Pastor Greg Laurie is calling a recent evangelistic event held at Utah Valley University (UVU) — the site of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk’s assassination — a “miracle.” Listen to the latest episode of “Quick Start” As CBN News previously reported, Laurie held a Nov. 16 Harvest Crusade at UVU that ignited thousands of professions of faith and inspired many in attendance in person and online. “I don’t use this word very often, but I almost think of this now as the ‘Utah miracle’ because of a number of things that happened,” Laurie told CBN News. “Number one, this is a place where a horrific tragedy took place. A young man in the prime of his life, making such a difference, especially with younger people. Charlie Kirk was assassinated. He was murdered, and so our hearts were all broken.” Laurie said he had been speaking with preachers in Utah for some time before Kirk’s death about hosting one of his popular Harvest Crusade evangelistic events. They had planned one for 2027, but Kirk’s death accelerated the timeline, and Laurie’s team rallied in just weeks to put the Nov. 16 event together. In addition to the quick timeline, he believes the response to the event was also miraculous. “It was amazing,” Laurie said. “We … filled the arena. We had another 10,000 people in different sites around Utah watching on screens, and when the invitation was given, it was an immediate response.” He continued, “A thousand people filled that floor, most of them young, and then another 500 responded in the overflow venues.” Meanwhile, Laurie said 200,000 people were watching online, with 1,000 people making a virtual profession of faith. Overall, 2,500 people came to Christ. “I sent a text to Erika Kirk, Charlie’s widow, and I told her what happened, and I said, ‘You know, Erika, the Bible says that there is joy in heaven and the presence of the angels over one sinner that comes to repentance. That means that every time someone believes in Jesus on Earth, there’s a victory shout in heaven.’ Well, Charlie’s in heaven. … It seems to me we’re going to be rejoicing in heaven when we hear of people coming to Christ.” He continued, “Would not Charlie know that 2,500 people just came to the Lord that was connected to the horrible tragedy of his death? And so we know more in heaven than we know on Earth, not less. So I just told her that God worked despite this tragedy.” Laurie said there are other trends unfolding as well, including rising Bible sales and data showing young people are increasingly interested in the Christian faith. “Something’s happening here,” he said. “God is at work. There already was a hunger among young people, especially Gen Z, spiritually, but that has increased dramatically, and it’s increased dramatically among young Gen Z men. So I think this is a moment for the church. We have to seize the moment.”

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A person of interest was in custody Sunday after a shooting during final exams at Brown University that killed two students and wounded nine others, though key questions remained unanswered nearly 24 hours after the attack. The attack Saturday afternoon set off hours of chaos across the Ivy League campus and surrounding Providence neighborhoods as hundreds of officers searched for the shooter and urged students and staff to shelter in place. The lockdown, which stretched into the night, was lifted early Sunday, but authorities had not yet released information about a potential motive. Col. Oscar Perez, the Providence police chief, said Sunday afternoon that the person in custody was in their 20s and that no one has been charged yet. Perez, who previously said the person was in their 30s and that no one else was being sought, declined to say whether the detained person had any connection to Brown.  The person was taken into custody at a Hampton Inn hotel in Coventry, Rhode Island, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from Providence, where police officers and FBI agents remained Sunday, blocking off a hallway with crime scene tape as they searched the area. The shooting occurred during one of the busiest moments of the academic calendar, as final exams were underway. Brown canceled all remaining classes, exams, papers and projects for the semester and told students they could leave campus, underscoring the scale of the disruption and the gravity of the attack. College President Christina Paxson teared up while describing her conversations with students both on campus and in the hospital. “They are amazing and they’re supporting each other,” she said at a news conference. “There’s just a lot of gratitude.” The gunman opened fire inside a classroom in the engineering building, firing more than 40 rounds from a 9 mm handgun, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. Two handguns were recovered when the person of interest was taken into custody and authorities also found two loaded 30-round magazines, the official said. One of the firearms was equipped with a laser sight that projects a dot to aid in targeting, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke to AP on the condition of anonymity. One student of the nine wounded students had been released from the hospital, said Paxson. Seven others were in critical but stable condition, and one was in critical condition. Durham Academy, a private K-12 school in Durham, North Carolina, confirmed that a recent graduate, Kendall Turner, was critically wounded. The school said her parents were with her. “Our school community is rallying around Kendall, her classmates, and her loved ones, and we will continue to offer our full support in the days ahead,” the school said. Providence leaders said residents would notice a heavier police presence, and many area businesses announced Sunday that they would remain closed. A scheduled 5K run was postponed for a week.  Mayor Brett Smiley invited residents to gather Sunday evening at a city park where an event had been scheduled to light a Christmas tree and Hanukkah menorah. “For those who know at least bit of the Hanukkah story, it is quite clear that if we can come together as a community to shine a little bit of light tonight, there’s nothing better that we can be doing,” he told reporters. Copyright 2025 The Associated Press.    

JERUSALEM, Israel – Israeli leaders have roundly condemned the mass killing of people in Australia who were attending a Hanukkah event at Sydney's Bondi Beach. Reports of the shooting came as Israelis are preparing to light the first Hanukkah candle at sundown. At least twelve people died, and nearly thirty were wounded in the attack. Two shooters carried out the assault, one of whom was killed and the other arrested. Among the wounded was Arsen Ostrovsky, an Israeli human rights attorney and a contributor to The Jerusalem Post. Just two weeks ago, Ostrovsky warned about the "alarming surge in Jew-hatred since October 7, including the defilement of Australian landmarks being hijacked as platforms for intimidation," according to the Post.  Reaction was swift and unified among Israeli leaders. President Isaac Herzog at an event in Jerusalem called the attack "vile." He said Israelis are praying for the wounded and the families of the dead. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said the shooting "appalled" him and that the attack developed out of an “antisemitic rampage in the streets of Australia over the past two years.”  ***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters to ensure you receive the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.*** Australian police say they found an IED (improvised explosive device) in the car of one of the suspects. New South Wales Chief of Police Mal Lanyon stated, “As a result of the circumstances of the incident… I declared this to be a terrorist incident." Four months ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted on social media, accusing Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of abandoning Australia's Jewish community. Israel's Diaspora Affairs Committee said on Sunday that the Australian government “is doing everything in its power to ensure that Australian Jews cannot live safely, peacefully, and securely as Jews in their own country.” The two shooters opened fire from a bridge onto people in a park. Although police have not confirmed the nature of the weapons used, the guns the shooters possessed were likely shotguns and hunting rifles based on investigations at the scene. Australia is a country with strict gun laws. Witnesses called the scene "hell on earth."