News organizations faced intense criticism Monday night for projecting the winner of the Iowa caucuses before voting even began in many areas across the state. Multiple news organizations — including the Associated Press‚ Fox News‚ CNN‚ The New York Times‚ and more — called the race for former President Donald Trump just minutes after doors closed at caucus locations throughout the state. Trump secured roughly half of the vote with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley — who finished second and third respectively — splitting the remaining votes. “Absolutely outrageous that the media would participate in election interference by calling the race before tens of thousands of Iowans even had a chance to vote‚” said DeSantis campaign spokesperson Andrew Romeo. “The media is in the tank for Trump and this is the most egregious example yet.” National Review Senior Writer Dan McLaughlin noted that Iowa was not a winner-take-all state and so “the margins actually affect delegate allocations.” “It’s indefensible to declare a winner in that situation before all votes are cast‚” he said. Semafor political reporter David Weigel wrote: “The very very early results show Trump winning big‚ but the early network call is a little questionable. People are still at caucus sites‚ and they have phones — how many people see the call and bail?” Political reporter Ben Jacobs wrote: “We haven’t even begun speeches at the caucus that I am attending and they have already called the state for Donald Trump.” Washington Post reporter Michael Scherer noted: “AP has a policy not to call ‘the winner of a race before all the polls in a jurisdiction are scheduled to close.’ Tonight AP/CNN/Etc. called the race after the caucus doors closed‚ but BEFORE all votes were cast. People could see on their phones that Trump won before voting.” Breitbart News columnist John Nolte wrote: “Why are the media calling an election while people are still voting?” Executive producer Aaron McIntire responded to the news by posting on X: “We haven’t even voted yet. I sent this tweet while I was listening to people give their speeches. Unreal.” Political consultant Jason Johnson wrote on X: “Fox called the race while the caucus I was monitoring was still listening to speakers. Suddenly‚ everyone started looking at their phones…reading the ‘breaking news.’ Remarkable.” Atlanta Journal-Constitution political columnist Patricia Murphy wrote: “I’m sorry- this is crazy to call it at 7:40. Nobody in Boone has even voted yet. Why would they stay if they saw this?” Physician Pradheep J. Shanker posted: “@FoxNews should be embarrassed. Let the caucus votes close before you make a call. That is not too much to ask. And everyone knows Trump is going to win. This isn’t some great journalistic achievement.” Popular conservative X account AG wrote: “Completely irresponsible for networks to call an election before most people have voted‚ but consistent with the decision to allow polling to drive coverage throughout the primary.” DeSantis campaign spokesperson Bryan Griffin wrote: “At the site where @RonDeSantis was speaking in Dubuque‚ people were still waiting to be checked in when the media started making calls. No one had even voted. It’s extremely disrespectful to the voters.” Podcast host Steve Deace wrote on X: “People are telling me phones got Fox News alerts Trump won before they even voted. Just criminal levels of voter suppression. That network is a freaking cancer. With ‘friends’ like Fox‚ who needs CNN?”

Pharmaceutical executive Vivek Ramaswamy dropped out of the Republican Party presidential primary race on Monday night after polling in the low single digits and endorsed former President Donald Trump‚ who he has aggressively championed on the campaign trail. Ramaswamy made the announcement while speaking to a group of supporters in Iowa‚ saying that there was no path forward for him to become president. As he said that he announced that he was suspending his campaign and endorsing Trump‚ his audience went completely silent with one person shouting‚ “Don’t do it!” Ramaswamy said that he and Trump were the only “America First” candidates who were in the race which comes after the former president attacked him on social media over the week‚ saying that Ramaswamy was “not MAGA.” “Vivek started his campaign as a great supporter‚ ‘the best President in generations‚’ etc.‚” Trump wrote. “Unfortunately‚ now all he does is disguise his support in the form of deceitful campaign tricks. Very sly‚ but a vote for Vivek is a vote for the ‘other side’ — don’t get duped by this.” “Vote for ‘TRUMP‚’ don’t waste your vote! Vivek is not MAGA‚” Trump continued. “The Biden Indictments against his Political Opponent will never be allowed in this Country‚ they are already beginning to fall! MAGA!!!” This is a breaking news story; refresh the page for updates. 

Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro briefly discussed his main takeaway from the Iowa caucuses on Monday night‚ saying the results show that former President Donald Trump is “the de facto nominee.” Trump won the Iowa caucuses‚ sitting at 51% with around 90% of the vote counted Monday night‚ according to Decision Desk HQ. DeSantis was sitting in second with 21.3%‚ and Haley was in third with 19%. Tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy was in fourth at 7.7%. The race was called with an unusually low percentage of the vote counted‚ as multiple outlets — including Fox News‚ CNN‚ NBC News‚ and the Associated Press — all called the race for Trump with just 1% of the vote counted. “Here is the very quick story: Donald Trump wins walking away‚” Shapiro said. “All of the pollsters called this thing pretty much as soon as the polls opened and that raises questions itself about procedure‚ about whether that affects the final vote tally‚ but bottom line is that they’re doing that based on the entrance polling data. Donald Trump is way out ahead.” “Donald Trump is so far out ahead that the rest of the field can’t even see him‚” Shapiro added. “This is Secretariat against the rest of the field in the 1973 Belmont Stakes.” The podcast host then delved into what the first-in-the-nation caucuses mean going forward for the rest of the primary. “It means that‚ de facto‚ Trump is the nominee. If no one can challenge him in Iowa‚ if nobody really has a chance of challenging him based on the momentum going into New Hampshire‚ if nobody has a challenge for him in South Carolina‚ then all you can say at this point is that he is preparing for the general election against Joe Biden‚” said Shapiro. Shapiro added that the political landscape is already lined up for a rematch between Trump and Biden in 2024. “Maybe it was always going to be this way‚” he said. “After all‚ [Trump] has been treated by the Republican electorate as the incumbent president. And he’s been treated that way because that’s how they think of him. Many Republicans think‚ by the way‚ that he won the last election‚ whether rightly or wrongly. So why wouldn’t they treat him that way?” “There might’ve been a brief moment in time where there were minds that were open to be changed enough to possibly challenge Trump‚ but that time passed a while ago‚” Shapiro added. “It’s pretty obvious at this point that Donald Trump is going to be your Republican nominee in 2024.” The Daily Wire editor emeritus said he will give a more in-depth analysis of the Iowa Caucuses on “The Ben Shapiro Show” Tuesday morning. Here is my reaction to tonight’s results. For a full in depth analysis‚ make sure to tune into tomorrow’s show. pic.twitter.com/VIINbh6RjD — Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) January 16‚ 2024

Christians must continue efforts to evangelize Muslims with the good news of Jesus Christ even as we work toward mutual understanding and acceptance. This requires a fair and accurate understanding of Islam as well as the ability to explain and defend Christian truth claims.

If you feel maxed out from taking care of everyone when your needs seem to go unnoticed‚ may I remind you‚ as the Lord reminded me‚ that you are worth everything to Him?

The Bible continually calls us to patience. Patience is an unpopular discipline‚ particularly today. We are told that time not spent in activity is but a waste; Idle hands are the devil’s plaything‚ we hear. 

