Last week, the Vatican released a report from Study Group 9 of the Synod on Synodality, one of 10 groups set up by Pope Francis in 2024 to examine controversial issues.

Titled “Theological Criteria and Synodal Methodologies for Shared Discernment of Emerging Doctrinal, Pastoral, and Ethical Issues,” the report presented testimonies from two gay Catholic men in same-sex civil marriages.

The report has sparked quite a controversy in the Catholic faith. Very traditional Catholics — and even some evangelical Christians — have largely viewed it as dangerous and subversive, seeing it as undermining long-standing Church teaching on the sinfulness of homosexual acts by platforming positive testimonies of same-sex “marriages” and downplaying doctrine in favor of subjective experience.

BlazeTV host Liz Wheeler, who describes herself as a devout Catholic, addressed the synod report on a recent episode of “The Liz Wheeler Show.”

She first addresses the panic of those who interpret the report as indicative of imminent change to Church doctrine.

“One of these documents from a synod is not Church dogma. It is not magisterial teaching. It has no authority to change doctrine of the Church. It is at best … an advisory committee that puts together reports that advise the pope on how to handle issues pastorally,” she says, noting that the pope is free to “accept these recommendations or not.”

As of now, Pope Leo XIV has neither formally accepted nor rejected the report.

“Even if he did [accept it], it’s not binding. It’s not doctrine or dogma,” says Liz.

That said, she acknowledges that ”there is valid concern that the ‘pastoral’ nature of this advice will encroach, at least in praxis, on the official teaching, the unchangeable doctrine, of the Church — at least at the local level,” which Liz says would be “a moral travesty” despite the fact that the “teaching remains unchangeable.”

After reading the report herself, she admits that the report is written “in an ambiguous way” that makes it unclear whether or not the synod is neutrally summarizing testimonies of two gay Catholic couples or “embracing” their viewpoints and lifestyle.

“The generous way to interpret this [synodal report] would be listening to people who struggle with sin can help you help them; there is value in hearing what led someone to a particular struggle,” says Liz.

“That would be fine … as long as your goal for these people is the fullness of Christ, as long as your goal is not indulgence, an excuse for their sin, redefinition of sin,” she explains. “So if this synod report that includes these testimonies is including the testimonies because they want to better understand how to bring these people out of their sin into the fullness of Christ, OK, that’s fine.”

Liz admits that she is reluctant to be generous in her reading of the synod report because of the ambiguity in which the testimonies are presented.

“How on earth could you not clarify whether you are embracing that testimony or whether you are simply summarizing it — especially when you know it will cause tremendous confusion, even scandal, among the faithful?” she asks.

The “defensive way” to interpret the report, says Liz, is to read it as a genuine attempt “to sneak effective changes to doctrine that [homosexuality advocates] have no authority to change into the pastoral practice of the Church, hoping it becomes the de facto norm in the Church, despite the contradiction to unchangeable Church teaching.”

While Liz is torn between the generous and defensive interpretations, the most important thing, she says, is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church actually teaches: that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered, are contrary to natural law, and can never be approved, but that people with deep-seated homosexual tendencies must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity, with every sign of unjust discrimination avoided, and are called to live chastely through self-mastery, prayer, and friendship.

“That is the official, unchangeable teaching of the Catholic Church on homosexuality, and it’s beautiful,” she says.

To hear more of Liz’s analysis, watch the episode above.

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​Blaze media, Blazetv, Conversion therapy, Homosexuality, Liz wheeler, Pope francis, Pope leo xiv, Study group 9, Synod on synodality, Synod report, The liz wheeler show, Vatican, Vatican report 

Texas police said they’re investigating the death of six people found in a boxcar by a Union Pacific employee at a rail yard on Sunday.

Police said they responded to a call of “multiple casualties” at about 3 p.m. A Webb County medical examiner said the dead included one woman and five men.

One of the other dead persons appears to be a teenager. Officials said they believe they are all from Mexico and Honduras.

The examiner identified the female victim as a Mexican national and one of the men as a Honduran national.

The official noted that temperatures had reached up to 105 degrees when the bodies were found.

“Following initial examinations, it has been determined that the female victim succumbed to hyperthermia,” reads the statement from the medical examiner. “While formal examinations for the remaining five individuals are still pending, it is highly probable that hyperthermia was the cause of death for the entire group.”

