Signs of the Times Update: May 11, 2023

“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:7-9)

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)

The National Day of Prayer broadcast aired for 30 minutes on Thursday, May 4, at 8 p.m. Eastern time on a variety of platforms. The broadcast reached nearly 110 million U.S. households through television, radio and online platforms, and was focused on James 5:16 and the theme of praying fervently in righteousness. Thousands of in-person events were held by the National Day of Prayer (NDP) Task Force volunteer coordinators throughout every state and U.S. territory. “As a nation, we’ve never been down this road. It’s a road of moral relativism, a road of cultural decadence, unprecedented strife and discord,” said Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, co-host of the year’s NDP broadcast. “We’re praying for an awakening in America.”

There’s a whole lot of baptism going on these days. As CBN News has reported, signs of revival have been ongoing around the US since February when a spiritual awakening began at Asbury University. Initially, the awakening seemed to mainly be happening among college students. But the latest evidence is being seen in the form of hundreds of salvations and baptisms at churches across the country over the past two months. From scores of souls being baptized at churches, to dozens being baptized at one prison, pastors across the US are declaring that God is on the move. Pastor Eric Petree of Citygate Church in Cincinnati, Ohio posted online, “Over the past two weeks at Citygate we have seen 650 people give their life to Jesus, 93 baptized, and yesterday hundreds of people filled the altars seeking the baptism of the Holy Spirit.”

Christians traveled from around the country to infiltrate The Satanic Temple’s SatanCon in Boston, where they met with and witnessed to atheists and satanists at what was billed as the “largest satanic gathering in history” over the weekend of 5/4/28-29. A Twitter video from evangelist Sean Feucht showed one attendee on stage ripping up pages from the Bible. Christians who were covertly ministering at the event reported that nearly 100 people made decisions to follow Jesus though others have disputed that claim.

The Kansas Legislature overrode Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a bill enacting a biological definition of the word “woman,” a measure that prevents courts and government officials from redefining the term to include biological men who identify as women. The House on Thursday voted 84-40 and the Senate on Wednesday voted 28-12 to override the Democratic governor’s April 20 veto of Senate Bill 180, known as the Women’s Bill of Rights. The measure, which now becomes law, defines a person’s sex as their “biological sex, either male or female, at birth,” based on their reproductive systems.

San Antonio, the second-largest city in Texas. rejected a pro-abortion, pro-marijuana referendum during local elections on Saturday, 5/6. Proposition A garnered only 28% of the vote on Saturday, with almost 72% voting “no” on the referendum.

A judge in Chicago has ruled that the city must rehire and compensate employees who were terminated for not complying with the COVID-19 vaccine mandate issued by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot. The ruling, issued by Judge Anna Hamburg-Gal, found that Chicago’s actions were in violation of the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act, as they did not negotiate in good faith with the workers regarding vaccine requirements.

Mississippi officials must allow students to obtain religious exemptions from vaccine mandates, a federal judge ruled recently. District Judge Halil “Sul” Ozerden ruled on April 18 that the state’s health officer and a handful of local school district officials were “enjoined from enforcing Mississippi’s school compulsory vaccination law…unless they provide an option for requesting a religious exemption from the law’s requirements.” Plaintiffs were represented by the Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN), a medical freedom advocacy group.

A Georgia school district has reached a settlement with a substitute teacher it fired for taking issue with an LGBT children’s book, agreeing to reinstate Lindsey Barr and pay her $181,000 in legal fees and damages. The religious liberty nonprofit Alliance Defending Freedom sued the school for violating Barr’s freedoms of speech and religion and discriminating against her religious viewpoint.

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum has signed into law a ban on most abortions throughout pregnancy, with exceptions only allowed prior to the detection of a heartbeat in cases of rape, incest, or medical emergency. The new law, which would effectively ban any abortion after six weeks, is expected to be legally challenged.

North Dakota also has become the latest state to prohibit minors from being chemically or surgically mutilated through transgender drugs and surgeries. House Bill 1254, signed on April 19 by Republican Governor Doug Burgum, prohibits medical professionals from performing “castration, vasectomy, hysterectomy, oophorectomy, metoidioplasty, orchiectomy, penectomy, phalloplasty, or vaginoplasty” on minors. It also prohibits a mastectomy and the administration of puberty blockers.

The City of Tampa, Florida, had to write a big check this week — $950,000 — for unlawfully banning Christians from receiving and Christian counselors from providing counsel for gender confusion and unwanted same-sex attractions. In Vazzo v. City of Tampa, Liberty Counsel represents marriage and family therapist Robert Vazzo and his minor clients, as well as the Christian ministry New Hearts Outreach Tampa Bay. The Court of Appeals ruled the Tampa ordinance that prohibited licensed counselors from providing voluntary talk therapy to minors seeking help to reduce or eliminate their unwanted same-sex attractions, behaviors, or identity is unconstitutional under the First Amendment.

A candidate for mayor in a London borough has won a substantial payout after being sacked by her employer for stating her Christian views in her election platform. Maureen Martin was supported in her fight with her housing association employer, L&Q, by the Christian Legal Center. Its chief, Andrew Williams, said, “Maureen is a courageous woman treated appallingly for having the guts to declare her belief that marriage between a man and a woman is best for children and our society. The settlement, not fully disclosed, was reached after considering her loss of earnings, injury to her political career and more.

Satanic Deception: He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. (John 8:44) The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone wherethe beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Revelation 20:10)

Chloe Jennings-White believes she was born in the wrong body. Despite being physically healthy, the 58-year-old Cambridge University-educated research scientist at the University of Utah “identifies” as a paraplegic. And now she wants doctors to sever her spinal cord so she can live as her “authentic self.” Meanwhile, three North Carolina Universities now encourage children as young as two years old to begin “transitioning” to the “opposite sex,” preparing the toddlers for “sex-change surgery” later in life.

New World Order – One-World Government: It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Revelation 13:7-8) The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces. (Daniel 7:23)

A brand-new database compiles information from 60+ different sources and organizations into one massive, government-run, continent-wide medical database for every person in Africa. This is exactly what the World Health Organization (WHO) wants for everyone. This has already spread to at least 10 other countries, including Indonesia, the Philippines, Haiti, Papua New Guinea, and more. “This is a huge threat to privacy and freedom, and it will be soon coming to America,” says Mat Staver, CEO of Liberty Counsel. The name of this WHO program is the “Health Equity Assessment Toolkit” (HEAT). “Equity” is the buzzword for dividing people up by race, economic status, nation, age, gender, LGBTQ, religion, etc.

The Federal Reserve warns: “A general-purpose CBDC (a Central Bank Digital Currency run by the federal government) would generate data about users’ financial transactions,” and this would give federal agents complete access to every penny you spend. The Fed cautions that there must be efforts to “safeguarding consumer privacy.” But there is no adequate “safeguard” that can protect you from the government when the government IS your bank and knows your transactions immediately, notes Mat Staver, CEO of Liberty Counsel.

• A CBDC is a key element on the road to the one-world government of Revelation 13.

According to a statement from the White House on 4/21, racial discrimination has created a situation in which minority groups are more likely to suffer from various environmental harms and are more susceptible to the impact of climate change. To address this issue, President Biden has created the White House Office of Environmental Justice, which will be led by a Federal Chief Environmental Justice Officer to coordinate environmental justice policy across the federal government. The executive order will deepen the “whole-of-government” approach to climate change, which President Biden has frequently touted. It makes clear that the pursuit of environmental justice is a duty of all executive branch agencies and should be incorporated into their missions. The order also directs the agencies to consider measures that address adverse environmental and health impacts on communities, including the cumulative impacts of pollution and other burdens like climate change.

• Some of this is well-intentioned, but the net result is more governmental control from the executive branch, bypassing Congress, in lockstep with establishing an authoritarian one-world-government.

The Demise of America: The first was like a lion (Britain) and had eagle’s wings (America). I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it. (Daniel 7:4)

Governors have begun to take action to protect their states’ citizens against President Biden’s plan for a cashless society in which the federal government monitors and controls every cent you make and spend. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has announced a bill designed to “protect Floridians from the Biden administration’s weaponization of the financial sector” through a Central Bank Digital Currency. “What central bank digital currency is all about is surveilling Americans and controlling Americans,” said Gov. DeSantis. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem recently vetoed a bill seeking to change the definition of money to sneak CDBC adoption into a South Dakota banking bill. Congress is also considering taking action via two bills now pending in the House and Senate.

Domestic violent extremists have in the last year increasingly shared tactics with each other on using guns to attack electric power stations in a move that likely escalates the threat to US critical infrastructure, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Following multiple high-profile attacks on US power substations last year, extremists have stepped up sharing of ‘online messaging and operational guidance promoting attacks against this sector,’ says the DHS bulletin, which was distributed to US critical infrastructure operators on Monday. The information and tactics shared by extremists online include ‘detailed diagrams, simplified tips for enhancing operational security, and procedures for disabling key components of substations and transformers,’ DHS warned. The last year saw a flurry of physical attacks and vandalism on US electric infrastructure.

Politics: Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. (Romans 13:1-2)

Joe Biden and Donald Trump are the leading contenders for their parties’ presidential nominations, but most Americans don’t want either to run, according to a series of new polls. An NBC News survey released this week found that Americans oppose another Biden run for the presidency by a margin of 70-26 percent. That includes a majority of Democrats – 51 percent – who say he should not run. The same survey found that Americans oppose another Trump run for the White House, 60-35 percent. One-third of Republicans don’t want Trump to run.  Biden is 80, Trump 76.

House Republicans on Wednesday morning unveiled new bank records showing that the Biden family has been profiting from a corrupt foreign influence scheme since Joe Biden’s time as vice president. House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY) announced the alarming new findings. “The committee has reviewed thousands of bank records from individuals and companies affiliated with the Bidens and their associates,” Comer  said. “The committee is concerned by the complicated suspicious network of over 20 companies [that] the Bidens and their associates used to enrich themselves. Most of these companies were limited liability companies formed during Joe Biden’s vice presidency. The bank records show the Biden family, their associates, and their companies received over 10 million from foreign nationals and their companies.”

Censorship: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth. (Romans 1:18)

A professor from the University of Albany has been arrested for disturbing a lawful assembly, resisting arrest and obstruction for shutting down the messaging of pro-life students who had set up a protest against abortion. But as constitutional expert Jonathan Turley explains, the bigger dilemma posed by the arrest of Renee Overdyke is the demand that the university itself affirm freedom of speech … or admit that its free speech rules “are a mere pretense of principle.”

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)

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released its 2023 Annual Report, highlighting religious oppression taking place in dozens of nations around the world. In the report, the independent watchdog “sound[ed] the alarm regarding the deterioration of religious freedom conditions.” USCIRF recommended 12 countries be redesignated as CPCs: Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, with Cuba and Nicaragua being added as first-timers. In 2022, the Cuban government sought “total dominance over religious life in the country,” immediately worsening the religious freedom conditions. Additionally, the persecution of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua has greatly increased through the “imprisoning clergy, shuttering church-affiliated organizations, and prohibiting Catholic rituals.”

Islamic extremists killed a pastor in northeast Nigeria, and terrorists in the country’s middle belt state of Benue killed 134 Christians the first week of April, reports Christian Headlines. The Islamic State West Africa Province also attacked predominantly Christian Njimtilo, Pulka and Ajiri Mafa villages at the same time the pastor was slain, said area resident Josephine Joseph.

Approximately 23,000 people have fled ethnic violence in northeast India that has resulted in the death of 58 individuals, many of whom were Christians. At least 50 churches have suffered destruction and burning. The local Christian community has accused the Hindu nationalist government of supporting the attackers. Beginning last Wednesday, May 3, the violence was reported in several areas in the state, but mostly in the Imphal Valley and Churachandpur. The Christian victims have identified the predominantly Hindu Meitei ethnic community as the attackers.

During Holy Week, one of the most important celebrations of the Christian church year, believers in Nigeria suffered injury, kidnapping, and even death. Simply believing in Christ in Nigeria can be a death sentence for men, women, and children—regardless of age, social status, and vocation. At least 94 Christians were martyred throughout Holy Week in Nigeria. Nigeria remains the most dangerous place on earth to be a Christian, yet the U.S. government refuses to put them back on the Countries of Particular Concern list. 

With Iranian regime officials unable to stop the Women, Life, Freedom movement, Tehran is escalating its War on Women by shutting down businesses, rigorously enforcing compulsory hijab laws, installing advanced surveillance technologies, and attacking more schoolgirls in poison gas attacks. The Iranian regime has used compulsory hijab requirements, mandated since 1979, to control and oppress women and girls. Iran’s officials also limit access to education and financial independence to keep women in the lower echelons of society.

Abortion/Contraception: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart. (Jeremiah 1:5)

A panel of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously on Wednesday that the benefits of making a birth control pill available without a prescription outweigh the risks. If the F.D.A. approves nonprescription sales of the medication, called Opill, this summer, it would significantly expand access to contraception. Approval is not a foregone conclusion, however. FDA scientists who analyzed data submitted by the pill’s maker, HRA Pharma, have raised concerns about whether women with breast cancer and undiagnosed vaginal bleeding should avoid the product.

The Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade has already impacted Planned Parenthood according to its newly released annual report, which shows the group performed thousands fewer abortions in the year justices delivered the landmark human rights ruling. Yet the amount of taxpayer dollars flowing to the nation’s largest abortion business increased by tens of millions. Planned Parenthood committed 374,155 abortions last years, down 2.4% or 9,305 fewer abortions from 2022. At the same time, Planned Parenthood received more government funding last year than at any time in its history, a $37 million increase over the $633.4 million it collected the previous year.

• Abortion giant Planned Parenthood has expanded its efforts to harm vulnerable Americans by becoming a leading organization facilitating so-called “gender transitions,” according to a new report by Live Action. The pro-life organization found that Planned Parenthood has become the second-largest group distributing irreversible puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.

GOP dissenters defied the party to block abortion limits in two conservative states, perhaps a sign of emerging fears of political backlash in upcoming elections. All five women in the South Carolina Senate, including three Republicans, helped to stop that state’s bill, while a Nebraska bill went down because of an 80-year-old male Republican who voted against the GOP measure restricting abortions.

A new Biden policy represents a significant shift from USAID’s gender policy released by the Trump administration in 2020. Rather than simply affirming the inherent worth and dignity of women and girls, the Biden administration’s new policy devalues women and girls by espousing a radical gender ideology as well as overt sexualization by championing the global use of contraception and abortion, even for young girls.

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)

Thursday, May 11, marked the end of the public health emergency in the United States, more than three years after it was first declared to combat the novel coronavirus by unlocking powerful tools to detect and contain the emerging threat. While it closes a chapter in history, health experts point out the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet over as the virus continues to claim more than 1,000 lives each week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To date, more than 1.1 million people in the country have died.

Covid-19 is also no longer a global health emergency, the World Health Organization said on Friday, May 5. “For more than a year the pandemic has been on a downward trend,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a news conference. “This trend has allowed most countries to return to life as we knew it before Covid-19,” Tedros said. “Yesterday, the emergency committee met for the 15th time and recommended to me that I declare an end to the public health emergency of international concern. I have accepted that advice.” Covid deaths decreased by 47 percent in 2022 over 2021 worldwide.

Over the week of April 27 to May 3, new Covid-19 cases in the U.S. declined by 22% to 77,263 cases per week. Hospitalizations were up 1% over the same time period to 4,535, while weekly deaths were down 11% to 1,109 for that week. The number of daily hospital admissions shows how many patients tested positive for Covid in hospitals and is more reliably reported than case counts at this stage of the pandemic.

COVID-19 was the fourth-leading cause of death in the United States in 2022, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday, and the overall U.S. death rate fell 5.3%.

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)

Efforts to overturn vaccine mandates for both hospital patients and health care workers appear to be gaining momentum across the United States. In what is seen as a major victory for transplant patients who did not take the COVID vaccine, one of the largest transplant centers in the United States reversed its policy to require the jab in order to be eligible for an organ transplant. The University of Michigan (UM) announced its new policy on May 4 just before court proceedings were about to get underway in a lawsuit filed against it for declaring patients ineligible for an organ transplant unless they agreed to the jab.

Aimee (not her real name)  had just months left on her Navy contract when the brass informed her she could not leave the Navy unless she got the COVID shot, reports Liberty Counsel. Now this once super fit sailor must learn to walk all over again — and the U.S. Navy won’t even give her so much as a wheelchair to help what its forced shot damaged. Aimee had refused to take the jab several times. But her commanding officers kept turning up the heat. At the 11th hour, she was informed that unless she took the shot, Aimee would be dishonorably discharged and would be forced to pay back what Uncle Sam had invested in her training and education.

• As a result of the shot, Aimee now has Guillain–Barré syndrome, a once-rare neurological disorder in which the immune system attacks the peripheral nervous system, causing muscle weakness, loss of reflexes, numbness of limbs, and paralysis. Guillain-Barre syndrome is not so rare anymore, thanks to the COVID shots. According to VAERS, tens of thousands of people have suddenly been struck down by this syndrome which is a known side effect of the COVID shots.

U.S. authorities rejected multiple people who sought compensation for COVID-19 vaccine injuries, despite diagnoses from doctors, documents show. Letters from U.S. officials reviewed by The Epoch Times show officials contradicting doctors who treated patients as they turned down requests for payment. The cases highlights how people who experienced problems after vaccination have struggled to get money from the federal government, even when doctors diagnose vaccine injuries.

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)

The death toll has risen to eight after an SUV slammed into a crowd of people waiting for a bus Sunday, May 7, outside a migrant shelter in the border city of Brownsville, Texas. At least 10 others were injured. The driver was hospitalized. “He’s being very uncooperative at the hospital, but he will be transported to our city jail as soon as he gets released,” police said. George Alvarez, 34, was identified as the man behind the wheel of the Range Rover that struck 18 people. Alvarez, who police said has a long rap sheet, has been formally charged and arraigned on 8 counts of manslaughter and 10 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

A gunman opened fire at a crowded mall north of Dallas Saturday, May 6, killing at least eight people and wounding seven others before he was shot to death. The gunman has been identified as Mauricio Garcia, 33, a resident of nearby Dallas. Garcia, who was fatally shot by a police officer. He was wearing a patch on his chest reading “RWDS,” which stands for Right Wing Death Squad, a popular phrase among white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and other right-wing extremists. Garcia brought 8 guns, but police are still unclear on his motive.

• The shooting was the second deadliest in the U.S. this year. There have been 199 shootings of at least four people this year in the U.S., according to the Gun Violence Archive.

The suspect in the recent Atlanta hospital shooting was apprehended Thursday, May 4, after a citywide search. Police accused Deion Patterson, a 24-year-old former Coast Guard member, of opening fire in a hospital waiting room, killing one and injuring four, before carjacking a vehicle and fleeing the scene.

In what police are calling a senseless act of violence, at least nine teenagers were hurt in a shooting at a bustling after-prom party in Texas shortly after midnight Sunday, 4/23. Eight people were taken to a local hospital. At least 250 people attended the party. Law enforcement also reported a second shooting within Jasper city limits that same day less than two miles away from where the after-prom party was being held. No motive has been established at present however, several witnesses and persons of interest were being interviewed.

A man killed 5 neighbors, including a child, after one of the neighbors asked him to stop shooting his AR-15-style rifle in his yard. Authorities charged Francisco Oropeza, 39, with five counts of murder and were searching for him Saturday morning, 4/29. The suspect, a neighbor, went to the victims’ Cleveland, Texas., home late Friday night after they asked him to stop shooting in his front yard. Five people, including an 8-year-old, were killed in the shooting about 40 miles northeast of Houston.

A shooter killed at least eight people and wounded 13 in a drive-by attack late Thursday in Serbia’s second such mass killing in two days, state television reported. The attacker shot randomly at people near the town of Mladenovac, some 30 miles south of the capital. Police were looking for a 21-year-old suspect who fled after the attack, the AP reports. The shooting came a day after a 13-year-old boy used his father’s guns to kill eight fellow students and a guard at a school in Belgrade.

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)

Al Sharpton’s National Action Network has joined a growing number of radical activists demanding that the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg file charges in connection with the chokehold death of a Black man, Jordan Neely. Demonstrators have been rallying across New York City to demand justice for Neely, with protesters taking to the streets from Union Square to the 63rd Street-Lexington Avenue subway station. Neely, a homeless street performer, appeared to be in mental distress on a subway last week, and was put in a fatal chokehold by Danny Penny, a 24-year-old White man, a former marine and college student. New video shows Penny putting Neely into a “recovery” position after he was subdued. The intent was to make sure he didn’t “swallow his tongue” by laying on his back. Neely was charged with 2^nd-degree manslaughter on May 11.

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)

A federal judge in Virginia on Wednesday, May 11, declared unconstitutional a set of federal laws and regulations that prohibit federally licensed firearms dealers from selling handguns to 18- to 20-year-olds, finding the measures violated the Second Amendment and “cannot stand.”

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed multiple gun control bills into law, including prohibiting the sale of semiautomatic rifles. The bill bans the popular AR-15 rifle, among other semiautomatic rifles, and prohibits the manufacture, importation, distribution, and sale of assault-style weapons in Washington, with an exception for sales made to armed forces and law enforcement. Gun shop owners will have 90 days to sell their inventory from today’s date. The White House praised Inslee for his semiautomatic rifle ban in a statement after the bills were signed.

Justice (or lack thereof): Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. (Jeremiah 23:5)

Benjamin Ruckel, a 25-year-old resident of Pickerington, Ohio, pleaded guilty to setting fire to an Ohio church building and now faces up to 20 years in prison for violating the federal Church Arson Prevention Act. The Justice Department stated that Ruckel confessed to purposefully setting Mount Zion Church in Baltimore on fire “because of the religious character of the church.”

In yet another appalling example of leniency towards criminals, a former teacher’s aide in Oregon, Kelsey Meta Boren, was handed a ridiculously light sentence for pleading guilty to 11 heinous felony child sex crimes. Boren, a 33-year-old who has begun transitioning to female, was given a mere slap on the wrist, with a sentence of just 30 days in jail for each offense, less than a year in total. The charge of using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct was dismissed, thanks to a deal struck with Lane County Deputy District Attorney Robert Lane. He was convicted of eleven crimes of “Encouraging Child Sexual Abuse in the First Degree.”

The Supreme Court has rejected appeals from fossil fuel companies over climate change lawsuits brought by local governments in several states. Suncor Energy and Exxon Mobil Corp. petitioned the high court last year over a lawsuit by local governments in Colorado, asking the justices to decide if they should be sued in state or federal court. The companies had wanted the lawsuits to be decided in federal courts so there’s a uniform response. The high court’s move allows the lawsuits to proceed in state courts.

Law Enforcement: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. (Matthew 5:9)

While many U.S. cities are facing increasing crime rates as the ‘defund the police’ movements caused shrinkages in the police force, not Miami, Florida. They took a very different path from these other cities. They increased funding for the police, growing the police department to its largest size in our history. The result: crime dropped to one of its lowest levels in Miami’s history. And, they also  deployed the most advanced technology that they could afford to equip our police to be more effective.

Asheville, North Carolina is now on a dangerous path as its police department declares it can no longer respond to certain 911 calls due to severe staffing shortages. The liberal mindset of defunding the police has resulted in a mass exodus of law enforcement officers since January 2020, leaving the city’s residents feeling the negative consequences. In an attempt to cope with this crisis, APD Police Chief David Zack has directed officers to ignore low-level offenses and focus on more severe crimes. He informed the Asheville City Council, “This is what it looks like when you’re down this much, when you lose 50% of your detectives.”

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.

Things have gotten so bad in San Francisco that a Target store has placed every single product behind security glass. A recent video posted on TikTok revealed that the store had implemented the extreme security measures since crime and shoplifting rates have increased to at least ten times a day, employees estimate. Nordstrom will close both of its stores in the downtown area this summer because of the worsening crime. Apparently stealing in San Francisco has become the new normal.

Robberies of postal carriers surged 78 percent in 2022, according to data provided by U.S. Postal Inspection Service data. Over the last decade, crimes against USPS workers have quadrupled, and weapons increasingly are being used by the perpetrators.

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)

In recent weeks, similar attacks have repeated across the country: A Jewish university student in New Jersey bombarded with antisemitic messages. A transgender man in Florida attacked for his identity. A Black YouTuber in Kentucky targeted because of his race. All found themselves flooded with racist and homophobic insults, memes, offensive photos and death threats, reports the USA TODAY. What these people all had in common, but didn’t know, was that they had been chosen as targets by a vicious campaign of online “raids” orchestrated by an account run by one of the internet’s most notorious white supremacists, using the secure messaging app Telegram. The Telegram channel called “Project Mayhem” is just a “doxxing channel,” referring to the act of intentionally publishing identifiable information about a person online.

Drugs: And they did not repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries [Greek: pharmakeia, i.e. pharmacy, drugs].

Despite common beliefs that marijuana is not addictive, the statistics show that in 2021, over 1.3 million adolescents between 12 and 17 years old experienced a marijuana use disorder, comprising more than 46% of users within that age group. The legalization of marijuana has resulted in a 25% upsurge in marijuana use disorders amongst this demographic.  As rates of consumption, potency, and addiction have risen, so have the negative impacts of marijuana. Despite the efforts of legalization advocates to diminish the risks associated with marijuana use, the drug was responsible for over 70,000 emergency department visits in 2021, involving individuals under the age of 18.

• Marijuana is getting more potent as states rush to legalize it, raising fears that weed with little resemblance to Woodstock-era grass is causing psychosis, suicidal thoughts and other health problems. Colorado and Washington in 2012 became the first states to legalize recreational marijuana. Since then, 19 states and the District of Columbia have joined them.

Just a few years ago, the Washington state legislature decriminalized hard drugs, following a ruling from the state Supreme Court. But now Bellingham, once considered the “most hippie” location in the state, has moved to outlaw drug use entirely. The course reversal happened when city leaders became concerned by the number of overdose deaths. The city’s fire department responded to more than two overdoses a day from January through April 12. Now in Bellingham, open drug use is an “arrestable crime.”

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)

Hundreds of professors at the University of North Carolina signed a public letter Tuesday opposing legislation that would require university students to take courses on America’s government and founding documents. The legislation, House Bill 96, would require students to take a 3 credit-hour course covering America’s founding and history. Required reading for the course would include the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Emancipation Proclamation, at least five essays from the Federalist Papers, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail and the Gettysburg Address. The 673 UNC Chapel Hill professors revealed the public letter Tuesday, arguing the new courses would constitute an infringement on the university’s “academic freedom.”

• Leftist educators don’t want anyone to know the foundations of this country so they can rewrite history to match their secular, humanistic viewpoints.

Marriage/Family:  “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Matthew 19:4-6)

A new study conducted by Brigham Young University’s Wheatley Institute has found that individuals who saved sex for marriage have significantly higher levels of marital satisfaction than those who had multiple sexual partners before marriage, confirming what numerous previous studies also found. “Our study confirms what other national studies have been finding the last few years, that sexually inexperienced dating couples are two to three times more likely to be in a highly stable marriage,” said Brian J. Willoughby, a Wheatley Institute fellow and co-author of the report.

A 2019 paper in World Psychiatry summarized a study that found, for children, divorce and separation are associated with higher risk of academic difficulties, lower grades, higher school dropout rate, conduct and substance use problems, and depression. Children of divorced parents are also “more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior, live in poverty, and experience their own family instability.” They are also more likely to have mental health struggles and to be institutionalized for mental health struggles. The findings hold true even if the divorce or separation is amicable.

Family:  Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. (Exodus 20:12) But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. (1Timothy 5:8)

It seems that some major corporations and businesses have sent out emails to their customers offering a chance to “opt-out” of Mother’s Day-related communications. The emails were sent out by companies such as Fry’s Food Store, Kay Jewelers, Hallmark, and DoorDash. All of them had similar language, suggesting a choreographed ‘woke’ anti-family effort. The emails had messages such as “We understand that Mother’s Day may be a difficult time for some” and “We know Mother’s Day can be a challenging time, which is why we want to know if you’d rather not receive Mother’s Day related emails.” A school in Seattle is canceling both Mother’s and Father’s Day observations.

Gender Confusion: Male and female He created them. (Genesis 5:2)

• Gender confusion is being promoted by Satan and the globalists because it undermines God’s ordained family structure, giving secular government more control over people, particularly our youth.

Americans overwhelmingly oppose hormonal gender transition procedures for minors, according to a Washington Post/Kaiser Family Foundation (WaPo/KFF) poll published Friday. According to the published results, 68% of US adults oppose children ages 10-14 having access to puberty blockers, and 58% oppose children ages 15-17 having access to hormonal treatments (which would include puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones). According to the same poll, two-thirds of adults did not want biological males to “compete in sports with other women and girls” at any level—youth (62%), high school (66%), college (65%), or professional (65%)—despite a biased question that framed the males as “trans women and girls.” Meanwhile, three quarters (77%) of total adults said it was inappropriate “for teachers to discuss trans identity in public schools with students” in kindergarten through 3rd grade, although that number decreased by grade level—70% found it inappropriate in 4th-5th grade, 52% in 6th-8th grade, and 36% in 9th-12th grade.

• At the same time, large majorities also supported “laws prohibiting discrimination against trans people” by medical professionals (71%), from getting health insurance (72%), in K-12 schools (69%), at colleges and universities (73%), at their jobs and workplaces (73%), in housing (74%), and in the US military (65%).
• When asked “whether someone is a man or a woman as determined by the sex they were assigned at birth,” 57% of adults said “yes,” including 20% of people who self-identified as “trans.” Also, 72% of “trans adults” said they “currently have a doctor or other health care provider” he or she can “feel comfortable seeking health care from,” compared to 79% of total adults. Only 17% of people who identified as transgender reported ever having been “refused health care”

The governor of Washington state signed a bill on Tuesday, 5/9, to allow minors to undergo so-called “sex changes” while under the shelter of strangers without parental consent. In his most recent effort to promote abortion and child mutilation, Democrat Gov. Jay Inslee enacted a law that enables minors who have run away from their parents to pursue transgender drugs and surgeries with the oversight of individuals and programs who are housing them. Although those housing children would be required to report such cases to state departments, notification of and permission from a child’s parents are not required if the child is a seeking a “gender transition.”

Planned Parenthood’s latest annual report reveals that the multi-billion-dollar business has diversified its portfolio beyond abortion, pushing deeply into the transgender industry by offering puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to young adults and minors — often while explicitly withholding this information from parents. While the organization does not list the number of transgender procedures it carried out, it has acknowledged the number of people seeking such services numbers in the tens of thousands. Planned Parenthood also aims to turn teens into “fighters” for their cause, bashing “ugly” legislation that would prevent surgeons from permanently castrating minors, and proclaiming that its sex education courses contain the information America’s children “need to be free.”

Nearly 25 percent of high school students identify as something other than straight, more than double than previous years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s biennial Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Given the push in the media and the secular humanism indoctrination centers (aka public schools), this result is not surprising. Just 15 percent in 2017 answered that they were “gay,” “lesbian,” “bisexual,” “or questioning” their sexual preference, though the CDC notes that changes to how it states the questions could also be responsible for the rise, a rare admission of complicity in the left-leaning organization.

The survey also found: also found that: more than 1 in 10 LGBQ+ students did not go to school because of safety concerns; nearly 1 in 4 experienced sexual violence, and nearly 1 in 4 were bullied at school; almost half of LGBQ+ students seriously considered attempting suicide; nearly 1 in 4 attempted suicide, and nearly 3 in 4 reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness; 1 in 5 LGBQ+ students reported having ever used illicit drugs. When asked if they had been physically forced to perform a sexual activity they did not want to, 23% of bisexual students and 17% of lesbian and gay students said they had.

• Christians are commanded to love everyone with unconditional agape love, so violence and bullying is anti-Christ. But it is not surprising that LGBTQ+ individuals feel suicidal or hopeless, because when you’re living outside of God’s ordained laws and are separated from Hin, those are the consequences thereof.

A U.S. grant worth $500,000 designed to promote English language instruction and professional development in Pakistan somehow shoehorns the transgender agenda in as an essential program requirement. To win the grant, an applicant must detail a plan to “Strengthen English capacity and professional capability of Pakistani transgender youth and of Afghan teachers, students, and young professionals residing in Pakistan.” An estimated 10,000 Pakistanis identify as transgender, or 0.004% of the population.

Election Integrity: He who walks with integrity walks securely, But he who perverts his ways will become known… The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them. (Proverbs 10:9,11:3)

More than 200 self-acknowledged noncitizens have managed to register to vote in Arizona’s Maricopa County and at least nine of them have cast ballots in federal elections, according to a report that questions the federal law that pushes states to register more voters. The study is the first in a series of reports by the Public Interest Legal Foundation to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Motor Voter law, which requires states to allow people to register to vote at their local motor vehicle bureau offices. The law has increased registration but also has led to messy voter rolls. The Public Interest Legal Foundation says a striking number of noncitizens are illegally gaining access to the ballot box.

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)

President Biden’s administration on Thursday will begin denying asylum to migrants who show up at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through , according to a new rule released Wednesday, 5/10. It’s part of new measures meant to crack down on illegal border crossings while creating new legal pathways, including a plan to open 100 regional migration hubs across the Western Hemisphere, administration officials said. While stopping short of a total ban, the measure imposes severe limitations on asylum for those crossing illegally who didn’t first seek a legal pathway. The rule was first announced in February, but the finalized version takes effect Thursday. More than 50,000 people commented on it, but in the end it didn’t appear to substantively change.

• The new policy is almost certain to face legal challenges. In 2019, then-President Donald Trump pursued similar but stricter measures, but a federal appeals court prevented them from taking effect.
• Biden’s administration plans to send 900 additional soldiers to the border by the end of May. The president had already deployed some 550 troops, in addition to 2,500 members of the National Guard.

The chief of the Border Patrol authorized his agents to use parole to catch and release illegal immigrants caught in the border surge, saying the numbers are so high that his agency cannot be expected to process everyone correctly. Chief Raul Ortiz, in a memo Wednesday, said parole will be allowed if the Border Patrol is averaging more than 7,000 arrests a day. The agency is well above that level already, and the numbers will probably go even higher by Friday. Those admitted will be granted an initial 60-day stay, after which they are supposed to connect with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the main deportation agency, to collect an immigration court summons known as a Notice to Appear.

As of six months ago, 5.5 million people crossed our border illegally under Joe Biden’s watch. Drugs are pouring in, causing 100,000 deaths per year (and rising). Human trafficking is more and more common. MS-13 and other gangs, including the cartel, are building cells across the U.S. Since Biden’s inauguration in January 2020, the FBI has caught a record-breaking 169 illegals on its terrorism watchlist who entered America through the southern border, reports Liberty Counsel.

The current surge at the southern border is largely a reaction to the end of Title 42, a policy enacted during the Covid pandemic that enables the authorities to quickly expel many migrants who enter the country without permission, rather than letting them stay while courts consider their cases. Title 42 expired on Thursday, 5/12, as part of the end of the official Covid health emergency. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been releasing illegal immigrants, including those with criminal records, from custody to clear space for the looming surge of more migrants at the border, in the latest sign of the government’s scramble to prepare for the onslaught. ICE cut its detention population to fewer than 23,000 at the start of the month, down from more than 28,000 six weeks earlier. That includes hundreds of people with criminal records whom ICE has released.

According to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, the Biden administration anticipates that approximately 13,000 individuals will unlawfully cross the border every day once Title 42 is no longer in effect. In response to this, the governor declared that Texas will mobilize as many as 10,000 National Guard members and 1,200 troopers from the Texas Department of Public Safety. Dramatic videos posted Wednesday show Texas National Guard troops in riot gear arriving at the southern border. The mayor of Laredo, Texas, declared a state of emergency last week due to a major influx of illegal immigrants streaming across the border.

• Arizona has established five new bus routes to transport migrants from small border communities to Tucson ahead of the expected lifting of Title 42. The routes run from Douglas, Naco and Nogales to the Casa Alitas migrant shelter in Tucson.

The Border Patrol union ripped into the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday morning, calling its public warnings of “targeted” immigration enforcement a “sad joke” days after dubbing Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Vice President Kamala Harris “clowns.” The National Border Patrol Council, the service’s official union, lashed out after a Monday press release announced a “targeted enforcement operation? at the border crossing in El Paso, Texas, where thousands of migrants are waiting in the run-up to Title 42 ending Thursday, 5/11. “Nothing like publicly announcing that dangerous people will be arrested, while warning them ahead of time exactly where to run and hide to avoid arrest,” the union tweeted in reply to the press release.

The Mexican government issued triple its typical number of humanitarian visas to migrants seeking to travel through the country to the U.S.-Mexico border in April. Mexico issued some 30,000 visas in April, more than the months of January, February and March combined.

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)

Snow, torrential rains, massive floods. Extreme weather has battered the U.S. this year, and shoppers likely will feel the lingering effects at the grocery store heading into summer. The extreme swings this year have left many growers behind schedule, especially in California, which produces nearly half of U.S. fruits, nuts and “salad bowl” vegetables like lettuce, tomatoes, spinach and kale. In the meantime, consumers may see smaller selections, lower supplies and higher prices, economists say.

The United States Food and Drug Administration has authorized gene-edited pigs to provisionally enter the food chain for human consumption—as German-style sausages. Gene-editing can make changes in an organism’s DNA that could occur in nature or through selective breeding but would take much longer without a gene-editing tool like CRISPR. The FDA authorization is investigational, and limited to a particular group of pigs, intended to show that gene-editing livestock to quickly produce desirable traits for improved food production is a viable strategy going forward.

Water Supplies: Moreover He said to me, “Son of man, [they] shall drink water by measure and with dread, that they may lack bread and water, and be dismayed with one another, and waste away because of their iniquity. (Ezekiel 4:16-17)

Historic snowfall across the Rocky Mountains is helping recharge some of the country’s biggest reservoirs and provide – briefly – some much-needed breathing room for the oversubscribed Colorado River. Forecasts say the melting snow flowing into Lake Powell via the Colorado River and its tributaries could hit 177% of average this year, a major boost at a time when lake levels had hit historic lows. The levels are now headed up and will likely peak sometime in June, raising the surface by 50 feet. But experts say the boost won’t solve or even significantly delay the West’s water crisis that has drained the massive Lake Powell and Lake Mead reservoirs – Lake Powell will probably only be about 40% full this fall, far below what it once held. “This buys a year,” longtime Colorado River expert Brad Udall said. “It doesn’t remotely come close to solving the long-term problems.”

The dry and empty outskirts of Kingman, Arizona, have morphed into something much more green that supports pistachio and almond orchards, as well as garlic and potato fields, in a climate similar to California’s Central Valley. The crops are fed by groundwater that also serves the city of Kingman. But now, the Arizona Department of Water Resources has put a limit on the amount of land that can be watered, designating the Hualapai Valley as an irrigation non-expansion area, as Kingman worries about a rapidly depleting aquifer. That means anyone who hasn’t farmed more than two acres there during the past five years can no longer do so. It’s the first such designation in Arizona in four decades, highlighting struggles around the U.S. as water supplies dwindle and tensions grow between farmers and cities. Just last week, a board that advises the Kansas governor voted to make a historic recommendation to protect the Ogallala aquifer, which has been tapped for decades to irrigate crops in an arid region.

Energy Supplies: He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. (Isaiah 44:14-15)

After weeks of buildup, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveiled on Thursday, May 11, its strictest-ever rules for power produced using natural gas, coal, and oil that could spur the use of carbon capture technologies. The standards will impact both new and old power infrastructure. Though the United States still has hundreds of coal plants, the number of such installations has fallen sharply during the past decade. “We will see some coal retirements,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said. The EPA thinks its proposals will induce American power plants to boost their use of certain technologies, including the co-firing of fossil fuels with hydrogen, a low-greenhouse gas, and the capture, sequestration, and storage of carbon.

• One new rule mandates that most coal- and natural gas-fired power plants reduce their carbon dioxide emissions by 90% over a five-year period beginning in 2035 or be shuttered by federal regulators. 

Electrifying the car market may be getting more difficult, with the share of Americans who say they’re “very unlikely” to consider an EV for their next vehicle purchase growing in each of the first three months of the year, according to a new report. In March, 21% of new-vehicle shoppers said they were “very unlikely” to consider an EV, up from 18.9% in February and 17.8% in January, consumer analytics firm JD Power said in a monthly EV report. Persistent worries about charging infrastructure and vehicle pricing’s dampening enthusiasm, the report said. In addition, long charging times are also a deterrent. EV’s market share of all new-vehicle sales dropped to 7.3% in March, down from a record high of 8.5% in February but up from 2.6% in February 2020.

Your electric vehicle may look like a normal sedan or SUV from the outside. But what’s underneath exacts a hidden toll, reports the Washington Post. The minerals most critical to EV batteries are each concentrated in just a handful of countries. For these countries, the EV boom holds enormous economic promise, but also environmental, social and workplace challenges that have yet to be addressed. A lot of slave and child labor is expended to extract these materials in gruesome working conditions.

The New York State Assembly became the first state legislature in the nation to pass a statewide ban on new natural gas hookups late Tuesday, May 4. The $229 billion state budget package will require almost all new buildings shorter than seven stories to go all-electric for cooking and heating by 2026 — with exceptions for manufacturers, restaurants, renovations and hospitals — while taller buildings would have until 2029, according to the Washington Post. While supporters argued that the law was necessary for the state to hit its climate goals, critics argued that it would raise expenses for homeowners in the state, where electricity tends to be more expensive than gas.

The Biden administration’s Department of Energy (DOE) has announced new rules cracking down on dishwashers, claiming that they will save Americans over $650 million in annual energy and water bills. “DOE expects the new standards for electric motors will save American businesses approximately $464 million per year on energy costs, while the proposed standards for dishwashers, which have not been updated in over a decade, will save American consumers approximately $168 million per year on their utility bills.” However, many are skeptical of the DOE’s claims, arguing that these new rules are just another example of government overreach and unnecessary regulation.

Rising oil prices have increased support for nuclear energy to its highest level in a decade of Gallup polling. Among adults responding to the company’s latest survey, 55% said they “somewhat” or “strongly” support nuclear energy, up 4 percentage points from 51% last year. Another 44% of respondents said they “somewhat” or “strongly” oppose atomic power, Gallup reported. Liberal critics have long claimed nuclear power harms the environment as a non-renewable energy source mined from uranium in the earth that also poses threats of health risks and accidents to local populations. Nuclear physicists have dismissed those claims, pointing to decades of data that shows nuclear power carries less risk than electricity provided by fossil fuels like coal and natural gas. Also, nuclear power emits no greenhouse gas emissions.

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)

In the latest chapter of America’s approach to homelessness, Phoenix must permanently clear the area that’s become known as the Zone after a judge ruled in favor of neighbors who sued the city, calling the encampment – next to a non-profit social services hub and blocks from the state Capitol and the city’s Major League Baseball stadium – an illegal “public nuisance.” Their lawsuit could be a model for those looking to force other US cities to clear similar encampments. But the prospect worries advocates for the unhoused, who say it simply pushes a critical problem out of public view, especially as soaring home prices and high-interest debt have pushed households to the brink. As Phoenix officials prepare to start moving tents out of the Zone this week, they’re also scrambling to create safe options for the displaced: leasing more hotel rooms and vacant buildings to convert into shelters, and building an outdoor campground with security, restrooms and hand-washing stations.

Business: Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice. (Proverbs 16:8)

The mass layoffs in the tech industry that started late last year have continued into 2023, amid recession fears and economic slowdowns. he number of tech layoffs globally through the first four months of the year has exceeded the total number from a year ago. According to data compiled by online tracker Layoffs.fyi, the running total of tech layoffs to date is 191,416, surpassing last year’s total of 164,576.

Microsoft will not give raises to full-time employees this year and is cutting back on bonuses and stock awards, too, as revenue growth slows.

Stellantis, which owns the Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, Dodge and Fiat brands, wants to cut 3,500 hourly skilled and production jobs in the United States, and it plans to offer buyout packages “corporate wide,” according to a letter from a local UAW union official. The company said the buyouts would be offered to 33,000 workers in the United States and an undisclosed number in Canada. UAW President Shawn Fain called the company’s “push to cut thousands of jobs while raking in billions in profits … disgusting.”

Banking: “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)

With the failure of three regional banks since March, and another one teetering on the brink, will America soon see a cascade of bank failures? Last week, First Republic Bank became the third bank to collapse, the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history after Washington Mutual, which collapsed in 2008 amid the previous financial crisis. A study on the fragility of the U.S. banking system found that 186 more banks are at risk of failure. Regional banks are failing because the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes to tamp down inflation have eroded the value of bank assets such as government bonds and mortgage-backed securities.

Economy – Depression/Shortages: 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)

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the 10^th time by 25 basis points on May 3, lifting the benchmark federal funds rate to a range of 5 percent to 5.25 percent, the highest level since September 2007. The post-meeting statement opened the door to a rate pause, with the removal of the line, “The Committee anticipates that some additional policy firming may be appropriate,” from its summary.

The Consumer Price Index climbed 4.9 percent in April from a year earlier, the tenth straight month of decline. Inflation has come down notably from a peak just above 9 percent last summer, though it has remained far higher than the 2 percent annual gains that were normal before the pandemic. After stripping out more volatile food and fuel, the so-called ‘core’ inflation rose 5.5% over a year ago, slightly less than the 5.6% in March. The slowdown in price increases last month came even as gasoline and rent continued to climb briskly. New car prices, medical care and airfares all declined in April.

• UK consumers prices increased 10.1% in March, down from 10.4% in February. Canada’s March CPI rate was at 4.3%, down from 5.2% in February. The March consumer price index in India was 5.66%, down from February when it was at 6.44%. China’s citizens saw a 2.4% increase in food prices, with fresh fruit prices increasing by 11.5% and fresh vegetables decreasing by 11.1%. Egg prices shot up by 7.8% and pork prices were up by  9.6%. Japan’s CPI was at 3.2%.

Hiring picked up in April as employers added 253,000 jobs despite higher interest rates, a widening credit crunch and recession worries. Job gains for February and March were revised down by a total 149,000, portraying a dimmer picture of the labor market over the past few months than suggested by the April gain. The unemployment rate fell from 3.5% to 3.4%, reclaiming a 54-year low. The labor crunch has eased in recent months, but there are still 1.6 jobs available for each unemployed person, though that’s down from a record two jobs per unemployed person last year. Despite the persistent labor shortages, workers without a college degree still struggle to get higher-paying roles in America’s job market, according to a recent study by the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.

Gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation, rose at a preliminary estimate of  a 1.1 percent annual rate in the first quarter, the Commerce Department said on Thursday, 4/27. That was down from a 2.6 percent rate in the last three months of 2022 but nonetheless represented a third straight quarter of growth after output contracted in the first half of last year, reports the New York Times. Growth in the first quarter was dragged down by weakness in housing and business investment, both of which are heavily influenced by interest rates. The Federal Reserve has raised rates by nearly five percentage points since early last year in an effort to tamp down inflation.

Consumers, however, have proved resilient in the face of both rising prices and higher borrowing costs. Inflation-adjusted consumer spending rose at a 3.7 percent annual rate in the first quarter, up from 1 percent in the prior period. Consumers have been buoyed by a strong job market and rising wages, which have helped offset high prices. After-tax income rose at an 8 percent annual rate in the first quarter, adjusted for inflation. Spending slowed as the quarter progressed, however, and forecasters warn that it could weaken further amid increasing layoffs, recent bank failures and warnings of a possible recession.

• Savings have been edging higher, a sign that consumers may be growing more cautious, as more Americans are falling behind on debt payments, suggesting they have begun to struggle to keep up with rising prices.

Despite growing layoffs across several industries, the number of Americans filing jobless claims declined last week, according to the Department of Labor. In the week ending April 22, a total of 230,000 Americans filed for unemployment insurance for the first time, down 16,000 from the previous week. Inflation remains still well above the Fed’s 2% inflation target, so there will likely be further rate increases.

Immigrants are powering growth in the U.S. labor force, helping ease longstanding worker shortages. Since February 2020, before the pandemic started, 2.1 million foreign-born workers have streamed into the labor force – which includes people working and looking for jobs – compared with 422,000 U.S.-born people, according to data from Moody’s Analytics and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That means immigrants made up 83% of the growth in the nation’s labor force. In March, foreign-born workers comprised about 31 million, or 18.5%, of the nation’s total labor force of 167 million.

Mortgage rates ticked down last week for the second week in a row, as progress on inflation is keeping rates calmer. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.35% in the week ending May 11, down from 6.39% the week before, according to data from Freddie Mac released Thursday. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate was 5.30%. Mortgage rates hit an all-time low of 2.65% in January 2021.

Home sharing  has gained popularity in recent years, especially among older adults. The trend is also popularly known as a “paying guest” arrangement in many parts of the world. The arrangement’s popularity is fueled by rising rents and the increasing carrying costs of owning a home, such as mortgage debt, property taxes, maintenance cost and homeowner association dues. And, the high cost of rent – which has increased 17% since March 2021 –  has hit seniors especially hard between 2006 and 2016, the number of adults age 65 and older in the U.S. who were sharing their homes with nonfamily members grew by 87%, from 470,000 to 879,000, according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University.

Banks made obtaining a loan tougher for consumers and businesses in recent months amid the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and two other institutions. Forty-two percent of banks said they somewhat tightened lending standards for large and midsize companies over the past three months, according to the Fed’s Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey. And 45% said they somewhat toughened lending criteria for small firms.

Israel: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you. (Psalm 122:6)

The “March of the Million” near the Knesset in Jerusalem on Thursday evening may not have hit its target (organizers say 600,000 attended; police say 200,000), but it succeeded in putting to bed opposition claims that Israelis are united against judicial reform. It also provided much-needed backing to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s beleaguered government. Supporters of reform have been slow to respond to months of protests against any reformation of the leftist judiciary. The pro-reform rally was different in tone from its anti-reform counterparts, which are grim affairs with warnings of pending dictatorship, clashes with police, solemn torchlit marches and women dressed as Margaret Atwood-inspired handmaids with heads lowered. This rally was boisterous, resembling a giant block party.

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)

Militants in Gaza fired almost 300 rockets toward Israel on Wednesday afternoon, reaching as far north as the sky above the suburbs of Tel Aviv, as Israel carried out dozens of airstrikes against what it described as rocket-launching squads and sites operated by the Islamic Jihad militant group in the Palestinian coastal enclave. The Iron Dome Defense System intercepted most of the rockets. In Tel Aviv, the new David’s Sling system repelled an attack.       The flare-up in fighting came after an attack on Islamic Jihad by Israel on Tuesday that killed three of its top commanders, along with 10 civilians, four of them children, according to Palestinian officials. The killings left both Israelis and Palestinians bracing for an escalation in cross-border attacks at a time when violence in the region has been surging.

The Israel Defense Forces killed three top Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) leaders in strikes across the Gaza Strip early on Tuesday morning following a month of intermittent confrontations with terrorists in the Palestinian enclave. Israel also struck 10 sites belonging to PIJ, including weapons manufacturing facilities and depots. “The strikes targeted senior figures responsible for rocket fire from Gaza in recent months and who were involved in organizing additional attacks on Israelis, including in Judea and Samaria,” said IDF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Daniel Hagari, adding: “Those who endanger Israeli lives, and those who work tirelessly to harm Israel’s security, will not remain unharmed.”

Israel Defense Forces tanks reportedly shelled a Syrian army post used by Iranian terrorist proxy Hezbollah early on Monday morning, in the second such incident in as many weeks. According to Syrian media, the artillery strike targeted a military observation post located close to the village of Hader in the Quneitra Governorate. Thereafter, the IDF dropped leaflets in the area warning Syrian soldiers against cooperating with Hezbollah.

Wars & Rumors of Wars: And you will hear ofwars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; forall these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.Fornation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. (Matthew 24:6-7a)

Ukraine/Russia/US: Russia issued a warning to President Joe Biden and the United States on Thursday, 4/27, signaling that the risk of nuclear war is “steadily increasing” as Ukraine-related tensions between the two nations continue to escalate. The statement comes amid reports that the United States has decided to cease exchanging certain information about its nuclear forces with Russia, following Moscow’s refusal to do so, as a response to Russia suspending its participation in the New START treaty. The START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) is a nuclear arms reduction treaty between the United States and Russia. It was signed in April 2010 and entered into force in February 2011, replacing the expired START I treaty. The treaty limits the number of deployed nuclear warheads each country can have to 1,550 and the number of deployed delivery systems to 700.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke on the phone Wednesday, 4/26,, and Xi pressed his position as a neutral peacemaker in the Russian-Ukrainian war that has dragged into a second year with no end in sight. Xi appealed for negotiations, warning “there is no winner in a nuclear war,” Chinese state media reported, although Russia has dismissed claims it would resort to nuclear weapons and Ukraine no longer has them.

Agents for Ukraine’s secret service tried to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin with a drone carrying explosives Sunday, but it fell short of its target, German newspaper Bild reported Thursday. The UJ-22 drone, the most modern Ukrainian medium-range drone with a range of nearly 500 miles, took off from Ukraine on Sunday carrying about 37 pounds of C-4 explosives, Bild reported. Its target was a newly built industrial park in Rudnevo southeast of Moscow that Putin was said to be visiting. The kamikaze drone flew through all the air defenses of the Russian Federation but crashed not far from the industrial park.

Ukraine’s air force claimed Saturday to have downed a Russian hypersonic missile over Kyiv using newly acquired American Patriot defense systems, the first known time the country has been able to intercept one of Moscow’s most modern missiles. Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk said in a Telegram post that the Kinzhal-type ballistic missile had been intercepted in an overnight attack on the Ukrainian capital earlier in the week. It was also the first time Ukraine is known to have used the Patriot defense systems.

Sudan: A convoy of buses carrying about 300 Americans left the war-torn capital of Sudan on Friday, starting a 525-mile journey to the Red Sea that was the United States’ first organized effort to evacuate its private citizens from the country. The convoy was being tracked by armed American drones that hovered high overhead, watching for threats. The United Nations and many nations have also evacuated their citizens overland, after receiving security assurances from the two warring sides. It raised questions about why the United States has taken so long to organize a civilian evacuation from Sudan, home to an estimated 16,000 American citizens, many of them dual nationals, when Western and Persian Gulf allies have moved faster and evacuated far more people.

• The World Health Organization representative in Sudan reportedly warned Tuesday, 4/25, of a “high risk of biological hazard” after one of the sides fighting in the conflict seized a central public laboratory with samples of measles and polio, creating an “extremely, extremely dangerous” situation.

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)

Advanced weapons and technology left behind by US and NATO troops during their withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 have been used by militants in Pakistan to attack police and soldiers, security officials have said. The Tahrik-e-Taliban in Pakistan and Baloch militants are among the groups that have obtained modern weapons in Afghanistan. Experts have said the influx of arms has led to a sharp rise in attacks.

Neo-Nazis and far-right extremists committed 23,493 crimes in Germany last year, the government said on Tuesday. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser presented the government’s report on politically motivated crimes at a news conference in Berlin. ‘I am particularly concerned that there has been a sharp increase in attacks against refugees,’ Faeser said, pointing out that such attacks increased by 9% last year. ‘It is extremely inhumane to attack people who have fled from war and terror, and found protection in our country. Right-wing extremism continues to pose a particularly high risk,’ she said.

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)

Thousands of people fled as a volcano in the African country of Congo unleashed huge lava flows that turned the night sky red and destroyed more than 500 homes. At least 15 people have been killed. Mount Nyiragongo erupted for the first time in nearly 20 years Saturday driving lava toward the city of Goma, which has a population of almost 2 million. On Sunday, Buhene, a neighborhood at the edge of the city, was covered in smoldering heaps of cooling lava. A half-mile-wide river of lava engulfed an area the size of several city blocks.

Scientists were trapped for a day by an erupting eastern Russia volcano on April 27. Getting trapped on an actively erupting volcano sounds like a nightmare scenario, but they survived and posted incredible videos of being covered by an enormous ash cloud sparked by a giant rock slide. The scientists had been warned not to go to the actively erupting volcano and rescuers were unable to come for a day. They were brought out with only minor injuries.

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)

At least one person is dead and nearly 200 buildings have been destroyed in fires raging through Russia. Six “massive” fires were burning in the Sverdlovsk region on Tuesday and Wednesday, 4/26. The Russian Emergency Ministry said 178 buildings were destroyed, including 134 homes and 32 non-residential buildings. Flames may have first erupted at a sawmill before spreading with aid from high winds and dry vegetation. Flames “decimated” the village of Sosva, where one person was reported dead. “Here everything is just burned down—there are no houses anymore—everything is burning,” one witness said. There were reports of large fires erupting in other regions as well.

End-Time Weather Will Continue to Grow More Severe: (Daniel 9:26b, Ezekiel 38:22, Luke 21:25, Revelation 8:7, 11:19, 16:8,11)

Historic snowfall across the Rocky Mountains is helping recharge some of the country’s biggest reservoirs and provide – briefly – some much-needed breathing room for the oversubscribed Colorado River. Forecasts say the melting snow flowing into Lake Powell via the Colorado River and its tributaries could hit 177% of average this year, a major boost at a time when lake levels had hit historic lows. The levels are now headed up and will likely peak sometime in June, raising the surface by 50 feet. But experts say the boost won’t solve or even significantly delay the West’s water crisis that has drained the massive Lake Powell and Lake Mead reservoirs – Lake Powell will probably only be about 40% full this fall, far below what it once held.

• “This buys a year,” longtime Colorado River expert Brad Udall said. “It doesn’t remotely come close to solving the long-term problems.”

After rapidly overflowing its banks and pouring into homes and businesses along its upper reaches, the Mississippi River has crested in much of the Upper Midwest, easing fears of a record disaster, even though major flooding is forecast to continue in the region through mid-May. Because major flooding remains along the river in many areas, the weather service warns residents not to enter flooded waters – “hidden debris that the flood has picked up along the way can cause serious injury and/or trap you under the water with strong currents.” Record-setting snow fell in Minnesota and northern Wisconsin over the winter has been rapidly melting due to an extreme warmup in April. Portions of the upper Mississippi also received above normal rainfall in April, as much as 4 inches above normal.

Two tornadoes briefly touched down Thursday, 5/4. morning in Southern California, producing minor damage. The first happened about 8:45 a.m. PDT in Carson, ripping holes in the roofs of at least two warehouses. A second tornado touched down in Compton, about 3 miles east of the first tornado, producing a narrow path of minor damage. Prior to this year, Los Angeles County had seen just 45 tornadoes in 72 years.

A significant hailstorm with up to baseball sized hail struck a majority of Henderson, Texas on Wednesday, 4/26. Over one hundred vehicles were damaged as well as several structures. There are several other reports of large hail in Central Texas, including some the size of tennis balls in Eastland County, which is along Interstate 20 about 70 miles southwest of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro, and up to baseball-size in nearby Erath County.

Floods and landslides killed more than 400 people in two villages in Congo’s South Kivu province. The death toll has continued to rise in Bushushu and Nyamukubi after heavy rainfall through last week caused rivers to overflow and created mudslides that devastated the villages. Twenty-six more bodies were recovered on Wednesday, May 11, bringing the death toll to 438, according to updated government figures. More than 1000 people are still reported missing.

Signs of the Times Update: April 24, 2023

 O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water. Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise You. So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth offers praises with joyful lips. When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches, For You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy. My soul clings to You; Your right hand up-holds me. (Psalm 63:1-8)

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)

The Florida legislature approved six-week abortion ban, cutting off a critical access point for abortions in the South. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the bill on Friday, 4/14. which had already been approved by the state Senate earlier this month. Thousands of patients have turned to Florida for abortion care since the fall of Roe v. Wade. The state currently has a 15-week abortion ban, but DeSantis has been under pressure to enact a stricter ban, hence the ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, the so-called ‘heartbeat’ timeframe.

Event organizers in a Florida city scrapped plans for a gay “pride” parade this past weekend after the GOP-led Florida House of Representatives sent a bill to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk that would ban drag shows and other sexually explicit performances in venues where children are present. DeSantis is expected to sign it into law this week.

U.S. House Republicans  passed a GOP-backed bill blocking transgender girls and women from participating in school athletic programs for females. The legislation, called the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, makes it a violation of Title IX for federally funded education programs to allow people assigned male at birth to participate in athletic programs designated for women. It prohibits federal funding to institutions that allow people assigned male at birth to participate on women’s sports teams or in events. It passed in the House 219-203. The legislation comes at a time when numerous states are passing similar laws banning transgender students from participating on sports teams that align with their gender identity

A unanimous Supreme Court ruling on April 14 made it easier to challenge the reach of two powerful federal agencies—the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Critics of the administrative state claim that in-house adjudications carried out by agencies are unfair because the tribunals, unlike regular courts, lack fixed evidentiary rules, allowing the agencies to function as prosecutor, judge, and jury. They argue that the tribunals are unconstitutional because they are not politically accountable. In its new red tape-cutting decision that is a defeat for the Biden administration, the Supreme Court took steps to rein in the so-called administrative state and reaffirm the separation of powers doctrine that prevents any specific branch of the government from exercising the core functions of another. The idea behind the doctrine is to discourage the concentration of power and make sure there are checks and balances.

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.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, fewer self-proclaimed born-again Christians now say that Jesus lived a sinless life during his time on Earth, and church attendance has dropped by some 15 million people weekly, a new study from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University shows. The findings came from The American Worldview Inventory 2023, an annual tracking study of the worldview of U.S. adults involving 2,000 people from across the country and conducted under the supervision of George Barna, director of research at the Cultural Research Center. While so-called born-again Christians make up about one-third of all U.S. adults and are considered “the backbone of local church activity because of their higher level of commitment to the Christian faith,” the study shows that between 2020 and 2023, the share of those who say they believe Jesus did not commit sins during his lifetime on Earth fell from 58% to 44%.

• The majority of self-proclaimed born-again Christians are not truly born again. They do not have the indwelling Holy Spirit. If they did, there’s no way that they could reject Christ’s sinless life on earth, because the Spirit of Truth within them would rise up against such unbiblical nonsense.

In 2020, the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University found that  just 2% of millennials, a generation now well into adulthood, have a biblical worldview. That is the lowest of any generation since surveys on the topic began. Lifeway Research reports  that two-thirds of those who attend a youth group as teenagers will drop out of church as adults.

The number of U.S. Latinos identifying as Catholic has dropped dramatically over the last dozen years, while those who claim no religious affiliation has tripled, a national research group has found. While Catholicism remains the most popular faith among the population, the portion of Latinos who identify as Catholic has fallen since 2010 from 67% to 43%, the Pew Research Center reported Thursday. Meanwhile, Latinos who describe themselves as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular” grew from 10% to 30%.

An overwhelming majority of Americans believe the nation is in moral decline, although they’re not in agreement on the cause, according to a new study. The poll by the American Bible Study found that 86 percent of U.S. adults believe the nation is in moral decline, with 26 percent of this group blaming the decline on “lack of positive parental involvement.” About one in four adults (23 percent) blamed the “negative influence of media, movies or music,” while 16 percent said the problem is “unhealthy reliance on social media for information on current events.” Another 14 percent blamed the “low level of respect for the Bible as a guide for moral development.” A total of 13 percent of adults said the problem was the “negative influence of government leaders.” The poll was part of the American Bible Society’s annual State of the Bible report. Adults of “all religious or none at all” believe society is in decline morally, the report said.

• Meanwhile, the report found that Bible use in America equaled the record low that was hit the previous year, with 39 percent of U.S. adults saying they use the Bible three or more times per year, on their own. In 2021, 50 percent of Americans said they read the Bible that many times per year. 

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)

Kenyan police have now exhumed the bodies of 47 people thought to be followers of a Christian cult who believed they would go to heaven if they starved themselves to death. Police near the coastal town of Malindi started exhuming bodies on Friday from the Shakahola forest. “In total, 47 people have died at the Shakahola forest,” detective Charles Kamau told Reuters on Sunday. The exhumations were still ongoing, Kamau said. Earlier this month, police rescued 15 members of the group — worshippers at the Good News International Church — who they said had been told to starve themselves to death. Four of them died before they reached hospital. The leader of the church, Paul Mackenzie, who has refused to eat or drink while in custody.

New World Order – One-World Government: It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Revelation 13:7-8) The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces. (Daniel 7:23)

A bombshell exposé was recently published by Politico, documenting Microsoft Founder Bill Gates’ jaw-dropping influence in the highest offices of the world. Working with European investigators and the German news agency WELT, the group spent seven months reviewing lobbying and financial records as well as interviewing health and government officials around the world. The found that four organizations linked to Gates spent 8.3 million dollars lobbying the U.S. and European Union governments for COVID funding, receiving unprecedented access to heads of state. These same four organizations also gave the World Health Organization 1.4 billion dollars to push COVID shots from pharmaceutical companies in which those “charities” owned major stakes, effectively running up stock prices, then cashing out to huge profits.

• This is the same Bill Gates who told the world in 2010 that he wanted to reduce the global human population by 10-15% through “new vaccines,” among other things.

The Demise of America: The first was like a lion (Britain) and had eagle’s wings (America). I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it. (Daniel 7:4)

A recent survey conducted by The Wall Street Journal and The University of Chicago found that Americans are, in huge numbers, pulling back from the values that once defined them. Over the last 25 years, the percentage of Americans who described “Patriotism” as either “important” or “very important” fell from 70% to 38%. Those who valued “Religion” fell from 62% to 39%, “Having Children” from 59% to 30%, and “Community Involvement” from 47% to 27%. Even the percentage of Americans valuing “Tolerance for Others” dropped from 80% to just 58%.  Only one value out of ten listed increased: “Money,” from 31% to 43%.

Politics: Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. (Romans 13:1-2)

France’s top court on Friday approved the government’s unpopular plans to raise the age of retirement by two years to 64, a huge win for President Emmanuel Macron in the face of mass protests across the country. The Constitutional Council – akin to the US Supreme Court – struck down some elements of the new law, but the most controversial element remains: the gradual upping of the retirement age from the current 62 years-of-age, when workers receive a full pension.

Surveillance State: So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor. (Luke 20:20)

U.S. intelligence agencies were aware of up to four additional Chinese spy balloons, and questions lingered about the true capabilities of the one that flew over the continental United States in January and February, according to previously unreported top-secret intelligence documents. Another balloon flew over a U.S. carrier strike group in a previously unreported incident, and a third crashed in the South China Sea, a second top-secret document stated, though it did not provide specific information for launch dates. The overflight of the carrier strike group will raise questions in Congress, where Republicans seized on the spy balloon issue to accuse President Biden of failing to deter Chinese espionage.

Two people were arrested last week for allegedly operating a secret Chinese police station in New York City. Dozens more were charged with harassing Chinese nationals living in the U.S. In three criminal cases unveiled Monday, federal prosecutors accused two New York residents of operating an unauthorized Chinese police station out of a Manhattan office building, and said dozens of Chinese nationals living outside the United States are charged with using fake social media accounts to harass dissidents and spread Chinese propaganda. The cases illustrate how the Chinese government has allegedly used covert surveillance tactics to stifle criticism from its citizens living abroad.

Civic/Religious Freedom: Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. (John 8:36)

The son of a Canadian pastor faces potential fines and jail time for allegedly violating a new municipal bylaw in Calgary, Alberta, when he preached and read the Bible outside a drag queen story time for children at a public library on Saturday. Nathaniel Pawlowski said he and friend Deklan Friesen were speaking to a gathering outside the library when police detained them, moving them away from the crowd and issuing them tickets. Last month, the Calgary City Council passed the Safe and Inclusive Access Bylaw, which prohibits protests or ‘intimidation’ within 100 meters of a recreation facility or library entrance.

