Around the World
Putin-Trump call focuses on coronavirus, arms control, oil
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed progress in combating the coronavirus pandemic along with arms control issues and oil prices in a phone call Thursday, the White House and the Kremlin said.
US moving Patriot anti-missile systems from Saudi Arabia as Iran tensions ease
The United States will be relocating four Patriot missile batteries from Saudi Arabia that were deployed amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
Naikon, Group Tied to China's Military, Deploys Debilitating New Cyberattack Tool
On the morning of Jan. 3, an email was sent from the Indonesian Embassy in Australia to a member of the premier of Western Australia’s staff who worked on health and ecological issues. Attached was a Word document that aroused no immediate suspicions, since the intended recipient knew the supposed sender.
Hungary Rejects Treaty On Violence Against Women
Rights group Amnesty International has condemned the Hungarian parliament's rejection of an international treaty to combat violence against women amid a coronavirus pandemic. "This decision is extremely dangerous," said David Vig, Amnesty's Hungary director. "It comes at a time when reported domestic violence incidents in Hungary have doubled since the start of the [new coronavirus] COVID-19 lockdown" to halt the virus outbreak.

Israel-Palestinian Conflict
US promise of Israeli sovereignty in Judea, Samaria enrages Palestinians
Comments by U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman on Wednesday to Israel Hayom sparked mixed reactions even among Israel’s Right. Not surprisingly, Palestinian leaders were furious.
Israel demands major changes in UN peacekeeping in Lebanon
Israel’s U.N. ambassador said Wednesday that his government is demanding major changes in the way the U.N. peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon operates on the ground and has support from the United States.

Inside the United States
Nearly 3.2 million new jobless claims across U.S. drives tally during outbreak to 33.5 million
Even as a handful of states have made tentative steps back to normalcy in recent days, new jobless claims continue to flood in across all 50 states, driving the number of unemployment claims to 33.5 million over the past seven weeks.
US Lawmakers Fail to Check Trump on War-Making Power With Iran
The U.S. Senate failed to override a White House veto Thursday, bringing an end to a four-month congressional effort to limit presidential power to unilaterally take the United States into war.
US Justice Department dropping Michael Flynn’s criminal case
The US Justice Department on Thursday said it was dropping the criminal case against President Donald Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, abandoning a prosecution that became a rallying cry for the president and his supporters in attacking the FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation.
Biden says insurance companies should treat genital reconstruction surgery as necessary
The presumptive Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden has stated insurance companies should treat genital reconstruction surgery as a medical necessity for transgender people, the Washington Examiner reports.
U.S. Supreme Court Hears Nuns In Contraceptives Case
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether nuns could be forced to facilitate abortion-causing drugs and other contraceptives such as sterilizations. Its first liberty case began Wednesday involving the Little Sisters of the Poor organization, which has been supporting the poor and dying since 1839.

Christian News
America’s Unique Bond with Israel on This National Day of Prayer
Today, May 7th is the National Day of Prayer in the United States, a tradition that began as early as 1775. In 2019, President Donald Trump proclaimed “Our Nation's honored tradition of prayer has sustained us and strengthened our trust that God will continue to watch over and accompany us through the best of times and the darkest hours. May we as Americans never forget the power of prayer and the greatness of our Creator. On this National Day of Prayer, let each of us, according to our own faiths, call upon God for His guidance and express our gratitude for the love and grace He bestows on us and our country.”
Federal Judge upholds California ban on church service gatherings
California Gov. Newsom’s executive order banning in-person church services during the COVID-19 pandemic has been upheld by a federal judge, the Washington Examiner reports. The Cross Culture Christian Center near Sacramento had filed a lawsuit stating the governor’s lockdown order violated their First Amendment right to free assembly.
Samaritan’s Purse among volunteer health workers required to pay New York income tax for helping during pandemic
Having been asked to come to New York City to help with the COVID-19 crisis, disaster relief organization Samaritan’s Purse (SP) has been told it must pay state taxes for the time it spent running its free-of-charge field hospital in Central Park.