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 confirms plans to use military for mass deportations (WaPo)
“President-elect Donald Trump confirmed that his plan for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants will involve a national emergency declaration and the military. Trump, in an early-morning post on social media, responded “TRUE!!!” to a conservative activist who said he had heard such reports. Congress has granted presidents broad power to declare national emergencies at their discretion, unlocking standby powers that include redirecting funds lawmakers had appropriated for other purposes. During his first term, for example, Mr. Trump invoked this power to spend more on a border wall than Congress had been willing to authorize.
“Trump, meanwhile, is preparing to roll out more Cabinet picks in the coming days after several of his earlier choices have come under intense scrutiny, including his choices of former congressman Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) for attorney general and Fox News host Pete Hegseth for defense secretary… On Tuesday, Trump announced his pick of Dr. Mehmet Oz to serve as the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a key federal agency that oversees health insurance coverage for more than 150 million Americans.”
They broke the law, but will deportations break us? The latest statistics show at least 11 million unauthorized immigrants are living in the US. The price of a one-time mass deportation operation is estimated to cost at least $315 billion. But that isn’t the only price we will pay…
One study found that mass deportation would reduce GDP by 4.2 to 6.8 percent. It would also result in a significant reduction in tax revenues for the US government. In 2022 alone, undocumented immigrant households paid $46.8 billion in federal taxes and $29.3 billion in state and local taxes. Another study forecasted that the loss of labor and tax revenue from a mass deportation event would result in no economic growth until 2028.
Are there real-world implications? Unauthorized immigrants take low-paying, dangerous, and less attractive jobs more frequently than both US-born workers and authorized immigrant workers. Almost 6 percent of unauthorized immigrants work as housekeepers, construction workers, or cooks, compared to about 2 percent of authorized immigrant workers and 1 percent of US-born workers. A mass deportation event could delay construction projects, impact daycare services, and negatively affect restaurant services.
If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime? But in this instance, we will all do the time (be impacted by a mass deportation event to some degree) because some did the crime. This illuminates the greater principle undergirding the decision to deport millions: tradeoffs. From the treasure hidden in the field to the decision as to which field to call home, the Bible is littered with decisions that come with tradeoffs. On this side of heaven, there are positive and negative outcomes with every decision; however, there will come a day when because of one divine decision, we will only experience the rewards because he took the fall and paid it all. (2 Cor. 5:21, Mt. 13, Gen. 25)
5. Putin issues warning to United States with new nuclear doctrine (Reuters)
“Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday lowered the threshold for a nuclear strike in response to a broader range of conventional attacks, and Moscow said Ukraine had struck deep inside Russia with U.S.-made ATACMS missiles. Putin approved the change days after two U.S. officials and a source familiar with the decision said on Sunday that U.S. President Joe Biden's administration allowed Ukraine to use U.S.-made weapons to strike deep into Russia.
“The updated Russian nuclear doctrine, establishing a framework for conditions under which Putin could order a strike from the world's biggest nuclear arsenal, was approved by him on Tuesday, according to a published decree. Analysts said the biggest change was that Russia could consider a nuclear strike in response to a conventional attack on Russia or its ally Belarus that "created a critical threat to their sovereignty and (or) their territorial integrity.”
"The big picture is that Russia is lowering the threshold for a nuclear strike in response to a possible conventional attack," said Alexander Graef, a senior researcher at the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg.”
Moscow possesses at least 2,000 battlefield nuclear weapons of varying sizes. A recent CRS report found that Russia holds to an “escalate to de-escalate” strategy. This consists of threatening to use nuclear weapons if it were losing a conflict with a NATO member, in an “effort to convince the United States and its NATO allies to withdraw from the conflict.”
In 2010, Russian leadership identified 2 circumstances in which they might resort to nuclear weapons: “the utilization of nuclear or other types of weapons of mass destruction against [Russia] and (or) its allies” and “in the event of aggression against the Russian Federation involving the use of conventional weapons when the very existence of the state is under threat.” In 2020, they added 2 more circumstances: “reliable data on a launch of ballistic missiles attacking the territory of the Russian Federation and/or its allies,” or an attack against “critical Russian governmental or military sites of the Russian Federation, disruption of which would undermine nuclear force response actions.” And now in 2024, they added more…
Threats give the appearance of strength, but they don’t always equate to actual power or guaranteed success. Hanun threatened Joab and Haman bullied Mordecai and the Jews, yet their claims proved to be lacking and their success was nonexistent. Pres. Putin is threatening to escalate to secure success, but we believe in a God who has already won. (Est. 4, 2 Sam. 10, 2 Cor. 2)
4. Hacker stole documents from file server used in civil case connected to Gaetz (ABC News)
“A hacker gained access to an online secure document-sharing file between attorneys involved in a civil lawsuit brought by a close friend of former Rep. Matt Gaetz, according to sources familiar with the matter. Documents including unredacted depositions from key witnesses in the case are believed to have been taken, sources said.
