What ship is longer than the Eiffel Tower’s height and, when loaded, weighs more than twenty-two Eiffel Towers?  A week ago, most of us would have had no idea. Today, you likely know the answer: the Ever Given, the massive vessel that ran aground in the Suez Canal last Tuesday. In the days since, according to the Wall Street Journal, over three hundred and sixty vessels waited to pass through the canal. Since 13 percent of all maritime trade and... Read more

My wife’s parents lived in Arkansas for many years; we think it is a beautiful state. I have visited the campus of Oral Roberts University (ORU) in Tulsa only one time; we drove around and then left. And yet, I really wanted Max Abmas‘ last-second three-point shot to go in Saturday night, as that would have given ORU the win over Arkansas in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament and sent them to the Elite Eight tonight. But it was not... Read more

March Madness, otherwise known as the NCAA basketball playoffs, continues to dominate sports headlines. Meanwhile, another basketball story deserves our attention today. Hansel Emmanuel plays for Life Christian Academy in Kissimmee, Florida. Over a recent weekend tournament, the sixteen-year-old averaged twenty-five points and eleven rebounds per game. He can dunk and otherwise dominate a game.  He also has only one arm, having lost his left arm when a wall accidentally fell on him at the age of six.  Fireball meteor... Read more

Forty-eight hours after its launch, The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) became the #1 show on Apple Podcasts. The show now boasts over 1.3 million downloads. The producer explains the podcast’s popularity: “People are hungry for God, and we’re honored to help them encounter God’s word through a daily podcast, especially as so many of us continue to be cut off from our parishes, communities, and loved ones during these difficult days.” “People are hungry for God”... Read more

The movie Pretty Woman came out thirty-one years ago yesterday. The film’s subtitle describes the plot: “She walked off the street, into his life, and stole his heart.” People magazine reports some facts you may not have known about the popular film: Burt Reynolds was initially offered the lead role that Richard Gere made famous; the director’s son plays a drug-dealing skateboarder in the movie; and the film was originally titled 3000—the price of one night with Vivian, the prostitute... Read more

Officer Eric Talley was one of ten people killed yesterday afternoon when a shooter attacked a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado. Officer Talley joined the Boulder police department a decade ago. He had seven children; the youngest was seven years old. According to his father, “He loved his kids and family more than anything. He was looking for a job to keep himself off the front lines and was learning to be a drone operator. He didn’t want to put... Read more

NOTE: Another mass shooting occurred yesterday afternoon, this time in Boulder, Colorado. Ten people have died, including a police officer. When we know more, we will release a special edition Daily Article later this morning. For now, please join me in praying for the families and others affected by this horrible tragedy, claiming the promise of Psalm 34:18 that “the Lord is near to the brokenhearted.” Can a prayer change a basketball tournament? Sister Jean Delores Schmidt made headlines three... Read more

Aaron Fischer is coming to comic books in June. Part of the “United States of Captain America” series, he is the “Captain America of the Railways,” protecting runaways and homeless youth. He is also openly gay. The comic featuring him will be published in June for Pride Month. My point is not that the first LGBTQ-identifying Captain America will soon enter popular culture. Nor is it that we should be shocked, or that we should be shocked if we’re not... Read more

Delaina Ashley Yaun and her husband were on a date last Tuesday and decided to get a massage. They went for the first time to Young’s Asian Massage Parlor near Woodstock, a town north of Atlanta. When a gunman attacked the parlor, Delaina and three others were murdered. “I’m lost, I’m confused, I’m hurt. I’m numb,” her mother later told reporters.  Two other Atlanta-area massage parlors were also attacked; eight people died in all. Authorities charged Robert Aaron Long in... Read more

Here’s the best story I’ve seen in a while: the Washington Post is reporting that a Southwest Airlines employee returned a toy left on an airplane to its owner. How he did what he did, and why, is worth our time today. Two-year-old Hagen Davis was flying with his family from Sacramento to Dallas to attend his great uncle’s funeral. He left his beloved Buzz Lightyear action figure on the plane. The aircraft then flew to Little Rock, Arkansas, where... Read more