You can tell that the special military operation in Iran is going better than the Elitist Media would like because they are desperately seeking to talk about other things. And so they have settled on artificially extending the tiff between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV. Additionally, there is an issue with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s use of the word “Pharisees”” to describe the media. Correspondent Caitlin Huey-Burns was excited about being able to cover the latter. She even bragged about it on X: Live, from Las Vegas! Putting my life long Catholic education to good use tonight by name checking the Pharisees in track… Our report from the road tonight: https://t.co/TsBCK8H0JG — Caitlin Huey-Burns (@CHueyBurns) April 16, 2026 The subsequent report might lead Huey-Burns to reconsider her prior tweet. Especially her “name-checking” of the Pharisees:  CBS continues to milk the Trump-Leo row. It is fascinating to watch Elitist Media try to stumble through conversations about matters of faith. Note Caitlin Huey-Burns' description of the Pharisees: pic.twitter.com/ACOoUBUyQ6 — Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) April 17, 2026 CAITLIN HUEY-BURNS: It comes as the President is facing heightened political pressure to end the war, along with criticisms from the Pope, who today denounced what he called the masters of war. POPE LEO XIV: The world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants. HUEY-BURNS: Trump said today he has a right to disagree with the Pope. DONALD TRUMP: But the pope has to understand Iran- very simple: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. HUEY-BURNS: The Pope also called out those who use religion to justify war. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has cited biblical references several times during the conflict. POPE LEO XIV: But woe to those who manipulate religion in the very name of God for their own military, economic, or political gain. HUEY-BURNS: Today, Hegseth invoked the Bible to compare the press to Pharisees, often portrayed as enemies of Jesus. PETE HEGSETH: The legacy, Trump-hating press: your politically motivated animus for President Trump nearly completely blinds you from the brilliance of our American warriors. The Pharisees scrutinized every good act in order to find a violation. The description of the Pharisees as “enemies of Jesus” is a deceptive oversimplification within the context of the report, but is also an apt descriptor of the media- especially given their coverage of the Iran operation. The Pharisees were, above all else, legalistic religious leaders who were hung up on process. Consider the words of Jesus in Matthew 23:23 and 24: Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. This is what Hegseth alluded to then he referred to the media's scrutiny of every good act. There is always the grinding and the straining, which is why the media are focused on Hegseth’s recitations of Scripture. In the meantime, the Elitist Media found a way to add on another day to the controversy between Trump and Pope Leo. Anything to avoid reporting on the success of the Iran operation. Click “expand” to view the full transcript of the aforementioned report as aired on the CBS Evening News on Wednesday, April 16th, 2026: TONY DOKOUPIL: Good evening. In a moment, we'll have some news on the potential for peace in Iran but first, for another day, President Trump and Pope Leo trade comments over the legitimacy of that war in the first place. The Pope speaking in Cameroon on his tour of Africa, said, “the world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants.” And then a few hours later on the lawn of the white house, the President responded, saying: “this is the real world, and the Pope needs to understand that.” We begin our coverage tonight with Caitlin Huey-Burns, who is with the President in Las Vegas this evening. Caitlin, good evening. CAITLIN HUEY-BURNS: Good evening to you, Tony. Well, the President is trying to shift gears tonight, hitting the road to tout his economic policies ahead of the midterms as voters are feeling the pinch at the pump.  As President Trump headed to Las Vegas today to try and change the subject from war to the economy, he downplayed rising gas prices. DONALD TRUMP: They're not very high. If you look at what they were supposed to be in order to get rid of a nuclear weapon, with the danger that entails. HUEY-BURNS: Gas prices have risen more than a dollar since the war started nearly seven weeks ago, and as Americans file their taxes this week, the President is touting the gains from his tax policies. But rising gas and food prices threaten to wipe out those savings. CITIZEN: We saved a little bit of money on taxes, but we are paying so much more for groceries and for gas. CITIZEN: It seems to take a long time, like, for the prices to come back down to even where they were at before this. HUEY-BURNS: It comes as the President is facing heightened political pressure to end the war, along with criticisms from the Pope, who today denounced what he called the masters of war. POPE LEO XIV: The world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants. HUEY-BURNS: Trump said today he has a right to disagree with the Pope. TRUMP: But the pope has to understand Iran- very simple: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. HUEY-BURNS: The Pope also called out those who use religion to justify war. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has cited biblical references several times during the conflict. POPE LEO XIV: But woe to those who manipulate religion in the very name of God for their own military, economic, or political gain. HUEY-BURNS: Today, Hegseth invoked the Bible to compare the press to Pharisees, often portrayed as enemies of Jesus. PETE HEGSETH: The legacy, Trump-hating press: your politically motivated animus for President Trump nearly completely blinds you from the brilliance of our American warriors. The Pharisees scrutinized every good act in order to find a violation. HUEY-BURNS: And we learned tonight that police were called to investigate a bomb threat at the home of Pope Leo's brother in suburban Chicago. The threat was determined to be unsubstantiated, but they are continuing to investigate. Tony. DOKOUPIL: Caitlin Huey-Burns for us from Las Vegas tonight. Caitlin, thank you very much.  

