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 dismisses Trump's "economic D-Day" threat, says it "will only bring further defeat" (CBS News)
“Iran's foreign minister on Thursday dismissed President Trump's threat to wield "Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale" as a diversion from the burgeoning U.S. national debt and a "doubling down on failed policies." Mr. Trump threatened Iran on Wednesday with "an economic D-Day." But between the lines of the administration’s threats was a signal that Mr. Bessent made as clear as ever on Thursday: Mr. Trump does not want to go back to war. The president is waging an economic campaign against Iran having already spent weeks bombing the country earlier this year, and having stepped back from multiple threats since then to resume the violence.
“The Pentagon said the USS George Washington aircraft carrier arrived Wednesday in the Middle East. The ship will replace the USS Abraham Lincoln, about which family members have voiced concern over deteriorating mental health conditions for the crew after a nearly nine-month deployment.”
Are we building a Walmart in Germany again? Back in the 1990s, Walmart expanded into Germany, assuming they would respond positively to American shopping practices: greeters at the entrance, smiling employees, extended operating hours, and low-priced bulk items. In reality, the smiling was seen as intrusive, late-night shopping conflicted with local habits, and there were already other local discount grocers. Walmart ended up leaving the country, losing hundreds of millions.
This is an example of the mirror imaging bias. This refers to how someone can fill in gaps about another’s intentions by assuming they share cultural values, logic, priorities, and definition of "rational" behavior. Essentially, I like it, so they must like it as well. In this instance, could we place a different value on economic prosperity than Iran?
In his classic Psychology of Intelligence Analysis, Dick Heuer writes: “To see the options faced by foreign leaders as these leaders see them, one must understand their values and assumptions and even their misperceptions and misunderstandings. Without such insight, interpreting foreign leaders’ decisions or forecasting future decisions is often nothing more than partially informed speculation. Too frequently, foreign behavior appears “irrational” or “not in their own best interest.” Such conclusions often indicate analysts have projected American values and conceptual frameworks onto the foreign leaders and societies, rather than understanding the logic of the situation as it appears to them.”
The gods of the hills… Ben-Hadad, King of Syria, launched a surprise attack on the people of Israel. However, the Syrian army fled in panic. Following their defeat, they assumed Israel won because of the location. "Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they were too strong for us. But if we fight them in the plains, we will surely be stronger than they." They assumed Israel's God was bound by the same geographic limits as their own pagan deities. He wasn't... In this moment, we can’t assume we know what Iran wants, but we can rest assured that God’s purposes will be accomplished. (1 Kings 20)
5. FBI seizes former Rep. Swalwel's phone, devices as part of sexual assault inquiry (WaPo)
“Federal law enforcement officials seized electronic devices belonging to former congressman Eric Swalwell (D-California) as part of an investigation of sexual assault allegations against him, according to two people familiar with the inquiry. The FBI seized at least one of Swalwell’s electronic devices at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday evening, the people familiar said. His D.C. home was searched the next day, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
“Four women who have accused Swalwell of sexual misconduct told MS NOW in a joint statement Thursday that developments in the ongoing federal investigation represent a path toward accountability. MS NOW granted the women anonymity because it does not identify alleged victims of sexual misconduct without their permission. “Some of us have been waiting 10+ years for justice. Today feels like a step toward the accountability we’ve waited a long time for,” the women said. “If this process finally holds him accountable, that matters not just for us but for all other survivors out there who are still working to get their justice.”
Stories like this remind me of the line from Malcom Gladwell: “Arousal leaves us mind-blind.” In his book Blink, Gladwell writes that “the key to good decision making is not knowledge. It is understanding. We are swimming in the former. We are desperately lacking in the latter.”
What is the difference between knowledge and understanding? According to Gladwell, more information doesn’t always lead to effective decision-making; true insight comes from synthesizing and making sense of that information. “We live in a world that assumes that the quality of a decision is directly related to the time and effort that went into making it… We believe that we are always better off gathering as much information as possible and spending as much time as possible in deliberation… We have, as human beings, a storytelling problem. We're a bit too quick to come up with explanations for things we don't really have an explanation for.”
