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. Pentagon officials defend success of U.S. strikes on Iran amid intel leak, rebuking press' coverage of attack (CBS News)
“General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Thursday released video of the tests of the type of "bunker-buster" bombs that were dropped on Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend as he and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sought to illustrate the severity of the strikes amid the leak of an initial intelligence report.
“Caine showed the video of a massive bomb striking an underground target at the joint press conference with Hegseth, saying it was the "culmination of over 15 years of development and testing."
“But Hegseth and Caine provided few new details about the impact of the strikes during the news conference. For his part, Hegseth devoted much of his remarks to the media, slamming its coverage of a leaked Defense Intelligence Agency report that said an initial assessment suggested the strikes had only set back Iran's nuclear program by months.”
Do You Hear What I Hear? Depends, Bing Crosby. At least 2 concepts illuminate this debate: 2-Step Flow theory and paltering. Relative to 2-Step, this refers to how the media does not have a direct effect on the whole audience. Rather, opinion leaders who absorb the media report and share with their audience have the direct impact. So in this instance, it is less about the actual attack and more about opinions of the attack.
Then there is paltering, which is essentially redirecting by telling the truth. Paltering differs from lying by omission (the passive omission of relevant information) and lying by commission (the active use of false statements). When you palter, you are telling the truth but misleading or directing toward a targeted end. In this instance, all parties have limited information and are deploying what they know toward a particular end.
Enter the Rumsfeld paradigm. In a famous 2002 press conference, then Sec. Donald Rumsfeld said: "As we know, there are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns. That is to say, we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don't know we don't know.” Donald Rumsfeld served at the highest levels, but his humility kept his spirit from getting haughty. And as his rules stated: "Learn to say 'I don’t know.' If used when appropriate, it will be often." In this instance, I don’t know isn’t just a sign of humility, it should also serve as a catalyst for curiosity. (Pro. 22:4, 1 Pet. 5:5)
5. Republicans dealt a setback on their big bill as Senate referee disqualifies key provisions (NBC News)
“Republicans suffered a blow Thursday after the Senate referee ruled that a series of health care cuts and savings in their sweeping domestic policy bill are ineligible for the party-line path they're using to get around the chamber's 60-vote threshold. Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, who adjudicates procedural disputes between the two parties, has disqualified several provisions, including Medicaid rules prohibiting funds without verification of immigration status, reimbursement changes to contracts with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), provider tax restrictions aimed at saving federal dollars, and new limitations surrounding eligibility for Affordable Care Act funding.
“The disqualified provisions total between $200 billion and $300 billion in savings over a decade, said Matthew Fiedler, an expert in health care policy and economics at the Brookings Institution. That's a problem for Republicans, who are aiming to pass the "One Big Beautiful Bill" for President Donald Trump's agenda through the Senate in the coming days. The House-passed version of the legislation was already projected to add $2.4 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years, and additional red ink could make Republicans even more nervous about voting for the final product.”
"The only guarantee, ever, is that things will go wrong,” according to Ryan Holiday in his book The Obstacle Is The Way. For Holiday, life is essentially divided into 2 categories: the controllable (your work ethic, preparation, perspective, etc.) and the uncontrollable (others’ actions and emotions, others’ opinions, etc.
Holiday draws upon the work of Marcus Aurelius, the emperor of the Roman Empire. As Aurelius prepared for war in Germania, he wrote: "The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way." Holiday writes that the emperor “truly saw each and every one of these obstacles (plague, infidelity, betrayal, war, etc.) as an opportunity to practice some virtue: patience, courage, humility, resourcefulness, reason, justice, and creativity…Whatever we face, we have a choice: Will we be blocked by obstacles, or will we advance through and over them?"
What does this have to do with the One Big Beautiful Bill? We have all encountered an obstacle. However, as we all know, it could have been worse. Holiday writes: "Problems are rarely as bad as we think—or rather, they are precisely as bad we think. It's a huge step forward to realize that the worst thing to happen is never the event, but the event and losing your head."
