“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1Thessalonians 5:16-18)
Praise Reports: Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. (Philippians 4:8)
A federal judge has made an historic ruling by partially granting an injunction that blocks various Biden administration officials and government agencies such as the Justice Department and the FBI from working with big tech firms to censor posts on social media. The injunction came in response to a censorship-by-proxy lawsuit brought by attorneys general in Louisiana and Missouri, who have accused Biden administration officials and various government agencies of pressuring social media companies to suspend accounts or take down posts.Judge Terry A. Doughty of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana wrote in the July 4th ruling that various government agencies, including the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the U.S. State Department, the Dept. of Justice, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are prohibited from taking a range of actions regarding social media companies.
- The Biden Administration has appealed this verdict in a court filing on July 5th.
A federal court in Texas rejected “persecution” claims by The Satanic Temple this week in a lawsuit challenging pro-life laws that protect unborn babies from abortion. The Satanic Temple, which has been involved in abortion activism for years, claims that aborting unborn babies is a “ritual” and Texas pro-life laws violate its members’ religious freedom. However, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas rejected its lawsuit this week. Bloomberg Law reports the court described the lawsuit as cryptic and noted the lack of basic facts about plaintiff “Ann Doe’s” standing to sue.
One year after the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade allowed pro-life states to begin prohibiting abortions again, adoption workers in Texas are reporting a substantial rise in babies being given the opportunity for life with new families. Mark Melson, president and CEO of the Texas-based Gladney Center for Adoption, told NBC News this week that his organization has observed a 30% rise in infant domestic adoptions over the past year and a 55% rise in calls from pregnant women asking about adoption.
The movie, Sound of Freedom, starring Jim Caviezel, was the #1 movie in America, beating out Disney’s Indiana Jones at the box office on the Fourth of July.. The groundbreaking movie about rescuing children from the global sex-trafficking industry, debuted as the #1 movie in America on its opening day, July 4. “Thanks to fans around the country, Sound of Freedom earned the top spot as America’s number one movie on Independence Day,” said Neal Harmon, CEO of Angel Studios. ‘With an A+ CinemaScore rating, we’re the top-rated movie in America, and we’re going to see word-of-mouth spread even further going into the weekend,’ Harmon said.
The Decline of Christianity: Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
One-fifth of United Methodist Church (UMC) congregations in the United States have received approval to schism from the wider denomination. More than 6,000 congregations have separated from the governing conference, dropping substantial amounts of money to buy out of the UMC. The majority of these break-off churches are doing so out of dissatisfaction with the UMC’s continued delay in conclusively ruling on the status of homosexual marriage and ordination for LGBT individuals. In 2019, the General Conference voted 438-384 to uphold the church’s ban on ordaining LGBTQ clergy and officiating at or hosting same-sex weddings. However, the conference has repeatedly delayed action formally splitting the denomination along theological lines, frustrating conservatives demanding reaffirmation of orthodox teachings on sexuality.
Pseudo Christianity: These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. (Matthew 15:8) They claim to know God, but they deny him by what they do. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit to do anything good. (Titus 1:16)
Is the Chinese Communist Party ready to export its highly centralized version of Protestant Christianity to the rest of the world? That’s the gist of a report from religious liberty and human rights magazine Bitter Winter. A conference held last month with state-aligned religious leaders declared the CCP’s intent to “change the face of world Christianity.” According to the report, the “Training Meeting for Key Pastors of the Northeast China Christian Region” held June 27-30 in the northeast Jilin province was the launch of a “grandiose” plan from Chinese President Xi Jinping and the CCP. In his speech centered on “Christianity adapted to a socialist society,” Pastor Kan Baoping of the China Christian Three-Self Patriotic Movement Committee predicted the Three-Self Movement would help amplify the message of “the successful experience of the Sinicization of Christianity.” “We will change the face of world Christianity,” Pastor Kan reportedly told the conference. Sinicization is the process by which non-Chinese societies come under the influence of Chinese culture.
Censorship: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth. (Romans 1:18)
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a national nonpartisan free speech advocacy group, has sent a letter to St. Philip’s College in Texas calling on the school to rehire a professor who says he was fired after students complained about him teaching that biological sex is determined by chromosomes. “Academic freedom—a corollary of free expression that the Supreme Court identifies as a ‘special concern of the First Amendment’—necessitates that faculty members receive substantial breathing room to determine how to approach subjects and materials relevant to their coursework,” the group wrote.
Persecution: Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. (Matthew 24:9) Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:10)
Lorie Smith, the Colorado website designer at the heart of the Supreme Court’s landmark 303 Creative v. Elenis June 30 decision upholding every American’s freedom of speech, is receiving a barrage of increasingly intense harassment, including serious death threats, following the 6–3 ruling. “Especially in the last week, despite the victory last week, I do continue to face horrific attacks, people saying they hope I would be raped; they want to burn my house down; they know where I live, and they want to come kill me and my family,” Ms. Smith told The Epoch Times on July 5 in an exclusive interview.
