The head of Germany’s secret service has switched jobs to become Germany’s ambassador to the Vatican. In the shadowy world of intrigue, it’s an eye-catching story. Our main story, “The Rehabilitation of Germany’s Secret Service,” provides more information.

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A federal judge has once more overruled the Trump administration on birthright citizenship. The ruling applies nationwide—despite the fact that the Supreme Court barred judges from making nationwide injunctions. Judge Joseph Laplante granted the case class-action status. The effect is identical to a nationwide injunction. It means that anyone born in the U.S. has citizenship, regardless of his or her parents’ immigration status. It overrules President Trump’s January 20 ruling that denied citizenship to babies born to parents without citizenship or legal permanent residence.

The Supreme Court limited the use of nationwide injunctions in a 6-3 ruling on June 27. At the time, Samuel Alito wrote a concurring opinion, warning that judges will try to get around the decision. “This ruling will unleash a tsunami of class-action lawsuits designed to achieve what nationwide injunctions once did,” he wrote, calling for courts to “scrupulously adhere” to the rules surrounding class-action suits, which could otherwise become a “backdoor” to universal injunctions.

“The judiciary must not become a policymaking body cloaked in procedural formalities,” he said. “Relief must be tailored to the parties before the court—not to the nation at large.”

The ease with which this case was switched to a class-action suit suggests this will become the new tool for district judges to overrule the president. The court may have to weigh in again on broader questions around class-action lawsuits.

The Supreme Court’s support of Donald Trump fulfills a key Bible prophecy. Trumpet executive editor Stephen Flurry’s article “Reining in Activist Judges” has more.

Has Israel agreed to peace with Syria? Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa held a secret meeting with Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi, the Lebanese al-Mayadeen news channel reported Wednesday.

Syria would renounce its claims to the Golan Heights in exchange for Israel’s recognition of the new government, it reported. Syria would also create three “buffer zones” in southern Syria where its military would be limited to holding “light weapons.”

We wrote at the beginning of the week on the trend of Israel warming up to the new regime in Syria. Syria’s government led by Sharaa is primarily made up of a jihadist faction formerly affiliated with al Qaeda; we concluded that it would be naive to trust such figures. Yet it seems like Sharaa is pursuing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his entourage, offering so many concessions to give Israel basically everything it could want with a peace settlement, that it would be hard for Israel to resist his advances.

However, Bible prophecy warns that Israel’s trust in Syria will be betrayed. Psalm 83:6 lists the Hagarenes, the ancient inhabitants of modern Syria, in an end-time alliance formed “that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance” (verse 4). Other peoples mentioned, such as the Ishmaelites, include the United Arab Emirates and Arab countries Israel already has close relations with. Through these peace deals, Israel is not only witnessing the rise of the Psalm 83 alliance—it is helping to build it. Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry’s article “Deadly Flaw in Mideast Peace Deals” elaborates.

IN OTHER NEWS

President Trump will visit central Texas today, where the death toll has reached 120, with 170 still missing. Andrew Miiller has more on this tragic story in his article “Seeing God in the Texas Floods.”

Unrest in Pakistan: Gunmen murdered nine people in an attack on two buses in Pakistan’s Balochistan today. The gunmen singled out people from Pakistan’s Punjab province, dragging nine of them away to be murdered. Pakistan’s ongoing struggles with terrorism, both Islamist and secular, make it the world’s most vulnerable nuclear power. There are serious concerns what would happen to Pakistan’s nuclear weapons if its various insurgencies ever gained sufficient momentum. Our 2018 article “How Long Before Pakistan’s Nuclear Weapons Fall Into Jihadist Hands?” has more.

The James Webb Space Telescope celebrated its third anniversary yesterday. nasa published a new image of the Cat’s Paw Nebula to mark its third year of operation. “Three years into its mission, Webb continues to deliver on its design—revealing previously hidden aspects of the universe, from the star formation process to some of the earliest galaxies,” said nasa’s Shawn Domagal-Goldman. “As it repeatedly breaks its own records, Webb is also uncovering unknowns for new generations of flagship missions to tackle. [T]he questions Webb has raised are just as exciting as the answers it’s giving us.” The new image is an appropriate one, using the satellite’s near-infrared detector to see through dust that has obscured previous pictures. nasa has more here, including a video that guides you around the picture.