The pace of rebuilding in Malibu, California is going very slowly.
The post Fire Rebuilding Official in Malibu, California Resigns in Frustration Over Slow Pace of Reconstruction and Lack of Permits (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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A massive piece of a high-rise apartment building in the Bronx in New York City crumbled and fell to the ground after an apparent gas explosion.
The post Massive Chunk of Apartment Building in the Bronx, NYC Crashes to the Ground After Gas Explosion – Miraculously, No One Was Hurt (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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Leftists in Portland, Oregon have decided that the best way to protest Trump and ICE is to organize a naked bike ride.
The post Leftists in Portland, Oregon Planning ‘Emergency’ Naked Bike Ride to Protest Trump and ICE (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Read MoreMost High, Glorious God,
enlighten the darkness of our minds.
Give us a right faith, a firm hope and a perfect charity,
so that we may always and in all things act according to Your Holy Will. Amen.
A reading from the Book of Baruch
4:5-12, 27-29
Fear not, my people!
Remember, Israel,
You were sold to the nations
not for your destruction;
It was because you angered God
that you were handed over to your foes.
For you provoked your Maker
with sacrifices to demons, to no-gods;
You forsook the Eternal God who nourished you,
and you grieved Jerusalem who fostered you.
She indeed saw coming upon you
the anger of God; and she said:
"Hear, you neighbors of Zion!
God has brought great mourning upon me,
For I have seen the captivity
that the Eternal God has brought
upon my sons and daughters.
With joy I fostered them;
but with mourning and lament I let them go.
Let no one gloat over me, a widow,
bereft of many:
For the sins of my children I am left desolate,
because they turned from the law of God.
Fear not, my children; call out to God!
He who brought this upon you will remember you.
As your hearts have been disposed to stray from God,
turn now ten times the more to seek him;
For he who has brought disaster upon you
will, in saving you, bring you back enduring joy."
From the Gospel according to Luke
10:17-24
The seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing and said to Jesus,
"Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name."
Jesus said, "I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.
Behold, I have given you the power
‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions
and upon the full force of the enemy
and nothing will harm you.
Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you,
but rejoice because your names are written in heaven."
At that very moment he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said,
"I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the childlike.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows who the Son is except the Father,
and who the Father is except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him."
Turning to the disciples in private he said,
"Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
For I say to you,
many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,
but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it."
There is a case where the evangelist explicitly attributes to the Holy Spirit the prayer of Jesus, not without hinting at the habitual state of contemplation from which it sprang. It is when, on His journey toward Jerusalem, He converses with the disciples, among whom He has chosen seventy-two to send out, after having properly instructed them, to evangelize the people in the places He is about to visit (cf. Luke 10). Upon their return from that mission, the seventy-two recount to Jesus what they have accomplished, including the “submission” of demons in His Name. And Jesus, after telling them that He had seen “Satan fall from heaven like lightning,” rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.” This text from Luke, alongside the one from John that relates the farewell discourse in the upper room (cf. Jn 13-14), is particularly significant and eloquent regarding the revelation of the Holy Spirit in Christ’s messianic mission. […] In the entirety of the preaching and actions of Jesus Christ, which flow from His union with the Holy Spirit-Love, there is contained an immense richness of the heart: “Learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart,” He urges, “and you will find rest for your souls” (Mt 11:29), but at the same time, there is the firmness of the truth regarding the kingdom of God, and therefore the persistent invitation to open the heart, under the action of the Holy Spirit, to be admitted to it and not excluded. In all of this, the “power of the Holy Spirit” is revealed – and indeed, the Holy Spirit Himself is manifested with His presence and action as the Paraclete, the comforter of man, the confirmer of divine truth, and the one who defeats the “ruler of this world.” (St. John Paul II, General Audience, 25 July 1990)
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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 3, 2025 / 17:53 pm (CNA).
President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against individuals and entities that staged a protest outside of a New Jersey synagogue, which officials say descended into violence.
The DOJ named two organizations involved in the protest — Party for Socialism and Liberation New Jersey and American Muslims for Palestine New Jersey — as well as six individuals who allegedly participated in the protest as defendants in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit was brought under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which imposes federal penalties on people who restrict access to places of worship. The DOJ alleges protesters used threats, intimidation, and violence while protesting the Congregation Ohr Torah synagogue, which interfered with the community’s right to exercise its religion.
