The frontrunner to become the next pope suffered a brief health scare on Wednesday. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who many leaders in the Catholic Church believe will become the next pope, fainted during a gathering of the General Congregation at the Vatican. The Vatican reported Parolin’s high blood pressure led to his fainting. Vatican medical officials quickly attended to Parolin, and he is now in good condition. JUST IN: According to multiple sources, yesterday afternoon an “alert” was triggered in the Vatican concerning the health of former Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who is considered one of the leading papal contenders. The 70-year-old Cardinal reportedly… pic.twitter.com/96QcME6VwI — Diane Montagna (@dianemontagna) May 1, 2025 Report: Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin (70), who is considered one of the leading contenders to become the next pope, suffered a sudden illness yesterday due to elevated blood pressure. A medical team attended to him for approximately an hour. pic.twitter.com/tVroW1FrV1 — The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) May 1, 2025 Per Catholic Vote: Cardinal Pietro Parolin, widely regarded as the frontrunner to become the next pope, experienced a brief health scare April 30 at the conclusion of the late afternoon General Congregation at the Vatican. According to sources within the Holy See, Cardinal Parolin fainted at the end of the session, prompting immediate concern among his fellow cardinals and Vatican staff. Shortly after the incident, Vatican officials clarified that Cardinal Parolin had suffered an episode of high blood pressure. He was promptly attended to and is now reported to be in good condition, with no lasting effects from the episode. May 1 is Labor Day — a national holiday in Italy — and the cardinals have the morning off from their official duties. This fortuitous break in the conclave preparations has provided Cardinal Parolin with additional time to rest and recover before proceedings resume. The vast majority of the Italian press and international observers consider Cardinal Parolin the leading candidate to succeed Pope Francis. Betting markets and Vatican insiders alike have consistently placed him at the top of the list of papabili — those cardinals deemed most likely to be elected pope in the upcoming conclave. His reputation as a skilled diplomat and a steady, moderate presence within the Church has made him a “safe” and unifying figure for many of his peers. Conclave News Yesterday afternoon an “alert” was triggered in the Vatican concerning the health of Cardinal Pietro Parolin The 70 year old reportedly suffered a sudden health emergency due to elevated blood pressure & was attended to by a medical team for an hour pic.twitter.com/SeVfDKB5k4 — Al Carbo (@carbo_al) May 1, 2025 Per Newsweek: Four main contenders have emerged in the race for the next pope, according to one leading betting site. The papal election is drawing intense global attention due to its potential to shape the future of the world’s largest Christian denomination which has more than 1.2 billion followers. The selection of the next pope will influence doctrinal directions and address internal conflicts. The contest pits more progressive reformists against more traditionalist voices. The stakes are compounded by lingering debates about transparency, governance, and the balance between tradition and modernity. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Cardinal Peter Turkson and Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, have become the four leading contenders to become the next pope, according to crypto-powered gambling website Polymarket. On the day Pope Francis died on April 21, Italian Cardinal Parolin’s chances reached the highest mark so far at 42 percent, according to the site’s tracker. Filipino Tagle’s neared 36 percent, Italian Zuppi hit 6.8 percent and Ghanain Turkson 6.5 percent. The odds have shifted since, with Turkson’s chances jumping highest.

