Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says hundreds of schools across the state are ready to host chapters of Turning Point USA's (TPUSA) high school program, which promotes conservative values for young people.

At a news conference Monday at the Governor's Mansion, Abbott highlighted the need for programs like Club America, the high school arm of TPUSA, the conservative youth organization founded in 2012 by activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated in September during an event on a Utah college campus.

Joined by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, TPUSA Senior Director Josh Thifault, Texas Education Agency (TEA) Commissioner Mike Morath and other officials, Abbott announced that more than 500 high schools in Texas already host Club America chapters, including dozens in North Texas, and touted the state as having the most such chapters nationwide.

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Trump Personally Intervenes to Block Release of January 6 Documents​

Donald Trump is blocking access in a lawsuit brought by police officers injured in the January 6 riot.​

The Department of Justice has confirmed that President Donald Trump blocked the release of more than 4,100 documents related to the deadly riot on January 6.

In a court filing Monday night, lawyers for the DOJ revealed that Trump had stepped in to prevent the release of some material requested as part of a lawsuit brought by police officers injured by violent rioters at the U.S. Capitol. The materials were originally subpoenaed from the National Archives and Records Administration in February.

Most might know the Federal Reserve lowered their overnight lending rate to banks to be in the 3.5 to 3.75% range. But what surprised me was that the Federal Reserve did not stop there. "Notably, the Fed announced it start buying short-term bonds, expanding its balance sheet. Short-term Treasury yields moved lower as a result."
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/09/stock-market-today-live-updates.html

So where does the Federal Reserve get those billions that it uses to buy back debt of the U.S. Government? I creates the money. So now the USA is not just lowering interest rates, it is back to basically printing money through their good friend the Federal Reserve. Now if done at the rate of growth, it may go unnoticed, but if it is starting to be 40 billion a week, then these buybacks from the Federal Reserve are likely to cause inflation. (Some theorists say this is not true, others suggest a direct link with a bit of a time lag.)

Currently the Federal Reserve has 7.4 trillion dollars of government debt on its books. As recently as a couple of months ago, they were retiring their their holdings of U.S. debt with the additional debt being financed by others. Thus, the amount of debt is not being lowered as the USA is spending 1.30 for every dollar it collects. So to avoid pain and borrow at market rates, the USA is back to EASY MONEY. The U.S. Fed suggests they will do the bond buybacks for several months, but during covid it was for years, not months and it contributed to the 9 plus percent inflation in 2022. In 2019, the assets created from money printing stood at 3.8 trillion. In 2021 they peaked at 8.8 trillion. So by this money printing both Trump and Biden were on baord and both responsible for inflation. I say this because the serious money printed started under Trump and continued until 2022.

Since june of 2022, the Federal Reserve was tightening and retiring some bonds until a couple of months ago. So Biden should get credit too for reducing inflation because the policies that reduced it were started in the middle of his term. The Fed Reserve over this three year period, got their balance sheet back to 7.4 trillion this year. If they create 40 billion a week in dollars, that pace is two trillion a year SO HERE WE GO AGAIN!.

Such money printing not only paid for your covid rebates for Americans but cash infusions are highly correlated to stock market gains. "Academic studies confirm a long-term positive relationship between the Fed's balance sheet size and future market performance. One analysis suggests an R² (a measure of correlation) of 0.8832 since 2009, indicating a strong long-term association." Source google ai.

My point in all of this is to suggest that the renewal of essentially printing money during a time when inflation is already running around 2.9 percent could create more persistent and elevated inflation. So while you are being taxed on the tariffs you also are taxed by the higher prices due in part, to excessive money printing. I will say too that Trump is going to install his own Chairman and some new Governors that will be even more dovish at lowering interest rates and printing money. IF you notice too that while the Fed lowers rates to their banking members, the mortgage rates actually climbed. A solution that worked during covid was to have the Federal Reserve buy back mortgages. So I suppose they could do that again to artificially lower mortgage rates but the markets are not setting interest rates at all when this occurs and yes such intervention causes distortions that can be harmful.

You should realize too that when inflation is 3% and your only getting 2.5% interest on your money from loaning it to the government or member banks, you are losing money while at the same time paying tax on the 2.5% gain. The USA is not there yet but she may soon be back to negative interest rates on short-term government debt and on longer debt when inflation reignites.

