The Christian Post reports that abortion was the leading cause of death worldwide in 2024, according to the online statistical aggregator Worldometer, with just over 45,000,000 of these “procedures” performed—dwarfing the next leading cause of death (January 4, 2025).

Winter wildfires are nothing new to southern California and the Los Angeles basin. This area tends to be sunny and dry, attracting millions of people to make their homes in it—including many of the rich and famous, who have built luxurious homes in the hills. However, due in part to a very dry period and unusually high winds, this year’s fires are exceptionally destructive (BBC, January 7, 2025).

On Monday, January 20, 2025, the United States will swear in a reelected President, the first such reelection since Grover Cleveland began his second term in 1893. While polls were close before the November election, Donald J. Trump defeated rival Kamala Harris and was elected to succeed President Joe Biden. After a very contentious election, many commentators were shocked that the U.S. would seemingly reverse course from liberal policies to a government that is expected to be very conservative in tone.

In a recent interview published by the New York Times, Jonathan Rauch—journalist, author, and fellow of the Brookings Institution—was asked for his thoughts on the impact of Christianity on American democracy (December 18, 2024). Rauch observed that the American founding fathers relied on the religious values of the people—in particular, the values the founders saw in Christianity—to help make the secular American Constitution work.