Britain’s Out-of-Control Spending, Funding Planned Parenthood, Military Space Race

China might finally green-light a massive new natural gas project with Russia. The two are close, but the Power of Siberia 2 was considered to be too expensive and would leave China too dependent on Russia. Why the change of mind? War with Iran. China is worried about being too dependent on the Middle East, and so it is drawing closer to Russia. Today’s In Depth has more.

[BRIEF]

Can Britain get its massive spending under control? Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer reversed course yesterday on the most modest of spending cuts.

One area the UK is hemorrhaging money on is disability benefits, which around 10 percent of the working-age population is receiving. Around a quarter of those claiming disability payments do so for “mental health” problems. In large cities, 1 in 5 adults is out of work, supposedly because they’re too sick. Every day, 2,000 to 3,000 more sign up for the benefits.

It’s easy to see why: Claiming a disability opens the door to a host of benefits. Tick the right boxes and the government will even buy you a brand-new car and cover your insurance, tax, service and maintenance. Half of all new cars sold in Northern Ireland were bought by the government through this scheme.

Clearly any system in which the government gives you a new car if you say you’re depressed can’t last. Even the left-wing Starmer planned some small measures to get a handle on it. He wanted to make it slightly harder for people to claim the Personal Independence Payment—just one health benefit. But his party rebelled, and he backtracked: The stricter criteria will apply only to new claimants after November 2026, not current claimants.

The farcical situation raises broader questions about the sustainability of democracy. Once a large chunk of people realize they can vote themselves free stuff, it’s very hard to stop them. Britain’s richest 10 percent contributes 60 percent of the nation’s tax revenue. Yet squeezed by all the taxes, millionaires are leaving the country at a record rate. Britain seems set to keep voting itself free goodies until the entire economy collapses.

It brings to mind the warnings of America’s founders that democracy will work only for a moral people. A compassionate system that helps disabled people might be sustainable if everyone were honest, but when people post TikTok videos on how to lie to get a free car, it all falls apart.

It’s worth keeping this in mind as America returns to trying to pass President Trump’s One Big, Beautiful Bill.

In 2013, Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry gave a warning that applies to both Britain and America: “No nation has ever borrowed and printed money the way America has. [This] ought to shock Americans to their senses, but most people are too involved in their sports and pleasures to notice.” At least some, such as Elon Musk, are outraged. “I guarantee you, America’s financial problems will intensify until they get our full attention!” Mr. Flurry wrote. “… This crisis is far bigger than just one candidate or political party.” With a change in party, the debt crisis continues to worsen. He concluded:

There is only one answer. It is only by obeying God, by applying His laws and principles of life, that we can bring real hope and joy into our lives. We do need real change to solve our problems. And even though we will go through some dark times, God will bring that to pass. He is about to effect a revolution by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to rule this Earth as King of kings and Lord of lords. The Bible also prophesies about that—and those prophecies are sure. We are almost there! Take hope in that.

A Supreme Court ruling could cut a lot of funds from pro-abortion group Planned Parenthood. Can states decline to give Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood? The federal government gives states Medicaid money to pay for health care for low-income families. A lot of this money is given to Planned Parenthood. Supposedly, this money cannot pay for abortions, but Planned Parenthood can use it to keep its clinics’ lights on and its doctors paid. South Carolina’s government decided to shift that money elsewhere. A South Carolina court and the 4th Circuit Court both ruled that this was illegal.

The Supreme Court overturned this. Justice Neil Gorsuch argued in the majority opinion that Congress “knows how to give a grantee clear and unambiguous notice that, if it accepts federal funds, it may face private suits asserting an individual right to choose a medical provider,” but they didn’t do so. The ruling sends the case back to the lower courts, but in the meantime, South Carolina and other states are free to defund Planned Parenthood.

Government funding to Planned Parenthood finances a lot of evil. It’s good to see the court decline to invent some new constitutional mandate that voters have to pay to murder babies. But abortion remains common. Our article “The Inspiring Truth Abortionists Should Know” explains the truth on this controversial subject.

China could overtake America in the military space race, warned Gen. Stephen Whiting, top commander of the U.S. Space Force. China is developing its military technology “breathtakingly fast,” he said. Its ability to quickly identify, track and destroy a target has become “very concerning.” It has 500 intelligence and surveillance satellites, rockets capable of shooting down satellites, and anti-satellite lasers.

“There used to be a significant capability gap between the United States and our adversaries, driven by our technological advantage,” Gen. Michael A. Guetlein, deputy chief of U.S. operations at Space Force, said in March. “That gap, once massive, has narrowed considerably.”

What makes it worse is that the U.S. is heavily reliant on space for its defense. President Trump’s Gold Dome project relies on satellites tracking missiles. If China can shoot those satellites down, it can create a major vulnerability. The Bible describes America being caught by surprise by its adversaries. Blinding America’s space infrastructure is one way this could happen.

IN OTHER NEWS

Egypt and Iran agree to work more closely together. The two have been at odds for decades, but in December the Iranian president made the first presidential visit to Egypt in over a decade, and better relations have been forming. The Bible prophesies that Egypt and Iran will be allies in the end time, and we see this building now. Our In Brief has more.

Russian officers will train Chinese troops in the lessons they’ve learned from Ukraine, the Kyiv Post claimed this week—yet another sign of these two working closely together. North Korea is also continuing to work with Russia, sending more infantry to fight Ukraine. The Ukraine war continues to bring Asian powers together, just as we said it would from the start.