“No American should be harassed, targeted, or discriminated against for peacefully practicing their religion,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement on Sept. 29.
“Today’s lawsuit underscores this Department of Justice’s commitment to defending Jewish Americans — and all Americans of faith — from those who would threaten their right to worship,” she added.
The DOJ allegations contrast with the assertions of local prosecutors who allege that pro-Israel counterprotesters initiated the violence.
The DOJ lawsuit notes the planned protest coincided with the synagogue’s religious memorial service for the late Rabbi Avi Goldberg. It notes the event included a Torah sermon, religious songs, prayerful dancing, a festive barbecue, and a real estate fair, all of which were “part of the religious observance.”
Protesters rallied outside the event primarily in opposition to the real estate fair, which included the sale of land in the Palestinian West Bank that was obtained through settlements authorized by the Israeli government. The United Nations’ International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion last year that declared those settlements illegal under international law.
The DOJ lawsuit alleges that protesters defied police orders and entered synagogue property “shouting and blowing vuvuzelas.” It alleges they “disrupted the religious event by blowing vuvuzelas to drown out the memorial service and Torah sermon.”
It alleges two protesters blew vuvuzelas in the face of an event organizer, which the organizer swatted away. One protester allegedly charged toward the event organizer in response, which led a second worshipper to pepper-spray the protester to halt the alleged attack.
According to the allegations, that protester attacked the person who pepper-sprayed him by throwing the man to the ground, dragging him to the parking lot, and slamming his head onto the ground.
As the assault allegedly continued, the worshipper eventually hit the protester in the head with a flashlight and escaped to safety, according to the lawsuit.
“This Justice Department will vigorously enforce the right of every American to worship in peace and without fear,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said in a statement. “Those who target houses of worship and violate our federal laws protecting people of faith are on notice that they will face the consequences.”
The DOJ’s interpretation of the events conflicts significantly with that of the local prosecutors.
According to an article from the North Jersey Media Group, Essex County prosecutors allege that “pro-Israel counterprotesters” launched the attack on the pro-Palestinian protesters. The prosecutors allege pro-Israel counterprotesters “stormed toward the pro-Palestinian protesters and began ripping away their materials.”
The event organizer and the other worshipper — whom the DOJ states were the victims — faced several charges in Essex County for their alleged roles in the conflict. They were charged with bias intimidation, aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and unlawful possession of a weapon, according to the article.
According to an article by the New Jersey Monitor, the event organizer maintains his innocence and his lawyer said the DOJ interpretation of events “recounts what occurred on that tragic day [and] we are gratified that finally the people who deserve to be brought to justice will be.”
Muslim Legal Fund of America, which is representing American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), said in a statement that the complaint “contains no allegations of violence on the part of any representative of AMP.”
“AMP continues to stand up for the rights of all to lawfully exercise peaceful First Amendment-protected free speech,” the statement added.
In addition to establishing special protections for houses of worship, the FACE Act also provides similar protections for abortion clinics and pro-life pregnancy resource centers.
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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 3, 2025 / 17:16 pm (CNA).
Archbishop Jeffrey Grob of Milwaukee said he would consider granting dispensation from Mass obligations to migrants fearing deportation if the situation worsens in his archdiocese, according to a spokesperson.
Sunday Mass dispensations for migrants became a “discussion point” with Grob and south side pastors in Milwaukee, the archbishop said at the Milwaukee Press Club’s Oct. 2 Newsmaker Luncheon, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
Sandra Peterson, spokesperson for Grob, said “at this point there are no plans to make that decision” regarding lifting the Sunday Mass obligation. The Nashville Diocese was the first to lift the obligation in May, while the Diocese of San Bernardino lifted the obligation in July following immigration enforcement activities.
Peterson said there have not been reported incidents of ICE enforcement on church grounds in Milwaukee, telling CNA “there have not been any incidents that we are aware of” and that the archdiocese “will continue to monitor the situation and pray that [a dispensation] does not become necessary.”
During the Newsmaker Luncheon, Grob said “things have continued to deteriorate” since February, when the Wisconsin bishops released a letter calling for human dignity to be upheld regarding immigration enforcement. As a result, Grob said pastors began discussing dispensations and are waiting “to see if the situation escalates,” the Journal Sentinel reported.
