Fires in Spokane, Washington Leave Entire Neighborhoods Utterly Destroyed

Fires in Spokane, Washington Leave Entire Neighborhoods Utterly Destroyed (VIDEO)

Mike LaChance

As the Gateway Pundit reported yesterday, fires are currently ripping their way through parts of Spokane, Washington.

Updated images are painting a picture that is very bleak. Entire neighborhoods have been reduced to ashes where houses once stood.

As of tonight, the fires are still raging and thousands of people have been evacuated.

ABC News reports:

Devastating wildfires burning out of control near Spokane, Washington, have destroyed at least 700 structures, including homes and businesses, but officials said on Monday that the overall loss remains uncertain.

“It’s unprecedented in this community. Frankly, it’s unprecedented in many areas of this country,” Tom Clemo, the fire incident commander, said at a news conference on Monday with Gov. Bob Ferguson.

While Clemo said that over the last 48 hours, three major fires burning in the Spokane area have destroyed “upwards of 700” structures.

“But there’s still large question marks about the total loss,” Clemo said.

He noted damage assessments in 1,100 areas have been difficult to figure out and will require the assistance of satellites to determine the full scope of the disaster.

“The next week or so is going to be extremely difficult as we start to grasp the overwhelming amount of damage,” Clemo said.

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Why Is America Buying Japanese Yen? The Bigger Story

Why Is America Buying Japanese Yen? The Bigger Story Nobody Is Talking About

 PNW STAFF

A single photograph from President Donald Trump's recent Cabinet meeting may have revealed more about the state of the global financial system than months of carefully worded statements from central bankers.

Captured by Reuters, the image showed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's handwritten to-do list. Among the notes was one line that immediately caught the attention of economists: "Buy Japanese Yen (JPY) 5-10 billion dollars." Reuters later confirmed the authenticity of the image, bringing an otherwise private discussion into public view.

On its face, it seems like an obscure financial detail. Why should the average American care whether the U.S. Treasury is considering buying Japanese currency?

Because that simple note points to a much larger story--one that exposes how interconnected, fragile, and dependent today's global financial system has become.

A Currency Purchase Is Never Just A Currency Purchase

Governments do not normally intervene in foreign exchange markets without good reason. While central banks routinely monitor currencies, coordinated intervention is relatively rare and is usually reserved for periods of unusual market stress or when officials believe excessive volatility threatens broader financial stability.

The United States has intervened alongside allies before, but seeing the Treasury Secretary contemplating billions of dollars in yen purchases is a reminder that financial markets are no longer operating in isolated national silos.

When policymakers begin discussing direct currency intervention, it usually means they are concerned about consequences that extend well beyond exchange rates.

Why The Japanese Yen Matters To Americans

At first glance, Japan's currency seems like someone else's problem.

It isn't.

Japan remains one of America's closest allies and one of the largest foreign holders of U.S. Treasury securities, owning well over $1 trillion in American government debt. That means the financial health of Japan is deeply connected to the financial health of the United States.

If Japan experiences severe financial instability, the ripple effects would not stay in Tokyo.

They could influence:

- U.S. mortgage rates

- Retirement accounts

- Stock markets

- Federal borrowing costs

- Consumer confidence

Most Americans never think about the Japanese yen. Yet events unfolding halfway around the world can eventually affect what they pay for a home loan or how much their retirement portfolio is worth.

The Hidden Danger Of Global Debt

The bigger issue is not the yen itself.

It is debt.

For decades, governments around the world have accumulated extraordinary amounts of sovereign debt while benefiting from historically low interest rates.

That environment is changing.

As rates rise globally, governments face rapidly increasing borrowing costs.

The United States now spends enormous sums simply servicing its national debt.

Japan faces its own challenges with one of the highest government debt-to-GDP ratios in the developed world.

Europe continues to wrestle with sluggish growth while attempting to manage inflation and energy costs.

Each country has different circumstances, yet all share one common problem:

The modern financial system has become increasingly dependent on confidence.

Confidence that governments can continue borrowing.

Confidence that currencies will remain stable.

