It’s New Year’s day, Monday, January 1st, A.D. 2024. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)

By Adam McManus

Don’t abandon Armenian hostages

A day after a limited prisoner exchange between Armenia and Azerbaijan took place, a coalition of human rights organizations is urging the United States not to abandon Azerbaijan’s remaining Armenian hostages, reports Christian Solidarity International.

In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Christian Solidarity International, Genocide Watch, Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust, and the Armenian National Committee of America pointed out that dozens more Armenians are still being held in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.
 
These include eight current and former members of the elected government of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh who were kidnapped during Azerbaijan’s attack on Nagorno Karabakh in September, during which the entire Armenian population of the region was expelled.  

On December 13th, Azerbaijan released 32 Armenian soldiers. In exchange, Armenia released two Azerbaijani soldiers who had been detained after infiltrating sovereign Armenian territory and killing an Armenian civilian. 

Please pray for the peace of God which in Philippians 4:7 is described as “surpassing all understanding.”

Maine secretary of state disqualifies Trump from primary ballot

Last Thursday, Maine’s Democrat Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said former President Trump is disqualified from holding office and thus she has removed him from the state’s primary ballot under section 3 of the 14th Amendment over his role in the January 6, 2021 rally at the U.S. Capitol.

In her decision, she wrote, “The U.S. Constitution does not tolerate an assault on the foundations of our government, and Section 336 requires me to act in response.”

In an interview with CBS News Thursday night, Bellows further explained her reasoning.

Listen.

BELLOWS: “I’m mindful that no Secretary of State has ever deprived a candidate of ballot access under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. But no presidential candidate has ever engaged in an insurrection. My job was to evaluate the facts presented at the hearing, the evidence that was produced, and the record graded in that proceeding, and to evaluate that and make a ruling, which is what I did.”

Bellows added, “Given the compressed timeframe, the novel constitutional questions involved, the importance of this case, and impending ballot preparation deadlines, I will suspend the effect of my decision until the Superior Court rules on any appeal or the time to appeal … has expired.”

The state of Colorado has also removed Donald Trump from the presidential ballot as well.

Biden strategy: Distract America from economy, claim Trump threatens democracy

In an internal election memo released Thursday, Biden’s campaign manager, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, said, “We are treating this election like it will determine the fate of American democracy – because it will,” reports Bloomberg.

She also said, “The threat Donald Trump posed in 2020 to American democracy has only grown more dire since then. He is running a campaign on revenge and retribution – and at the expense of Americans’ freedoms.”

Not surprisingly, the Biden campaign seeks to de-emphasize the economic catastrophe of his first term during which prices have increased cumulatively by 17.4 percent. Instead, they are convinced that the winning political strategy is to put democracy itself at the center of Biden’s re-election argument.

Right now, in the RealClearPolitics average of eight presidential polls, Trump is beating Biden 46.8% to 45.5%.

COVID mask mandates return to hospitals in four states and D.C.

Hospitals across the U.S. are reinstating COVID-19 mask mandates as the JN.1 variant becomes the dominant strain spreading throughout the country, reports Newsweek.

Hospitals in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York and Washington D.C. have all brought back divisive rules mandating masks for selected people in medical settings.

The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control has recorded a 10.4 percent increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations across America in the week leading up to December 16.  Additionally, there has been an increase of 3.4 percent in deaths related to the coronavirus in the same period.

Mailman rescues toddler

And finally, a Massachusetts mailman, named David Moulton, delivered more than his routine batch of letters. For the first time in eight years of walking his route, he delivered a 3-year-old toddler to safety, reports CBS News.

MOULTON: “They say the ways of God are mysterious you know. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”

The boy had managed to somehow leave Salem Community Day Care in Salem, Massachusetts. 

MOULTON:  “He ran past me this way for us to the park. I thought he was running to play with kids or something like that. And then all of a sudden, I saw him zip by me again, and I’m like, ‘He’s headed to a busy street.’”

Unbelievably, the toddler was walking the sidewalks and streets, in the cold, for nearly 30 minutes.  

MOULTON: “He’s got no shoes and no jacket on. This isn’t right. I’m wearing four layers of clothes. He was shaking. He was shivering. He was cold.”

Moulton took action.

MOULTON: “I have children of my own. I can’t just let him head to the street, stand there, and do nothing. I just scooped him up before he got into the street over there.”

The postman told reporters that the toddler was about to cross Congress Street, a very busy thoroughfare.

MOULTON: “I’m very glad that it ended well. It could have been real bad.”

After rescuing him, Moulton called 9-1-1. Thankfully, the medical personnel who arrived determined the boy was just fine.

In Matthew 10:29-31, Jesus said a sparrow “does will not fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

The police have referred the case to the District Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts and the Department of Children and Families which are investigating Salem Community Day Care.

Close

And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this New Year’s Day, Monday, January 1st in the year of our Lord 2024. Subscribe by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I’m Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.