INTERNACIONAL
Pope Leo XIV, Villanova grad, introduces himself adorned in symbolism, proverbial religious devotion
As silence and stillness calmed the eager world, Cardinal Protodeacon Dominique Mamberti, overlooking a sea of tens of thousands of teary-eyed viewers in St. Peter’s Square, introduced Catholics and non-faithful to the newest pontiff.
American Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost, was elected to take the papal seat and succeed the deceased Pope Francis on May 8, 2025, after four rounds of conclave voting by 133 members of the College of Cardinals.
As the world explores both the tender and commanding qualities that make Pope Leo XIV papabile and worthy of the Vicar of Christ title, one place, a small place of around 10,000 people, is beaming with pride for the newly elected Chicago-native.
‘DIO BENEDICA IL PAPA’, OTHER WELL WISHES FOR THE NEW PONTIFF, POPE LEO XIV, IN ITALIAN
Cardinal Robert Prevost of the United States, the newly elected Pope Leo XIV, appears on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on May 8, 2025. (REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane)
«It’s a super-happy day for all Catholics to have a new pope,» Patrick Brennan, chair of Catholic Legal Studies at Villanova University, told Fox News Digital.
«I was sitting in the studio when I discovered, as everyone else did, that it was a Villanova graduate who was now the pope.»
Pope Leo XIV is a graduate of the Class of 1977.
Villanova University, a private Catholic university 12 miles outside of Philadelphia, enrolls just 6,700 undergraduate students and 3,100 graduate and law students, according to its website.
«It’s a hometown boy not just makes good but breaks all the molds,» Brennan said. «We have an American pope.»
FIRST AMERICAN ELECTED PONTIFF, GET TO KNOW POPE LEO XIV
Cardinal Robert Prevost, the newly elected Pope Leo XIV, is from Chicago. (Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters)
Pope Leo XIV is the first pope to ever be elected from the United States.
Despite skepticism that the Sacred College would vote for an American pope, Brennan says he was «thrilled» to hear the announcement of Prevost.
«The people that I know who know him think that he’s a wonderful priest,» Brennan told Fox News Digital. «He’s been a wonderful member of the Augustinian order, and we know that Pope Francis has entrusted him with great responsibilities. It’s a happy day.»
Photo of Villanova University’s entrance in Pennsylvania. (Google Maps) (Google Maps)
Prevost was created a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2023.
The Augustinian religious order, formerly known as the Order of Saint Augustine and deeply rooted in the beliefs and teachings of influential theologian Saint Augustine, bishop of Hippo, was established in the 13th century.
WORLD LEADERS CONGRATULATE POPE LEO XIV, FIRST AMERICAN PONTIFF
Cardinal Robert Prevost, the newly elected Pope Leo XIV, is from Chicago. (REUTERS/Murad Sezer)
«The Augustinians are not as well-known in the United States as the Jesuits are an important part of the life of the American church,» Brennan said.
Pope Francis, a Jesuit and the first to serve as a pontificate, made history as the first member of a religious order in centuries.
Pope Leo XIV has followed suit historically.
«Though they don’t have the presence that the Jesuits do, they do an amazing job,» Brennan said of the Augustinians. «This will give a huge vote of confidence for them about the work they’re doing in the Church.»
In 1842, the Augustinians founded Villanova University in downtown Philadelphia until later relocating to suburban Philly, where the college is surrounded by lush greenery and beautiful architecture.
POPE LEO XIV IS ESCORTED OUT OF SISTINE CHAPEL AFTER BECOMING 267TH POPE
Cardinal Robert Prevost, the newly elected Pope Leo XIV, appears on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on May 8, 2025. (Claudia Greco/Reuters)
«When [Pope Leo XIV] would have been in Villanova in the 1970s, it was a beautiful suburban campus of a small Catholic liberal arts college with high standards and a great love of the Catholic tradition and a whole lot of Villanova spirit,» Brennan said. «When I came to Villanova, I was stunned, and I still am by the incredible enthusiasm Villanova students and alumni have for their experience and for the Villanova community.»
Pope Leo XIV celebrated his electoral triumph by praying the prayer of the blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, with the world.
