WEATHER

Northeast Nor’easter

A nor’easter lashed the East Coast over the weekend, causing at least one death, widespread power outages, and thousands of disrupted flights.

The extratropical cyclone kicked off the Atlantic Coast’s stormy season, bringing 50+ mph winds and tidal flooding from North Carolina to Massachusetts. New York and New Jersey were hit hardest, with flooding reaching three feet in some areas (see how one dog still went for a walk).

Roughly 80,000 people across the Northeast were still without power yesterday, while rain is expected to continue drenching the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast through today.

Meanwhile, Hurricanes Nolo and Polo are crawling across the Pacific. Nolo skirted south of Hawaii Saturday, but still brought high winds and flash-flood threats to the Big Island. Polo is expected to make landfall on Mexico’s west coast today, bringing possible “life-threatening flooding.”

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PRAY WITH US
Father, King of Creation, call Your rebellious elements back to order. Jesus, Stiller of Raging Storms, bring peace and free us from fear. Spirit, Giver of Life, fill us again.

For those who are lost, search relentlessly and bring them home. For those who will rescue, grant courage and strength. For those who have lost everything, richly provide. To those who grieve, be near with comfort. To those who will rebuild, give fortitude, endurance, and hope. For Your people, a light in darkness, open doors for bold love and shine Your light over the wreckage. Amen. (read full prayer here)

POLITICS

Green Light, Red Light

The Supreme Court approved the Trump Administration’s voter verification system.

The Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database was created in 1986 to help agencies check the immigration status of people applying for public benefits (think: Social Security). In Friday’s 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court approved the Trump Administration’s request to use SAVE to verify voter rolls as well, overturning a lower-court order that said SAVE could wrongly remove eligible voters.

The impact on November’s midterm elections is likely limited. The order allows states to voluntarily check voters’ citizenship status through SAVE, but notes that systematically purging voter rolls is illegal within 90 days of an election.

Meanwhile, the Supremes struck down Missouri’s GOP-drawn congressional map for good on Friday, warning that switching maps after ballots have been mailed would “usher in electoral chaos.” (Catch up on the MO map saga).

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CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
Whether justice is served or subverted in American courts, we can count on perfect justice and inexhaustible mercy from the courts of heaven. The Lord’s verdict will restore what sin has broken.

“The Rock—his work is perfect; all his ways are just. A faithful God, without bias, he is righteous and true.”
Deuteronomy 32:4 (CSB) (read full passage)

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“If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,’ but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it?”
James 2:15-16 (CSB) (read full passage)

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SPORTS

Orange-and-White Ballin’

The WNBA’s playoffs tipped off after its most-watched regular season ever.

Yesterday, the #8 New York Liberty pounced on the #1 Minnesota Lynx to open a tightly packed tournament (see the bracket) with just seven wins separating the field. The Lynx, led by presumptive Rookie of the Year, Olivia Miles, are hoping to end a nine-year championship drought, including playing bridesmaid to the Liberty in 2024.

In just its second season, #2 Golden State Valkyries are looking to become the youngest team to hoist the trophy, facing Paige Bueckers’ #7 Dallas squad, which completed the league’s biggest single-season turnaround (+17). Meanwhile, A’ja Wilson’s #3 Las Vegas Aces face Caitlin Clark’s #6 Indiana Fever en route to their fourth title in five years.

Winners of the best-of-three Round 1 games will advance to the best-of-five Semifinals, which begin October 4th. Happy hoopin’!

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Verse to consider whether it’s game day, test day, or just an ordinary Monday… “The LORD—the LORD is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin.”
Exodus 34:6-7a (CSB) (read full passage)

British police arrested five men suspected of preparing a terrorist act on a Royal Air Force (RAF) base. More than 80 homes were evacuated after police were alerted to “three suspicious vehicles” driving toward RAF Fairford, a U.K.-owned air base the U.S. has been using to facilitate strikes on Iran. Officials feared the vans carried explosives; an investigation is ongoing.


President Trump passed on Iran’s seven-day ceasefire plan, saying it was not “acceptable.” Iran had proposed that Uncle Sam lift his naval blockade, waive oil sanctions, and release $12B in frozen assets to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said Iran wanted the deal because “they’re losing so badly,” and is reportedly focused on obtaining nuclear concessions from Iran.


Leo XIV is pope-ular in Paris. The pontiff kicked off his four-day tour Friday by warning French officials that unchecked AI risks eroding human dignity and calling on leaders to slow the pace. The next day, an open-air Mass drew ~800,000 attendees where Leo urged the secular country to “build a renewed nation upon roots nourished by faith.”


Six people died Friday in a gas explosion near the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. The blast was caused by a gas leak in an old residential building, which brought down the three-story structure and killed a vacationing American family and an elderly British man and his Greek wife. Athens Mayor Doukas called the accident “an incredible disaster.”


What do tariffs, AI, coal, and giant pandas have in common? They were on the agenda when China’s President Xi went to Washington. Last week’s summit ended with a deal to lower tariffs on $30B of “non-sensitive goods,” a plan for AI and military communication channels, China’s pledge to import American coal, and the arrival of Ping Ping and Fu Shuang at Atlanta’s zoo (check out the pandas’ plane).

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What We’re Giving Our Teens
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Remember high school? Sorry if that was triggering… life was hard and confusing then, and the same is true for teens now. Maybe even more so.

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