Advocates praise, criticize Supreme Court conversion therapy decision

(The Center Square) – A new report from medical group Do No Harm debunks claims of the benefits of racial concordance, or the matching of doctors’ and patients’ races, as is proposed in an amicus brief by the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Do No Harm’s director of research Jay Greene told The Center Square that "the AAMC's brief is merely an attempt to codify DEI in medicine and to further expand race-based hiring throughout the system.”

“Our report reveals the shoddy methodology behind each study cited by the AAMC and dismantles their baseless conclusions,” Greene said.

“The myth of racial concordance, disproven by several systematic reviews, only undermines the doctor-patient relationship,” Greene said.

“This report supports our mission to prevent politically motivated activists from pushing debunked racial theories that negatively impact patient care,” Greene said.

The AAMC did not respond to The Center Square’s request for comment.

According to a news release, Do No Harm’s report is intended to expose the AAMC’s “role in elevating activism over evidence within its amicus brief submitted in the Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard case over race-based college admissions.”

The release said the brief “cites four unreliable studies to defend the discredited theory that racial concordance, in which patients are treated by doctors of the same race, improves health outcomes.”

According to the report, the AAMC and 45 healthcare organization allies claim in their amicus brief that “in controlled studies, Black physicians are far more likely than others to accurately assess Black patients’ pain tolerance and prescribe the correct amount of pain medication as a result.” 

Do No Harm refutes the four “unreliable studies” that are used to back the healthcare organizations’ claims.

Do No Harm’s news release states that the AAMC’s first cited study “wrongly suggests that white trainees are more likely than non-white trainees to hold false medical beliefs about black patients.”

“However, the study focuses on medical trainees (not independently practicing doctors), never compares black trainees to non-black trainees, never examines the treatment of black patients, and conveniently leaves out data showing non-white trainees were actually more likely than white trainees to hold those false beliefs,” the release said.

The second study cited by the AAMC “concludes that black children with appendicitis are as likely as white children with appendicitis to be given an analgesic but significantly less likely to receive an opioid,” Do No Harm said.

“This study also does not support racial concordance in pain treatment because it never examines that question,” the release stated.

Do No Harm said the third study cited by the AAMC “is only a review of research on racial differences in pain treatment.”

“Notably, it presents no original findings and fails to examine whether a physician’s race was associated with differences in the treatment of pain,” Do No Harm said.

“The fourth study finds that non-minority patients were more likely to receive guideline-recommended analgesic prescriptions than minority patients,” Do No Harm reported.

“However, it never examines whether pain treatment for black patients was any different if their physician was also black,” and neither did it “collect data on pain treatment for white patients,” the news release said.

Do No Harm stated in its report that “judges, legislators, and other policymakers often rely on leading health organizations to inform them about what medical science has to say on matters of public policy,” making unfounded claims such as found in the AAMC’s brief all the more “alarming.”

“The realization that these medical associations are no longer reliable scientific authorities is beginning to spread across top policymakers and the general public,” the report said.

“The national experience with Covid-19 was a shocking wake-up call,” the report said. “And the ideological commitment to racial preferences despite the lack of scientific support is only confirming this alarming new reality.”

(The Center Square) – Coloradans have mixed reactions to this week's U.S. Supreme Court ruling against the state's ban on conversion therapy for the LGBTQIA+ community.

At issue in Chiles v. Salazar is conversion therapy, or "talk therapy" as some have called it, for minors with unwanted same-sex attractions or gender identity issues.

Justices ruled 8-1 Tuesday that Colorado’s ban under a 2019 law violates the First Amendment rights of Christian counselor Kaley Chiles and sent the case back to a lower court.

In a video posted on X, Chiles expressed hope that this “win for free speech will fuel a greater pursuit of truth,” both among the professionals and in the counseling room.

“Our kids deserve it,” Chiles said alongside her attorneys at Alliance Defending Freedom. “The law I'm challenging harms kids and silences speech. Kids deserve real help affirming that their bodies are not a mistake and that they are wonderfully made.”

