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. Lindsay Clancy trial: Tensions flare as defense blames 1 juror for deadlock (ABC News)
“Jury deliberations are underway in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mom who killed her three young children while in the family's home on Jan. 24, 2023. Clancy’s defense attorney claims she was suffering from postpartum psychosis when she strangled her children and attempted to take her own life. Prosecutors argue that Clancy -- who has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder -- is criminally responsible for her children's deaths.
“If she is found guilty, Clancy could face life in prison without parole. If found not criminally responsible for the three murder charges, she will be sent to a state mental health facility. Jurors have concluded a sixth day of deliberations with no verdict. The judge said he would excuse them until 9 a.m. Friday and speak to them at that point.
“In open court, defense attorney Kevin Reddington said there is one juror who is refusing to adhere to Judge William Sullivan's instructions. He has asked the judge to remove the juror who is refusing to listen.”
There are at least 2 reasons why so many are so interested in this trial: forensic fandom (citizen sleuthing) and parasocial ties. Relative to forensic fandom, studies have shown that audiences no longer simply consume the news but want to participate in it via social media platforms. This form of citizen sleuthing allows audiences to analyze documents, 911 calls, court filings, and medical histories.
Then there are parasocial relationships, which are strictly one-sided yet immensely satisfying connections. Essentially, one party extends emotional energy, interest, and time in the relationship, and the other party is unaware of the other person. This is evidenced, in this instance, primarily through the protests in support of Clancy.
From Job to Amos, the cry for justice is an innate human desire. Throughout his intense suffering, Job persistently cried out for God to grant him a fair hearing and restore divine justice. WIth Amos, the shepherd turned prophet demanded systemic justice and corruption to be ridden from the courts. Job demanded a hearing, Amos demanded integrity, and today we expect both.
5. DOJ charges ICE officer who shot immigrant in Minnesota with lying to investigators (CBS News)
“Federal prosecutors have charged an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who shot a Venezuelan immigrant in Minnesota with making false statements to investigators about the incident, multiple sources familiar with the matter tell CBS News.
“The officer, Christian Castro, was charged in May by local prosecutors, but Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has refused to extradite him, prompting a legal battle. He was released from a Texas jail last week.
“A federal grand jury returned a six-count indictment Wednesday, but the case has not yet been unsealed, the sources said. Law enforcement officers are currently trying to locate Castro, one source said. The Associated Press first reported Castro had been charged by federal prosecutors.”
In their book Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me), Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson utilize a “pyramid of choice” metaphor to explain our propensity to lie and justify ourselves. When we first deal with a mistake, we find ourselves at the top of the pyramid. As we deflect contrary evidence and create more elaborate fictions that absolve us, we descend to the base -- further removed from the truth on the other side. “Most people, when directly confronted by evidence that they are wrong, do not change their point of view or course of action but justify it even more tenaciously. Even irrefutable evidence is rarely enough to pierce the mental armor of self-justification.”
“In the horrifying calculus of self-deception, the greater the pain we inflict on others, the greater the need to justify it to maintain our feelings of decency and self-worth," according to Tavris and Aronson. "Nothing predicts future behavior as much as past impunity.”
When we sin, we run away from God. Like Adam and Eve before us, we attempt to hide the truth and the shame associated with it. And sadly, in our running and hiding, we are distancing ourselves from the very source of healing and grace: God. Confession is an audible surrender, a decision to emerge from hiding, to stop running, and to accept your need for grace. (Gen. 3, 1 Jn. 1:9)
4. DOJ asks Supreme Court to allow Trump’s USPS action on mail-in ballots to proceed ahead of midterm elections (NBC News)
“The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to green-light a new Postal Service rule that would exert control over mail-in ballots ahead of the midterm elections. The appeal to the high court comes after U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani last week issued a temporary restraining order blocking parts of the rule from being implemented.
“The emergency appeal, which leapfrogged lower courts still considering the case, is the culmination of a monthslong legal fight over an executive order the president signed in March that gave federal agencies an unprecedented role in elections. Voter advocacy groups and a coalition of 23 Democratic-led states challenged that order in federal court, arguing that neither the president nor the post office should have a role in choosing which mail ballots reach voters.
“With respect to the November 2026 election, the order thus partially nullifies the Postal Service’s efforts to address the risk that the federal mails will be used to perpetrate voter fraud, a particularly pernicious species of fraud that dilutes the votes of lawful voters, prevents election results from reflecting the will of the American people, and undermines ‘public confidence in the integrity of the electoral process,’” Solicitor General John Sauer wrote in the application.”
Signed, Sealed, Delivered? Not so fast, Stevie. Voting by mail hit its peak in 2020, when approximately 43 percent of voting was done by mail. The 2024 presidential election saw the second-highest percentage of mail ballots cast at 30.6 percent. While 36 states require ballots to be received by Election Day, 14 states allow ballots postmarked by Election Day to be received afterward.
Can voting by mail be trusted? An Inspector General report in 2019 concluded that the USPS delivery of election-related mail—including mail-in ballots—in the 2018 election provided timely delivery of absentee/mail-in ballots 96 percent of the time. The report said that on average nationally, the service achieved its goal 95.6 percent of the time. However, states like California, Illinois, and New Jersey only managed to deliver this mail 84.2 percent of the time.
American heroes greatly sacrificed so that we might have the chance to freely vote. We honor them by casting our votes to elect fellow citizens, and we dishonor them when we don’t protect this liberty. We shouldn’t try to squelch this freedom, but we should protect this exercise in liberty, which allows us to love our neighbor. (Jer. 29:7, Mk. 12:31).
Cultural News
3. The worst times to travel for Labor Day, according to AAA — including the exact busiest moments to leave NYC (NY Post)
“With Labor Day weekend upon us, millions of Americans are expected to hit the road or take to the skies to say farewell to summer with a last of the season getaway… AAA booking data shows Seattle, Orlando, Boston, Denver, and New York are the top domestic destinations, while Rome, Vancouver, London, Dublin, and Paris top the international list.
“According to INRIX and AAA, road trippers across the country will want to avoid traveling during peak windows on Thursday and Friday, as many holiday seekers will hit the road after work, adding to the normal congestion of commuters and creating less than fluid conditions. As Thursday and Friday are slated to be the busiest days for car travel, travelers should aim to leave before 11 a.m. on Thursday and before noon or after 8 p.m. on Friday.”
Working 9 to 5? Not so fast, Dolly Parton -- especially on they day before Labor Day weekend. In his book 4,000 Weeks, Oliver Burkeman highlights how the average American only has an “absurdly, terrifyingly, insultingly short” lifespan to make their mark on the world. "It's only by facing our finitude that we can step into a truly authentic relationship with life."
Working only 15 hours a week? In 1930, in a speech titled Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren, the economist John Maynard Keynes made this famous prediction: within a century, due to innovation, we would only need to work 15 hours a week to meet our needs. But as Burkeman notes: “It turns out that when people make enough money to meet their needs, they just find new things to need and new lifestyles to aspire to."
Work is a good thing, but just like every good gift in this broken world, we can idolize it and lessen the sweetness of it. Burkeman concludes: “The modern world provides an inexhaustible supply of things that seem worth doing, and so there arises an inevitable and unbridgeable gap between what you'd ideally like to do and what you actually can do." (Col. 3, 1 Cor. 10)
News You Can Use
2. Good Samaritans lift car to free woman trapped underneath after e-bike crash in Pennsylvania
Watch it here. “Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.” (Ps. 37:3)
1. Actual Footage of Someone Deciding To Write A LinkedIn Post…
Watch it here. “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” (2 Tim. 2:15)
