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. Trump’s Flip-Flop on Strait of Hormuz Fees Raises New Risks (NY Times)
“One day after proposing a fee for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, President Trump on Tuesday said the United States would instead guarantee safe passage to vessels from Persian Gulf states that agree to invest in the United States. It’s not clear how Mr. Trump’s plans would play out, and the president’s latest comments left questions unanswered. But the flip-flop shows how far the debate over the strait, the vital waterway in the Middle East, has strayed from longstanding practices in the shipping industry and underscores the level of unpredictability that businesses working in the region are facing as the conflict between the United States and Iran lurches back to war.
“In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said U.S. strikes on Iran will continue until he says “it's enough,” threatening to bomb Iran’s bridges and power plants as soon as “next week.” The president also did not rule out the possibility of a ground campaign in Iran. The Trump administration is increasing financial pressures on Iran by slapping new sanctions on an Iranian oil tycoon and more than 50 other people, ships and companies linked to him on Tuesday. “
Was this less a flip-flop and more a tiny experiment? In her book Tiny Experiments, Anne-Laure Le Cunff writes about how success isn’t solely rooted in achieving a big goal but in learning from small steps. “For sustainable success, we need to pause to learn from each repetition; to make small adjustments each time, picking up new abilities and knowledge along the way.” Changing your mind isn’t a bad thing but the result of an illuminating thing. “We don't go in circles; we grow in circles."
Which success script are you following? Le Cunff contends we often follow a script to chase after success. Instead of conducting tiny experiments and pivoting along the way, we closely follow a prescribed script that hopefully ends at our desired goal. There are 3 types of scripts: the sequel script (we follow our past, staying consistent with previous behaviors); the crowdpleaser script (we follow the crowd, taking actions that earn approval from those we value); and the epic script (we follow our passion, pursuing an imagined destination that is often far from where we currently stand). "The beauty of experiments is that you don't have to force your decisions to fit into any notion of who you thought you were or wanted to be. You are allowed to go off script. You can have multiple passions. You can make progress without a fixed purpose."
Tiny experiments in the vineyard… Jesus shared a parable about a father asking his 2 sons to go work in his vineyard. One son said he would, but he didn’t. The other son said he wouldn’t, but he eventually did. They both changed their minds, albeit in opposite directions. There was a moment, maybe a tiny experiment, that caused them to veer into another direction. We don’t know what caused them to change their minds, nor do we know what caused Pres. Trump to change his mind, but as Adam Grant noted: “Changing your mind doesn't mean you've abandoned your principles. It may mean you've learned something. It's better to contradict yourself and be accused of hypocrisy than to stick to your guns and sacrifice your integrity.” (Mt. 21)
5. ICE halts most traffic-stop arrests in wake of fatal shootings (WaPo)
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has temporarily instructed officers to refrain from making traffic-stop arrests in most cases, according to several people with knowledge of the directive, a policy shift spurred by a pair of fatal shootings involving officers who fired into vehicles over the past week.
“The pause comes as the Trump administration scrambles to respond to the incidents in Houston last week and in Biddeford, Maine, on Monday in which officers shot and killed immigrants from Mexico and Colombia, respectively. Three former federal immigration officials said they were informed by current Department of Homeland Security officials of the pause — which one person said covers vehicle stops and pertains to officers within ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division.
“Guidance was sent nationwide from ICE HQ — no vehicle interactions whatsoever,” said one former official, who like the others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private communications.”
There has been a significant uptick in the number of ICE officers and a significant downturn in the amount of training. Earlier this year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials shared how they received more than 220,000 applications to join their ranks. They had a goal of bringing on 10,000 agents; they ended up bringing on 22,000.
What goes up must come down? Reports highlighted how, in a July 2025 syllabus, ICE recruits received 584 hours of training over 72 days. In Feb. 2026, however, those numbers were 336 hours over 42 days, a roughly 40 percent decrease in training hours. A whistleblower called ICE’s training “deficient, defective and broken” after the alleged cuts. Since July 1, ICE has reinstated the 70-plus-day training program.
Remember King Shallum. In the Scriptures, we read how the government is “God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.” The government doesn’t show favor toward one group but works so that all groups may live “peaceful and quiet lives.” In Jeremiah, when speaking to King Shallum, God reminds the king about using power wisely, not rashly. (Rom. 13, Jer. 22, 1 Tim. 2)
4. Trump: FBI is 'wasting their time' looking into Lindsey Graham's death (USA Today)
“President Donald Trump said the FBI was “wasting their time” if they were looking into the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close ally of the president, who died on July 11 after a sudden illness. A preliminary medical examiner’s report indicated that Graham, 71, died of an "aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease,” his office said in a statement on July 12. The condition causes the inner lining of the body's main artery to become damaged, pushing blood through the artery's walls.
