World: A man wielding a machete and shouting “Allahu akhbar” was shot and wounded today after attacking a soldier outside the Louvre in Paris, police say. The man was headed toward the Carrousel du Louvre, an underground shopping mall under the museum.

Pray for Us: President Donald Trump said at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington yesterday that he’s going to save the world. “The world is in trouble,” he said, “but we’re going to straighten it out.  Okay?  That’s what I do.  I fix things.  We’re going to straighten it out.”

The first prayer the President offered was for Arnold Schwarzenegger, who took Trump’s place as host of The Apprentice. “And we know how that turned out,” Trump said to laughter. “The ratings went right down the tubes.  It’s been a total disaster.” He said, “And I want to just pray for Arnold, if we can, for those ratings, okay?”

Speaking of religious freedom, Trump promised to “destroy” a 1954 law called the Johnson Amendment forbidding tax-free organizations, usually churches, from participating in partisan politics. “I will get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment and allow our representatives of faith to speak freely and without fear of retribution.”

While criticizing President Obama’s agreement to accept 1,250 Middle East refugees held by Australia, Trump in a different setting yesterday bolstered some of President Obama’s foreign policies. In line with Obama, Trump yesterday told the Israeli government it may not be helpful to keep building settlements in the occupied West Bank. UN Ambassador Nikki Haley said the US would not dial back sanctions against Russia unless it stops destabilizing Ukraine and pulls its troops out of Crimea. The White House is preparing new sanctions against Iran for conducting a ballistic missile test.

Permawar: At least 15 people have been reported killed in renewed artillery fire in eastern Ukraine this week. Ukraine says Moscow is behind a rebel offensive, but the Russians blame the trouble on Ukraine troops. This has a lot to do with President Trump’s announcement that he would not lighten sanctions of Russia.

Leaked: A phone call between President Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull turned to harsh words and ended abruptly, according to several news reports. What may be more significant is that sources inside the Trump administration leaked information about the call, a sign of discomfort among Trump’s team. Turnbull tried to smooth things over and Trump tweeted,

“Thank you to Prime Minister of Australia for telling the truth about our very civil conversation that FAKE NEWS media lied about. Very nice!’

Special Ops: Reports about the commando raid that cost the life of a Navy SEAL in Yemen say the al Qaeda targets knew the raiders were coming before the first shots were fired. It turned into a vicious firefight that pinned down the SEALS, forcing them to call in an airstrike on the building from which they were taking heavy gunfire.

Chief Petty Off. William Owens was killed, and three other Americans were injured. The Americans also lost a $70 million aircraft that did a hard landing and had to be destroyed on the ground.

The commandos were five miles away when they picked up a communication telling them the operation was blown. They went in anyway.

The US said the operation killed 14 al Qaeda operators, but Yemeni officials said 15 women and children also were killed. The SEALS said some women were shooting at them.

Right to Bear Arms: House Republicans voted yesterday to repeal an Obama-era law forbidding people deemed mentally ill from owning guns. If the Senate agrees, and the president signs the law, some members of Congress will get their guns back.

Does He or Doesn’t He?: President Trump seems to be sporting a new color of hair, something toned down from his usual Garfield the Cat orange. It appears to be a grayish blonde. His New York doctor, Harold Bornstein, who is a gastroenterologist, says the President takes a drug to stimulate hair growth.

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