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POLITICS

Marching On

Former President Trump clinched South Carolina’s Republican primary on Saturday with 59.8% of the vote. 

Nikki Haley, the state’s former governor, won 39.5%. 

Despite the home-state defeat, Haley promised to continue her campaign through at least Super Tuesday – a week from tomorrow – when 21 states and territories head to the polls. Haley, a former U.N. Ambassador, says Trump “cannot win a general election” and stresses that “a majority of Americans disapprove of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden.”

The day before his Palmetto victory party, Trump called for protections for IVF in response to Alabama’s Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos are children. Since the decision, several of the state’s fertility clinics have stopped procedures, fearing legal risk. The Alabama House is reportedly working on bipartisan legislation in support of IVF.

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ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE

We shouldn't allow political outcomes to consume our thoughts, direct our emotions, or dull our hope. Government may change, but our mission remains the same: love God and love others.

“The most important [commandment],” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Mark 12:29-31

TECHNOLOGY

Google’s Gaffe

Google’s Gemini, the AI chatbot formerly known as Bard, has found itself in hot water.

Last week, Google paused Gemini’s ability to generate images after users shared examples of historically inaccurate images, such as depicting the pope as female, a Native American founding father, Black and Asian people as Nazi soldiers, and completely refusing some prompts to create images of White people.

Google apologized Friday, saying that “some of the images generated are inaccurate or even offensive,” noting that “AI is an emerging technology” and they’re trying to “roll it out safely and responsibly.” Google also apologized and promised quick changes after the chatbot refused to say pedophilia was wrong.

Critics say that a company like Google should be able to generate results that are both accurate and inoffensive.

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Truth to consider when you’re disappointed with Google’s limitations: God knows… everything. “Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.” 

Psalm 139:4-6

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 their worst drought in 40 years, which 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

WORLD NEWS

Grim Anniversary

Saturday marked two years of war between Russia and Ukraine.

Marking the day, Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy gave his first-ever casualty report, saying that 31,000 Ukrainian troops and tens of thousands of civilians have been killed. That’s lower than the U.S.’s estimates (and much lower than Russia’s estimates) of Ukrainian deaths. Zelenskyy also vowed that Ukraine would prevail on its own terms.

In Russia, the body of opposition leader Alexei Navalny was returned to his mother after she signed a death certificate saying he died of “natural causes.” Russian officials continue to suppress public displays of sympathy over his death, and plans for his funeral remain unclear. 

Responding to Navalny’s death, President Biden announced 500 new sanctions targeting Russian individuals, financial networks, defense, and energy, saying Putin must “pay the price for his death and destruction” or he’ll “keep going.”

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CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE

As we mourn violence and pray for peace around the world, believers are reminded of how good the news is of Jesus’s coming kingdom. His Spirit offers supernatural peace in our hearts today, and his return promises peace in a renewed earth forever. 

“‘See, I will create new heavens and a new earth… The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,’ says the LORD.” 

Isaiah 65:17, 25

The U.S. and U.K. conducted a fourth round of airstrikes against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen on Saturday. The latest wave — carried out with support from six additional countries, including Australia and Canada — was spread across eight locations and meant to disrupt Houthi’s threats on global trade. The Houthis promised more attacks after this "American and British escalation.”

For the first time since 1972, a U.S.-built spacecraft is on the moon. The touchdown of Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus was the first lunar landing ever by a private company, and it was “spicy” — the spacecraft tipped over, hindering some communications. Odysseus' mission was largely sponsored by NASA, which paid $118M for it to carry experiments to the moon’s south pole.

The FBI, FCC, and Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency are all looking into Thursday’s AT&T outage, which left tens of thousands of customers without service. AT&T says an initial review found the disruption was caused by a bad software update, not a cyberattack, and promised to credit affected customers $5.

A 26-year-old Venezuelan man was arrested Friday in the killing of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student whose body was found near the University of Georgia’s campus. Some GOP lawmakers are blaming President Biden’shandling of the southern border because the suspect crossed the border illegally in September 2022 and was released with temporary permission to stay.

Wayne LaPierre, former CEO of the NRA, was found liable for mismanaging the non-profit’s funds on things like luxury travel and vendors willing to offer kickbacks. He and other management were ordered to repay $6.35 million for “abusing the system,” a win for New York AG Letitia James (D), whose office brought the lawsuit against the gun rights group.

WHIPPED CREAM ON TOP

When the alarm goes off on Monday…

What Has Us Taking Notes

This free course on “The Exodus Story”*

The second book of the Bible, Exodus, is a foundational narrative that establishes Israel’s identity and moral compass. It’s full of themes of God’s mercy, human freedom, and the relationship between the divine and man, and… it can be a lot to take in sometimes. 

This self-paced eight-lecture course breaks it all down. Each lecture is about 30 minutes long and comes with question-and-answer videos and study guides to help deepen your understanding. 

Enroll in “The Exodus Story” for free and discover how God reclaiming the Israelites puts the beauty of his mercy and love on display.

What We’re Highlighting and Scanning

The Student Life Application Study Bible*

It’s called a student Bible because it was created with young adults in mind, but it’s the perfect resource for lifelong learners as well. 

These full-color Bibles have everything you need…

• The trustworthy and understandable New Living Translation

• Book introductions and historical context notes

• Maps, infographics, and illustrations

• Access to the accompanying Filament Bible App 

Yep, you can seamlessly connect every page of your Bible to a trove of resources — like videos, audio Bibles, and worship music — at your fingertips. 

Graduate beyond ordinary student Bibles with the Student Life Application Study Bible.