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Pope Francis dead at 88, Vatican says

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Pope Francis, Bishop of Rome and Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church, who worked to instill progressive influences on the global church while maintaining unity with conservatives amid years of turmoil, died Monday morning, Vatican camerlengo Cardinal Kevin Farrell announced. 

He was 88 years old.

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«Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis. At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and His Church,» Farrell announced.

«He taught us to live the values ​​of the Gospel with fidelity, courage and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalized. With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the One and Triune God.»

U.S. Vice President JD Vance had just met with the pope on Sunday.

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«I just learned of the passing of Pope Francis. My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him. I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill. But I’ll always remember him for the below homily he gave in the very early days of COVID. It was really quite beautiful. May God rest his soul,» Vance said early Monday morning in a post on X.

Pope Francis meets with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and his delegation during an audience at Casa Santa Marta on April 20, 2025, in Vatican City, Vatican. (Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)

The pope preached frequently on the Catholic virtues of mercy, kindness and humility. He did not shy away from controversy, and American presidents, including Donald Trump and Joe Biden, were not immune from his views. 

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Less than a month into President Donald Trump’s presidency, the pontiff criticized the Republican’s plans for the mass deportations of migrants, stressing that the forceful removal of people simply for their immigration status deprives them of their inherent dignity and «will end badly.» 

In a strongly worded letter to U.S. Catholic Bishops, the pope appeared to counter remarks made by Vice President JD Vance — who had recently converted to Catholicism — after he suggested Americans should care for family, communities and the country before caring about others. 

«Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups,» the pontiff wrote. «Worrying about personal, community or national identity, apart from these considerations.» 

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POPE FRANCIS EXPOSES CONFIDENTIAL DETAILS ABOUT HIS ELECTION AND RELATIONSHIPS IN LENGTHY INTERVIEW 

Pope Francis in Kazakhstan

Pope Francis meets with bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated persons, seminarians and pastoral workers in Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cathedral in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, on Sept. 15, 2022. (Reuters/Pavel Mikheyev)

Pope Francis in 2015 became the first pontiff to ever address a Joint Meeting of Congress where he spoke on a range of topics including immigration, family, the death penalty, climate change, extremism, religious freedom and the refugee crisis. 

He joined American bishops and urged American leaders to abolish capital punishment and said Congress has a «role to play» in addressing global warming. 

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In 2022 he questioned then President Biden’s conscience on abortion in an interview during which he described the commander-in-chief’s religious identity and views on abortion as incoherent. «A month after conception, the DNA of the fetus is already there and the organs are aligned. There is human life,» the pontiff said in the interview with Spanish-language outlet Univision. 

He also weighed in on candidates Trump and Harris during the election campaign, where he bashed them both, saying, «Both are against life, be it the one who kicks out migrants, or be it the one who kills babies,″ he said, according to the Associated Press. 

Just weeks before President Trump’s second inauguration, he appointed Cardinal Robert McElroy to be the Archbishop of Washington. McElroy had been critical of Trump’s immigration policies during his first term as president. 

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Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 1936 to Italian immigrant parents in Argentina, Francis made history as the first pope from the Americas — as well as the first Jesuit to hold the office.  

He was elected pope in 2013 after the almost unprecedented retirement of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI.  

Bergolio’s father, Mario, was an accountant for the railway industry, and his mother, Regina, was a homemaker and caregiver for her five children.  

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POPE FRANCIS FUELS NEW SPECULATION ON FUTURE OF PONTIFICATE 

Pope Francis obituary, file image of the dead pontiff

Pope Francis, born as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, is shown here with his family. From left to right, standing, brother Alberto Horacio, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Oscar Adrian and sister Marta Regina, sitting, sister Maria Elena, mother Regina and father Mario Jose Francisco. (API/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

Throughout his early years, the future pope worked a number of menial jobs. He labored briefly in the stocking factory where his father was an accountant before moving on to other opportunities, including jobs as a bar bouncer and janitor.  

He eventually sought a career as a chemical technician, receiving a diploma in chemistry from the secondary school Escuela Técnica Industrial N° 27 Hipólito Yrigoyen. He also worked briefly in a food laboratory. However, his career in chemistry was short-lived. 

