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. NY appeals court voids the roughly $500 million civil fraud penalty against Trump (CNN)
“A New York appeals court has thrown out the roughly half-billion dollar judgment against President Donald Trump in the civil fraud case brought by the state’s attorney general. Thursday’s decision, which was not unanimous, leaves Trump still liable for fraud. The judges upheld his liability and tossed the penalty so the case could move forward for further appellate review. One of the judges, Peter Moulton, concluded that while Mr. Trump had done harm in inflating the value of his properties and other assets, “it was not the cataclysmic harm that can justify a nearly half-billion-dollar award to the state.”
“New York Attorney General Letitia James plans to appeal the ruling. In the prevailing opinion, the judges wrote, “While the injunctive relief ordered by the court is well crafted to curb defendants’ business culture, the court’s disgorgement order, which directs that defendants pay nearly half a billion dollars to the State of New York, is an excessive fine that violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution.”
Never Too Much? Not so fast, Luther Vandross. The judges appealed to the 8th Amendment, centered on the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. During the Founding Era, Rep. Samuel Livermore of New Hampshire highlighted the need to punish wrongs but not wrongly punish to the extent of diminishing the criminal’s humanity. “No cruel and unusual punishment is to be inflicted; it is sometimes necessary to hang a man, villains often deserve whipping, and perhaps having their ears cut off; but are we in future to be prevented from inflicting these punishments because they are cruel?”
Why prohibit such punishments? America’s founders embraced the maxim of Montesquieu that any punishment that goes beyond necessity is “tyrannical.” Cesare Beccaria’s On Crimes and Punishments notes: "For a punishment to attain its end, the evil which it inflicts has only to exceed the advantage derivable from the crime .... All beyond this is superfluous and for that reason tyrannical."
Eye for an eye? The law of retribution is a principle of justice rooted in Ex. 21 and Deut. 19. This was issued to prevent excessive punishments and serve as a model for public justice. While this style of justice put a ceiling on punishment, Jesus lowered the floor relative to vengeance. While the government has a role in making sure punishments are just, the Christian has a role in making sure God’s love is shown. The former shouldn’t be excessive and cruel; the latter should be lavish and unconditional. (Mt. 5)
5. Trump visits D.C. police and federal officers working on the crackdown (NY Times)
“President Trump met Thursday evening with local police, National Guard troops and members of several federal agencies involved in his crackdown on crime in Washington, D.C., trumpeting what he described as the successes of the operation and promising more to come. “Right now, it’s better than it has been in years, and in a couple of weeks it’s going to be even far better than that,” Mr. Trump said, speaking from the U.S. Park Police’s Anacostia Operations Facility, in the southeastern part of the nation’s capital.
“Everybody’s safe now,” he added. “Everybody feels safe.” Mr. Trump’s comments included laying out a vision for a citywide cleanup in which all grass on federal land will look as pristine as a golf course. “I know more about grass than any human being, I think, anywhere in the world,” he said. “And we’re going to be re-grassing all of your parks, all brand-new sprinkler systems, the best that you can buy.”
Here Comes The Sun? More like here comes the president, Beatles. Last night, Pres. Trump demonstrated the power of presence, also referred to as a competence cue. This is when a leader uses their presence to highlight a particular issue or situation. While the leader may have addressed the issue before showing up, their presence brings added value to it, elevating it on the priority list.
This is a form of incarnational leadership, leveraging the power of presence to influence a person or group toward a particular end. Not only does the leader wisely steward their presence, they also have the capacity to ask other leaders to share their presence, a form of convening power, to tackle significant problems. Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Rosabeth Kanter contends that the best leaders convene conversations with leaders from a variety of industries which “enables others to develop solutions.”
Last night, Pres. Trump attempted incarnational leadership. His position holds weight and his presence shows his support. Like Paul in Jerusalem and Boaz at the city gate, he used his appearance to prioritize the issue. His showing up doesn’t guarantee a solution but it does indicate the significance of the problem (Acts 15, Ruth 3-4).
4. Cracker Barrel stock tanks after unveiling a controversial logo change (CNN)
“Cracker Barrel’s modern makeover doesn’t stop with redoing its restaurants. It’s dropping the barrel and the man from its logo, too. On Tuesday, the Southern-inspired casual dining chain unveiled a new logo “rooted even more closely to the iconic barrel shape,” but without the barrel itself — a central part of the brand’s identity since 1977. (As for the the barrel itself, it was “essentially the water coolers of the day,” Cracker Barrel explained in a blog post.)