ADF lawyer Jake Warner said the law firm was “thrilled” with this week’s ruling for Chiles.

“She is a Christian counselor who counsels clients on a number of things, including gender identity, but Colorado passed a one-way censorship law that says that if clients come to her wanting help to change, to become comfortable with their bodies, that Kaylee cannot have those conversations with her clients,” Warner told The Center Square during an interview. “Instead, Colorado says she's only allowed to push kids toward gender transition, which often leads to harmful drugs and procedures, so that's obviously a very big First Amendment violation, and the U.S. Supreme Court said so earlier this week.”

Like Chiles, Warner said this ruling helps kids.

“Studies suggest that roughly 90% of kids who struggle with gender confusion will naturally become comfortable with their God-given sex if they're not pushed toward transition,” said Warner.

The Interfaith Alliance of Colorado does not agree with the ruling.

In a press release, Interfaith called the decision “discouraging.” The organization also said that the state law in question, which was signed on May 31, 2019, reflects the “consensus of major medical organizations that conversion practices are harmful, ineffective, and unsupported” by scientific evidence.

“Therapists and other counselors don’t have a free pass to harm patients,” said Interfaith.

Human Rights Campaign, which has a chapter in Colorado, also opposed the ruling. By deciding in favor of Chiles,  the court is allowing “licensed mental health practitioners to traumatize children," HRC said in a statement. HRC did not respond to The Center Square's request for an interview.

When asked about the case being sent back down, ADF’s Warner did not expect anything to change. Warner called it the beginning of the end.

“The case is still going on, but the way in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled is really the writing on the wall,” Warner said. “The court said that there is no difference. The First Amendment applies in the counseling room just like it applies everywhere else, and the state doesn't have a free hand to censor viewpoints that it disagrees with.

"And the state has to at least overcome what courts call strict scrutiny, the highest test known to constitutional law," he said. “Colorado has identified no evidence that's even close to overcoming the standard that it has to satisfy.”

As Warner sees it, Colorado “freely admits” that it has identified no study that's on point focusing on voluntary conversations between licensed counselors and willing minor clients.

“So, yeah, the case is going to keep going, but this is the beginning of the end for counseling censorship laws,” said Warner.

Meanwhile, Interfaith vowed to continue to work in coalition with faith leaders and communities, including the LGBTQIA+ and medical communities, to “ensure there are paths towards accountability, empowerment, and safety for those vulnerable to conversion therapy.”

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the lone dissenter in Chiles v. Salazar. In her opinion, Jackson, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, wrote that “treatment standards exist in America,” whether people like it or not.

Still, Colorado state Rep. Chris Richardson, whose district includes Adams, Arapahoe, Cheyenne, El Paso, Elbert, Kit Carson and Lincoln counties, said the Supreme Court got it right in ruling for Chiles.

“Regardless of the desires of the sponsors of Colorado House Bill 19-1129, it was not right to compel speech and force counselors to violate their religious convictions,” Richardson told The Center Square. “The Supreme Court got it right in Chiles v. Salazar, and I’m proud to have played a small role in supporting that outcome along with my colleagues who also signed the amicus brief." 

HB 19-1129 prohibits psychiatrists or mental health care providers from conversion therapy discussions with patients under age 18. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat who is an openly gay man, signed the bill into law in 2019.

When asked for comment, the governor's office pointed The Center Square to Polis' statement that Colorado is for everyone. Polis added that "conversion therapy does not work, can seriously harm youth, and Coloradans should beware before turning over their hard-earned money" to what Polis described as a scam.

"I am evaluating the U.S. Supreme Court ruling and working to figure out how to better protect LGBTQ youth and free speech in Colorado," said Polis. "We are fighting for everyone's right to be who you are in our Colorado for all."

ADF, which represented Chiles, has been involved in several U.S. Supreme Court cases out of Colorado. Examples of clients include baker Jack Phillips and graphic designer Lorie Smith.