Abortion: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart. (Jeremiah 1:5)
Arizona Democrat Attorney General Kris Mayes declared Monday that she will not enforce pro-life laws in the Grand Canyon state, empowered to ignore abortion measures she disagrees with by left-wing Gov. Katie Hobbs. During an interview with Capitol Media Services, Mayes said that she is taking all prosecutorial power over abortion-related cases away from Arizona’s 15 county attorneys and reserving it for herself, under the authority given her by an executive order Hobbs signed last week, which in turn cites a state law granting the state attorney general “supervisory powers” over county attorneys. That statute does not explicitly allow for prosecutors to be barred from acting on entire categories of offenses, but Hobbs and Mayes have interpreted it as doing just that.
The Indiana Supreme Court has ruled that it is constitutional for the state to enforce a ban on most abortions with exceptions. Enacted last August, the law forbids all abortions except those sought due to rape or incest during the first ten weeks or “substantial and irreversible physical impairment” of the mother’s health and permits abortions if a preborn child “suffers from an irremediable medical condition that is incompatible with sustained life outside the womb” up to 20 weeks. Fourteen states currently ban all or most abortions, while abortion allies pursue a variety of tactics to preserve abortion “access,” such as easing distribution of abortion pills, legal protection and financial support of interstate abortion travel, attempting to enshrine “rights” to the practice in state constitutions rather than the U.S. Constitution, constructing new abortion facilities near borders shared by pro-life and pro-abortion states, and making liberal states sanctuaries for those who want to evade or violate the laws of more pro-life neighbors.
- President Joe Biden has called on Congress to codify a “right” to abortion in federal law, which would not only restore but expand the Roe status quo by making it illegal for states to pass virtually any pro-life laws.
Pestilence (Covid and other diseases): For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. (Matthew 24:7)
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released final estimates of the extend of Covid-19 infections for people ages 16 and up for 2022 – 77.5% have been infected at least once, the data shows. About 96.7% of adults had antibodies to the virus either from infection, vaccination or a combination of the two. But U.S. Census data shows that only 54.9% of Americans think they have had COVID. While young adults and teens had the highest percentage of prior infection at 87.1%, seniors were the least likely to have had a prior infection, with about 56.5% of those over 65 having had COVID, the CDC found. Infection rates in Hispanic people were 80.6%, while in white people that number was 80%. Black people had infection rates of 75% and for Asian Americans it was 66.1%. Data in the CDC dashboard for 47 states had Vermont with the lowest prevalence of past infections, at 64.4%, while Iowans had the highest percentage, at 90.6%.
Vaccines – Harbinger of the Mark of the Beast: He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:16-17)
Now that the pandemic has ended, researchers are urging regulatory agencies to consider the safety issues associated with the rapid approval of COVID-19 vaccines—and to correctly classify messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines as gene therapy products (GTPs) to prevent pharmaceutical companies from bypassing regulatory standards. According to a paper published in Nature on June 22, COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, by mode and action, are gene therapy products and should adhere to different regulatory standards. Yet U.S. and European regulatory agencies have not classified COVID-19 mRNA vaccines as gene therapy products, which are subjected to the more stringent regulations.
Some older adults should receive the new respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has concluded, while acknowledging that the risks of the shots may outweigh the benefits for some of the population.The CDC’s director on June 29 endorsed advice from the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel, known as ACIP, for the new vaccines, which are manufactured by Pfizer and Glaxo-SmithKline (GSK). That means people aged 60 and older can receive one of the vaccines.But the CDC made clear that people should consult with their doctors before receiving a dose.
Violence/Murder: When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.” Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword. (Revelation 6:3-4)
Two people were dead, 28 were wounded (mostly teens) and a manhunt was underway Sunday in Baltimore after a shooting rampage at a block party, authorities said. The shooting took place just after 12:30 a.m. in the Brooklyn Homes neighborhood of South Baltimore. Lakell Nelson, 54, told the Baltimore Sun that hours before the shooting there had been several false alarms of people mistaking the sounds of fireworks for gunfire at the block party. However, when she was leaving, the actual shooting began and “the shots were just going on and on and on.” Police still don’t know who the multiple shooters were and what were their motives. A 17-year-old was arrested and charged in connection with the mass shooting, police announced Friday.
A gunman wearing a bulletproof vest opened fire on the streets of Philadelphia on Monday night, killing four people and wounding two boys in the latest outbreak of gun violence in the United States, police said. The victims were apparently random, with no connection immediately known between them and the shooter. The shootings took place over several city blocks in the southwestern neighborhood of Kingsessing. Responding officers chased the suspect as he continued to fire, and he was arrested in an alley after surrendering. He had a bulletproof vest, an “AR-type rifle,” multiple magazines, a handgun, and a police scanner. The suspect, Kimbrady Carriker, 40, was arraigned on murder and other charges on June 5. Mr. Carriker was “becoming more and more agitated” in recent days, but other people who lived in the home didn’t alert authorities. Carriker, a Black man, wore women’s clothing and apparently supported Black Lives Matter, according to social media posts and remarks by neighbors. Like many mass murders, however, his political opinions seemed to lack continuity and he also shared right-wing content.
- There have been 337 mass shootings in the U.S. so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. And more than 21,000 people have died, reports the archive, which tracks mass shootings. The archive defines a mass shooting as one in which four or more people are injured or killed, not including the shooters.
