Pope Leo XIV, 69, was elected to take up the papal seat on Thursday, on the second day of the papal conclaves deliberations.Born Robert Prevost on Sept. 14, 1955 in Chicago, Ill., he was a suspected front-runner to succeed Pope Francis after his passing late last month, though some reporting suggested his being an American could actually count against him due to concerns that the U.S. could further exert its geopolitical prowess through the religious leader.Leo XIV was first brought to the Vatican by Francis to serve as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops inJanuary 2023, which is one of the most important positions in the Catholic Church as it vets bishop nominations issued globally.LIVE UPDATES: CARDINAL ROBERT PREVOST ANNOUNCED AS FIRST AMERICAN POPE, TAKING NAME LEO XIVFrancis then elevated him to the position of Cardinal in September 2023.Leo was reported to be closely aligned to Francis's teachings as leader of the Catholic Church, particularly when it came to his positions regarding theenvironment, outreach to the poor and migrants, and opening the Catholic Church to embrace more followers.Before making it to the highest position afforded in the Catholic Church, he first entered the novitiate of the Order of Saint Augustine in Saint Louis, in 1977, which essentially marked his period of training before he took his "holy orders."In August 1981, he gave his solemn vows, and by 1982 he was ordained as a priest.By 1985 he joined the Augustinian mission in Peru, where he served as chancellor of the Territorial Prlature of Chulucanas for one year.CARDINAL ROBERT PREVOST ANNOUNCED AS FIRST AMERICAN POPE, TAKING NAME LEO XIVBetween 1987 and 1988, he returned to the U.S., where he served as pastor for vocations and director of missions for the Augustinian Province of Chicago, before he returned to Peru for another 10 years to head the Augustinian seminary in Trujillo and teach Cannon Law.Eventually, he made his way back to his hometown, where, in 1999, he was elected provincial prior of the "Mother of Good Counsel" in Chicago.Leo would go on to be elected twice as leader of the Augustinian religious order, a 13th century order founded by St. Augustine.He had caught the attention of Francis, who, after becoming pope in 2013, moved Leo back to Peru in 2014 to serve as the administrator and eventually archbishop of Chiclayo.Leo got his Peruvian citizenship in 2015, where he remained until he was moved to the Vatican in 2023.During his final years in Peru, Leo also served as vice-president of the permanent council of the Peruvian Bishops Conference from 2018 to 2023, which likely helped him secure his role as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops under Francis.The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A pair of hawkish, Trump-supporting Senate Republicans say that any "lasting" Iran nuclear deal would need to be approved by Congress, ideally through a two-thirds majority treaty vote.But scoring a two-thirds majority in the Senate for treaty ratification would require Iran to fulfill a series of steep demands. In addition to getting rid of all of its enriched uranium and centrifuges, GOP lawmakers say it would need to dismantle its ballistic missile program and cease all support for terrorist groups across the Middle East."If they want the most durable and lasting kind of deal, then they want to bring it to the Senate and have it voted on as a treaty," Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said in response to a question from Fox News Digital."That was one reason why President Obama's deal was so weak," Cotton went on. "An agreement between the American president, whoever he or she may be, and a foreign leader, can be reversed by future presidents, which President Trump rightly did seven years ago today."TRUMP TARGETS IRANIAN OIL WITH SANCTIONS, INCREASING PRESSURE ON ISLAMIC REPUBLIC TO MAKE DEAL ON NUKESIn 2015, Cotton led an open letter signed by Senate Republicans to Iranian leaders warning that any nuclear agreement not approved by Congress could be undone by a future administration. The move was widely viewed as a direct effort to undermine President Barack Obamas ongoing negotiations.Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., echoed the call for congressional oversight, saying that "at a minimum" any deal must go through the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act (INARA), which passed Congress in 2015 with resounding bipartisan support and guarantees lawmakers a chance to review any accord reached with Tehran.Graham said he had told Secretary of State Marco Rubio there was "no way" to get 67 votes to ratify a treaty agreement without Iran totally dismantlingits nuclear and missile programs and support for terrorism.WHITE HOUSE CALLS YEMEN CEASEFIRE A 'WIN' EXPERTS WARN HOUTHIS MAY NOT HOLD THE LINEThe senators also drew a parallel with the so-called 123 agreements the legal frameworks that govern U.S. civil nuclear cooperation with foreign nations. These agreements require strict safeguards to prevent the development of nuclear weapons."It's also customary in some cases for the Congress, not just the Senate, to pass ordinary legislation that supports the so-called 123 agreements," Cotton noted, suggesting that any comprehensive deal with Iran should be treated with similar legislative rigor.Cotton and Graham spoke to reporters after introducing a resolution outlining "acceptable" terms of an Iran deal, including total cessation of uranium enrichment.According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran has amassed enough highly enriched uranium to potentially build several nuclear weapons if it chose to do so though U.S. intelligence assessments maintain that Tehran has not yet made a decision to weaponize.Both U.S. and Israeli officials have ramped up their threats against the regime. Trump has made clear that if talks go south, the U.S. will engage in direct military action to thwart Irans nuclear program.Graham suggested the regime only has "weeks" to acquiesce to a deal."We're not talking about long, protracted negotiations," the South Carolina Republican said. "We're talking weeks, not months, not years. The potential of Iranian breakout looms large here. Israel's desire to bring closure to this issue looms large here."

