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(N). Psalm 32:2 Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.

⚡ Where McCarthy went wrong McCarthy's decision to lower the threshold for a motion to vacate to a single member — a concession demanded by Gaetz during the speaker's election — haunted him from the very start. Why it matters: "It's Chekhov's Gun: If you introduce a gun in Act One, it's going to go off by Act Three," CNN's Jake Tapper cleverly pointed out. As speaker, McCarthy notched an early legislative win on crime, united the GOP on messaging bills, brokered a bipartisan debt ceiling agreement and averted a government shutdown at the eleventh hour. He earned grudging respect from his doubters — including a dozen of the original rebels who voted to keep him in office today — but not enough to stave off the downfall that many viewed as inevitable. Between the lines: McCarthy's fate was still up in the air as of last weekend, when some centrist Democrats expressed openness to bailing him out in exchange for concessions of their own. Then McCarthy went on CBS News' "Face the Nation" on Sunday and attempted to blame Democrats for the near-government shutdown — a clip that was played in the party's caucus meeting this morning. The meeting quickly devolved into an anti-McCarthy venting session, with Democrats rebuking him for opposing the Jan. 6 commission, reneging on the debt ceiling deal and launching an impeachment inquiry into President Biden. "I think he's likely the most unprincipled person who's ever been speaker of the House," said Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), who represents "Frontline Democrats" in battleground districts. McCarthy's fate was sealed from that moment, as all 208 Democrats in attendance joined with eight Republican rebels to evict him from the speaker's chamber. "I'm a Republican. I win by Republicans and I lose by Republicans," McCarthy said at his press conference, defending his decision not to strike a deal with Democrats. Asked for his advice to the next speaker, McCarthy replied with a laugh: "Change the rules." Get the latest

McCarthy's stunning downfall Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) — yes, former — made history in January when he survived a grueling 15 ballots to secure the gavel he had dreamed of wielding for his entire career. "This is the great part," McCarthy told reporters at the time. "Because it took this long, now we learned how to govern." Flash forward: Nine months later, McCarthy has again made history — this time, as the only speaker ever to be voted out of office through a "motion to vacate" on the House floor. Why it matters: McCarthy's ouster was a stunning moment — only to be topped two hours later by the shocking revelation that he would not run for speaker again. The decision blindsided McCarthy allies who were gearing up to re-nominate him, opening the floodgates for a competitive speakership race that will dominate Congress for at least the next week. Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), the interim speaker, told Republicans that he intends to host a candidate forum next Tuesday and the speaker election on Wednesday. Screenshot via CNN What they're saying: Oscillating from candid to jovial to angry, McCarthy took over a dozen questions in a lengthy press conference tonight in which he insisted he "wouldn't change a thing" about his tenure. McCarthy had harsh words for Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) — the chief architect of his ouster — as well as the seven other Republicans who joined with Democrats to remove him from office. "They are not conservatives," he argued, unleashing on his GOP colleagues. "Look, you all know Matt Gaetz. You know it was personal." "Unfortunately, 4% of our conference can join all the Democrats and dictate who can be the Republican speaker," McCarthy said. "I don't think that rule is good for the institution, but apparently I'm the only one." What to watch: House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) is the likely front-runner for speaker, but other potential candidates — including Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) — could also attract significant support.

⚖️ Judge gags Trump The New York judge overseeing former President Trump's civil fraud trial imposed a limited gag order against him, Axios' Erin Doherty writes. Trump publicly attacked the judge's law clerk on Truth Social today. "Personal attacks on members of my court staff are unacceptable, inappropriate and I won't tolerate it," Judge Arthur Engoron said. Trump's post has been deleted. Between the lines: Federal prosecutors have also called for a gag order on Trump for his 2020 election interference case in D.C. Keep reading.

