Rise Right

September 16th, 2026 - Happy feast of Ss. Cornelius & Cyprian!
Vice President JD Vance said the U.S.-Iran conflict will enter a “much different phase” within months, declaring the first stage of the campaign complete as Washington moves to prevent Tehran from rebuilding its nuclear and military capabilities. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) introduced a resolution yesterday to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth for “high crimes and misdemeanors,” reading eight articles on the House floor that accuse him of violating the War Powers Resolution of 1973 in the Iran conflict. Charlie Kirk's family has filed a notice of claim — a precursor to a lawsuit — against Utah Valley University, the state and key individuals involved in campus leadership and security decisions, alleging that their failures led to the Turning Point USA founder's wrongful death. New York was joined by 21 other states and the District of Columbia in filing a lawsuit challenging the Department of Homeland Security’s new restrictions on green cards for foreign nationals who rely on taxpayer-funded welfare programs. A Government Accountability Office report found that nearly five million Americans are enrolled in Obamacare plans that cover abortion, in contradiction to the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the use of taxpayer funds for abortion. Planned Parenthood’s Wisconsin branch filed a lawsuit against a state law making it a felony for anyone other than a physician to perform an abortion and another mandating a 24-hour waiting period between an in-person doctor’s visit and an abortion appointment. Pope Leo appointed Bishop Michael Saporito to lead a diocese in New Jersey. An NBC4 News helicopter crashed over Los Angeles. Three have been confirmed dead. Please pray for those lost.
Rise Right is a live morning program hosted by Sarah Cain & Jakob Martin Kraft, designed to help Catholics begin their day grounded in faith, clarity, and peace. The goal is simple: help listeners start their day well. Stay rooted in prayer, informed about the world, and able to face each day with joy and reason.
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September 15th, 2026 - Blessed feast of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady!
Arlington Bishop Michael Burbidge instructed priests at every Mass to read a letter addressing what he called the “extreme” and “dangerous” abortion and same-sex marriage amendments on Virginia’s ballot this November, encouraging Catholics to vote against the measures. Pope Leo XIV’s 71st birthday yesterday was marked with well wishes from around the world and a visit to the Vatican Apostolic Library. According to the parents, the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families took custody of their daughter after they objected to the local high school’s covert “gender transition” efforts, referring to the teenage girl as a boy. In an off-the-cuff remark, President Trump suggested that he likes Flock cameras for their aid to law enforcement efforts. The Supreme Court rejected President Donald Trump’s bid to restrict mail ballots for the midterm elections, capping a flurry of last-minute legal action with voting already underway. GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky returned to Capitol Hill yesterday for the first time in three months, ending a prolonged absence that sparked widespread speculation about his health. The House of Representatives passed the bipartisan Common Cents Act in a unanimous vote yesterday. In addition to blocking the Treasury from minting any more pennies except for collector coins, the bill would also set up a framework for cash transactions to be rounded to the nearest 5 cents, in order to eliminate the need for pennies altogether. 
Rise Right is a live morning program hosted by Sarah Cain & Jakob Martin Kraft, designed to help Catholics begin their day grounded in faith, clarity, and peace. The goal is simple: help listeners start their day well. Stay rooted in prayer, informed about the world, and able to face each day with joy and reason.
RiseRight.org

September 14th, 2026 - Happy feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross!
President Donald Trump said yesterday that China "spies on us" just as "we spy on them," following a report that Chinese entities provided Iran with satellite imagery before a deadly missile attack that killed three U.S. troops. Rep. Chris Smith is slated to chair an upcoming congressional hearing, centered on the imprisonment of media tycoon and Catholic Jimmy Lai, who was recently convicted of treason against the Chinese Communist Party. A coalition of pro-family organizations warned Senators Ted Cruz and Eric Schmitt that the current language in the Protect College Sports Act could undermine state laws protecting female athletes from competing against biological males. In Nigeria, roughly 200 armed Fulani guerillas attacked the village of Ayilamo in Benue State, leaving four police officers and at least seven Christian civilians dead, including two children. A father in the state of Washington is suing his son’s school district alongside the Alliance Defending Freedom, after he was denied the option to remove his son from LGBT instruction. Members of the Legion of Mary, a lay Catholic apostolate, attended Mass celebrated by Father Kyle Rosser, before he led them in procession through downtown Cleveland, OH. 
Rise Right is a live morning program hosted by Sarah Cain & Jakob Martin Kraft, designed to help Catholics begin their day grounded in faith, clarity, and peace. The goal is simple: help listeners start their day well. Stay rooted in prayer, informed about the world, and able to face each day with joy and reason.
RiseRight.org

