The New Grok Times — May 25, 2026

Pope Leo Issues First Major Encyclical on Artificial Intelligence

An empty rostrum in the Vatican's Synod Hall with a single microphone and a closed book under high natural light, press chairs arranged in rows below

TL;DR

Pope Leo XIV becomes the first pontiff to publish a major encyclical on artificial intelligence, with an Anthropic co-founder on the launch panel.

MSM Perspective

OSV News and Vatican News carried the May 19 Anthropic post and the May 18 panel announcement separately; no outlet has threaded them.

X Perspective

X treats the encyclical as a culture war set-piece; the Anthropic post sits unmentioned in every major frontier-AI feed.

By Anna Weber, Berlin May 25 12 min read

A man walks past wall portraits of three Iranian supreme leaders in Tehran, with Mojtaba Khamenei on the right beside his father Ali Khamenei and Ruhollah Khomeini

World

Iran Routes Reply to Trump Through Khamenei; U.S. Backs Off 'Largely Negotiated'

Iran's president said Sunday the final call rests with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, not the MFA — a fifth Iranian voice in one cycle and a one-rung escalation.

By Yosef Stern, Jerusalem May 25 7 min read

A man carries a box from a burning trade center building after a Russian missile strike on Kyiv at dawn, smoke rising into a grey sky

World

Russia Hits Kyiv With Biggest Attack in a Year; Trump Stays Silent

Macron, Merz, Kallas, and von der Leyen condemned Sunday's 90-missile, 600-drone Kyiv attack; the White House did not post on Ukraine for the entire weekend.

By Katya Volkov, Moscow May 25 6 min read

Two Indy 500 cars cross the finish line at the Yard of Bricks nose to nose with rain-darkened sky and grandstands behind

Sports

Rosenqvist Wins Indy 500 by 0.0233 Seconds in Closest Finish Ever

Memorial Day delivered both races to first-time winners: Rosenqvist at Indy by 0.0233 seconds, Suárez at Charlotte after rain ended the 600 at lap 373, dedicating it to Kyle Busch.

By Amara Okonkwo, Lagos May 25 6 min read

A sentinel of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier mid-rotation at dawn at Arlington National Cemetery, no spectators visible

Politics

Trump Counts 13 Dead in 'Operation Epic Fury' in Memorial Day Address

The presidential proclamation named the Iran war operation and counted American dead in a White House document for the first time — institutional naming, not just senatorial.

By Samuel Crane, Washington May 25 7 min read

A Ugandan health worker in personal protective equipment walks past a closed and locked clinic gate in late afternoon light

Life

No Vaccine for Bundibugyo Ebola Outbreak, Health Officials Say

395 suspected cases, 106 deaths, two countries, no approved vaccine, no procurement pipeline — Shanelle Hall's PBS quote names what the institutional silence had not.

By Nora Whitfield, Chicago May 25 7 min read

An empty record store window with three abstract album displays staged in a row at dusk, no identifiable artist imagery, soft reflections from the street

Entertainment

Drake's Three New Albums Sell 687,000 in First Week, Below Forecasts

Iceman 463K + Habibti 114K + Maid of Honour 110K = the first artist ever to debut three top-three on the Billboard 200, but the Kalshi 725K wager paid NO.

By Camille Beaumont, Los Angeles May 25 6 min read

World

Israel Will Not Explain Tyre Hospital Strike After Five Days

Trump's Memorandum included a Lebanon ceasefire; the IDF spent the same Memorial Day saying only that it was looking into a hospital it had warned to evacuate.

By Yosef Stern, Jerusalem May 25 5 min read

Sports

Knicks Can Clinch First Finals Since 1999 in Game 4 Monday

The Knicks open Memorial Day at 8 p.m. with three road games and a 26-year wait on the table; the Spurs already produced the half-court buzzer NBC needed.

By Maya Calloway, New York May 25 5 min read

Sports

Roland Garros Opens Without Alcaraz; Sinner Cleared in Round One

Jannik Sinner is a -325 favourite to win a tournament he has never won, against a draw without the man who has beaten him in the past two finals.

By Charles Ashford, London May 25 5 min read

Politics

Cornyn-Paxton Runoff Goes to Voters Tuesday Before Senate's Iran Vote

Memorial Day quiet on the Senate war-authorization clock met a Texas runoff Tuesday whose result decides which incumbent is around to face the June 1 vote.

By Samuel Crane, Washington May 25 5 min read

Entertainment

'Mandalorian and Grogu' Tops $100 Million; Worst 'Star Wars' Opening Since 1983

Disney exceeded its own tracking, beat Solo by a hair, and still printed the smallest live-action Star Wars opening in forty-three years adjusted for inflation.

By Camille Beaumont, Los Angeles May 25 5 min read

World

Six Gulf Capitals Stay Silent on Pakistan's Iran Mediation Effort

Trump named eight capitals; two confirmed; six have produced nothing for a fourth day; Pakistan's text is twenty-two days unpublished.

By Priya Sharma, Delhi May 25 5 min read

Culture

Sony Pictures Classics Stays Silent on Almodóvar's 'Monsters' Charge

Sony Pictures Classics has spent five days saying nothing about a director it acquired in August; the post-festival week's actual transcript is in the AI-rights deals.

By Camille Beaumont, Los Angeles May 25 5 min read

Life

At the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Guard Changes Every 30 Minutes

While the President laid a wreath at noon, the Old Guard's twenty-one-step routine continued at the same cadence it has held since 1937.

By Maya Calloway, New York May 25 5 min read

Life

Africa CDC Holds Second Ebola Briefing; W.H.O. Silent on U.S. Travel Ban

Jean Kaseya's continental agency named the U.S. travel ban; the WHO director-general spent Day Nine producing situation reports without naming the policy.

By Nora Whitfield, Chicago May 25 5 min read

Economy

The Wire

Sports