As social media influencer Andrew Tate and his brother, Tristan Tate, arrived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Thursday (Feb. 27), controversy broke out among conservatives about whether the brothers ought to be welcome in the United States. 

Andrew Tate, ‘King of Toxic Masculinity,’ Returns to the United States

Andrew Tate, 38, is a former professional kickboxer and a lifestyle influencer who has been referred to as the “king of toxic masculinity.” 

A self-described misogynist, Tate has appeared in numerous online videos bragging about choking, beating, and sexually assaulting women. He also recently advocated for conservatives to embrace using the Nazi salute as an act of defiance against political correctness. 

Tate also sells online courses in which he advises young men about how to gain wealth and attract women.

The Tate brothers have dual U.S.-British citizenship. They traveled to the United States from Romania, where they face charges of human trafficking. They were initially arrested in Bucharest in June 2022. 

While the Tate brothers have not been brought to trial, the case remains open, and the Romanian Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) alleges that the Tates and two others conspired to traffic women in Romania, the U.S., and Britain.

DIICOT has launched a second case against the Tate brothers, investigating allegations of human trafficking, sexual intercourse with a minor, and money laundering.

Until recently, the brothers were barred from leaving the country. That changed after an official in the Trump administration expressed interest in the case. Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu insists that this interest did not “amount to pressure,” according to Associated Press. 

Andrew Tate, a longtime supporter of President Donald Trump, has said that he is “very close to the Trump family.” 

“I know them well,” Tate said sometime after an attempt on Trump’s life in July. “I look forward to, once I am free, being with Donald Trump in person and reminding him that he’s a bulletproof badass.” 

RELATED: Conservative Christian Media Leaders Disagree Over Trump’s Treatment of AP

When asked, President Trump denied being aware that the Tate brothers had returned to the U.S., saying, “I just know nothing about it. We’ll check it out. We’ll let you know.”

GRAPEVINE, Texas (RNS) — Normally more likely to voice support for President Donald Trump’s decisions, attendees and speakers at a gathering of conservative Christian broadcasters expressed ambivalence this week about the White House’s resolve to bar The Associated Press from presidential events.

Speaking during a panel on “values-driven media” at the National Religious Broadcasters conference on Wednesday (Feb. 26), Cheryl Chumley, an opinion editor at The Washington Times, said she was “optimistic” after hearing the Trump administration was “booting a lot of the legacy media” out of the White House press corps and “opening the doors for alternative media.”

But fellow panelist Raymond Arroyo, a prominent host on the Catholic-focused Eternal World Television Network and occasional host of Fox News programs, disagreed, saying, “I’m not so sure I like that idea.”

Arroyo, who worked for AP early in his career, added later, “I would prefer seasoned reporters. A podcaster coming in, a comedian sitting in the chair once occupied by the AP, I don’t think that’s a good tradeoff.”

Arroyo said he once wrote for newsroom veteran Bob Novak, whom he described as “the dean of the Washington press corps,” and said Novak told him: “These people are your sources. They’re not your friends. Don’t forget that.”

“I never have,” Arroyo concluded. “When you get too close to the power of the source, it corrupts your vision.”

Earlier this month, the White House banned the outlet’s reporters from access to the Oval Office, Air Force One and events held at the White House because AP announced it would continue to refer to the Gulf of Mexico by its traditional name, rather than the Gulf of America, the name Trump designated for it in a Feb. 9 executive order, signed as the president flew over the gulf on his way to the Super Bowl. (In a previous order, signed on Inauguration Day, Trump had directed the secretary of the Interior to “take all appropriate actions” to rename the gulf.)

The AP updated its style guide soon thereafter to clarify that, while “acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen,” it plans to refer to the region as Gulf of Mexico. In response, the White House blocked an AP reporter from covering certain Oval Office events, and on Friday AP filed a lawsuit in federal court to overturn the ban.

Some conservative outlets, including Fox News and Newsmax, have joined an effort to defend AP, signing a confidential letter addressed to the White House, according to Status News.

