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Trump rejects American Bishop Robert Barron’s call to apologize to Pope for ‘disrespectful’ comments

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President Donald Trump rejected American Bishop Robert Barron’s call to apologize to the Pope on Monday for comments he made on Truth Social, arguing that it was the Pope who is “wrong.”

Trump sparked a row with the Roman Catholic Church when he called Pope Leo out for his stance on the Iran war. Barron, while expressing gratitude for Trump’s defense of religious liberty, responded by politely suggesting that the president should apologize to the Pope for these comments.

Trump was asked by a reporter whether he planned on making such an apology.

“No I don’t, because Pope Leo said things that were wrong. he was very much against what I’m doing with regard to Iran, and you cannot have a nuclear Iran,” Trump replied. “Pope Leo would not be happy with the end result. You have hundreds of millions of people dead. And it’s not going to happen. So again, I think he’s very weak on crime and other things.”

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Trump went on to recall that he had praised the Pope’s brother, saying he likes him “better than I like the Pope.”

“You have to have law and order in our country. And that’s what we have now,” Trump said. “We have the lowest crime numbers we’ve had in a long time, despite the fact that many criminals were allowed into our country. But we’ve gotten a lot of them out. We’ve done a great job on crime. So we have the lowest murder rate in 125 years, since 1900, the lowest murder rate.”

“So we believe strongly in law and order,” Trump concluded. “And he seemed to have a problem with that. So there’s nothing to apologize for. He’s wrong. And the other thing is he didn’t like what we’re doing with respect to Iran. But Iran is a — wants to be a nuclear nation. So they can exterminate the world. Not gonna happen.”

“Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” Trump had written previously on Truth Social. “He talks about ‘fear’ of the Trump Administration, but doesn’t mention the FEAR that the Catholic Church, and all other Christian Organizations, had during COVID when they were arresting priests, ministers, and everybody else, for holding Church Services, even when going outside, and being ten and even twenty feet apart.”

Trump went on to make numerous other controversial statements in the post, such as declaring that he prefers Louis Prevost, Pope Leo XIV‘s brother, more than the Pope himself, saying “”He gets it, and Leo doesn’t! I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.”

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“The statements made by President Trump on Truth Social regarding the Pope were entirely inappropriate and disrespectful,” Barron responded in an X post. “They don’t contribute at all to a constructive conversation. It is the Pope’s prerogative to articulate Catholic doctrine and the principles that govern the moral life. In regard to the concrete application of those principles, people of good will can and do disagree.”

“I would warmly recommend that serious Catholics within the Trump administration — Secretary Rubio, Vice President Vance, Ambassador Brian Burch, and others — might meet with Vatican officials so that a real dialogue can take place,” he continued. “This is far preferable to the statements on social media.”

“I am very grateful for the many ways that the Trump administration has reached out to Catholics and other people of faith,” Barron added. “It has been a high honor to serve on the Religious Liberty Commission. No President in my lifetime has shown a greater dedication to defending our first liberty. All that said, I think the President owes the Pope an apology.”

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Shortly after feuding with the Pope over the weekend, Trump upset many Christians by posting what many have called a “blasphemous” AI art image of what many said appeared to be a portrayal of himself as a Jesus-like figure healing the sick. Some speculated that this was an attempt to troll the Pope, having been posted amid the administration’s feud with Roman Catholic leadership.

While Trump has denied he was trying to portray himself as the messiah, arguing of his image where he is in white and red robes with what appears to be holy light emanating from his hands that he was trying to portray “me as a doctor.” He has since deleted the post.

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High-alcohol, ready-to-drink cocktails spark overconsumption concerns for Gen Z drinkers

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A wave of sweet, high-alcohol canned cocktails is gaining traction among young drinkers, raising concerns among some experts.

BuzzBallz, a brand of pre-mixed, ready-to-drink alcoholic cocktails created in 2009, has gained renewed attention online in recent years, especially among young adults.