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He entered the priesthood at the Diocesan Seminary of Villa Devoto in Argentina. Francis was ordained a priest in 1969 and made his final profession with the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits, in 1973. The same year, he was appointed as a provincial for the order.  

His appointment as provincial was concurrent with the Dirty War, a period of intense state-led persecution of left-wing leaders and political dissidents. Bergolio experienced constant threats to his own safety as he worked to hide or aid in the escape of government targets, including many Catholic faithful.  

Pope Francis obituary, file image of the dead pontiff

Pope Francis’ is a fan of Argentina’s San Lorenzo Futbol Club. (API/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

During that time, two Jesuit priests under his supervision were disappeared by the government, drugged and left barely alive in a field five months after their kidnapping. Pope Francis has said he was forced to negotiate with the regime for their release.  

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Bergolio would spend the next two decades bouncing from position to position at the direction of his superiors. He served as a professor of theology, seminary instructor, rector, doctoral student and parish priest.  

In 1992, Pope John Paul II appointed Bergolio as titular Bishop of Auca and as an auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires. This was done at the request of Cardinal Antonio Quarracino, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, who consecrated him to the episcopacy.  

Bergoglio proved vital to the nation’s Catholic community, and he was quickly raised to the dignity of Coadjutor Archbishop of Buenos Aires, serving alongside Quarracino and taking over the archdiocese entirely after his death the following year.  

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Bergoglio was given the crimson hat of a cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 2001.  

In 2013, after the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, Bergoglio was elected to the papacy, selecting the pontifical name «Francis» after St. Francis of Assisi — a choice that set the tone for the rest of his papacy.  

POPE DERIDES BIDEN’S ABORTION VIEWS, CATHOLIC SELF-IDENTITY AS ‘INCOHERENCE’

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Pope Francis obituary, file image of the dead pontiff

Newly elected Pope Francis, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina appears on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica after being elected by the conclave of cardinals, at the Vatican on March 13, 2013. White smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel chimney, and the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica rang out, signaling at the time that the Roman Catholic cardinals had elected a pope to succeed Benedict XVI. (Tony Gentile/Reuters)

Pope Francis’s teachings as a priest, bishop, cardinal and pope were deeply influenced by his Jesuit vocation — viewing each person as a unique creation of God, with whom they can have a personal relationship. His ministry and leadership were committed to keeping doors open and making the church approachable to the public.  

It was not only American politics that he had strong opinions of. 

He faced criticism for specific remarks he made against Israel’s military operation in Gaza, calling the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave «very serious and shameful.» During that same speech, he condemned the growth of antisemitism throughout the world, Reuters reported. He also called for an end to the war in Ukraine and expressed concerns over climate change.

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In 2023, seemingly looking to strike a balance, he formally allowed Catholic priests to give same-sex couples a blessing, which was seen as being a radical shift in church policy, the Associated Press reported at the time.   

Pope Francis is also remembered for living a life of intense simplicity, denying himself a lavish papal apartment in the Vatican upon his election, and opting instead for a two-room suite in the Domus Santa Marta, a residence built by Pope John Paul II.  

Pope Francis washes the feet of a prisoner

Pope Francis celebrates the traditional rite of the washing of feet at the Casal del Marmo juvenile penitentiary on April 6, 2023, in Rome, Italy. On Holy Thursday, Pope Francis went to the outskirts of Rome to celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper at the Casal del Marmo juvenile penitentiary, where he carried out the traditional rite of the washing of the feet of twelve of the young people there. (Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)

In contrast to his immediate predecessors, Pope Francis eschewed ornate robes or luxurious clothing. His outfit rarely consisted of more than a plain, white cassock tied with a papal fascia.  

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Pope Francis even dressed down his Ring of the Fisherman — a piece of gold jewelry worn by popes to signify their office — by having it made with silver and only wearing it for ceremonies.  

Francis’s tenure continued the ongoing efforts to investigate decades of sexual abuse claims against priests across the world, including in the United States, with Francis vowing transparency in 2019. 

«Transparency is now being implemented at the highest level,» said Archbishop Charles Scicluna, the Archbishop of Malta and Adjunct Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, after Francis gave legal authorities access to documents about sexual abuse cases and abolished the «pontifical secret» of the cases.  

