‘God is always in charge’: Cardinal Timothy Dolan reflects on his journey as he leaves archbishop role
After serving nearly 17 years as the archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan says he is filled with “gratitude” as he moves on to his next chapter in life.
“Is there some sadness? Yeah, because I love being an archbishop,” Dolan told “Fox & Friends.” “So, I have to be honest about that. There’s excitement. First of all, I got gratitude after 17 happy years. … Secondly, I really love my successor. He is extraordinarily impressive.”
Dolan assured the faithful he is “always a priest” and looks forward to celebrating more Masses, baptisms and weddings in the future.
Reflecting on his service through the years, the cardinal said God is always “in charge.” While you may not know where you are going, when you look back on your past, you can see God’s faithfulness, Dolan mused.
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“When we look to the past, we see things in the rearview mirror. That’s where we detect the Lord‘s presence and activity. Sometimes, we can’t see it in front of us,” he explained. “It always dawns on me that history, think of that word, history is ‘His story.’ His story! He’s in charge. Sometimes we’re wondering how it’s going to work out, but He always triumphs. He is always victorious. He is the King. He is the Lord, and thank God, we got Him.”
Dolan said he learned his style of preaching by embracing his own personality and having faith in the Lord’s calling on his life.
“The Italians have a great expression: You got to make gnocchi with the dough you got,” he said. “God gives you the dough. What’s going to work? So, you don’t try to hide yourself. You try to be yourself — there’s a beautiful act of faith. God never calls us to do something without giving us the grace to do it, right? So, that gives you a lot of peace. That gives you a lot of joy.”
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The religious leader offered his love and prayers to the family of Savannah Guthrie while authorities search for missing 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie.
“I called yesterday. I didn’t get through, but I left a message saying, ‘Savannah, I’m asking the Good Shepherd to find this lost sheep.’ She’s a great woman,” he said. “We go way back. She was with me the first time, when I was made a cardinal, in 2012. So, I love her.”
Leaked documents expose Khamenei’s secret deadly blueprint for crushing Iran protests
Leaked documents from the Iranian regime reveal a coordinated plan by its security apparatus, approved by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to violently suppress nationwide protests using force, surveillance and internet shutdowns.
Excerpts of the documents, reviewed by Fox News Digital, show that Iran’s Supreme National Security Council developed the strategy after the 2019 nationwide protests that came amid fuel price hikes and economic collapse.
At a National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) press briefing Tuesday covering the regime’s pre-planned orders behind the protests and mass killings, Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the Washington office, said the documents “were obtained from within the regime” and later cited The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK) as having gained access to them.
“This Directive by the National Security Council was obtained by the network in Iran of the MEK, which has access to sources within the regime,” he confirmed to Fox News Digital.
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“These documents show the regime’s efforts to prevent the resurgence of the uprising and, if it occurred, to suppress it,” Jafarzadeh added before stating that there are “clear operational plans allocated to the IRGC to use lethal force to kill as many people as needed to stay in power.”
The first document, classified “top secret,” was issued Mar. 3, 2021, with the regime codifying four escalating law enforcement and security conditions. The regime defined how unrest would be handled and which authorities would be in command at each stage.
Initial law enforcement and non-armed security situations placed command authority with Iran’s national police force, with support from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Intelligence Ministry (VAJA).
In the most severe category, designated an “armed security situation,” full command authority rapidly shifted to the IRGC.
“For now, this compilation should be communicated for two years,” Khamenei wrote before ordering the blueprint implemented nationwide.
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The secret guidelines became the blueprint for crushing the January 2026 protests, which erupted amid soaring inflation, currency collapse and anger toward clerical rule.
According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), at least 6,854 people have been killed during the protests, with 11,280 cases under investigation.
Internal regime assessments cited in other leaked files describe three phases of the 2026 uprising: an initial law enforcement phase, followed by a non-armed security phase and finally an armed security situation beginning Jan. 8 when authority shifted fully to the IRGC that played the command role and carried out armed killings.
The documents specify that during armed security situations, the IRGC operated with support from other security bodies, while Iran’s Ministry of Communications was ordered to impose internet restrictions, including full shutdowns.
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A second classified document, compiled in 2024 by the IRGC’s Sarallah Headquarters, reveals how far the regime went to prepare for dissent.
The 129-page “Comprehensive Security Plan of Tehran” details extensive surveillance and repression measures, identifying members of the opposition MEK and family members of executed dissidents as “level number one” enemies subject to monitoring and control.