Kohl’s newly appointed CEO has just been fired. Kohl’s CEO, Ashley Buchanan, who was appointed as CEO of the department chain Kohl’s five months ago, was forced out over “unethical behavior.” An investigation by hired outside investigators revealed that Buchanan “violated company policies by directing the company to engage in vendor transactions that involved undisclosed conflicts of interest.” The current chairman of the Kohl’s board, Michael Bender, will serve as the interim CEO. The news of the firing didn’t faze Wall Street, and Kohl’s stock price soared 8% following the news of Buchanan being canned. Bloomberg TV, broke down Buchanan’s firing: Kohl’s fired CEO Ashley Buchanan after the board found he directed the company to do millions of dollars of business with someone he had a personal relationship with. Shelly Banjo has more https://t.co/AGsjrK85ny pic.twitter.com/1dGnBvhUOf — Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) May 1, 2025 Check out what CNN reported: Kohl’s has fired its newly installed CEO, who has spent less than five months in the position, after the retailer found that Ashley Buchanan engaged in unethical behavior. Buchanan’s dismissal was “for cause,” a rare rebuke of a business leader that carries serious weight in the business community. It comes after an investigation from an outside counsel found that he “violated company policies by directing the company to engage in vendor transactions that involved undisclosed conflicts of interest,” according to a press release. Buchanan, a former chief executive of arts and crafts chain Michaels, began as Kohl’s CEO on January 15 with the hopes of turning around the struggling retailer. But during his short tenure, he failed to do that with sales falling as much as 4.3% the company revealed in preliminary earnings. Michael Bender, the current chairman of the Kohl’s board, will become interim CEO until a replacement is found. The news sent Kohl’s (KSS) shares soaring as much 8% in trading. Buchanan’s departure is a “distraction that the company does not need and can ill afford,” Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, said in a note. Kohl’s fires new CEO Ashley Buchanan after probe finds he violated conflict of interest policies https://t.co/80lPUqF5TG pic.twitter.com/ZgCnNkVUfz — New York Post (@nypost) May 1, 2025   Per Fox Business: Kohl’s announced on Thursday that it fired CEO Ashley Buchanan after an investigation found he violated company policies. The retailer said its board terminated Buchanan, who became chief executive in January, after the investigation “determined Mr. Buchanan violated company policies by directing the Company to engage in vendor transactions that involved undisclosed conflicts of interest.” The investigation “found Mr. Buchanan had directed the Company conduct business with a vendor founded by an individual with whom Mr. Buchanan has a personal relationship on highly unusual terms favorable to the vendor and that he also caused the Company to enter into a multi-million dollar consulting agreement wherein the same individual was a part of the consulting team,” the retailer said in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing. His termination did not have anything to do with the company’s “performance, financial reporting, results of operations,” nor did it involve any other employees, Kohl’s said. Kohl’s is slated to release its first-quarter financial results in late May. Exclusive: Kohl’s fired its CEO for funneling business to a romantic partner https://t.co/m4j0k9VGKU — The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) May 1, 2025

President Trump announced he’s nominating Mike Waltz to serve as United States Ambassador to the United Nations. “I am pleased to announce that I will be nominating Mike Waltz to be the next United States Ambassador to the United Nations. From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our Nation’s Interests first. I know he will do the same in his new role,” Trump said. “In the interim, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as National Security Advisor, while continuing his strong leadership at the State Department. Together, we will continue to fight tirelessly to Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” he added. Per CNBC: The announcement came hours after multiple news reports that Walz would leave that role amid continued controversy over his creation of a Signal messaging app chat thread that was used by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to reveal U.S. military plans to other Trump administration officials. The editor of The Atlantic magazine had been inadvertently added to the chat thread by Waltz. The president had previously nominated Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., for the U.N. ambassador slot. But Trump withdrew Stefanik’s nomination in late March, citing the very slim majority that Republicans hold in the House of Representatives. Trump taps Mike Waltz as new UN ambassador, Rubio as acting national security adviser https://t.co/COOVC8yBmR pic.twitter.com/c98TDNrvrx — New York Post (@nypost) May 1, 2025 "From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our Nation’s Interests first." President Trump has officially nominated Mike Waltz as UN ambassador after ousting him as National Security Advisor. pic.twitter.com/OZAE4qMYBI — Fox News (@FoxNews) May 1, 2025 From The Hill: Meanwhile, State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce called it an “exciting moment” for the department that Rubio’s role will be expanded, adding it was not entirely surprising. “As I know Secretary Rubio, this is a man who has worn several hats since day one,” she said. “Someone who is well known by the president. The president makes perfect assessments of who would implement his agenda, and in this case he’s chosen the secretary and Mr. Waltz to facilitate his agenda moving forward. Not entirely surprising.” Waltz’s shift in positioning comes as he had been at the center of a controversy involving a group chat on the Signal app in which national security and defense officials were sharing key details of a military strike in Yemen. Waltz is said to be the person who inadvertently invited Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor in chief of The Atlantic, to the chat. Goldberg revealed in a March 24 report that he was added to the message chain, which the National Security Council confirmed was authentic. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth outlined in Signal the strikes on Houthi rebels — details the White House and Hegseth insist were not classified. Questioned swirled at the time about if Waltz, or Hegseth, would be fired over the situation but Trump defended Waltz, a former congress member from Florida, saying he has confidence in his top adviser.

