President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a brief one-on-one discussion inside St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday before convening with other leaders to attend Pope Francis’s funeral.
|
-
President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a brief one-on-one discussion inside St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday before convening with other leaders to attend Pope Francis’s funeral.
-
More than a quarter of a million people, from the humble faithful to world leaders, gathered for the funeral of Pope Francis.
-
A massive explosion at a port in Iran has killed at least five people and injured more than 700 others.
-
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary said he would support Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. if he moves to withdraw the federal government’s recommendation for children to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
-
A federal judge raised concerns that a 2-year-old U.S. citizen may have been deported alongside her illegal immigrant mother without receiving any meaningful legal review.
|
☀️ It’s Sunday. Thank you for reading the Morning Brief, an exclusive newsletter for subscribers of The Epoch Times.
|
|
|
| Ivan Pentchoukov
National Editor |
|
|
In this handout photo released by the Office of the President of Ukraine, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) meets with U.S. President Donald Trump (L) during Pope Francis's funeral at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, Italy, on April 26, 2025. (Office of the President of Ukraine via Getty Images) |
President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a brief one-on-one discussion inside St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday before convening with other leaders to attend Pope Francis’s funeral.
The conversation took place before the funeral Mass began, at a point in the morning when the Vatican’s vast basilica was shut to allow world leaders and diplomats to visit the pontiff’s closed coffin and pay their respects.
Pictures showing Trump and Zelenskyy seated in a corner as if they just pulled up a couple of chairs, hunched over deep in discussion, were shared across social media. This was the first face-to-face encounter between Trump and Zelenskyy since their heated meeting in the Oval Office in February that ended with Zelenskyy being asked to leave the White House. The two leaders had a “very productive discussion,” according to Steven Cheung, the White House communications director. No further discussion was had after the funeral. Trump and first lady Melania Trump quickly returned to Air Force One afterward to fly back to the United States. Zelenskyy thanked Trump and said it was a good meeting.
“We discussed a lot one on one,” Zelenskyy said on X. “Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out. Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results.” (More) More World News: |
-
The Russian military said its forces have retaken the last settlement that Ukrainian forces held in the Kursk region, after eight and a half months of fighting.
-
Russia’s top security agency detained a suspect over the car bombing that killed a senior Russian general near Moscow, accusing Ukrainian special services of orchestrating the attack.
-
Chinese authorities are grappling with internal alarm following a rare public protest in Southwest China, where three large banners denouncing the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) were displayed on an overpass in a busy commercial district—and remained in place for nearly three hours before being removed.
-
London is losing its richest residents. The British capital has seen more than 30,000 millionaires vanish over the past 10 years.
|
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary said he would support Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. if he moves to withdraw the federal government’s recommendation for children to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Most Americans do not believe in the COVID booster shot for young, healthy children at this point,” Makary said during remarks at Semafor’s World Economy Summit. “So if he [Kennedy] does something with the COVID vaccine in children, I think it’ll be warmly welcomed by a lot of Americans.”
Makary, a vocal critic of vaccine mandates during the pandemic, said he continues to believe vaccines save lives. He also noted that he has not received any COVID-19 boosters himself.
Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, has not denied reports that he is considering removing COVID-19 shots from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) childhood vaccine schedule. During a recent appearance on Fox News, he called the original COVID-19 vaccine recommendation for children “dubious.”
“It was dubious because kids had almost no risk for COVID-19,” he said. “Some kids—certain kids that had very profound morbidities—may have a slight risk. Most kids don’t, so why are we giving this to tens of millions of kids? Because the vaccine itself does have profound risks.”
The CDC added the COVID-19 vaccine to the childhood schedule in 2023 following advisory panel recommendations, though the shot is not a requirement for school attendance in any state. Only about 13 percent of children have received the most recent formulation, according to CDC data. (More)
More Politics: |
-
U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer warned states of losing federal funding if they fail to comply with President Donald Trump’s directives against rewarding illegal immigrants with tax dollars.
-
The Justice Department has rescinded a Biden-era policy that limited prosecutors’ ability to obtain journalists’ records during criminal leak investigations.
|
Fishing captain and adventure guide Nate Weinbaum was in the final hour of a full-day charter in Florida Bay when his clients landed their first and only fish of the day. The couple was visiting the Florida Keys for the first time, and the wife delivered what was supposed to be the highlight of their saltwater fly-fishing adventure: a redfish nearly three feet long.
It was too big to keep, according to Florida regulations. So they carefully released the fish back into the bay. Moments later, the water churned. Then it turned red. “A shark was trailing us along the edge of the channel,” Weinbaum said. It “just devoured the redfish.” His clients’ joy turned to guilt. “She’s like, ‘I killed that fish. That fish was going on about its way, and I did that. I caught the fish, and I’m responsible for it being devoured 15 feet from the boat,’’’ Weinbaum recalled. “And she’s absolutely right.” The experience illustrates a problem that, according to local fishermen, has plagued the bay and other U.S. waters with increasing severity over the past 10 years. Scientists call the problem depredation. That term describes when sharks take advantage of fishermen for an easy meal, taking some or all of a hooked fish when it’s being reeled in.
It also can refer to when sharks prey on just-released fish that are slow and disoriented after being put back into the water. That’s known more specifically as post-catch predation. (More) |
📷 Photo of the Day: A young woman stands on a trail that passes close to wild bluebells, which bloom around mid-April in the Hallerbos, also known as the 'Blue Forest,' near the Belgian city of Halle on April 26, 2025. Nicolas Tucat/AFP via Getty Images | Joshua Becker is working on his next book, entitled “Uncluttered Faith.” (Gabriella Tamney) |
When you talk to him, Joshua Becker radiates positivity and peace. Maybe that’s the natural result of a life spent eliminating distractions and focusing on what matters. For Becker, that’s at the heart of what minimalism means.
Becker has been writing and speaking about minimalism for 15 years, inspiring a wave of the growing movement, which encourages people to cut back on possessions in order to free up time, space, and mental energy for the things that really matter.
To him, minimalism isn’t just about streamlining his possessions or becoming more efficient with his time—it’s about the art of living well and prioritizing the aspects of life that have true, long-lasting meaning. In Becker’s case, that means faith, family, and work. His work involves helping others get free of the consumerist trap that eats up paychecks, closet-space, and mental clarity.
Becker’s journey to the freedom of minimalism began in a Vermont suburb when he was cleaning out his garage, wading through all the stuff that clogged it. His wife was cleaning the bathrooms while their 5-year-old son played alone in the backyard.
Becker began chatting with a neighbor, who suggested, “Maybe you don’t need to own all this stuff.” Becker realized his neighbor was right: His day was slipping away, he wasn’t spending time with his son, all because he had to manage possessions he might not even need.
Becker and his family began decluttering, recycling, and donating unnecessary belongings, and they’ve never looked back. (More)
|
|
|
Thanks for reading. Have a wonderful day. |
|
|
Copyright © 2025 The Epoch Times, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is: The Epoch Times. 229 W. 28 St. Fl. 7 New York, NY 10001 | Contact Us
Our Morning Brief newsletter is one of the best ways to receive the most up-to-date information. Manage your email preferences here or unsubscribe from Morning Brief here.
|
|
|
|