«I think that that was one of the ways he symbolized his traditional piety,» Brennan said.
WHO IS POPE LEO XIV?
Pope Leo XIV graduated from Villanova University in 1977. (Stoyan Nenov/Reuters)
«His desire to signal to the world that he’s a Catholic who prays the way that Catholics traditionally do. Pope Francis was known for his great devotion to the blessed Virgin Mary, which is part of the reason he made the unusual decision to be buried in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore.»
Pope Francis, shortly after becoming the Bishop of Rome in 2013, revealed his burial plans.
«Choosing to pray the Hail Mary was a signal of continuity and piety,» Brennan said of Pope Leo XIV.
Finally, for the namesake, Brennan says he envisions the selection was made as a symbolic gesture.
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Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost, was introduced to the world by Cardinal Protodeacon Dominique Mamberti. (Remo Casilli/Reuters)
«He jumped over a whole century, back to the name of a pope who died in 1903 who left the Church a huge legacy of deep understanding of the place of a human person and the Catholic Church in the modern world,» Brennan said.
«I think Pope Leo XIV, by choosing that name, is attaching himself to a legacy that he can, and I believe intends to, open for a world that’s changed a great deal and needs new light and understanding of the kind he probably associates and finds in the world of Pope Leo XIII,» Brennan said.
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The Trump administration is releasing roughly $6.8 billion in previously frozen federal funds for K-12 programs, the Department of Education announced Friday. The announcement was made as Secretary Linda McMahon attended the National Governors Association (NGA) Summer Meeting in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) «has completed its review of Title I-C, Title II-A, Title III-A and Title IV-A ESEA funds and Title II WIOA funds and has directed the Department to release all formula funds. The agency will begin dispersing funds to states next week,» department spokesperson Madi Biedermann told Fox News Digital.
More than 20 Democratic attorneys general sued the Trump administration earlier this month, describing the Department of Education’s federal funding freeze as unconstitutional and «debilitating» to states just weeks ahead of a new school year.
The bipartisan group of governors, including the NGA’s outgoing chair, Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado, and its vice chair, Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, thanked McMahon for unlocking the funding during the NGA’s education session Friday.
DEMOCRAT AGS SUE TRUMP FOR ‘UNCONSCIONABLE’ FREEZE ON $6.8B IN K-12 SPENDING
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon testifies at a House Committee on Appropriations subcommittee budget hearing on the Department of Education on Capitol Hill May 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
«How can we better communicate to make sure that this chaos and uncertainty doesn’t occur again around funding and that people know things earlier?» Polis asked McMahon on the Colorado Springs stage.
«No guarantees from me that we will eliminate all the communications gaps that do happen, but I can say that part of it is just the transition aspect,» McMahon explained.
The education secretary said the other aspect of the federal funding freeze was that the OMB budget office «took some time to really review the title funding to look at all the programs, etc., before they were released. They were well satisfied. So, now, those funds are going to be going out.»
TRUMP ADMIN SEEKING TO PULL FUNDING FROM LOCAL GOVERNMENTS SLAPPED WITH JUDGE’S PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, the National Governors Association’s outgoing chair, discusses American education with Education Secretary Linda McMahon at the NGA Summer meeting in Colorado Springs, Colo., Friday, July 25, 2025. (Deirdre Heavey/Fox News Digital)
McMahon assured the governors that now that they have reviewed title funding and gone through the process, «we wouldn’t find ourselves in the same situation.»
Several of the governors who attended Polis and McMahon’s education discussion and had the opportunity to ask questions thanked the education leader for returning the federal title funds to the states.
Polis kicked off the NGA’s summer session in Colorado Springs Friday with his signature policy agenda, «Let’s Get Ready! Educating All Americans for Success.»
EDUCATION SECRETARY LINDA MCMAHON TOUTS COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY’S $200M SETTLEMENT ‘TEMPLATE’
Education Secretary Linda McMahon delivers remarks at the National Governors Association summer meeting in Colorado Springs, Colo., Friday, July 25. (Deirdre Heavey/Fox News Digital)
McMahon said she was appreciative of the governors’ questions and comments, and she committed to visiting as many states and speaking with as many governors as possible to grasp the full scope of the country’s diverse educational needs.
