SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " Senate " 4,110 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
James Talarico faces off against Trump in dueling Texas rallies in election’s final days
Voter enthusiasm in a city of fewer than 300,000 underscored the high stakes of a close Senate race in what Democrats call their best chance in a generation.
Estill County students host political candidate forum ahead of election day
Students asked questions of U.S. Senate candidate Charles Booker and congressional candidates Zach Dembo and Ralph Alvarado.
Disinformation videos, likely from Russia, are exploiting real people to malign Senate candidates
Social media videos believed to be linked to Russia are misusing real people’s names and photographs to spread disinformation about two Democratic Senate candidates
Disinformation videos, likely from Russia, are exploiting real people to malign Senate candidates
Social media videos believed to be linked to Russia are misusing real people’s names and photographs to spread disinformation about two Democratic Senate candidates.
Anderson Cooper on Trump’s latest attack on El-Sayed
President Trump and members of his administration have made a series of disparaging remarks about Muslim Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. CNN’s Anderson Cooper beaks it down.
Israeli UN ambassador to Gov Kathy Hochul: I'd advise focusing on US politics
Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon discusses Vice President JD Vance's comments on U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and reacts to N.Y. Gov. Kathy Hochul's comments on Israel's prime ministerial election on 'The Evening Edit.'
WKYT Fact✓Check|Booker, Barr claims on health care costs and Medicare for All
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Charles Booker and Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Barr are clashing over health care affordability as they compete to replace retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell.
Libertarians could siphon Republican support in the fight for control of the U.S. Senate
Third-party Libertarian candidates threaten to siphon votes from Republicans in competitive states and could imperil the party's chances of holding its narrow majority over Democrats.
A Brief History of Democrats Flipping Southern US Senate Seats
Democrats could flip U.S. Senate seats in two southern states for just the second time since the mid-1980s.
Trump visits Lubbock and Corpus Christi as Republicans fight to hold Texas’ U.S. Senate seat
With just a week until Election Day, President Donald Trump is making his fourth trip to Texas this campaign season. At rallies in Lubbock and Corpus Christi, the president aims to boost Republican voter turnout and shore up support for U.S. Senate nominee Ken Paxton.
Trump visits Lubbock and Corpus Christi as Republicans fight to hold Texas’ U.S. Senate seat
With just a week until Election Day, President Donald Trump is making his fourth trip to Texas this campaign season. At rallies in Lubbock and Corpus Christi, the president aims to boost Republican voter turnout and shore up support for U.S. Senate nominee Ken Paxton.
Cooper stresses affordability, 'people ... before politics' in Charlotte campaign stop
With Election Day just one week away, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Roy Cooper is making his final push to reach voters.
Sabato's Crystal Ball moves Senate race, CD 13 in Democrats' direction
All ratings sites have shifted a substantial number of races in Democrats’ direction as the Nov. 3 election nears.
Former rival dodges full-throated El-Sayed endorsement after bitter Senate primary
Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., who lost to El-Sayed in the Democratic primary, said she's 'on the team' but declined to say she was fully behind the Michigan Senate nominee.
Michigan Senate Race Drives Anxiety Among Jewish and Muslim Voters
More than elsewhere in the country, U.S. policy toward Israel is at the forefront of the race between Mike Rogers and Abdul El-Sayed.
Republican attack ads mocking Troy Jackson’s relationship roil Maine Senate race against Susan Collins
Maine’s battleground Senate race is being roiled by a late burst of Republican ads mocking Democratic nominee Troy Jackson over his relationship with his longtime partner, whom Sen. Susan Collins and GOP allies have said is his second cousin.
Trump returning to Texas for a high-stakes push to keep the state in Republican hands
President Donald Trump is heading back to Texas to support Republican Ken Paxton’s U.S. Senate campaign against Democrat James Talarico
Trump returns to Texas for a high-stakes push to keep the state in Republican hands
President Donald Trump is in Texas to support Republican Ken Paxton's U.S. Senate campaign against Democrat James Talarico.
IAM Union at the Center of Politics and Power in the Hawkeye State
Iowa’s working-class champions gathered just outside Des Moines, in the town of Altoona, to court IAM voters ahead of the political midterms. Speakers ranged from established state politicians to surging candidates for U.S. Congress and Senate.
