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Pope Leo XIV opens 2026 urging world to reject violence in powerful New Year’s Day message
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Pope Leo XIV opened the new year Thursday with an appeal to the world for peace and urging people everywhere to begin 2026 by rejecting violence and committing to reconciliation.
Speaking during his first Angelus address of 2026, the pope invited the faithful to «build a year of peace by disarming our hearts and refraining from every form of violence.»
Around 40,000 gathered in St. Peter’s Square in Rome to hear the pope’s New Year’s Day message on the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, which also coincides with World Day of Peace.
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Pope Leo XIV delivered a peace message to 40,000 gathered in St. Peter’s Square Thursday. (Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images)
At the start of his address, Pope Leo extended his wishes for peace and good in the new year and offered a special greeting to the president of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella.
After the Angelus prayer, the pope said Jan. 1 has been marked as the World Day of Peace since 1968 at the initiative of Pope St. Paul VI.
Reflecting on the meaning of the day, Pope Leo referred to the words that came to him after his election as bishop of Rome: «Peace be with you all.»
«This peace,» the pope said, «is unarmed and disarming. It comes from God; it is a gift of his unconditional love, and it is entrusted to our responsibility.»
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The pontiff spoke during his first Angelus of 2026 on World Day of Peace. (Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images)
He also emphasized that peace is not something imposed by force, but a gift that needs personal conversion and choices in daily life.
Calling on Christians and all people of goodwill, Pope Leo urged them to begin immediately.
«With Christ’s grace,» he said, «let us start today to build a year of peace, disarming our hearts and refraining from all violence.»
The pope acknowledged that efforts to build peace are already underway across the world and expressed appreciation for individuals and organizations dedicated to ending conflict and promoting dialogue.
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Pope Leo XIV delivers a World Day of Peace message calling for global reconciliation in 2026. (Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images)
In line with the peacekeeping theme, he highlighted a national peace march held Dec. 31 in Catania, Italy, and mentioned another organized by members of the Community of Sant’Egidio, known for its international peace initiatives.
Pope Leo also welcomed students and teachers from Richland, New Jersey, who were in the square watching.
At the end of the address, the pope spoke about the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi, a figure also closely associated with peace.
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He closed with the saint’s biblical blessing: «The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift his countenance upon you and give you peace.»
Pope Leo ended by entrusting the new year to Mary, the Mother of God, asking that she guide humanity on its journey in the new year.
vatican,pope leo xiv,italy,roman catholic,peacekeeping
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‘Credible intelligence’ reveals North Korea’s successor to Kim Jong Un, South Korea says
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South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) thinks that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s daughter has been lined up to be her father’s eventual successor, lawmakers noted on Monday, according to Reuters.
The NIS indicated to lawmakers that its analysis stems from what it characterized as «credible intelligence» that it had gathered, Reuters reported, citing briefings by ruling and opposition party members following a closed-door parliamentary meeting.
Video footage posted last month showed Kim and his daughter on a tank.
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This photo provided by the North Korean government shows its leader Kim Jong Un, front right, his daughter, reportedly named Kim Ju Ae, and other soldiers on a tank at a military training base in North Korea, on March 19, 2026. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)
The South Korean agency indicated that the scene of the girl driving a tank was meant to emphasize her supposed military aptitude and counter doubts concerning a female successor, lawmakers noted, according to the outlet.
North Korean state-run media KCNA published photos of the North Korean leader and his daughter with a tank last month, following prior images of the girl utilizing firearms, Reuters reported.
The daughter is thought to be about 13 years old and named Ju Ae.
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In this photo provided by the North Korean government, its leader Kim Jong Un’s daughter, center, tries out a new pistol at a factory producing pistols and other light arms at an undisclosed place in North Korea Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
The outlet reported that ruling Democratic Party lawmaker Park Sun-won indicated that the scenes are meant to pay «homage» to the North Korean leader’s military appearances years ago when he was being set up to succeed his father as regime leader.
Korea Institute for National Unification analyst Hong Min said the tank scene is not enough to determine that she has been established as her father’s successor, pointing out that she appeared with her father rather than independently, unlike her father’s independent military appearances as he was being groomed to take the helm.