If you work in youth ministry or education‚ as I do‚ you won’t be surprised that we’re facing the largest gap in generational attitudes since the 1960s. According to Jean Twenge’s research‚ “When you are born has a larger effect on your personality and attitudes than the family who raised you does.” Consider a few statistics about Gen Z (my generation)‚ who are between the ages of 13 and 28: More than 50 percent believe there are more than two genders; no other generation eclipses 30 percent. 40 percent believe the founders of the United States are “better described as villains” than as “heroes.” 40 percent of millennials and Gen Zers agree the government should be able to prevent people from making offensive statements. The generational changes evident in this data are fruit blossoming from roots stretching back hundreds of years. Roots: Identity Formation in a Meaningless World Modern people don’t understand themselves as inherently connected to a transcendent horizon. Unhitched from this order‚ individuals are free to discover their own values‚ identities‚ and purposes. Supreme Court justice Anthony Kennedy described it well: “At the heart of liberty is the right to define one’s own concept of existence‚ of meaning‚ of the universe‚ and of the mystery of human life.” This view of freedom creates what Charles Taylor calls the “nova effect”: a society where individuals are seeking transcendence for themselves through various outlets within the world. A society characterized by the nova effect is a society of people exchanging the truth of God for any number of other things—whether college football‚ devotion to a political party‚ sexual pleasures‚ or career climbing. Once an individual defines his “concept of existence” through pursuing fulfillment in one of these areas‚ he has created his modern identity. In short‚ the root of our generational and cultural divide is the belief that the universe is a tabula rasa—a blank canvas on which to paint our own meanings and craft our own identities. Fertilizer: The Internet Imagine a well-to-do American family sitting in the living room after a long day. Eighty years ago‚ they huddled near the radio to hear the local news. Fifty years ago‚ they sat and watched TV together. Today‚ what are they doing? Each person has her own phone or tablet‚ complete with streaming video and earbuds‚ and each can watch exactly what she wants when she wants. If modernity offered the pathway to an identity‚ the internet removed any geographical barriers from the pathway. For the first time in history‚ people are being formed primarily by forces‚ ideas‚ and personalities not close to their physical locations. The root of our generational and cultural divide is the belief that the universe is a blank canvas on which to paint our own meanings and craft our own identities. Dad might be on Facebook arguing with someone over pronouns in the workplace while‚ unbeknownst to him‚ his daughter five feet away is experimenting with alternative sexualities on Instagram. Social media is an endless supplier of support for your online identity. Sure‚ your dad might not approve of your new gender‚ but all your followers do. Potential Harvest: Cultural Apologetics with Teamwork and Confidence How do Christian leaders reach both the father and the daughter in that living room? The job of the missionary‚ as Tim Keller often said‚ is to enter sympathetically into a culture‚ challenge its pressure points‚ and then retell the story with its happy ending in Jesus. This is the work of cultural apologetics. The nova effect in tandem with the internet‚ however‚ calls for two specific tactics toward that end. 1. Teamwork During a trip to the U.K.‚ Keller was asked by a London pastor how to simultaneously preach the gospel to the Muslims in his neighborhood who think Christianity is too morally lax and to the secular people who think Christianity is too morally oppressive. The guru of cultural apologetics cleared his throat and replied‚ “You can’t.” He’s right. With a plurality of identities comes a plurality of cultural narratives that must be carefully connected with (and confronted by) the Christian message. Therefore‚ we need to elevate a diverse set of evangelists and apologists. At a local church level‚ this may include multigenerational pulpit-sharing and an intentional effort to diversify your cultural application points. 2. Confidence “Christianity is the most racially‚ culturally‚ socioeconomically diverse movement in history‚” observes Rebecca McLaughlin. “That is true globally‚ over the last two thousand years‚ and it’s true in America today.” Since Pentecost‚ the gospel has shown an unequaled capacity to hold different cultural narratives within its broader story. The gospel has shown an unequaled capacity to hold different cultural narratives within its broader story. C. S. Lewis left scientific naturalism for Christianity because Christianity could explain science better than naturalism could explain Christianity. He famously said‚ “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen‚ not only because I see it‚ but because by it I see everything else.” Today‚ in a world that Lewis would find strange‚ the gospel remains the only lens through which my fellow Gen Zers will be able to see everything else. It’s where they can discover stable identities in a world of counterfeit “concepts of existence‚” and it’s the power of God unto salvation.

'What is that margin going to look like?'

'That’s a dodge‚' Kelly said after playing an audio clip of Haley’s response

I can smell the money