MSN, by Everett Sloane: Smoke has hung over parts of South Georgia and Southwest Florida for weeks, thick enough to close roads, cancel school outdoor activities, and send residents with respiratory conditions indoors. The source: a string of wildfires that have burned more than 170,000 acres across the Southeast this spring, fueled by a drought that now covers roughly 62% of the contiguous United States. It is the kind of fire season the region has rarely seen, arriving months before the traditional peak out West and stretching federal firefighting resources in ways that could ripple through the rest of the year.

The biggest fires burning in the Southeast

Three blazes account for the bulk of the damage. In Florida, a fire in Big Cypress National Preserve had consumed 30,225 acres with zero containment as reported in a late-February 2026 National Park Service daily update. Crews were conducting strategic firing operations to slow the blaze through the preserve’s swamp-and-sawgrass terrain, but the combination of bone-dry conditions and difficult access made progress slow. By late May 2026, the fire remained a concern as drought conditions in the preserve had not meaningfully improved.

Farther north, two fires in South Georgia have proven even larger. The Pineland Road and Highway 82 fires together burned more than 50,000 acres as of late April, based on Georgia Forestry Commission figures cited in a NASA Earth Observatory analysis. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency on April 22, mobilizing state resources and noting that FEMA had approved a Fire Management Assistance Grant for the Pineland Road blaze. That grant approval means federal dollars can help cover suppression costs, freeing local agencies to focus on evacuations, sheltering, and public safety.

“We are dealing with conditions we have not seen in decades,” Georgia Forestry Commission Director Tim Lowrimore said in an April briefing, describing fuel moisture levels across South Georgia as critically low. In Florida, a National Park Service spokesperson noted that the Big Cypress fire was “burning in terrain that makes traditional suppression tactics extremely difficult,” with crews relying on strategic firing operations rather than direct attack.

The remaining acreage in the 170,000-acre regional total comes from dozens of smaller fires scattered across multiple Southeastern states. No single federal agency publishes a running regional aggregate, so the figure is assembled from individual incident reports, each with its own reporting timeline and measurement method. The documented major fires alone account for more than 80,000 acres; the composite number should be understood as a best available estimate rather than a single-source confirmed total.

A drought with national reach

The fires are not burning in isolation. As of late April 2026, 61.68% of the Lower 48 states fell within the D1 through D4 categories on the U.S. Drought Monitor, the federal classification system that ranges from moderate drought (D1) to exceptional drought (D4). NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center has stated that over 60% of the contiguous U.S. is experiencing drought, and its seasonal outlook projects those conditions persisting into summer.

For the Southeast specifically, the drought has turned landscapes that normally stay damp well into spring into ready fuel. The organic soils in Big Cypress, which in a normal year would be saturated, have dried enough to sustain ground fires that are extremely difficult to extinguish. In South Georgia, pine flatwoods and wiregrass understory that would typically carry low-intensity prescribed burns have instead fed fast-moving wildfires under high winds and low humidity.

Nationally, wildfire activity is tracked through statistical summaries maintained by the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC). Year-to-date tallies show that early 2026 fire activity is elevated compared to recent years, particularly in regions experiencing prolonged dryness. NIFC’s national fire updates have highlighted the Southeast specifically, a region that in past decades rarely competed with the West for top billing during fire season. Recent bulletins note the deployment of interagency crews, aircraft, and logistical support to Florida and Georgia, a clear signal that these fires are significant enough to draw on the national pool of firefighting resources.

What residents need to know

For people in fire-affected areas of South Georgia and Southwest Florida, the governor’s emergency declaration carries immediate practical weight. State agencies have expanded authority to assist with evacuation, sheltering, traffic control, and property protection. The FEMA grant approval for the Pineland Road Fire means suppression funding is flowing, which can prevent local jurisdictions from being forced to choose between firefighting costs and other public safety needs.

Smoke is a serious and underappreciated hazard from fires of this scale. Particulate matter from wildfire smoke routinely degrades air quality across multi-county areas for days or weeks, posing risks for people with asthma, heart disease, and other chronic conditions. Residents should monitor their county emergency management office and local health department for air quality advisories, and check AirNow.gov for real-time particulate readings.

Why federal firefighting resources face a stress test in 2026

The Southeast’s early-season surge has already pulled crews and equipment that might otherwise be staged for summer fires in California, Oregon, or Montana. Federal firefighting capacity is finite: there are a limited number of hotshot crews, large air tankers, and Type 1 incident management teams available nationwide. When those resources deploy to Georgia and Florida in spring, they are not available elsewhere.

If drought conditions hold into summer, as NOAA’s outlook suggests they will, agencies could face difficult allocation decisions. The 2026 fire year is shaping up as a test of whether the nation’s suppression infrastructure can handle simultaneous large-fire campaigns in the Southeast and the West, something that has rarely been required at this scale.

There is also uncertainty about what the current fires mean for the months ahead. In some Southeastern ecosystems, spring burns consume available fuel and can reduce the risk of more intense fires later. In others, partially burned landscapes leave behind weakened vegetation and dried-out root systems that are vulnerable to reburning. Without detailed post-fire fuel assessments, it is too early to say whether this spring’s fires will ease or worsen conditions heading into fall.

What is already clear is that the old assumption, that serious wildfire is primarily a Western problem, no longer holds. With drought gripping nearly two-thirds of the Lower 48 and the Southeast posting fire numbers that rival some Western states, 2026 is forcing a broader reckoning with where and when the country expects to fight fire.

Prophetic Link:
“All through the Bible we find that a careful observance of the Sabbath is repeatedly enjoined, and God has plainly stated that those who knowingly break the Sabbath shall not prosper. He who has given man six days wherein to labor to obtain a livelihood, has reserved only one day to himself; and he looks with indignation upon those who appropriate any portion of this time to their own secular business. There are some who carry their business into the hours of the Sabbath to such an extent that they write business letters, and even collect debts, pay bills, and settle accounts upon the Sabbath. But God’s eye is upon them, and although they may appear for a time to prosper, he will surely visit them with judgment. He can by a word scatter faster than they can gather. By fire, by flood, by the tempest or the earthquake, he can cause them to lose all that they have gained by violating the Sabbath.” Signs of the Times, April 8, 1886, par. 7

Source References

• Southeast wildfires have now scorched 170,000 acres as 62% of the US sits in drought

Axios, by Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen: Las Vegas has long been known as Sin City for its 24/7 access to all kinds of indecencies.

America is quickly becoming Sin Nation. Or, as President Trump put it while discussing prediction markets in the Oval Office last month: “The whole world, unfortunately, has become somewhat of a casino.”

Why it matters: Once-forbidden vices — weed, gambling and porn — are no longer confined to back alleys or the desert.

They’re ubiquitous, digital and spreading at a pace that has outstripped the country’s social and regulatory guardrails.

Governments didn’t turn a blind eye to most of this behavior. They encouraged it. We’re scaling sin in real time.

This shift in American governance, both at the national and local levels, didn’t play out all at once — or get kick-started by a singular moment. It happened in a thousand small ones, one app launch and regulatory retreat at a time.

New York Times columnist Ross Douthat made sense of our “more immoral society” this way: “As our laws have become less moralistic and more libertarian, addictive behaviors have increased.”

Substacker Derek Thompson points out that in a 2023 Wall Street Journal poll, Americans said patriotism, religion, having children and community all mattered less to them than in years prior. The only metric that mattered more? Money.

