Trump deletes AI image amid dispute with Pope Leo

April 14, 2026

Summary

Trump removed an AI-generated image after criticism as his dispute with Pope Leo widened over the Iran war.

Why this matters

The episode highlighted tension between Trump and Pope Leo over Iran and tested Trump’s relationship with Christian voters, especially Catholics, a key part of his political base.

President Donald Trump posted an artificial intelligence-generated image of himself as a biblical figure on Truth Social on Sunday, then deleted it Monday after criticism from some supporters, including religious conservatives.

The image showed Trump in a white robe with one hand on a man’s head and a glowing orb in the other. The Statue of Liberty, fireworks, a fighter jet, and eagles appeared in the background.

Trump said Monday the image was not meant to portray him as Jesus.

“It’s supposed to be me as a doctor making people better, and I do make people better,” he told reporters at the White House.

Some Trump allies criticized the image. Brilyn Hollyhand, former co-chair of the Republican National Committee Youth Advisory Council, wrote on X: “This is gross blasphemy. Faith is not a prop. You don’t need to portray yourself as a savior when your record should speak for itself.”

Riley Gaines, a former collegiate swimmer who has appeared with Trump at rallies, wrote on X: “Does he actually think this? Either way, two things are true. 1) a little humility would serve him well 2) God shall not be mocked.”

Trump said Monday he had “nothing to apologize for” to the pope. Vice President JD Vance told Fox News that Trump made the image jokingly and said it was sometimes better for the “Vatican to stick to matters of morality.”

More top news

Tech & Artificial Intelligence

Booking.com says hackers accessed customer data

According to Booking.com’s website, 6.8 billion customers have booked hotel rooms and homes through the platform since 2010.

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Booking.com said Monday that hackers may have accessed customers’ personal data, including names, email addresses, phone numbers, booking details, and information shared with accommodations.

The company notified customers this past week, according to several online posts. A notice shared by a Reddit user said: “We’re writing to inform you that unauthorized third parties may have been able to access certain booking information associated with your reservation.” Several other Reddit users said they received the same message.

Booking.com spokesperson Courtney Camp said the company “noticed some suspicious activity involving unauthorized third parties being able to access some of our guests’ booking information. Upon discovering the activity, we took action to contain the issue. We have updated the PIN number for these reservations and informed our guests.”

The company told The Guardian that financial information was not accessed. An update to the report said physical addresses also were not taken in the breach.
Europe

Spain PM Sanchez’s wife charged in corruption case

Gomez was charged with embezzlement, influence peddling, corruption in business dealings, and misappropriation of funds, according to the ruling dated April 11.

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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s wife, Begona Gomez, was formally charged with corruption after a criminal investigation that began in April 2024, according to a court ruling made public Monday.

Judge Juan Carlos Peinado said his investigation found sufficient indications of criminal conduct by Gomez, 55, in connection with the creation and management of a chair at Madrid’s Complutense University that she co-directed. The case also involved the alleged use of public resources and personal connections to advance private interests.

“The chair served as a means of private professional development for the person under investigation,” the judge wrote.

It is now up to the courts to decide whether Gomez will stand trial.

Gomez, who was on an official visit to China with Sanchez, has denied wrongdoing. Sanchez also denied the allegations and said they were an attempt by the right wing to undermine his government. Opposition parties called for his resignation.

The investigation was opened to determine whether Gomez had used her position as Sanchez’s wife for private gain, which both she and the prime minister denied.

The case began with a complaint from an anti-corruption group with far-right ties.

The investigation added to pressure on Sanchez’s minority coalition government. His brother, David Sanchez, was also indicted in a separate case over alleged influence peddling related to his hiring by a regional government.

Jose Luis Abalos, a former transport minister and close Sanchez ally, went on trial this month over alleged kickbacks linked to public contracts.
Europe

French lawmakers back colonial-era art returns

France holds tens of thousands of artworks and artifacts from its former colonial empire. Under current law, each item in the national collection must be approved individually by Parliament before it can be returned.

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French lawmakers on Monday approved a bill aimed at simplifying the return of artworks taken during the colonial era to their countries of origin.

The National Assembly unanimously passed the draft law late Monday after the Senate unanimously approved it in January. The measure applies to cultural property acquired between 1815 and 1972.

President Emmanuel Macron has said France should make it easier to return African cultural heritage. During a 2017 visit to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, he said France would never again interfere in its former colonies and promised to facilitate returns within five years.

