Headline Updates

Pope Francis Passes, Pentagon Chaos, COVID Gov Site, A Miracle Update

• Ranting Politics • Season 1 • Episode 156

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 Pope Francis has died at 88, leaving the Catholic Church to prepare for a conclave where 120 cardinals will select the next leader of 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide. The papal succession process highlights potential candidates representing diverse theological perspectives while Pentagon drama unfolds with Defense Secretary Hegseth under fire for sharing sensitive military information through Signal groups.

• Pope Francis's death at 88 ends a 12-year papacy marked by progressive stances
• Cardinals will gather within 20 days for the ancient conclave process requiring a two-thirds majority
• Papal candidates include frontrunners from the Philippines, Italy, France, Netherlands, Sri Lanka and Guinea
• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth facing criticism for sharing sensitive operation details through Signal chat groups
• White House claims "the entire Pentagon is working against" Hegseth's reform efforts
• COVID.gov website dramatically revamped to declare lab leak as the true origin of the pandemic
• 11-year-old Landon Hoffman thriving six years after being thrown from Mall of America balcony
• Landon's remarkable recovery included four months in intensive care and over a dozen surgeries 

Source Credits:

 

https://nypost.com/2025/04/21/world-news/who-will-be-next-pope-after-francis-vatican-conclave/ https://nypost.com/2025/04/21/us-news/wh-says-trump-supports-hegseth-claims-entire-pentagon-working-against-defense-secretary-after-second-signal-chat-revealed/ https://nypost.com/2025/04/18/us-news/white-house-reveals-covid-lab-leak-theory-as-true-origins-of-pandemic-website/? https://nypost.com/2025/04/19/us-news/landen-hoffmann-thriving-six-years-after-attack-says-mother-kari/ 

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Speaker 1:

Hello America, joc, here with your Ranting Politics headline updates, where we are diving into today's most explosive political stories that you need to know about Coming up. We're diving into a papal power vacuum as the Catholic Church mourns Pope Francis who passed away at 88. Who's next in line for the throne of St Peter? I've got the inside scoop on the frontrunners who might be measuring for those fancy red shoes. Then it's Pentagon pandemonium, as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth finds himself in hot water over some chatty signal groups. The White House claims the entire Pentagon is working against him. Drama, drama, drama. We're also getting real about COVID origins, as the White House drops a bombshell, revamping its official website to declare the lab leak theory as the true origin of the pandemic. And finally, a touch of inspiration as we hear about Landon Hoffman, the boy thrown from a Mall of America balcony six years ago, who's now thriving against all odds. If you're just tuning in for the first time, welcome to America's fastest growing daily newsown designed specifically for your commute run or coffee time. Stick around for all this and more in your daily dose of unfiltered news and common-sense commentary. This is Ranting Politics Headline Updates.

Speaker 1:

The Catholic world is mourning the loss of Pope Francis, who died today at the age of 88 after leading the church for 12 years. His tenure was marked by progressive stances that sometimes rankled conservatives, from his more welcoming approach toward LGBTQ Catholics to his restrictions on the traditional Latin Mass. Now the Vatican is preparing for that ancient secretive process known as a conclave. Within 20 days, 120 eligible cardinals under the age of 80 will gather to select the next leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics. They'll cast up to four ballots daily until someone secures a two-thirds majority. If they go through 30 rounds without a winner, it comes down to the top two candidates. According to Vatican experts, whoever follows Francis will likely nudge the church back toward the center. As Sarenhead James, editor of Britain's Catholic Herald, put it, after 12 years of Pope Francis stirring things up, the cardinals will want someone who will take a different, calmer approach.