The biggest factors that ushered in our more addicted, money-hungry America:

1. Smoking weed. Not long ago, you might’ve gone to jail for using pot, much less selling it. Now, it’s legal for a vast swath of Americans and serves as a primary tax engine for nearly half the country.

24 states plus D.C. have legalized recreational marijuana, with 40 states allowing medical use.

The Trump administration ordered the reclassification of medical marijuana as a Schedule III drug last month, moving it from alongside heroin and ecstasy to the same category as steroids and ketamine.

States have collected nearly $25 billion in cannabis tax revenue since the first legal sales began in 2014, according to the Marijuana Policy Project — with 2024 alone setting a record at $4.4 billion. California topped $1 billion by itself.

2. Betting. There’s no reason to visit a sportsbook when you have one in your pocket. That lack of friction is destroying the lives — and arguably the morality — of countless young Americans, even as it fills state coffers.

More than half of American men ages 18-49 have an account with an online sportsbook, per a Siena poll out last month. 63% of bettors said they’d bet $100 or more in one day. 31% reported having someone express concern about their sports betting, up from 23% last year.

A UCLA study found bankruptcy rates and debt collection amounts rose in states that legalized sports betting — with young men in low-income areas hit hardest.

Prediction markets have raised the stakes beyond sports. They’re not technically gambling — that’s what their founders say, even as the public and some state prosecutors disagree. But their purview goes far beyond prop bets: You can now put money on chaos and destruction, gamifying the outcome of war. The money at stake is huge: April saw a 1,200% year-over-year increase in trading volume for Polymarket and Kalshi combined, per The Wall Street Journal.

3. Porn — and its AI-generated shadow. Online pornography was already ubiquitous before AI. Now, deepfake technology has created an entirely new category of harm that barely existed two years ago.

The average age of first exposure to online pornography is now 12, with 15% of kids first seeing it at 10 or younger, according to a Common Sense Media survey of 1,300+ teens.

AI is making it worse: Deepfake files online exploded from 500,000 in 2023 to an estimated 8 million by the end of last year, with up to 98% being nonconsensual, according to cybersecurity firm DeepStrike.

Trump signed the TAKE IT DOWN Act last year, criminalizing the posting of nonconsensual intimate images, including AI deepfakes. But the law can’t keep pace with the scale: A company named in a recent lawsuit claims to create 1,000 AI-generated “influencers” per week.

The big picture: This is what happens when all three of the tectonic shifts we’ve told you about — in governance, in the post-news era, in the age of AI — collide at once.

AI is supercharging the supply, creating deepfakes at a pace no law can match. Our shattered information ecosystem means there’s no common authority left to set norms or apply social pressure. The government, rather than policing the line, has become the cashier.

Each shift alone would strain our culture. Together, they’ve created Sin Nation.

What’s next: There’s potential for political agreement that some portion of America’s scaling of sin might have been too much, too fast.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) posted on X in March: “Pervasive gambling is not good for society. It turns life into a casino, traps people in addiction & debt, surges domestic violence, and fosters manipulation.”

Figures from varying corners of GOP ideology responded in agreement: Michael Knowles, Ann Coulter, Erick Erickson.

The bottom line: Reining in Sin Nation could be one of the rare issues that unites left and right.

Don’t bet on it — though, of course, legally you could.

Prophetic Link:
“It was by associating with idolaters and joining in their festivities that the Hebrews were led to transgress God’s law and bring His judgments upon the nation. So now it is by leading the followers of Christ to associate with the ungodly and unite in their amusements that Satan is most successful in alluring them into sin. “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean.” God requires of His people now as great a distinction from the world, in customs, habits, and principles, as He required of Israel anciently.” Adventist Home, 460.1

Source References

• Behind the Curtain: Scaling sin

USA Today, by Maureen Groppe: The Supreme Court on May 11 handed Alabama Republicans a major win in their effort to pursue a more favorable congressional map for the midterm elections, the latest boost for the GOP’s chances of keeping control of the U.S. House.

Over the dissent of the court’s three liberal justices, the court lifted a ruling that had blocked state Republicans’ preferred map as racially discriminatory and for illegally diluting the voting power of Black Alabamians.

Derrick Johnson, national president of the NAACP, said the nation is returning to the “Jim Crow” era of racial discrimination.

“And anybody who is alarmed by these developments −as everybody should be − better be making a plan to vote in November to put an end to this madness while we still can,” Johnson said in a statement after the decision.

Alabama had argued that the court’s recent decision weakening Voting Rights Act protections for minorities meant it should not have to use a map that included a second majority-Black district to comply with the civil rights law.

“Alabama’s case mirrors Louisiana’s, and they should end the same way: with this year’s elections run with districts based on lawful policy goals, not race,” Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall wrote in the state’s emergency appeal last week.

He called the ruling a major victory.

“For too long, unelected federal judges have had more say over Alabama’s elections than Alabama’s voters,” Marshall said on social media. “That ended today.”

The state has been under an order by a lower court to keep in place until after the 2030 Census the map with the second majority-Black district.

In a dissent joined by her two liberal colleagues, Justice Sonia Sotomayor criticized the majority for lifting the ruling after early voting in the May 19 primary had already begun. The court did so, she said, without “any sound basis” and “without regard for the confusion that will surely ensue.”

The court’s majority said the lower court needs to consider whether its original ruling is in line with the recent Voting Rights Act decision about Louisiana’s congressional map.

Sotomayor said the facts and legal arguments in the two cases are different. She added that the lower court can now decide that for itself, suggesting the court could reapply its judicial block to the map.

In 2023, a closely divided Supreme Court backed the lower court’s ruling that Alabama’s Republican-drawn map likely violated the Voting Rights Act. That 5-4 ruling was authored by Chief Justice John Roberts who was joined by fellow conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Both voted, in last month’s ruling in the Louisiana case, to limit the scope of the Voting Rights Act.

After issuing that ruling, the court expedited making the decision final to give Louisiana time to draw a map preferred by Republicans.

Our Comment:
While most people are focused on race, those who understand prophecy know that increasing the conservative base leads to an increase in conservative power. That has religious implications that may eventually lead to a Sunday law. The Enemy is underhandedly working to set the stage for the final movements. We are already starting to see the dismantling religious protections through conservative control of politics. 

Prophetic Link:
“Those who honor the law of God have been accused of bringing judgments upon the world, and they will be regarded as the cause of the fearful convulsions of nature and the strife and bloodshed among men that are filling the earth with woe. The power attending the last warning has enraged the wicked; their anger is kindled against all who have received the message, and Satan will excite to still greater intensity the spirit of hatred and persecution.” Great Controversy, 614.3

Source References

• In win for GOP, Supreme Court backs Alabama effort to seek new voting map

Zero Hedge, by Tyler Durden: January, February and March were insanely dry. In fact, in all of U.S. history conditions have never been so dry during the first three months of the year. Just think about that for a moment. Not even during the Dust Bowl days of the 1930s were conditions this dry. Many were hoping that 2026 would be the year when our multi-year drought would finally break. Needless to say, that hasn’t happened. Scientists are telling us that the southwestern U.S. is in the midst of the worst multi-year drought in at least 1,200 years. We really are experiencing a “megadrought”, and this is something that experts such as Steve Quayle and Dane Wigington have been talking about for a long time. Unfortunately, it appears that our seemingly endless “megadrought” has gone to an entirely new level in 2026.

