The Daily Signal - 7 Americans Still Hostage, Hurricane Aftermath, Bible Sales Up | Dec. 23

Episode Date: December 23, 2024

Description:  On today’s Top News in 10, we cover:    Over 14 months after Hamas attacked Israel, seven U.S. citizens remain hostage in Gaza.   Todd Lamphere is the Senior Vice President of nonprofit CityServe, explains ongoing cleanup efforts following Hurricane Helene.  Bible sales increased in 2024.    Links From Today’s Show: Keep Up With The Daily Signal Sign up for our email newsletters: https://www.dailysignal.com/email     Subscribe to our other shows:  The Tony Kinnett Cast: https://www.dailysignal.com/the-tony-kinnett-cast  Problematic Women: https://www.dailysignal.com/problematic-women  The Signal Sitdown: https://www.dailysignal.com/the-signal-sitdown    Follow The Daily Signal:  X: https://x.com/DailySignal  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedailysignal/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDailySignalNews/  Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@DailySignal  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/DailySignal  Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/TheDailySignal    Thanks for making The Daily Signal Podcast your trusted source for the day’s top news. Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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We'd love to talk, business. With Christmas, a handful of days away, the daughter of two Israeli-American hostages is asking Americans for prayer. I'm Virginia Allen, and this is the Daily Signal's Top News in 10 for Monday, December 23rd. A quick announcement first before we begin today's show. This is going to be our final Top News in 10 for 2024, but we will be back on January 2nd. But don't worry, we are still going to have lots of content coming your way over the next two weeks here, from your favorite podcast. You can catch our interview editions on the weekends and we'll also be releasing a bonus episode on Thursday. But let's go ahead and get to Top News in 10.

It has been 14 and a half months since Hamas terrorists attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking another about 250 hostage. Today, there are seven U.S. citizens who remain hostage in Gaza, 36-year-old Sigi Del Chen, 20-year-old Idan Alexander, and 65-year-old Keith Segal. They are believed to be alive in Gaza, the bodies of four other Americans, Omar Nutra, Itte Chen, Judy Weinstein-Hagai, and Gad-Hagai are also believed to be being held in Gaza. Last week, I had the opportunity to speak with the daughter of Gad and Judy Higai. Her name is Iris Weinstein Higai, and she told me that it's been really difficult to begin that grieving process while the remains of her parents are still in Gaza. But she told me that she's also been encouraged just recently by President-elect Donald Trump's statement that he made at the beginning of December on True Social. You might remember that on December 2nd, Trump wrote on True Social that there will be all hell to pay in the Middle East and for those in charge.

charge who perpetrate these atrocities against humanity if the hostages are not released by January 20th, the day that President Trump is sworn into office. Hague told me that she believes that many lives would have been saved if world leaders would have simply made strong statements like this one on October 8th of 2023. You don't even know the power that statement made. If only all world leader did that October 8th of 2020. our world would be so different right now. Not only we would save, you know, the hostages' lives, we would save Israelis,

but we would also save so many Palestinian lives in Gaza. And yet, for some reason, this whole time, the fingers were pointed at Israel, a democratic ally, instead of actual terrorists. So I cannot tell you how long I've been waiting for a statement like President-elect Trump's. This year, Hanukkah begins on Christmas Day, and Hagi is asking Americans, to please pray for the release of the hostages. In her exact words, she said, we have had too many holidays, too many birthdays,

and anniversaries without real closure and without our loved ones. Please pray for us so we can have our miracle before January 20th. It's been three months since Hurricane Helene devastated parts of the southeast and hit North Carolina the hardest. And cleanup and rebuilding efforts are still, underway and they likely will be for the foreseeable future. As the Christmas season approaches and Christmas is just right around the corner, one organization is seeking to bring a little bit of hope and joy to those hurricane victims in North Carolina. Todd Lamfear is a senior vice

president of the nonprofit CityServe and Todd joins us now. Todd, thanks for being with us. Such an honor. Thanks for having us. Well, CityServe, you all just recently hosted an event in Chimney Rock, North Carolina, that was really focused on supporting those that were affected by the hurricane. And give us a little bit of a sense on the ground down there in those communities like Chimney Rock that were hit so hard by the hurricane in September. Where do you think is stand right now? You know, obviously, chimney rock was just absolutely blindsided by Hurricane Helene in the town was wiped out. And, you know, that iconic Main Street with all the mom and pop shops. that were on it were filled with three to four feet of mud and silk. And after 1,200 volunteers and

67,000 volunteer man hours in the last eight weeks, we were able to get chimney rock in their business community open for one day down at the basin, Lake Lor. And it was a celebration of hope and healing on that day. Wow. So powerful. Todd, thank you for the work that you guys are doing at CityServe for being the hands and feet on the ground. And thank you for your time today. I really appreciate it. And Merry Christmas. And Merry Christmas to you. As we come near the end of the year, and this being our final top news in 10 show for 2024, it only feels appropriate to end the year with some good news. There appears to be new interest in faith for many people across the country. And this has specifically been marked by a boom in Bible sales.

