The Daily Briefing highlights the news of the day and research that reveals the spirit of the day.
The Daily Briefing is a newsletter sent straight to your inbox every morning that provides biblical insight on today's news.
Top News
6. Federal judge places new block on Trump’s ban on birthright citizenship (WaPo)
“A federal judge in New Hampshire on Thursday placed a new nationwide block on President Donald Trump’s efforts to end birthright citizenship, a decision that came two weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court opened a path for the administration to begin enforcing the order.
“During a court hearing, U.S. District Judge Joseph Laplante said he would issue the temporary injunction after agreeing to a request from civil rights groups to certify a class-action lawsuit against the administration on behalf of U.S.-born children or future children whose automatic citizenship could be jeopardized by the president’s executive order, lawyers for the plaintiffs said.
“The high court, in a 6-3 decision, did not rule on whether Trump’s birthright order is constitutionally valid. The justices kept Trump’s ban on hold for at least 30 days and sent a set of cases back to the lower courts to determine the practical implications of their ruling.”
The Clash aren’t the only ones trying to figure out if they should stay or go… Historical estimates indicate that roughly 7.5 percent of all babies born in the US going forward would no longer be considered automatic citizens. This would amount to more than 250,000 children each year.
John Eastman, writing in The American Mind, draws on the Slaughterhouse Cases (1872) to show how “the phrase, ‘subject to its jurisdiction’ was intended to exclude from its operation children of ministers, consuls, and citizens or subjects of foreign States born within the United States.” He then goes on to cite the 1884 case of Elk v. Wilkins, holding that the “subject to the jurisdiction” phrase required that one be “not merely subject in some respect or degree to the jurisdiction of the United States, but completely subject to their political jurisdiction, and owing them direct and immediate allegiance.”
Then there is John Yoo of the American Enterprise Institute. He harkens back to when the text of the Fourteenth Amendment came to the floor of the Senate. Pennsylvania Sen. Edgar Cowan asked supporters of the Amendment, “Is the child of the Chinese immigrant in California, a citizen? Is the child born of a Gypsy born in Pennsylvania a citizen?” California Sen. John Conness responded yes. Yoo then goes on to highlight United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898), in which the Court declared that “the Fourteenth Amendment affirms the ancient and fundamental rule of citizenship by birth within the territory, in the allegiance and protection of the country, including all children here born of resident aliens.”
As Christians, we don’t shy away from arguments, but we can model civil disagreements – including about citizenship. This is the beauty of our constitutional republic, according to Yuval Levin. In his book American Covenant, Levin points to the words of James Madison: “As long as the reason of man continues fallible, and he is at liberty to exercise it, different opinions will be formed.” In our constitutional system, we can differ “without rejecting one another’s legitimacy—disputing without being at war.” You may not be able to persuade the other side but you have been called to bear with the other side and love the opposing side. (Eph. 4:2, Col. 3:13)
5. Death toll at 121 as search continues for the missing in Texas (ABC News)
“The search for more than 170 people still missing after flash floods devastated Central Texas stretched into a seventh day on Thursday, as the death toll continued to rise. At least 121 people have been confirmed dead, according to local law enforcement and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Ongoing search operations were underway to find anyone lost in the debris after the catastrophic weekend storm, which caused the Guadalupe River to swell rapidly to near-unprecedented levels.
“President Trump signed a federal disaster declaration at Abbott's request, allowing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to deploy its own teams to support local rescue and recovery efforts as those operations press on. More storms after the initial flooding made efforts especially challenging, officials said.”
The more we learn about this tragedy, the worse the responses get to this tragedy… We have gone from assigning blame to members of Congress calling the Texas governor a lapdog of the president. This serves as another byproduct of how this digital age is shaping us.
In his book Superbloom, Nicholas Carr highlights how familiarity, once again, breeds contempt. While casual conversations can build empathy, the unfiltered, 24/7 stream of thoughts and arguments makes it easier to clash than to connect. Research has shown that the more we know about a person, the more likely we are to find something that irritates or offends us.
Enter the dissimilarity cascade. While we naturally gravitate, in person, to people who seem similar to us, in an online world, we are exposed to people’s unfiltered thoughts and opinions. The constancy of this amplifies conflicts and frustrations, further dividing us. We are now navigating through a pseudo-environment, where online information informs in-person interactions. Contrary to popular belief, communication overload doesn’t strengthen social ties but rather unravels them.
Welcome to the anti-empathy machine. Cited by Carr and popularized by Sherry Turkle, this refers to how social media affects how we connect and changes how we feel. Studies have shown that the more you use social media, the more difficult it is to empathize and read the emotions of others.
