Below are this week's Articles of Interest as compiled by Mr. Van Baker. This collection of articles is cultivated by Mr. Baker with the goal of highlighting some of the trends, upheavals, and things to watch for in our society. These articles are not necessarily the express views of the United Church of God, Mr. Baker, or me as the pastor, but they are informative of what is occurring in our nation and culture. In accordance with Christ's warning to correctly discern the times (Matthew 16:1-4), it is wise to be aware of what is going on around us. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Shavuot [Pentecost] Story: How Ruth’s Loyalty Inspired American Liberty – On the holiday of Shavuot, the biblical book of Ruth is read in synagogue. Explanations for this practice include the springtime setting of both the tale and the holiday, as well as the heroine’s acceptance of Judaism, which thematically connects to the festival’s commemoration of the acceptance of God’s law at Sinai by the Israelites in the days of Moses. While the scriptural story records Ruth as the ancestor of King David, American history credits her as a figure who helped advance civil rights and liberty.
https://jewishjournal.com/judaism/381718/a-shavuot-story-how-ruths-loyalty-inspired-american-liberty/

Researchers find 'compelling evidence' of possible Noah's Ark remains – A group of international researchers say they're getting closer and closer to identifying the possible remains of Noah’s Ark – and new test results are promising. The focus of the research, the Durupinar site in eastern Turkey, was first identified in the 1950s. For decades, it's been speculated that the boat-shaped site once harbored Noah's Ark, but no definitive proof has emerged. Now, an organization called Noah's Ark Scans believes that recent soil samples point toward the site once housing "ancient wood." [video] Researchers collected soil samples from the site last September and analyzed them through this winter. The results "show significantly higher levels of organic matter and potassium compared to surrounding areas," according to a recent statement from the organization. "[The results] provide compelling evidence of a unique, potentially man-made structure beneath the surface, distinct from the surrounding mudflow," Noah's Ark Scans said.
https://www.foxnews.com/travel/researchers-find-compelling-evidence-possible-noahs-ark-remains-country

Newly Adopted WHO Pandemic Pact- a Step Toward ‘Global Surveillance Superstate’? After three years of negotiations, delegates to the World Health Organization’s annual meeting have adopted a global pandemic agreement that threatens national sovereignty, requires the transfer of vaccines during global pandemics, asks nations to fight “misinformation,” and authorizes such “social measures” as lockdowns and mask mandates. The United States sent no representatives to the proceedings for the first time since 1948, while WHO crafted the global governance document with the assistance of 180 delegates from China. The pandemic agreement “is intended to create a rules-based, future-proof system that will stand the test of time,” stated France’s ambassador for global health, Anne-Claire Amprou, on Monday [5/19]. [Canada has already signed the agreement]
https://www.dailysignal.com/2025/05/23/newly-adopted-who-pandemic-pact-is-step-toward-global-surveillance-superstate-expert-says/

Legislators face roadblocks at every turn, limiting children’s access to highly sexualized content – In a world awash with sexual messaging, legislators have met repeated First Amendment roadblocks in their attempts to protect children. A ruling in Naples, Fla. is the latest in a string of court decisions that lean on free speech rights to limit efforts at putting safeguards around content like drag shows or online pornography. Last week, U.S. District Judge John Steele called the city of Naples’ efforts to protect children from viewing drag shows “clearly invalid” under the First Amendment. Steele instead found that the LGBTQ organization Naples Pride has a right to hold its annual summer drag show in a park within eyesight of a popular public playground. Content can only be dubbed “obscene” if it falls under the Supreme Court’s three-pronged test established in the 1973 case Miller v. California. The material must appeal to prurient interest, depict sexual conduct in a patently offensive way, and lack literary, artistic, political, or scientific value to become unprotected, obscene speech, Ronnie London, an attorney at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression said in a statement. The 11th Circuit noted in its decision that the Constitution is not a “prude” and that “material may be crude, vulgar, or offensive without rising to the level of obscene.”
https://wng.org/roundups/porn-pushback-1747769497