Tragedy: In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)
A fishing trawler known as the Adriana, capsized and sent as many as 750 people into the Mediterranean Sea. More than 600 died. There are conflicting accounts of the Adriana’s final minutes — whether the boat capsized as a result of a panic-induced shift in weight, as the coast guard contends, or it overturned while being towed by the coast guard, as some survivors have described. But an investigation by The Washington Post also casts doubt on the other main claims by Greek officials and suggests that the deadliest Mediterranean shipwreck in years was a preventable tragedy. The earliest of more than a dozen distress calls came the morning of June 13. On a boat overpacked with migrants, water had run out and the situation was deteriorating. Yet the Greek coast guard did not call for a high-priority rescue operation. In subsequent hours, officials maintained the vessel was proceeding with a “steady course and speed” and people on board didn’t want help.
A truck collided with multiple vehicles and market traders in western Kenya, resulting in the tragic death of at least 51 people, police said. Dozens more were injured and hospitalized in the horrific accident, which took place Friday evening in an area notorious for vehicle crashes near the Rift Valley town of Londiani, about 125 miles northwest of the capital, Nairobi. Officers at the scene counted 51 bodies, but more people were believed to be trapped in the wreckage, Rift Valley police commander Tom Odera told the Associated Press. The Kenya Red Cross Society said on Saturday 32 people were injured and taken to hospitals and has asked for people to donate blood to support the injured.
At least 16 people, including three children, were killed by a leak of a toxic nitrate gas being used by illegal miners to process gold in a settlement of closely packed metal shacks, South African police and local officials said late Wednesday. Wednesday’s deaths were caused by a nitrate gas that leaked from a gas cylinder being kept in a shack. The canister had emptied out in the leak over a 100-yard radius. The nitrate gas was being used by illegal miners to separate gold from dirt and rock. Authorities didn’t say if the miners they believed to be responsible for the gas leak were among the casualties.
Protests: Open your mouth for the speechless, in the cause of all who are appointed to die. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy. (Proverbs 31:8-9)
Rioting has continued across France for the fourth consecutive night after a 17-year-old French teenager of Algerian descent was shot and killed by police. The French government has deployed 40,000 police officers across major municipalities, though the situation continues to spiral out of control, with multiple reports of gangs of rioters roaming the streets with guns on Friday night. On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron authorized the use of armored vehicles in an effort to help quell the riots.
- France dealt with its fifth consecutive night of widespread rioting, arson and attacks on police following the officer-involved shooting of a 17-year-old French-Algerian teenager. In the Paris suburb of L’Haÿ-les-Roses, rioters attempted to burn down the home of town mayor Vincent Jeanbrun while his wife and young children were inside, according to a report from French newspaper Le Figaro. Shortly after midnight, a “group of hostile individuals” gathered in front of the mayor’s home, where his wife and young children were located. The rioters then used a car to ram through the garden gate, which they then set on fire “with the clear intention of setting fire to the mayor’s home. Jeanbrun’s wife then evacuated the building with the couple’s young children and was injured after the mob of rioters chased them. After escaping, the mayor’s wife was transported to a local hospital and spent the night “in a safe place,” the outlet reported.
- The wave of violent riots have led to significant property damage and personal injury. The situation has escalated to such an extent that the Minister of the Interior has announced restrictions on internet access in an attempt to curb the spread of misinformation and inflammatory content as of Monday, July 3.
Gun Control: When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil. (Luke 11:21-22,ESV)
Texas-based U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor delivered a blow to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ (ATF) controversial ban on so-called “ghost guns.” On June 30, O’Connor ruled that the ATF erred in its assertion that unfinished gun parts could be classified and regulated as guns under federal law. The ruling comes in the wake of a contentious debate over the regulation of “ghost guns,” a term used to describe firearms assembled from kits or via 3D printing, often without serial numbers or background checks. The ATF had previously argued that these unfinished parts were, in essence, firearms and should therefore be subject to the same regulations. Judge O’Connor’s ruling contradicts this viewpoint. In his decision, he stated that parts are not guns under federal law, thereby challenging the ATF’s authority to regulate them as such.
Lawlessness: For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. (2Thessalonians 2;7)
- As God’s hand of restraint is gradually lifting, end-time lawlessness will increase all the more.
Authorities in Washington, D.C. are seeking public assistance in locating the suspects behind three bombing attacks on Sunday morning. Bombs hit a bank, a retail outlet, and a grocery store within 15 minutes on July 2, causing damage, but no injuries. The first explosive went off at about 4:30 a.m. near Washington Place outside a Truist Bank ATM, before the suspect drove off, said authorities. Another device was detonated outside a Nike store on H Street, north of Capitol Hill, at 4:36 a.m., just six minutes after the first blast. The suspect later tossed a Molotov cocktail at a Safeway on 40th Street at around 4:45 a.m. before speeding off again.
Big Tech: But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase. (Daniel 12:4)
With Twitter already on the ropes, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg delivered another blow to Elon Musk, ramping up the tech billionaires’ rivalry with the launch of Instagram’s much-anticipated companion service Threads, a challenger to Twitter. The new app logged 10 million sign-ups in its first seven hours. Twitter was estimated to have as many as 450 million monthly active users in December 2022. Much like Twitter, the app features short text posts that users can like, re-post and reply to, although it does not include any direct message capabilities. Posts can be up to 500 characters long and include links, photos and videos up to five minutes long, according to a Meta blog post.