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POPE FRANCIS DEFROCKS NOTORIOUS BISHOP WHO CONFESSED TO ABUSING HIS NEPHEW 

Pope Francis obituary, file image of the dead pontiff

Pope Francis meets President Donald Trump during his first term in the Private Library of the Apostolic Palace with his wife, Melania, his daughter, Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner.  (Vatican/Pool/Galazka/Archivio Grzegorz Galazka/Mondadori via Getty Images)

He continued Benedict’s work to root malicious clerics out of the Church hierarchy «with the wrath of God,» appointing task forces and establishing victim aid groups.  

Pope Francis proved frustrating for a wide variety of conservatives, liberals, traditionalists and progressives. 

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His gentle — at times vague and confusing — language on key social issues, such as sexuality and divorce, frustrated conservatives hoping for a more aggressive champion of Catholic moral teaching. 

In July 2017, a group of Catholic clergy and academics sent Pope Francis a «Filial Correction» document alleging seven serious theological mistakes made by the pontiff in public statements. The document’s assertions proved controversial within the Catholic Church and the document was never explicitly addressed.  

Conversely, his refusal to back down from traditional church teachings on abortion, gay marriage, women’s ordination and priestly celibacy frustrated progressives hoping for a more modern church.  

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Echoing his time as a prelate in Argentina, Pope Francis was at times criticized from both sides of the aisle for his heavy hand enforcing Catholic unity on national and international levels.  

Traditionalists voiced intense opposition to his apostolic letter «Traditionis custodes,» which restricted the celebration of the traditional Latin mass in an attempt to squash increasingly separatist conservative movements within the Church.  

Biden with Pope Francis

Pope Francis meets with then-President Joe Biden during an audience at the Apostolic Palace on Oct. 29, 2021 in Vatican City.  (Vatican Media via Vatican Pool)

He similarly shut down discussion of many social issues that progressives have sought to reform.  

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In 2019, Pope Francis told a nun asking him to approve the ordination of women that «if the Lord didn’t want a sacramental ministry for women, it can’t go forward,» adding, «We are Catholics, but if anyone wants to found another church they are free [to do so].»  

The hyper-progressive leadership of the Catholic Church in Germany was a target of his ire after the country’s clerical leaders attempted an upheaval of traditional teachings regarding gender and sexuality. The Vatican issued a series of letters, approved by Pope Francis, accusing the German church of risking separation from the Catholic Communion.  

The conflict with German bishops encapsulated his papacy’s recurring themes of authority and unity, best exemplified in a passage from his «Letter to the Pilgrim People of God in Germany.»  

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POPE FRANCIS URGES CATHOLIC VOTERS TO ‘CHOOSE THE LESSER EVIL’ BETWEEN TRUMP AND HARRIS

Pope Francis delivers his speech during the Holy Mass with

Pope Francis delivers a speech during the Holy Mass with newly appointed Cardinals.  (Stefano Costantino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

In the letter, Pope Francis wrote, «The universal Church lives in and of the particular Churches, just as the particular Churches live and flourish in and from the universal Church. If they find themselves separated from the entire ecclesial body, they weaken, rot and die. Hence, the need always to ensure that communion with the whole body of the Church is alive and effective.»  

Pope Francis visited dozens of countries, including the United States and Cuba in 2015, and went as far afield as Papua New Guinea, as well as visits to predominantly Muslim countries including Egypt, Morocco and Jordan. 

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Pope Francis struggled with health complications throughout his reign.  

The pontiff dealt for many years with sciatica, a nerve condition that caused immense pain in his leg and at times hindered his ability to walk.  

In 2021, Pope Francis was hospitalized for an intestinal surgery that removed 13 inches of his colon. 

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In March 2023, Francis was again taken to the hospital after experiencing intense chest pain and difficulty breathing. He was treated for a respiratory infection and released after antibiotic treatment. 

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Pope Francis Travels To Mongolia

Pope Francis is welcomed as he arrives at the Apostolic Prefecture on Sept. 1, 2023 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. According to the Vatican, the trip was Pope Francis’s 43rd Apostolic Journey abroad and the 61st country he visited as Pope.  (Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)

In June of the same year, the pope was brought back for another abdominal surgery to repair an incisional hernia. He was released after making a full recovery.  