Republicans Boost Independent's State Senate Bid
With no candidate of their own in the race, the GOP is making a late intervention on behalf of former member Nicole Kalloch.
How Democrats Might – or Might Not
Last week, we offered a seat-by-seat guide to how the Democrats could take over the Senate. Now, here’s an overview of how the party could build a majority in the House. Currently, if the chamber’s vacancies were to be filled in line with their prior partisan representation, the GOP would hold a
In Oregon’s most expensive legislative race, 2 political newcomers battle for key Senate seat
About $3.6 million has flooded the legislative race as Republicans try to break Democrats’ grip on power in Salem.
Live updates: Trump returns to Texas to rally for GOP candidates
Get live updates and the latest news as Trump returns to Texas to rally for Ken Paxton and other GOP candidates while Vance heads to Michigan to try to boost former GOP Rep. Mike Rogers in the Senate race there.
Fox News Power Rankings: As Iran looms large, can the GOP keep the faithful?
Trump's approval dropped to 36% amid the war in Iran, reshaping the 2026 midterms, but the Senate map through deep-red states keeps GOP alive.
The Data Dive: Steve Kornacki on the state that changes the Senate majority math for Republicans
Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed both have ground to make up after 2024.
What exactly Democrats have pledged to do if they win in the midterms
If Democrats can win control of either the House or the Senate, they will have seized some control of Washington back from President Donald Trump and Republicans.
As political rhetoric escalates, Michigan voters express burnout with election cycle
NPR's Steve Inskeep asks Michel Martin what she's hearing from Michigan voters, as the tone of the state's Senate race gets darker.
Trump, ignoring polls, predicts economy to help Republicans in midterms
By Trevor Hunnicutt CORINTH, Mississippi, Oct 26 (Reuters) - US President Donald Trump campaigned on Monday in deeply Republican Mississippi, predicting victory for a Republican Senate candidate based
Paxton vs. Talarico: Political science expert explains what's at stake in 2026 Texas Senate race
Paxton vs. Talarico: Political science expert explains what's at stake in 2026 Texas Senate race
Northern Arizona athletics prepares for Protect College Sports Act
NAU Athletic Director Richard Duran has a plan to keep the Lumberjacks competitive and fiscally responsible following the Senate's passage of the Protect College Sports Act. NAU will prioritize in-state recruits and strategic investments.
Texas Senate candidates offer differing economic visions
Feeling the financial squeeze has become a major motivation for Texas voters to head to the polls early.
Trump has made transactional promises in roughly half of states holding key Senate contests
President Donald Trump kicked off his general election push by making voters a highly controversial offer. Now he’s gone quite a bit further — and more localized — with his quid pro quos.
Pete Hegseth’s Reported Political Backup Plan Emerges Amid Impeachment Push
Pete Hegseth may be considering a political move as pressure grows over his tenure in the Trump administration. The defense secretary is reportedly interested in a possible Tennessee Senate appointmen...
Trump calls Senate nominee El-Sayed a ‘jihadist’ at Michigan rally
President Trump repeatedly called Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed a “jihadist” during a campaign rally in Michigan on Sunday, urging his supporters to fight El-Sayed’s run in the same way Americans battled terrorists on 9/11.
Schiff accuses DOJ of trying to 'subvert' elections as GOP alleges same-name candidate meant to confuse voters
Adam Schiff accuses Trump's DOJ of trying to subvert Alaska's Senate election over a namesake Dan Sullivan candidacy that could confuse voters.
Thune campaigns for Republicans in marquee Senate races in scramble to save majority
Republican candidates in marquee Senate races have welcomed Thune's help as he’s traveled around the country in the weeks before the midterm elections, scrambling to save his majority.
Ken Paxton’s State-Funded Jet-Setting Draws Campaign Scrutiny
Mr. Paxton, the Republican candidate for Senate in Texas, has taken about 350 trips outside of the state since he was sworn in as attorney general.
The sleeper issue that could decide the U.S. Senate race in Texas
Voters from both parties consistently rank the issue second only to the economy and high prices
Trump intensifies anti-Muslim rhetoric against Abdul El-Sayed at Michigan rally
The US president was condemned for remarks that questioned the senate candidate’s loyalty to the country
Voters’ rising ire at corruption plays central role in Texas Senate race
The race between Ken Paxton (R) and James Talarico (D) has revolved around the issue that’s a top voter concern, just behind the economy.
