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U.S. NEWS

Closing Arguments

Now it's in the jury’s hands.

Yesterday, lawyers in President Trump’s hush-money trial gave their closing arguments. The defense went first, offering a three-hour summation centering on the credibility of the prosecution’s key witness Michael Cohen, who they called “the greatest liar of all time.” The defense urged the jury to come to a “very quick and easy not guilty verdict.”

The prosecution began after lunch, recapping their 20 witnesses through an hours-long chronological narrative. They urged jurors to trust the paper trail and to believe Cohen, who testified that Trump was informed about the hush money arrangement and repayments at every turn.

Jury deliberation begins today and could last hours, days, or even weeks. The decision to acquit or convict must be unanimous for each of the 34 charges.

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CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
A major way we can reflect the peace and hope of Christ is by dwelling less on certain topics than the rest of the world. This trial is not unimportant, but neither is it all-important, and we should not let it consume our attention or steal our focus from God’s call on our lives.

“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)

WORLD NEWS

Operation Rafah

Global outcry is growing as Israel’s three-week-old offensive in Rafah presses on.

Tuesday, Israeli tanks closed in on the center of Gaza’s largest southern city, where ~500,000 Palestinians remain. Troops are engaged in close-quarter combat, seeking to locate terrorist infrastructure and dismantle Hamas’s smuggling operation along the Egyptian border.

Meanwhile, aerial bombardment continues. Sunday, Palestinian officials said an airstrike in a Gazan “humanitarian zone” caused a fire that killed over 40 civilians. Israel said the strike killed two senior Hamas operatives, calling the civilian deaths a “tragic mishap.” Another strike Tuesday killed 21 in a civilian-designated area.

Israel says it is investigating Sunday’s fire, along with 70 other possible violations of the laws of war. The U.S. is watching investigations “closely” while adding to the increasing international calls for Israel to protect civilians.

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CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
The darkness of death weighs heavily on our hearts and our world. But believers have hope because Emmanuel is present with us in the darkness, and our Living God has removed the sting of death so that it’s powerless against those who love him.

“‘Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, death, is your victory? Where, death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work.”
1 Corinthians 15:54-58 (CSB) (read full passage)

SPONSORED

Lacking Daily Food

Somalia is caught in the crosshairs of natural disasters, global conflicts, widespread poverty, and disease outbreaks.   

East Africa is coming off its worst drought in 40 years, which has left tens of millions of people without access to clean water, killed millions of livestock, and decimated crops. They became very reliant on imported food, and 90% of Somalia’s wheat came from Russia and Ukraine… which stopped coming.

Now, two in five children in Somalia suffer from acute malnutrition, and a cholera outbreak is spreading in some areas. The food shortage, coupled with humanitarian aid being focused on Europe and the Middle East, has been the perfect storm and led to an alarming increase in child malnutrition. 

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BE DOERS
We’re asking the TPO Community to join us in partnering with World Concern to help get emergency nutrition packs (a peanut paste fortified with nutrients), water, and hygiene products to those with the most need. 

Every $12 feeds a child for a month. We’re matching the first $2,000; just give through this link.

“If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,’ but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it?”
James 2:15-16 (CSB) (read full passage)

WEATHER

Bad Weather

Deadly storms swept away Memorial Day plans across much of the country.

Over the weekend, tornadoes killed at least 25 people and destroyed buildings across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Kentucky. After a below-average March, storm chasers more than caught up, recording nearly 400 tornadoes in April — the second-most tornadic April on record — and almost 500 in May — more than double the 3-year average.

Storms knocked power out for over 400,000 people in the eastern United States on Monday, and Texas caught a double whammy when additional storms and baseball-sized hail yesterday left ~800,000 without electricity as the state baked in triple-digit heat indexes thanks to a lingering heat dome.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s southern Sindh province hit 52ºC (which, for us Farenheiters, is a toasty 126ºF), just shy of the country’s all-time high of 54ºC (129.2ºF).

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Verse to consider when your neighbor is mourning… “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (CSB) (read full passage)

Elon Musk is shooting for the moon again—this time, with artificial intelligence. His new startup, xAI, secured $6 billion in funding backed by the likes of Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and big-name venture capital firms. Musk hopes to beef up xAI’s chatbot, “Grok,” with a “gigafactory of compute” powered by 100,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs. 

 
Is the country looking a bit more… magenta? T-Mobile is set to acquire most of U.S. Cellular—including its stores, customers, and some of its wireless spectrum—in a $4.4 billion deal. The news follows T-Mobile's $1.35 billion acquisition of Mint Mobile. T-Mobile says the purchase will provide better 5G connectivity to "underserved rural areas." 

 
How did you spend Memorial Day weekend? Probably not at the movies… U.S. box offices saw the worst Memorial Day weekend in nearly three decades (excluding 2020). During the anti-climactic four-day stretch, Furiosa ($32 million) narrowly beat The Garfield Movie ($31.1 million). Theater turnout was down by nearly 36% compared to 2023's holiday weekend. 

 
Uncle Sam’s, uh… non-allies have been busy. North Korea’s attempt to put a second spy satellite into orbit failed when its rocket exploded shortly after takeoff Monday. The Hermit Kingdom says satellites will bolster its nuclear deterrence capabilities. Speaking of, Iran has reportedly upped its stockpile of enriched uranium (near weapons-grade level) and continues to block U.N. inspections. 

 
NBA Hall of Famer Bill Walton, 71, died Monday from colon cancer. Known as much for his eclectic broadcasting style as his exceptional playing career, Walton won four championships—two with UCLA and two in the NBA. He still holds the record for the most points scored in an NCAA championship from his 44-point (and 21-for-22) game in 1973.

WHIPPED CREAM ON TOP

Weird friendship goals…

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