Judge Rules California Schools Must Inform Parents and Allow Opt-Out for LGBT Education – A federal judge has ruled that a California school district likely violated the First Amendment by requiring students to participate in an activity involving a book discussing gender identity without prior notice to their parents. In a decision published Monday [5/12], Judge James Lorenz of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California sided with parents seeking a preliminary injunction against the Encinitas Union School District after students at La Costa Heights Elementary School were asked to read an LGBT-themed book without their parents’ knowledge. Lorenz ordered that the school district be barred from including topics related to sexual orientation and gender identity as part of its buddy program, which pairs older students with younger students for mentorship. Lorenz added that “‘Compelling individuals to mouth support for views they find objectionable violates the First Amendment,’” and ordered that “buddy program class activities and materials shall not cover gender identity topics covered in health instruction, unless Defendants provide parents with advance notice and an opportunity to opt out.”
https://www.christianitydaily.com/news/judge-rules-california-schools-must-inform-parents-for-lgbt-class.html

Split US Supreme Court blocks taxpayer-funded religious charter school – A split U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday [5/22] blocked a bid led by two Catholic dioceses to establish in Oklahoma the nation's first taxpayer-funded religious charter school in a major case involving religious rights in American education. With Justice Amy Coney Barrett recusing herself from the case, the 4-4 ruling left intact a lower court's decision that blocked the establishment of St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. Oklahoma's top court found that the proposed school would violate the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment limits on government involvement in religion.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/split-us-supreme-court-blocks-religious-charter-school-2025-05-22/

Study: Nearly 1 in 3 Americans consult astrology, tarot cards or a fortune teller – With tarot cards showing up on Barnes and Noble shelves, in viral TikToks and in cutesy Jane Austin-themed sets, perhaps it’s no surprise that 30% of U.S. adults consult a fortune teller, tarot cards or astrology on a yearly basis. That’s according to a Pew Research Center study released Wednesday (May 21), which introduced new questions gauging how Americans engage in these practices. Researchers found that American adults today are now as likely to attend religious services on a monthly basis as they are to annually consult astrology, fortune tellers or tarot. Over half of LGBTQ+ Americans consult astrology or a horoscope at least yearly.
https://religionnews.com/2025/05/21/nearly-1-in-3-americans-consult-astrology-tarot-cards-or-a-fortune-teller-pew-study-finds/

Penny production ending – ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. (WSBT) — Local coin shops are preparing for the end of an era as pennies will no longer be produced. The Treasury Department ordered its last batch of blanks this month used to print the coins. Once that supply is gone, no new pennies will be produced. The issue comes down to cost versus benefit. It costs the Treasury four cents to make the one cent coin.
https://wsbt.com/news/local/local-coin-shops-on-impact-of-penny-production-ending-coin-treasury-change-cash

Man in the image of... OpenAI – This week, OpenAI acquired Ive’s AI device startup, "io," ahead of a new product they’ve been outfitting. It will look something like another personal device, though one devoted to the full offerings of artificial intelligence. The Wall Street Journal reports that it will be “capable of being fully aware of a user’s surroundings and life” and “unobtrusive,” physically. One leak indicates the device may be worn around the neck and have camera and microphone capabilities. In short, it’s a constant companion "in the style of God" — one in which the user’s life, ​​his “intimate thoughts and expressions,” are the prized input. [Bryan Johnson, American entrepreneur, appeared on a podcast and murmured eerily about a common AI trope: “I think the irony is that we told stories of God creating us... I think the reality is that we are creating God.”]
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/beltway-confidential/3420155/man-in-the-image-of-openai/

Historians pinpoint the very 'worst year' ever to be alive – Next time you think you have it hard, consider what life was like when a cataclysmic event shrouded part of the earth. Even after it ended, a decade of pain and suffering followed.
https://www.accuweather.com/en/severe-weather/historians-pinpoint-the-very-worst-year-to-ever-be-alive/927803