The Phillips case - known as Masterpiece Cakeshop Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission - involved the baker not wanting to create a same-sex wedding cake for religious reasons. At the time, Colorado required professionals to offer services to all customers. In 2018, Justices ruled 7-2 that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission’s actions in going after Phillips for his objections violated the free exercise of religion clause.  

In 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, justices ruled 6-3 in 2023 that the First Amendment prohibits Colorado from forcing Smith to create wedding websites for same-sex weddings. Smith wanted to design websites only for traditional, one-man, one-woman marriages.

Padel, the racket sport that originated among the elites of Latin America and Spain, has exploded in popularity in Miami.

Fans say it will conquer the rest of the United States, and the world.

A cross between tennis and squash, played on courts surrounded by glass walls, the sport has quickly become a key part of the Florida lifestyle, adopted first by Miami's Latino community and now spreading to clubs, parks and luxury hotels.

Entrepreneurs have rushed to build courts, hoping to cash in on a buzzy new hobby that is usually played by teams of two, and offers the health benefits of physical exercise with a chance to socialize and make new acquaintances.

Florida accounts for 40 per cent of all padel courts in the US. Construction has doubled over the past year-and-a-half nationwide, though the country's approximately 770 courts still lag behind Argentina (7,000) or Mexico (2,500).

"The United States is a new market, but the only thing padel needs is time. Wherever the sport takes root, it thrives," said Argentine star Fernando Belasteguin, widely considered the greatest player in the sport's history.

"It is the sport of the future... It's easy to learn, fun, and social," he told AFP, with unwavering optimism.

"It's played by both men and women -- anyone from a five-year-old child to an 85-year-old grandfather can play."

- Olympic bid -

Padel shares many similarities with tennis, including its scoring system and the layout of the court -- although the playing surface is roughly one-third the size.

Aside from the key fact that players can hit the balls off any of the glass walls, there are other differences. For instance, serves are always underarm.

Padel has been taken up by stars across the sporting spectrum.

Footage on social media of soccer icons Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, as well as Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen, playing padel have boosted the game.

Some have even opened their own branded padel centers, including tennis great Rafael Nadal in Spain, and football icons Zinedine Zidane in France and Neymar in Brazil.

Brazil is a key expansion target, with an estimated 600,000 players.

"I've never had so many students," said Jefferson Velho, a coach at Sao Paulo's Santo Padel Academy, which uses converted former futsal courts.

Padel is vying for inclusion in the 2036 Olympics. Qatar, a major sponsor of padel's official global tour, is expected to bid to host the Games.

The sport's ambition has been held back by the concentration of interest in a small number of countries. Spain and Argentina account for 90 per cent of the players in the global top 50.

That could be changing. The second edition of the Miami Premier Padel tournament concluded Sunday, with the now-retired Belasteguin serving as its director.

Some 5,000 fans turned out to enjoy the final stages of the event.

"Padel originated in the late 1960s in Mexico and was exported to Argentina and Spain. And Miami is, by definition, a Latin American hub," explained Sergio Montaner, owner of the city's Wynwood Padel Club. 

- Pickleball rivalry -

So far, the Miami event the only US stop on the Premier Padel world tour.

Padel has encountered a particular challenge in expanding across the rest of the country.

Just as Floridians were embracing padel during the pandemic, Americans elsewhere were flocking to play the homegrown sport of pickleball, which is also played in doubles and uses smaller courts than tennis.

"Between 2018 and 2021, 90 per cent of our clients were Latin Americans or Europeans," said Montaner.

"But that is changing more and more."

Just a few blocks from Montaner's club, a diverse group of enthusiasts played a recent Sunday tournament at the Real Padel club, the sport's oldest venue in the city. 

Danny O'Neill, a 34-year-old lawyer who primarily works with clients in fashion and plays three or four times per week, said he appreciates the sport's social benefits, as well as the chance to get a workout. 

"It has that same networky vibe that golf has. You go and meet cool people on the court and end up doing business with them, for sure," he said.

Club owner Montaner said that because courts are more expensive to build than those for tennis or pickleball, padel still carries a "somewhat more elitist, or less democratic, bias."

But he predicted that -- like in Spain and Latin America -- as more courts are built, it will become more affordable.

