Iran Conflict Update
Military action continues as negotiations in stalemate
World
Luigi Mangione Guilty Plea
"I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan, and he died," Mangione stated in court this Friday. Under no plea deal, Mangione pleaded guilty to to two federal stalking charges related to the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. He made no plea addressing actual murder. After the guilty plea, Mangione's defense team filed a motion to dismiss the state's murder charges. The sentencing is scheduled for December 18, 2026.
Colombian Earthquake
Another massive earthquake hit South America this week. In Cali, Colombia a 7.4 magnitude earthquake killed over 250 and displaced over 100,000. Newly elected Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella says he is planning to work with private companies to rebuild the nation, as well as subsidies for homeless families.
Gaza Malnutrition Debunked by UN Study
Despite claims of a manmade famine in the Gaza Strip of the Southern Levant, a recent study led by the United Nations found child malnutrition levels at 0.2-0.8%. This is a similar level to what was seen before war in Gaza started, and is of the lowest child malnutrition levels in neighboring middle-eastern countries.
National
SPLC Leadership Arrested
As part of an ongoing fraud investigation from the federal government into the Southern Poverty Law Center, SPLC CEO Heidi Beirich was arrested this week. Beirich is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to submit false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering. It appears that over the past ten years, the SPLC has given over 4 million dollars of donor funds to terrorist organizations including the Klu Klux Klan, Nation Socialists movements, and more. This revelation is especially alarming given that these are groups that the SPLC would normally work against. Some have stated that the believe the SPLC intentionally donated to racist organizations so that they could then report on increased activities from racist organizations. Before the arrest fo the CFO, the SPLC stated that these payments were strictly made to secret informants in these organizations.
Cuts to Medicaid Funding for Transgender Minors
The Trump administration finalized a rule this week to end federal Medicaid funding for puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and gender-transition surgeries for minors.
Additionally, VP Vance has requested the DOJ to start a criminal investigation into hospitals and healthcare providers for fraud involving transgender treatment for minors.
The department released their report "Wolves in White Coats", alleging that many hospitals and doctors engaged in fraudulent billing practices.
The investigation states that many clinics intentionally misscoded gender transitioning as "endocrine disorder procedures" in order to receive far greater amounts of federal funding.
Mississippi
NFA Challenge for Mississippians
Silencer Shop vs. ATF shook the nation this week. With a federal court originally ruling in favor of Silencer Shop and the DOJ bringing forth no answer in their alloted response time, the process for obtaining a suppressor is much simpler in many states... excluding Mississippi. In 27 states, there is now no $200 tax or additional fingerprinting/background checks required for purchasing a suppressor. Mississippi is one 15 states with state laws requiring the tax and background checks, so currently this court ruling does nothing for Mississippians. While the rulings are all a little blurry, it is assumed that MS HB 912 (passed in 2023) is the cause of the restriction. This bill was planned to protect gun rights of Mississippians, but through some confusing language, can be interpreted to defer to federal ATF regulations. Mississippians will be required to fill out the Form 4, meaning extended background check, fingerprinting, and $200 tax when purchasing a suppressor until the state amends their code of law.
Business
Meta's Open Source AI
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg stated this week that Meta will prioritize a powerful open source AI model. Zuckerberg denounced closed source models like the ironically named OpenAI's ChatGPT. Meta released Muse Glimmer, an open source model that is lightweight enough to run on personal computers. Zuckerbrg believes that the future of AI is when everyone has a personal, open source AI model running for them constantly.
Flock Fatigue
Flock Safety has faced significant backlash in the past month with over 20 jurisdictions canceling their contract with the surveillance company. Controversies have intensified due to privacy concerns and law enforcement stalking abuse.
What do we do in the midst of injustice? How should Christians act? Shall we stand by idly? Christ tells us that in this world we will face injustice. It is to be expected. Christians are not called to be passive in all things, surely their is are times when just action is right. However, we are called to entrust ourselves to the just judge, God. We know that evil will succeed on the earth, but the earth is not our home. In times of wickedness our purpose remains: oppose wickedness withe the truth of the gospel. Chris is the only answer to the evil of our time. We must devote ourselves to following Christ's teaching and sharing the truths of the gospel with those who we are around everyday. Meditate on Christ's teaching daily. Pray for those that hate you and those that you don't like. Pray for your elected officials, that they would be filled with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit in their decision making.