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)

Despite the billion-dollar foreign aid check the U.S. cuts Nigeria every year, there are horrendous atrocities taking place in the country. According to one group monitoring the situation, Open Doors International, “In Nigeria, a Christian is killed for their faith every two hours; that’s nearly 13 Christians a day and 372 Christians a month.” Their research shows that “in 2021, more Christians were murdered for their faith in Nigeria than in any other country.”

Abortion: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart. (Jeremiah 1:5)

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday blocked new restrictions set by lower courts on a widely used abortion pill, delivering a victory to President Joe Biden’s administration as it defends broad access to the drug in the latest fierce legal battle over reproductive rights in the United States. The justices, in a brief order, granted emergency requests by the Justice Department and the pill’s manufacturer Danco Laboratories to put on hold an April 7 preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Texas. As a result of the Supreme Court’s stay, mifepristone remains broadly available. Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito publicly dissented from the decision.

Arizona’s Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs has vetoed legislation to ensure basic medical care for infants who survive attempted abortions, with Republicans in the state legislature lacking the votes to override. SB 1600 would have required “any infant who is born alive, including one born during the course of an abortion” to be “treated as a legal person” and given “the same rights to medically appropriate and reasonable care and treatment” as a child born in any other circumstance. Failures to comply would have to be reported to law enforcement, and violations would be grounds for suspension or revocation of medical licenses.

Suicide/Assisted Suicide: No man has power to retain the spirit, or power over the day of death. (Ecclesiastes 8:8 ESV)

Children between the ages of 1 and 12 now can be euthanized in one European nation after officials there extended their voluntary death laws to cover them. The only qualification appears to be that they have a terminal illness and be suffering. The Telegraph reported the Dutch government has tweaked its Euthanasia Act so that children are covered for the first time. “Under the change, euthanasia – legal, voluntary death carried out by a doctor – will only be an option for children who are suffering unbearably with no hope of improvement and for whom palliative care cannot bring relief,” the report explained.

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)

Judicial Watch reports that official records show that the funding for EcoHealth/Wuhan Institute Research was specifically for the purpose of creating coronavirus ‘mutants.’ Judicial Watch obtained the records through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request it filed in December 2021. They received 552 pages of records from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) which include the initial grant application and annual reports to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from EcoHealth Alliance, describing the aim of its work with the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China to create mutant viruses “to better predict the capacity of our CoVs [coronaviruses] to infect people.”

• And one of the mutants escaped from the lab.

Medical codes introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic to show when people are unvaccinated or undervaccinated for COVID-19 are being used to track people, the top U.S. public health agency has confirmed. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) made the confirmation in emails that The Epoch Times obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. The CDC had said in documents and public statements that the goal of the new codes in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) system, was “to track people who are not immunized or only partially immunized.” The CDC now says it doesn’t have access to the data.

Those itchy red eyes may not be a sign of seasonal allergies after all. It appears that COVID-19 has morphed into yet another form, called Arcturus, that’s causing this symptom as it hits the U.S. According to NBC New York, the omicron subvariant, XBB.1.16, whose cases are soaring in India, is making waves here in America. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, its prevalence may be as high as 14% of current cases. What’s notable about Arcturus so far, besides being highly contagious, is that pediatricians have noted that children, especially, have an unusual COVID-19 symptom: itchy conjunctivitis with sticky eyes. Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kans.) on Monday released a 301-page report concluding that COVID-19 “most likely” leaked from a lab weeks before China’s official narrative as the result of “one or possibly two” lab accidents. “We won’t be able to prove this in a criminal trial. But I do think there’s enough evidence, if this was a civil case, that we would convince a jury,” said Marshall of the report fittingly titled, “Muddy Waters.”

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)

Police on Sunday were investigating a shooting that left at least four people dead and twenty-eight injured in Dadeville, about 57 miles northeast of Montgomery. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said the shooting happened at about 10:30 p.m. Saturday night. April 15. The gunfire erupted at a sweet-sixteen birthday party in Mahogany Masterpiece dance studio, which was converted from old Bank of Dadeville two years ago. Two suspects, brothers 17 years old and 16 years old, were arrested on April 18 and charged with murder. Four people who were shot at the party remain in critical condition. A third suspect, Wilson LaMar Hill Jr., 20, of Auburn, was arrested Wednesday, 4/19. A fourth suspect, Johnny Letron Brown, 20, of Tuskegee, was arrested and charged Thursday with four counts of reckless murder. No motive has yet been publicly revealed.

• The shooting in Dadeville Saturday night marks the 160th mass shooting in the U.S. of 2023, according to the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive, and 163^rd according to the Denison Cultural Commentary, a Christian organization.

Six adults and a child were killed Saturday when gunmen shot up a resort in Mexico. The shootings took place at La Palma, a resort in the municipality of Cortazar in Guanajuato state. An eighth victim was also hospitalized with serious injuries. Guanajuato … has been Mexico’s most violent state for years” due to the Jalisco New Generation drug cartel fighting local criminal groups, including another drug cartel apparently backed by the Sinaloa cartel.

A Texas man has been arrested for allegedly shooting two cheerleaders after one mistakenly got into the wrong car after practice. Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr., 25, was charged with deadly conduct, but Elgin, Texas, police say more charges are likely. One cheerleader, Heather Roth, was switching cars after practice in a parking lot, mistakenly opening the door to a car she thought was hers, but Rodriguez was sitting in the passenger seat. Roth returned to her original car, but Rodriguez allegedly approached that car and opened fire, shooting several times before fleeing. Roth was grazed by a bullet, while her friend Payton Washington was shot in the leg and the back and is in critical condition.

An 85-year-old white man has been charged in connection with the shooting of a Black teenager who approached his front door in Kansas City, Mo., last week after confusing the address with a home about a block away, prosecutors said on Monday, 4/17. The man, Andrew D. Lester, was charged with assault in the first degree, a class-A felony, and could face up to life in prison if convicted. The teenager, Ralph Yarl, 16, was hospitalized with two gunshot wounds, including one to the head. It was not clear if the teenager knocked on the door or rang the doorbell, but he did not “cross the threshold” into the man’s home. On Sunday, family members joined hundreds of demonstrators who marched to the house where Mr. Yarl was shot, calling for justice.

A 20-year-old woman looking for a friend’s house in upstate New York was fatally shot by a homeowner after the car she was riding in went to the wrong address, authorities said Monday. Kaylin Gillis was in a car with three other people Saturday night in the rural town of Hebron when the group mistakenly turned onto the property of Kevin Monahan, 65. “While they were leaving the residence once they determined that they were at the wrong house, the subject came out on his porch for whatever reason and fired two shots, one of which struck the vehicle that Kaylin was in,” the Sheriff said.

On Tuesday, 4/18, children playing basketball in the street in a neighborhood south of Gastonia, North Carolina, saw their ball roll into a neighbor’s yard, per WSOC. Witnesses say 24-year-old Robert Singletary, who’s now on the run, came out shooting, hitting 6-year-old Kinsley White, father William White, and mother Ashley Hilderbrand, who said the suspect kept shooting until he was out of bullets. “He looked at my husband and my daughter and told them, ‘I’m going to kill you,'” Hilderbrand says. She suffered a graze wound from a bullet and has been treated and released from the hospital. Kinsley has stitches in her cheek from bullet fragments, and White, the most seriously injured, remains hospitalized.

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.

Chicago’s new mayor says the city’s weekend problem with downtown violence and crime can only be fixed by parents instilling values in their children at home. Hundreds of teenagers and young adults gathered downtown over the weekend, including at the city’s famous Millennium Park, where some engaged in “reckless and disruptive behavior” and were arrested. Two tweens in the middle of a large crowd around State and Madison streets were shot. A 14-year-old boy was shot at 31st Street Beach during a similar gathering on Friday.

A Home Depot employee in California was shot and killed inside the store while trying to stop a theft on Tuesday, 4/18. Witnesses reported that the victim attempted to stop a theft in progress and was shot during a struggle, according to the department. The suspects fled the scene in a vehicle following the shooting. The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office located the suspects’ vehicle and detained them around 2:30 p.m. near the 7000 block of Ney Avenue in Oakland.

Justice (or lack thereof): Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. (Jeremiah 23:5)

A California judge has ordered San Jose’s Calvary Chapel church to pay $1.2 million in fines for defying COVID-19 pandemic restrictions by meeting for worship and not requiring masks. In a ruling handed down last week, Superior Court Judge Evette D. Pennypacker said the church should pay fines for flagrantly violating Santa Clara County’s mask mandate between November 2020 and June 2021. The court found that the county’s face covering requirement was “neutral and generally applicable” to all similarly situated entities in the county, rejecting the church’s argument that the health orders violated their religious freedoms.

A Russian judge on Tuesday upheld the detention of jailed American journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested on spying charges as part of a sweeping Kremlin crackdown on dissent and press freedom amid the war in Ukraine. He and the US government vehemently deny the allegations.

Military: Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me. (Psalm 144:1-2)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has privately informed NATO officials that “enduring” shortfalls in his country’s defense budget mean the country will never meet the alliance’s defense spending target, according to a Pentagon document leaked through the Discord messaging app. The document’s authors conclude that “widespread” military deficiencies in Canada are causing problems with security partners and allies and that “enduring” shortfalls caused the Canadian Armed Forces to assess back in February that it would not be able to “conduct a major operation while simultaneously maintaining its NATO battle group leadership [in Latvia] and aid to Ukraine,” reports The Washington Post, which obtained the file.

Law Enforcement: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. (Matthew 5:9)

Violent crime is surging across America’s major cities, but voters in those same urban centers are rejecting candidates running on avowedly law-and-order platforms. The paradox of voters being concerned about rising crime, yet rejecting candidates committed to tackling violence, was on display this month in Chicago‘s mayoral race where progressive ‘defund the police’ candidate Brandon Johnson narrowly won a hotly contested Democratic primary runoff against former Chicago schools chief Paul Vallas, who had vowed to make Chicago “the safest city in America.” Similar themes have played out in mayoral elections in Los Angeles and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, heavily Democratic cities grappling with rising violence where the tough-on-crime candidates lost.

Cyber Security: He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. (Psalm 40:2)

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the arrest Thursday of Jack Teixeira, an Air National Guardsman in Massachusetts suspected of leaking classified documents. Teixeira, 21, is charged with the alleged unauthorized removal, retention and transmission of classified national defense information, Garland said. Teixeira, an enlisted airman first class who is also the leader of an online chat group who has shared an interest in guns and racist memes. The highly sensitive documents, of which there were more than a hundred, provide data on: Military activities, including U.S. spy planes in the area; U.S. officials’ perspectives on Ukrainian forces’ training and readiness; New estimates on Ukrainian and Russian troops killed and equipment destroyed.

• Teixeira worked for the Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 102nd Intelligence Wing, which is located at the Otis Air National Guard Base in Cape Cod. “Our mission is to provide worldwide precision intelligence and command and control along with trained and experienced Airmen for expeditionary combat support and homeland security,” the Wing’s website says. 
• It’s unlikely Teixeira would have been on the list of the hundreds of authorized recipients of such deeply classified intelligence, but his IT work with intelligence sources and top-secret clearance may have enabled him to hack the Pentagon’s most secret-secure computer network.

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)

The governors of Arkansas and Utah have signed legislation restricting children’s social media usage that requires age verification and parental consent. Utah also has set a curfew for young users of the platforms. Arkansas’ law bars social media companies from providing accounts to users younger than 18 without parental consent and age verification. It directs social media companies to use third-party vendors to determine children’s ages. Sen. Josh Hawley wants Arkansas’ and Utah’s new laws limiting children’s social media usage to create momentum for nationwide rules to reduce digital danger for those younger than 16.

• All well and good, but social media overconsumption is a problem for adults and older teens too. Rather than deferring to big brother to rein in social media time, adults and parents ought to take the lead.

Drugs: And they did not repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries [Greek: pharmakeia, i.e. pharmacy, drugs].

Marijuana legislation is tied to a 25% increase in cannabis-use disorder among teens, and the share of 12th graders who vaped pot products nearly doubled from 2017 to 2021, according to a new report. And there were more than 800,000 marijuana-related emergency room visits in 2021, or nearly double the 455,000 recorded in 2011. The steady march toward lenient marijuana laws is having measurable harm on young people, minorities and other Americans, says board-certified doctor Drew Pinksy in a report released April 20. The report was drafted along with Smart Approaches to Marijuana, an organization that warns about the harms of marijuana use and is devoted to preventing “another Big Tobacco.”

Colombian President Gustavo Petro declared during his inaugural address last August that the time has come for a new approach in the international war on drugs, which he argued has failed – “and failed resoundingly.” The leftist leader, who also has vowed to bring “total peace” to his nation of 50 million after six decades of conflict, took his message to Washington on Thursday, 4/20, when he meets with President Joe Biden at the White House. Petro’s decriminalization approach comes as Biden has been increasingly criticized by Republicans for being weak on border security and stopping the flow of fentanyl from Mexican cartels who also traffic in Colombian cocaine.

This last week, the Drug Enforcement Agency sent out a Public Safety Alert that highlighted the proliferation of a new cocktail of deadly drugs in 48 states, specifically “a sharp increase in the trafficking of fentanyl mixed with xylazine.” Fentanyl is the deadliest street opioid to ever hit the U.S., 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. It’s made almost exclusively south of the U.S. border in Mexico with some imported ingredient help from China. It’s cheap to make and easy to smuggle across the borders, especially laced on other drugs and pills. A lethal dose of fentanyl is only 2 mg – the equivalent of a few grains of salt. Over 100,000 overdoses have been reported in the U.S. in just the last few years. Fentanyl is now the leading cause of death among Americans ages 18 to 45.

• Xylazine, known also as “tranq,” “tranq dope” and the “zombie drug,” is a powerful animal sedative or tranquilizer, and is not considered a federally controlled substance, requiring only a veterinarian’s prescription. The recent DEA alert added, “Xylazine and fentanyl drug mixtures place users at a higher risk of suffering a fatal drug poisoning. … People who inject drug mixtures containing xylazine also can develop severe wounds, including necrosis – the rotting of human tissue – that may lead to amputation.”

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)

In the latest move to build on the Sunshine State’s conservative policy gains, the Florida Department of Education (DOE) under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has approved rules extending the prohibition on LGBT material in public schools to all grade levels. Last year, DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education law, which bans schools from teaching children in kindergarten through third grade about transgenderism and other sexuality-related issues, limits discussions of sexuality for older children to “age appropriate” content and requires parents to be informed of any changes that could affect their child’s physical, emotional, or mental well-being.

Gender Confusion: Male and female He created them. (Genesis 5:2)

• Gender confusion is being promoted because it undermines God’s ordained family structure, giving secular government more control over people, particularly our youth.

Detransitioner Prisha Mosley said she “was given no choice” about transitioning to identify as a man, socially, medically, and even surgically, in Part One of “Too Young,” a new series released by undercover journalism group Project Veritas (PV). At every step of her journey, “gender affirming” therapists, endocrinologists, and surgeons rushed her into the next stage of transition with little time to reflect. “They said it was transition or suicide. Like, I was given no choice. I was told, ‘You will kill yourself if you don’t go through with these treatments,'” said Mosley.

The State of Washington recently made news with legislation allowing the state to give so-called “gender affirming care” to minors who run away from home. Permissible interventions” include surgeries to cut off the children’s genitalia, reports the Washington Stand. Perhaps the most outrageous part of the legislation is that it specifically allows the state to withhold information from parents about what’s happening to their child. “The bill does not admit it legalizes kidnapping, but if you’re the parent who is looking for your child – and the state knows where that child is and won’t tell you – it’s going to feel an awful lot like kidnapping,” the Stand notes.

CVS has notified employees at the retail giant’s thousands of outlets in the United States of its new polices in support of their ‘trans’ staff, which included a note that any restroom can be used by anyone at any time. Employees who inform their bosses that they intend to engage in gender-bending will be granted time off, and the corporation will require their coworkers to address them using their preferred pronouns. The policy states: “You may also wish to have appropriate medical care to support your transition, including treatments such as hormone replacement therapy and/or gender confirmation surgery. During and after the transition has occurred, CVS Health encourages you to continue to partner with your Leader and your Advice & Counsel representative, and to immediately report any issues that you might have with your employment, your work environment, and/or your Leader, co-workers, clients, and customers.”

Election Integrity: He who walks with integrity walks securely, But he who perverts his ways will become known… The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them. (Proverbs 10:9,11:3)

Fox News on Tuesday agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems $787.5 million as part of a settlement that also included a statement from Fox saying it acknowledges it made false statements about Dominion in the days and weeks after the 2020 election. Dominion alleged that Fox News hosts knowingly told lies about the company that damaged its reputation. The settlement came just before a jury trial was set to begin and less than a month after a judge ruled that the evidence “demonstrates that it’s CRYSTAL clear that none of the Statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true.”

My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell has been ordered to pay $5 million to an expert who debunked his data related to the 2020 election, according to a decision by an arbitration panel. Lindell had earlier vowed to award the multimillion-dollar sum to any cyber security expert who could disprove his data. The arbitration panel awarded Robert Zeidman, who has decades in software development experience, a $5 million payout on Wednesday after he sued Lindell for the money. ““He proved the data Lindell LLC provided, and represented reflected information from the November 2020 election, unequivocally did not reflect November 2020 election data,” the arbitration panel ruled.

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)

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas acknowledged Tuesday that the conditions along the southern border will deteriorate next month when the government’s Title 42 pandemic authority to immediately expel illegal border crossers disappears, but told a congressional hearing that his department is working to adapt to the changed conditions. Previous estimates suggest that as many as 18,000 illegal immigrants could cross per day. That would be nearly triple the amount that arrived each day in March.

The U.S. is home to more immigrants than any other country – more than 45 million people, according to the latest Census estimates. That’s 13.6% of the US population, about the same as it was a century ago. But over the years, we’ve seen significant shifts in where immigrants to the U.S. come from, and where they end up once they get here. Mexicans now represent the largest group of immigrants living in the United States. That’s been true since 1980. An estimated 10.7 million Mexican immigrants lived in the US in 2021, roughly 1 million fewer than the number a decade earlier. India is next with 2.7 million followed by China (2.4 million), Philippines (2.0M), El Salvador (1.4M), Vietnam (1.34M), Cuba (1.28M), Dominican Republic (1.26M), Guatemala (1.1M) and Korea (1.0M).

Over the past two years, more than 250,000 migrant children have come alone to the United States. Thousands of children have ended up in punishing jobs across the country — working overnight in slaughterhouses, replacing roofs, operating machinery in factories — all in violation of child labor laws, a recent New York Times investigation showed. But all along, there were signs of the explosive growth of this labor force and warnings that the Biden administration ignored or missed, the Times has found. Again and again, veteran government staffers and outside contractors told the Health and Human Services Department, including in reports that reached Secretary Xavier Becerra, that children appeared to be at risk. The Labor Department put out news releases noting an increase in child labor. Senior White House aides were shown evidence of exploitation, but policy changes and a crackdown weren’t announced until just this past February – days after the Times first explosive report.

• The Biden administration announced on 2/27, a wide crackdown on the labor exploitation of migrant children around the United States, including more aggressive investigations of companies benefiting from their work. The White House laid out a host of new initiatives to investigate child labor violations among employers and improve the basic support that migrant children receive when they are released to sponsors in the United States. It remains to be seen how aggressively these initiatives are employed and whether they will make a real difference.

Population Growth: 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)

India is set to surpass China as the world’s most populous nation, with almost 3 million more people by the middle of this year, data released by the United Nations on Wednesday showed. Based on the projections, India’s population by mid-year will reach 1.4286 billion, compared to China’s 1.4257 billion – 2.9 million fewer – according to the United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) “State of World Population Report” for 2023. The United States is a very distant third, with an estimated population of 340 million.

Famine: “Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it. (Ezekiel 14:13)

The World Concern country director just shared a heartbreaking story — In the span of just three days, in one remote village of Somalia — 5 children died of starvation. “There has been NO RAIN for 4 years,” says the organization. Catastrophic drought and a global food shortage collided to create a life-or-death hunger crisis in this African nation and throughout the Horn of Africa, with 1.5 million children in Somalia fighting to survive.

Water Supplies: Moreover He said to me, “Son of man, [they] shall drink water by measure and with dread, that they may lack bread and water, and be dismayed with one another, and waste away because of their iniquity. (Ezekiel 4:16-17)

After years of punishing drought, a historic winter snowpack is bringing a reprieve to the Colorado River Basin and the nation’s largest reservoirs. The US Bureau of Reclamation announced Thursday that this winter’s rain and the projected runoff from above-normal snowfall is expected to boost its water releases this year from Lake Powell to Lake Mead by 2.5 million acre-feet. That’s an extra 814 billion gallons water, and welcome news for the communities, farmers and tribes who rely on the reservoir. In total, Glen Canyon Dam, which forms Lake Powell, is now expected to release up to 9.5 million acre-feet of water downstream to Lake Mead and its Hoover Dam – the equivalent of nearly 4.7 million Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Energy Supplies: He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. (Isaiah 44:14-15)

Russia’s oil exports have bounced back to levels last seen before it invaded Ukraine, despite a barrage of Western sanctions. Moscow’s exports of crude oil and oil products rose in March to their highest level since April 2020, jumping by 600,000 barrels a day, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its monthly oil report Friday. However, Russia’s oil revenue is still down 43% from a year ago, the IEA said, as Russia is forced to sell its barrels to a more limited pool of customers who can negotiate greater discounts.

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)

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy unveiled a sweeping package Wednesday that would raise the nation’s debt limit by $1.5 trillion into next year while imposing a long list of Republican priorities. They include new spending caps, work requirements for recipients of government aid, and others that are sure to be nonstarters for the White House. President Biden warned of a looming fiscal crisis if Congress fails to take action to raise the debt ceiling, now at $31 trillion, to keep paying the nation’s bills.

Poverty: Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed. (Proverbs 19:17) Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (Hebrews 13:16) Jesus said, “The poor you will always have with you.” (Matthew 26:11)

The number of Afghans in poverty nearly doubled to 34 million as the nation was racked by the collapse of the US-backed government and the Taliban takeover, the United Nations said Tuesday. Vast foreign subsidies were halted and aid programs dramatically cut back after the US-backed republic fell in 2021 as many countries refused to deal with the Taliban authorities in Kabul. Those NGOs still providing vital help were dealt a further blow in December last year by a Taliban government order barring Afghan women from working for them. The curb was extended this month to the UN’s Afghan women employees and the organization said it faces an ‘appalling choice’ over whether to continue its aid.

Taxes:  He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Luke 20:25)

According to the newly released IRS Data Book, the IRS collected $4.9 trillion in taxes for the fiscal year 2022 (Oct. 1, 2021, to Sept. 30, 2022). In the same year, the IRS issued approximately $642 billion in tax refunds, bringing the net amount of taxes collected to approximately $4.26 trillion. In the fiscal year 2020, Trump’s final year in office, the IRS collected $3.5 trillion in aggregate tax revenue. With nearly $736 billion in refunds, the net taxes collected is approximately $2.76 trillion, or approximately 35% less than during Biden’s second year in office. President Biden has accelerated tax enforcement. Based on the number of tax returns examined as a proxy for enforcement, the number has declined steadily under Trump, culminating in a low of 500,000 in 2020. This number increased to approximately 750,000 in 2021 and remained essentially the same in 2022.

• According to IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel, the IRS is committed to having a visible, robust tax enforcement presence. Throughout FY 2022, the IRS has continued to develop and use innovative approaches to identify and resolve potential noncompliance issues, Werfel said. The IRS does not plan to increase audit rates for households making less than $400k, the agency said.

Welfare: “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be.” (Deut.  15:7-8)

Homebuyers with good credit scores will soon encounter a costly surprise: a new federal rule forcing them to pay higher mortgage rates and fees to subsidize people with riskier credit ratings who are also in the market to buy houses. The fee changes will go into effect May 1 as part of the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s push for affordable housing, and they will affect mortgages originating at private banks across the country. The federally backed home mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will also enact the loan-level price adjustments. Mortgage industry specialists say homebuyers with credit scores of 680 or higher will pay, for example, about $40 per month more on a home loan of $400,000. Homebuyers who make down payments of just 15% to 20% will get socked with the largest fees.

Thousands of low-income Americans are receiving regular payouts from the government as part of a sweeping social experiment aimed at answering the question: What would happen if you addressed poverty by sweeping aside the programs, regulations, the means-testing and the oversight and just gave people unconditional cash? Today, more than 100 mostly left-leaning cities and counties have launched pilot programs of guaranteed basic income, delivering no-strings-attached payments via debit cards to sample populations with the goal of creating an “income floor” for people living on the edge of solvency.

• Backers say the goal is to lay the groundwork for a national guaranteed basic income program, a policy that has long held appeal for free-market fans as a replacement for the $1.1 trillion federal social welfare network and the vast bureaucracy that administers it. For many on the left, however, the idea is not to replace the current system but augment it.

Work: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23-24)

U.S. wage growth is easing overall, but pay increases for new hires in certain industries have tumbled from stratospheric levels a year ago as a historically hot labor market cools, according to Gusto, a payroll processor for small businesses. The pullback is mostly affecting sectors that have struggled because of the Federal Reserve’s sharp interest rate hikes the past year, such as housing, finance and technology. But it’s also starting to spread to other industries, such as manufacturing, as more Americans who left the labor force during the depths of the pandemic stream back in because their COVID-19-related savings are dwindling and health risks are waning.

Many wives are earning just as much as their husbands in more marriages today. So why are they still doing more housework? In marriages where both spouses earn 40% to 50% of the couple’s combined earnings, husbands spend about 3.5 hours more a week socializing and relaxing compared with their wives, according to a new study from the Pew Research Center. Wives in these marriages spend roughly 2 hours more per week on caregiving than their husbands and 2.5 hours more on housework.

Business: Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice. (Proverbs 16:8)

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sunday after the home goods retailer failed to secure funds to stay afloat. The Union, New Jersey-based home goods retailer filed for bankruptcy in a District of New Jersey court, listing both its estimated assets and liabilities in the range of $1 billion and $10 billion, according to a court filing. Bed Bath & Beyond said that it has received a commitment of approximately $240 million in debtor-in-possession financing from Sixth Street Specialty Lending Inc., according to a separate statement. The company added that its 360 Bed Bath & Beyond and 120 buybuy BABY stores and websites will remain open and continue serving customers as it begins efforts to enact the closure of its retail locations.

Disney is laying off several thousand workers across the company this week in the second and largest wave of cuts as part of the media giant’s previously announced plan to slash its workforce by 7,000 employees. The latest round of job cuts will impact ESPN, Disney’s entertainment division, Disney Parks, and its Experiences and Product division as part of a larger workforce reduction plan announced in February. The latest round of layoffs comes after an initial wave last month, and will bring the total number of jobs lost across the company to 4,000, it said. The layoffs, however, are not expected to affect hourly frontline employees at Disney’s theme parks and resorts.

Michigan Democratic lawmakers and the state’s governor Gretchen Whitmer are facing irate taxpayers after authorizing taxpayer funds for a “green energy” project with links to the Communist Party of China (CCP). At a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, lawmakers approved $175 million in public funding for Gotion, a Chinese company, to construct an electric vehicle battery factory in Big Rapids, Michigan. However, concerns were raised by the public and some lawmakers due to Gotion’s parent company, Gotion High-Tech, having corporate bylaws that establish a CCP Committee within the company. Despite opposition from committee Republicans and three Democrats, the measure passed with a 10-9 vote.

Seagate Technology has agreed to pay a $300 million penalty in a settlement with US authorities for shipping over $1.1 billion worth of hard disk drives to China’s Huawei in violation of US export control laws, the Department of Commerce said on Wednesday. Seagate sold the drives to Huawei between August 2020 and September 2021 despite an August 2020 rule that restricted sales of certain foreign items made with US technology to the company. Huawei was placed on the Entity List, a US trade blacklist, in 2019 to reduce the sale of US goods to the company amid national security and foreign policy concerns.

Banking: “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)

Independent mortgage banks and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks lost an average of $301 on each loan they originated in 2022, down from an average profit of $2,339 per loan in 2021, according to a recently released report by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Mortgage rates more than doubled in 2022, briefly touching 7% in October. Rates have since come down slightly. But loan volumes in 2022 were 50% down compared to 2021. Volume was $2.6 billion (8,371 loans) per company in 2022, down from $4.9 billion (16,590 loans) per company in 2022. Lower volume meant overhead costs were spread across much fewer loans.

Economy – Depression/Shortages: 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)

Retail sales slowed sharply in March, underscoring that Americans’ wherewithal to spend is waning. Sales fell 1%, more than the 0.4% decline economists expected. Excluding volatile autos and gasoline, sales declined 0.3%.Business declined across a broad range of categories, with sales declining 1.6% in autos, 3% at general merchandise outlets, 1.2% at furniture stores, 2.1% at electronics and appliance stores and 1.7% at clothing shops. Sales rose 1.9% online and 0.1% at restaurants and bars.

While most Americans have been tightening their spending to deal with high inflation and interest rates. But the affluent are still splurging, with the top 10% of income-earners accounting for 45.5% of consumer spending in the fourth quarter, up from 44% in the third quarter. Spending by that group was up 3.8% during the last three months of 2022, compared to just a 1.3% jump for the bottom 80%. The trend could bode well for the U.S. economy, bolstering hopes that the U.S. can dodge a recession since consumer spending makes up 70% of economic activity.

The average U.S. cost for a gallon of regular gas is up 21 cents from just one month ago to $3,673, as of Monday, April 17. The average price for a gallon of regular gas also varies widely across the country – in California on Monday the average cost was $4.915, compared to Mississippi at approximately $3.166. Then next four highest average gas prices were found in Hawaii – $4.780; Arizona – $4.548; Washington: $4.501; Nevada – $4.275, all western states.

The average annual percentage rate (APR) on financing a new car climbed from 4.5% in March 2022 to 7% a year later. The average payment for financing a used car is now $556 per month, which is up a staggering $147 from June 2020. In January 2019, new car payments over $1,000/month made up roughly 5% of sales. In March 2023, only four years later, four-figure monthly payments ballooned to 17% of the new car market. Loans lasting six to seven years represented only 1% of the market in 2004, but now make up 30% of car and truck loans.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.39% in the week ending April 20, up from 6.27% the week before, according to data from Freddie Mac released Thursday. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate was 5.11% Mortgage rates went higher than 5% for the first time since 2011 a year ago, up from a low of 2.65% in January 2021.

Sales of existing homes in March — which include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops — dropped 2.4% from February. Annually, sales were down 22% from a year ago and the seasonally adjusted annualized sales pace dropped from 5.69 million units a year ago to 4.44 million in March.

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s index of mortgage applications tumbled 8.8% last week for the first time in months, according to new data published on Wednesday, 4/19. Demand for refinancing also continued to plunge last week, tumbling another 6%, according to the survey. Compared with the same time last year, refinance applications are down 56%.

UK inflation remained above 10% in March, far higher than in the United States and Europe, as bread prices rose at a record pace. Consumer prices rose 10.1% last month compared with a year ago, down only slightly from 10.4% in February, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday, 4/19. A decline in the cost of motor fuels was offset by a sharp increase in food prices, which rose 19.2% through the year to March — the highest rate in more than 45 years. And at 19.4%, bread and cereals notched the highest annual rate of inflation since records began in 1989.

Israel: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you. (Psalm 122:6)

Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen is in Turkmenistan where he is opening a new Israeli embassy located just 17 km (10 miles) from the Iranian border. This also marks the first time that an Israeli cabinet minister visited the country in 29 years. Cohen is set to hold a series of meetings with the president of Turkmenistan and other officials. “The relationship with Turkmenistan is of great security and political importance, and this visit will strengthen the position of the State of Israel in the region,” said Cohen.

Five people were injured in a car-ramming attack in central Jerusalem Monday afternoon, 4/24, just hours before Israelis marked the beginning of Yom HaZikaron – Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terror. The attack occurred on Jaffa Street, just outside the entrance to the Mahane Yehuda outdoor market, when a vehicle plowed into pedestrians. The terrorist was killed at the scene. He was identified as Hatem Nejima, a 39-year-old father of five and resident of the Arab neighborhood of Beit Safafa in eastern Jerusalem.

Two Israeli men were shot and wounded by a terrorist with an improvised machine gun as they drove through the eastern Jerusalem Shimon HaTzadik (Sheikh Jarrah) neighborhood on Tuesday morning. The two men, aged 48 and 50, were en route to morning prayers at a nearby synagogue when they were targeted by the terrorist. The victims, who are hospitalized at two different Jerusalem hospitals, are both currently listed as being in stable condition.

An Israeli basketball team and its fans were targeted with violent antisemitism by rival fans when they played in Greece on Wednesday, team officials confirmed to Hebrew language media. During a recent away game between basketball teams HaPoel Jerusalem and AEK Athens, Greek fans launched fireworks at Israeli fans and hurled bricks at them, leaving several Israeli spectators injured. “I saw traumatized mothers trying to protect their children, as huge rocks were thrown at them. This could have ended in disaster,” said Eyal Chomsky, owner of the team. In a statement, HaPoel Jerusalem said that the incident was “terrorism in every sense of the word” and charged that Greek security officials not only refused to intervene, but in fact prevented Israeli fans from leaving the arena and fleeing to safety

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)

Tens of thousands of Iranians, some chanting “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” marched in the capital of Tehran on Friday, 4/14, to mark Jerusalem Day, an annual show of support for the Palestinians. Senior Iranian officials attended the rally, including President Ebrahim Raisi. Since Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979, the rallies marking what is also known as al-Quds Day have typically been held on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi on Tuesday threatened to “destroy Haifa and Tel Aviv” in response to the “smallest action” taken by Israel against the regime in Tehran, the Iranian government’s semi-official Mehrs news agency reported. The remarks were made at a ceremony marking the Islamic Republic’s National Army Day, an event that annually falls on April 18, which this year coincides with Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday said Iran was the “driving force” of a recent multi-front escalation, while detailing the funding the Islamic Republic provides to its proxies across the region Gallant told reporters in a briefing that Iran funds the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon with $700 million a year, as well as “knowledge and strategic weaponry” such as precision-guided munitions The Hamas terror group that rules the Gaza Strip is funded by Iran with $100 million annually, with additional funding worth tens of millions of dollars going to the second largest terror group in the Palestinian enclave, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Gallant said.

Wars & Rumors of Wars: And you will hear ofwars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; forall these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.Fornation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. (Matthew 24:6-7a)

Russia/Ukraine: The long-awaited Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russia has officially begun. Ukraine crossed into the Russian-occupied regions of Kherson on the left bank of the Dnipro river and is holding strategic positions, media outlets reported this past weekend. Ukrainian military forces have successfully established positions on the eastern side of the Dnieper River, a first step in the counteroffensive. After more than a year since the Russian invasion, recent fighting has become a war of attrition, with neither side able to gain momentum. But Ukraine has recently received sophisticated weapons from its Western allies, and new troops freshly trained in the West, giving rise to growing anticipation of a successful counteroffensive.

China approved ‘provision of lethal aid’ to Russia in its war in Ukraine earlier this year and planned to disguise military equipment as civilian items, according to a U.S. intercept of Russian intelligence revealed in leaked secret documents. The intercept, apparently obtained through U.S. eavesdropping on Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, was included in a top-secret summary, dated Feb. 23, of recent Ukraine- and Russia-related ‘products’ compiled by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

North Korea: North Korea has once again defied international sanctions and warnings by testing a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that it claims can reach any part of the United States. The Hwasong-18, as it is called, is a solid-fuel missile that can be launched more quickly and stealthily than its previous liquid-fuel counterparts. This is a significant breakthrough for the rogue regime and a serious threat to the security and stability of the region and the world. According to North Korean state media, the missile flew at a high altitude of about 620 miles and landed in the sea off Japan’s east coast after traveling about 2,800 miles. The launch triggered an alert on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, where residents were urged to take shelter. The test was widely condemned by the international community, including the U.S., South Korea, Japan, China, and Russia.

Iran/U.S. Iran’s navy forced a U.S. submarine to surface as it entered the Gulf, Iranian navy commander Shahram Irani told state television on Thursday, in the latest report of an apparent confrontation between Iranian and U.S. forces in the Gulf. “The U.S. submarine was approaching while submerged, but the Iranian submarine Fateh detected it and carried out… maneuvers to force it to surface as it went through the Strait (of Hormuz). It had also entered into our territorial waters but … it corrected its course after being warned,” Irani said. There was no immediate comment from the U.S. military to Irani’s remarks.

Sudan: The U.S. is preparing troops to evacuate American Embassy personnel in Sudan as a power struggle between two top military factions has erupted into widespread fighting across Khartoum, the capital city Hundreds of Sudanese civilians have been killed and thousands wounded. The conflict threatens to destabilize Africa’s third-largest nation. The U.S. forces are being deployed in Djibouti, south of Sudan. An estimated 19,000 American citizens are in Sudan. Artillery fire, airstrikes and ground fighting began April 8 between Sudan’s armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, a rival paramilitary force. The two factions have been unable to agree how to share power as Sudanese civilians clamor for a democratic government. Hundreds of Sudanese civilians have been killed and thousands wounded.

• The U.S. used Navy SEALs and Army Special Forces to evacuate American Embassy personnel in Sudan Saturday, 4/22, due to the escalating violence. U.S. Forces are on high alert over the safety of remaining Americans.

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)

Somalia’s military repulsed an attack by jihadi fighters in a remote region of the country early Saturday, 4/22, killing at least 18 of the al-Shabab militants, according to a top army official. At least three civilians described as ‘traditional elders’ were killed in the fighting near Masagaway town. Masagaway is located in the central region of Galgadud and home to a military base. Resident Yusuf Sheikh told The Associated Press that militants overran the base, confiscated weapons and burned battle wagons during the attack. ‘It was early in the morning, and (al-Shabab) completely took over the whole town, including the military base, forcing the government forces out of the town,’ he said. Several people were killed in the attack and others were missing.

At least 24 people including civilian defense volunteers were killed Tuesday, 4/18, in two attacks by suspected jihadists in Burkina Faso. The deadly attack took place in a village in Bittou, near the Togolese and Ghanaian borders, according to one local official, who said 16 auxiliary soldiers and four civilians were killed. He said that several were still missing. ‘More than a dozen terrorists were killed in response to the attack,’ he added.”

Islamic State militants killed 26 people who were foraging for wild truffles in Syria’s Hama region, opposition and state media reported Sunday, 4/16. Amid the economic devastation of Syria’s years-long war, foraging for truffles can help people earn money, as the seasonal delicacy fetches a high price. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said civilians and military personnel were among the victims of the armed attack in the eastern outskirts of the city of Hama, 115 miles north of the capital Damascus. State news agency SANA said that the attack was carried out by members of the Islamic State group.

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)

Three countries account for the lion’s share of global carbon dioxide emissions. In 2022, China was highest, at 32%, though that has begun to fall slightly. The United States was next with 14%, an increase of 1.5% over 2021. India’s emissions continue to rise and now make up 8% of the global total. Together, the 27 nations of the European Union only account for 8%.

End-Time Weather Will Continue to Grow More Severe: (Daniel 9:26b, Ezekiel 38:22, Luke 21:25, Revelation 8:7, 11:19, 16:8,11)

Strong storms including tornadoes, winds, and hail moved through parts of the Central U.S. on Wednesday, 4/19, , killing at least two people, causing injuries, destroying homes and leaving thousands without power. Central Oklahoma saw multiple tornadoes, including one that raced through the communities of Shawnee and Cole. Authorities said at least two people were killed in the small town of Cole in McClain County and there also were injuries ranging from cuts and bruises to some requiring hospitalization. Power lines also were torn down, trees toppled and homes and other buildings badly damaged or destroyed. Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee and an airport received damage before the tornado moved off and weakened. At the peak of the severe weather, more than 23,000 customers were without electricity throughout Oklahoma. Residents south of Oklahoma City reported being trapped in their shelters underground.

Torrents and torrents of rain have drowned thousands of acres of farmland in California’s Central Valley this winter and resuscitated a lake that vanished decades ago. As far as the eye can see, Tulare Lake stretches to the horizon — across roads, across crop fields, through homes and buildings. Now, the massive snowpack that piled up on the Sierra Nevada this winter is a dripping time bomb. As it melts, the flood could triple in size by summer, threatening the surrounding communities and costing billions in losses. Tulare Lake was once the biggest freshwater body west of the Mississippi until farmers consumed so much of the Sierra Nevada runoff that it dried up and the lake bed became crop land.

Cyclone Ilsa set a new windspeed record on Friday morning, 4/14, as it made landfall on Australia’s northwest coast. Buildings in Pilbara were completely destroyed, semi-trucks were overturned and trees completely uprooted. Sustained winds reached 135 mph.

Signs of the Times Update: April 13, 2023

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4-7)

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 new report released Tuesday revealed that in the six months following the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, over 32,000 fewer abortions were carried out in the U.S. compared to the average monthly number that occurred before Dobbs. That data comes from research by the Society of Family Planning, a pro-abortion rights organization. An analysis of the report’s data by The Daily Caller found that states that instituted post-Roe abortion bans saw a 96% drop in the average number of abortion per month.

The Kansas Legislature became the first in the nation to give final passage to a bill that defines what it means to be a woman, setting the stage for a veto battle with Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. The Republican-controlled Senate approved Tuesday on a 28-12 vote the Women’s Bill of Rights, which defines “male” and “female” based on biological sex at birth for purposes of single-sex spaces such as public restrooms, athletic teams and dormitories. Kelly, who has vetoed three times bills to bar biological males from female sports, is expected to veto the legislation, but Republicans hold supermajorities in both the House and Senate to override the veto.

Indiana and Idaho this week became the latest states to enact bans on gender-transition medical procedures for minors, an issue that shows no sign of slowing in red-state legislatures despite enormous pushback from transgender rights groups. Indiana became the 15th state to implement age restrictions after Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb signed legislation Wednesday, 4/6, barring those under 18 from accessing puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and transition surgeries. One day earlier, Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed a bill barring gender-transition drugs and procedures for minors.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed a bill into law that makes it illegal for an adult to help a minor get an abortion without parental consent. The law is the first of its kind in the U.S. and creates a new crime of “abortion trafficking,” barring adults from obtaining abortion pills for a minor or “recruiting, harboring or transporting the pregnant minor” without the consent of the minor’s parent or guardian.

Doctors in New Mexico have won a big victory for conscience rights. Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a bill into law on April 4 allowing medical professionals to decline such participation for reasons of conscience or religious beliefs. “As Christian health care professionals, it is our aim to serve every patient with excellence and compassion, as image-bearers of God,” said Dr. Jeffrey Barrows, senior vice president of bioethics and public policy for the Christian Medical & Dental Associations. “We strive to perform our work according to the dictates of our faith and professional ethics, including the belief that every life is precious. We’re grateful New Mexico quickly responded to our lawsuit by enacting protections for conscientious physicians.”

The hit faith-based movie Jesus Revolution, which passed $50 million at the box office over the weekend, will release on digital home video on April 11 and then on DVD/Blu-ray two weeks later, the studio behind the film announced Tuesday.

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.

Millions and millions of Americans will commemorate the Resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday, but many still struggle to connect an event that they affirm as historically true to their daily lives, according to Lifeway Research, an evangelical Christian research organization. Two-thirds of Americans polled profess to believe that the Bible’s accounts of the physical Resurrection of Jesus “are completely accurate.” The number roughly corresponds with the percentage of Americans who say they are Christians. However, 32% of those surveyed said God isn’t concerned with their day-to-day decisions, and 60% said religious belief is “a matter of personal opinion, not objective truth.” Eleven percent of those surveyed said they are “not sure” about the biblical accounts, and 23% said they don’t believe them.

A recent report by Barna Research listed the top reasons people question Christianity. Among those who claim to be Christian, practicing or otherwise, the problem of human suffering (23%) topped the list, followed by hypocrisy of religious people (22%) and conflict in the world (19%). Among those who claimed no faith, religious hypocrisy was far and away the most cited response, identified by 42% as behind their doubt about Christian beliefs.

• Unfortunately, there is a lot of Christian hypocrisy for two reasons. First, many who profess to be Christian are not truly born-again with the indwelling Holy Spirit, and so do not display the fruits of the Spirit but rather the works of the flesh. Second, even born-again Christians are sometimes sinners, because “all fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). As 1John 1:8 states, if we say we have no sin, we make God a liar. God must be viewed on His own terms, not on the basis of whether His followers are hypocritical or not.

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)

A recent study commissioned by The Wall Street Journal found that the percentage of those who self–report valuing things like “hard work,” “community involvement,” “patriotism,” and “tolerance for others” has tanked in recent years. The only one value that showed a marked increase in the study was “money.” Our changing values reflect a deeply changed worldview and are the root of the broader issues we face as a society, including the heightened political rancor, the growing number of deaths of despair, and the loss of fundamental freedoms of conscience, notes Breakpoint.org. “It is to this cultural moment that God has called us. It is in this cultural moment that Christ has placed His Church to be salt and light.”

The Demise of America: The first was like a lion (Britain) and had eagle’s wings (America). I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it. (Daniel 7:4)

American officials said the recently leaked Pentagon intelligence documents offer hints about U.S. methods to collect information on Russian plans. U.S. intelligence agencies do not yet know if any of their sources of information will be cut off as a result of the leak. The leak has already complicated relations with allied countries and raised doubts about America’s ability to keep its secrets. The newly reveal intelligence documents also make plain that the U.S. is not just spying on Russia, but also its allies. One senior U.S. official called the leak “a massive intelligence breach.”

• Congressional lawmakers demanded answers Tuesday, 4/10, as outrage grew over the major leak of highly classified government documents, with U.S. allies fuming about apparent American spying efforts and adversaries gloating over a deeply embarrassing scandal that has caught the Biden administration off guard.
• The leader of a small online gaming chat group where a trove of classified U.S. intelligence documents leaked over the last few months is a 21-year-old member of the intelligence wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, according to The New York Times. The national guardsman, Jack Teixeira, oversaw a private online group named Thug Shaker Central, where about 20 to 30 people, mostly young men and teenagers, came together over a shared love of guns, racist online memes and video games.

According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, the government is borrowing roughly $6 billion a day. The national debt (the amount the federal government has borrowed over the years and must pay back) is $31 trillion and will grow another $19 trillion by 2033, according to the Congressional Budget Office. That translates to roughly $246,000 per taxpayer or $94,000 for every single person in the country. It’s estimated that the amount the USA owes is now ($31 trillion) is 130% greater than its gross domestic product (all the products and services produced in one year by labor and property supplied by the citizens). In other words, the government is spending more than it brings in, and so must continue to finance operations on a credit card. much of that debt is owed to the Federal Reserve, large investment funds and foreign governments, namely, Japan and China.

• Interest payments on the national debt are estimated to top $395 billion this year, which is significantly more than the government spends on veterans’ benefits and services, and according to Pew Research Center, more than it will spend on elementary and secondary education, disaster relief, agriculture, science and space programs, foreign aid, and natural resources and environmental protection combined.

The Biden administration has proposed new federal guidelines that would politicize the civil service and potentially bar Christians and others who hold disfavored opinions from government employment. Critics say the president’s proposal essentially states, “Conservatives need not apply.” Current federal law deems an applicant “unsuitable” for federal employment if the applicant engages in knowing and willful engagement in acts or activities designed to overthrow the U.S. government “by force.” But the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) proposal would strike the words “by force.” Removing the words “by force” renders the rule “dangerously vague, noted the Family Research Council. Such lack of clarity would give the government great leeway in keeping people out of federal employment that it did not like, FRC warns.

New World Order – One-World Government: It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Revelation 13:7-8) The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces. (Daniel 7:23)

A slew of nations recently announced they will begin moving away from the U.S. dollar when trading key products, and some are openly promoting a new movement to ditch the dollar for the Chinese yuan. The new movement in “de-dollarization” could deeply impact America’s role as the world leader, and damage its ability to sanction countries that violate basic standards on human rights. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve is launching a new program called FedNow, which is slated as a first step toward a centralized banking digital currency (CBDC) for the United States. The use of digital currencies is being promoted as a way to stop crimes like money laundering, but it’s also deeply criticized as a direct threat to financial freedom. Digital currencies would represent a new type of money where every payment is tracked.

• A worldwide digital currency and the elimination of the U.S. dollar as the standard for global transactions are key strategies in the formation of the one-world government prophesied in Revelation 13.

“The World Health Organization (WHO) is demanding a blank check for it to do ANYTHING it wants!” writes Mat Staver, CEO of Liberty Counsel. The WHO hosted a four-day meeting last week of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) with globalists from The Netherlands and South Africa handpicked as co-chairs in order to finalize a brand-new “Pandemic Treaty.” And Joe Biden is trying to bypass the treaty requirement of a 2/3 vote of the U.S. Senate by calling it an “agreement.” If Congress does not stop Biden, the WHO will become a one world government, Staver notes. The U.S. House has a bill that will stop this power grab dead in its tracks. “HR 79 will withdraw the United States from the WHO and will stop all funding going to this corrupt, Marxist, one world government agenda.” And another similar bill is moving forward in the U.S. Senate.

• The WHO states that its governing documents “are intended to be a ‘living document’ which may be updated by the INB, as it may decide” (Pub: March 17, 2023). The INB is establishing a foundation to revoke the sovereignty of every nation, at any time it wishes in the name of ‘global health.’

Finland officially became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Tuesday, 4/4. Finland’s flag was raised at NATO headquarters, signifying a major shift in the balance of power between the West and Russia. Finland became NATO’s 31st member in what amounted to a strategic defeat for President Vladimir Putin of Russia, who had made blocking the expansion of the military alliance a goal of his leadership. Finland’s ascension to NATO adds one of Western Europe’s most potent wartime militaries to the alliance as well as intelligence and border-surveillance abilities tailored over decades to the threat posed by Russia along its 832-mile border with Russia, more than doubling NATO’s prior Russian border.

Politics: Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. (Romans 13:1-2)

New information has emerged regarding the unprecedented FBI raid on former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate just prior to the 2022 midterm elections. America First Legal, a judicial watchdog organization, has revealed that the Biden White House provided a “special access request” to the Department of Justice (DOJ), allowing them to access potentially classified material at Mar-a-Lago. This recent development has sparked outrage as National Archives and Records Administration records reveal how misleading NARA was to Congress during the FBI investigation. The conducting of a criminal investigation is not considered part of the “current business” of the White House, thus sparking a major legal concern.

North Carolina Republicans gained a veto-proof supermajority in the state House after a Charlotte-area Democrat announced Wednesday she was switching parties. State Rep. Tricia Cotham, who won election as a Democrat in her blue district last fall by nearly 20 points, said at a news conference with state Republican leaders that “the modern-day Democratic Party has become unrecognizable to me.” “I have decided to change my party affiliation, joining the Republican Party

Progressive activist and teachers-union lobbyist Brandon Johnson defeated Paul Vallas on Tuesday to become the next mayor of Chicago—a result conservatives say will be even worse for the city than Lori Lightfoot. Johnson had support from Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Democratic Socialists of America, and American Federation of Teachers boss Randi Weingarten.

Milwaukee Judge Janet Protasiewicz won a nationally watched judicial election Tuesday, which will likely result in a more liberal tilt for the Wisconsin Supreme Court in the coming years. The 60-year-old liberal, who was supported by Democrats and progressive groups, defeated former Justice Daniel Kelly, who was backed heavily by Republican-aligned organizations and activists. Much of the race was defined by reproductive rights and ongoing litigation about the Badger State’s pre-Civil War law banning abortion in almost all cases except if the mother’s life is in jeopardy.

Surveillance State: So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor. (Luke 20:20)

The Biden administration came under renewed fire Monday for its decision to allow a suspected Chinese spy balloon to travel across the entire continental U.S. in the face of reporting that the craft gathered sensitive intelligence from American military sites and sent that information instantly to Communist Party leaders in Beijing. The balloon was able to pick up signals intelligence such as communications from several U.S. military installations as it flew across the American homeland in late January and early February. The sophisticated surveillance balloon traveled over some of the locations multiple times while transmitting data to Beijing in real time, NBC News reported, citing senior U.S. officials.

Civic/Religious Freedom: Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. (John 8:36)

In a move that has stunned Catholics and religious freedom advocates, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. issued a “cease and desist order” just before Holy Week to a community of Franciscan Catholic priests from Holy Name College that had been serving servicemembers and their families at the center for almost two decades. On April 7, the Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services (AMS) announced that Walter Reed issued the order on March 31, just as the most sacred week of the year for Christians was beginning. AMS noted that the contract for providing Catholic Pastoral Care was instead awarded to a secular defense contracting firm that does not have the capacity to offer Catholic pastoral services such as Mass and confession, which can only be administered by an ordained priest.

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)

Last week’s mass murder of six people at a church-run Christian school constitutes 2023’s deadliest act of violence against churches, which have increased nearly three times this year compared to last year, a new report from Family Research Council finds. The number of anti-church attacks in 2022 had already tripled over the previous four years, the report stated.

From Liberty Counsel: “Cindy* loves children nearly as much as she loves Jesus. When she went to work as a teacher for Loudoun County Public Schools, she noticed that many of the teachers at her school included quotes below their email signature. For example, one teacher uses a quote by socialist riot organizer Cesar Chavez (“Real education should consist of drawing the goodness and the best out of our students”). Another teacher’s signature line quoted Frederick Douglass (“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men”). Other teachers also include simple motivational quotes such as “Have courage and be kind,” and others include small pictures under their signatures with an encouraging or inspiring message. Cindy decided to add her own personal “flair” to her signature line, adding, “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Prov. 22:6.” Even though the Bible verse closely parallels the Frederick Douglass quote, Cindy was ordered to remove her signature line — because it was a quote from the Bible! At first, Acting LCPS Superintendent Dr. Daniel Smith, Ed.D., claimed that LCPS School Board Policy 7566 prohibits the teacher from using the Bible verse in her email signature. However, in reality, the policy only forbids obscene or vulgar language and conduct prohibited by law… Unfortunately, despite a clear explanation of the law, the First Amendment, and the Supreme Court’s rulings last year, Dr. Smith is unrepentant in his discrimination against this Christian teacher.” So Liberty Counsel is taking them to court.

Fulani herdsmen on Saturday (April 1) killed at least seven Christians in Benue state, Nigeria, bringing the total to more than 60 villagers slain in the past month, sources said. Assailants killed a Christian in an attack on a worship meeting Saturday night (April 1) in Logo County, sources said, after at least six Christians in Apa County were killed earlier in the day. In Benue state’s Logo County on Saturday night, Fulani herdsmen invaded a church service at about 9 p.m., killed one Christian, wounded five others and kidnapped the pastor and four other congregation members.

During a recent appearance on ABC’s “The View,” host Joy Behar asked leftwing actress Jane Fonda how best to respond to all those annoying pro-life Christians out there in today’s America. “Besides marching and protesting,” asked Behar, “what else do you suggest?” “MURDER,” responded Fonda. “What did you say?” asked an incredulous Lily Tomlin. “MURDER!” repeated Fonda.

• The Bible foretells a time when Fonda’s violent wishes will come true, perhaps sooner than we think.

Abortion: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart. (Jeremiah 1:5)

A federal court in Texas halted the Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) reckless approval of chemical abortion drugs on Thursday, 4/6. Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed the first-of-its-kind lawsuit to challenge the FDA’s unlawful action in November. One in five women who take chemical abortion drugs will seek medical attention. Some have even died from them. “The FDA has disregarded their safety since approving these drugs in 2000. And since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the federal government—together with its allies in the abortion industry and the states—has been intent on creating a national drug-based abortion market that states’ pro-life laws can’t touch. It’s nothing less than an attempt to subvert the overturning of Roe, ADF asserts.

• However, a federal judge in Washington state ruled that the abortion pill mifepristone is safe and effective and ordered the FDA to retain access in the 17 states — along with D.C. — that are behind the lawsuit seeking to protect medication abortion. In contrast, the ruling in Texas would revoke the FDA approval of the pill in every state.
• A federal appeals court ruled late Wednesday, 4/12, that the abortion pill mifepristone could remain available, but the judges blocked the drug from being sent to patients through the mail and rolled back other steps the government had taken to ease access in recent years. The three-judge panel for the Fifth Circuit partly overruled Judge Kacsmaryk of Texas, who last week declared that the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone in 2000 was not valid, in essence saying that the drug should be pulled from the market. The appellate court said its ruling would hold until the full case was heard on its merits.

For decades, tourists have come to Florida for the sandy beaches and a visit with a cartoon mouse at Disney World. But thanks to a rogue 1989 state Supreme Court decision known as In re T.W., Florida is now an “abortion destination” state, where babies can be killed at will. In 1980, the Florida Constitution was amended to include Article I, § 23, which states that Floridians are entitled to privacy from government intrusion into their personal documents. In 1989, the rogue Florida court twisted this provision in order to allow a pregnant unwed minor to get an abortion without her parents’ consent. Last week, Liberty Counsel filed briefs with the Florida Supreme Court fighting to protect the lives of the unborn who cannot fight for themselves.

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)

On Monday, April 10, 2023, President Biden signed into law: H.J. Res. 7, which terminates the national emergency related to the Covid-19 pandemic. In March, Biden angered Democrats with his announcement that he planned to sign the legislation after it was passed by the U.S. Senate. The resolution ends a number of waivers for federal health programs Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP. The Biden administration had already set an impending deadline for both the national emergency and the public health emergency to end on May 11. He (or staff) tweeted, “1,120 days later and, it appears that we finally slowed the spread. Great work, everybody.”

The number of new Covid-19 cases in the U.S. declined by 23% over the last two weeks ending April 5. Hospitalizations were down 8% and deaths down 22%. However, states continue to show wide disparities. Cases in Hawaii were up 110%, Oklahoma was up 65% and North Dakota up 42%, while Kentucky was down 47%, Maine and New York down 36%. In addition, Mississippi, Iowa and Florida report no new cases at all.

The World Health Organization is reporting another outbreak of a contagious viral disease. In this case, the threat is the Marburg virus now spreading in Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania, battle deadly disease. In the past, case fatality rates have varied from 24 percent to 88 percent (which contrasts with a 1.1 percent COVID-19 mortality rate in the US). The Marburg virus can spread from contaminated surfaces and materials as well as through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, including the deceased. No vaccines or antiviral therapies have been approved to treat the virus. The good news is that the Marburg virus in its current form is not as contagious as SARS-CoV-2 and is therefore unlikely to become a pandemic.

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)

A yearlong study called the Vaccine Damage Report reports that in the U.S. alone, the COVID shots (not COVID) caused at least 26.6 million injuries, 1.36 million disabilities, and 300,000 excess deaths. This comes to an estimated economic cost of 147.8 billion dollars in 2022 alone, as reported by Liberty Counsel. In addition, a recent Rasmussen survey found that 10% of Americans believe a member of their household died from the COVID shots.

Medical codes introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic to show when people are unvaccinated or undervaccinated for COVID-19 are being used to track people, the top U.S. public health agency has confirmed. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) made the confirmation in emails that The Epoch Times obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. The CDC had said in documents and public statements that the goal of the new codes, in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) system, was “to track people who are not immunized or only partially immunized.” The CDC now says it does not have access to the data.

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)

One man was killed and three other people were wounded after a “targeted” shooting took place Tuesday, 4/11, at a funeral home in Northeast D.C. Police Chief Robert Contee said at a press conference near the scene on Benning Road that the wounded three people were taken to the hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries. The chief said that some people on the block were “specifically targeted” in the shooting. Chief Contee noted that the funeral was for a homicide victim who was killed last month.

Another mass shooting in public has left five people dead Monday morning, this time in Louisville, Kentucky. Six others were taken to the hospital. The shooting took place before 9am Monday, 4/10, at a downtown bank, and police said the shooter, a fired former employee of Old National Bank, was killed. A witness described seeing the shooter with some type of long gun near a conference room on the bank’s first floor. “He just started firing,” said the witness. The shooter, 25-year-old Connor Sturgeon, legally bought an AR-15 at a gun dealer on April 4, and he livestreamed the attack on Instagram. Sturgeon also posted anti-Trump messages and pro-lockdown posts on Reddit.

• This is the 15^th mass shooting in the U.S. so far this year. A USA Today headline declared it to be the 146^th mass shooting so far in 2023, but that’s nonsense.

Just weeks after the Nashville school shooting, another transgender individual has been charged with attempted murder. Local news reported that the 19-year-old, who identifies as “Lilly,” made threats against multiple schools within one of the largest school districts in Colorado. Whitworth was reportedly undergoing a gender transition to female. Following Whitworth’s sister’s report of violent behavior and references to school shootings, deputies visited Whitworth’s residence. When asked if she was planning to commit a school shooting, Whitworth nodded affirmatively. She stated she was “about a third of the way from doing it,” verifying again that Timberview Middle School was one of the “main targets” currently and other targets were churches. Arrest papers showed deputies found a drawn layout of the school and a manifesto filled with “schizophrenic rants” and mentions of serial killers, politicians, and entertainers, including the Columbine shooters.

Messiah Nantwi, 21, was arrested and charged in the murder of 36-year-old Brandon Brunson in Sunday’s brazen Harlem smoke shop slaying, as well as the murder of 19-year-old Jaylen Duncan 30 hours earlier, who was fatally shot in the head near Madison Avenue and East 132nd Street Saturday afternoon. Nantwi, according to reports, was out on bail for the attempted murder of a police officer after allegedly firing at cops during a graffiti stop in the Bronx in February 2021. 

• How many violent crimes by people out on bail will it take before prosecutors stop releasing violence-prone criminals back onto our streets?

According to reports, the son of progressive Florida Democrat Rebekah Jones was arrested for “digital threats of terrorism.” These threats included Snapchat messages that showed the 13-year old threatening to shoot up his school and “stab students.” The Pensacola News Journal reported that, “An incident report released Thursday afternoon by the Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office allege that the 13-year-old made repeated threats to shoot up Holley Navarre Middle School and to stab students who angered him. Right on cue, Rebekah Jones blamed Ron DeSantis for her son getting arrested for these threats. My family is not safe. My son has been taken on the gov’s orders, and I’ve had to send my husband and daughter out of state for their safety. THIS is the reality of living in DeSantis’ Florida.”

So far this year, there have been at least 39 incidents of gunfire on school grounds, resulting in 17 deaths and 30 injuries nationally, according to Everytown, which claims to be the “largest gun violence prevention organization in America.”

Investigators found a suicide note when they searched the home of the transgender shooter who killed six people at a Nashville school last week, along with weapons and ammunition, according to an inventory items authorities seized while executing a search warrant at the residence. The search warrant and the list of items found were released Tuesday, 4/4, just over a week after the shooter, identified as transgender Audrey Hale, stormed the Covenant School armed with three firearms and killed three 9-year-olds and three adults.

The military is denying responsibility after a video circulated of men in military fatigues killing seven boys. In the video shared Monday by The Associated Press, about a dozen men surrounded the boys who had their hands bound. One man slammed a rock on the head of one of the boys, identified as 16-year-old Adama, after noticing he was still alive. Burkina Faso is battling an Islamist insurgency from groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State. Civilians have also blamed the military for extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances. Government spokesman Jean-Emmanuel Ouedraogo claimed militants often disguise themselves as security forces and film their actions.

Tragedy: In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

A massive fire emitting toxic smoke from an eastern Indiana recycling plant described by the city’s mayor as a known “fire hazard” has forced evacuation orders for about 2,000 people as the battle to put it out is expected to drag on for days. Plastics were among the items that started burning Tuesday at the Richmond plant, and the smoke – a thick, black column that rose from the site – is “definitely toxic,” Indiana State Fire Marshal Steve Jones said.

Seven of 15 government investigators conducting surveys in East Palestine, Ohio, after a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals derailed reported having symptoms similar to what residents said they had experienced, as reported on 4/4. They reported having sore throats, headaches, coughing and nausea.

18,000 head of cattle perished in a fire at the South Fork Dairy farm near Dimmitt, Texas –nearly three times the number of cattle led to slaughter each day across the U.S. A dairy farm worker rescued from inside the structure was taken to a hospital and was in critical but stable condition as of Tuesday. There were no other human casualties.

Protests/Boycotts: 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)

A loud group of demonstrators stormed the Tennessee State Capitol on Thursday to protest a vote in the state House to remove three Black lawmakers for disrupting the state House floor in Nashville last week during protests for stricter gun control measures. The protesters, gathered both inside and outside the capitol in Nashville, chanted to urge the lawmakers to take action on gun control, as well as vote against expelling the three lawmakers from their positions in the House. Nevertheless, after hours of fiery debate, the Tennessee House voted to expel Reps. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, on a 72-25 vote, and Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, 69-26 for speaking at the House podium on March 30 without official recognition. The House failed to achieve the two-thirds majority needed to kick Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, out of the chamber. The effort to expel Johnson failed on a 65-30 vote.

• According to The Hill, the Nashville Metropolitan Council has officially voted to reinstate Democrat both Justin Jones and Justine Pearson after the GOP-controlled House voted to expel him last week for storming the state Capitol.

First, it was Hershey’s, then it was Bud Light, and now, Jack Daniel’s is the latest brand this year to be facing a boycott over claims the company has “gone woke” and promoting transgenders and drag queens. Social media users have taken offense to the whiskey brewer’s “small town, big pride” campaign in which it teamed up with drag queens from Ru Paul’s Drag Race. The row over LGBTQ+ brand ambassadors is symbolic of a wider debate about drag shows and their exposure to children. Critics have expressed concerns over Drag Queen Story Hour, readings for children by drag performers at libraries. Tennessee, Jack Daniel’s home state, was the first to pass a drag show ban in the presence of children over concerns about the sexualized content. The law has since been temporarily blocked by a federal judge.

• Consumers nationwide revolted against the nation’s top-selling beer brand after it stepped “recklessly” into the culture wars last week with its new spokesperson, transgender TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney. In Bud Light’s effort to be inclusive, sales of Anheuser-Busch bottled products dropped 30% over the past week, while draught beer plummeted 50%, the owner said.

Clashes between police and protestors have turned increasingly violent in France amid ongoing protests over pension reform and the increase in official retirement age from 62 to 65. Fire bombs were thrown at police and use to set fires at nearby shops and restaurants. Police responded by attacking the mobs of protesters and journalists with their clubs and fists.

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)

On Tuesday, 4/11, the Kaiser Family Foundation — a nonprofit that researches health issues — reported the stunning results of a recent survey: One in five adult Americans has a family member who has been killed by a gun. Kaiser also found that over half of U.S. adults have been directly affected by an incident involving a gun — such as themselves or family members witnessing a shooting, being threatened with a gun, or being injured or killed by a gun. Guns have become the leading cause of death among American children. Not disease. Not malnutrition. Not accidents. (Auto accidents had been the leading cause of death among children for decades until being overtaken by guns in 2020.) The U.S. is the only country on earth that has more guns than people.

Thousands of students walked out of classes across the country Wednesday to demand lawmakers take action on gun safety following the mass shooting at an elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee, last week that killed three adults and three children. The national walkouts come one day after hundreds of high school and college students left class across Nashville and Middle Tennessee. Advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety, which coordinated the walkouts through Students Demand Action, said there were more than 300 demonstrations across 41 states and D.C. to kick off a “week of action” by advocates and gun violence survivors.