If it simply doesn’t rain, there is not much that farmers and ranchers can do.

Right now approximately 63 percent of the continental United States is experiencing at least some level of drought, and the first quarter of this year was one for the record books…

Winter wheat is dying in Kansas fields that should be green by now. Ranchers in New Mexico are selling cattle they cannot afford to feed. Reservoir levels along the Colorado River system are dropping weeks ahead of the season when mountain snowmelt is supposed to refill them. Across roughly 63% of the contiguous United States, drought rated moderate to exceptional on the federal scale has taken hold, and the first three months of 2026 were the driest the nation has recorded in 131 years of continuous measurement.

This isn’t just a crisis.

This is catastrophic.

It appears that the winter wheat crop in the U.S. is going to be a disaster.

At this stage, more than 81 percent of the Southern Plains is experiencing drought…

Heading into the harvesting season for the key winter wheat crop, much of the western side of the U.S. Plains are locked in drought. Over 81% of Southern Plains is experiencing some form of drought, according to the latest data from the U.S. Drought Monitor. Nearly 20% of the region is experiencing either “extreme” or “exceptional” drought.

Only 30% of U.S. winter wheat is in either good or excellent condition as of the start of this week, according to the most recent weekly Crop Progress report from the Department of Agriculture. By comparison, 49% of the crop was good-or-excellent at this point last year.

The situation is particularly dire in the state of Oklahoma.

Last year, the state produced 101.1 million bushels of red winter wheat.

Thanks to the drought, it is being projected that the state will produce less than half of that total this year…

At the 2026 Oklahoma Grain and Feed Association meeting, crop scouts, extension specialists, and grain elevator representatives painted a sobering picture of this year’s hard red winter wheat crop. Their estimates say the 2026 crop is roughly half the size of the previous two years, with production projected at 48.9 million bushels compared to 101.1 million bushels in 2025. The outlook is based on an average yield of 23.93 bushels per acre across an expected 2.043 million harvested acres, highlighting the significant downturn facing Oklahoma wheat producers.

When there is a lot less wheat to go around, prices will go up.

It is simply a matter of supply and demand.

One farmer that grows winter wheat in Kansas is saying that his farm has only had a quarter of an inch of precipitation since last fall…

Southwest Kansas farmer Gary Millershaski says his area has only received a quarter-of-an-inch of precipitation since last fall. “For us to get a 30-bushel crop, you’ve really got to be optimistic and believe in prayer. That’s a fact.”

He has done everything right, but the sky has been silent.

What is he supposed to do?

So far in 2026, Chicago wheat futures are up about 30 percent…

Chicago wheat futures have gained nearly 30% since the start of the year — the biggest gain among row crop futures — due to the combination of U.S. drought, global fertilizer shortages and a looming El Niño.

If this crisis in the Middle East is not resolved, this will only be just the beginning.

Once upon a time, the U.S. was absolutely swimming in wheat, but now we are moving into a time when it will be considered a “luxury grain”.

Of course beef is already considered to be a “luxury meat”.

When I was growing up, my mother would feed us beef constantly because it was so inexpensive.

But now beef prices have skyrocketed, and some of the prices that we are seeing at the meat counters in our grocery stores are absolutely absurd…

I never thought that I would see beef prices get this high.

But this is the reality that we are living in now.

And it appears that beef prices will continue to remain elevated because the size of the U.S. cattle herd is the smallest that it has been since 1951…

The US cattle herd remained the smallest since 1951 at the start of the year, in the latest signal that consumer beef prices will remain near records.

There were about 86.2 million cattle and calves in the US as of Jan. 1, the US Department of Agriculture said in a Friday report. The tally is nearly unchanged from 2025, providing no relief to the ongoing cattle shortage.

The lack of improvement comes as ranchers keep selling animals to slaughter amid high beef demand, rather than retaining the animals to grow their herds. The downsizing — which began years prior when ranchers shrunk their herds due to high production costs and droughts — has sent consumer beef prices to all-time highs.

It is really hard to feed cattle when conditions are bone dry.

Sadly, they could get even drier in the months ahead…

Meanwhile, there’s a 62% chance of the world’s climate shifting from neutral to El Niño between June and August, according to NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center forecast. The European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts said that this El Niño could be the strongest on record, with peak intensity hitting in October.

El Niño typically results in hot and dry weather in many growing areas, including the U.S. Corn Belt and in Australia. With fertilizer supplies thin, this may further compound production losses for world wheat.

We are being told that we could soon be experiencing a “super El Niño”, and meteorologist Ryan Maue is warning that the long-term forecast for the second half of this year is “off the charts”…

I have been repeatedly warning my readers that global weather patterns are going nuts, and I was not exaggerating one bit.

We really are facing a historic long-term crisis with no end in sight.

As I discussed last week, for the upcoming season U.S. farmers are planting the fewest acres of wheat that we have seen since records began in 1919.

In 1919, there were 104 million people living in the United States.

Today, there are 341 million people living in the United States.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that we have a major problem on our hands.

Many of us have been warning about this crisis for years, and now we really have reached a breaking point.

Prophetic Link:
“We are amid the perils of the last days, and trying times are before us. Everything that can be shaken will be shaken, that those things that cannot be shaken may remain. Drought, famine, pestilence, earthquakes, casualties by sea and land, will multiply. Life will be unsafe anywhere, only as the life is hid with Christ in God. Now, while the angels are holding the four winds, is our opportunity to seek the Lord most earnestly.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 20, page 285.3.

Source References

• Megadrought: We Just Experienced The Driest First Three Months Of A Year In US History

The Epoch Times, by Victor Davis Hanson: This year, on July Fourth, will be the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, as exemplified in the ratification, signing of the Declaration of Independence. A lot of people ask ourselves, why are we so exceptional?

Are we exceptional, or is this just American braggadocio? Well, if you look at some major indicators, it’s pretty clear that America stands like a colossus over the world today. Look at the economy. The U.S. economy is roughly a $30 trillion nominal economy in goods and services. It’s one-third larger than the Chinese economy. We hear a lot about Ascendant China, but it essentially means that one American is producing as many goods and services as four Chinese counterparts.

It’s a third bigger than the EU, which has about 70 million more people than the United States. If you look at its culture, if you look at Netflix, streaming entertainment, Hollywood, even in its decline, popular music, it accounts for about 75 percent of international box office receipts of all sorts.

Educationally, there’s a lot of global indices and they usually have the United States with eight to nine out of the top 10 universities. That kind of mimics the same economic standards that show that, at the top 10 companies in terms of international market capitalization, I think eight of them now are American.

In the case of the educational surveys, it’s usually Caltech, MIT, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, etc., in the top 10. But at the top 50, 40 of them are American.

If you look at politics, the U.S. Constitution is the oldest surviving blueprint for democracy-republic. All the others have either faded or they come in and out of existence, but ours is that continuity of one particular consensual government, and its foundational document is unprecedented.

Finally, militarily, we have about 13,000 combat aircraft and their logistical support craft. That’s larger than China, the EU, and India put together. We have 11 fleet carrier groups. China is struggling to get a third. No other country has a fleet-size carrier and a carrier group. They have smaller carriers.

But then, in addition to our 11, we have nine amphibious carriers that are about the same size as most other countries’ fleet carriers. And we spend more money than most of the world combined in terms of defense budgetary.

