Dear Readers

I will no longer be writing regularly at Cross+Sentinel. In the light of some new demands on my time, including full-time care for my [now adult] child, it’s been harder to dedicate the hours needed for its production. But you can only kick against reality for so long, as I’ve discovered!

I will leave this archive here for anyone who may find it useful or edifying. There may be pieces from me or others from time to time; I still want this to be a space where great writing can be published, as we watch and wait for the return of our King.

For my paid subscribers, I can’t say enough how much your support has meant. For those who’ve paid ahead, I will be refunding the remaining amount.

Thank you for your support and comments and prayers. It has been a wonderful adventure!

God’s peace to you

Frisby

First Watch:

Report: Kids Are Being Abused By School Staff A new report highlighted by journalist Catherine Herridge claims that 17% of public school students nationwide have been “sexually victimized by school employees”. LiveAction pointed to systemic failures in reporting and safeguarding, with abusers paid to leave since it is “nearly impossible” to fire a teacher. (Not the Bee, Live Action)

Scouts on Notice Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says Scouts America will walk back its gender policies to comply with the President’s executive order, ensuring kids of opposite sexes don’t share intimate spaces. (WNG)

No Discouragin’ Words Florida lawmakers are considering a bill that would make it an offense to speak ill of agriculture. Critics argue the measure threatens free speech and is redundant, given existing defamation and misinformation laws in the state. (Fox)

No Soul, No Faith The Pope has implored clergy to stop using AI to write sermons, saying AI “will never be able to share faith.” (Futurism)

No Treaty The last major nuclear arms control treaty expired last month. For the first time in more than 50 years, there are no binding limits on the growth of the largest nuclear arsenals on Earth, raising concerns about a renewed arms race. (The Conversation)

Ocean Phosphate There’s plenty of phosphate on the ocean floor, but a new initiative to mine it for fertilizer could harm marine ecosystems. (Ambrook Research)

Hot Oil A Brooklyn high school has adopted an innovative approach to heating — using vegetable oil as fuel. (CBS)

Politeness is King Burger King is piloting AI headsets that feed real-time information to employees and track whether workers are polite and responsive to customers. The company says the initiative is for training employees, not tracking. (AP)

Anthropic Out, OpenAI In The Trump administration has ordered all U.S. federal agencies to stop using AI technology from Anthropic, after refusing to cave on its insistence that its tech would not be used for domestic surveillance or autonomous weapons. OpenAI obviously have no qualms, finalizing a new deal with the Pentagon right away. (AP)

Maduro’s Bill is Due Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro appeared in a U.S. court arguing that U.S. sanctions are preventing funds he needs to mount his defense from reaching him. The United States does not recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate leader and continues to enforce financial restrictions.(AP)

Pakistan-Afghan Conflict Reignites Hostilities between Pakistan and Afghanistan have surged again, with both sides launching strikes. The two nations had been in cahoots resisting India’s influence, but the relationship has soured. Pakistan says it is targeting militants it accuses the Taliban of sheltering along the border; the Taliban accuses Pakistan of killing its people. (BBC, International Intrigue)

Second Watch:

Ayatollah Khamenei Meets His Maker Iranian state television has confirmed that the country’s supreme leader was killed in an Israeli missile strike on his compound. In response, Iran launched retaliatory strikes against U.S.-aligned targets across the region, with missiles hitting or landing near hotels, airports, and residential areas in the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq. Supporters of the regime gathered in the streets of Iran to mourn, while international media captured scenes of celebration among Iranian expatriates abroad. Western leaders have largely expressed support for US and Israeli actions, though concerns remain that the conflict could spiral into a broader regional war. Khamenei | Meanwhile, pro-Iranian demonstrators stormed the U.S. consulate compound in Karachi, Pakistan. US personnel reportedly shot and killed eight attackers during the breach. Closer to home, a Senegalese-born man killed three people and injured more at a Texas bar. The gunman, who was shot dead by police was wearing clothing featuring the Iranian flag and a sweatshirt that read “property of Allah”. Police are still investigating whether he had links to terrorist groups.

Clintons Can’t Recall Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified in a closed-door congressional hearing that she was unaware of Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal activity and could not recall meeting him. Former President Bill Clinton similarly stated that he had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes, claiming he would have reported him had he known. Investigative journalist Mike Benz says major gaps remain in the released documents, particularly toward the end of the Clinton presidency, when Epstein was reportedly involved in helping establish the Clinton Foundation after Bill Clinton left office. “The takeaway is we need the CIA and State Department side of this equation, and we also need the missing years from the Justice Department,” Benz said. “These two things are connected.”

Are We Great Again Yet? There was a great deal said about President Trump’s state of the union address, the longest recorded. You will find the full range of opinions about the speech, from those who say he nailed it, right through to those who questioned the value of a TV circus. The president honored veterans and victims of progressive policies, including survivors of transgender ideology and families affected by lenient prosecutors. He reiterated claims of economic strength and progress on deportations, though these remain points of contention for many Americans. One thing the President likely convinced Americans about is that Democrats “are crazy”. Dems notably refused to applaud several moments focused on border enforcement and bans on child transgender interventions (well, expect Senator Fetterman). The contrast extended beyond the chamber: following the U.S. men’s ice hockey team’s gold-medal victory—its first since the 1980 “Miracle on Ice”—some progressive outlets commiserated with those who found Olympic displays of patriotism a “turn off”.

Third Watch:

✏️ Inside a mechanical pencil

🧦 World’s largest sock monkey

🔭 Calculating the longest line of sight in the world

And…

As I have noted elsewhere, this troupe of bassmen use stairwells to great effect! This rendition of “Deliver Us” from The Prince of Egypt has a Lenten spirit, the yearning for deliverance by the better Moses, the true Son called out of Egypt.

And Bifrost Arts collage of Isaiah and Lamentations is a simple prayer:

Let us pray. O God, You Son shines with the brightness of the true Light. Grant that as we have known the mysteries of that Light on earth we may also come to the fullness of His joys in heaven; through the same Jesus Christ, You Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

You can also make a one-off or recurring donation here. Thank you!

Noise Decoder

Standing O for Rubio

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has garnered praise from several conservative outlets for his speech at the Munich Security Conference recently. Rubio highlighted the importance of valuing Western culture, its Christian heritage, and the good it has brought to the world. He pointed to Europe as the source of both the American population and America’s traditions, telling leaders that the transatlantic alliance is not merely strategic but civilizational. The remarks were met with a standing ovation. After J. D. Vance gave European leaders a tongue-lashing at the same conference last year, one diplomat described the mood this time as one of “relief” that America was not abandoning Europe and still wants it to be strong. Liberals, however, were distressed by Rubio’s emphasis on the West as a culture held together by shared history, religion, and tradition. They seemed to miss the point, insisting that Western values are merely “the world’s better values,” untethered from their Christian origins.

Woe to the Blind Guides

Closer to home, a media kerfuffle between Stephen Colbert, CBS, and the Federal Communications Commission broke out. Ahead of an interview with Texas state representative James Talarico, who is running in a Democratic state Senate primary, CBS suggested that Colbert consider offering airtime to his opponent, Jasmine Crockett, under equal-time rules sometimes enforced by the FCC for public broadcasters. Rather than do so, Colbert moved the episode to YouTube and spun an entertaining, money-raising tale of suppressed speech—blaming CBS and the Trump administration for censorship. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr later mocked reporters for “eating it all up,” suggesting they were so eager to believe the administration is fascist that they did not question Colbert’s censorship claims. During the show which played online, Talarico asserted—seemingly without shame—that the Bible has nothing to say about abortion or marriage. Instead, he argued that Matthew 25 reveals “how we’re going to be judged” and “how we’re going to be saved,” reducing Christianity to a program of social activism. He went on to spout what Pastor Rosebrough would call “pseudo profundities”, which he said are at the heart of “or religion”. Colbert’s audience also ate it up.

Looking to the cross: There’s a revealing symmetry here. In both cases, people believed what they wanted to believe. Some journalists were quick to accept a dramatic censorship narrative because it fit their priors about the administration. Talarico’s theology works the same way. His Gospel is “be kind and change the world.”But wanting that version of Christianity does not make it real. When Christianity is worn like a costume—useful for moral branding but detached from repentance and forgiveness—it becomes something else entirely. It cannot confront sin because it has denied it. It cannot save because it has replaced the Savior.

Tariffs Shot Down

The Supreme Court of the United States ruled 6–3 on Friday that emergency powers used by Donald Trump to impose tariffs do not, in fact, authorize him to do so. The majority held that the power to impose taxes and excises resides with Congress, warning that allowing the executive branch to exercise such authority would set a dangerous precedent. Writing in dissent, Justice Brett Kavanaugh pointed to President Richard Nixon, who imposed a 10 percent tariff on most foreign imports in 1971, before the emergency powers used by Trump were put into law. Kavanaugh argued that if a president has the power even to put the kibosh on imports entirely, it should also grant the lesser power to impose tariffs. Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing in support of the majority, insisted that sweeping economic decisions affecting everyday Americans are best left to Congress. Still, observers on Capitol Hill note that faith in Congress’s ability to debate—or act—in good faith (or quickly) is wearing thin. The President responded by lashing out at the majority justices, but quickly signaled he had found an alternative route, announcing plans to impose a blanket 10 percent tariff on all imports using a different trade statute. However, this rule restricts his tariffing and limits their duration.

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On the Radar

Life

A trans-identified man who killed two people at a Rhode Island ice hockey game before turning his gun on himself had previously posted online that “transphobia” was to blame for transgender people “going berserk.” Authorities say he targeted members of his own family, killing his adult son and ex-wife, with three additional victims left in critical condition. (The Blaze, Fox)

Authorities have recovered the bodies of nine backcountry skiers, including four guides, killed in a California avalanche. Nevada County’s sheriff said the possibility of criminal negligence by the tour company is under investigation after the group proceeded despite warnings of dangerous conditions. (Sacramento Bee, New York Post), The Guardian)

Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson has died at age 84. Admirers praised his advocacy for African Americans, while critics recalled his hostility toward whites and Jews, along with allegations of grifting from civil rights causes. Surprising to some—given his later loyalty to the Democratic Party’s abortion-on-demand platform—Jackson argued forcefully for the unborn in the 1970s. A cautionary tale, perhaps, that you “cannot keep your deepest convictions in one box and your public positions in another. Sooner or later, those boxes collide.” (WNG, National Right to Life)

Politics

Democrat congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez is said to have asked her friends at the New York Times to clean up after her underwhelming appearance at the Munich Security Conference. Reports that she had been training for weeks to attend the conference seemed hard to believe after she floundered on questions about Taiwan’s defence and fumbled a response about imposing a wealth tax should she [hypothetically] run for president. She was also publicly corrected by an Argentine lawmaker on the dangers of socialism. (Red State, Sean Hannity via Facebook)

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani says his promise to expand rent assistance programs may be too expensive to keep. Separately, he warned that unless Governor Kathy Hochul raises taxes on corporations and the wealthy, the city may need to hike property taxes and raid its emergency fund. (Post Millennial, World Socialist Website)

The Church

Witches say Etsy is now enforcing its long-standing ban on selling spellcasting services. One woman told Vice that clients with orders in progress were left distressed, calling the disruption “terrible for their health and feelings.” Maybe don’t leave hexes in your cart. (Vice)

Ecclesiastes speaks to finding joy in our weirdly unsatisfying lives. “One way to summarize the relationship between Job and Ecclesiastes, Job is somebody who discovered the vanity of all things by losing it all. The author of Ecclesiastes is somebody who discovered the vanity of all things by…having it all.”

Culture

“Why AI writing is so generic, boring, and dangerous”: One professor argues that AI replaces original insight with safe, bland language, calling its widespread use a “race to the middle” that produces clean-looking content with no substance. (The Register)

The Chicago Bears are talking about moving to Indiana. (Not the Bee)

Yes, TV for dogs is a booming industry. (The Hustle)

Health

A sewage spill from a broken pipeline has continued pouring into the Potomac River for nearly a month. Donald Trump blamed poor leadership in Washington, while clean-water advocacy groups argue cuts to federal infrastructure funding by the administration are to blame. (Chesapeake Bay Foundation,

Weight loss drugs were inspired by the feeding habits of the gila monster, a lizard native to the American Southwest. (Nautlilus)

Brushing your teeth three times a day might help you live longer. (Euro News)

W.A.I.T Why Am I Talking? Sometime it really is better to keep your mouth shut. (UpWorthy)

Last week’s Watches:

Epstein’ kryptonite, Olympic’s “quad god” flex, DEI takes a dive

Science and Tech

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in a civil trial brought by a 19-year-old who claims Instagram contributed to her depression and suicidal ideation as a teen. Zuckerberg denied any intent to addict children. In a strange irony, the judge warned Zuckerberg he could be held in contempt if his nifty AI glasses, worn at the hearing recorded any of the proceedings. (WNG, Not the Bee)

Illinois high school students will be required to learn about climate change, with the curriculum for the subject having been written by two teens. The goal? “I really want people..to say, ‘Oh, well, in school I learned that this is the science. This is what’s correct.’ They’ll be able to be mindful of the content they see and know that science is real.” Hey parents, your kids need to hear truth from you! Get in early to counter the anchoring bias. (Nice News)

In another “creation scientists already proposed this” moment, researchers now believe Earth’s climate shifted from warm and stable to cold and chaotic alongside the rise of humans—though they date it to 2.7 million years ago. Missed it by that much? (CAM)

Why cats’ eyes shine in the dark. (Popular Science)

War

Fifty countries were represented at the inaugural meeting of President Trump’s “Board of Peace,” convened to discuss rebuilding Gaza. The coalition pledged money, soldiers, and police, though Hamas has yet to disarm as required. The Vatican declined its invitation, saying the United Nations should oversee the process. (WNG, AP,Die Welt)

The Pentagon is locked in a dispute with AI firm Anthropic over military use of its systems. Anthropic reportedly wants assurances its technology will not be used for domestic surveillance or autonomous weapons. The Pentagon, however, resents being told how it may deploy contracted systems and has labeled the company a national security risk—perhaps as a prelude to severing ties. (New York Times, NBC)

Kenyan intelligence reports that around 1,000 nationals were recruited to Russia under promises of employment and are now fighting against Ukraine. (Die Welt)

The U.S. will withdraw roughly 1,000 troops from Syria, continuing a drawdown that began after the fall of the Assad regime in 2024. The Department of War says the force is no longer needed, with officials offering assurances that the U.S. remains ready to act in the region amid rising tensions with Iran. (BBC)

World News

🇬🇧 Britain’s King Charles III said “the law must take its course” after his brother, the former Prince Andrew, was arrested over allegations he shared state trade secrets with Jeffrey Epstein. Wild speculation about potential abdication by the monarch followed revelations that Buckingham Palace helped settle Andrew’s previous legal troubles. (The Guardian, ZeroHedge)

🇷🇺 International experts have concluded that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was killed using a rare poison. Navalny died in a Siberian prison two years ago, with the Kremlin claiming natural causes. (The Week)

🇨🇳 China’s government has expanded its cryptocurrency ban to include stablecoins and the tokenization of physical assets. (Yahoo)

🇫🇷 French police have arrested several people over a ticket fraud scheme at the Louvre Museum, centred on Chinese tour guides reusing tickets and bribing staff. The scam has cost more than $11 million over a decade, with proceeds allegedly funneled into property in France and Dubai. (AP)

🇲🇽 Mexico’s most-wanted cartel boss, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, has been killed by the military. Violent reprisals followed as suspected cartel members blew things up and set things on fire. (CNN)

🇹🇷 Turkish authorities have rejected condemnation from the European Parliament over deportations of Christian missionaries and journalists. (WNG)

🇨🇭 An initiative to cap Switzerland’s population at 10 million until 2050 has gathered enough signatures to trigger a national vote. (Euro News)

Quickhits

☄️ Every space movie ever

⛸️ The cameraman who was skating backwards to capture the action at the Winter Olympics

🌲 Some of Europe’s forests are straight out of a fantasy novel

🧶 Crocheted dumb phones

🧲 Uses for magnets in your garage

and

Even as videos are appearing online expressing shock at Muslim calls to prayer being heard in the streets of New York, a young Scottish lad travels the world bringing "his culture to far flung places. Occasionally, his bagpipes prove to have too much firepower even for local calls to prayer. Maybe he’ll bring his pipes to NYC one day!

