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 says Iran war will end 'soon' but also issues threats that could prolong it (NBC News)
“President Donald Trump described the war in Iran as “short term” — suggesting the 10-day conflict that has roiled the Middle East could be nearing its end while also warning of intensifying strikes if a key oil route is restricted. “This was just an excursion into something that had to be done. We're getting very close to finishing that,” Trump said.
“Tuesday was the most intense day of U.S. strikes inside Iran, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said. Tehran unleashed its own wave of attacks against Israel and the Gulf. Hundreds of people have been killed across the Middle East. In Iran, more than 1,200 people have been killed by Israeli and American strikes, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society, and 13 have died in Israel as Iran fired back. The US also revealed that 140 troops have been wounded in the war, 8 severely.”
Beware of victory disease… Coined in the 1960s to describe military overconfidence, this refers to leaders underestimating opponents and ignoring intelligence. Colin Gray defined it as “the extreme, almost euphoric, condition of overconfidence.” Victory disease can occur before or during a conflict. In its pre-conflict manifestation, a country can overestimate its capabilities, with little concern for the enemy, the environment, and potential long-term outcomes. Then there is the during-conflict manifestation, when a country ignores political objectives and delays ending the war under the false hope that there is more to be had due to recent success.
What is the vaccine required to keep a country from contracting victory disease? In On War , Carl von Clausewitz points to the reasonable role of the government to tame justified passions that arise in fighting. War “mainly concerns…primordial violence, hatred, and enmity.” According to Clausewitz: “If war is an act of force, the emotions cannot fail to be involved.” But you cannot neglect the role of the government, with Clausewitz stating: “War is not an act of senseless passion but is controlled by its political object… the object in war is to attain a better peace, even if only from your own point of view.”
Amaziah contracted victory disease… After a military victory over the Edomites, King Amaziah’s heart became "arrogant and proud." Ignoring a prophet's warning, he pridefully challenged King Jehoash of Israel to battle. Jehoash compared Amaziah to a "thistle" trying to act like a "cedar" and warned him, "Why ask for trouble and cause your own downfall?" Amaziah refused to listen, and his army was routed. In this instance, we don’t want to catch this disease, but we do want to keep our pride in check. As Richard Baxter noted: “Self is the most treacherous enemy, and the most insinuating deceiver in the world. Of all other vices, it is both the hardest to find out, and the hardest to cure.” (2 Kings 14)
5. Airports see hours-long delays due to TSA shortages as Homeland Security shutdown shows no sign of ending (CNN)
“Travelers at airports in Houston and New Orleans were greeted with hours of long waits as the airports struggled to adequately staff security lines. The lengthy delays come as spring break travel is ramping up and as Transportation Security Administration workers are going without pay for the second time in six months because of the partial shutdown of the federal government, which primarily affects the Department of Homeland Security.
“The shutdown is causing massive delays at some airports across the country, with wait times for travelers of 3.5 hours reported at major hubs due to officer shortages. The TSA website and app paused operations on Feb. 17. The site "will not be updated until after funding is enacted," the TSA says on its site — leaving travelers high and dry when it comes to finding wait time information.
“Unscheduled absences among airport security officers have more than doubled during the ongoing Department of Homeland Security shutdown, with more than 300 employees leaving the agency since the start of the DHS shutdown, according to internal TSA statistics obtained exclusively by CBS News. TSA officer call-out rates have climbed into double-digit percentages at some airports, including half the officers at Houston's Hobby Airport, straining screening operations and contributing to longer security lines.”
While John Mayer is Waiting on the World to Change, many are still waiting in line due to the lack of TSA funding… A survey found that the average American spends roughly 37 hours per year waiting in various lines. But what is your breaking point? One survey found that only 19 percent of customers would wait more than 15 minutes before leaving the line.
The goodness of a line is largely contingent upon the middle and the end. Relative to the middle, occupied time (like walking a long distance to the line) feels shorter than unoccupied time (like standing around in line). On average, we overestimate how long we have waited by about 37 percent. And concerning the end, the final moments are the most influential. If the line speeds up at the end, we tend to have far more positive memories than if it drags out until the very end.