Confidence that investors will continue buying sovereign debt.

When officials begin discussing interventions to stabilize major currencies, it suggests preserving that confidence has become an increasingly important policy objective.

Financial Wars Are Replacing Traditional Ones

Much attention today focuses on military conflicts in the Middle East, Ukraine, or the Pacific.

Yet another battle is quietly taking place.

Instead of tanks and aircraft, governments increasingly wield:

- tariffs

- sanctions

- reserve currencies

- export controls

- interest rates

- currency intervention

Economic leverage has become a strategic weapon.

America Cannot Ignore Its Creditors Forever

One uncomfortable reality has become harder to dismiss.

The United States depends heavily on investors--both domestic and foreign--to finance its growing debt.

Japan has long been among America's largest creditors.

That does not mean Japan controls American policy or that some dramatic liquidation of Treasury holdings is imminent. Financial relationships are far more complex than that.

But it does illustrate an important truth.

As America's debt grows larger, maintaining confidence among those willing to finance that debt becomes increasingly significant.

The larger the debt burden becomes, the more sensitive markets become to shifts in confidence, interest rates, or investor behavior.

That is not a prediction of collapse.

It is simply how debt markets work.

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Imminent: The Timing Of The Rapture May Be Unknowable, But Where It Sits On The Prophetic Timeline Is Not

Imminent: The Timing Of The Rapture May Be Unknowable, But Where It Sits On The Prophetic Timeline Is Not

Barry Stagner

What about the timing of the rapture? That’s another hotly debated subject in the church.

While most acknowledge the day and hour is unknowable, is that day and hour before the tribulation, during the tribulation, or at the end of the tribulation? (These are the pre-, mid-, and post-tribulation rapture views). Does not knowing the day or hour mean we can’t know anything about the timing of the rapture in relation to the tribulation? That depends on which timing view you hold to. If you believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, then seeing things develop that will be fulfilled during the tribulation should stir up a sense of expectation and excitement because it could happen at any time. But if you are mid- or post-trib, then you know that because the tribulation has not yet begun, there is no expectation that the rapture could occur within the next three-and-a-half or seven years.

Not only has there been significant debate about the timing of the rapture, there are some who reject the idea of a rapture altogether: “Knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.’ For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men” (2 Peter 3:3-7).

Sadly, there are a multitude of “rapture scoffers” with us today who are fulfilling Peter’s warning. This is also consistent with Jesus stating that He would come at a time when He was not expected (Matthew 24:44). If you don’t believe in the rapture, you certainly aren’t going to be expecting it.

In 2 Thessalonians 2, the next point Paul makes to the church is, “Let no one deceive you” about this (verse 3). Then he lists a progression of events that will initiate the march toward the destruction of the man of sin by the brightness of Jesus’ second coming. Here is our point of interest: Lawlessness is already at work. That which is restraining the rise of the antichrist and his kingdom is going to be taken out of the way, and then—and only then—will the lawless one be revealed. What is the restraining force holding back utter lawlessness in the world today? The Holy Spirit. What is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit? In the saints who make up the church.

That means that if the restraining force holding back the rise of the antichrist is the Holy Spirit, and if He dwells in the saints or the church, then the church must be taken out of the way for the lawless one to rise to power. If there is no rapture, then this progression doesn’t make sense. For how can the world’s only source of salt and light be present at a time when there is no restraining force on the earth?

This leads to another question: Can the true church be present on the earth and not be a restraining force by the power of the Holy Spirit? Can the true church cease from being salt and light? What is the solution to our question and prophetic dilemma? The rapture.

“Take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:34-36).

The word “escape” means “to flee out of.” Jesus described this time as one that no flesh would survive unless He did not return to stop it, and He warned that it would be a time of global judgment. Where, then, do hundreds of millions of Christians “flee out of ” in order to escape that judgment? What do those verses mean if the church goes through the tribulation?

Jews targeted in 70% of all NYC hate crimes in July — NYPD

Jews targeted in 70% of all NYC hate crimes in July — NYPD

Luke Tress

Jews were targeted in 70% of all hate crimes in New York City in July, as the number of hate crimes against Jews and other groups continued to increase since New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani took office at the start of the year.