Sold in small, neon-colored round containers, most BuzzBallz drinks are about 200 milliliters of 15% alcohol-by-volume (ABV), containing nearly two standard alcoholic drinks in a single container.

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One viral TikTok video shows a man approaching young adults and asking them to chug a BuzzBallz Biggie in public for $100. The supersized version contains 1.75 liters of 15% ABV alcohol.

The video, which garnered more than 750,000 likes, drew thousands of comments from stunned viewers.

“I’d do this for free,” one person wrote.

“My problem is, I would do this for far less money,” another said.

The sweetness and drinkability of BuzzBallz products play a “significant role” in their popularity, said Cesar Wurm, a Georgia-based hospitality executive and author of “The Powers of Addiction: Finding Freedom in Acceptance and Recovery.”

Wurm told Fox News Digital that higher alcohol content can be masked by flavor — making it harder for people to gauge how much they’re drinking.

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“For a younger or less experienced consumer, that disconnect between taste and potency can increase risk,” he said.

There is also a behavioral component, Wurm said, as members of Gen Z tend to “value experiences, social connection and immediacy.”

Ready-to-drink beverages “fit seamlessly into that with no preparation required, easy to share and highly ‘social media friendly,'” he added.

The bright packaging can also “create a perception that the product is more casual or harmless than it actually is,” Wurm said.

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“From a risk perspective, the combination of high alcohol content, ease of consumption and appealing design can accelerate overconsumption, especially in unstructured environments,” he noted.

“The concern is less about the format itself and more about how accessible and unintimidating it makes higher-alcohol products.”

Wurm, who has been sober for more than a decade, emphasized the importance of “awareness, education and transparency around what’s actually being consumed.”

He added that Gen Z is “one of the most mindful generations when it comes to health and wellness.”

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“We’re seeing a parallel rise in moderation, sobriety-curious behavior and non-alcoholic alternatives, which suggests this is not a one-directional trend, but rather a more complex relationship with alcohol overall,” he said.

Ravi Sawhney, a design expert and founder of RKS Design, said the drinks are “designed experiences.”

“When something looks fun and harmless, we unconsciously assign it less risk, even when the opposite is true,” Sawhney, who is based in California, told Fox News Digital.

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“For Gen Z, who are highly attuned to visual culture and identity signaling, these drinks can feel more like an extension of lifestyle than a substance with consequences. That disconnect between how it feels and what it actually does is where the real risk lies.”

A BuzzBallz spokesperson told Fox News Digital the company’s products are “intended strictly for individuals of legal drinking age.”

“We love that the brand is highly social and associated with fun, but we are also very intentional about our role in promoting responsible consumption,” the spokesperson said.

“We fully support and promote responsible drinking practices and do not encourage illegal, excessive or irresponsible consumption in any way.”

The spokesperson added that BuzzBallz’s marketing is “focused on the social occasion, not the act of consumption itself.”

“By doing so, we ensure BuzzBallz is always portrayed as a fun, colorful, portable accessory made for adult social moments like a beach day, a concert or a party,” the spokesperson added.

The company is based in Carrollton, Texas. In 2024, it was acquired by Sazerac Company, a major global spirits company. 

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Kyle Busch drops bombshell about NASCAR during ’23 season: ‘Cheating without cheating’

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Kyle Busch has been everywhere this week, and it’s not because he’s once again a NASCAR Cup Series winner. Quite the opposite, in fact!

The two-time Cup Series champ is in the news again because of his inability to win. That’s right. The guy who has won over 60 Cup races, and holds the record for most wins across all three series (233), can’t buy a win lately.

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For those who missed it, Busch and former JGR teammate Denny Hamlin had beef last weekend after Hamlin essentially called Busch a scrub on his podcast. I’m paraphrasing, of course, but he called him out for not having won a Cup race in three years, which was fair.

Busch then went on Sean Hannity’s new podcast and … didn’t hold back. He hit on everything.

Drivers he hated.

