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. Iran's new supreme leader, in first remarks, vows to keep blocking Strait of Hormuz (CBS News)
“Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has broken his silence days after he succeeded his slain father. In a message a news anchor read on state television, Khamenei said that the crucial Strait of Hormuz should remain closed and that Iran will continue attacks on its Persian Gulf neighbors. His message was broadcast on Iranian state TV, but Khamenei did not appear in person. His message was instead read out by a newsreader. Iran would "avenge the blood" of Iranians killed in the war with the US and Israel, Khamenei said in the statement, which also warned neighbouring countries to stop hosting US bases.
“President Donald Trump said on Friday that the U.S. was "totally destroying" and "killing" Iran, warning to watch "what happens to these deranged scumbags today." We are “totally destroying the terrorist regime of Iran, militarily, economically, and otherwise," Trump wrote on Truth Social... Massive crowds of people rallied in Iran to mark Al Quds Day, an annual international rally in support of Palestinians. Videos showed people holding portraits of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei and his slain father Ali Khamenei.”
Have we created an Iranian Kim Jong Un? Writing in The Atlantic, Karim Sadjadpour asserts that while the administration hoped for an Iranian Delcy Rodríguez (Venezuela), it may have produced an Iranian Kim Jong Un instead. Someone who has known him for more than 4 decades described him as “more radical” but “much less capable” than his father. “He survived the missile strike that killed his father, wife, and mother only because he was in an adjacent room… They’ve just killed his family. He’s bloodthirsty now.”
Hide and seek… but will we always be seeking? For the foreseeable future, Karim writes how Mojtaba's focus will be not governing the country but staying alive. Some have described him as the Ghost Ayatollah, largely because it’s reported he has been severely injured due to the attacks. But whether he has the endurance for this life is an open question. His father was “forged by years of revolutionary hardship—prison, persecution, life underground—before coming to power… Mojtaba has skipped the hardship portion of that arc entirely.”
He was shot for standing up, but 4 surgeries aren’t going to keep him down. Earlier this week, CBN told the story of Abtin, an Iranian Christian who was shot during the recent protests. "There was an assassination attempt on my life." When the bullets started flying, he began to flee, but a blast went through his arm. He received medical care in Armenia and ended up finding a church home. But this church home fully intends to send him back home, according to the pastor. “We are preparing these people, so that when the day comes that Iran is liberated, they can return and preach the gospel." While Mojtaba's endurance may be an open question, Abtin has a resurrected resolve. (Phil. 3)
5. Truck ramming at synagogue being investigated as targeted act of violence against Jewish community (NY Times)
“Federal officials identified a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Lebanon as a suspect in the attack on a synagogue outside Detroit on Thursday. The suspect died after ramming a vehicle into the synagogue and exchanging gunfire with security guards, an episode that raised further alarm over antisemitism in America.
“The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that the attack on the synagogue, Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, Mich., had been carried out by XXXX, 41. XXXX entered the United States in 2011 on a visa issued to foreign-born spouses of U.S. citizens, the agency said. He obtained U.S. citizenship in 2016. The 140 students at the synagogue’s preschool were unhurt, Temple Israel officials said in a statement, praising the school’s teachers and calling the security guards who confronted the “terrorist gunman” heroes.”
Are antisemitic views more a partisan issue or an age issue? A new survey from Yale found that “younger voters are more likely to hold antisemitic views than older voters.” When asked to choose whether Jews have had a positive, neutral, or negative impact on the US, just 8 percent of respondents said “negative.” But among 18-to-22-year-olds, that number was 18 percent. 27 percent of 18-to-22-year-olds strongly or somewhat agreed that “Jews in the United States have too much power,” compared with just 11 percent of those over 65.
Antisemitism is the world’s oldest hatred. In his book Judeophobia, Peter Schäfer asserts that the world’s oldest hatred derives from the exclusive nature of the Jewish faith, the haughtiness that comes from being a chosen people, a refusal to intermarry, and the Sabbath observance.
