the transcript at the Vatican for the speech Pope Leo gave today. Some argue that the pope didn’t intend to make it sound like the “But woe” portion was a quote from Scripture, but that is very much how it sounded, and almost certainly what the pope meant. Perhaps Pope Leo would be best advised to rely more on the doctors of the church for theological understanding (as in the Just War doctrine), and rely even more heavily on authors such as Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John rather than on his own editing skills. See below for the remark in full context and decide for yourself.
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Pope Leo XIV from The Vatican: May we all continue on the path of goodness which leads to peace. I am grateful for your words of welcome, because it is true: I am here to proclaim peace. Yet I find it is you who are proclaiming peace to me, and to the entire world. As one of you observed, the crisis impacting these regions of Cameroon has brought Christian and Muslim communities closer than ever before. Indeed, your religious leaders have come together to establish a Movement for Peace, through which they seek to mediate between the opposing sides.
I wish this would happen in so many other places of the world. Your witness, your work for peace can be a model for the whole world! Jesus told us: Blessed are the peacemakers! But woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic or political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth. Yes, my dear sisters and brothers, you who hunger and thirst for justice, who are poor, merciful, meek, and pure of heart, you who have wept — you are the light of the world! (cf. Mt 5:3-14). Bamenda, today you are the city on the hill, resplendent in the eyes of all! Sisters and brothers, be the salt that continuously gives flavor to this land. Do not lose your flavor, even in the years to come! Cherish all the shared moments that have brought you together in these times of sorrow. Let us all cherish this day when we have come together to work for peace! Be like oil poured out upon the wounds of your brothers and sisters.
Ed: Pope Leo sandwiched his own “woe” between two Gospel references, and the Vatican references the entire Beatitudes at the end of the second reference. The Vatican doesn’t even attempt to isolate the two references from Pope Leo’s personal remarks. The Woes of Jesus come much later, in Matthew 23, and do not contain any reference to “military, economic, or political gain.” The Woes are more personal to the temple authorities of the time. Using “woe” in this context is absurd, not to mention shockingly manipulative and deceptive, coming from a pope.
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President Trump says he has “a right to disagree with the pope” on the Iran war.
He adds that he has “nothing against the pope” and that Pope Leo XIV’s brother, Louis Prevost, “is MAGA all the way.”
“I’m sure the pope is a great guy, I haven’t met him. But I disagree with the… pic.twitter.com/xLqOyGSFLg
— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 16, 2026
Ed: This is the response Trump should have given from the start. This is a measured and thoughtful way to explain his disagreement, and a fair challenge to Pope Leo, who has barely said a word about the tens of thousands of people massacred by the Iranians in January in his haste to blame Trump for the conflict.
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Punchbowl: Democrats and Israel. A stunning 40 Senate Democrats voted late Wednesday to block a U.S. weapons sale to Israel, the latest sign of the party’s growing rift with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu-led government over its continued military campaigns in the region.
Two Senate resolutions authored by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) got an unprecedented level of support from the Democratic Caucus even as their leader, Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), voted against both. Schumer — strongly pro-Israel but anti Netanyahu — is the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in U.S. history.
Overall, just seven Senate Democrats voted no on the first Sanders disapproval resolution, and 11 on the second. Sanders hailed the results as a sign of Democratic discontent “with Netanyahu and his horrific, illegal wars.” No Republicans voted for either resolution.
The previous Sanders resolution to block arms sales to Israel, which came last July, won support from just 27 Senate Democrats. In April 2025, a similar resolution got only 15 Democratic votes.
Ed: This is a measure of how far the Democrats have mainstreamed pro-Hamas points of view and normalized anti-Semitism. It is no accident that Democrats are campaigning with Hasan Piker, and no accident that apologists for that now write excuses for it in the pages of the New York Times. If the Iranian people can finally pull down the terror regime in Tehran, a lot of these Democrats will find themselves in a very tight corner when the victims of Islamism make them pay a political price for mainstreaming this hatred.
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🚨 BREAKING: The House just REJECTED a Democrat War Powers resolution to block President Trump’s military action against Iran, 213-214
Brutal EMBARRASSMENT for Democrats again!
This resolution failed in the Senate *4 TIMES* already 😂
Why are Democrats pro-Ayatollah? pic.twitter.com/ATk3ZEbP78
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 16, 2026
Ed: Saw this earlier, didn’t write about it because it’s a waste of effort by Dems. However, if Trump actually gets Iran to capitulate on nuclear weapons and surrender the uranium, these votes will make them all look like fools. Again.
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Semafor: House Democrats came up one vote short on an Iran war powers vote today. It spells trouble ahead for House Republicans. The measure to rein in Trump’s war in Iran failed on a 214-213 vote, with one Republican, Ohio Rep. Warren Davidson, voting present. One Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, voted with almost every Democrat for the measure. Democratic leaders flipped almost all of the Democrats who voted against the measure previously except for Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine. Republicans have signaled they could back a war powers resolution if boots are put on the ground in Iran, or if the war goes on past the 60-day threshold outlined in the War Powers Act. But Trump’s announcement of an Israel-Lebanon ceasefire today might signal the conflict is nearing a resolution.
