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 posts map labeling Strait of Hormuz ‘new US territory’ before announcing no talks with Iran planned (NY Post)
“President Trump doubled down Tuesday on his claim to the Strait of Hormuz on behalf of America, posting a revised map of the area on social media that labeled the waterway “new US territory.” Trump posted the image on his Truth Social site, before claiming in subsequent posts that the area had been cleared of Iranian mines and no further talks with the Islamic Republic were scheduled. “After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated — pretty soon I’ll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States,” Trump said while stumping for Republican candidates in New York’s gubernatorial and congressional elections.
“Trump’s provocations have angered Iran, which slammed his claim to the Strait of Hormuz as delusions. “This strait will only be opened and closed under Iran’s command, and as long as you do not accept the reality of defeat and stop indulging in delusions, Iran will continue to enforce the blockade,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said in a statement.”
Iran has a secret plan to escalate the war, according to new reporting from the WSJ. For Iran, the baseline is war, and they are simply biding their time for another attack. They are pursuing a 2-track policy: while diplomats push for a peace deal, their fighting force continues to confront. Numbering nearly 200,000, the Revolutionary Guard has devised a number of options: sabotaging internet cables in the Persian Gulf, creating political unrest in countries with Shia communities such as Kuwait and Bahrain, and potentially even ground operations in Kuwait.
We are witnessing talk-fight, according to Emily Harding at CSIS. Paradoxically, this is likely also the fastest path to peace. Referencing the grandfather of grand strategy, Carl von Clausewitz, Harding writes how war is a continuation of politics by other means. “Violence and diplomacy are not opposite, but tools to be used toward the same goals.”
Keep your head up? A rebel named Sheba fled to the fortified city of Abel Beth Maakah. King David’s general, Joab, pursued him, besieged the city, built a siege ramp, and began battering down the walls to destroy the entire town. A wise woman called out from the city wall to Joab, asking why he was trying to destroy the city. Joab replied that he only wanted the Sheba. The woman promised that Sheba’s head would be thrown over the wall to spare the city. She then persuaded the city's inhabitants, handed over the rebel, and Joab blew the trumpet and marched home. In this moment, amid the noise of conflict and talk-fight diplomacy, cooler heads must prevail to target the actual obstacle to peace. (2 Sam. 20)
5. Americans are destroying license-plate cameras as surveillance backlash grows (WaPo)
“More than 130,000 of the automatic license-plate readers now dot the country, according to the crowdsourced tracker DeFlock.org. The artificial intelligence-assisted devices have been embraced by law enforcement as powerful investigative tools but widely denounced by the public over privacy concerns.
“Flock Safety, one of the largest players in technological surveillance, is often the target of the ire. The company operates cameras in more than 6,000 communities across the country that record 20 billion plate scans a month. Critics concerned about the information the devices collect and store say the cameras aren’t just tracking license plates, but people’s personal movements as they visit places like gun ranges, doctor’s offices or marijuana purveyors.”
Frankie Valli isn’t the only one who can’t keep his eyes off you… Here in the US, the estimated annual cost of crime is $4.71–$5.76 trillion. A 2017 study found that these systems were correlated with a reduction in violent crime. A 2019 paper found evidence that these cameras cause a reduction in auto theft and robbery. And a 2025 evaluation discovered a reduction in shootings, car thefts, and property crimes.
Hall and Oates have concerns about Private Eyes, and they aren't alone… While these cameras have been shown to reduce crime, there have been concerns about how individuals use these cameras for nefarious ends. This is known as noble cause corruption, which refers to how great evils come from people not seeking to do bad, but those seeking to do good and believing the ends justify the means.
Beware of Doeg the Edomite… Convinced that young David was plotting a coup, King Saul turned the nation of Israel into a type of surveillance state to track David and anyone helping him. Doeg, Saul’s chief shepherd, served as a government informant, reporting to the king that the high priest Ahimelech had given David food and a sword. Saul retaliated by attacking the entire priestly town of Nob. In this moment, it is obvious there is great value in these systems, but there is a great need to put measures in place to keep people from misusing them. (1 Sam. 22)
4. Disney sues Trump’s FCC over ‘retaliatory campaign’ against ABC (NY Times)
“ABC on Tuesday sued the Federal Communications Commission, accusing the agency of infringing on its First Amendment rights. It asked a federal court to stop the F.C.C. from pursuing aggressive regulatory moves that the network said posed an “existential threat” to its operations. The lawsuit was unusual, a rare example of a major media organization suing the Trump administration over its unrelenting campaign to punish the national press through regulation and lawsuits.