If you study nations that expand the money supply even more significantly, the value in some cases has gone down to nothing. For the U.S. "By Consumer Goods (CPI): According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics data, what cost $1 in 1913 required approximately $96 to $100 to purchase in recent years. This reflects a loss in value of about 96% to 97.5%."

So is there anyone that even cares in the U.S. government? I mean giving it more than just lip service. Saying they want interest rates at 2% but failing to make that happen since 2001. That is deception, not true concern. So I asked google AI. This is where AI currently has issues with discerning intent and motivation. The Fed says they want 2% inflation, but they won't take the action to make even that occur. In questioning google ai I asked for names, and it gave me former congressman Ron Paul. I pressed him about Senator Rand Paul and it answered. "High Stringency on Fiscal and Monetary Policy: Senator Paul has a reputation as one of the toughest votes in the U.S. Senate on spending issues. He has voted against major budget deals and debt ceiling increases because, in his view, they do not cut enough spending or address the underlying fiscal imbalance. His consistent reintroduction of legislation like the Federal Reserve Transparency Act makes him a leading figure in the push for stricter monetary discipline." Google ai.

I am not trying to make this too political, yet it is a serious economic and political issue. Inflation is theft too, and the framers were quite aware of it.

"George Washington: He observed the consequences of paper money in Rhode Island, stating in a 1787 letter that paper money "has had the effect in your State that it ever will have, to ruin commerce – oppress the honest, and open a door to every species of fraud and injustice". Google ai.

On the banking system - "Thomas Jefferson & James Madison: They vehemently opposed Alexander Hamilton's plan for a national bank. Their primary concerns were that such an institution would centralize power in the federal government, favor wealthy commercial elites and financiers over common farmers, and undermine state banks. Jefferson feared a financial monopoly that could adopt policies contrary to the public good. He believed the bank was unconstitutional, as the power to create a corporation was not explicitly listed in the Constitution."

So there you have it. A new round of money printing that is going world wide. The system will hold only as long as investors see value in buying government debt. Even the USA Federal Reserve cannot buy all the debt to target interest rates for loans at all intervals from 1 month to 30 years.

As always we can be dismal for a nation, yet as individuals we can prosper if we hold dear to God's principles on giving the use of money and His grace. May each of us be stay free from the love of money and fix our eyes on Jesus as the wrold's economic system is thrashing in these times. Goid bless!

God’s assurance of eternal life brings a quiet peace to our innermost being. It is a promise we can rest in, knowing that our future is held securely in His hands. This certainty steadies us in seasons of uncertainty, lifts our hearts when burdens grow heavy, and reminds us that our story does not end in this world. Because Christ has overcome, we can face each day with confidence, anchored in the unchanging truth that we belong to Him now and forever.

Scripture tells us that eternal life is God’s gift—found in His Son and already given to all who believe. Jesus declared that the one who believes “has everlasting life,” a present reality rather than a distant hope. When doubts arise, they often point us toward our own failures or inconsistencies, but true assurance turns our gaze back to Christ: His sacrifice, His promise, His faithfulness.

1 John 5:11–13 (NKJV): “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”

This passage shows us that our assurance rests on God’s testimony. Eternal life is hope for the future beyond life as we know it here on this Earth. John writes so that believers may walk in certainty rather than doubt, grounded in what God has declared. Eternal life is not something we earn, achieve, or maintain by our own strength, it is a gift given to us by God, our Father. Jesus Himself said, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life” (John 3:36) - present tense, a settled reality.

Romans 8:31–39 (NKJV): “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long.

We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”​

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

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This passage gathers every fear, accusation, and weakness we carry and answers them with the unshakeable truth of God’s love in Christ. Paul speaks from a life marked by hardship, yet his conclusion is unwavering: nothing can undo what God has done for us. God did not spare His own Son - that alone settles every question about His heart toward us. If He gave His very best, every other need will be supplied. No accusation can stand, because God justifies. No condemnation can hold, because Christ died and rose again. No circumstance can separate us from His love. The love of Christ is not fragile; it holds steady through tribulation, distress, persecution, and even death itself. Paul’s persuasion becomes our encouragement: nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. In Him, we are held. In Him, we are secure. In Him, we are more than conquerors - not because of our strength, but because of His love that never let’s go.