Ed: Gee … ya think? Even if the House passed the measure, the Senate won’t. And even if it got out of the Senate, it comes out as a bill that Trump can and certainly will veto. This is nothing more than performance, and it doesn’t spell trouble for anyone.
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REPORTER: Iran is going to execute four more protesters, including the first woman protester. What do you tell Iran?
TRUMP: Tell that to the Pope pic.twitter.com/c7AleXlWpN
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) April 16, 2026
Ed: Ouch, baby, very ouch.
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Noah Rothman at NRO: For all the thoroughly reported political pressure on the president to see this war through to a speedy and durable conclusion, little attention has been paid to the existential cataclysm the Islamic Republic just endured. That reality is only just dawning on Iran’s leadership in much the same way that the Western press is finally coming to terms with the conditions on the ground inside the Islamic Republic.
It’s one thing to recognize defeat. It’s another to acknowledge it. The Iranian regime would never give the West the satisfaction, but that doesn’t mean Tehran will not agree to terms that will render this war an unambiguous geopolitical success story. If it does not, three U.S. carrier battle groups and thousands of American soldiers will be ready to further impress upon the Iranian leadership that they do not, in fact, have the “upper hand.”
Ed: It’s been interesting to see the WSJ slowly awaken to that reality. The rest of the Protection Racket Media hasn’t, at least not so far, but it’s becoming too obvious to miss now. The US and Israel didn’t carpet-bomb Iran; they chose very precise targets to destroy not just their military-industrial complex but also the infrastructure needed to rebuild it Even if the war ended today, Iran would need decades to restore its heavy manufacturing capacity, and it would need to direct all of its resources into that project, rather than spending it on nuclear-weapons development and external terror proxies. The unemployment alone that will result from this precision demolition will likely destabilize this regime sooner rather than later even if it belatedly acts to end the war.
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Hegseth questions the patriotism of U.S. media members:
“I can’t help but notice the endless stream of garbage, the relentlessly negative coverage you cannot resist peddling. Sometimes it’s hard to figure out what side some of you are actually on. It’s incredibly unpatriotic.” pic.twitter.com/gWcYGpcMIh
— The American Conservative (@amconmag) April 16, 2026
Ed: I am not sure if it’s the job of reporters to be “patriotic.” I’d settle for reporters who don’t choose the side of the enemy, and too many of them can’t even clear that bar. They swallow Iranian propaganda without even needing a chaser while treating US statements with open disdain rather than professional scrutiny. These reporters have been claiming that the war has been lost and that Iran is winning it for so long that they’ll need therapy when Trump ends the war entirely on his terms.
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Variety: Tom Cruise is returning for “Top Gun 3,” Paramount announced during its CinemaCon presentation in Las Vegas, as is producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
The sequel to director Joseph Kosinski’s 2022 blockbuster “Top Gun: Maverick” was first revealed to be in the works back in 2024 with scribe Ehren Kruger, who co-wrote “Maverick” with Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie.
“Top Gun: Maverick” became a blockbuster hit when many theaters were still shuttered during the COVID-19 pandemic. It grossed $1.5 billion at the global box office from a $170 million budget, giving movie theaters the jolt they needed when times were tough.
Ed: Well, the reporters covering the Pentagon will hate it, clearly. I found the 2022 sequel to be surprisingly good, actually better and more emotionally resonant than the original. It’s earned a sequel as long as it has a similarly effective storyline. Beats another MCU entry, for sure.
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Boebert: “Why is everybody so horny here” pic.twitter.com/dex9LaenWZ
— Jon Michael Raasch (@JMRaasch) April 16, 2026
Ed: Right message. Wrong messenger.
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I’m never leaving this site. pic.twitter.com/oRAWbchSKk
— Snarknado ⚓️ 🇺🇸 (@ZannSuz) April 14, 2026
Ed: Neither am I. I was going to make tonight’s FW a Swalwell-free zone, but a dedicated reader threatened to voodoo me or something if I didn’t share this with you. 🙂
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Axios: The U.S. has built roughly 50 miles of primary border wall along the southern border, 5.5 miles of buoy barriers in the water and 13.2 miles of secondary barriers, Customs and Border Protection commissioner Rodney Scott told Congress on Thursday.
Why it matters: The $46 billion project has been stalled by contracting issues and community resistance. But Scott told Congress the effort is now “ahead of schedule and we’re below budget.”
By the numbers: The agency anticipated that it could build about 10 miles of wall per week, according to an interview with the Washington Examiner.
Ed: Haven’t heard much about this, probably because we shut down the border without it. House Dem Henry Cuellar, who’s been good on border security, opposes expansion of the wall because of that success, but it takes a lot of manpower to keep things locked down. The wall would allow for lower costs and personnel. Keep an eye on this over the next few months, including the objections of landowners here in Texas and elsewhere to the construction.
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BREAKING: Lebanese TV displays the flags of Israel and Lebanon.
Truly unprecedented.
Real peace is on the horizon. pic.twitter.com/ef8PpshiVE
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) April 16, 2026
Ed: Let’s hope!
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