Let us pray. O Lord God, You led Your ancient people through the wilderness and brought them to the promised land. Guide the people of Your Church that following our Savior we may walk through the wilderness of this world toward the glory of the world to come; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Sign up for all the Sentinel newsletters (or unsubscribe to the ones you don’t want!):

✅ The Watches – one or twice weekly quick summaries of headlines

✅ Cross+Sentinel – an end-of-week round up of headlines with more more depth plus interesting links and funnies.

✅ Black Bag – longer-form writing to help equip the saints to spot lies, speak truth and live faithfully.

Go to your subscription settings on Substack and rock on!

Subscribe now

You can also make a one-off or recurring donation here. Thank you!

First Watch:

Tumbler Ridge Shooting A small rural Canadian town is in shock after a trans-identified teen shot dead his mother and half brother before going to a local school and opening fire. Six others were killed before he took his own life. Canadian media continue to use the descriptor “gunperson” or female pronouns when reporting on the shooter. (BBC, Hot Air)

Balloon Scare Airspace over El Paso International Airport was closed for a period following a communication breakdown between the Department of Defense and aviation authorities. The Federal Aviation Administration shut the airport after authorities used a laser counter-drone weapon to eliminate what was later determined to be party balloons. Intelligence agencies say drugs are regularly flown across the Mexican border using drones. (KFOX14, The Hill)

Redundant drivers, then outsource the help Autonomous taxi company Waymo has admitted its vehicles rely on human operators—based in the Philippines and elsewhere—to guide them out of difficult situations. Waymo executives were questioned over the competence of foreign driving instructors, as well as concerns about China’s ability to meddle with Waymo’s Asian helpers. (Not the Bee)

Virginia’s Aggressive Redistricting Push Virginia Democrats have proposed a heavily gerrymandered 10–1 congressional map, which analysts say could carry them forward and is “quite possible but not guaranteed.” (Center for Politics)

Vacant Housing in the U.S. Approximately 10% of U.S. homes were vacant in 2024. This figure includes vacation properties but excludes uninhabitable dwellings. (USAFacts)

Japan’s Snap Election Gamble Pays Off Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, saw her gamble in calling a snap election pay off, with her party winning a supermajority. She has promised to tackle cost-of-living pressures and immigration and has agreed to revisit the nation’s post-Second World War constitution, which constrains the military, citing the need to stand up to China. (NBC, Chatham House)

Trump Pressure Chokes Cuba’s Fuel Supply Political pressure from President Trump on Latin America has effectively severed Cuba’s access to its primary petroleum sources in Venezuela and Mexico. Havana is now warning airlines not to fly in unless they have enough fuel to reach their next destination without refueling. (CBS)

Strong Jobs Report, Familiar Revisions The U.S. jobs report was surprisingly strong for January, with the unemployment rate falling to 4.3%. However, market watchers will wait for the revisions which have been consistently (and brutally) downward for the past several years. (AFR, ZeroHedge)

Earth’s Core May Hold Vast Hydrogen Reserves New scientific modeling suggests the Earth’s core may contain many times more hydrogen than exists in all the water in Earth’s oceans. Scientists say this indicates the planet acquired the majority of its water as it formed, rather than through later comet impacts, which anyone who has read Genesis could have guessed. (Science Alert)

Ferrari Unplugged Ferrari has discovered that many owners of its hybrid supercars don’t bother charging them. Apparently, it takes too long for Ferrari owners who prefer to run their machines on gas. (Robb Report)

Second Watch:

Epstein Monkey’s Paw Lawmakers descended into chaos during an Oversight Committee hearing over the release of Jeffrey Epstein–related documents—a case that continues to punish every faction that tries to control it. After President Trump ordered the release of all files, the DOJ dumped roughly three million pages (with millions more reportedly still unreleased). In the scramble, victims’ names were left unredacted while alleged perpetrators’ names were blacked out. During the wild hearing, Attorney General Pam Bondi deflected blame to prior administrations, but no one appears satisfied. Democrats note Trump is mentioned repeatedly (though he also reported Epstein to police in 2006), while Republicans point out that many of the most lurid details implicate Democrats and major donors. The documents—court filings, tips, and unverified allegations—have widened the blast radius, ensnaring people with only tangential associations, while delivering no major prosecutions in the U.S.

The Whims of the Market The sponsor of Orlando, Florida’s “Gay Days” says the event is on pause as donations have dried up. Meanwhile, the Human Rights Campaign reports that roughly two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies previously participating have stopped voluntarily submitting their DEI policies for scoring in its Corporate Equality Index. Some analysts warned that corporate whiplash—loudly promoting values one year and quietly retreating the next—widens the public “trust gap”. While conservatives were optimistic that a moral change was in play, a closer look suggests this may be just a tactical pause, with many companies likely to fall back in line under the next progressive administration.

Trump Digs Coal The Environmental Protection Agency has alarmed climate alarmists by rolling back an Obama-era “endangerment finding” that classified carbon dioxide and methane as harmful emissions subject to Clean Air Act regulation. The designation underpinned rules governing vehicles, power plants, and energy facilities. The Trump administration questions the underlying science, with the president stating that the Obama and Biden EPAs “twisted the law, ignored precedent, and warped science to achieve their preferred ends.”

Third Watch:

🧊 How Olympic ice is made

⛸️ U.S. figure skater Ilia Malinin’s “brazen and ostentatious flex” gets him no points but is pretty impressive

😎 It costs a pretty penny to look like an Olympian

And

Good job, lads. What a beautiful sound from Men Sing Grand Rapids.

Let us pray. Lord Jesus Christ, Savior of the world, help us ever to seek You and to seek others for You, that Your harvest may be full and we may join those from every tribe and nation at the heavenly feast, where you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Sign up for all the Sentinel newsletters (or unsubscribe from the ones you don’t want!):

✅ The Watches – one or twice weekly quick summaries of headlines

✅ Cross+Sentinel – an end-of-week round up of headlines with more more depth plus interesting links and funnies.

✅ Black Bag – longer-form writing to help equip the saints to spot lies, speak truth and live faithfully.

Go to your subscription settings on Substack and rock on!

Subscribe now

You can also make a one-off or recurring donation here. Thank you!

First Watch:

There’s No Agency When You’re Frozen New York City’s Mayor Mamdani is facing criticism after 16 homeless people were found frozen to death following severe cold weather. Mamdani ended a policy that required sanitation workers to dismantle encampments and direct people to shelters, arguing that forcing people indoors was infringing on their rights. Mamdani said he deployed two “warming buses,” though residents say no one knew they were available. Meanwhile, trash collection has “fallen behind” as garbage piles up amid snowstorms. (Front Page, Not the Bee)

WashPo “Murder” Journalists at the Washington Post are mourning the “murder” of the publication after roughly one-third of its newsroom was laid off. Critics of the paper’s long history of targeted hit pieces were less sympathetic, noting that the Post—founded as a Democratic paper—showed little concern for those it smeared. Owner Jeff Bezos has been blamed for the outlet’s decline, though it remains unclear why he should be expected to absorb reported losses of around $100 million a year indefinitely. (Washington Examiner, Steve Milloy via X, Hot Air)

Nike Alleged Anti-White Hiring Bias The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has requested documents from Nike following allegations that the company discriminated against white applicants in its hiring practices. (Just the News)

Bill to Criminalize “Islamophobia” Muslim Virginia State Senator Saddam Azlan Salim has introduced legislation that would criminalize “Islamophobia,” defined as “malicious prejudice or hatred directed toward Islam or Muslims,” effectively outlawing criticism of the religion as well as its adherents. (Front Page)

Suspected California Biolab Airbnb Police have raided a property in California believed to have been used as a biolab, discovering vials labeled Ebola, dengue fever, and HIV. The home is linked to an investigation involving a Chinese national and was also listed as an Airbnb. Several people reportedly became seriously ill after lodging there. (8News Now, 8News Now)

Illegal Alien Truck Driver Kills Four An illegal alien from Kyrgyzstan drove into oncoming traffic, plowing into a car that was transporting a number of Amish men in Indiana. (KATV)

Women’s Medalist has Male Genes Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who won Olympic gold in women’s boxing events, has admitted he has the male SRY gene. (Washington Examiner)

Veganism Is In Decline Once hailed as the future of food, veganism is losing popularity. (Grub Street)

Polymarket Opens Free Grocery Store Prediction market platform Polymarket has opened a free grocery store in New York City, offering food to the city’s poorest residents. What could possibly go wrong? (Yahoo)

Starmer Under Pressure British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing calls to resign after appointing Peter Mandelson as U.S. ambassador despite allegedly knowing of Mandelson’s friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, even after Epstein’s sexual crime conviction. (The Critic)

🍿 Alternative Half-Time Show If you’re planning to watch the Super Bowl and want something else to look at beside the debauched half-time show… (The Blaze)

Second Watch:

Controlling The Means Of Prediction Almost $2 billon bets placed will be placed on this year’s Super Bowl, and beyond online gambling, prediction markets are the new hybrid kid on the block. With online betting governed by a patchwork of state laws across the U.S., prediction markets have carved out a niche. Investopedia describes them as “a collection of people speculating on a variety of events.” The founder of Kalshi, one of the largest platforms, says prediction markets harness the wisdom of crowds: “People don’t lie when money’s involved. You want to be right about your predictions so you don’t lose money.” The founder of competitor Polymarket is similarly bullish, claiming, “People have more clarity about the world because Polymarket exists.” But states are calling for licensing and regulation, and others are raising national security concerns. Critics warn that individuals with insider knowledge—such as potential U.S. intervention in Iran or the capture of Nicolás Maduro—could reveal more through their betting behavior than is safe.

A Warning Shot In a rare piece of good news from the gender world, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) has issued a statement saying its policy should now be that so-called “gender-affirming” surgical interventions be delayed until a patient is at least 19 years old. The organization also acknowledged ethical concerns surrounding cross-sex hormone regimens and what is referred to as “social transitioning.” The statement follows a landmark malpractice ruling involving Fox Varian, who as a teenage girl was approved for and underwent a double mastectomy. A psychologist and surgeon were found negligent, and Varian was awarded $2 million in damages. The case centered on a narrow question of malpractice: Varian was not adequately warned of side effects, and physicians failed to address underlying psychological conditions before prescribing radical and irreversible interventions.

Masks Off, Cameras On, Agents Out While a brief government shutdown has ended, lawmakers are now deadlocked over funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which expires soon. Democrats are demanding immigration agents wear body cameras—a proposal Republicans largely support—but also that agents not wear masks, which the GOP argues would endanger their lives. Border czar Tom Homan says 700 agents will be withdrawn from Minneapolis. Vice President J.D. Vance told Megyn Kelly the move is not a retreat but a practical adjustment, explaining that fewer agents are needed now that they were primarily there to protect operations on the ground. Meanwhile, the city of Spokane is considering “immigration enforcement–free zones.” The irony was especially thick in Minneapolis, where activists set up their own checkpoints, demanding identification so they could “know who’s coming in and going out.” Just like ICE.

Pick A Lane The Grammys were their usual circus, with wealthy music industry elites leaving their gated, well-guarded homes to don “ICE Out” pins at a glitzy awards show. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson raised eyebrows after being spotted in the crowd cheering during anti-deportation rhetoric. Someone named Shaboozey drew criticism for claiming immigrants built the United States while omitting African Americans’ contribution altogether. But the coveted Steps-on-a-Rake Award went to singing Billie Eilish, who declared that “no one is illegal on stolen land” before unleashing profanity at immigration enforcement. Internet sleuths quickly noted that her California mansion sits on land once belonging to the Tongva tribe.

Third Watch:

🪼 A rare phantom jellyfish off the coast of to Argentina can grow the size of a school bus

✈️ Sleek new Hondajet will be able to land by itself

📮 NYC’s historic pneumatic tube mail system was expensive, but really amazing. “The first cylinder tube to travel through the New York City system contained “a Bible, a flag and a copy of the Constitution.”

And

While a lot of celebrity speeches crediting God for their success are indeed performative, country artist Jelly Roll’s testimony was an island of humility in a sea of self-sanctimony. I don’t know the state of his heart, but God’s Word always accomplishes what is intended, even out of the mouths of celebrities.

Let us pray. O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy, be gracious to all who have gone astray from Your ways and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of Your Word; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Sign up for all the Sentinel newsletters (or unsubscribe from the ones you don’t want!):

✅ The Watches – one or twice weekly quick summaries of headlines

✅ Cross+Sentinel – an end-of-week round up of headlines with more more depth plus interesting links and funnies.

✅ Black Bag – longer-form writing to help equip the saints to spot lies, speak truth and live faithfully.

Go to your subscription settings on Substack and rock on!

Subscribe now

You can also make a one-off or recurring donation here. Thank you!

Share

Minneapolis

Former CNN anchor Don Lemon was one of several people arrested after entering a Minneapolis church service and disrupting worship while blocking parents trying to reach their children in Sunday school. Lemon defended his actions saying he was doing journalism. Tensions in Minnesota remain high amid ongoing protests over federal immigration enforcement. A coalition of retail CEOs has urged local and federal law enforcement to work together to calm unrest. Border czar Tom Homan says he would draw down federal troops in Minnesota if state leaders cooperate in handing over convicted violent illegal aliens, although wrangling over who would be detaining suspected illegal alien criminals, and for how long, is just beginning. The FBI confirmed they are investigating messaging groups that may be organizing targeted harassment of deportation operations in Minneapolis.

A recommendation: A Brief History of Power discussed the Minneapolis church invasion and it’s worth a listen. Dr Koontz and Col Grills talk about immigration and those who see the invasion of a church service as a form of protest. “The meme of the church is just the people, which is true to a degree, has completely sullied the understanding of sacred space.”

