July has certainly been the most action-packed political month in recent memory. From the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump to President Biden’s decision to step out of the 2024 race, there’s been no shortage of major headlines.

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And with Vice President Kamala Harris likely to step into Mr. Biden’s shoes as the 2024 Democratic presidential contender, some Catholic leaders are warning her “anti-Catholic bigotry” mustn’t be forgotten.

“She has specifically targeted people of faith and pro-life citizens for their beliefs and defense of the most defenseless in our society,” CatholicVote President Brian Burch recently said. Here’s more.

The fight over transgender athletes

America is divided over how to handle the transgender issue, particularly when it comes to sports. With that in mind, New Hampshire just became the 25th state to ban biological males from participating in female sports.

“New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu signed legislation barring boys from competing in girls’ sports in grades 5-12 as determined by sex at birth,” The Washington Times Valerie Richardson reports. Read more about the move.

Meanwhile, a high school track coach in Oregon who was dismissed after suggesting an “open” division for transgender athletes has filed a First Amendment lawsuit to get his job back, Ms. Richardson reports.

Biden admin asks justices to take up trans issue

The Biden administration recently asked the Supreme Court “to protect Title IX while lower courts weigh whether the anti-discrimination law gives transgender students the right to use locker rooms and bathrooms of their choice.”

It’s yet another hot-button issue during a contentious political season, with the Biden administration’s request coming after the Western District of Louisiana and the Eastern District of Kentucky blocked efforts to enact trans-friendly policies. Read more here.

Louisiana and Tennessee urged the justices to reject the federal government’s request.

Abortion-rights activists to pay restitution for attacking pro-life centers

Four Florida activists linked to Jane’s Revenge, a radical pro-choice group, have agreed to pay restitution and stay away from seven crisis pregnancy centers in the Miami area to settle a state-filed civil lawsuit over the attacks on pro-life facilities, Ms. Richardson reports.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody announced the settlement Thursday with the four activists, three of whom pleaded guilty last month in federal court to criminal charges related to the vandalism, which included threatening spray-painted messages on the facilities.

Women share stories of abortion coercion

Ms. Richardson also covered a forum where a half-dozen women shared their stories about the pressure they felt from boyfriends, husbands and doctors to end their pregnancies.

Read more here.

Video: Is Christian revival breaking out across America?

Pastor, author and former Southern Baptist Convention President Steve Gaines joined Billy Hallowell to discuss his new book, “Revival: When God Comes to Church,” and to reveal his take on whether revival is truly breaking out across America.

Watch the powerful conversation here.

Rescuer credits prayer with miracle find

A rescue worker in Kentucky is crediting prayer with a happy ending that could have turned out quite differently. Wolfe County Search and Rescue was recently on a mission to find 48-year-old Scott Hern, a man who spent 14 days lost in the wilderness.

“I am not a very religious person, but, yesterday morning, I woke up and said a prayer for Scott Hern and his family,” crew member Eric Wolterman said in a statement after Mr. Hern was found. “To be honest, praying isn’t something that I do too often. We were working on this operation since Tuesday, and most of the team went into the day pretty much with the thought that this was going to be a recovery mission. So I said a prayer knowing the family would probably be getting some very sad news that day.”

And here’s what happened next.

Religious freedom needs in Asia

The International Religious Freedom Summit Asia unfolded last week, with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lamenting “fraying religious freedoms in Asia” and “saying the issue required renewed international focus and that communist China was a primary obstacle to progress,” The Times’ Andrew Salmon reports.

Read more about religious freedom issues in Asia here.

In our opinion

Joe Biden raises the hand of Vice President Kamala Harris after viewing the Independence Day fireworks display over the National Mall from the balcony of the White House, Thursday, July 4, 2024, in Washington. She's already broken barriers, and now Harris could soon become the first Black woman to head a major party's presidential ticket after President Joe Biden's ended his reelection bid. The 59-year-old Harris was endorsed by Biden on Sunday, July 21, after he stepped aside amid widespread concerns about the viability of his candidacy. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)” width=”600” height=”355” data-bit=”iit” />

Assault on families. Mr. Hallowell takes aim at Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, who this month signed AB 1955 into law. The statute bans school districts from having policies that require parents to be notified about their own child’s gender identity or sexual orientation without permission from the child. Here’s why Mr. Hallowell believes the law is dangerous.

Disenfranchising the electorate. Jonathan Alexandre and Liberty Counsel are asking: Was Mr. Biden’s exit constitutional or a coup? “Just days after Mr. Biden quietly resigned from the campaign through an X post and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, there’s still no official Democrat nominee and many unanswered questions draw us into a vortex of political turmoil at a critical juncture in an election year,” they write.

True leadership and competition. Meanwhile, Everett Piper responds to an important question: What can leaders do to distinguish their organizations from the competition? Here’s his response.