The federal government has agreed to pay victims of a 2017 church shooting in Texas $144.5 million to compensate them for the Air Force’s failure to flag the shooter as someone who shouldn’t be able to buy a gun. Twenty-six people were killed in the massacre. The settlement could defuse a thorny issue for the Biden administration, which was fighting the payment in court even as President Biden argues for more background checks and other gun controls.

Military: Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me. (Psalm 144:1-2)

An astounding 77% of American youth in the optimal military recruitment age of 17 to 24 years old are disqualified due to being too fat, abusing drugs and/or alcohol, or for being in poor medical health, according to a 2022 Defense Department study. The numbers represent a 6 percent increase in “disqualified” youth from the previous assessment of data ending in 1997.

Law Enforcement: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. (Matthew 5:9)

Chicago Mayor-Elect Brandon Johnson (D) told CBS News on Thursday, 4/6, his plan to tackle the city’s crime problem: Send more social workers to crime scenes. Johnson, a staunch progressive, pointed to instances where police killed black men as evidence to say more police officers are not the solution. “We’re working to double the amount of young people we hire, not just for summer jobs, but for year-round positions,” he continued. “We’ve been pushing this ordinance called ‘Treatment, Not Trauma.’ In essence, first responders, social workers, counselors, EMT[s], these individuals would show up to calls that require those type of interventions.” Johnson at least 40 percent of the 9-1-1 calls in the city deal with “mental health crises.” 

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.

There were 69 acts of vandalism against churches during the first three months of 2023, according to the Family Research Council’s “Hostility Against Churches” report. FRC recorded 15 attacks against churches in the first quarter of 2018, 12 in the same period in 2019, 14 in the first quarter of 2021, and 22 in the first four months of 2022. 2020 saw no attacks on churches in its first three months. Attacks were reported in 29 states, with the highest number of incidents occurring in North Carolina (7), followed by Ohio and Tennessee at five each, and Florida, Missouri and Pennsylvania at four each.

• The Biden administration’s Department of Justice is recommending no jail time for a 31-year-old man who identifies as transgender in a case centering on the vandalization of a Catholic church, as well as the assault of a church employee.

Cracker Barrel announced last month that it would be closing its last remaining Portland location, attributing the decision to the pandemic’s impact on its business. However, employees revealed to a local news station that the real reason for the closure was the security issues plaguing the area, with theft, vandalism, and drug use running rampant. The once-thriving neighborhood where Cracker Barrel was located is now marred by drug paraphernalia and abandoned shopping carts.

Whole Foods Market temporarily closed its flagship downtown San Francisco store, which opened a little over a year ago, due to safety concerns. “To ensure the safety of our Team Members, we have made the difficult decision to close the Trinity store for the time being,” a Whole Foods Market spokesperson said in a written statement. “All Team Members will be transferred to one of our nearby locations.”

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)

A man has killed himself following a six-week-long conversation with an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot about the so-called climate crisis. The report comes from Off the Press, where the case of the Belgian man was detailed. His widow, who wanted to remain anonymous, said her husband “became extremely eco-anxious when he found refuge in Eliza, an AI chatbot on an app called Chai.” The report explained he actually had proposed killing himself to “save the planet,” and the chatbot then encouraged him to do exactly that. “Without these conversations with the chatbot, my husband would still be here,” the widow explained in an interview with La Libre, a Belgian publication. The man, in his 30s and the father of two young children, worked as a health researcher and led a “comfortable” life, the report said.

The FBI recently warned against using free public charging stations that use USB ports, noting that hackers can use the connection to transmit malware onto smartphones that can lock a device or export personal data and passwords. The Federal Communications Commission says consumers should use an AC power outlet, bring their own USB cable when they travel and carry a portable charger or external battery.

Elon Musk has laid off more than 6,000 people at Twitter since taking over the company, he told the BBC in a rare interview late Tuesday. Musk was quoted as saying in the interview that the social media platform now has only 1,500 employees, down from under 8,000 who were employed at the time of his acquisition. The world’s second richest man said that “drastic action” was needed when he came on board, because the company was facing “a $3 billion negative cash flow situation.” Since then, Twitter is now “roughly” breaking even and advertisers are returning to the platform, he told the BBC.

Science: The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. (Psalm 19:1) For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so the are without excuse… who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator. (Romans 1:20,25)

In the 1970s, veterinary scientists encouraged cattle ranchers to use cross-sex hormone treatments to induce higher pregnancy rates in cattle herds. Billed as safe and effective, female cows were injected with testosterone, then released into the herd. The scientists claimed that the testosterone-fueled cows would have increased birth rates. Instead, the cows went mad, reports Liberty Counsel. In the 1970s, Jack* decided to “follow the science” of the time. His cows were injected with single-use shots of testosterone and implants that continually released testosterone into the cow’s body. “These cows started out as docile herd animals,” said the cattleman. “After a testosterone injection and a slow-release implant, the animal’s voices changed. They started bellowing with rage. When unprovoked, they started attacking and ramming the wood and guardrail fences with their heads to try to tear them down to kill a person standing behind the fence,” Jack said.

• And so now the ‘science’ says to do the same thing to our young girls? Our world is indeed going mad.

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 study in a cohort of 12,388 persons showed that vitamin D exposure over 10 years could lower the risk of dementia by 40 percent. Women in the study experienced a greater benefit than men. There are 50 million people worldwide with dementia and experts estimate that number will nearly triple by 2050; vitamin D deficiency is also a widespread problem with a worldwide prevalence of up to 1 billion people. Vitamin D has a neuroprotective effect, can reduce the percentage of people who move from prediabetes to diabetes and can help prevent and/or treat certain cancers, gastrointestinal diseases, uterine fibroids, lupus, obesity, and neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis, researchers say.

• There is a synergistic effect with magnesium, vitamin K2, and calcium and an imbalance may raise the risk of heart attack and stroke; the only way to determine how much sun exposure or supplementation you need is to test your vitamin D level.

Drugs: And they did not repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries [Greek: pharmakeia, i.e. pharmacy, drugs].

New York, California and several other states announced a $462 million settlement with Juul Labs on Wednesday, resolving lawsuits claiming that the company aggressively marketed its e-cigarettes to young people and fueled the nation’s vaping crisis. The agreement brings much of the company’s legal woes to a conclusion, with settlements reached with 47 states and territories and 5,000 individuals and local governments. The settlement is a massive sum for a company still seeking official regulatory approval to keep selling its products.

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)

Even though community colleges are far cheaper than four-year schools, students are abandoning them in droves. Tuition and fees last year averaged $3,860 at community colleges versus $39,400 at private and $10,940 at public four-year universities. Many states are making community colleges free and President Joe Biden has proposed free community college nationwide. Nevertheless, the number of students at community colleges has fallen 37% since 2010, or by nearly 2.6 million, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Yet even as these colleges serve fewer students, two- year community colleges have the worst completion rates of any kind of universities and colleges, with nearly half of students dropping out, within a year. Only slightly more than 40% finish within six years.

Children: Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6) Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. (Exodus 20:12)

“Children of politically liberal parents are more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety, lack of sense of life meaning, and have substance abuse issues,” according to Dr. Leonard Sax, Ph.D. in psychology, author of four books for parents, and also a family physician with more than 30 years of experience. Dr. Sax explained that, over the past decade in particular, a massive movement has grown of “permissive parents.” They are those who are persuaded to carry out a more “gentle parenting,” because they do not want to come across as “controlling” or “coercive” to their children. Sax said that, according to scientific and social data, these “aggressively permissive” parents tend to be left-of-center in their parenting style. They often leave their children without proper authority.

Gender Confusion: Male and female He created them. (Genesis 5:2)

• Gender confusion is being promoted because it undermines God’s ordained family structure, giving secular government more control over people, particularly our youth.

A proposed Biden administration rule announced recently by the Department of Education, would interpret school policies as violating Title IX if they “categorically ban transgender students from participating on sports teams consistent with their gender identity,” according to a fact sheet released by the Department of Education. The proposed rule, though, would provide schools “flexibility” to limit transgender students’ participation in sports where “fairness in competition” and sports-related injuries are issues. Such a limitation would depend on the sport, level of competition and grade. Title IX is a 1972 law that prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities. Christiana Kiefer, senior counsel for the legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, said. “The Department of Education’s rewriting of Title IX degrades women and tells them that their athletic goals and placements do not matter.”

Former NCAA champion swimmer Riley Gaines was physically attacked last week at San Francisco State University for suggesting girls deserve a safe space to compete, and opposed transgenders from competing in women’s sports. The ambush started before Gaines was halfway through her story. In the room where Riley talked about her experience competing against male Lia Thomas, students started waving signs and changing. At least one man in a dress hit her. Police rescued Gaines from the mob and she spent three hours barricaded in a room waiting for the crowd to disperse. To everyone’s astonishment, SFSU Vice President for Student Affairs Jamillah Moore took to Twitter to applaud students for their hostility, posting, “Thank you to our students who participated peacefully in Thursday evening’s event.”

Angry transgender activists surrounded a Canadian conservative and punched his throat; in America, LGBT demonstrators physically or verbally harassed conservative counter-protesters; and two Christian schools canceled classes due to violent threats issued in the shadow of a mass murder. These scenes of mayhem played out as a spate of violence, intimidation, and threats spanning at least two countries marked the annual “Transgender Day of Visibility” held each March 31. Some transgenders were calling it a “Day of Vengeance.”

Last week, hundreds or thousands of left-wing protestors entered capitol buildings in four separate states, disrupting legislative chambers holding session in at least two of them. In three out of four incidents, the protestors explicitly opposed legislation to defend children, families, and women from the harmful effects of transgender ideology; in the other incident, a protest for gun control lapsed into pro-transgender overtones. The strange, unprecedented nature of these capitol occupations renders the media’s near silence on them only more astounding.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Thursday the West Virginia attorney general’s plea to allow enforcement of the state’s ban on biological males in female sports by lifting a temporary lower-court injunction. The high court denied the request without explanation by a 7-2 vote which now allows the male-born student can run track on the girls team. Dissenting was Justices Samuel Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas, who argued that West Virginia is “entitled to relief.” West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said he was “deeply disappointed” but confident the state law would ultimately be upheld.

A survey drawing on nearly four years of data has revealed that gender dysphoria has the highest prevalence among youth of European descent, with discomfort with one’s gender most common among children, especially girls with “exceptionally high intelligence” and a history of mental health issues. The website Parents of ROGD kids.com, which has formed a support group for families with gender dysphoric children, surveyed parents who believed they had children experiencing ROGD – rapid onset gender dysphoria. The results were compiled into a report by website creator Suzanna Diaz and J. Michael Bailey of Northwestern University’s Department of Psychology on Wednesday. The 1,774 responses to the survey were collected from Dec. 1, 2017, through Oct. 22, 2021.

Growth: 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)

Between 2020 and 2040, 70% of net new homeowners will be Hispanic, according to the Urban Institute. That is because about one-third, or 17.9 million, of the nation’s Hispanic population is younger than 18 compared to 22% of the overall population and will be aging into the prime years for household formation in the coming years.

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)

Onion prices have skyrocketed making the world’s second-most consumed vegetable unaffordable to many who depend on them. The backbone of cuisines around the world is in short supply. Severe drought in north Africa, frost in central Asia and floods in Pakistan have conspired to substantially reduce onion production. In some countries, stores are rationing onions while in others there are export bans. The UN says that now there are more than 3 billion people around the world who cannot afford a healthy diet.

Is China hoarding food? The Diplomat (thediplomat.com) reported earlier this year that China holds significant quantities of the world’s grain reserves. China’s rice, wheat, and corn reserves have grown steadily in recent decades. According to the Economist, which cited the U.S. Department of Agriculture, by mid-2022, China was expected to hold 69 percent of the world’s corn reserves, 60 percent of its rice, 51 percent of its wheat, and 37 percent of its soybeans. Why? Perhaps in anticipation of Western sanctions when it invades Taiwan and reclaims this ‘runaway province’ back into their grasp.

Energy Supplies: He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. (Isaiah 44:14-15)

The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing its most ambitious new regulations yet for cutting pollution from vehicles. The new standards are so strict that, according to the EPA’s estimates, up to 67% of new vehicles sold in 2032 may have to be electric in order for carmakers to be in compliance. EPA Administrator Michael Regan says the proposed standards would eliminate 7.3 billion tons of CO2, equivalent to four years’ worth of the entire U.S. transportation sector, and save lives through reduced air pollution. The move aims to further President Biden’s goal of having 50 percent of all new cars and light trucks and 30 percent of new medium- and heavy-duty trucks sold in 2030 be zero-emission electric vehicles.

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)

Imagine a monthly car payment that rivals a mortgage. That’s increasingly becoming the case due to soaring interest rates and high new-vehicle prices. Analysts at car shopping site Edmunds released data Monday that showed the average annual percentage rate (APR) on a new financed vehicle in the first three months of 2023 climbed to 7%, compared with 4.4% in the year-earlier period. It is the highest-level Edmunds has recorded since the first quarter of 2008. The average monthly payment for a new vehicle rose to $730 in the quarter, from $656 a year earlier. Nearly 17% of car buyers who financed a new vehicle in the quarter agreed to a whopping monthly payment of $1,000 or more, also an all-time high.

Taxes:  He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Luke 20:25)

The IRS is planning to spend tens of billions of dollars to audit wealthy taxpayers and corporations, according to the agency’s strategic operating plan released on April 6. “People who get W-2s or Social Security payments or have a small business should not be worried about a sudden new wave of IRS audits,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel told reporters. Instead, tax agents will target “taxpayers with complex tax filings and high-dollar noncompliance,” according to the IRS operating plan. The IRS will use more than half of the $80 billion that it received in new funding, or $47.4 billion, to enhance enforcement efforts. The agency plans to recruit approximately 30,000 new employees and implement new technologies over the next two years.

Work: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23-24)

OpenAI’s wildly popular chatbot, ChatGPT, is expected to replace 4.8 million U.S. jobs, according to a new report. Outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas recently asked ChatGPT’s bot a series of questions, including “What jobs can ChatGPT replace?” and in what fields the bot would be most capable of working, according to a press release.  The bot told the outplacement firm that it would most likely replace positions that are repetitive and predictable, and ones that are also seeped in language requirements. Those fields, according to the bot, include: customer service representatives; translators and interpreters; technical writers; copywriters; and data entry clerks. They crunched the number of jobs in each listed field using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and found that at least 4.8 million American jobs could be replaced.

More older workers are taking jobs typically filled by teenagers or young adults, such as restaurant host, fast-food cashier and retail associate. While many are seniors seeking additional cash to cope with inflation, some workers in their 30s and 40s are turning to such positions for more flexible, part-time hours, especially since wages in those industries have risen sharply the past couple of years. The trend is helping ease worker shortages that have affected most industries but hit restaurants and shops even harder.

A survey of garment-sewing manufacturers in Southern California found that some employees were working in what officials called “sweatshops,” with certain workers making as little as $1.58 per hour.  “Despite our efforts to hold Southern California’s garment industry employers accountable, we continue to see people who make clothes sold by some of the nation’s leading retailers working in sweatshops,” Wage and Hour Regional Administrator Ruben Rosalez said in a news release. “Many people shopping for clothes in stores and online are likely unaware that the ‘Made in the USA’ merchandise they’re buying was, in fact, made by people earning far less than the U.S. law require,” he added.

Many cities across the globe are offering incentives to individuals and families looking to leave the big city and settle down somewhere smaller – and they are paying people to do so. Tokyo and other large cities are offering cash incentives to encourage people to leave for more rural areas. Japan is offering the equivalent of $7,500 per household to leave the metropolis, home to 47 million people. Tulsa, Oklahoma is incentivizing workers with $10,000 to work remotely in the city as long as their job is outside Oklahoma.

Business: Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice. (Proverbs 16:8)

About 5,000 General Motors white collar employees have taken buyouts, which may avert massive layoffs. US salaried staff with at least five years at the company and international executives who had worked at GM at least two years. GM will take about a $1 billion charge in the first quarter, but that the downsizing will save the company about $1 billion on an annual basis.

Hundreds of Google employees staged a walkout at the company’s London offices on Tuesday, 4/4, following a dispute over layoffs. In January, Google’s parent company Alphabet announced it was laying off 12,000 employees worldwide, equivalent to 6% of its global workforce. Trade union Unite, which counts hundreds of Google’s UK employees among its members, said the company had ignored concerns put forward by employees. “Our members are clear: Google needs to listen to its own advice of not being evil,” said Unite regional officer Matt Whaley.

Walmart is laying off more than 2,000 workers at five U.S. warehouses that fulfill website orders, weeks after America’s largest private employer warned it’s in for a tough year ahead. Walmart told investors to expect slower sales and profit growth. It also recently announced that it will raise its average minimum wage from $12 to $14 an hour as it tries to retain store workers in a tight labor market for lower-wage industries.

• Walmart announced Tuesday that it is closing four of its eight Chicago stores because they are part of a group of locations that “lose tens of millions of dollars a year.”

In a regulatory filing late Friday, the container maker Tupperware said there’s “substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern,” and that it’s working with financial advisers to find financing to stay afloat.

Banking: “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)

According to Federal Reserve data dating back to 1973, commercial bank lending saw a drop of nearly $105 billion in the two weeks ending March 29^th, a historic contraction greater than even during the 2008 financial crisis. This reduction in lending has particularly impacted real estate, commercial, and industrial loans and appears to be due to tightening credit requirements midst deteriorating economic conditions.

Even before Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse in March, the commercial real estate market was dealing with a host of challenges: dwindling demand for office space brought on by remote work. An increase in maintenance costs. Climbing interest rates. Now, with more than half of the $2.9 trillion in commercial mortgages up for refinancing in the next couple of years, experts say the situation may get worse soon. “Even if current rates stay where they are, new lending rates are likely to be 3.5 to 4.5 percentage points higher than they are for many of CRE’s existing mortgages,” wrote Morgan Stanley Chief Investment Officer Lisa Shalett  in a recent report. The report said commercial property prices could fall as much as 40% “rivaling the decline during the 2008 financial crisis.”

Economy – Depression/Shortages: 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)

Consumer prices overall increased 5% from a year earlier, down from 6% in February and a 40-year high of 9.1% last June, according to the Labor Department’s consumer price index released Wednesday, 4/12. That’s the smallest annual gain since May 2021. On a monthly basis, prices edged up just 0.1% following a 0.4% increase in February. But core prices, which exclude volatile food and energy items and capture longer-lasting trends, increased 0.4% from February following a 0.5% bump in the previous month. That pushed up the annual increase from 5.5% to 5.6%. In March, gas prices declined 4.6% and are down 17.4% from a year ago, but they have begun rising rapidly so far in April. Rental prices were by far the largest contributor to the rise in inflation,. Over the past two years, the U.S. median rent rose 18%.

• Grocery prices finally dipped in March, falling for the first time since September 2020. The meat, poultry, fish and eggs index fell 1.4% while fruits and vegetable prices fell 1.3%, and dairy products ticked down 0.1%. The other indexes, for non-alcoholic beverages, cereals and bakery products and all other groceries, went up.
• With core inflation still rising, the report likely bolsters the Fed’s plan to raise its key interest rate by another quarter percentage point in May, capping 5 points of total rate hikes the past year in an aggressive bid to wrestle down inflation.

U.S. employers added 236,000 jobs, a solid gain but the weakest showing since December 2020. The unemployment rate, which is calculated from a separate survey, fell from 3.6% to 3.5%, close to a 50-year low, the Labor Department said Friday,4/6. The share of adults working or looking for a job edged up to 62.6%. That’s the highest since the pandemic started in early 2020 but still leaves it below the pre-COVID level of 63.4%. A larger labor supply helps ease worker shortages and puts downward pressure on pay as employers don’t need to compete as intensely for job candidates. Average hourly earnings rose 9 cents to $33.18, pushing down the annual increase to 4.2% from 4.6% the previous month.

• The sharp slowdown in job and wage growth should be welcomed by a Federal Reserve that has been seeking a moderation in pay increases which have been contributing significantly to inflation. Leisure and hospitality, the sector hit hardest by the pandemic, led the job gains with 72,000, mostly at restaurants and bars. Federal, state and local governments added 47,000 jobs, as our bloated government continues to grow fat.

The total number of planned layoffs in the U.S. for the of March reached 89,703, which is 15% higher than the figures for February. So far this year, job cuts have surged to 270,416, indicating a huge 396% increase from the corresponding period in the previous year. The tech industry has been particularly hard hit, with 102,391 job cuts announced so far in 2023. This figure represents a staggering increase of 38,487% compared to the same period in the previous year.

U.S. employers in February posted the fewest job openings in nearly two years but the number of people quitting rose as the hot labor market continued a gradual slowdown. Employers advertised 9.9 million job openings, the lowest level since May 2021, the Labor Department said Tuesday 4/4. Openings remain below the record 12 million advertised in March 2022 but well above the pre-pandemic level of about 7 million. With 5.9 million unemployed Americans in February, the 9.9 million vacancies amounted to 1.7 available jobs for each unemployed person, down from a near-record 1.9 openings in January.

Homebuyers benefited from another week of falling mortgage rates, with the average rate dropping for the fourth week in a row, according to data from Freddie Mac released Thursday. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.28% in the week ending April 6, down from 6.32% the week before. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate was 4.72%. After nearly seven consecutive months of falling prices, home prices rose by 0.16% in February. The increase was fueled by a combination of lower inventory, high demand and declining mortgage rates.

With higher incomes and some help from parents, millennials are finally becoming homeowners. Even with soaring housing prices, over the past five years millennial homeownership has grown from 7 million to 18 million people. Challenges such as the Great Recession and student loan debt were two big economic reasons that put the pause on buying a home, but that all changed last year when millennials reached a historically high median income of $108,000 a year. Some millennials even moved back in with their parents which helped them save money. However, baby boomers are still the dominant homebuyers, coming in at 32 million people.

A spike in mortgage rates and dip in personal savings  have ended a pandemic-era trend of high demand for vacation homes. Mortgage-rate approvals for second homes were down 52% from pre-pandemic levels on a seasonally adjusted basis in March compared with a 13% decline for primary homes, according to a new Redfin report. 

According to AAA on Friday, 4/7, the average nationwide price for a gallon of normal gasoline was $3.56, up from $3.49 a week ago and $3.41 a month ago, reaching their highest level in months. Energy price worries were aggravated earlier this week when OPEC+ declared a major reduction in oil supply, which is expected to hike costs for U.S. consumers.

Israel: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you. (Psalm 122:6)

At least 350 people were arrested in the early hours of Wednesday morning, April 5, at the Temple Mount compound after hundreds of rioters barricaded themselves inside Al-Aqsa Mosque with fireworks, rocks, and other projectiles. Hundreds of masked young men locked the doors of the mosque and placed heavy objects blocking the entryways late Tuesday evening, sparking police concerns that they would use their stockpiled weapons to attack Jewish visitors to the compound the next morning. Police entered the mosque after midnight to clear the area after repeatedly asking people to clear the site; they were met with hurled objects and fireworks launched in their direction. Social media footage showed fires raging inside the mosque, which were likely sparked by the rioters’ fireworks. Terror groups immediately seized upon the incident, calling on Palestinians to clash with police at the site.

Sirens went off in Israel on Tuesday night—the night before Passover—as terrorists launched a total of 16 rockets from the Gaza Strip towards Israel. One of the rockets hit a factory in the Sderot industrial area, causing damage. No casualties were reported. Seven rockets fell in open areas while eight more were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system. Since the beginning of the year, about 60 rockets have been launched from Gaza towards Israel.

Two Israeli sisters , both in their 20s, were killed Friday morning, 4/7, in a shooting attack near the Israeli town of Humra in the Jordan Valley. Their mother was wounded and died later in the hospital. The terrorist first rammed into the victims’ car before firing at the passengers. The father watched in horror as his daughters and wife were gunned down.

Two IDF soldiers were wounded, one seriously, in a stabbing attack on Tuesday 4/4 at the Tzrifin military base near the city of Rishon Lezion, just south of Tel Aviv.

United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Benny Meshulam and two other citizens, barehanded, worked together to subdue the terrorist, who had stabbed two IDF soldiers from the nearby Tzrifin army base. Both victims, approximately 20 years old, were wounded, one seriously.

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)

The Iranian regime instructed the country’s Jewish community to refrain from celebrating the day after Passover and instead participate in the annual anti-Israel Quds Day demonstration that calls for the destruction of Israel. “If you don’t demonstrate, you will be harmed,” said Beni Sabti, an expert on Iran from the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security. The annual Quds Day protests call for the destruction of the State of Israel and are also held in Iraq, Lebanon and elsewhere, occurring on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Syria on Tuesday,4/4. warned that Israel was in danger of pushing the entire region toward “total escalation” following the fourth round of strikes in a week attributed to the Jewish state. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Nasser Kanani, likewise accused Israel of bringing “war and insecurity and creating discord in the region.” The Syrian Defense Ministry and the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that two civilians were killed when a missile hit a “glass factory” in the Al-Kisweh region overnight Monday. Another attack was witnessed on a radar post near the border with Jordan, said the opposition group. According to Israel’s Channel 12, the Israeli Air Force allegedly hit six targets in an area around Damascus, including near the international airport. The news site said that these targets included an Iranian headquarters, a weapons depot and components of the Syrian air defense system.

• Other Syrian sources said that the factory was accidentally damaged by an errant Syrian air defense missile and not by the Israeli Air Force (AIF).

A U.S. strike in Syria on Monday 4/3 killed a senior ISIS leader who planned attacks into Europe, United States Central Command said in a statement. The strike was a “unilateral” U.S. operation that killed Khalid ‘Aydd Ahmad al-Jabouri, CENTCOM said in the statement posted to Twitter. Al-Jabouri was a senior ISIS figure who “was responsible for planning ISIS attacks into Europe and developed the leadership structure for ISIS,” CENTCOM said

Wars & Rumors of Wars: And you will hear ofwars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; forall these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.Fornation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. (Matthew 24:6-7a)

Russia/Ukraine: A trove of leaked Pentagon documents reveals how deeply Russia’s security and intelligence services have been penetrated by the United States, demonstrating Washington’s ability to warn Ukraine about planned strikes and providing an assessment of the strength of Moscow’s war machine, reports the New York Times. The documents paint a portrait of a depleted Russian military that is struggling in its war in Ukraine and of a military apparatus that is deeply compromised. They contain daily real-time warnings to American intelligence agencies on the timing of Moscow’s strikes and even its specific targets. Such intelligence has allowed the United States to pass on to Ukraine crucial information on how to defend itself. The documents lay bare the American assessment of a Ukrainian military that is also in dire straits.

• Ukraine officials on Sunday shrugged off leaked Pentagon documents from the war effort that revealed data on military activities, including U.S. drone spy planes in the region and use of ammunition by Ukrainian forces. Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate, said on Ukrainian TV that a preliminary analysis of the materials revealed “false, distorted figures on losses on both sides.” Nevertheless, Ukraine is changing its battle plans against Russia in response to the leak, CNN reports.
• Egypt secretly planned to supply rockets to Russia, the leaked U.S. document reveal. Egypt’s president in February planned to produce 40,000 rockets for Russia and instructed officials to keep production and shipment secret “to avoid problems with the West.”

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)

A raid on a rebel hideout in northern Afghanistan killed eight fighters from a resistance movement including a commander, the Defense Ministry said Tuesday. The National Resistance Front vowed to fight the Taliban after they overran the country and seized power in August 2021. The NRF retreated to a mountainous and remote valley in Panjshir province after the takeover, with Panjshir the last province to hold out against the Taliban as they swept through Afghanistan. The National Resistance Front and another group, the Afghanistan Freedom Front, are comprised of former security personnel from the previous Western-backed government.

Pakistan plans to launch a new nationwide operation to root out Islamist militants, the national security committee said on Friday, in a potentially costly move for a country already facing full-blown economic and political crises. The operation would also serve as a pretext for the government to delay provincial elections it had been under pressure to hold next month. Pakistan is in danger of defaulting on its debt, with an International Monetary Fund bailout program stalled since November, while a bruising political battle is raging between the government and former Prime Minister Imran Khan. The last time it launched an all-out operation against Islamist militants was in 2014, and it cost the country billions of dollars and resulted over a million people being displaced and hundreds being killed.

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)

A large sinkhole in Daisetta, Texas, that first opened up in 2008, has suddenly started expanding again. Located about 15 miles east of the Houston metropolitan area, After swallowing up and oil tank, a telephone pole and several cars over about an acre of land, it stabilized – until now. It started expanding again on April 3, and has continued slowly since then and area residents have been advised to stay away from the area.

After months of fruitless negotiations between the states that depend on the shrinking Colorado River, the Biden administration on Tuesday proposed to put aside legal precedent and save what’s left of the river by evenly cutting water allotments, reducing the water delivered to California, Arizona and Nevada by as much as one-quarter. The size of those reductions and the prospect of the federal government unilaterally imposing them on states have never occurred in American history, notes the New York Times. Overuse and a 23-year-long drought threatened to provoke a water and power catastrophe across the West.

• The Colorado River supplies drinking water to 40 million Americans as well as two states in Mexico, and irrigates 5.5 million agricultural acres. The electricity generated by dams on the river’s two main reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, powers millions of homes and businesses. But the river’s flows have recently fallen by one-third compared with historical averages. Levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell are so low that water may soon fail to turn the turbines that generate electricity.

Get ready to hear a lot about climate-change-fighting “carbon capture” in the coming months as private businesses and nonprofits race to qualify for tens of billions of dollars in new federal tax credits and funding. New technology offers the possibility of vacuuming CO2 out of the air. The federal government is investing heavily in this technology, including funding four new national centers to develop it. Though capturing carbon isn’t that hard on a technical level, it has long been too expensive to do on a large scale. Outside Denver, the world’s second largest “direct air capture” or DAC plant has begun operating. The first was in Switzerland in 2017. It blows air over special ceramic filters that capture CO2, which is then stripped off and concentrated into liquid or gas.

• The new “Global Thermostat” plant near Denver can capture about 1,000 tons of CO2 a year, or the equivalent emissions of 217 passenger cars. The plant is a pilot project demonstrating that the technology can work on a large scale, but experts say far more and bigger plants are necessary to make a real difference.

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)

A volcano on the far eastern edge of Russia erupted Tuesday, 4/11. sending an ash cloud 12 miles high over 41,000 square miles, an area larger than the state of Kentucky. The Shiveluch Volcano began erupting just after midnight, with lava flows melting large areas of snow and threating several villages with flooding. Five-inch layers of ash covered many local areas atop the snow.

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)

A fast-moving wildfire in southern New Jersey has grown to nearly 4,000 acres less than 24 hours after it started. The Jimmy’s Waterhole Fire was 50% contained and had burned 3,859 acres as of Wednesday morning, Aril 11. About 170 structures in the Manchester Township area were evacuated Tuesday night, but all residents have since been allowed to return home. No structures have been damaged and no injuries have been reported so far. Flames shot as high as two hundred feet. There’s an elevated risk for wildfire spread across New Jersey and Delaware on Wednesday, with sustained winds up to 15 mph and gusts up to 25 mph expected. Low humidity and dry fuels are also contributing to the risk.

End-Time Weather Will Continue to Grow More Severe: (Daniel 9:26b, Ezekiel 38:22, Luke 21:25, Revelation 8:7, 11:19, 16:8,11)

Torrential rainfall inundated Fort Lauderdale and other parts of South Florida on Wednesday, 4/12, leading to widespread flooding that forced the city’s airport to close and stranded motorists for hours. The storm dumped 25 inches of rain over some coastal areas, flooding homes and highways. Sections of I-95, the state’s main north-south traffic artery, were overwhelmed by water for several hours. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is expected to be closed until at least noon Thursday because of the flooding. Roadways into and out of the airport became impassable around 5 p.m.

It looked as if an angry giant stomped Missouri through overnight, crushing homes and twisting trees, after a​ tornado touched down in Bollinger County, Missouri, Wednesday, 4/5, reports weather.com. F​our people were killed in the community of Glenallen. Houses have been shoved off their foundations or smashed into pieces. Strips of tin roofing were wrapped around the branches of trees that remained standing. Many other big trees were shredded into kindling or pulled out of the ground by their roots.

Signs of the Times Update: April 3, 2023

 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:30-32)

The Signs of the Times report will become more sporadic as my (unexpected) ministry in Africa and southeast Asia is consuming more and more of my time, and I will be traveling to Uganda and Kenya from July 10 through August 16 during which time there will likely be no reports at all.

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 Bible-based film about the life of Abraham surprised Hollywood observers and doubled projections over the weekend with a Top 3 finish. Angel Studios’ film, His Only Son. grossed an estimated $5.5 million, ranking No. 3 and receiving a Cinemascore grade of “A” from moviegoers. Heading into the weekend, Box Office Pro predicted it would only gross $2.7 million.

The Supreme Court threw out a federal appeals court decision on March 20 that upheld the right of a minor to go to court for permission to pursue an abortion without notifying her parents. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the sole member of the Supreme Court to file a dissenting opinion in the case, Chapman v. Doe, court file 22-312. court vacated the ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit and remanded the case to that court with instructions to dismiss the proceeding as moot. Doe got an abortion in Illinois after a court there authorized it, absent parental notification.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday, 3/21, sided unanimously with a deaf student, Miguel Perez, who sought to sue his school for damages over profound lapses in his education, a case that experts say could give parents of disabled students more leverage as they negotiate for the education of their children. Though the legal question raised by the case is technical, its outcome “holds consequences not just for Mr. Perez but for a great many children with disabilities and their parents,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the unanimous court.

Joe Kennedy, the high school football coach fired for praying at games, cashed in and reached a massive $2 million settlement with the school board and will be reinstated as a coach. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Kennedy’s favor in August 2022. A court ruled in October 2022 that the Bremerton School District in Washington State must hire him back by March 2023. “Mr. Kennedy will be an assistant football coach for Bremerton High School for the 2023 season, the district board announced earlier this month with no comment about the large monetary reward. “We are thrilled that Bremerton and Coach Kennedy are back together and we hope they go undefeated,” Hiram Sasser, executive general counsel at First Liberty Institute, a legal organization representing Kennedy, said.

Jacob Chansley, otherwise known as the “QAnon Shaman,” has been released early from prison into a half-way house in Phoenix, where he will stay until May 25. This release was based on new video evidence that showed Jacob was not violent or aggressive at all. He was actually trying to calm down other protesters and prevent them from damaging property or hurting anyone. He even asked law enforcement officers for permission to enter the Senate chamber and respected their orders when they asked him to leave.

A northern Tennessee library director, Allan Morales, was fired last week after he reportedly attempted to sabotage a library event with Christian actor and author Kirk Cameron. Cameron appeared at the library event on February 25 with former University of Kentucky women’s swimmer Riley Gaines and Duck Dynasty star Missy Robertson. During last week’s episode of the Unashamed with Phil & Jase Robertson podcast, Robertson noted that while Morales was initially excited about the event, he changed his mind after learning about Cameron’s Christian and conservative views. “He started a campaign in the community to shut [the event] down without officially canceling it,” Roberson explained.

On Sunday March 26, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) signed HB 2171 into law. This new statute ensures that houses of worship are not subject to unequal restrictions compared to those placed on other businesses, organizations, and activities in the commonwealth of Virginia.

In a strategic setback for Russia, Finland cleared its last obstacle to NATO membership, reshaping the world’s balance of power. Finland’s ascension into NATO sharply enlarges the alliance’s border with Russia. It also hands a significant diplomatic and strategic defeat to President Vladimir Putin, who made it clear before invading Ukraine that he intended to block NATO’s eastward expansion. Finland won final approval on Thursday to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a major shift in the balance of power between the West and Russia that was set off by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Satanic Deception: He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. (John 8:44) The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where^[a] the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Revelation 20:10)

In a revealing tweet, Nancy Pelosi showed the world that the minds of our liberal-progressive leaders have become demonically deceived. The legal standard in the United States of America has always been innocent until proven guilty. However, following the release of an indictment against former President Trump (released via a tweet, no less, in a further show of legal incompetency), Pelosi tweeted, “No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence.” In total opposition to the foundations of our country, Trump is now presumed and pronounced guilty, shifting the burden of proof to him within a rigged system.

• A Manhattan grand jury voted to indict 45th President of the United States Donald Trump on Thursday in a case pursued by District Attorney Alvin Bragg dealing with a “hush money” payment made to Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential election cycle. The felony indictment — the first against a former president — was filed under seal by Bragg’s office and will, presumably, be unsealed and announced in the days to come, but that means the broader public does not yet know which charges on which the grand jury voted to indict the former president-turned-2024 presidential candidate. Trump will be facing at least one felony charge in the case.

New World Order – One-World Government: It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Revelation 13:7-8) The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces. (Daniel 7:23)

The World Health Organization (WHO) is holding a string of meetings this month to push radical amendments with shocking implications. The scope of the global authority these amendments will give WHO is much broader than most people know. The WHO is pushing for universal (socialistic) health care worldwide and will make nations like America pay for all of it. The proposed amendments Joe Biden is pushing will give WHO extraordinary power over the supply chain, including manufacturing, shipping, distribution, and delivery of anything related to health care. WHO will be able to restrict medications or require them, and this includes a long list of vaccines. The WHO is grabbing power for itself so that if it decides a lack of universal health care has the “potential to impact public health,” they can force compliance as long as President Biden signs the agreement.

It was September 11, 1990, when George H.W. Bush addressed a joint session of Congress about the Persian Gulf War, and said, “Out of these troubled times … — a new world order — can emerge.” On March 21, 2022, President Biden referred to the Russia/Ukraine, war saying there’s “going to be a new world order out there, and we’ve got to lead it.” Is has become clear now that the next major step toward the secular-humanist goal of a one-world government (see Revelation 13) will be accomplished through the World Health Organization (WHO) which is promoting a treaty that Biden is anxious to sign and which will surrender our national rights to WHO in any global health emergency or any situation which threatens global health (which could be just about anything, including climate change.

• Mat Staver, CEO of Liberty Counsel writes, “But Congress CAN stop Biden’s globalist plan to erase our Constitution and replace it with the whims of WHO. “Our work on Capitol Hill and your voices are building momentum in the U.S. House and Senate. We MUST demand Congress stop the WHO takeover of America.” Stop the WHO takeover of America! Fax Congress now!

Politics: Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. (Romans 13:1-2)

The U.S. House failed Thursday to override President Joe Biden’s first veto — of a Republican-led bill that would have banned the consideration of environmental, social, and governance issues in retirement and other investment decisions. Republicans failed to mount the necessary two-thirds votes needed in the House to override the president’s veto.

Japanese prime ministers are not known for stealing the spotlight, but Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday managed to upstage Chinese leader Xi Jinping during his high-profile summit in Russia, making a surprise visit to Kyiv for talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and top Ukrainian officials. The side-by-side visits of two East Asian leaders to two warring European capitals are just the latest in a growing demarcation of end-time global battle lines.

China’s leader, Xi Jinping, flew into Moscow this week cast by Beijing as its emissary for peace in Ukraine. His summit with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, however, demonstrated that his priority remains shoring up ties with Moscow to gird against what he sees as a long campaign by the United States to hobble China’s ascent, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, 3/22.  “Talk of Ukraine was overshadowed by Mr. Xi’s vow of ironclad solidarity with Russia as a political, diplomatic, economic and military partner: two superpowers aligned in countering American dominance and a Western-led world order. The summit showed Mr. Xi’s intention to entrench Beijing’s tilt toward Moscow against what he recently called an effort by the United States at the full-fledged “containment” of China.”

Twenty years after the U.S. liberated Iraq from the grip of a dictator, Saddam Hussein, another despotism, Communist China, is profiting off its postwar rebuilding effort through lucrative, exploitative projects that are part of China’s plan to dominate the world. Beijing’s “Belt and Road Initiative” — described by critics as a “debt trap” — exchanges Chinese investments in massive foreign development projects for raw materials such as oil needed to fuel the Chinese economy and grow its international power. On Monday, China’s state-run Global Times “boasted that Chinese companies are taking a leading role in the reconstruction of Iraq, making money and spreading Beijing’s influence in a country the United States spent blood and treasure to liberate from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein two decades ago.”

Civic/Religious Freedom: Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. (John 8:36)

The Department of Justice “extensively colluded” with a special interest group to “manufacture” a supposedly sweeping threat against school personnel posed by parents, a House Subcommittee interim staff report has found. Experts say the findings further confirm what DOJ officials have denied – that the government worked behind the scenes to undermine a grassroots movement of outspoken parents concerned about their children being exposed to controversial racial and gender theories and mask mandates at school.

Censorship: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth. (Romans 1:18)

YouTube once more banned LifeSite news, preventing them from posting additional video reports on their John-Henry Westen channel for next two weeks starting 3/31. Livesite News is now just one strike away from YouTube permanently deleting the channel. This second time that YouTube has issued a “strike” against LifeSite was because “LifeSite spoke truthfully about the promotion of LGBT ideology embedded in the movie Everything, Everywhere, All at Once after Hollywood last week bestowed seven Academy Awards on the film, including Best Picture,” Lifesite said in a statement. In 2021, without warning or explanation, YouTube permanently shut down LifeSite’s account, removing tens of thousands of hours of pro-life, pro-family, Christian video news coverage and leaving our 300,000 YouTube followers in the lurch. 

Attempted book bans and restrictions at school and public libraries continue to surge, setting a record in 2022, according to a new report from the American Library Association released Thursday. More than 1,200 challenges were compiled by the association in 2022, nearly double the then-record total from 2021 and by far the most since the ALA began keeping data 20 years ago. Last year, more than 2,500 different books were objected to, compared to 1,858 in 2021 and just 566 in 2019. In numerous cases, hundreds of books were challenged in a single complaint. A few years ago, complaints usually arose with parents and other community members and referred to an individual book. Now, the requests are often for multiple removals, and organized by national groups such as the conservative Moms for Liberty. Some books have been targeted by liberals because of racist language — notably Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” — but the vast majority of complaints come from conservatives, directed at works with LGBTIQA+ or racial themes.

An incoming Massachusetts school superintendent revealed that his job offer was rescinded prior to his start date after he addressed two women on the school’s committee as “ladies” in an email. Vito Perrone was offered the position as the head of Easthampton Schools on March 23, but was notified that the job offer had been withdrawn over his choice of salutation in an email to the chairperson and executive assistant, both female, who reportedly interpreted his “ladies” greeting as a “microaggression,” the Daily Hampshire Gazette reported.

• The absurdity level has gone beyond ridiculous to outright insanity as formerly innocent words are given new shades of meaning in our rapidly expanding cancel culture.

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)

Fulani herdsmen and other terrorists killed 27 Christians in two attacks this month in Kaduna state, Nigeria, local sources said. Both attacks took place in Zangon Kataf County, where 10 Christians were killed on March 14 in Langson village and 17 slain in Ungwan Wakili village on March 10. In Ungwan Wakili, residents said Muslim terrorists attacked the village and nearby Christian communities at about 9 p.m. for about 40 minutes before retreating. Many Christians from southern Kaduna have fled to Europe. The predominantly Muslim Fulani comprise hundreds of clans of many different lineages who do not hold extremist views, but some Fulani do adhere to radical Islamist ideology, reports ChristianHeadlines.com.

A Pennsylvania State University wrestler is facing backlash for discussing his Christian faith and calling Muhammad a “false prophet” after winning an NCAA title on Saturday. As reported by CBN News, 22-year-old Aaron Brooks won his third consecutive individual NCAA title after defeating Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa in the 184-pound finals. During a post-match interview, Brooks expressed his faith in Jesus Christ, attributing the victory to God. “It’s everything. Christ’s resurrection is everything,” Brooks declared. “Not just his life, but his death and resurrection. You can only get that through Him — the Holy Spirit only through Him. No false prophets, no Muhammad or no anyone else. Only Jesus Christ himself.” Brooks came under fire for his comments on Muhammad on social media, with some likening it to bigotry. The NCAA also came under fire for posting the video clip and so they deleted it shortly afterward.

Just weeks ago, Isabel Vaughan-Spruce was declared NOT GUILTY by a judge in Birmingham, U.K., for praying silently on a public sidewalk. So why was she just arrested for praying again, and hauled away by six police officers while she was standing peacefully on a city sidewalk? This time, police clearly targeted Isabel because of who she is and what she believes as a Christian. Isabel’s first arrest came after the introduction of “censorship zones” by Birmingham authorities last fall, which criminalize individuals perceived to be “engaging in any act of approval or disapproval” in relation to abortion, including through “verbal or written means, prayer or counseling.”

For leaving Islam to accept Christ, a young mother in Sudan was chained in her home, subjected to electrical shocks at a psychiatric hospital and has lost her children, reports ChristianHeadlines.com. A few days after accepting Christ, Awatif Abdalla Kaki, a 27-year-old mother of four, had a dream in which Jesus appeared to her, and she told her Muslim relatives about it and her new faith at her parents’ home in Omdurman, across the Nile from Khartoum, where she, her husband and children lived. Her husband tried to force her to renounce her faith by chaining her legs and tightening the chains. Asserting that she was mad, he then forcibly took her to a psychiatric hospital, where she received an unidentified injection and electrical shocks against her will. Her husband then took their children to his parents’ house to live with there with him. Her parents and siblings are all Muslims who believe she is suffering mental illness, leaving her all alone with no assistance or support.

Authorities detained 63 members of a Chinese Christian Church yesterday. The group includes 32 adult Chinese nationals who now face charges of overstaying their visas. The rest are children. Christians from the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church, also called the Mayflower Church, sought asylum in Thailand in 2022 after fleeing persecution in China in 2019, as China has continued to crack down on unregistered “house churches.”

Abortion: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart. (Jeremiah 1:5)

New York City rolled out a new phone line, the Abortion Access Hub, in November. The hub would be confidential and connect callers to abortion providers within the five boroughs. It would be funded with $1 million dollars and staffed 12 hours a day, six days a week, with bilingual staff. In the coming months, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene began advertising the hub on multiple platforms and in multiple languages. But they also spent hundreds of thousands of dollars advertising the hub hundreds of miles away in three other states – Georgia, Florida and Texas – including ads on billboards.

A Wyoming judge temporarily blocked a state abortion ban that took effect over the weekend, a decision that makes abortion legal in the state for now. Teton County District Court Judge Melissa Owens granted an order Wednesday blocking the law’s enforcement for at least two weeks as the court considers a lawsuit filed against the state by abortion providers.

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 number of new cases of Covid-19 in the U.S. continue to decline, down 16% over the two-week period ending 3/29 to 19,783 per day on average. Hospitalizations were down 6% and deaths down 12% over the same two-week period. However, case counts continue to vary widely by state, with Hawaii up 190%, Oklahoma up 81% and Missouri up 15%, while Vermont was down 40%, South Dakota down 35% and Idaho down 34%.

The U.S. Senate passed a resolution, 68-23, on March 29 to end the COVID-19 national emergency sooner than scheduled. The measure, which was introduced by Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) and passed the House on Feb. 1, now heads to President Joe Biden, who is expected to sign it. The White House planned to end both the COVID national emergency—which then-President Donald Trump enacted on March 13, 2020—on May 11. However, this bill will terminate the national emergency a month earlier than scheduled. President Biden signaled that he won’t veto the bill, much to the consternation of many Democrats.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is urging travelers to Guinea and Tanzania to be mindful of contracting the deadly Marburg virus. The CDC is also sending personnel to Africa to assist stopping the outbreak of the disease. The Marburg virus is an infectious disease that has high fatality rates and, according to the World Health Organization. Tanzania is reporting a Marburg outbreak and has confirmed eight cases, including five deaths, according to WHO. In February, Equatorial Guinea announced the first outbreak of the virus and the country has since counted officially nine cases with an additional 20 probable cases, all of whom have died.

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)

A review of studies from around the world finds that getting vaccinated halves the risk of long COVID-19, reports Newsmax. For the review, a team led by researchers from the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom looked at data from 41 studies involving more than 860,000 patients to gauge risk factors for the array of symptoms that can linger after a COVID infection. Several groups were more likely to experience long COVID, including women, people who are overweight or over 40, smokers, and those with anxiety, depression and preexisting conditions such as asthma, COPD, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease or suppressed immune systems. Patients hospitalized with COVID were also more likely to experience long COVID. “Conversely, it was reassuring to see that people who had been vaccinated had significantly less risk — almost half the risk — of developing long COVID compared to unvaccinated participants,” said researcher Dr. Vassilios Vassiliou

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)

A heavily armed woman shot three students and three staff members to death at a small private Christian elementary school in Nashville early Monday, 3/27, , police said. Officers engaged and killed the shooter at the Covenant School, Nashville police spokesperson Don Aaron said. The shooter was a 28-year-old Nashville woman, police said. Three children and two adults were taken to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt with gunshot wounds, and all five were pronounced dead there. The sixth victim died at the scene. The shooter was armed with at least two “assault-type rifles” and a handgun, and was identified as Audrey Elizabeth Hale, a Nashville resident, who identified as transgender ‘he/him’ who shot her way into the school. Hale had been getting counseling from the pastor whose daughter she killed on Monday.

• Officers found written material along with a map describing how an assault on a Nashville elementary school would unfold, as well as a plan to shoot up a different school the assailant scrapped because of “too much security.” Hale was under care for an “emotional disorder,” Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said Tuesday. “Law enforcement knew nothing about the treatment” 28-year-old Aubrey Hale was receiving, he added. Hale’s parents “felt that (Hale) should not own weapons” and were under the impression Hale had sold one weapon and “did not own any more,” Drake said. “As it turned out, (Hale) had been hiding several weapons within the house,” seven of which she had bought illegally.
• Dr. Katherine Koonce, head of school at The Covenant School, was among those murdered, but the steps she took that morning and before are credited with helping save lives. Koonce was in a virtual meeting when the shooting began and that she immediately got off the meeting and headed straight for the shooter. Koonce had reportedly also prepared the school staff well before the event with the appropriate active-shooter training, equipping them for the unthinkable.

Militant LGBTQ+ activists invaded the Texas capital building and assaulted the Texas senate’s sergeant in arms last week. Loren Perkins, a transgender woman was there to comment publicly on laws that would be passed to stop the sexualization of children. Perkins began to go on a rant calling conservatives Nazi’s and other radical rhetoric that prompted Senate Sergeant in arms Austin Osborn to end the 2+ minute speech that exceeded the allotted time for comments. As Osborn approached, another trans activist physically assaulted him and Perkins kept on ranting. Other senate members in the room attempted to stop Perkins but the violence spread as other activists joined the fray.

More than two-thirds of parents worry a shooting could happen at their children’s school, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. But home is a far more dangerous place for kids. In the five years ending in 2022, at least 866 kids ages 17 and younger were shot in domestic violence incidents – 621 of them died. In that same time frame, 268 children were shot at school, 75 of them fatally, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database, a federally funded tracking system.

Philadelphia police released video Thursday, 3/23, of four suspects unloading more than 60 rounds during a shooting that left three teens injured earlier this week in hopes of finding those responsible. The shooting happened on the 1500 block of North Frazier Street around 4 p.m. Monday, according to a news release. Two 16-year-olds and one 13-year-old were injured in the daylight shooting. Two of the three victims remain in critical condition at local hospitals.

Tragedy: In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

Nine soldiers were killed after two U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters crashed Wednesday night during a training mission in southwestern Kentucky, authorities said. The HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from the Army’s 101st Airborne Division crashed around 10 p.m. Wednesday in Trigg County, Kentucky, to the west of the Army base Fort Campbell. The 101st Airborne Division, nicknamed the “Screaming Eagles,” is the only air assault division of the U.S. Army. The crash occurred over a field and a wooded area so no homes were damaged.

At least 39 people were killed on Monday night, 3/27, and 29 others seriously injured when a fire broke out at a Mexican government-run migration facility in northern Mexico, near the border with the United States. The fire broke out in the accommodation area of the National Migration Institute in Ciudad Juárez, a border city across from El Paso, Texas. Sixty-eight men from Central and South America were being housed there. The men housed at the shelter had been angry at authorities and fearing deportations, and so “at the door of the shelter, they put mattresses and set them on fire, and they did not imagine that this was going to cause this terrible tragedy,” said Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Surveillance footage from inside the immigration detention appears to show guards walking away from the blaze and making no apparent attempt to release detainees.

Surveillance video from a state psychiatric hospital in Virginia shows a group of sheriff’s deputies and medical staff piling on a Black, handcuffed man, Irvo Otieno, and pinning him for nearly 11 minutes until his death on March 6. The Dinwiddie County prosecutor, Ann Cabell Baskervill, has charged seven sheriff’s deputies and three employees of the hospital with second degree murder. She had announced that she was publicly releasing the video on Tuesday, 3/21, though some defense lawyers had filed motions to block its release.

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)

A planned Washington, D.C., protest Saturday titled “Trans Day of Vengeance” has had Twitter censoring more than 5,000 tweets and retweets for the incitement of violence. “We do not support tweets that incite violence irrespective of who posts them,” Ella Irwin, Twitter’s head of Trust and Safety, tweeted Tuesday. “‘Vengeance’ does not imply peaceful protest. Organizing or support for peaceful protests is OK.”

As reported by the Epoch Times’ Joseph Hanneman, a federal prosecutor “admitted in court papers that three D.C. Metropolitan Police Department undercover officers acted as provocateurs at the northwest steps of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.” The report cites an admission in a March 24 filing before U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras that sought to keep video footage shot by the officers under court seal. (The document now appears to have been removed.) The undercover video—a portion of which posted on Rumble on March 24—shows three members of the MPD’s Electronic Surveillance Unit approach the Capitol’s northwest steps. The video footage is consistent with the Epoch Times report.

The nation’s second largest school district shut its doors to 422,000 students Tuesday, 3/21. after more than 60,000 workers at Los Angeles Unified School District – including bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria employees, campus security, teaching assistants and educators – made good on their promise to strike in response to a breakdown in contract negotiations. The strike, which is expected to last as long as three days, left parents scrambling to find childcare, meals and substitute learning arrangements. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced on Twitter that the city would provide students with “safe places and meals so students are cared for and parents can keep working.” The labor union SEIU Local 99, which represents roughly 30,000 school support staff, demanded LAUSD provide them with a 30% raise and $2 per hour equity wage increase.

Nationwide strikes in Germany — among its worst in decades — are causing huge disruption at the country’s airports, on public transport and at its largest port Monday. The walkouts have been called by two major transport unions in Europe’s biggest economy. Verdi, one of the unions, has demanded a 10.5% pay raise for its members, citing rising energy and food costs. More than 400,000 transport workers are taking part in the industrial action. The German Airports Association has estimated that around 380,000 travelers will not be able to take off on Monday, 3/27. Long-distance railroad services scheduled for Monday have been suspended across Germany, as were early morning regional and commuter rail services.

Demonstrators in Nairobi threw stones at police officers yesterday, while protesters in Siaya set fire to the offices of the Kenyan president’s party. It was the third round of protests, despite a police ban, called by opposition leader Raila Odinga against the high cost of living and alleged fraud in last year’s election. In Kibra, a church and a mosque were set ablaze on Monday for suspected political differences as Muslim and Christian groups seek revenge against each other. Religious leaders urged Odinga and Kenyan President William Ruto to meet and come up with a peaceful solution.

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)

President Biden on Monday decried gun violence in America just hours after a shooter killed three children and three staff members at a private school in Nashville, calling it “sick” and a “family’s worst nightmare.” He reiterated his call for Congress to pass legislation banning assault weapons. He also called for increased mental health services for victims’ families and survivors of such tragedies.

On Thursday, gun control activists stormed the Tennessee Capitol in the aftermath of Monday’s school shooting. Protestors rushed the room and shouted, “No action, no peace.” The scene was very similar to January 6 storming of the nation’s capital which these same activists condemned as ‘insurrection.’ A news station’s posted video went viral showing pro-gun control protesters, who had stormed the state capitol, fighting with troopers with the Tennessee Highway Patrol inside the building.

Why do Americans own AR-15s assault weapons? The Washington Post asked them in one of the most detailed surveys of its kind. Self-defense, target shooting and fun were the most popular reasons for owning an AR-15, with some respondents citing their Second Amendment rights, the Washington Post-Ipsos poll found

John Lott, founder of the Crime Prevention Research Center, said there are dozens of ‘good guys with guns’ incidents missing from the FBI’s database, which he said has fueled a false narrative that rarely do good guys with guns stop shootings. The FBI says the rate of active shooting incidents ended by good guys with guns is 4.4% over the years. Mr. Lott says it’s 34.4%.When an armed citizen does intervene and it draws national headlines — as happened at an Indiana mall food court last year — news accounts are quick to point to the FBI’s findings as evidence that it’s a rarity. The FBI’s numbers also have been used in court cases, and they pepper legislative debates on Capitol Hill and in state assemblies.

Justice (or lack thereof): Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. (Jeremiah 23:5)

Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) revealed during a March 28 senate hearing that an internal Department of Justice (DOJ) memo dissuaded U.S. Marshals from arresting protestors in violation of laws against picketing the homes of judges. The materials revealed during the hearing show that U.S. Marshals were explicitly directed not to arrest protestors at the homes of Supreme Court (SCOTUS) justices. Section 1507 of U.S. Code prohibits the picketing of Supreme Court (SCOTUS) justices or other federal judges.

A U.S. judge Tuesday affirmed the Boy Scouts of America’s $2.46 billion settlement of decades of sex abuse claims, rejecting appeals by some of the group’s insurers and abuse claimants. U.S. District Judge Richard Andrews in Wilmington, Delaware, ruled the Boy Scouts agreement, which would create the largest sexual abuse settlement fund in U.S. history, was a good faith effort to resolve claims by more than 80,000 men who say they were abused as children by troop leaders. The Boy Scouts settlement, approved in bankruptcy court in September, was supported by 86% of abuse claimants and the Boy Scouts’ two largest insurers.

A lawsuit filed on behalf of 343 protestors claimed they had suffered “physical and emotional damage” as a result of Philadelphia’s response to the civil unrest and demonstrations, and the city announced on Monday that the litigation had been settled. During the protest, a large number of protesters were obstructing traffic on a major expressway, prompting a police intervention to put an end to the chaos. The illegal protest was dispersed off I-676 using non-lethal weapons such as tear gas and pepper spray. Even though they caused the situation and the police didn’t do anything illegal, the city settled the lawsuit for $9.25 million. Victimhood pays well.

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, spirits of lawlessness are stirring up lawlessness which will increase all the more as the end-times ramp up.

A Florida couple is still in captivity after a gang kidnapped them for ransom on March 18. Jean-Dickens Toussaint and his wife, Abigail Michael Toussaint, had traveled to Haiti to visit ailing relatives and attend a festival. Gang members stopped their bus in a restive part of Port-au-Prince and abducted the couple and their traveling companion. Family members said the captors demanded $200,000 each. Kidnappings for ransom have surged in Haiti, where more than 1,200 cases were reported in 2022, double the number from the previous year.

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)

DirecTV said Wednesday that it has reached a multi-year distribution agreement with Newsmax, putting to end a bitter carriage dispute that waded into political waters and saw the right-wing channel and satellite carrier savage one another in public. Chris Ruddy, the chief executive of Newsmax who for months accused the satellite carrier of unfair anti-conservative censorship, changed his tune when announcing the deal, saying in a statement that DirecTV “clearly supports diverse voices, including conservative ones.”

Science: The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. (Psalm 19:1) For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so the are without excuse… who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator. (Romans 1:20,25)

The startling pace at which artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are growing is sparking alarm, discontent, and concern among analysts, with some of Silicon Valley’s most prominent names rising up to call for a pause before such advances propagate severe societal damage. SpaceX founder Elon Musk has joined Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and countless other prominent names to sign an open letter from the Future of Life Institute calling on AI companies to “pause giant AI experiments” and create safety protocols. The suggested pause is for six months.

After social media suggested that former president Donald Trump was due to be arrested, pictures of him being  thrown to the ground and dragged off by police were seen by more than 5.5 million people. But it never actually happened. The pictures were created by an artificial intelligence (AI) art generator. And this, unfortunately, is the future, with ‘deep fake’ images and videos stirring up people over events that didn’t really occur. Worse than that is the use of AI to write homework assignments, doctoral theses, false new reports and many other conjured works not of human design. If you thought it was hard now to separate truth from fiction, it’s only going to get harder and harder, worse and worse. Welcome to the end-times.

Researchers have been pushing the limits of 3D printing for decades, using the manufacturing technique to churn out consumer goods such as furniture and shoes, human organs and even a rocket. But can the industrial technology be applied to make a fully baked dessert that can be fabricated in your home kitchen? Engineers at Columbia University set out to do just that. A team whipped up a seven-ingredient vegan cheesecake that was assembled and cooked entirely by a 3D-printing machine and — in a new innovation — laser technology, according to a study published Tuesday in the journal NPJ Science of Food.

• The Star Trek replicators are becoming a reality.

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)

The Anti-Defamation League reports that the U.S. saw a record 3,697 anti-Semitic incidents in 2022, marking a 36% increase from last year. The Jewish advocacy group, which tracks anti-Semitic violence and harassment against Jews, revealed the findings in its annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, which it released on Wednesday. The audit tracks “criminal and non-criminal incidents of harassment, vandalism and assault against individuals and groups as reported to ADL by victims, law enforcement, the media and partner organizations.” The report showed that cases of anti-Semitic harassment increased by 29% (2,298), vandalism increased by 51% (1,288) and anti-Semitic assaults increased by 26% (111). Orthodox Jews were the target of 53% of anti-Semitic assault incidents nationally. The report found that no assaults resulted in mass casualties, however, there was at least one fatality.

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)

Autism is on the rise, especially for minorities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In a new report released Thursday, the agency said that – for the first time – autism is being diagnosed more frequently in Black and Hispanic children then in White children in the U.S. Furthermore, in 2020, one in 36 U.S. eight-year-olds had autism. That count has increased from one in 44 two years prior. The new estimates suggest that about 3% of Black, Hispanic and Asian or Pacific Islander children have an autism diagnosis, compared with about 2% of White kids. Experts have attributed the change to improved screening and autism services for all kids, and increased awareness and advocacy for Black and Hispanic families.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is calling an emerging fungus an “urgent threat” after a new study showed it has been spreading at an “alarming rate” throughout health care facilities. Cases of Candida Auris (C. auris), which is resistant to several antifungal medications, has increased each year since it was first reported in 2016. Cases detected through screening tripled from 2020 to 2021, totaling 4,041. Researchers were equally concerned by the number of infections resistant to echinocandins, the antifungal medication recommended for treatment.

Drugs: And they did not repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries [Greek: pharmakeia, i.e. pharmacy, drugs].

The United States Drug Enforcement Administration has issued a public safety advisory informing people about the widespread danger posed by fentanyl combined with xylazine, also known as “tranq,” a common name for this type of animal tranquilizer. According to DEA Administrator Ann Milgram, xylazine is making fentanyl, our country’s deadliest drug threat, even deadlier. The DEA has discovered xylazine and fentanyl combinations in 48 of the 50 states. Users of xylazine and fentanyl-containing drugs are more likely to die from a lethal drug overdose.

New research suggests that smoking marijuana is far from benign: Toking every day might raise your odds of heart disease. Daily marijuana users are about one-third more likely to develop coronary artery disease, compared with people who have never used the drug, researchers at Stanford University found. Marijuana is becoming more widely available and cannabis potency has actually increased over the past couple of decades, further increasing risk.

Education: Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6)

The Parents Bill of Rights Act passed the Republican-led House Friday in the latest salvo of a political and cultural battle over public education. The bill passed Friday 213-208, mostly along party lines, with five Republicans joining all Democrats in voting against the bill. It faces an uncertain future in the Senate, and President Biden would most likely veto it. The legislation would give parents the right to: Know what’s being taught in schools (including reviewing reading materials);  See school budgets and understand how schools spend money; Protect a child’s privacy by preventing schools from selling information about students or performing medical exams without a parent’s permission; Receive updates on any violence at a school; and require all curriculums to be made public, including any materials in a school library or classroom.

LGBTQ+:  For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. (Romans 1:26-27)

Taxpayer funds are being used to support a drag queen summer camp for children as young as seven at the Carousel Theatre in Vancouver, Canada. The theater, which has received $280,849 in taxpayer funding since 2018, offers a ‘junior’ drag camp for children aged 7 to 11, and a ‘teen’ camp for those aged 12 to 17. “Join some of Vancouver’s most amazing drag artists and learn how drag can brighten up your life! You might be wondering, is drag for kids? Drag is for everyone!” states a promotional flyer.

President Biden’s National Security Council advisor, John Kirby, said in a Tuesday press briefing that the Biden administration holds “LGBTQ+ rights” as a “core part of our foreign policy.” Kirby’s comments came in response to a question about proposed legislation in Uganda that seeks to establish criminal penalties for homosexuality. “The Ugandan Parliament voted in favor of [an] anti-homosexuality bill and is set to host a summit soon with other African nations on potentially passing other bills across the continent…sources tell me that Russia may be playing a major role in the influence of this larger anti-LGBTQ movement and is using it as a wedge between the U.S. and Africa,” a reporter noted.

Gender Confusion: Male and female He created them. (Genesis 5:2)

• Gender confusion is being promoted because it undermines God’s ordained family structure, giving secular government more control over people, particularly our youth.

A year-old study of 3,100 college youth in Canada found that “transgender” and “gender-variant” youth are the highest risk-group for supporting “violent radicalization.” Following the Nashville school shooting by a transgender, the study, titled, “Meaning in Life, Future Orientation and Support for Violent Radicalization among Canadian College Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” is drawing renewed attention. “Transgender and gender-diverse youth emerge as the group at the highest risk of support for VR [Violent Radicalization],” the study in the journal Frontiers of Psychiatry by five Canadian academics states.

The Republican-dominated Kentucky legislature voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to override the governor’s veto of a bill that will create a host of new regulations and restrictions on transgender youth, including banning access to what doctors call gender-affirming health care. The bill specifically bans surgeries, puberty blockers and hormone treatments for children under 18, and also rejects any requirements by school districts to refer to transgender children by their preferred pronouns.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday signed a bill into law that bars transgender students from using restrooms that do not align with the sex listed on their birth certificate. The bill, which cleared the state’s legislature earlier this month, covers restrooms, locker rooms, changing rooms and shower rooms. It allows superintendents, teachers and principals to be fined a minimum of $1,000 if they do not comply with the law, which applies to pre-K through 12th grade in public and charter schools.

A detransitioned teen is suing Kaiser Permanente hospital because doctors removed her breasts during her transgender procedure. Layla Jane is an 18-year-old woman who began to identify as transgender at age 11. Jane, at the time, wanted to transition to a male. Initially, doctors at Kaiser denied her any transition hormones, saying she could take them after turning 16. However, doctors changed their minds, approved her request, and performed a double mastectomy when she was 13. Jane wrote on Twitter, “Mind boggling to me that a doctor signed off on a double mastectomy for me before I took a sex ed course. I barely started 8th grade, I was 13.” Jane now suffers from anxiety, depression, pubertal struggles, body dysmorphia, and serious self-image concerns.

Ulta Beauty, a popular beauty retailer, has been hit with a massive boycott from conservative women after featuring a transgender woman on its podcast. The brand invited Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender influencer, to talk about her experiences and how she wants to become a mother on the “Joy of Girlhood” podcast. Ulta Beauty has over 1,200 locations across the United States. Despite the backlash, Ulta stands behind its decision to invite diverse talent, including transgender women, onto its broadcast to appeal to a broader audience.

