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Vatican finally responds to Trump's invitation for Pope Leo to join Board of Peace
The Vatican's top diplomat says Pope Leo XIV will not be accepting President Donald Trump's invitation to the Board of Peace intended to broker peace in Gaza.
The initiative already includes leaders from 26 countries, including Argentina, Hungary, Pakistan, Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. Others have expressed interest in joining.
'Of course the administration wants all those who were invited to join the Board of Peace to join.'
The president extended an invitation to the pope last month, according to a statement from the Vatican's top diplomatic official, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
He said at the time that they were considering the invitation, but on Tuesday Parolin said the pope would not participate in the board.
"One concern is that at the international level it should above all be the [United Nations] that manages these crisis situations. This is one of the points on which we have insisted," Parolin said.
Parolin previously expressed that the Vatican would not be able to contribute financially, as is required of other states participating in the initiative.
"We are not even in a position to do that," he said. "However, evidently we find ourselves in a different situation with respect to other countries, so it will be a different consideration, but I think the request will not be to participate financially."
The White House called the decision "deeply unfortunate" in a media briefing Wednesday.
"I don't think that peace should be partisan or political or controversial. And of course the administration wants all those who were invited to join the Board of Peace to join," press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
"This is a legitimate organization where there are tens of member countries from around the world," she added.
The board includes the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. Trump heads the initiative.
The Board of Peace was established as part of a 20-point proposal developed by the White House that included demilitarizing and rebuilding Gaza. The plan was announced in a media briefing with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Sept. 2025.
"This is the closest we've ever come to real peace," Trump said. "Not fake peace. Not political fools' peace."
"This can be done the easy way, or it can be done the hard way," Netanyahu said at the time. "But it will be done. We prefer the easy way, but it has to be done."
"If Hamas rejects the deal, Bibi, you will have our full backing to do what you have to do," the president responded.
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Texas Republican's staffer fatally set herself on fire last year — text now seems to confirm their alleged affair
A newly released text message appears to substantiate rumors that Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) had an affair with a staffer who later fatally self-immolated.
Regina Santos-Aviles reportedly sent a message to her co-worker in April 2025 saying she had an affair with Gonzales, who himself is married and has children.
'You blame me? Are you kidding me?'
“I had [an] affair with our boss and I’m fine,” the now-deceased 35-year-old aide said in a text exchange obtained by the San Antonio Express-News.
Mere months after this confession, Santos-Aviles set herself on fire in the back yard of her home, passing away from her injuries the following day on September 14, 2025.
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Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Gonzales has repeatedly dodged questions about the nature of his relationship with Santos-Aviles, telling the New York Post in a statement Wednesday that he was "not going to engage in these personal smears and instead will remain focused on helping President Trump secure the border and improve the lives of all Texans.”
“Ms. Santos-Aviles was a kind soul who devoted her life to making the community a better place,” Gonzales said in the statement. “Her efforts led to improvements in school safety, health care, and rural water like never before.”
Gonzales was nearly successfully primaried in 2024 by Brandon Herrera, a popular gun YouTuber with over four million subscribers, who called the scandal "completely unacceptable."
"This is completely unacceptable behavior for anyone, let along a sitting member of Congress," Herrera said in a post on X Wednesday. "Tony must step down."
Gonzales noted in his statement to the Post: "It’s shameful that Brandon Herrera is using a disgruntled former staffer to smear her memory and score political points, conveniently pushing this out the very day early voting started."
Photo by Scott Stephen Ball for The Washington Post via Getty Images
Herrera responded to Gonzales' pointed accusations.
"You blame me? Are you kidding me? Tony Gonzales is an irredeemable coward, who dodges accountability and lies to the people," Herrera said. "This started with my problems with your votes in Congress, but now I understand you are a horrifically wicked man who must be removed."
Herrera is once again running to unseat Gonzales, who secured an endorsement from President Donald Trump in December ahead of the March 3 primary.
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Salma Hayek Joins Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum for Major Cinema Tax Incentive
Actress Salma Hayek joined forces with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to create a 30% cinema tax incentive in her native country.
The post Salma Hayek Joins Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum for Major Cinema Tax Incentive appeared first on Breitbart.
U.N. Report: Migrants Passing Through Libya Suffer Killings, Torture, Rape, and Slavery
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The post U.N. Report: Migrants Passing Through Libya Suffer Killings, Torture, Rape, and Slavery appeared first on Breitbart.
