Rubio speaks with Vatican secretary of state about escalation of Russia-Ukraine war, peacemaking efforts

The conversation comes days after Russia launched one of its largest combined missile and drone attacks since the start of the war.

The Vatican's Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin attends a plenary session at the Summit on peace in Ukraine, at the luxury Burgenstock resort, near Lucerne, on June 16, 2024. The two-day gathering brings together Ukrainian President and more than 50 other heads of state and government, to try to work out a way towards a peace process for Ukraine -- albeit without Russia. (Photo by ALESSANDRO DELLA VALLE / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ALESSANDRO DELLA VALLE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

McKenna Snow

July 9, 2026 

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a conversation July 9 with the Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin regarding the war between Ukraine and Russia and efforts to achieve peace.

“The two leaders discussed efforts to achieve a negotiated end to the Russia-Ukraine war,” U.S. Secretary of State spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a July 9 statement.

No additional details were provided.

The war in Ukraine saw a dramatic surge of violence earlier this month when Russia launched a missile and drone attack overnight, killing at least 21 people and injuring more than 80 in Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials, as Zeale News reported. This attack marked one of Russia’s largest combined missile and drone attacks since the war began, according to the report. More than 52,000 people sheltered overnight in Kyiv’s metro system the night of July 1 following a warning from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to seek shelter ahead of impending Russian strikes.

Reuters reported July 9 that Russian military experts have also been discussing escalation of the conflict, including potentially striking European targets “such as NATO bases in Baltic countries.”

“Such a step would risk drawing Russia into direct confrontation with the U.S.-led alliance, testing the NATO commitment that an attack on one member nation constitutes an attack on all,” Reuters added.

However, Ukraine has recently carried out strikes on oil refineries, storage depots and ports in Russia and Russian-occupied Ukraine, causing Russian civilians to bear stark fuel shortages, according to Reuters. A source that regularly meets with President Vladimir Putin told Reuters that “Ukraine's recent successes, however, have made Putin more angry and more determined to give a tough response,” the outlet reported.

Two sources close to the Kremlin told Reuters on the condition of anonymity that Putin was more likely to escalate the war in the upcoming months rather than negotiate peace. President Donald Trump has had separate phone calls with Putin and Zelenskyy within the past week. Trump also met with Zelenskyy in person July 8 in Turkey during the NATO summit.

Rubio met Cardinal Parolin at the Vatican in May 2025 and communicated with him earlier this year about international situations. In January, the two had a conversation about promoting peace and religious freedom around the globe and efforts to improve humanitarian situations particularly in Venezuela. Pigott said at the time that during that conversation, the two leaders also “reaffirmed their commitment to deepening cooperation between the United States and the Holy See in addressing shared priorities around the world.”

Source

Cynthia Nixon’s "wife" gets $200k city gig after ‘Sex and the City’ star’s Mamdani endorsement

Cynthia Nixon’s wife gets $200k city gig after ‘Sex and the City’ star’s Mamdani endorsement

Story by David Spector

The Mamdani patronage machine has hired the wife of lefty actress Cynthia Nixon as an educrat making $203,500 a year, The Post has learned.

Christine Marinoni is working as the chief of mass engagement at the Family and Community Empowerment (FACE) office at the Department of Education, according to a well-placed DOE source.

The DOE source said this was Mamdani’s reward to the former “Sex and the City” star after she endorsed him during the mayoral primary.

Cynthia Nixon’s wife Christine Marinoni is working at the DOE, The Post has learned. Getty Images

Nixon held a fundraiser for Mamdani in March 2025 and raised over $200,000 for the socialist mayoral upstart.

“So thrilled to host a fundraiser for the incredible Zohran Mamdani whose clear message & ambitious plan for a more affordable NYC is exactly what we need right now,” she posted on Instagram at the time beside a picture of her and Mamdani standing together grinning ear to ear.

The hire is already drawing sharp comparisons to New York’s most notorious political machine.