Why did we enjoy all of this preeminence? Is it just because we have a continent-size country? Well, actually, Russia and Canada have larger territories (total area) than we do. Many countries have two oceans that border them. So it wasn’t just that we have a large area and we have natural resources.

Other countries have as many or more than we do. There has to be a secret that explains this global preeminence, and one of them, as I mentioned, is the Constitution. No other country has been able to emulate successfully our Constitution. It’s a very rare document.

It assumes that power will be collected in one particular person or one particular area, given human nature, and therefore it’s gonna check the accumulation of inordinate power through the legislative and judicial branches as being separate, each with power over the other to stop their aggrandizement of authority and power.

It has a Bill of Rights. Very few countries have a bill of rights that protect individual liberty against the state, which is outlined in the Constitution proper—the state’s authority—and then the Bill of Rights, refines or hones that in and gives precedence to the individual in terms of free expression, the sanctity of his home from search and seizure, freedom of religion, the right to bear arms, etc.

In addition to the Constitution, the United States is not founded on a class system. There are no dukes or earls, where you’re born, who your parents were, how much land your grandfather had. That doesn’t really matter very much, or at least as much as talent.

We are a meritocratic society, and we value someone, I suppose, based on their net worth more than we do their title. That sounds kind of plutocratic, but actually our system of rewarding individual success—measured by materialism or good works or philanthropy—is a much more effective barometer of talent than inherited privilege.

And so that, that lends a message to the people that anybody can make it in America in a way impossible in many of the European countries and, of course, elsewhere in the world.

We have, until recently, had a long tradition of the melting-pot, meritocratic immigration, and that meant that if you came legally and immigrants were diverse and they were of numbers of a size that could be assimilated and integrated, then it was a wonderful thing.

I mentioned the eight or nine companies in the top 10 by market capitalization. I should say that of those American eight or nine companies, four of them were founded by immigrants. So, it’s been a great boom to the United States.

And finally, we have a can-do individual culture. There’s two types of envy in the world: the envy of emulation—the good envy—and the bad envy of, anger or resentment that someone has more than you do.

The old morality tale that an American sees a Cadillac and asks somebody how he got it, rather than kicks in the tires or keys it like someone in another country would do in anger that someone has a nicer car than he does. But that does explain, encapsulate the American ethos of emulating people who are accessible rather than trying to tear them down.

We also are the largest really devout Western country in terms of the Judeo-Christian tradition that offers a brake on the appetites. When you have leisure and affluence that are the bounties of market capitalism and constitutional government, you can get decadent. You can get complacent.

In other words, our religious tradition—maybe emblemized by the Sermon on the Mount—says just because something is legal and just because somebody has the ability to do it, you should not necessarily do it because of moral and ethical considerations.

Are there dangers to this great American experiment of 250 years? Absolutely. An affluent and leisured society, unless it has familial or religious or community brakes upon the appetites, can become self-indulgent, lethargic—the lotus-eater syndrome—and fall into a slow decline.

We’ve seen that happen in Europe, the foundation of the Western tradition that is really descendant now in terms of economics, politics, culture, and its military.

Another great worry is fertility. The United States fertility rate has fallen just in 30 years from 2.1, the replacement rate, down to 1.6, as if life is too valuable, too fun, too enjoyable to waste it raising kids.

Any society that has a low fertility rate, the population ages, it shrinks, and it becomes risk-averse.

We also owe $30 trillion in aggregate national debt. We are running $1 trillion to $2 trillion annual deficits and, until recently, a $1 trillion trade deficit. These are unsustainable.

And they’ll require, first of all, a major cutback in entitlements and unfunded liabilities. And how we do that when we have a bread-and-circuses attitude, that people think the government owes them something rather than they owe the government, I don’t know, but it’s something we’re gonna have to deal with.

And finally, immigration’s gone haywire. We traded in the successful centuries-long, melting pot for the salad bowl—DEI. We have reverted to tribalism.

If we continue down that pathway, that your superficial appearance determines who you are, that it’s essential rather than just incidental to you, your identity as a human, then we’re gonna end up like every tribal society, which is failure and pre-civilization reversion.

Prophetic Link:
“And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.” Revelation 13:11, 12

Source References

• America at 250: Still Dominating the World

BRF, by Roger Pint: “Another heavy blow to the country’s credit rating,” headlines Het Nieuwsblad. “New wake-up call for Belgian finances – Standard & Poor’s also downgrades credit rating,” writes Het Laatste Nieuws on page one.

Following Fitch last year and Moody’s a week ago, the rating agency S&P has now also downgraded the country’s credit rating. While the decision was expected, it remains bad news for the government. The consequence is that the country’s interest rates on its loans will rise, meaning – roughly speaking – that its national debt will become more expensive.

“Shops open seven days a week until 9 p.m. – the unions are furious,” reads the lead story in L’Avenir. The federal government yesterday approved a relaxation of the shop closing law. According to the new regulations, shops will now be allowed to remain open until 9 p.m. Furthermore, the legally mandated day of rest will be abolished. The unions believe this goes too far and are now even considering legal action.

“A reform that nobody wanted”

Le Soir, in a sense, joins this protest. “This is a reform we didn’t wait for and that—apart from the retail association Comeos—nobody wanted,” the paper rages in its editorial. And no matter how often the responsible MR minister, Eleonore Simonet, argues that the measure simply addresses the wishes and expectations of consumers, there is no study to support this claim. Furthermore, Simonet argues that the aim is to give retailers the opportunity to compete against shopping in neighboring countries or against online retailers. But this, too, remains unproven. And when Simonet points out that the whole thing is merely an option and not mandatory, she is deluding herself. Everyone knows that many supermarkets will likely have no choice but to comply. “It’s just one more day or one more hour,” the measure’s proponents might object. Not at all! It is much more than that! It is a fundamental societal upheaval.

La Libre Belgique picks up on precisely this point. Now, the “holy Sunday” is being sacrificed on the altar of flexibility. It wasn’t “holy” for purely religious reasons anymore; it was almost a civilizational compromise. Sunday was the day we could spend time together, a collective break with family, friends, or neighbors. And that’s exactly what they want to dismantle now. In the name of modernization. This is much more than just a “technical” correction; in practice, it amounts to a profound upheaval. Of course, there are professions that already have to work on Sundays: in hospitals, the hotel and restaurant industry, the tourism sector, and, not least, in newsrooms. Nevertheless, the question remains: do we really have to be available all the time?

“Freedom is a precious asset”

“And the anger of the Aldi staff is absolutely understandable,” Het Laatste Nieuws is also convinced. Numerous stores of the discount chain have been on strike in recent days. The employees are protesting against management’s plans to open the stores on Sundays. “Understandable!” the paper says. If the term “day of rest” disappears from dictionaries, then we as a society risk losing something. It’s already difficult enough to organize a get-together with family or friends. “It can only get worse,” one might be tempted to say. A look at Germany is advisable. There, “Sunday rest” is still sacrosanct. Has the economy collapsed because of it? Or are Germans in danger of starving? On the contrary! It simply imposes a different rhythm on the entire society. Because the stores are closed, no one has to choose between a family celebration and a shift at the supermarket checkout. Don’t forget: freedom is a precious commodity.

