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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) remains unfunded.

Senate Democrats voted down a House-passed proposal to fund DHS for the fifth time on Friday, sticking to their demand that any funding for ICE and Customs & Border Protection include reforms to immigration enforcement operations, such as banning ICE agents from wearing masks. Senate Republicans blocked Democrats’ proposal to split off and fund non-immigration portions of DHS (including TSA, FEMA, and the Coast Guard) separately.

Meanwhile, airport security is getting sloooow. Major airports—including Atlanta, Houston, New Orleans, and Philadelphia—have seen wait times topping three hours. 

Yesterday, the Trump administration confirmed ICE agents will be deployed to airports to “help T.S.A. move those lines along,” and Elon Musk offered to pay the ~50,000 TSA agents’ salaries during the funding impasse.

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Verse to consider whether you’re stuck without a compromise or making conflict breakthroughs in your own home… “Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
Ephesians 4:1-3 (CSB) (read full passage)

Three weeks, and counting.

Saturday evening, President Trump vowed to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if it does not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours (today at 7:44 PM ET). Iran’s President said the Strait remains open to everyone who doesn’t “violate [Iranian] soil” and said Trump’s ultimatum “shows desperation.”

The Strait’s closure is linked to rising gas prices—up ~$1/gallon since the war.

Meanwhile, Iran fired two ballistic missiles at a U.S.-British base 2,500 miles away in the Indian Ocean on Friday; while ultimately unsuccessful, it suggests Iran’s missile range exceeds its self-proclaimed 1,250-mile limit. On Saturday, Iranian missiles struck eight miles from Israel's suspected nuclear arsenal—injuring 100+ people—hours after Israel reportedly struck an Iranian nuclear facility. The strikes caused the UN nuclear watchdog to urge "maximum military restraint" near nuclear sites.

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PRAY WITH US
As conflict continues, we may be tempted to grow weary in prayer. But we are called to fervent prayer that depends not on the odds in the headlines, but on the character and promises of the Triune God revealed in Scripture.

Gracious Father, your image bearers and your creation are being hurt, killed, and destroyed. Come, Lord Jesus, and make right what is evil, make just what is unjust, make straight what is crooked. Holy Spirit, comfort those who are dying, give wisdom to those deciding, and bring hope to those despairing. Amen.

According to the WHO, parasitic infections (like… worms) are plaguing millions of children in the world’s poorest places—keeping them out of school, stunting their growth, draining their energy, and trapping families in cycles of poverty. The solution’s shockingly simple… and costs less than a postage stamp. 

World Concern’s 44-Cent Cure delivers a single dose of deworming medicine that can restore a child’s health in days, sometimes even hours. It’s fast. It's easy, and one dose costs 44¢.

BE DOERS
A gift of $11 cures 25 children; $44 cures 100; $220 cures 500… and because TPO is matching the first $4K, your dollars are basically doing double duty. Put your pocket change to work; join TPO & World Concern in curing kids.  

“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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ABC sent Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of “The Bachelorette” home without a rose.

In an unprecedented decision that cost the Disney-owned network ~$30M, ABC cancelled its (already filmed) 22nd season Thursday, three days before its premiere. The move follows the release of a 2023 video where Paul appears to be attacking her former partner in front of her daughter. Both the “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star and her ex are involved in an ongoing domestic violence investigation.  

While Bachelor Nation fans tuned into an American Idol rerun grieved, K-pop fans rejoiced. 

Saturday, K-pop supergroup BTS stormed Seoul with their first concert after a four-year hiatus to complete mandatory military service. The Bangtan Boys’ hourlong homecoming performance drew ~100K people and 300M more eyeballs on Netflix’s livestream, promoting their new album “ARIRANG.”  

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ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE
There is a time and place to enjoy things like TV shows, music, and celebrities, but Christians must be on guard against entertaining ourselves into complacency. Believers must live with discernment in the tension of enjoying God’s good gifts without allowing them to distract us and dull our love. 

“Do not lack diligence in zeal; be fervent in the Spirit; serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer.” 
Romans 12:11-12 (CSB) (read full passage)

Read how (and why) TPO selects stories.

Chuck Norris, martial arts legend and “Walker, Texas Ranger” star, died Thursday at 86. The man behind countless memes passed after a sudden medical emergency in Hawaii. His family said he was “surrounded by family and was at peace,” remembering him as someone who “lived his life with faith, purpose, and an unwavering commitment to the people he loved.”

Hawaii’s facing its worst flooding in 20 years. Back-to-back Kona lows (slow-moving, seasonal rainstorms) soaked America’s island escape with 50+ inches of rain over 10 days, forcing thousands of evacuations, threatening to burst an Oahu dam, and causing an estimated $1B in damage. The entire state was under a flood watch through yesterday; authorities reported hundreds of rescues and no deaths.

Robert Mueller III died on Friday at 81. The Vietnam veteran, 9/11-era FBI chief, and special counsel in the controversial investigation into Russian interference with the 2016 election, died after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. In other news, Mueller’s Bureau has reportedly been investigating ex-Counterterrorism head Joe Kent for leaking classified info; he resigned Tuesday over the Iran war.

The New York Times and dozens of others are getting their Pentagon press passes back. On Friday, a federal judge struck down the Defense Department’s 2025 policy that barred reporters who wouldn't pledge to only publish Pentagon-approved information from the press room to protect national security. The Times successfully argued that the policy violated free-speech and due-process protections; the Pentagon will appeal.

A California jury decided that Elon Musk’s tweets during Twitter sale negotiations misled investors. Friday’s unanimous verdict found that Musk acted inappropriately by publicly questioning the platform's bot numbers and threatening to abandon 2022’s $44B deal, artificially tanking Twitter's stock. Though absolved of intentionally scheming to defraud, Musk owes affected investors up to $2.6B in damages.

Read 50 Chuck Norris jokes…

What We Trust to Fuel Our Day
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