In contrast with liberal media like MS NOW and CNN, Fox News this week has been informing viewers of a recent violent assault on a right-leaning reporter by left-wing activists in Minneapolis. On Tuesday morning, Fox & Friends showed video of TPUSA reporter Savanah Hernandez being attacked by a mob of anti-ICE demonstrators. At one point, she was even pushed to the ground by a large man. Co-host Ainsley Earhardt recalled: She was there talking to people on the street -- they found out she worked for Turning Point -- she was there like an anti-ICE rally or something out on the street, anti-ICE group -- and they found out she works for Turning Point, and this is what happened. They pushed her, shoved her to the ground, and assaulted her. Then came a video clip of Hernandez being surrounded and harassed. As co-host Lawrence Jones jumped in, disturbing video was shown of the conservative reporter being pushed to the ground: Fox Shows Video of Lefty Protesters Assaulting TPUSA Reporter pic.twitter.com/WglOQE2h0I — Brad Wilmouth (@bradwilmouth) April 16, 2026 LAWRENCE JONES: So after you'll see a grown man -- as you said, Ainsley, some two hundred and something pounds -- that assaulted her as well. And then I look at this video of the woman that hit her. She got released from the jail yesterday. She says that -- (clip of man shoving Hernandez to the ground is shown) --  the man was defending her. Excuse me, look at this video. A man should never hit a woman. Co-host Brian Kilmeade then informed viewers that the FBI is moving to prosecute three of the agitators who attacked Hernandez: BRIAN KILMEADE: So the attorney -- the assistant attorney general, Harmeet Dhillon, is going to look into this -- the FBI is investigating this. We know exactly who they are because she was courageous enough to keep the camera rolling. JONES: Look at that -- he spit on her. KILMEADE: And the thing is, this is -- these people are unhinged apparently. If you are so proud of the mission you're on and the quest that you've signed up for, tell everybody. This is your opportunity. Tell everybody. Look at that guy. A clip of the TPUSA reporter, who appeared on Monday's The Ingraham Angle, was then shown getting emotional as she recounted what happened to her: I wasn't engaging with anybody. I was -- and I apologize. This is the first time I'm talking about this assault, and I -- I'm scared to report, Laura. This is my job -- it's what I've been doing for the last six years, and I'm terrified to do my job. I can't even interview people properly on the street because I got brutally assaulted and pushed to the ground by a 250-pound man for simply going and reporting on anti-ICE activities. On Wednesday, the show followed up by noting that Vice President JD Vance speaking out and promising that the FBI will prosecute those responsible. Transcript follows: Fox & Friends April 14, 2026 6:17 a.m. Eastern LAWRENCE JONES: Meanwhile, Ainsley, what's going on in Minnesota? AINSLEY EARHARDT: So, in Minnesota there was -- there's a Turning Point reporter, and she's a darling -- her name is Savanah Hernandez. She was there talking to people on the street -- they found out she worked for Turning Point -- she was there like an anti-ICE rally or something out on the street, anti-ICE group -- and they found out she works for Turning Point, and this is what happened. They pushed her, shoved her to the ground, and assaulted her. Listen. (clip of Hernandez being harassed by liberal activists) JONES: So after you'll see a grown man -- as you said, Ainsley, some two hundred and something pounds -- that assaulted her as well. And then I look at this video of the woman that hit her. She got released from the jail yesterday. She says that -- (clip of man shoving Hernandez to the ground is shown) --  the man was defending her. Excuse me, look at this video. A man should never hit a woman. BRIAN KILMEADE: So the attorney -- the assistant attorney general, Harmeet Dhillon, is going to look into this -- the FBI is investigating this. We know exactly who they are because she was courageous enough to keep the camera rolling. JONES: Look at that -- he spit on her. KILMEADE: And the thing is, this