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The fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ice agent yesterday tragically summarizes how agitated and polarized America has become over federal efforts to curb illegal immigration.

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The Twin Cities area especially, with its large Somali community, was already on edge. After recent exposure of fraud at childcare centers, ice operations targeting Somalis (especially those with deportation orders) surged. This month, the Department of Homeland Security announced its “largest ever” operation, deploying up to 2,000 agents to Minneapolis. Locals were trying to impede these efforts when the shooting occurred.

Eyewitnesses gave wildly conflicting accounts of what preceded the incident. Videos immediately flooded social media, accompanied by hair-trigger, uninformed condemnations—either of the ice officer (“cold-blooded murderer,” “gestapo monster”) or of the deceased 37-year-old (“domestic terrorist,” “deranged leftist agitator”). President Trump accused Renee Good of “violently, willfully, and viciously” running over an ice officer. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called a similar description by the dhs “bull****” and told ice to “get the f*** out of Minneapolis.”

The divide is worsening between Americans who want immigration law enforced and those who view such efforts as oppressive and racist. This event cements each side in its view and amps up the hostility. Such division weakens America from within and hastens the threat of another civil war.

Another Syrian civil war? Fighting between Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters in the northern city of Aleppo has entered its third day. At least 12 people have been killed, according to reports, and tens of thousands of civilians have fled. The Syrian government has designated Kurdish majority neighborhoods as “closed military areas” while the Kurdish militia Syrian Democratic Forces called the move a “criminal attempt” of forced displacement.

After the 2024 overthrow of dictator Bashar Assad, a new regime with roots in an al Qaeda affiliate took over Syria. The U.S. had listed its new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist up until two months ago. Sharaa’s notionally reformed regime has tried to forcibly integrate the Syrian Democratic Forces and other autonomous Kurdish groups into the central military structure, but the Kurds, who have been persecuted in Syria for decades, are nervous the Sharaa regime will do the same thing.

So far, the fighting has been mostly restricted to Aleppo, but this could easily expand into a new civil war.

As the Syrian crisis continues to take twists and turns, the Trumpet forecasts that, one way or another, Syria will become part of an alliance between Middle Eastern and European powers described in Psalm 83. Read what the Bible says and what it means for Syria’s future in Chapter 4 of Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry’s booklet The King of the South.

Israel and Syria set up hotline: Israel and Syria restarted United States-brokered security talks on Monday and Tuesday in Paris, the first time in almost half a year. This was the first time Israel had sent civilian representatives, as opposed to military representatives, to speak with the new regime. But the outcome, according to Bible prophecy, will not be what Israel hopes.

The meetings resulted in:

• Israel and Syria agreed to a “dedicated communication cell,” or intelligence-sharing network, as a forum to de-escalate military conflict. The joint statement also referenced potential “commercial opportunities.”
• Reportedly, Israel also agreed to suspend military operations against Syria. Israel has yet to confirm this.

Syria’s current government, led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, is run by rebels formerly tied to al Qaeda. Many major events, like the massacres of religious minorities last year, suggest the government is still influenced by its old ideology. Nevertheless, the U.S. has done everything it can to reintegrate Syria into the international community. This includes pressuring Israel to make deals like this one, which the U.S. openly states it hopes will lead to full normalization. In this case, Israel is apparently required to share intelligence with Sharaa’s government.

A prophecy in Psalm 83 mentions “the Hagarenes” (verse 6), or the ancient inhabitants of Syria, in an alliance formed so “that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance” (verse 4). (This prophecy’s end-time relevance is explained here.) Based on Psalm 83, Gerald Flurry wrote the following after President Trump brokered normalization between Israel and the United Arab Emirates during his first term:

We all want peace. But sadly, these recent peace pacts have a deadly flaw.

Biblical prophecy gives us deep insight into these agreements. It actually foretells that moderate Arabs will unite, somewhat like we are now seeing. But they are prophesied not to cooperate with the United States or Israel! …

While it seems that these nations are moving away from radicalism and violence, we must look beneath the surface. After all, this prophecy reveals that they will take “crafty counsel”—subtle and shrewd dealing. This sure prophecy shows that these nations will ally to try to blot out the name of Israel forever! That is intense hatred!

Syria right now is led by a far more radical government than is the United Arab Emirates. If those words applied to the original Abraham Accords, they surely apply to the discussions between the U.S., Israel and Syria today. These countries are cozying up to Syria’s al Qaeda regime to their own peril.

IN OTHER NEWS

EU-Latin America trade deal inches forward: Negotiations between the European Union and the trade bloc mercosur continue, and recent tweaks by the European Commission have enabled part of the deal to pass. By offering more funding for farmers in the 2028–2034 budget period and temporarily suspending tariffs on fertilizers, Italy gave its support, giving the EU enough votes to pass this aspect of the trade agreement. However, France is still opposed, and other aspects require unanimous consent from all member states. In the same week that President Trump made a strong move to counter anti-U.S. foreign influence in Venezuela and enforce the Monroe Doctrine, the Europeans have quietly taken important steps to bring Latin America into their trade empire. For more information on the significance of this deal, read “America Is Being Besieged Economically,” by Gerald Flurry.

Thousands of people attended a neofascist rally in Rome yesterday. The annual event, organized by admirers of 20th-century Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, commemorates the shooting of three neofascists by left-wing terrorists on Jan. 7, 1978. Hundreds at yesterday’s rally made Mussolini’s fascist salute, their right arms outstretched and hands open. The salute was perhaps the most iconic aspect of Mussolini’s movement to restore the Roman Empire. In the years leading up to and during World War II, Herbert W. Armstrong repeatedly warned that this restoration was prophesied in Revelation 17. Mussolini and Adolf Hitler represented the sixth resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire, and a seventh is prophesied to arise in our time. The current veneration of Mussolini in Italy, seen even among Italian leaders, shows that the fascist spirit is still alive.

President Trump proposed to hike the Pentagon’s budget from $901 billion in 2025 to $1.5 trillion for 2027 yesterday. “This will allow us to build the ‘Dream Military’ that we have long been entitled to and, more importantly, that will keep us safe and secure, regardless of foe,” Trump posted on Truth Social. He added that he feels comfortable boosting spending on the military because of increased revenue brought in through tariffs. Yet the Penn Wharton Budget Model projects only $566 billion in conventional tariff revenue for 2027. A $600 billion increase in military spending would increase the federal government’s budget deficit, which currently represents about 6 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product.

U.S. leaves 66 international organizations: On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending U.S. support for 66 organizations, including the United Nations’ population agency and the UN treaty that establishes international climate negotiations. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “The Trump administration has found these institutions to be redundant in their scope, mismanaged, unnecessary, wasteful, poorly run, captured by the interests of actors advancing their own agendas contrary to our own, or a threat to our nation’s sovereignty, freedoms and general prosperity.” This marks a resurgence in American sovereignty, but unless Americans repent toward God, this show of strength will likely contribute to America’s isolation and downfall. To understand why, read The United States and Britain in Prophecy.