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. Jack Smith defends handling of Trump probes at heated Senate hearing (CBS News)
“Jack Smith, the former special counsel who led two prosecutions of President Trump, defended his handling of those probes during a Senate hearing that grew contentious at several points on Tuesday. Republican senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee expressed outrage at Smith over his investigative methods, including his team's efforts to obtain toll records from some GOP lawmakers as part of his probe into Mr. Trump's actions after the 2020 election. Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Judiciary Committee's chairman, accused Smith of taking "partisanship to a new level."
“Smith said he followed standard protocol and dismissed accusations that he was driven by politics. "I personally find it very hard to understand how our investigation can be viewed as partisan when the strongest witnesses, the people who were the difference between the rule of law standing and not in our case, were Republicans," he said. Mr. Trump pleaded not guilty to charges in both the 2020 election case and one involving his retention of sensitive government documents. The two prosecutions ended after he was elected to a second term in November 2024."
Free Bird? More like confusing birds, Lynyrd Skynyrd. During Tuesday’s hearing, Sen. Eric Schmitt falsely accused Jack Smith of perjury and called him a "total dirtbag." Attempting to link Smith to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, Schmitt presented text messages claiming Smith attended an Atlanta Hawks game the day after Willis acknowledged her affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. Smith denied being in Atlanta, clarifying that he had actually attended a women’s college basketball game in Maryland featuring the Iowa Hawkeyes, revealing that the senator’s accusation stemmed from a mix-up over two teams with "hawk" in their names.
Make committees less visible again? Some have suggested that we should remove cameras from committee hearings, believing that sacrificing transparency is a small price to pay for more authenticity. Less performing for cameras; more working for constituents. This is connected to the Hawthorne effect, which explains how people behave differently because they know they are being watched.
Thomas Jefferson rightly noted: “Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching.” Whether it was Jonathan choosing loyalty over the throne or Joseph resisting Potiphar’s wife, God is always watching – including when we do work. As such, our actions should both imitate and honor him, emulating his selflessness and channeling his graciousness. (2 Sam. 6, Ex. 15).
5. Trump launches government chatbot, urging a wary public not to fear AI (WaPo)
“After weeks of Washington being gripped by a new wave of fear about artificial intelligence gone awry, the Trump administration took a sharply different stance Tuesday, seeking to convince a skeptical public that the nation is instead about to embark on a tech-powered “golden age." President Donald Trump launched America.gov, a government chatbot for researching public services, as part of a day-long event featuring members of his Cabinet and tech executives. AI company leaders are also set to meet with him and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana).
“This kind of innovation in government is just a preview of what is possible with super intelligence,” Trump said, using his new nickname for AI. The events come at a pivotal moment for the technology. AI firms say their latest systems have become increasingly powerful, showing signs of being able to design their own more-potent successors. But companies have struggled to keep control of the technology, as rogue AI agents have hacked into company and government systems.”
Don’t Fear The Reaper…or the government chatbot. While AI can be extremely helpful, there are at least 2 ways we can keep it from being harmful: the encyclopedic disinformatica and cognitive surrender. Relative to the encyclopedic disinformatica, this refers to the hypothetical exercise where 50 percent of the content you read in the encyclopedia is true, and the other 50 percent is false. This exercise forces you to do your own research to discover what is true, consuming information actively instead of passively.
Then there is cognitive surrender, which refers to the uncritical acceptance of AI-generated answers as your own. However, there is a distinction to be made between doing a task (a math calculation) and making a decision (which math class to take). Essentially, this is less about the information you are putting in and more a consideration of what information you are leaning on when it comes out. A study out of Wharton put it like this: “A good AI system is one that helps you when it’s right and doesn't harm you when it's wrong. Right now, if the AI is wrong, you can end up worse than you were without it. The goal is to find ways to shift people to a place where they benefit from AI when it’s correct and don't lose when it’s wrong.”
