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Don Piper once was skeptical of near-death experiences. He didnt believe people could taste the fruit of heaven and come back. That is until he faced his own near-death experience back in 1989, he says. 

I would have counted myself among them, frankly, he now says of skeptics.Piper was involved in a horrific car crash more than three decades ago and was declared dead by paramedics on the scene. For the next 90 minutes, he says, he visited heaven, talked to deceased loved ones, and even saw angels. It wasnt until a man on the scene of the crash prayed for Piper that he was revived.

Pipers story is one of several near-death experiences that are retold in the new Angel Studios film After Death (PG-13), which opens in theaters Oct. 27. Its the first theatrical movie for Angel Studios since its summer blockbuster movie Sound of Freedom shocked Hollywood. 

This movie is the get-people-into-heaven movie, Piper told Christian Headlines about his goals for the film. At the very least, it’s a conversation starter. But at the very most, it’s somebody’s first step into the glory of God.

Piper is the author of numerous books, including his bestseller 90 Minutes In Heaven, which itself was made into a film of the same name. At the time of the crash, he was driving from a pastors conference back to his church. It was a rainy, cold day, he said. 

I was crossing a rural, narrow bridge, and the tractor-trailer truck crossed the center line and hit me head-on [in a] horrific collision, Piper said. Two other vehicles besides the truck and myself were involved. So it was just a horrific accident. Miraculously, everyone else was okay. I was not. I was killed instantly. And was treated by four paramedics and the state trooper who worked the accident. And in spite of their best efforts to resuscitate me, they were unsuccessful. I was pronounced by those paramedics dead on the scene — body covered up with a waterproof tarp. And they were waiting for a medical examiner to come in and do an investigation so they could take me away. 

At the exact moment of the car crash, Piper said, he went to heaven. 

I was standing at the gates of heaven, at least one of them — there are 12 according to the Revelation — and I was at one. And [I was] surrounded by people I had known and loved in life who had preceded me in death. And we were having a spectacular reunion. They looked great. If you want to look great, heaven is where you want to be. And they looked great. Back on the bridge, I looked terrible.

Piper remembers heaven vividly, he said.

The music is beyond any music we’ve ever heard — not just the quality of the music, but the quantity, for instance. I heard thousands of songs at the same time in heaven. But they were symbiotic. They didn’t clash with each other. Quite the contrary, they complemented each other. And you could distinguish each one of them with your heavenly ears.

In heaven, he said, There are colors there that we have never seen here.

There’s [also] a gate made of pearl, but it’s so dazzling because of the light reflecting off of it that it looks living, he said. And I’m not sure that it is living in our sense. But it certainly looks that way. The people that I saw were so perfect in every way and timeless in the sense that they were not old, and they were not particularly young but fully recognizable as themselves. I knew them. They knew me. They were perfect in every way — no scars, no blemishes.

Above Piper in heaven, he said, there were angels. 

I don’t even know how many [but] they were different sizes and shapes and different numbers of wings. There were angels without wings.

The accident took place around 11:45 a.m. At 1:30 p.m., an attendee of the conference who had encountered the crash stopped and prayed for Piper.  

At 1:30, he’s singing the great old hymn, What a Friend We Have in Jesus, and I start singing it with him. And I was back unaware of what had happened to me, didn’t know anything about the accident.

All total, he was in the hospital for 13 months and had 34 operations. He was in rehab for three years. 

Earth, he told Christian Headlines, cannot compare to heaven. 

I obviously have had a meaningful life for the past 34, 35 years being here, he said of Earth. But honestly, I would rather be there. These people that are in the movie, they would rather be there, too.

After Death is rated PG-13 for thematic material, including violent descriptions, some bloody images, and drug references. 

Photo Courtesy: Angel Studios / used with permission.

Video Courtesy: Angel Studios via YouTube

Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.

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The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Salem Web Network and Salem Media Group.

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Politics

Unite votes to suspend Angela Rayner over Birmingham bin strike

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Unite votes to suspend Angela Rayner over Birmingham bin strike

Labour’s largest union donor, Unite, has voted to suspend Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner over her role in the Birmingham bin strike row.

Members of the trade union, one of the UK’s largest, also “overwhelmingly” voted to “re-examine its relationship” with Labour over the issue.

