This week’s newsletter begins with the tragic situation in Israel. Widespread anger and protests broke out last week after the bodies of six Hamas hostages were discovered.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized to the hostages’ families as protests decrying his leadership erupted across the country,” The Washington Times’ Ben Wolfgang writes. “Demonstrations in Tel Aviv and other cities broke out just hours after the Israel Defense Forces said it found the six hostages in a tunnel in Rafah, in the southern portion of the Gaza Strip.”

Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, was found among the dead; he was laid to rest Monday in a tragic display that drew thousands to a Jerusalem cemetery.

Shooter’s leaked Nashville manifesto emerges

There’s new insight into Audrey Elizabeth Hale, the 28-year-old mass shooter who killed three children and three staff members at Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, last year. 

“The Nashville mass shooter agonized over gender identity, wallowed in self-pity, ripped Christianity and plotted cold-blooded murder in the weeks before opening fire at the Covenant School,” Valerie Richardson writes. “Excerpts from the expletive-laden manifesto of 28-year-old Audrey Elizabeth Hale released Tuesday include: ‘If God won’t give me a boy body in heaven then Jesus is a f——-’; ‘I can’t be happy. I am meant to die,’ and ‘No Regrets by the gun!!!’”

Read more about the story here.

Israel-Hamas war sparks college censorship surge

Last school year’s campus protests against Israel’s war against Hamas fueled record censorship attempts at the nation’s elite private universities, according to a report by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which tracks censorship efforts on both sides of the ideological divide.

This year’s ranking of 251 U.S. colleges and universities found a record-high 156 censorship attempts at colleges in 2023, including 54 related to Israel and the Palestinians. So far this year, the advocacy group has recorded 110 attempts, including 75 related to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Learn more here.

A ‘demonic’ attack on women?

Author Lisa Bevere says there are demonic forces at work in culture and she is on a mission to help equip Christians to have “constructive conversations” about God’s purpose and truth. Ms. Bevere talks with The Washington Times’ Higher Ground’s Billy Hallowell about demonic attacks against women and her new book, “The Fight for Female,” which is now available. 

Watch the conversation here.

Justices weigh in on Oklahoma abortion battle

Alex Swoyer reports that the Supreme Court won’t stop the federal government from withholding money to Oklahoma over abortion law — at least for now.

“The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to grant Oklahoma’s request to halt the federal government from withholding millions of dollars from its health department over its new abortion ban,” she writes. “The state agency does not refer or counsel patients for abortions following Oklahoma’s move to ban the procedure.” Find out more about the battle here.

While we’re on the topic of the Supreme Court, here’s a look at what’s coming up in the justices’ next term.

Vermont Christian school fights back

A Vermont Christian school has gone back to court after being booted out of the state sports league for refusing to compete against a male-born player in girls’ basketball.

Ms. Richardson has additional details: “Mid Vermont Christian School filed a motion with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals challenging its expulsion by the Vermont Principals’ Association, the governing body for high school sports and activities for the state’s 300 public and private secondary schools.” Here’s more on the fascinating challenge.

In our opinion

There are a number of powerful pieces to read on the opinion pages. Here are just a few: 

Heroic Israeli-American mom. Mr. Hallowell explores the powerful example set by Rachel Goldberg-Polin, whose son, Hersh, was taken hostage during Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack, and was one of those found slaughtered last weekend. “Ms. Goldberg-Polin’s impact has been monumental, but it’s her resolve, persistence and grit that exemplify, in stunning form, what true love truly encompasses,” he writes.

Election anxiety. Everett Piper in his “Ask Dr. E” column answers two pressing questions: “How do we deal with the anxiety of this election and what if my candidate loses?” His response is here.

Are Harris and Walz discriminating? Jenn Horton explains why she believes the “policies and values of the current administration and the impending Harris-Walz administration should frighten American families.”

Fame-hungry pastors. Jason Jimenez explores the “dark side” of pastors looking for notoriety and acclaim, and offers a pathway for people to “pray for churches and their leaders to embrace true biblical servanthood.”