France has received restitution requests from countries including Algeria, Mali, and Benin.

In 2025, Parliament approved the return to Ivory Coast of a “talking drum” taken by colonial troops from the Ebrie people in 1916. The drum was returned in March.

In 2023, France passed two framework laws covering separate categories of returns: one for property taken from Jewish families during World War II, and another for the repatriation of human remains held in public collections.
Europe

Magyar says he’d take Putin call, urge end to war

It remains unclear how Magyar will govern on divisive issues. During the campaign, he largely avoided discussing Ukraine and LGBTQ rights, and he was previously a longtime conservative insider in Orbán’s party.

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Hungarian election winner Péter Magyar said Monday that if Russian President Vladimir Putin called him, he would answer and urge him to end the war in Ukraine.

“If Vladimir Putin calls, I’ll pick up the phone,” Magyar said at his first news conference since defeating Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in Sunday’s election. “If we did talk, I could tell him that it would be nice to end the killing after four years and end the war.”

“It would probably be a short phone conversation and I don’t think he would end the war on my advice,” he said.

Magyar’s victory was welcomed by many across the European Union after years of friction with Orbán over his approach to Russia and his use of vetoes on key EU decisions.

Magyar told The Associated Press he would work more closely with the European Union and the 32-nation NATO alliance. During his victory speech Sunday, he said: “All Hungarians know that this is a shared victory. Our homeland made up its mind. It wants to live again. It wants to be a European country.”

After Magyar takes office in May, Hungary could lift its veto on a 90-billion-euro ($105 billion) loan for Ukraine. Orbán had agreed to the measure in December, then later reversed course. EU diplomats were set to discuss Wednesday how to speed funds to Kyiv, according to a Cypriot official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to be named. Cyprus currently holds the rotating EU presidency.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, congratulating Magyar on X, said: “We are ready for meetings and joint constructive work for the benefit of both nations, as well as for the sake of Europe’s peace, security, and stability.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia respected the election result and expected to remain in contact with Hungary’s new leadership.

Magyar said he received calls Sunday night from French President Emmanuel Macron, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Orbán’s defeat also drew attention in Washington. President Donald Trump had backed Orbán’s reelection and sent Vice President JD Vance to Budapest last week to campaign for him.

Magyar has also criticized Orbán’s government for not diversifying Hungary’s energy supplies and has called for new agreements and infrastructure to bring in oil and gas from other sources.
Middle East

Hezbollah says it won’t honor U.S. Israel-Lebanon talks

The meeting would be the first direct face-to-face talks in decades between envoys from Lebanon and Israel, who do not have diplomatic relations.

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Hezbollah will not abide by any agreements that may emerge from direct Lebanon-Israel talks in the United States, which the group opposes, senior Hezbollah official Wafiq Safa said Monday.

Safa, a member of Hezbollah’s political council, spoke before talks expected in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the United States. The meeting would be the first direct face-to-face talks in decades between envoys from Lebanon and Israel, who do not have diplomatic relations.

“As for the outcomes of this negotiation between Lebanon and the Israeli enemy, we are not interested in or concerned with them at all,” Safa told The Associated Press. “We are not bound by what they agree to.”

Lebanese officials are seeking a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war through the U.S. talks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the goal is Hezbollah’s disarmament and a possible peace agreement between Lebanon and Israel. A spokesperson for Netanyahu, Shosh Bedrosian, said Monday there will be no ceasefire with Hezbollah.

Separately, Safa said Hezbollah had been informed that Iran “was able to obtain a cessation of attacks” in Beirut governorate, including Beirut’s southern suburbs, after U.S.-Iran talks last weekend in Pakistan ended without an agreement. Hours after Tehran and Washington announced a truce last Wednesday, Israel launched more than 100 strikes across Lebanon, including in central Beirut. Strikes on Beirut and its southern suburbs have since stopped, though fighting has continued in southern Lebanon.

The latest Israel-Hezbollah war began March 2, two days after Israel and the United States launched a war on Iran. Hezbollah then fired missiles into Israel, and Israel responded with airstrikes and a ground invasion.

Since then, the war has displaced more than 1 million people in Lebanon and killed more than 2,000, including more than 500 women, children, and medical workers. Many Lebanese have blamed Hezbollah for entering the war.

