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| MONDAY, JUNE 4 |
| CALIFORNIA VS OKLAHOMA? The Golden State announced a ban on state-funded travel to Oklahoma because of their new law protecting religious adoption agencies. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra called Oklahoma’s law “prejudiced policy.” Michael McNutt, a spokesman for Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, said: “There appears to be more and more Californians sharing our values as we are seeing more Californians move to Oklahoma.” READ |
| JOBS UP, WAGES UP May’s monthly jobs report was outstanding. The economy added 223,000 new jobs. Unemployment now sits at 3.8%, with black unemployment under 6% — the lowest in recorded history. Unemployment among those with less than a high-school degree dropped to 5.4%. Additionally, wages grew 2.7% over the last 12 months, slightly higher than the 2.5% in recent history. READ |
| PRO-LIFE LAW BLOCKED An Iowa judge plans to block a new Iowa law that bans most abortions once a heartbeat is detected. A court battle over the bill’s constitutionality will begin shortly. READ |
| VATICAN INVITES OIL EXECS Pope Francis will host oil executives at the Vatican to speak about combating climate change. The focus of the conversation will be the pope’s 2015 encyclical, Laudato si’ (On Care for our Common Home). The meeting will closely coincide with the one year anniversary of President Trump’s decision to leave the Paris Climate Accord. READ |
| SMALLER FEDERAL WORKFORCE The federal government cut 3,000 jobs in May. So far, President Trump has cut 24,000 jobs. If the average federal employee’s wages and benefits are approximately $100,000, then that’s $2.4 billion saved. READ |
| ITAL-EXIT? Will Italy’s new populist prime minister try to leave the European Union? READ |
| TEENS AND ONLINE SMUT A growing body of scholarly literature has shown a link between teenage viewing of pornography and negative effects on relationships and mental health. READ |
| SECOND LOOK AT THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION The sexual revolution which started in 1968 promised female empowerment. But the #MeToo movement has forced many women to second guess the far-reaching effects of casual sex “without consequences.” Mary Eberstadt said: “We can’t pretend we don’t know these things.” READ |
| NO LABELS Why this Catholic takes issue with “gay” and “straight” labels. READ |
| ECUMENISM Talk of Catholic-Protestant intercommunion damages Catholic-Orthodox relations, says Ines Angeli Murzaku. READ |
| SAINT OF THE DAY One of 22 Ugandan martyrs, Charles Lwanga is the patron of youth and Catholic action in most of tropical Africa. He protected his fellow pages, aged 13 to 30, from the homosexual demands of the Bagandan ruler, Mwanga, and encouraged and instructed them in the Catholic faith during their imprisonment for refusing the ruler’s demands. READ |
| DAILY MASS READINGS “In you, my God, I place my trust.” (Ps 91:2) READ |
| INTERVIEW Ben Shapiro comes on to the Stephen Herreid Show and talks about Millennials vs. Generation Z, Trump’s Foreign Policy, and “gay marriage.” Most of all, he warns, if we lose the culture, laws can’t save us! WATCH |