TUESDAY, JUNE 30

SUPREME COURT LETS STAND $5M CARROLL VERDICT AGAINST TRUMP The Supreme Court declined yesterday to hear President Trump's appeal of a $5 million civil judgment against him after a 2023 federal jury found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming E. Jean Carroll. Trump called the case "Fake" and vowed to keep fighting, while Carroll separately holds an $83.3 million defamation judgment against him that Trump has also signaled he will ask the court to review. READ

VATICAN, US RUSH AID TO VENEZUELA AS DEATH TOLL TOPS 1,700 The U.S. committed $150 million in humanitarian assistance and deployed search-and-rescue teams to Venezuela following twin earthquakes that killed more than 1,700 people, while Pope Leo XIV authorized an emergency Vatican donation and Catholic Relief Services mobilized through the Caritas Venezuela network. Church leaders said thousands remain missing beneath the rubble as hospitals, utilities, and roads across the devastated region continue to fail. READ

BISHOP BARRON WARNS AGAINST RISE OF SOCIALISM, COMMUNISM IN US POLITICS Bishop Robert Barron warned yesterday that Americans should not be complacent about the growing political success of self-described socialists and communists, arguing that communism is fundamentally hostile to religion because "what stands resolutely athwart" total state control "is religion, which declares that all of these societal expressions are finally under the judgment of God." READ

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TRUMP ANNOUNCES IRAN TALKS IN DOHA President Donald Trump said yesterday that U.S. envoys will meet with Iranian representatives in Doha today, calling it a meeting Iran had "requested" — though Tehran denied asking for direct talks. The announcement came after days of renewed military strikes threatened to collapse the fragile truce. READ

WASHINGTON POST BACKS DOMINICAN SISTERS IN NY GENDER MANDATE FIGHT The Washington Post editorial board sided with the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne in an opinion piece, calling New York's effort to force the sisters' cancer hospice to comply with the state's gender identity rules "legal harassment" and "politically motivated virtue signaling." The board noted that no patient at the sisters' nursing home has ever complained about the issue and urged New York to "let these sisters care for the dying poor in peace." READ

NOTRE DAME INVESTIGATION FINDS ABUSE BY 2 FORMER PRIESTS An independent investigation released by the University of Notre Dame found that two Holy Cross priests who served at the school in the 1980s and 1990s sexually abused and groomed male students, with one priest subjecting at least 15 students to a grooming scheme over nearly two decades. The report also found the university's failure to recognize the conduct as grooming when allegations first surfaced in 2018 delayed uncovering the full extent of the abuse. READ

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POLL: 96% OF REPUBLICANS, INDEPENDENTS BACK MOTHER-FATHER FAMILY A new survey released on the anniversary of the Obergefell decision found that 96% of Republican and independent voters believe children should be raised by both a mother and a father whenever possible. The Greater Than coalition, which commissioned the poll, said the results show the belief remains "a defining value shared across the conservative movement." READ

POPE LEO: PETER AND PAUL WERE OPPOSITES Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass at St. Peter's Basilica June 29 for the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, reflecting that the two apostles were starkly different from one another — and that the Holy Spirit "did not want their differences to be hidden," presenting them instead as "good news." READ

HOW TO DRESS CHIC ON VACATION There is nothing quite like the rush of packing a suitcase, printing your boarding pass, and heading out for a summer getaway. Whether you’re managing airport logistics with kids, taking a long-awaited office break, or jetting off to a coastal resort, looking put-together while traveling is easier than you think. READ

CATHOLIC 101 How can the practice of art help us understand Scriptures? Zeale's Rosie Hall writes how principles of art theory teach us about Scriptural meditation. READ

SAINT OF THE DAY Today the Church celebrates the First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church, the unnamed Christians killed during Emperor Nero’s persecution after the Great Fire of Rome in A.D. 64. Though history has forgotten many of their names, the Church remembers their courageous witness and fidelity to Christ. READ

DAILY PSALM "Lead me in your justice, Lord." (Psalm 5) READ

DAILY READINGS Today's Mass readings. READ

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