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When OpenAI acquired the tech podcast TBPN this week, it wasn't just buying a show -- it was buying a message.

The move laid bare a strategy that Silicon Valley has been perfecting for years: ditch the tech-sceptics of the traditional press, and build your own media.

TBPN is in many ways a tribute to mainstream news, with co-hosts John Coogan and Jordi Hays -- both from the venture capital world -- presenting a three-hour show daily from a studio in Los Angeles that resembles a business or sports program on a cable news network.

But Coogan and Hays insist they are not journalists, even if they line up interviews with key figures in the industry who offer insightful access to the Silicon Valley world.

The show -- like a whole ecosystem of podcasts and media orbiting Silicon Valley today -- operates in a world where the benefits of tech for society need no explaining, and tech enthusiasm runs deep.

Fidji Simo, OpenAI's CEO of AGI Deployment, said the acquisition was driven by a need for "constructive conversation about the changes AI creates," and said TBPN would maintain its editorial independence.

The show and its team now fall under the responsibility of OpenAI's public affairs chief Chris Lehane, a veteran Washington lobbyist who made his name handling scandals for the Clinton administration.

"You could read this as OpenAI needing help translating complexity to decision-makers. You could also read it as buying favorable narrative positioning during a period of intense scrutiny. Probably both," said Monica Kahn, CEO of brand advisory Creator Revolution.

"They're buying the layer where interpretation happens," she added on LinkedIn.

The transaction follows a movement spearheaded by Elon Musk and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen in which the most powerful figures in tech are circumventing mainstream news media to avoid an establishment they describe as anti-tech or left-wing.

The roster of shows where Silicon Valley's elite now prefer to make news constitutes a parallel media ecosystem.

Andreessen Horowitz has invested heavily to build its own media empire, putting out podcasts to showcase its portfolio of tech investments and push a deeply pro-tech agenda without confrontation.

- 'Mistake' -

Lex Fridman's podcast draws millions of viewers or listeners and has attracted tech luminaries including Musk, Zuckerberg, DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman for two-to-three-hour discussions ranging from business to the personal.

The unabashedly right-wing All-In Podcast has featured the top CEOs, as well as executives closely linked to the Trump administration who avoid the mainstream news coverage they see as unsympathetic.

Zuckerberg used a three-hour January 2025 appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast to defend Meta's rollback of content moderation.

Whether bypassing the news media will actually benefit tech's cause remains an open question.

"I think the TBPN deal is a mistake," said former BuzzFeed reporter Alex Kantrowitz of the Big Technology Podcast. "Under the OpenAI umbrella, the network loses credibility and everything it says will be seen as OpenAI marketing."

The deeper problem, Kantrowitz argued, is one of reach.

While OpenAI may be looking to reshape public opinion at a moment when AI is polling poorly in the United States, TBPN's audience -- like on other Silicon Valley-made podcasts -- is already a converted one.

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(The Center Square) – Democratic officials from 23 states and the District of Columbia announced Friday they're suing to block President Donald Trump’s recent executive order regulating mail-in and absentee ballots.

The suit was slated to be filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. A copy of the lawsuit wasn’t available as of press time.

Trump doesn’t have the constitutional authority to control elections, California Attorney General Rob Bonta told reporters during a news conference Friday morning. Bonta, a Democrat who’s co-leading the coalition of plaintiffs, noted the authority rests with states and Congress, not the federal executive branch. 

“The framers of our Constitution made sure that how we choose our leaders is not put in the hands of a single leader” such as Trump, Bonta said.

Others co-leading the coalition of plaintiffs are Attorneys General Andrea Joy Campbell of Massachusetts, Aaron Ford of Nevada and Nick Brown of Washington state.

The Center Square reached out Friday morning to the White House, which noted the Republican president’s order was designed to secure elections.

"Only Democrat politicians and operatives would be upset about lawful efforts to secure American elections and ensure only eligible American citizens are casting ballots," White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said, answering The Center Square’s questions by email. "President Trump campaigned on securing our elections, and the American people sent him back to the White House to get the job done."