On the Radar

Life

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has asked a federal court to pause a lawsuit over the abortion drug mifepristone while it conducts its own safety review. Pro-life groups expressed frustration, noting that the Biden administration reinstated mail-order dispensing and removed in-person requirements, leaving vulnerable women unaware of serious side effects. (The Federalist)

Harrowing tales from a counsellor at an abortion drug helpline. (The Federalist)

Child-rights advocate Katy Faust has launched a new campaign aimed at overturning same-sex marriage. After ten years, she argues, it is clear that, “The law cannot simultaneously uphold a child’s right to their mother and father and affirm same-sex marriage.” (The Federalist)

Politics

The U.S. government has partially shut down, as Democrats dig in over funding for Homeland Security. Funding for a number of departments including Defense, Health and Human Services, Transportation and State was separately approved, but Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says he wants more accountability for operations conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (The Hill, BBC, The Hill)

Projections run by online analysts predict that Democrats stand to lose a number of electoral votes if President Trump’s deportation agenda is completed. (Not the Bee)

Money

Daniel Greenfield writes that while many are now aware of Somali fraud in Minnesota, Pakistani muslim networks tied to New York City Democrats have stolen $68 million through fake adult care centers. (Front Page)

Tesla seems to be less interested in making cars now. One critic said the claim by Tesla execs that they were moving to “transport as a service” is another example of an elite who “don’t want people to own anything and instead have them ‘subscribe’ to as many things as possible.” (Electrek)

Yale University says it will offer free tuition to students from families earning under $200,000 a year. (CBS)

The Church

A lone pastor loudly objected during the Church of England’s installation of its first female Archbishop of Canterbury. (Not the Bee) | Church of England ministers are being encouraged to preach anti-racism, with a huge grant given to educate about “church buildings’ links to transatlantic slavery”, promote diversity in leadership and support refugees and asylum seekers. One commentator snarked that it makes some sense that the “state church would promote the state religion”. (The Telegraph)

LCMS Central Illinois District President Rev. Michael Mohr has been arrested for alleged production of child pornography. (LCMS Missouri)

Crime and Policing

The Department of Justice has released more than 3 million pages of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein. (AP)

Culture

An artist has had his AI-generated works protested in an unusual way. A fellow student took umbrage at his exhibition and “promptly ate it in protest”, later saying that AI “chews up and spits out art by other people.” (Art News)

Sydney’s opera house has undergone an acoustic upgrade to be adaptable for all sorts of genre performances but the massive organ is still the star. (Dallas Taylor via YouTube)

Health

The required year’s notice is up and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says it is no longer a member of the World Health Organization. In a statement, Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy and Secretary of State Marco Rubio say the WHO had done nothing to help the U.S. despite its being the largest contributor since 1948. (BBC)

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration warns drivers to check airbags after substandard Chinese inflators were linked to fatal explosions in otherwise survivable crashes. (NHTSA)

Scientists are puzzled by Asian mushrooms that cause vivid hallucinations of tiny humanoid figures. (BBC)

A study suggests babysitting grandchildren may help keep the brain sharp.(Nice News)

Last week’s Watches:

Science and Tech

Researchers say a massive freshwater reservoir lies beneath the seabed from New Jersey to Maine. (Live Science)

A European tech company wants to build a space-based laboratory to run cancer tests “not possible” on Earth. (Interesting Engineering)

Scientists say earthquake sensors could help pinpoint where space debris lands. (JHU Hub)

Doctors at Northwestern kept a patient alive for two days using an artificial lung while awaiting a double-lung transplant. (Ars Technica)

Ice XXI: Scientists have identified a new phase of ice by squeezing water between two diamonds. (Smithsonian)

Researchers say polar bears are fattening up, despite retreating ice, as they are learning to eat land animals. (CBS)

Mind and Body

Daydreaming beats scrolling, give it a go. (MSN)

War

President Trump warned Iran’s leadership that U.S. warships sent to the Middle East are prepared to strike to protect protesters. Human-rights groups report Iran’s regime is arresting doctors and medics who treat injured demonstrators. (WNG, The Guardian)

Taiwan says it is “closely watching” changes in China’s military leadership after President Xi Jinping removed two senior generals, both reportedly under investigation. (NBC)

World News

🇨🇦 A Canadian woman was euthanized despite reportedly changing her mind about assisted suicide. Two assessors agreed that her husband was burned out from caring for her, overriding the recommendations of an original assessor who recorded that the woman had withdrawn her request to be killed. (Daily Mail, ZeroHedge)

🇪🇸 Spain’s prime minister wants to give 500,000 illegal immigrants present in the country legal status if they have clean criminal records. The conservative opposition warns the move will overwhelm public services. (Euro News)

🇵🇦 Panama’s Supreme Court has annulled a contract allowing a Hong Kong–based company to operate the Panama Canal. A Danish company will step in to run the waterway while a new owner is chosen. (Wall Street Journal)

Quickhits

👨‍🚀 College students find genuine NASA spacesuits at a thrift store

🎯 Different kinds of regional UK dartboards

📏 Kitchen work needs a slide rule

🇬🇧 British couple work for 30 years to restore an abandoned train station

💡 A super cool functioning Lego typewriter

🤷 Spurious correlations, definitely not causation!

⛄ Pictures from snow sculpture championships

Let us pray. Almighty God, You know we live in the midst of so many dangers that in our frailty we cannot stand upright. Grant strength and protection to support us in all dangers and carry us through all temptations; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Sign up for all the Sentinel newsletters (or unsubscribe to the ones you don’t want!):

✅ The Watches – one or twice weekly quick summaries of headlines

✅ Cross+Sentinel – an end-of-week round up of headlines with more more depth plus interesting links and funnies.

✅ Black Bag – longer-form writing to help equip the saints to spot lies, speak truth and live faithfully.

Go to your subscription settings on Substack and rock on!

Subscribe now

You can also make a one-off or recurring donation here. Thank you!

First Watch:

Attack at Omar Town Hall A man rushed Rep. Ilhan Omar at a Minneapolis town hall, spraying her with a foul-smelling liquid. Omar was unharmed and continued speaking. The suspect’s brother described him as a “right-wing extremist” with anger issues, while a neighbour cited pain medication.(The Independent)

Old is new Again A video of President Obama has resurfaced online, highlighting how Democrats once supported deportations of illegal immigrants. (Maze via X)

Podcaster Allie Beth Stuckey had an exhortation, particularly for Christians who she says are being manipulated emotionally into believing media narratives without questioning:

US Tech, Russian War Investigative outlet Hunterbrook claims a US tech company is a key partner in Russia’s war effort, supplying drone technology to the Kremlin.(Hunterbrook)

AI Outsourcing Hits Jobs Amazon and Pinterest are both reportedly laying off staff as more work is outsourced to AI systems.(CNBC, CNBC)

Le Ban French lawmakers have fast-tracked legislation that would ban social media use for children under 15. (WNG)

The Drone Umbrella A personal “drone umbrella” that autonomously follows its owner has been unveiled. (PopSci)

The Blue–Red Divide A biotech company has installed a direct phone line between one of America’s deepest-blue districts and reliably red rural one. (Not the Bee)

Second Watch:

Fallout continues in Minneapolis following the fatal shooting of activist Alex Pretti by ICE agents. Newly surfaced messages from infiltrated group chats show a highly organized anti-ICE network, including vehicle databases, street-corner “spotters,” and real-time coordination to obstruct operations. A former Green Beret said the tactics resembled foreign insurgent groups he encountered overseas. Pretti appears to have been active in this network and was reportedly involved in an earlier altercation with agents, damaging an ICE vehicle’s taillight days before the fatal incident. As Democratic leaders and media figures continued to compare ICE to the Gestapo and likened illegal alien children hiding from authorities to Anne Frank, Republicans, including DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and ICE leadership were criticized for commenting on the shooting before all facts were known. FBI director Kash Patel blundered that guns cannot be brought to a protest, upsetting firearms associations. President Trump reassigned Border Patrol commander-at-large Gregory Bovino to California and sent Tom Homan to take over operations. Trump spoke with both Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, asking that they support his efforts to remove illegal aliens already in Minnesota jails or under active deportation orders. Conservative commentators remain divided over whether the President prudently defused tensions or rewarded sanctuary-city resistance.

Mixed Messages, Chinese Whispers Leadership for the new US-based TikTok entity has been announced, with the company claiming full control over the platform’s data and algorithm. President Trump extended the sale-or-ban deadline despite congressional objections, arguing the arrangement qualifies as a divestment from the Chinese parent company. Senator Ed Markey said lawmakers have not seen evidence the platform is “truly free of Chinese influence.” In other China news, President Trump was upset at the idea of Chinese goods flowing into the USA through Canada, warning he would impose 100% tariffs on Canadian goods if Prime Minister Mark Carney pursues a trade deal with China. But after last week’s fractious WEF meeting in Davos, Europe may also be recalibrating away from US trade. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to visit China, while the European Union just brokered a historic free trade agreement with India.

Third Watch:

🍞 Pity the poor bakers getting up in the dark on these cold mornings

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 The pioneer of jazz bagpipes

🔭 How to spot the International Space Station

🤫 The tactile silent wedding of a deaf bride and groom

And…

An atheist own goal? A self-desired humanist on X has set out to prove that you don’t need a Creator to have order come from disorder.

Yet despite himself, he illustrates beautifully the need for an intelligent “source” for the order that we see. Alas, he didn’t see it, but St Paul nailed it when he asked, “Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?”

Let us pray. Almighty God, You show mercy to Your people in all their troubles. Grant us always to recognize Your goodness, give thanks for Your compassion and praise Your holy name; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Sign up for all the Sentinel newsletters (or unsubscribe from the ones you don’t want!):

✅ The Watches – one or twice weekly quick summaries of headlines

✅ Cross+Sentinel – an end-of-week round up of headlines with more more depth plus interesting links and funnies.

✅ Black Bag – longer-form writing to help equip the saints to spot lies, speak truth and live faithfully.

Go to your subscription settings on Substack and rock on!

Subscribe now

You can also make a one-off or recurring donation here. Thank you!

First Watch:

Jack Smith Faces Lawmakers Special prosecutor Jack Smith was questioned by lawmakers over his role in surveilling phone records of members of Congress while allegedly concealing investigative targets from a judge. Smith defended his actions and reiterated claims that President Trump engaged in criminal conduct related to January 6 and classified documents. Both cases were dismissed after Trump returned to the White House, though Democrats say future prosecutions remain on the table. (Washington Examiner, Daily Signal, The Federalist)

New Crime Data Claims Historic Low New reporting claims the U.S. murder rate is on track for its lowest level since 1900. While several major cities have been accused of manipulating crime statistics, lower crime rates are being reported in jurisdictions cooperating with immigration enforcement, suggesting increased policing and deportations are reducing violent crime. (The Federalist, Twitchy)

Michigan Migrant Fraud A Nigerian-born professor at a Michigan university has pleaded guilty to wire fraud for her role in a scheme that stole around $1 million from a charity serving children from low-income households. As fraud committed in the name of “justice” continues to surface, one outlet summed it up bluntly: “Turns out it’s really easy to make money in America by lying.”(The Blaze, Not the Bee)

Florida Weakens American Bar Association Monopoly Florida’s Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s law schools may seek accreditation from bodies other than the American Bar Association, ending the ABA’s role as the sole arbiter of legal education in the state.(Florida Phoenix)

Trump Sues JPMorgan Chase President Trump is suing JPMorgan Chase over its decision to close several of his bank accounts in 2021. Trump claims he was debanked due to his political views, while the bank says it only closes accounts that pose “legal or regulatory risk” and that federal rules required the move.(The Hill)

ICE Decoy Dupes Protesters The group Blue Lives Matter says it may or may not have conducted decoy operations across several states to distract anti-ICE protesters, allowing immigration enforcement officers to carry out operations without interference.(Red State)

Massive Pileup on Michigan Highway More than 100 vehicles were involved in a major pileup on a snow-covered highway in Michigan as winter weather battered the region. Stay safe folks, it’s chilly! (Fox via X)

Japan’s Parliament Dissolved Japan’s prime minister has dissolved parliament, with observers saying the move is designed to trigger early elections and capitalize on her strong public approval. (AP)

U.S., Ukraine, and Russia Hold First Joint Talks Officials from the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia have met together for the first time in Abu Dhabi to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. The sticking point as previously is the future of Ukrainian territory annexed by Russia.(NBC)

Iran Threatens Global ‘Jihad’ Iran has adopted what it calls a “military posture,” warning that any action against leader Ayatollah Khamenei would trigger global jihad. The warning follows reports that the U.S. has sent a carrier strike group to the region and that Iran’s leader has been moved to a bunker. Human rights groups estimate up to 25,000 protesters have been killed by the regime. (The Guardian, Die Welt)

Second Watch:

DHS: No Child is ‘Bait’ The Department of Homeland Security is disputing headlines claiming ICE detained a five-year-old child and used him as “bait” to lure out his illegal-alien parents. According to immigration officials, agents were attempting to arrest the boy’s father when he fled, leaving the child behind. They played music and gave the boy food, after this mother reportedly refused to take him. Critics condemned the agents’ handling of the situation, though no doubt ICE are mindful of handing a child over to school officials or third parties following revelations that thousands of unaccompanied minors released under the Biden administration were later trafficked into forced labor and sexual exploitation. (PJ Media, AP) | A 37 year-old nurse has been shot dead, apparently by ICE agents after a scuffle this morning. Early reports suggest the man had been part of a large anti-ICE protest in Minneapolis and was carrying a firearm. In distressing videos circulating online, he appears to have already been disarmed by several ICE agents when he was shot multiple times. Vice President Vance, in Minneapolis earlier this week, trying to calm things down, said that chaos in Minneapolis was unnecessary and urged leadership to cooperate and share information with ICE.

End Of The World As We Know It President Trump ignited debate at the World Economic Forum in Davos with a long speech that insulted allies and adversaries alike. Everyone saw the thing differently, with critics arguing such rhetoric risks alienating Europe, while supporters said Trump’s confrontational approach is already pushing European leaders to act on immigration enforcement, military spending, and national sovereignty. Much debate also circled around a speech from Canada’s Mark Carney. The Prime Minister suggested the “rules-based’ global order was now ruptured, warning that, “Middle powers need to be at the table or will be ‘on the menu’”. Shortly after stating the U.S. would not use force to take Greenland, Trump announced a new agreement expanding America’s strategic role on the island to counter potential Chinese and Russian threats. Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer appears to be backtracking on plans to transfer the Chagos Islands—home to a vital joint UK-U.S. military base—to Mauritian control, reportedly following Trump’s criticism of the move. As Albert Mohler observed, the ultimate judgment of the President’s approach will rest with the “verdict of history.”

Third Watch:

🇹🇭 Thailand’s amazing “three whales” rock

💅🏻 Colour-changing “smart” press-on nails

🧬 How long could you survive without DNA?

🌨️ Why snow is white

And..

The mainstream media were more interested in protest marches in Minneapolis but thousands still turned out on behalf of the unborn.

Vice President J D Vance spoke powerfully about the need for a society that values life: “Today, the far-left in this country tells our young people that marriage and children are obstacles, that it’s irresponsible, even immoral because of climate change or some other reason, to encourage our young people to raise a family. They tell us that life itself is a burden. But we know that it’s a lie. We know that life is a gift.”

Let us pray. Almighty God, in Your mercy guide the course of this world so that Your church may joyfully serve You in godly peace and quietness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Sign up for all the Sentinel newsletters (or unsubscribe to the ones you don’t want!):

✅ The Watches – one or twice weekly quick summaries of headlines

✅ Cross+Sentinel – an end-of-week round up of headlines with more more depth plus interesting links and funnies.

✅ Black Bag – longer-form writing to help equip the saints to spot lies, speak truth and live faithfully.

Go to your subscription settings on Substack and rock on!

Subscribe now

You can also make a one-off or recurring donation here. Thank you!

Share

Making The Obvious Unspeakable

An exchange between Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) and a multi-credentialed doctor during a Senate hearing on abortion drug safety has revealed we are at another critical inflection point in the sexual revolution. During questioning, Hawley asked Dr. Nisha Verma — an abortion activist and obstetrician — whether men can become pregnant. Verma declined to answer, accusing the Senator of injecting “politics” into the discussion. Commenting on the exchange, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Albert Mohler said the witness “ended up looking like an idiot,” adding that her refusal to answer reflected commitment to what he described as a higher ideological cause. Writing for WORLD, Mohler argued that abortion and transgender ideology are “mutually driven by the Culture of Death,” and that the exchange offered “one agonizing lesson in modern insanity.” The viral moment followed Supreme Court hearings last week on a major case involving men competing in women’s sports. Kristen Waggoner, President of Alliance Defending Freedom — which is representing female athletes in the case — said the issue ultimately rests on acknowledging biological reality. “I worry about Western civilization, candidly,” Waggoner said. “That’s how important this issue is — whether we can talk about what we know to be true in human biology.”

