Thursday Afternoon News Updates: Pope Leo Is Not Backing Down — 4/16/26

There's a lot to unpack today.

Hi all, Ben here. It’s Thursday. Here are the latest updates.

First, let’s start with a list of the top stories we’re tracking today:

• Trump claims a Lebanon-Israel ceasefire, but Israel’s security cabinet hasn’t voted on it yet

• Hezbollah says it will respect the ceasefire — with conditions

• No Iran nuclear talks materialized today, despite White House hype

• Iran has shipped nine million barrels of oil since the “blockade” began

• OMB Director Vought refuses to say how much the Iran war has cost

• War Powers Resolution to block the Iran War fails in the House, 213-214

• Senate Democrats fail to block weapons sale to Israel, 40-59, but it’s notable how many Democrats tried

• Pete Hegseth compares Trump to Jesus at morning press briefing

• Pope Leo XIV delivers pointed remarks against weaponizing religion

• Judge limits Trump’s $400 million White House ballroom project

• Troubling poll numbers for Democrats in California governor’s race

• Horrifying murder-suicide involving former Virginia Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax

• First criminal charges filed against an ICE agent from Operation Metro Surge

So. Where do we even begin. Let me start by just saying thank you to our paid subscribers for supporting our work. If you have not yet joined as a paid subscriber, consider doing so today, only if you are able. I can’t emphasize enough how much your subscriptions help the network.

Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire?

Let’s start with Donald Trump’s recent post on Truth Social claiming there will be a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. He also helpfully reminded everyone that this will be his tenth war “solved.” The arsonist again wants credit when he slows the spread of the fire he created.

The announcement included two posts. In the first, Trump said he had “excellent conversations” with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that the two leaders had agreed to a ceasefire beginning at 5 PM EST, and that he has directed JD Vance, Marco Rubio, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine to work toward a “Lasting PEACE.” Then came a follow-up post saying he plans to invite both leaders to the White House.

Israeli journalist Amichai Stein of i24NEWS reported that Israel’s security cabinet has not even held a vote on the ceasefire yet. So Trump is declaring victory before the relevant governing body of one of the two parties has actually signed off.

Then there’s Hezbollah. Hezbollah has previously said it would not agree to a ceasefire. That’s a pretty significant wrinkle in any peace deal involving Lebanon, given that Hezbollah is... in Lebanon. However, Hezbollah MP Ibrahim Moussawi told reporters that Hezbollah will in fact be “respecting the ceasefire, cautiously, and that the deal traces back to the original agreement (the one that Trump and Netanyahu denied covered Lebanon). Moussawi added that the Israelis must abide by it completely, including stopping assassinations and beginning a withdrawal from occupied Lebanese territories. So Hezbollah is in, conditionally, but Israel hasn’t officially voted. This remains a volatile situation.

About That “Blockade”…

Speaking of Iran, remember earlier this week when Trump and various unnamed “U.S. Officials” were dropping hints to the press that new Iran nuclear talks would likely happen by Thursday? It is Thursday. There are no talks. This is a pattern at this point. The White House floats something to generate good press and pump the markets, the deadline passes, and everyone just quietly moves on. Then it repeats all over again. Corporate media may by into those lies. We don’t. The Iran nuclear situation remains exactly where it was, except now we’re also at war with them and blockading their ports, which brings us to another awkward update.

The U.S. “blockade” of Iran’s oil exports, which went into effect on April 13th, does not appear to be working the way anyone advertised. TankerTrackers.com has visual confirmation that Iran has shipped out nine million barrels of crude oil from floating storage in the Gulf of Oman since the blockade began, with another two million barrels having departed the day before it even kicked in. Reuters is also reporting that Iran can actually withstand a complete halt in oil exports for up to two months before being forced to curb production, given roughly 90 million barrels of available onshore storage. So we are spending an extraordinary amount of money and military capital to inconvenience a country that has two months of buffer time, while the rest of the world is already feeling the effects of oil shortages.

The International Energy Agency is warning that Europe has just 6 weeks of jet fuel remaining, as supply routes from the Middle East are severely disrupted due to Trump’s war in Iran.

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Ground News is subscriber-funded, so they don’t rely on ads that could introduce bias. By subscribing, you support both our channel and their independent team working to keep the media transparent.

Now back to my report.

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Nobody Will Tell Us What This War Costs — Because They Don't Want You to Know

And nobody in the executive branch will tell us what any of this costs. OMB Director Russ Vought was testifying before Congress today, and Senator Merkley asked him point-blank whether we’ve already spent $50 billion on the war. Vought said he “wouldn’t want to make a characterization of that at this point.” Senator Merkley pointed out, quite reasonably, that as the most knowledgeable person in the executive branch on the budget, that’s a pretty unsatisfying answer. Our editor-in-chief Ron Filipkowski put it plainly: the Department of Defense won’t tell us. The president won’t tell us. His budget director won’t tell us. They know the number. They just don’t want you to know it.

MeidasTouch was on the Hill today, thanks to our reporter Pablo Manríquez, who caught up with Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove. She did not mince words. She connected the war’s costs directly to rising gas prices — nearly $10 a gallon in California — and rising fertilizer costs, and noted that while all of this is happening, the administration is spending roughly $2 billion of taxpayer money every single day rather than addressing healthcare. Her exact words are not something I can repeat here verbatim, but I recommend you watch this clip ‘til the end. Warning: you may want to put headphones on if you have young kids around. But this is the energy we need.

