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Two pilots were killed and 41 people injured late Sunday in LaGuardia Airport’s first fatal plane crash since 1992.
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(We’re covering this story at a 7th-grade reading level with biblical reflection and action steps in Decaf: The Pour Over for Families. Sign up free to get it in your inbox tomorrow!)
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PRAY WITH US Lord of Highest Heaven, today we are brought down low and shaken. Hold us fast, Searching, Knowing, Present One. Hold fast the families mourning those suddenly lost. Hold fast the injured, brought low and broken, who face an enduring trial. Hold fast the anxious who fear the journey over the jet bridge and into a cloudy expanse of helpless dependence.
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We are finite and frail and vulnerable, reliant on Your understanding for our very life and breath. Teach us the wholehearted trust of a little child with a good parent, so that we walk by faith, overflowing with the peace of one who is fully known, seen, and cared for by the Lord of Highest Heaven. Amen.
(Listen to the full prayer here.)
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An Air Canada Express jet landing from Montreal and carrying 72 passengers and four crew struck a Port Authority fire truck crossing the runway just before midnight. Air traffic control cleared the truck to cross in order to respond to a report of an odor on a nearby plane. Recordings reveal the controller realizing the mistake and shouting for the truck to stop seconds before the crash.
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A flight attendant was ejected over 300 feet—still strapped to her jump seat, which is specifically designed to withstand crashes—and survived, suffering only a fractured leg.
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LaGuardia closed for 14 hours, cancelling over 600 flights. The NTSB has recovered both black boxes and launched a full investigation.
The U.S. and Iran are in conflict over whether they’re at the negotiating table.
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On Monday, President Trump announced that his administration held “very good” and “productive” talks with Iranian leaders and promised to back off his plan to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants for five days. Iran denied the claims and continued sending waves of missiles at Israel and surrounding Gulf States.
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Yesterday, Iranian leaders took a more peaceful position, saying they had received negotiation “points from the U.S.” via mediators and maintaining that the Strait of Hormuz “is open to all.” The White House says peace talk plans remain “fluid.”
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Meanwhile, stocks and energy prices are still yo-yoing alongside war updates. Global markets rallied, and crude oil prices had dropped Monday following Trump’s announcement but moved in unfavorable directions again yesterday after Iran’s strikes.
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Verse to consider whether you’re negotiating 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)
The verdicts are in, and it’s costing Meta $379 million.
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In a landmark decision Tuesday, a New Mexico jury found Meta Platforms guilty of failing to safeguard users from child sexual exploitation, ordering the social media giant to fork over $375M. The lawsuit was brought by New Mexico Attorney General Torrez, who accused Meta of putting “profits over kids’ safety.”
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Two states over, a Los Angeles jury handed the win to a 20-year-old woman Wednesday, who sued Meta and YouTube for designing addictive features (think: infinite scroll) leading to her anxiety and depression. Meta’s shouldering 70% of the burden ($4.2M) and YouTube took the other 30% ($1.8M).
CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
As courts discuss the effects of social media, it’s a good moment for personal reflection on social media’s effect on our lives, relationships, and heart-habits. Whatever tools or technology we adopt, our aim should be to use them wisely and in ways that increase the fruit of the Spirit in us.
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“Walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh… The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
Galatians 5:16, 22-23a (CSB) (read full passage)
Meanwhile, scrutiny is mounting over a $580M spike in oil futures trading 16 minutes before Trump’s Monday announcement of “productive” Iran talks, resulting in a quick, hefty profit for the anonymous traders. Financial experts are crying foul and possibly “treason.” The White House said, suggesting Administration officials of insider trading “without evidence is baseless and irresponsible.”
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PRAY WITH US
Conflict and chaos in our news feeds can sweep us into spiraling anxieties. But believers have an anchor in Jesus, whose peace pierces the darkness now and will one day shatter it completely. Come to Him in faith.
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Mighty God, you are never caught by surprise or overpowered. By your overwhelming strength, work peace across the Middle East. Overcome evildoers; comfort those who are mourning; protect the vulnerable; strengthen those who will rebuild; and bring order from chaos so that Iran and its neighbors will taste and see the goodness of the One True King.
TSA—the Transportation Security Administration—didn’t exist pre-9/11. Before the attacks, private contractors handled screening; no photo ID was required, and loved ones could give you a goodbye hug at the gate.
