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. Alaska governor orders investigation into Democrat’s Senate campaign (WaPo)
“Alaska’s governor said he was ordering an investigation into whether the campaign for Democratic candidate Mary Peltola should face criminal charges or civil action following accusations it helped recruit an outside contender for the Senate race. Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) said he was directing the Department of Public Safety “to investigate whether this scheme violated Alaska’s laws.”
“His announcement followed a New York Times report that said Peltola’s campaign appeared to have been involved in recruiting an independent candidate with a name similar to the Republican incumbent, Sen. Dan Sullivan, in an effort to dilute support for him. The independent, retired teacher Dan J. Sullivan, will appear on Alaska’s ballot as a Senate candidate along with Sen. Sullivan, Peltola, and another candidate.”
“The Justice Department is escalating a criminal investigation over an Alaska Senate candidate who shares a name with the Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan, issuing a raft of new grand jury subpoenas, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Thursday.”
Is this a dirty trick or a deceptive transgression? Michael Fragoso compares it to a fake voting station. “Let’s say in the Old South local Democrats work with the White Citizens Council to set up official-looking alternate voting stations in black neighborhoods on Election Day and plan simply to throw away the fake ballots. The rump GOP sues over it, and the corrupt state supreme court says it’s fine under state law. Most voters vote the right way, but some go to the fake voting stations and think they’ve voted for their preferred candidate, but they haven’t because it’s fake. That’s voter suppression, and it’s illegal.”
Fragoso fast fowards into reality, asserting: “Elections are messy, and the First Amendment protects many dirty tricks. It doesn’t protect efforts to deceive voters into casting ballots for the wrong candidate. That’s exactly what Decoy Dan and his Democratic confederate seem to be doing. While they might have pulled one over on the Alaska judiciary, the instigators of this scheme may still have federal civil-rights laws to contend with.”
Deception, like moldy bread, is old… After Israel experienced great success in battle at Jericho and Ai, the kings west of the Jordan started to organize together to wage war against the Johsua and the Israelites. However, the Gibeonites didn’t want to fight them but fool them. They put on worn-out clothing and carried moldy bread to give the appearance that they were from a faraway land, though they lived close by. They approached Joshua and asked for a peace treaty. Joshua quickly fell for the ruse instead of examining the people closer. After 3 days, they realized they had been deceived. In this instance, officials will determine whether they crossed the line, but they clearly confused those in line waiting to vote. (Josh. 9)
5. Nvidia responds to report Jensen Huang was target of Chinese asset (CNBC)
“An Nvidia spokesperson on Thursday pushed back on a New York Times report that detailed American intelligence agencies surveilling a person close to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang because they thought she could be a Chinese intelligence asset. According to the Times report, which cited people briefed on intelligence surveillance, Alice Huang, who is linked to the Singapore-based cloud Megaspeed, developed a close relationship with Nvidia’s Jensen Huang.
“Intelligence agencies worried that she was a spy, helping the Chinese government gain information from Nvidia and Jensen Huang, and fretted that Nvidia’s CEO had access to President Donald Trump. The Nvidia spokesperson pushed back on the story in a statement to CNBC, saying that Singapore-based Megaspeed is another one of the company’s regional cloud customers, and that Jensen Huang’s interactions with its officials are not unusual, because he speaks with thousands of customers every year.”
Chase Rice isn’t the only one who has his Eyes On You… An analysis by Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) identified 217 distinct U.S.-affiliated AI researchers who have been influential in advancing the field. Of that cohort, CSET found that 70 percent were foreign-born or foreign-educated.
China produces 10 times the number of university graduates specializing in AI as the U.S. every year. Elsa B. Kania of the Center for a New American Security recently wrote: "China plans to leverage its rise in AI to enhance national competitiveness… to create systems for intelligent monitoring and early warning and control of potential (or perceived) threats."
Like Chris Lane, China has Big Big Plans… In Oct. 2016, US leaders indicated that artificial intelligence (AI) is a major component of the Defense Department’s strategy to maintain military dominance. In July 2017, China released its own AI development plan. China's AI plan serves as a blueprint for becoming a superpower and achieving “the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.”