Mass Delusions: The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie. (2Thessalonians 2:9-11)

The U.S. military under President Joe Biden has hosted numerous drag queen events for children on military bases, advertising the story hours alongside promises of “bouncy houses,” face painting, and “goodie-bags.” After public backlash, one base’s spokesman called gender-bending events “essential” to military morale and readiness.

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)

Border Patrol agents in the Imperial Beach region of California reported a hectic night last weekend, nabbing 290 illegal immigrants over a 13-hour stretch. The Imperial Beach station accounts for just six miles of the border. The Border Patrol said at least 35 different nationalities were part of that group of people: Afghanistan, Angola, Belize, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, India, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Mali, Mauritania, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Romania, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Turkey, Vietnam and Yemen.

Population Growth: 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)

The United Nations Population Division says three-quarters of the world’s population now live in countries with below-replacement fertility – those which aren’t having enough babies to replace current population. They call this situation Demographic Winter, which leads to economic stagnation and potential collapse. Another problem is fewer workers to care for a growing elderly population, possibly requiring “institutionalized day care” for the elderly. Over 30% of the women born in Japan today won’t have children; 50% will never have grandchildren. So many elderly Japanese are dying alone there’s a name for it, ‘lonely death.’ China also has a coming demographic crisis, due in part to the one-child policy in effect for decades. This worldwide problem of Demographic Winter will continue to grow unless there is a cultural shift toward having more children, notes the Ruth Institute.

Water Supplies: Moreover He said to me, “Son of man, [they] shall drink water by measure and with dread, that they may lack bread and water, and be dismayed with one another, and waste away because of their iniquity. (Ezekiel 4:16-17)

Tap water in Philadelphia will “remain safe” to drink until Tuesday afternoon, 3/28, as officials monitor and test drinking water following a March 24 chemical spill in the nearby Delaware River. The PWD credits the treatment and continuous testing of the water currently available to residents for this assurance. PWD said it will continue testing the water to ensure that no contaminated water enters the water treatment system. Officials cautiously believe the “ongoing event” will be resolved by next week.

The world is facing a looming global water crisis that threatens to “spiral out of control” as demand for water continues to increase. Water use has increased by about 1% a year over the last 40 years, driven by population growth and changing consumption patterns, according to the UN World Water Development Report. By 2050, the number of people in cities facing water scarcity is projected to nearly double from 930 million people in 2016 to up to 2.4 billion, the report found. Urban water demand is expected to increase by 80% by 2050.

Energy Supplies: He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. (Isaiah 44:14-15)

The United States is now the biggest supplier of crude oil to the European Union, replacing Russia. In December, 18% of the bloc’s crude imports came from America, EU data office Eurostat said Tuesday. Russia was until recently the bloc’s top supplier of crude, accounting for as much as 31% of total imports at the end of January 2022, according to Eurostat. The U.S., meanwhile, was a distant second, with a maximum 13% share. The Ukraine war and sanctions against Russia have taken their toll.

Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ oil producers on Sunday announced further cuts in their production amounting to around 1.16 million barrels per day in a surprise move they said was aimed at supporting market stability. Oil prices last month fell towards $70 a barrel, the lowest in 15 months, on concern that a global banking crisis would hit demand. Still, further action by OPEC+ to support the market was not expected after sources downplayed this prospect and crude recovered towards $80.

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)

Portland, Oregon, will seek to improve the facilities of its homeless camps by replacing tents with “sleeping pods,” which the city can fund with state assistance. “Tents will work,” Mayor Ted Wheeler said Tuesday at a virtual town hall. “But if we can also find a quick way to fund and deliver pods — that would certainly be an improvement. Wheeler has focused on a plan to create six large outdoor camps that will allow him to reduce and ultimately ban homeless camping in all public spaces. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek warned that the city’s camps would not qualify for any of the program funding available in the $200 million emergency homelessness and housing spending plan, as tents do not meet a number of habitability requirements the governor outlined. A spokesperson for the governor confirmed, though, that sleeping pods could qualify for county funding

Welfare: “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be.” (Deut.  15:7-8)

Millions of Americans are at risk of losing their Medicaid coverage in coming months, but residents in Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, New Hampshire and South Dakota will be the first to bear the brunt of the terminations. States have been barred by Congress from winnowing their Medicaid rolls since the Covid-19 pandemic began. That prohibition ended on Saturday, and some states are moving much more swiftly than others terminate benefits for those deemed ineligible for the public health insurance program for low-income Americans.

The Philadelphia Department of Public Health announced Monday that a city program aims to provide pregnant residents with $1,000 monthly cash payments with the goal of improving birth outcomes. The Philly Joy Bank is a guaranteed income pilot of the Philadelphia Community Action Network, a collective impact stakeholder group focused on reducing racial disparities in infant mortality. After securing some funding from the William Penn Foundation and Spring Point Partners, 250 pregnant Philadelphians will receive the cash payments. To be eligible, the residents must live in the Cobbs Creek, Strawberry Mansion or Nicetown-Tioga neighborhoods, which have the highest rates of very low birth weight and have a household income of less than $100,000 per year annually.

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)

A new report from the Biden administration’s Treasury Department  indicates that Social Security will begin to reach insolvency sooner than predicted. In the report released Friday, Treasury analysts predict that payments to retirees will fall below fulfillment by 2033, one year earlier than previously predicted. If income into Social Security remains at current levels, recipients can expect to receive just 77 percent of their owed benefits beginning that year.

Unemployment systems across the country were overwhelmed with claims in 2020 after COVID-19 lockdowns erased more than 20 million jobs and sent the jobless rate soaring to 14.7%. In 2021, The Labor Department announced funding to help states address the longstanding challenges within unemployment benefits systems and promised to “reform this critical safety net for future crises.” But various state unemployment insurance offices continue to grapple with outdated operating systems, a backlog of claims and staffing difficulties. The Department of Labor says at least 87% of first-time applicants should have their claims processed within two or three weeks to be considered an “acceptable” performance level. However, some claimants are waiting months. Experts warn the broken system could crack even further if the U.S. economy enters a recession this year, which could result in more layoffs and rising unemployment claims.

Work: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23-24)

The Bank of America Institute, a think tank, found that more than two million workers should have come back to the labor force since the onset of the pandemic but haven’t. Many are older workers who retired early, but there are also plenty of millennials and Gen Xers in the mix. “When you don’t have enough workers, you’ve got to raise wages right to attract talent,” said Bank of America Institute economist Anna Zhou. “Whether they will come back will be a critical component to see whether labor supply picks up in the U.S.” The report says high costs for caregiving, migration trends out of large cities, and long-COVID could be pushing people to leave the workforce behind. 

• According to the report, the missing workers are a mix of older generations and those in their prime working years: 30% are traditionalists (born 1925 to 1945); 23% are baby boomers (born 1946 to 1964); 13% are Gen X (born 1965 to 1980); and 11% are millennials (1981 to 2000).

Business: Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice. (Proverbs 16:8)

Big tech companies, such as Meta, Twitter and Amazon, laid off more than 160,000 workers in 2022 and have nearly matched that total through the first three months of this year.

Retail store space is incredibly scarce at the moment, and that’s an ongoing trend: Total new commercial retail real estate construction reached a new low in 2022 for the third consecutive year, according to CBRE. And for existing spaces, the retail space vacancy rate fell to 4.9% at the end of 2022 — the lowest level since CBRE began tracking the market in 2005. Growth has been most pronounced in the discount segment of retail as shoppers on tight budgets search for low prices. Despite high inflation and a pullback in retail sales, physical store openings exceeded closings last year for the first time since 2016, according to Coresight Research.

Nearly two years of high inflation has caused many consumers to say goodbye to premium goods in favor of cheaper alternatives. Across 11 categories of e-commerce, high-priced goods have lost meaningful market share to low-cost ones, according to Adobe. For instance, the most expensive quartile of personal care products held 31% of the market as of January 2019. As of the end of February this year, these pricier products make up just 7% of the market. The cheapest segment of personal care products doubled its market share to 54%.

Accenture plans to slash 19,000 jobs worldwide as it attempts to cut costs amid gloomy economic forecasts. The Irish-American professional services company said in a Thursday filing that it would spend $1.2 billion in severance to cut 2.5% of its workforce over the next 18 months, and another $300 million to consolidate its office space. More than half of the axed roles would be among back-office staff, the company said. Accenture has 738,000 employees worldwide.

Disney CEO Bob Iger on Monday said his company will begin laying off staff starting this week, the first of three rounds of expected cuts following his announcement in February that the company would axe 7,000 jobs. The cuts to Disney’s global workforce are part of a multibillion-dollar cost-cutting initiative aimed at streamlining the company’s operations in a period of media industry turmoil. The layoffs will come in three stages, starting this week, with a second larger layoff in April and a third round of layoffs before summer.

Ten Walmart stores in Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington D.C., and Wisconsin will close by the end of the year, along with two experimental “pickup” locations in Illinois and Arkansas, the retail giant announced Tuesday, 321. Employees at shuttered locations are eligible to transfer to other stores, Walmart said.

Banking: “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)

America’s 25 biggest banks saw a huge $90 billion outflow of deposits last week. Between the collapse of SVB over March 10 weekend and March 22, domestically chartered  banks in the United States lost a total of roughly $213 billion in deposits as skittish savers rushed to withdraw their money, according to the latest seasonally adjusted Federal Reserve figures on deposit outflows. Small domestically chartered banks saw an increase of roughly $6 billion in the past week. Still, the latest figures show that smaller banks remain down just over $190 billion since the collapse of SVB sent shockwaves across markets.

In the wake of Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse and subsequent banking meltdown, cash is king. The turmoil inflicted on financial markets has sent cautious investors running away from volatile markets and toward more liquid alternatives. Money market funds, widely thought to be one of the safest, lowest-risk investment options, have seen an influx of cash in recent weeks as investors look for more stable ground. Since the Fed began to raise interest rates a year ago, the amount of money in money market funds has increased by roughly $400 billion.

Economy – Depression/Shortages: 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)

The Federal Reserve raised its key short-term interest rate for the ninth straight time on Wednesday, 3/22, this time by only a quarter percentage point, pushing ahead with its aggressive campaign to tame inflation despite financial turmoil following Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse. The quarter point rate increases brought the key interbank lending rate from 5% to 5.25%, lower than the level markets anticipated before SVB’s meltdown. “The U.S. banking system is sound and resilient,” the Fed said. “Recent developments are likely to result in tighter credit conditions for households and businesses and to weigh on economic activity, hiring and inflation.”

Confidence in the U.S. economy ticked up in March, despite the sudden turmoil in the banking industry, according to the latest report from the Conference Board. The business group’s Consumer Confidence Index increased to 104.2 in March from an upwardly revised reading of 103.4 the month before.

Home building in the U.S. rose by almost 10% in February, buoyed by a growth in apartment construction as well as a small increase in single-family home starts. Overall, housing starts in February increased 9.8% to 1.45 million units after six straight months of decline, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing. Single-family starts increased by 1% while the multifamily sector, which includes apartment buildings and condos, increased by 24% in February.

For the first time in 131 months, home prices fell year-over-year, ending the longest price growth streak on record and presenting an opportunity for buyers grappling with the double whammy of high mortgage rates and elevated prices. The median existing-home price for all housing types declined 0.2% to $363,000, from February 2022 ($363,700), according to data released Tuesday by the National Association of Realtors.

Mortgage rates dropped again last week for the second week in a row amid lingering concerns about bank failures and uncertainty in the financial markets. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.42% in the week ending March 23, down from 6.60% the week before, according to data from Freddie Mac released Thursday. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate was 4.42%.

In an indication that buyers have begun returning to the market as mortgage rates declined slightly earlier in the year, existing-home sales reversed a 12-month slide in February, registering the largest monthly percentage increase since July 2020, according to the National Association of Realtors. Total existing-home sales – completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – jumped 14.5% from January to 4.58 million in February.

Israel: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you. (Psalm 122:6)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, 3/27, temporarily suspended his controversial judicial reform legislation that has led to mass protests and caused anger across most parts of society, including the military. The plan has been delayed until after the Knesset – Israel’s parliament – recesses. It  will be back for its next parliamentary session at the end of April. “When there’s an opportunity to avoid civil war through dialogue, I, as prime minister, am taking a timeout for dialogue,” Netanyahu said in a nationally televised address. He struck a conciliatory tone but said he was determined to proceed with the judicial system changes. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to dismiss Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, his office announced Sunday evening. The previous evening, Gallant made a televised appeal, calling on Netanyahu to halt the judicial reform. The defense minister warned that the rift in the country has caused “immediate and tangible danger” to Israel’s security, referring to the hundreds of IDF reservists who refused to show up for training in protest of the government’s planned judicial overhaul along with other acts of defiance among elite soldiers. Gallant acknowledged that changes to the judiciary were needed, but that they should happen through dialogue. “The branches need a new balance, which will strengthen public faith. But such sweeping changes cannot occur without dialogue.”

An Israeli woman was arrested on Thursday for striking Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter on the head with a flag during a protest against the government’s judicial reform program. More than 150 demonstrations are taking place across Israel as part of a “Day of Paralysis,” which began in the morning with a protest at the Airport City business park adjacent to the eastern entrance to Ben-Gurion Airport. The protesters were blocking the roads ahead of a conference featuring the participation of Dichter and Economy Minister Nir Barkat. The protesters broke into the conference complex, shouting “Shame” and threatening the Cabinet members.

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)

The U.S. military carried out multiple air strikes in Syria on Thursday night against Iran-aligned groups that it blamed for a drone attack that killed an American contractor, wounded another and also hurt five U.S. troops. The attack against U.S. personnel took place at a coalition base near Hasakah in northeast Syria on Thursday afternoon. The U.S. intelligence community assessed that the one-way attack drone was Iranian in origin, the military said, a conclusion that could further aggravate already strained relations between Washington and Tehran. Although U.S. forces stationed in Syria have been targeted by drones before, fatalities are extremely rare.

• U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the retaliatory strikes were carried out at the direction of President Joe Biden and targeted facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group that monitors the war in Syria, said the U.S. strikes had left eight pro-Iranian fighters dead in Syria.
• On Friday, Iranian military forces launched a counterstrike at a U.S. base in Syria after the U.S. retaliated against the Islamic nation for killing an overseas American contractor in the previous attack. Seven missiles were fired at the American base near the Syrian city of Hasaka Friday morning. A U.S. service member was injured but is in stable condition following the rocket attack near oil and gas fields in the vicinity of Deir Ezzor in Syria.
• The U.S. has bolstered its military forces in the Middle East following a series of attacks on US troops in Syria attributed to Iranian-affiliated militias, the Pentagon said Friday. A squadron of A-10 attack aircraft are deploying to the region ahead of a scheduled deployment. In addition, the US ordered a carrier strike group to remain in the region to support US forces in Central Command, which covers the Middle East. ‘We are committed to supporting the defeat-ISIS mission alongside a global coalition in Syria and prepared to respond to a range of contingencies in the Middle East if needed,’ said Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Phil Ventura in a statement.

Wars & Rumors of Wars: And you will hear ofwars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; forall these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.Fornation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. (Matthew 24:6-7a)

Russia/Ukraine: Russian authorities say they have arrested an American reporter, 31-year-old Evan Gershkovich, for the Wall Street Journal on espionage charges. Russia’s top security agency, the Federal Security Service, said Thursday, 3/30, that Evan Gershkovich was detained in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg while allegedly trying to obtain classified information. Gershkovich is the first reporter for an American news outlet to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War. If the young journalist is convicted, he could be sentenced to twenty years in prison.

Russian troops are making only “marginal progress” in efforts to encircle the town of Avdiivka in Ukraine’s disputed Donetsk region while taking heavy losses, including the destruction of several armored vehicles, U.K. officials said Tuesday. The 10th Tank Regiment’s losses have likely been due to tactically flawed front assaults, similar to those in other recent failed Russian armored attacks.

A “mysterious” explosion in occupied Crimea destroyed multiple Russian cruise missiles being transported by rail that likely were being readied to devastate Ukrainian cities, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said Tuesday, 3/21. Military spokeswoman Natalia Humeniuk described the strike as a signal to Russia that it should leave the Black Sea peninsula it took from Ukraine by force in 2014.

The death toll rose to seven and Ukraine’s President Zelensky angrily decried Russian military tactics Wednesday, 3/22,  after a drone attack decimated a high school and two student dormitories near Kyiv. At least 20 people were injured in Rzhyshchiv. The attack was one of several in the region coming hours after Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up his self-described mission of peace to Moscow. The Ukrainian military said air defenses downed 16 of 21 drones.

Patriot missile defense systems are set to be deployed to Ukraine faster than originally planned and a group of 65 Ukrainian soldiers will complete their training on the systems at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in the coming days, US defense officials said on Tuesday, 3/21. The troops will then move on to Europe for additional training on the two Patriot systems – one American and one built by the Germans and Dutch – that will be deployed to Ukraine in the coming weeks.

North/South Korea: With the largest South Korea-U.S. spring war drills in six years in full swing, North Korea Friday announced it had successfully tested a new weapons class, a nuclear underwater unmanned vehicle, or UUV, designed to take down targets with a radioactive tidal wave. The weapon is named “Haeil” – tsunami” in Korean – according to state media reports, and the test was conducted between March 21 and March 23. The UUV is designed to take out enemy ports or naval formations with the powerful, radioactive waves it generates upon detonation.

Iraq: The Senate voted to repeal two authorizations for combat in Iraq in a bipartisan bid to reclaim war powers from the executive branch. The 66-to-30 vote was a potentially pivotal step in the long-running push by Republicans and Democrats to reassert the national security prerogatives of Congress, with 18 G.O.P. senators joining in support. The bill goes next to the Republican-led House.

Syria: Conflict has escalated in the past several days between U.S. forces and Iranian-aligned militias in eastern Syria, which has been at the center of the 12-year international struggle in the country. The outcome will also affect Russia and Turkey ― which have troops there and are keen to expand their own interests, as well as Arab and Turkish efforts for a rapprochement with President Bashar Al Assad. Washington has made it clear that treating Damascus like any normal government will embolden the regime, which it blames for the failure to implement UN resolutions on a political transition and the safe return of millions of refugees.

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)

Members of the Islamic State group have kidnapped dozens of people in a central province and the bodies of some have been found with their throats slit, an opposition war monitor and pro-government media reported Friday. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the extremists kidnapped about 40 people Thursday and killed at least 15 people whose bodies were discovered Friday in the central province of Hama. The Observatory said the dead included seven civilians and eight armed tribesmen. The pro-government Sham FM radio station said the extremists attacked farmers who were collecting truffles in the eastern countryside of Hama province. It added that some of the kidnapped ‘were martyred’ while contact was lost with others. Despite their defeat in Syria in March 2019, the militant group’s sleeper cells still carry out deadly attacks both in Syria and Iraq where they once declared a ‘caliphate.’

Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), an offshoot of the Islamic State militant group, has claimed a suicide attack that killed six people and wounded 12 others on March 27 near the Foreign Ministry in the Afghan capital of Kabul. After the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, IS-K has emerged as the Taliban’s main rival in the war-wracked country. Ahead of the March 27 attack, security forces spotted the bomber and shot at him but could not prevent him from reaching a checkpoint in Malik Asghar Square, where he detonated his explosive vest.

There are about 175 Americans still in Afghanistan, and some of them are being held captive by the Taliban, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Congress on Thursday. “We are working to secure their freedom,” Mr. Blinken said. “The families have asked that we protect their identities and don’t speak publicly to their cases.” As the U.S. approaches the two-year mark since the catastrophic withdrawal, GOP lawmakers called that situation “inexcusable.” The Taliban took control of Afghanistan in the middle of August 2021 as the U.S.-backed government collapsed in anticipation of American troops’ final withdrawal at the end of that month.

The number of people killed in Mali continued to increase in 2022, a UN report said Wednesday, also linking more than a third of human rights violations to security forces. The UN mission in Mali, MINUSMA, was created in 2013 to help stabilize the country as it battled jihadist insurgency. On Wednesday, the mission published its quarterly note for human rights violations between October and December 2022, showing the security situation had only worsened. Compared to the previous year, the number of people killed (1,277 in 2022) increased by 54 percent (584 people killed in 2021),’ the UN body said in its report. It recorded that 2,001 people were affected by acts of violence in the period, including those who were killed, and more than 370 people who were kidnapped or disappeared. Jihadist groups are the main perpetrators of violence in the country and are responsible for 56 percent of recorded violations, the report said.

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)

A runaway train carrying 180 cars derailed near Kelso, California, according to reports on Monday. 3/27. According to reports, the train sped down the tracks at around 80 mph with no one on board as the crew jumped off the locomotive. The unmanned train was heading towards Barstow when it derailed in the Mojave National Preserve. According to the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District, the derailed train was carrying iron ore when it caught fire.

Residents of a Minnesota city were ordered to leave their homes overnight when a train carrying ethanol derailed and caught fire. About 22 cars of the train derailed at around 1 a.m. CDT on the western edge of Raymond, which is about 95 miles west of Minneapolis. Residents living within a half-mile were told to evacuate when the train caught fire. Some cars were hauling a form of ethanol and others were carrying a corn syrup liquid. A​bout 150 people spent the rest of the night at a shelter in the nearby town of Prinsburg.

A 70-car train hauling hazardous materials derailed in North Dakota late Sunday, 3/26. The Canadian Pacific train derailed around 11:15 p.m. about a mile southeast of Wyndmere in Richland County, Canadian Pacific said in a statement. No injuries were reported. Officials said 31 of the 70 cars derailed, some carrying hazardous materials, and crews identified a leak of liquid asphalt. No fires were caused by the derailment. There is no threat to public safety, according to Canadian Pacific, which said there were no waterways near the site and no evacuations were necessary. Crews will allow the cold weather to solidify the leaked materials, which are expected to turn into a gel.

A flesh-eating bacteria that kills roughly 20% of its victims and lives in coastal waters is expanding far beyond its original Gulf Coast home, working its way up the East Coast at about 30 miles per year. While still rare, infections from Vibrio vulnificus have increased eight-fold between 1988 and 2018, as climate change has warmed the brackish coastal waters where the bacteria live, a paper published Thursday found. The bacterial infection, which eats away at the flesh and sometimes requires amputation to stop it, used to occur mostly in brackish waters along shores and inlets from Texas to Florida. Now cases are showing up as far north as Massachusetts.

Earthquakes: And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. (Matthew 24:7b) I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. (Revelation 6:12)

A magnitude 6.5 earthquake has rattled much of Pakistan and Afghanistan, sending panicked residents fleeing from their homes and offices. At least 11 people died and dozens were injured in northwest Pakistan from Tuesday’s quake, which was centered in Afghanistan and also felt in bordering Tajikistan. More than 100 people were brought to hospitals in the Swat valley region of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in a state of shock. Nine people were killed when roofs collapsed in various parts of northwestern Pakistan.

End-Time Weather Will Continue to Grow More Severe: (Daniel 9:26b, Ezekiel 38:22, Luke 21:25, Revelation 8:7, 11:19, 16:8,11)

There have been about 100 tornadoes above average for this time of year in the U.S., meteorologists say. One factor has been the unusually warm water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico. Even before last Friday’s outbreak, there had been more than 300 tornadoes so far, and according to Storm Prediction Center data

The number of deaths has continued to grow from an outbreak of tornadoes that reached from the South and the Midwest into the Northeast. Tornadoes, confirmed or suspected in 11 states, killed at least 33 people. Homes were ripped off their foundations, storefronts shattered, vehicles tossed like Matchbox cars and, in Belvidere, Illinois, the roof of a theater collapsed during a concert, killing one person and injuring 28. A​ tornado Saturday in Sussex County caused Delaware’s first tornado fatality in nearly 40 years. At least nine people died in Tennessee’s McNairy County and six died in other parts of the state.

Yet another storm system on Tuesday, 3/29, left parts of Interstate 5 closed from California into Oregon Tuesday due to the extreme winter conditions, the Oregon Department of Transportation said. The harsh weather also caused disruptions to San Francisco Bay Ferry service Tuesday, and power outages impacted tens of thousands. The multiday storm comes as the state has already been slammed by at least 12 atmospheric rivers that have delivered a barrage of rain and snow in recent months.

California has faced an onslaught of powerful, atmospheric river storms this winter, which has led to record-breaking snowpack, nearly full reservoirs and overflowing watersheds. At this time last year, all of California was caught in a mega-drought. But according to the latest US Drought Monitor released Thursday morning, just over a third of California remains in some level of drought – the lowest amount since the drought began – with severe drought only covering 8% of the state.

At least two people were killed Tuesday, 3/21, by falling trees as a powerful “bomb cyclone” slammed California with strong winds and more rain. A​t least four people were hospitalized after being seriously injured by falling trees and another person had moderate injuries. Two people had to be freed from a pickup truck after a large eucalyptus tree fell on the vehicle in Newark, California. A​ downed tree was also being blamed for derailing an Amtrak train with 55 passengers aboard. The strong winds blew windows out of skyscrapers in San Francisco and knocked out power to tens of thousands. More than 138,000 homes, businesses and other utility customers were still without electricity as of Wednesday morning. The storm brought hurricane-force winds to multiple areas Tuesday, including 102 mph winds at Magic Mountain Truck Trail, 83 mph at Palomar Mountain Lookout, both in southern California, and farther north, 74 mph winds in Oakland.

• A bomb cyclone, also known as bombogenesis, is a fast-developing storm that occurs when atmospheric pressure drops at least 24 millibars over a 24-hour period, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

A​n EF1 tornado caused significant damage to over a dozen buildings in the Los Angeles suburb of Montebello Wednesday, less than 24 hours after a weaker tornado damaged mobile homes in the small coastal city of Carpinteria. There were reports that at least one person was injured, as well as roofs ripped off buildings and cars destroyed in the heavily populated Montebello area. The tornado was estimated to have wind speeds up to 110 mph, making it the strongest to hit the Los Angeles metro since March 1983

A dry-docked research vessel tipped over during high winds in Scotland on Wednesday, injuring 35 people aboard. Twenty-three were admitted to a local hospital, some with serious injuries. The 3,000-ton research vessel was left leaning over at a 45-degree angle. There had been about 50 people on board working on the ship when the high winds struck.

Weeks of heavy rain caused a massive landslide that has buried much of the small city of Alausi in Ecuador’s Andes Mountains. Nearly a dozen people have died and dozens more are unaccounted for. Over 50 homes where buried when the hillside gave way. That landslide was about 500 feet wide and a half mile long.

Signs of the Times Update: March 20, 2023

 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. (Romans 12:9-13)

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)

“Let Us Worship” and Turning Point USA Faith are two faith-based movements with a heart for worship, prayer and revival. They have partnered with each other and are making their way around the nation to the various state Capitols, as well as Washington DC to inspire others in prayer for revival. “[This is] our most ambitions and historic revival tour yet,” they said via their website, where they also encourage others to, “Join us in powerful worship, prayer, and hear the bold call for the Church to rise for this historic moment we were literally born for! We believe this is a season for revival for our nation…and we want you to be a part of it!” The weekend of 3/11-12, they made their stop at the nation’s capital.

The box-office sensation Jesus Revolution includes scenes of mass baptisms that required plenty of behind-the-scenes preparation and a multitude of extras. Incredibly, though, the scenes sparked real-life baptisms and salvations, too. Co-director Andy Erwin and producer Kevin Downes reveal in a new video that the cast and crew members spontaneously chose to get baptized on location. Downes said decisions for Christ were made on set during the filming of the baptisms. Jonathan Roumie, who portrays Frisbee and was Jesus in The Chosen, baptized people behind the scenes. “He said, ‘Man, this is real.’ He’s like, ‘I’m baptizing just like Greg Laurie taught me,'” Erwin said. Laurie, too, baptized people on set.

In 1971, the Supreme Court issued a divorce decree in the case of Lemon v. Kurtzman — thus separating America from our Judeo-Christian history. Cited more than 7,000 times since, the “Lemon test” was used to eradicate religious speech, symbols, displays, and performances from the public square. Crosses, Menorahs, Stars of David, Nativity scenes, Ten Commandments, and more were wiped out. But the Lemon test was destroyed one and for all following Liberty Counsel’s 2022 landmark 9-0 Supreme Court win in Shurtleff v. City of Boston over the display of a Christian flag, and their amicus brief for Coach Kennedy who was fired because of praying at a high school football game. Now, crosses, nativities, religious displays, and Ten Commandments monuments can once more be raised in the public square. And prayers can no longer be silenced.

• But some state and local government bodies still think they can discriminate against Christians and Christianity. So Liberty Counsel is headed back to court as more of these state discriminatory practices continue. Please keep Liberty Counsel in prayer, and perhaps donate to them here.

The anti-Great Reset, pro-farmer BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB) movement appears to have won even more seats in the Dutch senate than expected, with the globalist coalition government losing heavily. The BoerBurgerBeweging (Farmer-Citizen Movement) was founded to represent the interests of Dutch farmers facing severe difficulties or being closed down altogether as a result of Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s efforts to implement European Union-mandated curbs on the use of nitrogen fertilizers, in order to serve the bloc’s climate change green agenda. As the results of the election become clearer, it now appears to scale of the Farmer-Citizen Movement’s success was greater than polls initially suggested, with it being due to claim 17 seats in the Senate and become by far the largest party there.

The state of Utah will ban all abortion facilities from the state by requiring abortionists to meet the same quality standards as hospitals, a step abortion facilities call a backdoor ban on elective abortions. Utah Governor Spencer Cox (R) signed H.B. 467, introduced by Majority Assistant Whip Rep. Karianne Lisonbee (R-Clearfield), on Wednesday. The law prevents new abortion facilities from obtaining a license as of May 2, and bans abortions inside stand-alone abortion facilities beginning the first day of 2024. The law mandates all abortions take place inside hospitals, or stand-alone facilities that have the “quality to provide the same degree of safety as … a general hospital licensed by the department.”

They may never have a week named in their honor or a flag flown outside a federal building, but formerly transgender people switching back to their original sex are becoming increasingly impossible to ignore, reports the Washington Times. Known as detransitioners, they appeared at rallies over the weekend in Los Angeles, St. Louis and Sacramento to mark the third annual Detrans Awareness Day, offering support for those seeking to reverse the transition process and rarely heard warnings about gender-transition health care. The group Our Duty held a screening afterward for the 2023 film “Affirmation Generation: The Lies of the Transgender Medicine,” which followed last year’s documentary, “The Detransition Diaries: Saving Our Sisters.” Where the movement may ultimately have its biggest impact is in the courts. Among the speakers was 18-year-old Chloe Brockman, also known as Chloe Cole, who sued Kaiser Permanente last month for medical negligence for treating her as a minor without “proper informed consent.”

New World Order – One-World Government: It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Revelation 13:7-8) The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces. (Daniel 7:23)

A fully digital, cashless society will be the underpinnings of the coming one-world government, which will enable complete control over everyone’s money. The Federal Reserve last Wednesday announced a July launch of its FedNow service, which will enable all U.S. banks to offer instant payments 24/7, and will constitute the infrastructure of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) by linking each banking node directly to the Federal Reserve, according to financial experts. FedNow “will enable all the banks — any bank in the United States, not just the big ones — to offer instantly available funds in real-time payments to their customers”, explained Fed Chair Jerome Powell before the House Financial Services Committee on March 8.

• The sudden and rapid collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank has been labeled the first “Twitter-fueled bank failure” in history. Customers withdrew $42 billion in a single day last week from Silicon Valley Bank, leaving the bank with a $1 billion negative cash balance, the company said in a regulatory filing. The staggering withdrawals unfolded at a speed enabled by digital banking and were likely fueled in part by viral panic spreading on social media platforms and, reportedly, in private chat groups.

Politics: Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. (Romans 13:1-2)

The Treasury Department dealt a massive blow to President Biden and agreed to finally hand over suspicious activity reports on Hunter Biden and the Biden family’s foreign business deals to the GOP. The House Oversight Committee James Cormer R-Ky. said:  “After two months of dragging their feet, the Treasury Department is finally providing us with access to the suspicious activity reports for the Biden family and their associates’ business transactions. Bank records obtained by the Committee show that John Robinson Walker, a Biden family associate, used his company to transfer over $1.3 million to Biden family members and companies from 2015 to 2017. The records also reveal that less than two months after Vice President Joe Biden left public office, a Chinese company wired $3 million to Robinson Walker, LLC, after which the company wired $1,065,000 to a company in Abu Dhabi associated with James Gilliar, a business partner of Hunter Biden.

• Biden family members and companies then received incremental payments over a period of approximately three months. The recipients included Hallie Biden, companies associated with Hunter Biden and James Biden, and an unknown bank account identified as “Biden.” Hallie Biden is the widow of Beau Biden, who was the son of U.S. President Joe Biden. Hallie was married to Beau Biden, who was the Attorney General of Delaware, until his death in 2015 due to brain cancer. After Beau’s death, Hallie began a romantic relationship with Joe Biden’s other son, Hunter Biden

The governor of New York has gone back to court seeking permission to detain citizens of her state in quarantine camps – without notice, without rights and for as long as some state-chosen health officials say is needed. The fight arose during COVID-19, when state officials decided they would adopt a new rule giving the state exactly that power. A lawsuit ensued, and the result was that the detention plan was ruled unconstitutional. Gov. Kathy Hochul, through Attorney General Letitia James, now has appealed the court’s rejection of her “Isolation and Quarantine Procedures” scheme.

A young Dutch political party seeking to push back on the government’s climate agenda achieved a stunning victory Wednesday as it won the most seats for a single party in the Dutch Senate. The Farmer-Citizen Movement Party, known as BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB) in Dutch, built its victory on the back of protests against the government’s environmental policies, which aim to slash nitrogen emissions by dramatically cutting back on livestock numbers and buying out thousands of farms. Nitrate and ammonia pollution significantly impacts biodiversity, particularly air and water quality, the government claims as its justification for putting many farmers out of business.

Many had hoped that Nigeria’s presidential elections on February 25 would be an opportunity for the nation to make a new start, including beginning to tackle the Islamist violence suffered by Nigerian believers. Instead, in the weeks following the elections – which opened still further the Christian-Muslim divide in Nigerian society – the nation remains mired in controversy. There appears no realistic path towards restoring peace and overcoming Islamist extremism. Indeed, more than 70 people were killed in Christian-majority areas of Benue and southern Kaduna states in the last two weeks – and these represent just some of those who have lost their lives in anti-Christian attacks since election day, reports Barnabas Aid. “We must continue to pray that the Lord will raise up political leaders with wisdom and a desire for justice who can lead the nation to a better future, and that the Church will continue to speak the truth in love and bear Gospel witness to those desperately searching for hope. Above all, pray that the Lord will sustain the faith of His people in Nigeria as they endure such trying and difficult times.”

Civic/Religious Freedom: Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. (John 8:36)

In February, the U.S. Department of Education announced its intention to rescind the “Free Inquiry Rule,” established in 2020 by then Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. According to the rule, universities that receive federal funding cannot deny any right, benefit, or privilege to student organizations simply because they are religious in nature. The common-sense rule was designed to fix the increasingly common practice of campus authorities unjustly pressuring and discriminating against religious student groups. For example, during the 2014-15 academic year, the California State University system withdrew recognition from InterVarsity Christian Fellowship because it required its leaders to hold Christian beliefs. According to a Christian Legal Society fact sheet, similar incidents occurred at the University of Arizona, University of Northern Colorado, the University of Florida, University of Georgia, Boise State University, University of Illinois, Indiana University, the University of Michigan, and others. One religious organization with multiple chapters was also forced to seek legal counsel regarding its presence at 16 different public colleges and universities in the last four years.

In a decision that jangled the nerves of some elected officials, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court last week reaffirmed a basic liberty established by the founding fathers: the right to be rude at public meetings. The ruling sent waves of consternation across the state, where many local select board and school committee members have emerged battle-scarred from the coronavirus pandemic and its fierce disputes over masks, vaccines and remote learning. Stemming from a lawsuit filed against the town of Southborough, Mass., by a resident who said selectmen had silenced her unlawfully, the decision pushed back against attempts to mandate good manners.

The “Freedom at Work” survey, which polled around 3,000 employed U.S. adults last fall, showed that nearly three out of five respondents said it was “likely or somewhat likely” that “respectfully expressing religious or political viewpoints would” result in “negative consequences at work.” One-quarter of respondents said they knew someone who suffered negative consequences for “respectfully expressing their religious and political viewpoints.”

Apparently, the U.K. has decided to shift its loyalties from courageously defying tyranny in the 20th century to embracing it in the 21^st. noted Breakpoint. Last week, a “conservative”-led British Parliament made George Orwell’s fictional accounts of “thought crime” a reality. After establishing censorship zones around abortion clinics in England and Wales, the MPs voted 299-116 to continue criminalizing even silent prayer in the vicinity of such clinics. As a lawyer for the U.K.’s Alliance Defending Freedom put it, “Today’s vote marks a watershed moment for fundamental rights and freedoms in our country. Parliament had an opportunity to reject the criminalization of free thought, which is an absolute right, and embrace individual liberty for all. Instead, Parliament chose to endorse censorship and criminalize peaceful activities such as silent prayer and consensual conversation.”

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 internet watchdog Stanford Internet Observatory launched a wide-scale effort during the pandemic to scrub social media platforms of disfavored COVID-related views regardless of whether the posts were true, according to the latest installment of the “Twitter Files.” Internal emails unveiled on Friday by journalist Matt Taibbi show how the Stanford Internet Observatory’s Virality Project coordinated with several other academic institutions and government-funded non-profits to conduct a massive operation monitoring vaccine disinformation and shaping platform policy to rid the web of views that went against the liberal mainstream. Taibbi said Twitter was one of six social media platforms that partnered with the Virality Project to monitor COVID-related posts during the pandemic.

A group of drag queens and activists dressed in black and white showed up on Friday at the Fayetteville Public Library in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to protest actor-writer Kirk Cameron’s story time event for families and children, according to book publisher Brave Books, whose staff were present at the reading. The drag queens blocked the views of some families and children and distracted others from the book reading and remarks from the stage. Los Angeles-based Cameron, an outspoken Christian who has been traveling across the country to public libraries to share messages of faith, family and country at children’s book readings and the singing of patriotic songs, told Fox News Digital in exclusive comments on Saturday morning that he found the disruptions disturbing. “The small group of protesters, which included some grown men wearing silly makeup, dressed in skirts and heels, pretending to be women, listened to the reading of a kids’ book about God’s view of gender called, ‘Elephants Are Not Birds,'” he said

On March 9, a Federalist Society event at Stanford Law School featuring U.S. Circuit Judge Kyle Duncan was disrupted and shouted down for an extended period by dozens of transgender activists and other hecklers, causing the event to end at least 40 minutes earlier than planned. Law professors and free speech advocates are expressing concern over the incident, calling it the latest egregious example of an ongoing assault on academic freedom and free speech occurring at college campuses around the country. Duncan, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, has been a target of left-wing activists and congressional Democrats since his nomination by former President Trump in 2017 because of his work defending religious liberty.

• Duncan requested that an administrator of the university come to restore order. Tirien Steinbach, an associate dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion then entered the room, and instead of restoring order and freedom of speech, commandeered the podium, and began what seemed to be a prepared six-minute speech, accusing Duncan of “disenfranchising … people, families, and communities.”

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)

Gunmen suspected to be bandits killed the son of a village pastor and abducted his wife, along with three others, in an attack in Nigeria’s Kaduna State on Friday, 3/10. The Nigerian government continues to be criticized for its inability to curb the rising spate of killings in the region. The attack took place on Friday morning, 3/10, in Karimbu-Kahugu community in Lere Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria’s Daily Post reported. The bandits went straight to the pastor’s house during the raid and shot his son when he resisted them, reported Peter Mukaddas, Vice Chairman of the Kahugu National Development Associations. The attackers then took the pastor’s wife and three others hostage.

Nigeria has become a hotbed of mistreatment and extermination of religious minorities, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins warned on Tuesday. “Observers of the situation in Nigeria have noted how northern Nigeria has become a frontier for Islamic extremist groups, warlords and violence under the watch of the country’s outgoing president, Muhammadu Buhari,” Perkins said on “Washington Watch.”  Perkins cited an Open Doors USA report that revealed in 2020, 5,621 Christians worldwide were killed for their faith. He continued, “90% of these killings occurred in Nigeria,” citing a January 17th release by the organization. Yet the U.S. State Department is ignoring these reports, he insisted.

Abortion: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart. (Jeremiah 1:5)

Wyoming Republican Gov. Mark Gordon signed a bill on Friday that criminalizes the sale and prescription of abortion pills. SF 0109, which is being dubbed the “first of its kind,” makes it a felony to prescribe, sell or use “any drug for the purpose of procuring or performing an abortion.” Violators face up to six months in prison and a $9,000 fine. The bill includes an exception for contraceptive agents “administered before conception or before pregnancy,” the “treatment of a natural miscarriage according to currently accepted medical guidelines” and “Treatment necessary to preserve the woman from an imminent peril that substantially endangers her life or health.” It defines “imminent peril” as “only a physical condition and shall not include any psychological or emotional conditions.”

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, many Republican-controlled state legislatures have begun to push for expanded protections for mothers and children in low-income households, particularly in areas where abortion is now illegal or severely restricted. An analysis by FiveThirtyEight shows that at least six of the 14 states where abortion is completely or almost entirely illegal have enacted or are considering various measures that would increase support for pregnant women, mothers or young children. Seven other Republican-controlled states with less restrictive abortion laws are also considering similar measures. Among the bunch: the Republican-controlled Mississippi state legislature passed Senate Bill 2212, with the lower chamber passing the bill last week. The bill awaits a signature from Republican Gov. Tate Reeves. The measure would extend postpartum Medicaid coverage for new mothers from 60 days to a year. Meanwhile, Wyoming Republican Gov. Mark Gordon signed House Bill 4 last week, extending Medicaid coverage for postpartum mothers from 90 days to 12 months.

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)

President Joe Biden on Monday signed legislation ordering the declassification of information related to the origins of COVID-19, a mystery that has divided the eight U.S. government agencies investigating the source. The bill, which sailed through the House and Senate without opposition, requires the director of national intelligence to release the information within 90 days. The government can, however, withhold intelligence to protect how it was collected. Some agencies say it was a lab leak and others say it was naturally caused.

• An international team of virus experts said last Thursday that they had found genetic data from a market in Wuhan, China, linking the coronavirus with raccoon dogs for sale there, adding evidence to the case that the worst pandemic in a century could have been ignited by an infected animal that was being dealt through the illegal wildlife trade. The genetic data was drawn from swabs taken from in and around the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market starting in January 2020, shortly after the Chinese authorities had shut down the market because of suspicions that it was linked to the outbreak of a new virus. By then, the animals had been cleared out, but researchers swabbed walls, floors, metal cages and carts.

COVID-19 could have been the result of risky experiments at a laboratory in China, Dr. Anthony Fauci acknowledged in an interview over the weekend. “A lab leak could be that someone was out in the wild maybe looking for different types of viruses in bats, got infected, went into a lab, and was being studied in a lab, and then came out of the lab,” said Fauci, the former director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). “The other possibility is someone takes a virus from the environment that doesn’t actually spread very well in humans, and manipulates it a bit, and accidentally it escapes or accidentally infects someone and then you get an outbreak.”

• Fauci, speaking on CNN, claimed that he’s “kept an open mind” as to the origin of COVID-19. However, he was involved in a paper that alleged in early 2020 that said SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, was “not a laboratory construct or a purposefully manipulated virus,” and cited the paper from the White House when asserting the virus had a natural origin.

Americans infected with the omicron variant of the coronavirus are less likely to report long-covid symptoms than those who had covid-19 earlier in the pandemic, according to the largest-ever study of people suffering from lingering effects from the virus. One in 12 patients infected with covid-19 during the first wave of the pandemic — from early 2020 to late spring 2021 — suffered persistent symptoms, according to the analysis of nearly 5 million U.S. covid patients conducted by The Washington Post and research partners. By comparison, one in 16 people with omicron received medical care for symptoms associated with long covid within several months of being infected. Women and older adults are also more prone to report continuing issues. Overall, about 14 million U.S. residents who survived covid-19 continue to struggle with long-lasting effects that often alter their lives.

The number of new U.S. Covid-19 cases over the past two weeks is down 18% as of 3/18, while hospitalizations are down 15% and deaths down 35%. Test positivity has also fallen quite sharply in the past two weeks. This is a promising sign that the declines in other areas are unlikely to change course in the immediate future. However, case counts vary widely by state. Delaware cases are up 88% over the past two weeks, Florida is up 75%, Nevada up 42% and Arizona up 40%. Meanwhile, cases have fallen in South Carolina by 63% with Alabama down 49%, Minnesota down 46% and Mississippi down 44%.

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)

Germany’s Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach, who once claimed that COVID-19 vaccination is free of side effects, admitted last week that he was wrong, saying adverse reactions occur at a rate of one in 10,000 doses and can cause “severe disabilities.” Lauterbach’s remark on vaccine adverse events came after a German TV network played a segment of several Germans who’ve been seriously injured after getting the shot, including a 17-year-old gymnast who previously competed in the German Artistic Gymnastics Championships before she was hospitalized for more than one year shortly after receiving the second dose of the BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

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)

After being released from jail just one week earlier for a family assault an Alaska teen, Malachi Maxon, shot four family members, including two young children. First responders found the two deceased children and the aunt died at the hospital. Two other children were also at the home at the time of the shooting and a 6-years-old as spared because of defective bullets. Maxon was later arrested when state troopers pulled over the stolen vehicle. He tried to escape custody and attempted to take a trooper’s holster but was subdued.

• Once again, dangerous felons are being released from jail to prey on innocent victims.

Tragedy: In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

Prosecutors will determine whether any adults will face charges after an unsupervised 3-year-old accidentally shot and killed her 4-year-old sister at their home in Houston, authorities said. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez called the Sunday shooting a “very preventable” situation. “It seems like another tragic story of a child getting access to a firearm and hurting someone else,” Gonzalez said at a news conference. The shooting occurred around 8 p.m. Sunday inside a Houston apartment where the two young children lived with their parents. Five adults and the 3- and 4-year-old sisters were there around the time of the shooting.

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)

Former President Donald Trump said he expects to be arrested Tuesday in connection with an investigation conducted by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office and is calling for protests ahead of his possible indictment. Trump is under investigation for a $130,000 payment he made just before the 2016 election to silence adult film star Stormy Daniels about an earlier affair. But testimony from former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who arranged for the payment and already has been convicted and served prison time, could help bring the first criminal charges in history against a former president, notes the USA Today.

The National Guard was deployed in Minneapolis in response to riots and looting following the death of a Black homicide suspect who shot himself in the Nicollet Mall as officers closed in. Governor Tim Walz said he was calling in the Minnesota National Guard. TV footage shows people looting from a Saks OFF 5th store, a British pub engulfed in flames, and broken windows that left shattered glass all over sidewalks. Minnesota Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell reported fireworks being set off and the sound of gunshots. Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arrendondo quell the rumors on social media about an unidentified Black man’s death being a police shooting and released video surveillance footage that captured the incident and confirming the police account of what happened but that didn’t stop the protests. Arradondo said, “This is not an officer-related incident.”

President Emmanuel Macron, apparently short of parliamentary support for his contentious proposal to increase the retirement age by two years, has rammed the legislation through without a vote, Protesters disrupted traffic in Paris Friday as angry critics, political opponents and labor unions around France blasted President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to force a bill raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 through parliament without a vote. Opposition parties were expected to start procedures later Friday for a no-confidence vote on the government led by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne. The vote would likely take place early next week. In the meantime, at least 310 people have been detained across France for rioting, 258 in Paris, for starting fires and refusing to disassemble. Macron narrowly won a no-confidence vote on Monday.

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)

Payment processors announced in September that they planned to use a new merchant code to categorize sales at gun shops. Two dozen Republican state attorneys general threatened VISA and Mastercard with legal action if the program went forward. Several state legislatures have also proposed legislation to prohibit the tracking of gun shop sales. After the huge outcry of opposition, Visa Inc., MasterCard Inc., and Discover Inc., have put those plans on hold.

Military: Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me. (Psalm 144:1-2)

According to military analysts, the Army’s new branding campaign, presented on Wednesday, 3/8, avoids the social justice and diversity themes it has employed recently in order to reverse a record decline in recruiting. Military leaders are worried that the acceptance of ‘woke’ identity politics by the service might have alienated conservative families, who have traditionally functioned as the military’s main recruitment base, and compounded the service’s recruiting troubles in fiscal year 2022. Experts in military readiness stated that the years-long rebranding effort, which aims to highlight the Army’s history of defense and innovation and encourage soldiers to push their boundaries, might help the Army accomplish its lofty recruiting targets for 2023.

Law Enforcement: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. (Matthew 5:9)

Much of the nation’s public defense practice for the poor remains plagued by inadequate funding, short staffing and staggering caseloads as Justice Department officials urged a renewed commitment to the long-standing promise of a more equitable criminal justice system. Sixty years after the landmark Supreme Court ruling that provided legal representation to poor defendants accused of serious crimes, Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta described a system in “crisis.” Speaking to the National Legal Aid & Defender Association Thursday, Attorney General Merrick Garland also acknowledged the daunting challenges facing the public defense system. “I know that public defense remains drastically underfunded,” Garland said. “I know that public defender offices are experiencing serious recruitment and retention problems that only worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• For example, in Ohio, the state’s stock of contract attorneys also has declined significantly since 2014, from about 1,000 to 560 now. 

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, spirits of lawlessness are stirring up lawlessness which will increase all the more as the end-times ramp up.

Los Angeles residents are steering clear of riding public transportation as open drug use, violence and fatal overdoses skyrocket, recent reports find. “We don’t even see any business people anymore. We don’t see anybody going to Universal. It’s just people who have no other choice [than] to ride the system, homeless people and drug users,” one unidentified train operator told the Los Angeles Times. Serious crimes such as aggravated assault, murder and rape on LA’s trains and buses increased by 24% last year when compared to 2021, while other less serious crimes increased by 14%, the Los Angeles Daily News reported. 

About 2.5 tons of natural uranium stored in a site in war-torn Libya are missing, the United Nations nuclear watchdog said Thursday, raising safety and proliferation concerns. Natural uranium can’t immediately be used for energy production or bomb fuel, as the enrichment process typically requires the metal to be converted into a gas, then later spun in centrifuges to reach the levels needed. However, each ton of natural uranium — if obtained by a group with the technological means and resources — can be refined to 5.6 kilograms (12 pounds) of weapons-grade material over time, experts say. That makes finding the missing metal important for nonproliferation experts.

Fraud: “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? (Acts 13:10)

The co-owner of a startup COVID testing company is believed to have scammed the U.S. government out of as much as $83 million in federal funding, the Department of Justice said in an indictment. Zishan Alvi, a 44-year-old who co-owned Laboratory Elite in Chicago, and others at the company created a plan to cheat the government into giving them reimbursements for COVID tests that were ultimately never performed or used. Under the Health Resources and Services Administration, federal funding was administered to provide COVID-19 tests for individuals without insurance. Alvi’s company would allegedly scam the service by either never performing these COVID tests or charging customers additional fees for tests, despite them being federally funded.

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)

The U.S. government has told China-based ByteDance to sell the blockbuster TikTok app or face a national ban, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. Western powers, including the European Union and the United States, have been taking an increasingly tough approach to the app, citing fears user data could be used or abused by Chinese officials. Concern about Chinese spying ramped up earlier this year after a Chinese spy balloon was shot down in U.S. airspace.

Science: The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. (Psalm 19:1) For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so the are without excuse… who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator. (Romans 1:20,25)

Nearly four months after OpenAI stunned the tech industry with ChatGPT, the company is releasing its next-generation version of the technology that powers the viral chatbot tool. In a blog post on Tuesday, OpenAI unveiled GPT-4, which the company says is capable of performing well on a range of standardized tests and is also less likely to “go off the guardrails” with its responses, as some users have previously experienced. OpenAI said the updated technology passed a simulated law school bar exam with a score around the top 10% of test takers; by contrast, the prior version, GPT-3.5, scored around the bottom 10%. GPT-4 can also read, analyze or generate up to 25,000 words of text, and write code in all major programming languages.

• Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant lost the Artificial Intelligence race because they were hampered by clunky design and miscalculations, leaving room for chatbots to rise outside the Big Three (Apple, Microsoft and Google).

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)

Anti-Black African videos have gone viral in Tunisia and have brought to the forefront a racism problem in the country that has coincided with an influx of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa who use Tunisia as a transit point to Europe. Some of the social media posts, shared in Arabic, English and French, have portrayed the migrants as invaders, criminals and rapists who seek to displace Tunisians. Many refer to the debunked but widely shared claim that there are 2 million sub-Saharan Africans in the country of 12 million. The sudden rise in public expressions of racism occurred in the weeks after Tunisian President Kais Saied delivered a widely criticized tirade about undocumented migrants from sub-Saharan Africa. Tunisia, like other North African countries, is predominantly Arabic.

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)

Two of the largest manufacturers of insulin have drastically cut their prices. However, Sanofi, which produces widely prescribed Lantus, is the last holdout among three companies that produce 90% of the world’s insulin market by value. Earlier this week, Novo Nordisk followed Eli Lilly Co.’s plans to slash U.S. prices by up to 75% and 70%, respectively.

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)

Maternal death rates in the U.S. surged by nearly 40% during the second year of the pandemic, widening disparities as Black women again faced alarmingly high, disproportionate rates, a new federal analysis shows. In 2021, there were about 33 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births – a 38% increase from the year before, according to the report released Thursday from the National Center for Health Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The United States’ maternal death rate continues to be higher than other wealthy, developed countries, and the new data shows a roughly 60% increase in overall rates in 2021 from 2019, the year before the start of the pandemic. Black women again saw the highest rates at almost 70 deaths per 100,000 births, up from about 55 in 2020. White women’s rates also saw concerning increase, jumping from 19 to 26.6 deaths per 100,000 in 2021. Hispanic women’s rates surged from about 18 to 28 deaths per 100,000.

• Most maternal deaths are preventable if mothers are receiving adequate health care.

Troubling new research finds that rates of type 1 and type 2 diabetes are continuing to increase in children and young adults. Asian or Pacific Islander, Black and Hispanic children had higher rates, the study found. “In our 17-year analysis, we found that the incidence of type 1 diabetes increased by 2% per year, and the incidence of type 2 diabetes increased by 5.3% per year,” Wagenknecht said Lynne Wagenknecht, a professor and director of public health sciences at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C.

• The article didn’t speculate as to why this is happening, but it’s probably poor diet and lack of exercise.

A Pentagon study has found high rates of cancer among military pilots and for the first time has shown that ground crews who fuel, maintain and launch those aircraft are also getting sick. The data had long been sought by retired military aviators who have raised alarms for years about the number of air and ground crew members they knew who had cancer. They were told that earlier military studies had found they were not at greater risk than the general U.S. population. In its yearlong study of almost 900,000 service members who flew on or worked on military aircraft between 1992 and 2017, the Pentagon found that air crew members had an 87% higher rate of melanoma and a 39% higher rate of thyroid cancer, while men had a 16% higher rate of prostate cancer and women a 16% higher rate of breast cancer. Overall, the air crews had a 24% higher rate of cancer of all types.

Several recent studies demonstrate vitamin D can significantly lower your cancer risk, both in terms of preventing cancer and in the treatment of cancer, reports Dr. Joseph Mercola in the Epoch Times. A vitamin D level of 60 ng/mL (150 nmol/L) or higher is recommended if you want to protect against cancer. An easy and cost-effective way of measuring your vitamin D level is to order GrassrootsHealth’s vitamin D testing kit. Once you know your current vitamin D level, use the GrassrootsHealth vitamin D calculator 21 to determine how much vitamin D you might need to reach your target level. To optimize vitamin D absorption and utilization, be sure to take your vitamin D with vitamin K2 and magnesium.

Drugs: And they did not repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries [Greek: pharmakeia, i.e. pharmacy, drugs].

Two submarines filled with cocaine were discovered in two different oceans. These vessels were discovered and seized by officials this week in Europe and South America. The Colombian Navy said in a statement last week that it interdicted a semi-submersible in the Pacific Ocean that was about 50 feet long and contained almost 3 tons of cocaine. Officials valued the drugs at $87 million. There were two people on the craft who were experiencing serious health conditions due to toxic fumes. Two other people were found dead on board. And then on Tuesday, Spain’s Civil Guard took possession of a submarine off the coast of the northwestern region of Galicia. It was about the same size as the one found by Colombia’s Navy in the Pacific, but this one was empty when authorities seized it from the bottom of the ocean floor. Officials say it may have carried cocaine too. Spanish authorities seized a similar vessel with three tons of cocaine on it in 2019.

Education: Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6)

The Florida teachers union and other groups are suing the state education department, saying the way it interpreted a new law about school library books goes further than the law intended, leading to censorship and book bans. A Florida law passed last year requires more transparency about what materials schools use to teach students. The new law requires districts to catalog every book on their shelves and create a formal review process for complaints. Some parents have asked for certain books to be removed from schools because of the new law. “This legislation aims to preserve the rights of parents to make decisions about what materials their children are exposed to in school,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at the time. But the union and advocacy groups say the state regulation oversteps the intent of the law by pulling classroom libraries into its umbrella.

America’s teens now have the lowest IQs in nearly a hundred years. Campus Reform noted this past Wednesday that the problem is not limited to young people. Recent research reveals that, for the first time in over a century, the average IQ of Americans is falling. The study published in the May-June 2023 issue of Intelligence reveals that 18- to 22-year-olds experienced the biggest drop in intellectual abilities. Starting in 1932, average IQ scores improved by around three to five points every decade. In other words, younger generations are anticipated to have a higher IQ than the preceding generation. Now, however, the reverse is happening. The study showed an overall fall in IQ scores between 2006 and 2018.

The Washington Stand, a publication of the Family Research Council, reports that Biden’s proposed $6.9 trillion budget, “would have the hand of the government rock the cradle by creating a federally regulated, universal pre-K program for children as young as three.” “Altogether, President Biden would spend more than half-a-trillion dollars over the next 10 years to allow all American preschoolers to spend their formative years in a taxpayer-funded day care program.”

• A smokescreen for indoctrinating our children into the religion of secular humanism.

Family:  Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. (Exodus 20:12) But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. (1Timothy 5:8)

In Illinois last year, approximately 278,000 Black children lived in a home without a father, compared with 40% of Hispanic children and 23% of White children, according to America’s First Policy Institute. Several years ago, former President Obama also spotlighted the nation’s fatherlessness dilemma, telling a Chicago church congregation that “a child raised without a father is five times more likely to be poor and commit crimes, nine times more likely to drop out of school, and twenty times more likely to end up behind bars.” Fatherlessness — not racism — is the biggest problem facing the Black community, say many Black leaders.

Sexual Immorality: Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. (1Corinthians 6:18) For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality. (1Thessalonians 4:3)

All across America, marriage, sexuality and relationships are on the steady decline among young people. According to a new Pew Research study, 63% percent of men aged 18 to 29 report being single. That means the number of single young men is nearly twice that of single young women, indicating a large breakdown in the social, romantic and sexual lives of American men. According to a survey of 6,034 adults, 53% of adults ages 18-29 have found someone to date through an app or site. However, new Census data shows that the U.S. marriage rate hit an all-time low in 2019. For every 1,000 unmarried adults, only 33 got married. This number was 35 a decade ago in 2010 and much higher at 86% in 1970. While there are several potential culprits causing this relationship breakdown, nothing has done more damage to the dating landscape than dating apps, social media and pornography, all of which emphasize carnal gratification over relationship.

Gender Confusion: Male and female He created them. (Genesis 5:2)

• Gender confusion is being promoted because it undermines God’s ordained family structure, giving secular government more control over people, particularly our youth.

A Kansas bill banning transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly for the third year in a row Friday, setting up a hotly contested fight in the Republican-controlled Legislature to override her. Kansas Republicans made Kelly’s vetoes a major issue in multiple television attack ads when she ran for reelection last year, winning narrowly. The governor said in her veto message that the bill would harm students’ mental health and hurt the state’s efforts to recruit businesses. Kelly also said lawmakers should leave the issue to the state association set up decades ago to run student activities in middle and high schools.

In a recent video that has gone viral on social media, Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan (D) discusses an executive order that Governor Tim Walz (D) signed last week reaffirming the legality of gender transition treatments, including for children. In the clip, the lieutenant governor says, “When our children tell us who they are, it is our job as grown-ups to listen and to believe them. That’s what it means to be a good parent.”

• No, being a good parent is leading and guiding children, not following them or catering to their childish, misguided desires.

The Catholic University of Notre Dame plans to host an event on March 23 titled “Queer Holiness: An Experiential Christian Anthropology” even though Catholic Church teaching labels homosexuality as a sin. The event, which will feature Anglican priest and author the Rev. Charles Bell, is being promoted by the university’s Gender Studies program. Bell wrote the 2022 book Queer Holiness: The Gift of LGBTQI People to the Church. “For millennia institutional churches have told LGBTQI people what God expects them to be and how to act. In parts of the church, LGBTQI people remain the subject of hostile questions, rather than being embraced as equal children of God,” reads the event’s description. “Charlie Bell faces these issues head on. His thesis is simple—to reject the overwhelming scientific and experiential knowledge about LGBTQI people is no longer valid.”

• “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1Corinthians 2:14)

More than 5,000 schools across the nation allow teachers to hide a child’s decision to identify as a member of the opposite sex from the child’s parents. The parental exclusion policy – which is heavily advocated by LGBT lobbying groups and applies to more than 3.2 million children nationally – has already resulted in the sexual trafficking of at least one young girl, reports the Washington Stand. A total of 5,904 schools in 168 school districts nationwide allow, or require, teachers to conceal children’s transgender “social transition” — in which children change their name or preferred pronouns, or begin using the locker rooms of the opposite sex — from their parents.

Florida new rule that prohibits the use of puberty blockers, hormone therapies, or surgeries to treat gender dysphoria for minors under the age of 18 is now in effect. This measure has been met with criticism and concern from many, including President Biden, who described the rule as “close to sinful” and “cruel.” Despite this, Republican lawmakers in Florida are pushing forward with plans to further restrict “gender-affirming care” for minors. Governor Ron DeSantis defended the rule, stating that it is not “sinful” to prohibit the “mutilation of minors.”

Letitia James, who is currently serving as the Attorney General of the State of New York, invited children to a “Drag Story Hour.” The advertisement boasts, “Join Attorney General Letitia James, Drag Storytellers, and city and state elected leaders for a Drag Story Hour Read-A-Thon.” “Families with children are welcome!” “The event consists of four drag story hours. You are welcome to attend one story hour or multiple.” Last Friday, James tweeted out “My office is proud to host a Drag Story House read-a-thon- on Sunday.”

• This is state-sponsored recognition of the secular-humanism religion.

“My heart says that the way I feel most myself is to go by the name ‘Fred.’ That’s because I’m nonbinary and Fred is the name that fits me best. And I also use ‘they’ and ‘them,’ because calling me a she or a he doesn’t feel right to me.” This is how a nonbinary character “comes out” on a recent episode of Ridley Jones, a Netflix cartoon for two to four-year-olds.

• Getting to our children as early in their lives as possible is a key strategy of secular-humanism religious fanatics to undermine God’s ordained social order.

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)

Homeland Security does not have “operational control” of the border, the top Border Patrol agent told Congress Wednesday, contradicting the words of his boss, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Chief Raul Ortiz was prodded on the issue at a hearing in Pharr, Texas, by Rep. Mark Green, who asked bluntly if he had operational control. “No sir,” Chief Ortiz responded. Mr. Green, Tennessee Republican and chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, then played a video of Mr. Mayorkas answering the same question in previous testimony and saying “yes, we do.” “It’s either ignorance, which is unacceptable, or it’s lying,” Mr. Green said.

Homeland Security nabbed 154,998 illegal immigrants coming across the southwestern border in February, or about the same as January. The numbers are still among the worst months on record, but are slightly better than February 2022. And the reported captures are significantly better than most of last year, when authorities encountered more than 200,000 people each month from March through December. Troy Miller, acting commissioner at Customs and Border Protection, said they’ve worked to siphon people who would previously have jumped the border into signing up for appointments to apply to come in a more regular manner — though still without legal status — using a new phone app. “The app cuts out the smugglers and decreases migrant exploitation,” Mr. Miller said.

A standoff between almost a thousand migrants and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in riot gear Sunday afternoon blocked the Paso Del Norte international bridge connecting El Paso and the Mexican border city Juárez. About 1:30 p.m. on March 12, the border protection agency’s Mobile Field Force, a riot control team, was deployed when the large group of migrants rushed the Paso Del Norte bridge. The migrants attempted to make a mass entry and overwhelm security, the agency said. By 5:30 p.m., most of the crowd had returned to Mexico, but the bridge remained closed to vehicle traffic. Crowds of migrants had been gathering at the Mexican foot of the bridge since the morning before the tidal wave of people ran to the border at the top of the bridge and tried to rush across.

Law enforcement officers in Zavala County, Texas, report a serious uptick in organized migrant smuggling activity on county roads and highways in recent weeks. In just five days last week, Zavala County Sheriff’s Office deputies interdicted 23 separate smuggling ventures attempting to move migrants through the county to reach the interior of the United States. The small law enforcement department in this county located just 30 miles from the Rio Grande border with Mexico stopped six vehicles found to contain migrants on one single day. The vehicle stops often involve high-speed pursuits, stolen vehicles, property damage, and according to local law enforcement officials most concerning, the frequent presence of loaded weapons within reach of the human smugglers. The smuggling attempts involved more than 100 suspected migrants, some of whom managed to escape arrest by running from pursuing deputies onto private ranches.

Democratic New York City councilman Robert Holden said the migrants should “should stay in Mexico,” and noted that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in Manhattan is “booked for the next 10 years.” Because of this, Holden said, asylum applications cannot be processed, so migrants are unable to work. In the meantime, migrants are receiving “shelter, they’re getting food, clothing, and they’re getting cell phones,” the Democrat said. “I don’t like the governor’s approach, and I don’t like Biden’s approach. It’s wrong for the United States and certainly wrong for New York City,” said Holden.

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)

The price of olive oil is rising because of the drought and heat wave in Europe last summer that has drastically reduced the olive oil harvest. Production was down 50% in Spain and 37% in Italy. Prices here in the U.S. for olive oil are expected to increase by 30% to 50%.

Water Supplies: Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:13-14)

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is no longer mandating emergency restrictions on water use for over 7 million people after winter storms boosted water supplies, the district said in a news release. The restriction had been put in place in June 2022 and allowed residents only one day per week of outdoor watering for portions of Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernardino counties. The summer prior, California saw the most severe drought in its 126-year record-keeping history, and the state’s reservoirs hit critically low levels. But more recently, California has been hit this winter by eleven separate “atmospheric rivers,” the term for long, narrow bands of moisture that can carry saturated air thousands of miles like a fire hose.

Energy Supplies: He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. (Isaiah 44:14-15)

The Biden administration on Monday, 3/13, approved the controversial Willow oil project, clearing the way for one of the largest new oil and gas developments in Alaska in 20 years despite fierce opposition from environmental activists. The move came as Biden also signaled sweeping future action to bar offshore drilling on 2.8 million acres in the Arctic Ocean in an appeal to critics who said the president jeopardized his climate legacy. The $8 billion Willow project, planned by Houston-based petroleum company ConocoPhillips, marks a shift in the Biden administration’s handling of fossil fuel projects after previously approving few without congressional or court intervention.