“It is too late”

Not all newspapers would endorse this argument. “Times are changing,” says Het Nieuwsblad, for example. And in the eyes of many, Sunday rest is a thing of the past. Sunday Mass in church is certainly no longer a valid argument. On the other hand, it’s perfectly understandable that supermarkets want the opportunity to truly compete with online retailers. They want to be available to customers as much as possible, because waiting means losing. Sure, Sunday had its charm: one day a week we collectively found peace and quiet and all watched the same television program together. But is it necessary to cling to it so desperately? This development is unstoppable.

Gazet van Antwerpen sees it the same way. Supermarkets now make almost the same sales on Sundays as during the week. So you can’t claim there’s no demand. In any case, the law of flexibility now applies to many of us. This is no longer limited to supermarkets. It’s understandable, then, that society as a whole is adapting to this development. Of course, this has its downsides. The best proof is the steadily increasing number of burnouts. Naturally, many in our increasingly hectic daily lives would like a true day of rest. But it’s too late. Absolute Sunday peace and quiet will never return.

Prophetic Link:
“This time, when there is such an effort made to enforce the observance of Sunday, is the very opportunity to present to the world the true Sabbath in contrast to the false. The Lord in His providence is far ahead of us. He has permitted this Sunday question to be pressed to the front, that the Sabbath of the fourth commandment may be presented before the legislative assemblies. Thus the leading men of the nation may have their attention called to the testimony of God’s word in favor of the true Sabbath. If it does not convert them, it is a witness to condemn. The Sabbath question is the great testing question for this time.” Manuscript 16, 1890, 21.

This article was translated from German.

Source References

• Press review from Saturday, April 25, 2026

National Post: A massive gilded statue of President Donald Trump installed at his Miami golf course is definitely not a “golden calf” to be worshipped, the pastor who led a dedication ceremony for the eyebrow-raising effigy insisted Friday.

Financed by cryptocurrency entrepreneurs and supporters of Trump, the 15-foot (4.6-meter) tall bronze statue is covered in gold leaf — a favourite style of the president — and its fate had been uncertain as its creator awaited final payment for months.

But the “Don Colossus” statue, which depicts Trump raising his fist after surviving an assassination attempt in 2024, was finally unveiled Wednesday at Trump National Doral.

Televangelist Mark Burns, an ally of the 79-year-old billionaire president who led the dedication ceremony, quickly sought to get ahead of any claims of idol worship — which is expressly forbidden in the Ten Commandments.

“Let me say this plainly: this is not a golden calf,” he said later that night on X, referring to the Old Testament idol that famously made Moses irate after he received the Commandments.

“This statue is not about worship. It is about honour,” said Burns. “It is a celebration of life and a powerful symbol of resilience, freedom, patriotism, courage, and the will to keep fighting for America.”

Apparently, many people were not convinced — so Burns doubled down on Friday.

“What amazes me is how quickly some people have compared this beautiful statue, created and made possible by more than 6,000 patriots, to a golden calf or idol worship,” Burns wrote.

“Let me be very clear. We worship the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone,” he reiterated.

“Honour is not worship. Respect is not idolatry.”

The devoted support among many of Trump’s followers has, for years, raised allegations of cult-like worship.

Some believe his surviving the June 2024 shooting with only an ear injury — and other foiled assassination attempts — are seen as signs of divine intervention.

The statue at Doral “reminds us of the hand of God over President Trump’s life,” Burns wrote in his initial post.

“We thank God for preserving him and not allowing his life to be taken, not once, but multiple times.”

The creator of the statue, Alan Cottrill, told AFP on Friday that after months of waiting for the payments to come through, he had finally gotten paid in full two weeks ago.

“The next day I installed the statue in Florida,” he said. “And no, I was not invited to the dedication.”

Prophetic Link:
“None should be neglected because of their apparent devotion to worldly things. Many in high social positions are heartsore, and sick of vanity. They are longing for a peace which they have not. In the very highest ranks of society are those who are hungering and thirsting for salvation. Many would receive help if the Lord’s workers would approach them personally, with a kind manner, a heart made tender by the love of Christ.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 231.1

Source References

• Gold leaf covered Trump statue ‘not about worship,’ televangelist says

Zero Hedge, by Tyler Durden: While the digital US economy, if proxied through the earnings growth and stock prices of AI companies and their “picks and shovels” support ecosystem, has never been stronger, the traditional US consumer, responsible for 70% of US GDP, has rarely been more depressed than right now (and according to the latest University of Michigan sentiment survey, Americans have literally never been more pessimistic). 

That was the take home message from the latest earnings week, when various executives across retail, restaurants and packaged goods indicated they are increasingly worried about US shoppers – especially those from the” lower half” of the K-shaped economy – with tighter budgets amid surging gas prices caused by the Iran war, and consumer electronics prices through the roof thanks to record memory chip prices.

“They’re literally running out of money at the end of the month,” Kraft Heinz CEO Steve Cahillane said in an interview with the WSJ . “We’re seeing negative cash flows in the lower-income brackets where they’re dipping into savings.” Sure enough, last week we showed that as a result of personal spending growth far outpacing personal income the personal savings rate has collapsed to a 3 year low.

This underscores a remarkable trend: since the pandemic, Americans have continued to spend at surprising levels despite high inflation, keeping the US economy growing and thwarting recession fears, with much of the spending growth fueled by credit card debt, with February’s $10BN+ increase in credit card debt the highest since February 2024.

But soaring fuel costs might be the straw that breaks the overlevered camel’s back: “The war in Iran amplified consumer concerns about the cost of living,” Whirlpool. CEO Marc Bitzer said Thursday on a call with analysts. The maker of washers and dryers said it’s counting on purchases picking up after a harsh US winter slowed shopping, but the war caused a collapse in consumer sentiment. The company described the resulting 15% hit to industry demand as similar to the global financial crisis in the aughts. In other words a depression.

In fast food, McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said confidence among shoppers isn’t improving and may be getting worse. The company cited “heightened anxiety” and gas prices that disproportionately impact low-income consumers.

Sit-down dining is also taking a hit. “Our price-sensitive, more value-oriented guests seem to be staying home a bit more,” Dine Brands CEO John Peyton said on an earnings call this week. The company, which owns the Applebee’s and IHOP chains, said it hasn’t seen a similar pullback in other income levels.

Meanwhile, eyewear retailer Warby Parker  said younger shoppers are feeling the pinch from higher-than-usual unemployment and student debt bills.

Gas prices, now at $4.56 a gallon on average, are at their highest levels since July 2022, according to data from the American Automobile Association. As shoppers put more of their income toward fuel, they have less money for discretionary spending like eating out. Enlarged tax refunds helped blunt some of the impact, but sentiment has still soured to a record low.

Americans are putting less away as they try to keep up, with the savings rate dropping in March to the lowest in three years. Meanwhile, economists warn the disruptions from the war in Iran could lead to higher prices for a range of goods over time, including groceries, putting even more pressure on low-income households and draining what little savings are left. 

Low-income consumers have already cut back on real gasoline consumption to try to limit costs, according to recent research published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

In the near term, Americans can draw down savings or tap credit cards, but the longer gas prices stay high, the more consumers will change their spending patterns to balance their budgets, said Bill Adams, chief economist at Comerica Bank.

Planet Fitness on Thursday fell the most on record after cutting its full-year outlook on weaker-than-expected member signups during the typically busy New Year period.

The gym chain also said it paused the national rollout of a price increase to its top-tier membership, with CEO Colleen Keating making it clear why that decision was made. “The consumer and economic backdrop have shifted,” she said.