Inside McCarthy's fall The House made history by voting to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his post, setting up another grueling speaker election without a clear successor. No speaker before McCarthy had ever been removed. Why it matters: The 216-210 vote could create an unprecedented stalemate in the House, Axios' Juliegrace Brufke writes. McCarthy's election in January took the most ballots of any speaker election since before the Civil War. Since then, Republicans have struggled to maintain a functioning majority for moving legislation. 🔎 Zoom in: Conservative firebrand Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) introduced the motion to vacate yesterday, with eight Republicans joining him in his efforts to fire McCarthy. Democrats opted against saving the speaker. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said it's "now the responsibility of the GOP members to end the House Republican Civil War." Gaetz, who has long had a contentious relationship with McCarthy, threatened to introduce the motion for weeks if the California Republican allowed a continuing resolution to stop a government shutdown to come to the floor. Gaetz argued McCarthy broke the terms of the agreement he struck with conservatives in January to obtain the gavel. Only a handful of Republicans were needed to successfully remove McCarthy due to the GOP's narrow majority. Flashback: A motion to vacate has only been attempted one other time in the chamber's history. Speaker Joseph Cannon, a Republican from Illinois, defeated a vote against him in 1910. 🔮 What's next: House business will essentially come to a halt until Republicans gather enough votes to elect a speaker. McCarthy told reporters today that he has no plans to step aside, signaling he might run again. Other names floated include House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), and Reps. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) and Mike Johnson (R-La.).

US health officials propose using a cheap antibiotic as a ‘morning-after pill’ against STDs NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials plan to endorse a common antibiotic as a morning-after pill that gay and bisexual men can use to try to avoid some increasingly common sexually transmitted diseases. https://apnews.com/article/chlamydia-syphilis-gonorrhea-doxycycline-1de6323a834339e79cda1e124a455964?

DENVER (AP) — On the heels of a U.S. Supreme Court victory this summer for a graphic artist who didn’t want to design wedding websites for same-sex couples, Colorado’s highest court said Tuesday it will now hear the case of a Christian baker who refused to make a cake celebrating a gender transition. https://apnews.com/article/colorado-baker-lbgtq-cakes-court-case-346930f66dbf451b84c0d72c5c7c2cc5?

Shooting at major Bangkok shopping mall kills 2 people, and a teen suspect is arrested BANGKOK (AP) — A teenage boy with a handgun opened fire inside a major shopping mall in the center of Thailand’s capital Tuesday afternoon, killing two people before being apprehended, authorities said. https://apnews.com/article/bangkok-mall-gunshots-reports-thailand-siam-paragon-75683f1cf1df114a81b2834de16993ff?

Hunter Biden pleads not guilty to three federal gun charges filed after his plea deal collapsed WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to three federal firearms charges filed after his earlier deal imploded, setting the case on a track toward a possible trial in 2024 while his father is campaigning for reelection. https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-court-gun-charges-indictment-investigation-68b186294bb36071c02428834ec5f470?

McCarthy becomes the first speaker ever to be ousted from the job in a House vote WASHINGTON (AP) — Speaker Kevin McCarthy was voted out of the job Tuesday in an extraordinary showdown — a first in U.S. history, forced by a contingent of hard-right conservatives and throwing the House and its Republican leadership into chaos. https://apnews.com/article/mccarthy-gaetz-speaker-motion-to-vacate-congress-327e294a39f8de079ef5e4abfb1fa555?

Canadian wildfire smoke turns Orlando air quality unhealthy If you think it looks a little hazy outside, you’d be right. Central Florida has some of the worst air quality in the nation right now. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/10/03/orlando-air-quality-smoke-unhealthy/?