According to Pew Research Center, Bible sales rose to 14.2 million in 2023. That was from 9.7 million in 2019. And just in the first 10 months of 2024, there were 13.7 million Bible salts. Really significant increase from just a few years ago. Here with us to discuss more is theologian and editor of First Things magazine Rusty Reno. Thank you so much for being with us today. Great to be with you. And it is good news, isn't it? It is. It really is good news. Well, Mr. Reno, that increase from you look back to 2019, 9.7 million Bibles sold to now, just in that first 10 months of 2024 alone, there were over 13.5 million Bibles sold.

What drove that increase in Bible sales, do you think? Disatisfaction with the secularist status quo, put it broadly. You know, you look at polling this fall. and 60 to 70% of Americans think that the country's going in the wrong direction. You know, so they voted for change with Trump. And, you know, maybe they think their lives are not going in the right direction or that there's a spiritual lack or something's wrong with the present secular status quo. And so if you think something wrong with the secular status quo, you start to be curious about the alternative. Rusty Reno of First Things magazine for anyone who wants to check out,

First Things. You can visit first things.com. Thank you so much for your time. Really appreciate it. Good. And have a wonderful Christmas. Absolutely. Merry Christmas to you. Instead of our usual news flash today, we're going to take a moment to think back over 2024. What a year it has been. Of course, this year was really dominated by one thing, the 2024 presidential election. And by the spring of this year, Trump had all but locked in that GOP, nomination. But the election, it took a massive turn with the first debate between President Joe Biden and now President-elect Donald Trump and, of course, former President Donald Trump. That first debate was held in June, and just a month after that, Joe Biden announced that he was no longer seeking re-election and he endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the ticket.

But between that first debate of Biden and Trump and Biden choosing to drop out of the race, there was no shortage of news. In between that time, an individual tried to assassinate Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. That assassination attempt left an American Cory Capertory dead. Well, after that assassination attempt, Elon Musk then endorsed Donald Trump. And then fast forward to November 5th when Trump won not only the electoral college vote, but also the popular vote. And since that day, Trump has been continuing to make headlines by announcing the very very, men and women who are going to lead his administration. It's been an eventful year to say the least.

And Trump, when he is sworn in on January 20th, he is pledged to launch mass deportations of illegal aliens, cut bureaucratic red tape here in Washington, D.C., and restore American energy independence. And it's going to be our honor here on the Daily Signal podcast to keep you informed about all of those happenings, all of the events as we continue to move forward and bring you the news every single weekday on this podcast and across all of the Daily Signal. So thank you to you, our listeners, for making it possible. It would be pointless for us to do this podcast without you. We are so thankful for you. And we want you to know that it really is our privilege. It really is our joy to be bringing you the news every single day. If you have liked what you

have heard on this show, especially as we have changed things up a little bit, we've rebranded the Daily Signal podcast to specifically top news in 10, those still bringing you. you those weekend interview additions. We've changed up our music. We've made some fun changes. If you've liked what you've heard, let us know if you would. Take a minute and leave us a five-star rating and review wherever you like to listen. And make sure you hit that subscribe button. What that does is it really helps elevate the show to other listeners so that it's reaching more and more people. So it means a lot to us when you take the time to hit that subscribe button. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a very happy new year.

Don't forget, we will be back with you for Top News in 10 on January 2nd, but we will also have interview additions coming out every weekend and a bonus episode coming out on Thursday. So be sure to catch that content. Thank you again for all of your support for The Daily Signal. Merry Christmas. The Daily Signal podcast is made possible because of listeners like you. Executive producers are Rob Louis and Katrina Trinko.

Hosts are Virginia Allen, Brian Gottstein, Tyler O'Neill and Elizabeth Mitchell. Sound designed by Lauren Evans, Mark Geine, John Pop, and Joseph von Spakovsky. To learn more or support our work, please visit DailySignal.com.