is -- these people are unhinged apparently. If you are so proud of the mission you're on and the quest that you've signed up for, tell everybody. This is your opportunity. Tell everybody. Look at that guy. I mean, can you imagine -- EARHARDT: She is pressing charges. She was on last night with Laura (Ingraham), and she said, "I am pressing charges." Good for her -- she should. These people need to be held accountable. Here's a little bit of that interview with Laura. SAVANAH HERNANDEZ, TPUSA REPORTER: I wasn't engaging with anybody. I was -- and I apologize. This is the first time I'm talking about this assault, and I -- I'm scared to report, Laura. This is my job -- it's what I've been doing for the last six years, and I'm terrified to do my job. I can't even interview people properly on the street because I got brutally assaulted and pushed to the ground by a 250-pound man for simply going and reporting on anti-ICE activities. I made a point not to engage, Laura, because I know the left wing is violent. They assassinated Charlie Kirk last year, and now they're coming for each and every Turning Point USA employee because they know they can get away with it because the local jurisdictions aren't going to charge them. Now, luckily, the sheriffs are planning on bringing forth charges, I hope.

In a hell-freezes-over moment, Thursday’s Morning Joe featured something all but unheard of: Joe Scarborough making the case for Trump’s Iran strategy. Discussing the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports along the Strait of Hormuz, Scarborough described what he’s hearing from regional and Trump administration sources as a “growing sense of optimism.” Citing a Gulf ally, Scarborough said that where “the noose was around our neck,” the blockade has now “put it on Iran.” That assessment was reinforced by David Ignatius, who pointed to the unexpectedly muted market response. Oil prices, he noted, have failed to spike as Iran had hoped, while the stock market continues to hit record highs—blunting Tehran’s leverage. “Iran was thinking… the effect on markets would be enormous,” Ignatius said. “Instead, the stock market is setting records… and that, in effect, devalues Iran’s biggest weapon.” Scarborough underscored the point, noting that economic resilience at home is strengthening the White House’s hand. Even so, Scarborough couldn’t resist inserting his customary anti-Trump barbs—complaining about “blasphemous” behavior and references to “AI images of Jesus Christ.” But the bottom line was unmistakable. “When he’s not being blasphemous… he’s running a war,” Scarborough said. “And right now, that seems to be working fairly well.” WATCH: Scarborough Says ‘Noose’ Now Around Iran—Trump Strategy ‘Working’ pic.twitter.com/2YegJ3t53c — Mark Finkelstein (@markfinkelstein) April 16, 2026 Former Obama administration advisor Hagar Chemali took the argument even further. Noting that Iran “doesn’t have an economic leg to stand on,” she predicted that “in a matter of months, the regime is not going to be able to pay their soldiers”—a scenario that could trigger military defections. Chemali added an ominous warning: “A military can only be so loyal when it’s not getting paid.” Here's the transcript. MS NOWMorning Joe 4/16/26 6:03 am EDT MIKA BRZEZINSKI: There are also signs of optimism from the White House. Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt told reporters in a briefing yesterday, quote, we feel good about the prospects of a deal.  That comes as U.S. Central Command says its blockade of Iranian ports along the Strait of Hormuz is holding firm. According to CENTCOM, no ships have passed through since the operation began Monday morning. Officials say nine vessels turned around in the first 48 hours after being warned. . . .  JOE SCARBOROUGH: David Ignatius, from talking to people in the region, in the Gulf region, talking to people inside the White House connected to the negotiations, I'm hearing a growing sense of optimism, something that wasn't really there a week ago. A growing sense of optimism that moving forward with the blockade actually is a low-risk high-reward alternative to what was going on before that began.  