“The First Amendment prohibits the government from asserting control over how news organizations make editorial decisions. Any attempt to punish journalists for those decisions is a serious breach of this Constitutional protection,” the letter reads.

(RNS frequently partners with The Associated Press as part of a global religion reporting effort.)

On Tuesday, the White House also announced it would no longer allow the White House Correspondents’ Association to decide which organizations can take part in the designated press pool on Air Force One and at other events that can accommodate only a few reporters, saying a wider range of outlets, such as podcasts and streaming services, should be included in the pool, which traditionally draws only from major newspaper and TV outlets and wire services.

Starting Friday night (Feb. 28) at 7 p.m. CST, an unprecedented event called Gather25 will unite the global church in a way it has never been done before.

Gather25 is a free 25-hour global broadcast that will unite followers of Jesus across the world to pray, repent, worship, and discover how Christ’s love is transforming the world through everyday people.

RELATED: ‘Every Campus Needs Jesus’—Collegiate Day of Prayer Hopes To Cover Over 250 Million Students in Prayer

Sessions will feature teachers, worship leaders, storytellers, and prayer guides. These speakers include Gather25 visionary Jennie Allen, Francis Chan, Christine Caine, Matt Redman, Priscilla Shirer, Louie Giglio, Kari Jobe, Cody Carnes, Rick Warren, Sadie Robertson Huff, Matt Maher, Taya, David Platt, Jenn Johnson, Trip Lee, and Ann Voskamp, to name a few.

For the past 10 years, Allen has been leading IF:Gathering, a ministry that exists to “equip women with gospel-centered resources, events, and community so they may learn more about who God is and disciple other women right where they are.”

Allen told ChurchLeaders that Gather25 grew out of a dream she had in 2022 after a friend prayed for her.

“I had this vivid dream that Jesus was coming back in 10 years,” Allen said. “I have no idea when Jesus is coming back, but I cannot help that on a night that a friend prayed for me to hear from God in my sleep—which no one had ever prayed for that for me before—I had a vivid dream that Jesus was coming back in 10 years.”

That dream “put a fire in me,” Allen continued. “The crazy thing is, 2033 is actually the 2,000-year anniversary of the church. And all of these organizations that I work with that have helped build Gather25 have the same mission statement of 2033,” which is, “to get the gospel to everybody, everywhere by 2033.”

RELATED: ‘Truly Indescribable’—10,000 Texas A&M Students Praise Jesus at Unite US Event

“It’s a wild decade I believe that we’re in the middle of. And not to mention, we’re watching revival happen everywhere,” she added.

By leveraging AI, the global church will come together in a gathering unlike anything since the first century “because we haven’t had the tools for it,” Allen said. “AI is making it possible for us to live translate.”

Jackie Shroyer, who was arrested in October in Angola, Africa, for the alleged murder of her missionary husband Beau Shroyer, has now been formally charged as a “co-author” in his death. Beau was formerly a pastor at Lakes Area Vineyard Church in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, and Lead Pastor Troy Easton gave congregants an update about the situation on Feb. 24.

“I made the commitment that I would update you on any news regarding the investigation around Beau Shroyer’s death. It saddens me immensely to have to share with you that we were notified that Jackie has been formally charged as a co-author in the murder of her husband,” said Easton. “As a result of formal charges, it is our understanding that she will remain in custody and tried before a judge.” 

Jackie Shroyer Charged in Husband Beau Shroyer’s Death

Three years ago, Beau and Jackie Shroyer and their five children moved to Angola, Africa. The couple partnered with mission organization SIM USA and served in a remote village in the country.

RELATED: Wife of Christian Missionary in Angola Arrested on Suspicion of His Murder

The Shroyers’ work included providing vocational training, teaching English to youth, and working to create a youth ministry center. The couple publicly shared their Christian testimonies online, said it was their first time doing missions work overseas, and expressed enthusiasm about spreading the gospel.

