Editor's Picks: Did the Pentagon Threaten the Vatican; Vance's Hungarian Ghoul-ash, Melania Breaks Silence on Epstein; Israel Keeps Breaking Ceasefire

We seem to have avoided armageddon for now, but Trump's threat to permaneantly delete an entire civilization sucked up a lot of bandwidth. Here are some stories you may have missed.

Pentagon Tells Vatican to Fall in Line

Two outlets have now confirmed that in January, Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby summoned Pope Leo XIV’s then-ambassador to the United States, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, to the Pentagon. and delivered a lecture.

Colby reportedly told the cardinal that America has the military power to do whatever it wants and that the Catholic Church had better fall in line. When things got heated, an unidentified U.S. official reached for a 14th-century weapon and invoked the Avignon Papacy, the period when the King of France used its military to bring the bishop of Rome to heel.

MAGA Loves its Autocrats

JD Vance flew to Hungary on the taxpayers' dime this week to claim that Ukraine is trying to influence Hungarian elections, while he, well, tried to influence Hungary's elections. Vance stumped for Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a far right authoratarian supported by Vladimir Putin and Bibi Netanyahu.

Orban has acted as a wedge among EU leaders in blocking proposals unfavorable to Russia and Israel as they wage illegal wars. He faces a big challenge from a center-right opponent in the April 12 election. Orban is seen as vulnerable over a stagnant economy and a child sexual abuse scandal in which the deputy director of a state-run children's home in Bicske, who was convicted of coercing a victim to retract allegations of sexual abuse committed by the home’s director, was pardoned, causing national outrage.

The Trump administration: protecting pedophiles and those who protect pedophiles, here and abroad.

Melania Breaks Silence on Epstein

In a weird, hastily announced address, Melania Trump told the nation that she was not an Epstein victim, and that the sexual predator did not introduce her to Donald Trump. She also said that the Epstein survivors should be able to testify in front of Congress and that a chummy email she sent to Ghislaine Maxwell was nothing more than "casual communication."

In the email, Melania compliments a magazine article profiling Epstein, tells Maxwell she looks great in the picture, that she can't wait to get back to Palm Beach, and to call her when she returns to New York. Is there a big story coming out that she's trying to get in front of?

Israel is Just as Bloodthirsty as Ever

There's a ceasefire, just don't tell Israel. Both Donald Trump and JD Vance have said Israel will tone it down. Netanyahu says, not really. “Netanyahu is gonna be fine," said Trump. "He’s gonna lowkey a little bit. He’s got a problem with Hezbollah. He’s gonna lowkey a little bit, but he’s gonna be absolutely fine." However, on Wednesday, Israel carried out approximately 100 airstrikes across Lebanon in just 10 minutes, striking mostly civilian areas that were not Hezbollah strongholds.

In a video address to his country delivered in Hebrew, Netanyahu said, "There is no ceasefire in Lebanon. We continue to strike Hezbollah with full force, and we will not stop until we restore your security." The Straight of Hormuz remains closed as the cessation of bombing was definitely part of the framework Trump said he accepted as brokered by the Pakistani Prime Minister, even though the administration is now saying that Lebanon, nor the part about Iran collecting tolls for safe passage, were part of the framework. They were.