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He took a fall at his residence and suffered a contusion on his right arm in January 2025.   

In February, he was once again hospitalized after a bout of bronchitis.  

Following Pope Francis’ death, the Vatican has entered a time of sede vacante — in English, «empty seat.»  

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The Associated Press, Reuters and Fox News’ Annie Butterworth contributed to this report. 


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Reporter’s Notebook: Clintons call for open Epstein files hearing after months of defying subpoenas

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Since there was such a tempest over Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show, perhaps there’s a solution at hand. This compromise would satisfy both red and blue America. And the exhibition would transfix the country: Have former President Bill Clinton and President Donald Trump testify at halftime about the Epstein files.

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Republicans believe former President Clinton has something to hide about Jeffrey Epstein. Democrats think the same about President Trump. The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed the former president and Hillary Clinton to testify about the Epstein files. After a lot of wrangling, the Clintons are due to appear for closed-door depositions later this month.

But both Bill and Hillary Clinton are now calling for open sessions. And Democrats believe that such an appearance at a public session — by a former President — would establish a precedent to lug in President Trump to answer questions about what he knew about Epstein.

GHISLAINE MAXWELL TO APPEAR BEFORE HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE LAWMAKERS FOR EPSTEIN PROBE DEPOSITION

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Hillary Clinton addresses her staff and supporters about the results of the U.S. election as her husband, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, applauds at a hotel in the Manhattan borough of New York, Nov. 9, 2016.  (Reuters/Carlos Barria)

One architect of the law compelling the release of the Epstein files, applauded demands last week by the former First Couple to testify at a televised open hearing. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said the former president is an important witness.

«As long as [the hearing is] focused on Epstein, and it’s not a wild goose chase — it’s not trying to score political points or embarrass either President Clinton or President Trump, it is asking legitimate questions about what they knew took place and who they knew were participating in heinous acts,» said Khanna. «That should be a legitimate point of inquiry.»

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After agreeing to a closed-door deposition later this month, Hillary Clinton took to X. She wrote to Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., saying, «If you want this fight let’s have it in public.» 

Former President Clinton echoed his wife the next day on X, also calling for a public session. The former commander-in-chief declared that he won’t be used «as a prop in a closed door Kangaroo Court.» 

A spokeswoman for Comer accused the former first couple of «moving the goalposts.» Comer was always open to a hearing. But after a closed-door deposition.

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«Depositions have historically been much more substantive than hearings,» said Comer. «Hearings unfortunately, have become more of an entertainment thing.»

It’s hard to track exactly what the Clintons wanted.

The House Oversight Committee voted on a bipartisan basis last August to subpoena both Bill and Hillary Clinton for depositions — along with a host of other prominent figures like former Attorney General Bill Barr. After a lot of haggling, the committee subpoenaed them to appear at dates in October. The Clintons defied those. Then the committee assigned them dates just before Christmas. But neither showed then because of a funeral. The committee requested that the Clintons give them dates for January appearances. They didn’t. The committee then assigned them additional dates for January testimony. They skipped out on those. That’s when Comer threatened to hold the Clintons in contempt of Congress if they didn’t appear in January. The Oversight Committee voted — in bipartisan fashion — for contempt. The House Rules Committee planned last week to prep a measure to force the entire House to vote on contempt — and send criminal referrals for the Clintons to the Justice Department for prosecution after they defied the subpoenas.

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REVEALED: TRUMP CALLED POLICE CHIEF TO SUPPORT EPSTEIN PROBE, AND LAWMAKERS NAMED 6 MEN SHIELDED FROM EXPOSURE

Comer addresses the press after Ghislaine Maxwell's deposition.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., alongside Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., left, speaks to reporters after a closed-door deposition with Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend and confidante of sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

But the Clintons finally agreed to depositions at the end of this month. And once that was on the calendar, the duo began calling for public hearings.

There is a method behind this madness. There isn’t a loyalty among younger Congressional Democrats to the Clintons. In fact, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was steamed at some Democrats for wanting the Clintons to appear. Younger Democrats don’t have the same reverence for the Clintons as older Democrats. Hillary Clinton ran for president a decade ago. She hasn’t been a senator since 2009. She last served as Secretary of State in early 2013. President Clinton left the Oval Office more than a quarter-century ago.