Prophetic Link:
“I was shown the inhabitants of the earth in the utmost confusion. War, bloodshed, privation, want, famine, and pestilence were abroad in the land…. My attention was then called from the scene. There seemed to be a little time of peace. Once more the inhabitants of the earth were presented before me; and again everything was in the utmost confusion. Strife, war, and bloodshed, with famine and pestilence, raged everywhere. Other nations were engaged in this war and confusion. War caused famine. Want and bloodshed caused pestilence. And then men’s hearts failed them for fear, “and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth.” Testimonies for the Church, Vol 1, page 268

Source References

• Kraft Heinz CEO: “Consumers Are Literally Running Out Of Money Toward The End Of The Month”

AP News, by Peter Smith: One member calls for a Presidential Medal of Freedom for a baker who refused to create a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

Another calls for court interventions by the Department of Justice on behalf of Amish parents fighting New York vaccine requirements and Catholic nuns challenging that state’s requirement that they accommodate hospice patients’ gender identities.

And the chair of the Religious Liberty Commission is calling for a federal hotline with this automated recording: “There is no separation of church and state.”

These are just some of the recommendations that members of the advisory panel formed by President Donald Trump last year want to see included in the commission’s final report.

That report is still in the works, but commissioners had an opportunity to describe their wish lists during their most recent meeting in April. There was little dissent as the commissioners, most drawn from Trump’s base of conservative Christian supporters, covered the items they want in the report.

Their ideas reflect the prevailing perspectives on the definition of religious liberty among many conservative Catholic and evangelical activists: increasing avenues for religious expression in public schools; expanding opportunities for faith-based organizations to receive public money; and allowing for religious-based exemptions in areas ranging from labor law to classroom lessons to healthcare mandates.

Such views have also been reflected in Supreme Court decisions issued in recent years by its conservative majority.

Commission criticized for narrow views

Critics of the commission say it embodies a one-sided perspective of Trump’s supporters and is threatening a well-established constitutional separation of church and state, despite the chair’s claims.

A lawsuit by a progressive interreligious coalition argues that the commission fails to comply with federal law requiring advisory panels to feature diverse members and viewpoints.

The lawsuit echoes criticism that most commissioners are conservative Christian clerics and commentators; one is an Orthodox Jewish rabbi. The coalition says members have asserted that America is specifically a Judeo-Christian or Christian nation and notes that most commission meetings took place at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, an institution with Christian leadership.

The Republican administration is asking a federal court to dismiss the lawsuit. The government is citing legal technicalities and contending the law does not define how a commission should be fairly balanced or whose viewpoints should be represented.

Another entity created by Trump — the Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias — issued a report saying Christians faced discrimination under the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden in areas such as education, tax law and prosecution of anti-abortion protesters. Progressive groups said that report failed to document systemic discrimination, focused on causes favored by conservative Christians and amounted to advocacy rather than an investigation.

In a further interlocking of Trump-related initiatives, several members of the Religious Liberty Commission are scheduled to take part in a May 17 prayer event marking the country’s upcoming 250th birthday. Several also participated in a recent Bible-reading marathon staged largely at the Museum of the Bible.

Harmony and tension within the commission

The commission has mostly featured agreement among members, with one dramatic exception. One commissioner, Carrie Prejean Boller, was ousted in February after a contentious hearing on antisemitism.

Commission Chair Dan Patrick said Prejean Boller sought to “hijack” the hearing, in which she had sharp exchanges with witnesses about the definition of antisemitism and defended commentator Candace Owens, denying her record of antisemitic statements. Prejean Boller, a Catholic, contended she was wrongly ousted for expressing her beliefs.

In other hearings, witnesses described how they defied workplace regulations that they said conflicted with their conservative religious values on gender, abortion, COVID-19 vaccines and more. Some said they were prevented, at least temporarily, from displaying a religious symbol at work or trying to sing a Christian song at a school talent show.

At the hearing devoted to antisemitism, Jewish witnesses spoke of being harassed and threatened at campus pro-Palestinian protests against Israel. The commission has also heard from some Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and other witnesses.

Even so, critics said the commission mostly focused on conservative Christian and right-leaning political grievances.

The Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, president of the progressive Interfaith Alliance, one of the groups suing over the commission’s composition, said the panel’s omissions are as significant as what it focuses on.

He said the commission has failed adequately to address such issues as anti-Muslim efforts in Texas and elsewhere, and also the rise of antisemitism on the right, not just the left.

Separation of church and state debate

Raushenbush said he is especially worried about the commission chair’s challenging the very notion of church-state separation.

Patrick, a Republican who is the Texas lieutenant governor, repeatedly denounced a concept that is embedded in Supreme Court precedent.

“We need to say there is no separation of church and state,” Patrick said at the April meeting. “That’s a lie.” He suggested printing “a million bumper stickers” to that effect.

No one at the commission meeting disagreed.

Trump made similar comments at a prayer event at the White House in 2025. “They say separation between church and state,” Trump said. “I said, all right, let’s forget about that for one time.”

While the phrase “separation of church and state” does not appear in the Constitution, 20th-century decisions by the Supreme Court cited Thomas Jefferson’s description of the First Amendment as creating “a wall of separation between church and state.” The court applied the First Amendment’s prohibition of any church “establishment” to the states in addition to the federal government, citing the 14th Amendment’s ban on states denying citizens’ rights.

Courts have since wrestled with how to balance freedom of religion and freedom from government-sponsored religion.

Concerns touch on schools, vaccines, workplaces and more

Patrick has advocated for prayer and Ten Commandments postings in public schools.

“I don’t have any malice towards anyone that doesn’t believe in any type of faith,” Patrick told fellow commissioners. “That’s fine. That’s what America is about. But these organizations that are pushed by some ideology and pushed by someone’s bank account who wants to remove God from our country? We need to push back.”

On other issues, various commissioners called for requiring schools and workplaces to post notices of the rights of religious expression and exemptions.

Some called for restoring full pay and pension benefits for military service members who were discharged for refusing COVID-19 vaccines.

Bishop Robert Barron of the Catholic Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, called for enabling religious groups such as Catholic Charities to receive federal money without compromising on traditional church teachings about the family.

He also said Catholic immigrants in detention should have humane treatment and access to sacraments and that immigration agents should not disrupt worship services in enforcement actions. The administration last year eliminated a policy against immigration enforcement in sanctuaries, which other religious leaders said should not occur at any time.

Kelly Shackelford, president and chief executive officer of the legal organization First Liberty Institute, called for new requirements that governments pay all legal bills if they lose a religious liberty case. He said many individuals lack the money to challenge the government in court.

“That would be a huge shifting of power in favor of citizens,” he said.

Prophetic Link:
“The Bible teaches a separation of church and state (Matthew 22:17-22), and therefore religious liberty for all. Earthly governments may not force the conscience or usurp the place reserved to God alone in the theocracy of Israel. Not until the second coming of Christ will God again establish His theocracy. Until then, men must not arrogate to themselves authority over the human conscience that God has not entrusted to them.” From Eternity Past, 551.3

Source References

• Rejecting church and state separation is on the wish list for Trump’s religious liberty commission

CNN, by Christopher Lamb and Jennifer Hansler: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a meeting with Pope Leo XIV on Thursday where the two discussed the issues of disagreement, including the Iran war, that have contributed to a historic period of tension between Washington and the Vatican.

