AFGHANISTAN // President Trump admitted that during the campaign he wanted to pull out of Afghanistan, but for now, he’s calling for modest troop increase. But he also said: “We are not nation-building again. We are killing terrorists… Our troops will fight to win. From now on, victory will have a clear definition: attacking our enemies, obliterating ISIS, crushing al-Qaeda, preventing the Taliban from taking over the country, and stopping mass terror attacks against Americans before they emerge.” http://cvote.it/2vYlUJC
VATICAN // Pope Francis made the claim that the right of migrants to live in another country trumps that country’s right to national security. He also railed against “arbitrary expulsions of migrants and refugees.” One Italian politician replied: “If he wants to apply it in his state, the Vatican, he can go right ahead.” CORRECTED LINK: http://cvote.it/2vYCtoZ
CYBER CRIME // Federal authorities are investigating to see if sensitive data was stolen by several Pakistani-American computer staffers on Capitol Hill. The alleged ring leader was a longtime staffer of Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, the former head of the Democratic National Committee. http://cvote.it/2vUivx7
HHS MANDATE // Several reports have suggested that health secretary Tom Price is close to finalizing a rule to greatly expand religious liberty exemptions for organizations seeking relief from the onerous HHS “contraceptive” mandate. But after that, Price should kill the mandate altogether. http://cvote.it/2vYk0sj
ABORTION // Arkansas may block thousands of dollars in Medicaid funding from going to abortion giant Planned Parenthood, a panel on the 8th Circuit said. http://cvote.it/2vYzrAS
COLLEGE // They went too far at the University of Missouri — and people are finally starting to wake up to campus radicalism. Two years after radical protests at Mizzou, the university has seen freshman enrollment plummet 35% — causing the school to lay off 100 people and eliminate 300 more positions. http://cvote.it/2vXZJmV
MEDIA // Americans do not trust the media. Former CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson says fellow members of the media should look in the mirror. “We have only ourselves to blame.” http://cvote.it/2vYmgjn
SPORTS // You can tell a lot about a society, or at least their elites, by who is celebrated and who is snubbed. The Smithsonian Museum for African American History has no exhibits or mentions of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. But they just announced that they’ll be highlighting artifacts of 49ers backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who isn’t known for his skills on the football field but for kneeling off the field during the National Anthem. http://cvote.it/2vYwr7s
CATHOLIC // The Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) is expanding their evangelization efforts to 15 new campuses this upcoming school year. http://cvote.it/2vXY0Op
SAINT // Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary – http://cvote.it/dailysaint
DAILY MASS // “The Lord speaks of peace to his people.” (Ps 85:9) – http://cvote.it/Daily-Readings
MARY // You want to read about the Queenship of Mary, don’t you? I mean, she is your Mother, after all. http://cvote.it/2vYycla