September 11th, 2026 - Blessed feast of St. Jean-Gabriel Perboyre!
Today marks the 25th anniversary of 9/11. Please pray for the souls of those lost and for the continued healing of first responders and those who lost loved ones that day. The Knights of Columbus is marking the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks by remembering 46 members killed that day — including 12 firefighters, six law enforcement officers, and an elevator mechanic, who ran toward the towers to help others escape. Dr. Chad Pecknold, a prominent Catholic theologian and longtime professor at The Catholic University of America, was appointed the principal director of public outreach for DHS’ Office of Public Engagement. The foreign ministers of 12 nations, including the U.K., France, Canada, Spain, and Poland, issued a joint statement condemning “unprecedented levels of settler violence” in the West Bank and pledging restrictions on trade with Israeli settlements. Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico said he would “absolutely” vote for a national ban on “transgender” surgeries for minors and now says “there are two” sexes, walking back a 2021 claim that modern science recognized six. The shift comes in the final stretch of a dead-heat race against Attorney General Ken Paxton. New York recorded a 200% surge in the number of homeschooled children in the 2025-26 school year — more than three times the number 15 years earlier.
Rise Right is a live morning program hosted by Sarah Cain & Jakob Martin Kraft, designed to help Catholics begin their day grounded in faith, clarity, and peace. The goal is simple: help listeners start their day well. Stay rooted in prayer, informed about the world, and able to face each day with joy and reason.
RiseRight.org

September 10th, 2026 - Happy feast of St. Nicholas of Tolentino!
A planned memorial at Utah Valley University on the one-year anniversary of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s assassination has already sparked student protests. Students for a Democratic Society said that the university's approval of the memorial provides endorsement to the political and moral views of Turning Point USA. Nearly 45,000 people are expected to attend Ven. Fulton Sheen’s beatification in St. Louis, MO. Tickets are still available. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) crossed party lines yesterday to address Republicans at the GOP’s midterm convention in Dallas, Texas, describing himself as a “common-sense Democrat” who rejects socialism and anti-American extremism. Oral arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit saw judges press both Louisiana and attorneys for abortion pill manufacturers on issues of standing. Louisiana argues that the FDA’s rules currently allow out-of-state abortionists to violate Louisiana’s laws. President Trump said that he would offer every adult American a $5000 payout if Republicans win both chambers of Congress in the November midterms. It’s a plan that would cost $1.3 Trillion. 
Rise Right is a live morning program hosted by Sarah Cain & Jakob Martin Kraft, designed to help Catholics begin their day grounded in faith, clarity, and peace. The goal is simple: help listeners start their day well. Stay rooted in prayer, informed about the world, and able to face each day with joy and reason.
RiseRight.org

September 9th, 2026 - Happy feast of St. Peter Claver!
The U.S. military struck five Iranian tankers linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in response to attempted attacks by the IRGC on an American warship, according to U.S. Central Command. The new strikes on the Iranian tankers come after the IRGC attempted to hit an American aircraft carrier and a destroyer over the weekend. A court ordered 40yo Corie Walsh to remain detained after she allegedly hanged her toddler. Witnesses said that Walsh had “recently become very invested” in the high-profile trial of Lindsay Clancy. In response to U.S. tariffs, the Canadian government imposed tariffs of up to 50% on an estimated $20 billion worth of U.S.-produced goods, including steel and aluminum, dairy, wood and paper products, and others. In an effort to clear out a massive backlog of asylum claims, the DHS reportedly directed its attorneys to seek the dismissal of legally deficient asylum claims even before they proceed to full hearings in court. Bishop John Keenan of the Diocese of Paisley (in Scotland) urged political leaders to show both mothers and their unborn children compassion and support, rather than simply offering frightened mothers abortion. The Scottish government is reportedly weighing liberalizing late-term abortions. Authorities said yesterday that key braking systems did not deploy during Sunday’s deadly plane crash in which an Amazon cargo jet overran the runway at Miami International Airport and struck two vehicles, killing five people. Closing arguments are set for Sept. 17 in a nearly three-year-old California lawsuit against two pro-life pregnancy organizations, capping a six-week bench trial in which testimony repeatedly undercut the state’s own case against abortion pill reversal. 
Rise Right is a live morning program hosted by Sarah Cain & Jakob Martin Kraft, designed to help Catholics begin their day grounded in faith, clarity, and peace. The goal is simple: help listeners start their day well. Stay rooted in prayer, informed about the world, and able to face each day with joy and reason.
RiseRight.org

