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Uncle Sam appears poised to reopen his doors.

Last night, the Senate passed a bill to provide stopgap government funding through January and fully fund a few key areas, including: veterans affairs, military construction, the legislative branch, and the Department of Agriculture (think: SNAP). It’s a major breakthrough, but the bill still needs to pass the House and be signed by President Trump to end the shutdown. 

Meanwhile, air travel has become… turbulent.

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered airlines to cut flights at 40 major airports—beginning with a 4% reduction and ramping up from there—to ease pressure on overworked air traffic controllers. Just this weekend, nearly 4,400 flights were canceled and more than 17,700 delayed (check out the misery map). Transportation Secretary Duffy warned flights would reduce “to a trickle” if the shutdown drags on.

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CHRISTIAN RESPONSE
It’s easy to throw stones at government operations and their consequences… But how are the conflicts and compromises going in your own house? In all your conversations, demonstrate faith in Christ through patience and compromises that outdo one another in showing honor and love.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.”
Galatians 5:23–25 (CSB) (read full passage)

SCOTUS’s November session went off with a bang SNAP.

The Supreme Court temporarily blocked a lower court’s order requiring the Trump administration to fully fund SNAP benefits, allowing the administration to continue with its plan of using contingency funds to cover 65% of benefits. The Department of Agriculture said any states that distributed full SNAP benefits were “unauthorized” and must “undo” those payments or face financial penalties.

The High Court also affirmed the State Department’s policy requiring passports to display individuals’ “sex at birth.” Lower courts had blocked the policy because of “irrational prejudice” against transgender-identifying passport holders, but the 6-3 SCOTUS majority said “attesting to a historical fact” ​​isn’t discriminatory.

Meanwhile, a federal district judge said the DOJ failed to prove protests in Portland required federal intervention, blocking President Trump from deploying National Guardsmen to Oregon. 

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Verse to consider whether a decision lands in your favor or goes the other way… “Many plans are in a person’s heart, but the Lord’s decree will prevail.”
Proverbs 19:21 (CSB) (read full passage)

A recent U.N.-backed report projects that 2.3 million children in South Sudan under age 5 suffer from acute malnutrition—over 700,000 of them in severe condition. 

Thanks to the generosity of the TPO Community, World Concern’s first South-Sudan-bound shipment of life-saving Nutripackets—a peanut-based emergency food supplement—is already en route. But the need is still urgent. 

But with so many hungry children, the need is still urgent. Help us get this shipment the last mile… directly into the hands of families fighting to survive. 

BE DOERS 
For every $12 you give, you’ll provide a child with an entire month’s worth of the emergency nutrition they desperately need for survival. TPO is matching the first $10K given 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 (CSB) (read full passage) 

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College basketball and pro football were hit with hard headlines last week.

Friday, the NCAA blew the whistle on six former players from three universities (Arizona State, New Orleans, and Mississippi Valley), permanently revoking their eligibility following separate investigations into sports betting allegations—the latest infractions in a string of ongoing college and professional gambling probes. 

The same day, former NFL player Antonio Brown was extradited from Dubai to the U.S. on an attempted murder charge. Brown allegedly grabbed a security guard’s gun and fired it twice during an altercation outside a celebrity boxing match.

Meanwhile, NFL teams are honoring Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland, who took his own life Thursday. Kneeland was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound just hours after evading police during a traffic stop and texting his family "goodbye."

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ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE
Scandals and tragedies in the sports world remind us that even the entertaining and exciting aspects of life are marred by sin and brokenness. When headlines turn from triumphant to tragic, cling to the hope of eternity, when sin and death will be forever defeated. 

“When this corruptible body is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place: Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, death, is your victory? Where, death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” 
1 Corinthians 15:54-57 (CSB) (read full chapter)

Job security is looking shaky. Last month, U.S. companies announced over 150,000 job cuts—the worst October for layoffs since 2003. Employers pointed to cost-cutting and AI adoption as key drivers, signaling potential early signs of a cooling labor market after years of growth. Tech and warehousing led the cuts—a sharp shift from the industries’ post-pandemic hiring spree.

Uncle Sam is unlocking over $250M in withheld research funding for Cornell. Friday, the Ivy League university agreed to accept White House policies related to antisemitism, racial discrimination, and gender, and pay $30M to the government and $30M to research benefiting farmers. Andy Bernard’s alma mater says the deal preserves “academic freedom,” while the Education Department says it ends “divisive DEI policies.”

The Philippines was struck by its second deadly typhoon in a week. Super Typhoon Uwan (aka Fung-Wong) made landfall yesterday, killing at least two people and displacing over a million more. Meanwhile, in Spain’s Canary Islands, at least three people have died and 15 more have been injured by “exceptionally high” waves following recent storms.

It’s millennials’ turn to feel old over their favorite music artists. On Saturday, Outkast, The White Stripes, Salt-N-Pepa, and Cyndi Lauper were among those inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. (Artists become eligible for the honor 25 years after their first recording release.) Some of Gen Z’s favorites, including Olivia Rodrigo and Chappell Roan, gave performances honoring the inductees.

The Farmer’s Almanac is closing the book on “weather, wit, and wisdom.” After 208 years of offering advice on everything from ideal planting times for farmers to long-range weather forecasts and natural home remedies, the editors announced Thursday that the 2026 edition will be the publication’s last. Staff attributed the decision to “financial challenges” in a “chaotic media environment.”

Sushi... but make it candy.

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