Taylor Swift’s CMA Return, Pawpaw Season & New Mercies

Taylor Swift has found her cowboy boots, Terry Crews can draw, and Louisville has gathered to celebrate a fruit most Americans couldn’t identify in a police lineup.In this Saturday-morning Porch Paper, Sarah Beth Terry covers the escalating conflict in the Middle East, $6 diesel, federal job applications, West Virginia broadband, the Kentucky–Alabama football game, and layoffs at the Lexington Herald-Leader.At the country-music desk, Ella Langley leads the CMA nominations, Emily Ann Roberts earns her first, and Taylor Swift announces her return after ten years away. Plus, Lady Gaga becomes an actual mother, Ben Shelton reaches his first US Open final, Charleston releases monarch butterflies, and Appalachia celebrates the mighty pawpaw.After a heavy week, Sarah Beth turns to Lamentations 3 and the promise that God’s mercies are new every morning. Yesterday hurt—but today still arrived.