Looking to the Cross: The price of pretending is always higher than we expect. Scripture is full of people who denied reality until it swept them away — from Noah’s generation, who mocked the warning until the flood came, to Israel, who trusted idols and institutions while ignoring prophets sent to call them back to truth. Our moment is no different: when even educated leaders refuse to say what is plainly true, we are called to speak the truth, build faithfully, and trust that God remains just, even when the cost is high.

Storming the Sanctuary

Minnesota continues to dominate headlines as clashes over immigration enforcement intensify. This weekend, a group of activist protestors disrupted a Sunday service at Cities Church in St. Paul, accusing one of the church’s leaders of working for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The demonstration — complete with loud chants and confrontational behavior inside the sanctuary — continued for some time before police arrived.

The U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation into the incident, signaling potential charges under federal civil-rights statutes, including the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act — a law routinely used to prosecute pro-life Christians outside abortion clinics. Former CNN host Don Lemon rode along with the rabble, filming and narrating the trespass for his podcast. Though children in the congregation were visibly distressed, Lemon said creating “uncomfortable and traumatic” situations is “what protesting is about.” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon responded on social media, stating bluntly: “A house of worship is not a public forum for your protest!”

The fatal shooting of Renee Good earlier this month ignited broader protest activity across the Twin Cities. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) asserted in a television interview last week that ICE has not “been able to produce any evidence that they are finding people who are undocumented who have committed crimes.” Yet the Department of Homeland Security has released lists of illegal aliens wanted for murder or child sex abuse whom agents tracked down in Minnesota. ICE reports indicate more than 70,000 illegal aliens are currently in custody nationwide, with CBS News tallying — based on DHS data — that 47 percent have committed additional crimes beyond entering the country illegally.

The Influencers Are Doing It For Themselves

Fraud is in the air! After welfare fraud worth at least $9 billion came to public attention, Governor Tim Walz announced he will not run a third term as he intended, blaming his critics for taking up too much of his time. Further irregularities have now ben discovered in Minnesota, including private homes registered as assisted-living facilities and childcare centers that reportedly had no children. Meanwhile, other YouTubers have taken it upon themselves to do some uncomfortable journalism. One investigation highlighted a town in upstate New York where Hasidic Jewish residents appear heavily dependent on government assistance despite being able bodied and capable. And if that didn’t hit a nerve, this one might, a YouTube money show raised questions about whether vet disability pensions programs need a review.

Conservative commentator Benny Johnson now claims California has spent roughly $24 billion on its homelessness crisis — without resolving it, but rather increased. INdpependt paper Country Highway and youtbuer Nick Shirley can likely take credit for unseating a govneror. Even as Governor Gavin Newsom sits at the top of the heap when it comes to a Demcoraacti run for president in 2028, Johnsons says his team will be investigating where the money went.

Last week’s Watches:

SCOTUS hears about men in women’s sports, MAHA guidelines and ICE shooting rankles America.

On the Radar

Life

President Trump has disappointed those on the side of the unborn after suggesting Republicans should be “flexible” on the Hyde Amendment during negotiations over extensions to the Affordable Care Act. Abortion advocates accuse the President of using Hyde to block healthcare spending, but pro-lifers say Hyde should be a bare minimum “red line for Republicans.” (America Magazine, Christian Post)

Abortion advocacy groups have dropped their lawsuit against the Trump administration after funds earmarked for Title X grants were released. The administration had previously barred abortion providers from accessing the grants, which can fund cancer screenings and counseling but also abortion services. Pro-life advocates hope that the President is playing a long game. (WNG, First Things)

Crime and Policing

The FBI has searched the home of a Washington Post journalist, seizing several devices including phones and a smartwatch. Authorities say the journalist was not the target of the investigation, but rather a Maryland government administrator accused of improperly removing classified information. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the individual who had been leaking information to the reporter has been arrested. (Washington Examiner)

Twenty-six people have been charged in connection with a college basketball game-fixing gambling fraud involving bribes and coordinated betting schemes. (ESPN)

A new bill in Arizona would remove daytime speed limits on certain stretches of state highway. (SAN)

Politics

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have declined to comply with subpoenas seeking testimony before a House committee regarding their connections to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY) says legal action may follow. (ZeroHedge)

Money

President Trump and governors from several Northeastern states are pressing tech companies to shoulder the energy costs associated with power-hungry data centers. The group has urged the nation’s largest electrical grid operator to hold emergency wholesale electricity auctions and compel tech firms to fund new power generation — effectively shielding residential consumers from rising prices ahead of the midterms. (ZeroHedge, Hot Air, CNN)

The State Department has paused issuing visas to immigrants from 75 countries deemed likely to require public assistance if admitted to the United States. (AP)

Congress has passed a bill for the President to sign that would prevent government checks from being sent to people who have died. (Not the Bee)

Saks Fifth Avenue has filed for bankruptcy. (Robb Report)

Culture

Actor Matthew McConaughey has filed trademarks covering his likeness and a signature catchphrase, aiming to prevent unauthorized AI replication. “I want to know that when my voice or likeness is ever used, it’s because I approved and signed off on it.” (PC Mag)

A bit of prompt inspiration for writers facing creative block. (Paris Review)

The truck driver who revolutionized shipping. (Tedium)

Science and Tech

New dinosaur fossils have been discovered at Dinosaur National Monument, prompting the first excavation there in more than 100 years. (CBS)

OpenAI will begin trialing advertisements inside its ChatGPT platform. (Wired)

NASA astronauts have returned safely from a mission on the International Space Station one month early, following an unspecified medical emergency. (WNG)

Astronomers report observing a supermassive black hole spewing plasma in a distant galaxy. (Popular Science)

If you missed it, my annual pondering on the year that was..

War

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has said Europe will not be “blackmailed” into relinquishing Greenland to the United States after President Trump threatened tariffs to increase pressure. The President has reiterated that he is determined for the U.S. to gain control of the Arctic territory. In a discussion with experts, UnHerd outlined the strategic and legal context surrounding Greenland. Danish analysts noted that existing treaties already permit U.S. military installations on the island, though America has significantly reduced its presence there since the end of the Cold War. Greenland’s economy remains heavily subsidized by Denmark, which the U.S would bare if it was to realize Trump’s goal. While access to natural resources such as oil and rare earth minerals is often cited, analysts argue Greenland’s strategic value is primarily geographic. The island sits at a critical junction between North America, Europe, and the Arctic — an area of increasing interest to Russia and China. Danish MEP Henrik Dahl noted that navigating Greenland’s waters requires specialized expertise currently held largely by Canadian and Danish forces. Presidential adviser Dr. Pippa Malmgren has said the central reason for U.S. interest in Greenland is space and communications infrastructure. With the North Pole fixed on a rotating globe, she argues that the Arctic has become “central to the global digital economy” due to its unique position for satellite connectivity. (BBC, Fox, UnHerd, UnHerd via YouTube)

President Donald Trump announced Thursday that a “Board of Peace for Gaza" has been set up. The group consists of Arab representatives and leaders from Gaza and will push for Hamas to fully disarm, the dismantling remaining tunnels, and the return of the body of the final Israeli hostage. (WNG)

World News

🇨🇦 Canada’s highest court ruled that Justin Trudeau’s government lacked authority to invoke emergency powers or freeze bank accounts of truckers protesting COVID-19 vaccine mandates in 2022. Accountability remains an open question. (National Post)

🇳🇱 A Dutch experiment housing students alongside immigrants to encourage assimilation has gone badly, with young women reporting violence and sexual assaults. One woman who was raped said, “He wanted to learn Dutch, to get an education. I wanted to help him.”(ZeroHedge)

🇪🇸 A collision between two high-speed trains in Spain has left at least 40 people dead Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the cause remains unknown. (The Guardian)

🇯🇵 A Japanese town has appointed a cat as its station master — a tradition credited with boosting tourism and saving a rural railway line. (Travel and Leisure)

🇨🇳 China’s mind boggling installation of “green” energy shows what you can do when you have little regard for environment disruption. (Kottke)

Quickhits

🏁 Let’s tesselate!

🦉 Beautiful bird sculptures

🐚 Maps of submarine communication cables over time

🍟 Fries ahoy!

💸 Apparently a $1 million SUV in “inevitable”

And…

King David declares in Psalm 91 that “The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge.” Looking up is a cure for all sorts of ills – despair, haughtiness, discontentment and weariness. Our Creator is magnificent, our God is omnipotent and our home is waiting. To paraphrase my friend, Rev Fisk, take courage, you are immortal right now and Jesus is coming soon..

Let us pray. Father in heaven, at the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River You proclaimed Him Your beloved Son and anointed Him with the Holy Spirit. Make all who are baptized in His name faithful in their calling as Your children and inheritors with Him of everlasting life; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.Amen.

Sign up for all the Sentinel newsletters (or unsubscribe to the ones you don’t want!):

✅ The Watches – one or twice weekly quick summaries of headlines

✅ Cross+Sentinel – an end-of-week round up of headlines with more more depth plus interesting links and funnies.

✅ Black Bag – longer-form writing to help equip the saints to spot lies, speak truth and live faithfully.

Go to your subscription settings on Substack and rock on!

Subscribe now

You can also make a one-off or recurring donation here. Thank you!

First Watch:

Supreme Court Pressed on Sex and Sports The Supreme Court heard arguments in a major case challenging state laws that bar males from competing in female athletic events. Transgender athletes are asking the Court to strike down the laws, arguing they amount to unlawful sex-based discrimination. Justice Samuel Alito pressed hard on that claim, asking how discrimination “on the basis of sex” can be alleged if male and female cannot be clearly defined in the first place. (Washington Examiner)

UK Threatens to Ban Elon Musk’s Grok Britain’s Prime Minister has threatened to ban xAI’s chatbot Grok, citing its ability to generate images of real people without consent. Keir Starmer argues the feature violates the UK’s sweeping Online Safety Act passed last year. Starmer has been openly hostile toward X and Elon Musk, even vowing to use government resources to monitor Musk’s posts more closely. Malaysia and Indonesia have already blocked Grok over similar concerns. (ZeroHedge, Spiked, BBC)

Trump Floats Housing Market Shake-Up President Trump has been spitballing ideas to ease the cost-of-living crunch, including a proposal to ban Wall Street firms from buying single-family homes. Some observers say it’s about time, while others noted that the least affordable housing markets are often those with minimal corporate investment. Investor David Bahnsen argues the real solution is simple: build more homes. (The Week, World Radio podcast)

Treasury Targets Minnesota Fraud Pipeline Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says he will restrict the amount of money that can be wired overseas from two Minnesota counties following the exposure of massive fraud schemes, largely tied to Somali networks. (New York Post)

Trump Pushes Credit Card Interest Cap President Trump says he wants to cap credit card interest rates. (Fox)

Opioid Overdose Deaths Continue to Fall Deaths from opioid overdoses in the United States have continued their downward trend, offering a rare piece of good news amid years of grim statistics. A number of factors may have lead to the decrease including China being persuaded to reduce production of its chemical ingredients. (PJ Media)

Dilbert Creator Scott Adams Dies Scott Adams, the cartoonist behind Dilbert, has died following a battle with cancer. Shortly after his death, his former wife published a letter from him, recording that he acknowledging Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, writing that any remaining doubts would be “quickly resolved” if he woke up in heaven. Lord, help his unbelief! (Scott Adams via X)

Tech’s Sand Box at CES The Consumer Electronics Show delivered its usual mix of novelty and ambition this year, featuring a gadget that detects potential food allergens, headphones that monitor brain activity, and a rollable laptop. LEGO also drew praise for new “smart bricks” that light up or move in response to how children play with them. (WNG, Mashable)

UAE Pulls UK Study Sponsorships The United Arab Emirates says it will no longer sponsor students seeking to study in the UK, citing fears of radicalization by Muslim Brotherhood groups in Britain. (Fox)

Are Americans Falling Out of Love With Pizza? Once untouchable, America’s favorite food may be losing ground.(The Week)

Second Watch:

Minnesota Vice Videos of an ICE protester being shot in Minneapolis have predictably split the country. The officer involved had reportedly previously been dragged by a car driven by an illegal alien he was attempting to arrest for sexual crimes, making his actions understandable. However, legal analysts went further saying the agent’s actions were fully justified. According to reporting, the deceased woman, Renee Good, had been trained to follow, harass, and film agents as they carried out their duties. That harassment has since escalated: protesters have reportedly searched hotels for ICE personnel and staged late-night disturbances to keep them awake. The terrible dissonance that identity politics creates in its subscribers was evident. Portland’s chief became emotional while confirming that two Venezuelans shot and injured after attempting to ram ICE officers with a vehicle were linked to Tren de Aragua—adding that he worried stating this fact might sound like “victim blaming.” As one protester publicly wrestled with whether her “white tears” were appropriate, users on X noted that the last white woman shot in Minneapolis received barely a mention from left-wing media outlets.

Make Dietary Guidelines Sensible Again The Secretaries of Health and Agriculture jointly released new dietary guidelines that have thrilled MAHA advocates. RFK Jr. summed up the philosophy succinctly: “Eat real food.” Nutrition writer and physician Gary Taubes praised the shift, noting that unprocessed whole foods—animal-based or not—“require minimal insulin to control blood sugar.” For critics of ultra-processed diets, it feels like vindication long overdue.

Venezuela: Vacuum? Venezuela has begun releasing what officials describe as “large numbers” of political prisoners, a move President Trump says signals an interest in peace. With the vice president of Maduro’s regime stepping into the top role, Trump has invited opposition leader María Corina Machado to the White House, amid concerns about a potential power vacuum. The president also met with oil executives to encourage investment in Venezuela’s battered infrastructure and energy sector, but it sounds like they’re not enticed.

Make Some History Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies has urged the Trump administration not to miss a rare opening for historic change in Iran, as mass protests against the regime continue to grow. While there have been a number of uprisings since the mullahs came to power, currently Iran has been weakened by Israeli and American military strikes and is alienated from a number of Arab neighbors. Hundreds of protesters have reportedly been killed, thousands arrested, and internet access cut nationwide, with authorities blaming the unrest on American interference. Trump has canceled scheduled meetings with Iran’s leadership and told protesters that “help is coming,” though what form that help might take remains unclear.

Third Watch:

🪨 From water to outer space, skimming stones is a serious business

🧛 Dracula Land: Romania will soon have a theme park dedicated to its most famous literary character

🇺🇸 An American [tree] in Paris?

📜 Whining started pretty early.. The oldest written customer complaint

And… This strange tale of Jesuits, samurai and Venice reminded me that God’s great plan of salvation is always proceeding as He intended. No human schemes, misplaced motives, war, distance, time or language can stop him bringing His people to Himself.

Let us pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, died for the ungodly, declaring all of humanity righteous by the shedding of His blood. Grant us the free gift of faith to receive this reality for our salvation, that by Your grace we may serve You in love and righteousness all the days of our lives; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

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Well that’s a wrap!

I trust your Christmas season was wonderful and that the New Year will bring glory to God and blessing to his saints!

As the year turns around, I recall the mighty passage from St Paul:

“I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

2025 was a wild ride, but we remember it with the discernment that time can bring and look to the new year with the hope of salvation always in our minds. It is hard to categorize the last 12 months and yet, looking over last year’s annual, it’s obvious that despite the firehose of news and the simmering uncertainty abounding, familiar things were driving so much of our political life.