“It’s painfully fitting that inside Tweed Courthouse, a DSA machine reminiscent of Tammany Hall is handing taxpayer-funded jobs to the well-connected spouses of multimillionaire celebrities,” another source, a City Hall insider, said.

When reached for comment, Nixon denied that her wife was rehired by the DOE for political reasons, and declined to speak further. Marinoni could not be reached for comment.

Marinoni previously worked as special assistant to the chancellor during the de Blasio administration and made $131,708, according to public data.

Crack, Cocaine, Corruption and Conspiracy

 

Crack, Cocaine, Corruption and Conspiracy

MediaGiant

Sensitivity - Normal (BBFC 12)

The War on Drugs was a U.S. government campaign launched in 1971 by President Richard Nixon. It aimed to reduce drug use through aggressive law enforcement, mandatory sentencing, and increased funding for interdiction efforts. Despite costing taxpayers over $1 trillion in federal, state, and local spending over five decades, drug use rates remained stable while incarceration rates soared. This massive investment without a corresponding public health return highlights the campaign’s fundamental policy failures.

A Good American - Documentary

 

A Good American (1080p) FULL MOVIE - Documentary

Gravitas Documentaries

Nov 1, 2022

"A Good American“ is a gripping docu-thriller about a groundbreaking surveillance program, the brilliant mastermind behind it and how a perfect alternative to mass surveillance was killed by NSA-management for money – three weeks prior to 9/11. Bill Binney was a brilliant cryptologist and long-time National Security Agency (NSA) analyst, since 1997 serving as Technical Director. Binney developed a sophisticated program named ThinThread for gathering data capable of providing clues, in real-time, of potential terrorist threats.Built-in safeguards would have prevented the massive surveillance methods later exposed by Edward Snowden. Why was this program killed off? And who was behind that? Friedrich Moser’s eye-opening and deeply disturbing documentary tells the complete story of Bill Binney and those, both inside the NSA and out, who backed ThinThread.

Directed by: Friedrich Moser

Starring: 

Jesselyn Radack

William Binney

Diane Roarkas

Kirk Wiebe

Thomas Drake

Edward Loomis

Suspect in series of Molotov cocktail attacks in custody

 

Religion’s Longstanding Gender Gap Is Narrowing Among Gen Z. But Which Gender Is Narrowing It—and Why?

by Chantelle Lee

Reporter
Jul 9, 2026 6:00 AM ET

Photo-Illustration by Chloe Dowling for TIME (Source Images: Fabrice Lerouge—Getty Images; Weiquan Lin—Getty Images; Hiroshi Higuchi—Getty Images; Syuzanna Guseynova—Getty Images; SivStockMedia via Canva)


A gender gap has long persisted in religious identity. Historically, data has widely, and with remarkable consistency, shown women being more religious than men. But that appears to be changing when it comes to Gen Z.

Recent surveys indicate the longstanding gap is now closing among young men and women—and one even suggests that it might be beginning to open in the opposite direction.

Which gender is driving the shift, and why, is a matter of some contention, however.

Recent Gallup polling attributed the narrowing gender gap among Gen Zers primarily to a rise in religiosity—meaning the depth of religious belief—among young men. But other surveys have found no such change in young men’s religious identities, and have instead shown that the change is being caused by more young women turning away from religion—a trend that some attribute to young women’s frustration with the sexism that persists in some places of worship.

TIME spoke to pollsters, political scientists, religious leaders, and others about the data and what they make of it.

Are young men becoming more religious?

Gallup polling released in April found that in 2024-2025, 42% of men between the ages of 18 and 29 said religion was “very important” to them. That figure marks a jump of 14 percentage points from just two years before, when 28% of young men said this. It also shows a reversal of past gender dynamics: in previous years, women surpassed men in saying that religion is important to them. In 2012-2013, for instance, 51% of women between the ages of 18 and 29 said so, compared to just 41% of men in that same age group. In 2024-2025, meanwhile, just 29% of young women said religion is very important in their lives, notably lower than the 42% of young men who said the same.