Michigan Students Are All In for Abdul El-Sayed
The progressive Senate candidate has won over students with his politics—and, in at least one case, his protein intake.
Knox County Candidates File Final Campaign Reports Before Election
Maine Republican Party Contributes to Nicole Kalloch's state Senate bid.
West Virginia Senate District 2 race pits political newcomers Heaney, Claypole
With West Virginia Sen. Charlie Clements deciding not to run again in this year’s election, two political newcomers are vying to take over the seat representing
Trump invokes anti-Muslim rhetoric to attack El-Sayed at Port Huron rally
President Donald Trump has been telling crowds of supporters at rallies across the nation that they should vote in November as if he is on the ballot — a theme he invoked again in Michigan this weekend.
Trump escalates rhetoric against El-Sayed as he tries to undermine Democrat in Michigan Senate race
The Republican president has been attacking El-Sayed's faith throughout the campaign and claiming his past statements and background show a sympathy for extremists.
Alaska Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola and her family suffer minor injuries in car crash
Peltola required medical attention after the accident, which happened when another vehicle crashed into the one transporting Peltola and her family, the campaign said.
NH candidates for governor, U.S. Senate, Congress clash over...
At a Manchester forum, New Hampshire candidates clashed over housing, energy, healthcare and other costs as affordability emerged as voters’ central concern. ...
Trump’s Election Attacks Enter New Pre-emptive Phase
A lawsuit by the Justice Department challenging a potential narrow loss by the GOP Senate incumbent in Alaska reflects a new tactic by the president to try to shape the election results.
Alaska Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola and her family suffer minor injuries in car crash
Alaska’s Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola and her family suffered minor injuries Saturday in a car crash while driving to a campaign stop, her campaign said.
Blanche says Trump isn't trying to meddle with Alaska election results by suing over Senate race
Blanche told CNN's “State of the Union” that President Donald Trump, who said Friday that he was "the one that said do it,” is not trying to overturn state election results “in any way, shape or form” on the cusp of the Nov. 3 election.
Blanche defends DOJ lawsuit blocking Alaska Senate results if Republican loses
Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the Justice Department's suit over Alaska's Senate race in an interview on CNN.
Senate rivals seek support from Alaska Native voters
The major candidates in Alaska’s U.S. Senate race are both casting themselves as strong voices on Alaska Native issues as they seek support from the key constituency ahead of the Nov. 3 election
Blanche says Trump isn’t trying to meddle with Alaska election results by suing over Senate race
WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday defended the Trump administration's lawsuit to block certification of Alaska's Senate results if Repub
Blanche says Trump isn't trying to meddle with Alaska election results by suing over Senate race
Attorney General Todd Blanche is defending the Trump administration’s lawsuit to block certification of Alaska's Senate results if incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan loses the race.
Blanche says Trump isn't trying to meddle with Alaska election results by suing over Senate race
Attorney General Todd Blanche is defending the Trump administration’s lawsuit to block certification of Alaska's Senate results if incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan loses the race.
3 comments | Progressive Democrats are closely watching four Senate...
Progressive Democrats are closely watching four Senate races in the upcoming midterm elections. Our politics reporter Kellen Browning explains why.
In Texas Senate Race, Talarico Leans Into Growing Rivalry With Elon Musk
On the trail, James Talarico, the Democratic Senate nominee, has increasingly gone after Mr. Musk, a critic of his who has given big to a group aligned with the Republican candidate, Ken Paxton.
Inside California Politics: State Senate candidate John Erickson
(Inside California Politics) — California’s top-two primary system often leads to same-party general election races, often between two Democrats, and this year is no exception. Two weeks ago on Inside...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Misleading political mailer is a smear campaign
The recent misleading smear mailer by the opponents of Denise Krause in the Oregon Senate campaign is the most disgusting exhibit of money and indecency used to capture uninformed voters’ […]
Trump's midterm swing brings him to Michigan as Republicans aim to undermine El-Sayed in Senate race
President Donald Trump's busy midterm campaign schedule is bringing him to Michigan, where Republicans hope to claim an open Senate seat on Election Day | Newsradio 1140 WRVA
Trump's midterm swing brings him to Michigan as Republicans aim to undermine El-Sayed in Senate race
President Donald Trump's busy midterm campaign schedule is bringing him to Michigan, where Republicans hope to claim an open Senate seat on Election Day.