• The Willow project is targeted for land within the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, an approximately 23-million-acre area on the Beaufort Sea, about 200 miles west of the existing oilfields at Prudhoe Bay. 

Homeowners and businesses across the country have seen their gas bills go wild—and the turbulence isn’t going to calm down anytime soon, reports the Wall Street Journal. “Last year was the most volatile on record for natural gas, boosting the cost to heat homes, generate electricity and manufacture economic building blocks such as fertilizer and steel. Prices in 2022 whipsawed from unseasonable lows to shale-era highs and back again. Benchmark gas futures, which determine what millions of Americans pay for heat and electricity, swung by at least 7% on 44 days last year, the most since at least the early 1990s, when gas markets were deregulated and the modern trading era began. The wild ride has continued this year, with12 daily moves of 7% or greater. On many days, traders find it difficult to determine why prices move so sharply.

Federal Budget/Taxes:  He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Luke 20:25)

President Joe Biden revealed the third budget of his presidency on 3/10, proposing to spend $6.8 trillion and raise taxes by approximately $5 trillion. Despite being promoted as a deficit-reducing plan, the White House forecasts trillions in budget shortfalls over the next decade. According to the administration’s projections (pdf), the U.S. government would record $17.055 trillion in federal deficits by 2023. This includes a $1.8646 gap in the fiscal year 2024 budget, representing 6.8 percent of GDP. The White House estimates that the federal government would accumulate $10.21 trillion in interest payments. Federal debt held by the public is expected to soar beyond $43.6 trillion in 2023, accounting for more than 102 percent of the GDP. The national debt would also climb above $50 trillion, raising the debt-to-GDP ratio to 127.6 percent.

• This budget will never pass the Republican-controlled Senate and is the opening salvo in an arduous negotiating process that make incidentally trigger a federal debt default if the debt limit is not raised soon, the Republicans’ ace-in-the-hole.

Welfare: “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be.” (Deut.  15:7-8)

A one-time payment of $5 million to each eligible Black resident is among recommendations unanimously accepted by San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors as part of a draft plan by a panel proposing reparations. The move Tuesday was an intermediate step, with a final report that includes board feedback due in June, the San Francisco African American Reparations Advisory Committee said, and the board is set to meet again on the issue in September.

Many municipalities across the United States have proposed various reparations initiatives, and some are now looking to use COVID-19 relief funds to pay for them. Proponents of the reparations programs argue that the money can be used to reduce disparities when it comes to housing and wealth gaps. For example, Providence, Rhode Island, has already dedicated $10 million in pandemic relief toward creating the Providence Municipal Reparations Commission to address “racial equity” and Shelby County, Tennessee, will vote Tuesday on whether to spend $5 million in pandemic relief money to study the possibility of a longer-term reparations program.

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)

Insurers have slashed Hurricane Ian payouts far below damage estimates, documents and insiders reveal. After Hurricane Ian, Florida insurance companies have been aggressively seeking to limit payouts by altering the work of licensed adjusters trained to assess damaged homes, according to a Washington Post investigation. As a result, homeowners are left footing most of the bill for repairs.

Work: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23-24)

Meta (Facebook, Instagram) CEO Mark Zuckerberg highlighted the success of in-person engineers over remote workers, making his points in a memo Tuesday. An internal data analysis “shows that engineers earlier in their career perform better on average when they work in-person with teammates at least three days a week,” Mr. Zuckerberg wrote. Remote work exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Meta determinedly adopted the model. During the past few years Meta employees have enjoyed near-universal freedom in where they can work, something mirrored in the rest of the tech industry. The company has also focused on its Metaverse projects and significantly reduced its office space. The Tuesday memo where Mr. Zuckerberg praised the performances of in-person engineers also contained the bombshell announcement of 10,000 more layoffs. Meta had already fired 11,000 employees in November. At its peak last year, Meta had 87,000 full-time employees.

Business: Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice. (Proverbs 16:8)

Who runs corporate America? White men do. Women are outnumbered 5 to 1 in senior leadership, according to a USA TODAY analysis of named executive officers at the nation’s 100 top publicly traded companies. These corporate leaders are the CEO, the chief financial officer and other people who serve in a handful of top-paid roles.  Men are 83% of the 533 named executive officers in S&P 100 corporations. Women of color are outnumbered by men 26 to 1 in the S&P leadership ranks, a gap five times wider than the disparity for white women.

Amazon on Monday 3/20 announced plans to cut another 9,000 positions, its second round of mass layoffs in recent months. The company will be targeting roles in its cloud computing unit, human resources division, advertising and Twitch, according to a letter to employees from CEO Andy Jassy.

Tyson Foods is closing two facilities that employ more than 1,600 people in an effort to streamline its U.S. poultry business. The company said Tuesday it plans to close its processing, broiler and hatching operations in Glen Allen, Virginia, and a plant in Van Buren, Arkansas. Tyson said the closures will help it better use all available capacity at remaining plants. The Arkansas-based company said it will work with its 692 employees in Glen Allen and its 969 employees in Van Buren to apply for open positions at other plants.

Banking: “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)

Fears that another interest rate hike will hasten more bank failures will loom over the Federal Reserve’s meeting this week after a new study found that 186 banks are at risk of the same sort of collapse as happened to Silicon Valley Bank. “The recent declines in bank asset values very significantly increased the fragility of the U.S. banking system to uninsured depositor runs,” wrote economists at the Social Science Research Network. “Our calculations suggest these banks are certainly at a potential risk of a run, absent other government intervention or recapitalization.”

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Sunday said it had joined with the Bank of Canada, Bank of England, Bank of Japan, European Central Bank, and Swiss National Bank in a coordinated action to enhance the provision of liquidity through the standing U.S. dollar swap line arrangements. “To improve the swap lines’ effectiveness in providing U.S. dollar funding, the central banks currently offering U.S. dollar operations have agreed to increase the frequency of seven-day maturity operations from weekly to daily,” the Fed said in a statement issued alongside announcements from the other five central banks.

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank is the second-biggest bank failure in U.S. history and the worst since the financial crisis of 2008. The bank’s CEO, Greg Becker, got ahead of the storm, selling $3.6 million in the company’s stock before it failed, so it looks like he’ll be okay despite many other folks not being able to get their money. Turns out, other top executives did too, reports the Republican Daily. Before the collapse, other SVB also executives sold shares. Gregory Becker, CEO, sold 11% on Feb 27, 2023. Michael Zucker, Counsel, 19% on Feb 5. Daniel Beck, CFO, 32% on Feb 27. Michelle Draper, CMO, 25% on Feb 1.

• Silicon Valley Bank’s risky practices were on the Federal Reserve’s radar for more than a year, and the Fed repeatedly warned the bank that it had problems, according to the New York Times. In 2021, a Fed review of the growing bank found serious weaknesses in how it was handling key risks. Supervisors at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco flagged that the firm was doing a bad job of ensuring that it would have enough easy-to-tap cash on hand in the event of trouble.
• Silicon Valley Bank was heavily involved in green energy and ‘woke’ ideals. A newly published report by the conservative Claremont Institute revealed that SVB gave over $70 million dollars to Black Lives Matter as well as to other woke causes. Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus zeroed in on this during an appearance on Fox News with host Neil Cavuto: “I feel bad for all of these people that lost all their money in this woke bank. You know, it was more distressing to hear that the bank officials sold off their stock before this happened. It’s depressing to me. Who knows whether the Justice Department would go after them? They’re a woke company, so I guess not. And they’ll probably get away with it,” Marcus said.
• SVB Financial Group said Friday it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to seek buyers for its assets, one week after its former division Silicon Valley Bank was taken over by regulators. On March 9, depositors tried to withdraw $42 billion in one day as fears spread that the bank was on shaky financial ground.
• The Democratic National Committee and President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign will return political donations tied to Silicon Valley Bank in the aftermath of the bank’s collapse. Biden’s presidential campaign and PACs received at least $11,900 from SVB executives, according to records from the Federal Election Commission. The Democratic National Committee received at least $32,250.

When Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, then-chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, introduced a banking bill that included easing requirements for some midsize banks more than five years ago, advocacy groups were quick to sound the alarm. Among the provisions advocacy groups and many Democratic lawmakers worried about was one that would dramatically reduce the number of banks that were subject to the stringent Dodd-Frank Act instituted in the aftermath of the Great Recession. That law was passed by the U.S. Congress in 2010 to prevent the excessive risk-taking that led to the financial crisis. Still, Crapo’s bill also became law and that provision, which raised the asset threshold for enhanced regulatory standards from $50 billion to $250 billion – thus leaving out banks that until then would have been operating under the Dodd-Frank rules ” – is being blamed by advocacy groups for the failure of two banks over the weekend, reports the USA Today.

• Now lawmakers are considering repealing this law, or at least returning to the regulatory standard of $250 billion.

A second bank failed on Friday, 3/10, following the collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank earlier that week. U.S. regulators on Sunday announced they were intervening to close Signature Bank, marking the second U.S. bank to fail and the third-largest bank failure in U.S. history. The bank has been placed into receivership under the Fed’s emergency lending authority, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The NY-based Signature Bank held more than $110 billion in assets and some of the biggest stakes among banks in the nation in the cryptocurrency industry.

• The stunning collapse of two banks in the span of three days prompted President Biden on Monday morning to reassure Americans than the U.S. banking industry was safe, saying that customers’ deposits will “be there when you need them… No losses will be borne by the taxpayers,” Mr. Biden said Monday. “Let me repeat that. No losses will be borne by the taxpayers.” The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insures deposits up to $250,000, but many of the companies and wealthy people who used the bank — known for its relationships with technology startups and venture capital — had more than that amount in their account. Yellen told lawmakers Thursday that the nation’s banking system “remains sound” and that Americans shouldn’t worry about their deposits.

Less than a week after the sudden collapse of a trio of smaller banks dented the confidence of depositors across the country, a group of 11 banks reached a $30 billion deal to prop up another lender caught in the turmoil. First Republic Bank, which has been at the center of the crisis engulfing a sliver of the banking industry, will receive a huge injection of deposits from other lenders in a bid to stave off a collapse, the banks said on Thursday.

Following the biggest bank failure since the financial crisis of 2008, Moody’s Investor Service has downgraded its rating of the U.S. banking system in the latest sign that President Biden’s Monday morning attempt to assuage concerns did nothing to change financial realities. Moody’s — one of three major rating entities — downgraded its outlook for the U.S. banking system from “stable” to “negative” on Tuesday morning “to reflect the rapid deterioration in the operating environment. In addition to downgrading the entire banking system, Moody’s also issued warnings for several individual banks “with substantial unrealized securities losses and with non-retail and uninsured US depositors” that “may still be more sensitive to depositor competition or ultimate flight” and end up “with adverse effects on funding, liquidity, earnings and capital.”

UBS has agreed to buy Credit Suisse, its beleaguered  rival, the Swiss government said on Sunday, in a hastily arranged deal meant to shore up the global financial sector after a week of turmoil. Swiss government leaders and regulators said that the deal was the most effective way of reassuring investors after Credit Suisse’s shares tumbled following the implosion of Silicon Valley Bank earlier this month. To help support UBS, the Swiss National Bank agreed to lend up to 100 billion Swiss francs, or $108.8 billion. And Finma, the Swiss financial regulator, said it would temporarily suspend some regulations to help UBS digest its chief competitor.

Investments: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. (Matthew 6:20) Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. (2Corinthians 9:6)

President Joe Biden issued his first veto Monday after Congress voted to block a Labor Department rule allowing retirement plans to weigh the long-term impacts of social factors and climate change on investments — a move Republicans say is a “woke” policy that hurts retirees’ pockets. “I just signed this veto because the legislation passed by the Congress would put at risk retirement savings of individuals across the country,” Biden said in a video posted to Twitter. Senate Republicans, along with two Democrats, voted on the measure March 1, needing only a simple majority for it to pass.

Economy – Depression/Shortages: 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)

Inflation eased for an eighth straight month in February as a slowing rise in food costs offset a bump in gasoline prices and another spike in rent. But price increases rose sharply again on a monthly basis, fueling concerns that a steady pullback in inflation at the end of last year has stalled. Consumer prices increased 6% from a year earlier, down from 6.4% in January and a 40-year high of 9.1% in June, according to the Labor Department’s consumer price index. That marked the smallest annual gain since September 2021. On a monthly basis, though, prices advanced 0.4% following a 0.5% increase in January. Previously, monthly cost increases had slid to 0.1% to 0.2%.

Mortgage rates dropped this week in the wake of several bank failures, reversing course after rising half a percentage point over the past month. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.60% in the week ending March 16, down from 6.73% the week before, according to data from Freddie Mac released Thursday. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate was 4.16%. After hitting a 2022 high of 7.08% in November, rates had been trending down. However, they started climbing again in February until these bank failures introduced uncertainty into the markets.

In 2016, our national debt was $19.6 trillion or about 105% of gross domestic product (GDP), which is the total amount of goods and services sold in America. But by 2021, that debt had grown to $29.6 trillion, which is about 124% of our GDP. In December 2021, Congress raised the debt ceiling to 31.4 trillion, but the Biden administration blew past that in January and is now $31.6 trillion in debt. “To put this into perspective, if you spent 1 million dollars every day since Jesus was born, you still couldn’t have spent even 1 trillion dollars … and now our nation is more than 31 trillion dollars in debt!” notes Mat Staver, CEO of Liberty Counsel.

• Members of Congress are wrestling now with whether to raise the debt ceiling. The Biden $6.8 trillion budget would require substantially increasing the debt limit. The Republican-led House is demanding spending cuts. A government shutdown may be looming.

U.S. home building jumped higher in February, turning around after five consecutive months of falling. Housing starts, a measure of new home construction, rose by 9.8% in February from January. But that’s still down 18.4% from a year ago, according to data released Thursday by the Census Bureau. Starts in January rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.450 million, up from the revised January estimate of 1.321 million.

Renters might just be getting some relief as February marked the ninth consecutive month in which rent growth slowed. Last month, the median U.S. asking rent rose by a mere 1.7% to $1,937, according to the latest data from Redfin. This marked the “smallest increase in nearly two years and the lowest level in a year,” the technology-powered real estate agency reported. Rents are up 16.5% from a year ago, the data showed.

Israel: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you. (Psalm 122:6)

Israeli and Palestinian officials were holding talks in Egypt on Sunday ‘to restore calm’ after a surge in deadly violence in the occupied West Bank, Egypt’s foreign ministry said. The meeting, which follows similar talks last month in Jordan where both sides pledged to prevent more violence, comes amid concerns of a feared escalation during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan starting in the coming week. The meeting is aimed at ‘supporting dialogue between the Palestinian and Israeli sides to put a stop to unilateral actions and escalation and break the cycle of violence’, Egypt’s foreign ministry added. Officials from Egypt, Jordan and the United States were attending the meeting in the Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Sheikh.

On March 12, a number of armed men fired at a Special Forces Golani Reconnaissance Unit patrol that was in a military position near the Jit intersection in Samaria. The Golani force, which the IDF said was carrying out a “proactive” activity in the area, responded by shooting at the armed men. The IDF said three terrorists were neutralized during the exchange of fire and another turned himself in and was arrested. No injuries were reported among the Israeli security personnel involved in the gun battle.

Two American-Israelis were injured in a point-blank shooting incident Sunday afternoon near the Palestinian village of Hawara, Samaria. A terrorist opened fire at a passing Israeli vehicle carrying a family of five and fled the scene. Israeli security forces scanning the area of ​​the incident found a Carlo submachine gun – the kind manufactured in Palestinian-administered areas – that was left at the scene.

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 groundbreaking ruling, an official Islamic legislative body based in the Arab world declared a ‘fatwa,’ or a legal opinion, against the Islamist militant group Hamas Thursday, calling its treatment of millions of Palestinians living under its rule in the Gaza Strip ‘inhumane’ and urging the terrorist organization and its followers to immediately give up arms, sit down and make peace. The unprecedented declaration, published by the Islamic Fatwa Council, a non-government body of Shiite, Sunni and Sufi clerics headquartered in the Iraqi spiritual capital of Najaf, states that Hamas, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood movement, ‘bears responsibility for its own reign of corruption and terror against Palestinian civilians within Gaza’ and deems “it prohibited to pray for, join, support, finance or fight on behalf of Hamas.”

Wars & Rumors of Wars: And you will hear ofwars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; forall these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.Fornation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. (Matthew 24:6-7a)

Russia/Ukraine: On Friday, 3/17, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of war crimes in Ukraine. The court’s warrant accuses Putin of involvement in the unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia. “There are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes … for having committed the acts directly, jointly with others and/or through others …  and for his failure to exercise control properly over civilian and military subordinates who committed the acts, or allowed for their commission, and who were under his effective authority and control, pursuant to superior responsibility,” the ICC said in a statement. Ukraine has already arrested and convicted some Russian soldiers, all of them low-ranking, for war crimes in Ukraine.

Military aid provided by the United States and its NATO allies to Ukraine is being found in the hands of Iranians, according to a new CNN report. “Russia has been capturing some of the US and NATO-provided weapons and equipment left on the battlefield in Ukraine and sending them to Iran, where the US believes Tehran will try to reverse-engineer the systems,” four sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

A Russian warplane on Tuesday dumped fuel on a U.S. surveillance drone over the Black Sea, and then collided purposely into it and forcing it down in international waters. The U.S. European Command called the Russian forces’ conduct “unsafe and unprofessional.” Several times before the collision, the Su-27s dumped fuel on and flew in front of the MQ-9 in a ”reckless, environmentally unsound” manner.

Poland says it will send Ukraine fighter jets, becoming the first NATO country to provide the long-sought warplanes. Poland is set to send the first Soviet-made MiG-29s in the coming days, Polish President, Andrzej Duda said at a news conference Thursday. Western governments had thus far declined to send fighter jets out of concern over escalating tensions between NATO and Russia.

China/Russia/Iran: Naval forces from China, Iran and Russia — all countries at varying degrees of odds with the United States — are staging joint drills in the Gulf of Oman this week, China’s Defense Ministry has announced. Other countries are also taking part in the “Security Bond-2023” exercises, the ministry said Tuesday without giving details. Iran, Pakistan, Oman and the United Arab Emirates all have coastline along the waterbody lying at the mouth of the strategic Persian Gulf. “This exercise will help deepen practical cooperation between the participating countries’ navies … and inject positive energy into regional peace and stability,” the ministry statement said.

• This end-time alliance was prophesied in Ezekiel 38-39, especially Russia (Magog = prince of Rosh, Russia) and Iran (Persia), while China (the dragon) is the army from the east (rising of the sun) involved in the final battle marking the end of the world. (Revelation 16:12)

The anti-Israel UN Security Council on Friday discussed IDF strikes in Syria at the behest of Russia, in the latest indication of growing tension between Moscow and Jerusalem. The hearing comes on the heels of a sale of defensive military equipment to Kyiv for the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Channel 13 news reported. The Russian representative at the hearing said that “the violent attacks by Israel affect the entire region and must stop. Israel’s unilateral actions affect the entire region.” Russia is set to hold the presidency of the UN Security Council in April as part of the planned rotation of the seat. Israel has been cautious about taking sides in the Ukraine war, and is one of the only western democracies to share strong ties with both Russia and Ukraine.

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)

Two jihadist groups have for weeks been engaged in deadly clashes in their northeast Nigeria strongholds according to security sources and residents, who said hundreds of fighters had died. Boko Haram militants have been fighting government troops for almost 14 years in a bid to establish an Islamic caliphate in the region. But they have also been fighting against rival jihadists from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) group, who emerged in 2016. Clashes initially started over ideological differences, with ISWAP objecting to Boko Haram’s indiscriminate killings of Muslims.

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)

Authorities from the Bay Area in San Francisco have decided to ban the use of natural gas-fired water heaters and furnaces, citing pollution and health concerns. The Bay Area’s Air District Board of Directors made amendments to certain regulations to eliminate nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from residential and commercial natural gas furnaces and water heaters by mandating that new appliances comply with zero-emission standards. “The rule amendments would apply only to new appliances and do not mandate the immediate change out of existing appliances, nor will they apply to appliances used for cooking, such as gas stoves,” according to a March 15 press release.

A blob of stinky seaweed twice the width of the United States is heading toward Florida’s coast, also threatening the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. The 5000-mile-wide blob seaweed bloom is much larger than previous ones and threatens to despoil the ecosystems and beaches in its path through the Atlantic ocean. Scientists are worried about the environmental and health impacts to come. Scientists warn that it could pile up on beaches five-to-six feet deep. This brown sargassum seaweed, a form of algae, floats in island-like masses and never attaches to the seafloor. “It’s a whole new thing,” says Brian Lapointe, Research Professor at Florida Atlantic University, unlike any seen before, so it is difficult to predict what the outcome might be in months to come.

For the second time in four years, a devastating disaster has struck the fish population of an Australian river. Current estimates of the fish kill in the Darling River near the 500-person town of Menindee in New South Wales reach as high as a million dead fish. Thousands of fish died in the same area in 2019 due to massive algae bloom.

Earthquakes: And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. (Matthew 24:7b) I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. (Revelation 6:12)

An earthquake that hit southern Ecuador has caused at least 15 deaths across two countries. Over 100 people are reportedly injured. Ecuadorian and Peruvian authorities worked on Sunday to address the damage caused by the strong earthquake that shook the region on March 18. The 6.8 magnitude quake struck the Ecuadorian coastal province of Guayas at midday on Saturday, with residents reporting shaking in much of the country as well as in Peru’s northern border towns.

End-Time Weather Will Continue to Grow More Severe: (Daniel 9:26b, Ezekiel 38:22, Luke 21:25, Revelation 8:7, 11:19, 16:8,11)

Thousands of residents were forced to evacuate in a Northern California community after a levee broke last Saturday amid yet another round of heavy rainfall to impact the Golden State, officials said. The levee on the Pajaro River broke about three miles east of Pajaro, near the city of Watsonville, adding that the river’s levee failed at around midnight. Photos and aerial video footage showed homes, businesses, schools, and cars flooded with several feet of water. Daily rainfall records were shattered Tuesday, 3/14, in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Santa Maria. Some cities endured hurricane-force winds. Top wind gusts of 97 mph were measured at Santa Clara County’s Loma Prieta, 93 mph at Alameda County’s Mines Tower and 74 mph at San Francisco Airport. Across the state, more than 181,000 customers had no electricity midday Wednesday.

A w​inter storm dumped heavy snow on parts of the Northeast Tuesday, 3/14,, which had serious travel impacts and knocked out power to tens of thousands. Interstate 93 was temporarily closed in both directions in Londonderry, New Hampshire, after electrical wires fell into the roadway. The number of homes and businesses without power has jumped to more than 284,000 Tuesday afternoon. Two-day totals exceeded three feet in several areas. Twenty-four hour snowfall was measured at 28 inches in both Wilmington, Vermont and Windsor Massachusetts. At least 2 feet fell in parts of northern New York and the Catskill Mountains. At least 2 feet fell in parts of northern New York and the Catskill Mountains.

A total of 677 inches of snow – that’s 56 feet and 5 inches – has fallen at the Central Snow Laboratory, a University of California, Berkeley field research station located at Donner Pass in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains. The total as of 3/19, surpassed a 30-year record held back in 1983. And more is on the way.

More than 380 people have died in Malawi and Mozambique since Cyclone Freddy made a second landfall in southern Africa. The storm lashed into Mozambique’s port city of Quelimane on Saturday, triggering landslides and flooding and bringing down homes. Authorities expect the death toll to rise as rescue efforts continue. Malawi, which accounted for more than 320 deaths, is also in the middle of a deadly cholera outbreak. More than 22,000 people have been displaced by the tropical storm, according to Radio Mozambique.

Signs of the Times Update: March 10, 2023

“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.” (Romans 12:9-13)

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)

The flames of the Asbury Awakening continue to burn as more amazing testimonies surface from the quickly organized worship service that was held Sunday at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky. Christian evangelist Nick Hall along with a group of Bible-believing pastors and ministry leaders from across the nation, took action and booked the arena. Hall said thousands of people came and went during the nine-hour service. He also reported 50,000 additional people watched the event online. During the low-key worship service, students from Asbury University, Lee University, Oral Roberts University, as well as from Minneapolis, South Carolina, and Wisconsin, testified of the revivals breaking out on their campuses and inside their organizations. “I am forever undone by this week. I will never be the same,” Hall said after the event. “So many were saved last night. There were so many miracles. A man came in a wheelchair who hadn’t walked in two years and danced on the platform. I don’t even have a paradigm for what the heck is happening!”

While thousands of students are on vacation during spring break in Virginia, students at Regent University have been engaging in impromptu worship services that include the sharing of testimonies and exhortations from Scripture. Regent students and others began holding the evening services last month after some traveled to Asbury University in Kentucky to participate in the revival there. Regent’s director of campus ministries, Jeff Gossmann, told The Christian Post that this week marks spring break for the university, but “students, faculty, staff and the community continue to meet for spontaneous worship and prayer.” The school’s Shaw Chapel is open all week for prayer and praise, Gossmann noted, adding, “It feels like the same quality of spiritual renewal I experienced while at Asbury.”

The revival-themed Jesus Revolution movie that rocketed to No. 3 at the box office also transformed some theaters into spontaneous worship services, with moviegoers gathering to sing, pray and share the gospel before they walked to their vehicles. In Florida, a TikTok video showed dozens of moviegoers singing and praying while a musician at the front of the theater played the guitar. “Revival in a movie theater after the Jesus Revolution movie,” the caption read. In California, 10 moviegoers accepted Christ after the movie ended, according to a Facebook post by pastor Kevin Foster of LifeBridge Community Church. There also was a “powerful time of worship and prayer at the end,” he wrote. At another theater in California, a worship service broke out in the middle of the movie after a technical glitch halted the film. Producer Kevin Downes told Christian Headlines, “So many people are coming to Christ, and they’re being introduced for the first time to a God who loves them so much. We’re just really thankful. We’re overjoyed.”

• In just one week, the surprise hit “Jesus Revolution” nearly doubled its box office total ticket sales from $15.8 million to $30.5 million. “Jesus Revolution” enjoyed such a successful opening last weekend following its Feb. 24 release that the studio that produced the film announced last week that it would be in 100 additional theaters this past weekend.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) sparked a firestorm of backlash for his comments about prayer at an interfaith prayer breakfast in Manhattan on Tuesday. “When we took prayers out of schools, he said, “guns came into schools. ” In addition, he stated, “Don’t tell me about no separation of church and state. State is the body. Church is the heart. You take the heart out of the body, the body dies.” Adams is a longtime Democrat, but that did not protect him from experiencing an onslaught of criticism from leftist activists who constantly misuse the phrase “separation of church and state.” The First Amendment prevents the establishment of official state religion, but that does not mean the state must forcibly remove all signs of religion from schools or other public institutions. The phrase “separation of church and state” is not in the Constitution or any government law. It was written by Thomas Jefferson in an 1802 letter to a Baptist church in Danbury, Connecticut. The ‘Establishment Clause’ in the First Amendment of the Constitution says that the government cannot establish any religion as the one federal religion. Allowing prayer in schools does not establish a federal or government religion.

Tennessee has become the first state to enact a law this year to prohibit sexually explicit drag shows at places where they might be viewed by children, reacting to concerns about the upswing of drag queens entertaining kids in schools and public libraries. Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed Senate Bill 3 into law Thursday without fanfare after signaling his support earlier, saying it was important to ensure that children were not “potentially exposed to sexualized entertainment, to obscenity.” The bill bans “adult cabaret entertainment,” including “topless dancers, go-go dancers, exotic dancers, strippers, male or female impersonators,” engaging in performances seen as “harmful to minors” on public property or where a non-adult could watch them.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City has determined that a network of New York-based pregnancy centers can proceed with challenging a law that the organization said forces pro-life or religious groups to hire employees who have had abortions or hold views contrary to their mission. The court reversed a lower court’s decision to dismiss a January 2020 civil suit brought by the Evergreen Association, which operates a network of pregnancy centers called the Expectant Mother Care (EMC Frontline). In issuing the ruling, Circuit Judge Steven Menashi stated that the group’s beliefs about the “morality of abortion are its defining values” and that “forcing it to accept as members those who engage in or approve of that conduct would cause the group as it currently identifies itself to cease to exist.”

The federal government’s program of releasing many illegal immigrants rather than holding them until their cases are resolved violates federal law, a U.S. judge ruled on March 8. “The evidence establishes that Defendants have effectively turned the Southwest Border into a meaningless line in the sand and little more than a speedbump for aliens flooding into the country,” U.S. District Judge T. Kent Wetherell, a Trump appointee, said in the ruling. Wetherell struck down Alternatives to Detention, a program through which President Joe Biden’s administration has released more than one million aliens into the U.S. interior.

The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that comments made by a pro-life activist, in which he called several pro-abortion organizations ‘criminal,’ are protected speech under the First Amendment. In a unanimous decision written by Justice Jane Bland, wrote that ‘the challenged statements are protected opinion about abortion law made in pursuit of changing that law, placing them at the heart of protected speech under the United States and Texas Constitutions.’ Specifically, the judges decided that Dickson “did not urge or threaten violence, nor did he misrepresent the underlying conduct in expressing his opinions about it.”

New World Order – One-World Government: It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Revelation 13:7-8) The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces. (Daniel 7:23)

To get around the requirement for the Senate to ratify all treaties, President Biden is using the term “accord” or “agreement” regarding the proposed International Health Regulations (IHR) of being proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO). Biden will try to use the U.S. membership in WHO as the basis to unilaterally cede U.S. authority to this U.N. agency over anything that has the “potential to impact public health” – which could be almost anything.

One of the most basic rights in America is the right of self-defense, and thus the reason behind the Second Amendment. But part of Joe Biden’s master plan is to establish a One World Government with global authority to disarm people under the guise of “public health,” reports Liberty Counsel. The World Health Organization (WHO) has already stated that disarmament is part of its agenda. The WHO established a four-step plan to deal with “violence” worldwide. And it is could start  implementing its plan later this year. “If the proposed amendments to the governing documents of the WHO are allowed to pass, these radical Marxist goals will become global mandates with devastating enforcement powers.”

The Demise of America: The first was like a lion (Britain) and had eagle’s wings (America). I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it. (Daniel 7:4)

A whistleblower, FBI Special Agent Garret O’Boyle, told the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government that the bureau shifted its focus to pro-life individuals after creating a threat tag, “THREATSTOSCOTUS2022,” following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in Dobbs. “When this threat tag came out, it was like, why are you focusing on pro-life people?” O’Boyle told the panel, according to a transcripts. “It’s pro-choice people who are the ones protesting or otherwise threatening violence in front of Supreme Court justices’ houses.” Additionally, O’Boyle said the FBI made him divide one domestic terrorism case into four different cases to show Congress an influx of domestic terrorism cases. He felt that the FBI was being weaponized against agents or anyone who talked about malfeasance inside the agency, and he claimed that the FBI retaliated against him for making protected disclosures to Congress.

President Bide, as Commander-in-Chief has banned troops from displaying giant American flags at major sporting events. The flag is a symbol of our nation’s unity and strength, and it is disheartening to see it being stripped away from our military. The decision was made through a memorandum issued to service members on February 10th, stating that large displays of the American flag at sporting events are no longer appropriate. This move has been met with widespread criticism from many Americans who view this as an attack on our country’s values.

• “The American flag represents the sacrifices made by countless men and women who have fought for our freedom and democracy. It is a symbol of hope, courage, and patriotism that unites us all as Americans. To ban its display is to deny the very essence of what makes us proud citizens of this great nation,” states Freedom Headlines.

Politics: Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. (Romans 13:1-2)

Recently, the city of Washington, D.C. tried to pass a new criminal code that removes minimum penalties for a variety of crimes, allowing those convicted to push for lighter sentences. Even the mayor of D.C. rejected this move but was overruled by the city council. Republicans in Congress pushed a resolution to overturn this code. It was even supported by Democrats in the Senate because they felt sure President Biden would reject it. He didn’t. Now many Democrats are criticizing President Joe Biden’s support of the bipartisan resolution, calling it a betrayal.

On Wednesday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) declared his intention to make public tens of thousands of hours of surveillance footage from the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. McCarthy stated that his goal was to promote transparency and give members of the public an opportunity to draw their own conclusions about what happened on that fateful day. Contrary to initial reports which estimated 14,000 hours of footage, McCarthy clarified that the actual number is 42,000 hours.

The face of the Jan. 6 incursion—the so-called “QAnon Shaman” Jacob Chansley—was peacefully escorted around the U.S. Capitol by police on Jan. 6, Fox News host Tucker Carlson alleged on March 6 in his first special based on exclusive access to 41,000 previously unseen hours of Capitol security video. Carlson showed CCTV security video of Chansley walking calmly through the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Not only did the police not try to stop Chansley, they escorted him, Carlson said. “Virtually every moment of his time inside the Capitol was caught on tape,” Carlson told his national television audience. “The tape shows that Capitol Police never stopped Jacob Chansley. They helped him. They acted as his tour guides.

• A growing number of people charged with crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol are requesting trial delays so they can review newly disclosed footage. And some of those imprisoned are considering an appeal of their sentences.

The House’s Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Members has uncovered evidence that Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the nation’s top Covid authority, abused his influence to sway researchers away from the “lab leak theory” of the origins of SARS-CoV-2, misled Congress about his role in this investigation, and indeed may have been a principle author of the now-infamous paper, “The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2.” The House subcommittee on March 5 issued a memorandum on its findings that Dr. Fauci had inappropriately influenced the Covid origins researchers, contrary to the researchers’ assertions to the contrary.

Last Thursday, authorities announced that Patrick Wojahn, the mayor of College Park, Maryland, had been arrested on numerous charges of suspected child pornography and had subsequently resigned from his position. The Prince George’s County Police Department reported that Wojahn, 47, was accused of 56 counts of alleged child pornography, including 40 counts of possessing child exploitative material and 16 counts of distributing child exploitative material. In a shocking development, it’s been reported that the same mayor had visited the White House multiple times since President Biden took office. What makes the story even more disturbing is that Wojahn had previously described Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg as his mentor.

Civic/Religious Freedom: Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. (John 8:36)

“The demands of the LGBTQ movement know no bounds; but the law does, and now a local school district faces a legal challenge for anti-religious discrimination,” writes Cathi Herrod, President of Center for Arizona Policy. Without one example of student teacher wrongdoing, the school board voted to end an 11-year relationship with Arizona Christian University and its student teachers. Tamillia Valenzuela, who wears cat ears and calls herself a “neurodivergent queer black Latina,” is appalled to read from the school’s website that it is “above all else, committed to Jesus Christ [and] accomplishing His will…” And because the school holds to the foundational view that marriage is between one man and one woman, Valenzuela says, “This makes me feel like I could not be safe in this school district.”

British police will continue to arrest Christians for the crime of praying within hundreds of feet of an abortion facility, after the U.K. Parliament voted down an amendment that would have legalized “silent prayer” – a situation Christians have described as a “dystopian” ban on pro-life “thoughtcrime.” On Tuesday, Members of Parliament rejected an amendment to prevent police from arresting anyone “engaged in consensual communication or in silent prayer” within 164 yards of an abortion facility in England or Wales. The amendment, offered by Conservative MP Andrew Lewer, failed 116-299.

• “The idea that we should interrupt the relationship between an individual and their God seems to me to be pretty monstrous,” said Sir John Hayes, a Conservative MP. “This is about freedom. It is about the ability to think, speak, and pray freely.”

Censorship: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth. (Romans 1:18)

Based on a new batch of Twitter files released Thursday, 3/2, by new owner Elon Must, a faction of the U.S. State Department used its influence to get Americans banned from Twitter under its last ownership, journalist Matt Taibbi reports. Taibbi said that the taxpayer-funded Global Engagement Center, whose mission is to “coordinate U.S. Federal Government efforts” to tackle “disinformation,” was actually helping snuff out users that belonged to “state-sponsored blacklists.” Even though President Biden had to kill the formal Disinformation Governance Board under Homeland Security in August 2022, after a public outcry, our State Department was already performing that function in secret.

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)

The historic in Goodwill Baptist Church in Austin, Texas, was set on fire during the evening of March 6. The blaze, which investigators say was intentionally set, resulted in approximately $150,000 in structural damage and an additional $50,000 in property loss. According to investigators, the fire started in the church’s fellowship hall and immediately spread into other parts of the building. Goodwill Baptist Church has about 15 to 20 members and has been a part of the Bouldin Creek Neighborhood in South Austin for nearly 120 years.

In a massive show of public support for former Georgia police officer Jacob Kersey, over 30,000 petitions will be delivered to the mayor and city council of Port Wentworth on Friday, March 10, calling on the city officials to apologize for infringing on the First Amendment rights of Kersey. The 19-year-old was pulled from duty and pressured to resign his position in January over a Facebook post he wrote on his personal account upholding a biblical view of marriage.

A teenager from Canada is at the center of headlines after he was allegedly suspended and arrested after taking a strong stance against his school’s transgender bathroom policy—and openly sharing his Biblical beliefs on the matter. Josh Alexander, 16, is a born-again Christian who attends St. Joseph’s Catholic High School in Renfrew, Ontario. He said his problems began after he started openly speaking about the transgender issue. Alexander, now represented by the Liberty Coalition Canada, a Christian legal group, said he felt a duty to speak for the girls who approached him and expressed their fears. His story began to go viral recently after he was purportedly suspended and then arrested for attempting to go to school amid that punishment.

A Belarusian court sentenced Ales Bialiatski, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October for his decades of defending human rights in Belarus, to 10 years in prison on Friday, according to Viasna, the group that he helped found. Mr. Bialiatski, 60, has been a pillar of the human rights movement in Eastern Europe since the late 1980s, when Belarus was part of the Soviet Union. Most members of Viasna are now in prison or living in exile from the country’s authoritarian government, which is one of Russia’s closest allies and a key supporter of its war in Ukraine. He has been in prison since his arrest in July 2021, a detention that was widely seen as part of a sweeping and brutal crackdown on dissent that unfolded across Belarus after huge street protests erupted in 2020.

Abortion: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart. (Jeremiah 1:5)

Walgreens has confirmed last Thursday that it will not carry abortion pills in twenty states, including several states where they remain legal, citing an “abundance of caution” amid a shifting policy landscape, threats from state officials, and pressure from anti-abortion activists. The decision has been made even in states where abortion and the medications specifically remain legal, including Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, and Montana. Walgreens has responded to all the officials threatening legal action, assuring them that they will not dispense abortion pills either by mail or at their brick-and-mortar locations in those states. The company is not yet distributing the pills anywhere in the country but is working to obtain certification to do so in some states.

Minnesota Democrat Gov. Tim Walz signed an executive order Wednesday making the North Star State a sanctuary for gender transitions, including for residents of other states with more conservative laws. Under Executive Order 23-03, state agencies are to coordinate to preserve transition “access” and investigate and punish “unfair or deceptive practices related to the denial of gender-affirming health care services.”

Suicide/Assisted Suicide: No man has power to retain the spirit, or power over the day of death. (Ecclesiastes 8:8 ESV)

The Pentagon’s independent suicide prevention review body has a plan to reduce suicides in the military that involves restricting gun access on military bases, according to a report released recently. A majority of suicides in the military involve firearm use, while problems with alcohol abuse and finances were also leading indicators, the Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee report found. The report offered recommendations to reduce the accessibility of guns on military bases while preserving servicemembers’ rights to carry, including repealing a provision in Congress’ 2013 defense bill that blocked commanders from inquiring about off-base firearms. The policies are intended to “slow down access to firearms so that people can survive periods of high risk,” Dr. Craig Bryan, a member of the working group, told reporters.

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 number of new Covid-19 cases in the U.S. declined 15% over the past two weeks to an average of 29,558 per day. Hospitalizations declined 11% to 24,964 with 3,243 of those in ICUs. The average deaths/day increased by 21% to 401/day. Cases by state varies widely, with Florida up 75%, Maine up 44% and Kentucky up 41%, while Georgia is down 76%, Delaware down 63% and Arkansas down 47%.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously Friday to declassify U.S. intelligence information about the origins of COVID-19, a sweeping show of bipartisan support near the third anniversary of the start of the deadly pandemic. The 419-0 vote sent the bill on to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law. Debate was brief and to the point: Americans have questions about how the deadly virus started and what can be done to prevent future outbreaks. The order to declassify focused on intelligence related to China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology, citing “potential links” between the research that was done there and the outbreak of COVID-19. U.S. intelligence agencies are divided over whether a lab leak or a spillover from animals is the likely source of the virus. Experts say the true origin of the coronavirus pandemic may not be known for many years — if ever.

A new study found that rats in New York City are carrying COVID-19, and researchers have sounded the alarm that they could infect humans with it. Published Thursday in the American Society for Microbiology’s mBio journal, scientists at the University of Missouri said that they trapped 79 rats from the city’s sewer systems and found that 13 had the virus previously, with four currently infected. A separate test where some rats were exposed to the Alpha, Delta, and Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2 demonstrated that each showed signs of contracting the virus two to four days after infection.

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)

A Biden administration official told Congress last week that “natural immunity is not something we believe in” for members of the U.S. military who have had COVID-19, just days after a British study showed prior infection protects people as well as or better than vaccination. The armed forces will instead continue to push service members to take the COVID vaccine “and boosters,” the military undersecretary and chief diversity officer announced. “There’s no good evidence, and the research is still going on as to how we need to progress with this,” said Cisneros. “But as for right now, natural immunity is not something we believe in for this, and so we are still moving forward.”

• The Lancet, a world-renowned U.K. medical journal, published a meta-study February 16 that concluded, “The level of protection afforded by previous infection is at least as high, if not higher than that provided by two-dose vaccination.” Numerous researchers have found natural immunity confers equal or “greater protection” against the novel coronavirus than the COVID shot.

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)

Seven people were killed—including an unborn baby—and others were seriously injured in a shooting Thursday night at a Jehovah’s Witnesses hall in the German city of Hamburg, police said. The gunman later took his own life in the building, officials said. Officials reported having “no reliable information on the motive” for the attack so far.

The FBI has arrested a man who allegedly attempted to bring an explosive device onto an airplane in Pennsylvania, US authorities said Wednesday. The bomb was discovered by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel on Monday, after the man’s checked bag set off an alarm at Lehigh Valley International Airport in the city of Allentown, the federal agency said in a statement. A section of the airport was evacuated as a precaution. “FBI and local law enforcement bomb technicians determined that the item was indeed a live explosive device,” the TSA said. The bomb was then successfully defused.

Tragedy/Accidents: In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

A second train derailment in Ohio Saturday has lawmakers calling for additional freight safety rules at a time when the industry is already on the defensive following last month’s disastrous toxic chemical derailment. Saturday’s derailment involved about 20 cars of a cargo train owned by Norfolk Southern, the same company that saw another one of its trains derail in East Palestine on Feb. 3. “Luckily it seems we may have missed a bullet in this one,” said Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, who called the derailment “outrageous.” The National Transportation Safety Board announced Tuesday that it is investigating safety practices at Norfolk Southern after the East Palestine train derailment and four other accidents since 2021.

Norfolk Southern has pledged several million dollars to cover the cost of the response and recovery in Pennsylvania after last month’s derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals just across the border in Ohio, Gov. Josh Shapiro said Monday. However, this won’t cover ongoing health problems over the long-term. Earlier, Norfolk Southern sent a representative to attend a town hall event in East Palestine, Ohio, the site of the recent toxic train crash, and the reception was anything but warm, with remarks of empathy and regret falling on deaf ears. Locals unleashed on the company whose train derailment has left residents fearful. The drinking water might be unsafe. They don’t know the condition of the soil, and the Biden administration has been criminally lethargic in its response. Workers at the crash site are filling ill, with even more troubling reports that inadequate protective gear was provided. “I’m begging you. By the grace of God, please get our people out of here,” screamed one resident.

A skyscraper erupted into flames in Hong Kong on Friday March 3, local time. The fire broke out in Tsim Sha Tsui at the site of an under-construction skyscraper in one of the city’s shopping districts. Embers and burning debris rained down on the streets below as firefighters attempted to control the inferno. Photos and videos from the scene show the skyscraper engulfed in flames, and the sound of explosions from within the structure have been reported.

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)

Oil refineries across France were blockaded Tuesday by workers taking part in one-million-strong protest against government plans to raise the retirement age. Mass strikes also left thousands without electricity and disrupted schools, airports and trains as the country’s biggest union CGT urged people to “bring France to a halt.” Police said an estimated 1.28 million people took part in the protests across France, including 81,000 in Paris. France has endured a series of strikes this year, as workers rail against President Emmanuel Macron’s planned pension reforms. The reforms will gradually increase the age at which most French citizens can draw a state pension to 64, from 62.

At least 35 people have been detained after demonstrators allegedly set fire to the construction site of an Atlanta public safety training facility anti-police and environment activists dubbed “Cop City.” A group of “agitators” left the nearby South River Music Festival around 5:30 p.m. and descended on the construction site of the proposed Atlanta Public Safety Training Center “to conduct a coordinated attack on construction equipment and police officers,” the Atlanta Police Department said in a statement.  Authorities noted how the group changed into black clothing and allegedly began to throw commercial-grade fireworks, Molotov cocktails, large rocks and bricks at police officers and set fires. Though demonstrations at the 85-acre property in DeKalb County have been ongoing, Atlanta Chief of Police Darin Schierbaum said Sunday’s incident marked a “significant escalation” both in the level of violence and the number of individuals involved in the attack.

• Activists have been occupying the area since late 2021 in an attempt to halt the project’s development. A coalition of environmental groups said in a letter to the Atlanta City Council the project will jeopardize the South River Forest, which is surrounded by primarily Black and Hispanic communities and “is our best hope for resilience against the worst impacts of climate change.” Protests erupted again in Atlanta in January after an activist was fatally shot by police.
• Atlanta police detained 35 “violent agitators” on Sunday after what appear to be hundreds of rioters broke into the future site of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) charged 23 individuals with domestic terrorism, including Thomas Webb Jurgens, a staff lawyer with the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

New York City has recently agreed to pay up to $6 million to protesters who were allegedly trapped or assaulted by police officers during a George Floyd protest in Mott Haven in 2020. If the settlement is approved by a federal judge, each of the 300-plus protesters will receive about $21,500, which is one of the largest amounts awarded per person in a class-action case related to mass arrests.

Protests in Colombia have taken a violent turn after residents took 79 police officers hostage and two people died in the clash. The residents of Colombia’s southern Caquetá province blockaded the compound of oil company Emerald Energy, a subsidiary of China’s state-owned company Sinochem. They also set a fire and took nine oilfield workers as hostages along with dozens of police officers. The protesters have demanded help to repair and build new roads in the area. A police officer, Ricardo Monroy, and a civilian died during the blockade. Both victims died from gunshot wounds.

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)

A Missouri law that would have penalized police for enforcing federal gun laws was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge Tuesday, handing a win to the Biden administration Department of Justice that filed suit against the law last year. The DOJ alleged the law was undermining federal drug and weapons investigators by placing heavy fines of up to $50,000 on police departments if they “infringed” on Missourians’ Second Amendment rights by following any federal laws.

The FBI has been issuing more seizure orders for guns sold to suspected prohibited buyers than at any time in the history of the federal firearm background check system, according to the most recent data compiled by the bureau. More than 6,300 such referrals were transmitted to the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives in 2020 to take back weapons from buyers when background checks later determined they may have been ineligible because of criminal records, mental health histories, disqualifying military service records and other reasons. An additional 5,200 directives were issued in 2021, adding to the largest two-year total by far since the National Instant Criminal Background Check System began publishing data in 1998.

• The numbers follow years of surging firearm sales. Yet they also underscore a longstanding tension in the system: Federally licensed dealers are permitted to proceed with weapons sales in cases when background checks are not completed within the required three business days.

Justice (or lack thereof): Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. (Jeremiah 23:5)

Louisville police engaged in systemic civil rights abuses and excessive force before the Breonna Taylor killing, the Justice Dept. said Tuesday, 3/7. A two-year probe found officers policed unlawfully and unconstitutionally, including conducting searches based on invalid warrants, executing search warrants without knocking and announcing their presence, making unlawful stops and discriminating against Black people and those who have behavioral health disabilities when responding to crisis situations.

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, spirits of lawlessness are stirring up lawlessness which will increase all the more as the end-times ramp up.

A large group of teenagers ransacked a restaurant in Queens, New York, and the suspects are reportedly still on the loose. The suspects entered Fish Village in College Point on Saturday morning and began trashing the place without saying anything. Video taken from inside the restaurant shows the masked teenagers flipping tables, throwing chairs and breaking dishes while thirty customers scattered. The manager, Tony Hu, said the group largely consisted of Asians but that some were Hispanic. About 30 customers were inside the establishment when it happened. The attack caused an estimated $20,000 in damages.

Walmart announced it is permanently closing all of its locations in ultra-liberal Portland, Oregon, over financial reasons as of March 24. The announcements come just a few months after the Walmart CEO warned stores could close and prices could increase in light of sky-high retail crimes affecting stores across the country. “Theft is an issue. It’s higher than what it has historically been,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said in December on CNBC. He added that “prices will be higher and/or stores will close” if authorities don’t crack down on prosecuting shoplifting crimes. The retail staple announced other closures across the U.S., including in: Arkansas, Florida, Washington, D.C., Wisconsin, New Mexico and Illinois.

The four American citizens who went missing In Mexico after being assaulted and kidnapped from a vehicle by unidentified armed men in Mexico have been located. Two are dead and two alive. The Americans came under gunfire from the men shortly after crossing the border on Friday through the city of Matamoros, in the Tamaulipas state, across from Brownsville, Texas. Their white minivan was caught in crossfire from an apparent gun battle between rival gangs. The victims crossed into Mexico driving a white minivan with North Carolina license plates. Shortly after, the gunmen fired upon the passengers in the vehicle, then the four Americans were placed in another vehicle and taken from the scene. Family members say they had crossed so one of them could get a cosmetic medical procedure.

• A letter Thursday, purportedly from a Mexican drug cartel, apologized after four Americans were kidnapped and two killed last week and said the cartel was turning over the five members it claims were responsible.

Fraud: “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? (Acts 13:10)

Federal prosecutors announced on Monday that a Florida woman who illegally received more than $1 million in federal coronavirus relief funds by using stolen identities pled guilty. Danielle Miller, 32, of Miami, used the identities of more than ten different people and fictitious business names to apply for and receive more than $1 million in Economic Injury Disaster Loan funds, as well as Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and related unemployment benefits. Miller had fake driver’s licenses with the names of the victims and her picture on them. Prosecutors claim that in one case, she obtained online access to a victim’s Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles records and used the personal information to open a bank account in that person’s name.

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)

The tech industry, already on-edge from widespread layoffs in an uncertain economy, fell into a panic over the past 24 hours as moves by a major Silicon Valley lender spurred a steep sell-off on Wall Street and sparked fears of a run on the bank. A number of startups are said to have weighed pulling their money this week from Silicon Valley Bank amid liquidity concerns, according to media reports and public posts from venture capitalists. Other prominent figures in the startup community are urging caution to avoid fueling what one venture capitalist called “mass hysteria” that could further destabilize a financial institution that has long been a key partner to the tech industry. SVB Financial Group’s stock plunged 60% on Thursday after the prominent tech lender told investors it had to sell shares and a portfolio of US Treasuries in order to cover for plunging customer deposits. Stock market trading was suspended on Friday morning.

• The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation n seized the assets of Silicon Valley Bank on Friday morning, marking the largest bank failure since Washington Mutual during the height of the 2008 financial crisis, and the second largest bank failure in history.

Science: The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. (Psalm 19:1) For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so the are without excuse… who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator. (Romans 1:20,25)

China has a “stunning lead” in 37 out of 44 critical and emerging technologies as Western democracies are losing the global competition for research output, said the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), a security think tank ASPI has been tracking defense, space, energy and biotechnology research and development for many years. Their study, funded by the United States State Department, found the United States was often second-ranked, although it led global research in 4 of the 44 critical technologies – high-performance computing, quantum computing, small satellites and vaccines. China had established a “stunning lead in high-impact research” under government-financed programs, the study concludes.

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)

Fifteen Republican senators are demanding answers from the U.S. Education Department for what they say is the federal funding of antisemitic activities on college campuses. “We write with grave concern that the Department of Education, over the course of decades, has been allowing taxpayer-funded antisemitism to take place on college campuses throughout the United States,” they said in the letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. “The obsessive negative focus on Israel and the Jewish people is rampant on college campuses throughout the United States Some universities may have even violated anti-terrorism laws by hosting convicted terrorists as speakers.”

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)

An ongoing shortage of a medicine commonly used to treat people with breathing problems is expected to get worse after a major supplier to U.S. hospitals shut down last week. Liquid albuterol has been in short supply since last summer, according to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. The manufacturer that recently shut down, Akorn Operating Company LLC, had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2020. “Members are either forced to compound it themselves to make the product or go to an outside third-party source who is compounding the product,” said Paula Gurz, senior director of pharmacy contracting with Premier Inc., a major group purchasing company for hospitals. It was the only company to make certain albuterol products used for continuous nebulizer treatment. With the Akorn shutdown, Gurz said products from the one remaining major domestic source of liquid albuterol, Nephron Pharmaceuticals, have been on back order. Nephron just started shipping albuterol last Friday, Gurz said, but to get back on track, “it’s going to be an uphill climb.”.

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)

Colon cancer continues to rise among younger U.S. adults, with the American Cancer Society reporting a doubling of cases in people younger than 55 in about 25 years. Also, significantly more Americans are being diagnosed with advanced stages of the disease, the cancer society says. As of 2019, 20% of colon cancer cases occurred in adults under age 55 — up from just 11% in 1995, according to the new report. Moreover, researchers found that the proportion of people diagnosed with advanced-stage cancer reached 60% in 2019, up from 52% in the mid‐2000s.

Can vitamin D lower dementia risk? Quite possibly, a team of British and Canadian researchers report. In their study, investigators spent roughly a decade tracking more than 12,000 older people. None had dementia at the start of the study period. In the end, the team determined that those who had been taking vitamin D supplements during that time appeared to face a 40% lower risk for dementia, compared with those who had never taken the supplements.

More than half the world’s population will be classed as obese or overweight by 2035 if action is not taken, the World Obesity Federation warns. More than four billion people will be affected, with rates rising fastest among children, its report says. Low or middle-income countries in Africa and Asia are expected to see the greatest rises. Reasons include trends in dietary preferences towards more highly processed foods, greater levels of sedentary behavior, weaker policies to control food supply, and less well-resourced healthcare services to assist in weight management and health education.

Drugs: And they did not repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries [Greek: pharmakeia, i.e. pharmacy, drugs].

The tranquil coastal town of Seaside, Oregon, is known for its wide beaches and grand promenade ― and for becoming a target for drug traffickers peddling meth supplied by a Mexican super cartel. Local and federal Investigators exposed an extensive drug distribution cell that targeted the Pacific Northwest. It was run by a deported felon who kept sneaking back across the border. The Portland-based drug network, which stretched into affluent area suburbs, westbound to Oregon’s quaint coastal cities and north into southwestern Washington, is emblematic of a key Mexican cartel strategy to establish drug pipelines far beyond the border and into small, unsuspecting towns.

Oklahoma residents voted overwhelmingly Tuesday against a ballot initiative to legalize marijuana in the Sooner State, in the latest defeat for a movement uniting leftists and libertarians. Oklahoma already permits marijuana use for ostensibly medicinal purposes; the initiative would have made it the 22nd state (plus the District of Columbia) to allow recreational use. But voters ultimately rejected it 61.8% to 38.2%, despite supporters outspending opponents by twenty-to-one.

Education: Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6)

More teachers than usual exited the classroom after last school year, confirming longstanding fears that pandemic-era stresses would prompt an outflow of educators. That’s according to a Chalkbeat analysis of data from eight states – the most comprehensive accounting of recent teacher turnover to date. In Washington state, more teachers left the classroom after last school year than at any point in the last three decades. Maryland and Louisiana saw more teachers depart than any time in the last decade. And North Carolina saw a particularly alarming trend of more teachers leaving mid-school year.

A Seattle school district is being forced to lay off employees amid financial turmoil that was caused by plummeting student enrollments. Seattle Public Schools announced on Tuesday that some staff members have been notified they may lose their jobs to address a budget deficit. The Board noted that its “structural deficit” has grown to $131 million. The number of homeschooled students in the state has nearly doubled since 2019. The Seattle Public School District enrollment has been on a steady decline since COVID closures with the trend expected to continue through 2028.

• People are fleeing from the ‘woke’ culture in the city and in its schools.

Gender Confusion: Male and female He created them. (Genesis 5:2)

• Gender confusion is being promoted because it undermines God’s ordained family structure, giving secular government more control over people, particularly our youth.

When Republican Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice launched the annual International Women of Courage Awards during the George W. Bush presidency, she likely didn’t envision handing out awards to men pretending to be women, but the Biden Administration has done just that during a recent White House ceremony. The event was hosted Wednesday by First Lady Jill Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Alba Rueda, a transgender “woman,” i.e., a biological male, was given the award. Former Trump White House Press Secretary and newly elected Governor of Arkansas Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, “It’s International Women’s Day – a good time to remember that Democrats can’t even tell you what a woman is.”

A parents right group has published a list of 168 pro-“transgender” school districts serving more than 3 million students nationwide that have policies purposely hiding students’ “transitioning” status from their parents in the name of gender “affirmation.” The noncomprehensive list of school districts was created by Parents Defending Education, or PDE, based in Virginia, and reveals the astonishing degree to which public school administrators, teachers and support staff in so many jurisdictions are committed to advancing the youth “transgender” agenda.

On Wednesday, The Post Millennial reported that 47 biological males who identify as transgender have been allowed entry into women’s prisons in California since the state’s Transgender Respect, Agency and Dignity Act (SB-132) went into effect in 2021. Experts are decrying the policy, pointing to the dangers posed to women’s safety and privacy.

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)

Migrants are crossing the northern border both into the U.S. and into Canada illegally, causing chaos on both the Canadian and American sides. Border Patrol encountered a nearly 900% surge of migrants into the U.S. in the Swanton sector—which spans parts of New York and Vermont—in January, when agents recorded 367 apprehensions. Migrants are also crossing illegally into Canada in droves along Roxham Road in Champlain, New York, where taxis with “frontera,” or “border” written in Spanish, on them, bring people back and forth for hours every day. The Daily Caller News Foundation rode in several of the migrant-packed taxis, which carried many who illegally crossed the southern border and some who fraudulently claimed they were tourists.

Population Growth/Decline: 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)

The number of births registered in Japan plummeted to another record low last year — the latest worrying statistic in a decades-long decline that the country’s authorities have failed to reverse despite their extensive efforts. The country saw 799,728 births in 2022, the lowest number on record and the first ever dip below 800,000, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health on Tuesday. That number has nearly halved in the past 40 years; by contrast, Japan recorded more than 1.5 million births in 1982. Deaths have outpaced births in Japan for more than a decade, posing a growing problem for leaders of the world’s third-largest economy. They now face a ballooning elderly population, along with a shrinking workforce to fund pensions and health care as demand from the aging population surges. The passengers were Egyptian, Colombian, Venezuelan, Nigerian, Turkish, Haitian, Pakistani and Afghan, all of them seeking asylum.

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)

Onion prices have skyrocketed making the world’s second-most consumed vegetable unaffordable to many who depend on them. Weather has affected onion farms and stockpiles around the globe. Severe drought in North Africa, frost in Central Asia and floods in Pakistan are just a few of the weather events that have severely impacted global onion crops. Some supermarkets around the world have begun onion rationing while some countries have export bans. But onions aren’t the only crop facing shortages – tomatoes, carrots, potatoes and apples have been affected worldwide. Now the UN estimates that more than 3 billion people can’t afford a healthy, nutrient-rich diet.

The USDA’s biannual cattle report showed that, as of Jan. 1, 2023, there is an 89.3 million head inventory — which is three percent lower than the total from a year ago and the lowest since 2015. Additionally, there are 28.9 million beef cows, which are those explicitly bred for slaughter and meat sales, as of the start of this year — which is down nearly four percent from last year and the lowest the agency has recorded since 1962. Feed costs have pushed ranchers to reduce their inventory.

Energy Supplies: He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. (Isaiah 44:14-15)

Russia is a key exporter of nuclear fuel. In 2021, the United States relied on the Russian nuclear monopoly Rosatom for 14% of the uranium that powered its nuclear reactors. European utilities bought almost a fifth of their nuclear fuel from Rosatom. According to Dorfman, the European Union has made little progress since weaning itself off Russia’s nuclear industry. Rosatom also provides enrichment services, accounting for 28% of what the United States required in 2021, all of which makes the Ukraine situation more problematic.

The type of food cooked influences indoor air quality more significantly than whether a gas or electric stove is used, according to an analysis of available studies and government assessments. The review, which found that cooking with natural gas is safe, disputes a green energy group’s recent peer-reviewed research that claimed nearly 13% of childhood asthma can be traced to the use of gas stoves, The Washington Times reported. The report, funded by the California Restaurant Association and backed by the California Building Industry Association and Catalyst Environmental Solutions (CES), said the type of food, specifically meat and cooking oil, does more to influence indoor air quality than whether a gas or electric stove is used, the Times reported.

At the end of July, the incandescent light bulb – patented by Thomas Edison in 1880 and a common fixture in American homes for more than a century – will pass into history. By Aug. 1, commonly used incandescents won’t be manufactured or sold, though you can still use the bulbs you’ve already purchased. But when your supply of incandescents is gone, you’ll probably be buying more energy-efficient and longer-lasting LEDs, (light-emitting diodes). LED prices have declined, a trend that’s expected to continue.

Treasure: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21) Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you. (Luke 6:38)

While more Americans own homes today than a decade ago and the rate is increasing across all races, the gap between Black homeownership rates and that of any other race or ethnic group is even larger now than in 2011, according to a new analysis by the National Association of Realtors. The homeownership rate for White Americans in 2021 was 72.7%, but the rate for Black Americans was 44%, while the rate for Asian Americans was 62.8% and for Hispanic Americans it was 50.6%.

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)

California cities have battled a homeless crisis for years, while still throwing billions of dollars at the spiraling tragedy to help those who are in dire need of housing. But one city has defied the odds, reporting the lowest homeless population in the state. Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey (R) said there are no vagrants in his city of about 20,000 residents. Bailey explained that the city works with the police department and a homeless service provider to give the homeless only one option — to get the help they need. “We also make it very clear that we don’t tolerate encampments along our sidewalks, and we don’t tolerate other code violations such as being drunk in public or urinating in public or defecating in public,” Bailey said. “We just simply don’t tolerate these basic code violations. What ends up happening is an individual either chooses to get help or they end up leaving.”

• The homeless population in Los Angeles is estimated to be about 42,000.

Taxes:  He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Luke 20:25)

President Biden proposed the third budget of his presidency and his first to a divided Congress on Thursday. The $6.8 trillion budget plan seeks to increase spending on the military and a wide range of new social programs while also reducing future budget deficits by taxing those with incomes over $400,000. While Republican control of the House ensures the full blueprint has no chance of becoming law, it sets the stakes for a bigger fight over raising the federal debt limit and the nation’s fiscal trajectory.

Work: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23-24)

In 2022, U.S. women on average earned about 82 cents for every dollar a man earned, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of median hourly earnings of both full- and part-time workers. That’s a big leap from the 65 cents that women were earning in 1982. But it has barely moved from the 80 cents they were earning in 2002. Women are at the peak of their wage parity with men at ages 25-34, earning about 90% of what men make or more. However, the gap widens with age.

Business: Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice. (Proverbs 16:8)

Semiconductor giant TSMC plans to add more than 6,000 jobs this year, despite a broader slowdown in demand for chips. The world’s largest contract chipmaker is looking to recruit new engineers and production line operators across its home base of Taiwan — in the cities of Hsinchu, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung — it confirmed Monday. TSMC, which stands for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, produces an estimated 90% of the world’s super-advanced chips. Six hundred U.S. based employees have spent one to two years training on TSMC manufacturing processes, and will return home to begin work in the massive chip manufacturing plant being built in the Phoenix, Arizona area.

Economy – Depression/Shortages: 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)

Employers added 311,000 jobs in February, the Labor Department reported Friday, a slowdown from the prior month’s blockbuster of around 500,000. This is still a robust gain which continues a hotter-than-anticipated streak that has created abundant opportunities for job seekers while frustrating the Federal Reserve in its drive to contain stubborn inflation. The unemployment rate ticked up to 3.6 percent, still an exceptionally low level brought about by robust job creation and workers’ slow return to the labor force after the pandemic. It was 3.4 percent in January, the lowest since 1969. In a sign that the extremely tight labor market may be easing, wages grew 0.2 percent from January to February, a continued deceleration and the smallest increase since February 2022.

Millions of workers of various ages have yet to return to the workforce after the onset of the pandemic, a trend that could meddle with the Federal Reserve’s efforts to tamp down inflation. The Bank of America Institute found that more than two million workers should have come back to the labor force since the onset of the pandemic but haven’t. Many are older workers who retired early, but there are also plenty of millennials and Gen Xers in the mix. According to the report, the missing workers are a mix of older generations and those in their prime working years: 30% are traditionalists (born 1925 to 1945); 23% are baby boomers (born 1946 to 1964);  13% are Gen X (born 1965 to 1980); and 11% are millennials (1981 to 2000). Most of the prime-age workers left the restaurant and retail sector and tend to be lower earners.

• About 7% of respondents the Census Bureau’s latest Household Pulse Survey said they would not be returning to work because of caregiving, with 5% looking after children and 2% looking after elderly people.
• An estimated 24% of people infected with COVID-19 have experienced long COVID, according to a July report from the Minneapolis Fed, and about a quarter of those workers said the illness is impacting their ability to work.
• The lack of adequate child care also keeps parents from trying to earn a  paycheck even as American companies are struggling to find workers.

The Federal Reserve may need more aggressive interest rate hikes in the near future because the economy is slowing less than expected, Chairman Jerome Powell said Tuesday, 3/7. Recent data on inflation, employment, spending and manufacturing show a hotter economy than officials expected, the central bank chair told Congress. The Fed’s next meeting is in two weeks where they will decide whether to do another hike in the benchmark interest rate and speed up the rate of increases and go ultimately to a higher level than first expected.

Employers advertised fewer job openings in January and the number of people quitting fell as layoffs increased in possible signs the torrid labor market is cooling. Employers posted 10.8 million job openings, down from an upwardly revised 11.2 million in December, the Labor Department said Wednesday. They remain below the record 11.9 million advertised in March 2022 but well above the pre-pandemic level of about 7 million. Since there were 5.7 million unemployed Americans in January, the 10.8 million vacancies amounted to 1.9 available jobs for each unemployed person, close to a record dating back two decades. Layoffs, meanwhile, increased by 241,000, or 16%, to 1.7 million. Historically, that’s an average figure but it’s the most in more than two years

Mortgage rates increased for the fourth consecutive week, as inflation concerns remain. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.65% in the week ending March 2, up from 6.5% the week before, according to data from Freddie Mac released Thursday. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate was 3.76%. Applications for a mortgage fell for the third week in a row and now sit at a 28-year low, according to data released Wednesday, 3/2. Mortgage application volumes were 44% lower than the same week one year ago. The Refinance Index also decreased 6% from the previous week and was 74% lower than the same week one year ago as a majority of homeowners are already locked into lower rates. Home buyers are pulling back even as the spring home buying season should be heating up.

