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WORLD NEWS

Castro Charged

The U.S. has indicted 94-year-old former Cuban President Raúl Castro in the 1996 deaths of four Cuban-Americans. 

Castro, serving as Cuba’s defense minister at the time, allegedly ordered the shootdown of two planes operated by Brothers to the Rescue—a Cuban exile group flying rescue missions and dropping pro-democracy leaflets. The murder charges come amid a U.S. pressure campaign, including a fuel blockade that has left many Cubans without power. 

Some Republican lawmakers celebrated what they saw as justice deferred, while a group of Democratic Senators introduced a resolution to stop President Trump from using military force on Cuba. Trump said there are no escalation plans, but that Cuba is “on our mind.”

Havana called the charges a “political maneuver” with no legal foundation, and domestic detractors called them “propaganda” to build a case for invasion.

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PRAY WITH US
O Just One, though we long for justice, we confess that sometimes we can’t see it clearly through the forests of motives, implications, and consequences of the world’s stage. So we pray to you who sees all and through all. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Call evil to account, lift up the needy, and protect the good. Bring healing to people and lands. And use your church for your glory and the world’s good. 
Amen.

U.S. NEWS

Combating Gradeflation

Harvard is taking a red pen to its own grading curve.

On Wednesday, the oldest college in America announced that faculty had voted overwhelmingly to cap A’s at roughly 20% per undergrad course, and have Latin honors (think: cum laude) hinge on percentile rank, not GPA. There remains no limit on the number of A-minuses that can be awarded.

Gradeflation, a trend across higher education for decades, has accelerated since the arrival of ChatGPT in 2022. At Harvard, A’s have ballooned from 25% of grades in 2005-06 to 60% last year, prompting one prof to call the top grade “meaningless.” However, nearly 85% of undergrads disapprove of the change, arguing it could “heighten competition, discourage intellectual risk-taking, and infringe on faculty autonomy.” 

The new rules won’t touch current undergrads—just future Crimson classes.

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CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
The grind of working for worldly merits can feel discouraging. Christians can rejoice because we serve an honest master who is far more generous with us than we deserve. In all your endeavors, work to please Him.

“Don’t work only while being watched, as people-pleasers, but work wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.”
Colossians 3:22–24 (CSB) (read full passage)

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ECONOMY

Intragalactic IPO

SpaceX took one giant leap toward its public blastoff. 

The rocket maker filed its IPO prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday, pulling back the curtain on its financials for the first time in company history. It reported $18.67B in 2025 revenue, a 33% year-over-year boost, but a net loss of $4.94B, driven by heavy spending on AI development. 

SpaceX is on course to raise ~$75B at a ~$1.25T valuation from the stock sale. The company—which will trade under the ticker SPCX on Nasdaq—is expected to start its investor roadshow in early June and debut on the market shortly after.

Elsewhere on Wall Street, chipmaker Nvidia beat expectations (again), with an 85% jump in Q1 revenue, showing no signs of the deceleration analysts have been bracing for.

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A verse to consider when the offerings of the world start to eclipse the promises of God… “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions—is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does the will of God remains forever.” 
1 John 2:15-17 (CSB) (read full passage)

Minnesota is betting against prediction markets. Monday, Governor Walz (D) signed a bipartisan law banning prediction markets (think: Kalshi or Polymarket). Tuesday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued the state, arguing prediction markets fall under federal oversight. At least 14 other states have introduced legislation to regulate or ban the booming betting industry.
 

Another one bites the dust. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) became the latest Republican lawmaker to lose his reelection bid to Trump-backed Navy SEAL veteran Ed Gallrein. President Trump called Massie the “worst Republican Congressman in history” after the seven-term incumbent criticized Trump’s handling of Iran and the Epstein files. Massie said voters chose someone who will “go along to get along.”
 

It’s the end of a Colbert-a. After a decade as CBS’s late-night host, Stephen Colbert aired his final “Late Show” last night, putting the 33-year-old, Letterman-launched franchise to sleep. The network called the cancellation “purely financial,” while Colbert (a frequent critic of President Trump) says the move was political. The late-night Jimmys—Fallon and Kimmel—went dark to honor Colbert’s finale.
 

James Murdoch has hopped from Fox to Vox. The Democrat-donating son of conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch is paying ~$300M for half of Vox Media after leaving his father’s News Corp in 2020 over editorial disagreements. The deal includes New York Magazine, Vox.com, and Vox Media’s podcast network, while Eater, The Verge, and SB Nation are staying put.
 

The DNC’s long-awaited 2024 election autopsy dropped Thursday. The 192-page report calls out poor messaging, abandoned rural voters, and a disorganized ground game as a few potential causes of death. Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin released the postmortem after months of internal pressure—and accusations that he was burying it—but warned the report falls short and risks distracting from midterms.

WHIPPED CREAM ON TOP

A lesson on perspective…

How We’re Diving into Theology
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