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WORLD NEWS

New Negotiations

Uncle Sam is prioritizing peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited NATO headquarters Wednesday to talk about the future of the nearly-three-year-old war. He said Ukraine shouldn’t hold its breath for NATO membership, needs to make “realistic” land concessions, and won’t see any U.S. peacekeeping boots on the ground. 

Meanwhile, in Washington, President Trump shared a “lengthy and highly productive phone call” with Russian President Putin, agreeing to open talks to end the war “soon.” Trump also called Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy, who’s ready to “get it done.” 

President Trump says he “backs Ukraine,” but his willingness to cede land and NATO membership before negotiations formally begin has raised alarms internationally. European powers called for “strong security guarantees” for Ukraine, saying any deal must include Ukraine and Europe.

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CHOOSE HUMILITY
Whatever path you see out of conflict, believing you’re right is not an excuse for believers to be harsh, impatient, or unkind. Being peaceable, gentle, and open to reason in the face of thorny issues is a sign of God’s wisdom in us.

“Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness—without it no one will see the Lord.”
Hebrews 12:14 (CSB) (read full passage)

POLITICS

Confirmations and Resignations

More staffing news is coming out of the capital. 

Former Democratic congresswoman and veteran Tulsi Gabbard was sworn in as director of national intelligence, and environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed as the director of health and human services. They were considered two of the least certain of Trump’s nominees; Senator McConnell (R-KY) was the only Republican “nay” in each 52-48 vote.

Meanwhile, the Trump admin’s federal buyout offer expired Wednesday night after a district court judge lifted a pause on its deadline. 

The judge ruled that unions—which were suing to stop the buyout altogether—didn’t have the “required direct stake” to fight the issue in court. Union officials called the ruling a “setback” but promised to continue challenging the “illegal” offramp, which an estimated 75,000 employees (~3% of the federal workforce) have accepted. 

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Verse to consider whether you’re in a season of transition or today is the same old, same old… “He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts, but no one can discover the work God has done from beginning to end.” 
Ecclesiastes 3:11 (CSB) (read full passage)

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ECONOMY

Guess What’s Up; Up Again

Inflation’s up—tell a friend. 

Annual inflation rose to 3% in January, marking the fourth consecutive month it has ticked up. On a monthly basis, prices jumped 0.5%, the steepest monthly rise since August 2023 and well above the expected 0.3%. The unwelcome news was driven primarily by pricier gas, food, used cars, and auto insurance. Egg prices alone cracked a ~10-year record, surging 15.2% in just one month.

Consequently, the Fed isn’t adding rate cuts to their to-do list anytime soon. 

Fed Chair Jerome Powell told Congress, “We are close but not there on inflation,” reiterating that rate cuts must wait until inflation is clearly headed for the 2% target. Meanwhile, economists warn the White House’s new, broad tariffs on trading partners could drive prices even higher.

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ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE
Inflation goes up, and inflation goes down, but one thing is certain: God will remain in control and always provide for you. In the midst of uncertainty, set your hope on the abundance we will enjoy with Christ when he comes.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” 
1 Peter 1:3-4 (CSB) (read full passage)

Hamas agreed to proceed with tomorrow’s planned hostage-prisoner exchange, keeping the ceasefire intact after threatening to delay over withheld emergency supplies. In other prisoner-exchange news, the U.S. traded a Russian cybercriminal for Marc Fogel, an American teacher imprisoned in Russia for medical marijuana possession, while Belarus returned a detained American in a “show of good faith” to Uncle Sam.
 

Philly fans (and pole greasers) are flocking downtown today to watch the world-champion Eagles parade through the City of Brotherly Love. Fox Corp is also celebrating a dub: over $800 million in ad revenue from Super Bowl LIX and a new viewership record—128 million viewers (previous record was last year’s SBLVIII matchup between the Chiefs and the 49ers).
 

An FBI records review uncovered 14,000 still-secret pages about President Kennedy’s assassination. Conspiracy theories have filled in the gaps of CIA-withheld information, and President Trump expressed regret about not declassifying documents in 2017. Trump’s Jan. 23 executive order called for the public release of all documents related to the assassinations of JFK, RFK Sr., and MLK Jr. by March 9.
 

Weather havoc is being wreaked from coast to coast. This weekend, powerful systems will bring snow, ice, and rain across the country, placing over 90 million people under winter alerts. Meanwhile, areas of California still recovering from wildfires are bracing for floods from an incoming atmospheric river. Officials have deployed sandbags and rescue swimmers, alerting residents to have go-bags ready.
 

Disgraced hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs’s legal battles continue. Diddy—who has pleaded not guilty to a string of sex crime charges—filed a $100 million defamation lawsuit against NBCUniversal and Peacock over its documentary, Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy. Combs’s lawyers claimed the doc—which alleges Combs’s involvement in several people’s deaths—was made to “capitalize on the public’s appetite for scandal.”

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