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This picture taken on December 20, 2025, and released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on Dec. 23, 2025, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (R) and his daughter Ju Ae (L) inspecting the Milyong Hotel, which was recently completed in the Samjiyon tourist district of Ryanggang Province. (KCNA VIA KNS / AFP via Getty Images)
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North Korea is one of the world’s only nuclear-armed nations.
world, north korea, kim jong un
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Newsom’s California rail project now expected to cost $126B, official admits, with still no tracks laid
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California’s delayed, over-budget high-speed train from Los Angeles to San Francisco is running fast in only one direction: Rising costs to even get rolling, which are now estimated to be $126 billion.
«Today, we estimate with the right optimization just over $125 billion,» California High Speed Rail Authority board member Anthony Williams told CBS’s «60 Minutes» on Sunday. «I think $126 billion is the current estimate for that.»
That is nearly four times the $33 billion price tag presented to voters in 2008, making the long-delayed project a black eye for Democratic-run California, derided as the latest political example of «waste» in deep-blue America and a «train to nowhere.»
«We’re now in 2026: There are no trains; there’s no track laid; it was a complete bait and switch,» Rep. Vince Fong, R-Calif., told «60 Minutes,» saying the project «needs to stop.»
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Construction continues on California’s high-speed rail project in Fresno County on March 24, 2025. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg)
«The California high-speed rail nightmare is the probably quintessential example of government waste and mismanagement.»
California’s long-troubled high-speed rail project is facing renewed scrutiny after state Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin acknowledged that many of its critics have a point.
«There were mistakes made,» Omishakin told CBS. «Some of the criticisms on this project, I think, are very fair.»
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«I don’t think the voters fully understood, and neither did we in the public sector, what it was going to take to actually get this project delivered,» Omishakin added.
Taking aim at California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, President Donald Trump called California’s project «the worst cost overrun, I’ve ever seen,» a statement he has in the past reserved for Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell’s Federal Reserve Building in Washington, D.C.
«This administration is working to usher in a Golden Age of Transportation,» Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told CBS in a statement. «That vision includes high speed rail and we’re exploring opportunities to efficiently build that infrastructure in America.
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«What this administration won’t stand for is boondoggle projects like Newsom’s Train to Nowhere that wasted billions in taxpayer dollars yet delivered nothing to the American people,» Duffy said. «Under President Trump, America is building again. We defunded Newsom’s disaster and created the first Trump Infrastructure Dividend. Those dollars will now actually fund critical projects that enhance safety on rail networks across America.»
Newsom himself cast doubt on the full San Francisco-to-Los Angeles plan in 2019, and the project now faces a funding gap of roughly $90 billion.
«For $10 billion, Elon Musk put 300 rockets in orbit; for $11 billion, the state of California has built 1,600 feet of elevated rail with no rail,» Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar said in 2024.
State officials say they remain confident more money can be found to dump into the project, but for now California’s high-speed rail stands as a costly symbol of ambition, delay and deep public skepticism.
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«The ultimate 494 miles of building this out without the federal government’s help will be challenging: There’s no doubt about that,» Omishakin said.
Nearly two decades since the start of the project, no track has been laid, and the only major visible progress is on a Central Valley segment between Bakersfield and Merced, according to the report.
The project’s earliest projected opening is now 2033, far later than originally promised. Critics, including Bakersfield’s Fong, a member of the House Transportation Committee.
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«The business plan that was put out in 2008 was very theoretical,» Fong said. «You know, ‘This is what we think is gonna happen.’
«And it became very clear that they didn’t have the specifics worked out.»
Fong has sought oversight and accountability on the waste, including 597 change orders that have cost more than $2.3 billion alone as of November 2025, which is nearly 7% of the initial $33 billion project estimate.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO Ian Choudri, middle, greet Iron Workers Local 155 members at the Southern Railhead site in the Wasco/Shafter area in Wasco, Feb. 3, 2026. (Damian Dovarganes/AP)
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«Taxpayers deserve full transparency and accountability,» Fong wrote in a statement in February. «The high-speed rail nightmare is a glaring example of structural mismanagement.
«Reckless, repeated contract amendments have squandered resources and precious tax dollars. Hardworking California taxpayers cannot afford to let this continue. This project should be canceled before even more money and time are wasted.»
los angeles, costs, gavin newsom, san francisco, california
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