“The suit, filed in federal court in Washington, is meant to halt a series of F.C.C. moves that placed the network’s ability to operate in doubt. In the most extreme case, the agency was threatening to strip several ABC stations of their broadcast licenses, which would force them off the air.
“The F.C.C., led by its chairman, Brendan Carr, called for an unusual, early review of the broadcast licenses last spring, citing ABC’s internal diversity and inclusion practices. None of the ABC licenses, which have terms of eight years, were up for renewal yet. Mr. Carr’s decision came after the ABC late-night host, Jimmy Kimmel, angered President Trump with a monologue joke.”
Does The View on ABC only share one point of… view? The Media Research Council shared with the FCC that they would submit 2,473 separate exhibits of allegedly partisan conduct on The View, characterizing it as on-air electioneering. A study earlier this year found that The View interviewed 27 Democratic-aligned guests but only 1 Republican-aligned guest between the months of January and April. Another study, looking over last year, put those numbers at 128 Democrat-aligned guests and a single Republican.
Have you heard of problem-selling? While problem-solvers take an issue and break it down into small, solvable chunks, problem-sellers do the opposite, bundling many small issues into one big problem that looks insurmountable and terrifying. In this instance, both sides are problem-selling: the FCC has a problem with perceived bias at ABC, and ABC is highlighting the FCC’s alleged selective enforcement problem.
Beware of pharaoh's coyote… When a new Egyptian pharaoh assumed the throne, he was unaware of Joseph's significant contributions, which earned Jacob's son great favor from the old Pharaoh. To a large degree, this led the new leader to fear the growing Israelite population. This was a radical shift, moving from a position of privilege to a period of oppression. This served as a precursor to what we know as Coyote’s Law, which describes how you should be careful when empowering the government, largely because one day your political enemies could be in power over the government. (Ex. 1)
Cultural News
3. How healthmaxxing is becoming America’s new wellness playbook as trend takes off (NY Post)
“Half of Americans are looking to flip their approach to wellness on its head in 2026, according to new research. A survey of 2,000 U.S. adults, split evenly by generation, looked at whether Americans are taking a simplified approach or leaning more toward “healthmaxxing” — and how this might be changing in 2026.
“While Americans have more access than ever to health information, products, and innovations—such as AI-powered health tools and tech-driven wearables—many are becoming more selective about which trends they embrace. Gen Z is more than twice as likely as boomers to change their wellness approach this year (65% vs. 31%). And nearly half of Gen Zers (47%) who are changing their routines are prioritizing simpler habits, compared with one-third of baby boomers (33%).”
Rod Stewart isn’t the only one interested in being Forever Young… There is a growing cohort fantasizing about living forever, with Bryan Johnson leading this effort. He measures his body weight, fat percentage, muscle mass, and hydration levels every day. He claims to carefully source and test his food and tracks every calorie he consumes. Johnson notes, “Can I slow down my speed of aging to the greatest extent of any human on the planet? And can I then eliminate all the sources of death? Can I become the most Don’t-Die person in human history?”
Life is a series of tradeoffs, and some appear to be more interested in quantity over quality. More specifically, giving more attention to extending the number of their days rather than the quality of those days. However, as Brad Stulberg writes in The Way of Excellence: "There is no greater illusion than thinking the accomplishment of some goal will change your life. What will change your life is how you are transformed in the process of going for it. When you select what goals to pursue, you are selecting what kind of person you want to become."
This maxxing moment has presented us with a false dichotomy: do our best to elongate our lives or enrich our lives. We can do both. Viewing our body as a temple, we should take care of our body, but not turn our body into a god. As those who were bought with a price, we should seize every moment for the fullness it offers, knowing the days are short and our God is good. (1 Cor. 6, Gal. 5)
News You Can Use
2. Little League Coach Makes a Mound Visit, Shares a Glorious Message We All Need To Hear
Watch it here. “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 8:38-39)
1. If Bible characters had ChatGPT
Watch it here. “Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.” (Pro. 19:20)
