Important Takeaways:
- Extremely high winds sweeping through Texas and several other states could lead to severe danger for anyone near a window on Wednesday.
- Meteorologists are warning over a million people in Amarillo and El Paso, Texas alone to expect wind gusts over 65 mph.
- The National Weather Service (NWS) added that people should stay clear of windows due to the risk of extreme winds turning anything not tied down into a projectile.
- They added that people in multi-story homes should stay on the lower levels as the dangerous gusts could knock down trees.
- AccuWeather is predicting an even larger danger zone for these winds on Wednesday – tracking gusts over 40 mph across 20 states.
- In nine of those states, high winds will likely top 50 mph, including parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois.
- The new weather warnings come just days after a deadly storm smashed through the same region of the central US.
- On Tuesday, El Paso was already reporting wind gusts of more than 90 mph. NWS Amarillo added that ‘copious amounts’ of dust were being kicked up across central to eastern New Mexico.
- ‘Travel can be extremely dangerous during these powerful winds. We saw 18-wheelers flipped over and dust storms that reduced visibility to near-zero visibility within a matter of seconds, resulting in deadly chain-reaction pileups,’ DePodwin added.
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Important Takeaways:
- After being asked what his “life lesson or takeaway from these nine months in space” was, astronaut Barry Eugene “Butch” Wilmore replied, “Well, I can tell you honestly, my feeling on all of this goes back to my faith. It’s bound in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
- “He is working out his plan and his purposes for his glory throughout all of humanity, and how that plays into our lives is significant and important, and however that plays out, I am content because I understand that,” Wilmore continued.
- “I understand that He’s at work in all things, some things are for the good — go to Hebrews chapter 11 — and some things look to us to be not so good. But it’s all working out for His good, for all those that will believe,” the astronaut added. “And that’s the answer.”
- As of Tuesday, the two astronauts have finally begun their long-awaited journey back to Earth on a SpaceX capsule, thanks to the combined drive and ambition of President Donald Trump and Musk to “go get them.”
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Important Takeaways:
- NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore were on their way home Tuesday after being stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) orbital laboratory for 286 days.
- Their return is thanks in no small part to the combined drive and ambition of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk to “go get them.”
- UPI reports the pair of astronauts along with Crew-9 members NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov were aboard the SpaceX capsule as it detached from the ISS at 1:05 a.m. EDT, putting them on the 17-hour flight back to Earth.
- The SpaceX Dragon is expected to splash down off the coast of Florida at about 5:57 p.m. EDT on Tuesday.
- As Breitbart News reported, in a viral video shared by both Trump and Musk, the astronauts thanked the dynamic pair for their unstinting support in bringing them back to Earth after their troubles began with a bungled Boeing test flight more than nine months ago.
- The 286 days Williams and Wilmore spent in space is among the longest single space missions in NASA history, but well behind the record of 371 days held by astronaut Frank Rubio.
- The successful return of the astronauts, both retired Navy captains, will mark another milestone for Musk’s SpaceX and his close working relationship with the president.
- Both astronauts have thanked Musk and Trump for their efforts.
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Important Takeaways:
- China is one of the United States’ largest creditors, owning about $859.4 billion in U.S. debt. It doesn’t own the most U.S. debt of any foreign country, however.
- Nations borrowing from each other may be as old as the concept of money. Foreign debt provides the opportunity for countries to secure financing that they ordinarily wouldn’t have access to and to stimulate their economy.
- The concept of foreign debt carries a negative connotation, however, especially when it concerns large amounts owed to nations embroiled in controversy. The huge amount of debt that the U.S. government owes Chinese lenders has been the subject of countless debates, headline news stories, and political platforms for decades.
- Japan commands the top spot among foreign creditors with $1.1 trillion, about 3% of total U.S. debt owed by the U.S. government. China holds the number two position with $859.4 billion of U.S. Treasury’s, about 2.6% of the total U.S. debt.
- Consequences of Owing Debt to the Chinese
- It’s politically popular to say that the China “owns the United States” because it’s such a huge creditor but the reality is very different from the rhetoric.
- The U.S. dollar would depreciate and the yuan would appreciate if China called in all its U.S. holdings, making Chinese goods more expensive.
- Although 2.6% of the national debt isn’t insignificant, the Treasury Department has had no problems finding buyers for its products even after a rating downgrade.
- Others would likely step in to service the market if the Chinese suddenly decided to call in all the federal government’s obligations and this isn’t possible because of the maturities of debt securities. This includes the Federal Reserve which already owns six times as much debt as China.