As with his first term, President Trump blocked out the sun. His first hundred days were a giddy ride of taking a hammer to diversity and inclusion policies, defining men and women and honoring the US’ Christian history. By executive order, President Trump effectively shut the border proving that it wasn’t all that hard to do as Democrats had claimed. The Supreme Court was kept busy this year, with a shadow docket dedicated just to putting out fires created by Trump or reactions to him. Parental rights, female athletes, Christian organizations, were victorious last year at the Court, with many important cases to be decided at the end of this term in 2026. His “Don-roe Doctrine” foreign policy took shape–as much as is possible with Trump–with Israeli hostages home, a brazen attack on Iran’s nuclear capability and a precision abduction of Venezuela’s tyrannical leader were impressive feats no matter which way you slice it.

Now we await year two..

I was going to follow my formula of nominating the “winners and losers” for 2025, but, as you will see, there is a bit of both mixed together everywhere. Truth and beauty sit alongside power and violence. So you can decide for yourself and let me know what you think!

I intend to return to regular Sentinel editions next week, Deo volente!

God’s peace to you!

Frisby

Conservatism–A Reckoning

What does it mean to be conservative? Each generation has to answer that for itself—what it is conserving, what it opposes, and what it is willing to fight for. In 2025, conservatism rode as one passenger on the yuuge Trump train, producing unlikely alliances and moments of genuine cultural whiplash (Who had “Nicki Minaj defends Nigerian Christians at AmFest” on their bingo card?).

The year also exposed fractures. Many “not-Left” voters—former liberals who fled the Democrats over transgender ideology, open borders, or indulgence of antisemitism—discovered they couldn’t MAGA all the way to core conservative commitments: biblical marriage, opposition to abortion and Big Fertility, or the more basic claim that America’s moral order rests not on vague “Western values” but on Christianity. The result was a year of intra-MAGA skirmishes over national identity, foreign policy, free speech, and moral responsibility. The unity was thin—but the arguments at least proved conservatism is not afraid of debate.

The Left was no less divided, torn between doubling down on progressive orthodoxy or “be more normal.” They chose poorly. In September, Senator Tim Kaine illuminated the Left’s M.O, arguing that rights come from government, not God. Leaving such an important thing up to a deity, he insisted, would just lead to squabbles over whose god was superior. Around the same time, Zohran Mamdani, seen by some Democrats as the future of the party, dazzled New Yorkers with his portrayal of government as the source of every good thing. “We will prove that there is no problem too large for government to solve, and no concern too small for it to care about,” he proclaimed, promising to replace the “frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.” He was sworn in on the Quran.

As politics drifted further from any shared middle, Republicans worried their candidates weren’t conservative enough, while Democrats worried theirs weren’t sufficiently radical. In that environment, voters lose. Lawmakers no longer fear general elections so much as primary challenges from their most extreme factions.

Power–Instructions Not Included

Power — who has it, and what to do with it — was the great unresolved theme of 2025. Conservatives, long accustomed to opposition, suddenly found themselves holding the reins and arguing about where to go. Will truth prevail with cordial debate, or is there no rationality left on the progressive side to salvage? While most of the lawfare cases launched against President Trump under the Biden administration collapsed or were dismissed — a small hurrah for a justice system that mostly still works, figures tied to the Russia-collusion hoax and officials who had gone out of their way to target Trump found themselves under investigation. There were no headline arrests, still warnings within the Right about setting an executive power precedent that could come back to bite were countered with the argument that this was just returning fire.

The Left, stripped of power, handled it poorly. Trump’s Sharpie delivered day-one executive orders undoing progressive priorities and sending shockwaves through the bureaucracy. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth summoned generals and made clear there would be no more fat soldiers or transgender poppycock in the military. Revolt became commonplace. Health departments rebelled over RFK’s vaccine reviews. Audits under DOGE sparked outrage. Layoffs at the State Department produced public weeping. Rumors swirled of sabotage inside intelligence agencies as unaccountable officials bristled at being questioned at all.

At street level, activists slid into despair. Left-wing commentators agonized over how to remain hopeful when fellow Americans had proved themselves to be so nasty. Progressives traded tips on managing anxiety: turn off the news, touch grass, even—brace yourselves—lift weights (which last I checked was basically fascist). Others fretted that they might not be able to bring their “whole selves” into the office. I could tell them that what they’re feeling now is exactly how conservatives felt during COVID and the Biden years. But they’ll learn soon enough that faith in government always ends the same way — in disillusionment.

Violence–Turning the Volume Up

Peaceful living lost out in 2025. There were acts of grievance and delusion—an anti-natalist bombing an IVF clinic in California, a rage-filled former veteran ramming his truck into a Mormon church, a mentally unstable man murdering two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses. All were horrifying. Yet it was Trump’s return to the White House that progressives treated as moral license to rage, with media and lawmakers blurring speech and violence while dismissing real disorder: Antifa’s designation as a terrorist organization was labeled paranoid, National Guard deployments were framed as a nascent military coup even as New York City’s outgoing police chief was caught massaging crime stats. A Trump insult became an “invitation to violence,” while explicit violent fantasies from a left-wing lawmaker slid by with barely a shrug.

While right-wing violence was framed as the greater threat—despite the data—the year’s worst chaos clustered around left-wing causes: Antifa thuggery, Islamist antisemitism (here, here and here), and anti-deportation fury. Vandalism of Tesla dealerships and vehicles over Elon Musk’s cooperation with the administration was coordinated. Trans-ideology drove a young man to carry out the Ascension School shooting in Minneapolis; new information showed Trump’s would-be assassin in Butler was dabbling in trans culture.

The assassination of Charlie Kirk—and the ghoulish glee that followed—stripped away all remaining euphemism. The question in 2025 was no longer whether political violence would occur, but how openly it would be justified.

Elites–A Credibility Collapse

The prestige of the ruling class kept hemorrhaging in 2025, with the humanity of our elites continually on full display. The ghost of Jeffrey Epstein (no, not that Jeffery Epstein, Rep. Crockett) hovered over politics all year. There will likely never be a clean list of associates, but what Eli Lake dubbed the “Epstein scandelabra” persists because it confirms what many already suspect: elites are decadent, coordinated, and rarely held accountable.

Efforts to rein in the state fared little better. The DOGE chainsaw proved “a little bit successful,” though it did shrink the federal workforce. Dire warnings followed—yet the longest government shutdown in U.S. history passed with barely a ripple for ordinary Americans, raising an awkward question about how “essential” the bureaucracy really is.

Meanwhile, real-world failures piled up: devastating Palisades wildfires, a shocking fatal plane collision carrying champion figure skaters, catastrophic flooding at Texas’ Camp Mystic. Different tragedies, same pattern—ignored warnings, unfunded mitigation, and responsibility diffused upward until it vanished. Lawsuits followed. So did fury after the murder of Ukrainian immigrant Iryna Zaruska by a repeat offender, exposing elite luxury beliefs about race and “restorative justice” that keep dangerous men cycling back onto the street.

Honesty–Critically Endangered

Anyone with pre-teens will recognize “6–7,” the all-purpose verbal tic of 2025—greeting, insult, deflection, whatever you need it to be. Linguist John McWhorter noted that its appeal lies precisely in its emptiness: it “doesn’t mean anything.” That felt fitting in a year when AI was hailed as TIME’s “person” of the year and dictionaries crowned “slop” as a word of the year. Truth in a digital culture has proved thin, fleeting, and deceptively real.

Media’s “truth tellers” found that old habits die hard. President Trump defunded various public broadcasters and rearranged the chairs in the White House Press Room. But rather than take that as a cue to review their bias, media outlets decided to take up arms against the administration’s “worst first” deportation schedule. Criminal illegal aliens were portrayed as loving American dads. Unsettling images of arrests circulated, but crucial context was ignored.

Tech didn’t redeem itself either. YouTube finally admitted the Biden administration had pressured it to censor conservative viewpoints. Tech executives, who know which side their bread is buttered, discovered they too favored less censorship. At the same time, revelations about the federal surveillance program Arctic Frost exposed how far The Blob—NGOs, intelligence agencies, and permanent bureaucracy—was willing to go to retain control.

Perhaps Oxford got it right by naming “rage bait” its word of the year. By 2025, scrolling the news wasn’t about learning what was true—it was about being provoked, manipulated, and kept perpetually angry. Honesty wasn’t encouraged. It was starved.

Beauty–Out of Hibernation

Beauty made an unexpected appearance in 2025. Early on, President Trump reinstated his first-term order favoring classical architectural styles for federal buildings, arguing that public spaces should be beautiful. An architecture professor predictably sneered that this was coded white supremacy, perhaps irritated that Trump was using the Left’s own political architecture to install different values. By year’s end, the White House had been glammed up with gold leaf and marble, critics were apoplectic over plans for a big, beautiful ballroom, but in classic forgiveness-not-permission style, Trump demolished the East Wing before they could do anything about it. Whether by accident or design, Trump also assembled a notably attractive cohort of appointees. Time will tell if they’re more than pretty faces—but it was still welcome change from the former adminstration that hailed men in dresses as a civilizational milestone.

Outside politics, beauty proved even more controversial. An American Eagle ad campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney sent progressives into a moral panic. Less concerned about lust or covetousness over the racy ad, critics saw only Aryan eugenics in the promotion of a blue-eyed, white woman. That Sweeney’s appearance was portrayed largely as a matter of genetics predetermination could have been grasped by the leftist psyche as born this way, but not in this age of equity. Like the good and the true, any objective standards infuriate those who want to smash all distinctions: “Wokeness hates beauty because beauty, like excellence, is hierarchical.”

A final cultural moment underscored the point. The announcement of Taylor Swift’s engagement to Travis Kelce captured the nation’s attention late in the year. Feminists fretted that marriage and motherhood would leave her with nothing to write about, as if love were creatively sterile. But the public response told a different story: despite every effort to erase them, love and marriage remain deeply inspiring:

Money–Center Stage

Affordability understandably remained the low-grade fever of 2025, with the word itself sprinkled over every economic conversation. Precious metals, Bitcoin, and other hedges had strong years, even as the US penny became too expensive to make any longer. But the long bill from Covid spending finally came due—compounded by the spending used to “fix” the spending. One millennial journalist summed her situation up like this: “I can’t invite you to my house because I don’t have one, but I can invite you on my podcast.”

DOGE audits exposed real abuses carried out in the name of “American interests,” but at best they promised only to slow the growth of the debt. Democrats forced a government shutdown ostensibly over health-insurance subsidies but it came to nothing. Republicans were united against Obamacare, but divided on what should replace it. Trump’s tariff dream arrived in a flurry of shifting rates and then attempted relief for those affected, such as farmers. And in a late-year echo of 2008, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lowered credit-score requirements for conventional home loans— that might be safe this time, provided “the whole credit profile” really is considered as they claim.

Despite Democratic threats to tax billionaires, the wealthy remained largely untouched—Washington’s well-connected, including the Trump family, only grew richer.

Men–Bro Had A Year

Have we passed peak woke? That depends on what you mean. If wokeness is understood as a brand of socialism, then no — it will likely respawn and maraud again. But if the question is more about the return of masculinity, then 2025 offered some genuine clarity. In a widely shared article for Compact, Helen Andrews argued that the wokest workplaces are precisely those dominated by feminized social dynamics — environments governed less by merit than by consensus, feelings, and the ever-present threat of HR intervention. A second viral Compact piece documented systematic discrimination against young white men in hiring and advancement over the last decade. That any this is now allowed to be said represents a cultural shift.

The green shoots appeared earlier, but this year, it was unmistakable that men were reclaiming cultural leadership. Watching Trump and Zelensky clash in the Oval Office and then speak cordially later was a reminder of how abnormal our recent hypersensitivity has been. It has been a while since Americans saw a vice president or secretary of defense working out with Navy SEALs, or cabinet secretaries engaging in the manly competitiveness of a pull-up competition. My point is that competition, strength, decisiveness and camaraderie are no longer being treated as moral threats.

President Trump ended the semantic games by stating plainly that the federal government recognizes male and female — full stop. At Health, RFK’s department released findings sharply critical of youth gender interventions. The University of Pennsylvania formally apologized to female athletes forced to compete against men and rescinded medals awarded to trans-identified men. While the tenth anniversary of Obergefell came and went, progressives rightly worried that support for homosexual marriage was decreasing and there was more open discussion about the downstream damage, especially to women and children.

The ideological split between the sexes widened, as men increasingly moved rightward and women were bedazzled by leftist ideology. Despite all the talk of empowerment, women are not okay. Cultural messages told women that it’s a “flex” to be single, and commiserated with those burdened with “man-keeping.” All the while, women are more medicated, more anxious, and less satisfied than ever. So, it is good news that young men are finding their footing again. As Pastor Doug Wilson often says, authority flows to those who will take responsibility. And it remains true that women will follow when men lead well. Our culture still offers very little reward for such leadership, so that means the task falls to those who will mentor, model, and refuse the lie that masculinity is something to apologize for. Nick Freitas put it better than I can:

The Church–Splits and Clarity

Is it not a head-scratching coincidink that the first American pope was elected just as Donald Trump returned to office? Whatever the Conclave’s motives, Trump, fresh from an assassination attempt and increasingly convinced he is on a mission from God, has made no secret of his belief that America fares better when it leans into its Christian roots. His administration backed that conviction by expediting refuge for persecuted white Christian Afrikaners and assisting Nigerian forces in striking Islamic State leaders on Christmas Day. Pope Leo, by contrast, scolded Trump over deportations and border enforcement while insisting Christians and Muslims can coexist just fine—an easy claim for church bodies that have quietly benefited from open-borders policies. One wonders whether Vatican City might like to pilot its own multi-faith, open-borders experiment and report back.

While the Pontiff was busy blessing a block of ice, the Church of England appointed its first female head, prompting conservative conferences to sever ties. Evangelicals marked the deaths of their patriarchs James Dobson, John MacArthur, and Phil Robertson—men who shaped that branch of Protestantism for a generation. Their passing was met with ghoulish celebration, the same spirit that surfaced after the murder of Charlie Kirk.

The early-year uptick in church attendance only accelerated after Kirk’s death. Grief united believers across factions, but as the mourning faded, another reality became clear: there was no obvious successor waiting in the wings. The concerning cooperation between progressive Left and Muslims, seen in Palestine protests and the election of Zohran Mamdani, is predictable given that totalitarian world views are happy to lie and deceive until they have power. Liberals have proved useful idiots for Islamic regimes in the past, so the church should be on guard.

The West–Looting Our Heritage

A spectacular jewellery heist at the Louvre in Paris late in October offers a striking metaphor for the year we’ve just lived through. Thieves, dressed as workers — some from foreign lands — calmly looted Western treasures because no one seemed especially interested in guarding them anymore. In their haste, they even dropped a crown into the gutter as they fled.

That, in miniature, is where we are.

All year, the Trump administration worked to remove those here illegally—including people openly hostile to the nation itself—while a coalition of lawmakers, progressive clergy, activist judges, and protestors labored just as hard to stop it. Public patience wore thin at reports of illegal aliens issued commercial driving licences they could barely read, followed by revelations of eye-watering fraud among Somali networks in Minnesota.

For years, the idea that white people had contributed anything distinct or worthwhile to America was dismissed as racist. The nation was built as a “melting pot” on the backs of minorities and by “appropriating” their cultures. But when institutions like the Smithsonian recently felt confident listing “white” cultural traits—family, work, beauty, merit, faith—it is harder to pretend no particular inheritance exists. All this will be broken, stolen or auctioned off by collectivists, secularists and grifters, men who neither built nor love America, but seek to loot what it creates by preying on the West’s guilt and indifference. The tragedy is not that enemies want the crown. It is how often the West seems unsure it was worth guarding at all.

