Louvre Heist in 7 Minutes, Latin Mass Drama, and Trump’s Tunnel Trouble

Thieves pull off a cinematic jewel heist at the Louvre in just 7 minutes—complete with motorbikes. At the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV faces conservative backlash over the Latin Mass. And in infrastructure news, Trump tries to axe the $16B Gateway tunnel project, infuriating New York and New Jersey alike. Patrick Gutfield reports from Paris to the Pope to Penn Station.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Callaroga Shark media from Paris, where thieves steal art like
Joe Biden steels elections. This is valid, that's right, but
at least the thieves can remember the theft. Let's hit this.
I'm Patrick Guttfield with news from the City of Lights.
Thieves just turned the louver into an Ocean's eleven audition tape.

(00:26):
Picture this Sunday morning in Paris. Tourists are sipping over
priced espressos, art students are sketching nude sculptures, and somewhere
a group of professionals are planning a heist that would
make Danny Ocean look like an amateur. Seven minutes, these
guys moved faster than a French waiter, avoiding eye contact.
They rolled up with a truck because nothing says sophisticated

(00:48):
international art theft like what looks like a delivery van.
They use an elevated platform that's basically a fancy ladder,
cut through display cases with a grinder, and grab the
French crown jewels. I mean, who does that. These aren't
your average smash and grab criminals. These are precision artists.
They probably have a spreadsheet for their crime, color coded

(01:08):
and everything The French interior minister looked less shocked and
more mildly inconvenienced. It's like, oh, another jewelry heist must
be Tuesday. The Louver evacuation was probably the most excitement
those tourists have had since someone drew a mustache on
the Mona Lisa. Imagine planning your dream Paris vacation and
instead of seeing priceless art, you get front row seats

(01:31):
to a real life heist. That's an Instagram story nobody
saw coming. And let's talk about the getaway motorbikes. Motorbikes
in Paris. These criminals are basically living out every action
movie chase scene, except with more oat couture and less CGI.
I can see the police report now suspects last scene

(01:51):
weaving through Paris traffic, possibly enjoying a croissant. Meanwhile, at
the Vatican, we've got a holy war and it's not
about miracles, it's about Latin picture. This a papal liturgical
SmackDown that makes political debates look civilized. Pope Leo the
fourteenth is walking into a Catholic cage match where the
prize is whether priests get to speak in a dead

(02:13):
language that sounds like a Harry Potter spell. Let me
break this down. The Latin Mass is basically the ecclesiastical
equivalent of vinyl records, old school, nostalgic, and beloved by
people who think everything was better in the past. Pope
Francis called it backward, which is basically papal shade throwing.
Now Pope Leo is caught in the theological crossfire. Conservative

(02:37):
Catholics are treating this Latin Mass like their last stand
against modernity. They're not just wearing veils, they're wearing cultural
warfare couture. When twenty four year old and Catholics said
the Old Mass left him breathless, which sounds more like
a workout review than a religious experience. Some bishops are
getting absolutely roasted on social media. One got called a

(02:58):
woke Protestant Catholic to Birkenstock wearing Franciscan, which sounds like
an insult you'd hear at a very nerdy theological comedy roast.
The real drama. This isn't just about language. It's about
whether the Catholic Church looks backward or forward. It's like
ecclesiastical cosplay, but with higher stakes. Conservative cardinals are lobbying

(03:19):
Pope Leo like he's a swing vote in a Supreme
Court case. Everyone must be given space, one cardinal said,
which in church politics basically means let us do our
Latin thing. Breaking. Infrastructure news, folks, President Trump is playing
urban planner, and New York and New Jersey are not happy.

(03:41):
The Gateway Tunnel project, a sixteen billion dollar infrastructure megaplan
connecting New York and New Jersey, is Trump's latest target.
He told Fox News He's going to cut the project
faster than he cuts a real estate deal. This tunnel
isn't just some underground passageway. We're talking about replacing century
old rail tunnels damaged by Superstorm Sandy. If these tunnels fail,

(04:06):
it could cost sixteen billion dollars and potentially wipe out
thirty three thousand jobs. But hey, who's counting. Senator Chuck
Schumer called it petty revenge politics, which sounds like a
reality show. I'd absolutely watch. The project's already got five
active construction sites. Workers are literally in the ground, and

(04:26):
Trump's like, nope, We're done here. Even Jack Tiatarelli, Trump's
own endorsed candidate for New Jersey governor, is saying not
so fast when you've lost your own team. You know
you're in trouble. Transportation experts are saying canceling this won't
even save money, it'll just cause delays. This is Patrick
Guttfield reminding you that in politics, infrastructure is just another

(04:48):
chess game and everyone's a pawn. Portions of today's show
were made with the help of AI and a ninety
minute delay on New Jersey Transit