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 launches Board of Peace in Davos, Zelenskyy announces U.S.-Russia-Ukraine talks (CBS News)
“President Trump led a signing of the founding charter of his Board of Peace without major U.S. allies in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday. He offered little new detail on what the body would do, but said it would work with the United Nations to ensure peace in the Middle East and hinted at wider ambitions. The Board of Peace was announced last year as part of a Trump-brokered Gaza peace plan.
“After the signing, Mr. Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said that representatives from Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. will meet in the United Arab Emirates this week – the first meeting of its kind over the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Senior officials and leaders from several countries — including Azerbaijan, Argentina, Uzbekistan and Hungary — had either agreed to participate at the ceremony or expressed support for its goals. Israel is among the countries that have signed on. But conversations at Davos and beyond this week also underscored resistance from some European governments.
“Trump on Thursday also suggested he could achieve his goals without the United States owning Greenland, as he had previously demanded. He said he was brokering a deal with “no end” or “time limit” while providing little detail. “We’re going to have all military access that we want,” Trump said on Fox Business. “We’re getting everything we want at no cost.”
Make Institutions Again? In his book The Upswing, Robert Putnam argues that Americans find themselves in the I-We-I Curve, which refers to civic life over the past 125 years. In the 1890s, we as a country were characterized by our individuality, suffering from inequality, partisanship, and isolation. To address these issues and more, Americans assembled together to build institutions (American Red Cross, 4-H, Big Brothers, Rotary Club, Lions Club, American Legion, etc.). As a result of this building, we experienced an upswing, bringing about equality, comity, sociability, and communitarianism. However, we now find ourselves experiencing the reverse of the upswing, returning to the woes of the 1890s, partly due to a lack of civic engagement…
We come from a long line of neighborly people… In the classic Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville observed that Americans “of all ages, all conditions, and all dispositions constantly form associations…Each new need immediately awakens the idea of association.” In his seminal book, The Quest for Community, Robert Nesbit wrote, “It is not the revival of old communities that the book in a sense pleads for; it is the establishment of new forms; forms which are relevant to contemporary life and thought.”
I don’t know the viability of this Board of Peace, but I do know it needs a board member like Joseph… He anticipated there would be a great need in the land, and over the years, he built an organization to address the need on the horizon. He strategically deployed his managerial skills to lead a nation through famine. Joseph understood that while small needs can be met by generous people, great needs require strategic institutions. (Gen. 39-41)
5. Massive Winter Storm Expected To Impact Over 230 Million Americans (Weather Channel)
“The massive winter storm set to begin today will stretch 2,000 miles across the country, from the Arizona-New Mexico border to upstate New York. All major metros from Dallas to New York City are in the storm's path. At least a dozen states have declared states of emergency.
“The storm will start in Texas and Oklahoma, with treacherous conditions after sunset. On Saturday, wintry precipitation will stretch from central New Mexico into central Virginia. By Sunday, heavy snow will push into the Northeast, including New York City and Boston, as icing continues over parts of the mid-Atlantic. The storm will end Monday afternoon.
“The storm has been named Winter Storm Fern by The Weather Channel. According to The Weather Company forecasters, Fern could affect over 230 million in the U.S. with snow and/or ice, two-thirds of the nation's estimated population.”
It looks like Foreigner won’t be the only ones who are as Cold as Ice… Interestingly enough, the accuracy of weather forecasts has significantly improved over the years. In 1981, the 3-day forecast had a 84 percent accuracy rate. Today, that number is 98 percent. Relative to the 7-day forecast, the accuracy rate was roughly 45 percent in 1981. Today, it is close to 97 percent.
Are you a fox or a hedgehog? Philip Tetlock, in his book Superforecasting, highlights how we all have a great demand to know the future, which in turn has produced a large supply of people who believe they can predict the future (regarding politics, current events, the weather, etc.). In his research, he found that some are better at predicting than others, largely based on those who are teachable. For Tetlock, there are hedgehogs (make strong predictions based on a few fundamental truths) and foxes (guided in forecasts by diverse strands of evidence and ideas). The hedgehog knows a few big things; the fox knows lots of little things.
