There were many improbable things in Jurassic Park, but perhaps the hardest to believe was a billionaire helping paleontology, not harming it.

Apparently the recently deceased Pope Francis is the patron saint of "Mother Earth." At least that’s what the climate Armageddon-obsessed TIME magazine is trying to argue. TIME senior correspondent and eco-doom prophet Justin Worland’s papal obit read like a cheap comic strip: “The Climate Pope: Francis and His Environmental Legacy,” Worland’s headline read, celebrating the leftist pope for his radical eco crusaderism. According to Worland’s twisted worldview, the first big “environmental move” the pope did upon ascending to the papacy was simply “choosing the papal name Francis after Saint Francis of Assi, known among other things for his appreciation of the natural world which he called a ‘mirror of God.’” Um, you’d be hard-pressed to convince the Catholic faithful writ large that St. Francis of Assisi was somehow a raving climate activist nut like their "Person of the Year" Greta Thunberg. But in Worland’s perspective, as he bleated in 2021, “climate is everything."  This is also the same Worland who screeched like a cat with its tail stepped on nearly five years ago that 2020 was “our one last chance” to save the planet. So it’s not a surprise he’s exploiting the death of a pope to embellish his ridiculous climate change bona fides. “In his 12 year papacy, Pope Francis would go on to become a key figure in the global climate movement,” Worland plastered onto his latest climate babble. He went on to offer a Malthusian salute to Pope Francis for his supposed condemnation of humanity for its stain on the earth’s climate: As political leaders debated the technical and economic dimensions of the climate policy agenda, Francis, who passed away on Easter Monday, served as a voice of moral clarity, speaking and writing about the social consequences of human influence on the planet. Worland specifically highlighted the pope’s Greenpeace-pleasing encyclical Laudato Si from 2015, “Francis paid special attention to the disproportionate impact of climate change on the world’s poorest and critiqued the economic structures that make this a reality.” Sheesh, Worland. Just call Francis your favorite anti-capitalist and be done with it.

Between a Special Report, Today, and the 3rd Hour of Today, NBC pulled out all the stops Monday in its coverage on the death of Pope Francis, unsurprisingly heralding him as a man of the people in the left’s sense of the term for being pro-LGBTQ, “brought the Catholic Church...away from the culture wars and back to Christ’s basic message,” and waged “clashes...with...conservative members” in favor of a “plainspoken manner.” It all started during an NBC News Special Report in the 6:00 a.m. Eastern hour as longtime religion correspondent Anne Thompson said Francis’s legacy will be his “mercy and compassion,” adding: Moments later, co-host Savannah Guthrie remarked to National Catholic Reporter’s Christopher White that “in some ways, Pope Francis was a reformer and clashed with more conservative members of — of the clerical order and the cardinals.” “I think this is a pope that was unafraid to bring the church in dialog with the modern world, to answer and listen to hard questions and to not be afraid...[H]e really wasn’t interested in banging people on the head with doctrine, but he really wanted to accompany people and where they are in life,” he replied. Guthrie also brought up Francis as righteous with those “conservative members” as more rigid, but conceded he also had “progressives” who “didn’t think” he “went far enough” on other issues (click “expand”): GUTHRIE: Well, let’s talk about some of that orthodoxy. And I mentioned some of the clashes that had taken place with some of the more conservative members of the Catholic Church over doctrinal things like the Latin Mass, but also about social issues. And, you know, when you look at the whole picture of Pope Francis, there’s a little bit of something for everybody. I mean, in some ways, progressives were heartened by some of his stances, but didn’t think they would — went far enough. There are other ways in which, again, he clashed with conservative members of the church. So where does he fit when you look at the whole picture? WHITE: You can’t really map Pope Francis onto certainly not American political categories. I mean, one of his, you know, famous lines in one of his early documents was that everything is connected. And so for Pope Francis, he began with a sort of dignity of the human person. And so, that’s what led him to oppose abortion, but also have a very strong defense of migrants and climate change. And so, I think that’s why some people often found him a bit puzzling. How do — how do you characterize this guy? Is he a progressive? Is he — is he a conservative? In a sense, he — he was both. Melvin also tried this with Thompson on women in the Church, but she correctly pointed out he “did put women in leadership positions across the Vatican...but he would not go as far as to support women’s ordination to the priesthood” and left “unresolved” debate about women as deacons. Thompson returned for Today with a taped obituary and again framed Francis as “a transformational figure” who supported gays and did away with those pesky “culture wars”: In a repeat for the show’s second hour, Thompson boasted Francis as having chastised his fellow Catholic leaders of having “spiritual Alzheimer’s.” Today also worked in a dig at President Trump with senior White House correspondent Garrett Haake taking care of that: “President Trump also met privately with Pope Francis at the Vatican back in 2017...The President afterwards calling the meeting, ‘the honor of a lifetime’ though, the two have since, at times, publicly disagreed on issues, most notably immigration.” Foreign correspondent Raf Sanchez doubled down on Francis’s progressivism and framed him not solely a Christian, but “a moral and spiritual figure” that argued no one should judge someone on their sexuality and was revolutionary in “his plainspoken manner”: Sanchez also implied Francis was someone who entertained the notion of atheists being in heaven: Children brought out his best, nevermore so than when he met a young boy on a parish visit in Rome. The boy was nervous to ask if his father, an atheist, was in heaven. Come and tell me in my ear,” Francis says, and consoles him. “God has a father’s heart,” he tells the boy. The same could be said of Pope Francis. Finally, Thompson made a third appearance on the 3rd Hour of Today and reiterated Francis wasn’t interested in those pesky “culture wars” (meaning abortion and marriage): Pope Francis has been a progressive figure and don’t think of it in terms of progressive in American politics, but think of it this way. He is the one who threw open the doors wide of the Catholic Church. He moved the Catholic church away from the culture wars, the bedroom issues that have so dominated the church in the last few years and he went to Christ’s basic mission of mercy. Now, in throwing those doors open wide, he made some enemies, particularly among more traditional Catholics that feel there is — there are doctrines should be adhered to and adhered to strictly. Francis was much more willing to say, look, we are all sinners. We just want you to come back, and at your weakest time, we will show you mercy. To see the relevant NBC transcript from April 21, click here.