“In U.S law, every person, regardless of immigration status, has certain fundamental human rights, which can never be infringed,” the bishops said in the February letter. “All people have the right to religious freedom to attend church services and to receive sacraments and pastoral care.” The bishops further acknowledged that “while the Catholic Church always welcomes the stranger, she also recognizes the right of nations to regulate immigration for the sake of the common good.”
Earlier Bishop Alberto Rojas of San Bernardino, California, granted a dispensation from Sunday Mass to members of his flock who possess “genuine fear” of deportation.
The move by Rojas came after attendance for Spanish-language Masses across the diocese had been “down about 50%” since immigration enforcement raids began to escalate in Southern California in June, according to the diocese.
John Andrews, director of communications for the diocese, told CNA at the time that the diocese was aware of two instances of ICE enforcement actions on church properties, which both took place on June 20.
One of the instances, he said, occurred at St. Adelaide Church in Highland and “involved several men who had been working in the neighborhood where the church is located.” The men were chased into the church parking lot and detained, according to Andrews, who said “we do not know whether these men were actually arrested.”
The second instance occurred at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Montclair and “involved the apprehension and arrest of one man who was on parish property to do landscaping work,” Andrews told CNA, adding: “He and his family are longtime parishioners there and we know that he was arrested and ultimately sent to a detention facility in Texas.”
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ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 3, 2025 / 15:08 pm (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV on Friday said that old age is both a gift and a challenge, and in response the Catholic Church is called to develop missionary pastoral care that involves the elderly as witnesses of hope.
On Oct. 3, the pontiff received at the Vatican Apostolic Palace participants in the Second International Congress on Pastoral Care of the Elderly, organized by the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life.
In his address, Leo XIV emphasized that the theme of the meeting, “Your Elders Shall Dream Dreams,” taken from the book of the prophet Joel, contains words dear to his predecessor, Pope Francis, who often spoke “of the need for an alliance between young and old.”
The pontiff explained that in this biblical passage, “the prophet announces the universal outpouring of the Holy Spirit, who creates unity among generations and distributes different gifts to each person.” He also lamented that today, “relationships between generations are often marked by divisions and conflicts that pit them against each other.”
Specifically, he referred to two criticisms: that the elderly “do not leave room for young people in the workforce” or that they are “consuming too many economic and social resources to the detriment of other generations, as if longevity were a fault.”
In this regard, Leo XIV expressed his conviction that “the elderly are a gift, a blessing to be welcomed,” and that longevity “is one of the signs of hope in our time, everywhere in the world.”
At the same time, the pontiff emphasized that this is “a challenge, because the growing number of elderly people is an unprecedented historical phenomenon that calls us to discern and understand the reality in new ways.”
In this sense, in the face of the current mentality that “tends to value existence if it produces wealth or success, if it exercises power or authority, forgetting that the human being is always a limited creature with needs,” Pope Leo XIV emphasized that the fragility that appears in the elderly is “hidden or removed by those who cultivate worldly illusions, so as not to have before their eyes the image of what we will inevitably become.”
However, he added, “it is healthy to realize that aging is part of the marvel of creation,” as he expressed during the Jubilee of Youth last August.
The pope invited people to stop being ashamed of human weakness so that “we will in fact be led to ask for help from our brothers and sisters and from God, who watches over all his creatures as a Father.”
“The Church is called to offer times and tools for understanding old age, so that we can live it in a Christian way, without pretending to remain forever young and without letting ourselves be overcome by discouragement,” continued the pope, who recommended the catechesis Pope Francis dedicated to this topic as “very valuable.”
Pope Leo XIV valued the presence of older people who, once their working life is over, “have the opportunity to enjoy an increasingly long period of good health, economic well-being and more free time” and who are often “the ones who attend Mass assiduously and lead parish activities, such as catechesis and various forms of pastoral service.”
“It is important to find an appropriate language and opportunities for them, involving them not as passive recipients of evangelization but as active subjects, and to respond together with them, and not in their place, to the questions that life and the Gospel pose to us,” he added.
Coming from different life experiences and relationships with the faith, the pontiff noted: “For all of them, the pastoral care of the elderly must be evangelizing and missionary, because the Church is always called to proclaim Jesus Christ the Savior to every man and woman, at every age and stage of life.”
This involves, first and foremost, bringing “them the good news of the Lord’s tenderness, to overcome, together with them, the darkness of loneliness, the great enemy of the lives of the elderly” in a missionary task that “challenges all of us, our parishes, and, in a particular way, young people, who can become witnesses of closeness and mutual listening to those who are further along in their lives.”