Trump's midterm swing brings him to Michigan as Republicans aim to undermine El-Sayed in Senate race
President Donald Trump's busy midterm campaign schedule is bringing him to Michigan, where Republicans hope to claim an open Senate seat on Election Day.
Politics chat: The polls show a Democratic sweep in the midterms. Can you trust them?
If you look at the few truly competitive seats, polls show a more complicated picture of momentum toward the Democratic Party in midterm House races. For the Senate, Republicans are on defense.
What analysts are watching in the Texas Senate race, CBS News political experts weigh in
MEDIA ADVISORY – MONDAY – HEALTH EXPERTS CALL OUT HARTFORD AS AN ‘ASTHMA CAPITAL’
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Joe O'Leary | Joe.OLeary@cga.ct.gov | 508-479-4969 MEDIA ADVISORY – MONDAY - HEALTH EXPERTS CALL OUT HARTFORD AS AN 'ASTHMA CAPITAL' Who: State Senator Saud Anwar, Senate Chair of the Public Health Committee; Dr. Mark Mitchell, Environmental Justice Leader; the Executive Director and New England Executive Director of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America; representatives from…
CBS News political experts weigh in on Texas Senate race halfway through early voting
The latest CBS News poll showed Talarico leading 51% to 49%, well within the margin for error.
I wish GM, other automakers, would've picked up on hybrids
Freep readers respond to Editorial Page Editor Nancy Kaffer's latest column, Michigan's U.S. Senate race and other news of the week.
In Deep Red Kansas, a Trump Loyalist Fights to Defend a Senate Seat
Senator Roger Marshall was slow to recognize the steep challenge he faced in his solidly conservative state. Now he is confronting dissent among voters with deep economic worries.
Independent candidates sense a moment in the West. Democrats are hoping they're right
As they look to win the Senate, Democrats are hoping that independent candidates in Nebraska and Montana can help them topple Republicans in a part of the country where their own brand is hurting.
Obama seeks to shore up Abdul El-Sayed with Black voters at Michigan rally
The former president spoke alongside the Democratic Senate nominee in Detroit as the Senate contest could come down to the city’s large Black electorate
‘We’re all on the same team": Dem Senator on getting moderate voters behind progressive Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed
Sullivan, Peltola seek support from Alaska Native voters ahead of crucial Senate race
The major candidates in Alaska’s U.S. Senate race are both casting themselves as strong voices on Alaska Native issues as they seek support from the key constituency ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
Sullivan, Peltola seek support from Alaska Native voters ahead of crucial Senate race
The major candidates in Alaska’s U.S. Senate race are both casting themselves as strong voices on Alaska Native issues as they seek support from the key constituency ahead of the Nov. 3 election | WWJ Newsradio 950
Obama jokes about the ‘well-known evil empire, Canada’
Former President Barack Obama expressed astonishment as he condemned President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada during a rally in support of Michigan’s Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed in Detroit, Michigan on Saturday.
Barack Obama rallies Michigan crowd for El-Sayed, saying he’s ‘fighting for real change’
Former president speaks to rapturous crowd of thousands in support of Democrat Abdul El-Sayed for US Senate
Barack Obama to rally for Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan ahead of key US Senate race
The former Democratic president is showing major support in Detroit for the progressive Michigan candidate in final days before US midterm elections
In Senate run, Juliana Stratton touts progressive politics and a pragmatic record
Stratton has taken progressive policy positions, but has also touted a record of getting things done across a big, diverse state.
James Talarico rallies young voters in Austin who are critical to his Senate hopes
The Democrat held a Friday-night rally at the University of Texas at Austin, where multiple students told NBC News they had already voted and worry about the cost of living.
What's going on with Dan Sullivan and Dan Sullivan? The Alaska Senate litigation, explained
One of them is a Republican senator and ally of the president. The other is a retired schoolteacher whom Republicans accuse of being a Democratic plant to siphon away votes.
Power & Politics: Vote 2026 - One-on-one with Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Justin Murphy
Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Justin Murphy joins the show this week.
Week in Politics: Ramaswamy's Ohio ad; Trump greenlights DOJ to sue over Alaska Senate
Ohio GOP gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy refuses to withdrawal an explosive attack ad, and President Trump greenlights the DOJ to file a lawsuit about Alaska's senate race.