Hatred is fueled by envy, and envy rots the bones. Cain murdered Abel due to envy, Esau wanted to kill his brother Jacob because of envy over the father’s blessing, and Saul was consumed by envy that compelled him to try to take David’s life. At its core, envy is simply wanting what others have, but this person can be sure that he will get what he deserves. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Pro. 14:30, Gen. 4, 27, 1 Sam. 15, James 3)
4. Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz leaves Seattle as local lawmakers mull millionaire tax (CBS News)
“Former Starbucks chief executive Howard Schultz said in a LinkedIn post that he and his wife are moving from Seattle to Florida after more than four decades in the city, where he helped build the coffee chain into a global brand. His announcement comes as Washington state lawmakers advance a so-called millionaire tax that would levy a nearly 10% annual tax on personal earnings over $1 million.
“Schultz didn't cite the wealth tax in his announcement. But he wrote that he hopes Washington state "will remain a place for business and entrepreneurship to thrive, creating essential opportunity for those in Seattle and the surrounding areas."
“Over in California, a proposed ballot initiative would institute a one-time 5% tax on the state's estimated 255 billionaires — a move that some opponents, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, have warned could trigger an exodus of ultra-wealthy residents.”
Lynyrd Skynyrd wants you to Gimme Three Steps and but some lawmakers want you to gimme more money. Tuesday won’t be the only thing gone… While correlation does not equal causation, research shows that Americans are moving from higher-tax to lower-tax states. The most recent IRS data suggest a connection between taxes and migration: 9 of the top 10 states with the largest population gains from 2019 to 2020 had no or low individual income taxes.
Are people paying their fair share? Define fair… The top 12 American billionaire job creators have generated at least 2.3 million jobs globally. The Tax Policy Center estimates that the top 1 percent make approximately 20 percent of the money in the US and pay roughly 40 percent of federal taxes. 60 percent of US households receive more money from the government than they pay into it.
Margaret Thatcher rightly noted: “Let us never forget this fundamental truth: the State has no source of money other than money which people earn themselves. If the State wishes to spend more, it can do so only by borrowing your savings or by taxing you more. It is no good thinking that someone else will pay - that 'someone else' is you.”
Whether it is the government with our money or you with God’s money, we are all called to be good stewards of the gifts graciously given to us. Andrew Murray put it well: “The world asks, “What does a man own?” Christ asks, “How does he use it?”” (Luke 12, Titus 2:7, 1 Pet. 4:10)
Cultural News
3. Is AI productivity prompting burnout? Study finds new pattern of "AI brain fry" (CBS News)
“The promise of artificial intelligence has been simple: let the machines do the work. Instead, it may be creating a new headache from babysitting the machines. A new study published in Harvard Business Review suggests that instead of making work easier, AI may be giving some workers what researchers are calling "brain fry."
“Researchers surveyed about 1,500 workers and found that people constantly bouncing between multiple AI tools reported more decision fatigue and more errors. About one in seven workers said they had experienced mental fatigue from juggling AI tools at work.
"The AI can run out far ahead of us, but we're still here with the same brain we had yesterday," said Julie Bedard, managing director and partner at Boston Consulting Group and an author of the study. She told CBS News the findings are an "early warning sign" that expectations around AI productivity may need recalibrating."
Let It Burn? Slow down, Usher… Researchers have identified 3 components to burnout: emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and a negative view of effectiveness. Essentially, the idea of work, not even the actual work, creates weariness. The verve or enthusiasm for the work wanes. And though you have skills and experience to add value to a project, you largely only bring doubt in your own abilities to the task.
I think Billy Joel Started the Fire, but how do you limit the burn(out)? Adam Grant, believing burnout is largely a systemic issue more than a personal issue, offers the demand-control-support model. You demand structural changes be made to lighten the load on a particular person. When you can’t eliminate demands, you at least give the other person the resources and skills to handle them. And then there is support, which means lowering barriers so it is easier to ask for or receive help.
Instead of burning out, remember the burning bush… In his book Gentle and Lowly, Dane Ortlund observes: “Our tendency is to feel intuitively that the more difficult life gets, the more alone we are. As we sink further into pain, we sink further into felt isolation. The Bible corrects us. Our pain never outstrips what he himself shares in. We are never alone.” He concludes: “If you are in Christ, you have a Friend who, in your sorrow, will never lob down a pep talk from heaven. He cannot bear to hold himself at a distance. Nothing can hold him back. His heart is too bound up with yours.” (Mt. 9:35-38)
News You Can Use
2. Tenn. DoorDash driver receives hundreds of thousands in donations after doorbell cam video goes viral
Watch it here. “And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.” (Titus 3:14)
1. Local car salesman sees viral success with opera singing
Watch it here. “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others…” (1 Pet. 4:10)