Safa said Hezbollah acted because it believed “Israel was preparing for a second battle with Lebanon” and said the group wanted to “rebuild a new equation” and restore deterrence.

Hezbollah is not in direct contact with President Joseph Aoun or Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Safa said, and is communicating through Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. He said that if there is a ceasefire and Israeli troops withdraw from Lebanon, Hezbollah is ready to discuss its weapons with the Lebanese government.

“The issue of resistance weapons is a Lebanese matter that has nothing to do with Israel or the United States,” he said.
World

U.S., allies to hold Philippines drills with 17,000

Training will include maritime security, coastal defense, combined fires integration, ship-to-shore offloads, and the sustained movement of supplies and equipment.

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More than 17,000 troops from the United States and six allied nations will train across the Philippines from April 20 to May 8 during the annual Balikatan exercise, U.S. and Philippine officials said.

The drills will include about 10,000 U.S. service members alongside forces from the Philippines, Australia, Canada, France, Japan, and New Zealand, according to a Tuesday email from U.S. Marine 1st Lt. Ben Gillman, an exercise spokesman.

Balikatan, a Tagalog term meaning “shoulder to shoulder,” comes amid tensions involving China over Taiwan and the South China Sea, and a U.S. naval blockade of Iran.

Training will take place across land, sea, air, space, and cyber domains, organizers said in a statement Monday. U.S. and Philippine forces will form joint task forces to strengthen command and control.

Warships from the United States, the Philippines, Canada, and Japan will take part in maritime drills along the Philippines’ western coast, including deck landings, gunnery, anti-submarine warfare, and search-and-rescue training. Troops also will participate in engineering projects and community health engagements.
World

U.S. Begins Iran Port Blockade, Talks Remain Stalled

Iran’s armed forces called restrictions on vessels in international waters illegal and said they amounted to piracy. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that “approaching military vessels to the Strait of Hormuz is considered a violation of the ceasefire.”

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The U.S. military said it began enforcing a blockade of Iranian Gulf ports and coastal areas at 10 a.m. ET, following President Donald Trump’s announcement that the Navy would block ships entering or leaving Iranian ports tied to the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. Central Command said the blockade would apply to vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. It said forces would not impede transit through the Strait of Hormuz to or from non-Iranian ports.

Reuters reported that the U.S. military warned mariners that any vessel entering or leaving the blockaded area without authorization could be intercepted, diverted, or captured. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said the restrictions covered Iran’s coastline, ports, and energy infrastructure, and that neutral vessels in Iranian ports had been given a limited period to depart.

Trump wrote on Truth Social that the Navy would begin “BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz.” He also said U.S. forces would seek to interdict vessels in international waters that had paid tolls to Iran.

The blockade followed failed U.S.-Iran negotiations in Pakistan over ending a war that began Feb. 28 and is now under a two-week truce. Axios reported the United States sought a 20-year moratorium on Iranian uranium enrichment, while Iran proposed a shorter term.

Iran’s armed forces called restrictions on vessels in international waters illegal and said they amounted to piracy. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that “approaching military vessels to the Strait of Hormuz is considered a violation of the ceasefire.”

Britain and other NATO allies said they would not join the blockade. Israel backed the move, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying Israel was coordinating with Washington.

The United Nations urged renewed diplomacy. Secretary-General António Guterres said, “The ceasfire [sic] must absolutely be preserved. All violations must cease. All parties to the conflict must respect the freedom of navigation, including in the Strait of Hormuz, in line with international law.”
Africa

UN says Sudan drone strikes killed nearly 700

Denise Brown, the United Nations resident coordinator in Sudan, said Monday that the U.N. appeal for $2.9 billion for Sudan this year was only 16% funded as contributions from member states declined.

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Nearly 700 civilians were reportedly killed in drone strikes in Sudan from January through March, U.N. aid chief Tom Fletcher said Tuesday, as the country approached the third anniversary of its civil war.

The war between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced more than 11 million, and pushed several areas into hunger and famine.

“In the first three months of this year, nearly 700 civilians were reportedly killed in drone strikes,” Fletcher, the U.N. under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said in a statement.

He said near-daily drone strikes in recent months had disrupted life across Sudan, especially in South Kordofan, which he described as the war’s main battleground, and in Rapid Support Forces-controlled areas in western Sudan, including Darfur.

“Millions have been driven from their homes across Sudan and beyond its borders, with entire communities emptied and families uprooted time and again. The risk of wider regional instability is high,” Fletcher said.

