Rubio's Family Roots Traced To Bella Italia!

From the National Italian American Foundation:

During a diplomatic visit to Rome today, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani presented Secretary Rubio with a genealogical document tracing his family’s origins to Casale Monferrato, in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. The research was conducted through municipal and church archives by the Region of Piedmont and the city of Casale Monferrato.

Rubio called it “an incredible experience and one more reason to return soon, visit the region, and connect with the past.”

Trump Effect: Govt Jobs Down, Private Sector Soars!

.@KevinHincksCS: "The federal government is down 348,000 jobs. That's an 11.5% cut in the federal workforce. Despite that, jobs are gaining. It's ALL PRIVATE SECTOR. It's quite amazing, actually."

The federal government is the smallest it's been since 1966.

TRUMP EFFECT! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/4yRGKpwXQi

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 8, 2026

Rubio Briefed Pope On Grave Threat Of Iran

Secretary of State 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐨 𝐑𝐮𝐛𝐢𝐨 reported that he has 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐨 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐫𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲. This is a step that signals the Trump administration is actively working to bring the Holy See into the sphere of alignment with the dominant allied position on Iran and the threat of radical Islam.

Here's what Rubio said:

“𝘞𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘜𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯, 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥.

“𝘐 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘐𝘳𝘢𝘯, 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘣𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺.

“𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦.”

Miracle! Rudy's Dramatic Medical Comeback!

“I swear to God, it was the prayers.”

— Dr. Maria Ryan on former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s miracle recovery after being hospitalized last weekend@MariaRyanNH @edhenry pic.twitter.com/YOo0AxEcn4

— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) May 8, 2026

Jobs Report Exceeds Expectations: Strong Economy!

“The April jobs report smashing expectations thanks to robust private-sector growth is yet another sign that the American economy remains on a solid trajectory under President Trump. America added 12,600 factory construction jobs in April as trillions in investments continue pouring into American manufacturing. Every leading indicator is pointed in the right direction, and Americans can rest assured that the best is yet to come.” — White House spokesman Kush Desai

Here’s what you need to know: The U.S. labor market is surging. The economy added 115,000 jobs in April — crushing economists’ expectations and delivering the second straight month of strong gains. In 2026, the economy has powered ahead with an average of 76,000 new jobs per month, a big leap from the 10,000 monthly average in 2025.   Economists keep getting it wrong as they underestimate the strength of the Trump economy. 94% of Bloomberg economists (65 out of 69) completely missed April’s impressive growth, continuing their pattern of underestimating the momentum of the current expansion.   American manufacturing is roaring back. The economy added 12,600 factory construction jobs in April alone, propelled by trillions in new investments flooding into advanced manufacturing and data centers. The first quarter of 2026 delivered the first manufacturing job growth since 2023, with every major indicator now flashing strong expansion after years of Biden-era decline.   President Trump is dramatically shrinking the federal bureaucracy. His bold efforts have already slashed the federal workforce by 345,000 workers, making the federal government the smallest it has been since May 1966 — and the smallest it has ever been as a share of the total workforce.   American workers are flooding back into the workforce. Prime-age labor force participation remains exceptionally strong, with prime-age female participation hovering near its all-time high and prime-age male participation at its highest level since 2009. Workers are proudly coming off the sidelines and powering the Trump Economy.

Here’s what they’re saying: The Wall Street Journal: “The U.S. job market blew past expectations again in April, buoyed by gains across industries including retail, transportation and warehousing, and healthcare, a sign that the labor market remained resilient in the face of the Iran war.”   Bloomberg Economics Chief U.S. Economist Anna Wong: “April hiring was surprisingly robust… The most interesting detail in April’s jobs report is from the area that powered more than half the month’s job gains: the freight sector. That confirms the improvement flagged by recent strong readings in PMIs and regional Fed manufacturing surveys: A strong recovery may be underway in the industrial sector.”   Politico: “President Donald Trump’s labor market is bouncing back.”   The New York Times reporter Tony Romm: “The jobs report gives President Trump a favorable data point to tout.”   Economist Steve Moore: “This is a real tribute to a lot of Trump policies… The buzzword for today is ‘resilience’”   Northlight Asset Management Chief Investment Officer Chris Zaccarelli: “The economy is so much better than what the doom crew has been saying… The labor market is adding jobs, GDP is growing and corporate profits are expanding at a rapid pace.”   Lombard Odier Investment Managers Head of Macro Research Florian Ielpo: “What is not to like? It is better than expected without being too strong, and it does not look directly inflationary.”   CNBC anchor Rick Santelli: “We are much stronger… These are good numbers.”   Fox Business Network anchor Cheryl Casone: “We got a much better than expected jobs report for the month of April. 115,000 jobs is the nonfarm number. The expectation was 62,000. Again, a strong print for the U.S. jobs picture.”   Citizens Bank Managing Director and Co-Head of Global Markets Eric Merlis: “The April jobs report is a clear upside surprise… Importantly, the data suggests the hostilities in the Middle East have had little visible impact on the U.S. job market.”   Navy Federal Credit Union Chief Economist Heather Long: “Good news. The US economy added a strong 115,000 jobs in April (and March was revised higher to 185,000!) The unemployment rate stayed at 4.3%. Hiring was strong in healthcare (about 1/3 of job gains in April), retail and transportation/warehouse.”   Job Creators Network CEO Alfredo Ortiz: “Small businesses are really the generators of job creation and never has been more the truth than that than this particular week and this particular year under this Administration and under the leadership of Kelly Loeffler, small businesses are leading the charge here.”   CNN’s Matt Egan: “This was a big beat for the job market... The U.S. economy adding 115,000 jobs in April — that’s almost twice as much as the consensus from economists.”   The New York Times reporter Lydia DePillis: “That’s another surprisingly good showing, up about twice what economists expected.”

