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. Inflation drops to lowest level in months, defying expectations of uptick (ABC News)
“Inflation dropped in November, ending a monthslong acceleration of price increases and offering relief for households strained by cost hikes, government data on Thursday showed. The reading came in below economists' expectations. Consumer prices rose 2.7% in November compared to a year earlier, marking a notable reduction from 3% year-over-year inflation in September, the most recent month for which complete data is available. Inflation stands at its lowest level since July.
“The report offered the first look at price increases in nearly two months, after the 43-day government shutdown impaired data collection. Despite an overall reduction of inflation, some high-profile items like coffee and beef continued to soar in November. Coffee prices jumped nearly 19% in November compared to a year earlier, while beef prices climbed almost 16% over that span.”
Defying Gravity? More like defying expectations, Wicked. However, nearly 50 percent of Americans say rising prices are their biggest concern. In his latest white paper, Scott Lincicome highlighted 2 concepts which could inform this contrast of slowing inflation yet rising prices: the hedonic treadmill and Baumol’s cost disease.
First, there is the hedonic treadmill, which refers to our ability to quickly adapt to both negative and positive circumstances. Over the past 60 years, Americans have gradually adapted to real but subtle improvements in their living standards, often taking for granted resources that would have been unimaginable in previous generations. “A 2025 middle-class family enjoys better and cheaper essentials—housing, transportation, communications, medicine, consumer goods, technology, and more—than what families earning much higher incomes had in the 1960s.”
Then there is Baumol’s cost disease. This economic phenomenon describes how wages in labor-intensive, low-productivity sectors (arts, education, and healthcare) tend to rise in tandem with wages in high-productivity sectors like manufacturing. For example, a musician today is just as productive as a musician 50 years ago, yet because of broader economic trends, the cost of attending performances has risen. “Sectors where productivity grows slowly and prices outpace inflation—health care, education, child care, personal services, housing (construction), etc.—happen to be the same ones that middle-class families notice most and that signal social status. As we’ve all gotten richer, moreover, these services have transitioned from luxuries to expectations.”
Thankfully, inflation is slowing, but in this American moment, the value of contentment remains high. Contentment doesn’t mean forsaking amenities, living an austere life without luxury. Contentment focuses on why you have things rather than what you have (or don’t have). Montesquieu put it well: “If one only wished to be happy, this could be easily accomplished; but we wish to be happier than other people, and this is always difficult, for we believe others to be happier than they are.” (Phil. 3)
5. Retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and family among 7 killed in North Carolina plane crash (Fox News)
“Former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and his immediate family members died in a plane crash in Iredell County on Thursday morning, officials confirmed Thursday afternoon. Biffle was one of seven people killed when a small plane crashed at Statesville Regional Airport at around 10:15 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 18, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said Thursday afternoon... Biffle's wife, Cristina, sent her mom an alarming message minutes before they died in a plane crash. Cristina Biffle texted her mother, "We're in trouble," according to PEOPLE.”
“Biffle, 55, won more than 50 races across NASCAR’s three circuits, including 19 at the Cup Series level. He also won the Trucks Series championship in 2000 and the Xfinity Series title in 2002. “Greg was more than a champion driver; he was a beloved member of the NASCAR community, a fierce competitor, and a friend to so many,” NASCAR said. “His passion for racing, his integrity, and his commitment to fans and fellow competitors alike made a lasting impact on the sport.”
The Bible speaks about running the race set before you, but in Greg Biffle’s case, he drove it straight through the finish line. His need for speed was only exceeded by his love for God, going to great lengths to show that love to others. Look no further than his response to Hurricane Helene…
Loving your neighbor took on a very literal meaning for Biffle, a North Carolina resident, in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. He went above and beyond to be the hands and feet of Jesus, flying his helicopter to hard-to-reach places to provide them with necessary supplies, such as EpiPens, chainsaws, and insulin.