Obama is set to campaign with Democrats in Ohio and Michigan as he ramps up midterm efforts
Barack Obama is set to campaign with Democrats running for the U.S. Senate in Ohio and Michigan.
Sen. Kim: Lawsuit to block Alaska Senate result makes ‘clear who’s calling the shots’ at DOJ
What to Know About Alaska’s Senate Race
President Trump told the Justice Department to intervene in the race, where polling shows Republicans at risk of losing a seat.
Focus groups: Their candidates lost in the Michigan and Texas primaries. Now what?
Senate candidates Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan and Ken Paxton in Texas are looking to convince backers of their primary opponents to support their campaigns.
How Liberterian U.S. Senate candidate Thomas Laehn said he would fight political corruption
Libertarian Thomas Laehn said that he isn't running for Iowa's U.S. Senate seat to be a "spoiler" in the race.
Trump administration sues to block Alaska Senate certification if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses in November
The Justice Department said the presence of two Dan Sullivans on the ballot makes it “vital” that the state “not certify any election result that may be impacted by voter confusion.”
Justice Dept. Moves to Block Certification of Alaska Senate Race Results if Republican Loses
The Justice Department, in a highly unusual court filing, argued that confusion over candidates with similar names could taint the election result.
Jeffrey Epstein has been everywhere this campaign season. But voters wonder how much he should matter
Candidates are spending millions to link their opponents to Jeffrey Epstein and his associates. But in one of the nation’s marquee Senate contests, many Ohio voters told CNN that prices, healthcare and the economy matter more.
Trump administration files lawsuit to block possible Democratic win in Alaska Senate race
This move has sparked concerns about a lengthy battle between the U.S. government and states over election certification.
Republican 'Muslim Brotherhood' attacks on El-Sayed in Michigan seek to exploit Democratic fault lines
Pollsters, political strategists say the approach is aimed at dissuading Jewish and Black voters who backed El-Sayed's primary opponent, Haley Stevens
Poll: Low-information voters have turned hardest against Trump and the GOP
In 2024, the voters who knew the least about politics were some of Donald Trump’s strongest supporters. A Data for Progress poll released just before the election found Americans who didn’t consume any news at all said they’d vote for Trump over Kamala Harris by a 20-point margin, 60%1 to 40%. In February, we reported that many of these voters had soured on Trump. Voters who couldn’t name the party in control of Congress moved away from Trump at about twice the rate as high-information voters. But approval isn’t vote choice. With the midterms less than two weeks away, it is worth asking if these voters are turning against the president’s party in federal elections, too. In our October Strength In Numbers/Verasight poll, conducted Oct. 13–19 among 2,028 U.S. adults, we asked respondents two factual questions about politics: which party has the most members in the House, and which has the most members in the Senate. I classified anyone who got at least one of these questions wrong as “low-knowledge.” About 30% of adults miss at least one question, including 25% of 2024 Trump voters, 22% of Harris voters, and more than half of people who didn’t vote in 2024. In this article, I do two things with this data. First, I repeat my February analysis and compare how these two groups feel about Trump’s job as president; then I look at each group’s voting behavior in the upcoming House midterms. Register for free to read the rest of this piece.
Fear and hope in Texas: Paxton vs. Talarico in an expensive U.S. Senate showdown
Winning Texas has been the Democratic Party's white whale for years, the much-hyped attempts repeatedly ending in disappointment.
