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| MONDAY, JULY 9 |
| SUPREME DECISION President Trump will announce his Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Kennedy at 8 pm ET tonight. Judges Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Thomas Hardiman, and Raymond Kethledge remain the top four contenders. READ |
| JUNE JOBS REPORT The unemployment inched up from 3.8% to 4% — while the economy added a surprisingly strong 213,000 jobs. How is this possible? Because a better economy has coaxed an additional 601,000 Americans into the workforce. The labor force participation rate, or the number of people who are actively employed or looking for work, rose to 62.9% from 62.7%. The labor force participation rate is still hovering near historic lows. READ |
| PRIESTS AT TRUMP RALLY Four Catholic priests were dressed in priestly attire during a Montana rally with President Donald Trump. The priests were easily visible to TV cameras because they were placed in the VIP section. Bishop Michael Warfel, superior to two of the priests, said: “While they are free to support a political candidate — and I believe they were there in support of Matt Rosendale, who is running for the Senate seat from Montana — they should not have been attired in clerical garb and seated in such a prominent location.” READ |
| THE NEW INCIVILITY Protesters accosted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell oustide a restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky. The protesters followed McConnell to his car and started recording him. They shouted “abolish ICE” and “vote you out.” One person yelled that he “knows where he lives.” READ |
| THE NEW INCIVILITY #2 A customer called Steve Bannon a “piece of trash” while he was looking at books. The owner of Black Swan Books called the police against the belligerent customer, who quickly left. “We are a bookshop. Bookshops are all about ideas and tolerating different opinions and not about verbally assaulting somebody, which is what was happening,” said Nick Cooke, the bookstore owner. READ |
| THE NEW INCIVILITY #3 This is getting out of hand. A California man was arrested after threatening to murder the family of Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai. READ |
| GUAM IS ABORTION-FREE The small island of Guam is now abortion-free as the last abortionist has retired and no doctor is willing to commit abortions. As a U.S. territory, abortion remains legal in Guam. READ |
| INTERCOMMUNION What is going on in Germany? Bishop Jung Würzburg issued an open invitation to Protestant spouses to receive the Eucharist while attending Mass. READ |
| VIRTUOUS YOUNG MAN Carlo Acutis was a “computer geek” who spent his time online cataloging all the Eucharistic miracles of the world. He died at age 15 of leukemia. Pope Francis just declared him Venerable. READ |
| SAINT OF THE DAY Among the Chinese martyrs was a diocesan priest, Saint Augustine Zhao Rong, and his companions. Facing the strong anti-foreign and anti-Catholic feeling present in China at the time, these martyrs were caught up in a situation that, in many ways, had nothing to do with religion or the Church. But they stayed loyal to the Church and their people, and gave their lives in witness. READ |
| DAILY READINGS “The Lord is gracious and merciful.” (Ps 145:8) READ |
| TRUTH |