"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths." Northwoods is a ministry dedicated to refreshing Christians and challenging them to search for the truth in Christianity, politics, sociology, and science
"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life"
Father God, thank you for the love of the truth you have given me. Please bless me with the wisdom, knowledge and discernment needed to always present the truth in an attitude of grace and love. Use this blog and Northwoods Ministries for your glory. Help us all to read and to study Your Word without preconceived notions, but rather, let scripture interpret scripture in the presence of the Holy Spirit. All praise to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Please note: All my writings and comments appear in bold italics in this colour
The hateful lunatic who stabbed a rabbi with a syringe in the Diamond District was nabbed Saturday — as officials revealed she attacked another Jewish man just minutes later.
Anna Mochalova, 32, was arrested and slapped with a slew of charges, including assault as a hate crime, for the terrifying spree that began with the jabbing of a young rabbi in Midtown Manhattan, prosecutors said at her arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court on Sunday.
The alleged bigot began to stalk Yosef, a 26-year-old rabbi, who is seen in surveillance video wearing traditional Orthodox garb, before stabbing him in the back with a needle near West 47th Street and Fifth Avenue on Wednesday at 5:50 p.m., according to prosecutors.
Anna Mochalova, 32, was arrested and slapped with a slew of charges, including assault as a hate crime, for stalking and jabbing Yosef, a 26-year-old rabbi, in the back with a needle last week.
Shomrim Manhattan
Yosef, the young rabbi stabbed with a syringe, previously told The Post he believes he was targeted because he is “visibly Jewish.”
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“I never met that person before,” he said. “She passes by other people. I’m visibly Jewish.”
Possible Anti-Islam terrorist attack in France
According to Grok:
France: Trappes and La Verrière shootings (23 October 2026)
A 39-year-old man (identified in French media as Kévin T. or Kevin T.) carried out a drive-by shooting spree in the Paris suburbs of Trappes and La Verrière (Yvelines). He fired from a car (using a Sten-type submachine gun) at multiple locations including a petrol station, medical centre area, and near a playground, in a roughly 15–20 minute rampage involving an estimated 128 rounds across about eight scenes.Wikipedia
One person was killed: Pengo Bassio/Bossio Wangi, a 26-year-old of Congolese origin described as an amateur MMA prospect.
Several others were injured (reports range from 5 to 7, with multiple seriously or critically hurt), including a 12-year-old girl of North African descent who was shot eight times. Other victims were reported as having African or Maghrebi/North African origins; some women wore headscarves.
The suspect was arrested shortly afterward, had cannabis and cocaine in his system, and was placed under psychiatric observation. Items including a copy of Mein Kampf were reported found at his home (along with a Bible and Quran in some accounts). The case remains under investigation; political leaders across the spectrum condemned the attack.BBC
United Kingdom: Assaults on Jewish women in London (around 19–20 October 2026)
In the Stamford Hill/Clapton Common area of Hackney (north-east London), three Orthodox Jewish women were assaulted in a series of incidents treated by the Metropolitan Police as a suspected antisemitic hate crime. One victim was punched while pushing a baby in a pram; others were slapped or punched in the face. Injuries were described as minor (with at least one case of significant bruising).BBC
A 33-year-old man (Abdisamad Siad) was arrested after being detained by Jewish volunteer security group Shomrim volunteers. He was charged with three counts of assault by beating (racially/religiously aggravated aspects noted). Police increased patrols in the area. The suspect was also linked to a separate unrelated assault allegation.Timesofisrael
An aerial photograph taken with a drone shows a cargo ship belonging to Chinese automaker BYD docked at the Port of Zarate, Argentina, in January. Argentina posted a $2.98 billion trade surplus in September as exports exceeded $10 billion for the first time, File Photo by EPA
BUENOS AIRES, Oct. 20 (UPI) --Argentina posted a $2.98 billion trade surplus in September as exports exceeded $10 billion for the first time, driven by rising energy sales, according to official data.
The surplus was $2.04 billion higher than in September 2025, according to the foreign trade report released Monday by the National Institute of Statistics and Census, known as INDEC, Argentina's official statistics agency.
The result marked Argentina's 34th consecutive month of trade surpluses.
From January through September, Argentine exports totaled $77.27 billion, up 21.6% from a year earlier, while imports fell 2.5% to $56.07 billion. The cumulative trade surplus reached $21.2 billion, compared with $6.05 billion during the same period in 2025.
Fuel and energy exports reached $1.78 billion in September, an 89.1% increase from the same month in 2025. During the first nine months of 2026, exports from the sector rose 53.6% year over year, according to the official report.