- Threads has already enraged social media critics after it was discovered that the new “sharing with text” platform asks users to hand over even more data than its competitor, including financial and health information. Reporter Michael Shellenberger warned that the new creation from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has “near zero privacy.” Many accounts, particularly from users on the politically conservative side of the aisle, have accused the new Twitter rival of censoring them and not following free speech principles
Racism/Discrimination: There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)
Ahead of the July Fourth holiday, more than 45% of Americans said racism is a big problem or the biggest problem facing the United States, according to a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll. About 38% of respondents said racism is a problem but not one of the biggest facing the nation. Only about 14% of Americans said racism is not a problem. The poll comes during what many see as a racial crossroads for the country, spotlighted by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Thursday that banned affirmative action in college admissions. There’s almost a cold war in America over the future of the country, and central to that debate is the issue of race and ethnicity, not only Black people but all nonwhite peoples,” Marc Morial, president and chief executive officer of the National Urban League, told USA TODAY.
An historic Black church in downtown Washington, D.C., has received more than $1 million in a lawsuit against a far-right group activist group. The church, Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, sued the Proud Boys for tearing down and burning a Black Lives Matter banner during a 2020 rally, Religion News Service reports. In his decision, Superior Court Associate Judge Neal A. Kravitz also barred the Proud Boys from coming near the church or pastor for five years. In the lawsuit, the Metropolitan AME said the Proud Boys violated D.C. and federal law by trespassing and destroying religious property.
Health Care: Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored? (Jeremiah 8:22)
Following the lead of the province of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick became the second jurisdiction in Canada to adopt a policy of “presumed consent” for organ and tissue donation. Instead of willingly opting in to be an organ donor, residents 19 years and older, with limited exceptions, will be opted in by default unless specifically denied in writing. “While many see this as a solution to the perpetual demand for transplant organs, laws like these treat the ethics of organ donation as a settled matter while treating humans and their bodies as means to other ends. Even more, considering Canada’s policy of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID), this step will corrode the already thin ideas of “autonomy” and “consent” while incentivizing a utilitarian view of human nature,” notes Breakpoint.
Health: A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. (Proverbs 17:22) Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. (3John 1:2)
A handful of mosquitoes have tested positive for carrying malaria after the U.S. recorded its first locally acquired cases in more than 20 years. Three mosquitoes carrying the parasite that causes malaria were collected from a wooded area in Sarasota, Florida, health officials told CBS News. The three mosquitoes were among more than 100 samples sent to CDC labs for testing. Four cases of the mosquitoes-borne illness were diagnosed in Texas and Florida earlier this week, marking the first domestically spread U.S. cases since 2003. In Sarasota, health officials are attempting to eradicate Anopheles mosquitoes, the insect that spreads malaria, by spraying compounds from trucks, aircraft and on foot.
Education: My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. (Hosea 4:6) Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. (Proverbs 4:7) For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths.” (2Timothy 4:3-4)
Harvard University signaled that the school might seek loopholes to the Supreme Court’s decision striking down its race-based admissions scheme. Harvard President-elect Claudine Gay said the decision will change how the school conducts its admissions process but highlighted the “educational benefit of diversity” and promising “our commitment to that work remains steadfast.”
LGBTQ+/Gender Confusion: Male and female He created them. (Genesis 5:2)
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sparked criticism from doctors this week for its suggestion that men who identify as women can “chestfeed” infants if they take a cocktail of pharmaceuticals to replicate a woman’s natural production of breast milk. Physicians said the CDC is mixing “politics and science” and must make clear the risks posed to infants subjected to the experimental practice. The CDC claims on its “health equity considerations” webpage that “transgender and nonbinary-gendered individuals may give birth and breastfeed or feed at the chest.”
A new, large-scale Danish study finds “transgender individuals had significantly higher rates” of suicide attempts, suicide deaths, non-suicidal deaths, and “all-cause mortality” compared to non-transgender people. The study, published in the June 27 Journal of the American Medical Association, or JAMA, examined non-immigrants older than 15 who lived in Denmark between Jan. 1, 1980 and Dec. 31, 2021, a total of 42 years of observation. It looked at hospital data and Civil Registry records of people changing their “gender” to identify “transgender” people and compare them with other citizens. The New York Times reported June 27: “Transgender people in the country had 7.7 times the rate of suicide attempts and 3.5 times the rate of suicide deaths.”
- The study found that only a miniscule percentage of the Danish population were “transgender” – 0.06%, or a tiny sliver of one percent.
Over the objections of two conservative justices, the Supreme Court decided last week not to take up a case about whether individuals suffering from gender dysphoria are protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The June 30 decision to deny the petition for certiorari, or review, is important because it is being interpreted as a victory for the transgender rights movement. The new order leaves in place a U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruling in favor of keeping gender dysphoria protections under the ADA.
In an obvious assault on the High Court, which just last year overturned the genocidal horror of Roe v. Wade, pro-death leftists in Congress have reintroduced the “Equality Act” in the U.S. House as HR 15, reports Liberty Counsel. This bill already has 212 co-sponsors — which includes every Democrat. If only a few Republicans sign on, this bill will pass even over the Speaker’s objections. HR 15 includes both radical LGBTQ and abortion-up-to-birth provisions. If the so-called Equality Act passes, late-term abortions — even gruesome abortions that rip off limbs — will be federally protected. “The tremendous work we have done to end abortion will no longer matter if HR 15 passes. Every state law will be overridden. No one, not even religious institutions or doctors, will be allowed to refuse to participate in the murder of the unborn,” says Mat Staver, CEO.