Speaker 1:

So who's on the papal shortlist? Cardinal Luis Tagal from the Philippines, at 67, is considered a Francis protégé, though his star may have dimmed recently after alleged shortcomings during his leadership of Vatican charity Caritas International. He's known for progressive positions on matters like communion for non-sacramentally married couples. Italy's Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the 70-year-old Vatican Secretary of State, brings considerable diplomatic experience and holds some conservative positions, though he supported controversial agreements with communist China. French Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, 66, reportedly Francis's favorite successor, appeals to the church's left wing and supports greater decentralization. For those looking rightward, there's Dutch Cardinal Willem Jacobus Eyck, a 71-year-old physician and theologian who opposes same-sex blessings and gender therapies, while firmly rejecting women's ordination. From Sri Lanka, cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, 77, could become the first Asian pope, bringing credentials that appeal to both Benedict XVI conservatives and those who share Francis's concern for the poor and environment. Perhaps most intriguing is Cardinal Robert Serra of Guinea, 79, an outspoken traditionalist who publicly criticized Francis's restrictions on the Latin mass. His election would make him the first African pope since the 5th century.

Speaker 1:

According to historians, don't expect any surprise candidates from outside the College of Cardinals. As Keene University professor Christopher Bellitto colorfully put it no-transcript. The last time that happened was 1378, and it triggered a schism that left the church with multiple competing popes. The New York Post reports that Francis significantly reshaped the College of Cardinals during his papacy, potentially influencing who follows him even after his death. As the Catholic world watches and waits, this ancient ritual will soon determine who will lead the church into its next chapter.

Speaker 1:

Buckle up, folks, because there's major drama unfolding at the Pentagon. Right now, defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is under serious fire after revelations that he shared sensitive military operation details through signal chat groups, not once, but twice. According to reporting from the New York Times, hegseth sent information about March strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen to a group chat that included his wife, brother and personal attorney. We're talking flight schedules for F-A-18 Hornets and attack plans. Pretty serious stuff to be floating around on a messaging app. This comes after the previous embarrassment when Atlantic Magazine editor Jeffrey Goldberg somehow ended up in a principals committee signal group about those same strikes. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz took the fall for that mishap, claiming he accidentally added Goldberg instead of US Trade Representative Jameson Greer.

Speaker 1:

Despite what looks like a pattern of mishandling sensitive information, the White House is standing firmly behind Hegseth. Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt told Fox Friends that the president stands strongly behind Secretary Hegseth, who is doing a phenomenal job leading the Pentagon. But here's where it gets spicy. She then claimed that the entire Pentagon is working against you and against the monumental change that you are trying to implement. Hegseth himself is dismissing the controversy, telling reporters at the White House Easter egg roll that this is just what happens when a few leakers get fired and suddenly a bunch of hit pieces come out. The Pentagon spokesperson, sean Parnell, insists there was no classified information in any signal chat, but the internal turmoil seems very real. Just last week, hegseth dismissed three top staffers over alleged leaks senior advisor Dan Caldwell, deputy chief of staff Darren Selnick and Colin Carroll, chief of staff to the deputy secretary of defense and former chief Pentagon spokesperson John Olyot, who resigned last week, wrote in Politico that it's been a month of total chaos at the Pentagon and warned that bigger bombshell stories are coming soon. This Pentagon drama is just warming up, with battle lines clearly drawn between Hegseth's defenders, who see a reform effort under attack, and critics who question his handling of sensitive information and management of America's most important military institution.

Speaker 1:

Well, well, well. In a stunning move that has shaken the scientific and political communities, the White House has completely overhauled COVIDgov, transforming it from a resource for testing and vaccination information into a declaration about the pandemic's origins. If you visit the site now, you'll be redirected to a page boldly titled Lab Leak True Origins of COVID-19. This dramatic, pivot signals that the Trump administration has fully embraced the theory that COVID-19 escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan, china, a position once dismissed as conspiracy thinking but now presented as established fact by the government. The revamped website doesn't mince words, laying out five specific reasons why they believe COVID-19 came from a lab. These include claims that the virus has biological characteristics not found in nature, that all COVID cases stem from a single introduction to humans rather than multiple spillover events, and that Wuhan Institute of Virology researchers were sick with COVID-like symptoms in fall 2019, months before the official discovery. Perhaps most pointedly, the site notes that, by nearly all measures of science, if there was evidence of a natural origin, it would have already surfaced, but it hasn't. The website cites the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, which released a massive 557-page report last December concluding that COVID-19 likely leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, where a research group called EcoHealth Alliance was conducting taxpayer-funded experiments on coronaviruses. It's worth noting that both the FBI and the Energy Department's national laboratories have reached similar conclusions about the lab leak theory.