Argentine President Javier Milei attributed the energy sector's performance to deregulation measures introduced by his administration and increased oil and gas production at Vaca Muerta, a geological formation in Patagonia that holds substantial hydrocarbon reserves and accounts for much of the country's energy expansion.
"For a decade, Vaca Muerta operated at half capacity, with suppressed prices, currency controls and fear of investing. When we changed the rules, in less than three years, we began exporting like never before," Milei said during the Argentina Oil & Gas Patagonia 2026 exhibition.
According to figures presented by Milei, oil production at Vaca Muerta rose from an average of about 310,000 barrels per day in 2023 to more than 670,000 barrels per day in August 2026. Nationwide, production increased from about 635,000 barrels per day in 2023 to 932,000 barrels per day in August.
"Today, for the first time in history, we are just steps away from producing 1 million barrels per day," Milei said.
The president also highlighted growth in oil exports. He said Argentina exported an average of 128,000 barrels per day in 2023, a volume that doubled in 2026.
Milei defended the removal of domestic crude oil price controls as one of his administration's first measures to stimulate energy production.
Juan José Carbajales, a lawyer and former undersecretary of hydrocarbons, told UPI that the main factor behind the increase in energy export revenue was the international price of oil, which remained above $100 per barrel for six months.
"Crude oil prices explain much of this result. There has not yet been a significant increase in export volumes because transportation capacity still needs to be expanded," Carbajales said.
He said the Vaca Muerta Sur oil pipeline, scheduled to begin operations by the end of this year, would allow Argentina to increase oil shipments abroad.
He estimated that the impact would become apparent in February or March, when the new infrastructure would make it easier to transport larger volumes of crude oil from production fields to export terminals.
Carbajales said the results also benefited from increased sales of petroleum products, including liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG, and natural gas shipments to neighboring countries through pipelines.
However, he emphasized that international crude oil prices were the main factor behind the increase in energy export revenue.
Regarding liquefied natural gas, or LNG, which allows natural gas to be transported by ship after being cooled into liquid form, Carbajales estimated that its impact on Argentine exports would begin to emerge toward the end of 2027.
Outside the energy sector, exports of manufactured industrial goods rose 23% from January through September. Exports of primary products increased 14.5%, while agricultural manufactured goods rose 14.3%.
In trade by country, China overtook Brazil in September as Argentina's largest trading partner.
Argentine exports to China totaled $986 million, up 23.8% from a year earlier, while imports from China reached $1.82 billion, resulting in a bilateral trade deficit of $831 million.
President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva re-election to a fourth term marked a sell-off in the markets. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
BRASILIA, Brazil, Oct. 26 (UPI) --The re-election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to an unprecedented fourth term as Brazil's president triggered a sharp sell-off in Brazilian and international financial markets Monday.
Brazilian assets plunged as investors reacted to an unexpected election outcome after betting on a victory by conservative candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, who had promised strict fiscal austerity measures.
Brazil's benchmark Ibovespa stock index fell 10% at the start of trading, forcing the São Paulo stock exchange to halt operations for 30 minutes. It was the first such suspension since March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Hours later, after trading resumed, the index was down about 15.81%.
Lula's victory upended market expectations. Most polls published in recent weeks had shown Bolsonaro leading ahead of the runoff election following his surprise first-round victory.
Historical precedent also favored Bolsonaro. No candidate who finished second in the first round had previously managed to reverse the result in a runoff.
Lula's comeback victory, with 51.4% of the vote, surprised investors, who are now assessing the potential effects of his new term on interest rates, exchange rates, stocks and public finances, Brazilian news outlet G1 reported.
The reaction was equally severe in currency markets.
The U.S. dollar climbed above 5.60 Brazilian reais, gaining more than 12% from Friday's close. The Brazilian currency, which had benefited from expectations of a Bolsonaro victory, depreciated sharply.
The sell-off extended to Wall Street, where major Brazilian companies trade through American depositary receipts, or ADRs.
Before Brazil's stock market opened, the iShares MSCI Brazil ETF, known as EWZ, which tracks shares of major Brazilian companies and trades in the United States, plunged as much as 26.74%. Meanwhile, the real lost more than 10% in futures contracts traded in Chicago. Similar signs of market panic appeared on Japanese exchanges hours earlier.
Economic analysts at institutions including JPMorgan and ING said investors were reacting to the lack of clarity surrounding Lula's fiscal proposals during the campaign, Argentine newspaper La Nación reported.
Public finances remain the "Achilles' heel" of Brazil's economy because of structural budget constraints. About 80% of government spending is allocated to mandatory expenditures, including pensions and social security, leaving authorities with extremely limited fiscal flexibility.