And they believe you know, I have passed by members of the administration your observation a week ago: we needed to get into a position where time was on our side instead of time being on the Iranian side. They feel like this has gotten them into that position. What do you think? What are you hearing?  DAVID IGNATIUS: So, Joe, I think you described the sense of optimism of the White House team correctly.  SCARBOROUGH: What impact has the market's continued resiliency had on actually putting the White House in a stronger position? Because the markets are not responding quite as dramatically as many people thought at the beginning. They were expecting $125 dollars per barrel, maybe $150. It's hovering at or below 100, and the S&P up to record highs. That gives the White House, that gives negotiators a lot more latitude with Iran, doesn't it?  IGNATIUS: It does. I think Iran was thinking that as it continued to hold the Strait of Hormuz hostage, and again, Joe, I see this as a hostage-taking, that the effect on markets would be enormous, and the level of pain for Donald Trump would be enormous.  Instead, the stock market is setting records, the oil markets seem to be kind of sloughing this off, and that, in effect, devalues Iran's biggest weapon.  And in fact, by blockading the blockade, it's Iran that now has a problem. It's only got a few weeks left. It needs the revenue badly to be able to, as one part of the U.S. team put it, Iran has been living in a military version of COVID. There's no economic activity, nothing going on in Tehran. They need this to end soon.  So I think you're right to describe the optimism that the White House feels as it looks at the markets, and undoubtedly the disappointment the Iranians feel that their weapon isn't drawing much blood.  SCARBOROUGH: Most of the military targets they wanted to hit, they hit, so they've considered a military operation. But right alongside of that has been the fact that it's been a political failure.  This has seemingly shifted that equation, at least talking to our allies in the Gulf region, one of whom told me a few days ago that they had been discussing this with Jared Kushner and actually saying a blockade would choke off Iran's support, financial support, and they would be left with no option other than deal with the United States.  And my reporting, at least, from this Gulf ally, is that Kushner went to the White House, went to the president, and lobbied for this very hard to get that blockade.  And now that the blockade's in there, you and I were talking yesterday about it. Our sources inside the White House suggest that when the president's not being blasphemous. When the president's not doing AI images of Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, they're actually feeling fairly optimistic on Iran and feel like this blockade has completely changed the dynamics.  This Gulf leader inartfully said, the noose was around our neck. This move has taken it off of us and put it on Iran, and now they have to act.  . . .  When he's not being blasphemous, when he's not attacking God's representative on Earth, when he's not mocking Jesus Christ, he's running a war. And right now, that seems to be working fairly well, this blockade. HAGAR CHEMALI: And when you look at the economics of it, the Iranian regime has been in an economic collapse since last year. And Iran's own central bank highlighted that, alerting that their own banks, each one was about to explode, all of their major ones. One of their major ones exploded, Bank Ayandeh in the fall of last year. And that's what precipitated the protests, because of the regime's economic mismanagement.  So when it comes to how long they can hang on, this is a question of how long they can pay their soldiers for. And the fact is that in a matter of months, the regime is not going to be able to pay their soldiers.  But I don't think the blockade will last that long. I think you're talking more matter of weeks, days. But as a regime, economically, it doesn't have an economic leg to stand on.  And that's when you're going to see a problem. Military defections. A military can only be so loyal when it's not getting paid. 