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“It also shows how far the regime is prepared to go to kill as many people as needed, which they did in January 2026. However, these killings further convinced the people that there is only one way to end the killings, and that is to overthrow the regime,” Jafarzadeh added.
“There are more people, especially young ones, who have joined the ranks of the organized force to confront the IRGC and liberate the nation,” he said.
Pope Leo calls for world free from persecution while honoring Holocaust victims
Pope Leo made an appeal for a world free from antisemitism, prejudice, oppression and persecution Wednesday before linking the message to International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which was observed the day before.
Speaking at the conclusion of his weekly audience in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall, the pope recalled the Jan. 27 commemoration honoring the millions of Jews and others murdered.
Pope Leo called it an “annual occasion of painful remembrance” and urged the international community to remain vigilant so that “the horror of genocide may never again be inflicted upon any people” and so that societies rooted in “mutual respect and the common good” can be built.
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“I ask the Almighty for the gift of a world no longer marked by antisemitism, nor by prejudice, oppression and persecution against any human being,” the pope said.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945.
The Holocaust resulted in the systematic murder of 6 million Jews and millions of others during World War II.
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On Jan. 27, as he left his residence in Castel Gandolfo, Leo also spoke to reporters.
When asked about rising tensions in the Middle East and the deployment of a U.S. aircraft carrier to the region amid protests and killings in Iran at the hands of its regime, Leo emphasized the need “to pray hard for peace.”
“We little ones can raise our voices and always seek dialogue rather than violence to resolve problems, especially on this day that commemorates the Shoah,” he added.
In a post on X marking the Holocaust memorial, Pope Leo reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s commitment to the principles outlined in Nostra Aetate, the Second Vatican Council’s declaration rejecting all forms of antisemitism.
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He stressed that the church “rejects any discrimination or harassment based on ethnicity, language, nationality or religion” and encouraged dialogue rather than violence as a means toward solving conflicts.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Vatican for comment.
Rabbi attacked on NYC street on International Holocaust Remembrance Day
A rabbi was attacked in New York City on Tuesday, coinciding with International Holocaust Remembrance Day, in what local officials described as a “targeted act of hate.”
The assault happened just before 3 p.m. at an intersection in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens, the New York City Police Department said.
Responding officers found a 32-year-old male victim who had been approached by an unknown individual who made antisemitic comments. After a verbal dispute, the individual then punched the victim in the chest and face, according to police. The victim, who community leaders identified as a rabbi, was treated for minor injuries, while officers took the suspect into custody.
Police identified the suspect as Eric Zafra-Grosso, 32, of Queens. He faces charges of hate crime assault, hate crime aggravated harassment and assault causing injury.
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U.S. Rep. Grace Meng, New York State Sens. Joseph Addabbo Jr. and Leroy Comrie Jr., New York State Assemblymembers Andrew Hevesi and Sam Berger, and New York City Council Member Lynn Schulman issued a joint statement condemning the attack.
“We are outraged by the antisemitic attack that occurred in our district, in which a Rabbi was verbally harassed, physically assaulted, and threatened for being Jewish,” the statement said. “This was a targeted act of hate, and it has no place in our community or anywhere in New York City.”
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“No one should ever fear for their safety because of their religion, identity, or beliefs,” the lawmakers said in the statement. “The rise in antisemitic incidents across our city and country is deeply concerning, and this attack — occurring on Holocaust Remembrance Day — underscores the urgent responsibility we all share to confront hate before it escalates into violence.”
According to public data from the NYPD, there have been 22 reported hate crimes in New York City from the start of the year through Jan. 25.
Antisemitic incidents comprised 62% of all hate crimes in the city during the first quarter of 2025, according to a report released last month by former New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
“I was disgusted to learn of yet another antisemitic attack in New York City, this time on a rabbi in Queens during International Holocaust Remembrance Day,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., posted on X Wednesday morning. “As we commemorate the 6 million Jews who were murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust, we must recognize that antisemitism is still alive and on the rise today. It is imperative we do everything in our power to combat these rancid acts of antisemitism and hate in all its forms.”
Schumer added that he is “grateful” the rabbi is okay and thanked the NYPD.
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani posted that he was “horrified” by the attack.
“On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, New Yorkers were confronted with a painful truth: antisemitism is not a thing of the past—it is a present danger that demands action from all of us,” Mamdani said. “There is no place for antisemitism in our city. I stand in solidarity with Jewish New Yorkers and my administration is committed to rooting out this hatred.”
New book claims Shakespeare was actually a Black, Jewish woman poet named Emilia Bassano
The author of a new book about William Shakespeare is claiming that the works of the famed playwright were actually written by a Black, Jewish woman.
The book, titled, “The Real Shakespeare: Emilia Bassano Willoughby” by Irene Coslet, argues that Shakespeare was actually Emilia Bassano, a Jewish, dark-skinned woman who was an English poet during the Elizabethan period.
The Amazon description for the book, which says it is set to be released March 30, questions if Shakespeare was indeed “a white man from Stratford.”
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“Debate still rages over the identity of the most beloved poet of all time and ‘father’ of the English-speaking world,” the description reads. “Generations of researchers have tried to dismantle the myth of the Stratford man. Now, in this intriguing and well-documented book, Irene Coslet conclusively demonstrates that Shakespeare was a not a man, but a woman: a dark-skinned lady, of Jewish origin, born into a family of Court musicians from Venice, and the mother of the English-speaking world. Her name was Emilia Bassano.”
According to the description, Coslet’s conclusions are based on “re-examination of often-overlooked historical documents, shrewd, chilling, and profound, this volume offers extensive evidence that Emilia was the author of the canon.”
The description also says the book is not just about the debate over whom the writings of Shakespeare should be attributed to, but “about the condition of women at the time Shakespeare was writing. It explains that feminism already existed in Elizabethan and Jacobean England. It reveals not only that Shakespeare was a woman, but also that she defended women. It reintegrates Emilia in the context of the time, for example, by exploring the relationship between Emilia and Queen Elizabeth I.”
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Shakespeare, who lived from 1564 to 1616, is perhaps the most famous writer in the English language. His poetry and plays continue to be taught and performed centuries after his death.
Given his fame and the depth of his work, his life has been the subject of extensive analysis, leading at times to conspiracy theories that he was a fraud or was a pen name for another person.
Historical records indicate Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway at the age of 18, and had three children with her, Susanna, Hamnet and Judith.
Fox News Digital reached out to Coslet’s publisher for comment.
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Ted Cruz urges US to arm Iranian protesters as militias threaten ‘total war’ against America
Sen. Ted Cruz called for the U.S. to arm Iranian protesters Tuesday as unrest continues inside the nation and Iran-backed militias issued threats against Washington.
“We should be arming the protesters in Iran. NOW,” Cruz wrote in a post on X.
“For the Iranian people to overthrow the Ayatollah — a tyrant who routinely chants ‘death to America’ — would make America much, much safer,” the Texas Republican added.
Cruz was responding to another post from Tehran Bureau, which cited a source inside Iran detailing what was described as a rapidly deteriorating situation on the ground as security forces continued to crack down on demonstrations.
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“From trusted source in Tehran: Tell all of your friends [abroad] — everyone you know: there is absolutely nothing else we can do here inside Iran,” the post read.
“They are killing people in such ways, they’ve descended upon people so brutally, they’re attacking us in such ways… We’ve lost so many lives that no one dares go out anymore. They shoot directly with bullets. They kill outright. And even after killing, they come and behead you, and do countless other violent things to you,” it continued.
“Going out into the streets is literally suicide. It’s not about bravery anymore. It’s madness. You go out and they shoot you point-blank. They don’t even ask why you came. They just kill you,” the post continued. “There is absolutely no way for us to gather unless we had weapons, unless we were armed like them. Otherwise they have weapons everywhere.”
According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, activist groups estimate that more than 6,000 people have been killed in Iran, with additional cases still under review.
The protests began in late December amid widespread anger over economic hardship, political repression and corruption, according to reports.
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Cruz’s post came after armed militias aligned with Iran warned the U.S. they would retaliate against any American attack on the Islamic Republic, as the Trump administration moved forces into the region.
Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq said it was prepared for “total war” if the U.S. attacked Iran, according to The Associated Press.
Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi, the group’s leader, said the “enemies” of the Islamic Republic would face “the bitterest forms of death.”
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“You will taste every form of deadly suffering, nothing of you will remain in our region, and we will strike terror in your hearts,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthis also threatened to restart attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, releasing a video Monday showing a ship engulfed in flames, captioned: “Soon,” The Associated Press reported.
