U.S. Vice President JD Vance delivered a stark message on Wednesday, stating that if Russia and Ukraine fail to agree on a peace deal soon, the United States will withdraw from the negotiation process altogether.

Several world leaders united in condemnation of a mass shooting in Indian-controlled Kashmir that officials said killed at least two dozen people.

The body of the late Pope Francis will be transferred to St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday to lie in state until his funeral on Saturday morning, the Vatican announced.

U.S. evangelist Franklin Graham, president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the Evangelical aid organization Samaritan’s Purse, urged Christians to pray for the Catholic Church following Pope Francis’s death.

China on Monday warned it will retaliate against countries that align with the U.S. in ways that harm Beijing’s interests, as the escalating trade war between the world’s two largest economies increasingly entangles other nations. Beijing specifically cautioned against trade agreements with Washington that come at China’s expense, vowing countermeasures in response.

The United States will reduce its military presence in Syria to fewer than 1,000 troops in the coming months, Pentagon officials said Friday, as it consolidates forces to reflect the evolving mission to defeat ISIS.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law the ratification of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement with Iran, solidifying long-term military and diplomatic ties between the two allies, according to Russian state media.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance, a devout Catholic and the last known foreign leader to have met Pope Francis before his death, has expressed sadness about the pontiff’s passing at the age of 88.

Pope Francis died on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, at the age of 88, at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican confirmed Monday.

“Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling celebrated Easter by welcoming a British Supreme Court ruling that trans women are not legally considered women under British law.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reported a sharp decline in American weapons shipments to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Sunday, following his recent accusations that Washington is withholding military aid.

The U.S.S. Eisenhower Aircraft Carrier Strike Group has reached the Mediterranean Sea from the Red Sea on its way to Virginia but will remain to assist with any developments between Israel and Lebanon, according to Sky News Arabic and The Associated Press. The carrier is currently off the coast of Port Said, Egypt.

The war in Gaza and related cross-border fighting appeared to spread to the European Union on Friday after the Lebanon-based Hezbollah group warned it could target the island of Cyprus, an EU member state, and Israel.

The number of Israeli hostages who are still alive in Gaza following their capture by Hamas on Oct. 7 “could be as low as 50,” the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Thursday, June 20. The WSJ report cites hostage mediators and a US official with knowledge of current intelligence on the issue of Israeli captives in Gaza.

Amid Israel’s ongoing war to destroy Hamas’ terrorist capabilities in Gaza, a senior spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces has stated that the threat posed by Hamas cannot be eliminated because the jihadist group represents an “idea” that cannot be destroyed by military means, the Jerusalem Post reports.

Israel warned late Tuesday of “all-out war” against Lebanon-based Hezbollah despite a visiting adviser of U.S. President Joe Biden trying to prevent such an armed conflict.

In response to escalating tensions along the northern border, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have approved operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon. This move follows Hezbollah broadcasting footage purportedly taken by a surveillance drone over the northern Israeli port city of Haifa, in what appears to be a warning to Israel.

Facing mounting pressure to step down in January, U.S. President Joe Biden sought prayer in one of Philadelphia’s biggest Black churches.

Whether faith-based groups are allowed to solely hire people that agree with their faith is a question again before the courts.

The chorus of Democratic voices calling for U.S. President Joe Biden to step aside and not run again in upcoming elections is growing from lawmakers to donors, strategists, and constituents.

Iowa’s Supreme Court ruled last week that the state can implement its new “heartbeat law” which bans abortion at six weeks gestation is constitutional and may take effect. The law had been temporarily blocked following a legal challenge by abortion provider Planned Parenthood.

The Biden administration has allowed more than 5 million immigrants to enter the United States, and an additional nearly 2 million immigrants have been detected attempting unauthorized entry into the country, according to a recently released Congressional report.

President Joe Biden continues to play defense after a disastrous debate performance last week with many in his own party calling for him to withdraw from the Democratic ticket.

The United States said Tuesday it would pay vaccine maker Moderna, known for COVID-19 jabs, $176 million to accelerate developing “a pandemic influenza vaccine” to treat bird flu in people.