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. U.S. pursuing third tanker off Venezuelan coast, official says (WaPo)
“The United States Coast Guard has pursued another tanker off Venezuela, a U.S. official said Sunday, in what would mark the third interception of a tanker in the waters off that country this month. The official described that tanker as “a sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion. It is flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order.” The official shared the statement on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the administration.
“These actions represent a further escalation of the United States’ months-long pressure campaign against the government of President Nicolás Maduro, whom the administration wants to force from office. The tanker blockade could impact Venezuela’s already struggling economy, which heavily depends on overseas oil sales.
“President Donald Trump said this week that the expropriation of American oil company assets justified a “total and complete blockade” of oil tankers arriving and leaving Venezuela in defiance of U.S. sanctions. The blockade will remain, he wrote on Truth Social, until the South American nation returns “to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us.”
Did Venezuela steal from us? Depends on how you define us (or US)... The country is home to the world’s largest proven oil reserves, at an estimated 303 billion barrels as of 2023. However, mismanagement (firing tenured employees; hiring inexperienced folks) and lack of investment (unstable electric grid; lack of supplies; deteriorating equipment) have caused production to decline to its lowest level in decades.
Been to an oil camp? In the 1920s, vast petroleum reserves were initially discovered by Royal Dutch Shell in Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo. US companies (Standard Oil, etc.) ramped up investment in the extraction and development of these reserves, signing concession agreements with the government with modest royalties. Fast forward to the early 1960s, and the number of Americans in Venezuela (approximately 20,000) formed the largest postwar American expatriate community in the world. These English enclaves for American workers had hospitals, schools, and baseball diamonds.
Then the oil shock of the 1970s hit… The Venezuelan government nationalized the oil industry, creating the state oil company PDVSA (Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A.) and transferred all oil assets to the state. US companies, in this instance, were compensated; however, this wasn’t always the case. American companies were welcomed back when the market collapsed in the 80s, but once the market recovered again, the Chavez regime closed them off and didn’t compensate American companies.
The Bible is filled with examples of individuals who enrich themselves at the expense of others. Micah stole from his mom, Achan took valuable possessions while in Jericho, and Ananias and Sapphira short-changed the apostles. Venezuela unjustly took from its customers, but it will eventually have to give an account to its creator. (Judges 17, Josh. 7, Acts 5)
5. Vance Refuses to Take Sides in G.O.P. Fight Over Bigotry (NY Times)
“Vice President JD Vance closed out the final day of Turning Point USA's AmericaFest convention on Sunday, rallying conservatives around themes of Christianity and the “America First” movement. The bitter infighting over antisemitism, free speech and bigotry during the annual national conference not only exposed fissures in President Trump’s movement but also laid bare a challenge for his potential successor. How would his likely heir apparent handle an explosive debate among Republicans over whether extremists and conspiracy theorists should be embraced or excluded from the conservative coalition? On Sunday, Vance gave an answer:
“When I say that I’m going to fight alongside of you, I mean all of you — each and every one,” Mr. Vance said at Turning Point USA’s annual gathering, AmericaFest, where prominent conservative leaders called on their peers to stop promoting conspiracies and hate. “President Trump did not build the greatest coalition in politics by running his supporters through endless, self-defeating purity tests.”
“The vice president’s plea for a big-tent coalition, however, belied the cracks visible in the past week in his party. The annual conservative gathering was just a year ago a platform united under Mr. Trump and elevated by its co-founder, Charlie Kirk, a young rising figure on the right. Mr. Kirk’s assassination in September galvanized Republicans and fueled conspiracy theories among them, and it prompted Mr. Vance to call on Americans to coalesce around criticizing what he called the far left.”
Conflict causes our coalitional instincts to emerge. This instinct refers to our internal programming, which compels us to promote the interests of our group against the overtures of the other group. In this instance, the overtures are coming from inside the tent as subgroups hash it out. Some just want peace; others believe the presence of peace requires the absence of antisemitism, among other things.
While VP Vance wants peace over purity tests, others insist they aren’t asking for the LSAT. Instead, they are simply requesting to exclude from their ranks people who call the vice president’s wife a racial slur, suggest a widow played a role in the death of her husband, and make antisemitic suggestions/assertions.
Watch out for the sealions and moral rebels… Sealioning is a type of bad-faith argument where someone persistently asks questions or demands evidence, feigning sincere curiosity (“I’m just asking questions!”). In reality, they are just trying to exhaust the other person or derail the conversation. Then there are the moral rebels. In her book Why We Act, Catherine Sanderson writes how moral rebels are individuals who resist social pressure and act according to their values. “Most people overestimate the social cost of speaking up… and underestimate how much our actions matter… Responsibility feels lighter when it is shared—and heavier when it is owned.”