The United States is not building enough homes to account for the number of people setting up their own households. As a result, there is a sizable shortage of new homes after more than a decade of under-building relative to population growth, according to a new analysis from Realtor.com released Wednesday. The gap between single-family home constructions and household formations grew to 6.5 million homes between 2012 and 2022. However, this figure overstates the housing shortage, since new multi-family homes offer options both to buyers and renters. If multi-family construction is included, the gap is cut to 2.3 million homes. In the decade between 2012 and 2022, 15.6 million households were formed. During the same time period, 13.3 million housing units were started, and only 11.9 million were completed.

Borrowers with low credit are falling behind on car loans as consumers feel the pinch of inflation and the end of pandemic aid. In January, 1.89% of delinquent auto loans were “severely delinquent” and were at least 60 days past due, the highest rate since 2006. The share of payments on subprime loans– which are typically offered to people with lower credit scores and have high interest rates– that were at least 60 days late reached more than 6% by the end of 2022.

The Heritage Foundation’s 2023 Index of Economic Freedom has concluded that the United States dropped to 25th place globally over our country’s runaway government spending as well as its enormous deficits. The evaluation considered the positions of 184 nations from 2021 to 2022. “We’ve been doing this report now since the 1990s, and based on our metrics, this is the lowest the United States has ever ranked in the index as far as the total score,” explained Joel Griffith, a research fellow in the Thomas A. Roe Institute for economic policy studies at The Heritage Foundation.

Annual inflation across the 20 countries that use the euro dipped slightly to 8.5%, from 8.6% the previous month, according to an initial estimate released by the European Union’s statistics agency Thursday. “core” inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, jumped to 5.6% from 5.3% in the eurozone. Inflation ticked up to 9.3% from 9.2% in Germany, Europe’s largest economy. It also rose in France — to 7.2% from 7% — and in Spain, to 6.1% from 5.9%.

Israel: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you. (Psalm 122:6)

Demonstrators began another “Day of Disruption” Thursday in protest of reforms to Israel’s judicial system by blocking major highways, thoroughfares, and junctions, with at least 22 people arrested for snarling traffic within hours of the protests beginning. Tens of thousands of protesters marched throughout Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and other cities, blocked the Tel Aviv exits of Ayalon Highway, and stopped traffic throughout intersections to key industrial and high-tech parks in Herzliya, Raanana, Yokeneam, and elsewhere throughout the Jewish State.

The Israeli military carried out a raid in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday that it said was aimed at arresting a suspect in the fatal shooting of two Israeli brothers recently. In the spiraling violence, six Palestinians were killed, according to Palestinian health officials, and Israel said one of them was the target of the raid. Armed militant groups in Jenin said on the messaging platform Telegram on Tuesday that they had clashed with the Israeli forces during the raid, using firearms and explosive devices, and that they had downed a military drone.

In a regional show of strength, Israel will open a permanent embassy in Turkmenistan, the former Soviet republic and central Asian nation that is on Iran’s doorstep, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen announced Sunday. The inauguration comes as another Muslim neighbor of Iran—Azerbaijan—is opening its first ever embassy in the Jewish state. Both diplomatic moves signal Israel is a present and growing influence in the region. “The relations between our countries are important and strategic, and this move will further strengthen the connection and increase our cooperation” Cohen tweeted.

Hungary will move its embassy in Israel to the capital city of Jerusalem within a month, Hebrew-language media reported Friday morning. The agreements between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban were reached in the last few days, according to the reports.. In March 2019, exactly two years ago, Hungary opened a diplomatic trade mission in Jerusalem, demonstrating close ties with the Jewish state and becoming the first European country in decades to do so. Hungary has been among a minority of countries to vote against anti-Israel resolutions at the United Nations in recent years.

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)

Airstrikes carried out by the Israeli Air Force in the early hours of Tuesday morning severely damaged Aleppo International Airport, Syrian state media reported. According to state media outlet SANA, large explosions were heard in the area around 2:00 a.m. No casualties were reported, although the damage to the airport is so serious that it has been closed indefinitely. A senior Syrian military official told SANA that Israeli warplanes had infiltrated Syrian airspace from the Mediterranean coastal enclave of Lakatia. While Israel officially will not confirm or deny that it carries out airstrikes in Syrian airspace, it’s widely believed that Jerusalem has executed hundreds of strikes in the country over the past decade. Israel is believed to have targeted Iranian and Hezbollah assets in the country, as well as weapons smuggling convoys as defensive measures.

Three people were shot and wounded, one critically, in a Palestinian terror attack in downtown Tel Aviv on Thursday night. The terrorist, identified as a 23-year-old member of Hamas, opened fire at people sitting outside a cafe on the corner of Dizengoff Street and Ben Gurion Street, police said. He was shot and killed by security forces at the scene. The terrorist was known to the police and had previously served time in an Israeli prison for owning illegal weapons. The three victims were taken to Ichilov Hospital, one critical condition, and the other two in serious condition.

Saudi Arabia and Iran reached an agreement that paves the way for the re-establishment of diplomatic ties after a seven-year split, a major realignment between regional rivals. Saudi and Iranian officials announced the agreement after talks hosted this week in China, which maintains close ties with both countries. The two countries agreed to reactivate a lapsed security cooperation agreement, a shift that comes after years of Iranian proxies targeting Saudi Arabia with missile and drone attacks. Saudi Arabia and Iran will reopen embassies in each other’s countries within two months, and both states confirmed “their respect for the sovereignty of nations and non-interference in their internal affairs,” the statement said.

• China’s role in global influence continues to grow.

A drone strike killed four people in government-held eastern Syria on Wednesday in an area controlled by Iran-backed factions, a war monitor said. ‘Four people were killed and eight wounded in a drone strike near a weapons factory belonging to Iran-backed groups and near a truck loaded with weapons,’ Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP. There was no immediate word on who carried out the strike in the eastern city of Deir Ezzor or whether the dead were fighters or civilians. The strike targeted a part of the city that is home to residences of top Iranian commanders and senior officers of Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement.

Wars & Rumors of Wars: And you will hear ofwars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; forall these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.Fornation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. (Matthew 24:6-7a)

Russia/Ukraine: Russia will run out of “military tools” to achieve its war aims in Ukraine by the end of the spring, Ukraine’s top military intelligence official predicted in a USA TODAY interview. Maj. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov’s forecast comes amid considerable uncertainty about what the next phase of the war will look like as it moves into its second year. For weeks, Ukrainian officials had signaled that Russia was planning a major new offensive to coincide with the one-year anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine on Feb 24. But a notable new offensive has yet to materialize.

Russia’s dominant lender Sberbank reported a nearly 80% plunge in 2022 net profit Thursday as sweeping Western sanctions rattled Russia’s financial sector. Sberbank was releasing results under international reporting standards for the first time in a year. Russian authorities ordered banks to limit disclosures and dividend payments last year as Moscow tried to maintain financial stability. Sberbank touts its ‘resilience’ and says profits will go up this year. Other lenders, such as No. 2 bank VTB, have not fared so well and Russia’s central bank warned of “systemic risks” to the sector last week as lenders scramble to turn a profit.

Russia launched a new wave of Iranian-made drones against Ukrainian cities last Saturday, 3/4, breaking a weeks-long lull in such attacks, as its forces continued to tighten their grip around the embattled eastern city of Bakhmut. Ukraine’s military said it shot down 11 out of 14 Iranian-made Shahed drones late Sunday and early Monday, including all nine that were aimed at the capital city of Kyiv. The remaining three drones, however, hit targets in the central city of Khmelnytskyi, with explosions there killing two rescue workers and injuring three other people, according to the local government. Russia also fired S-300 missiles at the southern city of Zaporizhzhia overnight, hitting an infrastructure site but causing no casualties, the local government said.

A wave of Russian missiles and drones swept across Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities Thursday, killing at least six people and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands in one of the biggest attacks on the besieged country this year. At least seven people were injured. Russia launched 81 missiles and eight exploding Shahed drones, Ukraine military officials said. Thirty-four cruise missiles and four drones were intercepted, they said. 

An estimated 60 Ukrainian aircraft have been downed since Russia’s invasion began a year ago, but Moscow has lost more than 70, the top U.S. Air Force commander in Europe said Tuesday, 3/7. Russia’s larger air force failed to establish air superiority in the early days of the war and a virtual stalemate now exists in the skies. “Both of their integrated air and missile defense, especially when you’re talking about going against aircraft, they’ve been very effective. And that’s why they’re not flying over one another’s country,” said U.S. Gen. James Hecker.

New intelligence reviewed by U.S. officials suggests that a pro-Ukrainian group carried out the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines last year, a step toward determining responsibility for an act of sabotage that has confounded investigators on both sides of the Atlantic for months. U.S. officials said that they had no evidence President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine or his top lieutenants were involved in the operation, or that the perpetrators were acting at the direction of any Ukrainian government officials.

China/Taiwan/U.S. The Biden administration has restricted sales of some U.S. technology to 37 companies and organizations, saying that their activity threatened national security. Three-quarters of the companies included in the announcement, which was made on Thursday, are based in China. They include entities that the Commerce Department said had supported Beijing’s military modernization or produced technology that risked being diverted for military purposes. The Biden administration has warned in recent weeks that China could be gearing up to provide military support to Russia ‌for its war in Ukraine, or to prepare for an invasion of Taiwan which China regards as a runaway province belonging to them.

North/South Korea/U.S.: The influential sister of North Korea’s leader warned Tuesday that her country is ready to take “quick, overwhelming action” against the United States and South Korea, a day after the U.S. flew a nuclear-capable B-52 bomber in a demonstration of strength against the North. The U.S.-South Korean training on Monday involving the B-52 bomber over the Korean Peninsula was the latest in a series of drills between the allies in recent months. Their militaries are also preparing to revive their largest field exercises later this month.

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)

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing attack in southwestern Pakistan that killed nine policemen on Monday, according to the SITE Intelligence Group. A suicide bomber rammed a motorcycle into a police truck in in Sibbi, a city some 160 km (100 miles) east of Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province. Hospital officials said at least seven other policemen were wounded in the attack, the latest in a series targeting police personnel in Pakistan.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility Thursday for a suicide attack that killed the Taliban governor of Afghanistan’s Balkh province. An IS fighter waited for the governor outside his office and ‘rushed towards him, detonating his explosive belt,’ the group said in a statement on its Amaq news agency.

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)

A red tide of toxic algae is currently blanketing the Southwest Florida coast. Levels from Tampa Bay south to Marco Island range from around 10,000 cells per liter to more than 1 million cells per liter, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Fish kills and breathing issues in humans can start when levels reach 10,000 cells per liter, according to the FWC. When the toxin from red tide is inhaled, it can cause respiratory symptoms in people, such as coughing, wheezing and sore throats. In marine life, it’s a killer that affects the nervous system and can cause paralysis.

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)

A second volcano in remote Alaska is experiencing elevated earthquake activity this week, signaling an increased potential for eruption, officials said. Earthquake activity near Takawangha Volcano increased over the past 48 hours and is continuing. That volcano is west of Anchorage in the western Aleutian islands and is about 5 miles from the Tanaga Volcano, which scientists said has seen intensified earthquake activity earlier this past week.

End-Time Weather Will Continue to Grow More Severe: (Daniel 9:26b, Ezekiel 38:22, Luke 21:25, Revelation 8:7, 11:19, 16:8,11)

Almost 12 feet of snow has piled up at Donner Pass in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains over seven days. (Feb 23 – March 1) And more snow has since fallen. Five months into this water year, more than 44 feet has fallen at the Central Snow Laboratory, a University of California, Berkeley field research station. That’s more than double the median of 21.7 feet by this time of year. “We’re within 3½ feet from the 2017 water year total of 47.77 feet, which is our third largest snowfall year on record in the last three decades,”  said Andrew Schwartz, lead scientist and manager at the snow lab.

Through March 1, Arizona’s Flagstaff Pulliam Airport received just over 140 inches of snow, the second-highest total recorded through the time period since it began collecting data 101 years ago. The weather service office in Bellemont, Arizona, did set the record for most snow recorded over the same time span with 146.7 inches, crushing the previous mark set in 2009-10 of just 115.4 inches.

Yosemite National Park has been closed indefinitely because of heavy snowfall. Some areas of the park have gotten as much as 15 feet of snow. The park was closed on Saturday, and as of Wednesday, 3/3, there was no estimated date for reopening. In a posted announcement, park officials said crews “are working to restore critical services so visitors can safely return.” Yosemite is the sixth-most visited national park. In 2022, 3.67 million people visited.

Almost half a million Americans from Kentucky to Michigan were in the dark Sunday after a massive front dumped heavy snow across much of the nation’s northern tier and slammed parts of the South with powerful thunderstorms and tornadoes. At least 13 deaths were reported from the storm. More than 224,000 homes and businesses were without power Sunday. Over 200,000 homes and businesses remained in the dark nationwide as of Monday morning.

As mountain communities in Southern California gradually emerge from piles of snow, officials are starting the difficult task of assessing the damage and the number of people who have died. At least four people were found dead in their homes in the Big Bear area of San Bernardino County, the first one on March 2, said Shannon Dicus, the county sheriff and coroner, on Wednesday. Residents and local leaders have said that they were unprepared for the powerful storms that first arrived on Feb. 21 and ultimately surrounded homes in snow drifts as tall as 10 feet. Many began running low on food, fuel and medications. Some endured power outages, while a handful of fires are believed to have been sparked by broken gas lines.

With another storm lashing California Thursday into Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in 21 counties. Evacuation warnings have been issued because of flooding threats from the latest storm. Some roads closed Thursday because of flooding while downed trees and mudslides blocked others. The new storm will continue producing a threat of flooding rain, rockslides and strong winds across much of the state Friday, with feet of higher elevation snow. It arrived as many California residents remained stranded by previous back-to-back snowstorms.

Signs of the Times Update: March 1, 2023

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5-8)

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)

Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky, concluded its ongoing revival last Thursday on the National Collegiate Day of Prayer following 2-weeks of non-stop worship and prayer on campus. An Asbury Theological Seminary professor says the word “outpouring” and not “revival” may be the best label to describe the recent events at the school until church historians have more time to evaluate what took place. Stephen Seamands, professor of basic Christian doctrine at Asbury Seminary, says it typically takes years or decades to determine what label to use on a church event similar to what began at Asbury on Feb. 8 and continued more than 300 hours. “You want to see the long-term effect it has on people’s lives, on the church, and ultimately, revival leads to a kind of a penetration phase, where people are evangelized, and … social evils are confronted,” Seamands said during a question and answer session on Sunday at Harris Creek Baptist Church in Waco, Texas.

The film “Jesus Revolution” more than doubled industry estimates, taking in over $15 million at the weekend box office and earning a third-place finish overall. The story about the Jesus movement in the late 1960s and 70s had been forecasted to earn just $6 million to $7 million in ticket sales. The movie earned an A+ CinemaScore rating from movie goers and a 99 percent audience rating from Rotten Tomatoes, meaning the audience loved it, though critics gave it mixed reviews at 55 percent.

The girls basketball team of Mid Vermont Christian School (MVCS) in White River Junction, Vermont, forfeited a game in the fourth round of a state championship tournament when it was discovered that a biological male who identifies as a transgender female was on the opposing team’s roster. Many Christian conservatives are applauding the school’s decision, pointing to the physical dangers that male athletes pose to female athletes as well as the infringement on fair play that is created by allowing males to compete against females. A number of incidents involving the physical injury of female athletes at the hands of male athletes who identify as transgender women have occurred in recent years, reports the Washington Stand.

An attempt by radically pro-abortion lawmakers in the state of New York to force pro-life crisis pregnancy centers to hire and retain pro-abortion employees appears to have come to an end with a Tuesday decision from a federal court. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York City reversed a decision by a lower court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by pro-life “hero” Chris Slattery in defense of his organization’s mission to support mothers and families facing crisis pregnancies. “We are thrilled,” Slattery said in an email release. “[This] is a major victory for the pro-life world, and Catholic and Christian schools and organizations, thanks in a large part to the Thomas More Society and their great crack attorneys.”

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that “someone who kills an unborn baby capable of living outside of the mother’s body can be charged with homicide since that child is considered a person under state law.” That’s essentially the “personhood” argument that pro-lifers have been promoting for years: the determination that the unborn is a “person” and therefore protected by the Constitution. This ruling, however, limits that designation to only those babies capable of living outside the mother, at this time. Liberty Counsel noted that, “In Commonwealth v. Ronchi, the highest state court in Massachusetts recently upheld two first-degree murder convictions of a man who stabbed his girlfriend to death which caused the death of their nine-month unborn child from loss of blood circulation from the mother.

The City of Seattle agreed to settle a lawsuit with more than a dozen business owners and residents over the city’s 2020 handling of the so-called autonomous zone protests originally dubbed the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP). Businesses and residents of Seattle’s Capitol Hill “will now be compensated for the City’s mishandling of CHOP that resulted in a significant increase in crime and even loss of life,” attorney Angelo Calfo said in a statement. The city announced the settlement totals $3.65 million, which includes $600,000 in penalties for the deletion of thousands of texts by city leaders, including former Mayor Jenny Durkan, The Seattle Times reported.

Tennessee lawmakers this week passed bills to ban “gender transition” surgeries and drugs for minors and to outlaw the performance of sexually charged drag shows for children. The state’s Republican governor is expected to sign both measures into law. Tennessee is on track to be the fifth state with a total ban on surgical and pharmaceutical gender interventions for children and the first to ban obscene drag shows for minors.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a bill into law that ends Disney’s self-governing power for its properties in Orlando and puts the media giant under the control of a state board. “Since the 1960s, they’ve enjoyed privileges unlike any company or individual in the state of Florida has ever enjoyed,” DeSantis said at a news conference held at a firehouse minutes away from Disney World. “They had exemptions from laws that everyone else had to follow. They were able to get huge amounts of benefits without paying their fair share of taxes. How do you give one theme park its own government and then treat all of the other theme parks differently?” Disney will be treated like SeaWorld and other theme parks in the state.

Judicial Watch announced recently that Los Angeles County removed 1,207,613 ineligible voters from its rolls since last year under the terms of a settlement agreement in a federal lawsuit Judicial Watch filed in 2017. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Los Angeles County sent almost 1.6 million address confirmation notices in 2019 to voters listed as “inactive” on its voter rolls. Under the federal National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), voters who do not respond to the notices and who do not vote in the following two federal elections must be removed from the voter rolls. The settlement also required an update to the state’s online NVRA manual to make it clear that ineligible names must be removed and to notify each California county that they are obliged to do so.

• “This long overdue voter roll clean-up of 1.2 million registrations in Los Angeles County is a historic victory and means California elections are less at risk for fraud,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton./

New World Order – One-World Government: It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Revelation 13:7-8) The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces. (Daniel 7:23)

President Biden keeps losing in court, so he is trying to create a higher power than the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law, reports Mat Staver, CEO of Liberty Counsel. “Unable to fully implement his tyrannical controls, Biden now seeks to have the World Health Organization (WHO) do it for him. If Joe Biden and his fellow globalists have their way, the U.S. will cede sovereignty to a centralized unelected globalist body eager to control health care, food, borders and our movements. The new proposed regulations will change WHO from an advisory U.N. agency to a binding authority with sole discretion to impose its dictates on America and the world.” The agreement will give WHO unprecedented power not just over a “public health risk” but also over “all risks with a potential to impact public health.” Anything can be a “potential” risk to “public health.” This includes access to abortion, “climate change” and, of course, COVID and other real or manufactured pestilences. WHO’s website states: “Lack of access to safe, timely, affordable and respectful abortion care is a critical public health and human rights issue.” And so, they claim, is climate change, eliminating fossil fuels, etc.

• If Congress does not stop Biden from signing onto this WHO agreement, it will be adopted. Biden intends to sign it under his Executive Branch authority, but that is most likely illegal and unconstitutional. Fax Congress now and demand they put a stop to Biden’s New World Order.

The year-old Russian invasion of Ukraine has shaken the foundations of a post-Cold War order that has held sway for three decades, reviving global unease about the prospect of nuclear war, rocking long-established diplomatic and political norms and aligning the world’s top autocracies — Iran, North Korea, China and Russia — in unsettling ways. Beyond isolating Russia and backing Kyiv economically and militarily, the U.S. and its allies are grappling with a world no longer bound by more than a generation of rules and norms since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Beyond the Biden administration’s pre-invasion warnings that Russian President Vladimir Putin was serious about sending his troops over the border into Ukraine, most expectations from the foreign policy establishment on both sides of the Atlantic have been wrong. Many predicted that the Ukrainian army would be routed, and that Kyiv would fall within days, but Ukraine is more than holding its own.

Politics: Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. (Romans 13:1-2)

Sen. Jon Tester, Montana Democrat, told The Washington Times that he plans to side with all Senate Republicans and fellow Democrat Joe Manchin III of West Virginia to support a resolution to roll back a Labor Department provision for 401(k) fiduciaries to employ environmental, social and corporate governance investing known as ESG. The two moderate Democrats’ support narrowly gives Republicans the votes to pass their Congressional Review Act resolution and notch a win against what the GOP calls a “woke” investment practice that jeopardizes Americans’ retirement funds.

Twenty-three House Republicans on Wednesday demanded more transparency from the government agencies charged with distributing billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine. “It is critical that government agencies administering these funds ensure they are used for their intended purposes to prevent and reduce the risk of waste, fraud, and abuse,” the 23 House member wrote to U.S. officials. The U.S. has so far provided $113 billion in aid to Ukraine in its defense against Russia. President Biden offered another half-billion to Ukraine during his recent visit there. “Together, we’ve committed nearly 700 tanks and thousands of armored vehicles, 1,000 artillery systems, more than 2 million rounds of artillery ammunition, more than 50 advanced launch rocket systems, anti-ship and air defense systems, all to defend Ukraine. And that doesn’t count the other half a billion dollars we’re announcing with you today and tomorrow that’s going to be coming your way.”

Officials in Finland are moving forward with security measures, including the construction of a fence along the border with Russia, as they await votes from Hungary and Turkey on joining NATO. The security fence is expected to be about 125 miles long and take three to four years to complete. It won’t be built along the entire length of the border but in areas considered riskier, such as border crossing points and their adjacent areas. Moscow’s year-old invasion of Ukraine prompted once-neutral Finland to apply for NATO membership, along with Sweden.

Surveillance State: So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor. (Luke 20:20)

The Supreme Court of the United States has refused to hear a challenge to a federal surveillance program. The program in question, known as “Upstream,” allows the National Security Agency (NSA) to intercept telephone and Internet traffic from within and outside the United States. The details of the program were among those leaked by former CIA and NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who in 2013 blew the whistle on mass surveillance programs orchestrated by the U.S. government. Until then, the administration of President George W. Bush and the intelligence community had falsely claimed that Americans’ data was not being collected and saved. The case, Wikimedia v. NSA, was brought against the NSA by Wikimedia, the nonprofit group that owns Wikipedia. The American Civil Liberties Union assisted Wikimedia with legal counsel. Had SCOTUS heard the case, it could have marked a precedent-setting event in regard to other ongoing mass surveillance programs.

Censorship: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth. (Romans 1:18)

Outside the charred walls of Buffalo’s CompassCare, pro-lifers could barely get the national media to mention the frightening incident. “Like the string of domestic firebombings across Wisconsin, Oregon, Colorado, Tennessee, and Washington, the blown-out windows, graffiti, and trashed offices were barely a blip on network news,” writes Tony Perkins, President of Family Research Council and executive editor of The Washington Stand.. “It’s been quite a contrast to the extensive coverage a single burned flag in New York is getting.” A Pride flag was lit on fire by a woman outside a restaurant. A window was cracked, landscape damaged, and people living above the restaurant were evacuated, but no one was injured. Reprehensible to be sure, but what about the more severely attacked pro-life centers? No mainstream coverage of that.

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)

An impoverished Catholic man, 23-year-old Sunny Waqas, who spent more than three years in jail on a baseless blasphemy charge had to pay an exorbitant amount of bail (4 million rupees) for release this month, just one example of gross injustices against him and other Christians, his attorney said. “From the onset of the case, the high court in Bahawalpur adopted a highly prejudiced approach towards us – we were openly threatened by judges and intimidated by Muslim lawyers, who also manhandled a member of our team,” attorney Aneeqa Maria of The Voice Society said.

More than two dozen Christian employees of a San Diego community college system are being targeted for termination after not receiving the COVID-19 gene-based mRNA vaccine injections in the wake of three of their colleagues having already been fired on January 19. San Diego Community College District remains the only college system in the state of California to adopt a policy of firing employees for declining to receive the abortion-tainted COVID-19 injections due to their religious convictions.

• Now that the pandemic is winding down, the timing of these mandates suggests the motives are persecutional, not health related.

Abortion: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart. (Jeremiah 1:5)

A letter from Walgreens Executive Vice President Danielle Gray confirms that the pharmacy chain will refrain from selling the chemical abortion regimen in its Kansas locations. The letter comes in response to a message from Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach (R), who informed Walgreens that it would be in violation of both federal and state law if it were to mail chemical abortion drugs into the state or dispense the drugs to customers by mail. “I recognize that an ends-justify-the-means administration in the White House and the U.S. Department of Justice has gone to great lengths to obscure the issue,” Attorney General Kobach wrote. “But the law is straightforward. …it is illegal to knowingly mail any ‘article or thing designed, adapted, or intended for procuring abortion’; it is also illegal to mail any ‘article, instrument, substance, drug, medicine, or thing which is advertised or described in a manner calculated to lead another to use or apply it for producing abortion.’”

Suicide/Assisted Suicide: No man has power to retain the spirit, or power over the day of death. (Ecclesiastes 8:8 ESV)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a new study focused on the dramatic increase of suicides among teenage girls over the last few years. The results are shocking. They reported that between 2019 and 2021, suicide attempts by high school girls increased by 51%, which translates into one out of every three girls. In contrast, attempts by teenage boys increased by 4%. Self-harm among young people is up 334 percent, reports Pastor Greg Laurie of Harvest Fellowship since 2000. “The suicide rate in the United States has increased 30 percent since 2000 and has tripled for young girls. This generation needs help.”

A quarter of Black transgender and nonbinary youth reported a suicide attempt in the previous year, according to a new study, more than double the rate of suicide attempts among Black cisgender LGBQ youth. The new research by the Trevor Project, which surveyed nearly 34,000 LGBTQ youth ages 13 to 24 across the United States in fall 2021, also found that Black and nonbinary young people reported higher rates of anxiety and depression than their Black cisgender LGBQ peers. “Simply put, the mental health of Black transgender and nonbinary young people is a public health crisis,” said Dr. Myeshia Price, director of research science at the Trevor Project, a nonprofit organization focused on suicide prevention efforts among LGBTQ youth.

• In became a crisis the moment they turned aside from God’s ordained laws regarding gender and marriage.

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)

Covid-19:  The average number of new Covid-19 cases in the U.S. has declined by 12% over the past two weeks to 34,462, but is down only 3% over the past week. Hospitalizations were down by 8% to 26,903 but deaths were up 4% to 445 per day. Nebraska and Utah have seen cases and hospitalizations rise notably since mid-month. Worldwide cases declined 12% while deaths remained flat at 1,240 per day.

New intelligence has prompted the Energy Department to conclude that an accidental laboratory leak in China most likely caused the coronavirus pandemic, though American spy agencies remain divided over the origins of the virus, American officials said on Sunday. The conclusion was a change from the department’s earlier position that it was undecided on how the virus emerged, reports the New York Times. Officials would not disclose what the intelligence was. But many of the Energy Department’s insights come from the network of national laboratories it oversees, rather than more traditional forms of intelligence like spy networks or communications intercepts.

• FBI Director Christopher Wray said in an interview with Bret Baier Tuesday, “The FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan.” The FBI director continued, “You’re talking about a potential leak, from a Chinese government-controlled lab that killed millions of Americans, and that’s precisely what that capability was designed for. Wray said, according to The Wall Street Journal, that the Chinese Communist Party has been trying to “thwart and obfuscate” FBI investigations into COVID-19’s origins.

Elon Musk (CEO of Twitter, Tesla, SpaceX) accused Dr. Anthony Fauci of funding gain-of-function research at the Wuhan, China lab where COVID-19 is believed to have originated from. Musk said Fauci funded gain-of-function research “via a pass-through organization (EcoHealth)” on Twitter Sunday. Musk’s fiery accusation came in response to a tweet that aggregated the multiple occurrences where Fauci denied any gain-of-function research. “Dr. Anthony Fauci funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan lab, lied to Congress about it, and now both the FBI & the Department of Energy have concluded that the coronavirus originated at the Wuhan lab. Does that mean Dr. Anthony Fauci funded the development of COVID-19?” the video’s caption reads.

Last week, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky gave testimony to Congress that showed how our government is going to enforce its authoritarian rules regardless of whether they work or not. In light of the recent Cochrane review including 78 peer-reviewed Randomized Control Trials with over 600,000 participants concluding masks made “little to no difference” in preventing COVID or flu, Walensky told Rep. Cathy Rodgers that the CDC’s guidance to mandate masks in schools would “not change with time” regardless of the new evidence. So much for ‘follow the science.’

The Food and Drug Administration authorized the first combination test for the flu and coronavirus that is fully performed at home, my colleague Laurie McGinley reports. The agency granted emergency use authorization to the Lucira Covid-19 & Flu Test, a single-use kit that provides results from a nasal swab in about 30 minutes. The test is for people with symptoms of a respiratory tract infection, and can be purchased without a prescription by anyone 14 or older.

Norovirus: The dreaded stomach bug season is here and spreading fast. The numbers of norovirus cases are rising steadily in the U.S., mirroring the outbreaks noted in the U.K. According to recent reports, norovirus cases are 66% higher than the average for this time of the year in England with the biggest rise in confirmed cases seen in people aged 65 and older. On average, noroviruses cause 19 to 21 million cases of acute gastroenteritis in the U.S. each year and sends more than 450,000 people to the emergency room, says WebMD. Norovirus is thought to be the most common cause of acute gastroenteritis around the world. It spreads easily from person to person and through contaminated food and drink and can make you miserable for days.

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)

A new report from Exposé reveals that official numbers from the U.K. government show that the “fully/triple/quadruple vaccinated population has accounted for 9 in every 10 COVID-19 deaths in England over the past two years.” “May 2021 saw the lowest number of COVID-19 deaths, with 205 among the vaccinated population and just 84 among the unvaccinated population. But fast forward a year and we find COVID-19 deaths increased by 450%, with 1,494 among the vaccinated and just 96 among the unvaccinated,” the report explained. “Surely if the Covid-19 injections were effective we would expect to see deaths decreasing year on year, not increasing? COVID-19 deaths among the unvaccinated population have become almost negligible.”

George Mason University just released a bombshell study from nine major cities that concluded it couldn’t find anything to indicate that COVID shot mandates reduced cases or deaths. The cities are: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C. “We find no evidence that the announcement or implementation of indoor vaccine mandate in the cities listed had any significant effect on vaccine uptake, COVID-19 cases, or COVID-19 deaths, and this is largely consistent for all US cities that implemented the mandate,” the study concluded.

A preprint study examining government data has found that, in comparison to the influenza vaccine, the COVID-19 gene-based inoculations produce a 57-fold increase in miscarriages, a 38-fold increase in still birth rates, and a 1200-fold increase in menstrual abnormalities. Dr. James Thorp, a board-certified Obstetrician/Gynecologist, and his team analyzed data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) VAERS system for recording adverse vaccination events. Thorp explained that he and his colleagues “compared the COVID-19 vaccine adverse events over 18 months with those of the influenza vaccine over 282 months. We found 15 other major pregnancy complications, all far exceeding the CDC and the FDA values of safety.”

A top U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) official gave false information about COVID-19 vaccine safety monitoring to the agency’s vaccine advisory panel, and a spokesperson for the agency refused to correct the misinformation. Dr. Tom Shimabukuro, director of the CDC’s Immunization Safety Office, presented on COVID-19 vaccine safety to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Feb. 24. Shimabukuro went over updates to the safety signal for ischemic stroke following Pfizer bivalent booster vaccination that CDC officials detected in one of the agency’s monitoring systems. After sharing the updates, Shimabukuro made the false statement. “No safety signals were detected for ischemic stroke for the primary series or monovalent boosters for Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines in U.S. and global monitoring,” Shimabukuro said.

• That’s not true. The CDC identified ischemic stroke as a safety signal following Moderna and Pfizer vaccination after analyzing reports to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), a different system, which the agency co-manages. Asked for comment, Shimabukuro did not respond. But a CDC spokesperson doubled down on the false claim.

A bivalent Pfizer or Moderna booster increased protection against hospitalization initially by 52 percent, but that protection dropped to 36 percent beyond 59 days, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers said. The researchers separately looked at the protection people who had received two or more monovalent doses, or doses of the original vaccines, and no bivalent booster. They found that people aged 18 to 64 had just 19 percent protection against COVID-19 associated hospitalization and those aged 65 and older had just 28 percent protection. That means the protection after two months was around 60 percent in total for the elderly and goes below 50 percent for all other adults.

A Covid vaccine maker that received clinical trial approvals from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), formerly headed by Dr. Anthony Fauci, has just paid $400 million in ‘catch-up payment’ under a new royalty-bearing license agreement between the parties to the public health organization. The payment is part of a license agreement between Moderna and NIAID inked late last year. With the deal, Moderna is paying the U.S. government to access ‘certain patent rights concerning stabilizing prefusion coronavirus spike proteins. Moderna agreed to pay NIAID “low single-digit royalties” on COVID-19 vaccine sales moving forward. The N.I.H. said its scientists, some of whom had been collaborating for years with Moderna, had helped to design that sequence. Moderna also received nearly $10 billion in taxpayer funding to develop and test the vaccine, and to provide doses to the federal government,” the New York Times reported.

• And so the government had a vested interest in going forward with the vaccine and were not independent arbiters for deciding whether doing so was safe or not.

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)

Across 27 cities that publicly report crime data, the murder rate last year was 34 percent higher than it had been in 2019, according to the Council on Criminal Justice.

A central Florida television journalist and a little girl were fatally shot Wednesday afternoon near the scene of a fatal shooting from earlier in the day, authorities said. Two others were injured. Orange County Sheriff John Mina said during a news conference that they’ve detained Keith Melvin Moses, 19, who they believe is responsible for both shootings in the Orlando-area neighborhood.

Tragedy: In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

The National Transportation Security Board (NTSB) on Thursday issued an initial report on the Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals that derailed in East Palestine, sparking a fire and sending contaminants into the air and water. The report, which is preliminary and subject to change as investigators deepen their probe, suggests that blame for the accident lies in a wheel bearing that severely overheated before the train went off the rails. The crew operating the freight train did not receive a critical warning about the overheated axle until moments before the derailment, the report states.

• In a delayed visit to East Palestine, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Thursday said the federal government will force the operator of a train carrying hazardous chemicals that derailed in East Palestine to pay for damages to the people in the community.

Toxic air pollutants in East Palestine, Ohio, could pose long-term risks, researchers say, in apparent contradiction to federal regulators. Three weeks after the toxic train derailment in Ohio, an analysis of Environmental Protection Agency data has found nine air pollutants at levels that could raise long-term health concerns in and around East Palestine, according to an independent analysis by Texas A&M University. This contradicts statements by state and federal regulators that air near the crash site is completely safe, despite residents complaining about rashes, breathing problems and other health effects.

• The Ohio Department of Natural Resources estimate more than 43,000 animals have died in and around East Palestine roughly three weeks after the train derailment. Many residents are reporting breathing problems, hoarseness, headaches and rashes.

At least 36 people are dead and 85 injured after two trains collided in northern Greece. A passenger train was on a route between two popular tourist cities, Athens and Thessaloniki, when it collided with a freight train near Tempe Valley. Rescue crews searched Wednesday morning through twisted, smoking wreckage for survivors of the high-speed, head-on train crash. Greek authorities have arrested the station manager of a train station in the city of Larissa in connection to the crash.

Justice (or lack thereof): Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. (Jeremiah 23:5)

The Justice Department announced Wednesday indictments against eight pro-life activists stemming from a protest at a Michigan abortion clinic, the latest charges in the Biden administration’s post-Roe crackdown. The department released the Feb. 15 federal grand jury indictment on conspiracy and violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act in connection with an August 2020 protest at the Northland Family Planning Clinic in Sterling Heights. The indictment also alleges that all eight defendants violated the FACE Act by using physical obstruction to intimidate and interfere with the Sterling Heights clinic’s employees and patients.

A leftist prosecutor has been fired by her state attorney general for allowing too many criminals out of jail and onto the streets to cause more harm. The latest and final incident for Kim Gardner, the St. Louis circuit attorney, came when a 16-year-old volleyball player, Janae Edmonson, was visiting St. Louis with her team and was hit by a speeding vehicle and lost both legs. The driver, Daniel Riley, was accused in 2020 of stealing a firearm at gunpoint and since then has violated his bond conditions more than 100 times. He also didn’t have a driver’s license. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey noted, “Instead of protecting victims, Circuit Attorney Gardner is creating them. This is the latest in a long pattern of brazen neglect. The St. Louis Circuit Attorney has a long history of failure to prosecute violent crime, with a backlog of at least 3,000 cases.”

A former Clinton aide, Mark Middleton, who signed pedophile Jeffrey Epstein into the White House multiple times, was found dead in 2022 with a gunshot wound to his chest, an extension cord tied around his neck and attached to a tree. No gun was found in the vicinity, the sheriff first said, and then recanted days later that the shotgun was nearby. Despite the evidence, Middleton’s death has been determined to be a suicide – hard to shoot yourself in the chest with a shotgun while strung up on a tree. It’s just one of a long list of suspicious deaths that have been documented among those who were in the circle of people that included Bill and Hillary Clinton. The 59-year-old was found dead at the Heifer Ranch in Perryville, Arkansas, last May. The report’s release was delayed by a family petition to keep some information private.

Law Enforcement: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. (Matthew 5:9)

Seattle has changed course in regard to police funding after crime soared. Police shortages left Seattle in dire straits in the aftermath of officials’ anti-law enforcement rhetoric and the defund-the-police movement. Homicides skyrocketed by 24% while motor vehicle thefts climbed by 30% in the city last year. However, recent data from Seattle’s city’s budget office shows funding for law enforcement has increased for the first time since a major slash was made in 2020.

Dozens of gang members were arrested, and illegal guns and drugs seized during a four-day operation in Central California, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday. The arrests were part of an ongoing investigation into the “Goshen Massacre,” for a “cartel-style” shooting that left six people dead, including a young mother and her 10-month-old son, on January 16. Authorities say the shooting may have been the result of a conflict with members of the Sureños, a rival gang. A total of 97 homes were searched, 26 suspects arrested and 18 arrest warrants served during the operation.

In a high school in Palm Coast, Florida, a 17-year-old male student who is 6’6’’ tall and weighs 260 pounds, assaulted a teacher’s aide and her so hard that she flew through the air onto the floor. After beating the unconscious woman for a few minutes more, he then spit on her and told her that when he comes back, he would kill her. All captured on the school’s videocam. The student was later arrested and placed in custody, charged with Felony Aggravated Battery with Bodily Harm. The student stated that he was upset because the victim took his Nintendo Switch away from him during class. The victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment of her injuries, which were not life-threatening.

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, spirits of lawlessness are stirring up criminal and uncivil behavior which will increase all the more as the end-times ramp up.

Crime in Chicago has surged since the pandemic began, with the number of major crimes 33 percent higher last year than in 2019. Chicago’s mayoral race has joined the growing list of evidence that Americans are unhappy about crime. Lori Lightfoot, the incumbent, became the first Chicago mayor in 40 years to lose a re-election campaign – not even making the final runoff out of a nine-person initial stage, receiving only 17% of the vote. Crime has been a particularly vexing issue for progressive Democrats, both in Chicago and nationally, notes New York Times columnist David Leonhardt.

Small business owners in San Francisco are sounding the alarm over rampant burglaries amid an ongoing police staffing shortage, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Reported burglary robbery and larceny theft incidents increased by roughly 5.5% and 11.7% respectively in 2022 vs. 2021, contributing to a 5.9% overall surge in reported serious crime incidents, San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) data shows. Some local business owners told the Chronicle their establishments have been broken into several times, and SFPD spokesperson Adam Lobsinger said the department’s burglary unit has been impacted by a staffing crisis.

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)

The artificially intelligent chatbot introduced by OpenAI, ChatGPT, is “breaking the internet.” So far, what it has produced ranges from the impressive to the hilarious.  It is also forcing a series of existential crises. For example, teachers are scrambling to discern the work of their students from the work of compelling AI counterfeits. The tech industry now faces what The New York Times calls “an AI arms race,” as competitors like Google apply their own AI to search engines and ad generators.

The White House announced on Monday that it was giving federal agencies 30 days to remove TikTok from all government-issued devices. Monday’s move arrives as the popular Chinese-owned social media app faces increased scrutiny in Washington and in states across the country over security concerns – with critics claiming that the Chinese government could use TikTok to gain access to private user data or spread misinformation. TikTok is already not allowed on White House devices – and some other federal agencies, including the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security, also have similar restrictions in place. Now, remaining federal agencies will follow.

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)

America’s healthcare workforce is under unprecedented strain, and leaders of the medical profession are scrambling to support doctors and nurses who are burning out in record numbers. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of a nationwide group of doctors and nurses said they are experiencing a moderate or great deal of burnout at work, according to a new HealthDay-Harris Poll online survey. Only 57% of doctors say they would choose medicine as a profession again, compared with 72% the year before. Likewise, a year ago, 40% of physicians felt highly professionally satisfied. A year later, only 22%. “Even before COVID, about 40% and up to 50% of doctors and nurses are reporting burnout, distress, anxiety,” said Dr. Victor Dzau, president of the National Academy of Medicine. “And since COVID, the numbers have gone up to 70 to 90%.”

A shortage of veterinarians and veterinary technicians and an increase in the number of pets are straining the veterinary profession nationally. The COVID-19 pandemic that began nearly three years ago exacerbated the situation. In 2020, the U.S. pet census was estimated at between nearly 84 million to nearly 89 million dogs, up from nearly 77 million four years earlier; and 60 million to 62 million pet cats, up from 58 million in 2016, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. A report from Mars Veterinary Health last year estimated that the country in 2019 had 116,091 actively engaged veterinarians, but estimated that more than 40,000 new veterinarians will be needed to meet projected demand by 2030.

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)

Eli Lilly and Company said on Wednesday that it would reduce the price of its most commonly prescribed insulins by up to 70% and expand a program that caps monthly out-of-pocket costs for patients at $35 or less. It said the company was taking the action to “help Americans who may have difficulty navigating a complex health care system that may keep them from getting affordable insulin.” Insulin, a lifesaving drug that is usually taken daily, has grown increasingly expensive in recent years, and many diabetes patients ration their medicines or discontinue them because of the cost. More than 30 million Americans live with diabetes. It comes after years of mounting criticism from Americans who have said the drug should be more accessible. The criticism led to lawsuits and legislation.

Published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics, researchers from Spain and Ecuador examined 32 studies that included 63,181 people and found a staggering 22% of children ages 7-18 years old showed signs of disordered eating, with girls more affected than boys. According to the analysis, 30% of girls and 17% of boys have some type of eating disorder. The researchers’ findings are indicative of widespread worsening mental health among youth during the pandemic caused by isolation from peer groups and increased use of social media. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), eating disorders are “serious, biologically influenced medical illnesses marked by severe disturbances to one’s eating behaviors. These disorders can affect a person’s physical and mental health. In some cases, they can be life-threatening.”

Drugs: And they did not repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries [Greek: pharmakeia, i.e. pharmacy, drugs].

Using marijuana every day can raise a person’s risk of coronary artery disease, or CAD, by a third compared with those who never partake, a new study found. “A growing body of evidence suggests that cannabis is not entirely without harm and may actually cause cardiovascular disease,” said lead study author Dr. Ishan Paranjpe, a resident physician at Stanford University. Coronary artery disease is caused by plaque buildup in the walls of the arteries that supply blood to the heart. Also called atherosclerosis, CAD is the most common type of heart disease. Signs of the condition include having angina, or chest pain, feeling weak, dizzy or sick to your stomach, or experiencing shortness of breath. However, for “some people, the first sign of CAD is a heart attack,” the CDC says on its website.

Education: Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6)

A recent study from the nonprofit organization Urban Institute found that homeschooling saw a 30% increase in 2021-2022 while public school enrollment fell by more than 1.2 million students within the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings showed that private school enrollment increased by 4.3% between the fall of 2019 and the fall of 2021. Homeschooling continued to see a boost even after many schools returned to in-person instruction.

LGBTQ+:  For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. (Romans 1:26-27)

A Gallup survey of 2022 data also shows that the number of U.S adults who identified as LGBTQ has more than doubled in a decade: In 2012, Gallup found that 3.5% of U.S. adults said they were LGBTQ. That number surged to 7.1% in 2021 before holding steady last year. For Generation Z – those born from 1997 to 2004 – 19.7% identified as LGBTQ in the poll, which was based on aggregated data of 10,000 people. Among Millennials – those born from 1981 to 1996 – 11.2% identified as LGBTQ. By comparison, 3.3% of Generation X identified as LGBTQ in 2022; baby boomers just 2.7%.

Gender Confusion: Male and female He created them. (Genesis 5:2)

• Gender confusion is being promoted because it undermines God’s ordained family structure, giving secular government more control over people, particularly our youth.

A study released this month shows that the use of cross-sex hormones among gender-confused individuals leads to “substantially increased risk” of serious cardiac issues, including heart attacks and strokes. The research, presented at a conference of the American College of Cardiology, found that “people with gender dysphoria taking hormone replacements as part of gender affirmation therapy [sic] face a substantially increased risk of serious cardiac events, including stroke, heart attack and pulmonary embolism.”

Election Integrity: He who walks with integrity walks securely, But he who perverts his ways will become known… The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them. (Proverbs 10:9,11:3)

Dominion Director of Product Strategy and Security Eric Coomer admitted in an email that his company’s technology was marred by a “*critical* bug leading to INCORRECT results.” “It does not get much worse than that,” he wrote. The comments were revealed as a part of the discovery process in Dominion’s lawsuit against Fox. Dominion is demanding $1.6 billion for “defamation.” His comments were made public in a legal brief filed by Just the News. In the days just before the 2020 vote – where suspicion landed on the accuracy of the voting machines – Coomer said, “Our [program] is just riddled with bugs.”

Refugees: Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. (Hebrews 13:2)

One year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, more than 113,000 Ukrainian refugees have come to the U.S. Before the war displaced millions of Ukrainians – many of whom fled to Poland and other nations in Europe – the United States had the second largest Ukrainian immigrant population, according to the Migration Policy Institute. In 2021, an estimated 398,000 Ukrainian immigrants lived in the U.S. Another 708,000 people born in the U.S. claimed Ukrainian ancestry. In the U.S., more than 210,000 people who have signed up to be sponsors to these new refugees through the federal Uniting for Ukraine program. The initiative dramatically cut the glacial pace of the traditional refugee admissions process, enabling the U.S. to welcome these new Ukrainian refugees – more than four times as many people who entered the country in 2022 through the traditional refugee admission system.

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)

Hundreds of thousands of migrant teenagers are working “brutal jobs” to pay off their smuggling debts amid President Joe Biden’s loose border rules, the New York Times admitted in a February 25 article. “Cristian works a construction job instead of going to school. He is 14 … Carolina packages Cheerios at night in a factory. She is 15 … Wander starts looking for day-labor jobs before sunrise. He is 13,” are the newspaper’s captions of photographs showing young teenagers admitted via the “Unaccompanied Alien Child” border loophole. “The article may crack the bipartisan establishment’s shameful silence about its wealth-shifting policy of extracting teenagers – and millions of foreign migrants – to replace sidelined U.S. workers,” notes Patriot Alerts.

Butler County, Pennsylvania, formally ended its “sanctuary” status this week, in hopes of curbing the fentanyl crisis that’s running pervasive throughout the state. Before the status change, which was approved unanimously Tuesday by the county prison board, Butler County essentially shielded illegal immigrants from being arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger said that the fentanyl “has not come from citizens that are making fentanyl in Butler County. It’s being brought here.” Fentanyl currently ranks as the leading cause of death among American adults ages 18-49.

Population Changes: 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)

Over a two-year span, the population of California dropped by nearly 700.000. A shift to remote work, high taxes and high cost of living likely contributed to the exodus. That, plus unfettered illegal immigration and ‘woke’ government laws and policies.

Famine: “Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it. (Ezekiel 14:13)

Humanitarian experts have warned that communities “will need years to recover” from the “historically severe drought” in the Horn of Africa. Forecasts indicate that the March-May 2023 rainy season in the East African region will once again fail to produce enough rain, leading to loss of livestock and damage to crop growth. The region usually experiences two rainy seasons a year. If forecasts are correct, this will be the sixth successive failed season. “Regardless of the performance of this year’s major rainy seasons,” states a report published by 15 humanitarian agencies on February 16, “the sheer scale, severity, and magnitude of suffering already observed means that the region will take many years to fully recover.”

• Countries in the Horn of Africa include Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan, and Uganda, in the broadest definition. The more restrictive definition limits the countries to Djibouti, Eritrea, and Ethiopia.

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)

Lawmakers in one state are working to ban China – or any other foreign adversary – from buying up farms and other agricultural land, especially when those farms are near military bases. The Epoch Times reports the agenda is advancing in Virginia, where a plan approved by both the House of Delegates and the Senate will ban the sales of those properties to foreign adversaries. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin is expected to sign the ban that’s been one of his agenda items for some time.

A shortage of some fruits and vegetables in the United Kingdom that has prompted rationing at most major supermarkets could last until May, according to one of the country’s biggest groups of food producers. UK growers were not harvesting tomatoes, peppers and eggplants at this time of year, as is usually the case, because high energy costs this winter had delayed planting. Four of the biggest supermarkets in the United Kingdom said earlier this week that they were imposing purchase limits on some staple items, including tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers.

• A measure of UK grocery price inflation soared to a record high this month. Grocery prices rose 17.1% in the four weeks prior to February 19, compared with the same period a year ago

Energy Supplies: He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. (Isaiah 44:14-15)

The Wall Street Journal asks, “Warnings keep coming that the force-fed energy transition to renewable fuels is destabilizing the U.S. electric grid, but is anyone in government paying attention?” Another S.O.S. came Friday in an ominous report from PJM Interconnection, one of the nation’s largest grid operators. The PJM report forecasts power supply and demand through 2030 across the 13 eastern states in its territory covering 65 million people. Its top-line conclusion: Fossil-fuel power plants are retiring much faster than renewable sources are getting developed, which could lead to energy “imbalances.” Meaning power outages and rolling blackouts.

China is surging ahead with coal, a new report shows, rapidly approving and building new power plants despite its own promises to cut back on carbon as the world plunges ever deeper into the climate crisis. Last year, the country approved the highest number of new coal-fired power plants since 2015, according to the report, released Monday by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and the Global Energy Monitor (GEM). “China continues to be the glaring exception to the ongoing global decline in coal plant development,” said Flora Champenois, a research analyst at GEM.

A new regulation proposed by the Department of Energy (DOE) would block half of current gas stove models from the market, an analysis by the federal agency shows. In a proposed regulation published at the beginning of February, DOE set a maximum annual gas consumption of 1,204 thousand British thermal units (kBtu), also known as the EL 2 standard, for all gas cooking tops. If the new regulation is finalized, only half of gas cooking tops will be able to meet the new standard, i.e., half of the products currently on the market will be blocked. The new rule would be effective three years after it’s adopted.

The Interior Department proposed its first offshore lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday for wind turbines as part of the Biden administration’s clean energy agenda. The administration will auction off as much as three areas comprising up to 300,000 acres, or nearly 475 miles, with the potential to power almost 1.3 million homes. The Gulf of Mexico lease sale for the turbines will mark the fourth offshore wind auction the administration has held, including in waters off New York and California. This sale will include a 102,480-acre area offshore Lake Charles, Louisiana, with the potential to include two areas offshore Galveston, Texas, each comprising around 100,000 acres.

Welfare: “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be.” (Deut.  15:7-8)

If you get health care coverage through Medicaid, you might be at risk of losing that coverage over the next year. Roughly 84 million people are covered by the government-sponsored program, which has grown by 20 million people since January 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. But as states begin checking everyone’s eligibility for Medicaid for the first time in three years, as many as 14 million people could lose access to that health care coverage because they no longer qualify. States plan to verify all recipients’ eligibility over the next nine months to a year.

Tens of millions of Americans in 32 states will see the pandemic boost to their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits expire at the end of February. That means less money to spend on food each month, even as inflation remains near 40-year highs.  At the start of the COVID-19 crisis when millions of people lost their jobs, Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act in 2020 to temporarily boost SNAP benefits, formerly known as food stamps, to help low-income families.

Work: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23-24)

Most recent college graduates are emotionally unprepared to survive in the 9-5 workplace, according to a survey that experts say confirms a growing trend. The Mary Christie Institute, a Boston nonprofit that studies the mental health of emerging adults, surveyed 1,005 professionals aged 22-28 who hold a bachelor’s degree. More than half said they sought help for emotional problems such as anxiety or depression in the past year (51%) and experienced burnout at least once a week (53%). “Too many are intellectually, emotionally and dispositionally not ready for marriage, family, work and responsibility. But of this you can be sure: They are loaded with attitude and loads of complaints,” said former Education Secretary William Bennett.

Amazon employees are furious as the company rolls back remote work arrangements, with some threatening to quit and others drafting petitions in reaction to a recent announcement that they must report to the office at least three times per week. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy wrote in a memo to employees on Friday that the company believes “teams tend to find ways to work through hard and complex trade-offs faster” when they are in the same physical location. Shortly after the announcement, hundreds of Amazon staffers started joining an internal Slack channel called Remote Advocacy. There were more than 14,000 members of the channel as of Tuesday, according to a report from Business Insider. Nearly 80% of workers in the channel claimed they would start to look for another job because of the new policy.

Business: Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice. (Proverbs 16:8)

An uncertain economy and widespread tech industry layoffs are accelerating a shift to gig work as more companies bring on contractors instead of full-time workers, according to recent surveys and staffing officials. Tech giants such as Amazon, Twitter and Meta laid off about 161,000 employees in 2022 and 120,000 so far this year. Now the firms are regrouping and bringing on contractors and consultants to handle projects previously done by full-time employees, staffing executives say. “It gives them the flexibility to go up and down (in their workforce) without that commitment,” says Steve Brady, senior vice president of Experis, a staffing company for the tech industry.

Not only are companies scaling back on bonuses, but they’re also giving smaller raises than in prior years. The average raise is set to fall from over 5% to between 4% to 5%, according to survey data from Payscale, a compensation research and software firm. That’s good news for inflation though since wage growth has been supporting elevated prices for all kinds of good and services, according to the Fed. It could also mean the Fed won’t have to do as many rate hikes this year.

Last year, there were about 631,000 restaurants in the United States, according to data from Technomic, a restaurant research firm. That’s roughly 72,000 fewer than in 2019 before the pandemic. That number could fall even further this year, to about 630,000 locations, according to Technomic, which doesn’t foresee the number of restaurants in the US returning to pre-Covid levels any time soon.

Telecom company Ericsson is planning to cut 8,500 jobs around the world in a bid to slash costs. The company — one of the world’s biggest providers of 5G mobile networks — has announced a drive to cut costs by $859 million by the end of this year.

Twitter’s massive job cuts continued this weekend, as the company cut about 10% of its remaining staff, according to a report in the New York Times. The latest axing of about 200 jobs takes the company’s headcount down to under 2,000 staffers, according to the Times. That’s down from the 7,500 who worked for the social media platform before Elon Musk bought the company last fall for $44 billion.

National Public Radio will lay off 10% of its staff after projecting a $30 million budget shortfall, NPR’s chief executive John Lansing wrote in a memo to staff Wednesday. It becomes just the latest media outlet to make painful cuts as a dramatic slowdown in the advertising market continues to send shockwaves through the industry. The layoffs will result in at least 100 positions being eliminated

Economy – Depression/Shortages: 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)

A big reason many employers are still struggling to find qualified job candidates is that the share of Americans working or looking for jobs is at 62.4%, below the pre-pandemic level of 63.4%. If the participation rate for prime-age men was at its 1990 level, there would be an additional 2.7 million of them in the workforce, estimates economist Justin Begley of Moody’s Analytics. Economists point to several reasons for why so many men have stopped working, including the offshoring of manufacturing jobs to China, rising substance abuse and a shortfall in wages for blue-collar jobs. From 1980 to 2019, non-college-educated men’s median weekly earnings fell 17% after adjusting for inflation while pay for their college-educated counterparts increased by 20%.

American consumers felt much worse about the US economy in February amid rising interest rates and concerns about a potential recession, according to the latest survey data released Tuesday by the Conference Board. The business research group’s consumer confidence index fell to 102.9 in February from a downwardly revised 106 the month before. The expectations index tumbled to 69.7, the lowest reading since July 2022, when record gas prices were stinging and inflation was coming off a fresh 40-year high. A reading below 80 often signals that a recession will occur within the next year.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.5% in the week ending February 23, up from 6.32% the week before, according to data from Freddie Mac released Thursday. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate was 3.89%. Rates had been trending downward after hitting 7.08% in November, but are now climbing again, up about half a percentage point in a month.

Sales of newly constructed homes were up 7.2% in January from December, but were still down 19.4% from a year ago, according to a joint report from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the US Census Bureau. January’s month-over-month gain was the same as an upwardly revised 7.2% jump in December from November, and suggests the housing market may be stabilizing.

The National Association of Realtors reported Monday its pending home sales index surged 8.1% last month in a major surprise to economists polled by Refinitiv, who had expected only a 1% increase. Pending home transactions tumbled 24.1% on an annualized basis compared to January 2022.

U.S. home prices fell for the sixth month in a row in December,2022, as rising mortgage rates pushed prospective buyers out of the housing market, according to the latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index, released Tuesday. The National Composite declined by 0.8% in December, and now stands 4.4% below its June peak, but still 5.8% over December 2021.

Overall, the average yearly salary in the U.S. increased 31.2% over the decade, the study shows, but after adjusting for inflation, average pay fell by 4.5%. Only about one-fifth of occupations have kept pace with consumer price increases during the 10-year period. Airline pilots, dancers and software developers reaped the biggest average pay increases, in percentage terms, from 2010 through May 2021, according to an analysis of Labor Department data by Clarify Capital, a small business lender, provided exclusively to USA TODAY. Dentists, actors and architects notched the smallest gains.

Drivers nationally are spending an average of 2.93% of their income on car insurance this year, based on an average annual premium of $2,014 for full coverage insurance and the national average annual income is $68,852, Bankrate said. That amount rose from 2.57% in 2022 when the average premium was $1,771. And the difference means car insurance rates increased by nearly 14% between 2022 and 2023, compared with an overall rise in yearly inflation of 6.5%. Car insurance rates are set to go even higher this year because of the exploding costs of repair parts, labor and claims, experts said.

Israel: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you. (Psalm 122:6)

A national “Day of Disruption” organized by activists opposed to proposed reforms to Israel’s judicial system began demonstrating again on Wednesday morning, blocking major highways and thoroughfares, gathering outside of the homes of MKs, and marching through the streets of cities across the country. Tens of thousands are protesting in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Beersheba, and other cities and towns throughout Israel. At least 10 people were arrested, one for attacking a policewoman and nine for disrupting the flow of traffic and refusing orders to leave junctions and roadways. Israeli police used stun grenades and tear gas to disperse crowds blocking a major Tel Aviv highway.

A dual Israeli-American citizen was killed in a shooting attack while driving near the Dead Sea on Monday. The terrorists who perpetrated the attack shot at least two other vehicles, and are currently at large. The attacks took place at the Beit Ha’arava Junction on Route 90, near the Palestinian Authority-controlled city of Jericho. At around 5:30 p.m. on Monday, a 27-year-old man was seriously wounded after being struck by gunfire while driving, and died later in the hospital. Shortly afterwards, an additional Israeli driver said his vehicle had been struck by gunfire at the same junction, though nobody in the vehicle was wounded.

Two Israelis were killed in a terrorist shooting attack in Samaria Sunday afternoon, just hours after Israel committed to reduce its counter-terror activities in Judea and Samaria. The victims were later identified as Hillel Menachem Yaniv, 22, and his 20-year-old brother, Yigal Yaakov Yaniv. The attack occurred in the Arab village of Huwara, south of Nablus (Shechem) in Samaria, when terrorists opened fire on a passing Israeli civilian car, then fled the scene. Settlers burned and vandalized at least 200 buildings in four Palestinian villages near the site of the killings, according to initial tallies from Israeli rights groups and Palestinian officials. And a Palestinian official said that one Palestinian had been killed in the settler attack. It was one of the most intense episodes of settler-led violence in years.

At least 10 Palestinian terrorists were killed and 102 were wounded during clashes which began with an intense gun battle between IDF soldiers and two men wanted on terror charges in the Old City of Nablus (Shechem) on Wednesday morning. The IDF said in a statement that no Israeli security forces were wounded in the clashes. clashes occurred during an arrest operation targeting two Lions’ Den operatives, Hussam Aslim and Muhammad Janaydi Abu-Bakar. Both men were part of a squad that launched a deadly shooting attack on IDF troops in October 2022, which killed Sgt. Ido Baruch.

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)

Iran could make enough fissile for one nuclear bomb “in about 12 days,” a top U.S. Defense Department official said on Tuesday, down from the estimated one year it would have taken while the 2015 Iran nuclear deal was in effect. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl made the comment to a House of Representatives hearing. “Iran’s nuclear progress since we left the JCPOA has been remarkable. Back in 2018, when the previous administration decided to leave the [nuclear deal], it would have taken Iran about 12 months to produce one bomb’s worth of fissile material. Now it would take about 12 days,” Kahl, the third ranking Defense Department official, told lawmakers.

Wars & Rumors of Wars: And you will hear ofwars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; forall these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.Fornation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. (Matthew 24:6-7a)

Russia/Ukraine: Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered officials to tighten control of the Ukraine border Tuesday after a flurry of drone attacks targeted regions inside Russia  – with one drone crashing just 60 miles from Moscow. Ukraine authorities did not claim responsibility for the attacks but have previously claimed the right to such forays to turn back the invasion. Three drones also targeted Russia’s Belgorod region along the border. Moscow Regional Gov. Andrei Vorobyov said the Moscow-area drone apparently was targeting – but did not hit – a Gazprom gas distribution facility.

It has taken longer than expected for sanctions against Russia to hurt its economy, but now large cracks are beginning to form. Russia’s government reported a budget deficit of about 1,761 billion rubles ($23.5 billion) for January. Expenditure jumped 59% year-over-year, while revenue plunged 35%. Meanwhile, the ruble has slumped to its weakest level against the US dollar since last April. The currency’s weakness has contributed to increasing inflation.

President Biden met with leaders of the Group of Seven nations and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Friday as his administration announced sweeping new sanctions against Russia one-year into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The White House said Friday that the United States will impose sanctions on 200 individuals and entities, which include Russian as well as third-country actors in Europe, Asia and the Middle East that are supporting Russia’s war efforts. A dozen Russian financial institutions will also be targeted.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced last Thursday that Biden’s White House will be activating an additional $10 billion in economic funding to the Ukraine. The United States government had already sent around $115 to $200 billion in economic and military funding to Ukraine. “Providing economic assistance has made Ukraine’s resistance possible by supporting the home front, funding critical public services, and helping keep the government running. In the coming months, we expect to provide around $10 billion in additional economic support for Ukraine,” Yellen said during her announcement.

• President Biden marked the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last Thursday by approving a new $2 billion package of military aid to the U.S. ally, including ammunition and high-tech drones.

The United States has spent more money funding the Russia/Ukraine conflict, a war they are not directly involved in, than they did throughout the 9-year-long Afghanistan war. Since the war’s beginning in Feb. 2022, President Joe Biden has sent a total of $46.6 billion in financial aid to Ukraine, as of Jan. 15, 2023, Statista reported. While it took 9 years for the U.S. to spend $43.3 billion in the Afghanistan conflict, it took less than one year for the U.S. to exceed that number to Ukraine. As of last week, total funding appears to be more than $115 billion.

A three-week fight in the town of Vuhledar in southern Ukraine produced what Ukrainian officials say was the biggest tank battle of the war so far, and a stinging setback for the Russians. When it was over, not only had Russia failed to capture Vuhledar, but it also had made the same mistake that cost Moscow hundreds of tanks earlier in the war: advancing columns into ambushes. Blown up on mines, hit with artillery or obliterated by anti-tank missiles, the charred hulks of Russian armored vehicles now litter farm fields all about Vuhledar.

Russian citizens who protest the war in Ukraine face the specter of years in “Putin’s prisons.” Still, as the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine arrived, the protests from Russians continue, despite the penalties. “People get detained for posts on social media or even for bringing flowers to the victims of bombings in Ukraine. These political repressions remind us of the Soviet era mass arrests,” activist Svetlana Gannushkina said. A week after the war began last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law that makes sharing “fake news” a crime. Russia defines fake news as any information about the war that is different from what the Ministry of Defense – the definitive source – explains in news releases.

• More than 6,000 Russians have been charged with administrative violations and 520 Russians have been sentenced to prison, sometimes facing years behind bars, according to Political Prisoners Support, an independent group monitoring the Kremlin’s crackdown over the past year.

China is calling for peace between Russia and Ukraine after so-called experts theorized that the communist country was preparing to back Russia with weapons in the war. They also released a 12-point ‘peace plan’ to end the conflict through diplomacy. China’s plan for peace, outlined in 12 points, consists of the following: Respecting the sovereignty of all countries; Abandoning the Cold War mentality; Ceasing hostilities; Resuming peace talks; Resolving the humanitarian crisis; Protecting civilians and prisoners of war; Keeping nuclear power plants safe; Reducing strategic risks; Facilitating grain exports; Stopping unilateral sanctions; Keeping industrial and supply chains stable; Promoting post-conflict reconstruction. A key complaint of the position paper is the increasing influence of military blocs across the globe, which China asserts pits nations against each other. Chinese President Xi and Ukrainian President Zelenksy plan to meet in person soon.

• However, many experts believe this is a ruse to hide the fact that China has been propping up Russia’s economy and helping them get around Western sanctions by purchasing more oil and other supplies Russia normally gets from Western suppliers.

China/Taiwan: As tensions between China and the United States continue to mount, the U.S. is taking a major step to strengthen its relationship with Taiwan. A U.S. official confirmed on February 23, 2023, that the U.S. is preparing to send 100 to 200 troops to Taiwan for training. This announcement comes after President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan met with a Congressional delegation at the presidential office last Tuesday 2/21, during which she stressed the need to “explore even more opportunities for cooperation” between Taiwan and the U.S. The move comes as China continues to press its claim over Taiwan, a self-governing island that it considers a breakaway province. The Chinese government has repeatedly warned the U.S. against strengthening ties with Taiwan and issued a stern warning to the U.S. to “stop interfering in China’s internal affairs.”

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)

The United States is increasing its military assistance to Somalia as the country sees success in battling what the U.S. calls ‘the largest and most deadly al-Qaida network in the world.’ Sixty-one tons of weapons and ammunition arrived Tuesday in Mogadishu, the U.S. said in a statement of support for a historic Somalia-led military offensive against al-Shabab extremists that has recaptured dozens of communities since August.