The Holy Spirit also plays a quiet, steady role in assurance. He bears witness with our spirit that we are God’s children and heirs with Christ. His voice is not loud or dramatic but a deep, settled knowing - a peace that rises when we read the Word, pray, or simply sit before the Lord. Jesus promises that His sheep are held securely in His hand and in the Father’s hand, where no enemy, circumstance, or weakness can reach. Assurance rests on His promise, not our worthiness. Salvation is secured by God’s power, not human effort. Grace saves us, the Spirit seals us, and Christ keeps us.

Romans 8:16–17 (NKJV): “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”

Holy Spirit reminds us again and again that we belong to the Father and that nothing can separate us from His love. God’s assurance shapes the way we live. When we know we are secure in Christ, fear loses its grip. We pray with confidence, face trials with hope, and walk in obedience not to earn salvation but because we already have it.

John 10:27–29 (NKJV): “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.”

Nothing can separate believers from the love of God - not suffering, not spiritual forces, not death, not life. Eternal life is found in the Son, and whoever has the Son has life. Our lives are hidden with Christ in God - secure, protected, and awaiting full revelation when He appears. Eternal life is not something we cling to buy effort - it is something Christ holds for us. So, this week, let your heart rest. Let the assurance of your salvation quiet your thoughts, steady your steps, and fill your days with peace. You are His, and He keeps what is His.

To the Holy Spirit — thank You for guiding every word, guarding every step, and glorifying Jesus through it all. All glory, honour, praise and worship goes to God Almighty, for He alone is worthy to receive it all.

May these words echo grace, healing, and truth wherever they are read.

Acknowledgement: Testimony reference from Richard Wurmbrand, Tortured for Christ (Living Sacrifice Book Company, 1967).

Acknowledgement of Bible Scriptures: New King James Version (NKJV), Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982; Holy Bible, King James Version (KJV), Cambridge University Press, 1769: verses sourced using Bible Gateway.

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We can't let Venezuela ship oil to Russia or any other country with an international ban.

How many ladies here who attend the N.O. wear a Chapel Veil or Mantilla to Mass? And how common is wearing one in your parish? I’m starting to see more women wearing them…..there used to be just one lady that I saw. Now, I’ve seen maybe three or four. I’m wondering if it’s going to become a trend? I dont wear one nor do any of my friends but I remember as a child wearing one and mine had sparkles (rhinstones?on it. It was beautiful.

Thank you, Erika Kirk. May the Lord God bless you, your family, Turning Point, and the United States of America.

The Holy Family fleeing from one Roman-controlled region to another in the first century is in no way a mandate on whether America has a right to enforce immigration laws.

Last week, a Catholic church in Massachusetts made headlines with its Nativity display — in which Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus were replaced by an empty manger and an anti-ICE poster. Now, it seems the church’s pastor is refusing to take down the display for the time being, against the wishes of his church authority.

St. Susanna, located in the Boston suburb of Dedham, “displayed a Nativity scene outside the church with an empty manger and a sign that says, ‘ICE was here,’” Fox News reported Wednesday. The implication, of course, is that the baby Savior was either apprehended or threatened by federal immigration agents.

“The Holy Family is safe in The Sanctuary of our church,” the sign below the “ICE was here” poster reads, “followed by contact information for a group that monitors immigration operations in the state.”

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The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) has expressed concern about a recent ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union, which obliges all member states to recognize so-called "homosexual marriages" legally performed in another country.

In a Dec. 9 statement, the president of COMECE, Bishop Mariano Crociata, warned that the ruling could have an impact on the legal sovereignty of each nation, since the recognition of these unions is mandatory even if they are not valid under a country’s own legal system.

The ruling concerns a same-sex Polish couple who “married” in Germany in 2018. Upon returning to Poland, the authorities refused to record their union in the civil registry. The European court has deemed this refusal contrary to EU law, meaning that all member states are now obligated to recognize the rights stemming from this bond.

Union between a man and a woman​

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New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond announced a Sunday Mass dispensation for migrants fearing deportation amid heightened presence of immigration enforcement officials in the state.

“As I write to you, our immigrant sisters and brothers are facing real fear and anxiety in the wake of an increase in immigration enforcement actions,” Aymond wrote in a Dec. 8 letter.

