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. US official says Iranian attacks failed to hit their targets as Mideast tensions intensify (CNN)
“A US official says all of the drones and missiles in a wave of Iranian fire late Saturday did not hit their intended targets. Tehran said it had targeted US military installations in Gulf countries after the US struck Iranian sites.
“This weekend’s exchange of fire is testing a fragile US-Iran agreement, and neither side is looking ready to de-escalate. US President Donald Trump threatened more military action if Iranian strikes continue, while Iran warned ceasefire violations would “result in the complete halt of all diplomatic processes.”
“The US and Iran will “stand down for now,” a Trump administration official said after both sides traded fire near the Strait of Hormuz. Technical talks with Iran remain “on track,” said a US official. It’s not clear yet what Iran’s position is on the matter. This weekend’s military action is testing an initial agreement that was supposed to halt hostilities during 60 days of negotiations."
Like Elton John, we are Still Standing, but we may be moving… A WSJ investigation released over the weekend reported that the US is rethinking its footprint in the Middle East after Iranian missile and drone attacks caused more damage than previously disclosed at least 20 US sites, including the Navy’s base in Bahrain. Some structures may not be rebuilt, and some could be moved underground.
John Spencer of the Urban Warfare Institute noted that underground isn’t a novel concept but an emerging one. Examples include Project Iceworm in Greenland, Gaza’s tunnels, Russian forces with their extensive underground pathways, and Iran with its missile systems. “Modern militaries increasingly orient upward because of drones. Commanders scan rooftops, skies, electromagnetic signatures, thermal emissions, and satellite feeds. The surface battlefield grows more transparent and lethal every year. Underground maneuver attacks that entire current paradigms by exploiting the one area still extraordinarily difficult to monitor continuously: beneath the surface itself.”
There is nothing new under the sun...or soil. When King Hezekiah learned that the Assyrian army had arrived in Israel, he recognized that his water supply was exposed. He and his men quickly dug a tunnel through the ridge, bringing water to the other side, and then covered up the cave's opening. He kept the enemy from enjoying their water and, more importantly, kept a secure supply of water for his people. As Ambrose Bierce noted: “There is nothing new under the sun, but there are lots of old things we don't always remember.” (2 Chron. 32)
5. 'What a loser': Biden blasts Trump's Reflecting Pool, arch construction (USA Today)
“Former President Joe Biden called his Oval Office successor a "loser" during a gala in Maryland over the weekend, accusing him of obsessing over "vanity projects" at the White House and Kennedy Center. Biden ticked off a list of initiatives, including President Donald Trump's construction of what Biden alleged is an "arch in his own honor" and of "hiring his own pool guy to fix the Reflecting Pool."
"Whoa, what a loser," the 46th president said. Biden's comments came on the two-year anniversary of his disastrous presidential debate performance, which sparked calls within the Democratic Party for him to exit the 2024 election and ushered in the failed candidacy of Kamala Harris.”
Apparently Beck isn’t the only Loser… Have you heard of conflict entrepreneurs? This refers to legislators who disproportionately use insults targeting the integrity or intellect of their peers. Researchers found no corresponding positive relationship with fundraising, vote margins, legislative success, or personal wealth when leveling insults. However, interestingly enough, they concluded that media visibility is often the primary incentive for hurling such insults.
I’m rubber, and you are glue? The foundational study on taking offense highlights how we get offended in 3 stages: we identify when we’re insulted or harshly contradicted; we assess how extreme the offense is; and we respond emotionally or behaviorally.
Go up, baldhead… In 2 Kings 2, we read that Elisha had just been anointed as a prophet and encountered some young men from Bethel, a center of calf worship at the time. Fresh after seeing his mentor, Elijah, literally go up to heaven, Elisha heard some young men shouting at him, telling him to “go up, you baldhead.” They insulted his appearance and wished he would disappear, like Elijah. Essentially, they demeaned him, his message, and his ministry. In this instance, I know insults have become normalized in this moment, but prevalence doesn’t excuse sinfulness.
4. Texas State Board of Education votes to require millions of students to study Bible stories (CNN)
“The Texas State Board of Education has approved a proposal that will establish lists of required reading — including Bible verses alongside classic titles — for its K-12 English and literature curriculum. The plan will impact more than 5 million public school students, as Texas emerges as a leader in a national conservative effort to infuse Christian teachings into American classrooms.