Polis and Stitt said in a joint statement released by NGA that they are «thankful these bipartisan discussions with Secretary McMahon and other key officials during the NGA Summer Meeting led to the distribution of these education funds.»
«This action ensures schools across the nation can maintain essential programs for English language learners, teacher training, and student enrichment as the new academic year begins,» the NGA leaders said, emphasizing that «governors from both parties stand united in prioritizing our children’s education, and we’re proud our advocacy helped secure this vital support for states and districts.»
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital ahead of her remarks, McMahon affirmed her commitment to collaborating with governors as the Trump administration seeks to dismantle the Department of Education.
«It’s just incredibly important that if we are going to return education to the states, we have to talk to the governors,» McMahon said.
«Clearly, education is a nonpartisan issue,» McMahon added. «If we’re going to return education to the states, that just means giving them back the part that is now provided by the federal government, and they’re anxious for it.»
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Trump signed an executive order earlier this year to dismantle the Department of Education, fulfilling one of his key campaign promises during the 2024 presidential election.
Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.
INTERNACIONAL
Europeans meet with Iranian officials face-to-face for first time since Israel, US bombings as sanctions loom
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European diplomats met with Iranians on Friday face-to-face for the first time since Israel and the U.S. bombed the country last month.
The «serious, frank and detailed» meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, lasted for around four hours and the officials all agreed to meet again for continued negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program.
Sanctions that were lifted on Iran in 2015 after it agreed to restrictions and monitoring of its nuclear program could be reimposed if Iran doesn’t comply with requirements.
One of Europe’s E3 nations – Britain, France and Germany, who held the talks with Iran – could bring back sanctions under the «snapback» mechanism, which allows one of the European countries to bring back U.N. sanctions if Iran violates the conditions.
IRAN SEEKS CHINA, RUSSIA HELP TO STALL UN SANCTIONS AHEAD OF NUCLEAR TALKS WITH EUROPEANS
Cars, which are believed to carry European diplomats, enter the Iranian consulate ahead of a meeting with Iranian counterparts for talks over Tehran’s nuclear program, in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, July 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
European leaders have also said that sanctions will start being reinstated by the end of August if there is no progress on reining in Iran’s nuclear program.
«A possible delay in triggering snapback has been floated to the Iranians on the condition that there is credible diplomatic engagement by Iran, that they resume full cooperation with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), and that they address concerns about their highly-enriched uranium stockpile,» a European diplomat said on condition of anonymity before the talks on Friday.
The diplomat added that the snapback mechanism «remains on the table.»
Iranian worshippers shout anti-U.S. and anti-Israeli slogans as one of them holds a portrait of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during an anti-Israeli rally to condemn Israeli attacks on Iran, after Tehran’s Friday prayers in Tehran, Iran, on June 20, 2025. (Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
IRAN VOWS RETALIATION IF UN SECURITY COUNCIL ISSUES SNAPBACK SANCTIONS ON ANNIVERSARY OF NUCLEAR DEAL
Iran said that the U.S. needs to rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal – after President Trump pulled America out of it in 2018 – saying Iran has «absolutely no trust in the United States.»
The U.S. bombed Iran’s nuclear sites on June 22, a little over a week after Israel had bombed the country over national security concerns about its nuclear program.
A military truck carries a missile past a portrait of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during an annual military parade. (ATTA KENARE/AFP/GettyImages))
Iran responded by attacking Israel and a U.S. Army base in Qatar.
Isreal and Iran agreed to a ceasefire on June 24.
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The IAEA issued a concerning report in May that said that Iran’s stockpile of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium had grown by nearly 50% in three months.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
INTERNACIONAL
¿Guerra en el Sudeste asiático? Las claves de los enfrentamientos mortales entre Tailandia y Camboya, enemigos históricos
Una nueva guerra en un mundo poblado de conflictos, con profundas raíces hostiles de hace siglos entre Tailandia y Camboya, se perfila en el sudeste asiático. Para este viernes fue convocado de urgencia el Consejo de Seguridad de las Naciones Unidas para tratar de evitar un estallido en una zona delicada del mundo, cada vez más inestable por la difusión de guerras locales.