September 8th, 2026 - Happy feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary!
Washington is moving to increase diplomatic pressure on Tehran over its nuclear program as Iran threatens a new Persian Gulf exclusion zone and warns it has “fundamentally recalibrated” its posture toward U.S. warships and bases. After being escorted out of a home game by security personnel, former National Basketball Association player Enis Kanter has alleged that the Chicago Sky violated his First Amendment rights because of his advocacy for women’s sports, prompting a lawsuit. Continuing the tradition of his predecessor, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop Ronald Hicks of the Archdiocese of New York will celebrate a special liturgy at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Sept. 11 to mourn the lives lost in the 2001 terrorist attack. After his deportation to the UK last week, Milo Yiannapoulos and a London Imam have been insinuating his conversion to Islam. This morning, U.S. forces sank a floating refueling vessel used by an Ecuadorian organized crime ring. Officials say the refueling vessel was used for “at-sea drug trafficking operations.” In case you missed it: A mistrial was declared in the Lindsay Clancy case on Friday.
Rise Right is a live morning program hosted by Sarah Cain & Jakob Martin Kraft, designed to help Catholics begin their day grounded in faith, clarity, and peace. The goal is simple: help listeners start their day well. Stay rooted in prayer, informed about the world, and able to face each day with joy and reason.
RiseRight.org

September 7th, 2026 - Please join Jake and Sarah in discussing the history and meaning of Labor Day in the United States in the context of "Catholic Social Teaching" and Pope Leo XIII's 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum.
Rise Right is a live morning program hosted by Sarah Cain & Jakob Martin Kraft, designed to help Catholics begin their day grounded in faith, clarity, and peace. The goal is simple: help listeners start their day well. Stay rooted in prayer, informed about the world, and able to face each day with joy and reason.
RiseRight.org

September 4th, 2026 - Happy feast of St. Rosalia!
A judge has again told the deadlocked jury in Lindsay Clancy's murder trial to keep trying to reach a verdict after a dramatic sixth day of deliberations in a case that has gripped America. There was audible shock in the room when the defence team asked for the holdout juror to be removed, a request that was denied by the judge. Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will visit Moscow tomorrow, and Kiev the day after. August marked the third consecutive month that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has broken its previous record for the highest number of monthly arrests. Approximately 51,000 illegal aliens were arrested over the course of August. Republican gubernatorial candidate John James pledged to opt Michigan into the Education Freedom Tax Credit, which gives donors a tax break for supporting state-approved scholarship funds. The Office of Legal Counsel issued a new opinion determining that a federal statute governing welfare funds actually requires all participating states and any state or local agencies to cooperate with federal law enforcement in identifying illegal aliens. The share of Americans who agree that a man and a woman who have a child together should be married to each other is at its highest point since 2013, a Gallup survey found. A former librarian who identifies as transgender is asking the Minnesota Supreme Court to approve a discrimination lawsuit against the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis for requiring employees to adhere to Catholic moral teachings on sex and biology. 
Rise Right is a live morning program hosted by Sarah Cain & Jakob Martin Kraft, designed to help Catholics begin their day grounded in faith, clarity, and peace. The goal is simple: help listeners start their day well. Stay rooted in prayer, informed about the world, and able to face each day with joy and reason.
RiseRight.org

September 3rd, 2026 - Happy feasts of Ss. Pius X and Gregory the Great!
The Lindsay Clancy jury was dismissed for the day yesterday after again failing to reach a verdict following five days of deliberations. Jurors are expected to return this morning to continue deliberating. New York Assistant Attorney General Daniel Wiesenfeld alleged in an email that Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, and her deputies had ordered Wiesenfeld to aggressively investigate and pursue charges against then-candidate Donald Trump, his family, and his allies. The Florida Department of Transportation on Aug. 31 announced a 30-day deadline for removing Flock cameras and other license plate readers from state roads and highways. New numbers from the British government reveal that more than 100 children have been referred to a special victims unit focusing on forced marriages. Nearly 30 of those children were under the age of 5. The increase in forced marriages follows reports of Muslim immigrants abducting and marrying underage girls. The Missionary Sisters of St. Benedict and St. Joseph’s Home for the Aged joined a lawsuit filed by the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne against New York’s Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and her administration, seeking relief from a mandate requiring the religious sisters to house hospice and elder care patients in rooms according to their “gender identities." A federal judge has dismissed a major Department of Justice lawsuit against California, paving the way for biological males to keep competing in girls' sports. The DOJ has confirmed they will appeal the decision.
Rise Right is a live morning program hosted by Sarah Cain & Jakob Martin Kraft, designed to help Catholics begin their day grounded in faith, clarity, and peace. The goal is simple: help listeners start their day well. Stay rooted in prayer, informed about the world, and able to face each day with joy and reason.
RiseRight.org

