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WORLD NEWS

Anniversary Meetings

Monday marked three years since Russia invaded Ukraine.

To mark the occasion, French President Macron visited President Trump to discuss the war, emphasizing security guarantees for Ukraine in a peace deal that must “not be a surrender of Ukraine.” Both leaders hope the conflict can end within weeks.

While the leaders shook hands at the White House, diplomats shared a less genial U.N. meeting. The Security Council passed a U.S.-proposed resolution calling for peace ASAP that (controversially) didn’t blame Russia for the war. Russia and China supported it, while France and the U.K. abstained, not wanting to veto Washington. The U.N. General Assembly passed a symbolic, non-binding resolution that did blame Russia.

U.K. PM Keir Starmer will head to Pennsylvania Ave. Thursday to discuss Ukraine, and negotiations for the use of Ukraine’s natural resources continue.

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ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE
Pray for the peaceful end to all conflicts worldwide, even as we wait for God’s kingdom to come in full—for the day when God’s reign of peace will settle every dispute, and all nations will walk in his paths. 

“I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem. The bow of war will be removed, and he will proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion will extend from sea to sea, from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.” 
Zechariah 9:10 (CSB) (read full passage)

U.S. NEWS

Snip Snap, Snip Snap

The federal workforce has been receiving mixed messages.

Saturday, the Office of Personnel Management emailed federal employees requesting five to-dos they crossed off last week, while DOGE leader Elon Musk said a lack of response by EOD Monday would be taken as resignation. Some agencies recommended compliance, while others instructed workers to hold off, and some flipped back and forth. Monday, Musk wrote on X that non-repliers would be “given another chance,” while President Trump told reporters they would be “sort of semi-fired.”

Recent polls show Americans are strongly divided on DOGE. 

Critics say DOGE’s work is sloppy—its Wall of Receipts reports $65B saved but has included duplicate entries, mismatched data, and misplaced decimal points—and potentially illegal. Supporters say DOGE’s work is needed to cut waste, fraud, and abuse and address the government’s growing debt. 

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

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Verse to consider when you’re unsure how to respond to conflicting messages… “Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” 
Ephesians 4:1-3 (CSB) (read full passage)

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BUSINESS

Open Positions

The feds aren’t the only ones making major workforce changes.

Starbucks plans to lay off 1,100 corporate employees globally in early March as the new CEO seeks to brew up efficiency and accountability. Baristas won’t be affected, but your ten-part coffee order may be—complex and unpopular drinks will be filtered from the menu (including some Frapps and White Hot Chocolate) to turn around slipping sales.

As corporate coffeemakers enter the job market, tech sector hiring boards are thriving. 

Apple announced plans to invest more than $500B in the U.S. over four years—its largest spending bite ever—to hire 20,000 new employees, ramp up R&D, and keep educating artificial intelligence. They’re also bringing Apple Intelligence server production onto American soil, funding a new Houston, TX, manufacturing plant amid fears that tariffs on China will bruise business.

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Verse to consider when you’re trying to keep up with big changes at work… “Don’t work only while being watched, as people-pleasers, but work wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.” 
Colossians 3:22–24 (CSB) (read full passage)

There’s a new sheriff deputy FBI director in town. Conservative podcaster and former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino has been appointed deputy FBI Director—a move President Trump called “great news for law enforcement and American Justice.” Critics say Bongino, who’s never worked for the FBI and once called the agency “irredeemably corrupt,” lacks the necessary experience and knowledge.
 

North Korean hackers pulled off the “single largest known theft of any kind” ever, stealing about $1.5 billion in digital tokens from a crypto exchange. Bitcoin’s value dropped to $87K—a three-month low—in response to the heist (and nerves over President Trump’s looming tariffs); other cryptocurrencies also felt the squeeze, with some losing 20% of their value amid mass sell-offs.
 

Vivek Ramaswamy has officially announced his Ohio gubernatorial bid with the “total endorsement” of President Trump and Elon Musk. The former Republican presidential candidate, DOGE co-leader, and biotech entrepreneur is running to replace outgoing Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) and “lead Ohio to be the top state in the country” where Americans “flock to instead of Florida and Texas.”
 

Evening news is getting a reorg. Monday, NBC announced that “NBC Nightly News” host Lester Holt is stepping down. Holt—the face of the broadcast for 10 years and the first Black solo anchor of a nightly network newscast—will continue to host “Dateline NBC.” Down the hall, MSNBC announced anchor Joy Reid was leaving the network after her show, “The ReidOut” was canceled.
 

Border patrol agents had the fewest illegal encounters in a single day in 15 years on Saturday (just 200), according to Homeland Security Secretary Noem. The report continues a downward trend; December matched COVID-era lows, and January apprehensions were down another 36%. Border czar Tom Homan has celebrated the numbers compared to late 2023’s record single-day high of 11,000 encounters.

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