Tailandia ordenó evacuar más de cien mil nacionales de la frontera en conflicto, de ochocientos kilómetros, y se han producido los primeros choques por incursiones camboyanas, con un saldo de catorce muertos. Y es solo el comienzo.
En Roma se están juntando más de un millón de jóvenes para celebrar desde el lunes 28 hasta el 3 de agosto el Jubileo Mundial del Año 2025 dedicado a la Juventud bajo la popular consigna de dar “un grito contra la guerra”, que sería conmovido por un abierto conflicto entre Tailandia y Camboya.
En ambos países el poder militar es determinante en el gobierno del país desde hace muchos años. Tailandia, con 71 millones de habitantes distribuidos en 53.000 kilómetros cuadrados de territorio es predominante sobre Camboya, con 17 millones de habitantes repartidos en 181 mil kilómetros cuadrados y un fuerte aparto militar bien entrenado.
En el siglo XX, Francia, la potencia colonial, diseñó en 1907 los confines entre Camboya y el reino de Siam, la actual Tailandia, asignando una buena parte a los camboyanos. Hasta 1953 Francia ocupó Indochina. Las fronteras nunca fueron aceptadas por los dos países y hasta hoy se prolongan los choques armados.
El jueves los ataques principales los lanzó Camboya y Tailandia ordenó la evacuación y respondió con incursiones aéreas. Los sentimientos nacionalistas aumentan los odios mutuos. Pero también la lucha se exalta con la religión, en la lucha por la posesión de los numerosos templos budistas e hinduistas, que se remontan a muchos siglos y están parcialmente en ruinas, aunque son de una gran belleza y valor arquitectónica, además de su importancia religiosa.
Ya en mayo pasado la crisis había escalado, con la muerte de un soldado camboyano y las graves heridas de un militar tailandés tras pisar una mina en el confín de Chong Bok.
El premier thailandés Phumtham Wechayachai acusó a Camboya de colocar nuevas minas en la vasta área en contienda. Los camboyanos rechazaron las protestas, advirtiendo que el gobierno de Phnom Penh, la capital, defenderá la integridad territorial “en cualquier circunstancia y a cualquier costo”
En los dos países el poder militar respalda el “no pasarán”. En 2011 los choques causaron treinta muertos. Todos saben que si los enfrentamientos no son controlados la violencia se derramará en toda la frontera.
Tailandia demuestra el ulterior deterioro de las relaciones bilaterales rebajando “al nivel más bajo” las relaciones diplomáticas. Su gobierno llamó al embajador en la capital de Camboya y echó del país al embajador camboyano.
Hace dos meses que la situación va precipitando, con controles fronterizos intensificados. Tailandia ha cerrado muchos pasos con su potencial enemigo, con represalias camboyanas inmediatas. Camboya anunció que se implanta la extensión del servicio militar obligatorio desde enero de 2026.
Camboya ha prohibido la importación de fruta y verdura. También de combustible, desde Tailandia. Ambos países han reducido la duración de los permisos de residencia mutuos.
Las medidas continuas que atacan la convivencia a través de las frontera, se han intensificado en los últimos meses también en zonas donde hasta ahora no hubo enfrentamientos.
Estados Unidos se ha limitado a hacer llamados a los dos países para negociar una convivencia pacífica, pero no se muestra decidido a una mediación que, por otra parte, no le han pedido ni Tailandia ni Camboya.
La crisis progresiva repercute en la política interna de los contendientes. El gobierno tailandés ha sido acusado por la oposición y sectores de las mismas fuerzas de la mayoría, pidiendo la dimisión de la premier.
Lo mismo ocurre en Camboya, que además se ha apelado en el reciente pasado a la Corte Internacional de Justicia para resolver las controversias sobre las fronteras.
Tailandia no acepta la jurisdicción de la Corte y prefiere resolver las cuestiones “a través de negociaciones directas”, que muchas veces no dan resultado y llevan a enfrentamientos directos, que esta vez tienen una perspectiva muy grave.
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