USA - The share of Americans who believe that the Bible is “to be taken literally” has reached a record low, according to a new Gallup Poll. Less than one in four Americans — 24 percent — believe that the Bible is literal “word for word,” the lowest percentage in 40 years, Gallup reported Tuesday. Just 26 percent of respondents called the Bible “a book of fables, legends, history and moral precepts recorded by man.” Gallup noted that this was the the first time in the poll’s history that the view that the Bible is a book of fables surpassed the view that the Bible is literally true.

VATICAN - In a telegram congratulating the new French president, Emmanuel Macron, for his investiture, Pope Francis took the occasion to remind the lapsed Catholic president of his country’s “Christian tradition.”

MIDDLE EAST - The Gulf states have compiled a proposal to take unprecedented steps toward normalization with Israel if the Netanyahu government in turn makes gestures to the Palestinians, such as freezing settlement construction in parts of the West Bank and easing trade restrictions in the Gaza Strip, according to the Wall Street Journal.

USA - Imminent Alert: Warning of a credible, specific and impending terrorism threat against the United States. Since 2015, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has used this Bulletin to highlight the continuing threat from homegrown terrorists, many of whom are inspired online to violence by foreign terrorist organizations. The United States is engaged in a generational fight against terrorists, who seek to attack the American people, our country, and our way of life. An informed, vigilant, and engaged public remains one of our greatest assets to identify potential homegrown terrorists and prevent attacks.

EUROPE - An AFP article titled “Cyber Kid Stuns Experts Showing Toys Can Be ‘Weapons'” has gone viral. 11-year-old Reuben Paul took the stage at the World Forum cyber security conference in The Hague. “From airplanes to automobiles, from smart phones to smart homes, anything or any toy can be part of the Internet of Things (IOT),” he said, a small figure pacing the huge stage at the World Forum in The Hague.

USA - Caitlyn Jenner has perfected the art of cashing in on each step of gender transition. A few short weeks before the release of his new book, Jenner acknowledges the boys are now gone. Adios to his life-long companions in gender reassignment surgery (known as bottom surgery).

ISRAEL - In a bitter diplomatic incident, a senior member of the US delegation making preparations for Donald Trump’s visit to Israel next week angrily rejected a request that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accompany the president when he visits the Western Wall, and then sniped at his Israeli counterparts that the Western Wall is “not your territory. It’s part of the West Bank,” Israeli television reported on Monday night. An official at the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed the Channel 2 report, telling the Times of Israel that Israeli officials were “shocked” by the comments and have asked the Trump administration about the incident. The official said that Netanyahu is certain that the comment does not reflect President Trump’s policy.

USA - President Donald Trump promised to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, but a recent diplomatic spat showed why it has been so hard for him to do so. On Monday, the Times of Israel reported that talks between US and Israeli officials coordinating Trump’s upcoming visit to the Western Wall — the holiest site in Judaism — stumbled when a “senior American official” said that the area was not within Israeli control and was part of the West Bank. The name of the official has since been reported as David Berns, a career bureaucrat at State.

ITALY - Supervolcano Campi Flegrei is at a critical stage and scientists have warned that European authorities need to be ready – as experts fear the lives of more than 360,000 people across Europe could be at risk. Campi Flegrei, located around 11 miles (18 kilometres) southwest of Naples, Italy, has not erupted since 1538, but volcano experts believe it could be building up to another devastating eruption. Scientists from the University College London (UCL) and the Vesuvius Observatory in Naples have been studying the patterns of unrest since Campi Flegrei's last eruption more than 500 years ago. They concluded that the volcano may be “closer to an eruption than previously thought” and was instead “approaching a critical stage”.

NORTH KOREA - After months of threatening the US with nuclear war, and just days after a new president took office in South Korea, Kim Jong-Un fired a ballistic missile that landed too close for comfort to Russian territory. The launch took place in the Kusong region located northwest of the capital, Pyongyang, where the North previously test-launched an intermediate-range missile it is believed to be developing. The missile landed in waters 60 miles south of Russia’s Vladivostok region, home of the Russian Pacific Fleet. Kim Dong-yub, an expert at Kyungnam University’s Institute of Far Eastern Studies in Seoul, said he estimated a standard trajectory firing would give it a range of 3,700 miles, meaning it would be capable of reaching Hawaii.

UK - A north London private school has drawn up plans to introduce gender-neutral uniforms in response to a growing number of pupils questioning their gender identity. Highgate school currently has an option for girls to wear a grey pleated skirt, but the school is consulting on a mix-and-match uniform policy which will not specify a different requirement for boys and girls. 

ISRAEL - US President Donald Trump's visit to Israel next week has both Israeli and US officials wondering what he will bring to the table on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Trump has long expressed his strong desire to "reach the ultimate deal" on the peace process and has more recently doubled down on his support for the two-state solution - his May 22 visit will undoubtably give more insight or even prove to be the opening shot for whatever his exact plans may be. Ambush alert: Netanyahu fears Trump's cooking something big. Netanyahu is nervous, ministers say. He’s afraid Trump is laying an ambush for him, whose dimensions and impact will only be apparent when he’s here wandering between Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Masada.

ISRAEL - Temple Mount Faithful to President Donald Trump: "Declare, Call, and Stand with Israel to Build the Third Temple in Jerusalem Like King Cyrus of Persia Did in 536 bce." "Call the Pope to Return the Temple Menorah and Articles to Jerusalem to Be Used by Israel in the Third Holy Temple, soon to Be Built, Like King Cyrus Did When He Returned the Temple Menorah and Articles from Babylon to Be Used in the Second Temple." The Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement blesses President Donald Trump upon his election as the next president to lead the United States of America. Today we are blessing President Donald Trump with an ancient Jewish blessing: "Blessed are You our LORD, King of Kings, for sharing His honor with human beings".

EUROPE - Emmanuel Macron’s election as president of France received few more rapturous welcomes than that given by Sylvie Goulard, a liberal French politician in the European Parliament and ally of the 39-year-old new head of state. “Finally! Finally, Europe and France reconciled!” Ms Goulard enthused. “What a symbol — a young president, focused on the future, entering the Louvre of the kings of France to the sound of the European hymn.”

UK - International investigators are hunting for those behind an unprecedented cyber-attack that affected systems in dozens of countries, including at banks, hospitals and government agencies, as security experts sought to contain the fallout. The assault, which began Friday and was being described as the biggest-ever cyber ransom attack, struck state agencies and major companies around the world - from Russian banks and British hospitals to FedEx and European car factories. "The recent attack is at an unprecedented level and will require a complex international investigation to identify the culprits," said Europol, Europe's police agency. Europol said a special task force at its European Cybercrime Centre was "specially designed to assist in such investigations and will play an important role in supporting the investigation".