Trump’s executive order, which was issued on March 31, is titled “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections.” It cites the Help America Vote Act of 2002, the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and the federal government’s obligation to ensure a republican form of government in every state under Article IV, Section 4, of the U.S. Constitution. The order also refers to federal laws prohibiting non-citizens from registering to vote or voting in federal elections and the executive branch’s duty to enforce federal laws under Article II of the Constitution.

The executive order directs the secretary of homeland security to compile lists of U.S. citizens who are 18 or older and send them to the chief election official of each state. The order says the list would be based on federal citizenship and naturalization records, Social Security records, SAVE data (used to verify citizenship) and other federal databases.

The order says states must notify the U.S. Postal Service no fewer than 90 days before a federal election if they are using the postal service to deliver mail-in or absentee ballots. The order also says states must send a list of eligible voters to the postal service no fewer than 60 days before a federal election.

Bonta noted the order threatens states with loss of federal funding for failure to comply.

And he contended Trump’s executive order would disrupt the process in which every registered voter in California automatically gets a ballot in the mail.

“Protecting elections is not partisan. Every eligible voter should be able to vote,” Bonta said. “That is foundational to our democracy.”

Bonta said he doesn’t believe the executive order came soon enough to impact California’s June 2 primary, but said it could interfere with the Nov. 3 general election. He added Trump is concerned about Republicans losing congressional seats. 

In addition to officials in California, Massachusetts, Washington state, Nevada and the District of Columbia, the lawsuit against Trump's executive order is being filed by Democratic attorneys general from Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin. Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is also among the plaintiffs.

(The Center Square) – A federal watchdog warned Congress on Friday about the nation's mounting fiscal dangers, urging lawmakers to address what it called an "unsustainable fiscal path."

The Government Accountability Office released a report examining federal debt management, cautioning that the government's long-term financial trajectory is untenable due to a persistent gap between revenue and spending.

"The federal government's unsustainable fiscal path poses serious economic, security, and social challenges if not addressed," according to the report.

The GAO’s warning highlights growing concern about the federal government’s escalating debt and recurring budget deficits, which threaten U.S. economic stability and global creditworthiness. As Congress weighs proposals to rein in deficits, experts caution that failing to close the gap between spending and revenue could have dire consequences for taxpayers and the broader economy.

The GAO, the nonpartisan research arm of Congress, said lawmakers must act.

"Congress has a critical role to play in addressing risks to the Treasury market stemming from the unsustainable fiscal path and the debt limit," the GAO report said. "Taking action to address these risks would help ensure the continued broad-based demand for Treasury securities, reinforce the global role of the U.S. dollar, and support Treasury's efforts to finance government borrowing at the lowest cost over time."

While the dollar remains the world's reserve currency, the GAO report noted that it could change.

"Even gradual or partial erosion of the dollar's status could reduce demand for Treasury securities as investors shifted to other assets," the report noted. "All else being equal, this would raise borrowing costs for the U.S. government and taxpayers."

The GAO has repeatedly warned Congress about the imbalance between spending and revenue since at least 2017. In 2020, it recommended that lawmakers adopt a fiscal plan with clear rules and targets for managing deficits.

The national debt stands at $39 trillion, according to the Treasury Department.

In February, the International Monetary Fund warned that U.S. debt is likely to remain elevated in the coming years. It also found that U.S. debt poses risks to both the U.S. and the global economy.

"The conclusion is that the current account deficit is too big," IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said at the time.

Lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan proposal to cap annual deficits at 3% of GDP, but the resolution would still permit spending beyond annual revenue for years to come.

Congress has run budget deficits for more than two decades, with the last surplus recorded in 2001. Spending has outpaced revenue ever since, and annual deficits ballooned during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In fiscal year 2025 alone, the deficit reached $1.7 trillion, about 6% of GDP. The last time Congress passed a budget below the 3% target was in 2015, according to the resolution.

The national debt is driven by chronic overspending, rising costs for Social Security and Medicare as the population ages, and increasing healthcare expenses. As debt piles up, the federal government also faces higher interest payments.