One of the other dead persons appears to be a teenager. Officials said they believe they are all from Mexico and Honduras.

Laredo Police investigator Jose Baeza said determining the origin of the train was “at the crux” of the ongoing investigation, which he described as fluid.

“Imagine a loading dock at a seaport, but for trains,” Baeza said to NBC News in a phone interview. “This is where they load and unload a lot of rail cars.”

A spokesperson for Union Pacific said the company was cooperating with the investigation and was “saddened” by the incident.

RELATED: At least 46 illegal aliens found dead in a trailer in San Antonio, and death toll may climb higher

The International Organization for Migration reported that the lowest figure of migrant deaths in the Americas had been lodged for 2025, likely because of the crackdown on illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border.

They said about 414 migrants died in the Americas in 2025. Total deaths declined about 68% in 2025 from those in 2024, which coincides with President Donald Trump getting into office.

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​Dead migrants, Dead people in boxcar, Dead people laredo rail yard, Heat exhaustion deaths, Politics 

I have never considered flying to be a luxurious experience, and this trip was no exception. I don’t think I’m speaking out of turn when I say that all I or anyone else on the flight from Dallas to Detroit on Christmas morning wanted was for it to be over as quickly as possible.

I had waited in the inevitable jetbridge backlog, found my seat, dutifully ignored the safety briefing, and was ready to see if I could manage an hour or so of sleep. As the plane reached cruising altitude, I — having momentarily gained the upper hand in the case of Pestritto v. airline seat — began to slip into a light doze.

In the back of my mind, I knew it was coming, but that didn’t make it any more bearable. The crackle of the PA system, the monotone, forced cheerfulness of the flight attendant as he delivered the fateful words: “We’d like to take this chance to tell you about a special promotion being offered on this flight.”

For a brief instant, some small part of me considered pulling the emergency door handle. Surely the icy blast of air at 33,000 feet couldn’t be any worse than enduring the dreaded American Airlines credit card pitch.

When I arrive at the airport, I am prepared to suffer.

After this brief instant of nihilism, the better angels of my nature prevailed, and I contented myself with a silent sigh, listening to the pitch as I meditated on the script’s use of the passive voice. As if the airline were saying, “This promotion is being pitched without your consent. By whom? No idea. We would certainly never inflict such an indignity upon our paying customers.”

Let me take a moment to make my position clear. I understand that air travel is an unpleasant experience. Anyone who has taken a flight more than once in his life almost certainly understands this fact.

I have shrugged my shoulders for two hours straight in a middle seat. I have sat on the tarmac for longer than I thought possible. I have nearly missed my flight because it took four TSA officers to handle the bomb threat posed by the pink sippy cup belonging to the toddler in front of me.

All that to say: When I arrive at the airport, I am prepared to suffer.

However, air travel and I used to have an agreement. Once I made it through the ritual humiliation of the airport process and actually got to my seat on the plane, I was left more or less alone to endure the next few hours as best I could.

I grew up making two-day road trips in a Suburban with my parents and seven siblings, so I consider myself something of an expert at enduring hours of cramped travel conditions. The trick is just sort of retreating within yourself, ignoring your surroundings, and letting the dull misery of the situation become a sort of vague background noise.

This strategy is why I support Delta’s recent decision to end in-flight refreshments on trips of less than 350 miles. Unless the flight is long enough to warrant it, I don’t want my restless slumber disturbed by a voice asking if I want apple juice like it’s lunchtime at the day care or, if I’m the hapless occupant of an aisle seat, my elbow socket being rearranged by the passage of the snack cart.

I want it to just be me, my popping ears, and my very sore rear end until such time as we touch down and I can begin the “Mad Max: Fury Road” experience of trying to get off the plane.

I should have known, though, that modernity is never content to rest on its laurels. Like a roaring lion, it goes about constantly seeking whom it might devour — if by “devour” we mean “deprive of both money and will to live.” Since most airline passengers are neither sober nor watchful, the airlines are as good a place for devouring as any.

RELATED: Artemis II proves America still knows how to reach for the heavens

Jim WATSON/AFP/Getty Images

American Airlines is not alone in its quest to eliminate any and all in-flight respite. I have sat through what can only be described as lottery drawings on Spirit Airlines (may she rest in peace), heard random promotions for goodness knows what on Frontier, and been pitched on the same Delta credit card I had in my wallet at the time.