Pope hope, that’s entertainment, and getting ahead in the CIA
Happy Friday friends, I want to start by just breathing for all of us a big long collective sigh of relief at the news this week that the pope’s doctors have basically blown the all clear for Leo’s health. Going from knowing nothing to him declaring to the world he needed surgery, to a cancer diagnosis, to bouncing out of the hospital in barely even days, to ringing the bell in less than two weeks is whiplash inducing. But in the best possible way. We are living in a world in which the Roman pontiff, by dint of history, biography and circumstance, is once more at the epicenter of global affairs. Not just conversations about religion, or Christian and post-Christian values, but the bleeding edge of the most pressing issues of human affairs. Think I am exaggerating a touch? Consider the images of the crowds who greeted Leo in Paris just weeks ago, and juxtapose them with the absolute photo negative scenes unfolding there recently. Ask yourself how many world leaders are talking about AI right now and directly citing the pope as they do so. Try to name a country who has had as many top-ranked diplomats in and out of both Russia and Ukraine in the last three years as the Vatican has in the last three months. It has been fascinating to watch Leo XIV emerge as not just a kind of pop culture reference point or totem to be cited (Francis was often name-checked this way) but as a kinetic force in global conversation. Given the state of things, we need global figures of gravitas and values, even better if they have real wisdom behind what they are saying. So news of Leo’s illness was, it seemed to me, a tremor with potentially Richter Scale implications. That not only has the worst not come to pass but instead we’ve had the best of outcomes announced is something to really be grateful for. Humanity, it seems to me, is entering one of its irregular but cyclical phases where the pace of change — technological, social, and geopolitical — outstrips the ability of previously settled norms and received wisdom to cope. Such periods – and I think the first decades of the last century were a similar such time – throw into question the viability of all kinds of institutions. And many of ours have been straining to breaking point for a few years now. The papacy has the power and the potential to be a steadying pole in all of this. That’s my hope, anyway. It’s a lot to freight the office with, though it is arguably its ultimate purpose from its founding, to be a steadying rock on which all that matters can be anchored. It’s also, of course, an intolerable weight of responsibility to place on a single man. But I am encouraged to have hope in – and for – Leo. The apostle whom he succeeds, after all, was famously unequal to some moments, failed some tests of faith, and resiled from taking the road which led ultimately to the circus on Vatican hill. Human frailty and limitations, of health, of character, of temper, can open us to Christ, whose strength is greatest in our weakness, so St. Paul learned. That gives me hope, and I am sure it consoles Leo, too. And so I will continue to pray for him. Because we need apostles of rock right now. Here’s the news. Subscribe The News The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued yesterday a new document “Venite ad me: Considerations on the Transmission of the Faith in an Epochal Change.” It’s not a short document, and it is at pains to stress this isn’t a doctrinal note from the dicastery, either. Rather, it brings together reflections on an important issue from the Church around the world. Some of it I actually found really rather powerful. It is, however, 25,000, which is a lot for a busy reader to get through on a weekday. So, you can read our busy reader’s summary right here. — News broke yesterday of an Oct. 22 meeting of U.S. bishops with President Donald Trump. The meeting was organized by an official at the Heritage Foundation, according to several sources close to the meeting. Video of several U.S. bishops praying in the Oval Office over President Trump was posted on social media Thursday afternoon, first by White House Communications Advisor Margo Martin, and then by the official twitter.com account of the Archdiocese of Denver. The meeting has drawn sharp criticism because of its proximity to the upcoming midterm Congressional elections, in which Democrats are widely expected to win control of the House of Representatives, while control of the Senate remains closely contested. Sources close to the bishops’ conference told The Pillar that some USCCB senior officials were surprised by the existence of the meeting when video of it first emerged online. And a source close to conference president Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City told The Pillar that the archbishop was “deeply frustrated” by the occasion of the meeting. An official conference spokesperson told The Pillar that the meeting was “not organized with or by the USCCB” and was “not affiliated with the conference.” You can read the whole story here. — The next National Eucharistic Congress will be held in Indianapolis in 2029, a return to the city that hosted the last gathering in 2024. You read it here first. By here, I don’t mean this newsletter, I mean at The Pillar. We broke the story this week. It’s a big deal, in as much as the last congress was a roaring success and the next installment has the potential to be a real focal point for evangelizing efforts in the coming years. Read all about it here. — As Pope Leo prepares for the longest trip of his pontificate, Church leaders in Uruguay say the pontiff will encounter a highly secularized culture, in a country with a very different Catholic history than many of its South American neighbors. The nation has not had a papal visit since 1988, and leaders who spoke with The Pillar say it has a dire need for evangelization, even amid the prospect of a small revival in faith. This is real reporting on the Church in the country, and frankly a