“Asked by a reporter whether he had any knowledge of why the FBI was looking into Graham's death at an event in the Oval Office on July 14, Trump said he didn't. “I don't see a lot of evil there, I don’t. I know there's all sorts of conspiracy theories going along,” Trump said. “I think the FBI’s wasting their time if they're doing that.”
“Darline Graham was sworn in Tuesday afternoon to fill the seat of her older brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., three days after he died unexpectedly. While her legal name since marriage is Darline Graham Nordone, a spokesperson said she will go by Darline Graham in the Senate. According to records, it is the first instance of a sibling being appointed to replace a deceased senator.”
Former Sen. Graham is gone, but not forgotten… partially because of conspiracy theories. After his passing, conspiracy theories bounced around social media, with some speculating foul play and others suggesting the involvement of a foreign adversary. Joseph Uscinski, in his book American Conspiracy Theories, noted: “Things aren’t getting worse. That’s the good news. The bad news is things have always been pretty bad. We just weren’t paying attention.”
An analysis of nearly 300 studies found that there are 3 core psychological motives regarding conspiracy theories: wanting to make sense of the world, coping with uncertainty in the world, and connecting with others. We use motivated reasoning to force our prior beliefs into established fact patterns (making sense of the world). With uncertainty, conspiracy theories can often look stronger than official stories by virtue of their completeness. And regarding connecting with others, research shows that people who believe in conspiracy theories often assume their friends agree with them, reinforcing and stabilizing those beliefs.
We search for information to make sense of this senseless world, but we already know the necessary information to live at peace in this world. While we can remain open to listening to theories and hearing the other side, we should be slow to speak until we have discerned the veracity of the other side. (Heb. 4, James 1)
Cultural News
3. More Workers Take Mental Health Leave, and Bosses Aren’t Happy (Bloomberg)
“Although employers have long granted extended absences for workers to pursue treatment for eating disorders, substance abuse and suicidal thoughts, more people are requesting time off these days for depression and anxiety too. About 67% of US employers report an increase in mental-health-related leaves of absence and accommodation requests over the past year, according to a survey released in May by employment law specialists Littler Mendelson. This figure rises to 74% for large employers. The number of absences in American workplaces is “skyrocketing” as a result, says Jeff Nowak, an employment attorney at Littler. “Leaves have been consistently elevated coming out of Covid. This is a sustained shift, not a temporary disruption.”
“It’s hard to quantify this impact, but a 2022 Gallup Panel report on mental health in the workplace estimates the cost of a missed workday at about $340 per day for full-time workers. This adds up to $47.6 billion annually in lost productivity in the US, Gallup says. “Employees feel more comfortable coming forward, and that’s a good thing,” Nowak says, “but it can also be crippling for employers.”
Some are down, but that number is going down too… While the prevalence of mental health concerns among adults has remained relatively stable from 2021 to 2024 (approximately 23 percent experiencing a mental illness), the number has significantly dropped among youth. In particular, the percentage of youth (ages 12-17) who experienced a major depressive episode in the past year decreased from 18 percent in 2023 to 15 percent in 2024.
But can we trust the numbers? Enter a form of medical-student syndrome, which refers to misdiagnosis due to a lack of understanding. There are instances of some using the language of mental illness more casually and often inaccurately. Studies have shown that more patients are now arriving at appointments with existing self-diagnoses. This is evidence of “concept creep” – terminology once reserved for mental illness is now being used to cover milder phenomena.
I will go to him, but he will not return to me… As a dad, I’m always struck by David watching his infant son die before his very eyes. While his son was on his deathbed, David pleaded, prayed, and fasted, and when he died, he got back to work. I can’t fathom that, but I know there is wisdom in it, refusing to let grief paralyze you. I am reminded of the quote by Marcus Aurelius: “All you need are these: certainty of judgment in the present moment; action for the common good in the present moment; and an attitude of gratitude in the present moment for anything that comes your way.” (2 Sam. 12)
News You Can Use
2. A child transforms a North Carolina neighborhood
Watch it here. “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly…” (1 Pet. 4:8)
1. "What advice would you give to someone who's newly married or about to be?"
Watch it here. “Charm is deceitful and beauty fades; but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised.” (Pro. 31:30)