I understand, to a certain degree, why the airlines see fit to inflict these announcements on their passengers. If you look into it, you’ll find that most airlines today are basically just “banks that happen to fly planes.” They actually lose money on the flying part of the operation, which probably has something to do with the incessant attempts to bring customers over to the profitable side of the business.

The details of airline loyalty programs and how they have changed the industry is a story for another time. My concern is twofold.

First: How long can I endure these incessant credit card pitches before I commit self-harm or — far worse — break down and get one of them?

Second: What’s to stop this most heinous of sales methods from spreading to other forms of transportation? How long will it be before I have to endure automated pitches for the Honda GroundMiles Card whenever I stop at a red light?

I don’t expect much when I travel. Whether I’m sitting in Dallas traffic or at cruising altitude over Oklahoma, my greatest desire at this point is to endure the agony unassisted by the vicissitudes of corporate marketing.

​Airlines, Air travel, Airline credit cards, Delta airlines, Spirit airlines, Flying experience, Dallas, Detroit, Tsa, Frontier airlines, American airlines, Travel, Opinion & analysis 

A 29-year-old Florida male allegedly stabbed his grandmother 11 times on Mother’s Day after being asked to help carry in groceries.

The West Palm Beach Police Department said it received a call around 1:26 p.m. from a relative reporting that Keo Nottage had stabbed his grandmother, WPEC-TV reported.

‘Someone is going to die today.’

When officers arrived at the scene on 52nd Street, they found Nottage and his cousin involved in a physical altercation, the station said.

The grandmother — who was attacked during the incident — told officers Nottage’s cousin had just returned from the grocery store to prepare for a Mother’s Day dinner, WPEC said.

When the cousin asked Nottage to help bring in groceries, Nottage allegedly replied, “Someone is going to die today,” the station said.

Shortly afterward Nottage entered the kitchen, grabbed a knife, and stabbed his grandmother 11 times, WPEC reported.

Witnesses told the station the cousin tried to help the grandmother during the attack. According to a WPBF-TV video report, Nottage began chasing the cousin with the knife.

RELATED: ‘I’m not dying today’: Grandmother outwits, fights attackers after being severely beaten, threatened with her life in quaint Iowa wine shop where she works

WPEC said that while the cousin was on the phone with police, Nottage tried to flee the scene.

But the cousin stopped Nottage, which led to another physical altercation between the two and resulted in an injury to the cousin’s hand, WPEC said.

Surveillance video and eyewitness accounts confirmed the sequence of events, WPEC said, adding that police subsequently accused Nottage of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

WPBF said Nottage — who appeared in court Monday — is being held without bond.

The grandmother was taken to a hospital for surgery and was in critical condition, WPEC said.

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​Stabbing, Florida, Mother’s day, West palm beach, Grandmother, Groceries, Police, Arrest, Jailed, Attempted murder, Aggravated assault, Crime 

Tennessee state Rep. Justin Pearson (D) took it a little too far last week when he screamed in the face of state troopers unprovoked, all because he disagreed with the result of the state’s redistricting special session.

Pearson not only asked the state troopers what was wrong with them while addressing them as “boy,” but he also yelled, “You stupid motherf**ker!”

BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock is disturbed by the outburst.

“What a juxtaposition, what a transformation that we went from the 1960s, where law enforcement was speaking disrespectfully to black protesters and black people and calling them ‘boy’ and being intimidating to in 2026, we have an elected official, a college-educated person, someone in a suit and tie that is supposed to be a professional person shouting ‘boy’ and dropping ‘MFs’ and all of this other stuff,” Whitlock comments.

“Like, wow, things have changed. And people want to pretend like things haven’t changed, but clearly they have,” he adds.

Whitlock explains that while black politicians like Pearson are framing the redistricting as a “black-white thing,” it’s actually “a Democrat-Republican thing.”

“Republicans, I believe, have a black woman that they want to put in that seat,” he continues, adding, “This is crazy.”

“He’s very dramatic,” Anthony Walker agrees.