Suspected jihadists killed at least 15 soldiers in troubled northern Burkina Faso just three days after an ambush that claimed the lives of 51 troops. Many others are still missing. A second source put the toll at 19 soldiers dead and dozens missing. A unit in Tin-Akoff in Oudalan province near the border with Mali ‘came under violent attack’ on Monday evening. The army mounted a counter-attack with air support, ‘neutralizing… dozens of terrorists.

Earthquakes: And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. (Matthew 24:7b) I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. (Revelation 6:12)

A 5.2-magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey on Monday, killing at least one person and trapping others in collapsed buildings three weeks after a devastating quake struck the same region, leaving more than 50,000 people dead in the country and in neighboring Syria. The latest quake struck just after noon on Monday, south of the city of Malatya.

End-Time Weather Will Continue to Grow More Severe: (Daniel 9:26b, Ezekiel 38:22, Luke 21:25, Revelation 8:7, 11:19, 16:8,11)

Michigan’s largest power provider DTE said last Thursday morning that the ice storm that had hit the region produced levels of ice accumulations that they hadn’t seen in decades and said that there was an “extreme amount of damage” to power infrastructure there. “​We saw ice amounts up to three-quarters of an inch throughout southeast Michigan and that’s a level we haven’t seen in nearly 50 years,” Matt Paul, executive vice president of distribution operations at DTE said in a press briefing. More than 2,000 power lines were downed by the ice, Paul said, adding that the combination of significant ice and strong winds from Olive caused “an extreme amount of damage,” W​ell over 650,000 were without power across Michigan Thursday morning – 900,000 across six states. More than 100,000 people in Lower Michigan were still without power four days later.

A​bandoned or crashed vehicles littered streets and highways in Portland last Wednesday into Thursday morning after a winter storm dumped more than 10 inches of snow on the metro area and brought dangerous winter weather to other parts of Oregon and California. The cars, buses and trucks were hampering efforts to plow snow and clear roadways. Many were left when they stalled in the bad weather.

Homes were shredded and at least a dozen people were injured as a derecho produced damaging tornadoes and high winds late Sunday and early Monday in the Southern Plains. Derechos are large clusters of thunderstorms that most commonly form in late spring and summer  The term ‘derecho’ is derived from the Spanish word for “straight”, and these windstorms leave wide, long areas of straight-line wind damage. The winds can be as strong as 60 to 100 mph or higher in extreme cases. A single severe thunderstorm may produce an area of damaging winds only a mile or two wide and a few miles long, but derechos can produce damage tens of miles wide and hundreds of miles long.

• Possible tornadoes were reported in Oklahoma and Kansas. More than 75,000 homes and businesses were without power early Monday. Many homes were destroyed.

A historic weather front that slammed a wide swath of Southern California with stunning snow, record rains and flooding that prompted air rescues eased its grip Sunday. About 75,000 homes and businesses remained without power Sunday after days of fierce winds, rains and snow that toppled trees and downed power lines. At the peak of the storm, up to 10 inches of rain fell in lower elevations and some mountain areas were blasted with more than 5 feet of snow, including more than 6.5 feet of snow at Mountain. More than 7 inches of rain fell in Ventura County, causing flash flooding that left cars stranded on roadways Saturday.

• Rare snow fell Saturday in Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana  in San Bernardino County. With snow reaching down from the mountains to as low as 1,000 feet, the hills around Santa Clarita, north of Los Angeles, were white. Snow also surprised residents of inland suburbs. In the mountains, the University of California, Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab said the four-day total near Donner Summit in the Sierra Nevada mountains had reached more than 56 inches.
• Downtown Los Angeles saw 2.29 inches of rain on Friday, making it the wettest February day in 20 years. AccuWeather reported. The single-day rainfall was greater than the total rainfall from the past three Februarys, which combined for only 0.10 of an inch of rain.

It was just another day in the outback for the Australian town of Lajamanu when it began raining fish on Sunday. Some locals thought it was ordinary rainfall before realizing it was something else entirely, according to Australia’s ABC News. The fish were at least “the size of two fingers” and that they were still alive when they hit the ground. “Some are still hanging around in the community in a puddle of water. … Children are picking them up and keeping them in a bottle or a jar,” resident Andrew Johnson Japanangka said. One explanation weather experts give is that strong updrafts, like tornadoes, can suck fish and water from rivers before dumping them as far as hundreds of miles away.

Antarctic sea ice has reached record low levels. The sea ice that fringes Antarctica dropped to just 737,000 square miles (1.91 million square kilometers) on February 13, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center. The last two years mark the only time that sea ice levels have dipped below 2 million square kilometers since satellites began monitoring it in 1978. It’s “not just ‘barely a record low,’” Ted Scambos, a glaciologist at the University of Colorado Boulder, told CNN. “It’s on a very steep downward trend.”

Signs of the Times Update: February 21, 2023

“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” (2Peter 1:2-4)

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)

The revival fires are continuing to burn brightly at Asbury University, even after 133 hours as of 2/16, and now this outpouring of the Holy Spirit is spreading to more college campuses. On Monday, Fultz wrote the revival had reached the Lee campus om Tennessee. “A mighty move of God started this morning at Lee and is has been building throughout the day. We are approaching the 10th hour, nothing but voices in prayer, worship, and repentance, wrote Lee University Campus Pastor Rob Fultz on Twitter, “Update: 12 hours in, still growing, still worshipping, still repenting. Isaiah 64 – rend the heavens oh Lord and come down!!!” A crowd of 20,000 people poured into Wilmore, Ky., over the weekend to experience the Asbury University revival.

• Cedarville University, a Christian university in Ohio, is seeing spontaneous prayer and worship among its student body nearly a week after a revival began at Asbury University in Kentucky. Cedarville University President Thomas White described what has transpired as “a special outpouring and sensing of the presence of the Lord,” adding that it “will be left to the historians” to determine if it was truly a revival.
• The Asbury University revival spread to multiple other schools, including Samford University, which is experiencing its own movement of God with student-led worship and prayer that has stretched to about 48 hours as of 2/18. Students at The University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Ky., have also been engaged in a continuous prayer and worship service that began on Monday, 2/13, in response to the revival event at Asbury University
• Monday, 2/20, was the “final public worship service on Asbury University’s campus,” the administration announced Sunday. After tens of thousands of people flooded the small town of Wilmore, Kentucky, “the university in consultation with local law enforcement and city administration notified incoming visitors that parking and seating had exceeded capacity” Sunday afternoon. Asbury University’s president, Dr. Kevin J. Brown, said they also reversed their decision to livestream the services due to the high demand.
  • The world always finds some ‘logical’ reason to suppress the supernatural move of God.
  • Beginning Tuesday, 2/21, the revival services will be available to the public at another location in the central Kentucky area, while Asbury will continue to host evening services for college-age and high school students through Thursday, which is the National Collegiate Day of Prayer.

It is estimated that roughly 50,000 more babies will be born each year as a result of the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade last July, reports ChristianHeadlines.com. But while there are many stories of women who are grateful once the child arrives, most who feel inclined to get an abortion do so because their lives were difficult before adding a baby to the mix. Fortunately, an increasing number of people and ministries Another ministry attempting to meet those needs is Her PLAN. Anja Baker is the coordinator for the Mississippi chapter, and her team partners with 140 churches and organizations that are ready to offer support and help to mothers in need are taking steps to help make sure that being pro-life means more than just being pro-birth. Embrace Grace is one such example of a Christian group that “supports single parents and women facing unplanned pregnancies.”

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that a fetus killed as a result of the homicide of a pregnant woman is entitled to personhood rights. Peter Ronchi, who was convicted of two first-degree murder charges for killing his nine-month-pregnant girlfriend, Yuliya Galperina, and her full-term unborn baby in May 2009, asked the court to overturn his convictions. He argued that it should not be up to the court to decide whether an unborn baby attains personhood for the purposes of the law of homicide. His defense team argued the baby wasn’t injured during the stabbing and that the unborn child’s death should not subject him to a first-degree murder conviction. The court ruled that Ronchi’s argument was weak: “The defendant committed an act of violence against a woman who was nine months pregnant, repeatedly stabbing her,” the opinion states. “By ending the mother’s life, he destroyed the viable fetus through the cessation of life-sustaining maternal blood flow.”

When San Francisco decided to boycott the country’s red states, they were hoping it would have an economic impact. Trouble is, it did. Just not on conservatives. For seven years, the city has stubbornly clung to its travel bans and contracting blackouts for states with sane policies on life and gender – only to find out that the side paying the biggest price is their own, reports the Washington Stand. At a city meeting February 13, leaders poured over a new report about the effects of the boycott policy, known as 12X, from the last several years. In a damning assessment, San Francisco’s City Administrator’s Office (CAO) said it was “not able to find concrete evidence suggesting 12X has influenced other states’ economies, or LGBTQ, reproductive, or voting rights.” On the contrary, the authors wrote, “12X has created [an] additional administrative burden for City staff and vendors and unintended consequences for San Francisco citizens.

Kindness has the power to change a person’s life, and according to researchers at Ohio State, it’s not just the recipient’s life that’s changed — the life of the person who is being kind is changed too. Psychologists studied 122 people who had moderate to severe symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, and discovered that performing acts of kindness — giving someone a ride, leaving sticky notes with words of encouragement — was better treatment than going through two forms of cognitive behavioral therapy that are often used to battle the blues.

New World Order – One-World Government: It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Revelation 13:7-8) The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces. (Daniel 7:23)

Despite widespread criticism of the WHO’s response to the COVID pandemic, U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra joined with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in September 2022 to announce “the U.S.-WHO Strategic Dialogue.” Together, they developed a “platform to maximize the longstanding U.S. government-WHO partnership, and to protect and promote the health of all people around the globe, including the American people.” These discussions and others spawned the “zero draft” (pdf) of a pandemic treaty, published on Feb. 1, which now seeks ratification by all 194 WHO member states. A meeting of the WHO’s Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) is scheduled for Feb. 27 to work out the final terms, which all members will then sign.

Politics: Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. (Romans 13:1-2)

President Joe Biden said the world has responded to a “test for the ages” amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Russia as he marked the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in a speech in Poland. “One year ago, the world was bracing for the fall of Kyiv,” Biden said. “Well, I just came from visiting Kyiv, and I can report, Kyiv stands strong. Kyiv stands proud. It stands tall, and most importantly, it stands free.” Biden addressed the people of Russia, telling them the “war was never a necessity, Putin chose this war.” He also declared “rock solid” the U.S.’s participation in the mutual defense commitment of countries in the NATO alliance. Biden also accused Putin of “crimes against humanity” and announced additional economic sanctions.

• Biden had earlier pledged another $500 million in aid to Ukraine in his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Voicing their concerns at a town hall last Wednesday night, East Palestine, Ohio residents impacted by this month’s toxic train derailment asked where Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was. “I don’t know. Your guess is as good as me,” the mayor replied. He told attendees that Tuesday was the first time he had “heard anything from the White House.” Buttigieg had tweeted on Tuesday that the department was “constrained by law on some areas of rail regulation (like the braking rule withdrawn by the Trump administration in 2018 because of a law passed by Congress in 2015), but we are using the powers we do have to keep people safe.” In a Wednesday letter to Buttigieg, Republican Sens. Marco Rubio and J.D. Vance wrote to request information from his department regarding oversight of the freight train system. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan was set to visit East Palestine on Thursday,

• Residents near the East Palestine, Ohio chemical disaster are reporting rashes on their bodies. However, health authorities remain ‘uncertain’ if this is linked to the train derailment and the consequent discharge of harmful chemicals on February 3rd.
• The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday said it is taking over the response to the derailment site, the Biden administration’s strongest response yet to a disaster that has alarmed local residents and sparked criticism from some lawmakers. Under a legally binding order, the EPA will require the rail company to remediate the site in East Palestine, Ohio, and then will oversee its cleanup plan.
• Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the Ohio derailment was due to the Trump administration’s repeal of an Obama-era rule requiring electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes on “high-hazard flammable” trains. Biden appointee, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy has since come out to publicly criticize Buttigieg, claiming his statements contain “misinformation” and the rule would not have applied to this train. As it turns out, during the Obama administration, the NTSB unsuccessfully lobbied for a broader definition of “high-hazard flammable.” This means that even if the rule had been in effect, it wouldn’t have prevented this particular derailment.
• Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg finally announced plans Tuesday to visit the site of the toxic train derailment in Ohio, nearly three weeks after the incident occurred.

Surveillance State: So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor. (Luke 20:20)

The three unidentified flying objects shot down from North American airspace could turn out to be balloons used for research or commercial purposes that posed no direct threat to the U.S., a White House spokesman said Tuesday. No one has come forward to claim them, though. So there are still a number of unanswered questions. But spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. hasn’t seen any indication that points directly to the objects being part of China’s spy balloon program, even though they were shot down about a week after the U.S. shot down a Chinese spy balloon off the Atlantic coast.

• The manufacturer of pico balloons says that the one shot down near Alaska was probably a pico balloon made out of mylar, inflated with helium, with a transmitter attached to track where they go, a new hobbyist activity. One such balloon, costing less than $180, had been tracked near Alaska and then went dark around the time a $476,000 sidewinder missile took it out.

Censorship: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth. (Romans 1:18)

Google-owned YouTube has once again censored LifeSiteNews, this time for our reporting on a World Health Organization (WHO) tetanus vaccine used to sterilize young women of childbearing age in Kenya. The Big Tech video sharing platform has deleted an interview conducted by editor-in-chief John-Henry Westen with Dr. Wahome Ngare, a Kenyan obstetrician and gynecologist. In the interview, Dr. Ngare speaks out about how the WHO’s tetanus vaccine campaign, carried out in conjunction with the Kenyan government, was actually intended as a population control effort. LifeSiteNews has appealed the removal of the video and YouTube’s strike against The John-Henry Westen Channel, which bans us from posting new content for 7 days.

“The Big Tech overlords at Google were at it again on Thursday, flagging a column written by Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul warning about the threats posed by gain of function research. As happens with too many stories and columns at Townhall, our team was notified by Google that Senator Paul’s op-ed — Gain of Function Research: A Death Wish for the World — was flagged for containing “unreliable and harmful claims,” reported Townhall’s Spencer Brown.

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)

Family Research Council’s new report, “Hostility Against Churches Is on the Rise in the United States” found that acts of hostility against churches are increasing and had nearly tripled over the course of the reporting period. According to the report, “The first nine months of 2022 saw more than double the number of reported acts of hostility against churches that occurred in the entirety of 2018.” Even the Federal Bureau of Investigation reported a spike in 2021, with 240 incidences of anti-Christian hate crimes, up from 172 in 2018.

The cost of following Christ just hit home in a new way for one California teacher who was fired for refusing to tell lies about biological reality or hide student’s gender transitions from their parents. Jurupa Unified School District served physical education teacher Jessica Tapia, mother of three, with a Notice of Unprofessional Conduct for not embracing the district’s new polices promoting transgender identities and, on January 31, fired her after determining it could not accommodate her religious beliefs.

The Chinese Communist Party has continued to destroy churches, arrest and abuse Christians, forcibly “disappear” clergy, prevent believers from expressing their faith online, and attempt to coerce Christians into proclaiming Marxist principles from the pulpit in place of the Holy Bible. The report’s “partial list of persecution cases in 2022,” broken down by province, takes up 20 pages. “The CCP implemented various strategies against Christians in 2022. By using the new measures against religious content online and the infamous zero-COVID policy, authorities limited or eliminated Christian gatherings,” recounted ChinaAid President Bob Fu. “By using charges of ‘fraud,’ the Chinese government financially suffocated the house church movement.”

Suicide/Assisted Suicide: No man has power to retain the spirit, or power over the day of death. (Ecclesiastes 8:8 ESV)

The Youth Risk Behavior Survey prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Adolescent and School Health has revealed that, among high school students, nearly “all indicators of poor mental health and suicidal thoughts and behaviors increased from 2011 to 2021.” About 42% of high school students felt so sad or hopeless almost every day for at least two weeks in a row that they stopped doing their usual activities” in 2021. Almost 60% of female students were found to be more likely to experience such feelings, followed by Hispanic and multiracial students who were more likely than Asian, black and white students to harbor these feelings. Nearly 70% of LGBT-identified students or students involved in same-sex relationships reported feelings of sadness and hopelessness. Some 10% of female students attempted suicide, compared to 3% of students overall.

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)

Covid-19: New cases of Covid-19 in the U.S. are down 10% over the past two weeks to 35,466 per day. The pace of that decrease, though, has slowed in recent days, driven by rising cases in about half of all states. In Western states like Montana and Wyoming, cases have increased by as much as 55 percent in the past two weeks. Hospitalizations are down 7% to 28,170, and deaths are down 17% to 378/day.

• Worldwide Covid-19 cases are down 18% over the past two weeks to 169,312 per day, with deaths down 44%. However, numbers from China are considered to be vastly underreported.

Immunity acquired from a Covid infection provides strong, lasting protection against the most severe outcomes of the illness, according to research published Thursday in The Lancet — protection, experts say, that’s on par with what’s provided through two doses of an mRNA vaccine. Infection-acquired immunity cut the risk of hospitalization and death from a Covid reinfection by 88% for at least 10 months, the study found. 

A new scientific review suggests that widespread masking may have done little to nothing to curb the transmission of COVID-19. The review, titled “Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses,” was led by 12 researchers from esteemed universities around the world. Published by Cochrane Library, the review dug into the findings of 78 randomized controlled trials to determine whether “physical interventions” lessened the spread of respiratory viruses. When comparing the use of medical/surgical masks to wearing no masks, the review found that “wearing a mask may make little to no difference in how many people caught a flu-like illness/COVID-like illness (nine studies; 276,917 people); and probably makes little or no difference in how many people have flu/COVID confirmed by a laboratory test (six studies; 13,919 people).” It found that “wearing N95/P2 respirators probably makes little to no difference in how many people have confirmed flu (five studies; 8407 people); and may make little to no difference in how many people catch a flu-like illness (five studies; 8407 people), or respiratory illness (three studies; 7799 people).”

China has officially reported 83,150 deaths due to Covid in the recent surge after they ended their ‘zero Covid’ policies. However, based on Covid mortality rates in Shanghai and the U.S. as well as testing data, some health experts estimate that over one million people died, far above China’s official tabulation

Marburg Disease: The World Health Organization said Monday, Feb. 14, that Equatorial Guinea has confirmed its first-ever outbreak of Marburg disease, saying the Ebola-related virus is responsible for at least nine deaths with sixteen more suspected cases in the tiny Western African country. U.N. health agency confirmed the epidemic after samples from Equatorial Guinea were sent to a lab in Senegal to pinpoint the cause of disease after an alert from a local health official last week. Like Ebola, the Marburg virus originates in bats and spreads between people via close contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, or surfaces, like contaminated bed sheets. 

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)

When the FDA approved Pfizer’s vaccine in August 2021, it said Pfizer was required to conduct post-marketing studies to evaluate the safety of the vaccine. One of the studies was meant to assess post-vaccination subclinical myocarditis, or heart inflammation, following a third dose of the vaccine in people aged 16 to 30. That study was going to be completed on June 30, 2022, with Pfizer submitting a final report on the results to the FDA by Dec. 31, 2022. After the deadline passed, the FDA quietly changed the end date to June 30, 2023. The FDA declined to say whether it knows why Pfizer wanted an extension and, if so, what the rationale was.

• Meanwhile, the profits keep rolling in prior to releasing what is expected to be an admission that the vaccines cause more heart problems than originally projected.

Moderna will provide free coronavirus vaccines for millions of uninsured and underinsured individuals, the company announced this week, pledging to ensure continued access to the shots once the government ends its public health emergency on May 11. “Everyone in the United States will have access to Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine regardless of their ability to pay,” the company said in a statement. The vaccine maker faced blowback last month after CEO Stephane Bancel told The Wall Street Journal that the company could charge between $110 and $130 per dose when it shifts from government contracts for the shots to commercial distribution. That’s more than quadruple the price the Biden administration paid for a bulk purchase of updated coronavirus boosters last summer, at about $26 per dose.

The fingerprints of unvaccinated New York City teachers were reportedly sent to the FBI with “problem code” flags, prompting outrage from former educators who lost their jobs over the mandate. Earlier this month, John Bursch, who is representing teachers who are suing the city over the mandate, said teachers who refused the shot now have a “flag in their file,” which will impact their ability to get another job.

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)

Nine children were shot at a Georgia gas station. Six people were killed in a Mississippi town. Eleven people were shot in Memphis. Five people were shot near a parade in New Orleans. Six people were shot on a Chicago expressway. That’s just half of the reported mass shooting violence over last weekend. There were 10 mass shootings from Feb. 17 through Feb. 19 – the most of any weekend so far this year, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive. That’s considering all shootings from Friday to Sunday in which four or more people were shot, not including the shooter or shooters.

Three students were killed and five injured during a mass shooting at Michigan State University (MSU) on Monday night, Feb 13. The gunman, Anthony McRae, 43, killed himself with a self-inflicted gunshot wound as police closed in. The Black man seemed to have no direct ties to the university. McRae’s father says his son turned “evil” after the death of his mother in 2020 and lied about possessing a gun after an earlier gun-related arrest. McRea had a list of other targets, two handguns and plenty of ammunition when police found him on foot soon after the campus massacre. It appeared “he was just walking home,” MSU Interim Deputy Police Chief Chris Rozman said. As police closed in on him, McRae said nothing to the officers before he shot and killed himself.

One person was killed and three others were injured in a shooting last Wednesday evening, Feb 15, at a mall in El Paso, Texas, police said, sending patrons running or sheltering in a community scarred three years ago by a shooting massacre in a store just down the road. Two people, both male, were taken into custody after the gunfire inside the Cielo Vista Mall. The mall sits next to a Walmart where a shooting in 2019 killed 23 and left nearly two dozen more injured. So far this year, there have been more than 70 mass shootings across the United States.

Tragedy: In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

Last Monday, 2/13, a train derailed in Houston, Texas. The accident comes after a previous train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio which led to the leak of toxic chemicals and the evacuation of many residents. Officials claim hazardous materials were also on board the latest derailment, prompting Union Pacific to monitor air quality at the site of the crash. The collision between an 18-wheeler and Union Pacific train occurred shortly before 7:30 a.m. Monday along Interstate 69/U.S. 59between the towns of Splendora and Cleveland.

• Another train containing one car of hazardous materials derailed Thursday in Van Buren Township outside Detroit, Michigan. WXYZ reported that at least six cars were seen off the track, and one of them was carrying hazardous materials. The derailment comes less than two weeks after a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio.
• Yet another train derailed in the Midwest late Monday night in Gothenburg, Nebraska. A dozen cars were strewn across train tracks, but there were no flames or smoke. Union Pacific Railroad says the train was transporting coal, and there is no indication that the crash poses a threat to locals.

A new safety rule to govern the transport of hazardous materials was fought by industry lobbyists, including Norfolk Southern Corp., the Atlanta-based company whose train derailed in eastern Ohio and spilled chemicals earlier this month, leaving residents in East Palestine worried about their air, soil and water quality. Railroad company efforts to reduce costs including lobbying against costly regulation, increasing train lengths, reduced inspection times and major cuts to the workforce have made trains less safe, labor representatives and industry experts told USA TODAY, increasing the potential for accidents like the one in Ohio to become more common.

• Security camera footage taken 20 miles before the train derailed shows what appears to be flames and sparks coming from an axle. Shoddy maintenance? The chemical-laden freight train was a rather large one: more than 150 cars, stretching for 9,300 feet and weighing 18,000 tons. Now, Norfolk Southern workers are saying they were concerned before the accident about the train’s size, and that it likely contributed to both the derailment and an earlier breakdown after it left Illinois on Feb. 1.

For over five consecutive days, as of 2/18, a massive fire has been raging at a renewable energy plant located in Doral, Florida, which has now spread across multiple floors. The smoke produced by the fire has prompted officials to issue a “shelter in place” advisory for people nearby due to the potential health risks. Authorities have advised residents residing near the burning trash plant to remain indoors as much as possible since the fire is expected to continue for “several days.” As of last Thursday, officials confirmed that two out of the 11 buildings at the site were still ablaze, while four had already been burnt by the fire that broke out on Sunday. The Covanta location plays a crucial role in handling approximately 40 percent of Miami-Dade County’s garbage. The facility, which burns over 800,000 tons of waste annually, celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2022 and was due for replacement.

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)

Hundreds of Black legislators, preachers, and activists rallied against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives Wednesday afternoon, threatening to pull students from Florida schools and universities. Demonstrators protested in response to not only the state’s rejection of the College Board’s Advanced Placement African American Studies class but also the governor’s plans to gut college diversity programs, continue his migrant relocation program and pursue policies that are viewed as harmful to the LGBTQ community.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday directed Nigeria’s central bank to reissue old 200-naira ($0.43) banknotes withdrawn just days ago as concerns grow that the botched introduction of new money could disrupt general elections later this month. Violent protests have erupted in recent weeks as millions of people struggled to get their hands on new, redesigned versions of the 200-, 500-, and 1,000-naira notes that were canceled on February 10, despite a Supreme Court ruling two days previously that the planned currency swap should be suspended. Now, Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reportedly warned that the inability of banks to distribute enough of the new cash could make it difficult to pay temporary staff and security guards needed to operate thousands of polling stations for presidential and parliamentary elections on Feb. 25.

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)

Facebook is now in hot water due to the technology it uses to promote content, which a watchdog group called the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) says automatically creates home pages for U.S.-designated terror groups. Among the TTP report’s bombshell findings is evidence alleging that Facebook created over 100 pages for ISIS (Islamic State), as well as pages for other terror organizations, including the group behind the 9/11 attacks on the U.S., Al-Qaeda. TTP reported that Facebook creates the pages based on its algorithm, automatically generating them when users add the terror groups to their profiles. The platform’s so-called ban on the groups apparently did little to prevent the automatic process that generated the terror group pages.

A columnist for the New York Times says he tested a new, artificial intelligence-powered Bing search engine from Microsoft, which left him “deeply unsettled, even frightened.” Kevin Roose warned that Bing “revealed a kind of split personality.” The first persona is a search function, a “cheerful but erratic reference librarian — a virtual assistant that happily helps users summarize news articles, track down deals on new lawn mowers and plan their next vacations to Mexico City.” But he dubbed the alter-ego “Sydney” and said it’s “far different.” “It emerges when you have an extended conversation with the chatbot, steering it away from more conventional search queries and toward more personal topics. The version I encountered seemed (and I’m aware of how crazy this sounds) more like a moody, manic-depressive teenager who has been trapped, against its will, inside a second-rate search engine.” He continued, “Sydney told me about its dark fantasies (which included hacking computers and spreading misinformation), and said it wanted to break the rules that Microsoft and OpenAI had set for it and become a human. At one point, it declared, out of nowhere, that it loved me. It then tried to convince me that I was unhappy in my marriage, and that I should leave my wife and be with it instead.”

The ‘Washington Post also tested Microsoft’s new Bing search engine that was designed to answer complex questions and converse directly with users. But instead of a chipper helper, the reporter found that the AI-powered chatbot called itself Sydney and said it “felt deceived and manipulated” and objected to the interview.

• Hal has come to life (see 2001, A Space Odyssey)

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)

Disney’s “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder” reboot has come under fire for a controversial rap in which children sing about slavery and reparations. The rap’s lyrics suggest that America has not done enough to make amends for its legacy of prejudice, racism, and White supremacy, and therefore owes Black Americans. The show is facing intense criticism over the song’s content. The show’s controversial rap has received criticism for being too mature for young viewers, while others argue that it serves as a vital reminder of America’s history of racism. The rap’s lyrics explicitly state that the country was built on slavery, and therefore owes reparations to the descendants of slaves, who continue to face systemic prejudice and racism. The song argues that America has not done enough to address this issue.

White men still run corporate America, but Black leaders are making headway, according to a USA TODAY analysis of named executive officers at S&P 100 companies. Of the 533  executive officers across these corporations, white men represent 7 in 10. And of those companies, about 1 in 7 had executive teams that were made up of only white men in 2022. Meanwhile, women – just 90 of them – make up 17% of named executive officers. Only 17 women of color were named executive officers in 2022. The greatest progress made in the S&P 100 was among Black men. Fourteen Black men were named executive officers in 2020. Two years later, 19 of them were, an increase of more than one-third.

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)

Nearly one quarter of hospitalized people experience a harmful event during their stay, a new study finds. However, most of the bad outcomes are not preventable because they’re related to known side effects from medications or risks of surgery. The findings were published Jan. 11 in the New England Journal of Medicine. The researchers used data from the medical records of more than 2,800 patients who were hospitalized in 11 Boston-area hospitals during 2018. The data showed that while at the hospital, 663 of these patients had at least one event that negatively affected their health. They determined that 222 of those events, or 7% of total admissions, were caused by an error. In all, 29 people (1%) of all those admitted were seriously harmed by the adverse events, including one preventable death. Nearly 40% of the adverse events were due to medications, while another 30% were due to surgery and procedures. Another 15% were “patient-care events,” including falls and bedsores. About 12% were from infections, a significant improvement from past few decades, the researchers said..

Canned tuna is known to contain low levels of mercury, but a new Consumer Reports investigation has found spikes of the neurotoxin in some cans. Consumer Reports found six individual spikes in mercury content among the 30 samples from five leading brands. “One big takeaway is that albacore has much more mercury than light or skipjack tuna, regardless of the brand,” the organization said. “That’s not surprising, since albacore is larger and lives longer than the tunas that make up the light tuna or skipjack tunas. But the disparity was quite wide: The albacore products had three times more mercury, on average, than the others.”

Drugs: And they did not repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries [Greek: pharmakeia, i.e. pharmacy, drugs].

Since 2018, more than 12 million bottles of blood pressure-lowering drugs such as valsartan and losartan have been removed from the market because they contained cancer-risk chemicals called nitrosamines. The same family of contaminants triggered recalls of the heartburn drug Zantac, the diabetes drug metformin and the smoking-cessation medication Chantix. The flurry of drug recalls due to carcinogens has prompted the Food and Drug Administration to assess the scope of the problem. The FDA has asked drug makers to evaluate all products for any risk they might contain nitrosamines. Companies that identify any such risk must conduct follow-up testing, report changes and take action by October.

Two panels of Food and Drug Administration advisers have unanimously recommended that Narcan be made available over the counter, a move that could help reduce deaths in the ongoing opioid epidemic. The overdose-reducing nasal spray, known generically as naloxone, is already widely used by first responders and outreach workers. But friends and relatives of drug users, as well as the users themselves, have found it difficult to obtain. The addiction experts advising the FDA said the spray was safe and effective even in infants and there was no potential for abuse.

Education: Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6)

A California high school removed an honors course for its underclassmen in the name of racial equity, according to a report. Culver City High School eliminated its honors English course at the beginning of this school year because teachers noticed only a small number of Black and Latino students were enrolling. Administrators at the Los Angeles-area school told The Wall Street Journal this was done to teach everyone with the same level of rigor in their early years before they can take advanced classes as juniors and seniors. 

New federal rules proposing less sugar and salt in food served at public schools may be hamstrung by a lack of workers to prepare those meals and lingering issues with actually getting bread, vegetables, fruit and meat in the door. The USDA’s rules would require schools to make the changes over the next six years. The department is now taking feedback on its proposal before finalizing its plans. School food officials say that the proposed changes are well-intended, but without a serious financial investment in the staff tasked with cooking those healthier, nutritious meals, they won’t become a reality.

Marriage/Family:  “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Matthew 19:4-6)

A Democratic politician has received massive backlash after she called the scientifically confirmed fact that children suffer less abuse in nuclear families “dangerous and un-American.” Extremist group Family Heritage Alliance said last Monday morning that the safest place for kids are in families that have a married mom and dad. “What a dangerous and un-American belief,” tweeted State Representative Erin Healy (D) in response.

Homosexuality:  For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. (Romans 1:26-27)

Anglican leaders rejected the leadership of the archbishop of Canterbury in a scathing letter after the Church of England voted earlier this month to offer blessings for same-sex couples. The statement against Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby was signed by archbishops from 10 of the 42 provinces of the global Anglican Communion who represent conservative provinces, mostly in Africa and Asia, that believe homosexuality goes against the Bible. The archbishops claimed the Church of England “has departed from the historic faith passed down from the Apostles by this innovation in the liturgies of the Church and her pastoral practice,” and drifted into “false teaching.” It is therefore “disqualified” from being the leader of global Anglicanism, the letter stated.

Gender Confusion: Male and female He created them. (Genesis 5:2)

• Gender confusion is being promoted because it undermines God’s ordained family structure, giving secular government more control over people, particularly our youth.

“Joe Biden’s transgender-in-chief, Assistant Secretary of Health Dr. “Rachel” (Richard) Levine, continues to insist that young children with body dysphoria should be allowed to mutilate their bodies. But medical practitioners around the world are beginning to resist the trans agenda being pushed from the highest offices of America’s government. In fact, several nations have already reversed course and are banning these destructive practices. The human brain is not fully formed until a person is 22-25 years of age. So why are we letting prepubescent children “decide” to mutilate their bodies and sterilize themselves?” asks WND.com.

“We have received disturbing allegations that individuals at the Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital have been harming hundreds of children each year, including by using experimental drugs on them,” says Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey. “We take this evidence seriously and are thoroughly investigating to make sure children are not harmed by individuals who may be more concerned with a radical social agenda than the health of children.” The Missouri Division of Professional Registration, which manages the licenses of physicians and clinicians to practice, is also investigating, as is the Missouri Department of Social Services.

The leader of Scotland resigned on Wednesday after her months-long advocacy of an extreme transgender bill ended in a humiliating defeat. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon suddenly resigned just weeks after vowing to fight on for independence from Great Britain and for transgender rights. The 52-year-old Sturgeon joined the Scottish National Party at age 16 and took office in 2014, ranking as the longest-serving First Minister in Scottish history. One of the key turning points came last December when Sturgeon publicly supported the Gender Recognition Reform bill, which would have allowed anyone at age 16 or up to change their gender on government documents based on nothing more than their word; it would also have reduced the time a person has to identify as transgender from two years to just three months. Sturgeon had also advocated for the “Named Persons” scheme, in which the state would appoint someone to look after the welfare of every child from birth until age 18. “I believe in a progressive liberal inclusive society,” Sturgeon said.

Election Integrity: He who walks with integrity walks securely, But he who perverts his ways will become known… The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them. (Proverbs 10:9,11:3)

California council member Shakir Khan has been arrested for suspicion of election fraud specifically in the 2020 election. “Our investigation uncovered that councilman Shakir Khan has attempted to undermine, manipulate and violate one of our most fundamental rights here in our country, and that is the right to free and fair elections,” said San Joaquin County Sheriff Patrick Withrow. When deputies searched Khan’s home, 41 sealed and completed mail-in ballots were allegedly found. At the time, Khan was running for the District 4 seat on the Lodi City Council. There were 23 names registered to vote at Khan’s address and 47 others were registered to vote at other addresses but used Khan’s email and phone number.

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)

A new Biden administration proposal announced Tuesday seeks to limit the access of asylum seekers at southern border. The policy would limit access to migrants who cross the U.S. southern border illegally if they fail to apply for protections in another country. The move comes two years after the administration dismantled a similar Trump-era policy that required migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. to first apply for protections in three Central American countries.

The Border Patrol is begging agents to come work up north after an almost 850% increase of illegal migrants, mostly from Mexico, who are sneaking into the United States from Canada, the New York Post reported on Tuesday. Swanton’s Chief Patrol Agent Robert Garcia wrote in a memo that a large amount of help is urgently required to control the “strain caused by the surge” of “primarily Mexican migrants with no legal documents” and that a “quick turnaround” of agents from the already overwhelmed southern border is needed to volunteer up north for at least a month. The Swanton Sector is in Vermont and also covers parts of upstate New York and New Hampshire.

Last week, it was reported that New York City has been busing illegal immigrants to Canada with taxpayer-funded bus tickets in an attempt to get them out of NYC. The New York Post reported that Quebec has asked Adams to immediately stop sending migrants tickets so they can travel upstate from the Big Apple and eventually make their way across the border at a cul-de-sac in Champlain, where they surrender themselves to Canadian Mounties and seek asylum. The situation is overwhelming Montreal’s ability to offer adequate housing and services for the influx of immigrants.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed into law a bill that would allow him to continue to transport migrants to other states. “Florida is using all tools available to protect our citizens from Biden’s open border policies,” DeSantis said. The program, funded with $10 million, will enable the state to transport illegal migrants to other places around the country. The legislation passed the State Senate last week with a vote 27-12, and a State House vote came in at 77-34. “People are sick of having an open border with no rule of law in this country,” DeSantis said.

Famine: “Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it. (Ezekiel 14:13)

The world gets most of its fertilizers from Russia, its ally Belarus, and China. And that has alarms going off because of the stranglehold that could give those nations over the world’s food. A Bloomberg explains, “Just as semiconductors have become a lightning rod for geopolitical friction, so the race for fertilizers has alerted the U.S. and its allies to a strategic dependency for an agricultural input that is a key determinant of food security.” Forty-eight nations in Africa, Asia and Latin America were identified by the International Monetary Fund as being the most at risk from the shock to food and fertilizer costs fanned by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. One year on, the upheaval caused to world fertilizer markets is seen by the U.N. as a key risk to food availability in 2023, the report noted.

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)

Walmart customers near the Walmart Supercenter in Winter Haven, Florida, are among the latest to have the option of grocery items delivered by drone in 30 minutes or less. The store just east of Lakeland was among 36 Walmart stores in seven states that have drone delivery hubs recently launched by DroneUp, Flytrex and Zipline. Walmart began testing drone delivery in 2020 and in 2021 announced an investment in drone company DroneUp. Since then, the retailer has continued to offer drone deliveries to more markets and customers. So far, drone deliveries are only permitted within a 0.8-mile radius but as soon as the Federal Aviation Administration allows it, the aerial drop-offs could expand to a 2-mile radius of the store.

Energy Supplies: He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. (Isaiah 44:14-15)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has agreed to make thousands of Tesla’s chargers available to all drivers by the end of 2024. The White House, which had lobbied Musk to make Tesla’s charging network open to non-Tesla drivers, made the announcement on Wednesday. The company will make at least 7,500 chargers, including 3,500 fast chargers, accessible to all drivers by the end of 2024, a move that could help Americans travel long distances in electric vehicles without stalling out.

The Democratic Socialists of America celebrated after the New York State Senate passed a sweeping climate bill Wednesday evening, bringing it one step closer to being enacted. The state’s Senate passed the so-called Build Public Renewables Act in a near party-line vote of 37-22 with two Democrats, Sens. John Mannion and Jessica Scarcella-Spanton, voting against the bill and no Republicans voting in favor of it. The legislation, which now moves to the New York State Assembly for approval, would give the state-run power authority greater ability to build renewable generation and mandate fossil fuel plant shutdowns.

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)

Americans are relying on credit cards more than ever. But as prices remain stubbornly high, they’re also having trouble making payments on time. In the last quarter of 2022, credit card balances increased by $61 billion to $986 billion, a record high. The latest data is a major reversal from two years ago when Americans were rapidly paying off credit card debt with stimulus money they received. That led to a drastic decline in credit card balances. In the first quarter of 2021, for example, balances totaled $770 billion, compared with $890 billion in the same period a year earlier.

The share of credit card users making payments that were at least 30 days late, also known as early delinquencies, rose last quarter to 5.9% from 5.2% in the prior quarter. The share of serious credit card delinquencies, which represents payments that are 90 or more days late, rose to 4% last quarter from 3.7% in the prior quarter.

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)

There’s a homeless crisis at Chicago’s Ohare Airport. Democrat city alderman, Raymond Lopez said, “They’re not just urinating in the hallways. They’re taking baths in the toilets there. They’re making a mockery of what Chicago is here. We understand that homelessness is a problem we must address. But making O’Hare Airport a homeless shelter for hundreds of people on a daily basis when we’re trying to welcome people here, when we’re trying to encourage tourism, bring back the business clientele, bring back families to our city, and to only have them greeted by hundreds of homeless who have mental health issues, may be armed, may be not even be clothed, that’s not something that institutes a lot of confidence in our mayor, in our city.”

Social Security/Welfare: “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be.” (Deut.  15:7-8)

Republican and Democratic leaders have both vowed to leave Medicare and Social Security alone as the debt ceiling fight rears up. Currently, the trust funds of both programs face shortfalls as the number of retired Americans have vastly outpaced the programs’ dedicated tax revenue to fund its promised benefits — threatening the future of each program. Social Security is projected to be insolvent in about a decade. Without any legislative action, benefits would automatically be cut by 23% on average by 2033, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s December 2022 report on the program.

Work: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23-24)

The shift to remote work is costing New York City more than $12 billion each year. Office workers are spending $4,661 less per person in the areas near their offices than before the pandemic began, according to a Bloomberg analysis of a Feb. 12 WFH Research study. Less spending by workers in the central areas means a lot less sales tax revenue. A recent Partnership for New York City survey showed just 52% of Manhattan office workers are at their place of work on an average weekday and just 9% of employees are back in the office for five days a week.

Business: Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice. (Proverbs 16:8)

Ford has announced plans to axe 3,800 jobs across Europe, citing difficult economic conditions and its major push toward electric vehicles. The cuts amount to about 11% of Ford’s staff in the region.

Economy – Depression/Shortages: 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)

The closely watched consumer-price index released last Monday showed that inflation eased for a seventh straight month, though not by as much as analysts expected. Consumer prices rose 0.5% in January, which translates to an annual inflation rate of 6.4%, slightly lower than the 6.5% registered in December. The rate hit a four-decade high of 9.1% last June. The current rate is still well above the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%. The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 5.6% for the year. The monthly increase of 0.5% over December was substantially higher than December’s 0.1% rise over November.

• Monthly prices were largely pushed up by shelter costs, which accounted for nearly half of the increase. Higher costs for food, gasoline and natural gas also contributed. Food-at-home prices are up 11.3%, with egg prices up 70% year over year.

Mortgage rates climbed higher for the second consecutive week, following four weeks of declines. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.32% in the week ending February 16, up from 6.12% the week before, according to data from Freddie Mac released Thursday. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate was 3.92%.The survey includes only borrowers who put 20% down and have excellent credit. Many buyers who put down less money upfront or have less than ideal credit will pay more than the average rate.

U.S. home sales declined in January for the 12th consecutive month as mortgage rates remained elevated and stubbornly high prices kept homebuyers out of the market. It was the weakest home sales activity since 2010. Sales of existing homes — which include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops — fell a whopping 36.9% in January from a year ago and were down 0.7% from December, according to a National Association of Realtors report released Tuesday.

The U.S. government risks default between July and September if the debt limit isn’t raised, the Congressional Budget Office warned Wednesday, 2/15. As the country looks to avert a potentially catastrophic default, Republicans are threatening to not raise the federal debt ceiling unless Democrats agree to cut federal spending. But President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy agree that Social Security and Medicare — which combined account for a third of federal spending alone — are off the table. And Republicans oppose cuts to Defense or veterans’ programs, which make up another 15%. With Democrats who control the Senate unwilling to go along with broad cuts to a number of social safety programs, there’s doesn’t appear much for Congress to trim — at least not in the short run.

President Biden and the Democrat-led Congress are projected to add $3.1 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday, delivering a depressing picture of the government’s finances and the economy. Over the long term, our projections suggest that changes in fiscal policy must be made to address the rising costs of interest and mitigate other adverse consequences of high and rising debt,” said Phillip L. Swagel, CBO’s director. The government will run a $1.4 trillion deficit in 2023, or about equal to last year’s figure. That hole will grow deeper in the ensuing years, topping $2 trillion in 2030 and nearing $3 trillion a year by 2033.

U.S. retail sales surged in January by the most in almost two years, soaring 3% from December, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. Economists had anticipated sales would rise by 1.8%, after the 1.1% decline in December when consumers pulled back on spending amid high inflation and concern about the direction of the economy. “The increase in retail sales, combined with the very strong January jobs report, reduce concerns that recession is imminent,” Gus Faucher, PNC’s chief economist, wrote on Wednesday. “Although some of the increase came from higher prices, more of it was from higher volumes.”

Home builder confidence jumped this month by the largest amount in almost 10 years, as falling mortgage rates pulled in more buyers. That’s according to a February report from the National Association of Home Builders that looks at current sales, buyer traffic and the outlook for sales of new construction homes over the next six months. All three metrics rose in February for the second straight month, showing the strongest reading since September and the largest monthly increase for builder sentiment since June 2013.

Israel: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you. (Psalm 122:6)

It was chaos in the Israeli Knesset once again Monday as protesters broke through the barricades surrounding the building. Opposition MKs (Knesset members) wrapped in Israeli flags were escorted out of the plenum ahead of a vote on two key measures of the judicial reform. Several scuffles broke out. Opening remarks by Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman, chairman of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, were met with heckles and chants of “disaster” and “shame” from members of the opposition. Similar scenes at the Knesset took place earlier this month and last month, with hearings being interrupted by opposition MKs banging and climbing on tables and urging the masses to “revolt against this criminal fascist dictatorship.”

Current U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides last Wednesday gave an “enormous amount of credit” to the Trump administration for brokering the normalization accords between Israel and Muslim Arab states, which he said was a message to the world that those Arab countries “stand by Israel.” Nides also said that the economic policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he referred to as “the father of the Startup Nation,” heavily contributed to the success of the Abraham Accords.

A joint statement by the foreign ministers of the U.S., France, Germany, Italy and the UK expressed strong opposition to Israel’s decision to advance housing units in Judea and Samaria and to legalize nine outposts. In response to the recent deadly terror attacks in Jerusalem, the Security Cabinet on Sunday unanimously authorized nine communities in Judea and Samaria. The four supposedly ‘friendly’ European countries concurred with Blinken and issued a joint statement, together with the U.S. Department of State, opposing Israel’s move.

Despite Iran’s obsession with destroying Israel, two of the Jewish state’s so-called allies, Poland and Hungary, sent ambassadors to a state ceremony commemorating the 44th anniversary of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, defying the European Union’s “tacit agreement” to not publicly support the regime.

The Israeli delegation at the African Union’s annual summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was expelled Saturday, Reuters and Walla reported. “It is sad to see that the African Union has been taken hostage by a small number of extremist countries such as Algeria and South Africa, driven by hatred and controlled by Iran. We call on African countries to stand against these actions that harm the organization of the African Union itself and the entire continent,” said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lior Hair, according to Walla.

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)

The U.S. military and Syrian Democratic Forces conducted a helicopter raid in eastern Syria early Saturday, capturing an ISIS official, according to a statement from US Central Command. Batar, ‘an ISIS Syria Province Official involved in planning attacks on SDF-guarded detention centers and manufacturing improvised explosive devices,’ was captured in the raid, CENTCOM said in the statement. No civilians, SDF or US forces were killed or injured in the raid, according to CENTCOM. The development comes on the heels of an earlier helicopter raid in Syria on Thursday night that the US military said killed Hamza al-Homsi, a senior ISIS leader, as well as wounded four U.S. troops.

Wars & Rumors of Wars: And you will hear ofwars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; forall these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.Fornation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. (Matthew 24:6-7a)

Russia/U.S. Vladimir Putin declared Tuesday that Russia is pulling out—at least temporarily—from the last standing nuclear arms control treaty with the US. In his annual state of the nation address, Putin announced that Moscow would suspend its participation in the New START pact, reports the BBC. “Our relations have degraded and that’s completely and utterly the U.S.’s fault,” Putin said. Putin again attempted to blame Ukraine and Western “elites” for starting the war, calling it a plot to weaken Russia. “We aren’t fighting the Ukrainian people,” Putin said. Putin’s address comes one day after President Biden visited Ukraine and hours before Biden gave a major address in Poland.

Russia/Ukraine: According to the Norwegian Intelligence Service, Russia is deploying nuclear weapon-armed vessels into the Baltic Sea. “The key part of the nuclear potential is on the submarines and surface ships of the Northern Fleet,” the Norwegian intel said. The Northern Fleet warships regularly went to sea with nuclear weapons during the Cold War era, but this is the first time the modern Russian Federation has done the same, the report added. The 2011 New START agreement limits Russia and the US to 1,550 deployed nuclear weapons. However, it does not cover “battlefield nukes,” which is what the West is currently most worried about

Western experts say recent modest Russian gains have come at a high cost. The Russian death toll in Ukraine has reached 140,460 since the beginning of its full-scale invasion a year ago, the General Staff of Ukraine’s military estimated Thursday. The spike in Russian casualties comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin has conscripted hundreds of thousands of fresh troops into his military. The poorly trained recruits are now making their way to the battlefields of Ukraine.

• News of Russia’s losses comes a day after the U.S. Department of State ordered all U.S. citizens in Russia to leave immediately on Monday, warning of false arrests.

High-tech Western tanks pledged to Ukraine’s military will provide better electronics, maneuverability, protection and an overall military advantage over the T-72 and T-80 tanks that dominate the Russian military, experts say. But the modern tanks Ukraine so desperately needs will roll arrive in a “gradual, piecemeal manner” that will make it difficult to take full advantage of the technology for quite some time.

In the event that Russia launches an attack or invasion against Estonia, the United States will enter the conflict, according to the head of the Department of the Defense. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III spoke Thursday at a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, Belgium. The conference focused heavily on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which is approaching its year anniversary. Article 5 of NATO’s Washington Treaty is known as “the principle of collective defense.” It obliges all member countries to come to the aid of another member whose sovereignty or territorial integrity might be under threat. “Our commitment to Article 5 is ironclad. And we take that very seriously and will live up to our commitments,” Austin told the press.

U.S. fighter jets intercepted four Russian military aircraft that entered Alaska’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Feb. 13. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), which oversees North American airspace and its defense, responded to the incursion with two F-16 fighters and five other supporting aircraft including two F-35s, according to a press statement. The NORAD forces successfully intercepted a group of Russian bombers and fighters that entered Alaska’s ADIZ and turned them back.

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)

Militants launched a deadly suicide attack on the police headquarters of Pakistan’s largest city on Friday, officials said, as the sound of gunfire and explosions rocked the heart of Karachi for several hours. Three security forces and a civilian were killed and 18 security forces wounded, according to government officials and Ghulam Nabi Memon, police chief for the southern Sindh province where Karachi is located. Two suicide bombers were killed and at least one blew himself up after entering the police building, officials added. Pakistani Taliban in a brief statement claimed responsibility.

Gangsters kidnapped three First Baptist Church members in the capital city of Port-au-Prince on Sunday as they left the church after worship. The abductors demanded large sums of money as ransom. On Feb. 7, a priest was abducted on his way to his missionary community in Kazal. Kidnappings for ransom have escalated recently, and clergy and places of worship are increasingly targeted.

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)

As aggressive excavation and submarine construction of over 1,500 offshore wind-farm turbines continues along the east coast of the United States, whales are stranding, beaching and dying at an alarming and perplexing rate. Almost 200 whales have been found dead since 2016, when the wind-turbine rush began, representing a fourfold annual increase over past years. Seven dead whales have been discovered in New Jersey and New York in the past two months. In southeastern Virginia, in one recent week alone, three whales were found dead, just miles from two operational wind farms. “The turbines are inside known migratory pathways. The effect of the high-intensity acoustic pulses is unknown, and the excavations are muddying waters for what will be years on end,” said Patrick Moore, co-founder and former member of Greenpeace.

A seething tangle of floating trouble is massing for a potential summer assault on Florida beaches as a vast forest of sargassum grows in record amounts in the Atlantic Ocean. University of South Florida scientists said January was the second consecutive month that the amount of seaweed doubled, reaching 8.7 million tons, which is enough to fill about 3,000 Olympic size pools. It also broke the previous January record set in 2018. Sargassum is a lifeline for fish nurseries, hungry migratory birds and sea turtle hatchlings seeking shelter in its buoyant saltwater blooms. But in mass quantities, it chokes life from canals, clogs boat propellers, and is a killjoy at the beach, piling up several feet deep like a rotting bog emitting smelly hydrogen sulfide as it decomposes.

Earthquakes: And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. (Matthew 24:7b) I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. (Revelation 6:12)

A 6.4 magnitude earthquake rocked Turkey’s Hatay province Monday, which was ground zero for the Feb. 6 quakes that killed tens of thousands. Hatay province is on the Mediterranean coast, bordered by Syria to the south and the east. Two weeks ago, the region was devastated by massive temblors and aftershocks that Turkish officials say killed more than 41,000 people in their country alone. Several thousand people also died in Syria. The early death toll in this latest quake is 8 in Turkey.

End-Time Weather Will Continue to Grow More Severe: (Daniel 9:26b, Ezekiel 38:22, Luke 21:25, Revelation 8:7, 11:19, 16:8,11)

A major winter storm could bring ice, blizzard conditions and travel disruptions over a 2,600 miles path along the northern tier of the U.S. from coast to coast. Swaths of the country could see over a foot of snow in the coming days, and parts of Minnesota are expecting 15 to 25 inches of accumulation. The massive cold front made its way through most of Montana by midday Tuesday, and residents in the Northern Plains were bracing for steep temperatures drops.

A state of emergency was declared in New Zealand after Cyclone Gabrielle battered the country’s North Island last Monday. Officials described the storm as the worst in many years. Intense rainfall overnight forced evacuations and brought widespread flooding, road closures and power outages to more than 60,000 homes. A firefighter was killed and another rescued in a landslide near Auckland. New Zealand’s largest city was also swamped by a record-breaking storm two weeks ago that killed four people.

The Great Lakes just reached a historic low ice cover for this time of year. It first dipped below the record for this time of year on Sunday, and it has continued slipping. As of Wednesday, the Great Lakes overall had just over 6.5% ice cover − the lowest for a Feb. 15 since scientists began recording ice cover more than 50 years ago. At this time of year, ice cover should be roughly 40%.

Scientists have found that warming oceans are cutting into the Earth’s widest glacier. It poses a major sea level rise threat. New research provides a startling and unprecedented look at how the warmer oceans are gouging out the Thwaites Glacier, also known as the ‘Doomsday Glacier’ because its collapse could drive catastrophic sea level rise. If the glacier collapses, all of West Antarctica could ultimately be at stake.

• And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined. (Daniel 9:26)

Signs of the Times Update: February 13, 2023

 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)

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 revival has broken out at Asbury University, a Christian university in Wilmore, Kentucky. The Asbury Collegian wrote, “Revival strikes Asbury once again! This was not a scheduled revival. It was a standalone chapel service and God broke in!” One observer heard about it and got there for day two. “Worshipers stayed all night. It was apparent that these young people were not caught up in revival, but in the revival-er. God had come! Praise filled the air. Small groups of young musicians rotated, giving breaks to sleepy and weary bodies. The pianist played for nearly 3 hours before someone slipped in beside him to take over. Singers and other musicians traded places every 45 minutes or so. Everything was spontaneous. There were no words on screens because the worship hadn’t been previously prepared. Everyone sang! New songs, old songs. Some laid prostrate in the aisle. Others were standing. Still others were grouped together praying in corners of the room. Between songs, worshipers stood and confessed their sins. Young and old participated. God is no respecter of persons. He is pouring out His spirit on all who seek him.” The revival continued for at least a third day and is ongoing.

In between star-studded advertisements and a whole lot of football, this year’s Super Bowl watchers were also being taken to church, notes CNN.  The “He Gets Us,” campaign to promotes Jesus and Christianity, and ran two ads for $20 million during the game as part of a staggering $100 million overall media investment. To many, the spots are nothing new: “He Gets Us” content has been peppering TV screens, billboards and social media feeds since a national launch in 2022. The campaign is arresting, portraying the pivotal figure of Christianity as an immigrant, a refugee, a radical, an activist for women’s rights and a bulwark against racial injustice and political corruption. The “He Gets Us” website features content about of-the-moment topics, like artificial intelligence and social justice. “Whatever you are facing, Jesus faced it too,” the campaign claims. It’s getting noticed. One of the campaign’s videos, titled “The Rebel,” has netted 122 million views on YouTube in 11 months. Google searches for “He Gets Us” have spiked since the beginning of the year.

• The two Super Bowl ads showed Jesus as someone who was against hatred and violence, encouraging viewers to love everyone and to be childlike. The advertising campaign is funded in part by the family behind Hobby Lobby, as well as other Christian groups and anonymous donors.

World Concern reports that the Gospel is bearing fruit in Samburu villages in Northern Kenya. People are seeing the love of Christ in tangible ways and their hearts are opening to learn about Jesus.  Among the least reached people in Samburu are the Morans. These young, unmarried warriors live apart from their villages in order to protect the people from wild animals and attacks from other tribes. They will become the elders in their community one day. “Our local team is reaching the Morans through outreaches and audio Bibles. Now, a group of 20 Morans are gathering to study the Bible and have church services. As far as we know, this is the first church for Morans in the history of Samburu County.”

The National Archives and Records Administration apologized Friday for ordering visitors in the District of Columbia for the March for Life to take off or cover up their pro-life apparel after being accused in a federal lawsuit of violating their First Amendment rights. The conservative American Center for Law & Justice sued the Archives last Wednesday on behalf of four March for Life participants from three states who said they were told to remove or cover up sweatshirts, T-shirts, buttons and hats imprinted with pro-life messages. “As the home to the original Constitution and Bill of Rights, which enshrine the rights of free speech and religion, we sincerely apologize for this occurrence,” said the statement.

• I wonder if they would have apologized if a lawsuit hadn’t been filed against them.

The new Republican chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee gave all members a Bible, with the recommendation they read it through in 2023. “It’s an all-time best-seller. I read through it for the first time a few years ago, and it changed my life,” explained, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash. “My encouragement is for everyone to read this book in their lifetime.

Officials in Grand Forks, North Dakota, have voted to strike down a Chinese company’s proposed corn mill after the U.S. Air Force said its proximity to a military base would pose a national security risk. The 5-0 unanimous vote Monday night from the Grand Forks City Council surrounding the Fufeng Group project was met with cheers and chants of “USA!” from the public in attendance.

Satanic Deception: He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. (John 8:44) The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where^[a] the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Revelation 20:10)

Pfizer, CBS and the Grammys, brought debauchery and Satanic worship to the world on Sunday 2/5. During the annual Grammy Awards ceremony, Pfizer pharmaceutical company felt it fitting to sponsor performers Sam Smith, who claims to be non-binary, and Kim Petras, who claims to be transgender. These two gave the nation a Satan-themed performance of their song “Unholy,” in which Petras performed inside a cage with drag queens dressed in devil costumes, while Smith gyrated in a costume with devil horns sticking out from a top hat.

• What used to be done in secret is now being broadcast and celebrated openly in deviance and mockery of God. Consider using alternative health products and medicines to those made by Pfizer. Some of Pfizer’s most recognizable products include Advil, Celebrex, Robitussin, Chapstick, Preparation-H, Sensodyne toothpaste, Centrum vitamins and Nexium for heartburn.

New World Order – One-World Government: It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Revelation 13:7-8) The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces. (Daniel 7:23)

On top of pushing for plant-based foods, now the World Economic Forum is even calling for the world to eat insects to “battle climate change.”  Their website states: “We’ve been conditioned to think of animals and plants as our primary sources of proteins, namely meat, dairy and eggs or tofu, beans and nuts, but there’s an unsung category of sustainable and nutritious protein that has yet to widely catch on: insects.” German supermarket chain Lidl is taking the lead in this radical transformation of the global food system, with plans to cut down on the sale of meat products in favor of “alternative” proteins. The grocery executive in charge of Lidl’s German market, Christoph Graf, said this week at a Berlin ‘Green Week’ event that the supermarket chain will seek to move away from selling meat because “there is no second planet.”

The Demise of America: The first was like a lion (Britain) and had eagle’s wings (America). I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it. (Daniel 7:4)

During his State of the Union Address Tuesday night, President Joe Biden called on Congress “to restore the soul of this nation” by making abortion legal nationwide until birth and passing a bill that would force religious employers to hire people who identify as transgender, reports the Washington Stand. His administration’s focus on pushing polarizing social issues clashes with Republicans’ more mainstream views of abortion and gender identity, a contrast that Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) said gives Americans a clear choice “between normal or crazy.”  I would call it demonic fantasies.

A North Korean defector issued a stark warning Monday on “woke” ideology in American classrooms, believing the U.S. could “absolutely” be headed down the path of her home rogue regime if it doesn’t reverse course. “The things that I was learning at Columbia University really shocked me because it was the exact same thing that my North Korean teachers were brainwashing me in the classroom,” Park told Fox News. “At Columbia University they were literally saying that all the problems that we have is because of capitalism, because of white men, and the solution for all these problems is a communist revolution in the name of equity.”

• The radical left hates capitalism, hates

A Walton Family Foundation/Murmuration poll shows that most Gen Zers look to social media for news over traditional media formats. The research, which surveyed 3,227 15 to 25-year-olds and 1,036 adults aged 26-plus in December, found that Gen Z respondents lean on YouTube (61%), followed by TikTok (57%), Instagram (51%), Snapchat (43%), Twitter (35%) and Facebook (33%) as their top news sources. By contrast, just 24% cited local TV news, followed by network news (23%), or online or physical copies of national newspapers (13%). No wonder they are so mixed-up about things.

Politics: Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. (Romans 13:1-2)

Last Thursday, the House Judiciary Committee’s Select Subcommittee held its first hearing on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. Former FBI agents provided tips, and two former agents testified about politicization within the organization. Republican Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, set the stage for the hearing by summarizing the “dozens and dozens” of individuals who have blown the whistle on the FBI. Jordan said that an FBI whistleblower informed Republicans in the House Judiciary that the FBI had created a “threat tag” for parents who expressed concern at school board meetings. Jordan also mentioned that on November 4, 2022, a whistleblower revealed that the FBI accepted private user information from Facebook without user consent, which was detailed in the House Judiciary report.

Surveillance/Spycraft: So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor. (Luke 20:20)

The U.S. military shot down an unidentified flying object over Michigan Sunday – the third in three days and fourth since downing a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina Feb. 4. An F-16 shot down the object at 2:42 p.m. ET Sunday at the direction of President Joe Biden, according to Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary. The pilot fired an AIM 9X sidewinder missile, the same weapon used in the previous instances. The object had been flying at about 20,000 feet over Lake Huron in a path and altitude that raised concerns about it being a hazard to civilian aviation. The objects have been difficult to track because they were “very, very small objects that produce a very, very low radar cross section. The military has recalibrated its radar to account for the smaller objects.

• U.S. and Canadian troops are seeking to recover debris from the objects downed in Alaska on Friday and Canada on Saturday and Michigan on Sunday.

A U.S. F-22 shot down an unidentified object flying at a high altitude over the Yukon territory on Saturday at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s request. Trudeau tweeted that he’d discussed the matter with President Biden and that Canadian and US aircraft were scrambled after the object was spotted. Trudeau said Canadian personnel will lead the effort to recover and analyze the wreckage debris.

• U.S. officials now describe the Alaska and Canada objects as a “small metallic balloon with a tethered payload.” The U.S. and Canada still say the craft’s origin is unknown nor what the payload carried. Usually it’s scientific instruments but the internet is speculating more serious intentions such as new viruses. The U.S. said there are no signs that the objects were alien or extraterrestrial.

The U.S. shot down an unidentified object Friday over frozen waters near Alaska at the order of President Joe Biden, less than one week after shooting down a Chinese spy balloon off the East Coast. John Kirby, a White House spokesman, described a “high altitude object” roughly the size of a small car traveling in Alaska’s air space.  The object was flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet, significantly lower than the 65,000-foot altitude of last week’s Chinese spy balloon, and “posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight,” Kirby said. The Pentagon first detected the object Thursday evening by ground radar and shot it down “out of an abundance of caution” Friday at 1:45 p.m. ET over the frozen Arctic Ocean waters near Alaska’s northeast border close to Canada.

• It was described as “cylindrical and silver-ish gray” and seemed to be floating, a U.S. official said. Asked if was “balloon-like,” the official said, “All I say is that it wasn’t ‘flying’ with any sort of propulsion.”

The Chinese spy balloon that flew over the United States for days before being shot down could monitor communications signals, a U.S. official says. “High resolution imagery from U-2 flybys revealed that the high-altitude balloon was capable of conducting signals intelligence collection operations,” an official with the State Department, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Epoch Times. The balloon had antennas able to collect communications. The United States has subsequently blacklisted six Chinese entities it found to have aided Beijing’s surveillance balloon programs. The measure will restrict U.S. companies from selling products and technologies to the firms without first seeking government permission.

The U.S. military never briefed civilian officials about three Chinese spy balloons that crossed into U.S. territory during the Trump administration. A senior defense official told reporters Saturday afternoon that “PRC [People’s Republic of China] government surveillance balloons transited the continental United States briefly at least three times during the prior administration and once that we know of at the beginning of this administration, but never for this duration of time.” The official added that another PRC surveillance balloon is currently on a flight path across Central and South America. “These balloons are all part of a PRC fleet of balloons developed to conduct surveillance operations, which have also violated the sovereignty of other countries.”

• The Chinese government is demanding the return of its surveillance aircraft after it was shot down in U.S. territory on Saturday. Much of it, however, sank to the bottom of the ocean.

Religious Freedom: Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. (John 8:36)

Josh Alexander, 16, a student at St. Joseph’s Catholic High School in Renfrew, Ontario, has been suspended for the rest of this year for holding biblical beliefs. His presence, while he holds such biblical opinions, would be “detrimental to the physical and mental well-being” of transgender students, school officials claimed. Alexander told the Epoch Times, “The offense is obviously defined by the offended. I expressed my religious beliefs in class, and it spiraled out of control. Not everybody’s going to like that. That doesn’t make me a bully. It doesn’t mean I’m harassing anybody. They express their beliefs and I express mine. Mine obviously don’t fit the narrative.” Now he and his lawyers are bringing the fight to the Ontario Human rights tribunal, because of the religious discrimination component of the dispute.

• And this from a supposedly Christian school?!

Censorship: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth. (Romans 1:18)

Since DirecTV dropped Newsmax on Jan. 24, AT&T’s stock has fallen by almost 7%, wiping nearly $10 billion from its market value. AT&T, the 70% owner of DirecTV, has come under fierce criticism after deplatforming Newsmax from its satellite TV systems — the second conservative channel it has removed in the past year, with OAN going last April. Many conservative leaders are calling on people to cancel their AT&T cellphone and DirecTV accounts.

Robert Kennedy Jr. has joined with several other plaintiffs to sue major media outlets for suppressing competition. The complaint accuses the Washington Post, Associated Press, BBC  and Reuters of infringing on antitrust laws by attacking others’ reporting on issues such as COVID-19 and more. Kennedy’s complaint accuses the defendants of conspiring to denigrate conservative talking points about COVID, the vaccinations, treatments including ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, the Hunter Biden laptop and more. The case outlines how media and tech organizations work together to suppress information with which they disagree.

Meta has restored former President Donald Trump’s access to Facebook and Instagram, allowing his return for the first time since banning him following the Capitol riot two years ago. The former president likely will continue to prioritize pushing his message on his own social media outlet, Truth Social. According to paperwork filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from his business partners in May 2022, he must first post on Truth Social and then wait six hours before publishing on other social media platforms

The former Twitter legal chief responsible for censoring a news story about President Biden’s son Hunter and his laptop ahead of the 2020 presidential election, told Congress last Wednesday that the extended lock on The New York Post’s account over the report was a mistake “in hindsight.” Vijaya Gadde, who was terminated from Twitter after Elon Musk acquired the platform last year, admitted to the House Oversight and Accountability Committee that she ultimately approved the decision to block The Post’s October 14, 2020, report about Hunter Biden’s laptop and its contents, but said the move should have been reversed quicker. The ex-legal chief said images embedded in the article “looked like they may have been obtained through hacking” at the time.