During Wednesday night’s The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle, panelist Dan Koh, a former Biden staff member and current congressional candidate in Massachusetts, spent the show not answering direct questions and instead positioning himself for social media clips. So much so that Ruhle had to point it out at the end of the show. He also faced pushback from Republican panelist Marc Short about the national debt and congressional spending, something he should have known about as a wannabe representative. As the panel discussed Iran, Koh made his allotted panelist time of the segment with attacks on Vice President J.D. Vance’s previous comments about President Trump, along with more and more about Vance, even a quick sneak of a “couch” comment.   At the end of the 11th Hour on Wednesday, MS NOW's Stephanie Ruhle had enough of Dan Koh, now a candidate for U.S. House in Massachusetts, not answering her questions directly last night RUHLE: I just want to be clear, you don’t answer any of my questions. [Laughter] pic.twitter.com/Ee8pWwUxTZ — Nick (@nspin310) April 16, 2026   It was so off base that, just about seven minutes into the show, Ruhle had to tell him to focus on the actual important matters of the world: KOH: (...) Now, he's literally standing by while Trump is making genocidal statements about Iran, basically fulfilling what old JD prophesied. He said he'd support a classmate. He did support a classmate who was transitioning. Now he's calling gender transition surgery mutilation - RUHLE: Yes. But let's focus on Iran. Later in the show, Koh visited some talking points about cuts to the budgets, as he listed apparent cuts from things like housing and the National Science Foundation.  After his talking points, Ruhle, once again, had to try and redirect the conversation, but Short had a question for Koh, the wannabe congressman: SHORT: We’re $39 trillion in debt. Are there any programs people running for congress will actually cut? Koh tried to ask Short a question back, before Ruhle again directed him, “Hold on, answer his question.” The congressional candidate shifted to a return on investment of congressional funds, before Short and Koh got into some crosstalk as Koh attempted to interrupt.  Short kept on going and explained how cuts may be necessary: There's a lot of programs that sound good, Dan. Then there's a lot of programs you say, “hey, boy, it hurts to take that away from people,” but nobody's actually saying, what are we going to do to actually bring down the deficits? What are we going to actually control debt?   At the end of the 11th Hour on Wednesday, MS NOW's Stephanie Ruhle had enough of Dan Koh, now a candidate for U.S. House in Massachusetts, not answering her questions directly last night RUHLE: I just want to be clear, you don’t answer any of my questions. [Laughter] pic.twitter.com/Ee8pWwUxTZ — Nick (@nspin310) April 16, 2026   Finally, at the end of the show, Ruhle had enough of Koh. After she asked about possible reforms to primary elections, Koh talked about religion. She responded: You don’t answer - I just want to be clear, you don’t answer any of my questions. We're now in like the fourth block of the show. It doesn't matter what I ask you, you answer something else. How do we get you guys paying attention to this? Because I noticed it now, the whole show. Koh represented the modern Democrat: Talking only about how evil Trump and his allies were, with no sense of reality when it came to issues like the national debt.  The transcript is below. Click "expand": MS NOW’s The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle April 16, 2026 11:06:28 PM Eastern (...) DAN KOH: There's a political subtext here, which is how stupid JD Vance looks in all this. Let's play a little game here, which is old JD versus new JD, okay? Old JD claimed that Trump might be America's Hitler. Now, he's literally standing by while Trump is making genocidal statements about Iran, basically fulfilling what old JD prophesied. He said he'd support a classmate. He did support a classmate who was transitioning. Now he's calling gender transition surgery mutilation - RUHLE: Yes. But let's focus on Iran. KOH: But, but what I'm saying is, in this whole point, if we're looking at the subtext of what could happen in 2028, jd Vance is looking increasingly impotent, powerless to control Donald Trump. He continuously tries to reinvent himself, and he will once again, no matter how you couch it, he's going to find a way to try to reinvent himself. He's going to continue to look like an idiot in front of American people. And Trump is not helping him in that regard. (...) 