Georgia Republican Gov. Candidate Rick Jackson Pledges to Ban DEI, Despite His Healthcare Firm Previously Promoting Diversity Initiatives
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The post Georgia Republican Gov. Candidate Rick Jackson Pledges to Ban DEI, Despite His Healthcare Firm Previously Promoting Diversity Initiatives appeared first on Breitbart.
Mamdani reverses controversial policy after 19 NYC residents die outdoors
While many in the media praised New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for his response to life-threatening weather conditions this winter, the socialist has changed his mind on one policy with allegedly lethal consequences.
Mamdani had criticized sweeps of homeless encampments intended to keep people from dangerous winter conditions, in favor of allowing them to stay outside.
Critics of Mamdani's homeless policy predicted it would lead to people dying.
"If you are not connecting homeless New Yorkers to the housing that they so desperately need, then you cannot deem anything you're doing to be a success," he said in January.
On Wednesday, Mamdani confirmed he had reversed the policy and would reinstate the sweeps. The Department of Homeless Services will take the lead on conducting them.
The city has intermittently declared a Code Blue situation since January 23, which means weather conditions are so dangerous that officials should take every reasonable effort to protect homeless people from the elements. Mamdani admitted that his socialist plan should not have applied during the Code Blue conditions.
"We knew that that is a policy that we would only deliver on once the prolonged Code Blue came to an end, because, as we know, in a Code Blue, the focus should be on getting homeless New Yorkers inside, not on the question of how we respond to structures," Mamdani said.
At least 19 New York City residents died outdoors during the historic cold snap, though it is unclear whether any of these deaths can be directly linked to the mayor's homeless policies.
That lack of clarity is partly due to the Mamdani administration seizing the means of communication related to the cold deaths from the NYPD.
Critics of Mamdani's homeless policy predicted it would lead to people dying.
"The radical left communists would rather the homeless freeze to death on the streets, live in tents without showers food or medicine than make sure they have PROPER housing and mental health treatment which many of them desperately need," Republican NYC Councilwoman Inna Vernikov said in January.
Others have since linked the deaths to policy failures.
"These deaths are not inevitable," City Council Speaker Julie Menin said. "They are the result of gaps in outreach, shelter capacity, mental health services, and follow-up."
Despite the deaths, Mamdani faced criticism from the Legal Aid Society and the Coalition for the Homeless for reinstating the sweeps.
"These sweeps failed on multiple fronts: They were inhumane, stripping unhoused New Yorkers of their few belongings and eroding trust in city services, and they were ineffective, doing little more than pushing people out of sight," reads a statement from the organizations.
The groups also accused Mamdani of "another broken promise."
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RFK Jr. enlists Mike Tyson to 'speak out against baked goods'
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has teamed up with former boxer Mike Tyson to battle the proliferation of processed foods in America — but not everyone is thrilled with the Trump administration’s choice of role model.
“I had a sister that died from obesity. So when they heard my story, they used me for the commercial, and it was just me telling the truth. People shouldn’t be surprised to see because I’m one of the most healthiest people on the planet,” Tyson told Lara Trump, while sitting with Calley Means and RFK Jr. on Fox News.
“So they should think that I will want to be a participant in this, and I’m affected of course not only by my sister, but by my daughter and by my friends. You know, they just can’t stop picking up the food because the ultraprocessed food is a narcotic more than it is anything, a nutritionist,” Tyson added.
While BlazeTV host Stu Burguiere respects Tyson’s dedication to health, he’s not among those thrilled with the team up.
“Mike Tyson’s considerably older than me. The fact that he could even last in a ring for five minutes with a guy in his what, 20s or 30s, pretty freaking impressive to me. He’s in great shape,” Stu comments.
“But what I’m going to focus on a little bit more is the fact, the fact, that Mike Tyson is a convicted rapist. Mike Tyson is a convicted rapist. Not a guy who got #metoo-ed because people were like, ‘Hey, I think he did something wrong once. He made a bad joke,’” he continues. “No. Mike Tyson went through a trial, was convicted of rape, and then went to prison for rape.”
“Tyson really is a one of one when it comes to convicted rapists speaking out against baked goods. There’s really no other examples of this happening in our entire society, maybe worldwide, because ... we don’t typically use them later on to advertise products,” he says.
“They’re not typically government spokespeople for food movements,” he adds.
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