“Historically, there has been a gender gap in religiosity in this country as long as we’ve had survey research,” says Frank Newport, a senior scientist at Gallup who worked on the poll. “What I think is important in our findings so far is that the gender gap among young Americans—18 to 29—has basically disappeared across several measures of religiosity. Men and women are either statistically the same or, in one measure, men are more religious, among 18 to 29 year olds.”

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Ancestry Discovers Pope Leo XIV’s Sicilian Roots

Ancestry Discovers Pope Leo XIV’s Sicilian Roots

Kelly Barbano-Bodami - Research Manager, Ancestry ProGenealogists | Kyle J. Betit - Sr. Genealogist, Ancestry ProGenealogists | Lisa Elzey - Sr. Story Producer, Ancestry

15 May 2025

Key Takeaways

• Pope Leo XIV’s paternal line traces to Milazzo, Sicily, where his grandfather was born Salvatore Giovanni Gaetano Riggitano.
• An Alien Registration record revealed his grandfather’s original name, birthplace, and that he never naturalized as a U.S. citizen.
• His Sicilian ancestors were lower-middle to middle-class, holding respected community positions like `Usciere comunale` and `trafficante` (merchant).

As the white smoke cleared and a new Pontiff emerged, questions about his family history echoed across the globe. Where did his ancestors walk? What stories shaped his lineage? Now, through meticulous research, Ancestry has uncovered compelling documents that trace the paternal line of Robert Prevost, now known to the world as Pope Leo XIV.

 
Finding the True Origins of the Pope’s Grandfather, John R. Prevost

With the announcement of the first-ever United States-born Pope, professional genealogists at Ancestry began the search that included a path of twists and turns, unexpected name changes, and, ultimately, the answers. We started with the 1950 United States Census, the most recent census record collection available and identified John R. Prevost, the grandfather of Pope Leo XIV, listed as a “Romance Language Teacher” in Chicago, Illinois, living at 5465 Ellis Ave., (remember this clue) with his wife, Suzanne L. Prevost, and his son, John C. Prevost.

1950 United States Federal Census - John R. Prevost

We were unable to locate many records in the United States before 1950 for John Prevost, outside of some city directories. A prominent clue was that John Prevost’s death certificate stated that he was a citizen of Italy – indicating that he never naturalized as a United States citizen. Through the National Archives Flexoline Database, we located an Alien Registration record, under the name John R. Prevost, born 1876 in Italy, residing in Chicago in 1940. Alien Registration began in 1940 for anyone who was a foreign national and had not naturalized as a United States citizen.

According to the Alien Registration, dated 24 September 1940, John Riggitano Prevost arrived in the United States at New York in May 1905 on the SS Perugia. Surprisingly, John gave his name on his alien registration at arrival as Salvatore Giovanni Riggitano Alioto (Giovanni is the Italian equivalent of the English name John). His birthplace was listed as Milazzo, Province of Messina, Italy, and he was born on 24 June 1876 – an exact match to the date of birth listed on John R. Prevost’s death certificate.

Alien Registration Form (AR-2) for John Riggitano Prevost; National Archives

The address on the Alien Registration—5465 Ellis Avenue, Chicago, Illinois—also matches the address on the 1950 census (did you remember this clue?) and the address on the World War II Draft Card for Pope Leo XIV’s father, Louis Marius Prevost.

United States World War II Draft Registration Card - Louis M. Prevost

Fit for a pontiff: How the US Embassy to the Holy See prepared to host Pope Leo for a special July 4 celebration

The evening marked a historic visit to the U.S. ambassador’s residence as the country celebrates its 250th anniversary.

McKenna Snow

July 7, 2026

When Pope Leo XIV accepted an invitation from the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See to celebrate the Fourth of July with a special dinner, a significant amount of effort went into making the occasion impeccable and memorable.

The U.S. Embassy to the Holy See posted a video to social media this week offering a behind-the-scenes look at the preparations that took place ahead of the July 4 occasion, saying dedicated teamwork was required.

