News and Prophecy Staff

Rising tensions in the Pacific are stirring nations to act. “Across Australia, decades-old facilities—many built by the United States during World War II—are being dusted off or upgraded amid growing fears of another global conflict” (The Washington Post, August 24, 2024). According to officials, these efforts are not for offense but for “deterrence.” The U.S.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is taking the world by storm. You can now use AI to learn languages, translate documents, compose music, and even write term papers for school. AI is everywhere, but its potential for danger and harm is still not fully understood—and is often underestimated.

Today, fewer Americans than ever are having children. In 2023, the fertility rate in the United States actually fell to 1.6 births per woman, and that is below replacement level, which is 2.1 births per woman (CNBC, August 16, 2024). However, Americans are simply following a trend that is evident in many other Western nations.

“Nuclear War Is Much Closer Than We Dare Imagine” was the sobering title of an article in the Telegraph on August 21. The article outlines Russian, Chinese, and North Korean nuclear advances, and discusses Russia’s work on new nuclear-related space-based technologies about which few details are known.

As Europe’s manufacturing sector struggles, new German data is sobering. The Telegraph reports that German employment rates are falling at their fastest rate in four years, and manufacturing orders are being further cut (August 22, 2024). And now the service sector is starting to slow.