In a rare instance of acquiescing to “anti-woke” backlash, far-left internet giant Google dropped its association with a San Francisco drag event after a group of employees expressed their objections. CNBC reports that among multiple pro-LGBT events Google sponsored to commemorate June “Pride Month” this year was a “Pride and Drag Show” to “wrap up this amazing month” at the San Francisco homosexual bar Beaux. This particular show featured drag performer Joshua Grannell, better known by the stage name “Peaches Christ.” A “few hundred” Google employees signed a petition against the company’s sponsorship of the event, which they claimed was “provocative and inflammatory artistry” that constituted a “direct affront to the religion beliefs and sensitivities of Christians,” on top of violating the company’s guidelines against events featuring sexually explicit activity.
Immigration: He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt. (Deuteronomy 10:18-19)
The Department of Homeland Security has opened a new avenue for migrants from Central America to reach the U.S. without skirting the border, announcing the start Friday of a parole program that will let people jump the green card line and enter earlier. The program applies to people from Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras who have already been approved for immigration as relatives of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents, but who are waiting for a slot to open. They will be allowed to enter on a three-year pass, which the government can renew, rather than having to wait outside.
The collapse of a Dutch coalition government over a proposed refugee policy has once again underscored the potency of immigration as an arbiter of Europe’s politics and how stopping far-right parties from capitalizing on it is a growing problem for mainstream politicians. The current crisis in the Netherlands was precipitated by its conservative prime minister, Mark Rutte, who resigned after his centrist coalition partners refused to back his tough new policy on refugees. Dutch news outlets reported that Mr. Rutte had proposed, among other things, a two-year waiting period before the children of recognized refugees living in the Netherlands could join their parents, a nonstarter for his coalition partners.
Population: After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying… “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” (Genesis 15:1,5)
An analysis of Census Bureau data has revealed that 25% of 40-year-olds in 2021 said they have never been married, a 5% increase in that population since 2010. Just 6% of 40-year-olds responded similarly in 1980. Pew Research Center’s Richard Fry noted that most of this never-married group are also not living with a partner. In 2022, about 22% of never-married adults ages 40 to 44 were cohabiting, 78% were not.
The exodus of people from California to Texas is picking up steam. In 2021, it was the most popular interstate move in the country, with 111,000 people – or 300 people a day – headed to the Lone Star from the Golden State, a whopping 80% increase compared to 2012, according to an analysis of U.S. Census and IPUMS data by StorageCafé. The number of people leaving the Golden State for Texas has grown by 36% between 2016 and 2021 while the migration stream from all other states to Texas did not change, rising a mere 0.1%, according to data from the American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Economists say it’s because of the steep housing prices and cost of living in California. According to the 2021 American Community 1-Year Estimates, the value of homes was $7.63 for every $1 of household income in California in 2021 compared to $3.55 per $1 in Texas. The median value of a home in California was 2.7 times higher than in Texas in 2021.
- Unacknowledged by the mainstream media is the stream of those leaving ultra-liberal California specifically to go to a conservative state, leaving behind the high taxes, crime, homelessness and immigration issues.
Travel: The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. (Psalm 121:8)
The passport situation in the U.S. is bad, Newser.com reports. The State Department recommends that you submit your passport application at least six months prior to your departure date. Take into account, of course, that first you have to book an appointment, then you have to allow your application to make its way through the mail to the State Department. Once it arrives there, processing takes 10 to 13 weeks unless you pay $60 extra to expedite that, in which case you’re looking at seven to nine weeks. And you might need to think even more ahead, because there’s also the fact that some countries require passports to be valid for at least six months before travel begins; see the State Department’s information on country-specific requirements here.
Supply Chain Shortages: And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19))
There is a growing problem in the U.S. of the shortage of many prescription drugs. It’s estimated that there are somewhere between 130 and 301 shortages as of the first quarter of 2023, from various sources. The effects of the shortage are felt most acutely in the generic drug market, which accounts for nearly 90% of U.S. prescriptions. A major factor is the disruption of the global supply chain. It is difficult to calculate precisely where the ingredients for some drugs come from, since the supply chain in the pharmaceutical industry is not totally transparent. The FDA has requested additional resources to get to the bottom of the problem, because the consequences of some shortages are severe. The shortage has affected cancer treatments, with some chemotherapy drugs in short supply and health care practitioners having difficult conversations about who does and doesn’t get their dose.
Food Supplies: Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness. (2Corinthians 9:10)
A wave of legislation spreading across the nation is restricting land ownership in the U.S. by foreigners, especially those from China. In the South, new restrictions have been proposed or passed this year in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, North Carolina and South Carolina. And as of July 1, no one on the U.S. Treasury Department’s list of sanctioned individuals or a citizen of a sanctioned country can buy real estate in Tennessee. Many of the lawmakers state their reasoning as national security and food security. Federal laws are also being considered to strengthen the oversight of foreign ownership of U.S. farmlands. The largest foreign landholders are from Canada, with 12.8 million acres, followed by the Netherlands, Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany, according to the most recent U.S. Department of Agriculture data from 2021. Chinese interests held 383,935 acres that year.
