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. Anthropic rejects Pentagon terms for lethal use of its chatbot Claude (WaPo)
“Anthropic said late Thursday that it will not concede to the Pentagon’s ultimatum for full access to its artificial intelligence tool Claude, saying it cannot loosen its restrictions against use in fully autonomous weapons or mass domestic surveillance. Anthropic’s announcement comes hours before a Pentagon-imposed Friday deadline to comply — setting the stage for the AI firm to either win a last-minute concession by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth or face the possibility of being cut from future military work.
“The AI firm and the Defense Department have been at odds for weeks, after Anthropic reportedly raised questions over how Claude was used in the raid to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and the relationship soured further as the two sides issued conflicting accounts of the terms of their disagreement. The Pentagon has said it has never considered autonomous weapons or mass surveillance in the scope of its use, but it has not been willing to prohibit them in its contract with Anthropic, saying it will pursue only lawful applications.”
“Just because someone else wants something from you does not mean you have to give it to them,” according to Henry Cloud and John Townsend. In their book Boundaries, they write: “Boundaries define us. They define what is me and what is not me… People who can’t say no often say yes out of fear.”
Are you familiar with the boundary triangle? This refers to 3 unhealthy roles when boundaries are unclear: rescuer, victim, and persecutor. The rescuer is over-responsible, believing that if they don’t fix it, then everything will fall apart. The rescuer takes responsibility for others instead of being responsible to others. Then there is the victim, who avoids responsibility for what is actually theirs to manage. And finally, there is the persecutor, who tries to control others rather than allow consequences or express needs directly. As the overcontroller, their anger can be a problem, and they often blame others for the problem.
The difference between successful people and really successful people, according to Warren Buffett, is that “really successful people say no to almost everything.” From Jesus initially saying no to turning water into wine to David choosing not to build the temple, the Scriptures reveal a divine truth: obedience requires a willingness to say both yes and no. Turning down a big contract can be a hard thing; honoring your values is a precious thing. Francis Chan put it well: “Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.” (Jn. 2, 2 Sam. 7)
5. Netflix backs out of Warner Bros. purchase, clearing a path for Paramount (WaPo)
“Netflix announced Thursday that it will not raise its bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, potentially paving the way for Paramount Skydance to swoop in and buy the company after a tense war between two media mega-corporations. Netflix struck an $83 billion deal in December to buy most of WBD, positioning the streaming giant to absorb HBO and its streaming service HBO Max, while also acquiring the famed Warner Bros. film and television studios. That deal would have seen cable networks including CNN spin off into an independent company.
“But Paramount Skydance, run by billionaire scion David Ellison, son of Oracle co-founder and Trump ally Larry Ellison, pursued a hostile takeover bid, claiming that an all-cash deal it proposed to buy the entire company for $30 per share was superior than Netflix’s $27.75 per share bid to buy most of the company. On Tuesday, Paramount raised its bid to $31 per share, which Warner Bros. called a “superior proposal,” and that Netflix had four business days to respond. Still, the Warner Bros. board said that it was still recommending the Netflix transaction. But on Thursday, Netflix said the deal was no longer “financially attractive.”
Fortune favors the bold.... Barbarians at the Gate, an absolute classic which recounts the events surrounding the 1988 leveraged buyout of RJR Nabisco, famously noted: “Recognize that ultimate success comes from opportunistic, bold moves which, by definition, cannot be planned.” This is a bold move – especially since most studies suggest that between 70 to 90 percent of acquisitions fail.
McKinsey identifies 3 factors for success with acquisitions: transparent dialogue, anticipating trade-offs, and actively monitoring the political landscape. Frequent and candid dialogue is key to getting all parties aligned. Concerning trade-offs, recognize that perfection is not feasible and expectations should be measured, especially when considering all the various stakeholders involved in the process. And finally, you must monitor the political landscape, having a grasp of the key issues that various regulators and stakeholders hold highly.