Lula da Silva's new government faces the difficult challenge of balancing increased spending on social programs with public debt at a historic high of 82.9% of gross domestic product. Debt has resumed its upward trajectory following the introduction of extensive subsidy and financial assistance packages by the government during the election campaign.
The administration will also face immediate pressure to address public discontent over high food prices and declining purchasing power amid a sharp economic slowdown and elevated interest rates that are restricting private-sector lending.
To advance potential economic reforms and implement new tax measures, the leftist president will have to negotiate with a predominantly conservative Congress closely aligned with Bolsonaro.
Tributes and flowers are seen for independent federal Member of Parliament Helen Haines at her electoral office in Wangaratta, Australia, on Tuesday. File Photo by James Ross/EPA
Oct. 21 (UPI) --Australian independent Member of Parliament Helen Haines has had both legs amputated after she was struck by an SUV outside her office earlier this week, her husband said Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters at The Alfred hospital in Melbourne, Phil Haines said Helen Haines' left leg was amputated on Monday and that they had hoped to save her right leg, but surgeons were forced to amputate it Wednesday.
"But the good news in all of this is Helen is alive and she's stable," he said during the press conference. "That is the most important thing for our family. And I think when we reflect and talk about and think about Helen, the two most important parts of Helen for us as a family are her heart and her mind."
He said "her heart is huge" and she has "the sharpest intellect."
"We are grateful and thankful that at this stage both her heart and her mind are in good shape," he said. He said her road to recovery will be difficult, while calling her "a fighter."
"She is a determined person who will do her best with our support and love to recover, and that is what we hope for." Helen Haines, 65, was struck Monday at about 3:35 p.m. local time by a Toyota LandCruiser near her Wangaratta, Victoria, office. She was transported to a hospital in critical condition before being airlifted to Melbourne, where she underwent emergency surgery. A 43-year-old Tarrawingee man was restrained by a member of the public at the scene and then taken into police custody. Victoria Police announced in a statement Tuesday night that the suspect was charged with dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury and causing harm to a Commonwealth public official. Australian news organizations, including public broadcaster ABC News, identified him as Brendan Nugent. Authorities allege the incident, which remains under investigation, was targeted. Nugent appeared at Wangaratta Magistrates' Court earlier Wednesday. He did not request bail and will remain in custody until a Feb. 4 committal mention hearing, The Guardian reported.
According to Grok:
Nugent has been described in reporting as a local environmental/anti-logging activist; his family stated he had known Haines for over 20 years and called the events devastating and incomprehensible.Aapnews.aap
Powerful Democratic Virginia state Sen. Lucas is accused of leading a marijuana criminal conspiracy
SARAH RANKIN and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
Updated
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Virginia state Sen. L. Louise Lucas, one of the state's most powerful Democrats, was charged Thursday with leading what authorities alleged was a wide-ranging criminal enterprise that acquired and distributed large quantities of marijuana and laundered the proceeds.
Lucas, who has been in elected office for decades, used her political power to insulate the operation from scrutiny, according to an indictment charging her and six other defendants, including several of her relatives. She "put her own financial interests before the people she was elected to serve," said U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, who spoke at a news conference with FBI Director Kash Patel.
Lucas surrendered, the Justice Department said. She made a brief appearance in federal court in Norfolk on Thursday afternoon, where she was released on her own recognizance, according to court records. She left the court without addressing journalists who shouted questions her way and went straight into a waiting vehicle.
The charges, including drug trafficking and money laundering, came after the FBI searched Lucas' hometown office and a cannabis shop in which she has a stake in May. At the time of the search, Lucas — who has been a vocal critic of Republican President Donald Trump's administration — characterized it as an attempt to intimidate her.
Lucas says she won't be bullied by the federal government
A statement attributed to Lucas posted on her social media account did not directly address the substance of the charges but said Thursday's actions amounted to the federal government wielding its "full weight" against a great-grandmother.
"I will not be intimidated. I will not be bullied. And I will not back down," Lucas said in the statement. Her attorney at the hearing declined comment outside.
The brash 82-year-old lawmaker has spent decades ascending the ranks of Virginia politics and has served since 1992 in the state Senate, where she's the president pro tempore, overseeing the chamber in the lieutenant governor's absence. More significantly, she leads the powerful Senate finance committee, through which all legislation with any budget impact must flow. She's used the position to kill legislation she opposes.
Justice Department denies politics played a role
The indictment comes as Trump's Justice Department has faced intense scrutiny over investigations and prosecutions against foes of the president that critics have called politically motivated.