We can’t accurately predict the future, but we can trust the one who reigns over it. He sends the snow (Job 36:7) and scatters the frost (Ps. 147:16), revealing his supremacy (Job 38:22). Snow slows us down, causing traffic and canceling plans, but it is also used repeatedly throughout the Scriptures to depict God’s grace (Is. 1:18, Ps. 51: 51:7). It’s not ideal for plans to be canceled, but perhaps there is something greater planned…
4. Homicide rate declines sharply in dozens of US cities, a new report shows (ABC News)
“Data collected from 35 American cities showed a 21% decrease in the homicide rate from 2024 to 2025, translating to about 922 fewer homicides last year, according to a new report from the independent Council on Criminal Justice. The report, released on Thursday, tracked 13 crimes and recorded drops last year in 11 of those categories including carjackings, shoplifting, aggravated assaults and others. Drug crimes saw a small increase over last year and sexual assaults stayed even between 2024 and 2025, the study found.
“Experts said cities and states beyond those surveyed showed similar declines in homicides and other crimes. But they said it's too early to tell what is prompting the change even as elected officials at all levels — both Democrats and Republicans — have been claiming credit. Adam Gelb, president and CEO of the council — a nonpartisan think tank for criminal justice policy and research — said that after historic increases in violence during the COVID-19 pandemic, this year brought historic decreases. The study found some cities recorded decades-low numbers, with the overall homicide rate dropping to its lowest in decades.”
Crime is like a roller coaster? Eric Monkkonen found that crime tends to follow a predictable cycle. It goes up, and then societies erect the structures to address it, which drives crime down. Then a sense of discomfort grows with the structures that have been put in place, driving a desire to reduce or remove certain measures. This, in turn, sets the stage for the next spike.
When third places are present, crime is more likely to be absent. These third places, like parks, community centers, etc., allow neighbors to connect with one another and eventually look after each other. This new research only substantiates old thinking, namely, from Alexis de Tocqueville: "The strength of free peoples resides in the local community. Local institutions are to liberty what primary schools are to science; they put it within the people's reach; they teach people to appreciate its peaceful enjoyment and accustom them to make use of it.”
Pride is the opposite of love, which always seeks to take and be served. It is an invisible vice made visible by crime, an aggressive and wicked assertion of the will without regard for the well-being of your neighbor. But love is a form of humility, seeking to serve and bless. Augustine was right: “It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.” (Ps. 11:5, Mt. 26:52-54)
Cultural News
3. Here’s what Americans would do if given more energy: survey (NY Post)
“Americans hit their daily energy low at 2:06 p.m., according to new survey data. A survey examining the energy levels and lifestyle goals of 2,000 people saw that on average, respondents said they’d need double their current energy levels to feel fully capable of keeping up with daily demands. No wonder then that the majority of Americans surveyed felt added energy would be life-changing, not just for health and happiness boosts but also for their wallets.
“Seventy-four percent of respondents feel they’d be earning more if they had higher energy levels… When asked what they’d do with unlimited energy, the top response was spending more time with friends or family (18%)... If they could control when they received an energy boost, people were divided. Twenty-four percent would use that energy lift on a Monday (24%), while Friday (22%) and Saturday (22%) followed closely behind.”
“Enthusiasm is common; endurance is rare,” according to Angela Duckworth. In her book Grit, she writes that when we “overemphasize talent, we underemphasize everything else.” Grit, for Duckworth, isn’t just perseverance, but also passion. Those with grit have both determination and direction. “What we accomplish in the marathon of life depends tremendously on our grit—our passion and perseverance for long-term goals. An obsession with talent distracts us from that simple truth.”
Do you have a fixed or a growth mindset? Duckworth writes that a fixed mindset interprets setbacks as evidence that they don’t have the “right stuff.” Those with a growth mindset believe they can learn to do better. Instead of praising talent, praise effort. "A fixed mindset about ability leads to pessimistic explanations of adversity, and that, in turn, leads to both giving up on challenges and avoiding them in the first place. In contrast, a growth mindset leads to optimistic ways of explaining adversity, and that, in turn, leads to perseverance and seeking out new challenges.”
Like Noah building his ship and the men of Nehemiah constructing the wall, we all have deadlines and we all have the chance to exercise grit. Life is too short, and the opportunities are too big, to aimlessly piddle. This isn’t a challenge to exhaust yourself, but rather an invitation to live such a life that desperately requires the daily bread God graciously offers. (Gen. 5, 2 Sam. 10, Neh. 3, Lk. 21:19)
News You Can Use
2. Midwesterners Eating Lunch
Watch it here. “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” (Ps. 34:8)
1. Viral Social Media User Lands National Commercial
Watch it here. “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms.” (1 Pet. 4:10)