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Then, 68 days after 9/11, Congress passed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, handing airport security over to the federal government. (Visualize the layers of airport security here.)
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Why is it not privatized?
It’s a current debate. Supporters of privatization argue it brings more efficiency; critics counter that contracts go to the lowest bidder.
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About two dozen airports opt out of TSA-run screening through the Screening Partnership Program—including San Francisco and Kansas City.
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Just last year, Senate Republicans introduced the “Abolish the TSA Act,” so the conversation is ongoing.
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What’s up with the tiny liquid rules?
In 2006, intelligence revealed a plot to detonate liquid explosives on transatlantic flights. TSA initially banned all liquids from carry-ons, then settled on a now-familiar limit: 3.4 oz (AKA the international standard 100 mL) or less in a single, clear, resealable quart-sized bag. That’s been the rule ever since.
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Why’d we use to have to take our shoes off? Why not anymore?
In December 2001, a passenger tried to detonate explosives hidden in his shoes on a flight from Paris to Miami. The shoes-off policy became standard in 2006 and lasted for nearly 20 years. DHS ended the requirement last summer, as screening tech has leveled up enough to make it unnecessary. (See airport security then vs. now.)
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What happens when someone brings contraband?
This happens more often than you’d think. In 2024, TSA intercepted 6,678 firearms at checkpoints—about 18 per day—and 94% were loaded.
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But it’s not TSA that confiscates them; local law enforcement steps in. Passengers can face fines of up to $15,000 and lose PreCheck status for five years.
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Other (begrudgingly) surrendered items—your oversized shampoo and trusty pocketknife—get boxed up and auctioned through state surplus stores.
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ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE
While government agencies and regulations change over the years, God’s reign never does. Put your hope in the Eternal King, whose commands and judgments are always just, and who never makes us wait in line to come to Him.
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“But the Lord sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for judgment. And he judges the world with righteousness; he executes judgment on the nations with fairness. The Lord is a refuge for the persecuted, a refuge in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you because you have not abandoned those who seek you, Lord.”
Psalm 9:7–10 (CSB) (read full passage)
Almighty, infinite, eternal Father,
You are a God without limits—
Your presence is boundless, Your power unmatched,
Your knowledge never-ending.
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In Your wisdom You have drawn a boundary
around my power, my time, my resources.
I cannot be the parent of every orphan,
the comforter of every widow,
the shelter for the homeless and displaced,
the provider for the war-torn and disaster-ravaged,
the solution to government inadequacies,
the straightener of crooked leaders,
or the righteous judge who rights every wrong.
I confess that I have squirmed under my limits,
longing to blow past the boundaries You have set.
I have refused to walk by faith,
instead running independently, straining ahead under my own power,
exhausted and despairing.
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God my Helper,
wisen me to walk faithfully in the tension
of facing overwhelming needs, being finite by design, and
called to devote myself to good works.
Open my eyes to how I have been serving myself
with the power, time, and resources You have given me;
open my eyes to the needs of others in my own home and community;
and open my eyes to the good work You’ve put right in front of me.
When I feel powerless and paralyzed to respond to heartache in the headlines,
strengthen my faith, bring me to my knees before You,
loosen wealth’s grip so I might be inclined toward generosity,
and mobilize Your body for courageous, costly love
to the very ends of the earth.
May I pour myself out for others in sacrificial service
for the glory of Your name and the good of my neighbor,
ever conscious that every drop I offer overflows from You.
Amen.
The third round of “No Kings” protests hit the streets on Saturday.
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Organizers report that millions of protestors across 3,000+ locations in all 50 states and 16 countries rallied against an all-of-the-above list of grievances against the Trump administration, including the Iran war, economic pressures, immigration enforcement, and the partial government shutdown.
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An estimated 200,000 gathered at the flagship rally in Minnesota—epicenter of last winter's immigration crackdown and two fatal shootings—featuring Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Bruce Springsteen performing his protest anthem "Streets of Minneapolis."
ABOVE ALL, LOVE
Public displays of political passion can make us keenly aware of our ideological friends and foes. While there is freedom in how Christians respond, that freedom doesn’t include hating our political opponents. Before you’re tempted to judge or belittle, consider praying for a friend with whom you disagree or send them a message of love.
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“You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
Matthew 5:43-44 (CSB) (read full passage)
