TECHNOLOGY

P Stands for Problem

Cybersecurity agencies are flashing warning lights.

Wednesday, developers for PHP, a programming language powering ~70% of the world’s websites, released emergency patches for two critical flaws that could allow hackers to take over affected web servers. (We made a visual for ourselves you.) Mass outages hit as websites, including government sites across Europe, temporarily went offline to prevent attacks while patching.

The flaws scored a 9.2/10 on the industry’s severity scale, with researchers saying they “rank among the most severe vulnerabilities discovered… in software history.”

Researchers uncovered the bugs in August using ChatGPT models and began secretly working on a fix. But publicizing the patch is a double-edged sword: it provides a fix, but also alerts hackers to a way to hijack websites that are slow to update their code. If you run a website, take heed (here’s a link to check if your website’s on WordPress).

CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
Even if the scariest predictions about technology come to pass, God will remain God and our eternal life with Christ will remain secure. Be quick to point to God and give Him the credit for your hope, strength, and love during times dominated by uncertainty and fear.

“The life of every living thing is in his hand, as well as the breath of all humanity.”
Job 12:10 (CSB) (read full passage)

WORLD NEWS

U.S. 🤝 Russia

An American prisoner is free after 4+ years in Russian custody.

Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired Michigan teacher who’d been living in Ukraine since 2014, was freed by Russia during U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff’s visit to St. Petersburg Wednesday. Convicted of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine (charges Uncle Sam called “fabricated”), Hubbard was the last “wrongfully detained” American in Russia. He was released at President Trump’s request (see Hubbard on his flight home), with no prisoner swap, a move #47 tied to recent sanctions waivers.

Following the release, Witkoff called Putin “a humanitarian,” sparking bipartisan backlash; VP Vance defended saying what was needed for “bringing an American hostage home.”

Putin also agreed to resume peace talks with Ukraine. President Zelenskyy voiced his support, but noted that breaking the impasse will require a trilateral meeting with Putin, Trump, and himself.

Verse to consider whether you’re navigating a relationship with an international adversary, a difficult coworker, or a cranky toddler… “Seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry for help.”
Psalm 34:14-15 (CSB) (read full passage)

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U.S. NEWS

Prison Treatments Stay Put

SCOTUS blocked the White House’s restriction of transgender treatments for federal inmates, for now.

In January 2025, President Trump executive ordered the Bureau of Prisons to revise medical care rules so funds aren’t spent on “conforming an inmate’s appearance to that of the opposite sex.” The policy would halt surgeries, phase out hormone therapy, and end social accommodations (makeup, wigs, pronoun changes), while continuing mental health services.

Transgender inmates sued #47, saying treatment limitations violated “cruel and unusual punishment” protections. A district court ordered continued treatments, citing mental health, a ruling the DOJ asked the High Court to pause. The Supremes denied the DOJ’s request on Wednesday (see the one-sentence order).

In response, the Trump admin said it’d continue efforts to “stop the waste of taxpayer dollars” and protect Americans from “dangerous, life-altering medical practices.”

PRAY WITH US
God Who Put On Flesh, we ask for Your Spirit’s power as personal stories become the culture’s battleground; erase any vitriol and increase our virtue. Make Your church the safest of all places to navigate gender identity. May it be a place where people can come with their unabridged stories and experience Your transforming authorship. May they be dignified with warm hospitality. Create the strongest possible adhesive between grace and truth in our thoughts, words, and deeds, for Your glory, and the flourishing of Your people. Amen.

Want a guide to praying through tough headlines? Praying the News, TPO’s 5-minute audio devotional, will help you trade anxiety for peace. Sign up here and we’ll text it to you.

President Trump called Ohio GOP gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s attack ad “very powerful.” In it, Democratic candidate Amy Acton’s estranged mother, who Acton said sided with her stepfather after he sexually abused her, calls Acton a “liar.” It’s drawn bipartisan backlash, with Ohio Gov. DeWine (R) calling it “deeply troubling” and urging it be taken down. Ramaswamy said voters “deserve to know.”


Uncle Sam’s evacuating “non-emergency” personnel from his Saudi Arabia embassy. The “ordered departure” from Riyadh and “restricted operations” at other regional embassies come amid an uptick in attacks by Iran-backed Houthis. The U.S.-designated terror group, which killed two and injured eight at a major Saudi airport Wednesday night, continues targeting critical infrastructure and is fighting to expand control in Yemen.


Airbnb’s got some new house rules. Starting with November 20 bookings, hosts generally can’t require guests (who often pay cleaning fees) to strip beds, wash dishes, or haul trash offsite. Still on the chore chart: leaving dishes in the sink and sorting recycling. A reversal petition arguing that hosts should be allowed to require “reasonable household responsibilities” has 6,500+ signatures.

This story was voted on by our app users. Download the app to choose what we cover next!


Lace up those hiking boots… There’s a new national park in town. President Trump signed a bipartisan bill Tuesday promoting Arizona’s Chiricahua National Monument to the U.S.’s 64th national park. Perched on a desert “sky island,” the ~12,000-acre “Wonderland of Rocks” boasts some of Earth’s darkest skies and towering spires formed by an ancient volcanic eruption. This place rocks. See the spires for yourself!


Meta’s 0-2 in New Mexico’s courts. Wednesday, the Facebook/Instagram/WhatsApp parent was ordered to pay $25B (its largest penalty yet) to the Land of Enchantment after a jury found it misled users about data privacy. The case stems from 2018’s Cambridge Analytica scandal revealing the political firm harvested millions of Facebook users’ data without consent (see how the scandal unfolded). Meta vowed to appeal.

Curious about what kind of data companies harvest and how it feeds the algorithm? Stay tuned for TPO Explains tomorrow.

WHIPPED CREAM ON TOP

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