Less adults belong to religious institutions, a fertility lull is creating a dependency on immigration, central bankers are concerned over President Trump’s criticisms, military seeking more funding to counter China, and an overview of Robert Mueller’s report.

These are just a few of the newsworthy stories from this past week.

Society

• Gallup says the percentage of U.S. adults who belong to a church or other religious institution has plunged by 20 points over the past two decades, hitting a low of 50% last year from 70% in 1999.
  
  From AP

• A fertility lull that started after the financial crisis has lasted longer than expected, and it overlaps with a rise in death rates and the retirements of a large cohort of baby boomers. The result is a country increasingly dependent on immigrants to fill jobs and fund programs like Social Security and Medicare, economists said.
  
  From The Wall Street Journal

Global

• French authorities formed a human chain to save some of Notre Dame’s most precious relics as flames engulfed the cathedral.
  
  Investigations have begun into the cause of the devastating fire at Notre Dame, which toppled the Paris cathedral’s spire and caused the roof to collapse.
  
  The cathedral’s exterior has been saved, including its two iconic bell towers.
  
  From Axios

• Assailants in the Democratic Republic of Congo are targeting Ebola treatment centers and medical staff, fueling the second-deadliest outbreak of the highly contagious disease.
  
  From The Wall Street Journal

Business & Economics

• An unexpected rebound in brick-and-mortar shops last year suggested that malls might also make a comeback. But prospects for mall owners and investors are dimming as struggling retailers close stores and become more selective about openings.
  
  5,994 is the number of stores U.S. retailers have closed so far this year, up from 5,864 closures for all of 2018.
  
  From The Wall Street Journal

• Central bankers said they fear President Trump’s combative stance toward the Fed could erode the institution’s nonpartisanship and weaken its role in the global economy. The concerns arose as the president again criticized the U.S. central bank and as he seeks to put two stalwart Trump supporters and Fed critics on its board.
  
  From The Wall Street Journal

• The DOJ wants to bring to an end its breakup of Standard Oil, along with its efforts to ensure competition in markets for horseshoes and player-piano rolls. The agency’s antitrust division is revisiting hundreds of legal agreements dating as far back as the 1800s to ferret out those that have outlived their usefulness.
  
  From The Wall Street Journal

Government

• The head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command is seeking more funding to counter China. In a letter to members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Adm. Phil Davidson expressed concerns the Pentagon’s budget isn’t realigning quickly enough to address the threat.
  
  From The Wall Street Journal

• Congress is proposing to raise the minimum age to purchase tobacco products to 21 from 18, an action that public-health advocates and tobacco companies say would curb the use of e-cigarettes among young people. More than a dozen states have passed similar laws.
  
  From The Wall Street Journal

• In the second veto of his presidency, President Trump vetoed a resolution passed by Congress to end U.S. military assistance in Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen. Congress lacks the votes to override the veto.
  
  From AP

• Robert Mueller’s report lays out in detail what it says were attempts by President Trump to control the Russia investigation and blunt its fallout, but concludes his efforts were “mostly unsuccessful” because his subordinates declined to carry out orders.
  
  From The Wall Street Journal

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