Good morning!

As Mother’s Day approaches, what is the state of motherhood in America? Women are having fewer babies than ever. The total fertility rate is now 1.57 births per woman, well below the 2.1 population replacement level.

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• U.S. fertility hit a record low last year. Women had 3.6 million babies, down 1 percent from 2024 and 23 percent since 2007, cdc data released in April show.
• A similar demographic collapse is happening throughout Europe and East Asia. The reason the global population is still growing is the baby boom in sub-Saharan Africa, parts of Asia, and the Middle East.
• If not for immigration, America would be shrinking.

Why is this happening? A big reason is that fewer and fewer women want kids. Increasingly, their priority is career and economic success, which means delaying or even skipping family.

• Census Bureau figures show 85 percent of women ages 20 to 24 remain childless, and 63 percent of those 25 to 29—sharp rises from even just a decade earlier. The highest age-specific birthrate is among women in their early 30s. This is a dramatic shift in birth patterns.

Some people argue that the cause is the rising cost of living. That’s not the primary reason, Matt Boose argues in Chronicles magazine, noting that fertility was already falling when housing and child care were far cheaper. His takeaway:

The decline in fertility rates is the direct result of the feminist project and women prioritizing careers over childbearing. …

Blaming impersonal economic forces is an attractive choice because it never hits cultural bedrock: It lets women off the hook for life choices they often consciously and even proudly make. This choice presupposes feminist principles that hold women’s autonomy as the ultimate societal good. Little is said about how this relegates the needs of the young and demographic sustainability to minor concerns. The discourse is limited to making children “affordable” and “convenient”—while avoiding anything that might impose limitations on women’s career choices.

Here’s a shocker: Pew Research finds that only 45 percent of young women want children someday. This foreshadows much steeper birthrate declines to come.

• Perhaps even more shocking: That number is far less than the number of young men who want children: 57 percent. Men remaining more interested in family than women is a historic inversion.

The Apostle Paul prophesied in 2 Timothy 3 that “in the last days perilous times shall come.” Why perilous? “For men [and women] shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous … Without natural affection … highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” (verses 1-4). We are living in the world he foretold.

• Society extols motherhood in the abstract, but women are stampeding away from actually participating in it—to catastrophic effect.

Modern society’s emphasis on self-fulfillment, individualism and materialism is striking a death blow not just to family but to civilizational survival.

The German Government Is Fighting Itself

Shouting matches in the halls of Germany’s government? It has been rumored that in mid-April, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz yelled at his vice chancellor, Lars Klingbeil, in a coalition leaders’ meeting. Klingbeil has now confirmed that tempers flared but said, “It’s not a big deal to get yelled at once in a while.”

Despite previous disputes over pensions or basic income, Merz and Klingbeil, the respective leaders of the Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats, have been getting along. “But something has broken down, at the latest since the coalition summit held in a posh government villa in Berlin,” Bild wrote today after talking to several top coalition officials.

• Katherina Reiche, Germany’s economic minister, also had a heated disagreement with Klingbeil in April and was rebuked by Merz for it. Reiche expressed understanding for Merz’s attempt “to bring the coalition together at the end of the day,” but added: “My job as minister of economic affairs is to identify solutions that benefit the business community.”

It is now evident that Merz is having a hard time preserving harmony in the coalition.

He even has a hard time settling disputes in his own party. Bild reported that key staff members within the Chancellery wonder how much longer this can go on.

Merz is currently the least popular top politician, followed by party colleagues Reiche and Jens Spahn—after just a year in office.

• The Social Democrats are facing an even greater existential crisis as their party suffers historic election losses in key states, with more to follow later this year.

Former Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, who is a strong advocate for Merz and is also dating Reiche, expressed frustration in an interview with Fränkischer Tag on April 24:

I saw clear direction in Friedrich Merz when he wasn’t yet chancellor. I find that much harder to see today.

But what this country wants is leadership. And that means, when in doubt, knowing how to push through plans you firmly believe in. It won’t succeed 100 percent of the time. But it should succeed at least on some points.

The Trumpet has pointed for decades to Germany’s leadership problem as a key factor that will lead to the rise of a prophesied strongman who will take charge not only of Germany but of Europe. Merz’s unpopularity and inability to get key reforms passed add urgency to this prophecy.