As the U.S. moves into this midterm election year and the 250th anniversary of our founding, the choices before us are clearer than they’ve been for a while. Subtlety has never been the Trump administration’s strong suit, and the blunt instrument he wields has likely caused damage yet to be measured—but sometimes the only way to force change is to strike in plain sight. The Blob complains that Trump doesn’t play by Queensberry rules, but mostly he is just doing in public what they have long done in secret. Darkness has been put on the ropes, despite himself.

Time and again, his actions exposed the contradictions of his critics: when he moved to clean up crime, they defended lawlessness; when he praised beauty, they scoffed; when he sought peace in the world, they cheered war; when he honored achievement, they belittled it; when he struck traffickers, they excused them. To toe their political line, they had to renounce life, freedom, fathers, and most of all God.

But for those willing to stand firm, 2025 is a reminder that courage matters. We can press forward, defend what is good, and trust that righteousness—though often opposed—still has the power to prevail.

Merry Christmas to all Sentinel readers!

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, 
and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, 
full of grace and truth."  

John 1

God’s peace to you,

Frisby

First Watch:

Library Board Fired Randolph County, North Carolina, has dissolved its public library board after members voted to make a transgender-themed children’s book available to first graders. County commissioners said the board no longer reflected community standards. (The Blaze)

2020 Votes Lacked Certification An election integrity hearing in Fulton County, Georgia, heard testimony alleging that more than 315,000 votes in the 2020 presidential election were illegally certified. President Biden was officially declared the winner in Georgia by just 11,779 votes. (The Federalist, The Federalist)

Self-Deporting Bonus President Trump has increased financial incentives for self-deportation among illegal immigrants. The Department of Homeland Security says roughly 1.9 million people have voluntarily left the U.S. so far this year. (Daily Wire)

Denmark Not Impressed Denmark has objected after President Trump appointed a special envoy to Greenland, escalating tensions over U.S. interest in the strategically vital territory. Greenland is also pretty unimpressed. (ZeroHedge)

Hero's Bill Firefighters who die or develop certain cancers related to their work will now be eligible for a one-time disability payment after bipartisan legislation was signed into law.(KDNK)

Too Much Bourbon Jim Beam is halting production at a Kentucky distillery saying tariffs have fuelled a slump in demand for bourbon. (AP)

No Signs Waymo’s autonomous taxis struggled during a recent blackout in San Francisco, with multiple vehicles losing navigation on account of the darkness. Some gave up and parked themselves in the middle of streets. (BBC)

Japan Getting Back to Nuclear The operator of the world’s largest nuclear power plant has asked Japan for permission to restart a reactor in Niigata. Japan shut down its nuclear facilities following the 2011 Fukushima disaster triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami. (Die Welt)

Aussie PM heckled Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was booed while visiting Bondi Beach following a deadly antisemitic attack during a Hanukkah gathering. Albanese has faced criticism for announcing a major gun buyback while his government downplays concerns about violent Islam as a national security threat. (Not the Bee)

Second Watch:

A Dark Comedy of Errors Leadership at Brown University and authorities in Providence, Rhode Island, are facing backlash after a cascade of failures came to light following last week’s mass shooting. The police chief has been placed on leave. The man believed to have carried out the shooting was found dead in a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire after a 6 day manhunt. His motives are unclear, but he Portugesus national who once studied at Brown, is also responsible shot and killed MIT professor Nuno F Gomes Loureiro, who had studied with him at a unicvesty in Portugal. (Hot Air, CNN) | Meanwhile, Washington, DC’s police chief has been fired amid mounting evidence that her department manipulated crime statistics to make the city appear safer than it was. In a wild farewell speech, she compared her professional suffering to Jesus’s persecution on the cross. (After Party via YouTube)

60 Minutes, 60 Excuses CBS has pulled a 60 Minutes segment just hours before it was scheduled to air. The report focused on El Salvador’s massive gang prison, known as CECOT. New Head of News Bari Weiss reportedly called for multiple changes before postponing the piece altogether, arguing that the story failed to present the administration’s case for sending Venezuelans to CECOT prison. She also objected to the use of the term “migrant” to describe those in the U.S. illegally. (The Hill, Red State, The Independent)

Special K-shaped New economic data show the U.S. economy grew at a surprising pace in the third quarter, driven largely by consumer spending. But the bulk of that spending came from health care expenditures by older, financially independent Americans, with recreational spending (fishing, golfing, and the like) close behind. President Trump’s tariffs have not triggered the collapse many predicted, but waiting for relief may carry political costs with working-class voters, who are still pulling their belts in. While growing the GDP pie does tend to lift more Americans over time, the immediate gains are flowing mostly to “older rich people and their Indian employees.” (AP, CNN, Not the Bee)

Third Watch:

✝️ Texas megachurch used 1000 drones for good

🤗 The science behind a warm hug

🚗 The weirdest driving laws in the country

And..

Okay, stick with me on this one…

Let us pray. O God, You make us glad with the yearly remembrance of Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Grant that as we joyfully receive Him as our Redeemer, we may with sure confidence behold Him when He comes to be our Judge; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

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Subscribe now

You can also make a one-off or recurring donation here. Thank you!

At first glance, they feel deeply un-Christmas-y. No gingerbread. No sugar. No peppermint. Just… flesh.

But that’s actually closer to the heart of Christmas than we usually admit.

The incarnation is not about vibes or nostalgia. It’s about God taking on flesh. Weight. Blood. Bone. Jesus does not merely appear among us—He comes to be eaten, so to speak, as true food from heaven. He Himself draws the straight line from the manger to the cross, and from the cross to the Communion table.

As the hymn Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence puts it:

“Lord of lords, in human vesture,
In the body and the blood,
He will give to all the faithful
His own self for heav’nly food.”

We have been trained to keep Christmas cute and non-corporeal. Yet Christmas is our redemption made visible. The incarnation is earthy, embodied, almost confrontational in how physical it is. It continues as we are baptized into His body. We will rise with Him! So we enjoy the sugar. But don’t forget to feast on Christ: our hope, born in a body, bled in a body, and the One who will raise our bodies too.

That is very good news indeed.

Greetings! A quick note to say I am not sure how Sentinel newsletters will shake out in December and January, with family commitments and all. I am currently working on an end-of-year epic compendium, and I’m looking forward to sending that out soon. To my super dooper supporters, I will pause payments while I take a break and kick it back off in the new year. God’s peace to you! Frisby

First Watch:

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino has announced his resignation. (USA Today)

Erika Kirk and Candace Owens have met privately to sort through some differences, with both women saying the meeting went well. (WNG)

Warner Bros Rejects Bid Warner Bros has rejected Paramount’s $108 billion takeover offer. The company’s board said Netflix’s $72 billion proposal posed less risk to shareholders. (Hollywood Reporter)

The Oscars Bidding War Goes To…. Youtube. Google’s video platform is set to stream the Academy Awards from 2029 to 2033 after wining the broadcasting right, a deal reportedly costing nine figures. (Variety)

Turtles Thaw Out A couple dozen sea turtles are being rehabilitated in Florida after being found “cold-stunned” near Cape Cod. Turtles migrating south for winter can become trapped in Massachusetts’ hooked peninsula. (NBC)

Early Digital Photos are quietly disappearing as outdated formats, abandoned platforms, and neglected storage take their toll. (BBC)

All They Want for Christmas is crypto. (CNBC)

Future Work LinkedIn reports that one in five jobs today did not exist at the turn of the millennium. (MSN)

Greece Pays Back Early Greece has made an early repayment on its bailout loans after trimming spending and cracking down on tax evasion, contributing to long-awaited financial stabilization in a country that has been in crisis for years. (EuroNews)

The Front Line Is Everywhere MI6 chief Blaise Metreweli warned in a speech that “the front line is everywhere…Online, on our streets, in our supply chains, in the minds and on the screens of our citizens.” As one newsletter summarized it: “Our world’s connectivity — technological, financial, logistical, social — is metastasizing from asset to liability.” (International Intrigue)

Second Watch:

Money Matters Tonight President Trump addressed the nation last night to outline his administration’s achievements amid polls showing weak approval ratings, particularly on the economy. The president promised cash payouts to soldiers and larger tax refunds for working Americans. | House Speaker Mike Johnson said earlier this week that he would not allow a vote on extending Covid-era Obamacare subsidies. However, four House Republicans have broken ranks to join Democrats in forcing a vote. The move comes after Republicans advanced an alternative healthcare agenda but failed to address the rising cost of insurance policies. (CNBC, Red State, AP)

Minnesota’s Money Pit Fox’s Will Cain says high-ranking Minnesota Democrats are deeply connected to the state’s massive welfare fraud scheme and have benefited financially. The U.S. Department of Education says Minnesota also has a serious “ghost student” problem — including students who do not exist and others who live overseas — amounting to more than $12 million in improper grants. (Not the Bee, The Federalist)

Raiding Mar-a-Lago Newly released documents show the FBI was not convinced the August 2022 Mar-a-Lago raid was merited, with bureau officials arguing there were other ways to recover classified materials. Fox News reports the documents indicate the Biden Justice Department pushed for the raid and authorized the use of deadly force. (The Hill, Fox)

Squeezed for Oil President Trump says he has ordered a “blockade” to prevent sanctioned oil tankers from entering or leaving Venezuela. Nicolás Maduro’s regime is barred from international oil markets due to US sanctions but continues to smuggle crude using unflagged tankers, largely feeding China’s black market. The move appears designed to ramp up pressure on Maduro, whom Trump has reportedly told to leave the country. (AP)

Third Watch:

🍪 Which Christmas cookie are you?

🪙 The last minted pennies have been sold for millions

🎄 Is it a mad professors workbench or a “steampunk Christmas tree”?

And another song rec this week, Stopford’s take on “Jesus Christ the Apple Tree”. I know this is a season of evergreens, but I love the image from Solomon’s poetry of a redeeming apple tree, the antidote to the Fall, Whose “fruit doth make my soul to thrive” and “keeps my dying faith alive”!

Let us pray. Merciful and everlasting God, You did not spare Your only Son but delivered Him up for us all to bear our sins on the cross. Grant that our hearts may be so fixed with steadfast faith in Him that we fear not the power of sin, death and the devil; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Sign up for all the Sentinel newsletters (or unsubscribe to the ones you don’t want!):

✅ The Watches – one or twice weekly quick summaries of headlines

✅ Cross+Sentinel – an end-of-week round up of headlines with more more depth plus interesting links and funnies.

✅ Black Bag – longer-form writing to help equip the saints to spot lies, speak truth and live faithfully.

Go to your subscription settings on Substack and rock on!

Subscribe now

You can also make a one-off or recurring donation here. Thank you!

Share

See the Problem?

Two men—a father and son—opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, killing 15 people and injuring dozens more. Not the Bee assessed that the attackers should have been neutralized far more quickly, raising serious questions about first responders’ readiness and their apparent unwillingness to run toward the threat. A few brave folks like Syria-born shopkeeper Ahmed al-Ahmed probably saved many lives. al-Ahmed was shot twice while crash-tackling the older gunman and disarming him. While Australia’s prime minister condemned the attack, his liberal government soon reverted to “real gun control has never been tried”. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed the Australian government for ignoring repeated warnings that pro-Hamas extremists would not be placated by Australia’s recognition of a Palestinian state. Australia has seen a sharp rise in antisemitic attacks in recent months, including one linked to Iran’s government. While the shooters’ motives have not yet been confirmed, the massacre comes amid news that the French are unable to celebrate New Year’s for fear of offending Muslims, and that some German towns can’t afford security to hold Christmas markets. Former Muslim activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who has long warned the West about the dangers of Islam, said none of this was inevitable. The Bondi attack was, she noted, “an atrocity tolerated into being.”

Looking to the Cross: Jesus was never tolerant of lies. Through the ministry of Jeremiah, He excoriated selfish, corrupt, and careless leaders—prophets, priests, and kings alike—who insisted there was “Peace, peace,” when there was no peace, glossing over evil as though it were nothing. Whether it is the men who kill or the men who minimize the lies that drive them, living by comforting fictions leads to death. Evil thrives where it is renamed, excused, or politely ignored, but it withers when it is brought into the light. Advent reminds us that the Light who came into the world still shines in the darkness, and the darkness will never overcome it. We must live like that’s true.

Costco of Babies

The Wall Street Journal has reported an alarming trend: Chinese billionaires paying for large numbers of American-born children through surrogacy. One man was found to have fathered at least 100 children—all sons—who were “awaiting paperwork” before being taken back to China to eventually run his company. Another reportedly sought only infant girls, whom he “hoped would grow up to marry world leaders.” Domestic surrogacy is illegal in China but remains largely unregulated in the United States, where wealthy clients are able to commission multiple surrogacies at once.

On the Radar

Crime and Policing

A shooter remains at large after opening fire on students studying for finals at Brown University, killing two and injuring nine others. One of the victims was Ella Cook, vice president of the Brown College Republicans chapter, though authorities say it is unclear whether the attack was politically motivated. Rhode Island officials drew criticism for delays in locking down the campus, lifting shelter-in-place orders before the killer has been apprehended, and falsely claiming at one point that a suspect was in custody. (BBC, NBC, Free Beacon, The Hill)

Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, one of two National Guardsmen ambushed last month in Washington, D.C., is reportedly breathing and standing on his own—an answer to prayer. (WNG)

The FBI says it thwarted a New Year’s Eve plot to plant improvised explosive devices around Los Angeles, arresting four suspects who allegedly planned to target Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and vehicles. (WNG)

Hollywood filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife were found murdered in their home. Their son is in custody, suspected of stabbing them following a dispute with his father. (LA Times)

Keeping contraband out of prisons remains a challenge. Guards at a South Carolina prison intercepted a drone delivery carrying steak, marijuana, crab legs, and cigarettes. (AP)

Politics

President Trump’s pardoning spree has come back to bite him. Rep. Henry Cuellar, who received clemency after facing federal bribery and money laundering charges, has announced he will seek reelection as a Democrat. The President took a shine to Cuellar after he was sidelined by his party over opposition to open-border policies. Trump also recently pardoned former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, convicted of trafficking cocaine into the U.S.—which is not a great look when we’re bombing Venezuelan drug cartels. (Texas Tribune, Red State, Not the Bee)

The National Trust is suing to halt construction of a ballroom at the White House, arguing the project is unlawful and must undergo environmental and public review processes. (USA Today)

This week in “Everything is Political”, Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, recently ordered that all diplomatic correspondence be published in Times New Roman font. Critics said it is another blow against diversity and inclusion. How? The Biden administration had started using Calibri font, which has no serifs and is said to be easier to read for people with visual impairments. However, the Seceratary said the more formal typeface is befitting of the dignity of the U.S.A. (AP)

The Church

High-profile Baptist pastor Robert Jeffress has urged the Trump administration to repeal the Johnson Amendment after his church was threatened with loss of tax-exempt status after holding a patriotic-themed event. Passed in 1954, the amendment restricts political activity by charities, but pastors say the politicization of moral issues increasingly puts churches in legal jeopardy as they try to shepherd Jesus’ people to live faithfully. (WNG)

America’s first pope has been on a tare lately, suggesting Nigerian Christians are being killed primarily for economic reasons and that fears of Islam are exaggerated by opponents of immigration. (Front Page, Crux)

A fresco featuring a picture of Jesus as the Good Shepherd has been found in a tomb in the Turkish town where the Nicene Creed was adopted in AD 325. (EuroNews)

Life

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has signed legislation legalizing physician-assisted suicide. The starting line for eligibility is where it always is with these laws, accessible only by adults diagnosed with terminal illnesses. As we know, the criteria for who is eligible inevitably expands when dying is offered as a cure for suffering. Meanwhile, up north, nearly one in five deaths in Canada is now attributed to assisted suicide. (The Federalist, CBN)