Last May, the U.S. lost its final AAA credit rating when Moody's downgraded the country, joining S&P Global and Fitch. Fitch had lowered the U.S. rating in 2023, and S&P Global did so in 2011.

A French court has ruled to extradite Russian banker Vladimir Antonov, a former owner of English football club Portsmouth, to Lithuania, his lawyer said on Friday.

Antonov was detained in western France last December on suspicion of fraud, following a European arrest warrant from Lithuania.

He is accused of having stripped assets and funds from a leading Lithuanian bank, Snoras, where he was a majority shareholder, between 2008 and 2011, when the lender was nationalised.

A second arrest warrant issued in December 2025 added charges of corruption, money laundering and bankruptcy, with total losses amounting to at least 478 million euros ($551 million).

Antonov's lawyer said that his client would challenge the ruling.

The court "clearly did not take into account the real risk to Mr. Antonov's life in Eastern Europe", Henry Ermeneux told AFP.

In 2024, a Lithuanian court sentenced Antonov in absentia to 10.5 years in prison for embezzlement.

In 2011, Antonov was arrested in Britain on the strength of a Lithuanian arrest warrant issued over the collapse of the Snoras Bank, but later released.

He purchased Portsmouth, then in the second-tier Championship, in June 2011.

He stepped down the following November when his company, Convers Sports Initiatives, went into administration following his arrest over the fraud allegations.

In 2015, a lawyer said Antonov had fled Britain because he feared for his life.

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As he wages war on Iran, President Donald Trump was joined in the Oval Office by Christian pastors. Solemnly, some placed their hands on his shoulder or forearm. They offered their blessings.

In a war against a country led by Shia Muslim clerics, the United States -- which has a constitutional separation between church and state -- is also invoking religion, with some Trump officials casting it as almost a divine mission.

At the event for Holy Week, when Christians mark the last days of Jesus Christ before the resurrection on Easter, the Reverend Franklin Graham told Trump of the Bible's Book of Esther in which he said "the Iranians" -- a Persian king of contested historical accuracy -- ordered the killing of all Jews.

"Today the Iranians, the wicked regime of this government, wants to kill every Jew and destroy them with an atomic fire. But you have raised up President Trump. You've raised him up for such a time as this. And Father, we pray that you'll give him victory," said Graham, son of famed late evangelist Billy Graham.

Unmentioned, the Persian emperor Cyrus the Great, still revered by Iranians, was the first world leader to grant freedom to the Jews, liberating them from captivity in Babylon. 

The story of the Book of Esther has also been repeatedly cited by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who used the occasion of Passover to compare his war alongside Trump to the emancipation of the Jews from Egyptian captivity.

Iran's government since 1979 has been explicitly rooted in religion, with a top Shia cleric serving as supreme leader.

Iran's military has drawn parallels between their defenses and the Battle of Karbala, the 680 CE battle in which the Prophet Mohammed's grandson Hussein was killed, an event commemorated by Shia as an act of martyrdom and self-sacrifice in the face of tyranny.

- Crusades are back -

When George W. Bush went to war against Afghanistan's Taliban after the September 11, 2001 attacks, he called his campaign a "crusade" but quickly backtracked, aware of the historical baggage in the Islamic world of a term often used loosely as a metaphor in the West.

Trump's defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has shown no such compunctions. The former Fox News host in 2020 wrote a book called "American Crusade" in which he called for a "holy war" to rid America of the left.

Among his tattoos are a Jerusalem Cross, a Crusader-era emblem embraced by the far-right, along with the Latin inscription "Deus Vult," or "God wills it," a motto for the Crusaders.

If there was any doubt on his views on Muslims, he also has a tattoo that reads "kafir," or "infidel," in Arabic.

Hegseth, who has vowed to rain down "death and destruction" on Iran, at a news conference called on Americans to pray "every day, on bended knee, with your family, in your schools, in your churches, in the name of Jesus Christ."