“In other cases, missionary evangelization will help older people to encounter the Lord and his word. With advancing age, in fact, many people begin to question the meaning of existence, creating an opportunity to seek an authentic relationship with God and to deepen their vocation to holiness,” the pontiff noted.
Finally, Leo XIV recalled that “proclaiming the Gospel is the primary task of our pastoral ministry: By involving older people in this missionary dynamic, they too will be witnesses of hope, especially through their wisdom, devotion, and experience.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Read MoreWhat does the next generation of martian exploration look like? The answer, quite literally, is blowing in the wind. The Tumbleweed Mars rover, a spherical robot designed to roll across the martian surface, driven by the martian wind, has passed crucial technical tests, validating its potential for low-cost, large-scale exploration. The concept, developed by TeamContinue reading “The wind-driven future of Mars exploration”
The post The wind-driven future of Mars exploration appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.
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CNA Staff, Oct 3, 2025 / 10:30 am (CNA).
Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news.
The number of abortions in clinics in pro-abortion states saw a decline in the first half of 2025, according to a recent report.
The report by the pro-abortion group Guttmacher found a 5% decrease in abortions provided by clinics from for the same period in 2024.
The review found declines in clinician-provided abortions in 22 states, all states that did not have “abortion bans.” The report also found an 8% decline in out-of-state travel for abortion to states with fewer protections for unborn children.
States with protections for unborn children at six weeks, such as Florida and Iowa, also saw a decline in abortions so far this year.
The report did not take mail-in or telehealth abortion pill numbers into account.
Michael New, a professor at the Busch School of Business at The Catholic University of America and a scholar at Charlotte Lozier Institute, called the report “good news” but noted that the survey wasn’t “comprehensive.”
“It does not appear that Guttmacher collects data on telehealth abortions from states where strong pro-life laws are in effect but abortion is not banned,” he told CNA. “Pro-lifers should take these figures with a grain of salt.”
In terms of mail-in, telehealth abortions, New noted that pro-lifers should “continue to push for more timely action to protect mothers and preborn children.”
“The Trump administration is within its power to halt telehealth abortions,” he said, noting that “Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently said the FDA would conduct a new review of abortion pills.”
Florida’s Heartbeat Act, which took effect in May 2024, played “a large role in this decline,” New said.
“The Heartbeat Act is protecting preborn children in Florida and is preventing women from other states from obtaining abortions in the Sunshine State,” he said. “Birth data from Florida shows that the Heartbeat Act is saving nearly 300 lives every month.”
The U.S. Department of Education has called on a Virginia public school system to investigate reports that high school staff facilitated abortions for students without their parents’ knowledge.
The department took action against Fairfax County Public Schools under the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendments, according to a Sept. 29 press release.
The investigation follows reports that a Centreville High School social worker scheduled and paid for an abortion for a minor and pressured a second student to have an abortion. The federal agency is requiring that Fairfax investigate whether this practice has continued.
The Fairfax report “shocks the conscience,” the department’s acting general counsel, Candice Jackson, said in a statement.
“Children do not belong to the government — decisions touching deeply-held values should be made within loving families,” Jackson said. “It is both morally unconscionable and patently illegal for school officials to keep parents in the dark about such intimate, life-altering procedures pertaining to their children.”
Jackson said the Trump administration will “take swift and decisive action” to “restore parental authority.”
Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, this week spoke out against a proposed amendment to create a right to abortion in the Virginia Constitution.
“While the amendment is not yet on the ballot, the outcome of this fall’s elections will determine whether it advances or is halted,” he said in an October “Respect Life Month” message.
“If adopted, this amendment would embed in our state constitution a purported right to abortion through all nine months of pregnancy with no age limits,” he said.
He noted that Virginia has “some modest protections” for life, but “the proposed amendment would likely make it impossible … to pass similar protective laws in the future.”
Protections for unborn children, for parental consent, and for conscience rights “would be severely jeopardized under this amendment,” he added.
“Parents have the sacred right to be involved in the most serious decisions facing their daughters,” Burbidge said. “No one should ever be forced to participate in or pay for an abortion.”
“Most importantly, the lives of vulnerable women and their unborn children are sacred and must be welcomed and protected,” he said.
He called on Catholics to not “remain silent,” urging the faithful to inform themselves and others about “the devastating impact this amendment would have.”
