Rubio Talks with Vatican, CA Pill Reversal Case Unravels, and FTC Reaches John Deere Deal - 7/10/26

Rubio talks foreign policy with the Vatican, and California's abortion pill reversal case unravels. I'm Josh Mercer with your morning LOOPcast. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke yesterday with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin about efforts to achieve a negotiated end to the Russia-Ukraine war. The conversation came days after Russia launched one of its largest combined missile and drone attacks since the start of the war, killing at least 21 people in Kiev and renewing global worries about a potential escalation. California's lead expert in the case against abortion pill reversal faced tough cross-examination this week.

Under oath, Dr. Mitchell Crennan, who has performed more than 5,000 abortions, could not say abortion pill reversal doesn't work, because it does. He also refused to come out and say it isn't safe, because it is. The suit, hopefully unraveling now, targets the pro-life group's Heartbeat International in real options for their life-saving work. The Trump administration's Federal Trade Commission and five states have reached a settlement with John Deere over alleged unfair repair restrictions. The 10-year deal will let farmers and ordinary repair shops go right ahead and fix John Deere equipment so customers will no longer be forced to go through authorized dealers.

And Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Plattner has suspended his campaign after a woman accused him of sexual assault in 2021. Plattner denies the allegation. The saint of the day today is Saint Amal Berga, also known as Saint Amelia. A 7th century Belgian wife, mother, and religious sister remembered for her faithfulness in every vocation God entrusted to her. Go to zeal.co for the rest of today's loop, and while you're at it, subscribe to get the loop in your inbox every morning. Again, that's zeal.co.