Axios - Fewer Americans want to become pastors, accelerating a leadership vacuum inside one of the country's oldest civic institutions.....As the pastor role becomes lower-paid, higher-risk and less trusted, the U.S. isn't just losing clergy — it's losing a key layer of local leadership, especially in rural and Black communities.
.... Enrollment in master of divinity programs at schools accredited by the Association of Theological Schools fell 14% from 2020 to 2024. Graduate-level and college-level enrollment at Catholic seminaries was down significantly in the 2024-2025 academic year, the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University said. Black Protestant enrollment in master of divinity and professional M.A. programs fell 31% from 2000 to 2020.
Churches are trying to fill pulpits as older clergy retire, congregations shrink and burnout rises. More than 4 in 10 clergy surveyed in fall 2023 said they had seriously considered leaving their congregations since 2020, per Hartford Institute data reported by AP.
Rural churches are hit first because many already share pastors, rely on part-time clergy or ask one minister to cover multiple congregations. When those churches close, towns lose informal hubs for food aid, child care, disaster relief and elder care.
Alternet - Immigration lawyers representing the global elite are warning their clients to steer clear of Trump's "gold card" visa program, calling it legally dubious, financially risky, and potentially worthless, according to a report in the Washington Post.
The program, which Trump has promoted as a fast-track to residency for wealthy foreigners willing to invest $1 million to $2 million, has become a cautionary tale in the immigration law community. Seven immigration attorneys told the Washington Post they have either steered clients away from applying or refused to help clients who already have applied, citing fundamental legal problems with the program.
The skeptics include Michael Wildes, the immigration lawyer who represented first lady Melania Trump and her parents, and secured visas for Miss Universe contestants when Trump ran the pageant. When potential clients call about the gold card visa, Wildes has made his position clear.
"It would be unethical of me to retain them," Wildes said.
The core problem: the gold card visa has no congressional authorization and exists only through an executive order that faces ongoing litigation. That means it could be eliminated with a single presidential signature—or struck down by courts at any moment.
1440 - The Pentagon yesterday released "never-before-seen" files on unidentified flying objects, or UFOs. The database includes FBI case files dating to the 1940s, Apollo mission footage, and roughly two dozen videos recorded between 2020 and 2026. Explore here; new files will be added on a rolling basis.
The military formally began gathering information on UFOs in 1947 after a wave of supposed flying saucer sightings. The effort ended in 1969 with no significant discoveries. Then, in 2017, media outlets reported that the Defense Department spent roughly $22M annually from late 2008 through 2011 on a secret program investigating alleged encounters between unknown objects and the military. The revelation fueled calls to declassify related documents, with former President Joe Biden signing a law compelling agencies to release UFO records, and President Donald Trump ordering yesterday's release.
The Trump administration gave no analysis of the files, saying Americans can draw their own conclusions. Experts say the files are unlikely to reveal aliens.
NBC News - The U.S. military blockade of Iran’s ports will eventually deprive Tehran of crucial oil revenue, but the regime could likely withstand pressure for months without a major economic crisis or lasting damage to its oil fields, energy industry analysts and two Western officials familiar with intelligence assessments said.
Administration officials say the blockade is designed to cut off Iran’s oil exports and force Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and bow to U.S. demands at the negotiating table. But it’s unclear if the economic pain from a blockade would be sufficient to push the regime into making significant concessions. It’s also unclear whether President Donald Trump is willing to wait that long for a possible tipping point.
After the blockade was imposed about a month ago, Trump and top officials in his administration suggested it would produce an immediate crisis for Iran’s oil sector, possibly within three days. But that scenario did not materialize.
Instead, Iran has gradually begun to cut back oil production. At some point within the next two months, it may run out of storage capacity for its oil and even be forced to shut down some wells. But most analysts say Iran can probably avoid doing so.
