2024 (Half) Wrapped

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RECAP

2024 (Half) Wrapped

Time flies! Here are some stories that made headlines (so far) this year that you may have already forgotten…

In January, Boeing’s stock plummeted after loose bolts caused a door plug to fall off mid-flight, Harvard’s President resigned following allegations of plagiarism and rocky congressional testimony on campus antisemitism, and the so-called Epstein List was released in batches. At this point, the Federal Reserve had high hopes of cutting interest rates three times (it’s now predicting one).

In February, TikTok went quiet after Universal Music Group removed its tunes from the platform, Alexei Navalny (Russian President Putin’s most prominent critic) died under suspicious circumstances in a remote prison colony, and Alabama ruled that embryos are children in a landmark IVF decision. Oh, and Taylor Swift won pretty much every Grammy Award.

In March, Former President Trump’s remaining primary challengers, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis, dropped out of the race, clearing the way for a general election rematch between Presidents Trump and Biden. We avoided (another) government shutdown, and the Pentagon released a much-anticipated UFO report… which said there aren’t UFOs.

In April, Israel bombed Iran’s embassy compound in Syria, killing multiple Iranian leaders and setting up Iran’s historic (but largely harmless) retaliation. Iowa’s Caitlin Clark lost to South Carolina in the women’s NCAA championship (the most-watched basketball game of any kind since 2019) before being drafted to the Indiana Fever. Americans donned funny glasses to watch the first total solar eclipse since 2017, and a human got the bird flu (mild symptoms). 

In May, universities canceled commencements and suspended students due to widespread pro-Palestine protests, Scottie Scheffler – the world’s #1 golfer – was arrested on the way to the PGA Championship over a misunderstanding (police later apologized), and Donald Trump became the first former president convicted of a felony.

In June, Hunter Biden became the first child of a sitting president convicted of a felony, AI chipmaker Nvidia (briefly) became the most valuable company in the world, reports of an Israel-Hamas ceasefire never materialized, and the Supreme Court issued rulings on abortion drug mifepristone, bump stocks, social media, and more.

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ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE
There will be a day when “small” things like prayer, brief gospel-centered conversations, and loving people who are hateful or rude towards you will have helped shape eternity, and “big” things like unprecedented court cases and U.S. politics will be 100,000-year-old memories.

“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
Colossians 3:2-4 (CSB) (read full passage)

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WHIPPED CREAM ON TOP

Some perspective, provided by the trees of Sequoia National Park…