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A heavy week of news, with clarity and calm

A heavy week of news, with clarity and calm

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 Balanced takes on politics and world news — without the anger or hype.Every episode ends with a few minutes of Biblical encouragement for perspective and peace. Learn more. Timestamps & Topics* 2:40 — Opening segment: Heavy news week* 6:32 — ICE in Minnesota* 22:32 — Jack Smith testifies against Trump* 28:22 — Tensions with Iran escalate* 33:34 — Update on Venezuala* 40:39 — Israel says not-so-fast on Gaza reconstruction* 46:24 — How the West (and Ukraine) is closing in on Russia’s “Shadow Fleet”* 53:08 — Windfarm victories in court tell a larger story* 53:39 — A reminder that Russia is not winning in Ukraine. Not even close.* 1:00:29 — Faith message* 1:08:01 — About me, the mission, and my booksListen in the player above, or find The Stan R. Mitchell Show on your preferred platform.👉 Official podcast page Subscribing on Substack is the best way to support the show and keep it independent.Questions or comments: stanrmitchell2012@gmail.comInclude your first name and city if you’d like your message possibly included in a future episode.Short voice memos are welcome (and preferred).Books: I write stories about duty, leadership, and moral responsibility — often under extreme pressure. I’ve written twelve fast-paced thrillers, with more than 70,000 copies sold. They’re available on Amazon.Selected source notes for podcast and transcript above.U.S. news:Opening Segment – Heavy News WeekThis has been one of those weeks.The kind of week where the news feels relentless — headline after headline, outrage piled on outrage — and it can feel like the country is coming apart at the seams.But I want to slow things down for just a moment, because this is important.In weeks like this, the loudest voices on the far left and the far right get amplified. Social media, cable news, and algorithms reward anger, certainty, and extremes. That’s what cuts through the noise.But that does not mean those voices represent most of the country.Most Americans are not spending their days glued to political fights. They’re going to work. They’re raising kids. They’re caring for aging parents. They’re trying to pay bills, keep their marriages together, and live decent lives. Most Americans are not radical activists. They’re not screaming online. And they’re not rooting for the country to fail just so “their side” can win.In fact, a huge number of Americans don’t vote at all. In most elections, tens of millions sit it out. Even in presidential years, turnout rarely reaches the full population. That alone should remind us that the political temperature we see online is not the temperature of the nation as a whole.The truth is, the center of this country is much larger—and much quieter—than the extremes would have you believe.And that matters, because the way forward doesn’t come from the edges. It comes from normal people — the middle — deciding to engage more, not less. It comes from showing up and voting for sane, serious candidates who understand that compromise isn’t weakness. It’s how a diverse republic actually survives.We’ve been through uncertainty before. Worse than this. And every time, the country didn’t make it through because one side crushed the other—but because enough reasonable Americans refused to give in to fear, chaos, or despair.So if this week has felt heavy, here’s the reminder:You’re not alone.The country is not as broken as it sometimes looks.And we are going to get through this—together.And for people of faith, this is also a moment to remember that our hope was never supposed to rest in politics or personalities. It rests in something steadier — something bigger than any news cycle. When things feel uncertain, that grounding matters.That’s the perspective I want to hold onto as we go into this episode.Some Republicans now openly acknowledge that the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis has gone deeply wrong. One explanation for the turnabout can be found in the polls.Anderson Cooper played side-by-side video of Noem and Bovino smearing the victim of Saturday's shooting, then said, "If either of these public officials had an ounce of decency, they would call up Alex Pretti's parents and apologize."Wall Street Journal: Videos Contradict U.S. Account of Minneapolis Shooting by Federal Agents.The Trump administration is planning to move Gregory Bovino, the official in charge of President Trump’s Border Patrol operations and the face of on-the-ground immigration enforcement in Minneapolis, out of the city, officials said.Here’s how some conservatives framed it:And conservatives also made this point:I decided to try to look up what the truth is and here’s what I found.🚔 Does U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) need a warrant?1. Public places — ❌ No warrant neededICE can:* Stop, question, or arrest someone in public (street, parking lot, workplace lobby)* Act on probable cause that the person is ...
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