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Important Takeaways:
- The Israeli security cabinet convened an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss a culmination of alerts over the past few weeks that indicate that Hamas has been making preparations for another invasion into Israeli territory, N12 reported.
- Separately, Defense Minister Israel Katz reiterated these concerns in a meeting with the Otef Israel Forum, a group primarily composed of residents from the Gaza border region, on Tuesday morning
- “There are constant preparations being made by Hamas for an invasion [into Israel], similar to October 7,” Katz said in the meeting.
- Hamas published a statement on Tuesday saying that Israel’s allegations regarding Hamas’s preparations to launch an attack on IDF forces “are baseless and merely flimsy pretexts to justify its return to war and escalation of its bloody aggression.”
- Israel, however, has publicly said that the ongoing strikes in Gaza are not related to fears of an impending attack but are instead in response to Hamas’s unwillingness to release the hostages and refusal to advance talks.
- Eisenkot claimed that Hamas currently has over 25,000 armed terrorists, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad has over 5,000, adding that the government has not advanced the war’s objectives.
- Hamas is reportedly increasing recruitment drives in Gaza and training the new recruits for combat against the IDF. In January, sources told the Jerusalem Post that Hamas is making a substantial comeback by recruiting new forces, with an increase of about 12,000 at the time.
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Important Takeaways:
- Hamas has warned that Israel’s return to war has imposed a ‘death sentence’ on the remaining hostages held captive in Gaza.
- Israeli airstrikes pounded Gaza overnight, ending the fragile two-month ceasefire as Benjamin Netanyahu vows to use more force to free hostages held by Hamas.
- At least 413 Palestinians were killed in the strikes, including Hamas prime minister Issam al-Da’alis, the terror group has claimed. At least four other Hamas officials were reportedly killed in Israel’s attack.
- Medical facilities in the region are ‘overwhelmed’ as hundreds of injured people seek care.
- The Israeli military said it hit dozens of targets overnight and warned the attacks would continue for as long as necessary and extend beyond airstrikes, raising the prospect that Israeli ground troops could resume fighting.
- Netanyahu has ordered Israeli forces to take ‘strong action’ against Hamas and threatened terror chiefs with ‘increasing military strength’.
- His office accused Hamas of rejecting ceasefire proposals and ‘repeated refusal’ to release the remaining hostages in Gaza. The terror group still holds 59 of the 250 or so hostages seized in its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
- Hamas has accused Israel of breaching the terms of the ceasefire agreement and claimed to be ‘working with mediators’ to stop the bombardment. The terror group also blamed what it described as ‘unlimited’ United States for giving the ‘green light’ for the attack and alleged America ‘bears full responsibility’ for the Gaza ‘massacre’.
- Netanyahu’s office said the operation was ordered after ‘Hamas’s repeated refusal to release our hostages, as well as its rejection of all of the proposals it has received from US Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff and from the mediators’.
- ‘Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength,’ the statement said.
- ‘We will not stop fighting as long as the hostages are not returned home and all our war aims are not achieved,’ Defense Minister Israel Katz said.
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Important Takeaways:
- In a Truth Social post, Trump remarked that Hunter Biden has received Secret Service protection for an “extended period of time.”
- “There are as many as 18 people on this Detail, which is ridiculous!” Trump wrote. “Please be advised that, effective immediately, Hunter Biden will no longer receive Secret Service protection.”
- Ashley Biden, Hunter’s sister, will have her Secret Service protection revoked as well. Trump noted that 13 agents were assigned to her security detail.
- “We are aware of the President’s decision to terminate protection for Hunter and Ashley Biden,” the Secret Service told Fox News Digital. “The Secret Service will comply and is actively working with the protective details and the White House to ensure compliance as soon as possible.”
- Former presidents and their spouses receive life-long Secret Service protection under federal law, but the protection afforded to their immediate families over the age of 16 ends when they leave office, though both Trump and Biden extended the details for their children for six months before leaving office, the Associated Press reported.
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Important Takeaways:
- When most people think of end-times Bible prophecy, they think of wars and rumors of war, earthquakes, pestilences, 666, and Antichrist. They think of massive disasters and a new, totalitarian global order—big picture items. But the Bible also talks about individual human beings. It says a series of deadly changes in attitude and outlook will infect most of humanity. It talks about seemingly small things among individuals—things like ungratefulness and disobedience to parents—that will have a massive, cumulative effect on the whole world.
- 2 Timothy 3:1 warns that “in the last days perilous times will come.” It then describes some of those perils, but it does not mention the four horsemen of the apocalypse or other great judgments of God described in Revelation. Instead, it illustrates end-time perils by pointing to individual human proclivities.