Remember Laban… In the biblical narrative, Jacob agreed to work for 7 years to marry Rachel. However, because of his father-in-law Laban’s deception, he was tricked into marrying Leah first and had to wait and work an additional 7 years for Rachel. Despite this 14-year delay caused by someone else's actions, the time "seemed like nothing" because of his great love for her. Like me, you may be frustrated by the reason we are waiting, yet we all stand to benefit because of the waiting. As Spurgeon noted: “Patience is a grace as difficult as it is necessary, and as hard to come by as it is precious when it is gained.” (Gen. 29)
4. Wyoming governor signs 'fetal heartbeat' abortion ban into law (ABC News)
“Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon signed a bill into law on Monday banning abortion in the state after a "fetal heartbeat" has been detected. HB 126, or the Human Heartbeat Act, prohibits abortion once cardiac activity is identified, which is around six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they're pregnant.
“If cardiac activity is detected, an abortion can only be performed in the case of a medical emergency, meaning if the life of the mother is in danger or if continuing the pregnancy would cause serious or irreversible impairment of a major bodily function, according to the bill."
Abortion is banned, but care for those seeking one isn’t…Last year, 2,775 pregnancy centers nationwide provided over $452 million in total medical care, support and education services, and material goods. Pregnancy centers engaged with 1 million new clients last year, earning a satisfaction rating of 98 percent.
Does support even matter? Consider this: a recent peer-reviewed study found that 60 percent of women with a history of abortion would have preferred to give birth if they had received either more emotional support or had more financial security.
Instead of lines at the abortion clinic, we need to continue to form lines to offer support for these moms. Throughout the biblical narrative, we find Jesus repeatedly offering to help. He healed the woman with the blood issue, offered hope for the widow at Nain, and supported the woman caught in adultery. While this may outlaw abortion in the state, we should continue to support women who are desperately thinking about abortions inside and outside the state. (Jn. 4, Lk. 7, Mk. 5)
Cultural News
3. Starting Your Own Business Is All the Rage Again (WSJ)
“Nationally, there were 532,319 new-business applications in January, according to the Census Bureau, 36.8% more than a year earlier. On LinkedIn, the number of people listing themselves as founders is 69% higher than a year ago. This growing embrace of entrepreneurship indicates a mental shift toward self-reliance. Many new founders feel they are better off on their own—or have no other choice after a fruitless job search.
“This is also a bright spot in a job market racked by fears of AI-induced cuts, including the 40% head-count reduction announced last week by Jack Dorsey’s Block. Even as artificial intelligence erodes job security, it also helps those who dream of being their own bosses to get startups off the ground.”
Working 9 to 5? More than that if you're an entrepreneur, Dolly Parton. In his book One Day I’ll Work for Myself, Benjamin Waterhouse chronicles the history of the entrepreneurial spirit here in the US. While it was in the air at the turn of the 20th century, Joseph Schumpeter’s Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy put words to that zeitgeist. Entrepreneurship, according to Schumpeter, was “simply the doing of new things or the doing of things that are already being done in a new way.” These “new combinations” were essential features of the “gales of creative destruction.”
The seeds of entrepreneurship populate American soil… A fascinating study analyzed roughly 150,000 individuals in 37 different countries. They identified 2 reasons they chose this entrepreneurial path. Opportunity entrepreneurs started a business because they planned to create a profitable one. Remedial entrepreneurs started a business because they lost their jobs or otherwise had no better option. The study found that more than 9 percent of Americans are opportunity entrepreneurs, which ranked first among the high-income nations. They concluded there was a strong relationship between entrepreneurship and regulation -- the less of the latter creates more room for the former.
In his phenomenal book The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism, Michael Novak rightly notes that “creation is full of secrets waiting to be discovered, riddles which human intelligence is expected by the Creator to unlock.” As Christians, we have the opportunity to unlock God’s riddles to provide for our families by providing services to our neighbors. (Ex. 31, Col. 3:23, Gen. 2:15)
News You Can Use
2. 3-year-old’s baseball skills go viral
Watch it here. “Train up a child in the way he should go…” (Pro. 22:6)
1. Normal People verses a Influencer on drinking a Drink
Watch it here. “Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly.” (Pro. 23:21)
