Atomic scientists on Tuesday moved the symbolic “Doomsday Clock” to 85 seconds to midnight, the closest humanity has ever come to theoretical self-annihilation—yet the warning is not meant to declare destiny. For people of faith, the tightening of the hour carries prophetic weight, echoing past moments when global shaking preceded awakening, repentance, and renewal, serving as a call to restrain destructive paths and realign human choices toward life, wisdom, and peace.

Activists and doctors said Tuesday Iran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests could be as high as 36,500, far more than at least 6,159 people, reported earlier, as a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group arrived in the Middle East amid rising tensions and warnings of possible further unrest.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte warned Tuesday that Europe remains incapable of defending itself without American military support, saying European nations would need to more than double current defense spending to stand on their own.

TikTok has agreed to settle a landmark U.S. lawsuit accusing social-media companies of deliberately addicting and harming children, just days before the case was due to go to trial, attorneys for the plaintiffs confirmed Tuesday.

India and the European Union have finalized a historic free trade agreement after nearly two decades of negotiations, leaders said Tuesday, in a pact set to reshape global commerce amid rising economic uncertainty and strained ties with the United States.

Bangladeshi migrant workers say they were deceived into traveling to Russia for civilian jobs, only to be forced into military service and sent to fight in Ukraine, according to an investigation published Tuesday.

The U.S. dollar is coming under pressure in the early weeks of 2026 as investors reassess long-held assumptions about the stability of the world’s dominant currency amid rising geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty, financial markets and analysts say.

The United States on Tuesday announced the launch of a large, multi-day aerial military readiness exercise across the Middle East, underscoring heightened alertness as tensions continue to rise with Iran amid a deadly regime crackdown on nationwide protests.

Already frosty relations between Budapest and Kyiv further cooled Tuesday after Hungary’s pro-Russia prime minister accused Ukraine of election interference to overthrow him and ordered the Ukrainian ambassador to be summoned to the foreign ministry.

China’s military leadership is facing major upheaval after its most senior general — a close ally of President Xi Jinping — was accused of leaking information about the Communist country’s nuclear-weapons program to the United States and committing other “serious violations of discipline and law.”

The Pentagon announced that Boeing has been awarded an $8.6 billion contract under the F-15 Israel Program following a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida.

President Donald Trump said Monday that he would support Israeli military action to prevent Iran from rebuilding its missile arsenal and warned that the United States would act “immediately” if Tehran attempts to revive its nuclear program.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Florida on Sunday ahead of a pivotal meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, amid growing Israeli concern that Washington may push forward with Phase II of the Gaza agreement without securing Israel’s core security demands.

Israel has officially deployed its Iron Beam laser-based air defense system in operational field use, marking a historic breakthrough in modern warfare, the Defense Ministry announced Sunday. The system has now transitioned from development and testing into active service with the Israel Defense Forces, becoming the world’s first high-power laser interception platform to reach full operational status.

Talks between Israel and Syria over a potential security agreement have advanced significantly in recent weeks and could be finalized soon, according to an exclusive report by i24NEWS citing a Syrian source close to Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa.

Israeli security forces announced Thursday that the Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet eliminated a senior operative in Iran’s Quds Force during a strike in northeastern Lebanon.

In a Christmas message, Israel’s prime minister pledged that his Jewish nation will protect Christians following an arson attack near a Latin Catholic parish church in Jenin, in the West Bank, also known Biblically as Judea and Samaria.

The number of abortions in the United States continues to rise despite stronger state protections for unborn life following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, with pro-life advocates pointing to mail-order abortion pills as the primary driver. Pro-choice researchers estimate the nation averaged nearly 99,000 abortions per month in early 2025, a trend conservatives say reflects regulatory loopholes rather than public rejection of pro-life laws.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Tuesday in a case over whether states can prevent concealed carry holders on private property that is open to the public.

A member of Cities Church said protesters who disrupted a Sunday morning service in St. Paul were seated throughout the congregation before the service began.

A federal judge in Minnesota has imposed new limits on how federal immigration agents may respond to protesters, a decision that comes as authorities investigate the disruption of a Christian worship service in St. Paul by anti-ICE agitators—an incident that has intensified concerns over public order, religious freedom, and the rule of law.

The lowest number of illegal border crossings were reported for the first quarter of a fiscal year in U.S. history in President Donald Trump’s first year in office.

U.S. senators have left town for a week-long recess, leaving themselves only five days to pass the six remaining federal government funding bills.

President Donald Trump warned Thursday that he is prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act if Minnesota’s Democratic leadership fails to halt escalating violence against federal law-enforcement officers amid ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the state.

Egyptian Christians facing religious-based violence and discrimination are increasingly relying on underground safe houses as authorities continue to fall short on protecting minority rights, Christian advocates say.

Nicaraguan authorities have begun barring tourists from bringing Bibles into the country, a move that signals an intensifying crackdown on religious freedom and independent expression.

With Christmas approaching, thousands of Christians, many of them from Indigenous communities, marched near Mexico’s southern border “to thank God” for decades of relative peace in the Mexican state of Chiapas, despite reported acts of violence in recent years.

Despite Christmas approaching, many Christians in Syria aren’t in a celebratory mood one year after the toppling of longtime autocratic President Bashar al-Assad, investigations reveal.

Some 100 students have been rescued, and about 50 others escaped following Nigeria’s largest Christian school kidnappings in recent years, several sources confirmed Wednesday.

Pakistani police have released security camera footage allegedly showing the main suspect in Friday’s assassination of Pastor Kamran Salamat, also known as Kamran Naaz, whose death at age 45 has shocked Pakistan’s embattled Christian community.

A Catholic priest remained missing in northern Nigeria Thursday after being abducted from his residence in Kaduna State, Worthy News learned.