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. Savannah Guthrie addresses mother’s apparent abductor: ‘We are ready to talk (WaPo)
“Today” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie directly addressed her mother’s apparent kidnapper in a recorded video message, asking for proof of the 84-year-old’s well-being and expressing a willingness to speak. Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen about 9:45 p.m. Saturday, when her family dropped her off at her Tucson home after dinner.
“Her disappearance has prompted a sprawling investigation by local law enforcement and federal agents. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said he believes Nancy was abducted, but investigators have yet to identify a person of interest or suspect.
“The Guthrie family issued another video message, directed toward the potential kidnappers of their mother, urging them to reach out and prove they have Nancy Guthrie. "Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you," Camron Guthrie, the brother of "Today" show host Savannah Guthrie, said in a video message posted Thursday on behalf of the family. "We haven't heard anything directly. We need you to reach out and we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward." But first, Camron Guthrie continued, "we have to know that you have our mom."
Tragically, this happened; thankfully, it is happening less frequently. In 2024, 533,936 missing person reports were entered into the FBI's National Crime Information Center. This number fluctuates annually but has generally remained below the highs seen in the late 1990s (+600,000).
With missing persons, there are 3 main categories: family, runaways, and strangers. Relative to family, this is largely linked to custody disputes. The most common (90-plus percent) type of missing person is the runaway, with minors voluntarily running away from their parents or guardians. Then there are strangers, which refers to someone abducting a person, mainly children, in order to acquire a ransom or cause chaos.
From Lot to Dinah, kidnapping is as old as the Bible. The kidnapper doesn’t love their neighbor but rather uses them. Instead of willing their good, they harm them for their own good. And despite their evil intentions and actions, God still has the capacity to bring good… look no further than the young Israelite girl in 2 Kings 5. She was kidnapped during an Aramean raid and forced into slavery in the household of Naaman, the commander of the Aramean army. However, though we never learn her name, we do learn that because of her faithfulness in captivity, people were healed, souls were saved, and God was glorified.
5. Trump unveils TrumpRx website he says will help Americans buy lower-priced prescription drugs (ABC News)
“President Donald Trump on Thursday unveiled his TrumpRx website in an event at the White House. Trump made the announcement alongside Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz and National Design Studio Director Joe Gebbia. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, at a press briefing earlier Thursday, called TrumpRx "a state-of-the-art website for American consumers to purchase low-cost prescription drugs." He hailed it as part of his administration's "most favored nation" push to pressure companies to charge U.S. patients the same rate as they do in other countries.
“A survey last month from KFF, a nonprofit health policy research organization, found two-thirds of U.S. adults worried about being able to afford health care for them and their family -- outranking other expenses like gas and groceries. A majority of Americans, 56%, said they expect health care to become less affordable in the coming year.”
Jerry Maguire isn’t the only one yelling Show Me The Money… The US has the highest healthcare spending globally, with costs reaching approximately $14,750 per person annually and accounting for 17.6 percent of the GDP. Americans pay higher prices for drugs to the tune of 2.78 times as high as those in comparison countries (some estimates put the number at $1,400 annually).
When competition increases, prices decrease… According to the FDA, by the time there are 6 or more competing generics, prices fall by 95 percent. The FDA has significantly increased the pace of approvals, setting records in recent years. One study went even further, finding that conditional approval for drugs, when linked to post-marketing surveillance (study and follow-up) could have a “profound effect” on drug development, “allowing smaller development programs to achieve greater success.” They estimate that development costs could be reduced by 90 percent and development time by 50 percent.
Bring your lunch… Drug prices are a problem for many, and the lack of dinner plans was a problem for the disciples. Thousands had followed Jesus to a remote place to seek healing and hope, and when it was late into the night, the disciples suggested that Jesus send the crowds away so they could solve the dinner problem. Jesus had a different idea, namely blessing a young boy’s 5 barley loaves and 2 fish to feed the entire crowd. In this instance, I don’t think this will completely solve the problem, but I do know our God can use our 2 fish to solve problems that will impact thousands. (Mk. 6, Jn. 6)
4. Washington Post Begins Laying Off More Than 300 Journalists (NY Times)
“The Washington Post told employees on Wednesday that it was beginning a widespread round of layoffs that are expected to decimate the organization’s sports, local news and international coverage. The company is laying off about 30 percent of all its employees, according to two people with knowledge of the decision. That includes people on the business side and more than 300 of the roughly 800 journalists in the newsroom, the people said.
