News and Prophecy Staff

Look around the globe and you can pick your flavor of government. Yet can any form of human government protect us from the faults of human nature? Deutsche Welle reports that the democratic nation of Mexico has struggled for decades under corrupt government and the oppressive tyranny of rival drug cartels linked to the murder of 85,000 civilians and candidates for elected office in just the last three years (May 27, 2021).

As of this writing, more than 3.7 million COVID-19-related deaths have been officially reported worldwide since the pandemic began. This virus has held the world hostage for over a year. But, do you know what legal, deadly, disease-causing agent killed nearly 8 million people in 2019 and could kill just as many this year? If you guessed cigarettes, you are right!

Many parents know that family meals play an important role in producing healthier children. Numerous studies show that “kids who eat with their families do better in school and have bigger vocabularies. They also have lower rates of depression, anxiety and eating disorders, as well as healthier diets and better cardiovascular health” (The Conversation, April 30, 2021).

Earlier this month, Japan, Australia, France, and the United States held joint military exercises on Japanese soil (Newsweek, May 13, 2021). These exercises involved nations concerned about China’s naval activities in the region and have understandably been seen in a negative light by China.

Last week, an apparently Russia-based ransomware gang held U.S.-based Colonial Pipeline electronically hostage until it paid $4.4 million in untraceable cryptocurrency (New York Times, May 14, 2021). Colonial Pipeline handles half of the gasoline and jet fuel used on the east coast of the United States.