Speaking to CBS News, Hegseth said, "We're fighting religious fanatics who seek nuclear capability for some religious Armageddon."

"My Christian faith," he said, "is important in our fighting ranks to give them perspective."

- Shutting down diversity -

The Pentagon in recent decades has welcomed a diversity of faiths, with chaplains tasked more with offering personal comfort and guidance than on blessing leaders' decisions.

"Someone with command authority asserting a faith perspective in a manner of favoritism, disregarding the diversity of faiths represented in the military and the nation, is at the least disrespectful and careless and at the most an abuse of power," said Kenneth Williams, a former military chaplain who now teaches at Georgetown University.

The religious embrace of war is also deeply offensive to many Christians. Pope Leo XIV, the first American to lead the Catholic Church, has hoped that Trump will seek "an off-ramp" and "a way to decrease the amount of violence."

In his Palm Sunday homily, the Pope said God "does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them."

Asked by an AFP journalist about the Pope's remarks, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said it is "very noble" to pray for troops in a time of war.

Much of the administration speaks openly in religious terms. Vice President JD Vance announced in the midst of the war that he is publishing a book on his embrace of Catholicism called "Communion." 

Trump himself is not known to be personally religious. The thrice-married realtor and former television celebrity was raised Presbyterian and rarely attended religious services. 

But since entering politics he has embraced the Christian right. Christian conservatives hailed Trump for helping them achieve their priority -- the end of the nationwide right to abortion, thanks to justices Trump appointed to the Supreme Court.

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Dakar and Rabat have longstanding ties but relations have been strained since the Africa Cup of Nations final, which Senegal won in mid-January before being stripped of the title, which was transferred to Morocco.

Now the AFCON trophy is something of a thorn in the two countries' sides.

On Rue Mohamed V, the street where Moroccan vendors are based in the Senegalese capital, a police van is parked. 

"The police have been on high alert since the Confederation of African Football (CAF) decided to award the title to Morocco, but there have been no incidents," a local resident told AFP.

CAF stripped Senegal of its title on March 17, over the team's angry departure from the pitch after a penalty was awarded to Morocco late in second-half stoppage time.

In a photo the following day, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye was seen in his office with the trophy behind him.

Senegal has lodged an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over the matter and some fans have meanwhile called for a boycott of Moroccan goods. 

On March 18, Dakar called for an international investigation into "allegations of corruption within the CAF leadership" in a statement that sent a chill through Morocco.

"An official (Senegalese) document mentioned corruption. It insinuates that Morocco is the corrupting influence without of course any evidence and this could have repercussions," Morocco's Aziz Daouda, a track and field official and former athlete, told AFP.

He added that "comments made by certain Senegalese football officials are damaging relations" between the two countries, referring to allegations that Morocco controls CAF.

- 'Hostages' of Morocco -

One of Senegal's points of contention is the detention of 18 Senegalese football fans in Morocco for more than two months now.

They were sentenced on February 19 to prison terms ranging from three months to a year for hooliganism.

Minutes before the end of the match, some Senegalese supporters attempted to storm the pitch while Senegal's players halted the game for nearly 20 minutes in protest of the late penalty to Morocco.

The appeal hearing for the 18 fans was postponed for a second time on Monday until April 13.

Dozens of demonstrators in Dakar called for their release at the end of February, describing them as "hostages" of Morocco.

"One gets the impression that this affair goes beyond the realm of sport and that is regrettable. For two countries that claim to be friends, such as Morocco and Senegal, things should not have come to this," Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko said in late February, lamenting the supporters' convictions.

That said, Morocco's relationship with Senegal is "unique, specific and extraordinary", Senegal's Director of Religious Affairs Djim Ousmane Drame said in a recent article.

"Morocco has always been the only (African) country with which diplomatic relations with Senegal are based on an emotional bond and popular appeal, beyond the institutions and bilateral ties," Bakary Sambe of the Timbuktu Institute think tank told AFP.

Fez, for example, is a favourite destination for many Senegalese Muslim followers of Tidianism, an influential brotherhood in Senegal whose founder, Cheikh Ahmed Tidiane, is buried there.

