Pope-Gate, Crypto Kidnappings, Alcatraz Reopening, & Lady Gaga’s Scare
May 5, 2025
Hello, readers – happy Monday! Today, we’ll be talking about Pope-gate, the Middle East, nuclear weapons in Russia, French crypto kidnappings, Trump reopening Alcatraz, whether or not you should get due process, and a bomb threat for Lady Gaga.
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“I’m convinced of this: Good done anywhere is good done everywhere. For a change, start by speaking to people rather than walking by them like they’re stones that don’t matter. As long as you’re breathing, it’s never too late to do some good.” – Maya Angelou
From POTUS To Pope-tus?
Donald Trump has added another swathe of humanity to the already-long list of people he’s offended — Catholics. On Friday, the president posted an AI-generated image of himself dressed up as the Pope, including the papal white cassock, a gold cross on a gold chain, and the big ol’ white and gold hat. The official White House Twitter account then reposted the image, sparking swift backlash from Catholics around the globe.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York and a friend of Trump’s, said on Sunday that he hoped the president “didn’t have anything to do with” the image. When asked if he found it offensive, he replied that the image “wasn’t good.” The New York State Catholic Conference also chimed in on the issue, writing, “There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President. We just buried our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a new successor of St. Peter. Do not mock us.”
One person who wasn’t too upset? Vice President J.D. Vance, who wrote on X, “As a general rule, I’m fine with people telling jokes and not fine with people starting stupid wars that kill thousands of my countrymen.”
A Hole In The Iron Dome
Yemen’s Houthi rebels struck Israel’s Ben Gurion airport — the country’s main international airport — with a ballistic missile yesterday. The missile injured six people, none seriously. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to retaliate against the Houthis and Iran, which backs the rebel group.
“We attacked in the past, we will attack in the future,” Netanyahu said in a video posted online soon after the attack, adding that “attacks by the Houthis emanate from Iran” and Israel will respond to the strike “at a time and place of our choosing.” Normally the country is protected from missile attacks by both Israeli and U.S. defense systems, but, for some reason, an Israeli long-range Arrow air defense system and a U.S.-made Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) defense battery failed to intercept the attack. Israeli officials are looking into the failure.
Meanwhile, the IDF is gathering up tens of thousands of troops to “intensify and expand” its operations in Gaza. Apparently, Israel plans on “increasing the pressure” on Hamas in Gaza in a bid to get the remaining 59 Israeli hostages out of the militant group’s hands.
Unclear On Nuclear Options
- Russian President Vladimir Putin made a suspicious comment yesterday, saying “there is no need to use those [nuclear] weapons” in Russia’s conflict with Ukraine, adding that he hopes “they will not be required.” He went on to state that Russia has “enough strength and means” to bring the conflict to “a logical conclusion with the outcome Russia requires,” signaling that he might be far from agreeing to a ceasefire deal to end the war.
- Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicated his skepticism in Russia’s proposed 72-hour truce to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory Day (the day that the Nazis surrendered to end World War II in Europe). “Putin is very eager to show off his tanks at the (Victory Day) parade,” he said, “but he should think about ending his war.” The Ukrainian president was happy to offer an olive branch at the same time, announcing that the two countries could work out a ceasefire “even from today” if Moscow wanted to.
They Don’t Have Bodyguards On The Blockchain?
- The father of a French cryptocurrency “entrepreneur” was kidnapped for ransom late last week, with local authorities rescuing him from his captors in a raid on Saturday. “The victim turned out to be the father of a man who made his fortune in cryptocurrencies, and the incident was accompanied by a ransom demand,” police told reporters, adding that one of the father’s fingers was cut off in captivity. The kidnappers reportedly demanded a ransom of €5-7 million ($5.6-7.9 million).
- It seems that French criminals are targeting crypto-bros in ransom schemes – in January, one of the co-founders of crypto-wallet firm Ledger was also taken for ransom along with his wife before he was saved by a unit of France’s elite National Gendarmerie Intervention Group, and the father of a French crypto-influencer was similarly captured last December.