- Politicians point to a dramatic recent jump in the percentage of farmland owned by Chinese interests as a reason for concern. But most of that increase happened in 2013 when the Chinese company WH Group bought Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork producer. That year, primarily because of the Smithfield sale, Chinese ownership of U.S. agricultural land rose from 69,295 acres to 248,503 acres. Of the 3% of U.S. agricultural land owned by foreigners, roughly 0.05% is Chinese held, according to the USDA.
Debt: The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender. (Proverbs 22:7) Owe no one anything except to love one another, (Romans 13:8)
The White House reacted swiftly to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to invalidate his plan to forgive many student loans by announcing new measures to provide relief to borrowers. President Biden made a televised statement on June 30, within hours of the court decision, promising to provide debt relief for some borrowers and a temporary measure to ease the transition back to loan repayment after a pause of over three years. Biden had unveiled the original loan-forgiveness plan in August 2022. About 26 million people applied for loan forgiveness through the Biden plan for as much as $100,000 in relief. Biden said he had identified a “new path” consistent with the Supreme Court ruling that would allow U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to compromise, waive, or release loans under certain circumstances. Biden did not give further details. Cardona said the plan would include “as many as possible” and be implemented “as quick as possible,” but also gave no specifics.
Homelessness: Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” (Matthew 8:19-20)
A looming rent increase in New York City is poised to force the most vulnerable renters onto the streets at a time when eviction rates nationwide have been steadily rising, and the worst cities are seeing eviction filings increase by more than 60%. Rent increases anywhere lead to more poor people and struggling families being evicted and kicked out onto the streets. The cost of shelter is increasing in part because of record inflation and the rise in evictions over the past 18 months coincides with the expiration of eviction moratoriums and COVID-19-related rental assistance. Workers now must earn more than double the federal minimum wage to afford two-bedroom rentals in every state, according to a USA Today analysis.
Infrastructure: But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall. (Matthew 7:26-7)
The replacement for a crumbling underwater tunnel connecting New York City and New Jersey that carries up to 200,000 people daily just received the largest-ever federal transportation grant, according to Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer. The $6.88 billion grant for the Gateway project includes constructing a new tunnel beneath the Hudson River parallel to the decaying North River tunnel, which is more than a century old and crumbling in the decade-plus since Superstorm Sandy flushed 3 million gallons of corrosive salt water into the tunnel. The connection as it stands today is a narrow, two-track underwater bottleneck, in what Amtrak calls the country’s busiest stretch of mainline train track. What is mostly a three, four, and five track system throughout the Northeast Corridor funnels into two, single track tubes that connect New York and New Jersey. In all, some 24 trains per hour and 200,000 people daily (at pre-pandemic levels) pass through the tunnel.
Insurance: Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. They have bowed down and fallen; but we have risen and stand upright. (Psalm 20:7-8)
President Biden is cracking down on what the White House calls “junk” health insurance plans – less-robust and short-term coverage that the Trump administration expanded as a cheaper alternative to Obamacare plans. Biden will announce Friday a draft regulation which, once finalized, would limit temporary plans to four months instead of the current three-year maximum. It would also require more disclosure on coverage limits. “This rule would help make these plans fairer and help ensure that consumers know what they’re getting when they sign up for insurance,” said White House domestic policy advisor Neera Tanden.
Banking/Investing: “Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest.” (Matthew 25:27)
Equity funds with an environmental, social and governance (ESG) tilt suffered a large loss of investors in the three months through the end of June, dragging the sector into a rare net outflow for a first half of the year, data showed. ESG funds saw $15.4 billion of net outflows in the second quarter, outpacing first quarter net inflows. Outflows were driven by economic and regulatory worries in Europe, analysts said, and by concerns connected to an anti-ESG backlash in the United States, where funds saw their fifth consecutive quarter of net outflows.
Economy: When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.” (Revelation 6:5-6)
As fears of a recession persist but have yet to be realized, U.S. employers added 209,000 jobs in June, the Labor Department reported Friday. The unemployment rate was 3.6 percent, compared with 3.7 percent in May. It was the 30th consecutive month of gains in American payrolls, but the June figure represented a continued cooling of the labor market. The total was down from a revised 306,000 in May and was the lowest since the streak began. Friday’s jobs report probably did little to change the Federal Reserve mindset about the current state of the labor market, and so we can expect another quarter-point rise in interest rates fairly soon.
The number of available jobs in the United States dropped in May after an uptick the month before, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday. Job openings fell to 9.82 million at the end of May, dropping from an upwardly revised 10.3 million in April, according to the BLS’ latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report. The May JOLTS data showed that the number of new hires rose to 6.21 million from 6.1 million, quits jumped up to 4.02 million from 3.77 million and layoffs dipped to 1.56 million from 1.59 million.