Greg Biffle drove extraordinarily well and, though we don’t understand why, his race is now finished. In NASCAR, some tracks are longer than others, with a place like Bristol requiring a different game plan than how you might race at Talladega. And though a crash usually keeps a driver from finishing a race, that’s the furthest from the case with Biffle. He completed the race and now finds himself in a winner’s circle far greater than he could have ever imagined. (2 Cor. 5)
4. Trump Moves to End Access to Gender-Related Care for Minors (NY Times)
“The federal government on Thursday acted to put an end to gender-related care for minors across the nation, threatening to pull federal funding from any hospital that offered such treatment.
“The move reflects the laserlike focus on the issue by President Trump, who in his first days in office called gender treatments for minors “a stain on our Nation’s history.” The administration’s action is not just a regulatory shift but the latest signal that the federal government does not recognize even the existence of people whose gender identity does not align with their sex at birth.
“If finalized, the proposed new rules, announced by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a news conference Thursday morning, would effectively shut down hospitals that failed to comply. Medicare and Medicaid account for nearly 45 percent of spending on hospital care, according to KFF, a nonprofit health policy research group.:
Has the trans movement peaked? A recent survey of US undergraduates earlier this year found that 3.6 percent of respondents identified as a gender other than male or female. In 2024, that number was 5.2 percent. In 2023, that number was 6.8 percent. The share of trans-identified students has effectively halved in just two years.
The research isn’t exhaustive, but it’s abundant. From the Department of Health and Human Services to Sweden to Finland to Britain, the benefits of these treatments are “remarkably weak,” “low quality,” and “insufficient” to determine “long-term outcomes.” Another new study of those presenting with gender distress found 63 percent had at least one prior mental health disorder or neurodevelopmental disability.
In Jewish tradition, the parent pushes the child away with the left hand while drawing the child closer with the right hand. It is a combination of compassionately protecting the child at times and challenging them at other times. In this instance, officials here in the US are coming alongside parents with their collective right hand and protecting children. We should extend compassion, not gender-transition treatment, to children suffering gender confusion. (Pro. 13:24, 22:6, Mk. 10)
Cultural News
3. ‘Checkout charity’ requests often backfire, leaving shoppers feeling guilty: new study (The Conversation)
“More and more stores now ask customers to donate money at the checkout. This is a practice called “checkout charity”, in which cashiers ask for a small charity donation just as customers are paying for their own purchases. Are customers actually feeling happy about being asked to donate at the checkout? Our newly published research suggests many do not.
“Instead, they often feel pressured, guilty, anxious and pushed into making a decision they did not plan to make, or feel like the Grinch if they don’t. But what happens when doing good starts to feel bad? After all, when checkout charity requests induce negative feelings, these need to go somewhere. They might be redirected to the retailer – or the cashier standing right in front of you.
“This led us to study whether well-intentioned checkout donation campaigns can backfire, why this happens and how this process unfolds in practice. When looking at how these feelings impact behaviour, we found that consumers who experienced negative emotions as a result of being asked to donate at the checkout were: less willing to donate, less satisfied with their shopping experience, and more critical of the retailer.”
Chappell Roan isn’t the only Giver… 53 percent of Americans give impulsively to charities at the checkout, and certain demographics tend to give more (at checkout, women were the biggest givers). Those who give said they donate about $50 a year.
Why do you give? Donor motives are largely categorized into 2 groups: altruistic and warm-glow motivated. Relative to altruistic, this group of donors derives satisfaction from the work of the group. And concerning warm-glow, this refers to people who donate because giving makes them feel good.
CS Lewis rightly noted that “nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours.” Lewis wasn’t suggesting that you give everything away, but rather questioned if you could fully enjoy something if you aren’t willing to part with it. The anxiety of losing it could hinder you from the pleasure of fully enjoying it. As the rich young ruler discovered, the unwillingness to let go reveals one’s short-sightedness, choosing the momentary mood over the eternal joy. (2 Cor. 9, Acts 20)
News You Can Use
2. A mom uses AI to make her children's messes look like they're on the news. It worked!
Watch it here. “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;” (Is. 1:16)
1. When a Trooper with 27 years on the grind starts speaking fluent Gen-Z about winter storms, you KNOW it’s about to get unhinged.
Watch it here. “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.” (1 Cor. 9:22)
