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David Axelrod trying to tamp down speculation after meeting the pope
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David Axelrod, a senior advisor to former president Barack Obama, put out a statement on X quelling rumors that a Thursday meeting between himself and Pope Leo XIV was a precursor to a potential Leo-Obama summit.
«To be clear, I was gratified and honored that Pope Leo XIV granted my request for an audience and thrilled to spend a some time with him last week,» Axelrod wrote.
«It was scheduled months ago and unrelated to any prospective meeting with President Obama,» his Tuesday post concluded.
Despite the statement, Obama has been open about his desire to meet with Pope Leo. Obama-Biden White House alum Christopher Hale posted on X that there are «early talks» about a potential one-on-one.
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David Axelrod speaks on stage during the «Election 2024» panel for The Atlantic Festival on Sept. 20, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Morigi/Getty Images)
Axelrod, now a CNN analyst, was responding to a video from his own network in which conservative commentator Hal Lambert accused Pope Leo’s recent criticisms of President Donald Trump and the war in Iran of being politically motivated.
«David Axelrod goes and visits Pope Leo last week. They’re talking about Obama going to visit. Pope Leo is from Chicago. All of a sudden, now Pope Leo is out attacking Trump and the policies of the United States and Israel,» Lambert said during a CNN panel show.
«Axelrod is the chief strategist for Obama. The pope was saying he’s not political. Why is he meeting with the chief strategist for both Obama’s campaign and in the White House?» Lambert asked.
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In addition to being a senior advisor to Obama in the White House, Axelrod was also the chief strategist for both Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns and was widely seen as the brains behind his successful runs.
The veteran politico met with Pope Leo on April 9. The pope’s criticism’s of Trump’s military actions predate the meeting. He’s been critical of both military actions in Venezuela and in Iran, telling a Palm Sunday Mass in March that God «does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war.»
But one day after his meeting with Axelrod, Pope Leo wrote what appeared to be a direct rebuke to the administration.
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«God does not bless any conflict. Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs,» Pope Leo wrote in an April 10 post on X.
Pope Leo XIV speaks to the media on the U.S.–Israeli conflict with Iran, in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, April 7, 2026. (Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters)
«Military action will not create space for freedom or times of Peace, which comes only from the patient promotion of coexistence and dialogue among peoples,» he concluded.
The post, which has been followed with at least 10 direct or indirect references to war and peace in the five days since, came days after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth spoke of the rescue mission to save a downed airman in Iran.
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«Shot down on a Friday — Good Friday — hidden in a cave — a crevice — all of Saturday and rescued on Sunday,» Hegseth said. «Flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday, a pilot reborn. All home and accounted for. A nation rejoicing. God is good,» Hegseth said in an April 6 press conference.
Trump responded to comments from Pope Leo, calling him «weak on crime and «terrible for foreign policy,» in a post on Truth Social.
«Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician. It’s hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it’s hurting the Catholic Church,» Trump also wrote.
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The heightened rhetoric has contributed to an atmosphere that many are increasingly viewing as political.
Then-President Barack Obama and David Axelrod seen at the White House. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
«It’s not about when it was scheduled. It’s about why? David Axelrod is a powerful Democrat political strategist. That’s his job for the past 30 years. Millions of people would like a private audience with the pope, but he is meeting with a powerful strategist for the opposition party to President Trump,» Lambert told Fox News Digital.
«This is all about the midterms and trying to turn Catholics against President Trump and Republicans,» Lambert concluded.
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Besides incurring the pope’s ire, Trump has also irked Christians across the board after posting an AI-generated image of himself on Truth Social that many viewed as depicting himself as Jesus Christ.
Trump deleted the photo and denied the charge, claiming he thought the photo was depicting him as a doctor.
«I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor and had to do with Red Cross… which we support, and only the fake news could come up with that one,» Trump told reporters.
«As a Chicagoan, I’ve been eager to meet Pope Leo from the moment he stepped out on the balcony,» Axelrod told Fox News Digital.
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«My admiration for him as a great moral leader has only grown since. The audience, which I requested, was scheduled months ago. No one sent me and the only mission I was on was to visit with him and pay my respects,» he concluded.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Vatican and an Obama representative for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
pope leo xiv, barack obama, politics, white house, foreign policy
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Russia hammered civilian areas of Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles in an attack that stretched for hours from daytime into the night, killing at least 16 people and injuring more than 80 others as terrified residents cowered in their homes, officials said Thursday.
Russia launched nearly 700 drones and dozens of ballistic and cruise missiles, primarily targeting civilians, in its biggest aerial barrage in almost two weeks, authorities said.
Tetiana Sokol, a 54-year-old resident of Kyiv, said two missiles hit near her home and she took cover with her dog in the hallway as flashes lit up the night and windows shattered from the blast wave.