“Hosting a July 4th dinner for the Holy Father doesn't happen by accident,” the embassy stated. “Behind every perfectly set table, every carefully prepared dish, and every seamless moment of the evening stood a dedicated team at Villa Richardson who spent weeks planning, preparing, and perfecting every detail. A huge thanks to our wonderful team!”

U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch and his family welcomed Pope Leo the afternoon of July 4 at the ambassador’s residence in Rome, as Zeale News reported that day with exclusive comments from Burch.

>> Exclusive | Pope Leo XIV marks Fourth of July with historic visit to US ambassador’s residence in Rome <<

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The Essence of Inclusive Capitalism with Lynn Forester de Rothschild

The Essence of Inclusive Capitalism with Lynn Forester de Rothschild
What is it? Why does it matter? And could it really be the answer to the problems we face on our planet today?

Ms. Rothschild is the founder of the Coalition for Inclusive Capitalism, which seeks to address growing wealth inequality

As part of our upcoming film, The Purpose of Capitalism: Lessons from Japan, we spoke to Ms. Rothschild about what inclusive capitalism is, why it matters, and whether it could really be the answer to the problems we face on our planet today.

This interview was condensed and edited for clarity.

TBT: What is inclusive capitalism?

Lynn Rothschild: Given what capitalism has done to workers, society, and the planet in the last 30 or 40 years, inclusive capitalism might sound like an oxymoron.

But inclusive capitalism is an aspiration; an aspiration to reform the capital markets so that our economic system becomes inclusive, sustainable, dynamic, and trusted. It’s about creating what I call the virtuous cycle, where companies that are doing the best with respect to their people, society, and planet are rewarded.

“It’s about creating what I call the virtuous cycle, where companies that are doing the best with respect to their people, society, and planet are rewarded.”

As Colin Meyer—the academic lead for the Future of the Corporation puts it—the purpose of business is to profitably solve the problems of people and the planet. We, as investors, need to stand behind the companies that are doing that work. This is the essence of inclusive capitalism.

TBT: When did you first start thinking about inclusive capitalism?

Lynn Rothschild: It was around 2007 and 2008, when the underpinnings of the financial system started collapsing. On a day that I will never forget, the market froze altogether.

There was a lot of despair and anger at the time—the feeling of not being included, that the system was rigged against the ordinary person—only good for those who have capital. The government stepped in, but their programs left many feeling desperate. People were losing their homes because they had been given a mortgage beyond their means, putting debt on people who never should have had it.

Around this time, I was asked to co-chair a task force with Dominic Barton [then Chairman of McKinsey in Asia], to look at capitalism under siege. We produced a report, ‘The Journey Toward Inclusive Capitalism’, and after holding several conferences, we set up the Coalition for Inclusive Capitalism.

TBT: What is the coalition? What does it do?

Lynn Rothschild: The coalition is a group of asset owners, asset managers, alongside leaders in philanthropy, academia, policy, and business that is dedicated to making capitalism work for everyone.

One initiative was the Embankment Project for Inclusive Capitalism. We had the CEOs of $32 trillion of assets put together metrics that companies could use on a standardised basis to tell investors, employees, and customers what they were doing to create more inclusive and sustainable capitalism.

The Council for Inclusive Capitalism with the Vatican Launches

The Council for Inclusive Capitalism with the Vatican Launches

By Council Staff
December 08, 2020

THE COUNCIL ANSWERS THE CHALLENGE BY POPE FRANCIS TO APPLY PRINCIPLES OF MORALITY TO BUSINESS AND INVESTMENT PRACTICES

ORGANIZATIONS COMMIT TO CONCRETE ACTION TO CREATE A MORE EQUITABLE, SUSTAINABLE AND TRUSTED ECONOMIC SYSTEM

The Council for Inclusive Capitalism with the Vatican, an effort led by some of the world’s largest investment and business leaders, launched today. It signifies the urgency of joining moral and market imperatives to reform capitalism into a powerful force for the good of humanity. Under the moral guidance of His Holiness Pope Francis and His Eminence Cardinal Peter Turkson, who leads the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development at the Vatican, and inspired by the moral imperative of all faiths, the Council invites companies of all sizes to harness the potential of the private sector to build a fairer, more inclusive, and sustainable economic foundation for the world.