“The cuts are a sign that Jeff Bezos, who became one of the world’s richest people by selling things on the internet, has not yet figured out how to build and maintain a profitable publication on the internet. The paper expanded during the first several years of his ownership, but the company has sputtered more recently.”
Start Spreading The News? Not so fast, Frank Sinatra. Interestingly enough, this mass firing was big news (from news writers), but it pales in comparison to the recent layoffs administered by Amazon (16k) and UPS (30k). Nevertheless, when we lose local papers, partisanship and the cost of government goes up. US newspapers continue to die at a pace of 2 a week. In 2005, the US boasted 8,891 newspapers. Today, that number is right around 6,000.
Welcome to the post-journalism world, according to Martin Gurri. In this new world, the role of the press is not to inform its audience but to confirm what they already believe. “Elites lost control of the information agenda. How, then, could they explain the world to the masses? Old monopolies vanished in an instant as advertisers fled online, never to return.” Instead of educating the masses, they chased after a segment of it. “Post-journalism, in truth, is a business model concealed behind an ideological stance. It sells a creed, an agenda, to like-minded believers. It identifies the existential fears of a specific audience, then manufactures what that audience will buy.”
Time to get annoyed… In Acts 16, Paul was “greatly annoyed” by an enslaved fortune teller. As he made his way through Philipi, this woman trailed after him for days, repeatedly shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” What she said was right; the place from which she said it was wrong. Identifying the difference between those two ideas required discernment. Today, despite the layoffs, the shouting of the news hasn’t stopped, and the need for discernment hasn't waned.
Cultural News
3. Americans spending less on Super Bowl parties; more on gambling (2News)
“A new LendingTree survey found that 80% of Americans plan to watch the Super Bowl this year, up from 75% last year. However, those viewers expect to spend an average of $129, down from $142 last year. "It's no secret that people's budgets are tight, and that the price of everything is rising, and it's really putting a squeeze on people's budgets, and that is causing people to have to pull back on a lot of things," said Matt Schulz, LendingTree's Chief Consumer Finance analyst.
“While traditional spending is down, one area is seeing a surge in growth: sports betting. The survey found that 54% of Super Bowl viewers plan to place a bet this year, up sharply from 41% last year. "It's no secret that gambling is big business, and especially when it comes to football and the Super Bowl. It's an integral part of watching football in this country today," Schulz said.”
The football teams aren’t the only ones competing this Sunday. In response to the news that Bad Bunny would perform during the Halftime Show, Turning Points USA partnered with the Trinity Broadcasting Network to put on their own show, featuring Kid Rock. To put it another way, the largest Christian television network in the world is partnering with the artist who has a song about loving underage girls…
Politics makes strange bedfellows... This saying was taken from William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, specifically the line: “Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows.” Shared interests, coupled with desperate situations, compel unique partnerships. In this instance, a bad bunny motivated TPUSA to pull a rabbit out of a hat…
Watch out for the Jonadabs… In 2 Sam. 13, Jonadab noticed that Amnon appeared haggard and down. He asked the son of King David why he was so dour, and Amnon responded that he was in love with his sister. Instead of stopping him from acting out, he strategized with him to act on his feelings. As Christians, we know our associations and endorsements can be beneficial (like with Jonathans) and also detrimental (like with Jonadab) (1 Cor. 15:33, Ecc. 4:12). And in this instance, I don’t think there is anything wrong with putting on an alternative halftime show, but I struggle to understand how TBN can think this is a right fit for them…
News You Can Use
2. Anthropic have just buried OpenAI and ChatGPT with this ad
Watch it here. “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” (Eph. 4:25)
1. Columbus’ ‘Snow Warriors’ go viral with retro-themed ‘Plow Mode’ video
Watch it here. “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might…” (Ecc. 9:10)