More Mixed Nuts
- What Effect Did Trump Have on Australia’s Election? (NYT, $)
- Germany hits back at Marco Rubio after he panned labeling of AfD as ‘extremist’ (Guardian)
- Mexico’s president says she rejected Trump’s plan to send US troops across the border (NPR)
- UK police arrest several Iranian men over alleged attack plot (ABC)
- Seven killed in South Sudan hospital and market bombing, charity says (BBC)
- Thousands of Islamists rally in Bangladesh against proposed changes to women’s rights (AP)
All In On Alcatraz
- President Trump announced (“posted on Truth Social in an unhinged way” is a better way to say it) that he is directing his government to reopen and expand Alcatraz. The former prison on an island off San Francisco has been closed for more than 60 years due to the high cost of keeping it open, since everything had to be done by boat, and because it was falling apart.
- “For too long, America has been plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat Criminal Offenders, the dregs of society, who will never contribute anything other than Misery and Suffering. When we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals, and keep them far away from anyone they could harm. That’s the way it’s supposed to be,” he wrote.
Are You Really Due Due Process?
- In a new interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” President Trump was asked whether U.S. citizens and noncitizens both deserve due process. “I don’t know. I’m not, I’m not a lawyer. I don’t know,” Trump said when pressed by the interviewer, despite the fact that the Fifth Amendment provides “due process of law,” meaning a person has certain rights when it comes to being prosecuted for a crime.
- In terms of Trump’s ongoing threats to make Canada the “51st state,” he was similarly noncommittal. He told NBC that it was “highly unlikely” that the U.S. would need to use military force. “Something could happen with Greenland,” he added. “I’ll be honest, we need that for national and international security. … I don’t see it with Canada. I just don’t see it, I have to be honest with you.”
More Nuts In America
- Federal workers in limbo amid whiplash White House firings and court-ordered rehirings (Guardian)
- International students in the US skip travel amid visa crackdown (AP)
- Court foils plan to reinstate more than 1,000 Voice of America employees (Guardian)
- Cuts have eliminated more than a dozen US government health-tracking programs (AP)
- LA’s bustling ports hit by Trump tariffs: ‘Everyone in the US will feel this’ (Guardian)
She Didn’t Bomb & Neither Did They
- On Sunday, Brazilian police arrested two people in connection with a bombing plot targeting a Lady Gaga concert in Rio de Janeiro. The free concert, held on Saturday, drew a crowd of over 2.5 million people to Copacabana Beach, making it the highest-attended concert by a female artist in history. The previous record (1.6 million) was held by Madonna, set when she held a similarly free concert in the same location last May.
- “They were clearly saying that they were planning an attack at Lady Gaga’s concert motivated by sexual orientation,” the secretary of the Rio police told reporters at a press conference yesterday. Rio’s police chief added that the would-be perpetrators spread hate speech online leading up to the event “aimed at gaining notoriety in order to attract more viewers, more participants — most of them teenagers, many of them children.”
- The police said they didn’t reveal the attack before the concert to “avoid panic” and “the distortion of information,” though Lady Gaga’s team said they didn’t learn about the arrests until Sunday morning. Apparently, the group labeled themselves “Little Monsters” – which Lady Gaga also uses as a nickname for her fans – and one of the group “claimed the singer (Lady Gaga) was a Satanist.”
More Loose Nuts
- Dating app Raw exposed users’ location data and personal information (TechCrunch)
- Elon Musk’s Starbase in Texas will officially become a city (BBC)
- Why Pigeons at Rest Are at the Center of Complexity Theory (Wired, $)
- Tracks show flying giants walked with dinosaurs (BBC)
- Bats learn to identify prey by listening to mating calls, study says (WaPo, $)
Team Thoughts
Kayli – Some kids go through dinosaur phases or princess phases…I went through a pretty heavy Alcatraz phase. Please don’t make it a prison again, then I can’t return for the audio tour!
Marcus – Okay but how big of a crowd would Katy Perry draw in a free concert at Copacabana Beach?