Fox News Channel will air special editions of "Special Report" and "Hannity" live from the Middle East next week during President Donald Trump's first visit of his new term.Hosts Bret Baier and Sean Hannity will host their respective shows, "Special Report with Bret Baier"at 6 p.m. ET, and "Hannity" at 9 p.m. ET, live from the region.Baier will report live from the region Monday through Friday, and Hannity will broadcast live Tuesday through Thursday. Baier's coverage will include an interview with Trump on Friday, May 16, from the United Arab Emirates.Hannity will also speak to the president on Air Force One during the trip.ISRAEL SAYS TRUMPS MIDDLE EAST VISIT IS THE WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY FOR HOSTAGE DEALBaier and Hannity will also speak to world leaders throughout the week, broadcasting from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Doha, Qatar; and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Their interviews will cover developments from the trip and other news of the day.A senior Israeli defense official said Monday that Trump's upcoming visit to the Middle East is the "window of opportunity" to secure a hostage deal, or Israel will initiate a new military operation in the Gaza Strip as its war with Hamas continues."If there is no hostage deal, Operation 'Gideon Chariots' will begin with great intensity and will not stop until all its goals are achieved," the official said according to a Reuters report in reference to a Sunday night decision by Israels security cabinet to expand operations in the Gaza Strip.Trump's visit to the Middle East also comes on the heels of halting bombings against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, as well as a pressure campaign by the administration against Iran to reach a nuclear deal.CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTUREThe Trump administration on Thursday targeted Iranian oil with a new slate of sanctions a move that increases pressure on the Islamic Republic amid talks between U.S. and Iranian officials to make a deal to prevent nuclear proliferation, Fox News Digital has learned.The Treasury Departments Office of Foreign Assets Control increased pressure on Irans export of oil on Thursday, designating the "teapot" refinery Hebei Xinhai Chemical Group Co., Ltd., and three port terminal operators in Shandong province, China, for their role in purchasing or facilitating the delivery of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Iranian oil.Fox News' Caitlan McFall and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts used a public appearance Wednesday to stress the importance of an independent judiciary, doubling down on defense of the courts under fire by President Donald Trump and his allies, who have accused so-called "activist judges" of overstepping their bounds.Asked during a fireside chat event in Buffalo, New York, about judicial independence, Roberts responded in no uncertain terms that the role of the federal courts is to "decide cases, but in the course of that, check the excesses of Congress or the executive."That role, he added, "does require a degree of independence."BOASBERG GRILLS DOJ OVER REMARKS FROM TRUMP AND NOEM, FLOATS MOVING MIGRANTS TO GITMO IN ACTION-PACKED HEARINGRoberts' remarks are not new. But they come as Trump and his allies have railed against federal judges who have paused or halted key parts of the president's agenda. (Some of the rulings they've taken issue with came from judges appointed by Trump in his first term.)The Supreme Court is slated to hear a number of high-profile cases and emergency appeals filed by the Trump administration in the next few months, cases that are all but certain to keep the high court in the spotlight for the foreseeable future.Among them are Trump's executive orders banning transgender service members from serving in the U.S. military, restoring fired federal employees to their jobs and a case about whether children whose parents illegally entered the U.S. and were born here should be granted citizenship. Oral arguments for that last case kick off next week.TRUMP-ALIGNED GROUP SUES CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN ROBERTS IN EFFORT TO RESTRICT POWER OF THE COURTSJust hours before Roberts spoke to U.S. District Judge Lawrence Vilardo, a high-stakes hearing played out in federal court in Washington, D.C.There, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg spent more than an hour grilling Justice Department lawyers about their use of the Alien Enemies Act to summarily deport hundreds of migrants to El Salvador earlier this year.Boasbergs March 15 order that temporarily blocked Trumps use of the law to send migrants to a Salvadoran prison sparked ire from the White House and in Congress, where some Trump allies had previously floated calls for impeachment.Roberts, who put out a rare public statement at the time rebuking calls to impeach Boasberg or any federal judges, doubled down on that in Wednesday's remarks."Impeachment is not how you register disagreement with a decision," Roberts said, adding that he had already spoken about that in his earlier statement.In the statement, sent by Roberts shortly after Trump floated the idea of impeaching Boasberg, said that "for more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision," he said."The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose," he said in the statement.