Israel: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you. (Psalm 122:6)
Israel struck targets in a militant stronghold in the occupied West Bank with drones early Monday, June 3, and deployed hundreds of troops in the area, in an incursion that resembled the wide-scale military operations carried out during the second Palestinian uprising two decades ago. Palestinian health officials said at least 12 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded. One Israeli soldier also died. Troops remained inside the Jenin refugee camp at midday Monday, pushing ahead with the largest operation in the area during more than a year of fighting. It came at a time of growing domestic pressure for a tough response to a series of attacks on Israeli settlers, including a shooting attack last month that killed four Israelis.
- Israel withdrew all its troops from a militant stronghold in the West Bank Wednesday, July 5, but warned that its most intense military operation in the occupied territory in nearly two decades was not a one-off. The pullout Wednesday morning. The Israeli Defense Forces said the mission had been necessary to “dismantle” terrorist infrastructure, arrest suspects and capture weapons used by militant groups who used the camp as a stronghold.
Multiple people were wounded in what is being described as a vehicular terror attack in Israel on Tuesday. A 23-year-old Palestinian man in Tel Aviv, Israel, drove his vehicle onto the sidewalk to strike bystanders. The assailant then exited the vehicle and brandished a knife, stabbing the victims, according to police. Officials identified the assailant as Abed Khalila, reportedly from the Palestinian village of As-Samu, near Hebron, according to Israel’s Shin Bet security services. He was reportedly shot and killed by a civilian bystander at the scene of the attack. Nine individuals suffered injuries, including one 46-year-old woman who was evacuated to a nearby hospital with severe stab wounds.
Middle East: When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. (Luke 21:20-22)
In a rare move, the spokesman for the military wing of Hamas said Thursday that the terror group was directly responsible for a recent string of deadly attacks in Israel and the West Bank. In a statement on Telegram, Abu Obaida said the terror shooting near the West Bank settlement of Eli on June 20, which left four Israelis dead, was carried out by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades in response to a deadly Israeli military raid in the city of Jenin two days prior. Abu Obaida said a car-ramming and stabbing terror attack in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, which left seven Israelis wounded, several of them seriously, was also carried out by the group. Earlier Thursday, the al-Qassam Brigades also claimed responsibility for a shooting attack near the West Bank settlement of Kedumim, which left an Israeli soldier dead.
Iran tried to seize two oil tankers near the strategic Strait of Hormuz early Wednesday, firing shots at one of them, the U.S. Navy said. It said that in both cases, the Iranian naval vessels backed off after the U.S. Navy responded, and that both commercial ships continued their voyages. “The Iranian navy did make attempts to seize commercial tankers lawfully transiting international waters,” said Cmdr. Tim Hawkins, spokesman for the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet. “The U.S. Navy responded immediately and prevented those seizures.” He said the gunfire directed at the second vessel did not cause casualties or major damage.
Wars & Rumors of Wars: And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. (Matthew 24:6-7a)
Russian/Ukraine: The United States announced a new military aid package for Ukraine on Friday, July 7, that will include cluster munitions for the first time. The U.S. is transferring the controversial weapons to Ukraine because it’s forces have been struggling to make major gains in a weeks-long counteroffensive. Cluster munitions, also called cluster bombs, are canisters that carry tens to hundreds of smaller bomblets. The canisters break open at a prescribed height and the bomblets inside spread out over a broad area, spreading shrapnel that is designed to kill troops or take out armored vehicles such as tanks. However, with the wide spread, civilians might also be wounded or killed. Much of the world has banned the use of these weapons through the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), which also prohibits the stockpiling, production and transfer of them. Though 123 nations have joined CCM, the United States, Ukraine, Russia and 71 other countries have not.
Moscow said Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian territory would “not be possible” without In a rare move, the spokesman for the military wing of Hamas said Thursday that the terror group was directly responsible for a recent string of deadly attacks in Israel and the West Bank. In a statement on Telegram, Abu Obaida said the terror shooting near the West Bank settlement of Eli on June 20, which left four Israelis dead, was carried out by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades in response to a deadly Israeli military raid in the city of
Jenin two days prior. US and NATO help, ratcheting up its rhetoric after reporting it had downed five drones near Moscow on Tuesday, July 3. Ukraine meanwhile said 43 people, including 12 children, were injured in a Russian strike on the town of Pervomaisky in the eastern Kharkiv region.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service says the death toll from a Russian missile attack on a popular pizza restaurant in an eastern Ukrainian city has risen to nine, including three children. Officials said Wednesday, June 28. that at least 56 people were wounded in Tuesday’s attack as rescuers continue to search for survivors amid the smoky ruins.
Terrorism: My heart is severely pained within me, and the terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me, and horror has overwhelmed me… But You, O God, shall bring them down to the pit of destruction; bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in You. (Psalm 55:4-5.23)
Christian leaders say violence since May has killed at least 300 people and displaced more than 30,000 others in the restive north-central Plateau of Nigeria. Tensions over access to resources have long existed between Fulani herders and Christian farmers in the region, and so the Fulani herdsmen continue to attack the mostly Christian farmers.
France has returned 35 people — 10 women and 25 minors — from a sprawling camp in northeast Syria housing thousands of people linked to Islamic State extremists. Al-Hol Camp — named after a town near the Iraqi border — holds about 51,000 people, including many widows, wives and children of Islamic State fighters. Iraqis make up nearly half the population, but a sizeable minority are from outside the Middle East. Part of the camp called the Annex holds around 8,000 women and children from 60 nationalities who are considered the most die-hard among the residents, and experts have warned for years that the camp’s wretched conditions and confined spaces risk creating another generation of Islamic State fighters. The suspect, Kimbrady Carriker, 40, was arrested on the day of the shooting, but his identity wasn’t confirmed until July 5, when he was arraigned on murder and other charges.