Since January 1, 2026, when Mamdani took office, overall hate crimes are up 9.4% compared to the same period last year — from 329 last year to 360 this year.

Confirmed anti-Jewish hate crimes have increased 8.5% this year, with 205 so far this year compared to 189 over the same period last year.

Jews were targeted in 57% of all hate crimes in the city so far this year, the NYPD says. Jews make up around 10% of the city’s population.

Last month, Jews were targeted in 23 confirmed hate crimes, or 70% of the total of 33 incidents in the city, a higher proportion than usual. The figure is 53% higher than in July 2025.

“I remain deeply concerned and very troubled by the unacceptable spike in all hate crimes, particularly driven by those targeting Jewish New Yorkers,” City Council Speaker Julie Menin says in a statement.

Menin is Jewish and has led efforts to combat antisemitism in the city government.

Shootings, murders and other major crimes such as robberies and assaults are generally down in the city.

Saudi Arabia prepares military operations as Houthis resume strikes on territory

Saudi Arabia prepares military operations as Houthis resume strikes on territory, shipping

GIORGIA VALENTE/THE MEDIA LINE

Reports that Saudi Arabia may be preparing a military operation against Yemen’s Houthis have revived fears that Riyadh could be drawn back into a direct ground war. But the evidence currently points to contingency planning and force repositioning - not a confirmed Saudi ground invasion. 

Public reporting has described Saudi troop movements in eastern Yemen, discussions over a possible operation in or towards the central governorate of Al-Bayda, and efforts to assemble a multinational maritime coalition.

Saudi Arabia, however, has not publicly announced a ground offensive, and the reported movements do not by themselves establish that a final political or operational order has been issued.

The speculation follows the collapse of the relative calm that had prevailed along the Saudi-Yemeni border. On July 13, the Houthis fired missiles towards southern Saudi Arabia after accusing Riyadh of striking Sanaa airport, ending approximately four years without comparable cross-border exchanges.

On July 20, the Houthis announced a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia, and days later claimed attacks against Saudi oil tankers and energy infrastructure. 

The pressure is particularly sensitive because the Red Sea has become increasingly important for Saudi energy exports as the war between the United States and Iran continues to disrupt traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

The Houthis’ ability to threaten shipping around Bab el-Mandeb therefore exposes Saudi Arabia to pressure at both ends of the Arabian Peninsula. Saudi officials have responded with airstrikes against Houthi targets and the establishment of a 14-nation maritime defense coalition involving countries including Egypt, Pakistan, Jordan, Bahrain, Yemen and Turkey. 

Yet a new Saudi campaign would not necessarily resemble the intervention launched in 2015.

Cyril Widdershoven, a senior advisor at Blue Water Strategy, told The Media Line that as of Aug. 2, 2026, there was no conclusive evidence that Saudi regular forces had already entered Houthi-controlled Yemen in significant numbers or begun a major ground invasion.

He said that the increasingly credible indicators of Riyadh's preparation of military options could include possibly a limited land campaign, which most probably would be led by Yemeni anti-Houthi forces with Saudi air, intelligence, logistics, and command support.

The central distinction is between a Saudi invasion and an offensive conducted by Yemeni forces with Saudi support. Analysts say Riyadh appears to have little appetite for sending large, armored formations deep into northern Yemen, where the geography, extended supply lines and the Houthis’ experience in irregular warfare would expose Saudi forces to significant losses.

Instead, any operation might rely on units aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognized Presidential Leadership Council, particularly forces positioned around Marib, Hadramaut and the Saudi border. Saudi Arabia could contribute air power, intelligence, artillery, engineering capabilities, air defense, logistics and command assistance.

“It will not be a Saudi invasion resembling the 2015 intervention,” Widdershoven said. “Most plausibly it would be a Saudi-enabled Yemeni offensive, possibly supported by small numbers of Saudi personnel in command, intelligence, artillery, air-defense, engineering, and special-forces roles.”

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