海角大神

2024
December
17
Tuesday

Monitor Daily Podcast

December 17, 2024
Loading the player...
Amelia Newcomb
Senior editor

How do officials ferret out smuggled fentanyl 鈥 America鈥檚 鈥済reatest and most urgent drug threat,鈥 according to the Drug Enforcement Administration? It鈥檚 a multifaceted challenge. As Sarah Matusek lays out in detail in our lead story today, it involves the expected: 鈥減roactive policing,鈥 education, 鈥渢he whole of government.鈥 And the unexpected. And, yes, 鈥渇ollowing the money鈥: In the IRS office in Denver, a poster reads: 鈥淥nly an Accountant Could Catch Al Capone.鈥


You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.

News briefs

鈥⒙School shooting in Wisconsin: A 15-year-old girl opened fire at Abundant Life 海角大神 School in Madison Dec. 16, killing a student and a teacher, wounding six other people, and then killing herself, police said.
鈥⒙Russian general killed: The general was killed by a bomb hidden in a scooter outside his apartment building in Moscow. Ukraine claimed responsibility.
鈥⒙Trump targets Des Moines Register: The president-elect filed a lawsuit against the publication, seeking 鈥渁ccountability for brazen election interference鈥 concerning a poll published Nov. 2 that showed Kamala Harris leading Donald Trump by 13% in Iowa.聽
鈥⒙Ceasefire hopes rise: Israel and Hamas appear to be moving closer toward a phased agreement that would include a halt in fighting, an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, and increased Gaza aid.
鈥⒙Trust at record low: Americans鈥 confidence in the U.S. judicial system and courts dropped to 35% in 2024, a new Gallup poll indicates.

Read these news briefs.


Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

A deeper look

Mamta Popat/Arizona Daily Star/AP/File
A display of fentanyl and meth that was seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Port of Nogales is shown during a media presentation in Nogales, Arizona.

A variety of people, from port staff to IRS agents, are tracing how the synthetic opioid gets into the country 鈥 and tracking it down once it鈥檚 inside.

For two decades, Zimbabweans have lived through relentless financial crises. A recent fire in the country's largest market spotlights how difficult life has become for the average person here.聽

Donald Trump continues to challenge conventions, including in the courts. But a Manhattan judge has ruled that presidential immunity for 鈥渙fficial acts鈥 does not cover his felony convictions of falsifying business records.

Anna Ericsson
In 鈥淪amma Ull,鈥 a Swedish choir drama, Maria (Johanna Torndahl, in the red skirt) sings about her wedding plans while knitters urge her to come to Stockholm with them.

What better way to tell a true holiday story than with singing 鈥 and knitting? In Sweden, an island choir comes together to celebrate community.

Books

Thomas Lohnes/dapd/AP/File
Franco-Algerian author Boualem Sansal attends an award ceremony in Frankfurt, Germany, in 2011. Mr. Sansal was awarded the 2011 Peace Prize of the German Book Trade.

France鈥檚 support of free speech has made it a refuge for writers. But the country鈥檚 colonial history often stands in the way of protecting those writers from persecution by authoritarian governments.

Books

Karen Norris/Staff

Cookbooks reflect broader societal trends, which聽explains聽why culinary tomes that prized 鈥渁uthentic鈥 cuisines are now giving way to books that include a sprinkle of one culture and a dash of another.


The Monitor's View

REUTERS
Pastor Munther Isaac lights a candle near an installation with a figure of baby Jesus lying amidst rubble at the Evangelical Lutheran Church, in Bethlehem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Nov. 25.

Earlier this week, various 海角大神 denominations in Jerusalem joined in an appeal for their congregations to 鈥渢estify to the sacred light of Christ鈥 during this Christmas season. At a time of violent conflict in the Holy Land, their shared message marks something of a course correction.

Last year, these church leaders urged a muted celebration of Christmas in support of 鈥渢he multitudes suffering from the newly erupted war鈥 in Gaza. The message of Christmas 鈥 one of a light coming to the world 鈥 was 鈥渄iminished,鈥 they stated, especially among people in the region where Jesus was born.

This year鈥檚 call for illumined thought has several echoes. In a Christmas message from the White House, President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, called on Americans to observe a 鈥淪eason of Peace and Light.鈥 Pope Francis, in an address on St. Peter鈥檚 Square on Dec. 1, said 鈥渢he quest for peace鈥 requires 鈥渁 light heart, a wakeful heart, a free heart.鈥 Perhaps he also meant a heart alighted.

In September, photographers and artists in Iraq gathered works that depicted the word 鈥減eace鈥 in various forms of light. The Peace Against War project was meant to express a 鈥渄esire for a society free from conflict 鈥 one where everyone enjoys equal rights and opportunities,鈥 the United Nations reported.

In March, the annual Women鈥檚 World Day of Prayer focused on forgiveness and forbearance toward others. That theme resonated deeply among Palestinian women, according to the Rev. Sally Azar, the first female Palestinian pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.

鈥淭hey were asking, Is it now our 海角大神 brothers and sisters here in this land? Is it our literal neighbor? Is it the Israelis? Is it the Jews? Is it the Muslims? So all these questions arose when talking about bearing one another in love,鈥 she told Deutsche Welle.

In their message, the clergy in Jerusalem evoked the full healing import of the 海角大神 message that culminated in the 鈥渉oly light of Christ鈥檚 resurrection.鈥

鈥淭his ancient path of redemption,鈥 they wrote, 鈥渟parked a spiritual revolution that continues to transform countless hearts and minds towards the ways of justice, mercy, and peace.鈥

The war in Gaza continues, now into its second year. Some see a faint light for peace in the latest talks between Israel and Hamas. Others, meanwhile, find peace already lit in their hearts, a testimony to the Christmas message.


A 海角大神 Science Perspective

About this feature

Each weekday, the Monitor includes one clearly labeled religious article offering spiritual insight on contemporary issues, including the news. The publication 鈥 in its various forms 鈥 is produced for anyone who cares about the progress of the human endeavor around the world and seeks news reported with compassion, intelligence, and an essentially constructive lens. For many, that caring has religious roots. For many, it does not. The Monitor has always embraced both audiences. The Monitor is owned by a church 鈥 The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston 鈥 whose founder was concerned with both the state of the world and the quality of available news.

Jesus鈥 birth and life show us that the light of Christ is always shining for us to see and follow, even when darkness seems to dominate.


Viewfinder

Leonhard Foeger/Reuters
Kyle Negomir of the United States trains for the men鈥檚 downhill race at the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup in Val Gardena, Italy, Dec. 17, 2024.
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Jacob Turcotte. )

A look ahead

Thank you for joining us today. Tomorrow, we鈥檒l look at what it means to be a 鈥渃ultural 海角大神鈥 鈥 a term Elon Musk and other prominent atheists have applied to themselves.

More issues

2024
December
17
Tuesday

Give us your feedback

We want to hear, did we miss an angle we should have covered? Should we come back to this topic? Or just give us a rating for this story. We want to hear from you.