Well this is certainly interesting…. Earlier today, news broke that Mike Waltz was OUT as chair of the National Security Council: BREAKING: National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Deputy Alex Wong Are OUT Initial thoughts were that he was likely removed by President Trump, but now Trump himself has posted he is nominating Waltz to be the next U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Take a look here, this is from President Trump on Truth Social, I verified it: I am pleased to announce that I will be nominating Mike Waltz to be the next United States Ambassador to the United Nations. From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our Nation's Interests first. I know he will do the same in his new role. In the interim, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as National Security Advisor, while continuing his strong leadership at the State Department. Together, we will continue to fight tirelessly to Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN. Thank you for your attention to this matter! My initial thought? Is this a promotion or is President Trump shipping him off shore and out of the way? President Trump nominating Mike Waltz to be US Ambassador to the United Nations after departure from the National Security Council. Is this a promotion or shipping him off shore and out of the way? Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/fvEZlkv5Uz — Noah Christopher (@DailyNoahNews) May 1, 2025 I'm not entirely sure yet, but that was at least the first question that crossed my mind. Waltz himself responded: I’m deeply honored to continue my service to President Trump and our great nation. pic.twitter.com/FFTPjnIYkI — Mike Waltz (@MikeWaltz47) May 1, 2025 CNBC had more details: President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will nominate Mike Waltz to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, confirming earlier reports that Waltz was being ousted as national security advisor. Trump said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would serve as interim national security advisor until that post is filled. The announcement came hours after multiple news reports that Walz would leave that role amid continued controversy over his creation of a Signal messaging app chat thread that was used by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to reveal U.S. military plans to other Trump administration officials. The editor of The Atlantic magazine had been inadvertently added to the chat thread by Waltz. The president had previously nominated Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., for the U.N. ambassador slot. But Trump withdrew Stefanik’s nomination in late March, citing the very slim majority that Republicans hold in the House of Representatives. “I am pleased to announce that I will be nominating Mike Waltz to be the next United States Ambassador to the United Nations,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Thursday. “From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our Nation’s Interests first. I know he will do the same in his new role,” Trump wrote. “In the interim, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as National Security Advisor, while continuing his strong leadership at the State Department. Together, we will continue to fight tirelessly to Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Waltz, in a tweet replying to Trump’s post, wrote, “I’m deeply honored to continue my service to President Trump and our great nation.” Waltz, 51, previously served in the House, representing a Florida district. Earlier, he served in the U.S. Army as a Special Forces officer. I wonder where Alex Wong will turn up? The next Ambassador to Chyyyna? Here was our earlier report: BREAKING: National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Deputy Alex Wong Are OUT This is a breaking news alert.... War Hawk Mike Waltz and his top deputy Alex Wong are out and no longer working for the President of the United States. See this breaking alert from Fox News: #BREAKING: National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and his deputy Alex Wong are OUT, per FOX pic.twitter.com/P719eQwtvS — Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) May 1, 2025 The departure stems from fallout over "SignalGate" as well as potentially not aligning with President Trump's desire to end existing wars. Here is Waltz giving a very nonsensical answer to Laura Ingraham over how he added Jeffrey Goldberg to that SignalChat. Laura isn't buying anything Waltz is trying to sell here and neither do I: Mike Waltz was a neocon who lied about Jeffrey Goldberg’s contact information being “sucked in” to his Signal chat. pic.twitter.com/2YEkWIUYv8 — TransOdius (@TransOdius) May 1, 2025 While it was widely known that Waltz was on thin ice, the departures came like a thief in the night, or perhaps make that a thief in the morning. He was on Fox and Friends this morning at 8:20 a.m. only to be gone mere hours later: Mike Waltz was just on Fox and Friends at 8:20 a.m. this morning touting the success of the rare earth deal with Ukraine pic.twitter.com/TXtXYemHvQ — Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) May 1, 2025 The AP added these details: White House national security adviser Mike Waltz is set to depart the administration, according to two people familiar with the matter on Thursday, marking the first major staff shakeup of President Donald Trump’s second term. Waltz came under searing scrutiny in March after revelations that he added journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to a private text chain on the encrypted messaging app Signal, which was used to discuss planning for a sensitive March 15 military operation against Houthi militants in Yemen. A far-right ally of the president, Laura Loomer, has also targeted Waltz, telling Trump in a recent Oval Office conversation that he needs to purge aides who she believes are insufficiently loyal to the “Make America Great Again” agenda. Waltz’s deputy, Alex Wong, is also expected to depart, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel move not yet made public. The National Security Council did not respond do a request for comment. Waltz, who served in the House representing Florida for three terms before his elevation to the White House, is the most prominent senior administration official to depart since Trump returned to the White House. In his second term, the Republican president had been looking to avoid the tumult of his first four years in office, during which he cycled through four national security advisers, four White House chiefs of staff and two secretaries of state. When I call him a "War Hawk" I think this next clip will show you exactly what I mean. Are these the people we really want in President Trump's ear? More War Hawk Neocons? National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and his Chinese deputy, NSC Advisor Alex Wong, have “resigned” from the Trump administration. Waltz, known for his aggressive stance on Iran, had reportedly pushed for military action—potentially even bombing the country in defense of Israel. pic.twitter.com/4jwkPT3TCR — Shadow of Ezra (@ShadowofEzra) May 1, 2025 That's a big no-thank you from me. Not that I don't support Israel, I do.  I just don't support endless wars and killing.  I'm tired of it. George W. Bush conned me into thinking we had to fight the whole Middle East, but I've woken up now and that has most clearly failed. It needs to stop. People are already posting who they want to fill the opening: Since Mike Waltz appears to be out...I have a suggestion pic.twitter.com/5hOfAMJQBe — Jason Robertson (@JRobFromMN) May 1, 2025 And: The only option to replace Mike Waltz as NSA is America First MAGA die hard @RichardGrenell!!! pic.twitter.com/21x2xoybaZ — David Leatherwood (@brokebackUSA) May 1, 2025 More here, from NoahReport: National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Deputy NSC Advisor Alex Wong are leaving the Trump administration. BREAKING: National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Deputy NSC advisor Alex Wong are leaving their positions at the Trump administration, according to Fox News. Walz came under scrutiny in March after he mistakenly added The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg to a Signal chat where top… pic.twitter.com/azNXwE7Qjh — RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) May 1, 2025 Fox News reported: Trump administration National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and other staffers are out at the National Security Council, sources confirmed to Fox News. Fox News confirmed Waltz and his deputy Alex Wong were purged Thursday. Waltz, who previously served as a Florida congressman and as a decorated combat Green Beret, has come under fire from Democrats and critics since March, when the Atlantic magazine’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg published a firsthand account of getting added to a Signal group chat with top national security leaders, including Waltz, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, while they discussed strikes against Yemen terrorists. Waltz took responsibility for the inclusion of a journalist in the group chat in April, telling Fox News’ Laura Ingraham: “I take full responsibility. I built the group. … It’s embarrassing. We’re going to get to the bottom of it.” A replacement has reportedly been talked about for weeks. Politico reported: Names for a replacement have been discussed around the West Wing for weeks, but the plans to remove Waltz potentially as soon as this week gained steam in recent days, according to two of the people and another person close to the White House.

In a turn of events amid a foreign policy "shakeup," President Donald Trump has announced that his national security adviser, Mike Waltz, will be reassigned to a new role -- becoming the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (UN).

As road closures and mass evacuations paralyzed the nation, Israel was forced to cancel its Independence Day torch-lighting ceremony due to massive wildfires that broke out near Jerusalem on Wednesday.

An effort by Senate Democrats to overturn President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff policy fell short on Wednesday.