Eating with Gentiles… In Galatians 2, Paul shares how he had to confront Peter to his face. When he first arrived, Peter ate with the uncircumcised Gentiles, testifying with his actions about the unconditional grace of God. However, after engaging with the friends of James, Peter refused to eat with the Getiles, fearful of criticism from those who say circumcision is a necessity, suggesting grace is conditional. In this instance, calling out a friend is rarely easy in the moment (as Paul demonstrated); however, staying silent is rarely beneficial for the future.
4. Top DOJ official denies there's any effort to redact mentions of President Trump from Epstein files (ABC News)
“Reps. Ro Khanna (D-California) and Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) said Sunday that they will seek to find Attorney General Pam Bondi in contempt of Congress for not releasing more documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Bondi’s top aide, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, said in an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he didn’t take their threats seriously.
“Khanna and Massie wrote legislation that passed Congress nearly unanimously and was signed by President Donald Trump last month requiring the Justice Department to release a trove of Epstein files in its possession within 30 days. The agency has released more than 100,000 pages of documents so far, some of which have been heavily redacted. Among the records released Friday was a 119-page grand jury document that was entirely blacked out. After facing criticism, the Justice Department posted a link on X to a version of the document with minimal redactions."
A picture is worth a thousand words… and a few large assumptions. We are story-making people, developing narratives to make sense of the world. When shown pictures, we quickly make assumptions and draw conclusions – either accurate or false – that adds to the larger narrative we have of the world. Enter the picture-superiority effect. This refers to the fact that people tend to remember pictures better than words, as evidenced with the Epstein pictures released over the weekend. This is largely because we store these visuals in 2 ways: as an image in our minds and as a word or phrase that describes the image. In contrast, words are stored in only one way — the word itself.
Are you a soldier or a scout? In her book The Scout Mindset, Julie 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.”
Both the scout and the soldier are essential in the unit, but their importance varies depending upon the particular moment in the battle. There is much that is uncertain and unknown right now, tempting us to jump to conclusions. However, consider God in the garden. Despite knowing everything, he patiently walked through the garden to talk to Adam. Instead of being quick to jump, we can be quick to listen and learn. (Gen. 3, James 1)
Cultural News
3. This surprising state is the most excited for Christmas, new study finds
“By examining Google search data from November 1 to 28, the study tracked 30 festive search terms across all 50 states, including phrases like “Christmas movies,” “holiday lights,” “best Christmas gifts,” and “Santa tracker.” The result is a state-by-state ranking that shows where holiday enthusiasm is truly strongest.
“To the surprise of many, West Virginia takes the top spot as the most Christmas-obsessed state, scoring 82 out of 100. From small-town tree lightings to cozy mountain cabins decorated with twinkle lights, West Virginians seem to be fully leaning into the season. Rounding out the top five are Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee, all places known for charming downtown holiday markets, festive parades, and plenty of family-friendly light displays.
“At the other end of the list, Hawaii ranks as the least excited state with a score of 37 out of 100, followed by Alaska, Wyoming, California, and Nevada. While these states certainly celebrate the holiday season, they appear to be doing a bit less online searching for classic Christmas traditions.”
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas…regardless of your state’s excitement level. Interestingly, this time of year prompts within us a tendency to romanticize the past and accentuate the negative in the present. We have a built-in bias to focus on the negative aspects of current events, so we frequently go back to the “good old days.” This is a phenomenon called fading affect bias, which refers to how we often forget the bad parts of experiences faster than we forget the good, especially around Christmas.
Do you have a memorable moment from Christmas? This illuminates 2 forms of memory we hold: semantic and episodic. Relative to semantic, we know that Christmas happens every year on the 25th of December, accompanied by decorations and gifts. Then there is episodic, which refers to the recollection of personal experiences, like the time that one uncle went on a rant that caused conflict over the salty ham.
No place to hide from God on Christmas… While your state may not be particularly exciting this time of year, you can take heart because God is with us, and our excitement is not tied to his presence. I just love how Frederick Buechner so rightly put it: “Those who believe in God can never in a way be sure of him again. Once they have seen him in a stable, they can never be sure where he will appear or to what lengths he will go or to what ludicrous depths of self-humiliation he will descend in his wild pursuit of humankind. If holiness and the awful power and majesty of God were present in this least auspicious of all events, this birth of a peasant’s child, then there is no place or time so lowly and earthbound but that holiness can be present there too. And this means that we are never safe, that there is no place where we can hide from God, no place where we are safe from his power to break in two and recreate the human heart, because it is just where he seems most helpless that he is most strong, and just where we least expect him that he comes most fully.” (Luke 2)
News You Can Use
2. At 100, war veteran still volunteers to tell history
Watch it here. “We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord.” (Ps. 78:4)
1. Atlanta woman makes a difference for the holiday season (GMA)
Watch it here. “As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.” (2 Thess. 3:13)