To trust everything is unwise and to trust nothing is lonely. As Christians, we are to be wise as serpents, innocent as doves, and marked by love. Such love doesn’t keep a record of wrongs, but discernment does require us to carefully distinguish truth from falsehood. Discernment is likened to an ornament of grace around your neck, signifying the value it holds and the power it can bear. Personally, I treat AI like a gifted intern: really fast, occasionally brilliant, but definitely not the person you let sign the legal documents. (Pro. 3:21-24, Rom. 12:9, Ecc. 12:13)
4. Caleb Flynn, former ‘American Idol’ singer, found guilty of wife’s murder (NBC News)
“Former “American Idol” singer Caleb Flynn was found guilty of murder on Tuesday in the death of his wife, who was killed in their Ohio home in February. A jury took little over two hours to convict Flynn on all nine counts of murder, assault and tampering with evidence. After the verdict was read, Flynn broke down in tears and was repeatedly seen wiping his nose and eyes. He was taken from the courtroom in handcuffs.
“Flynn, a former music pastor, told a 911 dispatcher that his wife, Ashley Flynn, who worked as a school teacher and volleyball coach, had been shot multiple times in the head by an intruder. He told the dispatcher that he did not know whether the intruder was still in their Tipp City home.”
2 theories may explain why we pay attention to these true-crime tragedies: benign hedonic masochism and opponent-process theory. First, there is benign hedonic masochism, which refers to how people receive pleasure from experiences that generate fear, anxiety, and emotional discomfort, all while remaining fundamentally safe. The self-awareness of this safe reality is reflected in the language surrounding the consumption of it: binging, obsession, addiction, etc.
Then there is opponent-process theory, which consists of an intense emotional experience followed by a secondary, opposing emotional response. Dread and revulsion may initiate this process, but relief and reassurance end it. In this instance, the shock of a pastor murdering his wife is followed by the relief from the conviction.
From Job to Amos, humanity’s thirst for justice is ancient history. 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. In this moment, we tragically see a striking contrast between reality and heaven. This side of heaven, a pastor ended his wife’s life. But on the other side, the divine husband of the church laid down his life for his bride.
Cultural News
3. The Antidote to Doomscrolling Is “Bloomscrolling”—and It Takes Just Five Minutes a Day (Real Simple)
“Bloomscrolling means intentionally seeking out uplifting content—nature videos, heartwarming stories, hobbies—instead of letting the algorithm feed you anxiety-inducing news… Unlike doomscrolling, which fuels stress and hypervigilance, bloomscrolling shifts your brain chemistry toward oxytocin and stable dopamine, according to experts… To bloomscroll effectively, be proactive about what you search for, curate your feed using “not interested” or mute tools, and set a clear stopping point so scrolling doesn’t drag on.”
Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls…. or the liquefying force of social media. In his book Superbloom, Nicholas Carr warns that whether we “realize it or not, social media churns out information that’s been highly processed to stimulate not just engagement but dependency.” As such, we must find a place “beyond the reach of its liquefying force.”
It’s “important to be honest about our own complicity,” according to Carr. “We’re not being manipulated to act in opposition to our desires. We’re not hostages with Stockholm syndrome. We’re being given what we want, in quantities so generous we can’t resist gorging ourselves. The manipulation is secondary to and dependent on the pleasure.”
Like the Hotel Califiornia, it’s ok to visit but not to stay… “Despite our love of or at least infatuation with the easy stimulations of the virtual, we can never make a true home there, at least not without sacrificing the qualities of sense and sensibility that make us most ourselves.”
Technology is incredible, but don’t let it become unbearable. God created boundaries, such as the water and the land. The water and land are both good, but when they transgress their boundaries, problems arise. He rightly notes: “The fear isn’t that we will reveal, and hence lose, the essence of our soul… The fear is the opposite: that we will be reduced to a kernel. In allowing ourselves to be pinned down, we will sacrifice the self’s flexibility and freedom.” (Gen. 1, Gal. 5:1-2)
News You Can Use
2. Some melodies aren’t just meant to be heard, they can be experienced visually, too. Consider Pachelbel’s Canon in D.
Watch it here. “Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.” (Ps. 50:2)
1. Brain chip, AI program help ALS patient communicate again
Watch it here. “Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.” (3 Jn. 2)
