What happened Today – 21 April 2025
What happened Today – 21 April 2025
The Pope
Hegseth…sharing all our secrets with everyone
The Market
The Attempt to Dumb Down America with education and science…
Humanitarian help…dwindling or missing…
COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories…
State Department Shake Up…
Government Employees
The Pope
The Pope’s last message was all about hope, peace, and looking out for each other—especially when the world feels pretty heavy. He talked about not letting fear or hate win, and instead choosing love, forgiveness, and compassion. He called out the wars and suffering happening right now, like in Gaza and Ukraine, and asked leaders to step up, help the poor, and use what they have to make things better, not worse.
He made it clear that every single life matters, from babies to the elderly, and that we can’t just turn our backs on people who are struggling or pushed to the side. He wants us to believe that peace is possible, even when things look rough.
Honestly, this is the kind of message we all need to hear—and really feel—in times like these. It’s a reminder to not give up on hope, to care for each other, and to remember that we all have a part to play in making the world a kinder, more peaceful place.
Hegseth…sharing all our secrets with everyone
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is in serious hot water after it came out that he shared sensitive military info about upcoming U.S. strikes in Yemen in a private Signal chat. And get this—the chat included his wife (who doesn’t even work for the Pentagon), his brother, his personal lawyer, and a handful of others, some of whom had no business knowing any of this.
He basically let slip details like flight schedules and strike plans—stuff that’s supposed to be locked down tight for obvious reasons. This isn’t just some slip-up; it’s a massive breach of security protocol. To make matters worse, this isn’t even the first time. Just a few weeks ago, he accidentally sent similar info to a group that included a journalist.
Now there’s a full-blown investigation by the Pentagon’s inspector general, and people on both sides of the aisle are calling for Hegseth to step down. Meanwhile, the White House is trying to play it down, saying nothing classified was shared and blaming the media for blowing it up. But honestly, that doesn’t pass the smell test. Trump is doubling down on his support for Hegseth, no matter how bad the headlines get. Even with all the drama about Hegseth leaking sensitive military info in those Signal chats—and people inside the Pentagon resigning or getting suspended left and right—Trump just said he has “full confidence” in him and isn’t replacing him.
This kind of recklessness is exactly what destroys public trust. If the guy in charge of the Pentagon can’t keep a lid on sensitive info—and is sharing it with people who have no clearance from his personal phone—how are we supposed to believe our leaders are actually keeping us safe? It’s damning, plain and simple. The American people deserve better than this and deserved more from the jump, a lot of us Veterans shook our head in disbelief when he was named as he was not qualified nor could become qualified with time and experience.
The Market
It was a rough day—stocks took a hit, with the S&P 500 dropping more than 2%. A lot of it had to do with all the noise coming from President Trump going after the Fed chair again and more uncertainty around trade. Investors were definitely on edge.
The Fed isn’t dropping rates right now because they’re worried about inflation heating up again, especially with all these new tariffs flying around. Powell and the Fed are basically stuck between a rock and a hard place: if they cut rates too soon, prices could spike and undo all the progress made fighting inflation. If they wait too long, the economy could slow down more than anyone wants. This can’t be fixed by Truth social posts and tweets Mr. President…you are creating chaos, this is on YOU sir. And you alone.
The Attempt to Dumb Down America with education and science…
The administration is basically going to war with Harvard and other top universities. They’re yanking billions in federal research money—$2.2 billion just for Harvard—because Harvard refused to go along with their demands to gut diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, overhaul their leadership, and start reporting foreign students for “conduct violations.” The same thing is happening at other schools like Columbia, Cornell, Brown, and Northwestern.
This isn’t just a slap on the wrist. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) have been told to stop paying out grants to these schools, and researchers got “stop-work” orders overnight. We’re talking about lifesaving research—stuff on ALS, cancer, tuberculosis, you name it—suddenly grinding to a halt. Labs are scrambling, people are getting laid off, and some projects might never recover.
It’s not just Harvard, either. The administration is also cutting NSF funding for any research tied to DEI or fighting misinformation, saying those topics don’t fit their priorities anymore. If your project is about making science more inclusive, or about studying how to stop the spread of lies online, you’re out of luck.
To make it even messier, there’s confusion inside the administration itself. One of the letters that kicked off this fight with Harvard was apparently sent “by mistake,” but the damage is done. The White House is doubling down, and now they’re even threatening to block Harvard from hosting international students if they don’t hand over info on foreign students’ behavior.
This is a full-scale assault on academic freedom and scientific research. The fallout is immediate—projects stopped, jobs lost, and years of progress at risk. The administration is making it clear: play by their rules or lose your funding, no matter how important your work is. And honestly, this is the kind of heavy-handed move that shakes public trust in how our government supports science and higher education.