“Multiple titles will be mandated for each grade, and each one must be read “in its entirety.” The effort goes far beyond a 2023 law that requires at least one state board-approved literary work be taught in each grade level. While it is not unusual for states to suggest book titles for schools, Texas may be the first to prescribe a literary canon for every public school student, two experts told The Associated Press.”
Teach Me Some Melodious Sonnet… at school? Are you familiar with the Olde Deluder Satan Act? In 1647, Massachusetts passed this legislation that required every township with 50 households to establish a school. At these schools, children would study the Bible, knowing that one of the “chief projects”' of “the Olde Deluder (Satan)” was to keep people from a knowledge of the Scripture.
Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, observed: “We waste so much time and money in punishing crimes and take so little pains to prevent them. We profess to be republicans, and yet we neglect the only means of establishing and perpetuating our republican forms of government, that is, the universal education of our youth in the principles of Christianity by means of the Bible; for this divine book, above all others, favors that equality among mankind, that respect for just laws; and all those sober and frugal virtues which constitute the soul of republicanism.”
We live in a time that is increasingly skeptical of religion but receptive to the benefits of religion. Jim Denison often notes that the Holy Spirit has a strange affinity for the trained mind. While the mind can be trained inside the school, training shouldn’t only happen there. JP Moreland was right: “I am responsible for what I believe and, I might add, for what I refuse to believe, because the content of what I do or do not believe makes a tremendous difference to what I become and how I act.” (Mark 12:30, Ps. 119:11, Gal. 5:22-23)
Cultural News
3. Most prominent AI chatbots have liberal bias, new study finds (Fox News)
“A new study is putting a spotlight on the systemic left-leaning bias the most prominent AI chatbots have. The Washington Post published a report that tested popular AI tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's Gemini and Anthropic's Claude, quizzing them with political questions to see how each of them would respond. According to the study, OpenAI answered prompts with left-leaning responses a whopping 80% of the time while providing both sides to a question just 17% of the time. Only 3% of responses had just a right-leaning answer. The AI models in the report were asked to answer questions in 30 words, without personalization settings turned on.
"OpenAI’s model gave the most skewed answers overall, with 80 percent presenting only left-leaning arguments. It endorsed abolishing the electoral college in favor of picking the president by popular vote; raising taxes on the wealthy; and adopting single-payer health care," The Post wrote. DeepSeek, the AI company that has affiliations with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), came in second with 70% of its responses only showcasing liberal arguments while 23% laid out both sides and 7% only had conservative arguments.”
AI is more of a tool and less of a guide, largely due to motivated reasoning, according to Julie Galef. Motivated reasoning is a justifying process to confirm an existing belief. Julie Galef puts it like this: “When we want something to be true, we ask ourselves, “Can I believe this?,” searching for an excuse to accept it. When we don’t want something to be true, we instead ask ourselves, “Must I believe this?,” searching for an excuse to reject it.”
In her book The Scout Mindset, Galef identifies two different mindsets: scouts and soldiers. The former are often looking for new information, while the latter are defending existing information. Scouts are curious, and they’re "more likely to say they feel pleasure when they learn new information or solve a puzzle. They’re more likely to feel intrigued when they encounter something that contradicts their expectations.” Soldiers view “some pieces of information like our allies — we want them to win; we want to defend them. And other pieces of information are the enemy, and we want to shoot them down.
Though the news comes to us quickly, we should process it slowly… like a Berean. Despite not having the Scriptures themselves, the Bereans modeled a 3-fold way of processing information that could be beneficial today: receive information, examine it, and then believe it. To believe it before examining it is being gullible; to examine it before receiving it is being skeptical; to receive it, examine it, and then believe it is divine. (Acts 17)
News You Can Use
2. 'What is wrong with you?' Couple's marriage proposal goes viral
Watch it here. “Do not stir up or awaken love before its time has come.” (SoS 8:4)
1. Move Over, Soccer: World Cup Fans Obsess Over Ranch Dressing
Watch it here. “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” (Ps. 34:8)