The Council is led by a core group of global leaders, known as Guardians for Inclusive Capitalism, who meet annually with Pope Francis and Cardinal Turkson. These leaders represent more than $10.5 trillion in assets under management, companies with over $2.1 trillion of market capitalization, and 200 million workers in over 163 countries. The organization challenges business and investment leaders of all sizes to embrace the Council’s guiding principles and make public commitments to act on them. These collective actions are intended to lead to systemic change by making capitalism a greater force for inclusivity and sustainability. Watch a video of the Guardians discussing the Council’s mission here.

Speaking to the Guardians, Pope Francis said, “An economic system that is fair, trustworthy, and capable of addressing the most profound challenges facing humanity and our planet is urgently needed. You have taken up the challenge by seeking ways to make capitalism become a more inclusive instrument for integral human wellbeing.”

The Guardians have already committed to hundreds of measurable actions, and Council members will make ongoing commitments to continue to advance inclusive capitalism. They will be accountable for their public commitments and invite businesses around the world to join. View the full list of actions being taken here.

Why is Gen Z so Anti-Capitalist?

Perspectives

May 14, 2026 | By Courtney Graves

Policy Issues

Culture

A new poll shows that support for socialism among young Americans is at an all-time high. What could be responsible for this fact?

 

Introduction

The future of free markets in the United States is in danger, as support for capitalism among younger generations has fallen to an all-time low. According to a poll conducted by the Cato Institute in 2025, 62% of Americans aged 18 to 29 say they hold a “favorable view” of socialism. Perhaps even more troubling, 34% of young Americans say they hold a “favorable view” of communism.

This is a stark contrast from previous generations. Baby Boomers overwhelmingly hold a positive view of capitalism at 68%. Only 32% of our elder generation holds a positive view of socialism.

Many older Americans are baffled by the fact that so many Gen Zers could favor a system that has failed so horribly in the past. Baby Boomers and Gen X grew up during the Cold War, when socialist and communist ideologies spread across Eastern Europe and Asia. They witnessed, in real time, the authoritarianism, human rights abuses, and economic stagnation stemming from socialist policies that plagued entire countries.

When the Soviet Union fell on December 26, 1991, many thought that would be the end of the support for socialism and that free-market capitalism would dominate the Western Hemisphere for eternity.

However, the rising support for socialism among young Americans, the recent election of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani in America’s biggest city, and the Democratic Party’s gradual embrace of policies once considered fringe, proved that hopeful sentiment wrong.

So, what happened? Why are the youngest Americans so pessimistic about their economic future and demand an overhaul of our free-market system?

Lady Columbia

 

Trafficked, Exploited, and Missing: Migrant Children Victims of the Biden-Harris Administration

Trafficked, Exploited, and Missing: Migrant Children Victims of the Biden-Harris Administration

Homeland Security Committee Events

Streamed live on Nov 19, 2024

Joint Border Security and Enforcement and Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability Subcommittee Hearing: Trafficked, Exploited, and Missing: Migrant Children Victims of the Biden-Harris Administration | Event ID: 117699

Open Borders, Inc.: Who's Funding Americas Destruction? by Michelle Malkin | Full Audiobook

 

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The young Catholic elite poised to take over MAGA

Source images: Getty© Source images: Getty

Story by Nate Weisberg

On a muggy Saturday evening in May, 30 young men and a few women, all Christian and mostly Catholic, filed into a 19th-century redbrick building on Capitol Hill, part of Hillsdale College’s Washington, D.C., campus. The occasion was the monthly meeting of the Cicero Society, a parliamentary debating club committed, according to its terse website, to “developing excellence, preserving the Western intellectual tradition, and forming young leaders” — which in Washington is usually code for conservative job placement.