- In verses 2-5, this passage says the last days will be perilous, “For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”
- …The prophecies refer to a dramatic increase in all these matters as we get closer to the Lord’s coming. Like war and deception, lack of self-control and blasphemy will grow worse. People will become even more headstrong and haughty; prouder and more selfish.
- It’s perilous to live in a world where people’s greatest love is the love of self and of money. Ungodly pride makes humans dangerous; makes them easily offended and quick to vengeance. When brutality becomes the norm, society grows more perilous. When people hold truth in low regard, slander becomes widespread, and widespread slander erodes all systems of justice.
- … When I watch the seething rage against Jews and Israel for defending themselves against terrorists, I wonder how much further humans can fall. Yet the Bible says it will get worse. Zechariah 14:2 foretells a time when all the nations gather for war against Jerusalem.
- Revelation 13:4-8 says that at one point in the future, the world will not only follow, but also actually worship the Antichrist. He will at first support the Christless religions of the world—they which have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof.
- We’re not there yet. Satan’s plan for Antichrist is held back by the special presence of the Holy Spirit that began at Pentecost. That restraint will be removed when the Church is removed at the rapture. In the meantime, “evil men and seducers… wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:13, KJV).
- These are good days to walk in the security of God’s will, plan, and purpose for your life—to live close to Him and according to His Word.
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Important Takeaways:
- Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko reportedly said that the Kremlin wants an “ironclad” guarantee that Ukraine will be prohibited from joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), as the Trump administration works to broker a deal to end the fighting.
- “We will demand that ironclad security guarantees become part of this agreement,” Grushko was quoted by the Russian newspaper Izvestia as saying, according to Reuters. “Part of these guarantees should be the neutral status of Ukraine, the refusal of NATO countries to accept it into the alliance.”
- Grushko reportedly made no mention of the 30-day cease-fire proposal, which was accepted by Ukraine with U.S. negotiators in Saudi Arabia last week. Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that any agreement must first meet crucial conditions.
- U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff told CNN on Sunday that Trump and Putin are expected to speak on the phone this week. Witkoff himself described having a “positive” and “solution-based” meeting with Putin in Moscow last week.
- Grushko reportedly reiterated in the interview with Izvestia that Russia remains strictly opposed to the deployment of European troops to Ukraine, as Britain, France and Australia have signaled being open to sending a NATO “peacekeeping” force to the country.
- “It does not matter under what label NATO contingents were to be deployed on Ukrainian territory: be it the European Union, NATO, or in a national capacity,” Grushko said, according to Reuters. “If they appear there, it means that they are deployed in the conflict zone with all the consequences for these contingents as parties to the conflict.”
- French President Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, was quoted as telling several French media outlets on Saturday that the intention is to “deploy a few thousand men per nation, at key points, to carry out training programs” and “show our support over the long term.”
- “If Ukraine asks allied forces to be on its territory, it is not up to Russia to accept or not,” Macron reportedly said.
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Important Takeaways:
- An Iranian general vowed to respond “decisively and destructively” to any threats after President Donald Trump said he ordered American forces to launch military action against Houthis in Yemen.
- “We warn our enemies that Iran will respond decisively and destructively if they carry out their threats,” Gen. Hossein Salami, the leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, told state media following U.S. strikes over the weekend against the Tehran-backed terrorist group, according to Reuters.
- “We are not a nation to live in hiding. We are a valid and legitimate system in the world. We announce it if we attack anywhere,” Salami was quoted as saying by ABC News.
- U.S. Central Command said Saturday it had “initiated a series of operations consisting of precision strikes against Iran-backed Houthi targets across Yemen to defend American interests, deter enemies, and restore freedom of navigation.”
- Trump wrote on Truth Social Saturday that he “ordered the United States Military to launch decisive and powerful Military action against the Houthi terrorists in Yemen.”
- “It has been over a year since a U.S.-flagged commercial ship safely sailed through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, or the Gulf of Aden,” Trump continued. “The last American Warship to go through the Red Sea, four months ago, was attacked by the Houthis over a dozen times.”
- Trump wrote that the “relentless assaults have cost the U.S. and World Economy many BILLIONS of Dollars while, at the same time, putting innocent lives at risk.”
- “To all Houthi terrorists, YOUR TIME IS UP, AND YOUR ATTACKS MUST STOP, STARTING TODAY. IF THEY DON’T, HELL WILL RAIN DOWN UPON YOU LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE!” his post concluded.
- The Houthis are claiming the recent U.S. strikes have killed at least 53 people and injured around 100, according to the Associated Press.
- “We will confront escalation with escalation,” the leader of the Houthis, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, reportedly said Sunday.
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