October 3, 2023 By David Leonhardt Good morning. We’re covering the big story of the new Supreme Court term — as well as Kevin McCarthy, Sam Bankman-Fried and the return of late night. The Supreme Court justices.Erin Schaff/The New York Times A libertarian court With the Supreme Court’s new term having started this week, I want to use today’s newsletter to give you context on the issue that Adam Liptak — who covers the court for The Times — calls “the story of the term”: business regulation. Even before the court moved to the right over the past several years, business regulation was an area in which its rulings tended to be conservative. Thirteen years ago, Adam wrote an article explaining that the court led by Chief Justice John Roberts was the most business-friendly Supreme Court in modern history. Roberts and his colleagues tend to be skeptical of government regulation that tries to protect the environment, consumer safety or workers’ rights. In all these areas, the court has often taken a laissez-faire approach, allowing corporations to behave as their executives think best. This outlook hasn’t been restricted to Republican-appointed judges, either. Democratic appointees who lean left on social issues like abortion, gay rights and guns have been more conservative on business regulation. This shift has been part of the so-called neoliberal revolution in economic policy that took off in the 1980s. Free markets, according to this view, are more efficient than government can be. “The modern judge is quite economically libertarian, Republican and Democrat alike,” Adam told me. Still, there have been limits to the court’s libertarianism. The E.P.A., F.D.A., I.R.S. and many other Washington agencies still exist, after all. If you talk with many corporate executives or their lobbyists and lawyers, you will hear that they feel over-regulated — and they have continued to bring lawsuits trying to lighten the burden of government. The story of this term, to use Adam’s phrase, is whether corporations will persuade the Supreme Court to go further than it previously has and strike down whole new categories of regulation. Three separate cases raise that prospect. First up The justices will hear arguments in the first of those three cases this morning, involving the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, known as the C.F.P.B. The case’s details are technocratic, but the impact could be large. When Congress and President Barack Obama created the agency in 2010, after the financial crisis, they funded it using transfers from the Federal Reserve. The goal was to shield the bureau from back-and-forth partisan politics; the Fed is a semi-independent agency for similar reasons. Elizabeth Warren, then a law professor, who helped create the bureau, was worried that Republicans would try to starve its budget. A banking industry group has argued that this funding structure is illegal, saying that federal agencies should be accountable to Congress. The bureau’s defenders respond that it already is: Congress established the agency by passing a law that funded it in a specific way. To change this arrangement, the defenders say, Congress should have to pass a new bills that a president signs. Last year, a federal appeals court based in New Orleans — the Fifth Circuit, perhaps the country’s most conservative, having been shaped by President Donald Trump’s appointees — agreed with the plaintiffs. Legal observers aren’t sure what to expect now from the Supreme Court. On the one hand, conservative justices dominate the court. On the other, at least some of them have seemed uncomfortable with how far the Fifth Circuit has gone in other cases. The biggest case An even more significant business case this term involves a 1984 Supreme Court decision that has come to be known by the shorthand “Chevron deference.” Under Chevron deference, the court gave regulatory agencies leeway to interpret laws that Congress had left vague. Corporate lobbyists have long chafed at the ruling, believing that regulators should have only the powers that Congress has explicitly given them. Undoing Chevron has been a central goal of the conservative legal movement. Conservatives talk about the importance of weakening “the administrative state.” Both sides in the Chevron case agree that the stakes are large. When Congress passes a law, it cannot anticipate all the ways that the economy will change in coming years. If regulators have only the powers that Congress explicitly gives them, many regulations — on the environment, consumer safety, worker safety and more — would be vulnerable to legal challenges. “Overruling Chevron,” the Biden administration argued in a recent brief, “would be a convulsive shock to the legal system.” The third major business case this term involves the Securities and Exchange Commission. Depending how the court rules, the S.E.C. could have less power to pursue fraud cases. The justices have not yet set dates for oral arguments in the Chevron and S.E.C. cases. More on the court Stacy Cowley — who covers the C.F.P.B. for The Times — profiled its director, Rohit Chopra, 41, who is fighting thyroid cancer. This term also includes cases on abortion, gerrymandering, guns, opioids and social media. We’ll preview them in future newsletters. (Here’s an overview.) The court heard arguments about a federal law that lets judges ignore minimum mandatory sentences for some drug offenses. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT THE LATEST NEWS Kevin McCarthy Speaker Kevin McCarthyHaiyun Jiang for The New York Times Representative Matt Gaetz called for a vote on removing Kevin McCarthy as House speaker, after McCarthy worked with Democrats to prevent a government shutdown. The vote is expected within days. McCarthy has little chance of surviving without help from Democrats. They are considering what they could ask in return. Donald Trump At the start of his New York civil fraud case, Trump called for the judge to be disbarred. Read takeaways from the first day. When Trump first suggested using the military against Mexican cartels, defense officials considered the idea ludicrous. Republicans now widely support it. Congress Senator Robert Menendez’s corruption trial is scheduled for May, a month before the New Jersey state primary. He has not said whether he intends to run. Three people carjacked Representative Henry Cuellar at gunpoint near his home in Washington D.C. He was not harmed. Representative Dean Phillips will step down from House Democratic leadership. He’s considering a primary challenge against Biden. More on Politics A North Dakota state senator, his wife and two of their children died after the plane he was piloting crashed at an airport in Utah. Hunter Biden is expected to plead not guilty when he’s arraigned on gun charges at a Delaware court today. International In Port-au-Prince, Haiti.Johnson Sabin/EPA, via Shutterstock The U.N. approved Kenya’s plan to send security personnel to Haiti, where gang violence is rampant. After a fire at an Iraqi wedding hall killed at least 119 people, investigators called for local officials to be fired for failing to enforce safety standards. U.S. officials say Russia intends to spread election disinformation to undermine Western support for Ukraine. Palestinian herders are abandoning their homes as a result of intimidation by Israeli settlers. Seven months after deadly earthquakes hit southern Turkey, some families are still living in tents. Technology At Google’s antitrust trial, the C.E.O. of Microsoft testified that Google’s stranglehold over search was so tight that his company could not compete. Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the failed crypto exchange FTX, goes on trial today. A new book by Michael Lewis offers details of the firm’s collapse. Hollywood Strikes The striking actors’ union and Hollywood studios had their first talks in months. Negotiations will continue tomorrow. “We’ve been gone so long, ‘The Bachelor’ is now a grandfather”: Late night shows returned for their first broadcasts since the writers’ strike ended. Other Big Stories Charlotte Sena, the 9-year-old girl who disappeared at a state park, is safe. The police found a fingerprint on a ransom note and raided a suspect’s home, where Charlotte was hidden in a cupboard. Young children face a greater risk of eviction than any other age group. The risk is most acute for Black children. The Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to three scientists — Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L’Huillier — for their work on electrons. Opinions Americans without a four-year college degree are struggling. Removing B.A. requirements for jobs would help, Anne Case and Angus Deaton write. Here’s a column by Jamelle Bouie on Biden. All encompassing. Entertaining. Appetizing. Discerning. And sporting. No matter what you’re into, it’s all in The Times. Subscribe today to enjoy everything we offer. MORNING READS Above Chicago.Daniel Wilsey High Flight LLC Never too old: At 104, Dorothy Hoffner wanted to skydive again. Watch her jump. Grizzlies: What’s behind all the recent stories about rogue bears? Windows to the soul: To fast-track intimacy, an event in Brooklyn encourages daters to engage in extended eye contact. Lives Lived: Echo Brown mined her life to create a one-woman show about Black female identity and two young adult novels. She died at 39. SPORTS N.F.L.: The Seahawks embarrassed the Giants at home last night in a 24-3 win. M.L.B. playoffs: The baseball postseason starts today with a single question looming: Can anyone beat the Braves? Recovery: Bronny James, the 18-year-old son of LeBron James who suffered cardiac arrest during practice two months ago, is doing “extremely well,” his father said. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT ARTS AND IDEAS Behind our scenes: If you’re interested in The New York Times, we recommend a new history of the institution. It’s called “The Times,” and Adam Nagourney — a longtime reporter here — wrote it. The company did not have approval over it. The book, Julia Klein wrote in The Los Angeles Times, is “an often enthralling chronicle of four decades (1976-2016) of management upheaval and digital transformation” and “delivers the gossipy goods, thanks in part to interviews with nearly all the surviving principals.” The central theme is how the company survived the mortal threat of the digital revolution. More on culture Beyoncé announced a concert film of her Renaissance World Tour will be released in theaters on Dec. 1. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Make a smoky eggplant salad infused with cumin. Buy fewer skin care products. See how many dermatologists recommend. Level up your pie-making skills with these tools. Create a cozy home movie night on a budget. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was bigoted. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku and Connections. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. — David Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Continue reading the main story Editor: David Leonhardt Deputy Editor: Amy Fiscus News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Lauren Jackson, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch

🔋 Electric "air taxi" production begins Beta Technologies' ALIA eVTOL aircraft hovers. Photo: Beta Technologies Future-of-aviation startup Beta Technologies has opened the doors of a net-zero production plant, where it will make vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) electric aircraft, Alex Fitzpatrick reports for Axios What's Next. Why it matters: Electric aircraft are hot because the aviation industry is under tremendous pressure to decarbonize by 2050. And innovations like sustainable aviation fuels will only go so far. The new facility — at Vermont's Burlington International Airport — is designed to eventually churn out 300 of Beta's ALIA aircraft each year. The net-zero facility is powered by a combination of geothermal wells and rooftop solar. Floor-to-ceiling windows and a skylight bring in natural light — in contrast to the fluorescent overload at the typical modern vehicle manufacturing plant. State of play: eVTOLs are inching closer to flying paid passengers. But that's still years away from FAA certification.

More than 100 dolphins found dead in Brazilian Amazon as water temperatures soar SAO PAULO (AP) — More than 100 dolphins have died in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest in the past week as the region grapples with a severe drought, and many more could die soon if water temperatures remain high, experts say. https://apnews.com/article/dolphins-amazon-brazil-dead-39cada45b987de407d5690b8d6ad201e?

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Three scientists won the Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for giving us the first split-second glimpse into the superfast world of spinning electrons, a field that could one day lead to better electronics or disease diagnoses. https://apnews.com/article/physics-nobel-prize-stockholm-73b17b0f2c417a51f9d71964b170a395?

Jury selection begins in trial of fallen cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried NEW YORK (AP) — Jury selection began Tuesday in the fraud trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried after a prosecutor revealed that no discussions about a potential plea agreement took place in the nearly 10 months since the cryptocurrency executive was arrested and brought to the United States. https://apnews.com/article/bankman-fried-cryptocurrency-trial-e1a6ca570bc401937a04bd15a404f8bd?

Mexico’s president says 10,000 migrants a day head to US border; he blames US sanctions on Cuba Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Monday that about 10,000 migrants per day are heading to the U.S. border, and he blamed U.S. economic sanctions on countries like Cuba and Venezuela for the influx. Read more. Why this matters: López Obrador seemed to join Colombian President Gustavo Petro in blaming the situation on U.S. sanctions on countries like Venezuela and Cuba, whose citizens make up a large part of the migrant flow trying to reach the U.S. border. However, experts say economic mismanagement and political repression are largely to blame for the tide of migrants leaving those countries. López Obrador has also slammed U.S. aid for Ukraine and said the United States should spend some of the money sent to Ukraine on economic development in Latin America. The United States has sanctioned both Cuba and Venezuela over what it considers suppression of democracy. Petro’s government has faced criticism for failing to curb the industrial-scale smuggling of migrants in Colombia, while Mexico had done little to stop migrants from hopping freight trains toward the U.S. until the country’s largest railway took action after safety concerns last month. Related coverage ➤ More refugees to come from Latin America, Caribbean under Biden’s new 125,000 refugee cap Mexico’s president slams US aid for Ukraine and sanctions on Venezuela and Cuba Panama criticizes Colombia for not helping stem record flow of migrants through Darien Gap

Rep. Matt Gaetz files motion to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy, throwing House into new turmoil Speaker Kevin McCarthy is facing an extraordinary referendum on his leadership of the House after a conservative member of his own Republican majority, a longtime critic, moved to launch a vote to oust him from the helm. Read more. Why this matters: Late Monday, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., rose as the House was almost done for the day to file the motion — a resolution that would set a snap vote in coming days that even Gaetz acknowledged may not have enough support to remove the speaker from the job. It’s a historic moment: the first time in more than 100 years that a lawmaker may force a vote using the legislative tool that has been threatened against other House speakers but never fully employed to try to remove them. The bold strike to confront McCarthy carries potentially dire ramifications if enough lawmakers decide to remove him, but also for Gaetz if it fizzles out. It also puts on stark display the warring factions that have roiled the Republican majority this year in the House and beyond. Related coverage ➤ Congress didn’t include funds for Ukraine in its spending bill. How will that affect the war? Rep. Jamaal Bowman triggered a fire alarm in a House office building amid voting on a funding bill

Trump turns his fraud trial into a campaign stop as he seeks to capitalize on his legal woes Donald Trump’s court appearances are no longer distractions from his campaign to return to the White House. They are central to it. The dynamic was on full display Monday as the former president and GOP front-runner returned to New York for the opening day of a civil fraud trial accusing him of grossly inflating the value of his businesses. Read more. Why this matters: Trump was under no obligation to appear Monday and did not address the court. But he nonetheless seized the opportunity to create a media spectacle that ensured he was back in the spotlight, once again portraying himself as a victim of a politicized justice system — a posture that has helped him emerge as the undisputed leader of the 2024 GOP primary. The appearance demonstrated how deftly Trump has used his legal woes to benefit his campaign. The former president’s appearance drew far more attention than a standard campaign rally and it gave him a fresh opportunity to rile up his base and fundraise. While some rivals had once thought Trump’s legal woes might dissuade Republican voters, his standing in the GOP primary has only improved since before the indictments and helped him raise millions of dollars. This will be the reality of his campaign going forward as he alternates between visits to early voting states and courtrooms, including to testify later in the New York civil trial, a federal trial in Washington and a trial in Georgia. Related coverage ➤ Trump seethes through the start of trial in New York lawsuit accusing him of lying about his wealth Attorney General Garland says in interview he’d resign if Biden asked him to take action on Trump Who is Arthur Engoron? Judge weighing future of Donald Trump empire is Ivy League-educated ex-cabbie