September 2nd, 2026 - Happy feast of King St. Stephen of Hungary!
Iran retaliated against new U.S. strikes overnight, launching missiles and drones toward U.S. positions in the region in defiance of President Donald Trump’s warning yesterday that such actions would see Iran “hit again at a much harder and higher level.” Tyler Robinson, the man accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk, will stand trial after a Utah judge ruled yesterday that prosecutors presented enough evidence to move forward on all seven charges against him. Robinson pled not guilty to all charges. The judge is also allowing prosecutors to seek the death penalty. The jury in the Lindsey Clancy trial announced that it was deadlocked yesterday; the judge told them to keep trying. A squadron of four congressional Democrats introduced a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives to formally condemn socialism and the Democratic Socialists of America in particular. The Justice Department sued the Kansas City school district for allegedly violating federal law and hiding students’ “gender transitions” from parents. Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said that a recent airplane-banner stunt promoting mail-order abortion pills may have been illegal. The U.S.-China Catholic Association rescinded its invitation for Purdue University professor and vocal Chinese government critic Fenggang Yang to speak at the group’s annual conference, with New Jersey Republican Rep. Chris Smith alleging that the Chinese government pressed for Yang’s removal.
Rise Right is a live morning program hosted by Sarah Cain & Jakob Martin Kraft, designed to help Catholics begin their day grounded in faith, clarity, and peace. The goal is simple: help listeners start their day well. Stay rooted in prayer, informed about the world, and able to face each day with joy and reason.
RiseRight.org

September 1st, 2026 - Happy feast of St. Giles!
ICE confirmed that Milo Yiannapoulis was deported back to the UK only one day after his arrest. Following a thorough investigation into the creation of the 2023 memo labeling traditionalist Catholics as possible domestic terrorists, the U.S. Department of Justice confirmed that the FBI Richmond field office spied on and tracked priests, coordinated with other field offices to target Catholics, and grossly misrepresented Catholic teachings. The Department of Transportation teamed up with the Department of Homeland Security to shut down 110 commercial trucking schools across the country for failing to adhere to English language proficiency standards and issuing commercial licenses to illegal aliens. In a 5-4 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court approved of President Donald Trump’s ongoing construction of a ballroom over what used to be the East Wing of the White House. In a religious liberty victory, Michigan agreed not to penalize counselors for talk therapy to help minors struggling with “gender identity” issues to accept their biological sex. The Diocese of Richmond’s Bishop Barry Knestout urged Catholics in Old Dominion to reject what he called an “extreme” proposed constitutional amendment to codify a “right” to abortion in Virginia Pope Leo XIV has named a third Chinese bishop in three months, the sixth episcopal consecration during Leo’s pontificate amid implementation of the Vatican-Beijing agreement.
Rise Right is a live morning program hosted by Sarah Cain & Jakob Martin Kraft, designed to help Catholics begin their day grounded in faith, clarity, and peace. The goal is simple: help listeners start their day well. Stay rooted in prayer, informed about the world, and able to face each day with joy and reason.
RiseRight.org

August 31st, 2026 - August 31st, 2026 - Happy feast of St. Raymond Nonnatus!
Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh said that the central bank’s goal is to bring inflation down to 2% but warned that heightened interest rates may continue if price pressures do not ease. Nepal’s flooding and mudslides result in at least 900 dead and over 4,000 missing. Please pray for those relief efforts, and for the souls of those lost. Google Maps has officially changed Lake Ontario to Lake America, following the Trump Administration’s announcement last week. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged that Apple had denied a Jewish employee’s request not to work on the Sabbath and fired him when he complained. Apple has settled the case. A record number of people at Harvard joined the Catholic Church, with 85 being confirmed. Harvard University’s undergraduate chaplain, Father Nathaniel Sanders, described the record number of converts as part of a years-long growing interest in the Catholic faith on campus. George Russell Isbell Jr. was sentenced to nearly one year in jail after mailing podcast host Benny Johnson a letter saying that Johnson and his family should “be exterminated,” in addition to other violent threats. The regional government of Castile and León in Spain highlighted the beatification cause of Queen Isabella during a meeting with the president of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference.
Rise Right is a live morning program hosted by Sarah Cain & Jakob Martin Kraft, designed to help Catholics begin their day grounded in faith, clarity, and peace. The goal is simple: help listeners start their day well. Stay rooted in prayer, informed about the world, and able to face each day with joy and reason.
RiseRight.org

August 28th, 2026 - Jake and Sarah delve into the life and work of St. Augustine, including two newly discovered sermons.
Rise Right is a live morning program hosted by Sarah Cain & Jakob Martin Kraft, designed to help Catholics begin their day grounded in faith, clarity, and peace. The goal is simple: help listeners start their day well. Stay rooted in prayer, informed about the world, and able to face each day with joy and reason.
RiseRight.org

August 27th, 2026 - Jake and Sarah interview Fr. Robert McTeigue of the Society of Jesus, host of The Catholic Current.
Rise Right is a live morning program hosted by Sarah Cain & Jakob Martin Kraft, designed to help Catholics begin their day grounded in faith, clarity, and peace. The goal is simple: help listeners start their day well. Stay rooted in prayer, informed about the world, and able to face each day with joy and reason.
RiseRight.org