KIBBUTZ NIR OZ, Israel (AP) — The empty bedrooms of Israelis kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7 remain frozen in time. Nine months into their captivity in Gaza, some hostages’ bedrooms still show signs of that day’s violence and struggle: blood-stained floors, bullet-riddled walls, scorched and toppled furniture.

Eddie Drinkard is a member of Green Acres Baptist Church in Athens, a real estate broker who focuses on selling property with large acreage, and a very gracious Christian gentleman. One of the things Drinkard does to serve his church is to maintain the grounds, including doing whatever landscaping is necessary, and providing pine straw whenever it is required.

BUTLER, Pa. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump called for unity and resilience Sunday after an attempt on his life added fresh uncertainty to an already tumultuous presidential campaign and raised sharp questions about how a gunman was able to open fire from a rooftop near a Pennsylvania campaign rally.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden warned Sunday of the risks of political violence in the U.S. after Saturday’s attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, saying, “It's time to cool it down.”

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Travis d’Arnaud had two home runs and four RBIs, Chris Sale pitched five solid innings for his major league-leading 13th win and the Atlanta Braves beat the San Diego Padres 6-3 on Sunday in the final game before the All-Star break.

PARIS — Disappointed in her performance at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, Alison Gibson said goodbye to the sport of diving for good. At least, that was her intention. “I felt like I let my country down, let my friends down,” Gibson said. “It was just like a really gut-wrenching feeling.” She officially retired and began what she considered to be a “normal” life — working, making money, and having free time.

Sunday morning! The sun is out, the church doors are unlocked, the AC is on (and working!), and the fellowship hall smells of homemade breakfast. A week has come and gone, and now it’s time to worship and fellowship with the church family.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Secret Service is investigating how a gunman armed with an AR-style rifle was able to get close enough to shoot and injure former President Donald Trump at a rally Saturday in Pennsylvania, a monumental failure of one of the agency’s core duties.

BUTLER, Pa. (AP) — On the heels of an attempt to kill him, former President Donald Trump called Sunday for unity and resilience as shocked leaders across the political divide recoiled from the shooting that left him wounded but “fine.” A former fire chief attending the rally with family was killed, as was the gunman. Two other people were also wounded.

MUWASI, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas said Sunday that the group’s military commander is in good health, a day after the Israeli military targeted Mohammed Deif with a massive airstrike. Deif’s condition remained unclear after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday night “there still isn’t absolute certainty” he was killed.

LONDON (AP) — For Carlos Alcaraz, there was one brief blip in the Wimbledon men's final against Novak Djokovic on Sunday, one five-point stretch that took him from the verge of victory to close to a collapse.

FRANKLIN , Tn. — Tennessee Baptist Mission Board president and executive director Randy C. Davis and Brent Leatherwood, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, were quick to respond in the aftermath of the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, July 13.

REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden said Saturday that “everybody must condemn” the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, adding that he hoped to speak with his 2024 presidential rival soon.

BUTLER, Pa. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump was the target of an assassination attempt Saturday at a Pennsylvania rally, days before he was to accept the Republican nomination for a third time. A barrage of gunfire set off panic, and a bloodied Trump, who said he was shot in the ear, was surrounded by Secret Service and hurried to his SUV as he pumped his fist in a show of defiance.

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel said it targeted Hamas’ shadowy military commander in a massive strike Saturday in the crowded southern Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “there still isn’t absolute certainty” that Mohammed Deif and a second Hamas commander, Rafa Salama, were killed.

HOUSTON (AP) — The deafening hum of a generator was a welcome noise Thursday evening at a Houston independent living center where several dozen seniors had lost power in the wake of Hurricane Beryl.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian shelling of Ukraine killed four people on Saturday, officials said, as the two countries exchanged drone attacks, one of which set ablaze a Russian oil depot.

LONDON (AP) — At age 18, a decade before Barbora Krejcikova won Wimbledon on Saturday, she was done with junior tennis and couldn't decide whether to pursue a professional tennis career or move on, go to school and find a different path.

NASHVILLE (BP) – The auditorium in the Southern Baptist Convention Building in Nashville has been turned into a makeshift shipping center this week as former members of the SBC’s Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force box up thousands of copies of a curriculum they produced and ship them to state Baptist conventions around the country.

SOMERSET, Ky. (KT) — A baptismal service in a creek is not unusual these days. But a baptism requiring six people to make it happen is far from ordinary. Why did it require so many? The man who had made a profession of faith and wanted to immediately follow in baptism had a unique situation — he had an ankle bracelet that his probation officer said must not get wet.

We all follow someone. But following Jesus is not like following someone on social media. It’s not like following a sports team, or just keeping up with someone we admire or respect. Following Jesus is totally different from these other expressions of following. Following Jesus is about being an apprentice, a disciple of Jesus.

“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me!” This ancient proverb dates back to the 17th century book, The Court and Character of King James, written by Anthony Weldon. Intended to be a lesson about learning from our mistakes, the modern takeaway for many is to write off those who do you wrong permanently. In fact, we might even use it to justify our sustained bitterness and resentment toward other people.  

Randy Adams, the Northwest Baptist Convention’s executive director-treasurer since May 2013, has asked the convention’s executive board to begin an executive transition plan to find his successor and allow him in the next year to move toward retirement.

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A landslide swept two passenger buses carrying more than 50 people into a swollen river in central Nepal early Friday, while continuous rain and more landslides were making rescue efforts difficult.

PLAINFIELD, Vt. (AP) — Owen Bradley has been listening to the flow of the Great Brook outside his historic brick house in Vermont for nearly 40 years. But the sound changed this week as raging waters inched closer, building to a torrent that tore through the back of the building, ripped off the decks and ravaged a nearby apartment building.