They said Ms Rayner, who is also housing, communities and local government secretary, Birmingham Council’s leader, John Cotton, and other Labour councillors had been suspended for “bringing the union into disrepute”.

There was confusion over Ms Rayner’s membership of Unite, with her office having said she was no longer a member and resigned months ago and therefore could not be suspended.

But Unite said she was registered as a member. Parliament’s latest register of interests had her down as a member in May.

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The union said an emergency motion was put to members at its policy conference in Brighton on Friday.

More on Angela Rayner

Unite is one of the Labour Party’s largest union donors, donating £414,610 in the first quarter of 2025 – the highest amount in that period by a union, company or individual.

The union condemned Birmingham’s Labour council and the government for “attacking the bin workers”.

Mountains of rubbish have been piling up in the city since January after workers first went on strike over changes to their pay, with all-out strike action starting in March. An agreement has still not been made.

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Rat catcher tackling Birmingham’s bins problem

Ms Rayner and the councillors had their membership suspended for “effectively firing and rehiring the workers, who are striking over pay cuts of up to £8,000”, the union added.

‘Missing in action’

General secretary Sharon Graham told Sky News on Saturday morning: “Angela Rayner, who has the power to solve this dispute, has been missing in action, has not been involved, is refusing to come to the table.”

She had earlier said: “Unite is crystal clear, it will call out bad employers regardless of the colour of their rosette.

“Angela Rayner has had every opportunity to intervene and resolve this dispute but has instead backed a rogue council that has peddled lies and smeared its workers fighting huge pay cuts.

“The disgraceful actions of the government and a so-called Labour council, is essentially fire and rehire and makes a joke of the Employment Relations Act promises.

“People up and down the country are asking whose side is the Labour government on and coming up with the answer not workers.”

SN pics from 10/04/25 Tyseley Lane, Tyseley, Birmingham showing some rubbish piling up because of bin strikes
Image:
Piles of rubbish built up around Birmingham because of the strike over pay

Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman said the government’s “priority is and always has been the residents of Birmingham”.

He said the decision by Unite workers to go on strike had “caused disruption” to the city.

“We’ve worked to clean up streets and remain in close contact with the council […] as we support its recovery,” he added.

A total of 800 Unite delegates voted on the motion.

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World

Donald Trump announces 30% tariff on imports from EU

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Donald Trump announces 30% tariff on imports from EU

Donald Trump has announced he will impose a 30% tariff on imports from the European Union from 1 August.

The tariffs could make everything from French cheese and Italian leather goods to German electronics and Spanish pharmaceuticals more expensive in the US.

Mr Trump has also imposed a 30% tariff on goods from Mexico, according to a post from his Truth Social account.

Announcing the moves in separate letters on the account, the president said the US trade deficit was a national security threat.

In his letter to the EU, he wrote: “We have had years to discuss our trading relationship with The European Union, and we have concluded we must move away from these long-term, large, and persistent, trade Deficits, engendered by your tariff, and non-Tariff, policies, and trade barriers.

“Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from reciprocal.”

In his letter to Mexico, Mr Trump said he did not think the country had done enough to stop the US from turning into a “narco-trafficking playground”.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said today that the EU could adopt “proportionate countermeasures” if the US proceeds with imposing the 30% tariff.

Ms von der Leyen, who heads the EU’s executive arm, said in a statement that the bloc remained ready “to continue working towards an agreement by Aug 1”.

“Few economies in the world match the European Union’s level of openness and adherence to fair trading practices,” she continued.

“We will take all necessary steps to safeguard EU interests, including the adoption of proportionate countermeasures if required.”

Ms von der Leyen has also said imposing tariffs on EU exports would “disrupt essential transatlantic supply chains”.

Meanwhile, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said on the X social media platform that Mr Trump’s announcement was “very concerning and not the way forward”.

He added: “The European Commission can count on our full support. As the EU we must remain united and resolute in pursuing an outcome with the United States that is mutually beneficial.”

Mexico’s economy ministry said a bilateral working group aims to reach an alternative to the 30% US tariffs before they are due to take effect.

The country was informed by the US that it would receive a letter about the tariffs, the ministry’s statement said, adding that Mexico was negotiating.