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However, this is the Democrats’ gambit:

If former President Clinton appears about the Epstein files, it may be tough to make the case that President Trump shouldn’t appear.

«Certainly it does set the precedent. President Trump was subpoenaed during the January 6th investigations and didn’t come in. He cited some form of executive privilege. And so we’re kind of forcing the Clintons to come in with the threat of criminal contempt. Then that is a precedent that we are setting,» said Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va. «In other countries, like the UK, the Prime Minister regularly comes before the Parliament. And so it’s not like it’s unprecedented around the world.»

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Granted, that’s a parliamentary system where the prime minister is a member of Parliament in the United Kingdom. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer regularly appears for «Prime Minister’s Questions» every Wednesday at noon in London. Members of Parliament usually pepper the prime minister with questions and scoff in a scene which resembles something out of Monty Python.

But the American and British systems are fundamentally different.

Getting a sitting or former President — and even first lady — before Congress is rare but not unheard of.

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BONDI TO FACE GRILLING IN HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE OVER EPSTEIN FILES, WEAPONIZATION ALLEGATIONS

Bill Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein

Former President Bill Clinton was seen in photos with Jeffrey Epstein as part of a DOJ Epstein files release on Friday, Dec. 19. (Department of Justice)

There are three prominent examples of sitting Presidents appearing before Congress. President Abraham Lincoln testified voluntarily before the House Judiciary Committee in 1862. The New York Herald published his «State of the Union» message to Congress just before it was sent to Capitol Hill. Presidents sent written «reports» in those days. They did not give speeches to Congress. Lawmakers probed the leak of the message to Congress. It was speculated that Herald reporter Henry Wikoff got the message ahead of time thanks to his friendship with Mary Todd Lincoln. The House Sergeant at Arms briefly held Wikoff — and released him after the president spoke to the Judiciary Committee.

President Woodrow Wilson appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1919 to discuss a treaty with Germany and establishing the League of Nations. Wilson’s push for the League of Nations failed. The Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles.

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President Gerald Ford had been in office two-and-a-half months before he appeared voluntarily before the House Judiciary Committee in the fall of 1974. Ford told lawmakers that his pardon of former President Richard Nixon wasn’t something they bargained about. Ford told the committee that he pardoned Nixon because his physical and mental health fell into a steep decline.

Former President Harry Truman appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1955 to testify about the United Nations Charter.

Ford came back as a former president in 1983 for a Senate hearing on the bicentennial of the Constitution.

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And there are examples of both sitting and former first ladies testifying, too.

Eleanor Roosevelt testified twice as first lady. Once about labor issues. Then, about the organization of volunteers for the civilian defense agency before World War II.

Rosalynn Carter testified about mental health as first lady.

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Hillary Clinton famously testified about her husband’s health care plan — even though it was dubbed (often derisively) «Hillarycare» in the fall of 1993. She testified multiple times as Secretary of State. Most notably in early 2013 regarding Benghazi. 

And, first lady Laura Bush was en route to Capitol Hill to testify before a Senate panel about early childhood education on 9/11. The committee cancelled the hearing after the attacks in New York and at the Pentagon. 

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So, many Republicans are game to hear from the Clintons about the Epstein files. Frankly, some were more interested in just holding them in contempt than actually gleaning anything about Epstein. But it looks like the Clintons will at least sit for depositions in a few weeks. Whether there’s a hearing or not is unclear. Some Republicans may even push for that. But caveat emptor. An open session for the Clintons will only intensify the push by Democrats — and some GOPers — to hear from President Trump. 

Their testimony might not come during the Super Bowl halftime show. But open testimony by a former President and a sitting President would be a political Super Bowl.

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politics,the clintons,jeffrey epstein,republicans,house of representatives politics,congress,william barr

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México dice que la munición incautada a un cártel es de una fábrica del ejército de EE.UU.

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CIUDAD DE MÉXICO — Aproximadamente la mitad de los cartuchos de alto poder calibre .50 que las autoridades mexicanas han confiscado a los cárteles desde 2012 fueron rastreados hasta una fábrica de municiones en las afueras de Kansas City, Missouri, que es propiedad del gobierno de Estados Unidos, dijo el martes el secretario de Defensa de México.