«On the third attack everything broke, everything flew, we were shocked, we didn’t know where to run. I grabbed whatever came to hand and ran away with the dog,» she told The Associated Press. «I still can’t find the cats in the house, they climbed out somewhere, I don’t even know. No windows, nothing, the dog is still walking around in stress.»
RUSSIAN WINTER STRIKE LEAVES NEARLY 800K HOMES WITHOUT POWER AND HEAT IN UKRAINE’S DNIPRO REGION
Firefighters work to extinguish a fire in Kyiv after a Russian strike on April 16, 2026. Russia launched hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles at civilian areas across Ukraine, killing at least 16 people and injuring more than 80, officials said. (Serhii Okunev / AFP via Getty Images)
Moscow’s forces have hit civilian areas almost daily since its all-out invasion of its neighbor more than four years ago, with the regular assaults occasionally punctuated by massive attacks. More than 15,000 Ukrainian civilians have died in the strikes, the United Nations says.
Zelenskyy on a mission to improve air defenses
The latest bombardment came in the wake of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s 48-hour trip this week to Germany, Norway and Italy in an urgent search for more air defense systems that can stop Russian missiles.
Ukraine has developed a significant domestic arms industry, especially in the production of drones and missiles, but it can’t yet match the sophistication of U.S. Patriot air defense systems. Ukraine’s top diplomatic priority is securing allies’ help to buy and build more and better air defenses, Zelenskyy said this week.
Cash-strapped Ukraine also needs the speedy disbursement of a promised loan from the European Union of 90 billion euros ($106 billion) that has been blocked by Hungary.
Ukraine fears the Iran war is burning through stockpiles of the advanced American-made systems it needs, and has argued against a U.S. temporary waiver on Russian oil sanctions that Kyiv says is helping finance the Kremlin’s war effort.
US ACCUSES RUSSIA OF ‘DANGEROUS AND INEXPLICABLE ESCALATION’ IN UKRAINE WAR DURING PEACE NEGOTIATIONS
A woman walks her dog through the rubble of a house damaged in a Russian strike on Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 16, 2026. Officials said Russian forces fired nearly 700 drones and multiple missiles in a sweeping attack on Ukrainian civilians that lasted from day into night. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
«Another night has proven that Russia does not deserve any easing of global policy or lifting of sanctions,» Zelenskyy said on X.
He thanked Germany, Norway and Italy for new agreements this week on supporting Ukraine’s air defense. Officials are also working with the Netherlands on additional supplies, he said.
At the same time, he noted that some partner countries haven’t followed through on pledges of military support.
«I have instructed the Commander of the Air Force to contact those partners who earlier committed to providing missiles for Patriot and other systems,» Zelenskyy said.
Other areas of Ukraine and Russia were also hit
The bombardment was the biggest in weeks. Last month, Russia fired 948 drones and 34 missiles in the space of 24 hours in the largest assault of the war on civilian areas.
At least four people were killed overnight in Kyiv, including a 12-year-old, with more than 50 others injured, according to authorities. Officials said the attack damaged 17 apartment buildings, 10 private homes, as well as a hotel, office center, car dealership, gas station and a shopping mall in the capital.
RUSSIAN DRONE ATTACK ON PASSENGER TRAIN IS AN ‘ACT OF TERRORISM,’ ZELENSKYY SAYS
Firefighters work at a building damaged in an overnight strike by Russia in Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 16, 2026. Ukrainian officials said Russia’s hourslong aerial assault hit Kyiv, Odesa, the Dnipro region and Zaporizhzhia, damaging homes and other civilian sites. (Genya SAVILOV / AFP via Getty Images)
Nine people were killed and 23 injured in the southern port city of Odesa, three women were killed and around three dozen injured in the central Dnipro region, and one person was killed in Zaporizhzhia in the south.
«Such attacks cannot be normalized. These are war crimes that must be stopped and their perpetrators held to account,» Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X.
Ukraine’s air force said air defenses shot down or disabled 667 out of 703 incoming targets, including 636 Shahed-type drones and other uncrewed aerial vehicles.
It said 20 strike drones and 12 missiles hit 26 locations.
Meanwhile, in Russia, Krasnodar regional Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev reported that a 14-year-old girl and a woman were killed in Ukrainian strikes in the Black Sea port of Tuapse.
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He said that attacks damaged six apartment buildings, 24 private houses and three schools. Drone fragments also fell near the port of Tuapse.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that its air defenses downed 207 Ukrainian drones overnight.
ukraine, volodymyr zelenskyy, drones, bombings, russia
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A federal judge this week blocked Indiana from enforcing a law that bars college-issued student identification cards from being used for voting, ruling that the measure likely violates the constitutional rights of students and young voters.