Spying is as recent as today’s headlines and as old as the biblical narrative. In Galatians 2, Paul described the time he went up to Jerusalem to preach to the Gentiles. During his time, some “false believers” made their way close to him to “spy on his freedom” in order to make him a slave. His response to them should be our response today: “We did not give in to them for a moment.”
4. DoorDash offers $17 billion for Instacart in what would be a big consolidation for grocery delivery (AP)
“DoorDash is offering $17 billion to buy Instacart in a deal that could consolidate the grocery delivery business in the U.S. and abroad. The companies say the tie-up would combine DoorDash’s global reach and expertise in logistics with Instacart’s purpose-built technology and long relationships with grocers. It could also help the companies better compete with rivals like Amazon. But it could also lead to less competition in the delivery space.
“They were competing for a share of consumers’ wallet,” said Randall Sargent, a partner specializing in grocery and retail at the consulting firm Oliver Wyman. “As a general economic principle, less competition and more consolidation tends to be worse for consumers.” The deal is expected to be finalized by the end of 2027 or in early 2028 if it’s approved by Instacart shareholders and government regulators.”
Come Together? You can sing that again, Beatles. However, researchers out of Wharton estimated that merger failure rate ranges between 50 percent to 80 percent. But why?
Tightness versus looseness, according to a Harvard study. Tight company cultures use strict rules to uphold cultural traditions. Loose cultures encourage new ideas and value discretion. Bob Iger, head of Disney, illuminated this dynamic in his incredible book The Ride of A Lifetime. During his first tenure with Mickey Mouse, he acquired many companies but refused to eradicate their cultures. “It wasn’t that experience wasn’t important, but I “bet on brains,” and trusted that things would work out if we put talented people in positions where they could grow, even if they were in unfamiliar territory.”
Merging can be beneficial, but you have to be thoughtful. Paul partnered with Timothy, and his ministry continued even after his death. However, Paul’s work with Alexander the metalworker caused him great harm, to the extent that he mentioned it at the end of his life. Merging can be of great benefit, but also has the capacity to be of significant detriment. Similar to the Beatles, you may want to hold their hand but you might not benefit from doing so… (2 Tim. 4)
Cultural News
3. The rise of indie horror bookstores
“The horror boom isn’t just for film: Horror book sales reached 5.1 million last year, up from 3.2 million in 2021, according to BookScan. And it’s a surprisingly good time to be an indie bookstore: In 2025, 600+ new independent shops opened in the US, an 87% jump from the previous year, according to the American Booksellers Association.
“Placer.ai, which tracks physical foot traffic, identified the city as a top market for readers, with an ~11% jump in bookstore visits this year compared with last. The city hosted its largest independent bookstore crawl in August. Cities like Philadelphia, Houston, and Phoenix also logged increased in-person bookstore visits.”
Is Halloween the celebration of evil or the controlling of it? The former is to be avoided, the latter is to be celebrated… Halloween is a form of benign masochism, the realization “that the body has been fooled, and that there is no real danger, leads to pleasure derived from ‘mind over body.’”
Halloween is like skydiving, according to Grant Horner. Living in light of the reality of a living God, Horner writes: “The only thing we can do is develop techniques to cope with the fear, just like a mountain climber or a skydiver does. The fear has to be managed—it has to be controlled. Uncontrolled fear is crippling.”
How to manage it? Storytelling. “Fiction is a management tool through which suppressed truths slowly reemerge in bits and pieces, chunks and tatters, despite our attempts to bury the way the world really is… Fearing God cannot be bounded, yet we can trust his care and love for us, his promise that he will not harm us. The precise opposite is the case in horror films: the evil entity wants to harm us—but we can control it, because we know it isn’t real.”
Halloween is less trick and more treat for the Christian. We talk to our neighbors, exercise charity in our communities, and have the opportunity to share and show grace with our neighbors. While the appearance of evil abounds on Halloween, we know from car side mirrors and the Scriptures that appearances can be deceiving… (Acts 5, Heb. 13)
News You Can Use
2. “Mombies” back from the dead to perform “Thriller,” for a cause
Watch it here. “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” (Heb. 13:16)
1. School janitor gets special honor in tearful ceremony
Watch it here. “Give honor and respect to all those to whom it is due. (Rom. 13:7)