To learn more, read “Europe Needs Someone Greater Than a German Chancellor.”

U.S. Indicts Mexican Governor for Helping Drug Lords

Yesterday, U.S. prosecutors took a rare step against corruption in Mexico by charging Rubén Rocha Moya, the governor of Sinaloa state, and nine other officials with drug trafficking and weapons charges for allegedly helping the Sinaloa Cartel traffic drugs into the United States.

• The indictment alleges that these officials ran a “protection racket” for the cartel, especially a faction led by the sons of former leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. In exchange for bribes and political support, the officials allegedly shielded cartel operations, ignored crimes, and used armed groups to help traffickers, allowing large shipments of fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin to cross the U.S. border.

U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton and Drug Enforcement Administration leaders called the case a major strike against officials who enable cartel violence and fuel the deadly drug crisis in American communities.

Mexico’s government responded with defiance. President Claudia Sheinbaum said Mexico will investigate the claims but will not automatically arrest the officials.

• She described the U.S. action as “meddling” in Mexican affairs and demanded strong evidence before any action. Moya has denied any ties to the cartel.

For years, many Americans have worried that cartel money and power have reached deep into Mexican politics. Drug-related violence continues to cause numerous homicides in Mexico—often estimated between one third and over half in recent years—and contributes to homicides and overdoses in the U.S.

• Conservatives argue that stronger border security, including a border wall, is necessary to stop the flow. Progressives suggest that legalizing marijuana and decriminalizing harder drugs would reduce cartel profits.

Few recognize the deeper root cause: a spiritual sickness that pervades North America.

• The Bible refers to pharmakeia in Galatians 5:19-20—often translated “witchcraft” or “sorcery”—which in ancient times involved the misuse of mind-altering drugs in pagan rituals. Even 2,000 years ago, opium from the poppy plant was known for its effects.

Today, millions of Americans and Mexicans turn to illegal drugs hoping to fill an inner emptiness, but addiction only makes the void worse and fuels a continent-wide crime spree.

IN OTHER NEWS

Israel intercepts Gaza-bound aid flotilla: The Israeli Navy detained 175 activists aboard 22 vessels near Crete on Wednesday, part of the 58-vessel Global Sumud Flotilla, which plans to breach Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza to supply aid to Palestinians, rather than providing it through the Israeli-secured port in Ashdod. Major flotillas like this are designed to portray Israelis as evil, part of the ongoing surge in anti-Semitism worldwide, often disguised as activism.

Britain forming joint naval force to ‘complement’ nato: Britain signed an agreement last week that expands the 10-nation Joint Expeditionary Force military cooperation framework to include a Northern Navies initiative aimed at deterring Russia. Gen. Sir Gwyn Jenkins, head of the Royal Navy, called Russia the “gravest threat” to Britain and stated this “multinational maritime force” will “complement” nato and is “designed to fight immediately if required, with real capabilities, real war plans and real integration.”

Australian police were warned before December Hanukkah attack: A Jewish security group warned local authorities of a heightened risk of terrorism six days before Islamist terrorists massacred 15 people and wounded 40 more as they celebrated Hanukkah at Bondi Beach in December. That was the finding of a Royal Commission on Anti-Semitism and Social Cohesion report released yesterday. The group asked for increased security at the event, but an e-mail to officers three days prior merely instructed them to be visible, stating, “No need to stay the entire duration, but your presence will ensure the community feel safe.” The report says only three officers and one supervisor attended “at various times.” Hearings into the federal and local governments’ security preparedness begin next week. Both this attack and law enforcement’s lackadaisical approach to security highlight a dangerous trend prophesied in the Bible.

Democrat plot fails to limit Trump’s Cuba war powers: Yesterday, Republicans in the Senate blocked Democrats’ attempt to limit the president’s ability to take military action against Communist Cuba. A resolution by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) would have forced the removal of U.S. forces near Cuba and would have required Congress to approve any blockade. A few Republicans joined Kaine and the Democrats, but Republicans stopped the bill from going to a full vote. The controversy over Cuba reflects both the grave divisions within the U.S. government and the threat that Cuba poses. Bible prophecy indicates that Cuba will form a close alliance with Catholic Europe, so President Trump’s actions could prompt Communist Cuba to move away from China and Russia.