Vatican Prepares for Papal Conclave
The conclave to elect the Catholic Church's 267th pope will begin this Wednesday, May 7. Following centuries of tradition, cardinals who were under 80 years old at the time of the prior pope’s passing will gather in the Sistine Chapel—the same 15th-century venue that hosted its first conclave in 1492.
The election process combines mystery and theatricality: Cardinals will be completely sealed off from the outside world as they cast secret ballots beneath Michelangelo's famous frescoes. Voting continues until a two-thirds majority is reached for a candidate.
The world will watch for the telltale smoke signals from the chapel's chimney—black smoke indicating an inconclusive vote, white smoke announcing a new pontiff. (Black smoke is achieved by adding potassium perchlorate, anthracene, and sulfur to the burning ballots. White smoke is produced by using potassium chlorate, lactose, and chloroform resin.) When selected, the senior cardinal will declare, “Habemus papam” ("We have a pope"), before the new leader emerges on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica.
The new pope's first major decision will be choosing his papal name—a selection that traditionally honors a Catholic saint or recent pope and signals his agenda for the Church.
Most modern conclaves conclude within a few days, though historically some have lasted months.
GLOBAL HEADLINES
🇨🇦 Canada's Liberal Party Wins Election — Mark Carney's Liberal Party secured a victory in Monday's election, winning 168 of 343 parliamentary seats—nearly a majority. Trump’s trade and tariff policies dominated the campaign, and the 60-year-old Carney immediately focused on the American president after claiming victory, stating, “President Trump is trying to break us so he can own us… That will never, ever happen.” The Conservative Party was projected to win the election easily until Trump proposed annexing Canada and imposing tariffs, throwing Canadian Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre a curveball that he never recovered from.
🇮🇳🇵🇰 India-Pakistan Tensions Escalate — Nuclear-armed rivals are on the brink of potential conflict after militants killed 26 people (25 Indian citizens and one Nepali) at a popular tourist spot in Kashmir last week. Kashmir is a disputed region that both countries claim. The two countries have already fought three wars over the mountainous territory. India accuses Pakistan of backing the attack, which Pakistan denies. India's navy has launched test missile strikes in a show of strength, while Pakistan's defense minister warned a military incursion is “imminent.” Modi’s Hindu-nationalist government revoked Muslim-majority Kashmir’s constitutional autonomy in 2019, bringing it under the direct control of New Delhi, sparking widespread protests.
🇺🇦🇺🇸 US-Ukraine Minerals Deal Signed — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Ukrainian Economic Minister Yulia Svyrydenko officially signed the long-awaited minerals agreement on Wednesday. While some details are still unclear, the deal gives the U.S. access to Ukraine's mineral resources (including titanium and uranium) and sets out how revenues would be split between the two countries.
US NEWS
💰 Trump Closes China Trade Loophole — President Trump eliminated the “de minimis” exemption that allowed cheap Chinese products to bypass U.S. tariffs. The rule change means that goods purchased on platforms like Amazon, Shein, and Temu will now have the same tariffs on Chinese goods as other importers—a minimum of 145%. While U.S. businesses applaud the move for leveling the playing field, consumers can expect price increases on these platforms.
🏛️ Waltz Out — President Trump removed National Security Adviser Mike Waltz from his position, nominating him instead as U.N. Ambassador. According to the Washington Post, “Waltz’s fate was sealed by his inclusion of a journalist on a sensitive Signal group chat in March. But he had been clashing with other top officials since early in the administration, including over whether to pursue military action against Iran.” No one yet knows the true reason for the shift.
🇦🇺 Epstein Case Update — Virginia Giuffre, a key witness in the Jeffrey Epstein case, died at age 41 at her farm in Western Australia. The death was ruled “suicide,” but her lawyer and father are not convinced. “Somebody got to her,” her father told Piers Morgan Uncensored. Giuffre was instrumental in providing evidence that led to Ghislaine Maxwell's conviction.
🧮 Illinois Education Crisis — Public school data reveals that not a single child tested proficient in math in 80 Illinois schools, with two dozen schools showing similar results for reading proficiency. Most failing schools are in the Chicago Public School system, where only 11% of the African-American students can read, and where nearly one-third of the teachers reportedly send their kids to private school.
🎓 15 Genders: Your Choice — Clemson University, located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in South Carolina, isn’t the first place you’d think of as a bastion of liberalism, but we hear they’re pretty open-minded. Their dorm application listed 15 possible gender options for campus residents to choose from, at least until the locals found out. Options ranged from “Cis-Male” to “Questioning” and “Two Spirit.” However, MedicineNet.com lists 72 genders, so some options had to be cut. Unfortunately astral gender didn’t make the list. So if your gender identity feels related to space, you might have to consider other lodging options…