Walk instead of jump… Despite knowing everything, God patiently walked through the garden to talk to Adam. Instead of being quick to jump, he walked to listen. In this instance, this is still an investigation, the walking part. So, while we don’t want to jump to conclusions, we should see the allegations as a reminder to flee from temptation—little thinking required. (Gen. 3, James 1)
4. US national debt now stands at $40 trillion (ABC News)
“The national debt surpassed a record $40 trillion on Wednesday, a staggering milestone as defense costs, social programs like Social Security and Medicare and interest on the burgeoning deficit make up an enormous share of federal spending. The milestone figure was recorded just five months after the U.S. hit a record $39 trillion debt in March. It reached $38 trillion five months before that, in October.
“The unprecedented $40 trillion figure highlights competing administration priorities, from boosting defense spending that the U.S. relies on to carry out President Donald Trump's almost-6-month-old war in Iran to lowering the cost of gas and groceries. Kush Desai, a White House spokesman, said the Trump administration “has been focused on slashing waste, fraud, and abuse in federal spending while accelerating economic growth to get America’s debt-to-GDP ratio trending in the right direction.”
Contrary to Billy Currington, this isn’t a Good Direction… Here in the US, we are no stranger to debt. We incurred $75 million in debt from the Revolutionary War—and it wasn’t paid down until 1835. The last time the nation brought in more money than it spent was 2001. If we don’t change course, we will add more than $20 trillion to the national debt in just the next decade.
Why is it so hard to cut spending? Concentrated benefits and dispersed costs, according to one study. Researchers found that specific groups benefit deeply from a program and fight hard to keep it. However, the costs of that program are dispersed across millions of people here in the US. So while many will notice when a benefit is cut, few will notice when a minimal cost is added.
Jay Richards at the Institute for Faith, Work, and Economics makes an important point: “Enjoying the benefits of borrowing while others bear the costs is unjust for the same reason that stealing is unjust. That’s why it’s appropriate for Christians to ask the question: “Whom would Jesus indebt?”” In the biblical narrative, we read that the borrower is a slave to the lender (Pro. 22:7). Not all debt is bad but every expense is worth considering for the sake of our presenta and future neighbors.
Cultural News
3. Most Fun States in America (2026) (News8)
“California is the most fun state in 2026, with an especially large number of restaurants, amusement parks, movie theaters, and fitness centers per capita. It also boasts the second-most attractions per capita overall…Florida is the second-most fun state in 2026, leading the country when it comes to the number of restaurants, amusement parks, arcades and music festivals per capita. But even if those particular activities aren’t of interest to you, Florida has the fourth-most attractions per capita, and the seventh-best variety of arts, entertainment and recreation establishments.
“In order to determine the most fun states in America, WalletHub compared the 50 states across two key categories, “Entertainment & Recreation” and “Nightlife.” We evaluated those categories using 26 relevant metrics.”
The Beach Boys are having Fun, Fun, Fun, but are you? (This is a rhetorical question, of course. How can you not be having fun reading the DB?) A recent survey found that 48 percent of Americans said they are currently lacking fun. 12 percent can’t remember the last time they had fun.
In her book The Power of Fun, Catherine Price writes that fun has 3 ingredients: playfulness, connection, and flow. Playfulness consists of approaching situations with humor and curiosity. Connection refers to sharing experiences with others. And flow is the feeling of being absorbed in a moment. This, according to Price, creates an afterglow effect. “We can’t control the fact that we will die. But we can control whether we actually live. We can control whether we merely endure our days or experience and enjoy them. We can control whether we arrive on our deathbeds feeling like we’ve wasted our time or end up satisfied with how we’ve spent our brief moment in the sun.”
God is the chief fun officer. He commands us to have fun and rejoice, knowing his commands aren’t a buzzkill but a joy-producer. Frederick Buechner put it well: “We tend to think that joy is not only not properly religious but that it is even the opposite of religion. We tend to think that religion is sitting stiff and antiseptic and a little bored and that joy is laughter and freedom and reaching out our arms to embrace the whole wide and preposterous earth which is so beautiful that sometimes it nearly breaks our hearts. We need to be reminded that at its heart Christianity is joy and that laughter and freedom and the reaching out of arms are the essence of it.” (Ecc. 5:18-20, 1 Thess. 5:21-22, Eph. 5:8-11, 1 John 5:2-4, Phil. 4:4)
News You Can Use
2. Gen Alpha sisters mock Gen Z in viral videos
Watch it here. "Imitate me, just as I also imitate Chris.” (1 Cor. 11:1)
1. Uncles Buying Gifts…
Watch it here. “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Phil 2:4)