La fábrica, Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, es el mayor fabricante de municiones para fusiles utilizados por el ejército estadounidense.

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El secretario de Defensa de México, general Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, dijo que se han incautado alrededor de 137.000 cartuchos calibre .50 desde 2012.

De ellos, agregó, el 47% provenían de Lake City y se vendieron en armerías del sur de Estados Unidos.

La revelación se produjo en respuesta a la pregunta de un periodista sobre una reciente investigación conjunta de The New York Times y el Consorcio Internacional de Periodistas de Investigación que expuso cómo la munición de Lake City, que también ha sido utilizada por tiradores masivos en Estados Unidos, se ha convertido en un elemento básico para los grupos del crimen organizado en México.

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Trevilla Trejo también afirmó que desde octubre de 2024, cuando Claudia Sheinbaum asumió la presidencia, las autoridades mexicanas habían decomisado 18,000 armas de fuego, de las cuales casi el 80% provenían de Estados Unidos.

Entre las armas más destructivas decomisadas, añadió, se encontraban rifles Barrett calibre .50, lanzagranadas, lanzacohetes y ametralladoras de diversos calibres.

El lunes, Sheinbaum dijo que su administración estaba revisando los informes del Times y el ICIJ “para que podamos hablar con el gobierno de Estados Unidos sobre este tema y entender cómo es posible que estas armas, que son para uso exclusivo del Ejército de Estados Unidos, estén ingresando a México”.

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La investigación concluyó, de hecho, que los cartuchos calibre .50 fabricados en Lake City no estaban restringidos al ejército estadounidense.

El Ejército estadounidense ha permitido que contratistas privados que operan la planta de Lake City vendan munición a distribuidores, revendedores y tiendas minoristas, poniéndola a disposición del mercado civil.

Al menos 16 minoristas on line han vendido munición perforante fabricada en Lake City o hecha con componentes de la planta, según un recuento del ICIJ y el Times.

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“Lo irónico es que los gobiernos de México y Estados Unidos buscan lo mismo: reducir las muertes” causadas por los cárteles, dijo Cecilia Farfán Méndez, directora del Observatorio de América del Norte de la Iniciativa Global Contra el Crimen Organizado Transnacional.

“Pero mientras los grupos criminales tengan fácil acceso a este tipo de calibres y armas, es como si estuvieran subsidiando la generación de esta violencia”.

El Ejército de EE.UU. no respondió en detalle a preguntas sobre el uso de munición de Lake City por parte de los cárteles de la droga.

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Un portavoz declaró previamente que permitir las ventas comerciales desde la planta ahorraba a los contribuyentes decenas de millones al año.

Las balas de Lake City han terminado en manos de miembros de cárteles mexicanos, que las han utilizado para aterrorizar tanto a civiles como a fuerzas de seguridad, según documentos obtenidos por periodistas.

Armados con armas de fuego calibre .50, hombres armados del cártel han derribado helicópteros, asesinado a funcionarios del gobierno, disparado contra fuerzas policiales y militares y matado a civiles.

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Defensas

“El blindaje que tenemos no puede proteger a nuestro personal del tipo de penetración que este cartucho es capaz de hacer”, dijo a la prensa en 2024 Luis Cresencio Sandoval, predecesor de Trevilla Trejo como secretario de Defensa de México.

Se refería a una bala calibre .50 de Lake City que se había utilizado para atacar un convoy militar en el norte de México, matando a un soldado e hiriendo a otros tres.

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México tiene estrictas restricciones sobre quién puede comprar y poseer armas, las cuales solo se pueden adquirir legalmente en dos tiendas administradas por el ejército mexicano.

Aun así, la mayoría de los tipos y calibres están reservados exclusivamente para el ejército y las fuerzas del orden.

El gobierno mexicano estima que entre 200,000 y 500,000 armas de fuego se trafican ilegalmente a México desde Estados Unidos cada año.

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El año pasado, la Corte Suprema de Estados Unidos desestimó por unanimidad una demanda interpuesta por el gobierno mexicano contra importantes fabricantes estadounidenses, que argumentaba que las empresas habían instigado la venta ilegal de armas de fuego a los cárteles mexicanos de la droga.