And some lovely news.. A California mom has a healthy baby after a rare ectopic pregnancy. The baby boy had been hidden behind a tumor, which was set to be removed. The family who say they have long prayed for a second child, gave their son the middle name Jesse, which means “gift from God.” (Cedars-Sinai)

Culture

A new study found that nearly half of children’s content on Netflix includes LGBT messaging. (The Federalist)

In an era when both fasting and gluttony were viewed with suspicion, Shakespeare used food imagery to reveal character and moral standing in his plays. (Atlas Obscura)

Is history a foreign country or a familiar home? While many Americans are content living in the present, a growing number say they would rather live in the past than the future. (Pew)

Science and Tech

Time named its Person of the Year, and it’s not really a person, more people and really, a robot. The “architects of AI” (tech billionaires, mostly) were credited with bringing the “most consequential tool in great-power competition since the advent of nuclear weapons.” More than a few commentators were disappointed that Charile Kirk did not get the gong. (USA Today, The Federalist)

Michigan State University scientists have grown a heart-like “organoid” that they say will help with the study of atrial fibrillation. (MSU Today)

The story of the first handheld digital camera, Kodak’s 1975 “toaster with a lens”. (BBC)

From the archive:

A poem about honoring those who went before us:

Mind and Body

Gluttony vs feasting: “Billions of dollars are invested every month to make you envious, entitled, engorged, and enraged. America needs the holiday feasts now more than ever. So plan a feast, attend or host, make speeches, sing a hymn, drink to the King…Feast in rebellious resistance to gluttonous, entitled, and cynical culture.” (WNG)

A new study found that the number of students at elite universities identifying as disabled has increased as much as fourfold over the past 15 years. Researchers questioned the lack of rigorous standards for accommodations. “You hear ‘students with disabilities,’ and it’s not kids in wheelchairs,” one professor said. “It’s rich kids getting extra time on tests.” (Daily Mail)

How sleep positions affect health. (TED via YouTube)

The benefits of having two nostrils and not just one! (PopSci)

War

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he is open to holding elections if voter safety can be guaranteed, including a temporary ceasefire agreed to by Russia. Zelensky has faced criticism for pausing elections during the war. (ZeroHedge)

Two Iowa National Guard soldiers were killed in an ambush in Syria. The White House said ISIS was responsible and noted the Syrian government condemned the attack. The soldiers were deployed in support of ongoing counter-ISIS and counterterrorism operations. (Des Moines Register)

Last week’s Watches

Politicizing the Nativity, more info about DC’s suspected pipe bomber and literary landscapes:

World News

🇨🇱 Chile has rejected a communist candidate and elected a new president promising to curb crime and immigration. José Antonio Kast—whose father was once a member of Chile’s Nazi party—has been branded “far-right” by Western media, citing his admiration for some of Pinochet’s policies, but more likely, it’s because he’s pro life and patriotic. (BBC, Hot Air)

🇪🇺 A not-for-profit climate activist tech company has offered €1 million to kickstart a new Nobel Prize category for “planetary health.” (Euro News)

🇹🇻 So-called “climate refugees” from the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu have arrived in Australia, citing rising sea levels. Some experts dispute the claim, arguing the island is not sinking but shifting as it has historically. (Epoch Times)

🇦🇺 Reddit has filed legal action against Australia’s new teenage social media ban. Unsurprisingly, the ban also included new online identification requirements for adults, to prove they’re not children, I suppose. (EuroNews, Reclaim the Net)

🇪🇺 A group of 10 European banks has announced plans to launch a euro-backed stablecoin. (Coin Desk)

🇮🇳 India’s politicians are using AI to reach constituents in a nation where many languages and dialects are spoken. The AI-powered campaigns are cheaper and faster to build but require discernment as with any politician’s promises. (Rest of the World)

Quickhits

🩻 Artist X-rays everything

🎄 In-n-Out burger has removed the ticket number 67 from their orders

🎄One son hired a quartet of carollers to follow his mom around all day

🌩️ Can never have enough images of rare lightning events

🎂 Is it cake? The Home Alone house gets frosted

🧲 Maker of mad bikes, Colin Furze, used magnets for suspension

🍨 Desperate times call for desperate measures

And..

You’ve heard of momento mori, objects displayed or carried as a reminder that one day you will die? This was in a gift guide I read this week, and it’s kind of like a reminder to repent!

I thought about how the Christian life is one of repentance, as Martin Luther reminds us. The season of waiting for our Savior is a great time to remember that our sin is great (and the fallout may be brutal), but that His mercy is greater!

Let us pray. Lord Jesus Christ, we implore You to hear our prayers and to lighten the darkness of our hearts by Your gracious visitation; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.Amen.

Sign up for all the Sentinel newsletters (or unsubscribe to the ones you don’t want!):

✅ The Watches – one or twice weekly quick summaries of headlines

✅ Cross+Sentinel – an end-of-week round up of headlines with more more depth plus interesting links and funnies.

✅ Black Bag – longer-form writing to help equip the saints to spot lies, speak truth and live faithfully.

Go to your subscription settings on Substack and rock on!

Subscribe now

You can also make a one-off or recurring donation here. Thank you!

First Watch:

• Brony Angle in DC Pipe Bomb Case Updates on the suspected DC pipe bomber include claims he was active on “Brony” forums—grown men heavily into My Little Pony. Yes, it’s a thing, and no, it’s not an indicator of a sound mind. (Not the Bee)

• Erika Kirk Pushes Back on Speculation Erika Kirk has asked those who are peddling wild theories about her husband’s assassination to stop. She referred to current internet chatterers trying to guess the site of Charlie Kirk’s burial as a breaking point. (Red State)

• Small Businesses Struggled in November Jobs Report November’s jobs report wasn’t great. Larger companies kept hiring steadily, but small “mom and pop” businesses with fewer than 50 employees struggled. (NBC)

• Tanker Seized President Trump says the US has seized a Venezuelan oil tanker, but has not said why. (WNG)

• Musk Says God Made the Universe Elon Musk told podcast host Katie Miller he believes God created the universe—though he still floated the idea that humans are leftover particles of dead stars. (Thanks, Moby and the other popularizers of that theory..🤦‍♂️) A little more humbling to remember we began with dirt and spirit. (WNG)

• Fishy Sounds New underwater tech now lets ecologists identify the sounds of individual fish species. (Good News Network)

• Influential architect Frank Gehry has died at age 96. (New York Times)

Second Watch:

Nativity Hijacked for Politics Boston’s Catholic archdiocese has asked a parish to remove its political nativity scene, which featured an empty stable and a message claiming Jesus, Mary, and Joseph had been taken by immigration authorities. The Christmas story gets co-opted for all kinds of agendas, but the comparisons are ridiculous and always miss the real power of the Gospel in a blind scramble for political points. (WNG, The Federalist)

DOJ Rejects ‘Disparate Impact’ Theory The Department of Justice has revised how it handles “disparate impact” claims under the Civil Rights Act, saying it will now require actual evidence of bias. Critics say the theory undermined merit-based hiring, punishing workplaces that lacked “diversity,” as if they are discriminatory by default. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said the shift will “restore true equality under the law by requiring proof of actual discrimination, rather than enforcing race- or sex-based quotas or assumptions.” (Not the Bee, NewsWeek)

Hill of [Soy]beans? President Trump says he will lift the ban on Nvidia exporting its H200 chips to China. Debate continues over whether restricting U.S. tech ever slowed China’s AI development at all. Trump’s goal is to get China buying American produce again, even as he approved a $12 billion relief package for U.S. farmers. (Semafor, BBC)

Local Politics The Trump administration’s newly released National Security Strategy is drawing fire from both sides. Critics say it needlessly alienates European allies and abandons “great power competition,” leaving Russia and China unchecked. The Tangle newsletter noted, however, that focusing on the U.S. backyard may not be misguided, given how much influence China and Russia already hold south of the border. (Washington Examiner, Tangle, CSIS)

Third Watch:

🧁 Say it with cake?

🍺 Wildfires may lead to smoky beer

🏰 Ten British landscapes that inspired literary classics

And…

The first volume in the Family Bible Commentary by Friend of the Sentinel, Dr Adam Koontz, is available now! As he says, “The Scriptures opened up are light for the soul and food for the heart. Nothing suits a Christian better than growth in the knowledge of his God, and how can he grow, whether young or old in years or faith, if the Spirit’s Word does not feed him?”

Let us pray. O God of love, those who abide in love abide in You, and You abide in them. Give us such perfect love of You and our neighbor that all fear may be cast out of our hearts and we may with confidence greet You on the Day of Judgement; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.

Sign up for all the Sentinel newsletters (or unsubscribe to the ones you don’t want!):

✅ The Watches – one or twice weekly quick summaries of headlines

✅ Cross+Sentinel – an end-of-week round up of headlines with more more depth plus interesting links and funnies.

✅ Black Bag – longer-form writing to help equip the saints to spot lies, speak truth and live faithfully.

Go to your subscription settings on Substack and rock on!

Subscribe now

You can also make a one-off or recurring donation here. Thank you!

Share

On the Radar

Crime and Policing

The U.S. announced the arrest of a man accused of placing pipe bombs near the headquarters of both Republicans and Democrats on the eve of January 6, 2021. The Attorney General said there were no new leads, hinting that her predecessor had not prioritized the case. Media outlets and online pundits spent the weekend speculating about the suspect’s politics, but in an interview, his grandmother said he’s “borderline autistic,” politically unaffiliated, and grieving the loss of his chihuahua. (Fox, PJ Media)

Politics

The European Union has issued a $140 million fine against X, citing lack of transparency, especially regarding blue check marks. The checks once denoted verified, authentic accounts and were treated as authoritative by default. After Elon Musk bought the platform in 2022 and opened the check system to paying subscribers, the verification symbol became both a revenue stream and a way for users to earn money on the platform. X executives responded to the ruling by pointing out that the EU’s own account had used deceptive tactics to widen its reach—and then promptly banned its ad account. (Reclaim the Net). The Guardian. Michael Sehllenberger via X, Red State)

The Supreme Court has ruled that Texas may use its rare mid-decade redistricting map in next year’s midterm elections. (Scotus Blog)

Life

A University of Oklahoma student was given zero marks for an essay by her transgender instructor. Asked to respond to a paper about gender identity, Samantha Fulnecky argued a biblical view of male and female. Albert Mohler, who read the paper, said on his podcast that while the argument wasn’t “thick,” it was certainly worth more than zero. He agreed the instructor was biased, especially after calling her argument “offensive.” (The Oklahoman, The Briefing)

“Silent book clubs” are taking off, says Axios—informal gatherings where bookworms sit and read alongside others, “a low-stakes way to get out and surround yourself with people without draining your social battery too much.” (Axios)

Money

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has announced that Biden-era fuel-efficiency standards will be rolled back. Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations, introduced in 1975, had been tightened under Biden to force the production of more electric vehicles. Auto manufacturers praised the reversal, saying it will allow families to buy newer, safer cars and trucks at lower prices. (Repairer Driven News, Not the Bee) | In related news, an influential study on the projected impact of climate change on the global economy has been retracted. Inaccuracies in the financial data were too significant to fix, according to the authors. (WNG)

The Small Business Administration has ordered companies with federal contracts under preferential programs to turn over detailed financial information. SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said contracts given to “socially disadvantaged” businesses had become “a pass-through vehicle for rampant abuse and fraud.” (Daily Wire)

The price tag was revolutionary, and now that it’s going extinct, we might miss it dearly. (NYT via YouTube)

Could Homer Simpson support his family today? It depends.. (Go Banking)

Tribes

U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner told Fox Business on Friday that illegal aliens received federally backed mortgages and benefits under President Biden. Turner says he is now requiring public housing authorities to ensure that only American citizens can access subsidized housing. (ZeroHedge)

Seventy-eight people—almost all of them Somali—have been arrested in connection with a massive fraud scheme in Minnesota. The total amount stolen may reach as much as $8 billion as investigations expand, according to Fox. Rep. Ilhan Omar (herself Somali) blamed the lack of “guardrails” for the rampant theft, while others pointed to weak leadership from the state’s governor. Meanwhile, President Trump offered no kind words for Somalia or its people. With widespread reports of crime and the normalization of rape among Somali Muslims, many say he’s voicing what ordinary Americans are thinking. (Red State, Fox, Washington Examiner, Front Page)

The New York Post editorial board says Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was repeatedly warned about the staggering level of fraud carried out by Somali immigrants but ignored the alerts—or punished those who raised them. A New York Times report claims authorities failed to investigate for fear of being seen as racist.(New York Post)

Culture

Netflix has announced its purchase of Warner Bros Discovery. Critics say the deal is driven by executive greed and will face legal hurdles. Matt Stoller, who writes about monopolization, argues that at minimum, this “vertical integration”—the top streaming service buying a major Hollywood studio—will increase pressure on movie theaters and reduce choice for consumers, as popular franchises like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, DC Comics, and Looney Tunes will be walled off from rival platforms. Writers, producers, and actors also stand to lose if giants like Netflix control what gets made. (Not the Bee, BIG Newsletter)

A thought-provoking essay asks why wealthy elites no longer build beautiful things as in ages past. Hundred-year dynasties are rare as the ultra-rich families fail to preserve their wealth through generations. “Equally astonishing is elites’ growing choice to disinherit their children, spending their wealth down or giving it away. They seem to sense that they have failed to transmit the necessary virtues to their children to steward wealth wisely.” (The Culturist)

Proving everything can be politics, Pantone has announced its color of the year: a cloud-white shade (is that even a color?). They say the calming tone has been used by designers and artists throughout the year, framing it as a response to cultural and political chaos. But some cultural commentators are reading politics into it, arguing that now is not the time for “white.” (Time, People)

Science and Tech

“The quantity of AI-generated articles has surpassed the quantity of human-written articles being published on the web. However, the proportion of AI-generated articles has plateaued since May 2024.” (Graphite)

Fast Company argues that it is not AI that is replacing workers directly, but spending on AI infrastructure is leaving less money to hire humans. (Fast Company)

Waymo says it will “learn” from its mistakes after one of its driverless taxis drove into the middle of a tense police standoff in Los Angeles. (ABC News)

NASA researchers say that satellite traffic in low-Earth orbit is making it harder to take astrophotography. Reflected light from satellites creates bright streaks across images. (ABC News)

How do cells know where they’re supposed to be and what they’re supposed to be doing? (IFL Science)

From the archive:

If you would like to submit your writing to be published the Sentinel, please reply to this email. I would love to hear from you!