President Donald Trump is considering a small tax increase for wealthy Americans to help pay for his priorities to boost the middle and working classes.A source familiar with Trump's thinking told Fox News Digital that Trump is considering allowing the rate on individuals making $2.5 million or more to increase by 2.6%, from 37% to 39.6%.He quietly pushed Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on the idea in a phone call on Wednesday, two people familiar with conversations told Fox News Digital.It comes as Republicans work on a massive piece of legislation advancing Trump's priorities on taxes, border security, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt, which the president has dubbed his "big, beautiful bill."MEET THE TRUMP-PICKED LAWMAKERS GIVING SPEAKER JOHNSON A FULL HOUSE GOP CONFERENCEDiffering projections show the bill is likely to add trillions of dollars to the country's deficit over the next 10 years, so fiscal hawks are looking for ways to mitigate that and set up America for a less bloated government down the line by pairing the new priorities with deep spending cuts elsewhere.The tax portion of the bill is expected to be the costliest portion.Republicans are hoping to extend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) as well as pay for newer Trump priorities like eliminating taxes on tips, overtime wages and retirees' Social Security.TCJA previously lowered taxes for the highest bracket from 39.6% to 37%, but that's set to expire at the end of 2025. Trump wants to restore that top bracket, albeit for people making significantly more money than the current threshold. The current top tax bracket is $609,350 for single income earners.The source familiar with Trump's thinking said doing so would help pay for his "massive" tax cuts for the middle and working classes, as well as protect Medicaid coverage for millions of Americans.Punchbowl News first reported details of the Trump-Johnson phone call.BROWN UNIVERSITY IN GOP CROSSHAIRS AFTER STUDENT'S DOGE-LIKE EMAIL KICKS OFF FRENZYIt's not clear yet what Republicans will decide, or even if they will ultimately decide to raise taxes on the highest earners but details are expected to emerge in the coming days.The Ways & Means Committee, the House's tax-writing panel, is expected to meet on Tuesday afternoon to advance that portion of Trump's bill.Talks about potential tax hikes on the wealthy have triggered a deep rift within the Republican Party.Mainstream conservatives have balked at discussions of raising rates on anyone, arguing it would have a negative impact on job creators, while populist and more moderate Republicans have floated such ideas in order to pay for Trump's priorities to benefit the middle and working classes."Raising taxes on America's highest earners and biggest job creators makes no sense," Marc Short, a former chief of staff to ex-Vice President Mike Pence and a key part of TCJA negotiations, told Fox News Digital."I don't understand why there are some inside the current administration who are pushing Congress to raise the top rate, because again, these are America's job creators."Other Republicans told Fox News Digital in recent weeks that they believe the idea could be popular, however."I'm open-minded to what the president or the treasury secretary may have in mind. And I would want to see some numbers behind it and how it would have an effect on the economy," conservative Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., told Fox News Digital in late April."What I've heard from people in the upper tax brackets is, you know, they're willing to pay more as long as they know that it's paying the debt down. They don't want to see it go toward more spending."Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Johnson's office for comment.

Two frontier airlines contractors are no longer associated with the company after they were caught on video denying service to a customer.(Obtained by New York Post)

Two frontier airlines contractors are no longer associated with the company after they were caught on video denying service to a customer.(Obtained by New York Post)

Father Mike Schmitz expresses happiness following the election of the first American pope on 'The Story.'

Father Mike Schmitz expresses happiness following the election of the first American pope on 'The Story.'

Former Vice President Mike Pence tells Fox News Digital that raising the tax rate on the wealthy would be an enormous tax increase on small business America