“That video was just appalling to me because … if you’re really trying to fight for voter rights, what does this behavior do to support any of that? All it does is support the stereotype. All it does is support, you know, just foolishness,” he adds.

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​Black protesters, Black woman, Blaze media, Blaze news, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Blaze podcast network, Blaze podcasts, Blazetv, Blazetv host, Elected official, Jason whitlock, Jason whitlock harmony, Justin pearson, Law enforcement, Liberal meltdown, Redistricting special session, State troopers, Stereotype, Tennessee state rep, The blaze, Voter rights 

The man arrested for shooting at security officers at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner has pleaded not guilty to charges related to the alleged assassination attempt.

Cole Tomas Allen is charged with one count of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump, one count of assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon, and two counts of a gun charge.

Public defender Eugene Ohm said that it would be ‘wholly inappropriate’ for two attorneys general to be victims in the case while directing the prosecution’s case.

Allen was captured on surveillance video running through a security checkpoint before he fired his shotgun and was shot by an officer who saw him approaching. Investigators allegedly found a handgun and knives in his possession as well.

Investigators found a note allegedly written by Allen where he appeared to apologize in advance to his family for the assassination plot. He also left a manifesto and a long digital footprint documenting his hatred for the president and other members of his administration.

On Monday, he pleaded not guilty in court.

Allen’s attorneys have filed a motion to disqualify U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro from the case as well as the other attorneys general from the Washington, D.C., office. They argue that Pirro’s statements to the media suggest they are “purported victims and witnesses” of the alleged assassination plot.

Public defender Eugene Ohm said that it would be “wholly inappropriate” for two attorneys general to be victims in the case while directing the prosecution’s case.

The government has until June 22 to respond to the motion.

If convicted, Allen faces life in prison for the charges.

RELATED: Judge APOLOGIZES to suspected would-be Trump assassin — and compares him to Jan. 6 defendants

Many were outraged when Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui apologized to Allen over the conditions of his imprisonment at the Washington, D.C., jail. He was placed on suicide restrictions, despite being cleared as a suicide risk.

“These conditions are excessive restrictions on his liberty that serve no justifiable purpose and deprive Mr. Allen of dignity while incarcerated,” his attorneys argued.

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​Cole allen, Whcd assassination attempt, Not guilty plea, Trump assassination attempt, Politics 

Former FBI counterintelligence agent Wayne Barnes says one of the best ways to catch a spy is to ask a simple question — like when his birthday is.

Barnes, whose new book “A Traitor in the FBI: The Hunt for a Russian Mole” came out last month, spent nearly 30 years in counterintelligence, where he debriefed a record number of Soviet and Soviet-Bloc assets. In an interview with Align, Barnes described the psychological tactics, subtle tells, and ethical contrasts that defined Cold War espionage.

‘You have to have the straightest poker face you could ever imagine.’

Born yesterday

While Barnes acknowledges that his career could occasionally involve the kind of dramatic deception shown in the movies, he often employed more mundane subterfuge.

Take the man from Afghanistan who applied to join the FBI in the 1980s. While his background could have made him a useful asset, Barnes, then working as a security officer in Washington, D.C., wanted to vet him first.

The interview happened in late December. Noticing that the man had listed his birthday as January 1 on his application, Barnes decided to see how he handled a simple question.

“I asked, ‘Do you have any plans for your birthday?’ and he said, ‘Why’d you ask that?’ And I said, ‘Well, it’s in a couple weeks.'”

Without thinking, the man corrected Barnes: “Oh no, my birthday is July 6.”

“For most people, the day they were born is a day that they won’t forget,” Barnes remembers telling the applicant.

From there, the man’s story began to fall apart. Eventually the agency concluded that the applicant was working for the Afghan mujahideen.

RELATED: The doomer delusion

Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Poker face

Barnes describes his interview technique as a “verbal polygraph”; it’s not an exact science, but if you know what you’re doing, it will “ferret out” a lot of people.

That required intense discipline from FBI agents themselves. When debriefing Soviet intelligence officers or defectors, Barnes says agents had to carefully conceal what they already knew.

“You have to have the straightest poker face you could ever imagine,” he says.

Agents would sometimes spread out photographs of Soviet embassy personnel they suspected of spying and casually ask whether the subject had seen them at a restaurant, training class, or bar. Every response mattered — not just what was said, but how long someone spoke, how nervous they appeared, or whether they seemed too rehearsed.