En su fallo, el tribunal dictaminó que la incapacidad de los fabricantes para impedir que los minoristas independientes realizaran ventas ilegales no cumplía con los altos requisitos legales para la instigación.

Pero el tribunal reconoció la afirmación de México de que se vendían armas estadounidenses a traficantes mexicanos.

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«No dudamos mucho de que, como afirma la denuncia, se producen algunas de estas ventas, y que los fabricantes lo saben», declaró el fallo.

México presentó una demanda por separado en Arizona contra cinco comerciantes de armas.

Reclamo

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Sheinbaum ha pedido constantemente una mayor cooperación de la administración Trump para detener el flujo de armas y municiones de fabricación estadounidense a México, comparándolo a menudo con la presión de Washington para que su país ponga fin al tráfico de fentanilo.

Han surgido algunas iniciativas conjuntas para aumentar las inspecciones y las incautaciones en ambos lados de la frontera, así como para compartir más información entre los gobiernos.

Sin embargo, en una entrevista exclusiva el año pasado, Omar García Harfuch, secretario de Seguridad de México, declaró a la prensa del Times que los esfuerzos de Estados Unidos para reducir el suministro de armas habían sido insuficientes.

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Si a los cárteles mexicanos les resultara más difícil “obtener ese tipo de armas”, añadió Harfuch, “definitivamente sería una lucha diferente”.

c.2026 The New York Times Company

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Russian attack on Kharkiv wipes out young family, leaving pregnant mother as sole survivor

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A Russian drone strike Tuesday night in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region wiped out a young family, killing a father and his three small children, leaving a pregnant mother as the sole survivor.

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Oleg Synegubov, the governor of the Kharkiv region, said on Telegram that the attack on the town of Bohodukhiv claimed the lives of 34-year-old Grigory and his three children — 2-year-old twin boys, Ivan and Vladyslav, and their 1-year-old sister Myroslava.

The family had just evacuated from Zolochiv, a front-line town about 25 miles from the Russian border, in an effort to escape persistent shelling.

They were spending their first night in their new home when the strike occurred, Synegubov said.

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‘ONLY TRUMP CAN STOP RUSSIA’: MILLIONS FACE FREEZING WINTER, UKRAINE ENERGY EXECUTIVE WARNS

The aftermath of a drone attack in the city of Bohodukhiv in the Kharkiv region that killed four people, including three children, in Bohodukhiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 11, 2026. (Carlo Bravo/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Olga, the children’s 35-year-old mother who is 35 weeks pregnant, survived with injuries and minor burns and was later discharged from the hospital after receiving medical care.

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«The Russian army once again targeted an ordinary residential building in the middle of the night,» said Synegubov. «Another terrorist act of the state fighting against the civilian population – against small children, pregnant women, elderly people.»

The Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office said preliminary data indicates that a «Geran-2» drone was used in the attack.

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A person reaches out to touch a displayed Shahed-136 drone set up outdoors near a cathedral.

A resident touches a Russian-Iranian Shahed-136 (Geran-2) kamikaze drone installed in front of Saint Michael’s Cathedral as part of an exhibition displaying destroyed Russian military vehicles and weapons, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Nov. 26, 2025. (Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)

The Geran-2 is the Russian designation for an Iranian-designed Shahed-136, a one-way attack drone that detonates on impact and has been widely used by Moscow to strike Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday in a post on X that Russian forces carried out additional strikes across border and frontline regions, including launching 470 attack drones at Kherson in a single day.

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Destroyed residential building and scattered debris fill a neighborhood following an overnight drone strike.

Damaged buildings and debris are seen after a drone attack in the city of Bohodukhiv in the Kharkiv region on Feb. 11, 2026. (Carlo Bravo/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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«Gas supply restoration is ongoing in the Donetsk region – also following a Russian strike. There were strikes on infrastructure in the Dnipro region, in the Synelnykove district,» he wrote. «Some consumers are currently without electricity in Zaporizhzhia after ‘shahed’ strikes – restoration work is underway.»

Zelenskyy said he directed military and community leaders to develop additional measures to strengthen protection for critical infrastructure.

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