11:12:21 PM Eastern RUHLE: Well, all right, I do want to share. One expert told The Wall Street Journal the war changed the regime, and not in a good way. We created a reality that is worse than what the Iranians were facing before the war. Whether regime, whether regime change was the goal or not, did it backfire? KOH: Look, I think there's a lot of concern here to the point of whether Republicans will stick with it. I think Republicans are pretty concerned about the fact that this president has the lowest approval rating in modern history, worse than Joe Biden's was at this time. And I think people need to save their own skin. At the end of the day, this is a president who, presumably, if he doesn't run for a third term, is going to be a lame duck. And at the end of the day, this is a town about power. So, I'm not convinced that Republicans are going to stick with them all the way through here. RUHLE: Here we are saying - MARC SHORT: It’s nice of you to be concerned about Republicans' prospects. [Laughter] (...) 11:24:52 PM Eastern RUHLE: And people will forget the tax relief if your life costs a whole lot more and there's no relief felt. KOH: If you want to talk about the disconnect, there's a huge disconnect with what trump is saying. I'm going to lower prices and make your life easier, foster innovation and what his budget is saying.  He proposed cutting $11 billion to the housing budget, including the block grants that fund things like domestic violence shelters for women. He's proposing cutting 70 percent of food assistance for breastfeeding mothers as well as children. And he's also proposing cutting 50 percent of the National Science Foundation budget, which fueled the creation of the internet and predicting the weather. He's literally enabling the very things that he claims that he's fighting against. And that's the crazy part about this. This disconnect could not be greater. RUHLE: Okay, here’s - yes -  SHORT: We’re $39 trillion in debt. Are there any programs people running for congress will actually cut? KOH: Do you - do you believe that the -  RUHLE: Hold on, answer his question. KOH: I believe that you have to have a return on your investment. And I don't think there is anything that people would doubt about the fact that our investment in the internet and predicting the weather to prevent disasters is a good use of our money.  Do you disagree? SHORT: Nobody is proposing anything that actually we're going to cut. We're 39 trillion dollars -  [CROSSTALK] KOH: 50 - 50 percent of - SHORT: - and we're growing more rapidly than ever before.  KOH: Do you agree with -  SHORT: There's a lot - everything - There's a lot of programs that sound good, Dan. Then there's a lot of programs you say, “hey, boy, it hurts to take that away from people,” but nobody's actually saying, what are we going to do to actually bring down the deficits? What are we going to actually control debt? [CROSSTALK: KOH: I think -  [CROSSTALK} SHORT: $39 trillion in debt. KOH: I think that's a load of crap. When he's giving the biggest tax cuts in the history of the United States to the richest people and allowing people to write off their private jets. RUHLE: All right. We're going to move on from this. (...) (...) 11:52:45 PM Eastern NAYYERA HAQ: And this is where I love mentioning the fact that the majority of American voters are not MAGA, they're not lefty. They are not part of any political party. They will not show up for a primary, but they'll show up for a general election. And this is the type of rhetoric when we speak so far to the extremes. No one is speaking to that vast majority of Americans who still have some kind of faith. RUHLE: Then is there a strategic plan among either either parties, I mentioned it kind of tongue in cheek before, but seriously, to get more people to vote in primaries because that's why we're here. KOH: Well, look, I think people see their religion as incredibly personal. RUHLE: You don’t answer - I just want to be clear, you don’t answer any of my questions. We're now in like the fourth block of the show. It doesn't matter what I ask you, you answer something else. How do we get you guys paying attention to this? Because I noticed it now, the whole show. [Laughter] KOH: How do we get people more involved in primaries? RUHLE: Like, I just feel like we keep coming to things and the answer is, how do we end up here? It's primaries and now you're just dead. Nobody shows up in the primaries. They're unhappy with how our government works. That's how you solve it boys and girls, show up every time. KOH: I was answering your question then - RUHLE: No he wasn’t (...)

The same "experts" who will support ripping pre-born babies limb by limb want you to know that it's unjust to boil shellfish, because they apparently deserve to be treated more humanely than actual humans.  The same people who support ripping babies limb by limb want you to know this… pic.twitter.com/8k4NZ1YRs3 — Justine Brooke Murray (@Justine_Brooke) April 16, 2026 According to a new study conducted by social justice oriented "scientists," lobsters actually feel pain! (Babies somehow don't?) That's why they demand an "immediate" ban on boiling them, while killing the pre-born is still fully legal in 25 states, plus Washington D.C.