Dream On? Not so fast, Aerosmith. Republicans aren’t the only ones who have encountered an obstacle. Joseph was hated by his brothers, betrayed by his peers, and wrongfully imprisoned. Despite his setbacks, he used his gifts from prison to bless the leader on the throne. He was eventually elevated to a position of power in the land, and when he faced his brothers later in life, he didn’t curse them but blessed them. “God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God." As Frederick Buechner noted, because of the resurrection, the worst thing is never the last thing. (Gen. 45)
4. Supreme Court rules against Planned Parenthood in patient rights case (WaPo)
“A divided Supreme Court on Thursday ruled against Planned Parenthood, saying Medicaid patients do not have a clear right to sue to obtain non-abortion health care from the organization’s medical providers. The 6-3 decision reversed a lower court ruling that allowed Planned Parenthood South Atlantic and a patient to seek to reinstate the group’s clinics as qualified health-care providers after South Carolina cut off all Medicaid funding for the organization because it offers abortion services.
"After all, the decision whether to let private plaintiffs enforce a new statutory right poses delicate questions of public policy," Gorsuch added. "New rights for some mean new duties for others. And private enforcement actions, meritorious or not, can force governments to direct money away from public services and spend it instead on litigation. The job of resolving how best to weigh those competing costs and benefits belongs to the people’s elected representatives, not unelected judges charged with applying the law as they find it."
Save Me, San Francisco? More like we saved a San Francisco, Train. A recent study showed that 828,131 unborn babies’ lives were saved during the 5-year period between 2016 and 2020 as a result of women visiting pregnancy centers (a little over 800,000 people call San Fran home).
While there are roughly 600 Planned Parenthood clinics here in the US, there are 2,750 pro-life pregnancy resource centers in the United States providing nearly $367.9 million worth of life-affirming pregnancy services and material goods to clients and their families in 2022. With a satisfaction score of 97.4 percent, these clinics are saving babies and meeting the needs of moms. From 2019 to 2022, these clinics saw a 194 percent increase in material services and baby items delivered to families. Other areas of growth included a 41 percent increase in attendees for parenting and prenatal education programs.
Contrary to popular belief, pro-life proponents do care. Their convictions are reflected in their deeds (James 2). More than 53,000 Americans volunteer their time and services at pregnancy centers each year. We have given more than 2 million baby outfits, provided more than 1.3 million diapers, and administered almost 500,000 free ultrasounds. Some may not agree with the pro-life position, but they cannot deny pro-lifers care.
Cultural News
3. Charitable giving grew to $593B in 2024, propelled by a strengthening US economy and a booming stock market (The Conversation)
“U.S. charitable giving increased 3.3% to US$593 billion in 2024, lifted by the strength of the economy. The annual report from the Giving USA Foundation, produced in partnership with the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, found that this was the second-highest level on record after adjusting for inflation.
“Giving grew at the fastest pace since 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic led many Americans to make larger-than-usual donations. It was also the first time since then that growth in giving outpaced inflation. Our data shows that the strong economy, which grew 2.8% in 2024, bolstered individual and corporate giving and allowed foundations to maintain the historically high level of giving seen from them in recent years. Individual donors continued to provide the bulk of the nation’s charitable gifts. The $392 billion they gave to charity accounted for two-thirds of the year’s total. Giving by individuals grew 5.1% from 2023 − a swifter pace than for all donations. Corporate giving rose even faster. It was up 6% to a record $44 billion.”
Are you, like Chappell Roan, a Giver? From an institutional perspective, The Economist has identified a shift away from philanthrocapitalism and more to a no-strings philosophy. The former takes a more Bill Gates approach, looking to data and rules as a way to stop waste. However, lengthy application processes and stringent requirements hindered and slowed down the flow of funds to worthy causes. Now, we are making our way into a no-strings approach, which relies on outside consultants to connect a giver’s passion to the world’s needs.
Don’t let the left hand know what the right hand is doing? A study looked at whether public or private donations to charitable causes brought more happiness to the donor. The researchers found that those with “high moral identity” experienced 16 percent greater happiness when they gave anonymously than when they gave publicly. For those with no moral identity, there was no significant happiness difference.
Some prefer the Pink Pony Club, but there is something special about the secret giving gang… Giving is an exercise in trust, running against our survival instincts but concurrent with the divine command. When we keep our treasure, we survive. But when we give away our treasure, we thrive in unimaginable ways. As divine entrepreneurs, we look for opportunities to invest God’s capital to extend his kingdom. He has entrusted his money to us and expects us to invest well, causing creative destruction for the glory of his name. (Ps. 30, 2 Cor. 9)
News You Can Use
2. Kitty Olympics
Watch it here. “Let no one deceive you with empty words…” (Eph. 5:6)
1. Episode 61 - I Said Please… You Said No?
Watch it here. “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.” (Mt. 5:37)
