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WORLD NEWS

Big Meetings

Global allies are gathering at their respective corners.

NATO’s 75th-anniversary summit is underway in Washington, D.C., where the 32 member states are expected to spend time discussing the pathway to Ukraine’s eventual membership. President Biden, for one, is facing mounting international pressure to move quickly since a loss in November would mean a Trump White House that’s more tight-fisted toward Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Russia and India held their own meeting to strengthen their trade relationship. Indian Prime Minister Modi said the two leaders discussed Ukraine “respectfully” and “in detail,” emphasizing the need for “the path of peace only through talks.”

Modi arrived in Moscow shortly after Russia launched its deadliest wave of airstrikes across Ukraine in months, killing at least 41 civilians and damaging Kyiv’s largest children’s hospital. 

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Verse to consider whether you’re negotiating with an international adversary, a difficult coworker, or a cranky toddler… “Seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry for help.” 
Psalm 34:14–15 (CSB) (read full passage)

WEATHER

Hurricane Season

Beryl has been an unseasonable terror.

Last week, Beryl became the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record, decimating islands like Barbados and Jamaica and killing at least 11 people in the Caribbean and Mexico. 

Early Monday morning, the storm slammed into southeast Texas and Louisana as a Category 1 hurricane, killing eight people and leaving nearly 3 million without power. From there, Beryl barrelled northeast as a tropical storm, uprooting trees, damaging buildings, and prompting flood watches for 25 million people from Arkansas to Michigan.

Back in Texas and Louisiana, a massive clean-up and restoration project has begun. More than 1 million homes have had power restored, but crews are up against high floodwaters in many areas where work is needed. With homes destroyed and people displaced, the recovery efforts are just beginning.
 
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BE DOERS
We’re asking the TPO community to join us in supporting relief efforts. We’re matching the first $2,000 given; just email a screenshot of your support.

You can give to any organization—our match is going to Operation Blessing. OB is a faith-based non-profit with boots on the ground and a record of doing great work. OB is a paid partner of TPO.

“[If] 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? In the same way faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.”
James 2:16-17 (CSB) (read full passage)

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POLITICS

Donkey & Elephant

President Biden had a debate, then an interview…, and now a letter. 

Writing to congressional Democrats on Monday, the president unequivocally stated he’s staying in the race, citing a “deep obligation” to the voters who nominated him. He later called into the Morning Joe TV program and dared “the elites in the party” to challenge him at the convention. 

Later that day, the president’s doctor responded to reports that a Parkinson’s specialist visited the White House eight times, saying he is a “highly regarded neurologist” who is consulted as part of routine physicals.

In Republican news, the RNC released its official platform ahead of next week’s convention. The shorter-than-normal document largely mirrors former President Trump’s stances—it includes a focus on immigration and opposition to late-term abortion but does not call for a federal ban on abortion.

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CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
During any election season, it’s easy to see the shortcomings of our opponents and cast ourselves in the right. When we find ourselves grumbling about others, we must remember to check our own hearts. 

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
Matthew 7:3-5 (CSB) (read full passage)

Boeing may soon be a felon. The company has agreed to plead guilty to criminal fraud over 737 Max crashes in 2018/2019 that killed 346 people. The planemaker will pay a $244 million fine but avoid a costly public trial. Some victims' families criticized it as a “sweetheart deal” and have requested the judge reject the plea deal.
 

Jury selection began yesterday in Alec Baldwin’s trial over the shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on a movie set. Baldwin has pled not guilty to involuntary manslaughter, saying he pulled back the hammer—not the trigger—when the gun misfired. The movie’s armorer is already serving 18 months for mistakenly loading a live round into the gun. Baldwin also faces up to 18 months if convicted.
 

Tourists were met with water guns and “go home” signs in Barcelona over the weekend. Thousands of protestors took to the streets in the latest wave of anti-tourism demonstrations across tourist hotspots throughout Spain. Locals say excess tourism has made Barcelona “unliveable,” inflating housing costs and pushing the city’s mayor to start restricting short-term rentals (Airbnbs).
 

Columbia University is back in the (unwanted) spotlight. Three deans were permanently removed from their positions for sending texts criticized as antisemitic during an event regarding Jewish life on campus. The event was held in May, a month after police were called to clear pro-Palestinan protestors from a university building and tent encampment that threatened to disrupt graduation ceremonies. 
 

Starting this fall, Johns Hopkins University Medical School will be free for students whose families make less than $300k a year. Living expenses and fees will also be covered for those making under $175k. The change is thanks to a $1 billion donation from Mike Bloomberg (a JHU alum) to address “declining levels of health and education.”

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