U.S. District Judge Richard Young granted a preliminary injunction on Tuesday against Senate Bill 10, a 2025 law that removed student IDs from Indiana’s list of acceptable voter identification even though such cards had been accepted for nearly two decades if they included a voter’s name, photograph, expiration date and were issued by the state or federal government.
«Plaintiffs have shown that they are likely to succeed on their claim that SB 10 imposes unconstitutional burdens on students and young voters in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments,» Young, appointed by former President Bill Clinton, wrote in a 34-page order. «They have also established irreparable harm and satisfied the remaining requirements for a preliminary injunction.»
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita’s office said Wednesday it intends to appeal, arguing that the state’s voter ID law should not be weakened by court-ordered exceptions.
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Riverside, California – March 02:A volunteer picks up «Require Voter ID» sign at the press conference at the Riverside County Registrar of Voters on Monday, March 2, 2026, as GOP lawmakers gather in support of placing a voter ID measure on the November ballot. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul/MediaNews Group/The Sun via Getty Images) (Anjali Sharif-Paul/MediaNews Group/The Sun via Getty Images)
«Indiana’s voter ID law is critical to election security and integrity,» the office told the Indiana Capital Chronicle in a statement. «Courts shouldn’t be watering the law down by doling out special exemptions to some students and faculty. We’ll keep fighting to uphold commonsense election rules.»
Notably, out of state college students might be registered in another state, perhaps a nexus for the state’s requiring a state or federal-issued ID.
Still, Young concluded that rejecting student IDs for voters «is probably unconstitutional.»
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«While it’s true that an injunction would override a democratically adopted law, Indiana has no valid interest in enforcing ‘a statute that is probably unconstitutional,’» Young wrote.
The ruling is a setback for Republican state lawmakers who approved SB 10 last year after arguing that student IDs were not issued with the same rigor as Indiana driver’s licenses and state identification cards. Young found the state’s position undercut by the fact that Indiana still allows other non-driver forms of identification — including military, Veterans Administration and tribal IDs — many of which, he wrote, are «less uniform than student IDs.»
«By eliminating student IDs as an acceptable form of identification, Defendants selectively excluded a form of identification that otherwise complies with the neutral criteria established by Indiana’s voter ID law and that has been accepted as a form of voter identification for nearly two decades,» Young wrote.
CONSERVATIVE GROUP LAUNCHES $5M AD BLITZ PRESSURING SENATE ON VOTER ID AS GOP EYES SAVE AMERICA ACT PUSH
The judge said he did not need to decide, at this stage, a separate claim that the law intentionally discriminates on the basis of age in violation of the Twenty-Sixth Amendment.
The lawsuit was filed in May 2025 by Count US IN, Women4Change Indiana and Indiana University student Josh Montagne, who had used his IU-issued student ID to vote three times but said he lacked another form of qualifying identification after the law took effect.
Young’s order described student IDs as a long-standing, widely used tool for voting on Indiana campuses. The opinion cited evidence that nearly 200,000 students attend Indiana public universities whose IDs previously qualified under the voter ID law, and noted a Monroe County election supervisor’s estimate that about two-thirds of voters at an on-campus Indiana University polling place used student IDs in the 2024 general election.
DAVID MARCUS: SENATE GOP SHOULD TAKE FETTERMAN’S DEAL ON VOTER ID
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, spoke during a news conference about the SAVE America Act at the U.S. Capitol on March 19, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The judge estimated that the actual number of students affected by the ban was likely about 40,000, though he noted the plaintiffs’ expert had produced higher estimates. He said the record showed the law falls hardest on college students and younger voters because they are less likely than the general electorate to possess Indiana driver’s licenses or state IDs and often face added hurdles in getting alternative documentation.
Young rejected the state’s argument that the public interest in election integrity justified the change, writing that Indiana had produced no evidence that student IDs had been used in voter fraud or that they had caused meaningful problems for election administration.
TRUMP-BACKED VOTER ID BILL FACES GOP RESISTANCE AS TILLIS VOWS TO STOP IT
«To eliminate the ID that students and young voters are far more likely to rely on, Defendants must better document the unique problems student IDs raise,» Young wrote. «On this record, SB 10 looks more like a solution in search of a problem.»
The court also concluded that blocking the law weeks before Indiana’s May 4 primary would not create the kind of disruption federal courts are warned to avoid close to an election. Young said the injunction would mainly restore a practice Indiana had followed for years and would require only minor updates to election materials and training.
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Because the case is at the preliminary injunction stage, the ruling does not permanently strike down the law. But it means student IDs that otherwise satisfy Indiana’s voter ID requirements can be used in the upcoming elections while the lawsuit moves forward.
first amendment elections, in court, indiana, law, federal judges
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