Following Joanna… The wife of Chuza, Joanna served as the household manager for Herod the Tetrarch (who had executed John the Baptist). She had great status and a high social standing, but she also had evil spirits and diseases… until Jesus showed up. We know very little of Joanna, but we do know that Jesus healed her and then she took a great risk and followed after him. She was willing to give up much in order to potentially gain more. And to a lesser degree, the same can be said of Paramount. (Lk. 8)
4. Mortgage rates fall below 6% for the first time in more than 3 years (NY Times)
“Mortgage rates have fallen below 6 percent for the first time in more than three years, offering a glimmer of hope that a frozen housing market may be set to thaw. The average 30-year mortgage rate in the United States fell to 5.98 percent, the mortgage-financing giant Freddie Mac said Thursday, down from nearly 7 percent around the same time last year. The last time the rate was below 6 percent was in September 2022.
“That amounts to hundreds of dollars’ reduction in mortgage payments,” said Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, a professor of real estate at Columbia Business School. Mortgage rates peaked at just under 7.8 percent in October 2023 and drifted down gradually, stifling the market for Americans struggling to afford to buy homes as well as for homeowners reluctant to sell. Housing is a crucial driver of the U.S. economy, serving as the most important asset for millions of American households.”
Daughtry isn’t the only one who wants to go Home… Outside of mortgage rates, there are supply issues and demand issues when it comes to affordable housing. For home builders, the surge in local fees is making the construction of starter homes tough. A study focused on Minnesota concluded it’s effectively impossible for developers to build a home in the $150,000 to $250,000 price range because of regulatory fees: “One third of the total package price, with the land, is in the regulatory costs,” one builder noted, including “your wetland fees, your park dedication fees, your permit costs,” and more.
Then there is the demand side, namely, regulations have increased bank overhead costs and limited the number of lower-income Americans who could qualify for a loan. A paper out of North Carolina explained how regulations raised banks’ overhead costs and pushed small banks (those most likely to provide starter home mortgages) out of the market. Then there is actually qualifying individuals. The Mercatus Center’s Kevin Erdmann shows that government regulation caused “the average credit score on approved mortgages to jump by 40 points between late 2007 and late 2009.”
Andrew Murray observed that the world is focused on what you own while Christ gives attention to how you use it. We are stewards, not owners, of resources. Essentially God the Father has given us an allowance and instructions: use his money to make this earth a little more like heaven. There is no biblical formula regarding how to allocate your resources, but there is a divine expectation to deploy those resources to make his kingdom come, and his will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. (1 Chron. 29:11)
Cultural News
3. An all-or-nothing mindset could be hurting your exercise and health goals (WaPo)
“An important new study of exercise motivation offers some potential answers and gentle reassurance. Published in BMC Public Health, the research found that a common mindset about exercise, known as “all-or-nothing thinking,” often undermines our best efforts to be active… Sticking with exercise is hard — and rare. About half of all people who start a new exercise program quit within a few months, Segar said, and many within weeks, no matter how determined they were at the start.
“Without prompting, the topic popped up over and over. “People would say things like, ‘I could only work out for 15 minutes, and that doesn’t count,’” Segar said. Or they told the researchers they knew exercise should hurt, and since theirs didn’t, it couldn’t be actual exercise and wasn’t worth continuing… “The biggest is to choose ‘good enough’ over perfect,” Segar said. A wealth of existing exercise science shows even a few minutes a day of relatively easy activity, such as walking up the stairs or around the block, can appreciably improve health. You don’t have to run. You don’t have to keep moving for hours. “It’s not a cliché,” Segar said. “Every little bit counts. Do what you can today” and allow yourself the grace to accept that “for now, that’s good enough.”
40 percent of the actions we perform each day are not actually decisions we make but rather are rooted in the habits we have formed, according to Charles Duhigg. In his book The Power of Habit, Duhigg highlights how habits can’t be removed, but they can be changed.
In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear asserts that “habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.” For Clear, you don’t “rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems… Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress.” He concludes: “You should be far more concerned with your current trajectory than with your current results."
So what is your trajectory? As Christians, we want to establish habits that honor God and bless our world. In his phenomenal book You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit, James K.A. Smith writes: “Learning virtue—becoming virtuous—is more like practicing scales on the piano than learning music theory… Learning here isn’t just information acquisition; it’s more like inscribing something into the very fiber of your being.” (1 Cor. 10:31, 1 Pet. 2:12)
News You Can Use
2. Mailman goes viral after singing for woman who lost her husband
Watch it here. “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms.” (1 Pet. 4:10)
1. A widow's grief, and an angel's compassion
Watch it here. “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” (Heb. 13:16)