THIS DAY IN HISTORY October 3 1995 O.J. Simpson acquitted At the end of a sensational trial, former football star O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the brutal 1994 double murder of his estranged wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. In the epic 252-day trial, Simpson's "dream team" of lawyers employed creative and controversial methods to ... read more Art, Literature, and Film History 1895 "The Red Badge of Courage" is published 1967 Writer, singer and folk icon Woody Guthrie dies 1992 Sinéad O'Connor tears up a photo of Pope John Paul II on "Saturday Night Live" 2014 "Serial" debuts, inaugurating the podcast boom Cold War 1990 East and West Germany reunite after 45 years Crime 2011 Amanda Knox murder conviction overturned in Italy Great Britain 1981 Maze hunger strike called off Middle East 1932 Iraq wins independence Sports 1951 A miraculous home run wins the pennant for NY Giants 1997 Gordie Howe, 69, becomes only pro hockey player to compete in six decades U.S. Presidents 1863 President Lincoln proclaims official Thanksgiving holiday NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY 1873 U.S. Army hangs four Modoc leaders for the murder of a Civil War general World War I 1917 War Revenue Act passed in U.S. World War II 1942 Germany conducts first successful V-2 rocket test

October 3, 2023 The Vanishing Serpents “For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.” (Exodus 7:12) Like the future image of the beast, which will seem to have life, these magician-induced serpents can only have been “lying wonders” (2 Thessalonians 2:9). Neither men nor demons can really create life; this is a prerogative of God alone, who “created every living creature” (Genesis 1:21). However, both human magicians and demons can generate hypnotic mental states and occult hallucinations that ungodly people like pharaoh may be deceived into seeing as real physical entities. When their demonstration was over, however, nothing was left. Even their rods (not “serpents”) were gone, for Aaron’s genuine serpent had made a meal of them. In a true miracle of creation, Aaron’s God had transmuted the dead atoms of a wooden stick (just as He later made it to produce blossoms and almonds, Numbers 17:8) into a living serpent, capable of consuming other sticks that only appeared to be serpents. The deception of the magicians was revealed when they were unable later to imitate Moses’ miracle of turning dust into lice throughout the land of Egypt (Exodus 8:18). Interestingly, many people believed for many centuries that similar phenomena—which they called “spontaneous generation”—occurred naturalistically, but this notion was scientifically demolished by Pasteur over a hundred years ago. Only the living God can create life! The miracle of Aaron’s rod is also a parable. Aaron’s rod of life took on the nature of the serpent, just as Christ was made sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). But then it swallowed up the other serpent-rods, and the sting of “that old serpent” was put away. Thus, “death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55). HMM

Attosecond is my nomination for the Word of the Week: It is an Internationally recognized measurement of time. In a conversation, one might tell a child that they had one attosecond to accomplish the task. It should be noted that the Nobel Prize in Physics was just given to three scientists for their pioneering work with attoseconds.

A Christian journey: The following article is an inspiring story of one person’s journey to Christ. https://adventistreview.org/profile/from-google-to-church/

🔥 McCarthy showdown begins Screenshot via X Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) filed his highly anticipated "motion to vacate" against Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) tonight, triggering a vote on whether to oust him within the next two legislative days, Axios' Juliegrace Brufke reports. Why it matters: No speaker has ever been removed by a motion to vacate, which can be triggered by a single member but requires a majority of the House to succeed. The House has only voted on a motion to vacate one time — in 1910. What they're saying: "I have enough Republicans where at this point next week one of two things will happen," Gaetz told reporters after introducing the resolution. "Kevin McCarthy won't be the speaker of the House or he'll be the speaker of the House working at the pleasure of the Democrats, and I'm at peace with either result because the American people deserve to know who governs them." "If Democrats want to own Kevin McCarthy, they can have him," he added. The backdrop: Conservative hardliners are fuming about McCarthy's decision to rely on Democratic votes to avert a government shutdown, triggering a potential rebellion against his leadership. McCarthy has projected calm so far, casting Gaetz's effort to oust him as a personal feud and calling it destructive "to the institution." The top three members of Republican leadership — House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana, whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota and conference chair Elise Stefanik of New York — all issued statements of support for McCarthy today. What to watch: McCarthy is expected to need Democrats to remain speaker. House Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has yet to disclose leadership's plans, telling reporters that McCarthy had not reached out to him. The far-right House Freedom Caucus appears to be divided on the issue, with several members criticizing the timing of Gaetz's motion.