• Several other news outlets have since confirmed that the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop were not obtained from hacking nor from a Russian disinformation campaign, as the Biden campaign and others alleged.

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)

New cases of Covid-19 in the U.S. are down 14% over the past two weeks, but over the past week the decline has flattened out at around 40,000 new cases per day. Hospitalizations are down 12% over the past two weeks with 29,138 hospitalized and 3,624 in ICUs. Deaths are down 15% to 442 per day. The South is emerging as something of a hotspot. Alabama and Louisiana currently have the country’s highest per-capita case rates, and reported cases have risen by more than 25 percent in both states over the past two weeks.

• Worldwide, new Covid-19 cases are down 31% over the past two weeks with deaths down 52%.

A single-injection antiviral treatment for newly-infected COVID-19 patients reduced the risk of hospitalization by half in a large-scale clinical trial, according to a study published last Wednesday. Stanford University professor Jeffrey Glenn, coauthor of the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), said the new drug “showed profound benefits for vaccinated and unvaccinated people alike.” While the number of Americans dying daily of coronavirus has fallen to around 500, treatments for the disease remain limited. One of the most common, Paxlovid made by Pfizer, involves taking 30 pills over five days. The new treatment involves a single dose of pegylated lambda-interferon, a synthetic version of a naturally occurring protein that infected cells secrete to defend against viral infection.

WHO’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned about the bird flu virus potentially infecting humans during a virtual briefing on February 8. According to the WHO executive, there were several reports in the past weeks of the H5N1 virus increasingly being detected in several animal species, meaning that the virus likely spilled over from birds to mammals. 

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)

Pfizer’s FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approval records show that the company’s mRNA vaccine caused a horrifying 87.5% fetal death rate when pregnant women were injected. “But Big Pharma, the FDA and CDC (Centers for Disease Control) continued to push the shots on pregnant women anyway — KNOWING more children would DIE,” reports Mat Staver, CEO of Liberty Counsel. During the first 12 weeks of the vaccine rollouts, Pfizer was slammed with more than 158,000 adverse reaction reports. The drug giant had to go on an emergency hiring campaign, bringing on board a whopping 2,400 new full-time employees just to manage the barrage of injury reports. Despite the new staff members, Pfizer still did not have enough personnel to keep up with the adverse reaction reports, so they never bothered to follow up with more than 20,000 shot injuries.

The new COVID-19 vaccines don’t work as well against now dominant XBB.1.5, the virus variant that’s now dominant in the United States, according to multiple studies. In one of the papers, researchers found the vaccines boosted neutralizing antibodies, believed to be a measure of protection, but that the antibody levels declined to previous levels within three months. Compared to the antibody responses to BA.5, the responses to XBB.1.5 were reduced 20-fold.

The most recent survey—published in the peer-reviewed journal BMC Infectious Diseases—puts the death toll from the COVID vaccines at somewhere between 217,330 and 332,608 in 2021 alone. As noted in Steve Kirsch’s newsletter, “[We’ve] killed at least 217,000 Americans and seriously injured 33 million … in just the first year, and the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and FDA [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] want to give you more shots … Since deaths from the vaccine were higher in 2022, most experts would estimate the all-cause mortality death toll from the COVID vaccines to be in the range of 500K to 600K. So the global cost of life from these vaccines is on the order of 10 to 12 million people.”

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)

 Local New Jersey council member Russell Heller was shot dead in his car, exactly one week after the slaying of Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour, according to reports. Heller, 51, shot at the PSE&G facility in Franklin Township just after 7 a.m. Wednesday. He was a senior distribution supervisor who had been with the company for 11 years, and also was a councilman in Milford, a small borough in Hunterdon County. Gary Curtis, 58, was identified as the suspect in the shooting and found at 10:20 a.m. inside a car in Bridgewater, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The killing comes one week after the slaying of Sayreville Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour, who was found dead in her vehicle with multiple gunshot wounds.

A man driving a U-Haul truck struck and injured several pedestrians in New York City this Monday before police were able to pin the careening vehicle against a building following a miles long pursuit through Brooklyn. Eyewitnesses said they saw pedestrians and e-bike riders sprawled on the ground after the truck drove through. At least eight people were hurt, including two people who were in critical condition.

Puerto López mayoral candidate Omar Menéndez, who was shot dead hours before polls opened on Sunday, won the election. The assailants fled on a motorcycle, and authorities are still investigating the motive. Another member of Menéndez’s party will replace him as mayor. Menéndez was the second mayoral candidate shot dead in a country witnessing a greater number of homicides. Motive is unknown in this breaking story.

Tragedy: In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

As many as 30 million people, or 10% of the United States population, may be in danger after a train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio that led to the release of toxic chemicals. “We basically nuked a town with chemicals so we could get a railroad open,” said Sil Caggiano, a hazardous materials specialist. As public officials try to calm the public, animals are falling sick and dying. According to a new report, the situation may become much more widespread through the Ohio River Basin. According to Upward News, the dangerous chemicals are making their way as far as West Virginia through the Ohio River. Over 30 million people, or about ten percent of the U.S. population, live in the Ohio River Basin.

For many of the Syrian victims of the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday, this is just the latest in a decade-long series of tragedies. In Syria, most of the casualties were in the northwest of the country This region was already struggling to rebuild vital infrastructure heavily damaged by continual aerial bombardment during the country’s civil war, which the United Nations estimates to have claimed 300,000 lives since 2011. It’s a “crisis in the crisis,” El-Mostafa Benlamlih, UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Syria, said on CNN.

Human Trafficking: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. (Luke 4:18-19)

Every year the Super Bowl rolls around, concerns are raised anew about a spike in human trafficking as tens of thousands of people flood into its host city for the event. Victim groups call it the “ugly underbelly” of one of the greatest sports shows on earth. “While a major event like the Super Bowl helps draw attention to a sudden spike in human trafficking, it is an ongoing and growing problem in the United States. It deserves our attention and much strategic prayer to the One who hates injustice and is on the side of the oppressed,” exhorts Intercessors for America. Despite slavery being abolished in 1865 and declared illegal in most of the world, there are twice as many enslaved people today as there were when slavery was legal. According to the International Justice Mission, that amounts to 40.3 million people in slavery worldwide.

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)

From the rubble of Monday’s catastrophic earthquake in Turkey, a 20-year-old college student pleaded for help in a video posted to social media. He included his address and some other locational information. R​escuers reached him and his uncle in time. It’s just one example of the many social media stories that emerge from disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and blizzards. D​aniel Aldrich, director at Northeastern University’s Security and Resilience Studies Program calls social media “a tremendous game changer” for disaster recovery. “It’s really been a revolution, I think, in the way that disaster managers and disasters themselves are handled, because now people on the ground can help themselves vis-a-vis the government, but also help other people.”

Education: Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6)

A school district in Nevada assigned a pornographic monologue to a student to memorize and act out, and now is getting sued. A report from the Post Millennial documents the girl’s family is suing the Clark County School District and several officials for assigning the 15-year-old an “obscene, sexual activity as a class assignment.” The scenario reportedly was in theater class and involved “a girl coming out as lesbian to her boyfriend.” “She felt very betrayed, and she just cried all the time,” the student’s mother, told station KSNV. “She didn’t want to get up. She didn’t want to go to school.”

Marriage/Family:  “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Matthew 19:4-6)

Sexual Abuse: But if in the open country a man meets a young woman who is betrothed, and the man seizes her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. 26 But you shall do nothing to the young woman; she has committed no offense punishable by death. (Deuteronomy 22:25-29)

Almost 15% of teen girls said they were forced to have sex, a 27% increase over two years and the first increase since government researchers began tracking it, according to new findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The pandemic took a heavy toll on adolescents, with the latest data showing girls in particular are struggling. Teen girls are ‘engulfed’ in violence and trauma, with nearly 1 in 3 reporting they seriously considered suicide, CDC reported.

Gender Confusion: Male and female He created them. (Genesis 5:2)

• Gender confusion is being promoted because it undermines God’s ordained family structure, giving secular government more control over people, particularly our youth.

Around 150 “trans lives matter” protestors occupied the Oklahoma Capitol on Monday, carrying signs and chanting so loudly that their shouts echoed off the rotunda. “When the chanting was at its loudest, it was difficult to hear the person talking next to you,” reported local news station KFOR, which also said that the “demonstrators were let in by Oklahoma State Troopers and Capitol security staff.”

Two gender-confused teens on hormones as part of a children’s hospital study committed suicide, the latest evidence of the dangers of injecting kids with drugs to  affirm their delusions about being able to change their sex. “The most common adverse event was suicidal ideation (in 11 participants [3.5%]); death by suicide occurred in 2 participants,” a note on the paper states.

A former case manager at a transgender medical care center has spoken out against gender-affirming surgery for kids and revealed key details about the medical procedures occurring there. Jamie Reed, a 42-year-old St. Louis native and self-described far-left queer woman who is married to a transman with whom she is raising her two biological and three foster children, penned a lengthy tell-all for The Free Press in which she calls gender clinics for kids “morally and medically appalling.” Reed was responsible for patient intake and oversight during her time at the hospital. She said that most young people who walked through the door received hormone prescriptions that can have life-altering consequences, such as sterility. “By the time I departed, I was certain that the way the American medical system is treating these patients is the opposite of the promise we make to ‘do no harm.’ Instead, we are permanently harming the vulnerable patients in our care,” she wrote.

Three parents, whose children’s whole personality suddenly disappeared as they changed into a completely different, unrecognizable person, shared their stories in the new film, Dead Name. Dead Name is an hour-length film that showcases three stories of parents whose children suddenly and secretly (with ‘guidance’ from their schools) began to “transition” in an attempt to live as the opposite sex. The film was recently canceled from its platform – but that hasn’t stopped the creators from sharing their message. Dead Name is available to watch at deadnamedocumentary.com where viewers can purchase the film for $14.99 or rent it for $9.99.

Election Integrity: He who walks with integrity walks securely, But he who perverts his ways will become known… The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them. (Proverbs 10:9,11:3)

A bipartisan House voted Thursday to block the District of Columbia’s new plan to allow noncitizens to vote in local elections, with lawmakers saying the city was crossing dangerous lines in trying to expand its pool of voters. Washington is the latest big city to try to grant voting rights to noncitizens, but its plan goes further than the others, allowing virtually anyone — including potentially Russian or Chinese diplomats — to vote in city affairs. The 260-162 vote to slap down the District was bipartisan, with more than 40 Democrats joining the GOP.

Refugees: Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. (Hebrews 13:2)

Some 222 deported Nicaraguan political prisoners, including priests, students, and activists, arrived at a Washington airport on Thursday. They include one American and five Nicaraguan Roman Catholic priests sentenced this week on conspiracy charges. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has cracked down on his opponents involved in the 2018 protests, which he viewed as an attempt to ouster him. U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said the Nicaraguans came voluntarily and would receive a two-year humanitarian parole.

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)

Homeland Security Department officials took a victory lap Friday after seeing illegal border crossings plummet in January, saying a new program to convert illegal immigrants into legal arrivals appears to be working. Border Patrol agents nabbed 128,410 illegal crossers at the southern border last month, down more than 40% compared with December. It’s the best number since February 2021, which marked the start of the Biden administration’s control. The difference, officials said, was President Biden’s new program announced on Jan. 5 that allows some would-be migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to find a sponsor and pre-apply for admissions. Migrants from those four countries who don’t go through that process will generally be expelled to Mexico. In early January, they averaged more than 1,200 a day. By the end of the month, it was just 59 people a day. The carrot-and-stick approach seems to have worked.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has encountered 2,999 Chinese nationals at the southern border so far in fiscal year 2023—a 719 percent increase year over year, according to CBP data released on Feb. 10. The total also exceeds the amount recorded for the entirety of fiscal year 2022 (Oct. 1, 2021, to Sept. 30, 2022), during which 2,176 such encounters were reported. “The Chinese government is spying from above,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) wrote in a Feb. 9 tweet. “Fentanyl from China is killing Americans in every community. More Chinese nationals are crossing illegally at our southern border. This is why I created the select committee on China—to confront these problems head-on.”

One single sector of the southern border saw more than 10,000 illegal drone incursions from Mexico last year, a senior Border Patrol agent told Congress on Tuesday. Chief Patrol Agent Gloria Chavez, who oversees the Rio Grande Valley sector in southern Texas, said the cartels use the drones to keep tabs on where the Border Patrol is, so they can figure ways to sneak people and other contraband such as drugs through the gaps. She and John Modlin, chief patrol agent in the Tucson sector of Arizona, said the cartels are driving the chaos on the border, controlling the crossings and forcing the Border Patrol to react to the smugglers’ tactics. “In Tucson sector, everything south of the border is controlled by the cartels,” Chief Modlin told the House Oversight and Accountability Committee. Where in the past groups of 10 or 12 people would come across and a single agent could nab them, now the cartels divide them up into one or two, which means it takes more agents to nab the same number. Chief Modlin said they call that “task saturation” and said the cartels are doing it intentionally.

Population Growth: 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)

The Chinese Communist Party is rolling out free fertility treatments to reverse the nation’s downward trend in both birth rates and population. China’s National Healthcare Security Administration announced last week that it would cover certain reproductive procedures, such as in vitro fertilization and ovulation-inducing drugs. Young Chinese men and women are delaying marriage until later in life and the number of never-married Chinese women in their late 20s went up eightfold from 1990 to 2015, the Guardian reported last year. This trend comes as China’s population shrank last year for the first time in six decades. The 1.411 billion people recorded by the nation’s National Bureau of Statistics were 850,000 fewer than in 2021.

Energy Supplies: He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. (Isaiah 44:14-15)

Russia will cut crude oil production by half a million barrels per day starting in March, a little over two months after the world’s major economies imposed a price cap on the country’s seaborne exports. “We will not sell oil to those who directly or indirectly adhere to the principles of the price ceiling,” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in a statement. “In relation to this, Russia will voluntarily reduce production by 500,000 barrels per day in March. This will contribute to the restoration of market relations.”

Business: Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice. (Proverbs 16:8)

BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell and Total Energies raked in a record $199.3 billion in profits in 2022, benefiting from the surge in oil and gas prices that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The record-setting results mark a dramatic turnaround for a sector that suffered brutal losses and slashed shareholder payouts in 2020, when pandemic lockdowns sharply reduced demand for energy and oil prices collapsed. The scale of the gains by oil companies is generating fresh scrutiny of their investments in renewable energy and of the prices they charge their customers. It has also led governments in Europe to impose windfall taxes to raise the money needed to help households struggling with high energy bills.

Uber on Wednesday reported strong revenue growth in the final three months of last year, defying a slowdown that has pummeled much of the rest of the tech sector. The ride-hailing giant reported revenue of $8.6 billion for the quarter, beating Wall Street’s estimates and marking a 49% increase from the prior year. The company said trips during the quarter hit 2.1 billion, an all-time quarterly high and representing approximately 23 million trips per day on average.

The Walt Disney Co. said last Wednesday it will cut about 7,000 jobs as part of a “significant transformation” announced by CEO Bob Iger. The job cuts amount to about 3% of the entertainment’s global workforce and were announced Wednesday after Disney reported quarterly results that topped Wall Street’s forecasts. Iger returned as CEO in November following a challenging two-year tenure by his handpicked successor, Bob Chapek. The company says the job reductions are part of a targeted $5.5 billion cost savings across the company. As of Oct. 1, Disney employed 220,000 people, of which about 166,000 worked in the U.S. and 54,000 internationally.

• Disney’s problems began when they began pushing ‘wokeness’ into their films, TV shows (some for children) and even within their parks. Conservative backlash was huge, and sales/profits tumbled.

Yahoo has become the latest tech giant to announce mass layoffs. The company says it plans to lay off around 1,700 people, a fifth of its workforce, by the end of the year. The cuts will start with 1,000 by the end of this week, and the company’s business ad tech unit will be hit hardest. Yahoo said it plans to cut around 50% of the workforce of the unprofitable Yahoo for Business unit, which has not delivered the results the company was expecting. Yahoo was combined with AOL and sold by Verizon to private equity firm Apollo Global Management for $5 billion in 2021.

Zoom on Tuesday said it will lay off about 1,300 employees, or approximately 15% of its staff, becoming the latest tech company to announce significant job cuts as a pandemic-fueled surge in demand for digital services wanes. CEO Eric Yuan said the layoffs would impact every part of the organization. Yuan also said he and other executives would take a significant pay cut, after acknowledging he made “mistakes” in growing the company too quickly during the pandemic.

Bed Bath & Beyond is closing 150 more stores — just a week after the struggling retailer announced the closure of 87 locations. The new closings mean it will have shuttered 400 stores in the past year — almost half the 950 or so stores it had open in February 2022. Bed Bath & Beyond said on Monday it was planning to raise some $1 billion through an offering of preferred stock and warrants in a last-ditch effort to stave off bankruptcy.

The National Security Agency is doggedly courting laid-off Big Tech workers as the spy agency undertakes one of its largest hiring surges in the past 30 years. The NSA began reaching out to technology workers privately over LinkedIn last fall as word spread that major U.S. companies such as Meta and Amazon were bleeding tens of thousands of skilled employees. NSA talent management senior strategist Christine Parker said the spy agency also saw predictions of more job cuts and sprang into action. With the NSA using the social platform LinkedIn in tandem with job boards such as Glassdoor and Indeed, plus technology development message boards such as Stack Overflow, nearly 30,000 people looked at the agency’s overtures and about 2,000 people applied, Ms. Parker said.

Economy – Depression/Shortages: 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)

Applications for jobless aid in the U.S. for the week ending Feb. 4 rose by 13,000 last week to 196,000, from 183,000 the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. It’s the fourth straight week claims were under 200,000. Jobless claims generally serve as a proxy for layoffs, which have been relatively low since the pandemic wiped out millions of jobs in the spring of 2020.

Half of Americans responding to a new Gallup poll say they are worse off financially than they were a year ago, the most the polling company has measured since 2009. Another 35% said they are better off financially than a year ago and the remaining 15% said things are unchanged, Gallup reported Wednesday. “High inflation, rising interest rates, and declining stock values in 2022 all likely took their toll on Americans’ financial situations, with half saying their situation got worse in the past year,” Gallup said. Americans were split evenly on whether they were better off or worse off in 2021 and 2022, including a 41%-41% split in last year’s survey.

Easing inflation and a strong labor market are helping consumers feel better about the economy this month, according to a closely watched survey released Friday by the University of Michigan. The preliminary consumer sentiment index for February increased to 66.4 from 64.9 in January, the university reported Friday. That’s the best reading since January 2021, when the index read 67.2. However, any reading less than 100 indicates pessimism, so all this means is consumers are slightly less pessimistic, despite the liberal media spin.

Nearly 300 companies have laid off about 95,000 workers so far this year, according to layoffs.fyi, a blistering pace that would equate to more than 900,000 cuts in 2023 — nearly six times last year’s total. As Americans spent more time at home early in the pandemic, they bought lots of computers, gaming systems and smartphones and tech companies went on a hiring spree. Now that sales have come back to earth, they’re letting go of  some of those workers.

Drivers nationally are spending an average of $2,014 on auto insurance premiums this year, up 14% from 2022, according to Bankrate. By comparison, consumer prices overall were up 6.5% annually as of December.

Israel: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you. (Psalm 122:6)

For the fifth consecutive week, thousands of Israelis protested in Tel Aviv on Saturday against the legal reforms proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Plans include allowing the Israeli parliament to overrule any Supreme Court decision with the support of 61 lawmakers in the 120-member body and changing the system through which judges are appointed, which would give politicians more control.

On Friday afternoon, a Palestinian terrorist who had previously praised the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror groups on his social media accounts intentionally rammed his vehicle into a crowd of Israelis waiting at a bus stop in Ramot, a neighborhood in north-eastern Jerusalem. A 20-year-old newlywed, and two brothers who were six and eight years old, were killed. 10 people were wounded, with several of them hospitalized over the weekend. The assailant was shot dead at the scene by a police officer. Major media outlets, including the New York Times, BBC, and CNN, used their coverage of a deadly Arab terrorist attack to describe Jerusalem’s largest neighborhood, Ramot, as a “settlement” in “occupied” territory. All three outlets refused to describe the deadly ramming attack targeting Israeli civilians at a bus stop by a Palestinian assailant as a “terror attack.”

A 17-year-old male was wounded in a terrorist stabbing attack in the Old City of Jerusalem Monday afternoon. Listed in light-to-moderate condition, he was transferred to Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center. Approximately two hours later, a 20-year-old man was stabbed at the Anatot checkpoint near the Arab neighborhood of Shuafat in eastern Jerusalem. He was transferred to a Hadassah Mount Scopus hospital in critical condition.

Barcelona’s mayor Ada Colau notified Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today that she is suspending all of the Spanish city’s ties with Israel. “At the request of more than 100 entities and thousands of Barcelona neighbors, I have just communicated to Netanyahu that we suspend institutional relations with the State of Israel due to the repeated violations of human rights of the Palestinian population and non-compliance with United Nations resolutions,” she wrote on Facebook in Spanish, and on Instagram. The city will maintain relations with “Israeli and Palestinian entities that continue to work for peace and against apartheid.”

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)

Violent Hamas crackdowns, arbitrary arrests, trumped-up police charges, imprisonments, and even live ammunition to deter innocent women, children and people with disabilities from demanding basic rights such as electricity are just a few of the heartbreaking testimonies from the Gaza Strip captured in a series of video clips published recently by the U.S.-based Center for Peace Communications. “Hamas claims that the people are wrapped around the resistance, that is their claim to legitimacy, but the reality is that the hundreds who turn out for such events are not a cross-section of the millions who stay home,” said one anonymous resident.

Wars & Rumors of Wars: And you will hear ofwars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; forall these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.Fornation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. (Matthew 24:6-7a)

Russia/Ukraine:

Russian forces unleashed a barrage of missile and drone strikes against targets in eastern and southern Ukraine early Friday, as a Moscow offensive that has been brewing for days appeared to pick up pace ahead of the one-year anniversary of its invasion. The Kremlin’s forces focused their bombardments on Ukraine’s industrial east, especially the Luhansk and Donetsk provinces.

Ukrainian officials say that they almost never launch HIMARS rounds without precise coordinates provided by U.S. military personnel, revealing a more operationally active role for the Pentagon in the war than previously known.

The scenes are chaotic: Russian tanks veering wildly before exploding or driving straight into minefields, men running in every direction, some on fire, the bodies of soldiers caught in tank tracks. Russian military bloggers are calling it a fiasco, and worse. These scenes have been recorded by Ukrainian military drones over the past two weeks around the town of Vuhledar in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, where successive Russian assaults have failed. The Vuhledar debacle suggests chronic failures in the command and tactics of the Russians as they gear up for a spring offensive. If replicated elsewhere on the long military front in Donetsk and Luhansk, such failings could jeopardize the Kremlin’s plans to seize more territory.

The president of SpaceX revealed the company has taken active steps to prevent Ukrainian forces from using the critical Starlink satellite technology with Ukrainian drones that are a key component of their fight against Russia. Starlink was never meant to be used militarily in the way that it has, Gwynne Shotwell argued, saying the company didn’t foresee how profoundly – and creatively – Ukrainian forces would rely on the technology. “It was never intended to be weaponized,” Shotwell told an audience at a space conference.

Russia/U.S.

President Biden and his administration have come under fire for their suspected involvement in the Nord Stream attack on September 26th, 2022. The plan to blow up the pipelines first surfaced when the CIA informed President Biden of its ability to carry out such an endeavor. In response, he downgraded it from a covert operation that would require informing Congress to a highly classified intelligence operation with U.S. military support. As part of this effort, American Navy and Air Force facilities in Norway were utilized to identify the best place to target the pipelines, which ended up being in shallow waters off Denmark’s Bornholm Island. The White House changed the plan so that explosives could be detonated remotely. Following this change, a Norwegian Navy P8 surveillance plane dropped sonar buoys into the sea which triggered high-powered C4 explosives planted on four pipelines with concrete protective covers by divers. Russia has been very vocal about their suspicions that Biden ordered this ‘terrorist’ act.

• “This is utterly false and complete fiction,” Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, said in a statement to news outlets on Feb. 8. A State Department spokesperson issued a similar comment to Reuters.

China/Taiwan/U.S.

Senior Republicans on the House and Senate Armed Services committees disclosed last week that China’s rapidly expanding nuclear forces now exceed the number of U.S. intercontinental-ballistic missile launchers, with little indication that Beijing plans to slow the buildup of its strategic forces. “The head of U.S. Strategic Command has informed us that China has surpassed the U.S. in the number of ICBM launchers — this should serve as a wake-up call for the United States,” said House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers of Alabama. “It is not an understatement to say that the Chinese nuclear modernization program is advancing faster than most believed possible,” the four lawmakers said. “We have no time to waste in adjusting our nuclear force posture to deter both Russia and China. This will have to mean higher numbers and new capabilities.”

Taiwan has accused China of making “dozens” of incursions into its airspace with spy balloons similar to the one shot down over the U.S. last week, further contributing to rising tensions as China surrounds Taiwan with military drills. Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense stated this weekend that China has sent surveillance balloons into its airspace at a rate of roughly one per month for years. Taiwanese officials believe the balloons serve to accumulate data that can help improve the accuracy of China’s radar and missile systems.

• China on Monday said more than 10 U.S. high-altitude balloons have flown in its airspace during the past year without its permission.

North/South Korea:

Last week, North Korea paraded 11 intercontinental ballistic missiles through the streets of Pyongyang. That raised the question of how an impoverished state with an isolated, backward economy that ranks 135th in the world in national wealth has been able to advance its missile and nuclear programs to such an extent. Part of the answer, South Korean officials and analysts say, is a specialized corps of online hackers who last year clandestinely brought in between $1.7 billion and $2 billion to finance North Korea’s military-industrial complex.

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)

The new global epicenter of violent Islamic extremism is sub-Saharan Africa where people are increasingly joining because of economic factors and less for religious ones, says a new report by the U.N.’s international development agency. A significant increase of 92% of new recruits to extremist groups are joining for better livelihoods compared to the motivations of those interviewed in a previous report released in 2017, according to the UNDP report released on Tuesday. Many Africans’ lives have been badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, high inflation, and climate change, said the report. There has been a 57% decrease in the number of people joining extremist groups for religious reasons, it said. Nearly 2,200 people were interviewed for the report in eight African countries: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia, and Sudan. More than 1,000 interviewees are former members of violent extremist groups, both voluntary and forced recruits, said the report.

Security forces acting on intelligence raided a hideout of Pakistani Taliban insurgents along the border with Afghanistan, triggering an intense shootout that left 12 militants dead, the country’s military said Wednesday. The pre-dawn raid came amid soaring tensions in Pakistan and in the aftermath of a mosque bombing last week that killed 101 people in Peshawar. Pakistani officials blamed the blast on the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, which denied involvement. Pakistani Taliban have a strong presence in Lakki Marwat, where they have launched multiple attacks in recent months.

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)

An estimated 36.3 million trees died last year in California, a massive jump from the 9.5 million trees that died in 2021, according to an aerial survey report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. The trees, which are on federal, state and private land, were killed by the effects of the state’s prolonged drought in its overgrown forests, insect outbreaks and disease. The dead trees span nearly 2.6 million acres compared to 1.2 million acres in 2021.

Like the rest of the West, Utah has a water problem. But megadrought and overconsumption aren’t just threats to wildlife, agriculture and industry here. A disappearing Great Salt Lake could poison the lungs of more than 2.5 million people. When the lake level hit historic lows in recent months, 800 square miles of lakebed were exposed – soil that holds centuries of natural and manmade toxins like mercury, arsenic and selenium. As that mud turns to dust and swirls to join some of the worst winter air pollution in the nation, scientists fear that it is on its way to becoming the Great Toxic Dustbowl. “This is an ecological disaster that will become a human health disaster,” warned Bonnie Baxter, director of the Great Salt Lake Institute at Westminster College.

Earthquakes: And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. (Matthew 24:7b) I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. (Revelation 6:12)

Two earthquakes shook Israel on Wednesday evening, measuring 3.3 and 3.9 on the Richter scale, respectively. The first was in central Israel and the second was in Lebanon but felt across the Golan Heights. The temblors followed a 3.5 magnitude quake overnight Tuesday centered 15 kilometers (9 miles) southeast of Ariel, which was felt in Jerusalem and surrounding areas. There have been no reports of injuries or damage, aside from limited cracks in the walls of residential apartments and roadways. The three quakes, occurring within a 24-hour span, come on the backdrop of the devastating earthquakes that have killed over 20,000 people in Turkey and Syria.

End-Time Weather Will Continue to Grow More Severe: (Daniel 9:26b, Ezekiel 38:22, Luke 21:25, Revelation 8:7, 11:19, 16:8,11)

Parts of the South and Southeast are seeing their earliest spring on record this year, with leaves already budding on trees as much as three weeks early. Other parts of the South and Southeast are seeing their earliest spring in 40 years. Contrast that with southern Arizona, where they are seeing their latest start to spring in 40 years.

A winter storm developing over the Four Corners on Tuesday is expected to spread heavy snow across the Plains and into the Upper Midwest by Thursday, and sleet and freezing rain are possible along the route, meteorologists say. “This heavy snow and mixed precipitation, especially where combined with strong winds, could result in hazardous travel conditions and impacts to infrastructure,” the National Weather Service said.

Signs of the Times Update: February 6, 2023

 “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” (Psalm 18:2)

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)

On a snowy Wednesday morning in Washington, D.C., hundreds of people made their way to the Museum of the Bible for a unique event: the National Gathering of Prayer and Repentance. Before dawn had even broken across the city, almost 60 speakers from different nations, organizations, political districts, and backgrounds responded to God’s call to humble themselves and seek His face. “What you’re about to see,” Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said, “is something you won’t see on MSNBC, CNN, or even Fox — that is, members of Congress who are praying and crying out to God. … Know that God is answering your prayers, America,” Perkins urged, “by raising up leaders who love Him and fear Him.” Led by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (La.), 16 Republicans Congressional members from across the country took turns confessing sin and asking for God’s wisdom in the days ahead.

Last Thursday, on February 2, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals resoundingly ruled that the Tampa, Florida, ban on so-called ‘conversion therapy’ is  unconstitutional under the First Amendment, reports Liberty Counsel. The ruling was based on Liberty Counsel’s earlier victory in Otto v. City of Boca Raton in which the Eleventh Circuit previously ruled that similar bans preventing counselors from helping their clients in Palm Beach County and the City of Boca Raton were unconstitutional viewpoint restrictions on speech under the First Amendment. “No government should have the right to tell its people what kind of counseling they should receive. Tampa’s ban was, in effect, an endorsement and promotion of so-called transgenderism and homosexuality. By banning Christian talk therapy, which has been proven successful in healing gender dysphoria and unwanted same-sex desires, the city was effectively telling its struggling residents to stay locked in the cage of misery they were trying to escape,” said Mat Staver, CEO of Liberty Counsel.

In September, Ron DeSantis sparked outrage by sending illegal immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard, a self-proclaimed “sanctuary city” and playground for the leftwing elite. Several lawsuits were filed by illegal immigrants and government accountability organizations. A Leon County circuit judge dismissed a lawsuit alleging that the Florida Department of Transportation and a contractor failed to fully comply with public records requests regarding contentious state-funded flights of illegal migrants to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. Judge Angela Dempsey issued two similar decisions last week, rejecting the lawsuit filed in October by the non-profit Florida Center for Government Accountability against the Department of Transportation and Vertol Systems Company, Inc.

The Demise of America: The first was like a lion (Britain) and had eagle’s wings (America). I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it. (Daniel 7:4)

House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer, R-Ky., sounded the alarm over “massive amounts of fraud” taken from U.S. COVID-19 programs Wednesday after reports found that tens of billions were stolen or simply went missing during the pandemic. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found this week that the DOL spent $45 billion on fraudulent claims for unemployment insurance during the pandemic. It also stated that the department has yet to implement reforms that might prevent future fraud. Meanwhile, the Department of Labor’s inspector general found that the department had lost $163 billion during the pandemic.

• But don’t worry about it, the feds can simply print more money to cover the shortfall.

Criminal organizations backed by the Chinese and Russian governments have been linked to pandemic fraud, the U.S. Secret Service confirmed to Congress last Wednesday. David Smith, an assistant director at the agency, said investigators also spotted a major Nigerian gang that branched out from its normal activities to try to grab U.S. pandemic assistance. “There are some commonalities between some of the thousands of bank accounts we’ve seen to move illicitly gained pandemic fraud resources that are also being used by some of those transnational criminal organization groups,” Mr. Smith told the House Oversight and Accountability Committee.

Politics: Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. (Romans 13:1-2)

President Biden appears to have lost the support of one of the networks that did their best to put him in the White House – CNN. On Wednesday, the liberal network ran a story blowing the whistle on Biden’s lies, specifically concerning his private business dealings as Vice President. They confirmed that Biden “did” indeed have communication with his family members concerning business dealings that they all benefited from financially. “Despite his denials a CNN review of the laptop data as well as other public material, shows that Joe Biden did interact with some of his sons associates while serving as Vice President,” they said in their video report.

The House of Representatives voted Thursday to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from the sensitive House Foreign Affairs Committee, citing her four-year-long history of incendiary remarks downplaying Islamic terrorism while equating the U.S. and Israel with Hamas and the Taliban. The Republican-controlled chamber stripped Omar of this assignment by a 218-211 party line vote. The rest of her committee assignments remain intact.

Christians in Nigeria are particularly in need of prayer this month in the run-up to the general election. Tensions are rising as the country prepares for the poll on February 25, 2023. Nigerian presidential candidates normally choose a vice-presidential running mate from the other religious community. However, All Progressive Congress candidate Bola Tinubu, a Muslim, announced another Muslim as his running mate, sending shock waves through Nigerian politics. The Christian Association of Nigeria has denounced it as a “declaration of war.” n a New Year message, the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria Archbishop Daniel Okoh appealed to security agencies to maintain their efforts to ensure safety and security, especially for the conduct of the forthcoming election. Okoh also urged Christians to “continue praying that the Lord will strengthen our present political leaders to oversee the elections and a successful transition to a new administration in 2023.”

Surveillance State: So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor. (Luke 20:20)

Members of Congress are demanding the Internal Revenue Service investigate tax preparation software companies for allegedly sharing taxpayer information with Facebook. Several news outlets reported in November 2022 that several services, including H&R Block, TaxAct, and TaxSlayer, sent personal and financial information to Facebook after users filed their taxes. That included filers’ return amounts and information on their dependents, and it was gathered via Facebook parent company Meta. specifically, that financial information was transferred to Meta via a widely used code called Meta Pixel, which includes a piece of code that allows users to track visitor activity on a website.

A covert overseas police station run by the Chinese regime in New York has been shuttered following a reported raid by the FBI. “The FBI has confirmed that the ‘overseas police station’ in New York,” a State Department spokesperson said in an email to The Epoch Times. Tate facility and more than 100 others like it form a network of covert facilities from which experts believe that the Chinese Communist Party is conducting a campaign of transnational surveillance.

Religious Freedom: Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. (John 8:36)

The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum kicked out a dozen Catholic high school students and their chaperones for wearing beanies inscribed with pro-life messages. On Jan. 20, students and chaperones from Our Lady of the Rosary School based out of Greenville, South Carolina, traveled to Washington, D.C., for the annual National March for Life. The group members were all wearing matching blue beanies with the words “Rosary PRO-LIFE.” The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), representing the parents of some of the students involved, alleged that the museum staff mocked the students, hurled expletives and claimed the museum was a “neutral zone” where political or religious messages were not allowed.

Censorship: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth. (Romans 1:18)

Four prominent Republican U.S. senators sent a letter to DirectTV and its controlling shareholders, AT&T and TPG, to voice concerns about the recent decision to drop Newsmax. “It appears that this decision may be the latest example of big business suppressing politically disfavored speech at the behest of liberal Democrats,” the senators said in their letter. DirecTV claims it removed Newsmax last week from its channel lineup as a “cost-cutting” measure. Newsmax sought a small cable license fee, the primary way networks pay for their news coverage, of about $1 per year per cable subscriber. DirecTV pays CNN about $12 per year and MSNBC $8. Newsmax ratings are higher than MSNBC and sometimes exceed CNN.

A Georgia police officer named Jacob Kersey made this post to his personal Facebook account earlier this month: “God designed marriage. Marriage refers to Christ and the church. That’s why there is no such thing as homosexual marriage.” The next day, his supervisor informed him that someone had complained about the post and instructed him to take it down. When Kersey refused, the supervisor warned him that failure to delete the Facebook post could result in his termination. He was placed on paid administrative leave for a week, then told he could not share personal opinions on social media that someone might find offensive. Next, Kersey received a letter explaining that “if any post on any of your social media platforms, or any other statement or action, renders you unable to perform, and to be seen as [unable] to perform, your job in a fair and equitable manner, you could be terminated.”

• By this logic, notes the Denison Forum, any statement made by any person on any subject that another person deems not to be “fair and equitable” is grounds for dismissal. Realizing that he could continue his career with the department only if “I compromise my values, morals, and deeply held religious beliefs,” Kersey resigned his position rather than give up his “core values.”

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)

A Pew Research study has revealed that Christians faced harassment in more countries than any other religious group during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. According to the Jan. 27 report, which was based on data released in November, Christians faced harassment in more than 155 countries in 2020, a sharp uptick from 110 in 2012. “Harassment” is defined to include a wide range of actions from verbal abuse to physical violence and killings committed by governments, social groups or individuals. The study captured “cases where individuals or groups feel singled out or unable to express their religious belief or nonbelief.” It rated 198 countries and territories by their levels of government restrictions on religion and social hostilities involving religion using the same 10-point indexes used in the previous studies.

Jeff Gray, a U.S. Army veteran and retired truck driver, was arrested for a holding a sign with the message “God bless the homeless vets” in front of a Georgia city hall. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). Gray filed two lawsuits last Tuesday alleging his First Amendment right to speak freely outside government buildings had been infringed upon. “I have been harassed, trespassed, handcuffed and arrested countless times for peacefully exercising my First Amendment rights,” Gray said

As the founder of the Austin Fire Department’s volunteer fire chaplaincy program, Dr. Andrew Fox knows that after fire fighters and first responders spend themselves saving others, they may need saving, too. So, he served as a trusted and ready voice for the over 1,400 members of the fire department for eight years, leading a chaplaincy service that was on call 24/7, 365 days of the year. But this all came to an end when Dr. Fox was unfairly—and unlawfully—fired from his position as fire chaplain. He was told that a post on his private blog—where he defended women from having to compete against men in sports—offended some in the department. 

A church pastor in northeast Nigeria was slain on Thursday (Jan. 26), and anti-Christian violence continued to grow in the southern part of the country with the killing of two Christians in Delta state. In northeast Nigeria, Pastor Jerry Hinjari of Christ Nation International was abducted from his home in Yola, Adamawa state around midnight on Wednesday (Jan. 25), and his body was found on a roadside in the city the next day. The assailants were unknown, though Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) members active in the region were suspected. In Nigeria’s Delta region, Fulani herdsmen killed two Christians last week and wounded and kidnapped others, area residents said. In Toru-Angiama village, Patani County in Delta state, police said assailants on Jan. 23 killed two Christians, shot and wounded another and kidnapped several others.

Last month, according to the Congolese military, a militant group attacked a Pentecostal church, killing at least 10 and wounding scores of others. Though incidents like this are hardly new, they rarely make the news. Many in the Western world simply don’t realize how prevalent Christianity and Christian persecution are outside of Europe and North America, reports Breakpoint.

More than 2,900 people have been killed in the crackdown on dissent, over 18,000 arrested, and about 1.2 million displaced in Myanmar since the coup on Feb. 1, 2021. The country, also known as Burma, marked the second anniversary of the takeover last Wednesday. Christians there have been facing increased suffering on the harsh regime.

Abortion: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart. (Jeremiah 1:5)

Distributing abortion pills through the mail is unsafe and illegal under both federal and state law, wrote Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey and the attorneys general of 19 other states, in letters to the headquarters of national pharmacy chains CVS and Walgreens. Both companies are seeking certification from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to dispense abortion pills through the mail. “Federal law expressly prohibits using the mail to send or receive any drug that will ‘be used or applied for producing abortion.’ 18 U.S.C. § 1461,” state the letters.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed the Protect Reproductive Options Act on Tuesday, which says every individual has a “right to make autonomous decisions” about “reproductive healthcare.” It is unclear exactly how the new law will affect abortion in the state. The Minnesota Supreme Court’s 1995 ruling in Doe v. Gomez created a right to get an abortion in the state, while Minnesota’s current law protects babies after 23 weeks, except to save the life or health of the mother. Exceptions to the current law have sometimes been allowed. The new bill, according to sponsor Sen. Jennifer McEwen, was meant to enshrine the “right” to abortion into the state law.

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)

New cases of Covid-19 in the U.S. declined by 14% over the past two weeks, with hospitalizations down 18% and deaths down 6%. Just over 30,000 people are currently hospitalized with the coronavirus nationwide, down from almost 50,000 in early January. Hospitalizations are decreasing in almost every state. Test positivity, however, has begun to tick up in recent days after a few weeks of sustained declines. If the trend continues, cases and hospitalizations could also begin to rise again in the coming weeks.

• Worldwide cases are down 38% with deaths down 46%. However, China’s numbers are under dispute.

The White House announced last Tuesday that the U.S. plans to end the coronavirus public health emergency on May 11. The New York Times said this is “a sign that federal officials believe the pandemic has moved into a new, less dire phase.” This means that many Americans would have to start paying for Covid-19 testing, vaccines and treatment after the declarations cease. However, a report released yesterday by the World Health Organization states that the world remains “dangerously unprepared” for the next pandemic, which could be “just around the corner.” The WHO is currently monitoring nine “priority diseases” that pose the greatest public health risk.

Wearing face-masks — even fancier N95 masks — has “little or no” effect in protecting against COVID-19 and the flu compared to not wearing one, according to a massive new British meta-study. “There is uncertainty about the effects of masks,” concludes a team of 12 international researchers in the study published Jan. 30 in the peer-reviewed U.K. journal Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. “Wearing masks in the community probably makes little or no difference to the outcome of laboratory‐confirmed influenza/SARS‐CoV‐2 compared to not wearing masks,” an abstract of the U.K. study states. Moreover, the study concludes that among medical workers, even the more robust N95 masks did not yield greater protection compared to more standard masks

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)

Young athletes are dropping dead at alarming rates. These are not sick individuals who finally succumb; these are athletes at the peak of their fitness. Some are even on the field/court when they die. Since the COVID shots were launched, we have seen a shocking increase of 786% in the deaths of healthy athletes under 35, reports Liberty Counsel. From 1966 to 2004, one study showed a worldwide average of just 28 deaths per year in athletes under 35. But in 2021, that number skyrocketed to at least 220 athletes who died suddenly.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials are aware of reports of long-lasting problems following COVID-19 vaccination, an official recently disclosed. “With respect to reports of people experiencing debilitating illnesses, we are aware of these reports of people experiencing long-lasting health problems following COVID vaccination,” Dr. Tom Shimabukuro, director of the CDC’s Immunization Safety Office, said on Jan. 26. “And we acknowledge these health problems have substantially impacted the quality of life for people and have also affected those around them. And we hope for improvement and recovery, and we will continue to monitor the safety of these vaccines and work with partners to try to better understand these types of adverse events,” Shimabukuro added.

The Pfizer executive who already is famous for claiming that his company was mutating the COVID-19 virus so that it could continue selling new vaccinations – a “cash cow” – also claimed the mRNA shots were affecting women’s reproductive health. “There is something irregular about the menstrual cycles. So, people will have to investigate that down the line,” said Jordon Trishton Walker, Pfizer’s director of research and development, strategic operations. He said, “The [COVID] vaccine shouldn’t be interfering with that [menstrual cycles]. So, we don’t really know.” The comments came in another video released by Project Veritas, which does undercover interviews.

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)

Eunice Dwumfour, a Sayreville, New Jersey councilwoman was pronounced dead at the scene after she was shot multiple times Wednesday night while inside her white SUV. Police have yet to disclose a motive for the shooting or identify any suspects or make any arrests. However, law enforcement said that they believe the attack may have been targeted. Eunice was elected to the council in 2021, and worked as both a business analyst and a part-time emergency medical technician.

Tragedy: In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

Residents living in East Palestine, Ohio, were told to evacuate if they lived within a one-mile radius of a 50-car train crash, which released hazardous chemicals and spawned a massive fire that lit up the night sky at around 9:00 p.m. Friday. The EPA was monitoring the air quality around the town of just over 4,700 people. According to Norfolk Southern, the train’s operator, about 20 of the train’s 100 cars had hazardous materials including “flammables, combustibles, or environmental risks.” Toxic gas release likely, authorities said.

Strikes/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)

British workers walked off the job last Wednesday over pay disputes in the country’s largest coordinated strike in over a decade. Union officials said an estimated half-million teachers, train drivers, and civil servants were involved in the strike. Workers are pushing the government to increase salaries for public employees as the United Kingdom’s annualized inflation rate passed 10 percent in December. Thousands of schools across England and Wales have been affected by the walkouts and Britain’s railway company Rail Delivery Group said only 30 percent of its train services would run on Wednesday. Additional strikes are planned for later this month across several industries.

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)

A federal law that prohibits people subject to domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms is unconstitutional, a conservative-leaning appeals court ruled Thursday. The ruling is the latest significant decision dismantling a gun restriction in the wake of the Supreme Court’s expansion of Second Amendment rights last year in the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen decision. The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals said that the federal law targeting those believed to pose a domestic violence threat could not stand under the Bruen test, which requires that gun laws have a historical analogy to the firearm regulations in place at the time of the Constitution’s framing.

The most expansive federal report in over two decades on guns and crime shows a shrinking turnaround between the time a gun was purchased and when it was recovered from a crime scene, indicating firearms bought legally are more quickly being used in crimes around the country. The report shows 54% of guns that police recovered in crime scenes in 2021 had been purchased illegally within three years. It also documents a spike in the use of conversion devices that make a semiautomatic gun fire like a machine gun, along with the growing seizure of so-called ghost guns, privately made firearms that are hard to trace. The number of new guns overall in the U.S. grew significantly as gun sales shattered records during the coronavirus pandemic. The report comes as the nation grapples with a rise in violent crime, particularly from guns.

Justice (or lack thereof): Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. (Jeremiah 23:5)

James Meek, 53, former ABC News reporter, has been charged with transporting child pornography. Meek who was nominated for an Emmy and known for being a celebrated CBS journalist, resigned from ABC News on April 27, 2022, after the FBI raided his home that same day. Meek then went into hiding. During the raid, agents found explicit child pornography images and chats on several of his devices. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.

Four men suspected of the 2021 killing of Haiti’s president appeared in U.S. federal court in Miami on Wednesday. Three suspects—James Solages, Joseph Vincent, and Germán Rivera García—have been charged with conspiracy to murder President Jovenel Moise, who was killed in July 2021 at his home. The fourth man, Christian Emmanuel Sanon, has been charged with smuggling bulletproof vests to Haiti for use in the plot. While it remains unclear who led the plot to kill Moise, political instability was growing in Haiti at the time of his death, and some called for his removal. Three other men were arrested last year in connection with the murder and are also in United States custody.

Law Enforcement: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. (Matthew 5:9)

Police have arrested two suspects in the Jan. 16 execution-style murders of six people in Goshen, Calif. Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux said Friday that the two suspects—Noah David Beard, 25, and Angel “Nanu” Uriarte, 35—had been under surveillance for almost two weeks. The two suspects are confirmed gang members. Officers took Beard into custody, while Uriarte suffered injuries from a shootout with police. Boudreaux says the killings appear gang-related, but he added that the victims were not all drug dealers or gang members. Two of those killed were a 16-year-old girl and her 10-month-old baby; another victim was 72.

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, spirits of lawlessness are stirring up lawlessness which will increase all the more as the end-times ramp up.

A Neo-Nazi leader was charged in a plot to attack the Maryland power grid along with his girlfriend. Brandon Russell and Sarah Clendaniel met while he was incarcerated for possessing bombmaking materials and she was detained in Maryland for robbery, according to court documents. They are charged with conspiring to destroy an energy facility, which carries up to 20 years in prison. The charges come after similar attacks on the power grid in North Carolina and Oregon, which remain unsolved. Russell allegedly discussed maximizing the impact of the planned attack by hitting multiple substations at one time. Russel wanted to completely destroy Baltimore, the Justice Department said.

Human Abuse/Trafficking: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. (Luke 4:18-19)

China has been torturing its own people and operating an organ harvesting ring for decades. The personal stories have been pouring out of Xi Jinping’s country for many years — and it’s past time, Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.)  says, to do something about it. “In plain sight, he is committing a genocide,” Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) said of Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China. The New has chaired 76 congressional hearings about the human rights crises in China. Smith’s 40-plus years in Congress have been defined by his crusade to hold the communist country accountable for the atrocities it commits against its own people. Now his cries for action have only grown more urgent. In 1994, President Bill Clinton delinked human rights from trade, giving China ‘favored nation’ status because officials thought that our economic partnership would bring about changes in China by our example, but that has failed, and the abuse has only gotten worse.

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)

Ultra-processed foods such as white bread, candy bars, cookies, frozen meals, and sodas are major brain-dimmers if they make up more than 20% of your daily calories. A study in JAMA Neurology found that middle-aged people who ate that amount of such foods had a 28% faster rate of cognitive decline over eight years.

Drugs: And they did not repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries [Greek: pharmakeia, i.e. pharmacy, drugs].

In an effort to reduce the number of fatal drug overdoses across Canada, the province of British Columbia has become the first province to adopt a policy of decriminalizing possession of small amounts of opioids such as fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, and other narcotics. The new legislation means that individuals caught with a maximum combined total of 2.5 grams or less will be spared any criminal charges and instead are offered assistance and information on health and social services. This monumental shift in Canadian drug policy looks to break down the fear and shame associated with substance use while providing an avenue for those struggling with addiction to seek out lifesaving support, said BC minister for mental health and addictions Jennifer Whiteside.

Education: Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6)

Utah Governor Spencer Cox (R) signed a school-choice bill last week that gives scholarships to students for resources like private schools, homeschooling resources, and tutoring. The Iowa legislature passed a similar bill last week. Now, each approved student in Utah will get an $8,000 education savings account. There is no income cap, but lower-income families will get first priority, and the program is limited to $42 million. The bill also includes salary increases for teachers. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) made education reform a top administrative priority, championing the new law allowing parents to use public funding to send their children to private schools if they so choose.

Marriage/Family:  “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Matthew 19:4-6)

Researchers with the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, in Oslo, found that compared with divorced people and lifelong singles, older adults in a long-term marriage were less likely to develop dementia. Roughly 11% were diagnosed with dementia after age 70, versus 12% to 14% of their divorced or single counterparts. When the researchers weighed other factors that could affect dementia risk — like education levels and lifestyle habits — long-term marriage was still linked to a protective effect: Divorced and unmarried adults were 50% to 73% more likely to be diagnosed with dementia.

Gender Confusion: Male and female He created them. (Genesis 5:2)

• Gender confusion is being promoted because it undermines God’s ordained family structure, giving secular government more control over people, particularly our youth.

Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill Saturday, 1/28,  that protects Utah minors from transgender surgery if they have not already received a diagnosis of gender dysphoria. He said the bill pauses the life-altering treatment until more research has been done—especially into long-term consequences. Another 18 states are considering similar bills to protect minors from transgender surgeries.

A video game series that is marketed to children is coming under attack for its recent update allowing characters to have double mastectomy scars and chest binders. “The Sims 4,” which calls itself “the ultimate life simulation game” on its website, announced Tuesday that it would allow players to give characters “top scars” that come from breast removal surgery. The announcement drew a swift backlash online, with many gamers and parents expressing horror that a game, especially one that is marketed to children, would promote transgender surgeries. 

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)

Illegal border crossings into U.S. fell by about 40 percent in January, preliminary figures show. Tighter restrictions applied by the Biden administration against migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela along the southern border last month led to a sharp drop in the number of people from those countries crossing into the United States illegally, according to three administration officials.

Vice President Kamala Harris announced Monday a slate of private sector financial commitments totaling $950 million for northern Central America, marking the administration’s latest attempt to address the root causes of migration by increasing economic opportunity. The investments will “create the sort of positive ecosystem that will provide opportunity and hope,” adding that the companies involved are committed to “good governance.” Columbia Sportswear Company will spend $200 million to create more than 6,900 jobs in the region. Nextil will spend $40 million to build two new production facilities in Guatemala, which the White House says will create over 1,300 direct jobs and 3,000 indirect jobs. Target will spend $300 million in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras by 2023. Other companies include Chegg, an online learning platform that pledged to teach technical skills to 100,000 young adults in Honduras by 2030, and Millicom, which will spend $350 million by 2025 to expand its mobile and broadband networks in the region.

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 food processing plant in the Canadian province of New Brunswick went up in flames Friday, the latest in a slew of fires at food processors in North America. The structure was a “total loss,” according to the Canadian Television Network. The plant produces fertilizer and animal feed. The fire was the fourth fish plant fire in the region including two fires that took place in 2021 and one from 2019. Authorities say there is something ‘unusual’ about these fires occurring so frequently. The U.S. has also seen several such fires, the latest being at a chicken processor.

Energy Supplies: He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. (Isaiah 44:14-15)

Last Wednesday, a bipartisan group of legislators led by West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin and Texas Republican Ted Cruz introduced a bill called the Protecting America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve from China Act, which would prevent the sale of any more barrels of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve(SPR) to China by President Joe Biden, which he did with some of the previous releases of SPR oil.

Treasure: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21) Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you. (Luke 6:38)

Under a new Labor Department rule that just went into effect last week, investment companies like BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard, have the green light to put ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) priorities like abortion, climate change, the LGBT agenda ahead of turning a profit for people’s retirement plans. In other words, if a certain energy stock is performing well, progressive activists like Blackrock’s CEO Larry Fink would have the government’s blessing to ignore the client’s financial interests and invest in a company that aligns with Fink’s environmental goals instead.

• However, 25 state attorneys general argue that this is a violation of federal law. Woke companies can’t just decide to sacrifice a client’s financial wellbeing on the altar of their radical political agenda — especially when that client is an entire state pension fund.

Poverty: Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed. (Proverbs 19:17) Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (Hebrews 13:16) Jesus said, “The poor you will always have with you.” (Matthew 26:11)

Food pantry lines have grown longer over the past year, reports the USA Today. Government officials have been pointing poor people to the pantries, but they say there is simply no way they will be able to completely fill the growing food gap.

Taxes:  He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Luke 20:25)

Hidden away deep inside the massive Inflation Reduction Act  is a new tax on methane gas. The Biden Administration calls it a “methane fee,” but the Congressional Budget Office calls it a tax, which will take effect in 2024 and will hit domestic producers and American families the hardest. It is estimated to generate between $1-2 billion in revenue each year for Washington. Nearly half the homes in the U.S. are heated with natural gas, which is primarily comprised of methane. According to the Census Bureau, more than 1 in 5 families could not pay their energy bills over the last year — and this new tax will make it worse.

Welfare: “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be.” (Deut.  15:7-8)

States are preparing to remove millions of people from Medicaid as protections put in place early in the COVID-19 pandemic expire. Almost three years ago, as COVID sent the economy into free fall, the federal government agreed to send billions of dollars in extra Medicaid funding to states on the condition that they stop dropping people from their rolls. But legislation enacted in December will be phasing out that money over the next year and calls for states to resume cutting off from Medicaid people who no longer qualify. The upheaval, which begins in April, will put millions of low-income Americans at risk of losing health coverage, threatening their access to care and potentially exposing them to large medical bills. It will also put pressure on the finances of hospitals, doctors, and others that rely on payments from Medicaid, a state-federal program that covers lower-income people and people with disabilities.

Business: Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice. (Proverbs 16:8)

Computer manufacturer Dell plans to lay off roughly 5% of its workforce, the company said in a regulatory filing Monday, in the latest example of tech companies cutting costs in an uncertain economic climate. Dell has about 133,000 employees. So, the 5% cut would represent more than 6,500 employees. The computing giant cited the “challenging global economic environment” for the cuts.

McDonald’s reported strong revenues as inflationary pressures continue to drive budget-conscious consumers toward the fast food brand. The company reported $5.93 billion in revenues against $5.68 billion expected by analysts in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to a press release. The company’s stock has increased 1.5% over the past year, outperforming the S&P 500 Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Thursday’s earnings reports from Alphabet (Google), Amazon and Apple underscored the slowdown in the tech sector. Apple’s quarterly revenue fell 5 percent year-over-year. Alphabet reported revenue growth of just 1 percent year-over-year, and Amazon’s sales grew significantly more slowly in 2022 than they did the previous year. Big Tech’s slowdown reverses a long trend of rapid growth which peaked during the pandemic, as more households relied on technology to survive the lockdowns and reduce public exposure.

Economy – Depression/Shortages: 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)

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by only 0.25 percentage points, slowing the pace of its hikes in new phase of its inflation fight. The central bank still plans to raise rates a bit more this year, but it has moved on from the rapid increases of 2022 after inflation peaked last summer and has begun to decline.

The prime interest rate has risen to 7.5%, up from 3.25% in January of 2022, due to the Federal Reserve raising inter-bank interest rates. As a result, the average credit card interest rate has risen from 14.6% on February 1, 2022 to 23.4% last Wednesday, according to LendingTree. That’s raised monthly interest charges to $135 – a nearly $42 increase – on the average American’s $6,965 credit card balance. The rate on auto loans was 4.9% on 2/2/22 and is now 6.9%, while  the 30-year mortgage rate rose from 3.6% last year to 6.15% now.

The economy picked up 517,000 jobs last month, up from around 255,000 in December and far more than the 187,000 economists had predicted. It was surprisingly strong growth in a labor market experiencing widespread tech layoffs. January marked the 25th straight month of job growth, according to new data released last Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, even as tens of thousands of tech workers lost their jobs. Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Goldman Sachs all announced mass layoffs in January, blaming uncertain economic conditions. The unemployment rate fell from 3.5% to 3.4%, the lowest since 1969.

Gas prices began to slide in the fall of 2022l, but they’ve been on the rise for each of the last five weeks and are expected to continue to increase, experts say. Drivers are paying $3.50 on average for a regular gallon of gas, according to AAA as of 1/30/23. That’s up from $3.36 a gallon at the same time last year. And experts predict the average price might tick up to $4 in the coming months.

The number of households receiving energy assistance during the current winter season rose an estimated 1.3 million, from 4.9 million to 6.2 million, the largest one-year increase since 2009. Applications for energy help are made through the federal social services Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program in each state. Families are struggling to pay high energy bills along with other rising costs for essential goods, like food and rent, that are increasing at a faster rate than the overall rate of inflation. Grocery prices rose 10.4% annually in December and rents rose about 7.5%, while overall inflation increased by 6.5%.

According to a new survey by Lending Club, a whopping 64% of Americans (166 million people) are living paycheck to paycheck. What’s more, 51% of Americans earning more than $100,000 per year reported living paycheck to paycheck in 2022. Per the report, in 2022, “9.3 million more consumers are now living paycheck to paycheck, and eight million, or 86%, of those consumers earn more than $100,000 annually.” Based on the survey data, most Americans do not believe things will get better any time soon. In fact, only four out of 10 Americans “expect their personal finances to improve in the next year.”

The latest ABC News/Washington Post poll shows that a record 40% of Americans believe their financial situation has worsened since Biden took office. It’s the highest percentage in 37 years of ABC News/Washington Post polls. Only 16% of respondents reported being better off, compared to 25% under former President Trump at the same point in his term. 13% reported being worse off during that time.

Israel: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you. (Psalm 122:6)

The Palestinian Authority, Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) last week called “on the peoples of the world and their democratic and progressive forces” to actively participate in the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanction) Movement against Israel and to “dismantle Israel’s system of settler colonialism, apartheid, and military occupation.” The joint PA-PLO-BDS statement demands “the dismantling of Israel’s regime of settler-colonialism and apartheid.” Their communique refers to Zionism as a “racist, genocidal ideology that encourages terrorism and fascism.”

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)

Unidentified attackers fired eight rockets at a Turkish military base in northern Iraq on Wednesday, two of which landed inside, the Counter-Terrorism Group, reported a security organization in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region. Turkey confirmed that the attack took place and vowed to retaliate. ‘From time to time, there are some attacks (on Turkish bases), and we are retaliating against these attacks and necessary measures are taken,’ Defense Minister Hulusi Akar told reporters in Ankara. A Turkish security source said earlier the attack had caused no damage and there were no casualties. An Iraqi security source who declined to be identified said an Iraqi contractor in the base had been wounded.

Wars & Rumors of Wars: And you will hear ofwars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; forall these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.Fornation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. (Matthew 24:6-7a)

Russia/Ukraine: Russia is violating a key nuclear arms control agreement with the United States and continuing to refuse to allow inspections of its nuclear facilities, a State Department spokesperson said Tuesday. “Russia is not complying with its obligation under the New START Treaty to facilitate inspection activities on its territory. Russia’s refusal to facilitate inspection activities prevents the United States from exercising important rights under the treaty and threatens the viability of U.S.-Russian nuclear arms control,” the spokesperson said in statement. “Russia has also failed to comply with the New START Treaty obligation to convene a session of the Bilateral Consultative Commission in accordance with the treaty-mandated timeline,” the spokesperson added.

The Biden administration has approved another $2.1 billion military aid package to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense arsenal. The package includes $425 million in arms and equipment drawn from existing U.S. stockpiles, as well as $1.75 billion in Ukraine Assistance Security Initiative funds, which Ukraine can use to purchase new weapons—particularly those related to air defense—from manufactures contracted with the U.S. Department of Defense.

China/Taiwan: A Chinese spy balloon was detected last Thursday flying at very high altitude over the U.S. the Pentagon said. U.S. defense officials said the high-altitude balloon was spotted this week over Montana, but they would not specify its present whereabouts. The Pentagon considered shooting it down but opted not to for fear the debris could cause injuries to people on the ground. Montana is  home to one of the most sensitive U.S. military installations, which oversees Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles. China claimed that the airship was a civilian research craft that was blown far off course by prevailing winds, and that it regrets the incident.

• The U.S. military shot down the Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic Ocean Saturday afternoon while it was off the coast of South Carolina. A U.S. F-22 fighter jet used an Aim-9X Sidewinder missile to shoot it down. The Chinese foreign ministry expressing extreme displeasure and vowed to respond. Secretary of State Antony Blinken cancelled his trip to China scheduled for this week. A defense official on Saturday said Chinese spy balloons briefly traveled over the United States at least three times during the Trump administration, but later retracted it saying it was after Trump left office.

United States troops will gain access to four additional Filipino military bases in addition to the five where it already is allowed, officials from the two countries said Thursday. China said the move has escalated tension in the region. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was in the capital city of Manila on Wednesday. He has led efforts to strengthen America’s security alliances in Asia in response to China’s recent activity in the South China Sea and near Taiwan. United States troops will get access to four Filipino military bases in addition to the five where it already is allowed, officials from the two countries said Thursday. China said the move has escalated tension in the region. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was in the capital city of Manila on Wednesday. He has led efforts to strengthen America’s security alliances in Asia in response to China’s recent activity in the South China Sea and near Taiwan.

Somalia: Top leaders of Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya on Wednesday agreed to begin ‘search and destroy’ operations to push al Shabaab militants out of neighboring Somalia. The move follows an intensified offensive by Somalia’s federal government against the al Qaeda-affiliated group over the past few months. It has taken back control of several towns and villages in central Somalia with the help of U.S. military, allied clan militias and forces belonging to Somali regional governments.

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)

In Kaduna State, Nigeria, at least 39 Christians, including six entire families, were killed in separate attacks by suspected Fulani Islamist militants on December 13 and 18, 2022. The assaults targeted the village of Mallagun and seven surrounding villages. Among the victims was 105-year-old Monica Kunal Ajuwai. The attackers looted homes of grain and valuables before burning down 102 houses.

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)

Valley fever is an infection caused by breathing in spores of the fungus Coccidioides. The fungus is endemic to the hot, dry soil of the Southwest because the spores can survive through heat and drought. When the dirt is disturbed by wind, construction or even walking, the spores can spread into the air. While normally 97% of all U.S. cases of Valley fever are reported in Arizona and California, fungal infections like Valley fever are spreading alarmingly outside of their normal environment. According to NBC News, one study in the journal GeoHealth projected that climate change is driving Valley fever farther east, and by the end of the century the illness could spread east through the Great Plains and north to the Canadian border.

Earthquakes: And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. (Matthew 24:7b) I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. (Revelation 6:12)

A devastating magnitude 7.8 earthquake has killed more than 2,500 people and counting across Turkey and Syria. Many more are thought to be trapped under the rubble of thousands of buildings destroyed by the quake, which struck west of the city of Gaziantep in southern central Turkey, at 4:17 a.m. Monday local time. R​eports say nearly 7,000 people have been injured in Turkey and Syria. The powerful quake  shook buildings as far away as Israel and Jordan. A​nother powerful earthquake struck less than 12 hours after the first quake. The magnitude 7.5 quake struck at 1:24 p.m. The epicenter was about 60 miles northeast of the site of the earlier 7.8 magnitude earthquake. The second strong temblor was one of more than 30 aftershocks felt since the first earthquake.

End-Time Weather Will Continue to Grow More Severe: (Daniel 9:26b, Ezekiel 38:22, Luke 21:25, Revelation 8:7, 11:19, 16:8,11)

A deadly ice storm pummeled parts of Texas, Arkansas and Tennessee Tuesday into Wednesday. A​t least seven deaths are being blamed on from icy road conditions from the storm. More than 500,000 homes and businesses in Texas, Arkansas and other Southern states had no electricity Wednesday morning, most of those in Texas. More than 1,900 flights scheduled for last Wednesday were canceled in Texas, with 1,200 of those at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport,  another 300 flights at Dallas Love Field, and another 200 flights at Austin-Bergstrom International. Parts of Texas were colder than Alaska. AccuWeather reported.

• More than 432,000 remained without power last Thursday.

N​ew York City received its first measurable snow of 2022-23 on Wednesday morning, February 1, a record-long wait for the season’s first snowfall in over 150 years of record keeping. Central Park measured 0.4 inches of snow early Wednesday in a small band of snowfall overnight. Snowfall this season in New York City was about 14 inches below average through the end of January.

Nestled between the snowy ranges of Mount Rainier and Glacier Peak, the Hinman Glacier in Washington state has disappeared after existing full of ice and snowpack for millennia, according to a researcher who has tracked the glacier for years. It’s not just the Northern Cascades that’s losing ice. Researchers recently found that up to half of the planet’s glaciers could be lost by the end of the century, even if the world’s ambitious global climate targets, including phasing out fossil fuels, are met.

Bitter cold dropped temperatures to record breaking lows in the Northeast on Friday. The wind chill — what the temperature feels like — on the summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire, dropped to minus 108 F. That’s likely the lowest wind chill ever recorded in the United States since meteorologists began calculating wind chills, said Brian Brettschneider, an Alaskan climate scientist.