LOOP: Sisters killed in Texas flood found holding rosaries

TUESDAY, JULY 8 DROWNED SISTERS FOUND HOLDING HANDS, CLASPING ROSARIES Blair and Brooke Harber, two young sisters from Dallas, were found holding hands and clasping their rosaries after floodwaters swept away their cabin along the Guadalupe River over the July 4 weekend. According to their school, the girls had gone to the loft of their cabin with their rosaries the night the flooding occurred. Their bodies were recovered the next day, 15 miles downstream.  READ FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS PLANNED PARENTHOOD DEFUNDING  A federal judge Monday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a provision in President Donald Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" that would halt federal funding to Planned Parenthood for one year. The 14-day order requires agencies to continue disbursing funds to the abortion giant as usual.  READ FBI AND DOJ: EPSTEIN KILLED HIMSELF AND HAD NO CLIENT LIST  The Department of Justice and the FBI claimed in a memo released this week that Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide and did not possess a "client list." The federal agencies' controversial conclusion comes amid years of mounting public suspicion surrounding the case. READ TRUMP DISMISSES MUSK'S NEW POLITICAL PARTY AS 'RIDICULOUS'  President Donald Trump dismissed Elon Musk's newly launched "America Party" as "ridiculous" this week, saying the effort to form a third political party causes "confusion." READ CATHOLICS JUMP TO SUPPORT, PRAY FOR FLOOD VICTIMS  As the floodwaters recede from Texas Hill Country following devastating flash floods that swept away lives and homes over the July 4 weekend, Catholic leaders are offering prayers, solidarity, and support to the affected communities. READ NATIONAL HERO SAVES 160+ LIVES AT GIRLS' CAMP  A 26-year-old Coast Guard rescue swimmer is being hailed as a national hero after he saved 165 people during his first mission amid the deadly Texas flood disaster. Scott Ruskan was deployed to Camp Mystic, where he acted as the sole triage coordinator. He managed medical care for hundreds of campers at the all-girls' Christian camp.  READ   PEW: 1 IN 10 LEAVE THEIR CHILDHOOD FAITH  About one in 10 adults under 55 years old have left their childhood religion, with Buddhists the most likely to disaffiliate or switch to another religion, a June study from the Pew Research Center discovered. Here are the numbers.  READ LOOPcast  Tom and Erika join the public in mourning the tragedy in TX and break down the details of what happened. Bishops are against the Big Beautiful Bill; what happened to Medicaid? Eggs are in, Rainbow crossroads are out, and a groundbreaking report on the Latin Mass is making waves. Finally, we have the inside scoop on the Biden vs. Trump debate. All this and more on the LOOPcast! WATCH DC ARCHBISHOP CONDEMNS TRUMP BORDER POLICIES  Cardinal Robert McElroy, the archbishop of Washington, D.C., condemned Trump's immigration enforcement policies in a July 1 interview with CNN, calling mass deportation efforts "morally repugnant." READ CANADIAN LAWMAKER MOVES TO DEFEND MENTALLY ILL FROM MAID  A Canadian House member recently introduced a bill that would prevent the country's euthanasia "medical assistance in dying" (MAiD) program from allowing mental disorders to be a qualifying medical condition for euthanasia — an eligibility expansion the government is set to make by 2027. READ SO MUCH NEWS...  Here are the stories we couldn't fit in today's LOOP: •    UK media cover Catholicism more than any other denomination. READ •    A diocese in New Mexico opposes a border wall near a pilgrimage site. READ •    The Archdiocese of San Antonio held a special Mass for flood victims.  READ SHAKESPEAREAN PHILOSOPHY?  Shakespeare was a poet, but could we equally call him a philosopher? At Dominicana Journal, Brother John Metilly dives into a passage of "Hamlet" in which Shakespeare gives a full definition of reason, something so fundamental and yet so profound that few philosophers have been able to achieve it.  READ CATHOLIC 101  When thinking of the Sacrament of Confession, we immediately picture the sinner in the box. But how much have we thought about the experience of the one on the other side of the screen? Andre Escaleira spoke with priests all over Colorado to ask what it's like "on the other side," having a front-row seat to darkness, pain, mercy, and healing.  READ SAINT OF THE DAY  Today, the Church honors Saints Aquila and Priscilla, a Jewish couple from Rome who were friends of Saint Paul. They hosted Paul on his visit to Corinth and were probably converted by him. In Paul's letter to the Romans, he praises Aquila and Priscilla as "my helpers in Christ, who have for my life laid down their own necks." READ DAILY PSALM  "In justice, I shall behold your face, O Lord." (Psalm 17:15)  READ DAILY READINGS  Today's Mass readings.  READ PRAYER  Here are the two Catholic sisters from Dallas, Blair and Brooke Harber, who were among many who lost their lives in the Central Texas floods early Friday. The girls, just 13 and 11 years old, were found with their hands clasped together and their rosaries with them. Join us in prayer for these beautiful girls and their family.  PRAY & SHARE Paid for by CatholicVote Civic Action, a 501(c)(4) organization. Update your email preferences or unsubscribe here. CATHOLICVOTE  |  PO Box 3310  |  Carmel, IN 46082  |  (317) 669-6127