Fletcher said nearly 34 million people in Sudan, almost two in three, needed humanitarian support. He said hunger was increasing ahead of the lean season, hundreds of thousands of children were acutely malnourished, millions were out of school, and women and girls were facing systemic and brutal sexual violence.

He said humanitarian agencies reached 17 million people last year and aimed to help 20 million this year, but that “the response is critically underfunded.”

“We need action now – to stop the violence, protect civilians, ensure access to communities in greatest danger, and fund the response,” Fletcher said.

“This grim and chastening anniversary marks another year when the world has failed to meet the test of Sudan.”
Military & National Security

Marines decline Okinawa meeting over helicopter landing

The Marine Corps said a March 6 helicopter landing near a Nago baseball field followed procedure and did not warrant accepting Okinawa’s protest letter.

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The Marine Corps declined a request from Okinawa government officials to meet over a precautionary helicopter landing near a youth baseball practice last month.

Representatives of the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly had planned to hand-deliver a protest letter adopted March 27. According to a copy posted on the prefecture’s website, the letter urged the U.S. military to disclose the cause of the incident, describe steps to prevent a recurrence, and ensure safety.

The assembly requested a Monday meeting through Marine Corps Installations Pacific’s Government and External Affairs office, a spokesman for the assembly’s Political Affairs Research Division said by phone Tuesday.

A UH-1Y Venom landed at about 8:20 p.m. March 6 in a grassy area about 50 feet from Kyoda Baseball Field in Nago after an onboard warning during routine training, according to the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. No injuries or property damage were reported, but a youth baseball team was practicing on the field.

“In this case, the aircrew executed the landing in accordance with established procedures and training,” Maj. Pawel Puczko, spokesman for the installations command, said Tuesday. “Because the landing was conducted properly and in line with standard operating procedures, it was not appropriate to accept the protest letter.”

The site is about 100 feet from homes, and because children were present, the landing “caused strong anxiety and fear among local residents,” the letter said.

The letter also asked the military to review aircraft maintenance and inspection requirements and called for revising the Status of Forces Agreement to prohibit flight training over residential areas.

Copies were mailed to U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass, U.S. Forces Japan commander Air Force Lt. Gen. Stephen Jost, and U.S. Consul General Andrew Ou, the assembly spokesman said.
Military & National Security

Pentagon reassigns women-in-combat review, extends timeline

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote in his 2024 book “The War on Warriors” that he opposed women serving in combat roles. At his 2025 Senate confirmation hearing, he said women would continue to have access to ground combat roles, “given the standards remain high.” In September, he said those jobs would be reserved for troops…

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A Pentagon-ordered review of women in combat roles has been reassigned and expanded to include field testing, Military Times reported.

The review, commissioned in December by Undersecretary of Defense Anthony Tata, was initially assigned to the Institute for Defense Analyses, a nonprofit research organization in the Washington area supported by federal funding. A Pentagon official said the study had been expected to begin around the 10-year anniversary of then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s 2015 decision to lift the ban on women in ground combat roles.

The official said the review was “in line with standard [Department of War] practice for evaluating the effects of significant policy changes.”

After revising the study requirements, the Pentagon transferred the work to Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, effective April 2026. The official said the department determined the review needed “to incorporate combat-relevant field tests, based on established tasks, conditions, and standards, into the independent review to produce the comprehensive data required for this effort.”

According to the official, Johns Hopkins will analyze existing personnel and operational data and conduct field tests. The work will now continue over the next 12 months as part of what the Pentagon calls the “Performance, Readiness, and Integrated Mission Effectiveness Assessment.”

The official said the assessment will use established analytical methods “to identify the dominant drivers of combat performance variance in ground combat units and provide evidence-based findings to inform force design, training, physical standards, and readiness decisions.”

Pentagon officials said such reviews have followed other major policy changes, including a 2021 internal assessment of the 2010 repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and studies by Rand Corp. on the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986 and the Blended Retirement System of 2015.

In a December memo first reported by NPR, Tata said the review would examine “the operational effectiveness of ground combat” units and the effects of allowing women into those roles. Army and Marine Corps leaders were asked to provide data, including training performance, command climate, and service members’ deployment readiness.

At the time, Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said the department “will not compromise standards to satisfy quotas or an ideological agenda — this is common sense.”