“Our faith compels us to stand firmly for life, in prayer and witness, and also in advocacy and action,” he said.
“We must speak with clarity and compassion in the public square, reminding our legislators and neighbors that true justice is measured by how we treat the most defenseless among us,” he concluded.
The only two Planned Parenthood locations in Louisiana closed this week following the Trump administration’s decision to halt federal funding for abortion providers for a year.
The president of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast cited “political attacks” as the reason for the closures of the two facilities located in Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
The closures follow a court ruling last month enforcing the Trump administration’s defunding of Planned Parenthood, which halted government funding for abortion providers.
Louisiana authorities issued an arrest warrant for a California doctor for allegedly providing abortion drugs to a woman without consulting her.
The woman, Rosalie Markezich, said she felt coerced into the abortion by her boyfriend at the time, who arranged for an abortionist in California to prescribe drugs to induce a chemical abortion.
The same abortionist, Remy Coeytaux, has faced charges for telehealth abortions after the abortionist allegedly sent abortion pills to Texas, where they are illegal.
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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 3, 2025 / 09:30 am (CNA).
A federal court awarded nominal damages to a Christian photographer after the city government of Louisville, Kentucky, sought to enforce an anti-discrimination ordinance that could have forced her to provide photography services for same-sex civil weddings.
Judge Benjamin Beaton found that Louisville’s Fairness Ordinance contained “two provisions” that limited the expression of Christian wedding photographer Chelsey Nelson, who sought $1 in damages. The court awarded Nelson the requested damages.
According to the ruling, the ordinance prohibited “the denial of goods and services to members of protected classes,” which includes people with same-sex attraction.
The publication provision of the ordinance also prevented her “from writing and publishing any indication or explanation that she wouldn’t photograph same-sex weddings, or that otherwise causes someone to feel unwelcome or undesirable based on his or her sexual orientation or gender identity.”
Both provisions, Beaton ruled, “limit Nelson’s freedom to express her beliefs about marriage.”
The court stated Nelson “suffered a First Amendment injury” because she decided to limit the promotion of her business, ignore opportunities posted online, refrain from advertising to grow her business, and censored herself, which was done to avoid prosecution.
“The government can’t force Americans to say things they don’t believe, and state officials have paid and will continue to pay a price when they violate this foundational freedom,” Nelson said in a statement through her attorneys at Alliance Defending Freedom following the ruling.
“The freedom to speak without fear of censorship is a God-given constitutionally guaranteed right,” she added.
In his ruling, Beaton noted the Supreme Court set nationwide precedent when it ruled on 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis. In that decision, the court ruled a Colorado law violated a web designer’s First Amendment rights because it would have forced him to design websites for same-sex civil weddings in spite of his religious beliefs.
Beaton wrote that in spite of the Supreme Court precedent, “Louisville apparently still ‘actively enforces’ the ordinance … [and] still won’t concede that the First Amendment protects Nelson from compelled expression.”
His ruling noted that the mayor publicly stated that he would keep enforcing the ordinance, including against Nelson, after the 303 Creative decision.
Although the city’s lawyers argued in court that the city did not intend to enforce the law against Nelson, Beaton wrote: “Nothing in Louisville’s informal disavowal would prevent the city from making good on that promise [to enforce the rule against Nelson] tomorrow.”
“Anyone who’s tussled with the city’s lawyers this long and who continues to do business in and around Louisville might reasonably look askance at the city’s assurances that enforcement is unlikely,” Beaton wrote in his ruling.
Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Bryan Neihart said in a statement that “free speech is for everyone” and the precedent set in 303 Creative ensures that Americans “have the freedom to express and create messages that align with their beliefs without fear of government punishment.”
“For over five years, Louisville officials said they could force Chelsey to promote views about marriage that violated her religious beliefs,” he said.
“But the First Amendment leaves decisions about what to say with the people, not the government. The district court’s decision rests on this bedrock First Amendment principle and builds on the victory in 303 Creative.”
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Netflix has come under fire recently for inserting trans content in its kids’ programming. In response to the controversy, the streaming platform revealed plans to revamp its entire children’s section with new shows designed to win back angry parents.
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TULSA, OK — One local Conservative family announced this week that they would absolutely be canceling their Netflix account forever for the fifth time.
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Feskekôrka (meaning “fish church”) is a historic building in Gothenburg, Sweden that formerly housed an indoor fish market. Its name is based on the building’s resemblance to a neo-Gothic church.
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