Environment: And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. (Luke 21:25-26)
Nearly half of the tap water in the United States is estimated to have at least one type of ‘forever chemicals (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances), or PFAS, a new national study from the U.S. Geological Survey released Tuesday shows. The group of chemicals, commonly used in consumer products like non-stick cookware and linings of fast food boxes, have been linked to human illnesses like cancer, low birth weight, and thyroid disease. There are more than 12,000 types of PFAS. The chemicals are dubbed “forever chemicals” because of their persistence in the environment and potential for toxicity. The government agency found that concentrations of PFAS were similar between “public supplies and private wells.” The study shows that Americans living in urban areas are most at risk while those living in rural areas are less at risk.
Volcanoes: Bow down Your heavens, O Lord, and come down; Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke. (Psalm 144:5); The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord, (Psalms 97:5)
Mexico’s Popocatepetl volcano exploded Into renewed activity Saturday, July 1. The volcano has been erupting for weeks, but recent explosive activity was a lot more extreme. Gases and debris were ejected explosively out of the volcano crater as caught on a nearby webcam. About 65 million people live within 60 miles of the volcano.
Wildfires: The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up. (Revelation 8:7)
Wildfires raging across Canada have already broken records for total area burned, the number of people forced to evacuate their homes and the cost of fighting the blazes, and the fire season is only halfway finished, officials said Thursday, July 6. “When you’re emitting large amounts of fire smoke into the air, and that smoke is reaching populated areas, there will be health effects,” said Ryan Allen, a professor of health sciences at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia.
As of July 2, Canada’s wildfires have scorched over 20 million acres, with no end in sight. The fires have upended oil and gas operations, reduced available timber harvests, dampened the tourism industry and imposed uncounted costs on the national health system. So far, the fires have been burning in mostly rural areas, so the damage is not as extensive as all the smoke would indicate. But there’s still a long, hot summer predicted, so it could get worse.
A Washington state destroyed at least 10 homes. Residents within a two-mile radius have been told to evacuate. The Tunnel Five Fire is threatening another 250 homes. The blaze started on Sunday, July 2, in Skamania County and spread very quickly due to hot, dry, windy conditions. It has burned more than 500 acres and was just 5% continued as of Tuesday. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
End-Time Weather Will Continue to Grow More Severe: (Daniel 9:26b, Ezekiel 38:22, Luke 21:25, Revelation 8:7, 11:19, 16:8-9)
If July 3 was hot wherever you were, you were not alone: It was the world’s hottest day on record. The average global temperature hit 17.01 degrees Celsius (62.62 Fahrenheit), passing the previous record, set in August 2016, of 16.92C (62.46F), Reuters reports. In North Africa, temperatures have reached as high as 122F. Meanwhile, in Antarctica, it’s winter, but even their temperatures have been unusually high.
That record was then broken on the two succeeding days, reaching 17.18 degrees Celsius (62.92 Fahrenheit) and is projected to be broken many more times this summer and in the years to come. July 6 became the 4th straight day of a record high worldwide temperature.
Heavy winter snows have temporarily eased the well-documented water crisis in western states including Colorado and California, but now Midwestern farmers in America’s Breadbasket are worrying more about their crops as drought worsens across Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri and Ohio. While Midwestern dry spells aren’t unusual, the current lack of rain is compounding existing problems with dry soils and streams, experts say, potentially raising the cost of cattle feed and ultimately the price Americans pay for beef.
Up to 9 inches of rain fell in the metro Chicago area Sunday, July 2 causing lots of flooding. Many vehicles were submerged and there were reports of flooded basements. Chicago’s mayor asked residents to limit their water usage to all for more water in the waste water system until the flood waters recede.
At least 15 people have been killed by floods in southwestern China as seasonal torrents hit mountain areas, authorities said Wednesday. Another four people were reported missing in Chongqing, a vast mountainous region of 31 million, almost all of which has now been designated as having flood risk. The Chongqing floods appear to be China’s deadliest amid deluges in other parts of the country. Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated. In just one southwestern province, Sichuan, more than 85,000 people have been evacuated due to flooding.
The death toll from two weeks of monsoon rains rose to at least 55 on Thursday after 12 people, including eight children, died in weather-related incidents in Pakistan amid fears of flash floods, authorities said. The eastern city of Lahore witnessed a record-breaking downpour the previous day, flooding many streets and disrupting normal life. Since Wednesday, 19 people have died in the city due to collapsing roofs and electrocution, officials said. Pakistan’s weather forecast agency warned of more rain to hit the city. A number of areas in Lumajang Regency in the East Java province of Indonesia were affected by recent heavy rains, floods and landslides. Among the damage reported, government officials said the bridge connecting Malang and Lumajang was cut off Friday morning, July 7. The worst landslide occurred in Sumberwuluh Village, in the Candipuro District. The flow into the Regoyo River was still causing floodwaters to rise Friday morning, and villages were at a standstill until the intense rainfall passed so cleanup and damage assessments could begin.
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