“[Did] he talk about him too long? Did he talk about him too short?” Barnes explains. “Debriefing intelligence officers is very tricky … and … very narrow.”

Barnes also notes that it was standard for agents from the Soviet Bloc to claim they had already compromised Western forces.

“Whether the Romanians or Czechs, or Poles or Hungarians, they always say, ‘Oh, we have you penetrated.'”

On the hook

Barnes also describes how Soviet operatives recruited Americans willing to sell secrets.

“Follow a guy from the Soviet embassy in his car. He leaves at 5:30, and [you] see he lives in a garden apartment someplace in Alexandria, Virginia,” Barnes details.

“He goes inside, and you have a note in your hand, and you put it under his windshield wiper, and the next morning he gets it. It says, ‘I have secrets to sell …'”

“The Russians almost always followed through,” Barnes says.

At first, the payments were small — just enough to create leverage.

“They’d say, ‘This was good stuff, but it’s only worth $5,000. If you want another $5,000, you need to bring more.'”

Once an American accepted money, Barnes says, fear and blackmail often kept them cooperating. In reality, however, the chances of the Russians exposing a spy were slim.

“The Russians won’t turn him in,” Barnes explains, as their priority is to extract as much information as possible.

RELATED: ‘Multiple people’ taken into custody as FBI RAIDS top Virginia Democrat’s offices over alleged corruption

Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Moral difference

The Soviets were also not above pressuring their own agents by threatening family members, Barnes says.

“If your brother’s in college, his life is over,” Barnes says. “That’s the leverage [they] had on the KGB people.”

For Barnes, that dynamic highlighted what he viewed as a major moral difference between the United States and the Soviet Union. While Soviet intelligence services allegedly threatened defectors’ families, American handlers often tried to help them — including offering medical assistance or protection.

Many Soviet defectors, Barnes adds, changed sides not because of ideology, but because they realized they had been lied to about life in America.

“They’d come here and see stores full of food — entire stores just selling cheese,” Barnes says. “It was a, ‘They’ve been lying to me,’ sort of realization.”

That contrast, he says, often planted the seed for future cooperation with American intelligence.

“We live in a land of freedom,” Barnes concludes. “Compared to the Soviet Union, there’s nothing like America. … Their system was set up in such a way that was so different than ours. … So it was really a terrible place.”

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​Align, Fbi counterintelligence agent, Fbi officer, Russian agents, Secret agents, Soviet embassy, Lifestyle 

A German couple has been sentenced on charges related to the horrific abuse of their three children out of fear of the coronavirus pandemic.

Police said they rescued the three children in April 2025 from their home in Oviedo, Spain. They arrested the two parents after discovering the disturbing living conditions in the home.

When they were allowed outside, the kids touched the grass.

The children hadn’t been seen outside for years, and police reported that when they were allowed outside, the kids touched the grass and began breathing “as if they had never done so before in their lives.”

They also saw a snail and “were completely fascinated.”

Police reportedly found bags and bags of garbage inside of the home, and the children had no devices, no television, and didn’t even have shoes in their sizes. The children were reportedly kept in diapers and sleeping in cribs.

The children, who were between the ages of 8 and 10 at the time, were reportedly hunched over and bow-legged when rescued. The Sun published some of the shocking photos of the conditions inside the home.

Christian Steffen, 54, and Melissa Ann Steffen, 49, were arrested and charged with child abuse, domestic violence with habitual psychological abuse, and illegal detention.

Prosecutors sought 25 years in prison for the parents, but the Provincial Court of Asturias sentenced them on Monday to only two years and 10 months in prison each.

Police believe the children were locked up from 2021 until their rescue in 2025. They were tipped off by a neighbor who had catalogued the suspicious activity at the home in a notebook.

RELATED: NC Dem used pandemic loan to throw herself lavish 50th birthday party, prosecutors say

The couple also had their parental rights stripped for three years and four months, and they were forbidden from communicating with the children. In addition, they have been ordered to pay the children the equivalent of $35,000 each.

The children are receiving psychological treatment and are in the care of child protective services.

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​Coronavirus child abuse, Pandemic hysteria, Spain hysteria abuse, Politics, Oviedo spain abuse