Senate Passes $95B Foreign Aid Package; Provides Billions to Ukrane, Israel, and Taiwan

Yesterday, the U.S. Senate voted 79 -- 18, passing a $95 billion foreign aid package that provides $61 billion to Ukraine, $26 billion to Israel, and $8 billion to Taiwan, the New American website reports today (April 24, 2024).  

President Joe Biden said Senate Democrats and Republicans joined together to answer a historic call, stating on X:

"Tonight , a bipartisan majority in the Senate joined the House to answer history's call at this critical inflection point. Congress has passed my legislation to strengthen our natural security and send a message to the wortld about the power of American leadership: We stand resolutely for democracy and freedom, and against tyranny and oppression. I will sign this bill into law tomorrow."

Earth Day Falls on April 22 Ecvery Year; Environmental Protection Agency Created in 1970 for Cleaner Water, Air, Land

 Earth Day falls on April 22 every year, the USA Today website reports  today (April 21, 2024). 

This year, it falls on a Monday and shares the date with the start of the Jewish holiday, Passover.

Earth Day has been celebrated for over 50 years, but is not federally recognized. 

The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970 when 20 million people went to inaugural events at schools, universities, and other public areas around the country, according to the Library of  Congress website. 

Senator Gaylord Nelson advocated for Earth Day and called on students to fight for environmental causes and oppose environmental degradation with  he same energy  that they displayed in opposing the Vietmam War, states the Library. 

Then, the Library adds, in July of 1970 , the Environmental Protection Agency was created after the public demanded cleaner water, air, and land as more disasters caused by climate change and pollution impacted the country.

Israel Attacks Iran Today to Retaliate for Iran's Israeli Attack; Israel's Limited Attack May Be to De-escalate Conflict

 Israel launched an attack on Iran today (April 19, 2024) in response to Tehran's unprecedented air assault on its territory , the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty website reports. 

The Iaraeli retaliation appeared limited in size and scope, with experts saying it was aimed at de-escalating soaring tensions , while still sending a clear message to Iran. 

Raz Zimmt, a senior researcher at the Israel--based Institute of National Security Studies, said Israel's use of quadcopter drones sugggests its aim was to "expose the vulnerability of the Iranian security forces" on their own turf. 

Zimmt said the attack was not without its risks, but out of  all the options available to Israel, it was probably the least risky. 

Reuters quoted an unnamed Iranian official as saying that Tehran "has no plan to strike back immediately."

Many of World's Coral Reefs Turn White in Global Bleaching;54 Countries Have Had Bleaching Reefs as Climate Change Warms Ocean Waters

 Along coastlines from Australia to Kenya to Mexico, many of the world's colorful coral reefs have turned a ghostly white in what scientists said this week amounted to the fourth global bleaching event in the last three decades, the Reuters website reports today (April 17, 2024). 

At least 54 countries and territories have experienced mass bleaching among their reefs since February 2023 as climate change warms the ocean's surface waters, according to the U.S.National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Coral Reef Watch, the world's top coral reef monitoring body. 

Bleaching is triggered by water temperature anomalities that cause corals to expel the colorful algae living in their tissues. Without the algaes'  help in delivering nutrients to the corale, the corals cannot survive.

"More than 54% of the reef areas in the global ocean are experiencing bleaching--level heat stress," Coral Reef Watch coordinator Derek Manzello said. 

Announcement of the latest global bleaching event was made jointly by NOAA and the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), a global intergovernmental conservation partnership. For an event to be deemed global, significant bleaching must occur in all three ocean basins --  the Atlantic, Pacific. and Indian -- within a 365--day period. 

Poll: Large No. of Young Adults Say Bible Has Positive Effects on Them; Youngest Adults Show Signs of Interest, Curiosity, Transformative Interaction

 The American Bible Society released the first installment of its State of the Bible USA2024 report on April 11, the Christian Post website reports today (April 15, 2024). 

Itrs new poll reveals that the share of young adults who think the Bible has had a transformative effect on their lives has increased, even as a majority of them remain "Scripture Disengaged."

American Bible Society Chief Program Offfcer and Editor--in--Chief of the State of the Bible series John Farquhar Plake, said, "Our youngest adults show signs of interest, curiosiy, and transformative interaction with it, and added, "If  this trend continues, we have good reason for hope." 

Iran Hits Israel with over 100 Attack Drones; Pushes Middle East to Brink of Regional War

Iran has launched a wide--scale aerial assault against Israel in an unprecedented revenge mission, threatening to push the Middle East to the brink of a regional war, the CBN website reports today (April 13, 2024). 

Israel reports the  islamic regime in Tehran has unleashed more than 100 attack drones as well as ballistic missiles, Rocket sirens and booms could be heard across the entire country, including Jerusalem. It is unclear if the booms are an incoming attack or the sound of interceptions in the air. 

U.S. officials say the U.S. military has shot down iranian drones headed for Israel. Britain's Royal Air Force jets "will intercept any airborne attacks within range of our existing missions, as required," the country's Ministry of Defense says. 

Israeli Defense Foreign Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says in a video statement that Israeli fighter jetsa are in the air ready to counter any attack.

Iran's mission to the United Nations says in a post on X it has "concluded" its attack on Israel and warned the US. to stay out of the conflict. "Iran's military action was in response to the zionist regime's aggression against our diplomatic premises in Damascus," the post says. 

Investigative Journalism Is under Attack; by the Mainstream Media

The reputation for legacy media outlets, the wire services, networks,and old school broadsheets has plunged in recent years, the WND website reports today (April 12, 2024).But now a respected investigative journalist, Catherine Herridge --who used to work for CBS and documented the Hunter Biden laptop scandal-- is  charging the network with an offense even more  extremei: "Journalistic rape."

The New York Post reports the claim came about because, she told the House Judiciary Committee, and the network fired her, then seized her files. 

"When my records were seized, I felt it was journalistic rape,"Herridge  explained. "When the network of Walter Cronkite seizes your reporting files, including confidential source information, that is an attack on investigative journalism," she said.