Upon learning about Beau’s death as a result of a “violent, criminal attack,” Easton published a statement saying, “I am heartbroken and in shock. Our grief and sadness has deepened immeasurably as we’ve learned that [Jackie] has been arrested in connection with [Beau’s] death.”

Additional shocking and even sordid details emerged soon after when Angolan authorities reported that two men with criminal records, ages 23 and 24, were arrested as suspects in the case. The men worked as a security guard and housekeeper for the Shroyers.

A lead investigator on the case voiced “strong suspicions of a romantic relationship” between Jackie and one of the suspects, alleging that she had hired the men to murder her husband for $50,000. The men allegedly stabbed Beau to death with a knife he had gifted one of them. 

RELATED: Missionary’s Wife Who Hired Angolan Men To Kill Her Husband Was Having an Affair, Authorities Allege

Former vice presidential candidate Nicole Shanahan announced this week that she has converted from Judaism to Christianity and was baptized. 

Shanahan recounted the story of her conversion in a post on X. 

Shanahan, 39, is a billionaire entrepreneur and attorney. Shanahan was formerly married to Google co-founder Sergey Brin and had been a supporter of several Democratic politicians prior to the 2024 election. She officially joined Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign in March 2024. 

Much like Kennedy, Shanahan is known for her skepticism of vaccines. She has also expressed belief in a conspiracy theory that high-flying aircrafts disperse “chemtrails” consisting of chemical or biological agents to poison the public. 

After Kennedy dropped out of the race and endorsed Donald Trump, Shanahan said that she is neither a “Harris Democrat” nor a “Trump Republican.”

RELATED: Wheaton College Clash Over Russell Vought Escalates, Exposing Evangelical Fault Lines

On Tuesday (Feb. 25), Shanahan published a lengthy post on X, in which she shared about a bishop named Diane, who was pivotal in Shanahan’s conversion after Shanahan “suffered a heart-wrenching loss.”

Shanahan explained that she met Diane through Shanahan’s masseuse, Ade, who had long prayed for Shanahan. 

“One day, it finally hit me that his prayers were doing more to heal me than the deep tissue massage ever could. As we were wrapping a session, I asked, ‘Hey Ade, do you know anyone who can help keep ‘bad energy’ away from people? Basically an exorcism,’” Shanahan recounted. “Ade looked at me, paused, and simply said, ‘Yes—when you are ready.’”

“In the weeks following our family’s loss, I saw Ade again, and as he had so many times before, he prayed for me,” Shanahan continued. “But this time was different. I bowed my head, let the tears fall, and begged God’s help. It was then that Ade connected me with Diane.”

RELATED: ‘I Am Not a Church Boy,’ Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Says When Asked About Assault Allegations

When she met with Diane, Shanahan said she was struck that Diane’s Bible was well-worn and that her faith was resolute.

(RNS) — The Pew Research Center Religious Landscape Study’s 2023-24 edition, released on Wednesday (Feb. 26), points at changes in American religious observance, including those identifying as Christian, stabilizing after years of steady decline and growth of the religiously unaffiliated leveling off.

Generally, a decline in American religiousness observed since at least 2007 has slowed over the past four to five years. However, Pew Research Center noted in its report that the country is heading toward less religiousness.

“The U.S. is a spiritual place, a religious place, where we’ve seen a signs of religious stabilization in the midst of longer-term decline,” said Gregory Smith, a senior associate director of research at Pew, during a press briefing. 

Now on its third edition, Pew released similar reports in 2007 and 2014, aiming to fill a gap in recognized, reliable data sources on America’s religious composition, beliefs and practices.

From July 2023 to March 2024, the center polled 35,000 adult respondents randomly selected from the U.S. Postal Service address registry. This third edition was to be published in 2021 but was postponed to avoid flawed results due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on religious life.

After dropping from 78% to 71% between 2007 and 2014, the share of U.S. adults identifying as Christian has now dropped to 62%, according to the report. However, it notes this figure has been relatively stable since 2019, oscillating between 60% and 64%.