Drivers he liked.

How he wanted to “beat guys into the ground.”

You know, the normal stuff you’d expect from Rowdy.

But he didn’t stop there. Busch also talked about his last Cup win, which came in 2023. He won three times that season — his first with RCR — and then things got weird.

“After the third race that we won at Gateway, we got our hands smacked for some of the stuff that we were doing to the race car that NASCAR didn’t like and said ‘don’t bring that back,'” Busch told Hannity.

“It wasn’t anything, like, against the rules. It was just, you always exploit the gray area. So we exploited a gray area and we found something and we had an advantage.”

The entire interview is worth the watch, but that specific part begins at the 1:07:44 mark for those who want to watch it.

This doesn’t look great on paper for NASCAR. Let’s just call it like it is. Not the best look when your future Hall of Fame driver is saying, essentially, that the fellas who make the rules stepped in after you won three races and told you to quit doing certain things to your car.

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But, as Busch notes, it’s what NASCAR has been doing for 70 years now. He’s not the first driver to receive a slap on the wrist, and he won’t be the last.

It’s “cheating without cheating,” Busch added.

“We exploited a gray area and we found something, and we had an advantage,” he continued.

How? Busch didn’t exactly say (smart man!), but he did give fans a glimpse into how teams try to get an advantage. Shockingly, it’s all about making the car faster.

Stunning, I know.

“You want more downforce,” Busch said. “You want to make it lighter. So, you go and you try to figure out ways of making more downforce than everybody else. Getting your car lower to the ground, lower CG, making it go around the corners faster.”

Again, it’s how NASCAR teams have operated for decades now. Since the days of Big Bill France, really. It’s the game within the game.

The problem fans are going to have with this, and I don’t blame them, is NASCAR stepping in after Kyle Busch won three races at the start of 2023, and basically telling them to stop whatever it is they were doing — even if it wasn’t against the rules.

That seems unfair. To me, at least.

It’s also going to make people bring this conversation back to the present day of NASCAR, where Tyler Reddick has won five of the first nine races this season. He’s quite literally putting up prime Dale Earnhardt numbers.

I’ve got news for you — Tyler Reddick ain’t prime Dale Earnhardt.

People will start asking questions. Fans will get suspicious. Frankly, they already are.

And this little bombshell from Kyle Busch won’t help.

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NHL coach narrowly avoids disaster as glass shatters behind bench

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Los Angeles Kings head coach D.J. Smith narrowly avoided disaster in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night.

Raucous Avalanche fans banging on the glass behind Smith caused the pane to shatter after Colorado goaltender Scott Wedgewood made a stop on Quinton Byfield. Some pieces of glass rained down on Smith. He covered his head and brushed the glass off his suit before running down the tunnel to get checked out.

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Smith was OK and he returned to the game.

“Whoever the guy (was) just kept pushing and pushing and pushing,” he called. “I looked back because it hit me a bunch of times, then it broke.”

The incident delayed the game for about 15 minutes. The score was even at zero when the glass broke. Colorado eventually picked up the 2-1 win in overtime thanks to Nicolas Roy’s game-winner. The Avalanche had a 2-0 series lead.

Avalanche star Gabriel Landeskog said he was “loud” when Wedgewood made the save and admitted that the “fans got a little too excited.”

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“There’s nothing you can do to control it. There’s nothing you can do about it, so you just deal with it,” he said of the delay. “I think maybe the only thing was that there were so many bodies on the ice that it (wore) the ice out a little bit for the rest (of the period).

“I thought the ice crew did a good job and they did their best to fix it as fast as possible. Doesn’t happen every day.”

Colorado head coach Jared Bednar said the delay was a first for him.

“That’s a different one,” Bednar said. “But, I mean, stuff happens. Fans get excited. Our guys were excited, competing hard. There was a bunch of melees on the ice today. It felt like playoff hockey.”

Game 3 is set for Thursday night in Los Angeles.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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