“Attorneys involved in the civil lawsuit, brought by a close friend of Gaetz, received an email Monday night last night informing them that "confidential" documents had been downloaded by an "unknown and unauthorized third party," according to an email obtained by ABC. The documents that were downloaded include unredacted depositions by the woman who ABC News reported testified to the House Ethics Committee that Gaetz had sex with her when she was 17 years old, according to the email. The documents were not part of the House Ethics Committee investigation into Gaetz, although ABC News previously reported that the Ethics Committee had issued a subpoena for documents related to the case.”
Is there such a thing as a good hacker? First, consider this: hackers attack every 39 seconds. The average time to identify a breach is 206 days. The average lifecycle of a breach is 314 days (from breach to containment).
Not all hackers wear the same color hats. White hat hackers are typically security researchers or other cybersecurity professionals, largely committed to doing good to protect against the bad. The bad guys wear black hats. Then there are gray hats, who are lukewarm hackers mostly motivated by financial gain. But don’t forget about red hats, who are like white hat hackers, spending their time preventing bad guy hacks by punishing them in an aggressive and punitive way. And finally, there are green hats, sometimes referred to as script kiddies. These individuals are inexperienced and amateur.
Similar to Achan, hackers' ungodly actions displease a holy God (Josh. 7). Cyber criminals may win the day with their hacking, but we know that we all will be held accountable one day. Shakespeare put it well: “The robbed that smiles, steals something from the thief.”
Cultural News
3. Singles Want to Find Love in Real Life Again, if Only They Could Remember How (WSJ)
“There was a time when people met significant others through friends, at work, or if they were lucky, by making eye contact across an overcrowded, otherwise terrible bar that suddenly became, in a moment, not so terrible. Then online dating took off. Old ways of meeting didn’t disappear but over time took a back seat to finding love via smartphone. These days, singles seeking long-term partners are tired of swiping and ready—excited even—about the prospect of meeting someone in real life instead.
“Erika Ettin, a dating coach, says when clients ask about how to find people IRL she tells them something they might not want to hear: put away your phone, remove your earbuds and smile. Try saying, “I don’t believe we’ve met yet,” and introduce yourself.”
Are you familiar with the stud effect? In the book Modern Romance, Aziz Ansari and Eric Klinenberg highlight how due to the prevalence of online dating, many people no longer experience rejection. There used to be a day when you walked into a room and were somewhat aware of the possibility of rejection. Today, online dating only alerts you when you’ve been accepted. You rarely experience rejection and the humility that comes with it. Thus you start to believe you’re a stud.
Do you have a soul mate marriage or a good enough marriage? Stephanie Coontz, author of Marriage, a History, highlights how there used to be a day when marriage was less of a luxury and more of a necessity. For men, marriage was the next step to establishing yourself. For women, it was the “easiest way of acquiring basic freedoms of adulthood,” freeing yourself from the confines of your parents. The good enough marriage brought two people together not only for their benefit but also to contribute to the community. Love and affection were not absent in this type of marriage; they were just not the primary priority.
Then there is the soul mate marriage. It is not about finding someone decent to start a family with, rather it is about finding someone who you are passionately in love with and want to share life with. “We want something that’s very passionate, or boiling from the get-go…Younger generations face immense pressure to find the “perfect person” that simply didn’t exist in the past when 'good enough' was good enough.”
Love is more than a feeling; it’s a commitment. We fall into it and painfully walk away from it. With open hands, we receive it; with clenched fists, we fight to let go of it. The human experience yearns for this type of love and the biblical narrative warns us about love, which proves especially pertinent for this news: “Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires. (Song of Songs 8:4)”
News You Can Use
2. Viral Thanksgiving pizza
Watch it here. “Taste and see that the Lord is good;” (Ps. 34:8)
1. Baby goat rescued after being stranded for days on a cliff in Hawaii
Watch it here. “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom.” (2 Tim. 4:18)