Aymond is the fifth U.S. bishop to announce dispensations for Catholic immigrants from Sunday Mass. Bishop Michael Duca of Baton Rouge granted the same dispensation in his diocese earlier this week. Bishops in the dioceses of San Bernardino, California; Nashville, Tennessee; and Charlotte, North Carolina, also granted a dispensation this year.

Aymond’s move comes amid the deployment of 250 Border Patrol agents to the region with plans to arrest 5,000 individuals across Louisiana and Mississippi as a part of the Trump administration’s “Operation Catahoula Crunch.”


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U.S. President Donald Trump is crafting a sanctions plan to increase pressure on the Nigerian government amid ongoing Christian persecution, according to a leading member of Congress.

President Trump “ “is in the process of crafting a comprehensive action plan including sanctions to pursue reform,” according to Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, who described Nigeria as “ground zero,” and the “focal point of the most brutal and murderous anti-Christian persecution in the world today.”

Smith, a Catholic who chairs the house Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights, mentioned the plan during his Dec. 9 speech at “The Emergency Summit on Crimes Against Christians,” organized by For the Martyrs, a nonprofit that aids persecuted Christians. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, and Rep. Marlin Stuzman, R-Indiana, also spoke at the event.

The veteran New Jersey congressman praised Trump’s designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) and affirmed that “Religious freedom will now be at the forefront of the U.S.-Nigeria bilateral relationship.”

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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has suspended Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley from receiving federal funding, according to the charity group.

The Catholic Charities group is the charitable branch of the Diocese of Brownsville and is part of Catholic Charities USA and Caritas Internationalis.

The charity is located in South Texas and operates the Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen. The migrant shelter is run by Sister Norma Pimentel, known popularly as “the immigrants’ nun.” Pimentel and the center offer immigrants awaiting court hearings shelter and food before they travel to meet relatives in other cities and states.

The nonprofit reported in a statementthat the organization learned that the government "temporarily suspended” its "eligibility for federal funding pending a further determination."

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Billionaire Elon Musk reiterated his belief in the existence of a Creator during a recent podcast, claiming God is the figure he most admires and that the universe could not have created itself.

Speaking during an episode of "The Katie Miller Podcast" that aired Tuesday, Musk spoke extensively about the effectively defunct Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), AI, and other topics, but also briefly touched on his views about the divine.

“Who do you look up to the most?" asked Miller, who is the wife of presidential advisor Stephen Miller and served as a spokesperson for DOGE from January through May of this year.

"The Creator," Musk said, prompting Miller to ask what his present position on God is.

"God is the Creator," he said.

"You don't believe in God, though, do you?" Miller asked, to which Musk replied, "Well, I believe this universe came from something. People have different labels."

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A new documentary by Lee Strobel titled, “The Case for Miracles,” aims to provide evidence that miracles similar to those that are recorded in the Bible do indeed take place today. The documentary will be in theaters Dec. 15–18.

Strobel recounts how investigating the historical evidence for Jesus’ resurrection transformed him from an atheist to a Christian. Today, he believes miracles still occur and outlines four criteria he uses to verify credible cases: medical documentation, multiple eyewitnesses, lack of natural explanation, and whether the event happens in the context of prayer.

“If I see those four things together, depending on the circumstance, I can be persuaded that, yes, God has intervened supernaturally today in his creation,” Strobel told ChurchLeaders.

Strobel shares scientifically documented studies from Mozambique and Brazil—published in a secular, peer-reviewed medical journal—showing dramatic improvements in hearing and vision immediately after Christian prayer. Strobel does admit that fraud, coincidence, placebo, and spontaneous remission exist but cannot account for many well-evidenced cases.

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Democrat Eric Gisler defeated Republican Mack Guest IV in the special election in Georgia’s House District 121, according to Decision Desk HQ.

Gisler’s victory is a major upset, as President Trump won the district by 12 points last year, Decision Desk HQ data shows.

“I absolutely agree with President Trump that we need to redirect subsidies from insurance companies and give patients the power,” Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), one of the bill’s co-sponsors, told The Post.
“Republicans want real solutions that actually make health care affordable and put money in families’ pockets. I applaud the president for his leadership on this issue,” added Cassidy, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and introduced the legislation with Senate Finance Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho).

We do need to stop funneling taxpayer dollars to wealthy insurance companies.