WOW! Catch This Philly Pops 26/27 Lineup!

 

The Philly Pops announces its 2026/2027 concert season led by Music Director Chris Dragon and held in Marian Anderson Hall at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia. In addition, the orchestra has announced they have launched their first subscription series. Subscribers have the chance to select seats, have early access to specific performances and will receive a discount when purchasing the subscription. To become a subscriber, visit phillypops.org. 

The Philly Pops will also present concerts at a variety of venues throughout the greater Philadelphia area, including the Highmark Mann Center, the Met Philadelphia, Finneran Pavilion at Villanova University, and community venues across neighborhoods.

The season of concerts in the Kimmel Center bring back popular Philly Pops guest artists and music. It begins on October 24, 2026 at 3 p.m. with Broadway à la Nero, a celebration of the Broadway sound through the musical lens of Grammy award-winning pianist and Philly Pops Music Director Emeritus Peter Nero. The concert features Philly’s own Broadway star Hugh Panaro, pianist Charlie Albright, and the Philly Pops Chorus, with Music Director Chris Dragon.

The holiday season returns in grand fashion with A Philly Holiday Spectacular, presented December 11, 12 and 13, 2026. A beloved Philadelphia tradition, this year’s production, conducted by Chris Dragon, features three-time Grammy nominated Ryan Shaw and singer/songwriter Morgan James, along with the Philly Pops Chorus, St. Thomas Gospel Choir, and the Philadelphia Boys Choir.

The series concludes on April 3, 2027 at 3 p.m. with ICON, a program celebrating songs that have shaped decades and generations, the music of Whitney Houston, Diana Ross, Prince, Elvis and many more. Returning to the stage is guest conductor Lucas Waldin, with crowd favorites Capathia Jenkins and Ryan Shaw as featured vocalists.

“We are proud to launch a subscription series at the Kimmel Center,” said Executive Director Matthew Koveal. “This gives our audiences the opportunity to purchase tickets as a package while enjoying added benefits and a deeper connection to the work we are building together.

While we look forward to growing the subscription series at the Kimmel Center, we are equally thrilled to bring concerts to audiences throughout the year. Audiences can also join us for performances with headliners such as Idina Menzel, Boyz II Men, Leslie Odom Jr., and at many others at major venues and community venues across neighborhoods throughout the greater Philadelphia area.”

Other season highlights include:

●       June 6, 2026, 8 p.m. – St. Vincent Live with the Philly Pops at the Met.

●       July 3, 2026, 7 p.m. – Idina Menzel with the Philly Pops conducted by Music Director Chris Dragon during Wawa Welcome America’s Pops on Independence concert. (Non-ticketed event – bring a lawn chair or blanket.)

●     August 21, 2026, 8 p.m. – Gregory Alan Isakov with the Philly Pops for an evening blending indie folk and symphonic sound conducted by Chris Dragon at the Mann Center.

●     August 28, 2026, 8 p.m. – A Jerry Garcia Symphonic Celebration at the Mann Center. Celebrate 60 years of the Grateful Dead, an orchestral tribute curated by the Garcia family that brings Jerry’s iconic songs, timeless Dead classics, and an all-star band together with the Philly Pops.

●     September 18, 2026, 8 p.m. – Boyz II Men with the Philly Pops at the Mann Center, bringing one of Philadelphia’s most beloved R&B groups together with the orchestra for what promises to be a major hometown event.

●       September 25, 2026 – Philly Pops featuring Leslie Odom, Jr. at Finneran Pavilion in Villanova, PA, this is a collaboration with Villanova University to bring the Pops to Villanova for their Family Weekend.

Beyond these major performances, the Philly Pops will continue its commitment to community access with Artcinia concerts in Philadelphia neighborhoods and additional free appearances at locations including Headhouse Square on South Street, Dilworth Park, and the Kimmel Arts Festival. 

About the Philly Pops

Founded in 2023, Liberty Bell Pops, dba The Philly Pops, is a versatile ensemble composed of the former musicians of the pre-2023 Philly Pops with a mission to deliver authentic, exceptional musical experiences in the Philadelphia region. Gifted the name Philly Pops by the estate of Music Director Emeritus Peter Nero, the reborn Philly Pops is led by Music Director Christopher Dragon and features world-class soloists. The Pops continues to captivate audiences with its vibrant and diverse repertoire, melding tradition with an innovative approach unbound by musical genre.

Comparing American Conflicts Through History

 

This Guy Is Running One Helluva Campaign!

I’m sorry I am now a broken record but oh my God I did not have Spencer Pratt, exposing Karen Bass’s entire communist, revolution history during the race for mayor in Los Angeles.

I mean the best part about this is everything he’s saying is completely 100% true.

So if you… pic.twitter.com/iyoR93WOFh

— Insurrection Barbie (@DefiyantlyFree) May 7, 2026

White House: Mark Hamill Is 'Sick Individual'

 

President Proclaims 'National Shabbat, 5/15 - 5/16

President Trump has proclaimed a “National Shabbat,” dubbed “Shabbat 250,” as part of Jewish American Heritage Month and America’s 250th birthday celebrations.

From sundown on May 15 to nightfall on May 16, Jewish Americans are encouraged to observe Shabbat, while Americans of all backgrounds are invited to use the day for rest, reflection, gratitude, family, community, and prayer.

A rare and meaningful recognition of Shabbat as a sacred Jewish tradition — and of the Jewish contribution to America since its founding.