Author: Noah Franklin/Staff Writer PNW News

Noah Franklin/Staff Writer PNW News A disturbing pattern is spreading through LGBTQ-affirming churches. In sermons, Pride liturgies and online worship clips, the familiar opening words of Jesus’ Beatitudes–“Blessed are”–are being borrowed and filled with an entirely different message. These are not simply prayers asking God to comfort people who have been rejected or mistreated. They are alternative Beatitudes that declare sexual identities, transgender transformation, sex work and political activism to be sacred expressions of divine truth. One widely circulated version begins, “Blessed is the sex worker.” Lesbians are praised for having “tasted the divine,” while gay relationships are celebrated for…

Noah Franklin/Staff Writer PNW News The television is off. The screen is dark. The family has stopped watching. But what if the television has not stopped watching them? A major investigation into LG smart televisions has uncovered an extraordinary amount of data collection occurring through a device millions of families still think of as little more than an entertainment system. Researchers working with Gamers Nexus, Level1Techs and independent security specialists found televisions scanning local networks and identifying nearby phones, smartwatches, printers, thermostats, air purifiers and other connected devices. They also examined LG’s Automatic Content Recognition technology, which can identify what…

Noah Franklin/Staff Writer PNW News Israel was promised a peace partner. Now its military is being told to prepare for the possibility of fighting that partner’s armed forces in an all-out war. More than three decades after Oslo, that development deserves far more attention than another diplomatic statement about keeping the peace process alive. On September 7, Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had instructed the IDF to prepare for “all-out war” if Palestinian Authority security forces or associated bodies launch an October 7-style attack—or Israel knows with certainty that they are about to…

Noah Franklin//Staff Writer PNW News While much of the world is watching drones transform the battlefields of Ukraine and the Middle East, another military revolution is taking place largely out of sight. It is happening beneath the oceans. Russia and China are rapidly developing underwater nuclear capabilities designed around one of the most important principles of nuclear warfare: survival. Missiles sitting in fixed silos can be targeted. Air bases can be monitored by satellites. But a nuclear submarine that disappears beneath millions of square miles of ocean presents a completely different problem. And both Moscow and Beijing are investing heavily…

Noah Franklin/Staff Writer PNW News The Episcopal Church has apparently reached another historic milestone, although perhaps not one Christians should be celebrating. All Saints’ Cathedral in Milwaukee recently installed the Very Rev. Micah Cronin as its new dean, believed to be the first transgender-identifying dean in the history of the Episcopal Church. Cronin is a biological woman who identifies as a man and is married to another biological woman who identifies as transgender and serves as a pastor at an LGBT-affirming Lutheran campus ministry. If that description sounds confusing, perhaps that is precisely the point Christians should be considering. This…

Something has changed in the atmosphere surrounding the war in Ukraine. For more than four years, Western governments have worried about escalation with Russia while operating under one critical assumption: the war could be contained. Ukraine would fight, Europe and America would supply weapons, Russia would threaten retaliation, and NATO would reinforce its eastern frontier. But the fighting itself would remain largely inside Ukraine. Recent developments are raising uncomfortable questions about how much longer that assumption will hold. Ukrainian officials now say Russian military leaders have been ordered to prepare several possible operational scenarios for a new offensive in northern…

Noah Franklin/Staff Writer PNW News Nearly 25 years after hijacked passenger jets were deliberately flown into the World Trade Center and Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has issued an extraordinary reminder to its journalists: Don’t call what happened on September 11, 2001, a “terrorist attack.” According to internal guidance reported ahead of the 25th anniversary, CBC journalists were instructed: “Do not refer to the Sept. 11 attacks as terrorist attacks.” Instead, reporters are encouraged to describe what happened and attribute words such as “terrorism” to governments, officials or other sources. CBC insists this is not an…

Noah Franklin/Staff Writer PNW News For years, governments around the world have behaved as though there were almost no consequences for borrowing more money. When revenues fell short, they borrowed. When economies weakened, they borrowed. When wars erupted, they borrowed. When voters demanded new programs that governments could not afford, they borrowed again. The assumption was simple: someone would always be willing to lend the money at a manageable interest rate. That assumption is beginning to look increasingly dangerous. Global bond markets were rocked this week as the cost of long-term government borrowing surged across the United States, Britain, France,…

Noah Franklin/Staff Writer PNW News. If someone proposed a law giving government broad authority to monitor online speech, verify citizens’ identities before accessing digital platforms, compel technology companies to remove “harmful” content, and punish citizens for expressing ideas deemed unacceptable by government-appointed regulators, most Canadians would likely reject it outright. But history suggests that free societies rarely surrender their liberties overnight. Instead, governments tend to expand their authority gradually. One law protects children. Another combats hate. Another fights misinformation. Another strengthens national security. Each proposal appears reasonable when viewed on its own. Collectively, however, they can begin to reshape the…

Noah Franklin/Staff Writer PNW News On August 12, the skies will provide humanity with a remarkable display. Before sunrise, six planets–Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Saturn, and Neptune–will appear spread across the morning sky. Later that day, a total solar eclipse will cross portions of Russia, Greenland, Iceland, Spain, and Portugal, while a partial eclipse will be visible across a much larger section of the Northern Hemisphere. After darkness falls, the Perseid meteor shower will reach its peak, potentially filling the night with streaks of light produced by debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle. Astronomers will explain the movements, distances, orbits, and physical…

Noah Franklin/Staff Writer PNW News They expected sunshine, ancient cities, and an unforgettable vacation. Instead, thousands of passengers aboard an LGBTQ-themed cruise received an unexpected lesson in geopolitics. When the ship was denied entry into Turkey, organizers scrambled to salvage the itinerary by arranging an alternative stop in Egypt. But that plan quickly unraveled as well. Two countries. Two closed ports. Two unmistakable messages. For many passengers, the biggest surprise wasn’t the inconvenience–it was the realization that being welcomed as tourists eager to spend money did not outweigh how those nations viewed the public identity of many aboard. Some passengers…