story you simply are not going to be able to read anywhere else. Read the whole thing. — The Archdiocese of Detroit announced this week a plan that would see the vast majority of its parish priests reassigned next summer, amid a restructuring process expected to dramatically shrink the number of parishes in the archdiocese. Archbishop Edward Weisenburger said this week that the plan “asks much of our priests,” but is a “sacrifice they are making as brothers of one, unified presbyterate.” The thing is, as JD pointed out in an analysis yesterday, pastors of parishes have a legal right to stability in office, so the only way this kind of wholesale reassignment goes ahead is if all of the archdiocesan clergy agree to resign. That creates its own kind of legal issues, though, and re-raises longstanding questions about the effectiveness of canonical due process protections for priests when dealing with coercive exercises in authority. Read the whole thing here. — More than three months after the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued its decree declaring the excommunication of the leadership of the Society of St. Pius X, questions remain about the full effects of the society’s schism. Specifically, the DDF’s July claim that marriages witnessed and confessions heard by SSPX priests are now invalid remains contested — and it emerged this week it appears that the Vatican’s own legal experts don’t agree. You can read my whole analysis of the situation and what it means here. All I would add is that the DDF’s undeveloped, some would say unsubstantiated, claim about the invalidity of some SSPX sacraments came in their July Explanatory Note on the schismatic consecrations by the society that month. It touches directly on both papal acts of governance — indeed it purports to nullify them — and the most intimate pastoral encounters possible in a parish setting. If there is one aspect of the Francis-era style of governance I would like the curia to finally cut out, root and branch, it would be these attempts to try to effect extraordinarily sensitive legislative acts via a note. — At least a dozen French bishops have spoken out following an eruption of violence on the country’s streets Oct. 17. Not surprisingly, they unanimously condemned the violence, but the length and content of their interventions varied significantly. Several sought to distinguish between the actions of rioters and what they suggested were the legitimate concerns of peaceful young protesters. Many also evoked Pope Leo XIV’s Sept. 25-28 visit to France, suggesting it offered a powerful counter-image to the scenes of looting and destruction. A number of bishops also stressed their solidarity with law enforcement officials who struggled to contain the disorder, as well as the owners of the roughly 3,000 damaged or looted businesses. What’s the background to the nationwide unrest that the French media calls “les violences du 17 octobre”? And what exactly are the bishops saying? Read all about it here. — A Polish bishop called for the firm defense of unborn children as well as compassion for their mothers this week, as the lower house of Poland’s parliament passed two bills seeking to liberalize the country’s abortion laws. The bill on decriminalizing assistance in an abortion passed by 217 votes to 213, while the abortion in cases of fetal abnormality bill passed by 233 to 203, thanks to the government’s majority in the lower house. Both bills will now move to the Polish Senate, the upper house of parliament, where the ruling coalition has a larger majority. The fetal abnormality bill is symbolically significant because if it became law, it would effectively overturn a 2020 ruling by Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal that a 1993 law permitting abortion for a severe and irreversible disability or a life-threatening incurable disease was unconstitutional. Read the whole story here. Subscribe **[The St. Paul Center App | Bible Study On-The-Go Read and understand the Bible with St. Paul Center’s new app! With today’s leading Catholic Scripture scholars as your guides, the St. Paul Center app empowers you to read the Bible](https://stpaulcenter.com/app?utm_source=pillar&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=applaunch)** from the heart of the Church. Download the app for free at either the Apple or the Google app stores. https://stpaulcenter.com/app That’s entertainment I have written before about my deep and sincere reservations about the celebrity exorcist subculture which has taken root in American Catholicism. And, because I am very ill at ease with the entire thing, I try to keep a weather eye on the phenomenon without being drawn into the kind of online back-and-forth which these figures sometimes generate. Earlier this week, JD noted that one such celebrity exorcist type, Fr. Chad Ripperger, has undertaken, on the request of his bishop, a year’s fast from interviews and public speaking. I’m sure that will be salutary for him, if for no other reason than that receiving with docility requests from one’s rightful ecclesiastical superiors always comes with graces. Then a second thing happened this week which caught my eye. Apparently, another fixture in the celebrity exorcist world, Fr. Carlos Martins, has initiated a lawsuit against two lay men — apparently associates of Rippenger, though I am unclear in what way, exactly — for allegedly defaming him and his ministry on a podcast. It seems the suit was initiated nearly a year ago and is now pending. At issue, I read, is that the two men described Martins on a podcast as “not who he says he is” with regard to his exorcism ministry and that he “doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” These statements Martins considers to be false and defamatory and, his suit claims, “directly affected the sale and reception of [his] The Exorcist Files book that was newly released at the time these episodes aired.” I don’t want to get too into the weeds of the details here, but a couple of things struck me about all this.