Speaker 1:

The White House isn't just making claims about COVID's origins. They're naming names when it comes to alleged obstruction of investigations. The site directly accuses the Biden administration's Department of Health and Human Services, ecohealth Alliance and New York's executive chamber under Governor Kathy Hochul of Hindering House probes into the pandemic's origins. There's even a spotlight on former President Biden's full and unconditional pardon of Dr Anthony Fauci shortly before leaving office, a pardon covering actions dating back to 2014 that some see as suspiciously timed. New York's handling of the pandemic also gets harsh criticism, particularly former Governor Andrew Cuomo's nursing home policies, which the site claims were deliberately covered up in an apparent effort to shield themselves from accountability. This stunning revision of the official COVID narrative represents one of the most dramatic shifts in government messaging on a major public health crisis in recent memory. Whether it leads to policy changes on gain-of-function research oversight or international pandemic prevention remains to be seen In our final story.

Speaker 1:

Today, we're turning to what can only be described as a miracle. At the Mall of America Six years ago, a horrific act of random violence changed a family forever when five-year-old Landon Hoffman was thrown from a third-floor balcony by a complete stranger. Old Landon Hoffman was thrown from a third floor balcony by a complete stranger. The fall was nearly 40 feet and the injuries were catastrophic A broken skull, shattered facial bones, two broken arms and a broken leg. The perpetrator, 24-year-old Emmanuel Deshaun Aranda, later told police he was looking for someone to kill after being rejected by women. He's now serving a 19-year sentence after pleading guilty to attempted murder.

Speaker 1:

But this story isn't about the crime. It's about an extraordinary recovery that defied medical expectations. Landon's mother, kari, recently shared that her son, now 11 years old, is thriving after what she describes as a big, long journey with so many miracles. The road back wasn't easy. Landon spent four months in intensive care and endured more than a dozen surgeries. His rehabilitation stretched over three years, complicated by injuries to his frontal lobe that temporarily altered his personality. It took time for him to be back to him. Carrie explained he had to learn who he was again. She watched as her once sweet boy turned angry before gradually returning to his happy self. Mercifully, landon doesn't remember the fall. Recently, he and his mother visited the hospital where he spent those grueling months back in 2019, bringing annotated copies of a book Carrie wrote about their experience called Miracle at the Mall. For the nurses who cared for him, what started as a simple trip to the mall following a parent-teacher conference turned into a years-long battle for recovery. But today, against overwhelming odds, that little boy is healthy, happy and moving forward with his life.

Speaker 1:

In a world full of troubling headlines, landon Hoffman's story reminds us of the incredible resilience of the human spirit. Well, folks, that wraps up another action-packed episode of Ranting Politics Headline Updates. We've covered quite the spectrum today, from the papal succession drama following Pope Francis' death at 88, to the Pentagon's internal warfare, with Secretary Hegseth claiming the entire building is out to get him. We dove into the White House's bold declaration that COVID-19 originated from a lab leak in Wuhan and ended with a truly inspiring story of young Landon Hoffman's miraculous recovery. The world keeps spinning, the news keeps flowing and we'll keep bringing you the stories that matter most, without the partisan nonsense that clogs up most media outlets.

Speaker 1:

If you're enjoying our no-nonsense approach to the headlines, make sure you're following us on X at Ranting RP. We're also streaming on all major platforms YouTube, spotify, iheartradio and Apple Podcasts For full episodes, transcripts and extra content you won't get anywhere else. Visit us at RantingPoliticscom. This is JOC signing off, and thank you, our loyal listeners, for choosing Ranting Politics Headline Updates. We'll be back soon with the updates you need to navigate these interesting times. Remember we don't align with a political party. We align with you, the American citizen. Until then, stay tuned, stay informed and, as always, stay free.