An activist from Next Generation Action Network is not only representing accused teen killer Karmelo Anthony but has a lengthy rap sheet of his own. Minister Dominique Alexander, the appointed spokesperson for the alleged teen murderer, has been convicted on child abuse charges and allegations of domestic violence, but served almost zero prison time. While on probation, Alexander was indicted on felony forgery charges, then in 2017 on felony theft charges of property between $2,500 and $30,000. “The guy’s been convicted of several crimes,” Jason Whitlock of “Fearless” comments. “He’s reinvented himself as some sort of black activist. That’s the first sign that hey, there’s a problem here. A career criminal is the face of, ‘Hey, I’m fighting for justice for Karmelo Anthony and his family.’” “They’re looking for justice for Karmelo Anthony,” Whitlock continues. “Who would take on that job? ‘We gotta get justice for the guy that [allegedly] stabbed and killed a 17-year-old.’ Who would do that? And why?” And the latest press conference for Anthony’s family, led by Alexander, revealed Alexander’s true colors when Jeff Metcalf, the father of the slain teenager Austin Metcalf, showed up at the press conference himself. “The father being at this press conference … is a disrespect to the dignity of his son,” said Alexander. “That was disrespectful and just shows you all the character — he was not invited, he knows that it’s inappropriate to be near this family, but he did it,” the Next Generation Action Network president added. “So this press conference that went 30 minutes yesterday started out with Dominique Alexander, the career criminal, the baby Al Sharpton of Texas. Austin Metcalf’s father, who came to the press conference. He wanted to hear what Karmelo Anthony and his family and their spokesman had to say,” Whitlock says. “And they booted Austin Metcalf’s dad out of the press conference, and then Dominique Alexander, the man with virtually no command of the English language, took a dump on Austin Metcalf’s father,” he continues, adding, “Who’s the real victim here?” Want more from Jason Whitlock?To enjoy more fearless conversations at the crossroads of culture, faith, sports, and comedy with Jason Whitlock, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

The Mayo Clinic is rebranding its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives as “belonging,” following President Donald Trump’s executive order prohibiting all such DEI-related programs.On Inauguration Day, Trump signed an executive action “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” banning the “illegal and immoral discrimination programs” within the federal government. The administration warned it would pull federal funding, including grant awards, from entities that continue implementing DEI-related initiatives despite the ban.'In keeping with this focus and recent national events, we’re embracing an opportunity to accelerate Mayo Clinic’s belonging journey to reflect our culture of collaboration and respect and support positive patient experiences.'Trump’s action appears to have prompted some companies, including the Mayo Clinic, to effectively cancel the acronym while potentially keeping the same goals under a new name.U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) responded to the clinic’s actions.“They aren’t fooling anyone! DEI is DOA [dead on arrival],” Mace declared in a post on X.On Thursday, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported that the Mayo Clinic is undergoing a “renaming” effort, including changing its DEI office to the “Office of Belonging.” Additionally, staffers with DEI-related titles will be referred to as “Belonging” employees. It noted that the clinic’s website would also be updated to reflect these changes.A webpage on the Mayo Clinic’s Office of Belonging states that its “vision is to create a global environment of empowered belonging.”“This requires building an environment of psychological safety, making Mayo Clinic a place where people from all backgrounds, cultures and experiences can access the best healthcare and where all staff can bring their authentic best selves,” it continues. “Equity is embodied in every aspect of Mayo Clinic, from the individuals who constitute it to the organization as a whole.”The clinic admitted that the move was prompted by “recent national events.” Yet, Trump’s executive order banning DEI initiatives also clearly prohibits such rebranding and masking efforts.It reads, “The Director of the Office of Management and Budget ... shall coordinate the termination of all discriminatory programs, including illegal DEI and ‘diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility’ (DEIA) mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities in the Federal Government, under whatever name they appear.”While not under the federal government, the nonprofit medical group has received $500 million over the past two years from the National Institutes of Health. According to USASpending.gov, the federal government has provided more than $4.4 billion to the Mayo Clinic since 2008. Minnesota Star Tribune reported that the medical group did not respond to questions concerning whether any jobs would be impacted, and it is unclear whether any functions will be changed.Andrea Kalmanovitz, the Mayo Clinic’s director of media relations, told the news outlet, “Mayo Clinic’s commitment against racism remains.”“Since 2020, Mayo Clinic has intentionally focused on belonging as a cornerstone of staff wellbeing,” Kalmanovitz stated. “In keeping with this focus and recent national events, we’re embracing an opportunity to accelerate Mayo Clinic’s belonging journey to reflect our culture of collaboration and respect and support positive patient experiences.”Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

There never seems to be a real shortage of worthwhile strategy games to check out. Over the last year, we've had Frostpunk 2 and Civilization 7 launch, with Manor Lords, Homeworld 3, and Age of Mythology: Retold come out as well. With all of these newer options, it's easy for older entries to the genre to get lost in the shuffle, including the excellent post-apocalyptic city builder Endzone 2 and its equally compelling predecessor, Endzone: A World Apart. Anyone looking to give the series a try is in luck right now, though, as the first Endzone is currently available with a massive discount that brings its price down to just $3. Continue reading Endzone is one of the most underrated strategy games on PC, and it’s only $3 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best city building games, Best strategy games, Best survival games

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