Humanitarian help…dwindling or missing…
The administration is catching a lot of heat for how it’s handling major humanitarian crises right now. People are upset about what’s going on in Gaza—there’s a ton of suffering and not enough being done to help.
And it doesn’t stop there. The administration is talking about slashing funding for global health and seriously pulling back on international aid and diplomacy, especially in Africa and with refugee programs. Basically, they’re cutting support right when a lot of people around the world need it most. It’s a move that’s leaving a lot of people frustrated and worried about America turning its back on those who are struggling.
Not to mention – there’s millions hurting right here in the states.
Asheville and Western North Carolina are still reeling from Hurricane Helene last fall. There’s debris everywhere, homes are damaged, and people are still dealing with mold, bad water, and just trying to get their lives back together. The city declared a state of emergency, but even with that, recovery is crawling. Federal relief has been slow, and just when a CDC team was supposed to start a project to help flood victims in Asheville, they got cut in the latest round of federal layoffs—leaving the community hanging when they needed boots on the ground the most.
Wildfires are raging across North Carolina and South Carolina. Swain County in NC is under a state of emergency with hundreds of acres burning and schools closed. Fires in South Carolina, like the Table Rock Complex, have burned over 10,000 acres and are barely contained. The National Guard is dropping water and local crews are working around the clock, but resources are stretched thin, and the season is just getting started. Downed trees from last year’s hurricane are making things worse—crews have to cut through debris just to reach the fire lines, and the leftover brush is fueling the flames. Air quality is tanking, and people are being told to stay indoors if they can.
Meanwhile, tornadoes and severe storms just tore through the South and Midwest. Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Iowa got hit hard with deadly storms, huge hail, and tornadoes. The threat is still not over—more tornadoes and storms are expected across Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, and Illinois. Homes have been destroyed, people have died, and a lot of folks are without power or shelter.
People in Asheville, across the Carolinas, and throughout the South and Midwest are getting hammered by disaster after disaster—floods, fires, tornadoes, you name it. Local crews are exhausted, resources are running out, and federal help is either delayed, cut, or just missing in action. Folks are frustrated, not just by the disasters themselves, but by the lack of real, timely support that were promised on the campaign trail. It feels like these communities are being left to fend for themselves while the rest of the country moves on. And that’s just not right.
COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories…
So, the administration made a pretty bold move—they took down the main COVID.gov website and replaced it with a new page that’s all about the “lab leak” theory. Now, instead of finding info on vaccines, testing, or what to do if you get sick, you’re basically hit with a page saying COVID came from a lab in Wuhan, China, and not from animals at a market like a lot of experts have said before.
The new site is pretty direct. It lays out reasons why they believe the lab leak theory is the real story, like the fact that Wuhan has a big virus lab and some people there got sick before the pandemic really took off. They also say that if there was proof the virus came from animals, we’d have it by now, but we don’t.
They’re not holding back on calling out people, either. The site actually names officials like Dr. Fauci and accuses them of trying to cover up the lab leak idea or push the animal theory instead. There’s also a lot of criticism of how the pandemic was handled—stuff about lockdowns, masks, and the government’s messaging.
On the other hand, a lot of scientists still say there’s no solid proof for the lab leak theory, and most intelligence agencies aren’t totally convinced either. They say it’s possible, but not a sure thing.
So why not push more conspiracy and fake news…The administration is now using the main COVID website to push the lab leak theory, and all the usual public health info is basically gone. It’s a big change and definitely has people talking. Let me just be clear – COVID-19 is a real disease, where it came from – is unclear. However, taking a page that provides resources around COVID-19 is now a propaganda page.
State Department Shake Up…
The administration is about to blow up the State Department as we know it. There’s a draft order on the table that would shut down almost every U.S. embassy and consulate in Africa, gut the offices that handle climate change, refugees, democracy, and human rights, and lay off a huge number of experienced diplomats. They want to reorganize everything, move people around, and bring in more loyalists who will just follow orders and “align” with the president’s vision—no questions asked.
If this actually happens, we’re talking about the biggest shake-up in U.S. diplomacy since the State Department was created. Decades of experience and relationships thrown out the window, and all the work we’ve done on human rights, climate, and helping refugees just tossed aside. The Africa bureau would disappear, replaced by a tiny office that only answers to the White House, and most embassies there would be closed for good. The same goes for a bunch of other offices—if it’s not about counterterrorism or resource deals, it’s on the chopping block.
They’re calling this a “disciplined reorganization” to cut waste and streamline things, but let’s be real: this is about shrinking America’s role in the world and pulling back from anything that doesn’t fit the administration’s narrow agenda. Experts are warning this would erase generations of expertise, kill our soft power, and basically hand over influence in Africa and other key places to China and Russia.