Blanche rejected any suggestion politics played a role in Lucas' case, noting the investigation began well before the second Trump administration started in January 2025.
"We don't do political paybacks," Blanche told reporters.
A person familiar with the May search told The Associated Press at the time that the probe was opened during Democratic President Joe Biden's administration. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a continuing criminal investigation.
FBI alleges a 'criminal marijuana enterprise'
Patel said in a statement that "Lucas and a close-knit group of family members and associates orchestrated a multi-year scheme to enrich their own criminal marijuana enterprise, 'the Lucas Enterprise' — using Lucas' position as Chairwoman of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee to insulate the enterprise from criminal scrutiny and influencing legislation to financially benefit themselves."
The indictment describes Lucas as the "leader of the enterprise" who "approved and directed criminal activities," including arranging for the acquisition and distribution of marijuana and supervising the laundering of the proceeds.
The indictment alleges Lucas worked this year with another of the defendants to use her political position to obtain a recreational marijuana license for him, with the understanding that the proceeds from sales under the license would be shared with her to support the "enterprise."
Since 2021, marijuana has been legal to possess in Virginia, and many shops across the state have sold cannabis-derived products. But full recreational sales are not yet underway; legislation enacted earlier this year will allow them beginning in July 2027.
Law enforcement made multiple controlled purchases of marijuana from Lucas' shop, which purported to sell hemp products, in 2024 and 2025, the indictment said.
In addition to drug and money laundering charges, Lucas faces charges of racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and maintaining a drug-involved premises. An arraignment is scheduled for next month.
Among the other defendants who face a mix of those and other charges are two daughters, Lisa Lucas Burke and Theresa Lucas-Lamb, and a grandson, Ryan Eichelberger. All three also made brief court appearances and were released on their recognizance, according to court records.
Attorneys for Lucas-Lamb and Eichelberger declined comment; Andrew Sacks, who was listed in court records as an attorney for Burke, didn't respond to requests for comment. Attorneys for two other defendants who are not family members declined comment; a third who was also released Thursday had no attorney listed in court records.
Virginia officials react
A forceful advocate of legalizing marijuana, Lucas partnered in opening the shop, The Cannabis Outlet, in 2021. She has publicly spoken about her ownership stake as recently as June, though her most recent financial disclosure forms do not list the business by name.
At the time of the search — when marijuana was recovered at The Cannabis Outlet, according to the indictment — many Democrats spoke up to defend Lucas.
On Thursday, Scott Surovell, the Democratic leader of the state Senate, said in a statement that the indictment contained "serious allegations" but emphasized that "Senator Lucas has the right to defend herself, and she has my full support as she does so." Attorney General Jay Jones, a Democrat who is close with Lucas, said the allegations against her must be tested in a "full and fair" legal process.
House Speaker Don Scott, Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi, and Gov. Abigail Spanberger, all Democrats, echoed those sentiments, with Spanberger adding that the timing of the indictment so close to the midterm election would "further erode" Americans' trust in the Justice Department. Lucas herself is not on the ballot this year.
Ryan McDougle, the Senate Republican leader, said he would not comment while the court proceedings play out.
The senator draws comparisons to Trump
Lucas, who represents a district that includes her hometown of coastal Portsmouth, operates with a sometimes-profane, unapologetic style that's drawn comparisons to Trump.
She amassed a six-figure following on X and national attention, using the social media platform to advocate forcefully for her priorities and to bash her critics, including former GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin. She's also occasionally blasted members of her own party, including Spanberger, with whom she's had disagreements.
Earlier this year, Lucas helped lead Democrats' ultimately unsuccessful plan to gerrymander the blue-leaning state's congressional districts into a map intended to elect 10 Democrats and only one Republican. Along the way, she posted quips about four GOP members the intended map sought to oust, joking that they soon would be working at McDonald's. She and other Democrats defended the maps as a reasonable response to Trump-backed efforts to boost the GOP's midterm advantage in other states.
Lucas has been in politics for decades
Lucas has notched several historic firsts in her career. According to a biography from the state library, in 1971 she became the Norfolk Naval Shipyard's first female shipfitter, a physically demanding job that involves working on metal assemblies for vessels.
She launched her political career in 1984, when, the biography said, she became the first Black woman elected to the Portsmouth city council.
After Democrats flipped control of the Senate in 2019, her peers elected her to serve as president pro tempore. And in 2024, she was tapped to lead the chamber's budget committee.
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Rankin reported from Richmond. Associated Press journalists Eric Tucker in Washington and Steve Helber in Norfolk contributed to this report.
