February 28, 2025

Actor Gene Hackman’s mysterious death, Prayer at Trump’s first cabinet meeting, RFK Jr. pauses $240 million contract for new “oral COVID vaccine”

7 minutes

It’s Friday, February 28th, A.D. 2025. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 125 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. ([email protected])

By Adam McManus

Christian woman arrested in Iran after police raid Christian gathering

Iranian authorities raided a gathering of roughly 80 Christian converts on February 6 in northern Iran, and arrested Somayeh Rajabi, reports International Christian Concern.

Agents from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stormed the gathering, which occurred in Gatab, and confiscated Bibles, phones, and musical instruments. Agents reportedly ripped crosses from individuals’ necks and forced the Christians to divulge the passwords to their electronic devices.

According to Article 18, agents also stopped emergency medical assistance from reaching the Christians.

The day after her arrest, Rajabi was allowed one phone call to inform her family that she had been imprisoned in the town of Sari. Authorities have not yet announced formal charges against her.

The persecution of Christians in Iran is ongoing and severe. The Middle Eastern nation has a long and violent history of mistreating Christians.

According to Open Doors, Iran is the 9th most dangerous country worldwide for Christians.

Persecuted Christians take great comfort in Psalm 27:1 which says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?”

Prayer at Trump's first cabinet meeting

At President Donald Trump’s first cabinet meeting yesterday, he asked Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner to open with prayer.

TURNER: “Let's pray. Father, We thank You for this awesome privilege, Father, to be in Your presence. God, thank You that You've allowed us to see this day. The Bible says that Your mercies are new every morning. And Father God, we give You the glory and the honor. Thank You God for President Trump. Father, for appointing us. Father, God, thank You for anointing us to do this job. Father, we pray You will give the President, the Vice President, wisdom as they lead.

“Father, I pray for all of my colleagues that are here around the table and in this room. Lord God, we pray that we would lead with a righteous clarity. Father God, that as we serve the people of this country in every respective agency, every job that we have, Father, we would humble ourselves before You, and we would lead in a manner You called us to lead and to serve.

“Father, the Bible says ‘Blessed is a nation whose God is the Lord.’ Father, we today honor You and in Your rightful place. Father, thank You for giving us this opportunity to restore faith in this country and be a blessing to the people of America. Lord God, today in our meeting, we pray that You will be glorified in our conversation. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

CABINET OFFICIALS: “Amen.”

TRUMP: “Scott, that was a very good job that you did.”

Indeed, Scott Turner quoted Psalm 33:12 accurately. It says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He chose for His inheritance.”

Delta CEO refuses to blame Trump for airplane mishap

On February 25th, in an interview with Gayle King on CBS, Delta CEO Ed Bastian was given an opportunity to blame President Donald Trump for the crash in Toronto, Canada. On February 17th, a Delta plane somehow flipped upside down upon landing which thankfully did not kill any of the 80 people aboard.

In response to the setup, the Delta CEO immediately shot the question down.

Listen.

KING: “The Trump administration recently fired many employees of the FAA Administration. Do those cuts worry you and do you think that impacts the safety? I know you just said it's the safest way to travel, but after looking at all these mishaps, a lot of people are very nervous. Do these cuts affect you?”

BASTIAN: “The cuts do not affect us Gail. I've been in close communication with the Secretary of Transportation. I understand that the cuts at this time are something that are raising questions. But the reality is there's over 50,000 people that work at the FAA and the cuts, I understand, were 300 people, and they were in non-critical safety functions.

“The Trump administration has committed to investing deeply in terms of improving the overall technologies that are used in the air traffic control systems and modernizing the skies. They've committed to hiring additional controllers and investigators, safety investigators. So, no, I'm not concerned with that at all.”

RFK Jr. pauses $240 million contract for new "oral COVID vaccine"

Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has issued a 90-day stop-work order to American biotech company Vaxart Inc., which had been contracted during the Biden administration to develop a new “oral COVID-19 vaccine,” reports LifeSiteNews.com.

Kennedy’s order came just as 10,000 individuals were scheduled to begin clinical trials on Monday.

HHS will utilize the 90-day hiatus to review Vaxart’s initial findings to determine the future of the human trials and continued drug development.

Approximately $460 million had been allotted to Vaxart by HHS to develop its new COVID-19 “vaccine,” of which $240 million had been authorized for the preliminary study, according to Fox News Digital.

Kennedy said, “While it is crucial that the Department [of] Health and Human Services support pandemic preparedness, four years of the Biden administration’s failed oversight have made it necessary to review agreements for vaccine production, including Vaxart’s.”

Actor Gene Hackman, wife, and dog all found dead

And finally, Gene Hackman, the prolific Oscar-winning actor whose studied portraits ranged from reluctant heroes to conniving villains and made him one of the industry's most respected and honored performers, has been found dead along with his wife and a dog at their New Mexico home, reports NewsMax.com. He was 95.

Hackman, wife Betsy Arakawa, age 63, and their German shepherd were all dead when deputies entered their home to check on their welfare around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Denise Avila.

Hackman was found dead in the mudroom, his wife was found dead in the bathroom next to a space heater, and their German shepherd was found dead 10 feet away in the bathroom closet. There was an open prescription bottle and pills scattered on a countertop near his wife.

The sheriff's office said there was no indication that any of them had been shot or had other types of wounds nor were there obvious signs of a gas leak.

A worker reported that the home's front door was open when he arrived for routine maintenance and that he called police after finding the bodies.

And that's The Worldview on this Friday, February 28th, in the year of our Lord 2025. Subscribe by Amazon Music or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I’m Adam McManus ([email protected]). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

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