Jesus wept… but do we? When their brother became ill, Mary and Martha sent for their good friend Jesus to ask for his help. They had previously hosted him in their home and prepared a meal for him, but now they needed a favor. However, Jesus wasn’t able to get there before Lazarus died. Upon arriving, Jesus saw his dead friend and wept. He didn’t get angry or assign blame, but rather he cried, despite knowing far more about these people than anything shared on social media. I suspect social media has played a role in some of the responses to this tragedy, but I know that this digital age is undoubtedly shaping us, yet hopefully we are allowing our God to transform us. There will be a time to blame, but I hope there is still time to weep. (Jn. 11)
4. Russia pounds Kyiv for another sleepless night as Zelensky asks for help (WaPo)
“Russian forces pounded Ukraine overnight with hundreds of drones and missiles, targeting in particular the capital, Kyiv — an attack that follows President Donald Trump’s increasingly sharp criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin and promise to restore arms deliveries to Ukraine.
"The sound of low-flying drones and explosions from air defense systems could be heard for hours in sections of the capital, as residents fled to the safety of subway stations, underground car garages and what they hoped were safe spaces within their homes. For many, it was yet another sleepless night during increased bombardments of Ukraine’s cities in recent weeks.
“On Thursday, just hours after the attack, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN) summit in Kuala Lumpur. Rubio expressed “both disappointment and frustration at the lack of progress in peace talks.” As Kyiv reeled from the overnight barrage, a senior Ukrainian intelligence officer was fatally shot in the capital Thursday in what appeared to be a targeted assassination by Russian security services. The veteran Ukrainian officer, Col. Ivan Voronych, was walking on the street when he was shot five times by a lone assailant about 9 a.m. in a brazen daytime attack."
Frank Sinatra’s Got The World On a String but these soldiers have their weapons on a fiber optic cable. Instead of using radio signals that can be easily blocked, fiber-optic drones transmit data back to the pilot through the cable they unspool as they fly. These cables can stretch up to roughly 12 miles. When a drone reaches its target and detonates, the wire that trailed it remains on the ground. Miles of fiber-optic cable now cover roads and fields throughout eastern and southern Ukraine. For context, there have been more than 24,000 drones that have attacked Ukraine’s towns and cities since the start of this year.
Russia is on the attack, but they are also taking losses. Estimates indicate that Russia has suffered 1 million casualties since the invasion began in Feb. 2022. To absorb such staggering losses, Russia needs to recruit 30,000-40,000 soldiers a month.
War, according to CS Lewis, doesn’t make death more frequent but rather more apparent. “100 percent of us die and the percentage cannot be increased. Yet war does do something to death. It forces us to remember it. The only reason that cancer at sixty or paralysis at 75 do not bother us is that we forget them. All schemes of happiness centered in this world were always doomed to final frustration. In ordinary times only a wise man can realize it. Now the stupidest of us knows.” While war tragically cuts short too many lives, it also has the capacity to deepen our appreciation for life. (Ps. 90)
Cultural News
3. What is a micro-retirement? Inside the latest Gen Z trend (Fast Company)
“Gen Z is using micro-retirement to avoid burnout, find greater fulfillment in their work, and enhance their overall well-being. However, it’s not just Gen-Z: according to a survey from Side Hustles, 10% of workers are considering taking a micro-retirement and 75% thought employers should offer micro-retirement policies such as unpaid sabbaticals.
“The idea is to take frequent and longer breaks from work during your career. These breaks are not your standard PTO—they’re intentional, unpaid time to rest and recharge. Micro-retirements can look like: Quitting a job, and finding a new job when you’re ready to work again; Setting up a plan with your employer that allows you to take unpaid frequent work breaks; Taking breaks from your business if you’re a business owner.”
Like the Eagles, Gen Z is trying to Take It Easy… For context, a new study found that job burnout is at 66 percent – an all-time high. Herbert Freudenberger was the first to offer a definition of burnout as the state of being “exhausted by making extreme demands on energy, strength, or resources” from one’s job, which would cause one to become ineffective in achieving “all intents and purposes.”
The burnout 3… There are three dimensions to workplace burnout: emotional exhaustion, cynicism or depersonalization, and a negative view of personal effectiveness.
Seth Godin famously quipped that instead of wondering when your next vacation is, you should maybe set up a life you don’t need to escape from… In his book The Rest of God, Mark Buchanan observes that there is a part of God we can know only through stillness (Ps. 46:10). He concludes: “Unless and until we rest in God, we will never risk for God.” Wayne Muller, in his book Sabbath, argues that the busyness of the world can cause us to get lost in the world. His solution: “Like a path through the forest, Sabbath creates a marker for ourselves so, if we are lost, we can find our way back to our center.” I’m skeptical of micro-retirements but I am confident in the need to rest and abide in God’s faithfulness.
News You Can Use
2. Couple hosts hilarious parallel parking competition
Watch it here. “An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.” (2 Tim. 2:5)
1. Hugh Grant Caught Snoozing at Wimbledon in Viral Video
Watch it here. "It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep." (Ps. 127:2)
Dog of the Week