Moroccan authorities meanwhile made no comment and "preferred not to get involved in this football affair" following the CAF decision, Daouda said.

- Business, diplomacy partners -

In late January in Rabat, Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch spoke of a "natural, lasting" relationship with Senegal where he said Morocco has invested more than $540 million.

Many Moroccan companies operate in Senegal, particularly in the food, pharmaceutical, energy, construction, mining, banking and insurance sectors.

On the international stage, the two countries' diplomatic views are generally aligned.

Senegalese nationals constitute the largest group of foreign residents in the kingdom (18.4 percent), according to official figures, and a robust student exchange also exists between the two countries.

"There are many of us on both sides trying to calm down all those hotheads from both camps who enjoy spreading irresponsible claims, lots of 'fake news' and plenty of insults," Daouda said.

Former Senegalese foreign minister Cheikh Tidiane Gadio wrote in early February that "a hundred minutes of football will never be able to ruin a thousand years of close ties between Senegal and Morocco".

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Cuban authorities began to free prisoners on Friday after announcing it would pardon 2,010 inmates, the second release in less than a month as it faces heightened US pressure.

More than 20 inmates came out of La Lima penitentiary in east Havana, holding their release papers, crying and hugging relatives who had been waiting for them all morning, AFP journalists said.

"Thank you for this opportunity that they gave us," said Albis Gainza, 46, who had served half of a six-year sentence for robbery.

He said he could not sleep after learning he would be released.

"This needs to keep going ... (and) more are released," Gainza told AFP.

The Cuban government announced late Thursday that it would pardon 2,010 prisoners as a "humanitarian and sovereign gesture" to mark Holy Week.

It did not link it to talks with the United States, but the move came days after President Donald Trump eased a de facto oil blockade of Cuba by allowing a Russian tanker to deliver crude to the fuel-starved island.

This "follows a long pattern where there is a song and dance about how it has nothing to do with negotiations when it clearly does," Andres Pertierra, a historian of Cuba at the University of Wisconsin in the United States, told AFP.

The Trump administration has called for change in communist-run Cuba's system of government and the US president has mused about "taking" the island.

But the two sides have also held talks recently.

Releasing political prisoners has long been a core US demand in Cuba, but it was not immediately clear if any were among those pardoned as no list was published.

The US State Department said it was aware of reports of the prisoner release "though it is unclear how many, if any, political prisoners will be released."

"We continue to call for the immediate release of the hundreds of other brave Cuban patriots who remain unjustly detained," a State Department spokesperson told AFP.

Cuba is holding 775 political prisoners, according to rights group Justicia11J.

- 'Crimes against authority' -

Justicia11J said "any release represents immediate relief, especially for the families" but it warned that the gesture "does not constitute a change in the Cuban State's repressive policies."

The rights group, which arrests stemming from massive anti-government protests in July 2021, noted that the government had not published a list of those being released.

The Cuban government said the releases would be based on the nature of the crimes, good behavior, health reasons and time served.

It added those released would not include people who committed murder, sex assault, drug-related crimes, theft, illegal slaughter of livestock and "crimes against authority."

Justicia11J raised said the mention of the all-encompassing "crimes against authority" was "particularly concerning."

"These charges have instead served as instruments of political repression in Cuba," the NGO said.

- 'Great blessing' -

The Cuban government said the individuals being freed include young people, women and prisoners over 60 years old who are scheduled for early release within the next six months to a year.

The government previously announced on March 12 that it would free 51 prisoners as a sign of "good will" toward the Vatican, which has often acted as a mediator between Washington and Havana.

At least 20 political prisoners were released in the wake of the March announcement, according to rights group Cubalex.

Of half a dozen former prisoners interviewed by AFP outside La Lima, none were jailed for political reasons.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," said Brian Perez, 20, who was jailed for causing bodily injury. "We suffered enough and the mothers, too."

Damian Farinas, 20, was serving a nearly three-year sentence for robbery.

"It's a great blessing," he said. "This pardon comes at the right time for many inmates."

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