Deals are being struck between countries all around the world. The question now is which ones will last.

The last living American hostage, Edan Alexander, has been released by Hamas. Edan Alexander was just 19 years old when he was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and he spent 583 days as a hostage before being freed in what Hamas described as a “goodwill gesture” in advance of U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to the region.

A new Pope has been selected, and for the first time in history it is an American. Robert Prevost, originally from Chicago, Illinois, is now Pope Leo XIV, after a conclave of cardinals selected him to succeed Pope Francis as the head of the Catholic Church. Pope Leo’s first address was delivered from historic St. Peter’s Basilica.

“Brace yourself like a man.” It is a stern directive that sounds as though it is coming from a commanding officer or an overbearing father. In reality, it is the voice of the loving and compassionate God in Job 40:7.

What—or who—is your first love? It is a question that was jogged in my mind recently as I joined my friend Carmen LaBerge on her daily radio show. Carmen made reference to the late great Keith Green’s song, Oh Lord, You’re Beautiful, which is now nearly 50 years old (I personally find that almost impossible to believe). There is a lyric in the song that says, “Oh Lord, please light the fire that once burned bright and clear.”

Elon Musk is stepping back—though apparently not fully away—from his leadership role at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk said his job at DOGE is “mostly done” and plans to focus most of his time going forward on his private companies. The White House says DOGE will continue to function without Musk’s round-the-clock guidance.

A county circuit judge in Milwaukee, WI was arrested and charged with “concealing an individual to prevent his discovery and arrest.” The judge, Hannah Dugan, after being alerted to the presence of immigration law enforcement officials outside the courtroom, allegedly escorted a criminal defendant out a non-public jury door in an attempt to help the defendant evade arrest.

Your email inbox is out to get you. I mean that quite literally—the intent of much of the correspondence sent to you is to grip you with fear. If you don’t believe me, scroll through the recent subject lines from your trusted news and information sources, and you will undoubtedly find all manner of alarmist and fear-based subject lines like…

The death toll is rising after an intense explosion and subsequent fire at the Shahid Rajaei port in Iran. At least 70 people are reported dead and more than 1,200 injured as a result of the blast, which is believed to have been caused by improper handling of fuel used for Iran’s ballistic missile program. While the Iranian government is notoriously close-lipped about its weapons programs, the consensus among world authorities is that the fuel was sourced from China and being used to restock Iran’s missile supply after it launched attacks on Israel in support of Hamas.

Two people are dead and six injured after a shooting on the campus of Florida State University. The gunman is believed to be a 20-year-old student. Law enforcement officers shot and detained the suspect just a few minutes into the shooting, likely saving lives. While the gunman is hospitalized, his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

On June 19, 2011, my brother Isaac and I scrambled around a small pond in order to secure a view across it for the moment a 22-year-old kid named Rory McIlroy sealed his first win in a major golf tournament.

As the sun rose over the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday, several thousand of us gathered to celebrate the central figure of all history—Jesus of Nazareth. It was our family’s first time to attend this particular sunrise service. But of course, we rose early and gathered to celebrate not because Jesus, like each of us, lived and then died. We gathered because Jesus, unlike each of us, rose to life again and forever defeated the undefeated grave!

A legal dispute over deportations of alleged gang members continues to brew, as the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to temporarily pause the deportations while a challenge to the President’s authority to remove the detainees without full due process continues.

Pope Francis, leader of the Catholic Church, has died at the age of 88. Francis’s death comes after more than 12 years at the helm of the church, and a few weeks after being diagnosed with double pneumonia. He made a public appearance on Easter Sunday and also met with U.S. Vice President JD Vance, and died Monday morning. There will be several days of mourning, after which a new pope will be selected.

More than 200 people have died and many more are injured after the roof of a packed nightclub collapsed during a concert in the Dominican Republic. Victims included several public figures, and authorities said it would be some time before an investigation would be able to determine a cause for the collapse.

A 38-year-old suspect is in custody and will be charged with arson and attempted murder after allegedly breaking into the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion and lighting it on fire. The mansion sustained significant damage, but nobody was injured, as Governor Josh Shapiro and his family were evacuated in the middle of the night along with their guests.

You are God’s handiwork. You are also the way in which God actively works in your tangible world (Eph. 2:10).

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness” (Jer. 31:3) It is a simple truth you almost need to forget and then return to anew to fully grasp its magnitude: The all-powerful God of the universe loves you passionately and unceasingly!

The U.S. Supreme Court, in an unsigned opinion decided by a 5-4 vote, allowed the resumption of deportations of alleged Venezuelan gang members under the authority of the Alien Enemies Act. The order, however, was unanimous that those facing deportation are entitled to judicial review, and the majority held that such review is properly considered wherever the accused is held (in this case, Texas).

Leaders of the United States and Iran will meet this weekend in a high-stakes discussion about Iran’s nuclear program. The announcement comes immediately following a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Greenlanders made their way to the polls on Tuesday in a national election that would have typically involved little fanfare outside the borders of the giant and frigid island nation. This week’s elections, however, drew a great deal more attention in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s sustained interest in Greenland joining the U.S.

Congress is once again racing the clock to avoid a government shutdown (we told you back in December to bookmark early March for this reality). This time around, GOP leadership in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate are pushing for a Continuing Resolution that would fund the government through the end of the fiscal year on September 30, 2025. This approach has the support of President Donald Trump and was passed narrowly by the U.S. House on Tuesday, but is being opposed by most congressional Democrats.

An unmanned SpaceX Starship rocket exploded last week shortly after blastoff from Texas. The resulting debris field included parts of Florida and temporarily grounded flights at Orlando International Airport. It is the second mid-air explosion in two months for the Starship program, which touts its mission as including eventual manned travel between points on Earth, the Moon, and Mars. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and SpaceX are investigating the cause of the incident.

U.S. President Donald Trump is announcing another round of tariffs Wednesday. The new tariffs follow previous levies on steel and aluminum, as well as imports from China, Canada, and Mexico, and are now expected to include a 25% tariff on all imported cars…

In a ruling with major legal and political implications, Marine Le Pen was convicted of embezzlement by a French court earlier this week. Le Pen, a leading political opponent of France President Emmanuel Macron, was sentenced to two years of house arrest and two years of a suspended prison sentence, both of which will not be served until an appeal is heard. Perhaps more significantly, Le Pen is immediately barred from seeking public office for five years. The ban is in effect even as an appeal moves forward.

There may be a GOP trifecta in Washington, DC, but that hasn’t prevented the U.S. Senate and U.S. House from producing dueling budgets. Last week, the U.S. Senate passed its budget resolution by a vote of 52-48, and the U.S. House passed its version on Tuesday by a vote of 217-215.

Germany has a new presumptive Chancellor and the prospect of a new coalition government after German voters went to the polls and awarded the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party more than 28% of the seats in parliament.

U.S. President Donald Trump this week issued an executive order directing Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to begin facilitating the closure of the U.S. Department of Education.

A week and a half after the U.S. launched an intense wave of bombing attacks on Houthi rebels in Yemen, a journalist revealed he had inadvertently been included in a secure group chat with top U.S. officials discussing specific plans for the attack.

The United States has paused military aid to Ukraine in an effort to speed peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. The move comes days after a tense Oval Office meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.