FRIDAY, JULY 6 |
PRUITT OUT EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt resigned after months of unfavorable news stories. So why did he quit now? John Fund suggests that the first few rounds of negative press were mostly humiliating, but that a new wave of scandals involve greater ethical and legal problems. READ |
SENATE 2018 President Trump traveled to Montana to launch multiple jabs at Jon Tester, the state’s Democratic senator. “You deserve a senator who doesn’t just talk like he’s from Montana. You deserve a senator who votes like he’s from Montana,” said Trump, who called out Tester for voting against the tax cut and for his vote against confirming Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. READ |
SUPREME COURT It’s not “both sides.” An in-depth look at judicial nominations over the last few decades show that Democrats were more partisan in Supreme Court confirmation votes. READ |
GOP, HISPANICS, AND SOCCER MOMS Democrats are underperforming with Hispanics, but overperforming with white women in the suburbs. Political writer Josh Kraushaar writes: “Anti-Trump anger is concentrated within whiter, affluent suburban communities, not the Hispanic battlegrounds, with the most at stake.” READ |
DANGERS OF PORN New research discovers exactly what we would expect: Use of pornography erodes human relationships and fuels loneliness. READ |
AID TO MIDEAST CHRISTIANS The non-profit group Aid to the Church in Need has spent $46.6 million in relief and reconstruction efforts in Iraq since 2014. Rebuilding religious structures in Iraq is the next step. READ |
LAY LEADER AT VATICAN POST Pope Francis has named award-winning journalist as head of the Dicastery for Communication. Ruffini becomes the first ever layman to lead a Vatican dicastery. READ |
ANOTHER BISHOP SCANDAL Retired Bishop Joseph Hart has been credibly accused of sexually assaulting two boys after he became Bishop of Cheyenne. READ |
PRIESTS CAN’T TALK ABOUT MARRIAGE? This is very peculiar. Cardinal Kevin Farrell again says priests have “no credibility” for marriage prep. Cardinal Farrell leads the Vatican office for laity, family, and life. READ |
SAINT OF THE DAY Saint Maria Goretti has captured the love and affection of thousands of people because of the simplicity and purity of her life. Killed defending her chastity, Saint Maria Goretti posthumously witnessed the conversion of her murderer and his reconciliation with her family. READ |
DAILY READINGS “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Mt 4:4) READ |
REBUILT FROM ASHES A predominantly black parish in Virginia has a fascinating history of persecution, growth, and acceptance. READ |