Prior to the meeting, Rubio had dismissed the notion he was attempting to reset diplomatic relations with the Vatican after President Donald Trump’s extraordinary criticisms of the first North American pope in the Catholic Church’s 2,000-year history. Trump had repeatedly attacked the pontiff for his disapproval of the US war against Iran. Leo has also continued to speak for the interests of refugees and migrants, in sharp contrast to the Trump administration and its immigration crackdown.

Rubio and the pope met for more than 45 minutes, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said. Rubio was inside the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the pope, for more than two hours, according to the press pool on the ground.

The pope usually meets with heads of state or government, so it was a significant diplomatic gesture that he met formally with Rubio.

However, it was clear that the strained relationship – and the pope’s continued opposition to the conflict – were topics of the conversation on Thursday.

The Holy See press office described the conversation as cordial, adding that “the shared commitment to cultivate good bilateral relations … was renewed.”

They added that there was “an exchange of views on the regional and international situation, with particular attention to countries marked by war, political tensions, and difficult humanitarian situations, as well as on the need to work tirelessly for peace.”

A Vatican spokesman said that the discussions covered the Middle East, including Iran and Lebanon, conflicts in Africa and the situation facing the population in Cuba.

According to a brief readout from the US State Department, two discussed “the situation in the Middle East and topics of mutual interest in the Western Hemisphere.”

“The meeting underscored the strong relationship between the United States and the Holy See and their shared commitment to promoting peace and human dignity,” the readout said.

Video clips from the closed-door meeting, released by Vatican Media, show the top US diplomat and the US pontiff exchanging some pleasantries, as well as gifts. Rubio, who acknowledged that Leo is a “baseball guy,” gifted the pope a small crystal football with the seal of the State Department.

“Oh, okay,” Leo replied in the clip.

The pontiff gave Rubio a pen made from olive wood, which he noted is the plant of peace.

The Holy See press office said Rubio met with Pope Leo before meeting with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who is the Vatican’s secretary of state, and Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher, the Vatican foreign minister.

Rubio had said prior to the meeting that he planned to discuss Cuba with the pope. The Trump administration has distributed millions in humanitarian aid on the island through the Catholic Church.

Rubio’s plane touched down in Rome Thursday morning, also the eve of Leo’s first anniversary as pope, before the US secretary of state headed to the Apostolic Palace.

Meeting follows Trump’s attacks on pope

Ahead of his departure, Rubio acknowledged that “there’s a lot to talk about with the Vatican,” including Cuba.

“The trip is really not tied to anything other than the fact that it would be normal for us to engage with them,” Rubio said at a White House press briefing Tuesday.

His trip to Rome and the Vatican comes as Trump has lashed out not only at the pope for his views on the war but also lambasted the US’ longtime European allies – further testing the transatlantic relationship in ways not seen in decades. Rubio will meet on Friday with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni amid ongoing criticism by Trump for what he said was Italy’s lack of support for the US’ war against Iran.

It marked the second meeting between Rubio, who is a devout Catholic, and the Chicago-born pope, and the first known meeting between a member of the administration and Leo in almost a year. Rubio and Vice President JD Vance met him after his inauguration mass last year.

In a lengthy Truth Social post last month, Trump criticized Leo as “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.”

“Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician. It’s hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it’s hurting the Catholic Church!,” Trump wrote.

Pope Leo responded a day later that he had “no fear” of the Trump administration and would continue speaking for peace but insisted that it was “not in my interest” to debate the US president. One Vatican official, later playing down the tensions, told CNN with a wry smile that “President Trump is too intelligent to be in a battle with a pope from the United States”.

But Trump’s attacks on Leo are not only unprecedented, but ongoing. On Monday, Trump once again took aim at the pope, saying that he was “endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people” with Trump claiming Leo is happy with Iran having a nuclear weapon.

The comments appeared to draw a rebuke from Italy’s foreign minister, who on Tuesday said that the attacks against the pontiff were not acceptable nor helpful to the cause of peace.

Trump in Washington told reporters after Thursday’s meeting that he asked Rubio to tell the pope, “very nicely, very respectfully that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”

Pope says he should be criticized ‘with the truth’

On Tuesday, Leo said that people are free to criticize him, although they should “do so with the truth” and that “the mission of the Church is to preach the Gospel and peace.” On Trump’s claims about nuclear weapons, the pope said the church has for years “spoken out against all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt on that point.” Rubio on Tuesday downplayed Trump’s latest broadside.

Since his election last May, the first American pope has not had any direct contact – according to the public record – with Trump. The Vatican has made it clear that there will be no papal visit to the United States in 2026, largely due to the November mid-term elections with the pope not visiting countries in the run-up to elections.

Tensions have also been rising following news that, on January 22, the Pentagon held an unusual meeting with the then papal ambassador to the United States. While both the Vatican and Pentagon rejected some of the reporting about what was discussed, one Vatican source described the meeting to CNN as “unprecedented” and that it was “tense”.

Officials say Thursday’s meeting would mark an attempt to move beyond the public back-and forth and return to the behind-the-scenes diplomacy favored by the Holy See. Rev. Antonio Spadaro, a Vatican official, sees the pope-Rubio meeting as “cooling the rhetoric” while Brian Burch, the US ambassador to the Holy See, told reporters this week that the secretary of state is coming to have “a frank conversation about US ⁠policy, to engage in dialogue.”

And though the primary purpose of the trip is not political, there is potentially an upside if Rubio can dampen tensions. While many Catholics voted for Trump’s re-election, some experts question the political rationale of attacking the pope, with CNN’s chief data analyst, Harry Enten, highlighting Pope Leo’s positive poll ratings. After criticizing the pope, the president also posted – and then deleted – an AI-image of himself as a Christ-like figure, which he later said depicted him as a doctor.

Prophetic Link:
“And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.” Daniel 8:25

Source References

• Rubio and Pope Leo discuss areas of disagreement after weeks of tensions with Trump

NY Post, by Titus Wu: California is about to face the most brutal test of the gas crisis yet as the final ship carrying oil from the Middle East arrived in the Golden State.

The last oil tanker to pass through the Strait of Hormuz since the Iran war kicked off docked at the Port of Long Beach with two million barrels for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

Despite the West Coast being heavily reliant on fossil fuels out of the Persian Gulf due to crippling eco-policies from Gavin Newsom, there are no more vessels currently en route.

Oil giants and experts tore into California’s Democratic leaders for letting the state become so exposed to supply problems out of the Middle East while crucifying any production at home.

It has seen the price of a gallon of fuel rocket to $6.1 for drivers up the West Coast — nearly $2 more than the national average — with some gas stations hitting up to $8.

California is now holding out hope that President Trump’s plan to have the US Navy escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz from Monday will bring some relief.

Hong Kong-flagged ship New Corolla, which loaded up on oil in Iraq on February 24 just days before war broke out, was spotted unloaded the vital black gold in Long Beach over the weekend.

It will now spend two weeks unloading at the Marathon Petroleum terminal before leaving California to figure out how to make up for the 200,000 barrels a day it got from the Middle East.

Last year, California refineries sourced around 30% of their foreign crude oil from the Persian Gulf, based on state data.

The Golden State is particularly vulnerable to war in the region as its status as an isolated energy island without gas pipelines has led it to increasingly rely on these imports.

Oil giants said the region only had itself to blame and warned drivers and consumers across the West Coast will feel the squeeze.