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As previously reported by Fox News Digital, President Donald Trump said Iran appeared to be seeking negotiations with the U.S. amid the growing military buildup, telling Axios, “They want to make a deal. I know so. They called on numerous occasions. They want to talk.”
The USS Abraham Lincoln arrived in the Middle East on Monday as unrest inside Iran continued to escalate.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Sen. Ted Cruz for comment.
Duke Divinity School offers course asking, can ‘theology be queered?’
A course offered by Duke Divinity School is exploring “queer theology,” and whether “theology can be queered.”
The course, “From Baptismal Font to Queer Theology,” “examines and excavates ‘queer’ in relationship to theology and theory.”
Offered by the Durham, North Carolina-based school, the course description asks questions such as, “Is queer driven by identity politics, an umbrella term for sexual identity, gender identity, antinormativity politics, social locations, or is queer descriptive of something entirely different?”
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Other questions to be examined include, “Does queer have an agenda? Secondly, this course seeks to answer the question of whether or not theology can be queered? What would that result, if that is something that is possible? What is queer theology? Is queer theology even possible?”
According to the course page, students will “develop strategies for asking questions in a way that broadens the discussion of queerness and theology for a productive intervention in the discipline of constructive theology seeking to hold faithfully to the intersecting realities of church, tradition, and scripture.”
The school’s website says, “Grounded in Christian Scripture and theology and guided by our desire to embody a faithful witness in a changing world, we seek to cultivate innovative approaches to ministry in its many forms.”
The course was flagged in an article by Campus Reform.
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The school adds that it strives for a theological vision “that is neither narrow nor homogeneous, but one that is deeply rooted in critical engagement with Scripture and honors a range of theological traditions in conversation with a plurality of historical, geographic, and social settings.”
Another offered course is called “Queering the Old Testament” which explores “ways to interpret the Old Testament that acknowledge the diversity of gender expressions and honor the experiences and hermeneutical perspectives of sexual minorities and gender-nonconforming individuals.”
Fox News Digital reached out to a representative of the school for comment.
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Iranian security forces gun down amateur boxer near Tehran: source
An Iranian amateur boxer has been shot and killed by Iranian security forces during ongoing anti-regime protests.
Sepehr Ebrahimi joined protests near Tehran and died amid ongoing demonstrations driven by anger over political repression, economic hardship, and human rights violations.
Ebrahimi’s death also renewed attention on the case of another Iranian boxer, Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, who is currently on death row.
Vafaei Sani, now 30, is a champion boxer who was arrested in 2020 for participating in nationwide pro-democracy protests.
Iranian authorities accused him of supporting the opposition group the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK).
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Meanwhile, harrowing footage has also been circulating online showing the distraught father of another youth, Sepehr Shekari who was also shot by security forces.
The video shows Shekari’s father desperately searching among piles of bodies covered with black body bags, crying out for his missing son.
“Sepehr was shot and killed in Tehran,” Ali Safavi, a senior official with the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), told Fox News Digital.
Video shared on social media, which was viewed by Fox News Digital, shows Shekari’s father calling out his son’s name as he searches a warehouse filled with unidentified bodies following a violent crackdown on demonstrators.
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“My dear Sepehr, where are you?” the father can be heard crying. At one point, he shouts, “Damn Khamenei. They have killed the children of so many people. You killed so many young people!”
According to Safavi, Ebrahimi and Shekari were shot with live ammunition by Iran’s security forces during protests against the clerical regime that began Dec. 28.
Shekari’s family spent an agonizing week searching through morgues, hospitals and detention facilities before finally identifying his body among piles of corpses, also shown in the viral footage.
Maryam Rajavi, NCRI president-elect also shared a post on X dedicated to parents of those murdered by the regime. “You are not alone,” she wrote, “Every heart beats with you,” she added.
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Rights organizations also continue to highlight the plight of Vafaei Sani who has spent five years in prison, during which he has reportedly been tortured and held in prolonged solitary confinement.
In 2023, more than 100 human rights experts and international organizations sent a letter to U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, urging urgent intervention to stop Vafaei Sani’s execution.
His death sentence echoes the case of Iranian wrestling champion Navid Afkari, who was executed in September 2020.
The death of Ebrahimi and others comes as Iran’s protest-related death toll continues to rise.
According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), at least 6,126 people have been killed since the start of the latest wave of protests.
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HRANA also reported that 214 government-affiliated forces and 49 civilians have also been killed, while more than 17,000 deaths remain under investigation.