Please ask God if He could please allow me good health. I'm not feeling very well and my stress level is horrible. Please ask God to calm my mind and heal my liver, gallstones and heart and congestion. Please pray that I have no pain if it is God's will. I ask in the name of Jesus. Thank you and God bless you. Carmen.

America First!

A Chicago-area church has updated its already controversial nativity scene following damage from vandalism and inclement weather, removing Joseph, the father of Jesus, and replacing him with a memorial to those who have been affected by raids and arrests conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

Lake Street Church of Evanston, Illinois, made headlines earlier this holiday season with a nativity scene that depicts baby Jesus as lying in a manger with his hands zip-tied together. The infant is wrapped in what appears to be an emergency blanket. Mary and Joseph are standing near the manger wearing gas masks. And the young couple is flanked by three Roman soldiers who are wearing sunglasses and vests emblazoned with “ICE.”

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The U.S. Department of Justice is coming to the defense of two Virginia public high school students suspended earlier this year for speaking out against the presence of a female trans-identified student in the male locker room.

The Justice Department filed a motion to intervene on Monday in the case of S.W. et al. v. Loudoun County School Board, which centers on two Christian male students reportedly suspended after they objected to a girl who identifies as a boy in their locker room.

Loudoun County school officials "intentionally discriminated on the basis of religion in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment," the administration lawyers contend.

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An Episcopal priest who has been accused of stealing around $300,000 from a Texas church is appealing a ruling that removes him from the priesthood.

Edward Monk, who was charged last year with allegedly stealing from St. John's Episcopal Church of Corsicana, has appealed his removal from ministry. A Court of Review is slated to hear arguments on Wednesday.

An earlier diocesan hearing panel found Monk guilty of "conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy" over six financial infractions, reported Episcopal News Service.

According to church court documents, Monk's appeal argues that the hearing was a "sham" and that he was not given sufficient opportunity to defend himself from the allegations.

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Mission leader says there are 'a few' Somali Christian fellowships in Twin Cities

As the Trump administration is reportedly preparing to deploy 100 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to Minnesota, home to an estimated 87,000 people with Somali ties, Lutheran church leaders are pushing back against federal immigration enforcement actions with evangelism.

Last Tuesday, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said ICE agents are being deployed to the Twin Cities to specifically target the Somali community, which has faced allegations of rampant fraud involving the state’s benefit system after federal prosecutors charged dozens of individuals with stealing over $300 million from the Federal Child Nutrition Program through Feeding Our Future, a Minnesota-based nonprofit.

The state's Democratic Gov. Tim Walz conceded that the total amount stolen through these fraud schemes could be as much as $1 billion. An audit is expected to be released to the public in January 2026.

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• Summary

• Trump says he can stop war
• Thai PM says mediation should be done through proper process
• Cambodia pulls athletes from SEA Games on safety grounds
• Malaysian PM says he spoke to Cambodian, Thai leaders

BANGKOK/PHNOM PENH, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Thailand and Cambodia traded accusations of targeting civilians in artillery and rocket attacks on Wednesday, as U.S. President Donald Trump said he would try to intervene to stop the fighting and salvage a ceasefire he brokered earlier this year.
Clashes raged at more than a dozen locations along their 817-km (508-mile) border in some of the most intense fighting since a five-day battle in July, which Trump stopped with calls to both leaders to halt their worst conflict in recent history.

The Southeast Asian neighbours have blamed each other for the clashes that started on Monday.

There is an insurmountable difference between man and machine.

AI raises an endless stream of questions: Will it take our jobs? Cure diseases? Destabilize governments? Make us rich — or make us targets for hackers and terrorists?

Beneath all these loud debates sits a quieter and far more basic one: Can AI truly think? Perhaps it can “think” or “perceive” in some metaphorical sense, just as a spell-checker “thinks” you misspelled a word even when you didn’t. But does it possess real understanding — an interior awareness of itself and the world, like the awareness we find in ourselves? Or is it simply a well-designed circuit shuttling electrical signals about, generating the appearance of perception, reasoning, and self-expression, yet wholly unaware of anything it does?

Current large language models — LLMs such as ChatGPT — produce text by computing the probabilities of various next tokens (small units of text) given the preceding context, using neural-network parameters that encode statistical patterns learned from their training data. But predicting the next token from patterns among words is not the same thing as grasping the meaning of those words. Impressive as they are, LLMs plainly understand nothing, given how they operate.

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