Read more US news:
Trump plans to hit Canada with 35% tariff
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How ‘liberation day’ unfolded

Trump’s tariff threats and delays

On his so-called “liberation day” in April, Mr Trump unleashed “reciprocal tariffs” on many of America’s trade partners.

The US president said he was targeting countries with which America has a trade imbalance.

However, since then he’s backed down in a spiralling tit-for-tat tariff face-off with China, and struck a deal with the UK.

The US imposed a 20% tariff on imported goods from the EU in April but it was later paused and the bloc has since been paying a baseline tariff of 10% on goods it exports to the US.

In May, while the US and EU where holding trade negotiations, Mr Trump threated to impose a 50% tariff on the bloc as talks didn’t progress as he would have liked.

However, he later announced he was delaying the imposition of that tariff while negotiations over a trade deal took place.

As of earlier this week, the EU’s executive commission, which handles trade issues for the bloc’s 27-member nations, said its leaders were still hoping to strike a trade deal with the Trump administration.

Without one, the EU said it was prepared to retaliate with tariffs on hundreds of American products, ranging from beef and auto parts to beer and Boeing airplanes.

Continue Reading

US

Donald Trump announces 30% tariff on imports from EU

Published

on

By

Donald Trump announces 30% tariff on imports from EU

Donald Trump has announced he will impose a 30% tariff on imports from the European Union from 1 August.

The tariffs could make everything from French cheese and Italian leather goods to German electronics and Spanish pharmaceuticals more expensive in the US.

Mr Trump has also imposed a 30% tariff on goods from Mexico, according to a post from his Truth Social account.

Announcing the moves in separate letters on the account, the president said the US trade deficit was a national security threat.

In his letter to the EU, he wrote: “We have had years to discuss our trading relationship with The European Union, and we have concluded we must move away from these long-term, large, and persistent, trade Deficits, engendered by your tariff, and non-Tariff, policies, and trade barriers.

“Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from reciprocal.”

In his letter to Mexico, Mr Trump said he did not think the country had done enough to stop the US from turning into a “narco-trafficking playground”.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said today that the EU could adopt “proportionate countermeasures” if the US proceeds with imposing the 30% tariff.

Ms von der Leyen, who heads the EU’s executive arm, said in a statement that the bloc remained ready “to continue working towards an agreement by Aug 1”.

“Few economies in the world match the European Union’s level of openness and adherence to fair trading practices,” she continued.

“We will take all necessary steps to safeguard EU interests, including the adoption of proportionate countermeasures if required.”

Ms von der Leyen has also said imposing tariffs on EU exports would “disrupt essential transatlantic supply chains”.

Meanwhile, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said on the X social media platform that Mr Trump’s announcement was “very concerning and not the way forward”.

He added: “The European Commission can count on our full support. As the EU we must remain united and resolute in pursuing an outcome with the United States that is mutually beneficial.”

Mexico’s economy ministry said a bilateral working group aims to reach an alternative to the 30% US tariffs before they are due to take effect.

The country was informed by the US that it would receive a letter about the tariffs, the ministry’s statement said, adding that Mexico was negotiating.

Read more US news:
Trump plans to hit Canada with 35% tariff
More than 160 missing after Texas floods
Robot performs realistic surgery

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

How ‘liberation day’ unfolded

Trump’s tariff threats and delays

On his so-called “liberation day” in April, Mr Trump unleashed “reciprocal tariffs” on many of America’s trade partners.

The US president said he was targeting countries with which America has a trade imbalance.

However, since then he’s backed down in a spiralling tit-for-tat tariff face-off with China, and struck a deal with the UK.

The US imposed a 20% tariff on imported goods from the EU in April but it was later paused and the bloc has since been paying a baseline tariff of 10% on goods it exports to the US.

In May, while the US and EU where holding trade negotiations, Mr Trump threated to impose a 50% tariff on the bloc as talks didn’t progress as he would have liked.

However, he later announced he was delaying the imposition of that tariff while negotiations over a trade deal took place.

As of earlier this week, the EU’s executive commission, which handles trade issues for the bloc’s 27-member nations, said its leaders were still hoping to strike a trade deal with the Trump administration.

Without one, the EU said it was prepared to retaliate with tariffs on hundreds of American products, ranging from beef and auto parts to beer and Boeing airplanes.

Continue Reading

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