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U.S. NEWS

Final Verdicts

The Supreme Court wrapped up its 2024-2025 season Friday, making five decisions before hanging up the robes and setting their “OOO until October” messages.

The 6-3 Conservative majority stuck together for three cases:

• Limiting nationwide injunctions (6-3): Federal district judges can only block national policies for specific plaintiffs who are directly harmed—not the entire country—meaning the Trump admin can now take steps to implement its previously blocked plan to end automatic birthright citizenship. Supporters say it prevents judicial overreach; critics warn it weakens checks on executive power.

• School opt-out rights (6-3): Parents in Montgomery County, Maryland, can opt their elementary-aged kids out of LGBTQ-themed lessons based on religious grounds, strengthening parental rights and potentially shaping curriculum opt-out policies nationally. Supporters call it a religious liberty win; critics say it may undermine inclusive education.

• Adult website age verification (6-3): The Court upheld Texas’s law requiring adult websites to verify users are 18+, giving states more power to regulate online access to explicit content. Supporters say it’s a commonsense safeguard; critics warn it could chill free speech and lead to online censorship.

Two rulings that cut across ideological lines:

• Upholding Obamacare’s coverage requirements (6-3): The Supremes upheld the Affordable Care Act’s accountability structure, which also confirmed health insurers must continue covering free preventative care, including HIV prevention drugs.

• FCC v Consumers’ Research (6-3): The High Court upheld a federal program offering phone and internet access to rural and low-income Americans.

This term, 42% of opinions were decided unanimously, and 9% were decided along ideological lines. Chief Justice Roberts was in the majority 95% of the time (the most), and Justice Brown-Jackson was in the majority 72% of the time (the least).

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CHOOSE HUMILITY
Whether you’re critical of your government or think it’s unfairly criticized, the command for Christians is to love neighbors and enemies alike. That requires speaking about others with dignity and respect, even when we feel like they haven’t earned it. 

“With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in God’s likeness. Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way… Who among you is wise and understanding? By his good conduct he should show that his works are done in the gentleness that comes from wisdom.” 
James 3:9–10, 13 (CSB) (read full passage)

U.S. NEWS

Suspended

The White House suspended trade talks with Canada in response to its digital services taxes, which go into effect today.

The new 3% tax applies to tech companies (domestic and foreign) that engage with online users in Canada. It also applies retroactively, leaving major U.S. tech companies like Amazon, Google, and Meta with a $2 billion bill due to the Great White North by the end of the month.

President Trump called the northern neighbors “foolish” for following through with the tax, promising retaliatory tariffs.

Meanwhile, a long-awaited trade agreement with China was announced with little fanfare and few details. Late Thursday, Trump announced a deal was signed “the other day,” and China’s Commerce Ministry confirmed the framework includes rare earth exports from China to the U.S. and the easing of U.S. tech restrictions on China.

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ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE
Our goal is to keep the big things big and the small things small. It’s not that U.S.-Canada trade negotiations aren’t important, they’re just not God-of-the-Universe important. Stay focused on eternity; it changes everything.

“The life of every living thing is in his hand, as well as the breath of all humanity.” 
Job 12:10 (CSB) (read full passage)

FROM OUR PARTNERS

Fighting Food Insecurity

Global food insecurity is on the rise. 

Earlier this month, the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Program released the semi-annual Hunger Hotspots report—an early-warning and predictive analysis of global food crises for the next five months. 

The report identified 13 “hotspot” countries—some of which face "extreme hunger," and "starvation" unless "urgent humanitarian action" happens in the coming months. 

According to the FAO, food shortages, unsafe water, ongoing conflicts, and decimated farms are a “daily emergency for millions," making food insecurity one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world today.

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BE DOERS
We’re asking the TPO Community to join us in partnering with World Concern—a faith-based nonprofit that partners with communities in five of the countries listed on the Hunger Hotspots report. Your gifts provide food, water, emergency supplies, and long-term solutions so families can move from desperation to hope. 

For as little as $25, you can provide families with the aid they desperately need. Plus, TPO is matching the first $3,000—simply 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 (CSB) (read full passage)

The S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq both closed at all-time highs Friday, brushing off wars and tariffs like seasoned traders. While investors acknowledge 2025 has brought significant geopolitical uncertainty, corporate earnings and AI optimism have both remained strong throughout. The S&P 500 is now slightly above where it started President Trump’s second term.
 

The U.S. brokered a peace deal between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda Friday, aiming to end 30 years of deadly conflict in eastern Congo. President Trump called it a “new chapter of hope,” and U.S. companies are eyeing access to the region’s critical minerals. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it a historic breakthrough.
 

Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) is suing Fox News for $787M—the same amount Fox paid Dominion Voting Systems in 2023—for defamation, alleging that they made misleading comments about him regarding a phone call with President Trump earlier this month. Newsom said he’ll withdraw the suit if Fox retracts their claim that Newsom lied and if host Jesse Watters apologizes.
 

Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s jail stay has been extended. The judge delayed his release after lawyers raised fears he’d be deported before trial, citing mixed government statements—one promised trial first, another hinted at a third-country deportation. Abrego Garcia was returned to the U.S. to face human smuggling charges earlier this month after being deported to El Salvador in March.
 

The Big Beautiful Bill is (slowly) making its way through the Senate. It passed a key procedural vote 51-49 with two Republicans defecting, including Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), who said he opposed the bill and won’t seek reelection. Meanwhile, Democrats are stalling—among other things, they forced the 970-page bill to be read aloud (it took 16 hours).

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