And here’s the thing—this is all happening while we’ve got disasters piling up at home and abroad. The last thing we need right now is MORE chaos, especially from our own government. This isn’t reform; it’s reckless, and it’s going to make a mess when what we really need is stability and leadership.
Government Employees
Yep, government civilians are still being told to send in those five things they did each week. Supervisors are collecting them, and now there’s even AI and badge tracking in some places to keep tabs on who’s actually working. If you don’t send your list, you’re basically putting your job at risk. And yes, more cuts are coming—big ones. If you’re not showing you’re productive or “on board” with the new agenda, you could be next. It’s all about shrinking the government and making sure everyone left is actually doing the work.
Not to mention…There are government employees out there who want to quit, but they can’t because they’re stuck on paid administrative leave—and the people who are supposed to process their resignations are also on paid leave or just not picking up. It’s a total mess. Folks are in limbo: they’re not working, still getting paid, but can’t actually resign or move on because HR is either out or just buried in paperwork. Some were told they could leave by a certain date, but that keeps getting pushed back because nobody’s around to process the forms. In some cases, even people who got fired and then reinstated by the courts are just being put back on paid leave instead of actually going back to work.
Meanwhile in Musk-land…
Besides whining about his tanking Tesla stock, Musk is juggling a mess on all fronts. Tesla’s sales are down, the stock is in free fall, and he’s under fire for spending more time playing government “efficiency czar” in D.C. than actually fixing his own company. Investors are pissed—he’s got a big earnings call coming up, and everyone wants to know if he’s finally stepping away from his government gig to focus on Tesla. Meanwhile, he keeps hyping up robotaxis and humanoid robots as the next big thing, but deadlines keep slipping, and nobody’s buying the hype anymore. There’s also a boycott movement, vandalism at Tesla dealerships, and even his own fans are starting to bail.
On top of all that, Musk is still launching SpaceX rockets, rolling out new fintech and streaming ventures with X, and trying to turn X (Twitter) into some kind of “everything app.” But with Tesla’s brand in crisis and his attention split everywhere, even Wall Street is saying enough is enough.
As for the IRS—yeah, the new head lasted all of 72 hours. Gary Shapley, Musk’s handpicked guy, got tossed after just three days because the Treasury Secretary wasn’t even told he was being installed. That makes five IRS chiefs this year alone. It’s total chaos, nobody’s in charge for more than a week, and the agency’s bleeding talent and direction.
Musk is everywhere except where he’s needed, Tesla’s in trouble, and the IRS is a revolving door.
Finally…
Honestly, I’m getting more and more discouraged hearing from people who are still sticking by Trump and his crew. I just can’t wrap my head around how anyone can keep defending him after all the obvious lies, the brainwashing, and the way his team twists the truth—like Miller spinning that 9-0 Supreme Court ruling. They’re literally erasing history, cutting out the stories of Black Americans, women in the military, and showing total disregard for the transgender community—basically acting like they don’t even exist. That’s not just wrong, it’s dangerous. The case with Garcia no matter HOW you feel about him (which again, there is NO evidence at all he’s MS-13) is unconstitutional. When you deny rights to one, you’re putting everyone’s rights at risk. That’s not what this country is supposed to be about.
Trump’s made a ton of promises, but the only one he’s actually delivered on is chaos. Anyone who stands up to him gets mocked, insulted, or flat-out attacked. Yeah, he won the election—nobody’s denying that—but let’s be real: he barely scraped by with 49.8%. The main reason he’s back in office is because so many people either voted third party or just stayed home. That’s the truth, no matter how much his people try to spin it.
We all need to wake up and step up. You can’t, in good conscience, keep supporting this administration. Enough is enough.
At his core, Pope Francis was all about compassion, dignity, and justice—especially for those who get pushed to the margins. He believed the measure of any society or leader is how they treat the vulnerable: the poor, immigrants, refugees, the sick, the outcasts. He constantly called out systems and attitudes that dehumanize or divide, and he saw indifference and contempt for others as the root of so much violence and chaos.
Francis’s whole message was that every single person matters—no exceptions. He pushed for unity, not division. He wanted us to use our resources to lift each other up, not tear each other down. He believed real leadership means humility, empathy, and standing up for those who can’t stand up for themselves. He challenged us to fight for social and economic justice, to reaffirm the dignity of every human being, and to never accept a world where anyone is treated as disposable.
Pope Francis’s essence was a call to love, solidarity, and action. He wanted us to reject fear, cruelty, and exclusion, and instead build a world where compassion and justice are at the center of everything we do.
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Go Cause Good Trouble, with Your Elbows Up!
**These are facts that I researched and verified – AI helped put together some sentence structure, but the words and tone are mine. These are my views based upon facts, research and thoughtful consideration using logic. I own the copyright to any images used. I’m comfortable to stand alone to uphold truth. Feel free to check me, but do not attack me. I am only causing good trouble.**