“Hungarian election winner Péter Magyar on Monday announced the first round of his incoming government’s Cabinet members, including nominees for ministers of foreign affairs, finance and economy, following the first meeting of his party’s parliamentary group. Magyar and his center-right Tisza party defeated Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in a landslide election on April 12, securing a two-thirds majority in Hungary’s next parliament which will make it possible to undo many of the policies Orbán implemented during his 16 years in power. The opposition leader has vowed to restore democratic institutions and the rule of law which eroded under Orbán’s rule, and to hold accountable those who he says were responsible for overseeing and benefiting from widespread official corruption. Magyar’s party gained 141 seats out of 199 in parliament — the largest majority in Hungary’s post-Communist history. Orbán’s far-right, euroskeptic Fidesz party will control 52 seats, down from 135 before the election.” (04/20/26)
“The US government under Donald Trump has twice used disingenuous negotiations with Iran to provide cover for attacking it, in June 2025 and again before launching the current war in February. Now it is trying to do so for a third time. On April 8, the US and Iran began a two week ceasefire, after Trump accepted a 10-point peace plan drawn up by Iran as ‘a workable basis on which to negotiate’. But Vice President Vance and US negotiators rejected Iran’s plan out of hand at talks in Pakistan on April 11, and instead demanded that Iran must give up its right as a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (or NPT) to enrich uranium for civilian purposes. The talks ended with no agreement. As the end of the ceasefire on April 22 drew near, Trump claimed that Iran had agreed to US demands on enriched uranium and other matters.” (04/20/26)
“‘If man is not fit to govern himself, how can he be fit to govern someone else?’ – James Madison … A very clear — and truthful — analysis by Mr. Madison, and it explains in a few words, the problem with most governments in history, and that includes the current American government. As I have noted countless times, the American Founders said that the country cannot succeed without a virtuous people electing virtuous leaders. Well, people elected Eric Swalwell, who is the epitome of vice and immorality. Swalwell is human scum, but what does his election to Congress tell us about the people who put him there in the first place? And do we really think the people of his Congressional district are going to learn from their folly and replace Swalwell with a paragon of Christian virtue?” (04/20/26)
“Serbia could lose access to around 1.5 billion euros ($1.8 billion) in European Union funds if it fails to halt democratic backsliding, EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos warned on Monday. International monitors have said they had witnessed violence and irregularities during last month’s local elections in 10 Serbian municipalities. ‘We are increasingly worried about what is happening in Serbia,’ Kos told EU lawmakers. She said the European Commission is ‘assessing whether the country still fulfills the conditions for payments under the EU’s financial instruments.’ Kos said the commission’s concerns range from ‘laws that undermine the independence of the judiciary, to crackdowns on protesters and recurrent meddling in independent media.’ Serbia qualifies for a big slice of an EU fund to promote growth in countries trying to join the bloc if they carry out reforms. Kos said Belgrade has received 110 million euros ($130 million), but that still ‘leaves around 1.5 billion under a question mark.'” (04/20/26)
“On Thursday and Friday, there seemed to be progress toward a war-ending deal. President Trump went along with an Iranian demand that Israel must cease bombing Lebanon as a precondition to talks. … on Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X that the Strait of Hormuz was ‘completely open.’ Trump claimed that a deal was at hand, leading the stock market to jump and the price of oil to fall. In ordinary diplomacy, this is how a deal unfolds. Each side offers the other something constructive, a process that builds confidence and trust, until eventually a firm agreement can be signed. But Trump is not a ordinary diplomat. Only a few hours after Araghchi proclaimed the strait open, Trump closed it again, announcing that the U.S. would continue its own blockade of the strait ‘until such time as our transaction with Iran is 100% complete,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social.” (04/20/26)
“British Prime Minister Keir Starmer acknowledged Monday that he made the wrong judgment when he picked Jeffrey Epstein ’s friend Peter Mandelson as U.K. ambassador to Washington, batting away a barrage of calls to resign over a scandal that has left his leadership teetering. Starmer said he would have withdrawn the appointment if he’d known Mandelson had failed security checks, as he tried to explain why Mandelson was given the U.K.’s most important diplomatic post. Starmer placed blame squarely on Foreign Office officials who he said failed to tell him about the security concerns and approved Mandelson’s appointment despite them. Starmer told lawmakers in the House of Commons that ‘I would not have gone ahead with the appointment’ had he known the truth.” (04/20/26)
“Last week, in Nebraska, Noemi Guzman tried to kidnap a 3-year-old from Walmart. Horrific bodycam footage from the police shows her holding a knife over the boy, slashing him, before cops shot her dead. Two years prior, a judge let Guzman off for a raft of felony charges, including arson and assault, by reason of insanity. One of the most horrific crimes this decade happened last August, when, on Charlotte North Carolina’s transit system, a mentally ill man named Decarlos Brown allegedly stabbed to death Iryna Zarutska, a complete stranger and Ukrainian refugee. Brown suffers from schizophrenia, yet was let go for previous crimes. His mother said she tried to get him involuntarily committed but was refused.” (04/19/26)
“In late March, I sat in the gallery of the Supreme Court for the first time in my life. Throughout my 30 years of grassroots anti-poverty work, I’ve joined countless protests and vigils outside the Court. In 2018, I was even arrested and held in detention for praying on its palatial steps. Now, I was seated with a clear view of the nine justices of the nation’s highest court. I was there as a guest of immigrant rights lawyers, as their team made oral arguments in Noem v. Al Otro Lado, the most significant case on the right to asylum in decades. In February, the Kairos Center (the organization I direct) authored an interfaith amicus brief on that very case, alongside 31 denominations and organizations representing faith traditions practiced by billions worldwide. Those groups… joined together to declare that our societal obligation to provide for persecuted outsiders is a universally shared moral principle.” (04/20/26)
“The clip-clop of horse hooves echoed as Paul Revere rode through the streets of Boston’s North End on Monday — a reenactment of his historic midnight ride, but with some modern-day tweaks: this time, the revolutionary hero set out under bright daylight and a police escort. Residents lined the narrow streets as the rider passed, some lifting phones to record while others waved, clapped and called out, ‘Here he comes!’ and ‘We love you, Paul!’ The ride cut through dense city blocks where everyday life continued alongside the spectacle — people walking dogs, jogging and moving through parks and apartment-lined streets, some pausing to watch, others carrying on. Mary McCabe, who came from Lowell with her daughter Cecily, said it was interesting ‘just to see how different messages traveled back then.’ Cecily, who said she loves learning about the American Revolution, said seeing the reenactment in person made history feel more real.” (04/20/26)
“Luis Hernandez, then 35, woke to a gray, hazy sky on Feb. 17, 2024. He opted for a warm sweater and cargo pants with pockets just big enough to hold his spare canister of oxygen, but he hoped he wouldn’t need it. It would be a big day out for him and his friends — the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif., was hosting a special Pokemon Go event where some of the rarest Pokemon could be found. When the group arrived, they headed straight to the belly of the bowl, blanketed with bright green turf. Hernandez settled into a rhythm: Walk 50 feet. Pause for 30 minutes. Catch some Pokemon. Walk another 50 feet. Pause another 30 minutes. Catch some Pokemon. Walk another 50 feet. Pause another 30 minutes. When he started gasping for air, he sat down — on a chair if he was lucky, the turf if he was not.” (04/20/26)