Despite the oppressive humidity, tweed jackets were the outfit of choice. The young men carried themselves like people twice their age or perhaps from a different era. One even had a cane, though it was hard to tell whether this was an accessory or a necessity. The setting was equally fusty. The debate was held beneath a large painting of the signing of the Constitution. Nearby were relics from the days of the Founding Fathers: an original copy of Thomas Paine’s American Crisis No. 1, a first edition of The Federalist.

Some of the society’s formal members, several of whom are political appointees in the Trump administration, wore pins on their jackets depicting the society’s crest, a quill pen crossing a sword. Others, pinless, worked the room, hoping to make a good impression. Some would later give floor speeches responding to the evening’s resolution, the main route to being accepted as a full member. The few women present weren’t auditioning quite as strenuously, perhaps because they were less eager to be admitted to what is, in essence, a fraternity.

After cocktails, guests settled into their chairs. I was handed a laminated guide: no one to speak unless recognized by the chairman; members to refer to one another as “the gentleman” or “the lady”; approval and disapproval to be expressed through “pounding of feet and hisses,” which, the guide explained, promoted “a lively atmosphere.” The session then began with a recounting of the minutes of the previous month’s debate, “Did William F. Buckley Jr. Fail?” Buckley, the founder of National Review, is best understood here as a stand-in for the kind of overpolite, free-market conservatism the Ciceronians reject. The chairman recalled that a young man of Indian descent had earlier “confessed to the society that, in many ways, Buckley was the reason he was there.” (An internship at National Review brought him to the U.S. from Canada.)

The room hissed.

It would be easy, from this alone, to mistake Cicero for a bunch of nativist trolls. But the society is more interesting than its casual cruelties, which did not, in any case, seem to offend the Indian immigrant in question, who is one of the members. Founded in 2020 by Ivy League conservative Christians, Cicero once attracted a more mixed crowd. A woman involved with the society since its early years told me that, at its height in 2021, the gender ratio was more balanced. Then, she said, “the normal people left and the weirder people came.” Talk about Groypers and incels spooked the women. Late last year, the Harvard Crimson reported that a Harvard debate society called the John Adams Society, a feeder for Cicero, had stopped allowing women to participate altogether; Cicero has not gone that far, she told me, but some members would like it to. The rules hardened. “The people who really love Robert’s Rules started having a little too much fun,” she added. The group’s politics also shifted, becoming a magnet for young New Right devotees who felt history moving their way as Donald Trump returned to the White House. Some members, another woman involved with the society told me, are hoping for it to become a staffing network-in-waiting for a future J.D. Vance administration.

Is This The Forbidden History Of Washington DC?

 

Is This The Forbidden History Of Washington DC?

The American Story - US History Documentaries

Mar 14, 2026

What might Washington D.C. have in common with ancient sites like Stonehenge? It is thought by some to be constructed using an ancient unit of measurement called the megalithic yard. Thought to be used by some of the greatest civilizations of all time, this antiquated unite of measure could be the key to understanding the hidden meaning behind D.C.'s streets and structures. Scott Wolter investigates whether its use in the design plans of our nation's capitol created a sanctuary for people practicing goddess worship; people, like George Washington himself.

The Keys of This Blood

Píncaros da Glória Dec 31, 2025

Malachi Martin’s work explores the geopolitical competition between three primary forces—Western capitalism, Soviet communism, and the Roman Catholic Church—as they vie to establish a new world order. Central to this narrative is Pope John Paul II, whose unique background in Poland prepared him to engage as a sophisticated global competitor in this "millennium endgame." The text details how the Pontiff utilizes his moral authority and diplomatic reach to challenge both the materialism of the West and the totalitarianism of the East. Martin highlights the internal struggles within the Church, including the rise of Liberation Theology and a "superforce" of dissenters, which complicate the Pope’s mission. Ultimately, the source frames modern history as a transition from a world of sovereign nation-states to a unified, interdependent global structure. Through this lens, the author argues that the Pope’s actions are driven by a divine vision intended to steer humanity toward a spiritual rather than purely secular future.

Allen Dulles: The Man Behind America's Shadow Empire