“And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.” ~ Revelation 18
First Watch:
Democrats Urge Troops to Defy “Illegal Orders” Several Democrats told soldiers they don’t have to follow “illegal orders,” without giving examples. Trump blasted the move as “seditious” and called for consequences. (Libs of TikTok via X, P T Ward via X)
Texas Labels CAIR and Muslim Brotherhood as Terror Groups Governor Greg Abbott designated both groups as foreign terrorist organizations. Supporters cheered the move but pressed him to halt land purchases for new mosques and planned Muslim communities. (Greg Abbott via X, Not the Bee)
MBS Goes to Washington Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with President Trump, offering promises to boost America’s AI sector although no specifics were given. President Trump also met with soon-to-be mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, in a cordial affair, defending the avowed democratic social from “hostile questioning” by gathered media. (Semafor, The Guardian)
Veteran Suicide Rate Continues to Fall Suicide among U.S. veterans has declined steadily since 2020, according to a new report. (Futurity)
Cloudflare Outage Disrupts Major Sites A widespread Cloudflare outage knocked out access to X, ChatGPT, Shopify, and other major platforms around the world. (ZeroHedge, ABC)
NJ Man Dies After Tick-Triggered Meat Allergy A New Jersey man died from what doctors believe was anaphylaxis caused by alpha-gal syndrome after a lone star tick bite. (NPR)
BLS Won’t Release October Jobs Data The Bureau of Labor Statistics says the shutdown prevents it from issuing October’s report. September’s numbers showed both job growth and rising unemployment, so go figure. (The Hill, CNN)
Faulty Wiring Blamed for Key Bridge Crash Investigators say an improperly installed wire caused the power failure that sent a ship into the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Also, newly released estimates of the rebuild costs have doubled to $4–5 billion. (ABC News)
Second Watch:
Fraud, Fraud and More Fraud City Journal reports yet another massive fraud scheme tied to Minnesota’s Somali community—this time involving housing and Medicaid programs siphoning billions in taxpayer funds, with some money allegedly funneled to overseas terror groups. Earlier scams included fake autism service providers used as money-laundering fronts. Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) has been indicted for stealing $5 million through her family’s healthcare company during a FEMA-funded COVID contract. Prosecutors say she used part of the haul to boost her 2021 campaign. (City Journal, WNG)
Epstein Files Countdown Begins Congress passed—and President Trump signed—a bill forcing the DOJ to release all Epstein-related documents within 30 days. Emails released recently revealed Larry Summers (former Treasury Secretary for President Clinton and former Harvard president) admitted he asked Epstein for advice on pursuing an affair with a younger mentee—the daughter of a Chinese Belt and Road official. He has now withdrawn from all public commitments, saying he’s ashamed of his actions. Although his actions are gross, commentators warn that many other’s lives could be ruined by the doc dump which may amount to political theater rather than actual accountability for the sake of victims.(The Guardian, ZeroHedge, Hot Air, ZeroHedge, The Federalist)
Hiding in Plain Sight New information from the anonymous hacker who uncovered extensive online posts from would-be assassin Thomas Crooks shows long-standing antipathy toward Trump and MAGA supporters—fueling questions about how he avoided the FBI’s radar. The recovered accounts also show Crooks occasionally used transgender pronouns and frequented “furry” forums. At the time, Biden’s DOJ downplayed his ideology and floated possible right-wing ties instead. (New York Post)
Third Watch:
🧀 Chefs make Mac and cheese
🔭 Ancient theories of auroras
🖍️ Each generation’s favorite Crayola color
And…
Eyes on the prize: CS Lewis wrote, “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” I thought of that when I heard Luke Bower’s “Not My Home”. Keeping our minds fixed on the surety of our eternal home energizes us for fighting that good fight.
Being heavenly-minded can bring much earthly good!
Let us pray. Lord Jesus, You call heaven and all the saints and apostles and prophets to rejoice when those who pretend to be the true Church are brought to judgement. Help us to discern between what is true and what is false, always knowing that Your kingdom comes through humility and suffering and that the truth of the Gospel is found in You alone; for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.
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