Noah Franklin/Staff Writer PNW News A Mississippi pastor recently ignited a firestorm after reportedly posting the names of church members on Facebook who had failed to pay their tithes. Whether the intention was accountability, encouragement, or frustration, the reaction was swift. Christians from across the theological spectrum condemned the move as public shaming rather than biblical shepherding. The controversy raises a much larger question than one pastor’s judgment. It forces Christians to ask an uncomfortable but necessary question: Where is the line between teaching biblical stewardship and manipulating God’s people? The Bible has much to say about generosity. Jesus spoke…

Noah Franklin/Staff Writer PNW News Imagine boarding an international flight. The airline agent scans your passport, pauses, types a few more keys, then quietly picks up the phone. After a brief conversation, she returns with an apologetic smile. *”I’m sorry, but you cannot transit through this country because of your criminal record.”* You ask what crime you’ve committed. “Hate speech.” Your offense wasn’t assault. It wasn’t vandalism. It wasn’t inciting violence. You publicly affirmed what Christians have believed for nearly 2,000 years–that marriage is between one man and one woman. If that sounds like dystopian fiction, ask Finnish parliamentarian Päivi…

Noah Franklin/Staff Writer PNW News Imagine walking into church on Sunday morning. The pastor lifts the communion bread, and instead of the familiar loaf symbolizing Christ’s broken body, it has been dyed in the colors of the rainbow. Before a word is preached, one of Christianity’s most sacred ordinances has already become a cultural statement. That wasn’t a hypothetical. Christ Episcopal Church in Dayton recently used rainbow-colored communion bread during a Pride celebration, explaining that the colorful bread was intended to celebrate and include its LGBTQ members. The reaction was swift. For many Christians, the issue wasn’t whether churches should…

Noah Franklin/Staff Writer PNW News There was a time when history mattered. Today, history is treated like wet clay–something to be molded into whatever shape best serves the political cause of the moment. Statues are toppled. Founding Fathers are recast as villains. National histories are rewritten through ideological lenses. Now, even Jesus Christ isn’t off limits. The latest attempt comes from the orbit of New York City’s socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani. Reports indicate that his wife, Rama Duwaji, is co-hosting a luxury spiritual retreat in Corsica where attendees–paying as much as $5,000–will meditate on Mary as a “Palestinian woman giving…

Noah Franklin/Staff Writer PNW News There are bad decisions. There are tragic decisions. And then there are moments when a church crosses a line so unmistakable that Christians can no longer dismiss it as merely a “theological difference.” The Presbyterian Church (USA) has now done exactly that. By an astounding 441-30 vote, delegates overwhelmingly endorsed support for gender transition procedures and publicly opposed laws restricting these interventions–even for children. Although the final wording removed the phrase “including minors,” assembly leaders immediately clarified that their support extends to people “without age limit.” The message could not be clearer. Let that sink…

Noah Franklin/Staff Writer PNW News For much of the past year, Israel has achieved what many believed was impossible. It has battered Iran’s military infrastructure. It has weakened Hezbollah. It has struck deep into Iranian territory. It has demonstrated intelligence and military capabilities that few nations on earth can match. Even many of Israel’s critics would acknowledge that the Jewish state emerged from this conflict having inflicted tremendous damage on its enemies. And yet, despite all those battlefield victories, Israel now finds itself confronting a strategic paradox. It may have won the war, only to discover that the peace is…

Noah Franklin/Staff Writer PNW News Imagine sitting down with your son or daughter, bowing your head in prayer, and wondering whether the government would approve of the words you are about to speak. That may sound like something from a dystopian novel. Yet in the Australian state of Victoria, government guidance is now telling parents which prayers for their children are considered acceptable—and which are not. The guidance, issued as part of the state’s approach to sexuality and gender identity, insists that people who identify as LGBTQA are not “sick or broken” and do not need to be “fixed.” It…

Noah Franklin/Staff Writer PNW News A peace agreement between the United States and Iran has now been reached. The details are still emerging, and many questions remain unanswered. It is not yet entirely clear what commitments were made regarding Hezbollah’s activities in Lebanon, but it is reasonable to assume that some form of ceasefire or de-escalation arrangement on Israel’s northern border was part of the broader package. For many around the world, the agreement is being celebrated as a major breakthrough. After months of escalating tensions and fears of a wider regional war, any step toward peace is welcome news.…

By Noah Franklin/Staff Writer PNW News Agency. Reality has a way of exposing contradictions that ideology desperately tries to hide. Last week, more than 10,000 participants marched through the streets of Jerusalem during the city’s annual Pride Parade, one of the largest LGBT events in the Middle East. The event was supported by government officials, protected by law enforcement, covered positively by major media outlets, and celebrated openly in the heart of Israel’s capital. At the very same time, activists across Western universities and city streets continue waving signs proclaiming “Queers for Palestine” while denouncing Israel as an oppressive regime…

By Noah Franklin/Staff Writer PNW News For generations, many Americans assumed the warnings about “papers, please” societies belonged to dystopian novels or authoritarian regimes far removed from the English-speaking West. Yet this week, alarm bells rang across both Britain and the United States after King Charles III formally announced the U.K. government’s push toward a national digital ID system as part of its legislative agenda. To supporters, it sounds harmless enough: modernization, convenience, fraud prevention, border security. But to critics, the proposal represents something far more significant — another major step toward a fully trackable digital society where governments increasingly…

Taiwan may no longer be a distant crisis. It may be the next great test of American power.