A spokesman for the Western States Petroleum Association told The Post: “This shows the recklessness of California’s policy of intentionally outsourcing our critical energy infrastructure to other parts of the world.

“California’s economy depends on a reliable supply of fuel – when that supply is interrupted, consumers and business pay the price.”

A spokesman for Chevron, which has been vocal about California’s energy policies, said: “We believe many years of Sacramento’s adversarial policies toward refining and energy production have left the state at the end of a long, fragile supply chain.

“California lost 18% of its refining capacity in just the past 8 months because the state made those operations uncompetitive.

“Now California imports as much as 25% of gasoline and 20% of its jet fuel from overseas refineries that are more leveraged to Mideast crude oil than American refineries are.

“We believe California needs to cut taxes, reduce red tape and do everything it can to hold onto its remaining manufacturing capacity.”

They added: “Energy security demands an all-of-the-above approach to policy and we urge Sacramento to embrace it.”

Democratic and Republican state lawmakers have already sounded the alarm on the impending emergency and blasted California’s energy authorities for not having a plan.

“We are demanding an emergency plan to deal with this fuel crisis,” A Democratic assemblymember David Alvarez said late last month.

“Our request — demand, I would say at this point — highlights past due reports, some well over a year, that are due and required to be presented to the legislature.”

They noted how countries such as the Philippines and South Korea, where shortages have already hit, have called on citizens to cut back on gas or declared a national gas emergency to secure imports.

The California Energy Commission on Sunday claimed it was confident in the state’s oil supply outlook for the next six weeks, despite fears over the current stockpile that has been depleting since the 1980s.

Gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton said climate policies have discouraged oil production in the state and led to refinery closures which has made it even more vulnerable.

He told The Post: “They’ve been shutting down our oil and gas industry in California in the name of climate but actually it’s had no impact on global temperatures because we’ve been importing oil and gas from halfway around the world.”

Trump may come to California’s rescue after revealing plans for the American military to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz starting on Monday.

The president said countries from all over the world that operate the hundreds of ships stuck around the narrow strip have reached out to the US for help, with him vowing to step up.

He wrote on Truth Social on Sunday: “For the good of Iran, the Middle East, and the United States, we have told these Countries that we will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business.

“These are Ships from areas of the World that are not in any way involved with that which is currently taking place in the Middle East.

“The Ship movement is merely meant to free up people, companies, and Countries that have done absolutely nothing wrong — They are victims of circumstance.”

He said the operation, which he dubbed Project Freedom, would begin on Monday morning local time.

Our Comment:
Could we see anarchy in California if they run out of oil?

Prophetic Link:
“The spirit of anarchy is permeating all nations, and the outbreaks that from time to time excite the horror of the world are but indications of the pent-up fires of passion and lawlessness that, having once escaped control, will fill the earth with woe and desolation. The picture which Inspiration has given of the antediluvian world, represents too truly the condition to which modern society is fast hastening. Even now, in the present century, and in professedly Christian lands, there are crimes daily perpetrated, as black and terrible as those for which the old-world sinners were destroyed. Before the flood, God sent Noah to warn the world, that the people might be led to repentance, and thus escape the threatened destruction. As the time of Christ’s second appearing draws near, the Lord sends His servants with a warning to the world to prepare for that great event. Multitudes have been living in transgression of God’s law, and now He in mercy calls them to obey its sacred precepts. All who will put away their sins by repentance toward God and faith in Christ, are offered pardon.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 102

Source References

• Doomsday for California as last barrel of oil from the Middle East arrives in Long Beach

The Christian Post, by Anugrah Kumar: An Egyptian court has rejected a petition seeking to establish Easter as an official national holiday, leaving in place conditions that force the country’s Christians to choose between observing their faith’s holiest day and facing civil, professional and academic penalties.

The court declined to rule on the petition on procedural grounds, saying the question falls under the jurisdiction of the prime minister rather than the judiciary, and did not address the merits of the petition, according to ADF International, a religious freedom advocacy organization that supported it.

Religious freedom advocates from multiple Christian denominations plan to appeal the ruling and seek recognition of Easter as a public holiday.

Because Sunday is a regular working day in Egypt, Christians who take time off to observe Easter risk losing pay and face discrimination in the workplace. Students and university attendees who miss class for the holiday can suffer academic consequences for their absence.

Kelsey Zorzi, ADF International’s director of advocacy for global religious freedom, said the ruling denies Christians the right to worship freely on the holiest day of their faith and called on Egypt to take meaningful steps to recognize and protect Christians’ rights.

“This is about far more than the recognition of a holiday. It is about the denial of a legal right to worship for Christians who already face ongoing and severe religious persecution,” Zorzi said.

The petition is part of a movement to advance religious freedom and remove barriers to worship in a country with a long Christian heritage. Egypt has long been called the cradle of Christianity since the first century, with the Coptic Church tracing its origins to the Apostle Mark in Alexandria.

Egypt has taken some steps toward expanding accommodations for Christian worship, though those measures remain limited in scope and uneven in application.

A December decision by the Ministry of Manpower granted leave to Christian private-sector workers to observe Easter but did not extend the same protection to public-sector workers. The decision also created a disparity among Christian denominations, granting more paid leave days to Coptic Christians than to Evangelicals or Catholics.

ADF International criticized the move, referring to Egypt’s constitutional guarantees of religious freedom under Articles 53 and 64, as well as international treaties that prohibit religious discrimination in employment.

Egypt recognizes Coptic Christmas, observed on Jan. 7, as a national public holiday. Advocates have long argued that Easter deserves the same status, and that its absence from the official calendar forces a choice between religious observance and civil or academic penalty that falls on no other faith community in the country.

Christians in Egypt make up about 10% of the country’s population alongside the Muslim majority.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, or USCIRF, recently recommended that Egypt be placed on the State Department’s Special Watch List. The designation suggests that the government has perpetrated or tolerated severe violations of religious freedom.

Egypt’s blasphemy laws have been used to prosecute individuals who express or defend their faith, with penalties ranging from fines to prison sentences. In one case, Augustinos Samaan, a Coptic Christian YouTuber and researcher, was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment and hard labor for content he posted online defending his Christian faith. Dozens of similar cases are pending before criminal courts in the country.

The government also formally refuses to recognize Christianity on the official identity documents of those who convert from Islam, a separate restriction that compounds the existing limits on religious practice.

An earlier Open Doors report said Christians in Egypt continue to face difficulties establishing churches and places of worship, even as the government has legalized a growing number of churches through official registration. The report said Christians, Shia Muslims, Ahmadis and other minority faith groups face legal and administrative restrictions that constrain how they express and practice their beliefs.

Prophetic Link:
“The apostle Paul declares that ‘all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.’ Why is it, then, that persecution seems in a great degree to slumber? The only reason is, that the church has conformed to the world’s standard, and therefore awakens no opposition. The religion which is current in our day is not of the pure and holy character that marked the Christian faith in the days of Christ and His apostles. It is only because of the spirit of compromise with sin, because the great truths of the Word of God are so indifferently regarded, because there is so little vital godliness in the church, that Christianity is apparently so popular with the world. Let there be a revival of faith and power of the early church, and the spirit of persecution will be revived, and the fires of persecution will be rekindled.” The Great Controversy, 48.

Source References

• Egypt court denies Christians’ right to take holy day off, imposes penalties