“Shares of Cracker Barrel (CBRL) nosedived more than 12% in trading Thursday. The identity refresh also includes new TV commercials, a redesigned menu and several new fall-themed foods, part of a larger $700 million transformation plan to shake off its stodgy image and lure in new diners.
“The way we communicate, the things on the menu, the way the stores look and feel … all of these things came up time and time again in our research as opportunities for us to really regain relevancy,” said CEO Julie Felss Masino in 2024.”
Cher may not be the only one who wants to Turn Back Time… When it comes to branding, we find ourselves in the midst of a transition, from funnel marketing to the consumer decision journey. In funnel marketing, the customer’s journey starts at the top of the funnel, requiring the brand to raise awareness. And after capturing their awareness, the brand then draws the potential customer down the funnel, toward interest, then consideration, then purchase, and concludes at loyalty. In this model, a lot of emphasis is given to the top of the funnel (the awareness and interest portions).
Now we find ourselves in a consumer decision journey. This is less of a funnel and more of a winding path. The consumer first considers a selection of brands. They then evaluate various brands by seeking input from peers, reviewers, and other “trustworthy” sources. Toward the end, they buy and conclude with enjoy, advocate, and bond stage. Whereas a lot of emphasis is placed at the top of the funnel in the previous paradigm, much attention is given to the latter stages (enjoy, advocate, and bond) in this new era that is crowded and noisy. So in Cracker Barrel’s case, they appear to have adopted a funnel approach with the redesign to raise awareness and interest with new customers, to the detriment of existing (nostalgic) customers.
Cracker Barrel is changing its branding, but what do you want to be known for? Abraham was known for his faith, Samson for his strength, and Ruth for her loyalty. In the game of life, Cracker Barrel has decided to switch up their hand, but Randy Pausch put it well in his book The Last Lecture: “We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand… The key question to keep asking is, Are you spending your time on the right things? Because time is all you have.” (Deut. 34:7, Gal. 1:24)
Cultural News
3. How Do You Spot a ‘Performative’ Male? Look for a Tote Bag. (NY Times)
“Instead of searching for earthly versions of celebrities like Timothée Chalamet or Pedro Pascal, the spectators were looking for which of the assembled contestants was the best example of the so-called Performative Male — a relatively new social media archetype. The Performative Male curates his aesthetic in a way that he thinks might render him more likable to progressive women. He is, in short, the antithesis of the toxic man. “It’s men who are trying to cater to what they think women who are feminist like,” said Guinevere Unterbrink, 24, an art teacher who was one of the contest’s hosts.
“Such a man might sip on iced matcha lattes at a cafe while reading Sally Rooney or Joan Didion. He might wear wired headphones and baggy pants, and he would most likely be carrying a tote bag (perhaps with a Labubu attached). He could be listening to Clairo and would be quick to reveal his collection of vinyl records. He turns himself into a walking mood board of on-trend markers for softness, stylishness and a feminist leaning that he may or may not actually possess. And as a result, he has become a scoffed-at meme.”
The Boys Are Back in Town… with tote bags over their shoulders. This performative male epitomizes mimetic theory. Coined by René Girard, the theory holds that we imitate the desires and actions of others. We want and do something not just because it is desirable, but because other people think it is. In this instance, they act in a way they think women want them to act.
There is nothing wrong with a tote bag, but there is something wrong with an absent father. Roughly 20 million kids don’t have a dad present in their lives. A study coined the concept of the father factor, highlighting how kids are more likely to flourish in school and life when they have good dads.
In his insightful book Of Boys and Men, Richard Reeves notes how previous attempts to treat the condition of men have made the same dire mistake: they have viewed the problems of men as a problem with men. “Boys who struggle at school and college are more likely to become men who struggle in the workplace and in family life. Helping boys and men is not an alternative to helping girls and women: It is the other side of the same coin. Right now, we are failing too many of our boys.”
As David demonstrated with Michal, there is nothing wrong with performing phenomenal feats for great loves. However, these actions were part of his larger identity: a man after God’s own heart. He didn’t forsake pursuing after God’s heart to capture her heart, but rather he did both. For tote bag males, the problem isn’t wooing a girl but rather modifying your identity for the sake of a girl. (1 Cor. 16, 1 Sam. 18)
News You Can Use
2. Mom Was Teased for Keeping Son’s Toys. She Saved Them for an Epic College Farewell Surprise (Today)
Watch it here. “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you…” (Phil. 1:3)
1. When she wears natural deodorant
Watch it here. “And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Eph. 5:2)