Mind and Body

A vaccine advisory panel at the CDC has voted to roll back recommendations that newborns receive hepatitis B shots. Pro-vaccine doctors called the move irresponsible, but Dr Peter McCullough argues the rationale from the 1990s—vaccinating infants because infected adults were unlikely to get vaccinated—was flawed. (NBC, Peter McCullough via X)

Conservative media are highlighting a memo published last week by the FDA’s Chief Medical and Scientific Officer, Vinay Prasad. The memo claimed that VAERS data showed ten children “died after and because of receiving COVID-19 vaccination,” based on an analysis of deaths from 2021 to 2024. Former New York Times journalist Alex Berenson reported in January that Moderna had papered over the death of a child during its vaccine trial. Prasad warned the true number of child deaths was likely higher, but liberal outlets quoted experts calling it irresponsible to make claims with “scant evidence.” (The Blaze, Unreported Truths, The Guardian, Alex Berenson via X)

Patrick Soon-Shiong, a surgeon and owner of the LA Times, says he is seeing spike proteins from the covid virus in his patients’ cancerous tumors. (Not the Bee)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned about faulty glucose monitors, listing certain models linked to multiple deaths among diabetes patients. (Fast Company)

A new study says having a dog in the home may boost teens’ mental health by improving their gut biome. (The Guardian)

Ten kinds of happiness expressed in other languages. (Merriam Webster)

War

An investigation into information shared via a Signal chat earlier this year (the Sentinel write up here) found that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth violated policy by using a personal phone, potentially putting pilots at risk. Secretary Hegseth has also been the subject of intense media scrutiny last week after controversy around a “double strike” on a Venezuelan drug boat. (WNG)

A leaked phone call between European leaders suggests they don’t support President Trump’s reasoning that Ukraine will likely have to make concessions to Russia to end the war. The leak—assumed deliberate—comes after the Kremlin showed little interest in the U.S.-led peace plan and appeared unfazed by European threats. (ZeroHedge, BBC)

Niger’s military junta has seized uranium mining operations from French group, Orano. After accusing Orano of environmental crimes, the junta began transporting uranium through various conflict zones and jihadi strongholds, against a stay issued by a World Bank tribunal. At this point, the location of the uranium is not known, but observers suspect the shipment may be bound for Russia. Although it doesn’t need uranium, Moscow is reportedly happy to sell it to anyone who wants it. (Reuters, International Intrigue)

A Chinese-owned firm bought an insurer that insures CIA agents. (BBC)

Soccer’s governing body FIFA has created a peace prize and awarded the first one to President Trump. (USA Today)

Last week’s Watches

Dell funding kids’ savings accounts, Hegseth’s double strike controversy and more:

World News

🇦🇺 Australia’s teens are bracing for a national social media ban which comes into effect this week. (The Week)

🇷🇺 Russian fishermen have rescued deer stranded on Siberia’s lakes which froze earlier than usual this year. The deer cannot walk across the ice and freeze to death. (AP)

Quickhits

🕹️ Thirty years of PlayStation

🎹 Best jazz piano albums

🦆 Why birds don’t get frozen feet

🥸 About Salvador Dali’s “very aggressive” moustache

🐁 Canadian artist makes tiny suits of plate armor for mice

🌶️ This spicy ice cream requires you to sign a personal injury waiver before you eat it

🥚 Fabergé’s beautifully icy “winter egg”

An Irish forester planted different varieties of trees to make a huge Celtic cross. Liam Emmery died in 2010, before his creation was visible, but we’re blessed by his faithful witness through his work.

Some songs from my Advent playlist this week..

Let us pray. Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of Your only-begotten Son, that by His coming we may be enabled to serve You with pure minds; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Sign up for all the Sentinel newsletters (or unsubscribe to the ones you don’t want!):

✅ The Watches – one or twice weekly quick summaries of headlines

✅ Cross+Sentinel – an end-of-week round up of headlines with more more depth plus interesting links and funnies.

✅ Black Bag – longer-form writing to help equip the saints to spot lies, speak truth and live faithfully.

Go to your subscription settings on Substack and rock on!

Subscribe now

You can also make a one-off or recurring donation here. Thank you!

First Watch:

• Dell founder Michael Dell and his wife are donating over $6 billion to support President Trump’s proposal to open $1,000 savings accounts for American children. (Not the Bee)

• MIT engineers have designed artificial tendons for robots, resulting in the machine pinching “its fingers together three times faster, and with 30 times greater force.” (MIT)

• An “inclusive” nativity scene in Brussels—where roughly a quarter of the population is Muslim—gave the Holy Family blank fabric faces so viewers could “project themselves” onto the figures (and no doubt, to avoid depicting prophets). It still didn’t land: the head of baby Jesus was stolen. (Front Page)

• The search for Malaysia Airlines MH370 will resume this month, with Malaysia’s government offering U.S. firm Ocean Infinity $70 million if it finds the missing plane. Flight MH370 vanished in 2014 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.(BBC)

• A new study links soybean oil consumption to obesity. (Futurity)

Second Watch:

Double Tap Right before Thanksgiving, the Washington Post reported that U.S. forces—allegedly on the orders of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth—killed two survivors from a disabled narco boat. The New York Times challenged WashPo back, saying its own anonymous sources denied Hegseth issued the kill order—the second strike was reportedly ordered by Admiral Frank Bradley who was running the operation. Former Army judge advocate and Cornell law professor Brian Cox added that if the vessel was disabled but not destroyed, it remained a legitimate target. NYT sources also said U.S. forces intercepted radio communications from the boat before the second hit. The news dropped just after six Democrat lawmakers issued an out-of-the-blue public reminder that soldiers must not follow illegal orders. Commentary podcast noted the timing suggested advance leaks; Megyn Kelly wondered whether the Post felt it had “permission” to find a crime, even at the risk of getting the facts wrong. While the White House frames cartel-linked smuggling as a national-security threat, critics like Andrew McCarthy at National Review argue the legal basis for the strikes is shaky. (PJ Media, WNG, National Review, Daily Wire, Brian Cox via X) | Meanwhile, a Colombian family is suing the U.S. government, claiming a man killed by a U.S. strike was a fisherman with no cartel ties. (CBS)

Black Friday Spending Breaks Records Americans spent almost $12 billion online this Black Friday, according to Adobe. The record reflects a mixed economic picture—shoppers are still buying, but with “discipline, not adrenaline,” amid high prices and ongoing uncertainty. Buy-now-pay-later use surged, but the biggest buzz was the news that AI chatbots made a noticeable impact: customers enlisted bots to dig up the bargains. Those who followed a bot’s recommendation were 38% more likely to make a purchase. (Adobe, Newsweek, Inc)

Third Watch:

😍 Watching an electric blue eel wiggle its way underwater is a delight

📻 From a simpler time? A radio toilet paper holder

🐦‍⬛ Crows can hold a grudge

And…

A group of nuns sends Christmas cards to abortion-clinic workers every year. Abby Johnson—a former abortion nurse who founded And Then There Were None, a pro-life organization and sponsor of the idea—says, “November and December are our busiest months, with our highest volume of calls from abortion workers who just can’t take it anymore.” One Sister said, ‘We pray that our Lord will bless them and get them into the hands that need them.’

Let us pray. Almighty and eternal God, You Son Jesus, triumphed over the prince of demons and freed us from bondage to sin. Help us to stand firm against every assault of Satan, and enable us always to do Your will; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God,, now and forever. Amen.

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Noise Decoder

An Afghan man has been arrested after two National Guardsmen were shot near the White House on Wednesday. A female soldier was shot in the chest and head, while another Guardsman was shot when he came to help her. Neither were armed. Reports say the attacker is a Muslim whose visa expired in September. He had worked with the CIA and came to the U.S. through a Biden-era program created to accept “allies” after the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan — the one that left 13 servicemembers dead. At the time, the administration’s Secretary of Homeland Security dodged questions about how thoroughly these asylees had been vetted. The White House had nothing kind to say to progressive columnists who unhelpfully chirped that the shooting wouldn’t have happened if the Guard hadn’t been deployed there by the President. After President Trump announced that the 20-year-old Guardswoman, Sarah Beckstrom, had died from her injuries, he said he was permanently suspending immigration from “third world countries.”

Looking to the cross: Romans 1:21 reminds us that when people refuse to acknowledge God or give Him thanks, their thinking becomes darkened. Not everyone wants the same things as we value in America — and this week’s shooting is a stark, tragic reminder of that. A man driven by zeal for a false god cannot see the evil he commits. His worship blinds him. But Scripture doesn’t let us pretend this is surprising. When the true God is rejected, something else always fills the vacuum. Idols don’t make people harmless; they make them deceived. Let this moment sober you, but not shake you. Christ has already told us the truth about the human heart, and He has already overcome the darkness that twists it. Hold fast to Him — the only God who gives sight to the blind and turns zeal into righteousness.

Location Location Location

Last week, X briefly introduced a feature showing the country where any account was based. It immediately revealed that a number of large accounts claiming to be American were actually operating overseas. The feature was quickly removed after backlash — but not before screenshots of suspected foreign accounts flooded the platform. MAGA-themed content appears to be especially targeted, both by accounts pretending to be over-the-top pro-Trump cheerleaders and by those playing into stereotypes that conservatives are hateful or racist. The goal of many seems to be to sow division. As one observer put it, “Are Americans simply easy marks, or is it just too easy to make money off our eagerness to engage in cultural combat?” While the Daily Beast framed the discovery as evidence that online MAGA support is overstated and dangerous, 404 Media argued it’s mostly a because baiting outrage is lucrative: America’s polarization has become a side hustle for the world.

A Report About Missing the Point

A new report into the UK government’s COVID decision-making has concluded that lockdowns were inevitable — and actually, Britain should have locked down even earlier. The reasoning? Modelling suggested thousands of deaths if normal life wasn’t halted. This was not the outcome lockdown critics hoped for. Freddie Sayers of UnHerd blasted the report as a disgrace, arguing it ignores the measurable harms of shutting down schools, businesses, churches, and social life, many of which could have been predicted. The report also sidesteps Sweden — the key outlier showing that strict lockdowns were ineffective or outright damaging.

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On the Radar

Life

The Department of Health and Human Services has released a new peer-reviewed study challenging current guidelines for treating children with gender dysphoria. The research found that chemical and surgical interventions did not reduce the risk of suicide. That’s encouraging, but the transgender lobby won’t retreat quietly. Meanwhile, across the pond, a new study is expected to challenge Britain’s ban on puberty blockers, exploiting a legal loophole that allows children access the drugs if they are participating in a study. (WNG, BBC, The Critic)

The “world’s strongest woman” has been stripped of titles after the governing body “realized” he is, in fact, a man. (Daily Wire, Not the Bee) | The Carolina Panthers’ first transvestite cheerleader may also be their last. The male was dropped from the team — he says it’s because he’s trans. (Breitbart)

Politics

Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor confirmed that the DOGE no longer exists as a separate entity, despite months left in its mandate. Director Kapok said there are currently no targets for reducing government spending. The DOGE website claimed to have cut $170 billion in federal spending, although it is hard to tell if that is correct. (New York Post, Irish Times)

The Department of War is investigating Senator Mark Kelly over his involvement in a Democratic ad encouraging service members to disobey “illegal orders.” Kelly, a former Navy pilot, is still bound by prohibitions on interfering with the “loyalty, morale, or good order” of the armed forces. Democrats appear ready to battle over the issue, saying that servicemen pledge to follow the Constitution, not the Commander-in-Chief. (ABC News, BBC)

Last week’s Watches:

Crime and Policing

President Trump announced on social media that he is nullifying any order signed with an autopen during the Biden administration. Earlier this year, legal scholars noted that autopen-signed pardons cannot be overturned, but it remains to be seen how the laws apply to policy made under the former President. (Stanford Law)

A new prosecutor has dismissed the troubled Georgia election-interference case against President Trump. The case unraveled after prosecutor Fani Willis was found to have appointed her boyfriend to the prosecution team, using public funds to prop up their lavish taste. (Epoch Times)

A pro-life advocate has been detained after a shooting outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in South Carolina. The incident followed an argument between two men, and it’s still unclear who fired first. (WNG)

New allegations of sexual abuse have emerged against Sean Combs. (ABC News)

Tribes

President Trump has directed the Secretary of State and Treasury Secretary to determine whether branches of the Muslim Brotherhood should be designated as foreign terrorist organizations. (WNG)

An illegal immigrant gained sympathy from the New York Times after it was revealed he had been using an American citizen’s identity for nearly a decade. The actual citizen was left with unpaid tax debt, licensing issues, and even a wrongful-death lawsuit in his name. (Hot Air)

The Church

Nigeria on Allie Beth Stuckey

A chart-topping AI-generated Christian song has stirred controversy. Christian artists slammed it, arguing the robot lacks the Holy Spirit and listeners are “opening up your spirit to something that has no spirit.” The creator defended the track: “This is an extension of my creativity… It may not be performed by a Christian, but I don’t know why that matters.” (WNG, New York Post)

Science and Tech

Google says it needs to double its AI-serving capacity every six months — without using more energy or raising costs. Good luck with that. (CNBC)

One man has designed a system to run his house on batteries salvaged from discarded vapes. (Futurism)

A new tool — the “Shazam” for sheet-music — claims it can convert audio directly into musical notation. (Music Business)

From the archive:

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Mind and Body

A new study says we really do fall asleep — more like dropping off a cliff than drifting into rest. (Yahoo)

War

There was a burst of conflicting headlines about Russia’s war on Ukraine last week. A multi-point peace plan — whether 19, 20, or 28 points, depending on when you tuned in — was briefly touted as a potential war-ender. Critics noted the plan appeared to be drafted by Russia and favored Moscow’s goals: legitimizing annexed territory, capping Ukraine’s military, and adding constitutional limits that would block future NATO membership. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spent the week clarifying what he could, but the clearest takeaway is that Kyiv knows a choice is coming. As President Zelensky put it, Ukraine may soon have to choose between losing dignity or losing its key ally. Ukrainian critics who oppose any concessions argue that Putin will simply keep advancing unless decisively deterred. Yet Europe can’t even agree on how to punish Russia economically — for a long list of reasons. (ZeroHedge, Free Beacon)

The United Nations has endorsed President Trump’s Gaza peace plan, with only China and Russia opposing it. The Jerusalem Post reports that Hamas has not disarmed, making it difficult to advance even the early phases of the plan. (WION, Jerusalem Post)

Britain’s MI5 has warned lawmakers that China is using LinkedIn to pose as recruiters in an attempt to access intelligence operatives. (CNN)

Israel’s military struck a compound inside Lebanon, saying it was used to train Hamas fighters. Local officials report 13 people were killed. (WNG)

World News

🇭🇰 Ninety-four people have died, and hundreds remain unaccounted for, after a fire tore through apartment towers in Hong Kong. Three people connected to the construction firm renovating the 1980s complex have been arrested. Bamboo scaffolding — common in Hong Kong — helped spread the fire, but scrutiny has focused on the flammable materials used in the renovation. Not the Bee collected the unbelievable footage. (AP)

🇪🇸 No injuries were reported after a fire at a hospital in Spain, likely caused by a discarded cigarette. (Olive Press)

🇧🇩 Bangladesh has sentenced former PM Sheikh Hasina to death in absentia over last year’s brutal crackdown on student protesters, in which roughly 1,400 people were killed. Her 15-year rule was widely described as a “reign of terror.” She has fled to India. (The Guardian)

🇩🇪 Germany’s Kessler twins — entertainers who rose to fame in the 1960s — have died together by assisted suicide. Coverage framed the decision as a quest for a “dignified” death, but pro-life groups warned against romanticizing euthanasia. (USA Today)

🇬🇧 Ricky Gervais might be exactly the troll Britain needs right now. (Not the Bee)

Quickhits

🐝 Bees learnt morse code

🍫 For people who take their chocolate seriously

🇯🇵 Chindōgu the Japanese art of inventing useless things reveals fascinating things about human nature and society

🧟‍♂️ I did not have post-apocalyptic miniatures on my art categories bingo card..

🥁 Why we tap our feet to music without noticing

🐻 Famous writers who kept strange pets

🎶 Praise and thanks is always fitting! Jeremy Tate shared this video of students singing the Doxology at Idaho’s Capitol building:

Let us pray. Almighty God, Your mercies are new every morning and You graciously provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may acknowledge Your goodness, give thanks for Your benefits, and serve You in willing obedience all our days; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever Amen.

Sign up for all the Sentinel newsletters (or unsubscribe to the ones you don’t want!):

✅ The Watches – one or twice weekly quick summaries of headlines

✅ Cross+Sentinel – an end-of-week round up of headlines with more more depth plus interesting links and funnies.

✅ Black Bag – longer-form writing to help equip the saints to spot lies, speak truth and live faithfully.

Go to your subscription settings on Substack and rock on!

Subscribe now

You can also make a one-off or recurring donation here. Thank you!