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U.S. NEWS

Crime Updates

The FBI’s annual crime report card came out Monday. 

Violent crime in the U.S. dropped between 2022 and 2023, with rape down 9.4% and murder and non-negligent manslaughter down 11.6% (the largest one-year decline ever recorded). Preliminary 2024 numbers show the decline continuing. 

Still, prosecutors won’t be without work any time soon… Data from the same time frame showed an increase in car theft (+12.6%) and shoplifting (+15%).

Prosecutors in former President Trump’s second attempted assassination case are also staying busy. A federal judge ruled would-be assassin Ryan Routh be held without bail following newly submitted evidence, including a list of expected whereabouts to “stalk” Trump and a handwritten letter—penned months ago—in which Routh preemptively admitted to a failed “assassination attempt,” offering $150K for someone to “complete the job.”

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CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
Christians’ radical love shines in our violent world when we love even those who hate and hurt us. Loving our enemies demonstrates that we belong to our Father, who loved his enemies so much that he allowed them to kill his Son so that he could be close to them.

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same?” 
Matthew 5:44-46 (CSB) (read full passage)

WORLD NEWS

Escalation

Monday marked the deadliest day of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in decades.

Missiles targeting Hezbollah weapons hidden in residential areas of southern Lebanon killed more than 550 people, including dozens of women and children. Ahead of the barrage, Israel reportedly sent warnings through phone calls, texts, and hacked radio stations, urging people to evacuate. The IDF struck 300 Hezbollah targets and said, “Every house that we strike contains weapons…intended to kill Israeli citizens.” Then, yesterday, Israel killed a senior Hezbollah commander in an airstrike on Beirut. 

Israel faces continuing fire from Hezbollah, but interceptions have kept damage comparatively minor; Hezbollah says it’s targeting Israeli military facilities.

The U.N. said it’s “extremely alarmed” by escalations, and the Pentagon is adding to the 40,000 American troops already present in the Middle East.

(We’re also covering this story Thursday in Decaf, The Pour Over for Families. Sign up—for free—here.)

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RADIATE HOPE
While mourning with victims and praying for our enemies, Christians have hope in the face of a violent world. The servant of God, who himself did no violence, has been afflicted by his Father on our behalf so that we can live in his peaceful presence forever. 

“Yet he himself bore our sicknesses, and he carried our pains; but we in turn regarded him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds.”
Isaiah 53:4-5 (CSB) (read full passage)

FROM OUR PARTNERS

Help in the Warzone

With recent chaos and danger overtaking Lebanon and Israel, persecuted Christians are fleeing for their lives… and Help the Persecuted (HTP) is ready to serve them from their Lebanon ministry hub. 

HTP is meeting needs in the war zone in three major ways:

• Through their farm, which is named “Seeds of Hope” and has 31 greenhouses, the vulnerable receive fresh food, employment, training, and medical care.

• The War Refuge Center hosts displaced believers, providing spiritual care/counseling, food, a safe place to stay, and local church connections.

• The Enduring Livelihood program instills hope, helping families rebuild their lives through small-business creation.

Join with Help the Persecuted and TPO in supporting suffering brothers and sisters; we’re matching the first $2K.

U.S. NEWS

Paper or Plastic Paper?

Katy Perry’s plastic bags won’t be drifting through the California wind much longer.

Governor Newsom (D) signed a new law banning all plastic grocery bags by 2026, requiring shoppers to bring reusables or embrace paper. It follows the state’s 2014 law banning single-use plastic bags, which inadvertently led to Golden Staters using more plastic waste––grocers switched to thicker plastic bags which weren’t effectively reduced, reused, or recycled.

It’s part of a larger war on plastic.

California is suing ExxonMobil, saying it “falsely promoted all plastic as recyclable, when in fact the vast majority…cannot be.” The lawsuit demands the oil giant pay for the plastic pollution-inflicted harm on California. Exxon says three fingers are pointing back at California officials, who’ve known about the state’s ineffective recycling programs for decades but are now seeking “to blame others.”

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Verse to consider while thinking about the best way to balance the health of the earth and the needs of humanity… “Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.… [He] took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it.”
Genesis 2:7, 15 (CSB) (read full passage)

Boeing hoped to strike a deal with strikers on Monday, making 32,000 picketing machinists their "best and final" offer, which included a 30% pay increase over four years and a $6k signing bonus. Lead union negotiators say the offer won’t fly, sticking to their demands for a 40% pay increase and the restoration of a performance bonus.
 

Shutdown (likely) averted. Congressional leadership has agreed on a three-month stopgap bill to avoid a pre-election government shutdown. House Speaker Johnson (R-LA) said that the “bare-bones” legislation, which includes additional funding for the Secret Service, is “not the solution any of us prefer, [but] it’s the most prudent path forward.” A final vote is expected this week.
 

The U.N. General Assembly is meeting in New York this week under the shadow of global conflicts in the Middle East, Ukraine, and Sudan. In his final speech before the body, President Biden warned that the world is at an “inflection point,” reaffirmed support for warring allies, and pushed for global standards for the use of AI. 
 

Shhh… your car may be listening. The U.S. Commerce Department has proposed a ban on Chinese and Russian tech in connected and autonomous vehicles, calling it an issue of “national security.” Uncle Sam is worried about the exposure of citizens’ personal info (thanks to cars’ microphones, cameras, GPS, etc.) and the extreme possibility of adversarial control of autonomous vehicles. 
 

An abducted 6-year-old boy has been found safe… 73 years later. Luis Armando Albino was taken while playing in a park with his brother in 1951 and identified after an online DNA test taken by his niece turned up a match. Albino, a retired firefighter and Vietnam veteran, reunited with his brother Roger shortly before Roger’s passing last month.

WHIPPED CREAM ON TOP

Meet Pesto, the prodigious baby penguin…

How We’re Searching the Internet
Freespoke*

If you could make three changes to searching the internet… what would they be?

We would:
1. Make it safer for families (block adult content)
2. Protect users’ privacy (no tracking by default)
3. Label media biases (so users can quickly find all perspectives)

No joke, that’s exactly what Freespoke has done. Every search is safe, private, and balanced. So the next time you need to Google something, try Freespoking it instead. 

Go make your first search (try “election 2024”).

What Savvy Christians Are Splitting
Health care costs, with Medi-Share*

Have you ever stared at a $2,000/night AirBnB listing thinking to yourself, “You know, if I shared it with 14 friends, this would be doable!” Well, that’s essentially what Medi-Share is… with a few tweaks. 

Instead of an Airbnb, it’s your health care costs. Instead of 14 friends, it’s 350,000 fellow Christians. Medi-Share is a faith-based, community-driven alternative, where members share over $50 million in medical expenses every month—supporting real needs like surgeries or unexpected illness.

And you can join Medi-Share year-round, without having to wait for enrollment season. See if Medi-Share is right for you!*

*Editor's Note: Health Care Sharing is not the best option for everyone, but is an excellent option for many. Take the time to research if it’s right for you & your family.