President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will be attending the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday April 26th in Rome.

President Trump made the announcement on Truth Social, the pontiff’s funeral is scheduled for Saturday, April 26, according to the Vatican. {link}

According to ABC News, Ukraine’s unelected President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will also be attending. Additional attendees include Javier Milei, the president of Francis’ native Argentina; Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, president of Brazil; French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

The funeral service is scheduled to be held outside in St Peter’s Square.

After a period of rest in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican guesthouse where Francis lived during his papacy, his body will on Wednesday morning be moved to St. Peter’s Basilica. There, he will lie in state in an open coffin for three days, while cardinals and the wider public pay their respects to the late pontiff.

Francis’ coffin will then be carried into St. Peter’s Square – the piazza outside the basilica – for Saturday’s funeral.

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Vice-President JD Vance travels to India as part of a diplomatic tour that includes geopolitical relationships and trade deals.  With the Trump administration emphasizing an Indo-Pacific strategy to help thwart aggressive Chinese expansion, India plays a key role.  Indeed, the Trump plan in term #1 always included close economic ties with India; in term #2 that strategy remains.

Enhancing term #2 and the geopolitical strategy around the Indo-Pacific approach, JD Vance represents a close personal relationship with India that fits inside a natural synergy he has with Silicon Valley and the Indian tech community. The Tech Bros love India, and with JD and Usha Vance representing close ties to the nation, JD Vance fits the pro-India trade position like a glove. Usha Vance’s parents are Telugu-speaking teachers from Andhra Pradesh. They had moved to the US in the early 1970s.

For President Trump the relationship with India is ‘business strategic’, a hedge against Beijing.  For Vice President JD Vance the relationship with India is personal.

Vice President JD Vance praised India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying, “Our kids just like him. And because children have such a good sense of character, I like Prime Minister Modi too. It’s a great foundation for the future of our relationship.” Vance highlights personal warmth alongside diplomatic ties because for him and the Tech Bros, this relationship with India is personal. WATCH:

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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

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Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

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President Trump and First Lady Melania participate in an annual tradition at the White House, the Easter Egg Roll.

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*Travel day tonight.  See you in the morning. :)) /SD

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It looks like meeting Vice-President JD Vance yesterday was the last public appearance before Pope Francis died early this morning.

The exact cause of death has not been shared: “At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father,” said Cardinal Kevin Farrell in an announcement of the death. Francis, who suffered from chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, was admitted to Gemelli hospital on Feb. 14, 2025, for a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia. He spent 38 days there, the longest hospitalization of his 12-year papacy.

(Via AP) – Francis’ coffin will be moved from the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta hotel, where he lived, to St. Peter’s Basilica for public viewing.

According to a new ritual Francis approved last year, the body of the pope will be placed in a wooden coffin, with a zinc coffin inside. The pope will be dressed in red liturgical vestments, his miter — the traditional headdress of bishops — and the pallium woolen stole, a kind of scarf.

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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

(more…)

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

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When did citizens of other nations gain USA constitutional rights?

According to Senator Van Hollen discussing illegal alien Abrego Garcia has U.S. “Constitutional Rights.”  Van Hollen claimed on CBS, “I want to be really clear, this is not a case about just one man whose constitutional rights are being ignored and disrespected. Because when you trample on the constitutional rights of one man, as the courts have all said is happening in this case, you threaten the constitutional rights of every American.”  WATCH:

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At 1:00am on Saturday, the Supreme Court of the USA issued an injunction [SEE HERE] blocking President Trump from deporting illegal aliens identified under the Alien Enemies Act.  It was/is a bizarre order considering the lower court had not even ruled on the matter; worse yet, the Supreme Court created an imaginary “class” of aliens.

Any illegal alien who happens to also be a gang member, or illegal alien who would ‘smartly’ now claim to be a gang member, is ultimately the beneficiary of a Supreme Court order blocking their removal or deportation.  That’s how judicially insane this injunction is.

As outlined in the original injunction order, Justice Alito issued a blistering dissent, calling out seven of the justices who affirmed the order. [SEE HERE]

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