War Powers Vote Fails

The War Powers Resolution that would have blocked Trump from continuing Operation Epic Fury failed in the House today, 213-214.Congressman Massie, a Republican, crossed the aisle and voted yes. Congressman Golden, a Democrat, crossed the aisle voted no. And Republican Congressman Davidson, who had voted yes in March, voted present. Meanwhile, in the Senate yesterday, 40 Democrats voted to block a proposed weapons sale to Israel. That’s a historic shift. The resolution failed 40-59, with seven Democrats voting to approve the sale alongside every Republican. J Street, the pro-Israel but anti-Netanyahu group, praised those who voted to block it, noting that unconditional military support is no longer tenable.

Hegseth Holds a 8 AM Scripture Reading at the Pentagon

Now let’s talk about Pete Hegseth’s 8 AM press briefing, which I had the absolute joy of waking up at 5 AM Pacific time to watch. Hegseth, apparently still not satisfied with the level of theological chaos in this administration, decided to compare the American press corps to the Pharisees, as in the Biblical Pharisees who sought to entrap Jesus. He said the media, like the Pharisees, witness miracles but have hardened hearts. This came after Trump faced significant backlash for posting an AI-generated image of himself as Jesus. So the response to that backlash was: more Jesus comparisons. Our editor-in-chief Ron Filipkowski described it as exactly what it looks like when “twisted, broken narcissists use scripture as a political cudgel to justify their most repulsive actions.” I don’t have anything to add to that.

Hegseth was also asked about intelligence reports suggesting China is preparing weapons shipments to Iran during the ceasefire. His response? “China has assured us that is not going to happen.” China’s assurances. The same China that Trump is in the middle of a catastrophic trade war with. We’re just taking their word on the Iran weapons thing. Just like Russia. Noted.

By the way: did you see the clip from yesterday of Hegseth during a Pentagon sermon quoting a fake Bible verse that turned out to be nearly word-from-word from the Tarantino movie Pulp Fiction? That’s why you shouldn’t use ChatGPT to craft your speeches. Also, why are we having Pentagon prayer sermons, anyway?

Trump’s War on Catholics

On a moral and spiritual counterpoint to all of the above: Pope Leo XIV is currently in Cameroon on a visit, and on his second day he held a peace meeting in Bamenda and delivered remarks about those who “manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic, or political gain.” I wonder who he could have possibly been referring to. He was not subtle. The Archbishop of Baltimore also issued a statement saying that threatening to obliterate an entire civilization is “alien to everything we stand for as followers of Christ” and that threatening mass casualties cannot be “how a power such as ours acts on the world stage.” The Pope’s brother’s home was searched by police after receiving bomb threats. This follows a week in which JD Vance told the Pope to “be careful when talking about theology.”

And the Trump administration is now taking revenge against Catholics. Amid all this, the Trump administration has now abruptly canceled an $11 million contract with Catholic Charities, cutting off care for vulnerable migrant children and ending a partnership that has existed for more than 60 years. It’s all so deeply bizarre.

Judge to Trump: No Ballroom For You

In legal news, a federal judge today limited Trump’s planned White House ballroom project, ruling that construction can proceed only on an underground portion deemed necessary for national security, not on the 90,000-square-foot aboveground addition Trump wanted for entertaining VIP guests. Judge Richard Leon, a George W. Bush appointee, wrote that “national security is not a blank check to proceed with otherwise unlawful activity.” Trump had argued the whole thing counted as a security project because of bulletproof glass and bomb shelters. The judge was not convinced.

Democrats Need to Get It Together Fast in California

The California governor’s race is giving Democrats a real headache. After Eric Swalwell dropped out, a new Emerson poll shows Republican Steve Hilton leading at 17%, Republican Chad Bianco at 14%, and Democrat Tom Steyer at 14%. Xavier Becerra and Katie Porter are tied at 10%, with 23% still undecided. It’s a jungle primary — top two g

o to the general — and early voting starts in May. Democrats need to consolidate around a candidate fast. I’ll give you a little exclusive sneak peek here you won’t find anywhere else: we’re working on getting the top candidates on the MeidasTouch Network for interviews before early voting begins, so stay tuned and let us know in the comments who you want to hear from.

Before We Go

A few more stories before I let you go. Our own Katie Phang testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday on the proposed Paramount-Skydance and Warner Bros merger. She made clear that democracy cannot survive if powerful people get to decide which facts are allowed to exist. Have a watch:

And we have truly awful and horrifying news out of Virginia. Former Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax shot and killed his wife and then himself inside their Annandale, Virginia home. Police say it stems from an ongoing domestic dispute, and that his wife had recently filed for divorce. Their two teenage children were inside the home at the time. There are no words. Just heartbreak.

Also: an ICE agent, Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr., has been criminally charged with felony assault after allegedly pointing a loaded handgun at another driver and passenger on Highway 62 in Minnesota during Operation Metro Surge. This is the first criminal charge against a federal law enforcement officer stemming from that operation. The case moved forward quickly because, unlike the investigations into the deaths of two U.S. citizens, it was handled by the Minnesota State Patrol and followed standard information-gathering processes.

That’s your Thursday. It’s a lot. More updates as they develop. I’ll be going live soon on our YouTube channel and then later today with my brothers. Hope to see you there