Trump steps up attack on Pope Leo
Donald Trump renewed his attacks on Pope Leo overnight, again falsely claiming that Pope Leo supports Iran having a nuclear weapon. In fact, Pope Leo has warned against the dangers to the world posed by nuclear weapons. Trump also criticized Pope Leo for his opposition to the war against Iran that Trump started. The pope is continuing his tour of Africa, flying to Cameroon today. New York’s Archbishop Ronald Hicks today expressed praise for the pope in his calm responses to Trump. Hicks’ comments came a day after a statement of support for the pope from Philadelphia’s Archbishop Nelson Perez.
Trump raises possibility of replacing Supreme Court Justice Alito
In an interview today with Maria Bartiromo of Fox News, Donald Trump indicated that he would want to see Conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito step down so Trump could appoint a younger justice while Republicans still are in control of Capitol Hill and the White House. There has been speculation that Trump would try to appoint Federal Judge Aileen Cannon from Florida who has ruled in Trump’s favor in a number of cases. There’s been speculation over whether Alito, age 76, will retire in time for Trump to appoint and for a Republican Senate to confirm a new right-wing justice in order to guarantee the seat is not filled by a potential Democratic president in 2029.
Trump threatens to fire Powell
Donald Trump said he will fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell if he does not step aside when his term expires next month. Powell’s tenure as chair expires on May 15. Trump’s pick for a replacement, Kevin Warsh, has yet to be confirmed by the Senate. That leaves the potential for Powell to remain in place as chair on a temporary basis beyond May 15 as provided for in federal  regulations. The Senate Banking Committee has scheduled a confirmation hearing for Warsh for April 21. However, North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, a key member of the committee, has said he will not vote to confirm Warsh until a Department of Justice criminal investigation into Powell has concluded.
IMF warns of economic fallout from Iran war
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says the world will suffer an oil shortfall this year and global economic growth may fall to only 2%, which is the point at which the IMF considers the world to have entered a recession. The IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas told CNN in an interview that even if the war were to end today and the Strait of Hormuz was immediately opened, it would take a long time for normalcy to return. Global oil supply plummeted by 10.1 million barrels a day in March, the largest disruption in history according to the International Energy Agency. Global inflation is also seen rising to 4.4% this year.
Vance heckled during speech to Turning Point USA
During a speech Tuesday at an event held by the conservative group Turning Point USA at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, Vice President Vance criticized Pope Leo for the pope’s stance against war. Vance was heckled by some people who were offended by Vance’s criticism of the pope and Vance’s claims that the wars in Iran and Gaza were just like the allied liberation of the Nazi concentration camps as World War Two ended. The auditorium in which Vance spoke was largely empty during his speech. Turning Point USA is the organization founded by conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated during a Turning Point event.
Violent weather continues in parts of the U.S.
Tornadoes and baseball-sized hail tore through parts of Wisconsin and Iowa on Tuesday evening. The severe weather is part of a multi-day outbreak that began Monday and will continue through the end of the week from the southern Plains to the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes region. There have been more than two dozen reports of tornadoes from eastern Kansas to southern Minnesota and Wisconsin since Monday night. Destructive hail ranging in size from limes to softballs has also been common, with nearly 100 reports across the same region. Tornado warnings were issued for millions in Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin; Detroit and Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Fayetteville, Arkansas, Tuesday night into early Wednesday. Powerful severe thunderstorms also moved through Chicago and Grand Rapids, Michigan, where the airport recorded an 80 mph wind gust.
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